Primary graft failure associated with epithelial downgrowth: a case report

BACKGROUND: Epithelial downgrowth is a rare complication of ocular surgery. While the features of epithelial downgrowth following corneal transplantation are well described, its association with primary graft failure has only been reported once previously. We report a case of primary corneal graft failure (PGF) associated with retrocorneal epithelial cell ingrowth. CASE PRESENTATION: A 59 year-old male underwent an uncomplicated penetrating keratoplasty for Fuchs' corneal dystrophy. The patient developed PGF, and a second transplant was performed 5 weeks after the initial surgery. The initial host corneal button and the failed corneal graft were examined with light microscopy. Histopathologic examination of the excised corneal button demonstrated multilaminar epithelial cells on the posterior corneal surface and absence of endothelial cells. DNA extraction and polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for herpes simplex virus (HSV) DNA was performed on the failed corneal graft. Polymerase chain reaction performed on the failed corneal graft was negative for HSV DNA, which has been implicated in selected cases of PGF. Three years following repeat penetrating keratoplasty, there was no evidence of recurrent epithelial ingrowth. CONCLUSION: This is only the second report of PGF associated with epithelialization of the posterior corneal button, which most likely developed subsequent to, instead of causing, the diffuse endothelial cell loss and primary graft failure

Competing Material Culture: Philistine Settlement at Tel Miqne-Ekron in the Early Iron Age

This dissertation explores the changing role of material culture in the expression of identity, using the Philistine settlement at Tel Miqne-Ekron in the Iron I (12th-10th centuries BCE) as a test case. A diachronic analysis documenting strategies of maintenance and adaptation points to the transformation of materials from domestic tools to symbols of social status, which were used to define social boundaries and promote a distinct identity. This occurred in conjunction with the increasing strength of the Philistine presence in the southern Levant.My dissertation focuses on one excavation area, described as the 'elite' zone. I outlined two areas of investigation: the organization of space, and a spatial distribution of the artifact assemblage. Through this analysis, I reconstruct Buildings 351 and 350 as elite residences, and Buildings 353 and 354 as the loci of crafts activities. Furthermore, I suggest that activities associated with Buildings 351 and 350 included elite sponsored feasting, and argue that the interconnected construction of these buildings with Buildings 353 and 354 implies an integrated function.In the final part of my analysis, I interpret change over time by contextualizing the foreign, i.e. Philistine and local, i.e. Canaanite material culture assemblages as a means to investigate diachronic variation. My research demonstrates that the traditional focus on foreign origins has obscured our understanding of these objects by removing them from their local contexts. Developments included a shift in the role played by the Philistine pottery, from a domestic assemblage associated with an immigrant populations' adjustment of traditional methods of daily practices, to a fine-ware assemblage, where it was used to express a concept of elite identity. The model I propose views change as a reflexive process involving both group and individual interactions

The fugitive character in selected works of Edgar Allan Poe

The fugitive character appears in selected, works of Edgar Allan Poe; either as narrator or as main character the fugitive appears in "Dream-Land," "For Annie," "Eldorado," as well as "William Wilson," "The Cask of Amontillado," "The Fall of the House of Usher," "The Man of the Crowd," "Hop-Frog," "The Masque of the Red Death," and "The Pit and the Pendulum," and others. As the word suggests, the fugitive is best defined in a state of flight or constant motion; his flight is a reaction to his condition which is made clear at the outset of the tales in which ha appears. The flight, which is both physical and mental, may lead to death, the unknown, or to an affirmation of the individual's place on earth. The chase or flight best defines the nature of the fugitive's existence, because he is always running, figuratively and literally. Metaphorically, his flight is neither an ascent nor a descent; he is usually running in place. Of Poe's fugitive characters only Dupin and Ellison find an adequate physical refuge. For other Poe characters the fugitive state is a refuge in itself, as seen in "Hop-Frog," for instance. [...]English, Department o

Survival and the guide in selected works of Edgar Allen Poe : a study of narrative voice and meaning

An examination of Poe's use of the survival theme and. the nature of the guide as it occurs in selected tales. The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym, and Eureka demonstrates that there are positive and formative values to be found throughout the works. Survival, a theme and major motif in Poe's varied canon, is more than remaining alive; it is the result of a direct confrontation with what Poe calls outre' events and implies a going-beyond or transcendence of the experience which is narrated. Within the context of Poe's works one may survive by following the lead of various characters or concepts which represent guidance. However, the narrator or protagonist must avoid ideas or figtires of false guidance, which is the equivalent of any notion or method leading to the exclusion of alternative possibilities. False guidance is treated seriously in works such as 'The Imp of the Perverse,' 'The Cask of Amontillado,' and 'The Oval Portrait,' and comically in 'The Angel of the Odd—Au Extravaganza,' 'Some Words with a Musay,' and others. One best succeeds in the quest for survival by internalizing the appropriate type of guidance. The complete assimilation of the concept of guidance into narrative consciousness occurs in Poe's works in the relatively late ''Thou Art the Man'' and Eureka, although movement towards It may be detected in the earlier 'The Han of the Crowd' and The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym. The guide figure and the guide concept are found also in certain works of Daniel Defoe, along with the theme of survival. Statements contained in Poe's critical documents attest to his awareness of the importance of narrative style, as well as his familiarity with Defoe's, works. Evidence suggests that Defoe may have provided an example for the survival -hone and a narrative method which Poe was able to develop further. A comparison of Poe's 'William Wilson' and Defoe's Colonel Jack reveals a shared concern with both guidance and survival, significant aspects of the plots of both works. However, Poe was able to go beyond the verisimilitude of Defoe; be assimilated and transformed the craftsmanship he found in Defoe's works. Analysis of 'Ms. Found in a Bottle,' 'The Devil in the Belfry,' 'A Descent into the Maelstrom,' 'The Oval Portrait,' and 'The Angel of the Odd—An Extravaganza' shows that there is an intricate relationship between first-person point of view, the theme of survival, and the concept of guidance. 'The Man of the Crowd' and The Narrative of Arthur Gordon Pym illuminate more fully the relationship; the focus of both works is upon the narrator's consciousness, a discernible and growing entity as Poe portrays it. Both works demonstrate the manner in which narrative voice assuaes gradually the role of the guide for itself. The purpose of the gradual growth of guidance into narrative voice is the accomplishment of a return to 'the original unity cf the first thing,' or the 'absolute truth'—an undivided, unfragsented state, or the God Insanent in can. The narrative voice of Eureka epitomizes the undivided consciousness, which has assimilated fully the concept of guidance; accordingly. It illustrates the thesis of the work. In Eureka the law of periodicity ensures that the diffusion-fusion process which created the universe is ongoing. Because of this law, there exists the possibility of a return to the state of undivided consciousness, in vhich the guide- or God-principle is internalized by can. The law of periodicity guarantees both cosmic and Individual survival, one of Poe's most inportant concerns. The present study, therefore, locks beyond the annihilation which only appears to dominate Poe's major vorks; the survival there and the guidance motif implicitly and explicitly emphasize an affirmative view of man and cankind in the vorld of Poe's fiction.English, Department o