Agamben and Philosophical Archaeology

Methodology has a special place for every thinker, and this may be even more prominent in the humanities. This article seeks to examine the philosophical methodology of the contemporary Italian philosopher Giorgio Agamben. A methodology that, in his own words, owes much to Michel Foucault. The method is very important for Agamben. In fact, as we shall see, the method is not, in his view, a mere predetermined pattern, but, as is clear from the Greek word μέθοδος, method means "after the way," that is, after following the way. While Agamben has been talking about his methodology in some of his works shortly, in The Signature of All Things (2009), his main ideas could be seen. In this book, we encounter three main elements of Agamben's methodology: the paradigm, the signature, and the arche, all of which form a method that Agamben calls philosophical archeology. Agamben's methodology, or philosophical archaeology, is based on three basic elements with similar functions at different levels: paradigm, signature, and arche. In this article, these three concepts are examined, and in the last section, by examining their characteristics, it becomes clear how these three concepts form a method that Agamben calls philosophical archaeology

Time-domain Classification of the Brain Reward System: Analysis of Natural- and Drug-Reward Driven Local Field Potential Signals in Hippocampus and Nucleus Accumbens

Addiction is a major public health concern characterized by compulsive reward-seeking behavior. The excitatory glutamatergic signals from the hippocampus (HIP) to the Nucleus accumbens (NAc) mediate learned behavior in addiction. Limited comparative studies have investigated the neural pathways activated by natural and unnatural reward sources. This study has evaluated neural activities in HIP and NAc associated with food (natural) and morphine (drug) reward sources using local field potential (LFP). We developed novel approaches to classify LFP signals into the source of reward and recorded regions by considering the time-domain feature of these signals. Proposed methods included a validation step of the LFP signals using autocorrelation, Lyapunov exponent and Hurst exponent to assess the meaningful stability of these signals (lack of chaos). By utilizing the probability density function (PDF) of LFP signals and applying Kullback-Leibler divergence (KLD), data were classified to the source of the reward. Also, HIP and NAc regions were visually separated and classified using the symmetrized dot pattern technique, which can be applied in real-time to ensure the deep brain region of interest is being targeted accurately during LFP recording. We believe our method provides a computationally light and fast, real-time signal analysis approach with real-world implementation.Comment: 12 pages, 7 figures first two authors contributed equally to this wor

Autophagy induction regulates influenza virus replication in a time-dependent manner

Autophagy plays a key role in host defence responses against microbial infections by promoting degradation of pathogens and participating in acquired immunity. The interaction between autophagy and viruses is complex, and this pathway is hijacked by several viruses. Influenza virus (IV) interferes with autophagy through its replication and increases the accumulation of autophagosomes by blocking lysosome fusion. Thus, autophagy could be an effective area for antiviral research.Methodology. In this study, we evaluated the effect of autophagy on IV replication. Two cell lines were transfected with Beclin-1 expression plasmid before (prophylactic approach) and after (therapeutic approach) IV inoculation.Results/Key findings. Beclin-1 overexpression in the cells infected by virus induced autophagy to 26 %. The log10haemagglutinin titre and TCID50 (tissue culture infective dose giving 50 % infection) of replicating virus were measured at 24 and 48 h post-infection. In the prophylactic approach, the virus titre was enhanced significantly at 24 h post-infection (P≤0.01), but it was not significantly different from the control at 48 h post-infection. In contrast, the therapeutic approach of autophagy induction inhibited the virus replication at 24 and 48 h post-infection. Additionally, we showed that inhibition of autophagy using 3-methyladenine reduced viral replication. Conclusion. This study revealed that the virus (H1N1) titre was controlled in a time-dependent manner following autophagy induction in host cells. Manipulation of autophagy during the IV life cycle can be targeted both for antiviral aims and for increasing viral yield for virus production

Investigating the Effects of Irrigation Levels on Marigold Growth and Yield Properties under Different Soil Texture

