Does the extension of free time trigger spontaneous elaborative strategies in working memory?

Elaboration has emerged as a potential maintenance mechanism involved in the substantial contribution of long-term memory (LTM) to working memory (WM) performance. The objective of the current study was to determine whether elaborative strategies could be spontaneously implemented under favorable conditions. Across four experiments, the distribution of free-time periods was manipulated in a complex span task, while keeping the total amount of free time and cognitive load constant. As elaboration requires time to be set up, Experiment 1 elicited better WM performance in a condition with fewer long free-time periods compared to a condition with many short free-time periods. However, because this benefit did not persist during delayed recall, the following experiments aimed to further investigate this effect by manipulating factors supposed to modulate elaboration. In Experiment 2, half of the participants received no specific instructions regarding strategies whereas the other half were encouraged to use elaborative strategies. In Experiment 3, the to-be-maintained stimuli did or did not have LTM representations that are essential for elaboration (i.e., words or pseudowords). Finally, the last experiment used a self-strategy report to better understand the nature of the WM maintenance strategies spontaneously employed by participants. Despite a consistent effect of free time manipulation on WM recall, the explanatory assumption of elaboration was challenged by the unexpected lack of effect on LTM recall and on the type of strategy reported. Alternative explanations stemming from well-known factors influencing WM performance are discussed, and emphasis is placed on the potential contribution of direct semantic maintenance in WM.

Continuance intention and digital health resources from the perspective of elaboration likelihood model and DART model: a structural equation modeling analysis.

Background: Internet hospitals, online health communities, and other digital health APPs have brought many changes to people's lives. However, digital health resources are experiencing low continuance intention due to many factors, including information security, service quality, and personal characteristics of users. Methods: We used cross-sectional surveys and structural equation modeling analysis to explore factors influencing user willingness to continue using digital health resources. Results: Information quality (ß = 0.31, p < 0.05), service quality (ß = 0.19, p < 0.05), platform reputation (ß = 0.34, p < 0.05), and emotional support (ß = 0.23, p < 0.05) have significant positive effects on user value co-creation behavior. Additionally, user trust and perceived usefulness could mediate the association between user value co-creation behavior and continuance intention, with mediation effects of 0.143 and 0.125, respectively. User involvement can positively moderate the association between user value co-creation behavior and user trust (ß = 0.151, t = 2.480, p < 0.001). Also, user involvement can positively moderate the association between value co-creation behavior and perceived usefulness (ß = 0.103, t = 3.377, p < 0.001). Conclusion: The keys to solving the problem of low continuance intention are improving the quality and service level of digital health resources, and promoting users' value co-creation behavior. Meanwhile, enterprises should build a good reputation, create a positive communication atmosphere in the community, and enhance user participation and sense of belonging.

Myelin basic protein mRNA levels affect myelin sheath dimensions, architecture, plasticity, and density of resident glial cells.

Myelin Basic Protein (MBP) is essential for both elaboration and maintenance of CNS myelin, and its reduced accumulation results in hypomyelination. How different Mbp mRNA levels affect myelin dimensions across the lifespan and how resident glial cells may respond to such changes are unknown. Here, to investigate these questions, we used enhancer-edited mouse lines that accumulate Mbp mRNA levels ranging from 8% to 160% of wild type. In young mice, reduced Mbp mRNA levels resulted in corresponding decreases in Mbp protein accumulation and myelin sheath thickness, confirming the previously demonstrated rate-limiting role of Mbp transcription in the control of initial myelin synthesis. However, despite maintaining lower line specific Mbp mRNA levels into old age, both MBP protein levels and myelin thickness improved or fully normalized at rates defined by the relative Mbp mRNA level. Sheath length, in contrast, was affected only when mRNA levels were very low, demonstrating that sheath thickness and length are not equally coupled to Mbp mRNA level. Striking abnormalities in sheath structure also emerged with reduced mRNA levels. Unexpectedly, an increase in the density of all glial cell types arose in response to reduced Mbp mRNA levels. This investigation extends understanding of the role MBP plays in myelin sheath elaboration, architecture, and plasticity across the mouse lifespan and illuminates a novel axis of glial cell crosstalk.

