Radical Paradigm Shift Research Articles

How Can Deep Neural Networks Inform Theory in Psychological Science?

Over the last decade, deep neural networks (DNNs) have transformed the state of the art in artificial intelligence. In domains such as language production and reasoning, long considered uniquely human abilities, contemporary models have proven capable of strikingly human-like performance. However, in contrast to classical symbolic models, neural networks can be inscrutable even to their designers, making it unclear what significance, if any, they have for theories of human cognition. Two extreme reactions are common. Neural network enthusiasts argue that, because the inner workings of DNNs do not seem to resemble any of the traditional constructs of psychological or linguistic theory, their success renders these theories obsolete and motivates a radical paradigm shift. Neural network skeptics instead take this inability to interpret DNNs in psychological terms to mean that their success is irrelevant to psychological science. In this article, we review recent work that suggests that the internal mechanisms of DNNs can, in fact, be interpreted in the functional terms characteristic of psychological explanations. We argue that this undermines the shared assumption of both extremes and opens the door for DNNs to inform theories of cognition and its development.

SP3.1 - Could shorter length of stay and oncological non inferiority justify a radical paradigm shift towards RAS to be the gold standard for all rectal cancer resections

Abstract Aim Robotic-assisted surgery (RAS) has proven to be an effective alternative to open (OP) and laparoscopic-assisted (LAP) rectal cancer resections. We aim to evaluate pathological and peri-operative outcomes of patients in a single centre undergoing rectal cancer resections using all three surgical techniques to evaluate whether RAS should be the gold-standard. Methods We retrospectively identified all elective rectal cancer resection cases since 2019 at our centre offering OP, LAP, and RAS services. We audited length-of-stay (LoS), complications, readmission rates, margin clearance status, and lymph node yield. Results Since 2019, there were 28 OP, 77 LAP, and 35 RAS resections performed. The median LoS for OP resections was 11 days, for LAP was 8 days (p=0.02) and was lowest for RAS resections (3 days, p=0.005). Readmission rates were highest for OP resections (21.4%) and were identical for LAP and RAS resections (14.2% each). Complications (OP 25%, LAP 34%, RAS 37%; p>0.05) were categorized using Clavien-Dindo (CD) classification with LAP having highest proportions of CD-IV (7.7%) and CD-V (7.7%), whereas RAS and OP resections had no severe complications (CD-IVa/IVb/V). Conclusion Our analysis shows significantly superior outcomes for shorter LoS and clear non-inferiority of RAS in all other aspects as compared to conventional approaches. Efforts must be bolstered to introduce RAS for rectal cancer resections in the long run considering the need for increasing training opportunities and improved resources to allow for a stable transition to RAS led services, rather than a radical conversion. Further studies are warranted to substantiate our observation.

The role of fetal hemoglobin in the artificial placenta: A premature ovine model.

A radical paradigm shift in the treatment of premature infants failing conventional treatment is to recreate fetal physiology using an extracorporeal Artificial Placenta (AP). The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of changing fetal hemoglobin percent (HbF%) on physiology and circuit function during AP support in an ovine model. Extremely premature lambs (n = 5) were delivered by cesarean section at 117-121 d estimated gestational age (EGA) (term = 145d), weighing 2.5 ± 0.35kg. Lambs were cannulated using 10-14Fr cannulae for drainage via the right jugular vein and reinfusion via the umbilical vein. Lambs were intubated and lungs were filled with perfluorodecalin to a meniscus with a pressure of 5-8cm H2O. The first option for transfusion was fetal whole blood from twins followed by maternal red blood cells. Arterial blood gases were used to titrate AP support to maintain fetal blood gas values. The mean survival time on circuit was 119.6 ± 39.5h. Hemodynamic parameters and lactate were stable throughout. As more adult blood transfusions were given to maintain hemoglobin at 10mg/dL, the HbF% declined, reaching 40% by post operative day 7. The HbF% was inversely proportional to flow rates as higher flows were required to maintain adequate oxygen saturation and perfusion. Transfusion of adult blood led to decreased fetal hemoglobin concentration during AP support. The HbF% was inversely proportional to flow rates. Future directions include strategies to decrease the priming volume and establishing a fetal blood bank to have blood rich in HbF.

