Comparison of safflower oil extraction kinetics at two characteristic moisture conditions: Statistical analysis of non-linear model parameters

In this study the kinetics of oil extraction from partially dehulled safflower seeds at two moisture conditions (7 and 9% dry basis) was investigated. The extraction essays were performed using a stirred batch system, thermostated at 50 ºC, using n-hexane as solvent. The data obtained were fitted to a modified diffusion model in order to represent the extraction kinetics. The model took into account a washing and a diffusive step. Fitting parameters were compared statistically at both moisture conditions. The oil yield was increased in the extraction time in both cases, although the oil was released at different rates. A comparison of the parameters showed that both the extracted portion in the washing phase and the effective diffusion coefficient were moisture-dependent. The effective diffusivity was 2.81 10-12 and 8.06 10-13 m2 s-1 for a moisture content of 7% and 9%, respectively.Fil: Baumler, Erica Raquel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingenieria Olavarria. Departamento de Ingenieria Quimica; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, María Belén. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingenieria Olavarria. Departamento de Ingenieria Quimica; ArgentinaFil: Nolasco, Susana Maria. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingenieria Olavarria. Departamento de Ingenieria Quimica; ArgentinaFil: Perez, Ethel. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Bahía Blanca. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química. Universidad Nacional del Sur. Planta Piloto de Ingeniería Química; Argentina. Universidad Nacional del Centro de la Provincia de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingenieria Olavarria. Departamento de Ingenieria Quimica; Argentin

The relationship between the three models of emotional intelligence and psychopathy: a systematic review

Psychopaths are usually characterized as having numerous troubles with social and emotional facets in their daily. In addition, these individuals generate a series of harmful situations to society, such as violence and crime. Due to this, it is very important to find those variables that can reduce these behaviors. In this regard, Emotional Intelligence (EI) or the ability to perceive, use, understand and regulate emotions is a potentially useful variable. EI has been categorized according to three main approaches: performance-based ability, self-report ability and self-report mixed models. Several studies have analyzed the relationship between EI and psychopathy, however inconsistent results have been found. These inconsistencies may be due to the EI model employed to measure it. The objective of our study is to systematically review the previous literature about the relationship between the three models of EI and psychopathy, both in the clinical and total population.Scopus and Medline were searched for finding relevant articles. 29 eligible studies were identified. The results were divided according to the EI model and the population used.The results for both the total and clinical population differ according to the measure of EI employed. Specifically, through performance-based ability models, the majority of studies find a negative relationship between EI and psychopathy, and when EI is measured using self-reports, the results are inconsistent. In conclusion, the results suggest that higher EI abilities measured through performance-based ability models - but not through self-reports - are related to lower psychopathy deficits. Limitations and clinical implications are discussed.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Influence of emotional intelligence on performance in an emotionally Laden Cognitive Task: an ERP Study.

A higher level of emotional intelligence (EI), understood as a greater ability to perceive, use, understand, and manage emotions, is associated with an increase in performance on emotionally laden cognitive tasks. The main objective of this research was to study the neural basis underlying the execution of an emotional cognitive control task (GoNogo) as a function of ability EI. Forty-four participants were divided into two groups depending on EI level (High EI vs. Low EI). The participants’ task consisted of an emotional face GoNogo task, in which happy, fear and neutral facial expressions were the go and no go stimulus. Results showed a larger N170 and smaller N2 amplitude for the low EI group than for the high EI one. Greater levels of cognitive control were associated to participants with high EI. Our findings show the importance of studying emotion and cognition interaction to explain our behavior and performance. This work was partially supported by the project Innovation and Development Agency of Andalusia, Spain (SEJ-07325) to Pablo Fernández-Berrocal. Alberto Megías is supported by a Juan de la Cierva postdoctoral fellowship from the Spanish MINECO (FJCI-2015-25600).Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Emotional intelligence and hot and cool working memory capacity

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is the ability to perceive, use, understand and manage our emotions and the emotions of others. EI, measured through performance-based ability models, seems to favour performance on hot tasks. The aim of the present study is to analyse the relationship between EI, measured through its three main models, and performance on a hot (emotional) and cool (non-emotional) working memory task. 203 undergraduate students of psychology took part in the experiment. They completed an EI test for each of its three main models (performance-based ability model, self-report ability model and self-report mixed model) and a hot and cool working memory task. We found a better performance for higher EI participants, measured through the performance-based ability model instrument (but not with self-report instruments), in the hot working memory task. This result was obtained for the managing branch of the EI instrument. Similar evidence was not found when using the cool working memory task. Our study takes a step forward in the conceptualization of the EI construct within the domain of cognitive processes. They show that, at least when using hot stimuli, the managing branch of the performance-based ability model of EI is a better determinant measure for the working memory capacity than the self-report models.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Are psychopaths emotionally intelligent?

