Why the idea of framework propositions cannot contribute to an understanding of delusions

One of the tasks that recent philosophy of psychiatry has taken upon itself is to extend the range of understanding to some of those aspects of psychopathology that Jaspers deemed beyond its limits. Given the fundamental difficulties of offering a literal interpretation of the contents of primary delusions, a number of alternative strategies have been put forward including regarding them as abnormal versions of framework propositions described by Wittgenstein in On Certainty. But although framework propositions share some of the apparent epistemic features of primary delusions, their role in partially constituting the sense of inquiry rules out their role in helping to understand delusions

Interactions of gelatinous zooplankton within marine food webs

Gelatinous zooplankton (GZ) comprise a taxonomically and functionally diverse group of marine organisms which includes ctenophores, cnidarians and pelagic tunicates, sharing a soft, mostly transparent body texture, a high body water content and a lack of exoskeleton. They range in size from less than a millimetre to nearly 2 m for the cnidarian jellyfish Nemopilema nomurai, and comprise some of the fastest growing metazoans on Earth (Hopcroft et al., 1998), sometimes surpassing crustacean zooplankton in their contribution to secondary production (i.e. in subtropical waters; Jaspers et al., 2009). They feed on a wide range of prey sizes, with predator–prey ratios comparable in some cases to those of baleen whales and krill (Deibel and Lee, 1992), and with prey removal rates which are similar to those of their non-gelatinous competitors (Acuña et al., 2011). In spite of early work pointing to gelatinous zooplankton as a trophic dead end (Verity and Smetacek, 1996), evidence is rapidly accumulating which shows that they may potentially channel energy from the picoplankton-sized, microbial loop organisms up to the higher trophic levels, including fish (Llopiz et al., 2010). However, this pathway is still largely neglected in most food web investigations even though it is now becoming clear that GZ represent a major fraction of the diet of several commercially important fish species such as bluefin tuna (Thunnus thynnus) (Cardona et al., 2012)

Moisture transport in concrete during fire: an NMR study

The question how concrete responds to a fire is one of the main questions in fire safety. During a fire, a building material can suddenly be heated up to temperatures well above 1000 oC. At temperatures above 100 oC, water inside the pores will start to boil. Simultaneously, in concrete, but also for example in gypsum, chemically bound water will be released by dehydration of the porous matrix. If the concrete has a low permeability, the vapour pressure inside will increase which can give rise to a sudden (explosive) failure of a material. Numerous heat and mass transfer models have been used to predict the moisture transport and its consequences on the strength and permeability of the concrete. However, these models are only of use if they can be validated. For model validation, quantitative measurements of the evolution of moisture, temperature, and possibly pressure distributions in time are needed. For this purpose, we have developed an NMR setup to measure the moisture transport in heated building materials. This setup makes used of the 1.5 T magnet of a medical MRI scanner, while dedicated gradient coils are used to image the moisture profiles in 1D. The sample is heated with the help of four 100 W halogen lamps, capable of generating a heat flux of 12 kW/m2. The measured combined moisture content and temperature profiles give a unique insight in the moisture transport and dehydration kinetics inside concrete during fire. These measurements give the first quantitative proof for the build-up of a moisture peak due to the vapour pressure build-up. While many moisture transport models predicted the existence of such a peak, these predictions had never been validated with moisture profile measurements during fire tests

Tobacco Smoke Exposure and Altered Nasal Responses to Live Attenuated Influenza Virus

BackgroundEpidemiologic evidence links tobacco smoke and increased risk for influenza in humans, but the specific host defense pathways involved are unclear.ObjectiveWe developed a model to examine influenza-induced innate immune responses in humans and test the hypothesis that exposure to cigarette smoke alters nasal inflammatory and antiviral responses to live attenuated influenza virus (LAIV).MethodsThis was an observational cohort study comparing nasal mucosal responses to LAIV among young adult active smokers (n = 17), nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke (SHS; n = 20), and unexposed controls (n = 23). Virus RNA and inflammatory factors were measured in nasal lavage fluids (NLF) serially after LAIV inoculation. For key end points, peak and total (area under curve) responses were compared among groups.ResultsCompared with controls, NLF interleukin-6 (IL-6) responses to LAIV (peak and total) were suppressed in smokers. Virus RNA in NLF cells was significantly increased in smokers, as were interferon-inducible protein 10:virus ratios. Responses in SHS-exposed subjects were generally intermediate between controls and smokers. We observed significant associations between urine cotinine and NLF IL-6 responses (negative correlation) or virus RNA in NLF cells (positive correlation) for all subjects combined.ConclusionsNasal inoculation with LAIV results in measurable inflammatory and antiviral responses in human volunteers, thus providing a model for investigating environmental effects on influenza infections in humans. Exposure to cigarette smoke was associated with suppression of specific nasal inflammatory and antiviral responses, as well as increased virus quantity, after nasal inoculation with LAIV. These data suggest mechanisms for increased susceptibility to influenza infection among persons exposed to tobacco smoke

