EL HOMBRE QUE SE INVENTÓ A SÍ MISMO: OTTO FEIGE Y SUS SEUDÓNIMOS RET MARUT Y B. TRAVEN (1882-1969)

"La historia de mi vida es sólo asunto mío que prefiero guardar para mí", según hizo saber el escritor B. Traven en 1926. Bajo el nombre de Traven Torsvan adquirió la nacionalidad mejicana en 1930. Para citas de negocios se metió en el rol de su supuesto apoderado Hal Croves que se ocupaba de la explotación y comercialización de su obra. Su juego con identidades ocupó la atención de periodistas, investigadores y de un público incalculable en todo el mundo durante décadas. Se opuso consecuentemente al creciente interés de un número creciente de lectores ávidos de información sobre su trasfondo biográfico.En este artículo se muestra que el deseo de anonimato, la pretendida falta de vanidad y de ambición de B. Traven no son en realidad gestos de modestia, sino una reacción al convencimiento de que tiene que ratificar el realismo de sus novelas mediante su experiencia personal. Sus jactanciosas declaraciones según las cuales "había cabalgado por la selva, vadeado pantanos y zonas fangosas, nadado en ríos y escalado rocas escarpadas" crean una atmósfera peculiar y caracterizan una imagen de género del escritor de la selva que perdura hasta el día de hoy.In 1926 the writer B. Traven let it be known that "my personal history is my own affair which I want to keep to myself". In 1930, using the name Traven Torsvan, he acquired Mexican citizenship. For business appointments he slipped into the role of his supposed agent, Hal Croves, who claimed to have been authorised by Traven to negotiate the rights to the books as well as marketing deals. For decades, journalists, scholars and innumerable readers, all over the world, have studied his game of identities.Traven firmly refused to satisfy the increasing curiosity of the steadily growing audience for his books that wanted to know more about his biographical background. He claimed that he was unpretentious and unambitious, however, he was not being modest but he was aware that the realism in his novels had to be authenticated by his own experiences. Stylised descriptions where he "is riding through the jungle and a virgin forest, wading through a swamp and a morass, swimming across rivers and climbing up steep cliffs" are all elements that create an atmospheric scenario that shape the genre picture of the jungle writer that has remained up to this day."La historia de mi vida es sólo asunto mío que prefiero guardar para mí", según hizo saber el escritor B. Traven en 1926. Bajo el nombre de Traven Torsvan adquirió la nacionalidad mejicana en 1930. Para citas de negocios se metió en el rol de su supuesto apoderado Hal Croves que se ocupaba de la explotación y comercialización de su obra. Su juego con identidades ocupó la atención de periodistas, investigadores y de un público incalculable en todo el mundo durante décadas. Se opuso consecuentemente al creciente interés de un número creciente de lectores ávidos de información sobre su trasfondo biográfico. En este artículo se muestra que el deseo de anonimato, la pretendida falta de vanidad y de ambición de B. Traven no son en realidad gestos de modestia, sino una reacción al convencimiento de que tiene que ratificar el realismo de sus novelas mediante su experiencia personal. Sus jactanciosas declaraciones según las cuales "había cabalgado por la selva, vadeado pantanos y zonas fangosas, nadado en ríos y escalado rocas escarpadas" crean una atmósfera peculiar y caracterizan una imagen de género del escritor de la selva que perdura hasta el día de hoy

Inspired by Sea Urchins: Warburg Effect Mediated Selectivity of Novel Synthetic Non-Glycoside 1,4-Naphthoquinone-6S-Glucose Conjugates in Prostate Cancer

