scholarly journals Abstract concepts in interaction: the need of others when guessing abstract concepts smooths dyadic motor interactions

2021 ◽  
Vol 8 (7) ◽  
pp. 201205
Author(s):  
Chiara Fini ◽  
Vanessa Era ◽  
Federico Da Rold ◽  
Matteo Candidi ◽  
Anna M. Borghi
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Communication ◽  
Visual Images ◽  
Main Experiment ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Interaction Task ◽  
Concrete Concepts ◽  
Control Study ◽  
Motor Interaction

Abstract concepts (ACs, e.g. ‘justice’) are more complex compared with concrete concepts (CCs) (e.g. ‘table’). Indeed, they do not possess a single object as a referent, they assemble quite heterogeneous members and they are more detached from exteroceptive and more grounded in interoceptive experience. Recent views have hypothesized that interpersonal communication is particularly crucial to acquire and use ACs. The current study investigates the reliance of ACs/CCs representation on interpersonal behaviour. We asked participants to perform a motor interaction task with two avatars who embodied two real confederates. Before and after the motor interaction task, the two confederates provided participants with hints in a concept guessing task associated with visual stimuli: one helped in guessing ACs and the other, CCs. A control study we performed both with the materials employed in the main experiment and with other materials, confirmed that associating verbal concepts with visual images was more difficult with ACs than with CCs. Consistently, the results of the main experiment showed that participants asked for more hints with ACs than CCs and were more synchronous when interacting with the avatar corresponding to the AC's confederate. The results highlight an important role of sociality in grounding ACs.

scholarly journals Abstract concepts in interaction: The need of others when guessing abstract concepts smooths dyadic motor interactions

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiara Fini ◽  
Vanessa Era ◽  
Federico Darold ◽  
Matteo Candidi ◽  
Anna M. Borghi
Keyword(s):  
Interpersonal Communication ◽  
Interpersonal Behavior ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Single Object ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Interaction Task ◽  
Concrete Concepts ◽  
The Impact ◽  
Motor Interaction

Abstract concepts (e.g. “justice”) differ from concrete concepts (e.g. “table”) because they are more detached from exteroceptive and more grounded in interoceptive experience, they do not possess a single object as referent, and they assemble quite heterogeneous members. Recent views have hypothesized that interpersonal communication is particularly crucial to acquire and use abstract concepts. The current study investigates the impact of abstract/concrete concepts representation over interpersonal behavior. We asked participants to perform a motor interaction task with two avatars who embodied two real confederates. Before and after the motor interaction task, the two confederates provided participants with hints in a concept guessing task: one helped in guessing abstract concepts and the other concrete ones. Participants asked more hints with abstract concepts and were more synchronous when interacting with the avatar corresponding to the abstract concept’s confederate. The results highlight an important role of sociality in grounding abstract concepts.

Effect of Narrow- band UVB on serum and tissue vitamin D level in vitiligo

QJM ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 114 (Supplement_1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Ali Abdulkareem Al-Shabkhon ◽  
Adel Ahmed Halim Emam ◽  
Ahmed Abd Elfattah Afify
Keyword(s):  
Vitamin D ◽  
Case Control Study ◽  
Narrow Band ◽  
Tissue Level ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Duration Of Disease ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Tissue Vitamin ◽  
Control Study

Abstract Background Immunologic background of vitiligo, role of vitamin D on its pathogenesis, role of NB-UVB on its treatment and its stimulatory effect NB-UVB on VDR expression are challenging area of research. The current study will focus on evaluating the effect of NB-UVB on serum and tissue level of vitamin D in vitiligo patients and correlating it with the degree of improvement. Aim of the study The aim of the present study is to evaluate and compare the serum and tissue vitamin D level in vitiligo patients before and after NB- UVB therapy and correlate them together and with the degree of improvement. Patients and methods A case-control study included 16 vitiligo patients and 16 age and sex matched healthy controls. All patients will be examined by one dermatologist (demonstrating the extent of depigmentation according to rule of nines), and photographs will be taken before and after phototherapy to be evaluated by two different dermatologists to document the extent of repigmentation. Estimation of serum level of vitamin D by ELISA Results Five of the 15 patients achieved more than 55% repigmentation; the mean duration of disease was 13 months. The remaining 10 patients had 30% - 40% repigmentation.

