Florida-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) is a top shipyard for newbuild ferries
and it is investing in new capacity to compete for high-end contracts
TME caught up with CEO and Chairman Joey D'Isernia for the details.
ESG is in the middle of further infrastructure expansion - can you tell us how the project is going
and what it will contribute to the yard's capacity
We have significant infrastructure expansion happening at both our Nelson and Port St
which reflects our commitment to investing in the future of both government and commercial shipbuilding
We commenced phase two of a significant infrastructure improvement project at our Nelson Street government shipbuilding facility
This phase includes the construction of 1,000 linear feet of additional bulkhead and berthing space
installation of associated heavy weather mooring infrastructure
the extension of the launch facility by 120 feet to increase the total launch way length to over 500 feet
and the final dredging of vessel berthing spaces and the shipyard turning basin
These enhancements will significantly increase ESG’s capability to construct and deliver multiple ships per year
supporting future Department of Defense (DOD) shipbuilding goals
We are making significant progress on this expansion and believe it will position us well for future government programs
We have also put forward a grant application for a dry dock that would create enormous and transformational economic growth for our area and relieve a massive backlog in shipbuilding repair. As I’ve said previously
before we continue down the road of outsourcing our shipbuilding maintenance jobs to our allies
we should invest in our yards who have the talent and the capacity
ESG recently won new orders for the Fisher Island ferry and Saltchuk's new escort tugs - can you tell us what attracted these customers to ESG
The Fisher Island ferry and Saltchuk’s escort tug projects highlight ESG’s reputation for reliability and innovation
Our customers are drawn to ESG because of our proven track record of delivering quality vessels on time and on budget
coupled with our ability to customize designs to meet specific operational needs
our commitment to quality craftsmanship and our collaborative approach to shipbuilding have solidified ESG as a trusted partner for these high-profile projects
ESG has successfully delivered 35 ship assist tugs and 21 passenger and/or auto ferries to satisfied customers and we delivered the vehicle passenger ferry Heron to the Fisher Island Community Association
We understand that the Heron has been the most reliable ferry in their fleet
of which we are very proud. We look forward to delivering another robust and reliable ESG-built ferry that will serve the residents of Fisher Island for decades to come
We will also soon deliver the ferry Long Island to the McAllister team
We have built 17 high-quality vessels for them and have helped transform their maritime services
Can you tell us about the progress that USCGC Argus is making
with key milestones being achieved on schedule
and Rush—are also advancing as planned
reflecting the disciplined project management and skilled workforce at ESG
This program represents a cornerstone of our partnership with the U.S
delivering vessels that will serve as the backbone of their fleet for decades
ESG is interested in competing for Navy contracts
as well as continued work for the USACE and the USCG
What kind of Navy programs would be most attractive?
Eastern Shipbuilding Group is highly interested in competing for U.S
We believe the increased capacity and shipyard enhancements at our Nelson St
Shipyard will allow us to better support the Navy’s initiative to expand the shipbuilding industrial base in order to meet the demands of the national defense strategy
ESG’s dedication to innovation and efficiency makes us a natural partner for the Navy’s evolving needs
We’re unique as a Tier 2 commercial shipyard in that our business systems are DCMA (Defense Contract Management Agency) and DCAA (Defense Contract Audit Agency) certified
making us the only Tier 2 shipyard able to properly manage complex defense contracts
That makes us well-positioned to meet the rising demands of future Navy and Coast Guard programs
Workforce is a constant concern for shipbuilders these days - what has ESG done to attract and retain the people it needs
ESG has implemented a multi-faceted strategy
This includes offering competitive wages and benefits
and fostering a culture of growth and collaboration
ESG also partners with local technical schools and colleges to build a pipeline of skilled workers
Programs like our apprenticeship initiative and our focus on employee development have been key in maintaining ESG’s position as an employer of choice
What role does ESG play in the local community in Panama City
ESG takes immense pride in being an integral part of the community
we actively engage with local youth by supporting educational programs like welding training and artificial reef construction
These efforts not only contribute to the community’s environmental and educational goals but also help inspire the next generation of shipbuilders and maritime professionals
We also lead events like our annual charity golf and fishing tournaments
This article is sponsored by Eastern Shipbuilding Group.
The opinions expressed herein are the author's and not necessarily those of The Maritime Executive
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The Yoni task is a computerized tool assessing first-and second-order affective and cognitive Theory of Mind (ToM), accounting for the multidimensional and multi-level mentalizing features. The Italian Yoni task has been validated and standardized in its 98-item version, and a 48-item short version has been proposed for a quick digital evaluation of ToM in clinical contexts.
The present study aimed to test the Yoni-48’s convergent validity, correlating the tool score with the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test (ET) and Gender Test (GT), its items discrimination ability through the Classical Test Theory, and Rash model, its reliability by evaluating the internal consistency (McDonald’s ω, Cronbach’s α, Guttman’s λ2, and Guttman’s λ6) and Spearman-Brown ϱSP split-half analysis, and to provide standardization and normative data in the Italian population.
This study supports the psychometric properties of the Yoni-48 and provides normative data for the Italian population. Further studies are needed to test the suitability of this short version for profiling the social cognition neurocognitive phenotype.
Volume 14 - 2022 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fnagi.2022.1048599
Introduction: The Yoni task is a computerized tool assessing first-and second-order affective and cognitive Theory of Mind (ToM)
accounting for the multidimensional and multi-level mentalizing features
The Italian Yoni task has been validated and standardized in its 98-item version
and a 48-item short version has been proposed for a quick digital evaluation of ToM in clinical contexts
Methods: The present study aimed to test the Yoni-48’s convergent validity
correlating the tool score with the Reading the Mind in the Eyes test (ET) and Gender Test (GT)
its items discrimination ability through the Classical Test Theory
its reliability by evaluating the internal consistency (McDonald’s ω
and Guttman’s λ6) and Spearman-Brown ϱSP split-half analysis
and to provide standardization and normative data in the Italian population
Results: Results suggested a good convergent validity with a statistically significant association with ET (p < 0.001)
while a null correlation was observed with GT (p = 0.947)
The Classical Test Theory and Rash model confirmed a good discrimination ability of the Yoni-48’s second-order affective and cognitive ToM items
while weaker discrimination capacity was registered for the first-order ToM items
The inter-item reliability was optimal for clinical purposes (ω
the split-half reliability was high (Spearman-Brown ϱSP = 0.90)
age and education were revealed as significant predictors of Yoni accuracy scores
age was the only predictor of Yoni’s response speed score
The Italian normative data showed a high Yoni accuracy in healthy adults (mean accuracy = 0.85) and speed (mean response time = 0.92)
both accuracy and response time level was balanced between the affective and cognitive components of ToM
Discussion: This study supports the psychometric properties of the Yoni-48 and provides normative data for the Italian population
Further studies are needed to test the suitability of this short version for profiling the social cognition neurocognitive phenotype
Normative data and two composite scores were obtained in the Italian population: the global level of ToM and the balance between affective and cognitive ToM
both in terms of accuracy and response time
given the need to provide tools agile to be adopted for first-level neuropsychological batteries
Yoni-36) have been developed from the 98-items version
with a balanced number of items evaluating each subdomain of mentalizing
and normative data of these short-versions still need to be reported
The present study aimed to test (1) the Yoni-48 validity (convergent and discriminant validity, and items discrimination ability; Isernia et al., 2022); (2) inter-item reliability (internal consistency and split-half reliability); and to (3) standardize and provide normative data in the Italian population
A primary prospective cross-sectional study was conducted after approval of the IRCCS Don Gnocchi Foundation Ethics Committee
Data were collected from January to August 2022 in line with the Declaration of Helsinki
Participants read and signed the written informed consent module before taking part in the research study
Subjects were consecutively enrolled at the IRCCS Don Gnocchi Foundation in Milan (staff
and patients’ caregivers) and recruited as eligible for the research according to the following inclusion/exclusion criteria: age >18; years of education ≥5; absence of a history of neurological
and/or relevant organic conditions as investigated during a clinical interview; absence of auditory and visual disability plausibly affecting the performance of test battery; absence of pharmacological treatment plausibly affecting the test battery performance
All the subjects voluntarily took part in the study and did not receive compensation for their participation in the research
Participants were administered the computerized version of the Italian Yoni short version (Yoni-48; Isernia et al., 2022) and the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (ET; Baron-Cohen et al., 2001) in a single individual session lasting about 20 min
two composite scores are obtained for accuracy and response time
referring to the performance level and the balance between cognitive and affective ToM performance: the accuracy composite score (ACC)
the response time composite score (RT; range 0–1)
the Cognitive/Affective accuracy index (CAA)
and the Cognitive/Affective response time index (CART) (Details on the procedure to compute composite scores are reported in Statistical Analysis)
The ET is a validated measure of advanced ToM (Vellante et al., 2013; Preti et al., 2017; Black and An, 2019; Maddaluno et al., 2022)
Thirty-six black-and-white photographs of males’ and females’ gazes expressing complex mental states are shown with four verbal alternatives
The subject is instructed to choose the mental state fitting the gaze of the photograph
The same stimuli are also administered with different instructions
indicating whether the photo depicts a male or female
JASP (version 0.16.1.0; JASP Team 2020) and IBM SPSS Statistics (version 28.0.1.1) were used for the statistical analysis
Participants’ demographics: Frequency
and standard deviation were computed to describe the demographical characteristics of the participants
Chi-Squared was run to test the distribution differences between males and females in each age-and education-group
Yoni-48 validity: Spearman’s ϱ correlation was performed to test the association between the Yoni-48 total score and its subscales and the ET (convergent validity) and between the Yoni-48 total score and its subscales and the GT (discriminant validity)
An alpha threshold of 0.005 was considered for Bonferroni’s multiple comparison correction
The Yoni-48 item discrimination ability was computed by dividing the sample into two sub-groups based on the median of the Yoni-48 total score (high and low score group) and extracting the effect size h of the Ebel index D
The item discrimination ability was also tested with the dichotomous Rash model (Item Response Theory)
by computing information-weighted mean square statistic and outlier sensitive means square statistic
Pearson’s reliability coefficient was reported to test the model’s accuracy
Yoni-48 reliability: Inter-item reliability was tested through McDonald’s ω
split-half was run with parallel reliability Spearman-Brown ϱSP
Yoni-48 standardization: To test the effect of sex
and education years on Yoni-48 components and levels
simultaneous multivariate regression models were performed
β-values and means of the predictor variables were inserted in a formula to adjust raw scores of Yoni-48 accuracy and response time
The formula was computed for each Yoni-48 component and level to extract the adjustment score table
Yoni-48 composite scores: Yoni-48 raw scores (Yoni affective
second-level ToM score) were adjusted for sex
and education years according to the adjustment formula
The upper and inner scores of Yoni-48 accuracy and response time were not adjusted
the first-order score (0–16) and the second-order (0–26) total raw score were computed by separately summing the score of the sub-scales items
first-and second-order total raw scores were adjusted for sex
the composite accuracy score was computed by summing the first-and second-order adjusted scores and dividing the result by the number of mental items for a total score ranging from 0 to 1
An ACC score near 1 indicates a high level of performance
the mean of the first-and second-order items’ response time(s) was separately computed (score 0–60)
the RT was obtained by subtracting 1 to the average of the sum of the first-order adjusted ToM RT(s) minus the minimum response time(s) available per item on the total available time per item and the second-order adjusted ToM response time(s) minus the minimum response time(s) available per item on the total available time per item
An RT score near 1 indicates a high level of performance (fast response)
The CAA and CART score was computed to detect an eventual dissociation between the level of cognitive and affective ToM performance
the affective and cognitive ToM accuracy raw total scores were computed separately (score 0–21) by summing the score of the items of the subscales
the CAA score was obtained with the formula as follows:
the affective and cognitive RT raw total scores were computed separately (score 0–60) by averaging the score of each item
Then both two scores were adjusted for sex
the CART score was obtained with the formula as follows:
A CAA/CART score near 0 suggests a balance between cognitive and affective ToM performance; a score near 1 indicates a higher affective than cognitive ToM performance level; a score near −1 a higher cognitive than affective ToM performance level
and maximum values were computed for each composite score (ACC
In total, 235 subjects took part in the research (127 females, χ2 = 1.54, p = 0.215). The mean age was 41.46 ± 18.62, and the mean years of education were 15.29 ± 3.40. Table 1 reports the frequency of subjects per sex
Spearman ϱ correlation showed a significant association between ET and Yoni-48 total score and subscores (Yoni second-order, affective, cognitive, second-order affective, and second-order cognitive). No correlation was found between GT and Yoni-48 scores confirming the divergent validity of the tool (see Table 2 for details)
The dichotomous Rasch model showed a Pearson reliability r = 0.735
The mean information-weighted mean square statistic was 0.99 ± 0.12
and the outlier-sensitive means square statistic was 0.86 ± 0.37
Second-order items’ ability was acceptable (second-order items: mean infit = 1.03 ± 0.12
mean outfit = 0.95 ± 0.31)
while the first-order items’ ability was low (mean infit = 0.93 ± 0.09
mean outfit = 0.71 ± 0.44)
Internal consistency of Yoni-48 was high, considering all mental items together and Yoni sub-scales. Also, Spearman-Brown ϱSP showed high split-half reliability, adequate for utilizing the tool in a clinical context (see Table 4)
The multiple regression model reported a significant predictive effect of age and education on the second-order, affective, and cognitive Yoni accuracy score, while no effect of these variables was registered on the first-order accuracy score. Age was the only significant predictor of all Yoni-48 response time scores (Table 5)
Adjustment values to compute Yoni-48 adjusted scores are reported in Table 6. Formulas to adjust raw data and a calculator to automatically adjust raw data are reported in Supplementary materials S2, S3. Table 7 shows the normative data of the adjusted Yoni-48 scores
The present study aimed to investigate the psychometric properties of the Italian short version (48-item) of the Yoni task (Rossetto et al., 2018)
we provided normative data for the Italian population to enhance the reliable application of the tool in the clinical context
with an acceptable alpha/omega value only for three tools
the Yoni-48 task stands out from other ToM tools for stability and reproducibility
Future studies need to further explore the reproducibility over time of the Yoni-48 with a test-retest design
The Yoni-48 indexes would allow further exploring of the relationship between ToM and executive functions focusing on different ToM subdimensions
also taking into account of the inverse trend due to age-related differences and education influence
this study supports the psychometric properties of the Yoni-48 in terms of validity and reliability and provides normative data for the Italian population
Further studies are needed to test the suitability of this short version for profiling the social cognition neurocognitive phenotype and exploring the performance level of Yoni-48 in the clinical population
The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors
The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Don Gnocchi Foundation Ethics Committee
The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study
FR and SI collected data and carried out the study and wrote the draft of the manuscript
and SS-T substantively revised and edited the draft of the manuscript
All authors read and approved the final version of the manuscript
This work was supported by 5x1000 funds – 2020
Italian Ministry of Health – Ricerca Corrente
We would like to thank all the participants in the present research
The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest
All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations
Any product that may be evaluated in this article
or claim that may be made by its manufacturer
is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher
The Supplementary material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fnagi.2022.1048599/full#supplementary-material
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Received: 19 September 2022; Accepted: 22 December 2022; Published: 12 January 2023
Copyright © 2023 Isernia, Rossetto, Shamay-Tsoory, Marchetti and Baglio. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY)
distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted
provided the original author(s) and the copyright owner(s) are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited
in accordance with accepted academic practice
distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms
*Correspondence: Federica Rossetto, ✉ ZnJvc3NldHRvQGRvbmdub2NjaGkuaXQ=
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PANAMA CITY − After more than seven years as president of Eastern Shipbuilding
Joey D'Isernia is now CEO and chairman of the shipbuilder's board of directors
Eastern Shipbuilding announced the change in a press release on Thursday morning
and he has spent his entire career working in the shipyard
who founded the company and is retiring as CEO and chairman of the board after 46 years in the position
"We all stood on Brian's shoulders as he built this company from the ground up," Joey D'Isernia said in the release
"I am deeply humbled as I step into this role knowing how much my father sacrificed for us and for this company
We will carry on his legacy and maintain Eastern's core values of delivering our clients exceptional service and the highest quality vessels."
