The Immoralist and the Rhetoric of First-Person Narration

Gide\u27s The Immoralist, a short first-person novel written at the beginning of the century, has long been seen as an early example of the unreliable narrator. More recently, critical attention has focused on the tensions set up in the work between the carefully drawn formal structure of the narrative and the claim of Michel, the narrator, to tell his story in a direct and simple manner. Of more general interest, however, is the way Michel\u27s narration provides insight into important developments that have taken place in the first-person novel itself in the twentieth century. Cast initially in a very traditional mold, Michel\u27s story breaks down progressively as it moves from events of a more distant past to those much closer in time to his moment of narration. This breakdown of Michel\u27s narrative seems to presage the movement in the first- person novel in France away from the relation of a story as traditionally conceived and towards the increasing importance accorded the present of narration itself. In that sense, The Immoralist is a key, pivotal work in the long line of short first-person works of fiction in France

A database of genus 2 curves over the rational numbers

We describe the construction of a database of genus 2 curves of small discriminant that includes geometric and arithmetic invariants of each curve, its Jacobian, and the associated L-function. This data has been incorporated into the L-Functions and Modular Forms Database (LMFDB).Comment: 15 pages, 7 tables; bibliography formatting and typos fixe

Professionalism and the Control of Knowledge

Madness becomes mental illness through the joint project of psychiatry and the community of consensus lent to it. The psychiatrist, like the shaman (to paraphrase Leve\u27-Strauss), acts through the cultural plasma of his times. And the psychiatrist provides a definition for events, making mental illness of madness, while occupying a unique position within the scheme of society. Psychiatry has been attacked from many directions in recent years. Despite these varied challenges, however, its power appears to have abated little if at all. How can we account for this fact? On the surface one might assume that the scientific basis or the treatment success of psychiatric practice provides the buttress to repel the ongoing attacks. But we suggest here that the continuing power and the prestige of psychiatry can be understood more clearly by examining its relation to society at large rather than the relation to its patients. There appear to be two analytically separate but empirically interrelated factors at work. First, and of main importance, is the absence of an acceptable alternative to psychiatric practice in American society and Western culture in general. The stress must clearly be placed upon the condition of acceptability. Second, and growing out of the first, is the professional and organizational status psychiatry enjoys and the benefits implied therein. The ensuing discussion will elaborate these points and attempt a critical examination of the relationship between psychiatry and society

A mathematical model for the sequestering of chemical contaminants by magnetic particles

A mathematical model is developed and implemented to characterize the pickup of various liquid chemical contaminants by polyethylene-coated magnetic particles. The model and its associated experimental and analytical protocols were applied to a wide range of liquid chemicals in order to gain insights into the physical basis for the pickup phenomenon. The characteristics of the pickup isotherms range between “ideal” and “nonideal” behaviors that are reflected in the mathematical model by a single parameter, �0, where �0=1 corresponds to ideal behavior and �0�1 corresponds to a departure from idealized behavior that is directly quantified by the magnitude of �0. The parameter �0 is also related to the efficiency of pickup, and since most isotherms observed in the study deviate from ideality, the high efficiency of pickup observed in these systems has been attributed in part to this deviation. The proposed model and its associated experimental and analytical protocols demonstrate great potential for the systematic evaluation of the uptake of chemical contaminants using magnetic particle technology

Role of the loop segment in the urinary concentrating defect of hypercalcemia

Role of the loop segment in the urinary concentrating defect of hypercalcemia. Hypercalcemia is associated with impaired urinary concentrating ability. To explore the mechanism(s) by which hypercalcemia impairs chloride transport in the loop of Henle, we carried out in vivo microperfusion of the loop segment in Sprague–Dawley rats rendered acutely hypercalcemie (12.1 ± 0.1 mg/dliter) by calcium gluconate infusion. Control rats were infused with sodium gluconate and had normal plasma calcium (8.0 ± 0.2 mg/dliter). Compared to control, fractional chloride reabsorption was decreased (61 ± 4 to 50 ± 3%; P < 0.05) and early distal chloride increased 74 ± 6 to 98 ± 3 mEq/liter (P < 0.001) in hypercalcemia. During hypercalcemia, infusion of verapamil failed to increase fractional chloride reabsorption (49 ± 4%; P < 0.05) or decrease early distal chloride (95 ± 2; P < 0.05) toward control values. Similarly, indomethacin did not improve fractional chloride reabsorption (48 ± 4%; P < 0.05) or distal chloride concentration (93 ± 7; P < 0.05). In control rats infused with Ringers HCO3, the addition of calcium 8.0 mEq/liter to the perfusate increased early distal calcium (0.22 to 3.11 mEq/liter) but was associated with no change in fractional chloride reabsorption (-6 ± 6%) and a slight decrease in early distal chloride (-9 ± 3 mEq/liter; P < 0.05). These data are consistent with the hypothesis that an elevated plasma, not luminal calcium, concentration impairs chloride reabsorption in the loop segment, primarily the ADH–stimulated component. This may have an important role in the urinary concentrating defect of hypercalcemia

The architecture of banking : a study of the design of British banks from the 18th century to modern times.

