Der Beitrag diskutiert die Notwendigkeit von Emotionen im futuristischen Gesellschaftsbild von Star Trek anhand der Föderationsgesellschaft und dem Borg-Kollektiv. Es wird herausgestellt, dass die Borg begründet durch ihren Willen zur Perfektion sich vollkommen einer fortgeschrittenen Technologie unterwerfen und die Individualität von einzelnen Borgdrohnen negieren. Emotionen spielen bei den Borg keine Rolle. Die Borg kann man damit als transhumanistische Staatsordnung interpretieren, die starke Parallelen zu Hobbes’ Leviathan aufweist. / The paper discusses the necessity of emotions in the futuristic concept of society in Star Trek and compares the Federation society with the Borg Collective. We show that the Borg driven by their will to achieve perfection submit to a sophisticated technology and negate the individuality of single Borg drones. In this society, emotions are irrelevant. Thus the Borg may be seen as a manifestation of transhumanism which shows certain parallels to Hobbes’ Leviathan.

Teilw. zugl.: Los Angeles, Univ. of California, Diss. u.d.T.: Bernardi, Daniel: The wrath of whiteness. / Filmography: p - Includes bibliographical references and index.

En France, l’obésité touche 15% de la population et est en perpétuelle augmentation. Elle est une cause majeure du diabète de type 2. Elle se traduit par un accroissement du nombre de cellules de stockage du gras (adipocytes) et une résistance périphérique à l’insuline. Chez des individus obèses, l’augmentation du nombre d’adipocytes est associée à une diminution de l’expression de la sortiline, protéine transmembranaire dont le clivage entraine la formation du propeptide (PE) et sa libération dans la circulation sanguine. L’analogue synthétique du PE, la spadine, est connu pour moduler l’activité du canal potassique TREK-1. Ce canal étant exprimé dans la cellule bêta pancréatique qui sécrète l’insuline, une hormone participant à la régulation du taux de glucose dans le sang, il est possible que la spadine joue un rôle dans l’homéostasie du glucose. Mes résultats confirment cette hypothèse. En effet, la spadine améliore la tolérance au glucose des souris, en favorisant la libération d’insuline. La spadine est également connue pour interagir avec sortiline, indispensable au trafic du transporteur de glucose Glut4 vers la membrane des adipocytes. Cette interaction spadine-sortiline suggère que la spadine pourrait moduler l’entrée du glucose dans les adipocytes via la sortiline. Mes résultats montrent que la spadine ne modifie pas les capacités de stockage du glucose des adipocytes. En conclusion, la spadine joue un rôle dans la sécrétion de l’insuline et dans la régulation de la glycémie, ce qui peut présenter un intérêt pharmaceutique / In France, approximately 15% of the population is obese and this number keeps rising up every year. Obesity is a major cause of diabetes, inducing an increase of the number of fat-filled cells, called the adipocytes, and a peripheral insulin resistance. This increase of the number of adipocytes is associated with a decrease of sortilin expression, a transmembrane protein which is involved in the release of a propeptide (PE) in the blood circulation. Spadin, a synthetic PE analog, is known to modulate the potassium TREK-1 channel activity. Since, this channel is expressed in pancreatic beta cells which secrete insulin, a hormone involved in blood glucose regulation, spadin may play a role in glucose homeostasis. Consistent with this hypothesis, spadin improves glucose tolerance in mice, by stimulating insulin release. Spadin is a natural peptide derived from sortilin, which is known to control the glucose transporter Glut4 trafficking to the plasma membrane of adipocytes. This suggests that spadin may regulate glucose storage in adipocytes by affecting the sortilin function. However, my results show that spadin has no effect on glucose storage. In summary, spadin is involved in insulin secretion and glucose homeostasis and may be an alternative treatment against obesity and diabetes

