La frase con la que a veces se ha llamado a Francisco de Asís «il più santo tra gli italiani, il più italiano tra i santi» puede causar sorpresa desde fuera de Italia por su afirmación demasiado exclusiva de una nacionalidad. Algunas sugestiones que surgen de la lectura de unas lí­neas de Jorge Luis Borges orientan un posible sentido de interpretación sobre la representación subjetiva de ideales patrióticos. Además de ello, tomando como base la investigación de Felice Accrocca para determi­nar (...) el origen de la frase, se observa cómo la segunda parte de esta se encuentra por primera vez en la obra de Vincenzo Gioberti (1843); con ella se buscaba elogiar las cualidades del Santo que caracterizarían un emblema patriótico para la unificación de la Italia. Se completa la breve crónica histórica que expone Accrocca con las vicisitudes de la frase eslogan, en cuanto a su uso ideológico y político, incluyendo la manipulación de la figura del Santo. Sin embargo, la necesidad de precisar otros elementos ausentes en el trabajo de Accrocca lleva al examen de algunos textos con argumentaciones sobre la identificación del amor al prójimo con el amor a la patria. Se indica asimismo cómo la frase inicial se convirtió en memorable retruécano en un discurso de Geremia Brunelli (1882). Finalmente, la proclamación de Francisco de Asís como Patrono de Italia (1939) busca recuperar el sentido de los valores que el Santo ejemplifica más allá de la exaltación patriótica y aun en contraposición con una exacerbación de esta. (shrink)

This study aimed to investigate the student-athletes' capability to face the academic, sport, and social challenges during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) lockdown and to disclose novel aspects of dual careers. A 32-item online survey encompassing demographic characteristics, sport and university engagement, support and dual-career benefits, physical activity, sitting time, and the time deemed necessary to recover the previous level of performance was developed. Four hundred sixty-seven student-athletes (males: 57%, females: 43%) from 11 countries, competing in 49 different sports (individual: (...) 63.4%, team: 36.6%) at regional (17.5%), national (43.3%), and international (39.2%) levels, and enrolled at high school (21.9%) and university (78.1%) levels completed the survey. During the lockdown, the respondents decreased the time dedicated to sport and academics, although they maintained an active lifestyle. Student-athletes from countries under severe contagion were more likely to train at home, dedicate to academics, and receive support from the coach but less likely receive support from their teachers. With respect to their team sport counterparts, athletes competing in individual sports trained more and were more likely to receive support from their coaches. International athletes showed the highest training time and support from their coaches and as student-athletes. High school students received more support from their coaches and teachers, whereas university students were more likely considering dual careers useful to cope with the COVID-19 pandemic. This study substantiates the relevant role of competitive sports participation in the maintenance of active lifestyles, with student-athletes considering home training and e-learning valuable resources during the lockdown. Furthermore, their sport and academic commitments helped student-athletes cope with the emergency of the COVID-19 pandemic. (shrink)

Olympic combat sports are unconventional physical activity strategies to train middle-aged and older people with and without health problems. This systematic review aimed to assess the available body of published peer-reviewed articles related to the effects of Olympic combat sports interventions on health-related quality of life in adults aged 45 and older. The search was carried out in five generic databases until July 2021 and the protocol was registered in PROSPERO. The PRISMA guidelines were followed and the Downs and Black (...) checklist was used to assessed the methodological quality of the studies. After reviewing 1,151 records, only seven studies met the inclusion criteria, adding 212 participants with a mean age of 63.7 years. Six studies provided data to calculate the effect size in the Olympic combat sports groups. Three studies reported beneficial changes with a small ES for the total score of the health-related quality of life. Two studies reported a beneficial change with a small ES and strong ES for physical health. One study reported improvements with a small ES for emotional and functional well-being. In conclusion, interventions based on Olympic combat sports produce beneficial effects with a small and moderate ES on health-related quality of life in male and female aged 45 and older who are healthy participants, participants with Parkinson's disease, and participants with breast cancer.Systematic Review Registration:https://www.crd.york.ac.uk/prospero/, PROSPERO: CRD42021244161. (shrink)

