Users Perceptions Using Low-End and High-End Mobile-Rendered HMDs: A Comparative Study

[EN] Currently, it is possible to combine Mobile-Rendered Head-Mounted Displays (MR HMDs) with smartphones to have Augmented Reality platforms. The differences between these types of platforms can affect the user¿s experiences and satisfaction. This paper presents a study that analyzes the user¿s perception when using the same Augmented Reality app with two MR HMD (low-end and high-end). Our study evaluates the user¿s experience taking into account several factors (control, sensory, distraction, ergonomics, and realism). An Augmented Reality app was developed to carry out the comparison for two MR HMDs. The application had exactly the same visual appearance and functionality for both devices. Forty adults participated in our study. From the results, there were no statistically significant differences for the users¿ experience for the different factors when using the two MR HMDs, except for the ergonomic factors in favor of the high-end MR HMD. Even though the scores for the high-end MR HMD were higher in nearly all of the questions, both MR HMDs provided a very satisfying viewing experience with very high scores. The results were independent of gender and age. The participants rated the high-end MR HMD as the best one. Nevertheless, when they were asked which MR HMD they would buy, the participants chose the low-end MR HMD taking into account its price.Juan, M.; García García, I.; Mollá, R.; López, R. (2018). Users Perceptions Using Low-End and High-End Mobile-Rendered HMDs: A Comparative Study. Computers. 7(1):1-17. https://doi.org/10.3390/computers7010015S1177

A theoretical study on the mechanism of the base-promoted decomposition of N-chloro,N-methylethanolamine

The first step of the base-promoted decomposition of N-chloro,N-methylethanolamine in aqueous solution (CH3N(Cl)CH2CH2OH + HO- →imine + Cl- + H2O (+ CH2O)→amine + aldehyde) is investigated at the MP2/6-31++G(d,p) computing level. Solvation is included by using both a microsolvated model, in which two explicit water molecules simulate the specific solvent effects, and a hybrid cluster-continuum model, by applying a polarized continuum on the previous results, to account for the bulk effect of the solvent. Four alternative pathways (bimolecular fragmentation, Hofmann, Zaitsev and intramolecular eliminations) are possible for the rate-limiting step of this base-promoted decomposition. These reactive processes are bimolecular asynchronous concerted reactions. The common feature of the four pathways is the proton transfer to HO- being more advanced than all other molecular events, whereas imine formation is delayed. Non-reactive cyclic arrangements involving one of the explicit water molecules are found at transition structures of Hofmann and Zaitsev eliminations, such water molecule acting both as H+ donor and acceptor. Although MP2 calculations misjudge the absolute activation Gibbs free energy values, this computational level adequately predicts the enhancement in the decomposition rate due to the presence of the -OH grou

Influence of seat-belt use on the severity of injury in traffic accidents

ABSTRACT: Background: About 1.35 million people died in traffic accidents around the world in 2018, make this type of accidents the 8th cause of death in the world. Particularly, in Spain, there were 204,596 traffic accidents during 2016 and 2017, out of which 349,810 drivers were injured. The objective of this study was to understand to what extent seat belt non-use and human factors contribute to drivers injury severity. Methodology: The results are based on the information and 2016-17 data provided by the Spain national traffic department "Dirección General de Tráfico" (DGT). The discretization model and Bayesian Networks were developed based on important variables from the literature. These variables were classified as; human factor, demographic factor, conditioning factor and seat belt use. Results: The results showed that failure to wear the seat belt by drivers are likely to increase the risk of fatal and sever injury significantly. Moreover, distraction and road type road can contribute to the accident severity

Development of an Automatic Low-Cost Air Quality Control System: A Radon Application

