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This article argues that schooling's driving purpose should be to "educate." Given heightening global crises and the potential of education to respond, we agree with the spirit and focus of UNESCO's (2021) "A new social contract for education" intervention. Education/schooling should be motivated by progressive, critical visions to contribute to more sustainable and just human and planetary futures. Embodied-affective-cognitive technologically-mediated "processes of becoming educated," however, are not a force that can smash injustice or ecologically destructive capitalism. Educationally speaking, there is no shortcut to cultivating students as "change agents" for sustainable futures. Hannah Arendt's essay "The crisis in education" (2006) is instructive in clarifying the function of schooling and in categorically distinguishing adults from children, education from politics, and education from learning. While human "learning" proliferates in multiple ways independent of existential/ethical mooring, "education" ultimately requires committed adults spending time with, and socioemotionally and intellectually supporting, children to deepen their understanding of the world and others, giving meaning and significance to their/our lives as part of larger collectives called upon to sustain and renew a common world.

The European Aerosol Research Lidar Network (EARLINET), part of the Aerosols, Clouds and Trace gases Research Infrastructure (ACTRIS), organized an intensive observational campaign in May 2020, with the objective of monitoring the atmospheric state over Europe during the COVID-19 lockdown and relaxation period. Besides the standard operational processing of the lidar data in EARLINET, for seven EARLINET sites having collocated sun-photometric observations in the Aerosol Robotic Network (AERONET), a network exercise was held in order to derive profiles of the concentration and effective column size distributions of the aerosols in the atmosphere, by applying the GRASP/GARRLiC (from Generalized Aerosol Retrieval from Radiometer and Lidar Combined data – GARRLiC – part of the Generalized Retrieval of Atmosphere and Surface Properties – GRASP) inversion algorithm. The objective of this network exercise was to explore the possibility of identifying the anthropogenic component and of monitoring its spatial and temporal characteristics in the COVID-19 lockdown and relaxation period. While the number of cases is far from being statistically significant so as to provide a conclusive description of the atmospheric aerosols over Europe during this period, this network exercise was fundamental to deriving a common methodology for applying GRASP/GARRLiC to a network of instruments with different characteristics. The limits of the approach are discussed, in particular the missing information close to the ground in the lidar measurements due to the instrument geometry and the sensitivity of the GRASP/GARRLiC retrieval to the settings used, especially for cases with low aerosol optical depth (AOD) like the ones we show here. We found that this sensitivity is well-characterized in the GRASP/GARRLiC products, since it is included in their retrieval uncertainties.

Transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTR amyloidosis) is a progressive, multi-systemic disease with wild-type (ATTRwt) and hereditary (ATTRv) forms. Over 130 variants associated with ATTRv amyloidosis have been identified, although little is known about the majority of these genotypes. This analysis examined phenotypic characteristics of symptomatic patients with ATTRv amyloidosis enrolled in the Transthyretin Amyloidosis Outcomes Survey (THAOS) with four less frequently reported pathogenic genotypes: F64L (c.250T>C, p.F84L), I68L (c.262A>T, p.I88L), I107V (c.379A>G; p.I127V), and S77Y (c.290C>A; p.S97Y). THAOS is the largest ongoing, global, longitudinal observational study of patients with ATTR amyloidosis, including both ATTRwt and ATTRv amyloidosis. This analysis describes the baseline demographic and clinical characteristics of untreated symptomatic patients with the F64L, I68L, I107V, or S77Y genotypes at enrollment in THAOS (data cutoff date: January 4, 2022). There were 141 symptomatic patients with F64L (n = 46), I68L (n = 45), I107V (n = 21), or S77Y (n = 29) variants at the data cutoff. Most patients were male and median age at enrollment was in the sixth decade for S77Y patients and the seventh decade for the others. A predominantly neurologic phenotype was associated with F64L, I107V, and S77Y genotypes, whereas patients with the I68L genotype presented with more pronounced cardiac involvement. However, a mixed phenotype was also reported in a considerable proportion of patients in each variant subgroup. This analysis from THAOS represents the largest study of ATTRv symptomatic patients with the F64L, I68L, I107V, and S77Y genotypes. These data add to the limited knowledge on the clinical profile of patients with specific ATTRv variants and emphasize the importance of comprehensive assessment of all patients. Trial registration ClinicalTrials.gov: NCT00628745.

