Editorial: Discourse, conversation and argumentation: Theoretical perspectives and innovative empirical studies, volume II

Research on discourse, conversation, and argumentation is conducted in several separate research communities that are spread across disciplines and have only limited intertwinement. This second volume of the Research Topic “Discourse, Conversation and Argumentation: Theoretical Perspectives and Innovative Empirical Studies” intends to offer a comprehensive dialogical platform to explore further novel and promising theoretical perspectives to study discursive, conversational, and argumentative interactions from a psychological perspective. In addition, it provides an extensive stand of the latest innovative research investigating discursive, conversational, and argumentative interactions between individuals, groups, and institutions to shed light on the most recent methodological developments in examining these types of interactions

Editorial: Discourse, Conversation and Argumentation: Theoretical Perspectives and Innovative Empirical Studies—Volume I

Thinking about how we participate in an interaction through verbal and non-verbal exchanges is a way to focus on explicit and implicit norms, personal and collective preferences, subjective and interpersonal theories, and social processes of construction of meaning that characterize our everyday communicative interactions. Although discursive, conversational, and argumentative interactions play an essential role in our lives, there is no integrated area of psychological research on these types of communicative interactions. A wide variety of works is available concerning the focus on the different roles played by social actors within the interactions (symmetric-asymmetric, protagonist-antagonist, and teacher-learner), as well as the interest for the constitutive (emotional, motivational, and cognitive) aspects of the interactions or developmental factors (skills, competences, and knowledge). However, research on these topics is conducted in a number of separate research communities that are spread across disciplines and have only limited intertwinements. This Research Topic intends to offer a dialogical platform for sharing studies on discourse, conversation, and argumentation from a psychological perspective. Different strands were bridged together to reach two main goals: (1) to explore novel and promising theoretical perspectives to study discursive, conversational, and argumentative interactions from a psychological perspective; (2) and provide an extensive platform of the latest innovative research investigating interactions between individuals, groups, and institutions. The Research Topic provided an opportunity for researchers working in different international and psychological contexts to draw together their work within a common forum. Through their contributions, authors provided state-of-the-art of collective evidences in psychological research on discourse, conversation, and argumentation. They were able to place emphasis on opportunities for mutual awareness and integration by proposing a series of high-quality original research papers, reviews, and conceptual analyses on topics dealing with the above-mentioned issues. The contributions are focused on psychological perspectives on interactions and empirically supported approaches to analyze them. This panel of respectful researchers contributed to render the Research Topic particularly timely and open to colleagues who are continually exposed to nearly limitless sectorial approaches. In this vein, we hope that the contributions can be challenging for a large scientific audience to support integrated psychological research on discursive, conversational, and argumentative interactions

Prevalence of pulmonary embolism among patients hospitalized for syncope

BACKGROUNDThe prevalence of pulmonary embolism among patients hospitalized for syncope is not well documented, and current guidelines pay little attention to a diagnostic workup for pulmonary embolism in these patients.METHODSWe performed a systematic workup for pulmonary embolism in patients admitted to 11 hospitals in Italy for a first episode of syncope, regardless of whether there were alternative explanations for the syncope. The diagnosis of pulmonary embolism was ruled out in patients who had a low pretest clinical probability, which was defined according to the Wells score, in combination with a negative D-dimer assay. In all other patients, computed tomographic pulmonary angiography or ventilation-perfusion lung scanning was performed.RESULTSA total of 560 patients (mean age, 76 years) were included in the study. A diagnosis of pulmonary embolism was ruled out in 330 of the 560 patients (58.9%) on the basis of the combination of a low pretest clinical probability of pulmonary embolism and negative D- dimer assay. Among the remaining 230 patients, pulmonary embolism was identified in 97 (42.2%). In the entire cohort, the prevalence of pulmonary embolism was 17.3% (95% confidence interval, 14.2 to 20.5). Evidence of an embolus in a main pulmonary or lobar artery or evidence of perfusion defects larger than 25% of the total area of both lungs was found in 61 patients. Pulmonary embolism was identified in 45 of the 355 patients (12.7%) who had an alternative explanation for syncope and in 52 of the 205 patients (25.4%) who did not.CONCLUSIONSPulmonary embolism was identified in nearly one of every six patients hospitalized for a first episode of syncope

Follow-up strategies for patients with splenic trauma managed non-operatively : the 2022 World Society of Emergency Surgery consensus document

