The Female Gaze in Contemporary Japanese Literature

The female gaze can be used by writers and readers to look at narratives from a perspective that sees women as subjects instead of objects. Applying a female gaze to discourses that have traditionally been male-dominated opens new avenues of interpretation that are empowering from a feminist perspective. In this dissertation, I use the murder mystery novels of the bestselling female author Kirino Natsuo and the graphic novels of a prolific four-woman artistic collective called CLAMP to demonstrate how writers are capable of applying a female gaze to the themes of their work and how readers can and have read their work from the perspectives allowed by a female gaze. Kirino Natsuo presents a female perspective on such issues as prostitution, marriage, and equal employment laws in her novels, which are often based on sensationalist news stories. Meanwhile, CLAMP challenges the discourses surrounding the production and consumption of fictional women, especially the young female characters, or shojo, that have become iconic in Japanese popular culture. Likewise, the female consumers of popular media are able to view and interpret popular texts in such a way as to subjectify female characters and emphasize feminist themes. In addition, the erotic elements of a female gaze may be used to apply a subversive interpretation of the overt or implicit phallocentrism of mainstream media. The male gaze should not be taken for granted in the study of literary texts and graphic novels, and an awareness of an active female gaze can change the ways in which we understand contemporary Japanese literature and popular culture. Female readers and writers can find enjoyment and create messages of feminist empowerment even in works with flawed and problematic representations of femininity. The female gaze thus acts as a mode of resistant reading that allows alternate methods of reading, viewing, and interpreting the female characters and the gendered themes and issues of a text, regardless of the gender of the creators or the gender of the reader

Realistic impulsive P wave source in an infinite elastic medium

The generally assumed instantaneous impulsive pressure sources for an elastic P wave in an infinite medium lead to basic contradictions, a step function source yielding infinite displacements as the shear modulus goes to zero, and the total energy radiated by a delta function (or any derivative of the delta function) source being infinite. By noting that the character of the solution in the elastic region must match the acoustic case near the source, a realistic impulsive pressure source is postulated which has a finite time history. The elastic field produced by this source is then obtained in closed form. A number of numerical examples are considered --Abstract, Page ii

Mode analysis of the unsymmetrically fed ground-plane aperture

The problem of radiation from a waveguide-fed ground-plane aperture perturbed with a wedge-shaped dielectric insert was examined more carefully. The work initiated by Blumberg was continued, using a greater range of dielectric constants and smaller increments of angle. Aperture field measurements were made over a range of dielectric constants for each wedge angle, in order to determine the change in amplitude distribution as a function of permittivity. Aperture phase measurements were also taken for selected angles. These were used with the amplitude data to predict, using numerical integration, the far-field radiation patterns of the perturbed aperture. Far-field patterns were then measured in an anechoic chamber and compared with the calculated patterns. Results of the measurements were evaluated with respect to the application of this type of aperture loading to a beam scanning antenna. The relationship of modes appearing in the aperture amplitude distribution to the changes in far-field patterns were especially considered. A partially-filled-waveguide approximation model was developed, for which it was shown that modes similar to those found in the wedge perturbed aperture could be produced --Abstract, page ii

Crib-biting in Horses : A Physiological and Genetic Study of Candidate Causative Factors