The thesis examines the progress of bank design against the background of the evolution of the banking profession, its constitutional distinctions, and national architectural trends. Beginning with the Bank of England and the premises of London private bankers, the enquiry broadens to provincial private banking. Chapter Two discusses the buildings of early jointstock banks, showing that new banking companies had the experience of Scotland to turn to, where joint-stock banks had long been legal. In the 1840s, bankers and architects found the Italianate style increasingly appropriate. However, philanthropic savings banks, whose buildings are discussed in Chapter Three, often found Gothic or Tudor designs suitable. A dimension of parliamentary control, also arising from the banks' charitable status, allows a table to be attempted (as an Appendix) of all purpose-built savings banks by the end of 1852. A reorganization of banking, with London at its centre, began in the 1860s. The rebuilding which this entailed is described in Chapter Four. The same period saw the first of many hundreds of mergers and the beginning of national branch networks. It was also the time when the Gothic Revival had some direct influence on banking, particularly in the Midlands and North. Chapter Five treats of the confusion of styles around 1900, the first signs of environmental concern, the influence of aesthetic movements, and the gradual evolution of a 'Queen Anne' style, which was to develop into the safe neo-Georgian of the 1920s, a theme taken up in Chapter Six. A brief, harmonious interlude between the Wars is discussed in the context of informed, architectural criticism, led by C.H. Reilly. The period since 1945 is handled briefly in terms of the factors which channel the study of banking architecture into new areas

Glucose Attenuation of Auxin-Mediated Bimodality in Lateral Root Formation Is Partly Coupled by the Heterotrimeric G Protein Complex

Auxin and glucose are both essential elements in normal root development. The heterotrimeric G protein complex in Arabidopsis thaliana, defined as containing alpha (AtGPA1), beta (AGB1), and gamma (AGG) subunits and a GTPase accelerating protein called Regulator of G Signaling 1 protein (AtRGS1), are involved in glucose signaling and regulate auxin transport.A systems approach was used to show that formation of lateral roots, a process requiring coordinated cell division followed by targeted cell expansion, involves a signaling interaction between glucose and auxin. We dissected the relationship between auxin and glucose action using lateral root formation as the biological context. We found that auxin and glucose act synergistically to yield a complex output involving both stimulatory and antagonist glucose effects on auxin responsiveness. Auxin-induced, lateral-root formation becomes bimodal with regard to auxin dose in the presence of glucose. This bimodality is mediated, in part, by the G protein complex defined above.Auxin and glucose are essential signals controlling the rate of cell proliferation and expansion in roots. Auxin promotes the formation of lateral roots and is consequently essential for proper root architecture. Glucose affects the activation state of the heterotrimeric G protein complex which regulates auxin distribution in the root. The bimodality of auxin-induced, lateral-root formation becomes prominent in the presence of glucose and in roots lacking the G protein complex. Bimodality is apparent without added glucose in all loss-of-function mutants for these G protein components, suggesting that the heterotrimeric G protein complex attenuates the bimodality and that glucose inhibits this attenuation through the complex. The bimodality can be further resolved into the processes of lateral root primordia formation and lateral root emergence, from which a model integrating these signals is proposed

Electrical conductivity of the Pampean Shallow Subduction Region of Argentina near 33 S: evidence for a slab window

We present a three-dimensional (3-D) interpretation of 117 long period (20–4096 s) magnetotelluric (MT) sites between 31°S and 35°S in western Argentina. They cover the most horizontal part of the Pampean shallow angle subduction of the Nazca Plate and extend south into the more steeply dipping region. Sixty-two 3-D inversions using various smoothing parameters and data misfit goals were done with a nonlinear conjugate gradient (NLCG) algorithm. A dominant feature of the mantle structure east of the horizontal slab is a conductive plume rising from near the top of the mantle transition zone at 410 km to the probable base of the lithosphere at 100 km depth. The subducted slab is known to descend to 190 km just west of the plume, but the Wadati-Benioff zone cannot be traced deeper. If the slab is extrapolated downdip it slices through the plume at 250 km depth. Removal of portions of the plume or blocking vertical current flow at 250 km depth significantly changes the predicted responses. This argues that the plume is not an artifact and that it is continuous. The simplest explanation is that there is a “wedge”-shaped slab window that has torn laterally and opens down to the east with its apex at the plume location. Stress within the slab and seismic tomography support this shape. Its northern edge likely explains why there is no deep seismicity south of 29°S.Fil: Burd, Aurora I.. University of Washington; Estados UnidosFil: Booker, John R.. University of Washington; Estados UnidosFil: Mackie, Randall. Land General Geophysics; ItaliaFil: Pomposiello, Maria Cristina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Geocronología y Geología Isotopica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geocronología y Geología Isotopica; ArgentinaFil: Favetto, Alicia Beatriz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Oficina de Coordinación Administrativa Ciudad Universitaria. Instituto de Geocronología y Geología Isotopica. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Geocronología y Geología Isotopica; Argentin