From Triumphal Gates to Triumphant Rotting: Refractions of Rome in the Russian Political Imagination.

This dissertation explores the persistence and importance of the idea of a political Rome in the literature of the Russian Empire. I offer five case studies from five historical periods, starting in the eighteenth century and ending with the abdication of the tsar and the Bolshevik takeover in 1917. Despite the difference in their historical circumstances, each of these writers turns to Roman history and literature to think through and respond to Russian history and politics. However, Rome is a variable rather than a constant, and my more important goal is to draw attention to variability, to refractions of Rome, because Russian Romes are numerous. They appear and evolve in response to changing political circumstances, value systems, literary trends, and legacies of earlier Romes. I begin with the work of Mikhail Lomonosov (1711 - 1765), whose Rome is a historical and literary rival to the Russian Empire. This rivalry allows Lomonosov to transfer Rome’s grandeur onto Russia, presenting it as a great power with a proud military history and impressive literature. I then move to the writings of Gavrila Derzhavin (1743 - 1816), whose exemplary Rome re-frames the question of imperial greatness not in military but in ethical terms, urging moral and patriotic behavior both in the subjects and the rulers. Next, I turn to the Rome of Kondratii Ryleev (1795-1826) and Aleksandr Pushkin (1799-1837), which evokes the heroes of the Roman Republic rather than Empire to inspire the fight against autocracy. The next Rome is a Rome of broken ideals unsuitable to Russia, where there is no longer any possibility of meaningful civic involvement. It appears in the novel Oblomov, written by Ivan Goncharov (1812-1891), and works through hints and echoes to show the intolerability of contemporary reality and to question the viability and morality of escapism. The final Rome, that of Aleksandr Blok (1880-1921), is a “triumphantly rotting” corpse. It demonstrates the need for the annihilation of the entire existing political order and civilization, undoing the myths created at the inception of the Russian Empire.PhDComparative LiteratureUniversity of Michigan, Horace H. Rackham School of Graduate Studieshttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/113345/1/olgam_1.pd

Taller de creatividad e innovación en medios digitales y festival de spots publicitarios de las asignaturas y los TFG vinculados al área de producción y realización publicitaria

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Should be a Third Dose of BNT162b2 mRNA COVID-19-Vaccine Administered in Patients with Myelofibrosis Under Ruxolitinib?

Patients with Myelobrosis (MF) are considered fragile and thus eligible in Italy for COVID-19 BNT162b2 mRNA vaccination. According to the International Prognostic Scoring System (IPSS), patients with intermediate and high MF, may receive clinical benets from ruxolitinib, the rst approved JAK1/JAK2 inhibitor. Given the potent anti-in ammatory properties of ruxolitinib against immunocompetent cells, we previously reported a lower but non-statistically absolute IgG anti-Spike humoral response in vaccinated MF patients treated with ruxolitinib. In the present report we extended the cohort of MF patients

Preoperative Multiparametric Ultrasound and Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology evaluation of parotid gland tumors : which is the best technique?

Publisher Copyright: © 2021 Societatea Romana de Ultrasonografie in Medicina si Biologie. All rights reserved.AIMS: To evaluate the pre-surgical diagnostic value of Multiparametric Ultrasound (MPUS) and Fine Needle Aspiration Cytology (FNAC) in differentiating parotid gland tumors, comparing the results with histology. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The study enrolled 84 patients with parotid gland lesions surgically treated in a single tertiary center and evaluated by MPUS. Each patient underwent FNAC. Histological examination was considered the gold standard. RESULTS: Histology identified 62 benign tumors and 22 malignancies. In the differential diagnosis between malignant and benign lesions, B-mode Ultrasound (US), Color-Doppler US, Contrast-Enhanced US (CEUS), Elastography (USE) and FNAC showed the following values of sensitivity: 82%, 81%, 86%, 77%, 73% respectively; specificity: 97%, 61%, 95%, 71%, 97% respectively; PPV: 90%, 43%, 86%, 50%, 89% respectively; NPV: 93%, 90%, 95%, 88%, 91% respectively; and accuracy: 89%, 71%, 90%, 78%, 84% re-spectively. CONCLUSIONS: CEUS proved to be a valid and accurate method for identifying malignant tumors of parotid gland; the combination of B-mode US with CEUS showed similar diagnostic accuracy, but better sensitivity than CEUS taken alone. USE did not improve the diagnostic performance of the B-mode US, alone or in association with CEUS; however, it revealed the highest diagnostic accuracy in the differentiation between benign lesions. FNAC demonstrated lower values in comparison with CEUS and with USE. Therefore, according to our study, MPUS could be proposed as a valid alternative to FNAC.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Narrative review of multiparametric ultrasound in parotid gland evaluation

