Die "Erzählung des Aphroditian". Thema und Variationen einer Legende im Spannungsfeld von Christentum und Heidentum

Die "Erzählung des Aphroditian" berichtet in einer phantasievollen Ausgestaltung der Magierperikope (Mt 2,1-12) von der wundervollen Offenbarung der Geburt Christi durch heidnische Götter im persischen Heratempel und der dadurch ausgelösten Reise der Magier nach Juda. Während die Erzählung im Westen weitestgehend unbekannt ist, erfreute sie sich in der byzantinischen und slavischen Welt größter Beliebtheit. Katharina Heyden widmet sich erstmalig der komplexen Überlieferungsgeschichte der "Erzählung des Aphroditian". In Anknüpfung an die musikalische Gattung "Thema und Variationen" analysiert sie die verschiedenen literarischen, ikonographischen und historischen Überlieferungskontexte sowie die daraus resultierenden theologischen Akzentsetzungen als "Variationen". Die Darstellung erfolgt rückwärts durch die Überlieferungsgeschichte von der selbständig überlieferten Erzählung im Russland des 15. und 16. Jhs. über prachtvolle byzantinische Miniaturencodices aus dem 11. Jh., eine Weihnachtspredigt des Johannes von Damaskos (8.Jh.), den Disputationsroman "De gestis in Perside" (6./5.Jh.) und die "Christliche Geschichte" des Philippos von Side (5. Jh.) zu den Ursprüngen der Erzählung, die in vorkonstantinscher Zeit in Syrien vermutet werden. Als Leitmotiv erscheint dabei die Frage nach den in den "Variationen" zu Tage tretenden Spielarten einer positiven Bezugnahme auf den heidnischen Kult. Ein Materialteil enthält die verschiedenen Versionen der Erzählung in Originalsprache und Übersetzung sowie die (teilweise erstmals veröffentlichten) byzantinischen Miniaturen. Die Arbeit wurde mit dem GSCO-Preis 2009 der Gesellschaft zum Studium des christlichen Ostens ausgezeichnet.

Health-Related Quality of Life is Associated with Positive Affect in Patients with Coronary Heart Disease Entering Cardiac Rehabilitation

Health-related quality of life (QoL) is an important and widely used outcome measure in cardiac populations. We examined the relationship between positive affect and health-related quality of life, controlling for traditional cardiovascular risk factors, clinical variables and negative affect. We further investigated the role of gender in this relationship given the well-known gender differences in cardiovascular health. We enrolled 746 patients with coronary heart disease (CHD) before they entered outpatient cardiac rehabilitation. All patients completed the Global Mood Scale and the SF-36 Health Survey. Positive affect was independently associated with mental (p < .001) and physical QoL (p < .001) after controlling for control variables. Gender moderated the relationship between positive affect and physical QoL (p = .009) but not mental QoL (p = .60). Positive affect was positively associated with physical QoL in men (p < .001) but not in women (p = .44). The health-related QoL of patients with CHD is associated with a person's level of positive affect.

A Comparison of Psychosocial Risk Factors Between 3 Groups of Cardiovascular Disease Patients Referred for Outpatient Cardiac Rehabilitation

Few studies have examined psychosocial risk factors for cardiovascular disease (CVD) between diagnostic groups of CVD patients. We compared levels of depression, anxiety, hostility, exhaustion, positive affect, and social support, and the prevalence of type D personality between patient groups with a primary diagnosis of coronary heart disease (CHD), chronic heart failure (CHF), or peripheral arterial disease (PAD).

Psychosocial outcome in cardiovascular rehabilitation of peripheral artery disease and coronary artery disease patients

We investigated patients with a primary diagnosis of peripheral artery disease (n = 69) and coronary heart disease (CAD; n = 520) at baseline and on changes in psychosocial risk factors (depression, anxiety, quality of life, negative and positive affect) during a cardiovascular rehabilitation program. Patients completed psychosocial questionnaires at the beginning and at discharge of a 12-week rehabilitation program. Depression and anxiety were measured with the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS), positive and negative affect with the Global Mood Scale, and health-related quality of life with the SF-36 Health Survey. Patients with PAD showed improvements in anxiety (p < 0.001), negative affect (p < 0.001) and bodily pain (p < 0.001). Patients with CAD reported significant improvements in all measured dimensions (all p-values < 0.001).

