Relacions literàries entre Bulgària i Catalunya

Després d'una breu nota històrica i de l'observació de les escasses oportunitats d'aprendre el català a Bulgària i el búlgar a Catalunya, aquest article fa un repàs exhaustiu de les relativament nombroses obres literàries catalanes traduïdes al búlgar des de 1968 fins a l'actualitat i de les relativament poques obres literàries búlgares traduïdes al català, amb l'esperança expressa que l'adhesió de Bulgària a la Unió Europea permeti millorar la relació entre totes dues llengües en un futur immediat.After a brief historical note and the observation of the scant possibilities to learn Catalan in Bulgaria and Bulgarian in Catalonia, this paper thoroughly reviews the relatively numerous Catalan literary works translated into Bulgarian and the relatively few Bulgarian literary works translated into Catalan, in the explicit hope that Bulgaria's accession to the EU improves the relationship between both languages in the near future

FORM FOLLOWS VALUES. Explaining Embassy Architecture

What influences the embassy architecture as expression of political values? For a cross-section of fifteen countries, the author performs linear regression analysis for fifty one embassies from 15 countries in 30 host countries. The measurements for the political values, reflected in embassies, were derived from a specially designed and conducted survey, for which 138 respondents from 14 countries rated buildings on the four political values of tradition, innovation, wealth and security. As explanatory variables, the analysis takes into account the wealth of both countries owning and hosting the respective embassy, domestic politics of the owner country, culture and regionalism. This examination of embassies demonstrates that political values can be measured and thus empirically examined, explained and predicted by different objective factors as well as by cultural affiliations. The major contribution of this study is the empirical support for the designed model for deriving stable measurements of political values. Values expressed in political architecture have the potential to support existing relations, to influence changes in behaviors, processes and activities and even to influence social and political change. The major finding of this study is that the wealth of host country is the single most important predictor of embassy design as reflection of values. Limitations for this study may be considered the use photographs as proxies for embassies, the comparatively small sample size and its Eurocentric focus. Despite these limitations, this study holds promise for a fruitful research agenda for examining first, how and why values change over time; second, how architectural forms support old or influence the occurrence of new and different values and third, if architecture matters, an empirical study of individual perceptions may reveal how architecture is important for different people. While there is substantial scholarship on the politics-architecture nexus, this study compliments this impressive scholarship, demonstrating that values reflected in and through architecture can be examined and measured empirically, and thus predicted by external factors. While values exist throughout all human activity, in architecture they are “frozen” and thus amenable to solid scientific examination because the function of political architecture is politics and the form is value-laden

Correlation between the type of bcr-abl transcripts and blood cell counts in chronic myeloid leukemia – a possible influence of mdr1 gene expression

The impact of BCR-ABL mRNA type (b3a2 vs. b2a2) on chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) phenotype is still a subject of controversies. We searched for a correlation between the BCR-ABL transcripts type and CML patients' characteristics, including MDR1 gene expression. Ninety-eight untreated chronic phase CML patients were studied. The type of BCR-ABL fusion transcripts and MDR1 gene expression were determined by reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction. B3a2 and b2a2 transcripts were found in 53 [54%] and 44 [45%] patients, respectively. One patient co-expressed b3a2/b2a2 and was excluded from analysis. The only difference in the clinical characteristics between the two groups was the platelets count, that was higher in b3a2(+) patients [791.3±441.3×109/L vs. 440.4±283.4×109/L in b2a2(+); P=0.007]. MDR1 over-expression [MDR1(+)] was observed in 48 patients (49.5%), more frequently in older patients >60 years [71% (24/34) vs. 38% (24/63) in younger; P=0.008], and was associated with a lower white blood cells (WBC) count [105.5±79.8× 109/L vs. 143.6±96.5×109/L in MDR1(−) cases; P=0.047]. On performing the analysis only within the MDR1(+) group, the b3a2(+) cases were characterized with a significantly higher platelets count [908.7±470.1×109/L vs. 472.9±356.1×109/L; P=0.006] and a lower WBC count [85.4±61.2×109/L vs. 130±93.9×109/L; P=0.004) compared to b2a2(+) patients. No similar differences were found between b3a2(+) and b2a2(+) groups with normal MDR1 levels. These results indicate that the type of BCR-ABL transcripts correlates with the hematological parameters of CML, however only in the subgroup of patients characterized by MDR1 over-expression

Clofarabine and Adult Acute Myeloid Leukemia

Acute myeloid leukemia (AML) is a clonal, malignant disease of hematopoietic tissues that is characterized by accumulation of abnormal blast cells, principally in the marrow and impaired production of normal blood cells. The unsatisfactory clinical outcomes of AML patients urged the development of new therapy strategies, one of which includes the implementation of new nucleoside analogs. Clofarabine has offered new promising perspectives within induction and consolidation therapies. This chapter will evaluate the efficacy and tolerability of clofarabine as a single agent and in combination therapy, including hematopoietic stem cell transplantation, for AML patients

Chronic eosinophilic leukemia with FIP1L1-PDGFRA transcripts after occupational and therapeutic exposure to radiation

We present for the first time a 40-year-old male patient with a 20 year history of occupational exposure to radiation as a nuclear power plant worker, who developed FIP1L1-PDGFRA-positive chronic eosinophilic leukemia 27 months after radiotherapy for testicular seminoma. After an one-year history of dry cough, itching and night sweats, the patient presented with an elevated leukocyte count with absolute eosinophilia of 14.2×109/L, bone marrow and lymph node involvement. Treatment with Imatinib was initiated, resulting in complete hematological remission at the sixth month and complete molecular response by nested primers reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction - at the end of the first year. This case contributes to the clinical heterogeneity of a rare entity such as FIP1L1-PDGFA-positive myeloproliferative neoplasms, and for the possible role of occupational and therapeutic radiation, raising the question if one or both of them might be the causative factor

Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia — Microenvironment and B Cells

Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) has been considered as an accumulative disease deriving from defects in apoptosis, but recent studies showed that CLL is a dynamic process in which monoclonal B cells proliferate within pseudofollicular proliferation centers. Microenvironmental interactions are essential for the survival and proliferation of CLL cells. The cell traffic between blood and secondary lymphoid tissues is controlled by tissue-specific chemokines and their specific receptors on B lymphocytes. Interstitial cell migration and adhesion events, predisposed by activational stimuli, determine CLL cell localization. Stimulation through the B cell receptor plays an important role in the expansion of the malignant clone in CLL. B cell receptors become activated either in an antigen-dependent or in an antigen-independent fashion in the secondary lymphatic tissues. However, low expression of the BCR correlates with reduced induction of protein tyrosine kinase activity and defective intracellular calcium mobilization and tyrosine phosphorylation. In contrast to normal B cells, leukemic cells are poor antigen presenting cells. This is due to the fact that leukemic cells have a reduced expression of costimulatory molecules and defects in the formation of immunological synapse with T cells. Increased surface expression of the costimulatory molecules on CLL cells correlates with their proliferation. At present, conventional treatments are not directed to interactions between CLL cells and their microenvironment, which is probably one of the reasons why, despite the significant progress in treatment, the disease still remains incurable. In this regard, identifying key biomarkers of intercellular interactions of neoplastic CLL population in comparison with clinical laboratory abnormalities in CLL enable clarification of essential processes in the development of the disease, and can be the basis for stratifying patient groups in order to optimize therapeutic approaches, which will make them relevant and promising