Furetière's<i>Le Roman bourgeois</i>and ‘La Rage de Causer’

This article explores and reassesses Furetière's Le Roman bourgeois (1666), taking as its starting point its Parisian setting, and applying in particular the self-reflexivity of gossip to the narrative construction and digressions of the text. It is argued that the overlap between oral and written discourses forms one of the main unifying factors of the book as is the role played by literal and figurative keys. The article concludes with analysis of the distinction between notions of public and private.This is the author accepted manuscript. The final version is available from Taylor & Francis via http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20563035.2015.111824

Mechanism for neurotransmitter-receptor matching.

Synaptic communication requires the expression of functional postsynaptic receptors that match the presynaptically released neurotransmitter. The ability of neurons to switch the transmitter they release is increasingly well documented, and these switches require changes in the postsynaptic receptor population. Although the activity-dependent molecular mechanism of neurotransmitter switching is increasingly well understood, the basis of specification of postsynaptic neurotransmitter receptors matching the newly expressed transmitter is unknown. Using a functional assay, we show that sustained application of glutamate to embryonic vertebrate skeletal muscle cells cultured before innervation is necessary and sufficient to up-regulate ionotropic glutamate receptors from a pool of different receptors expressed at low levels. Up-regulation of these ionotropic receptors is independent of signaling by metabotropic glutamate receptors. Both imaging of glutamate-induced calcium elevations and Western blots reveal ionotropic glutamate receptor expression prior to immunocytochemical detection. Sustained application of glutamate to skeletal myotomes in vivo is necessary and sufficient for up-regulation of membrane expression of the GluN1 NMDA receptor subunit. Pharmacological antagonists and morpholinos implicate p38 and Jun kinases and MEF2C in the signal cascade leading to ionotropic glutamate receptor expression. The results suggest a mechanism by which neuronal release of transmitter up-regulates postsynaptic expression of appropriate transmitter receptors following neurotransmitter switching and may contribute to the proper expression of receptors at the time of initial innervation

Should we discount the welfare of future generations? : Ramsey and Suppes versus Koopmans and Arrow

Ramsey famously pronounced that discounting “future enjoyments” would be ethically indefensible. Suppes enunciated an equity criterion implying that all individuals’ welfare should be treated equally. By contrast, Arrow (1999a, b) accepted, perhaps rather reluctantly, the logical force of Koopmans’ argument that no satisfactory preference ordering on a sufficiently unrestricted domain of infinite utility streams satisfies equal treatment. In this paper, we first derive an equitable utilitarian objective based on a version of the Vickrey–Harsanyi original position, extended to allow a variable and uncertain population with no finite bound. Following the work of Chichilnisky and others on sustainability, slightly weakening the conditions of Koopmans and co-authors allows intergenerational equity to be satisfied. In fact, assuming that the expected total number of individuals who ever live is finite, and that each individual’s utility is bounded both above and below, there is a coherent equitable objective based on expected total utility. Moreover, it implies the “extinction discounting rule” advocated by, inter alia, the Stern Review on climate change

Fundamental utilitarianism and intergenerational equity with extinction discounting

Ramsey famously condemned discounting “future enjoyments” as “ethically indefensible”. Suppes enunciated an equity criterion which, when social choice is utilitarian, implies giving equal weight to all individuals’ utilities. By contrast, Arrow (Contemporary economic issues. International Economic Association Series. Palgrave Macmillan, London, 1999a; Discounting and Intergenerational Effects, Resources for the Future Press, Washington DC, 1999b) accepted, perhaps reluctantly, what he called Koopmans’ (Econometrica 28(2):287–309, 1960) “strong argument” implying that no equitable preference ordering exists for a sufficiently unrestricted domain of infinite utility streams. Here we derive an equitable utilitarian objective for a finite population based on a version of the Vickrey–Harsanyi original position, where there is an equal probability of becoming each person. For a potentially infinite population facing an exogenous stochastic process of extinction, an equitable extinction biased original position requires equal conditional probabilities, given that the individual’s generation survives the extinction process. Such a position is well-defined if and only if survival probabilities decline fast enough for the expected total number of individuals who can ever live to be finite. Then, provided that each individual’s utility is bounded both above and below, maximizing expected “extinction discounted” total utility—as advocated, inter alia, by the Stern Review on climate change—provides a coherent and dynamically consistent equitable objective, even when the population size of each generation can be chosen

Pascal en Grande-Bretagne (1980-1992)

Il est évident que Pascal ne figure pas parmi les auteurs les plus étudiés en Grande-Bretagne, mais la parution depuis 1980 de quelques ouvrages et articles significatifs montre la diversité des études britanniques consacrées à Pascal. De 1980 à 1992 cinq livres ayant pour sujet l’œuvre de Pascal ont été publiés en Grande-Bretagne. Quoique deux thèses seulement aient été soutenues pendant ce temps-là, plusieurs articles d’universitaires travaillant en Grande-Bretagne ont paru. Deux études gén..

