bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025_split huggingface dataset:
Present bias for monetary and dietary rewards
Authors: Cheung Stephen L. , Tymula Agnieszka , Wang Xueting 
Published: March 2022

AbstractEconomists model self-control problems through time-inconsistent preferences. Empirical tests of these preferences largely rely on experimental elicitation using monetary rewards, with several recent studies failing to find present bias for money. In this paper, we compare estimates of present bias for money with estimates for healthy and unhealthy foods. In a within-subjects longitudinal experiment with 697 low-income Chinese high school students, we find strong present bias for both money and food, and that individual measures of present bias are moderately correlated across reward types. Our experimental measures of time preferences over both money and foods predict field behaviors including alcohol consumption and academic performance.
Trying an Alternative Ansatz to Quantum Physics
Authors: Niehaus Arend 
Published: March 2022

AbstractWe report to which extent elementary particles and the nucleons can be described by an Ansatz that is alternative to the established standard model, and can still yield predicted results that reproduce the observed ones, without using the formalism of quantum mechanics. The different Ansatz is motivated by the attempt to explain known properties of elementary particles as a consequence of an inner structure, in contrast to the approach of the standard model, where the properties are ascribed to point-like particles. Based on the assumption of the existence of photons, the possibility of the creation of fermion and anti-fermion in an interaction of two photons of equal energy is shown. The properties of these created elementary material particles are found to agree with the ones observed. Also the possibility of the creation of a neutron by interaction of two photons of equal energy is shown. In this case, the newly formed neutron rests in the center of the collision system as a combined system of the localized two photons. The created neutron is shown to have the known properties of the neutron, and in addition, to have a definite shape of definite size. The proton is described as the particle formed by decay of the neutron, also owning the observed properties, and in addition a definite shape. For all particles described by the Ansatz, their properties are consequences of an inner structure. The merits of the alternative description as compared to the standard model and the application of quantum mechanics are discussed.
Indications of polymorphism in the behaviour and morphology of burbot (Lota lota) in a European lake
Authors: Marjomäki Timo J. , Mustajärvi Linda , Mänttäri Jesse , Kiljunen Mikko , Karjalainen Juha 
Published: March 2022

AbstractIn this study, polymorphism in behaviour, morphology, and stable isotope signatures of burbot from Lake Southern Konnevesi, Finland, Europe, was examined. First, local knowledge was collected on exceptional polymorphism of the spawning behaviour and morphology of burbot. These phenomena were then studied based on catch samples. Interviews and catch sample analyses suggested two morphs of burbot: one morph spawning in late February in the littoral zone and other in late March, in deep profundal, depths of about 30 m. Fish caught from the profundal zone had higher average proportional somatic body weights and wider heads than those caught from the littoral spawning sites in February. The length-at-age of the individuals from the littoral catch was longer than that of the profundal catch. Stable isotope analysis revealed differences in the mean carbon isotope ratio between sampling sites, suggesting differences in diet. Variability in several of the aforementioned variables was correlated. This study is the first to imply polymorphism in burbot populations from a lake in Eurasia, where burbot are considered as near-threatened species.
Are Second Person Masculine Generics Easier to Process for Men than for Women? Evidence from Polish
Authors: Szuba Agnieszka , Redl Theresa , de Hoop Helen 
Published: March 2022

