308 research outputs found
The Ethical Implications of Narrative Point of View in Dostoevsky’s The Double
The Ethical Implications of Narrative Point of Viewin Dostoevsky’s The Doubl
A World in Flux: Pervasive Instability in Dostoevsky’s The Gambler
A World in Flux: Pervasive Instability inDostoevsky’s The Gamble
A Reader's Guide to Nabokov's "Lolita"
One of the most fascinating and controversial novels of the twentieth century, Vladimir Nabokov’s Lolita is renowned for its innovative style and notorious for its subject matter and influence on popular culture. The book guides readers through the intricacies of Nabokov’s work and helps them achieve a better understanding of his rich artistic design. The book opens with a detailed chronology of Nabokov’s life and literary career. Chapters include an analysis of the novel, a discussion of its precursors in Nabokov’s work and in world literature, an essay on the character of Dolly Haze (Humbert’s “Lolita”), and a commentary on the critical and cultural afterlife of the novel. The volume concludes with an annotated bibliography of selected critical reading. The guide should prove illuminating both for first-time readers of Lolita and for experienced re-readers of Nabokov’s text
Short Duration Small Sided Football and to a Lesser Extent Whole Body Vibration Exercise Induce Acute Changes in Markers of Bone Turnover.
We aimed to study whether short-duration vibration exercise or football sessions of two different durations acutely changed plasma markers of bone turnover and muscle strain. Inactive premenopausal women (n = 56) were randomized to complete a single bout of short (FG15) or long duration (FG60) small sided football or low magnitude whole body vibration training (VIB). Procollagen type 1 amino-terminal propeptide (P1NP) was increased during exercise for FG15 (51.6 ± 23.0 to 56.5 ± 22.5 μg·L-1, mean ± SD, P 0.05). An increase in osteocalcin was observed 48 h after exercise (P < 0.05), which did not differ between exercise groups. C-terminal telopeptide of type 1 collagen was not affected by exercise. Blood lactate concentration increased during exercise for FG15 (0.6 ± 0.2 to 3.4 ± 1.2 mM) and FG60 (0.6 ± 0.2 to 3.3 ± 2.0 mM), but not for VIB (0.6 ± 0.2 to 0.8 ± 0.4 mM) (P < 0.05). Plasma creatine kinase increased by 55 ± 63% and 137 ± 119% 48 h after FG15 and FG60 (P < 0.05), but not after VIB (26 ± 54%, NS). In contrast to the minor elevation in osteocalcin in response to a single session of vibration exercise, both short and longer durations of small sided football acutely increased plasma P1NP, osteocalcin, and creatine kinase. This may contribute to favorable effects of chronic training on musculoskeletal health
Host Galaxies of Luminous Type 2 Quasars at z ~ 0.5
We present deep Gemini GMOS optical spectroscopy of nine luminous quasars at
redshifts z ~ 0.5, drawn from the SDSS type 2 quasar sample. Our targets were
selected to have high intrinsic luminosities (M_V < -26 mag) as indicated by
the [O III] 5007 A emission-line luminosity (L_[O III]). Our sample has a
median black hole mass of ~ 10^8.8 M_sun inferred assuming the local
M_BH-sigma_* relation and a median Eddington ratio of ~ 0.7, using stellar
velocity dispersions sigma_* measured from the G band. We estimate the
contamination of the stellar continuum from scattered quasar light based on the
strength of broad H-beta, and provide an empirical calibration of the
contamination as a function of L_[O III]; the scattered light fraction is ~ 30%
of L_5100 for objects with L_[O III] = 10^9.5 L_sun. Population synthesis
indicates that young post-starburst populations (< 0.1 Gyr) are prevalent in
luminous type 2 quasars, in addition to a relatively old population (> 1 Gyr)
which dominates the stellar mass. Broad emission complexes around He II 4686 A
with luminosities up to 10^8.3 L_sun are unambiguously detected in three out of
the nine targets, indicative of Wolf-Rayet populations. Population synthesis
shows that ~ 5-Myr post-starburst populations contribute substantially to the
luminosities (> 50% of L_5100) of all three objects with Wolf-Rayet detections.
