LLMs of Catan: Exploring Pragmatic Capabilities of Generative Chatbots Through Prediction and Classification of Dialogue Acts in Boardgames' Multi-party Dialogues

Human language interactions involve complex processes beyond pure information exchange, for example, actions aimed at influencing beliefs and behaviors within a communicative context. In this paper, we propose to investigate the dialogue understanding capabilities of large language models (LLMs), particularly in multi-party settings, where challenges like speaker identification and turn-taking are common. Through experiments on the game-based STAC dataset, we explore zero and few-shot learning approaches for dialogue act classification in a multi-party game setting. Our intuition is that LLMs may excel in tasks framed through examples rather than formal descriptions, influenced by a range of pragmatic features like information presentation order in prompts and others. We also explore the models{'} predictive abilities regarding future dialogue acts and study integrating information on dialogue act sequences to improve predictions. Our findings suggest that ChatGPT can keep up with baseline models trained from scratch for classification of certain dialogue act types but also reveal biases and limitations associated with the approach. These insights can be valuable for the development of multi-party chatbots and we try to point out directions for future research towards nuanced understanding and adaptation in diverse conversational context

Innovative tools for nitrogen fertilization traceability in organic farming products: a cauliflower case study

Different research works have been carried out over the years to investigate new and reliable systems to test the authenticity of products obtained using organic cultivation methods. Based on a previously proposed integrated approach for discriminating organic from conventional products through the acquisition of isotopic data and other chemical and biochemical parameters, we herein report the results of an open-field cultivation case study for cauliflower crop. Experiments were carried out on soil, leaves, and corymb samples of cauliflowers grown using six different nitrogen fertilization treatments (organic, conventional, and mixed at different % of mineral fertilizers). The results of this study have shown that a multivariate analysis of isotopic data (13C/12C; 15N/14N, 34S/32S, 2H/1H, and 18O/16O isotopic ratios) combined with other parameters (fresh weight, total soluble solids, total acidity, cut resistance, CIE L*, a*, b* color indices, head height, head diameter, ascorbic acid content, total polyphenols, and ORAC units) performed using the linear discriminant analysis method gives researchers the possibility to discriminate organic products from conventional ones. Our study highlighted that the different isotopic signatures impressed on the cauliflowers by the different nitrogenous sources combined with the qualitative pattern of the crop, significantly affected by the different treatments, could effectively be jointly used to trace the organic origin of the cro

Specific features of the intestinal mucosa of obese Zucker rats

Metabolic syndrome is a group of obesity-related metabolic abnormalities that increase an individual’s risk of developing type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. The obese Zucker rats (OZR) may represent a valuable animal model for studying several aspects of this increasingly prevalent problem in worldwide. In fact, the genetically obese (fa/fa) Zucker rats, due a recessive mutation of the leptin receptor gene (lepr), exhibit hyperphagia and develop hallmark features of metabolic syndrome, including hyperlipidemia, hypertension, insulin resistance, and increased adiposity and oxidative stress. Here, we report the preliminary results from our current studies aimed to investigate different metabolic markers in the OZR intestinal mucosa, compared with their lean counterparts (LZR). Starting from the important role attributed to carbohydrates in regulating the critical equilibrium of the intestinal environment, we applied lectin histochemistry to visualize the glycosylation pattern expressed in the OZR intestinal mucosa. The investigation was mainly focused to identification and in situ characterization of sialylated and fucosylated glycomponents which were directly demonstrated with SNA, MAL II, LTA, and UEA lectin binding. In addition, in order to look for additional and complementary information about sialic acid acetylation degree and sites, PNA and DBA lectin histochemistry was combined with sialidase predigestion, potassium hydroxide deacetylation, and differential periodate oxidation. As a parallel study, the distributional patterns of carbonic anhydrase (CA), the enzyme which is differently expressed in the gastrointestinal tract with several functions, such as regulation of cellular and extracellular acid-base homeostasis, salt absorption and fluid balance, were visualized. The immunohistochemical localization of the CA isoenzymes CAIV, CA IX, CA XII, and CA XIV was performed with the relevant specific antibodies. The complex of the data obtained suggest a marked modulation of the sialoglycoconjugate expression in the OZR intestinal epithelium, when compared with the LZR, to be considered as an interesting topic for further investigations

Rethinking First Language–Second Language Similarities and Differences in English Proficiency: Insights From the ENglish Reading Online (ENRO) Project