This paper focusses on the forensic work put on display at Londres-38, a building in Santiago Chile designated as a National Monument, which once functioned as a torture and extermination centre under Pinochet's dictatorship. Striving to avoid conventional memorial practices, or didactic strategies that would morbidly represent the past horror, Londres-38 curatorially opts for very few educational props, so that visitors can have a peculiarly direct encounter with the materiality of the building. The paper engages with one of the few displays employed at Londres-38: a time-looped video detailing the forensic work undertaken on a small washroom. Despite the years that have passed, remaining within its walls, floors, and on the surfaces of the National Monument are material traces left by the detainees-disappeared: scratches and inscriptions, as well as DNA, that are still being forensically harvested. The paper discusses how the video exhibit documents a pedagogical performance of how the unperceived can come to light, how the erasure of the violent past can be made to re-appear as a matter of public concern through a certain sensibility to materiality that is unique to forensics. At issue in the paper is the curatorial-pedagogical strategy employed that invites us to immerse and try out for ourselves the forensic sensibility that tends to and gazes at the materiality of the building in a particular way so that the embedded evidence therein can come to matter and move us to hear the unsettled call for justice in our present.

IntroductionPain is a common symptom of hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv), however, its occurrence in late-onset ATTRv has not been investigated thoroughly. Our aim was to describe the pain experience and its impact on quality of life (QoL) in symptomatic patients and presymptomatic carriers harboring a transthyretin (TTR) gene mutation with a late-onset phenotype.Materials and methodsStudy participants (aged ≥18 years) were consecutively recruited from four Italian centers. Clinical disability was assessed using the Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy (FAP) stage and Neuropathy Impairment Score (NIS). The Norfolk questionnaire evaluated QoL and the Compound Autonomic Dysfunction Test assessed autonomic involvement. Neuropathic pain was screened using the Douleur Neuropathique 4 (DN4) questionnaire, and pain intensity and its impact on daily activity were assessed using the Brief Pain Inventory severity and interference subscores. Data on the type of TTR mutation, presence of cardiomyopathy, treatment, and Body Mass Index (BMI) were collected.ResultsOverall, 102 subjects with TTR mutations (mean age ± SD 63.6 ± 13.5 years) were recruited, including 78 symptomatic patients (68.1 ± 10.9 years) and 24 presymptomatic carriers (49 ± 10.3 years). Pain was reported by 75.5% of all subjects, but was more frequent in symptomatic patients than in presymptomatic carriers (85.9 vs. 41.6%, respectively). Pain exhibited neuropathic features (DN4≥4) in 69.2% of symptomatic patients and in 8.3% of presymptomatic carriers. Subjects with neuropathic pain were older (p = 0.015) had worse FAP stage (p < 0.001), higher NIS scores (p < 0.001), greater autonomic involvement (p = 0.003), and a lower QoL (p < 0.001) than those without neuropathic pain. Neuropathic pain was associated with higher pain severity (p < 0.001) and had a significant negative impact on daily activities (p < 0.001) Neuropathic pain was not associated with gender, mutation type, TTR therapy, or BMI.ConclusionApproximately 70% of late-onset ATTRv patients complained of neuropathic pain (DN4≥4) that worsened as peripheral neuropathy progressed and increasingly interfered with daily activities and QoL. Notably, 8% of presymptomatic carriers complained of neuropathic pain. These results suggest that assessment of neuropathic pain may be useful to monitor disease progression and identify early manifestations of ATTRv.

