As the founder and leading practitioner of "literary Darwinism, " Joseph Carroll remains at the forefront of a major movement in literary studies. Signaling key new developments in this approach, ...Reading Human Nature contains trenchant theoretical essays, innovative empirical research, sweeping surveys of intellectual history, and sophisticated interpretations of specific literary works, including The Picture of Dorian Gray, Wuthering Heights, The Mayor of Casterbridge, and Hamlet. Evolutionists in the social sciences have succeeded in delineating basic motives but have given far too little attention to the imagination. Carroll makes a compelling case that literary Darwinism is not just another "school" or movement in literary theory. It is the moving force in a fundamental paradigm change in the humanities—a revolution. Psychologists and anthropologists have provided massive evidence that human motives and emotions are rooted in human biology. Since motives and emotions enter into all the products of a human imagination, humanists now urgently need to assimilate a modern scientific understanding of "human nature." Integrating evolutionary social science with literary humanism, Carroll offers a more complete and adequate understanding of human nature.
A deterministic model is proposed to describe the interaction between an immune system and an invading virus whose target cells circulate in the blood. The model is a system of two ordinary first ...order quadratic delay-differential equations with stipulated initial conditions, whose coefficients are eventually constant, so that the system becomes autonomous. The long-term behavior of the solution is investigated with some success. In particular, we find two simple functions of the parameters of the model, whose signs often, but not always, determine whether the virus persists above a nonzero threshold in the circulation or heads toward extinction.
Abstract
Spin-triplet topological superconductors should exhibit many unprecedented electronic properties, including fractionalized electronic states relevant to quantum information processing. ...Although UTe
2
may embody such bulk topological superconductivity
1–11
, its superconductive order parameter Δ(
k
) remains unknown
12
. Many diverse forms for Δ(
k
) are physically possible
12
in such heavy fermion materials
13
. Moreover, intertwined
14,15
density waves of spin (SDW), charge (CDW) and pair (PDW) may interpose, with the latter exhibiting spatially modulating
14,15
superconductive order parameter Δ(
r
), electron-pair density
16–19
and pairing energy gap
17,20–23
. Hence, the newly discovered CDW state
24
in UTe
2
motivates the prospect that a PDW state may exist in this material
24,25
. To search for it, we visualize the pairing energy gap with μeV-scale energy resolution using superconductive scanning tunnelling microscopy (STM) tips
26–31
. We detect three PDWs, each with peak-to-peak gap modulations of around 10 μeV and at incommensurate wavevectors
P
i
=1,2,3
that are indistinguishable from the wavevectors
Q
i
=1,2,3
of the prevenient
24
CDW. Concurrent visualization of the UTe
2
superconductive PDWs and the non-superconductive CDWs shows that every
P
i
:
Q
i
pair exhibits a relative spatial phase
δϕ
≈ π. From these observations, and given UTe
2
as a spin-triplet superconductor
12
, this PDW state should be a spin-triplet PDW
24,25
. Although such states do exist
32
in superfluid
3
He, for superconductors, they are unprecedented.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBMB, UL, UM, UPUK, ZAGLJ
To compare perfused capillary density (PCD) in diabetic patients and healthy controls using optical coherence tomography angiography (OCTA).
Forty controls, 36 diabetic subjects without clinical ...retinopathy (NoDR), 38 with nonproliferative retinopathy (NPDR), and 38 with proliferative retinopathy (PDR) were imaged using spectral-domain optical coherence tomography. A 3 × 3-mm full-thickness parafoveal OCTA scan was obtained from each participant. Following manual delineation of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ), FAZ area, perimeter, and acircularity index were determined. Seven consecutive equidistant 200-μm-wide annular segments were drawn at increasing eccentricities from the FAZ margin. Annular PCD (%) was defined as perfused capillary area divided by the corresponding annulus area after subtraction of noncapillary blood vessel areas. Nonparametric Kruskal-Wallis testing with Bonferroni correction was performed in pairwise comparisons of group PCD values.
The NoDR group demonstrated consistently higher PCD compared to the control group in all 7 annuli, reaching statistical significance (36.6% ± 3.30% vs 33.6% ± 3.98%, P = .034) at the innermost annulus (FAZ margin to 200 μm out). The NPDR and PDR groups demonstrated progressively decreasing PCD. Differences in FAZ metrics between the NoDR and control groups did not reach statistical significance.
