Dark Pit Research Articles

Literary lions with real bite: Re-examining the intertextual rhetoric in Daniel 6

The story of Daniel in the lion's pit (Dan 6) is still one of the most well-known stories in the HB. The way the story has been captured in visual form by the Old Masters as well as contemporary depictions thereof in children's Bibles are indicative of its ability to captivate the imagination. In scholarly circles the story has also received considerable attention, most of which relates to issues of historical and/or literary nature. Thus, it has been proposed that the story in the HB may be the result of a mistaken literalization of a Babylonian literary motif. The present paper seeks to address the issue of such a symbolic understanding of the lions in the story. However, instead of looking to the Babylonian context for a literary antecedent, it is proposed that Israel's own literary tradition may shed light into this dark pit. The study of the metaphor of teeth in the Psalter points to a literary connection between the malicious accusations of the presidents and satraps (in Dan 6) and Daniel's eventual fate among the lions.

Development, validation and application of specific primers for analyzing the clostridial diversity in dark fermentation pit mud by PCR-DGGE.

In this study, a Clostridia-specific primer set SJ-F and SJ-R, based on the available 16S rRNA genes sequences from database, was successfully designed and authenticated by theoretical and experimental evaluations. It targeted 19 clostridial families and unclassified_Clostridia with different coverage rates. The specificity and universality of novel primer set was tested again using the dark fermentation pit mud (FPM). It was demonstrated that a total of 13 closest relatives including 12 species were affiliated with 7 clostridial genera, respectively. Compared to the well-accepted bacterial universal primer pair P2/P3, five unexpected clostridial genera including Roseburia, Tissierella, Sporanaerobacter, Alkalibacter and Halothermothrix present in the FPM were also revealed. Therefore, this study could provide a good alternative to investigate the clostridial diversity and monitor their population dynamics rapidly and efficiently in various anaerobic environments and dark fermentation systems in future.

Humor and Politics through the Animal in Cervantes and Leopold

Humor and Politics through the Animal in Cervantes and Leopold

Resisting loneliness' dark pit: a narrative therapy approach

PurposePeople with learning disabilities want and value friendships and close, intimate, or romantic relationships. However, many people with learning disabilities are socially and emotionally lonely. The purpose of this paper is to describe a novel intervention, using a narrative therapy based group approach, which aimed to ameliorate the negative effects of loneliness in adult men with a mild learning disability.Design/methodology/approachThis study explored the group process, examined participants' experiences of the narrative therapy approach, and used an amended version of the UCLA loneliness scale (3rd ed.) to evaluate the effectiveness of a narrative therapy group approach.FindingsThe group enabled participants to develop “experience near” descriptions of loneliness and its effects and to identify and strengthen their abilities, strengths, and resources. Qualitative feedback from participants indicated that the group was experienced positively and helped participants to feel less lonely. Quantitative feedback from an adapted version of the UCLA loneliness scale suggested that most participants felt less lonely following the intervention.Research limitations/implicationsThere are several limitations of the current study. Most importantly, because of the small sample size (n=5), the results of the current study lack generalisability. Future, larger‐scale research should be carried out to address these limitations.Originality/valueThe current study draws attention to a significant problem experienced by many people with a learning disability. It also adds to the emerging evidence that narrative therapy approaches may be useful within learning disability contexts.

Commentary on “Resisting loneliness' dark pit: a narrative therapy approach”

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide a commentary on Stacey and Edwards' article on a narrative therapy approach to working with men with learning disabilities who are lonely.Design/methodology/approach – The article reflects on the issues raised by Stacey and Edwards, in the light of other theoretical and empirical literature on loneliness and friendship.Findings – It is important to consider problems of loneliness in the context of a social model of disability. People with learning disabilities are often excluded from the networks of relationships that are so important to the maintenance of emotional well‐being.Originality/value – Overcoming loneliness is likely to require a range of strategies including group action by people with learning disabilities, the development of non‐disabled people's ability and willingness to establish relationships with disabled people and developments in our understanding of how social systems can be designed to be more inclusive.

Optimization of low temperature GaN buffer layers for halide vapor phase epitaxy growth of bulk GaN

We have studied growth and self-separation of bulk GaN on c-oriented Al2O3 using low temperature (LT) GaN buffer layers. By studying the X-ray diffraction (XRD) signature for the asymmetric and symmetric reflections versus the LT-GaN thickness and V/III precursor ratio, we observe that the peak width of the reflections is minimized using a LT buffer thickness of ∼100–300nm. It was observed that the V/III precursor ratio has a strong influence on the morphology. In order to obtain a smooth morphology, the V/III precursor ratio has to be more than 17 during the growth of the buffer layer. By using an optimized LT buffer layer for growth of a 20μm thick GaN layer, we obtain a XRD peak with a full width at half maximum of ∼400 and ∼250arcs for (002) and (105) reflection planes, respectively, and with a dark pit density of ∼2.2×108cm−2. For layers thicker than 1mm, the GaN was spontaneously separated and by utilizing this process, thick free freestanding 2″ GaN substrates were manufactured.

