Influence of water availability in the distributions of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraether in soils of the Iberian Peninsula

The combined application of the MBT (degree of methylation) and CBT (degree of cyclization) indices, based on the distribution of branched glycerol dialkyl glycerol tetraethers (brGDGTs) in soils, has been proposed as a paleoproxy to estimate mean annual temperature (MAT). CBT quantifies the degree of cyclization of brGDGTs and relates to soil pH. MBT and the simplified version MBT' quantify the degree of methylation of brGDGTs and relate to MAT and soil pH. However, other factors such as soil water availability have also been suggested to influence MBT' and possibly restrict the combined application of the MBT' and CBT indices as a paleotemperature proxy. To assess the effect of hydrological conditions on MBT' and CBT, a set of 23 Iberian Peninsula soil samples, covering a MAT range from 10 to 18 °C and a mean annual precipitation (MAP) range of 405 mm to 1455 mm, was analyzed. We found that the CBT was indeed significantly correlated with soil pH in our sample set. In contrast, MBT' was not correlated with MAT but had a significant correlation with the aridity index (AI), a parameter related to water availability in soils. The AI can explain 50% of the variation of the MBT', and 70% of the residuals of MAT estimated with the MBT/CBT proxy as compared to instrumentally measured MAT. We propose that, in arid settings, where water may be an ecologically limiting factor, MBT' is influenced by hydrological conditions rather than temperature. Thus, our results suggest that the combination of MBT' and CBT indices should be applied with caution in paleotemperature reconstructions in soils from dry subhumid to hyperarid environments

Mobile Virtual Reality as an Educational Platform: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Immersion and Positive Emotion Induction in the Learning Process

[EN] The purpose of this study is to evaluate the influence of emotional induction and level of immersion on knowledge acquisition and motivation. Two conditions were used for immersion modulation: a high immersive condition, which consisted of the viewing of educational content through a head-mounted-display; and a low immersive condition, which was achieved through direct viewing on a tablet. The emotional conditions, created through video simulation, consisted of a positive versus neutral mood induction procedure. The participants were 56 high school students enrolled on a social science course. The results indicate a significant effect of the positive emotion/high immersive condition in knowledge acquisition while positive emotion induction had a positive effect on the interest subscale of the motivation assessment tool used for both immersive conditions.Olmos-Raya, E.; Ferreira-Cavalcanti, J.; Contero, M.; Castellanos-Baena, M.; Chicci-Giglioli, I.; Alcañiz, M. (2018). Mobile Virtual Reality as an Educational Platform: A Pilot Study on the Impact of Immersion and Positive Emotion Induction in the Learning Process. Eurasia Journal of Mathematics Science and Technology Education. 14(6):2045-2057. doi:10.29333/ejmste/858742045205714

Neuregulin 3 Mediates Cortical Plate Invasion and Laminar Allocation of GABAergic Interneurons

Neural circuits in the cerebral cortex consist of excitatory pyramidal cells and inhibitory interneurons. These two main classes of cortical neurons follow largely different genetic programs, yet they assemble into highly specialized circuits during development following a very precise choreography. Previous studies have shown that signals produced by pyramidal cells influence the migration of cortical interneurons, but the molecular nature of these factors has remained elusive. Here, we identified Neuregulin 3 (Nrg3) as a chemoattractive factor expressed by developing pyramidal cells that guides the allocation of cortical interneurons in the developing cortical plate. Gain- and loss-of-function approaches reveal that Nrg3 modulates the migration of interneurons into the cortical plate in a process that is dependent on the tyrosine kinase receptor ErbB4. Perturbation of Nrg3 signaling in conditional mutants leads to abnormal lamination of cortical interneurons. Nrg3 is therefore a critical mediator in the assembly of cortical inhibitory circuits

Mid-term effects on ecosystem services of quarry restoration with Technosols under Mediterranean conditions : 10-year impacts on soil organic carbon and vegetation development

