Der klassische Stil und die sozialen Grenzen seiner Anwendung

Der klassische Stil, wie er sich im frühen 5. Jahrhundert ausgeprägt hat, ist oft beschrieben und charakterisiert worden. Gegen die aktuelle Kritik an der traditionellen Einschätzung als epochale kunst- und kulturgeschichtliche Neuerung nimmt der Aufsatz Stellung, indem er sich auf die verschiedenen Formen der Anwendung des neuen Stils konzentriert, vom umfassenden Einsatz naturalistischer Formen bis hin zum archaistischen, die neue Gestaltungsweise weitgehend vermeidenden Stil. Damit eröffnet sich ein Zugang zum Verständnis der sozialen Aspekte des Stilwandels und im Besonderen der Porträtentwicklung. Größeren Ertrag als das oft mechanisch übernommene Habituskonzept verspricht dabei die Anknüpfung an die althistorische Debatte über Freiheit und Zwang im demokratischen Athen und in der griechischen Welt. Individuell und im Einzelfall wohl auch physiognomisch treffend gestaltete Porträts wurden für eine Reihe von Männern gewählt, die durch ihre intellektuellen Leistungen herausragten und auf diese Weise zum Funktionieren des Staates beitrugen. Für die Masse der Bürger und Bürgerinnen, die breite Basis der Polis, ist dagegen Uniformität der äußeren Erscheinung charakteristisch, worin sich ein starker gesellschaftlicher Konformitätsdruck äußert.The Classical style as it emerged in the early 5th century has often been described and characterized. Against the current criticism of the traditional assessment as an epochal innovation in art and cultural history, this essay takes a stand by focusing on the various ways in which the new style was applied, from the extensive use of naturalistic forms to the archaistic style that largely avoided the new mode of design. This opens up an approach to understanding the social aspects of stylistic change and, in particular, the development of portraiture. The link to the ancient historical debate about freedom and coercion in democratic Athens and in the Greek world promises to be more profitable than the often mechanically adopted concept of habitus. Individually and in individual cases probably also physiognomically accurate portraits were chosen for a number of men who stood out through their intellectual achievements and in this way contributed to the functioning of the state. For the mass of citizens, the broad basis of the polis, on the other hand, uniformity of outward appearance is characteristic, which expresses a strong social pressure to conform

›Opferrinnenzeremonie‹ and Potlatch. A Test Case of Intercultural Analysis

Der Aufsatz will einen Beitrag dazu leisten, in der Klassischen Archäologie das Potential des interkulturellen Vergleichs – zwischen Befunden der klassischen Antike und ethnographisch bezeugten rezenten Phänomenen – stärker als bisher zu erschließen. Ziel des Verfahrens ist nicht die Übertragung von Forschungsergebnissen von der einen auf die andere Kultur, sondern in erster Linie die Erweiterung der Perspektiven und die Präzisierung von Fragestellungen. Als Beispiel dient die gemeinsame und kontrastierende Besprechung der in Athen vom späteren 8. bis ins frühe 6. Jh. v. Chr. praktizierten Opferrinnenzeremonie und des Potlatch, wie er sich unter Indianerstämmen an der amerikanischen Nordwestküste in der zweiten Hälfte des 19. Jhs. ausgeprägt hat. In beiden Fällen steht der ostentative, bis zur Zerstörung getriebene Verbrauch von Gütern im Vordergrund, der zugleich jeweils durch Regeln eines religiösen oder sozialen Zeremoniells reglementiert war. Die Befunde unterstützen wechselseitig die Annahme, dass der Güterverbrauch als Eigentumsdemonstration in der jeweiligen Gesellschaft eine wichtige Funktion bei der Gewinnung und Bestätigung von sozialem Rang und Prestige erfüllte.The intention of this article is to contribute to exploiting – more than before in Classical Archaeology – the potential of intercultural comparison, namely between the archaeological records of Classical antiquity and ethnographically attested recent phenomena. The aim is not to apply research findings from one culture to the other, but first and foremost to broaden the perspective and render research questions more precise. To exemplify this, we compare and contrast the ›Opferrinnenzeremonie‹ (sacrificial trench ceremony), practised in Athens from the later 8th to the early 6th cent. B.C., and the potlatch, as manifested in the second half of the 19th cent. among Indian tribes on the American Northwest Coast. Prominent in both cases is the ostentatious consumption – to the point of destruction – of goods, conducted according to the rules of a religious or social rite. The evidence supports the assumption that, in the given society, the consumption of goods as a means of displaying property had an important function in gaining and confirming social status and prestige

