A new clinical tool for assessing numerical abilities in neurological diseases: numerical activities of daily living

The aim of this study was to build an instrument, the numerical activities of daily living (NADL), designed to identify the specific impairments in numerical functions that may cause problems in everyday life. These impairments go beyond what can be inferred from the available scales evaluating activities of daily living in general, and are not adequately captured by measures of the general deterioration of cognitive functions as assessed by standard clinical instruments like the MMSE and MoCA. We assessed a control group (n = 148) and a patient group affected by a wide variety of neurological conditions (n = 175), with NADL along with IADL, MMSE, and MoCA. The NADL battery was found to have satisfactory construct validity and reliability, across a wide age range. This enabled us to calculate appropriate criteria for impairment that took into account age and education. It was found that neurological patients tended to overestimate their abilities as compared to the judgment made by their caregivers, assessed with objective tests of numerical abilities

Evaluating the Impact of Export Finance Support On Firm-level Export Performance: Evidence from Pakistan

This paper evaluates the impact of two export finance support schemes: The Export Finance Scheme (EFS) and the Long-Term Finance Facility for Plant & Machinery (LTFF) on firm-level export performance. These policies offer loans to exporters at concessionary interest rates to finance short-term working capital and long-term investment in machinery and equipment respectively. To do so, we combine customs data with information about which firms participate in each scheme and the value of the loans they obtain between 2015 and 2017. We find that EFS and LTFF increased the growth rate of exports sales by 7 and 8-11 percentage points respectively. Neither policy exerts a significant impact on the number of products that a firm exports or the number of foreign countries it sells to. Our analysis indicates that facilitating long-term investment in physical capital is more cost effective to raise exports than subsidizing exporters' working capital needs

La cianita de O Pino (Santiago): caracterización, purificación e aplicaciones.

Resumen] Se caracteriza e identifica un tipo de cianita de aluvión «canto rodado» localizado en el Ayuntamiento de O Pino próximo a Santiago. Se estudia la purificación de la cianita después de su calcinación a temperaturas del orden de los 1.400-1.450 oC para su estabilización mediante transformación en mullita. El método seguido fue una separación electromagnética de alta intensidad del todo-uno previo acondicionamiento de las fracciones granulométricas. Las impurezas que acompañan a la cianita, principalmente óxido de hierro, funden rodeando los granos y dando lugar a especies de baja susceptibilidad magnética. Se propone otro método de purificación basado en hacer la separación rnagnética antes de la calcinación con lo que se logran mejores resultados obteniéndose una cianita de alta pureza pero con una granulometría por debajo de 1 mm. Se estudian las variables que influyen principalmente en la transformación a mullita durante la calcinación. Por último se ensaya el empleo de esta cianita en la preparación de diversas composiciones de cerámica técnica y la fabricación de piezas de aplicación en los laboratorios de control de la industria siderúrgica que en la actualidad están ya comercializándose.[Abstract] One type of alluvial kyanite (rolling stones) located at the region around O Pino, near of Santiago in A Coruña province, is characterized and identified. Refining of kyanite after heating in at temperatures ranging 14001450 oC for to stabilize it by transformation into mullite is studied. The method employed was an high intensity magnetic separation after size c1assification. The impurities of this kyanite, mainly iron oxides, melt surrounding the grains which are of low magnetic susceptibility. An alternative way of purification is proposed. This second method is based on making magnetic separation before calcination, and it gives better results obtaining an high purity kyanite, but with grain size below 1mm. Variables with main influence over the conversion into mullite during heating are studied. Finally compositions made with this kyanite are tested. These pastes are employed in technical ceramics and in making pieces for use in tests of iron and steel industries and that actually are in the marke

Towards Autopoietic Computing

A key challenge in modern computing is to develop systems that address complex, dynamic problems in a scalable and efficient way, because the increasing complexity of software makes designing and maintaining efficient and flexible systems increasingly difficult. Biological systems are thought to possess robust, scalable processing paradigms that can automatically manage complex, dynamic problem spaces, possessing several properties that may be useful in computer systems. The biological properties of self-organisation, self-replication, self-management, and scalability are addressed in an interesting way by autopoiesis, a descriptive theory of the cell founded on the concept of a system's circular organisation to define its boundary with its environment. In this paper, therefore, we review the main concepts of autopoiesis and then discuss how they could be related to fundamental concepts and theories of computation. The paper is conceptual in nature and the emphasis is on the review of other people's work in this area as part of a longer-term strategy to develop a formal theory of autopoietic computing.Comment: 10 Pages, 3 figure

Noncommutative Lattices and Their Continuum Limits

We consider finite approximations of a topological space $M$ by noncommutative lattices of points. These lattices are structure spaces of noncommutative $C^*$-algebras which in turn approximate the algebra \cc(M) of continuous functions on $M$. We show how to recover the space $M$ and the algebra \cc(M) from a projective system of noncommutative lattices and an inductive system of noncommutative $C^*$-algebras, respectively.Comment: 22 pages, 8 Figures included in the LaTeX Source New version, minor modifications (typos corrected) and a correction in the list of author