More on Eastern:Rep. Dunn vows to fight Coast Guard's decision to ditch Eastern Shipbuilding
Fighting back:Eastern Shipbuilding lodges federal protest for $3 billion U.S. Coast Guard contract
Joey D'Isernia oversaw not only Eastern's recovery after Category 5 Hurricane Michael in October 2018
but its transition from a "commercial shipyard to one that excels in the management and execution of government shipbuilding programs
Eastern Shipbuilding employs more than 1,600 people
The release says Brian D'Isernia started his career as a lawyer and became a commercial fisherman
eventually shifting from commercial fishing to vessel construction
Miriam "Mimi," have been married for more than 50 years
"Building this successful company spanning half a century has been an incredible source of pride
but my greatest achievement is my family," Brian D'Isernia said in the release
"I have every confidence that under Joey's leadership
the next generation of D'Isernia shipbuilders will continue our proud legacy
and the next 50 years will be a shining success."
Joey D’Isernia has been appointed CEO and Chairman of the Board of Panama City, Fla., headquartered Eastern Shipbuilding Group Inc
company founder Brian D’Isernia is retiring and handing over the leadership to the next generation
Joey was appointed president in 2015 and has spent his entire career working in the shipyard with his father and brothers
“We all stood on Brian’s shoulders as he built this company from the ground up
I am deeply humbled as I step into this role knowing how much my father sacrificed for us and for this company
We will carry on his legacy and maintain Eastern’s core values of delivering our clients exceptional service and the highest quality vessels,” said Joey D’Isernia
Joey oversaw Eastern’s unprecedented rapid recovery following Hurricane Michael in 2018
the company also made landmark achievements in its execution of the Offshore Patrol Cutter project for the United States Coast Guard
ESG has transformed from a commercial shipyard to one that also excels in the management and execution of government shipbuilding programs
The company today employs more than 1,600 people and has produced more than 350 complex and diverse vessels
Brian D’Isernia will serve as Chairman Emeritus of the company
in recognition and appreciation of his lifelong commitment to the company
and public officials have expressed their gratitude for his impact in the community
“Building this successful company spanning half a century has been an incredible source of pride
I have every confidence that under Joey’s leadership the next generation of D’Isernia shipbuilders will continue our proud legacy and the next fifty years will be a shining success,” said Brian D’Isernia
April 2025
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The Theory of Mind (ToM) assessment is becoming essential to evaluate the response to a social cognition intervention and to monitor the progression of social abilities impairment in atypical conditions. In the Italian setting, the Yoni task has been recently validated in its short version (the Yoni-48 task) to evaluate ToM in the clinical setting. The present study aimed to verify the test-retest reliability and the Minimal Detectable Change (MDC) of the Yoni-48 task.
The total Yoni-48 task accuracy, but not the response time score, showed a high ICC (>0.80), with an MDC of 0.10. By plotting the LOA plot for the accuracy score no systematic trends were observed.
This evidence will support the adoption of the Yoni task in longitudinal designs.
Volume 15 - 2024 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1412560
This article is part of the Research TopicNeuropsychological Testing: From Psychometrics to Clinical NeuropsychologyView all 12 articles
Introduction: The Theory of Mind (ToM) assessment is becoming essential to evaluate the response to a social cognition intervention and to monitor the progression of social abilities impairment in atypical conditions
the Yoni task has been recently validated in its short version (the Yoni-48 task) to evaluate ToM in the clinical setting
The present study aimed to verify the test-retest reliability and the Minimal Detectable Change (MDC) of the Yoni-48 task
Methods: The Yoni-48 task was administered to 229 healthy adults at two evaluation sessions 3 weeks apart (mean days between sessions = 20.35 ± 1.75) by a psychologist
The test-retest reliability of the Yoni-48 task accuracy and response time was tested by the Intraclass Correlation Coefficient (ICC2,1
the MDC95 and MDC90 were computed based on the standard error of measurement
the 95% limits of agreement were plotted (LOA plot) to visualize the difference and mean score of each pair of measurements
By plotting the LOA plot for the accuracy score no systematic trends were observed
Discussion: This evidence will support the adoption of the Yoni task in longitudinal designs
few ToM measures have been tested for longitudinal evaluations and to be adopted in rehabilitation settings
such as the test-retest reproducibility evidence and the estimation of score responsiveness
are needed for a good interpretation of the rehabilitation trajectories and responses
changes in ToM competencies are frequently assessed longitudinally through long and time-consuming composite batteries that attempt to understand the complex nature of the construct
the Yoni task is suggested to be suitable for the clinical setting
such as for supporting neuropsychological assessment
it has been never computed for social cognition tools
The present study aimed to verify the reproducibility of the Yoni-48 task by estimating the test-retest reliability and the MDC value
This is a prospective study conducted from November 2022 to December 2023 at the IRCCS Don Gnocchi Foundation (Milan
The research has been reviewed and approved by the Don Gnocchi Foundation Ethics Committee
Participants were recruited from the university courses (students of Professional Education; Psychology; Nurse; Psychomotricity) and the staff (technical staff; health professionals; interns) of the IRCCS Don Gnocchi Foundation
Santa Maria Nascente Center of Milan (Italy)
Inclusion criteria considered to enroll participants was age > 18
the following exclusion criteria were considered as well: (i) presence of neurological and/or psychiatric conditions; (ii) presence of visual and hearing disability able to affect the performance of the task; (iii) presence of pharmacological therapy affecting the evaluation session
Participation in the study was voluntary and subjects did not receive pecuniary compensation for their involvement in the research
The following composite scores have been calculated: accuracy composite score (ACC
The Yoni task was administered at two evaluation sessions (test and retest sessions) three weeks apart (mean days between sessions = 20.35 ± 1.75) by a psychologist. The evaluation sessions were conducted in the same setting using the same technological device to perform the task (Figure 1)
participant demographics were also collected
Statistical analysis was performed using IBM SPSS software (version 28.0) and R (version 4.1.2)
and standard deviations) were reported to detail the demographics of the participants group and their performance in the Yoni task at the test and retest sessions
The repeatability of the Yoni task accuracy and response time was tested by the intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC2
and <0.59 was interpreted as a high
the minimal detectable change (MDC) value of the Yoni task scores was computed as agreement parameters to be used to determine consistent improvement or decrement in the ToM ability
and MDC90 were calculated using the following formula:
the amount of random measurement error (MCD95%; MCD90%) was computed by dividing MCD95/MCD90 by the maximum score and multiplying it by 100
Tables 2 and 3 show the performance of participants at the Yoni task in the test and retest sessions. Both the accuracy and the response time scores were high in the test session and tended to increase in the retest session (see Figure 3)
The Wilcoxon W test reported a statistically significant difference between the two sessions’ performance in all scores except for the first-order and cognitive accuracy scores
The effect size (rpbs) suggested a slight practice effect in the accuracy performance and a moderate effect in the response time
By plotting the test-retest ∆ change against the mean score of the assessments (Bland–Altman plot, Figure 4) for ACC and RT scores
Bland-Altman plot of differences in scores against the mean scores of the two assessments
The MDC values of accuracy and response time scores suggested an acceptable-to-excellent random measurement error (Tables 4, 5)
showed an MDC% equal to 11.48 for a 95% confidence level
and equal to 9.66 for a 90% confidence level
a fluctuation >/< 0.10 in the ACC score can be interpreted as a consistent improvement/decrement in the ToM performance
Three items reported weak/absent associations with the latent factor: items 8
the Yoni task has been conceived as a computerized tool
able to facilitate agile data recording and scoring
The present study tested the reproducibility of the Yoni-48 task to evaluate its reliability for the assessment of social cognition in longitudinal contexts
such as in the pre- and post-evaluation of rehabilitation and intervention programs
which is one of the most used ToM tests in the Italian context
Although the accuracy score of the Yoni-48 task has been found to be reliable, the response time score (RT) did not reach acceptable stability. In fact, our findings suggested that the RT score was affected by the learning effect and increased over time. This result was expected and may be related to the familiarity with the stimuli modality and the task instructions, which influenced the subjects’ processing speed (Balas et al., 2007)
this evidence is suggestive of the reliability of the Yoni-48 task and its application as a reliable ToM measure in longitudinal design studies by considering the accuracy and not the response time score
the global accuracy score (ACC) would be used in future studies to monitor ToM ability
Although we found a high reproducibility of the second-order and cognitive ToM accuracy score
focusing on only one sub-score (such as cognitive ToM and not affective ToM) may be avoided unless under a strict theory-driven hypothesis
After exploring the reliability of the test, the minimal detectable change was estimated to obtain a measure of the minimal magnitude change of the tool. This value will be useful to capture significant variations in the ToM performance that may not be associated with the measurement error (de Vet et al., 2006)
our findings indicated that an oscillation of 0.11 points in the ACC score should be interpreted as an informative change and may suggest a significant increment/decrement of the performance over time
This datum will be considered as a reference point for the ToM monitoring
Our participants were healthy young adults with a high ToM ability
Future studies may include people with ToM difficulties to give clues about the reliability of the Yoni-48 task in clinical populations (e.g.
further description of the demographic characteristics of the participants
as well as subclinical conditions such as depression and autism spectrum symptoms to test the impact of these variables on the Yoni task performance
our participants’ group was composed of a higher rate of females than males
and gender differences were not considered
our results on minimal detectable change (ACC score change of 0.11) may be interpreted solely as a reference point to capture Yoni-48 real changes and not clinically meaningful changes
future research may include a measure of the health status and estimate the minimal clinically important difference in a clinical population target
this is the first study that estimated the test-retest reliability of the Yoni task and computed the minimal detectable change for a ToM measure
This evidence will support future studies on social cognition trainings and will sustain the interpretation of the Yoni task scores in longitudinal designs
The studies involving humans were approved by the Don Gnocchi Ethics Committee
The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements
The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study
The author(s) declare that financial support was received for the research
This work was supported by the Italian Ministry of Health (Ricerca Corrente 2022-2024)
The authors thanks all the participants who took part in the research
The Supplementary material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2024.1412560/full#supplementary-material
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symptomatology and social inference: investigating "theory of mind" in people with schizophrenia
Social cognition in multiple sclerosis: a systematic review and meta-analysis
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The test re-test reliability of a novel single leg hop test (T-Drill hop test)
Test-retest reliability and smallest detectable change of the Bristol impact of hypermobility (BIoH) questionnaire
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Shamay-Tsoory
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Received: 05 April 2024; Accepted: 18 July 2024; Published: 30 July 2024
Copyright © 2024 Isernia, Cacciatore, Rossetto, Ricci and Baglio. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY)
*Correspondence: Federica Rossetto, ZnJvc3NldHRvQGRvbmdub2NjaGkuaXQ=
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations
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2012 at 3:42 am ET.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Editor's note: This is the first in a series of profiles of this year's Board of Education candidates
The election will be held May 15 at the same time as the school budget
Michael Isernia is running unopposed for a three-year term on the Sachem Board of Education
Isernia was appointed to the board in 2010 after David Egloff stepped down mid-year
ran last year for a one-year term on the board
He holds a bachelor’s degree from SUNY Maritime
he served on the capital projects and budget advisory committee in Sachem
Isernia has been a general practice attorney in Lake Ronkonkoma since 1999
He also is employed as section manager for Underwriters Laboratories
1) How long have you been a resident of the Sachem School District
2) Why are you running for the Sachem Board of Education
I bring a solid private industry perspective and coupled with legal
management and engineering experiences provide a balance to the board's composition
I think the community has made it clear that they want us to do everything possible to maintain our programs while being sensitive to the community and taxpayer
I want to be able to continue to provide the same and additional opportunities to our students
In these times I will be trying to accomplish just that
4) What is the biggest issue the Sachem School District faces in the year ahead
the uncertain state aid situation and the continued disproportionate allocation of Long Island tax dollars makes financing our district the number one concern
5) The state's new tax cap: the district is proposing a budget over the cap this year
The community made it clear during several meetings last year that they are not in favor of eliminating programs
preserves everything that currently runs today
I believe we took all the appropriate steps to get to this point
including concessions from the largest bargaining unit
rolling over any and all fund balance and using all but $241,000 of our reserves
Taking into account and trying to balance all the competing interests
I understand that at 4.2 percent we'll need a "super-majority" to get approval but I want the community to have a say in preserving the programs as they are today
I did not take this decision lightly and please also bear in mind that
the board members are not exempt from their own actions and adopted a budget that will raise their own taxes as well
how can the district maintain its current programs and staff without overtaxing residents
I think you have to recognize that enrollment is decreasing
We need to continue a "right-sizing" by maintaining the established student/teacher ratios
Additional savings can be realized through infrastructure technology
one item for instance would be to change over to LED Lighting in all our buildings to reduce energy costs
7) What are three of your favorite hobbies
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longtime president of Eastern Shipbuilding Group
recently took up the role of CEO and Chairman of the Board at the family-owned firm. After more than 46 years in the role
founder Brian D’Isernia (far left) is retiring and handing over the leadership to the next generation
The Maritime Executive recently caught up with Joey to hear more about his life growing up in a shipyard and the lessons he picked up along the way.
