37,853 research outputs found
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Crossing classical thresholds: Gods, monsters and Hell dimensions in the Whedon universe
This essay shows that Classics provides an enriching context for the hugely popular youth-oriented fantasies on US television. Taking two Joss Whedon created series Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel, I examine what additional nuances might be revealed about the nature of the hero and how heroism is theorised from Greek and Roman mythical models to the present day. The figures of Aeneas in the Latin epic of Virgil and Prometheus in Aeschylus and Hesiod are connected to the supernatural aspects of Buffy and Angel who in a completely different cultural context face death and chthonic demons as real and metaphorical foes
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The blood labyrinthine barrier in the human normal and Meniere's disease macula utricle.
The ultrastructural organization of the blood labyrinthine barrier (BLB) was investigated in the human vestibular endorgan, the utricular macula, using postmortem specimens from individuals with documented normal auditory and vestibular function and surgical specimens from patients with intractable Meniere's disease. Transmission electron microscopic analysis of capillaries located in the normal human utricular stroma showed vascular endothelial cells with few pinocytotic vesicles, covered by a smooth and uniform basement membrane surrounded by pericyte processes. Meniere's disease specimens revealed differential ultrastructural pathological changes in the cellular elements of the microvasculature. With moderate degeneration of the BLB, there were numerous vesicles within the vascular endothelial cells (VECs), with increased numbers at the abluminal face, pericyte process detachment and disruption of the perivascular basement membrane surrounding the VECs. With severe degeneration of the BLB, there was severe vacuolization or frank apparent necrosis of VECs and loss of subcellular organelles. A higher severity of BLB degenerative changes was associated with a higher degree of basement membrane thickening and edematous changes within the vestibular stroma. This study presents the first ultrastructural analysis of the capillaries constituting the BLB in the human vestibular macula utricle from normal and Meniere's disease
Knowledge-First Evidentialism about Rationality
Knowledge-first evidentialism combines the view that it is rational to believe what is supported by one's evidence with the view that one's evidence is what one knows. While there is much to be said for the view, it is widely perceived to fail in the face of cases of reasonable error—particularly extreme ones like new Evil Demon scenarios (Wedgwood, 2002). One reply has been to say that even in such cases what one knows supports the target rational belief (Lord, 201x, this volume). I spell out two versions of the strategy. The direct one uses what one knows as the input to principles of rationality such as conditionalization, dominance avoidance, etc. I argue that it fails in hybrid cases that are Good with respect to one belief and Bad with respect to another. The indirect strategy uses what one knows to determine a body of supported propositions that is in turn the input to principles of rationality. I sketch a simple formal implementation of the indirect strategy and show that it avoids the difficulty. I conclude that the indirect strategy offers the most promising way for knowledge-first evidentialists to deal with the New Evil Demon problem
Ultrastructure of neurovascular changes in human diabetic retinopathy
The previous concept regarding diabetic retinopathy assigned a primary role to hyperglycemia-induced microvascular alterations, while neuronal and glial abnormalities were considered to be secondary to either ischemia or exudation. The aim of this study was to reveal the potential role of neuronal and glial cells in initial and advanced alterations of the retinopathy in human type 2 diabetes. Electron microscopy and histochemical studies were performed on 38 surgically removed human eyes (28 obtained from diabetic patients and 10 from non-diabetic patients). Morphometric analysis of basement membrane material and lipids was performed. An accumulation of metabolic by-products was found in the capillary wall with aging: this aspect was significantly more pronounced in diabetics. Müller glial cells were found to contribute to alterations of the capillary wall and to occlusion, as well as to the development of proliferative retinopathy and cystoid degeneration of the retina. Our results showed morphological evidence regarding the role of neuronal and glial cells in the pathology of diabetic retinopathy, prior and in addition to microangiopathy. These morphological findings support a neurovascular pathogenesis at the origin of diabetic retinopathy, thus the current treatment approach should be completed by neuroprotective measures
Gravity-flow dominated sedimentation on the Buda paleoslope (Hungary): Record of Late Eocene continental escape of the Bakony unit
The Upper Eocene sequence of the Buda Hills consists of fluvial and shallow marine conglomerates, sandstones, bioclastic shallow-water limestone, marlstone and pelagic Globigerina marl. The succession illustrates rapid, overall subsidence of the area, from terrestrial environments to bathyal depths. Sedimentation occurred on slopes situated on the flanks of synsedimentary basement antiforms. Vertical growth of antiforms caused progressive tilting of beds, layerparallel extension by boudinage and faulting, and induced redeposition by mass flow. Antiforms are localised in the dextral Budaörs shear zone and in the Buda
imbricate stack, which accommodated the dextral displacement. The latter is underlain by blind reverse faults probably merging into a detachment tault at shallow
depths. These structures were formed by WNW-ESE
oriented compression and NNE-SSW directed tension. The morphological expression of the imbricate stack is the SE-facing Buda slope.
The Bakony unit, while "escaping" from the Alps, was bordered by a northern sinistral and a southern dextral
shear zone. Synsedimentary tectonics in the Buda Hills demonstrates the style of deformation inside the escaping block, close to the southern border zone. Tectonically controlled sedimentation suggests that escape tectonics was active as early as Late Eocene time
Acute kidney injury on chronic kidney disease: From congestive heart failure to light chain deposition disease and cast nephropathy in multiple myeloma
Acute on chronic renal failure is a common but notably broad diagnosis. We present a 64-year-old man with a history of diastolic heart failure and chronic kidney disease, admitted for an elevated creatinine. History and physical examination were suggestive of decompensated heart failure; however, the careful interpretation of urinalysis rendered the diagnosis of multiple myeloma. On renal biopsy, the patient was found to have light chain deposition disease with cast nephropathy. Combination lesions in multiple myeloma are rare and require diligent histopathology for detection, including light microscopy, immunofluorescence and electron microscopy. These patients portray different demographics, renal manifestations, oncologic characteristics and outcomes, and hence, further studies isolating these combined lesions are warranted
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