Le principe de circularité référentielle comme stratégie autobiographique chez Philippe Sollers

Philippe Sollers considère que la fiction est plus réelle que la vie. C'est le point de départ d'un projet d'écriture qui place son expérience au diapason d'une quête de démystification des idéaux de la modernité. Sa stratégie consiste à faire de sa vie un roman ou un essai pour tenter de vivre « le plus fictivement possible ». De là l'importance d'approcher son oeuvre comme une activité autobiographique conçue non pour flatter le Moi (comme beaucoup le croient), mais pour s'allier aux écrivains les plus fervents de « l'expérience des limites » et, avec eux, se faire le révélateur des idéologies et du fanatisme. Sollers souhaite ainsi élever le soupçon au rang de style littéraire, repérant les imposteurs assujettis au conformisme de l'époque. Créant un jeu ironique à l'intérieur duquel les contradictions agissent comme une stratégie de confrontation volontaire, Sollers prétend éviter la récupération par le monde médiatique soumis aux impératifs de la lisibilité. Ce jeu littéraire va ainsi à contre-courant de la culture commerciale divertissante tout en n'hésitant pas à s'y mesurer en participant à son spectacle. Sollers, dans un ouvrage comme Mystérieux Mozart, développe en effet une stratégie autobiographique d'opposition qui consiste à mettre en valeur des figures de légèreté, d'érotisme, de liberté. Ses références reposent toujours sur des choix esthétiques qui transgressent « la conformité au nihilisme ambiant ». Dans cet univers éminemment référentiel, Sollers construit ses alliances pour mener ce qu'il appelle une « guerre du goût ». Dans ce système de masques, il s'agit en fait de retrouver le « Paradis ». Celui, perdu, de l'enfance comme celui de la langue et du Verbe (pour reprendre les termes mêmes de l'écrivain). Pour soutenir cette logique du paradis, Sollers ramène au jour un monde de valeurs. C'est donc en moraliste qu'il organise sa stratégie qui lui permet d'élaborer une conception critique du monde moderne dont la littérature serait l'instrument et la condition du « bonheur vrai ». Nous relisons ici, pour en analyser les rouages, Portrait du Joueur et Mystérieux Mozart. ______________________________________________________________________________ MOTS-CLÉS DE L’AUTEUR : Sollers, Portrait du Joueur, Circularité référentielle, Autoréférentialité, Mystérieux Mozart

Alternative methodology for linear polarization resistance assessment of reinforced concrete structure

International audienceFor reinforced concrete structures, several corrosion detection methods exist: concrete resistivity, half-cell potential or linear polarization resistance (LPR) measurement. The LPR value can be linked to the corrosion rate thanks the Stern-Geary equation if strong hypotheses are made. Existing commercial devices use a guard ring to canalize the current on specific steel rebar area and assume that the steel rebar is uniformly polarized. However, recent works reveal that the top part of the steel rebar, right under the counter electrode, is the most polarized point. The particular point is referred as the point of interest (PI). This works belongs to the DIAMOND project which aims to produce a new corrosion rate measurement device. Comsol® software was used to model the influence of concrete cover, resistivity and injected current on the current density at the PI. Moreover, a significant influence of the steel rebars diameter was also demonstrated. Two types of abacus are built. The first one links to polarization measured on the surface to the polarization on the rebar at the PI. The second links the ratio between the current density at the PI and the density of injected current to concrete cover and steel rebar diameter. The Stern-Geary equation can now be used at the PI without using the approximation of a uniformly polarized rebar. The corrosion state of reinforced concrete structure can be controlled more precisely. The methodology is then applied on two concrete slabs in which three metal bars are embedded at different concrete covers. The first slab is prepared with ordinary concrete while the second contain chloride to artificially activate the corrosion process. The results reveal that the rebars embedded on the first slab are not corroding (icorr ≤0.2 μΑ/cm2) while the second rebar are corroding (icorr>0.2 μΑ/cm2)

Regenerative Failure Following Rat Neonatal Chorda Tympani Transection is Associated with Geniculate Ganglion Cell Loss and Terminal Field Plasticity in the Nucleus of the Solitary Tract

