(Re)peindre, dorer, cirer. La thérapéia en acte dans la sculpture grecque hellénistique

Expression de piété, la thérapéia, le « service » rendu aux effigies sacrées dans la Grèce antique, désignait dans un sens profane des opérations liées à la conservation des œuvres, visant à remettre en bon ordre la statue aux mains d’artisans choisis pour leur savoir-faire. L’article présente trois dossiers de sculptures en marbre d’époque hellénistique qui permettent d’approcher concrètement la réalité des gestes opérés en matière de traitements de surface tels que peindre, nettoyer, repeindre, dorer, ou encore appliquer un vernis de cire d’abeille selon l’opération de la ganôsis. Les études de cas concernent une statuette d’Asclépios (Dresde), la statuette féminine dorée de la Maison des Masques (Délos) et le portrait dit de Bérénice II (Musée royal de Mariemont).An expression of piety, therapeia – the “service” rendered to sacred effigies in Ancient Greece – meant, in a secular sense, conservation-related actions, whose purpose was to restore statues to good condition and which were carried out by craftsmen chosen for their savoir-faire. This article presents three studies of marble sculptures dating from the Hellenistic period that have given us concrete knowledge about the actual gestures used in surface treatments such as painting, cleaning, repainting, gilding or even applying a beeswax varnish in the process called ganosis. The case studies here concern a statuette of Asclepios (Dresden), the gilded female statuette from the House of the Masks (Delos) and the portrait known as Berenice II (Musée royal de Mariemont, Belgium)

Introduction. Étudier et conserver la polychromie antique. Vidéo-microscopie et archéologie de la surface

On expose ici la conception d’un volume consacré au devenir matériel de la sculpture dans l’Antiquité, particulièrement aux soins (thérapéia) portés à entretenir l’éclat de la surface des effigies en Grèce ancienne. L’article rappelle l’apport des études en vidéo-microscopie dans une démarche d’archéologie historique de la couleur qui a permis de mettre en évidence des remaniements de surface antiques.One explains about the editorial project of a volume on the conservation of sculpture in Antiquity, focusing on the care (therapeia) paid to maintaining the shine of surface treatments in ancient Greece. In allowing for the detection of physical remains of ancient repaints, video-microscopy has played an important role in the development of a historical archaeology of the surface

Enlargement of the active rift during glaciations

During the last glaciation, an ice sheet covered Iceland approximately 1000 m thick. A reconstruction of the ice flow lines shows that the ice sheet was partly drained through fast-flowing streams. The major drainage routes correlate with locations of geothermal anomalies, suggesting that ice stream activity was favoured by water produced in regions of high geothermal heat flux. A widening of active rift zone was also deduced revealing a coupling between deep and surface processes

Peindre et repeindre sur terre cuite en Grèce hellénistique

Originellement peintes et/ou dorées, les figurines en terre cuite grecques ont parfois été repeintes avant d’être ensevelies ou détruites. L’article s’attache à cette question encore méconnue et présente les recherches menées sur deux statuettes d’époque hellénistique conservées au Louvre : une Ménade (dite Dame Baillehache) de production attique, et un Éros de Priène (Asie mineure). L’étude menée en vidéo-microscopie éclaire la stratigraphie des repeints et montre comment, dans le cas de la Ménade, la forme plastique accidentée a été « réparée » au moyen de la peinture ; elle permet enfin de juger d’effets picturaux introduits aussi bien au stade initial que lors de la reprise de polychromie, visant à accentuer les jeux d’ombres et de lumières.Originally painted and/or gilded, Greek terracotta figurines were sometimes repainted before being buried or destroyed. This article focuses on this still little-known question and presents the research conducted on two statuettes dating from the Hellenistic period now in the Louvre : a Maenad (known as Dame Baillehache) from Attica, and an Eros from Priene (Asia Minor). The study by video microscopy has shed light on the stratigraphy of the repaints and shown how, in the case of the Maenad, the damaged shape was “repaired” with paint. It also enabled us to assess the pictorial effects introduced in both the initial stage and when the polychromy was reworked in order to enhance the play of light and shadow

Fluidization and coating of very dense powders by fluidized bed chemical vapour deposition.

