Girls on the Borderline: Rewriting the Rite of Passage Film

Girl protagonists in rite of passage films regularly come to be burdened with a sobering maturity that sees them acquire a dysphoric subjective position under an oppressive patriarchal paradigm. According to Oedipal logics, both genders, in extricating themselves from the imaginary fullness of the maternal bond, come to be subjects of lack, but culturally entrenched patriarchal fictions concur in fostering masculine narcissism at the expense of the feminine. This practice-based research asks how the Oedipal narrative structure, which has defined twentieth- century mainstream cinema, can be re-appropriated and re- imagined for the purpose of writing a screenplay that highlights the girl’s active and constructive engagement in the project of selfhood. My reading of seven films, which are all at the low-budget end of the mainstream (studio-financed as well as independent), details parallel structures and discourses within the proposed genre. Victor Turner’s rite of passage model is used as a template for understanding rite of passage plot structure and transformative symbolism, while key concepts in Lacanian psychoanalysis serve to throw light on the adolescent girl’s psychosexual development. My reading of Girlfight, which follows Luce Irigaray’s critique of phallocentrism and concept of intersubjective dialogue, provides a key insight into how the narrative aspects of film can provide a propitious environment for resolving cultural impasse and catalysing understanding and change. I have written my screenplay Lullaby, which accompanies the thesis as Appendix IV, in accordance with my research goals. It serves as a blueprint for a feature film that will hopefully, one day, go into production

Cellular adaptive immune response against porcine circovirus type 2 in subclinically infected pigs

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Porcine circovirus type 2 (PCV2) is a dominant causative agent of postweaning multisystemic wasting syndrome (PMWS), a multifactorial disease complex with putative immunosuppressive characteristics. Little is known about adaptive PCV2-specific immune responses in infected pigs. Therefore, the T and B cell responses following PCV2 infection in 3-week old SPF piglets infected with PCV2 or PCV2 plus porcine parvovirus (PPV) were studied.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>All animals were asymptomatically infected. At 7 days post infection (d p.i.), B lymphocyte and T lymphocyte numbers decreased in the dual infected, but not in the single infected piglets. At this time point a transient PCV2 viraemia was noted in the PCV2 infected groups. Antibodies against the infecting virus were detectable at day 24-28 p.i. for anti-PCV2 antibodies and at day 10 p.i. for anti-PPV antibodies, with no apparent influence of PCV2 on the early PPV antibody development. In the animals infected with PPV alone, IFN-γ secreting cells (SC) that were not specific for PCV2 were detected by ELISPOT assay at day 7 p.i. Interestingly, this response was absent in the PCV2/PPV dual infected animals. PCV2-specific IFN-γ SC were observed in the PCV2/PPV infected group at 7 d p.i. and in the PCV2 single infected group at 21 d p.i. A reduction in the numbers of IFN-γ SC was observed following anti-CD4 and anti-CD8 antibody treatment, suggesting roles for both CD4⁺and CD8⁺T cells in the response against PCV2 infection. This was supported by an observed increase in the percentage of IFN-γ positive CD8^hicytotoxic T cells as well as IFN-γ positive CD8^-/lowhelper T cells after PCV2 <it>in vitro </it>re-stimulation.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Infection of weaned SPF piglets with PCV2 alone or combined with PPV does not induce disease and in both cases a relatively slow anti-PCV2 antibody response and weak T lymphocyte responses were found. Knowledge on such immunological characteristics is important for both PCV2 pathogenesis and vaccination.</p

Detection and localisation of unilateral hindlimb pathologies in cattle using the cow pedogram.

ISSN:0042-490

Girls on the borderline : rewritting the rite of passage film

Girl protagonists in rite of passage films regularly come to be burdened with a sobering maturity that sees them acquire a dysphoric subjective position under an oppressive patriarchal paradigm. According to Oedipal logics, both genders, in extricating themselves from the imaginary fullness of the maternal bond, come to be subjects of lack, but culturally entrenched patriarchal fictions concur in fostering masculine narcissism at the expense of the feminine. This practice-based research asks how the Oedipal narrative structure, which has defined twentieth- century mainstream cinema, can be re-appropriated and re- imagined for the purpose of writing a screenplay that highlights the girl's active and constructive engagement in the project of selfhood. My reading of seven films, which are all at the low-budget end of the mainstream (studio-financed as well as independent), details parallel structures and discourses within the proposed genre. Victor Turner's rite of passage model is used as a template for understanding rite of passage plot structure and transformative symbolism, while key concepts in Lacanian psychoanalysis serve to throw light on the adolescent girl's psychosexual development. My reading of Girlfight, which follows Luce Irigaray's critique of phallocentrism and concept of intersubjective dialogue, provides a key insight into how the narrative aspects of film can provide a propitious environment for resolving cultural impasse and catalysing understanding and change. I have written my screenplay Lullaby, which accompanies the thesis as Appendix IV, in accordance with my research goals. It serves as a blueprint for a feature film that will hopefully, one day, go into production.EThOS - Electronic Theses Online ServiceGBUnited Kingdo

Footbath as treatment of footrot in sheep. Current ­situation on Swiss sheep farms

