Sam Shepard and the “Familial Maze”: possible worlds theory in Buried Child

The present paper attempts to address Sam Shepard’s treatment of American family in Buried Child focusing on 'world construction.' In order to explore the process of world creation in the play, the writers draw on the works of Marie-Laure Ryan, a key theorist in 'possible worlds theory,' one of the orientations in cognitive poetics. Considering Shepard's highlighting of the bonds among the family members figuring in his plays, the interactions of characters with Textual Actual World (henceforth TAW) are of paramount importance and contribute to what Ryan calls 'tellability.' Central to our analysis is the consideration of the characters’ private worlds’ interactions and their intrafamilial and extrafamilial conflicts. Shepard is also centrally concerned with American (popular) culture and its underlying myths, hence the prominence of the theme of American Dream in his oeuvre. As such, the projection of the characters’ wish worlds is central in Shepard's play. Considering these “wish worlds” in terms of possible worlds-theory could be rewarding. Many of these wish worlds, it is argued, hinge on the notion of American family whose consideration by Shepard stems from his interest in the questions of origins, identity, selfhood, and autonomy

"FROM THE I TO THE WE": DESIRE AND BECOMING IN CARSON MCCULLERS’ THE MEMBER OF THE WEDDING

Carson McCullers’ The Member of the Wedding depicts the anxieties and issues of a tomboy approaching her adulthood and her difficulty making proper connection with her peers. Due to her seemingly peculiar behavior and ambivalence regarding issues of gender, Frankie is mostly left out from peer gatherings, which leaves her with more tensions. However, through her abnormal demeanor in terms of identity and gender, we see that she is dealing with high levels of desire. Drawing on the philosophical concepts of Gilles Deleuze regarding subjectivity, gender, and desire, this article argues that through her positive desire, Frankie becomes a nomad who sets foot on new horizons of experience, and her hopes for the upcoming wedding is an example of such longing for experience. It is also argued that while she is highly under the influence of affects, instead of striving for becoming a member of the wedding, Frankie yearns for novel encounters in order to become the wedding itself, and finally become reconciled to the world in its entirety

The Carnivalesque in Nathaniel Hawthorne’s The Scarlet Letter

This study sets to examine the applicability of Bakhtin's theory of the carnivalesque to Nathaniel Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter. The canonical novel of the American literature published in the middle of the nineteenth century portrays the genesis of the American Puritan culture, while the polyphonic nature of the novel, it is argued, exposes the rifts of and the grotesqueness of this culture

Unnatural Temporalities and Projected Places in Sam Shepard’s Cowboys #2

Sam Shepard’s Cowboys #2 (1967) belongs to his first period of play writing. In this phase, his works exhibit experimental, remote, impossible narrative/fictional worlds that are overwhelmingly abstract, exhibiting “abrupt shifts of focus and tone” (Wetzsteon 1984, 4). Shepard’s unusual theatrical literary cartography is commensurate with his depiction of unnatural temporalities, in that, although the stage is bare, with almost no props, the postmodernist/metatheatrical conflated timelines and projected (impossible) places in the characters’ imagination mutually reflect and inflect each other. Employing Jan Alber’s reading strategies in his theorization of unnatural narratology and Barbara Piatti’s concept of projected places, this essay proposes a synthetic approach so as to naturalize the unnatural narratives and storyworlds in Shepard’s play

Mogući svjetovi u drami Lud od ljubavi Sama Sheparda i njezinoj filmskoj adaptaciji

