Unmasking Oppression:A Beauvoirian Analysis of Gender Dynamics in Bapsi Sidhwa’s Pakistani Bride

Delving into the intricacies of Pakistani society,this study offers a poignant exploration of the profound identity crises experienced by women,as depicted in Bapsi Sidhwa’s seminal work,Pakistani Bride(1990).Sidhwa’s narrative serves as a compelling lens through which to examine the multifaceted challenges faced by women within the patriarchal confines of Pakistani culture.Through the character of Zaitoon,Sidhwa adeptly navigates the intersections of tradition,patriarchy,and societal expectations,shedding light on the marginalized status of women in Pakistan.Employing qualitative research methods and drawing upon the theoretical framework of Simone de Beauvoir’s Second Sex(1949),this study delves into the nuanced complexities of female identity formation within a male-dominated society.Key themes such as identity subjugation,patriarchy,and the clash between social and traditional boundaries are meticulously analyzed.This research not only offers a critical examination of Sidhwa’s narrative techniques but also serves as a potent call to action,urging societal introspection and advocating for the empowerment of women in Pakistani society.

Genetic Analysis and Mapping of Genes Involved in Fertility of Pingxiang Dominant Genic Male Sterile Rice

Pingxiang-dominant genic male sterile rice （PDGMSR） was the first dominant genic male sterile mutant identified in rice （Oryza sativa L.）, and the corresponding dominant genic male sterile gene was designated as Ms-p. The fertility of PDGMSR can be restored by introduction of a dominant epistatic fertility restoring gene in some rice varieties. In the present study, E823, an indica inbred rice variety, restored the fertility of PDGMSR, and the genetic pattern was found to be consistent with a dominant epistatic model, therefore, the dominant epistatic fertility restorer gene was designated as Rfe. The F2 population from the cross of PDGMSR/E823 was developed to map gene Rfe. The F2 plants with the genotypes Ms-pMs-pRferfe or Ms-pms-pRferfe were used to construct a fertile pool, and the corresponding sterile plants with genotypes Ms-pMs-prferfe or Ms-pms-prferfe were used to con- struct a sterile pool. The fertility restoring gene Rfe was mapped to one side of the microsatellite markers RM311 and RM3152 on rice chromosome 10, with genetic distances of 7.9 cM and 3.6 cM, respectively. The microsatellite markers around the location of the Ms-p gene were used to finely map the Ms-p gene. The findings of this study indicated that the microsatellite markers RM171 and RM6745 flanked the Ms-p gene, and the distances were 0.3 cM and 3.0 cM, respectively. On the basis of the sequence of rice chromosome 10, the physical distance between the two markers is approximately 730 kb. These findings facilitates molecular marker-assisted selection （MAS） of genes Ms-p and Rfe in rice breeding programs, and cloning them in the future.

A Co-Dominant Marker BoE332 Applied to Marker-Assisted Selection of Homozygous Male-Sterile Plants in Cabbage (Brassica oleracea var.capitata L.)

The dominant genic male sterility （DGMS） gene CDMs399-3 derived from a spontaneous mutation in the line 79-399-3 of spring cabbage （Brassica oleracea var. capitata L.）, has been successfully applied in hybrid seed production of several cabbage cultivars in China. During the development of dominant male sterility lines in cabbage, the conventional identification of homozygous male-sterile plants （CDMs399-3/CDMs399-3） is a laborious and time-consuming process. For marker-assisted selection （MAS） of the gene CDMs399-3 transferred into key spring cabbage line 397, expressed sequence tag-simple sequence repeats （EST-SSR） and SSR technology were used to identify markers that were linked to CDMs399-3 based on method of bulked segregant analysis （BSA）. By screening a set of 978 EST-SSRs and 395 SSRs, a marker BoE332 linked to the CDMs399-3 at a distance of 3.6 cM in the genetic background of cabbage line 397 were identified. 7 homozygons male-sterile plants in population P1170 with 20 plants were obtained finally via MAS of BoE332. Thus, BoE332 will greatly facilitate the transferring of the gene CDMs399-3 into the key spring cabbage line 397 and improve the application of DGMS in cabbage hybrid breeding.

Breeding double low super hybrids with dominant genic male sterility three lines in Brassica napus

A double low homozygous two-type sterile line ZY-2AB, its near-isogenic temporary maintainer line ZY-4, and the full sterile line ZY-3 derived from the cross of ZY-2A with ZY-4, were developed to breed three-line dominant GMS hybrid in Brassica napus. Three years data showed that the ratios of sterile and fertile plants fit the expected 1 ： 1 ratio in ZY-2AB, and the 1：0 ratio in ZY-3, respectively. Some double low super hybrid combinations were screened out when the full sterile line ZY-3 was used as female parent, among which the combination 01Z24 increased 36.88 percent more yield than control and the conbination 98Z131 has been passed through the Sichuan Provincial Regional Test and registered in Sichuan Province. Two years data showed that the agronomic performance of the two-line hybrids derived from crosses of ZY-2A with restorer lines versus that of the three-line hybrids produced by ZY-3 was not different for any of the nine most important agronomic characteristics, revealing that near-isogenic line of homozygous two-type line was used as temporary maintainer could effectively avoid the disadvantage of threeway cross hybrid in breeding three-line dominant GMS hybrid.

Studies on Pingxiang dominant genic male sterile (PDGMS) rice

So far,14 examples of dominant genic malesterility on 10 crop species have been discov-ered in the world.In crossing sterile plants ofnon-pollen-type Fof cultivar-Wild combina-tlon(Ping＇ai 58/Huaye)as female parent withfertile plants Fof the wild-cultivar combination(Huaye/Ping＇ai 58)as male parent,a typ-ical abortive plant was found in the progeny.By excluding the Probability of balancedlethal,gametophyte sterility,and chromo-some aberration,studies showed that thesterility was controlled by a dominant malesterile gene in the nucleus.The material was

Copulatory pattern and behavior in a semi-captive population of Eld＇s deer

Male copulatory patterns, female multiple copulation and male post-copulatory guarding were studied in Eld＇s deer Cervus eldi in Datian National Nature Reserve, China. Mating behavior in 18 females and 11 males from a group of 61 semi-captive Eld＇s deer were observed. The majority （55.8%） of copulations occurred between 15：00-19：00 h. The ejaculatory mount was preceded by an average of 5.1 prior mounts. Successful copulation consisted of a single thrust with ejaculation during one intromission, with no lock. This copulatory pattern is classified as pattern No. 15 （no lock, no intravaginal thrusting, single intromission, and multiple ejaculation） and No. 16 （no lock, no intravaginal thrusting, single intromission, and single ejaculation） under Dewsbury＇s scheme （1972） and as No. 16 （no lock, no thrusting, single and brief intromission） under Dixson＇s classification （1998）. Copulation frequency was 1.5 ± 0.9 times for males/females with the same female/male per day. The duration of the final mount, which included ejaculation, was brief （3.4±1.3 s）, and ejaculation usually terminated copulation. Eleven females copulated more than once in this study： three of them copulated with several males （multi-male copulations） and the remainder copulated with a single male （repeated copulations）. Our results indicate that some female Eld＇s deer may seek multiple copulations to be a strategy to improve the genetic quality of their offspring or to avoid harassment. Post-copulatory guarding of females by males followed all copulations, with dominant males guarding for significantly longer than subordinate males. Dominant males appear to be more effective at post-copulatory guarding than subordinate males. Subordinate males engaged in a quicker pre-copulatory phase to improve their chances of finishing copulation before being forced to accede to dominant males [Current Zoology 57 （3）： 284-292, 2011].