bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Persistent polarization effects and memory properties in ionic-liquid gated InAs nanowire transistors
Authors: Demontis Valeria , Prete Domenic , Faella Enver , Giubileo Filippo , Zannier Valentina , Durante Ofelia , Sorba Lucia , Di Bartolomeo Antonio , Rossella Francesco
Published: July 2024

Iontronics exploits mobile ions within electrolytes to control the electronic properties of materials and devices' electrical and optical response. In this frame, ionic liquids are widely exploited for the gating of semiconducting nanostructure devices, offering superior performance compared to conventional dielectric gating. In this work, we engineer ionic liquid gated InAs nanowire-based field effect transistors and adopt the set-and-freeze dual gate device operation to probe the nanowires in several ionic gate regimes. We exploit standard back-gating at 150 K, when the ionic liquid is frozen and any crosstalk between the ionic gate and the back gate is ruled out. We demonstrate that the liquid gate polarization has a persistent effect on the nanowire properties. This effect can be conveniently exploited to fine-tune the properties of the nanowires and enable new device functionalities. Specifically, we correlate the modification of the ionic environment around the nanowire to the transistor threshold voltage and hysteresis, on/off ratio and current level retention times. Based on this, we demonstrate memory operations of the nanowire field effect transistors. Our work shines a new light on the interaction between electrolytes and semiconducting nanostructures, providing useful insights for future applications of nanodevice iontronics.
All-set-homogeneous spaces
Authors: Lebedeva N. , Petrunin A.
Published: July 2024

A metric space is said to be all-set-homogeneous if any isometry between its subsets can be extended to an isometry of the whole space. A classification of a certain subclass of all-set-homogeneous length spaces is given.
The Building Blocks of Thought
Authors: Laurence Stephen , Margolis Eric
Published: July 2024

The human mind is capable of entertaining an astounding range of thoughts. These thoughts are composed of concepts or ideas, which are the building blocks of thoughts. This book is about where all of these concepts come from and the psychological structures that ultimately account for their acquisition. We argue that the debate over the origins of concepts, known as the rationalism-empiricism debate, has been widely misunderstood—not just by its critics but also by researchers who have been active participants in the debate. Part I fundamentally rethinks the foundations of the debate. Part II defends a rationalist view of the origins of concepts according to which many concepts across many conceptual domains are either innate or acquired via rationalist learning mechanisms. Our case is built around seven distinct arguments, which together form a large-scale inference to the best explanation argument for our account. Part III then defends this account against the most important empiricist objections and alternatives. Finally, Part IV argues against an extreme but highly influential rationalist view—Jerry Fodor’s infamous view that it is impossible to learn new concepts and his related radical concept nativism, which holds that essentially all lexical concepts are innate. Throughout the book, our discussion blends philosophical and theoretical reflection with consideration of a broad range of empirical work drawn from many different disciplines studying the mind, providing a thorough update to the rationalism-empiricism debate in philosophy and cognitive science and a major new rationalist account of the origins of concepts.
Introduction
Authors: Laurence Stephen , Margolis Eric
Published: July 2024

This chapter provides an introduction to the book as a whole. It contextualizes the contemporary rationalism-empiricism debate about the origins of concepts, tracing it back to Noam Chomsky’s seminal work in the 1960s and 1970s, which drew an explicit link between twentieth-century linguistics and the historical philosophical debate about innate ideas, particularly in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. The chapter illustrates how the wealth of empirical data that is now available through research in cognitive science has transformed the debate. At the same time, it makes clear that this doesn’t mean that the philosophical debate has now simply been reduced to a straightforward empirical question. Bringing this wealth of empirical data to bear on the debate requires addressing a broad range of philosophical and theoretical questions, some old and some new.
What the Rationalism-Empiricism Debate Is Really About
Authors: Laurence Stephen , Margolis Eric
Published: July 2024

While Chapter 1 provided a sketch of the basic outlines of the rationalism-empiricism debate, this chapter presents a fully developed account of how we understand the debate, comprehensively rethinking the theoretical foundations of the debate. Many commonly held views of what the debate is about are deeply flawed, while others, which may be closer to ours, aren’t spelled out in enough detail to meaningfully address the concerns that critics of the debate have raised or to do justice to the many factors that organize the space of options within this debate. This chapter develops an account of the debate that overcomes these limitations, introduces key terminology that we rely on in later chapters, and clarifies a number of key theorical notions that are at play in the debate (such as domain specificity and domain generality).
Why the Rationalism-Empiricism Debate Isn’t the Nature-Nurture Debate
Authors: Laurence Stephen , Margolis Eric
Published: July 2024

The rationalism-empiricism debate about the origins of psychological traits is often taken to be the same as the nature-nurture debate, where nature is understood in terms of genes and nurture in terms of the environment. Critics of the debate who interpret it in this way also often conclude that the debate should be abandoned, holding that the nature-nurture debate is deeply problematic. This chapter argues that the failings of the nature-nurture debate are real enough but that they don’t undermine the rationalism-empiricism debate because the rationalism-empiricism debate is not a debate about nature and nurture. Rather, as argued in Chapter 2, it should be understood as a debate about the unlearned psychological structures that ultimately account for the origins of all other psychological traits.
Abstraction and the Allure of Illusory Explanation
Authors: Laurence Stephen , Margolis Eric
Published: July 2024

