Earlier Work Research Articles

Differential effects of sleep deprivation on sleepwalking: Role of demographic and clinical profiles

BackgroundAlthough sleepwalking is one of the most prevalent and potentially injurious of the NREM parasomnias, it is still diagnosed primarily based on the patient's clinical history. Early pilot work suggested that sleep deprivation protocols could help obtain a polysomnographically-based (PSG) diagnosis of sleepwalking, but larger studies remain lacking. MethodsWe compared baseline PSG recordings with those obtained after 25hrs of sleep deprivation in a cohort of 124 consecutively assessed adult sleepwalkers. ResultsWhen compared to baseline recordings, post-sleep deprivation PSG assessments resulted in nearly twice as many somnambulistic episodes being recorded in the laboratory and significantly increased the proportion of patients (from 48 % to 63 %) experiencing at least one lab-based episode. Moreover, while 17 % of patients experienced a sleepwalking event exclusively during recovery sleep, only 2 % of patients did so solely at baseline. Sleep deprivation had similar facilitating effects on patents’ somnambulistic events regardless of age of onset and positive versus negative family history for sleepwalking. Younger age and higher home episode frequency both predicted a positive response to sleep deprivation. A separate group of 17 patients with comorbid sleep disorders showed a similar increase in their proportion experiencing at least one episode during recovery sleep. ConclusionThe results from this large series of sleepwalkers provide strong support for the use of sleep deprivation in facilitating the occurrence of somnambulistic events in the sleep laboratory.

THE SKETCH STORY IN THE EARLY WORKS OF I.A. BUNIN: LITERARY GENEALOGY OF THE GENRE

The article delves into the sketch-like inclinations present in the early works of Ivan Bunin, while also examining the synchronous and diachronic literary contexts surrounding these narratives. The sketch-like aspect apparent in young Bunin’s writing is evidently linked to the traditions of the naturalist school of the 1840s. In a similar vein, the author minimizes intrigue and authorial presence, instead ‘capturing’ fragments of life, abstaining from describing any substantial plot-driving events, and restraining the use of artistic devices. On the whole, these stories unfold over a single day in the lives of the characters - from dawn to dusk - portraying a distinct social archetype of a small-town landowner who, in many aspects, shares commonalities with the peasantry. However, amidst these formal techniques, Bunin introduces new motivations that were hitherto unexplored in Russian literary tradition but discernible within the contemporary European modernist practice. These include an aesthetic gaze, a fascination with decay, contemplative minutiae, the whims of chance, and a particular philosophical ambiance, all of which appear to guide the stories towards a parabolic interpretation. The article concludes that within Bunin’s early prose, impressionistic and inherently modernist elements are seamlessly woven into the sketch-like narrative structure. This integration would subsequently gain greater prevalence and significance in his future works, particularly during his emigrant period. The essence of this amalgamation is not rooted in the realm of prose, but rather in the domain of poetry. Even within his early prose endeavors, Bunin, a poet with classical inclinations, attempts to synthesize the qualities of poetry and prose, drawing from his poetic background to enrich his prose compositions. Consequently, the contemplative quality we mentioned earlier is likely rooted in elegiac themes, whereas impressionism and occasional attributes bear resemblance to elements found within landscapes.

Minimum-time interception of a moving target by a material point in a viscous medium

In this paper we investigated a model that describes the motion of a material point in a viscous medium under a force that is arbitrary in direction, but limited in magnitude. This model was named ”the isotropic rocket” in the early work of Rufus Isaacs. We obtained a parametric description of a reachable set for the isotropic rocket and solved a group of reachability problems for a final configuration that varies in a known time-dependent manner (moving target). To describe the reachable set, we obtained an explicit parametric form of its boundary and all its projections onto all subspaces of the state space. Convergent algorithms have been proposed for computing minimum-time interception in position and velocity spaces. Finally, we numerically investigated particular cases of minimum-time interception, validating the development of this study.

Depth of emotional experiencing and outcome in therapy with young people.

