Sense development through non verbal signs: early infancy and clinical psychoterapy

This thesis will describe the development of a relationship which is not necessarily verbal, but which generates communication, creates sense and meaning between human beings and produces “becomings” in the body that feels, perceives and physically transforms itself. This leads to a biosemiotic understanding of both the seen and unseen figure.

Genetica molecolare dell'autismo: studi di associazione ed analisi di geni candidati

Autism is a neurodevelpmental disorder characterized by impaired verbal communication, limited reciprocal social interaction, restricted interests and repetitive behaviours. Twin and family studies indicate a large genetic contribution to ASDs (Autism Spectrum Disorders). During my Ph.D. I have been involved in several projects in which I used different genetic approaches in order to identify susceptibility genes in autism on chromosomes 2, 7 and X: 1)High-density SNP association and CNV analysis of two Autism Susceptibility Loci. The International Molecular Genetic Study of Autism Consortium (IMGSAC) previously identified linkage loci on chromosomes 7 and 2, termed AUTS1 and AUTS5, respectively. In this study, we evaluated the patterns of linkage disequilibrium (LD) and the distribution of haplotype blocks, utilising data from the HapMap project, across the two strongest peaks of linkage on chromosome 2 and 7. More than 3000 SNPs have been selected in each locus in all known genes, as well as SNPs in non-genic highly conserved sequences. All markers have been genotyped to perform a high-density association analysis and to explore copy number variation within these regions. The study sample consisted of 127 and 126 multiplex families, showing linkage to the AUTS1 and AUTS5 regions, respectively, and 188 gender-matched controls. Association and CNV analysis implicated several new genes, including IMMP2L and DOCK4 on chromosome 7 and ZNF533 and NOSTRIN on the chromosome 2. Particularly, my contribution to this project focused on the characterization of the best candidate gene in each locus: On the AUTS5 locus I carried out a transcript study of ZNF533 in different human tissues to verify which isoforms and start exons were expressed. High transcript variability and a new exon, never described before, has been identified in this analysis. Furthermore, I selected 31 probands for the risk haplotype and performed a mutation screen of all known exons in order to identify novel coding variants associated to autism. On the AUTS1 locus a duplication was detected in one multiplex family that was transmitted from father to an affected son. This duplication interrupts two genes: IMMP2L and DOCK4 and warranted further analysis. Thus, I performed a screening of the cohort of IMGSAC collection (285 multiplex families), using a QMPSF assay (Quantitative Multiplex PCR of Short fluorescent Fragments) to analyse if CNVs in this genic region segregate with autism phenotype and compare their frequency with a sample of 475 UK controls. Evidence for a role of DOCK4 in autism susceptibility was supported by independent replication of association at rs2217262 and the finding of a deletion segregating in a sib-pair family. 2)Analysis of X chromosome inactivation. Skewed X chromosome inactivation (XCI) is observed in females carrying gene mutations involved in several X-linked syndromes. We aimed to estimate the role of X-linked genes in ASD susceptibility by ascertaining the XCI pattern in a sample of 543 informative mothers of children with ASD and in a sample of 164 affected girls. The study sample included families from different european consortia. I analysed the XCI inactivation pattern in a sample of italian mothers from singletons families with ASD and also a control groups (144 adult females and 40 young females). We observed no significant excess of skewed XCI in families with ASD. Interestingly, two mothers and one girl carrying known mutations in X-linked genes (NLGN3, ATRX, MECP2) showed highly skewed XCI, suggesting that ascertainment of XCI could reveal families with X-linked mutations. Linkage analysis was carried out in the subgroup of multiplex families with skewed XCI (≥80:20) and a modest increased allele sharing was obtained in the Xq27-Xq28 region, with a peak Z score of 1.75 close to rs719489. In this region FMR1 and MECP2 have been associated in some cases with austim and therefore represent candidates for the disorder. I performed a mutation screen of MECP2 in 33 unrelated probands from IMGSAC and italian families, showing XCI skewness. Recently, Xq28 duplications including MECP2, have been identified in families with MR, with asymptomatic carrier females showing extreme (>85%) skewing of XCI. For these reason I used the sample of probands from X-skewed families to perform CNV analysis by Real-time quantitative PCR. No duplications have been found in our sample. I have also confirmed all data using as alternative method the MLPA assay (Multiplex Ligation dependent Probe Amplification). 3)ASMT as functional candidate gene for autism. Recently, a possible involvement of the acetylserotonin O-methyltransferase (ASMT) gene in susceptibility to ASDs has been reported: mutation screening of the ASMT gene in 250 individuals from the PARIS collection revealed several rare variants with a likely functional role; Moreover, significant association was reported for two SNPs (rs4446909 and rs5989681) located in one of the two alternative promoters of the gene. To further investigate these findings, I carried out a replication study using a sample of 263 affected individuals from the IMGSAC collection and 390 control individuals. Several rare mutations were identified, including the splice site mutation IVS5+2T>C and the L326F substitution previously reported by Melke et al (2007), but the same rare variants have been found also in control individuals in our study. Interestingly, a new R319X stop mutation was found in a single autism proband of Italian origin and is absent from the entire control sample. Furthermore, no replication has been found in our case-control study typing the SNPs on the ASMT promoter B.

