LivDet in Action - Fingerprint Liveness Detection Competition 2019

The International Fingerprint liveness Detection Competition (LivDet) is an open and well-acknowledged meeting point of academies and private companies that deal with the problem of distinguishing images coming from reproductions of fingerprints made of artificial materials and images relative to real fingerprints. In this edition of LivDet we invited the competitors to propose integrated algorithms with matching systems. The goal was to investigate at which extent this integration impact on the whole performance. Twelve algorithms were submitted to the competition, eight of which worked on integrated systems.Comment: Preprint version of a paper accepted at ICB 201

Morpho-Colorimetric Characterization of the Sardinian Endemic Taxa of the Genus Anchusa L. by Seed Image Analysis

In this work, the seed morpho-colorimetric differentiation of the Sardinian endemic species of Anchusa (Boraginaceae) was evaluated. In Sardinia, the Anchusa genus includes the following seven taxa: A. capellii, A. crispa ssp. crispa, A. crispa ssp. maritima, A. formosa, A. littorea, A. montelinasana, and A. sardoa. Seed images were acquired using a flatbed scanner and analyzed using the free software package ImageJ. A total of 74 seed morpho-colorimetric features of 2692 seed lots of seven taxa of Anchusa belonging to 17 populations were extrapolated and used to build a database of seed size, shape, and color features. The data were statistically elaborated by the stepwise linear discriminant analysis (LDA) to compare and discriminate each accession and taxon. In addition, the seed morpho-colorimetric differences among coastal and mountainous taxa were evaluated. Considering the ecological conditions, the LDA was able to discriminate among the Anchusa taxa with a correct identification of 87.4% and 90.8% of specimens for mountainous and coastal plants, respectively. Moreover, the LDA of the 17 populations of Anchusa showed a low separation among species and populations within the coastal group, highlighting how the long-distance dispersal by flotation on the sea water surface and the pollination network may influence the similarity patterns observed. In addition, a misattribution was observed for A. crispa ssp. crispa, which was misclassified as A. crispa ssp. maritima in 14.1% of cases, while A. crispa ssp. maritima was misidentified as A. crispa ssp. crispa in 21.1% of cases, highlighting a close phenotypic relationship between these two taxa. The statistical results obtained through the seed image analysis showed that the morpho-colorimetric features of the seeds provide important information about the adaptation and evolution of Anchusa taxa in Sardinia

Indicators to distinguish symptom accentuators from symptom producers in individuals with a diagnosed adjustment disorder: A pilot study on inconsistency subtypes using SIMS and MMPI-2-RF

In the context of legal damage evaluations, evaluees may exaggerate or simulate symptoms in an attempt to obtain greater economic compensation. To date, practitioners and researchers have focused on detecting malingering behavior as an exclusively unitary construct. However, we argue that there are two types of inconsistent behavior that speak to possible malingering—accentuating (i.e., exaggerating symptoms that are actually experienced) and simulating (i.e., fabricating symptoms entirely)—each with its own unique attributes; thus, it is necessary to distinguish between them. The aim of the present study was to identify objective indicators to differentiate symptom accentuators from symptom producers and consistent participants. We analyzed the Structured Inventory of Malingered Symptomatology scales and the Minnesota Multiphasic Personality Inventory-2 Restructured Form validity scales of 132 individuals with a diagnosed adjustment disorder with mixed anxiety and depressed mood who had undergone assessment for psychiatric/psychological damage. The results indicated that the SIMS Total Score, Neurologic Impairment and Low Intelligence scales and the MMPI-2-RF Infrequent Responses (F-r) and Response Bias (RBS) scales successfully discriminated among symptom accentuators, symptom producers, and consistent participants. Machine learning analysis was used to identify the most efficient parameter for classifying these three groups, recognizing the SIMS Total Score as the best indicator

Machine Learning and MADIT methodology for the fake news identification: the persuasion index

[EN] The phenomenon of fake news has grown concurrently with the rise of social networks that allow people to directly access news without the mediation of reliable sources. Recognizing news as fake is a difficult task for humans, and even tougher for a machine. This proposal aims to redesign the problem: from a check of truthfulness of news content, to the analysis of texts’ persuasion level. That is how information is introduced to the reader, assuming that fake news is aimed at persuading towards the reality of sense they intend to convey. M.A.D.I.T. methodology has been chosen. It is useful to describe how texts are built, overcoming the content/structure analysis level and stressing the study of Discursive Repertories: discursive modalities of reality of sense building, classified into real and fake news categories thanks to the Machine learning application. For the dataset building 7,387 news have been analysed. The results highlight different profiles of text building between the two groups: the different and typical discursive repertories allow to validate the methodological approach as a good predictor of the persuasion level of texts, not only of news, but also of information in domains such as the economic financial one (e.g. GameStop event).Orrù, L.; Moro, C.; Cuccarini, M.; Paita, M.; Dalla Riva, MS.; Bassi, D.; Da San Martino, G.... (2022). Machine Learning and MADIT methodology for the fake news identification: the persuasion index. En 4th International Conference on Advanced Research Methods and Analytics (CARMA 2022). Editorial Universitat Politècnica de València. 165-172. https://doi.org/10.4995/CARMA2022.2022.1508116517

