Change In Character Research Articles

P028 Oh No-Cardiosis! A case of systemic Nocardia nova infection

Abstract Background/Aims Nocardiosis is a rare infectious disease caused by the aerobic bacteria genus Nocardia and can cause severe suppurative disease affecting virtually any organ. It tends to affect the immunocompromised, making rheumatology patients a particular risk group for this infection. It is not normal human flora and is found in soil, decaying vegetable matter and aquatic environments. It can become airborne and the most common means of entry is thought to be dust inhalation. Methods Our patient is a 75-year-old woman with giant cell arteritis (GCA) treated with prednisolone, SC methotrexate and tocilizumab (started 4 months before her acute illness). Symptoms began with a fall in the garden sustaining a nasty laceration to her leg and an injury to her back worsening some chronic lower back pain (X-rays did not show any fracture). Over the next 5 weeks due to a productive cough and sweats she was prescribed oral antibiotics with no improvement. She was then admitted to hospital due to an acute increase in the severity of her lower back pain alongside a change in character to a burning pain. Her presenting CRP was 32, likely due to having held tocilizumab due to a presumed chest infection. MRI showed a collection in the right erector spinae muscle extending from C7 to the iliac crest and another large collection in the right thigh. A mass in the left sub-mammary area led to a chest CT that showed a chest wall abscess alongside a spiculated lesion in the lung, and further nodular changes. Peripheral blood cultures were negative and eventually draining of the erector spinae abscess led to culture of Nocardiosis nova. Imipenam and Septrin were given as per sensitivities. Unfortunately, our patient has had a difficult clinical course. During her hospital stay she has had possible DRESS syndrome/Septrin-induced liver injury alongside drug induced neutropaenia and lymphopaenia and a possible stroke (this was thought less likely to represent CNS Nocardiosis). Results Her rheumatology management initially involved stopping her DMARDs however due to flares in symptoms her doses of prednisolone have been up and down. It has been difficult to separate symptoms that may be due to cervical spine collections and a possible CNS lesion from GCA symptoms. Conclusion This case demonstrates the need to thoroughly investigate immunosuppressed patients when they are not responding as expected to antibiotics or present with atypical symptoms. It also demonstrates the importance of obtaining a microbiological diagnosis. Cellular immunity is generally thought to be key in preventing Nocardia dissemination however in our patient’s case she was only taking 2.5mg prednisolone when admitted. This is one of only a few case reports of patients developing Nocardia infection whilst on tocilizumab. Disclosure R.J. Crowder: None. H. Mills: None. O. Savanovic-Abel: None. J. King: None. O. Moore: None. M. Perry: None. S. Hewagamage: None. M. Gunathilaka: None.

The Main Character Development in The King of Staten Island Film

The research aimed to analyze the main character development in The King of Staten Island film by using Roberts and Zweig character change theory and Sigmund Freud's structure of personality theory. The researcher used The King of Staten Island film which was released in 2020 by Universal Pictures in association with Perfect World Pictures, and the film script as the source of data. This research used Roberts and Zweig’s character change theory, Sigmund Freud’s structure of personality theories, and Petrie and Boggs film characterization theory to analyze Scott Carlin's character. This research used qualitative method and content analysis approach also Mikos film analysis theory. The researcher confirmed Scott's structure of personality changed before Scott's character developed. Those three elements (id, ego, and superego) supported the character development of Scott Carlin. The result showed the id as the most frequently appeared structure with five data, followed by ego with three data, and lastly followed by superego with three data. It confirmed the id as the part which hinders Scott's development and the ego as the part which influenced Scott's development with the help of certain events in the story as the trigger. The researcher concluded Scott's character development became more courageous, composed, emotionally stable, mature, truthful about his feeling, could heed to other people's advice, control his emotion and anger, overcome his trauma, his hatred towards fireman is gone and admire this profession. On the other hand, the implication was that Scott's relationship with his family was restored, people's view towards Scott changed, and forgiveness of his past mistakes. Key words: Character development, (id, ego, and superego), structure of personality

