Horizontal asymmetries derived from script direction : consequences for attention and action

Tese apresentada para cumprimento dos requisitos necessários à obtenção do grau de Doutor em Psicologia na área de especialização de Psicologia Social apresentada no ISPA - Instituto Universitário, no ano de 2021.A direção de leitura e escrita estabelecem uma trajetória preferencial de exploração do espaço que é reforçada por diversas regularidades culturais consistentes com essa direccionalidade. A correlação espaço-movimento cria um esquema para a ação que enviesa a representação da agência humana, estendendo-se à representação de outros conceitos abstratos que não possuem bases sensoriomotoras. A dimensão horizontal é recrutada para melhor compreender estes conceitos, sendo ancorados de acordo com a direção de escrita e leitura da nossa língua. A assimetria espacial que esta direccionalidade induz constitui um contributo crucial para a área do embodiment, tendo sido demonstrado que afeta processos sociais e cognitivos. Contudo, os processos específicos que estas assimetrias ativam permanecem pouco explorados. Em sete estudos, esta dissertação investiga de que forma as assimetrias espaciais afetam inferências sociais e a performance visuo-motora para com estímulos ancorados na dimensão horizontal. O primeiro estudo indica que inferências sociais relacionadas com agência são preferencialmente atribuídas a faces de perfil orientadas para a direita (versus esquerda). Em duas experiências, o segundo estudo mostra que faces orientadas para a direita servem como pistas para a orientação de atenção. Faces orientadas para a direita, que traduzem a direção utilizada para representar a agência humana, facilitam a atenção para e deteção de alvos no campo visual direito, comparativamente a faces orientadas para a esquerda no campo visual esquerdo. No terceiro estudo, as faces foram substituídas por palavras temporais auditivas e visuais, que se sabe serem ancoradas horizontalmente. A assimetria espacial foi testada em duas experiências em comunidades com direções de leitura e escrita opostas (Português e Árabe). Observou-se uma ancoragem contrária do conceito abstrato ‘tempo’ entre as duas amostras (Português: passado-esquerda/futuro-direita; Árabe: passado-direita/futuro-esquerda). Adicionalmente, uma performance assimétrica reversa entre as duas comunidades linguísticas confirma que o mapeamento do tempo é enviesado pelos hábitos ortográficos e pela representação cultural da agência humana. Isto é, palavras temporais que coincidem com a direção induzida por ambos os sistemas de escrita (i.e., palavras relacionadas com futuro), dão origem a vantagem à direita na amostra Portuguesa, e vantagem à esquerda na amostra Árabe. O quarto estudo estendeu estes resultados à categoria da política, tipicamente representada através de coordenadas de esquerda e de direita. Respostas manuais e atencionais foram mais rápidas para alvos localizados à direita após terem sido apresentadas termos políticos de direita (versus alvos à esquerda após termos políticos de esquerda), que correspondiam à direção em que habitualmente se representa movimento. O quinto e último estudo demonstrou que a apresentação de palavras temporais simultaneamente com um tom auditivo não-espacial impede os efeitos de emergirem. Estas pistas bimodais revelaram as condições limitativas dos efeitos da assimetria espacial. Em conclusão, esta dissertação demonstra que existe uma propriedade genérica de movimento que deriva da direção ortográfica e que é transversal à representação de estímulos distintos, em várias tarefas e modalidades sensoriais. Estes resultados oferecem uma perspetiva mais abrangente sobre o impacto prevalente que uma característica da língua aparentemente irrelevante tem em processos cognitivos fundamentais de perceção, atenção, e julgamento.The directional activities of reading and writing have been shown to ground a preferential trajectory when scanning space. This horizontal directional formation is further reinforced by other cultural regularities that overlap with it. This space-movement correlation creates a left-right (or vice-versa) schema for action that biases the representation of human agency and extends to the representation of other abstract concepts lacking experiential sensorimotor bases. Consequently, the horizontal dimension is recruited to reason about abstract concepts that are mapped congruently with one’s dominant reading and writing or script direction. The spatial asymmetry that this combined directionality induces is a core finding in the embodiment area and has been shown to affect important social and cognitive processes. However, the specific processes activated by these asymmetries remain unclear. A series of seven experiments are outlined to investigate how spatial asymmetries affect social inferences and visuomotor performance to stimuli anchored in the horizontal dimension. The first study indicated that a range of agency-related social inferences are preferentially assigned to face profiles oriented rightward (versus leftward). Across two experiments, the second study showed that right oriented faces serve as attention-orienting primes. Rightward faces, which are in line with the direction used to represent human agency, facilitate attention to and detection of targets on the right hemifield, relative to leftward faces and targets on the left hemifield. In the third study, face primes were replaced by visual and auditory time words known to ground horizontally in space. Spatial asymmetries were tested in two experiments with communities holding opposite writing scripts (Portuguese and Arabic). We observed the mapping of time to be reversed between the two samples (Portuguese: past-left/future-right; Arabic: past-right/future-left). Further, a mirrored asymmetric performance between the two linguistic communities confirmed that the mapping of time is biased by orthographic habits and the cultural representation of human agency. That is, time words that coincide with the direction induced by both writing systems (i.e., future-related) gave rise to right-side advantage in the Portuguese sample and left-side advantage in the Arabic sample. The fourth study extended these results to the category of politics, commonly represented through coordinates of left and right. Manual and gaze responses were faster to targets embedded on the right following conservatism-related words (versus the left following socialism-related words) that embody the habitualized rightward movement direction. The fifth and final study demonstrated that presenting time words synchronously with an auditory nonspatial tone impaired cueing effects. These bimodal cues revealed the boundary conditions of the spatial agency bias. Overall, this dissertation underscores that a generic property of movement that is derived from orthographic direction underlies the representation of very distinct stimuli across tasks and sensory modalities. These findings offer a broader perspective on the pervasive impact a seemingly irrelevant feature of language has on fundamental cognitive processes of perception, attention, and judgment