« Guerre » et « Londres ». Pour une relecture contemporaine de Céline ?

During 2022, Gallimard released two of Céline’s “unpublished novels”, recounting Brigadier Ferdinand's convalescence after suffering serious wounds on the Flanders front (Guerre), and the same hero's subsequent wanderings through the capital of the United Kingdom, where Ferdinand lives among French pimps (Londres). After examining the circumstances surrounding the publication of both texts, we will focus on the direct and indirect representation of the war, which functions here as a kind of “original sin” from which all subsequent evil results, but also as a radical paradigm shift in relationships between men and women, written language and spoken language, etc.

Transformation of the higher education system in the context of digital change: A research review on trends in the development of a post-digital university

Introduction. This article presents an analysis of a number of academic researches (in the Russian Federation, the Republic of Kazakhstan and the world) on the future prospects of the higher education system of post-digital university. The article aim is to determine the philosophical aspects of the ongoing changes based on a review of current research on the problem. Materials and Methods. The main methods of the proposed research are the philosophical analysis of academic researches in the field of education, as well as a review of the philosophical literature of 2020-2023 on the trends of the post-digital university. Results. The authors note that currently it put in the first place not the productivity of education, but its social characteristics. In a post-digital university, a radical paradigm shift is needed, the rejection of the standardized, algorithmic structure of the university, its transition to a socially significant, critical, responsible device. The authors show that new technologies, as well as digitalization in education, should not be a goal, but a means. Only then can progress in education and significant social transformations be possible. Conclusions. In conclusion, the authors note that the digitalization of the educational process itself, described in the leading documents on education, will not lead to any results, unless it is accompanied by serious transformations in the content of education.

Model krafne: okvir procjene društvenog utjecaja niskougljične tranzicije na primjeru četiri grada u Hrvatskoj

Just sustainability requires the transition of modern societies to a different organization of energy and material flows and a different distribution of well-being in the developed countries of the global North, including Croatia. One of the reasons for this is a fair contribution to global efforts to mitigate climate change at the state, regional and city level (as advocated, for example, by the METAR project). Systematic mitigation of climate change and societal adaptation to unavoidable disasters require mental models of the socio-ecological impacts of current and desired flow, derived from a comprehensive scientific paradigm of sustainable prosperity. However, the existing (causal-mechanistic) paradigm for understanding the interaction between ideological aspirations, the economic process and the natural environment is based on an unsustainable linear model of economic growth driven by fossil fuels for the accumulation of (economic) surplus value. Based on the precedent of a radical paradigm shift in the natural sciences, this article presents a mental model and analytical visualization derived from the so-called "donut" or "lifeline" economies. The degrowth doughnut encompasses biophysical, socio-economic and cultural elements that highlight the boundaries within which socio-metabolic processes can achieve sustainable and equitable outcomes compatible with climate stabilization and sustainable social well-being. The article shows the application of "doughnut" analytics to assess the social impact of interventions developed within the "METAR" network for the cities of Pula, Slavonski Brod, Zadar and Zagreb

The Submerged, Post-Truth “Island of Happiness” in Michel Houellebecq’s Extension du domaine de la lutte

This article proposes a Debordian reading of Michel Houellebecq’s first work Extension du domaine de la lutte that would thrust him into the spotlight as France’s most popular and controversial writer. Specifically, this investigation demonstrates that Debord’s theories are a useful lens from which to analyze Houellebecq’s harsh critique of late capitalism. Owing to a radical paradigm shift in the capitalist paradigm, Debord and Houellebecq posit that we live in a brave new world in which millions of individuals no longer have a frame of reference for distinguishing between commonplace reality and its simulation on a screen. On the informational battlefield where simulations of the good(s) life have proliferated themselves to the brink of replacing the real in the collective imagination of consumer citizens, they illustrate that the timeless search for happiness also seems to be even more fraught with peril in the 21st century.

The new frontier in ECLS: Artificial placenta and artificial womb for premature infants

Outcomes for extremely low gestational age newborns (ELGANs), defined as <28 weeks estimated gestational age (EGA), remain disproportionately poor. A radical paradigm shift in the treatment of prematurity is to recreate the fetal environment with extracorporeal support and provide an environment for organ maturation using an extracorporeal VV-ECLS artificial placenta (AP) or an AV-ECLS artificial womb (AW). In this article, we will review clinical indications, current approaches in development, ongoing challenges, remaining milestones and ethical considerations prior to clinical translation.