EXPRESS: Articulatory suppression delays processing of abstract words: the role of inner speech

2021 ◽  
pp. 174702182110536
Author(s):  
Chiara Fini ◽  
Gian Daniele Zannino ◽  
Matteo Orsoni ◽  
Giovanni Augusto Carlesimo ◽  
Mariagrazia Benassi ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Articulatory Suppression ◽  
Judgment Task ◽  
Inner Speech ◽  
Dominant Hand ◽  
Conceptual Representation ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Single Object ◽  
Abstract Words ◽  
Concrete Concepts

Compared to concrete concepts, like “book”, abstract concepts expressed by words like “justice” are more detached from sensorial experiences, even though they are also grounded in sensorial modalities. Abstract concepts lack a single object as referent and are characterized by higher variability both within and across participants. According to the Word as Social Tool (WAT) proposal, owing to their complexity, abstract concepts need to be processed with the help of inner language. Inner language can namely help participants to re-explain to themselves the meaning of the word, to keep information active in working memory, and to prepare themselves to ask information from more competent people. While previous studies have demonstrated that the mouth is involved during abstract concepts’ processing, both the functional role and the mechanisms underlying this involvement still need to be clarified. We report an experiment in which participants were required to evaluate whether 78 words were abstract or concrete by pressing two different pedals. During the judgment task, they were submitted, in different blocks, to a baseline, an articulatory suppression, and a manipulation condition. In the last two conditions, they had to repeat a syllable continually and to manipulate a softball with their dominant hand. Results showed that articulatory suppression slowed down the processing of abstract more than that of concrete words. Overall results confirm the WAT proposal’s hypothesis that abstract concepts processing involves the mouth motor system and specifically inner speech. We discuss the implications for current theories of conceptual representation.

Lowering of serum T3 and rise in reverse T3 induced by glucagon infusion in anaesthetized dogs

1987 ◽  
Vol 116 (1) ◽  
pp. 43-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Udaya M. Kabadi ◽  
Lester Dragstedt
Keyword(s):  
Normal Saline ◽  
Normal Subjects ◽  
Reverse T3 ◽  
Significant Fall ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Serum T3 ◽  
Saline Administration ◽  
Glucagon Injection ◽  
Control Study

Abstract. We recently demonstrated that lowering of T3 and a rise in rT3 observed in non-thyroidal illnesses could be induced by glucagon infusion in normal subjects without altering T4, Free T4 (FT4) and T3 resin uptake (T3RU) values suggesting that altered T4 metabolism may be mainly responsible for those changes. To further assess the role of altered T4 metabolism in these changes during induction of hyperglucagonaemia, we studied glucose, T4, FT4, T3RU, T3, and rT3 concentrations before and after iv glucagon injection (0.5 mg) for up to 3 h in 6 anaesthetized dogs, since thyroxinebinding globulin (TBG) concentration is known to be extremely low in dogs. A control study was conducted with iv normal saline (0.5 ml) injection. T4, FT4 and T3RU remained unchanged during both studies. A significant fall was noted in T3 with glucagon (ΔT3, 0.23 ± 0.06 nmol/l vs 0 ± 0.03 nmol/l with normal saline; P < 0.01). rT3 rose markedly following glucagon infusion (ΔrT3, 0.04 ± 0.011 nmol/l vs −0.017 ± 0.006 nmol/l with normal saline; P < 0.01). Moreover, areas under the curves for T3 and rT3 were markedly increased during glucagon infusion when compared to saline administration (P < 0.01 for both comparisons). Therefore, this study suggests that changes in T3 and rT3 concentrations observed in non-thyroidal illnesses may be attributed to hyperglucagonaemia and may be secondary to altered T4 metabolism as reflected by lowered T3/T4 and increased rT3/T4 ratio.

NosocomialSerratia marcescensInfections Associated With Extrinsic Contamination of a Liquid Nonmedicated Soap

2000 ◽  
Vol 21 (3) ◽  
pp. 196-199 ◽  
Author(s):  
Catherine Sartor ◽  
Véronique Jacomo ◽  
Cédric Duvivier ◽  
Hervé Tissot-Dupont ◽  
Roland Sambuc ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Healthcare Workers ◽  
Tertiary Care ◽  
Hand Washing ◽  
Environmental Investigation ◽  
Hospital Units ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Tertiary Care Hospitals ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Control Study

AbstractObjective:To determine the role of nonmedicated soap as a source ofSerratia marcescensnosocomial infections (NIs) in hospital units with endemicS marcescensNI and to examine the mechanisms of soap colonization.Setting:University-affiliated tertiary-care hospitals.Methods:A prospective case-control study and an environmental investigation were performed to assess the relationship betweenS marcescensNIs in hospital units andS marcescens-contaminated soap. Soap-bottle use and handwashing practices were reviewed. Cultures of healthcare workers’ (HCWs) hands were obtained before and after hand washing with soap.Results:5 of 7 hospital units withS marcescensNIs had soap bottles contaminated withS marcescens, compared to 1 of 14 other units (P=.006). After hand washing with anS marcescens-contaminated soap pump, HCWs' hands were 54 times more likely to be contaminated withS marcescens(P<.001).Conclusions:Extrinsic contamination of a non-medicated liquid soap byS marcescensresulted in handborne transmission ofS marcescensNIs by HCWs in our setting. This finding led to the application of strict guidelines for nonmedicated soap use and to the reinforcement of alcoholic hand disinfection.