Quasars Clustering at z approx 3 on Scales less sim 10 h^{-1} Mpc

We test the hypothesis whether high redshift QSOs would preferentially appear in small groups or pairs, and if they are associated with massive, young clusters. We carried out a photometric search for \Ly emitters on scales $\lesssim 10 h^{-1}$ Mpc, in the fields of a sample of 47 $z\approx3$ known QSOs. Wide and narrow band filter color-magnitude diagrams were generated for each of the $6'.6\times6'.6$ fields. A total of 13 non resolved objects with a significant color excess were detected as QSO candidates at a redshift similar to that of the target. All the candidates are significantly fainter than the reference QSOs, with only 2 of them within 2 magnitudes of the central object. Follow-up spectroscopic observations have shown that 5, i.e., about 40% of the candidates, are QSOs at the same redshift of the target; 4 are QSOs at different z (two of them probably being a lensed pair at z = 1.47); 2 candidates are unresolved HII galaxies at z$\sim$0.3; one unclassified and one candidate turned out to be a CCD flaw. These data indicate that at least 10% of the QSOs at z$\sim$3 do have companions. We have also detected a number of resolved, rather bright \Ly Emitter Candidates. Most probably a large fraction of them might be bright galaxies with [OII] emission, at z$\approx$ 0.3. The fainter population of our candidates corresponds to the current expectations. Thus, there are no strong indication for the existence of an overdensity of \Ly galaxies brighter than m $\approx$ 25 around QSOs at $z\approx$ 3.Comment: 29 pages, 8 figures, tar gzip LaTex file, accepted to appear in Ap

Variabilidade e tendencias interanuais no fitoplancto mariño das costas de Galicia

13 páginas, 2 tablas, 7 figuras[EN] The available information on phytoplankton biomass and species composition in Galician waters was studied to find out their spatial variability as well as the annual trends. The areas covered included the oceanic zone, the shelf and the inner part of the Rías. In general a significant drop in diatoms was observed. The series also indicated an increase in dinoflagellates, although it was not statistically significant. The diatom species related to blooms in the area declined, whereas those indicative of weak upwelling or stratificacion showed an increase. Even though not all trends were significant, the available data are consistent with the decrease in upwelling intensity over the last 40 years. The results also suggest that effects of climate changes on phytoplankton may be delayed for several years. In any case, the large oceanographic variability of the region, along with the lack of continuity of some o[GA] Co obxecto de coñecer a variabilidade espacial e as tendencias interanuais do fitoplancto galego, estudáronse as series de datos históricos dispoñibles para Galicia, abarcando desde a zona oceánica ata as zonas máis costeiras das rías e a plataforma continental. En xeral, observouse unha diminución significativa das diatomeas, especialmente na zona oceánica. Tamén hai indicios dun incremento, aínda que non significativo, dos dinoflaxelados. O descenso das diatomeas foi debido á caída das abundancias de especies propias de floracións, tanto primaverais como estivais asociadas ao afloramento. Así mesmo, aumentaron as especies de diatomeas propias de afloramentos febles ou estratificación. Malia que non todas as tendencias foron significativas, os resultados son coherentes cunha diminución da intensidade do afloramento nos últimos 40 anos e un cambio nas condicións climáticas desde a década de 1980. Os resultados indican que os efectos dos cambios climáticos sobre o fitoplancto se poden manifestar con varios anos de retardo. Con todo, a alta variabilidade oceanográfica da zona, especialmente de alta frecuencia, e mais a falta de continuidade de moitas series de datos dificultan o establecemento de relacións claras entre cambios ambientais e o fitoplanctoEsta análise das tendencias do fitoplancto en Galicia foi financiada parcialmente pola Consellería de Medio Ambiente e Desenvolvemento Sostible (Programa CLIGAL) e polo proxecto REFORZA (PGIDT06RMA60401PR) da Consellería de Innovación e Industria da Xunta de Galicia. O traballo de María Huete-Ortega estivo financiado polo Programa Predoutoral de Formación de Profesorado Universitario do Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia.Peer reviewe

Escape the lion cage: Social networks by catch zones of small-scale fisheries in the oil settlement of Lobitos (Peru)

Artisanal fishing communities are often in conflict with the interests of the oil extraction industry, industrial fishing fleets and tourism. This paper considers Lobitos, a fishing enclave in northern Peru, where the oldest oil settlement in Latin America was established. The primary focus is community organization and development of the fisheries. Using a mixed methods approach, intensive ethnographic observation and analysis of the social networks of the skippers of small-scale fishing vessels was conducted by in-depth interviews with 30 artisanal fishermen, together with a social network survey involving 43 boat captains in Lobitos. The results showed the mistrust and negative attitudes of fishermen towards oil companies and the industrial fishing fleet. However, they expressed positive expectations regarding tourism development, as well as favorable attitudes towards the diversification of fishing activity through tourist services. The networks of acquaintances, social support and exchange of ecological information allowed us to identify three different groups of fishermen according to preferential fishing zones. The skippers of vessels that prefer to fish in intermediate zones have a prominent role, both in terms of local leadership and through the connection with boats belonging to other bays near Lobitos. This subgroup acts as an intermediary in the networks a whole and has an integrated vision of the coastal ecosystem. Network measures and preferential fishing zones can be used as indicators to assess the degree of availability and preparation for the implementation of new uses in the fisheries sector associated with tourism and heritage