To analyse the relationship between depth of emotional experiencing and outcomes in young people. We also wanted to understand whether 'early' or 'working' depth of emotional experiencing was most predictive of outcomes, and how these compared against alliance effects. Hierarchical linear regression analysis of data from a study of school-based humanistic counselling (SBHC). Data from 60 young people were used for the study across 15 schools: mean age 13.7 years old (range: 13-16); 67% female; 52% from Black, mixed or non-white ethnicities. Depth of emotional experiencing was rated using the Client Experiencing Scale at session 1 (early EXP) and session 6 (working EXP). The dependent variable was changes in psychological distress from baseline to 12-week follow-up, as assessed by the Young Person's CORE. In our final model, working EXP accounted for 11.6% of the variance in YP-CORE change scores after baseline YP-CORE scores were taken into account. Early EXP and working alliance were not predictive of benefit. Sensitivity analyses indicated that working EXP was associated with benefits across a range of indicators. Our findings show, for the first time, that depth of emotional experiencing has a significant and sizeable association with outcomes in therapy for young people. This is consistent with emerging evidence from the adult field. It suggests that practitioners working with young people should monitor the depth of emotional experiencing and foster methods for supporting its development.

Ohne Heimat

Abstract This essay reconstructs the relationship between critique and theory constitutive for Critical Theory. Based on Max Horkheimer’s 1937 program, the first part shows that “critical behaviour” must, on the one hand, seek proximity to social practice. On the other hand, such behaviour is dependent on the distance from its object that all “theoretical work” entails. Since the inception of a genuinely critical theory in the early works of Karl Marx, the proximity to practice goes hand in hand with the demand to work towards its change, implying a proximity to political movements. The second part shows that, for historical reasons, Horkheimer’s program distances itself from such movements. The third part interprets this dialectical attitude towards social practice as conditioning the peculiar – ideology-critical – capacity of Critical Theory. In conclusion, the fourth part problematises two current tendencies towards dissolving said dialectics: a return to what Horkheimer calls traditional theory on the one hand, and the abandonment of the demanding social-theoretical program in favour of political positioning on the other.

Using the Proximity Ligation Assay to Visualize Colocalization of Proteins at the Drosophila Larval Neuromuscular Junction.

In the nearly 50 years since the neuromuscular junction (NMJ) was first established as a model synapse, its molecular composition has been extensively characterized. Early work relied on fluorescent signals to determine whether proteins localized to the pre- and postsynaptic regions. As more synaptic molecules were identified, determining the localization of these proteins relative to each other became important. Conventional microscopy lacks the resolving power to assess whether two proteins are within an appropriate distance to bind directly or be part of a larger complex. Super-resolution and immunoelectron microscopies can improve spatial resolution, but these techniques can be difficult to execute and troubleshoot, and access to these instruments is limiting. However, another approach, proximity labeling, overcomes many of these limitations by using a DNA secondary label that can only be amplified if the two proteins of interest are within 40 nm of each other, which is ∼5× greater than the resolving power of conventional microscopy. In this protocol, we describe the use of the proximity ligation assay, which combines immunohistochemistry with DNA amplification, to reveal protein colocalization in the Drosophila NMJ.

Shoulder Bone Segmentation with DeepLab and U-Net

Evaluation of the 3D bone morphology of the glenohumeral joint is necessary for pre-surgical planning. Zero echo time (ZTE) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provides excellent bone contrast and can potentially be used in the place of computed tomography. Segmentation of the shoulder anatomy, particularly the humeral head and the acetabulum, is needed for the detailed assessment of each anatomy and for pre-surgical preparation. In this study, we compared the performance of two popular deep learning models based on Google’s DeepLab and U-Net to perform automated segmentation on ZTE MRI of human shoulders. Axial ZTE images of normal shoulders (n = 31) acquired at 3-Tesla were annotated for training with DeepLab and 2D U-Net, and the trained model was validated with testing data (n = 13). While both models showed visually satisfactory results for segmenting the humeral bone, U-Net slightly over-estimated while DeepLab under-estimated the segmented area compared to the ground truth. Testing accuracy quantified by Dice score was significantly higher (p < 0.05) for U-Net (88%) than DeepLab (81%) for the humeral segmentation. We have also implemented the U-Net model onto an MRI console for push-button DL segmentation processing. Although this is an early work with limitations, our approach has the potential to improve shoulder MR evaluation hindered by manual post-processing and may provide clinical benefit for quickly visualizing bones of the glenohumeral joint.

