Algunos ejemplos de Realpolitik en las fuentes griegas

Se comentan algunos ejemplos de textos legales que muestran un enfoque decididamente realista, inspirado por un principio de racionalismo práctico y una total autonomía en la aplicación de la inteligencia humana a la previsión y resolución de los problemas de la vida en comunidad. Los testimonios analizados primero, son epigráficos: una arcaica inscripción de Quíos (VII-VI), cuya mención de una µïùìc äèíïóÝè indujo a considerarla un temprano ejemplo de constitución democrática, y los códigos legales, en forma de Imprecaciones Públicas, recogidos en dos inscripciones procedentes de Teos (490-470). Finalmente se insiste en el paralelismo de estos testimonios directos con un texto literario, la Ciropedia de Jenofonte.Using some fragments of archaic legal texts, and of Xenophon's Cyropaedia, we show the dominant role, within the Ancient Greek World, of a principle of practical rationality to deal with the problems arising from life of the human communities. A principle relying upon a full authonomy of the human mind. The fragments belong to a Chios' inscription (VII-VI), usually seen as an early remain of a democratic constitution because of its mentioning of a µïùìc äèíïóÝè, and to the law codes on two inscriptions from Teos (490-470), written in the form of public imprecations. An akin method is suggested for the political strategies shown by the literary hero of Xenophon's Cyropaedia

Busulphan is active against neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma xenografts in athymic mice at clinically achievable plasma drug concentrations

High-dose busulphan-containing chemotherapy regimens have shown high response rates in children with relapsed or refractory neuroblastoma, Ewing's sarcoma and medulloblastoma. However, the anti-tumour activity of busulfan as a single agent remains to be defined, and this was evaluated in athymic mice bearing advanced stage subcutaneous paediatric solid tumour xenografts. Because busulphan is highly insoluble in water, the use of several vehicles for enteral and parenteral administration was first investigated in terms of pharmacokinetics and toxicity. The highest bioavailability was obtained with busulphan in DMSO administered i.p. When busulphan was suspended in carboxymethylcellulose and given orally or i.p., the bioavailability was poor. Then, in the therapeutic experiments, busulphan in DMSO was administered i.p. on days 0 and 4. At the maximum tolerated total dose (50 mg kg−1), busulphan induced a significant tumour growth delay, ranging from 12 to 34 days in the three neuroblastomas evaluated and in one out of three medulloblastomas. At a dose level above the maximum tolerated dose, busulphan induced complete and partial tumour regressions. Busulphan was inactive in a peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumour (PNET) xenograft. When busulphan pharmacokinetics in mice and humans were considered, the estimated systemic exposure at the therapeutically active dose in mice (113 μg h ml−1) was close to the mean total systemic exposure in children receiving high-dose busulphan (102.4 μg h ml−1). In conclusion, busulphan displayed a significant anti-tumour activity in neuroblastoma and medulloblastoma xenografts at plasma drug concentrations which can be achieved clinically in children receiving high-dose busulphan-containing regimens. 1999 Cancer Research Campaig

Donor-specific transplantation tolerance: The paradoxical behavior of CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells

To investigate the antigen specificity of regulatory T cells capable of preventing transplant rejection, we have developed two different strategies to achieve tolerance to fully mismatched skin grafts in euthymic mice. A combination of nondepleting Abs targeting CD4, CD8, and CD154 (CD40 ligand) induces dominant transplantation tolerance to fully mismatched skin allografts. Such tolerance is antigen-specific, mediated by regulatory T cells, and can be extended through linked suppression to naïve lymphocytes. The same protocol, when combined with allogeneic bone marrow, enables the development of mixed hematopoietic chimerism and deletional tolerance. Although we cannot exclude that some regulatory T cells may persist in chimeric mice, these cells are insufficient to mediate linked suppression. CD4(+)CD25(+) T cells, whether taken from naïve mice or from mice tolerized through either treatment protocol, were always able to prevent rejection of skin grafts by naïve CD4(+) T cells, and did so with no demonstrable specificity for the tolerizing donor antigens. Such data question whether CD4(+)CD25(+) regulatory T cells alone can account for the antigen specificity of dominant transplantation tolerance