Can you tell us about your early years at ESG
working with your father and your brothers
Perhaps any valuable lessons learned from Brian's leadership
I grew up around the shipyard and spent quite a few Saturdays at work with my father when I was young
While fishing and throwing my castnet along the shoreline near the shipyard
I met a lot of the employees and established friendships with them early on
Although I was around the shipyard a lot growing up
I never really paid much attention to it as a career
After graduating with a degree in finance and not finding a job opportunity that excited me right out of the gate
I was approached by my father with a job offer to work at the shipyard
When he told me he wanted me to manage a project
I made sure he knew that I did not know what I was doing
You can imagine how challenging it was managing a project and being surrounded by shipbuilding experts
I realized early on that the best approach was to make it a practice to give what I wanted to get
as well as to show the people that I would never ask them to do something that I was not willing to do
I would say that is the biggest lesson Brian taught us was to treat everyone around you with respect
What was it like leading ESG through Hurricane Michael and its aftermath
more resilient company after having come through that trial
Hurricane Michael was a true test of fortitude for our entire community
There is an unbreakable bond that forms through a trial of that magnitude
We are stronger and better than ever following that event
We remain grateful to our suppliers and partners who stepped in to help us get through that event
and we were determined to deliver on our promise
Priority was making sure our employees had a roof over their head and food and water in the immediate aftermath
Within two weeks we were operational again
All three facilities have at least one land mass protecting them from Hurricanes
This proved critical when Hurricane Michael (the third strongest storm to ever hit the U.S
in terms of barometric pressure) directly hit our Panama City facilities
The silver lining to receiving a direct hit from Hurricane Michael is that nearly all legacy structures and legacy infrastructure in our area has been replaced or is in the process of being replaced with new hardened assets
Combine this with the fact that nearly all houses that were not destroyed
have been rebuilt with code compliant roofs
and I will submit that Panama City Florida is one of the most storm hardened areas in the U.S
This is a risk mitigator for future storms that will come
What are your top priorities for ESG going forward
My priority is to grow our business while maintaining the values that have sustained us for over 46 years
We employ 1600 people and are proud to be the largest company in NWFL
We want to contribute to the economic and environmental sustainability of our hometown and be a positive force in the national security complex
It has been our strategy to successfully execute the U.S
Coast Guard Offshore Patrol Cutter (OPC) program while remaining competitive in the commercial shipbuilding arena
we have invested in the innovations and technology to compete at the top level of government shipbuilding programs
while also delivering exceptional quality and service to our loyal commercial customer base
What are the main sectors / areas of business you'd like to pursue in the coming years
Eastern has successfully positioned itself as a go-to shipyard for diverse and complex shipbuilding projects on the government and commercial side
We have strategically walled off our government work from our commercial programs to maintain agility and speed for our commercial clients while meeting the government requirements to build national security assets
We are actively bidding in targeted sectors where we have substantial experience and proven capabilities including programs for the U.S
government and for energy sector customers in oil
We are actively bidding multiple projects in the offshore wind market
These offshore wind support and installation vessels are complicated from a design and construction standpoint and our shipyard has a proven track record within the industry for completing large
complicated projects like these on time and within budget
We also see a lot of potential in the industry’s push to convert existing assets and update aging fleets
We opened a dedicated yard in 2021 to provide topside repair and conversion services to both government and commercial customers
This is also the planned future site of ESG’s 15,000 ton drydock that will have certifications that allow for the drydocking of both commercial and government vessels
the United States needs to keep an active defense industrial complex of Tier 1 and Tier 2 shipyards to support fleet acquisition plans
We are well-positioned to meet these demands for the U.S
Our growth into government shipbuilding has earned us the small business of the year award from DHS and rank us near the top in regards to defense contracting in our state
We built our DCMA and DCAA certified business systems from the ground up and are one of the only Tier 2 shipyards with these certified business systems required to properly manage complex defense contracts
We have a dedicated yard with the capacity
and standard of excellence to provide a low-risk solution for the U.S
what attracts skilled employees to ESG and keeps them with the company
We are respected in the industry for our strong family culture and customer success rate
Our company culture is one of honesty and integrity
and other stakeholders by making promises and doing everything within our power to keep them
We have invested in more than a dozen skilled training programs at the high school and college levels to foster a pipeline of future shipbuilders
It is not easy to recruit and retain workers in this market
but through our BUILD Initiative we have invested in the resources and public engagement to attract talent that can support our growing programs
Can you tell us about ESG's ties to the local community
and what ESG's investments / employment opportunities mean for the Panama City area
Florida and all of our locations are within Bay and neighboring Gulf County
and it is very important to me that our company is able to do business while affecting the community in a positive way
We have stepped up to the plate for our community at each opportunity and
Our strong advocacy for our community has also led to very strong support at the State level as well
This is evidenced by the legislative appropriations we have been able to secure that support workforce training and growth of our areas industrial base
The job opportunities we provide are well in excess of the area average and therefore raise the quality of life in the area whether you work at the shipyard or not
We have expanded to three shipyards in NWFL over the years and become the largest employer in the panhandle region
Our company supports over 1,600 families directly with a paycheck and another 3,000 families indirectly through the economic domino effect
our jobs diversify our local economy in that we are industrial based and not tourism based
Economic diversification makes a local community stronger in that it is able to weather economic ups and downs much better
Thanks for visiting
James Isernia (left) and his attorney Thomas Strelka (top right) is suing Sovah Health for wrongful termination
One of three Sovah officials named in exhibits included with the lawsuit is Sovah Market President Alan Larson (bottom right)
says he was targeted because he complained about staff reassignments that made it difficult for him to provide proper care to his patients
A complaint filed by Sovah Health to the Virginia Board of Medicine against James M
named three hospital officials “with knowledge about the facts:” Miyoski Whitlock
filed suit against Sovah Health in Danville Federal Court for wrongful termination seeking as damages an injunction to restrain Sovah from repeating the action against Isernia
reinstatement to the same position or an equivalent position
compensatory damages and punitive damages as the “Court would deem appropriate,” the suit states
Isernia and Strelka spoke with the Bulletin by telephone and gave their side of the story
the Bulletin left voicemail messages with Whitlock
Larson and hospital spokesperson Hailey Fowlkes
and on Tuesday left an email for Fowlkes asking for comment on a list of specific matters mentioned in the interview
Tuesday afternoon Sovah Health—Martinsville CEO Spencer Thomas sent a reply: “Sovah Health is aware of the recent lawsuit filed against our hospital
we do not comment on active litigation; however
we are working with our attorneys to take appropriate action to respond to these claims and plan to vigorously defend our position
The April 8 conversation with Isernia and Strelka follows:
Strelka: “My firm deals exclusively with employment law—it’s all we do—and I can say that we’ve had a number of cases with these defendants
There are four counts to our complaint and the fourth is a whistle-blower claim that explains why Sovah is retaliating
“I have had litigation with Sovah and Sovah-affiliated entities before
we have identified specific corporate entities
due to the corporate nature of a lot of these entities
the names of the defendants have to change or new entities are formed from mergers
The fact that we had to list John Doe corporations is a reflection of today’s multi-layered corporate approach in modern health care
Isernia’s case and I am not claiming that I have seen a practice or pattern
Strelka declined to name any specific cases to the Bulletin citing the “confidential nature of settlements.”
Bulletin: “The complaint that Sovah filed with the Board of Medicine you included as an exhibit in the suit says Dr
Isernia prescribed controlled substance prescriptions 420 times in May
and in an internal audit they say he lacked supporting documentation
patient records and treatment agreements were lacking
there was no evidence of a urine drug screen for the patients they sampled
pain pills were prescribed for patients that hadn’t been seen in over three months
opioids and sedatives were prescribed together and overall you were not in compliance with the CDC guidelines
What do you say to people who might see you as a pill pusher?”
Isernia: “I’ve always tried to stay with the standard of care as much as possible—with what the patients need
and I go above and beyond to maintain records that allow me to prescribe certain medications like the prescription monitoring program
drug screens and adjusting medication based on the amount of pain or anxiety.”
Bulletin: “The lawsuit says you have been unable to secure employment since being fired
is already advertising that you will be their newest physician in June
Strelka: “This was pretty much true the way the termination came about and was put out there
It made my client look like he was unemployable.”
The contract of employment and a no compete clause made it hard to stay in that area and take care of my patients
especially if they need to be hospitalized
It would put me in the position of having to trust my ex-employer to do the right thing
I had to look for a job in a place with no idea what’s going on
They just made it difficult for me to work in the area
because they took away or had my hospital privileges revoked.”
Bulletin: “What would you say to your patients if they were in the room right now?”
Isernia: “To my patients I would say that the Board has found
my termination and I am available to take care of them
I tried to get them to other doctors to take care of their problems
When they terminated me it left everyone in the lurch.”
Bulletin: “What would be your advice to other doctors?”
Isernia: “Basically it’s hard to say anything to other doctors because it’s personal—an individual versus an employer
I would say to look over your contract and make sure you surround yourself with people in your corner and don’t just rely on middle managers that are in charge of groups and won’t help you out when you’re in a pinch
Bulletin: “You’ve been a physician for many years
How has the practice of medicine changed over your career?”
When I first started there were no hospitalists
The doctor took care of patients in the hospital
Since that time there is so much more control by the government and other players like insurance companies
I feel that my documentation is on the up and up and above grade
It takes a lot of time to make sure you document everything
It’s no longer a squiggle on a chart and ‘See you back in six months.’”
Bulletin: “So how do you see your chances with this lawsuit?”
We only deal with matters between employees and employers
and we’ve represented other individuals with Sovah and Sovah’s other entities
That’s one reason why the suit is filed against all these John Doe Corporations
When you trace it all the way back it is a for-profit healthcare system corporation
and the way a for-profit has to operate in Virginia is they typically operate from different corporate entities
It can be chin-scratching—who actually was the employer
and this is the trend and pattern with a for-profit
Most of Sovah’s entities are headquartered in Tennessee—they are out-of-state actors
So we’re in the local Danville Federal Circuit
Bulletin: “Do you consider this to be a sort of Sampson versus Goliath type of situation?”
We have strong legal claims and new to this mix is the fourth count of the suit; the new state whistle-blower count that became available in July 2020 and has been used very effectively
the statute reads like it was almost written for this matter
The four counts referred to by Strelka are: defamation
tortious interference with business expectancy and prospective economic advantage
The last count states that even though Isernia was employed by Martinsville Physicians Practices LLC
Sovah “exercised significant control” over its employees
The count also states that the control extended to hiring and firing
the lawsuit maintains that Sovah qualifies as a joint employer by definition of the joint employer doctrine typically applied to temporary employment or staffing agencies
Sovah is required by state code to “properly manage patient records,” and they “utterly failed in this regulated and required duty.”
Isernia’s repeated complaints to supervisors at Sovah about Sovah’s failures to properly manage patient records occurring prior to Sovah’s complaint to the DHP [Department of Health Professions] and after
served as the but-for cause of his termination,” the suit states
Isernia for engaging in these protected activities.”
The problems started with the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in early 2020 when the entire Martinsville medical community contended with a severe strain in providing medical services to the community
who was responsible for assisting Isernia in the overflow care of his patients
was moved from Isernia’s practice to another department
and then other staff members in Isernia’s office were “pulled to work the front entrance of the Medical Office Building to check for temperatures and limit visitors or to aid other physicians,” the suit states
Isernia complained many times to Sovah about the lack of proper staffing that the defendants were obligated to provide and was told to ‘stick to doctoring,’ by those in managerial positions at Sovah,” the suit states
Isernia complained about improper staffing levels and the need for properly trained staff to ensure patient and employee safety
It was these frequent reports and requests from Dr
Isernia to Sovah that caused Sovah to retaliate against Dr
Sovah Health filed its complaint to the Virginia Board of Medicine on April 5
and Isernia received notice from the Board that he had been cleared of the allegations made in the complaint on March 2
according to the exhibits included in the lawsuit that Strelka filed
Bill Wyatt is a reporter for the Martinsville Bulletin
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As well as expressing concern for his welfare
his patients say they have not been able to get prescriptions for medicines they need refilled …
After living without local emergency medical care for over four years
residents in Patrick County are being told their hospital
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Background: The recent exponential growth of Digital Health (DH) in the healthcare system provides a crucial transformation in healthcare, answering to alarming threats related to the increasing number of Chronic Neurological Diseases (CNDs). New long-term integrated DH-care approaches, including rehabilitation, are warranted to address these concerns.
Discussion: Our results suggest that a tele-health-based approach is both feasible and efficient in providing rehabilitation care to CNDs from clinic to home. Increasing and maintaining participation as well as autonomy in daily routine are promising findings that open up scenarios for the continuity of care at home through DH-care for CNDs.