Neural insult during development results in recovery outcomes that vary dependent upon the system under investigation. Nerve regeneration does not occur if the rat gustatory chorda tympani nerve is sectioned (CTX) during neonatal (≤P10) development. It is unclear how chorda tympani soma and terminal fields are affected after neonatal CTX. The current study determined the impact of neonatal CTX on chorda tympani neurons and brainstem gustatory terminal fields. To assess terminal field volume in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), rats received CTX at P5 or P10 followed by chorda tympani label, or glossopharyngeal (GL) and greater superficial petrosal (GSP) label as adults. In another group of animals, terminal field volumes and numbers of chorda tympani neurons in the geniculate ganglion (GG) were determined by labeling the chorda tympani with DiI at the time of CTX in neonatal (P5) and adult (P50) rats. There was a greater loss of chorda tympani neurons following P5 CTX compared to adult denervation. Chorda tympani terminal field volume was dramatically reduced 50 days after P5 or P10 CTX. Lack of nerve regeneration after neonatal CTX is not caused by ganglion cell death alone, as approximately 30% of chorda tympani neurons survived into adulthood. Although the total field volume of intact gustatory nerves was not altered, the GSP volume and GSP-GL overlap increased in the dorsal NTS after CTX at P5, but not P10, demonstrating age-dependent plasticity. Our findings indicate that the developing gustatory system is highly plastic and simultaneously vulnerable to injury

Career and guidance counsellors working in french language secondary schools in Ontario : an inventory of current tasks and perceived competence

In a North-American context, the practice of career and guidance counselling is plagued with many issues depending on jurisdiction. Usually those issues are related to the fact that career and guidance counsellors are obliged to engage in practices that are not always related to their profession. Considering the fact that career and guidance counsellors in Ontario are mainly teachers with little formal education and no clinical training, the current study's objective was to identify, describe, and conceptualize the tasks accomplished by N = 73 career and guidance counsellors working in French-language secondary schools in Ontario. Results suggest that career and guidance counsellors in Ontario spend a great deal of time on tasks unrelated to career and guidance counselling. Furthermore, a correlation between the amount of time allocated to, and the perceived level of competence in, completing some of the daily tasks accomplished by participants was identified. Finally, results suggest that career and guidance counsellors in Ontario often perceive themselves as being incompetent when it comes to some of the essential tasks associated with career and guidance counselling.Dans un contexte nord-américain, la pratique du conseiller d'orientation est confrontée à de nombreux problèmes selon la juridiction. Habituellement, ces problèmes sont liés au fait que les conseillers d'orientation sont obligés de s'engager dans des pratiques qui ne sont pas toujours liées à leur profession. Considérant que les conseillers d'orientation en Ontario sont principalement des enseignants sans aucune formation clinique, l'objectif de la présente recherche était d'identifier, de décrire et de conceptualiser les tâches accomplies par N = 73 conseillers d'orientation scolaire travaillant dans les écoles secondaires de langue française de l'Ontario. Les résultats suggèrent que les répondants consacrent une part importante de leur temps de travail à l'accomplissement de tâches étrangères à celles qui sont généralement associées à l'orientation professionnelle en milieu scolaire. De plus, une corrélation entre le temps alloué et le niveau de compétence perçu pour accomplir certaines des tâches quotidiennes accomplies par les participants a été établie. Finalement, les résultats suggèrent que les conseillers d'orientation en Ontario se perçoivent généralement comme incompétents en ce qui concerne l'accomplissement certaines des tâches essentielles associées au counselling d'orientation

From the Cajal alumni Achucarro and Rio-Hortega to the rediscovery of never-resting microglia

