bluuebunny/crossref_metadata_2025 huggingface dataset:
Parody and Narrator in Thomas Mann's “Dr. Faustus” and “The Holy Sinner”
Authors: Honsa William M.
Published: August 2007

The method of parody is briefly described and then shown as a means for Mann to explore myth and legends without attempting to look at them directly. Parody can fall short of reality either on purpose or through necessity; again, parody can dissolve into meaninglessness. For Mann, in Dr. Faustus and The Holy Sinner, parody offered a way in which we can catch a glimpse of an ultimate truth about good.

The device of narrator is also used to elucidate realities of faith and feeling. Zeitblom is the onlooker‐narrator, often used as a vehicle for Mann's irony, but also the other protagonist of the novel. The narrator in The Holy Sinner, Clemens, is not involved in the action but is free to shape it and comment on it. Parody is possible of a man who has read the tale and does believe. The artist‐narrator, Clemens, balances between joy and sorrow and rises beyond a mere spokesman for the unbelievable.

Both parody and narrator allow Mann “to bring in his points through the back door,” conciliating systematic rational belief with the realities of faith and feeling.
Newton's Opticks and Brockes' Early Poetry
Authors: John David G.
Published: August 2007

Newton's Opticks (1704) represents a landmark for man's scientific understanding of the phenomenon of light. His contemporary in Hamburg, Barthold Heinrich Brockes, probably first learned of Newton's theories through the second edition of Johann Jakob Scheuchzer's scientific compendium Physica oder Natur‐Wissenschaft (1711) which provided what was likely the first summary of Newton's findings in Germany. The poet Brockes integrated these scientific findings into his early poems. These reveal in general terms the poet's growning fascination with the phenomenon of light and, more specifically, numerous direct allusions to key sections of the Opticks. Most striking are the similarities between Newton's scientific explanation of sight in the human eye and Brockes' examination of the subject in “Die fünf Sinne.” While a tension existed in the early eighteenth century between scientific and theological accounts of natural phenomena, Newton and Brockes both managed to remain somehow faithful to both viewpoints. Neither abandoned his theological belief; yet their increased insight was the product not of religious faith but rather precise scientific observation and method.
Georg Kaiser's Rezeption of Friedrich Nietzsche: The Dramatist's Letters and Some Nietzschean Themes in His Works
Authors: Helt Richard C. , Pettey John Carson
Published: August 2007

While many works and articles on Modern German Literature emphasize the influence of Friedrich Nietzsche's thought, style, and person on writers of the twentieth century, extremely few investigations have undertaken to establish the precise extent of Nietzsche's Rezeption by specific literary figures. Utilizing the correspondence of Georg Kaiser, the authors of this article demonstrate that the dramatist was not only quite well‐read in the works of Nietzsche, but that the philosopher greatly influenced the composition of several of Kaiser's dramas as well as his artistic and his personal writing style. Indeed, substantial evidence in the letters points to a strong personal identification on Kaiser's part with Friedrich Nietzsche. The first section contains a general discussion of the question of influence, and a detailed investigation of references to Nietzsche in Kaiser's correspondence. The final segment of the article deals with those works by Kaiser which are mentioned in the letters in connection with Nietzschean themes, ideas, and style.
The Ironic Rationality of Razón de amor. Pedro Salinas: Logic, Language and Poetry
Authors: Havard Robert G.
Published: August 2007

Salinas adopts an intensely rationalistic approach in Razón de amor with many poems being strictly razones. The abundance of linguistic formuli proper to the domain of argument and rhetoric is indicative of this approach. However, the procedure is an ironic one, for love, as the poet well knows, cannot the rationalized. Looking beyond the apparatus of linguistic formuli to uncover the real arguments which the poems offer, it is apparent that they hinge on dubious logicalities which in fact are only logical in poetic sense; they hinge namely, upon the poetic contrivances of metaphor, conceit and personification, each of which is examined in the paper. These contrivanced render the logic specious and indeed serve to point up the essential irrationality of love. Salinas thus achieves a twofold objective: he gives rational articulation to the cornerstone of his metaphysic, love, but at the same time he preserves intact love's irrationality.
“The hair is black as ebony…”. The Function of the Märchen in Donald Barthelme's Snow White
Authors: Horn Katalin
Published: August 2007

The novel Snow White by Donald Barthelme is a modernized and trivialized reversal of the original fairy‐tale. By the total inversion of the text, Barthelme questions the very message of the Märchen itself: he maintains ‐ in contrast to the Märchen ‐ the general impossibility of happiness and of the successful development of personality.

The Märchen appears in Barthelme's book in two layers: as its absolutely modified story and in the form of quotations from the original text. These quotations concern Snow White's body and soul and underline Barthelme's psychological message of human frustration.
Book Review
Authors: Powell Marianne
Published: August 2007

Henrik Specht: Chauceräs Franklin in the Canterbury Tales. The Social and Literary Background of a Chaucerian Character
Fascism and Aesthetics: Joseph Goebbel's Novel Michael: A German Fate Through the Pages of a Diary (1929)
Authors: Saalmann Dieter
Published: August 2007

