Time and Its Object: A Perspective from Amerindian and Melanesian Societies on the Temporality of Images

This volume examines the way objects and images relate to and shape notions of temporality and history. Bringing together ethnographic studies from the Lowlands of Central and South America and Melanesia, it explores the temporality inhering in images and artefacts from a comparative perspective. The chapters focus on how peoples in both regions ‘live in’ and ‘navigate’ time each through their distinctive systems of images and the processes and actions by which these come to be manifest in objects. With original theoretical and ethnographic contributions, the book is valuable reading for scholars interested in visual and material culture and in anthropological approaches to time

Effects of dorsolateral prefrontal cortex lesion on motor habit and performance assessed with manual grasping and control of force in macaque monkeys.

In the context of an autologous adult neural cell ecosystem (ANCE) transplantation study, four intact adult female macaque monkeys underwent a unilateral biopsy of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex (dlPFC) to provide the cellular material needed to obtain the ANCE. Monkeys were previously trained to perform quantitative motor (manual dexterity) tasks, namely, the "modified-Brinkman board" task and the "reach and grasp drawer" task. The aim of the present study was to extend preliminary data on the role of the prefrontal cortex in motor habit and test the hypothesis that dlPFC contributes to predict the grip force required when a precise level of force to be generated is known beforehand. As expected for a small dlPFC biopsy, neither the motor performance (score) nor the spatiotemporal motor sequences were affected in the "modified-Brinkman board" task, whereas significant changes (mainly decreases) in the maximal grip force (force applied on the drawer knob) were observed in the "reach and grasp drawer" task. The present data in the macaque monkey related to the prediction of grip force are well in line with the previous fMRI data reported for human subjects. Moreover, the ANCE transplantation strategy (in the case of stroke or Parkinson's disease) based on biopsy in dlPFC does not generate unwanted motor consequences, at least as far as motor habit and motor performance are concerned in the context of a sequential grasping a small objects, which does not require the development of significant force levels

What Have You Been Told? Awareness of Prognosis of Patients in an Italian Home Palliative Care Service

Background: In palliative care, investigating prognosis awareness is a milestone for effective and comprehensive patient intake care. The literature shows that over the past half-century, regarding prognoses, the data report less willingness to provide information, despite patients' wishes.Objective: To investigate the varying degrees of awareness of prognosis of patients and their caregivers admitted to an Italian Palliative Home Based Care Service.Design: A monocentric observational survey study with questionnaires created by the research team and completed by physicians, caregivers, and healthcare professionals (HCPs) during the intake. The assessment of any statistically significant differences was evaluated through McNemar's test.Subjects: Forty patients (+/- 75 years old, 60% females) with an estimated prognosis of more than 10 days, and for whom there was an opportunity to provide informed consent, who were intake at the Home Palliative Care Service of the Domus Salutis Clinic in Italy, from January 1 to June 30, 2022 were recruited.Results: In total, 52% of patients were fully aware of their prognosis at the time of intake, although 75% had asked to be informed about their prognosis. Before death, the total percentage of patients who were aware of their prognosis was 72. Twenty percent of patients were informed of their prognosis during the course of treatment. The total number of patients aware of prognosis, from the caregiver's perspective before death, was 28 (71%). The postmortem questionnaire revealed that the team had discussed prognoses with 86% of patients.Conclusion: Periodic re-evaluation of prognosis awareness during the course of care is essential, awareness increased significantly

Tumor-derived interleukin-10 as a prognostic factor in stage III patients undergoing adjuvant treatment with an autologous melanoma cell vaccine.

OBJECTIVES: Interleukin-10 (IL-10) downregulates T-cell-mediated immune responses. We studied the association between IL-10 production by freshly isolated melanoma cell suspensions in vitro and overall survival in patients undergoing adjuvant treatment with a vaccine prepared from the same autologous melanoma cells modified with a hapten, dinitrophenyl (DNP). METHODS: Forty-four patients with cutaneous melanoma (29 stage III and 15 stage IV) were prospectively evaluated. Tumor cells were extracted from metastatic deposits for production of DNP-modified autologous melanoma cell vaccine. Small aliquots of the melanoma cell suspensions were separated prior to vaccine processing and cultured overnight for IL-10 production. Based on a blind assessment of the distribution of IL-10 levels in the culture supernatants, a cutoff of 200 pg/ml was used to define high versus low IL-10 producers. Cox regression model was used for multivariate analysis. Overall survival was calculated using the Kaplan-Meier method, and survival curves were compared with the log-rank test. RESULTS: Out of 44 patients, 29 were low and 15 were high IL-10 producers. The median OS was significantly worse for high compared with low IL-10 producers (10.5 months vs. 42 months; P = 0.022). In stage III patients, the multivariate hazard ratio for high versus low IL-10 producers was 2.92 (95% CI, 1.04-8.20; P = 0.041). The corresponding hazard ratio in stage IV patients was 0.92 (95% CI, 1.04-8.20; P = 0.888). CONCLUSIONS: High IL-10 production in the tumor microenvironment could be a determinant of clinical outcomes in stage III melanoma patients receiving autologous melanoma cell vaccine

ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by chemical precipitation to increase germination and bioactive compounds in sprouts of Raphanus sativus L.

Objective: To examine how priming radish (Raphanus sativus L.) sprouts with zinc oxide nanoparticles (NPs-ZnO) affects their germination, photosynthetic pigments, phenolic compounds, and zinc content. Design/methodology/approach: We evaluated five NPs-ZnO treatments and a control sample with four replications under a completely randomized design.Results: Sprouts treated with NPs-ZnO showed increased germination variables, photosynthetic pigments, phenolic compounds, and zinc content as compared to untreated radish sprouts.Study limitations/implications: It is hard to establish a response model for the effects of NPs since their shape, size, surface charge, chemical composition, and concentration may have a differentiated impact on seed germination.Findings/conclusions: Using NPs-ZnO could be an effective way to enrich crops, since the passage of Zn through plant tissues will cause an accumulation of this micronutrient

ZnO nanoparticles synthesized by chemical precipitation to increase germination and bioactive compounds in sprouts of Raphanus sativus L.

Objective: To examine how priming radish (Raphanus sativus L.) sprouts with zinc oxide nanoparticles (NPs-ZnO) affects their germination, photosynthetic pigments, phenolic compounds, and zinc content. Design/methodology/approach: We evaluated five NPs-ZnO treatments and a control sample with four replications under a completely randomized design.Results: Sprouts treated with NPs-ZnO showed increased germination variables, photosynthetic pigments, phenolic compounds, and zinc content as compared to untreated radish sprouts.Study limitations/implications: It is hard to establish a response model for the effects of NPs since their shape, size, surface charge, chemical composition, and concentration may have a differentiated impact on seed germination.Findings/conclusions: Using NPs-ZnO could be an effective way to enrich crops, since the passage of Zn through plant tissues will cause an accumulation of this micronutrient