Muhammed el-Yedâlî’nin ez-Zehebu’l-İbrîz fi Tefsir-i Kitâbillâhi’l-Azîz Adlı Eserinde Ulûmü’l-Kur’an

The study of the history of tafsir is not merely a historical account of the lives of mufassirs. It encompasses a variety of informative insights such as the methodologies employed, the nuances among these methods, the preferences of mufassirs in utilizing these methodologies, the progress or regression of tafsir in different geographical regions, and the reasons behind these developments. This article is a study focused on the inclusion of Muhammad Said al-Yadali within the history of tafsir. Al-Yadali was a scholar from the Qibla region of Mauritania in the late 17th century, who was well-versed in the disciplines of tasawwuf, tafsir, fiqh (Islamic jurisprudence), usul (principles of Islamic jurisprudence), and seerah (the life of the Prophet Muhammad). His work, "az-Zahabu'l-Ibriz fi Tafsiri Kitabillahi'l-Aziz," holds the distinction of being the first tafsir written in Mauritania. Early works have both advantages and disadvantages. The advantage of his study lies in its originality for the region, setting a precedent for future scholars to follow. Al-Yadali pioneered the field of tafsir in his locality. The disadvantage, however, is the absence of prior tafsir works in the area, which limits the critical perspectives. Al-Yadali’s tafsir not only features ishari (allegorical) interpretations but also includes methods from both riwayat (narrative) and dirayat (reasoning) approaches. The work frequently references Ulum al-Qur'an (Sciences of the Qur'an). In the study, aspects of the Qur'anic sciences, especially i'jaz al-Qur'an (the inimitability of the Qur'an), asbab al-nuzul (occasions of revelation), and nasikh wa mansukh (abrogation) are notably emphasized. According to Yadali’s preference, asbab al-nuzul should be used, but the narrations pertaining to the reasons for revelations must be critically evaluated. The knowledge of nasikh wa mansukh (abrogating and abrogated verses) is considered essential in tafsir and must be utilized. The mufassir strongly criticizes those who deny the presence of abrogation in the Qur'an. The issue of i'jaz al-Qur'an is specific to the literary style of the Qur'an. The miraculous nature of the Qur'an is understood when the eloquence becomes apparent through the degradation caused by the alteration of any of its words. When possible, Yadali groups ayahs in sets of five for commentary. His tafsir methodology begins with a lexical analysis of words, followed by references to hadith, extensive use of Arabic poetry, and employing the sciences of rhetoric—ma'ani (meaning), bayan (exposition), and badi' (rhetorical embellishments). He also mentions opinions that he believes to be right or wrong and includes discussions on both fiqh and aqidah (creed) topics extensively in his tafsir. Being the first tafsir written in Mauritania, Yadali diligently employs the most prominent sources and methods of tafsir scholarship in his work. Keywords: Tafsir, Ulum al-Qur'an, Ishari Tafsir, I’jaz al-Qur’an, Muhammad al-Yadali, az-Zahabu’l-Ibriz.

British surveillance of postwar Soviet radio jamming: US–UK intelligence relations and interference detection at BBC Tatsfield, 1948-1949

ABSTRACT Following World War II, the BBC, better known for radio programme broadcasts, continued its long-standing work of radio spectrum surveillance at the specialized receiving and measurement facility located at Tatsfield. Both before and after Soviet jamming of US and British Russian-language broadcasts escalated in April 1949, Tatsfield catalogued the technical characteristics of jamming signals. BBC engineers, experienced in interpreting types and sources of radio interference, issued fortnightly summaries with interpretations of these technical observations. US intelligence agencies knew of Tatsfield’s findings, but differing perspectives in Washington and London resulted in divergent responses to the technical intelligence data. With rising tensions in wider Anglo-American intelligence relations, fueled by the Soviet weapons program and security breaches, such differences presaged separate approaches to Soviet communications threats. US agencies received greatly increased funding, while the BBC’s budget struggles persisted. Even so, interference detection was a high-water mark in Britain’s early Cold War intelligence work.

