When Stalinism was at its peak, between 1948 and 1953, there was a marked escalation in anti-Jewish manifestations by the Soviet regime, which has often been called “state,'' ''offi cial,'' or ''Stalinist'' antisemitism. This article endeavours to provide an account of this by analysing the image of the ''Jew'' in the propaganda of the time. The basis for the analysis is the concept of the ''image of the enemy'' as a basic fi gure of the totalitarian ideological canon. The article traces the way in which the image was fi lled with meanings linked with the term ''Jew.'' To this end, the author employs the so-called semiotic textual analysis, which enables her to gradually uncover the character of the signs in the propagandistic language. She focuses on two propaganda campaigns that dominated the Soviet public space in this period. One was against so-called ''cosmopolitanism,'' from January to March 1949; the other was the so-called ''Doctor’s Plot'' from January to March 1953. The method in concern enables her to provide evidence of the anti-Jewish orientation of the campaigns, which have so far been deduced chiefl y from quantitative lists of acts of repression against specifi c individuals of Jewish descent. Analysis of the semantic fi eld of the image of the ''Jew'' then reveals the mechanisms that, because of the many layers of the sign character of this image, were used to provide reasons for the home and foreign policies of the Soviet regime, as well as to justify its problems at home and abroad. The last part of the article consists of conclusions that the author fi nds applicable to the Czechoslovak case at that time.
Text hodnotí soubor renesančních portrétních kachlů, nalezených při archeologickém výzkumu v areálu bývalých kasáren na náměstí Republiky v Praze. Celkem 6 nalezených typů se od sebe liší portrétovanými osobami ve středovém medailonu, z nichž lze identifikovat Jana Husa, Erasma Rotterdamského a vévodu Jiřího Saského. Celý soubor doplňuje identicky ztvárněný kachel z hradu Křivoklátu, nesoucí portrét zakladatele jáchymovské mincovny Štěpána Šlika. S do detailu shodnými portréty těchto osobností se setkáváme na dobových medailích z produkce jáchymovské mincovny, což dovoluje vyslovit hypotézu, že tvůrcem modelů pro výrobu kachlových forem byl některý z krušnohorských medailérů, nejspíše Hieronymus Dietrich. Vročení příslušných medailí v kombinaci se zhodnocením nálezového kontextu a doprovodných archeologických nálezů umožňuje datovat vznik celého souboru do konce 30. či průběhu 40. let 16. století a jeho výrobu přiřknout hrnčíři Adamu Špačkovi, pracujícímu na příslušné parcele v letech 1531–1572. Charakter kachlových zlomků (neglazované polotovary) poskytuje zároveň příležitost ke sledování technologie jejich výroby. Některé detaily dosvědčují, že kachle byly vyráběny otiskem ze dvou do sebe vkládaných forem, přičemž vnější forma s okrajovou výzdobou byla všem typům společná. Zhodnocení souboru z hlediska ikonografického a ikonologického v kombinaci s porovnáním s nálezy některých typů kachlů z jiných lokalit dovoluje vyslovit hypotézu, že původní kachlové formy, resp. pozitivní modely pro jejich výrobu vznikaly patrně jednotlivě v jáchymovském prostředí. Reliéfy již hotových kachlů pak byly přetiskovány a vznikaly tak formy druhotné, z nichž byly vyráběny i kachle ve Špačkově dílně, kde se také všechny typy spojily v jeden celek určený ke stavbě jednoho kamnového tělesa. and The text contains an evaluation of a collection of Renaissance portrait stove tiles found during excavations in the area of the former barracks on náměstí [Square] Republiky in Prague. The 6 various types differ from one another in the figures portrayed in their central medallions, among whom it is possible to identify Jan Hus, Erasmus of Rotterdam and Duke George of Saxony. The entire collection is complemented by identically made tile from Křivoklát Castle, bearing a portrait of the founder of the Jáchymov mint, Štěpán Šlik. Portraits comparable even in the details of these personalities are known from period medals made by the Jáchymov mint, allowing the hypothesis that the models for making the tile moulds were created by one of the Krušné Hory medal-makers, most likely Hieronymus Dietrich. The dating of the relevant medals, in combination with an assessment