151 research outputs found
Fantastic alterities and The Sandman
No full textThis article explores the ways in which the comics medium enhances our understanding of literary models of the Fantastic. It examines the presence and depiction of multiple worlds in Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman, with specific reference to the role of the comics medium and its denial of mimesis when creating such alterities.
It initially uses literature review to establish a contemporary working model of the Fantastic, taking as its basis the framework devised by Tzvetan Todorov, and incorporating the later work of Rosemary Jackson, A B Chanady, and Christine Brooke-Rose. It establishes the position of the Fantastic as a literary mode lying between the marvellous (supernatural accepted) and the uncanny (supernatural explained), and clarifies the distinction between the mode of the Fantastic (which encompasses various genres) and the genre itself.
The article then considers the ways in which both the form and content of the comics medium sustain the mode of the fantastic. It broadly discusses the ways in which the following factors contribute to this process:
• subject matter: fantastic events, super powers, alternate worlds
• non-realistic aesthetic: pop art, stylised visuals, fiction of fonts (invoking the tension between hand-drawn and computerised artwork or lettering)
• authorial reticence: the possibilities for surpassing or discarding narrative voice
• the role of the reader: as both interpreter and co-creator.
It then focuses more closely upon the genre of the Fantastic, establishing the ways in which this genre is opposed to both magical realism (outright fantasy) and realism (where such events are explained). It summarises the role of various qualities of the Fantastic in this regard, which include an antinomy between the natural and supernatural, author reticence, over- or under-determined language, and a defiance of absolute meaning in favour of interpretation or hesitation .
The article then proceeds to two case studies, taken from Neil Gaiman’s The Sandman: A Game of You and The Kindly Ones. The first analyses the construction of two contrasting alterities (‘The Land’ and ‘New York’) and examines the ways in which, despite initial appearances, these two worlds are both equally removed from the referent of ‘reality’. It proceeds to discuss the use made of over- and under-determined signifiers, the transformation motif, intertextuality, and the redefinition of static notions (home, gender) as fluid and undefined. It deconstructs The Kindly Ones in similar terms, considering the ways in which its triple alterities are all simultaneously validated by the text and the role of motifs such as multiple names and duplicated characters.
It concludes that, like the Fantastic, the comics medium exposes the notion of ‘reality’ as a constructed referent, which the text’s alterities comment on. The nature of the medium allows for the construction and sustenance of multiple worlds without recourse to a stable notion of reality. As the reader’s hesitation destabilises interpretation of reality versus fantasy, absolute meaning is denied. It therefore seems that comics offer what might be best described as a postmodern vision of the Fantastic
Ubc9 sumoylation regulates SUMO target discrimination
No full textPosttranslational modification with small ubiquitin-related modifier, SUMO, is a widespread mechanism for rapid and reversible changes in protein function. Considering the large number of known targets, the number of enzymes involved in modification seems surprisingly low: a single El, a single E2, and a few distinct E3 ligases. Here we show that autosumoylation of the mammalian E2-conjugating enzyme Ubc9 at Lys14 regulates target discrimination. While not altering its activity toward HDAC4, E2-25K, PML, or TDG, sumoylation of Ubc9 impairs its activity on RanGAP1 and strongly activates sumoylation of the transcriptional regulator Sp100. Enhancement depends on a SUMO-interacting motif (SIM) in Sp100 that creates an additional interface with the SUMO conjugated to the E2, a mechanism distinct from Ubc9 similar to SUMO thioester recruitment. The crystal structure of sumoylated Ubc9 demonstrates how the newly created binding interface can provide a gain in affinity otherwise provided by E3 ligases
G-quadruplex resolution: From molecular mechanisms to physiological relevance
No full textGuanine-rich DNA sequences can fold into stable four-stranded structures called G-quadruplexes or G4s. Research in the past decade demonstrated that G4 structures are widespread in the genome and prevalent in regulatory regions of actively transcribed genes. The formation of G4s has been tightly linked to important biological processes including regulation of gene expression and genome maintenance. However, they can also pose a serious threat to genome integrity especially by impeding DNA replication, and G4-associated somatic mutations have been found accumulated in the cancer genomes. Specialised DNA helicases and single stranded DNA binding proteins that can resolve G4 structures play a crucial role in preventing genome instability. The large variety of G4 unfolding proteins suggest the presence of multiple G4 resolution mechanisms in cells. Recently, there has been considerable progress in our detailed understanding of how G4s are resolved, especially during DNA replication. In this review, we first discuss the current knowledge of the genomic G4 landscapes and the impact of G4 structures on DNA replication and genome integrity. We then describe the recent progress on the mechanisms that resolve G4 structures and their physiological relevance. Finally, we discuss therapeutic opportunities to target G4 structures
The Integration of NHL Puck and Player Tracking Technology Into TV Broadcasts to Increase Media Rights Revenue
No full textabstract: The National Hockey League is the highest league of hockey in the world. They have the highest attendance percentage out of the four major sports in North America (National Football League, National Basketball Association, Major League Baseball). However, the NHL is lacking insurmountably in the media rights revenue space compared to these other three major sports leagues in the United States. This paper is designed to find innovative solutions to remedy this problem, by incorporating the new Puck and Player Tracking technology into the television and streaming broadcasts. We first identified the core values of fans and their consumption habits and behaviors. We obtained an interview with the Senior Hockey Writer for ESPN, Greg Wyshynski, on the development and implementation of Puck and Player Tracking technology. From there, we created a survey to gauge the consumer perception of the Puck and Player Tracking technology, which allowed us to perform analytical tests to determine the best possible implementation strategy for the PPT technology into broadcasts. Using statistical testing methods, we identified that survey respondents found the least invasive augmented broadcast element was a small, gray puck trail displayed on the ice. From these findings, we proposed that the ideal implementation of the Puck and Player Tracking technology into television broadcasts should feature this element in all future traditional NHL television broadcasts and the player statistical broadcast should be offered as a second screen streamed broadcast. This implementation, compounded with other factors in the upcoming NHL media rights negotiations, creates a more valuable television product, which in turn will lead to a more competitive media rights deal
Regulation of SUMO Modification
No full textThe small ubiquitin related modifier SUMO is a posttranslational modifier that functions in a wide range of cellular processes like intracellular transport, cell cycle regulation, DNA repair and regulation of transcription. SUMO is an 11 kDa protein and is ligated to its target proteins using a mechanism involving three regulated enzymatic steps that are catalyzed by an E1, E2 and an E3 enzyme.
