Māte Mahādēvi: a Progressive Female Mystic in Today’s India

Among the Indian female gurus active today, Māte Mahādēvi fromthe Liṅgāyat tradition in Karnataka (Southern India) is one of those attracting an increasing number of followers. Liṅgāyatism is a reform movement which according to certain views was founded by Basava in the twelfth century. The movement arose as a protest against the caste system, against a priesthood that was considered corrupt, and against discrimination against women. In the following paper, I provide a portrait of this religious revitalizer and mystic. I describe Māte Mahādēvi’s background in the light of the Liṅgāyat tradition, discussed briefly here. I also provide an account of some of her central contributions to the renewal of Liṅgāyatism, and of the resistance her work has met with. In addition to providing a cogent introduction to a hitherto relatively unknown religious tradition, my purpose, through giving voice to Māte Mahādēvi’s life and activities, is also to add to previous research by drawing attention to one of India’s contemporary female spiritual masters, largely unknown to westerners

Caractérisation par RMN du solide des matrices de stockage solide de l'hydrogène

On peut distinguer trois moyens de stockage de l'hydrogène à bord d'un véhicule : sous forme liquide (à 20K sous 10 bars), sous forme comprimée (350 bars), ou dans des matériaux solides sous forme physisorbée ou chimisorbée. Nous nous sommes plus particulièrement intéressés à l'étude de ces matériaux solides. Parmi ceux cités dans la littérature, nous avons choisi d'étudier deux systèmes qui se prêtent bien à une étude RMN : les alanates et les clathrates. L'objectif de notre étude est le développement et la validation d'outils de caractérisation par spectroscopie et imagerie de résonance magnétique nucléaire (RMN) de la structure de matériaux pour le stockage de l'hydrogène, et de leur évolution au cours des cycles de charge/décharge. Les deux principaux volets de cette étude sont d'une part l'analyse de la structure locale des matériaux et la compréhension de ses éventuelles modifications, et d'autre part, l'analyse in-situ de la distribution et de la diffusion de l'hydrogène au sein du matériau de stockag

Decoding an olfactory mechanism of kin recognition and inbreeding avoidance in a primate

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Like other vertebrates, primates recognize their relatives, primarily to minimize inbreeding, but also to facilitate nepotism. Although associative, social learning is typically credited for discrimination of familiar kin, discrimination of unfamiliar kin remains unexplained. As sex-biased dispersal in long-lived species cannot consistently prevent encounters between unfamiliar kin, inbreeding remains a threat and mechanisms to avoid it beg explanation. Using a molecular approach that combined analyses of biochemical and microsatellite markers in 17 female and 19 male ring-tailed lemurs (<it>Lemur catta</it>), we describe odor-gene covariance to establish the feasibility of olfactory-mediated kin recognition.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Despite derivation from different genital glands, labial and scrotal secretions shared about 170 of their respective 338 and 203 semiochemicals. In addition, these semiochemicals encoded information about genetic relatedness within and between the sexes. Although the sexes showed opposite seasonal patterns in signal complexity, the odor profiles of related individuals (whether same-sex or mixed-sex dyads) converged most strongly in the competitive breeding season. Thus, a strong, mutual olfactory signal of genetic relatedness appeared specifically when such information would be crucial for preventing inbreeding. That weaker signals of genetic relatedness might exist year round could provide a mechanism to explain nepotism between unfamiliar kin.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>We suggest that signal convergence between the sexes may reflect strong selective pressures on kin recognition, whereas signal convergence within the sexes may arise as its by-product or function independently to prevent competition between unfamiliar relatives. The link between an individual's genome and its olfactory signals could be mediated by biosynthetic pathways producing polymorphic semiochemicals or by carrier proteins modifying the individual bouquet of olfactory cues. In conclusion, we unveil a possible olfactory mechanism of kin recognition that has specific relevance to understanding inbreeding avoidance and nepotistic behavior observed in free-ranging primates, and broader relevance to understanding the mechanisms of vertebrate olfactory communication.</p

A reply to “Ranging Behavior Drives Parasite Richness: A More Parsimonious Hypothesis”

This preprint has been reviewed and recommended by Peer Community In Ecology (https://dx.doi.org/10.24072/pci.ecology.100001). In a recent article, Bicca-Marques and Calegaro-Marques [Bicca-Marques JC, Calegaro-Marques C (2016) Ranging behavior drives parasite richness: A more parsimonious hypothesis. American Journal of Primatology 78: 923–927.] discussed the putative assumptions related to an interpretation we provided regarding an observed positive relationship between weekly averaged parasite richness of a group of mandrills (Mandrillus sphinx) and their daily path lengths (DPL), published earlier in the same journal [Brockmeyer T, Kappeler PM, Willaume E, Benoit L, Mboumba S, Charpentier MJE (2015) Social organization and space use of a wild mandrill (Mandrillus sphinx) group. American Journal of Primatology 77: 1036–1048.]. In our article, we proposed, inter alia, that “the daily travels of mandrills could be seen as a way to escape contaminated habitats on a local scale”. In their article, Bicca-Marques and Calegaro-Marques proposed an alternative mechanism that they considered to be more parsimonious. In their view, increased DPL also increases exposure to novel parasites from the environment. In other words, while we proposed that elevated DPL may be a consequence of elevated parasite richness, they viewed it as a cause. We are happy to see that our study attracted so much interest that it evoked a public comment. We are also grateful to Bicca-Marques and Calegaro-Marques for pointing out an obvious alternative scenario that we failed to discuss and for laying out several key factors and assumptions that should be addressed by future studies examining the links between parasite risk and group ranging. We use this opportunity to advance this discourse by responding to some of the criticisms raised in their discussion of our article. In this reply, we briefly contextualize the main object of criticism. We then discuss the putative parsimony of the two competing scenarios

