Cultural Identity Shifts in Female Characters of Jhumpa Lahiri

ABSTRACT The idea of identity can be related to the modern study of culture, which has implications for the study of several topics like ethnicity. When something that is taken for granted to be consistent is altered, identity becomes a problem. Desire, such as the desire for safety, association, and acknowledgment over time and distance, can also be linked to identity. Cultural identity, according to Stuart Hall, is a function of “becoming” as much as “being.” It belongs just as much to the past as it does to the future. It is not something that has always been there and spans space, time, history, and cultures. Cultural diversity gives people a past and a place to start from. But they change all the time, just like everything in heritage. They are sensitive of the ongoing “play” of history, culture, and power rather than being firmly fixed in a fundamentally zed past. We use the word “identity” to describe way different narratives position us and how we position ourselves within them. It is not anchored in a simple “recovery” of the past that is expecting discovery and, when found, will ensure our sense of self into eternity. On other hand, because they are created by representations, identities are recognized within the context of cultural circumstances and lack universal characteristics. In her article Comparative Literature and Cultural Identification, Jola Skulj writes that “Cultural identity incorporates the question of the self and of culture” or reflecting the essence of culture, where the self represents an independent subjectivity of every human being. Thus, identity determines a person, and it is in this area that women suffer more than males because they are responsible for upholding traditions. Jhumpa Lahiri, a supporter of women and recipient of the Pulitzer Prize for fiction in 2000 and 2013 Man Booker Prize nominee, depicts women’s issues and struggles creatively and particularly in foreign settings. Characters in her books struggle with identity, interpersonal connections, feelings of alienation, longing, loss, and hope more frequently. A reader gains a true understanding of the status, conduct, and personalities of Indian women who have settled both in India and abroad through Jhumpa Lahiri. The gender roles of the characters in “The Namesake”, “Interpreter of Maladies” and “The Lowland” have changed, according to a critical interpretation of Lahiri’s writings. The writer thinks that these phenomena indicate shifting status of men and women in society as they shift from conventional types to modern ones. One tactic for unnoticeably limiting women’s space is pre-programming. They are already pre-programmed on customs and traditions, thus they are not aware of the loss of their own areas

Cross sectional analyses on the prevalence and usage of braille among blind children

Background: Childhood blindness is a serious issue which has to be dealt with importance because the disability adjusted life years (DALY) loss in a blind child is much more than that of adults with blindness. The ability to read and write in any one language improves their confidence and makes them more independent. It gives them hope not just to live but also to make a living. This study was done to emphasize on the importance of braille. This study analyses the prevalence and utilization of braille among blind children and its impact on education and overall quality of life.Methods: The data required was collected from the ophthalmology outpatient department (OPD), Saveetha Medical College and Hospital, Thandalam. The children were asked to answer questions based on a questionnaire after taking informed consent from them and their parents.Results: According to the data collected from 50 blind children over 6 months, only 12% used only braille for their educational purposes, 58% used only other assistive technologies, and 30% used both braille and other assistive technologies.Conclusions: This study shows that there is more inclination towards using assistive technology than Braille for education and practical purpose as it is easy to learn. But it is important that the government encourages schools to teach Braille to all students and also incorporate Braille in the public forum as its advantages are many which cannot be replaced by other assistive technologies

Experimental and parametric studies of a louvered fin and flat tube compact heat exchanger using computational fluid dynamics

AbstractThe present study aimed to perform the parametric analysis on thermo-hydraulic performance of a compact heat exchanger using computational fluid dynamics (CFD). The analysis has been carried out at different frontal air velocities by varying the geometrical parameters such as fin pitch, transverse tube pitch, longitudinal tube pitch, louver pitch and louver angle. The air side performance of the heat exchanger has been evaluated by calculating Colburn factor (j) and Fanning friction factor (f). The comparison of CFD results with the experimental data exhibited a good agreement and the influence of various geometrical parameters for the selected range of values on the pressure drop, heat transfer coefficient and goodness factor was analyzed. The results obtained from the analysis will be very useful to optimize the louvered fin and flat tube compact heat exchanger for better thermo-hydraulic performance analysis without the need of time consuming and expensive experimentation

