Folklorism of the Contemporary Youth’s Creative Work

Since the second half of the 20th century, there has been an increased interest in traditional forms of culture, which is probably associated with an increase in the national self-awareness of the peoples of the Russian Federation. Based on this, the authors considered the features of the use of the folklore heritage of Russian creative youth. The authors have studied the creative works of 24 young writers aged from 25 to 35. In particular, they have studied the types of folklorism in their creative works, provided the general estimate of the productivity and significance of the youth’s experience of using the folkloric heritage in the modern literary process and generally in culture. The paper is defining the phenomena of the youth culture in the early decades of the 21st century (fiction, CG). The authors have made a conclusion on the diversity of the youth’s creative works’ connection with the folkloric samples: the construction of the social-ethnographic reality, the field of the characters’ identity, a new ‘cosmos’, creation of the individual universes as well as the literary version of folkloric fairytale on their basis. We have also noted the tendency towards the use of the Russian folkloric characters with the purpose of giving them some universal traits of the characters of the popular computer games. The authors found that the fabulous texts are used by young authors in both the genre category and one of the ways to create on their basis new texts, various types of aesthetic experiments and games

Fairy tale traditions in amateur and professional young writers’ creativity

The turn of the 21st century has seen Russian writers’ increased interest in the genre of fairy tale. This paper discusses young Russian writers’ approaches to fairy tale traditions in texts of their own. The subjects of the study consisted of the Debut Prize winners and the so-called amateur writers (fans of Tolkien’s and Rowling’s books, and gamers) and their literary works. The study is aimed at establishing main trends in usage of folklore traditions in the first two decades of the 21st century; the paper is also concerned with examining similarities and differences between two generations of modern Russian writers in the matter of their approaches to classical heritage. To compare fairy tale texts, Vladimir Propp’s narrative model has been applied. One of the central claims of the study is that young authors tend to emulate literary samples by prominent contemporary Russian writers (mostly by Lyudmila Petrushevskaya). Thus, an efficient way of creating a contemporary fairy tale by a young author is to immerse its characters into the modern reality that is presented in a variety of its manifestations – from everyday routine to philosophic ideas. The young writers’ texts display such traditional features of literary folklorism as genuine fairy tale plots and motifs, their structural and style models, characters, magical objects, and the artistic device of estrangement

Investigating Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma in vitro and in vivo: Novel 3D Tools and Animal Models

Cutaneous Squamous Cell Carcinoma (cSCC) represents the second most common type of skin cancer, which incidence is continuously increasing worldwide. Given its high frequency, cSCC represents a major public health problem. Therefore, to provide the best patients' care, it is necessary having a detailed understanding of the molecular processes underlying cSCC development, progression, and invasion. Extensive efforts have been made in developing new models allowing to study the molecular pathogenesis of solid tumors, including cSCC tumors. Traditionally, in vitro studies were performed with cells grown in a two-dimensional context, which, however, does not represent the complexity of tumor in vivo. In the recent years, new in vitro models have been developed aiming to mimic the three-dimensionality (3D) of the tumor, allowing the evaluation of tumor cell-cell and tumor-microenvironment interaction in an in vivo-like setting. These models include spheroids, organotypic cultures, skin reconstructs and organoids. Although 3D models demonstrate high potential to enhance the overall knowledge in cancer research, they lack systemic components which may be solved only by using animal models. Zebrafish is emerging as an alternative xenotransplant model in cancer research, offering a high-throughput approach for drug screening and real-time in vivo imaging to study cell invasion. Moreover, several categories of mouse models were developed for pre-clinical purpose, including xeno- and syngeneic transplantation models, autochthonous models of chemically or UV-induced skin squamous carcinogenesis, and genetically engineered mouse models (GEMMs) of cSCC. These models have been instrumental in examining the molecular mechanisms of cSCC and drug response in an in vivo setting. The present review proposes an overview of in vitro, particularly 3D, and in vivo models and their application in cutaneous SCC research

The Assessment of the Educational Potential of the Regional Population of the Russian Federation

CC BY-NC-ND 4.0Aim: This article covers an important subject – the assessment of the educational potential of the regional population of the Russian Federation. This is one of the most fundamental issues in modern society to be considered for the future development of Russia. The authors look at the concept of educational potential, systematize its key indicators, and perform an index analysis of factors that characterize educational activity and the technical, material, and informational basis of education in the Russian regions. Methodology: This article introduces a number of integrated components that characterize educational activities as well as the technical, material, and informational basis of education. A structured list of recommendations is provided for the implementation of multidimensional regional classification, in line with both individual as well as broad indicators covered in the analysis. Results: The regression model is based on an integral indicator that characterizes educational activity and defines the index of educational performance: the share of employed, higher-educated members of the population aged 25–64 years in the total number of economically active people of the same age group. Integral indicators characterizing educational activity and the technical, material, and informational basis of education were used in the benchmark analysis which defined leading and lagging regions in the Russian Federation. Based on these indicators, a multidimensional breakdown structure was developed to distinguish the weaknesses of other regions in relation to the leader. Conclusion: These results may be useful for statisticians and economists for research on the level of informatization of the population and the economy

