The Devil as an Earworm: On Hearing and Sensing Voices in the Sensory Space of the Asylum

This article examines sensory experiences as well as spatial practices in the asylum. The case history of an unmarried maid who was treated at the insane asylum in Hall in Tyrol around the middle of the nineteenth century serves as a central thread. Her medical record thematises senses and spaces ‘outside’ and ‘inside’ the body, focusing on individualized dimensions of experiencing psychiatric sensescapes. The spatial and sensual references in medical records often point beyond the epistemic institutional place and can be elaborated based on more dynamic concepts of space, such as those provided by Henri Lefebvre. This article further links the case of the young woman plagued by terrible visions and haunted by inner voices with reflections on spatial and metaphorical resonance phenomena and addresses the space-arranging practices of physicians in the asylum.This article examines sensory experiences as well as spatial practices in the asylum. The case history of an unmarried maid who was treated at the insane asylum in Hall in Tyrol around the middle of the nineteenth century serves as a central thread. Her medical record thematises senses and spaces ‘outside’ and ‘inside’ the body, focusing on individualized dimensions of experiencing psychiatric sensescapes. The spatial and sensual references in medical records often point beyond the epistemic institutional place and can be elaborated based on more dynamic concepts of space, such as those provided by Henri Lefebvre. This article further links the case of the young woman plagued by terrible visions and haunted by inner voices with reflections on spatial and metaphorical resonance phenomena and addresses the space-arranging practices of physicians in the asylum

Exemplary Expertise. Josef Maschka’s Forensic Case Digest of Prague Faculty Opinions (1853–1873)

Based on the multi-volume case digest offaculty opinions, edited by Josef Maschka from Charles University in Pragueduring the second half of the nineteenth century, this paper examines boththe intention and efficacy of this exceptional medico-legal source. Facultyopinions were the result of a collective discourse, aimed at presenting an irrevocablemedical expertise to support court decisions in controversial cases.Our analysis addresses two separate levels of meaning: first, we reconstructthe actual circumstances of examination, answering questions as to why thefaculty was involved and which schemes were followed. How did their expertview refer to previous medical opinions and which discursive strategies wereused to strengthen the faculty’s hegemonic interpretation? Our second focuslies on the digest’s educational value, asking whom it was aimed at and how itwas received by the audience. Finally, did faculty opinions really present exemplaryexpertise?Based on the multi-volume case digest offaculty opinions, edited by Josef Maschka from Charles University in Pragueduring the second half of the nineteenth century, this paper examines boththe intention and efficacy of this exceptional medico-legal source. Facultyopinions were the result of a collective discourse, aimed at presenting an irrevocablemedical expertise to support court decisions in controversial cases.Our analysis addresses two separate levels of meaning: first, we reconstructthe actual circumstances of examination, answering questions as to why thefaculty was involved and which schemes were followed. How did their expertview refer to previous medical opinions and which discursive strategies wereused to strengthen the faculty’s hegemonic interpretation? Our second focuslies on the digest’s educational value, asking whom it was aimed at and how itwas received by the audience. Finally, did faculty opinions really present exemplaryexpertise

'Gutachterei': Beiträge der Medical Humanities zu Ambivalenzen der Begutachtung

Die Beiträge des Bandes beschäftigen sich mit Begutachtungspraktiken verschiedener Epochen und zeigen die Entwicklung des Gutachtens als einen Prozess auf, der zunehmend der Diskussion, Ausverhandlung und dem Einfluss von Wissen und Gegenwissen um soziokulturelle Normen unterliegt. Ausgehend von der Annahme, dass der Medizin in der Klassifikation, Bewertung und Einschätzung bzw. in der Subjektivierung von Einzelnen und Gruppen eine besondere Bedeutung zukommt, rückt insbesondere jenes Verhältnis in den Fokus, das durch die Tätigkeit des Gutachtens zwischen und für Menschen hergestellt wird.Die Beiträge des Bandes beschäftigen sich mit Begutachtungspraktiken verschiedener Epochen und zeigen die Entwicklung des Gutachtens als einen Prozess auf, der zunehmend der Diskussion, Ausverhandlung und dem Einfluss von Wissen und Gegenwissen um soziokulturelle Normen unterliegt. Ausgehend von der Annahme, dass der Medizin in der Klassifikation, Bewertung und Einschätzung bzw. in der Subjektivierung von Einzelnen und Gruppen eine besondere Bedeutung zukommt, rückt insbesondere jenes Verhältnis in den Fokus, das durch die Tätigkeit des Gutachtens zwischen und für Menschen hergestellt wird

