73 research outputs found
Interactions between reward motivation and emotional processing
No full textMuch of the past research on how reward motivation and emotional information influence brain and behavior has been conducted separately. Recently, a few behavioral and brain imaging studies have investigated how reward and emotional information co-jointly impact brain and behavior. The present chapter reviews findings from this recent line of work to summarize our current knowledge about the influence of reward expectancy on brain and behavior in the context of emotional information. The available findings suggest that behaviorally reward counteracts the adverse impact of potent emotional distractors on task performance. Additionally, brain findings suggest that the ventral striatum plays an active role in upregulating attentional control processes to limit the influence of emotional distractors. Overall, task relevance seems to play an important role in shaping interactions between reward and emotional processing. We conclude by outlining a few open questions for future research
A comparison between environmental sustainability rating systems LEED and ITACA for residential buildings
No full textThe paper presents a comparison between two different rating systems to evaluate buildings sustainability:
LEED (USA) and ITACA (Italy), thanks to the application of both methods to two residential
buildings located in Italy.
The LEED green building rating system encourages an integrated design approach, with a points
scheme that allots credits for building design features deemed to improve sustainability, which includes
reductions in energy use, improvements in indoor environment quality, protection of the construction
site, reduction in water consumption and use of sustainable materials.
ITACA procedure, the environmental quality rating system adopted in Italy, consists of the compilation
of a group of worksheets, one for each different performance indicator, at the aim of describing the
building environmental quality, including the maintenance of indoor comfort during the entire life cycle.
The chosen buildings are located in central Italy; they are both energy efficient and designed according
to the principles of bioclimatic architecture, even if they are characterized by different features. Five
common areas (site, water, energy, materials, indoor environmental quality) were identified in order to
compare the two methods and to normalize their score; this original approach can be transferred also to
the comparison of other building environmental assessment tools.
The comparison allows to prove the main features of both schemes. Even though the two procedures
give different importance to the various areas, the analysis show a proportionality between the
respective normalized final score for the two examined buildings
Attentional capture by simultaneous pleasant and unpleasant emotional distractors
No full textBoth high-arousal pleasant and unpleasant task-irrelevant stimuli capture attention and divert processing away from the main task leading to impaired behavioral performance in concurrent tasks. Most studies have separately investigated interference effects of unpleasant and pleasant stimuli on behavior. Thus, little is known about how pleasant and unpleasant task-irrelevant stimuli influence behavior simultaneously. In the present study, we investigated this question during a visual-letter search task. We tested two alternative hypotheses about the influence of simultaneous pleasant and unpleasant task-irrelevant stimuli on task performance. If behavior is purely determined by the intensity of the distractor stimuli (independent of valence), then we would expect the interference effect of simultaneous pleasant and unpleasant distractors to be similar to the influence of two pleasant or two unpleasant distractor stimuli. In contrast, because of opponent interactions between appetitive and aversive motivational systems, the interference effect of simultaneous pleasant and unpleasant stimuli might be weakened. We found that the interference effect of a compound pleasant-plus-unpleasant stimulus was greater than that of a neutral-plus-emotional stimulus and similar to that of two pleasant or two unpleasant stimuli. These results suggest that at the level of behavior, the influence of joint pleasant and unpleasant task-irrelevant stimuli during perception is mainly determined by the intensity of the stimuli, and independent of their valence
Intra-site spatial analysis at Sambuco Cave: testing digital 3D approach for the interpretation of Upper Palaeolithic behavioural strategies
No full textSambuco Cave, located in central Italy, preserves a stratified sequence from the Upper Palaeolithic to the Neolithic, making
it an important archaeological site. This research combines traditional excavation data with Digital Heritage methodologies to enhance the understanding of site formation and spatial organization within the cave. A 3D GIS-based workflow integrates photogrammetric documentation, lithic analysis, and spatial modelling to reconstruct prehistoric behaviours and identify activity zones. The study highlights the importance of virtual reconstructions in clarifying stratigraphic relationships and interpreting the cave's usage. Results suggest a focused, task-specific occupation pattern, emphasizing short-term use, possibly related to hunting and toolmaking. This innovative approach provides valuable insights into Upper Palaeolithic settlement strategies and offers a new perspective on the spatial organization of prehistoric sites. At present, this paper represents an experimental 3d analytical approach presented here as a methodological test
Delayed ocular disengagement from arousing scenes
No full textVisual exploration of the world is supported by eye movements which can be speeded up or delayed depending on bottom-up stimulation, top-down goals, and prior associations. Previous studies observed faster initiation of saccades toward emotional than neutral natural scenes; however, less is known concerning saccades which originate from emotional, compared with neutral, scenes. Here, we addressed this issue by examining a task in which participants continuously moved their gaze from and toward pictures (natural scenes), which could be emotional or neutral, and changed position in every trial. Saccades were initiated later when the starting picture was emotional compared to neutral, and this slowing was associated with the arousal value of the picture, suggesting that ocular disengagement does not vary with stimulus valence but is affected by engaging picture contents such as erotica and threat/injuries
Thermal and lighting effects of an external Venetian Blind: experimental analysis in a full scale test room
No full textEntre la emblemática y el arte efímero. A propósito del "Arcus aliquot triumphal et monumenta victor classicae" de Joannes Sambucus
No full textLa relación entre emblemática y arte efímero constituye una realidad palpable a lo largo de los siglos XVI y XVII, con influencias mutuas entre ambas manifestaciones culturales. Sin duda alguna, el caso más singular de sintonía entre arte efímero y emblemática es el del “Arcus aliquot triumphal et monumenta victor classicae” de Sambuco, una obra que aunaba un tratado de emblemática con la supuesta crónica de una ficticia entrada triunfal. A través de dieciséis composiciones figuradas, Sambuco, el autor de uno de los tratados más importantes y trascendentales de la emblemática del siglo XVI, publicó en 1572 en Amberes una curiosa obra, apenas conocida, que se sitúa a medio camino entre el libro de emblemas y la crónica de una entrada triunfal.The relationship between Emblematics and Ephemeral Art constitutes a palpable reality throughout XVIth and XVIIth centuries, with mutual influences between both cultural manifestations. Undoubtedly, the most singular case of agreement between Ephemeral and Emblematic Art is "Arcus aliquot triumphal et monumenta victor classicae" by Sambuco, a dissertation that mixed an Emblematics treatise with the supposed chronicle of a fictional triumphal entry. Through sixteen figurative compositions, Sambuco, the author of one of the most important and transcendental treatises of the Emblematics in the XVIth century, published in 1572 in Antwerp a curious work, barely known, situated halfway between the book of emblems and the chronicle of a triumphal entry.peerReviewe
sj-docx-1-tab-10.1177_1759720X241235805 – Supplemental material for Dispositional traits help explain individual differences in relationships between a radiographic knee osteoarthritis measure, pain, and physical function
No full textSupplemental material, sj-docx-1-tab-10.1177_1759720X241235805 for Dispositional traits help explain individual differences in relationships between a radiographic knee osteoarthritis measure, pain, and physical function by Angela M. Mickle, Roland Staud, Cynthia S. Garvan, Daniel A. Kusko, Nicola Sambuco, Brittany R. Addison, Kevin R. Vincent, David T. Redden, Burel R. Goodin, Roger B. Fillingim and Kimberly T. Sibille in Therapeutic Advances in Musculoskeletal Disease</p
- …
