Balanced biosocial theory for the social sciences

Evolutionary theory is the unquestioned paradigm for all biological sciences and is gaining acceptance in many of the social sciences, predominantly psychology and anthropology. Sociology, as a discipline, has failed to embrace evolutionary theory and remains uninformed about the most powerful scientific theory of living things: the theory of evolution by Darwinian selection. Traditional sociological theory is based largely on empirically questionable ideas about human development, behavior, and psychology, and often contradicts fundamental knowledge about evolution. As such, it often fails to contribute to a coherent and progressive corpus of sociological knowledge. Biosocial theories present a compelling alternative to the standard social science model. They provide an empirical account for human behavior by drawing on research from the biological sciences. I propose the following research as a conceptual framework for biosocial theories in the social sciences, explaining how they might be successfully incorporated into sociological thought

String attractors and combinatorics on words

The notion of string attractor has recently been introduced in [Prezza, 2017] and studied in [Kempa and Prezza, 2018] to provide a unifying framework for known dictionary-based compressors. A string attractor for a word w = w[1]w[2] · · · w[n] is a subset Γ of the positions 1, . . ., n, such that all distinct factors of w have an occurrence crossing at least one of the elements of Γ. While finding the smallest string attractor for a word is a NP-complete problem, it has been proved in [Kempa and Prezza, 2018] that dictionary compressors can be interpreted as algorithms approximating the smallest string attractor for a given word. In this paper we explore the notion of string attractor from a combinatorial point of view, by focusing on several families of finite words. The results presented in the paper suggest that the notion of string attractor can be used to define new tools to investigate combinatorial properties of the words

Combinatorics on words in information security: Unavoidable regularities in the construction of multicollision attacks on iterated hash functions

Classically in combinatorics on words one studies unavoidable regularities that appear in sufficiently long strings of symbols over a fixed size alphabet. In this paper we take another viewpoint and focus on combinatorial properties of long words in which the number of occurrences of any symbol is restritced by a fixed constant. We then demonstrate the connection of these properties to constructing multicollision attacks on so called generalized iterated hash functions.Comment: In Proceedings WORDS 2011, arXiv:1108.341

Botulinum toxin therapy: functional silencing of salivary disorders.

Botulinum toxin (BTX) is a neurotoxic protein produced by Clostridium botulinum, an anaerobic bacterium. BTX therapy is a safe and effective treatment when used for functional silencing of the salivary glands in disorders such as sialoceles and salivary fistulas that may have a post-traumatic or post-operative origin. BTX injections can be considered in sialoceles and salivary fistulas after the failure of or together with conservative treatments (e.g. antibiotics, pressure dressings, or serial aspirations). BTX treatment has a promising role in chronic sialadenitis. BTX therapy is highly successful in the treatment of gustatory sweating (Frey\u2019s syndrome), and could be considered the gold standard treatment for this neurological disorder

Mild behavioral impairment in Parkinson's disease: Data from the Parkinson's disease cognitive impairment study (PACOS)

Neuropsychiatric symptoms (NPS) have been frequently described in Parkinson's disease (PD), even in the earliest stages of the disease. Recently the construct of mild behavioral impairment (MBI) has been proposed as an at-risk state for incident cognitive decline and dementia. The aim of the present study is to evaluate the prevalence and associated factors of MBI in PD. Cross-sectional data from 429 consecutive PD patients enrolled in the PArkinson's disease COgnitive impairment Study (PACOS) were included in the study. All subjects underwent neuropsychological assessment, according to the MDS Level II criteria. NPS were evaluated with the Neuropsychiatric Inventory. Multivariate logistic regression models were used to evaluate clinical and behavioral characteristics, which are associated with PD-MBI. The latter was ascertained in 361 (84.1%) subjects of whom 155 (36.1%) were newly diagnosed patients (disease duration ≥1 year) and 206 (48.0%) had a disease duration <1 year. Furthermore, 68 (15.9%) out of 429 subjects were PDw (without MBI). Across the MBI domains, Impulse Dyscontrol was significantly more prevalent among PD-MBI with disease duration <1 year than newly diagnosed patients. The frequency of Social Inappropriateness and Abnormal Perception significantly increased throughout the entire PD-MBI sample with increasing Hoehn andYahr (H&Y) stages. PD-MBI in newly diagnosed PDwas significantly associated with H&Y stage (OR 2.35, 95% CI 1.05-5.24) and marginally with antidepressant drug use (OR 2.94, 95% CI 0.91-9.47), while in patients with a disease duration >1 year was associated with UPDRS-ME (OR 3.37, 95% CI 1.41-8.00). The overall MBI frequency in the PACOS sample was 84% and 36% among newly diagnosed patients. The presence of MBI mainly related to motor impairment and disability

