Flight as Form and Faith: Birds in Gerard Manley Hopkinss Sonnets

Gerard Manley Hopkinss poems can be singled out by their inventive syntax, fast-paced rhythm and rhyme. While The Windhover and Gods Grandeur are just two of Hopkinss widely known sonnets that are studied for his originality and poetic skill, his poems connection with his spirituality has often been neglected. This paper aims to recon- sider the influence of the Tractarian Movement on Hopkins as he sought to illustrate, through the symbol of the bird, his desire to express his faith. In particular, his sonnets with bird imagery are assessed as a testament to Hopkinss desire not only to express poetic ambition but also profess his devotion to God. Rather than embrace the birds of the Romantic poets, such as Keatss nightingale or Shelleys skylark, he inherits John Kebles nightingales in First Sunday After Epiphany whose song is a direct praise to their Maker. Following the Tractarian poetics of reserve and analogy, Hopkins utilizes the bird and its flight to visual-ize spiritual faith. In Let Me Be to Thee and The Sea and the Skylark, the bird represents a symbol of an ideal believer who understands the purpose and inscape of worship—to achieve unity with God—and yearns to ascend. Other poems, like The Windhover and Gods Grandeur, portray the bird as a member of the Trinity, which the speaker observes and praises. Lastly, in The Caged Skylark, the bird is a representation of Faith embodied, as the speaker makes an analogy of the bird in its cage with the spirit within the physical body. By illustrating the lows of faith, the speaker acknowledges the fears of mortality and physical decay even for the faithful. Despite this desolate state of both bird and spirit, the speaker hints at the attainment of salvation and the return to a new Eden. The concurrent physical descent and spiritual ascent captured by this poem reveal the ironies that faith sometimes requires of believers: passively waiting for Gods will while actively obey-ing and worshipping him. By utilizing the bird and its flight, Hopkinss sonnets confess to his love and worship of God and depict his desire for ascension

Cognitive impairment in childhood onset epilepsy: up-to-date information about its causes

Cognitive impairment associated with childhood-onset epilepsy is an important consequence in the developing brain owing to its negative effects on neurodevelopmental and social outcomes. While the cause of cognitive impairment in epilepsy appears to be multifactorial, epilepsy-related factors such as type of epilepsy and underlying etiology, age at onset, frequency of seizures, duration of epilepsy, and its treatment are considered important. In recent studies, antecedent cognitive impairment before the first recognized seizure and microstructural and functional alteration of the brain at onset of epilepsy suggest the presence of a common neurobiological mechanism between epilepsy and cognitive comorbidity. However, the overall impact of cognitive comorbidity in children with epilepsy and the independent contribution of each of these factors to cognitive impairment have not been clearly delineated. This review article focuses on the significant contributors to cognitive impairment in children with epilepsy

Vardenafil Enhances Oxytocin Expression in the Paraventricular Nucleus without Sexual Stimulation

PurposeOxytocin is associated with the ability to form normal social attachments. c-Fos is an immediate early gene whose expression is used as a marker for stimulus-induced changes in neurons. The effect of phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE-5) inhibitors on oxytocin activation in the brain without sexual stimuli has not yet been reported. In the present study, we investigated the effects of vardenafil on oxytocin and c-Fos expression in the paraventricular nucleus (PVN) of conscious rats.MethodsMale Sprague-Dawley rats weighing 300±10 g were divided into 6 groups (n=5 in each group): the control group, the 1-day-0.5 mg/kg, the 1-day-1 mg/kg, the 1-day-2 mg/kg, the 3-day-1 mg/kg, and the 7-day-1 mg/kg vardenafil administration group. The experiment was conducted without sexual stimulation. Vardenafil was orally administered. The animals in the control group received an equivalent amount of distilled water orally. The expression of oxytocin and c-Fos in the PVN was detected by immunohistochemistry.ResultsOxytocin expression in the PVN was increased by 1 day administration of 2 mg/kg vardenafil, and this effect of vardenafil appeared in a duration-dependent manner. c-Fos in the oxytocin neurons of the PVN was increased by 1 day administration of 2 mg/kg vardenafil, and this effect of vardenafil also appeared in a duration-dependent manner. These results showed that vardenafil augments the expression of oxytocin with activation of oxytocin neurons in the PVN.ConclusionsIn this study, we showed that the PDE-5 inhibitor, vardenafil directly enhances oxytocin expression and also activates oxytocin neurons in the PVN, which indicates that vardenafil may exert positive effects on affiliation behavior and social interaction

Structural abnormalities in benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BCECTS)