Relative to healthy controls, increased PCD values in the NoDR group likely represent an autoregulatory response to increased metabolic demand, while the decrease in PCD that follows in NPDR and PDR results largely from an incremental loss of capillary segments. These findings, consistent with previous studies, demonstrate the potential of OCTA as a clinical tool for earlier objective detection of preclinical diabetic retinopathy. NOTE: Publication of this article is sponsored by the American Ophthalmological Society.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NLZOH, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UILJ, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK, ZAGLJ, ZRSKP
Presence of a fovea centralis is directly linked to molecular specification of an avascular area in central retina, before the fovea (or ‘pit’) begins to form. Modelling suggests that mechanical ...forces, generated within the eye, initiate formation of a pit within the avascular area, and its later remodelling in the postnatal period. Within the avascular area the retina is dominated by ‘midget’ circuitry, in which signals are transferred from a single cone to a single bipolar cell, then a single ganglion cell. Thus in inner, central retina there are relatively few lateral connections between neurons. This renders the region adaptable to tangential forces, that translocate of ganglion cells laterally/centrifugally, to form the fovea. Optical coherence tomography enables live imaging of the retina, and shows that there is greater variation in the morphology of foveae in humans than previously thought. This variation is associated with differences in size of the avascular area and appears to be genetically based, but can be modified by environmental factors, including prematurity. Even when the fovea is absent (foveal hypoplasia), cones in central retina adopt an elongated and narrow morphology, enabling them to pack more densely to increase the sampling rate, and to act as more effective waveguides. Given these findings, what then is the adaptive advantage of a fovea? We suggest that the advantages of having a pit in central retina are relatively few, and minor, but together work to enhance acuity.
•The fovea centralis forms in an avascular zone (FAZ) defined by molecular factors.•FAZ size, and shape of the fovea, is determined by genetic and environmental cues.•Presence of midget circuitry in central retina facilitates formation of the fovea.•Narrowing and elongation of cones is a key adaptation that enhances acuity.•Cones differentiate narrow, elongated shapes even when a fovea is absent.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
Abstract Background The rate of recurrent appendicitis is low following nonoperative management of complicated appendicitis. However, recent data suggest an increased rate of neoplasms in these ...cases. Methods The study was a retrospective review of patients with acute appendicitis at 2 university-affiliated community hospitals over a 12-year period. The primary outcome measure was the incidence of appendiceal neoplasm following interval appendectomy. Results Six thousand thirty-eight patients presented with acute appendicitis. Appendectomy was performed in 5,851 (97%) patients at the index admission. Of the 188 patients treated with initial nonoperative management, 89 (47%) underwent interval appendectomy. Appendiceal neoplasms were identified in 11 of the 89 (12%) patients. These included mucinous neoplasms (n = 6), carcinoid tumors (n = 4), and adenocarcinoma (n = 1). The rate of neoplasm in patients over age 40 was 16%. Conclusions There is a significant rate of neoplasms identified in patient over age 40 undergoing interval appendectomy. This should be considered following nonoperative management of complicated appendicitis.
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GEOZS, IJS, IMTLJ, KILJ, KISLJ, NUK, OILJ, PNG, SAZU, SBCE, SBJE, UL, UM, UPCLJ, UPUK
To assess the relationship between foveal pit morphology and size of the foveal avascular zone (FAZ).
Forty-two subjects were recruited. Volumetric images of the macula were obtained using spectral ...domain optical coherence tomography. Images of the FAZ were obtained using either a modified fundus camera or an adaptive optics scanning light ophthalmoscope. Foveal pit metrics (depth, diameter, slope, volume, and area) were automatically extracted from retinal thickness data, whereas the FAZ was manually segmented by two observers to extract estimates of FAZ diameter and area.
Consistent with previous reports, the authors observed significant variation in foveal pit morphology. The average foveal pit volume was 0.081 mm(3) (range, 0.022 to 0.190 mm(3)). The size of the FAZ was also highly variable between persons, with FAZ area ranging from 0.05 to 1.05 mm(2) and FAZ diameter ranging from 0.20 to 1.08 mm. FAZ area was significantly correlated with foveal pit area, depth, and volume; deeper and broader foveal pits were associated with larger FAZs.
Although these results are consistent with predictions from existing models of foveal development, more work is needed to confirm the developmental link between the size of the FAZ and the degree of foveal pit excavation. In addition, more work is needed to understand the relationship between these and other anatomic features of the human foveal region, including peak cone density, rod-free zone diameter, and Henle fiber layer.
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