Regulation of LCoR and RIP140 expression in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and correlation with CIN progression and dedifferentiation

Purpose!#!Ligand-dependent corepressor (LCoR) and receptor-interacting protein 140 (RIP140/NRIP1) play an important role in the regulation of multiple oncogenic signaling pathways and the development of cancer. LCoR and RIP140 form a nuclear complex in breast cancer cells and are of prognostic value in further prostate and cervical cancer. The purpose of this study was to analyze the regulation of these proteins in the development of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN I-III).!##!Methods!#!Immunohistochemical analysis was obtained to quantify RIP140 and LCoR expression in formalin-fixed paraffin embedded tissue sections of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia samples. Tissue (n = 94) was collected from patients treated in the Department of Gynecology and Obstetrics, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Germany, between 2002 and 2014. Correlations of expression levels with clinical outcome were carried out to assess for prognostic relevance in patients with CIN2 progression. Kruskal-Wallis test and Mann-Whitney U test were used for data analysis.!##!Results!#!Nuclear LCoR overexpression correlates significantly with CIN II progression. Nuclear RIP140 expression significantly increases and nuclear LCoR expression decreases with higher grading of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Cytoplasmic RIP140 expression is significantly higher in CIN III than in CIN I or CIN II.!##!Conclusion!#!A decrease of nuclear LCoR expression in line with an increase of dedifferentiation of CIN can be observed. Nuclear LCoR overexpression correlates with CIN II progression indicating a prognostic value of LCoR in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia. Nuclear and cytoplasmic RIP140 expression increases significantly with higher grading of cervical intraepithelial neoplasia underlining its potential role in the development of pre-cancerous lesions. These findings support the relevance of LCoR and RIP140 in the tumorigenesis indicating a possible role of LCoR and RIP140 as targets for novel therapeutic approaches in cervical intraepithelial neoplasia and cervical cancer

LDOC1 as negative prognostic marker for vulvar cancer patients

So far, studies about targeted therapies and predictive biomarkers for vulva carcinomas are rare. The leucine zipper downregulated in cancer 1 gene (LDOC1) has been identified in various carcinomas as a tumor-relevant protein influencing patients’ survival and prognosis. Due to the lack of information about LDOC1 and its exact functionality, this study focuses on the expression of LDOC1 in vulvar carcinoma cells and its surrounding immune cells as well as its correlation to clinicopathological characteristics and prognosis. Additionally, a possible regulation of LDOC1 in vulvar cancer cell lines via the NF-κB signaling pathway was analyzed. Vulvar carcinoma sections of 157 patients were immunohistochemically stained and examined regarding LDOC1 expression by using the immunoreactive score (IRS). To characterize LDOC1-positively stained immune cell subpopulations, immunofluorescence double staining was performed. The effect of the NF-κB inhibitor C-DIM 12 (3,3′-[(4-chlorophenyl)methylene]bis[1 H-indole]) on vulvar cancer cell lines A431 and SW 954 was measured according to MTT and BrdU assays. Baseline expression levels of LDOC1 in the vulvar cancer cell lines A431 and SW 954 was analyzed by real-time PCR. LDOC1 was expressed by about 90% of the cancer cells in the cytoplasm and about half of the cells in the nucleus. Cytoplasmatic expression of LDOC1 was associated with decreased ten-year overall survival of the patient, whereas nuclear staining showed a negative association with disease-free survival. Infiltrating immune cells were mainly macrophages followed by regulatory T cells. Incubation with C-DIM 12 decreased the cell viability and proliferation of vulvar cancer cell line A431, but not of cell line SW 954. LDOC1 expression on mRNA level was twice as high in the cell line A431 compared to the cell line SW 954. Overexpression of LDOC1 was associated with unfavorable overall and disease-free survival. Tumor growth could be inhibited by C-DIM 12 in vitro if the expressed LDOC1 level was high enough

