L.S. Vygotsky and the Theater

The article presents the analysis of L.S. Vygotsky's works dedicated to the theater arts and is organized according Vygotsky's different life and work stages. Meanwhile special attention is paid to the Gomel period during which a large number of reviews were written by Vygotsky and published in “Nash ponedel'nik” and “Polesskaia pravda” newspapers. Biographical facts are widely used in this analysis and help to clarify Vygotsky's interest in art. It is shown that even at the beginning of his oeuvre, he was interested not only in a range of problems in art, but also psychological problems related to art perception and creativeness. Vygotsky's usage of structural concept ideas about the peculiar properties of literary text composition are also explored. Vygotsky analyzes the socio-psychological mechanisms of theatrical art effect. Furthermore, those areas which are widely used by Vygotsky in determining the characteristics of cast reincarnation are examined. Special emphasis is placed on the different elements of the actor techniques (speech, movement, emotional expression, acting personality and etc.). Materials are widely used in this study and help identify the socio-cultural context that defined Vygotsky's values at different stages of his work, related to his drama criticism and his formation as a professional psychologist.     

24-hour changes in circulating prolactin, follicle-stimulating hormone, luteinizing hormone, and testosterone in young male rats subjected to calorie restriction

This work analyzes the effect of calorie restriction on the 24 h variation of pituitary-testicular function in young male Wistar rats by measuring the circulating levels of prolactin, follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and testosterone. Control animals were provided an equilibrium calorie diet and the experimental animals a calorie-restriction diet equivalent to 66% of food restriction for four weeks starting on day 35 of life. Different groups of control and experimental rats were killed at 6 h intervals around the clock, beginning 1 h after light on (HALO). Compared to the control animals, the mean secretion of prolactin was augmented and that of LH and testosterone decreased in calorie-restricted rats, whereas FSH release remained unchanged. Significant changes in the 24 h secretory pattern of circulating prolactin, LH, and testosterone occurred in the calorie-restricted rats. These include the appearance of a second maximum of plasma prolactin at 21 HALO, blunting of the LH peak seen at 13 HALO, and phase-shift of the testosterone peak from 13 HALO in controls to 17 HALO in calorie-restricted rats. The significant positive correlation between individual LH and testosterone levels found in controls was no longer observed in calorie-restricted rats. Availability of nutrients presumably affects the mechanisms that modulate the circadian variation of the pituitary-gonadal axis in growing male rats.     

昆虫双杂交实验中家蚕BmHSP83和BmMAD3蛋白引起的假性现象

昆虫双杂交(Insect two-hybrid,I2H)技术是研究昆虫细胞蛋白质相互作用的一种方法.本研究利用Gateway克隆技术,构建了家蚕Bombyx mori蛋白BmHSP83和BmPDIA5,以及BmMAD3和BmMAN1的I2H载体;然后,将载体与报告质粒pUAS-Luc一起转染SF-9细胞,检测其发光值....     

Seasonality and coronary heart disease deaths in United States firefighters

United States firefighters have a high on-duty fatality rate, and coronary heart disease is the leading cause. Seasonality affects the incidence of cardiovascular events in the general population, but its effects on firefighters are unknown. This study statistically examined the seasonal and annual variation of all on-duty coronary heart disease deaths among US firefighters between 1994 and 2004 using the chi-square distribution and Poisson regression model of the monthly fatality counts. It also examined the effect of ambient temperature (apparent as well as wind chill temperature) on coronary heart disease fatalities during the study span using a time-stratified, case-crossover study design. When grouped by season, we observed the distribution of the 449 coronary heart disease fatalities to show a relative peak in winter (32%) and relative nadir in spring (21%). This pattern was significantly different (p=0.005) from the expected distribution under the null hypothesis of season having no effect. The pattern persisted in additional analyses, stratifying the deaths by the type of duty in which the firefighters were engaged at the time of their deaths. In the Poisson regression model of the monthly fatality counts, the overall goodness-of-fit between the actual and predicted case counts was excellent (χ₄²=16.63; p=0.002). Two distinct peaks were detected: one in January-February and the other in August-September. Overall temperature was not associated with increased risk of on-duty death. After allowing for different effects of temperature in mild/hot versus cold periods, a 1°C increase was not protective in cold weather; nor did it increase the risk of death in warmer weather. The findings of this study reveal statistical evidence for excess coronary heart disease deaths among firefighters during winter; however, the temporal pattern of coronary heart disease deaths was not linked to temperature variation. The seasonal pattern was also found to be independent of duty-related risks.