London Academic Publishing Ltd.: Arts & Humanities Journals
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The Attitude to Nature in 21th Century: Unnoticed Ecocide, the Diagnosis of Mediology, and the Zhuangzi as a Cure
No full textThe aim of this essay is to offer us a philosophical solution to environment crisis and ecocide. Firstly, the notion of ecocide is discussed from different perspectives (biology, law, psychology). Secondly, in the light of Debray’s philosophy the modern attitude to nature is examined. It is necessary in order to explain what has to be changed if we want to avoid the destruction of nature entirely in the future. Furthermore, the philosophy of Zhuangzi is described as self-cultivation that can be used against the current situation at the personal level. To consider the philosophy of Zhuangzi as a path of self-cultivation, a practice that is a cure for the consequences of ecocide and environment crisis is the novelty of this essay. Thus, the necessary measures that must be taken are available for anybody in the world there is simply a need of persistence, responsibility and effort
How Novelists Use Folklore as Weapons in Contemporary Revolutions of China: With the Examples of Lu Hsun, Hsiao Hung and Dai Sijie
No full textFolklore is often used in literature to express nostalgia and depict the everyday lives of a nation’s people. There are few studies, however, on the role of folklore within Chinese revolutionary literature. Through interpreting three female fictional characters: Sister Xianglin in Lu Hsun’s The New Year’s Sacrifice (1924), the Little Child-bride in Hsiao Hung’s Tales of Hulan River (1941), and the Little Seamstress in Dai Sijie’s Balzac and the Little Chinese Seamstress (2000), I interpret how Chinese writers differently regarded folklore as weapons, either allies or enemies, to reveal the miserable lives of women in the fight for liberty during two of China’s contemporary revolutions, the Revolution of 1911 and The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution held between 1968 to 1978. Folklore, in the context of these novels, is manifest primarily through references to folk sorcery cures, shamanic beliefs, and folk songs. Nevertheless, through the novelists’ different attitudes to folklore, we can see the complicated and thought-provoking history of Chinese contemporary revolutions
Sagittal alignment in lumbar spinal canal stenosis
No full textObjective: To evaluate the impact of lumbar canal stenosis on the sagittal balance of patients by studying the parameters of sagittal alignment.
Methods: This single-centre prospective study, conducted from January 2020 to January 2022, included 47 patients presenting with lumbar canal stenosis confirmed by MRI and documented spinal balance assessed by full spine X-ray in standing profile. Patients with lumbo-radicular pain post-lumbar arthrodesis surgery were also included. The sagittal alignment parameters assessed were pelvic incidence (PI), pelvic tilt (PT), sacral slope (SS), lumbar lordosis (LL), L4-S1 lordosis (LL4-S1), PI-LL mismatch, thoracic kyphosis (TK), sagittal vertical axis (SVA), and TPA.
Results: The mean pelvic incidence (PI) was 60.97° (SD 13.93°), with Class IV incidence in 36.2% of cases. Pelvic tilt (PT) averaged 18.65° (SD 10.91°), with values <10° in 19%, 10-25° in 53%, and >25° in 28% of patients. Sacral slope (SS) was 42.87° (SD 8.49°), with 53.2% in the 35-45° range. The measured lumbar lordosis (LL) was 46.10° (SD 17.84°), significantly lower than the theoretical LL (p=0.001). L4-S1 lordosis averaged 38.85° (SD 15.34°), also less than the theoretical value (p=0.017). PI-LL mismatch >10° was present in 60% of cases. Thoracic kyphosis (TK) averaged 14.57° (SD 11.29°), and sagittal vertical axis (SVA) was >5 cm in 81% of patients. T1 pelvic angle (TPA) was <20° in 57.4%.
Conclusion: The analysis revealed that lumbar canal stenosis significantly affected spinal architecture, primarily through the loss of lumbar lordosis, and had a notable impact on thoracic kyphosis. Therapeutic approaches should not only focus on root decompression but also on restoring lumbar lordosis, with careful consideration of the arthrodesis level
Sellar space-occupying lesion: not always a pituitary tumour!
