От поэтики литературы к истории крестьянства: мои ранние приключения в области русистики

The article was submitted on 30.01.2015.The Editorial Board of the journal is rightly proud that it managed to persuade Professor Maureen Perrie, the eminent British historian of Russia, to write this memoir, intriguingly entitled ‘From Poetry to Peasantry: my Early Adventures in Russian Studies’. The memoir is written with such candour, and in such a lively and entertaining style, that its appeal will extend beyond specialists in the humanities. The reader is presented with a portrait of an entire generation, with its insights and its delusions, its loyalty to its parents’ moral code and its aspiration towards new visions of humanity. Maureen Perrie’s remarkable memory for detail enables her to create a complex and dynamic picture of the attitude of British society towards Russia, of cultural interactions and the cruel political prejudice that played such a pernicious role. At the same time we have a valuable account of her youthful enthusiasms, heartfelt experiences and the role of personal relationships in her development as a historian. The author followed a complex path, beginning with an interest in Russian literature and the Symbolists (her favourite poet was Alexander Blok), and leading on to research on the Russian peasantry, pretenderism and the Russian monarchy. This trajectory provides evidence of her inquiring mind and her desire to get to the very heart of a phenomenon – because a true understanding of Russia involves first and foremost an understanding of the patriarchal mindset, the peasant world, popular utopias and the cruelty of the regime towards its own people. Maureen Perrie has brilliantly succeeded in her task. Her publications make a major contribution to international Russian Studies; and this autobiographical essay, which is so revealing of the author’s personality, provides entertaining and moving reading for all lovers of Russian culture. Translated by Elena Galitsyna.Редколлегия журнала по праву гордится тем, что ей удалось заинтересовать выдающегося английского профессора истории России Морин Перри предложением написать воспоминания, интригующе озаглавленные «От поэтики литературы к истории крестьянства: мои ранние приключения в области русистики». Воспоминания написаны с таким доверительным чувством, настолько живо и занимательно, что должны привлечь внимание не только специалистов в сфере гуманитарной науки. Перед читателем возникает портрет целого поколения с его проницательностью и заблуждениями, верностью родительской морали и устремлением к новым горизонтам человечности. Удивительная память Морин Перри на детали позволяет воспроизвести объемную и динамичную картину отношения британского общества к России, культурных взаимодействий и политической античеловеческой ангажированности, играющей губительную роль. Вместе с тем перед нами драгоценные страницы, описывающие увлечения юности, тонкие переживания, роль человеческих взаимоотношений в формировании историка. Проделанный автором непростой путь, начавшийся с интереса к русской литературе и младосимволистам (любимый поэт – А. Блок) и приведший к изучению русского крестьянства, самозванчества и российской монархии, свидетельствует о пытливости ума и стремлении проникнуть в самую глубь явления, потому что действительно понять Россию – это, в первую очередь, понять патриархальное сознание, крестьянский мир, народные утопии и жестокость режима к своему народу. Это блестяще удалось Морин Перри. Ее работы являются важной страницей мировой русистики, а ее биографические заметки, раскрывающие личность автора, представляют занимательное и эмоциональное чтение для всех любящих русскую культуру

Moscow in 1666: New Jerusalem, Third Rome, Third Apostasy

The article was submitted on 18.04.2014.In this essay the author examines the disappearance from official Russian discourse of the idea of Muscovy as the New Israel. She suggests that it may partly be explained in relation to his opponents’ accusations of blasphemy against Patriarch Nikon for naming his monastery on the River Istra as New Jerusalem. These accusations were made in the context of apocalyptic rumours about Nikon as the Antichrist, and about the imminent appearance of the Antichrist in Jerusalem in 1666. The decisions of the Church council of 1666–1667 — including its repudiation of the idea of the Third Rome — seemed to many Old Believers to confirm prophecies about 1666 as the date of a third and final apostasy from the true faith, after the Great Schism of 1054 and the Union of Brest of 1596. The ideas of the Third Rome and New Israel persisted among some Old Believers; but unlike the idea of the Third Rome, which was re-interpreted in the 19th and 20th centuries as evidence of Russian messianism and imperialism, the idea of the New Israel has been comparatively neglected.В данном очерке рассматривается исчезновение из официального российского дискурса идеи «Московское государство — Новый Израиль». Автор предполагает, что это исчезновение отчасти объясняется обвинениями в богохульстве, выдвинутыми против патриарха Никона, назвавшего свой монастырь на реке Истре Новым Иерусалимом. Его противники выдвинули эти обвинения в контексте эсхатологических слухов о Никоне-Антихристе и о предстоящем появлении Антихриста в Иерусалиме в 1666 г. По мнению многих старообрядцев, решения церковного собора 1666–1667 гг., в том числе отрицание идеи «Москва — Третий Рим», подтвердили пророчества о 1666 г. как о дате третьего, последнего отступления от истинной веры после Великого раскола 1054 г. и Брестской церковной унии 1596 г. Идеи «Москва — Третий Рим» и «Россия — Новый Израиль» сохранялись в старообрядческой среде; но, в отличие от идеи «Москва — Третий Рим», которую интерпретировали по-новому в XIX и XX вв. как свидетельство российского мессианизма и империализма, идея «Россия — Новый Израиль» оказалась обделена вниманием ученых