This chapter addresses a source of resistance to rationalist accounts that often goes unnoticed: what we call the allure of illusory explanations. We illustrate how this allure affected much twentieth-century philosophy, and how it continues to have an impact today, before turning to a detailed case study involving one of the most influential ideas about conceptual development in empiricist thought—its reliance on a process of abstraction. Locke held that abstraction explains the origins of all general representation. We show that it can’t, and that the failure to see this is because of the allure of illusory explanations. In addition, we step back from the main line of argument in Part IV to consider what a revised account of the process of abstraction might look like. We show that such a process isn’t uniquely suited to empiricist theorizing; it’s fully compatible with different types of rationalist approaches as well.
Conclusion to Part I
Authors: Laurence Stephen , Margolis Eric
Published: July 2024

This chapter provides a brief conclusion to Part IV of the book, highlighting some of the important themes in Chapters 2–6. Taken as a whole, Part IV comprehensively rethinks the rationalism-empiricism debate about the origins of psychological traits, presenting our account of what the debate is about and clarifying key terms and distinctions in the debate. It also distinguishes our account from a number of widely held competing accounts of the debate—especially the view that it’s about the relative contributions of nature (genes) and nurture (environment)—which we argue are unproductive intellectual dead ends. This lays the foundation for the remainder of the book, establishing a theoretical framework for us to advance our positive case for concept nativism (in Part II) and to defend our account against empiricist alternatives (Part III) and against Fodor’s radical concept nativism and his infamous argument that concept learning is impossible (Part IV).
The Argument from Early Development (2)
Authors: Laurence Stephen , Margolis Eric
Published: July 2024

This chapter continues our discussion from Chapter 8 of the argument from early development—the first of our seven arguments for concept nativism—by turning to how the argument applies in cases where evidence for a psychological trait being present at birth is not available. As in Chapter 8, our discussion has a dual focus. It aims both to clarify the logic of the argument from early development and to use this argument to continue building the case for our version of concept nativism. To broaden the set of conceptual domains where we argue for concept nativism, Chapter 9 covers a different selection of case studies, with our primary examples concerning the origins of the concept of belief (including an understanding of false belief) and concepts related to an understanding of language and communication.
Artificial Neural Networks
Authors: Laurence Stephen , Margolis Eric
Published: July 2024

Research using artificial neural networks and deep learning techniques are often thought to argue for an empiricist approach to concept acquisition. This chapter shows that there is nothing inherent to this type of modelling that aligns it more with empiricism than rationalism. Moreover, given the powerful evidence for a broad range of concepts being innate or acquired via some form of rationalist learning mechanism, the most plausible path forward for artificial networks to model human concept acquisition is one in which they incorporate a suite of rationalist elements. The main case studies discussed focus on representations of animals and plants.
Neuroconstructivism
Authors: Laurence Stephen , Margolis Eric
Published: July 2024

This chapter focuses on neuroconstructivism, an important and influential type of empiricist account which holds that a key feature of cognitive systems that is typically associated with rationalism—domain specificity—isn’t part of the innate structure of the mind but instead arises as a product of domain-general psychological development. The chapter examines Annette Karmiloff-Smith’s important and influential version of neuroconstructivism and her view that rationalists are wrong to postulate any innate domain-specific psychological mechanisms. An important feature of Karmiloff-Smith’s position is that she holds that the case for neuoconstructivism specifically undermines rationalist arguments that rely on evidence pertaining to Williams syndrome, autism spectrum disorder, or other cases involving neuro-atypical cognition. We argue that Karmiloff-Smith’s arguments fail and that patterns in neuro-atypical cognition can indeed be used as evidence for innate domain-specific mechanisms.
Perceptual Meaning Analysis
Authors: Laurence Stephen , Margolis Eric
Published: July 2024

This chapter examines an important and influential form of empiricism championed by the psychologist Jean Mandler. Mandler’s account of the origins of concepts is a paradigmatic example of a more moderate empiricist approach to conceptual development in that it allows for more innate psychological structure than many other empiricist accounts. It postulates a limited number of innate spatial concepts, holding that children’s earliest learned concepts are restricted to spatial content. We argue that Mandler’s account has a number of shortcomings that show why there must be a far richer innate basis for conceptual development. In developing our critique, we focus on one of Mandler’s best worked out examples, which is concerned with the origins of the concept of a goal. Our argument that Mandler’s moderate empiricist account fails because it is not rationalist enough strongly suggests that any less moderate form of empiricism is bound to fail as well.
Embodied Cognition
Authors: Laurence Stephen , Margolis Eric
Published: July 2024