Suicidal Thoughts is a compilation of some of the most moving and insightful writing accomplished on the topic of suicide. It presents the thoughts and experiences of fifteen writers who have contemplated suicide-some on a professional level, others on a personal level, and a few, both personally and professionally. Through this collection, the reader is able to bear witness to the struggle between life and death and to the devastating aftermath of suicide. Suicidal Thoughts provides readers with a better understanding (...) of the reasons why some individuals give serious consideration to killing themselves. (shrink)

The discussion on ethical issues, it is said, should not be confined to experts but should be extended to patients and local communities, because of the real need to engage stakeholders and non‐stakeholders alike not only in carrying out any biomedical research project, but also in the drafting and legislation of bioethics instruments. Several local and inter‐country consultations have already been conducted in furtherance of this goal, but there is much left to be desired in them. The consultations may have (...) helped in articulating local principles, but not in making the instruments embody these principles. As such, instruments turn incompossible, i.e. the principles and actions they legitimate are not performable. In an ethnographic study conducted in the Philippines, for example, paragraphs 29 and 30 of the Declaration of Helsinki and CIOMS guidelines 8 and 15 are construed as not only contradictory to one another but also to local principles. This problem can be solved by taking deliberate steps to ensure that consultations are grounded in ethnographic data about local principles, which the instruments would embody. A steering committee can be of help in gathering ethnographic data, in conducting consultations at the local level, and in providing a venue for discourse on various bioethical issues. (shrink)

Siguiendo a Eric Voegelin, cabría preguntarse si el agustinismo político contribuyó a la desdivinización del poder temporal o, por el contrario, sentó las bases para su redivinización moderna. La crónica Historia de duabus Civitatibus de Otón de Freising es un texto paradigmático que permitiría resolver esta cuestión, pues en ella el autor desarrolla la teoría de la civitas permixta, es decir, la mezcla de las dos ciudades agustinianas en la historia. Tratándose de un pensador del siglo XII, tal concepto parece (...) surgir de cierto acervo cultural heredado que se manifiesta en forma de conceptos simbólicos. Uno de esos conceptos es el de rex et sacerdos y resulta clave para comprender el pensamiento político de Otón de Freising y descubrir en él, si cabe, ciertos principios que pudieron haber servido como fundamento para la construcción de la estatalidad moderna en los siglos ulteriores. (shrink)

To analyze which ethically relevant biases have been identified by academic literature in artificial intelligence algorithms developed either for patient risk prediction and triage, or for contact tracing to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, to specifically investigate whether the role of social determinants of health have been considered in these AI developments or not. We conducted a scoping review of the literature, which covered publications from March 2020 to April 2021. ​Studies mentioning biases on AI algorithms developed for contact (...) tracing and medical triage or risk prediction regarding COVID-19 were included. From 1054 identified articles, 20 studies were finally included. We propose a typology of biases identified in the literature based on bias, limitations and other ethical issues in both areas of analysis. Results on health disparities and SDOH were classified into five categories: racial disparities, biased data, socio-economic disparities, unequal accessibility and workforce, and information communication. SDOH needs to be considered in the clinical context, where they still seem underestimated. Epidemiological conditions depend on geographic location, so the use of local data in studies to develop international solutions may increase some biases. Gender bias was not specifically addressed in the articles included. The main biases are related to data collection and management. Ethical problems related to privacy, consent, and lack of regulation have been identified in contact tracing while some bias-related health inequalities have been highlighted. There is a need for further research focusing on SDOH and these specific AI apps. (shrink)

In the 5th century BC, in Athens, Antiphon reflects on the relationship between physis and nómos in a way quite different from most sophists. Indeed, one of the particularities of sophist thought is to minimize physis so that thinking focus itself on nómos, on what man can, through thinking and debate, establish in regard to the common good and justice in the pólis. However, Antiphon takes up this relationship between nature and law to direct it to another path. In an (...) unusual way for a sophist, we see physis being emphasized at the expense of nómos. The comparison between the two concepts also serves as a backdrop for harsh criticisms of justice and laws. The objective of this article is, through the criticisms Antiphon makes to the system of the laws of the pólis, to think about the relationship established by the sophist between physis and nómos in order to find out if there is a new understanding of these concepts and to reflect the reason that led Antiphon to revisit them. (shrink)