Peter the Great as Antichrist: The Secular Sources of an Old Believer Compilation from Holy Scripture

The article was submitted on 13.12.2020.Статья посвящена староверческому сочинению о Петре Великом, известному под названием «Собрание от Святого Писания о Антихристе», впервые опубликованному в 1861 г. Ряд ученых предполагали, что это сочинение относится к царствованию Петра, когда многие традиционные православные христиане смотрели на царя как на Антихриста. Автор статьи, однако, считает, что это сочинение относится скорее к началу XIX в. и что доводы составителя «Собрания» о тождестве Петра с Антихристом основаны главным образом на сказаниях о царе, опубликованных к концу XVIII в. На основе анекдотов о зачатии Петра, например, составитель проводил сравнение с Благовещением, Богоявлением и Обрезанием Господним, проводя кощунственную параллель между биографией Петра и жизнью Христа, для того чтобы «доказать» тождество Петра с Антихристом. Составитель также цитирует сочинения, якобы свидетельствующие о том, что Петр является воплощением Бога; по его мнению, такие богохульные сочинения скорее доказывают обратное – что царь воплощает не Бога, а Сатану. Наконец, когда один автор называет Екатерину II воплощением духа Петра Великого, составитель делает вывод, что дух всех преемников Петра – это также дух Петра, то есть дух Антихриста. Это является своеобразным вариантом учения Евфимия, основателя староверческой секты бегунов, который к концу XVIII в. отстаивал точку зрения, что Петр основал династию Антихристов и что все истинные христиане должны убегать из проклятого царства его. Известные российские ученые В. Живов и Б. Успенский предполагали, что метафорическая сакрализация монарха в светских панегирических сочинениях XVIII в., интерпретированная буквально некоторыми староверами, содействовала их отождествлению Петра с Антихристом. Автор данной статьи заключает, что подобную роль играли более популярные сочинения конца XVIII в. вроде собраний анекдотов, изображающих царя как богоподобную личность.This article is devoted to an Old Believer work about Peter the Great, known as A Compilation from Holy Scripture about the Antichrist, which was first published in 1861. Some scholars have suggested that the work dates back to Peter’s reign, when many traditionally minded Orthodox Christians regarded the tsar as the Antichrist. The author of this article argues, however, that the work dates from the early nineteenth century, and that the case it makes for Peter’s identity as Antichrist is based primarily on tales about the tsar which were published in the late eighteenth century. On the basis of anecdotes about Peter’s conception, for example, the author of the Compilation drew a comparison with the Annunciation, the Epiphany, and the Feast of the Circumcision, to demonstrate a sacrilegious parallel between Peter’s biography and that of Christ, which “proved” that Peter was the Antichrist. The Compilation also cites works which seem to blasphemously suggest that Peter was God incarnate, in order to argue that the tsar was the embodiment not of God, but of Satan. Finally, when one work praised Catherine the Great for representing “the spirit of Peter the Great”, the compiler concluded that the spirit of all subsequent Russian rulers was also the spirit of Peter, that is, the spirit of the Antichrist. This is an idiosyncratic version of the argument made in the late eighteenth century by Evfimii, the founder of the Old Believer sect of the beguny, that Peter had founded a dynasty of Antichrists, and that all “true Christians” should flee from his realm. The distinguished Russian scholars Viktor Zhivov and Boris Uspenskii have argued that the metaphorical sacralisation of the monarch, in secular eighteenth-century panegyrics, was interpreted literally by some Old Believers and contributed to their identification of Peter as the Antichrist. The author of this article suggests that a similar role was played by more popular works such as the collections of anecdotes which presented the tsar as a God-like figure

