Infinite Endnotes and Important Clichés: New Sincerity in David Foster Wallace's Infinite Jest

In the past decades, a field of so-called Wallace Studies, i.e. academic studies dedicated to the investigation of David Foster Wallace’s writings, has emerged and developed. These studies are often connected to the equally new literary concept of new sincerity. However, despite the number of articles published on the subject, the scholarly works going into any textual, exemplifying analysis of Wallace’s literature are few. The result is a research field with vague definitions, generalizing conclusions and many ambiguities. The aim of this thesis is to investigate how the depiction of clichés and compassion as well as aspects of the narrative structure of David Foster Wallace’s Infinite Jest relates to the concept of new sincerity. By a close reading, an examination of the ironic norm of the novel as well as examples illustrating deviations from this norm is performed. It is further argued that Wallace’s novel portrays an alternative to the cynical default setting of postmodern culture. The thesis concludes with a discussion regarding how Wallace’s use of endnotes affects the relationship between reader and writer

Consider the Invitation: Empathy in David Foster Wallace's Brief Interviews with Hideous Men

This thesis explores the notion of empathy in David Foster Wallace’s short story collection Brief Interviews with Hideous Men (1999). Following a discussion of narrative empathy and theory of mind, an analysis of how empathy is portrayed on the diegetic level, i.e. between characters, is performed. Throughout this analysis, it is demonstrated that Wallace’s collection presents a nuanced picture of different kinds of empathy as well as the less admirable consequences that a capability to empathize can have. Because of this nuanced picture, the collection can be read as an argument for the insufficiency of an approach to empathy as inherently good. Furthermore, it is investigated how the use of the second-person pronoun affects the actual reader’s possibility to experience narrative empathy. By comparing how the second-person pronoun is used both in the collection’s second-person narratives and in a selection of the stories directing imperatives to an intradiegetic narratee, it is investigated how the use of the second-person pronoun can invite the actual reader to empathize with highly unsympathetic characters. Such narrative empathy, it is argued, can underscore an idea of human commonality

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy for painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis resistant to conventional treatments: long-term results of a case series in Japan

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>There is no confirmed strategy for treating painful bladder syndrome/interstitial cystitis (PBS/IC) with unclear etiology. Therefore, a pilot study was carried out to evaluate the efficacy and safety of hyperbaric oxygen (HBO) therapy in treatment-resistant PBS/IC patients.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>HBO treatment (2.0 ATA for 60 minutes/day × 5 days/week for 2 or 4 weeks) was performed on 11 patients with severe symptoms that had not been improved by previous therapy regimens between December 2004 and July 2009.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Seven of the 11 patients demonstrated persistent improvement in symptoms during the 12 months after HBO treatment. These responders demonstrated a decrease in the pelvic pain scale and urgency scale from 7.7 ± 1.0 and, 6.6 ± 0.9 to 3.4 ± 2.5 and 4.3 ± 2.4 after 12 months, respectively (p < 0.05). The total score of the interstitial cystitis symptom index and 24-hour urinary frequency demonstrated a significant sustained decrease from the baseline. Two responders, who received an additional course of HBO 12 and 13 months after initial treatment, respectively, did not suffer impairment for more than two years. There was one case of transient eustachian tube dysfunction and three cases of reversible exudative otitis media as a consequence of HBO treatment.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>HBO is a potent treatment for PBS/IC patients resistant to conventional therapy. It was well tolerated and provided maintained amelioration of pain, urgency and urinary frequency for at least 12 months.</p

Interstitial cystitis and nephrogenic metaplasia. Studies on mast cells and outcome of surgical treatment

Interstitial cystitis (IC) is characterised by urinary frequency and pain on bladder filling. Symptoms are socially restricting, sometimes disabling. The pathogenesis of IC is still unknown. Therefore, treatment is empirical and encompasses multiple conservative trials but also major and sometimes destructive reconstructive surgery. There is clearly a need to identify fundamental facts as to the pathogenesis of this crippling disease and to explore different ways of providing alleviation of symptoms.There is evidence that the mast cell system is activated in IC. It is known that the mast cell is an effector cell in allergic conditions but also that it has immunemodulating properties and is important for angiogenesis and for the development of fibrosis. The mechanisms behind mast cell recruitment, distribution and maturation in IC are essentially unknown.There are two subtypes of IC, classic and nonulcer. Although sharing similar symptomatology and a chronic course, they differ in many important respects, including age distribution, endoscopic and histological findings and response to various forms of treatment.Nephrogenic metaplasia (NM) is an unusual lesion of the urinary tract mucosa. In many cases NM goes with symptoms similar to those seen in IC.The aims of the present study were to investigate the outcome of surgical treatment and mast cell recruitment, distribution and phenotype expression in IC and NM. Data on patients were obtained from medical records and by telephone interviews. Metachromatic staining and immunohistochemical techniques were employed to visualise mast cells. Classic IC and NM expressed intraepithelial deposition of mast cells, a very rare finding in man, whereas controls, nonulcer IC and other metaplastic conditions of the urothelium did not. Classic IC and NM were also the only conditions with strong epithelial coexpression of stem cell factor (SCF) and interleukin-6 (IL-6), both known to have mast cell-activating properties. The mast cells with affinity to the epithelium of classic IC and NM expressed lack of chymase to a higher degree than did mast cells located deeper in the tissue. The majority of patients with classic IC and NM responded well to transurethral electroresection (TUR) of visible lesions. Patients with end-stage classic IC (fibrotic bladder contracture refractory to all conservative measures, including TUR) were relieved from symptoms after supratrigonal cystectomy and ileocystoplasty. This reconstructive procedure failed to help patients with nonulcer IC. Conclusions: The lack of chymase in mast cells appears to reflect the stage of maturation and/or functional activity rather than being an indicator of a fixed phenotype related to tissue site. The epithelial coexpression of SCF and IL-6 may contribute to the mast cell reaction, including the unique redistribution of mast cells into the epithelium of classic IC and NM. The SCF-receptor appears to be downregulated in both subtypes of IC. TUR of inflamed areas and bladder substitution, respectively, are effective treatments for different stages of classic IC. TUR also appears to be a suitable treatment for NM. For nonulcer IC, these two methods are unsuitable