477 research outputs found
Making the journey : the female Bildungsroman and quest motifs in selected Margaret Atwood texts.
Master of Arts in English. University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg 2015.The research presented in this dissertation examines, from a gender studies approach,
the genre of the female Bildungsroman and the representation of quest motifs in three
primary texts selected from the oeuvre of Margaret Atwood. These three texts
include: The Penelopiad (2005), Surfacing (1972) and Cat’s Eye (1988). Given that
the Bildungsroman is traditionally championed by a male protagonist as well as the
varied nature of this quest, which is also led by a male hero, this project investigates
texts which highlight the nature of the female protagonist’s experience and the
variation in her Bildung and quest as a result.
In order to provide a thorough analysis of these texts an extensive theoretical
approach of gender theory, Bildungsroman theory, and quest theory has been used.
This promotes a focus on the construction of gender in the texts, the traditional
structure of the Bildungsroman and how the selected texts conform to but also deviate
from this model, as well as illustrating how variations of Joseph Campbell’s mythic
structure have been included in the texts.
The Penelopiad offers a retelling of Homer’s Odyssey epic from the point of view of a
female narrator, Penelope. In this text several narrative techniques are used to
‘rewrite’ the original myth and privilege the female perspective. Surfacing provides
an account of a spiritual quest; this text couples the protagonist’s Bildung and search
for identity with spirituality. Cat’s Eye represents an example of a psychological quest
as the protagonist’s journey is closely connected to her memories of the past and the
experiences to which they are linked. The variations within these texts contribute to a
comprehensive analysis of the complex nature of this study and this genre as a whole.
These texts provide different examples of Bildungsromane and representations of the
quest. This examination explores the extent to which Atwood makes use of the
traditional Bildungsroman structure, and also the ways in which she is able to skilfully
manipulate the genre and provide texts that more accurately constitute a female
Bildungsroman
Detection of a Substantial Molecular Gas Reservoir in a brightest cluster galaxy at z = 1.7
We report the detection of CO(2-1) emission coincident with the brightest
cluster galaxy (BCG) of the high-redshift galaxy cluster SpARCS1049+56, with
the Redshift Search Receiver (RSR) on the Large Millimetre Telescope (LMT). We
confirm a spectroscopic redshift for the gas of z = 1.7091+/-0.0004, which is
consistent with the systemic redshift of the cluster galaxies of z = 1.709. The
line is well-fit by a single component Gaussian with a RSR resolution-corrected
FWHM of 569+/-63 km/s. We see no evidence for multiple velocity components in
the gas, as might be expected from the multiple image components seen in
near-infrared imaging with the Hubble Space Telescope. We measure the
integrated flux of the line to be 3.6+/-0.3 Jy km/s and, using alpha_CO = 0.8
Msun (K km s^-1 pc^2)^-1 we estimate a total molecular gas mass of
1.1+/-0.1x10^11 Msun and a M_H2/M_star ~ 0.4. This is the largest gas reservoir
detected in a BCG above z > 1 to date. Given the infrared-estimated star
formation rate of 860+/-130 Msun/yr, this corresponds to a gas depletion
timescale of ~0.1Gyr. We discuss several possible mechanisms for depositing
such a large gas reservoir to the cluster center -- e.g., a cooling flow, a
major galaxy-galaxy merger or the stripping of gas from several galaxies -- but
conclude that these LMT data are not sufficient to differentiate between them.Comment: accepted for publication in ApJ Letter
Safety and efficacy of intravenous infusion of allogeneic cryopreserved mesenchymal stem cells for treatment of chronic kidney disease in cats: results of three sequential pilot studies
INTRODUCTION: Administration of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) has been shown to improve renal function in rodent models of chronic kidney disease (CKD), in part by reducing intrarenal inflammation and suppressing fibrosis. CKD in cats is characterized by tubulointerstitial inflammation and fibrosis, and thus treatment with MSCs might improve renal function and urinary markers of inflammation in this disease. Therefore, a series of pilot studies was conducted to assess the safety and efficacy of intravenous administration of allogeneic adipose-derived MSCs (aMSCs) in cats with naturally occurring CKD. METHODS: Cats enrolled in these studies received an intravenous infusion of allogeneic aMSCs every 2 weeks collected from healthy, young, specific pathogen-free cats. Cats in pilot study 1 (six cats) received 2 × 10(6) cryopreserved aMSCs per infusion, cats in pilot study 2 (five cats) received 4 × 10(6) cryopreserved aMSCs per infusion, and cats in pilot study 3 (five cats) received 4 × 10(6) aMSCs cultured from cryopreserved adipose. Serum biochemistry, complete blood count, urinalysis, urine protein, glomerular filtration rate, and urinary cytokine concentrations