Identifying fetal yawns based on temporal dynamics of mouth openings: A preterm neonate model using support vector machines (SVMs)

Fetal yawning is of interest because of its clinical, developmental and theoretical implications. However, the methodological challenges of identifying yawns from ultrasonographic scans have not been systematically addressed. We report two studies that examined the temporal dynamics of yawning in preterm neonates comparable in developmental level to fetuses observed in ultrasound studies (about 31 weeks PMA). In Study 1 we tested the reliability and construct validity of the only quantitative measure for identifying fetal yawns in the literature, by comparing its scores with a more detailed behavioral coding system (The System for Coding Perinatal Behavior, SCPB) adapted from the comprehensive, anatomically based Facial Action Coding System for Infants and Young Children (Baby FACS). The previously published measure yielded good reliability but poor specificity, resulting in over-representation of yawns. In Study 2 we developed and tested a new machine learning system based on support vector machines (SVM) for identifying yawns. The system displayed excellent specificity and sensitivity, proving it to be a reliable and valid tool for identifying yawns in fetuses and neonates. This achievement represents a first step towards a fully automated system for identifying yawns in the perinatal period.Fetal yawning is of interest because of its clinical, developmental and theoretical implications. However, the methodological challenges of identifying yawns from ultrasonographic scans have not been systematically addressed. We report two studies that examined the temporal dynamics of yawning in preterm neonates comparable in developmental level to fetuses observed in ultrasound studies (about 31 weeks PMA). In Study 1 we tested the reliability and construct validity of the only quantitative measure for identifying fetal yawns in the literature, by comparing its scores with a more detailed behavioral coding system (The System for Coding Perinatal Behavior, SCPB) adapted from the comprehensive, anatomically based Facial Action Coding System for Infants and Young Children (Baby FACS). The previously published measure yielded good reliability but poor specificity, resulting in over-representation of yawns. In Study 2 we developed and tested a new machine learning system based on support vector machines (SVM) for identifying yawns. The system displayed excellent specificity and sensitivity, proving it to be a reliable and valid tool for identifying yawns in fetuses and neonates. This achievement represents a first step towards a fully automated system for identifying yawns in the perinatal period

Investigating the effects of autonomy-supportive parenting practices on Italian young adolescent students’ motivation to defend victims of bullying: findings on the mediating roles of reactance, depression, anxiety, and stress

This study investigated the effect of autonomy-supportive parenting practices on young adolescents’ self-reported motivation to defend victims of bullying, and the possible mediating effects of factors such as reactance, anxiety, depression, and stress.MethodsData were collected from 578 Italian public school students ages 10–14 (Mage = 11.8 years, 52% boys), who completed a survey in their classroom. The survey included self-report measures of parental orientation, motivation to defend victims of bullying, reactance, anxiety, depression, and stress.ResultsWe found that autonomy-supportive parenting had a positive effect on autonomous motivation to defend, and that this effect was weakly mediated by reactance. Moreover, autonomy-supportive parenting had a negative effect on extrinsic motivation to defend, which was partially mediated by reactance. Reactance had a positive direct effect on extrinsic motivation to defend, but results also showed that anxiety, depression, and stress did not mediate the effect of autonomy-supportive parenting on motivation to defend. Additionally, autonomy-supportive parenting appeared to play a protective role, being associated with lower levels of reactance, anxiety, depression, and stress. Finally, gender differences were found in our sample, with extrinsic motivation to defend being more prevalent in boys, and autonomous motivation to defend being more prevalent in girls. Girls also reported higher levels of anxiety, depression, and stress, compared to boys.ConclusionOur findings show that autonomy-supportive parenting practices play a significant role in fostering young adolescents’ motivation to defend victims of bullying, and that they are also linked with lower feelings of reactance, anxiety, depression, and stress. We argue that interventions aimed at contrasting bullying and cyberbullying among youths should seek to involve parents more and promote the adoption of more autonomy-supportive parenting practices, due to their consistently proven beneficial effects