Awareness, knowledge and practice of contact lens use among medical students

Background: Contact lens are thin optical lenses that are commonly used for correcting refractive errors. They are available in various materials, types, and colors. The complications associated with contact lens usage are allergic conjunctivitis, keratitis, and neovascularization. These complications arise with a lack of proper practice and knowledge about contact lens. In our study, we assess the awareness, knowledge, and practice of contact lens use among medical students of Saveetha medical college and hospital. Study design was cross-sectional study. Place of study was Saveetha medical college and hospital, Thandalam, Chennai.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted on contact lens users among medical students. A total of 100 contact lens users participated in the study of which 70 were females and 30 were males. The study was done using pretested semi-structured questionnaire. The data were collected, tabulated, and analyzed using SPSS version 25 software.Result: There is a female predominance with about 70%. Most of the participants use contact lens for both cosmetic and refractive errors. About 91% of students use soft contact lens. Nearly 70% of students are not aware of overwear syndrome. Problems faced by contact lens wearers include dryness, eye discomfort, pain, watering, and redness.Conclusions: The lack of proper practice, knowledge, and awareness of contact lens use even in those knowledgeable like medical students increases the risk of complications. Thus, there is a need to provide more education to consumers

Alpha- and Gammaproteobacterial Methanotrophs Codominate the Active Methane-Oxidizing Communities in an Acidic Boreal Peat Bog

The objective of this study was to characterize metabolically active, aerobic methanotrophs in an ombrotrophic peatland in the Marcell Experimental Forest, Minnesota, USA. Methanotrophs were investigated in the field and in laboratory incubations using DNA-stable isotope probing, expression studies on particulate methane monooxygenase (pmoA) genes, and amplicon sequencing of 16S rRNA genes. Potential rates of oxidation ranged from 14-17 μmol CH4 g dry wt soil-1 d-1. Within DNA-SIP incubations, the relative abundance of methanotrophs increased from 4% in situ to 25-36% after 8 -14 days. Phylogenetic analysis of the 13C-enriched DNA fractions revealed the active methanotrophs were dominated by the genera Methylocystis (Type II; Alphaproteobacteria), Methylomonas, and Methylovulum (Type I; Gammaproteobacteria). In field samples, a transcript-to-gene ratio of 1 to 2 was observed for pmoA in surface peat layers which attenuated rapidly with depth, indicating the highest methane consumption was associated with the 0-10 cm depth interval. Metagenomes and sequencing of cDNA pmoA amplicons from field samples confirmed the dominant active methanotrophs were Methylocystis and Methylomonas. Although Type II methanotrophs have long been shown to mediate methane consumption in peatlands, our results indicate members of the genera Methylomonas and Methylovulum (Type I) can significantly contribute to aerobic methane oxidation in these ecosystems

A new variety of Gymnosporia emarginata (Celastraceae) from the Coromandel Coast of Peninsular India

A new variety, Gymnosporia emarginata (Willd.) Thwaites var. coromandelica N.Balach. & P. Umamaheswari (Celastraceae) has been described from Tamil Nadu, India. The diagnostic characters of this variety are: long stamens, ovary immersed in the disc, style sessile and stigma lobes converged. Detailed descriptions, differences in characters between the 2 varieties, ITS based phylogenetic analysis and related images are provided for easy identification

Significance of HOMO and LUMO studies on dye doped glycene lithium sulphate (GLS) crystals for non-linear optical applications

