Epistolary Mechanism and Unreliable Narrator in Novel by V. V. Nabokov “Once in Aleppo…”

The cases of V. V. Nabokov’s appeal to the epistolary mechanism are considered. It turns out that the epistolary genre, as well as V. V. Nabokov’s metanarrative reflection create a dual context around the narrator, who mixes with the character. In particular, the prospect of interpreting the epistolary text is assessed, taking into account the concept of an unreliable narrator on the example of V. V. Nabokov’s 1943 short story. It is suggested that a participant in literary correspondence can be classified as an unreliable narrator, especially if his narration fluctuates between an inadequate assessment of reality and illusion. It is noted that imaginary events, which are evidence of madness, speak of the stress that the narrator invented by V. V. Nabokov is experiencing during the Second World War and the moment of flight from France from the Nazi Wehrmacht. It is emphasized that the demonstrative narrative complexity makes the aesthetic experience richer and more diverse when reading an already structurally complex postmodern text. It is pointed out that the epistolary examples from the corpus of V. V. Nabokov’s prose are placed in the general context of the development of the literary letters genre in the first half of the 20th century

Epistolary Short Story by M.A. Kuzmina 1907: Demonological Narrative, Libertine Transgression, or Stylization of Adventures in Spirit of Henri de Regnier

The epistolary short story by M.A. Kuzmin 1907 “From the letters of the maiden Clara Valmont to Rosalia Tutel Mayer”. The “layers” of genres and traditions in the text of the novel are studied in order to establish the compatibility of the epistolary genre with narrative strategies of stylization and parody. It turns out that under the narration about the connection of a supernatural being with a person lies the usual story of manipulation and deception of a young ingenuous girl. Nevertheless, the epistolary form helps to more accurately construct the female image. It is noted that the comic effect arises as a result of doubts that appear about the version of events set forth in the letters of the heroine. It is shown that additional attention to poetic autoquotation in the epistolary short story by M.A. Kuzmin opens up the possibility of clarifying the source, which could be chosen for stylization and parody. In addition, it becomes clear that, contrary to the genre epistolary canon, which brings to the fore the inner world of the characters, the novel M.A. Kuzmin contains elements of the adventure novel genre. It is also suggested that the stylization strategy of M.A. Kuzmin can be compared with the imitative narrative of A. de Regnier, which was admired by Russian symbolists

Innovative Artistic Strategies in Epistolary Fragments of Daniil Kharms (Linguistic Semiotic Aspect)

The question of the evolution of epistolary prose is considered on the example of fragments of D.I. Kharms. Attention is paid to communication aspects using a linguo-semiotic approach. The results of the analysis of the epistolary passage of 1933 in comparison with other samples of imitative literary letters are presented. The question is raised about the similarity of the perception of the absurdity of D.I. Kharms and the absurdity in the Gogol tradition. The author, in particular, dwells on the theme of marriage and fairy tale elements in D.I. Kharms and N.V. Gogol. The emphasis is on the fact that D.I. Kharms demonstrated the failure of communication, including epistolary communication, while perceiving the surrounding world as absurd. To study an untitled epistolary fragment, among other things, a technique is used that fixes violations of the postulates of normal communication, which was proposed by O.G. Revzina and I. I. Revzin. As a result, it turns out that the artistic means of repetition used by D.I. Kharms violates both the postulate of the information content of normal communication and the postulate of the incompleteness of the description, which makes an effective epistolary dialogue impossible. The method of multiple repetition casts doubts on the effectiveness of the postulate of semantic coherence

Blinking statistics of a molecular beacon triggered by end-denaturation of DNA

We use a master equation approach based on the Poland-Scheraga free energy for DNA denaturation to investigate the (un)zipping dynamics of a denaturation wedge in a stretch of DNA, that is clamped at one end. In particular, we quantify the blinking dynamics of a fluorophore-quencher pair mounted within the denaturation wedge. We also study the behavioural changes in the presence of proteins, that selectively bind to single-stranded DNA. We show that such a setup could be well-suited as an easy-to-implement nanodevice for sensing environmental conditions in small volumes.Comment: 14 pages, 5 figures, LaTeX, IOP style. Accepted to J Phys Cond Mat special issue on diffusio

Use of Levosimendan in Cardiac Anesthesiology

The authors consider the main aspects of the rational use of the novel inotropic drug levosimendan in cardiosurgical patients on the basis of the results of the trials described in the literature and on their own findings in this review. The purpose of the analysis made was to provide a rationale for the effective use of this drug. The review shows the role of the ultrasound indicator left ventricular ejection fraction, the prognostic scale EuroSCORE, and the natriuretic peptides NT-proBNP and BNP in defining indications for levosimendan administration for preoperative preparation. There are original data on the lower level of the natriuretic peptides due to levosimendan therapy. The target hemodynamic monitoring values indicating that it is essential to use levosimendan in postperfusion heart failure are discussed. It is shown that it is expedient to use levosimendan simultaneously with traditional medical measures, by taking into account the pharmacokinetic features of a calcium sensitizer. The problem of levosimendan readministration in patients operated on the heart as well is stated. That there are no clear algorithms for repeated use of the drug is shown. At the same time, possible options of this therapy in different clinical situations are given. Key words: levosimendan, cardiosurgery, heart failure

