scholarly journals The Dog-Fabulist: Glimpses of the Posthuman in A Dog’s Heart (1925) by Mikhail Bulgakov

2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (2) ◽  
pp. 131-147
Author(s):  
Luigi Gussago
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Science Fiction ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
The Body ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Human Organs ◽  
Utopian Fiction ◽  
Political Conflicts ◽  
Mikhail Bulgakov ◽  
Homo Sovieticus

      Mikhail Bulgakov’s science-fiction novella A Dog’s Heart (Собачье сердце, 1925) is a brilliantly wry account of an experiment to graft human organs onto the body of a stray mutt, with unexpected consequences. The dog turns into a despicable, unruly hominid that wreaks havoc in Professor Preobrazhensky’s already endangered bourgeois existence. Critics have seen the story mostly as a prophecy predicting the downfall of the homo sovieticus: the uncontaminated, witty voice of the dog-narrator does not spare either the aristocratic opportunists of the new regime, or the violent, unruly proletarians. However, from an animal studies perspective, Bulgakov’s story, along with examples from Mikhail Zoschchenko’s and William Golding’s anti-utopian fiction, may also be investigated as an exhortation to discover new narratives of “intra-action” (Barad) among all sorts of living agencies, and as an enactment of what Joseph Meeker calls the “play ethic,” where more-than-human and human beings participate on equal terms in the game of survival and co-evolution. Through a comparative analysis of the three main characters, Sharik, Sharikov and Preobrazhensky, this article shows how Bulgakov’s story is not only a fable about human fallibility and political conflicts, but also opens a window onto a posthuman alternative.    

All Animals Are Equal, or Are They? The Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ’s Animal Epistle and its Unhappy End

2014 ◽  
Vol 16 (2) ◽  
pp. 42-88 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarra Tlili
Keyword(s):  
The Body ◽  
Final Outcome ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Main Text ◽  
Nonhuman Animals ◽  
Privileged Status

The Ikhwān al-Ṣafāʾ’s animal epistle is an intriguing work. Although in the body of the narrative the authors challenge anthropocentric preconceptions and present nonhuman animals in a more favourable light than human beings, inexplicably, the narrative ends by reconfirming the privileged status of humans. The aim of this paper is to propose an explanation for this discrepancy. I argue that the egalitarian message reflected in the body of the narrative is traceable back to the Qur'an, the main text with which the authors engage in the fable, whereas the final outcome is due to the Ikhwān's hierarchical worldview.

Our Bodies, Whose Property?

2013 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anne Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Labor Markets ◽  
Personal Autonomy ◽  
The Body ◽  
Body Parts ◽  
Complex Issue ◽  
Human Organs ◽  
Property Owners ◽  
The Common ◽  
The Difference ◽  
The Right

No one wants to be treated like an object, regarded as an item of property, or put up for sale. Yet many people frame personal autonomy in terms of self-ownership, representing themselves as property owners with the right to do as they wish with their bodies. Others do not use the language of property, but are similarly insistent on the rights of free individuals to decide for themselves whether to engage in commercial transactions for sex, reproduction, or organ sales. Drawing on analyses of rape, surrogacy, and markets in human organs, this book challenges notions of freedom based on ownership of our bodies and argues against the normalization of markets in bodily services and parts. The book explores the risks associated with metaphors of property and the reasons why the commodification of the body remains problematic. The book asks what is wrong with thinking of oneself as the owner of one's body? What is wrong with making our bodies available for rent or sale? What, if anything, is the difference between markets in sex, reproduction, or human body parts, and the other markets we commonly applaud? The book contends that body markets occupy the outer edges of a continuum that is, in some way, a feature of all labor markets. But it also emphasizes that we all have bodies, and considers the implications of this otherwise banal fact for equality. Bodies remind us of shared vulnerability, alerting us to the common experience of living as embodied beings in the same world. Examining the complex issue of body exceptionalism, the book demonstrates that treating the body as property makes human equality harder to comprehend.

