Rape and social death

Rape that does not involve life-threatening physical violence, is committed by someone known to the victim, and is not reported to law enforcement (called, here, commonplace rape) raises two questions: “Why didn't she fight back or run away?” and “Why didn't she say anything at the time?” Recently, research on “tonic immobility,” based on animal predation studies, has provided a physiological explanation for experiences of immobilization during sexual assault. The juxtaposition of animal predation with commonplace sexual assault raises the question: How is it that a response reserved, in animals, for lethal, no-way-out scenarios is present in modes of violation where the victim does not report fear of death or extreme physical harm? Neither does this research help explain why women fail to report. This philosophical exploration of the meaning of tonic immobility in sexual assault helps to justify the juxtaposition of life-or-death scenarios with less-than-life-threatening violation, and sheds light on the reason for women's silence after sexual assault. Rape is accompanied by deep historical meanings that can be encapsulated in the notion of “social death,” associated in the U.S. with colonial conquest, enslavement, and impoverishment. The specter of social death haunts commonplace rape, producing life or death responses.

Comparative Genomics and Transcriptomics of the Extreme Halophyte Puccinellia tenuiflora Provides Insights Into Salinity Tolerance Differentiation Between Halophytes and Glycophytes

Halophytes and glycophytes exhibit clear differences in their tolerance to high levels of salinity. The genetic mechanisms underlying this differentiation, however, remain unclear. To unveil these mechanisms, we surveyed the evolution of salinity-tolerant gene families through comparative genomic analyses between the model halophyte Puccinellia tenuiflora and glycophytic Gramineae plants, and compared their transcriptional and physiological responses to salinity stress. Under salinity stress, the K+ concentration in the root was slightly enhanced in P. tenuiflora, but it was greatly reduced in the glycophytic Gramineae plants, which provided a physiological explanation for differences in salinity tolerance between P. tenuiflora and these glycophytes. Interestingly, several K+ uptake gene families from P. tenuiflora experienced family expansion and positive selection during evolutionary history. This gene family expansion and the elevated expression of K+ uptake genes accelerated K+ accumulation and decreased Na+ toxicity in P. tenuiflora roots under salinity stress. Positively selected P. tenuiflora K+ uptake genes may have evolved new functions that contributed to development of P. tenuiflora salinity tolerance. In addition, the expansion of the gene families involved in pentose phosphate pathway, sucrose biosynthesis, and flavonoid biosynthesis assisted the adaptation of P. tenuiflora to survival under high salinity conditions.

A165 DOES APPENDECTOMY PREVENT THE SUBSEQUENT DEVELOPMENT OF ULCERATIVE COLITIS?: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW AND META-ANALYSIS

Background Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a disease with a heavy burden of morbidity, for which we do not fully understand its etiology. Researchers have anecdotally observed a preventative effect of appendectomy on the risk of developing UC, with multiple studies exploring this relationship. Aims We aimed to complete a systematic review and meta-analysis, the largest of its kind, to determine with more certainty the effect of appendectomy on the subsequent development of UC. Methods A literature search and a review of reference lists of previously published articles was done to identify studies exploring the association between appendectomy and the subsequent development of UC. Our primary endpoint was the diagnosis of UC. Other variables of interest were geographical region, publication date, and age at time of appendectomy. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals (CI) are reported. Results Fifty-one studies (49 case-controls studies and 2 cohort studies) were included with a total of 1,270,332 participants. The pooled OR showed that appendectomy decreases the odds of developing UC (Figure 1; OR 0.37, 95% CI, 0.29–0.46, I2 = 89%). A similar pattern was seen for individuals who received an appendectomy before the age of 20 (Figure 2; OR 0.35, 95% CI, 0.21–0.61, I2 0%). The protective effect was seen again when including only high quality methodological studies with Newcastle-Ottawa scale ≥ 7 (Figure 3; OR 0.47, 95% CI, 0.34–0.65, I2 56%). Conclusions Appendectomy may be protective against subsequent development of UC. Future research should focus on the physiological explanation behind this association, and the practicality of using appendectomy as a primary prevention measure in patients at high-risk of developing ulcerative colitis. Funding Agencies None

