SOMETHING “TRANSCENDENTALLY STIMULATING”: RESISTANCE AND ANTIDOTE TO EMPIRICIST BRITISH CULTURE IN SIR ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE’S SHERLOCK HOLMES

Sherlock Holmes is a name synonymous with detective and perhaps more familiar to households than his creator Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. His lasting impact as a literary figure is indisputable, but the curiosity surrounding the reasons for his longevity in popularity remain an enigma to many scholars and critics. In my thesis, I will discuss some of the reasons Holmes relates to readers from various time periods, age groups, and nationalities for more than a century. The first section of this project will establish the empiricist culture surrounding the decadent late 1800s, which compose the setting for most of Doyle’s stories. Steeped in modernity, this fin de siècle period neglected traditionalism and exasperated its citizens with strict positivism. Examining The Sign of Four and “The Red-Headed League,” the next section of this thesis will demonstrate that Sir Arthur Conan Doyle utilizes his character Sherlock Holmes as a literary antidote in natural resistance to his society’s impositions of science and reason alone. Lastly, this analysis will examine the type of logic Sherlock Holmes employs in his stories and why it is vital for mankind to combine logic with imagination in order to be both productive and content

Georges de La Tour\u27s Flea-Catcher and the iconography of the flea-hunt in seventeenth-century Baroque art

This essay performs a comprehensive investigation of the thematic possibilities for Georges de La Tour\u27s Flea-Catcher (1630s-1640s) based on related artworks, religion, and emblematic, literary, and pseudo-scientific texts that may have had a bearing on it. The results of my research are grouped into two categories that embrace the range of interpretations for the work: religion and sexuality. While religious iconography characterizes most of La Tour\u27s extant creations, the hypothetically religious content of his Flea-Catcher is difficult to discern. However, it is possible to analyze the iconography, as well as some of the ancillary motifs found in La Tour\u27s painting, in relation to the various strains of Catholicism, including Jansenism, Franciscanism, Quietism, and the cult of Mary Magdalen, that ran through Lorraine in the early seventeenth century. The work seems to reflect the general tone of spiritual thought-one of passivity and bodily transcendence-prominent in La Tour\u27s Lorraine. An examination of the popular understanding of fleas during La Tour\u27s lifetime is particularly enlightening in the investigation of the iconography of the Flea-Catcher. The parasites made numerous appearances in contemporary poetry of an erotic nature. Moreover, the linguistic similarity between the French words for flea and virginity, as well as the dominance of archaic natural science, which declared the pest to be a lustful beast, may have inspired the insect\u27s amatory connotations. Read in conjunction with the presence of the sexually charged flea, the emblematic meaning of the flea-catcher\u27s burned-down candle and her wretched and swollen form might indicate the demoralizing consequences of prostitution or of illegitimate pregnancy. La Tour\u27s Flea-Catcher reveals a thematic density that is not necessarily characteristic of the rest of his works, which prove to be more straightforward in content. There is no reason to commit to only one interpretation of the painting, as the suggestions proposed by this essay are not mutually exclusive. Thus, the themes interweave in the painting, endowing it with multiple layers of possible meanings

When Parents Come Out as Parents of Gay and Lesbian Children: A Transformation of the Self.

This study examines how and why parents of gay and lesbian children come to join a support and advocacy group when same-sex attraction and sexuality are still considered deviant and immoral by the majority of society. Based on participant observation of and interviews with parents in two separate support and advocacy groups this study examines how parents come to define themselves in terms of the issues they are fighting for, in this case gay and lesbian acceptance, inclusion, and equality. This research also examines how parents formulate new religious convictions to satisfy their new parental role as supporter and advocate of their gay or lesbian child, all the while maintaining that they are normal, moral, and good parents, replacing this courtesy stigma with exemplary parenting. In addition, this study explores how parents re-tell stories from their child’s past, using “retrospective interpretation” that foretell their child’s gay or lesbian identity in adulthood. These stories rely on any deviation from culturally accepted and expected gender roles and norms, which are then interpreted as “evidence” or “indicators” that the child was always gay or lesbian and would be in adulthood as well. Furthermore, the parents create a new self based on their religious alterations and the location of artifacts in the child’s past that predict a gay or lesbian identity

PENGARUH LIQUIDITY, FIRM SIZE, GROWTH OPPORTUNITY, FINANCIAL DISTRESS, LEVERAGE DAN MANAGERIAL OWNERSHIP TERHADAP AKTIVITAS HEDGING DENGAN INSTRUMEN DERIVATIF (Studi Kasus Pada Perusahaan Nonfinansial Yang Terdaftar Di BEI Periode 2010-2014)