Em 1821, Friedrich W. Schelling inaugura um novo caminho para o seu pensamento. Esse novo caminho, como afirma o próprio filósofo, divide sua filosofia em duas partes, a saber, a filosofia negativa, que diz respeito a toda sua produção anterior, e a filosofia positiva que se inaugura a partir das aulas de Erlangen. Contudo, como veremos neste artigo, suas duas filosofias estão unidas na busca pelo pensamento da Unidade. Essa busca traduz-se na Spätphilosophie como busca do Absoluto. O presente artigo (...) tem como objetivo refletir sobre os escritos da chamada Filosofia da Mitologia que visam pensar o caminho do Absoluto. Tal caminho relaciona-se com o caminho percorrido pela própria consciência humana e, ao mesmo tempo, coincide com ela. Portanto, a análise culminará no que chamou de processo mitológico e sua relação com o politeísmo sucessivo, já que a mitologia teria se constituído graças à sucessão dos deuses efetuada na consciência humana. In 1821, Friedrich W. Schelling opens a new path for his thinking. This new path, as affirmed by the philosopher himself, he divides his philosophy in two parts: the negative philosophy, which concerns all his previous production, and the positive philosophy that is inaugurated by the Erlangen courses. However, both philosophies are linked together by the search of the thought of the Unity, a search manifested in the Spätphilosophie as the quest for the Absolute. The present article aims to reflect upon the writings of the so-called Philosophy of Mythology, which intends to think about the way to the Absolute. Such way is related to the path followed by the human conscience itself and, at the same time, it coincides with the conscience itself. Therefore, the analysis shall culminate in what Schelling called "mythological process" and in its relation with the successive polytheism, since mythology may have constituted itself by the succession of gods, effected in human conscience. (shrink)

Progress towards Universal Health Coverage (UHC) requires making difficult trade-offs. In this journal, Dr. Margaret Chan, the WHO Director-General, has endorsed the principles for making such decisions put forward by the WHO Consultative Group on Equity and UHC. These principles include maximizing population health, priority for the worse off, and shielding people from health-related financial risks. But how should one apply these principles in particular cases and how should one adjudicate between them when their demands conflict? This paper by some (...) members of the Consultative Group and a diverse group of health policy professionals addresses these questions. It considers three stylized versions of actual policy dilemmas. Each of these cases pertains to one of the three principal dimensions of progress towards UHC: which services to cover first, which populations to prioritize for coverage, and how to move from out-of-pocket expenditures to pre-payment with pooling of funds. Our cases are simplified to highlight common trade-offs. While we make specific recommendations, our primary aim is to demonstrate both the form and substance of the reasoning involved in striking a fair balance between competing interests on the road to UHC. (shrink)

ABSTRACT This article aims to analyze the process of mutual understanding from the perspective of Discursive Neurolinguistics. As a methodology, a case study was carried out on a child with a linguistic profile of verbal restriction, which concerns the dimension of utterances involving words and their morphology. Data interpretation was based on the Bakhtinian perspective, which addresses ‘understanding’ as an active-responsive process and meaning as emerging from the relationship between utterances. The results showed that the interlocutors’ common ground allowed the (...) joint construction of meaning even in the face of verbal restrictions, and aspects such as nonverbal elements and the recognition of the child’s active-responsive role also favored mutual understanding. As a conclusion, the attention to different multimodal resources as legitimate modes of expression allows children with verbal restrictions to fulfill the role of “speakers” regardless of their modes of expression. (shrink)

A partir de la distinción entre culto genéricamente religioso y culto cristiano se reflexiona sobre la novedad de la Liturgia cristiana, en cuya naturaleza pesa más la dimensión descendente, o sea, su cualidad de ser actualización, aquí y hoy, del Misterio de Cristo que la dimensión cultual o ascendente, o sea la glorificación de Dios.