Dark humour as a culture specific phenomenon: a study in screen translation

The present study aims at analyzing how dark humour as a cinematic genre travels cross-culturally through a specific mode of audiovisual translation, i.e. dubbing. In particular, it takes into consideration the processes involved in dubbing humour from English into Italian as observed in the English- and Italian-language versions of ten British and American dark comedies from the 1940s to the 2000s. In an attempt to identify some of the main mechanisms of the dark humour genre, the humorous content of the films was analyzed in terms of the elements on which specific scenes are based, mainly the non-verbal and verbal components. In the cases in which verbal elements were involved, i.e. the examples of verbally expressed humour, the analysis was concerned with whether they were adapted into Italian and to what effect. Quantification of the different kinds of dark humour revealed that in the sample of dark comedies verbal dark humour had a higher frequency (85.3%) than non-verbal dark humour (14.7%), which partially disconfirmed the first part of the research hypothesis. However, the significance of contextual elements in the conveying of dark humour, both in the form of Nsp VEH (54.31%) and V-V (V+VE) (21.68%), provided support for the hypothesis that, even when expressed verbally, dark humour is more closely linked to context-based rather than purely linguistic humour (4.9%). The second part of the analysis was concerned with an investigation of the strategies adopted for the translation of verbal dark humour elements from the SL (English) into the TL (Italian) through the filter of dubbing. Four translational strategies were identified as far as the rendering of verbal dark humour is concerned: i) complete omission; ii) weakening; iii) close rendering; and iv) increased effect. Complete omission was found to be the most common among these strategies, with 80.9% of dark humour examples being transposed in a way that kept the ST’s function substantially intact. Weakening of darkly humorous lines was applied in 12% of cases, whereas increased effect accounted for 4.6% and complete omission for 2.5%. The fact that for most examples of Nsp VEH (84.9%) and V-AC (V+VE) (91.4%) a close rendering effect was observed and that 12 out of 21 examples of V-AC (PL) (a combined 57%) were either omitted or weakened seemed to confirm, on the one hand, the complexity of the translation process required by cases of V-AC (PL) and V-AC (CS). On the other hand, as suggested in the second part of the research hypothesis, the data might be interpreted as indicating that lesser effort on the translator/adaptor’s part is involved in the adaptation of V-AC (Nsp VEH) and V-V (V+VE). The issue of the possible censorial intervention undergone by examples of verbal dark humour in the sample still remains unclear.

