Entre l’extrême et l’ordinaire : le réalisme traumatique chez Ruth Klüger et Charlotte Delbo

Cet article entend montrer comment s’exprime, dans l’écriture du témoignage, une forme de « réalisme traumatique ». À la lumière d’une étude précise de certains passages des Mémoires de Ruth Klüger, Weiter leben [Refus de témoigner] et de la trilogie de Charlotte Delbo, Auschwitz et après, nous verrons comment chaque auteur tisse des liens entre l’extrême et l’ordinaire afin de représenter l’« univers concentrationnaire » nazi. Au surplus, les textes de Klüger et de Delbo offrent des matériaux à une entreprise critique s’inscrivant dans la mouvance des théories récentes du trauma, dont l’influence est considérable dans le champ des études culturelles ou littéraires. Alors que certains théoriciens envisagent la catégorie du trauma d’un point de vue totalisant et homogénéisant, les textes examinés ici nous invitent à penser la violence traumatique sous un angle différent. Ils permettent également de saisir la portée politique du témoignage et d’approfondir notre connaissance de la violence extrême tout en favorisant une meilleure reconnaissance sociale du contexte social post-traumatique.This essay develops an account of testimony as a form of “traumatic realism.” Based on close analysis of passages in Ruth Klüger’s memoir Weiter leben [Landscapes of memory] and Charlotte Delbo’s trilogy Auschwitz et après [Auschwitz and after] the essay reveals how each author interweaves the extreme and the everyday in order to portray the “concentrationary universe” of the Nazi camps. In addition, the texts of Klüger and Delbo provide resources for a critical engagement with influential recent theories of trauma in literary and cultural studies. While some theorists risk absolutizing and homogenizing the category of trauma, the texts discussed here help us to develop a differentiated account of traumatic violence. They also help us to reflect on the political impact of testimony. Traumatic realist texts, such as those by Klüger and Delbo, simultaneously produce knowledge of extreme violence and prompt public recognition of a post-traumatic social context

Chronic Renal Failure, But Why? A Case Report.

Renal failure, both acute and chronic, can present from many different etiologies and if diagnosed with diabetes mellitus, it is commonly assumed to be due to diabetic nephropathy. Monoclonal gammopathy of renal significance (MGRS) is a disorder that combines monoclonal gammopathy of undetermined significance with end stage renal disease. Monoclonal immunoglobulins are secreted by B or plasma cells leading to deposition in the kidney causing end organ damage. Several different subtypes fall under this category of renal diseases including, but not limited to, amyloidosis, C3 glomeruopathy, and light chain proximal tubulopathy, or better known as Fanconi syndrome1. Fanconi syndrome, which can be acquired or inherited, occurs due to toxicity of the proximal renal tubule in the kidney which leads to hypophosphatemia, hypokalemia, metabolic acidosis due to impaired bicarbonate absorption, impaired glucose and uric acid absorption, and proteinuria. In this case, an 84 year old Caucasian male presented with shortness of breath and weakness. He denied chest pain, hemoptysis, polyuria, and hematuria. His past medical history includes chronic renal disease secondary to well-controlled type II diabetes mellitus (DM), perirenal lymphangiectasis, pulmonary fibrosis, hypertension, atrial fibrillation, hyperlipidemia, and anemia. He had a left radiocephalic AV fistula Permacath placement prior to admission for dialysis. A combined effort from general internal medicine, nephrology, hematology/oncology, cardiology, pulmonary, vascular, infectious disease, radiology, and pathology was made to investigate the patient’s illness over the course of his one-month stay. Though type II DM played a role in the development of this patient’s chronic kidney disease, MGRS is a significant causal factor of the progression to end stage renal disease. Currently, treatment with chemotherapy that targets plasma or B cells can be used for MGRS. Several case studies reported improvement or stabilization of renal function in those treated with chemotherapeutic agents vs. no therapy. (4,5) Though renal transplantation can be done, recurrence post-transplantation is common. (6) The main goal in managing MGRS with Fanconi syndrome is slowing the progression of renal disease and preventing associated extra-renal complications. (7) This case demonstrates the complexities of medical diagnostics and the step-wise progression involved in caring for a patient. It displays the value of interdisciplinary collaboration among different medical specialties to accurately provide patients with an etiology and treatment for their illness and related symptoms

Multidirectional memory

The term “multidirectional memory” was coined as a way of conceptualizing what happens when different histories of extreme violence confront each other in the public sphere. While acknowledging the struggles and contestations that accompany public articulations of memory, the theory of multidirectional memory seeks an explanation of the dynamics of remembrance that does not simply reproduce the terms of partisan groups involved in those struggles. I have developed this theory at greatest leng..

