La genética textual como lectura comparatista : El caso de la génesis de Amadeus, de Peter Shaffer

En este trabajo se presentan algunas reflexiones sobre los aportes de la genética textual o crítica genética (Lois, 2001; Goldchluk, 2005; 2009) al comparatismo. Dado que este enfoque propone un trabajo con el proceso de escritura, presupone la comparación entre diferentes estadios textuales; la obra es la suma de los diferentes estadios textuales y momentos de archivación, no sólo el estadio édito para esta perspectiva. El modo de lectura que puede desprenderse de este enfoque permite encontrar en una obra diferentes núcleos de análisis que pueden leerse de modo transversal en diferentes instancias textuales, por lo cual se puede efectuar una lectura que denominaremos «constelada¼. ;Para abordar estas ideas, recurriremos a observaciones surgidas a partir del proyecto de licenciatura que se centra en el estudio de la génesis textual de la obra Amadeus, del dramaturgo inglés Peter Shaffer.

Aportes de la crítica genética a los estudios comparados : reflexiones metodológicas a partir de Amadeus, de Peter Shaffer

En este artículo se presentan algunas reflexiones desarrolladas en Argentina sobre los aportes de la genética textual o crítica genética (Lois, 2001, 2005; Goldchluk, 2009, 2010) a los estudios de literatura comparada. Desde esta perspectiva que propone un trabajo con el proceso de escritura, la comparación entre diferentes estadios textuales resulta decisiva; a su vez, el abordaje de una génesis escritural requiere consideraciones teóricas y metodológicas para delimitar el dossier genético (Lois, 2001) en torno a una obra analizada. A su vez, esta perspectiva considera que la obra no sólo es el estadio édito de un texto sino aquello que sucede entre los diferentes estadios textuales. El modo de lectura que puede desprenderse de este enfoque permite encontrar en una obra diferentes núcleos de análisis que pueden leerse de modo transversal en diferentes instancias textuales, por lo cual se puede efectuar una lectura que denominaremos "constelada". Para abordar estas ideas, recurriremos al análisis de la pieza teatral de Peter Shaffer, el cual se enmarca dentro de una investigación actual sobre su génesis. Nos concentraremos en la intertextualidad como problema teórico y la aparición de diferentes motivos en la obra así como las formas en que se retroalimentan

La "manía cultural" por el dios griego Pan en el período eduardiano : El caso de Peter Pan

En este trabajo nos proponemos analizar descripciones que se hacen del personaje Peter Pan, como recreación eduardiana del arquetipo del dios griego Pan, para ver de qué manera dialogan esas construcciones con los diferentes sentidos que esta deidad fue connotando en contextos diversos en los que ocurrió su figura (desde obras de la literatura clásica, atravesadas por las lecturas, re-lecturas y re-escrituras de la tradición literaria británica). Veremos que Peter Pan, en los textos que el escritor escocés James M. Barrie escribió sobre él en un lapso de alrededor de treinta años, oficia "como Pan", en una dimensión alegórica, de nexo/puente entre dos conceptos que se presentan como opuestos: la Naturaleza y la Civilización. La primera aparece como el lugar donde se encuentran los dominios del dios/niño eterno, a los que solo pueden ingresar algunos pocos elegidos, y es símbolo de una nostalgia por una esencia perdida que, a su vez, se asocia con el concepto de infancia. La segunda representa negativamente el modelo de sociedad capitalista moderna que impone reglas que se contraponen a ese yo «natural». En este sentido, esa Arcadia se conecta con la literatura para niños, ya que son ellos "junto con los poetas" quienes tienen todavía permitido el acceso a ese lugar, y la capacidad de oír el «llamado» que Peter hace con la música de su flauta, del mismo modo en que son ellos quienes pueden disfrutar de esas lecturas y a quienes estas están dirigidas. Esta oposición de Naturaleza vs. Civilización conforma la «estructura del sentir» de la cultura de principios del siglo XX en Gran Bretaña, de la cual la literatura para niños es parte fundamental

Juan Ennis, Decir la lengua. Debates ideológico-lingüísticos en la Argentina desde 1837. Frankfurt/M., Bern, Bruxelles, Wien, Oxford, New York, Peter Lang, 2008, 417 páginas

Fil: Alfón, Fernando. Universidad Nacional de La Plata. Facultad de Humanidades y Ciencias de la Educación; Argentina.