Implantable photonic nano-modulators open perspectives for advanced optical interfaces with deep brain areas.

An emerging trend at the forefront of optical neural interfaces leverages the optical properties of photonic nanostructures to modulate light delivery and collection patterns in deep brain regions. This perspective article surveys the early works that have spearheaded this promising strategy, and discusses its promise towards the establishment of a class of augmented nano-neurophotonic probes.

Female roles in Western-style Chinese opera: from Confucianist female archetype and political allegory to postmodern complexity

ABSTRACT Borrowing the lens of Western gender theories in exploring the development of Western-style Chinese opera that emerged from the historical backbone of Confucianism and patriarchal traditions, this article examines how female roles were portrayed under the assumed gender binary that is a criterion of heteronormativity with unfaded accents of past feudal Chinese traditions. We identified three periods of Western-style Chinese operatic where the early works in the first two periods (early 1920s–late 1940s and early 1950s–late1970s) reveal that male dominance remains largely at the core led by China’s male-primogeniture tradition, and more often, female protagonists were moulded into political tools for communist and collectivist demands. The latter works, written since the mid-1970s, broke through the ancient feudal shadows of the Confucian Four Books of Women with pluralistic sonic and visual gender expressions that established a schism between past and present Chinese feminism. The outcome reveals how Chinese feminism was portrayed and employed as a political tool in these operas, where female roles were enmeshed between Confucianism and female empowerment, in an ambivalent desire to reconstruct the reality and simulacrum of feminism bounded by political allegory, classical Chinese aesthetics, and Western feminism.

Preferences for Remote and Hybrid Work: Evidence from the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic created an opportunity for many American workers to work from home. Did the rapid and widespread adoption of remote work arrangements influence workers’ preferences? This study analyzes the early pandemic work experiences of 52 participants (20 men and 32 women) in dual-earner households with children through in-depth interviews conducted in 2021 and 2022 via Zoom. The study explores respondents’ desire for remote and hybrid work, considering job satisfaction as well as job characteristics, family structure, and household organization. Unless their jobs were poorly suited to remote work, most workers with pandemic-era remote work opportunities—and even some who had not worked remotely—wished to keep remote access in their post-pandemic work arrangements. Respondents reported enhanced job satisfaction and productivity from remote work, as a result of greater schedule control and flexibility. We found that some workers were willing to change jobs to maintain their preferred work arrangement, while others acquiesced to employers’ return-to-work policies. The study highlights the need to understand workers’ preferences in supporting flexible work arrangements and contributes to the understanding of remote work on family dynamics during the pandemic and afterwards.

Pharmacological and behavioural effects of tryptamines present in psilocybin-containing mushrooms.

Demand for new antidepressants has resulted in a re-evaluation of the therapeutic potential of psychedelic drugs. Several tryptamines found in psilocybin-containing "magic" mushrooms share chemical similarities with psilocybin. Early work suggests they may share biological targets. However, few studies have explored their pharmacological and behavioural effects. We compared baeocystin, norbaeocystin and aeruginascin with psilocybin to determine if they are metabolized by the same enzymes, similarly penetrate the blood-brain barrier, serve as ligands for similar receptors and modulate behaviour in rodents similarly. We also assessed the stability and optimal storage and handling conditions for each compound. In vitro enzyme kinetics assays found that all compounds had nearly identical rates of dephosphorylation via alkaline phosphatase and metabolism by monoamine oxidase. Further, we found that only the dephosphorylated products of baeocystin and norbaeocystin crossed a blood-brain barrier mimetic to a similar degree as the dephosphorylated form of psilocybin, psilocin. The dephosphorylated form of norbaeocystin was found to activate the 5-HT2A receptor with similar efficacy to psilocin and norpsilocin in in vitro cell imaging assays. Behaviourally, only psilocybin induced head twitch responses in rats, a marker of 5-HT2A-mediated psychedelic effects and hallucinogenic potential. However, like psilocybin, norbaeocystin improved outcomes in the forced swim test. All compounds caused minimal changes to metrics of renal and hepatic health, suggesting innocuous safety profiles. Collectively, this work suggests that other naturally occurring tryptamines, especially norbaeocystin, may share overlapping therapeutic potential with psilocybin, but without causing hallucinations.

