Broadband Cortical Desynchronization Underlies the Human Psychedelic State

Psychedelic drugs produce profound changes in consciousness, but the underlying neurobiological mechanisms for this remain unclear. Spontaneous and induced oscillatory activity was recorded in healthy human participants with magnetoencephalography after intravenous infusion of psilocybin—prodrug of the nonselective serotonin 2A receptor agonist and classic psychedelic psilocin. Psilocybin reduced spontaneous cortical oscillatory power from 1 to 50 Hz in posterior association cortices, and from 8 to 100 Hz in frontal association cortices. Large decreases in oscillatory power were seen in areas of the default-mode network. Independent component analysis was used to identify a number of resting-state networks, and activity in these was similarly decreased after psilocybin. Psilocybin had no effect on low-level visually induced and motor-induced gamma-band oscillations, suggesting that some basic elements of oscillatory brain activity are relatively preserved during the psychedelic experience. Dynamic causal modeling revealed that posterior cingulate cortex desynchronization can be explained by increased excitability of deep-layer pyramidal neurons, which are known to be rich in 5-HT2A receptors. These findings suggest that the subjective effects of psychedelics result from a desynchronization of ongoing oscillatory rhythms in the cortex, likely triggered by 5-HT2A receptor-mediated excitation of deep pyramidal cells

“Wearing me place on me face”: Scousebrows, placemaking and everyday creativity

This paper emerges from a multidisciplinary research project called “Brews and Brows: Shaping Stories from Eyebrows to Scousebrows” that entailed gathering stories about eyebrow grooming from women and men from the city of Liverpool, UK, and creating a new taxonomy of the eyebrow where none currently exists. The point of departure for this paper is to challenge the negative commentary on the Scousebrow in the press and social media by engaging people in discussions surrounding the personal significance of eyebrow shaping and styling. In challenging this denigration, this paper uses data from in-depth interviews with eyebrow artists and clients and ethnographic interviews at a four-day event held in Liverpool. This paper argues that the everyday (little c) creative practice of eyebrow grooming is not only an important part of crafting and performing identity, particularly for Scouse women, but also an example of bottom-up placemaking in the city of Liverpool

Global overview of the management of acute cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic (CHOLECOVID study)

Background: This study provides a global overview of the management of patients with acute cholecystitis during the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: CHOLECOVID is an international, multicentre, observational comparative study of patients admitted to hospital with acute cholecystitis during the COVID-19 pandemic. Data on management were collected for a 2-month study interval coincident with the WHO declaration of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic and compared with an equivalent pre-pandemic time interval. Mediation analysis examined the influence of SARS-COV-2 infection on 30-day mortality. Results: This study collected data on 9783 patients with acute cholecystitis admitted to 247 hospitals across the world. The pandemic was associated with reduced availability of surgical workforce and operating facilities globally, a significant shift to worse severity of disease, and increased use of conservative management. There was a reduction (both absolute and proportionate) in the number of patients undergoing cholecystectomy from 3095 patients (56.2 per cent) pre-pandemic to 1998 patients (46.2 per cent) during the pandemic but there was no difference in 30-day all-cause mortality after cholecystectomy comparing the pre-pandemic interval with the pandemic (13 patients (0.4 per cent) pre-pandemic to 13 patients (0.6 per cent) pandemic; P = 0.355). In mediation analysis, an admission with acute cholecystitis during the pandemic was associated with a non-significant increased risk of death (OR 1.29, 95 per cent c.i. 0.93 to 1.79, P = 0.121). Conclusion: CHOLECOVID provides a unique overview of the treatment of patients with cholecystitis across the globe during the first months of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. The study highlights the need for system resilience in retention of elective surgical activity. Cholecystectomy was associated with a low risk of mortality and deferral of treatment results in an increase in avoidable morbidity that represents the non-COVID cost of this pandemic

The Complexities of 'Home': Young people 'on the move' and state responses

'Home’ invokes ambiguous meanings for social policy; issues of safety within and beyond the home are recurring themes in criminological research and literature as well as policy and practice-based interventions. These concepts are further complicated when consideration is given to the experiences of young people who run away or go missing from the family home or alternative care. Drawing on an extensive body of research and rigorous analysis of ‘home’ in this context, the paper considers how gendered and classed youth identities affect responses and interventions. By ‘problematizing’ the universalised concept of home and the notion of ‘family’ that it implies, this paper makes an original contribution to theoretical aspects of running away and youth journeys, engaging with issues of space, place and relations of exclusion, subordination and domination in relation to family and state powers and responsibilities. Journeys from home are, interchangeably, escape routes and dangerous endeavours, but can also denote acts of resistance and quests for emancipation

Compound heterozygous hemochromatosis genotype predicts increased iron and erythrocyte indices in women

Background: Women who inherit heterozygosity for the C282Y mutation of the HFE gene may have increased serum iron indices and hemoglobin and are less likely to develop iron deficiency compared with women with the wild-type genotype. Methods: We performed a cross-sectional analysis of 497 women 20–44 years of age and 830 women >51 years of age drawn from the Busselton (Australia) population study to assess the effects of the HFE genotype on serum iron and hematology indices. Results: Heterozygosity for the C282Y mutation occurred in 13.8% of the study population, comprising 11.8% C282Y wild-type heterozygotes and 2.0% C282Y/H63D compound heterozygotes. In the younger age group, C282Y wild-type women did not have significantly increased serum iron, transferrin saturation, or hemoglobin values, and were not protected from developing iron deficiency, compared with women of the same age with the wild-type genotype. Young compound heterozygous women had higher means for serum iron (25.0 vs 16.9 μmol/L; P 51 years age group. Conclusions: Women with the compound heterozygous HFE genotype C282Y/H63D, but not the C282Y wild-type genotype, had increased values for serum iron and transferrin saturation, and the younger age group also had increased hemoglobin values. We conclude that the compound heterozygous genotype may have a beneficial effect in protecting women from iron deficiency

Expert systems for site location decisions

Considers the scope for applying expert system techniques to assist in decisions regarding site location. Begins with a review of the theoretical literature and assesses the progress made in developing computer models. Its central theme is that the next step forward in this area is to develop expert systems. Addresses the question of the design of an expert system which would improve the decision-making process. Concludes that such a system is well within the scope of current technology, as long as developers can avoid being overambitious and as long as the end result is highly user friendly