Le trouble dépressif majeur est une pathologie qui atteint 20% de la population et qui représente le premier facteur de morbidité et d’incapacité au niveau mondial. Récemment, le canal potassique TREK-1 est une cible potentielle avérée dans le traitement de la dépression. La délétion de ce canal ou son blocage par un peptide dérivé résultant de la maturation de la sortiline, le propeptide (PE) ou son analogue synthétique la Spadine, résulte en un phénotype de résistance à la dépression. La sortiline est une protéine capable de s’associer à TREK-1 mais également au facteur neurotrophique BDNF important pour la viabilité neuronale et la régulation de l’état dépressif. La sortiline est donc impliquée dans la régulation de l’adressage intracellulaire de TREK-1 et du BDNF. Mes travaux se sont d’abords focalisés sur les conséquences de la délétion du gène codant pour la sortiline (Sort1-/-) sur l’adressage de TREK-1 et du BDNF, et également sur le système neurotensinergique. Les résultats révèlent au niveau cérébral une diminution de l’expression membranaire de TREK-1 et une augmentation de BDNF. L’ensemble de ces modifications conduisent les souris Sort1-/- à développer un phénotype de résistance à la dépression. De plus, ces souris présentent une augmentation de la concentration en neurotensine cérébrale ainsi que de son récepteur 2, ce qui entraine une résistance à la douleur. Par la suite, nous avons montré une diminution de la concentration sérique du PE chez les personnes dépressives, un niveau restauré après traitement avec des antidépresseurs. En conclusion, la sortiline joue un rôle prépondérant dans la régulation du trouble dépressif et aussi dans la nociception. / Major depressive disorder is a condition that affects 20% of the population and is the leading cause of morbidity and disability worldwide. Recently, the TREK-1 potassium channel has been shown to be a potential target in the treatment of depression. The deletion of this channel or its blocking by a derived peptide resulting from the maturation of Sortilin, propeptide (PE), or its synthetic analogue Spadin, results in a phenotype of resistance to depression in mice. Sortilin is a protein able to bind with TREK-1 but also with the neurotrophic factor BDNF, an important factor for neuronal viability and depressive state regulation. Sortilin is therefore involved in regulating the intracellular addressing of TREK-1 and BDNF. Initially, my work focused on the consequences of the deletion of the Sortilin gene (sort1-/-) on the TREK-1 and BDNF addressing, and the neurotensinergic system. The results showed a decrease in TREK-1 membrane expression at the cerebral level and an increase in BDNF. All of these changes lead the Sort1-/- mice to develop a phenotype of resistance to depression. In addition, these mice show an increase in brain neurotensin concentration and its receptor 2, leading to increased resistance to pain perception. In a second phase, I was interested in whether PE, a potential antidepressant, showed serum variations in depressed patients and could be an indicator of depressive syndrome. We showed that the serum PE level is significantly reduced in depressed people, a level restored after treatment with antidepressants. In conclusion, Sortilin plays a major key in the regulation of depressive disorder and also in nociception.

Magister Artium - MA / This thesis is concerned with the lives and deaths of four 1938 Voortrekker Centenary Monuments. The 1938 Voortrekker Centenary saw the construction of more than 500 centenary monuments. Each one of these structures has a biography. This study will consider how monuments celebrate current regimes and ideologies instead of narratives pertaining to the past. It will explore how monuments dating from South Africa’s imperialist and apartheid pasts reflect continued inequalities in both rural and urban South African landscapes. It will also consider how monuments cement problematic and mythological versions of the past. The most infamous 1938 Voortrekker Centenary Monument is the Voortrekker Monument, designed by Gerard Moerdyk, in Pretoria. The Voortrekker Monument is important because in many ways it acts as a proxy to the hundreds of smaller 1938 Voortrekker Centenary Monuments scattered around South Africa. This study will look at how some of the theoretical frameworks concerned with the Voortrekker Monument in Pretoria can be applied to three centenary monuments in the Riebeek Valley and Durbanville in the Western Cape. This thesis will consider how perceptions of the symbolism of these monuments have changed between their construction in the late 1930s and 2018. The Afrikaner nationalistic fever that gave birth to these structures will be dissected. It will also consider how the 1938 Voortrekker Centenary Monuments symbolically changed as South Africans witnessed the disintegration of apartheid. This study will explore how these monuments have integrated into the heritage and experiential economies. It will also consider some of the anomalies relating to these structures, including hauntings. Finally, the vandalism, destruction and futures of these structures will also briefly come into question.

Thesis (M.F.A.)--York University, 2007. Graduate Programme in Film (Screenwriting). / Typescript. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 147-149). Also available on the Internet. MODE OF ACCESS via web browser by entering the following URL: http://gateway.proquest.com/openurl?url_ver=Z39.88-2004&res_dat=xri:pqdiss&rft_val_fmt=info:ofi/fmt:kev:mtx:dissertation&rft_dat=xri:pqdiss:MR29622

