《史記》忌諱叙事與《春秋》書法 : 以征伐匈奴之相關人事為例

忌諱叙事，緣於“切當世之文而罔褒”,有所刺譏褒諱挹損之文辭，不可以書見”，故推見至隱，筆削見義，寓微辭以譏諷之。忌諱叙事之焦點，在關注如何為尊者諱恥、為長者諱過。司馬遷《史記》叙武帝征討匈奴事，本文選取相關史傳四篇：《李將軍列傳》，叙討伐匈奴之功過，太史公詭辭謬稱，刺譏褒諱有功不賞。《衛將軍驃騎列傳》，叙衛青、霍去病征討匈奴，所獲不如所亡；衛、霍將略，太史公所不取。言外褒贬，實與而文不與。《匈奴列傳》，不敢斥言武帝窮兵黷武，乃托辭擇任將相。《平準書》，直書為邊費耗財而興利平準，因平準而滋長鬻爵酷吏。聚斂攘奪不可以書見，故或筆或削以見義。司馬遷擅長“於叙事中寓論斷”，以屬辭比事為脈絡，體現或書或不書之筆削去取。主體論文分為三部分：一，《史記》叙征伐興利與《春秋》筆削：（一）《春秋》書法與《史記》之筆削見義。（二）征戰興利，或書或不書，筆削以見義。二，征戰匈奴與《史記》之《春秋》書法、忌諱叙事：（一）《平準書》據事直書，寓論斷於叙事之中。(二）《李將軍列傳》於叙事中即見其指。（三）比事屬辭與《匈奴列傳》之忌諱叙事。三，征伐匈奴與《史記》之曲筆諱書、詭辭謬稱：（一）曲筆諱書，微婉顯晦，推見以至隱。（二）詭辭謬稱，實與而文不與。 Why is there such a thing as taboo narrative? Because according to The Analects, Confucius wrote Chun Qiu in accordance with the incidents of the time when sarcasm, praises, and criticism were taboos and cannot be written, therefore authors appropriated writing skills and hidden words to satirize. The main point of taboo narrative is to show how the authority taboos shame or mistakes of the elders. Sima Qian wrote four essays on the war between Emperor Wu of Han and Xiongnu in Shi Ji, which I will discuss in this paper. Among these four, Biography of General Lee describes the contribution and mistakes of this war. Sima Qian satirized the ways in which people’s contribution was omitted. Biography of General Wei discusses why the reward of the war with Xiongnu, led by Wei Qing and Huo Qu Bing, did not make up for the loss it cost. Because of this, Sima Qian did not identify Wei and Huo with their ability of leading troops. Sima Qian used taboo narrative to imply something beyond what was written. Biography of Xiongnu describes how he did not dare to criticize Emperor Wu of Han’s war attempts, and instead said that problems occurred because the right person was not assigned the right job. The Treatise of the Balanced Standard directly describes how the emperor evened the price increase because of the war, and how this led to the increase of unsuitable government officials. Accumulating wealth by unfair means and robbery were things that could not be written, thus they were hidden but could be discovered by analyzing the writing method. Sima Qian was good at such method known as commenting within descriptions. The paper is divided into three parts. First of all, the description regarding the war as recorded in Shi Ji and the writing method of Chun Qiu, including the writing method of Chun Qiu and revealing the meaning of Shi Ji through its writing method. Second, the war with Xiongnu and the writing method of Chun Qiu in Shi Ji and taboo description, including The Treatise of the Balanced Standard, Biography of General Lee, and Biography of Xiongnu

Focal foveal atrophy of unknown etiology: Clinical pictures and possible underlying causes

