Writing the Silenced Female Body, Scrutinizing the Grand Narrative of Colonization and Decolonization: The Body in Zoë Wicomb’s David’s Story

David’s Story by Zoë Wicomb addresses the complexities of representing female suffering and the limitations of traditional historical narratives in capturing the experiences of marginalized bodies.It challenges the grand narratives of national history by emphasizing the indispensable role of women’s experiences.Through characters like Dulcie and Rachael,Wicomb portrays the female body as a site of resistance and resilience,highlighting the need for more nuanced and inclusive ways of documenting history.Underscoring the inexpressibility of trauma and the limitations of language and representation,the novel self-reflexively acknowledges its own aporia of completing the narrative,embodying the ongoing struggle to capture the full breadth of human experience.

Meta-silencer with designable timbre

Timbre,as one of the essential elements of sound,plays an important role in determining sound properties,whereas its manipulation has been remaining challenging for passive mechanical systems due to the intrinsic dispersion nature of resonances.Here,we present a meta-silencer supporting intensive mode density as well as highly tunable intrinsic loss and offering a fresh pathway for designable timbre in broadband.Strong global coupling is induced by intensive mode density and delicately modulated with the guidance of the theoretical model,which efficiently suppresses the resonance dispersion and provides desirable frequency-selective wave-manipulation capacity for timbre tuning.As proof-of-concept demonstrations for our design concepts,we propose three meta-silencers with the designing targets of high-efficiency broadband sound attenuation,efficiency-controlled sound attenuation and designable timbre,respectively.The proposed meta-silencers all operate in a broadband frequency range from 500 to 3200 Hz and feature deep-subwavelength sizes around 50 mm.Our work opens up a fundamental avenue to manipulate the timbre with passive resonances-controlled acoustic metamaterials and may inspire the development of novel multifunctional devices in noise-control engineering,impedance engineering,and architectural acoustics.

Being Human in a More-Than-Human World:Between a Silence Catalyst for(Re)Aestheticization and an Art Catalyst for Relationships

The contribution moves from highlighting how,in the context of Michel Serres’and posthumanism’s proposal of rethinking the human and the world in a perspective of inter-implication and universal co-belonging,silence(of the human word)assumes the function of a catalyst for the recognition/re-aestheticization of the human body in its sensory-aesthetic-cognitive-relational-hybrid dimensionality,and,with and for it,of the world in its agency(including artistic).Within the framework of this perspective,the investigation thus proposes a reading of art as a relation/catalyzer of relations,that is,as a(re)activation of positive relations of the human with and for a world that reveals itself to be increasingly hyper-complex,that is,more-than-human,in the continuity/inseparability of nature and culture.Taking Serresian ideas on artistic practices as non(only)human forms of expression and posthumanist“isomorphic”positions on non-human agency as tools,the research then highlights the“more-than-human”scope of art and the fact that artistic practices are responsive actions.So much so that,the human being emerges as co-agent and,of course,co-owner.

Host-Induced Gene Silencing of Effector AGLIP1 Enhanced Resistance of Rice to Rhizoctonia solani AG1-IA

Rice sheath blight, caused by Rhizoctonia solani AG1-IA, is a major disease in rice-growing areas worldwide. Effectors of phytopathogenic fungi play important roles during the infection process of fungal pathogens onto their host plants. However, the molecular mechanisms by which R. solani effectors regulate rice immunity are not well understood. Through prediction, 78 candidate effector molecules were identified. Using the tobacco rattle virus-host induced gene silencing(TRV-HIGS) system, 45 RNAi constructs of effector genes were infiltrated into Nicotiana benthamiana leaves. The results revealed that eight of these constructs resulted in a significant reduction in necrosis caused by infection with the AG1-IA strain GD-118. Additionally, stable rice transformants carrying the double-stranded RNA construct for one of the effector genes, AGLIP1, were generated to further verify the function of this gene. The suppression of the AGLIP1 gene increased the resistance of both N. benthamiana and rice against GD-118, and also affected the growth rate of GD-118, indicating that AGLIP1 is a key pathogenic factor. Small RNA sequencing showed that the HIGS vectors were processed into si RNAs within the plants and then translocated to the fungi, leading to the silencing of the target genes. As a result, AGLIP1 might be an excellent candidate for HIGS, thereby enhancing crop resistance against the pathogen and contributing to the control of R. solani infection.

