Considering John Lewis Gaddis’s Kennan Biography: Questionable Interpretations and Unpursued Evidence and Issues

Kennan, Gaddis et Bernstein: une introduction Si les divisions disciplinaires ou une absence de curiosité pour l’historiographie de la Guerre froide ont tenu nombre de lecteurs de cette revue éloignés des travaux et de l’action de Barton J. Bernstein, John L. Gaddis et George F. Kennan, ces propos liminaires entendent réduire cette distance. Pour ce faire, ils saisissent les enjeux transdisciplinaires du débat que nous poursuivons en publiant cet essai détaillé du premier sur la biographie qu..

Hydrodynamic theory of an electron gas

The generalised hydrodynamic theory of an electron gas, which does not rely on an assumption of a local equilibrium, is derived as the long-wave limit of a kinetic equation. Apart from the common hydrodynamics variables the theory includes the tensor fields of the higher moments of the distribution function. In contrast to the Bloch hydrodynamics, the theory leads to the correct plasmon dispersion and in the low frequency limit recovers the Navies-Stocks hydrodynamics. The linear approximation to the generalised hydrodynamics is closely related to the theory of highly viscous fluids.Comment: 4 pages, revte

Literacy under and over the desk: oppositions and heterogeneity

In this paper I argue that a dominant theme in New Literacy Studies research, the differences between literacy practices inside and outside school, has sometimes involved conflating ‘home literacy’ with private, unregulated ‘vernacular literacy’, and the use of an idealised abstract notion of schooled literacy to represent students’ actual everyday experience in the classroom. Drawing on linguistic ethnographic research in two British primary schools, I use examples of ‘unofficial’ and ‘official’ literacy activities from 10-11 year-olds to show that a wide range of different forms of literacy can be found in the classroom and I argue that the division between ‘vernacular’ and ‘schooled’ is not as clear-cut as is sometimes assumed. My analysis of children’s literacy activities suggests that, on the one hand, unofficial activities orientate towards and index official knowledges and the macro-level institutional order and, on the other hand, official activities are interpenetrated with informal practices and procedures. I also comment on some implications of using the New Literacy Studies ‘events and practices’ conceptual framework for understanding what is going on in classrooms

Polymorphic Signature of the Anti-inflammatory Activity of 2,2′- {[1,2-Phenylenebis(methylene)]bis(sulfanediyl)}bis(4,6- dimethylnicotinonitrile)

Weak noncovalent interactions are the basic forces in crystal engineering. Polymorphism in flexible molecules is very common, leading to the development of the crystals of same organic compounds with different medicinal and material properties. Crystallization of 2,2′- {[1,2-phenylenebis(methylene)]bis(sulfanediyl)}bis(4,6-dimethylnicotinonitrile) by evaporation at room temperature from ethyl acetate and hexane and from methanol and ethyl acetate gave stable polymorphs 4a and 4b, respectively, while in acetic acid, it gave metastable polymorph 4c. The polymorphic behavior of the compound has been visualized through singlecrystal X-ray and Hirshfeld analysis. These polymorphs are tested for anti-inflammatory activity via the complete Freund’s adjuvant-induced rat paw model, and compounds have exhibited moderate activities. Studies of docking in the catalytic site of cyclooxygenase-2 were used to identify potential anti-inflammatory lead compounds. These results suggest that the supramolecular aggregate structure, which is formed in solution, influences the solid state structure and the biological activity obtained upon crystallization

Stellar encounters as the origin of distant solar system objects in highly eccentric orbits

The discovery of Sedna places new constraints on the origin and evolution of our solar system. Here we investigate the possibility that a close encounter with another star produced the observed edge of the Kuiper belt, at roughly 50 AU, and the highly elliptical orbit of Sedna. We show that a passing star probably scattered Sedna from the Kuiper Belt into its observed orbit. The likelihood that a planet at 60-80 AU can be scattered into Sedna's orbit is roughly 50%; this estimate depends critically on the geometry of the flyby. Even more interesting, though, is the roughly 10% chance that Sedna was captured from the outer disk of the passing star. Most captures have very high inclination orbits; detection of these objects would confirm the presence of extrasolar planets in our own Solar System.Comment: 9 pages, 3 figure

Horizontal DNA transfer mechanisms of bacteria as weapons of intragenomic conflict