Psychopathy is a serious personality disorder, characterized by proneness to low anxiety, egocentricity, failure to form close emotional bonds, superficial charm and dishonesty, that has very negative consequences for society as aggression, delinquency and even crime. Therefore, its control and treatment are of great importance. Psychopathy has been related to important emotional deficits as such as a lack of impulse, low empathy and deficits in moral expressions. These findings have led to a growing interest in exploring if psychopathic traits are associated with emotional intelligence (EI) or to the ability to perceive, use, understand, and regulate emotions in one’s self and others. However, the literature exploring this association has revealed conflicting results. The aim of the present study was to provide a reliable estimate of the relationship between psychopathy traits and EI (measured as performance-based ability) through meta-analysis. A quantitative and systematic review of the literature using Scopus, Medline, Pubmed, and PsicINFO and for both Spanish and English studies that included measures of EI and psychopathy, showed a total of 13 studies meeting inclusion criteria with a combined sample of 2401 participants. The meta-analysis revealed a significant negative relationship between both constructs, showing that higher psychopathic trait scores are related to lower EI levels. We propose several future research lines to clarify possible gaps and ambiguities in the current literature and a set of interesting clinical implications for the prevention, evaluation, and treatment of psychopathy by including EI factors in traditional models of psychopathy.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

The mediating role of negative affect on the relationship between emotional intelligence abilities and aggressive behavior levels

The aim of the present research aimed to study the mechanisms underlying the relationship between aggressive behaviour and individual levels of ability emotional intelligence (EI). We particularly focused on the mediator role of negative affect explaining this relationship. Three hundred and ninety-five participants took part in the study. Participants were assessed on ability EI (by the Mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test), aggression (Buss-Perry Aggression questionnaire), and negative affect (the Positive and Negative Affect Schedule). Path analyses were used to explore which branches of the ability EI are directly related to the four aggression dimensions (physical aggression, verbal aggression, anger and hostility) and indirectly related via negative affect. The results revealed a negative relationship between ability EI and aggression, but this relationship was a function of multiple factors such as the performance level in each of the ability EI branches, the type of aggression studied, the mediator effect of NA, and gender. The emotional managing branch showed a direct effect on aggression, specifically this branch was directly related to physical, verbal, and hostility aggression. Moreover, the emotional perception branch was indirectly related to the four aggression dimensions (physical, verbal, anger, and hostility) through negative affect acting as mediator. The direction of these relationships was always negative, that is, greater ability EI was associated with lower levels of aggression, highlighting the strength of the association with physical aggression. Finally, results also showed interesting gender differences. Women possess greater EI abilities, higher levels of negative affect, less aggressive behaviour, and a lower relationship between negative affect and aggression compared with men. This research offers a better understanding of the psychological processes explaining aggression.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Traslado del merchandising tradicional al campo virtual

En el contexto actual, donde los comercios han de enfrentarse a una salvaje competencia y deben captar a un tipo de consumidor más formado, informado y exigente, el merchandising se ha convertido en un elemento esencial para su supervivencia, capaz de optimizar la rentabilidad del punto de venta. La aplicación de las nuevas tecnologías y el desarrollo del comercio electrónico en sus diferentes vertientes han supuesto la consecución de múltiples avances y mejoras a lo largo de las diferentes funciones y agentes implicados en las tareas de distribución (Rodríguez, 2002). Al igual que en los establecimientos comerciales convencionales donde el cuidado en el diseño y ambientación de la tienda es considerado como de suma relevancia para la captación de la atención del consumidor y su permanencia en el mismo, en el entorno web ese cuidado en el diseño y ambientación de la tienda es considerado de gran importancia para la consecución de tales objetivos, aunque los esfuerzos de diseño se orienten hacia diferentes caminos, debido a las características definitorias de cada medio. La aparición de Internet ha redefinido el entorno físico y ha creado el denominado e-scape, un nuevo tipo de establecimiento minorista basado en el ciberespacio. En este contexto de compra virtual, la aplicación de técnicas de merchandising frecuentemente utilizadas en entornos minoristas convencionales se trasladan al mundo virtual, con el fin de atraer al usuario y proporcionarle una visita cómoda, rápida y entretenida, persiguiendo incrementar los resultados de venta de los comerciantes web (Lorenzo-Romero et al., 2006). De acuerdo con Santesmases (2007) hoy en día las acciones de merchandising abarcan casi la totalidad de las acciones de marketing que el detallista puede llevar a cabo utilizando los cuatros instrumentos básicos del marketing: producto, precio, distribución y comunicación. De este modo, se tiende a incluir dentro de las actividades del merchandising la creación del surtido, la utilización y reparto del espacio de venta y la promoción de ventas dentro de la tienda (Diez de Castro y Landa, 1996). Así pues, en el presente trabajo nos planteamos como objetivo principal identificar las principales diferencias y semejanzas entre contextos de compra físicos y virtuales, para definir posteriormente un marco de referencia que nos permita ordenar y sistematizar aquellos aspectos y factores que definen las herramientas de merchandising en ambos entornos. Asimismo, y de manera práctica comprobaremos como un establecimiento minorista real traslada las técnicas de merchandising convencionales a un entorno on-line.Facultad de Ciencias de la EmpresaUniversidad Politécnica de Cartagen