The ideal material that could have potential applications in non-linear optical (NLO) devices should possess the combination of large non-linear figure of merit for frequency conversion, high laser damage threshold, fast optical response time, wide phase matchable angle, architectural flexibility for molecular design and morphology, optical transparency and high mechanical strength. The stability of glycene lithium sulphate (GLS) single crystal has been improved by doping organic dyes. The structural, chemical, optical, mechanical and non-linear optical properties of the dye doped crystals have been analyzed with the characterization studies such as powder XRD, FT-IR, UV-Visible and SHG measurements, respectively. NMR, HOMO and LUMO energies have been performed by time dependent density functional theory (TD-DFT) approach. The Mulliken charge analysis indicates that the sulphur atoms of the benzene ring and the OH group attached to the ring are the main reactive centers of glycene lithium sulphate. And the temperature dependence of the thermodynamic properties of constant pressure (Cp), entropy (S) and enthalpy change (ΔH0→T) for glycene lithium sulphate have also been determined

An analysis of genetic variation and divergence in Indian tropical polyvoltine silkworm (Bombyx mori L.) genotypes

The genetic variation and diversity among fifty-eight polyvoltine silkworm genotypes was estimated by using ten economic traits. The results revealed that the single shell weight showed higher genetic variation such as PCV% (17.20%), GCV% (12.93%), and heritability (56.5%) followed by single cocoon weight, shell ratio and matured larval weight. The D2 (Mahalonobis? distance) statistics revealed nine clusters with substantial inter and intra cluster distances. The genotypes included in different clusters varied from 1 to 16. The genotype Pure Mysore was included in isolated cluster indicates its longer adaptation. The genotypes included in cluster VIII and IX showed optimum genetic distance along with higher cluster mean emphasised for utilization in the silkworm breeding

Gynocentrism in Langston Hughes selected poetic works

Gynocentrism exclusive focuses on women both as theory and practice. Anything can be considered gynocentric when it is concerned exclusively with a female point of view. The works of Langston Hughes, which reflect the intersection of races and genders in the lives of blacks, are studied. His contributions take multiple forms including poetry, short stories, dramas and novels which are about black women's love, nature, romantic dilemmas, mother - daughter relationships, friendship, and silences. The authors analyze how gender in a special way colors female identity in Hughes' works. He expresses interdependence of genders and racial identities in his representations of black women and hence can be dubbed as gender racial. His writings are in a gender racial style, highlighting and intertwining gender and racial identities. Hughes' overcomes gender and racial stereotypes with open discussions on contentious themes. It is concluded that Hughes creates an alternative to repressive social realities by combining challenges with sensual visions

Utilization of coconut oil mill waste as a substrate for optimized lipase production, oil biodegradation and enzyme purification studies in Staphylococcus pasteuri

Background: Oil and grease laden wastewaters pose hindrance to the treatment units and further threaten the receiving water bodies. Lipase-producing microbial strains are increasingly being exploited for the remediation of such effluents. Results: When bacterial strains isolated from oil mill effluent were screened for their lipolytic activity, two isolates, COM-4A and COM-6B showed significant extracellular lipase activity. They were identified to be Staphylococcus pasteuri and Bacillus subtilis , respectively. S. pasteuri COM-4A was cultivated in nutrient media based on coconut oil mill waste (CMW), in which it showed good growth at concentrations up to 20 g/L. While growing in such media, it was capable of producing lipase and other important extracellular hydrolytic enzymes. Furthermore, the isolate was able to effectively biodegrade the CMW supplemented in the medium. Applying the Box Behnken Design of Response Surface Methodology, lead to a 1.4-fold increase in both lipase production and oil removal by the isolate. The lipase was purified 9.02-fold and the molecular weight of the monomeric enzyme was deduced to be around 56 kDa. Characterization of the enzyme revealed it to be alkaliphilic and moderately thermophilic in nature, with pH and temperature optima of 9.0 and 50\ub0C, respectively. The enzyme was also quite stable in the presence of water-miscible organic solvents. Conclusion: Hence, the COM-4A lipase could be considered to be suitable for a variety of industrial applications such as in detergent formulations and in biodiesel production as well, apart from the possibility of applying it for bioremediation of fat and oil contaminants