Volume 10 - 2019 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fneur.2019.01206
This article is part of the Research TopicDigital Technology in Neurology: From Clinical Assessment to NeurorehabilitationView all 14 articles
Background: The recent exponential growth of Digital Health (DH) in the healthcare system provides a crucial transformation in healthcare
answering to alarming threats related to the increasing number of Chronic Neurological Diseases (CNDs)
New long-term integrated DH-care approaches
Methods: The Human Empowerment Aging and Disability (HEAD) rehabilitation program
a new long-term integrated care including DH-care system
was evaluated in terms of efficiency and patient-reported outcome measures (PROMs) in 107 CND patients (30 with Parkinson's Disease
All participants followed 1-month of HEAD rehabilitation in clinic (ClinicHEAD: 12 sessions
then 1:3 patient was consecutively allocated to 3-months telerehabilitation at home (HomeHEAD: 60 sessions
perceived functioning in real-world) were analyzed
Results: The rate of adherence to HEAD treatment in clinic (≥90%) and at home (77%) was high
Usability of HEAD system was judged as good (System Usability Scale
median 70.00) in clinic and even more at home (median 80.00)
administering the Technology Acceptance Model 3 questionnaire we found high scores both in clinic/at home (Usefulness
mean 5.39 ± 1.41 SD/mean 5.33 ± 1.29 SD; Ease of use
mean 5.55 ± 1.05 SD/ mean 5.45 ± 1.17 SD
mean 4.94 ± 1.17 SD/mean 5.07 ± 1.01 SD
mean 5.68 ± 1.29 SD/mean 5.70 ± 1.13 SD and Enjoyment
mean 5.70 ± 1.40 SD/mean 6.01 ± 1.08 SD)
participation and autonomy in daily routine was maintained or even ameliorated (PD and stroke > MS)
increased functionality and participation in the MS group was found only after HomeHEAD intervention
Discussion: Our results suggest that a tele-health-based approach is both feasible and efficient in providing rehabilitation care to CNDs from clinic to home
Increasing and maintaining participation as well as autonomy in daily routine are promising findings that open up scenarios for the continuity of care at home through DH-care for CNDs
little is known regarding frequency and dose treatment guidelines for treatments administered in a home-based setting
These contributions demonstrated a pivotal interest on the topic
The present study aims to report results on efficiency measures and PROMs of the Human Empowerment Aging and Disability program (HEAD)
a DH-telerehabilitation system for people with chronic neurological diseases
we tested HEAD treatment during 1-month of rehabilitation program in clinic and during 3-months of HEAD telerehabilitation at home
The study was carried out in two steps: ClinicHEAD and HomeHEAD
In the ClinicHEAD (first step) subjects with PD
and chronic stroke (N = 107) were consecutively recruited
They were identified by the neurologists of the clinics from people that periodically receive neurological follow-up (outpatients) from the respective centers: Valduce Hospital Villa Beretta Rehabilitation Center in Lecco (n = 34; 17 stroke
IRCCS Don Carlo Gnocchi Foundation in Milan (n = 43
21 MS) and District Clinic San Camillo in Turin (n = 30
Inclusion criteria for enrollment were: [a] age range 18–80; [b] diagnosis of PD in stable treatment for at least 3 years and with a Hoehn and Yahr score ≤ 2 (29), diagnosis of MS without relapses in the last 3-months and with an Expanded Disability Status Scale [EDSS (30)] score ≤ 5.5
Exclusion criteria for recruitment were the following: [a] Mini Mental State Examination (31) score < 20; [b] presence of disabling pain; [c] upper limb limited passive range of motion; [d] epilepsy; [e] severe deficit of visual acuity and auditory perception; [f] severe deficit in communication and severe dysmetry
they were consecutively assigned into the Clinic and Home HEAD programs
All participants provided written and informed consent to take part in the study
List and brief description of HEAD activities
The HEAD virtual platform represented the hub for communication between the clinic and the patient's home
allowing rehabilitation activities to be administered through a gaming setting in order to work on goal-directed movements in a virtual reality (VR) scenario
This platform was designed as a bridge between clinic and patient's home setting
making a double loop feedback possible between the two environments
physiotherapists and psychologists defined the contents of the session
repetitions and level of difficulty through the HEAD virtual platform
although HEAD technology allowed the same setting for each patient
contents of the rehabilitation program were tailored and personalized according to the different needs related to the pathology of the patient and the level of disability
Patients accessed the platform with their own credentials to start each telerehabilitation session and
health professionals were able to tailor rehabilitation along the whole period of treatment by remotely checking the quality of the gaming performance of the patient reported in the platform
internet connection and motor capture devices
The rehabilitation activity was embedded in short video clips
Each video clip lasted from 2 to 9 minutes
and was interrupted between 2 to 6 times on the basis of repetitions of the rehabilitation activity
video clips had three main purposes: as motivating breaks that inter-cut the rehabilitative activities
providing emotional and cognitive stimuli regarding the rehabilitative activities
or awarding the participant at the end of the exercise
Many of the motor and cognitive exercises were directly related to the video
participants had to erase an image just seen
by means of large movements of the arms in order to continue watching the clip
participants were asked to order the sequences of the film clip just seen
or had to answer questions about the content of the film clip
Patients thus actively controlled their viewing of the movie clips and their progression
Each activity ended with a feedback of the results
according to an algorithm based on the percentage of completion
number of errors and duration of the performance
with a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 5 stars being awarded
the HEAD program was supervised by physiotherapists and neuropsychologists and was administered through 45 min sessions 3 times per week
the HEAD program was carried out five consecutive days per week
Each participant accessed the HEAD portal through his personal credentials to perform his own individual daily program consisting of 3–6 neuromotor activities according to his needs
The participants were free to choose the time of day and weekdays in which to carry out the activities
participants had the opportunity of calling the Help Desk Service or therapists for technical problems or related issues
A phone call by therapists to participants was planned once a week to check for patient compliance
All patients recruited were administered a rehabilitation with VR technology for 1-month in clinic (Time 1: ClinicHEAD)
patients were consecutively allocated to HEAD telerehabilitation at home for 3-months (Time 2: HomeHEAD) with a ratio of 1:3
This ratio was due to the limited availability of the HEAD technological kits
one patient each three was allocated to continue treatment for 3-months at home
In the second step of the study the participants not allocated to the HomeHEAD group were asked to not participate in physical activities different from those that they would usually do during the protocol duration (control group)
Subsequent contributions will report efficacy of HEAD treatment based on outcome measures in each CND included in the study
Efficiency and Patient-Reported Outcome measures were collected after ClinicHEAD rehabilitation (Time 1) and after 3-months of HomeHEAD treatment by clinicians blind to the treatment allocation (Time 2)
Part of data were obtained through questionnaires administered by a psychologist
while remaining data were extracted from the HEAD platform
registered as Clinical Trial ID: NCT03025126
provides preliminary data on efficiency of the HEAD protocol
(1) Montreal Cognitive Assessment [MoCA (32)] as a measure of global cognitive functioning
Conti's correction was adopted to transform scores on the basis of age and years of education of people
This tool allowed a brief screening of cognitive level evaluating different domains: attention
(2) 2 Minute Walk Test [2MWT (33)] for a quantitative analysis of gait endurance
Participants were instructed to walk as far as possible over 2 minutes and the distance covered was collected
(3) 10 Meter Walk Test [10MWT (34)] to measure gait speed
Participants were required to walk 10 meters while time was measured
The score was obtained by dividing the distance by the time spent to cover it
We considered as drop-out participants who followed <50% of treatment period in clinic (<2 weeks of treatment) and at home (<6 weeks of treatment)
Technology Acceptance Model-3 (38) was utilized in order to deepen patients' beliefs related to their inclination to experience the HEAD system
specifically explores the perceived ease of use
such as the degree of difficulty that the use of a technology system involves
as the belief that the use of a specific technology system allows improving one's own productivity
we focus our analysis only on determined domains of the scale: Perceived usefulness
Response on a 7-point Likert scale were collected (Totally Disagree = 1/ Totally Agree = 7)
Finally, an ad-hoc questionnaire was created with the purpose to investigate specific barriers patients experienced during rehabilitation at home. This tool was additionally administered to patients recruited in Don Gnocchi Foundation for a deepened investigation. The questionnaire was composed by 11 items with a 5-point Likert scale (0 = Absolutely not/Never, 4 = Very much/Always) (see Table S1 to consult the tool)
The questionnaire was scored grouping items into 5 groups in order to obtain 5 total indexes related to crucial aspects to investigate barriers encountered during experience of telerehabilitation
we analyzed answers extracting the following indexes: (1) motivation (mean score of item 6 and 8) [Did you need support of other persons (ex
bride/wife…) to be motivated to perform HEAD activities (did they remind you to do them?)/ When I didn't perform activities it was because I wouldn't]
(2) logistics (mean score of item 1 and 2) [Did having HEAD system at home bother you?”/“How much did you need to modify arrangement of furniture to place HEAD technology devices?”]
(3) autonomy (mean score of item 5 and 6) [Did you need support of other persons (ex
bride/wife…) to prepare HEAD technology setting?/ Did you need support of other persons (ex
bride/wife…) to perform HEAD activities?]
(4) inclusion in the routine (mean score of item 3
4 and 9) [Did you modify your routine to include HEAD activities during the week (ex
Did you stop to have nap after lunch?)/Did you renounce to perform other activities to do HEAD program?/ When I didn't perform activities it was because I couldn't]
(5) technical problems (mean score of item 10 and 11) [When I didn't perform activities it was because the system did not work/When I didn't perform activities it was because even if the system worked
Statistical analysis was performed using MedCalc® Software Version 15.2.1
Normal distribution of variables was checked through Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test
parametric or non-parametric analysis were performed for the comparison among three pathology groups (PD vs
To analyze efficiency measures such as adherence to HEAD treatment
usability and acceptance of the HEAD system
descriptive statistics were run in each pathology group
Comparison among groups was also reported through ANCOVA or General Linear Model
To analyze ad-hoc questionnaire results we performed descriptive statistics
we reported the distribution of qualifiers (percentages) of the ICF categories at the different time points (Enrollment T0
patients were classified into delta score ≤ 0
indicating a perception of maintenance or amelioration over time
referring a perception of worsening over time
Percentages of sample reporting delta score ≤ 0
were calculated and Chi-square χ2 was performed
Results were considered statistically significant when p < 0.05
Table 2 shows demographic characteristics of sample included in the study
Summary statistics and comparison results of patient groups at baseline
ClinicHEAD: All patients enrolled in the study (n = 107) followed a program of 12 sessions of HEAD rehabilitation in clinic
A total of 107 patients with CNDs was composed of 30 people with PD
The three groups were comparable in terms of gender distribution (χ2 = 0.89
p = 0.640) and years of education (F = 0.92
p = 0.401) while there was a statistically significant difference in age between MS and the other two groups (F = 11.29
we found a trend for a lower MoCA score in stroke patients compared to those with MS or PD (F = 3.05
endurance and velocity assessed through 2MWT and 10MWT scores were significantly higher in PD than in other patients' groups (2MWT: F = 13.72
HomeHEAD: Thirty-eight patients were then allocated to HomeHEAD treatment after ClinicHEAD period to test the system for the continuity of care at home
13 stroke were assigned to telerehabilitation at home
patients groups were comparable for gender distribution (χ2 = 0.479
but not for age: we reported a statistically significant difference between PD and MS group (F = 3.73
The three groups did not differ in MoCA score
endurance assessed through 2MWT was significant higher in PD than in other patients' groups (F = 7.31
p = 0.003) and velocity assessed through 10MWT was major in PD than stroke (F = 4.48
The group enrolled for ClinicHEAD and the sub-group allocated to HomeHEAD did not significantly differ in gender distribution (χ2 = 1.42
In Table 3 we report data on efficiency measures after ClinicHEAD (Time 1) and after HomeHEAD (Time 2)
Efficiency measures results of treatment in clinic
After ClinicHEAD we found a high level of adherence to treatment in all three patients' groups (mean score of all sample: 0.92 ± 0.13) with no significant differences among patients' groups (F = 1.23
as number of activities per session and minutes per session
each session consisted of about 40 minutes multidimensional treatment and was composed of about 4–5 activities
We did not find differences among groups in number of activities (F = 0.40
p = 0.675) and minutes of session (F = 0.90
In terms of perceived usability of the HEAD system in clinic
with a median SUS score of 70.00 in all patients' groups with no differences among pathologies (F = 0.77
data of all groups supported the high level of functionality of HEAD technology (Usefulness: mean score 5.39 ± 1.41; Ease of Use: mean score 5.55 ± 1.05; External Control: mean score 4.94 ± 1.17)
the perceived treatment efficacy (Relevance: mean score 5.68 ± 1.29) and the motivating aspects of HEAD contents (Enjoyment: mean score 5.70 ± 1.40)
No differences among patients' groups were registered in all TAM3 subscores (Usefulness: F = 2.82
we registered 7.89% of drops in the whole group
we reported a discrete adherence to treatment at home (mean score in whole group: 0.77 ± 0.22)
we observed a better adherence to treatment in PD and stroke groups than in the MS group (F = 6.00
we did not find group differences in the number of activities performed per session (F = 0.81
p = 0.457) nor in the length of treatment per session (F = 0.72
was higher in the PD group (median: 85.00) compared to stroke (median: 80.00) and MS (median: 67.50) groups
usability of the system at home was estimated as good (median of whole group: 80.00)
No differences among pathologies groups were reported (F = 3.14
Results of TAM3 questionnaire highlighted high level of functionality of the system at home in all domains explored (Usefulness: 5.33 ± 1.29; Ease of Use: 5.45 ± 1.17; External Control: 5.07 ± 1.01; Relevance: 5.70 ± 1.13; Enjoyment: 6.01 ± 1.08)
suggesting that patients perceived HEAD program as useful
patients' groups did not differ in TAM3 subscores (Usefulness: F = 1.47
adherence to single sessions at home for all period of telerehabilitation (60 sessions
we analyzed adherence to sessions in each single week of treatment in each pathology group
considering percentage of adherence to session in each week (1 = adherence to 5 sessions/week; 0 = adherence to 0 sessions/week)
Table 4 reports percentage of adherence to sessions in each week (1 = adherence to 5 sessions/week; 0 = adherence to 0 sessions/week) and the mean number of activities per session in each of 12 weeks of treatment at home
Total adherence to HEAD telerehabilitation along 3-months of treatment at home
Ad-hoc questionnaire on barriers possibly experienced at home reported positive data
People reported to have encountered very few barriers during their experience of HEAD telerehabilitaiton
all participants were motivated to carry out rehabilitation as mean score of motivation barriers was 0.03 ± 0.13
the presence of the technological kit in one's home was not perceived as burdensome
as suggested by the low mean score of logistical barriers: 0.31 ± 0.36
Another positive result was that people could perform activities in autonomy: although sometimes preparation of technological setting needed help from the caregiver
we collected a mean score of autonomy barriers of 0.31 ± 0.44
HEAD rehabilitation resulted well-integrated into patients' routine: we reported a mean score of 0.40 ± 0.30 at inclusion in the routine barriers
technological problems represented the only barrier that sometimes impeded the performance of activities: mean score of technological issues was 0.94 ± 0.73
The whole sample was classified as moderate-to-severe in autonomy in daily routine (d230 ICF domain) and as mild-to-moderate in socialization (d920 ICF domain) at baseline
We report in Table 5 percentages of patients who perceived HEAD treatment as successful in their daily living (daily routine and socialization) and who did not
by reporting a change of level of autonomy and socialization in daily life between baseline and after HEAD treatment in all group that experienced ClinicHEAD (Time 1) (n = 107) and in the sub-group who additionally experienced HomeHEAD (Time 2) (n = 38)
We considered as stable or ameliorated patients who presented an ICF score change between time points = 0 or ≤ 1
such as a perceived successful effect of HEAD treatment
patients were considered as worsened when they reported an ICF score change ≥ 1
Changes in autonomy (d230) and participation (d920) after ClinicHEAD and after HomeHEAD
We did not find differences for T1-baseline measures between ClinicHEAD and HomeHEAD group (d230: p = 0.476; d920: p = 0.278)
ClinicHEAD: Results showed a high percentage of people with PD (97%) who reported a perceived maintenance or amelioration of functioning in daily life after 12 sessions of HEAD treatment in clinic
a high percentage of patients with stroke judged a positive influence of HEAD treatment on participation in daily living (82%) and a discrete part of the group extended this perception to performance in daily routine (74%)
We didn't find similar results in MS group
in which only 59% of patients perceived a successful effect of treatment
a significantly higher number of people who perceived treatment as successful on daily life functioning was registered than people who did not (p < 0.001)
This latter result appeared evident in PD and stroke groups
HomeHEAD: We observed satisfying results in the PD group after experience at home