An ayurvedic tablet formulation for ulcer protection

2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 35-38
Author(s):  
Shiva Kumar K ◽  
Purushothaman M ◽  
Soujanya H ◽  
Jagadeeshwari S
Keyword(s):  
Pharmacological Activity ◽  
The Body ◽  
Gastric Ulcers ◽  
Antiulcer Activity ◽  
Herbal Drugs ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Synthetic Drugs ◽  
Scientific Investigations ◽  
System A ◽  
The World

Gastric ulcers or the peptic ulcer is the primary disease that affects the gastrointestinal system. A large extent of the population in the world are suffering from the disease, and the age group of people those who suffer from ulcers are 20-55years. Herbs are known to the human beings that are useful in the treatment of diseases, and there are a lot of scientific investigations that prove the pharmacological activity of herbal drugs. Practitioners have been using the herbal material to treat the ulcers successfully, and the same had been reported scientifically. Numerous publications have been made that proves the antiulcer activity of the plants around the world. The tablets were investigated for the antiulcer activity in two doses 200 and 400mg/kg in albino Wistar rats in the artificial ulcer those are induced by the ethanol. The prepared tablets showed a better activity compared to the standard synthetic drug and the marketed ayurvedic formulation. The tablets showed a dose-dependent activity in ulcer prevention and treatment. Many synthetic drugs are available for the ulcer treatment, and the drugs pose the other problems in the body by showing the side effects and some other reactions. This limits the use of synthetic drugs to treat ulcers effectively. Herbs are known to the human beings that are useful in the treatment of diseases, and there are a lot of scientific investigations that prove the pharmacological activity of herbal drugs.

A Rapture of the Nerds? A Comparison between Transhumanist Eschatology and Christian Parousia

2019 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 343-367
Author(s):  
Roberto Paura
Keyword(s):  
Human Brain ◽  
Point Theory ◽  
The Body ◽  
Christian Theology ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Human Species ◽  
The Future ◽  
The Creation ◽  
The Universe

Transhumanism is one of the main “ideologies of the future” that has emerged in recent decades. Its program for the enhancement of the human species during this century pursues the ultimate goal of immortality, through the creation of human brain emulations. Therefore, transhumanism offers its fol- lowers an explicit eschatology, a vision of the ultimate future of our civilization that in some cases coincides with the ultimate future of the universe, as in Frank Tipler’s Omega Point theory. The essay aims to analyze the points of comparison and opposition between transhumanist and Christian eschatologies, in particular considering the “incarnationist” view of Parousia. After an introduction concern- ing the problems posed by new scientific and cosmological theories to traditional Christian eschatology, causing the debate between “incarnationists” and “escha- tologists,” the article analyzes the transhumanist idea of mind-uploading through the possibility of making emulations of the human brain and perfect simulations of the reality we live in. In the last section the problems raised by these theories are analyzed from the point of Christian theology, in particular the proposal of a transhuman species through the emulation of the body and mind of human beings. The possibility of a transhumanist eschatology in line with the incarnationist view of Parousia is refused.

Influence of Ascorbic Acid on the Structure and Function of Alpha-2- macroglobulin: Investigations using Spectroscopic and Thermodynamic Techniques

2020 ◽  
Vol 27 (3) ◽  
pp. 201-209
Author(s):  
Syed Saqib Ali ◽  
Mohammad Khalid Zia ◽  
Tooba Siddiqui ◽  
Haseeb Ahsan ◽  
Fahim Halim Khan
Keyword(s):  
Ascorbic Acid ◽  
Conformational Changes ◽  
Structural Changes ◽  
The Body ◽  
Titration Calorimetry ◽  
Spectroscopic Techniques ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Plasma Ascorbic Acid ◽  
Dietary Antioxidant ◽  
And Function

Background: Ascorbic acid is a classic dietary antioxidant which plays an important role in the body of human beings. It is commonly found in various foods as well as taken as dietary supplement. Objective: The plasma ascorbic acid concentration may range from low, as in chronic or acute oxidative stress to high if delivered intravenously during cancer treatment. Sheep alpha-2- macroglobulin (α2M), a human α2M homologue is a large tetrameric glycoprotein of 630 kDa with antiproteinase activity, found in sheep’s blood. Methods: In the present study, the interaction of ascorbic acid with alpha-2-macroglobulin was explored in the presence of visible light by utilizing various spectroscopic techniques and isothermal titration calorimetry (ITC). Results: UV-vis and fluorescence spectroscopy suggests the formation of a complex between ascorbic acid and α2M apparent by increased absorbance and decreased fluorescence. Secondary structural changes in the α2M were investigated by CD and FT-IR spectroscopy. Our findings suggest the induction of subtle conformational changes in α2M induced by ascorbic acid. Thermodynamics signatures of ascorbic acid and α2M interaction indicate that the binding is an enthalpy-driven process. Conclusion: It is possible that ascorbic acid binds and compromises antiproteinase activity of α2M by inducing changes in the secondary structure of the protein.

scholarly journals Serum betaine is inversely associated with low lean mass mainly in men in a Chinese middle-aged and elderly community-dwelling population