Peculiarities of the foregut organic disorders in patients with an acute pancreatitis

Objective. To study the character and peculiarities of structural changes of esophageal, gastric and duodenal wall in patients with an acute pancreatitis.
 Materials and methods. Analysis of the esophago–gastro–duodenoscopy results was conducted in 86 patients with estimation of endoscopic signs of the motor–evacuation and organic disorders of foregut.
 Results. Endoscopic signs of gastrostasis were observed in 17 (20.0%) patients, of duodeno–gastric reflux – in 29 (34.0%), and reflux–oesophagitis – in 14 (16.2%). Reactive inflammatory mucosal gastro–duodenal changes (erythematous and hemorrhagic–erosive gastro–duodenopathy) were determined in 22 (25.6%) patients: in 12 (14.0%) – in moderately severe, and in 10 (11.6%) – in severe acute pancreatitis. In 24 (28.0%) patients an acute erosions of gastric antrum and first duodenal segment were revealed, and in 14 (16.0%) – acute ulcers, which dominated in severe course of the disease.
 Conclusion. The endoscopic signs of the foregut organic disorders established constitute the predictor of the course severity in an acute pancreatitis and serve a criterion of its diagnosis.

ASPEK MISE EN SCENE DALAM MENGGAMBARKAN PERUBAHAN PERILAKU TOKOH MARIA PADA FILM LOOK AWAY

This study discusses mise-en-scene in describing changes in the behavior of Maria's characters in the film Look Away. The study was conducted to describe the behavior and behavior changes of Maria's characters in the film Look Away through the mise-en-scene aspect. The research data was examined using the theory of mise-en-scene and psychoanalysis Sigmund freud. Psychoanalysis Sigmund Freud was used to analyze behavior and changes in Maria's character behavior, while mise-en-scene was used to analyze visual aspects in describing changes in Maria's character's behavior in the Look Away movie. This study uses a type of qualitative research using descriptive methods. Based on the research that has been done, it is known that Maria is the main character who is kind and shy, while the figure of Airam is a supporting figure as well as an antagonist who has a bad character, and is the mastermind of the occurrence of all conflicts in the story in Look Away. Mise-en-scene elements such as settings, costumes and make-up, as well as players and movements are able to describe changes in Maria's character's behavior as a shy person who becomes a character who looks evil and gives a scary impression to friends who often make Maria worse.

Повышение эффективности систем улавливания паров нефти при товарно-транспортных операциях на нефтеналивных терминалах

In this paper the problem of losses from evaporation of light fractions of hydrocarbons during loading operations of tanker fleets vessels is considered. It was found that there is no unified approach to modeling the system “tanker – gas phase pipeline – vapor recovery units” in open sources. The absence of a generally recognized model makes it impossible to scientifically justify the application of instruments to reducing losses and the development of corresponding measures. In work it is showed that the dynamics of growth of pressure in the inner tanker capacity is described by a differential equation, considering for non-stationary essence of the process. This equation is converted to a non-dimensional form and investigated in relation to the similarity criteria of this system. This research has allowed to establish unambiguously the general character of pressure changes in the inner tanker capacity, and to predict the peak values of its growth at the initial stage of the loading operation. The obtained equations were tested on real tanker loading data and showed satisfactory convergence with the experimental data. At different stages of the loading opera-tion the component composition of vapor changes, which is shown by chromatographic analysis of the gas mixture. With the availability of a model of hydrocarbon vapor displacement from the inner of tanker, it is possible to propose measures to minimize the negative impact on the environment and return valuable vapors of the product to the technological chain of transportation.

Life cycle evolution in the trilobites Balangia and Duyunaspis from the Cambrian Series 2 (Stage 4) of South China.

