Large amplitude pairing fluctuations in atomic nuclei

Pairing fluctuations are self-consistently incorporated on the same footing as the quadrupole deformations in present state of the art calculations including particle number and angular momentum conservation as well as configuration mixing. The approach is complemented by the use of the finite range density dependent Gogny force which, with a unique source for the particle-hole and particle-particle interactions, guarantees a self-consistent interplay in both channels. We have applied our formalism to study the role of the pairing degree of freedom in the description of the most relevant observables like spectra, transition probabilities, separation energies, etc. We find that the inclusion of pairing fluctuations mostly affects the description of excited states, depending on the excitation energy and the angular momentum. $E0$ transition probabilities experiment rather big changes while $E2$'s are less affected. Genuine pairing vibrations are thoroughly studied with the conclusion that deformations strongly inhibits their existence. These studies have been performed for a selection of nuclei: spherical, deformed and with different degree of collectivity.Comment: 23 pages, 23 Figures, To be published in Phys. Rev.

Application of a decision-making tool for ranking wellness tourism destinations

Abstract: One of the tourism industry’s segments with the strongest growth rates today is health tourism. Health tourism includes two subgroups: medical tourism (traveling outside one’s country of residence for the purpose of receiving medical care, such as surgery and health services) and wellness tourism (travel to specific locations for health promotion in a preventive way). The economic strength and sustainable growth of nations can both benefit from health tourism. This study applies a methodology to quantify the potential of Portuguese wellness tourism (thermal spas in Northern Portugal) using a multi-criteria decision making (MCDM) tool, namely the preference ranking organization method for enrichment evaluations (PROMETHEE) and geometrical analysis for interactive aid (GAIA), to achieve a robust evaluation and ranking the alternatives. Therefore, in this study, the aim is to rank ten thermal spas in Northern Portugal in terms of fifteen indicators, mostly related to digital services, containing the tourism data obtained between 2020 and 2022. The suggested approach offers trustworthy and reliable outcomes for any qualitative or quantitative criteria to assess thermal spas, which is crucial for consumers, businesses, and even governments. The results showed that PROMETHEE and GAIA can be implemented as an effective method in wellness tourism destinations evaluation.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

La función ejecutiva de actualización y el rendimiento en comprensión lectora y resolución de problemas

In this investigation, the capacity of the working memory (WM) updating executive function to predict individual differences in reading comprehension and problem solving was analyzed in 5th-graders of Primary Education. In addition, we examined whether this relation is direct or mediated by domain-general or domain-specific variables. For this purpose, a series of tasks was administered to assess fluid intelligence, WM information updating, arithmetic abilities, arithmetic problem solving, lexical processing, and reading comprehension in 49 students aged between 10 and 11 years. The results support the idea that updating is an important predictor of reading comprehension, beyond the influence of domainspecific skills and fluid intelligence. In the case of problem solving, our findings confirm that updating plays an important role although, perhaps due to task content, the relation seems to be mediated by fluid intelligence at this developmental stageEsta investigación analizó, en niños de 5º curso de Educación Primaria, la capacidad predictora de la función ejecutiva de actualización de la Memoria Operativa (MO) en las diferencias individuales en comprensión lectora y resolución de problemas aritméticos. Además, se estudió si esta relación es directa o está mediada por variables de dominio general o específico. Con este fin se administró un conjunto de pruebas que evalúan la inteligencia fluida, la actualización de la información en la MO, la competencia aritmética, la resolución de problemas aritméticos, el procesamiento léxico y la comprensión lectora a 49 alumnos con edades comprendidas entre los 10 y 11 años. Los resultados apoyan la idea que la actualización de la MO es un importante predictor de la comprensión lectora, más allá de la influencia de las habilidades de dominio específico y de la inteligencia fluida. En el caso de la resolución de problemas, nuestros hallazgos confirman que la actualización juega un papel importante aunque, en este momento evolutivo, quizá por el propio contenido de la tarea, la relación parece mediada por la inteligencia fluid

Role taxonomy of green and sustainable science and technology journals: exportation, importation, specialization and interdisciplinarity

