The place of historical novel for young readers within the historical and literary canon

Many issues are raised when authors set their stories in the past. First and foremost there is the balance that must be kept between the responsibility owed to historical truth and the need to write a story which in its emotional and narrative truth engages the modem reader. (Collins 2001: v

Knowing, transmitting, living together, recognizing and valuing : new categories for the understanding of intangible cultural heritage (ICH) in plaza de mercado de Las Flores, Bogotá.

El PCI analiza las diferentes expresiones culturales a partir de los lineamientos dados por la UNESCO y el Ministerio de Cultura en un ejercicio académico y gubernamental que busca clasificar, valorar y visibilizar aquello que se considera representativo para la nación. Para lograrlo, define 13 campos en los cuales se inscriben las diferentes manifestaciones, no obstante, la mayoría de estos campos son lejanos a los procesos culturales que se tejen en la ciudad. A partir de esta afirmación, se plantea el estudio de la plaza de mercado desde un enfoque histórico que permite reconocer sus transformaciones y permanencias, para pasar a un análisis etnográfico de la Plaza de Mercado de las Flores, ubicada en la localidad Kennedy en Bogotá, del cual surgen nuevas categorías de análisis: conocer, transmitir, convivir, reconocer y valorar, que permiten que la plaza sea interpretada como un complejo entramado cultural.ICH analyzes the different cultural expressions based on the guidelines given by UNESCO and the Ministry of Culture in an academic and governmental exercise that seeks to classify, assess and make visible what is considered representative for the nation. To achieve this, thirteen fields were defined in which the different manifestations are registered. However, most of these fields are distant from the cultural processes that are woven in the city. Based on this statement, the study of the market place is considered from a historical perspective that allows recognizing its transformations and permanence, to move on to an ethnographic analysis of the Plaza de Mercado de las Flores, located in the Kennedy neighborhood in Bogotá, from which new categories of analysis emerge: knowing, transmitting, coexisting, recognizing, and valuing, which allow the market to be interpreted as a complex cultural framework

Gower's "Confessio" and the "Nova statuta Angliae": royal lessons in English law

This essay examines parallels between the discussion of kingship and law in the Confessio Amantis and the account of Edward II's deposition that opens the Nova statuta Angliae, a comparison that reveals how each text employs a hybrid discourse that creates multiple frames of reference for the reader. Manuscript copies of both texts appear to have been commissioned tar Richard II in the early 1390s, at a time when the king sought to defend against limitations of his power, and the Confessio has been depicted as a commentary on the king's fulfillment of his responsibilities. This essay shows how both texts interweave discourses of legal argument, romance narrative, advice to princes, and religious exemplum in ways that strengthen their representation of the king's sacred obligation to uphold the laws of the land, based on the English coronation oath that entered textual circulation in the fourteenth century

Conflict resolution in the "Wife of Bath's Tale" and in Gower's "Tale of Florent"

Defining the principles that apply to resolving conflicts between individuals in The Wife of Bath 's Tale and comparing them to parallel conflicts in Gower's "Tale of Florent," one discovers that The Wife of Bath 's Tale foregrounds appeals to political, social, religious, and ethical authority -all of which are questioned, discussed, and negotiated. In the "Tale of Florent," on the other hand, conflict tends to be internal rather than between individuals. Florent's conflicts are resolved by himself alone thinking about the obligations he has accepted in his various covenants, and then behaving in such a way that he does not lie or cheat or break his pledge. Conflict resolution in Gower depends upon absolute commitment to principle, the culturally sanctioned rules that govern human behavior. Conflicts in the "Tale of Florent" are not resolved through argument, debate, negotiation with an adversary as in Chaucer's text