A History of Cancer Research: Oncogenic Transcription Factors.

Transcription factors play crucial roles in cancer, and oncogenic counterparts of cellular transcription factors are present in a number of tumor viruses. It was studies in the early 1980s that first showed tumor viruses could encode nuclear as well as cytoplasmic oncoproteins. Subsequent work provided detailed insight into their mechanisms of action, as well as potential therapeutic avenues. In this excerpt from his forthcoming book on the history of cancer research, Joe Lipsick looks back at early work on nuclear oncogenes, including the discovery of MYC, MYB, FOS and JUN, Rel/NF-κB, and nuclear receptors such as the retinoic acid receptor and thyroid hormone receptor.

Himpunan Hadith Akhir Zaman Yang Pertama: Nu`Aym Bin Ḥammād Al-Marwazī (M. 228H) dan Kitab Al-Fitan wa al-Malāḥim

Nu`aym bin Ḥammād is one of the famous scholars who made important contributions in hadith and Islamic belief. His book al-Fitan wa al-Malāḥim is considered the earliest work on great calamities before the end times. However, Nu`aym and his book have been criticized by previous and current hadith scholars. This study was conducted with the aim of studying Nu`aym's character and the position of his book al-Fitan. In order to achieve this goal, a qualitative method is used by analyzing the content that were found in scholarly writings about Nu`aym and the position of his book al-Fitan. This study shows that Nu`aym is a ṣadūq hadith narrator but makes many mistakes. His firmness in opposing the Jahmiyyah group caused him to die in government custody. As for his book, there are several political slanders and natural phenomena that prompted him to write this book al-Fitan. However, hadith scholars stated that this book contains many hadiths that are not reliable, and people must be careful when referring to them.

Pediatric Primary Care of Children With Intrauterine Opioid Exposure: Survey of Academic Teaching Practices

ObjectiveIntrauterine opioid exposure (IOE) has increased over the last 2 decades and is associated with additional needs after birth. To date, no clinical guidelines address the primary care of children with IOE. We aimed to characterize clinician-reported screening and referral practices, barriers to effective primary care for children with IOE, and clinician- and practice-level characteristics associated with perceived barriers. MethodsWe conducted a cross-sectional survey of pediatric residents, pediatricians, and advanced practitioners at 28 primary care clinics affiliated with 7 pediatric residency programs (April–June 2022). We assessed screening and other clinical practices related to IOE and perceived barriers to addressing parental opioid use disorder (OUD). We used descriptive statistics to analyze survey responses, assessed the distribution of reported barriers, and applied a 2-stage cluster analysis to assess response patterns. ResultsOf 1004 invited clinicians, 329 (32.8%) responses were returned, and 325 pediatric residents and pediatricians were included in the final analytic sample. Almost all (99.3%) reported parental substance use screening as important, but only 11.6% screened routinely. Half of the respondents routinely refer children with IOE to early intervention services and social work. Lack of standard screening for substance use was the most frequently selected barrier to addressing parental OUD. Participants reporting fewer barriers to addressing parental OUD identified having greater access to OUD treatment programs and home visiting programs. ConclusionsPediatricians report variations in primary care screenings and referrals for children with IOE. Access to parental OUD treatment programs may mitigate perceived barriers to addressing parental OUD in the pediatric office.

Termites and Rough Theatre

Poet and art critic David Antin observed that, to a great degree, video art derives significance from its relation to some aspect of television. This article acknowledges this and examines video art in the context of a cultural critique via a distinctive mixture of cross-disciplinary collaborations within the arts during the latter half of the twentieth century. While the video art Antin described can be considered an extension of the postwar recalibration of the emphasis placed on art as object, it was also the beneficiary of early twentieth-century experimentation, such as Dada’s challenge to notions of art and expectations regarding aesthetics, as well as early experimentation in cinema. This intersection of culture and art histories finds its way into the early video work of Daniel Boord. My main interest in Boord’s work is its relation to experimentation with theatricality, an area not usually associated with video art. Boord’s “lowbrow” absence of pretense and disregard for reductive formalism align well with Peter Brook’s conception of the “Rough Theatre,” as well as film critic Manny Farber’s notion of “termite art,” art that “feels its way through walls of particularization” and eats at its own boundaries. Boord’s work is a self-propelled dizzying array of humor, ideas, and juxtapositions that are well suited for the twentieth century—work that moves along according to its own self-defined boundaries of invention.