Ajuts : This study was funded by the Department of Territory and Sus-tainability of the Government of Catalonia through the project"Research and innovation on the control and the restoration ofextractive activities.The use of Technosols for the restoration of limestone quarries overcomes the usual "in situ" scarcity of soil and/or its poor quality. The use of mine spoils, improved with mineral and/or organic amendments, could be an efficient and environmentally friendly option. Properly treated sewage sludge from urban wastewater treatment plants could be a suitable organic amendment and fertilizer (rich in N and P) whenever its pollutant burden is low (heavy metals and/or organic pollutants). Its appropriate use could improve essential soil physical and chemical properties and, therefore, promote key ecosystem services of restored areas, such as biomass production and carbon sequestration, as well as biodiversity and landscape recovery. However, the mid-term impacts of these restoration practices on soil functioning and their services have rarely been reported in the available literature. In this study we assess the mid-term effects (10 years) of the use of sewage sludge as a Technosol amendment on soil organic carbon (SOC), nutrient status, and plant development in several restored quarries. Soils restored using sewage sludge showed a threefold increase in SOC compared to the corresponding unamended ones, despite the moderate sludge dosage applied (below 50 tonnes/ha). Plant cover was also higher in amended soils, and recruitment was not affected by sludge amendment at these doses. This study demonstrates that, used at an appropriate rate, sewage sludge is a good alternative for the valorization of mine spoils in quarry restoration, improving some important regulatory ecosystem services such as carbon sequestration, without compromising woody plant encroachment

The Spheres & Shield Maze Task: A virtual reality serious game for the assessment of risk taking in decision making