Genius and the practice of ethical reading

There has been a tendency in Gower scholarship to emphasize what Genius is not doing in the Confessio Amantis: the stories he does not tell, the sins he fails to discuss, and the interpretations he does not pursue. Some critics view Genius's supposed deficiencies as intentional failings designed by Gower to challenge his readers; still, these readings are centered on absence rather than presence. This paper offers a new interpretation of Genius's role in the Confessio, and, in particular, of Genius's use of classical exempla, by arguing that the absence of allegorized versions of these tales is, in fact, the result of a conscious decision to use an alternate method of reading ---ethical reading- rather than allegorical interpretation. Instead of merely appropriating or desecularizing "old bokes," the process of ethical reading preserves the status of secular texts while reframing them to make them morally useful for new generations of readers

The margins in the Iberian manuscripts of John Gower's "Confessio Amantis": language, authority and readership

The pages of the Confessio Amantis display an interesting blend of English text and Latin commentary in which the Latin apparatus enhances the vernacular text forming a strongly interrelated entity. The Latin captions and the glosses in the Confessio appear in a remarkably regular way in the English manuscripts and the presentation of the elements in the pages follows, in general, a pre-established pattern of marginal and in-column annotations.However, the Iberian translations of the Confessio translated the Latin captions and skipped most of the marginal annotations, leaving behind an integral part of the work that probably carne from Gower himself. In a work such as the Confessio Amantis, in which bilingualism is central to the text as planned by its author, the absence of all the Latin elements results in an important change in the textual dynamics of the poem. Why did they fail to cross the geographical borders in an era when Latin was lingua franca? What does their absence te\l us about the origin of the translations and their intended readership

Adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells as a strategy to improve recovery after stroke

Introduction: Based on the positive results observed in experimental animal models, adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSCs) constitute a promising therapy for stroke treatment. However, several aspects need to be clarified to identify the optimal conditions for successful clinical translation. Areas covered: This review focuses on AD-MSC treatment for ischemic and hemorrhagic stroke in experimental animal models. In addition, we will explore the optimization of treatment conditions including AD-MSC production, administration routes and therapeutic windows for their appropriate use in patients, and we will provide an update on clinical trials on this therapy. Expert opinion: Compared with other cell types, AD-MSCs have been less investigated in stroke studies. Currently, experimental animal models have shown safety and efficacy with this treatment after stroke. Due to several advantages of AD-MSCs, such as their abundance and accessibility, they can be considered a promising strategy for use in patients. However, many questions are still to be resolved regarding their mechanisms of action, immune system modulation and the effects of AD-MSCs on all components of the brain that may be affected after ischemic and hemorrhagic strokesThis project is supported by research grants PS12/01754 (Spanish Ministry of Science) and INVICTUS (RD12/0014/0006) (Spanish Neurovascular Network), and Research Institute Carlos III, Ministry Science and Innovatio

White matter repair after extracellular vesicles administration in an experimental animal model of subcortical stroke

Mesenchymal stem cells have previously been shown to mediate brain repair after stroke; they secrete 50-100 nm complexes called extracellular vesicles (EVs), which could be responsible for provoking neurovascular repair and functional recovery. EVs have been observed by electron microscopy and NanoSight, and they contain associated proteins such as CD81 and Alix. This purified, homogeneous population of EVs was administered intravenously after subcortical stroke in rats. To evaluate the EVs effects, we studied the biodistribution, proteomics analysis, functional evaluation, lesion size, fiber tract integrity, axonal sprouting and white matter repair markers. We found that a single administration of EVs improved functional recovery, fiber tract integrity, axonal sprouting and white matter repair markers in an experimental animal model of subcortical stroke. EVs were found in the animals' brain and peripheral organs after euthanasia. White matter integrity was in part restored by EVs administration mediated by molecular repair factors implicated in axonal sprouting, tract connectivity, remyelination and oligodendrogenesis. These findings are associated with improved functional recovery. This novel role for EVs presents a new perspective in the development of biologics for brain repair.This study has been partially supported by grants from PS15/01318 and INVICTUS (RD12/0014) (Spanish Neurovascular Network), Miguel Servet (CP15/00069 to María Gutiérrez-Fernández) and a Sara Borrell postdoctoral fellowship (CD12/00706, to Laura Otero-Ortega) from Research Institute Carlos III, Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spain and European Regional Development Fun

