bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Cell-trafficking impairment in disease-associated LPA6 missense mutants and a potential pharmacoperone therapy for autosomal recessive woolly hair/hypotrichosis
Authors: Yanagida Keisuke , Masago Kayo , Yasuda Daisuke , Hamano Fumie , Kurikawa Yoshitaka , Shimizu Takao , Ishii Satoshi
Published: September 2022

In human autosomal recessive woolly hair/hypotrichosis (ARWH/HT), many mutations have been identified in a gene encoding LPA6, a G protein-coupled receptor (GPCR) for lysophosphatidic acid (LPA). However, information regarding the effects of such mutations on receptor function is limited. In this study, we examined functional impacts of selected amino acid changes in LPA6 identified in ARWH/HT patients. In our exogenous expression experiments, all mutants except S3T failed to respond to LPA, indicating that they are loss-of-function mutants. Among the nine mutants, five (D63V, G146R, N246D, L277P and C278Y) displayed impaired expression at the cell surface because of endoplasmic reticulum (ER) retention, indicating that these mutants are trafficking-defective, as reported in other disease-associated GPCRs. Notably, alkyl-OMPT, a potent synthetic agonist for LPA6 restored the defective cell surface expression of two of the ER-retained mutants, D63V and N246D, possibly by its chaperoning function that allows them to escape intracellular retention as well as proteasomal degradation. Furthermore, the alkyl-OMPT-rescued N246D mutant was shown be functional. Our findings encourage future application of pharmacoperone therapy for ARWH/HT patients with specific LPA6 mutations.
Against settlement before the European Court of Human Rights
Authors: Fikfak Veronika
Published: September 2022

Even though they represent almost 50% of all reported cases before the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), settlements of human rights violations escape scholars’ attention. While victims are increasingly expected to resolve their disputes amicably, it is unclear whether applicants will be better off accepting settlement offers rather than proceeding to litigation. The article charts the practice of friendly settlements before the Court from the 1980s to today, mapping a shift in approach from seeking bilateral solutions to the proactive role of the Registry as mediator encouraging states and applicants to settle their cases to relieve the Court of the heavy workload. The study of 10,500 cases reveals how strategies adopted by the Registry—from procedural changes to how and when consent is given to settlement, to the framing of settlement offers, and a close relationship with representatives of the respondent state—have favored the most frequent violators of the European Convention on Human Rights and sidelined the interests of the applicant. The analysis uncovers that the imbalance between parties and lack of enforcement are very much present in the ECtHR settlement system and that the active role of the Registry has reinforced, rather than redressed these concerns. The findings expose the dangers of pursuing en masse settlement in the human rights context and raise concerns about achieving long-term justice for victims of human rights violations through other means than adjudication.
Impact of Brazil’s Bolsa Família Programme on cardiovascular and all-cause mortality: a natural experiment study using the 100 Million Brazilian Cohort
Authors: Pescarini Julia M , Campbell Desmond , Amorim Leila D , Falcão Ila R , Ferreira Andrêa J F , Allik Mirjam , Shaw Richard J , Malta Deborah C , Ali M Sanni , Smeeth Liam , Barreto Mauricio L , Leyland Alastair , Craig Peter , Aquino Estela M L , Katikireddi Srinivasa Vittal
Published: September 2022

Background

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has a disproportionate effect on mortality among the poorest people. We assessed the impact on CVD and all-cause mortality of the world's largest conditional cash transfer, Brazil’s Bolsa Família Programme (BFP).

Methods

We linked administrative data from the 100 Million Brazilian Cohort with BFP receipt and national mortality data. We followed individuals who applied for BFP between 1 January 2011 and 31 December 2015, until 31 December 2015. We used marginal structural models to estimate the effect of BFP on all-age and premature (30–69 years) CVD and all-cause mortality. We conducted stratified analyses by levels of material deprivation and access to healthcare. We checked the robustness of our findings by restricting the analysis to municipalities with better mortality data and by using alternative statistical methods.

Results

We studied 17 981 582 individuals, of whom 4 855 324 were aged 30–69 years. Three-quarters (76.2%) received BFP, with a mean follow-up post-award of 2.6 years. We detected 106 807 deaths by all causes, of which 60 893 were premature; and 23 389 CVD deaths, of which 15 292 were premature. BFP was associated with reductions in premature all-cause mortality [hazard ratio (HR) = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.94–0.98], premature CVD (HR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.92–1.00) and all-age CVD (HR = 0.96, 95% CI = 0.93–1.00) but not all-age all-cause mortality (HR = 1.00, 95% CI = 0.98–1.02). In stratified and robustness analyses, BFP was consistently associated with mortality reductions for individuals living in the two most deprived quintiles.