AbstractIn Polish, it is obligatory to mark feminine or masculine grammatical gender on second-person singular past tense verbs (e.g., Dostałaś list ‘You received-F a letter’). When the addressee’s gender is unknown or unspecified, masculine but never feminine gender marking may be used. The present self-paced reading experiment aims to determine whether this practice creates a processing disadvantage for female addressees in such contexts. We further investigated how men process being addressed with feminine-marked verbs, which constitutes a pragmatic violation. To this end, we presented Polish native speakers with short narratives. Each narrative contained either a second-person singular past tense verb with masculine or feminine gender marking, or a gerund verb with no gender marking as a baseline. We hypothesised that both men and women would read the verbs with gender marking mismatching their own gender more slowly than the gender-unmarked gerund verbs. The results revealed that the gender-mismatching verbs were read equally fast as the gerund verbs, and that the verbs with gender marking matching participant gender were read faster. While the relatively high reading time of the gender-unmarked baseline was unexpected, the pattern of results nevertheless shows that verbs with masculine marking were more difficult to process for women compared to men, and vice versa. In conclusion, even though masculine gender marking in the second person is commonly used with a gender-unspecific intention, it created similar processing difficulties for women as the ones that men experienced when addressed through feminine gender marking. This study is the first one, as far as we are aware, to provide evidence for the male bias of second-person masculine generics during language processing.
High-dimensional correlation matrix estimation for general continuous data with Bagging technique
Authors: Wang Chaojie , Du Jin , Fan Xiaodan 
Published: March 2022

AbstractHigh-dimensional covariance matrix estimation plays a central role in multivariate statistical analysis. It is well-known that the sample covariance matrix is singular when the sample size is smaller than the dimension of the variable, but the covariance estimate must be positive-definite. This motivates some modifications of the sample covariance matrix to preserve its efficient estimation of pairwise covariance. In this paper, we modify the sample correlation matrix using the Bagging technique. The proposed Bagging estimator is flexible for general continuous data. Under some mild conditions, we show theoretically that the Bagging estimator can ensure positive-definiteness with probability one in finite samples. We also prove the consistency of the bootstrap estimator of Pearson correlation and the consistency of our Bagging estimator when the dimension p is fixed. Simulation results and a real application are provided to demonstrate that our method strikes a better balance between RMSE and likelihood, and is more robust, than other existing estimators.
Empirical mode modeling
Authors: Park Joseph , Pao Gerald M. , Sugihara George , Stabenau Erik , Lorimer Thomas 
Published: March 2022

AbstractData-driven, model-free analytics are natural choices for discovery and forecasting of complex, nonlinear systems. Methods that operate in the system state-space require either an explicit multidimensional state-space, or, one approximated from available observations. Since observational data are frequently sampled with noise, it is possible that noise can corrupt the state-space representation degrading analytical performance. Here, we evaluate the synthesis of empirical mode decomposition with empirical dynamic modeling, which we term empirical mode modeling, to increase the information content of state-space representations in the presence of noise. Evaluation of a mathematical, and, an ecologically important geophysical application across three different state-space representations suggests that empirical mode modeling may be a useful technique for data-driven, model-free, state-space analysis in the presence of noise.
Testing pays off twice: Potentials of practice tests and feedback regarding exam performance and judgment accuracy
Authors: Naujoks Nick , Harder Bettina , Händel Marion 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Two studies investigated the testing effects on performance and on metacognitive judgment accuracy in authentic learning settings. Across two educational psychology courses, undergraduate students had the opportunity to voluntarily participate in four different practice tests during the term—without feedback in Study 1 (N = 201 students) or with individual corrective feedback in Study 2 (N = 111 students). Across studies in real classroom settings with and without feedback, regression analyses indicated that a higher number of taken practice tests were related to higher performance in the final course exam and to two scores of metacognitive judgment accuracy (absolute accuracy and sensitivity). However, students’ preparation and post-processing practice tests, their perceived usefulness of tests for monitoring one’s performance, and metacognitive specificity differed depending on whether students received feedback or not. Overall, the studies convey considerable evidence on how participation in practice tests is related not only to performance but also to monitoring accuracy in authentic learning settings.
Superoscillating Sequences and Supershifts for Families of Generalized Functions
Authors: Colombo F. , Sabadini I. , Struppa D. C. , Yger A. 
Published: March 2022

AbstractWe construct a large class of superoscillating sequences, more generally of $${\mathscr {F}}$$
F
-supershifts, where $${\mathscr {F}}$$
F
is a family of smooth functions in (t, x) (resp. distributions in (t, x), or hyperfunctions in x depending on the parameter t) indexed by $$\lambda \in {\mathbb {R}}$$

