‘Fake news’ is the invention of a liar: How false information circulates within the hybrid news system

Alarmed by the oversimplifications related to the ‘fake news’ buzzword, researchers have started to unpack the concept, defining diverse types and forms of misleading news. Most of the existing works in the area consider crucial the intent of the content creator in order to differentiate among different types of problematic information. This article argues for a change of perspective that, by leveraging the conceptual framework of sociocybernetics, shifts from exclusive attention to creators of misleading information to a broader approach that focuses on propagators and, as a result, on the dynamics of the propagation processes. The analytical implications of this perspective are discussed at a micro level (criteria to judge the falsehood of news and to decide to spread it), at a meso level (four possible relations between individual judgements and decisions), and at a macro level (global circulation cascades). The authors apply this theoretical gaze to analyse ‘fake news’ stories that challenge existing models

STM Spectroscopy of ultra-flat graphene on hexagonal boron nitride

Graphene has demonstrated great promise for future electronics technology as well as fundamental physics applications because of its linear energy-momentum dispersion relations which cross at the Dirac point. However, accessing the physics of the low density region at the Dirac point has been difficult because of the presence of disorder which leaves the graphene with local microscopic electron and hole puddles, resulting in a finite density of carriers even at the charge neutrality point. Efforts have been made to reduce the disorder by suspending graphene, leading to fabrication challenges and delicate devices which make local spectroscopic measurements difficult. Recently, it has been shown that placing graphene on hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) yields improved device performance. In this letter, we use scanning tunneling microscopy to show that graphene conforms to hBN, as evidenced by the presence of Moire patterns in the topographic images. However, contrary to recent predictions, this conformation does not lead to a sizable band gap due to the misalignment of the lattices. Moreover, local spectroscopy measurements demonstrate that the electron-hole charge fluctuations are reduced by two orders of magnitude as compared to those on silicon oxide. This leads to charge fluctuations which are as small as in suspended graphene, opening up Dirac point physics to more diverse experiments than are possible on freestanding devices.Comment: Nature Materials advance online publication 13/02/201

Interventions to Promote Cancer Awareness and Early Presentation: Systematic Review

Low cancer awareness contributes to delay in presentation for cancer symptoms and may lead to delay in cancer diagnosis. The aim of this study was to review the evidence for the effectiveness of interventions to raise cancer awareness and promote early presentation in cancer to inform policy and future research. We searched bibliographic databases and reference lists for randomised controlled trials of interventions delivered to individuals, and controlled or uncontrolled studies of interventions delivered to communities. We found some evidence that interventions delivered to individuals modestly increase cancer awareness in the short term and insufficient evidence that they promote early presentation. We found limited evidence that public education campaigns reduce stage at presentation of breast cancer, malignant melanoma and retinoblastoma

Presynaptic partner selection during retinal circuit reassembly varies with timing of neuronal regeneration in vivo

Whether neurons can restore their original connectivity patterns during circuit repair is unclear. Taking advantage of the regenerative capacity of zebrafish retina, we show here the remarkable specificity by which surviving neurons reassemble their connectivity upon regeneration of their major input. H3 horizontal cells (HCs) normally avoid red and green cones, and prefer ultraviolet over blue cones. Upon ablation of the major (ultraviolet) input, H3 HCs do not immediately increase connectivity with other cone types. Instead, H3 dendrites retract and re-extend to contact new ultraviolet cones. But, if regeneration is delayed or absent, blue-cone synaptogenesis increases and ectopic synapses are made with red and green cones. Thus, cues directing synapse specificity can be maintained following input loss, but only within a limited time period. Further, we postulate that signals from the major input that shape the H3 HC's wiring pattern during development persist to restrict miswiring after damage

Malignancy risk analysis in patients with inadequate fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) of the thyroid

Background Thyroid fine needle aspiration cytology (FNAC) is the standard diagnostic modality for thyroid nodules. However, it has limitations among which is the incidence of non-diagnostic results (Thy1). Management of cases with repeatedly non-diagnostic FNAC ranges from simple observation to surgical intervention. We aim to evaluate the incidence of malignancy in non-diagnostic FNAC, and the success rate of repeated FNAC. We also aim to evaluate risk factors for malignancy in patients with non-diagnostic FNAC. Materials and Methods Retrospective analyses of consecutive cases with thyroid non diagnostic FNAC results were included. Results Out of total 1657 thyroid FNAC done during the study period, there were 264 (15.9%) non-diagnostic FNAC on the first attempt. On repeating those, the rate of a non-diagnostic result on second FNAC was 61.8% and on third FNAC was 47.2%. The overall malignancy rate in Thy1 FNAC was 4.5% (42% papillary, 42% follicular and 8% anaplastic), and the yield of malignancy decreased considerably with successive non-diagnostic FNAC. Ultrasound guidance by an experienced head neck radiologist produced the lowest non-diagnostic rate (38%) on repetition compared to US guidance by a generalist radiologist (65%) and by non US guidance (90%). Conclusions There is a low risk of malignancy in patients with a non-diagnostic FNAC result, commensurate to the risk of any nodule. The yield of malignancy decreased considerably with successive non-diagnostic FNAC

Histamine, a vasoactive agent with vascular disrupting potential, improves tumour response by enhancing local drug delivery