Words and forbidden factors

AbstractGiven a finite or infinite word v, we consider the set M(v) of minimal forbidden factors of v. We show that the set M(v) is of fundamental importance in determining the structure of the word v. In the case of a finite word w we consider two parameters that are related to the size of M(w): the first counts the minimal forbidden factors of w and the second gives the length of the longest minimal forbidden factor of w. We derive sharp upper and lower bounds for both parameters. We prove also that the second parameter is related to the minimal period of the word w. We are further interested to the algorithmic point of view. Indeed, we design linear time algorithm for the following two problems: (i) given w, construct the set M(w) and, conversely, (ii) given M(w), reconstruct the word w. In the case of an infinite word x, we consider the following two functions: gx that counts, for each n, the allowed factors of x of length n and fx that counts, for each n, the minimal forbidden factors of x of length n. We address the following general problem: what information about the structure of x can be derived from the pair (gx,fx)? We prove that these two functions characterize, up to the automorphism exchanging the two letters, the language of factors of each single infinite Sturmian word

Management of patients with Graves' disease and orbital involvement: role of spectral domain optical coherence tomography

PURPOSE: To investigate the role of choroidal thickness evaluation with spectral domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) and enhanced depth imaging (EDI) technique in the management of patients with Graves' disease and orbitopathy (GO). METHODS: Thirty-six eyes of 18 patients with GO and 36 eyes of 18 age-matched control subjects were included in this retrospective observational study. All the subjects underwent a complete ophthalmological evaluation, including clinical activity score (CAS) and exophthalmometry. The SDOCT images of the choroid were obtained by EDI modality. RESULTS: Choroidal thickness was significantly increased in GO than in control eyes (p < 0.01). A significant correlation was found between choroidal thickness and CAS, proptosis, and the duration of disease (p < 0.05). CONCLUSION: This study shows that choroidal thickness, evaluated with EDI-OCT, is significantly increased in patients with GO and correlates with the activity of the disease, proptosis, and duration of the disease. The choroidal thickening may reflect the ocular hemodynamic changes, and enhanced depth imaging optical coherence tomography may be a useful tool for the evaluation of orbital congestion and management of patients with Graves' disease and orbital involvement

Invariance: a Theoretical Approach for Coding Sets of Words Modulo Literal (Anti)Morphisms

Let $A$ be a finite or countable alphabet and let $\theta$ be literal (anti)morphism onto $A^*$ (by definition, such a correspondence is determinated by a permutation of the alphabet). This paper deals with sets which are invariant under $\theta$ ($\theta$-invariant for short).We establish an extension of the famous defect theorem. Moreover, we prove that for the so-called thin $\theta$-invariant codes, maximality and completeness are two equivalent notions. We prove that a similar property holds in the framework of some special families of $\theta$-invariant codes such as prefix (bifix) codes, codes with a finite deciphering delay, uniformly synchronized codes and circular codes. For a special class of involutive antimorphisms, we prove that any regular $\theta$-invariant code may be embedded into a complete one.Comment: To appear in Acts of WORDS 201

Factorization in Formal Languages

We consider several novel aspects of unique factorization in formal languages. We reprove the familiar fact that the set uf(L) of words having unique factorization into elements of L is regular if L is regular, and from this deduce an quadratic upper and lower bound on the length of the shortest word not in uf(L). We observe that uf(L) need not be context-free if L is context-free. Next, we consider variations on unique factorization. We define a notion of "semi-unique" factorization, where every factorization has the same number of terms, and show that, if L is regular or even finite, the set of words having such a factorization need not be context-free. Finally, we consider additional variations, such as unique factorization "up to permutation" and "up to subset"

Suicidal erythrocyte death in metabolic syndrome

Eryptosis is a coordinated, programmed cell death culminating with the disposal of cells without disruption of the cell membrane and the release of endocellular oxidative and pro-inflammatory milieu. While providing a convenient form of death for erythrocytes, dysregulated eryptosis may result in a series of detrimental and harmful pathological consequences highly related to the endothelial dysfunction (ED). Metabolic syndrome (MetS) is described as a cluster of cardiometabolic factors (hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, hypertension and obesity) that increases the risk of cardiovascular complications such as those related to diabetes and atherosclerosis. In the light of the crucial role exerted by the eryptotic process in the ED, the focus of the present review is to report and discuss the involvement of eryptosis within MetS, where vascular complications are utterly relevant. Current knowledge on the mechanisms leading to eryptosis in MetS-related conditions (hyperglycemia, dyslipidemia, hypertension and obesity) will be analyzed. Moreover, clinical evidence supporting or proposing a role for eryptosis in the ED, associated to MetS cardiovascular complications, will be discussed