Mythopoiesis And Collective Imagination In Videogames

As videogames become more and more popular, their ability to generate and communicate mythologies (mythopoiesis) appears clearer. Pokémon, The Legend of Zelda, and Halo are just a few of the specific transmedial storyworlds created through (relatively few) years of reiteration. At the same time, recent examples of massively diffused products also picture remediations of heritage, folk tales, architecture, and other cultural elements, reaching users of any background. Franchises like Assassin’s Creed, God of War, or Final Fantasy take large inspiration from various cultural heritages. By doing so, video-ludic remediations add to previously shared imaginary some peculiar interactive (ergodic) features: since video games have specific features that imply interaction by (and with) the user, the remediated cultural elements acquire properties that were not present in any previous representation. The interest of this study is to enlighten how it is possible for blockbuster videogames to build over previous archetypes and imaginaries, creating common knowledge about certain cultural objects, myths, and figures, among players on a global scale. The main focus of this research will be Japanese cultural heritage representation in recent popular videogames such as Nioh, Ghost of Tsushima, and Sekiro: Shadows Die Twice. In a comparative analysis of these products, the study will try to underline the common elements of blockbuster remediations, while exploring the emerging interactive (ergodic) features that the mentioned videogames add to previously shared imaginary of portrayed cultural elements. Any emerging evidence will then serve to build a tentative framework or method to remediate and represent any given cultural element in future videogame projects that aim to properly communicate heritage on a large scale such as the global digital game market

LEFSCHETZ PROPERTIES OF JACOBIAN ALGEBRAS AND JACOBIAN MODULES

Let V :f=0 be a hypersurface of degreed≥3 in the complex projective space P^n,n≥3,having only isolated singularities.Let M(f) be the associatedJ Jacobian algebra and H:ℓ=0 be a hyperplane in P^n avoiding the singularities of V, but such that V∩H is singular.We related the Lefschetz type properties of the linear maps ℓ:M(f)_k→M(f)_k+1induced by the multiplication by linearf orm ℓ to the singularities of the hyperplane section V∩H.Similar results are obtained for the Jacobian module N(f)

Addition-deletion results for the minimal degree of a Jacobian syzygy of a union of two curves

Let $C:f=0$ be a reduced curve in the complex projective plane. The minimal degree $mdr(f)$ of a Jacobian syzygy for $f$, which is the same as the minimal degree of a derivation killing $f$, is an important invariant of the curve $C$, for instance it can be used to determined whether $C$ is free or nearly free. In this note we study the relations of this invariant $mdr(f)$ with a decomposition of $C$ as a union of two curves $C_1$ and $C_2$, without common irreducible components. When all the singularities that occur are quasihomogeneous, a result by Schenck, Terao and Yoshinaga yields finer information on this invariant in this setting. Using this, we give some geometrical criteria, the first ones of this type in the existing literature as far as we know, for a line to be a jumping line for the rank 2 vector bundle of logarithmic vector fields along a reduced curve $C$.Comment: v4. Proposition 5.5 modified, one reference updated, the rest unchange

Neuropsychology of posteromedial parietal cortex and conversion factors from Mild Cognitive Impairment to Alzheimer’s disease: systematic search and state-of-the-art review

In the present review, we discuss the rationale and the clinical implications of assessing visuospatial working memory (VSWM), awareness of memory deficits, and visuomotor control in patients with mild cognitive impairment (MCI). These three domains are related to neural activity in the posteromedial parietal cortex (PMC) whose hypoactivation seems to be a significant predictor of conversion from MCI to Alzheimer’s disease (AD) as indicated by recent neuroimaging evidence. A systematic literature search was performed up to May 2021. Forty-eight studies were included: 42 studies provided analytical cross-sectional data and 6 studies longitudinal data on conversion rates. Overall, these studies showed that patients with MCI performed worse than healthy controls in tasks assessing VSWM, awareness of memory deficits, and visuomotor control; in some cases, MCI patients’ performance was comparable to that of patients with overt dementia. Deficits in VSWM and metamemory appear to be significant predictors of conversion. No study explored the relationship between visuomotor control and conversion. Nevertheless, it has been speculated that the assessment of visuomotor abilities in subjects at high AD risk might be useful to discriminate patients who are likely to convert from those who are not. Being able to indirectly estimate PMC functioning through quick and easy neuropsychological tasks in outpatient settings may improve diagnostic and prognostic accuracy, and therefore, the quality of the MCI patient’s management

Objective Knowledge Mediates the Relationship between the Use of Social Media and COVID-19-Related False Memories