This essay attempts to document the relationship between politics and aesthetics in general by using the specific example of Goebbels' prose work, Michael to illustrate the close identity between fascist thinking and aesthetic theories. Even though Goebbels has received ample attention in his capacity as Propagandaminister, Goebbels the artist manqué has been accorded only the scantest of interest. Significantly his Promovierung at the University of Heidelberg in 1921 deals with “Wilhelm Schütz: A Contribution to the History of the Drama of the Romantic School.” He wrote a substantial amount of poetry as well as several plays and essays. Initially, Goebbels attempted to become associated with the Gundolf circle in order to promote his literary efforts, without much success, though. Michael is by no means a work of aesthetic merit. Its sole significance for German intellectual history lies in its ability to demonstrate rather persuasively the fascist credo that the politician engages in a creative act, i.e. as a sculptor who gives form to the masses that constitute his material, and as a painter whose creative endeavor corresponds to the activity of the statesman. The numerous references in Michael to German literature and philosophy provide additional proof of the close affinity between National Socialist ideas in the realm of politics and art. The results of this ästhetisierung der Politik (Benjamin) can be summarized in terms of fascist politics as a Gesamtkunstwerk and the state as a work of art.
Yves Bonnefoy et le réalisme poétique *
Authors: Fauskevåg Svein Eirik
Published: August 2007

A une époque où la critique littéraire s'intéresse surtout aux structures formelles d'une oeuvre, au point de négliger souvent l'examen du contenu que recèlent ces měmes structures, l'ambition de la poésie de Bonnefoy est justement de révéler l'ětre, ambition ontologique, que se proposent de montrer les pages suivantes. L'analyse du style, des thèmes et des idées poétiques d'Yves Bonnefoy dégage une phénoménalisation poétique, hautement abstraite, qui vise à relier la conscience subjective et le monde objectif, de manière à surmonter l'opposition du contenu intelligible et du contenu sensible des mots. Cette aspiration qui vise à soumettre, par le truchement d'une symbolisation réaliste, l'intellection à la perception finie accuse une analogie de structure avec l'existentialisme ontologique qu'a élaboré, en théologie, Thomas d'Aquin dans son oeuvre de jeunesse, De ente et essentia, de měme qu'elle se rapproche des idées philosophiques de Sören Kierkegaard concernant I'altérité impliquée dans toute prise de conscience authentique de soiměme. De plus, l'analyse de la phénoménalisation pratiquée par Bonnefoy se propose de dégager une perspective créationniste inhérente à cette phénoménalisation, et c'est là une perspective créationniste qui s'apparente à celle du judéo‐christianisme
Anne Dudens Erzählband übergang: Zum Verhältnis von Angst und Postmoderne in der Literatur der achtziger Jahre
Authors: Menke Timm
Published: August 2007

Bei der Beschäftigung mit unmittelbar zeitgenössischer deutschsprachiger Literatur fällt der in zahlreichen Werken thematisierte Angstkomplex auf, in sowohl individueller als auch kollektiver Ausprägung. Angst als dominierendes Lebensgefühl bestimmt auch den Erzählband übergang, das Erstlingswerk der Schriftstellerin Anne Duden.

Bei der Untersuchung der Angstursachen stößt man in diesem Werk auf Probleme, die im Mittelpunkt der gegenwärtigen Diskussion um den Begriff der Postmoderne stehen, insbesondere die Thematik des Mißtrauens gegenüber einer sinnstiftenden, teleologisch ausgerichteten Vernunft im Sinne der Aufklärung und der Gesellschaftstheorien des 19. Jahrhunderts.
The Blank Page of Daniel Defoe
Authors: Troy Mark
Published: August 2007

The illustrative focus of the paper will be a metaphoric tactic, the blank page or area, generally considered to be employed primarily by female modernists. It will show how a male writer from a rather different chronological space ‐ Daniel Defoe ‐ employs such a tactic, thus allowing characters a space in which to actualize certain valorized standpoints. Moll Flanders and Robinson Crusoe will be treated as representative examples of Defoe's proposed resolution to this pervasive dilemma of individual actualization. Examining the works of Defoe more generally it will be shown that, though the geographic area of retreat may vary, it will still function as a characteristic blank page to be inscribed by the character who seeks self‐realization in a fashion transcending limited chronological and gender frames.
White Circles/Black Holes: Worlds of Difference in A Passage to India
Authors: Doherty Gerald
Published: August 2007

Between 1950–70, the dominant model that regulated the interpretation of E. M. Forster's A Passage to India was structured around the idea of wholeness or unity. Between 1970–85, it was grounded in the model of choice – between alternatives – whether these involve alternative meanings or interpretations. The present essay puts forward a new model based on difference– the difference that at once articulates the great oppositional chains – infinite/finite, presence/absence, form/formless, innocence/guilt – that structure the narrative at the same time as it takes them apart and dissolves them. The essay explores the effects of this difference on five distinct textual levels – on the order of meaning, knowledge, narrative structure, ethics, and orthographic decorum.
Désespoir ou Estime. Quelques Tendances et Problèmes dans la Science Littéraire Actuelle
Authors: Johansen Jørgen Dines
Published: August 2007

Ľobjectif de ľarticle est de faire une analyse critique de certaines positions théoriques répandues dans la science littéraire actuelle, notamment le déconstructivisme franco‐américain. La critique porte sur trois thèses couramment défendues: (1) le texte littéraire comporte une infinité de significations, (2) ľimpossibilityé de distinguer entre interprétations vraies et fausses, (3) ľidée qu'au bout du compte le sens est un leurre qui tente vainement de draper ľabsurdité. Ces thèses sont illustrées à travers des textes de Barthes, Stanley Fish et Paul de Man. Nous en basons la critique sur un modèle sémiotique du texte qui s'inspire de la sémiotique de Peirce. Ľhypothèse défendue est que, même si les textes littéraires, en particulier, possèdent les propriétés de polysémie et de polyphonie, Ieur structure sémantique et leur contexte référentiel et communicatif restreignent singulièrement leur potentiel de signification.
On the Vacuity of the Biblical Sign
Authors: Elbaz Robert
Published: August 2007

Biblical exegesis has argued over the centuries for the fulness and presence inherent in the biblical space, foreclosing, in effect, any possibility for a theory of sign production. Biblical praxis was limited to the establishment and maintenance of a power structure (political in the narrowest sense) that determined the very process of signification. Meaning could not possibly have arisen outside this power structure. This paper will argue (in contradiction with all centralized theories of signification) for the emptiness and decentralization of the biblical sign as the necessary condition for its production of meaning.