were monitored during the treatment period. Changes in clinical parameters were compared statistically by means of repeated measures analysis of variance (ANOVA) followed by Bonferroni’s correction. RESULTS: Cats in pilot study 1 had few adverse effects from the aMSC infusions and there was a statistically significant decrease in serum creatinine concentrations during the study period, however the degree of decrease seems unlikely to be clinically relevant. Adverse effects of the aMSC infusion in cats in pilot study 2 included vomiting (2/5 cats) during infusion and increased respiratory rate and effort (4/5 cats). Cats in pilot study 3 did not experience any adverse side effects. Serum creatinine concentrations and glomerular filtration rates did not change significantly in cats in pilot studies 2 and 3. CONCLUSIONS: Administration of cryopreserved aMSCs was associated with significant adverse effects and no discernible clinically relevant improvement in renal functional parameters. Administration of aMSCs cultured from cryopreserved adipose was not associated with adverse effects, but was also not associated with improvement in renal functional parameters
The Variable Stars and Blue Horizontal Branch of the Metal-Rich Globular Cluster NGC 6441
We present time-series VI photometry of the metal-rich ([Fe/H] = -0.53)
globular cluster NGC 6441. Our color-magnitude diagram shows that the extended
blue horizontal branch seen in Hubble Space Telescope data exists in the
outermost reaches of the cluster. The red clump slopes nearly parallel to the
reddening vector. A component of this slope is due to differential reddening,
but part is intrinsic. The blue horizontal branch stars are more centrally
concentrated than the red clump stars. We have discovered about 50 new variable
stars near NGC 6441, among them eight or more RR Lyrae stars which are very
probably cluster members. Comprehensive period searches over the range 0.2-1.0
days yielded unusually long periods (0.5-0.9 days) for the fundamental
pulsators compared with field RR Lyrae of the same metallicity. Three similar
long-period RR Lyrae are known in other metal-rich globulars. With over ten
examples in hand, it seems that a distinct sub-class of RR Lyrae is emerging.
The observed properties of the horizontal branch stars are in reasonable
agreement with recent models which invoke deep mixing to enhance the
atmospheric helium abundance, while they conflict with models which assume high
initial helium abundance. The light curves of the c-type RR Lyrae seem to have
unusually long rise times and sharp minima. Reproducing these light curves in
stellar pulsation models may provide another means of constraining the physical
variables responsible for the anomalous blue horizontal branch extension and
sloped red clump observed in NGC 6441.Comment: 30 pages plus 6 EPS and 6 JPEG figures; uses AAS TeX. Accepted by the
Astronomical Journal. Minor changes include computing He abundance,
modifications to Figs 1 and 8, and expansion on idea that blue HB stars may
be produced in binarie
The Phase Space and Stellar Populations of Cluster Galaxies at z ~ 1: Simultaneous Constraints on the Location and Timescale of Satellite Quenching
We investigate the velocity vs. position phase space of z ~ 1 cluster
galaxies using a set of 424 spectroscopic redshifts in 9 clusters drawn from
the GCLASS survey. Dividing the galaxy population into three categories:
quiescent, star-forming, and poststarburst, we find that these populations have
distinct distributions in phase space. Most striking are the poststarburst
galaxies, which are commonly found at small clustercentric radii with high
clustercentric velocities, and appear to trace a coherent ``ring" in phase
space. Using several zoom simulations of clusters we show that the coherent
distribution of the poststarbursts can be reasonably well-reproduced using a
simple quenching scenario. Specifically, the phase space is best reproduced if
satellite quenching occurs on a rapid timescale (0.1 < tau_{Q} < 0.5 Gyr) after
galaxies make their first passage of R ~ 0.5R_{200}, a process that takes a
total time of ~ 1 Gyr after first infall. We compare this quenching timescale
to the timescale implied by the stellar populations of the poststarburst
galaxies and find that the poststarburst spectra are well-fit by a rapid
quenching (tau_{Q} = 0.4^{+0.3}_{-0.4} Gyr) of a typical star-forming galaxy.
The similarity between the quenching timescales derived from these independent
indicators is a strong consistency check of the quenching model. Given that the
model implies satellite quenching is rapid, and occurs well within R_{200},
this would suggest that ram-pressure stripping of either the hot or cold gas
component of galaxies are the most plausible candidates for the physical
mechanism. The high cold gas consumption rates at z ~ 1 make it difficult to
determine if hot or cold gas stripping is dominant; however, measurements of
the redshift evolution of the satellite quenching timescale and location may be
capable of distinguishing between the two.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, submitted to the Ap
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