The “Third Space” and the Questions of Identity in Jean Rhys’ Wide Sargasso Sea

Khem Guragain 부산대학교 한국민족문화연구소 2015 Localities Vol.5 No.-

In this paper, I claim that the “third space” extends beyond Western hegemonic discourse on identity and self, demonstrating that identity is not a singular and a stable subject but a multiple and fluid one. This article demonstrates that the “third space”, while opening the avenues for pluralities and negotiations, unsettles and problematizes the issues of identity, belonging, and home in Jean Rhys" Wide Sargasso Sea .Discussions on why Antoinette’s position as a Creole in Jamaica problematizes her status and identity, and what barriers negate herself and her sense of belonging are central to this research. I further investigate the roles of Western hegemonic presence in Antoinette’s subjectivity, and her sense of liberation and autonomy. Antoinette’s position in a liminal space not only jeopardizes her identity, her longing for home and belonging, but also creates a hybrid identity that emerges in a moment of historical transformation in Jamaican history. Hybridity interrogates and deconstructs the Western hegemonic assumption of stable subjectivity and meaning. Destabilizing the notion of the Self and the Other as envisioned by Western mainstream narratives, hybridity proposes that the Self is constructed by multiple ideologies and multiple discourses Antoinette’s occupation of a hybrid position in Wide Sargasso Sea dismantles the stable binaries of white/black, colonizer/colonized category of Western discourse and questions identity formation based on the West as the ‘Self’ and the non-West as the ‘Other’ as in Edward Said’s contention in Orientalism.

Home, Belonging and Diaspora

Khem Guragaini 부산대학교 한국민족문화연구소 2014 Localities Vol.4 No.-

Manjushree Thapa’s novel, Seasons of Flight (2010) not only problematizes Nepali identity in the South Asian diaspora, but also positions it in an interstitial space moving between homeward connection and current metropolitan lifestyle. The identity of Thapa’s protagonist, Prema, is constantly conflated with Indiannessas she encounters different social activities and conversations. Thapa, by presenting a woman?centered story, challenges the assumptions of the American dream of freedom, affluence and multiculturalism, and interjects the undercurrents of the aspirations of immigrants. Prema, a woman from Nepal living in Los Angeles, seeks to find freedom in a modern metropolis amidst the ambivalences between reinventing herself in a new world, and her connections to her homeland, her language and her culture. However, Prema’s identity is constantly interrogated and undermined in American society. Furthermore, Prema’s identity is conflated with Indianness, as she struggles to negotiate between her past and present, and aspires to find herself and identity in America.

An advanced sandwich-type architecture of MnCo₂O₄@N-C@MnO₂ as an efficient electrode material for a high-energy density hybrid asymmetric solid-state supercapacitor

Shrestha, Khem Raj,Kandula, Syam,Rajeshkhanna, G.,Srivastava, Manish,Kim, Nam Hoon,Lee, Joong Hee The Royal Society of Chemistry 2018 Journal of Materials Chemistry A Vol.6 No.47

<P>The design and development of innovative heterostructures with multifunctional properties are technically very important for efficient practical energy storage and conversion applications. Herein, we report the synthesis of a nitrogen-doped carbon (N-C) layer sandwiched between MnCo2O4 and MnO2 (MnCo2O4@N-C@MnO2) as a core@sandwich@shell type heterostructure on Ni foam. The thin layer of sandwiched N-C acts as a “superhighway” for good electron/ion transport and protects the MnCo2O4 and MnO2 from destructive morphological changes during repeated charge-discharge processes. The MnCo2O4@N-C@MnO2 material is well characterized by standard techniques, and its energy storage performance is studied in a three-electrode system and solid-state asymmetric capacitor device. The resultant electrochemical performance is compared with those of MnCo2O4 and MnCo2O4@N-C. The MnCo2O4@N-C@MnO2 electrode exhibits an excellent areal/gravimetric capacity of 0.75 mA h cm<SUP>−2</SUP>/312 mA h g<SUP>−1</SUP> at 3 mA cm<SUP>−2</SUP> with <I>ca.</I> 89.6% capacitance retention after 10 000 cycles. A solid-state asymmetric supercapacitor device assembled with MnCo2O4@N-C@MnO2 as a cathode and nitrogen-doped graphene hydrogel as an anode exhibits a high energy density of 68.2 W h kg<SUP>−1</SUP> at 749.2 W kg<SUP>−1</SUP> power density without compromising long cycle life (<I>ca.</I> 91.1% retention after 10 000 cycles). The highly efficient energy storage performance of this new class of heterostructures synthesized with earth-abundant materials enables commercial applications.</P>