Crença no mundo justo e vitimização secundária : O papel do comportamento desviante na adolescência

Dissertação de Mestrado em Psicocriminologia apresentada ao ISPA - Instituto UniversitárioA investigação em Crença no Mundo Justo tem encontrado evidências de que um indivíduo se sente ameaçado quando observa uma vítima objectivamente inocente a sofrer, recorrendo frequentemente a estratégias de vitimização secundária para neutralizar a injustiça observada (Lerner, 1980). A literatura tem sistematicamente negligenciado o poder explicativo do comportamento desviante na adolescência nos processos de vitimização secundária. O presente estudo experimental pretende aferir o impacto do comportamento desviante adolescente, da crença no mundo justo e da percepção de inocência da vítima na vitimização secundária, nomeadamente percepção de justiça, merecimento da vítima, responsabilização da vítima versus agressor e minimização do sofrimento da vítima. Este estudo analisou ainda a relação entre comportamento desviante juvenil e identificação à vítima e à situação de vitimização, e a atribuição de responsabilidade à vítima e agressor. Contámos com uma amostra de 284 estudantes de escolas e de um Centro Educativo da área da Grande Lisboa com idades compreendidas entre os 13 e 20 anos de idade. Os resultados demonstram que jovens com mais comportamentos desviantes identificam-se menos com a vítima e consideram-se mais distantes da sua situação, atribuindo-lhe maior responsabilidade do que ao agressor. O efeito de interacção observado permite concluir que jovens com mais comportamentos desviantes, alta crença no mundo justo e na condição de vítima inocente vitimizaram significativamente mais a vítima, considerando-a numa situação mais justa, mais merecedora do assalto e minimizando mais o seu sofrimento. Não se encontraram efeitos de interacção significativos na atribuição de responsabilidade. Limitações e implicações práticas e teóricas deste estudo são debatidas.ABSTRACT: Belief in a Just World research has found evidence that one feels threatened whenever witnesses an objectively innocent victim suffering, often resorting to strategies of secondary victimization in order to neutralize the observed injustice (Lerner, 1980). However, literature has systematically neglected the explanatory power of adolescent deviant behavior in the secondary victimization processes. This experimental study aims to determine the impact of the adolescents’ deviant behavior intensity, belief in a just world and victim’s innocence perception on secondary victimization, namely perception of justice, victim’s deservingness, victim’s and aggressor’s behavioral responsibility and minimization of victim’s suffering. Moreover, this study also sought to analyze the relation between juvenile deviant behavior, identification towards the victim and her situation, and assignments of responsibility towards the victim and the aggressor. Thus, we relied on a sample of 284 students from schools and an Educational Center in the area of Lisbon, aged between 13 and 20 years old. Results showed that juveniles who committed more deviant behaviors identified less with the victim and considered themselves more distant from the victimization situation, assigning more responsibility to the victim and less to the aggressor. The observed interaction effect allowed us to conclude that juveniles with more deviant behaviors, high belief in a just world and in the innocent victim condition victimized significantly more, considering the victim in a fairer situation, as more deserving of the robbery and minimizing her suffering more. Interaction effects regarding assignments of blame were not found. Limitations and theoretical and practical implications of this study are discussed