This chapter examines the view that embodied cognition undermines rationalist approaches to the origins of concepts, focusing on three different strands in embodied cognition research: the view that concept acquisition varies with a learner’s body type, that human action can often be explained without postulating rich internal representations and representational processes, and that concepts are realized in sensorimotor and affective systems and shouldn’t be understood as amodal representations. We argue that it is important not to overestimate the role that the body plays in shaping cognition. Just as importantly, we show that the core idea behind embodied cognition is not only compatible with concept nativism but greatly improved when developed in the context of an overall rationalist framework. These points are illustrated with examples involving the representation of physical objects, emotions, physical formidability, tools, and actions involving the human hand.
Introduction
Authors: Lye Suzanne
Published: July 2024

This chapter offers an introduction to ancient Greek Underworld scenes and the contexts in which they appear. It presents the book’s approach and argument that Underworld scenes use a type of intertextuality called hypertextual poetics to embed authorial commentary by providing additional, necessary information to both characters and audiences. For example, an author might place a reference to Sisyphus or the Isles of the Blessed to introduce the ideas of afterlife judgment, cosmic justice, and rewards after death for special individuals. Additionally, this chapter discusses the role of audiences and their power as collaborators with the author in interpreting Underworld scenes and their relationships to other narratives. Finally, this chapter gives short summaries of the arguments and case studies discussed in the rest of the book.
The Synoptic Underworld
Authors: Lye Suzanne
Published: July 2024

Chapter 1 examines the earliest Greek Underworld scenes and defines the key terms of the book, such as hypertextuality, intertextuality, chronotope, hypertextual poetics, and para-narrative. This chapter also introduces the theoretical frameworks underlying the methodology of this book, arguing that Underworld scenes are embedded narratives that function similarly in different literary and artistic contexts by relying on intertextual connections to other Underworld scenes. After giving an overview of the types of Underworld scenes, their common motifs, their ubiquity across genres, and the different strategies scholars have used to explain them, this chapter ends with a discussion about how authors use Underworld scenes to engage with audiences as partners in reinforcing and challenging beliefs related to ancient religion, heroism, death, and humanity.
Afterlife Poetics and Homer’s Heroic Underworlds
Authors: Lye Suzanne
Published: July 2024

Chapter 2 analyzes heroic Underworld scenes in the Homeric epics, which portray heroes and their afterlives. By exploring the inner workings of heroic Underworld scenes and how they relate to each other, this chapter reveals interconnections between the many Homeric afterlife narratives in the Iliad and Odyssey. The analysis also offers new insights into how epic poetry engages with their immediate contexts and audiences over time. Underworld scenes in the Homeric epics give the earliest indication of how authors used Underworlds to build intertextual networks with traditional myths and religious beliefs. These scenes also show how individual authors situated their stories in a larger discourse across works in order to define the value of heroes and heroism in epic poetry and early Greek culture more broadly.
Becoming Blessed and Underworlds of Judgment
Authors: Lye Suzanne
Published: July 2024

Chapter 3 traces the development of Underworld scenes in the late Archaic period featuring afterlife judgment. The Theogony and Works and Days by Hesiod and the Homeric Hymn to Demeter each portray the Underworld as having a physical and moral space with souls segregated into different geographic regions based on the concept of “blessedness.” Such Underworld scenes are often prescriptive and didactic, trying to influence how their audiences act during life by giving specific instructions and showing different outcomes for souls after death. Underworld scenes of judgment emphasize the role of supernatural judges and often feature special mortals, such as Tantalus, Sisyphus, and the heroes either living on the Isles of the Blessed or receiving afterlife favors through initiation into mystery cults like the Eleusinian Mysteries. This chapter shows how Underworld scenes of judgment shift religious beliefs, reinforce cultural norms, and reflect ongoing debates about the eschatological impact of one’s actions.
Crafting Heroic Blessedness through Underworld Scenes
Authors: Lye Suzanne
Published: July 2024

Chapter 4 examines the use of Underworld scenes to promote the increasingly dominant vision of a sentient afterlife with persistent identity and status across the life–death barrier. Early fifth-century bce poetry begins to privilege Underworld scenes with a tripartite hierarchy based on the idea of “blessedness.” In this view, a “negative” afterlife no longer meant one lacking awareness but rather one of punishment, while a “positive” afterlife held promises of reward with a special section reserved for heroes. This chapter explores how epinician poetry and mystery cults use Underworld scenes and different terms for “blessed” (e.g., olbios/makar) to heroize patrons and initiates, respectively. By using initiation and excellence in aristocratic competition or patronage as the criteria for access to a blessed afterlife, Underworld scenes in Pindar, Bacchylides, and the Orphic Gold Tablets reject the egalitarian afterlife of Homer’s Nekuia and begin to make heroic kleos and afterlife rewards accessible to regular individuals.
Plato’s Underworlds
Authors: Lye Suzanne
Published: July 2024