Crib-biting in horses is an oral stereotypy. A crib-biting horse grasps a fixed object with its incisor teeth, contracts the lower neck muscles to retract the larynx caudally and draws air into the cranial oesophagus while emitting a characteristic grunt. The prevalence of crib-biting varies among equine populations from 1.8% to 15%. Free-ranging horses are not known to crib-bite. The aims of this study were to assess the differences in plasma concentrations of hormones related to stress or appetite between crib-biting and control horses, and to investigate the inheritance of crib-biting behaviour in horses. In comparing plasma hormone concentrations, the case control pairs were matched as closely as possible for breed, sex and age. Plasma concentrations of leptin, ghrelin, cortisol, β-endorphin and ACTH were determined (8+8 in study I, 14+14 in study II, cases and controls, respectively). The plasma leptin concentrations were lower in verified crib-biters than in the non-crib-biting control horses before receiving concentrates and after feeding. There was a negative correlation between the intensity of crib-biting and the plasma leptin concentration before concentrates and after feeding. In general, the plasma ghrelin concentration was higher in crib-biting horses than their controls. The plasma cortisol concentration was not affected by being a crib-biter; instead, an ordinary physiological circadian rhythm in the cortisol concentration was seen. No time or group effect was detected in plasma ACTH and β-endorphin concentrations. Phenotypic background information on the crib-biting behaviour surveyed through an owner-completed questionnaire was available from 106 crib-biting horses. According to the owners, crib-biting often started after feeding and was associated with suspected stress. Eight genes associated with stereotypic behaviours (Ghrelin, GHS-RIA, Leptin, DRD1, OPRM1, CDH2, Htr1B and SEMA6) were selected for the candidate gene assay performed in a cohort of privately owned horses (98 cases and 135 controls) comprising Finnhorses and half-breds. Validated SNPs were genotyped either by TaqMan assays or Sanger sequencing. Comparison of the allele and genotype frequencies between the cases and controls in each breed separately did not indicate an association with any of the studied genes in either of the breeds.The heritability (h2) of the trait in the Finnhorse population (111 cases, 285 controls) estimated by using linear sire model was 0.68. Our results suggest that leptin and ghrelin may be involved in mediating feeding- and reward-related signals in crib-biting horses. The expression of crib-biting probably involves the interaction between genetic predisposition and a particular environmental stimulus, and horses may consequently inherit a certain behavioural susceptibility that predisposes them to crib-biting behaviour.Hevosten puunpurennan taustalla hormonit ja perinnöllinen taipumus Puunpurenta on hevosten stereotyyppisen käyttäytymisen muoto, jonka tarkkaa syytä ei tiedetä. Tutkimuksessamme osoitimme ensimmäistä kertaa, että greliini- ja leptiinihormonien plasmapitoisuuksilla on yhteys hevosen puunpurentaan. Lisäksi osoitimme, että hevosen taipumus puunpurentaan on perinnöllistä. Tutkimustuloksemme viittaavat siihen, että leptiini- ja greliinihormonit välittävät ruokailuun ja palkkiomekanismiin liittyviä signaaleja puunpurentakäyttäytymistä ilmentävillä hevosilla. Puunpurijoilla plasman greliinipitoisuus oli korkeampi, ja leptiinipitoisuus alhaisempi kuin verrokkihevosilla. Lisäksi leptiinipitoisuus oli alhaisin niillä hevosilla, joiden puunpurentaintensiteetti oli ruokailun yhteydessä suurin. Näiden hormonien vaikutus on vastakkainen siten, että leptiini korkeina pitoisuuksina hillitsee makeanhimoa ja greliini puolestaan lisää ruokahalua. Kahden tunnin välein tehdyissä vuorokausimittauksissa puunpurijoiden ja niiden verrokkien välillä ei havaittu eroja plasman stressihormonien (kortisoli, beta-endorfiini, ACTH) pitoisuuksissa. Puunpurennan periytyvyys suomenhevosilla (111 puunpurijaa ja 285 ei-puunpurijaa) lineaarisella isämallilla määritettynä oli melko korkea, 0.68. Tätä puunpurennan perinnöllistä osuutta kuvaava muuttujaa ei ole selvitetty muissa hevospopulaatioissa. Puunpurijoista kerättiin taustatietoa omistajakyselyin, ja puunpurenta näyttää ilmenevän suomenhevosilla kuten muillakin tutkituilla roduilla, enimmäkseen ruokailun jälkeen sekä oletettavasti stressaavissa tilanteissa. Aiempien tutkimusten mukaan hevosista noin 2-10 % ilmentää puunpurentaa. Osa hevosista käyttää tähän toimintoon jopa 8 tuntia päivässä, jolloin käyttäytyminen muistuttaa addiktiota. Ehdokasgeenianalyysissä tutkimme, liittyvätkö muutamat muilla eläimillä ja ihmisellä stereotyyppiseen käyttäytymiseen assosioituneiden geenien yhden nukleotidin muutokset (SNP:t) puunpurentaan. Tutkittuja geenejä olivat greliini, greliinireseptori, leptiini, dopamiinireseptori, opioidireseptori, kadheriini-2, serotoniinireseptori ja semaforiini. Minkään näistä geeneistä ei todettu olevan suoraan yhteydessä puunpurentaan tutkitussa hevosryhmässä, joka koostui 98 puunpurijasta ja 135 verrokista. Vähäisen karkearehun määrän, kuiviketyypin sekä hevosten välisten fyysisten kontaktien puuttumisen on tutkimuksissa havaittu lisäävän puunpurentaa. Puunpurennan estämisestä fyysisin rajoittein voi olla haittaa hevosen hyvinvoinnille. Nykyisin suositellaankin muokkaamaan hevosen olosuhteita hevoselle luonnollisemmiksi puunpurennan vähentämiseksi. Tutkimuksemme perusteella näyttää, että hevosella on oltava ominaisuuteen altistavat geenit, jotta ulkoinen tekijä voi saada aikaan puunpurennan ilmenemisen. Ominaisuuteen vaikuttavien geenien määrää ei tämän tutkimuksen perusteella voida määrittää, mutta genominlaajuinen SNP-tutkimus suuressa hevospopulaatiossa voisi selvittää asiaa. Tutkimuksessa löydetyn korkean perinnöllisen arvon perusteella puunpurentaan on syytä suhtautua vakavasti hevosjalostuksessa