Beurteilung des Therapieerfolgs – konventionelle versus neue Methoden

New ways of evaluating treatment success among thoracic tumour patients are increasingly being used alongside more conventional methods. These new approaches include tumour regression grading, CAD volumetry (computer-assisted volumetry), determination of the tumour density and tumour perfusion as well as the use of positron emission tomography (PET) using (18)F-FDG (fluorodeoxyglucose) or other tracers. Increasingly, endpoints that impact directly on the patient's quality of life and tumour-related symptoms are becoming more relevant factors together with the objectively measurable parameters used for assessing treatment response. This contribution describes the potential value of new methods and end-points from the point of view of a pathologist, radiologist, nuclear medicine specialist, radiotherapist, thoracic surgeon, medical and pneumology oncologist, and general practitioner

The Two Stem Cell MicroRNA Gene Clusters C19MC and miR-371-3 Are Activated by Specific Chromosomal Rearrangements in a Subgroup of Thyroid Adenomas

Thyroid adenomas are common benign human tumors with a high prevalence of about 5% of the adult population even in iodine sufficient areas. Rearrangements of chromosomal band 19q13.4 represent a frequent clonal cytogenetic deviation in these tumors making them the most frequent non-random chromosomal translocations in human epithelial tumors at all. Two microRNA (miRNA) gene clusters i.e. C19MC and miR-371-3 are located in close proximity to the breakpoint region of these chromosomal rearrangements and have been checked for a possible up-regulation due to the genomic alteration. In 4/5 cell lines established from thyroid adenomas with 19q13.4 rearrangements and 5/5 primary adenomas with that type of rearrangement both the C19MC and miR-371-3 cluster were found to be significantly overexpressed compared to controls lacking that particular chromosome abnormality. In the remaining cell line qRT-PCR revealed overexpression of members of the miR-371-3 cluster only which might be due to a deletion accompanying the chromosomal rearrangement in that case. In depth molecular characterization of the breakpoint in a cell line from one adenoma of this type reveals the existence of large Pol-II mRNA fragments as the most likely source of up-regulation of the C19MC cluster. The up-regulation of the clusters is likely to be causally associated with the pathogenesis of the corresponding tumors. Of note, the expression of miRNAs miR-520c and miR-373 is known to characterize stem cells and in terms of molecular oncology has been implicated in invasive growth of epithelial cells in vitro and in vivo thus allowing to delineate a distinct molecular subtype of thyroid adenomas. Besides thyroid adenomas rearrangements of 19q13.4 are frequently found in other human neoplasias as well, suggesting that activation of both clusters might be a more general phenomenon in human neoplasias

Clinical correlates of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibody profiles in Spanish COVID-19 patients from a high incidence region

Laboratory testing for the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) consists of two pillars: the detection of viral RNA via rt-PCR as the diagnostic gold standard in acute cases, and the detection of antibodies against SARS-CoV-2. However, concerning the latter, questions remain about their diagnostic and prognostic value and it is not clear whether all patients develop detectable antibodies. We examined sera from 347 Spanish COVID-19 patients, collected during the peak of the epidemic outbreak in Spain, for the presence of IgA and IgG antibodies against SARS-CoV-2 and evaluated possible associations with age, sex and disease severity (as measured by duration of hospitalization, kind of respiratory support, treatment in ICU and death). The presence and to some degree the levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies depended mainly on the amount of time between onset of symptoms and the collection of serum. A subgroup of patients did not develop antibodies at the time of sample collection. Compared to the patients that did, no differences were found. The presence and level of antibodies was not associated with age, sex, duration of hospitalization, treatment in the ICU or death. The case-fatality rate increased exponentially with older age. Neither the presence, nor the levels of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies served as prognostic markers in our cohort. This is discussed as a possible consequence of the timing of the sample collection. Age is the most important risk factor for an adverse outcome in our cohort. Some patients appear not to develop antibodies within a reasonable time frame. It is unclear, however, why that is, as these patients differ in no respect examined by us from those who developed antibodies