Background In 2017, the World Society of Emergency Surgery published its guidelines for the management of adult and pediatric patients with splenic trauma. Several issues regarding the follow-up of patients with splenic injuries treated with NOM remained unsolved. Methods Using a modified Delphi method, we sought to explore ongoing areas of controversy in the NOM of splenic trauma and reach a consensus among a group of 48 international experts from five continents (Africa, Europe, Asia, Oceania, America) concerning optimal follow-up strategies in patients with splenic injuries treated with NOM. Results Consensus was reached on eleven clinical research questions and 28 recommendations with an agreement rate >= 80%. Mobilization after 24 h in low-grade splenic trauma patients (WSES Class I, AAST Grades I-II) was suggested, while in patients with high-grade splenic injuries (WSES Classes II-III, AAST Grades III-V), if no other contraindications to early mobilization exist, safe mobilization of the patient when three successive hemoglobins 8 h apart after the first are within 10% of each other was considered safe according to the panel. The panel suggests adult patients to be admitted to hospital for 1 day (for low-grade splenic injuries-WSES Class I, AAST Grades I-II) to 3 days (for high-grade splenic injuries-WSES Classes II-III, AAST Grades III-V), with those with high-grade injuries requiring admission to a monitored setting. In the absence of specific complications, the panel suggests DVT and VTE prophylaxis with LMWH to be started within 48-72 h from hospital admission. The panel suggests splenic artery embolization (SAE) as the first-line intervention in patients with hemodynamic stability and arterial blush on CT scan, irrespective of injury grade. Regarding patients with WSES Class II blunt splenic injuries (AAST Grade III) without contrast extravasation, a low threshold for SAE has been suggested in the presence of risk factors for NOM failure. The panel also suggested angiography and eventual SAE in all hemodynamically stable adult patients with WSES Class III injuries (AAST Grades IV-V), even in the absence of CT blush, especially when concomitant surgery that requires change of position is needed. Follow-up imaging with contrast-enhanced ultrasound/CT scan in 48-72 h post-admission of trauma in splenic injuries WSES Class II (AAST Grade III) or higher treated with NOM was considered the best strategy for timely detection of vascular complications. Conclusion This consensus document could help guide future prospective studies aiming at validating the suggested strategies through the implementation of prospective trauma databases and the subsequent production of internationally endorsed guidelines on the issue.Peer reviewe

Pediatric Moyamoya Disease and Syndrome in Italy: A Multicenter Cohort

Background: Moyamoya is a rare progressive cerebral arteriopathy, occurring as an isolated phenomenon (moyamoya disease, MMD) or associated with other conditions (moyamoya syndrome, MMS), responsible for 6–10% of all childhood strokes and transient ischemic attacks (TIAs). Methods: We conducted a retrospective multicenter study on pediatric-onset MMD/MMS in Italy in order to characterize disease presentation, course, management, neuroradiology, and outcome in a European country. Results: A total of 65 patients (34/65 women) with MMD (27/65) or MMS (38/65) were included. About 18% (12/65) of patients were asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally during investigations performed for an underlying condition (incMMS), whereas 82% (53/65) of patients with MMD or MMS were diagnosed due to the presence of neurological symptoms (symptMMD/MMS). Of these latter, before diagnosis, 66% (43/65) of patients suffered from cerebrovascular events with or without other manifestations (ischemic stroke 42%, 27/65; TIA 32%, 21/65; and no hemorrhagic strokes), 18% (12/65) of them reported headache (in 4/12 headache was not associated with any other manifestation), and 26% (17/65) of them experienced multiple phenotypes (≥2 among: stroke/TIA/seizures/headache/others). Neuroradiology disclosed ≥1 ischemic lesion in 67% (39/58) of patients and posterior circulation involvement in 51% (30/58) of them. About 73% (47/64) of patients underwent surgery, and 69% (45/65) of them received aspirin, but after diagnosis, further stroke events occurred in 20% (12/61) of them, including operated patients (11%, 5/47). Between symptom onset and last follow-up, the overall patient/year incidence of stroke was 10.26% (IC 95% 7.58–13.88%). At last follow-up (median 4 years after diagnosis, range 0.5–15), 43% (26/61) of patients had motor deficits, 31% (19/61) of them had intellectual disability, 13% (8/61) of them had epilepsy, 11% (7/61) of them had behavioral problems, and 25% (13/52) of them had mRS > 2. The proportion of final mRS > 2 was significantly higher in patients with symptMMD/MMS than in patients with incMMS (p = 0.021). Onset age <4 years and stroke before diagnosis were significantly associated with increased risk of intellectual disability (p = 0.0010 and p = 0.0071, respectively) and mRS > 2 at follow-up (p = 0.0106 and p = 0.0009, respectively). Conclusions: Moyamoya is a severe condition that may affect young children and frequently cause cerebrovascular events throughout the disease course, but may also manifest with multiple and non-cerebrovascular clinical phenotypes including headache (isolated or associated with other manifestations), seizures, and movement disorder. Younger onset age and stroke before diagnosis may associate with increased risk of worse outcome (final mRS > 2)

Phylogenetic ctDNA analysis depicts early-stage lung cancer evolution.