Conclusions

BFP appears to have a small to null effect on premature CVD and all-cause mortality in the short term; the long-term impact remains unknown.
Nonlinear dynamic responses of an inclined beam to harmonic excitation in temperature field
Authors: Zhou Liangqiang , Chen Fangqi
Published: September 2022

Using both analytical and numerical methods, nonlinear dynamic behaviours including chaotic motions and subharmonic bifurcations of an inclined beam subjected to harmonic excitation in temperature field are investigated in this paper. Based on the Galerkin method, the mathematical model of motion is derived. Melnikov method is adopted to give an analytical expression of conditions for chaotic motions of the inclined beam. The chaotic feature on the inclined angle is studied in detail. It is presented that there exists a unique excitation frequency $\omega ^*$, such that the critical value of chaos is the monotone decreasing function of the inclination angle when the excitation frequency $\omega <\omega ^*$; whereas $\omega>\omega ^*$, it is the monotone increasing function of the inclination angle. The subharmonic bifurcations are also studied. It is obtained that subharmonic bifurcations of even orders or odd orders may occur for this system. With the techniques of elliptic functions, it is proved rigorously that this system may undergo chaos through finite subharmonic bifurcations. Numerical simulations are given to verify the chaos threshold obtained by the analytical method.
Activation of Laminin γ2 byHelicobacter pyloriPromotes Invasion and Survival of Gastric Cancer Cells With E-Cadherin Defects
Authors: Ferreira Rui M , Figueiredo Joana , Pinto-Ribeiro Ines , Gullo Irene , Sgouras Dionyssios N , Carreto Laura , Castro Patricia , Santos Manuel A , Carneiro Fatima , Seruca Raquel , Figueiredo Ceu
Published: September 2022

Background

Helicobacter pylori infection induces cellular phenotypes relevant for cancer progression, namely cell motility and invasion. We hypothesized that the extracellular matrix (ECM) could be involved in these deleterious effects.

Methods

Microarrays were used to uncover ECM interactors in cells infected with H. pylori. LAMC2, encoding laminin γ2, was selected as a candidate gene and its expression was assessed in vitro and in vivo. The role of LAMC2 was investigated by small interference RNA (siRNA) combined with a set of functional assays. Laminin γ2 and E-cadherin expression patterns were evaluated in gastric cancer cases.

Results

Laminin γ2 was found significantly overexpressed in gastric cancer cells infected with H. pylori. This finding was validated in vitro by infection with clinical isolates and in vivo by using gastric biopsies of infected and noninfected individuals. We showed that laminin γ2 overexpression is dependent on the bacterial type IV secretion system and on the CagA. Functionally, laminin γ2 promotes cell invasion and resistance to apoptosis, through modulation of Src, JNK, and AKT activity. These effects were abrogated in cells with functional E-cadherin.

Conclusions

These data highlight laminin γ2 and its downstream effectors as potential therapeutic targets, and the value of H. pylori eradication to delay gastric cancer onset and progression.
A designed cyclic analogue of gomesin has potent activity against Staphylococcus aureus biofilms
Authors: Dias Susana A , Pinto Sandra N , Silva-Herdade Ana S , Cheneval Olivier , Craik David J , Coutinho Ana , Castanho Miguel A R B , Henriques Sónia T , Veiga Ana Salomé
Published: September 2022

Background

Infections caused by bacterial biofilms are very difficult to treat. The use of currently approved antibiotics even at high dosages often fails, making the treatment of these infections very challenging. Novel antimicrobial agents that use distinct mechanisms of action are urgently needed.

Objectives

To explore the use of [G1K,K8R]cGm, a designed cyclic analogue of the antimicrobial peptide gomesin, as an alternative approach to treat biofilm infections.

Methods

We studied the activity of [G1K,K8R]cGm against biofilms of Staphylococcus aureus, a pathogen associated with several biofilm-related infections. A combination of atomic force and real-time confocal laser scanning microscopies was used to study the mechanism of action of the peptide.

Results

The peptide demonstrated potent activity against 24 h-preformed biofilms through a concentration-dependent ability to kill biofilm-embedded cells. Mechanistic studies showed that [G1K,K8R]cGm causes morphological changes on bacterial cells and permeabilizes their membranes across the biofilm with a half-time of 65 min. We also tested an analogue of [G1K,K8R]cGm without disulphide bonds, and a linear unfolded analogue, and found both to be inactive.

Conclusions

The results suggest that the 3D structure of [G1K,K8R]cGm and its stabilization by disulphide bonds are essential for its antibacterial and antibiofilm activities. Moreover, our findings support the potential application of this stable cyclic antimicrobial peptide to fight bacterial biofilms.
Niclosamide as a repurposing drug against Gram-positive bacterial infections
Authors: Zhang Wei , Ran Jinxin , Shang Lu , Zhang Lifang , Wang Mi , Fei Chenzhong , Chen Chan , Gu Feng , Liu Yingchun
Published: September 2022

Objectives

Niclosamide is commonly used as an antiparasitic drug in veterinary clinics. The objectives of this study were to evaluate the efficacy of niclosamide against resistant Gram-positive bacteria in vitro and in an in vivo experimental model of topical bacterial infection. Moreover, to study the antibacterial mechanism of niclosamide to Staphylococcus aureus.

