The Problem of Human Sacrifice in Euripides’ Iphigenia among the Taurians

El objetivo del presente trabajo consiste en explorar el problema del sacrificio humano en la tragedia Ifigenia entre los tauros de Eurípides. A pesar de que las investigaciones arqueológicas permiten afirmar que no se practicaba en la Grecia arcaica y clásica, encontramos una repetitiva representación del hecho en la literatura griega en general y más especialmente en el género trágico, de la que dicha obra resulta un acabado ejemplo. En este sentido, nos interesa trabajar el rol de las alusiones y referencias al sacrificio humano en la pieza elegida, en especial dentro del prólogo, dado que entendemos que compone una cuestión central, que se plantea no solo en relación al pasado de Ifigenia sino que se conforma como una amenaza constante para los otros personajes.The objective of this paper is to explore the problem of human sacrifice in Euripides’ tragedy Iphigenia among the Taurians. Although the archaeological surveys indicate that this type of sacrifices was not practiced in archaic and classical Greece, we find them repeatedly in Greek literature, in general, and more especially in the tragic genre, of which this work is a finished example. In this sense, we will focus our study on the role of allusions and references to human sacrifice in the tragedy, especially within the prologue, since we understand that it constitutes a central issue to the plot, as not only it relates to Iphigenia’s past but also conforms a constant threat to the other characters.Fil: Maresca, Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Filología Clásica; ArgentinaFil: Perczyk, Cecilia Josefina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de Hurlingham.; Argentina. Universidad Nacional de San Martín; Argentin

Ilíada: Canto 1.Traducción comentada Segunda edición, ampliada y corregida

Los poemas homéricos son desde la Antigüedad una ventana a la tradición mitológica de los griegos y a su historia, a la vez que obras maestras de la literatura en el sentido más literal de la expresión, es decir, en el de obras que enseñan lo que la literatura es. Homero fue durante toda la Antigüedad ho poietés, “el poeta” a secas, y por cientos de años sus composiciones fueron utilizadas en Grecia para aprender a leer y a hablar en público, para dar ejemplo de conductas heroicas y deleznables y para conservar la memoria histórica de un pueblo y una cultura, incluso mucho, muchísimo después de que ambos se hubieran vuelto irreconocibles para el público para el que los poemas fueron pensados. Resumir en unas pocas páginas todos los problemas que llíada y Odisea presentan es inconcebible. En el vasto mundo de la filología clásica, la lectura de la inmensidad de trabajos que se han ocupado y todavía se ocupan de ellos demandaría más de una vida. Pero para disfrutar de los poemas no se necesita más que algunas nociones básicas, y nuestro objetivo es facilitar ese disfrute al lector y al oyente. El recorrido que sigue es cronológico. Comenzamos por el mito, porque la evidencia sugiere que, al menos en algunos aspectos, el mito fue primero. Lo segundo es la historia, un área en la que año a año Ilíada y Odisea ganan espacio, después de haber sido relegadas casi por completo. Sin embargo, el camino empieza realmente cuando llegamos a la forma en que esas dos fuentes inseparables para el pensamiento griego confluyen en una tradición de cantos orales, que en algún momento desembocará de algún modo en los textos que conocemos hoy. Las razones y métodos de nuestra traducción están al final, como corresponde: solo existen porque los precedió todo lo demás. Antes, sin embargo, es necesario responder a una pregunta ineludible al presentar una obra de literatura: ¿quién fue su autor? ¿Quién fue Homero? La respuesta es que no lo sabemos, como no lo sabían ya los antiguos. Las Vidas que relatan su biografía son espurias, construidas sobre la base de anécdotas muchas veces estandarizadas, todas las veces inverificables o ficticias. Sabemos tan poco que no sabemos si vivió en el s. VIII o VII a.C., dónde nació o habitó ni mucho menos en qué lugar y por qué razón compuso sus poemas. Ni siquiera podemos estar seguros sobre si existió. Pero la verdad es que eso importa menos que el hecho de que el legado que escogió para sí se preserva y se preservará por siempre. Ante semejante monumento, lo demás no parece demasiado significativo.Fil: Abritta, Alejandro. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Filología Clásica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Maresca, Victoria. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Filología Clásica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Moure, Huilen Abed. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Filología Clásica; ArgentinaFil: Rucavado Rojas, Mario. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Filología Clásica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Perczyk, Cecilia Josefina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Filología Clásica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Stripeikis, Caterina Anush. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Filología Clásica; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentin

Complement component C4 structural variation and quantitative traits contribute to sex-biased vulnerability in systemic sclerosis

Altres ajuts: Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional (FEDER), "A way of making Europe".Copy number (CN) polymorphisms of complement C4 play distinct roles in many conditions, including immune-mediated diseases. We investigated the association of C4 CN with systemic sclerosis (SSc) risk. Imputed total C4, C4A, C4B, and HERV-K CN were analyzed in 26,633 individuals and validated in an independent cohort. Our results showed that higher C4 CN confers protection to SSc, and deviations from CN parity of C4A and C4B augmented risk. The protection contributed per copy of C4A and C4B differed by sex. Stronger protection was afforded by C4A in men and by C4B in women. C4 CN correlated well with its gene expression and serum protein levels, and less C4 was detected for both in SSc patients. Conditioned analysis suggests that C4 genetics strongly contributes to the SSc association within the major histocompatibility complex locus and highlights classical alleles and amino acid variants of HLA-DRB1 and HLA-DPB1 as C4-independent signals

Beta-Blocker Use in Older Hospitalized Patients Affected by Heart Failure and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease: An Italian Survey From the REPOSI Register

Beta (β)-blockers (BB) are useful in reducing morbidity and mortality in patients with heart failure (HF) and concomitant chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Nevertheless, the use of BBs could induce bronchoconstriction due to β2-blockade. For this reason, both the ESC and GOLD guidelines strongly suggest the use of selective β1-BB in patients with HF and COPD. However, low adherence to guidelines was observed in multiple clinical settings. The aim of the study was to investigate the BBs use in older patients affected by HF and COPD, recorded in the REPOSI register. Of 942 patients affected by HF, 47.1% were treated with BBs. The use of BBs was significantly lower in patients with HF and COPD than in patients affected by HF alone, both at admission and at discharge (admission, 36.9% vs. 51.3%; discharge, 38.0% vs. 51.7%). In addition, no further BB users were found at discharge. The probability to being treated with a BB was significantly lower in patients with HF also affected by COPD (adj. OR, 95% CI: 0.50, 0.37-0.67), while the diagnosis of COPD was not associated with the choice of selective β1-BB (adj. OR, 95% CI: 1.33, 0.76-2.34). Despite clear recommendations by clinical guidelines, a significant underuse of BBs was also observed after hospital discharge. In COPD affected patients, physicians unreasonably reject BBs use, rather than choosing a β1-BB. The expected improvement of the BB prescriptions after hospitalization was not observed. A multidisciplinary approach among hospital physicians, general practitioners, and pharmacologists should be carried out for better drug management and adherence to guideline recommendations

Prescription appropriateness of anti-diabetes drugs in elderly patients hospitalized in a clinical setting: evidence from the REPOSI Register

Diabetes is an increasing global health burden with the highest prevalence (24.0%) observed in elderly people. Older diabetic adults have a greater risk of hospitalization and several geriatric syndromes than older nondiabetic adults. For these conditions, special care is required in prescribing therapies including anti- diabetes drugs. Aim of this study was to evaluate the appropriateness and the adherence to safety recommendations in the prescriptions of glucose-lowering drugs in hospitalized elderly patients with diabetes. Data for this cross-sectional study were obtained from the REgistro POliterapie-Società Italiana Medicina Interna (REPOSI) that collected clinical information on patients aged ≥ 65 years acutely admitted to Italian internal medicine and geriatric non-intensive care units (ICU) from 2010 up to 2019. Prescription appropriateness was assessed according to the 2019 AGS Beers Criteria and anti-diabetes drug data sheets.Among 5349 patients, 1624 (30.3%) had diagnosis of type 2 diabetes. At admission, 37.7% of diabetic patients received treatment with metformin, 37.3% insulin therapy, 16.4% sulfonylureas, and 11.4% glinides. Surprisingly, only 3.1% of diabetic patients were treated with new classes of anti- diabetes drugs. According to prescription criteria, at admission 15.4% of patients treated with metformin and 2.6% with sulfonylureas received inappropriately these treatments. At discharge, the inappropriateness of metformin therapy decreased (10.2%, P < 0.0001). According to Beers criteria, the inappropriate prescriptions of sulfonylureas raised to 29% both at admission and at discharge. This study shows a poor adherence to current guidelines on diabetes management in hospitalized elderly people with a high prevalence of inappropriate use of sulfonylureas according to the Beers criteria