Effetto crowding e dislessia evolutiva: un confronto inter e intra-linguistico

Crowding is defined as the negative effect obtained by adding visual distractors around a central target which has to be identified. Some studies have suggested the presence of a marked crowding effect in developmental dyslexia (e.g. Atkinson, 1991; Spinelli et al., 2002). Inspired by Spinelli’s (2002) experimental design, we explored the hypothesis that the crowding effect may affect dyslexics’ response times (RTs) and accuracy in identification tasks dealing with words, pseudowords, illegal non-words and symbolstrings. Moreover, our study aimed to clarify the relationship between the crowding phenomenon and the word-reading process, in an inter-language comparison perspective. For this purpose we studied twenty-two French dyslexics and twenty-two Italian dyslexics (total forty-four dyslexics), compared to forty-four subjects matched for reading level (22 French and 22 Italians) and forty-four chronological age-matched subjects (22 French and 22 Italians). Children were all tested on reading and cognitive abilities. Results showed no differences between French and Italian participants suggesting that performances were homogenous. Dyslexic children were all significantly impaired in words and pseudowords reading compared to their normal reading controls. Regarding the identification task with which we assessed crowding effect, both accuracy and RTs showed a lexicality effect which meant that the recognition of words was more accurate and faster in words than pseudowords, non-words and symbolstrings. Moreover, compared to normal readers, dyslexics’ RTs and accuracy were impaired only for verbal materials but not for non-verbal material; these results are in line with the phonological hypothesis (Griffiths & Snowling, 2002; Snowling, 2000; 2006) . RTs revealed a general crowding effect (RTs in the crowding condition were slower than those recorded in the isolated condition) affecting all the subjects’ performances. This effect, however, emerged to be not specific for dyslexics. Data didn’t reveal a significant effect of language, allowing the generalization of the obtained results. We also analyzed the performance of two subgroups of dyslexics, categorized according to their reading abilities. The two subgroups produced different results regarding the crowding effect and type of material, suggesting that it is meaningful to take into account also the heterogeneity of the dyslexia disorder. Finally, we also analyzed the relationship of the identification task with both reading and cognitive abilities. In conclusion, this study points out the importance of comparing visual tasks performances of dyslexic participants with those of their reading level-matched controls. This approach may improve our comprehension of the potential causal link between crowding and reading (Goswami, 2003).

L'intelligenza emotiva in età evolutiva

Emotional Intelligence (EI) has increasingly gained widespread popularity amongst both lay people and scientists in a wide range of contexts and across several research areas. In spite of rigorous inquiry into its applications in educational, social, health and clinical settings, substantial disagreement exists regarding the definition of EI, with respect to both terminology and operationalizations. Actually, there is a consensus about a conceptual distinction between Trait EI, or trait emotional self-efficacy (Petrides & Furnham, 2001), and Ability EI, or cognitive-emotional ability (Mayer & Salovey, 1997). Trait EI is measured via self-report questionnaires, whereas Ability EI is assessed via maximum performance tests. Moreover, EI is the broadest of the emotional constructs, and it subsumes various constructs, as Emotional Awareness (Lane & Schwartz, 1987). To date, EI research has focused primarily on adults, with fewer studies conducted with child samples. The aim of the present study is to investigate the role of different models of EI in childhood and early adolescence (N = 670; 353 females; Mage= 10.25 years ; SD = 1.57). In addition, a further goal is to evaluate the relationship of each construct with personality, non verbal cognitive intelligence, school performance, peer relationships, and affective disorders (anxiety and depression). Results shows significant correlations between Trait EI and Emotional Awareness, whereas Trait and Ability EI appear as independent constructs. We also found significant positive associations between age and Ablity EI and Emotional Awareness (although with add of verbal productivity), while gender differences emerged in favour of females in all EI-related measures. The results provide evidence that Trait EI is partially determined by all of the Big Five personality dimensions, but independent of cognitive ability. Finally, the present study highlights the role of EI on social interactions, school performance and, especially, a negative relationship between Trait EI and psychopathology.

Linguistica Cognitiva e analisi retorica: indicazioni per un percorso sulla metafora nella didattica della lingua.

