Influence of electromagnetic interferences on the gravimetric sensitivity of surface acoustic waveguides

Surface acoustic waveguides are increasing in interest for (bio)chemical detection. The surface mass modification leads to measurable changes in the propagation properties of the waveguide. Among a wide variety of waveguides, Love mode has been investigated because of its high gravimetric sensitivity. The acoustic signal launched and detected in the waveguide by electrical transducers is accompanied by an electromagnetic wave; the interaction of the two signals, easily enhanced by the open structure of the sensor, creates interference patterns in the transfer function of the sensor. The influence of these interferences on the gravimetric sensitivity is presented, whereby the structure of the entire sensor is modelled. We show that electromagnetic interferences generate an error in the experimental value of the sensitivity. This error is different for the open and the closed loop configurations of the sensor. The theoretical approach is completed by the experimentation of an actual Love mode sensor operated under liquid in open loop configuration. The experiment indicates that the interaction depends on the frequency and the mass modifications.Comment: 28 pages, 8 figure

The relationship between personal financial wellness and financial wellbeing: A structural equation modelling approach

We examined the construct of financial wellness and its relationship to personal wellbeing, with a focus on the role of financial literacy. Gender comparisons are made using a structural equation modeling analysis including personal wellbeing, financial satisfaction, financial status, financial behavior, financial attitude, and financial knowledge. Males ranked higher in financial satisfaction and financial knowledge whereas females ranked higher in personal wellbeing. Joo’s (2008) concept of financial wellness as multidimensional is supported though the result is improved when a causal model of sub-components is estimated. The relationship of all variables to personal wellbeing is mediated by financial satisfaction, with gender differences: In females the main source of financial satisfaction is financial status whereas in males it is financial knowledge

The relationship between cognitive ability and chess skill: a comprehensive meta-analysis

Why are some people more skilled in complex domains than other people? Here, we conducted a meta-analysis to evaluate the relationship between cognitive ability and skill in chess. Chess skill correlated positively and significantly with fluid reasoning (Gf) (r−=0.24), comprehension-knowledge (Gc) (r−=0.22), short-term memory (Gsm) (r−=0.25), and processing speed (Gs) (r−=0.24); the meta-analytic average of the correlations was (r−=0.24). Moreover, the correlation between Gf and chess skill was moderated by age (r−=0.32 for youth samples vs. r−=0.11 for adult samples), and skill level (r−=0.32 for unranked samples vs. r−=0.14 for ranked samples). Interestingly, chess skill correlated more strongly with numerical ability (r−=0.35) than with verbal ability (r−=0.19) or visuospatial ability (r−=0.13). The results suggest that cognitive ability contributes meaningfully to individual differences in chess skill, particularly in young chess players and/or at lower levels of skill

Degradación de suelos sometidos a diferentes temperaturas de calentamiento

Ponencia presentada en la Jornada Argentina de Conservación de Suelos. Buenos Aires, 2 al 4 de Julio de 2013Los fuegos naturales y los controlados por el hombre son frecuentes en los ambientes de llanura y sierras de la provincia de Córdoba, son uno de los mayores problemas ecológicos en los bosques debido a su frecuencia e intensidad. La cantidad de calor transferido al suelo y duración del evento determinan la severidad del impacto en las propiedades físicas del sistema edáfico, sus constituyentes químicos y componentes biológicos. La ganancia transitoria en la fertilidad edáfica, debido a la inmediata disponibilidad de algunos nutrientes contenidos en las cenizas de los residuos orgánicos, se contrapone con la gran pérdida de nutrientes, especialmente del nitrógeno total debido a su volatilización, de materia particulada presente en el humo y en los movimientos convectivos producidos durante la combustión de la vegetación. El impacto de la quema en el ambiente depende de dos factores, el tiempo de residencia (duración) y el rango de energía térmica (intensidad) del fuego. Por lo tanto es importante la interpretación de los efectos que producen diferentes temperaturas de calentamiento sobre cada suelo particular. El objetivo de este estudio fue cuantificar la degradación en algunas propiedades físicas y químicas de dos suelos con diferente composición granulométrica y uso antrópico, producida por distintas temperaturas de calentamiento (100º a 500ºC), bajo condiciones de laboratorio. Los suelos estudiados se clasificaron como Haplustol údico, de textura franca fina (suelos aluviales) y Argiustol údico, de textura limosa fina (suelos loessoides). Las muestras de los 5 cm superiores del epipedón se sometieron a las siguientes temperaturas: 100°, 200°, 300°, 400° y 500°C. En las muestras, de ambos suelos, sin calentamiento (control) y las sometidas a las distintas temperaturas se analizaron propiedades físicas: granulometría, densidad real y humedad higroscópica y propiedades químicas: pH, carbono oxidable (Cox), nitrógeno total (Nt), cationes de intercambio (Ca+2 + Mg+2, Na+ + K+), capacidad de intercambio catiónico (CIC), fósforo extractable (Pe) y conductividad eléctrica (CE). Utilizando la técnica estadística de análisis de componentes principales con la matriz de datos obtenidos, se determinó que las variables edáficas Cox, Nt, pH, Ca+2 + Mg+2 y Pe explican las diferencias de comportamiento dependiendo de la temperatura alcanzada (Figura 1). A 300ºC se producen los cambios más significativos con respecto al suelo control. Mientras que a 500ºC estas modificaciones son irreversibles, debido a que se produce el colapso de la fracción inorgánica coloidal y la disminución del 90% de la fracción orgánica. Estas variables edáficas, en forma conjunta, controlan los procesos de adsorción-desorción de cationes y almacenamiento de agua en los suelos. Las variables densidad real, humedad higroscópica, contenido de limo total, Cox, pH, CE y CIC presentaron un comportamiento similar en las diferentes temperaturas de calentamiento estudiadas, independientemente del material parental y las condiciones de uso del suelo. Estas propiedades edáficas definen la degradación de suelos por el efecto de calentamiento.Fil: Soria, P. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Cátedra de Cartografía y Conservación de Suelos; Argentina.Fil: Campitelli, Paola Andrea. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Laboratorio de Coloides de Suelo; Argentina.Fil: Sacchi, Gabriela. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas, Físicas y Naturales. Cátedra de Cartografía y Conservación de Suelos; Argentina.Fil: Ceppi, Silvia Beatriz. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Agropecuarias. Laboratorio de Coloides de Suelo; Argentina