De l’image au social : le chemin d’une évolution pour les pratiques en communication interne

L’entreprise est aux prises avec des complexités organisationnelles, sociales et territoriales de plus en plus fortes qu’une conception de la communication, indexée sur l’image, ne traduit pas. En première ligne, les communicateurs perçoivent la nécessité de s’extraire du cloisonnement par fonction pour jeter des ponts vers une conception plus sociale de la communication. Des frémissements sont perceptibles qui témoignent d’un questionnement et de possibles reconfigurations de l’approche de la communication dans les entreprises. C’est ce que nous ont dit, à leur manière, un certain nombre de directeurs de la communication interrogés depuis octobre 2009. De leurs propos, nous avons tiré des constats (sur la compréhension, sur la juste distance, sur la relation, sur le sens, sur les connaissances nécessaires) qui sont révélateurs d’une recherche d’articulation entre les individus, d’un souci de mettre à distance une approche réductrice de la communication au profit d’une communication au cœur du système social, au cœur du travail

De l’image au social : le chemin d’une évolution pour les pratiques en communication interne

L’entreprise est aux prises avec des complexités organisationnelles, sociales et territoriales de plus en plus fortes qu’une conception de la communication, indexée sur l’image, ne traduit pas. En première ligne, les communicateurs perçoivent la nécessité de s’extraire du cloisonnement par fonction pour jeter des ponts vers une conception plus sociale de la communication. Des frémissements sont perceptibles qui témoignent d’un questionnement et de possibles reconfigurations de l’approche de la communication dans les entreprises. C’est ce que nous ont dit, à leur manière, un certain nombre de directeurs de la communication interrogés depuis octobre 2009. De leurs propos, nous avons tiré des constats (sur la compréhension, sur la juste distance, sur la relation, sur le sens, sur les connaissances nécessaires) qui sont révélateurs d’une recherche d’articulation entre les individus, d’un souci de mettre à distance une approche réductrice de la communication au profit d’une communication au cœur du système social, au cœur du travail

Expression of Viral Antigen by the Liver Leads to Chronic Infection Through the Generation of Regulatory T Cells

Referred to by David E. Kaplan " Does Massive Antigen Burden Allow Hepatic Viruses to Induce Regulatory T Cells and Their Tolerance and Persistence?" CMGH Cellular and Molecular Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Volume 1, Issue 3, May 2015, Pages 259-261International audienceThe constant exposure of the liver to food and bacterial antigens through the mesenteric circulation requires it to maintain tolerance while preserving the ability to mount an effective immune response against pathogens. We investigated the contribution of the liver's tolerogenic nature on the establishment of chronic viral infections. Methods: TTR-NP mice, which express the nucleoprotein (NP) of lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus (LCMV) specifically in hepatocytes under control of a modified transthyretin (TTR) promoter, were infected with the Armstrong (Arm) or WE acute strains of LCMV. Results: The infection persisted for at least 147 days in TTR-NP mice. Expression of NP by the liver induced a strong peripheral tolerance against NP that was mediated by interleukin-10-secreting CD4+ regulatory T cells, leading to high PD-1 (programmed death-1) expression and reduced effector function of virus-specific T cells. Despite an active immune response against LCMV, peripheral tolerance against a single viral protein was sufficient to induce T-cell exhaustion and chronic LCMV Armstrong (Arm) or WE infection by limiting the antiviral T-cell response in an otherwise immunocompetent host. Regulatory T-cell depletion of chronically infected TTR-NP mice led to functional restoration of LCMV-specific CD4+ and CD8+ Tcell responses and viral clearance. Conclusions: Expression of a viral antigen by hepatocytes can induce a state of peripheral tolerance mediated by regulatory Tcells that can lead to the establishment of a chronic viral infection. Strategies targeting regulatory T cells in patients chronically infected with hepatotropic viruses could represent a promising approach to restore functional antiviral immunity and clear infection

Reducing MSH4 copy number prevents meiotic crossovers between non-homologous chromosomes in Brassica napus

In allopolyploids, correct chromosome segregation requires suppression of non-homologous crossovers while levels of homologous crossovers are ensured. To date, no mechanism able to specifically inhibit non-homologous crossovers has been described in allopolyploids other than in bread wheat. Here, we show that reducing the number of functional copies of MSH4, an essential gene for the main crossover pathway, prevents non-homologous crossovers in allotetraploid Brassica napus. We show that non-homologous crossovers originate almost exclusively from the MSH4-dependent recombination pathway and that their numbers decrease when MSH4 returns to single copy in B. napus; by contrast, homologous crossovers remain unaffected by MSH4 duplicate loss. We also demonstrate that MSH4 systematically returns to single copy following numerous independent polyploidy events, a pattern that is probably not by chance. These results suggest that stabilization of allopolyploid meiosis can be enhanced by loss of a key meiotic recombination gene

Emergence of a New Circulating B/CRF02/G Recombinant Form Spreading in France

International audienc