The Grotesque Masks of Elias Canetti: Monads with no Doors or Windows

For Elias Canetti comedy was always an important tool to express himself. But in his works, besides the link to comic, laughter has also a terrible, uncanny and creepy appearance. This disquieting side of laughter often leads to unheard of violence on the edge of madness. Canetti goes back to the archaic essence of laughter and shows the deep similarities with the act of eating. He considers the gesture of gulping down food as an act of incorporation, that is the first form of power and oppression. This type of humor finds an expression in different stylistic features of the grotesque. Through the analysis of some of his works, especially of his theatre plays and his novel Auto da fé, it clearly appears that the grotesque of Canetti is closely linked to the idea of mask.In this regard, Canetti’s definition of "acoustic mask" is by now well known. However, of great interest is the study of his literary  production in the light of a more complex meaning of the term mask, as the author himself points out in his anthropological essay Crowds and power, where alongside the acoustic elements he also includes visual ones. In this way, the broader concept of "grotesque mask" can be defined. This approach gives evidence of Canetti’s debt, not only towards acoustic elements related to his stay in  Vienna and to the influence of his great idol Karl Kraus, but also to the visual arts and, especially, to Brueghel and Goya. In sum, the grotesque masks show their inability to communicate not only in a verbal sense, but especially through their body language, as they are totally unable to touch each other in any way

The Hidden Fairy Tale: Oskar Kokoschka’s Die träumenden Knaben

Kokoschka’s first literary work The Dreaming Youths (Die träumenden Knaben) was published in 1908. The work includes a poem with eight colored and two black and white lithographs. Although the young artist was commissioned by the Wiener Werkstätte to make a children’s picture book, the end result seemed quite different: a sort of personal tale of self-discovery and sexual awakening during puberty placed in a dream scenario. Kokoschka himself remembers in his autobiography only following the task in the first lithograph. The aim of this paper is to show how Kokoschka actually continued to draw on the language of fairy tales, although apparently taking distance from it. The crucial role of children’s literature in adult life emerges especially within the process of shaping childhood memories and approaching traumatic experiences. The use of fairy tales becomes, therefore, an autobiographical urge and a means to tell personal experience through a universal language

In the Cage of Kafka and Canetti

This paper investigates anthropogenesis, which is the process of becoming human, from an interdisciplinary perspective, namely among science, theatre, and visual arts. The motif of animals locked in a cage – especially apes, but not only – is recurrent when talking about humans and their origin as cultural beings. Relying on some monkey portraits made by Gabriel von Max, in which the animals appear deprived of their freedom, the focus is on Kafka’s short story Ein Bericht für eine Akademie (A Report to an Academy, 1917) and on Elias Canetti’s novel Die Blendung (Auto da Fé, 1935), mainly on a chapter entitled “Ein Irrenhaus” (A Madhouse). In both texts we are confronted with an ongoing metamorphosis, with hybrid figures in which the boundaries between man and ape are blurred. Although in one case the ape becomes a man and in the other the man becomes an ape, so that both metamorphoses proceed in opposite directions, the ultimate goal is freedom. However, this freedom reveals all its problematic nature since escape from the cage does not always mean liberation. The two texts, which are presented as a reinterpretation of the myth of the origin of culture between nostalgia for a distant past and critique of human progress, are essential reflections on the power dynamics at the basis of civilization

Benefit from decline: the primary transcriptome of Alteromonas macleodii str. Te101 during Trichodesmium demise

Interactions between co-existing microorganisms deeply affect the physiology of the involved organisms and, ultimately, the function of the ecosystem as a whole. Copiotrophic Alteromonas are marine gammaproteobacteria that thrive during the late stages of phytoplankton blooms in the marine environment and in laboratory co-cultures with cyanobacteria such as Trichodesmium. The response of this heterotroph to the sometimes rapid and transient changes in nutrient supply when the phototroph crashes is not well understood. Here, we isolated and sequenced the strain Alteromonas macleodii str. Te101 from a laboratory culture of Trichodesmium erythraeum IMS101, yielding a chromosome of 4.63 Mb and a single plasmid of 237 kb. Increasing salinities to ≥43 ppt inhibited the growth of Trichodesmium but stimulated growth of the associated Alteromonas. We characterized the transcriptomic responses of both microorganisms and identified the complement of active transcriptional start sites in Alteromonas at single-nucleotide resolution. In replicate cultures, a similar set of genes became activated in Alteromonas when growth rates of Trichodesmium declined and mortality was high. The parallel activation of fliA, rpoS and of flagellar assembly and growth-related genes indicated that Alteromonas might have increased cell motility, growth, and multiple biosynthetic activities. Genes with the highest expression in the data set were three small RNAs (Aln1a-c) that were identified as analogs of the small RNAs CsrB-C in E. coli or RsmX-Z in pathogenic bacteria. Together with the carbon storage protein A (CsrA) homolog Te101_05290, these RNAs likely control the expression of numerous genes in responding to changes in the environmentThis work was supported by the EU project MaCuMBA (grant agreement no. 311975) to WRH and FRVby the German Israeli Foundation grant no. 1133 to IB-F and WRHSupport of ML-P by a postdoctoral fellowship from the Valencian Consellería de Educació, Investigació, Cultura i Esport (APOSTD/2016/051)of SH by the China Scholarship Council is gratefully acknowledged