Materialism and life satisfaction relations between and within people over time: results of a three-wave longitudinal study

The negative association between materialism and life satisfaction is well-documented, but it is unclear what the directionality of the association is. To address this issue, we (a) conducted a three-wave longitudinal study (N = 6551) over 3 years and examined the bidirectional relations between life satisfaction and materialism as a composite measure and with each of its three facets (happiness, success, and centrality), and (b) estimated Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models (RI-CLPMs) that separate inter- and intra-individual effects and compared them with traditional CLPMs that do not. The traditional CLPM showed bidirectional negative associations between composite materialism and life satisfaction and strong negative bidirectional association for the happiness facet, but positive effects of the centrality facet on life satisfaction. However, and importantly, the RI-CLPM revealed that these relations exist predominantly between people. Within people, materialism does not impact life satisfaction, but life satisfaction does impact the happiness facet negatively. These findings challenge common ideas that the direction of the effect is from materialism to life satisfaction and that it is unilaterally negative.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

De aquakultuur met benuttiging van bio-industriële afvalstoffen en thermische effluenten = L'aquaculture utilisant des dechets bio-industriels et des effluents thermiques

The possibility of recycling biodegradable waste materials (manure and waste from agricultural crops) into new proteins was investigated through experiments with various aquaticfood chains. The possibility of increasing the biomass yield through recuperation of the lost energy of thermal effluents was continually taken into consideration. The most promising production procedures which could lead to industrial applificatians are: a) the controlled mass production of pickling lobsters (Artemia) in "batch" or "flow through" systems using agricultural wastes, b). the nursery production of edible shell-fish (oysters, Paphia pullastra clams) using microscopic algae which were grown on manure. Units were designed of both types on a semi-industrial scale and were built on the Belgian coast. In conclusion it can also be mentioned that the mass production of water fleas (Daphnia) using manure and agricultural waste gave very encouraging results on a laboratory scale

Delusional beliefs and reason giving

Delusions are often regarded as irrational beliefs, but their irrationality is not sufficient to explain what is pathological about them. In this paper we ask whether deluded subjects have the capacity to support the content of their delusions with reasons, that is, whether they can author their delusional states. The hypothesis that delusions are characterised by a failure of authorship, which is a dimension of self knowledge, deserves to be empirically tested because (a) it has the potential to account for the distinction between endorsing a delusion and endorsing a framework belief; (b) it contributes to a philosophical analysis of the relationship between rationality and self knowledge; and (c) it informs diagnosis and therapy in clinical psychiatry. However, authorship cannot provide a demarcation criterion between delusions and other irrational belief states

Novel Human/Non-Human Primate Cross-Reactive Anti-Transferrin Receptor Nanobodies for Brain Delivery of Biologics

The blood-brain barrier (BBB), while being the gatekeeper of the central nervous system (CNS), is a bottleneck for the treatment of neurological diseases. Unfortunately, most of the biologicals do not reach their brain targets in sufficient quantities. The antibody targeting of receptor-mediated transcytosis (RMT) receptors is an exploited mechanism that increases brain permeability. We previously discovered an anti-human transferrin receptor (TfR) nanobody that could efficiently deliver a therapeutic moiety across the BBB. Despite the high homology between human and cynomolgus TfR, the nanobody was unable to bind the non-human primate receptor. Here we report the discovery of two nanobodies that were able to bind human and cynomolgus TfR, making these nanobodies more clinically relevant. Whereas nanobody BBB00515 bound cynomolgus TfR with 18 times more affinity than it did human TfR, nanobody BBB00533 bound human and cynomolgus TfR with similar affinities. When fused with an anti-beta-site amyloid precursor protein cleaving enzyme (BACE1) antibody (1A11AM), each of the nanobodies was able to increase its brain permeability after peripheral injection. A 40% reduction of brain Aβ1–40 levels could be observed in mice injected with anti-TfR/BACE1 bispecific antibodies when compared to vehicle-injected mice. In summary, we found two nanobodies that could bind both human and cynomolgus TfR with the potential to be used clinically to increase the brain permeability of therapeutic biologicals

Temporal structure/function variation in cultured differentiated human nasal epithelium associated with acute single exposure to tobacco smoke or E-cigarette vapor

Mucociliary clearance sustains a baseline functionality and an “on demand” capability to upregulate clearance upon irritant exposure involving mucus hypersecretion and accelerated ciliary beat frequency (CBF) modulated by nitric oxide (NO). This study characterized these elements as well as cellular and exogenous NO concentrations subsequent to a single exposure to tobacco smoke (TS) or e-cigarette vapor (EV) on cultured human airway epithelium