We find two objects with double cores and four with close companions. Our
results may suggest that luminous type 2 quasars trace an early stage of galaxy
interaction, perhaps responsible for both the quasar and the starburst
activity.Comment: 20 pages, 13 figures, 7 tables; accepted to Ap
Enhancing rehabilitation of mechanically ventilated patients in the intensive care unit: A quality improvement project
Purpose: Prolonged periods of mechanical ventilation are associated with significant physical and psychosocial adverse effects. Despite increasing evidence supporting early rehabilitation strategies, uptake and delivery of such interventions in Europe have been variable. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of an early and enhanced rehabilitation program for mechanically ventilated patients in a large tertiary referral, mixed-population intensive care unit (ICU). Method: A new supportive rehabilitation team was created within the ICU in April 2012, with a focus on promoting early and enhanced rehabilitation for patients at high risk for prolonged ICU and hospital stays. Baseline data on all patients invasively ventilated for at least 5 days in the previous 12 months (n = 290) were compared with all patients ventilated for at least 5 days in the 12 months after the introduction of the rehabilitation team (n = 292). The main outcome measures were mobility level at ICU discharge (assessed via the Manchester Mobility Score), mean ICU, and post-ICU length of stay (LOS), ventilator days, and in-hospital mortality. Results: The introduction of the ICU rehabilitation team was associated with a significant increase in mobility at ICU discharge, and this was associated with a significant reduction in ICU LOS (16.9 vs 14.4 days, P = .007), ventilator days (11.7 vs 9.3 days, P < .05), total hospital LOS (35.3 vs 30.1 days, P < .001), and in-hospital mortality (39% vs 28%, P < .05). Conclusion: A quality improvement strategy to promote early and enhanced rehabilitation within this European ICU improved levels of mobility at critical care discharge, and this was associated with reduced ICU and hospital LOS and reduced days of mechanical ventilation
The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey of SDSS-III
The Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS) is designed to measure the
scale of baryon acoustic oscillations (BAO) in the clustering of matter over a
larger volume than the combined efforts of all previous spectroscopic surveys
of large scale structure. BOSS uses 1.5 million luminous galaxies as faint as
i=19.9 over 10,000 square degrees to measure BAO to redshifts z<0.7.
Observations of neutral hydrogen in the Lyman alpha forest in more than 150,000
quasar spectra (g<22) will constrain BAO over the redshift range 2.15<z<3.5.
Early results from BOSS include the first detection of the large-scale
three-dimensional clustering of the Lyman alpha forest and a strong detection
from the Data Release 9 data set of the BAO in the clustering of massive
galaxies at an effective redshift z = 0.57. We project that BOSS will yield
measurements of the angular diameter distance D_A to an accuracy of 1.0% at
redshifts z=0.3 and z=0.57 and measurements of H(z) to 1.8% and 1.7% at the
same redshifts. Forecasts for Lyman alpha forest constraints predict a
measurement of an overall dilation factor that scales the highly degenerate
D_A(z) and H^{-1}(z) parameters to an accuracy of 1.9% at z~2.5 when the survey
is complete. Here, we provide an overview of the selection of spectroscopic
targets, planning of observations, and analysis of data and data quality of
BOSS.Comment: 49 pages, 16 figures, accepted by A
The Ninth Data Release of the Sloan Digital Sky Survey: First Spectroscopic Data from the SDSS-III Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey
The Sloan Digital Sky Survey III (SDSS-III) presents the first spectroscopic
data from the Baryon Oscillation Spectroscopic Survey (BOSS). This ninth data
release (DR9) of the SDSS project includes 535,995 new galaxy spectra (median
z=0.52), 102,100 new quasar spectra (median z=2.32), and 90,897 new stellar
spectra, along with the data presented in previous data releases. These spectra
were obtained with the new BOSS spectrograph and were taken between 2009
December and 2011 July. In addition, the stellar parameters pipeline, which
determines radial velocities, surface temperatures, surface gravities, and
metallicities of stars, has been updated and refined with improvements in
temperature estimates for stars with T_eff<5000 K and in metallicity estimates
for stars with [Fe/H]>-0.5. DR9 includes new stellar parameters for all stars
presented in DR8, including stars from SDSS-I and II, as well as those observed
as part of the SDSS-III Sloan Extension for Galactic Understanding and
Exploration-2 (SEGUE-2).
The astrometry error introduced in the DR8 imaging catalogs has been
corrected in the DR9 data products. The next data release for SDSS-III will be
in Summer 2013, which will present the first data from the Apache Point
Observatory Galactic Evolution Experiment (APOGEE) along with another year of
data from BOSS, followed by the final SDSS-III data release in December 2014.Comment: 9 figures; 2 tables. Submitted to ApJS. DR9 is available at
http://www.sdss3.org/dr
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