The teacher and the world: A study of cosmopolitanism as education

In this book, David Hansen makes a case for giving a cosmopolitan orientation to the work of teachers at all levels of the educational system. What seems to motivate this proposal is the fact that we are living in an increasingly globalized world, which unavoidably affects the present and future lives of students. This does not mean that Hansen believes that we should uncritically accept every aspect of the complex phenomenon known as globalization. Rather, he thinks that acquiring the set of capacities, beliefs and attitudes that he describes as ‘the cosmopolitan orientation’ will allow both teachers and students to respond to this phenomenon in appropriate ways, endorsing some aspects, criticizing others and creatively adapting to new circumstances. Hansen presents his cosmopolitan account as part of an ongoing tradition that began in ancient Greece—though it has representatives in other societies, such as ancient China. He spends part of the book presenting the ideas of earlier advocates of cosmopolitanism, including Diogenes, Socrates, Confucius, Marcus Aurelius, Montaigne, Kant and Tagore, among others. He also surveys empirical research from the social sciences that shows how people from very different societies and economic backgrounds can display cosmopolitan attitudes, supporting his view that these attitudes are neither exclusively western nor elitist. Hansen’s own positive proposal centres on a defence of a cosmopolitan philosophy that focuses on ‘the art of living’. This philosophy consists of a set of exercises and practices that allow people to cultivate their intellectual, moral and aesthetic capacities, as well as to learn how to respond fairly and humanely to others. Hansen believes that the kind of reflection facilitated by the art of living promises to yield many benefits. Among other things, it will allow teachers and their students to respond effectively to the constant changes of the modern world, and to maintain a sense of stability despite those changes. It will also equip them to appreciate the diversity of values and customs, facilitating mutual understanding. After describing the art of living in these ways, and explaining its potential benefits, Hansen offers some useful suggestions as to how to incorporate the cosmopolitan orientation into the curriculum—or, better, deepen it, since it is already present to some extent. One of his proposals is the side-by-side study of local heritage and tradition with those of another society. The goal here is not simply to learn about some descriptive facts, but to come to appreciate the variety of ways in which people can inhabit the world. Another proposal is to study how cultural practices—such as music or art—arise when different groups and traditions mix, generating something new. According to Hansen, the purpose of these activities is to cultivate ‘reflective openness’ to new ideas and values while at the same time maintaining ‘reflective loyalty’ to what is known. One of the strengths of the book is that Hansen is sensitive to the criticisms that cosmopolitan theorizing has received, with one of these criticisms being that the use of the term ‘cosmopolitan’ is so indeterminate. I sympathize with this criticism. The bewildering variety of cosmopolitan positions can partially be explained by the fact that cosmopolitanism began with the metaphor—attributed to Diogenes the Cynic—of being ‘a citizen of the world’. This is a metaphor that can be fleshed out in many ways: for example, that human beings belong to one single moral community, that there should be global political and legal institutions that protect the rights of human beings, or that cultural phenomena are the shared heritage of mankind. Diogenes himself seems to have used the metaphor to challenge the conventions of his city state, and to deny the importance of identification with a local political community and its particular citizens. Because of this, I am somewhat puzzled by Hansen’s emphasis on reflective loyalty and rootedness as central characteristics of the cosmopolitan orientation. Although I would say that openness to new ideas and values is a typical cosmopolitan attitude, I would add that criticism of existing local traditions and policies is just as common. It is true that some people manage to combine genuine cosmopolitan commitments with deep attachments to a particular place and people, or with a sense of patriotic loyalty. But thinking of oneself as a citizen of the world very often leads one to regard the demands of particular loyalties as morally suspicious. Overall, Hansen has clearly done his homework on the history of cosmopolitanism, as well as on the enormous variety of contemporary research on the topic, both in philosophy and in the social sciences. His book is a welcome contribution to the literature on moral and cultural cosmopolitanism and its educational implications. Not only is it well informed about the diversity of theories that fall under the cosmopolitan umbrella, but it also provides an original account of cosmopolitanism: one that emerges from his critical discussion of this diversity