Geochemistry of Miocene "blue tuff" samples

Distinctive, massive to stratified, pale blue volcaniclastics, initially referred to as the "blue tuff," were encountered at all four sites drilled during ODP Leg 127 in the Japan Sea. Detailed vertical sequence analysis, plagioclase chemistry, plagioclase 87Sr/86Sr isotopic composition, and 40Ar/39Ar age dating indicate that thick sequences of the blue tuff are not genetically related. Blue tuffs at Hole 794B were apparently deposited by density flows at ambient temperature. Deposition was penecontemporaneous with a large submarine phreatomagmatic eruption at 14.9 Ma in bathyal or deeper water depths. The blue tuffs at this location comprise mostly reworked hydroclastic glass shards and lesser amounts of plagioclase crystals. Pyrogenic plagioclase has an average An mole% of 18±3. Comparison of blue tuff plagioclase compositions with the composition of plagioclase from acoustic basement at Site 794 suggests that these rocks are not genetically related. As such, the extrapolation of sediment accumulation rate data in conjunction with this more precise age for the blue tuff corroborates previous minimum age estimates of 16.2 Ma for acoustic basement at Site 794. Blue tuffs at Hole 796B were probably deposited at ambient temperatures by downslope slumping and density flow of reworked pyrogenic debris. This debris includes abundant bubble wall glass shards and plagioclase crystals, with variable admixture of volcanic lithic and intrabasinal fragments. Pyrogenic fragments were produced by subaerial or shallow submarine, magmatic eruptions dated at 7.6 Ma. Blue tuffs contain a heterogeneous mixture of unrelated fragments including a mixed population of plagioclase crystals. The average An mole% of the predominant, probable comagmatic, plagioclase population is 30±4. The two sequences of blue tuff studied are distinct in age, mineral composition, and the eruptive origin of pyroclastic fragments. Preliminary 87Sr/86Sr isotopic compositions of plagioclase, however, indicates that blue tuffs at both locations are the product of typical, subduction-related island arc magmatism. Based on the results of this study, there is no justification for stratigraphic correlation of widespread, Miocene, blue to blue-gray bentonitic tuff and tuffaceous sandstones nor the interpretation that these strata are indicative of regional, explosive submarine volcanism genetically related to rifting and formation of the Japan Sea. Rather, these reworked pyroclastic strata of intermediate composition were deposited over a protracted 6-8 m.y. period in association with widespread, subduction-related submarine to subaerial volcanism in the Japan Sea backarc basin.

Geochemistry of dark-light rhythm sediments of the Japan Sea

Ocean Drilling Program Legs 127 and 128 in the Japan Sea have revealed the existence of numerous dark-light rhythms of remarkable consistency in sediments of late Miocene, latest Pliocene, and especially Pleistocene age. Light-colored units within these rhythms are massive or bioturbated, consist of diatomaceous clays, silty clays, or nannofossil-rich clays, and are generally poor in organic matter. Dark-colored units are homogeneous, laminated, or thinly bedded and include substantial amounts of biogenic material such as well-preserved diatoms, planktonic foraminifers, calcareous nannofossils, and organic matter (maximum 7.4 wt%). The dark-light rhythms show a similar geometrical pattern on three different scales: First-order rhythms consist of a cluster dominated by dark-colored units followed by a cluster dominated by light-colored units (3-5 m). Spectral analysis of a gray-value time series suggests that the frequencies of the first-order rhythms in sediments of latest Pliocene and Pleistocene age correlate to the obliquity and the eccentricity cycles. The second-order dark-light rhythms include a light and a dark-colored unit (10-160 cm). They were formed in time spans of several hundred to several ten thousand years, with variance centering around 10,500 yr. This frequency may correspond to half the precessional cycle. Third-order rhythms appear as laminated or thinly bedded dark-light couplets (2-15 mm) within the dark-colored units of the second-order rhythms and may represent annual frequencies. In interpreting the rhythms, we have to take into account that (1) the occurrence of the first- and second-order rhythms is not necessarily restricted to glacial or interglacial periods as is shown by preliminary stable-isotope analysis and comparison with the published d18O record; (2) they appear to be Milankovitch-controlled; and (3) a significant number of the rhythms are sharply bounded. The origin of the dark-light rhythms is probably related to variations in monsoonal activity in the Japan Sea, which show annual frequencies, but also operates in phase with the orbital cycles.