Orientador: Prof. Dr. Miguel Alfredo Carid Naveira / Dissertação (mestrado) - Universidade Federal do Paraná, Setor de Ciências Humanas, Programa de Pós-Graduação em Antropologia Social. Defesa: Curitiba, 13/10/2016 / Inclui referências : f. 307-318 / Resumo: A ficção científica pode ser entendida como uma forma antropológica de pensamento sobre a alteridade. Nesta dissertação aborda-se esta relação tendo como foco a série televisiva de Star Trek: Voyager. Para tal é realizada uma imersão no percurso filosófico do conceito de alteridade e da invenção da filosofia e, posteriormente, do pensamento antropológico, como formas de ficção sobre o Outro. Construindo uma etnografia pautada na interação entre indivíduos e máquinas, entendeu-se que estas últimas ocupavam o espaço de uma alteridade radicalmente outra, dado seu desposicionamento relacional. Uma vez que este esquema foi demarcado, entendeu-se que a ficção científica em questão era responsável por apresentar duas perspectivas ontológicas diferentes. Uma delas é o que chamei de ontologia da individualidade que existe nos mais variados coletivos humanoides de Star Trek. A outra, em oposição, é aparentemente exclusiva dos Borg e se constitui como uma ontologia da assimilação, na qual o conceito de individualidade, bem como sociedade, não pode ser pensado. Palavras-Chave: Antropologia da Ficção Científica, Star Trek, Ontologias e Indivíduos / Abstract: The science fiction could be understood as a type of anthropological thinking about the alterity. In this dissertation we aim to understand this relation by focusing in the TV Show Star Trek: Voyager. To do that we create a type of reflexion about the philosophical thinking on the concept of alterity and also the invention of philosophy itself. And later in the antropological thinking, as kinds of fiction about the Other. Our grounding is an etnography where we focus on the interation between individuals and machines. The later as a type of radical alterity completely alien to the notion of individual. After this scheme has been created, we understood that the science fiction is based on two kinds of ontological perspectives. The first is the ontology of the individual, mutual for different types of humanoids and their societies in Star Trek. The other is exclusively for the Borg as it is based in the notion of assimilation. Key words: Anthopology of Science Fiction, Star Trek, Ontologies, Individuals

Living with Star Trek investigates the connections between Star Trek fandom and the Star Trek text. This study identifies and examines the American themes of utopia, community and self-improvement inherent within the fictional text which also form the thematic framework for letters written by fans to express their affection for the series. These letters represent a `network of support', whereby a community of fans is able to communicate with each other through written correspondence sent to producers, edited collections, and fan magazines. In talking about the series, fans confess and share intimate stories, often based around trauma or bereavement, and at the same time describe how Star Trek has played an important and inspirational part in their daily lives; Star Trek's utopian vision and communal spirit has given them the impetus to enact positive change. Drawing together the themes identified in the text and fan letters, the first half of the thesis examines Star Trek's use of history, narrative and myth to tell its futuristic stories. In particular, I examine how Star Trek has used the distinctive literary tradition of the Puritan American Jeremiad to create a didactic narrative that emphasises the attainment of utopia through communal effort and personal change. The second half of the thesis continues this inquiry by examining a range of letters that describe how fans are able to tap into the open nature of the Star Trek text and use it to fulfil needs and desires in their own daily lives. In particular, I stress how the letters are not just examples of fan affection but also represent a reciprocal relationship where fans can criticise and engage with the programme as well as use it as a form of motivation.

Denna uppsats undersöker TV-serien Star Treks värderingar ur ett politiskt ideologiskt perspektiv. Star Trek är en amerikansk science fiction-serie som skapades av Gene Roddenberry i mitten av 1960-talet. Frågeställningarna behandlar om det finns politiskt relaterade värderingar framställda i Star Trek, vilken politisk ideologi som mest liknar värderingarna i serien, och om det går att tolka det som om Star Trek har en ideologisk värdegrund. Med hjälp av dagordningsteori, kritisk medieteori och teorier om budskap diskuteras TV-bolagens makt över seriens innehåll. De politiska ideologierna konservatism, liberalism och socialism har valts för att kunna jämföras med analysmaterialet. Sex avsnitt från originalserien analyserades med hjälp av en hermeneutik och kvalitativ metod för att bäst kunna få insikt i materialet. Den faktiska analysen har skett med den narratologiska aktantmodellen samt närläsning baserad på kritisk medieteori, där citat bryts ut och tolkas. Resultaten har delats in i tre kategorier, nämligen ekonomi, människosyn och samhällsstruktur för att underlätta sammanställandet. Undersökningen visar att det finns både positivt och negativt framställda värderingar i Star Trek.Ingen politisk ideologi framställs som denenda rätta, men tendensen är att konservatism är minst propagerat för, medan den demokratiska varianten av socialism verkar förespråkas mest. Att resultatet blev splittrat kan härledas till att medieföretagen har stort inflytande över innehållet och att det är svårt att konsekvent framhäva en politisk ideologi i en TV-serie som Star Trek. Detta till följd av formatet på serierna och att de amerikanska TV-bolagen sätter speciella kommersiella krav på produktionen. Det reflekteras också över att politiska värderingar i ett underhållningmedium kan vara effektiva eftersom de politiska budskapen inte har fokus utan intas indirekt. / This thesis examines the values in the TV-series called Star Trek from a political perspective. Star Trek is an American science fiction-series that was created byGene Roddenberry during the mid-1960s. The queries are about whether or not political values are expressed in Star Trek, what political ideology is coherent with those, and if it is possible to interpret this as if Star Trek has an actual politically ideological fundament. Media power over content has been discussed, and because of this there has been made use of critical media theories together with theory of agenda setting and message. The political ideologies of conservatism, liberalism and socialism have been chosen to be compared with the material of analysis.Seven episodes of the original series have been chosen to get a good view of the material by the use of hermeneutic and qualitative research methodology.The analysis was done with the narratological actant model plus a method based on critical media theory, where quotes are being extracted and interpreted. The results have been categorised as either relating to economics, view of mankind or structure of society. The examination shows that there are both positively and negatively described values in Star Trek. No distinct political ideology is being clearly advocated, but there are tendencies for negative views of conservative values aswell as a positive coherence with democratic socialism. The results were difficult to conclude, and this could point towards that the media companies have big influence over their transmitted contents, and that it is difficult to consistently highlight politically ideological values in a television series like Star Trek. This is because the format of TV-series set by american commercial interests puts certain demands on productions. There are reflections about that political values in a medium of entertainment could be effective since the political messages are not in focus but received indirectly.