Under the guidance of Ramon y Cajal, a plethora of students flourished and began to apply his silver impregnation methods to study brain cells other than neurons: the neuroglia. In the first decades of the twentieth century, Nicolas Achucarro was one of the first researchers to visualize the brain cells with phagocytic capacity that we know today as microglia. Later, his pupil Pio del Rio-Hortega developed modifications of Achucarro's methods and was able to specifically observe the fine morphological intricacies of microglia. These findings contradicted Cajal's own views on cells that he thought belonged to the same class as oligodendroglia (the so called "third element" of the nervous system), leading to a long-standing discussion. It was only in 1924 that Rio-Hortega's observations prevailed worldwide, thus recognizing microglia as a unique cell type. This late landing in the Neuroscience arena still has repercussions in the twenty first century, as microglia remain one of the least understood cell populations of the healthy brain. For decades, microglia in normal, physiological conditions in the adult brain were considered to be merely "resting," and their contribution as "activated" cells to the neuroinflammatory response in pathological conditions mostly detrimental. It was not until microglia were imaged in real time in the intact brain using two-photon in vivo imaging that the extreme motility of their fine processes was revealed. These findings led to a conceptual revolution in the field: "resting" microglia are constantly surveying the brain parenchyma in normal physiological conditions. Today, following Cajal's school of thought, structural and functional investigations of microglial morphology, dynamics, and relationships with neurons and other glial cells are experiencing a renaissance and we stand at the brink of discovering new roles for these unique immune cells in the healthy brain, an essential step to understand their causal relationship to diseases.The authors are grateful to Alain Bessis (Institut de Biologic, Bcole Normale Superieure, Institut National de la Sante et de la Recherche Medicale, Paris, France) and Luis Miguel Garcia-Segura (Cajal Institute, CSIC, Madrid, Spain) for their critical reading of the manuscript. They also thank Maria Angeles Langa for her help obtaining Rio-Hortega's original reprints. This work was supported by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness with FEDER funds to AS (BFU2012-32089) and from the National Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC) to MET and LS was awarded of a summer scholarship from the Faculte de medecine of Universite Laval, and VS is recipient of a predoctoral fellowship from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitivity

Lophira alata suppresses glioblastoma cell growth via inhibition of protein kinase C-α

The root of the plant Lophira alata (Ochnaceae) has been used as a component of traditional herbal decoctions administered to cancer patients in southwestern Nigeria. However, the mechanism of the cytotoxic effects of Lophira alata alone or in the presence of phorbol ester has not been investigated in malignant brain tumor cells. This study was aimed at examining the cytotoxic potential of the methanolic fraction of Lophira alata root on malignant glioma invasive cellular growth and survival. The antiproliferative effects of Lophira alata were assessed using the MTT (3-(4,5-dimethylthiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide) assay. Protein immunoblots were carried out to test the effects of Lophira alata, alone or in the presence of phorbol ester, on survival signaling pathways such as Akt, mTOR, PARP and caspases. The methanolic fraction of Lophira alata (LAM) induced a concentration-dependent and time-dependent decrease in glioma cell viability and cell proliferation. In addition, LAM attenuated phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate (PMA)-mediated signaling of downstream targets such as Akt/mTOR. Gene silencing using siRNA targeting PKC-alpha abrogated LAM-mediated downregulation of Akt. Our data also revealed that treatment with LAM induced both PARP and caspase cleavage. The HPLC fingerprint of the fraction indicates the presence of the flavonoids luteolin and rutin, which are known to inhibit the proliferation of glioblastoma cells

A taxonomic and phylogenetic revision of Penicillium section Aspergilloides

AbstractSpecies belonging to Penicillium section Aspergilloides have a world-wide distribution with P. glabrum, P. spinulosum and P. thomii the most well-known species of this section. These species occur commonly and can be isolated from many substrates including soil, food, bark and indoor environments. The taxonomy of these species has been investigated several times using various techniques, but species delimitation remains difficult. In the present study, 349 strains belonging to section Aspergilloides were subjected to multilocus molecular phylogenetic analyses using partial β-tubulin (BenA), calmodulin (CaM) and RNA polymerase II second largest subunit (RPB2) sequences. Section Aspergilloides is subdivided into 12 clades and 51 species. Twenty-five species are described here as new and P. yezoense, a species originally described without a Latin diagnosis, is validated. Species belonging to section Aspergilloides are phenotypically similar and most have monoverticillate conidiophores and grow moderately or quickly on agar media. The most important characters to distinguish these species were colony sizes on agar media, growth at 30 °C, ornamentation and shape of conidia, sclerotium production and stipe roughness

Comparison of the effect of Platelet Rich Plasma (PRP) with Hyaluronic Acid (HA) injections to treat chronic Jumper's knee