In their paper 'After-birth abortion: why should the baby live?' Alberto Giubilini and Francesca Minerva argue that because there are no significant differences between a fetus and a neonate, in that neither possess sufficiently robust mental traits to qualify as persons, a neonate may be justifiably killed for any reason that also justifies abortion. To further emphasise their view that a newly born infant is more on a par with a fetus rather than a more developed baby, Giubilini and Minerva (...) elect to call this 'after-birth abortion' rather than infanticide. In this paper, I argue that their thesis is incorrect, and that the moral permissibility of abortion does not entail the moral permissibility of 'after-birth' abortion. (shrink)

La presente nota bibliográfica recopila la ingente obra de José Aldazábal, uno de los liturgistas españoles más fecundos en publicaciones de carácter sobre todo divulgativo, que, durante más de cuarenta años y formando parte del Centro de Pastoral Litúrgica de Barcelona, ha acompañado la pastoral litúrgica especialmente en España, pero también en los paísesiberoamericanos de lengua española. Interesará a los investigadores de la historia de la renovación litúrgica y a los estudiosos de la pastoral.

Trata acerca del nuevo sentido que asigna Merleau-Ponty a la existencia humana, que al tiempo que reconoce su pertenencia al mundo de acuerdo con la noción heideggeriana del ser-en-el-mundo y según un enfoque que se opone al intelectualismo racionalista, no renuncia sin embargo a una filosofía del sujeto inspirada en el último Husserl. Eso le lleva a interpretar el viejo principio cartesiano del cogito como existencia y a atribuir a esta noción una ambigüedad: la que se corresponde con la doble (...) y simultánea consideración de pertenencia al mundo y distinción respecto de él. Ese proyecto filosófico se elabora a través de una manera nueva de describir la experiencia en la línea de una concepción fenomenológica que atribuye al cuerpo el papel trascendental que el idealismo clásico asignaba a la conciencia. (shrink)

El presente artículo examina la concepción del sujeto en el pensamiento de Jean Paul Sartre. Dicho examen se lleva a cabo, por motivos históricos y conceptuales, apelando directa e indirectamente a la filosofía de Heidegger, Husserl, et.al., siendo éste último el bastión, alterno a Sartre mismo, más importante para el desarrollo del presente texto. Así, dicho análisis del concepto de sujeto, y de sus implicaciones y conceptualizaciones fenomenológicas, se lleva a cabo a través del estudio de varias formas de conciencia: (...) la conciencia del objeto, referida a algo distinto de sí misma, y la conciencia de sí, que, al mismo tiempo, se dice de dos formas distintas, a saber: 1. Como conciencia refleja, no reflexiva; y 2. Como conciencia reflexiva. Gracias a esta distinción y análisis de conceptos como Yo, conciencia y sujeto, Sartre se convierte en un crítico de la filosofía moderna del sujeto y, como consecuencia de ello, con el pensamiento sartreano se llega a la convicción de que lo único real es la conciencia, no el mero Yo. Por tanto, el tratamiento husserliano de la conciencia –que Sartre compartirá-, entendida ésta como una constante actividad intencional, devendrá, necesariamente, en el primado del sujeto, pues el sentido de los fenómenos se origina, finalmente, en él. (shrink)

Understanding how people behave when facing hazardous situations, how intrinsic and extrinsic factors influence the risk taking (RT) decision making process and to what extent it is possible to modify their reactions externally, are questions that have long interested academics and society in general. In the spheres of Occupational Safety and Health (OSH), the military, finance and sociology, this topic has multidisciplinary implications because we all constantly face risk taking situations. Researchers have hitherto assessed risk taking profiles by conducting questionnaires (...) prior to and after the presentation of stimuli; however, this can lead to the production of biased, non-realistic, risk taking profiles. This is due to the reflexive nature of choosing an answer in a questionnaire, which is remote from the reactive, emotional and impulsive decision making processes inherent to real, risky situations. One way to address this question is to exploit VR capabilities to generate immersive environments that recreate realistic seeming but simulated hazardous situations. We propose VR as the next-generation tool to study risk taking processes, taking advantage of the big four families of metrics which can provide objective assessment methods with high ecological validity: the real-world risks approach (high presence VR environments triggering real-world reactions), embodied interactions (more natural interactions eliciting natural behaviours), stealth assessment (unnoticed real-time assessments offering efficient behavioural metrics) and physiological real-time measurement (physiological signals avoiding subjective bias). Additionally, VR can provide an invaluable tool, after the assessment phase, to train in skills related to risk taking due to its transferability to real-world situations. (shrink)