λ
∈
R

. The frame in which we introduce such families is that of the evolution through Schrödinger equation $$(i\partial /\partial t - {\mathscr {H}}(x))(\psi )=0$$

(
i
∂
/
∂
t
-
H
(
x
)
)
(
ψ
)
=
0

($${\mathscr {H}}(x) = -(\partial ^2/\partial x^2)/2 + V(x)$$

H

(
x
)

=
-

(

∂
2

/
∂

x
2

)

/
2
+
V

(
x
)

), V being a suitable potential). If $${\mathscr {F}}= \{(t,x) \mapsto \varphi _\lambda (t,x)\,;\, \lambda \in {\mathbb {R}}\}$$

F
=
{

(
t
,
x
)

↦

φ
λ

(
t
,
x
)

;

λ
∈
R
}

, where $$\varphi _\lambda $$

φ
λ

is evolved from the initial datum $$x\mapsto e^{i\lambda x}$$

x
↦

e

i
λ
x

, $${\mathscr {F}}$$
F
-supershifts will be of the form $$\{\sum _{j=0}^N C_j(N,a) \varphi _{1-2j/N}\}_{N\ge 1}$$

{

∑

j
=
0

N

C
j

(
N
,
a
)

φ

1
-
2
j
/
N

}

N
≥
1

for $$a\in {\mathbb {R}}{\setminus }[-1,1]$$

a
∈
R
\
[
-
1
,
1
]

, taking $$C_j(N,a) =\left( {\begin{array}{c}N\\ j\end{array}}\right) (1+a)^{N-j}(1-a)^j/2^N$$

C
j

(
N
,
a
)

=

N

j

(
1
+
a
)

N
-
j

(
1
-
a
)

j

/

2
N

. Our results rely on the fact that integral operators of the Fresnel type govern, as in optical diffraction, the evolution through the Schrödinger equation, such operators acting continuously on the weighted algebra of entire functions $$\mathrm{Exp}({\mathbb {C}})$$

Exp
(
C
)

. Analyzing in particular the quantum harmonic oscillator case forces us, in order to take into account singularities of the evolved datum that occur when the stationary phasis in the Fresnel operator vanishes, to enlarge the notion of $${\mathscr {F}}$$
F
-supershift, $${\mathscr {F}}$$
F
being a family of $$C^\infty $$

C
∞

functions or distributions in (t, x), to that where $${\mathscr {F}}$$
F
is a family of hyperfunctions in x, depending on t as a parameter.
Development of an Accurate and Sensitive Diagnostic System Based on Conventional PCR for Detection of African Swine Fever Virus in Food Waste
Authors: Lee Siwon , Kwon Junhwa , Kim Bo-Young , Kim Jin-Ho 
Published: March 2022

