“The quiet necrosis”: An early medieval case of multifocal juvenile osteochondritis dissecans of the knee

Background

osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) is an ancient disease with few well-described cases in paleopathological records. Here, we report a very rare case of OCD on both lateral femoral condyles and on the lateral condyle of the right tibia in an early medieval human skeleton.

Threat perception and targeting: The brainstem-amygdala-cortex alarm system in action?

Optimizing our responses to physical threats is of clear adaptive value, yet influences of threat perception specific to visual guidance of action have received little attention. Here, we assess effects of threat perception on a targeting task, finding improved performance for peripheral targets relative to central targets. These effects of threat were absent either when the task did not involve targeting or when targeting followed high-arousal, positive-valence stimuli. Additionally, the effects of threat showed a nasal- versus temporal-visual hemifield asymmetry and were absent when target stimuli isolated S-cone photoreceptor function. These findings suggest that the superior colliculus, which is activated following threat perception, shows clear visual-field asymmetry, receives no direct S-cone-based inputs from the retina, and forms part of a hypothesized direct brainstem-amygdala-cortex alarm system, mediates this effect.     

The current status of the case report: Terminal or viable?

The case report, which has a long history in medicine, has seen its fortune wax and wane with time. We discuss the challenges facing the continued survival of the case report, including the inability of journals to cope with the increased load and increased cost of publication, ethical issues, the impact factor and the rise of evidence-based medicine. We highlight the important role that the case report will continue to play in medical research and education, as a means of sharing information and detecting novelty through observations. Most importantly, the case report serves as a stepping stone for young physicians and practitioners into the world of medical writing.     

The effect of the “rod-and-frame” illusion on grip planning in a sequential object manipulation task

We investigated the effect of visual context (i.e., a visual illusion) on the planning of a sequential object manipulation task. Participants (n = 13) had to grasp a rod embedded in a “rod-and-frame” illusion and insert the rod-end into a tight hole in a pre-defined way. The grip type (defined by start posture, either pronated or supinated; and end posture, either comfortable or uncomfortable) used to grasp the rod was registered as a macroscopic variable of motor planning. Different rod orientations forced the participants to switch between grip types. As expected, most participants switched between pronated and supinated start postures, such that they ended the movement with a comfortable end posture. As it has been argued that planning is dependent on visual context information, we hypothesized that the visual illusion would affect the specific rod orientation at which participants would switch into a different grip type. This hypothesis was confirmed. More specifically, the illusion affected the critical spatial information that is used for action planning. Collectively, these findings are the first to show an effect of an illusion on motor planning in a sequential object manipulation task.     

Online environmental activism in Turkey: The case study of “The Right to Water”

This article intends to contribute to research of environmental media activism in two ways: First, by discussing ways to frame research on this topic conceptually and historically. Second, by considering the specific strategies and experiences of environmental activist groups concerning activist medias and participatory actions. We will discuss what can be done when using Internet platforms. “The Right to Water” website has been selected as a case study, which is essentially a democratic platform against capitalist ecology policies. In this study, we examined Internet usage by environmentalist activist groups, by collecting and analyzing data on the usage and results of web-based activism, and discuss the impact of online activism within civil society.     

A common processing system for the concepts of artifacts and actions? Evidence from a case of a disproportionate conceptual impairment for living things

We report the results of a single-case study carried out with a brain-damaged patient, G.C., whose conceptual knowledge of living things (animals and plants) was significantly more impaired than his knowledge of artifacts and his knowledge of actions, which were similarly impaired. We examined whether this pattern of conceptual impairment could be accounted for by the "sensory/functional" or the "manipulability" account for category-specific conceptual impairments advocated within the feature-based organization theory. To this end, we assessed, first, the patient's knowledge of sensory compared to functional and motor features and, second, his knowledge of nonmanipulable compared to manipulable items. The findings showed that the patient's disproportionate impairment for living things compared to both artifacts and actions was not associated with a disproportionate impairment of sensory compared to functional or motor knowledge or with a relative sparing of manipulable compared to nonmanipulable items. We then discuss how alternative theories of conceptual knowledge organization could account for G.C.'s pattern of category-specific deficit.     

