In this study, we aimed to determine the levels of cytokines IL-1β, IL-4, IL-10, IFN-γ, MIF and VEGF in tears derived from healthy subjects. We tested cytokines as potential markers of inflammation for their potential use in clinical practice. Having reliable method for measuring cytokine levels in tears would enable an early diagnosis of eye diseases. In two phases, cytokines in tears of healthy individuals were analyzed using Bio-Plex Cytokine Assay (Bio-Rad). We assessed the suitability of methods for diagnostic purposes as well as the suitability of our selected cytokines. Statistically significant positive correlations of cytokines were confirmed: IL-10 with IFN-γ (r = 0,81), MIF with VEGF (r = 0,42 / r = 0,49), IL-1β with IL-10 (r = 0,52), IL-1β with IFN-γ (r = 0,55), IL-1β with VEGF (r = 0,38), IFN-γ with VEGF (r = 0,45) and IL-4 with VEGF (r = 0,48) in healthy subjects in tears. IL-4 (r = -0,37) and IFN-γ (r = -0,42) correlate negatively with age. In healthy individuals, there seem to be no differences with regard to gender, BMI, body fat, time of meal consumption prior to tear collection, eye strain when using a computer, dry eyes. Thus, studied cytokines are suitable for diagnostic purposes. Significant differences in concentrations of four (IL-1β, IL-10, IFN-γ a VEGF) of the five...

Images of the Mater dolorosa, the weeping Mother of God mourning over her dead son, are plentiful art of Northern Europe during the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries and often foreground the shedding of effluvia—blood, sweat, and tears—in their depictions of the holy pair. This paper explores the visual themes of tears, blood, eyes, and wounds as vital actors in images that require close, meditative, and affective looking and engagement. Such image formats include small-scale pairings of the Man of Sorrows and Mater dolorosa as well as books of hours. In these contexts, the holy fluids and their bodily sources expand the images' narratives and allow for greater exegesis of their devotional prompts. This phenomenon of expansion via effluvia occurs throughout Flemish devotional culture of this period; this paper uses Albrecht Bouts's diptych panels of the Mater dolorosa and Man of Sorrows, produced between 1490 and 1525, as the chief case study to encapsulate and ground those ideas while still acknowledging that they also apply beyond this image. Considering the widespread commonalities between blood and tears in visual and textual representations of the early modern Flemish devotional culture and the visual similarities between weeping eyes and bleeding wounds, this paper argues that Mary's eyes act as the external manifestations of her internal wounds and become locus of her Compassion for Christ. Furthermore, pictorial blood and tears function as metonymic devices that, like the Man of Sorrows type, invoke the entirety of the Passion and Compassion. The multivalent functions of the blood and tears in Bouts's diptych expand it beyond just a representation of Mary and her son and allow it to become a window and mirror into which viewers could look to engage in penance and communion with Mary and Christ.

Den sexuella hälsan och sexualiteten utgör centrala faktorer i kvinnans livsvärld. Historiskt sett har bilden av kvinnans sexualitet varit belagd med olika tabu vilket ännu idag återspeglas i samhället. Förlossningsbristningar kan leda till fysiska och psykiska konsekvenser som kan påverka kvinnans sexuella hälsa. Barnmorskan kan hjälpa kvinnan till en bättre sexuell hälsa genom att inneha god kunskap om förlossningsbristningar. Stöd och information före och efter förlossning kan bidra till en ökad Känsla av Sammanhang, KASAM, och främja den sexuella hälsan. Caritativt vårdande kan bidra till att lindra lidande samt använda lidandet som motivation till förändring. Förlossningsbristningar kan påverka kvinnans sexuella hälsa och därmed hennes livsvärld. Syftet med studien var att belysa kvinnors upplevelser av hur deras sexuella hälsa har påverkats efter att de drabbats av förlossningsbristningar. Studien utfördes som en kvalitativ intervjustudie med induktiv ansats där 10 kvinnor intervjuades. Resultatet visar att förlossningsbristningar begränsar kvinnors sexuella frihet. Kvinnorna upplevde en försämring av den sexuella hälsan men ibland även en förbättring då nya aspekter av det sexuella livet framtonades. Dock upplevde kvinnorna sig som begränsade även när deras sexuella hälsa förbättrats. Känslor av att vara trasig, smutsig, ha ett påverkat självförtroende, en påverkad relation och/eller svårigheter att träffa någon ny framkom. Sjukgymnastik, tydlig information från vården samt att utforska nya sätt att utöva sexualiteten till exempel med hjälp av sexleksaker och icke-penetrerande sex främjade den sexuella hälsan. Skamkänslor, nonchalans från vårdens sida samt bristande information upplevdes som försämrande faktorer. Det krävs en större öppenhet kring att tala om sexualitet inom vården samt en bättre samordnad och koordinerad vårdkedja i kombination med förbättrad information, utbildning och uppföljning. Sexuella hjälpmedel behöver lyftas och implementeras i vården. Barnmorskeledd utbildning av olika yrkeskategorier i att tala om sexuell hälsa kan vara av stor nytta. / Sexual health and sexuality are central factors in a woman's life world. Historically, the image of women's sexuality has been covered with various taboos, which are still reflected in society today. Perineal tears can lead to physical and psychological consequences that can affect a woman's sexual health. The midwife can help the woman to a better sexual health by having good knowledge about perineal tears. Support and information as well before as after childbirth can help increase the Sense of Coherence, SOC, and promote sexual health. Caritative care can contribute to alleviate suffering and use the suffering to generate motivation for change. Perineal tears can affect a woman's sexual health and thus her life world. The purpose of the study was to describe women's experiences of how their sexual health has been affected after they suffered from perineal tears. The study was conducted as a qualitative interview study with an inductive approach where 10 women were interviewed. The results show that perineal tears caused a limitation to women’s sexual freedom. Women experienced a deterioration in sexual health, but sometimes also an improvement when new aspects of sexual life emerge. However, the women felt restricted regardless of whether their sexual health had improved. Feelings of being broken, dirty and having affected self-confidence, affected relationships and/or difficulties meeting someone new emerged. Physiotherapy, clear information from healthcare and exploring new ways of exercising sexuality, for example with the help of sex toys and non-penetrative sex, promoted sexual health. Feelings of shame and nonchalant treatment from healthcare professionals as well as a lack of information were perceived as limiting. There is a need for greater openness in talking about sexuality in healthcare as well as a better coordinated chain of care in combination with improved information and follow-up. Sexual aids such as sex toys need to be lifted and implemented in care. Midwife-led training of various professional categories in talking about sexual health can be of great benefit.

