Death as a symbol of loss and principle of regeneration in the works of Villiers de L'Isle-Adam

Death imagery in literature and art enjoyed a major revival of interest in late-nineteenth-century France, as it did elsewhere in Europe and America. It is a central theme in the writings of Villiers de L'Isle-Adam (1838-89), from his first poetry collection, the Premieres Poesies, to Axel, his final drama. This thesis traces the development of the death theme in Villiers's work, and demonstrates that while it is very much associated with loss, it can also be viewed in an entirely positive light, and can even be seen as a gateway into new life in his later publications. It is indicative not only of the changing thought of the writer, but is also a gauge of the literary and spiritual climate of the time. By way of introduction to the topic, death is exposed and contextualized as it has been represented in artistic form throughout the ages. I problematize mankind's understanding of the phenomenon of death, before examining its place in literature. Villiers's own writings are also situated in a historical and cultural context, in order to widen the reader's grasp of the factors affecting the work in its time. The first chapter examines Villiers's first major publication, the Premieres Poesies, and shows how the theme of death operates in it as a symbol of loss. Three main areas of loss in the mid-to-late nineteenth century are specifically highlighted, and their effects on the poet are noted. The focus of the next chapter shifts to the figure of the bourgeois, mainly with reference to Villiers's short stories. These much-maligned figures are emblematic of the losses outlined in Chapter 1. Moreover, they are so inculcated with an atmosphere of death that they affect, and infect, those around them. However, not all succumb to the stultifying influence of the bourgeois class, but rather seek to resist it. These literary characters are the objects of scrutiny in Chapter 3 of this thesis, where the two main means of resistance to death are identified as being hedonism and claustration. Chapter 4 investigates the products of this resistance, the fin-de-siecle femme fatale and homme fatal. The principal defining features of these two types in Villiers's work are outlined, and their often morbid relationship with each other is explored. The final two chapters in this thesis are concerned with Villiers's two most important works. The elements that make up these pieces of writing are discussed, this time with the theme of regeneration through death in mind. Chapter 5 follows the desire for this in Villiers's novel L'eve future, and notes its ultimate failure, while Chapter 6 examines and questions its success in the drama Axel. This is a field of research not yet widely discussed in Villierian studies. While there have been individual examinations of the theme of death in Villiers's work, focusing on particular texts, this is the first critical analysis of the topos as it appears throughout his corpus as a whole. This in-depth investigation opens up a fresh understanding of Villiers's work, both as a solitary corpus and in the context of the fin-de-siecle period. The death theme is a unifying agent, holding the key to important thematic patterns. Whilst allowing for evolution and development within the work, this investigation demonstrates how different strands of Villiers's literary personality remain constant. This new understanding also plays a crucial role in terms of situating this enigmatic writer in the context and culture of his time

Toward an Empirical Theory of Pulsar Emission XII: Exploring the Physical Conditions in Millisecond Pulsar Emission Regions

The five-component profile of the 2.7-ms pulsar J0337+1715 appears to exhibit the best example to date of a core/double-cone emission-beam structure in a millisecond pulsar (MSP). Moreover, three other MSPs, the Binary Pulsar B1913+16, B1953+29 and J1022+1001, seem to exhibit core/single-cone profiles. These configurations are remarkable and important because it has not been clear whether MSPs and slow pulsars exhibit similar emission-beam configurations, given that they have considerably smaller magnetospheric sizes and magnetic field strengths. MSPs thus provide an extreme context for studying pulsar radio emission. Particle currents along the magnetic polar flux tube connect processes just above the polar cap through the radio-emission region to the light-cylinder and the external environment. In slow pulsars radio-emission heights are typically about 500 km around where the magnetic field is nearly dipolar, and estimates of the physical conditions there point to radiation below the plasma frequency and emission from charged solitons by the curvature process. We are able to estimate emission heights for the four MSPs and carry out a similar estimation of physical conditions in their much lower emission regions. We find strong evidence that MSPs also radiate by curvature emission from charged solitons.Comment: 14 pages, published in Ap

Detection and Isolation of Viable Mouse IL-17-Secreting T Cells

The MACS Cytokine Secretion Assay technology allows detection of secreted cytokines on the single cell level and sensitive isolation of viable cytokine-secreting cells. In order to label IL-17-secreting cells, a single cell suspension of mouse splenocytes is prepared and stimulated at 37°C with PMA/ionomycin to induce cytokine secretion. To stop secretion cells are then placed on ice and are exposed to the IL-17 Catch Reagent a bi-specific antibody that binds to CD45 on the cell surface of leukocytes and to IL-17 as it is secreted and caught near the cell surface. Secretion is then re-started by increasing the temperature to 37°C and IL-17 is trapped by the Catch Reagent. Secretion is then stopped again, by placing cells on ice. To detect the trapped IL-17, cells are incubated with a second IL-17-specific antibody conjugated to biotin and an Anti-Biotin-PE antibody. Cells can now be directly analyzed by flow cytometry or prepared for isolation and enrichment by subsequent labeling with Anti-PE conjugated MicroBeads

Draamaohjelman vaikutus oppilaiden sosiaalisiin suhteisiin ja kiusaamiskokemuksiin alakoulussa