Falling Vocal Intonation Signals Speaker Confidence and Conditionally Boosts Persuasion.

People are often advised to project confidence with their bodies and voices to convince others. Prior research has focused on the high and low thinking processes through which vocal confidence signals (e.g., fast speed, falling intonation, low pitch) can influence attitude change. In contrast, this research examines how the vocal confidence of speakers operates under more moderate elaboration levels, revealing that falling intonation only benefits persuasion under certain circumstances. In three experiments, we show that falling (vs. rising) vocal intonation at the ends of sentences can signal speaker confidence. Under moderate elaboration conditions, falling (vs. rising) vocal intonation increased message processing, bolstering the benefit of strong over weak messages, increasing the proportion of message-relevant thoughts, and increasing thought-attitude correspondence. In sum, the present work examined an unstudied role of vocal confidence in guiding persuasion, revealing new processes by which vocal signals increase or fail to increase persuasion.

Concept mapping - increased potential as a retrieval-based task.

Concept mapping is a practical task for enhancing learning performance. Learners usually construct concept maps while studying the learning material or after studying. In the first case, the learning material is available during construction, and learners are less involved in retrieval practice from memory (study-based concept mapping; SCM). In the second case, the learning material is absent during construction, and the learners rely on retrieving information from memory (retrieval-based concept mapping, RCM). RCM is assumed to be associated with lower concept map quality and higher cognitive load but better elaboration and learning performance than SCM. This study investigated how the availability of the learning material influenced these variables in biology classrooms. Unlike other studies, this study provided learners with an authentic learning environment and prior concept mapping training. After the concept mapping training, n = 129 secondary school students were assigned to an SCM or RCM condition in a quasi-experimental design. As expected, students in the RCM condition constructed concept maps of lower quality but outperformed SCM students concerning elaboration activities and learning performance. The perceived intrinsic cognitive load was higher in the RCM condition. The results indicate that using concept mapping as a retrieval practice could support students' learning in biology.

The positive role of authentic leadership in organizations negatively affected by cognitive diversity.

Workplace diversity has recently gained increasing significance and urgency in business organizations. This promotion may stem from information processing, and specifically from information elaboration. Information elaboration leverages diverse task-related information and skills possessed by members, fostering the exchange of diverse perspectives, elaborate discussions, and achieving high team performance. In this context, cognitive diversity, encompassing members' knowledge, skills, and perspectives, may have a positive impact. However, some previous studies suggest that cognitive diversity can lead to affective conflict and impede information processing. In organizations with highly homogeneous social and cultural backgrounds, cognitive diversity may not be effectively utilized in the information elaboration process, potentially yielding negative effects. Authentic leadership is recognized as a significant contributor to facilitating team processes including information processing, with various studies demonstrating its effectiveness. This study hypothesized that cognitive diversity negatively affects the information elaboration process, while authentic leadership has a positive effect. To test these hypotheses, we employed multilevel structural equation modeling analysis based on data collected from 375 respondents in 90 teams across various industries in Japan. The results showed that cognitive diversity negatively affects information elaboration at the individual level. By contrast, authentic leadership positively affects information elaboration at both individual and team levels. These findings suggest that the effect of cognitive diversity on information processing in the workplace may not always be positive, particularly in a sociocultural context that values homogeneity, as observed in Japanese organizations. This study advances the literature on authentic leadership by validating its effect on information elaboration and provides practical implications for diversity management. Additionally, it underscores the effectiveness of authentic leadership in leveraging team members' cognitive diversity to facilitate information elaboration.

Is information evaluated subjectively? Social media has changed the way users search for medical information.

