Dead Horse Research Articles

Temozolomide use in elderly patients with MGMT promoter unmethylated glioblastoma: Is it finally time to dismount a dead horse?

Temozolomide use in elderly patients with MGMT promoter unmethylated glioblastoma: Is it finally time to dismount a dead horse?

Diagnostic and prognostic utility of serum adenosine deaminase in tuberculosis: Worth a revisit or are we flogging a dead horse?

Background Measurement of adenosine deaminase (ADA) activity in body fluids is one of the biochemical methods for the diagnosis of tuberculosis (TB). While the role of ADA levels in pleural fluid and cerebrospinal fluid for diagnosis of TB has been established, the role of serum ADA is yet to be established. Aims To study the role of serum ADA levels in diagnosis and prognosis of TB. Settings and Design This prospective observational study was carried out at a hospital in central India. All TB patients managed at the center in 2021 were included in the study. Materials and Methods Two hundred and thirty-three TB patients who met the inclusion criteria were recruited for the study. The subjects were divided into various study groups on the basis of TB subtypes. The study subjects were treated with first-line DOTS antitubercular therapy (ATT). The subjects underwent analysis of serum ADA levels at 0, 2, and 5 months of ATT initiation. Various factors affecting serum ADA levels were studied. Results There was no statistically significant difference in mean serum ADA levels among all study groups (I–IV) at month 0 (treatment initiation). The mean serum ADA levels of TB patients in all study groups (17.8 ± 5.1) were significantly higher than in the control group (10.1 ± 1.2). Mean serum ADA levels showed a sustained fall from month 0 to month 5 of treatment in all study groups. Low vitamin D levels (below 20 ng/mL), Mantoux negativity, and sputum smear status were not found to affect serum ADA levels. Conclusion Serum ADA levels can be used to evaluate response to ATT and for disease prognostication.

Dead Horse Gap: Intergenerational Justice and the Culling of Horses in the Australian Alps

Dead Horse Gap: Intergenerational Justice and the Culling of Horses in the Australian Alps

Long-Term Seed Dispersal within an Asymmetric Lizard-Plant Interaction

During the last 24 years, the mutualistic interaction between the dead horse arum, Helicodiceros muscivorus, and the Balearic lizard, Podarcis lilfordi, was studied on Aire Island (Balearic Islands, Spain). From a small population of a hundred plants, the dead horse arum expanded extraordinarily throughout the island, reaching the highest known densities of the species and occupying areas of the island where it was not previously present. The current abundance of plants is a direct effect of the frugivorous activity of the Balearic lizard, which is the main, if not the only, effective seed disperser of the plant on Aire Island. However, abiotic factors predominated over biotic factors in driving abundance of plants. Over the years, plant densities varied significantly depending on the aridity of the island, with higher densities recorded in drier years. Lizards' frugivorous activity and dispersal intensity was inversely correlated with annual rainfall. We found higher dispersal intensity in years with lower rainfall. We propose that the years of lower rainfall are those in which there is a lower prey availability. In such years, lizards compensate the shortage of other trophic resources with a more intense consumption of dead horse arum fruits. The mutualistic interaction is therefore asymmetric, since there is a greater influence of the frugivorous activity of the lizards on the plants than of the plants on lizards. It is, in short, a system chronically out of balance.

