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This study, one of the first cross-national and cross-professional approaches, maps Artificial Intelligence (AI) adoption and perceptions through a survey of 797 professionals in eight countries (Spain, Italy, France, Portugal, Netherlands, Germany, Norway, and Denmark) spanning six fields including journalism, marketing, audiovisual, public relations, graphic design, and communication education. Experimentation is widespread (88%), yet workflow integration remains uneven. Adoption is strongest among younger professionals, and sectoral differences are detected: marketing reports higher adoption, whereas journalists and educators report the lowest usage. ChatGPT dominates (77%), followed by Canva (38%), and DALL·E and MidJourney (27%). Frequency of use lag behind positive attitudes. National patterns also diverge, reflecting cultural, regulatory, and market factors. Results draw on SCOT, Rogers' diffusion, and Bozdag's AImosis to frame sociotechnical adoption of AI as a negotiation. We offer a baseline of AI practices in European communication professions and identify key priorities in policy.
(2026) Contreras-Espinosa, Ruth S.
; Salvador Mata, Bertran
; Arciniega Cáceres, Mittzy
; Scolari, Carlos Alberto, 1963-This Master’s thesis focuses on redesigning DragonIce, a full-body MR, Mixed Reality, experience originally developed by the FuBIntLab to study Interpersonal Synchony, IPS, among groups of four children, with the purpose of fostering prosocial behaviors in children on and outside of the spectrum. Its design is grounded in theories of embodied interaction, which emphasize the role of physical movements and the role of the environment in shaping cognitive processes. While promising results were achieved in previous studies, several usability challenges were also encountered. Additionally, the asynchronous version of DragonIce unexpectedly fostered high levels of synchrony, contrary to its intended purpose. To address these challenges, this thesis proposes a redesign of DragonIce, focusing on three key areas: the improvement of the visual feedback to better guide user interaction; the introduction of a handheld interactive object to better to separate navigation and interaction; and adjustments in the pacing of the asynchronous version to better differentiate between versions. When combined, these design changes aim to refine the interaction design and improve the perception of synchrony in the synchronous version while reducing it in the asynchronous one. To evaluate the effectiveness of the proposed design improvements, two experimental phases were conducted. An initial iterative testing phase to analyse the effects of each modification, and a final user trial phase to evaluate the differences between the final versions of the synchronous and asynchronous modes. The findings in the iterative testing helped refine the redesign of DragonIce for the final experiment. The results of these final user trials showed that both behavioural and perceived synchrony significantly increased in the synchronous mode compared to the asynchronous one, confirming the effectiveness of the redesigned interaction. The findings aim to inform future MR systems that use embodied interaction to foster IPS and highlight the potential of the use of MR systems in this field.
(2025) González Mateo, BelénPulmonary hypertension (PH) is a frequent complication of chronic lung disease (CLD). However, PH is difficult to diagnose early since accompanying symptoms overlap and are similar to those of the underlying CLD. In most cases the PH is mild to moderate and therefore physical signs may be absent or subtle. This consensus paper provides insight into the clues that might suggest the presence of occult PH in patients with CLD. An overview of current diagnostic tools and emerging diagnostic technologies is provided as well as guidance for the work-up and diagnosis of PH in patients with CLD.
(2024) Vitulo, Patrizio; Piccari, Lucilla; Wort, Stephen John; Shlobin, Oksana A.; Kovacs, Gabor; Vizza, Carmine Dario; Hassoun, Paul; Olschewski, Horst; Girgis, Reda E.; Nikkho, Sylvia M.; Nathan, Steven D.Dry eye disease (DED) is characterized by a dysfunctional tear film in which the corneal epithelium and its abundant nerves are affected by ocular desiccation and inflammation. Although adaptive immunity and specifically CD4+ T cells play a role in DED pathogenesis, the exact contribution of these cells to corneal epithelial and neural damage remains undetermined. To address this, we explored the progression of a surgical DED model in wild-type (WT) and T cell-deficient mice. We observed that adaptive immune-deficient mice developed all aspects of DED comparably to WT mice except for the absence of functional and morphological corneal nerve changes, nerve damage-associated transcriptomic signature in the trigeminal ganglia, and sustained tear cytokine levels. Adoptive transfer of CD4+ T cells from WT DED mice to T cell-deficient mice reproduced corneal nerve damage but not epitheliopathy. Conversely, T cell-deficient mice reconstituted solely with naïve CD4+ T cells developed corneal nerve impairment and epitheliopathy upon DED induction, thus replicating the WT DED phenotype. Collectively, our data show that while corneal neuropathy is driven by CD4+ T cells in DED, corneal epithelial damage develops independently of the adaptive immune response. These findings have implications for T cell-targeting therapies currently in use for DED.
(2024) Vereertbrugghen, Alexia; Pizzano, Manuela; Cernutto, Agostina; Sabbione, Florencia; Keitelman, Irene A.; Aguilar, Douglas Vera; Podhorzer, Ariel; Fuentes, Federico; Corral-Vázquez, Celia; Guzmán, Mauricio; Giordano, Mirta N.; Trevani, Analía; Paiva, Cintia S. de; Galletti, Jeremías G.Background Suicide constitutes a major health concern worldwide, being a significant contributor of death, globally. The diagnosis of a mental disorder has been extensively linked to the varying forms of suicidal ideation and behaviour. The aim of our study was to identify the varying diagnostic profiles in a sample of suicide attempters. Methods A sample of 683 adults (71.3% females, 40.10 ± 15.74 years) admitted at a hospital emergency department due to a suicide attempt was recruited. Latent class analysis was used to identify diagnostic profiles and logistic regression to study the relationship between comorbidity profile membership and sociodemographic and clinical variables. Results Two comorbidity profiles were identified (Class I: low comorbidity class, 71.3% of attempters; Class II: high comorbidity class, 28.7% of attempters). Class I members were featured by the diagnosis of depression and general anxiety disorder, and low comorbidity; by contrast, the high comorbidity profile was characterized by a higher probability of presenting two or more coexisting psychiatric disorders. Class II included more females, younger, with more depressive symptoms and with higher impulsivity levels. Moreover, Class II members showed more severe suicidal ideation, higher number of suicide behaviours and a greater number of previous suicide attempts (p < .01, for all the outcomes), compared to Class I members. Conclusions Psychiatric profiles may be considered for treatment provision and personalized psychiatric treatment in suicidal attempters as well as tackle suicide risk.
(2024) Sánchez-Carro, Yolanda; Elices, Matilde; Pérez Solá, Victor; SURVIVE Consortium