Predictors for hospitalization and outpatient visits in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: results from the Swiss Inflammatory Bowel Disease Cohort Study

OBJECTIVES Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have a high resource consumption, with considerable costs for the healthcare system. In a system with sparse resources, treatment is influenced not only by clinical judgement but also by resource consumption. We aimed to determine the resource consumption of IBD patients and to identify its significant predictors. MATERIALS AND METHODS Data from the prospective Swiss Inflammatory Bowel Disease Cohort Study were analysed for the resource consumption endpoints hospitalization and outpatient consultations at enrolment [1187 patients; 41.1% ulcerative colitis (UC), 58.9% Crohn's disease (CD)] and at 1-year follow-up (794 patients). Predictors of interest were chosen through an expert panel and a review of the relevant literature. Logistic regressions were used for binary endpoints, and negative binomial regressions and zero-inflated Poisson regressions were used for count data. RESULTS For CD, fistula, use of biologics and disease activity were significant predictors for hospitalization days (all P-values <0.001); age, sex, steroid therapy and biologics were significant predictors for the number of outpatient visits (P=0.0368, 0.023, 0.0002, 0.0003, respectively). For UC, biologics, C-reactive protein, smoke quitters, age and sex were significantly predictive for hospitalization days (P=0.0167, 0.0003, 0.0003, 0.0076 and 0.0175 respectively); disease activity and immunosuppressive therapy predicted the number of outpatient visits (P=0.0009 and 0.0017, respectively). The results of multivariate regressions are shown in detail. CONCLUSION Several highly significant clinical predictors for resource consumption in IBD were identified that might be considered in medical decision-making. In terms of resource consumption and its predictors, CD and UC show a different behaviour.

Change in positive affect during outpatient cardiac rehabilitation predicts vital exhaustion in patients with coronary heart disease

Vital exhaustion is an acknowledged psychosocial risk factor of incident coronary heart disease (CHD) and recurrent CHD events. Little is known about trajectories in vital exhaustion in patients with CHD and the factors predicting this change. We hypothesized that vital exhaustion would decrease during outpatient cardiac rehabilitation and that an increase in positive affect over time would be associated with decreased vital exhaustion at discharge from cardiac rehabilitation. We also explored the role of the patient's sex in this context. Vital exhaustion was reduced during outpatient cardiac rehabilitation, especially in patients who experienced an increase in positive affect over time (p < .001). This relationship was significant in men (p < .001) but not in women (p = .11).

Stilus – calamus – griffel – stift. Zur metonymischen Metaphorik des Stilbegriffs in der mittellateinischen und mittelhochdeutschen Literatur

„Die Übertragung der Bezeichnung für den Schreibgriffel auf die Verfasstheit geschriebener Texte“ scheint bis zum Ende der Antike, ja bis ins 14. Jahrhundert „noch als Metapher erfahren worden zu sein“ (H.-U. Gumbrecht zur Geschichte des Stilbegriffs in ders./K. Ludwig Pfeiffer (Hg.), Stil. Geschichte und Funktionen eines kulturwissenschaftlichen Diskurselements, Frankfurt/M. 1986 [stw 633], S. 735 und 741). Der angebotene Beitrag verifiziert diese These am Beispiel aussagekräftiger Textstellen der mittellateinischen und der mittelhochdeutschen Literatur, in denen Schreibgeräte (wie stilus, calamus, griffel, stift) im Kontext inszenierter Schreib- und Lebens-‚Stile’ stehen. Als Werkzeug des Schreibens ist der stilus eine Verlängerung der Hand, des Körpers, aber auch des Habitus, der Lebensart seines Besitzers oder seiner Besitzerin. Die herangezogenen Textbeispiele stammen aus Alanus’ ab Insulis ›Anticlaudianus‹ (Anrufung des Phoebus), aus Konrad Flecks ›Flore und Blanscheflur‹ (der Griffel als Minnebote) sowie aus Heinrichs von Mügeln Spruchdichtung und Johannes’ von Tepl ›Ackermann‹ (stift und stipulus als Operatoren dichterischer Gestaltung).