To correctly understand and interpret lidar-acquired signals and to provide high-quality data, the characterization of the lidar transmitter–receiver geometry is required. For example, being fundamental to correctly align lidar systems, this characterization is useful to improve the efficiency of the alignment procedure. In addition, some applications (e.g. air quality monitoring) need to quantitatively interpret the observations even in the range where the overlap between the telescope field of view and the laser beam is incomplete. This is generally accomplished by correcting for the overlap function. Within the frame of lidar-based networks (e.g. ACTRIS/EARLINET, the Aerosol, Clouds and Trace Gases Research Infrastructure/European Aerosol Research Lidar Network), there is a need to define standardized approaches to deal with lidar geometry issues. The multi-wavelength multi-telescope Rayleigh–Mie–Raman “9-eyes” system in Rome Tor Vergata, part of ACTRIS/EARLINET, has the capability, through computer-controlled servomotors, to change the orientation of the laser beams and the 3D position of the diaphragm of the receiving optical system around the focal point of the telescopes. Taking advantage of these instrumental design characteristics an original approach to characterize the dependency of the acquired signal from the system relative transmitter–receiver geometry (the mapping procedure) was developed. The procedure consists in a set of programs controlling both the signal acquisition as well as the motor movements. The approach includes solutions to account for atmospheric and laser power variability likely to occur during the mapping sessions. The paper describes in detail the developed procedure and applications such as the optimization of the telescope/beam alignment and the estimation of the overlap function. The results of the mapping applied to a single combination of telescope-laser beam are shown and discussed. The effectiveness of the mapping-based alignment was successfully verified by comparing the whole signal profile and the outcome of the telecover test, adopted in EARLINET, for a manual and a mapping-based alignment. A significant signal increase and lowering of the full overlap height (from 1500 m to less than 1000 m) was found. The overlap function was estimated down to 200 m and compared against the one obtained from a geometric model. The developed procedure also allowed estimating the absolute and relative tilt of the laser beam. The mapping approach, even in simplified versions, can be adapted to other lidars to characterize and align systems with non-motorized receiving geometry.

Coronary artery disease (CAD) is the leading global cause of mortality, accounting for approximately 30% of all deaths. It is primarily characterized by the accumulation of atherosclerotic plaques within the coronary arteries, leading to reduced blood flow to the heart muscle. Early detection of atherosclerotic plaques is crucial to prevent major adverse cardiac events. Notably, recent studies have shown that 15% of myocardial infarctions occur in patients with non-obstructive CAD, underscoring the importance of comprehensive plaque assessment beyond merely identifying obstructive lesions. Cardiac Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA) has emerged as a cost-effective and efficient technique for excluding obstructive CAD, particularly in patients with a low-to-intermediate clinical likelihood of the disease. Recent advancements in CCTA technology, such as improved resolution and reduced scan times, have mitigated many technical challenges, allowing for precise quantification and characterization of both calcified and non-calcified atherosclerotic plaques. This review focuses on two critical physiological aspects of atherosclerotic plaques: the burden of calcifications, assessed via the coronary artery calcium score (CACs), and perivascular fat attenuation index (pFAI), an emerging marker of vascular inflammation. The CACs, obtained through non-contrast CT scans, quantifies calcified plaque burden and is widely used to stratify cardiovascular risk, particularly in asymptomatic patients. Despite its prognostic value, the CACs does not provide information on non-calcified plaques or inflammatory status. In contrast, the pFAI, derived from CCTA, serves as an indirect marker of coronary inflammation and has shown potential in predicting adverse cardiac events. Combining both CACs and pFAI assessment could offer a comprehensive risk stratification approach, integrating the established calcification burden with novel inflammatory markers to enhance CAD prevention and management strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

It was for a long time believed that lidar systems based on the use of high-repetition micro-pulse lasers could be effectively used to only stimulate atmospheric elastic backscatter echoes, and thus were only exploited in elastic backscatter lidar systems. Their application to stimulate rotational and roto-vibrational Raman echoes, and consequently, their exploitation in atmospheric thermodynamic profiling, was considered not feasible based on the technical specifications possessed by these laser sources until a few years ago. However, recent technological advances in the design and development of micro-pulse lasers, presently achieving high UV average powers (1–5 W) and small divergences (0.3–0.5 mrad), in combination with the use of large aperture telescopes (0.3–0.4 m diameter primary mirrors), allow one to presently develop micro-pulse laser-based Raman lidars capable of measuring the vertical profiles of atmospheric thermodynamic parameters, namely water vapor and temperature, both in the daytime and night-time. This paper is aimed at demonstrating the feasibility of these measurements and at illustrating and discussing the high achievable performance level, with a specific focus on water vapor profile measurements. The technical solutions identified in the design of the lidar system and their technological implementation within the experimental setup of the lidar prototype are also carefully illustrated and discussed.