A spinel MnCo₂O₄/NG 2D/2D hybrid nanoarchitectures as advanced electrode material for high performance hybrid supercapacitors

Shrestha, Khem Raj,Kandula, Syam,Kim, Nam Hoon,Lee, Joong Hee Elsevier 2019 JOURNAL OF ALLOYS AND COMPOUNDS Vol.771 No.-

<P><B>Abstract</B></P> <P>Supercapacitors suffer from lack of energy density and to achieve better energy density, a new class of hybrid architectures with controlled morphology is prerequisite. Here, a facile polyol method is successfully used for the synthesis of MnCo<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>4</SUB>/nitrogen doped graphene 2D/2D hybrid nanoarchitectures and this combination successfully avoids the restacking and agglomeration of nitrogen−doped graphene nanosheets. The formation of MnCo<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>4</SUB>/NG 2D/2D hybrid nanoarchitectures are confirmed by state−of−art techniques. This combination leads to a large conducting network that improves the exposure of active sites at the electrode−electrolyte interface for the transportation of electrons and ions. The synergistic effect of 2D MnCo<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>4</SUB> nanoflakes over the 2D nitrogen−doped graphene serves the capacitance of ca. 1170 F g<SUP>−1</SUP> at 1 A g<SUP>−1</SUP> with an excellent rate capability of 818 F g<SUP>−1</SUP> at 20 A g<SUP>−1</SUP>. An asymmetric supercapacitor is successfully fabricated using these MnCo<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>4</SUB>/NG 2D/2D hybrid nanoarchitectures as the cathode and 2D nitrogen−doped graphene as the anode electrodes, which exhibits better performance than previously reported spinel metal oxide materials. The asymmetric supercapacitor exhibits excellent energy density (∼48.5 Wh kg<SUP>−1</SUP> at ∼808 W kg<SUP>−1</SUP>) and power density (∼16000 W kg<SUP>−1</SUP> at ∼32.1 Wh kg<SUP>−1</SUP>), with an outstanding cyclic durability of 85.9% retention after 10,000 cycles.</P> <P><B>Highlights</B></P> <P> <UL> <LI> MnCo<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>4</SUB>/NG 2D/2D heteronanostructures are synthesized <I>via</I> a facile polyol method. </LI> <LI> The 2D MnCo<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>4</SUB> NFs helps to reduce the restacking of NG <I>via</I> π−π interactions. </LI> <LI> It exhibits specific capacitance of 1170 F g<SUP>−1</SUP> at 1 Ag<SUP>−1</SUP> with excellent stability. </LI> <LI> Asymmetric device exhibits enhanced energy density of 48.5 Wh kg<SUP>−1</SUP> at 809.5 w kg<SUP>−1</SUP>. </LI> <LI> It exhibits excellent specific capacitance retention of 85.9% after 10,000 cycles. </LI> </UL> </P> <P><B>Graphical abstract</B></P> <P>[DISPLAY OMISSION]</P>

HCC : PE-067 ; Endoscopic billiary drainage using self-expandable metallic stent in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma presenting as obstructive jaundice