Se afirma a menudo que el utilitarismo (al menos su versión estándar) es incapaz de tomar en cuenta las emociones. Siendo esto así, se afirma que es incapaz de responder (correctamente) a nuestros problemas morales más importantes y que, de hecho, se convierte en una doctrina inútil. Sin embargo, debemos matizar esta acusación diciendo, por un lado, que las emociones tienen, de algún modo, un significativo papel en la teoría de Bentham y que, por otro lado, tienen, indudablemente, un papel (...) central en el utilitarismo de Mill. En este artículo tratamos de mostrar cuál es ese papel y si el uso de las emociones en la teoría de Mill puede ser visto como una especie de desviacionismo de la versión estándar. (shrink)

Después de la publicación de su tesis doctoral titulada La acción (1893), el filósofo francés Maurice Blondel escribió algunas obras en las que trató asuntos de enorme importancia, tanto en el campo filosófico como teológico, que desarrollaron las temáticas centrales de La acción, obra que a finales del siglo XIX generó tanto revuelo en el ambiente filosófico francés. Con la conciencia de su actualidad y su inmenso valor para una perspectiva novedosa de la metafísica y el diálogo fe-razón, se pretende (...) aquí una aproximación a cuatro obras que los estudiosos del pensamiento blondeliano han llamado “menores”. El presente artículo desarrolla los principales aportes de dichas obras a la reflexión filosófica contemporánea, indagando al mismo tiempo por la filosofía de la acción en cada una de ellas. Después de una corta biografía del pensador en cuestión, se abordará el significado de la filosofía de la acción con vistas a su elucidación para el lector. Posteriormente se presentará el contexto histórico de cada obra y se mostrarán sus vínculos con La acción, para terminar con algunas reflexiones que su lectura suscita en nuestro tiempo, cuyos desafíos son similares a los que Blondel tuvo que enfrentar en su momento. (shrink)

In an increasingly urbanized world, construction industry is called upon to serve the needs of human society, such as environmental protection and safety in terms of infrastructure. In this context, a sustainable and ethical development means a close connection between buildings and environment. This connection can be achieved through, for example, the concept of ecological concrete or green concrete, as it is often called. The conventional process of obtaining cement and mineral aggregates from the concrete composition generates pollution, especially through (...) greenhouse gas emissions. Also, one should not ignore the fact that extraction of the raw materials affects the habitats of the sites and of the neighboring areas. When construction materials are questioned, the ethical issues lay not in the means of expression, but mainly in the means of production. More to the point, the present contribution aimed to find solutions for enhancing the adhesion of vegetal aggregates with the cement matrix, in order to obtain a material with optimal mechanical properties, which is valued as an ethical approach of building industry. Results showed that plant aggregates can be used to obtain a building material which can be improved by using partial substitution of cement by silica fume, fly ash, or by using additives and that green concrete as an environmentally friendly material offers the alternative for lower energy use and fewer CO2 emissions. Marketers must understand not only the advantages of these green materials, but also that they have an ethical commitment to provide consumers with environmentally friendly materials. (shrink)

El argumento de la pendiente resbaladiza se presenta a menudo para argumentar que la eutanasia voluntaria debe ser prohibida desde el comienzo ya que en caso contrario tarde o temprano nos veremos empujados a aceptar otros tipos de eutanasia que son injustificables. Aunque para sus defensores éste es un argumento convincente, para otros muchos se trata de una falacia. En el presente artículo examinaremos algunos elementos esenciales de dicho argumento (concretamente las metáforas que incluye y algunas ideas que se dan (...) por supuestas) y señalaremos algunos de los principales problemas que tienen que afrontar sus defensores. (shrink)