An attempt will be made at the elaboration of a theory of Biblical semiotics based on the four interpretational grids of Biblical exegesis: pshat, remez, drash, and sod, that come under the heading PaRDeS ‐ or rather prds: (for, in Hebrew, the vowels constitute a separate, parallel system, and the consonants are the basic ingredients that determine the parameters of the sign) ‘p’ for pshat or literal meaning ‘r’ for remez or allusive meaning ‘d’ for drash or homiletic meaning; and, finally, ‘s’ for sod or esoteric/mystical meaning ‐ the configuration that includes them all. It will be shown that the movement from the first grid, the pshat, to the last grid, the sod, involves a process of distancy from the text and is dependent, in effect, upon the vacuity of the sign. That vacuity, we will argue, makes for the process of generation and multiplication of signs, their production and reproduction.
“To read what was never written”: From Deconstruction to the Poetics of Redemption
Authors: Juan E. San
Published: August 2007

The current controversy on the “undecidability” of literary meaning and the possibility of reliable translation has focused attention on the intervention of deconstruction as a critical theory of reading and interpretation. The model of deconstruction examined here is Paul de Man's commentary on Walter Benjamin's text “The Task of the Translator.” This essay argues that de Man's mis‐construing of Benjamin's ideas reveals the basic methodological and philosophical inadequacies of deconstruction. Deconstruction refuses the historical, cultural and biographical contexts of cultural artifacts it claims to appraise and judge. De Man's neo‐Nietzschean perspective (aptly captured by the postmodernist allegories of Borges) cannot comprehend Benjamin's radical historicism. Postmodernist irony is thus no substitute for the rigor of dialectical thinking. This lesson is inscribed in Benjamin's concept of translation situated in the framework of his complex project of an aesthetics of redemption.
Christa Wolf im Schnittpunkt von Kritik und Gegenkritik; Gedanken zu dem Literaturstreit in der Deutschen Presse
Authors: Rey William H.
Published: August 2007

Der Literaturstreit um Christa Wolf stellt die erste Phase einer Auseinandersetzung über die Literatur der ehemaligen DDR dar, die Jahre dauern kann und letzten Endes zu einer neuen Fassung der zeitgenössischen Literaturgeschichte führen wird. Der folgende Artikel umreißt die Rezeption der Autorin in der Bundesrepublik vor und nach der Revolution in der DDR und versucht, den Perspektivenwechsel zu erklären, der sich daraus ergab, daß Christa Wolf sowohl als Kritikerin wie als Repräsentantin der DDR auftrat. Sodann folgt ein Überblick über die Argumentation der initialen Angreifer der Autorin (Greiner, Schirrmacher, Serke) und ihrer Verteidiger (Günter Grass, Walter Jens), der zu einer kritischen Beurteilung aller Diskussionsteilnehmer führt. Die Interpretation der bisher letzten Erzählung Christa Wolfs (Was bleibt, 1990), die die Debatte veranlaßte, erweist die Fehlurteile der oben angeführten Kritiker, und eine Schlußbetrachtung erwägt die Vor‐aussetzungen eines echten deutsch‐deutschen Dialogs, der über gegenseitige Beschuldigungen hinausgeht.
The ‘Pseudo‐narrative’ of Les Fleurs du mal
Authors: Unwin T. A.
Published: August 2007

Beyond that structure of parallel and contrast which is commonly described as the ‘architecture’ of Les Fleurs du mal, there is also the suggestion of a series of events and the outline of a possible story. The present article proposes the term ‘pseudo‐narrative’ to describe this aspect of the work, and attempts a more systematic identification of its components than has hitherto been the case. To what extent is it possible to talk of the ‘action’ or of the ‘chronology’ of this pseudo‐narrative? What are the conflicts and the meeting points between the poetic and the fictional? And how does this pseudo‐narrative differ from, and thus help to define, what is conventionally understood as narrative? Three poems are analysed. These are: L'Albatros (II), Spleen (‘Quand le ciel bas et Iourd…’, LXXVIII), and the final poem, Le Voyage. Some concluding remarks suggest that the concept of ‘pseudo‐narrative,’ though not essentially opposed to that of architecture, is in certain key respects a more appropriate tool for understanding the structure of Les Fleurs du mal.
First and Further Readings: On a Neglected Aspect of the Phenomenology of the Literary Text
Authors: Sauerberg Lars Ole
Published: August 2007

Ignoring the dynamics of the first reading in relation to further readings takes away from the literary text a vital element of its mode of existence. An interpretive approach which has its starting point in the assumption of the text existing at its ‘arrived’ state fossilizes it and so deprives it of a meaning potential of essential significance. This essay argues the need for taking into consideration the relationship between first and further readings for purposes of interpretative practice and, in consequence, for the phenomenology of the literary text.
Discours et réalité
Authors: Lund Steffen Nordahl
Published: August 2007