Fibroma Esclerótico Solitário

Sclerotic fibroma (SF) or storiform collagenoma is a rare and benign skin tumor. Clinically, it usually presents as an asymptomatic, slowly growing papule or nodule on the skin of the head, neck and upper extremities. Other locations have been described including the trunk, oral mucosa and nail bed. SF can present either as a solitary tumor or as multifocal cutaneous lesions and it may occur sporadically or in association with Cowden syndrome. Herein, we report a case of a solitary SF with typical clinical and histologic features, not associated with Cowden disease.O fibroma esclerótico (FE), também conhecido por colagenoma estoriforme, é um tumor cutâneo benigno e raro, que normalmente se manifesta como uma pápula ou nódulo assintomático e de crescimento lento. É mais comum na cabeça, região cervical e membros superiores, mas tem sido descrito também noutras localizações, como no tronco, mucosa oral e leito ungueal. O FE pode surgir como uma lesão solitária ou múltiplas, podendo ocorrer de forma esporádica ou em associação à síndrome de Cowden. Apresentamos um caso de FE solitário não associado à doença de Cowden com características clínicas e histológicas típicas

Letter to the Editor: Medication-Overuse Headache is Common in Portuguese Migraineurs

Carta ao Editor: A Cefaleia por Uso Excessivo de Medicação é Comum em Doentes Portugueses com Enxaquecapublishersversionpublishe

Duas Novas Mutações do Gene ATP2C1 em Doentes Portuguesas com Doença de Hailey-Hailey

Hailey-Hailey disease (HHD) is a rare autosomal dominant acantholytic dermatosis. It is characterized by a recurrent eruption of vesicles, erosions, and scaly erythematous plaques involving intertriginous areas and first occurring after puberty, mostly in the third or fourth decade. In 2000, mutations in the ATP2C1 gene on band 3q22.1, encoding the secretory pathway Ca2+/Mn2+-ATPase protein 1(hSPCA1), have been identified as the cause of HHD. We report the identification of two novel mutations of ATP2C1 gene in two Portuguese patients, which expands the spectrum of ATP2C1 mutations underlying HHD and provides useful information for genetic counseling.A doença de Hailey-Hailey (DHH) é uma dermatose acantolítica autossómica dominante rara. Clinicamente, caracteriza-se por episódios recorrentes de vesículas, erosões e placas eritematosas descamativas envolvendo áreas intertriginosas, com início após a puberdade, geralmente na terceira ou quarta década de vida. Em 2000, mutações no gene ATP2C1, no cromossoma 3q22.1, que codifica a proteína 1 da via secretora humana Ca2+/Mn2+-ATPase (hSPCA1), foram identificadas como a causa da DHH. Relatamos a identificação de duas novas mutações do gene ATP2C1 em duas doentes portuguesas, expandido o espectro de mutações ATP2C1 subjacentes à DHH e fornecendo informações úteis para o aconselhamento genético

Breast cancer targeted photothermal therapy mediated by hyaluronic acid functionalized reduced graphene oxide

The use of graphene-based nanomaterials in cancer photothermal therapy (PTT) is an emerging alternative to the currently available cancer treatments. In this regard, reduced graphene oxide (rGO) has been widely explored for cancer PTT due to its excellent photothermal capacity. However, rGO has some limitations, such as low colloidal stability and water insolubility, as well as absence of targeting capacity towards cancer cells. Herein, rGO produced by an environmentally- friendly method was functionalized with an amphiphilic polymer based on hyaluronic acid (HA-rGO) through hydrophobic-hydrophobic interactions for application in targeted breast cancer PTT. The functionalization improved rGO colloidal stability and cytocompatibility towards normal and breast cancer cells, as well as conferred targeting capacity towards CD44 overexpressing breast cancer cells. In addition, the photothermal effect mediated by HA-rGO upon laser irradiation reduced breast cancer cells’ viability. Overall, HA-rGO demonstrated a great potential for being used on-demand and selective treatment of breast cancer cells.Rita Lima-Sousa and Cátia G. Alves acknowledge funding from the grant UBI Santander/Totta.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Environmentally-friendly reduced graphene oxide functionalized with hyaluronic acid for targeted cancer photothermal therapy

Reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) is one of the most promising nanomaterials for cancer photothermal therapy (PTT) due to its high near infrared (NIR) absorption. However, the rGO producing methods uses dangerous reducing agents, resulting in poor biocompatibility. Additionally, rGO also displays poor colloidal stability and is unable to target cancer cells. These limitations can be improved by using environmentally-friendly reduction methods and by functionalizing this nanomaterial with amphiphilic polymers. In this work, the production of reduced Graphene Oxide (rGO) rGO was performed by using an environmentally-friendly method (reduction with L-ascorbic Acid (LAA)). Then, the obtained rGO was functionalized with an amphiphilic polymer based on hyaluronic acid (HA-g-PMAO) for application in CD44-targeted breast cancer PTTGrants UBI/Santander-Tottainfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

The access of the homeless persons with tuberculosis to the health care: an integrative review

Introduction: The Tuberculosis (TB) keeps being a big public health problem in the world, having the poverty, the bad life condition, the bad income distribution, the social iniquity and the disability on the health system as a substrate to its maintenance. Objective: To identify the scientific knowledge produced under the access to the health service of the homeless person sick by TB. Method: Integrative literature review conducted from April to June, 2016, having as inclusion criteria: publications written in Portuguese, English or Spanish, published from 1990 to 2015, indexed on the data basis: LILACS, SciELO, MEDLINE and Web of Science and portals Virtual Health Library (VHL) and MEDLINE/PubMed, that had the text completely available online. As searching strategy was used the Boolean operator AND, with the descriptors: Tuberculosis, health services accessibility; homeless persons. To obtain the information that answered the research guideline question was elaborated a form that contemplated the following items: identification, theme, descriptors or key-words, abstract, introduction, method, results, discussion, conclusions and references. The search resulted in 51 articles that, observed with the inclusion and exclusion criteria, resulted in 10 complete articles. The data analyzes was made in qualitative terms, summarized in three categories: I) Specific characteristics of the homeless people access to the health services to tuberculosis diagnostic and treatment; II) Access difficulty to the health care: factors related to homeless people and factors related to health services; III) Strategies to overcome the access difficulties of the homeless person (HLP)  to the health care. Results: pointed that the homeless people have a higher risk to get sick by TB, presenting TB incidence rate 10 to 20 times higher than the general population. Many obstacles that limited those people access to the health services were identified. Many times they presented difficulty to identify the appropriated place to search for assistance and not always this place had the opened doors to this social group. Another important finding treats about the low adhesion to the TB treatment, because treating about the search for health care, the homeless people are less inclined to search the health services, seen that living on the street implies in a daily fight for survival. To those people, the sickness treatment has a lower priority than the meal obtaining, the searching for shelter, or the search for a job. Discussion: It was observed that by the fact to be exposed to many risk factors, such as: alcoholism, chemical dependence, environmental exposition, inadequate sleeping accommodations, crowed shelters, stress, psycho disturbs, poverty, HIV infection, weak nutrition, affected immunity through the pre-existent conditions, lack of access to health services, cognitive affection and the adverse effects to the health by the lack of home, the homeless people have high risk to get sick and the high TB mortality rate if compared to the general population. Thus it is evident the serious problem that this disease represents to this specific group, justifying urgently the necessity of specific actions to the TB control in this population. The most important element during the TB elimination will be a significant decreasing of the agglomerations, on the poverty and the barriers to the health care. To increase the access to the health care is essential on the homeless population TB control. It is necessary to highlight that when health services that attends their necessity are provided, the homeless individuals will access to the health care at the same rhythm as the general population. Conclusion: It is necessary that the health actions break the strictly technical caring barriers and include the psychosocial and educative perspective in all the health care process to homeless people with different conformations due to the individuals’ singularities and their scenarios. Thus, the search by the more integral care and, therefore, more efficient possible, it is wait that be included on the health team daily work, routines and process to a systematic search for the health necessities, and developed abilities to recognize the adequacy of the offers to the specific context, in which is given the meeting from the individual and the team. Keywords: Tuberculosis; health services accessibility; homeless persons

Determinants of the income velocity of money in Portugal: 1891–1998

This paper performs a long-run time series analysis of the behaviour of the income velocity of money in Portugal between 1891 and 1998 by assessing the importance of both macroeconomic and institutional factors and looking for particularities in the Portuguese case. We estimate two cointegration vectors for the income velocity of money, macroeconomic variables and institutional variables. It is apparent that one of these vectors reflects the relationship between income velocity and macroeconomic variables, while the other reflects the relationship between income velocity and institutional variables. Moreover, a regression analysis reveals that the usual U-shaped pattern is displayed with a relatively late inflection point located around 1970, which is consistent with the Spanish case. It is further noted that this is a feature of countries with a late economic and institutional development process.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

African Linguistics in Central and Eastern Europe, and in the Nordic Countries

Non peer reviewe