Crossings

Crossings

Hit Oort Miss

Hit Oort Miss C. A. Hume (bio) It all happened around the time that all the things started to run out of order. There were just three new messages in my inbox. The first was the last rejection letter, from the last PhD program—the safety school. The second email was from the University, reminding faculty that there was a plan in place should the asteroid actually hit and to assure students of this fact but not share the plan or even be too specific about the possibilities of a plan because the Committee on Catastrophic Possibilities and Student Retention was nearly finished with the literature review. Then, and only then, would they work on the finalized language. There was a lot of that going around these days. Language. It's still working, thank Dog. The last email was sent on behalf of the Dean of Student Affairs, featuring descriptions of her recent wedding to her "high schl solemate and best friend." Adding insult to inquiry there were accompanying photos, and they were gorgeous. I Ggled the resort. It cost more per night than I make as an adjunct per class. 11:35:26 AM "Fuck," I blurted out to no one in particular, for this was the exact moment I knew: I am that asteroid that's going to destroy the world. Ever since Play-Doh (but before Gettier fucked it all up), knowledge was defined as a justified true belief. So, when I say I knew it, I justifiably, truly, believingly knew it. I was that asteroid. This kind of revelation requires getting drunk on Tuesday at 11:16:58 in the afternn. Luckily, it's a college town so bze is the collective Achilles' wheel. "Turn that fu-u-uckin' th-ing off!" a bars-tool visionary announces through ponderous speech and wild gesticulation aimed at the pub's TV. "It's bad anouf the fuu-ckin' thing is gonna kill us all, now they're jus eatin' a dead horse." [End Page 29] The bartender chuckles as he the channel. He looks at me and winks, "The news is good for business these days—people coming out of the wind work to push a bit of the worry down with the old brown." The drunk grumbles about the crawl on the bottom of the sreen giving details about all the things presently falling out of order—it's a lot: apparently harps no longer work. Despite his protestants, he keeps the rest of his assholes to himself because assholes are like opinions, everyone's got one. When I was twelve, I realized I could teleport. You'd think that might help with the realization that I was also that asteroid. You'd think that, but ask yourself would you be justified in that belief? The whisky is helping, though. Whisky solves a lot of problems. It reality gets credit for that. I've never actually teleported before because it requires two people that know how. The one person has to reach behind themselves, not physically but metaphysically and also through themselves to the other. Like curling the pages of a bk through the spine to fold the other connecting page. Just like that, in truth. It works through a process of absenting the presence and presencing the absence until one reaches all the way through. Then all you have to do is take the hand of the other person who is doing the same thing, and they'll fold you across. It's pretty straightforward math in an n-dimensional system, which justifies it. I used to t it all the time. I'd feel my hand slip through, but no one ever grabbed it on the other side. "Aren't you nervous?" I ask the bartender. The crawl reads that handkerchiefs now put snot into people's noses, and it's never the temperature you'd expect. He shrugs, "About the asteroid? No time. If the shuttle fails, these people will probably move on to heroin—make hay while the sun blinds." "Yeah," he hears me say, "got to make money." Capitalism and the end of the world is a bitter thrill to swallow that...

Six Inversion Strategies for Avoiding Rejection in Academic Publishing: Lessons from the IS Discipline

The publication process in many academic disciplines, including in Information Systems (IS), can seem arduous and unpredictable, particularly for early career researchers. While the literature offers plentiful guidance on how to pursue publication acceptance, this paper offers a crisp summary of common mistakes that lead to rejection and provides six actionable inversion strategies for avoiding them. Namely, when preparing a paper, we recommend you (1) abstain from methodological promiscuity and (2) never overclaim (but try not to underclaim either); When submitting a paper, it is a good idea to (3) steer clear of bootlicking and (3) avoid sloppiness; and, after receiving the reviews, you should (5) forego belligerence, and (6) stop flogging a dead horse. These inversion strategies can help early career researchers better navigate the review process, increasing the chances of their papers maturing, and helping to avoid mistakes that lower the chance of publishing in high-quality IS journals.

First detection of the occurrence and study of the genetic diversity of novel putative kirkoviruses in donkey in China.

The first representative of a seemingly novel virus family has been found during the metagenomic examination of a diseased and dead horse in the USA [Li et al. in J Gen Virol 96:2721-2733, 2015]. These authors have suggested the need for the establishment of a new family with the tentative name Kirkoviridae; however, the suggested name is not official yet. Soon after the discovery, similar, relatively large CRESS-DNA viruses have been detected in various animals in China and elsewhere. Besides the two main genes (rep and cap), characteristic for members of the family Circoviridae, the tentative kirkoviruses have considerably larger genomes of approximately 4000 nucleotides. Accordingly, these viruses possess three four additional ORFs coding for proteins of unknown function. This has been described previously. In the present manuscript, the authors report the sequence of kirkovirus-like viruses, detected by PCR in donkey excretes in China. From 73 samples, 8 were found positive. From three of these newly detected viruses, the full genomic sequence was determined, whereas from the other five only one gene, namely the replication-associated (Rep) protein was sequenced.

