A study of the relativistic corrections to tritium β\beta-decay

Forthcoming experiments like Project8 and Ptolemy aim at investigating with high precision the end-point of the tritium $\beta$-decay spectrum sensitive to the neutrino mass. In light of this, using the standard parametrization in terms of nuclear polar form factors, we analyze the complete relativistic expression for the spectrum of the $\beta$-electron emitted by a tritium nucleus. Given the small parameters in the problem, we discuss the approximations that can be made, and present the first two corrections to the standard lowest order formula, improving on the few results available in the literature.Comment: 5 pages, 1 figure, 1 tabl

The Temperature of Morality: A Behavioral Study Concerning the Effect of Moral Decisions on Facial Thermal Variations in Video Games

In this paper, we report on an experiment with The Walking Dead (TWD), which is a narrative-driven adventure game with morally charged decisions set in a post-apocalyptic world filled with zombies. This study aimed to identify physiological markers of moral decisions and non-moral decisions using infrared thermal imaging (ITI). ITI is a non-invasive tool used to capture thermal variations due to blood flow in specific body regions that might be caused by sympathetic activity. Results show that moral decisions seem to elicit a significant decrease in temperature in the chin region 20 seconds after participants are presented with a moral decision. However, given the small sample involved, and the lack of significance in other regions, future studies might be needed to confirm the results obtained in this work

The treatment of periodontal disease using local oxygen-ozone

The objective was to clinically and microbiologically evaluate local oxygen-ozone therapy used in combination with traditional mechanical therapy versus the use of mechanical therapy alone in a group of patients with periodontal disease. To date, this study is the most representative investigation in the scientific literature as it has the largest sample (113 patients). The project was fully completed in the planning phase, the experimental research stage, the statistical analysis phase and the scientific article draft phase. The results of the study showed a sharp reduction in the clinical-microbiological parameters measured for both study groups. In particular, subjects in the group treated with oxygen-ozone therapy plus mechanical therapy showed a more marked improvement. Although it is possible to observe a general trend of improvement in oral hygiene in Western countries, periodontal health remains a goal yet to be achieved in many subjects. In Italy, roughly 60% of the population suffers from periodontal disease (from mild to severe) and roughly 10-14% exhibit fairly advanced forms. The latter group increases dramatically in the age group between 35 and 44 years. The main objective of the clinician who is faced with a patient with periodontal disease is to adopt an appropriate therapeutic approach to halt the progression of the disease and to prevent or reduce the occurrence of any relapses. Mechanical causal therapy is the treatment of choice. However, due to the early recolonization of periodontal pockets by bacteria, various studies are underway in order to find a valid aid to mechanical therapy. In this regard, oxygenozone therapy may be an economic, non-invasive and easy method to implement in the clinical management of the patient with periodontal disease. One immediate application is the opportunity to use the treatment in selected patients, such as those who present a recurrence of the disease. For example, systemic antibiotic therapy could be replaced with local oxygen-ozone therapy in patients with periodontal abscess. However, additional longitudinal studies are needed to assess any exact range, timing and method of application

Relativistic corrections to polarized-tritium β decay

Forthcoming experiments such as Project 8 and Ptolemy aim at investigating with high precision the end point of the tritium β-decay spectrum sensitive to the neutrino mass. In light of this, using the standard parametrization in terms of nuclear polar form factors, we analyze the complete relativistic expression for the spectrum of the β electron emitted by a tritium nucleus. Given the small parameters in the problem, we systematically discuss the approximations that can be made, and present the first two corrections to the standard lowest-order formula. We particularly discuss the case of an initially polarized target, and the consequences on the spectrum as a function of the neutrino mass. We show that, while it induces an angular anisotropy that can be measured by future experiments, such anisotropy cannot be used as an additional handle to constrain the neutrino mass

Changing trend of caries from 1989 to 2004 among 12-year old Sardinian children

Background. During the past decades, the prevalence of caries disease in the population of Western industrialized countries has decreased markedly. In children also, a reduction of dental caries experience has been reported by many authors. The aim of this paper was to evaluate the trend of dental caries prevalence in 12-year-old children living in the city of Sassari, (Italy), by five cross-sectional studies conducted in 1989, 1992, 1995, 1998 and 2004. Methods. In all cohorts, dental caries (DMFT and SiC Index according to WHO indications), was measured. For each variable measured (DMFT and sub-indices, SiC Index), differences in proportions among the five cohorts during the fifteen years were tested using χ2-square test. Results. The mean DMFT index decreased from 4.3 ± 3.1 in 1989 to 0.8 ± 1.5 in 2004. The prevalence of untreated caries (DT) had a notable decrease between 1992 and 1995, increased slightly between 1995 and 1998 and had the greatest decrease in 2004. The number of filled teeth remains low. The percentage of caries-free children increased from 10% to 64%, whereas the percentage of untreated caries changed from 44% in 1989 to 62% in 2004. SiC Index decreased from 7.8 in 1989 to 3.9 in 2004. Conclusion. On the basis of the results of DMFT and SiC Index, caries experience has been reduced. The vigilance and the promotion of a higher standard of personal oral hygiene and dental check-ups are necessary to obtain an improvement of oral status in the future adult population and to reach the new WHO global goals

Dental and Dental Hygiene Students' Knowledge and Capacity to Discriminate the Developmental Defects of Enamel: A Self-Submitted Questionnaire Survey.