Le rapport complexe entre discours et réalité est d'abord investi en tant qu'objet d'une analyse fondée sur la logique du sens selon G. Deleuze et la phénoménologie du langage selon Husserl. Un modéle du mode général de représentation du réel est élaboré pour servir, dans une deuxième partie, d'ancrage ‘réaliste’ du discours du récit, opérant comme code de référence au principe de son vraisemblable (au sens de G. Genette). Le réalisme n'est plus dès lors un phénomène réservé exclusivement à telle tendance littéraire du XIXe siècle mais, par la seule forme du discours narratif, un effet relatif à toute littérature romanesque référenciée sur un code hors texte de vraisemblabilisation. L'effet de réalité est bien ainsi l'effort d'authentification, moins du récit lui‐même et de son pseu‐do‐référent que du code extra‐diégétique de sa référence. Seulement, ce réel référencié n'est lui‐même que d'effet. Il n'y a pas d'échappée. Le réel se dérobe à sa prise, ne reste qu'un semblant de réel ou réalité vraisemblable, fonction d'une topologie opératoire déterminant de tout rapport de discours à visée de réalisation.
La dramaturgie d'Abraham sacrifiant de Théodore de Bèze
Authors: Mourad François‐Marie
Published: August 2007

Dans l'histoire du théâtre au XVI» siècle, la pièce de Théodore de Bèze, Abraham sacrifiant, se distingue par son originalité, notamment en ce qui concerne la dramaturgie. L'auteur est parvenu, grâce à divers procédés, à«théâtraliser» excellemment un épisode très connu de la Genèse.

S'inspirant à la fois du théâtre grec et des mystères du Moyen Age, “mais dans le respect du motif biblique, il a su construire un drame puissant et authentique. II a fait preuve de discernement et d'un sens très entendu de la représentation.

L'habileté technique se retrouve dans la composition très achevée de la pièce, dans sa structure. Chaque épisode trouve naturellement sa place dans le schéma d'ensemble, selon une progression qui ménage la tension dramatique, voire le pathétique.

Quant aux éléments de la scénographie, ils sont certes difficiles à repérer, dans l'état de nos connaissances sur la question, mais ils ont à coup sûr été l'objet des soins de l'auteur, manifestement soucieux d'impressionner son public.

Théodore de Bèze a créé, avec Abraham sacrifiant, non seulement la première tragédie en langue française, mais une véritable pièce de théâtre, qui allie habilement une leçon spirituelle conforme à la pensée «réformée» et une remarquable intelligence de la scène.
Secrets, Misunderstandings, Confessions, and the Triumph of Truth in Rousseau's La Nouvelle Héloïse
Authors: Scanlan Timothy
Published: August 2007

This article examines the status of truth in the fictional world of Rousseau's novel La Nouvelle Héloïse, in which the characters reveal and conceal the truth, deliberately or unwittingly, in order to manipulate one another and satisfy the exigencies of the individual and of the group. The framework of this study is provided by the series of acts that expose, obscure, or repress the truth. The novelist's experimental case‐study of communication among apparently ideal people under often unsatisfactory circumstances is the object of this analysis. The events of the novel suggest that language is a rather imperfect instrument for conveying or discovering the truth. Nonetheless, Rousseau and his characters are forced to act as if truth were indeed communicable. As they discover, one way, in fact the best way, of uncovering the truth is, paradoxically, through fiction.
Aus dem Kleiderschrank auf die Straße
Authors: Heidecker Helga
Published: August 2007

In einer Motiv‐ und Strukturuntersuchung wird Das nackte Mädchen auf der Straße von Fritz Rudolf Fries (1978) mit Der Kleiderschrank von Thomas Mann (1899) verglichen. Die Erzählung von Fries, eine Kontrafaktur, ist insofern ein besonders interessanter Fall von Intertextualität, als sie die kryptischen Spuren H.C. Andersen in Manns Erzählung nach‐ und überzeichnet oder sie sogar vervielfacht, jedoch selbst wieder in kryptischer Form; indem sie also auf die Geschichte voller Rätsel antwortet mit einer neuen Rätselgeschichte, die ihrerseits ein Stück Literaturwissenschaft in fiktionaler Form darstellt.
Across the Canon: Hawthorne, Morrison, and the Freedom of a Broken Law
Authors: Nordlund Marcus
Published: August 2007

In the light of the recent canon debate in the USA, I examine a previously unknown intertextual connection between Nathaniel Hawthorne and Toni Morrison, in order to trace an instructive dialectical affinity between Morrison's express desire to “enhance canon readings without enshrining them” and the new demands on critical practice. I argue that her grafting of key aspects of Hawthorne's The Scarlet Letter into Sula (an exuberant black feminist rewriting of the literary Father) can be seen as an exemplary form of modern canonical reinscription, with important implications for the way critics should read canonical critics.
Dekonstruktivismus als interpretatorische Zwangsjacke. Paul de Mans (Fehl‐)Lektüre von Walter Benjamin
Authors: Freundlieb Dieter
Published: August 2007