2016 ◽  
Vol 115 (12) ◽  
pp. 2181-2188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bi-xia Huang ◽  
Ying-ying Zhu ◽  
Xu-ying Tan ◽  
Qiu-ye Lan ◽  
Chun-lei Li ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Lean Mass ◽  
Community Dwelling ◽  
The Body ◽  
Muscle Performance ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Composition Analysis ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Middle Aged ◽  
Chinese Adults ◽  
Skeletal Muscle Index

AbstractPrevious studies have demonstrated that betaine supplements increase lean body mass in livestock and improve muscle performance in human beings, but evidence for its effect on human lean mass is limited. Our study assessed the association of circulating betaine with lean mass and its composition in Chinese adults. A community-based study was conducted on 1996 Guangzhou residents (weight/mass: 1381/615) aged 50–75 years between 2008 and 2010. An interviewer-administered questionnaire was used to collect general baseline information. Fasting serum betaine was assessed using HPLC-MS. A total of 1590 participants completed the body composition analysis performed using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry during a mean of 3·2 years of follow-up. After adjustment for age, regression analyses demonstrated a positive association of serum betaine with percentage of lean mass (LM%) of the entire body, trunk and limbs in men (all P<0·05) and LM% of the trunk in women (P=0·016). Each sd increase in serum betaine was associated with increases in LM% of 0·609 (whole body), 0·811 (trunk), 0·422 (limbs), 0·632 (arms) and 0·346 (legs) in men and 0·350 (trunk) in women. Multiple logistic regression analysis revealed that the prevalence of lower LM% decreased by 17 % (whole body) and 14 % (trunk) in women and 23 % (whole body), 28 % (trunk), 22 % (arms) and 26 % (percentage skeletal muscle index) in men with each sd increment in serum betaine. Elevated circulating betaine was associated with a higher LM% and lower prevalence of lower LM% in middle-aged and elderly Chinese adults, particularly men.

Current trends in the development of isotonic drinks for athletes

2021 ◽  
pp. 311-317
Author(s):  
N.M. Podgornova ◽  
A.R. Zainutdinova
Keyword(s):  
Comparative Analysis ◽  
Fluid Balance ◽  
Consumer Preferences ◽  
The Body ◽  
Sucrose Content ◽  
Current Trends ◽  
High Sucrose

The article reflects the importance of isotonic drinks to maintain optimal fluid balance and replace the loss of electrolytes in the body of athletes. Consumer preferences are studied, and a comparative analysis of some isotonic drinks is presented. It has been established that the majority of isotonic agents have artificial colors, preservatives, and high sucrose content, the excessive use of which leads to the formation of various kinds of diseases.

scholarly journals Ellagic Acid Suppresses the Oxidative Stress Induced by Dietary-Oxidized Tallow

2018 ◽  
Vol 2018 ◽  
pp. 1-10 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alam Zeb ◽  
Adnan Akbar
Keyword(s):  
Oxidative Stress ◽  
Fatty Acids ◽  
Ellagic Acid ◽  
Animal Studies ◽  
Radical Scavenging Activity ◽  
Radical Scavenging ◽  
Thiobarbituric Acid ◽  
Rabbit Heart ◽  
The Body ◽  
Margaric Acid

Dietary tallow was thermally oxidized at 180°C in an open fryer. The oxidized tallow (OT) and unoxidized tallow were characterized for oxidation parameters and fatty acid composition using GC-MS. Tallow samples were fed to rabbits along with 50, 100, and 150 mg/kg/day of ellagic acid (EA) for three weeks. Results revealed that the peroxide value (PV) and thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS) significantly increased, while radical scavenging activity (RSA) of the tallow decreased significantly with oxidation. GC-MS analysis showed eight fatty acids in the tallow samples, where palmitic acid (48.5-49.7 g/100 g), linoleic acid (18.7-23.7 g/100 g), stearic acid (13.5-15.6 g/100 g), and margaric acid (6.32-6.42 g/100 g) were the major fatty acids. Animal studies showed that oxidized tallow (OT) alone or in combination with EA significantly altered the body weight of the rabbits. Serum biochemical parameters and renal function tests were affected by OT and ameliorated by EA. The toxic effects of OT on haematological indices were minimized by EA. The supplementation of OT alone had significant effects on the liver structure and functions. The coadministration of EA reduced the toxic properties of OT on the liver, by increasing the antioxidant (GSH) system. The rabbit heart was also affected by the OT, which was ameliorated by EA supplementation. These results suggested that the supplementation of EA was beneficial against the OT-induced oxidative stress and may be considered for foods containing oxidized lipids.

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