Background/PurposeFocal foveal atrophy is defined as the presence of a small, focal, ill-defined, hypopigmented foveal or juxtafoveal lesion, with the remaining retina unaffected. The purpose of this study was to report the clinical characteristics and optical coherence tomography (OCT) in patients with focal foveal atrophy of unknown etiology.MethodsThe study was a retrospective observational case series. Data collected included complete ocular examination results for best corrected visual acuity (BCVA), ophthalmoscopy, fundus photography, fluorescein angiography, color sense discrimination tests, visual field tests, and OCT examinations.ResultsTwenty-three eyes in 21 patients were examined. The mean patient age was 49.2 ± 15.4 years. The mean BCVA was 20/25. The 21 patients were divided into three groups according to OCT results. Group 1 eyes (n = 10) had intact inner and outer hyperreflective layers (HRLs), with the signal of the inner HRL corresponding to the junction between the inner and outer photoreceptor segments and the outer HRL corresponding to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE). Group 2 eyes (n = 9) had small hyporeflective defects with defects in the inner HRL at the fovea but an intact outer HRL. Group 3 eyes (n = 4) had small hyporeflective defects in both the inner and outer HRLs at the fovea. Groups 3 eyes had significantly lower visual acuity compared to Group 1 eyes and Group 2 eyes. There was no significant difference in visual acuity between Group 1 and Group 2 eyes. There were no significant differences among the groups with respect to color vision or foveal thickness.ConclusionThis is the first report of clinical presentations for patients with focal foveal atrophy of unknown etiology. OCT aided in the diagnosis and assessment of the degree of retinal structural abnormalities, but the real etiology of foveal atrophy remains unclear

Retroperitoneal Metastatic Adenocarcinoma Complicated with Necrotizing Fasciitis of the Thigh in a Patient with Advanced Rectal Colon Cancer

Background: Necrotizing fasciitis of the thigh due to colon cancer has not been previously reported, especially during radiotherapy. Case Presentation: A 73-year-old woman admitted to our hospital was diagnosed with sigmoid colon cancer that had spread to the left psoas muscle; radiotherapy was performed. Three months after the initiation of radiotherapy, the patient developed gait disturbance, poor appetite and high fever and was therefore admitted to the emergency department of our hospital. Blood examination revealed generalized inflammation with a high white blood cell count and C-reactive protein level. Computed tomography of the abdomen revealed fluid and gas tracking from the retroperitoneum into the intramuscular plane of the grossly enlarged right thigh. Consequently, emergent debridement was not performed and conservative therapy was done. The patient died. Conclusion: Necrotizing fasciitis of the thigh due to the spread of rectal colon cancer is unusual, but this fatal complication should be considered during radiotherapy in patients with unresectable colorectal cancer

α-Lactosylceramide Protects Against iNKT-Mediated Murine Airway Hyperreactivity and Liver Injury Through Competitive Inhibition of Cd1d Binding.

Invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells, which are activated by T cell receptor (TCR)-dependent recognition of lipid-based antigens presented by the CD1d molecule, have been shown to participate in the pathogenesis of many diseases, including asthma and liver injury. Previous studies have shown the inhibition of iNKT cell activation using lipid antagonists can attenuate iNKT cell-induced disease pathogenesis. Hence, the development of iNKT cell-targeted glycolipids can facilitate the discovery of new therapeutics. In this study, we synthesized and evaluated α-lactosylceramide (α-LacCer), an α-galactosylceramide (α-GalCer) analog with lactose substitution for the galactose head and a shortened acyl chain in the ceramide tail, toward iNKT cell activation. We demonstrated that α-LacCer was a weak inducer for both mouse and human iNKT cell activation and cytokine production, and the iNKT induction by α-LacCer was CD1d-dependent. However, when co-administered with α-GalCer, α-LacCer inhibited α-GalCer-induced IL-4 and IFN-γ production from iNKT cells. Consequently, α-LacCer also ameliorated both α-GalCer and GSL-1-induced airway hyperreactivity and α-GalCer-induced neutrophilia when co-administered in vivo. Furthermore, we were able to inhibit the increases of ConA-induced AST, ALT and IFN-γ serum levels through α-LacCer pre-treatment, suggesting α-LacCer could protect against ConA-induced liver injury. Mechanistically, we discerned that α-LacCer suppressed α-GalCer-stimulated cytokine production through competing for CD1d binding. Since iNKT cells play a critical role in the development of AHR and liver injury, the inhibition of iNKT cell activation by α-LacCer present a possible new approach in treating iNKT cell-mediated diseases