[EN] Risk taking (RT) is an essential component in decision-making process that depicts the propensity to make risky decisions. RT assessment has traditionally focused on self-report questionnaires. These classical tools have shown clear distance from real-life responses. Behavioral tasks assess human behavior with more fidelity, but still show some limitations related to transferability. A way to overcome these constraints is to take advantage from virtual reality (VR), to recreate real-simulated situations that might arise from performance-based assessments, supporting RT research. This article presents results of a pilot study in which 41 individuals explored a gamified VR environment: the Spheres & Shield Maze Task (SSMT). By eliciting implicit behavioral measures, we found relationships between scores obtained in the SSMT and self-reported risk-related constructs, as engagement in risky behaviors and marijuana consumption. We conclude that decontextualized Virtual Reality Serious Games are appropriate to assess RT, since they could be used as a cross-disciplinary tool to assess individuals' capabilities under the stealth assessment paradigm.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy, Industry and Competitiveness funded projects "Advanced Therapeutic Tools for Mental Health'' (DPI2016-77396-R), and "Assessment and Training on Decision Making in Risk Environments'' (RTC-2017-6523-6) (MINECO/AEI/FEDER,UE) and by the Generalitat Valenciana funded project "Rebrand'' (PROMETEU/2019/105).Juan-Ripoll, CD.; Soler-Domínguez, JL.; Chicchi-Giglioli, IA.; Contero, M.; Alcañiz Raya, ML. (2020). The Spheres & Shield Maze Task: A virtual reality serious game for the assessment of risk taking in decision making. Cyberpsychology Behavior and Social Networking. 23(11):773-781. https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2019.0761S7737812311Bechara, A., Damasio, H., Tranel, D., & Damasio, A. R. (2005). 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G., Gutiérrez-Ferre, V. E., Esteban, L., … Flores, P. (2012). Impulsivity differences in recreational cannabis users and binge drinkers in a university population. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 124(3), 355-362. doi:10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2012.02.011Dvorak, R. D., & Day, A. M. (2014). Marijuana and self-regulation: Examining likelihood and intensity of use and problems. Addictive Behaviors, 39(3), 709-712. doi:10.1016/j.addbeh.2013.11.001Trocki, K. F., Drabble, L. A., & Midanik, L. T. (2009). Tobacco, marijuana, and sensation seeking: Comparisons across gay, lesbian, bisexual, and heterosexual groups. Psychology of Addictive Behaviors, 23(4), 620-631. doi:10.1037/a0017334Ames, S. L., Zogg, J. B., & Stacy, A. W. (2002). Implicit cognition, sensation seeking, marijuana use and driving behavior among drug offenders. Personality and Individual Differences, 33(7), 1055-1072. doi:10.1016/s0191-8869(01)00212-4Highhouse, S., Nye, C. D., Zhang, D. C., & Rada, T. B. (2016). 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Neuropsychological Rehabilitation, 19(2), 177-207. doi:10.1080/09602010802188435Verschoor, A., D’Exelle, B., & Perez-Viana, B. (2016). Lab and life: Does risky choice behaviour observed in experiments reflect that in the real world? Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, 128, 134-148. doi:10.1016/j.jebo.2016.05.009Tarr, M. J., & Warren, W. H. (2002). Virtual reality in behavioral neuroscience and beyond. Nature Neuroscience, 5(S11), 1089-1092. doi:10.1038/nn948Alcañiz, M., Rey, B., Tembl, J., & Parkhutik, V. (2009). A Neuroscience Approach to Virtual Reality Experience Using Transcranial Doppler Monitoring. Presence: Teleoperators and Virtual Environments, 18(2), 97-111. doi:10.1162/pres.18.2.97Chittaro, L., & Ranon, R. (2009). Serious Games for Training Occupants of a Building in Personal Fire Safety Skills. 2009 Conference in Games and Virtual Worlds for Serious Applications. doi:10.1109/vs-games.2009.8Lovreglio, R., Gonzalez, V., Amor, R., Spearpoint, M., Thomas, J., Trotter, M., & Sacks, R. (2017). The Need for Enhancing Earthquake Evacuee Safety by Using Virtual Reality Serious Games. Lean and Computing in Construction Congress - Volume 1: Proceedings of the Joint Conference on Computing in Construction. doi:10.24928/jc3-2017/0058Rizzo, A. A., Bowerly, T., Buckwalter, J. G., Klimchuk, D., Mitura, R., & Parsons, T. D. (2009). A Virtual Reality Scenario for All Seasons:The Virtual Classroom. CNS Spectrums, 11(1), 35-44. doi:10.1017/s1092852900024196Chicchi Giglioli, I. A., de Juan Ripoll, C., Parra, E., & Alcañiz Raya, M. (2019). Are 3D virtual environments better than 2D interfaces in serious games performance? An explorative study for the assessment of executive functions. Applied Neuropsychology: Adult, 28(2), 148-157. doi:10.1080/23279095.2019.1607735Huang, H.-M., Rauch, U., & Liaw, S.-S. (2010). Investigating learners’ attitudes toward virtual reality learning environments: Based on a constructivist approach. Computers & Education, 55(3), 1171-1182. doi:10.1016/j.compedu.2010.05.014Dalgarno, B., & Lee, M. J. W. (2009). What are the learning affordances of 3-D virtual environments? British Journal of Educational Technology, 41(1), 10-32. doi:10.1111/j.1467-8535.2009.01038.xFowler, C. (2014). Virtual reality and learning: Where is the pedagogy? British Journal of Educational Technology, 46(2), 412-422. doi:10.1111/bjet.12135Zuckerman, M., Kolin, E. A., Price, L., & Zoob, I. (1964). Development of a sensation-seeking scale. Journal of Consulting Psychology, 28(6), 477-482. doi:10.1037/h0040995Patton, J. H., Stanford, M. S., & Barratt, E. S. (1995). Factor structure of the barratt impulsiveness scale. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 51(6), 768-774. doi:10.1002/1097-4679(199511)51:63.0.co;2-1So, R. H. Y., Lo, W. T., & Ho, A. T. K. (2001). Effects of Navigation Speed on Motion Sickness Caused by an Immersive Virtual Environment. Human Factors: The Journal of the Human Factors and Ergonomics Society, 43(3), 452-461. doi:10.1518/001872001775898223Zuckerman, M. (2008). Sensation Seeking. The International Encyclopedia of Communication. doi:10.1002/9781405186407.wbiecs029Orlebeke, J. F., Van Der Molen, M. W., Dolan, C., & Stoffels, E. J. (1990). The additive factor logic applied to the personality trait disinhibition. Personality and Individual Differences, 11(6), 553-558. doi:10.1016/0191-8869(90)90037-rPopham, L. E., Kennison, S. M., & Bradley, K. I. (2011). Ageism, Sensation-Seeking, and Risk-Taking Behavior in Young Adults. Current Psychology, 30(2), 184-193. doi:10.1007/s12144-011-9107-0Roberti, J. W. (2004). A review of behavioral and biological correlates of sensation seeking. 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Estudio en estructuras de hormigón armado Velocidad de ultrasonidos y resistencia a compresión

