S’éduquer à part pour mieux s’intégrer ?Les communes pédagogiques en Ukraine soviétique (1920-1924)

Les enjeux éducatifs des années 1920 en URSS étaient d’une ampleur rarement égalée : après sept ans de guerre, de révolution, de guerre civile et de famine (1914-1921), il fallait réinsérer des centaines de milliers de jeunes vivant en marge d’une société elle-même déstructurée et à la recherche de repères. Si le travail d’Anton Makarenko dans ce domaine est assez bien connu, on ignore souvent bien d’autres expériences, menées au confluent de la pédagogie progressiste et du socialisme utopique. Cet article se propose de suivre le destin pédagogique d’une utopie, la commune, dans l’Ukraine soviétique d’avant Staline, du rêve d’une collectivité s’éduquant elle-même, à l’adaptation des théoriciens et praticiens aux difficultés matérielles et à l’inertie de la société.Separate education as a means to better integration ? Educational communes in Soviet Ukraine (1920-1924)    Educational issues were a particularly big problem in the 1920’s in USSR : after seven years of war, revolution, civil war and starvation (1914-1921), millions of youngsters were living on the margins of a society, which was itself trying to radically change its organization and values. In this concern, although Anton Makarenko’s work is fairly well known, many other experiments, inspired both by progressive pedagogy and utopian socialism, are still ignored. This article deals with the destiny of one pedagogical utopia, the commune, in pre-Stalin soviet Ukraine. The dream of a community teaching itself was to be adapted by thinkers and practitioners to the reality of poverty and of social inertia

From Militants to Secret Agents: Ukrainian Communists under General Denikin

The article was submitted on 11.06.2020.Во время Гражданской войны Коммунистической партии и ее активистам приходилось постоянно приспосабливаться к быстро меняющимся обстоятельствам. Целью настоящей статьи является изучение их реакции на захват власти Деникиным на Украине в 1919 г. Речь идет о 800 активистах, которые были отправлены в тыл врага с июля по ноябрь 1919 г. На основе архивных материалов специальных органов (Зафронтбюро, Военотдела, Отдела связи), созданных при ЦК КП(б) Украины, изучается вопрос о том, как отбирались кандидаты в подпольщики и каким образом организовывались миссии в стане врага. Статья описывает сами миссии, трудности и риски, с которыми сталкивались активисты, оказавшись на контролируемой Деникиным территории, их мнения о своей задаче, а также то, какую пользу из их действий извлекали большевики. Все вышеизложенное позволяет понять, что делало Гражданскую войну подлинным «формирующим опытом» (по словам Шейлы Фицпатрик) для коммунистов, определяющим их мировоззрение и поведение.During the Civil War, the Communist Party and its activists had to constantly adapt to ever-changing situations. This paper aims to study their reaction in Ukraine in 1919 after Denikin took control of the country. It will focus on the 800 activists sent behind enemy lines from July to November 1919. Using the paperwork of special bodies created by the Central Committee (CC) of the Communist Party (Bolshevik) of Ukraine (CP(b)U) to tackle this task (Zafrontbyuro – rearguard bureau; Voenotdel – military department; Otdel Svjazi – communications department), the article will first question the way underground activists were selected. Second, it will highlight how missions behind enemy lines were designed and organized. Third, it will consider the missions themselves and the hardships endured once activists reached Denikin-controlled territory. Fourth, one has to wonder what activists tried to do, questioning what they thought about their dangerous job and what their missions effectively brought to the Bolsheviks. This will help us understand how the Civil War was indeed a “formative experience” (in Sheila Fitzpatrick’s words) for the communists, shaping their worldview and behavior

Post-trauma scoliosis after conservative treatment of thoracolumbar spinal fracture in children and adolescents: results in 48 patients.