Phytoplankton light absorption in the deep chlorophyll maximum layer of the Black Sea

© The Author(s), 2019. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Churilova, T., Suslin, V., Sosik, H. M., Efimova, T., Moiseeva, N., Moncheva, S., Mukhanov, V., Rylkova, O., & Krivenko, O. Phytoplankton light absorption in the deep chlorophyll maximum layer of the Black Sea. European Journal of Remote Sensing, 52, (2019): 123-136, doi: 10.1080/22797254.2018.1533389.Bio-optical data, obtained during six cruises in the Black Sea carried out during periods of seasonal stratification in years between 1996 and 2016, have been used to parametrize phytoplankton light absorption (aph(λ)) in the deep chlorophyll maximum (DCM) layer located near the bottom of euphotic zone. Relationships between aph(λ) and the sum of chlorophyll-a and phaeopigment concentrations (Chl-a) differed from those for the summertime upper mixed layer (UML). Notably, chlorophyll a specific absorption coefficients (a∗ph(λ)) were lower in the DCM and more comparable with a∗ph(λ) values typical for winter phytoplankton in the Black Sea. The aph(λ) spectral shapes in the DCM differed markedly from those in winter and in the summer UML, due to a shoulder at ~490 nm and a local maximum at ~550 nm corresponding to the absorption bands of phycourobilin and phycoerythrobilin. Light absorbing properties of phytoplankton in the DCM (amplitude and spectral shape of a∗ph(λ)) reflected physiological acclimation to local conditions on the cellular level and population shifts leading to changes in the biomass-dominant species, with Synechococcus spp. domination in the DCM. The parameterization of phytoplankton absorption in the DCM will enable refined spectral models of the downwelling radiance and primary production in the Black Sea.RAS funded this research [grant numbers АААА-А18-118020890112-1, АААА-А18-118020790229-7 and АААА-18-118012690119-7]. This work was partly supported by the Russian Foundation for Basic Research, projects [numbers 17-05-00113 and 18-45-920070]

Vaccination with early ferroptotic cancer cells induces efficient antitumor immunity

Background: Immunotherapy represents the future of clinical cancer treatment. The type of cancer cell death determines the antitumor immune response and thereby contributes to the efficacy of anticancer therapy and long-term survival of patients. Induction of immunogenic apoptosis or necroptosis in cancer cells does activate antitumor immunity, but resistance to these cell death modalities is common. Therefore, it is of great importance to find other ways to kill tumor cells. Recently, ferroptosis has been identified as a novel, iron-dependent form of regulated cell death but whether ferroptotic cancer cells are immunogenic is unknown. Methods: Ferroptotic cell death in murine fibrosarcoma MCA205 or glioma GL261 cells was induced by RAS-selective lethal 3 and ferroptosis was analyzed by flow cytometry, atomic force and confocal microscopy. ATP and high-mobility group box 1 (HMGB1) release were detected by luminescence and ELISA assays, respectively. Immunogenicity in vitro was analyzed by coculturing of ferroptotic cancer cells with bone-marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) and rate of phagocytosis and activation/maturation of BMDCs (CD11c(+)CD86(+), CD11c(+)CD40(+), CD11c(+)MHCII(+), IL-6, RNAseq analysis). The tumor prophylactic vaccination model in immune-competent and immune compromised (Rag-2(-/-)) mice was used to analyze ferroptosis immunogenicity. Results: Ferroptosis can be induced in cancer cells by inhibition of glutathione peroxidase 4, as evidenced by confocal and atomic force microscopy and inhibitors' analysis. We demonstrate for the first time that ferroptosis is immunogenic in vitro and in vivo. Early, but not late, ferroptotic cells promote the phenotypic maturation of BMDCs and elicit a vaccination-like effect in immune-competent mice but not in Rag-2(-/-) mice, suggesting that the mechanism of immunogenicity is very tightly regulated by the adaptive immune system and is time dependent. Also, ATP and HMGB1, the best-characterized damage-associated molecular patterns involved in immunogenic cell death, have proven to be passively released along the timeline of ferroptosis and act as immunogenic signal associated with the immunogenicity of early ferroptotic cancer cells. Conclusions: These results pave the way for the development of new therapeutic strategies for cancers based on induction of ferroptosis, and thus broadens the current concept of immunogenic cell death and opens the door for the development of new strategies in cancer immunotherapy