Internet Use and Perceived Parental Involvement among Adolescents from Lower Socioeconomic Groups in Europe: An Exploration

Internet usage is a salient developmental factor in adolescents’ lives. Although relevant correlates of Internet use have been documented earlier, there is a lack of information on lower socioeconomic status groups. This is important, as these adolescents have increased risk of negative online experiences. The current survey aimed to explore Internet use and parental involvement amongst adolescents from areas of socio-economic disadvantage in 30 urban schools across five European countries. A total of 2594 students participated, of whom 90% were 14–16 years. Virtually all adolescents of socioeconomic disadvantage had Internet access, with 88.5% reporting spending more than two hours per day online, often on apps such as Instagram, Snapchat, and YouTube. Almost one-third of adolescents did not talk with their parents about their Internet use and almost two-thirds indicated that their parents were only a little or not interested in their Internet use. A consistent finding across countries was that girls more often talked with their parents about their Internet use and more often reported that their parents were interested in their Internet use than boys. The results suggest that parents have an important task in explicitly showing interest in their adolescents’ Internet use, with special attention needed for boys

Rethinking Musical Affordances

The notion of affordance has been introduced by Gibson (1977, 1979) as the feature of an object or the environment that allows the observer to perform an action, a set of «environmental supports for an organism’s intentional activities» (Reybrouk 2005, online publication). Being studied under very different perspectives, this concept has become a crucial issue not only for the ecological psychology but also for cognitive sciences, artificial intelligence studies and philosophy of mind. This variety of approaches has widened the already ambiguous definition originally provided by Gibson, contributing in creating different standpoints in open contrast with each other (see Zipoli Caiani 2011). During the last two decades, moreover, many researchers tried to extend the notion also to musical experience, aiming to draw a coherent theory of musical affordances (e.g. Clarke 2005; Nussbaum 2007; Krueger 2011a; 2011b). In this paper, we will argue for a particular concept of musical affordances, that is, as we see it, narrower and less ambiguous in scope and more closely related to its original. Taking the discovery of canonical neurons as our starting point we will (i) discuss the general notion of affordance, (ii) review some of the most important contributions in this area of research and (iii) propose a motor-based interpretation of musical affordances

L'Opera da tre soldi

Traduzione effettuata in occasione del cinquantenario della prima edizione italiana dell'Opera da Tre soldi firmata a suo tempo da Giorgio Strehler. La traduzione attuale risulta essere la prima completa e integrale, in quanto la versione precedente di Strehler era stata fortemente adattata. IL progetto \ue8 stato compiuto in piena collaborazione con il regista Damiano MIchieletto che si \ue8 occupato della traduzione delle canzoni. Con un saggio introduttivo sui criteri della traduzione, pubblicato nel programma di sala

Embodied music cognition and mediation technology: A critical review

During the past few decades, one of the core issues in the debate on human musicality has become explaining how we understand, or make sense of the musical material. Embodied music cognition and mediation technology 1 was written by Marc Leman with the aim to clarify this sense-giving process focusing on the cognitive relationship, in the broadest sense, that ties musical subjects and objects. His approach assumes that the (musical) mind results from an embodied interaction with music: The human body can be seen as a biologically designed mediator that transfers physical energy up to a level of action-oriented meanings, to a mental level in which experiences, values, and intentions form the basic components of music signification. The reverse process is also possible: that the human body transfers an idea, or mental representation, into a material or energetic form. (p. xiii) This perspective has been developed according to the previous literature in different disciplines such as psychology, neuroscience, musicology and cognitive science. We will discuss later the peculiar way Leman tackles the problem of musical understanding, as well as its internal and external coherence. For now, we will explore some implications and sub-problems that arise from the adoption of an embodied approach to the study of musical experience. Overcoming of the subjective-objective dualism. Musical intentionality: how can we define a conceptual topography of musical contexts? The simulation issue: what kind of enaction could account for musical understanding? Mediation in musical practice and experience: what roles for musical instruments and the body