La tesi sviluppa le proposte teoriche della Linguistica Cognitiva a proposito della metafora e propone una loro possibile applicazione in ambito didattico. La linguistica cognitiva costituisce la cornice interpretativa della ricerca, a partire dai suoi concetti principali: la prospettiva integrata, l’embodiment, la centralità della semantica, l’attenzione per la psicolinguistica e le neuroscienze. All’interno di questo panorama, prende vigore un’idea di metafora come punto d’incontro tra lingua e pensiero, come criterio organizzatore delle conoscenze, strumento conoscitivo fondamentale nei processi di apprendimento. A livello didattico, la metafora si rivela imprescindibile sia come strumento operativo che come oggetto di riflessione. L’approccio cognitivista può fornire utili indicazioni su come impostare un percorso didattico sulla metafora. Nel presente lavoro, si indaga in particolare l’uso didattico di stimoli non verbali nel rafforzamento delle competenze metaforiche di studenti di scuola media. Si è scelto come materiale di partenza la pubblicità, per due motivi: il diffuso impiego di strategie retoriche in ambito pubblicitario e la specificità comunicativa del genere, che permette una chiara disambiguazione di fenomeni che, in altri contesti, non potrebbero essere analizzati con la stessa univocità. Si presenta dunque un laboratorio finalizzato al miglioramento della competenza metaforica degli studenti che si avvale di due strategie complementari: da una parte, una spiegazione ispirata ai modelli cognitivisti, sia nella terminologia impiegata che nella modalità di analisi (di tipo usage-based); dall’altra un training con metafore visive in pubblicità, che comprende una fase di analisi e una fase di produzione. È stato usato un test, suddiviso in compiti specifici, per oggettivare il più possibile i progressi degli studenti alla fine del training, ma anche per rilevare le difficoltà e i punti di forza nell’analisi rispetto sia ai contesti d’uso (letterario e convenzionale) sia alle forme linguistiche assunte dalla metafora (nominale, verbale, aggettivale).

The language of others mirrored in thy face: The role of political affiliation in automatic facial effects of language

People tend to automatically mimic facial expressions of others. If clear evidence exists on the effect of non-verbal behavior (emotion faces) on automatic facial mimicry, little is known about the role of verbal behavior (emotion language) in triggering such effects. Whereas it is well-established that political affiliation modulates facial mimicry, no evidence exists on whether this modulation passes also through verbal means. This research addressed the role of verbal behavior in triggering automatic facial effects depending on whether verbal stimuli are attributed to leaders of different political parties. Study 1 investigated the role of interpersonal verbs, referring to positive and negative emotion expressions and encoding them at different levels of abstraction, in triggering corresponding facial muscle activation in a reader. Study 2 examined the role of verbs expressing positive and negative emotional behaviors of political leaders in modulating automatic facial effects depending on the matched or mismatched political affiliation of participants and politicians of left-and right-wing. Study 3 examined whether verbs expressing happiness displays of ingroup politicians induce a more sincere smile (Duchenne) pattern among readers of same political affiliation relative to happiness expressions of outgroup politicians. Results showed that verbs encoding facial actions at different levels of abstraction elicited differential facial muscle activity (Study 1). Furthermore, political affiliation significantly modulated facial activation triggered by emotion verbs as participants showed more congruent and enhanced facial activity towards ingroup politicians’ smiles and frowns compared to those of outgroup politicians (Study 2). Participants facially responded with a more sincere smile pattern towards verbs expressing smiles of ingroup compared to outgroup politicians (Study 3). Altogether, results showed that the role of political affiliation in modulating automatic facial effects passes also through verbal channels and is revealed at a fine-grained level by inducing quantitative and qualitative differences in automatic facial reactions of readers.