Methods

A mouse topical infection model was established to detect the antibacterial activity of niclosamide in vivo. The antimicrobial mechanism was probed by visualizing the bacterial morphologies using scanning electron microscopy and transmission electron microscopy. Moreover, the haemolytic assay and western blotting analysis were performed to evaluate whether niclosamide could inhibit the secretion of alpha-haemolysin (α-HL) from S. aureus.

Results

The MICs of niclosamide were below 0.5 mg/L for Gram-positive bacteria, showing excellent antibacterial activity in vitro. The in vivo antibacterial activity results indicated that niclosamide treatment at 10 mg/kg of body weight caused a significant reduction in the abscess area and the number of S. aureus cells. Moreover, the antibacterial mechanism of niclosamide showed that the surface morphology of S. aureus displayed noticeable shrinkage, with an increasing number of small vacuole-like structures observed as the drug concentration increased. Intracellular ATP levels were found to decrease in a niclosamide dose-dependent manner. Haemolysis and western blotting analyses revealed that niclosamide inhibited the haemolytic activity of S. aureus by inhibiting α-HL expression under subinhibitory concentration conditions.

Conclusions

Niclosamide has significant potential for development into drugs that prevent and treat diseases caused by Gram-positive bacteria such as Staphylococcus and Streptococcus.
Cefepime pharmacodynamic targets against Enterobacterales employing neutropenic murine lung infection and in vitro pharmacokinetic models
Authors: Muller Anouk E , Attwood Marie , Van den berg Sanne , Chavan Rajesh , Periasamy Hariharan , Noel Alan , MacGowan Alasdair
Published: September 2022

Background

Very limited studies, so far, have been conducted to identify the pharmacodynamic targets of cefepime, a well-established fourth-generation cephalosporin. As a result, conventional targets representing the cephalosporin class are used for cefepime target attainment analysis.

Objectives

We employed both a neutropenic murine lung infection model and an in vitro pharmacokinetic model (IVPM) to determine cefepime’s pharmacodynamic target [percentage of the dosing interval during which unbound drug concentrations remain higher than the MIC (%fT>MIC)] for bacteriostatic and 1 log10 kill effects.

Methods

Ten strains with cefepime MICs ranging from 0.03 to 16 mg/L were studied in the lung infection. In the IVPM, five cefepime-resistant strains with cefepime/tazobactam (fixed 8 mg/L) MICs ranging from 0.25 to 8 mg/L were included. Through 24 h dose fractionation, both in lung infection and IVPM (in the latter case, tazobactam 8 mg/L continuous infusion was used to protect cefepime), varying cefepime exposures and corresponding pharmacodynamic effect scenarios were generated to identify the pharmacodynamic targets.

Results

Using a non-linear sigmoidal maximum-effect (Emax) model, the cefepime’s plasma fT>MIC for 1 log10 kill in lung infection ranged from 17% to 53.7% and a combined exposure–response plot yielded 30%. In the case of IVPM, T>MIC ranged from 6.9% to 75.4% with a mean value of 34.2% for 1 log10 kill.

Conclusions

Both in vivo and in vitro studies showed that cefepime’s pharmacodynamic requirements are lower than generally reported for cephalosporins (50%–70% fT>MIC). The lower requirement for cefepime could be linked with factors such as cefepime’s better permeation properties and multiple PBP affinity-driven enhanced bactericidal action.
Pediatric Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplant Medication Adherence Facilitators and Strategies: A Qualitative Study
Authors: Chardon Marie L , Klages Kimberly L , Joffe Naomi E , Pai Ahna L H
Published: September 2022

Objective

Taking medications as prescribed after hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HCT) is key for ensuring children’s survival; however, suboptimal medication adherence is common. Development of evidence-based interventions to improve medication adherence post-HCT is contingent upon understanding what adherence facilitators (i.e., unique traits, characteristics, or resources inherent to the individual, medical treatment, or healthcare team) and strategies (i.e., tools caregivers or medical providers intentionally use) promote medication adherence in this population. Therefore, this study examined caregiver-perceived medication facilitators post-HCT.

Methods

Semi-structured qualitative interviews and demographic questionnaires were completed by 29 caregivers of children (≤12 years) who had received an HCT within the past 2 years.

Results

Thematic analysis guided by grounded theory revealed 14 saturated themes that were grouped into 4 categories: family facilitators, medication facilitators, caregiver strategies, and multidisciplinary treatment team strategies.

Conclusions

Overall, findings suggest that caregivers of children who received an HCT are highly resourceful and independently develop many strategies to assist them with medication management after their child’s HCT. These facilitators and strategies varied between caregivers and over time. Despite prevalent facilitators and strategies, caregiver burden associated with medication adherence remains high. Caregivers may benefit from the multidisciplinary treatment team providing individualized and multicomponent (educational and behavioral) medication adherence supports to ease this burden particularly shortly after hospital discharge.
Colonic lipoma of the hepatic flexure causing invagination in an adult
Authors: Palacios Mauricio Fabian , Guachilema Ribadeneira Alex , Morocho Imbacuan Sandra , Lisintuña Cisneros Andrea , Basantes Andrea Daniela
Published: September 2022