No full textBackground and objective: Hypophysitis is an inflammatory disease of the pituitary gland that is clinically and radiologically similar to pituitary tumours. We are reporting a case of xanthogranulomatous hypophysitis which was confused as a pituitary neoplasm preoperatively.
Materials and methods: A 56-year-old woman presented with extreme tiredness and visual disturbances for 4 months and had visited multiple doctors for the same. NCCT head and CEMRI done preoperatively were suggestive of sellar SOL. The patient was optimised preoperatively and underwent trans-nasal transsphenoidal surgery was performed. Histologic examination of the tissue was s/o xanthogranulomatous hypophisitis
Conclusion: We have described an unusual inflammatory lesion of the pituitary in the sellar region that was mimicking neoplasm. A high level of clinical suspicion and knowledge regarding the differential diagnosis of the sellar region is necessary for correct diagnosis and management.
Key message: All the sellar space occupying lesions are not always pituitary adenomas. Rare entities like xa thogranulomatous hypophisitis should be thought of when we encounter patients with hypocortisolism
A bullous surprise: A rare VP shunt complication
No full textWe report a rare case of subcutaneous cerebrospinal fluid loculations, or bullae, along the anterior abdominal wall following ventriculoperitoneal shunt in an 8-year-old female with a history of tubercular meningitis and hydrocephalus. The patient presented with headache, nausea, and two soft, transilluminated swellings on the right side of her abdomen, three years after initial shunt placement and subsequent revision for peritoneal end malfunction. Imaging revealed gross ventriculomegaly and anterior parietal wall collections along the shunt tract. Intraoperatively, loculated CSF collections were found near the abdomen, and the lower end of the shunt was revised. Fluid analysis confirmed CSF composition. The patient recovered well postoperatively with resolution of ventriculomegaly and was discharged on prophylactic antibiotics. Subcutaneous CSF loculations in the anterior abdominal wall represent a unique and previously undocumented complication of VP shunts. Potential mechanisms include protracted CSF drainage, tissue plane dissection secondary to elevated intra-abdominal pressure, or catheter misplacement, exacerbated by prior abdominal surgeries and adhesions. This case highlights the importance of considering rare presentations of shunt malfunction and the need for thorough clinical and radiological evaluation. Early diagnosis and prompt surgical intervention, typically shunt revision, are crucial for effective management and improved patient outcomes
Impact of notification protocol on time to response in postoperative neurological deterioration among brain tumour patients
No full textBackground: Postoperative neurological deterioration (PND) is a serious complication in brain tumour surgery, often leading to functional decline or death. Timely detection and response are critical, yet delays are common in routine practice. Objective: The present study aimed to (1) describe the prevalence, causes, and outcomes of PND among brain tumour patients and (2) to assess the impact of a structured notification system developed using root cause analysis on clinician response time.Methods: We retrospectively reviewed brain tumour patients undergoing surgery between 2022 and 2025. Data from 2022–2023 were used to describe PND prevalence and conduct root cause analysis. A structured notification protocol was implemented in February 2024, replacing the previous bottom-up model with a top-down approach, where bedside nurses directly notified the chief resident. Post-protocol data from February 2024 to June 2025 were analysed. The primary outcome was PND prevalence and etiology. The secondary outcome was time to physician response, compared pre- and post-protocol using t-tests and ANOVA. The primary outcome was PND prevalence and etiology. The secondary outcome was the comparison of time to physician response before and after protocol implementation, analysed using t-test and ANOVA. Results: PND occurred in 181 of 282 patients (39.8%) during the 2022–2023 period. The most common causes were brain oedema (37.6%), hypovolemic shock (11.6%), and intracerebral haemorrhage (11.6%). After implementing the protocol, the time to response was significantly reduced (p = 0.004). Conclusion: PND remains a serious complication in brain tumour surgery. The introduction of a structured notification protocol significantly improved the timeliness of medical response. This approach may be adaptable to other high-acuity settings, such as trauma or critical care, where rapid decision-making is essential