Objective: In recent years, social media platforms, such as TikTok and RedBook, have emerged as important channels through which users access and share medical information. Additionally, an increasing number of healthcare professionals have created social media accounts through which to disseminate medical knowledge. This paper explores why users obtain their medical information from social media and how the signals transmitted by social platforms affect use behaviours. Methods: We combined the elaboration likelihood model and signal theories to construct a comprehensive model for this study. We used simple random sampling to investigate users' behaviours related to social media usage. A total of 351 valid questionnaires were completed by people in Mainland China. The participants were enthusiastic about social media platforms and had searched for health-related information on social media in the past three months. We analysed the data using partial least squares structural equation modelling to investigate the influence of two pathways and two signals (objective and subjective judgement pathways and positive and negative signals) on social media use behaviours. Results: When seeking medical information on social media, users tend to rely on subjective judgment rather than objective judgment, although both are influential. Furthermore, in the current era, in which marketing methods involving big data algorithms and artificial intelligence prevail, negative signals, such as information overload, have a more pronounced impact than positive signals. Conclusions: This study demonstrates that the subjective judgment path has a greater impact on users than the objective judgment path. Platforms are encouraged to focus more on users' emotional needs. The paper also discusses the negative impact of information overload on users, sounding an alarm for enterprises to control their use of homogeneous information resulting from the excessive use of big data algorithms.

The emergence of identity, agency and consciousness from the temporal dynamics of neural elaboration.

Identity-differentiating self from external reality-and agency-being the author of one's acts-are generally considered intrinsic properties of awareness and looked at as mental constructs generated by consciousness. Here a different view is proposed. All physiological systems display complex time-dependent regulations to adapt or anticipate external changes. To interact with rapid changes, an animal needs a nervous system capable of modelling and predicting (not simply representing) it. Different algorithms must be employed to predict the momentary location of an object based on sensory information (received with a delay), or to design in advance and direct the trajectory of movement. Thus, the temporal dynamics of external events and action must be handled in differential ways, thereby generating the distinction between self and non-self ("identity") as an intrinsic computational construct in neuronal elaboration. Handling time is not what neurons are designed for. Neuronal circuits are based on parallel processing: each bit of information diverges on many neurons, each of which combines it with many other data. Spike firing reports the likelihood that the specific pattern the neuron is designed to respond to is present in the incoming data. This organization seems designed to process synchronous datasets. However, since neural networks can introduce delays in processing, time sequences can be transformed into simultaneous patterns and analysed as such. This way predictive algorithms can be implemented, and continually improved through neuronal plasticity. To successfully interact with the external reality, the nervous system must model and predict, but also differentially handle perceptual functions or motor activity, by putting in register information that becomes available at different time moments. Also, to learn through positive/negative reinforcement, modelling must establish a causal relation between motor control and its consequences: the contrast between phase lag in perception and phase lead (and control) in motor programming produces the emergence of identity (discerning self from surrounding) and agency (control on actions) as necessary computational constructs to model reality. This does not require any form of awareness. In a brain, capable of producing awareness, these constructs may evolve from mere computational requirements into mental (conscious) constructs.

The role of mediators for the pretesting effect.

Taking a pretest (e.g., smoke - ?) before material is studied (smoke - fog) can improve later recall of that material, compared to material which was initially only studied. The goal of the present study was to evaluate for this pretesting effect the potential role of semantic mediators, i.e., of unstudied information that is semantically related to the study material. In all three experiments, subjects studied weakly associated word pairs (e.g., smoke - fog), half of which received a pretest. Subjects then either completed a recognition test (Experiment 1) or a cued-recall test (Experiments 2 and 3), during which they were presented with both the original study material and never-before-seen semantic mediators that were strongly related to the cue item of a pair (e.g., cigarette). Strikingly, presenting semantic mediators as lures led to higher false alarm rates for mediators following initial pretesting than study only (Experiment 1), and presenting semantic mediators as retrieval cues led to better recall of target items following pretesting than study only (Experiments 2 and 3). We argue that these findings support the elaboration account of the pretesting effect but are difficult to reconcile with other prominent accounts of the effect.

FMRI correlates of autobiographical memory: Comparing silent retrieval with narrated retrieval.