Sustainability science is, per se, a topic that is inherently interdisciplinarity and oriented towards the resolution of societal problems. In this paper, we propose a classification of scientific journals that composes the journal category Green and Sustainable Science and Technology in the period 2014-2018 through the entropy-based disciplinarity indicator (EBDI). This indicator allows the classification of scientific journals in four types based on the citing and cited dimensions: knowledge importer, knowledge exporter, disciplinary and interdisciplinarity. Moreover, the relationship between this taxonomy and the JCR bibliometric indicators and its predictive capacity of the taxonomy is explored through a CHAID tree. As well, relations between the Web of Science categories, journals and taxonomy are explored by the co-occurrence of categories and correspondence analysis. Results suggest that the great majority of journals in this field are specialized or interdisciplinary. However, over the 5-year period proposed in this study, interdisciplinary journals tend to be far more stable than specialized ones. The decision tree has shown that the number of citations is the variable with the greatest discriminating capacity.Open access funding provided by University of Gävle

Recent Advances in Controlling the Internal and External Properties of Self‐Assembling Cyclic Peptide Nanotubes and Dimers

One of the most powerful strategies for the preparation of nanotubes is based on the stacking of flat-shaped cyclic peptide components. This strategy allows precise control of the nanotube internal diameter, the external properties and, more recently, the structural characterisitics of the internal cavity. The recent advances in these technologies and the applications of the resulting materials are describedThis work was supported by the Spanish Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) and the ERDF (CTQ2013‐43264‐R and CTQ2016‐78423‐R), and by the Xunta de Galicia and the ERDF (EM2014/011 and Centro singular de investigación de Galicia accreditation 2016‐2019, ED431G/09). N. R.‐V. thanks Mineco and the Gil Davila Foundation for her FPU contract and fellowship, respectively. We also thank the ORFEO‐CINCA network and Mineco (CTQ2016‐81797‐REDC)NO

Can we infer the presence of Differential Privacy in Deep Learning models' weights? Towards more secure Deep Learning

Differential Privacy (DP) is a key property to protect data and models from integrity attacks. In the Deep Learning (DL) field, it is commonly implemented through the Differentially Private Stochastic Gradient Descent (DP-SGD). However, when a model is shared or released, there is no way to check whether it is differentially private, that is, it required to trust the model provider. This situation poses a problem when data privacy is mandatory, specially with current data regulations, as the presence of DP can not be certificated consistently by any third party. Thus, we face the challenge of determining whether a DL model has been trained with DP, according to the title question: Can we infer the presence of Differential Privacy in Deep Learning models' weights? Since the DP-SGD significantly changes the training process of a DL model, we hypothesize that DP leaves an imprint in the weights of a DL model, which can be used to predict whether a model has been trained with DP regardless of its architecture and the training dataset. In this paper, we propose to employ the imprint in model weights of using DP to infer the presence of DP training in a DL model. To substantiate our hypothesis, we developed an experimental methodology based on two datasets of weights of DL models, each with models with and without DP training and a meta-classifier to infer whether DP was used in the training process of a DL model, by accessing its weights. We accomplish both, the removal of the requirement of a trusted model provider and a strong foundation for this interesting line of research. Thus, our contribution is an additional layer of security on top of the strict private requirements of DP training in DL models, towards to DL models

Family Office: Instrumento de gestión del patrimonio familiar

En este trabajo nos aproximamos al concepto de Family Office, considerándola como un instrumento más que puede utilizar la familia empresaria para gestionar y diversificar sus activos y riesgos. Tras un análisis teórico sobre el concepto, sus distintas modalidades y sus diferentes formas de implantación en las empresas, con este trabajo se trata de profundizar en las diferentes estrategias que se pueden seguir con objetivos diferentes según la modalidad de “family office” implementada, así como identificar las características diferenciadoras entre las diversas estructuras existentes. El concepto tradicional de family office (FO) se centra en un negocio dirigido por y para una sola familia. Su principal función consiste en centralizar la gestión de un patrimonio familiar significativo. El objetivo es la transferencia del patrimonio entre generaciones. La estructura de la FO refleja los valores y principios de la familia propietaria, que a su vez marcarán los objetivos perseguidos  por la misma, y las actividades necesarias para alcanzarlos. El tamaño de estas organizaciones dependerá de si las actividades realizadas son llevadas a cabo con personal interno o externo, observándose una clara tendencia hacia la externalización. En España se podrían identificar tres tipos de family office, en función básicamente de las actividades realizadas: servicios, servicios e inversión, o exclusivamente inversión. In this paper we approach the concept of Family Office, as a tool available to the members of family business to manage and diversify their assets and risks. First, the research makes a  theoretical analysis of the concept, the different modalities and different ways of implementing a family office . Then, this study analyzes the different strategies that can be taken with different purposes (depending on the type of family office implemented), and the differential characteristics between the several structures.  The traditional concept of family office (FO) focuses on a business run by and for one family. Its function is to centralize the management of a significant family fortune. Typically, these organizations employ staff to manage investments, taxes, philanthropy, trusts and legal services. The aim is to transfer wealth between generations. The Family Office structure reflects the values and principles of family owners, these values will determine the objectives, and activities needed to achieve them. The size of these organizations depend on whether the activities are carried out in-house or outsourced, showing a clear trend towards outsourcing.   In Spain, we could identify three types of family office. First, that family office that provides services exclusively to shareholders members of the family business. Another kind of family office also provides these services to family members, investing in venture capital or development capital. A third modality is a family office that conforms an Investment Conference, whether in venture capital, development capital, ... &nbsp

