Studies on the dual in Mycenaean, in the Homeric poetry and in the Attic Theatre of the 5th century — morphological, dialectal and stylistical variations

The present dissertation focuses on the dual number in Ancient Greek in a diachronical lapse stretching from the Mycenaean age to the Attic Drama and Comedy of the 5th century BC. In the first chapter morphological issues are addressed, chiefly in a comparative perspective. The Indo European evidence on the dual is hence gathered in order to sketch patterns of grammaticalisation and paradigmatisation of specific grams, growing increasingly functional within the Greek domain. In the second chapter syntactical problems are tackled. After a survey of scholarly literature on the Greek dual, we engage in a functional and typological approach, in order to disentangle some biased assessments on the dual, namely its alleged lack of regularity and intermittent agreement. Some recent frameworks in General Linguistics provide useful grounds for casting new light on the subject. Internal Reconstruction, for instance, supports the facultativity of the dual in each and every stage of its development; Typology and the Animacy Hierarcy add precious cross linguistical insight on the behaviour of the dual toward agreement. Glaring differences also arise as to the adoption — or avoidance — of the dual by different authors. Idiolectal varieties prove in fact conditioned by stylistical and register necessity. By means of a comparison among Epics, Tragedy and Comedy it is possible to enhance differences in the evaluation of the dual, which led sometimes to forms of ‘censure’ — thus triggering the onset of competing strategies to express duality. The last two chapters delve into the tantalising variety of the Homeric evidence, first of all in an account of the notorious issue of the Embassy of Iliad IX, and last in a commentary of all significant Homeric duals — mostly represented by archaisms, formulae, and ad hoc coinages.

The Bible in Medieval Love Lyrics: A Fundamental Element of European Poetry Books

The focus of this study is the relationship among three different manuscripts (Modena, Bibl. Estense, MS α.R.4.4; Firenze, Bibl. Laurenziana MS Rediano 9; and London, BL, MS Harley, 2253) and the poetry they transmit. The aim of this research is to show the ways that the Bible was used in the transmission of the lyric poetry in the three literatures that they represent: Occitan (primarily through Marcabru’s songs), Italian (through the love poetry of Guittone d’Arezzo), and Middle English (through the Harley love lyrics and the MS.’s primary scribe), in a medieval European context.

Soundward: Analisi e traduzione di una selezione di brani della jazz poetry

La letteratura e la musica hanno da sempre condiviso molti aspetti del processo creativo. Questa affinità intellettuale si è più volte espressa attraverso la produzione di opere che si incontrano a metà strada tra le due arti. All'interno di queste occorrenze si è delineata una frangia letteraria, la Jazz Poetry, che trova nel jazz e nei suoi esponenti le proprie muse. Questo lavoro analizza il fenomeno della Jazz Poetry e propone le traduzioni dall'inglese all'italiano di alcune opere esemplificative. Per essere in grado di affrontare questa sfida adeguatamente, la prima parte della tesi verte sullo studio di alcuni punti cardine della traduzione poetica e sulla costruzione di una cornice storico-culturale. All'interno di questa cornice viene analizzato il ruolo del jazz e della Jazz Poetry all'interno della società, con particolare focus sulla sua posizione rispetto ad alcune tematiche di rilievo del Novecento. Vengono evidenziati i principali autori e le distinte genesi storico-letterarie che hanno contribuito alla formazione di questo movimento. Nella seconda parte viene presentata al lettore la traduzione e la successiva analisi dei brani scelti. I sei testi sono stati divisi in due sottocategorie: la poetica di Kaufman e i Coltrane Poems. In entrambe le categorie un breve capitolo introduttivo evidenzia le tematiche affrontate e la rilevanza della cornice storico-sociale all'interno dei testi. Dopo ogni traduzione viene fornita un'analisi approfondita del testo e delle scelte operate a livello traduttivo, comprensiva di un'esegesi del brano. In linea di massima si è cercato di riprodurre il continuo dialogo tra il poeta e il soggetto poetico, sia esso musica o musicista, mantenendo un equilibrio costante tra la potenzialità orale e la realtà scritta del testo.

Prevention, diagnosis, therapy and follow-up care of sepsis: 1st revision of S-2k guidelines of the German Sepsis Society (Deutsche Sepsis-Gesellschaft e.V. (DSG)) and the German Interdisciplinary Association of Intensive Care and Emergency Medicine (Deutsche Interdisziplinäre Vereinigung für Intensiv- und Notfallmedizin (DIVI))

Practice guidelines are systematically developed statements and recommendations that assist the physicians and patients in making decisions about appropriate health care measures for specific clinical circumstances taking into account specific national health care structures. The 1(st) revision of the S-2k guideline of the German Sepsis Society in collaboration with 17 German medical scientific societies and one self-help group provides state-of-the-art information (results of controlled clinical trials and expert knowledge) on the effective and appropriate medical care (prevention, diagnosis, therapy and follow-up care) of critically ill patients with severe sepsis or septic shock. The guideline had been developed according to the "German Instrument for Methodological Guideline Appraisal" of the Association of the Scientific Medical Societies (AWMF). In view of the inevitable advancements in scientific knowledge and technical expertise, revisions, updates and amendments must be periodically initiated. The guideline recommendations may not be applied under all circumstances. It rests with the clinician to decide whether a certain recommendation should be adopted or not, taking into consideration the unique set of clinical facts presented in connection with each individual patient as well as the available resources.