Horizontal DNA transfer (HDT) is a pervasive mechanism of diversification in many microbial species, but its primary evolutionary role remains controversial. Much recent research has emphasised the adaptive benefit of acquiring novel DNA, but here we argue instead that intragenomic conflict provides a coherent framework for understanding the evolutionary origins of HDT. To test this hypothesis, we developed a mathematical model of a clonally descended bacterial population undergoing HDT through transmission of mobile genetic elements (MGEs) and genetic transformation. Including the known bias of transformation toward the acquisition of shorter alleles into the model suggested it could be an effective means of counteracting the spread of MGEs. Both constitutive and transient competence for transformation were found to provide an effective defence against parasitic MGEs; transient competence could also be effective at permitting the selective spread of MGEs conferring a benefit on their host bacterium. The coordination of transient competence with cell-cell killing, observed in multiple species, was found to result in synergistic blocking of MGE transmission through releasing genomic DNA for homologous recombination while simultaneously reducing horizontal MGE spread by lowering the local cell density. To evaluate the feasibility of the functions suggested by the modelling analysis, we analysed genomic data from longitudinal sampling of individuals carrying Streptococcus pneumoniae. This revealed the frequent within-host coexistence of clonally descended cells that differed in their MGE infection status, a necessary condition for the proposed mechanism to operate. Additionally, we found multiple examples of MGEs inhibiting transformation through integrative disruption of genes encoding the competence machinery across many species, providing evidence of an ongoing "arms race." Reduced rates of transformation have also been observed in cells infected by MGEs that reduce the concentration of extracellular DNA through secretion of DNases. Simulations predicted that either mechanism of limiting transformation would benefit individual MGEs, but also that this tactic's effectiveness was limited by competition with other MGEs coinfecting the same cell. A further observed behaviour we hypothesised to reduce elimination by transformation was MGE activation when cells become competent. Our model predicted that this response was effective at counteracting transformation independently of competing MGEs. Therefore, this framework is able to explain both common properties of MGEs, and the seemingly paradoxical bacterial behaviours of transformation and cell-cell killing within clonally related populations, as the consequences of intragenomic conflict between self-replicating chromosomes and parasitic MGEs. The antagonistic nature of the different mechanisms of HDT over short timescales means their contribution to bacterial evolution is likely to be substantially greater than previously appreciated

Female chacma baboons form strong, equitable, and enduring social bonds

Analyses of the pattern of associations, social interactions, coalitions, and aggression among chacma baboons (Papio hamadryas ursinus) in the Okavango Delta of Botswana over a 16-year period indicate that adult females form close, equitable, supportive, and enduring social relationships. They show strong and stable preferences for close kin, particularly their own mothers and daughters. Females also form strong attachments to unrelated females who are close to their own age and who are likely to be paternal half-sisters. Although absolute rates of aggression among kin are as high as rates of aggression among nonkin, females are more tolerant of close relatives than they are of others with whom they have comparable amounts of contact. These findings complement previous work which indicates that the strength of social bonds enhances the fitness of females in this population and support findings about the structure and function of social bonds in other primate groups

'Let the Right Ones In!': Widening Participation, Academic Writing and the Standards Debate in Higher Education

This paper challenges the frequently expressed concern, post-1992, that widening participation (WP) has contributed to a general ‘dumbing down’ of higher education in English universities *(Burke, 2005; Leathwood, 2010). In particular, it explores the implications of a long-standing ‘moral panic’ (Cohen, 1972) about the poor quality of students’ academic writing, particularly in the ‘new’ universities, which have been raised in various academic reports and countless media articles. A vampire metaphor is used throughout the paper to highlight ways in which assumptions about these falling standards in undergraduates’ academic writing feed on the foundations of a longstanding, albeit implicit, distrust of the growth in the sector on elitist, ideological grounds. The second half of the paper investigates how academic writing practices, whilst difficult to define, nonetheless wield a ‘disciplinary power’ (Foucault, 1980), over lecturers and students in the academy. This includes a discussion about how a situated, New Literacy Studies (NLS) approach to academic writing development challenges the view that students’ academic writing standards are falling. In contrast, the paper suggests that all universities have a responsibility to acknowledge and develop the different literacies that students, especially widening participation students, bring with them to university. (193

Urinary C-Peptide Measurement as a Marker of Nutritional Status in Macaques

Studies of the nutritional status of wild animals are important in a wide range of research areas such as ecology, behavioural ecology and reproductive biology. However, they have so far been strongly limited by the indirect nature of the available non-invasive tools for the measurement of individual energetic status. The measurement of urinary C-peptide (UCP), which in humans and great apes shows a close link to individual nutritional status, may be a more direct, non-invasive tool for such studies in other primates as well and possibly even in non-primate mammals. Here, we test the suitability of UCPs as markers of nutritional status in non-hominid primates, investigating relationships between UCPs and body-mass-index (BMI), skinfold fatness, and plasma C-peptide levels in captive and free-ranging macaques. We also conducted a food reduction experiment, with daily monitoring of body weight and UCP levels. UCP levels showed significant positive correlations with BMI and skinfold fatness in both captive and free-ranging animals and with plasma C-peptide levels in captive ones. In the feeding experiment, UCP levels were positively correlated with changes in body mass and were significantly lower during food reduction than during re-feeding and the pre-experimental control condition. We conclude that UCPs may be used as reliable biomarkers of body condition and nutritional status in studies of free-ranging catarrhines. Our results open exciting opportunities for energetic studies on free-ranging primates and possibly also other mammals