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Beyond numerical quantity: A study of the sub-base-five effect in single-digit comparison
No full textPrevious findings suggest that the mental representations involved in symbolic number comparison carry information not only about the numerical quantity they denote, but also about higher-order properties. While the time to compare pairs of digits increases continuously with numerical size, former studies also revealed a categorical effect characterised by a step increase in response times for pairs with at least one digit > 5 compared to those including only digits ≤ 5. In line with the embodied cognition view, this step increase was interpreted as an inheritance from finger counting practices. This “sub-base-five” effect would find its origin in the need to generate the mental representation of two hands to process numbers > 5, whereas one hand is sufficient to represent numbers ≤ 5. We provide evidence against this interpretation using new analyses designed to uncouple the continuous effect of numerical size and the categorical sub-base-five effect. We demonstrate that the time to compare two Arabic numerals is primarily determined by numerical size, with no steeper increase between pairs with or without number > 5. We explain that the sub-base-five effect in digit comparison was likely an artefact of the modelling method previously used to control for numerical size. We nevertheless identified a robust response time increase when comparing 5 and 7, which could not be accounted for by numerical size. These findings question the existence of a sub-base-five effect, which was considered as a marker of embodied cognition, but prompt interest for a previously unnoticed effect emphasizing the special status of particular prime numbers 5 and 7 in symbolic number comparison
Strong impact of orally administered BCR4 defensin on aphid survival, embryo development, and symbiotic cells in three Acyrthosiphon pisum parthenogenetic lines
No full textAphids are major crop pests capable of colonizing the main plants grown for human consumption. They have specialized cells, the bacteriocytes, which house the obligate symbiont Buchnera aphidicola that provide them with essential nutrients missing from their diet. Bacteriocyte-specific cysteine-rich peptides (BCRs) are encoded by a defensin gene family exclusively present in aphids and specifically expressed in bacteriocytes. One BCR family member, BCR4, has been shown to have insecticidal properties against the pea aphid, Acyrthosiphon pisum (Hemiptera: Aphididae). In the present study, we exposed the pea aphid to different doses of BCR4 and examined the impact on aphid survival, mass, anatomy, and fecundity, as well as on bacterial symbiosis. As different pea aphid lines with various symbiotic status may be differently affected by stress, we investigated the effect of BCR4 ingestion on three different A. pisum lines: LL01 and YR2-amp, that are mono-infected with B. aphidicola, and YR2-Ri, that is genetically identical to YR2-amp but also contains the extracellular facultative symbiont Regiella insecticola. Our results show a strong dose–response effect of BCR4 on LL01 survival and a more moderate effect on both YR2 lines, while an impact on the mass was observed in the three lines. Histological analyses revealed severe embryonic developmental defects due to the treatment. Finally, BCR4 treatment reduced symbiont quantity, with B. aphidicola being more affected than R. insecticola. This study supports the hypothesis that BCR4 could act as a key regulator of aphid symbiosis and development and highlights its potential as a candidate bioinsecticide for pest control
Power-Law Online Terrorism and Extremism
No full textThis research note draws attention to the ubiquity of heavy-tailed, power-law types of data distribution in all major dimensions of digital extremism and terrorism, and discusses the important implications stemming from this pattern as well as the mechanisms underpinning it. Highly unequal distributions with a very long lower tail and a sharply rising upper tail indeed characterize linguistic content, individual behaviours, and overarching structures of extremist/terrorist digital ecosystems – a striking feature that has largely escaped terrorism and extremism scholars’ scrutiny as well as Counter Violent Extremism (CVE) and Counter-Terrorism (CT) practitioners, despite its scientific and practical significance
Affect in the dark: Navigating the complex landscape of social cognition in blindness
No full textResearch on the consequence of blindness has primarily focused on how visual experience influences basic sensory abilities, mainly overlooking the intricate world of social cognition. However, social cognition abilities are crucial as they enable individuals to navigate complex interactions, understand others' perspectives, regulate emotions, and establish meaningful connections, all essential for successful adaptation and integration into society. Emotional and social signals are frequently conveyed through nonverbal visual cues, and understanding the foundational role vision plays in shaping everyday affective experiences is fundamental. Here, we aim to summarize existing research on social cognition in individuals with blindness. By doing so, we strive to offer a comprehensive overview of social processing in sensory deprivation while pinpointing areas that are still largely unexplored. By identifying gaps in current knowledge, this review paves the way for future investigations to reveal how visual experience shapes the development of emotional and social cognition in the mind and the brain