FMRI studies of autobiographical memory (AM) retrieval typically ask subjects to retrieve memories silently to avoid speech-related motion artifacts. Recently, some fMRI studies have started to use overt (spoken) retrieval to probe moment-to-moment retrieved content. However, the extent to which the overt retrieval method alters fMRI activations during retrieval is unknown. Here we examined this question by eliciting unrehearsed AMs during fMRI scanning either overtly or silently, in the same subjects, in different runs. Differences between retrieval modality (silent vs. narrated) included greater activation for silent retrieval in the anterior hippocampus, left angular gyrus, PCC, and superior PFC, and greater activation for narrated retrieval in speech production regions, posterior hippocampus, and the DLPFC. To probe temporal dynamics, we divided each retrieval period into an initial search phase and a later elaboration phase. The activations during the search and elaboration phases were broadly similar regardless of modality, and these activations were in line with previous fMRI studies of AM temporal dynamics employing silent retrieval. For both retrieval modalities, search activated the hippocampus, mPFC, ACC, and PCC, and elaboration activated the left DLPFC and middle temporal gyri. To examine content-specific reactivation during retrieval, the timecourse of narrated memory content was transcribed and modeled. We observed dynamic activation associated with object content in the lateral occipital complex, and activation associated with scene content in the retrosplenial cortex. The current findings show that both silent and narrated AMs activate a broadly similar memory network, with some key differences, and add to current knowledge regarding the content-specific dynamics of AM retrieval. However, these observed differences between retrieval modality suggest that studies using overt retrieval should carefully consider this method's possible effects on cognitive and neural processing.

Daydreaming and grandiose delusions: development of the Qualities of Daydreaming Scale.

BACKGROUND: Daydreaming may contribute to the maintenance of grandiose delusions. Repeated, pleasant and vivid daydreams about the content of grandiose delusions may keep the ideas in mind, elaborate the details, and increase the degree of conviction in the delusion. Pleasant daydreams more generally could contribute to elevated mood, which may influence the delusion content. AIMS: We sought to develop a brief questionnaire, suitable for research and clinical practice, to assess daydreaming and test potential associations with grandiosity. METHOD: 798 patients with psychosis (375 with grandiose delusions) and 4518 non-clinical adults (1788 with high grandiosity) were recruited. Participants completed a daydreaming item pool and measures of grandiosity, time spent thinking about the grandiose belief, and grandiose belief conviction. Factor analysis was used to derive the Qualities of Daydreaming Scale (QuOD) and associations were tested using pairwise correlations and structural equation modelling. RESULTS: The questionnaire had three factors: realism, pleasantness, and frequency of daydreams. The measure was invariant across clinical and non-clinical groups. Internal consistency was good (alpha-ordinals: realism=0.86, pleasantness=0.93, frequency=0.82) as was test-retest reliability (intra-class coefficient=0.75). Daydreaming scores were higher in patients with grandiose delusions than in patients without grandiose delusions or in the non-clinical group. Daydreaming was significantly associated with grandiosity, time spent thinking about the grandiose delusion, and grandiose delusion conviction, explaining 19.1, 7.7 and 5.2% of the variance in the clinical group data, respectively. Similar associations were found in the non-clinical group. CONCLUSIONS: The process of daydreaming may be one target in psychological interventions for grandiose delusions.

The Effects of Positive Versus Negative Self-Talk on Vertical Jump in Soccer Players: The Moderating Role of Need for Cognition.

The current study analyzed the effects of positive versus negative self-talk on physical performance in soccer players from a multiprocess approach. We operationalized the process distinction using the need-for-cognition (NC) construct. Thus, NC was measured and self-talk (i.e., positive vs. negative) was manipulated between participants (i.e., 126 soccer players, age 18 years or older, who were competing in national, regional, or local competitions). Physical performance was assessed by a vertical-jump test. According to hypothesis, regression analyses indicated that positive versus negative self-talk influenced physical performance to a greater extent for high-NC individuals than for low-NC individuals. Specifically, among high-NC soccer players, relative to baseline, positive self-talk produced greater physical performance in the vertical-jump test than negative self-talk. In contrast, among low-NC soccer players, no difference was found between positive and negative self-talk on physical performance. These results supported the moderating role of NC.

Mind wandering may both promote and impair learning.

