Extended animal cognition

According to the extended cognition thesis, an agent’s cognitive system can sometimes include extracerebral components amongst its physical constituents. Here, we show that such a view of cognition has an unjustifiably anthropocentric focus, for it depicts cognitive extensions as a human-only affair. In contrast, we will argue that if human cognition extends, then the cognition of many non-human animals extends too, for many non-human animals rely on the same cognition-extending strategies humans rely on. To substantiate this claim, we will proceed as follows. First (§1), we will introduce the extended cognition thesis, exposing its anthropocentric bias. Then, we will show that humans and many non-human animals rely on the same cognition-extending strategies. To do so, we will discuss a variety of case studies, including “intrabodily” cognitive extensions such as the spinal cord (§2), the widespread reliance on epistemic actions to solve cognitive tasks (§3) and cases of animal cognitive offloading (§4). We’ll then allay some worries our claim might raise (§5) to then conclude the paper (§6)

Neonatal screening for MPS disorders in Latin America : a survey of pilot initiatives

Newborn screening enables the diagnosis of treatable disorders at the early stages, and because of its countless benefits, conditions have been continuously added to screening panels, allowing early intervention, aiming for the prevention of irreversible manifestations and even premature death. Mucopolysaccharidoses (MPS) are lysosomal storage disorders than can benefit from an early diagnosis, and thus are being recommended for newborn screening. They are multisystemic progressive disorders, with treatment options already available for several MPS types. MPS I was the first MPS disorder enrolled in the newborn screening (NBS) panel in the USA and a few other countries, and other MPS types are expected to be added. Very few studies about NBS for MPS in Latin America have been published so far. In this review, we report the results of pilot studies performed in Mexico and Brazil using different methodologies: tandem mass spectrometry, molecular analysis, digital microfluidics, and fluorimetry. These experiences are important to report and discuss, as we expect to have several MPS types added to NBS panels shortly. This addition will enable timely diagnosis of MPS, avoiding the long diagnostic odyssey that is part of the current natural history of this group of diseases, and leading to a better outcome for the affected patients

Experience of the NPC Brazil network with a comprehensive program for the screening and diagnosis of Niemann-Pick disease type C

Niemann-Pick disease type C (NPC) is a lysosomal disorder caused by impaired cholesterol metabolism. Levels of lysosphingomyelin 509 (LysoSM509) have been shown elevated in dried blood spots (DBS) of NPC and acid sphingomyelinase deficiency patients. In this study, we report our experience using a two-tier approach (1st tier is the quantification of lysoSM509 by ultra-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry followed by the 2nd tier with next-generation sequencing of the NPC1 and NPC2 genes). DBS samples from 450 suspected patients were received by the NPC Brazil network. Of these, 33 samples had elevated levels of lysoSM509, and in 25 of them, variants classified as pathogenic, likely pathogenic, or of unknown significance were identified in the NPC1 or NPC2 genes by next-generation sequencing. The quantification of lysoSM509 in DBS as a first-tier test for the diagnosis of NPC followed by molecular analysis of the NPC1 and NPC2 genes almost doubled the detection rate when compared to the performance of chitotriosidase activity as a first-tier biomarker, and it could likely be increased with the addition of a third tier with MLPA of the two genes involved. This strategy seems suitable for the neonatal screening (NBS) of NPC if this disease is eventually adopted by NBS programs

Study of“Shaken Baby Syndrome”: Morphological and Diffusion MRI Data

Shaken baby syndrome (SBS) is the most common cause of death related to child abuse; nonfatal consequences of SBS include varying degrees of visual, motor and cognitive impairment due to severe brain damage in almost 30% of infants with SBS. Brain damage occurs from the biomechanical forces, swelling, ischemia and altered vascular autoregulation and from additionally axonal damage[1].In the present study we want to examine a cohort of 7 patient affected by SBS and compare their data with controls choosen by same range of age, 19 months till 60. Using MRI techniques we define a new paradigm for demonstrating, through voxel based morphometry, deficiencies, connected to white and grey matter regions, in the prefrontal cortex and also in the hippocampus, amygdala, corpus callosum and optical radiation. Adding diffusion tensor imaging technique by constrained spherical deconvolution[2] our study put in evidence connectivity between investigated areas, suggesting neural network abnormalities. With this “state of art” studies we can show a correlation between childhood abuse and brain structures modification. Our aim is to make a longitudinal study on the anatomical data of these patients following their clinical evolution

