“Emotional Nose”: The Hedonic Character of Olfaction and its Epistemological and Clinical Implications

The olfactory system is the oldest device that most organisms have to perceive their physical and social environment. However, progressing in the evolutionary tree, the importance of the olfactory perception has decreased, and the sight has taken dominance. Notwithstanding, the olfaction still plays a fundamental role, as it is strictly associated with emotions, which are a medium between perception and behavior. The current work aims at addressing the hedonic character of the olfaction, showing its strong clinical implications for clinical psychology, neuropsychology, and CogInfoCom

Criatividade, pesquisa e inovação. O caminho surpreendente da descoberta.

The semantic horizon of the term innovation is fairly broad, at least as broad as the mental processes that are at its origin and the changes it engenders. Through ever new combinations of ideas and events, innovation brings about changes and discontinuity in scienti c, cultural, and social paradigms. Above all, innovation is the ability of the mind to combine ludic and logic elements, extract from apparently banal data new and surprising elements, provide divergent and creative responses, and generate different hypotheses, scenarios, and solutions in almost casual fashion – even outside a structured logic

QUESTIONI DI ANTICIPAZIONE DELLA TUTELA PENALE A PARTIRE DAI REATI AMBIENTALI

La tesi si propone l'obiettivo di investigare il ruolo che il diritto penale può avere nel fronteggiare i cosiddetti "problemi della modernità". In particolare, ci si interroga sulle reali capacità che lo strumento penalistico, attraverso i reati di pericolo astratto e delle fattispecie incentrate sul principio di precauzione, può avere nel garantire adeguata tutela ai sistemi ecologici. Il primo capitolo del lavoro è dedicato alla disamina critica delle posizioni dottrinali emerse in ordine alla definizione del pericolo quale elemento costitutivo della fattispecie, mentre il secondo si concentra sull'analisi del principio comunitario di precauzione, con l'obiettivo di segnalare i rischi dell'appiattimento della legislazione penale su tale principio. Nel corso dei successivi capitoli lo studio si concentra sulla complessa realtà della legislazione ambientale e vuole evidenziare, da un lato, come le fattispecie di pericolo astratto presunto mal si prestino a garantire opportuna salvaguardia al sistema complesso costituito dalle matrici ecologiche e, dall'altro, come la recente introduzione dei reati contro il bene ambiente all'interno del codice penale non abbia affatto rimediato ai diversi profili di ineffettività del sistema. In conclusione del lavoro, si propone un nuovo modello di gestione della questione ambientale, fondato su una più marcata valorizzazione dei profili di responsabilità della persona giuridica, unico soggetto realmente in grado di prevenire e contrastare i più gravi fatti di compromissione ambientale.The thesis aims to investigate the role that criminal law can play in dealing with the so-called "problems of modernity". In particular, the paper investigates the real capabilities that the criminal instrument can have in guaranteeing adequate protection to ecological systems. The first chapter of the work is dedicated to the critical examination of the doctrinal positions in order to define danger as a constitutive element of the crime, while the second focuses on the analysis of the precautionary principle. In the following chapters, the study focuses on the complex reality of environmental legislation and aims to highlight, on one hand, how crimes of abstract danger cannot guarantee adequate protection to the complex system constituted by the ecological matrices and, on the other hand, how the recent introduction of crimes against the environment within the criminal code has not at all remedied the different profiles of ineffectiveness of the system. In conclusion, a new model of managing environmental issue is proposed, based on a more marked enhancement of the profiles of responsibility of the legal person, the only subject really able to prevent and counter the most serious facts of environmental compromise

A qualitative study on minority stress subjectively experienced by transgender and gender nonconforming people in Italy

A great amount of quantitative research has largely demonstrated that transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) people experience high rates of minority stress, against which they are able to exercise resilience and to use adaptive strategies buffering the negative effects of stress on health. Notwithstanding, qualitative investigations on how TGNC people subjectively experience minority stress are still scarce. This study aims at exploring the subjective experiences of minority stress through a focus group with 8 Italian TGNC individuals (5 male-to-female, 2 female-to-male, and 1 genderqueer; M = 25; SD = 5). Narratives were analyzed through the deductive thematic analysis. The analysis generated four main categories: (1) family rejection; (2) visibility of the body; (3) negative effects of family violence on health; and (4) integration of TGNC identity. Results offer an in-depth exploration of minority stress processes in TGNC people, as well as the impact of stress on health and adaptive strategies to face with stigma. Suggestions for clinical practice are discussed

Metáforas na investigação biomédica: diagnóstico e tipologia

A presente comunicação apresenta os primeiros resultados da análise de um conjunto de artigos publicados na área da pesquisa biomédica no que respeita à utilização da metáfora. O objectivo aqui é indicar como, a partir de uma abordagem cognitivista, elaborámos uma extensa listagem de conceitos metafóricos posteriormente classificados e ordenados num elenco de oito grandes categorias. Finalmente, apontamos o modo como estas categorias poderão servir de base a uma análise mais detalhada no que respeita aos processos de nomeação dos conceitos usados na área da biomedicina, à elaboração de uma ontologia da representação que, de certa forma, modela e condiciona a actividade dos investigadores, ao desenvolvimento de uma possível distinção entre metáforas “comuns”, metáforas “epistémicas” e metáforas “disciplinares”, e ainda quanto à caracterização do uso da metáfora em alguns fenómenos de tipo pragmático.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