The “Diabetes Comorbidome”: A Different Way for Health Professionals to Approach the Comorbidity Burden of Diabetes

(1) Background: The disease burden related to diabetes is increasing greatly, particularly in older subjects. A more comprehensive approach towards the assessment and management of diabetes’ comorbidities is necessary. The aim of this study was to implement our previous data identifying and representing the prevalence of the comorbidities, their association with mortality, and the strength of their relationship in hospitalized elderly patients with diabetes, developing, at the same time, a new graphic representation model of the comorbidome called “Diabetes Comorbidome”. (2) Methods: Data were collected from the RePoSi register. Comorbidities, socio-demographic data, severity and comorbidity indexes (Cumulative Illness rating Scale CIRS-SI and CIRS-CI), and functional status (Barthel Index), were recorded. Mortality rates were assessed in hospital and 3 and 12 months after discharge. (3) Results: Of the 4714 hospitalized elderly patients, 1378 had diabetes. The comorbidities distribution showed that arterial hypertension (57.1%), ischemic heart disease (31.4%), chronic renal failure (28.8%), atrial fibrillation (25.6%), and COPD (22.7%), were the more frequent in subjects with diabetes. The graphic comorbidome showed that the strongest predictors of death at in hospital and at the 3-month follow-up were dementia and cancer. At the 1-year follow-up, cancer was the first comorbidity independently associated with mortality. (4) Conclusions: The “Diabetes Comorbidome” represents the perfect instrument for determining the prevalence of comorbidities and the strength of their relationship with risk of death, as well as the need for an effective treatment for improving clinical outcomes

Antidiabetic Drug Prescription Pattern in Hospitalized Older Patients with Diabetes

Objective: To describe the prescription pattern of antidiabetic and cardiovascular drugs in a cohort of hospitalized older patients with diabetes. Methods: Patients with diabetes aged 65 years or older hospitalized in internal medicine and/or geriatric wards throughout Italy and enrolled in the REPOSI (REgistro POliterapuie SIMI—Società Italiana di Medicina Interna) registry from 2010 to 2019 and discharged alive were included. Results: Among 1703 patients with diabetes, 1433 (84.2%) were on treatment with at least one antidiabetic drug at hospital admission, mainly prescribed as monotherapy with insulin (28.3%) or metformin (19.2%). The proportion of treated patients decreased at discharge (N = 1309, 76.9%), with a significant reduction over time. Among those prescribed, the proportion of those with insulin alone increased over time (p = 0.0066), while the proportion of those prescribed sulfonylureas decreased (p < 0.0001). Among patients receiving antidiabetic therapy at discharge, 1063 (81.2%) were also prescribed cardiovascular drugs, mainly with an antihypertensive drug alone or in combination (N = 777, 73.1%). Conclusion: The management of older patients with diabetes in a hospital setting is often sub-optimal, as shown by the increasing trend in insulin at discharge, even if an overall improvement has been highlighted by the prevalent decrease in sulfonylureas prescription

Clinical features and outcomes of elderly hospitalised patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure or both

Background and objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) mutually increase the risk of being present in the same patient, especially if older. Whether or not this coexistence may be associated with a worse prognosis is debated. Therefore, employing data derived from the REPOSI register, we evaluated the clinical features and outcomes in a population of elderly patients admitted to internal medicine wards and having COPD, HF or COPD + HF. Methods: We measured socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics, severity and prevalence of comorbidities, clinical and laboratory features during hospitalization, mood disorders, functional independence, drug prescriptions and discharge destination. The primary study outcome was the risk of death. Results: We considered 2,343 elderly hospitalized patients (median age 81 years), of whom 1,154 (49%) had COPD, 813 (35%) HF, and 376 (16%) COPD + HF. Patients with COPD + HF had different characteristics than those with COPD or HF, such as a higher prevalence of previous hospitalizations, comorbidities (especially chronic kidney disease), higher respiratory rate at admission and number of prescribed drugs. Patients with COPD + HF (hazard ratio HR 1.74, 95% confidence intervals CI 1.16-2.61) and patients with dementia (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.06-2.90) had a higher risk of death at one year. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed a higher mortality risk in the group of patients with COPD + HF for all causes (p = 0.010), respiratory causes (p = 0.006), cardiovascular causes (p = 0.046) and respiratory plus cardiovascular causes (p = 0.009). Conclusion: In this real-life cohort of hospitalized elderly patients, the coexistence of COPD and HF significantly worsened prognosis at one year. This finding may help to better define the care needs of this population