Extremely-Fast, Energy-Efficient Massive MIMO Precoding With Analog RRAM Matrix Computing

Signal processing in wireless communications, such as precoding, detection, and channel estimation, are basically about solving inverse matrix problems, which, however, are slow and inefficient in conventional digital computers, thus requiring a radical paradigm shift to achieve fast, real-time solutions. Here, for the first time, we apply the emerging analog matrix computing (AMC) to the linear precoding of massive MIMO. The real-valued AMC concept is extended to process complex-valued signals. In order to adapt the MIMO channel models to RRAM conductance mapping, a new matrix inversion circuit is developed. In addition, fully analog dataflow and optimized operational amplifiers are designed to support AMC precoding implementation. Simulation results show that the zero-forcing precoding is solved within 20 ns for a 16×128 MIMO system, which is two orders of magnitude faster than the conventional digital approach. Meanwhile, the energy efficiency is improved by 50×.

New Radiobiological Principles for the CNS Arising from Space Radiation Research.

Traditionally, the brain has been regarded as a relatively insensitive late-reacting tissue, with radiologically detectable damage not being reported at doses < 60 Gy. When NASA proposed interplanetary exploration missions, it was required to conduct an intensive health and safety evaluation of cancer, cardiovascular, and cognitive risks associated with exposure to deep space radiation (SR). The SR dose that astronauts on a mission to Mars are predicted to receive is ~300 mGy. Even after correcting for the higher RBE of the SR particles, the biologically effective SR dose (<1 Gy) would still be 60-fold lower than the threshold dose for clinically detectable neurological damage. Unexpectedly, the NASA-funded research program has consistently reported that low (<250 mGy) doses of SR induce deficits in multiple cognitive functions. This review will discuss these findings and the radical paradigm shifts in radiobiological principles for the brain that were required in light of these findings. These included a shift from cell killing to loss of function models, an expansion of the critical brain regions for radiation-induced cognitive impediments, and the concept that the neuron may not be the sole critical target for neurocognitive impairment. The accrued information on how SR exposure impacts neurocognitive performance may provide new opportunities to reduce neurocognitive impairment in brain cancer patients.

Overcoming barriers to patient adherence: the case for developing innovative drug delivery systems.

Poor medication adherence is a pervasive issue with considerable health and socioeconomic consequences. Although the underlying reasons are generally understood, traditional intervention strategies rooted in patient-centric education and empowerment have proved to be prohibitively complex and/or ineffective. Formulating a pharmaceutical in a drug delivery system (DDS) is a promising alternative that can directly mitigate many common impediments to adherence, including frequent dosing, adverse effects and a delayed onset of action. Existing DDSs have already positively influenced patient acceptability and improved rates of adherence across various disease and intervention types. The next generation of systems have the potential to instate an even more radical paradigm shift by, for example, permitting oral delivery of biomacromolecules, allowing for autonomous dose regulation and enabling several doses to be mimicked with a single administration. Their success, however, iscontingent on their ability to address the problems that have made DDSs unsuccessful in the past.

“Let the great axe fall”: from ancient Babylonian torture to modern forensic psychotherapy: Freud, Welldon, and the humanisation of criminality

Since the dawn of time, those men and women who had committed acts of violence would often be subjected to incarceration, followed by torture and, subsequently, execution. We have no shortage of historical evidence documenting the use of beating, branding, flogging, confinement to stocks and pillories, breaking on the wheel, mutilation, tearing of the flesh with red-hot pincers, amputation of body parts, not to mention execution through such varied methods as hanging, impalement, stoning, beheading, garrotting, guillotining, boiling, burning, drowning, drawing and quartering, poisoning, shooting with arrows or bullets, starvation, and, in more recent years, electrocution or injection of a lethal dosage of drugs. In this article, the author will present a history of the sadistic treatment of criminal-ity across the ages. He will then explore and celebrate the ways in which Professor Sigmund Freud and his psychological successors ultimately created a radical para-digm shift, introducing immense compassion into the understanding and healing of offender patients. After reviewing the contributions of Professor Sigmund Freud and of some of the leading pioneers of forensic psychoanalysis, the author will then examine the ways in which Profesora Estela V. Welldon and her contemporaries helped to formalise and validate and expand the profession of forensic psycho-therapy on clinical and theoretical and institutional levels, thus providing us with a sense of hope that, in decades hence, those who perpetrate violence will be offered more humane treatment.