The early detection of relapse following primary surgery for non-small-cell lung cancer and the characterization of emerging subclones, which seed metastatic sites, might offer new therapeutic approaches for limiting tumour recurrence. The ability to track the evolutionary dynamics of early-stage lung cancer non-invasively in circulating tumour DNA (ctDNA) has not yet been demonstrated. Here we use a tumour-specific phylogenetic approach to profile the ctDNA of the first 100 TRACERx (Tracking Non-Small-Cell Lung Cancer Evolution Through Therapy (Rx)) study participants, including one patient who was also recruited to the PEACE (Posthumous Evaluation of Advanced Cancer Environment) post-mortem study. We identify independent predictors of ctDNA release and analyse the tumour-volume detection limit. Through blinded profiling of postoperative plasma, we observe evidence of adjuvant chemotherapy resistance and identify patients who are very likely to experience recurrence of their lung cancer. Finally, we show that phylogenetic ctDNA profiling tracks the subclonal nature of lung cancer relapse and metastasis, providing a new approach for ctDNA-driven therapeutic studies

Retrospective evaluation of whole exome and genome mutation calls in 746 cancer samples

Funder: NCI U24CA211006Abstract: The Cancer Genome Atlas (TCGA) and International Cancer Genome Consortium (ICGC) curated consensus somatic mutation calls using whole exome sequencing (WES) and whole genome sequencing (WGS), respectively. Here, as part of the ICGC/TCGA Pan-Cancer Analysis of Whole Genomes (PCAWG) Consortium, which aggregated whole genome sequencing data from 2,658 cancers across 38 tumour types, we compare WES and WGS side-by-side from 746 TCGA samples, finding that ~80% of mutations overlap in covered exonic regions. We estimate that low variant allele fraction (VAF < 15%) and clonal heterogeneity contribute up to 68% of private WGS mutations and 71% of private WES mutations. We observe that ~30% of private WGS mutations trace to mutations identified by a single variant caller in WES consensus efforts. WGS captures both ~50% more variation in exonic regions and un-observed mutations in loci with variable GC-content. Together, our analysis highlights technological divergences between two reproducible somatic variant detection efforts

Discourse, Conversation And Argumentation Theoretical Perspectives And Innovative Empirical Studies - Volume I

Thinking about how we participate in an interaction through verbal and non-verbal exchanges is a way to focus on explicit and implicit norms, personal and collective preferences, subjective and interpersonal theories, and social processes of construction of meaning that characterize our everyday communicative interactions. Although discursive, conversational, and argumentative interactions play an essential role in our lives, there is no integrated area of psychological research on these types of communicative interactions. A wide variety of works is available concerning the focus on the different roles played by social actors within the interactions (symmetric-asymmetric, protagonist-antagonist, and teacher-learner), as well as the interest for the constitutive (emotional, motivational, and cognitive) aspects of the interactions or developmental factors (skills, competences, and knowledge). However, research on these topics is conducted in a number of separate research communities that are spread across disciplines and have only limited intertwinements. This Research Topic intends to offer a dialogical platform for sharing studies on discourse, conversation, and argumentation from a psychological perspective. Different strands were bridged together to reach two main goals: (1) to explore novel and promising theoretical perspectives to study discursive, conversational, and argumentative interactions from a psychological perspective; (2) and provide an extensive platform of the latest innovative research investigating interactions between individuals, groups, and institutions. The Research Topic provided an opportunity for researchers working in different international and psychological contexts to draw together their work within a common forum. Through their contributions, authors provided state-of-the-art of collective evidences in psychological research on discourse, conversation, and argumentation. They were able to place emphasis on opportunities for mutual awareness and integration by proposing a series of high-quality original research papers, reviews, and conceptual analyses on topics dealing with the above-mentioned issues. The contributions are focused on psychological perspectives on interactions and empirically supported approaches to analyze them. This panel of respectful researchers contributed to render the Research Topic particularly timely and open to colleagues who are continually exposed to nearly limitless sectorial approaches. In this vein, we hope that the contributions can be challenging for a large scientific audience to support integrated psychological research on discursive, conversational, and argumentative interactions. The paper of Koskinen et al. presents an original research offering a better understanding of the affective corollaries of social interactions during a psychophysiological experience of solving moral dilemmas. The authors compared participants with and without depression and showed their positions in expressing agreements and disagreement while solving moral dilemmas together. Heller proposes a study on embodied displays of “doing thinking” by analyzing the epistemic and interactive functions of thinking displays in children's argumentative activities. From an interactional perspective, her paper investigates moments in which one participant in an interaction embodies displays of doing thinking as a recurring social practice serving interactive functions. The activities of joint decision-making are considered the functional argumentative setting to reach two interrelated aims: the first is to describe how multiple modalities (gaze and bodily postures) are temporally coordinated to create multimodal gestalts of doing thinking; the second one is to generate knowledge about the functions of thinking displays in children's argumentative activities. Jiménez-Aleixandre and Brocos propose another original paper to highlight the relationship between argumentative scientific evidences and emotions. In particular, the authors focus on the exam of the ways through which emotional tensions frame the construction of arguments about vegetarian vs. omnivorous diets within a group of preservice teachers. Their investigation shows how the interactions between the group emotional tension and the evaluation of evidence drive a change toward a decision that would be emotionally acceptable for all participants. The paper proposed by Galimberti et al. considers the direct address as a research object within the field of social psychology of communication. Their research contributes to increase our understanding of this technique by going beyond the analysis of its dramaturgical function (through the consideration of a TV series). In fact, the authors propose an integrated approach based on argumentative and conversational tools, showing that the direct address performs its dramaturgical function by impacting both diegetic and extradiegetic levels. Another original research is proposed by Fatigante et al., who analyze how the companion participation during first oncological visits is a local and sequential accomplishment, changing from time to time in the consultation. The paper focuses on how patient's companions orient and contribute to the accomplishment of the different aims and activities at different stages of the visit as an institutional speech event. The authors refer to a multimodal analysis of turns and actions to closely examine the sequential and temporal arrangements of companions' and their co-participants' turns. A conceptual analysis is provided by Leijen et al. to consider different understandings of inclusive education that frame current public and professional debates as well as policies and practices. The authors analyze two discourses regarding inclusive education by reconstructing the inferential configurations of the arguments of each narrative. The paper contributes to identify how the two definitions position children with and without special needs and their teachers. Iordanou and Rapanta propose a review about a method for developing argument skills. The authors examine a particular program, the “Argue with Me” dialogue-based pedagogical approach, not only as a tool for supporting the development of argument skills but also the way of how empirical research employing the method in varying contexts provides insights into the nature of argument skills and their development, as well as the relations between argument skills and other skills or forms of understanding. Another review (Larrain et al.) considers the relevance of deliberative education for contemporaneous democracies and citizenship, seeking to converge in a field of interlocution, calling it deliberative teaching. The paper proposes a way to increase the dialog and collaboration between the diffuse literature on argumentation and education. The authors highlight both the main theoretical and empirical gaps and challenges, as well as the possibilities to advance our knowledge and the educational impact that this integrating field could offer

