“To Fortify our Fatherland”: Russian National Identity Between East and West, 1825-1855

This thesis examines Russia’s paradoxical national identity in the nineteenth century. Russians sought to make themselves both a part of Western Europe, but also a distinctively Russian nation. This projects explores the way in which this discussion of Russian national identity, a discussion limited to the upper echelons of society, permeated Russian political, intellectual, and literary spheres. My findings lead me to argue that the West was a necessary component in Russia’s conception of itself in the nineteenth century

Madness in African literature : ambivalence, fluidity, and play

Word processed copy.Includes bibliographical references.Madness in African Literature: Ambivalence, Fluidity, and Play examines how representations of madness in six literary pieces are used to reflect upon discourse

Interview: Translation as conversation: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o in Euskara

No Abstrac

Predation by the sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis on capsular egg masses of the whelk Buccinum undatum

We evaluated sea urchin Strongylocentrotus droebachiensis predation on egg masses of the whelk Buccinum undatum. The urchin actively grazes on the egg masses, even as they are being deposited on the bottom. Whelks preferentially lay their egg masses on vertical areas where urchin densities are 4-fold less than on flat areas. This strategy is advantageous, as experimental trials showed that the loss in the mass of capsules was 4 fewer on walls than on flat areas. Nevertheless, a high proportion of egg masses on walls show damage from predation. Urchins provided with egg masses in the laboratory, ingested the capsules at a steady rate over a 9-d period (5 urchins ingested 2.8 g.d-1). Urchins provided agar discs that included a preferred alga and whelk capsule walls ingested the discs at a rate that was half that observed for discs that only included the alga. Discs that included the preferred alga and capsule contents were eaten at the same rate as discs that only included the alga. Thus, capsule walls, but not the capsule contents, provide a defence against urchin predation. Laying aggregate egg masses likely provides only a limited advantage, as the attachment surface does not increase with the number of egg masses deposited together, so the risk of detachment increases. Consideration of the interactions between urchins and whelks is important in managing the fisheries of the two species. Copyright © Marine Biological Association of the United Kingdom 2008.published_or_final_versio

Translation as conversation: Ngũgĩ wa Thiong’o in Euskara

Interview with Pernando Barrena

Introduction: ghostly borders

Editoria

Growth of the tropical scallop, Euvola (Pecten) ziczac, in bottom and suspended culture in the Golfo de Cariaco, Venezuela

We compared the growth of the scallop Euuolu (Pecten) ziczuc (L.) in three situations which potentially could be used for commercial culture, in cages maintained in suspension, in cages on the bottom and in cages partly buried in a sediment bottom. The latter permitted the scallops to bury themselves as in their natural habitat. Throughout the 7-month study, growth, as measured by shell length and muscle mass, was by far superior for scallops in the partly buried cages. Possible explanations for this are ( 1) that the scallops are stressed by enclosures which prevent them from burying themselves and (2) that organic material at the sediment/water interface is an important food resource and E. ziczac has better access to this when it buries itself flush with the bottom. The timing of gonadal growth and spawning varied markedly among treatments. Some spawnings coincided with temperature increases but others did not. Differences between scallops in suspension compared to those in bottom treatments suggested that reproduction is as much controlled by conditions in the immediate environment of the scallops as by large-scale environmental factors. Survival was highest for the scallops maintained in partly buried cages

Lower 68 Ga-DOTATOC Uptake in Non-Functioning Pituitary Neuroendocrine Tumors Compared to Normal Pituitary Gland - a Proof-of-Concept Study

OBJECTIVES: 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET targets somatostatin receptors (SSTRs) and is well established for the detection of SSTR-expressing tumors, such as gastrointestinal neuroendocrine tumors. Pituitary adenomas, recently designated as pituitary neuroendocrine tumors (PitNETs), also express SSTRs, but there has been no previous evaluations of 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET in PitNET patients. The aim of this pilot study was to evaluate the diagnostic properties of 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET in the most common PitNET, i.e. non-functioning (NF)-PitNET. DESIGN/METHODS: NF-PitNET patients (n = 9) and controls (n = 13) were examined preoperatively with 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET for 45 min after tracer injection in dynamic list mode. Tumor specimens were collected during surgery in patients. MRI and PET images were co-registered using PMOD software. The maximum standard uptake value (SUVmax ) was analyzed in manually outlined regions of interest (ROC) around the tumor in patients and around the pituitary gland in controls. Immunohistochemical analyses were conducted on tumor specimens for assessment of tumor cell type and SSTR expression. RESULTS: Median SUVmax (IQR) was lower in patients than in controls (3.9 [3.4-8.5] vs 14.1 [12.5-15.9]; P < .01]. In ROC analysis, the area under the curve was 0.87 (P < .01) for SUVmax , with 78% sensitivity and 92% specificity. Immunohistochemical analysis showed NF-PitNETs were of gonadotroph (n = 7) and corticotroph (n = 2) origin. SSTR expression was high for SSTR3, low-to-moderate for SSTR2, and low for SSTR1 and SSTR5. CONCLUSIONS: This proof-of-concept study shows that 68 Ga-DOTATOC PET can be used to differentiate between normal pituitary tissue and NF-PitNET