Intussusception is a rare condition in adults that can lead to intestinal obstruction due to malignant or benign lesions in the wall of the colon. Among the benign causes, lipomas are adipose tissue tumors that are most frequently located in the ascending colon. Invagination is characterized by nonspecific symptoms and normal laboratory test results. The exact point of invagination can be detected using advanced imaging studies such as abdominal computed tomography and colonoscopy. Invagination is treated surgically. Here, we presented the case of a female patient with colo-colonic invagination caused by a large lipoma diagnosed by computed tomography who underwent right hemicolectomy with primary ileocolonic anastomosis.
A rare case of oesophageal and gastric fundus necrosis following traumatic splenectomy
Authors: Bennett Laura , Gallagher James
Published: September 2022

Oesophageal and gastric fundus necrosis are rare clinical entities and have not previously been reported concurrently. This case study describes oesophageal and gastric fundus necrosis in a 71-year-old female who developed chest pain post-splenectomy for infected splenic haematoma in the context of a fall. Upper gastrointestinal endoscopy demonstrated oesophageal and gastric fundus necrosis. This was likely due to multiple factors including comorbidities, hypoperfusion, post-splenectomy state and herpes simplex virus oesophagitis. This finding is an important differential in the unwell patient with chest pain post-splenectomy and investigation with upper gastrointestinal endoscopy could be considered in the absence of another cause.
AKG/OXGR1 promotes skeletal muscle blood flow and metabolism by relaxing vascular smooth muscle
Authors: Yang Jinping , Xu Guli , Xu Yiming , Luo Pei , Yuan Yexian , Yao Lin , Zhou Jingjing , Zhu Yunlong , Gyawali Ishwari , Xu Chang , Feng Jinlong , Ma Zewei , Zeng Yuxian , Wang Songbo , Gao Ping , Zhu Canjun , Jiang Qingyan , Shu Gang
Published: September 2022

In response to contraction during exercise, skeletal muscle growth and metabolism are dynamically regulated by nerve action, blood flow, and metabolic feedback. α-Ketoglutarate (AKG), a bioactive intermediate in the tricarboxylic acid cycle released during exercise, has been shown to promote skeletal muscle hypertrophy. However, the underlying mechanism of AKG in regulating skeletal muscle development and metabolism is still less known. 2-Oxoglutarate receptor 1 (OXGR1), the endogenous AKG receptor, is found to be distributed in the vascular smooth muscle (VSM) of skeletal muscles. OXGR1 knockout results in skeletal muscle atrophy, accompanied by decreased expression of myosin heavy chain I (MyHC I), capillary density, and endurance exercise capacity. Furthermore, the study found that dietary AKG supplementation increased mice endurance exercise distance, MyHC I/MyHC IIb ratio, arteriole, and capillary densities in skeletal muscle. Meanwhile, acute AKG administration gradually increased the blood flow in the lower limbs. Further, by using OXGR1 global knockout and OXGR1 VSM-specific (MYH11-Cre × OXGR1-FloxP) knockdown models, we found that OXGR1 in VSM is essential for AKG-induced improvement of skeletal muscle performances. According to the in vitro study, AKG expanded the cell area in VSM with a decreased intracellular pH by OXGR1. Our results demonstrated a novel role of AKG/OXGR1 in VSM of skeletal muscle to regulate blood flow and then enhance slow muscle fiber conversion and capillarization. These findings provide a theoretical basis for the AKG/OXGR1 signaling pathway to maintain human muscle function and improve meat production and livestock and poultry meat quality.
Machine learning-based search for cataclysmic variables within Gaia Science Alerts
Authors: Mistry D , Copperwheat C M , Darnley M J , Olier I
Published: September 2022

Wide-field time domain facilities detect transient events in large numbers through difference imaging. For example, Zwicky Transient Facility produces alerts for hundreds of thousands of transient events per night, a rate set to be dwarfed by the upcoming Vera C. Rubin Observatory. The automation provided by machine learning (ML) is therefore necessary to classify these events and select the most interesting sources for follow-up observations. Cataclysmic variables (CVs) are a transient class that are numerous, bright, and nearby, providing excellent laboratories for the study of accretion and binary evolution. Here we focus on our use of ML to identify CVs from photometric data of transient sources published by the Gaia Science Alerts (GSA) program – a large, easily accessible resource, not fully explored with ML. Use of light-curve feature extraction techniques and source metadata from the Gaia survey resulted in a random forest model capable of distinguishing CVs from supernovae, active galactic nuclei, and young stellar objects with a 92 per cent precision score and an 85 per cent hit rate. Of 13 280 sources within GSA without an assigned transient classification our model predicts the CV class for ∼2800. Spectroscopic observations are underway to classify a statistically significant sample of these targets to validate the performance of the model. This work puts us on a path towards the classification of rare CV subtypes from future wide-field surveys such as the Legacy Survey of Space and Time.
Survival estimates and hunter outreach are priorities for the collaborative harvest management of Emperor Goose in Alaska
Authors: Mengak Lara F , Naves Liliana C , Schamber Jason L
Published: September 2022