Chapter 6 examines Plato’s resistance to democratizing trends in afterlife depictions. This chapter argues that Plato uses Underworld scenes’ inherent hypertextual poetics to redefine heroism, arete, kleos, and blessedness. By evoking and reframing familiar Underworld scenes from Homer, Hesiod, and others, Plato establishes a new hierarchy of heroic blessedness based on an individual’s practice of philosophy rather than religious initiation or deeds in war. Plato, like authors before him, treats Underworld scenes as a site to engage in commentary on his society, using them as a special register of communication to illustrate and amplify his dialectic arguments in the Apology, Gorgias, Phaedo, and Republic. Plato creates a variety of Underworld scenes that contradict each other in their theological grounding but share the common purpose of promoting a philosophical lifestyle as the surest path toward afterlife blessedness.
Overview
Authors: Delgado Melvin
Published: July 2024

For repurposing to be salient as a major national movement, we must counter the human fascination with replacing the old with the new, as if there is an inherent value in this action. Repurposing may be a concept readers are well familiar with and integral to their daily life. Repurposing as a strategy, versus tearing down, may not be viewed as a practical choice, as in the case of Hitler’s birthplace in Braunau, Austria, for example. In 2023, this “house of evil,” after multiple decades of debate, was to be repurposed into a police station, causing a negative response from those wishing to keep it as is or to have it house social service programming. It is fair to say that most of us will not be confronted with this type of decision-making. Repurposing church buildings is not a recent phenomenon. Indeed, most Catholic churches in Rome, Italy, were the result of repurposing ancient Roman buildings. What goes around comes around!
Boston Case Illustration
Authors: Delgado Melvin
Published: July 2024

Case studies and illustrations help bring abstract concepts to life in a manner that is more easily grasped, allowing readers to apply key concepts to a real-life situation. A good case illustration supplies concrete examples in a narrative and more digestible form to enhance readability, allowing readers to absorb key points or lessons learned and making it more likely that they will be carried out in practice, which is the bottom line in a practice-oriented book. Further, when a case illustration is based upon a well-known city or community, it allows readers to bring their prior knowledge of the site to their appreciation of the key points raised in an illustration. The case illustration provided in this chapter involves the repurposing of the Blessed Sacrament Church in the Jamaica Plain section of Boston. It was undertaken by an urban practitioner (a social worker), and the project is still under way as this book goes to press. Readers with a particular interest in this repurposing project can follow along to see its ultimate outcome, including detours along the way.
Social Forces Shaping Church Closing Trends
Authors: Delgado Melvin
Published: July 2024

We must have a comprehensive grasp of urban church closings before embarking on repurposing interventions, as illustrated in the previous chapter. We need an in-depth knowledge foundation and concrete examples of these special buildings because of their complexities and symbolism in society. Capturing the extent of destruction of a moving tornado is certainly challenging, but that is what this book is trying to achieve. Grasping this urban environmental movement cannot be done in isolation from other ecological facets of the topic operative within and outside the United States, or from just a Snapchat moment in time. This chapter offers a multifaceted view of church closure trends and the major social forces shaping them, highlighting its broad national reach and implications for congregations and their communities. Church closures reshape major segments of the religious community and cities in the process. They leave remnants of a bygone era when religion reigned supreme and its buildings served as testimony of their power and influence locally and nationally, as in the case of the civil rights movement, for instance.
Implications for Research, Education, and Practice
Authors: Delgado Melvin
Published: July 2024

There is no question that urban community practice and church repurposing will necessitate dramatic changes in how we conduct research, practice, and educate future practitioners. All these aspects are required to bring a change in thinking when discussing church repurposing. The issues and recommendations raised in this final chapter represent but an initial start in this important transformative process. Church closures bring unprecedented rewards and challenges for the United States and particularly it’s urban centers.
Multimorbidity clusters potentially superior to individual diseases for stratifying fracture risk in older people: a nationwide cohort study
Authors: Tran Thach , Bliuc Dana , Abrahamsen Bo , Chen Weiwen , Eisman John A , Hansen Louise , Vestergaard Peter , Nguyen Tuan V , Blank Robert D , Center Jacqueline R
Published: July 2024

Rationale

Comorbidities are common in fracture patients, but the interaction between fracture and comorbidities remains unclear. This study aimed to define specific multimorbidity clusters in older adults and quantify the association between the multimorbidity clusters and fracture risk.

Methods

This nationwide cohort study includes 1.7 million adults in Denmark aged ≥50 years who were followed from 2001 through 2014 for an incident low-trauma fracture. Chronic diseases and fractures were identified from the Danish National Hospital Discharge Register. Latent class analysis and Cox’s regression were conducted to define the clusters and quantify fracture risk, respectively.

Results

The study included 793 815 men (age: 64 ± 10) and 873 524 women (65.5 ± 11), with a third having ≥1 chronic disease. The pre-existent chronic diseases grouped individuals into low-multimorbidity (80.3% in men, 83.6% in women), cardiovascular (12.5%, 10.6%), malignant (4.1%, 3.8%), diabetic (2.4%, 2.0%) and hepatic clusters (0.7%, men only). These clusters distinguished individuals with advanced, complex, or late-stage disease from those having earlier-stage disease. During a median follow-up of 14 years (IQR: 6.5, 14), 95 372 men and 212 498 women sustained an incident fracture. The presence of multimorbidity was associated with a significantly greater risk of fracture, independent of age and sex. Importantly, the multimorbidity clusters had the highest discriminative performance in assessing fracture risk, whereas the strength of their association with fracture risk equalled or exceeded that of both the individual chronic diseases most prevalent in each cluster and of counts-based comorbidity indices.