Exosomes promote restoration after an experimental animal model of intracerebral hemorrhage

Exosomes are gaining importance because they show great promise in therapeutic applications for several diseases. Particularly in stroke, exosomes derived from mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) therapy work as paracrine effectors responsible for promoting neurovascular remodeling and functional recovery. Adult male rats were subjected to intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH) by intrastriatal injection of collagenase type IV; 24 h after surgery, MSC-derived exosomes were administered through the tail vein. The rats were euthanized at 7 or 28 days after treatment. Functional evaluation, lesion size, fiber tract integrity, axonal sprouting and white matter repair markers, biodistribution of exosomes and secretome proteomics were analyzed. DiI-labeled exosomes were found in the brains of the ICH-treated group and in the liver, lung and spleen. Animals receiving treatment with exosomes showed significantly better results in terms of functional recovery, lesion size, fiber tract integrity, axonal sprouting and white matter repair markers compared with the control group 28 days after stroke. Proteomics analysis of the exosomes identified more than 2000 proteins that could be implicated in brain repair function. In conclusion, white matter integrity was partly restored by exosome administration mediated by molecular repair factors. Exosomes as a treatment could be a heterogeneous process by nature and presents many factors that can influence brain plasticity in an adaptable and versatile manner.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article: This study has been partially supported by grants from PS15/01318 and INVICTUS (RD12/0014) (Spanish Neurovascular Network), Miguel Servet (CP15/00069 to Marıa Gutierrez-Fernandez) and a Sara Borrell postdoctoral fellowship (CD12/00706, to Laura Otero-Ortega) from the Research Institute Carlos III, the Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and the European Regional Development Fund. This study was also co-funded within the Roche Farma project. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish or preparation of the manuscript.S

Brain-derived neurotrophic factor administration mediated oligodendrocyte differentiation and myelin formation in subcortical ischemic stroke

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE: Translational research is beginning to reveal the importance of trophic factors as a therapy for cellular brain repair. The purpose of this study was to analyze whether brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) administration could mediate oligodendrogenesis and remyelination after white matter injury in subcortical stroke. METHODS: Ischemia was induced in rats by injection of endothelin-1. At 24 hours, 0.4 μg/kg of BDNF or saline was intravenously administered to the treatment and control groups, respectively. Functional evaluation, MRI, and fiber tract integrity on tractography images were analyzed. Proliferation (KI-67) and white matter repair markers (A2B5, 2',3'-cyclic-nucleotide 3'-phosphodiesterase [CNPase], adenomatous polyposis coli [APC], platelet-derived growth factor receptor alpha [PDGFR-α], oligodendrocyte marker O4 [O4], oligodendrocyte transcription factor [Olig-2], and myelin basic protein [MBP]) were analyzed at 7 and 28 days. RESULTS: The BDNF-treated animals showed less functional deficit at 28 days after treatment than the controls (P<0.05). Although T2-MRI did not show differences in lesion size at 7 and 28 days between groups, diffusion tensor imaging tractography analysis revealed significantly better tract connectivity at 28 days in the BDNF group than in the controls (P<0.05). Increased proliferation of oligodendrocyte progenitors was observed in treated animals at 7 days (P<0.05). Finally, the levels of white matter repair markers (A2B5, CNPase, and O4 at 7 days; Olig-2 and MBP at 28 days) were higher in the BDNF group than in the controls (P<0.05). CONCLUSIONS: BDNF administration exerted better functional outcome, oligodendrogenesis, remyelination, and fiber connectivity than controls in rats subjected to subcortical damage in ischemic strokeSupported by research grants PS12/01754 (P.I.: EDT), INVICTUS Spanish Neurovascular Network RD12/0014/0006 (BRF and JRC) and Sara Borrell postdoctoral fellowship CD12/00706 (LOO) from the Research Institute Carlos III, Ministry of Science and Innovation of Spai