This article presents the ENglish Reading Online (ENRO) project that offers data on English reading and listening comprehension from 7,338 university-level advanced learners and native speakers of English representing 19 countries. The database also includes estimates of reading rate and seven component skills of English, including vocabulary, spelling, and grammar, as well as rich demographic and language background data. We first demonstrate high reliability for ENRO tests and their convergent validity with existing meta-analyses.We then provide a bird’s-eye view of first (L1) and second (L2) language comparisons and examine the relative role of various predictors of reading and listening comprehension and reading speed. Across analyses, we found substantially more overlap than differences between L1 and L2 speakers, suggesting that English reading proficiency is best considered across a continuum of skill, ability, and experiences spanning L1 and L2 speakers alike. We end by providing pointers for how researchers can mine ENRO data for future studies

NEUROPRAGMATIC PROCESSES OF COMPLEX COMMUNICATIVE INTERACTIONS: THE CASE OF IRONY. A MULTICOMPONENTIAL STUDY ON INFERENTIAL PROCESSES OF IRONY COMPREHENSION THROUGH PSYCHOMETRIC, NEUROPSYCHOLOGICAL AND PSYCOPHYSIOLOGICAL CORRELATES

Il presente lavoro di tesi intende approfondire lo studio di fenomeni comunicativi complessi all’interno del paradigma neuropragmatico. Attraverso l’integrazione di misure psicometriche, comportamentali, neuropsicologiche e psicofisiologiche, sono indagati i processi cognitivi ed emotivi alla base della comprensione della comunicazione ironica. Tre studi ERPs sono stati condotti focalizzando di volta in volta sulla dimensione linguistica (studio 1) e sullo script del fenomeno ironico, con particolare riferimento alla dimensione mimica e prosodica (studio 2) e alle modalità comunicative, visiva e uditiva (studio 3). I processi emotivi implicati nell'elaborazione di enunciati ironici sono ulteriormente esplorati in due studi comportamentali miranti ad esplorare le reazioni emotive in situazioni ironiche (studio 4) e la comprensione dell’ironia in un campione clinico (alcolisti cronici), con particolare riferimento ai deficit di teoria della mente ed empatia (studio 5).The present dissertation aims to investigate complex communicative phenomena within the frame of neuropragmatics. Through the integration of psychometric, behavioural, neuropsychological and psychophysiological measures, cognitive and emotional processes underlying irony comprehension are examined. In three ERPs studies, ironic decoding has been investigated with particular reference to its linguistic dimension (Experiment 1), to ironic scripts, focusing specifically on mimic and prosodic components (Experiment 2), and to communicative modalities (visual vs. auditory) (Experiment 3). Emotional processes involved in ironic sentences comprehension have been further explored in two behavioural studies, which focused specifically on emotional reactions to verbal irony (Experiment 4) and irony comprehension in a clinical sample (chronic alcoholics), with particular reference to theory of mind and empathy deficits (Experiment 5)

The Variable Mind? How Apparently Inconsistent Effects Might Inform Model Building

Model building is typically based on the identification of a set of established facts in any given field of research, insofar as the model is then evaluated on how well it accounts for these facts. Psychology – and specifically visual word identification and reading – is no exception in this sense (e.g., Amenta & Crepaldi, 2012; Coltheart et al., 2001; Grainger & Jacobs, 1996). What counts as an established fact, however, was never discussed in great detail. It was typically considered, for example, that experimental effects need to replicate across, e.g., individuals, experimental settings, and languages if they are to be believed. The emphasis was on consistency, perhaps under a tacit assumption that the universal principles lying behind our cognitive structures determine our behaviour for the most part (or at least for that part that is relevant for model building). There are signs that a different approach is growing up in reading research. On a theoretical ground, Dennis Norris’ Bayesian reader (2006, 2009) has advanced the idea that models can dispense of static forms of representation (i.e., fixed architectures), and process information in a way that is dynamically constrained by context-specific requirements. Ram Frost (2012) has focused on language-specific constraints in the development of general theories of reading. On an empirical ground, the most notable recent advance in visual word identification concern the demonstration that some previously established (in the classic sense) effects depend heavily on language (Velan and Frost, 2011), task (e.g., Duñabeitia et al., 2011; Marelli et al., 2013; Kinoshita and Norris, 2009), or even individual differences (Andrews & Lo, 2012, 2013). Variability has become an intrinsic and informative aspect of cognitive processing, rather than a sign of experimental weakness. This Research Topic aims at moving forward in this new direction by providing an outlet for experimental and theoretical papers that: (i) explore more in depth the theoretical basis for considering variability as an intrinsic property of the human cognitive system; (ii) highlight new context-dependent experimental effects, in a way that is informative on the dynamics of the underlying cognitive processing; (iii) shed new light on known context-dependent experimental effects, again in a way that enhances their theoretical informativeness