scholarly journals Evidence for the Concreteness of Abstract Language: A Meta-Analysis of Neuroimaging Studies

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 (1) ◽  
pp. 32
Author(s):  
Nicola Del Maschio ◽  
Davide Fedeli ◽  
Gioacchino Garofalo ◽  
Giovanni Buccino
Keyword(s):  
Functional Neuroimaging ◽  
Meta Analysis ◽  
Physical World ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Broca’S Region ◽  
Complex Motor ◽  
Concrete Concepts ◽  
Motor Representations ◽  
Better Than

The neural mechanisms subserving the processing of abstract concepts remain largely debated. Even within the embodiment theoretical framework, most authors suggest that abstract concepts are coded in a linguistic propositional format, although they do not completely deny the role of sensorimotor and emotional experiences in coding it. To our knowledge, only one recent proposal puts forward that the processing of concrete and abstract concepts relies on the same mechanisms, with the only difference being in the complexity of the underlying experiences. In this paper, we performed a meta-analysis using the Activation Likelihood Estimates (ALE) method on 33 functional neuroimaging studies that considered activations related to abstract and concrete concepts. The results suggest that (1) concrete and abstract concepts share the recruitment of the temporo-fronto-parietal circuits normally involved in the interactions with the physical world, (2) processing concrete concepts recruits fronto-parietal areas better than abstract concepts, and (3) abstract concepts recruit Broca’s region more strongly than concrete ones. Based on anatomical and physiological evidence, Broca’s region is not only a linguistic region mainly devoted to speech production, but it is endowed with complex motor representations of different biological effectors. Hence, we propose that the stronger recruitment of this region for abstract concepts is expression of the complex sensorimotor experiences underlying it, rather than evidence of a purely linguistic format of its processing.

scholarly journals The role of xerostomia in burning mouth syndrome: a case-control study

2014 ◽  
Vol 72 (2) ◽  
pp. 91-98 ◽  
Author(s):  
Luciana Alvarenga da Silva ◽  
José Tadeu Tesseroli de Siqueira ◽  
Manoel Jacobsen Teixeira ◽  
Silvia Regina Dowgan Tesseroli de Siqueira
Keyword(s):  
International Association ◽  
Salivary Flow ◽  
Burning Mouth Syndrome ◽  
Pain Clinic ◽  
Topical Medication ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Burning Mouth ◽  
Xerostomia Questionnaire ◽  
Control Study

Objective : To assess the efficacy of anti-xerostomic topical medication (urea 10%) in patients with burning mouth syndrome (BMS). Method : Thirty-eight subjects diagnosed with BMS according to the International Association for the Study of Pain guidelines were randomized to either placebo (5% sodium carboxymethylcellulose, 0.15% methyl paraben, and 10% glycerol in distilled water qsp 100 g) or treatment (urea 10%) to be applied to the oral cavity 3-4 times per day for 3 months. The patients were evaluated before and after treatment with the following instruments: the EDOF-HC protocol (Orofacial Pain Clinic – Hospital das Clínicas), a xerostomia questionnaire, and quantitative sensory testing. Results : There were no differences in salivary flow or gustative, olfactory, or sensory thresholds (P>0.05). Fifteen (60%) patients reported improvement with the treatments (P=0.336). Conclusion : In conclusion, there were no differences between groups, and both exhibited an association between reported improvement and salivation.

Marriage Symbolism in Illuminated Manuscripts of the Twelfth and Thirteenth Centuries

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marta Pavón Ramírez
Keyword(s):  
Middle Ages ◽  
Visual Representations ◽  
Illuminated Manuscripts ◽  
Visual Images ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Liturgical Texts ◽  
Law Texts ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Theological Concept

This chapter explores marriage symbolism in twelfth- and thirteenth-century illuminated manuscripts containing canon and civil law texts but also liturgical texts and illustrated Bibles. Visual representations of weddings and marriages were neither straightforward nor immediate, but challenged the artists to make conceptual and interpretative choices. How was marriage visualized? What could be pictured? How did the artists face the difficult task of illustrating abstract concepts? Pavón Ramírez explores the relationship between visual images and theological ideas, and the role of artists and patrons in the construction of new images of the theological concept of marriage in the Middle Ages.

Role of resolvin D1 in psoriasis before and after narrowband ultraviolet B phototherapy: A case‐control study

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maha Fathy Elmasry ◽  
Eman Hassan ◽  
Laila Ahmed Rashed ◽  
Dalia Mohamed Abdel Halim
Keyword(s):  
Case Control Study ◽  
Case Control ◽  
Ultraviolet B ◽  
Resolvin D1 ◽  
Before And After ◽  
Control Study
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