Robust spatially resolved pressure measurements using MRI with novel buoyant advection-free preparations of stable microbubbles in polysaccharide gels

MRI of fluids containing lipid coated microbubbles has been shown to be an effective tool for measuring the local fluid pressure. However, the intrinsically buoyant nature of these microbubbles precludes lengthy measurements due to their vertical migration under gravity and pressure-induced coalescence. A novel preparation is presented which is shown to minimize both these effects for at least 25 min. By using a 2% polysaccharide gel base with a small concentration of glycerol and 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine coated gas microbubbles, MR measurements are made for pressures between 0.95 and 1.44 bar. The signal drifts due to migration and amalgamation are shown to be minimized for such an experiment whilst yielding very high NMR sensitivities up to 38% signal change per bar

Cardiopulmonary resuscitation skills profile and knowledge of nurses working in an academic hospital

Introduction and aim: Cardiopulmonary arrest can occur unexpectedly and has a high mortality. Nurses are often the first responders to in-hospital arrest and are expected to initiate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR). It has been identified in the literature that nurses lack the knowledge and the skills of resuscitation. The aim of the study was to determine the CPR skills profile and knowledge among nurses in selected areas at Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital. Materials and methods: The study was descriptive, prospective and contextual. A self-administered questionnaire, based on the 2010 American Heart Association CPR Guidelines, was used to determine the nurses CPR knowledge. A minimum score of ≥80% was regarded adequate. Results: Total of 133 nurses were recruited; 61 in theatre, 40 in ICU and 32 from the surgical wards. The nurses’ median score (range) for theoretical knowledge was 21% (0% - 79%). No participant achieved ≥80%. No correlation was found between nurses’ knowledge and years of experience (r=0.036, p=0.697). Comparison between knowledge scores and area of work (p=0.060) and accreditation status (p=0.444) were not statistically significant. Conclusion: The knowledge of CPR was found to be poor among nurses and has shown the need for ongoing CPR training to ensure effective resuscitation of patients. Dedicated funding and time to train nurses in CPR should be motivated for

Unrecognised postoperative residual curarisation in developing countries remains a common problem

Background. Postoperative residual curarisation (PORC) is a potentially life-threatening complication of non-depolarising muscle relaxant use in anaesthesia. Quantitative neuromuscular monitoring has the potential to reduce the risk of PORC, but many anaesthetists rely on clinical assessment of neuromuscular function alone.Objectives. To investigate the occurrence of PORC in the recovery room at an academic hospital in Gauteng, South Africa. Additionally, this prospective, cross-sectional study aimed to determine the extent of intraoperative neuromuscular monitoring and to assess clinical factors that may influence the risk of PORC.Methods. Patient characteristics and clinical information, including whether neuromuscular monitoring had been conducted, were recorded. Patients were evaluated by clinical assessment and determination of a quantitative train-of-four ratio (TOFR). PORC assessment methods were compared and clinical characteristics were analysed for association with TOFR status.Results. The incidence of PORC (TOFR <0.9) in the study group was 45.5%; however, 78% passed the clinical assessment. The specificity of clinical assessment to detect residual paralysis was 24%. Notably, only 3 patients (6%) were monitored intraoperatively for neuromuscular function. Advanced age (p=0.011, r=–0.34) and female gender (p=0.001) were shown to be associated with a TOFR <0.7.Conclusions. PORC is more common in practice than currently recognised. This deduction is supported by the low rate of intraoperative neuromuscular monitoring conducted and the high pass rate on clinical assessment. Routine use of quantitative monitoring of neuromuscular function should be encouraged to minimise the risk of this serious yet preventable condition

Correlating liposomal adjuvant characteristics to in-vivo cell-mediated immunity using a novel Mycobacterium tuberculosis fusion protein : a multivariate analysis study