Прецеденты снижения распространенности немецкого языка в Бразилии во второй половине XX вв. (на примере опроса учащихся школ штата Санта-Катарина)

Although functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) has gained increasing importance in investigating neural substrates of anxiety disorders, less is known about the stress eliciting properties of the scanner environment itself. The aim of the study was to investigate feasibility, self-reported distress and anxiety management strategies during an fMRI experiment in a comprehensive sample of patients with panic disorder and agoraphobia (PD/AG). Within the national research network PANIC-NET, n = 89 patients and n = 90 controls participated in a multicenter fMRI study. Subjects completed a retrospective questionnaire on self-reported distress, including a habituation profile and exploratory questions about helpful strategies. Drop-out rates and fMRI quality parameters were employed as markers of study feasibility. Different anxiety measures were used to identify patients particularly vulnerable to increased scanner anxiety and impaired data quality. Three (3.5%) patients terminated the session prematurely. While drop-out rates were comparable for patients and controls, data quality was moderately impaired in patients. Distress was significantly elevated in patients compared to controls; claustrophobic anxiety was furthermore associated with pronounced distress and lower fMRI data quality in patients. Patients reported helpful strategies, including motivational factors and cognitive coping strategies. The feasibility of large-scale fMRI studies on PD/AG patients could be proved. Study designs should nevertheless acknowledge that the MRI setting may enhance stress reactions. Future studies are needed to investigate the relationship between self-reported distress and fMRI data in patient groups that are subject to neuroimaging research

Finanzmärkte, Unternehmungen, Informationen: Ergebnisse des Projektes im Wintersemester 2015/2016

Der vorliegende Beitrag der Wirtschaftswissenschaftlichen Schriften ist ein Sammelband, der die Beiträge der Studierenden des 2. Fachsemesters im Masterstudiengang General Management aus dem Wintersemester 2015/2016 umfasst. Die Einzelbeiträge wurden in einer zwei Monate dauernden Projektarbeit im Herbst 2015 erarbeitet und im Januar 2016 präsentiert. Der diesjährige Themenschwerpunkt lag auf dem Bereich "Banken", jedoch fanden auch andere Bereiche Eingang in das Spektrum der Arbeiten. Das Besondere dieser Ausarbeitungen liegt darin, dass sie in Form eines journalistischen Artikels aufgebaut sind und die Autoren die Aufgabe hatten, eine auch für Nichtfachleute geeignete Form der Darstellung zu finden. Besonderer Wert wurde auch auf einen gut lesbaren Schreibstil und die Vielfalt der Gestaltungsformen gelegt. Die Arbeiten liegen hier in der Originalversion vor und wurden nicht redigiert. Die Fakten wurden nach bestem Wissen ermittelt, jedoch besteht kein Anspruch auf Vollständigkeit

Time series clustering of T cell subsets dissects heterogeneity in immune reconstitution and clinical outcomes among MUD-HCT patients receiving ATG or PTCy

IntroductionAnti-T-lymphocyte globulin (ATG) or post-transplant cyclophosphamide (PTCy) prevent graft-versus-host disease (GVHD) after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT), yet individual patients benefit differentially.MethodsGiven the sparse comparative data on the impact of cellular immune reconstitution in this setting, we studied flow cytometry and clinical outcomes in 339 recipients of 10/10 matched-unrelated donor (MUD) HCT using either ATG (n=304) or PTCy (n=35) for in vivo T cell manipulation along with a haploidentical PTCy control cohort (n=45). Longitudinal cellular immune reconstitution data were analyzed conventionally and with a data science approach using clustering with dynamic time warping to determine the similarity between time-series of T cell subsets.ResultsConsistent with published studies, no significant differences in clinical outcomes were observed at the cohort level between MUD-ATG and MUD-PTCy. However, cellular reconstitution revealed preferences for distinct T cell subpopulations associating with GVHD protection in each setting. Starting early after HCT, MUD-PTCy patients had higher regulatory T cell levels after HCT (p <0.0001), while MUD-ATG patients presented with higher levels of γδ T- or NKT cells (both p <0.0001). Time-series clustering further dissected the patient population’s heterogeneity revealing distinct immune reconstitution clusters. Importantly, it identified phenotypes that reproducibly associated with impaired clinical outcomes within the same in vivo T cell manipulation platform. Exemplarily, patients with lower activated- and αβ T cell counts had significantly higher NRM (p=0.032) and relapse rates (p =0.01).DiscussionThe improved understanding of the heterogeneity of cellular reconstitution in MUD patients with T cell manipulation both at the cohort and individual level may support clinicians in managing HCT complications