This thesis examines the representation of weeping rulers in early medieval sources, focusing on the Carolingian empire between 790 and 888. The meanings applied to tears are culturally specific: thus, exploring how, why, when and where rulers cried can illuminate the dynamics of power and ideals of kingship in this period. This thesis provides a survey of a poorly understood phenomenon. It also challenges several assumptions about the nature of early medieval power. Rulers wept not only over their own sins (a well-recognised phenomenon), but also over the sins of others and out of a desire for heavenly glory. Thus, they wept in a ‘monastic' or ‘priestly' way. This was something associated more with certain rulers than others. As such, tears can be used as a lens through which developments in ideas about the relationship between secular rulers and the ecclesiastical hierarchy can be traced. The thesis is divided into six sections. The historiographical importance of this topic is discussed in the introduction. Chapter one assesses the understanding of tears in biblical, Roman and Merovingian sources. Chapter two focuses on the representation of tears in texts associated with the court of Charlemagne (d. 814). Chapter three explores how authors loyal to Louis the Pious (d. 840) used tears to respond to criticisms of him and his wife, the Empress Judith (d. 843). Chapter four turns to exegetical material written between 820 and 860 and examines how biblical rulers were represented weeping. In particular, the reception of these previously unrecognised images in royal courts and their influence on narrative sources will be considered. Chapter five explores sources from the later ninth century, focusing particularly on the writings of Hincmar of Reims (d. 882) and Notker of St Gall (d. 912). Chapter six considers tears in three case studies drawn from post=Carolingian sources. Finally the concluding section outlines the significance of this thesis for our understanding of Carolingian and post Carolingian political culture and the history of weeping in the middle ages.

Tränen überschreiten die Grenzen des Körpers von innen nach außen und werden damit zu einem sichtbaren Anzeichen eines seelischen Extremzustands. In der Arbeit wird untersucht, ob die Träne, die Körpergrenzen gefährdet oder sogar auflöst, in der modernen und gegenwärtigen Kunst Metapher und Trägerin innerästhetischer Transgression werden kann. Dies bedeutet zugleich, dass eine Umwertung der Träne, von der Perle der Reinheit zu einem bedrohlichen Fluidum, stattgefunden hat. Die Träne als eine bedrohliche Grenzüberschreiterin ist ein Motiv, das in früheren Kunstepochen so nicht anzutreffen ist. Damit verweist sie zugleich exemplarisch auf die Auflösungsstrategien, welche die Kunst des 20. und 21. Jahrhunderts bestimmen. Fotoarbeiten von Man Ray, Madame Yevonde und Sam Taylor-Wood, Zeichnungen von Pablo Picasso und Hans Bellmer, Performances von Marina Abramović und Gina Pane, Video-arbeiten von Bill Viola und Bas Jan Ader, Installationen von Daniele Buetti und eine Buchserie von Dieter Roth, denen allen das Motiv der Träne gemeinsam ist, werden in einem Close Rea-ding auf Auflösungstendenzen hin untersucht. Besonderes Augenmerk gilt medienspezifischen Strukturen und Analogien. / Tears overstep the bounds of the human body from within – to become evidence of a crit-ical state of mind. The present study examines whether the tear, which endangers or even dispels the boundaries of the body, could be seen as a metaphor and even as an indication of aesthetic transgression in modern and contemporary art. This would mean that the tear as motif has also undergone a paradigm change, from the pearl of purity to a threatening fluid. The aspect of the tear as a transgressor of boundaries is not to be found in earlier periods of art. Accordingly, it also references the process of disintegration, which strongly determines 20th and 21st century art. Photographs by Man Ray, Madame Yevonde and Sam Taylor-Wood, drawings by Pablo Picasso and Hans Bellmer, performances of Marina Abramovic and Gina Pane, video works by Bill Viola and Bas Jan Ader, installations by Daniele Buetti and a series of books by Dieter Roth – which all deal with the tear complex – will be examined in close reading. Their connection with disintegrative tendencies will be scrutinised, and special attention given to media-specific structures and analogies.