Ist eine Medea ohne Kindermord überhaupt denkbar? Medea-Morphosen bei Euripides und Christa Wolf. Oder: Freispruch für Euripides

Ziel der vorliegenden Studie ist, die Rolle und die Wichtigkeit des Kindermordmythologems im Rahmen des Medea-Mythos zu diskutieren. Dabei werden zwei der wichtigsten Bearbeitungen des Euripides’ Tragödie und Christa Wolfs Roman (1996). In einem ersten Schritt wird versucht, die Erfindung des Kindermordes von Seiten des Euripides von einem neuen Blickwinkel zu beleuchten. Im Gegensatz zur Annahme der überwiegenden Mehrheit der Forscher geht diese Studie davon aus, dass Euripides’ Medea nicht bloß ein bürgerliches Ehedrama, sondern eine politische und soziale Skizze des Mikrokosmos der Polis ist. In einer Art „Flaschenpost“ ist es dem großen Tragiker gelungen, die Bedürfnisse der Unterdrückten herauszustreichen und eine neue Perspektive für das weibliche Element zu eröffnen. Während jedoch in der männlichen Überlieferung von Euripides bis von Trier das Unterdrückte als Grausamkeit ans Licht kommt, schlägt Wolf ein anderes Modell von Weiblichkeit vor. Zu diesem Zweck braucht ihre Protagonistin den Kindermord nicht mehr. Der Mythos ist kein Kontext, sondern ein Rahmen. Demzufolge gehören alle Fassungen zum Mythos. In einer Zeit, die durch Gewalt und Angst gekennzeichnet ist, wirft Wolf Licht auf die Ursprünge von Gewalt, indem sie beim Erzählen der Geschichte einer Gestalt, die sowohl Männern als auch Frauen schlechthin Angst macht, andere Schwerpunkte setzt.The aim of this study is to discuss the significance of the child-murder for the Medea myth. For this purpose two of the most important adaptations of the myth are examined: Euripides’ tragedy and Christa Wolf’s novel (1996). The study attempts to shed new light on the invention of this mythologeme by Euripides. Contrary to the acceptance of the majority of the researchers this study assumes Euripides' Medea is not just a bourgeois marriage drama, but a political and social sketch of the microcosm of the Polis. Using various „messages in a bottle “Euripides succeeded in emphasizing on the needs of the suppressed ones and opening a new perspective for the female element. While however in the male tradition, from Euripides to von Trier, the suppressed comes to the light as cruelty, Wolf suggests another model of feminity. As a result her protagonist does not need the childmurder any longer. The myth is not a context, but a frame. Therefore all versions belong to the myth. In a time characterized by violence and fear, Wolf turns the attention to the origins of violence by setting other priorities, while telling the story of a person, which frightens both men and women.Ziel der vorliegenden Studie ist, die Rolle und die Wichtigkeit des Kindermordmythologems im Rahmen des Medea-Mythos zu diskutieren. Dabei werden zwei der wichtigsten Bearbeitungen des Euripides’ Tragödie und Christa Wolfs Roman (1996). In einem ersten Schritt wird versucht, die Erfindung des Kindermordes von Seiten des Euripides von einem neuen Blickwinkel zu beleuchten. Im Gegensatz zur Annahme der überwiegenden Mehrheit der Forscher geht diese Studie davon aus, dass Euripides’ Medea nicht bloß ein bürgerliches Ehedrama, sondern eine politische und soziale Skizze des Mikrokosmos der Polis ist. In einer Art „Flaschenpost“ ist es dem großen Tragiker gelungen, die Bedürfnisse der Unterdrückten herauszustreichen und eine neue Perspektive für das weibliche Element zu eröffnen. Während jedoch in der männlichen Überlieferung von Euripides bis von Trier das Unterdrückte als Grausamkeit ans Licht kommt, schlägt Wolf ein anderes Modell von Weiblichkeit vor. Zu diesem Zweck braucht ihre Protagonistin den Kindermord nicht mehr. Der Mythos ist kein Kontext, sondern ein Rahmen. Demzufolge gehören alle Fassungen zum Mythos. In einer Zeit, die durch Gewalt und Angst gekennzeichnet ist, wirft Wolf Licht auf die Ursprünge von Gewalt, indem sie beim Erzählen der Geschichte einer Gestalt, die sowohl Männern als auch Frauen schlechthin Angst macht, andere Schwerpunkte setzt