Conclusions

Future fracture prevention strategies should take comorbidities into account. Multimorbidity clusters may provide greater insight into fracture risk than individual diseases or counts-based comorbidity indices.
Pappus phenotypes and flight performance across evolutionary history in the daisy family
Authors: Costas Santiago M , Baranzelli Matías C , Giaquinta Adrián , Cocucci Andrea A
Published: July 2024

Background and Aims

Diversity in pappus shapes and size in Asteraceae suggests an adaptive response to dispersion challenges adjusting diaspores to optimal phenotypic configurations. Here, by analysing the relationship among pappus–cypsela size relationships, flight performance and pappus types in an evolutionary context, we evaluate the role of natural selection acting on the evolution of diaspore configuration at a macro-ecological scale in the daisy family.

Methods

To link pappus–cypsela size relationships with flight performance we collected published data on these traits from 82 species. This allowed us to translate morphometric traits in flight performance for 150 species represented in a fully resolved backbone phylogeny of the daisy family. Through ancestral reconstructions and evolutionary model selection, we assessed whether flight performance was associated with and constrained by different pappus types. Additionally, we evaluated, through phylogenetic regressions, whether species with different pappus types exhibited evolutionary allometric pappus–cypsela size relationships.

Results

The setose pappus type had the highest flight performances and represented the most probable ancestral state in the family. Stepwise changes in pappus types independently led from setose to multiple instances of pappus loss with associated reduction in flight performance. Flight performance evolution was best modelled as constrained by five adaptive regimes represented by specific pappus types which correspond to specific optimal diaspore configurations that are distinct in pappus–cypsela allometric relationships.

Conclusions

Evolutionary modelling suggests natural selection as the main factor of diaspore configuration changes which proceeded towards five optima, often overcoming constraints imposed by allometric relationships and favouring evolution in certain directions. With the perspective that natural selection is the main process driving the observed patterns, various biotic and abiotic are suggested as principal drivers of transitions in diaspore configurations along space and time in the daisy family history. The results also allow discussion of evolutionary changes in a historical context.
Promoting inclusivity in ecology, evolution, and behavioral biology education through course-based undergraduate research experiences
Authors: Funkhouser Jake A , Gregory Megan , Sanz Crickette
Published: July 2024

Access to independent research experiences is a persistent barrier that stifles the recruitment and retention of students from diverse backgrounds in ecology, evolution, and behavioral biology. The benefits of field experiences are not equitably available to historically excluded and minoritized students. In this article, we summarize evidence that indicates course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs) provide a solution to ensure equitable access to independent research experiences in the life sciences. We draw from our own experiences of teaching CUREs in ecology, evolution, and behavioral biology and provide the complete curriculum for our effective and largely materials-free CURE in behavioral ecology (CURE-BxEco). We advocate for greater access to and synthesize the benefits of CUREs to promote inclusivity in education. The proliferation of such innovative pedagogical practices benefits science because these classroom methods are critical in recruiting and retaining historically excluded and minoritized students, who offer diverse perspectives in research.
Incorporating prior information in gene expression network-based cancer heterogeneity analysis
Authors: Li Rong , Xu Shaodong , Li Yang , Tang Zuojian , Feng Di , Cai James , Ma Shuangge
Published: July 2024

Cancer is molecularly heterogeneous, with seemingly similar patients having different molecular landscapes and accordingly different clinical behaviors. In recent studies, gene expression networks have been shown as more effective/informative for cancer heterogeneity analysis than some simpler measures. Gene interconnections can be classified as “direct” and “indirect,” where the latter can be caused by shared genomic regulators (such as transcription factors, microRNAs, and other regulatory molecules) and other mechanisms. It has been suggested that incorporating the regulators of gene expressions in network analysis and focusing on the direct interconnections can lead to a deeper understanding of the more essential gene interconnections. Such analysis can be seriously challenged by the large number of parameters (jointly caused by network analysis, incorporation of regulators, and heterogeneity) and often weak signals. To effectively tackle this problem, we propose incorporating prior information contained in the published literature. A key challenge is that such prior information can be partial or even wrong. We develop a two-step procedure that can flexibly accommodate different levels of prior information quality. Simulation demonstrates the effectiveness of the proposed approach and its superiority over relevant competitors. In the analysis of a breast cancer dataset, findings different from the alternatives are made, and the identified sample subgroups have important clinical differences.
Remote ischaemic preconditioning on gene expression and circulating proteins after subacute laparoscopic cholecystectomy: randomized clinical trial
Authors: Wahlstrøm Kirsten L , Balsevicius Lukas , Hansen Hannah F , Kvist Madeline , Burcharth Jakob , Skovsted Gry , Lykkesfeldt Jens , Gögenur Ismail , Ekeloef Sarah
Published: July 2024

Background

Surgical stress may lead to postsurgical hypercoagulability, endothelial dysfunction and systemic inflammation, which can impact on patient recovery. Remote ischaemic preconditioning is a procedure that activates the body's endogenous defences against ischaemia and reperfusion injury. Studies have suggested that remote ischaemic preconditioning has antithrombotic, antioxidative and anti-inflammatory effects. The hypothesis was that remote ischaemic preconditioning reduces surgery-induced systemic stress response.