Sustainable development of Russian industry in the context of a macroeconomic shock and new industrial policy

Aim. The presented study aims to analyze the sustainable development of Russian industry in the context of a macroeconomic shock.Tasks. The authors describe the manifestations and causes of the 2022 macroeconomic shock; assess the impact of the macroeconomic shock on the current level of industrial production in Russia; develop recommendations to ensure the sustainable development of domestic industry based on the implementation of a new industrial policy.Methods. This study uses the methods of comparative and retrospective analysis, generalization, scenario and situational forecasting, and expert assessment.Results. The turbulence of economic processes both in Russia and globally has increased dramatically since the end of February 2022. This gave rise to a situation that can be described as a macroeconomic shock, i.e. a significant and transient change in one or more macroeconomic parameters, disturbing the economy's equilibrium and causing a transition to a new quasi-equilibrium state. At the first stage, the macroeconomic shock caused a decline in industrial output. At the second stage, the decline was genereally stopped, but industrial restructuring was initiated, negatively affecting critical and technologically complex production. The analysis of available data clearly indicates a correlation between the magnitude of production decline in certain industrial sectors and the level of their import dependence. At the same time, the potential of traditional import substitution has largely been exhausted. Therefore, the authors propose a model of a new industrial policy for implementation. Its essence is that the state should organize the production of competitive industrial products rather than ensure it. This is a radical paradigm shift. The expressed conceptual idea will require further in-depth study in case it is adopted. The authors believe that this will happen shortly, and the scientific community will join the constructive discussion and elaboration of the ideas presented in the article.Conclusions. The modern Russian economy in general and industry in particular is developing in the context of a macroeconomic shock caused by the sanctions of the collective West. The production decline caused by the shock is gradually diminishing. However, there is a negative industrial restructuring caused by high import dependence of some industries. To remedy the situation, the idea of a new industrial policy based on a more active role of the state in the economy is proposed.

Matter as the New Wilderness: Cognitive Obstacles, Radium, and Radioactivity in British and American Popular Fiction from the 1910s

At the beginning of the 20th century, the radical paradigm shift in atomic phys- ics and chemistry attracted attention from non-scientific culture, and provided a new set of imagery in literary representation of matter, particularly in popular fiction. The article presents a number of texts whose themes and plots were rooted in a peculiar manner of writing, featuring a radical and consistent projection of emotions and desires onto literary representation of matter. The theoretical background has been derived from recent discus- sion of cultural materialism, and from Gaston Bachelard’s psychoanalysis of the scientific mind. The selection of literary texts covers popular novels and short stories published in Britain and the United States between 1880 and 1918. The conclusions present a some- what surprising link between the new developments in atomic theory, and the tradition of frontier settings in the American adventure romance.

Prospects of the Post-Digital University: Analysis of Program Documents in the Field of Education

Introduction. COVID-19 has fundamentally changed the architectonics of the global educational process. While many countries are still analyzing the consequences of the pandemic for education, the world’s largest institutions and organizations are already thinking about the future of education. The purpose of the article is to identify and summarize the prospects for the development of a post-digital university on the basis of this analysis. Materials and Methods. This article presents an analysis of a number of important documents of world organizations on the future prospects of the higher education system during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, as well as official documents on education systems in the Russian Federation and the Republic of Kazakhstan. The main methods of the proposed research are the analysis of program documents in the field of education, as well as a review of the philosophical literature of 2020‒2022 on the trends of the post-digital university. Results. In the worldʼs leading documents on the future of the education system it is shown that education is the main driving force of sustainable development. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has led to an unprecedented destabilization of the entire world education system. The analytical documents, in general, contains the following ideas: increasing the viability of education systems for sustainable development; rethinking education and accelerating positive transformations in teaching and learning. Based on the analysis of the situation, the documents suggested a number of effective measures, is the mains among which: digital transformation of universities; measures to support the research activities of universities. The article suggests that the digitalization of the educational process itself, described in the leading documents on education, will not lead to any results, unless it is accompanied by serious transformations in the content of education. Discussion and Conclusion. In a post-digital university, a radical paradigm shift is needed, the rejection of the neoliberal, standardized, algorithmic structure of the university, its transition to a socially significant, critical, responsible device. New technologies, as well as digitalization in education, should not be a goal, but a means. Only then can progress in education and significant social transformations be possible. The practical significance of this research of the authors lies in the analysis and generalization of strategically important program documents in the field of education on the prospects for the development of a post-digital university.