The evolution process can be reconstructed by tracking the changes in the dynamic characters of life cycles. A number of related trilobites from the Cambrian of South China provide additional information for the study of trilobite evolutionary patterns, which has been hampered by previous incomplete fossil record though. Here, Balangia and Duyunaspis represent related Cambrian oryctocephalid trilobites from South China, are comprehensively discussed over the ontogeny, and the results show that, from B. balangensis via D. duyunensis to D. jianheensis, their exoskeletal morphology shows a directional evolution. Based on the direction of evolutionary changes in the development of Balangia and Duyunaspis, we speculate that Duyunaspis likely evolved from Balangia instead of Balangia evolved from Duyunaspis, as was previously assumed. This inference is also supported by the phylogenetic tree. This research provides not only a better understanding of the mechanisms of evolution in trilobites, but also new insights for the relationship between developmental evolutionary changes and phylogeny in trilobites.

Effects of Self-Explanation on the Expansion and Indulgent of Mathematics Teaching: Case of the Students of the University of Wachemo

The main goal of this study is to investigate the effects of self-explanation in improving proof comprehension in mathematics instruction: the case of Wachemo university undergraduate mathematics students of academic year 2020/2021. Moreover it is intended to find out interconnection between students achievement in mathematics and self-explanation in proof comprehension. To assess student’s self-explanation ability we applied self-explanation test and attitude test at the beginning and at the end to assess student’s character change to ward mathematics. In this study there are 48 students participated in both control and experimental groups. This study showed that the effectiveness of self-explanation in proof comprehension in mathematics courses. This also leading to recommend for curriculum developers to consider in self-explanation. One of the most strong findings of research is that conceptual indulgent is an important elements of expertise hence self-explanation is the tool to enhance students conceptual understanding, along with realistic knowledge and technical facility. The alliance of realistic knowledge, procedural expertise, and conceptual indulgent makes all three components operational in powerful ways. So that self-explanation has prominent effect in supporting students to achieve the intended objectives in proving theorems. Of these, two areas were measured quantitatively: student achievement in calculus and transformation geometry, and self-concept toward these courses. Those quantitative research findings are presented in chapter four with the details of the data collection procedures, the quantitative results, and an analysis of the outcomes.

Shallow deformation on the Kirby Hills fault, Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta, California (USA), revealed from high-resolution seismic reflection data and coring in a fluvial system

Abstract The Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta (Delta) in California (USA) is an important part of the state’s freshwater system and is also a major source of agricultural and natural resources. However, the Delta is traversed by a series of faults that make up the easternmost part of the San Andreas fault system at this latitude and pose seismic hazard to this region. In this study, we use new high-resolution chirp subbottom data1 to map and characterize the shallow expression of the Kirby Hills fault, where it has been mapped to cross the Sacramento River at the western extent of the Delta. The fault is buried here, but we document a broad zone of deformation associated with the eastern strand of the fault that changes in character, along strike, across ~600 m of the river channel. Radiocarbon dates from sediment cores collected in the Sacramento River provide some minimum constraints on the age of deformation. We do not observe evidence of the western strand as previously mapped. We also discuss difficulties of conducting a paleoseismologic study in a fluvial environment.

Mechanical Reclamation of Spent Moulding Sand on Chromite Sand Matrix; Removal of Alkali-Phenolic Binder

The foundry industry generates large amounts of waste when casting metal into sand moulds. An important issue is the activities that are related to the re-recovery of the grain matrix (the main component of the moulding sand) for realising subsequent technological cycles. This process is particularly important in the case of the expensive chromite matrix that is necessary for use in manganese steel casting. The effects of the reclamation treatments of spent alkali-phenolic binder sand were evaluated by scanning electron microscopy with EDS, analysing the chemical composition in micro areas and proving the loss of binder on the surfaces of the matrix grains. Tests were also performed using the main criteria for evaluating a reclaimed organic binder: sieve analysis and ignition loss. A thermogravimetric analysis study was performed to assess the change in the chromite character of the grain matrix under the influence of temperature. The effects of the reclamation measures were verified by making moulding compounds on a matrix of reclaimed sand and a mixture of reclaimed and fresh sand. The tests and analyses that were carried out indicated the direction of an effective method for reclaiming used alkali-phenolic binder masses and the extent of the proportion of the regenerate in moulding sand in order to maintain the relevant technological parameters of the moulding sand.