The present investigation deals with individual differences in habitual (trait-level) mind wandering and their effects on learning. We hypothesized that the 'positive-constructive' type of habitual mind wandering would promote task-related thinking and the 'poor-attention' type to promote task-unrelated thinking. This hypothesis was tested in a study with 200 participants who rated different aspects of their mind wandering in daily life in one session and completed a reading study in a second session. The reading study included thought probes, retrospective questions about readers' thought contents, and comprehension tests after reading. In line with our hypothesis, data analysis revealed that some forms of positive-constructive mind wandering were positively associated with text-related thought, whereas poor-attention mind wandering was positively associated with text-unrelated thought. The present results add to the literature by emphasizing different types of trait-level mind wandering and their potentially opposite effects on learning.

Um estudo comparativo entre as teorias de Klein e Winnicott: analisando o conceito de fantasia / Une étude comparative entre les théories de Klein et de Winnicott : analyse du concept de fantasme / A comparative study between Klein and Winnicott theories: analyzing the concept of fantasy / Un estudio comparativo entre las teorías de Klein y Winnicott: analizando el concepto de fantasía

Pretende-se, neste artigo, levantar algumas considerações acerca do conceito de fantasia, elaborado por Melanie Klein e expandido por Donald Winnicott, na tentativa de propor uma possível comparação teórica entre essas duas linhagens da psicanálise. Para tanto, apresentamos, ainda que de maneira breve, a concepção de desenvolvimento psíquico para esses dois autores, enumerando algumas aproximações e afastamentos. Por fim, apontamos as vantagens desse tipo de pesquisa comparativa e as suas respectivas dificuldades, destacando os aspectos que assinalam a singularidade da noção de fantasia no pensamento kleiniano e winnicottiano, assim como sua utilidade na narração de exemplos clínicos.

Resumos In this article, we intend to raise some considerations about the concept of fantasy, elaborated by Melanie Klein and expanded by Donald Winnicott, aiming at proposing a possible theoretical comparison between these two branches of psychoanalysis. For this purpose, we briefly present the concept of psychic development of these two authors and list some similarities and differences. Finally, we point out the advantages and difficulties of this type of comparative research, highlighting the aspects that characterize the uniqueness of the notion of fantasy in Kleinian and Winnicottian thought, as well as its usefulness in the narration of clinical examples.

Cet article soulève quelques considérations sur le concept de fantasme développé par Melanie Klein et élargi par Donald Winnicott, dans le but de proposer une comparaison théorique possible entre ces deux lignes de psychanalyse. Pour ce faire, nous présentons, bien que brièvement, le concept de développement psychique chez ces deux auteurs, en énumérant quelques similitudes et différences. Enfin, nous soulignons les avantages de ce type de recherche comparative et ses difficultés respectives, en mettant en évidence les aspects qui soulignent l'unicité de la notion de fantasme dans la pensée kleinienne et winnicottienne, ainsi que son utilité dans la narration d'exemples cliniques.

En este artículo, se pretende plantear algunas consideraciones sobre el concepto de fantasía, elaborado por Melanie Klein y ampliado por Donald Winnicott, en un intento de proponer una posible comparación teórica entre estas dos corrientes del psicoanálisis. Para ello, se presenta brevemente la concepción del desarrollo psíquico de estos dos autores, enumerando algunas semejanzas y diferencias. Finalmente, se señalan las ventajas de este tipo de investigación comparativa y sus respectivas dificultades, con foco en los aspectos que marcan la singularidad de la noción de fantasía en el pensamiento kleiniano y winnicottiano, así como su utilidad en el uso de ejemplos clínicos.

Improving Transparency in the Residency Application Process: Survey Study.