PURPOSE: Authors examined a case series of patients younger than 18 years old who had sustained a traumatic thoracolumbar spine fracture to evaluate radiological and clinical findings of coronal spinal balance, after conservative treatment. METHODS: From 1996 to 2014, a tricentric cohort of 48 patients with an average age of 12 years was radiographically reviewed at 50 months. Cobb angle of fractured vertebra and regional Cobb angle were measured both at baseline and follow-up. Analyses were done according to initial Risser grade, number of fractures and level of injury. RESULTS: There was a total of 11 scoliosis. In group with Risser grade 3 or above, with a single vertebral fracture and lumbar fracture, final regional Cobb angle was statistically higher than initial regional Cobb angle. CONCLUSIONS: The prevalence of scoliosis in our population is higher than those of idiopathic scoliosis; Risser grade 3 or above, lumbar fracture and a single fracture seem to account for more severe coronal deformatio

Fatty acid synthase is a metabolic marker of cell proliferation rather than malignancy in ovarian cancer and its precursor cells

Ovarian cancer (OC) is caused by genetic aberrations in networks that control growth and survival. Importantly, aberrant cancer metabolism interacts with oncogenic signaling providing additional drug targets. Tumors overexpress the lipogenic enzyme fatty acid synthase (FASN) and are inhibited by FASN blockers, whereas normal cells are FASN-negative and FASN-inhibitor-resistant. Here, we demonstrate that this holds true when ovarian/oviductal cells reside in their autochthonous tissues, whereas in culture they express FASN and are FASN-inhibitor-sensitive. Upon subculture, nonmalignant cells cease growth, express senescence-associated β-galactosidase, lose FASN and become FASN-inhibitor-resistant. Immortalized ovarian/oviductal epithelial cell lines although resisting senescence reveal distinct growth activities, which correlate with FASN levels and FASN drug sensitivities. Accordingly, ectopic FASN stimulates growth in these cells. Moreover, FASN levels and lipogenic activities affect cellular lipid composition as demonstrated by thin-layer chromatography. Correlation between proliferation and FASN levels was finally evaluated in cancer cells such as HOC-7, which contain subclones with variable differentiation/senescence and corresponding FASN expression/FASN drug sensitivity. Interestingly, senescent phenotypes can be induced in parental HOC-7 by differentiating agents. In OC cells, FASN drugs induce cell cycle blockade in S and/or G2/M and stimulate apoptosis, whereas in normal cells they only cause cell cycle deceleration without apoptosis. Thus, normal cells, although growth-inhibited, may survive and recover from FASN blockade, whereas malignant cells get extinguished. FASN expression and FASN drug sensitivity are directly linked to cell growth and correlate with transformation/differentiation/senescence only indirectly. FASN is therefore a metabolic marker of cell proliferation rather than a marker of malignancy and is a useful target for future drug development

Vascular complications of prosthetic inter-vertebral discs

Five consecutive cases of prosthetic inter-vertebral disc displacement with severe vascular complications on revisional surgery are described. The objective of this case report is to warn spinal surgeons that major vascular complications are likely with anterior displacement of inter-vertebral discs. We have not been able to find a previous report on vascular complications associated with anterior displacement of prosthetic inter-vertebral discs. In all five patients the prosthetic disc had eroded into the bifurcation of the inferior vena cava and the left common iliac vein. In three cases the aortic bifurcation was also involved. The fibrosis was so severe that dissecting out the arteries and veins to provide access to the relevant disc proved impossible. Formal division of the left common iliac vein and artery with subsequent repair was our solution. Anterior inter-vertebral disc displacement was associated with severe vascular injury. Preventing anterior disc displacement is essential in disc design. In the event of anterior displacement, disc removal should be planned with a Vascular Surgeon

Genomic aberrations relate early and advanced stage ovarian cancer

Background Because of the distinct clinical presentation of early and advanced stage ovarian cancer, we aim to clarify whether these disease entities are solely separated by time of diagnosis or whether they arise from distinct molecular events. Methods Sixteen early and sixteen advanced stage ovarian carcinomas, matched for histological subtype and differentiation grade, were included. Genomic aberrations were compared for each early and advanced stage ovarian cancer by array comparative genomic hybridization. To study how the aberrations correlate to the clinical characteristics of the tumors we clustered tumors based on the genomic aberrations. Results The genomic aberration patterns in advanced stage cancer equalled those in early stage, but were more frequent in advanced stage (p=0.012). Unsupervised clustering based on genomic aberrations yielded two clusters that significantly discriminated early from advanced stage (p= 0.001), and that did differ significantly in survival (p= 0.002). These clusters however did give a more accurate prognosis than histological subtype or differentiation grade. Conclusion This study indicates that advanced stage ovarian cancer either progresses from early stage or from a common precursor lesion but that they do not arise from distinct carcinogenic molecular events. Furthermore, we show that array comparative genomic hybridization has the potential to identify clinically distinct patients