Emperor Goose (Anser canagicus) harvest in Alaska was re-opened in 2017 after a 30-year closure, but goose numbers available for a sustainable harvest remain limited. We used a Delphi process, an iterative group communication technique, to elicit expert opinion across 3 successive survey rounds to identify priorities for research, harvest management, and conservation of Emperor Goose. We identified 115 potential participants representing research and management by federal and state agencies, universities, Alaska Native representation in management, and non-governmental conservation organizations. Seventy participants responded to the first survey round (response rate = 61%). We compared responses between 4 participant groups to identify diverse perspectives. All groups, except Native Management, rated the impacts of spring–summer hunting on the Emperor Goose population more highly than impacts of fall–winter hunting. In round 1, the top-rated information and research priorities focused on harvest assessment. In the following rounds, refining survival estimates and population survey methods for Emperor Goose emerged as the two top-ranked research priorities. Improving education and outreach for hunters was the top-ranked conservation and harvest management priority. Formally identifying areas of agreement and disagreement among stakeholders is key for collaborative management, especially with contentious topics, although this step is often overlooked. The Delphi process allowed us to broaden perspectives by including individuals beyond the core entities involved with Emperor Goose management. Because stakeholder groups and individuals may provide input in diverse ways and at differing rates, ensuring that management processes have complementary paths for participation and decision-making helps safeguard against the shortcomings of individual processes. This study will inform ongoing discussions in the context of the revision of the Emperor Goose management plans led by committees within the Alaska Migratory Bird Co-Management Council and the Pacific Flyway Council.
Australia’s First People
Authors: Clarkson Chris , Norman Kasih , O'Connor Sue , Balme Jane , Veth Peter , Shipton Ceri
Published: September 2022

Mainland Australia was connected to New Guinea and Tasmania at various times throughout the Pleistocene and formed the supercontinent of Sahul. Sahul contains some of the earliest known archaeological evidence for Homo sapiens outside of Africa, with a growing record of early complex social, technological, and artistic life. Here we present an overview of the oldest known sites in Australia along with key evidence pertaining to the dynamic cultures of early Aboriginal peoples. We review debates surrounding the age of first settlement and present evidence for the earliest technology, economy, and symbolism in Australia, emphasizing maritime skills, a large founding population size, novel technology, and adaptation to a wide range of environments.
Audi Alteram Partem
Authors: Rousselière Geneviève
Published: September 2022

Republicanism endorses popular control on government through the discursive practices of deliberation and contestation. The motto Audi alteram partem (Listen to the other side), central to the rhetorical tradition, came to be representative of the republican rejection of authoritarian power. However, since republicanism is first committed to the defense of freedom as nondomination and the public good, its support of rhetoric is conditional on its projected role in advancing this ideal. This chapter focuses on the role of rhetoric in fostering free institutions in the works of Cicero, Rousseau, Skinner and Pettit.
The Power and Peril of Names
Authors: Keys Mary M.
Published: September 2022

This chapter offers an overview of the roles of rhetoric in the politics, culture, and pedagogy of the late Roman Empire and in the life of Augustine of Hippo. It considers The City of God in particular, focusing first on difficulties of audience, dialogue, and persuasion; second, on the power and peril of language and names in both political and philosophic life; and third, on Augustine’s artful use of rhetorical and literary forms to question and invert certain civic values of the late classical Roman world.
Film Theory as Ideology Critique (after Trump)
Authors: Baumbach Nico
Published: September 2022

In American academia, for roughly the last half-century, until quite recently, film theory and ideology critique were so closely associated as to be nearly synonymous. In the last decade, however, as vernacular forms of critique have become more mainstream on social media, academic film and media studies has, by and large, retreated from the project of ideology critique. This chapter argues for the need for a revitalized ideological criticism in the post-Trump age. With that in mind, it maps out a number of the ways that older traditions of ideology critique in film studies need to be rethought in the current moment when moving images must be understood within a new media ecology. When we consider how images circulate within the new information economy dominated by the internet and social media platforms, the conceptual limitations of both political modernist and cultural studies analyses (central to earlier periods of ideology critique in film studies) become clear. This chapter describes these limitations along with the inadequacy of the newer forms of postcritique. It then attempts to lay the groundwork for a rethinking of ideology critique today. In the process, it also makes the case for the value of a robust conception of ideology critique to think through the politics of film and media today.
In Defense of Psychoanalytic Film Theory
Authors: Young Damon Ross
Published: September 2022

The cinema—whose technological capacity to document reality is often said to form its “ontology”—is just as fundamentally an art (and technology) of fantasy. For this reason, this chapter argues that cinema as a historically specific technical medium—indeed, the dominant cultural medium of the twentieth century—requires a psychoanalytic theory: not only because cinema and psychoanalysis emerge concurrently at the end of the nineteenth century, as part of the same techno-historical-economic assemblage, but also because psychoanalysis offers the most robust theory of fantasy, in both its conscious and unconscious dimensions. In the decades since its advent, psychoanalytic film theory has been repeatedly dismissed as dogmatic and self-fulfilling, allegedly knowing in advance what it is going to find. Against this view, the chapter argues that psychoanalysis remains a critical lens through which to consider the cinema as apparatus, even at the moment of its technological transformation. Through examples from early and recent cinema, the chapter examines the mechanics of how cinema technologizes fantasy, showing why it is important to move beyond empiricist accounts (whether of infrastructures, aesthetics, or affects). It is no surprise that psychoanalytic film theory has been so closely conjoined with feminist and queer film theory from the outset. Indeed, the chapter ultimately argues that a theory of cinematic fantasy is a queer theory of cinema.
Standing Up Too Close or Back Too Far?
Authors: Martin Adrian
Published: September 2022