Electroencephalographic Microstates in Schizophrenia and Bipolar Disorder

Schizophrenia (SCH) and bipolar disorder (BD) are characterized by many types of symptoms, damaged cognitive function, and abnormal brain connections. The microstates are considered to be the cornerstones of the mental states shown in EEG data. In our study, we investigated the use of microstates as biomarkers to distinguish patients with bipolar disorder from those with schizophrenia by analyzing EEG data measured in an eyes-closed resting state. The purpose of this article is to provide an electron directional physiological explanation for the observed brain dysfunction of schizophrenia and bipolar disorder patients.Methods: We used microstate resting EEG data to explore group differences in the duration, coverage, occurrence, and transition probability of 4 microstate maps among 20 SCH patients, 26 BD patients, and 35 healthy controls (HCs).Results: Microstate analysis revealed 4 microstates (A–D) in global clustering across SCH patients, BD patients, and HCs. The samples were chosen to be matched. We found the greater presence of microstate B in BD patients, and the less presence of microstate class A and B, the greater presence of microstate class C, and less presence of D in SCH patients. Besides, a greater frequent switching between microstates A and B and between microstates B and A in BD patients than in SCH patients and HCs and less frequent switching between microstates C and D and between microstates D and C in BD patients compared with SCH patients.Conclusion: We found abnormal features of microstate A, B in BD patients and abnormal features of microstate A, B, C, and D in SCH patients. These features may indicate the potential abnormalities of SCH patients and BD patients in distributing neural resources and influencing opportune transitions between different states of activity.

Burke’s understanding of the sublime

The subject of this article is an interpretation and clarification of one part of Edmund Burke?s aesthetic thought that refers to his understanding of the aesthetic experience of the sublime. For Burke, the sublime is one of the two most important forms of aesthetic experience, besides the beautiful. The intention of this article is to introduce and explain the crucial moments of Burke?s aesthetic viewpoint on our experience of the sublime. In accordance with this, the first chapter of the article is an analysis of the passion that belongs to self-preservation. The second chapter examines Burke?s explanation of the state of the soul that is caused by the sublime objects. The third chapter is dedicated to the analysis of the material causes or sensible qualities of the sublime objects. The last chapter of the article is an interpretation of his physiological explanation that is supposed to offer a specific insight as to why do the sensible qualities of the objects cause the sublime and how do they affect the human nervous system.

Quantifying Oxygen Management and Temperature and Light Dependencies of Nitrogen Fixation by Crocosphaera watsonii

Crocosphaera is one of the major N2-fixing microorganisms in the open ocean. On a global scale, the process of N2 fixation is important in balancing the N budget, but the factors governing the rate of N2 fixation remain poorly resolved. Here, we combine a mechanistic model and both previous and present laboratory studies of Crocosphaera to quantify how chemical factors such as C, N, Fe, and O2 and physical factors such as temperature and light affect N2 fixation. Our study shows that Crocosphaera combines multiple mechanisms to reduce intracellular O2 to protect the O2-sensitive N2-fixing enzyme. Our model, however, indicates that these protections are insufficient at low temperature due to reduced respiration and the rate of N2 fixation becomes severely limited. This provides a physiological explanation for why the geographic distribution of Crocosphaera is confined to the warm low-latitude ocean.

Arterial spin labeling perfusion changes of the frontal lobes in children with posterior fossa syndrome

OBJECTIVEPosterior fossa syndrome (PFS) is a common complication following the resection of posterior fossa tumors in children. The pathophysiology of PFS remains incompletely elucidated; however, the wide-ranging symptoms of PFS suggest the possibility of widespread cortical dysfunction. In this study, the authors utilized arterial spin labeling (ASL), an MR perfusion modality that provides quantitative measurements of cerebral blood flow without the use of intravenous contrast, to assess cortical blood flow in patients with PFS.METHODSA database of medulloblastoma treated at the authors’ institution from 2004 to 2016 was retrospectively reviewed, and 14 patients with PFS were identified. Immediate postoperative ASL for patients with PFS and medulloblastoma patients who did not develop PFS were compared. Additionally, in patients with PFS, ASL following the return of speech was compared with immediate postoperative ASL.RESULTSOn immediate postoperative ASL, patients who subsequently developed PFS had statistically significant decreases in right frontal lobe perfusion and a trend toward decreased perfusion in the left frontal lobe compared with controls. Patients with PFS had statistically significant increases in bilateral frontal lobe perfusion after the resolution of symptoms compared with their immediate postoperative imaging findings.CONCLUSIONSASL perfusion imaging identifies decreased frontal lobe blood flow as a strong physiological correlate of PFS that is consistent with the symptomatology of PFS. This is the first study to demonstrate that decreases in frontal lobe perfusion are present in the immediate postoperative period and resolve with the resolution of symptoms, suggesting a physiological explanation for the transient symptoms of PFS.