Intensified chemotherapy and dose-reduced involved-field radiotherapy in patients with early unfavorable Hodgkin's lymphoma: final analysis of the German Hodgkin Study Group HD11 trial

Combined-modality treatment consisting of four to six cycles of chemotherapy followed by involved-field radiotherapy (IFRT) is the standard of care for patients with early unfavorable Hodgkin's lymphoma (HL). It is unclear whether treatment results can be improved with more intensive chemotherapy and which radiation dose needs to be applied.

Heterogeneity in vaccination coverage explains the size and occurrence of measles epidemics in German surveillance data

The objective of this study was to characterize empirically the association between vaccination coverage and the size and occurrence of measles epidemics in Germany. In order to achieve this we analysed data routinely collected by the Robert Koch Institute, which comprise the weekly number of reported measles cases at all ages as well as estimates of vaccination coverage at the average age of entry into the school system. Coverage levels within each federal state of Germany are incorporated into a multivariate time-series model for infectious disease counts, which captures occasional outbreaks by means of an autoregressive component. The observed incidence pattern of measles for all ages is best described by using the log proportion of unvaccinated school starters in the autoregressive component of the model.

Impact of treatment characteristics on response of different breast cancer phenotypes: pooled analysis of the German neo-adjuvant chemotherapy trials

Pathological complete response (pCR) to neoadjuvant treatment correlates with outcome in breast cancer. We determined whether characteristics of neoadjuvant therapy are associated with pCR. We used multi-level models, which accounted for heterogeneity in pCR across trials and trial arms, to analyze individual patient data from 3332 women included in 7 German neoadjuvant trials with uniform protocols. PCR was associated with an increase in number of chemotherapy cycles (odds ratio [OR] 1.2 for every two additional cycles; P = 0.009), with higher cumulative anthracycline doses (OR 1.6; P = 0.002), higher cumulative taxane doses (OR 1.6; P = 0.009), and with capecitabine containing regimens (OR 1.62; P = 0.022). Association of pCR with increase in number of cycles appeared more pronounced in hormone receptor (HR)-positive tumors (OR 1.35) than in HR-negative tumors (OR 1.04; P for interaction = 0.046). Effect of anthracycline dose was particularly pronounced in HER2-negative tumors (OR 1.61), compared to HER2-positive tumors (OR 0.83; P for interaction = 0.14). Simultaneous trastuzumab treatment in HER2-positive tumors increased odds of pCR 3.2-fold (P < 0.001). No association of pCR and number of trastuzumab cycles was found (OR 1.20, P = 0.39). Dosing characteristics appear important for successful treatment of breast cancer. Longer treatment, higher cumulative doses of anthracyclines and taxanes, and the addition of capecitabine and trastuzumab are associated with better response. Tailoring according to breast cancer phenotype might be possible: longer treatment in HR-positive tumors, higher cumulative anthracycline doses for HER2-negative tumors, shorter treatment at higher cumulative doses for triple-negative tumors, and limited number of preoperative trastuzumab cycles in HER2-positive tumors.

Attacks on German public figures, 1968-2004: warning behaviors, potentially lethal and non-lethal acts, psychiatric status, and motivations

Fourteen non-terrorist attackers of public figures in Germany between 1968 and 2004 were intensively studied, with a particular focus on warning behaviors, attack behaviors, and the relationship between psychiatric diagnosis, symptoms, and motivations for the assault. A large proportion of the attackers were severely mentally ill, and most likely to be in the potentially lethal rather than the non-lethal group. A new typology of seven warning behaviors was applied to the data, and all were present, most frequently fixation and pathway warning behavior, and least frequently a direct threat. Psychiatric diagnosis could be closely linked to motivation when analyzed at the level of symptom and content of thought, often delusional. Most of the attacks were directed at political figures, and the majority occurred after 1995.

Work-related behavior and experience patterns and predictors of mental health in German physicians in medical practice

Background and Objectives: Work-related stress and burnout among physicians are of increasing relevance. The aim of this study was to investigate work-related behavior and experience patterns and predictors of mental health of physicians working in medical practice in Germany. Methods: We surveyed a stratified, random sample of 900 physicians from different specialties. The questionnaire included the standardized instruments Work-related Behavior and Experience Pattern (AVEM) and the Short Form-12 Health Survey (SF-12). Results: Only one third of physicians reported high or very high general satisfaction with their job, but 64% would choose to study medicine again. Only 18% of physicians presented a healthy behavior and experience pattern. Almost 40% presented a pattern of reduced motivation to work, 21% were at risk of overexertion, and 22% at risk for burnout. Willingness to study medicine again, fulfilled job expectations, professional years, marital status, and behavior patterns were significant predictors of mental health and accounted for 35.6% of the variance in mental health scores. Job-related perceptions also had a significant effect on burnout. Conclusions: The strong influence of work-related perceptions suggests a need for realistic expectation management in medical education, as well as support in stress management and coping strategies during medical training.

[Cost analysis of contrast-enhanced cranial MRI at a German university hospital]

Detailed evaluation and cost analysis of a cranial contrast-enhanced MRI (c-ceMRI) in outpatients, inpatients, patients in an intensive care unit and children under anesthesia.