Bruno BERTHERAT [dir.], Les Sources du funéraire en France à l’époque contemporaine

Cela fait désormais plus de vingt ans que l’histoire de la mort a « éclaté », pour reprendre une expression de Régis Bertrand, franchissant les frontières thématiques et chronologiques fixées par ses initiateurs. Terrain d’élection de l’histoire des périodes préindustrielles, notamment l’époque moderne, le dernier passage a fait l’objet de multiples expérimentations méthodologiques, de la part de générations entières d’historiens, suite aux travaux d’Alberto Tenenti et de Michel Vovelle. Dans..

Dynamiques du marché funéraire dans la ville de Naples entre l’âge napoléonien et la Restauration : la naissance d’un service public

Cet article analyse les transformations dans l’organisation et la gestion des pompes funèbres dans la ville de Naples pour la période de l’occupation napoléonienne (1806-1815) à l’unité de l’Italie (1860). Selon le modèle interprétatif formulé par la première historiographie sur la mort, Naples au XIXe siècle était l’archétype de la survivance des anciennes pratiques funéraires méditerranéennes par rapport à un autre modèle « continental » diffusé par la France napoléonienne et continué pendant la Restauration. Ce dernier se présentait comme un système mixte caractérisé par le compromis entre les institutions publiques et les organismes sociaux. L’article vise à vérifier cette interprétation à la lumière d’une enquête ponctuelle conduite sur des sources susceptibles d’une analyse soit quantitative soit qualitative. Dans le même temps, le cas napolitain a été comparé avec les études menées sur Paris, à la recherche des éléments de contact et de différence.This article analyzes the transformations in the organization and management of funeral services in the city of Naples from the Napoleonic occupation (1806-1815) to Italian unification (1860). According to the interpretive model formulated by the first historiography of death, nineteenth century Naples was the archetype of surviving Mediterranean funerary practices, as opposed to the other “continental” model spread by Napoleonic France and maintained during the Restoration. The latter model appears to have been a mixed system based on a compromise between public institutions and social bodies. This paper aims to verify this interpretation in the light of meticulous quantitative and qualitative analysis of source documents. In addition, the Neapolitan case is compared to studies on Paris in order to identify differences and commonalities

Composite pulses for efficient excitation of half-integer quadrupolar nuclei in NMR of static and spinning solid samples

Composite pulses of the type (tau(p))(x)(2 tau(p))(-x)(3 tau(p))(x) allow one to excite the central transition of nuclei with half-integer spin with enhanced efficiency compared to a simple (tau(sp)(p))(x) pulse. The method has been tested on solid samples containing sodium-23 (I = 3/2), aluminium-27 (I = 5/2) and scandium-45 (I = 7/2) under both static and magic-angle spinning conditions. Numerical simulations for I = 3/2 indicate that the enhancement is due to a more efficient conversion of Zeeman population differences associated with the satellite transitions to the central transition. (C) 2012 Elsevier B. V. All rights reserved

NMR spectroscopy and DFT calculations of a self-assembled arene ruthenium rectangle obtained from a combination of coordination and hydrogen bonds

The hydrogen-bonded arene ruthenium metalla-rectangle, [(p-cymene) 2Ru2(OOnOO)(UPy)2]24+ , obtained from 1-(4-oxo-6-undecyl-1,4-dihydropyrimidin-2-yl)-3-(pyridin-4- ylmethyl)urea (UPy) and the dinuclear arene ruthenium clip (p-cymene) 2Ru2(OOnOO)Cl2 (OOnOO = 2,5-dioxido-1,4- benzoquinonato), is investigated by means of solution-phase NMR spectroscopy. Rotating frame nuclear Overhauser effect measurements are used to probe the H- bond network that drives the UPy self-assembly as well as the full rectangular supramolecular system. An effective distance that takes into account both intra-and intermolecular polarization-transfer pathways is utilised for data analysis. The experimental findings are corroborated by DFT calculations of NMR parameters and internuclear distances, thus confirming the formation of a very stable tetranuclear metalla-assembly