Food composition at present: new challenges

Food composition data is important for stakeholders and users active in the areas of food, nutrition and health. Newchallenges related to the quality of food composition data reflect the dynamic changes in these areas while the emerging technologies create new opportunities. These challenges and the impact on food composition data for the Mediterranean region were reviewed during the NUTRIMAD 2018 congress of the Spanish Society for Community Nutrition. Data harmonization and standardization, data compilation and use, thesauri, food classification and description, and data exchange are some of the areas that require new approaches. Consistency in documentation, linking of information between datasets, food matching and capturing portion size information suggest the need for new automated tools. Research Infrastructures bring together key data and services. The delivery of sustainable networks and Research Infrastructures in food, nutrition and health will help to increase access to and effective use of food composition data. EuroFIR AISBL coordinates experts and national compilers and contributes to worldwide efforts aiming to produce and maintain high quality data and tools. A Mediterranean Network that shares high quality food composition data is vital for the development of ambitious common research and policy initiatives in support of the Mediterranean Diet.The authors gratefully acknowledge the contributions of the many members of EuroFIR and RICHFIELDS project (funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation funding programme under grant agreement no. 654280) partners who contributed to the developments referred to in this articleinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Vacuum Polarization Effects in the Lorentz and PCT Violating Electrodynamics

In this work we report new results concerning the question of dynamical mass generation in the Lorentz and PCT violating quantum electrodynamics. A one loop calculation for the vacuum polarization tensor is presented. The electron propagator, "dressed" by a Lorentz breaking extra term in the fermion Lagrangian density, is approximated by its first order: this scheme is shown to break gauge invariance. Then we rather consider a full calculation to second order in the Lorentz breaking parameter: we recover gauge invariance and use the Schwinger-Dyson equation to discuss the full photon propagator. This allows a discussion on a possible photon mass shift as well as measurable, observable physical consequences, such as the Lamb-shift.Comment: Latex file, 19 pages, no figures, includes PACS number

Non-Minimal Coupling to a Lorentz-Violating Background and Topological Implications

The non-minimal coupling of fermions to a background responsible for the breaking of Lorentz symmetry is introduced in Dirac's equation; the non-relativistic regime is contemplated, and the Pauli's equation is used to show how an Aharonov-Casher phase may appear as a natural consequence of the Lorentz violation, once the particle is placed in a region where there is an electric field. Different ways of implementing the Lorentz breaking are presented and, in each case, we show how to relate the Aharonov-Casher phase to the particular components of the background vector or tensor that realises the violation of Lorentz symmetry.Comment: 8 pages, added references, no figure

Cluster vs. Field Elliptical Galaxies and Clues on their Formation

Using new observations for a sample of 931 early-type galaxies we investigate whether the \mg2--\so relation shows any dependence on the local environment. The galaxies have been assigned to three different environments depending on the local overdensity: clusters, groups, and field, having used our completeredshift database to guide the assignment of galaxies. It is found that cluster, group and field early-type galaxies follow almost identical \mg2--\so\ relations, with the largest \mg2 zero-point difference (clusters minus field) being only $0.007\pm 0.002$ mag. No correlation of the residuals is found with the morphological type or the bulge to disk ratio. Using stellar population models in a differential fashion, this small zero-point difference implies a luminosity-weighted age difference of only $\sim 1$ Gyr between the corresponding stellar populations, with field galaxies being younger. The mass-weighted age difference could be significantly smaller, if minor events of late star formation took place preferentially in field galaxies. We combine these results with the existing evidence for the bulk of stars in cluster early-type galaxies having formed at very high redshift, and conclude that the bulk of stars in galactic spheroids had to form at high redshifts (z\gsim 3), no matter whether such spheroids now reside in low or high density regions. The cosmological implications of these findings are briefly discussed.Comment: 16 pages, 2 figures, accepted for publication in the ApJ.

