Trans-forming Narratology Lanser, Susan S
Narrative (Columbus, Ohio),
05/2024, Letnik:
32, Številka:
2
Journal Article
Recenzirano
From the vantagepoint of a feminist/queer/cisgender narratologist, “Trans-forming Narratology” asks which aspects of narrative practice might be particularly salient to developing a fruitful trans ...narratology while also calling our attention to elements of narrative that conventional (cis)narratology has undervalued or ignored. Keeping in mind matters that might be particularly relevant to trans narratives, this speculative essay explores aspects of voice, embodiment, character space, plotting, and closure in a set of recent American and British novels. It considers ways in which trans narratives can exploit the gender freedom of the first-person English pronoun or, conversely, signal temporally dual identities through heterodiegetic naming practices. It addresses tensions between a character’s proclaimed gender and their assigned sex and the differing implications of texts with narratees who are also textual actors and those whose narratees serve as external confidantes. Through brief forays into multiple aspects of narrative form, this essay argues for a narratology that can show the rich and varied capacities of trans writings past and present, with the hope that attention to trans narratives will both deepen our understanding of trans literature and advance the larger project of a comprehensive, situated narratology.
We propose a novel approach for manufacturing dual-scale porosity alumina structures by UV curing-assisted 3D plotting of a specially formulated alumina feedstock using a thermo-regulated phase ...separable, photocurable camphene/triethylene glycol dimethacrylate (TEGDMA) vehicle. In particular, 3D plotting process was conducted at - 5 °C, and thus an alumina suspension prepared using liquid camphene/TEGDMA at room temperature could undergo phase separation, resulting in camphene crystals surrounded by walls comprised of liquid photopolymer enclosing alumina particles. To enhance the shape retention ability of extruded filaments, polystyrene (PS) polymer was used as the tackifier. The phase-separated feedrod could be extruded favorably through a nozzle and rapidly photopolymerized by UV light during the 3D plotting process. Three-dimensionally interconnected macropores were tightly constructed, which were separated by microporous alumina filaments, where micropores were created by the removal of camphene crystals via freeze-dying. The macroporosity of porous alumina ceramics was controlled by adjusting the distance between deposited filaments, while their microporosity was kept constant, leading to tightly tailored overall porosity and mechanical properties.
We introduce BPG, a framework for generating publication-quality, highly-customizable plots in the R statistical environment.
This open-source package includes multiple methods of displaying ...high-dimensional datasets and facilitates generation of complex multi-panel figures, making it suitable for complex datasets. A web-based interactive tool allows online figure customization, from which R code can be downloaded for integration with computational pipelines.
BPG provides a new approach for linking interactive and scripted data visualization and is available at http://labs.oicr.on.ca/boutros-lab/software/bpg or via CRAN at https://cran.r-project.org/web/packages/BoutrosLab.plotting.general.
Composite scaffolds, especially polymer/hydroxyapatite (HAP) composite scaffolds with predesigned structures, are promising materials for bone tissue engineering. Various methods including direct ...mixing of HAP powder with polymers or incubating polymer scaffolds in simulated body fluid for preparing polymer/HAP composite scaffolds are either uncontrolled or require long times of incubation. In this work, alginate/nano-HAP composite scaffolds with designed pore parameters and core/shell structures were fabricated using 3D plotting technique and in situ mineralization under mild conditions (at room temperature and without the use of any organic solvents). Light microscopy, scanning electron microscopy, microcomputer tomography, X-ray diffraction, and Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy were applied to characterize the fabricated scaffolds. Mechanical properties and protein delivery of the scaffolds were evaluated, as well as the cell response to the scaffolds by culturing human bone-marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (hBMSC). The obtained data indicate that this method is suitable to fabricate alginate/nano-HAP composite scaffolds with a layer of nano-HAP, coating the surface of the alginate strands homogeneously and completely. The surface mineralization enhanced the mechanical properties and improved the cell attachment and spreading, as well as supported sustaining protein release, compared to pure alginate scaffolds without nano-HAP shell layer. The results demonstrated that the method provides an interesting option for bone tissue engineering application.