The effect of population size and technological collaboration on firms' innovation

[Abstract]: In the current knowledge economy, firms hardly innovate alone; the collaboration with other partners has become crucial for successful innovation. Literature has recently focused on two modes of collaboration: the learning-by-doing, by-using and by-interacting (DUI) and science and technology-based innovation (STI). Nevertheless, collaboration seems to be easier if firms are located in highly populated areas. This paper aims to analyse whether the population size of municipalities where firms are located influences firm innovation either in a direct way or by shaping the effect of the DUI and STI partnerships. Applying panel data methodology to a sample of 3004 Spanish manufacturing firms over the period 2009 to 2016, the results show that innovative performance benefits from STI and DUI innovation modes, especially product innovation. In contrast, location in less populated municipalities seems to have no effect on innovation, regardless of the threshold used to limit the number of inhabitants. Also, weak evidence of the moderating role of the population size on the effect of DUI and STI partnerships on firm innovation is found

Portable multispectral imaging system based on Raspberry Pi

Purpose In this work, the authors aim to present a compact low-cost and portable spectral imaging system for general purposes. The developed system provides information that can be used for a fast in situ identification and classification of samples based on the analysis of captured images. The connectivity of the instrument allows a deeper analysis of the images in an external computer. Design/methodology/approach The wavelength selection of the system is carried out by light multiplexing through a light-emitting diode panel where eight wavelengths covering the spectrum from ultraviolet (UV) to near-infrared region (NIR) have been included. The image sensor used is a red green blue – infrared (RGB-IR) micro-camera controlled by a Raspberry Pi board where a basic image processing algorithm has been programmed. It allows the visualization in an integrated display of the reflectance and the histogram of the images at each wavelength, including UV and NIRs. Findings The prototype has been tested by analyzing several samples in a variety of applications such as detection of damaged, over-ripe and sprayed fruit, classification of different type of plastic materials and determination of properties of water. Originality/value The designed system presents some advantages as being non-expensive and portable in comparison to other multispectral imaging systems. The low-cost and size of the camera module connected to the Raspberry Pi provides a compact instrument for general purposes.Project CTQ2013-44545-R from the Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness (Spain)Junta de Andalucía (Proyecto de Excelencia P10-FQM-5974)European Regional Development Funds (ERDF

Application of light therapy in older adults with cognitive impairment: A systematic review

[Abstract] This systematic review aims to assess the efficacy of light therapy on behavioural and psychological symptoms of dementia (BPSD), cognition, functional status, and quality of life in older adults with cognitive impairment; and secondarily, to identify the optimal characteristics of light therapy to establish an adequate protocol for its clinical application. We searched Web of Science and Medline databases through December 2019, resulting in 36 included articles: 3 evaluated the effects on BPSD, 25 on sleep, 12 on agitation, 10 on mood, 4 on neuropsychiatric symptoms, 4 on cognition, 2 on quality of life and 2 on functional status. Literature has shown potential evidence for positive effects of light therapy on managing sleep, behavioural and mood disturbances in people with cognitive impairment, but a limited effect on cognition, quality of life and functional status. This review provides guidelines for intervention protocols with light therapy in older people with cognitive impairment.Xunta de Galicia; ED431C 2017/49Xunta de Galicia; ED431F 2017/09Xunta de Galicia; IN607C 2016/08Xunta de Galicia; IN607C 2017/0