Relativrelokalisierung von Schwarmbeben in der Saxothuringischen Seismotektonischen Provinz

In der Arbeit werden Methoden zur relativen Relokalisierung von Schwarmbeben entwickelt, getestet und angewendet. Grundlage der hochpräzisen Hypozentren-Bestimmung ist die hohe Ähnlichkeit der Wellenformen von Erdbebenschwärmen. Die durchgeführte Ähnlichkeitsanalyse ermöglichte die Bestimmung von Ähnlichkeitskoeffizienten, die in Ähnlichkeitsmatrizen dargestellt die Zuordnung der Ereignisse zu Multiplets ermöglichten, und von Phaseneinsatzzeit-Differenzen. Die Phaseneinsatzzeit-Differenzen können genauer als die Abtastrate bestimmt werden und bilden somit die Grundlage der Berechnung der Lage der Hpyozentren mit einer Genauigkeit von bis zu 8 m. Nach der Inversion der Phaseneinsatzzeit-Differenzen und der absoluten Lokalisierung der Zentren der Multiplets ist die Zuordnung der Hypozentren zu aktivierten geotektonischen Störungssystemen sowie die Verifizierung der zeitlichen und räumlichen Erdbebenschwarmentwicklung möglich. Die Untersuchungen von Erdbebenschwärmen in der Saxothuringischen Seismotektonischen Provinz zeigten, dass stets N-S streichende Störungen mit am Herdprozess beteiligt waren und dass Kreuzungspunkte von unterschiedlichen Störungssystemen für das Auftreten von Schwärmen im Untersuchungsgebiet prädestiniert sind. Ein Zusammenhang von Mantel-Fluid aktiven Gebieten und dem Auftreten von Erdbebenschwärmen scheint nachweisbar

Memories, museum artefacts and excavations in resolving the history of maternal lineages in the Finnhorse