The hydrodynamic behaviour of a very dense tungsten powder, 75 µm in median diameter and 19,300 kg/m3 in grain density, has been studied in a fluidized bed at room temperature using nitrogen and argon as carrier gas. Even if fluidization was achieved, the small bed expansion indicated that it was imperfect. Then, the fluidization was studied at 400 °C in order to investigate the feasibility of coating this powder by Fluidized Bed Chemical Vapour Deposition (FBCVD). In particular, the influence of the H0/D ratio (initial fixed bed height to reactor diameter) on the bed thermal behaviour was analysed. It appeared that at least 1.5 kg of powder (corresponding to a H0/D ratio of 1.8) was necessary to obtain an isothermal bed at 400°C. Finally, first results about alumina coatings on the tungsten powder by FBCVD from aluminium acetylacetonate are detailed. They show that for the quite low temperatures tested, the coatings are uniform on all bed particles and are formed of amorphous carbon containing alumina. This study demonstrates the efficiency to combine fluidization (instead of spouted bed) and CVD to coat such very dense powders

Efficacy of the Janus kinase 1/2 inhibitor ruxolitinib in the treatment of vasculopathy associated with TMEM173-activating mutations in 3 children

International audienc

Saxagliptin but Not Sitagliptin Inhibits CaMKII and PKC via DPP9 Inhibition in Cardiomyocytes

Some oral anti-hyperglycemic drugs, including gliptins that inhibit dipeptidyl peptidase 4 (DPP4), have been linked to the increased risk of heart failure (HF) in type-2 diabetic patients. While the cardiovascular safety trial, TECOS, revealed no link between sitagliptin and the risk of HF, a substantial 27% increase in the hospitalization for HF was observed in type-2 diabetic patients treated with saxagliptin within the SAVOR-TIMI 53 trial. A previous in vitro study revealed that saxagliptin impairs the Ca2+/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII)-phospholamban (PLB)-sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase 2a axis and protein kinase C (PKC) activity in cardiomyocytes leading to impaired cardiac contractility and electrophysiological function. However, the link between saxagliptin and its target proteins (CaMKII and PKC) remains to be explored. Since DPP8 and DPP9 (but not DPP4) are expressed by cardiomyocytes and saxagliptin is internalized by cardiomyocytes, we investigated whether DPP8/9 contribute to saxagliptin-mediated inhibition of CaMKII and PKC activity. Structural analysis revealed that the DPP4-saxagliptin interaction motif (S630, Y547) for the cyanopyrrolidine group is conserved in DPP8 (S755, Y669) and DPP9 (S730, Y644). Conversely, F357 that facilitates binding of the anchor lock domain of sitagliptin in the S2 extensive subsite of DPP4 is not conserved in DPP8/9. In parallel, unlike saxagliptin, sitagliptin did not affect phosphorylation of CaMKII/PLB or activity of PKC in HL-1 cardiomyocytes. These findings were recapitulated by pharmacological inhibition (TC-E-5007, a DPP8/9 antagonist) and knock-down of DPP9 (but not DPP8). In primary mouse ventricular cardiomyocytes, saxagliptin (but not sitagliptin) impaired Ca2+ transient relaxation and prolonged action potential duration (APD). These results suggest that saxagliptin-DPP9 interaction impairs the CaMKII-PLB and PKC signaling in cardiomyocytes. We reveal a novel and potential role of DPP9 in cardiac signaling. The interaction of saxagliptin with DPP9 may represent an underlying mechanism for the link between saxagliptin and HF. Elucidation of saxagliptin-DPP9 interaction and downstream events may foster a better understanding of the role of gliptins as modulators of cardiac signaling

À propos de la restauration des marbres antiques du Louvre, méthodologie de l'intervention et résultats

Bourgeois Brigitte. À propos de la restauration des marbres antiques du Louvre, méthodologie de l'intervention et résultats. In: Comptes rendus des séances de l'Académie des Inscriptions et Belles-Lettres, 141ᵉ année, N. 1, 1997. pp. 144-155

La Conservation des céramiques archéologiques. Étude comparée de trois sites chypriotes

Bourgeois Brigitte. La Conservation des céramiques archéologiques. Étude comparée de trois sites chypriotes. Avant-Propos par Marguerite Yon. Lyon : Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée Jean Pouilloux, 1987. 100 p. (Collection de la Maison de l'Orient méditerranéen. Série archéologique, 18

Compte-rendu des travaux de restauration / Report on the conservation of objects

Bourgeois Brigitte. Compte-rendu des travaux de restauration / Report on the conservation of objects. In: Failaka. Fouilles françaises 1983. Lyon : Maison de l'Orient et de la Méditerranée Jean Pouilloux, 1984. pp. 175-177. (Travaux de la Maison de l'Orient, 9