Draamamenetelmiä käytetään yleisesti lasten terveyden edistämisen ohjelmissa. Kuitenkin näytöt menetelmien vaikuttavuudesta ovat vähäiset. Tässä artikkelissa kuvataan koulussa toteutetun draamaohjelman vaikutuksia 4.–5.-luokkien (keski-ikä 10,4 vuotta) oppilaiden sosiaalisiin suhteisiin ja koulukiusaamiskokemuksiin. Oppilaat (N=190) rekrytoitiin kahdesta yhtenäiskoulusta ja jaettiin kahteen ryhmään: ohjelma- tai kontrollikouluun. Draamaohjelma sisälsi luokkahuonedraamatilanteita, kotiharjoituksia ja vanhempainiltoja lukuvuonna 2007–2008. Aineisto kerättiin ennen draamaohjelmaa ja ohjelman jälkeen kyselylomakkeilla (n=134). Vastausprosentti oli 71. Ohjelmakoulun oppilaiden arviot luokan sosiaalisista suhteista paranivat, kun taas kontrollikoulussa ne pysyivät samalla tasolla; ajan ja ryhmän yhteisvaikutus lähestyi tilastollista merkitsevyyttä (p=0.065). Myönteinen vaikutus sosiaalisiin suhteisiin oli tilastollisesti merkitsevä luokissa, joissa ohjelma toteutettiin intensiivisesti (p=0.011). Kiusaamiskokemukset vähenivät alku- ja loppumittauksen välillä ohjelmaryhmässä (

Health policy engagement among graduate nursing students in the United States

Aim The aim was to understand how health policy education is currently being delivered in the United States’ graduate nursing programs. Methods This exploratory cross‐sectional design used an anonymous online survey to target graduate nursing students attending American Association of College of Nursing (AACN) member institutions. Results Over 75% of the sample (n = 140) reported taking a dedicated health policy course and 71.5% ( n = 131) of the sample responded that a health policy course was required and an equal distribution among master’s and doctoral students. There was no significant difference between type of graduate degree sought and the requirement to take a health policy course ( P = 0.37). For students involved in health policy, there was a greater proportion of master’s students involved at the state level, than doctorate of nursing practice (DNP) or PhD students ( P = 0.04). Conclusions Health policy and advocacy education are important aspects of graduate nursing curriculum and have been integrated into curricula. Graduate nursing students at all levels reported that health policy AACN Essential competencies are being included in their program, either as stand‐alone health policy courses or integrated health policy learning activities during matriculation

Seal Bomb Noise as a Potential Threat to Monterey Bay Harbor Porpoise

Anthropogenic noise is a known threat to marine mammals. Decades of research have shown that harbor porpoises are particularly sensitive to anthropogenic noise, and geographic displacement is a common impact from noise exposure. Small, localized populations may be particularly vulnerable to impacts associated with displacement, as animals that are excluded from their primary habitat may have reduced foraging success and survival, or be exposed to increased threats of predation or bycatch. Seal bombs are underwater explosives used in purse seine fisheries to deter marine mammals during fishery operations. Pinnipeds are believed to be the primary target for seal bomb use, however there may be indirect impacts on harbor porpoises. Active purse seine fishing using seal bombs in the greater Monterey Bay area may, at times, span the entire range of the Monterey Bay harbor porpoise stock, which may lead to negative impacts for this population. In this contribution, we review anthropogenic noise as a threat to harbor porpoises, with a focus on the potential for impacts from seal bomb noise exposure in the Monterey Bay region

Identifying Key Predictors of Cognitive Dysfunction in Older People Using Supervised Machine Learning Techniques: Observational Study

Background: Machine learning techniques, specifically classification algorithms, may be effective to help understand key health, nutritional, and environmental factors associated with cognitive function in aging populations. Objective: This study aims to use classification techniques to identify the key patient predictors that are considered most important in the classification of poorer cognitive performance, which is an early risk factor for dementia. Methods: Data were used from the Trinity-Ulster and Department of Agriculture study, which included detailed information on sociodemographic, clinical, biochemical, nutritional, and lifestyle factors in 5186 older adults recruited from the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, a proportion of whom (987/5186, 19.03%) were followed up 5-7 years later for reassessment. Cognitive function at both time points was assessed using a battery of tests, including the Repeatable Battery for the Assessment of Neuropsychological Status (RBANS), with a score Results: In the classification of a low RBANS score ( Conclusions: The results suggest that it may be possible for a health care professional to make an initial evaluation, with a high level of confidence, of the potential for cognitive dysfunction using only a few short, noninvasive questions, thus providing a quick, efficient, and noninvasive way to help them decide whether or not a patient requires a full cognitive evaluation. This approach has the potential benefits of making time and cost savings for health service providers and avoiding stress created through unnecessary cognitive assessments in low-risk patients

Structural and biochemical impact of C8-aryl-guanine adducts within the NarI recognition DNA sequence: influence of aryl ring size on targeted and semi-targeted mutagenicity

Chemical mutagens with an aromatic ring system may be enzymatically transformed to afford aryl radical species that preferentially react at the C8-site of 2′-deoxyguanosine (dG). The resulting carbon-linked C8-aryl-dG adduct possesses altered biophysical and genetic coding properties compared to the precursor nucleoside. Described herein are structural and in vitro mutagenicity studies of a series of fluorescent C8-aryl-dG analogues that differ in aryl ring size and are representative of authentic DNA adducts. These structural mimics have been inserted into a hotspot sequence for frameshift mutations, namely, the reiterated G3-position of the NarI sequence within 12mer (NarI(12)) and 22mer (NarI(22)) oligonucleotides. In the NarI(12) duplexes, the C8-aryl-dG adducts display a preference for adopting an anti-conformation opposite C, despite the strong syn preference of the free nucleoside. Using the NarI(22) sequence as a template for DNA synthesis in vitro, mutagenicity of the C8-aryl-dG adducts was assayed with representative high-fidelity replicative versus lesion bypass Y-family DNA polymerases, namely, Escherichia coli pol I Klenow fragment exo− (Kf−) and Sulfolobus solfataricus P2 DNA polymerase IV (Dpo4). Our experiments provide a basis for a model involving a two-base slippage and subsequent realignment process to relate the miscoding properties of C-linked C8-aryl-dG adducts with their chemical structure