Footrot in sheep should be eradicated in Switzerland in the future. Based on scientific findings, this can be achieved with disinfectant footbaths. It is unknown how many sheep farmers are already using this means and how it is used. The current study evaluated the farm operation, the design of the footbath, the use of disinfectants and footbath with a written survey of a representative sample of all sheep farmers. The sample population was selected randomly, however stratified by language region and herdsize to control for differences between these groups. 45.3% (n=1134) of the distributed questionnaires were received for evaluation. On average 32.8% of the respondents used a footbath. Even on large farms (> 50 animals), which were more frequently affected by footrot, a footbath was available only in 52.6% of the farms in the French-speaking part and 67.7% in the German/Italian speaking part of Switzerland. The footbaths were correctly applied in most respects (e.g., pre-claw cleaning, liquid level and concentration of disinfectants, time in the footbath, post-bath drying phase) in the current study. Most commonly mobile plastic baths were in use. The disinfectants used were mainly formalin, copper and zinc sulfate. The incorrect disposal of the heavy-metal containing copper and zinc sulfate solutions was identified as an important problem: In 59% of the sheep farms the remaining footbath solutions were disposed in the slurry pit or manure storage. In summary the current study recommends (i) to motivate sheep farmers to use a footbath for the treatment and prevention of footrot, and (ii) to replace the currently used disinfectants with substances that are non-toxic to humans, animals and the environment

The heparan sulfate proteoglycan agrin contributes to barrier properties of mouse brain endothelial cells by stabilizing adherens junctions

Barrier characteristics of brain endothelial cells forming the blood-brain barrier (BBB) are tightly regulated by cellular and acellular components of the neurovascular unit. During embryogenesis, the accumulation of the heparan sulfate proteoglycan agrin in the basement membranes ensheathing brain vessels correlates with BBB maturation. In contrast, loss of agrin deposition in the vasculature of brain tumors is accompanied by the loss of endothelial junctional proteins. We therefore wondered whether agrin had a direct effect on the barrier characteristics of brain endothelial cells. Agrin increased junctional localization of vascular endothelial (VE)-cadherin, β-catenin, and zonula occludens-1 (ZO-1) but not of claudin-5 and occludin in the brain endothelioma cell line bEnd5 without affecting the expression levels of these proteins. This was accompanied by an agrin-induced reduction of the paracellular permeability of bEnd5 monolayers. In vivo, the lack of agrin also led to reduced junctional localization of VE-cadherin in brain microvascular endothelial cells. Taken together, our data support the notion that agrin contributes to barrier characteristics of brain endothelium by stabilizing the adherens junction proteins VE-cadherin and β-catenin and the junctional protein ZO-1 to brain endothelial junctions

Long-range structure of Cu(InxGa1-x)3Se5: A complementary neutron and anomalous x-ray diffraction study

The following article appeared in Journal of Applied Physics 109.1 (2011): 013518 and may be found at http://scitation.aip.org/content/aip/journal/jap/109/1/10.1063/1.3524183Distinguishing the scattering contributions of isoelectronic atomic species by means of conventional x-ray- and/or electron diffraction techniques is a difficult task. Such a problem occurs when determining the crystal structure of compounds containing different types of atoms with equal number of electrons. We propose a new structural model of Cu(InxGa1-x) 3Se5 which is valid for the entire compositional range of the CuIn3Se5-CuGa3Se5 solid solution. Our model is based on neutron and anomalous x-ray diffraction experiments. These complementary techniques allow the separation of scattering contributions of the isoelectronic species Cu+ and Ga3+, contributing nearly identically in monoenergetic x-ray diffraction experiments. We have found that CuIII3Se5 (III =In,Ga) in its room temperature near-equilibrium modification exhibits a modified stannite structure (space group I4̄2m). Different occupation factors of the species involved, Cu+ In3+, Ga3+, and vacancies have been found at three different cationic positions of the structure (Wyckoff sites 2a, 2b, and 4d) depending on the composition of the compound. Significantly, Cu+ does not occupy the 2b site for the In-free compound, but does for the In-containing case. Structural parameters, including lattice constants, tetragonal distortions, and occupation factors are given for samples covering the entire range of the CuIn 3Se5-CuGa3Se5 solid solution. At the light of the result, the denotation of Cu-poor 1:3:5 compounds as chalcopyrite-related materials is only valid in reference to their composition.This work was supported financially by the PPP-program Acciones Integradas Hispano-Alemanas of the DAAD under the Contract No. 314-Al-e-dr (HA2006-0025 spanish reference). Sylvio Haas is gratefully acknowledged for his support in anomalous XRD data acquisition and conversion

Baseline AMH Level Associated With Ovulation Following Ovulation Induction in Women With Polycystic Ovary Syndrome

Anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) reduces aromatase activity and sensitivity of follicles to FSH stimulation. Therefore, elevated serum AMH may indicate a higher threshold for response to ovulation induction in women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS). This study sought to determine the association between AMH levels and ovulatory response to treatment among the women enrolled into the Pregnancy in PCOS II (PPCOS II) trial. This was a secondary analysis of data from a randomized clinical trial in academic health centers throughout the United States Participants: A total of 748 women age 18-40 years, with PCOS and measured AMH levels at baseline, were included in this study. Couples were followed for up to five treatment cycles to determine ovulation (midluteal serum progesterone > 5 ng/mL) and the dose required to achieve ovulation. A lower mean AMH and AMH per follicle was observed among women who ovulated compared with women who never achieved ovulation during the study (geometric mean AMH, 5.54 vs 7.35 ng/mL; P = .0001; geometric mean AMH per follicle, 0.14 vs 0.18; P = .01) after adjustment for age, body mass index, T, and insulin level. As AMH levels increased, the dose of ovulation induction medication needed to achieve ovulation also increased. No associations were observed between antral follicle count and ovulation. These results suggest that high serum AMH is associated with a reduced response to ovulation induction among women with PCOS. Women with higher AMH levels may require higher doses of medication to achieve ovulation