Exploring the relationship between video game expertise and fluid intelligence

Hundreds of millions of people play intellectually-demanding video games every day. What does individual performance on these games tell us about cognition? Here, we describe two studies that examine the potential link between intelligence and performance in one of the most popular video games genres in the world (Multiplayer Online Battle Arenas: MOBAs). In the first study, we show that performance in the popular MOBA League of Legends' correlates with fluid intelligence as measured under controlled laboratory conditions. In the second study, we also show that the age profile of performance in the two most widely-played MOBAs (League of Legends and DOTA II) matches that of raw fluid intelligence. We discuss and extend previous videogame literature on intelligence and videogames and suggest that commercial video games can be useful as 'proxy' tests of cognitive performance at a global population level

Strawberry Leaves Extract for Cosmetic Industry

In 2020, Portugal had an average strawberry production of 10 thousand tons, and 15 % was considered strawberry plant residues. This work proposed a new product that uses the compounds extracted from the strawberry residues-stem and leaves, excluding the fruit-as an active ingredient for cosmetic application. Strawberry leaves were extracted with 50 % ethanol. This extract mainly consists of lactic acid, ascorbic acid, ascorbic acid, and agrimoniin; these compounds are used in the chemical industry due to their antioxidant properties. A gel-cream formulation with 17.5 % strawberry leaves extracts was proposed. It proposed an industrial-scale production and a preliminary economic analysis to evaluate the project's profitability. The Net Present Value (NPV) was estimated as 3.40 M€ (4th year), and the pay-back time is on eight quarters. (c) 2022, Universidade do Porto - Faculdade de Engenharia. All rights reserved

Mutations in the polyglutamylase gene TTLL5, expressed in photoreceptor cells and spermatozoa, are associated with cone-rod degeneration and reduced male fertility

Hereditary retinal degenerations encompass a group of genetic diseases characterized by extreme clinical variability. Following next-generation sequencing and autozygome-based screening of patients presenting with a peculiar, recessive form of cone-dominated retinopathy, we identified five homozygous variants [p.(Asp594fs), p.(Gln117*), p.(Met712fs), p.(Ile756Phe), and p.(Glu543Lys)] in the polyglutamylase-encoding gene TTLL5, in eight patients from six families. The two male patients carrying truncating TTLL5 variants also suffered from a substantial reduction in sperm motility and infertility, whereas those carrying missense changes were fertile. Defects in this polyglutamylase in humans have recently been associated with cone photoreceptor dystrophy, while mouse models carrying truncating mutations in the same gene also display reduced fertility in male animals. We examined the expression levels of TTLL5 in various human tissues and determined that this gene has multiple viable isoforms, being highly expressed in testis and retina. In addition, antibodies against TTLL5 stained the basal body of photoreceptor cells in rat and the centrosome of the spermatozoon flagellum in humans, suggesting a common mechanism of action in these two cell types. Taken together, our data indicate that mutations in TTLL5 delineate a novel, allele-specific syndrome causing defects in two as yet pathogenically unrelated functions, reproduction and vision

Hoes to Herbicides: Economics of Evolving Weed Management in the United States

Weed control is the most labor-demanding aspect of row-crop agriculture in the absence of herbicides. The past century has seen weed management in the United States evolve from horse-drawn cultivators to broad-spectrum herbicides on herbicide-tolerant crops. Three waves of technological change have driven the evolution. Current weed control technologies are Mechanical (for organic products), Chemical (when herbicide resistant weeds require multiple herbicides for effective weed control), and Genetic + Chemical (herbicide-tolerant crop). Cost analysis for a representative Midwestern farm shows that these three systems have decreasing requirements in both capital and labor

Atomistic Kinetic Monte Carlo and Solute Effects

International audienceThe atomistic approach of the kinetic Monte Carlo methods allows one to explicitly take into account solute atoms. In this chapter, we present and discuss the different pathways available at this point to go behind nearest neighbor pair interaction for binary alloys on rigid lattices as well as their perspectives. Different strategies to treat complex alloys with several solutes with improved cohesive models are exposed and illustrated as well as the modeling of self-interstitial diffusion under irradiation and its complexity compared to vacancy diffusion