This paper presents the tidypaleo package for R, which enables high-quality reproducible visualizations of time-stratigraphic multivariate data that is common to several disciplines of the natural ...sciences. Rather than introduce new plotting functions, the tidypaleo package defines several orthogonal components of the ggplot2 package that, when combined, enable most types of stratigraphic diagrams to be created. We do so by conceptualizing multi-parameter data as a series of measurements (rows) with attributes (columns), enabling the use of the ggplot2 facet mechanism to display multi-parameter data. The orthogonal components include (1) scales that represent relative abundance and concentration values, (2) geometries that are commonly used in paleoenvironmental diagrams created elsewhere, (3) facets that correctly assign scales and sizes to panels representing multiple parameters, and (4) theme elements that enable tidypaleo to create elegant graphics. Collectively, this approach demonstrates the efficacy of a minimal ggplot2 wrapper to create domain-specific plots.
3D plotting is an additive manufacturing technology enabling biofabrication, thus the integration of cells or biologically sensitive proteins or growth factors into the manufacturing process. ...However, most (bio-)inks developed for 3D plotting were not shown to be processed into clinically relevant geometries comprising critical overhangs and cavities, which would collapse without a sufficient support material. Herein, we have developed a support hydrogel ink based on methylcellulose (mc), which is able to act as support as long as the co-plotted main structure is not stable. Therefore, 6
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%, 8
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% and 10
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% mc were allowed to swell in water, resulting in viscous inks, which were characterized for their rheological and extrusion properties. The successful usage of 10
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% mc as support ink was proven by multichannel plotting of the support together with a plottable calcium phosphate cement (CPC) acting as main structure. CPC scaffolds displaying critical overhangs or a large central cavity could be plotted accurately with the newly developed mc support ink. The dissolution properties of mc allowed complete removal of the gel without residuals, once CPC setting was finished. Finally, we fabricated a scaphoid bone model by computed tomography data acquisition and co-extrusion of CPC and the mc support hydrogel.
In this paper, the uniaxial cold compaction process of metal nano-powders is numerically analyzed through the Molecular Dynamics (MD) method. The nano-powders consist of nickel and aluminum ...nano-particles in the pure and mixed forms with distinctive contributions. The numerical simulation is performed using the different number of nano-particles, mixing ratios of Ni and Al nano-particles, compaction velocities, and ambient temperatures in the canonical ensemble until the full-dense condition is achieved. In the MD analysis, the inter-atomic interaction between metal nano-particles is modeled by the many-body EAM potential, and the interaction between frictionless rigid die-walls and metal nano-particles is modeled by the pairwise Lennard-Jones inter-atomic potential. The mechanical behavior of metal nano-powders under the compaction process is numerically studied by plotting the relative density–pressure, mean stress-strain, and material characteristics–strain curves. Moreover, the nano-powder behavior is visualized by means of the centro-symmetry contour at various stages of the forming process. Finally, the evolution of top-punch velocity on the final stage of compaction process is studied by plotting the compaction pressure against the total energy at various compaction velocities.
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•The cold compaction process of metal nano-powders is modeled by MD method.•The compaction of nano-powders is studied for nickel and aluminum nano-particles.•Simulations are performed for various compaction velocities and temperatures.•Mechanical behavior of nano-powders is studied at different relative densities.•3–stages of nano-powder die-pressing are defined according to compaction velocity.
The microfluidic paper-based analytical device (μPAD) platform is gaining attention as a low-cost, portable, and disposable detection tool. However, the limitations of traditional fabrication methods ...include poor reproducibility and the use of hydrophobic reagents. In this study, an in-house computer-controlled X–Y knife plotter and pen plotter were used to fabricate μPADs, resulting in a simple, more rapid, reproducible process that consumes less volume of reagents. The μPADs were laminated to increase mechanical strength and reduce sample evaporation during analysis. The resulting laminated paper-based analytical device (LPAD) was used to simultaneously determine glucose and total cholesterol in whole blood using the LF1 membrane as a sample zone. The LF1 membrane selectively separates plasma from whole blood by size exclusion and yields plasma for further enzymatic reaction steps while retaining blood cells and larger proteins. The i1 Pro 3 mini spectrophotometer directly detected color on the LPAD. The results were clinically relevant and in agreement with hospital methods, with a detection limit of 0.16 mmol L⁻1 for glucose and 0.57 mmol L⁻1 for TC. The LPAD retained color intensity after 60 days of storage. The LPAD offers a low-cost, high-performance option for chemical sensing devices and expands the applicability of markers for diagnosing whole blood samples.
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•An in-house computer-controlled X–Y knife plotter was used for μPAD fabrication.•Reagents were coated on μPADs by a technical pen inserted into an X–Y knife plotter.•Simultaneous glucose and TC in blood using a mickey-mouse-shaped LPAD was proposed.•Only a single drop of whole blood with the naked eye for instant reporting results.
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