Beyond Imperial Aesthetics: Theories of Art and Politics in East Asia

Beyond Imperial Aesthetics: Theories of Art and Politics in East Asia

Atrial Fibrillation is Not A Dead Horse

Prevalence and incidence of Atrial Fibrillation (AF) is high in western countries. It is apparently lower in developing countries, because of unrecognition, undertreatment and related complications and mortality. Studies in subjects wearing cardiac implantable electronic devices showed a wide burden of AF, ranging from subclinical episodes to permanent AF. The aim of our study was to identify haematological and haemodynamic differences between Paroxysmal Atrial Tachyarrhythmias (PAT) compared to Non-Paroxysmal AF (NPAF), detected by 24 hours Holter ECG, and predictive negative factors associated with increased risk of evolution from paroxysmal to persistent or permanent AF. Our data highlight the dynamic nature of PAT and NPAF. PAT in young subjects is a red flag, requiring at least changes in lifestyle and further diagnostic examinations to avoid progression to irreversible pathological myocardial electrical and structural remodeling. Comorbidities, scarce compliance, or inappropriate treatments account for high incidence of acute cerebrovascular events with disabling outcomes in elderly patients. Further studies are needed on genetic susceptibility and vulnerability. Educational campaign is the most effective, long- term strategy. Personalized approach and therapeutical scheme are recommended based on patient compliance and actual risk. A holistic approach to patient is the pillar for any clinical decision and practice.

Samuel Johnson: Selected Works. Ed. Robert DeMaria Jr., Stephen Fix, and Howard D. Weinbrot.

<i>Samuel Johnson: Selected Works</i>. Ed. Robert DeMaria Jr., Stephen Fix, and Howard D. Weinbrot.

Dead Horse Gully walk brochure undated

Dead Horse Gully walk brochure undated

Psychosocial or Mythological: Sam Shepard’s Kicking a Dead Horse as a Liberal Ironist

American West has conjured up a shining image in the media but a complex subject in the research studies. Among the iconic elements that represent the American West, the image of cowboy has occupied a unique place. Relatively, mythological or psychosocial methods may contribute to the comprehension of the image of cowboy. In this vein, an examination of cowboy with regard to the aforementioned perspectives are studied but proved insufficient because it is almost impossible to draw a fine distinction between these two matters. Nevertheless, the core of this study by attributing to one of Shepard’s late plays entitled Kicking a Dead Horse tries to address the issue of cowboy with regard to Richard Rorty’s liberal ironist to prove that neither mythological nor psychosocial approach is appropriate enough to study the image of cowboy whereas Shepard’s emphasis on self-creation as buttressed by Richard Rorty’s liberal ironist is the suitable method for analyzing the image of cowboy.

Great Blue Heron Forages for Fish by Bill-Vibrating

The more than 60 species in the family Ardeidae (herons, egrets, and bitterns) are known to be very creative at catching prey. Kushlan (1978) describes a total of 38 feeding behaviors for this family. Each species uses several feeding methods, but only 6 species, or about 10% of the family, are known to attract fish by vibrating their bills in water, a technique first described by Buckley and Buckley (1968). This makes bill-vibrating one of the least common feeding tactics in Ardeidae. On 10 May 2019, I observed and photographed an adult Great Blue Heron (Ardea herodias) foraging by bill-vibrating at a large pond in Dead Horse Ranch State Park, near Cottonwood, Arizona. Bill-vibrating has not previously been reported in this species.