of stove-tiles‘ finds contexts and accompanying archaeological finds, makes it possible to date the creation of the collection fairly precisely to the end of 1530s or 1540s, and to ascribe its manufacture to the potter Adam Špaček, who worked on the same plot in the years 1531–1572. The nature of the tile fragments (unglazed, semi-finished products) at the same time offers a unique opportunity to study the technology of their manufacture. Several details indicate that the tiles were made by imprint from two moulds set into each other, the outer – bearing the peripheral decoration – remaining the same for each type. An evaluation of the collection from the iconographic and iconological perspectives, in combination with a comparison with finds of several types of stove tile from other sites, allows the hypothesis that the original moulds, or the positive models for the production of same, originated separately in the Jáchymov milieu. The reliefs on already made tiles were then overprinted, giving rise to secondary forms, from which the tiles from Špaček’s workshop in Prague were also made, and where all of the types were joined into a single whole to create individual stove body.
3H thymidine was injected into pregnant mice in order to label the DNA in the dividing Purkinje cell (PC) precursors of the embryonic cerebellum. The retention of 3H-DNA was evaluated in PC nuclei of animals at the age of 25 days, 3, 6 or 9 months by light microscope autoradiography. The number of silver grains decreased in the whole nuclei by 13.6 % and 19.6 % in animals 6- and 9-month-old, respectively. In the nucleolar region, the loss of DNA radioactivity was more profound; the silver grain counts decreased by 22.6 % and 29.1 % in 6-and 9- month-old animals, respectively. No significant differences in the volume and dry mass concentration were found in the PC nuclei of 25 PD and 9 PM old animals. Therefore, the observed changes in grain density counts represent the actual measure of 3H-DNA loss, and /or "spontaneous" renewal of the DNA molecule in PC nuclei, as well as its higher expression in the nucleolar region. Furthermore, it follows from the comparison of our data with those present in the literature, that DNA synthesized in nerve cell precursors before their withdrawal from the mitotic cycle is more stable than that synthesized in postmitotic neurones. This suggests that the repair of DNA in mature neurones might be of an error-prone type.
Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a life-threatening disease arising as a frequent complication of diabetes, obesity and hypertension. Since it is typically undetected for long periods, it often progresses to end-stage renal disease. CKD is characterized by the development of progressive glomerulosclerosis, interstitial fibrosis and tubular atrophy along with a decreased glomerular filtration rate. This is associated with podocyte injury and a progressive rise in proteinuria. As endothelin-1 (ET-1) through the activation of endothelin receptor type A (ETA) promotes renal cell injury, inflammation, and fibrosis which finally lead to proteinuria, it is not surprising that ETA receptors antagonists have been proven to have beneficial renoprotective effects in both experimental and clinical studies in diabetic and non-diabetic CKD. Unfortunately, fluid retention encountered in large clinical trials in diabetic CKD led to the termination of these studies. Therefore, several advances, including the synthesis of new antagonists with enhanced pharmacological activity, the use of lower doses of ET antagonists, the addition of diuretics, plus simply searching for distinct pathological states to be treated, are promising targets for future experimental studies. In support of these approaches, our group demonstrated in adult subtotally nephrectomized Ren-2 transgenic rats that the addition of a diuretic on top of renin-angiotensin and ETA blockade led to a further decrease of proteinuria. This effect was independent of blood pressure which was normalized in all treated groups. Recent data in non-diabetic CKD, therefore, indicate a new potential for ETA antagonists, at least under certain pathological conditions., I. Vaněčková, S. Hojná, M. Kadlecová, Z. Vernerová, L. Kopkan, L. Červenka, J. Zicha., and Seznam literatury