Ziel dieser Untersuchung ist der exemplarische Nachweis, daß Paul de Mans Interpretation von Benjamins Aufsatz “Die Aufgabe des Übersetzers” von dekonstruktivistischen Annahmen äber die Natur der Sprache geleitet ist, die de Man zu einer Lektüre verleiten, welche den Gehalt von Benjamins Aufsatz zum Teil bis zur Unkenntlichkeit verzerrt. De Man behauptet, daßÜbersetzung grundsätzlich unmöglich ist, daß eine Übersetzung das Fragmentarische des Originals aufweist und das Absterben eines (bereits toten) Originals bewirkt. Er glaubt zeigen zu kännen, daß die‘reine Sprache’, von der Benjamin spricht und deren Spuren im poeti‐schen Text in besonderem Maß enthalten sind und in der Übersetzung bewahrt werden müssen, nichts mit Poetik zu tun hat und daß sie‘reine Form’oder‘reiner Signifikant’sei. Dies widerspricht eklatant Benjamins Auffassung, daß die reine Sprache in keiner Weise von Zeichen abhängt und die traditionelle Zeichentheorie irrefürend ist. Der Aufsatz führt in Einzelanalysen aus, wie de Man in diesen und zahlreichen anderen Fällen Benjamins Text de‐konstruktivistische Annahmen überstülpt und so zu Ergebnissen kommt, die Benjamins Auffassungen nicht gerecht werden. Dabei unterlaufen de Man zusätzlich gravierende Übersetzungsfehler. Dies ist um so schwerwiegender, als er die Fehler vorliegender Übersetzungen von Benjamins Aufsatz, die zum Teil gar keine Fehlübersetzungen sind, als Beweis für dessen Unübersetzbarkeit betrachtet.
Differential diagnosis of scleroderma and pseudoscleroderma
Authors: Fabri Mario , Hunzelmann Nicolas
Published: August 2007

The different forms of scleroderma and the pseudosclerodermas, which clinically partially imitate scleroderma, are rare. Due to the large variety and variability of the clinical course, particularly at the onset of disease, diagnosis may be difficult. For differential diagnosis, the presence of Raynaud phenomenon, antinuclear antibodies and the distribution of sclerosis play essential roles. Besides discussing the diseases that should be considered in the differential diagnosis, we present an algorithm which should facilitate the diagnosis and allow one to promptly initiate appropriate treatment.
Sexual Function and Satisfaction in Adults Based on the Definition of Child Sexual Abuse
Authors: Rellini Alessandra , Meston Cindy
Published: August 2007

Introduction

The literature shows a discrepancy in the association between child sexual abuse (CSA) and adult sexual function. One of the proposed explanations for this discrepancy is the different ways in which CSA is assessed. While some studies explicitly ask potential participants whether they are sexual abuse survivors, others ask whether participants experienced specific unwanted sexual behaviors.

Aim

This study investigated the differences between women who self-identified as CSA survivors, women who experienced similar unwanted sexual experiences but did not identify as CSA survivors (NSA), and women with no history of sexual abuse (control). CSA was defined as unwanted touching or penetration of the genitals before the age of 16.

Methods

A sample of 699 college students anonymously completed a battery of questionnaires on sexuality and sexual abuse history.

Main Outcome Measures

Sexual function was measured with the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), and sexual satisfaction was measured with the Sexual Satisfaction Scale-Women. History of CSA was measured with a modified version of Carlin and Ward's childhood abuse items.

Results

Differences emerged between women who experienced sexual abuse before age 16 and women who never experienced sexual abuse (control) on the personal distress subscale of the Sexual Satisfaction Scale. The CSA group (N=89) reported greater sexual distress compared to the NSA (N=98) group, and the NSA group reported more distress than the control group (N=512). No significant group differences were observed in the FSFI. Characteristics of the abuse that predicted whether women identified as CSA survivors included vaginal penetration, fear at the time of the abuse, familial relationship with the perpetrator, and chronic frequency of the abuse. These abuse characteristics were associated with sexual satisfaction but not with sexual function.

Conclusions

Differences in levels of sexual satisfaction between women with and without a history of CSA were associated with the type of CSA definition adopted. It remains unexplained why the CSA group showed more personal distress about their sexuality but not more sexual dysfunction.
Continuing Medical Education: Gender Identity Disorders: Diagnostic and Surgical Aspects (CME)
Authors: Sohn Michael , Bosinski Hartmut A.G.
Published: August 2007

Sohn M, and Bosinski H. Gender identity disorders: Diagnostic and surgical aspects. J Sex Med 2007;4:1193–1208

Transsexualism is defined as a strong and persistent cross-gender identification with the patient's persistent discomfort with his or her sex and a sense of inappropriateness in the gender role of that sex (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders, fourth revision, text revision [DSM-IV-TR]). The disturbance is not concurrent with a physical intersex condition and causes clinical distress or impairment in social, occupational, or other important areas of functioning. The trained mental health professional is obliged to find out if the patient fulfills the criteria of an irreversible gender transposition and if he or she will benefit from medical (hormonal and surgical) sex-reassignment treatment. If a patient has absolved 12 months of real-life experience and at least 6 months of continuous hormonal treatment, the indication for surgical sex reassignment may be given. Genital sex-reassignment in male-to-female transsexuals includes vaginoplasty, preferably by inversion of penoscrotal skin flaps, clitoroplasty, and vulvoplasty. The operation may be performed in one or two sessions. In contrast to genital reassignment in male-to-female patients, no operative standards are available in female-to-male subjects. Recently, neophallus creation from sensate free forearm flaps has emerged as the most promising approach for those patients who want to have a neophallus. Other alternatives such as metoidoioplasty or neophallus reconstruction from regional flaps exist, but are also accompanied by multiple possible complications and re-interventions. Best results are to be expected when using multidisciplinary teams of plastic surgeons, urologists, gynecologists, and experts in sexual medicine in large volume centers.
Re‐upping the Contract with Sociology: Charles Mills's Racial Contract Revisited a Decade Later
Authors: Thomas James M.
Published: August 2007