Contemporary popular culture is awash with particular forms of interpretation, such as “drilling down” into subtexts, and the explication of mysterious narrative worlds in film and TV. Vulgarized approaches they may be, but they allow a path into the history of forms of film analysis performed by critics and scholars, forms defined, variously, as close or distant, deep or superficial, interpretive or descriptive. This essay traces the influence of New Criticism, structuralism and poststructuralism, digital data mining and other trends upon the various movements and schools of film analysis, and also considers the changing technology that aids and shapes its practice.
An Invention with a Future
Authors: Hanich Julian
Published: September 2022

Since it is first and foremost the cinema that enables—or at least facilitates—concentrated and focused film experiences, this article makes a strong plea for the ongoing importance of the movie theater as a vital cultural practice and social institution. Although we better engage some films privately and alone at home, we do better to watch other films in the public space of the cinema and in the company of others. The latter is especially the case for challenging modernist art films, slow cinema, avant-garde films, and the like. Among the phenomena that make me think so is “joint deep attention.” Due to its spatial and technological features, the cinema allows us to follow more challenging films with deep attention, in part because of the co-presence of other viewers: Their deep attention can contagiously rub off on ours and help us keep focused. Tentative evidence for the contagious joint-deep-attention effect of the cinema exists in empirical studies dealing with analogous experiences: studying in a library and collectively meditating in a meditation retreat. But apart from the social aspect of the movie theater, three further characteristics of the cinema dispositive contribute, at least implicitly, to the joint-deep-attention effect, characteristics hardly available when we watch a DVD or stream a film at home: its nonmundane space, the impossibility of manipulating the film, and the silence of the auditorium. The chapter revisits—and positively reevaluates—these features as forms of freedom: from the everyday, from having to act, and from noise.
Feminist Film Theory on the Brink of Laughter
Authors: Hennefeld Maggie
Published: September 2022

One might say that feminist film theory has been on the brink of laughter since its inception. By that I mean, feminist film theory (though often very playful and humorous in tone) has regarded laughter with the utmost suspicion, and with good reason. When laughs erupt onscreen, they are rarely helpful for women, if not actively demeaning and disempowering. It is no surprise that the field has favored virtually every other genre than comedy—melodrama, film noir, Western, musical, thriller, the avant-garde, horror, animation, porn—for sourcing aesthetic invigoration and political redemption. If feminist film theory has been wary of comedy, feminist comedy studies, likewise, has been relatively uninterested in cinema. It is my goal in this chapter to bridge the gap between feminist film theory and feminist comedy studies, which have had extremely different concerns despite pursuing often complementary aesthetic and political ends. These fields are long overdue for a methodological reckoning. In this chapter, I consider a range of examples in order to reveal the four primo female laughers of cinema. They include the killjoy, the coquette, the prankster, and the hysteric. These figures are not definitive archetypes, but persistent tropes that pose provocations for further conversation and debate. I also find them to be extremely helpful heuristics for getting to the bottom of the problem of female laughter in film. As I will explain, these four cantankerous cachinnators give voice to issues of power, sex, resistance, and language, respectively.
Cinematic Experience
Authors: Sinnerbrink Robert
Published: September 2022

Although frequently cited, the idea of “cinematic experience” has proven both productive and elusive. My chapter outlines some of the features, history, and implications of this concept. I offer an historical account of different aspects of this notion (concerning aesthetics, spectatorship, ideology, and embodiment) and a theoretical reflection on its implications and possibilities in relation to both film-philosophy/film theory and contemporary cinematic practices. In particular, I examine the transformation of cinematic experience starting from the traditional notion of aesthetic experience, theoretical inquiry into cinematic spectatorship with its critique of the notion of experience, to the recent turn toward experiential dimensions of cinematic engagement (affect, embodiment, and ethical experience). In conclusion, I consider briefly the impact of new audiovisual technologies, suggesting that the original enthusiastic embrace of cinema as an “experience machine” has returned with the rise of digital media culture.
Film|Video|Essay
Authors: Torlasco Domietta
Published: September 2022

What can the film essay do? I attend to this question by bringing together writings by Theodor Adorno, Max Bense, Hans Richter, and Hito Steyerl, among others, and films by Jean-Luc Godard, Roberto Rossellini, and Agnès Varda. What distinguishes my inquiry is that I propose to consider the essay form as a kind of rhythm. Following Roland Barthes, I understand the latter as a fleeting and fugitive form, a form that escapes capture. As a “manner of flowing” (rhuthmos in pre-Socratic philosophy) rather than a fixed form, the essay articulates not only a manner of knowing but also a mode of being. It pertains to the domain of aesthetic ontology, where it enables the emergence not of subjective or personal viewpoints but, rather, the reconfiguration of the distinction between the subject and the object, the body and the world, and the imaginary and the real.
Empiricism and Film Theory
Authors: Panagia Davide
Published: September 2022