the entire group (100%) judged a successful effect of HEAD on daily routine and 80% of the sample referred to same perception in daily participation after telerehabilitation
which showed positive reported outcome after ClinicHEAD rehabilitation
indicated positive results after rehabilitation at home
with 82% of patients registering a positive effect of telerehabilitation on daily routine and 73% reporting benefits also on participation
reported positive results in more than 80% of the group in both daily routine and participation after telerehabilitation at home
we found a significant number of patients reporting positive effect of HEAD treatment on daily functioning (d230: p < 0.001; d920: p = 0.003)
a new technology enabled rehabilitation program for the continuity of care at home for people with CNDs
and chronic stroke based on key performance indicators
we explored HEAD usability and acceptability together with patient's adherence to treatment
as perceived functioning in routine and participation in daily life
We observed output and outcome measures in clinic for a training duration of 1-month (12 sessions) and in continuity of care at home for a total duration of 3-months (60 sessions)
we considered the implication of the video contents included in HEAD activities: movie clips were collected from historically famous movies of years 1940–1990 (obtained by RAI
Italian Radio Television s.p.a.) with the purpose to stimulate positive memories of patients and as such they may have been more targeted to an older audience
The younger age of the MS group compared to the other two pathologies may have contributed to the perception of these contents as not engaging enough
This result stresses the importance of tailoring contents of rehabilitation to age of population targeted
further studies are needed to better elucidate this issue
The only barriers encountered were technology problems
probably due to the innovative features of the technology system
This is likely an obstacle that will be solved in the near future since technology transformation over time will lead to increasingly more tailored and useable systems
we found different outcome in the three pathologies
There was a better perception of socialization after the in-clinic HEAD program than following the home telerehabilitation program
MS patients showed an increase in socialization after telerehabilitation at home compared to the clinic
This result may be related to the phenomenon of the baby boomer generation: people born between 1946 and 1964 need to be introduced to technology
our results could be explained by demographic factors of our population targets: patients with an older age
appreciated HEAD potential benefit on socialization more in clinic setting than at home
are able to report treatment potentiality on their daily life when it is fostered in their home setting
Targeting three pathologies, MS, PD, and Stroke in this study leads to smaller sample size for each group which could constitute a limitation. However, one of the hallmarks of the proposed study is its adaptability to different functional levels and its suitability for different neurological disorders. In fact, one of the problems other studies have faced in the past is the narrow applicability of their intervention systems (59)
The HEAD protocol is developed to overcome this problem
This study proposes to investigate the responsiveness of the tested intervention to the needs of diverse populations with chronic neurological pathologies that are typically seen in rehabilitative practices and need to have access to monitored continuity of rehabilitative activities
While the sample size of this study is too small to draw conclusive evidence of the efficacy of the proposed intervention
the results support HEAD as a useful and acceptable DH-care system for people with CNDs with positive impacts on the perceived benefits for autonomy and daily life involvement
This is important given the crucial role technology will play in future neurorehabilitation models
Our findings support the notion that intensity and duration of long-term intervention must be tailored to the individual
taking into account also the personalization of contents to maintain an adequate level of engagement in rehabilitation at home
The datasets generated for this study are available on request to the corresponding author
The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committees of IRCCS Don Gnocchi Foundation
and of inter-company “Città della Salute e della scienza” of Turin
and FB performed statistical analysis and interpreted results
All authors reviewed and approved the final manuscript
This study had been funded by the Fondazione Cariplo
This funding source had no role in the design of this study and will not have any role during its execution
We would like to thank all patients who participated to the study
We would also thank the HEAD study group to make possible to conduct the present study (alphabetic order): Aggujaro S
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Molteni F and Baglio F (2019) Efficiency and Patient-Reported Outcome Measures From Clinic to Home: The Human Empowerment Aging and Disability Program for Digital-Health Rehabilitation
Received: 06 August 2019; Accepted: 29 October 2019; Published: 19 November 2019
Copyright © 2019 Isernia, Pagliari, Jonsdottir, Castiglioni, Gindri, Gramigna, Palumbo, Salza, Moltenia and Baglio. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY)
*Correspondence: Francesca Baglio, ZmJhZ2xpb0Bkb25nbm9jY2hpLml0
Volume 11 - 2020 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00128
This article is part of the Research TopicBridging Gaps Between Sex and Gender in NeurosciencesView all 17 articles
We proved the viability of the general hypothesis that biological motion (BM) processing serves as a hallmark of social cognition
We assumed that BM processing and inferring emotions through BM (body language reading) are firmly linked and examined whether this tie is gender-specific
Healthy females and males completed two tasks with the same set of point-light BM displays portraying angry and neutral locomotion of female and male actors
they had to infer the emotional content of locomotion
we directed task demands either to BM processing or inferring of emotion
This design allows straight comparison between sensitivity to BM and recognition of emotions conveyed by the same BM
perceivers were administered a set of photographs from the Reading the Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET)
with which they identified either emotional state or actor gender
Although there were no gender differences in performance on BM tasks
a tight link occurred between recognition accuracy of emotions and gender through BM in males
body language reading (both accuracy and response time) was associated with performance on the RMET
The outcome underscores gender-specific modes in visual social cognition and triggers investigation of body language reading in a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders
Illustration of point-light biological motion
Three consequent static frames exemplifying human walking as a set of dots placed on the main joints and head of an invisible actor body
A walker is seen facing left in intermediate position between the frontal and sagittal view
Some previous studies on social cognition through BM possess methodological limitations: (1) BM tests are often based on videotapes of only one (either female or male) or two (female and male) performers. For example, many studies on emotion recognition from BM in psychiatric populations use videos of only one actor [e.g., EmoBio test first introduced by Heberlein et al. (2004); see also Okruszek et al., 2018]
(2) Socially neutral BM processing and inferring social information from point-light displays are often assessed with different sets (or types) of displays and experimental procedures
(3) Unbalanced design is used with samples of TD individuals and patients that are not properly matched in respect to gender (e.g.
patients of one gender are compared with TD individuals of both genders) and/or differ in sample size (sample of TD individuals is twice or even larger than patient sample)
If samples contain many more individuals of one gender and/or more TD participants than patients
comparisons between groups may lead to paradoxical statistical outcomes
These issues can preclude proper generalization of findings
Here we proved the viability of the assumption that BM processing is firmly linked with expressive body language reading
Bearing in mind the occurrence of gender-specific modes in both BM processing and social cognition
we examined whether this bond is gender-specific
TD females and males completed two tasks with the same set of point-light BM displays portraying angry and neutral locomotion of female and male actors
perceivers had to indicate an actor’s gender
we directed task demands either to BM processing or emotion recognition
The primary benefit of this design is that it allows comparison between BM processing and inferring emotions conveyed by the same BM
perceivers were administered a set of photographs from the RMET for identifying either an emotional state or actor gender
Forty participants (20 females and 20 males
aged 19–39 years; students of the University of Tübingen Medical School) were enrolled in the study
No age difference occurred between them: males were aged 26.5 years [median (Mdn)
95% CI from 23.23 to 28.27 (Mann-Whitney test
As performance on the RMET (German version
see section below) requires language command of high proficiency
German as a native language served as an inclusion criterion
All observers had normal or corrected-to-normal vision
None had head injuries or a history of neuropsychiatric disorders (including ASD
They were run individually and were naïve as to the purpose of the study
None had previous experience with such displays and tasks
The study was conducted in line with the Declaration of Helsinki and was approved by the local Ethics Committee at the University of Tübingen Medical School
Informed written consent was obtained from all participants
the intermediate trajectory of locomotion was used
we rotated videos 90° horizontally
The walking figure was positioned with the pelvis fixed to the middle of the screen
Female and male actors walked either with angry or neutral affective expression
For avoiding variability in emotion portrayal
sets of neutral and angry stimuli were created from the same actors
The videos of six (three female/three male) actors facing either right or left were presented in three separate runs with a short break between them
each experimental session consisted of a set of 144 trials [6 actors (3 female/3 male) × 2 emotions (neutral/angry) × 2 facing directions (left/right) × 6 (2 repetitions of each stimulus in each run × 3 runs) trials
During an inter-stimulus interval (after stimulus offset and till onset of the next stimulus right after participant’s response)
a white fixation cross was displayed in the center of the screen for 6 s
If a participant failed to respond within this period
Participants were asked to respond after each stimulus offset
The order of tasks (gender/emotion recognition) was counterbalanced between participants
Using identical visual input (the same set of displays) in the same sample of participants
we varied task demands re-directing the task either to BM processing or to bodily emotion recognition
The whole experimental session (consisting of two tasks) took about 20–25 min per participant
No immediate feedback was given regarding performance
The main advantage of this experimental design is that it allows comparison between sensitivity to BM and recognition of emotions conveyed by the same BM
participants completed a gender recognition task from RMET (RMET_G)
The RMET was used primarily for proving whether affect recognition through body motion and eye expressions are linked to each other
Gender recognition on the RMET_G task was used as a control
Data analysis was performed by using Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS version 24
U.S.A.) and JMP Software (version 13; SAS Institute; Cary
All data were tested for normality of distribution by Shapiro-Wilk test with subsequent uses of either parametric (for normally distributed data sets) or
In accordance with our assumption that BM processing is firmly linked to expressive body language reading
our data analysis was primarily focused on associations between performance on the emotion recognition task (BME) and the gender recognition task (BMG); the outcome of the analysis of variance (ANOVA) is reported for completeness
Post hoc analysis indicated a lack of gender differences in accuracy on both BM tasks [BME: t(38) = 0.92
no gender differences in response time were found [BME: U = 197
Relationship between accuracy of emotion and gender recognition through biological motion
and performance on the Reading Mind in the Eyes Test for female and male observers
(A) Correlation matrices between accuracy of performance (correct response rate) on emotion (BME) and gender (BMG) recognition through biological motion (BM)
and the Reading Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET)
Significant correlations (Pearson product-moment correlation; p < 0.05) are color-coded by green
(B) Correlations between BMG and BME accuracy in males (left panel
and between the RMET and BME accuracy in females (right panel
Relationship between response time on emotion and gender recognition through biological motion
and the Reading Mind in the Eyes Test (RMET) for female and male observers
circles) BMG and BME response time were significantly linked to each other
response time on the BME task and RMET were not associated with each other
whereas in females (right panel) this association was significant
Significant correlations (Spearman’s ρ; p < 0.05) are color-coded by green
We administered a set of stimuli from the RMET primarily for addressing the issue of whether performance on two visual social cognition tasks
revealing eyes expressions (RMET) and emotion recognition through BM (BME) are connected to each other
Gender recognition with the RMET set of stimuli (RMET_G task) served as a control
As expected from previous work (Kirkland et al., 2013)
females were more proficient on the RMET with greater recognition accuracy [t(38) = 1.73
we found that females tended to surpass males in recognition of female images [t(38) = 1.97
with no gender difference in recognition of male images [U = 185
No gender difference on the RMET task was found in response time (U = 183
No gender difference in recognition accuracy occurred on the RMET_G task (U = 187.5
presumably because the task turned to be far too easy to perform
There was also no gender difference in response time on this task (U = 199
No correlation occurred between recognition accuracy on the RMET and RMET_G task [males: Spearman’s ρ(18) = −0.161
The present study was aimed at the proof of concept in accord with which body motion perception and visual social cognition are intimately tied (Pavlova, 2012)
Keeping in mind experimental evidence for gender-specific modes in both visual social cognition and BM processing
we focused on the gender specificity of this link
The findings revealed that: (1) A tight link occurred between the accuracy of gender and emotion recognition through BM in males
though there were no gender differences in performance on both BM tasks
response time on emotion and gender recognition through BM correlated with each other
body language reading (both accuracy and response time) was associated with mindreading through eyes
Future brain imaging research will help to clarify where and how gender and emotion recognition through BM talk to each other in the brain
By contrast, females likely bank on tightly interconnected general mechanisms of social cognition for emotion recognition through BM and mindreading through eyes. In males, the link in performance between these tasks is absent. At first glance, bearing in mind previous reports (Alaerts et al., 2011; Miller and Saygin, 2013) on the association between emotion recognition through point-light BM and eye expressions on the RMET
gender specificity of this linkage (occurrence of this link in females only) in the present study appears rather startling
samples of participants contained predominately females
implementing different behavioral strategies by females and males may have contributed to the lack of gender differences in performance on BM tasks in the present study
The present study was conducted in the student sample that affords group homogeneity
Although such a population is commonly used in the field
this may represent a limitation in terms of the outcome generalizability
since the study was focused on the association between performances on the tests
perceivers who are proficient on one task may be expected to be more proficient on the other and vice versa
it appears that BM processing engages a specialized neural network with hubs in the several areas of the brain including the right temporal cortex and fusiform gyrus
where this circuitry topographically overlaps and communicates with the social brain
Specifically tailored brain imaging is required to clarify to what extent visual processing of BM and expressive body language reading share topographically and dynamically overlapping neural networks
This work will contribute to better understanding of neurodevelopmental
and psychosomatic disorders related to social cognition
The present study was aimed at providing a proof of concept that BM perception and visual social cognition are intimately tied (Pavlova, 2012)
we focused on the gender specificity of this bond
By using identical visual input and re-directing task demands either to BM processing or emotion recognition
we cautiously untangled the ties between BM processing and body language reading
The findings revealed that (1) although there were no gender differences in performance on both BM tasks
a tight link occurred between accuracy of gender and emotion recognition through BM in males
body language reading is linked with mindreading through eyes
The outcome points to gender-specific modes in visual social cognition and fosters investigation of body language reading in a wide range of neuropsychiatric disorders
The raw data will be made available by the authors
The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by the Ethical Committee of the University of Tübingen Medical School
and AF conceived and designed the study experiments
All co-authors contributed to the writing of the manuscript
This work was supported by the German Research Foundation (DFG)
MP appreciates donations made by Professor Regine Leibinger
AS was funded by the Reinhold Beitlich Foundation and Doris Leibinger Foundation
The funders had no role in the study design
The research training of SI in MP’s lab was funded by the Italian Ministry of Education
within the doctoral program in “Sciences of the Person and Education,” Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore
We are thankful to participants enrolled in the study
and members of MP’s lab at the Department of Psychiatry and Psychotherapy
University of Tübingen Medical School for daily support
to Samuel Krüger for assistance in stimuli creation
The Supplementary Material for this article can be found online at: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.00128/full#supplementary-material
Emotion recognition through static faces and moving bodies: a comparison between typically developed adults and individuals with high level of autistic traits