TrickVOS: A Bag of Tricks for Video Object Segmentation

Space-time memory (STM) network methods have been dominant in semi-supervised video object segmentation (SVOS) due to their remarkable performance. In this work, we identify three key aspects where we can improve such methods; i) supervisory signal, ii) pretraining and iii) spatial awareness. We then propose TrickVOS; a generic, method-agnostic bag of tricks addressing each aspect with i) a structure-aware hybrid loss, ii) a simple decoder pretraining regime and iii) a cheap tracker that imposes spatial constraints in model predictions. Finally, we propose a lightweight network and show that when trained with TrickVOS, it achieves competitive results to state-of-the-art methods on DAVIS and YouTube benchmarks, while being one of the first STM-based SVOS methods that can run in real-time on a mobile device.Comment: Accepted to ICIP 202

Regulation of heparanase expression in coronary artery disease in diabetic, hyperlipidemic swine

Objective Enzymatic degradation of the extracellular matrix is known to be powerful regulator of atherosclerosis. However, little is known about the enzymatic regulation of heparan sulfate proteoglycans (HSPGs) during the formation and progression of atherosclerotic plaques. Methods and results Swine were rendered diabetic through streptozotocin injection and hyperlipidemic through a high fat diet. Arterial remodeling and local endothelial shear stress (ESS) were assessed using intravascular ultrasound, coronary angiography and computational fluid dynamics at weeks 23 and 30. Coronary arteries were harvested and 142 arterial subsegments were analyzed using histomorphologic staining, immunostaining and real time PCR. Heparanase staining and activity was increased in arterial segments with low ESS, in lesions with thin cap fibroatheroma (TCFA) morphology and in lesions with severely degraded internal elastic laminae. In addition, heparanase staining co-localized with staining for CD45 and MMP-2 within atherosclerotic plaques. Dual staining with gelatinase zymography and heparanase immunohistochemical staining demonstrated co-localization of matrix metalloprotease activity with heparanase staining. A heparanase enzymatic activity assay demonstrated increased activity in TCFA lesions, subsegments with low ESS and in macrophages treated with oxidized LDL or angiotensin II. Conclusions Taken together, our results support a critical role for heparanase in the development of vulnerable plaques and suggest a novel therapeutic target for the treatment of atherosclerosis.Novartis (Firm)Boston Scientific CorporationNational Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant R01 GM49039

Thin-Capped Atheromata With Reduced Collagen Content in Pigs Develop in Coronary Arterial Regions Exposed to Persistently Low Endothelial Shear Stress

Objective—The mechanisms promoting the focal formation of rupture-prone coronary plaques in vivo remain incompletely understood. This study tested the hypothesis that coronary regions exposed to low endothelial shear stress (ESS) favor subsequent development of collagen-poor, thin-capped plaques. Approach and Results—Coronary angiography and 3-vessel intravascular ultrasound were serially performed at 5 consecutive time points in vivo in 5 diabetic, hypercholesterolemic pigs. ESS was calculated along the course of each artery with computational fluid dynamics at all 5 time points. At follow-up, 184 arterial segments with previously identified in vivo ESS underwent histopathologic analysis. Compared with other plaque types, eccentric thin-capped atheromata developed more in segments that experienced lower ESS during their evolution. Compared with lesions with higher preceding ESS, segments persistently exposed to low ESS (<1.2 Pa) exhibited reduced intimal smooth muscle cell content; marked intimal smooth muscle cell phenotypic modulation; attenuated procollagen-I gene expression; increased gene and protein expression of the interstitial collagenases matrix-metalloproteinase-1, -8, -13, and -14; increased collagenolytic activity; reduced collagen content; and marked thinning of the fibrous cap. Conclusions—Eccentric thin-capped atheromata, lesions particularly prone to rupture, form more frequently in coronary regions exposed to low ESS throughout their evolution. By promoting an imbalance of attenuated synthesis and augmented collagen breakdown, low ESS favors the focal evolution of early lesions toward plaques with reduced collagen content and thin fibrous caps—2 critical determinants of coronary plaque vulnerability.Novartis (Firm)Boston Scientific CorporationBehrakis Foundation (Research Fellowship)Hellenic Heart FoundationHellenic Atherosclerosis SocietyNational Institutes of Health (U.S.) (Grant RO1 GM49039