Value of Interconnectors Operating in Simultaneous Energy-Frequency Response Markets

This paper investigates the potential contribution that interconnectors can provide to efficiently support the security of interconnected power systems. The proposed modelling setup introduces a radical paradigm shift in the operation of the interconnectors and in their interactions with multiple markets. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first paper that models a simultaneous allocation of the interconnector capacity for the exchange of energy and of inertia-dependent primary frequency response. The benefits and impact of this new methodology are evaluated with typical market indicators (e.g., social welfare and interconnector revenues) under two different paradigms: a centralized approach where the interconnectors are operated to minimize the system operational cost and a market-based framework where the interconnectors are privately-owned assets with self-interested objectives. By modelling the interconnectors as “price-maker”, the proposed work quantifies the potential inefficiencies of market solutions while considering key elements such as capacity withdrawing. A case study of the GB-France systems assesses the value of interconnectors on system efficiency and security under the considered paradigms.

Multimodal MRI-Based Whole-Brain Assessment in Patients In Anoxoischemic Coma by Using 3D Convolutional Neural Networks

BackgroundThere is an unfulfilled need to find the best way to automatically capture, analyze, organize, and merge structural and functional brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) data to ultimately extract relevant signals that can assist the medical decision process at the bedside of patients in postanoxic coma. We aimed to develop and validate a deep learning model to leverage multimodal 3D MRI whole-brain times series for an early evaluation of brain damages related to anoxoischemic coma.MethodsThis proof-of-concept, prospective, cohort study was undertaken at the intensive care unit affiliated with the University Hospital (Toulouse, France), between March 2018 and May 2020. All patients were scanned in coma state at least 2 days (4 ± 2 days) after cardiac arrest. Over the same period, age-matched healthy volunteers were recruited and included. Brain MRI quantification encompassed both “functional data” from regions of interest (precuneus and posterior cingulate cortex) with whole-brain functional connectivity analysis and “structural data” (gray matter volume, T1-weighted, fractional anisotropy, and mean diffusivity). A specifically designed 3D convolutional neuronal network (CNN) was created to allow conscious state discrimination (coma vs. controls) by using raw MRI indices as the input. A voxel-wise visualization method based on the study of convolutional filters was applied to support CNN outcome. The Ethics Committee of the University Teaching Hospital of Toulouse, France (2018-A31) approved the study and informed consent was obtained from all participants.ResultsThe final cohort consisted of 29 patients in postanoxic coma and 34 healthy volunteers. Coma patients were successfully discerned from controls by using 3D CNN in combination with different MR indices. The best accuracy was achieved by functional MRI data, in particular with resting-state functional MRI of the posterior cingulate cortex, with an accuracy of 0.96 (range 0.94–0.98) on the test set from 10-time repeated tenfold cross-validation. Even more satisfactory performances were achieved through the majority voting strategy, which was able to compensate for mistakes from single MR indices. Visualization maps allowed us to identify the most relevant regions for each MRI index, notably regions previously described as possibly being involved in consciousness emergence. Interestingly, a posteriori analysis of misclassified patients indicated that they may present some common functional MRI traits with controls, which suggests further favorable outcomes.ConclusionsA fully automated identification of clinically relevant signals from complex multimodal neuroimaging data is a major research topic that may bring a radical paradigm shift in the neuroprognostication of patients with severe brain injury. We report for the first time a successful discrimination between patients in postanoxic coma patients from people serving as controls by using 3D CNN whole-brain structural and functional MRI data.Clinical Trial Numberhttp://ClinicalTrials.gov (No. NCT03482115).