Since its publishing in 1997, Charles Mills's The Racial Contract has changed the way in which sociologists think about and practice the study of race and racism. Nevertheless, it is my belief that this work has not received its rightful place among other canonical works within the field. This article, then, is an attempt to show the utility and creativity within which this work has been used by a number of scholars within the critical race discourse. For it is this body of work that holds the most promise for not only opening new doors in the study of race and racism, but also for liberating us from the racial contract under which we live.
Old Ideas Meet New Technologies: Will Digitalisation Save Public Service Broadcasting (Ideals) from Commercial Death?
Authors: Van den Bulck Hilde
Published: August 2007

Digitalisation seems to have reached enough momentum to dominate discussions regarding the state and future of public service broadcasting (PSB) in recent years. Starting from a background overview of the main developments in PSB (policy, structure and content) since its inception, the article analyses current debates regarding the future of PSB. The most heard stakeholders, the dominant positions, discourses and arguments regarding the position of PSB in the ‘new’ digital, interactive, personalised media future are identified. Next, and crucially, this article intends to lay bare the technological determinism implicit in much of this debate and the implications for the way in which the discussion is being held. Taking instead a social constructivist point of view, the article concludes with an analysis of the way in which the main goals of access, universality and quality can be reinterpreted in the light PSB's position in a changing society.
Airway inflammation in the elite athlete and type of sport
Authors: Belda J , Ricart S , Casan P , Giner J , Bellido-Casado J , Torrejon M , Margarit G , Drobnic F
Published: August 2007

Background:

The prevalence of asthma and bronchial hyper-responsiveness is greater in elite athletes than in the general population, and its association with mild airway inflammation has recently been reported.

Objective:

To study the relationship between the type of sport practised at the highest levels of competition (on land or in water) and sputum induction cell counts in a group of healthy people and people with asthma.

Material and methods:

In total, 50 athletes were enrolled. Medical history, results of methacholine challenge tests and sputum induced by hypertonic saline were analysed

Results:

Full results were available for 43 athletes, who were classified by asthma diagnosis and type of sport (land or water sports). Nineteen were healthy (10 land and 9 water athletes) and 24 had asthma (13 land and 11 water athletes). Although the eosinophil counts of healthy people and people with asthma were significantly different (mean difference 3.1%, 95% CI 0.4 to 6.2, p = 0.008), analysis of variance showed no effect on eosinophil count for either diagnosis of asthma or type of sport. However, an effect was found for neutrophil counts (analysis of variance: F = 2.87, p = 0.04). There was also a significant correlation between neutrophil counts and both duration of training and bronchial hyper-responsiveness among athletes exposed to water (Spearman’s rank correlations, 0.36 and 0.47, p = 0.04 and 0.04, respectively).

Conclusions:

Elite athletes who practice water sports have mild neutrophilic inflammation, whether or not asthma is present, related to the degree of bronchial hyper-reactivity and the duration of training in pool water.
CHD proteins: a diverse family with strong tiesThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in this Special Issue, entitled 28th International West Coast Chromatin and Chromosome Conference, and has undergone the Journal's usual peer review process.
Authors: Hall J. Adam , Georgel Philippe T.
Published: August 2007

Chromodomain/helicase/DNA-binding domain (CHD) proteins have been identified in a variety of organisms. Despite common features, such as their chromodomain and helicase domain, they have been described as having multiple roles and interacting partners. However, a common theme for the main role of CHD proteins appears to be linked to their ATP-dependent chromatin-remodeling activity. Their actual activity as either repressor or activator, and their cell or gene specificity, is connected to their interacting partner(s). In this minireview, we attempt to match the members of the CHD family with the presence of structural domains, cofactors, and cellular roles in the regulation of gene expression, recombination, genome organization, and chromatin structure, as well as their potential activity in RNA processing.
Mre11–Rad50–Nbs1 is a keystone complex connecting DNA repair machinery, double-strand break signaling, and the chromatin templateThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in this Special Issue, entitled 28th International West Coast Chromatin and Chromosome Conference, and has undergone the Journal's usual peer review process.
Authors: Williams R. Scott , Williams Jessica S. , Tainer John A.
Published: August 2007

The Mre11–Rad50–Nbs1 (MRN) complex is providing paradigm-shifting results of exceptional biomedical interest. MRN is among the earliest respondents to DNA double-strand breaks (DSBs), and MRN mutations cause the human cancer predisposition diseases Nijmegen breakage syndrome and ataxia telangiectasia-like disorder (ATLD). MRN’s 3-protein multidomain composition promotes its central architectural, structural, enzymatic, sensing, and signaling functions in DSB responses. To organize the MRN complex, the Mre11 exonuclease directly binds Nbs1, DNA, and Rad50. Rad50, a structural maintenance of chromosome (SMC) related protein, employs its ATP-binding cassette (ABC) ATPase, Zn hook, and coiled coils to bridge DSBs and facilitate DNA end processing by Mre11. Contributing to MRN regulatory roles, Nbs1 harbors N-terminal phosphopeptide interacting FHA and BRCT domains, as well as C-terminal ataxia telangiectasia mutated (ATM) kinase and Mre11 interaction domains. Current emerging structural and biological evidence suggests that MRN has 3 coupled critical roles in DSB sensing, stabilization, signaling, and effector scaffolding: (1) expeditious establishment of protein – nucleic acid tethering scaffolds for the recognition and stabilization of DSBs; (2) initiation of DSB sensing, cell-cycle checkpoint signaling cascades, and establishment of epigenetic marks via the ATM kinase; and (3) functional regulation of chromatin remodeling in the vicinity of a DSB.
HIPK2: a multitalented partner for transcription factors in DNA damage response and developmentThis paper is one of a selection of papers published in this Special Issue, entitled 28th International West Coast Chromatin and Chromosome Conference, and has undergone the Journal's usual peer review process.
Authors: Rinaldo Cinzia , Prodosmo Andrea , Siepi Francesca , Soddu Silvia
Published: August 2007

