The castle complexes of the belarusian nobility between the 14th and the 17th centuries: european influence and regional traditions

The article was submitted on 25.01.2016.Рассмотрены особенности архитектурных форм замковых комплексов, возникших в Средневековье на территории Белоруссии. Определено общее и особенное в формообразовании феодальных замков, очерчено культурное влияние строительных традиций Западной Европы, в частности, заимствование польских особенностей замкового зодчества и строительных технологий Тевтонского ордена. Установлено, что, с одной стороны, архитектура белорусских оборонительных замково-дворцовых комплексов XIV−XVII вв. традиционно базировалась на строительных принципах, привнесенных в белорусские земли европейской средневековой культурой, с другой − присутствуют отличные от западноевропейских местные технологии возведения внутрибашенных помещений и использование при строительстве трехслойной кладки. При едином объемно-пространственном решении башни ряда белорусских замков имеют свои архитектурные особенности: нижняя четырехгранная часть переходит на разной высоте вверху в восьмигранник, слегка уменьшаясь в объеме. Анализ архитектуры памятников средневекового зодчества показывает, что на фасадах башен замковых комплексов чередуются разные по форме и величине оштукатуренные декоративные ниши и орнаментальные пояса, вобравшие в себя традиционные приемы местного каменного зодчества. В национальное белорусское искусство создания фортификаций была привнесена более совершенная система западноевропейской защиты – башни-донжоны с жилыми функциями. Благодаря строительному опыту и культурно-историческим традициям создания фортификаций европейским рыцарством в белорусском регионе познакомились с новым типом западноевропейского замка − кастелом, который был заимствован рыцарями европейского запада (XII в.) из исторического наследия античной римско-византийской военной архитектуры. Новая композиция замка была освоена в XIV–XV вв. местными мастерами-устроителями из регионов Великой Польши и земель Тевтонского ордена. В XVI–XVII вв. этот тип замка получил в Белоруссии особенно активное развитие на основе апробированных в боевых условиях практических достижений французских и итальянских мастеров-фортификаторов и знакомства белорусской знати с достижениями западноевропейской оборонной теории.This article studies the architectural peculiarities of the castle complexes that emerged in the Middle Ages in Belarus. It describes the common and individual architectural features of these feudal castles, outlining the extent of the cultural influence of Western European architectural traditions (for instance, the borrowing of Polish techniques of castle construction as well as those of the Teutonic Order). It is established that, on the one hand, the architecture of Belarusian defensive castle complexes of the 14th–17th centuries was traditionally based on construction principles introduced by European medieval culture. However, on the other hand, such architecture is characterised by different local technologies used when building the inner parts of towers and the use of three-layer masonry. While they are characterised by a coherent spatial approach, some towers of a number of Belarusian castles have their own architectural peculiarities: their lower tetrahedral part becomes an octahedron closer to the top of the tower at different heights, and there is a slight narrowing of this part compared to the base. An analysis of the architectural techniques of medieval monuments demonstrates that there are a variety of plastered decorative niches and ornamental belts on the facades of the castles, reflecting traditional masonry techniques in local architecture. The national Belarusian art of fortification construction was enriched by a more advanced Western European defensive system, i.e. stone keeps used for residential purposes. Owing to the building experience and the cultural and historical traditions of fortification construction of European knights, the Belarusian region learnt about a new type of a Western European castle borrowed in the 12th century from ancient Roman and Byzantine military architecture. Local masters of the regions of Greater Poland and the lands of the Teutonic Order started employing the new composition of castles in the 14th and 15th centuries. During the 16th and 17th centuries, the aforementioned type of castles was further developed in Belarus thanks to the new military achievements of French and Italian fortifiers and the introduction of the Belarusian nobility to advances in Western European defensive theory

Generation of Glucose-Responsive Functional Islets with a Three-Dimensional Structure from Mouse Fetal Pancreatic Cells and iPS Cells In Vitro