The Late Work of Sam Shepard

The Late Work of Sam Shepard

Horses and Cowboys on the Contemporary American Stage: The Horse as Prop in Sam Shepard’s Kicking a Dead Horse and Sarah Ruhl’s Late: a cowboy song

ABSTRACT This comparative essay analyses the dramatic representation of horses in two early twenty-first-century American plays by Sam Shepard and Sarah Ruhl. Both plays bring a horse figure onto the stage as a prop and couple it to human characters fashioned by the iconography of the American cowboy. While both plays rely heavily on the symbolic power of horses and trope the animal, thus failing to achieve a portrayal of animality initially capable of challenging traditional humanist forms of representation, a close analysis of the materiality of equine presence on the stage shows the overlooked yet essential dramatic function horses have in these plays; that, far from being static symbols, they intervene decisively in the construction and cultural perception of space, gender and values of evolving American cowboy cultures; that their presence contributes to an appreciation of the potential of the horse-human partnership; and that, bringing to the stage their historical heritage as inhabitants of the American frontier, their presence contributes to the reconceptualization of borders making boundaries between humans and animals more permeable.

Dehumanizing to Demonizing: Critical Discourse Analysis of George Bush’s Speeches for Exploring the Influence of Dehumanizing Metaphor in Political Discourse

To legitimize US invasion of Iraq, Bush fabricated fake intelligence reports, and depended solely on propaganda; he manipulated language in a well-calculated manner; most particularly, the metaphors chosen and devised for his speeches were such that convinced the US citizens about the legitimacy of the invasion, elicited financial support of the European allies and moral support of the majority of the world community. This research work used discourse analysis to study the metaphors that were used by George Bush in the speeches he made on 8 different occasions, and the theoretical framework used in it is the combination of critical discourse analysis CDA with postcolonial theory concept of orientalism.It utilized both qualitative and quantitative data collection tools.It found that most of the task was accomplished through the linguistic manipulation in the shape of metaphor used to dehumanize the enemy, which first made the US citizens feel as victims to the jealousy of rogue Muslim states for intending to completely annihilate them; then, it made appeal to their sense of justice, sense of security, and right to self-defense. By grouping the world citizens into Us and Them groups, the innocent, peace-loving and the war-mongers, the angels and the devils, and then by placing themselves and the rest of the world among the first group and placing the powerfulMuslims states among the second group, the US exploited the feelings and thoughts of all. Despite the UN and the rest of the world having come to know the sheer lies of the US now, the US still has managed to flog a dead horse and blind-fold majority of the world through this linguistic manipulation in the form of using dehumanizing metaphors

Psychiatry and Its Discontents by Andrew Scull

Reviewed by: Psychiatry and Its Discontents by Andrew Scull Jonathan Sadowsky Andrew Scull. Psychiatry and Its Discontents. Oakland: University of California Press, 2019. xiv + 376 pp. Ill. $29.95 (978-0-520-97357-2). This collection of essays on psychiatry and its critics by Andrew Scull contains a chapter on the “culture of complaint” that has surrounded psychiatry. That culture has been embodied most dramatically in the antipsychiatry movement but is also reflected in less strident forms of distrust toward the profession. The volume suggests that Scull is himself part of that culture of complaint. On page 2, after stating [End Page 262] his opposition to “progress narratives” of the history of psychiatry, Scull assures us that he does not deny that any advances have been made. But what are they? The erudition brought to bear is formidable. Not only does Scull read much of what his peers publish, he’s done primary source research on an incredible array of subjects. Scull covers asylums, somatic treatments and psychopharmaceuticals, biological reductionism (not only in clinical psychiatry but in experimental psychology), Freud and psychoanalysis, Adolf Meyer, and antipsychiatry. None come off very well. Biological reductionism is subjected to effective demolition. Psycho-pharmaceuticals are discussed only with reference to their adverse effect and the drug industry’s avaricious hype of them. Talk therapies, often promoted by critics of biological reductionism, get little attention. Scull does kook at Freud, whom he regards as “dead.” If dead, though, Freud haunts the book like a ghost—seen only occasionally, but preternaturally influential, animating both the cover and the title. Scull points out that both defenders and critics seem unable to leave Freud alone—but neither is Scull, it seems. And what of the antireductionist Meyer, who wanted to look at the patient’s biology, psychology and social context? Meyer’s doctrines, Scull says, are “empty.” Antipsychiatry doesn’t fare better. Thomas Szasz’s rejection of the reality of mental illness is rightly dismissed as silly. Like many historians of psychiatry, Scull feels compelled to note Michel Foucault’s empirical weaknesses. Foucault is another figure historians of psychiatry seem to consider dead but summon at frequent seances, if only for the airing of grievances. We could call this a repetition compulsion. All of Scull’s views have some merit. The question is whether there is more to the story. There is, I dare to say, some evidence that some psychiatric treatments relieve suffering, even if they all have flaws. (Most medical treatments have flaws.) Criticism of the pharmaceutical industry is warranted, but do we really want a world without any psychiatric medications? Odds are good that a lot of people reading this right now are on one. We can blame this on psychiatric overreach if we want, but if you are one of those people, and feel a benefit, don’t you want that represented in the historiography? There is also plenty of evidence that psychotherapy works—even including the psychodynamic therapy inspired by that dead Viennese horse we keep flogging. I dislike hagiographic history as much as the next person. But medical historians have a responsibility to give some weight to therapeutic benefits of what we study. If psychiatry really cannot do any good for its patients, then why shouldn’t we follow Szasz in calling for its abolition? If our loved ones lose all their assets in spending binges during manic states, or suffer psychotic breaks, or have suicidal depressions, a psychiatry so bankrupt has nothing to offer them. In this wide-ranging book that touches on so many clinical developments in psychiatry over the past 150 years, I cannot name a treatment Scull approves of. Psychiatry’s failures, abuses, and limitations are legion, and few have done more than Scull to document them. If indeed there have also been some advances, it’s fair to ask what they are. [End Page 263] Jonathan Sadowsky Case Western Reserve University Copyright © 2021 The Johns Hopkins University Press