AbstractAfrican swine fever virus (ASFV), a highly contagious virus, can cause diseases with high mortality rates in pigs, making it a pathogen of social and economic significance. ASFV has been reported to show potential long-term survival in living livestock, such as pigs, but also in leftover cooking meat and undercooked pork meat. Hence, it is possible that there could be direct reinfection or secondary infection through feed produced from household food waste and treatment facilities. Many polymerase chain reaction (PCR)-based molecular diagnostic techniques to detect ASFV in clinical swine samples have been reported. However, those with applicability for food waste samples, which contain relatively low viral copy numbers and may contain various unknown inhibitors of PCR, are still lacking. In this study, we developed a conventional PCR-based diagnostic system that can detect ASFV with high sensitivity from food waste sample types. The technique shows a 10–100 times higher limit of detection compared to that of previously reported methods based on conventional PCR and quantitative real-time PCR. It is also capable of amplifying a sequence that is approximately 751 nucleotides, which is advantageous for similarity analysis and genotyping. Moreover, a ASFV-modified positive material different from ASFV that could synthesize 1400 nucleotide amplicons was developed to identify false-positive cases and thus enhance diagnostic accuracy. The method developed herein may be applicable for future ASFV monitoring, identification, and genotyping in food waste samples.
Knowledge-Grounded Dialogue Flow Management for Social Robots and Conversational Agents
Authors: Grassi Lucrezia , Recchiuto Carmine Tommaso , Sgorbissa Antonio 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThe article proposes a system for knowledge-based conversation designed for Social Robots and other conversational agents. The proposed system relies on an Ontology for the description of all concepts that may be relevant conversation topics, as well as their mutual relationships. The article focuses on the algorithm for Dialogue Management that selects the most appropriate conversation topic depending on the user input. Moreover, it discusses strategies to ensure a conversation flow that captures, as more coherently as possible, the user intention to drive the conversation in specific directions while avoiding purely reactive responses to what the user says. To measure the quality of the conversation, the article reports the tests performed with 100 recruited participants, comparing five conversational agents: (i) an agent addressing dialogue flow management based only on the detection of keywords in the speech, (ii) an agent based both on the detection of keywords and the Content Classification feature of Google Cloud Natural Language, (iii) an agent that picks conversation topics randomly, (iv) a human pretending to be a chatbot, and (v) one of the most famous chatbots worldwide: Replika. The subjective perception of the participants is measured both with the SASSI (Subjective Assessment of Speech System Interfaces) tool, as well as with a custom survey for measuring the subjective perception of coherence.
It’s all about the text: An experimental investigation of inconsistent reviews on restaurant booking platforms
Authors: Steur Andreas J. , Fritzsche Fabian , Seiter Mischa 
Published: March 2022

Abstract
Consumer-generated reviews play a decisive role in creating trust and facilitating transactions on digital platforms. However, prior research shows various problems, e.g., only a small number of consumers providing reviews, fake reviews, and inconsistent reviews. We use an experiment in the context of a restaurant booking platform to examine the impact of inconsistent reviews on the duration of consumers’ transaction decisions. In a second experiment, we investigate the relative importance of the review components in the case of inconsistent reviews. Drawing on the dual-process theory and media richness theory, we predict that inconsistent reviews result in a longer time required for consumers’ transaction decisions (H1) and lead to users’ transaction decisions being predominantly based on the qualitative component (H2). Although we do not find general support that inconsistent restaurant reviews negatively determine the duration of transaction decisions, we find evidence that in the case of inconsistent restaurant reviews, the polarity of the qualitative component is crucial for both the duration of the transaction decision and the decision itself.
From Generative Models to Generative Passages: A Computational Approach to (Neuro) Phenomenology
Authors: Ramstead Maxwell J. D. , Seth Anil K. , Hesp Casper , Sandved-Smith Lars , Mago Jonas , Lifshitz Michael , Pagnoni Giuseppe , Smith Ryan , Dumas Guillaume , Lutz Antoine , Friston Karl , Constant Axel 
Published: March 2022

AbstractThis paper presents a version of neurophenomenology based on generative modelling techniques developed in computational neuroscience and biology. Our approach can be described as computational phenomenology because it applies methods originally developed in computational modelling to provide a formal model of the descriptions of lived experience in the phenomenological tradition of philosophy (e.g., the work of Edmund Husserl, Maurice Merleau-Ponty, etc.). The first section presents a brief review of the overall project to naturalize phenomenology. The second section presents and evaluates philosophical objections to that project and situates our version of computational phenomenology with respect to these projects. The third section reviews the generative modelling framework. The final section presents our approach in detail. We conclude by discussing how our approach differs from previous attempts to use generative modelling to help understand consciousness. In summary, we describe a version of computational phenomenology which uses generative modelling to construct a computational model of the inferential or interpretive processes that best explain this or that kind of lived experience.
Quantification of the actual composition of polymeric nanocapsules: a quality control analysis
Authors: Berrecoso Germán , Crecente-Campo José , Alonso María José 
Published: March 2022