Death and the Societies of Late Antiquity

Ce volume bilingue, comprenant un ensemble de 28 contributions disponibles en français et en anglais (dans leur version longue ou abrégée), propose d’établir un état des lieux des réflexions, recherches et études conduites sur le fait funéraire à l’époque tardo-antique au sein des provinces de l’Empire romain et sur leurs régions limitrophes, afin d’ouvrir de nouvelles perspectives sur ses évolutions possibles. Au cours des trois dernières décennies, les transformations considérables des méthodologies déployées sur le terrain et en laboratoire ont permis un renouveau des questionnements sur les populations et les pratiques funéraires de l’Antiquité tardive, période marquée par de multiples changements politiques, sociaux, démographiques et culturels. L’apparition de ce qui a été initialement désigné comme une « Anthropologie de terrain », qui fut le début de la démarche archéothanatologique, puis le récent développement d’approches collaboratives entre des domaines scientifiques divers (archéothanatologie, biochimie et géochimie, génétique, histoire, épigraphie par exemple) ont été décisives pour le renouvellement des problématiques d’étude : révision d’anciens concepts comme apparition d’axes d’analyse inédits. Les recherches rassemblées dans cet ouvrage sont articulées autour de quatre grands thèmes : l’évolution des pratiques funéraires dans le temps, l’identité sociale dans la mort, les ensembles funéraires en transformation (organisation et topographie) et les territoires de l’empire (du cœur aux marges). Ces études proposent un réexamen et une révision des données, tant anthropologiques qu’archéologiques ou historiques sur l’Antiquité tardive, et révèlent, à cet égard, une mosaïque de paysages politiques, sociaux et culturels singulièrement riches et complexes. Elles accroissent nos connaissances sur le traitement des défunts, l’emplacement des aires funéraires ou encore la structure des sépultures, en révélant une diversité de pratiques, et permettent au final de relancer la réflexion sur la manière dont les sociétés tardo-antiques envisagent la mort et sur les éléments permettant d’identifier et de définir la diversité des groupes qui les composent. Elles démontrent ce faisant que nous pouvons véritablement appréhender les structures culturelles et sociales des communautés anciennes et leurs potentielles transformations, à partir de l’étude des pratiques funéraires.This bilingual volume proposes to draw up an assessment of the recent research conducted on funerary behavior during Late Antiquity in the provinces of the Roman Empire and on their borders, in order to open new perspectives on its possible developments. The considerable transformations of the methodologies have raised the need for a renewal of the questions on the funerary practices during Late Antiquity, a period marked by multiple political, social, demographic and cultural changes. The emergence field anthropology, which was the beginning of archaeothanatology, and then the recent development of collaborative approaches between various scientific fields (archaeothanatology, biochemistry and geochemistry, genetics, history, epigraphy, for example), have been decisive. The research collected in this book is structured around four main themes: Evolution of funerary practices over time; Social identity through death; Changing burial grounds (organisation and topography); Territories of the Empire (from the heart to the margins). These studies propose a review and a revision of the data, both anthropological and archaeological or historical on Late Antiquity, and reveal a mosaic of political, social, and cultural landscapes singularly rich and complex. In doing so, they demonstrate that we can truly understand the cultural and social structures of ancient communities and their potential transformations, based on the study of funerary practices

The terraced houses of the Insula Meridionalis (VIII, 2) and of the Insula Occidentalis in Pompeii.

openCon case terrazzate si intendono tutte quelle case che presentano uno o più piani sotterranei articolati su terrazze costruite seguendo il pendio naturale del terreno su cui sono edificate. Gli esempi meglio conservati sono a Roma, a Ercolano e a Pompei1. A Pompei le case terrazzate compaiono alla fine del II secolo a.C. lungo il confine sud-occidentale, favorite dalla morfologia del terreno. Con la defunzionalizzazione della cinta muraria, avvenuta alla fine del I secolo a.C., si assiste all’espansione delle terrazze già presenti o alla costruzione di nuovi piani, realizzati inglobando il pomerio e riutilizzando i materiali all’interno delle abitazioni stesse. Ai civici 17-21 dell’Insula 2 della Regio VIII si trova il Complesso del Sarno, edificio a sei piani che costituisce un unicum nell’intero panorama edile pompeiano: noto anche come Terme del Sarno, è proprio il piano termale al terzo livello inferiore a renderlo famoso. In questa sede, dopo una breve analisi della struttura dell’edificio, ci si concentrerà sulle abitazioni dell’Insula Occidentalis (Regio VI e Regio VII) e dell’Insula Meridionalis (Regio VIII, Insula II), con l’intento di analizzare le soluzioni adottate e verificare la presenza di modelli architettonico-costruttivi.By terraced houses we mean all those houses that have one or more underground floors articulated on terraces built following the natural slope of the land on which they are built. The best preserved examples are in Rome, Herculaneum and Pompeii1. At Pompeii terraced houses appear in the late 2nd century BC along the southwestern boundary, favored by the morphology of the terrain. With the defunctionalization of the city wall in the late 1st century BCE, there is the expansion of the terraces already present or the construction of new floors, made by incorporating the pomerio and reusing materials within the houses themselves. At Nos. 17-21 of Insula 2 of Regio VIII is the Sarno Complex, a six-story building that constitutes a unicum in the entire Pompeian built environment: also known as the Sarno Baths, it is precisely the thermal floor on the third lower level that makes it famous. Here, after a brief analysis of the structure of the building, we will focus on the dwellings of the Insula Occidentalis (Regio VI and Regio VII) and the Insula Meridionalis (Regio VIII, Insula II), with the intention of analyzing the solutions adopted and verifying the presence of architectural-constructive patterns