Since many crucial biological processes are regulated by SUMO modification, it is evident that the SUMO pathway can play a role in disease as well. In fact, a role for SUMO modification has been implicated in cancer, neurodegenerative diseases and viral infection. The work in this thesis provides insight into the molecular mechanism of sumoylation by analysis of SUMO modification using a combination of biochemistry and structural biology.
The E2 enzyme is a central player in the sumoylation cascade since it accepts SUMO from the E1 enzyme and transfers it to the target. Surprisingly, we found that the SUMO protein itself can regulate the function of the E2 enzyme, Ubc9, in two different ways. The noncovalent interaction of SUMO with Ubc9 is important for the formation of SUMO chains possibly through a mechanism that is also used in K63-linked ubiquitin chain formation. The covalent complex of SUMO and Ubc9 is structurally and functionally different and is involved in target discrimination, some targets are enhanced in SUMO modification while others are inhibited in modification. Generally, an E3 enzyme is required for enhancement of sumoylation, one of these SUMO E3 enzymes is the nucleoporin RanBP2. We have studied the catalytic mechanism of RanPB2, and shown that it accelerates SUMO transfer by an allosteric mechanism. Finally we have studied the consequences of sumoylation of a newly identified SUMO target, the ubiquitin conjugating enzyme E2-25K. Here sumoylation inhibits the basic enzymatic activity of the E2. Even though the ubiquitin E2 enzyme E2-25K is similar to the SUMO E2 Ubc9, the effect of their sumoylation is completely different.
In this thesis we describe various aspects of both regulation by sumoylation as well as the regulation of the process of sumoylation itself. We found how SUMO can regulate the process of sumoylation and determined the function of sumoylation of two distinct targets
The parasite fauna of gar-fish - Belone belone (L.) from Puck Bay
No full textFrom 1966 to 1967 the author carried out an investigation on the helminth fauna of gar-fish Belone belone (L.) from Puck Bay of the Baltic. It was established, the next species parasitise in gar-fish: Diplostomum spathaceum (Rud.), Tylodelphys sp., Scolex pleuronectis Mull., Contracaecum aduncum (Rud.), Cucullanus truttae (Fabricius), Pomphorhynchus laevis (Zoega), and Neoechinorhynchus rutili (Mull.). With exception of Pomphorhynchus laevis (Zoega) they were not found in gar-fish yet, but they occur commonly in the other Polish fishes
Perception of the cultural heritage of the Teutonic Order on the example of Puck
No full textOne of the important places on the map of the former State of the Teutonic Order on the Baltic Sea shore was Puck. Nowadays, there are: parish church, ruins of the castle of the Teutonic Knights and the clearly visible spatial layout of the chartered town with a large market preserved. Except natural attractiveness of the seashore location, elements of the medieval heritage play an important role in the promotion of the town, as well as in shaping a sense of pride and patriotism of the local residents. In the presented article the author attempts to determine the level of knowledge of the people living in the area of the former Teutonic State in the field of history and material cultural heritage of the Teutonic Order. The basis of analyzes were the results of a survey carried out in Puck on May 2015.Jednym z ważnych miejsc na mapie dawnego państwa krzyżackiego nad Bałtykiem był Puck. Do dzisiaj zachowały się tam fara, ruiny zamku krzyżackiego oraz doskonale widoczny układ przestrzenny miasta lokacyjnego z dużym rynkiem. Elementy średniowiecznego dziedzictwa kulturowego pełnią dziś ważną rolę w promocji miasta, jak również w kształtowaniu poczucia dumy i patriotyzmu lokalnego mieszkańców. W artykule autor podjął próbę określenia poziomu wiedzy osób mieszkających na terenach dawnego państwa zakonnego na temat historii i materialnej spuścizny kulturowej zakonu krzyżackiego. Podstawę prowadzonych analiz stanowiły wyniki badań ankietowych zrealizowanych w Pucku w maju 2015 roku
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