Narratives as a Fundamental Component of Consciousness

In this paper, we propose a conceptual architecture that models human (spatially-temporally-modally) cohesive narrative development using a computer representation of quale properties. Qualia are proposed to be the fundamental "cognitive" components humans use to generate cohesive narratives. The engineering approach is based on cognitively inspired technologies and incorporates the novel concept of quale representation for computation of primitive cognitive components of narrative. The ultimate objective of this research is to develop an architecture that emulates the human ability to generate cohesive narratives with incomplete or perturbated information

Macrophages promote epithelial proliferation following infectious and non-infectious lung injury through a Trefoil factor 2-dependent mechanism.

Coordinated efforts between macrophages and epithelia are considered essential for wound healing, but the macrophage-derived molecules responsible for repair are poorly defined. This work demonstrates that lung macrophages rely upon Trefoil factor 2 to promote epithelial proliferation following damage caused by sterile wounding, Nippostrongylus brasiliensis or Bleomycin sulfate. Unexpectedly, the presence of T, B, or ILC populations was not essential for macrophage-driven repair. Instead, conditional deletion of TFF2 in myeloid-restricted CD11cCre TFF2 flox mice exacerbated lung pathology and reduced the proliferative expansion of CD45- EpCAM+ pro-SPC+ alveolar type 2 cells. TFF2 deficient macrophages had reduced expression of the Wnt genes Wnt4 and Wnt16 and reconstitution of hookworm-infected CD11cCre TFF2flox mice with rWnt4 and rWnt16 restored the proliferative defect in lung epithelia post-injury. These data reveal a previously unrecognized mechanism wherein lung myeloid phagocytes utilize a TFF2/Wnt axis as a mechanism that drives epithelial proliferation following lung injury

Self-care habits among people who inject drugs with skin and soft tissue infections: a qualitative analysis.

BACKGROUND:Injection drug use is on the rise in the USA, and skin and soft tissue infections (SSTI) are a common complication, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. Due to structural barriers to care-seeking, many people who inject drugs avoid formal care and resort to self-care techniques, but little is known about the nature of these techniques, or more generally about the accuracy or breadth of this population's knowledge of SSTIs. METHODS:Semi-structured qualitative interviews were conducted with 12 people who inject heroin in two metropolitan areas: Sacramento and Boston, USA. RESULTS:These interviews reveal a robust and accurate knowledge base regarding skin infections, including the progression from simple cellulitis to an abscess, and acknowledgment of the possibility of serious infections. Nonetheless, there remains a reticence to seek care secondary to past traumatic experiences. A step-wise approach to self-care of SSTI infections was identified, which included themes of whole-body health, topical applications, use of non-prescribed antibiotics, and incision and drainage by non-medical providers. CONCLUSIONS:The reported SSTI self-care strategies demonstrate resilience and ingenuity, but also raise serious concerns about inappropriate antibiotic consumption and complications of invasive surgical procedures performed without proper training, technique, or materials. Harm reduction agencies and health care providers should work to obviate the need for these potentially dangerous practices by improving healthcare access for this population. In the absence of robust solutions to meet the needs of this population, education materials should be developed to optimize the efficacy and minimize the harms of these practices, while empowering and supporting the autonomy of people who use drugs and providing clear guidance on when self-care should be abandoned in favor of formal medical care

Explorations, Vol. 3, No. 1

Cover: Debouche, a thermo-formed acrylic sculpture, by Deborah de Moulpied, Associate Professor of Art at the University of Maine, (from the collection of Barbara Heldt and Gerald Smith, Oxford, England); photograph by Dale and Nedra Van Volkinburg. Articles include: Biotechnology, by Michael R. Gross The Search for Tom Swift or Some Reflections on One of America\u27s Best-Known Cultural Heroes, by David K. Vaughan ENDO-EXO 1 Sculpture in Motion Communication is Not Just Saying Words; It is Creating True Understanding, by Marisue Pickering Maine Outreach: Teaching Success, by Richard A. Hale and James F. Philp Through Cloud and Fog, Hunting the Elusive pH, by Richard Jagels Ocean Basin with a Past A Cryptic History: Breaking the Code Discerning a Future, by Detmar Schnitker We Stand Corrected in Volume II, Number 2, of EXPLORATIONS Dialogue: Letters [to the Editor] Updates from the Dispatch Cas

Local lung hypoxia determines epithelial fate decisions during alveolar regeneration.

After influenza infection, lineage-negative epithelial progenitors (LNEPs) exhibit a binary response to reconstitute epithelial barriers: activating a Notch-dependent ΔNp63/cytokeratin 5 (Krt5) remodelling program or differentiating into alveolar type II cells (AEC2s). Here we show that local lung hypoxia, through hypoxia-inducible factor (HIF1α), drives Notch signalling and Krt5pos basal-like cell expansion. Single-cell transcriptional profiling of human AEC2s from fibrotic lungs revealed a hypoxic subpopulation with activated Notch, suppressed surfactant protein C (SPC), and transdifferentiation toward a Krt5pos basal-like state. Activated murine Krt5pos LNEPs and diseased human AEC2s upregulate strikingly similar core pathways underlying migration and squamous metaplasia. While robust, HIF1α-driven metaplasia is ultimately inferior to AEC2 reconstitution in restoring normal lung function. HIF1α deletion or enhanced Wnt/β-catenin activity in Sox2pos LNEPs blocks Notch and Krt5 activation, instead promoting rapid AEC2 differentiation and migration and improving the quality of alveolar repair

The Milky Way in Context: Building an integral-field spectrograph data cube of the Galaxy