AbstractNanocapsules (NCs) are drug delivery nanosystems that contain an oily core, stabilized by a surfactant, and surrounded by a polymeric shell. The assembling of the components is based on physical and physicochemical forces, and, hence, usually, only a fraction of each component is finally part of the NCs’ structure, while the remaining amount might be solubilized or forming micelles in the NCs’ suspending medium. Usually, reports on the characterization of nanostructures simply indicate the association efficiency of the loaded drugs instead of their complete final composition. In this work, we have developed a liquid chromatography (LC) mass spectrometry (MS) methodology that allows the quantification of all the components of a series of NCs prepared by different techniques, namely dl-α-tocopherol; d-α-tocopherol polyethylene glycol 1000 succinate; benzethonium; lecithin; hexadecyltrimethylammonium; 1,2-dioleoyl-3-trimethylammoniumpropane; caprylic/capric triglycerides; macrogol 15-hydroxystearate; polysorbate 80; polysialic acid; hyaluronic acid; and polyethylene glycol polyglutamic acid. The LC–MS method was validated in terms of linearity (0.9383 < r2 < 0.9997), quantification limits, and recoveries of the isolated NCs’ and waste fractions. The final composition of the isolated NCs was found to strongly depend on their composition and preparation technique. In our view, the rigorous quantification of the exact composition of nanosystems is essential for the progress of nanotechnology. This quantitative analysis will allow researchers to draw more accurate conclusions about the influence of the nanosystems’ composition on their biological performance.
Graphical abstract
Dealing with Multisource Information for Estuarine Flood Risk Appraisal in Two Western European Coastal Areas
Authors: Rodrigues Rilo Ana , de Oliveira Soares Tavares Alexandre Manuel , dos Santos Freire Paula Maria , Zêzere José Luis 
Published: March 2022

AbstractEstuaries are usually affected by compound flooding triggers that cause diverse territorial damages. While fluvial flood risk assessment frameworks are well established in the literature, integrated management instruments that deal with estuarine flood risk remain incomplete and often lacking. This research presents a methodology to extract relevant information from multiple sources post-event and a database building process that is applied to two contrasting estuaries (the Tagus River estuary in Portugal, and the Shannon River estuary in Ireland) in the Western European coastal area. Overall, a total of 274 documents were analyzed and the information was stored in two databases. Multiple correspondence analysis was applied to extract the most informative and relevant estuarine flood indicators. An integrated estuarine flood risk assessment framework is presented and discussed based on the extracted indicators. The framework is driven by two distinct dimensions (oceanic and hydrographic) and revealed the transversal position of triggers of estuarine floods, reflecting the compounding effects usually present in these areas. The results also highlight two levels of flood risk mostly based on damage typology.
Photoredox catalysis powered by triplet fusion upconversion: arylation of heteroarenes
Authors: Castellanos-Soriano Jorge , Álvarez-Gutiérrez Daniel , Jiménez M. Consuelo , Pérez-Ruiz Raúl 
Published: March 2022

AbstractIn this work, the feasibility of triplet fusion upconversion (TFU, also named triplet–triplet annihilation upconversion) technology for the functionalization (arylation) of furans and thiophenes has been successfully proven. Activation of aryl halides by TFU leads to generation of aryl radical intermediates; trapping of the latter by the corresponding heteroarenes, which act as nucleophiles, affords the final coupling products. Advantages of this photoredox catalytic method include the use of very mild conditions (visible light, standard conditions), employment of commercially available reactants and low-loading metal-free photocatalysts, absence of any sacrificial agent (additive) in the medium and short irradiation times. The involvement of the high energetic delayed fluorescence in the reaction mechanism has been evidenced by quenching studies, whereas the two-photon nature of this photoredox arylation of furans and thiophenes has been manifested by the dependence on the energy source power. Finally, the scaling-up conditions have been gratifyingly afforded by a continuous-flow device.
Graphical abstract