Discourse, conversation and argumentation: Theoretical perspectives and innovative empirical studies, volume II

Although discursive, conversational, and argumentative interactions play an essential role in our lives, there is no integrated area of psychological research on these types of communicative interactions (Arcidiacono et al., 2021). Research on discourse, conversation, and argumentation is conducted in several separate research communities that are spread across disciplines and have only limited intertwinement. This second volume of the Research Topic “Discourse, Conversation and Argumentation: Theoretical Perspectives and Innovative Empirical Studies” intends to offer a comprehensive dialogical platform to explore further novel and promising theoretical perspectives to study discursive, conversational, and argumentative interactions from a psychological perspective. In addition, it provides an extensive stand of the latest innovative research investigating discursive, conversational, and argumentative interactions between individuals, groups, and institutions to shed light on the most recent methodological developments in examining these types of interactions. The Research Topic has thus permitted researchers working in different international psychological contexts to draw together their work within a common forum. Through their contributions, authors present an innovative state-of-the-art of collective evidence in psychological research on discourse, conversation, and argumentation. The numerous contributions focus on psychological perspectives on interactions and empirically supported approaches to analyze them. This panel of outstanding researchers contributes to rendering this second volume of this Research Topic particularly timely and open to colleagues continually exposed to nearly limitless sectorial approaches. In this vein, we hope that the contributions can be challenging for a large scientific audience to support integrated psychological research on discursive, conversational, and argumentative interactions

Pulmonary embolism in old age: usefulness of risk stratification in clinical decision-making

Pulmonary embolism (PE) is a common disease with a not negligible short-term risk of death, in particular in the elderly. An adequate evaluation of the prognosis in patients with PE may guide decision-making in terms of the intensity of the initial treatment during the acute phase. Patients with shock or persistent hypotension are at high risk of early mortality and may benefit from immediate reperfusion. Several tools are available to define the short-term prognosis of hemodynamically stable patients. The pulmonary embolism severity index (PESI) score, and the simplified PESI score are particularly useful for identifying patients at low risk of early complications who might be safely treated at home. The identification of patients who are hemodynamically stable at diagnosis but are at a high risk of early complications is more challenging. Current guidelines recommend a multi-parametric prognostic algorithm based on the clinical status, biomarkers and imaging tests. However an aggressive treatment in hemodynamically stable patients is still controversial