Conservative treatment of pediatric thoracic and lumbar spinal fractures

To assess sagittal plane spinopelvic balance and functional outcomes in a pediatric cohort of patients with a thoracic and/or a lumbar fracture treated conservatively. A multicentric study retrospectively reviewed radiological and functional outcomes (mean follow-up 49 months) of 48 patients (mean age 12 years) with thoracic and/or lumbar spinal fractures that occurred between 1996 and 2014. Demographic data and radiological spinopelvic parameters were analyzed. Functional outcome was evaluated by a telephone interview. First, a comparison between the initial and the last follow-up full-spine radiographs was performed for the assessment of bone remodeling and sagittal plane balance. Then, patients were classified into two groups (group 1: Risser≤2 and group 2, Risser>2) to assess the influence of skeletal maturity on the restoration of a correct sagittal balance. A total of 62% of the patients were at skeletal maturity at the final follow-up (Risser 4 and 5). Patients with a Risser grade of 2 or less had a higher remodeling potential. The mean residual local kyphosis in thoracic and lumbar fractures was, respectively, 8.2° and 8.7°. The mean thoracic global kyphosis remains stable at the last follow-up, in contrast to lumbar lordosis, which increased significantly. Sagittal plane global measurements on the basis of the C7-plumbline remained unchanged at the last follow-up. There was no change in the pelvic parameters, except for the sacral slope in the group 1 for patients with a lumbar fracture. The current study confirms a greater correction in younger patients (Risser≤2) in spinal fractures and reported that thoracic fractures have a higher remodeling potential than lumbar fracture. A local kyphosis of almost 10° remained at the last follow-up. However, no deterioration in the sagittal plane balance was found. This suggests compensatory mechanisms in adjacent structures for children and adolescents and excludes the only hypothesis of bone remodeling

Conditional Inactivation of Brca1, p53 and Rb in Mouse Ovaries Results in the Development of Leiomyosarcomas

Epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC) is thought to arise in part from the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE); however, the molecular events underlying this transformation are poorly understood. Germline mutations in the BRCA1 tumor suppressor gene result in a significantly increased risk of developing EOC and a large proportion of sporadic EOCs display some sort of BRCA1 dysfunction. To generate a model in which Brca1-mediated transformation can be studied, we previously inactivated Brca1 alone in murine OSE, which resulted in an increased accumulation of premalignant changes, but no tumor formation. In this study, we examined tumor formation in mice with conditionally expressed alleles of Brca1, p53 and Rb, alone or in combination. Intrabursal injection of adenovirus expressing Cre recombinase to inactivate p53 resulted in tumors in 100% of mice. Tumor progression was accelerated in mice with concomitant inactivation of Brca1 and p53, but not Rb and p53. Immunohistologic analyses classified the tumors as leiomyosarcomas that may be arising from the ovarian bursa. Brca1 inactivation in primary cultures of murine OSE cells led to a suppression of proliferation that could be rescued by concomitant inactivation of p53 and/or Rb. Brca1-deficient OSE cells displayed an increased sensitivity to the DNA damaging agent cisplatin, and this effect could be modulated by inactivation of p53 and/or Rb. These results indicate that Brca1 deficiency can accelerate tumor development and alter the sensitivity of OSE cells to chemotherapeutic agents. Intrabursal delivery of adenovirus intended to alter gene expression in the ovarian surface epithelium may, in some strains of mice, result in more rapid transformation of adjacent cells, resulting in leiomyosarcomas