Tumour necrosis factor (TNF)-based isolated limb perfusion (ILP) is an approved and registered treatment for sarcomas confined to the limbs in Europe since 1998, with limb salvage indexes of 76%. TNF improves drug distribution in solid tumours and secondarily destroys the tumour-associated vasculature (TAV). Here we explore the synergistic antitumour effect of another vasoactive agent, histamine (Hi), in doxorubicin (DXR)-based ILP and evaluate its antivascular effects on TAV. We used our well-established rat ILP model for in vivo studies looking at tumour response, drug distribution and effects on tumour vessels. In vitro studies explored drug interactions at cellular level on tumour cells (BN-175) and Human umbilical vein endothelial cells (HUVEC). There was a 17% partial response and a 50% arrest in tumour growth when Hi was combined to DXR, without important side effects, against 100% progressive disease with DXR alone and 29% arrest in tumour growth for Hi alone. Histology documented an increased DXR leakage in tumour tissue combined to a destruction of the TAV, when Hi was added to the ILP. In vitro no synergy between the drugs was observed. In conclusion, Hi is a vasoactive drug, targeting primarily the TAV and synergises with different chemotherapeutic agents

Cost-effectiveness of a melanoma screening programme using whole disease modelling

OBJECTIVE: To assess the potential impact of a melanoma screening programme, compared with usual care, on direct costs and life expectancy in the era of targeted drugs and cancer immunotherapy. METHODS: Using a Whole Disease Model approach, a Markov simulation model with a time horizon of 25 years was devised to analyse the cost-effectiveness of a one-time, general practitioner-based melanoma screening strategy in the population aged over 20, compared with no screening. The study considered the most up-to-date drug therapy and was conducted from the perspective of the Veneto regional healthcare system within the Italian National Health Service. Only direct costs were considered. Sensitivity analyses, both one-way and probabilistic, were performed to identify the parameters with the greatest impact on cost-effectiveness, and to assess the robustness of our model. RESULTS: Over a 25-year time horizon, the screening intervention dominated usual care. The probabilistic sensitivity analyses confirmed the robustness of these findings. The key drivers of the model were the proportion of melanomas detected by the screening procedure and the adherence of the target population to the screening programme. CONCLUSIONS: The screening programme proved to be a dominant option compared with usual care. These findings should prompt serious consideration of the design and implementation of a regional or national melanoma screening strategy within a National Health Service

Age-dependent response of murine female bone marrow cells to hyperbaric oxygen

Consequences of age on the effects of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) on bone marrow (BM) derived stem cells and progenitors (SCPs) are largely unknown. We treated 2- and 18-month old C57BL/6 female mice by HBO. Hematopoietic stem cells and progenitors, enumerated as colony-forming units in culture, were doubled only in peripheral leukocytes and BM cells of young mice receiving HBO. In old mice colony-forming unit fibroblast numbers, a measure of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) from BM, were high but unaffected by HBO. To further explore this finding, in BM-MSCs we quantified the transcripts of adipocyte early-differentiation genes peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ, CCAAT/enhancer binding protein-β and fatty-acid binding protein 4; these transcripts were not affected by age or HBO. However, osteoblast gene transcripts runt-related transcription factor 2, osterix (OSX) and alkaline phosphatase (AP) were twofold to 20-fold more abundant in MSCs from old control mice relative to those of young control mice. HBO affected expression of osteoblast markers only in old MSCs (OSX gene expression was reduced by twofold and AP expression was increased threefold). Our data demonstrate the impact of aging on the response of BM SCPs to HBO and indicate the potentially different age-related benefit of HBO in wound healing and tissue remodeling

Beyond the standard seesaw: neutrino masses from Kahler operators and broken supersymmetry

We investigate supersymmetric scenarios in which neutrino masses are generated by effective d=6 operators in the Kahler potential, rather than by the standard d=5 superpotential operator. First, we discuss some general features of such effective operators, also including SUSY-breaking insertions, and compute the relevant renormalization group equations. Contributions to neutrino masses arise at low energy both at the tree level and through finite threshold corrections. In the second part we present simple explicit realizations in which those Kahler operators arise by integrating out heavy SU(2)_W triplets, as in the type II seesaw. Distinct scenarios emerge, depending on the mechanism and the scale of SUSY-breaking mediation. In particular, we propose an appealing and economical picture in which the heavy seesaw mediators are also messengers of SUSY breaking. In this case, strong correlations exist among neutrino parameters, sparticle and Higgs masses, as well as lepton flavour violating processes. Hence, this scenario can be tested at high-energy colliders, such as the LHC, and at lower energy experiments that measure neutrino parameters or search for rare lepton decays.Comment: LaTeX, 34 pages; some corrections in Section

Lack of efficacy of Doxil® in TNF-α-based isolated limb perfusion in sarcoma-bearing rats

textabstractHere we show that Doxil® has minimal antitumour activity in the isolated limb perfusion (ILP) setting and its activity was not enhanced by the addition of tumour necrosis factor (TNF). Doxil® accumulation in tumour tissue was low and also not augmented by TNF. In contrast, activity of free conventional doxorubicin was enhanced by TNF. We conclude that application of Doxil® in a TNF-based ILP is not a useful alternative to free conventional doxorubicin or melphalan