So far, much of the research conducted to estimate the compressive strength of reinforced concrete elements of our structures have been made based on checkups witness many samples drawn from these elements. By this investigation 185 real cases of reinforced concrete structural elements are studied by a structural check based on the correlation of results between the ultrasonic velocity (V) and compressive strength (R). The study was developed taking into account the location of the building relative to the shoreline and the age of the structure. Subsequently, a statistical analysis to the data obtained is performed. This work has achieved a scientific method of analysis of the two test methods and necessary for a full structural check, correlation between them and most innovativeprocess, making mathematical formulas and graphs mapping tools which demonstrate the effectiveness of the procedure, which is proposed as a contribution to policy.Hasta ahora, gran parte de las investigaciones llevadas a cabo para la estimación de las resistencias a compresión de los elementos de hormigón armado de nuestras estructuras, se han realizado en base a chequeos con gran número de probetas testigo, extraídas de esos elementos.Mediante la presente investigación se estudian 185 casos reales de elementos estructurales de hormigón armado, mediante un chequeo estructural basado en la correlación de resultados entre la Velocidad de Ultrasonidos (V) y la Resistencia a Compresión (R). El estudio se desarrolla teniendo en cuenta localización de la construcción respecto a la costa marina y la edad de la propia estructura. Posteriormente se realiza un análisis estadístico con los datos obtenidos con este trabajo se ha conseguido un claro procedimiento científico de análisis de los dos métodos de ensayo y de las herramientas necesarias para realizar un completo chequeo estructural, correlación entre ellos y lo más novedoso del proceso, la confección de fórmulas matemáticas y las gráficas de correlación, que ponen de manifiesto la efectividad del procedimiento, que se propone como aportación para normativa.&nbsp

Characterization of electrochemical systems using potential step voltammetry. Part II: Modeling of reversible systems

[EN] This study was carried out to compare the results obtained using potential step voltammetry and linear sweep voltammetry with a rotating gold disc electrode (RDE), when models based on equivalent circuits (EC) were used. The results lead to an equivalent circuit model that allows us to interpret the electrochemical behavior of aqueous solutions containing Fe(CN)(6)(-4) and Fe(CN)(6)(-3). With this model, we determined the values of the electrical resistance of the medium (R-s) as well as its polarization resistance (R-p), and established correlations between these values and the kinetic parameters of the system. The proposal highlights the need to introduce a new component for modeling using EC, which we have called the electrochemical diode. (C) 2019 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.The authors gratefully acknowledge the financial support of BIA2016-78460-C3-3-R, MAT2015-64139-C4-3-R and RTI2018-100910-B-C43 (MINECO/FEDER) projects. We would also like to extend our appreciation for the pre-doctoral FPU scholarships (University Teacher Training scholarship) granted to Ana Martinez Ibernon (FPU 16/00723) and Jose Enrique Ramon Zamora (FPU13/00911) by the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation.Martínez-Ibernón, A.; Ramón Zamora, JE.; Gandía-Romero, JM.; Gasch, I.; Valcuende Payá, MO.; Alcañiz Fillol, M.; Soto Camino, J. (2019). Characterization of electrochemical systems using potential step voltammetry. Part II: Modeling of reversible systems. Electrochimica Acta. 328:1-10. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.electacta.2019.135111S11032