Performance analysis of single-focus phase singularity based on elliptical reflective annulus quadrangle-element coded spiral zone plates

Optical vortices generated by the conventional vortex lens are usually disturbed by the undesired higher-order foci,which may lead to additional artifacts and thus degrade the contrast sensitivity. In this work, we propose an efficient methodology to combine the merit of elliptical reflective zone plates(ERZPs) and the advantage of spiral zone plates(SZPs) in establishing a specific single optical element, termed elliptical reflective annulus quadrangle-element coded spiral zone plates(ERAQSZPs) to generate single-focus phase singularity. Differing from the abrupt reflectance of the ERZPs, a series of randomly distributed nanometer apertures are adopted to realize the sinusoidal reflectance. Typically, according to our physical design, the ERAQSZPs are fabricated on a bulk substrate;therefore, the new idea can significantly reduce the difficulty in the fabrication process. Based on the Kirchhoff diffraction theory and convolution theorem, the focusing performance of ERAQSZPs is calculated. The results reveal that apart from the capability of generating optical vortices,ERAQSZPs can also integrate the function of focusing, energy selection, higher-order foci elimination, as well as high spectral resolution together. In addition, the focusing properties can be further improved by appropriately adjusting the parameters, such as zone number and the size of the consisted primitives. These findings are expected to direct a new direction toward improving the performance of optical capture, x-ray fluorescence spectra, and forbidden transition.

Terahertz quasi-perfect vortex beam with integer-order and fractional-order generated by spiral spherical harmonic axicon

We propose a new method to generate terahertz perfect vortex beam with integer-order and fractional-order. A new optical diffractive element composed of the phase combination of a spherical harmonic axicon and a spiral phase plate is designed and called spiral spherical harmonic axicon. A terahertz Gaussian beam passes through the spiral spherical harmonic axicon to generate a terahertz vortex beam. When only the topological charge number carried by spiral spherical harmonic axicon increases, the ring radius of terahertz vortex beam increases slightly, so the beam is shaped into a terahertz quasi-perfect vortex beam. Importantly, the terahertz quasi-perfect vortex beam can carry not only integer-order topological charge number but also fractional-order topological charge number. This is the first time that vortex beam and quasi-perfect vortex beam with fractional-order have been successfully realized in terahertz domain and experiment.

Study on the Relationship between Structural Aspects and Aerodynamic Characteristics of Archimedes Spiral Wind Turbines

A combined experimental and numerical research study is conducted to investigate the complex relationship between the structure and the aerodynamic performances of an Archimedes spiral wind turbine(ASWT).Two ASWTs are considered,a prototypical version and an improved version.It is shown that the latter achieves the best aerodynamic performance when the spread angles at the three sets of blades areα_(1)=30°,α_(2)=55°,α3=60°,respectively and the blade thickness is 4 mm.For a velocity V=10 m/s,a tip speed ratio(TSR)=1.58 and 2,the maximum CP values are 0.223 and 0.263 for the prototypical ASWT and improved ASWT,respectively,and the maximum C_(P) enhancement is 17.93%.For V=10 m/s and TSR=2,the CP values of the prototypical ASWT and improved ASWT are 0.225 and 0.263,respectively,with an aerodynamic performance enhancement of 16.88%.Through mutual verification of the test outcomes and numerical results,it is concluded that the proposed approach can effectively lead to aerodynamic performance improvement.

Fusion of Spiral Convolution-LSTM for Intrusion Detection Modeling

Aiming at the problems of low accuracy and slow convergence speed of current intrusion detection models,SpiralConvolution is combined with Long Short-Term Memory Network to construct a new intrusion detection model.The dataset is first preprocessed using solo thermal encoding and normalization functions.Then the spiral convolution-Long Short-Term Memory Network model is constructed,which consists of spiral convolution,a two-layer long short-term memory network,and a classifier.It is shown through experiments that the model is characterized by high accuracy,small model computation,and fast convergence speed relative to previous deep learning models.The model uses a new neural network to achieve fast and accurate network traffic intrusion detection.The model in this paper achieves 0.9706 and 0.8432 accuracy rates on the NSL-KDD dataset and the UNSWNB-15 dataset under five classifications and ten classes,respectively.

Stress response silencing by an E3 ligase mutated in neurodegeneration

Stress response pathways detect and alleviate adverse conditions to safeguard cell and tissue homeostasis,yet their prolonged activation induces apoptosis and disrupts organismal health1-3.How stress responses are turned off at the right time and place remains poorly understood.Here we report a ubiquitin-dependent mechanism that silences the cellular response to mitochondrial protein import stress.

