The Dark Is Melting: Narrative Persona, Trauma and Communication in Sylvia Plath\u27s Poetry

This thesis examines the poetry of Sylvia Plath to identify a new perspective that looks at the function of narrative voice in her poetry. This perspective identifies the ways Plath\u27s narrator is given a distinct voice, separate from that of the poet herself. The narrative voice interacts with a listener, the audience, to express a traumatic experience and explores how Plath\u27s narrators share their horrific internal worlds with the audience to make a direct connection to the audience. In past scholarship, Plath is figured as a confessional poet, and the speaker in her poems are treated as the personal confessions and experiences of Plath herself. By examining the strengths and weaknesses of how Plath\u27s work has often been represented by previous scholars, including Jon Rosenblatt, Margaret Dickie and others, this thesis offers alternative methods of considering Plath\u27s poetry. Taking into close consideration Robert Phillips\u27 definition of confessional poetry, this work also identifies the ways in which Plath\u27s work varies from this confessional genre in important and significant ways. To explore how traumatic experiences are presented, this paper takes into consideration Cathy Caruth\u27s theories of trauma. Close readings of a selection of poems from Plath\u27s transitional and later works are offered to demonstrate how the speakers of the poems utilize narrative voice and present traumatic experiences as well as connect to the audience. Taking these elements into consideration provides a way of understanding Plath\u27s poetry in a way that goes beyond viewing them as personal confessions or expressions of psychological disturbances, and seeks to establish a new understanding of Plath\u27s work that expands from mere confession to communicatio

P02.88. Powdered Red Yeast Rice and Plant Stanols and Sterols to lower cholesterol

Elevated low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol is a significant risk factor for cardiovascular disease. It is estimated that 42% of females and 34% of males in the USA have elevated total cholesterol. The current mainstay of lipid-lowering therapy utilizes 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coezyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase inhibitor (i.e. statin) medications that lower total cholesterol and LDL cholesterol by an average of 20% and 28%, respectively. However, due to the significant side effects of statin medications, many patients seek alternative therapies to help manage their hypercholesterolemia. Red yeast rice (Monascus purpureus) has been used as a food and as an herbal medication in China for centuries. Phytosterols are foods that are similar in structure and function to animal cholesterol. Both of these compounds have been shown in clinical studies to significantly lower LDL cholesterol. We report on a case series of 18 patients with hypercholesterolemia despite therapeutic lifestyle change through diet and exercise who took a proprietary product combining red yeast rice and phytosterols as a powdered shake in an effort to improve their cholesterol indices. Statistically significant reduction (p \u3c .05) in the following mean variables was seen: total cholesterol 19%(46 mg/dL) and LDL 33% (53 mg/dL) after 6 weeks using the blend. There was no significant difference in body mass index (BMI), triglyceride, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol levels, or systolic and diastolic blood pressure over the same period. This magnitude of reduction in LDL cholesterol is significantly greater than the 28% reduction observed in the 1999 Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) meta-analysis on the average effectiveness of statin medications in lowering cholesterol levels. None of the participants in our study reported any muscle pains, and no abnormal liver function tests were seen while taking the product. Though this case series is limited by small sample size, study duration, and lack of control group, the product’s significant reduction in LDL cholesterol without severe side effects indicates that this product may be a clinically effective and well tolerated alternative treatment to using statin medications to treat hypercholesterolemia

Externally Dispersed Interferometry for Precision Radial Velocimetry

Externally Dispersed Interferometry (EDI) is the series combination of a fixed-delay field-widened Michelson interferometer with a dispersive spectrograph. This combination boosts the spectrograph performance for both Doppler velocimetry and high resolution spectroscopy. The interferometer creates a periodic spectral comb that multiplies against the input spectrum to create moire fringes, which are recorded in combination with the regular spectrum. The moire pattern shifts in phase in response to a Doppler shift. Moire patterns are broader than the underlying spectral features and more easily survive spectrograph blurring and common distortions. Thus, the EDI technique allows lower resolution spectrographs having relaxed optical tolerances (and therefore higher throughput) to return high precision velocity measurements, which otherwise would be imprecise for the spectrograph alone.Comment: 7 Pages, White paper submitted to the AAAC Exoplanet Task Forc

P02.01. A dietary approach for treating dyslipidemia and hyperglycemia

Purpose: Elevated LDL cholesterol and impaired fasting glucose are significant risk factors for cardiovascular disease; the most prevalent cause of mortality in the USA. Many dietary approaches have been examined to help combat these medical problems. Each type of diet typically places a particular emphasis on the relative proportions of the three macronutrients; fat, carbohydrate and protein