Hedging by using derivative instruments is one of the common risk management used by company to protect their assets from risk of exchange rate and interest rates. This study aimed to determine the effect of liquidity, firm size, the growth opportunity, financial distress, leverage and managerial ownership on hedging activity using derivative instruments at non-financial companies listed on the Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2010-2014. The population of the study is a data non-financial companies listed on Indonesia Stock Exchange in 2010-2014 The sample in this study amounted to 93 companies by using purposive sampling. This study using logistic regression analysis techniques, to determine the variables that affect of the use of derivative instruments as hedging activity. The results of this study showed that there are three variables that affect significantly hedging activity using derivative instruments. Variable firm size and leverage have positive affect on hedging activity using derivative instruments, and variable financial distress have negative affect on hedging activity using derivative instruments. Whereas for the other variables did not influence the hedging activity using derivative instruments

Knowledge Exchange via Unified Communication Services: A Grounded Theory Approach

Literature remains scant concerning the benefits of unified communication services (UCS) for the purposes of knowledge exchange in organizations. This study utilized the Grounded Theory approach to systematically analyze 3023 communication logs among 47 employees at a mid-size South Central company. Findings show that UCS knowledge exchange occurs with high frequency, has short duration and is done primarily through low synchronicity mediums. A theoretical model is also proposed to explain the dimensions of the exchanged knowledge exchanged

Molecular Modulation of Osteoblasts and Osteoclasts in Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes is a common disease affecting majority of populations worldwide. Since 1980, there has been an increase in the number of people diagnosed as prediabetic and diabetic. Diabetes is characterized by high levels of circulating glucose and leads to most microvascular and macrovascular complications such as retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, stroke, and myocardial infarction. Bone marrow vascular disruption and increased adiposity are also linked to various complications in type II diabetes mellitus. In addition to these complications, type 2 diabetic patients also have fragile bones caused by faulty mineralization mainly due to increased adiposity among diabetic patients that affects both osteoblast and osteoclast functions. Other factors that increase fracture risk in diabetic patients are increased oxidative stress, inflammation, and drugs administered to diabetic patients. This review reports the modulation of different pathways that affect bone metabolism in diabetic conditions

Molecular Modulation of Osteoblasts and Osteoclasts in Type 2 Diabetes

Diabetes is a common disease affecting majority of populations worldwide. Since 1980, there has been an increase in the number of people diagnosed as prediabetic and diabetic. Diabetes is characterized by high levels of circulating glucose and leads to most microvascular and macrovascular complications such as retinopathy, nephropathy, neuropathy, stroke, and myocardial infarction. Bone marrow vascular disruption and increased adiposity are also linked to various complications in type II diabetes mellitus. In addition to these complications, type 2 diabetic patients also have fragile bones caused by faulty mineralization mainly due to increased adiposity among diabetic patients that affects both osteoblast and osteoclast functions. Other factors that increase fracture risk in diabetic patients are increased oxidative stress, inflammation, and drugs administered to diabetic patients. This review reports the modulation of different pathways that affect bone metabolism in diabetic conditions

Preparation of Novel Hydroxyethyl Amine Isosteres as Potential Cathepsin D Inhibitors

Cathepsin D is a lysosomal aspartic protease found in all mammalian cells and is considered to be one of the main catabolic proteinases. Cathepsin D has been suggested to play a role in the metastatic potential of several types of cancer. A high activated cathepsin D level in breast tumor tissue has been associated with an increased incidence of relapse and metastasis. High levels of active cathepsin D have also been found in colon cancer, prostate cancer, uterine cancer, and ovarian cancer. Hydroxyethyl isosteres with cyclic tertiary amine have proven to be clinically useful as inhibitors of aspartyl proteases similar to cathepsin D inactivity, such as the HIV-1 aspartyl protease. We have undertaken the design, via computer molecular modeling, and the synthesis of (hydroxyethyl) amine isostere inhibitors, which are similar to potent inhibitors of the aspartyl HIV-1 protease. We now report the preparation of six compounds that contain novel hydroxyethyl isosteres with cyclic tertiary amines

Therapeutic Potential of Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Their Secretome in the Treatment of Glaucoma.

Glaucoma represents a group of progressive optic neuropathies characterized by gradual loss of retinal ganglion cells (RGCs), the neurons that conduct visual information from the retina to the brain. Elevated intraocular pressure (IOP) is considered the main reason for enhanced apoptosis of RGCs in glaucoma. Currently used therapeutic agents are not able to repopulate and/or regenerate injured RGCs and, therefore, are ineffective in most patients with advanced glaucoma. Accordingly, several new therapeutic approaches, including stem cell-based therapy, have been explored for the glaucoma treatment. In this review article, we emphasized current knowledge regarding molecular and cellular mechanisms responsible for beneficial effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and their secretome in the treatment of glaucoma. MSCs produce neurotrophins and in an exosome-dependent manner supply injured RGCs with growth factors enhancing their survival and regeneration. Additionally, MSCs are able to generate functional RGC-like cells and induce proliferation of retinal stem cells. By supporting integrity of trabecular meshwork, transplanted MSCs alleviate IOP resulting in reduced loss of RGCs. Moreover, MSCs are able to attenuate T cell-driven retinal inflammation providing protection to the injured retinal tissue. In summing up, due to their capacity for neuroprotection and immunomodulation, MSCs and their secretome could be explored in upcoming clinical studies as new therapeutic agents for glaucoma treatment