Concentrations of PCBs, DDT and thyroid hormones in gray (Halichoerus grypus) and ringed (Phoca hispida) seals

The high levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) and DDT in gray seal (Halichoerus grypus) and ringed seal (Phoca hispida botnica) in the Baltic Sea have been associated with pathological disruptions, including bone lesions and reproductive failures. The underlying environmental and toxicological mechanisms leading to these pathological changes are not yet fully understood. The present study investigated the relationship between the individual contaminant load and bone- and thyroid-related effects in adult gray seals (n = 30) and ringed seals (n = 46) in the highly contaminated Baltic Sea and in reference areas (Sable Island, Canada, and Svalbard, Norway). In the gray seals, multivariate and correlation analyses revealed a clear relationship between circulating 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 (1,25(OH)2D), calcium, phosphate, and thyroid hormone (TH) levels and hepatic PCB and DDT load, which suggests contaminant-mediated disruption of the bone and thyroid homeostasis. Contaminants may depress 1,25(OH)2D levels or lead to hyperthyroidism, which may cause bone resorption. In the ringed seals, associations between circulating 1,25(OH)2D, THs, and hepatic contaminants were less prominent. These results suggest that bone lesions observed in the Baltic gray seals may be associated with contaminant-mediated vitamin D and thyroid disruption.

DNA alignment and Bayesian trees of partial sequences of COI, COIII and the haemocyanin functional unit f-g of 28 octopod species

Background: Octopods have successfully colonised the world's oceans from the tropics to the poles. Yet, successful persistence in these habitats has required adaptations of their advanced physiological apparatus to compensate impaired oxygen supply. Their oxygen transporter haemocyanin plays a major role in cold tolerance and accordingly has undergone functional modifications to sustain oxygen release at sub-zero temperatures. However, it remains unknown how molecular properties evolved to explain the observed functional adaptations. We thus aimed to assess whether natural selection affected molecular and structural properties of haemocyanin that explains temperature adaptation in octopods. Results: Analysis of 239 partial sequences of the haemocyanin functional units (FU) f and g of 28 octopod species of polar, temperate, subtropical and tropical origin revealed natural selection was acting primarily on charge properties of surface residues. Polar octopods contained haemocyanins with higher net surface charge due to decreased glutamic acid content and higher numbers of basic amino acids. Within the analysed partial sequences, positive selection was present at site 2545, positioned between the active copper binding centre and the FU g surface. At this site, methionine was the dominant amino acid in polar octopods and leucine was dominant in tropical octopods. Sites directly involved in oxygen binding or quaternary interactions were highly conserved within the analysed sequence. Conclusions: This study has provided the first insight into molecular and structural mechanisms that have enabled octopods to sustain oxygen supply from polar to tropical conditions. Our findings imply modulation of oxygen binding via charge-charge interaction at the protein surface, which stabilize quaternary interactions among functional units to reduce detrimental effects of high pH on venous oxygen release. Of the observed partial haemocyanin sequence, residue 2545 formed a close link between the FU g surface and the active centre, suggesting a role as allosteric binding site. The prevalence of methionine at this site in polar octopods, implies regulation of oxygen affinity via increased sensitivity to allosteric metal binding. High sequence conservation of sites directly involved in oxygen binding indicates that functional modifications of octopod haemocyanin rather occur via more subtle mechanisms, as observed in this study.