Action and emotion recognition from point light displays: an investigation of gender differences
Sex differences in the development of brain mechanisms for processing biological motion
Emotion perception from dynamic and static body expressions in point-light and full-light displays
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Modulation of the face- and body-selective visual regions by the motion and emotion of point-light face and body stimuli
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Social perception in mesial temporal lobe epilepsy: interpreting social information from moving shapes and biological motion
Temporal and spatial factors in gait perception that influence gender recognition
The “reading the mind in the eyes” test revised version: a study with normal adults
FMRI responses to video and point-light displays of moving humans and manipulable objects
Influence of oxytocin on emotion recognition from body language: a randomized placebo-controlled trial
Bidet-Ildei
Preference for point-light human biological motion in newborns: contribution of translational displacement
Visual recognition of biological motion is impaired in children with autism
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Correlated changes in perceptions of the gender and orientation of ambiguous biological motion figures
Perception of biological motion in common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus): by females only
Exploring biological motion processing in Parkinson’s disease using temporal dilation
Chouchourelou
The perception of emotion from body movement in point-light displays of interpersonal dialogue
A biomechanical invariant for gait perception
Emotion recognition in face and body motion in bulimia nervosa
Network connectivity of the right STS in three social perception localizers
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Difference in visual social predispositions between newborns at low-and high-risk for autism
Filial responses as predisposed and learned preferences: early attachment in chicks and babies
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Body language reading of emotion and outcome in schizophrenia
Probabilistic atlases for face and biological motion perception: an analysis of their reliability and overlap
Large social cognitive impairments characterize homicide offenders with schizophrenia
Impaired neuropsychological profile in homicide offenders with schizophrenia
Body language reading of emotion in schizophrenia: associations with symptoms and functional outcome
Two takes on the social brain: a comparison of theory of mind tasks
Brain activity correlates with emotional perception induced by dynamic avatars
Brain regions involved in human movement perception: a quantitative voxel-based meta-analysis
Brain areas active during visual perception of biological motion
Absent activation in medial prefrontal cortex and temporoparietal junction but not superior temporal sulcus during the perception of biological motion in schizophrenia: a functional MRI study
An asymmetry of translational biological motion perception in schizophrenia
Dynamic functional connectivity analysis reveals decreased variability of the default-mode network in developing autistic brain
Cortical regions for judgments of emotions and personality traits from point-light walkers
The relationship between social anxiety and the perception of depth-ambiguous biological motion stimuli is mediated by inhibitory ability
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Perception of biological motion and emotion in mild cognitive impairment and dementia
Biological motion task performance predicts superior temporal sulcus activity
Individual differences in the use of form and motion in the perception of sex in biological motion displays
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The impact of aging and Alzheimers disease on decoding emotion cues from bodily motion
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Impaired perception of biological motion in Parkinson’s disease
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Perception of communicative and non-communicative motion-defined gestures in Parkinson’s disease
He throws like a girl (but only when he’s sad): emotion affects sex-decoding of biological motion displays
Adaptation of gender derived from biological motion
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Impaired visual recognition of biological motion in schizophrenia
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Meta-analysis reveals adult female superiority in “reading the mind in the eyes test”
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Two-year-olds with autism orient to nonsocial contingencies rather than biological motion
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Impaired perception of human movements in Parkinson’s disease
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Recognizing the sex of a walker from a dynamic point-light display
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Visual processing of biological motion in children and adolescents with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder: an event related potential-study
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Exploring emotion recognition in adults and adolescents with anorexia nervosa using a body motion paradigm
Facilitating effects of emotion on the perception of biological motion: evidence for a happiness superiority effect
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Recognition of emotion from body language among patients with unipolar depression
Confidence in emotion perception in point-light displays varies with the ability to perceive own emotions
Inferring intentions from biological motion: a stimulus set of point-light communicative interactions
Visual processing and social cognition in schizophrenia: relationships among eye movements
State-dependent TMS reveals representation of affective body movements in the anterior intraparietal cortex
Individual differences in the perception of biological motion: links to social cognition and motor imagery
Sex differences in visual motion processing
Recognizing biological motion and emotions from point-light displays in autism spectrum disorders
Processing of emotion and intention from biological motion in psychiatric disorders
but not interpersonal predictive coding is impaired in schizophrenia
Biological motion processing in schizophrenia–systematic review and meta-analysis
Emotions are understood from biological motion across remote cultures
Biological motion processing as a hallmark of social cognition
Emotion science in the twenty-first century
and behavior in emotion science: over and above
Sex and gender affect the social brain: beyond simplicity
“Wrong way up”: temporal and spatial dynamics of the networks for body motion processing at 9.4 T
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Contribution of coherent motion to the perception of biological motion among persons with schizophrenia
Effects of aging on identifying emotions conveyed by point-light walkers
Endogenous oxytocin levels are associated with the perception of emotion in dynamic body expressions in schizophrenia
Infant perception of sex differences in biological motion displays
van de Cruys
An anxiety-induced bias in the perception of a bistable point-light walker
non-social cognition and symptoms as predictors of theory of mind in schizophrenia
Impairment in emotion perception from body movements in individuals with bipolar I and bipolar II disorder is associated with functional capacity
Reading emotions from body movement: a generalized impairment in schizophrenia
Effects of transcranial direct current stimulation on the recognition of bodily emotions from point-light displays
A dose-finding study of oxytocin using neurophysiological measures of social processing
Human chemosignals modulate emotional perception of biological motion in a sex-specific manner
Perception of affect in biological motion cues in anorexia nervosa
Fallgatter AJ and Pavlova MA (2020) Untangling the Ties Between Social Cognition and Body Motion: Gender Impact
Received: 10 January 2020; Accepted: 16 January 2020; Published: 06 February 2020
Copyright © 2020 Isernia, Sokolov, Fallgatter and Pavlova. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY)
*Correspondence: Marina A. Pavlova, bWFyaW5hLnBhdmxvdmFAdW5pLXR1ZWJpbmdlbi5kZQ==
The tooth of a child who lived 600,000 years ago is still visible today
It is the most important find in the National Museum of the Paleolithic in Isernia and constitutes to date the oldest human find in Italy
fundamental evidence for reconstructing the earliest peopling of man in Europe.While awaiting its final placement in the Isernia museum building
where work is still underway on the new layout
the baby tooth of Homo heidelbergensis will be on public display
and then visible during the National Paleolithic Museum’s usual opening days and hours
which is built around the Isernia La Pineta deposit
is considered one of the main prehistoric archaeological sites dedicated to life and population dynamics in the Mediterranean area during Prehistory
PANAMA CITY — Though Eastern Shipbuilding was not awarded a massive U.S
officials say it still has enough future work to support a large new wave of workers.
the Panama City shipbuilder is gearing up to hire almost 300 new employees to fill 70 corporate positions and 226 craft positions.
"We currently have projects that extend for several years and will continue to add new projects to our docket," D'Isernia wrote in an email
"We are pursuing exciting opportunities in the commercial and government spaces that will enable us to continue to diversify and grow
"Eastern Shipbuilding Group as a small business is putting this community on the map for its excellence in manufacturing and defense."
'Extremely disappointed': Eastern Shipbuilding loses $3 billion Coast Guard contract
Protest over decision: Eastern Shipbuilding lodges federal protest for $3 billion U.S. Coast Guard contract
Future and ongoing work at Eastern ShipbuildingOngoing work at the company includes a contract to build the first four ships in the Coast Guard's Offshore Patrol Cutters Program
a $10.5 billion project to construct 25 ships
OPCs are vessels designed to navigate deep waters for up to 60 days
D'Isernia noted Eastern's first OPC is about 75% complete
its second is about 50% complete and its third is 25% complete
Work has not yet started on the fourth ship
In June, Eastern lost the rights to the next 11 ships in the program to Austal USA
an Alabama shipbuilder that is a subsidiary of Australian-based Austal Limited
was to build ships five through 15 of the program
Eastern has appealed the Coast Guard's decision to select Austal USA
and the U.S. Government Accountability Office has until October to make a ruling.
The majority of Eastern's new positions will help construct the company's already awarded OPCs
Others will be hired to support commercial projects at Eastern's Allanton and Port St
This includes a 300-foot ferry that the local shipbuilder was contracted to construct for McAllister Towing and Transportation
a marine transportation company based in New York.
Eastern is looking to fill craft positions with employees skilled in operations
It also is looking for candidates with administrative and project management experience for its corporate positions.
While there are a variety of positions available, D'Isernia said new craftsmen could expect to earn up to $80,000 a year
making it the largest private employer in Bay and Gulf counties
"We are hiring as fast as we can find qualified candidates for both hourly and salaried positions," D'Isernia wrote
"These new positions will help us continue to successfully execute the OPC program for the U.S
Coast Guard and deliver shipbuilding excellence to our customers."
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We are profoundly heartbroken to announce the passing of our dear Mother
who passed peacefully at Southbridge Pinewood with her family by her side on Saturday
She was the 3rd eldest of 7 children and faced profound difficulties after losing her father when she was 13 years old
Angela immigrated to Canada alone to be with her eldest brother Tony and sister Loretta
she went to Italy for her sisters wedding and met the love of her life Nicola Isernia
they married in Italy and moved back to Fort William
Angela worked hard to provide for her family
Dresswell Dry Cleaner and 30 years at McKellar General Hospital where she then retired to help raise her granddaughter Katherine
She loved cooking Sunday meals for her family & having an open home for all friends
but her passion was baking delicious Italian homemade pastries
She taught herself how to crochet and loved having her friends over every Wednesday night for the stitch and bitch club
Angela was a generous and loving Nonna and would do anything for anyone
Mom will be lovingly remembered and sadly missed by her daughter Catherine (Roger) Landry
Her pride and joys - granddaughter Katherine Landry
and sister in law Immaculata Foglia and numerous other relatives survive her
She was predeceased by her husband Nicola Isernia
Thank you to all who have provided care for Angela over the past 4 years and to all the doctors and staff from Hummingbird & Sandpiper units
2022 at 11:00am celebrated by Father Mike Mahoney
Visitation will take place one hour prior to the service (10:00am)
Angela will be laid to rest in Our Lady of Charity Mausoleum at St
Funeral arrangements are in care of WESTFORT FUNERAL CHAPEL
memorial donations in memory of Angela Isernia to the Alzheimer Society of Thunder Bay or the TBRHSF Northern Cancer Fund would be greatly appreciated
A former Martinsville physician has been cleared by the Virginia Board of Medicine and has filed suit against Sovah Health for wrongful termination
has been cleared by the Virginia Board of Health Professionals of a complaint filed against him by his former employer
District Court seeking an undetermined amount of money and punitive damages against Sovah and its various subsidiaries
The Bulletin obtained copies of the documents on file with the Danville Division for the Western District of Virginia
where Isernia is demanding a trial by jury
Sovah Health launched an internal audit into Isernia’s prescribing practices and claimed that “improvements were not evident from earlier recommendations” and that “Isernia had failed to comply with the best practices and tenets of chronic opioid management per CDC
and practice-specific standards of practice,” records show
The audit alleged that Isernia prescribed controlled substances 420 times in May 2020 and that he “failed to use the electronic prescriptions for controlled substance functionality when doing so.”
“Based upon the information available for its review
the Board has determined that it will end its inquiry at this time,” wrote Virginia Board of Medicine Deputy Executive Director Jennifer Deschenes
“Should additional similar complaints be received in the future
the Board may again review the information in this case for evidence that pertains to a violation of the law or regulations relating to the healing arts,” wrote Deschenes
“The disposition taken in this matter is not a disciplinary action.”
Isernia’s lawyer Thomas Strelka said by telephone Thursday afternoon
The nonsense he was accused of has been dismissed.”
Isernia was placed on administrative leave on Dec
Isernia has been contacted by former patients who have indicated that under their current care regiments
they are receiving greater volumes of opioids including the additions of Benzodiazepines in some cases,” the lawsuit states
“This contrasts the moderate and reasonable calculated treatment as per the standard of care in Virginia
Isernia treated his patients prior to his wrongful termination and supports a finding that the fabricated complaint by Sovah was a mere pretext masking invidious retaliation.”
Sovah at large is named specifically in the suit as “Danville Regional Medical Center
LLC and John Doe Corporations whose true names are unknown”
jointly and severally,” later in the complaint
Sovah named three people within its organization as having “knowledge about the facts” in its complaint of Isernia to the Department of Health Professions in Richmond dated April 5: Miyoski Whitlock
According to Sovah Health’s website
Larson is the market president and CEO of Sovah Health-Danville
Miyoski is listed as the market employee relations manager and McGovern is the director of physician services in Martinsville
The Bulletin contacted the offices of Larson
Miyoski and McGovern seeking comment Thursday afternoon and left voicemail messages
The Bulletin also reached out to Sovah Health Marketing Coordinator Hailey Fowlkes by email and phone for comment on Thursday
She returned the email shortly after 3 p.m
and asked for the Bulletin’s deadline stating she needed “to have some conversations internally,” but the deadline passed and despite two more attempts by the Bulletin for comment
Isernia’s lawsuit against Sovah does not seek a specific amount of money
but seeks as damages an injunction to restrain Sovah from repeating the action against Isernia
compensatory damages and punitive damages as the “Court would deem appropriate.”
Carolina Health Specialists of Myrtle Beach, South Carolina, has welcomed Isernia on their website as a new physician accepting new patients beginning June 1
Holly Kozelsky also contributed to this report
says he was targeted because he complained about staff reassignments that made it difficult for …
2021 at 3:11 pm ET.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Newly elected trustees Michael Isernia
and Vincent Reynolds were sworn in to serve three-year terms at the Sachem Board of Education’s organizational meeting on July 7
(Sachem Central School District)LAKE RONKONKOMA
NY — Newly elected Sachem Central School District Board of Education trustees Michael Isernia
and Vincent Reynolds were sworn during the organizational meeting on July 7
Alex Piccirillo was sworn in as board of education president
and Robert Scavo as vice president for the 2021-2022 school year
Christopher Pellettieri was also sworn in to serve as the district’s superintendent for the school year
the National Paleolithic Museum in Isernia will reopen to the public with an opening ceremony presided over by Museums General Director Massimo Osanna
In attendance will be Molise Regional Museums Director Enrico Rinaldi
Exhibition Project Manager Pierangelo Izzo and Professor Carlo Peretto of the University of Ferrara.The new National Paleolithic Museum of Isernia is the result of a series of various interventions carried out recently that renew the image
content and enhancement objectives of the entire museum complex
The central fulcrum of this renewal is the new layout of the exhibition halls
which restores centrality in the museum to the deposit "La Pineta," focusing on the human presence in Isernia dated to about 600,000 years ago
the activities of prehistoric groups and the relationships between man
A layout designed for animmersive experience
where the typical display of unpublished archaeological material will be combined with a scenic layout consisting of settings and life-size reconstructions of animals and Homo
in order to increase understanding of the archaeological heritage and ensure universal accessibility to knowledge
“Physical and Cultural Evolution of Homo,” “Archeosurface of Isernia La Pineta,” “Humans
Environments and Animals of Isernia La Pineta,” and “Prehistory in Molise.”