What is the role of motor simulation in action and object recognition? Evidence from apraxia

An important issue in contemporary cognitive neuroscience concerns the role of motor production processes in perceptual and conceptual analysis. To address this issue, we studied the performance of a large group of unilateral stroke patients across a range of tasks using the same set of common manipulable objects. All patients (n = 37) were tested for their ability to demonstrate the use of the objects, recognize the objects, recognize the corresponding object-associated pantomimes, and imitate those same pantomimes. At the group level we observed reliable correlations between object use and pantomime recognition, object use and object recognition, and pantomime imitation and pantomime recognition. At the single-case level, we document that the ability to recognize actions and objects dissociates from the ability to use those same objects. These data are problematic for the hypothesis that motor processes are constitutively involved in the recognition of actions and objects and frame new questions about the inferences that are merited by recent findings in cognitive neuroscience.     

What is the role of motor simulation in action and object recognition? Evidence from apraxia

An important issue in contemporary cognitive neuroscience concerns the role of motor production processes in perceptual and conceptual analysis. To address this issue, we studied the performance of a large group of unilateral stroke patients across a range of tasks using the same set of common manipulable objects. All patients (n = 37) were tested for their ability to demonstrate the use of the objects, recognize the objects, recognize the corresponding object-associated pantomimes, and imitate those same pantomimes. At the group level we observed reliable correlations between object use and pantomime recognition, object use and object recognition, and pantomime imitation and pantomime recognition. At the single-case level, we document that the ability to recognize actions and objects dissociates from the ability to use those same objects. These data are problematic for the hypothesis that motor processes are constitutively involved in the recognition of actions and objects and frame new questions about the inferences that are merited by recent findings in cognitive neuroscience.     

The dynamics of the changes in the sorption properties of tissues following the action of α-radiation on the organism

Summary Experiments were conducted on albino rats irradiated with various doses of gamma rays (800 and 400 r). The method of supravital staining was used to study the sorptive propertiesof tissues at different periods after irradiation. In 6–120 hours afterirradiation, the tissues of the small intestine, spleen, kidneys, lungs and liver showed increased sorption of the stain. Denaturing changes of the cellular proteins were present in the irradiated organism. The character and the extent of the changes detected depended on the dose and the interval after the irradiation.(Presented by Active Member of the Akad. Med. Nauk SSSR V. V. Parin) Translated from Byulleten' Éksperiemtnal'noi Biologii i Meditsiny, Vol. 51, No. 4, pp. 52–56, April, 1961     

The relevance of α-KLOTHO to the central nervous system: Some key questions

α-Klotho is well described as an anti-aging protein, with critical roles in kidney function as a transmembrane co-receptor for FGF23, and as a soluble factor in serum. α-Klotho is also expressed in the choroid plexus, where it is released into the cerebrospinal fluid. Nonetheless, α-Klotho is also expressed in the brain parenchyma. Accumulating evidence indicates that this pool of α-Klotho, which we define as brain α-Klotho, may play important roles as a neuroprotective factor and in promoting myelination, thereby supporting healthy brain aging. Here we summarize what is known about brain α-Klotho before focusing on the outstanding scientific questions related to its function. We believe there is a need for in vitro studies designed to distinguish between brain α-Klotho and other pools of α-Klotho, and for a greater understanding of the basic function of soluble α-Klotho. The mechanism by which the human KL-VS variant affects cognition also requires further elucidation. To help address these questions we suggest some experimental approaches that other laboratories might consider. In short, we hope to stimulate fresh ideas and encourage new research approaches that will allow the importance of α-Klotho for the aging brain to become clear.     

The unleashing of the immune system in COVID-19 and sepsis: the calm before the storm?

Inflammation Research - The novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) is sorely testing health care systems and...