Lire ou ne pas (pouvoir) lire. Marque satanique, appareil judiciaire et ambiguïtés herméneutiques chez Kafka

Die historische und komparatistische Studie fasst die Strafkolonie als problematischen Endpunkt eines reichen spekulativen und imaginativen Erbes auf. Kafka bearbeitet erneut die Grundkonstellation Tiefe/Oberfläche, Klarheit/Undurchsichtigkeit bzw. Undurchdringlichkeit in einer originellen, radikal modernen und furchterregenden Variante, wo die dämonische Textur sich jedoch als Interpretationsfalle herausstellt. Das Paradox ist das eines satanischen, unzweifelhaften und doch versteckten Körpermales, einer Haut, die zugleich offenbart und verbirgt, wo die radikale Entblößung durch die Zurschaustellung des Geschriebenen kompensiert werden soll. In diesem semiotischen System, das, säkularisiert und naturalisiert, das Prinzip einer Grammatik der satanischen Zeichen auferlegt, überwiegen jedoch hermeneutische Zweideutigkeiten, Unklarheiten und Ironie. Zentral im Prozess sind Justiz- und Schriftfragen, der Traum einer körperlichen Signatur, eines Haut-Texts als klarer und deutlicher Offenbarung.L’article analyse dans une perspective historique et comparative La colonie pénitentiaire comme le point d’aboutissement d’un vaste héritage doctrinal, spéculatif, imaginaire. Kafka retravaille dans une constellation inédite, radicalement moderne et atroce, la dialectique profondeur/surface, transparence/opacité, transformant la texture démoniaque en piège interprétatif. Il met en scène le paradoxe d’une marque satanique sur le corps, à la fois indubitable et cachée, d’une peau qui donne à voir tout en masquant, où il s’agit de compenser la dénudation radicale par l’exhibition d’un scriptible. Dans ce système sémiotique qui installe, naturalisé et sécularisé, l’idée d’une grammaire des signes sataniques, c’est pourtant l’ambiguïté herméneutique, les brouillages et l’ironie qui prévalent. L’analyse montre que le processus a expressément à voir avec le judiciaire et l’écriture, le fantasme de la signature corporelle, d’une peau comme texte rendant visible/lisible le caché.In a comparative and historical perspective, this article analyses Kafka’s In the Penal Colony as paradoxical closure of a vast doctrinal, speculative and imaginary heritage. Kafka thus replays in a radically new, modern and horrid constellation, the tension surface/depth, opacity/transparency, turning the demonic texture into an interpretative trap. The paradox is that of a satanic mark, unmistakable and yet hidden, on the body, of a skin that shows and at the same time withholds meaning, the exhibition of signs failing to compensate the radical denudation. This semiotic system, conveying, naturalised and secularised, the idea of a grammar of satanic signs, is however dominated by hermeneutical ambiguity, blurring and irony. The article shows that the process is inextricably linked to judicial and script issues, with the fantasy of a bodily signature, of a skin-text exposing visibly, clearly and legibly what is hitherto hidden

Blood and alveolar lymphocyte subsets in pulmonary cytomegalovirus infection after lung transplantation

BACKGROUND: Cytomegalovirus (CMV) pneumonitis has been shown to be associated with lymphocytic alveolitis after lung transplantation. In the present study, we investigated a series of bronchoalveolar (BAL) and blood samples, collected in the absence of rejection or acute infectious episodes. in order -1: to evaluate intra-alveolar cell population changes concomitant with CMV replication and -2: to reappraise the value of cell population analysis in the management of patients after lung transplantation. METHODS: We used flow cytometry to investigate modifications of lymphocyte subpopulations related to pulmonary cytomegalovirus infections in blood and BAL samples from a series of 13 lung transplant recipients. After exclusion of samples obtained during pulmonary rejection, bronchiolitis obliterans or acute bacterial infection, 48 blood and BAL samples were retained for analysis: 17 were CMV positive by shell-vial assay and 31 were CMV negative in blood and BAL. RESULTS: Our results demonstrate that pulmonary CMV infection is associated with a significant increase in the total lymphocyte population in BAL samples, but with minor modifications of the various lymphocyte subpopulations and a significantly higher absolute number of B lymphocytes in blood samples. CONCLUSIONS: Cytomegalovirus pulmonary infection is accompanied by only minor changes in BAL lymphocyte subpopulations. The study of BAL lymphocyte subpopulations therefore appears to be of limited clinical value in the diagnosis of pulmonary CMV infection. However, increased blood B-lymphocytes seems to be a clinical feature associated with CMV infection