ESTS guidelines for intraoperative lymph node staging in non-small cell lung cancer

The European Society of Thoracic Surgeons (ESTS) organized a workshop dealing with lymph node staging in non-small cell lung cancer. The objective of this workshop was to develop guidelines for definitions and the surgical procedures of intraoperative lymph node staging, and the pathologic evaluation of resected lymph nodes in patients with non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC). Relevant peer-reviewed publications on the subjects, the experience of the participants, and the opinion of the ESTS members contributing on line, were used to reach a consensus. Systematic nodal dissection is recommended in all cases to ensure complete resection. Lobe-specific systematic nodal dissection is acceptable for peripheral squamous T1 tumors, if hilar and interlobar nodes are negative on frozen section studies; it implies removal of, at least, three hilar and interlobar nodes and three mediastinal nodes from three stations in which the subcarinal is always included. Selected lymph node biopsies and sampling are justified to prove nodal involvement when resection is not possible. Pathologic evaluation includes all lymph nodes resected separately and those remaining in the lung specimen. Sections are done at the site of gross abnormalities. If macroscopic inspection does not detect any abnormal site, 2-mm slices of the nodes in the longitudinal plane are recommended. Routine search for micrometastases or isolated tumor cells in hematoxylin-eosin negative nodes would be desirable. Randomized controlled trials to evaluate adjuvant therapies for patients with these conditions are recommended. The adherence to these guidelines will standardize the intraoperative lymph node staging and pathologic evaluation, and improve pathologic staging, which will help decide on the best adjuvant therap

A new method for determination of varicella-zoster virus immunoglobulin G avidity in serum and cerebrospinal fluid

BACKGROUND: Avidity determination of antigen-specific immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies is an established serological method to differentiate acute from past infections. In order to compare the avidity of varicella-zoster virus (VZV) IgG in pairs of serum and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples, we developed a new technique of avidity testing, the results of which are not influenced by the concentration of specific IgG. METHODS: The modifications introduced for the new VZV IgG avidity method included the use of urea hydrogen peroxide as denaturing reagent, the adaptation of the assay parameters in order to increase the sensitivity for the detection of low-level VZV IgG in CSF, and the use of a new calculation method for avidity results. The calculation method is based on the observation that the relationship between the absorbance values of the enzyme immunoassays with and without denaturing washing step is linear. From this relationship, a virtual absorbance ratio can be calculated. To evaluate the new method, a panel of serum samples from patients with acute and past VZV infection was tested as well as pairs of serum and CSF. RESULTS: For the serum panel, avidity determination with the modified assay gave results comparable to standard avidity methods. Based on the coefficient of variation, the new calculation method was superior to established methods of avidity calculation. CONCLUSIONS: The new avidity method permits a meaningful comparison of VZV IgG avidity in serum and CSF and should be of general applicability for easy determination of avidity results, which are not affected by the concentration of specific IgG

Antibodies to nodal/paranodal proteins in paediatric immune-mediated neuropathy

Altres ajuts: This work was partly supported by grants from the "Jubiläumsfonds der Österreichischen Nationalbank," project 16919 (R. Höftberger), the GBS/CIDP Foundation International (J. Wanschitz), Austrian Science Fund FWF, DOC 33-B27 (R. Höftberger, M. Winklehner) and I3334-B27 (R. Höftberger), Hertha Firnberg project number T996-B30 (I. Koneczny), the grant of the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitarias-Instituto de Salud Carlos III (fondos FEDER) (L. Querol), personal grant of the Pla estratègic de Recerca i Innovació en Salut (PERIS), Departament de Salut, Generalitat de Catalunya (L. Querol), and the German Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF, 01 GM1908A)