Gifts of Control: Pseudo-Feminism in The Da Vinci Code

Since its publication in 2003, The Da Vinci Code written by Dan Brown came as a big hit to the world and has been listed atop the bestseller list by New York Times for about two years. The novel recounts a story of Sophie and Langdon questing the Holy Grail and then discovering an ancient secret behind it, namely, the marriage and an descendant of Jesus Christ and Mary Magdalene. Most criticisms are concerned with historical and religious meanings, contributing to the public outcry for “radical feminist” of the novel in potentially threatening Christianity. However, it should be noted that the so-called great cause of unveiling Mary Magdalene, the silenced goddess, victimizes the modern female, Sophie. Despite the proliferation of current studies, there seems to be an oversight with regard to “cryptex” which is mentioned about sixty-nine times in the novel. Nevertheless, readers are easily entrapped by this negligence into men’s phony concern for women, in particular their masked manipulation of Sophie. From this vantage point, the present article, drawing on gift theories, aims to reveal the pseudo-feminism in the novel. It is argued that Sauniere’s cryptexes, presented as unconditional gifts for Sophie, are actually complicit with patriarchal ideology and finally force her to sacrifice self-identity for reciprocation. In the end, the paper pinpoints the practical implications of the novel for women in the contemporary world to remain vigilant and rational towards faux-feminism.&nbsp

Policy Analysis of Agricultural Water Fee Collection in China

AbstractThe low collection rate of agricultural irrigation water fee is a common problem facing many developing countries, which has also troubled China since the 2000s. In different areas of China, there are two problem-solving strategies: raising water collection rate or exempting water fee. In this paper, we analyze the dilemma of China's agricultural water fee collection from both practical and theoretical perspective. We argue that China will not follow up one single model in agricultural water fee collection and each local government should explore appropriate policy in line with their own situation

Identification of tomato plant as a novel host model for Burkholderia pseudomallei

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p><it>Burkholderia pseudomallei </it>is the causative agent for melioidosis, a disease with significant mortality and morbidity in endemic regions. Its versatility as a pathogen is reflected in its relatively huge 7.24 Mb genome and the presence of many virulence factors including three Type Three Secretion Systems known as T3SS1, T3SS2 and T3SS3. Besides being a human pathogen, it is able to infect and cause disease in many different animals and alternative hosts such as <it>C. elegans</it>.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Its host range is further extended to include plants as we demonstrated the ability of <it>B. pseudomallei </it>and the closely related species <it>B. thailandensis </it>to infect susceptible tomato but not rice plants. Bacteria were found to multiply intercellularly and were found in the xylem vessels of the vascular bundle. Disease is substantially attenuated upon infection with bacterial mutants deficient in T3SS1 or T3SS2 and slightly attenuated upon infection with the T3SS3 mutant. This shows the importance of both T3SS1 and T3SS2 in bacterial pathogenesis in susceptible plants.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The potential of <it>B. pseudomallei </it>as a plant pathogen raises new possibilities of exploiting plant as an alternative host for novel anti-infectives or virulence factor discovery. It also raises issues of biosecurity due to its classification as a potential bioterrorism agent.</p

Type three secretion system-mediated escape of Burkholderia pseudomallei into the host cytosol is critical for the activation of NFκB.

BackgroundBurkholderia pseudomallei is the causative agent of melioidosis, a potentially fatal disease endemic in Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. This Gram-negative pathogen possesses numerous virulence factors including three "injection type" type three secretion systems (T3SSs). B. pseudomallei has been shown to activate NFκB in HEK293T cells in a Toll-like receptor and MyD88 independent manner that requires T3SS gene cluster 3 (T3SS3 or T3SSBsa). However, the mechanism of how T3SS3 contributes to NFκB activation is unknown.ResultsKnown T3SS3 effectors are not responsible for NFκB activation. Furthermore, T3SS3-null mutants are able to activate NFκB almost to the same extent as wildtype bacteria at late time points of infection, corresponding to delayed escape into the cytosol. NFκB activation also occurs when bacteria are delivered directly into the cytosol by photothermal nanoblade injection.ConclusionsT3SS3 does not directly activate NFκB but facilitates bacterial escape into the cytosol where the host is able to sense the presence of the pathogen through cytosolic sensors leading to NFκB activation

Bio-Based Epoxy Resin from Epoxidized Soybean Oil

Epoxidized soybean oil (ESO) is the oxidation product of soybean oil with hydrogen peroxide and either acetic or formic acid obtained by converting the double bonds into epoxy groups, which is non-toxic and of higher chemical reactivity. ESO is mainly used as a green plasticizer for polyvinyl chloride, while the reactive epoxy groups imply its great potential in both the monomer synthesis and the polymer preparation fields. Functional polymers are obtained by different kinds of reactions of the ESO with co-monomers and/or initiators shown in this chapter. The emphasis is on ESO based epoxy cross-linked polymers which recently gained strong interest and allowed new developments especially from both an academic point of view and an industrial point of view. It is believed that new ring-opening reagents may facilitate the synthesis of good structural ESO based materials

Transcatheter arterial chemoembolization combined with apatinib and camrelizumab for unresectable advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction cancer: a single-arm, single-center, retrospective study

PurposeThis study aims to investigate the efficacy and safety of transcatheter arterial chemoembolization (TACE) combined with Apatinib and Camrelizumab for treating unresectable advanced gastric or gastroesophageal junction (G/GEJ) cancer.Material and methodsIn this study, data of patients with unresectable advanced G/GEJ cancer who received TACE combined with Apatinib and Camrelizumab from August 2018 to December 2021 was evaluated. After TACE, patients were given intravenous Camrelizumab 200mg every three weeks and oral apatinib 250mg/day for treatment. The primary endpoint was overall survival (OS), and the secondary endpoints were objective response rate (ORR), disease control rate (DCR), and adverse events (AEs).ResultsA total of 49 patients were enrolled in this study. The median follow-up time was 14.0 months, and the median OS was 20.0 months (95% CI = 13.6-26.4). Two patients (4.08%) achieved complete remission, 28 patients (57.14%) achieved partial remission, 18 patients (36.73%) had stable disease, and 1 patient (2.04%) had disease progression. The ORR was 61.22%, and the DCR was 97.96%. Multivariate Cox regression analysis indicated that age (HR 4.74, 95% CI = 1.674-13.440, P=0.003) and multiple distant metastases (HR 20.916, 95% CI = 4.094-106.808, P = 0.001) were independent risk factors for OS. Most AEs were classified as grade 1-2, the most common being RCCEP (69.39%). There were 5 cases of grade 3-4 adverse events (10.20%). No patients discontinued or reduced the treatment dose due to AEs, and all patients received symptomatic treatment.ConclusionTACE combined with Apatinib and Camrelizumab is a safe and effective therapeutic option for patients with unresectable advanced G/GEJ cancer, which can significantly improve the median OS and ORR of patients. And the adverse events (AEs) are tolerable and manageable