Method

During a 24-month period (2019–2021), adult patients undergoing subacute laparoscopic cholecystectomy due to acute cholecystitis were randomized to remote ischaemic preconditioning or control. Remote ischaemic preconditioning was performed less than 4 h before surgery on the upper arm. It consisted of four cycles of 5 min ischaemia and 5 min reperfusion. The gene expression of 750 genes involved in inflammatory processes, oxidative stress and endothelial function was investigated preoperatively and 2–4 h after surgery in both groups. In addition, changes in 20 inflammation- and vascular trauma–associated proteins were assessed preoperatively, 2–4 h after surgery and 24 h after surgery.

Results

A total of 60 patients were randomized. There were no statistically significant differences in gene expression 2–4 h after surgery between the groups (P > 0.05). Remote ischaemic preconditioning did not affect concentrations of circulating proteins up to 24 h after surgery (P > 0.05).

Conclusion

The study did not demonstrate any effect of remote ischaemic preconditioning on expression levels of the chosen genes or in circulating immunological cytokines and vascular trauma–associated proteins up to 24 h after subacute laparoscopic cholecystectomy in patients with acute cholecystitis.
A comprehensive study on aberrant CD20+ mycosis fungoides: clinical and prognostic insights
Authors: Şanlı Hatice , Yıldızhan İncilay , Alızada Merve , Aydemir Ahmet Taha , Heper Aylin Okçu , Kırmızı Ayça , Akay Bengu Nisa
Published: July 2024

Background

As the majority of T-cell lymphomas lack CD20 expression, cases of mycosis fungoides (MF) exhibiting aberrant CD20 expression are exceedingly uncommon.

Objectives

To comprehensively evaluate the clinical, histopathological and prognostic features of seven patients diagnosed with CD20+ MF.

Methods

This retrospective study involved seven cases of MF with aberrant CD20 expression. The study provides details of demographics, clinical features, histopathology and treatment outcomes. Key timepoints include initial diagnosis of MF, detection of CD20 expression and follow-up, with a mean follow-up of 46 months.

Results

Aberrant CD20+ MF was diagnosed at an average age of 58.6 years, approximately 5.6 years after the first MF diagnosis. Following CD20 detection, patients presented with advanced disease stages, requiring treatments such as chemotherapy, brentuximab vedotin and allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. Four patients died from lymphoma, with an average survival time of 52 months.

Conclusions

Aberrant CD20 expression in MF is rare but indicates a progressive course associated with poor prognosis. This often requires systemic chemotherapy and, in certain instances, allogeneic haematopoietic stem cell transplantation. This study provides important insights into the clinical attributes, disease progression and treatment options for patients with MF with aberrant CD20 expression. Further research is necessary to validate the effectiveness of emerging therapies and enhance our understanding of the underlying mechanisms and prognostic determinants specific to this unique MF subgroup.
Contribution of the lateral occipital and parahippocampal cortices to pattern separation of objects and contexts
Authors: Bencze Dorottya , Marián Miklós , Szőllősi Ágnes , Pajkossy Péter , Nemecz Zsuzsanna , Keresztes Attila , Hermann Petra , Vidnyánszky Zoltán , Racsmány Mihály
Published: July 2024

Contextual features are integral to episodic memories; yet, we know little about context effects on pattern separation, a hippocampal function promoting orthogonalization of overlapping memory representations. Recent studies suggested that various extrahippocampal brain regions support pattern separation; however, the specific role of the parahippocampal cortex—a region involved in context representation—in pattern separation has not yet been studied. Here, we investigated the contribution of the parahippocampal cortex (specifically, the parahippocampal place area) to context reinstatement effects on mnemonic discrimination, using functional magnetic resonance imaging. During scanning, participants saw object images on unique context scenes, followed by a recognition task involving the repetitions of encoded objects or visually similar lures on either their original context or a lure context. Context reinstatement at retrieval improved item recognition but hindered mnemonic discrimination. Crucially, our region of interest analyses of the parahippocampal place area and an object-selective visual area, the lateral occipital cortex indicated that while during successful mnemonic decisions parahippocampal place area activity decreased for old contexts compared to lure contexts irrespective of object novelty, lateral occipital cortex activity differentiated between old and lure objects exclusively. These results imply that pattern separation of contextual and item-specific memory features may be differentially aided by scene and object-selective cortical areas.
Boolean map and object reconcile as the unit of visual working memory
Authors: Zhu Ping , Qiu Yiheng , Shen Mowei , Huang Liqiang , Chen Hui
Published: July 2024