( Sok So Khem ),( Young Seok Kim ) 대한간학회 2012 춘·추계 학술대회 (KASL) Vol.2012 No.1

Background and Aims: Obstructive jaundice is rarely presented in patients with hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC). In thesepatients, endoscopic biliary drainage is not widely used and controversial because of a poor prognosis in such condition. Weevaluated retrospectively the usefulness of endoscopic biliary drainage using self-expandable metallic stents in patients with HCC presenting as obstructive jaundice. Methods: Between June 2001 and January 2012, the endoscopic biliary drainage by using metallic stent insertion was performed in eleven patients (mean age, 59.6 years) having HCC with obstructive jaundice. The successful biliary drainage was defined as a decline of the serum bilirubin level of more than 30% relative to the baseline value within 30 days after stent insertion. We assessed the clinical data of patients, such as the Child-Pugh classification, the T stage of HCC and the Bithmuth classification of bile duct obstruction, and evaluate the duration of survival and stent patency. Results: The successful biliary drainage was achieved in 8 of the 11 patients (72.7%). The Child-Pugh class was one C and seven B in patients obtained successful drainage. The mean duration of survival were respectively 45 days in Child C and 83.5 days in Child B patients. The Child-Pugh class was one B and two C in patients with unsuccessful drainage, and the mean duration of survival was 8.3 days. Conclusions: Endoscopic biliary drainage using self-expandable metallic stent is considered as an effective palliative treatment for patients with obstructive jaundice resulting from HCC. Our studies involved only a small number of patients, but their findings indicate a promising area for further research.

Kirkendall Growth and Ostwald Ripening Induced Hierarchical Morphology of Ni-Co LDH/MMoS<i>_x</i> (M = Co, Ni, and Zn) Heteronanostructures as Advanced Electrode Materials for Asymmetric Solid-State Supercapacitors

Kandula, Syam,Shrestha, Khem Raj,Rajeshkhanna, G.,Kim, Nam Hoon,Lee, Joong Hee American Chemical Society 2019 ACS APPLIED MATERIALS & INTERFACES Vol.11 No.12

<P>By changing the mixed metal sulfide composition, morphology tuning of an active electrode material can be possible, which can have a huge impact on its electrochemical performance. Here, effective morphology tuning of Ni-Co layered double hydroxide (LDH)/MMoS<I><SUB>x</SUB></I> (M = Co, Ni, and Zn) heteronanostructures is demonstrated by varying the composition of MMoS<I><SUB>x</SUB></I>. Taking advantage of the benefits associated with Kirkendall growth and Ostwald ripening, tunable morphologies were successfully achieved. Among the Ni-Co LDH/MMoS<I><SUB>x</SUB></I> (M = Co, Ni, and Zn) heteronanostructures, a Ni-Co LDH/NiMoS<I><SUB>x</SUB></I> core-shell structured electrode delivered a high specific capacity of 404 mAh g<SUP>-1</SUP> at 3 mA cm<SUP>-2</SUP> and an extraordinary cycling stability (after 10 000 cycles) of 93.2% at 50 mA cm<SUP>-2</SUP>. In addition, an asymmetric supercapacitor (ASC) device coupled with Ni-Co LDH/NiMoS<I><SUB>x</SUB></I> as the cathode and Fe<SUB>2</SUB>O<SUB>3</SUB>/reduced graphene oxide as the anode exhibited excellent cell capacity and extraordinary cycling stability. Moreover, the ASC device provided a very high specific energy of 72.6 Wh kg<SUP>-1</SUP> at a specific power of 522.7 W kg<SUP>-1</SUP> and maintained the specific power of 23.5 Wh kg<SUP>-1</SUP> at 5357.6 W kg<SUP>-1</SUP>, demonstrating its high applicability to energy storage devices.</P> [FIG OMISSION]</BR>

pyMPEALab Toolkit for Accelerating Phase Design in Multi-principal Element Alloys

Upadesh Subedi,Anil Kunwar,Yuri Amorim Coutinho,Khem Gyanwali 대한금속·재료학회 2022 METALS AND MATERIALS International Vol.28 No.1

