“Arriving at Your Own Door”: Transnational Identity Formation in Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah

Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s Americanah (2013) guides readers through the internal questions and external pressures that contribute to identity formation of her transnational characters. This paper examines the specific ways in which Adichie’s protagonist, Ifemelu, engages with both self-discovery and self-fashioning in order to shape the narrative of her past and make a plan for her future. Kwame Anthony Appiah’s The Ethics of Identity offers a philosophical framework to consider the many components of identity formation and the ways in which individuals form personal and collective identities. Adichie uniquely addresses personal and collective identities through the transnational experiences of her characters. Her protagonist, Ifemelu, experiences Homi K. Bhabha’s concept of unhomeliness and seeks belonging as she moves from Nigeria to the United States. More importantly, once she finds ways to belong in the United States, she makes the decision to return to Nigeria. Adichie presents Ifemelu’s story through her braided memories by jumping back and forth between varied experiences of the past and the present. Through Ifemelu’s reflection on her actions to find belonging and fashion her identity in the United States, she crafts a narrative of her experience which helps justify and empower her in the decision to return to Nigeria. Adichie’s characters immerse themselves in literature and the stories around them. Ifemelu, especially, shapes her understanding of the world through the books she reads. She seeks stories which help her imagine her life as a narrative toward self-actualization. Ifemelu discovers that the “single story” for 21st century immigrants in the United States is one of suppressing alterity in order to assimilate. When she first arrives in America, she follows the advice of fellow African immigrants and begins to hide her identity by imitating an American accent and relaxing her hair. She even uses another woman’s name in order to search for a job while she does not have a green card. However, Ifemelu finds this existence unfulfilling and makes the deliberate decision to stop conforming to the expectations placed on her by others. She stops speaking with an American accent and cuts her hair. Rather than feeling more isolated, Ifemelu finds that embracing her alterity allows her to connect to an online African hair movement. She writes a blog in America and gains financial stability and social connections. By expressing herself through writing, Ifemelu further recognizes how she can delineate her worldview and even influence those around her. It is when Ifemelu has the option of staying in America, that she realizes her desire to return to Nigeria. The “single story” of immigration celebrates finding a home in the host country, but Adichie presents a different story through Ifemelu. Adichie shows Ifemelu’s ability to embrace the parts of her identity like her name and accent that make her unique, while she seeks new stories to guide her self-fashioning. As a transnational migrant, Ifemelu views the world from the threshold. She exists in the liminal space between nations, cultures, and languages. This allows her to imagine many possibilities of her life, choose the life she wants, and inspire others to do likewise

Generic sample preparation combined with high-resolution liquid chromatography- time-of-flight mass spectrometry for unification of urine screening in doping-control laboratories

A unification of doping-control screening procedures of prohibited small molecule substances—including stimulants, narcotics, steroids, ß2-agonists and diuretics—is highly urgent in order to free resources for new classes such as banned proteins. Conceptually this may be achieved by the use of a combination of one gas chromatography–time-of-flight mass spectrometry method and one liquid chromatography–time-of-flight mass spectrometry method. In this work a quantitative screening method using high-resolution liquid chromatography in combination with accurate-mass time-of-flight mass spectrometry was developed and validated for determination of glucocorticosteroids, ß2-agonists, thiazide diuretics, and narcotics and stimulants in urine. To enable the simultaneous isolation of all the compounds of interest and the necessary purification of the resulting extracts, a generic extraction and hydrolysis procedure was combined with a solid-phase extraction modified for these groups of compounds. All 56 compounds are determined using positive electrospray ionisation with the exception of the thiazide diuretics for which the best sensitivity was obtained by using negative electrospray ionisation. The results show that, with the exception of clenhexyl, procaterol, and reproterol, all compounds can be detected below the respective minimum required performance level and the results for linearity, repeatability, within-lab reproducibility, and accuracy show that the method can be used for quantitative screening. If qualitative screening is sufficient the instrumental analysis may be limited to positive ionisation, because all analytes including the thiazides can be detected at the respective minimum required levels in the positive mode. The results show that the application of accurate-mass time-of-flight mass spectrometry in combination with generic extraction and purification procedures is suitable for unification and expansion of the window of screening methods of doping laboratories. Moreover, the full-scan accurate-mass data sets obtained still allow retrospective examination for emerging doping agents, without re-analyzing the samples

A novel synthesis of 2'-hydroxy-1',3'-xylyl crown ethers

Six novel 2' - hydroxy - 1',3' - xylyl crown ethers (8a–e and 13)1 have been synthesized utilizing the allyl group to protect the OH function during the cyclization reaction. The macrocycles 6a-e were formed in yields of 26 to 52%, by intermolecular reaction of 4 - chloro - 2,6 - bis(bromomethyl) - 1 - (2 - propenyloxy)benzene (5) with polyethylene glycols; 6a was also obtained by an intramolecular cyclization reaction of monotosylate 14.\ud A 30-membered ring with a 2' - hydroxy - 1',3' - xylyl sub-unit was obtained in 87% yield by reaction of ditosylate 9 with bis [2 - (o - hydroxyphenoxy)ethyl]ether (11) in the presence of cesium fluoride. The synthesis of crown ethers with a 2' - hydroxy - 1',3' - xylyl sub-unit (1c–e, H for CH3) by demethylation of the corresponding 2'-methoxy crown ethers 1c–e with lithium iodide were unsuccessful; it would appear that the demethylation reaction is restricted to 15- and 18-membered rings. One of the 2' - hydroxy - 1',3' - xylyl crown ethers 8d forms a crystalline 1:1-complex with water

Dutch survey pyrrolizidine alkaloids in animal forage

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) are secondary plant metabolites produced by a number of plants from the Asteraceae (Compositae), Boriginaceae and Fabaceae (Leguminosae) families. Many of these alkaloids have been shown to be highly toxic, causing hepatic veno-occlusive disease (VOD), liver cirrhosis and ultimately death. PAs may have also mutagenic and carcinogenic potential. Amongst livestock, cattle and horses are especially susceptible to the toxic effects of the PAs. Humans may also be at risk by the consumption of milk of livestock fed with PA-contaminated forage. At RIKILT - Institute of Food Safety a (semi)quantitative method based on liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (LC-MS/MS) for the determination of PAs in animal feeds has been developed and validated. This method comprises 40 macrocyclic PAs (including tertiary amines and N-oxides) representative for ragwort species. The method has been used for the analysis of 147 forage samples collected in 2006-2008

Разработка и изготовление действующей модели роликовой транспортной системы для ГПС

There is increased interest in the potential protective role of dietary Ca in the development of metabolic disorders related to the metabolic syndrome. Ca-induced intestinal precipitation of fatty acids and bile acids as well as systemic metabolic effects of Ca on adipose tissue is proposed to play a causal role. In this experiment, we have studied all these aspects to validate the suggested protective effect of Ca supplementation, independent of other dietary changes, on the development of diet-induced obesity and insulin resistance. In our diet intervention study, C57BL/6J mice were fed high-fat diets differing in Ca concentrations (50 v. 150 mmol/kg). Faecal excretion analyses showed an elevated precipitation of intestinal fatty acids (2.3-fold;