We used historical DNA samples to examine the history of a native horse breed, the Finnhorse. Samples were collected from private collections, museums, schools and excavations, representing the times prior to, during, and after the foundation of the breed; from the end of the 19th century and throughout the 20th century. We sequenced a fragment of mitochondrial DNA from these historical samples to study the history and evolution of maternal lineages of horses back to the early days of the breed, compared the mitochondrial DNA sequence diversity of different historical periods and modern day Finnhorses, estimated the effective population sizes, and searched for both temporal and geographic population genetic structure. We observed high maternal haplotype and nucleotide diversity at the time during the foundation of the breed, and a decrease in both measures during 1931-1970. In addition, we observed losses of some haplotypes present in the early stages of the breed. There was only slight evidence of geographical or temporal population structure. This study is, to our knowledge, the first to use such temporal sampling to reveal the history of a specific animal breed.Peer reviewe

Quantitative Erhebung distaler Motorik bei Parkinson-Patienten mit und ohne Mutation im LRRK2-Gen sowie klinisch nicht betroffenen LRRK2-Mutationsträgern und Gesunden

Die vorliegende Arbeit untersucht die quantitative distale Motorik bei Parkinson-Patienten mit und ohne (IPS= idiopathisches Parkinson-Syndrom) LRRK2-Mutation, sowie bei klinisch nicht betroffenen LRRK2-Mutationsträgern und Gesunden. Zur Erfassung der distalen motorischen Funktion wurde das Q-Motor-System benutzt. Im Bereich des PGLT konnten keine signifikanten Unterschiede innerhalb der symptomatischen Kohorte gefunden werden. Beim Speeded Tapping zeigten die Parameter für die mittlere Kraft und die mittlere Tapdauer signifikante Unterschiede zwischen den Kohorten der erkrankten LRRK2-Träger, der IPS-Gruppe und der gesunden Probanden. Die asymptomatische Gruppe, bestehend aus klinisch gesunden LRRK2-Mutationsträgern und Gesunden ohne diese Mutation, wies in keinem Test signifikante Unterschiede auf. Lediglich im PGLT waren Trends zu erkennen. Die Ergebnisse weisen darauf hin, dass erkrankte LRRK2-Träger trotz längerer Krankheitsdauer eine geringere motorische Dysfunktion als IPS-Patienten haben. Ein langsamerer Verlauf der Erkrankung, sowie eine bessere Kompensation bei jüngeren Erkrankungsalter könnten ursächlich dafür sein. Auch im Q-Motor konnten diese Unterschiede nachgewiesen werden. Vor allem die Aufgaben Speeded Tapping und Metronomic Tapping offenbarten signifikante Unterschiede zwischen den Kohorten. Änderungen distaler Bewegungsmuster konnten in asymptomatischen LRRK2-Trägern nicht detektiert werden. Zusammenfassend konnten mittels Q-Motor Erhebung Unterschiede in der distalen Motorik detektiert werden, welche eine Basis für größere longitudinale Studien darstellt. Sollten die Ergebnisse bestätigt werden, könnte diese Form der Erhebung u.a. zur Darstellung eines Progressionsmarkers für den Verlauf aber auch für Interventionsstudien genutzt werden

Memories, museum artefacts and excavations in resolving the history of maternal lineages in the Finnhorse

We used historical DNA samples to examine the history of a native horse breed, the Finnhorse. Samples were collected from private collections, museums, schools and excavations, representing the times prior to, during, and after the foundation of the breed; from the end of the 19th century and throughout the 20th century. We sequenced a fragment of mitochondrial DNA from these historical samples to study the history and evolution of maternal lineages of horses back to the early days of the breed, compared the mitochondrial DNA sequence diversity of different historical periods and modern day Finnhorses, estimated the effective population sizes, and searched for both temporal and geographic population genetic structure. We observed high maternal haplotype and nucleotide diversity at the time during the foundation of the breed, and a decrease in both measures during 1931-1970. In addition, we observed losses of some haplotypes present in the early stages of the breed. There was only slight evidence of geographical or temporal population structure. This study is, to our knowledge, the first to use such temporal sampling to reveal the history of a specific animal breed.Peer reviewe