The museum narrative unfolds in the Museum’s unique spatiality; individual “episodes” are related to each other by free-flowing paths
All of the archaeological material on display and the human processes that produced it are intimately linked in a cause-and-effect relationship made explicit in the new didactic apparatus
The conception and realization of the scientific and museographic project
by officials of the Molise Regional Museums Directorate
was possible thanks to the coordination between different regional and national funding sources
The multidisciplinary approach to the different phases of the intervention involved the collaboration of the University of Ferrara and its research team
as well as the involvement of proven museum professionals of national and international standing
the museum will open its doors to visitors until 9 p.m
Many Italian Americans are becoming interested in discovering more about their Italian roots
but they may have been overlooking a place that can help them with their journey - social media
the number of Italian American genealogy groups is growing day by day
Unlike the traditional genealogy websites like Ancestry.com or FamilySearch.org
Facebook provides members an opportunity to connect more closely with others who share a passion for Italian immigrant history or Italian American culture
So how can you use Facebook in your search for your roots
TranslationReading a hand-written Italian document is hard
I have turned to my Facebook groups for help in translating documents that have left me puzzled for years
I posted a photograph of the back of a postcard that I had inherited written in the local dialect of my ancestors
I had an overwhelming response from the group members and a translation that helped me learn about the writer and her connection to my family
while reading posts in the group “Italian Genealogy,” I discovered a post by a member living in Colorado
She was asking if anyone was familiar with a village called Carovilli
I immediately responded to her post and explained that my family was from nearby Castiglione
a smaller village situated right next to Carovilli in the province of Molise
We exchanged email addresses via private messaging and I shared with her my research about Castiglione and Carovilli
which is an Americanized version of DiGiacomo
a surname I had seen in my own family tree
My new friend was still learning about her family line
so we did not find a common ancestor in our “paper family tree.” One day
I was on Ancesty.com reviewing my latest DNA matches and
my Facebook friend was showing up as a 4th-6th cousin
we had a chance to meet face to face in Colorado along with several other “DNA cousins” and finally tracked down at least one set of our common ancestors
Matteo DiFrancia (born in 1778) and Tecla Rossi (born in 1779) from Castiglione
I joined the Pietrabbondante Facebook group and posted in Italian (thank goodness for online translation services) a message that I would be coming to Pietrabbondante and would like to find any “Torella” family members
the administrator of the group who lived in Pietrabbondante put me in touch with two other Torellas
I had the chance to enjoy a pizza lunch with two of my newly found Italian Torellas
We are still trying to find our ancestral connection
but I am confident that we are related as Pietrabbondante is a small town of 600 inhabitants and the Torella surname is not extremely common.
After meeting several others who were researching my ancestral Italian village
I created a private Facebook group dedicated to collaborating on research for our village
we post questions and findings about our ancestors and have been very successful in filling in gaps in our family trees and making ancestral connections with one another
Our group is private and one of the group administrators must approve membership to ensure that the information we share is secure
We also post vintage photographs that have unknown faces in them and have been able to help one another identify those whose names have been lost for decades
You do not have to have a private group to get results
I have also posted questions on the other Italian genealogy groups and have found many members willing to share their advice thereby helping me break down brick walls or find new places to look for evidence
if you know your family’s ancestral village
Even if you do not find that long-lost cousin
you will likely see photographs of your homeland’s spectacular landscape that can help you to imagine the streets where your ancestors once walked
Italian Genealogy Groups and Pages on Facebook to check out:Italian Genealogy Italian Heraldry and GenealogyJohn D
Calandra Italian American Institute Southern Italian Genealogy NetworkNorthern Italian Genealogy Italy Gen (Italian Surnames – Italian Genealogy)
Discover all our subscription plans and become a member
US-based Eastern Shipbuilding Group (ESG) has opened new construction and vessel repair facilities at Port St Joe
supporting the final outfitting of three New York City ferries and construction of US Coast Guard offshore patrol cutters
ESG recently completed a US$6M infrastructure improvement project at the Port St Joe facility to allow for vessel outfitting to commence and has embarked on a US$50M 15,000-tonne drydock project to provide full vessel maintenance services
This drydock has been specifically designed to service both government and commercial ships and can haul large deep-draft vessels
the Port St Joe facility expands ESG’s labour pool and brings new employment opportunities to the region
“This town was ravaged by Hurricane Michael just three short years ago affecting the livelihoods of everyone in the area,” said US Representative Neal Dunn (R-Florida) during a grand opening at the Port St Joe facility
Three 4,500-passenger Ollis-class ferries for Staten Island Ferry
are being readied for delivery at the new shipyard over the next six months
ESG’s three facilities are located on Florida’s Panhandle in the US Gulf of Mexico
At its 40-acre Nelson Street facility and operational headquarters
ESG is building offshore patrol cutters (OPCs) for the US Coast Guard
ESG is well underway with a US$45M facility optimisation project at the Nelson Street facility to support the shipbuilding programme
US Senator Marco Rubio (R-Florida) recently toured the shipyard to observe the progress on the first two OPCs under construction at the facility
“Eastern Shipbuilding Group plays a critical role in Florida’s economy and in protecting our nation
Its management of and progress on the Coast Guard offshore patrol cutter is impressive
and a testament to its commitment to American security and the highly skilled workforce here in Northwest Florida,” said Senator Rubio
The senator is a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee
which is responsible for allocating funding for the federal government
ESG is currently the largest private employer in Bay County and has approximately 1,300 employees and contract workers across its three main shipbuilding facilities
Riviera Maritime Media will provide free technical and operational webinars in 2021. Sign up to attend on our events page
PANAMA CITY — The renovated middle school wing at St
John Catholic School was blessed and dedicated Tuesday
the Fifth Bishop of Pensacola-Tallahassee Diocese
made his first visit to the campus for the dedication
“Utilizing the latest technology can only enhance the learning experience for our students here to help them to use their creative energy and creative gifts they have received
He also said he enjoys seeing the students’ work and is proud of what he’s seen
and it was just incredible what the kids were doing in there; the way they’re already writing sentences and it’s because of the technology,” Parkes said
“It’s becoming the new normal for them today
they’re excited about it and it makes learning fun.”
The building was dedicated in memory of Mary D’Isernia
mother of Eastern Shipbuilding owner Brian D’Isernia
“She was a lovely lady,” Brian D’Isernia said
“This school greatly needed and deserved improvement and here we have it now.”
His wife Mimi D’Isernia said honoring her with a school building created a positive link with the past and she’s happy about that
“It means to a lot to our family and a lot to my mother-in-law
we miss her and she would be so proud of this because she loved children
John’s is a wonderful school and I hope it’s the beginning of a renaissance for St
Principal Kaycie Hoffman said Mary D’Isernia was the perfect choice
people are moved by the memory of her because she was such a good person,” Hoffman said
“That’s what we focus on with our students
That’s why I can’t think of a better person to have this wing dedicated to than Mary D’Isernia
someone who understood and supported all of those things.”
She also said they are proud of the community involvement with this project
“We have such a community support and we’re nimble enough to make the changes the students need,” Hoffman said
“Today is just an example of that community support that we have.”
Parkes led prayers for the community and blessed both the renovated building and all of those in attendance
2021 at 11:34 am ET.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Victoria Isernia
a junior at Walt Whitman High School in South Huntington
donated more than 1,000 books to Hindi's Libraries
partnered with Hindi's Libraries once again
Isernia held a book drive and collected more than 1,000 books from the South Huntington community
Hindi's Libraries is an international literacy nonprofit organization based on Long Island
It donates new and gently-used children's books to organizations throughout the world
Isernia originally learned about the organization through her aunt
early childhood senior specialist at the Child Care Council of Nassau — one of Hindi's Libraries book donation recipients
Isernia in 2019 collected more than 3,000 books towards Hindi's Libraries
Hindi's Libraries received book requests from recipients throughout the country who desperately need children's books
as many local libraries closed to the public due to the outbreak
the organization has shipped more than 150 boxes of children's books to hospitals
little free library stewards serving low-income communities and pediatric clinics
The organization is currently partnered with several authors outside of New York who are hosting book drives in their state on the organization's behalf
The Hindi's Libraries team has worked to find local recipients for such drives to avoid shipping costs
Hindi's Libraries has collected more than 125,000 books and partnered with 400 organizations spanning across all 50 states
Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.
Article contentAttacking his ex and her new boyfriend with a baseball bat will mean a 16-month jail sentence for a city man
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Provincial court Judge Mark Tyndale also placed Brandon Isernia on two years probation Tuesday
calling his assaults on his victims “callous and vicious.”
assault with a weapon and disobeying a court order for his Nov
attack on Katherine McAdam and her new boyfriend
tracked McAdam and Bratz as they drove away from work
When McAdam saw she was being followed by a truck that appeared to be Isernia’s
When McAdam got out to talk to Isernia in hopes of ending their ongoing dispute
Bratz grabbed a child’s baseball bat from the back seat for protection
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Isernia punched her in the head and then wrestled the bat from Bratz
Bratz and swung it at his head,” Tyndale noted
Bratz blocked the weapon with his left arm
As Isernia continued to be aggressive towards the injured man
McAdam intervened again and was speared in the stomach
The entire incident occurred while Isernia was under a restraining order to have no contact with McAdam
Bratz is an aggravating factor,” Tyndale said
noting bones were protruding from Bratz’s forearm after the assault
He said while McAdam did not suffer significant physical injuries
she was emotionally traumatized and “continues to fear that Mr
“The utter lack of remorse demonstrated by Mr
Isernia is an aggravating factor because it increases his moral culpability,” Tyndale said
will undoubtedly hinder his rehabilitation.”
KMartin@postmedia.com
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2018Lucia Isernia passed away peacefully at Columbia View Lodge on Friday
She married Sabato Isernia in November of 1946
Lucia and her first two children boarded a ship bound for Canada to reunite with her husband who had immigrated two years earlier to prepare a home for them
Together they raised four more children in their new homeland
To help her husband support the growing family
Lucia worked as a cook at the Crown Point Hotel for over fifteen years
organized and comfortable environment and instilled in her children the values of hard work
Lucia was the heart and soul of her family and will be dearly missed
Lucia was a long time member of the Italo Canadese Society and the Catholic Women's League
She was also a committed member of the past Trail chapter of the Canadian Diabetes Association
Lucia was predeceased by her husband Sabato
her daughter-in-law Sandy and her seven siblings
She is survived by her children Maria (Bill Burkholder)
fifteen grandchildren and eight great grandchildren
Lucia will be laid to rest at a private family ceremony
A memorial service will be held at a later date
The family would like to express sincere thanks to Dr
Benzer and the staff at Columbia View Lodge for the support and care provided Lucia during her stay
Those who so desire may make memorial donations in memory of Lucia to the Canadian Diabetes Foundation
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2019 at 9:19 pm ET.css-79elbk{position:relative;}Victoria Isernia
sophomore at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington Station
helped Hindi's Libraries collect a few thousand books
(Courtesy: Hindi's Libraries)HUNTINGTON STATION
a Long Island based nonprofit organization that donates new and gently-used children's books to organizations throughout the world
a sophomore at Walt Whitman High School in Huntington Station
Isernia learned about the organization through her aunt
Isernia wanted to run a community book drive after spending a week at a leadership camp of RYLA (Rotary Youth Leadership Awards)
stressed the importance of giving back to our communities and encouraged us to start our own service projects," Isernia said via press release
"I decided to pursue a book drive because I wanted children to have access to the life lessons and joy that I received when I read as a child."
The South Huntington community rallied behind her without hesitation
I had collected about 500 books and met with my principal," Isernia said
"He loved my idea and helped me spread awareness for my drive."
She recalled an exciting moment from her efforts
"One of my favorite memories was when (my) mom got a call from the school telling us to come pick up books
because the main office was full of books!," she said
I stood in shock at the amount of boxes in front of me
I felt so grateful and supported by the community
I knew this drive would be more successful than I had ever imagined."
Her book drive has since collected more than 3,000 books towards Hindi's Libraries from the South Huntington Community
are incredibly grateful and are eager to share the books with children throughout the world
"It's always so inspiring to see teenagers looking to make a difference
and when they choose to join forces with us
it's truly humbling," the organization stated
Hindi's Libraries is named in honor of Dr. Hindi Krinsky, who died in August 2018 at 32 years old. Since January 2019, the organization has collected over 40,000 books, which it has donated to more than 350 organizations throughout the world across all 50 states, Puerto Rico & Israel, according to the nonprofit's website
Food Notes
Pastry chef Emiddio Isernia is fully dedicated to making the Christmas bread of his home country
it was hard to find a panettone that wasn’t imported from Italy
Terra Breads has done a version of the Italian Christmas bread
It's one example of a local bakery that offers panettone among several other goods
we have Naples native Emiddio Isernia specializing in the traditional loaves right in our own backyard
Born in Naples, Isernia is the pastry chef and founder of Antise Vancouver; he makes nothing but panettone
The company takes its title from his father’s first (Antonio) and last names (Isernia)
but he has been for me and my sisters a source of continuous inspiration,” Isernia tells the Straight
“He was an artist--a painter--and I think I inherited my creativity from him
“Antise Vancouver was dictated by the fact that there was no way to find a traditional
artisanal panettone in Vancouver,” he adds
“I kept the traditional process that has been used for centuries in Italy to make the freshest artisanal panettone
I use only natural yeast with no artificial or chemical preservatives.”
Isernia—formerly a pastry chef at Metropolitan Hotels Vancouver—grew up eating the domed loaves during the holiday season
“Everyone in Italy has to have panettone during Christmastime,” Isernia says
it’s becoming more and more common to have panettone all year ‘round.”
He learned how to make the traditional bread in Brescia from Iginio Massari and Achille Zoia
Every phase involves precision; the humidity and temperature have to be carefully controlled and monitored
the bread has to be hung upside down to retain its shape; one false move
and the loaf collapses like a popped balloon
because a good panettone needs first quality ingredients
It comes in three flavours: classic; chocolate; and Limoncello (with a white-chocolate coating)
Georgia Straight associate editor Gail Johnson has been working as a journalist for several years
Her writing has earned multiple national and local awards and nominations
although over the years she has covered everything..