Protein phosphorylation is a widely diffuse and versatile post-translational modification that controls many cellular processes, from signal transduction to gene transcription. The homeodomain-interacting protein kinases (HIPKs) belong to a new family of serine–threonine kinases first identified as corepressors for homeodomain transcription factors. Different screenings for the identification of new partners of transcription factors have indicated that HIPK2, the best characterized member of the HIPK family, is a multitalented coregulator of an increasing number of transcription factors and cofactors. The aim of this review is to describe the different mechanisms through which HIPK2 regulates gene transcription.
Seasonal dynamics of tree growth, physiology, and resin defenses in a northern Arizona ponderosa pine forest
Authors: Gaylord Monica L. , Kolb Thomas E. , Wallin Kimberly F. , Wagner Michael R.
Published: August 2007

During periods of resource stress, such as drought, allocating limited photosynthate between growth and defense is a crucial component of tree survival. Our objectives were to describe the seasonal dynamics of physiology, growth, and resin defense of southwestern ponderosa pine ( Pinus ponderosa Dougl. ex P. & C. Laws.) which undergoes regular seasonal drought. We measured leaf-level net photosynthetic rate, leaf water potential, resin flow after phloem wounding, and growth in 24 consecutive months in 2002 and 2003. Precipitation was below average in both years, and 2002 was an extreme drought. In both years, the highest resin flow occurred when tree water stress was highest and photosynthesis was low. Belowground growth was highest in August in both years. Aboveground growth occurred primarily between May and August and was greater in 2003 than in 2002. Temporal variation in resin flow was positively related to temporal variation in needle and radial growth but was not related to temporal variation in root nor shoot growth. Thus, trade-offs in carbon allocation between resin and growth were weak. We discuss these results in the context of water stress in trees, current hypotheses of carbon allocation in plants, and the historical lack of pine bark beetle epidemics in northern Arizona.
The effects of salmon carcasses on soil nitrogen pools in a riparian forest of southeastern Alaska
Authors: Gende Scott M. , Miller Amy E. , Hood Eran
Published: August 2007

Long-term studies in Alaska have demonstrated that bears may capture and carry to the riparian forest a large number of salmon that return to spawn in small freshwater streams. Most of the carcasses are partially consumed, resulting in a large amount of salmon nutrients in the form of biomass deposited on the forest floor. Using an experimental approach, we examined how these carcasses may influence the spatial and temporal dynamics of soil C and N in a riparian forest in southeastern Alaska. At their peak, ammonium (NH4+-N) concentrations in soil 10 cm from carcasses were as much as several orders of magnitude greater than soils in adjacent control plots without carcasses and remained elevated until the onset of winter. Nitrate (NO3–-N) and δ15N concentrations also increased coincident with maximum NH4+-N concentrations. However, soil N concentrations were only moderately elevated 20 cm from carcasses and closely resembled background concentrations at 30 cm. These results suggest that salmon carcasses, via bear foraging activities, can dramatically influence soil N pools, although the impacts appear to be highly localized and largely dependent on the spatial distribution of carcasses in the riparian forest.
Frost-heaving damage to one-year-old Picea abies seedlings increases with soil horizon depth and canopy gap size
Authors: de Chantal Michelle , Holt Hanssen Kjersti , Granhus Aksel , Bergsten Urban , Ottosson Löfvenius Mikaell , Grip Harald
Published: August 2007

We studied first winter frost-heaving damage to one-year-old Picea abies (L.) Karst. seedlings planted in gaps made by group fellings (large circular gaps, ca. 500 m2) and single-tree selection cuttings (small irregularly shaped gaps, ca. 175 m2), as well as in uncut forest. One-month-old seedlings were planted on manually exposed LF, Ae, and B horizons that emulated various intensities and depths of scarification. The three experimental sites were located in multistoried Pinus sylvestris L. or P. abies forests on sandy loam or silt loam in southeastern Norway. Altogether, 5% of seedlings sustained frost heaving damage on the LF horizon, compared with 20% on the Ae horizon and 45% on the B horizon. On average, 31% of the seedlings in large gaps incurred frost-heaving damage compared with 20% in small gaps and 19% in uncut forest. Exposed roots and poorly anchored or uplifted seedlings were recurring classes of damage, especially on the B horizon and in large gaps. The above- versus below-ground biomass ratio of seedlings was higher on the B than on the Ae horizon in uncut forest and large gaps, inferring broken roots. Therefore, to reduce the risk of frost-heaving damage, shallow soil preparation and smaller gap sizes should be used.
Boreal forest landbirds in relation to forest composition, structure, and landscape: implications for forest management
Authors: Venier L.A. , Pearce J.L.
Published: August 2007

