Causal necessity of human hippocampus for structure-based inference in learning

When meeting new individuals or encountering known individuals in new circumstances, we intuitively map out their relationships – not merely by direct experience, but by quickly inferring new connections based on prior relational knowledge. Using a novel task, we demonstrated that participants indeed employ knowledge of relational structures to facilitate learning of new relationships in a changing environment. Computational modelling revealed that participants leveraged relational knowledge to support inference, thus facilitating learning. Whole brain neuroimaging identified a uniquely robust representation of relational structure in the hippocampus. Neural networks trained on similar tasks demonstrated the emergence of relational structure representations, resembling those found in hippocampus. Lesioning network units sustaining such representations disrupted structure-based inference and predicted hippocampus’s essential role. Transcranial ultrasound stimulation of human hippocampus, transiently modulating its activity without affecting overlying tissue, produced similar disruption effects, empirically confirming the causal necessity of hippocampal representations for structure-based inference in learning

Interface Management in Concurrent Engineering Facilities for Systems and Service Systems Engineering: A Model-based Approach

Concurrent engineering facilities (CEFs) are successfully used in the aeropsace sector to design systems and services that that fulfill the requirements. Model-based systems engineering (MBSE) enables the effective (i.e., unambiguous) communication in the collaborative activities within concurrent engineering and service systems engineering facilities. The advantages obtained by the MBSE approach can be further scaled up by an innovative approach that take into explicit account the representation of the inter-systems aspects, i.e., those aspects, namely interfacs, that stay in between the system, its sub-systems and external entities (other systems and organizations). Such an approach, briefly denoted as a Model-based Interface Engineering (MBIE), brings several benefits to the CEF activities. This paper illustrates the integration of the Interface Communication Modelling Language (ICML) into the existing MBSE methods for the CEF software framework VirSat, by identifying the business needs driving the use of MBIE approaches and showing example application scenarios

A Psychological Intervention Reduces Doping Likelihood in Italian Athletes:A Replication and Extension

Research on doping prevention has proliferated in recent years as evidenced by the development of several anti-doping interventions. However, researchers have rarely examined whether an anti-doping intervention delivered and evaluated in one population is similarly effective in a different population. The purpose of our research was to determine: (a) whether the findings of a study examining whether a psychological intervention is more effective than an educational intervention in preventing doping in British and Greek athletes would be replicated in a sample of Italian athletes; and (b) whether the two interventions would be more effective than a control group of athletes receiving no intervention. Eligible participants were identified via a screening survey administered to 540 athletes from 46 clubs in Italy. A total of 15 sport clubs (121 athletes; 16.95% female; aged 18.52 ± 2.15 years) were assigned to one of three conditions: a psychological intervention, an educational intervention, or a no-intervention control group. Each intervention consisted of six one-hour sessions delivered to small groups of athletes over six weeks. Athletes completed measures of doping likelihood, anticipated guilt, moral disengagement, and self-regulatory efficacy pre-intervention, post-intervention, and two months later. Control group participants completed the same measures at the same time points. The two interventions were similarly effective in reducing doping likelihood and increasing anticipated guilt from pre to post, while the control group showed no change; these effects were maintained at follow up. Both interventions reduced moral disengagement and increased self-regulatory efficacy from pre to post relative to the control group, and these effects were maintained at follow-up. In conclusion, the results of our study replicate previous findings and highlight the need for anti-doping organisations to target psychological variables and doping-relevant information in anti-doping education.Doping, which refers to the use of prohibited Performance Enhancing Drugs (PEDs) and methods, can have significant adverse consequences for athletes’ health (see Bird et al., 2016), undermines fair play, and is a threat to the integrity and image of sport (Kavussanu et al., 2021). Despite major investment by governments worldwide in sophisticated methods to detect doping, prevalence remains high. Doping prevalence has been estimated to range from 10.6% to 21% in elite athletes competing in athletics (Petroczi et al., 2022), while in recreational athletes, estimates range from 18% to 24% (Pitsch, 2022). The need exists therefore to tackle this important problem using effective prevention strategies. To this end, several studies have developed and evaluated interventions aimed to prevent doping (for a review see Filleul et al., 2024) and some have been successful (e.g., Nichols et al., 2020). However, the findings of most interventions have typically not been replicated with a different population, in another country and most of them have not been theory-based. In this research we aim to fill this gap in the literature

Drug-induced angioedema: experience of Italian emergency departments

Acute angioedema represents a cause of admission to the emergency department requiring rapid diagnosis and appropriate management to prevent airway obstruction. Several drugs, including angiotensin-converting enzyme inhibitors (ACE-I), nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and oral antidiabetics, have been reported to induce angioedema. The aim of this prospective observational study conducted in a setting of routine emergency care was to evaluate the incidence and extent of drug-induced non-histaminergic angioedema in this specific clinical setting, and to identify the class of drugs possibly associated with angioedema. Patients admitted to seven different emergency departments (EDs) in Rome with the diagnosis of angioedema and urticaria were enrolled during a 6-month period. Of the 120,000 patients admitted at the EDs, 447 (0.37 %) were coded as having angioedema and 655 (0.5 %) as having urticaria. After accurate clinical review, 62 cases were defined as drug-induced, non-histaminergic angioedema. NSAIDs were the most frequent drugs (taken by 22 out of 62 patients) associated with the angioedema attack. Of the remaining patients, 15 received antibiotic treatment and 10 antihypertensive treatment. In addition, we observed in our series some cases of angioedema associated with drugs (such as antiasthmatics, antidiarrheal and antiepileptics) of which there are few descriptions in the literature. The present data, which add much needed information to the existing limited literature on drug-induced angioedema in the clinical emergency department setting, will provide more appropriate diagnosis and management of this potentially life-threatening adverse event

The globalizability of temporal discounting

Economic inequality is associated with extreme rates of temporal discounting, which is a behavioral pattern where individuals choose smaller, immediate financial gains over larger, delayed gains. Such patterns may feed into rising global inequality, yet it is unclear if they are a function of choice preferences or norms, or rather absence of sufficient resources to meet immediate needs. It is also not clear if these reflect true differences in choice patterns between income groups. We test temporal discounting and five intertemporal choice anomalies using local currencies and value standards in 61 countries. Across a diverse sample of 13,629 participants, we found highly consistent rates of choice anomalies. Individuals with lower incomes were not significantly different, but economic inequality and broader financial circumstances impact population choice patterns