AbstractPurposeThe aim of this study was to investigate cortical thickness and gray matter volume abnormalities in benign childhood epilepsy with centrotemporal spikes (BCECTS). We additionally assessed the effects of comorbid attention-deficit/hyperactivity (ADHD) on these abnormalities.MethodsSurface and volumetric MR imaging data of children with newly diagnosed BCECTS (n=20, 14 males) and age-matched healthy controls (n=20) were analyzed using FreeSurfer (version 5.3.0, https://surfer.nmr.mgh.harvard.edu). An additional comparison was performed between BCECTS children with and without ADHD (each, n=8). A group comparison was carried out using an analysis of covariance with a value of significance set as p<0.01 or p<0.05.ResultsChildren with BCECTS had significantly thicker right superior frontal, superior temporal, middle temporal, and left pars triangularis cortices. Voxel-based morphometric analysis revealed significantly larger cortical gray matter volumes of the right precuneus, left orbitofrontal, pars orbitalis, precentral gyri, and bilateral putamen and the amygdala of children with BCECTS compared to healthy controls. BCECTS patients with ADHD had significantly thicker left caudal anterior and posterior cingulate gyri and a significantly larger left pars opercularis gyral volume compared to BCECTS patients without ADHD.ConclusionChildren with BCECTS have thicker or larger gray matters in the corticostriatal circuitry at the onset of epilepsy. Comorbid ADHD is also associated with structural aberrations. These findings suggest structural disruptions of the brain network are associated with specific developmental electro-clinical syndromes

Intravenous levetiracetam versus phenobarbital in children with status epilepticus or acute repetitive seizures

PurposeThis study compared the efficacy and tolerability of intravenous (i.v.) phenobarbital (PHB) and i.v. levetiracetam (LEV) in children with status epilepticus (SE) or acute repetitive seizure (ARS).MethodsThe medical records of children (age range, 1 month to 15 years) treated with i.v. PHB or LEV for SE or ARS at our single tertiary center were retrospectively reviewed. Seizure termination was defined as seizure cessation within 30 minutes of infusion completion and no recurrence within 24 hours. Information on the demographic variables, electroencephalography and magnetic resonance imaging findings, previous antiepileptic medications, and adverse events after drug infusion was obtained.ResultsThe records of 88 patients with SE or ARS (median age, 18 months; 50 treated with PHB and 38 with LEV) were reviewed. The median initial dose of i.v. PHB was 20 mg/kg (range, 10–20 mg/kg) and that of i.v. LEV was 30 mg/kg (range, 20–30 mg/kg). Seizure termination occurred in 57.9% of patients treated with i.v. LEV (22 of 38) and 74.0% treated with i.v. PHB (37 of 50) (P=0.111). The factor associated with seizure termination was the type of event (SE vs. ARS) in each group. Adverse effects were reported in 13.2% of patients treated with i.v. LEV (5 of 38; n=4, aggressive behavior and n=1, vomiting), and 28.0% of patients treated with i.v. PHB (14 of 50).ConclusionIntravenous LEV was efficacious and safe in children with ARS or SE. Further evaluation is needed to determine the most effective and best-tolerated loading dose of i.v. LEV

A rare case of dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor combined with encephalocraniocutaneous lipomatosis and intractable seizures

Encephalocraniocutaneous lipomatosis (ECCL) is a rare neurocutaneous syndrome that affects ectomesodermal tissues (skin, eyes, adipose tissue, and brain). The neurologic manifestations associated with ECCL are various including seizures. However, ECCL patients very rarely develop brain tumors that originate from the neuroepithelium. This is the first described case of ECCL in combination with dysembryoplastic neuroepithelial tumor (DNET) that presented with intractable seizures. A 7-year-old girl was admitted to our center because of ECCL and associated uncontrolled seizures. She was born with right anophthalmia and lipomatosis in the right temporal area and endured right temporal lipoma excision at 3 years of age. Seizures began when she was 3 years old, but did not respond to multiple antiepileptic drugs. Brain magnetic resonance (MR) imaging performed at 8 and 10 years of age revealed an interval increase of multifocal hyperintense lesions in the basal ganglia, thalamus, cerebellum, periventricular white matter, and, especially, the right temporal area. A nodular mass near the right hippocampus demonstrated the absence of N-acetylaspartate decrease on brain MR spectroscopy and mildly increased methionine uptake on brain positron emission tomography, suggesting low-grade tumor. Twenty-four-hour video electroencephalographic monitoring also indicated seizures originating from the right temporal area. Right temporal lobectomy was performed without complications, and the nodular lesion was pathologically identified as DNET. The patient has been seizure-free for 14 months since surgery. Although ECCL-associated brain tumors are very rare, careful follow-up imaging and surgical resection is recommended for patients with intractable seizures

Trichosanthes kirilowii

Trichosanthes kirilowii tuber is a traditional medicine which exhibits various medicinal effects including antidiabetic and anticancer activities in several cancer cells. Recently, it was reported that Cucurbitacin D (CuD) isolated from Trichosanthes kirilowii also induces apoptosis in several cancer cells. Constitutive signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (STAT3), which is an oncogenic transcription factor, is often observed in many human malignant tumor, including breast cancer. In the present study, we tested whether Trichosanthes kirilowii ethanol extract (TKE) or CuD suppresses cell growth and induces apoptosis through inhibition of STAT3 activity in breast cancer cells. We found that both TKE and CuD suppressed proliferation and induced apoptosis and G2/M cell cycle arrest in MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells by inhibiting STAT3 phosphorylation. In addition, both TKE and CuD inhibited nuclear translocation and transcriptional activity of STAT3. Taken together, our results indicate that TKE and its derived compound, CuD, could be potent therapeutic agents for breast cancer, blocking tumor cell proliferation and inducing apoptosis through suppression of STAT3 activity