Электрокардиографические изменения в раннем периоде после плановой реваскуляризации миокарда

INTRODUCTION: To date, highly effective methods of myocardial protection have been developed, which are widely used in cardiac surgery. At the same time, the problem of perioperative myocardial infarction still exists and is one of the causes of adverse cardiovascular events and mortality, both at the hospital stage of treatment and in the long-term period. A factor leading to such a complication may be acute dysfunction of the coronary bypass graft, the timely detection and elimination of which will reduce the negative consequences of myocardial damage. The relevance of the study results from investigation of the relationship between the angiographic data and the character of ischemic changes on the electrocardiogram of patients with and without proven acute dysfunction of coronary bypass graft. AIM: Identification of the most pathognomonic electrocardiographic signs of dysfunction of coronary bypass grafts in the early postoperative period after planned myocardial revascularization. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study included 196 (1.86%) of 10,550 patients operated for coronary artery disease in Chelyabinsk Center of Cardiovascular Surgery from 2011 to 2020, who underwent emergency angiography after planned coronary artery bypass graft surgery due to the appearance of signs of myocardial damage in the early postoperative period. Depending on the type of angiographic findings and the chosen treatment tactics, patients were divided to 3 groups. Group I (n = 86) included patients in whom angiography revealed defects in the area of large bypassed coronary arteries, of them 60 patients underwent endovascular treatment, and 26 patients underwent repeated open surgery. Group II (n = 33) consisted of patients in whom bypass graft dysfunction was noted, but, however, due to the small diameter or pronounced diffuse lesion of the bypassed coronary arteries, all the patients underwent conservative therapy. Group III included 77 patients in whom hemodynamically significant defects in grafts and native arteries were not identified. RESULTS: When studying postoperative electrocardiographic data, it was found that significant differences between the groups were obtained only in the occurrence of ventricular arrhythmias (P1–2 = 0.027; P2–3 = 0.01). As for other pathological electrocardiographic signs and their combinations, no statistical differences were found. CONCLUSIONS: An isolated electrocardiographic study in the early postoperative period does not permit to identify patients with dysfunction of coronary bypass grafts. It is necessary to develop a diagnostic algorithm, including instrumental and laboratory methods, for accurate diagnosis of myocardial ischemia caused by impaired graft function or pathological deformation of the coronary bed due to surgical procedures.

Changes in Student Character after Distance Learning during the Covid-19 Pandemic at SMAN 15 Bulukumba

This research is motivated by changes in the implementation of learning from face-to-face learning to distance learning through the use of digital technology and then changing back to face-to-face learning. Alternating the implementation of learning also influences the character of students. This research aims to provide an overview regarding changes in the character of independence, discipline, and politeness of students after distance learning during the Covid-19 pandemic at SMAN 15 Bulukumba. This research is a type of qualitative research using a case study research approach. While data collection will be carried out through observations and interviews which are then analyzed qualitatively through several activities in the form of data reduction, data presentation, and conclusion. The results of this study show that the independence of students after distance learning during the Covid-19 pandemic has increased, the discipline of students has decreased, and the politeness of students after distance learning during the Covid-19 pandemic at SMAN 15 Bulukumba has also decreased. So it can be concluded that there were changes in the character of independence, discipline, and politeness of students after distance learning during the Covid-19 pandemic at SMAN 15 Bulukumba.

A computer vision approach for analyzing label free leukocyte trafficking dynamics on a microvascular mimetic.