Introduction: Patellar Tendinopathies (PT) represent a very frequent disorder which incidence can reach 30-50% among jumping sports. This trouble is often rebel to classical treatment. Objective: To compare the efficacy of a single injection of RPR to a double infiltration of HA at one week interval. Patients/Methods: Thirty-three patients suffering from PT were enrolled into the study and split into two randomized groups . Eighteen patients (Group 1) have received one PRP injection and the other fifteen subjects (Group 2) received two HA infiltrations. Pain and functionality of the knee were evaluated before injection (T0), 6 weeks (T2) and 3 months (T3) after injections: pain with VAS and pressure algometer, algofunctional scores with IKDC and VISA-P questionnaires, ultrasound, isokinetic evaluation (quadriceps contractions : concentric 60°/sec (C60), concentric 240°/sec (C240), excentric 30°/sec (E30) and VAS during testing). Results: At baseline, difference existed only between groups for algometer, tendon thickness and axial hypoechoic area. In both groups, VAS, algometer, IKCD, VISA-P, VAS for isokinetic testing C60, C240 and E30 were significantly improved at T2 and T3 compared to T0. Comparison between the 2 groups showed no difference excepted for algometer, tendon thickness (T2, T3) and axial hypoechoic area (T2). Discussion and conclusions: There existed a similar improvement of the symptoms in both groups. PRP has already shown its efficacy in PT. HA should probably be a new therapeutic opportunity in this indication. Nevertheless, it should better, for further studies, to include a more homogeneous population and a longer follow-up period of time

RoHS VS. REACH WHAT DOES THIS MEAN TO I/T HARDWARE COMPANIES AND DATA MANAGEMENT?

ABSTRACT RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) regulations (1) vary by geography, e.g., EU RoHS, China RoHS Hazardous substance table, individual U.S. states, cities, etc. The information needed to be gathered for material declarations vary as the regulatory requirements change. However, most RoHS requirements focus on a common theme, e.g., removal and/or reduction of hazardous substances With respect to the European Union (EU) RoHS requirements, various exemptions have been granted, albeit some have an expiration date. On the other hand, EU REACH legislation (2) has no such provision. In either case the ability to readily assess the concentration of substances in articles (SIA) for REACH or in homogeneous materials for ROHS is needed. When preparing to meet EU REACH requirements for I/T electronic hardware, the focus is on tracking, communication, and notification of certain substances in articles, while RoHS focuses on eliminating or restricting the use of heavy metals and other substances in homogeneous materials. Because of the larger number of potential chemicals involved (Substances of Very High Concern, SVHC, candidates), and the fact that there are no exemptions applicable to hardware products, the REACH requirements can be a challenging task for companies. With EU REACH, if you exceed the stated concentration level of SVHC candidates in articles (e.g., hardware products), producers and importers in the EU are subject to communication and possibly notification requirements. This drives extensive information requests throughout the supply chain. These regulations drive requirements for quantitative and qualitative chemical data and an increased need for the surveillance of emerging regulations as they are being formulated so that one can design compliance processes that are ahead of what will become firm requirements. This paper will attempt to outline data collection options that the electronics industry can deploy in connection with their supply chain and with their clients to develop material composition information systems necessary to comply with both RoHS and REACH requirements. This paper is not meant to be the silver bullet, but rather the start of a brainstorming session to develop options and possibilities that will produce a new and common approach that can enable the electronics industry to collect material composition data for hardware products in a more effective and efficient manner

Taxonomy, nomenclature and phylogeny of three cladosporium-like hyphomycetes, Sorocybe resinae, Seifertia azaleae and the Hormoconis anamorph of Amorphotheca resinae

Using morphological characters, cultural characters, large subunit and internal transcribed spacer rDNA (ITS) sequences, and provisions of the International Code of Botanical Nomenclature, this paper attempts to resolve the taxonomic and nomenclatural confusion surrounding three species of cladosporium-like hyphomycetes. The type specimen of Hormodendrum resinae, the basis for the use of the epithet resinae for the creosote fungus {either as Hormoconis resinae or Cladosporium resinae) represents the mononematous synanamorph of the synnematous, resinicolous fungus Sorocybe resinae. The phylogenetic relationships of the creosote fungus, which is the anamorph of Amorphotheca resinae, are with the family Myxotrichaceae, whereas S. resinae is related to Capronia (Chaetothyriales, Herpotrichiellaceae). Our data support the segregation of Pycnostysanus azaleae, the cause of bud blast of rhododendrons, in the recently described anamorph genus Seifertia, distinct from Sorocybe; this species is related to the Dothideomycetes but its exact phylogenetic placement is uncertain. To formally stabilize the name of the anamorph of the creosote fungus, conservation of Hormodendrum resinae with a new holotype should be considered. The paraphyly of the family Myxotrichaceae with the Amorphothecaceae suggested by ITS sequences should be confirmed with additional genes