Multi-principal element alloys (MPEAs) occur at or nearby the centre of the multicomponent phase space, and they have theunique potential to be tailored with a blend of several desirable properties for the development of materials of future. The lackof universal phase diagrams for MPEAs has been a major challenge in the accelerated design of products with these materials. This study aims to solve this issue by employing data-driven approaches in phase prediction. A MPEA is frst representedby numerical fngerprints (composition, atomic size diference , electronegativity , enthalpy of mixing , entropy of mixing, dimensionless Ω parameter, valence electron concentration and phase types ), and an artifcial neural network (ANN) isdeveloped upon the datasets of these numerical descriptors. A pyMPEALab GUI interface is developed on the top of thisANN model with a computational capability to associate composition features with remaining other input features. With theGUI interface, an user can predict the phase(s) of a MPEA by entering solely the information of composition. It is furtherexplored on how the knowledge of phase(s) prediction in composition-varied AlxCrCoFeMnNi and CoCrNiNbx can help inunderstanding the mechanical behavior of these MPEAs.

Seasonal and diurnal measurement of ambient benzene at a high traffic inflation site in Delhi: Health risk assessment and its possible role in ozone formation pathways

Poonam Kumari,Daya Soni,Shankar G. Aggarwal,Khem Singh 환경독성보건학회 2023 환경독성보건학회지 Vol.38 No.3

Benzene is the most toxic and hazardous pollutant among volatile organic compounds (VOCs), as it comes under group 1 carcinogens recognized by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). It also plays a significant role in forming secondary pollutants like ozone. The benzene concentration was measured using a charcoal sorbent tube by active sampling at a traffic junction and analysis was done using GC-FID. The maximum average concentration of benzene in ambient air was found to be 33 μg/m3. A diurnal study of benzene measurement shows higher benzene concentrations in the evening compared to the morning. Seasonal variation of benzene is found to be winter > spring > summer > autumn > monsoon and OFP was found to be 21, 19, 14, 13, and 10 respectively. Cancer (ILCR) and non-cancer (HQ) health risk assessment was done to determine the impact of ambient benzene on the residents of urban areas. The yearly average value of ILCR was found to be 2×10<SUP>-6</SUP> ± 1×10<SUP>-6</SUP> which ranges from acceptable value to three times the WHO acceptable value i.e 1×10-6. The correlation of ozone and its precursor, benzene with meteorological parameters is also evaluated. The correlation of benzene and ozone with solar radiation shows the influence of photochemical reactions on the levels of benzene and ozone at the study site, although it is low.

Trends of Smokeless Tobacco use among Adults (Aged 15-49 Years) in Bangladesh, India and Nepal

Sinha, Dhirendra N,Rizwan, SA,Aryal, Krishna K,Karki, Khem B,Zaman, Mostafa M,Gupta, Prakash C Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention 2015 Asian Pacific journal of cancer prevention Vol.16 No.15

Background: Smokeless tobacco (SLT) has long been realized as an important component of the fight for global tobacco control. It still remains a major problem in countries like India, Bangladesh and Nepal. The objective of this study was to estimate the trends of SLT use in three countries of the SEARO WHO office. Materials and Methods: We used data from national surveys in three countries (Bangladesh, India and Nepal) to estimate trends in prevalence of current SLT use. All available nationally representative data sources were used. Estimates were weighted, age standardized and given along with 95% confidence intervals. Significance of linear trend in prevalence over time was tested using the Cochrane-Armitage test for trend. A p value of less than 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: We identified three surveys for Bangladesh, three for India and four for Nepal that met the selection criteria (such as Demographic and Health Surveys, WHO-STEPwise approach to Surveillance and Global Adult Tobacco Surveys). A significantly increasing trend was noticed in the prevalence of current SLT use among Bangladeshi men (20.2% to 23%, p=0.03). In India, a similar significantly increasing trend was seen among men (27.1% to 33.4%, p<0.001) and women (10.1% to 15.7%, p<0.001). In Nepal, there was a no significant trend among both men (39.1% to 31.6%, p=0.11) and women (5.6% to 4.7%, p=0.49). Conclusions: In the study countries SLT use has remained at alarmingly high levels. Usage trends do not show any signs of decline in spite of control efforts. Tobacco control measures should focus more on controlling SLT use.