This paper is an attempt to compare Sam Shepard’s Fool for Love, published in 1983, and its cinematic adaptation directed by Robert Altman, released in 1985, in terms of the notion of possible worlds (in the philosophically-oriented branch of cognitive poetics). In her discussion of possible worlds, Marie-Laure Ryan proposes a typology of accessibility relations (identity of properties, identity of inventory, compatibility of inventory, chronological, physical, taxonomic, logical, analytical, and linguistic compatibility) in order to account for how the sense of the reality of our actual world reverberates in fictional worlds. Ryan also offers another typology, that is, the internal structure of the fictional world (knowledge worlds, intention worlds, wish worlds, obligation worlds, and fantasy worlds) to show how the characters’ different conceptions of the world define and build up the narrative structure of fiction. It is argued that the change of medium – drama into film in this case – results in some changes in the possible worlds projected, since verbality and visuality give rise to some differences in terms of modes of perception. Also discussed is the significance in this regard of the spatio-temporal scope, which is confined in the case of drama, a genre often conceived to be performed, whereas in a movie the director is able to expand this scope as the occasion demands.U ovom se članku usporedno analizira drama Sama Sheparda Lud od ljubavi, objavljena 1983. godine, i njezina filmska adaptacija u režiji Roberta Altmana iz 1985. godine, pri čemu je u žarištu razmatranja koncept mogućih svjetova (iz filozofski orijentiranog područja kognitivne poetike). U raspravi o mogućim svjetovima Marie-Laure Ryan predlaže tipologiju odnosa pristupačnosti (identitet svojstava, identitet inventara, kompatibilnost inventara, kronološka, tjelesna, taksonomska, logička, analitička i lingvistička kompatibilnost) kako bi se utvrdilo kako se iskustvo zbilje našeg stvarnog svijeta odražava u fikcionalnim svjetovima. Ryan također nudi drugu tipologiju, tj. unutarnju strukturu fiktivnog svijeta (svjetovi znanja, svjetovi namjere, svjetovi želja, svjetovi dužnosti, fantastični svjetovi) kako bi pokazala kako različite koncepcije svijeta kod likova definiraju i stvaraju pripovjednu strukturu fikcije. Osnovna je teza ovog rada da promjena medija – u ovom slučaju iz drame u film – rezultira određenim promjenama projekcije mogućih svjetova, budući da verbalnost i vizualnost dovode do nekih razlika u smislu načina percepcije. U radu se također raspravlja o značaju prostorno-vremenskog opsega, koji je ograničen u slučaju drame, žanra često namijenjenog izvedbi, dok je u filmu redatelj u mogućnosti prema potrebi proširiti taj opseg

Allicin from garlic inhibits the biofilm formation and urease activity of Proteus mirabilis in vitro

Several virulence factors contribute to the pathogenesis of Proteus mirabilis. This study determined the inhibitory effects of allicin on urease, hemolysin and biofilm of P. mirabilis ATCC 12453 and its antimicrobial activity against 20 clinical isolates of P. mirabilis. Allicin did not inhibit hemolysin, whereas it did inhibit relative urease activity in both pre-lysed (half-maximum inhibitory concentration, IC50 = 4.15 μg) and intact cells (IC50 = 21 μg) in a concentration-dependent manner. Allicin at sub-minimum inhibitory concentrations (2-32 μg mL-1) showed no significant effects on the growth of the bacteria (P>0.05), but it reduced biofilm development in a concentration-dependent manner (P<0.001).A higher concentration of allicin was needed to inhibit the established biofilms. Using the microdilution technique, the MIC90 and MBC90 values of allicin against P. mirabilis isolates were determined to be 128 and 512 μg mL-1, respectively.The results suggest that allicin could have clinical applications in controlling P. mirabilis infections. © FEMS 2015. All rights reserved

Investigation of Iron Mineralization in Sourk Mineral Area Based on Geophysical Magnetic and Radiometric data