BACKGROUND: Increasing numbers of residency applications create challenges for applicants and residency programs to assess if they are a good fit during the residency application and match process. Applicants face limited or conflicting information as they assess programs, leading to overapplying. A holistic review of residency applications is considered a gold standard for programs, but the current volumes and associated time constraints leave programs relying on numerical filters, which do not predict success in residency. Applicants could benefit from increased transparency in the residency application process. OBJECTIVE: This study aims to determine the information applicants find most beneficial from residency programs when deciding where to apply, by type of medical school education background. METHODS: Match 2023 applicants voluntarily completed an anonymous survey through the Twitter and Instagram social media platforms. We asked the respondents to select 3 top factors from a multiple-choice list of what information they would like from residency programs to help determine if the characteristics of their application align with program values. We examined differences in helpful factors selected by medical school backgrounds using ANOVA. RESULTS: There were 4649 survey respondents. When responses were analyzed by United States-allopathic (US-MD), doctor of osteopathic medicine (DO), and international medical graduate (IMG) educational backgrounds, respondents chose different factors as most helpful: minimum United States Medical Licensing Examination (USMLE) or Comprehensive Osteopathic Medical Licensing Examination (COMLEX) Step 2 scores (565/3042, 18.57% US-MD; 485/3042, 15.9% DO; and 1992/3042, 65.48% IMG; P<.001), resident hometown region (281/1132, 24.82% US-MD; 189/1132, 16.7% DO; and 662/1132, 58.48% IMG; P=.02), resident medical school region (476/2179, 22% US-MD; 250/2179, 11.5% DO; and 1453/2179, 66.7% IMG; P=.002), and percent of residents or attendings underrepresented in medicine (417/1815, 22.98% US-MD; 158/1815, 8.71% DO; and 1240/1815, 68.32% IMG; P<.001). CONCLUSIONS: When applying to residency programs, this study found that the factors that respondents consider most helpful from programs in deciding where to apply differ by educational background. Across all educational groups, respondents want transparency around standardized exam scores, geography, and the racial or ethnic backgrounds of residents and attendings.

Aggressive sexual fantasy frequency outperforms other characteristics in cross-sectionally predicting self-reported sexual aggression in 4 samples.

BACKGROUND: Aggressive sexual fantasies (ASFs) have consistently been associated with sexual aggression measures. ASF frequency has mostly been used to indicate ASF, but other ASF characteristics may be important to explain the apparent gap between alleged high lifetime prevalence rates of ASF and lower sexual aggression rates-that is, why ASFs are only sometimes put into action. AIM: The present study therefore examined whether additional ASF characteristics show associations with sexual aggression measures above and beyond ASF frequency to identify the most relevant ASF characteristics. METHODS: The present study is based on cross-sectional survey data from 4 independent mostly community samples with 448, 131, 758, and 415 participants to examine whether ASF elaboration, intrusion, preoccupation, context, and consent were associated with self-reported sexual aggression measures beyond ASF frequency. OUTCOMES: Self-reported sexual aggression measures included presumably consensual and nonconsensual sexual sadism, self-reports on acting on ASF, sexual harassment, use of coercive strategies, and rape proclivity. RESULTS: The results showed positive correlations among all ASF characteristics. ASF frequency was the most consistent and often strongest predictor of sexual aggression across samples and outcome measures. ASF elaboration and/or its interaction with ASF frequency added to this prediction in study 1 but not in study 2. All other ASF characteristics in studies 1 to 4 either did not add to the predictions or yielded results contrary to expectations, mostly suggesting suppressor effects. CLINICAL IMPLICATIONS: Sexual medicine and forensic sexology researchers may want to consider ASF frequency in diagnostics and develop and refine interventions to reduce it in cases of clearly elevated levels. STRENGTHS AND LIMITATIONS: The strengths of the present study include considering 4 independent samples as well as a large number of ASF characteristics and sexual aggression measures. Its limitations include the reliance on cross-sectional data and not being able to examine the potential influences of all ASF characteristics in a single model. CONCLUSION: ASF frequency seems the most valid and reliable indicator of ASF and the most important associate of sexual aggression. It should be considered the main indicator of ASF by future research and in prevention efforts and risk assessment.

Neural representation of a one-week delay in remembering information after production and self-generated elaboration encoding strategy.