Effective connectivity reveals strategy differences in an expert calculator

Mathematical reasoning is a core component of cognition and the study of experts defines the upper limits of human cognitive abilities, which is why we are fascinated by peak performers, such as chess masters and mental calculators. Here, we investigated the neural bases of calendrical skills, i.e. the ability to rapidly identify the weekday of a particular date, in a gifted mental calculator who does not fall in the autistic spectrum, using functional MRI. Graph-based mapping of effective connectivity, but not univariate analysis, revealed distinct anatomical location of “cortical hubs” supporting the processing of well-practiced close dates and less-practiced remote dates: the former engaged predominantly occipital and medial temporal areas, whereas the latter were associated mainly with prefrontal, orbitofrontal and anterior cingulate connectivity. These results point to the effect of extensive practice on the development of expertise and long term working memory, and demonstrate the role of frontal networks in supporting performance on less practiced calculations, which incur additional processing demands. Through the example of calendrical skills, our results demonstrate that the ability to perform complex calculations is initially supported by extensive attentional and strategic resources, which, as expertise develops, are gradually replaced by access to long term working memory for familiar material

Checking the academic selection argument. Chess players outperform non-chess players in cognitive skills related to intelligence: a meta-analysis

Substantial research in the psychology of expertise has shown that experts in several fields (e.g., science, mathematics) perform better than non-experts on standardized tests of intelligence. This evidence suggests that intelligence plays an important role in the acquisition of expertise. However, a counter argument is that the difference between experts and non-experts is not due to individuals' traits but to academic selection processes. For instance, in science, high scores on standardized tests (e.g., SAT and then GRE) are needed to be admitted to a university program for training. Thus, the “academic selection process” hypothesis is that expert vs. non-expert differences in cognitive ability reflect ability-related differences in access to training opportunities. To test this hypothesis, we focused on a domain in which there are no selection processes based on test scores: chess. This meta-analysis revealed that chess players outperformed non-chess players in intelligence-related skills (d−=0.49). Therefore, this outcome does not corroborate the academic selection process argument, and consequently, supports the idea that access to training alone cannot explain expert performance

EROS 2.0 study: evaluation of two interventional radiotherapy (brachytherapy) schedules for endometrial cancer: a comparison of late vaginal toxicity rates

Background To compare the late toxicity rates after two different high dose rate (HDR) adjuvant intravaginal interventional radiotherapy (IRT-brachytherapy) dose schedules in stage I-II endometrial cancer. Methods Stage I-II patients with endometrial cancer treated with surgery (with or without lymphadenectomy) and adjuvant HDR-IRT between 2014 and 2020 were included in this analysis. Patients were treated with two schedules. In the first cohort (C1), 21 Gy were delivered in three weekly fractions (7 Gy) prescribed 0.5 cm from the applicator surface. In the second cohort (C2), 24 Gy were delivered in four weekly fractions (6 Gy). The clinical target volume was the upper third of the vagina for C1 and the upper 3 cm for C2. HDR-IRT technique and point prescription (5 mm depth from the applicator surface) were the same for all patients. Vaginal toxicity was scored according to the CTCAE 5.0 scale in terms of the presence versus absence of any toxicity grade. The correlation among toxicity and clinical covariates (age, lymphadenectomy, fractionation, stage) was tested by Pearson correlation test (univariate) and by logistic regression (multivariable). Results 114 stage I and three stage II patients, median age 62 (range: 32-85) years, were included in this analysis. The mean follow-up was 56.3 months in C1 (40-76) and 20 months in C2 (8-42). Vaginal late toxicity was recorded in 40 and 15 patients in C1 and 2, respectively. Age, lymphadenectomy, and fractionation were significantly correlated with toxicity at univariate analysis (p value = 0.029, 0.006, and 0.002, respectively), while stepwise logistic regression confirmed only age and fractionation as significantly correlated parameters (p value = 0.02 and 0.001, respectively). Three-year local relapse-free, distant metastasis-free and cause-specific survival rates were 96.6%, 94.8%, and 99.1%, respectively. Conclusions This analysis showed lower vaginal late toxicity rate in C2 compared to C1

