James Malcolm Rymer

James Malcolm Rymer (b. 1814–d. 1884) created two of the most influential monsters of 19th-century fiction: Varney the Vampyre and Sweeney Todd. The son of an Edinburgh-born London engraver, Malcolm Rymer, who published poetry and a Gothic novel, Rymer was raised in a working-class literary-artistic family. His brothers Gaven and Chadwick were artists, and his brother Thomas put his engraving skills to criminal use as a serial financial forger. For the penny periodicals magnate Edward Lloyd, Rymer prolifically wrote bestselling serials including Ada, the Betrayed, or, The Murder at the Old Smithy (1843); The Black Monk, or, The Secret of the Grey Turret (1844); Varney, the Vampyre, or, The Feast of Blood (1845–1847); and the Sweeney Todd tale The String of Pearls, a Romance (1846–1847, expanded in 1850 as The String of Pearls, or The Barber of Fleet Street). In the 1850s, Lloyd’s business model changed. Favoring news over fiction, he jettisoned Rymer, who in 1858 took up employment composing serials for Reynolds’s Miscellany, a penny periodical founded by the radical journalist and novelist George W. M. Reynolds. Some of Rymer’s serials of this period, such as the outlaw romances Edith the Captive, or the Robbers of Epping Forest (1861–1862) and its sequel Edith Heron, or the Earl and the Countess (1866), were issued in stand-alone editions by Reynolds’s regular publisher, John Dicks. Rymer also composed essays, short tales, and poetry and served as a periodical editor, including of two of Lloyd’s penny periodicals. Extremely private, he published for the most part anonymously, as “the author of” several of his bestselling penny bloods, and under a variety of pseudonyms, including the anagrams “Malcolm J. Errym” and “Malcolm J. Merry” and “Lady Clara Cavendish.” In the 20th century, while Sweeney Todd’s fame grew, Rymer was largely forgotten, in part because an apocryphal bibliographic tradition erroneously maintained that The String of Pearls and many of his other works were written by another Lloyd employee, Thomas Peckett Prest. Since the 1960s, scholarly interest in penny fiction has brought to light Rymer’s contemporaneous popularity, his complex aesthetics, his often liberal or radical politics, his profound impact on Victorian mass culture, and his work’s vibrant transmedia afterlives.

China’s Increasing Investments and Relationships with Sea Line Countries of Indian Ocean: A Geopolitical Strategy

This study aims to investigate how String of Pearls is referred to as a geopolitical strategy adopted by China and a threat to India as India is a growing regional power? China has invested a lot in building its military bases network in the countries of sea lines that are falling on the Indian Ocean. China has also developed commercial facilities and its military bases, which refer to as String of Pearls. This study will find the interest of China in expanding its engagements in the region of the Indian Ocean. China is investing heavily in the construction of ports, roads, military, and commercial bases along with so many huge products in the countries providing China bases to increase its chain of String of Pearls. The study will identify how these investments made by China are paying off back to China. This research paper will cover Chinese investment in Pakistan, Myanmar, Djibouti, Persian Gulf, Strait of Hormuz, Myanmar, Massawa port Eritrea, Iran, Lamu port Kenya, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, etc.

THE GROWING RELATION BETWEEN CHINA AND PAKISTAN AND ITS INFLUENCE ON INDIA AND ITS CHALLENGES AHEAD

China and Pakistan diplomatic relation started from 1951 which has grown over the years. China is providing humongous weapons, aircrafts and submarines to Pakistan in spite Pakistan being in debt and now Turkey has also started to provide military weapons to Pakistan, the ultimate aim to is attack India .The string of pearls is a geopolitical strategic to surround Indian peninsular from all sides by creating naval base in its neighbor countries .The economic corridor of China and Pakistan is also a weapon to keep a check on India and amplify Pakistan influence in the Indian Ocean region by providing them powerful submarines. However due to China’s belt and road initiative project which is one of the most financial risk projects has made china lost its appetite to provide money for large infrastructure projects especially in Pakistan, the disagreement between Pakistan and China on CPEC has stopped the work ahead. China is also supporting the Maoist, North- East insurgency and terrorist groups in India by providing those arms and has also attacked India through Cyber warfare. China through the string of pears, CPEC, Belt and Road initiative is trying to encircle India. Keyword: China, Pakistan, India, CPEC, String of pears, military, diplomatic relations, Indian Peninsula, Indian Ocean

Repair of Fractures of the Lateral Aspect of the Humeral Condyle in Skeletally Mature Dogs with Locking and Non-Locking Plates

Objective The aim of this study was to report the functional outcome and complications following transcondylar screw and epicondylar plate fixation of skeletally mature dogs with fractures of the lateral aspect of the humeral condyle using a string of pearls, limited contact dynamic compression plate (LC-DCP) or locking compression plate (LCP). Study Design This study was a retrospective review of clinical records, radiographic images and canine brief pain inventory evaluation with a supplementary non-validated questionnaire. Results Thirty-one fractures in 29 dogs were included. The majority of dogs were Spaniels (23/29). Thirty fractures had evidence of humeral intracondylar fissure. Sixteen fractures had string of pearls, eight LCP and seven LC-DCP. There were two minor complications and three major complications. Perioperative (median: 6 weeks, range: 6–12) outcome was considered fully functional for 24 fractures and acceptable for 6 fractures. One dog had an unacceptable outcome due to the failure of an LCP that healed following revision surgery. Fractures with radiographic follow-up had a persistent visible intracondylar fracture line in 20/26. Twenty-six of twenty-seven owners perceived an excellent outcome (median: 135 weeks, range: 25–246). Conclusion Repair of fractures of the lateral aspect of the humeral condyle with a transcondylar screw and epicondylar plate has a good perioperative, mid- and long-term outcome with 10% major complication rate, despite incomplete or non-union of the intracondylar fracture in 20/26 elbows.