Nutrients and temperature affect growth and photosynthesis of invasive seaweed Rugulopteryx okamurae.

Since Rugulopteryx okamurae was identified in 2016 on Spanish coasts, it is producing massive proliferations causing a homogenization on the marine ecosystem and economic impacts. In order to achieve an efficient management of the invasive species, the knowledge of basic aspects of its biology, such as the role of environmental factors on its growth and photosynthetic activity is essential. In this context, the objective of the present work was to determine the combined effects of nutrients and temperature of growth and photosynthesis of three seasonally observed morphotypes of R. okamurae, under controlled laboratory conditions. Wild thalli of R. okamurae cultivated for 21 days under four combinations of nutrients concentration (NO3- and PO43-) and temperature (15, 19 and 23 °C). Relative growth rates and photosynthetic parameters estimated from oxygen evolution measurements were determined. The results show that nutrient and temperature are factors that could influence on growth and photosynthesis of the invasive species with differences among morphotypes. These results can be related to the observed seasonal variations of the production of R. okamurae and natural cyclic fluctuations of nutrients, which will allow us to identify the vulnerability windows of this species.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Efecto de la temperatura y la irradiancia sobre el crecimiento, la propagación vegetativa y la actividad fotosintética del alga invasora Rugulopteryx okamurae (Dictyotales, Ochrophyta).

Ayuda Plan propio de Investigación de la Universidad de Málaga. Proyecto Rugulopteryx. Fundación Biodiversidad. MITECO.The invasive algae Rugulopteryx okamurae (Dictyotales, Ochrophyta) is producing recently important blooms in southern Spain, affecting biodiversity, fishing industry and tourism. For this reason, it is essential to identify the factors that determine the high invasiveness. In this context, the objective of this study focuses on determining the effect of temperature and irradiance on growth, vegetative propagation and photosynthetic activity of R. okamurae. Apical and interdichotomous fragments of thallus were cultivated under different temperatures (14 and 22 °C) and irradiances (35 and 70 µmol photons m-2 s-1) under controlled laboratory conditions. The effects of these treatments were studied on the relative growth rate, propagules proliferation and the photosynthetic activity expressed as fluorescence of chlorophyll a. Results show that the growth capacity of the thallus depends on the presence or not of the apical cells in the thallus, and that their presence, determines the potential of the thallus for vegetative propagation. Moreover, it has been observed that conditions of low temperature and irradiance favour the propagation capacity of the species, as well as its photosynthetic activity. These results are of great interest to understand the invasive behaviour of the species, since they allow us to identify, on the one hand, the breakdown of thallus as a propagation mechanism of the species that favours the recruitment of new clone individuals, and, on the other hand, to determine that this capacity is active in the annual thermal range of the invaded region.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Translation universals in the oral production of bilingual children

Producción CientíficaThis paper investigates two of the most widely analyzed universals in translation research, namely simplification and explicitation. We examine the oral production of bilingual children with different language pairs as available in the CHILDES project (MacWhinney 2000) (i.e. the FerFuLice, Ticio, Deuchar, Vila, Genesee and Pérez-Bazán corpora) as well as in other compilation forms (i.e. Ronjat 1913; Leopold 1939-1949; Swain 1972; Lanza 1988, 1997, 2001; and Cossato 2008). We address two main issues: whether instances of simplification and explicitation appear in the production of non-instructed interpreters and, if so, how their occurrence relates to the type of data (i.e. spontaneous or experimental) and the language pair involved. The results show that children acquiring two first languages often translate and use simplification and explicitation at varying degrees irrespective of the language pair. We conclude that the analysis of acquisition data can contribute to shed light on the nature of these translation universals.Junta de Castilla y León - Consejería de Educación (VA046A06; UV 30/02)Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación - FEDER (BFF2002-00442)Ministerio de Educación y Ciencia (HUM2007-62213/FILO