Cultural, cognitive and personality traits in risk-taking behaviour: evidence from Poland and the United States of America

The study analyses the susceptibility to risk-taking behaviour in relation to cultural, cognitive and personality traits. For the requirements of the research, undergraduate students with the same major but from two different cultural regions (Poland and the USA) were examined. In order to better understand them, the ten-item personality inventory (TIPI) method–a 10-item measure of the Big-Five personality dimensions–was used. A domain-specific risk-taking (DOSPERT) scale was used to assess risk-taking, while cognitive aspects of behaviour were measured by a cognitive reflection test. It is important to point out that Polish stu- dents reported significantly greater proneness to risk-taking than their American counterparts. It was revealed that participants scoring highly in the cognitive reflection test were characterised with lower risk-taking propensity. Consistent with past research, high scores in extraversion and low scores in conscientiousness predicted overall risk-taking behaviour. As follows from the study, men reported significantly greater willingness to take risks than wome

It Takes Two–Skilled Recognition of Objects Engages Lateral Areas in Both Hemispheres

Our object recognition abilities, a direct product of our experience with objects, are fine-tuned to perfection. Left temporal and lateral areas along the dorsal, action related stream, as well as left infero-temporal areas along the ventral, object related stream are engaged in object recognition. Here we show that expertise modulates the activity of dorsal areas in the recognition of man-made objects with clearly specified functions. Expert chess players were faster than chess novices in identifying chess objects and their functional relations. Experts' advantage was domain-specific as there were no differences between groups in a control task featuring geometrical shapes. The pattern of eye movements supported the notion that experts' extensive knowledge about domain objects and their functions enabled superior recognition even when experts were not directly fixating the objects of interest. Functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) related exclusively the areas along the dorsal stream to chess specific object recognition. Besides the commonly involved left temporal and parietal lateral brain areas, we found that only in experts homologous areas on the right hemisphere were also engaged in chess specific object recognition. Based on these results, we discuss whether skilled object recognition does not only involve a more efficient version of the processes found in non-skilled recognition, but also qualitatively different cognitive processes which engage additional brain areas

Integrating population-wide laboratory testing data with physician audit-and-feedback reports to improve glycemic and cholesterol control among Ontarians with diabetes

Introduction Improving the care and management of patients with diabetes, particularly those with extreme blood glucose and/or cholesterol levels, has been identified as a key priority area for healthcare in Ontario. A multi-organizational collaboration produces audit-and-feedback reports distributed to consenting primary care physicians across the province for quality improvement purposes. Objectives and Approach We examined the feasibility of linking the Ontario Laboratory Information System (OLIS), a large and nearly population-wide database of laboratory test results in Ontario, with the existing provincial audit-and-feedback reporting structure to integrate aggregated, physician-level measures of glycemic and cholesterol control among patients with diabetes. All Ontario residents alive on March 31, 2014, attached to a primary care physician, and diagnosed with diabetes for at least two years were included. These patients were linked to OLIS to extract laboratory test orders and results for glycated hemoglobin (HbA1C) and low-density lipoproteins (LDL) between April 1, 2013 and March 31, 2014. Results There were 1,108,530 diabetes patients included who were assigned to 10,085 primary care physicians. During fiscal year (FY) 2013, 70%, 64%, and 59% of diabetes patients were tested for HbA1C, LDL, and both measures, respectively. Among the 648,238 diabetes patients with at least one of each test in FY2013, 13% had a HbA1C test exceeding a threshold of 9%, 4% had a LDL test exceeding a threshold of 4 mmol/L, and 0.8% exceeded both thresholds. At the physician-level, the median (Interquartile Range) proportions of diabetes patients exceeding the testing thresholds were 12% (9%-16%) for HbA1c and 4% (2%-6%) for LDL. In a multilevel logistic regression model, there was significant between-physician variability in the proportions of diabetes patients exceeding the HbA1C (p Conclusion/Implications We developed a mechanism for integrating population-wide, clinical laboratory test results into physician audit-and-feedback reports to improve diabetes care in Ontario. Significant variation observed in the aggregated, physician-level proportions of diabetes patients testing above clinical thresholds for HbA1C and LDL highlights the importance of reporting such information to physicians