Hidden in plain sight: camouflage and hiding behaviour of wild precocial chicks in an open landscape

Camouflage represents an important component of self-protection when animals cannot easily evade predators and is often altered by behavioural responses to a predation threat. The cryptic plumage of many precocial chicks inspired early theoretical work on camouflage mechanisms, but so far, limited efforts have gone towards empirically testing the crypsis of chick plumage properties in their natural environment. We studied background matching and hiding behaviour in precocial snowy plovers Charadrius nivosus in Bahia de Ceuta, Northwest Mexico. This ground-nesting wader breeds in sparsely vegetated open habitats such as salt flats and sandy beaches. The open habitats provide a challenge for young chicks to evade predator detection. Examining background matching of wild chicks for luminance, pattern and colouration at their hiding spots, we found that chicks matched the luminance of their chosen spot better than at unchosen nearby spots. Pattern and colouration matching were age-related, with the plumage of older chicks matching their hiding spots better than those of recently hatched chicks. This suggests that with increasing mobility, chicks may be better able to find hiding places that optimise camouflage. Finally, we found that chicks were more likely to hide in soil cracks than expected by chance, suggesting that chicks chose these soil features in a barren landscape as preferred hideouts. We conclude that the cryptic plumage is an understudied but essential part of the anti-predator repertoire of precocial chicks. The plumage most likely works hand-in-hand with the anti-predator behaviours of chicks and their parents to increase survival chances of precocial young.Significance statementMany chicks rely on effective camouflage to evade predators and survive until fledging. We studied how plumage characteristics and behavioural choices enable snowy plover chicks to hide effectively from approaching predators in an open landscape. These chicks leave their nest scrapes shortly after hatching, relying on their cryptic plumage for several weeks to evade predator detection. We found that chicks chose hiding spots where their plumage had a higher match in luminance and, for older chicks, a higher match in pattern and colouration than at adjacent spots. When available, chicks chose to hide in small cracks that appeared in the soil from the evaporation of moisture. This study represents the first quantitative characterisation of cryptic chick plumage features in a natural population. Our results demonstrate that plumage and behavioural responses jointly contribute to the effective camouflage of small chicks.

Lookahead Pathology in Monte-Carlo Tree Search

Monte-Carlo Tree Search (MCTS) is a search paradigm that first found prominence with its success in the domain of computer Go. Early theoretical work established the soundness and convergence bounds for Upper Confidence bounds applied to Trees (UCT), the most popular instantiation of MCTS; however, there remain notable gaps in our understanding of how UCT behaves in practice. In this work, we address one such gap by considering the question of whether UCT can exhibit lookahead pathology in adversarial settings --- a paradoxical phenomenon first observed in Minimax search where greater search effort leads to worse decision-making. We introduce a novel family of synthetic games that offer rich modeling possibilities while remaining amenable to mathematical analysis. Our theoretical and experimental results suggest that UCT is indeed susceptible to pathological behavior in a range of games drawn from this family.

Wilhelm von Humboldt’s theory of Bildung as a moral conception of the good life

While the concept of Bildung has acquired international currency in educational and philosophical studies, its moral implications have been obscured by existing educational accounts. I present the moral implications inherent in the term through specific reference to the early works of Wilhelm von Humboldt. In contrast to previous scholarships, where Humboldt’s theory of Bildung has been deployed for drawing on the account of the true end of the human being and the inner process of interaction between the self and the world, I draw on Bildung as a moral conception of promoting a good life for others. To illustrate this conception, I (a) demonstrate the basic structure of Humboldt’s theory of Bildung by examining its four core components, (b) reconstruct Humboldt’s notion of virtue balanced state of various faculties as a moral ideal (c) consider Humboldt’s philosophical historiography to illustrate how Bildung can be mediated at individual and collective levels, and (d) present the concrete forms of the obligation to promote the good lives of others in his anthropological writings.