The College at Brockport, State University of New York

Moving beyond simple comparisons between AI and human evaluators, this study investigates how users respond to feedback as a function of evaluator type (AI vs. human), feedback valence (positive vs. negative), and authority framing (high vs. low). Drawing on Psychological Distance Theory and Expectation Violation Theory, we propose an interactionist model in which feedback effectiveness depends on the joint configuration of these factors. Using a 2 & times; 2 & times; 2 between-subjects experiment with 353 participants, we examined the effects of evaluator type, feedback valence, and authority cues on perceived productivity and word-of-mouth intentions. Findings highlight that AI-mediated evaluation operates in a conditional rather than uniform. AI performs best as a credible source of data-driven positive reinforcement when authority is clearly established, but is vulnerable to resistance when delivering negative feedback without sufficient legitimacy cues. The results support hybrid evaluation systems that leverage AI and human strengths in complementary ways rather than positioning AI.

In 2023, more than half of olive harvests ( Olea europaea ) across Spain, Greece, and Türkiye were lost to drought. The same year late freeze destroyed 90% of the peach crop ( Prunus persica ) on the Georgia Piedmont and the apple crop ( Malus domestica ) in central New York, Vermont, and southern Quebec. Climate extremes now rank with the costliest threats to agriculture, but their role in forest recovery from diebacks that are happening globally is unknown for lack of tree fecundity estimates in forests. Tolerance of climate extremes could depend on past exposure but constrained by phylogenetic conservatism. We report a continental scale analysis of climate extremes and forest fecundity across North America and Europe showing that responses to late freeze and drought are happening now. Species differences are not explained by the traits typically included in ecological studies and they are weakly associated with phylogeny. Late freeze, that is, freezing temperatures that follow the onset of flower development in spring, is shown to be “normal” in North America, but not Europe, potentially explaining failed seed production due to delayed onset and the resultant shorter growing period by North American transplants dating back at least to the 18th century. Drought has thus far had the greatest impacts in dry forested regions, but here too, species differences are not explained by traditional trait values. If responses have been buffered from drought and late freeze by past exposure, acclimation and local adaptation prove inadequate as extremes intensify.

We show that weighted composition operators on weighted Bergman spaces are Toeplitz operators with bounded harmonic symbols if and only if they are multiplication operators.

Abstract Choline amino acid protic ionic liquids (PILs) have emerged as promising candidates for sustainable lubrication due to their tunable structures, low toxicity, and strong interfacial activity. In this study, a series of ten choline amino acid PILs, incorporating aliphatic, branched, multifunctional, and aromatic amino acid anions, were synthesized and systematically characterized to establish structure–property relationships relevant to lubrication applications. The physicochemical behavior of the PILs was investigated through viscosity measurements, ionic conductivity analyses, thermal characterization, wettability assessment, miscibility evaluation with polar and nonpolar base oils, and corrosion studies on copper surfaces. Their lubricating performance when used as boundary lubricants was assessed. The results reveal a strong dependence of bulk and interfacial properties on the anion structure. PILs containing compact aliphatic anions exhibited low viscosities and high ionic conductivities, reflecting weak intermolecular interactions and high ion mobility. In contrast, PILs with branched, aromatic, or multifunctional anions displayed higher viscosities and reduced conductivities because of enhanced hydrogen bonding, steric effects, and supramolecular structuring. Notably, the aspartic acid-containing PIL showed significantly elevated viscosity compared with other small-anion systems, highlighting the dominant influence of multiple carboxylic acid functionalities. Thermal analysis indicated generally high stability for moderate-temperature lubrication applications across the series, with aromatic and multifunctional systems exhibiting increased glass transition temperatures and decomposition resistance. Wettability and miscibility studies demonstrated that the interfacial behavior is governed by both side-chain chemistry and substrate or solvent polarity, with clear differences observed between steel and aluminum surfaces and between ester- and PAO-based oils. Corrosivity evaluations showed that PILs with small, highly mobile anions promote greater surface reactivity on copper, whereas bulkier or multifunctional anions provide improved surface stability through reduced ion mobility and steric shielding. Tribological evaluation through reciprocating sliding friction and wear tests revealed trends consistent with the observed structure–property relationships, supporting the relevance of the measured physicochemical properties to lubrication performance. This work establishes a comprehensive framework linking molecular structure to physicochemical and interfacial behavior in choline amino acid PILs. The findings provide insight into the design of environmentally compatible ionic liquids with tailored properties and potential for lubrication and related applications.

Capturing birds for external transmitter attachment allows researchers to collect abundant movement and behavioural data across spatial and temporal gradients but can expose birds to additional stress due to prolonged handling, sometimes leading to mortality. We investigated the effects of individual bander, age, body mass and temperature on the short-term, post-release survival of mallards in eastern North America. We found that during a 15-day period post-release, mallards had a period survival rate of 0.97, with greatest mortality during the first two days after capture and during extended exposure to cold temperatures, regardless of body mass or age. Our results demonstrate the importance of contextualizing post-release survival in large tracking device projects, as environmental stressors and banding practices vary.