Clinical features and outcomes of elderly hospitalised patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure or both

Background and objective: Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and heart failure (HF) mutually increase the risk of being present in the same patient, especially if older. Whether or not this coexistence may be associated with a worse prognosis is debated. Therefore, employing data derived from the REPOSI register, we evaluated the clinical features and outcomes in a population of elderly patients admitted to internal medicine wards and having COPD, HF or COPD + HF. Methods: We measured socio-demographic and anthropometric characteristics, severity and prevalence of comorbidities, clinical and laboratory features during hospitalization, mood disorders, functional independence, drug prescriptions and discharge destination. The primary study outcome was the risk of death. Results: We considered 2,343 elderly hospitalized patients (median age 81 years), of whom 1,154 (49%) had COPD, 813 (35%) HF, and 376 (16%) COPD + HF. Patients with COPD + HF had different characteristics than those with COPD or HF, such as a higher prevalence of previous hospitalizations, comorbidities (especially chronic kidney disease), higher respiratory rate at admission and number of prescribed drugs. Patients with COPD + HF (hazard ratio HR 1.74, 95% confidence intervals CI 1.16-2.61) and patients with dementia (HR 1.75, 95% CI 1.06-2.90) had a higher risk of death at one year. The Kaplan-Meier curves showed a higher mortality risk in the group of patients with COPD + HF for all causes (p = 0.010), respiratory causes (p = 0.006), cardiovascular causes (p = 0.046) and respiratory plus cardiovascular causes (p = 0.009). Conclusion: In this real-life cohort of hospitalized elderly patients, the coexistence of COPD and HF significantly worsened prognosis at one year. This finding may help to better define the care needs of this population

Cosas de familia: Política, cuerpo y crimen en Medea de Eurípides

Al considerar las distintas intervenciones de Medea en la tragedia homónima se hace evidente cómo su plan de venganza va tomando forma, de modo tal que desecha determinadas ideas en favor de otras, lo que supone una calculada elaboración de sus designios. Luego de asesinar a la nueva esposa de Jasón y al padre de aquella, la protagonista culmina su propósito al arrebatar la vida de sus propios hijos y dejar así a su marido sin patria, ni descendencia, ni posibilidades de engendrar una nueva; es decir, lo arruina por completo. Al mismo tiempo, a medida que transcurre la pieza, se da un juego de inversiones en los roles de los esposos, cuyo estudio permite observar la progresión que atraviesan los personajes a lo largo de la obra. Sobre la base de un análisis filológico de los pasajes relevantes se leerá en clave política tanto el casamiento de Jasón con la hija de Creonte como los crímenes de Medea, para comprender cómo, lejos de ser un acto de pasión o furor, el filicidio es parte de un plan cuidadosamente pensado para destruir a Jasón no solo como hombre sino como polítes. Se investigará, asimismo, la transposición de roles a partir de las referencias al cuerpo y al contacto físico, a la vez que se las pondrá en relación con dos imágenes conectadas con la tragedia examinada. En este sentido, destaco, por un lado, el trabajo de Cairns (2011), quien apunta tanto a los gestos y a los movimientos de los actores como a las frases con las que refieren esas actitudes como formas de demostrar emociones en escena y, por otro, el de Diez et al. (2011: 7-8), que advierte acerca de la imposibilidad de pensar en términos universales o reales tanto la representación como la experimentación del cuerpo, a la vez que señala que este se construye de un modo simbólico, social, cultural e históricamente determinado.Fil: Maresca, Victoria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Filosofía y Letras. Instituto de Filología Clásica; Argentina. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Colegio Nacional de Buenos Aires; Argentin