Islets of Langerhans are a pancreatic endocrine compartment consisting of insulin-producing β cells together with several other hormone-producing cells. While some insulin-producing cells or immature pancreatic cells have been generated in vitro from ES and iPS cells, islets with proper functions and a three-dimensional (3D) structure have never been successfully produced. To test whether islets can be formed in vitro, we first examined the potential of mouse fetal pancreatic cells. We found that E16.5 pancreatic cells, just before forming islets, were able to develop cell aggregates consisting of β cells surrounded by glucagon-producing α cells, a structure similar to murine adult islets. Moreover, the transplantation of these cells improved blood glucose levels in hyperglycemic mice. These results indicate that functional islets are formed in vitro from fetal pancreatic cells at a specific developmental stage. By adopting these culture conditions to the differentiation of mouse iPS cells, we developed a two-step system to generate islets, i.e. immature pancreatic cells were first produced from iPS cells, and then transferred to culture conditions that allowed the formation of islets from fetal pancreatic cells. The islets exhibited distinct 3D structural features similar to adult pancreatic islets and secreted insulin in response to glucose concentrations. Transplantation of the islets improved blood glucose levels in hyperglycemic mice. In conclusion, the two-step culture system allows the generation of functional islets with a 3D structure from iPS cells

Islet Formation during the Neonatal Development in Mice

The islet of Langerhans is a unique micro-organ within the exocrine pancreas, which is composed of insulin-secreting beta-cells, glucagon-secreting alpha-cells, somatostatin-secreting delta-cells, pancreatic polypeptide-secreting PP cells and ghrelin-secreting epsilon-cells. Islets also contain non-endocrine cell types such as endothelial cells. However, the mechanism(s) of islet formation is poorly understood due to technical difficulties in capturing this dynamic event in situ. We have developed a method to monitor beta-cell proliferation and islet formation in the intact pancreas using transgenic mice in which the beta-cells are specifically tagged with a fluorescent protein. Endocrine cells proliferate contiguously, forming branched cord-like structures in both embryos and neonates. Our study has revealed long stretches of interconnected islets located along large blood vessels in the neonatal pancreas. Alpha-cells span the elongated islet-like structures, which we hypothesize represent sites of fission and facilitate the eventual formation of discrete islets. We propose that islet formation occurs by a process of fission following contiguous endocrine cell proliferation, rather than by local aggregation or fusion of isolated beta-cells and islets. Mathematical modeling of the fission process in the neonatal islet formation is also presented

Incretin Receptor Null Mice Reveal Key Role of GLP-1 but Not GIP in Pancreatic Beta Cell Adaptation to Pregnancy

Islet adaptations to pregnancy were explored in C57BL6/J mice lacking functional receptors for glucagon-like peptide 1 (GLP-1) and gastric inhibitory polypeptide (GIP). Pregnant wild type mice and GIPRKO mice exhibited marked increases in islet and beta cell area, numbers of medium/large sized islets, with positive effects on Ki67/Tunel ratio favouring beta cell growth and enhanced pancreatic insulin content. Alpha cell area and glucagon content were unchanged but prohormone convertases PC2 and PC1/3 together with significant amounts of GLP-1 and GIP were detected in alpha cells. Knockout of GLP-1R abolished these islet adaptations and paradoxically decreased pancreatic insulin, GLP-1 and GIP. This was associated with abolition of normal pregnancy-induced increases in plasma GIP, L-cell numbers, and intestinal GIP and GLP-1 stores. These data indicate that GLP-1 but not GIP is a key mediator of beta cell mass expansion and related adaptations in pregnancy, triggered in part by generation of intra-islet GLP-1

Narrative approach to understand people's comprehension of acquaintance rape: The role of Sex Role Stereotyping

One of the most unreported crimes is acquaintance rape. This may be the result of people's understanding of what rape is because of their rape script and their stereotypes of victim characteristics. These judgements may be moderated by sex role stereotyping (SRS). We utilised a narrative approach to understand low and high SRS participants' rape scripts. Young-adult participants described what they believed a typical rape was, followed by describing an acquaintance rape and then what they believed the stereotypical victim of each crime would be. A narrative analysis was conducted on the data. We found that the blitz script is still held by 44% of low SRS and 47% of high SRS people despite 90% of rapes being committed by an acquaintance. While acquaintance rape scripts existed, the emotional imagery and content of these depended on participants level of SRS. Stereotypical victim characteristics also depended on SRS: those with high SRS were more likely to endorse rape myth ideals in describing victims than those with low SRS. These results have implications for educating people about what rape is so that victims might feel more confident in reporting rape