49 research outputs found
Exploring Responses to Art in Adolescence: A Behavioral and Eye-Tracking Study
Adolescence is a peculiar age mainly characterized by physical and psychological changes that may affect the perception of one's own and others' body. This perceptual peculiarity may influence the way in which bottom-up and top-down processes interact and, consequently, the perception and evaluation of art. This study is aimed at investigating, by means of the eye-tracking technique, the visual explorative behavior of adolescents while looking at paintings. Sixteen color paintings, categorized as dynamic and static, were presented to twenty adolescents; half of the images represented natural environments and half human individuals; all stimuli were displayed under aesthetic and movement judgment tasks. Participants' ratings revealed that, generally, nature images are explicitly evaluated as more appealing than human images. Eye movement data, on the other hand, showed that the human body exerts a strong power in orienting and attracting visual attention and that, in adolescence, it plays a fundamental role during aesthetic experience. In particular, adolescents seem to approach human-content images by giving priority to elements calling forth movement and action, supporting the embodiment theory of aesthetic perception
Gross motor coordination in relation to weight status: a longitudinal study in children and pre-adolescents
Introduction: Gross Motor Coordination (GMC) is crucial for the adequate development of motor competence. Our purpose in this semi-longitudinal study was to evaluate the influence of BMI on GMC in children and pre-adolescents of both sexes, across school years (classes). Methods: We evaluated 117 subjects (aged 8â13âyears) belonging to three different cohorts for 4 consecutive years, providing data over 6âyears (classes). GMC was assessed through the Körperkoordinationstest fĂŒr Kinder (KTK) test. Class and weight status effects were then evaluated by dividing the subjects into a normal weight group and an overweight group based on their weight status. Results: A significant increase across classes was found for BMI (pâ<â0.001) and KTK raw score (pâ<â0.001) and a decrease was found for KTK normalized score (MQ) (pâ=â0.043). Significantly lower MQ values were found for girls. Absolute GMC increased across the years and there was no difference between boys and girls. Correlations between GMC scores and BMI were negative and significant in 5 of 6 classes. It was confirmed that overweight subjects had lower MQ and RAW values than normal-weight subjects, with no class-by-weight status interaction. Discussion: The level of competence and its development are strictly dependent on weight status during childhood and pre-adolescence. The present investigation suggests that the adequate development of GMC requires not only targeted physical education programs but also the promotion of healthy habits aimed at maintaining a normal weight status during childhood and pre-adolescence
Childrenâs representations of the COVID-19 lockdown and pandemic through drawings
The COVID-19 pandemic and the measures to face it have placed children and their caregivers in front of many challenges that could represent sources of stress. This work aims to explore the point of view of children through drawing, as a spontaneous means of expression, relating it to parentsâ perceptions of childrenâs difficulties, strengths, and mentalization skills. The sample consists of 18 children (mean age = 8.22, SD = 1.79). Parents were asked to complete: a socio-demographic questionnaire with information on the impact of COVID-19 on the family, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire, and the Everyday Mindreading Scale. Children were asked to draw three moments: âBeforeâ the pandemic, âDuringâ the lockdown, and âAfter,â when the COVID-19 will be passed. The drawings were coded by constructing a content and expressive analysis grid, adapting coding systems found in the literature. Data were collected at the beginning of the summer of 2020, just after the first lockdown period (from March to May 2020 in Italy). The results of the present work are in line with previous studies that reported experiences of wellbeing and tranquility of children in time spent at home with family during the pandemic. From the drawings emerges that children feel sufficiently able to master the situation, as reflected by including themselves in drawings and providing many details of the house in âDuringâ drawings. The literature also reports a feeling of sadness/loneliness caused by the lack of friends, an element that we also find in the tendency to represent friends significantly more in the drawings concerning the future. Some contents of drawings (inclusion of friends, relatives, and parents) appeared associated with emotional, interpersonal, and mentalizing abilities of children, as perceived by parents. Exploring childrenâs representations of a stressful event like the pandemic through drawings allows to focus both on their difficulties and on their resources, with useful implications for the educational support
Effects of an intensive inpatient rehabilitation program in elderly patients with obesity
Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the short-term effectiveness of an intensive inpatient multidimensional rehabilitation program (MRP), including diet, exercise, and behavioral therapy, in elderly patients with severe obesity. Methods: Forty-four elderly patients (old; age 69.3 \ub1 3.5 years, BMI 41.9 \ub1 14.9) were analyzed against 215 younger patients (young; age 48.2 \ub1 18.5 years, BMI 43.9 \ub1 9.4), who were used as controls. All patients underwent MRP, based on group therapy guided by a multidisciplinary team (physicians, dietitians, exercise trainers, psychologists). We evaluated changes in anthropometry, cardiovascular risk factors, physical fitness, quality of life, and eating behavior. Results: After 3 weeks of MRP, we observed a reduction in body weight (old -3.8%, young -4.3%), BMI (old -3.9%, young -4.4%), waist circumference (old -3.4%, young -4.1%), total cholesterol (old -14.0%, young -15.0%), and fasting glucose (old -8.3%, young -8.1%), as well as improved performance in the Six-Minute-Walk Test (old +28.7%, young +15.3%), chair-stand test (old +24.8%, young +26.9%), and arm-curl test (old +15.2%, young +27.3%). Significant improvement was registered in all other analyzed domains. Conclusion: Our 3-week MRP provided significant clinical and functional improvement, which was similar between elderly and younger patients with severe obesity. In the long-term, this may be translated into better quality of life, through better management of obesity-associated morbidities and reduced frailty
Chandra and Magellan/FIRE follow-up observations of PSO167-13: an X-ray weak QSO at
The discovery of hundreds of QSOs in the first Gyr of the Universe powered by
already grown SMBHs challenges our knowledge of SMBH formation. In particular,
investigations of QSOs presenting notable properties can provide unique
information on the physics of fast SMBH growth in the early universe. We
present the results of follow-up observations of the radio-quiet QSO
PSO167-13, which is interacting with a close companion galaxy. The PSO167-13
system has been recently proposed to host the first heavily obscured X-ray
source at high redshift. We observed PSO167-13 with Chandra/ACIS-S (177 ks),
and obtained new spectroscopic observations (7.2 h) with Magellan/FIRE. No
significant X-ray emission is detected from the PSO167-13 system, suggesting
that the obscured X-ray source previously tentatively detected was either due
to a strong background fluctuation or is highly variable. The upper limit (90%
confidence level) on the X-ray emission of PSO167-13
() is the lowest
available for a QSO. The ratio between the X-ray and UV luminosity of
makes PSO167-13 a strong outlier from the
and relations. In particular, its
X-ray emission is times weaker than the expectation based on its UV
luminosity. The new Magellan/FIRE spectrum of PSO167-13 is strongly affected by
the unfavorable sky conditions, but the tentatively detected C IV and Mg II
emission lines appear strongly blueshifted. The most plausible explanations for
the X-ray weakness of PSO167-13 are intrinsic weakness or small-scale
absorption by Compton-thick material. The possible strong blueshift of its
emission lines hints at the presence of nuclear winds, which could be related
to its X-ray weakness.Comment: Accepted for publication on A&
Effects of an Intensive Inpatient Rehabilitation Program in Elderly Patients with Obesity
Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the short-term effectiveness of an intensive inpatient multidimensional rehabilitation program (MRP), including diet, exercise, and behavioral therapy, in elderly patients with severe obesity. Methods: Forty-four elderly patients (old; age 69.3 ± 3.5 years, BMI 41.9 ± 14.9) were analyzed against 215 younger patients (young; age 48.2 ± 18.5 years, BMI 43.9 ± 9.4), who were used as controls. All patients underwent MRP, based on group therapy guided by a multidisciplinary team (physicians, dietitians, exercise trainers, psychologists). We evaluated changes in anthropometry, cardiovascular risk factors, physical fitness, quality of life, and eating behavior. Results: After 3 weeks of MRP, we observed a reduction in body weight (old â3.8%, young â4.3%), BMI (old â3.9%, young â4.4%), waist circumference (old â3.4%, young â4.1%), total cholesterol (old â14.0%, young â15.0%), and fasting glucose (old â8.3%, young â8.1%), as well as improved performance in the Six-Minute-Walk Test (old +28.7%, young +15.3%), chair-stand test (old +24.8%, young +26.9%), and arm-curl test (old +15.2%, young +27.3%). Significant improvement was registered in all other analyzed domains. Conclusion: Our 3-week MRP provided significant clinical and functional improvement, which was similar between elderly and younger patients with severe obesity. In the long-term, this may be translated into better quality of life, through better management of obesity-associated morbidities and reduced frailty
When Art Moves the Eyes: A Behavioral and Eye-Tracking Study
The aim of this study was to investigate, using eye-tracking technique, the influence of bottom-up and top-down processes on visual behavior while subjects, na \u308\u131ve to art criticism, were presented with representational paintings. Forty-two subjects viewed color and black and white paintings (Color) categorized as dynamic or static (Dynamism) (bottom-up processes). Half of the images represented natural environments and half human subjects (Content); all stimuli were displayed under aesthetic and movement judgment conditions (Task) (top-down processes). Results on gazing behavior showed that content-related top-down processes prevailed over low-level visually-driven bottom-up processes when a human subject is represented in the painting. On the contrary, bottom-up processes, mediated by low-level visual features, particularly affected gazing behavior when looking at nature-content images. We discuss our results proposing a reconsideration of the definition of content-related top-down processes in accordance with the concept of embodied simulation in art perception