Wings

Parmi les anciens combattants, les aviateurs formaient une communauté particulièrement pittoresque. Le marasme de l'après-guerre en obligea beaucoup à repartir dans les airs, dans l'espoir d'y gagner leur vie. Ceux qui pouvaient rassembler 300 à 600 dollars achetaient un avion dans les surplus de l'armée, tout emballé et flambant neuf. En 1917, le Congrès avait alloué d'énormes crédits à la production aéronautique. Cependant, un film industriel tourné par Universal dans l'usine Dayton-Wright,..

La troisième restauration de Napoléon

J’allais encore à l’école quand eut lieu ma première rencontre avec le Napoléon d’Abel Gance. Sur mon projecteur 9,5 mm, j’ai visionné le film en deux bobines qui m’ont littéralement stupéfait. Je n’avais jamais rien vu de tel et j’ai immédiatement entrepris toute sorte de recherches sur ce film visant notamment à le compléter. J’étais aussi dérouté par l’aversion qu’il soulevait parmi les critiques et les historiens qui se souvenaient de la version originale. À chaque nouvelle séquence retro..

Intracranial injection of AAV expressing NEP but not IDE reduces amyloid pathology in APP+PS1 transgenic mice

The accumulation of β-amyloid peptides in the brain has been recognized as an essential factor in Alzheimer\u27s disease pathology. Several proteases, including Neprilysin (NEP), endothelin converting enzyme (ECE), and insulin degrading enzyme (IDE), have been shown to cleave β-amyloid peptides (Aβ). We have previously reported reductions in amyloid in APP+PS1 mice with increased expression of ECE. In this study we compared the vector-induced increased expression of NEP and IDE. We used recombinant adeno-associated viral vectors expressing either native forms of NEP (NEP-n) or IDE (IDE-n), or engineered secreted forms of NEP (NEP-s) or IDE (IDE-s). In a six-week study, immunohistochemistry staining for total Aβ was significantly decreased in animals receiving the NEP-n and NEP-s but not for IDE-n or IDE-s in either the hippocampus or cortex. Congo red staining followed a similar trend revealing significant decreases in the hippocampus and the cortex for NEP-n and NEP-s treatment groups. Our results indicate that while rAAV-IDE does not have the same therapeutic potential as rAAV-NEP, rAAV-NEP-s and NEP-n are effective at reducing amyloid loads, and both of these vectors continue to have significant effects nine months post-injection. As such, they may be considered reasonable candidates for gene therapy trials in AD

A global experiment on motivating social distancing during the COVID-19 pandemic

Finding communication strategies that effectively motivate social distancing continues to be a global public health priority during the COVID-19 pandemic. This cross-country, preregistered experiment (n = 25,718 from 89 countries) tested hypotheses concerning generalizable positive and negative outcomes of social distancing messages that promoted personal agency and reflective choices (i.e., an autonomy-supportive message) or were restrictive and shaming (i.e., a controlling message) compared with no message at all. Results partially supported experimental hypotheses in that the controlling message increased controlled motivation (a poorly internalized form of motivation relying on shame, guilt, and fear of social consequences) relative to no message. On the other hand, the autonomy-supportive message lowered feelings of defiance compared with the controlling message, but the controlling message did not differ from receiving no message at all. Unexpectedly, messages did not influence autonomous motivation (a highly internalized form of motivation relying on one’s core values) or behavioral intentions. Results supported hypothesized associations between people’s existing autonomous and controlled motivations and self-reported behavioral intentions to engage in social distancing. Controlled motivation was associated with more defiance and less long-term behavioral intention to engage in social distancing, whereas autonomous motivation was associated with less defiance and more short- and long-term intentions to social distance. Overall, this work highlights the potential harm of using shaming and pressuring language in public health communication, with implications for the current and future global health challenges

Grass (l'Exode )

Brownlow Kevin, Gutowski Alexa. Grass (l'Exode ). In: 1895, revue d'histoire du cinéma, numéro hors-série, 1996. Exotica. L'attraction des lointains. pp. 84-99