The study area is located in the west of Yazd province, a part of the structural zone of Central Iran, adjacent to the Urumieh-Dokhtar magmatic arc and in the Dehshir fault zone. The rocks of this area include sandstone, limestone, ophiolite rocks, Eocene volcanic units and granodiorite and granitoid intrusions. The minerals that make up Sourk iron ore are magnetite and hematite, which are associated with minor minerals such as pyrite and epidote. In this study, airborne geophysical survey including magnetic and radiometric data and surface geophysical survey have been used to identify the exact anomaly location and approximate estimation of mineralization depth by Euler method and residual magnetic map. According to the airborne geophysical survey, an anomaly corresponding to the intrusion mass in the area was identified and based on the analysis of data with airborne and surface geophysical methods and its adaptation to the results of exploratory drillings, while identifying anomalous blocks, it was determined that these anomalies are separate lenses with different dimensions at depth of about 180 meters in form of several separate layers, and are covered by interlayers of skarn units.A área de estudo está localizada a oeste da província de Yazd, parte da zona estrutural do Irã Central, adjacente ao arco magmático Urumieh-Dokhtar e na zona de falha Dehshir. As rochas desta área incluem arenito, calcário, rochas ofiolíticas, unidades vulcânicas do Eoceno e intrusões de granodiorito e granitóides. Os minerais que compõem o minério de ferro Sourk são magnetita e hematita, que estão associados a minerais menores, como pirita e epídoto. Neste estudo, levantamento geofísico aéreo incluindo dados magnéticos e radiométricos e levantamento geofísico de superfície foram usados ​​para identificar a localização exata da anomalia e estimativa aproximada da profundidade de mineralização pelo método de Euler e mapa magnético residual. De acordo com o levantamento geofísico aerotransportado, foi identificada uma anomalia correspondente à massa de intrusão na área e com base na análise de dados com métodos geofísicos aerotransportados e de superfície e sua adaptação aos resultados das perfurações exploratórias, identificando blocos anômalos, determinou-se que essas anomalias são lentes separadas com diferentes dimensões em profundidade de cerca de 180 metros na forma de várias camadas separadas, e são cobertas por camadas intermediárias de unidades skarn

Global, regional, and national burden of disorders affecting the nervous system, 1990–2021: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2021

BackgroundDisorders affecting the nervous system are diverse and include neurodevelopmental disorders, late-life neurodegeneration, and newly emergent conditions, such as cognitive impairment following COVID-19. Previous publications from the Global Burden of Disease, Injuries, and Risk Factor Study estimated the burden of 15 neurological conditions in 2015 and 2016, but these analyses did not include neurodevelopmental disorders, as defined by the International Classification of Diseases (ICD)-11, or a subset of cases of congenital, neonatal, and infectious conditions that cause neurological damage. Here, we estimate nervous system health loss caused by 37 unique conditions and their associated risk factors globally, regionally, and nationally from 1990 to 2021.MethodsWe estimated mortality, prevalence, years lived with disability (YLDs), years of life lost (YLLs), and disability-adjusted life-years (DALYs), with corresponding 95% uncertainty intervals (UIs), by age and sex in 204 countries and territories, from 1990 to 2021. We included morbidity and deaths due to neurological conditions, for which health loss is directly due to damage to the CNS or peripheral nervous system. We also isolated neurological health loss from conditions for which nervous system morbidity is a consequence, but not the primary feature, including a subset of congenital conditions (ie, chromosomal anomalies and congenital birth defects), neonatal conditions (ie, jaundice, preterm birth, and sepsis), infectious diseases (ie, COVID-19, cystic echinococcosis, malaria, syphilis, and Zika virus disease), and diabetic neuropathy. By conducting a sequela-level analysis of the health outcomes for these conditions, only cases where nervous system damage occurred were included, and YLDs were recalculated to isolate the non-fatal burden directly attributable to nervous system health loss. A comorbidity correction was used to calculate total prevalence of all conditions that affect the nervous system combined.FindingsGlobally, the 37 conditions affecting the nervous system were collectively ranked as the leading group cause of DALYs in 2021 (443 million, 95% UI 378–521), affecting 3·40 billion (3·20–3·62) individuals (43·1%, 40·5–45·9 of the global population); global DALY counts attributed to these conditions increased by 18·2% (8·7–26·7) between 1990 and 2021. Age-standardised rates of deaths per 100 000 people attributed to these conditions decreased from 1990 to 2021 by 33·6% (27·6–38·8), and age-standardised rates of DALYs attributed to these conditions decreased by 27·0% (21·5–32·4). Age-standardised prevalence was almost stable, with a change of 1·5% (0·7–2·4). The ten conditions with the highest age-standardised DALYs in 2021 were stroke, neonatal encephalopathy, migraine, Alzheimer's disease and other dementias, diabetic neuropathy, meningitis, epilepsy, neurological complications due to preterm birth, autism spectrum disorder, and nervous system cancer.InterpretationAs the leading cause of overall disease burden in the world, with increasing global DALY counts, effective prevention, treatment, and rehabilitation strategies for disorders affecting the nervous system are needed