32 research outputs found
'How warped the mirrors': postmodernism and historiography
No full textPostmodernism, though it may be described in many ways, may be thought essentially to be captured by Lyotard's phrase, 'incredulity towards metanarratives'. The first chapter of my thesis attempts to define both 'postmodernism' and 'historiography', and then surveys historiographical discourse today. Because it is often ancient history that most frequently may be open to radically differing interpretations, I take in chapter two a 'generative' example, namely the speech compositions of Thucydides. This example I consider as 'generative' in the sense that it opens up questions, not only about the History of Thucydides itself and about how Thucydides is conceived in the ancient historiographical tradition, but also about what it means for an historian to disclose the 'truth' of an historical situation. My third chapter takes up the suggestion by Keith Jenkins that postmodern philosophy, particularly the conception of 'truth' and 'knowledge' proffered by Rorty, is a good way for history to acclimatise itself in the postmodern era. I survey Jenkins' proposals, and then discuss a work Jenkins largely ignores, i.e. Rorty's Philosophy and the Mirror of Nature. I demonstrate not just the familiar point that Rorty attempts to overturn 'foundationalist epistemology', and proposes 'new vocabularies' that involve 'hermeneutics' which set up I discourse as 'conversation'. This overturning involves for Rorty an assertion of 'unarbitrability', i.e. that it is impossible to argue that one view is better or more true than another. Thus Jenkins wishes to enter a world of a plurality of interpretations. In chapter four, however, I draw upon the work of Charles Taylor who argues for the necessity of 'arbitrage' in human discourse, whilst still wishing to overturn epistemological foundationalism. I therefore wish to advocate in my fifth chapter a 'third way', drawing on Taylor's theory of interpretation that requires neither a correspondence theory of truth, nor unarbitrability. Throughout the chapter I demonstrate how my conclusions regarding Thucydidean speeches and my discussion of postmodern philosophy may serve as a way of thinking about the task of historians, and hot just ancient historians. I conclude with some theological reflections on the arguments offered
Dopaminergic inhibition of excitatory inputs onto pyramidal tract neurons in cat motor cortex
No full textOxidative stress-induced apoptosis of bile duct cells in primary biliary cirrhosis
No full textThere has been a relative paucity of effort at defining effector mechanisms of biliary damage in PBC. We hypothesize that biliary cells are destroyed secondary to the immunologic relationships of inflammation and biliary epithelial apoptosis and, in particular, that biliary damage is a result of reduced levels of glutathione-S-transferase (GST), the production of hypochlorous acid (HOCl) and its association with eosinophil peroxidase (EPO). To address this issue, we examined the expression of EPO and GST in PBC and control livers and demonstrated an increase of EPO within the portal areas of PBC. We also demonstrated that macrophages have evidence of phagocytosed EPO. Furthermore, we studied the influence of HOCl on apoptosis in cultured human biliary epithelial cells (BEC) as well as the associated activity of Bcl-2, Bax, p-JNK, JNK, p53, Fas and caspase-3. HOC1-induced apoptosis in BEC in a dose-dependent fashion increased the activity of caspase-3 and the expression of p53 and p-JNK. Pretreatment with l-buthionine-(S,R)-sulfoximine, a glutathione (GSH) inhibitor, potentiated the sensitivity of BEC to HOCl-induced apoptosis. We conclude that intracellular GSH reduction leads directly to BEC apoptosis. Modulation of these events will be critical to reduce immune-mediated destruction
Modulation by APGW-Amide, an Achatina Endogenous Inhibitory Tetrapeptide, of Currents Induced by Neuroactive Compounds on Achatina Neurons: Peptides
No full textBlocking effects of promethazine, triprolidine and their analogues on the excitation caused by the peptide, achatin-I
No full textIdentifiable Achatina giant neurones: Their localizations in ganglia, axonal pathways and pharmacological features
No full textIdentification of genes responsive to paeoniflorin, a heat shock protein-inducing compound, in human leukemia U937 cells
No full textWeapons of mass destruction: A review of its use in history to perpetrate chemical offenses
No full textThe use of weapons of mass destruction for military purposes is a problem that has its origins in the early history of humanity. Many substances were used as weapon but the chemical ones were the first to be used in history. The first use of chemical agents dates back to 7th century B.C. during the siege of Cirrha, a Greek city. In the literature of that time there are many examples of the use of chemicals, for example in Thucydides' papers, in which the Greek author describes how the Spartans had burned trees previously soaked with sulphur to produce toxic gases that would have reduced the Plataea city's protections. Unfortunately, their plan failed when the wind direction suddenly changed, poisoning their troops instead. Even the Middle Ages offer many testimonies of the use of chemicals as weapons. A real large-scale use of these substances took place in many other events, for example: during the American Civil war (1861-1865) when General Gilmore used explosive shells against the Confederates. In 1865, when Napoleon used hydrogen for military purposes and in 1900, during the Crimean war, when sulphuric gas was used against the Russian troops near Sevastopol. However, the highest levels of use of chemical agents were achieved during World Wars I and II (WWI and WWII). During these years of wars, the international community deemed necessary to regulate the use of this kind of substances and for this aim a couple of conferences were organized in 1899 and 1907 in The Hague to discuss the regulation of chemical agents' use during war. The most important conference took place in Geneva in 1925 where the Chemical Weapons Convention was born. This work is a review of the historical events involving dangerous chemical agents
Gene expression in enhanced apoptosis of human lymphoma U937 cells treated with the combination of different free radical generators and hyperthermia
No full textL’Athènes primitive sous l’empire romain : l’exemple du Panathénaïque d’Aelius Aristide
No full textNous examinons la présentation des premiers temps d’Athènes dans le Panathénaïque d’Aelius Aristide, éloge composé au iie siècle de notre ère par un auteur qui accepte et célèbre l’empire romain. Il s’agit manifestement pour Aristide de faire coexister deux modèles de domination. Empruntant des éléments aussi bien au dispositif d’analyse de l’« Archéologie » de Thucydide qu’à l’image de l’Athènes primitive donnée par le préambule du Timée et par le Critias, Aristide élabore une séquence logique d’actes fondateurs, chargée à la fois de modéliser la forme parfaite d’exercice du pouvoir et de soustraire Athènes à tout processus d’évolution historique. C’est à Rome qu’il revient d’historiciser les valeurs grecques et d’intégrer Athènes dans la chronologie de l’histoire du monde.We examine the presentation of the earliest days of Athens in Aelius Aristides’ Panathenaic, an encomium composed in the 2nd century of our era by an author who accepts and celebrates the Roman Empire. What obviously matters for Aristides is the coexistence of two modes of domination. Borrowing elements both from the analytical set‑up of Thucydides’ «Archeology» and from the image of primitive Athens as given in the prologue of the Timeus and the Critias, Aristides works out a logical sequence of founding deeds, with a view to providing a model of the perfect exercise of power and to depriving Athens of any process of historical evolution. It fell to Rome to historicize Greek values and integrate Athens into the chronology of world history