Disorders affecting parotid gland represent a heterogeneous group comprising congenital, inflammatory and neoplastic diseases which show a focal or diffuse pattern of appearance. The differentiation of neoplastic from non-neoplastic conditions of parotid glands is pivotal for the diagnostic imaging. Frequently there is evidence of overlapping between the clinical and the imaging appearance of the various pathologies. The parotid gland is also often object of study with the combination of different techniques [ultrasound-computed tomography-magnetic resonance imaging (US-CT-MRI), ex.]. Compared to other dominant methods of medical imaging, US has several advantages providing images in real-time at lower cost, and without harmful use of ionizing radiation and of contrast enhancement. B-mode US, and the microvascular pattern color Doppler are usually used as first step evaluation of parotid lesions. Elastography and contrast-enhanced US (CEUS) has opened further possible perspectives to improve the differentiation between benign and malignant parotid lesions. The characterization of the parotid tumors plays a crucial role for their treatment planning and for the prediction of possible surgical complications. We present, here an updated review of the most recurrent pathologies of parotid gland focusing on the diagnostic power of multiparametric US including CEUS and ultrasound elastography (USE); limitations, advantages and the main key-points will be presented

Immune-microbiota interaction in Finnish and Russian Karelia young people with high and low allergy prevalence

Background After the Second World War, the population living in the Karelian region was strictly divided by the "iron curtain" between Finland and Russia. This resulted in different lifestyle, standard of living, and exposure to the environment. Allergic manifestations and sensitization to common allergens have been much more common on the Finnish compared to the Russian side. Objective The remarkable allergy disparity in the Finnish and Russian Karelia calls for immunological explanations. Methods Young people, aged 15-20 years, in the Finnish (n = 69) and Russian (n = 75) Karelia were studied. The impact of genetic variation on the phenotype was studied by a genome-wide association analysis. Differences in gene expression (transcriptome) were explored from the blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and related to skin and nasal epithelium microbiota and sensitization. Results The genotype differences between the Finnish and Russian populations did not explain the allergy gap. The network of gene expression and skin and nasal microbiota was richer and more diverse in the Russian subjects. When the function of 261 differentially expressed genes was explored, innate immunity pathways were suppressed among Russians compared to Finns. Differences in the gene expression paralleled the microbiota disparity. High Acinetobacter abundance in Russians correlated with suppression of innate immune response. High-total IgE was associated with enhanced anti-viral response in the Finnish but not in the Russian subjects. Conclusions and clinical relevance Young populations living in the Finnish and Russian Karelia show marked differences in genome-wide gene expression and host contrasting skin and nasal epithelium microbiota. The rich gene-microbe network in Russians seems to result in a better-balanced innate immunity and associates with low allergy prevalence.Peer reviewe

Quality of life changes over time and predictors in a large head and neck patients' cohort: secondary analysis from an Italian multi-center longitudinal, prospective, observational study-a study of the Italian Association of Radiotherapy and Clinical Oncology (AIRO) head and neck working group