Weak selection and stability of localized distributions in Ostwald ripening

We support and generalize a weak selection rule predicted recently for the self-similar asymptotics of the distribution function (DF) in the zero-volume-fraction limit of Ostwald ripening (OR). An asymptotic perturbation theory is developed that, when combined with an exact invariance property of the system, yields the selection rule, predicts a power-law convergence towards the selected self-similar DF and agrees well with our numerical simulations for the interface- and diffusion-controlled OR.Comment: 4 pages, 2 figures, submitted to PR

Bubble dynamics in DNA

The formation of local denaturation zones (bubbles) in double-stranded DNA is an important example for conformational changes of biological macromolecules. We study the dynamics of bubble formation in terms of a Fokker-Planck equation for the probability density to find a bubble of size n base pairs at time t, on the basis of the free energy in the Poland-Scheraga model. Characteristic bubble closing and opening times can be determined from the corresponding first passage time problem, and are sensitive to the specific parameters entering the model. A multistate unzipping model with constant rates recently applied to DNA breathing dynamics [G. Altan-Bonnet et al, Phys. Rev. Lett. 90, 138101 (2003)] emerges as a limiting case.Comment: 9 pages, 2 figure

Decay of isolated surface features driven by the Gibbs-Thomson effect in analytic model and simulation

A theory based on the thermodynamic Gibbs-Thomson relation is presented which provides the framework for understanding the time evolution of isolated nanoscale features (i.e., islands and pits) on surfaces. Two limiting cases are predicted, in which either diffusion or interface transfer is the limiting process. These cases correspond to similar regimes considered in previous works addressing the Ostwald ripening of ensembles of features. A third possible limiting case is noted for the special geometry of "stacked" islands. In these limiting cases, isolated features are predicted to decay in size with a power law scaling in time: A is proportional to (t0-t)^n, where A is the area of the feature, t0 is the time at which the feature disappears, and n=2/3 or 1. The constant of proportionality is related to parameters describing both the kinetic and equilibrium properties of the surface. A continuous time Monte Carlo simulation is used to test the application of this theory to generic surfaces with atomic scale features. A new method is described to obtain macroscopic kinetic parameters describing interfaces in such simulations. Simulation and analytic theory are compared directly, using measurements of the simulation to determine the constants of the analytic theory. Agreement between the two is very good over a range of surface parameters, suggesting that the analytic theory properly captures the necessary physics. It is anticipated that the simulation will be useful in modeling complex surface geometries often seen in experiments on physical surfaces, for which application of the analytic model is not straightforward.Comment: RevTeX (with .bbl file), 25 pages, 7 figures from 9 Postscript files embedded using epsf. Submitted to Phys. Rev. B A few minor changes made on 9/24/9

A Practical, Accurate, Information Criterion for Nth Order Markov Processes

The recent increase in the breath of computational methodologies has been matched with a corresponding increase in the difficulty of comparing the relative explanatory power of models from different methodological lineages. In order to help address this problem a Markovian information criterion (MIC) is developed that is analogous to the Akaike information criterion (AIC) in its theoretical derivation and yet can be applied to any model able to generate simulated or predicted data, regardless of its methodology. Both the AIC and proposed MIC rely on the Kullback–Leibler (KL) distance between model predictions and real data as a measure of prediction accuracy. Instead of using the maximum likelihood approach like the AIC, the proposed MIC relies instead on the literal interpretation of the KL distance as the inefficiency of compressing real data using modelled probabilities, and therefore uses the output of a universal compression algorithm to obtain an estimate of the KL distance. Several Monte Carlo tests are carried out in order to (a) confirm the performance of the algorithm and (b) evaluate the ability of the MIC to identify the true data-generating process from a set of alternative models

MicroRNAs targeting oncogenes are down-regulated in pancreatic malignant transformation from benign tumors

BACKGROUND MicroRNA (miRNA) expression profiles have been described in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC), but these have not been compared with pre-malignant pancreatic tumors. We wished to compare the miRNA expression signatures in pancreatic benign cystic tumors (BCT) of low and high malignant potential with PDAC, in order to identify miRNAs deregulated during PDAC development. The mechanistic consequences of miRNA dysregulation were further evaluated. METHODS Tissue samples were obtained at a tertiary pancreatic unit from individuals with BCT and PDAC. MiRNA profiling was performed using a custom microarray and results were validated using RT-qPCR prior to evaluation of miRNA targets. RESULTS Widespread miRNA down-regulation was observed in PDAC compared to low malignant potential BCT. We show that amongst those miRNAs down-regulated, miR-16, miR-126 and let-7d regulate known PDAC oncogenes (targeting BCL2, CRK and KRAS respectively). Notably, miR-126 also directly targets the KRAS transcript at a "seedless" binding site within its 3'UTR. In clinical specimens, miR-126 was strongly down-regulated in PDAC tissues, with an associated elevation in KRAS and CRK proteins. Furthermore, miR-21, a known oncogenic miRNA in pancreatic and other cancers, was not elevated in PDAC compared to serous microcystic adenoma (SMCA), but in both groups it was up-regulated compared to normal pancreas, implicating early up-regulation during malignant change. CONCLUSIONS Expression profiling revealed 21 miRNAs down-regulated in PDAC compared to SMCA, the most benign lesion that rarely progresses to invasive carcinoma. It appears that miR-21 up-regulation is an early event in the transformation from normal pancreatic tissue. MiRNA expression has the potential to distinguish PDAC from normal pancreas and BCT. Mechanistically the down-regulation of miR-16, miR-126 and let-7d promotes PDAC transformation by post-transcriptional up-regulation of crucial PDAC oncogenes. We show that miR-126 is able to directly target KRAS; re-expression has the potential as a therapeutic strategy against PDAC and other KRAS-driven cancers