Alpha adrenergic modulation on effects of norepinephrine transporter inhibitor reboxetine in five-choice serial reaction time task

The study examined the effects of a norepinephrine transporter (NET) inhibitor reboxetine (RBX) on an attentional performance test. Adult SD rats trained with five-choice serial reaction time task (5-CSRTT) were administered with RBX (0, 3.0 and 10 mg/kg) in the testing day. Alpha-1 adrenergic receptor antagonist PRA and alpha-2 adrenergic receptor antagonist RX821002 were used to clarify the RBX effect. Results revealed that rat received RBX at 10 mg/kg had an increase in the percentage of the correct response and decreases in the numbers of premature response. Alpha-1 adrenergic receptor antagonist Prazosin (PRA) at 0.1 mg/kg reversed the RBX augmented correct responding rate. However, alpha-2 adrenergic receptor antagonist RX821002 at 0.05 and 0.1 mg/kg dose dependently reversed the RBX reduced impulsive responding. Our results suggested that RBX as a norepinephrine transporter inhibitor can be beneficial in both attentional accuracy and response control and alpha-1 and alpha-2 adrenergic receptors might be involved differently

Peripheral Sympathectomy for Raynaud's Phenomenon: A Salvage Procedure

We retrospectively reviewed the effectiveness of peripheral sympathectomy for severe Raynaud's phenomenon. In this study, a total of 14 digits from six patients with chronic digital ischemic change were included. All patients had pain, ulcer, or gangrenous change in the affected digits and were unresponsive to pharmacologic or other nonsurgical therapies. In all cases, angiography showed multifocal arterial lesions, so microvascular reconstruction was unfeasible. Peripheral sympathectomy was performed as a salvage procedure to prevent digit amputation. The results were analyzed according to reduction of pain, healing of ulcers, and prevention of amputation. In 12 of the 14 digits, the ulcers healed and amputation was avoided. In the other two digits, the ulcers improved and progressive gangrene was limited. As a salvage procedure for Raynaud's phenomenon recalcitrant to conservative treatment, peripheral sympathectomy improves perfusion to ischemic digits and enables amputation to be avoided

Menelloides C and D, New Sesquiterpenoids from the Gorgonian Coral Menella sp

Two new metabolites, including a lindenane-type sesquiterpenoid, menelloide C (1), and a germacrane-type sesquiterpenoid, menelloide D (2), were isolated from a Formosan gorgonian coral identified as Menella sp. The structures of 1 and 2 were established by spectroscopic methods and 2 displayed a weak inhibitory effect on the release of elastase by human neutrophils

Epidemic Pleurodynia Caused by Coxsackievirus B3 at a Medical Center in Northern Taiwan

Epidemic pleurodynia is seldom reported in Southeast Asia and there has been no report from Taiwan. We conducted a retrospective chart review of children = 18 years of age in the National Taiwan University Hospital from January 1 to December 31, 2005. Epidemic pleurodynia was defined as an acute illness characterized by sharp localized pain over the chest or upper abdomen. Patients with known heart diseases or pulmonary consolidations were excluded. In total, 28 patients met the case definition of epidemic pleurodynia. Coxsackievirus B3 (CB3) was isolated in 15 (60%) of the 25 throat swab specimens. Four (14%) of the 28 patients presented chest wall tenderness and only one (6%) of the 18 patients tested had an elevated creatinine kinase level. Twenty-one (75%) of the 28 patients described pleuritic chest pains and 10 (45%) of the 22 chest radiographies exhibited pulmonary infiltrates or pleural effusions. Six patients were observed with tonsillar exudates and one was confirmed to have a CB3 urinary tract infection. The clinical features and radiological findings suggest that CB3-associated epidemic pleurodynia might be a disease of the pleura and occasionally spreads to nearby tissues, resulting in chest wall myositis, pulmonary infiltrates and myopericarditis