We examined a landbird community and its relationship to environmental variables within the boreal forest in north–central Ontario to evaluate its potential usefulness as an indicator of sustainable forest management. Our study had two components. First, we compared bird assemblages in mature forest stands inside Pukaskwa National Park (n = 17) with similar forested stands in a logged landscape (n = 18) over 3 years. We found significant separation of sites in the two treatments based on an ANOSIM (analogue of the standard univariate one-way ANOVA test) of the bird communities (R = 0.238, p < 0.001). We identified four significant indicators of the park landscape (bay-breasted warbler ( Dendroica castanea (Wilson, 1810)), black-throated green warbler ( Dendroica virens (J.F. Gmelin, 1789)), ovenbird ( Seiurus aurocapillus (L., 1766)), and red-eyed vireo ( Vireo olivaceus (L., 1766))) and five indicators of the logged landscape (black-backed woodpecker ( Picoides arcticus (Swainson, 1832)), brown creeper ( Certhia americana Bonaparte, 1838), winter wren ( Troglodytes troglodytes (L., 1758)), white-throated sparrow ( Zonotrichia albicollis (J.F. Gmelin, 1789)), and yellow-bellied sapsucker ( Sphyrapicus varius (L., 1776))). Some relationships were attributable to differences in vegetation, whereas other differences were attributable to the landscape context. Second, we used generalized additive models to examine the relationship of individual species with four sets of environmental data (understorey floristics, forest structure, overstorey composition, and landscape context) using the 35 sites noted above and 18 additional mature forest sites in the logged landscape (n = 53). We found that all four types of variables were frequently included in the best model based on Akaike's information criterion (AIC) (structure in 23 models, landscape in 20 models, overstorey in 19 models, and understorey in 15 models). We discuss our results in terms of their implications to forest management and note that our ability to map habitat for forest birds is substantially compromised by the lack of good spatial estimates of environmental variables that describe bird habitat.
Role of hormone-sensitive lipase in β-adrenergic remodeling of white adipose tissue
Authors: Mottillo Emilio P. , Shen Xiang Jun , Granneman James G.
Published: August 2007

Free fatty acids (FFA) are important extracellular and intracellular signaling molecules and are thought to be involved in β-adrenergic-induced remodeling of adipose tissue, which involves a transient inflammatory response followed by mitochondrial biogenesis and increased oxidative capacity. This work examined the role of hormone-sensitive lipase (HSL), a key enzyme of acylglycerol metabolism, in white adipose tissue (WAT) remodeling using genetic inactivation or pharmacological inhibition. Acute treatment with the β3-adrenergic agonist CL-316,243 (CL) induced expression of inflammatory markers and caused extravasation of myeloid cells in WAT of wild-type (WT) mice. HSL-knockout (KO) mice had elevated inflammatory gene expression in the absence of stimulation, and acute injection of CL did not further recruit myeloid cells, nor did it further elevate inflammatory gene expression. Acute pharmacological inhibition of HSL with BAY 59-9435 (BAY) had no effect on inflammatory gene expression in WAT or in cultured 3T3-L1 adipocytes. However, BAY prevented induction of inflammatory cytokines by β-adrenergic stimulation in WAT in vivo and in cultured 3T3-L1 adipocytes. Chronic CL treatment stimulated mitochondrial biogenesis, expanded oxidative capacity, and increased lipid droplet fragmentation in WT mice, and these effects were significantly impaired in HSL-KO mice. In contrast to HSL-KO mice, mice with defective signaling of Toll-like receptor 4, a putative FFA receptor, showed normal β-adrenergic-induced remodeling of adipose tissue. Overall, results reveal the importance of HSL activity in WAT metabolic plasticity and inflammation.
Reactive oxygen species, PKC-β1, and PKC-ζ mediate high-glucose-induced vascular endothelial growth factor expression in mesangial cells
Authors: Xia Ling , Wang Hong , Munk Snezana , Frecker Helena , Goldberg Howard J. , Fantus I. George , Whiteside Catharine I.
Published: August 2007

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) is implicated in the development of proteinuria in diabetic nephropathy. High ambient glucose present in diabetes stimulates VEGF expression in several cell types, but the molecular mechanisms are incompletely understood. Here primary cultured rat mesangial cells served as a model to investigate the signal transduction pathways involved in high-glucose-induced VEGF expression. Exposure to high glucose (25 mM) significantly increased VEGF mRNA evaluated by real-time PCR by 3 h, VEGF cellular protein content assessed by immunoblotting or immunofluorescence within 24 h, and VEGF secretion by 24 h. High-glucose-induced VEGF expression was blocked by an antioxidant, Tempol, and antisense oligonucleotides directed against p22phox, a NADPH oxidase subunit. Inhibition of protein kinase C (PKC)-β1with the specific pharmacological inhibitor LY-333531 or inhibition of PKC-ζ with a cell permeable specific pseudosubstrate peptide also prevented enhanced VEGF expression in high glucose. Enhanced VEGF secretion in high glucose was prevented by Tempol, PKC-β1, or PKC-ζ inhibition. In normal glucose (5.6 mM), overexpression of p22phoxor constitutively active PKC-ζ enhanced VEGF expression. Hypoxia inducible factor-1α protein was significantly increased in high glucose only by 24 h, suggesting a possible contribution to high-glucose-stimulated VEGF expression at later time points. Thus reactive oxygen species generated by NADPH oxidase, and both PKC-β1and -ζ, play important roles in high-glucose-stimulated VEGF expression and secretion by mesangial cells.