Interleukin-22 Is Frequently Expressed in Small- and Large-Cell Lung Cancer and Promotes Growth in Chemotherapy-Resistant Cancer Cells

Introduction: In lung cancer, interleukin-22 (IL-22) expression within primary tissue has been demonstrated, but the frequency and the functional consequence of IL-22 signaling have not been addressed. This study aims at analyzing the cellular effects of IL-22 on lung carcinoma cell lines and the prognostic impact of IL-22 tissue expression in lung cancer patients. Methods: Biological effects of IL-22 signaling were investigated in seven lung cancer cell lines by Western blot, flow cytometry, real-time polymerase chain reaction, and proliferation assays. Tumor tissue specimens of two cohorts with a total of 2300 lung cancer patients were tested for IL-22 expression by immunohistochemistry. IL-22 serum concentrations were analyzed in 103 additional patients by enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. Results: We found the IL-22 receptor 1 (IL-22-R1) to be expressed in six of seven lung cancer cell lines. However IL-22 signaling was functional in only four cell lines, where IL-22 induced signal transducer activator of transcription 3 phosphorylation and increased cell proliferation. Furthermore, IL-22 induced the expression of antiapoptotic B-cell lymphoma 2, but did not rescue tumor cells from carboplatin-induced apoptosis. Cisplatin-resistant cell lines showed a significant up-regulation of IL-22-R1 along with a stronger proliferative response to IL-22 stimulation. IL-22 was preferentially expressed in small- and large-cell lung carcinoma (58% and 46% of cases, respectively). However, no correlation between IL-22 expression by immunohistochemistry and prognosis was observed. Conclusion: IL-22 is frequently expressed in lung cancer tissue. Enhanced IL-22-R1 expression and signaling in chemotherapy-refractory cell lines are indicative of a protumorigenic function of IL-22 and may contribute to a more aggressive phenotype

Development of the VISAGE enhanced tool and statistical models for epigenetic age estimation in blood, buccal cells and bones

DNA methylation is known as a biomarker for age with applications in forensics. Here we describe the VISAGE (VISible Attributes through GEnomics) Consortium’s enhanced tool for epigenetic age estimation in somatic tissues. The tool is based on eight DNA methylation markers (44 CpGs), bisulfite multiplex PCR followed by sequencing on the MiSeq FGx platform, and three statistical prediction models for blood, buccal cells and bones. The model for blood is based on six CpGs from ELOVL2, MIR29B2CHG, KLF14, FHL2, TRIM59 and PDE4C, and predicts age with a mean absolute error (MAE) of 3.2 years, while the model for buccal cells includes five CpGs from PDE4C, MIR29B2CHG, ELOVL2, KLF14 and EDARADD and predicts age with MAE of 3.7 years, and the model for bones has six CpGs from ELOVL2, KLF14, PDE4C and ASPA and predicts age with MAE of 3.4 years. The VISAGE enhanced tool for age estimation in somatic tissues enables reliable collection of DNA methylation data from small amounts of DNA using a sensitive multiplex MPS assay that provides accurate estimation of age in blood, buccal swabs, and bones using the statistical model tailored to each tissue

Authenticity, Culture and Language Learning

In philosophy, authenticity has been used with two meanings: one entails the notion of correspondence; the other entails the notion of genesis (Cooper, 1983: 15). As in certain branches of philosophy, language teaching has perhaps clung too long to the first of these notions of authenticity at the expense of the other. This paper reviews four key conceptualisations of authenticity which have emerged in the field of applied linguistics: text authenticity, authenticity of language competence, learner authenticity and classroom authenticity. If any of these types of authenticity is couched exclusively in terms of one usage or the other, it can lead to an impoverishment and objectification of the experience of language learning. Text authenticity can lead to a poverty of language; authenticity of competence can lead to a poverty of performance; learner authenticity can lead to a poverty of interpretation; classroom authenticity can lead to a poverty of communication. This paper proposes that a pedagogy of intercultural communication be informed by a more hybrid view of authenticity as a process of subjectification, derived from the Heideggerian concept of self-concern