The unit of visual working memory is a fundamental issue under debate in the fields of cognitive psychology and neuroscience, with some traditional research suggesting that it is an object, while other recent studies demonstrating that a Boolean map offers a better account. The controversy surrounding the unit of visual working memory often centers on the representation of objects consist of same dimensional features (e.g. bicolor objects). For 2 colors in a bicolor object, some behavioral studies have suggested that they need to be represented by separate units, while some other studies using electrophysiological measures have found that they can be represented within a single unit. This apparent conflict hints that Boolean map and object may reconcile as the unit of visual working memory. Adopting the contralateral delay activity as an electrophysiological marker of visual working memory, experiments 1 and 2 consistently found that the contralateral delay activity amplitude for memorizing bicolor circles at P7/P8 conformed the Boolean map-based storage throughout the whole maintenance, while the contralateral delay activity amplitude at P3/P4 just conformed the object-based storage during the early period. It suggests though Boolean map got stronger supporting evidence than object, they 2 may coexist as the unit of visual working memory.
The associations of peripheral interleukin alterations and hippocampal subfield volume deficits in schizophrenia
Authors: Sun Yuan , Wu Dongsheng , Yang Xiyue , Tang Biqiu , Xia Chao , Luo Chunyan , Gong Qiyong , Lui Su , Hu Na
Published: July 2024

The hippocampus is one of the brain regions most vulnerable to inflammatory insults, and the relationships between peripheral inflammation and hippocampal subfields in patients with schizophrenia remain unclear. In this study, forty-six stably medicated patients with schizophrenia and 48 demographically matched healthy controls (HCs) were recruited. The serum levels of IL − 1β, IL-6, IL-10, and IL-12p70 were measured, and 3D high-resolution T1-weighted magnetic resonance imaging was performed. The IL levels and hippocampal subfield volumes were both compared between patients and HCs. The associations of altered IL levels with hippocampal subfield volumes were assessed in patients. Patients with schizophrenia demonstrated higher serum levels of IL-6 and IL-10 but lower levels of IL-12p70 than HCs. In patients, the levels of IL-6 were positively correlated with the volumes of the left granule cell layer of the dentate gyrus (GCL) and cornu Ammonis (CA) 4, while the levels of IL-10 were negatively correlated with the volumes of those subfields. IL-6 and IL-10 might have antagonistic roles in atrophy of the left GCL and CA4. This suggests a complexity of peripheral cytokine dysregulation and the potential for its selective effects on hippocampal substructures, which might be related to the pathophysiology of schizophrenia.
European Study of Cerebral Aspergillosis treated with Isavuconazole (ESCAI): A study by the ESCMID Fungal Infection Study Group
Authors: Serris Alexandra , Rautemaa-Richardson Riina , Laranjinha Joana D , Candoni Anna , Garcia-Vidal Carolina , Alastruey-Izquierdo Ana , Hammarström Helena , Seidel Danila , Styczynski Jan , Sabino Raquel , Lamoth Frederic , Prattes Juergen , Warris Adilia , Porcher Raphaël , Lanternier Fanny ,   the ESCAI Study Group, Danion François , Bonhomme Julie , Couchepin Jade , Cunha Maria R , Maury Inês , Pereira Álvaro Ayres , Ceia Filipa , Lino Rita , Veríssimo Cristina
Published: July 2024

Background

Cerebral aspergillosis (CA) is associated with high mortality. According to the European Conference on Infections in Leukemia and the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases guidelines, the recommended first-line treatment for all forms of aspergillosis is voriconazole or isavuconazole. However, little is known about the efficacy and safety of isavuconazole in CA.

Methods

We conducted a European multicenter retrospective study of patients treated with isavuconazole for proven or probable CA between 2014 and 2022 and compared the outcomes with those of weighted control groups from the previously published French national cohort of CA, the Cerebral Aspergillosis Lesional Study (CEREALS).

Results

Forty patients from 10 countries were included. The main underlying conditions were hematological malignancies (53%) and solid-organ transplantation (20%). Isavuconazole was administered as a first-line treatment to 10 patients, primarily in combination therapy, resulting in control of CA in 70% of these cases. Thirty patients received isavuconazole after a median of 65 days on another therapy, mostly because of side effects (50%) or therapeutic failure (23%) of the previous treatment. Predominantly given as monotherapy, it achieved control of CA in 73% of the patients. Seventeen patients (43%) underwent neurosurgery. When measured, isavuconazole levels were low in cerebrospinal fluid but adequate in serum and brain tissue. Isavuconazole toxicity led to treatment interruption in 7.5% of the patients. Twelve-week mortality was 18%. Comparison with the CEREALS cohort showed comparable survival in patients receiving isavuconazole or voriconazole as a first-line treatment.

Conclusions

Isavuconazole appears to be a well-tolerated treatment. Mortality of CA treated with isavuconazole is similar to that reported with voriconazole.
Illicit Fentanyl Use and Hepatitis C Virus Seroconversion Among People Who Inject Drugs in Tijuana and San Diego: Results From a Binational Cohort Study
Authors: Friedman Joseph R , Abramovitz Daniela , Skaathun Britt , Rangel Gudelia , Harvey-Vera Alicia , Vera Carlos F , Artamonova Irina , Muñoz Sheryl , Martin Natasha K , Eger William H , Bailey Katie , Go Bo-Shan , Bourgois Philippe , Strathdee Steffanie A
Published: July 2024

Background

Illicitly manufactured fentanyl (IMF) increases overdose mortality, but its role in infectious disease transmission is unknown. We examined whether IMF use predicts hepatitis C virus (HCV) and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) incidence among a cohort of people who inject drugs (PWID) in San Diego, California and Tijuana, Mexico.

