The return of Irony to Myth

En los debates sobre la literatura postmoderna es llamativa la ausencia de la teoría de Northrop Frye sobre el retorno de la ironía al mito. Este estudio analiza cómo la teoría de Frye nos anima a pensar sobre la literatura del siglo xx, y en particular sobre la de su segunda mitad. La idea de Frye nos presenta una comprensión de lo moderno y lo postmoderno radicalmente nueva, al percibir la centralidad del mito tanto en la modernidad tardía como en la literatura popular de mediados del siglo xx. One striking absence from debates about postmodern literature is Frye’s theory of the return of irony to myth. In this essay I discuss how Frye’s theory encourages us to think of the literature of the twentieth century, and in particular the literature of the second half of the century. Frye’s conception presents us with a radically new understanding of the modern and postmodern in which myth is central to both late modernism and the popular literature which burgeoned in the midtwentieth century

Temporal trend in the transfer of Sellafield-derived 14C into different size fractions of the carbonate component of NE Irish Sea sediment

From 1994 onwards, 14C discharges from the Sellafield nuclear fuel reprocessing plant have been made largely to the Northeast Irish Sea. They represent the largest contributor to UK and European populations of the collective dose commitment derived from the entire nuclear industry discharges. Consequently, it is important to understand the long-term fate of 14C in the marine environment. Research undertaken in 2000 suggested that the carbonate component of Northeast Irish Sea sediments would increase in 14C activity as mollusc shells, which have become enriched in Sellafield-derived 14C, are broken down by physical processes including wave action and incorporated into intertidal and sub-tidal sediments. The current study, undertaken in 2011, tested this hypothesis. The results demonstrate significant increases in 14C enrichments found in whole mussel shells compared to those measured in 2000. Additionally, in 2000, there was an enrichment above ambient background within only the largest size fraction (>500 μm) of the intertidal inorganic sediment at Nethertown and Flimby (north of Sellafield). In comparison, the present study has demonstrated 14C enrichments above ambient background in most size fractions at sites up to 40 km north of Sellafield, confirming the hypothesis set out more than a decade ago

The Faces of Haiti: Resolute in Reform, Resistance and Recovery

This report describes the activities and findings of the University of Kansas Haitian Research Initiative team that travelled to Haiti in July 2011. The purpose of the visit was to assess the current research and educational environment in Haiti, and to form professional connections in order to develop further ties between the University of Kansas and Haitian institutions. The report includes four chapters: 1) Haiti in Perspective: An Outsider's View by Maryemma Graham; 2) Making KU Connections by Kiran Jayaram; 3) A Haitian Businessman Speaks by C. B. Claiborne; and 4) The Libraries of Haiti: Creating a Knowledge Society by Brian Rosenblum. There is also a concluding section with suggestions for further action for KU.This report was supported by The (Domestic) International Center for Community and Human Development (ICCHD) and by the following units at the University of Kansas: Institute for Policy and Social Research; KU Libraries; English Department; Project on the History of Black Writing; Latin American Studies Program; International Programs; Center for Research Faculty/Staff Development Fund; College of Liberal Arts and Sciences International Travel Fund; Kansas African Studies Cente

The Faces of Haiti: Resolute in Reform, Resistance and Recovery

Commemorating the Tenth Anniversary of the Earthquake in Haiti. Contains a new Foreword by Dr. Cécile AccilienThis report describes the activities and findings of the University of Kansas Haitian Research Initiative team that travelled to Haiti in July 2011. The purpose of the visit was to assess the current research and educational environment in Haiti, and to form professional connections in order to develop further ties between the University of Kansas and Haitian institutions. The report includes a Foreword by Dr. Cécile Accilien and four chapters: 1) Haiti in Perspective: An Outsider's View by Maryemma Graham; 2) Making KU Connections by Kiran Jayaram; 3) A Haitian Businessman Speaks by C. B. Claiborne; and 4) The Libraries of Haiti: Creating a Knowledge Society by Brian Rosenblum. There is also a concluding section with suggestions for further action for KU

The Role of Type 2 Inflammation in Schistosoma-Induced Pulmonary Hypertension

Approximately 5% of individuals chronically infected with Schistosoma mansoni develop pulmonary hypertension (PH). The disease is progressive and often fatal, and treatment options are palliative, not curative. Recent studies have unraveled major players of the Th2 inflammation axis in the Schistosoma-induced PH pathology using murine models and studying human samples. TGF-β signaling is a link between the Type 2 inflammation and vascular remodeling, and specifically Thrombospondin-1 (TSP-1) is upregulated by the inflammation and activates TGF-β. Overall, the current model for the pathogenesis of Schistosoma-induced PH is that deposition of Schistosoma mansoni eggs in the pulmonary vasculature results in localized Th2 inflammation, leading to TGF-β activation by TSP-1, and the active TGF-β then results in vascular remodeling and PH

Deletion of the Androgen Receptor in Adipose Tissue in Male Mice Elevates Retinol Binding Protein 4 and Reveals Independent Effects on Visceral Fat Mass and on Glucose Homeostasis

Testosterone deficiency is epidemic in obese ageing males with type 2 diabetes, but the direction of causality remains unclear. Testosterone-deficient males and global androgen receptor (AR) knockout mice are insulin resistant with increased fat, but it is unclear whether AR signaling in adipose tissue mediates body fat redistribution and alters glucose homoeostasis. To investigate this, mice with selective knockdown of AR in adipocytes (fARKO) were generated. Male fARKO mice on normal diet had reduced perigonadal fat but were hyperinsulinemic and by age 12 months, were insulin deficient in the absence of obesity. On high-fat diet, fARKO mice had impaired compensatory insulin secretion and hyperglycemia, with increased susceptibility to visceral obesity. Adipokine screening in fARKO mice revealed a selective increase in plasma and intra-adipose retinol binding protein 4 (RBP4) that preceded obesity. AR activation in murine 3T3 adipocytes downregulated RBP4 mRNA. We conclude that AR signaling in adipocytes not only protects against high-fat diet–induced visceral obesity but also regulates insulin action and glucose homeostasis, independently of adiposity. Androgen deficiency in adipocytes in mice resembles human type 2 diabetes, with early insulin resistance and evolving insulin deficiency

Equilibrium Distribution of Heavy Quarks in Fokker-Planck Dynamics

We obtain within Fokker-Planck dynamics an explicit generalization of Einstein's relation between drag, diffusion and equilibrium distribution for a spatially homogeneous system, considering both the transverse and longitudinal diffusion for dimension n>1. We then provide a complete characterization of when the equilibrium distribution becomes a Boltzmann/J"uttner distribution, and when it satisfies the more general Tsallis distribution. We apply this analysis to recent calculations of drag and diffusion of a charm quark in a thermal plasma, and show that only a Tsallis distribution describes the equilibrium distribution well. We also provide a practical recipe applicable to highly relativistic plasmas, for determining both diffusion coefficients so that a specific equilibrium distribution will arise for a given drag coefficient.Comment: 4 pages including 2 figure

Screening, intervention and outcome in autism and other developmental disorders: the role of randomized controlled trials

We draw attention to a number of important considerations in the arguments about screening and outcome of intervention in children with autism and other developmental disorders. Autism screening in itself never provides a final clinical diagnosis, but may well identify developmental deviations indicative of autism—or of other developmental disorders—that should lead to referral for further clinical assessment. Decisions regarding population or clinic screening cannot be allowed to be based on the fact that prospective longitudinal RCT designs over decades could never be performed in complex developmental disorders. We propose an alternative approach. Early screening for autism and other developmental disorders is likely to be of high societal importance and should be promoted and rigorously evaluated