Solid-state NMR enhanced by dynamic nuclear polarization as a novel tool for ribosome structural biology

The impact of Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) on studies of large macromolecular complexes hinges on improvements in sensitivity and resolution. Dynamic nuclear polarization (DNP) in the solid state can offer improved sensitivity, provided sample preparation is optimized to preserve spectral resolution. For a few nanomoles of intact ribosomes and an 800kDa ribosomal complex we demonstrate that the combination of DNP and magic-angle spinning NMR (MAS-NMR) allows one to overcome current sensitivity limitations so that homo- and heteronuclear 13C and 15N NMR correlation spectra can be recorded. Ribosome particles, directly pelleted and frozen into an NMR rotor, yield DNP signal enhancements on the order of ~25-fold and spectra that exhibit narrow linewidths, suitable for obtaining site-specific information. We anticipate that the same approach is applicable to other high molecular weight complexe

Liquid flow in scaffold derived from natural source: experimental observations and biological outcome

This study investigates the biological effects on a 3D scaffold based on hydroxyapatite cultured with MC3T3 osteoblasts in response to flow-induced shear stress (FSS). The scaffold adopted here (B-HA) derives from the biomorphic transformation of natural wood and its peculiar channel geometry mimics the porous structure of the bone. From the point of view of fluid dynamics, B-HA can be considered a network of micro-channels, intrinsically offering the advantages of a microfluidic system. This work, for the first time, offers a description of the fluid dynamic properties of the B-HA scaffold, which are strongly connected to its morphology. These features are necessary to determine the FSS ranges to be applied during in vitro studies to get physiologically relevant conditions. The selected ranges of FSS promoted the elongation of the attached cells along the flow direction and early osteogenic cell differentiation. These data confirmed the ability of B-HA to promote the differentiation process along osteogenic lineage. Hence, such a bioactive and naturally derived scaffold can be considered as a promising tool for bone regeneration applications

Homonuclear decoupling for spectral simplification of carbon-13 enriched molecules in solution-state NMR enhanced by dissolution DNP

Complex overlapping multiplets due to scalar couplings (n)J(C-13, C-13) in fully C-13-enriched molecules can be simplified by polychromatic irradiation of selected spins. The signal intensities of the remaining non-irradiated signals are proportional to the concentrations, as shown in this work for the anomeric C-13 signals of the alpha- and beta-conformers of glucose. Homonuclear decoupling can therefore be useful for quantitative NMR studies. The resulting decoupled lineshapes show residual fine structures that have been investigated by means of numerical simulations. Simulations also show that homonuclear decoupling schemes remain effective despite inhomogeneous static fields that tend to hamper in cellulo and in vivo studies. Homonuclear decoupling schemes can be combined with dissolution DNP to obtain signal enhancements of more than four orders of magnitude. Polychromatic irradiation of selected spins does not cause significant losses of hyperpolarization of the remaining non-irradiated spins

Solid-state proton NMR of paramagnetic metal complexes: DANTE spin echoes for selective excitation in inhomogeneously broadened lines

The paramagnetic complex bis(oxazolinylphenyl)amine-Fe(III)Cl-2 is investigated by means of solid-state proton NMR at 18.8 T (800 MHz) using magic-angle spinning at 65 kHz. Spin echoes that are excited and refocused by combs of rotor-synchronized pulses in the manner of 'Delays Alternating with Nutation for Tailored Excitation' (DANTE) allow one to characterize different chemical environments that severely overlap in conventional MAS spectra. Such sequences combine two apparently contradictory features: an overall bandwidth exceeding several MHz, and very selective irradiation of a few kHz within inhomogeneously broadened sidebands. The experimental hyperfine interactions correlate well with DFT calculations. (C) 2013 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved