A network linking scene perception and spatial memory systems in posterior cerebral cortex

The neural systems supporting scene-perception and spatial-memory systems of the human brain are well-described. But how do these neural systems interact? Here, using fine-grained individual-subject fMRI, we report three cortical areas of the human brain, each lying immediately anterior to a region of the scene perception network in posterior cerebral cortex, that selectively activate when recalling familiar real-world locations. Despite their close proximity to the scene-perception areas, network analyses show that these regions constitute a distinct functional network that interfaces with spatial memory systems during naturalistic scene understanding. These “place-memory areas” offer a new framework for understanding how the brain implements memory-guided visual behaviors, including navigation

Coastal high-frequency radars in the Mediterranean ??? Part 1: Status of operations and a framework for future development

Due to the semi-enclosed nature of the Mediterranean Sea, natural disasters and anthropogenic activities impose stronger pressures on its coastal ecosystems than in any other sea of the world.With the aim of responding adequately to science priorities and societal challenges, littoral waters must be effectively monitored with high-frequency radar (HFR) systems. This land-based remote sensing technology can provide, in near-real time, fine-resolution maps of the surface circulation over broad coastal areas, along with reliable directional wave and wind information. The main goal of this work is to showcase the current status of the Mediterranean HFR network and the future roadmap for orchestrated actions. Ongoing collaborative efforts and recent progress of this regional alliance are not only described but also connected with other European initiatives and global frameworks, highlighting the advantages of this cost-effective instrument for the multi-parameter monitoring of the sea state. Coordinated endeavors between HFR operators from different multi-disciplinary institutions are mandatory to reach a mature stage at both national and regional levels, striving to do the following: (i) harmonize deployment and maintenance practices; (ii) standardize data, metadata, and quality control procedures; (iii) centralize data management, visualization, and access platforms; and (iv) develop practical applications of societal benefit that can be used for strategic planning and informed decision-making in the Mediterranean marine environment. Such fit-for-purpose applications can serve for search and rescue operations, safe vessel navigation, tracking of marine pollutants, the monitoring of extreme events, the investigation of transport processes, and the connectivity between offshore waters and coastal ecosystems. Finally, future prospects within the Mediterranean framework are discussed along with a wealth of socioeconomic, technical, and scientific challenges to be faced during the implementatio

Coastal high-frequency radars in the Mediterranean ??? Part 2: Applications in support of science priorities and societal needs

International audienceThe Mediterranean Sea is a prominent climate-change hot spot, with many socioeconomically vital coastal areas being the most vulnerable targets for maritime safety, diverse met-ocean hazards and marine pollution. Providing an unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution at wide coastal areas, high-frequency radars (HFRs) have been steadily gaining recognition as an effective land-based remote sensing technology for continuous monitoring of the surface circulation, increasingly waves and occasionally winds. HFR measurements have boosted the thorough scientific knowledge of coastal processes, also fostering a broad range of applications, which has promoted their integration in coastal ocean observing systems worldwide, with more than half of the European sites located in the Mediterranean coastal areas. In this work, we present a review of existing HFR data multidisciplinary science-based applications in the Mediterranean Sea, primarily focused on meeting end-user and science-driven requirements, addressing regional challenges in three main topics: (i) maritime safety, (ii) extreme hazards and (iii) environmental transport process. Additionally, the HFR observing and monitoring regional capabilities in the Mediterranean coastal areas required to underpin the underlying science and the further development of applications are also analyzed. The outcome of this assessment has allowed us to provide a set of recommendations for future improvement prospects to maximize the contribution to extending science-based HFR products into societally relevant downstream services to support blue growth in the Mediterranean coastal areas, helping to meet the UN's Decade of Ocean Science for Sustainable Development and the EU's Green Deal goals

Vampires in the village Žrnovo on the island of Korčula: following an archival document from the 18th century

Središnja tema rada usmjerena je na raščlambu spisa pohranjenog u Državnom arhivu u Mlecima (fond: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) koji se odnosi na događaj iz 1748. godine u korčulanskom selu Žrnovo, kada su mještani – vjerujući da su se pojavili vampiri – oskvrnuli nekoliko mjesnih grobova. U radu se podrobno iznose osnovni podaci iz spisa te rečeni događaj analizira u širem društvenom kontekstu i prate se lokalna vjerovanja.The main interest of this essay is the analysis of the document from the State Archive in Venice (file: Capi del Consiglio de’ Dieci: Lettere di Rettori e di altre cariche) which is connected with the episode from 1748 when the inhabitants of the village Žrnove on the island of Korčula in Croatia opened tombs on the local cemetery in the fear of the vampires treating. This essay try to show some social circumstances connected with this event as well as a local vernacular tradition concerning superstitions

[Isocratis sermo de regno ad Nicoclem regem. Bartholomei Facii Orationes]

MsTítol donat pel catalogadorCol·lació: Vitel·la, f. 24 ; reclam horitzontal en el f. 9v ;foliació moderna a llapisComposició: Escrit a línia tirada a 25 líniesEscriptura: Humanística cursivaEnquadernació: Restaurada en 1972. Pell llaurada sobre fusta, amb restes de l'escut reial; mancat de fermallsOrigen: Escrit probablement a Itàlia abans de 1457Signatura anterior: Ms. 727Signatura actual: València, Universitat de València. Biblioteca Històrica, BH Ms. 443En la coberta anterior es pot llegir: "Ihesus. Alfonsus Sanç barchinonensis canonicus. T. 28" i en la coberta posterior: "Initium sapientie timor Domini" (Ps 110, 10; Eccli 1, 16)En el f. 1v es llegeix: "Bartholomei Facii, genuensium cancelarii, opus"En el f. 24v amb lletra del segle XVI: "So le carte de lo presente libro vintiquattro"Catalogat des del manuscrit original. Lectura i identificació de textos pel Prof. Francisco M. Gimeno Blay; bibliografia, documentació i normalització per M. Cruz Cabeza Sánchez-Albornoz i Silvia Villaplana TraverEl còdex transcriu la versió italiana de l'obra d'Isòcrates titolada "Sermo de regno ad Nicoclem regem" feta per Bartolomeo Facio a partir de la traducció llatina deguda a Bernardo Justiniano. Bartolomeo Facio afegí al començament un proemi explicant les circumstàncies de la mateixa, inclogué dues "Orationes" en llatí dirigides al rei Alfons el Magnànim i al seu fill Ferrante, duc de Calàbria, i explicà, a la fi, les raons per les quals havia reunit tots els textos, sent canceller de Gènova, és a dir, amb anterioritat a 14461. f. 2r-3r: [Isocratis sermo de regno ad Nicoclem regem. Proemio] "[rúbr.] Ad illustrissimum dominum Ferdinandum Calabriae duce[m], super Isocrate in maternam linguam traducto. Prœmium. [text] Certum habeo magne spei princeps fore ut huius a me suscepti operis ... exposui sed hoc quidem hactenus"2. f. 3r-17v: [Isocratis sermo de regno ad Nicoclem regem] "[text] Molti ha[nn]o per usanza o nicode donare a voi Rei vasselle de auro lavorate ... manco fruste et etia[m] dio [sic] piu utile et piu preciose te parerano. Laus Christo"3. f. 17v-20r: [Bartholomei Facii Oratio] "[text] De laudibus illustri[ssi]mi d[omi]ni Ferdinandi Calabrie ducis [et cætera]. Oratio. Quod magis annos tuos respicio princeps illustrissime ... nihil omnino tibi ad future glorie cumulum dificere. Laus Christo"4. f. 20v-23r: [Bartholomei Facii Oratio] "[rúbr.] In laudem excellentissimi pri[ncipis] d[omini] Alfonsi Aragonum regis. Oratio. [text] Plures in te virtutes esse intelligo Rex invictissime ... que meo ingenio, cura atq[ue] industria fieri posse cognoscas. Dixi"4. f. 23r-23v: [Bartholomei Facii dedicatio] "[text] Non fuerit alienum illustrissime princeps huic opusculo addidisse orationes duas ... omnia magna premia a te mihi data existimabo. D[omine] tue servus Barth[olomeu]s Facius genuensium cancellarius"Manuscrits del Duc de Calàbria, p. 36, 37; Els vestits del saber, enquadernacions mudèjars a la Universitat de València, p. 104-105Llatí i itali

Everolimus-Eluting Stents or Bypass Surgery for Left Main Coronary Artery Disease.

BACKGROUND: Patients with obstructive left main coronary artery disease are usually treated with coronary-artery bypass grafting (CABG). Randomized trials have suggested that drug-eluting stents may be an acceptable alternative to CABG in selected patients with left main coronary disease. METHODS: We randomly assigned 1905 eligible patients with left main coronary artery disease of low or intermediate anatomical complexity to undergo either percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) with fluoropolymer-based cobalt-chromium everolimus-eluting stents (PCI group, 948 patients) or CABG (CABG group, 957 patients). Anatomic complexity was assessed at the sites and defined by a Synergy between Percutaneous Coronary Intervention with Taxus and Cardiac Surgery (SYNTAX) score of 32 or lower (the SYNTAX score reflects a comprehensive angiographic assessment of the coronary vasculature, with 0 as the lowest score and higher scores [no upper limit] indicating more complex coronary anatomy). The primary end point was the rate of a composite of death from any cause, stroke, or myocardial infarction at 3 years, and the trial was powered for noninferiority testing of the primary end point (noninferiority margin, 4.2 percentage points). Major secondary end points included the rate of a composite of death from any cause, stroke, or myocardial infarction at 30 days and the rate of a composite of death, stroke, myocardial infarction, or ischemia-driven revascularization at 3 years. Event rates were based on Kaplan-Meier estimates in time-to-first-event analyses. RESULTS: At 3 years, a primary end-point event had occurred in 15.4% of the patients in the PCI group and in 14.7% of the patients in the CABG group (difference, 0.7 percentage points; upper 97.5% confidence limit, 4.0 percentage points; P=0.02 for noninferiority; hazard ratio, 1.00; 95% confidence interval, 0.79 to 1.26; P=0.98 for superiority). The secondary end-point event of death, stroke, or myocardial infarction at 30 days occurred in 4.9% of the patients in the PCI group and in 7.9% in the CABG group (P<0.001 for noninferiority, P=0.008 for superiority). The secondary end-point event of death, stroke, myocardial infarction, or ischemia-driven revascularization at 3 years occurred in 23.1% of the patients in the PCI group and in 19.1% in the CABG group (P=0.01 for noninferiority, P=0.10 for superiority). CONCLUSIONS: In patients with left main coronary artery disease and low or intermediate SYNTAX scores by site assessment, PCI with everolimus-eluting stents was noninferior to CABG with respect to the rate of the composite end point of death, stroke, or myocardial infarction at 3 years. (Funded by Abbott Vascular; EXCEL ClinicalTrials.gov number, NCT01205776 .)