The Politics of Monologist Representation

This article proffers a deconstructionist reading of the dramatic monologue and examines its rhetorical strategies and the politics of monologic representation, by which the first-person speaker/monologist monopolizes discursive space and over-represents himself, while silencing other voices in the text and refusing them the freedom and space to express themselves. Through a close analysis of monologist representation of the Other in various texts, including “Mending Wall” by Robert Frost, “Devonshire Street W. 1” by John Betjeman, as well as Ron Carlson’s short story “Bigfoot Stole My Wife” (albeit a dramatic monologue in prose), this article seeks to expose the ways in which the poetic persona is always partial, interested, and subjective, with not-so-subtle an agenda, a speaker who passes value judgments on the human objects of his overbearing tone. By examining the politics of monologist representation against both Aristotelian ethos and Bakhtinian intonation, the article suggests that readers and critics can give voice to the voiceless in this elastic genre and abandon their sympathetic interpretations that practically absolve monologists of any bias towards their absent enemies or any politics of representation.</jats:p

Denys Johnson-Davies: The Translator Who Rushed in Where Angels Feared to Tread

The purpose of this article is to outline Denys Johnson-Davies's translation career as told in his autobiography, give a general appreciation of his unparalleled role in translating and promoting Arabic literature in the English-speaking world, shed light on his adapting numerous Arabic folktales for children, and touch upon his translations of canonical Islamic texts. However, it would not be possible to fully appreciate his monumental contributions in this intercultural dialogue without examining, albeit briefly, some of the intractable odds against which he strove. In other words, had he been a French- or German-English translator, his would have been a completely different story, and perhaps not worth being voluble about. To achieve this goal, I will highlight certain relevant incidents in his career that illustrate both his tireless efforts and his attachment to Arabic literature, Arab authors, and Arab customs, for it is through this “spiritual affinity” that Johnson-Davies fulfills Schlegel's condition for a good authentic translation.</jats:p

ELECTRONIC AND VIBRATIONAL PROPERTIES OF SINGLE WALL CARBON NANOTUBES AND BORON NITRIDE NANOTUBES IN THE PRESENCE OF VARIOUS IMPURITIES

The major objective of this thesis is to systematically investigate the effect of hexagonal BN (h-BN) islands on electronic and vibrational properties of single wall carbon Nanotubes. All our investigation are based on first principle Density Functional Theory (DFT) calculations. Our study is motivated by interesting metal-semiconductor transition recently found in periodically patterned graphene with h-BN islands. After reproducing the electronic band structure for pristine single wall zigzag carbon nanotubes (which shows metallic or semiconducting properties depending on their chirality), we investigated their electronic band structure in the presence of h-BN islands. The band structure depends not only on the defect concentration, but also on the pattern of the defect atoms. Our results also suggest that, if we start with a metallic /semiconducting mixture of ZSWCNTs, upon h-BN addition, the sample converts to fully semiconducting. This is a promising result for applications of CNTs in molecular electronics. Fundamental understanding of vibrational properties of nano electronics component is equally important in their applications especially in thermal management and thermoelectric applications. Defect engineering is one of the potential approach for tuning nanoelectronic devices for optimal thermal management and thermoelectric devices. In this work, I present a systematic investigation on how the group velocity and frequency of different phonon modes depend on various h-BN defect concentrations and defect patterns in ZSWCNTs. The study was extended to investigate the effect of hexagonal-C defects on the electronic and vibrational properties of zigzag single wall Boron Nitride nanotubes (ZSWBNNTs)

Exploring the Antifungal Effectiveness of a Topical Innovative Formulation Containing Voriconazole Combined with Pinus sylvestris L. Essential Oil for Onychomycosis

(1) Background: The present study aimed to assess the antifungal effectiveness of a topical innovative formulation containing the association of an antifungal agent, voriconazole (VCZ), and the essential oil of Pinus sylvestris L. (PSEO). (2) Methods: Pseudo-ternary phase diagram and D-optimal mixture design approaches were applied for the development and the optimization of the o/w nanoemulsion. The optimized formulation (NE) was subjected to physicochemical characterization and to physical stability studies. In vitro permeation studies were carried out using the Franz cell diffusion system. The antimycotic efficacy against Microsporum canis was carried out in vitro. (3) Results: Optimal nanoemulsion showed great physical stability and was characterized by a small droplet size (19.015 nm &plusmn; 0.110 nm), a PDI of 0.146 &plusmn; 0.011, a zeta potential of &minus;16.067 mV &plusmn; 1.833 mV, a percentage of transmittance of 95.352% &plusmn; 0.175%, and a pH of 5.64 &plusmn; 0.03. Furthermore, it exhibited a significant enhancement in apparent permeability coefficient (p &lt; 0.05) compared to the VCZ free drug. Finally, NE presented the greatest antifungal activity against Microsporum canis in comparison with VCZ and PSEO tested alone. (4) Conclusions: These promising results suggest that this topical innovative formulation could be a good candidate to treat onychomycosis. Further ex vivo and clinical investigations are needed to support these findings