A presença da metáfora em artigos de investigação biomédica

O projecto “O Uso de Metáforas na Pesquisa Biomédica” tem como objectivo geral compreender como a utilização das metáforas pode influenciar a pesquisa biomédica e prevê a inclusão de uma revisão da literatura recentemente publicada sobre o assunto, tanto em formato livro como em artigos de investigação. Nesta comunicação, apresentamos os resultados da revisão dos artigos de investigação com origem em áreas biomédicas e conexas recentemente publicados e acessíveis através da base de dados online da PubMed®. Através do respectivo sítio na Internet, foram compilados 319 artigos com data de publicação entre Janeiro de 2010 e Setembro de 2012, mencionando o termo “metaphor” no título ou resumo. Depois de enquadrados num panorama cronológico mais amplo, estes artigos foram caracterizados segundo a respectiva tipologia e identificadas as áreas disciplinares de maior interesse pelo tema. Seguidamente, foram analisados o modo como a influência da metáfora neles é percebida pelos próprios investigadores e as interpretações mais comuns do termo, revelando quais serão as suas acepções mais correntes entre um público de formação superior, mas presumivelmente alheio aos aspectos técnicos dos debates que se têm desenvolvido acerca da metáfora na área da filosofia. Finalmente, procurámos distinguir nos artigos compilados as linhas de investigação mais relevantes sobre a metáfora na área da biomedicina.The overall objective of the project “The use of metaphors in biomedical research” is to understand some of the ways by which the use of metaphor may influence biomedical research and includes a survey of the most recently published literature on the subject, in books as well as in research papers. This paper presents the results of a survey of research articles in biomedical areas that have been recently published and are accessible through PubMed®, an online database. Through its internet site, 319 research articles have been compiled, with publishing dates ranging from January 2010 to September 2012. All of these articles hold the word “metaphor” in their title and / or their abstract. These articles were then included within a wider chronological frame. They were then divided by different categories according to the disciplinary areas that are more keen on the subject. Subsequently, we were able to identify the way the use of metaphor is acknowledged and understood by researchers themselves and what are the most common interpretations of this notion amidst the scientific community. Finally we were able to identify what are the most relevant areas of research on metaphor within biomedical studies.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Olfactory-related quality of life impacts psychological distress in people with COVID-19: The affective implications of olfactory dysfunctions

Background Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) often causes chemosensory impairment, and olfactory dysfunctions may have negative consequences on psychological distress. This study aimed at assessing which dimension of perceived olfactory disfunctions (i.e., subjective olfactory capability, smell-related problems, or olfactory-related quality of life [QoL]) was most associated with psychological distress in people diagnosed with COVID-19. Methods 364 participants (65 men and 299 women) diagnosed with COVID-19 on average 7 months prior to the beginning of the study were recruited between June 5 and 21, 2021, to take part in an online cross-sectional survey. Participants answered questions on demographics, clinical factors, perceived olfactory functioning, and psychological distress. Hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis was conducted, assessing the role of demographics, clinical factors, and perceived olfactory functioning dimensions on psychological distress. Results More than half of the participants met the cut-off for all perceived olfactory dysfunctions scales and psychological distress. Being women, smoker, with comorbidities, and greater severity of COVID-19 symptoms were associated with higher scores on psychological distress. Among perceived olfactory functioning scales, only impairment in olfaction QoL was associated with psychological distress. Limitations Limitations concerned the cross-sectional nature of the study and the unbalanced sample in terms of gender. Conclusions The study confirmed the core intertwining between mood, perceived QoL, and olfactory functioning, showing how impairments in olfactory processing are strongly correlated with psychological distress through the impact they have on the perceived QoL

Behavioral sentiment analysis of depressive states

The need to release accurate and incontrovertible diagnoses of depression has fueled the search for new methodologies to obtain more reliable measurements than the commonly adopted questionnaires. In such a context, research has sought to identify non-biased measures derived from analyses of behavioral data such as voice and language. For this purpose, sentiment analysis techniques were developed, initially based on linguistic characteristics extracted from texts and gradually becoming more and more sophisticated by adding tools for the analyses of voice and visual data (such as facial expressions and movements). This work summarizes the behavioral features accounted for detecting depressive states and sentiment analysis tools developed to extract them from text, audio, and video recordings

Frontal left alpha activity as an indicator of willingness to interact with virtual agents: A pilot study

Over the last decade, much effort has been made to develop virtual agents acting as assistants of elderly people in their daily activities. With the emergence of such technologies, several questionnaires have been developed to investigate the factors increasing user's acceptance of virtual agents. While questionnaires provide detailed information about users' preferences, they may not be sufficient for investigating user's internal affective states and impressions during the interaction with virtual agents. Therefore, improving assessment techniques for elders' acceptance of virtual agents is necessary for understanding the impressions they arouse and determining their design accordingly. This paper is a report of a pilot study that benefits from the predictive ability of left frontal alpha activity in the brain on positive affect and approach related motivation, and investigates relationships between user's willingness to interact with virtual agents and left frontal alpha activity in order to gain insights on user's affective and motivational states during the interaction with an agent

EEGs as potential predictors of virtual agents' acceptance

Over the last decade, much effort has been made to develop robots and virtual agents acting as assistants of elderly people in order to support them in their daily activities. In this context users' acceptance of such virtual assistants is fundamental for engaging them in order to maximize the assistance's effectiveness and users' comfort. Therefore, improving assessment techniques for elders' acceptance of virtual agents is necessary for understanding the impressions they arouse and determining their design accordingly. This paper is a proposition to introduce an EEG emotion detection procedure to gain further insight in implementing effective virtual agents' acceptance