The Milky Way (MW) is by far the best-studied galaxy and has been regarded as an ideal laboratory for understanding galaxy evolution. However, direct comparisons of Galactic and extra-galactic observations are marred by many challenges, including selection effects and differences in observations and methodology. In this study, we present a novel code GalCraft to address these challenges by generating mock integral-field spectrograph data cubes of the MW using simple stellar population models and a mock stellar catalog of the Galaxy derived from E-Galaxia. The data products are in the same format as external galaxies, allowing for direct comparisons. We investigate the ability of pPXF to recover kinematics and stellar population properties for an edge-on mock observation of the MW. We confirm that pPXF can distinguish kinematic and stellar population differences between thin and thick disks. However, pPXF struggles to recover star formation history, where the SFR is overestimated in the ranges between 2-4 and 12-14 Gyr compared to the expected values. This is likely due to the template age spacing, pPXF regularization algorithm, and spectral similarities in old population templates. Furthermore, we find systematic offsets in the recovered kinematics, potentially due to insufficient spectral resolution and the variation of line-of-sight velocity with [M/H] and age through a line-of-sight. With future higher resolution and multi-[$\alpha$/Fe] SSP templates, GalCraft will be useful to identify key signatures such as [$\alpha$/Fe]-[M/H] distribution at different $R$ and $|z|$ and potentially measure radial migration and kinematic heating efficiency to study detailed chemodynamical evolution of MW-like galaxies.Comment: 27 pages, 27 figures (8 figs in appendix), submitted to MNRAS. Comments are welcom

Bounds on the k-domination number of a graph

Abstract The k-domination number of a graph is the cardinality of a smallest set of vertices such that every vertex not in the set is adjacent to at least k vertices of the set. We prove two bounds on the k-domination number of a graph, inspired by two conjectures of the computer program Graffiti.pc. In particular, we show that for any graph with minimum degree at least 2k − 1, the k-domination number is at most the matching number

Maternal super-obesity and perinatal outcomes in Australia: A national population-based cohort study

Background: Super-obesity is associated with significantly elevated rates of obstetric complications, adverse perinatal outcomes and interventions. The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence, risk factors, management and perinatal outcomes of super-obese women giving birth in Australia. Methods: A national population-based cohort study. Super-obese pregnant women (body mass index (BMI) >50 kg/m2 or weight >140 kg) who gave birth between January 1 and October 31, 2010 and a comparison cohort were identified using the Australasian Maternity Outcomes Surveillance System (AMOSS). Outcomes included maternal and perinatal morbidity and mortality. Prevalence estimates calculated with 95 % confidence intervals (CIs). Adjusted odds ratios (ORs) were calculated using multivariable logistic regression. Results: 370 super-obese women with a median BMI of 52.8 kg/m2 (range 40.9–79.9 kg/m2) and prevalence of 2.1 per 1 000 women giving birth (95 % CI: 1.96–2.40). Super-obese women were significantly more likely to be public patients (96.2 %), smoke (23.8 %) and be socio-economically disadvantaged (36.2 %). Compared with other women, super-obese women had a significantly higher risk for obstetric (adjusted odds ratio (AOR) 2.42, 95 % CI: 1.77–3.29) and medical (AOR: 2.89, 95 % CI: 2.64–4.11) complications during pregnancy, birth by caesarean section (51.6 %) and admission to special care (HDU/ICU) (6.2 %). The 372 babies born to 365 super-obese women with outcomes known had significantly higher rates of birthweight ≥4500 g (AOR 19.94, 95 % CI: 6.81–58.36), hospital transfer (AOR 3.81, 95 % CI: 1.93–7.55) and admission to Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) (AOR 1.83, 95 % CI: 1.27–2.65) compared to babies of the comparison group, but not prematurity (10.5 % versus 9.2 %) or perinatal mortality (11.0 (95 % CI: 4.3–28.0) versus 6.6 (95 % CI: 2.6- 16.8) per 1 000 singleton births). Conclusions: Super-obesity in pregnancy in Australia is associated with increased rates of pregnancy and birth complications, and with social disadvantage. There is an urgent need to further address risk factors leading to super-obesity among pregnant women and for maternity services to better address pre-pregnancy and pregnancy care to reduce associated inequalities in perinatal outcomes. Keywords: Super-obesity, Obesity, Perinatal outcomes, Pregnancy, Maternal socio-economic disadvantage, Obstetric complication

An application of conditional logistic regression and multifactor dimensionality reduction for detecting gene-gene Interactions on risk of myocardial infarction: The importance of model validation

BACKGROUND: To examine interactions among the angiotensin converting enzyme (ACE) insertion/deletion, plasminogen activator inhibitor-1 (PAI-1) 4G/5G, and tissue plasminogen activator (t-PA) insertion/deletion gene polymorphisms on risk of myocardial infarction using data from 343 matched case-control pairs from the Physicians Health Study. We examined the data using both conditional logistic regression and the multifactor dimensionality reduction (MDR) method. One advantage of the MDR method is that it provides an internal prediction error for validation. We summarize our use of this internal prediction error for model validation. RESULTS: The overall results for the two methods were consistent, with both suggesting an interaction between the ACE I/D and PAI-1 4G/5G polymorphisms. However, using ten-fold cross validation, the 46% prediction error for the final MDR model was not significantly lower than that expected by chance. CONCLUSIONS: The significant interaction initially observed does not validate and may represent a type I error. As data-driven analytic methods continue to be developed and used to examine complex genetic interactions, it will become increasingly important to stress model validation in order to ensure that significant effects represent true relationships rather than chance findings