Hope and revolution in a critical dystopia: The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins, is a narrative embodying significantly dystopian elements such as an oppressive ruling regime, advanced technologies of surveillance, and constant threat on human life, which then transforms into a revolution narrative. This thesis presents an analysis of The Hunger Games in terms of notions of hope and revolution, in comparison to classical examples of dystopian literature such as Brave New World and Nineteen Eighty-Four. First I look at the discussions on genre limits within utopian literature as well as criticisms brought to utopian thinking in general. Acknowledging hope as an ambivalent concept, I approach The Hunger Games beyond the framework of currently introduced sub-genres of critical utopia and critical dystopia. Using the means provided by the concepts of "cruel optimism" and "militant pessimism", I take hope as two different categories and emphasize hope‘s potential for operating in favor of the existing system as well as being a revolution trigger. Using critical discourse analysis, I examine The Hunger Games and the revolutionary interest it embodies in relation to the transition of individual hope to collective hope, through acts of solidarity. Finally, based on the critical approach that the trilogy presents for revolution, in terms of devotion to a leader and use of violence, I examine how power may take over utopian dreams

In vitro cytotoxicity and genotoxicity screening of Cuscuta Arvensis Beyr. and Achillea Wilhelmsii C. Koch

Plant-based compounds have been used for medicinal purposes since ancient times, as easily accessible and low-cost treatment options. Despite the widespread belief that plants are quite safe and devoid of side effects, scientific studies have revealed the toxicity potential of active components of plants on healthy cells. The present study was designed to investigate in vitro cytotoxicity and genotoxicity potential of Achillea wilhelmsii C. Koch and Cuscuta arvensis Beyr., which are frequently used in traditional medicine. In this context, cytotoxicity evaluation of the extracts was performed by MTT (3- [4,5-dimethylthiazol-2-yl]-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide) assay. Our cytotoxicity results indicate that the extract from A. wilhelmsii did not affect the viability of fibroblasts at any tested concentrations, on the contrary, significantly stimulated cell proliferation from a concentration of 25 µg/mL. On the other hand, the extract from C. arvensis significantly reduced the viability of fibroblasts at all concentrations tested. In the second part of this research, the DNA damaging potential of the extracts was investigated by in vitro comet assay at non-cytotoxic concentrations. A. wilhelmsii extract caused a significant increase in the percentage of DNA in the tail (%TDNA), which is considered as an indicator of DNA damage, only at the highest concentration, while C. arvensis extract did not significantly affect %TDNA at concentrations tested. The results of the present study indicated that the methanolic extract from A. wilhelmsii may be considered safe up to a concentration of 100 μg/mL, however, the cytotoxicity potential of C. arvensis may be a factor limiting its safe use

Whole Genome Sequencing of Turkish Genomes Reveals Functional Private Alleles and Impact of Genetic Interactions with Europe, Asia and Africa

Background Turkey is a crossroads of major population movements throughout history and has been a hotspot of cultural interactions. Several studies have investigated the complex population history of Turkey through a limited set of genetic markers. However, to date, there have been no studies to assess the genetic variation at the whole genome level using whole genome sequencing. Here, we present whole genome sequences of 16 Turkish individuals resequenced at high coverage (32 × -48×). Results We show that the genetic variation of the contemporary Turkish population clusters with South European populations, as expected, but also shows signatures of relatively recent contribution from ancestral East Asian populations. In addition, we document a significant enrichment of non-synonymous private alleles, consistent with recent observations in European populations. A number of variants associated with skin color and total cholesterol levels show frequency differentiation between the Turkish populations and European populations. Furthermore, we have analyzed the 17q21.31 inversion polymorphism region (MAPT locus) and found increased allele frequency of 31.25% for H1/H2 inversion polymorphism when compared to European populations that show about 25% of allele frequency. Conclusion This study provides the first map of common genetic variation from 16 western Asian individuals and thus helps fill an important geographical gap in analyzing natural human variation and human migration. Our data will help develop population-specific experimental designs for studies investigating disease associations and demographic history in Turkey

Response of cultured normal canine mammary epithelial cells to deracoxib—doxorubicin combination

Currently, there is a growing interest in combining anticancer drugs with the aim to improve outcome in patients suffering from tumours and reduce the long-term toxicity associated with the current standard of treatment. In this study, we evaluated the possible role of deracoxib against the toxicity of doxorubicin on normal canine mammary epithelial cells. The effect of deracoxib and doxorubicin combination on cell viability was determined by MTT assay. Apoptosis was characterised by flow cytometry. Cell nitrite concentrations were measured with the Griess reaction. Deracoxib (50 and 100 μM) treatment decreased the cytotoxic action of doxorubicin at 0.9 μM in the cells, from 33.63% to 13.4% and 25.82%, respectively. Our results also showed that the reverse effect of deracoxib on doxorubicin-induced cytotoxic activity in the cells was associated with a marked (3.04- to 3.57-fold) decrease in apoptosis. In additional studies identifying the mechanism of the observed effect, deracoxib exhibited an activity to prevent doxorubicin-mediated overproduction of nitric oxide in the cells. Our in vitro study results indicate that deracoxib (50 and 100 μM) can be beneficial in protecting normal cells from the toxic effect of doxorubicin in conjunction with apoptosis by the modulation of nitric oxide production

Deposition and Characterization of Tungsten Carbide Thin Films by DC Magnetron Sputtering for Wear-Resistant Applications

In this study, WC (tungsten carbide) thin films were deposited on high-speed steel (AISI M2) and Si (100) substrates by direct current magnetron sputtering of a tungsten carbide target having 7% cobalt as binding material. The properties of the coatings have been modified by the change in the bias voltages from grounded to 200 V. All the coatings were deposited at 250A degrees C constant temperature. The microstructure and the thickness of the films were determined from cross-sectional field-emission gun scanning electron microscope micrographs. The chemical composition of the film was determined by electron probe micro analyzer. The x-ray diffractometer has been used for the phase analyses. Nanoindentation and wear tests were used to determine the mechanical and tribological properties of the films, respectively. It is found that the increase in the bias voltages increased drastically the hardness and elastic modulus, decreased the friction coefficient values and increased the wear resistance of tungsten carbide thin films by a phase transformation from metallic W (tungsten) to a nonstoichiometric WC1-x (tungsten carbide) phase