OBJECTIVE: In this study, we have used a chemometrics-based method to correlate key liposomal adjuvant attributes with in-vivo immune responses based on multivariate analysis. METHODS: The liposomal adjuvant composed of the cationic lipid dimethyldioctadecylammonium bromide (DDA) and trehalose 6,6-dibehenate (TDB) was modified with 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine at a range of mol% ratios, and the main liposomal characteristics (liposome size and zeta potential) was measured along with their immunological performance as an adjuvant for the novel, postexposure fusion tuberculosis vaccine, Ag85B-ESAT-6-Rv2660c (H56 vaccine). Partial least square regression analysis was applied to correlate and cluster liposomal adjuvants particle characteristics with in-vivo derived immunological performances (IgG, IgG1, IgG2b, spleen proliferation, IL-2, IL-5, IL-6, IL-10, IFN-γ). KEY FINDINGS: While a range of factors varied in the formulations, decreasing the 1,2-distearoyl-sn-glycero-3-phosphocholine content (and subsequent zeta potential) together built the strongest variables in the model. Enhanced DDA and TDB content (and subsequent zeta potential) stimulated a response skewed towards a cell mediated immunity, with the model identifying correlations with IFN-γ, IL-2 and IL-6. CONCLUSION: This study demonstrates the application of chemometrics-based correlations and clustering, which can inform liposomal adjuvant design

The role of lipid geometry in designing liposomes for the solubilisation of poorly water soluble drugs

Liposomes are well recognised for their ability to improve the delivery of a range of drugs. More commonly they are applied for the delivery of water-soluble drugs, but given their structural attributes, they can also be employed as solubilising agents for low solubility drugs as well as drug targeting agents. To further explore the potential of liposomes as solubilising agents, we have investigated the role of bilayer packaging in promoting drug solubilisation in liposome bilayers. The effect of alkyl chain length and symmetry was investigated to consider if using 'mis-matched' phospholipids could create 'voids' within the bilayers, and enhance bilayer loading capacity. Lipid packing was investigated using Langmuir studies, which demonstrated that increasing the alkyl chain length enhanced lipid packing, with condensed monolayers forming, whilst asymmetric lipids formed less condensed monolayers. However, this more open packing did not translate into improved drug loading, with the longer chain, condensed bilayers formed from long-chain, saturated lipids offering higher drug loading capacity. These studies demonstrate that liposomes formulated from longer chain, saturated lipids offer enhanced solubilisation capacity. However the molecular size, rather than lipophilicity, of the drug to be incorporated was also a key factor dominating bilayer incorporation efficiency. © 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved

Developing solid particulate vaccine adjuvants:surface bound antigen favouring a humoural response, whereas entrapped antigen shows a tendency for cell mediated immunity

This present study compares the efficacy of microsphere formulations, and their method of antigen presentation, for the delivery of the TB sub-unit vaccine antigen, Ag85B-ESAT-6. Microspheres based on poly(lactide-co-glycolide) (PLGA) and chitosan incorporating dimethyldioctadecylammonium bromide (DDA) were prepared by either the w/o/w double emulsion method (entrapped antigen) or the o/w single emulsion method (surface bound antigen), and characterised for their physico-chemical properties and their ability to promote an immune response to Ag85B-ESAT-6. The method of preparation, and hence method of antigen association, had a pronounced effect on the type of immune response achieved from the microsphere formulations, with surface bound antigen favouring a humoural response, whereas entrapped antigen favoured a cellular response

Carbon dioxide levels of ventilated adult critically ill post-operative patients on arrival to the intensive care unit

Background. The transportation of critically ill patients presents a precarious situation in which adverse events may occur. At Chris Hani Baragwanath Academic Hospital (CHBAH) patients were manually ventilated using a manual resuscitator bag during transportation from theatre to the intensive care unit (ICU). Objectives. To evaluate the arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide (PaCO2) levels of ventilated adult critically ill post-operative patients on arrival at the ICU at CHBAH. Methods. This was a cross-sectional study using convenience sampling. Pre- and post-transportation arterial blood gases were obtained from 47 patients. Results. There was a statistically significant difference in the pre- and post-transport PaCO2 level (p=0.03), with a mean difference of 3.3 mmHg. The pre- and post-transport arterial partial pressure of oxygen (PaO2) level (p≤0.001) and the week and weekend pre-transport (p≤0.001) and post-transport (p=0.01) PaCO2 were statistically significantly different. No statistically significant difference was found in the other arterial blood gas parameters or in the post-transport PaCO2 of those patients (26 (55.3%)), who received a neuromuscular blocking drug compared with those that did not. Adverse events were noted during 12 (25.6%) of the transports, 5 (41.7%) of which were patient-related, and 7 (58.3%) of which were infrastructure-related. Conclusion. There was a statistically but not clinically significant difference in the pre- and post-transport PaCO2 level and between week and weekend transportations. Hypercarbia was the most common derangement in all transports. Adverse events occurred during one-quarter of transportations. Keywords: manual resuscitation bag ventilation, transportation of critically ill patients, carbon dioxide level