The phenomenon of high sugar consumption by tumor cells is known as Warburg effect. It results from a high glycolysis rate, used by tumors as preferred metabolic pathway even in aerobic conditions. Targeting the Warburg effect to specifically deliver sugar conjugated cytotoxic compounds into tumor cells is a promising approach to create new selective drugs. We designed, synthesized, and analyzed a library of novel 6-S-(1,4-naphthoquinone-2-yl)-d-glucose chimera molecules (SABs)—novel sugar conjugates of 1,4-naphthoquinone analogs of the sea urchin pigments spinochromes, which have previously shown anticancer properties. A sulfur linker (thioether bond) was used to prevent potential hydrolysis by human glycoside-unspecific enzymes. The synthesized compounds exhibited a Warburg effect mediated selectivity to human prostate cancer cells (including highly drug-resistant cell lines). Mitochondria were identified as a primary cellular target of SABs. The mechanism of action included mitochondria membrane permeabilization, followed by ROS upregulation and release of cytotoxic mitochondrial proteins (AIF and cytochrome C) to the cytoplasm, which led to the consequent caspase-9 and -3 activation, PARP cleavage, and apoptosis-like cell death. These results enable us to further clinically develop these compounds for effective Warburg effect targeting

Phase II trial of sagopilone, a novel epothilone analog in metastatic melanoma

BackgroundSagopilone is a novel fully synthetic epothilone with promising preclinical activity and a favourable toxicity profile in phase I testing.MethodsA phase II pharmacokinetic and efficacy trial was conducted in patients with metastatic melanoma. Patients had measurable disease, Eastern Cooperative Oncology Group performance status 0-2, adequate haematological, and organ function, with up to 2 previous chemotherapy and any previous immunotherapy regimens. Sagopilone, 16 mg m⁻², was administered intravenously over 3 h every 21 days until progression or unacceptable toxicity.ResultsThirty-five patients were treated. Sagopilone showed multi-exponential kinetics with a mean terminal half-life of 64 h and a volume of distribution of 4361 l m⁻² indicating extensive tissue/tubulin binding. Only grade 2 or lower toxicity was observed: these included sensory neuropathy (66%), leukopenia (46%), fatigue (34%), and neutropenia (31%). The objective response rate was 11.4% (one confirmed complete response, two confirmed partial responses, and one unconfirmed partial response). Stable disease for at least 12 weeks was seen in an additional eight patients (clinical benefit rate 36.4%).ConclusionSagopilone was well tolerated with mild haematological toxicity and sensory neuropathy. Unlike other epothilones, it shows activity against melanoma even in pretreated patients. Further clinical testing is warranted

Providing Information by Resource- Constrained Data Analysis

The Collaborative Research Center SFB 876 (Providing Information by Resource-Constrained Data Analysis) brings together the research fields of data analysis (Data Mining, Knowledge Discovery in Data Bases, Machine Learning, Statistics) and embedded systems and enhances their methods such that information from distributed, dynamic masses of data becomes available anytime and anywhere. The research center approaches these problems with new algorithms respecting the resource constraints in the different scenarios. This Technical Report presents the work of the members of the integrated graduate school

Plasmacytoid Dendritic Cells Control Homeostasis of Megakaryopoiesis

Platelet homeostasis is essential for vascular integrity and immune defence1,2. Although the process of platelet formation by fragmenting megakaryocytes (MKs; thrombopoiesis) has been extensively studied, the cellular and molecular mechanisms required to constantly replenish the pool of MKs by their progenitor cells (megakaryopoiesis) remains unclear3,4. Here we use intravital imaging to track the cellular dynamics of megakaryopoiesis over days. We identify plasmacytoid dendritic cells (pDCs) as homeostatic sensors that monitor the bone marrow for apoptotic MKs and deliver IFNα to the MK niche triggering local on-demand proliferation and maturation of MK progenitors. This pDC-dependent feedback loop is crucial for MK and platelet homeostasis at steady state and under stress. pDCs are best known for their ability to function as vigilant detectors of viral infection5. We show that virus-induced activation of pDCs interferes with their function as homeostatic sensors of megakaryopoiesis. Consequently, activation of pDCs by SARS-CoV-2 leads to excessive megakaryopoiesis. Together, we identify a pDC-dependent homeostatic circuit that involves innate immune sensing and demand-adapted release of inflammatory mediators to maintain homeostasis of the megakaryocytic lineage