Abrocitinib for treatment of solid facial edema
No full textSolid facial edema (SFE), or Morbihan syndrome, is a rare, disfiguring, and difficult-to-treat condition characterized by the gradual onset of erythema and solid edema affecting the upper portion of the face.1,2 It is considered a complication or late-stage manifestation of rosacea or acne. The involvement of perilymphatic granulomas has been suspected in the pathogenesis of SFE,3,4 and Janus kinase (JAK) inhibitors have recently shown efficacy in treating cutaneous granulomatous diseases.5 We report the cases of 3 patients with SFE who demonstrated substantial improvement after treatment with abrocitinib (JAK 1 inhibitor)
Multi-Cohort Exploration of Repetitive Element Transcription and DNA Methylation in Human Steatotic Liver Disease
No full textTargeted inhibition of pathobiont virulence factor mitigates alcohol-associated liver disease
No full textSame data, different analysts: variation in effect sizes due to analytical decisions in ecology and evolutionary biology
No full textAlthough variation in effect sizes and predicted values among studies of similar phenomena is inevitable, such variation far exceeds what might be produced by sampling error alone. One possible explanation for variation among results is differences among researchers in the decisions they make regarding statistical analyses. A growing array of studies has explored this analytical variability in different fields and has found substantial variability among results despite analysts having the same data and research question. Many of these studies have been in the social sciences, but one small “many analyst” study found similar variability in ecology. We expanded the scope of this prior work by implementing a large-scale empirical exploration of the variation in effect sizes and model predictions generated by the analytical decisions of different researchers in ecology and evolutionary biology. We used two unpublished datasets, one from evolutionary ecology (blue tit, Cyanistes caeruleus, to compare sibling number and nestling growth) and one from conservation ecology (Eucalyptus, to compare grass cover and tree seedling recruitment). The project leaders recruited 174 analyst teams, comprising 246 analysts, to investigate the answers to prespecified research questions. Analyses conducted by these teams yielded 141 usable effects (compatible with our meta-analyses and with all necessary information provided) for the blue tit dataset, and 85 usable effects for the Eucalyptus dataset. We found substantial heterogeneity among results for both datasets, although the patterns of variation differed between them. For the blue tit analyses, the average effect was convincingly negative, with less growth for nestlings living with more siblings, but there was near continuous variation in effect size from large negative effects to effects near zero, and even effects crossing the traditional threshold of statistical significance in the opposite direction. In contrast, the average relationship between grass cover and Eucalyptus seedling number was only slightly negative and not convincingly different from zero, and most effects ranged from weakly negative to weakly positive, with about a third of effects crossing the traditional threshold of significance in one direction or the other. However, there were also several striking outliers in the Eucalyptus dataset, with effects far from zero. For both datasets, we found substantial variation in the variable selection and random effects structures among analyses, as well as in the ratings of the analytical methods by peer reviewers, but we found no strong relationship between any of these and deviation from the meta-analytic mean. In other words, analyses with results that were far from the mean were no more or less likely to have dissimilar variable sets, use random effects in their models, or receive poor peer reviews than those analyses that found results that were close to the mean. The existence of substantial variability among analysis outcomes raises important questions about how ecologists and evolutionary biologists should interpret published results, and how they should conduct analyses in the future
Constitutive cGAS-STING activation in ALT+ cells
No full textThe stimulator of interferon genes (STING) is a key mediator of anti-tumor immunity, activated downstream of cytoplasmic DNA recognition by cyclic GMP-AMP synthase (cGAS). In cells using the alternative lengthening of telomeres (ALT) pathway, extrachromosomal telomeric repeats (ECTRs) are characteristic features and potent activators of the cGAS-STING pathway. While ALT+ cells were thought to evade this pathway through epigenetic silencing, our findings uncover a more nuanced adaptive mechanism. In most ALT+ cells, ongoing ECTR production supports 2’3’-cGAMP synthesis, directing STING to the Golgi for immune signaling before lysosomal degradation. This process relies on interferon regulatory factor 3 (IRF3), with minimal involvement of TANK-binding kinase 1 (TBK1). Additionally, by promoting autophagy, STING facilitates immunogenic ECTR clearance from the cytosol, preventing prolonged inflammatory signaling. These findings refine our understanding of immune sensing in ALT+ cancers, revealing how ALT+ cells adapt to continuous ECTR production and suggesting a potential therapeutic target to modulate this pathway and compromise the fitness of ALT+ cancers