Virtual Body Ownership Illusions for Mental Health: A Narrative Review.

Over the last 20 years, virtual reality (VR) has been widely used to promote mental health in populations presenting different clinical conditions. Mental health does not refer only to the absence of psychiatric disorders but to the absence of a wide range of clinical conditions that influence people\u2019s general and social well-being such as chronic pain, neurological disorders that lead to motor o perceptual impairments, psychological disorders that alter behaviour and social cognition, or physical conditions like eating disorders or present in amputees. It is known that an accurate perception of oneself and of the surrounding environment are both key elements to enjoy mental health and well-being, and that both can be distorted in patients suffering from the clinical conditions mentioned above. In the past few years, multiple studies have shown the effectiveness of VR to modulate such perceptual distortions of oneself and of the surrounding environment through virtual body ownership illusions. This narrative review aims to review clinical studies that have explored the manipulation of embodied virtual bodies in VR for improving mental health, and to discuss the current state of the art and the challenges for future research in the context of clinical care

Evidence for an inhibitory effect of physiological levels of insulin on the growth hormone (GH) response to GH-releasing hormone in healthy subjects

It has been previously reported that in healthy subjects, the acute reduction of free fatty acids (FFA) levels by acipimox enhances the GH response to GHRH. In the present study, the GH response to GHRH was evaluated during acute blockade of lipolysis obtained either by acipimox or by insulin at different infusion rates. Six healthy subjects (four men and two women, 25.8 +/- 1.9 yrs old, mean +/- SE) underwent three GHRH tests (50 micrograms iv, at 1300 h) during: 1) iv 0.9% NaCl infusion (1200-1500 h) after oral acipimox administration (250 mg) at 0700 h and at 1100 h; 2) 0.1 mU.kg-1.min-1 euglycemic insulin clamp (1200-1500 h) after oral acipimox administration (250 mg at 0700 h and at 1100 h); 3) 0.4 mU.kg-1.min-1 euglycemic insulin clamp (1200-1500 h) after oral placebo administration (at 0700 and 1100 h). Serum insulin (immunoreactive insulin) levels were significantly different in the three tests (12 +/- 2, 100 +/- 10, 194 +/- 19 pmol/L, P < 0.06), plasma FFA were low and similar (0.04 +/- 0.003, 0.02 +/- 0.005, 0.02 +/- 0.003, not significant), and the GH response to GHRH was progressively lower (4871 +/- 1286, 2414 +/- 626, 1076 +/- 207 micrograms/L 120 min), although only test 3 was significantly different from test 1 (P < 0.05). Pooling the three tests together, a significant negative regression was observed between mean serum immunoreactive insulin levels and the GH response to GHRH (r = -0.629, P < 0.01). Our results indicate that in healthy subjects, acipimox and hyperinsulinemia produce a similar decrease in FFA levels and that at similar low FFA, the GH response to GHRH is lower during insulin infusion than after acipimox. These data suggest that insulin exerts a negative effect on GH release. Because the insulin levels able to reduce the GH response to GHRH are commonly observed during the day, for instance during the postprandial period, we conclude that the insulin negative effect on GH release may have physiological relevance

The refurbishment of large residential developments: remodel buildings using volumetric additions which integrate solar systems

L’obiettivo del paper è presentare le strategie per la riqualificazione dell’involucro con integrazione di energia solare negli edifici inseriti nei grandi quartieri di edilizia residenziale popolare e un caso di studio sviluppato nell'ambito della ricerca “Procedure di progettazione e sperimentazione di tecnologie innovative per l’edilizia residenziale a basso impatto ambientale in interventi di nuova edificazione e di recupero”. Nella prima fase della ricerca sono state indagate le tendenze innovative per il recupero dell’edilizia residenziale pubblica in Europa attraverso lo studio di alcuni casi significativi selezionati in base alla loro capacità di risolvere in modo complessivo il problema del recupero alle diverse scale edilizie attraverso interventi sia bidimensionali che volumetrico-spaziali. La strategie sono state testate sul quartiere di Edilizia economica popolare di Via Murat 11/29 a Milano che presenta notevoli obsolescenze e insufficienze prestazionali. La riqualificazione comprende il rifacimento delle facciate e del manto di copertura e alcuni interventi più consistenti che riguardano la riorganizzazione tipologica di una porzione degli alloggi, con la giustapposizione di box esterni per aumentare la superficie abitativa, il posizionamento di nuovi volumi indipendenti in copertura e al piano pilotis per inserire nuove funzioni a supporto di quella residenziale. Le addizioni volumetriche integrano sistemi attivi e passivi per lo sfruttamento dell’energia solare.The aim of the paper is to present strategies for the requalification of the building envelop with the integration of solar energy applied to buildings in large social housing estates together with a case study developed for the research programme “Procedures for the design and testing of innovative technologies for low environmental impact residential housing in relation to new construction and refurbishment projects”. The first phase of the research focused on the investigation of innovative trends for the refurbishment of public residential housing in Europe through the desktop study of selected cases chosen on the basis of their potential to resolve from an holistic point of view the issue of refurbishment projects at different scales both at bi-dimensional and three-dimensional and volumetric level. The strategies have been tested on the social housing development of Via Murat 11/29 in Milan which presents a number of issues ranging from obsolescence to inadequate performance. The renovation project includes the refurbishment of the facade and of the roof and some major works involving the re-arrangement of some of residential units, the positioning of new independent volumes on the roof and at the pilotis level in order to add some supporting functions to the residential use. The volumetric additions include the integration of active and passive systems for the use of solar energy

Competitive vs. monopolistic routes: Are fares so different?

Many different carriers operating on the same route is usually regarded as a signal of a competitive setting and, therefore, as a situation potentially beneficial for customers in terms of lower prices. This is obviously true if the argument involves a comparison between different market forms given the level of demand. Across different routes, however, the number of carriers depends also on the level of demand for each particular pair of destinations, so that we cannot assume a priori that fares per kilometre on "monopolistic" routes are higher than on more "competitive" ones. We study the price policy during 2008 of the two main European low cost carriers, Ryanair and easyJet, with reference to one hundred of the least, and one hundred of the most, dense routes among those operated by the two carriers respectively. The systematic occurrence of higher (for Ryanair), or at least no lower (for easyJet), average prices on competitive routes if compared with prices on routes with a single carrier by the same airline, surprising as it may be, supports the conclusion that a low level of demand is sufficient to impose low fares to some extent irrespective of the degree of competition

How can adolescents benefit from the use of social networks? The igeneration on instagram

In the last few years, Instagram has been a topic of much contention, as it has been shown to be associated with both risks and benefits for young users. This study explores the influence of the use of Instagram on adolescents\u2019 constructions of self and interpersonal experience. Forty Italian adolescents aged between 11 and 16 years were interviewed and completed repertory grids. The results showed that the adolescents\u2019 self-construction and distance from others were mostly influenced by receiving, or not receiving, positive feedback, rather than by using Instagram itself. Specifically, there was an increase in self-acceptance and social desirability after receiving a \u201clike\u201d and an increase in social isolation after receiving no \u201clikes\u201d. The regression model also showed a decrease in self-acceptance on Instagram in the case of female adolescents, and in participants who edited photos. These findings are useful for understanding the constant need for approval adolescents require today and could be used as a guiding tool for future studies and intervention policies. The present study offers an innovative methodology that refers to the relevant dimensions of adolescents\u2019 self-construction rather than investigating the more general relationship between personality traits and social networks\u2019 use