Immunogenic cell death induced by a new photodynamic therapy based on photosens and photodithazine

Background: Anti-cancer therapy is more successful when it can also induce an immunogenic form of cancer cell death (ICD). Therefore, when developing new treatment strategies, it is extremely important to choose methods that induce ICD and thereby activate anti-tumor immune response leading to the most effective destruction of tumor cells. The aim of this work was to analyze whether the clinically widely used photosensitizers, photosens (PS) and photodithazine (PD), can induce ICD when used in photodynamic therapy (PDT). Methods: Cell death in murine glioma GL261 or fibrosarcoma MCA205 cells was induced by PS- or PD-PDT and cell death was analyzed by MTT or flow cytometry. Intracellular distribution of PS and PD was studied by using the laser scanning microscope. Calreticulin exposure and HMGB1 and ATP release were detected by flow cytometry, ELISA and luminescence assay, respectively. Immunogenicity in vitro was analyzed by co-culturing of dying cancer cells with bone-marrow derived dendritic cells (BMDCs) and rate of phagocytosis and maturation (CD11c(+)CD86(+), CD11c(+)CD40(+)) of BMDCs and production of IL-6 in the supernatant were measured. In vivo immunogenicity was analyzed in mouse tumor prophylactic vaccination model. Results: We determined the optimal concentrations of the photosensitizers and found that at a light dose of 20 J/cm(2) (lambda ex 615-635 nm) both PS and PD efficiently induced cell death in glioma GL261 and fibrosarcoma MCA205 cells. We demonstrate that PS localized predominantly in the lysosomes and that the cell death induced by PS-PDT was inhibited by zVAD-fmk (apoptosis inhibitor) and by ferrostatin-1 and DFO (ferroptosis inhibitors), but not by the necroptosis inhibitor necrostatin-1 s. By contrast, PD accumulated in the endoplasmic reticulum and Golgi apparatus, and the cell death induced by PD-PDT was inhibited only by z-VAD-fmk. Dying cancer cells induced by PS-PDT or PD-PDT emit calreticulin, HMGB1 and ATP and they were efficiently engulfed by BMDCs, which then matured, became activated and produced IL-6. Using dying cancer cells induced by PS-PDT or PD-PDT, we demonstrate the efficient vaccination potential of ICD in vivo. Conclusions: Altogether, these results identify PS and PD as novel ICD inducers that could be effectively combined with PDT in cancer therapy

CX3CL1 release during immunogenic apoptosis is associated with enhanced anti-tumour immunity

IntroductionImmunogenic cell death (ICD) has emerged as a novel option for cancer immunotherapy. The key determinants of ICD encompass antigenicity (the presence of antigens) and adjuvanticity, which involves the release of damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs) and various cytokines and chemokines. CX3CL1, also known as neurotactin or fractalkine, is a chemokine involved in cellular signalling and immune cell interactions. CX3CL1 has been denoted as a “find me” signal that stimulates chemotaxis of immune cells towards dying cells, facilitating efferocytosis and antigen presentation. However, in the context of ICD, it is uncertain whether CX3CL1 is an important mediator of the effects of ICD.MethodsIn this study, we investigated the intricate role of CX3CL1 in immunogenic apoptosis induced by mitoxantrone (MTX) in cancer cells. The Luminex xMAP technology was used to quantify murine cytokines, chemokines and growth factors to identify pivotal regulatory cytokines released by murine fibrosarcoma MCA205 and melanoma B16-F10 cells undergoing ICD. Moreover, a murine tumour prophylactic vaccination model was employed to analyse the effect of CX3CL1 on the activation of an adaptive immune response against MCA205 cells undergoing ICD. Furthermore, thorough analysis of the TCGA-SKCM public dataset from 98 melanoma patients revealed the role of CX3CL1 and its receptor CX3CR1 in melanoma patients.ResultsOur findings demonstrate enhanced CX3CL1 release from apoptotic MCA205 and B16-F10 cells (regardless of the cell type) but not if they are undergoing ferroptosis or accidental necrosis. Moreover, the addition of recombinant CX3CL1 to non-immunogenic doses of MTX-treated, apoptotically dying cancer cells in the murine prophylactic tumour vaccination model induced a robust immunogenic response, effectively increasing the survival of the mice. Furthermore, analysis of melanoma patient data revealed enhanced survival rates in individuals exhibiting elevated levels of CD8+ T cells expressing CX3CR1.ConclusionThese data collectively underscore the importance of the release of CX3CL1 in eliciting an immunogenic response against dying cancer cells and suggest that CX3CL1 may serve as a key switch in conferring immunogenicity to apoptosis