“La culpa es de los tlaxcaltecas”: Gender, the Burden of Blame, and a Re-examination of the Myth of La Malinche

This paper explores Elena Garro’s short story “La culpa es de los tlaxcaltecas.” Supplementing close readings with analyses drawn from relevant authors and theorists, I highlight the key ideas regarding gender, identity, memory, and history that Garro weaves into her text, and I consider Garro’s emphasis on patriarchal control, the internalization of female culpability for the Spanish Conquest of Mexico, and women’s role in constructing and reconstructing historical discourses. By travelling into her own and Mexico’s past, Laura Aldama, one of the main female protagonists in the story, not only challenges gendered histories but also reveals how patriarchal thought continues to influence contemporary realities. In addition, by paralleling Laura’s guilt and feelings of betrayal with the La Malinche myth, Garro’s work restructures this cultural symbol. Ultimately, I argue that “La culpa es de los tlaxcaltecas” redefines women’s role in history and society; valorizes female solidarity, voice, and perspective; and encourages women to challenge the limitations of masculinist discourses

An Exploration of Female Sexuality, Class Status, and Art in Hardy’s Short Stories

In this paper, I examine Hardy’s treatment of female sexuality as mediated by art in two short stories: “The Fiddler of the Reels” and “An Imaginative Woman.” Given Hardy’s role as an artist, his noted compassion for women, and his interest in Victorian attitudes toward sexuality, my analysis of these topics in his short stories is particularly relevant. Hardy’s investment in class issues is also pertinent, as I consider how Hardy uses his heroines’ relationships with art to underline the distinct disadvantages of lower-class women. While Ella, the middle-class heroine of “An Imaginative Woman,” uses poetry to channel stagnant sensual energies as a relatively empowered subject, music objectifies and overpowers the lower-class Car’line of “The Fiddler of the Reels.” In my analysis, I compare Ella and Car’line’s interactions with art, noting art’s potential to serve as an emotional outlet, a source of pleasure, or an overwhelming and dangerous force. I argue that middle-class women possess a clear advantage: their access to Victorian discourses that acknowledge female sexuality and their encouragement to engage the creative arts as active agents afford them a level of power. Ella thus uses art as a tool to express her desires and to obtain a degree of sexual satisfaction. On the contrary, the rural, working-class Car’line is completely vulnerable to Wat’s fiddle, and its power ultimately causes her emotional and physical deterioration. In my comparison of female sexuality and artistic expression in “The Fiddler of the Reels” and “An Imaginative Woman, I elucidate Hardy’s efforts to reveal the distinct disadvantages of lower-class women in Victorian society

Platelets generated from human embryonic stem cells are functional in vitro and in the microcirculation of living mice

Platelets play an essential role in hemostasis and atherothrombosis. Owing to their short storage time, there is constant demand for this life-saving blood component. In this study, we report that it is feasible to generate functional megakaryocytes and platelets from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) on a large scale. Differential-interference contrast and electron microscopy analyses showed that ultrastructural and morphological features of hESC-derived platelets were indistinguishable from those of normal blood platelets. In functional assays, hESC-derived platelets responded to thrombin stimulation, formed microaggregates, and facilitated clot formation/retraction in vitro. Live cell microscopy demonstrated that hESC-platelets formed lamellipodia and filopodia in response to thrombin activation, and tethered to each other as observed in normal blood. Using real-time intravital imaging with high-speed video microscopy, we have also shown that hESC-derived platelets contribute to developing thrombi at sites of laser-induced vascular injury in mice, providing the first evidence for in vivo functionality of hESC-derived platelets. These results represent an important step toward generating an unlimited supply of platelets for transfusion. Since platelets contain no genetic material, they are ideal candidates for early clinical translation involving human pluripotent stem cells

Design and Testing of a High Pressure Gas Target for Fast Neutron Resonance Radiography Design and Testing of a High Pressure Gas Target for Fast Neutron Resonance Radiography

Abstract-A high pressure deuterium gas target has been designed to provide high-flux fast neutrons using the D(d,n) 3 He reaction for use as a neutron source. The deuterium gas cell holds 4 atm D 2 gas at 298K and is projected to tolerate a beam current of ~50 µA of 3.0 MeV deuterons for 8 hours of continuous use. The high-pressure gas cell is designed to provide a fast neutron flux on the order of 10 5 n/cm 2 -s at one meter. Measurements of gamma ray production from deuterium impingement have shown tungsten to generate the fewest gamma rays; the primary components of the gas target have been constructed out of tungsten to decrease the number of gamma rays. To accommodate the high gas pressure, thin foil tungsten windows have been structurally reinforced with a tungsten support allowing for more than 60% beam transmission while greatly increasing the structural reliability of the thin windows. Extensive simulation and experimental testing have demonstrated the heating tolerances of the gas target thin windows and have shown that the peak temperature of the thin foils does not exceed 600 °C, while the edges of the foil do not exceed 100 °C, well within the limits of the foil windows and the gas sealing structures

Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Mesenchymal Stromal Cells Decrease the Development of Severe Experimental Autoimmune Uveitis in B10.RIII Mice

<p><i>Purpose</i>: We investigated the effect of exogenously administered human embryonic stem cell-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (hESC-MSCs) in experimental autoimmune uveitis (EAU) in B10.RIII mice, a murine model of severe uveitis.</p> <p><i>Methods</i>: B10.RIII mice were immunized with an uveitogenic peptide, and intraperitoneal injections of 5 million hESC-MSCs per animal were given on the same day. Behavioral light sensitivity assays, histological evaluation, cytokine production, and regulatory T cells were analyzed at the peak of the disease.</p> <p><i>Results</i>: Histological and behavioral evidence demonstrated that early systemic treatment with hESC-MSCs decreases the development of severe EAU in B10.RIII mice. hESC-MSCs suppress Th17 and upregulate Th1 and Th2 responses as well as IL-2 and GM-CSF in splenocytes from hESC-MSC-treated mice.</p> <p><i>Conclusions</i>: MSCs that originate from hESC decrease the development of severe EAU in B10.RIII mice, likely through systemic immune modulation. Further investigation is needed to determine any potential effect on active EAU.</p