Trait emotional intelligence: Evidence from italian adolescents and adults

Emotional intelligence (EI) represents an attribute of contemporary attractiveness for the scientific psychology community. Of particular interest for the present thesis are the conundrum related to the representation of this construct conceptualized as a trait (i.e., trait EI), which are in turn reflected in the current lack of agreement upon its constituent elements, posing significant challenges to research and clinical progress. Trait EI is defined as an umbrella personality-alike construct reflecting emotion-related dispositions and self-perceptions. The Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (TEIQue) was chosen as main measure, given its strong theoretical and psychometrical basis, including superior predictive validity when compared to other trait EI measures. Studies 1 and 2 aimed at validating the Italian 153-items forms of the TEIQue devoted to adolescents and adults. Analyses were done to investigate the structure of the questionnaire, its internal consistencies and gender differences at the facets, factor, and global level of both versions. Despite some low reliabilities, results from Studies 1 and 2 confirm the four-factor structure of the TEIQue. Study 3 investigated the utility of trait EI in a sample of adolescents over internalizing conditions (i.e., symptoms of anxiety and depression) and academic performance (grades at math and Italian language/literacy). Beyond trait EI, concurrent effects of demographic variables, higher order personality dimensions and non-verbal cognitive ability were controlled for. Study 4a and Study 4b addressed analogue research questions, through a meta-analysis and new data in on adults. In the latter case, effects of demographics, emotion regulation strategies, and the Big Five were controlled. Overall, these studies showed the incremental utility of the TEIQue in different domains beyond relevant predictors. Analyses performed at the level of the four-TEIQue factors consistently indicated that its predictive effects were mainly due to the factor Well-Being. Findings are discussed with reference to potential implication for theory and practice.

Motion control and real-time systems: an approach to trajectory rebuilding in non-deterministic networks

Motion control is a sub-field of automation, in which the position and/or velocity of machines are controlled using some type of device. In motion control the position, velocity, force, pressure, etc., profiles are designed in such a way that the different mechanical parts work as an harmonious whole in which a perfect synchronization must be achieved. The real-time exchange of information in the distributed system that is nowadays an industrial plant plays an important role in order to achieve always better performance, better effectiveness and better safety. The network for connecting field devices such as sensors, actuators, field controllers such as PLCs, regulators, drive controller etc., and man-machine interfaces is commonly called fieldbus. Since the motion transmission is now task of the communication system, and not more of kinematic chains as in the past, the communication protocol must assure that the desired profiles, and their properties, are correctly transmitted to the axes then reproduced or else the synchronization among the different parts is lost with all the resulting consequences. In this thesis, the problem of trajectory reconstruction in the case of an event-triggered communication system is faced. The most important feature that a real-time communication system must have is the preservation of the following temporal and spatial properties: absolute temporal consistency, relative temporal consistency, spatial consistency. Starting from the basic system composed by one master and one slave and passing through systems made up by many slaves and one master or many masters and one slave, the problems in the profile reconstruction and temporal properties preservation, and subsequently the synchronization of different profiles in network adopting an event-triggered communication system, have been shown. These networks are characterized by the fact that a common knowledge of the global time is not available. Therefore they are non-deterministic networks. Each topology is analyzed and the proposed solution based on phase-locked loops adopted for the basic master-slave case has been improved to face with the other configurations.

A Unitary Approach to Information and Estimation Theory in Digital Communication Systems

This thesis presents the outcomes of a Ph.D. course in telecommunications engineering. It is focused on the optimization of the physical layer of digital communication systems and it provides innovations for both multi- and single-carrier systems. For the former type we have first addressed the problem of the capacity in presence of several nuisances. Moreover, we have extended the concept of Single Frequency Network to the satellite scenario, and then we have introduced a novel concept in subcarrier data mapping, resulting in a very low PAPR of the OFDM signal. For single carrier systems we have proposed a method to optimize constellation design in presence of a strong distortion, such as the non linear distortion provided by satellites' on board high power amplifier, then we developed a method to calculate the bit/symbol error rate related to a given constellation, achieving an improved accuracy with respect to the traditional Union Bound with no additional complexity. Finally we have designed a low complexity SNR estimator, which saves one-half of multiplication with respect to the ML estimator, and it has similar estimation accuracy.