Les canaux TREK sont des canaux mécano- et thermosensibles appartenant à la famille des canaux potassiques de fond à deux domaines pore, qui jouent un rôle majeur dans l’excitabilité cellulaire. Notre équipe a précédemment montré que les canaux TREK-1 et TRAAK sont des senseurs moléculaires essentiels dans la perception polymodale de la douleur et qu’ils interviennent dans l’excitabilité des nocicepteurs, modulant ainsi le message douloureux.Dans la première partie de ma thèse, j’ai étudié l’implication du canal TREK-1 dans l’activité antalgique de la morphine. Nous avons mis en évidence un couplage fonctionnel entre les canaux TREK-1 et TREK-2 et les récepteurs opioïdes µ et δ. Nous avons également montré que le canal TREK-1 est impliqué dans les effets périphériques et centraux de la morphine. Ces travaux ont permis d’impliquer le canal TREK-1 comme un médiateur de l’analgésie induite par la morphine agissant en aval des récepteurs aux opioïdes. La seconde partie de ma thèse a porté sur l‘étude du rôle du canal TREK-2 dans la perception de la douleur. En étudiant l’impact des canaux TREK-2 sur l’activité des nocicepteurs, j’ai pu montrer que le canal TREK-2 module la perception thermique des nocicepteurs cutanés. Toutefois, l’activité de TREK-2 dans la thermo perception est complémentaire de celle déjà rapportée pour les canaux TREK car, contrairement à TREK-1 et TRAAK, TREK-2 intervient dans la perception de températures non nocives. En conclusion, ces travaux montrent que les canaux potassiques de fond TREK jouent un rôle essentiel dans la perception et la modulation du message douloureux et pourraient être des cibles intéressantes pour le traitement de la douleur. / TREK channels are mechano- and thermo-activated channels belonging to the two-pore domains potassium channels family, which play a major role in neuronal excitability and cell firing. Our group previously demonstrated that TREK-1 and TRAAK channels are essential molecular sensors in polymodal pain perception and that they are involved in the excitability of nociceptors, thus modulating the nociceptive message. In the first part of this work, I investigated the implication of TREK-1 channel in the analgesic action of morphine, one of the most used analgesic. We reveal a functional coupling between TREK-1 and TREK-2 channels and opioid receptors µ and δ. We also show that TREK-1 channel is involved in peripheral and central effects of morphine. This work demonstrate that TREK-1 channel, downstream of the µOR, is an important mediator of morphine induced analgesia. During the second part of my work, I investigated the role of TREK-2 channel in pain perception. I assessed the impact of this channel on nociceptors and we reveal that TREK-2 channel modulates thermal perception of cutaneous nociceptors. However, we show that TREK-2 activity in thermal perception complements the one already reported for TREK-1 and TRAAK channels. Whilst TREK-1 and TRAAK are involved in noxious temperatures perception, TREK-2 intervene in non-aversive temperatures detection. Taken together, these results show that background potassium channels TREK are major contributors to pain message perception and transmission and that they might be interesting targets for the treatment of pain.