Thirty patients with AF, 9 with ARR and 31 in NSR were included in the study. The recordings were obtained at rest from Empatica E4 wristband device and lasted 10 min. The analysis, on a 2 min segment, included spectral, variability and irregularity analysis performed on the inter-diastolic interval series, and similarity analysis performed on the BVP signal. Main results and Significance: Variability parameters were the highest in AF, the lowest in NSR and intermediate for ARR, as an example pNN50 values were, respectively, [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text] (p < 0.05). The similarity parameters were the highest in NSR, the lowest in AF and intermediate for ARR, as an example using a threshold for assessing similarity of [Formula: see text]: [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], [Formula: see text], all p < 0.05. The rhythm classification was preceded by over-sampling (using synthetic minority over-sampling technique) the class of ARR, being it the smallest class. Then, the features selection was performed (using the sequential forward floating search algorithm) which identified two variability parameters (pNN70 and pNN40) as the best selection. The classification by the k-nearest neighbor classifier reached an accuracy of about 0.9 for NSR and AF, and 0.8 for ARR. Using pNN70 and pNN40, the specificity for the three rhythms was Spnsr  =  0.928, Spaf  =  0.963, Sparr  =  0.768, while the sensitivity was Spnsr  =  0.773, Spaf  =  0.754, Sparr  =  0.758.

Background Impaired heart rate variability (HRV) is associated with increased mortality in sinus rhythm. However, HRV has not been systematically assessed in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). We hypothesized that parameters of HRV may be predictive of cardiovascular death in patients with AF. Methods and Results From the multicenter prospective Swiss‐AF (Swiss Atrial Fibrillation) Cohort Study, we enrolled 1922 patients who were in sinus rhythm or AF. Resting ECG recordings of 5‐minute duration were obtained at baseline. Standard parameters of HRV (HRV triangular index, SD of the normal‐to‐normal intervals, square root of the mean squared differences of successive normal‐to‐normal intervals and mean heart rate) were calculated. During follow‐up, an end point committee adjudicated each cause of death. During a mean follow‐up time of 2.6±1.0 years, 143 (7.4%) patients died; 92 deaths were attributable to cardiovascular reasons. In a Cox regression model including multiple covariates (age, sex, body mass index, smoking status, history of diabetes mellitus, history of hypertension, history of stroke/transient ischemic attack, history of myocardial infarction, antiarrhythmic drugs including β blockers, oral anticoagulation), a decreased HRV index ≤ median (14.29), but not other HRV parameters, was associated with an increase in the risk of cardiovascular death (hazard ratio, 1.7; 95% CI, 1.1–2.6; P =0.01) and all‐cause death (hazard ratio, 1.42; 95% CI, 1.02–1.98; P =0.04). Conclusions The HRV index measured in a single 5‐minute ECG recording in a cohort of patients with AF is an independent predictor of cardiovascular mortality. HRV analysis in patients with AF might be a valuable tool for further risk stratification to guide patient management. Registration URL: https://www.clinicaltrials.gov ; Unique identifier: NCT02105844.

Background: Sex-related electrocardiographic differences are a well-known phenomenon, but not their expression in patients with atrial fibrillation (AF). In this study we aim to assess the presence of significant sexrelated differences in ECG features, with particular attention to P-wave parameters, of a large cohort of patients affected by different types of AF. Methods: A 5-min resting 16-lead ECG was evaluated for 1119 AF patients in sinus rhythm. The durations of the main ECG waves and intervals were measured for both atrial and ventricular activity. Moreover, the beat-to-beat P-wave variability was computed for lead II and for the first principal component (PC1) computed across the 16 leads. The percentage of variance explained by PC1 was computed. Results: Males compared to females showed significantly longer RR interval (1.02 ± 0.16 s vs 0.97 ± 0.15 s, p b .001), PQ interval (191 ± 34 ms vs 183 ± 35 ms, p = .008), QRS duration (105 ± 17 ms vs 98 ± 13 ms, p = .021), significantly lower percentage of variance explained by PC1 and P-wave variability. Males with paroxysmal AF compared to females with paroxysmal AF had significantly longer RR interval (1.01 ± 0.17 s vs 0.96 ± 0.14 s, p b .001), shorter QTc (388 ± 27 ms vs 402 ± 27 ms, p b .001), lower P-wave variability in PC1. Males with persistent AF compared to females with persistent AF had significantly shorter QTc interval (396 ± 30 ms vs 407 ± 26 ms, p = .019), longer PQ interval (194 ± 35 ms vs 182 ± 30 ms, p = .037), higher V1 terminal force (2.1 ± 1.2 mV*ms vs 1.8 ± 1 mV*ms, p = .007), lower percentage of variance explained by PC1. Conclusions: AF patients present with several sex-related ECG differences. Consequently, sex should be taken into account when developing ECG algorithms identifying patients at risk for AF progression.

Contemporary society requires communication strategies that integrate different media channels in order to improve advertising performance. Currently, there are not many scientific research studies of the various mass media, comparing the results of audiovisual advertising to purely audio or visual messages aimed at detecting the best combination of media, especially from a neurophysiological perspective. This study aims to investigate the effects of previous exposure to an advertisement via radio on the consumers’ response to the same advertisement shown on television (TV) or as a banner on a website. A total of seventy participants in a between-subjects experiment watched several television commercials during the advertising break of a documentary or saw some banners during a web surfing task. Half were first exposed to the same advertisements via radio. The results have shown that participants who previously listened to the radio advertisements spent a longer time looking at the brand and had a higher engagement when watching the same advertisements on television. Moreover, they had a different kind of visual attention to the website banners. This pattern of results indicates the effect of mere exposure—that is, the exposure to a radio advertisement enhances the effectiveness of the same advertisement via television or web, offering useful insights for media planning campaigns. Even if mere exposure has been extensively studied, cross-media research is scarcely explored, whereas this study detected the effects of mere exposure in a cross-media communication strategy, showing that it can be measured through psychophysiological methods.

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Colors can elicit cognitive and emotional states. In particular, blue colour is associated to "refresh" and "restart" effects and is suggested to enhance a wake-up after a calm situation. In this exploratory study, these claims are investigated using Electroencephalographic (EEG), Skin Conductance (SC) and pupil diameter data. The results confirmed the "wake-up effect" for subjects wearing the lenses, as measured by Global Field Power (GFP) in Theta Band, Skin Conductance Response (SCR) and pupil diameter data.

Over the past few years, many studies have shown how territoriality can be considered a driver for purchasing agri-food products. Products with certification of origin are perceived as more sustainable, safer and of better quality. At the same time, producers of traditional products often belong to small entities that struggle to compete with large multinational food corporations, having less budget to allocate to product promotion. In this study, we propose a neuromarketing approach, showing how the use of these techniques can help in choosing the most effective commercial in terms of likeability and ability to activate mnemonic processes. Two commercials were filmed for the purpose of this study. They differed from each other in terms of emotional sequence. The first aimed primarily at eliciting positive emotions derived from the product description. The second aimed to generate negative emotions during the early stages, highlighting the negative consequences of humans’ loss of contact with nature and tradition and then eliciting positive emotions by presenting cheese production using traditional techniques as a solution to the problem. Based on the literature on the emotional sequences in social advertising, we hypothesised that the second commercial would generate an overall better emotional reaction and activate mnemonic processes to a greater extent. Our results partially support the research hypotheses, providing useful insights both to marketers and for future research on the topic.

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