Virtuosités ou Les sublimes aventures de la technique

Quel que soit l’objet auquel elle s’applique – un tour étonnant, un motif compliqué, un solo très rapide, une acrobatie dangereuse, une machine particulièrement douée pour accomplir certaines opérations –, la virtuosité évoque une forme d’autonomisation et d’autocélébration de la technique, en même temps qu’une part de sublimation ou de dépassement de celle-ci. En empruntant des exemples à des univers qui sont rarement confrontés, ce numéro vise à montrer en quoi les « faits de virtuosité » permettent de penser de manière nouvelle la relation entre l’art et la technique. Contributeurs : Emmanuel Grimaud, Aurélie Helmlinger, Antoine Hennion, Graham Jones, Denis Laborde, Zaven Paré, Stéphane Rennesson et Denis Vidal No matter what it is applied to—in a stunning turn, a complicated motif, a very fast solo, a dangerous acrobatic move, a machine that is particularly good at performing certain operations—, virtuosity evokes a kind of empowerment and self-celebration of technique, while also to some extent being the sublimation or surpassing of this. Taking examples from worlds that are rarely confronted, this issue sets out to show how the “facts of virtuosity” enable us to think differently about the relationship between art and technique. Contributors: Emmanuel Grimaud, Aurélie Helmlinger, Antoine Hennion, Graham Jones, Denis Laborde, Zaven Paré, Stéphane Rennesson et Denis Vida

Synthesis and Antiradical/Antioxidant Activities of Caffeic Acid Phenethyl Ester and Its Related Propionic, Acetic, and Benzoic Acid Analoguesc

Caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) is a bioactive component isolated from propolis. A series of CAPE analogues was synthesized and their antiradical/antioxidant effects analyzed. The effect of the presence of the double bond and of the conjugated system on the antioxidant effect is evaluated with the analogues obtained from 3-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) propanoic acid. Those obtained from 2-(3,4-dihydroxyphenyl) acetic acid and 3,4-dihydroxybenzoic acid allow the evaluation of the effect of the presence of two carbons between the carbonyl and aromatic system

Antiproliferative, antiandrogenic and cytotoxic effects of novel caffeic acid derivatives in LNCaP human androgen-dependent prostate cancer cells.

International audienceCaffeic acid and its naturally occurring derivative caffeic acid phenethyl ester (CAPE) have antiproliferative and cytotoxic properties in a variety of cancer cell lines without displaying significant toxicity toward healthy cells, and are considered to be potential anticancer agents. However, little is known about their effects on prostate cancer cells. We synthesized and evaluated the effects of caffeic acid, CAPE (2) and 18 synthetic derivatives on cell viability and androgen-dependent cell proliferation, subcellular localisation and expression of androgen receptor (AR) and secretion of prostate-specific antigen (PSA) in LNCaP human hormone-dependent prostate cancer cells. Several synthetic derivatives of CAPE were strong, concentration-dependent cytotoxic agents in LNCaP cells with IC50 values in the 6.8-26.6 μM range, potencies that were up to five-fold greater than that of CAPE (33.7±4.0 μM). A number of caffeic acid derivatives were inhibitors of androgen-stimulated LNCaP cell proliferation with concomitant inhibition of DHT-stimulated PSA secretion. Compound 24 was the most cytotoxic and antiproliferative caffeic acid derivative (IC50 values of 6.8±0.3 and 2.4±0.8 μM, respectively) inhibiting DHT-stimulated cell proliferation and PSA secretion statistically significantly at concentrations as low as 0.3 μM. Exposure to DHT increased cytoplasmic and nuclear AR levels and co-treatment with increasing concentrations of compound 24 or CAPE (2), notably, further increased these levels. In conclusion, a number of synthetic derivatives of caffeic acid are potent inhibitors of androgen-dependent prostate cancer cell proliferation and viability, acting, at least in part, via an antiandrogenic mechanism that involves increased nuclear accumulation of (presumably inactive) AR

Le Monstrueux et l’Humain

Une étude culturelle des concepts et des modes de représentation du monstrueux ne saurait faire abstraction des rapports étroits que celui-ci, en tant qu’altérité, entretient avec ce qui fonde l’iden­tité : l’humain. L’interdépendance et la complémen­tarité de ces deux notions (aussi bien, des idées et des images qu’elles engendrent) ouvrent une per­spective sur plusieurs domaines culturels : celui de Yépistèmé et des ordres discursifs, celui de la diffé­rence, mais aussi de l’analogie de phénomènes, en apparence, incompatibles, et celui, enfin, de la fascination esthétique que suscite le monstrueux au moment de son imagination et de sa manifes­tation, notamment dans la littérature et les arts, de l’Antiquité à l’extrême contemporain. Loin d’être de simples images de l’autre, les représentations du monstrueux nous parlent de l’humain : elles incitent à réfléchir sur ce qui est notre essence, elles éclairent les zones d’ombre qui se cachent en nous ou dans la société et démasquent les discours humanistes bon marché. L’art et la littérature nous tendent le monstrueux comme un miroir déformant : c’est, non pas en fuyant, mais en soutenant le regard de Méduse que nous apprenons, dans la fascination et dans l’épouvante, à mieux nous connaître