Evidentiality and Mirativity in the Language of Roman Comedy

The paper deals with the ways of expressing evidential and mirative semantics in the language of Roman comedy. The author claims that the phenomena under consideration belong to the grammar rather than to the lexicon of the Latin language, and shows that various evidential and mirative values can be expressed by the use of verbal tenses, voices, moods and syntactic construction. It is stressed that evidential and mirative functions in such units result only from the interaction of different linguistic parameters within a certain context and does not reside in the units taken in isolation. The main focus of the study is on the linguistic techniques which were preferred by Plautus and Terence. The comparative analysis of the linguistic strategies found in the author's present and the previous research demonstrates that the choice of a particular strategy depends on a given genre. Thus, some strategies (e.g., impersonal passive, inferential perfect and future, imperfect of a truth just recognized, mirative use of the subjunctive and infinitive) are preferred by comic poets while other techniques (e.g., deductive use of debere, gnomic future as a reportative strategy, cum inversum as a mirative device) which may be used in historic or epic narrative, never occur in the language of Roman comedy

SSR analysis of modern Russian potato varieties using DNA samples of nomenclatural standards

The N.I. Vavilov All-Russian Institute of Plant Genetic Resources (VIR) is developing new approaches to documentation of national cultivars, taking into account recommendations of the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants in parallel with methods of genetic certification. The nomenclatural standard of a particular cultivar represented by a herbarium specimen can be used as a reference for verifying authenticity and uniformity of cultivar specimens obtained from various sources. The verification requires fast and reliable methods for cultivar genotyping. This paper presents protocols for modified methods of DNA extraction, PCR-analysis and SSR-genotyping, which allow potato cultivars identification without the use of expensive reagent kits. A set of ten chromosome-specific microsatellite markers was used to study polymorphisms in 66 modern Russian potato cultivars, as well as in 11 pre-cultivars and breeding clones, represented by nomenclatural standards and voucher specimens, respectively. This subset of 77 specimens has demonstrated a high level of polymorphism in ten studied microsatellite loci. The SSR analysis identified 73 alleles; 7.3 alleles per locus were observed on average, the number of which varied from 3 (STG0025 locus) to 11 (locus StI046). The PIC values varied from 0.544 (STG0025 locus) to 0.836 (StI046 locus). The alleles, unique for this subset, were found at six studied loci. The high level of polymorphism at the SSR loci made it possible to unambiguously identify almost every cultivar, with the exception of the expected coincidence of microsatellite profiles of two cultivars, which are somaclonal variants. Using an optimized set of eight microsatellite markers, the genetic relationships of modern Russian potato cultivars were studied

Nomenclatural standards and genetic passports of potato cultivars bred in the A.G. Lorkh All-Russian Research Institute of Potato Farming

In order to preserve the genetic diversity of cultivars, it is recommended to develop documentation approaches through the registration of cultivar nomenclatural standards in accordance with the International Code of Nomenclature for Cultivated Plants. The N.I Vavilov Institute of Plant Genetic Resources keeps developing this approach along with the DNA marker technologies: SSR genotyping and molecular screening with DNA markers of genes controlling valuable traits. In 2018, VIR, together with the leading national centre for potato breeding – the A.G. Lorkh All-Russian Scientific-Research Institute of Potato Farming (now the A.G. Lorkh Russian Potato Research Center), initiated the preparation of nomenclatural standards for potato cultivars bred both at the A.G. Lorkh institute and in co-authorship with other breeding institutions. This paper presents 30 nomenclatural standards which are maintained in the Nomenclature standard fund of the Herbarium of cultivated plants and their wild relatives and weeds (VIR Herbarium, WIR). Also, the paper presents genetic passports of the mentioned 30 cultivars, developed using DNA samples extracted from the plant material of nomenclatural standards. Genetic passports include information about the polymorphism of the 8 chromosome-specific microsatellites and data on the results of molecular screening with 15 markers of 11 genes conferring resistance to the most dangerous pathogens and pests: potato viruses Y and X, late blight and potato cyst nematodes. A comparison of SSR-profiles of nomenclatural standards with those of 66 cultivar samples obtained from various sources made it possible to verify authenticity and homogeneity of the latter

EFFICACY AND SAFETY OF SIMVASTATIN IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: AN OPEN-LABEL, CONTROLLED STUDY

Abstract. Recently discovered immune–modulating and anti-inflammatory properties of statins have resulted in application of these drugs for treatment of autoimmune disorders. There are few studies investigating therapeutic potential of simvastatin in rheumatoid arthritis (RA). In present study, we investigated efficacy and safety of simvastatin in active RA patients treated with conventional disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs). Thirty-three patients were enrolled into an open-label, controlled study. The patients received treatment with 40 mg of simvastatin daily for 12 weeks. A group of historical controls consisted of nine patients taking placebo combined with disease-modifying therapy. No differences in demographic characteristics and disease activity were observed between the two groups. By the end of therapy (12 weeks), simvastatin-treated patients exhibited a significant reduction in disease activity scores with 28-joint counts (DAS28), and according to physician’s assessment of disease, as compared with control group. The estimate of trea tment effect (DAS28 scores) was 0.76 (95% confidence interval 0.01-1.5), thus corresponding to moderate decrease in disease activity. In conclusion, combination therapy with simvastatin and conventional DMARDs results into decreased RA activity. However, additional studies are required in order to specify exact role of simvastatin in RA treatment. (Med. Immunol., vol. 10, N 4-5, pp 477-482)

DEVELOPMENT OF EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES BY USE OF WEBBASED APPLICATION TRELLO

Abstract. This paper highlights the features of web-based project management system Trello that could be used to develop various tools for educational web-sites. The authors show some practical examples of Trello use for learning and self-learning. The elements of Trello’s boards can be easily combined to form highly flexible educational workflow

СLINICAL EFFICIENCY OF STATINS IN RHEUMATOID ARTHRITIS: A PILOT STUDY

Abstract. Statins are widely used to lower lipid levels and prevent cardiovascular disease. Recently described anti-inflammatory and immunomodulating properties of statins substantiate their application as a potentially novel treatment for autoimmune diseases. We evaluated efficacy and safety of simvastatin (40 mg daily) in patients with active rheumatoid arthritis (RA), as a supplement to stable doses of disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs. After 12 weeks of treatment, there was registered a significant decrease in disease activity score (by 0.89 points), improvement of life quality, and attenuation of pain levels. To confirm efficacy and safety of simvastatin in active RA, a large-scale controlled randomized study should be performed