Compte rendu de formation continue : Certificat en gestion de documentation et de bibliothèque

En 2002-2003, nous avons eu la chance de suivre la première session de cette filière certifiante d'une année qui s'adresse spécifiquement aux professionnels du domaine bibliothéconomique, prêts à se réinvestir dans un effort de longue haleine afin de remettre à jour leurs connaissances et de compléter leurs acquis par des cours et des travaux pratiques dispensés par des spécialistes. Cette formation, proposée conjointement par les Universités de Fribourg et Genève et l'Association des Bibliothèques et Bibliothécaires suisses, s'est articulée autour de 4 modules : Module 1 : Gestion des collections Module 2 : Gestion des nouvelles technologies de l'information Module 3 : Gestion du changement et de la qualité Module 4 : Information et communication Travail final Pour terminer ce cycle de formation, les cours ont donné lieu à des travaux appliqués ou applicables au sein de l'institution des participants, soit la Bibliothèque Centrale dans notre cas. Après validation d'un expert dans le domaine traité, nous avons ici, le plaisir de mettre à votre disposition nos travaux finaux : . La Bibliothèque Centrale de l'EPFL remue ses méninges et ses meubles ! ou : Un petit réaménagement avant la création d'un grand Learning Center / Anne Cherbuin . Quand la consultation ravage les documents : un concept de sensibilisation des usagers / Isabelle Dubot . MELETIS REDIVIVUS : Valorisation du fonds précieux de la Bibliothèque centrale de l'Ecole polytechnique fédérale, Lausanne / François Schmit

Effects of the addition of high-dose vitamin C to polyethylene glycol solution for colonic cleansing: A pilot study in healthy volunteers

AbstractBackground:Polyethylene glycol (PEG) solutions, with or without osmotic agents, are used to empty the large intestine before procedures such as colonoscopy or colonic surgery. Data concerning the effectiveness of vitamin C as an ingredient in colonic preparations are scant.Objective:The aim of this article was to assess the effectiveness, acceptability, and tolerability of 6 preparations of a standard PEG electrolyte solution containing different doses of PEG, vitamin C (as an osmotic agent), and sodium sulfate in colonic cleansing.Methods:This double-blind, randomized, 2-period crossover study was conducted at the Lariboisière Hospital, Paris, France. Healthy adult volunteers were randomly assigned to receive 2 of 6 colonic cleansing preparations, each containing different doses of PEG (100 or 125 g/L), vitamin C (0, 5, or 10 g/L, in the form of sodium ascorbate, ascorbic acid, or a mixture of both), and sodium sulfate (5 or 7.5 g/L), diluted in water to a volume of 2 L. Study drug administration was separated by a washout period of 7 to 15 days, after which the volunteers received an alternate preparation. Stools were collected for 10 hours after the start of solution ingestion. The primary efficacy end point was stool volume. Secondary end points included acceptability of taste, assessed using a 100-mm visual analog scale (VAS) (0 = excellent to 100 = execrable), taste criteria (saltiness, acidity, and sweetness, assessed on a 4-point Likert-type scale [0 = very pleasant to 3 = intolerable]) and tolerability (clinical effects [changes in body weight, blood pressure, heart rate, and nausea and vomiting] and biologic effects [changes in serum electrolytes, creatinine, hematocrit, and ascorbic acid]).Results:Thirty volunteers (15 men, 15 women; mean [SD] age, 29.8 [8.2] years [range, 20–45 years]) were enrolled and completed the study. Mean (SD) stool volume obtained with preparations containing 10 g/L of vitamin C did not differ significantly from the volume obtained without vitamin C (2.54 [0.54] L vs 1.93 [0.62] L; 95% CI, −0.13 to 1.47). Mean (SD) VAS scores for acceptability of taste ranged from 54.4 (25.0) (preparation E) to 74.4 (20.1) (preparation C) (P = 0.03 preparation E vs all other preparations). The only significant difference in taste criteria was in acidity, with preparation A being the least acidic according to patients' ratings on the VAS (1.4 [0.7] vs 1.8 [0.4] [mean of the other 5 preparations combined]; P = 0.04 preparation A vs all other preparations). Mild dehydration occurred in 6 subjects (1 for each preparation). No clinical or biological adverse effects were found.Conclusions:In this study of 6 colonic cleansing preparations in healthy volunteers, the use of high-dose vitamin C as an osmotic agent in addition to PEG did not significantly increase stool output. All 6 preparations were well tolerated