High-content imaging techniques in conjunction with in vitro microphysiological systems (MPS) allow for novel explorations of physiological phenomena with a high degree of translational relevance due to the usage of human cell lines. MPS featuring ultrathin and nanoporous silicon nitride membranes (µSiM) have been utilized in the past to facilitate high magnification phase contrast microscopy recordings of leukocyte trafficking events in a living mimetic of the human vascular microenvironment. Notably, the imaging plane can be set directly at the endothelial interface in a µSiM device, resulting in a high-resolution capture of an endothelial cell (EC) and leukocyte coculture reacting to different stimulatory conditions. The abundance of data generated from recording observations at this interface can be used to elucidate disease mechanisms related to vascular barrier dysfunction, such as sepsis. The appearance of leukocytes in these recordings is dynamic, changing in character, location and time. Consequently, conventional image processing techniques are incapable of extracting the spatiotemporal profiles and bulk statistics of numerous leukocytes responding to a disease state, necessitating labor-intensive manual processing, a significant limitation of this approach. Here we describe a machine learning pipeline that uses a semantic segmentation algorithm and classification script that, in combination, is capable of automated and label-free leukocyte trafficking analysis in a coculture mimetic. The developed computational toolset has demonstrable parity with manually tabulated datasets when characterizing leukocyte spatiotemporal behavior, is computationally efficient and capable of managing large imaging datasets in a semi-automated manner.

Transforming Character of Community College Students Through Refugee Simulations

ABSTRACT Given the rising number of refugees in the United States, it is becoming increasingly important for individuals to understand the lived experience of refugees and foster their inclusion. World Relief refugee simulations were designed to raise awareness about the refugees’ rehoming process, and these immersion activities may be powerful experiences to improve participants’ character. Furthermore, these simulations may aid individuals in shifting their preconceived perceptions about this population, and as a result, participants may become more inclusive of refugees. However, minimal research has been conducted on the value of refugee simulations. This convergent mixed-method study examined the difference between community college students’ character strengths before and after a refugee simulation and explored their experiences in the refugee simulation. The quantitative data were collected using the VIA Character Strengths Survey. The results revealed that community college students’ character strengths such as bravery, curiosity, fairness, judgment, kindness, love of learning, social intelligence, and zest were statistically higher after this intervention. The qualitative data were collected with an adapted version of the Guide for Reflective Practice. The results indicated that community college students’ participation in the refugee simulation was transformative. These findings suggest that refugee simulations aid in character development and change participants’ perspectives about refugees.

THE EFFECT OF THE 1959 CUBAN REVOLUTION ON CUBA'S MIGRATION CHARACTER: A HISTORICAL EXAMINATION FOCUSING ON FOREIGN MIGRATION RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN CUBA-USA

Migration, which has taken place throughout history and everywhere, and in the most general sense; is a social phenomenon defined as displacement. In this study, the change in the immigration character of Cuba is examined in terms of the effect of the 1959 Cuban Revolution, and the external migration relationship between Cuba and the USA is selected as a limitation. In this respect, firstly, a general definition is made of the concept of migration and migration theories. Then, in order to deal with the situation before the 1959 Cuban Revolution, the immigration character, which is the immigration character of post-Columbian Cuba, is examined. The content of this section consists of introducing the traditional economic-political structure of Cuba, starting from the general geographical structure. In the third part, the immigration character of Cuba after the 1959 Revolution is examined in the following five periods: Historical Exiles (1959-1962), Flights to Freedom (1965-1973), Exit from Mariel (1980), Balsero/Rafter Crisis (1994) and Post-Soviet Migration (1995-2023). This section, which focuses on Cuba-US relations, makes visible the change in Cuba's immigration character after the 1959 Revolution and analyzes the dynamics in which Cuba turned into an emigrant country while it was a country of immigration. In the conclusion part, as a result of the examination, a Cuba-USA-focused historical analysis is made on the meanings of the changing immigration character of Cuba through migration theories. In other words, this study answers the question about the transformation of Cuba from a country of emigration to a country of immigration, with a focus on the external immigration relationship between Cuba and the USA. It offers a historical analysis of the migration character. Thus, besides making an academic contribution to the immigration dimension of the 1959 Cuban Revolution's impact on Cuba, it is aimed to contribute to migration studies.

