Why do we see Him naked?: Spiritualised, testified, and sexualised gazes at violence

The focus of this chapter will be on the intersections from the perspective of the viewer and it will reflect on the intimate connection between contemplation and complicity, between veneration and perversion, and between violence, sexuality, testimony and the sacred. What do our politicized, spiritualized, or sexualized gazes at violence imply? Obviously, we do not claim to know what individual persons believe or experience when they are spiritually moved by the crucifixion narratives or its visual representations. Our intention is to critically highlight possible meanings of the fact that this grotesque story of (sexualized) violence has become such an important source for spiritual contemplation. We do so by exploring three dimensions of gazing at the crucified body: the politicized gaze of sexualized violence, the spiritualized gaze of the political violence, and the sexualized gaze of spiritual violence

The formation of low-temperature sedimentary pyrite and its relationship with biologically-induced processes

This contribution is an updated review on sedimentary pyrite and on its role in well-consolidated research topics, such as the biogeochemical cycles and the studies on sediment-hosted ore deposit studies, as well as new frontiers of research, such as astrobiology. Textural and compositional information preserved in sedimentary pyrite from sediment-hosted ore deposits has contributed to elucidate their environment of forzmation. In particular, the content of redox-sensitive elements such as Ni, Co, Mo, and V has implications for defining the syn- and post-sedimentary conditions. In addition, the stable isotope compositions are useful indicators of the pathways of both biogenic and abiogenic pyrite formation. Despite the longstanding research on pyrite and the mechanism of its formation, there are still significant gaps in our knowledge. In this nonexhaustive review, we briefly touch on different current aspects of research on sedimentary pyrite, exemplifying how sedimentary pyrite remains relevant to geoscientists, and becomes more and more relevant in understanding some basic aspects of knowledge, such as the origin of life and the search for extraterrestrial life, as well as aspect of classical applied science, such as the implications for ore deposition

Verteporfin therapy of subfoveal choroidal neovascularization in age-related macular degeneration: Two-year results of a randomized clinical trial including lesions with occult with no classic choroidal neovascularization-verteporfin in photodynamic therapy report 2

PURPOSE: To determine if photodynamic therapy with verteporfin (Visudyne; Novartis AG, Bulach, Switzerland), termed verteporfin therapy, can safely reduce the risk of vision loss compared with a placebo (with sham treatment) in patients with subfoveal choroidal neovascularization caused by age-related macular degeneration who were identified with a lesion composed of occult with no classic choroidal neovascularization, or with presumed early onset classic choroidal neovascularization with good visual acuity letter score, METHODS: This was a double-masked, placebo controlled (sham treatment), randomized, multicenter clinical trial involving 28 ophthalmology practices in Europe and North America. The study population was patients with age related macular degeneration, with subfoveal choroidal neovascularization lesions measuring no greater than 5400 mum in greatest linear dimension with either 1) occult with no classic choroidal neovascularization, best-corrected visual acuity score of at least 50 (Snellen equivalent approximately 20/100), and evidence of hemorrhage or recent disease progression; or 2) evidence of classic choroidal neovascularization with a best-corrected visual acuity score of at least 70 (better than a Snellen equivalent of approximately 20/40); assigned randomly (2:1) to verteporfin therapy or placebo therapy. Verteporfin (6 mg per square meter of body surface area) or placebo (5% dextrose in water) was administered by means of intravenous infusion of 30 mi over 10 minutes. Fifteen minutes after the start of the infusion, a laser light at 689 nm delivered 50 J/cm(2) by application of an intensity of 600 mW/cm(2) over 83 seconds using a spot size with a diameter 1000 mum larger than the greatest linear dimension of the choroidal neovascularization lesion on the retina. At follow-up examinations every 3 months, retreatment with the same regimen was applied if angiography showed fluorescein leakage. The main outcome measure was at least moderate vision loss, that is, a loss of at least 15 letters (approximately 3 lines), adhering to an intent-to treat analysis with the last observation carried forward to impute for missing data. RESULTS: Two hundred ten (93%) and 193 (86%) of the 225 patients in the verteporfin group compared with 104 (91%) and 99 (87%) of the 114 patients in the placebo group completed the month 12 and 24 examinations, respectively. On average, verteporfin-treated patients received five treatments over the 24 months of follow-up. The primary outcome was similar for the verteporfin-treated and the placebo-treated eyes through the month 12 examination, although a number of secondary visual and angiographic outcomes significantly favored the verteporfin-treated group. Between the month 12 and 24 examinations, the treatment benefit grew so that by the month 24 examination, the vertepor-fin-treated eyes were less likely to have moderate or severe vision loss. Of the 225 verteporfin-treated patients, 121 (54%) compared with 76 (67%) of 114 placebo-treated patients lost at least 15 letters (P =.023). Likewise, 61 of the verteporfin-treated patients (30%) compared with 54 of the placebo-treated patients (47%) lost at least 30 letters (P = .001). Statistically significant results favoring verteporfin therapy at the month 24 examination were consistent between the total population and the subgroup of patients with a baseline lesion composition identified as occult choroidal neovascularization with no classic choroidal neovascularization, This subgroup included 166 of the 225 verteporfin-treated patients (74%) and 92 of the 114 placebo-treated patients (81%). In these patients, 91 of the verteporfin-treated group (55%) compared with 63 of the placebo-treated group (68%) lost at least 15 letters (P =.032), whereas 48 of the verteporfin-treated group (29%) and 43 of the placebo-treated group (47%) lost at least 30 letters (P =.004). Other secondary outcomes, including visual acuity letter score worse than 34 (approximate Snellen equivalent of 20/200 or worse), mean change in visual acuity letter score, development of classic choroidal neovascularization, progression of classic choroidal neovascularization and size of lesion, favored the verteporfin-treated group at both the month 12 and month 24 examination for both the entire study group and the subgroup of cases with occult with no classic choroidal neovascularization at baseline. Subgroup analyses of lesions composed of occult with no classic choroidal neovascularization at baseline suggested that the treatment benefit was greater for patients with either smaller lesions (4 disc areas or less) or lower levels of visual acuity (letter score less than 65, an approximate Snellen equivalent of 20/50(-1) or worse) at baseline. Prospectively planned multivariable analyses confirmed that these two baseline variables affected the magnitude of treatment benefit. Of the 123 verteporfin-treated patients and 64 placebo-heated patients with either visual acuity score Less than 65 or lesion size 4 disc areas or less at baseline, 60 (49%) and 48 (75%) lost at least 15 letters (P 2001 by Elsevier Science Inc. All rights reserved.)