Role of the Arabidopsis PIN6 auxin transporter in auxin homeostasis and auxin-mediated development

Plant-specific PIN-formed (PIN) efflux transporters for the plant hormone auxin are required for tissue-specific directional auxin transport and cellular auxin homeostasis. The Arabidopsis PIN protein family has been shown to play important roles in developmental processes such as embryogenesis, organogenesis, vascular tissue differentiation, root meristem patterning and tropic growth. Here we analyzed roles of the less characterised Arabidopsis PIN6 auxin transporter. PIN6 is auxin-inducible and is expressed during multiple auxin–regulated developmental processes. Loss of pin6 function interfered with primary root growth and lateral root development. Misexpression of PIN6 affected auxin transport and interfered with auxin homeostasis in other growth processes such as shoot apical dominance, lateral root primordia development, adventitious root formation, root hair outgrowth and root waving. These changes in auxin-regulated growth correlated with a reduction in total auxin transport as well as with an altered activity of DR5-GUS auxin response reporter. Overall, the data indicate that PIN6 regulates auxin homeostasis during plant development.Christopher I. Cazzonelli, Marleen Vanstraelen, Sibu Simon, Kuide Yin, Ashley Carron-Arthur, Nazia Nisar, Gauri Tarle, Abby J. Cuttriss¤, Iain R. Searle, Eva Benkova, Ulrike Mathesius, Josette Masle, Jiří Friml, Barry J. Pogso

Real‐world outcomes using PD‐1 antibodies and BRAF + MEK inhibitors for adjuvant melanoma treatment from 39 skin cancer centers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland

Abstract Background Programmed death‐1 (PD‐1) antibodies and BRAF + MEK inhibitors are widely used for adjuvant therapy of fully resected high‐risk melanoma. Little is known about treatment efficacy outside of phase III trials. This real‐world study reports on clinical outcomes of modern adjuvant melanoma treatment in specialized skin cancer centers in Germany, Austria and Switzerland. Methods Multicenter, retrospective study investigating stage III–IV melanoma patients receiving adjuvant nivolumab (NIV), pembrolizumab (PEM) or dabrafenib + trametinib (D + T) between 1/2017 and 10/2021. The primary endpoint was 12‐month recurrence‐free survival (RFS). Further analyses included descriptive and correlative statistics, and a multivariate linear‐regression machine learning model to assess the risk of early melanoma recurrence. Results In total, 1198 patients from 39 skin cancer centers from Germany, Austria and Switzerland were analysed. The vast majority received anti PD‐1 therapies (n = 1003). Twelve‐month RFS for anti PD‐1 and BRAF + MEK inhibitor‐treated patients were 78.1% and 86.5%, respectively (hazard ratio [HR] 1.998 [95% CI 1.335–2.991]; p = 0.001). There was no statistically significant difference in overall survival (OS) in anti PD‐1 (95.8%) and BRAF + MEK inhibitor (96.9%) treated patients (p > 0.05) during the median follow‐up of 17 months. Data indicates that anti PD‐1 treated patients who develop immune‐related adverse events (irAEs) have lower recurrence rates compared to patients with no irAEs (HR 0.578 [95% CI 0.443–0.754], p = 0.001). BRAF mutation status did not affect overall efficacy of anti PD‐1 treatment (p > 0.05). In both, anti PD‐1 and BRAF + MEK inhibitor treated cohorts, data did not show any difference in 12‐month RFS and 12‐month OS comparing patients receiving total lymph node dissection (TLND) versus sentinel lymph node biopsy only (p > 0.05). The recurrence prediction model reached high specificity but only low sensitivity with an AUC = 0.65. No new safety signals were detected. Overall, recorded numbers and severity of adverse events were lower than reported in pivotal phase III trials. Conclusions Despite recent advances in adjuvant melanoma treatment, early recurrence remains a significant clinical challenge. This study shows that TLND does not reduce the risk of early melanoma recurrence and should only be considered in selected patients. Data further highlight that variables collected during clinical routine are unlikely to allow for a clinically relevant prediction of individual recurrence risk