Background: A prompt and accurate diagnosis of developmental defects of enamel (DDE) is mandatory for proper treatment management. This cross-sectional survey, designed and carried out using anonymous self-administered questionnaires, aimed to assess dental and dental hygiene students' knowledge and their capability to identify different enamel development defects. Methods: The questionnaire consisted of twenty-eight closed-ended questions. Two different samples of undergraduate students were selected and enrolled: a group of dental hygiene (GDH) students and a group of dental (GD) students. A multivariate logistic regression was performed by adopting the correct answers as explanatory variables to assess the difference between the two groups. Results: Overall, 301 completed questionnaires were analyzed: 157 from the GDH and 144 from the GD. The dental student group showed better knowledge than the GDH of enamel hypomineralization and hypoplasia (p = 0.03 for both). A quarter (25.25%) of the total sample correctly identified the period of development of dental fluorosis with a statistically significant difference between the groups (p < 0.01). Amelogenesis imperfecta (AI) was identified as a genetic disease by 64.45% of the sample, with a better performance from the GD (p = 0.01), while no statistical differences were found between the groups regarding molar incisor hypomineralization. Multivariate analysis showed that AI (OR = 0.40, [0.23;0.69], p < 0.01) and caries lesion (OR = 0.58, [0.34;0.94], p = 0.03) were better recognized by the GD. Conclusions: Disparities exist in the knowledge and management of DDE among dental and dental hygiene students in Italy; however, significant knowledge gaps were found in both groups. Education on the diagnosis and treatment of DDE during the training for dental and dental hygiene students needs to be strongly implemented

Predicting Tetris Performance Using Early Keystrokes

In this study, we predict the different levels of performance in a Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Tetris session based on the score and the number of matches played by the players. Using the first 45 seconds of gameplay, a Random Forest Classifier was trained on the five keys used in the game obtaining a ROC_AUC score of 0.80. Further analysis revealed that the number of down keys (forced drop) and the number of left keys (left translation) are the most relevant keys in this task, showing that by merely including the data from these two keys our Random Forest Classifier reached a ROC_AUC score of 0.83.We conclude that the keylogger data during the early phases of a game session can be successfully used to predict performance in longer sessions of Tetris

Tracking Early Differences in Tetris Perfomance Using Eye Aspect Ratio Extracted Blinks

This study aimed to evaluate if eye blinks can be used to discriminate players with different performance in a session of Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) Tetris. To that end, we developed a state-of-the-art method for blink extraction from EAR measures, which is robust enough to be used with data collected by a low-grade webcam such as the ones widely available on laptop computers. Our results show a significant decrease in blink rate per minute (blinks/m) during the first minute of playing Tetris. After having defined 3 groups of proficiency based on in-game performance (Novices, Intermediates, and Experts) we found out that expert players display a significantly lower decrease in blinks/m compared to novices during the first minute of gameplay, which shows that Tetris players' proficiency can be detected by looking at eye blinks/m variations during the early phase of a game session. This difference in blinks/m is observed throughout the entire game session, which supports the general conclusion that proficient Tetris players have a lower decrease in blinks/m, even when playing more difficult levels. Finally, we offer some interpretations of this effect and the relationship that our results may have with the visual cognitive workload experienced during the gameplay

Perspectives on Large Language Models for Relevance Judgment

When asked, current large language models (LLMs) like ChatGPT claim that they can assist us with relevance judgments. Many researchers think this would not lead to credible IR research. In this perspective paper, we discuss possible ways for LLMs to assist human experts along with concerns and issues that arise. We devise a human-machine collaboration spectrum that allows categorizing different relevance judgment strategies, based on how much the human relies on the machine. For the extreme point of "fully automated assessment", we further include a pilot experiment on whether LLM-based relevance judgments correlate with judgments from trained human assessors. We conclude the paper by providing two opposing perspectives - for and against the use of LLMs for automatic relevance judgments - and a compromise perspective, informed by our analyses of the literature, our preliminary experimental evidence, and our experience as IR researchers. We hope to start a constructive discussion within the community to avoid a stale-mate during review, where work is dammed if is uses LLMs for evaluation and dammed if it doesn't