The exposure to relevant social and/or historical events can increase the generation of false memories (FMs). The Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a calamity challenging health, political, and journalistic bodies, with media generating confusion that has facilitated the spread of fake news. In this respect, our study aims at investigating the relationships between memories (true memories, TMs vs. FMs) for COVID-19-related news and different individual variables (i.e., use of traditional and social media, COVID-19 perceived and objective knowledge, fear of the disease, depression and anxiety symptoms, reasoning skills, and coping mechanisms). One hundred and seventy-one university students (131 females) were surveyed. Overall, our results suggested that depression and anxiety symptoms, reasoning skills, and coping mechanisms did not affect the formation of FMs. Conversely, the fear of loved ones contracting the infection was found to be negatively associated with FMs. This finding might be due to an empathy/prosociality-based positive bias boosting memory abilities, also explained by the young age of participants. Furthermore, objective knowledge (i) predicted an increase in TMs and decrease in FMs and (ii) significantly mediated the relationships between the use of social media and development of both TMs and FMs. In particular, higher levels of objective knowledge strengthened the formation of TMs and decreased the development of FMs following use of social media. These results may lead to reconsidering the idea of social media as the main source of fake news. This claim is further supported by either the lack of substantial differences between the use of traditional and social media among participants reporting FMs or the positive association between use of social media and levels of objective knowledge. The knowledge about the topic rather than the type of source would make a difference in the process of memory formation

The chemical composition of the aerial parts essential oil of Acinos alpinus subsp. nebrodensis (Lamiaceae) growing in Sicily (Italy)

Acinos is a small genus of economically important plants belonging to Lamiaceae family whose botanical collocation is quite problematic due to the disagreement among the botanists and the presence in litera- ture of several names and synonyms from different sources. In the pre- sent study the chemical composition of the essential oil from aerial parts of Acinos alpinus subsp. nebrodensis (Strobl) Brullo & Brullo col- lected in Central Sicily was analyzed by GC-MS. The result showed the presence of large quantity of sesquiterpene hydrocarbons with germa- crene D (37.9%) as the most abundant component followed by (E)- b-caryophyllene (5.1%). Among the oxygenated monoterpenes thymol (8.3%) was the most abundant; good quantity of hexadecanoic acid (6.8%) was also observed. Chemotaxonomic considerations with respect all the other oils of Acinos taxa, studied so far, were carried out

Fatty acids as biomarkers of the production season of caciocavallo palermitano cheese

This experiment aims to evaluate the potential of fatty acids (FA) of Caciocavallo Palermitano cheese as biomarkers of production season and pasture-based diet. A total of 48 cheeses were made in the four seasons with milk from two farms that raised cows of Cinisara breed. The animals were fed on pasture with supplementation of wheat bran and wheat straw in the barn, and in summer also with Opuntia ficus-indica cladodes. The chemical composition and FA profile of cheese were influenced by the season and not by the farm. In particular, cheeses produced in spring were characterized by higher protein and lower fat, and showed higher contents in trans-vaccenic acid, α-linolenic acid, rumenic acid, n-3 polyunsaturated FA (PUFA), and total PUFA. In winter, the lower availability of grazing forage, requiring a higher level of feeding integration, was responsible for an increase of saturated FA (SFA). The multivariate analysis distinguished clearly the cheeses made in winter and spring, while those produced in autumn and summer showed some overlapping points. Further investigations should be carried out to evaluate the effects of type and level of feeding integration on the presence of FA more suitable to be used as biomarkers of period and diet

Pain in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis: a population-based controlled study

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Arterial hypertension in aortic valve stenosis: A critical update

Aortic stenosis (AS) is a very common valve disease and is associated with high mortality once it becomes symptomatic. Arterial hypertension (HT) has a high prevalence among patients with AS leading to worse left ventricle remodeling and faster degeneration of the valve. HT also interferes with the assessment of the severity of AS, leading to an underestimation of the real degree of stenosis. Treatment of HT in AS has not historically been pursued due to the fear of excess reduction in afterload without a possibility of increasing stroke volume due to the fixed aortic valve, but most recent evidence shows that several drugs are safe and effective in reducing BP in patients with HT and AS. RAAS inhibitors and beta‐blockers provide benefit in selected populations based on their profile of pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics. Different drugs, on the other hand, have proved to be unsafe, such as calcium channel blockers, or simply not easy enough to handle to be recommended in clinical practice, such as PDE5i, MRA or sodium nitroprusside. The present review highlights all available studies on HT and AS to guide antihypertensive treatment