Sister acts:Nuns in Rumer Godden's Black Narcissus and at the Loreto Convents in India

This article draws into comparative conversation Rumer Godden's 1939 novel about nuns in the Himalayas, Black Narcissus, and the records of real-world nuns from the Loreto order in India. Through this comparison, we shed light on the under-studied field of nuns in India and on the intersection of gender and colonialism during the later period of colonial rule. Reading fiction against historical archives, we find that a novel that has been lauded for its anti-imperialist stance in fact retains elements of orientalism that dovetail with a misogynistic outlook. Meanwhile, an order that exhibited racist and colonialist tendencies also, despite and because of these, engineered a project with significant feminist purpose. This juxtaposition of Godden's novel and Loreto's internal archives reveals the ways in which white feminist goals can be at odds with anti-colonialist ones, but it also shows how the standard portrayal of nuns – represented by Godden's novel – as regressive and lacking agency does not hold up in the face of the historical record

Glycohistochemical investigation on canine and feline zonae pellucidae of preantral and antral oocytes

Glycoconjugate modifications were analysed in the zona pellucida during development of oocytes in dog and cat using conventional histochemical staining methods with or without previous carbohydrate digestion. A series of lectins combined with desulphation and sialic acid degradation were applied. No differences were observed between dog and cat follicles using conventional histochemical staining methods. In both species, the zona pellucida and follicular fluid/intercellular matrix strongly reacted with PAS and high iron diamine stain (HID) and reacted moderately with low iron diamine stain (LID). Treatment with testicular hyaluronidase, chondroitinase ABC, chondroitinase AC and chondroitinase B treatment diminished HID and LID positivity of follicular fluid and intercellular matrix. Lectins that gave the most intense staining of the zona pellucida of both species were SBA, PNA, RCA-I, GSA-IB4 and WGA, indicating the presence of beta-D-GalNAc, D-Gal and GlcNAc residues. Sulpho- and asulpho-carbohydrates were identified in terminal and/or subterminal positions linked to sialic acid residues. In conclusion, the results indicate that glycosaminoglycans are not present in the zona pellucida of both species. Differences were observed in carbohydrate residues and in their spatial distribution, depending on species and developmental stage of the follicles. The similarity in lectin affinity between ooplasm and zona pellucida of oocytes present in follicles at different stages of development confirm the involvement of oocytes in zona pellucida production

Glycoconjugates in small antral ovarian follicles of the river buffalo (Bubalus bubalis L.)

Types and distribution patterns of glycoconjugates in antral ovarian follicles were investigated in the buffalo, using periodic-acid Schiff (PAS), high iron diamine (HID), low ion diamine (LID) and lectin histochemical staining methods. HID and LID staining procedures were preceded in some cases by digestion with testicular hyaluronidase, Streptomyces hyaluronidase, chondroitinase ABC and heparitinase (heparinase III). Lectin staining was performed with the use of 12 horseradish peroxidase (HRP) lectin conjugates. Some lectin staining procedures were preceded by neuraminidase digestion and saponification. Large amounts of isomeric chondroitin sulphates and a minor quantity of heparan sulphate and hyaluronic acid and/or chondroitin were found in follicular fluid. Lectin staining of buffalo follicular fluid revealed glycoconjugates with different glucidic determinants such as beta-N-acetylgalactosamine, beta-galactose-(1-3)-N-acetylgalactosamine, beta-galactose-(1-4)-N-acetylglucosamine, N-acetylglucosamine, alpha-fucose and alpha-glucose/alpha-mannose, and sialic acid residues. Glycosaminoglycans were absent in the zona pellucida of oocytes in small antral follicles. Acidic glycoconjugates in the zona pellucida were caused by sulphated groups and sialic acid residues. Our data show few internal glucidic residues, such as N-acetylglucosamine in the buffalo zona pellucida but many subterminal beta-N-acetylgalactosamine, alpha- and beta-galactose determinants masked by sialic acids. These findings demonstrate that buffalo follicular fluid has a very heterogeneous composition that is similar to that found in small and large bovine follicles. No differences in composition of the follicular fluid were observed in the follicles examined

Chromosomal analysis of embryos produced by artificially inseminated superovulated cattle

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Application of the cDNA-AFLP method for studying gene expression in Fibrobacter succinogenes S85 exposed to 134.2 kHz electromagnetic field

AbstractMany biological effects related to the exposure of cells and tissues to electromagnetic fields have been reported in the literature, including those influencing DNAs and RNAs structure and ..

GLYCOMOLECULE MODIFICATIONS IN THE SEMINIFEROUS EPITHELIAL CELLS AND IN THE ACROSOME OF POST-TESTICULAR SPERMATOZOA IN THE ALPACA.

A lectin histochemical investigation of the seminiferous epithelium and acrosomes of spermatozoa present in the efferent ductules and epididymal regions was carried out in the alpaca. The histochemical characterization was performed using a battery of different lectins: Con-A, UEA-I, LTA, WGA, GSA-IB4, SBA, PNA, ECA, DBA, MAL-II and SNA. Sialidase digestion and deglycosilation pre-treatments were also employed. The cytoplasm of the Sertoli cells contained N-linked oligosaccharides with alpha-D-Man/alpha-D-Glc and GlcNAc and O-linked glycans with alpha-L-Fuc, beta-GalNAc, beta-D-Gal-(1-4)-D-GlcNAc, alpha-Gal and Neu5Acalpha2,6alpha-GalNAc moieties whereas beta-D-Gal-(1-3)-D-GalNAc residues were included in both O- and N-glycoproteins. Spermatogonia expressed alpha-D-Man/alpha-D-Glc residues included in N-glycoproteins and alpha-Fuc in O-glycoproteins. Spermatocytes contained the N-glycoproteins residues alpha-D-Man/alpha-D-Glc and GlcNAc and the O-glycoproteins residues alpha-L-Fuc, beta-D-Gal-(1-4)-D-GlcNAc, alpha-Gal, beta-GalNAc, Neu5Acalpha2,6alpha-GalNAc and Neu5Acalpha2,6beta-D-Gal-(1-3)-D-GalNAc. The results of the present study show differences in the presence and distribution of lectin reactive sites throughout the acrosomal development in the alpaca. In particular, Fuc moieties were found only during the Golgi-phase of spermatids, alpha-Gal were found in the acrosome of Golgi- and cap-phase spermatids, sialic-acid/alpha-GalNAc sequence was revealed during the cap-phase and elongated spermatids, and alpha-D-Man/alpha-D-Glc and GlcNAc were detected only in the acrosomes of elongated spermatids. Finally, beta-GalNAc, beta-D-Gal-(1-3)-D-GalNAc and beta-D-Gal-(1-4)-D-GlcNAc were added to acrosomal glycoproteins in the early stages of spermatogenesis and remained unchanged during the later phases. Differences in the carbohydrate expression were also demonstrated on the sperm acrosomes during passage through the post-testicular ducts