Autism spectrum disorder (ASD) is characterised by difficulties with social communication, interaction, and repetitive and stereotypical patterns of behaviour. Recent studies suggest that abnormalities in the corpus callosum (CC) can produce autistic symptoms, so this cerebral structure is a target for autism research. It is the largest area of white matter fibre that connects the cerebral hemispheres and has been considered an index of interhemispheric connectivity. The poor connectivity that is a characteristic of autism could be due to CC abnormalities. In this review, we describe empirical studies that have used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and diffusion tensor imaging (DTI) to investigate the role of the CC in functional and structural brain connectivity in individuals with ASD. Establishing the anatomical correlates of abnormal connectivity in ASD is a major objective of structural and functional connectivity studies. Reduced CC volume is one of the most consistent findings in studies of autistic brains. Structural connectivity studies have shown that the CC is generally altered in ASD. In addition, functional connectivity studies show atypical activity in individuals with ASD during social cognition tasks, working memory tasks, and tests of executive function. Research on functional and structural connectivity has contributed to understanding the role of the CC in the clinical symptoms and social and cognitive deficits associated with ASD.

Franco "Bifo" Berardi tells us that the current transformation of every domain of social life into economy has led to "the subjugation of the soul to work processes." There is a newfound love of work and, consequently, writes Berardi, "no desire, no vitality seems to exist anymore outside of the economic enterprise." Concerned as it once was with "fostering the soul," and concerned as it now (almost exclusively) is with preparing students for the job market, what role might education have in Berardi's musings? Can "creativity," "self-actualization" and "curiosity," which are so valued in education, still speak and help foster a sense of the soul that exceeds economy and work? In this paper, I explore these questions by providing an account of what is at stake in Berardi's conception of the soul and its subjugation to work. I draw on his ideas to critically appraise the seemingly-benign aspirations of the "creative class," a term coined to signal a new era for human flourishing afforded by shifts towards personal creativity in the digital economy. I then move to consider how, in particular, the ubiquitous promotion of "creativity" and "curiosity" in education tends to replicate a form of learning that puts the soul to work, as it were, promoting a narrow, self-enterprising subject with a frantic instrumental orientation towards the world. I conclude with a discussion on how demands on learners, to be always curious, innovative, nimble and open to discovery lead to panic, collapse and depression: the diseases of the soul.

Hannah Arendt has a particular notion of thinking that both is and is not (in her sense of the term) philosophical. While not guided by the search for meta principles, nor concerned with establishing logical systems, her notion of thinking as the examination of "whatever happens to come to pass," and its significance for saving our world from thoughtlessness, retains and is motivated by the fundamental "pathos" at the heart of philosophy--"wonder." In this paper, I consider the "limiting" and "enabling" sense in which Arendt invokes "wonder" for the possibility of thinking. I do so, in turn, to explore what the pathos of wonderment might offer education--an institution charged with cultivating "thinking" and, yet, constantly susceptible to the thoughtless trappings of technocratic jargon and the mechanical logic of assessment, learning processes and social reproduction. Can wonder--the very pathos of philosophy--cultivate a thinking that helps us retain an "unclouded attentiveness" to what is educational in education? Might wonder help us to overcome the thoughtlessness that dulls our attention to "what we do" to each other through education?