Confirming the Source of High-Sulfate Concentrations in Dead Horse Creek, Winkler, Manitoba, Canada, Using a Dual-Isotope Bayesian Probability Mixing Model

Sulfate (SO42−) is an essential nutrient for the growth of several agricultural crops. However, higher than normal SO42− runoff into rivers and streams can cause environmental impacts including acidification, heavy metal release, phosphorus remobilization, and methylmercury release in aquatic systems. The city of Winkler, Manitoba, Canada, uses groundwater for its municipal needs. Some of the wells have a high SO42− content that is stripped off and discarded into the municipal sewage lagoons which are biannually emptied into an adjacent creek (Dead Horse Creek, DHC). However, sewage lagoon effluent is not the only input source of SO42−. Culvert drainage and soil runoff from the surrounding agricultural fields also contribute SO42− to DHC. During the summers of 2011, 2012, and 2018, sewage lagoons, culverts, wells, precipitation, soil, and fertilizers were sampled from the DHC area near Winker, Manitoba. Isotopic compositions (sulfur and oxygen) for all potential SO42− inputs to DHC have been determined. In this study, a dual-isotope approach was employed in combination with Stable Isotope Analysis in R (SIAR) Bayesian probability analysis to estimate the contributions of all potential SO42− sources to DHC. The Winkler sewage lagoons were found to be the primary SO42− contributor, an outcome which is directly related to the disposal of concentrated SO42− waste from the City of Winkler’s water treatment plant. In addition, runoff of soils (through culverts) was also determined to be a significant contributor of SO42− to DHC. Based on the results of this study, it is recommended that the City of Winkler’s Waste Water Treatment Plant incorporate a process to remove the high SO42− concentrations from the lagoons prior to the release of sewage effluent into DHC.

It sounds like food: Phonotaxis of a diurnal lizard

Foraging diurnal lizards are well known for their use of visual and chemical cues to detect prey. We already showed that the Balearic lizard is able to detect prey using visual and chemical cues, even from airborne odors. In this study we carried out a field experiment to test if lizards can detect prey using acoustic cues. Our results show that Podarcis lilfordi is able to detect flies trapped inside opaque cups, only using acoustic cues. To our knowledge, this is the first known case of phonotaxis of a diurnal lizard. Thus, P. lilfordi can detect, from far away, current pollinators trapped inside floral chambers of the dead horse arum, Helicodiceros muscivorus. This is another behavioral trait displayed by the Balearic lizard during its complex interaction with the dead horse arum.