Nowadays is necessary to understand Life in a global way and that means to consider several dimensions of the topic at the same time: the ecological and the biological ones, but also the technical and symbolic ones, because we are just living –as it is well known– in a great “net-world”. The interdependence is the key, above all when Nature and Culture interact and integrate the new ecosystem of the planet Earth as never they did before, and all that includes (...) many challenges and risks too. (shrink)

Concordancia del entendimiento consigo mismo o identidad del entendimiento con sus objetos son expresiones que definen dos modelos pensamiento de tanta relevancia como los de Kant y Aristóteles. En el seguimiento de ambos modelos podemos contemplar la concepción de la razón, de la ciencia, del ser del hombre y de la relación del hombre con la naturaleza. Marcan, además, dichos modelos largas y significativas épocas de vigencia. Tanto en uno como en el otro, aunque con distinto tono, domina la conciencia (...) de finitud trabada a la aspiración a la trascendencia. Finitud y trascendencia son los términos en los que se define la tarea y el destino de la filosofía. La imposibilidad de que el entendimiento concuerde consigo mismo deriva, en el caso de Aristóteles, hacia la concordancia con los objetos; en el de Kant, a construir la concordancia del entendimiento consigo mismo y a tomarla como una ley subjetiva. La opción kantiana se vuelve para nosotros hoy exigencia de reconciliación con la naturaleza. Es una tarea tanto más urgente cuanto más profunda es la sima que separa al hombre de su lugar natural en medio de las cosas y de los demás. (shrink)

El fenómeno religioso se hace presente en las culturas respondiendo a cuestiones humanas importantes. Forma la comprensión de la vida y elabora cosmologías. Desde sus intuiciones, se organiza elaborando los sentimientos de sagrado, realidades simbólicas, ritos, ética, etc. que construyen formas de relación social y comunitaria. Palabras clave: Religión; Teología; Filosofia; Antropología; Sociología; Cultura e moral. ABSTRACT The religious phenomenon is present in cultures as a response to fundamental human questions. It shapes the understanding of life and elaborates cosmologies. With (...) basis on its intuition, it organises itself elaborating the feelings of the sacred, symbolic realities, rites, ethics, and so on, which establish forms of social and communitarian relations. Key words: Religion; Theology; Philosophy; Anthropology; Sociology; Culture and morals. (shrink)

Business Ethics, the Environment &Responsibility, EarlyView.

La práctica profesional es el medio que permite a los estudiantes aplicar los conocimientos aprendidos durante su proceso de formación y fortalecer las competencias del saber, saber hacer y ser/convivir. El articulo sintetiza las características y procesos desarrollados desde el curso práctica profesional en la Corporación Universitaria del Caribe en pandemia. En tanto, el proceso de práctica se adaptó a la contingencia adoptando nuevas modalidades de realización de práctica a nivel institucional (telepráctica, trabajo en casa, práctica asesor/tutor, investigación, emprendimiento y (...) telepsicología) para garantizarle a los estudiantes el espacio pedagógico que permitiera poner en práctica sus conocimientos y competencias disciplinares. (shrink)

Addressing fatigue is useful in a variety of scenarios and activities. Fatigue has recently been studied from a psychophysiological standpoint. As a result, the expression and impact of peripheral and central fatigue has been evaluated. Driving is one occupation where tiredness has disastrous consequences. BAlert is a smartphone app that approaches exhaustion with psychophysiological measures. More specifically, it evaluates the level of fatigue via heart rate variability data and the cognitive compromise via Stroop effect. The goal of this study is (...) to determine if there are gender differences in fatigue levels among professional drivers using the BAlert app. Statistically significant differences were found in the number of hours awake, in different parameters of HRV, in the level of stress, as well as in the cognitive response evaluated through the app. The results are discussed and their implications for the management of work fatigue are presented. (shrink)

Victory is the ultimate aim in high performance sports; when it comes to team sports, the goal is the key that allows players to achieve that victory. This is the case with futsal which, due to its internal structure as well as the speed in the development of its game, makes the achievement of a goal not an isolated event, but rather more than one goal must be scored to achieve victory. The aim of the present study is to analyze (...) the construction of offensive sequences that have resulted in goal-scoring in the two main European futsal leagues, the Spanish and the Italian, as well as to identify the patterns relating to offensive actions that have ended with a goal being scored. Observational methodology was used to develop the research and an ad hoc observation instrument was developed for this purpose. The data was analyzed using inferential statistics as well as sequential analysis of delays in a diachronic analysis to identify the patterns of offensive actions. The results obtained enable recognition of a league’s idiosyncrasy patterns in goal-scoring in each of the leagues studied. The results obtained will allow experts to have a better understanding of how goals are scored and how to establish more specific training tasks, in both attack and defense. (shrink)