Impaired social cognition in schizophrenia during the Ultimatum Game: An EEG study

Schizophrenia has a core feature of cognitive dysfunctions. Since these deficits are predictive for patients' functional outcome, understanding their origin is of great importance to improve their daily lives. A specific component of the deficit involves social decision-making, which can be studied using the Ultimatum Game (UG). In this task, a “proposer” proposes a share of money to a “responder”, who can either accept or reject this offer. If the responder accepts the proposal, both win money. If the responder refuses, both players end up with nothing. Therefore, the UG evaluates decision-making strategies and social interaction.Methods: We compared the neuronal bases of schizophrenic patients with healthy controls, while performing the UG. Electroencephalography (EEG) was used to find differences in the event-related potential (ERP) components typical for the UG, namely the P2 and feedback-related negativity (FRN). Source reconstruction was further used to define the origin of these differences.Results: In the proposer condition, no differences were found in amplitude of the P2 and FRN components. In contrast, in the responder condition, significant differences were found for the amplitude of the FRN (p = 0.009). Using source reconstruction, a different activation in a border zone of the dorsolateral and the medial prefrontal cortex was revealed in schizophrenic patients to underlie this component.Conclusions: We suggest that the difference found in the FRN amplitude is associated with difficulties of patients in interpreting another's behavior. Although schizophrenic patients correctly activate neuronal bases in the proposer condition, they were not able to activate the same networks in the responder condition, thereby exposing their difficulties in social interaction

Gene List significance at-a-glance with GeneValorization

Motivation: High-throughput technologies provide fundamental informations concerning thousands of genes. Many of the current research laboratories daily use one or more of these technologies and end-up with lists of genes. Assessing the originality of the results obtained includes being aware of the number of publications available concerning individual or multiple genes and accessing information about these publications. Faced with the exponential growth of publications avaliable and number of genes involved in a study, this task is becoming particularly difficult to achieve

Phosphorylation and O-GlcNAcylation of the PHF-1 Epitope of Tau Protein Induce Local Conformational Changes of the C-Terminus and Modulate Tau Self-Assembly Into Fibrillar Aggregates

Phosphorylation of the neuronal microtubule-associated Tau protein plays a critical role in the aggregation process leading to the formation of insoluble intraneuronal fibrils within Alzheimer’s disease (AD) brains. In recent years, other posttranslational modifications (PTMs) have been highlighted in the regulation of Tau (dys)functions. Among these PTMs, the O-β-linked N-acetylglucosaminylation (O-GlcNAcylation) modulates Tau phosphorylation and aggregation. We here focus on the role of the PHF-1 phospho-epitope of Tau C-terminal domain that is hyperphosphorylated in AD (at pS396/pS404) and encompasses S400 as the major O-GlcNAc site of Tau while two additional O-GlcNAc sites were found in the extreme C-terminus at S412 and S413. Using high resolution NMR spectroscopy, we showed that the O-GlcNAc glycosylation reduces phosphorylation of PHF-1 epitope by GSK3β alone or after priming by CDK2/cyclin A. Furthermore, investigations of the impact of PTMs on local conformation performed in small peptides highlight the role of S404 phosphorylation in inducing helical propensity in the region downstream pS404 that is exacerbated by other phosphorylations of PHF-1 epitope at S396 and S400, or O-GlcNAcylation of S400. Finally, the role of phosphorylation and O-GlcNAcylation of PHF-1 epitope was probed in in-vitro fibrillization assays in which O-GlcNAcylation slows down the rate of fibrillar assembly while GSK3β phosphorylation stimulates aggregation counteracting the effect of glycosylation.Peer Reviewe