Negotiating the inhuman: Bakhtin, materiality and the instrumentalization of climate change

The article argues that the work of literary theorist Mikhail M. Bakhtin presents a starting point for thinking about the instrumentalization of climate change. Bakhtin’s conceptualization of human–world relationships, encapsulated in the concept of ‘cosmic terror’, places a strong focus on our perception of the ‘inhuman’. Suggesting a link between the perceived alienness and instability of the world and in the exploitation of the resulting fear of change by political and religious forces, Bakhtin asserts that the latter can only be resisted if our desire for a false stability in the world is overcome. The key to this overcoming of fear, for him, lies in recognizing and confronting the worldly relations of the human body. This consciousness represents the beginning of one’s ‘deautomatization’ from following established patterns of reactions to predicted or real changes. In the vein of several theorists and artists of his time who explored similar ‘deautomatization’ strategies – examples include Shklovsky’s ‘ostranenie’, Brecht’s ‘Verfremdung’, Artaud’s emotional ‘cruelty’ and Bataille’s ‘base materialism’ – Bakhtin proposes a more playful and widely accessible experimentation to deconstruct our ‘habitual picture of the world’. Experimentation is envisioned to take place across the material and the textual to increase possibilities for action. Through engaging with Bakhtin’s ideas, this article seeks to draw attention to relations between the imagination of the world and political agency, and the need to include these relations in our own experiments with creating climate change awareness

NERAZLIKOVNOST RAZLIKA

Analiziraju se leksikološko-leksikografska polazišta i metodološki postupci u izradi Razlikovnog rječnika srpskog i hrvatskog jezika Vladimira Brodnjaka

Safety of intravenous ferric carboxymaltose versus oral iron in patients with nondialysis-dependent CKD: an analysis of the 1-year FIND-CKD trial.

Background: The evidence base regarding the safety of intravenous (IV) iron therapy in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD) is incomplete and largely based on small studies of relatively short duration. Methods: FIND-CKD (ClinicalTrials.gov number NCT00994318) was a 1-year, open-label, multicenter, prospective study of patients with nondialysis-dependent CKD, anemia and iron deficiency randomized (1:1:2) to IV ferric carboxymaltose (FCM), targeting higher (400-600 µg/L) or lower (100-200 µg/L) ferritin, or oral iron. A post hoc analysis of adverse event rates per 100 patient-years was performed to assess the safety of FCM versus oral iron over an extended period. Results: The safety population included 616 patients. The incidence of one or more adverse events was 91.0, 100.0 and 105.0 per 100 patient-years in the high ferritin FCM, low ferritin FCM and oral iron groups, respectively. The incidence of adverse events with a suspected relation to study drug was 15.9, 17.8 and 36.7 per 100 patient-years in the three groups; for serious adverse events, the incidence was 28.2, 27.9 and 24.3 per 100 patient-years. The incidence of cardiac disorders and infections was similar between groups. At least one ferritin level ≥800 µg/L occurred in 26.6% of high ferritin FCM patients, with no associated increase in adverse events. No patient with ferritin ≥800 µg/L discontinued the study drug due to adverse events. Estimated glomerular filtration rate remained the stable in all groups. Conclusions: These results further support the conclusion that correction of iron deficiency anemia with IV FCM is safe in patients with nondialysis-dependent CKD

THIGH MUSCLE ACTIVITIES IN ROWERS DURING SINGLE AND LINKED DYNAMIC ERGOMETER TRIALS

Rowing ergometers are an effective mode of cross training when on water (OW) rowing is unavailable. Ergometer design has much capacity for advancement. PURPOSE: The objective of this study was to investigate if differences in leg muscle activation existed in an individual rowing on a single dynamic ergometer (SDE) versus a linked dynamic ergometer (LDE). It was hypothesized that there would be no change in muscle activation if power output (PO) and stroke rate (SR) were held constant. METHODS: Nine subjects from a collegiate rowing team performed two 1000m trials at an average PO of 200W and a SR of 22 strokes/min on a Concept2 Class D ergometer placed on Concept2 slides. Muscle activation of the vastus lateralis (VL), rectus femoris (RF), and biceps femoris (BF) were recorded using electromyography (EMG) during the 500m and 750m segment of the total 1000m. PO and SR were recorded from the ergometer(s) in use. In one trial the subject rowed independently on a SDE. In another trial the subject was randomly paired with a partner and completed the same protocol on an LDE with subject on the front ergometer. RESULTS: No significant difference was found in maximum, average, and total muscle activation of the RF, VL, and BF (p\u3e.05), however there was a significant increase (36%, p=.016) in maximum activation of the VL during the recovery phase). CONCLUSION: The lack of significant differences in muscle activation in all muscles, except the VL during the recovery phase, provides evidence that there may be no increase in muscular training benefits in training on an LDE versus a SDE

FIND-CKD:a randomized trial of intravenous ferric carboxymaltose versus oral iron in patients with chronic kidney disease and iron deficiency anaemia

The optimal iron therapy regimen in patients with non-dialysis-dependent chronic kidney disease (CKD) is unknown. FerinjectA (R) assessment in patients with Iron deficiency anaemia and Non-Dialysis-dependent Chronic Kidney Disease (FIND-CKD) was a 56-week, open-label, multicentre, prospective and randomized study of 626 patients with non-dialysis-dependent CKD, anaemia and iron deficiency not receiving erythropoiesis-stimulating agents (ESAs). Patients were randomized (1:1:2) to intravenous (IV) ferric carboxymaltose (FCM), targeting a higher (400-600 A mu g/L) or lower (100-200 A mu g/L) ferritin or oral iron therapy. The primary end point was time to initiation of other anaemia management (ESA, other iron therapy or blood transfusion) or haemoglobin (Hb) trigger of two consecutive values <10 g/dL during Weeks 8-52. The primary end point occurred in 36 patients (23.5%), 49 patients (32.2%) and 98 patients (31.8%) in the high-ferritin FCM, low-ferritin FCM and oral iron groups, respectively [hazard ratio (HR): 0.65; 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.44-0.95; P = 0.026 for high-ferritin FCM versus oral iron]. The increase in Hb was greater with high-ferritin FCM versus oral iron (P = 0.014) and a greater proportion of patients achieved an Hb increase a parts per thousand yen1 g/dL with high-ferritin FCM versus oral iron (HR: 2.04; 95% CI: 1.52-2.72; P <0.001). Rates of adverse events and serious adverse events were similar in all groups. Compared with oral iron, IV FCM targeting a ferritin of 400-600 A mu g/L quickly reached and maintained Hb level, and delayed and/or reduced the need for other anaemia management including ESAs. Within the limitations of this trial, no renal toxicity was observed, with no difference in cardiovascular or infectious events. NCT00994318