[Abstract] Air pollution is the fourth-largest overall risk factor for human health worldwide. Ambient air pollution (outdoors) and household air pollution (indoors) cause about 6.5 million premature deaths. The World Health Organization has established that between 3% and 14% of lung cancer cases are due to radon gas, making it the most important cause of lung cancer after smoking. This work presents a fully automated, low-cost indoor air quality control system that can monitor temperature, pressure, humidity, total volatile organic compounds (TOVC), and radon concentration. Using the radon concentration as an air quality measure, we created a prediction algorithm. The system uses those predictions to control a ventilation system automatically. We tested the algorithm for different prediction windows and compared the results with those without the ventilation system in a radon research room. In this room, the radon concentration is high 100% of the time, reaching a level eleven times higher than the recommended limit. The results show that the system can achieve an 86% reduction of the radon concentration, maintaining it low 90% of the time while having the ventilation system on during only 34% of the time. This work demonstrates that we can control air quality using low-cost resources, keeping a household or workplace safe but comfortable.This work was supported by Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through the project BIA2017-86738-R and through the funding of the unique installation BIOCAI (UNLC08-1E-002, UNLC13-13-3503) and the European Regional Development Funds (FEDER) by the European Union. This work is supported in part by grants from the European Social Fund 2014–2020. CITIC (Research Centre of the Galician University System) and the Galician University System (SUG) obtained funds through Regional Development Fund (ERDF), with 80% from the Operational Program ERDF Galicia 2014–2020 and the remaining 20% from the Secretaría Xeral de Universidades of the Galician University System (SUG) (Ref ED431G 2019/01). Additional support was provided by the Consolidation and Structuring of Competitive Research Units—Competitive Reference Groups (ED431C 2018/49)Xunta de Galicia; ED431G 2019/01Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2018/4

Surprise-induced enhancements in the associability of Pavlovian cues facilitate learning across behavior systems

Surprising violations of outcome expectancies have long been known to enhance the associability of Pavlovian cues; that is, the rate at which the cue enters into further associations. The adaptive value of such enhancements resides in promoting new learning in the face of uncertainty. However, it is unclear whether associability enhancements reflect increased associative plasticity within a particular behavior system, or whether they can facilitate learning between a cue and any arbitrary outcome, as suggested by attentional models of conditioning. Here, we show evidence consistent with the latter hypothesis. Violating the outcome expectancies generated by a cue in an appetitive setting (feeding behavior system) facilitated subsequent learning about the cue in an aversive setting (defense behavior system). In addition to shedding light on the nature of associability enhancements, our findings offer the neuroscientist a behavioral tool to dissociate their neural substrates from those of other, behavior system- or valence-specific changes. Moreover, our results present an opportunity to utilize associability enhancements to the advantage of counterconditioning procedures in therapeutic contexts.National Institute on Drug Abuse 5R00DA036561National Institute on Drug Abuse 1R15DA051795Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (MICINN) PID2019-110739 GB-I0

Small mammals from the middle pleistocene layers of the sima del elefante (Sierra de Atapuerca, Burgos, northwestern Spain)

The Sima del Elefante site, located in the Sierra de Atapuerca (Burgos, Spain), is an important Pleistocene archaeopalaeontological locality that has been excavated every year since 1996. At least two main infill phases have been identified: a first (TELRU) early Pleistocene phase that has provided a rich faunal assemblage, various stone tools and the earliest human remains from western Europe; and a second phase (TEURU) attributed to the Middle Pleistocene. In this paper, for the first time we present a description of the TEURU small-mammal assemblage and its subsequent biochronological, palaeoenvironmental and palaeoclimatic implications. The small-mammal assemblage is highly diverse and comprises at least 17 species: 3 insectivores (cf. Erinaceus sp., Crocidura sp. and Sorex sp.); 4 chiropters (Rhinolophus ferrumequinum, Rhinolophus gr. euryale-mehelyi, Myotis gr. Myotisoxygnathus and Miniopteurs schreibersii); 9 rodents (Myodes glareolus, Microtus arvalis, Microtus agrestis, Iberomys brecciensis, Terricola cf. atapuerquensis, Arvicola sp., Apodemus sylvaticus, Eliomys quercinus and Allocricetus bursae) and 1 lagomorph (Oryctolagus sp.). Such an association suggests a late Middle Pleistocene age (ca. 250-350 ka), a patchy landscape dominated by humid meadows and woodland areas, and mild climatic conditions. These results are compared with other proxies, such as the herpetofauna, malacofauna, large-mammals and charcoals, providing a new scenario for the climatic and environmental conditions that prevailed during the latest Middle Pleistocene in the Sierra de Atapuerca

Cardiotrophin-1 improves kidney preservation, graft function, and survival in transplanted rats