Your hair was short-cropped and dyed orange
PANAMA CITY — Eastern Shipbuilding’s President Brian D’Isernia coached Rubia Amaral
D’Isernia took a couple of practice swings
Amaral cracked the Champaine bottle into the Bow of the Bravante VI and the ship was launched
“The Bravante VI is the second of five vessels that we are building for Bravante,” D’Isernia said just before the launch
The Bravante group operates as a maritime transport
environmental protection and subsea engineering company
“She is a state-of-the-art platform supply vessel and she will be working the ultra-deep war oil deposits recently discovered off the coast of our friendly neighbor to the south
D’Isernia looked out among the hundreds of employees that lined the shipyard to watch the launching
“Thanks go out to those people who poured out their blood
sweat and tears building these vessels,” D’Isernia said as cheers went up from the crowd
“I would like to give a special thanks to Bravante to place their trust in us.”
The launch took place at Eastern’s 2200 Nelson St
Eastern Shipbuilding Group is under contract to construct 16 vessels of similar size to the Bravante VI for customers in the U.S
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Antise Vancouver makes three types of panettone through a traditional process that takes about 36 hours
SOME CALL IT the Everest of baking: of all the breads in the world
the Italian Christmas loaf traditionally takes days to make
and demands that temperature and humidity be monitored and maintained with lab-like precision
it has to be carefully flipped over and hung upside down to retain its domed shape as it cools; any missteps throughout the process will be evident at this stage if it pops like a balloon
Often studded with sultanas and candied citrus peel
the bread is so complicated that even most nonas in Milan
“The panettone is not a mom or grandma thing—at least not my mom or grandma,” Napoli-born Vancouver-based pastry chef Emiddio Isernia tells Stir
“It's quite complex and requires a lot of work and time to realize
“My first memory of panettone is 20 years ago when I was working in Naples and my mentor—who now makes about 10,000 loaves a year—was at that time at the beginning of the artisanal panettoni era,” Isernia says
“I remember the smell and the energy and relief when the product come out from the oven after 36 hours of work.”
Isernia is the founder of Antise Vancouver
His studied under Brescia’s Iginio Massari
who is widely considered the world’s present-day master
their versions of the Yuletide treat are not to be confused with the mass-produced mounds that can be found on drugstore shelves
Antise Vancouver chef Emiddio Insernia prepares to gently flip freshly baked panettone over to hang upside down to cool on a pinze rack
Working out of a 4,000-square-foot facility in Delta
Isernia imported a twin-arm mixer from Italy and has room to hang the panettone in racks called pinze
Antise Vancouver makes three varieties: Classico (with raisins and imported candied orange and lemon)
and limoncello (white chocolate with limoncello ganache)
They’re wrapped in paper cups that also come from Italy
“I kept the traditional process that has been used for decades in Italy to make the freshest artisanal panettone,” Isernia says
“I use only natural yeast with no artificial or chemical preservatives
because a good panettone needs first-quality ingredients
Such a perfectionist is Isernia that only after years refining his craft here on the West Coast is he ready to start getting the word out
“We wanted to be to be sure about the quality of our product,” he says
“After four years I can definitely say that I’m proud of the product I ended up making.”
Antise Panettone can be found at Giovane café + eatery + market
(Giovane in the Fairmont Pacific Rim Hotel is now operated by the Kitchen Table
which is behind several standout Vancouver spots
which also carries Antise products.) Luppolo Brewing Company
Use a serrated knife to cut panettone into triangular wedges
Another place in Vancouver that’s making panettone from scratch is Livia on Commercial Drive
Run by the formidable wife-and-husband team of Claire Livia Lassam and Jordan Pire
the bakery-café takes its name from her beloved nona
Its citrus-pistachio panettone has currants
and toasted pistachios—"Christmas morning in bread form”
Ubuntu Canteen in Fraserhood
a community-minded restaurant helmed by highly respected chef David Gunawan that uses top-quality ingredients across the board
(Ubuntu also has a bread subscription program featuring two loaves per week: one Maritime variety
Gail Johnson is cofounder and associate editor of Stir
She is a Vancouver-based journalist who has earned local and national nominations and awards for her work
She is a certified Gladue Report writer via Indigenous Perspectives Society in partnership with Royal Roads University and is a member of a judging panel for top Vancouver restaurants
Vancouver Writers Fest fundraiser features tastings from strong B.C
the province’s strong contingent of gin crafters like Copperpenny Distilling Co
and Tofino Distillery meets international names
Vancouver International Wine Festival event is also a chance to search out the best vintages in your own back yard
Top picks from Napa Sauvignon Blanc to Columbia Valley Merlot
plus advice for hitting an international assortment at this year’s Bard on the Beach fundraiser
The performance centres on a live cooking demonstration to explore the colonial history of the Philippines
The French dessert is traditionally served during Epiphany celebrations
The annual event invites people to take in the traditions
Stir’s guide to high tea menus throughout Vancouver this festive season
The Rise and Fall of Magic Wolf follows a young chef named Teo in Paris and Vancouver
The Chef & the Daruma gets to the heart of the acclaimed culinary artist’s inspirations
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and unceded territory of the Coast Salish peoples
including the territories of the xʷməθkwəy̓əm (Musqueam)
and Səl̓ílwətaʔ/Selilwitulh (Tsleil-Waututh) Nations
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Go to the other articles in the Playground and Urban Landscape Special:
Within the Urban Strategic Plan called PISU Isernia 2015: Culture and Environment – A bridge towards sustainable development
the previous Administration of Isernia included the redevelopment of the station area
The PISU obtained funding of almost 4 million euros from the Molise Region and another 400 thousand euros were added by the Municipality
the static testing of the structures was carried out in November 2020
The works were finally completed in March 2021
The intention of the Municipal Administration of Isernia was to promote a substantial operation of urban redesign through the environmental recovery of a central and strategic area
the “Transformation Zone FS Station Area“
in order to obtain a new and immediate availability of spaces of social aggregation and public green that are a chronic shortage in the urban area of the new city
already decommissioned from railway use and in part already used as a bus stop (for the part parallel to Corso Garibaldi)
has its own characteristics of hinge of the connective paths of city activities that give it the indisputable role of area with a great social vocation
is divided into two areas separated by the active track of the railway for its entire length
The works of recovery and environmental redevelopment affect a small part of the north-west
consisting of an area adjacent to Corso Garibaldi up to the level crossing
extended for a total of 7800 square meters and intended to stop suburban buses
have been committed for the arrangement and transformation of the south-eastern area
which includes a large area of about 15,560 square meters
On this area there were several structures
used for museum and cultural activities (Officina della Cultura) which is developed on one level above ground
entered to be part of the redevelopment project
the environmental and urban recovery of the station area will have to extend well beyond the limits of the immediate financial availability following a general design to be implemented in the next decade with different methods of financing
however starting from the first functional lot that pursued the following specific objectives:
Enhancement and reuse of old disused industrial buildings and artifacts
having original uses related to the management of rail traffic;
transformation into a “park area”
with equipped green spaces and functional spaces for activities of collective interest
of a large disused railway area that was abandoned and degraded;
creation of two new connection paths between the park area and via L
one near the existing level crossing and the other near the building called “Officina della Cultura”.;
requalification of the existing access points from Piazzetta S
Brigida and Piazza della Repubblica through the existing pedestrian underpass
The project had as its central objective the creation of an urban park that would allow users
to carry out recreational activities and leisure
benefiting from an organic relationship with a natural environment reorganized in green spaces with artificial environmental frameworks of great effect
the project bases the articulation of the paths on perceptive variations determined by the sequence of functions that
produce an overall functionality of the park
The intervention takes into account the general urban context that
does not present architectural qualities of interest
as well as landscape characters rather messy and degraded
given the original function of the spaces; for these reasons
the redevelopment of the area passes mainly through the introduction of an equipped public green of quality and for the contextual recovery to new functions of existing buildings
made of wood and draining industrial concrete
appropriately combined with elements of furniture and public lighting
contribute to the definition of articulated paths in a sequence of areas that can be defined independently but
can act as a connection to subsequent spaces to cross or where to stop
is strongly limited by the surrounding architectural backdrop
is implemented through the introduction of trees and shrubs that have the purpose of identifying diversified functions
in the design phase as in the realization of the work
tends to characterize the Urban Park both for the visual/perceptual aspect (shapes and colors)
with the aim of transmitting to the visitor a sense of serenity underlined by pleasant scents
Although the overall effect seems to be marked by randomness
the composition and alternation of open spaces responds to criteria of rational and planned use
In this way the planimetric linearity that has been too long conditioned by the pre-existence of the tracks is broken
even if they can be visually traced from one end of the park to the other
do not necessarily oblige the visitor to reach them
even if they allow to guess the possibility to do so
the psychological condition typical of ancient urban spaces has been determined
where the surprise of discovering new spaces is anticipated by suggestions that can be received moment by moment according to the space reached
The paths are articulated in a spatial sequence in which the diversification of materials is associated with functions
The concrete beaten with draining characteristics
alternates with the wooden floor where the seats are an opportunity for momentary pauses that
It is not by chance that the path wraps around the Officina della Cultura on one side
which continues to maintain its function as a point of reference for major cultural events
while leaving space for sports activities that otherwise took place in a random and uncontrolled manner in the urban environment (such as “skate-boarding” on sidewalks and squares with obvious problems of safety and public order)
and that here find definition in an area modeled planimetrically so as to ensure those geometric varieties that are essential for the exercise of each practice
the areas assume more and more the character of geometric green with irregularities programmed
are integrated with the trees that constitute the vital element of the intervention
The recreational activities related to physical exercise find the appropriate equipment in the building to be recovered inherent to the former Lampisteria
the Municipal Administration has been called to evaluate some ideas that emerged in the continuous and daily confrontations with the citizenship
in order to make the Park socially more usable and environmentally more welcoming
as well as to better sew on the urban plan the “wound” that historically the presence of the railway has introduced in the settlement fabric of the city
the predominant requests aimed at making the park more usable by children
through the inclusion of new and/or different functional play areas for outdoor sports: tennis courts
They also aimed to make the park itself a “green lung” able to reconnect also functionally the consolidated city fabric of the surroundings
extrapolating it from the anonymous platform of the railroad
Such requests were oriented not to modify in a substantial way the objectives and the planning structure defined by the approved executive project
but to constitute mere improvements and integrations
The additional and improvement elements accepted by the Municipality mainly concerned: the insertion of a basketball court of the type “three against three” and a tennis court
both fenced: the two courts are made with bituminous conglomerate screed finished with a layer of colored synthetic resin; the 3×3 basketball court has a useful surface of 22 x 11 m
It was also planned to create a skateboard area by means of concrete square with juxtaposed prefabricated elements; the expansion of the children’s play area with anti-trauma flooring; the implementation of tree screens; changes to the characteristics of wooden and concrete drainage flooring
As an improvement offered during the tender
it was planned to replace the classic concrete flooring for exteriors
with the construction of a draining concrete floor
which thanks to its special particle size composition and binding mixtures
avoids the stagnation of water on the surface
allows the absorption through its granular mesh and realizes the complete passage for infiltration into the underlying layer of bedding
made of mixed stabilized material also completely permeable
In this way the meteoric water afferent to the surface of the paving above
filter completely in the underlying layers and from these
are directly and completely absorbed by the ground
In order to improve the mechanical resistance
special plastic fibers are mixed in the concrete mix to increase the above mentioned resistance
Between the layer of concrete and the bed of laying are interposed sheets of root-proof geotextile
in order to avoid the rooting of herbaceous essences that can generate lesions and unsightly effects in the paving
the executive project has provided for the use of planks of “Douglasia”
a very hard and resistant essence and at the same time very widespread in the market for use in construction
The laying of this flooring does not take place in direct contact with the laying surface
but on top of galvanized steel “omega” profiles
fixed to a screed made of draining concrete reinforced with galvanized electro-welded net
These profiles are rails for the laying of the Douglasia planks
which are fixed to them with self-tapping bolts
the wooden floor has no contact with the concrete support
and is not affected by aggressive and disintegrating phenomena related to humidity and water stagnation
also because the underlying concrete will drain towards the subsoil all the water percolating from the joints of the planks
Also the wood-floored surface is therefore characterized by a high degree of permeability
such as not to require the construction of a special sewer system for the collection and removal of rainwater
The organization and the disposition of the green has the purpose to make it as much as possible usable in a diversified and sequential way along the whole longitudinal development of the park
making it functional to a visual and perceptive scanning (therefore also olfactory) that must guide and orient the visitor-user inside it
involves all the green areas of the park; this choice aims to give a uniform characterization to the areas as well as their generalized usability by the users
for the development of all those recreational activities allowed by the availability of a perennial turf and well maintained for this purpose
There is also a precise definition of the floral composition of the various green areas of the park
with identification and specific characterization of the surfaces arranged in flower beds
in which it is expected the planting of seasonal and perennial ornamental flower essences
and the surfaces characterized by the presence of only trees arranged in rows or groves
with the identification of specific tree species to be planted
which in their succession create the diversified perceptual frameworks and visual scenes that guide and orient the visitor/user within the planned paths
The floristic mono-functionality of some tree-lined areas is useful for this purpose
and in fact it has been planned the creation of several “gardens” of different tree species arranged in stain in the vicinity of the central part of the park area where there is a greater concentration of functions: the “Garden of Oaks”
the “Garden of Firs” and the “Garden of Plane Trees” to crown the area of attendance between the Workshop of Culture
the entrance from Via Libero Testa and the oval square provided for side
In the rest of the areas that develop towards the northern area of the park
there are trees in rows (to border the paths) or scrub
the arrangement of rows of red maple trees in opposite points of the central area allows the creation of differentiated color scans that will mark along the development of the paths the presence of important elements in the fruition of the park
It was also planned a “green” installation evocative of the previous presence of the railway in the area
consisting of the preparation of a “gallery hedge” with American Vine about 25 m long and 3 m high
walkable inside and with the internal arrangement of tracks on green lawn
positioned in the green area overlooking the Magazzino dell’Arte
a sector specifically dedicated to the cultivation of aromatic and officinal plants has been created
to be positioned in the linear space at the edge of the path facing the new Center for Sporting Services
This space is equipped as a planter with borders provided with adequate curb separation from both the green lawn and the paving between which it is interposed
aromatic and officinal essences are placed among those typical and most widespread in the territory
This presence will guarantee not only a strong olfactory characterization to the area
but also a potential resource made available to users for a minimum personal use
Customer: Municipality of Isernia – Department of green and urban parks
Executive project and safety coordination design: arch
Roberto Melfi (spm srl engineering company)
Giulio de Simone (Municipality of Isernia)
Contractual amount of works: euros 1.419.010,60
Final and executive planning: 93,804.42 euros
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