Validation of integrated water vapor from OMI satellite instrument against reference GPS data at the Iberian Peninsula

This paper shows the validation of integrated water vapor (IWV) measurements retrieved from the Ozone Monitoring Instrument (OMI), using as reference nine ground-based GPS stations in the Iberian Peninsula. The study period covers from 2007 to 2009. The influence of two factors, - solar zenith angle (SZA) and IWV -, on OMI-GPS differences was studied in detail, as well as the seasonal dependence. The pseudomedian of the relative differences is −1 ± 1% and the inter-quartile range (IQR) is 41%. Linear regressions calculated over each station show an acceptable agreement (R2 up to 0.77). The OMI-GPS differences display a clear dependence on IWV values. Hence, OMI substantially overestimates the lower IWV data recorded by GPS (∼40%), while underestimates the higher IWV reference values (∼20%). In connection to this IWV dependence, the relative differences also show an evident SZA dependence when the whole range of IWV values are analyzed (OMI overestimates for high SZA values while underestimates for low values). Finally, the seasonal variation of the OMI-GPS differences is also associated with the strong IWV dependence found in this validation exercise.This work was supported by the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness through project CGL2014-56255-C2. Manuel Antón thanks Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación and Fondo Social Europeo (RYC-2011-08345) for the award of a postdoctoral grant (Ramón y Cajal). Support from the Junta de Extremadura (Research Group Grants GR15137) is gratefully acknowledged. Work at Universidad de Valladolid is supported by project CMT2015-66742-R. Work at Universidad de Granada was supported by the Andalusia Regional Government (project P12-RNM-2409) and the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and FEDER funds under the projects CGL2013-45410-R and “Juan de la Cierva-Formación” program. Work at SAO is supported by NASA’s Atmospheric Composition: Aura Science Team program (sponsor contract number NNX14AF56G). Work at Universidade de Évora is co-funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund, included in the COMPETE 2020 (Operational Program Competitiveness and Internationalization) through the ICT project (UID/GEO/04683/2013) with the reference POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007690

Ischemic preconditioning protects against cardiac ischemia reperfusion injury without affecting succinate accumulation or oxidation.

Ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury occurs when blood supply to an organ is disrupted and then restored, and underlies many disorders, notably myocardial infarction and stroke. While reperfusion of ischemic tissue is essential for survival, it also initiates cell death through generation of mitochondrial reactive oxygen species (ROS). Recent work has revealed a novel pathway underlying ROS production at reperfusion in vivo in which the accumulation of succinate during ischemia and its subsequent rapid oxidation at reperfusion drives ROS production at complex I by reverse electron transport (RET). Pharmacologically inhibiting ischemic succinate accumulation, or slowing succinate metabolism at reperfusion, have been shown to be cardioprotective against IR injury. Here, we determined whether ischemic preconditioning (IPC) contributes to cardioprotection by altering kinetics of succinate accumulation and oxidation during IR. Mice were subjected to a 30-minute occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery followed by reperfusion, with or without a protective IPC protocol prior to sustained ischemia. We found that IPC had no effect on ischemic succinate accumulation with both control and IPC mice having profound increases in succinate compared to normoxia. Furthermore, after only 1-minute reperfusion succinate was rapidly metabolised returning to near pre-ischemic levels in both groups. We conclude that IPC does not affect ischemic succinate accumulation, or its oxidation at reperfusion

Automated scoring of collaterals, blood pressure, and clinical outcome after endovascular treatment in patients with acute ischemic stroke and large-vessel occlusion

