Karl Barth and the metatheological dilemma: Barth, Wittgenstein and the metadilemmas of the Enlightenment

It is the argument of this thesis that Barth's theology can be properly understood only if it is construed as an attempted resolution of the metatheological dilemma Franz Overbeck set for theology. To that extent, the definitive parameters of the problematic which Barth's theology made its own, the underlying historical dynamic without which the identity of Barth's theology would remain hidden, have no historical precedent other than the later stages of the Enlightenment and Hume and Kant. Though Overbeck was separated from Hume by more than a century, he pushed the metatheological dilemma implicit in Hume to its explicit logical conclusion.It can be shown that not only is it the case Overbeck's metatheological dilemma informs Romans II, it is the final horizon for Fides Quaerens Intellectum and the Church Dogmatics. Indeed, it is clear that Barth's answer to Overbeck - sui generis theological truth - is already implicit in Barth's theological development as early as his lecture "The Strange New World Within the Bible". Barth's encounter with Overbeck is responsible for the one thing missing from "The Strange New World Within the Bible" - the dialectical irony ever present in Barth's theology from Romans II onwards.The later and earlier philosophy of Ludwig Wittgenstein is the unifying metanarrative uncovering the specific means by which Barth attempted to achieve his objectives. Both the early and later philosophy contend with a metadilemma, Hume's metaphilosophical dilemma. Romans II is best understood if it is assimilated into the tradition of the Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus represented by key figures of "Wittgenstein's Vienna" - Karl Kraus, Arnold Schoenberg and Adolf Loos. Without retracting one whit the central insights of Romans II, Anselm: Fides Quaerens Intellectum and the Church Dogmatics recapitulate the later Wittgenstein's attack on epistemological realism, a doctrine antithetical to the resolution of the metatheological dilemma.A final chapter sets Barth's doctrine of the Holy Spirit within the context of Barth's commitment to sui generis theology, showing in particular that Barth repudiated a realist hermeneutic, and, as a corollary of his whole position, subordinated meaning to (sui generis) truth

Cochlear hair cell fate determination and differentiation in vitro

Mammalian cochlear hair cells are relatively inaccessible and few in number. This hampers any research on their fate determination and differentiation. The production of conditionally immortal cell lines from the H2KbtsA58 transgenic mouse should overcome these difficulties. The aims of the present study were threefold. Firstly, to establish that the cell lines provide a viable in vitro system, by examining the pattern of molecular expression in the cochlear hair cell line UB/OC-1. Secondly, to examine differentiation by using clonal derivatives from the heterogeneous cell line UB/OC-l. Thirdly, to explore the process of lateral specification in the determination of cell fate and to explain the differentiation of hair cells and supporting cells from a common precursor. The methods used were cell culture, immunocytochemistry, reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction and western blot. The results demonstrated that firstly; the temporal expression pattern of Brn3.1, an essential transcription factor required for hair cell differentiation, and the a9 subunit of the nicotinic acetylcholine receptor, followed a similar pattern to that during normal development. Secondly, epithelial cell markers such as, vimentin, cytokeratin, actin and cadherin, and specific hair cell markers such as myosinVIIA and fimbrin were expressed when the hair cells differentiated. The pattern of expression suggested parallel pathways of gene expression during differentiation of hair cells. Thirdly, from the expression of Numblike, Notch 1, Jagged I and Jagged2, factors which are known to be involved in lateral specification, a model is proposed to explain hair cell fate determination. The results also demonstrate the much greater experimental flexibility offered by cell lines in understanding hair cell development. Future studies will focus on functional experiments that alter hair cell fate

A qualitative study in rural and urban areas on whether - and how - to consult during routine and out of hours

Peer reviewedPublisher PD

Peri-operative hemodynamic therapy: only large clinical trials can resolve our uncertainty

In this issue of Critical Care, Cecconi and colleagues report the findings of a small trial of goal-directed hemodynamic therapy (GDT) in patients undergoing major orthopedic surgery under regional anesthesia. This is an interesting trial and the first of which we are aware to test the efficacy of GDT in this patient group. The findings suggest that this intervention is associated with improved adverse event rates after surgery. However, in this trial, as in all small trials of GDT, the potential for bias leaves some uncertainty regarding how widely the findings should be implemented. Such limitations may be impossible to completely eliminate from trials of complex interventions, but large multicenter trials may allow us to substantially decrease bias and improve the generalizability of the findings

A pre-calibration approach to select optimum inputs for hydrological models in data-scarce regions

This study uses the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model to quantitatively compare available input datasets in a data-poor dryland environment (Wala catchment, Jordan; 1743 km2). Eighteen scenarios combining best available land-use, soil and weather datasets (1979–2002) are considered to construct SWAT models. Data include local observations and global reanalysis data products. Uncalibrated model outputs assess the variability in model performance derived from input data sources only. Model performance against discharge and sediment load data are compared using r2, Nash–Sutcliffe efficiency (NSE), root mean square error standard deviation ratio (RSR) and percent bias (PBIAS). NSE statistic varies from 0.56 to −12 and 0.79 to −85 for best- and poorest-performing scenarios against observed discharge and sediment data respectively. Global weather inputs yield considerable improvements on discontinuous local datasets, whilst local soil inputs perform considerably better than global-scale mapping. The methodology provides a rapid, transparent and transferable approach to aid selection of the most robust suite of input data