HCV Defective Genomes Promote Persistent Infection by Modulating the Viral Life Cycle

Defective interfering (DI) RNAs have been detected in several human viruses. HCV in-frame deletions mutants (IFDMs), missing mainly the envelope proteins, have been found in patient sera and liver tissues. IFDMs replicate independently and can be trans-packaged into infectious virions in the presence of full length viral genome. So far, their biological role is unclear. In this study, we have isolated and cloned IFDMs from sera samples and liver tissues of patients infected with HCV genotypes 1b, 2a, and 3a. IFDMs were present in up to 26% of samples tested. Using the in vitro HCV cell culture system, co-expression of the wild type (wt) HCV replicon with HCV IFDMs RNA resulted in increased HCV replication. Additionally, co-transfection of the HCV full length genome RNA and a defective mutant missing the envelope region led to increased viral release, collectively suggesting an important biological role for IFDMs in the virus life cycle. Recently, exosomes, masters of intercellular communication, have been implicated in the transport of HCV viral genomes. We report for the first time that exosomal RNA isolated from HCV sera samples contains HCV defective genomes. We also demonstrate that inhibition of exosomal biogenesis and release influences HCV viral replication. Overall, we provide evidence that the presence of HCV IFDMs affects both viral replication and release. IFDMs exploit exosomes as means of transport, a way to evade the immune system, to spread more efficiently and possibly maintain persistent infection

SAVIORGANIZACIJA IR EPISTEMOLOGINIS SILPNUMAS

Straipsnyje siekiama visapusiškai sujungti pripažintas teorines ir metodologines saviorganizacijos ir sudėtingumo sąvokas su bendrosiomis socialinės teorijos problemomis (tokiomis kaip žinojimas, subjektyvumas, veikmė ir numatymas), taip pat su naujuoju episteminio nuosaikumo bei kuklumo etosu ir estetika. Kitaip sakant, bendroji saviorganizacijos teorija yra tinkamas ir patvarus analitinis karkasas kurti ir plėtoti radikalią epistemologinio silpnumo etiką/estetiką bei silpnesnę ir refleksyvesnę sociologinę/epistemologinę pasaulėžiūrą.Pagrindiniai žodžiai: žinojimas, saviorganizacija ir kompleksiškumas, epistemologija ir etika, refleksyvumas ir socialinė teorija.Self-Organization and Epistemological WeaknessCharalambos Tsekeris, Ioannis Katerelos, Konstantinos Koskinas SummaryThis paper seeks to comprehensively and critically interconnect the well-established theoretical and methodological conceptions of self-organization, complexity and chaos with more general issues and dilemmas in the contemporary field of social theory (such as knowledge, objectivity/subjectivity, structure/agency and prediction), as well as with a new reflexive ethos (practice) and aesthetic (style) of epistemic modesty and humility. In other words, a general theory of self-organization seems to be a suitable and sustainable analytic framework for generating, developing and cultivating a radical ethics/aesthetics of epistemological weakness, as well as a sense of less strong and more reflexive sociological/epistemological worldview.Keywords: knowledge, self-organization and complexity, epistemology and ethics, reflexivity and social theory