Altres ajuts: Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación; Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER).Introduction: We aimed to determine whether the degree of collateral circulation is associated with blood pressure at admission in acute ischemic stroke patients treated with endovascular treatment and to determine its prognostic value. Methods: We evaluated patients with anterior large vessel occlusion treated with endovascular treatment in a single-center prospective registry. We collected clinical and radiological data. Automated and validated software (Brainomix Ltd., Oxford, UK) was used to generate the collateral score (CS) from the baseline single-phase CT angiography: 0, filling of ≤10% of the occluded MCA territory; 1, 11-50%; 2, 51-90%; 3, >90%. When dichotomized, we considered that CS was good (CS = 2-3), or poor (CS = 0-1). We performed bivariate and multivariable ordinal logistic regression analysis to predict CS categories in our population. The secondary outcome was to determine the influence of automated CS on functional outcome at 3 months. We defined favorable functional outcomes as mRS 0-2 at 3 months. Results: We included 101 patients with a mean age of 72.1 ± 13.1 years and 57 (56.4%) of them were women. We classified patients into 4 groups according to the CS: 7 patients (6.9%) as CS = 0, 15 (14.9%) as CS = 1, 43 (42.6%) as CS = 2 and 36 (35.6%) as CS = 3. Admission systolic blood pressure [aOR per 10 mmHg increase 0.79 (95% CI 0.68-0.92)] and higher baseline NIHSS [aOR 0.90 (95% CI, 0.84-0.96)] were associated with a worse CS. The OR of improving 1 point on the 3-month mRS was 1.63 (95% CI, 1.10-2.44) favoring a better CS (p = 0.016). Conclusion: In acute ischemic stroke patients with anterior large vessel occlusion treated with endovascular treatment, admission systolic blood pressure was inversely associated with the automated scoring of CS on baseline CT angiography. Moreover, a good CS was associated with a favorable outcome

Aurora kinase A drives the evolution of resistance to third-generation EGFR inhibitors in lung cancer.

Although targeted therapies often elicit profound initial patient responses, these effects are transient due to residual disease leading to acquired resistance. How tumors transition between drug responsiveness, tolerance and resistance, especially in the absence of preexisting subclones, remains unclear. In epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR)-mutant lung adenocarcinoma cells, we demonstrate that residual disease and acquired resistance in response to EGFR inhibitors requires Aurora kinase A (AURKA) activity. Nongenetic resistance through the activation of AURKA by its coactivator TPX2 emerges in response to chronic EGFR inhibition where it mitigates drug-induced apoptosis. Aurora kinase inhibitors suppress this adaptive survival program, increasing the magnitude and duration of EGFR inhibitor response in preclinical models. Treatment-induced activation of AURKA is associated with resistance to EGFR inhibitors in vitro, in vivo and in most individuals with EGFR-mutant lung adenocarcinoma. These findings delineate a molecular path whereby drug resistance emerges from drug-tolerant cells and unveils a synthetic lethal strategy for enhancing responses to EGFR inhibitors by suppressing AURKA-driven residual disease and acquired resistance

Metabolomic Profiling in Acute ST-Segment-Elevation Myocardial Infarction Identifies Succinate as an Early Marker of Human Ischemia-Reperfusion Injury.

BACKGROUND: Ischemia-reperfusion injury following ST-segment-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a leading determinant of clinical outcome. In experimental models of myocardial ischemia, succinate accumulation leading to mitochondrial dysfunction is a major cause of ischemia-reperfusion injury; however, the potential importance and specificity of myocardial succinate accumulation in human STEMI is unknown. We sought to identify the metabolites released from the heart in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention for emergency treatment of STEMI. METHODS AND RESULTS: Blood samples were obtained from the coronary artery, coronary sinus, and peripheral vein in patients undergoing primary percutaneous coronary intervention for acute STEMI and in control patients undergoing nonemergency coronary angiography or percutaneous coronary intervention for stable angina or non-STEMI. Plasma metabolites were analyzed by targeted liquid chromatography and mass spectrometry. Metabolite levels for coronary artery, coronary sinus, and peripheral vein were compared to derive cardiac and systemic release ratios. In STEMI patients, cardiac magnetic resonance imaging was performed 2 days and 6 months after primary percutaneous coronary intervention to quantify acute myocardial edema and final infarct size, respectively. In total, 115 patients undergoing acute STEMI and 26 control patients were included. Succinate was the only metabolite significantly increased in coronary sinus blood compared with venous blood in STEMI patients, indicating cardiac release of succinate. STEMI patients had higher succinate concentrations in arterial, coronary sinus, and peripheral venous blood than patients with non-STEMI or stable angina. Furthermore, cardiac succinate release in STEMI correlated with the extent of acute myocardial injury, quantified by cardiac magnetic resonance imaging. CONCLUSION: Succinate release by the myocardium correlates with the extent of ischemia