New evidence of MIS 3 relative sea level changes from the Messina Strait, Calabria (Italy)

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Antonioli, F., Calcagnile, L., Ferranti, L., Mastronuzzi, G., Monaco, C., Orru, P., Quarta, G., Pepe, F., Scardino, G., Scicchitano, G., Stocchi, P., & Taviani, M. New evidence of MIS 3 relative sea level changes from the Messina Strait, Calabria (Italy). Water, 13(19), (2021): 2647, https://doi.org/10.3390/w13192647.Investigation of sea-level positions during the highly-dynamic Marine Isotope Stage 3 (MIS 3: 29–61 kyrs BP) proves difficult because: (i) in stable and subsiding areas, coeval coastal sediments are currently submerged at depths of few to several tens of meters below the present sea level; (ii) in uplifting areas, the preservation of geomorphic features and sedimentary records is limited due to the erosion occurred during the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) with sea level at a depth of −130 m, followed by marine transgression that determined the development of ravinement surfaces. This study discusses previous research in the Mediterranean and elsewhere, and describes new fossiliferous marine deposits overlaying the metamorphic bedrock at Cannitello (Calabria, Italy). Radiocarbon ages of marine shells (about 43 kyrs cal BP) indicate that these deposits, presently between 28 and 30 m above sea level, formed during MIS 3.1. Elevation correction of the Cannitello outcrops (considered in an intermediate-to-far-field position with respect to the ice sheet) with the local vertical tectonic rate and Glacial Isostatic Adjustment (GIA) rate allows the proposal of a revision of the eustatic depth for this highstand. Our results are consistent with recently proposed estimates based on a novel ice sheet modelling technique.This research received no external funding

Sleep deprivation disrupts prepulse inhibition of the startle reflex: reversal by antipsychotic drugs

This is the publisher's version, also available electronically from http://journals.cambridge.org/action/displayAbstract?fromPage=online&aid=2327016&fileId=S1461145708008900Sleep deprivation (SD) is known to induce perceptual impairments, ranging from perceptual distortion to hallucinatory states. Although this phenomenon has been extensively described in the literature, its neurobiological underpinnings remain elusive. In rodents, SD induces a series of behavioural patterns that might be reflective of psychosis and mania, such as hyperlocomotion and sensitization to psychotogenic drugs. Notably, such changes are accompanied by transitory alterations of dopaminergic signalling. Based on the hypothesis that both psychotic and manic disorders reflect gating impairments, the present study was aimed at the assessment of the impact of SD on the behavioural model of prepulse inhibition (PPI) of the startle reflex, a reliable paradigm for the study of informational filtering. Rats subjected to SD (24 h, 48 h, 72 h) exhibited a time-dependent increase in startle reflex and a dramatic deficit in PPI. Both alterations were reversed 24 h after termination of the SD period. Interestingly, PPI disruption was efficiently prevented by haloperidol (0.1 mg/kg i.p.) clozapine (5 mg/kg i.p.) and risperidone (1 mg/kg i.p.). Conversely, neither the anxiolytic diazepam (5 mg/kg i.p.) nor the antidepressant citalopram (5 mg/kg i.p) affected the PPI disruption mediated by SD, although diazepam reversed the enhancement in startle reflex magnitude induced by this manipulation. Our data suggest that SD induces gating deficits that might be relevant to the hallucinatory phenomena observed in humans, and provide a novel reliable animal model where such relationship can be studied

Critical Competences for the Management of Post-Operative Course in Patients with Digestive Tract Cancer: The Contribution of MADIT Methodology for a Nine-Month Longitudinal Study

There is a high postoperative morbidity rate after cancer surgery, that impairs patients' self-management, job condition and economic strength. This paper describes the results of a peculiar psychological intervention on patients undergoing surgery for esophageal, gastric and colorectal cancer. The intervention aimed to enhance patients' competences in the management of postoperative daily life. A narrative approach (M.A.D.I.T.-Methodology for the Analysis of Computerised Text Data) was used to create a questionnaire, Health and Employment after Gastro-Intestinal Surgery-Dialogical Questionnaire, HEAGIS-DQ, that assesses four competences. It was administered to 48 participants. Results were used as guidance for specific intervention, structured on patients' competence profiles. The intervention lasted nine months after surgery and was structured in weekly to monthly therapeutic sessions. Quality of Life questionnaires were administered too. At the end of the intervention, 94% of patients maintained their job and only 10% of patients asked for financial support. The mean self-perception of health-related quality of life was 71.2. The distribution of three of four competences increased after nine months (p < 0.05). Despite economic difficulties due to lasting symptoms after surgery, and to the current pandemic scenario, a structured intervention with patients let them to resume their jobs and continue activities after surgery