Asylum, Prison, and Poorhouse: The Writings and Reform Work of Dorothea Dix in Illinois

Dorothea Lynde Dix (1802-87) was perhaps the most famous and admired woman in America for much of the nineteenth century. Beginning in the early 1840s, she launched a personal crusade to persuade the various states to provide humane care and effective treatment for the mentally ill by funding specialized hospitals for that purpose. The appalling conditions endured by most mentally ill inmates in prisons, jails, and poor-houses led her to take an active intrerest also in prison reform and in efforts to ameliorate poverty. In 1846-47 Dix brought her crusade to Illinois. She presented two lengthy memorials to the legislature, the first describing conditions at the state penitentiary at Alton and the second discussing the sufferings of the insane and urging the establishment of a state hospital for their care. She also wrote a series of newspaper articles detailing conditions in the jails and poorhouses of many Illinois communities. These long-forgotten documents, which appear in unabridged form in this book, contain a wealth of information on the living conditions of some of the most unfortunate inhabitants of Illinois. In his preface, David L. Lightner describes some of the vivid images that emerge from Dorothea Dix's descriptions of social conditions in Illinois a century and a half ago: A helpless maniac confined throughout the bitter cold of winter to a dark and filthy pit. Prison inmates chained in hallways and cellars because no more men can be squeezed into the dank and airless cells. Aged paupers auctioned off by county officers to whoever will maintain them at the lowest cost. Lightner provides an introduction to every document, placing each memorial and newspaper article in its proper social and historical context. He also furnishes detailed notes, making these documents readily accessible to readers a century and a half later. In his final chapter, Lightner assesses both the immediate and the continuing impact of Dix's work.

The pea (Pisum sativum L.) genes sym33 and sym40 control infection thread formation and root nodule function.

Two novel non-allelic mutants that were unable to fix nitrogen (Fix ) were obtained after EMS (ethyl methyl sulfonate) mutagenesis of pea (Pisum sativum L.). Both mutants, SGEFix(-)-1) and SGEFix(-)-2, form two types of nodules: SGEFix(-)-1 forms numerous white and some pink nodules, while mutant SGEFix(-)-2 forms white nodules with a dark pit at the distal end and also some pinkish nodules. Both mutations are monogenic and recessive. In both lines the manifestation of the mutant phenotype is associated with the root genotype. White nodules of SGEFix(-)-1 are characterised by hypertrophied infection threads and infection droplets, mass endocytosis of bacteria, abnormal morphological differentiation of bacteroids, and premature degradation of nodule symbiotic structures. The structure of the pink nodules of SGEFix(-)-1 does not differ from that of the parental line, SGE. White nodules of SGEFix(-)-2 are characterised by "locked" infection threads surrounded with abnormally thick plant cell walls. In these nodules there is no endocytosis of bacteria into host-cell cytoplasm. The pinkish nodules of SGEFix(-)-2 are characterised by virtually undifferentiated bacteroids and premature degradation of nodule tissues. Thus, the novel pea symbiotic genes, synm40 and sym33, identified after complementation analysis in SGEFix(-)-1 and SGEFix(-)-2 lines, respectively, control early nodule developmental stages connected with infection thread formation and function.

Correspondence

2 March 1990To the Editor:The paper by Visudhiphan and others, “Bites by dark green pit vipers in Bangkok,” perpetuates the myth, created in the Thai and European literature, that the smaller and darker of the 2 species of arboreal green pit viper found in the Bangkok area is Trimeresurus popeorum Smith, 1937. Recent work has established that this species, known by the Thai names “ngoo kiaw hang mai torng kiaw” or “si kiaw gae,” is in fact T. macrops. The true T. popeorum is a reclusive hill-dwelling species which has never reliably been reported from the Bangkok area and nor implicated in any case of human snake bite. The 2 species are easily distinguishable by their coloring and characteristics of the head scales.The terminological error in the paper by Visudhiphan and others is not of purely academic importance. A recent study (C. Viravan, S. Looareesuwan, and D. A. Warrell, personal communication) demonstrated that Trimeresurus vipers were responsible for 28% of all snakebites in Thailand.

Dark green pit viper (Trimeresurus popeorum) bite: clinical and serial coagulation profiles in 51 cases.

Trimeresurus popeorum, a dark green pit viper, is commonly found in Southeast Asia. This study describes the clinical picture and blood studies of 51 patients bitten by this snake. Affected limbs were swollen; and hemorrhagic blebs in fingers and toes were found in 12 patients. Lymphangitis was observed in 4 instances. Six individuals exhibited hypofibrinogenemia of 0-84 mg/dl, and 2 cases developed thrombocytopenia and bleeding. The presence of venom in the blood of these patients was demonstrated. Positive fibrin degradation products of 40-320 micrograms/ml were observed in 6 cases with hypofibrinogenemia, and in 8 other cases. Nineteen patients had short euglobulin lysis times of 51.8 +/- 24.7 min. Hyperfibrinogenemia of 626.7 +/- 288.9 mg/dl was found in 18 cases. Apart from bleeding, there were no systemic symptoms. Hypofibrinogenemia became normal in 3-12 days. The clinical course in all patients was uneventful, and none received antivenin.

Nuisance Potential of a Dump Fly, Ophyra aenescens (Diptera: Muscidae), Breeding at Poultry Farms

In Oconee County, S.C., a dump fly, Ophyra aenescens (Wiedemann), displaced the house fly, Musca domestica L., as the predominant muscoid fly present in the pits of two enclosed environmental poultry houses. During an 18-wk period (June–October 1983), these flies were allowed to breed without restriction. Twenty-eight sticky-tape monitoring stations at distances of 0–1,500 m from the poultry farm provided evidence that flies did not migrate to sensitive areas such as nearby residences in sufficient numbers to be considered a nuisance. Habits of this muscoid fly differ from those of the house fly in that O. aenescens apparently is more attracted to the dark pit area of poultry houses, shaded woodlands, and similar areas rather than human habitations. Because it does not appear to be a problem at human habitations, O. aenescens may be useful as an alternative biological strategy for suppressing house-fly breeding on poultry farms.