Body Speech and Cixous, Shelley and Queizán

Pretendemos mostrar las analogías existentes entre las obras de Hélène Cixous, Mary Shelley y el pensamiento feminista de María Xosé Queizán. Trataremos el significado de cuerpo de las mujeres y cómo Cixous y Queizán lo identifican con la palabra. Analizaremos cómo Queizán se inspira a partir del trabajo de Mary Shelley, concretamente de Frankenstein, para entender la maternidad. Cuando los cuerpos reproductores sean sustituidos por máquinas se logrará, dice Queizán, la verdadera igualdad.Pretendemos amosar as analoxías existentes entre as obras de Hélène Cixous, Mary Shelley e o pensamento feminista de María Xosé Queizán. Trataremos o significado de corpo das mulleres e como Cixous e Queizán o identifican coa palabra. Analizaremos como Queizán se inspira a partir do traballo de Mary Shelley, concretamente de Frankenstein, para entender a maternidade. Cando os corpos reprodutores sexan substituídos por máquinas lograrase, di Queizán, a verdadeira igualdade.We aim to display the analogies between the work of Hélène Cixous, Mary Shelley and feminist thought of María Xosé Queizán. We will try to understand the meaning of woman’s body and how Cixous and Queizán identify it with the word. We will see how Queizán is inspired by Mary Shelley´s work, Frankenstein specifically, to understand motherhood. When the reproducers bodies will be replaced by machines we will achieve, says Queizán, the true equality

Alegorías de la historia: imitación épica y modelos historiográficos en Nuevo mundo y conquista de Francisco de Terrazas

En este trabajo se analiza cómo Francisco de Terrazas incorpora en su poema Nuevo Mundo y conquista el discurso historiográfico sobre la conquista de México, a partir de los modelos de imitación de la épica. Este procedimiento literario ofrece una visión más compleja sobre los acontecimientos históricos de la conquista. This work studies the rewriting of the historiographical models pertaining to the conquest of Mexico, by focusing on their relationship to the tradition of epic poetry. Terraza’s poem Nuevo mundo y conquista engages in a process of imitation and revision of the historical discourse that narrates the Conquest of Mexico

Épica y descubrimiento en La Conquista del Perú (1538)

La conquista del Peru is the oldest poem about Francisco Pizarro’s voyages to Peru. In the text are two different voyages: the factual travel of Francisco Pizarro and the imaginative travel of the anonymous poet. Both journeys represent two different epistemological problems: the discovery of the territory and the poetic representation.La conquista del Perú es el poema más antiguo hasta ahora conocido sobre los viajes de Francisco Pizarro. En el texto coexisten dos viajes: la expedición de Francisco Pizarro, y el viaje imaginario del poeta anónimo que se inicia cuando éste hace un recuento de las aventuras del conquistador. Pero los viajes en la obra remiten a su vez a dos problemas epistemológicos: por un lado, en el caso de Pizarro la solución es el descubrimiento físico del Perú; y por otro, el dilema a que se enfrenta el autor anónimo es cómo representar poéticamente el viaje, al carecer de una tradición importante en la literatura castellana

Ethnic Identity and Ethnic Organizations: The Role of Self-Construal in the Psychological Well-Being of Migrants

This study attempted to highlight the role of ethnic organizations in maintaining the ethnic identity and self-construals of migrants and see whether such perpetuations were psychologically healthy or not in a contrasting culture. Two groups of migrants of Asian-Indian origin in the USA participated in the study, one group belonging to their respective ethnic organizations and the other group not belonging to any ethnic organization. Results indicated stronger ethnic identity and interdependent self-construal in members of ethnic organizations as compared to non-members. Self-construals were found to be significant moderators in the relationships between ethnic identity and well-being in members of ethnic organizations but not in non-members. Better well-being was seen in people who were engaged in their respective ethnic organizations and thereby still maintaining their home prototypical self-construal with strong ethnic identity. Non-members showed a match of self-construal to the host culture (independent) as well as weaker ethnic identity and poorer well-being, while the member group showed higher intergroup anxiety. Results were discussed in light of the debates on cultural diversity and role of ethnic organizations and social identity

Transcriptome changes in response to temperature in the fish pathogen Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae: Clues to understand the emergence of disease outbreaks at increased seawater temperatures