ISLAMIC BUREAUCRACY IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PHILOSOPHY

This article analyzes the bureaucracy and public administration with an Islamic values approach regarding norms, ethics, and mursalah as the spirit of the law. This paper can provide the color that Islam is constantly developing and can answer the challenges of modernity with the character of continuity and change. Islam still pays attention to the reality of society, so it gives birth to a humanist and authoritative formulation of Islamic law, not the authoritarianism of Islamic law. The method used for this study is a literature study. This study can be integrated with Maqhasid Syariah by exploring the philosophical values (the theory values) of norms and ethics related to bureaucracy and public administration in Islamic law. Several theories recognize that Islamic matters such as performance, ethics, and accountability influence public administration. Deviating from Islamic principles and following a secular path will fail in Muslim societies, and social reforms require returning to Islam. This discussion will appreciate diversity, and even in the Islamic world, bureaucracy and public administration in the Islamic world consider the importance of religion, its values , and culture. In the end, the view of the legitimate form of bureaucracy and public administration in the Islamic world is of academic interest and global political importance.

ISLAMIC BUREAUCRACY IN PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION PHILOSOPHY

This article analyzes the bureaucracy and public administration with an Islamic values approach regarding norms, ethics, and mursalah as the spirit of the law. This paper can provide the color that Islam is constantly developing and can answer the challenges of modernity with the character of continuity and change. Islam still pays attention to the reality of society, so it gives birth to a humanist and authoritative formulation of Islamic law, not the authoritarianism of Islamic law. The method used for this study is a literature study. This study can be integrated with Maqhasid Syariah by exploring the philosophical values (the theory values) of norms and ethics related to bureaucracy and public administration in Islamic law. Several theories recognize that Islamic matters such as performance, ethics, and accountability influence public administration. Deviating from Islamic principles and following a secular path will fail in Muslim societies, and social reforms require returning to Islam. This discussion will appreciate diversity, and even in the Islamic world, bureaucracy and public administration in the Islamic world consider the importance of religion, its values , and culture. In the end, the view of the legitimate form of bureaucracy and public administration in the Islamic world is of academic interest and global political importance.

Current situation and risk factors for Helicobacter pylori eradication failure in Northwest China: a real-world evidence study.

Current situation and risk factors for Helicobacter pylori eradication failure in Northwest China: a real-world evidence study.

Biogeographic characterisation of blue whale song worldwide: using song to identify populations

Blue whale songs provide a measure for characterising worldwide blue whale population structure. These songs are divided into nine regional types, which maintain a stable character. Five of the nine song types have been recorded over time spans greater than 30 years showing no significant change in character. The nine song types can be divided into those containing only simple tonal components (high latitude North Pacific, North Atlantic and Southern Ocean song types), those comprised of complex pulsed units in addition to the tonal components (Pacific Ocean margin song types from California, Chile and New Zealand), and those which have the greatest complexity of all and the longest cycling times (Indian Ocean song types from Sri Lanka, Fremantle and Diego Garcia). We suggest that temporally stable differences in song provide another characteristic for comparison with genetic and morphological data when defining blue whale populations. Furthermore, as Mellinger and Barlow (2003) recommend, when there is a lack of other data or lack of clarity in other data sets, evidence of distinct differences in songs between areas should be used as a provisional hypothesis about population structure when making management decisions. Worldwide study is needed to better understand the various populations and subspecies within species like the blue whale that have large geographic distributions and have both migrating and resident populations.