The War in Ukraine: Implications for the Africa-Europe Peace and Security Partnership

This paper discusses the war in Ukraine and what the EU’s increasing preoccupation with it means for the EU-Africa peace and security partnership. It does this from the angle of a new EU funding mechanism, the European Peace Facility (EPF), which is a €5.6 billion fund that came into effect in March 2021 to support conflict management and international security during the EU’s seven-year budget period (2021 to 2027). The facility funds a variety of activities globally and—for the first time in the EU’s history— provides a legal basis for the EU to provide not only technical and material support but also lethal weapons to partner countries. As of May 2022, the EU has pledged to provide €2 billion to support Ukraine’s armed forces aside from the unprecedented economic sanctions the EU has imposed on Russia. The creation of the EPF is inspired by the EU’s ambitious Global Strategy of 2016 (EEAS 2016) and the preceding policy discourse between the EU and its member states on making the EU a “global player” and not just a “global payer”. This shift is partly a response to the emerging international geopolitical order in which the EU feels the need to assert itself and defend its interests globally. This marks a radical paradigm shift in EU foreign policy. The paper argues that the EU’s evolving foreign policy and its unforeseen use of EPF funds in Ukraine have at least two implications for Africa. First, the use of the EPF in Ukraine raises questions about the availability of funds for African peace support operations, which the EU has been supporting for some years. It raises also questions about the way Europe and Africa will decide about funding African security priorities. The EPF allows the transferring of funds and equipment to partner countries or regional coalitions directly, without the need to go through established regional organisations like the AU. Second, the EU’s changing security interests and geopolitical ambitions as well as Africa’s aspirations to find its place in the new global order could alter the dynamics of the EU-Africa peace and security partnership. While the EU remains an important economic and security actor in Africa—at the bilateral and continental levels—the EU-Africa partnership struggles to thrive and go beyond money to live up to its full potential. To meet their own aspirations, the paper argues that the AU and its member states will have to work harder to reduce their financial, security and economic dependence on non-African states. The AU and its member states will also have to avoid getting trapped in geopolitical confrontations between “the east” and “the west”. At the same time, they need to summon the political leadership the continent needs to prevent and manage internal political crises and conflicts on the continent while reducing interference from different international partners.

The thing most important

Abstract The Zhuangzi is a book that opens to a virtual wilderness of interpretive possibilities begging for exploration by scholars and laypersons alike. What follows here is an adventuresome foray by one of the latter. As such, it is essentially an exercise in creative writing. Since it is our interpretive conclusion that this was precisely what Zhuangzi himself was about, we believe he would smile broadly upon this endeavor however far-afield its proclamations might be. This point is central within this essay. However we engage with Zhuangzi, whether as a dilettante or an academic, it is the engagement that matters most. Conclusions are secondary at best. This having been said, conclusions will be found herein. Ambiguity is the signature characteristic of Zhuangzi’s writing. Awareness of ambiguity as a defining characteristic of the human experience invites us to consider the importance of not-knowing, the thing-left-out, the usefulness of the useless, the prioritization of Yin over Yang, and, most importantly, the experience of inherent emptiness. For Zhuangzi, such an awareness invites a radical paradigm shift away from the cognitive to the visceral. It invites an embrace of emptiness that renders one free of all dependence on being a self in need of itself.

Positive Psychology can help overcome the pernicious native speaker ideology

The world of applied linguistics and the profession of foreign language teaching needs to finally sweep away the notion of “Native Speaker” (NS) and the deficit perspective surrounding foreign language learners. We argue that Positive Psychology is a source of inspiration for a new and more positive perspective on foreign language learners and users. Rather than obsessing about negative aspects of life, Positive Psychologists defend a more holistic perspective. By transforming the view of learners as failed “NS” of the target language to that of increasingly competent and happy users of a foreign language would lift a huge burden from the shoulders of foreign language learners and their teachers alike. We argue that the unexpected longevity and ubiquity of the NS in the foreign language teaching profession are its deep historical roots in linguistics and culture, and that only a radical paradigm shift can dislodge it.