Linear IgA bullous dermatosis

Linear IgA bullous dermatosis is a rare autoimmune blistering disorder, afecting both children and adults. The goal of this review is to summarize the clinical, diagnostic, and therapeutic aspects of the disease. Subepidermal, tense blisters, urticariform plaques and erosions develop on the skin, typically in a grouped pattern. Annularly arranged lesions are referred to as “cluster of jewels”, while lesions forming a linear or arched pattern are named “string of pearls”. Mucosal involvement is also present in some cases, and scarring may lead to permanent complications. Specifc autoimmune diagnostic tests are essential for the defnitive diagnosis. The frst line treatment is dapsone and the disease shows a benign course in most cases.

Invasive Klebsiella syndrome with coexisting fungal endophthalmitis

Endogenous endophthalmitis accounts for approximately 5 – 10% of all endophthalmitis cases. We report a case of a middle-aged gentleman with underlying uncontrolled diabetes mellitus who presented with fever and generalised body weakness for one week. He was diagnosed with invasive Klebsiella syndrome based on blood culture with presence of bilateral pleural effusion, liver abscess, renal impairment and sphenoidal sinusitis. The patient developed sudden bilateral painless reduced vision on day two of admission. Ocular examination revealed bilateral severe anterior chamber reaction and severe vitritis that obscured the view of the fundus. Ocular B-scan ultrasonography showed multiple loculations in the posterior segment in both eyes. There was soft tissue density with calcification in the left sphenoid sinus on computed tomography of the orbit. He was treated for bilateral endogenous endophthalmitis with multiple intravitreal antibiotic injections, but showed no improvement. Functional endoscopic sinus surgery was performed and revealed that the left sphenoid sinus was filled with fungal balls. Following drainage of sphenoidal pus, there was resolution of vitritis and fundus examination showed features of underlying fungal infection with a “string of pearls” present along the vascular arcade of both eyes. The patient was diagnosed with bilateral endogenous endophthalmitis secondary to invasive Klebsiella syndrome with coexisting fungal endophthalmitis secondary to sphenoid mycetoma. In addition to repeated intravitreal antibiotic injections, he was also treated with systemic and topical antifungal therapy. At three months post treatment, the infection resolved and his vision improved from counting fingers to 6/36 bilaterally.

Suyuti’s treatise on the Surahs Order in the Qur’an

The article presents a Russian translation of two chapters of the treatise by Jalal ad-Din al-Suyuti “Tanāsuq al-durar fi tanāsub as-suwar” (“A string of pearls regarding the correspondence of the Surahs”). In the last few decades European Arabic studies have paid a lot of attention to the composition of the Qur’an, whereas Muslim scholars have been dealing with this problem almost from the very beginning of the Qur’an studies. Suyuti’s treatise summarizes Muslim scholars’ centuries-old researches on the Qur’an composition. The fi rst chapter represents the author’s introduction to the treatise, where he states the reasons that induced him to write this book, and the second chapter is related to the analysis of the surah “The opening”. The introductory remarks contain information about the life of Jalal ad-Din, as well as a brief analysis of the treatise and an assessment of its signifi cance for study of the Qur’an composition.

“String of pearls sign” on FDG PET imaging in two patients with PUO of diverse etiologies and rare associations

Background Pyrexia of unknown origin (PUO) may be related to several pathologies that need to be identified for proper treatment. PET is found to have highest diagnostic yield in identifying various causes of PUO. The aim of this study is to highlight and justify the use of 18F FDG PET (Fluorine Fluorodeoxyglucose Positron Emission Tomography) imaging as a whole body screening tool in two unique cases of febrile illness with lymphadenopathy but with diverse etiologies based on PET-guided biopsy. The unique arrangement of PET positive nodal disease as a “string of pearls sign” helps in easy identification of nodal disease. Case presentation The first case presented with fever and headache (past history of meningitis), high ferritin level, leukopenia, anemia, and raised inflammatory markers. CSF cell count was high, with mildly elevated protein and low glucose levels. PET positive nodes were biopsied; Kikuchi Fujimoto disease was confirmed with unexpected FDG avid pachymeningeal enhancements on PETMR indicating associated (active) meningitis which would have been missed if CT or MR was done as a standalone imaging. Lumbar puncture confirmed aseptic meningitis. The patient was treated with anti-inflammatory drugs, inj. methylprednisolone, and immunoglobulin together with hydroxychloroquine. The patient improved on follow-up. The second case presented with low-grade fever, pruritis, and nodular swellings in extremities, anemia, and pancytopenia. Based on PETCT findings, biopsy was attempted from FDG avid axillary nodes. Mantle cell lymphoma with rare nodular involvement of cutaneous and subcutaneous tissue was confirmed. Chemotherapy and tyrosine kinase inhibitor therapy was initiated, and the patient is doing well clinically. Conclusion The clinical impact of PET is twofold in both cases. It has accurately identified the nodal involvement even those subcentimetric in size by exhibiting a unique sign on PET resembling a “string of pearls” in the neck and chest with unrelated diverse etiologies. Secondly, additional findings of meningitis in the first case and cutaneous/subcutaneous nodular lymphomatous deposits in the second patient were possible only with whole body FDG PETMR/CT imaging. The rate of additional disease detection by PET is found to be greater than other conventional imaging modalities due to the functional basis of investigation.