Many studies have confirmed the memory enhancement effect of production, generation and elaboration which can be effective after only one encoding. It is also known that greater memory enhancement effects can be obtained by combining multiple memory strategies during encoding. This study aimed to investigate whether the combination of production and self-generated elaboration enhances memory performance compared with production or generation alone. A total of 23 undergraduate and graduate students participated in this study. In the functional magnetic resonance imaging analysis, we explored the neural representation of remembering information after production and self-generated elaboration strategy. We set four encoding strategy conditions: (1) Read Silent (read without production), (2) Read Aloud (only production), (3) Add Silent (self-generated elaboration without production), (4) Add Aloud (production and self-generated elaboration). The retrieval performance and brain activity while retrieving the learned sentences after a one-week delay were examined. The behavioral results showed that the highest memory performance was for sentences encoded in Add Aloud. The interaction between production and self-generated elaboration was statistically significant. These results suggest that the memory enhancement effect of combining production and self-generated elaboration is not a simple addition nor synergistic facilitation effect. The imaging results showed that the following areas were related to the retrieval of the target encoded in the add aloud condition: the area related to integration of internal and external information (precuneus), area related to information rich stimuli (lateral occipital lobe), area related to self-involvement and inference of others' feelings (MPFC), area related to seen imagery (retrosplenial region) and area related to adjustment of movement (cerebellum). These results suggest that with an encoding strategy that combines production and self-generated elaboration, integrated auditory input of vocalizations and generated images, visual images of the scene, self-relevance, inference of other's feeling, movement by moving mouth are stored with the target and enhanced memory performance of AA.

Developing a special microwave oven: Assessment of its performance for dough fermentation and nutrient soup elaboration.

Bread and soup are two of the most important foods in daily life, thus dough fermentation and nutrient soup elaboration are more and more popular, but there is a lack of relevant low-cost and high-reliable household appliances on the market. Therefore, this paper proposes automatic control methods for dough fermentation and nutrient soup elaboration based on a special microwave oven. Fermentation theory, run-up microwave fermentation principle, microwave extraction principle, NTC temperature probe design and scalable fuzzy control algorithm are described in detail. Besides, the experimental platform is set up with a temperature chamber, an optical fiber thermometer and a power meter. Experimental results demonstrate that the relationship between the heating time and flour's mass is linear. For different ambient temperature tests, the volume ratios of the fermented dough to unfermented dough of different cases range from 2.2 to 2.62, and the inside of the dough after fermentation is fluffy, with small and dense cavities. Meanwhile, there is no acid taste and skin dryness, and the power consumption of microwave fermentation is less than half of that induced by grill, convection or steam fermentation. The detection error of the NTC temperature probe with microwave shielded is 0.48 °C, and the control error of the closed loop system is less than 0.5 °C. The temperature-rise slope of water is lower than that of ingredient, and the water's temperature is about 1 °C less than that of the ingredient. The soup after microwave elaboration is amber and clear, the ingredients are intact, the water loss is less than 50 g, and the total power consumption is 684 Wh. In short, microwave-based control methods for dough fermentation and nutrient soup elaboration are effective.

Effects of service attributes and competition on electronic word of mouth: an elaboration likelihood perspective.

The management of electronic word of mouth (eWOM) is critical in e-commerce. In this study, on the basis of the elaboration likelihood model (ELM), we constructed a model of factors influencing eWOM by dividing merchants' attributes into the central and peripheral routes, which correspond to consumers' systematic and heuristic cognitive modes respectively. We then tested the developed model by using a cross-sectional data set. The results of this study indicate that the degree of competition faced by merchants has a significant negative association with eWOM. Moreover, price level and location moderate the relationship between competition and eWOM. The services of reservation and group buying have positive associations with eWOM. This research has three main contributions. First, we explored the effect of competition on eWOM. Second, we validated the feasibility of applying the ELM to the catering industry by dividing merchant attributes into the central and peripheral routes; this approach is consistent with systematic and heuristic cognitive theories. Finally, this research provides practical suggestions for eWOM management in the catering industry.

Active screen time and imagination in 5-6-years-old children.

This research focused on the connection between such factors of the active screen time of preschoolers as the time spent playing computer games and parental participation in children's computer games on imagination in 5-6 years old children. The mothers of 772 children were asked to fill out questionnaires where they described how their children interact with gadgets. 371 of these children also participated in the test that assessed productive imagination using complete the drawing task (such parameters as flexibility, originality, elaboration were assessed). As a result of the study, no relationship was found between imagination and the time spent by preschoolers playing computer games. At the same time, this study revealed significant relationships between imagination and the characteristics of parental participation in the gadgets' usage by preschoolers. The research showed that imagination flexibility scores are significantly higher in children who use gadgets with siblings or peers than in those who often play alone or with an adult.