The r-modes of slowly rotating, stratified neutron stars

ABSTRACT The only r-modes that exist in a globally barotropic, rotating, Newtonian star are the fundamental l = |m| solutions, where l and m are the indices of the spherical harmonic $Y_l^m$ that describe the mode’s angular dependence. This is in stark contrast to a stellar model that is non-barotropic throughout its interior, which hosts all the l ≥ |m| perturbations including radial overtones. In reality, neutron stars are stratified with locally barotropic regions. Therefore, we explore how stratification alters a star’s ability to support r-modes. We consider the globally stratified case and examine the behaviour of the modes as the star gets close to barotropicity. In this limit, we find that all but the fundamental l = |m| perturbations change character and become generic inertial modes. Restricting the analysis to l = |m| perturbations, we develop the r-mode equations in order to consider stellar models that exhibit local barotropicity. Our results for such models show that the r-mode overtones diverge and join the inertial modes. In order to see which r-modes persist and retain their character in realistic neutron stars, these calculations will need to be brought into full general relativity.

Lorca's El sueño de la vida: Metatheatrical Subversion, Social Concern, and the Audience's Experience

Lorca's El sueño de la vida:Metatheatrical Subversion, Social Concern, and the Audience's Experience Andrew A. Anderson The single extant Act I of El sueño de la vida (1935–1936) combines socio-political concerns, expressed more explicitly here than Lorca had ever done before, with experiments in metatheatre that are in some senses more extreme than those found in any of his previous plays. Metatheatrical features include a broken fourth wall, "plants" in the audience, actors who lapse in and out of character or change character, powerful sound effects emanating from outside the auditorium, and reported events occurring off stage that finally engulf the theatre at the end of the act. At the same time, the work's themes involve social inequality and injustice, radical politics (left and right), religion, and the pressing need for major economic and cultural change. These two distinct threads intertwine in the idea of revolution and in the relation of the theatre with, and impact on, real life that is envisaged and advocated by the text. While previous criticism has rightly stressed the play's many unusual features, it has not fully recognized the many odd occurrences, uncertainties, and internal inconsistencies that permeate the script and hence serve to subvert any univocal interpretations.1 In turn, this underlying and pervasive ambiguity creates an unsettling effect that is ultimately disruptive of the status quo. The action takes place inside a theatre, extending to both the stage and the auditorium, meaning that, in any given production, the performance space as well as the area where the audience is seated function simultaneously as the overall setting where the scenes of the play unfold. This fact alone blurs, indeed almost obliterates, the distinction between the real and the fictional, creating an effect highly reminiscent of Tamayo y Baus's Un drama nuevo. There, similarly, in the second part of Act III, [End Page 129] the nineteenth-century Madrid theatre serves imaginatively as the space where the Elizabethan-era tragedy is performed, and the Spanish audience passively plays the part of the groundlings watching it, creating a confusion that is only partly clarified by the character of Shakespeare in his closing speech. In the case of El sueño de la vida, the basic circumstances surrounding the action are even less clear. There are two plausible possibilities, though neither serves to integrate and explain all the details that we eventually encounter. The first scenario that can be imagined is that the audience has gone to see a performance of a more or less conventional play, one whose title is never revealed.2 However, the Autor hijacks that day's performance and, improvising, turns it into something completely different. Consequently, the audience's expectations are unfulfilled, as is conveyed in some of the comments made early on by the married couple Espectador 1.º and Espectadora 1.ª (Lorca 139–43). The second is that this would be the opening night of a new play about which very little is known in advance. Again, the audience members attend the premiere with their usual expectations of being entertained but are confounded when they encounter an entirely disconcerting presentation that breaks almost all the prevailing theatrical norms, and which has been carefully planned out in advance by the Autor. No curtain rises at the beginning of the play. Rather the Autor comes out on stage with a "Telón gris" (137) behind him. One might reasonably assume that this was the front or house curtain —"No voy a levantar el telón"— (137), but subsequent stage directions cast doubt on this. At different points three painted curtains are lowered; all of them appear to be backdrops, and the third is specifically identified as such (139; 149; "telón de fondo," 153; cf. also the reference to "telones pintados," 149). Either the draft manuscript is lacking the indication for the grey curtain to be raised (though it is unclear what would be the appropriate moment for this to happen), or else it needs to be imagined as situated considerably further back in the stage space, to allow for these three curtains to cover it and each other in turn. The Autor...