Methods

PWID were recruited during 2020–2022, undergoing semi-annual interviewer-administered surveys and HIV and HCV serological rapid tests through 2024. Cox regression was conducted to examine predictors of seroconversion considering self-reported IMF use as a 6-month lagged, time-dependent covariate.

Results

Of 398 PWID at baseline, 67% resided in San Diego, 70% were male, median age was 43 years, 42% reported receptive needle sharing, and 25% reported using IMF. HCV incidence was 14.26 per 100 person-years (95% confidence interval [CI]: 11.49–17.02), and HIV incidence was 1.29 (95% CI: .49–2.10). IMF was associated with HCV seroconversion, with a univariable hazard ratio (HR) of 1.64 (95% CI: 1.09–2.40), and multivariable HR of 1.57 (95% CI: 1.03–2.40). The direction of the relationship with HIV was similar, albeit not significant (HR 2.39; 95% CI: .66–8.64).

Conclusions

We document a novel association between IMF and HCV seroconversion among PWID in Tijuana–San Diego. Few HIV seroconversions (n = 10) precluded our ability to assess if a similar relationship held for HIV. IMF's short half-life may destabilize PWID—increasing the need for repeat dosing and sharing smoking materials and syringes. New preventive care approaches may reduce HCV transmission in the fentanyl era.
Digital propaganda is not simply propaganda in digital garb: toward an expanded theory of propaganda
Authors: Lin Chunfeng
Published: July 2024

Drawing on a critical review of the existing literature on computational propaganda and disinformation, and employing a three-stage process—addressing the “New Wine in Old Bottles” problem, extracting foundational concepts, and constructing a four-pillar framework—this article proposes an expanded theory of propaganda. The theory posits that digital propaganda is shaped by four key dimensions: politico-economic, sociocultural, technological, and socio-psychological, further delineated by the forces of commodification, privatization, connectivity, and virality. Broadening the analytical scope, it encompasses intricate interactions among politics, content, actors, platforms, and goals, recognizing the dynamic complexities inherent in the digital landscape. Furthermore, it sheds light on how commercial interests impact the production and dissemination of propaganda, offering insights into the propagation of popular ideologies such as patriotism and populism. This advances the understanding of digital propaganda’s pervasive impact on political discourse and societal attitudes, encouraging broader global research beyond a focus on state actors.
Sex-related differences in patients with infective endocarditis requiring cardiac surgery: insights from the CAMPAIGN Study Group
Authors: Ackermann Paula , Marin-Cuartas Mateo , Weber Carolyn , De La Cuesta Manuela , Lichtenberg Artur , Petrov Asen , Hagl Christian , Aubin Hug , Matschke Klaus , Diab Mahmoud , Luehr Maximilian , Akhyari Payam , Tugtekin Sems-Malte , Saha Shekhar , Doenst Torsten , Wahlers Thorsten , Borger Michael A , Misfeld Martin
Published: July 2024

OBJECTIVES

Sex-related differences play a role in cardiovascular disease-related outcomes. There is, however, a knowledge gap regarding sex-specific differences in patients with infective endocarditis (IE)-requiring surgical treatment. This study aims to analyse sex-related differences in the clinical presentation, treatment and clinical outcomes of patients with IE-requiring surgical treatment from the multicentric Germany-wide CAMPAIGN registry.

METHODS

Patients with IE who underwent cardiac surgery between 1994 and 2018 at six German centres were retrospectively analysed. Outcomes were compared based on patients’ sex. Primary outcomes were 30-day mortality and mid-term survival.

RESULTS

A total of 4917 patients were included in the analysis (1364 female [27.7%] and 3553 male [72.3%]). Female patients presented with more comorbidities and higher surgical risk (EuroScore II 12.0% vs 10.0%, P < 0.001). The early postoperative course of female patients was characterized by longer ventilation times (20.0 h vs 16.0 h; P = 0.004), longer intensive care unit stay (4.0 days vs 3.0 days; P < 0.001), and more frequent new-onset dialysis (265 [20.3%] vs 549 [16.3%]; P = 0.001). The 30-day mortality was 13.8% and 15.5% in female and male patients, respectively (P = 0.06). The estimated mid-term survival was significantly higher amongst male patients (56.1% vs 45.4%; Log-rank P < 0.001). Female sex was an independent predictor of mid-term mortality (HR 1.2 [95% CI 1.0–1.4], P = 0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

Male patients more frequently undergo cardiac surgery for IE. However, female patients have a higher surgical risk profile and subsequently an increased early postoperative morbidity, but with similar 30-day mortality compared with male patients. The estimated mid-term survival is lower amongst female patients.