In this chapter, I articulate an empiricist philosophy of film. My approach is schematic and follows the genre of the annotated summary. I dwell on some writings of Gilbert Simondon, some editing techniques of Jean-Luc Goddard, and the pluralist ontology of Gilles Deleuze, and I show how each contributes to an empiricist theory of film. These contributions are at once philosophical, aesthetic, and political. They are philosophical in their elaboration of a process philosophy of becoming, aesthetic in their attempt to consider the filmic image as something other than an Aristotelian substance, and political in their refusal to accept any specific form of belonging as natural. I conclude that an empiricist theory of film offers a rethinking of the ontological conditions of mediation beyond the causal effectivity of influence.
Archaeology and History of the Subcontinent
Authors: Bandama Foreman
Published: September 2022

South Africa holds a privileged position as one of the few countries with an accessible, long, and “unbroken” history going back to the time of our now extinct prehuman ancestors. From about three million years ago, the nation’s earliest fossil traces are used to create lineages and linkages that connect to the “first people,” a label now ascribed to the foraging (hunting and gathering) Later Stone Age groups. Successive waves of migration and assimilation brought various identities to this southern tip of the continent, starting with Khoe herders, with whom the hunter–gatherer groups had an ambivalent relationship before creolizing into the Khoisan identity. Sedentary Bantu-speaking farmers then arrived several centuries before Europe completed the colonization of this subcontinent, about four hundred year ago. Material remains and scientific models are used to fingerprint these identities in ways that continue not only to trigger debates but also to shed light on the long history of humanity in South Africa. Better still, dedicated materials analyses also suggest novel insights, which peaked during the second millennium CE, when contact with the outside world intensified the existing local and regional networks.
Parameterizing Neural Field Potential Data
Authors: Voytek Bradley
Published: September 2022

Traditional frequency analyses assume that power at a given frequency reflects neuronal oscillations at that frequency. There is also the assumption that changes in power track modulations in oscillatory activity at that frequency. However, these assumptions may be incorrect because apparent changes in power at a frequency may be caused by any number of other factors. These include changes in the non-rhythmic, aperiodic “background” exponent or offset, or even a change in the nonsinusoidal waveform shapes of a true oscillation. Thus, it is crucial to carefully parameterize many features of the EEG signal, in both the time and frequency domains, in order to better understand how neural oscillations link to behavior, cognition, perception, and disease. This chapter describes emerging approaches to quantifying these parameters—periodic oscillation shape, frequency, amplitude, and bandwidth, as well as aperiodic exponent and offset—in the EEG.
Time-Frequency Decomposition Methods for Event-Related Potential Analysis
Authors: Aviyente Selin
Published: September 2022

Electroencephalogram (EEG) data is recorded with millisecond temporal resolution and is highly non-stationary. Traditional frequency domain analyses cannot reveal the frequency dynamics as a function of time. For this reason, the last two decades have seen an increasing interest in the application of time-frequency transforms, which capture the variation of energy across time and frequency, to EEG data. This chapter reviews some of these methods, including linear transforms such as the wavelets, and nonlinear transforms such as the Cohen’s class of time-frequency distributions. The chapter discusses these transforms both regarding energy distribution and phase synchronization analysis in the time-frequency domain.
Frequency Analysis of the Monkey Neocortical Local Field Potential
Authors: Bressler Steven L.
Published: September 2022

Much can be learned about the human electroencephalogram (EEG) from investigation of the monkey neocortical local field potential (LFP). The LFP is the localized equivalent of the EEG and can reveal much about the EEG at the neuronal source level. Because the human LFP is rarely available, we instead must investigate the monkey LFP. To better understand cognition, recent cognitive neuroscience studies investigated frequency-based analysis of the macaque monkey neocortical LFP. Cognitive relations of the human are thought to share similar properties to those of the monkey, and the predominant frequencies of the human EEG and macaque monkey LFP are alike, suggesting that there exists similar oscillatory activity in the monkey and the human neocortex. This chapter details the results of macaque monkey LFP investigations that shed light on the human EEG’s role in cognition.
Jane Addams and the Return to Settlement Sociology
Authors: Schneiderhan Erik , Quinn Kaitlyn
Published: September 2022

With the advent of the internet and the proliferation of social media in the early 21st century, how people help each other has changed dramatically. The process of neighbors helping neighbors has increasingly shifted to the digital realm, with social media posts and shares replacing handshakes and conversations on the front porch. This chapter, drawing on the settlement sociology of Jane Addams, considers this shift and its implications for how people help each other. It argues that in privileging the digital over in-person social relations, we have lost a precious and important part of the fabric of society. It shows how current practices, celebrated as transparent, democratic, and technologically advanced, are in fact not very different from the inequitable and haphazard pre-welfare state methods of helping in the 19th century that Addams worked so hard to mitigate and replace through settlement houses, charity organization reform, and eventually the profession of social work. Finally, this chapter proposes a way forward, informed by Addams’s settlement sociology theory and practice and grounded in the dynamism and propinquity of in-person social relations.
Cosmology and Embryology in Medieval Japan
Authors: Andreeva Anna
Published: September 2022