The marine bacterium Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae (Pdd) is a generalist and facultative pathogen that causes disease in a wide range of marine animals including fish species of importance in aquaculture. Disease outbreaks in fish farms have been correlated with an increased water temperature during summer months. In this study, we have used RNA sequencing to analyze the transcriptome of Pdd RM-71 cultured at two different temperatures, which simulated temperature conditions experienced during free swimming lifestyle at mid latitudes in winter months (15˚C) and during outbreaks in aquaculture in warm summer months (25˚C). The enhanced bacterial growth of Pdd observed at 25˚C in comparison to 15˚C suggests that an elevated seawater temperature contributes to the build-up of a sufficient bacterial population to cause disease. In comparison to growth at 15˚C, growth at 25˚C resulted in the upregulation of genes involved in DNA synthesis, nutrient uptake, chemotaxis, flagellar motility, secretion systems and antimicrobial resistance. Plasmid-encoded virulence factors, which include a putative adhesin/invasin OmpU, a transferrin receptor and a serum resistance protein, were also upregulated. Transcription factor RpoS, genes involved in cold shock response, modulation of cell envelope and amino acid metabolism, as well as genes of yet unknown function were downregulated at 25˚C. Notably, the gene encoding damselysin cytotoxin (Dly) was among the most highly transcribed genes at the two assayed temperatures, at levels comparable to the most highly expressed housekeeping genes. This study contributes to our understanding of the regulatory networks and biology of a generalist marine bacterial pathogen, and provides evidence that temperature regulates multiple physiological and virulence-related functions in PddThis work has been supported by grant AGL2016-79738-R (AEI/FEDER, EU) from the State Agency for Research (AEI) of Spain, and co-funded by the FEDER Programme from the European Union, to CRO. The support of Xunta de Galicia (Spain) with grant GRC-2014/007 to CRO and XMM is also acknowledged. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript. Funders websites: http://www.ciencia.gob.es/, http://www.edu.xunta.gal/portal/S

Exposure of the Opportunistic Marine Pathogen Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae to Human Body Temperature Is a Stressful Condition That Shapes the Transcriptome, Viability, Cell Morphology, and Virulence

Photobacterium damselae subsp. damselae (Pdd), an important pathogen for marine animals, is also an opportunistic human pathogen that can cause fatal necrotizing fasciitis. The regulatory changes triggered by the temperature shift experienced by this marine pathogen upon entering the human body, are completely unknown. Here we report an RNA-seq approach combined with phenotypical assays to study the response of Pdd to cultivation at 37°C in comparison to 25°C. We found that cultivation of a Pdd highly virulent strain for fish and mice, RM-71, at 37°C, initially enhanced bacterial growth in comparison to 25°C as evidenced by the increase in optical density. However, cells were found to undergo a progressive loss of viability after 6 h cultivation at 37°C, and no viable cells could be detected from 30 h cultures at 37°C. In contrast, at 25°C, viable cell counts achieved the highest values at 30 h cultivation. Cells grown at 25°C showed normal rod morphology by scanning electron microscopy analysis whereas cells grown at 37°C exhibited chain-like structures and aberrant long shapes suggesting a defect in daughter cell separation and in septum formation. Cells grown at 37°C also exhibited reduced tolerance to benzylpenicillin. Using a RNA-seq approach we discovered that growth at 37°C triggered a heat-shock response, whereas genes involved in motility and virulence were repressed including iron acquisition systems, the type two secretion system, and damselysin toxin, a major virulence factor of Pdd. Human isolates did not exhibit advantage growing at 37°C compared to fish isolates, and comparative genomics did not reveal gene markers specific of human isolates, suggesting that any Pdd genotype existing in the marine environment might potentially cause disease in humans. Altogether, these data indicate that the potential of Pdd to cause disease in humans is an accidental condition rather than a selected trait, and that human body temperature constitutes a stressful condition for Pdd. This study provides the first transcriptome profile of Pdd exposed at human body temperature, and unveils a number of candidate molecular targets for prevention and control of human infections caused by this pathogenThis work was supported by the Agencia Estatal de Investigación (AEI) of Spain co-funded by the FEDER Programme from the European Union (grant no. AGL2016-79738-R) and by Xunta de Galicia (Spain) (grant no. ED431C 2018/18). XM thanks Xunta de Galicia for a predoctoral fellowshipS