Purpose: The present study examined the longitudinal trajectories, through hierarchical modeling, of quality of life among patients with head and neck cancer, specifically symptoms burden, during radiotherapy, and in the follow-up period (1, 3, 6, and 12 months after completion of radiotherapy), through the M.D. Anderson Symptom Inventory Head and Neck questionnaire, formed by three factors. Furthermore, analyses were conducted controlling for socio-demographic as well as clinical characteristics. Methods: Multi-level mixed-effects linear regression was used to estimate the association between quality of life and time, age, gender, household, educational level, employment status, ECOG performance status, human papilloma virus (HPV) status, surgery, chemotherapy, alcohol intake, and smoking. Results: Among the 166 participants, time resulted to be a predictor of all the three questionnaire factors, namely, general and specific related symptoms and interference with daily life. Moreover, regarding symptom interference with daily activities factor, HPV-positive status played a significant role. Considering only HPV-negative patients, only time predicted patients' quality of life. Differently, among HPV-positive patients, other variables, such as gender, educational level, alcohol use, surgery, age at diagnosis, employment status, and ECOG status, resulted significant. Conclusion: It was evident that quality of life of patients with head and neck cancer declined during RT, whereas it slowly improved after ending treatment. Our results clarified the role of some socio-demographic and clinical variables, for instance, HPV, which would allow to develop treatments tailored to each patient

Taller de creatividad e innovación en medios digitales y festival de spots publicitarios de las asignaturas y los TFG vinculados al área de producción y realización publicitaria

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Current Sheets, Magnetic Islands, and Associated Particle Acceleration in the Solar Wind as Observed by Ulysses near the Ecliptic Plane

Recent studies of particle acceleration in the heliosphere have revealed a new mechanism that can locally energize particles up to several MeV nucleon–1. Stream–stream interactions, as well as the heliospheric current sheet (CS)—stream interactions, lead to formation of large magnetic cavities, bordered by strong CSs, which in turn produce secondary CSs and dynamical small-scale magnetic islands (SMIs) of ~0.01 au or less owing to magnetic reconnection. It has been shown that particle acceleration or reacceleration occurs via stochastic magnetic reconnection in dynamical SMIs confined inside magnetic cavities observed at 1 au. The study links the occurrence of CSs and SMIs with characteristics of intermittent turbulence and observations of energetic particles of keV–MeV nucleon–1 energies at ~5.3 au. We analyze selected samples of different plasmas observed by Ulysses during a widely discussed event, which was characterized by a series of high-speed streams of various origins that interacted beyond Earth's orbit in 2005 January. The interactions formed complex conglomerates of merged interplanetary coronal mass ejections, stream/corotating interaction regions, and magnetic cavities. We study properties of turbulence and associated structures of various scales. We confirm the importance of intermittent turbulence and magnetic reconnection in modulating solar energetic particle flux and even local particle acceleration. Coherent structures, including CSs and SMIs, play a significant role in the development of secondary stochastic particle acceleration, which changes the observed energetic particle flux time–intensity profiles and increases the final energy level to which energetic particles can be accelerated in the solar win

Metal A and Metal B Sites of Nuclear RNA Polymerases Pol IV and Pol V Are Required for siRNA-Dependent DNA Methylation and Gene Silencing

Plants are unique among eukaryotes in having five multi-subunit nuclear RNA polymerases: the ubiquitous RNA polymerases I, II and III plus two plant-specific activities, nuclear RNA polymerases IV and V (previously known as Polymerases IVa and IVb). Pol IV and Pol V are not required for viability but play non-redundant roles in small interfering RNA (siRNA)-mediated pathways, including a pathway that silences retrotransposons and endogenous repeats via siRNA-directed DNA methylation. RNA polymerase activity has not been demonstrated for Polymerases IV or V in vitro, making it unclear whether they are catalytically active enzymes. Their largest and second-largest subunit sequences have diverged considerably from Pol I, II and III in the vicinity of the catalytic center, yet retain the invariant Metal A and Metal B amino acid motifs that bind magnesium ions essential for RNA polymerization. By using site-directed mutagenesis in conjunction with in vivo functional assays, we show that the Metal A and Metal B motifs of Polymerases IV and V are essential for siRNA production, siRNA-directed DNA methylation, retrotransposon silencing, and the punctate nuclear localization patterns typical of both polymerases. Collectively, these data show that the minimal core sequences of polymerase active sites, the Metal A and B sites, are essential for Pol IV and Pol V biological functions, implying that both are catalytically active