水平多层spiral型地埋管数值模拟研究及换热特性分析

本文基于COMSOL软件建立了水平spiral型多层地埋管群传热三维数值模拟模型,并对其换热性能和温度场进行分析研究。结果表明:对比水平spiral多层并联管群来说,远离注入端的地埋管管内温度相对较低。地埋管群周围地层温度有所升高,远离注入端的地层温度变化相对较小。地埋管群的换热量随循环流体的流速增加而增加,但增幅降低。在进行换热器设计时,应合理控制循环水的流速。3层螺旋地埋管群的换热量略高,但层间干扰明显,建议选用2层并联螺旋管群。

From Silence to Voice： An Interpretation of Black Motherhood in Sula

Toni Morrison has made great achievements in American literary history. In her famous work Sula, motherhood is an essential theme which has attracted public attention. This essay interprets the abnormal maternal love provided by silenced black mothers in Sula and the ways for black women to break the silence.

Understanding the Cultural Specificity behind Silence and Reticence in the EAP Classroom

Non-native-English-speaking (NNS) students' silent and reticent behaviour,which make the EAP (English for Academic Purpose) class seem ineffective and boring,might be unfavourably evaluated by a native English speaker of Western culture. By giving an overview of international students' inactive participation in the classroom,which prevents teachers from Western culture making a proper judgement on study mood,this paper will explore culturally based perceptions of international students' silent and reticent behaviour in the EAP classroom,and analyse the reasons behind NNS students' silent reaction.

An Analysis of the Cause of College Student’s English Classroom Silence and Its Solution from the Perspective of Pragmatics

This study is aimed at the common classroom silence phenomenon in contemporary college English class. First of all, thispaper explains the meaning of silence from the pragmatic point of view, and takes the students in the Xi’an Innovation College ofYan’an University for instance. Based on a questionnaire survey of 200 students in the Xi’an Innovation College of Yan’an Univer-sity, the reasons are analyzed from two perspectives of teachers and students. This paper makes an analysis of all kinds of factors,so as to put forward effective solutions to eliminate the classroom silence.

The Study on Communicative Functions of Silence Based on the Revelence Theory

Silence,as a type of non-verbal communication,expresses special meanings of the speakers.The core of this study is focused on the functions of silence in conversations from the famous American TV series Prison Break(Season I),in order to reveal that silence,as an important tool in human communication,has richness of meaning and complexity of use.

The Power of Silence in To the Lighthouse

Traditionally, silence is regarded as an absence, inaction, emptiness, or inferiority, but it figures in Woolf's novels as a presence, power, creativity, and superiority, and infused with a new psychic and narrative life. The present paper will examine Woolf's expression of silence in her masterpiece To the Lighthouse to reveal the power of silence.

The Voice of Silence in Communication——from cross-culture perspective

This paper makes a study of silence from cross-culture perspective and holds that silence is an indispensable component of human communication without which the proper decoding of the information would be impossible.

Transplantation of Nogo-66 receptor gene-silenced cells in a poly(D,L-lactic-co-glycolic acid) scaffold for the treatment of spinal cord injury

Inhibition of neurite growth, which is in large part mediated by the Nogo-66 receptor, affects neural regeneration following bone marrow mesenchymal stem cell transplantation. The tissue engineering scaffold poly（D,L-lactide-co-glycolic acid） has good histocompatibility and can promote the growth of regenerating nerve fibers. The present study used small interfering RNA to silence Nogo-66 receptor gene expression in bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and Schwann cells, which were subsequently transplanted with poly（D,L-lactide-co-glycolic acid） into the spinal cord lesion regions in rats. Simultaneously, rats treated with scaffold only were taken as the control group. Hematoxylin-eosin staining and immunohistochemistry revealed that at 4 weeks after transplantation, rats had good motor function of the hind limb after treatment with Nogo-66 receptor gene-silenced ceils prus the poly（O,L-lactide-co-glycolic acid） scaffold compared with rats treated with scaffold only, and the number of bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and neuron-like cells was also increased. At 8 weeks after transplantation, horseradish peroxidase tracing and transmission electron microscopy showed a large number of unmyelinated and myelinated nerve fibers, as well as intact regenerating axonal myelin sheath following spinal cord hemisection injury. These experimental findings indicate that transplantation of Nogo-66 receptor gene-silenced bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells and Schwann cells plus a poly（D,L-lactide-co-glycolic acid） scaffold can significantly enhance axonal regeneration of spinal cord neurons and improve motor function of the extremities in rats following spinal cord injury.

Silence in WAITING FOR GODOT

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Making darkness visible:breaking the silence on HIV travel restrictions

Dear editors:In the beginning of the 1980’s when the ignorance,the fear and the prejudice in response to IIIV were common,a lot of countries set restrictions for those infected who arrived and wanted to live in those countries.Besides the significant progress in the knowledge achieved since then,mainly how the virus is transmitted,and how it is not。