This chapter considers the process and impact of adopting South and East Asian embryological notions and descriptions of fetal life into the cosmological accounts and ritual sources from early and medieval Japan. A plethora of different terms describing the stages of a fetus developing in the mother’s womb was known in both India and China, where they came to be adopted in the earliest medical or religious writings, produced by Buddhists, Daoists, and medical practitioners. In Japan, these terms were transmitted via the Buddhist, medical, and literary sources arriving from Sui and Tang China and became adopted into a variety of cosmological, medical, and religious sources produced by Japanese historical actors. Of particular importance were the rituals practiced in the esoteric temple milieu of the Tendai, Shingon, and Zen schools in medieval Japan, where the embryological concepts were used to introduce new ways of soteriological thinking and action.
ACT for Eating Disorders
Authors: Juarascio Adrienne , Srivastava Paakhi , Felonis Christina R. , Wons Olivia B.
Published: September 2022

Existing cognitive and behavioral treatments for eating disorders leave substantial room for improvement, with recent systematic reviews and meta-analyses finding that 40–50 percent of patients with binge-eating disorder and nearly 70 percent of patients with bulimia nervosa remain at least partially symptomatic after a full course of cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT). In an effort to improve outcomes, a growing number of researchers have begun to evaluate the use of mindfulness and acceptance-based behavioral treatments such as acceptance and commitment therapy (ACT) for this population. Cross-sectional and longitudinal research supports the theory that ACT processes such as experiential avoidance, cognitive fusion, and low-values clarity commonly occur within eating disorder populations, which suggests that treatment approaches that target these processes could be beneficial. Although the research on ACT and ACT-informed treatments for eating disorders remains nascent, preliminary evidence supports the potential efficacy of this treatment approach and suggests that ACT may be facilitating treatment outcomes through its hypothesized mechanisms. This article reviews the existing evidence of ACT and ACT-informed treatments for eating disorders and discusses future directions for research.
Fairness
Authors: Vredenburgh Kate
Published: September 2022

Despite widespread agreement that algorithmic bias is a problem, there is a lack of agreement about what to do about it. This chapter argues that what should be done about algorithmic bias depends on whether the problem of algorithmic bias is conceptualized as a problem of fairness, or some other problem of justice. It substantiates this claim by examining the debate over different formal fairness metrics. One compelling metric for measuring whether a system is fair measures whether the system is calibrated, or whether a prediction has equal evidential value regardless of an individual’s group membership. Calibration exemplifies a compelling notion of accuracy, and of fairness, in treating like cases alike. However, there can be a tradeoff between making systems fair, in this sense, and making them more just: to make more accurate predictions, a system may use social patterns that reinforce structures of unjust disadvantage. In response to this tradeoff, the chapter argues that in situations of injustice, other values of justice ought to be privileged over fairness, as fairness has no value in the absence of just background institutions. It concludes by drawing out five proposals for better governance of AI for justice and fairness from the philosophical discussion of fairness and justice in AI. These are a values-first approach to bias interventions, de-coupling decision processes, explicitly modeling structural injustice, interventions to increase data quality, and the use of (weighted) lotteries rather than decision thresholds.
The Size of Polities in Historical Political Economy
Authors: Moriguchi Chiaki , Sng Tuan-Hwee
Published: September 2022

This chapter is organized into four themes. It first appraises the views of historical thinkers in the East and West on the consequences of polity size. Next, it surveys modern historical studies on the relationship between polity size and governance. It then discusses attempts to provide a unified framework on the causes and consequences of polity size. Finally, we highlight some existing gaps in the literature and explore how history can illuminate our understanding of the size of polities.
UNRRA in North Africa: A Late Colonial History of Refugee Encampment
Authors: Robson Laura
Published: September 2022

This article tells the story of two long-forgotten United Nations Relief and Rehabilitation Administration (UNRRA) camps in wartime French North Africa, using their history as a lens through which to view the emergence of a modern global regime of refugee encampment. It examines these camps’ entanglements with the mechanisms of late colonial rule; their resonances with the systems of detention articulated by the Third Reich and its Vichy collaborationists; their rehabilitation of the practice of encampment for post-war colonial ‘development’ schemes like French Algeria’s centres de regroupement; and their eventual clearing of the way for the Cold War–era extension of an internationalist, American-dominated regime of refugee internment, first into Tunisia and Morocco and later across much of the Global South. Through its attempt to present its North African refugee camps as a new, modern, humanitarian form of encampment, UNRRA managed to rehabilitate the old colonial strategy of migrant internment as fundamentally humanitarian rather than punitive, successfully eliding its relationships with Nazi and Vichy practices in the process and establishing encampment as a central strategy of the modern internationalist refugee regime for the era of decolonization.