Improving automobile insurance ratemaking using telematics: incorporating mileage and driver behaviour data

We show how data collected from a GPS device can be incorporated in motor insurance ratemaking . The calculation of premium rates based upon driver behaviour represents an opportunity for the insurance sector . Our approach is based on count data regression models for frequency, where exposure is driven by the distance travelled and additional paramete rs that capture characteristics of automobile usage and which may affect claiming behaviour . We propose implement ing a classical frequency model that is updated with telemetrics information. We illustrate the method using real data from usage - based insurance policies. Results show that not only the distance travelled by the driver, but also driver habits, significantly influence the expected number of accidents and, hence, the cost of insurance coverage . This paper provides a methodology including a transition pricing transferring knowledge and experience that the company already had before the telematics data arrived to the new world including telematics information incorporated in motor insurance ratemaking . The calculation of premium rates based upon driver behaviour represents an opportunity for the insurance sector. Our approach is based on count data regression models for frequency, where exposure is driven by the distance travelled and additional parameters that capture characteristics of automobile usage and which may affect claiming behaviour. We propose implementing a classical frequency model that is updated with telemetrics information. We illustrate the method using real data from usage - based insurance policies. Results show that not only the distance travelled by the driver, but also driver habits, significantly influence the expected number of accidents and, hence, the cost of insurance coverage . This paper provides a methodology including a transition pricing transferring knowledge and experience that the company already had before the telematics data arrived to the new world including telematics information

Water-saving techniques for restoring desertified lands : Some lessons from the field

Altres ajuts: Acord transformatiu CRUE-CSICNature-based solutions can significantly contribute to restoration projects in areas affected by desertification processes, where they are necessary for reversing land degradation. Currently, one innovative solution is The Cocoon™, which has been designed as a new ecotechnology for improving seedling establishment. The Cocoon consists of a doughnut-shaped container made of recycled cardboard that provides water and shelter at least during the first year of a seedling, which is the most critical for plant establishment. To determine the effectiveness of this ecotechnology under different conditions, the Cocoon was tested on a variety of soils, climates, vegetation, and land uses. Six planting trials were performed in Spain and Greece, which covered a range from humid to arid climates. With the objective of studying its functionality, the survival of the seedlings, their vigor, and growth were monitored for 2 years. Compared with conventional planting systems, the Cocoon has effectively increased seedling survival, especially under dry growing conditions (low rainfall, soils with low water holding capacity). The Cocoon also allowed for higher growth of some species (olive trees, holm oaks, and Aleppo pines). Moreover, a positive correlation between the rainfall on the site and the biodegradation degree of the Cocoon device was observed. Overall, the Cocoon becomes more efficient in arid climates or adverse growing conditions

Markerless monocular tracking system for guided external eye surgery

This paper presents a novel markerless monocular tracking system aimed at guiding ophthalmologists during external eye surgery. This new tracking system performs a very accurate tracking of the eye by detecting invariant points using only textures that are present in the sclera, i.e., without using traditional features like the pupil and/or cornea reflections, which remain partially or totally occluded in most surgeries. Two known algorithms that compute invariant points and correspondences between pairs of images were implemented in our system: Scalable Invariant Feature Transforms (SIFT) and Speed Up Robust Features (SURF). The results of experiments performed on phantom eyes show that, with either algorithm, the developed system tracks a sphere at a 360◦ rotation angle with an error that is lower than 0.5%. Some experiments have also been carried out on images of real eyes showing promising behavior of the system in the presence of blood or surgical instruments during real eye surgery. © 2014 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.Monserrat Aranda, C.; Rupérez Moreno, MJ.; Alcañiz Raya, ML.; Mataix, J. (2014). Markerless monocular tracking system for guided external eye surgery. Computerized Medical Imaging and Graphics. 38(8):785-792. doi:10.1016/j.compmedimag.2014.08.001S78579238