Bavardages et masculinités au xviie siècle

Cet article concerne l’étroite connexion entre les commérages et l’expression du désir homosexuel masculin dans la France du xviie siècle. Traditionnellement associés aux qualités négatives imputées aux femmes ou utilisés comme véhicule secret du déroulement des rivalités sociales et politiques, les commérages sont ici montrés comme ayant eu une fonction positive et importante : offrir un espace à des groupes qui n’avaient autrement pas la permission de s’exprimer.This article concerns the close connection between gossip and the expression of male same-sex desire in seventeenth-century France. Traditionally associated with the negative qualities imputed to women or serving as a covert vehicle for the playing out of social and political rivalries, gossip is here shown to have had an important and positive function: affording a space for groups which were not otherwise allowed a voice

‘Quel funeste poison? Racine, Nicole and theatrical crisis’

The querelle du théâtre during the seventeenth century is a subject that has received sustained critical attention. My starting point will be one small corner of the ongoing debate, namely the response by Jean Racine to Pierre Nicole’s condemnation of the theatre and the subsequent reaction of two supporters of Port-Royal

Pascalʾs Pensées and Baudelaireʾs Les fleurs du mal : a study of the parallels and development of the theme of ʺennuiʺ

From Introduction: Upon first reading the writings of both Pascal and Baudelaire, one cannot help being struck by a sensation of awe at the penetrating insight into the human condition possessed by both writers. A further exploration of the realms of Pascalian and Baudelairian thought considerably strengthens this initial reaction into a recognition that both authors were men of equal moral and spiritual intensity. Despite their outward differences, both sought to attain a deep understanding of human nature, but without attempting to offer any excuses on behalf of man. Furthermore, the two writers employ an identical term to describe the condition of humanity: "ennui". Although the word exists in the writings of contemporaries of both Pascal and Baudelaire, no other author makes such full, unique and significant use of ennui. As this thesis will hopefully prove, Baudelaire was indeed directly and positively influenced by Pascal. However, it is not our intention to concentrate upon such an influence; rather, we wish to indicate the parallels and development of the theme of ennui, so central to each man's outlook, in their respective writings. Evidently, it would be beyond the boundaries of this thesis if we were to try to analyse closely the entire creative output of Pascal and Baudelaire; and so, although their other works will act as points of reference, the two books which are generally regarded as their masterpieces will be used as the basis of the unfinished Christian "Apologie" which was projected by Pascal, now known as the Pensées (1670), and Baudelaire’s Les Fleurs du Mal (1857 and 1861

Assessing Peer Leader Skill Acquisition and Group Dynamics in a First-Year Calculus Course

Peer-led team learning (PLTL), specifically the model known as ‘Workshops’, has been shown to contribute positively and significantly to student success in STEM courses across subjects (Gosser et al., 2001). Our research adds to the SOTL literature describing the effectiveness of Workshops by reporting on the changes in student leaders. We examine the level to which leaders acquired new skills in effective teaching and describe the pedagogical interactions in the groups they led as a result of the combination of training and experience facilitating first-year Calculus Workshop sections. This was a semester-long study on twenty-two Workshop leaders for two multi-section, introductory calculus courses at a small research university. Our method is a novel overlay of two metrics that allows, with some forethought, a robust analysis of Workshop leader outcomes that would complement any assessment of PLTL implementation faculty might choose to undertake

A Nonhomologous End-Joining Mutant for Neurospora sitophila Research

Disruption of the nonhomologous end-joining (NHEJ) pathway has been shown to increase the efficiency of transgene integration into targeted genomic locations of Neurospora crassa and other fungi. Here, we report that a similar phenomenon occurs in a second Neurospora species: N. sitophila. Specifically, we show that deletion of N. sitophila mus-51 increases the efficiency of targeted-transgene integration, presumably by disrupting NHEJ. Researchers interested in obtaining the N. sitophila mus-51∆ strains described in this study can obtain them from the Fungal Genetics Stock Center (FGSC, Kansas State University, Manhattan, KS)