A projection into the ideas and technologies of "non-place" and "space of flow" in urban context

The meaning of a place has been commonly assigned to the quality of having root (rootedness) or sense of belonging to that setting. While on the contrary, people are nowadays more concerned with the possibilities of free moving and networks of communication. So, the meaning, as well as the materiality of architecture has been dramatically altered with these forces. It is therefore of significance to explore and redefine the sense and the trend of architecture at the age of flow. In this dissertation, initially, we review the gradually changing concept of "place-non-place" and its underlying technological basis. Then we portray the transformation of meaning of architecture as influenced by media and information technology and advanced methods of mobility, in the dawn of 21st century. Against such backdrop, there is a need to sort and analyze architectural practices in response to the triplet of place-non-place and space of flow, which we plan to achieve conclusively. We also trace the concept of flow in the process of formation and transformation of old cities. As a brilliant case study, we look at Persian Bazaar from a socio-architectural point of view. In other word, based on Robert Putnam's theory of social capital, we link social context of the Bazaar with architectural configuration of cities. That is how we believe "cities as flow" are not necessarily a new paradigm.

Brain-Computer Interfaces for augmented communication: Asynchronous and adaptive algorithms and evaluation with end users

This thesis aimed at addressing some of the issues that, at the state of the art, avoid the P300-based brain computer interface (BCI) systems to move from research laboratories to end users’ home. An innovative asynchronous classifier has been defined and validated. It relies on the introduction of a set of thresholds in the classifier, and such thresholds have been assessed considering the distributions of score values relating to target, non-target stimuli and epochs of voluntary no-control. With the asynchronous classifier, a P300-based BCI system can adapt its speed to the current state of the user and can automatically suspend the control when the user diverts his attention from the stimulation interface. Since EEG signals are non-stationary and show inherent variability, in order to make long-term use of BCI possible, it is important to track changes in ongoing EEG activity and to adapt BCI model parameters accordingly. To this aim, the asynchronous classifier has been subsequently improved by introducing a self-calibration algorithm for the continuous and unsupervised recalibration of the subjective control parameters. Finally an index for the online monitoring of the EEG quality has been defined and validated in order to detect potential problems and system failures. This thesis ends with the description of a translational work involving end users (people with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis-ALS). Focusing on the concepts of the user centered design approach, the phases relating to the design, the development and the validation of an innovative assistive device have been described. The proposed assistive technology (AT) has been specifically designed to meet the needs of people with ALS during the different phases of the disease (i.e. the degree of motor abilities impairment). Indeed, the AT can be accessed with several input devices either conventional (mouse, touchscreen) or alterative (switches, headtracker) up to a P300-based BCI.

Ultra-Low Power and Non-intrusive Wireless Monitoring for Smart Buildings

Wireless Sensor Networks (WSNs) offer a new solution for distributed monitoring, processing and communication. First of all, the stringent energy constraints to which sensing nodes are typically subjected. WSNs are often battery powered and placed where it is not possible to recharge or replace batteries. Energy can be harvested from the external environment but it is a limited resource that must be used efficiently. Energy efficiency is a key requirement for a credible WSNs design. From the power source's perspective, aggressive energy management techniques remain the most effective way to prolong the lifetime of a WSN. A new adaptive algorithm will be presented, which minimizes the consumption of wireless sensor nodes in sleep mode, when the power source has to be regulated using DC-DC converters. Another important aspect addressed is the time synchronisation in WSNs. WSNs are used for real-world applications where physical time plays an important role. An innovative low-overhead synchronisation approach will be presented, based on a Temperature Compensation Algorithm (TCA). The last aspect addressed is related to self-powered WSNs with Energy Harvesting (EH) solutions. Wireless sensor nodes with EH require some form of energy storage, which enables systems to continue operating during periods of insufficient environmental energy. However, the size of the energy storage strongly restricts the use of WSNs with EH in real-world applications. A new approach will be presented, which enables computation to be sustained during intermittent power supply. The discussed approaches will be used for real-world WSN applications. The first presented scenario is related to the experience gathered during an European Project (3ENCULT Project), regarding the design and implementation of an innovative network for monitoring heritage buildings. The second scenario is related to the experience with Telecom Italia, regarding the design of smart energy meters for monitoring the usage of household's appliances.