In order to investigate the effect of low irrigation on yield and yield components of Marigold in different soil textures, a factorial experiment was conducted in a completely randomized design in the research greenhouse of the Faculty of Agriculture, Ferdowsi University of Mashhad in 2018-2019 based on pot cultivation with 3 replications. The treatments studied in this research included four irrigation levels of 100, 85, 70 and 55% of field capacity and three soil textures including silty clay S1, clay loam S2 and sandy loam S3. The results showed a downward trend in changes in the number of flowers as one of the important components of flower yield due to deficit irrigation with a field capacity of 0.85, 0.70 and 0.55 and 7.7, 17.9 and 38.5%, respectively. The use of different soil textures led to a reduction in the number of flowers, lateral branches and leaves compared to the treatment with silty clay soil. From clay loam and silty clay texture compared to sandy loam led to a significant reduction in the number of flowers (26.2 and 38.1%), in the number of lateral branches (24.5 and 32.7%) and in number of leaves (14.8 and 19.1%). According to the results of this study, irrigation treatment of 85% FC and sandy loam soil texture can be considered for Marigold (Calendula officinalis L.) under greenhouse conditions

Corneal topography and higher-order aberrations in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus

Background: Changes in blood sugar levels cause alterations in the anterior segment and retina of the eye. This study was aimed at evaluating corneal topography, aberrometry, and corneal asphericity in patients with treatment-naive type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM). Methods: Participants with treatment-naive T2DM were enrolled in this cross-sectional study. The inclusion criteria were glycated hemoglobin A1c (Hb A1c) greater than or equal to 7.5% and absence of other ocular or systemic diseases. Patients who refused to participate or had a history of topical or systemic steroid use, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, anemia, prior ocular disorder or surgery, diabetic retinopathy, glaucoma, cataract, active ocular inflammatory or infectious disease, or contact lens use were excluded. All participants underwent a comprehensive ophthalmic examination. The Pentacam HR Scheimpflug tomography system (Pentacam High Resolution; Oculus, Wetzlar, Germany) was used to measure the anterior-segment parameters. Results: Sixty eyes of 30 patients with a male-to-female ratio of 1:1 were included; the mean (standard deviation [SD]) age and Hb A1c were 51.63 (6.73) years and 8.82% (1.31%), respectively. The mean (SD) values of central corneal thickness, root mean square (RMS) of total aberration, RMS of lower-order aberrations, RMS of higher-order aberrations, spherical aberration, 0° coma, 90° coma, flat anterior keratometry (K), steep anterior K, mean anterior K, anterior topographic astigmatism, flat posterior K, steep posterior K, mean posterior K, posterior topographic astigmatism, anterior corneal asphericity, and posterior corneal asphericity were 540.22 (24.47) µm, 1.72 (0.73) µm, 1.63 (0.73) µm, 0.51 (0.17) µm, + 0.31 (0.09) µm, - 0.06 (0.15) diopters (D), 0.003 (0.21) D, 43.87 (1.49) D, 44.69 (1.50) D, 44.28 (1.44) D, + 0.82 (0.83) D, - 6.25 (0.27) D, - 6.55 (0.31) D, - 6.40 (0.28) D, - 0.30 (0.15) D, - 0.32 (0.12) Q-value, and - 0.47 (0.17) Q-value, respectively. Conclusions: We presented the mean values of Pentacam parameters for aberrometry, keratometry, and corneal asphericity in patients with treatment-naive T2DM. These values could serve as a baseline for prospective monitoring of the ocular health status of this cohort and for comparison with future cohorts of patients with well-controlled T2DM. Further studies are required to assess the presence and applicability of ocular changes following intensive blood glucose control in T2DM and further understand the related pathophysiology

Evaluation of a wide rim phosphorylated calix[4]arene's properties as a sensory molecule in an Er(III)-PVC membrane sensor

This study concerns the evaluation of ionophoric properties of a functionalized calix 10 −7 -1 × 10 −3 M of erbium ions, with a limit of detection of 3.8 × 10 −8 M. Its potential response was independent of pH variation in the relatively wide range 4.5-6.5. The dynamic response time of the electrode to achieve a steady potential was found to be about 7 s. The selectivity of the sensor towards erbium ions with respect to several mono-, di-, tri-, and tetravalent metal ions was examined. The prepared sensor can be used for 3 months without considerable divergences in potential response. The performance of the sensor was examined as an indicator electrode for complexometric titration of erbium solutions by EDTA

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

CELL WALL ENZYMES AND SENESCENCE IN STRAWBERRY FRUITS

Abstract not availabl