BackgroundThe coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic has greatly affected people’s mental health resulting in severe psychological consequences. One of the leading causes of long-term disability worldwide is aphasia. The language changes experienced by a person with aphasia often have a sudden and long-lasting negative impact on social interaction, quality of life, and emotional wellbeing. The main aim of this study was to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on the different psychosocial dimensions which affect PWA.MethodsThis retrospective study included 73 PWA and 81 (...) elderly matched controls. All patients were in the chronic phase. They were all discharged from rehabilitation services, which left them with different degrees of language deficits. All participants were administered the hospital anxiety and depression scale through an online survey. PWA also took part in the stroke and aphasia quality of life scale questionnaire.ResultsAlthough the comparison between two different time points [one month before and one month after the lockdown ] led to a significant increase in depression and anxiety symptoms in both groups, lower rates of depression and anxiety were found in PWA compared to the healthy group. Significant deterioration was also present in PWA in the communication and psychosocial scales of the SAQOL-39 test, which correlated with the observed changes in the psychological domains. Interestingly, the results were not significantly influenced by the degree of aphasia severity. Similarly, in both groups, none of the demographic variables significantly affected the scores in the different subscales.ConclusionsThis evidence which, at first glance, seems to suggest that PWA have been partially spared from the impact of COVID-19, actually masks a dramatic situation that has always characterized this population. Indeed, given that PWA already live in a state of social isolation and emotional instability, these conditions might have, paradoxically, limited the effects of the coronavirus. However, as our results showed a deterioration in the emotional state and communication skills of our patients, possible solutions are discussed in order to prevent further decline of their cognitive abilities. (shrink)

Feature selection is a widely studied technique whose goal is to reduce the dimensionality of the problem by removing irrelevant features. It has multiple benefits, such as improved efficacy, efficiency and interpretability of almost any type of machine learning model. Feature selection techniques may be divided into three main categories, depending on the process used to remove the features known as Filter, Wrapper and Embedded. Embedded methods are usually the preferred feature selection method that efficiently obtains a selection of the (...) most relevant features of the model. However, not all models support an embedded feature selection that forces the use of a different method, reducing the efficiency and reliability of the selection. Neural networks are an example of a model that does not support embedded feature selection. As neural networks have shown to provide remarkable results in multiple scenarios such as classification and regression, sometimes in an ensemble with a model that includes an embedded feature selection, we attempt to embed a feature selection process with a general-purpose methodology. In this work, we propose a novel general-purpose layer for neural networks that removes the influence of irrelevant features. The Feature-Aware Drop Layer is included at the top of the neural network and trained during the backpropagation process without any additional parameters. Our methodology is tested with 17 datasets for classification and regression tasks, including data from different fields such as Health, Economic and Environment, among others. The results show remarkable improvements compared to three different feature selection approaches, with reliable, efficient and effective results. (shrink)

If is a random sequence, then the sequence is clearly not random; however, seems to be “about half random”. L. Staiger [Kolmogorov complexity and Hausdorff dimension, Inform. and Comput. 103 159–194 and A tight upper bound on Kolmogorov complexity and uniformly optimal prediction, Theory Comput. Syst. 31 215–229] and K. Tadaki [A generalisation of Chaitin’s halting probability Ω and halting self-similar sets, Hokkaido Math. J. 31 219–253] have studied the degree of randomness of sequences or reals by measuring their “degree (...) of compression”. This line of study leads to various definitions of partial randomness. In this paper we explore some relations between these definitions. Among other results we obtain a characterisation of Σ1-dimension in terms of strong Martin-Löf ε-tests , and we show that ε-randomness for ε is different than the classical 1-randomness. (shrink)