"Bringing off a Successful Swindle": The Educational Climate and Its Capitalist Discontents in Orwell’s “A Clergyman’s Daughter”
No full textCompared to George Orwell’s best-known works, 1984 (1949) and Animal Farm (1945), his earlier fiction has attracted significantly less critical attention. Yet, these novels deserve attention for the way Orwell draws on his own life, lending them some autobiographical quality, and for their exploration of many of the same socio-political concerns that preoccupied him as a journalist and essayist. One such concern is his representation of the lower tier of the private school system—an interest shaped by his experience as a private school teacher. This essay examines how Orwell’s second novel, A Clergyman’s Daughter (1935), reflects the capitalist ethos that was present in the educational climate of fourth-rate schools. By tracing the milestones of the protagonist Dorothy’s teaching career, I argue that her failure to reform the curriculum and her powerless resistance to Mrs Creevy, the proprietress of Ringwood House Academy, expose deeper structural flaws within the educational institutions of suburban London in the 1930s
Mapping the Past: Exploring Memory and Liminal Subjectivity of the Post-Partition Bengali Migrants in Siddhartha Deb’s “The Point of Return”
No full textColonial rule in South Asia has undeniably reshaped the region’s spatial and cultural landscape. However, the tremors of colonisation’s aftermath, which include partition, genocide, refugee movements, etc., have acquired characteristics which reek distinctly of their regional epicentre. South Asian countries, as is true of most postcolonial nation-states, often posit their territorial space, defined through cartographic borders, as the most essential and fundamental factor in determining the abstract concept of nationality. Though the nationalistic discourses celebrate the sanctity and inalterability of the territorial space, this is not as fixed as discourses would lead one to believe. This article intends to examine the transience of territorial space that is continually reconfigured along linguistic and ethnic lines, which consequently determines the belongingness or alienation of an individual in the given geopolitical scenario. The ‘post-memory’ of displacement, alienation and loss that haunts the post-Partition generation of migrants and their sense of homelessness that is distinct from, yet as poignant as that of their ancestors, will be examined through the textual framework of Siddhartha Deb’s debut novel The Point of Return (2002). The article will present a nuanced study of the tension emanating from the fractured interface between nationalism and sub-nationalism, which is adroitly portrayed by Siddhartha Deb in this novel
Rethinking Global Culture: A Thematic Analysis of Arjun Appadurai’s Globalism
No full textThis paper examines the theoretical contributions of Arjun Appadurai to the study of cultural globalism through four of his major works: The Social Life of Things (1986), Modernity at Large (1996), Fear of Small Numbers (2006), and The Future as Cultural Fact (2013). Appadurai’s innovative concepts, such as “scapes”, “imagination as a social practice” and “ethics of possibility”, have reframed how we understand cultural flows, identity, and globalisation in the 21st century. By reviewing existing scholarship and applying thematic analysis, this study synthesises key insights from his works and explores their relevance in contemporary debates on global culture, nationalism, and future-oriented thinking. This paper contributes to cultural sociology by emphasising the continued importance of Appadurai’s ideas for understanding the disjunctures and potentials of global modernity
Historicity and Axiology: Temporal Implications for Axiology
No full textTo develop the axiology of moral (or ethical) values, phenomenological analysis must look at temporality in a way that is unfamiliar to it. This way is through knowledge and experience of the actual historical past, from which it has been separated by the Heideggerian conception of historicity and its classical Husserlian analysis of time consciousness. The development of historical studies helps to make this possible. A simple sample model of the diachronesis of the awareness of ethical significance, value, and obligation is presented. It moves the analysis from a presentist focus to the field of experience in which subjects develop moral agency. Two concepts, historical phenomenology and interpersonal values-making, are advanced as the bases of a research program. It will amplify the potential of phenomenology to understand ethical goods such as empathy and will also encourage interactions of ethics, philosophy of history, and phenomenology