[EN]Background Cold ischemia-reperfusion injury is unavoidable during organ transplantation, and prolonged preservation is associated with poorer function recovery. Cardiotrophin-1 (CT-1) is an IL-6 family cytokine with cytoprotective properties. This preclinical study in rats tested whether CT-1 mitigates cold renal ischemia-reperfusion injury in the context of the transplantation of long-time preserved kidneys. Methods Kidneys were flushed with cold (4 degrees C) University of Wisconsin solution containing 0.2 g/mL CT-1 and stored for several periods of time at 4 degrees C in the same solution. In a second approach, kidneys were first cold-preserved for 6 hours and then were perfused with University of Wisconsin solution containing CT-1 (0, 16, 32, or 64 g/mL) and further cold-preserved. Organ damage markers were measured in the kidneys at the end of the storage period. For renal transplantation, recipient consanguineous Fischer rats underwent bilateral nephrectomy and received a previously cold-preserved (24 hours) kidney as described above. Survival and creatinine clearance were monitored over 30 days. Results Cardiotrophin-1 in perfusion and preservation fluids reduced oxidative stress markers (superoxide anion and inducible nitric oxide synthase), inflammation markers (NF-B and tumor necrosis factor-), and vascular damage (vascular cell adhesion molecule-1) and activated leukemia inhibitory factor receptor and STAT-3 survival signaling. Transplantation of kidneys cold-preserved with CT-1 increased rat survival and renal function (ie, lower plasma creatinine and higher creatinine clearance) and improved kidney damage markers after transplantation (ie, lower superoxide anion, tumor necrosis factor-, intercellular adhesion molecule-1, and vascular cell adhesion molecule-1 and higher NF-B). Conclusions Cardiotrophin-1 represents a novel therapeutic strategy to reduce ischemia-reperfusion and cold preservation injury to rescue suboptimal kidneys and, consequently, to improve the clinical outcomes of renal transplantation

Enhanced diffusion through porous nanoparticle optical multilayers

Herein we demonstrate improved mass transport through nanoparticle one-dimensional photonic crystals of enhanced porosity. Analysis is made by impedance spectroscopy using iodine and ionic liquid based electrolytes and shows that newly created large pores and increased porosity improve the diffusion of species through the photonic crystal. This achievement is based on the use of a polymeric porogen (polyethylene glycol), which is mixed with the precursor suspensions used for the deposition of nanoparticle TiO2 and SiO2 layers and then eliminated to generate a more open interconnected void network, as confirmed by specular reflectance porosimetry . A compromise between pore size and optical quality of these periodic structures is found.España Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación MAT2008-02166 MAT2011-23593Junta de Andalucía FQM3579 FQM5247CONSOLIDER HOPE CSD2007-0000

Measuring retail trade using card transactional data

En este trabajo se presenta un Índice de Comercio Minorista (ICM) de alta dimensionalidad construido para España, estimado a partir del uso de datos masivos. La información utilizada se corresponde con la que surge de las transacciones con tarjetas de crédito y de débito de los clientes de BBVA en terminales de punto de venta (TPV) españoles. Los índices obtenidos son robustos cuando se comparan con los que publica el Instituto Nacional de Estadística (INE), tanto para el conjunto de España como para las distintas regiones y los diferentes canales de distribución. Dando un paso más, se calculan los índices mensuales por provincias y por sectores (información no publicada por el INE) y se construye un índice general diario. A partir de este último índice, se analizan además las pautas de consumo en alta frecuencia a través de un modelo estructural de series temporalesIn this paper we present a high-dimensionality Retail Trade Index (RTI) constructed to nowcast the retail trade sector economic performance in Spain, using Big Data sources and techniques. The data are the footprints of BBVA clients from their credit or debit card transactions at Spanish point of sale (PoS) terminals. The resulting indexes have been found to be robust when compared with the Spanish RTI, regional RTI (Spain’s autonomous regions), and RTI by retailer type (distribution classes) published by the National Statistics Institute (INE). We also went one step further, computing the monthly indexes for the provinces and sectors of activity and the daily general index, by obtaining timely, detailed information on retail sales. Finally, we analyzed the high-frequency consumption dynamics using BBVA retailer behavior and a structural time series mode

An Unusual Case of Locally Advanced Glycogen-Rich Clear Cell Carcinoma of the Breast

Glycogen-rich clear cell (GRCC) is a rare subtype of breast carcinoma characterized by carcinoma cells containing an optically clear cytoplasm and intracytoplasmic glycogen. We present the case of a 55-year-old woman with a palpable mass in the right breast and clinical signs of locally advanced breast cancer (LABC). The diagnosis of GRCC carcinoma was based on certain histopathological characteristics of the tumor and immunohistochemical analysis. To our knowledge, this is the first case of GRCC LABC with intratumoral calcifications. There is no evidence of recurrence or metastatic disease after 14 months’ follow-up