Survey of physician knowledge regarding antiretroviral medications in hospitalized HIV-infected patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Antiretroviral prescribing errors are common among hospitalized patients. Inadequate medical knowledge is likely one of the factors leading to these errors. Our objective was to determine the proportion of hospital physicians with knowledge gaps about prescribing antiretroviral medications for hospitalized HIV-infected patients and to correlate knowledge with length and type of medical training and experience.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>We conducted an electronic survey comprising of ten clinical scenarios based on antiretroviral-prescribing errors seen at two community teaching hospitals. It also contained demographic questions regarding length and type of medical training and antiretroviral prescribing experience. Three hundred and forty three physicians at both hospitals were asked to anonymously complete the survey between February 2007 and April 2007.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>One hundred and fifty-seven physicians (46%) completed at least one question. The mean percentage of correct responses was 33% for resident physicians, 37% for attending physicians, and 93% for Infectious Diseases or HIV (ID/HIV) specialist physicians. Higher scores were independently associated with ID/HIV specialty, number of outpatients seen per month and physician reported comfort level in managing HIV patients (P < .001).</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Non-ID/HIV physicians had uniformly poor knowledge of common antiretroviral medication regimens. Involvement of ID/HIV specialists in the prescribing of antiretrovirals in hospitalized patients might mitigate prescribing errors stemming from knowledge deficits.</p

Do pediatricians manage influenza differently than internists?

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Little is known about how pediatricians or internists manage influenza symptoms. Recent guidelines on antiviral prescribing by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) make almost no distinction between adults and children. Our objective was to describe how pediatricians in two large academic medical institutions manage influenza and compare them to internists.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>At the end of the 2003–4 influenza season, we conducted a cross sectional on-line survey of physician knowledge, attitudes and practices regarding rapid diagnostic testing and use of antiviral therapy for influenza at two large academic medical centers, one in Massachusetts and the other in Texas. We collected data on self-reported demographics, test use, prescribing practices, and beliefs about influenza and anti-influenza drugs.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>A total of 107 pediatricians and 103 internists completed the survey (response rate of 53%). Compared to internists, pediatricians were more likely to perform rapid testing (74% vs. 47%, p < 0.0001), to use amantadine (88% vs. 48%, p < 0.0001), to restrict their prescribing to high-risk patients (86% vs. 53%, p < 0.0001), and to believe that antiviral therapy could decrease mortality (38% vs. 22%, p = 0.01). Other beliefs about antiviral therapy did not differ statistically between the specialties. Internists were more likely to be unfamiliar with rapid testing or not to have it available.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>Pediatricians and internists manage influenza differently. Evidence-based guidelines addressing the specific concerns of each group would be helpful.</p

Richard G.W. Anderson (1940–2011) and the birth of receptor-mediated endocytosis

On March 19, 2011, the discipline of cell biology lost a creative force with the passing of Richard G.W. Anderson, Professor and Chairman of the Department of Cell Biology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical School. An unabashed chauvinist for cell biology, Dick served for many years on the editorial board of The Journal of Cell Biology and the Council of the American Society for Cell Biology. He died of glioblastoma multiforme six days before his 71st birthday

The Messy Nature of Fiber Spectra: Star-Quasar Pairs Masquerading as Dual Type 1 AGNs

Theoretical studies predict that the most significant growth of supermassive black holes occurs in late-stage mergers, coinciding with the manifestation of dual active galactic nuclei (AGNs), and both major and minor mergers are expected to be important for dual AGN growth. In fact, dual AGNs in minor mergers should be signposts for efficient minor merger-induced SMBH growth for both the more and less massive progenitor. We identified two candidate dual AGNs residing in apparent minor mergers with mass ratios of $\sim$1:7 and $\sim$1:30. SDSS fiber spectra show broad and narrow emission lines in the primary nuclei of each merger while only a narrow [O III] emission line and a broad and prominent H$\alpha$/[N II] complex is observed in the secondary nuclei. The FWHMs of the broad H$\alpha$ lines in the primary and secondary nuclei are inconsistent in each merger, suggesting that each nucleus in each merger hosts a Type 1 AGN. However, spatially-resolved LBT optical spectroscopy reveal rest-frame stellar absorption features, indicating the secondary sources are foreground stars and that the previously detected broad lines are likely the result of fiber spillover effects induced by the atmospheric seeing at the time of the SDSS observations. This study demonstrates for the first time that optical spectroscopic searches for Type 1/Type 1 pairs similarly suffer from fiber spillover effects as has been observed previously for Seyfert 2 dual AGN candidates. The presence of foreground stars may not have been clear if an instrument with more limited wavelength range or limited sensitivity had been used.Comment: 15 pages including appendix and references, 6 figures, 1 table. Accepted for publication in Ap