Marco Luigetti,1,2 Angela Romano,2 Andrea Di Paolantonio,2 Giulia Bisogni,3 Mario Sabatelli2,3 1Neurology Unit, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Rome, Italy; 2Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, Rome, Italy; 3Centro Clinico NEMO Adulti, Rome, ItalyCorrespondence: Marco LuigettiNeurology Unit, Fondazione Policlinico Universitario Agostino Gemelli IRCCS, Largo A Gemelli 8, Rome 00168, ItalyTel +39-06-3015 4435Fax +39-06-3550 1909Email mluigetti@gmail.comAbstract: Hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (hATTR) with polyneuropathy (formerly known as Familial Amyloid Polyneuropathy) is a rare disease due to mutations in the gene encoding transthyretin (TTR) and characterized by multisystem extracellular deposition of amyloid, leading to dysfunction of different organs and tissues. hATTR amyloidosis represents a diagnostic challenge for neurologists considering the great variability in clinical presentation and multiorgan involvement. Generally, patients present with polyneuropathy, but clinicians should consider the frequent cardiac, ocular and renal impairment. Especially a hypertrophic cardiomyopathy, even if usually latent, is identifiable in at least 50% of the patients. Therapeutically, current available options act at different stages of TTR production, including synthesis inhibition (liver transplantation and/or gene-silencing drugs) or tetramer TTR stabilization (TTR stabilizers), increasing survival at different disease stages.Keywords: amyloid, polyneuropathy, clinical care, therapy, transthyretin

IntroductionThe Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID19) pandemic has struck Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC) particularly hard. One of the crucial areas in the international community's response relates to accelerating research and knowledge sharing. The aim of this article is to map and characterise the existing empirical research related to COVID-19 in LAC countries and contribute to identify opportunities for strengthening future research.MethodsIn this scoping review, articles published between December 2019 and 11 November 2020 were selected if they included an empirical component (explicit scientific methods to collect and analyse primary data), LAC population was researched, and the research was about the COVID-19 pandemic, regardless of publication status or language. MEDLINE, EMBASE, LILACS, Scielo, CENTRAL and Epistemonikos were searched. All titles and abstracts, and full texts were screened by two independent reviewers. Data from included studies was extracted by one reviewer and checked by a second independent reviewer.Results14,406 records were found. After removing duplicates, 5,458 titles and abstracts were screened, of which 2,323 full texts were revised to finally include 1,626 empirical studies. The largest portion of research came from people/population of Brazil (54.6%), Mexico (19.1%), Colombia (11.2%), Argentina (10.4%), Peru (10.3%) and Chile (10%), while Caribbean countries concentrated 15.3%. The methodologies most used were cross-sectional studies (34.7%), simulation models (17.5%) and randomized controlled trials (RCTs) (13.6%). Using a modified version of WHO's COVID-19 Coordinated Global Research Roadmap classification, 54.2% were epidemiological studies, followed by clinical management (22.3%) and candidate therapeutics (12.2%). Government and public funds support were reported in 19.2% of studies, followed by universities or research centres (9%), but 47.5% did not include any funding statement.ConclusionDuring the first part of the COVID-19 pandemic, LAC countries have contributed to the global research effort primarily with epidemiological studies, with little participation on vaccines research, meaning that this type of knowledge would be imported from elsewhere. Research agendas could be further coordinated aiming to enhance shared self-sufficiency regarding knowledge needs in the region.

The objective of the study is to provide age-related normative values for dorsal sural nerve (DSN) and to analyse its application during follow-up of hereditary transthyretin amyloidosis (ATTRv) pre-symptomatic subjects. We consecutively recruited ATTRv pre-symptomatic carriers in which clinical examination, cardiological evaluation, and nerve conduction studies of the sural nerve and DSN were performed. To provide normative data of DSN, neurophysiologic parameters from healthy controls referred to our service were entered into linear regression analyses to check the relative influence of age and height. A correction grid was then derived. We collected 231 healthy subjects: the mean DSN sensory nerve action potential (SNAP) amplitude was 9.99 ± 5.48 μV; the mean conduction velocity was 49.01 ± 5.31 m/s. Significant correlations were found between age and height with DSN SNAP amplitude. Fifteen ATTRv pre-symptomatic carriers were examined. Sural nerve NCS were normal in 12/15 and revealed low/borderline values in three subjects. Considering our correction grid, we found an abnormal DNS amplitude in 9/15 subjects and low/borderline values in 2/15. In ATTRv, early detection of peripheral nerve damage is crucial to start a disease-modifying treatment. DSN may be easily and reliably included in the routine neurophysiological follow-up of ATTRv pre-symptomatic subjects.