Les femmes diaboliques de Barbey d’Aurevilly – esquisse du portrait physique et moral

The works of Barbey d’Aurevilly, evoking a devastating power incarnated in the female characters, plunge a reader in a world that is immoral and even sadistic. Thanks to the most subtle colours, the great artist creates a sequence of dark portraits representing both beautiful and devilish heroines; heroines with many faces who are frigid and dominant, invulnerable and revengeful. In d’Aurevilly’s works the females are depicted as both enchantresses full of Machiavellian cleverness and cynical and extremely intelligent plotters. They are true queens of Evil; proud and powerful they always have the last word.l' article ne contient pas résumés dans cette langu

Structural Study of an Amorphous Bi-Fe-Ca-O Thin Film by the Anomalous X-ray Scattering

The structure of the amorphous Bi-Fe-Ca-O film with 0.3 m thick grown on the Si single crystal was studied by the anomalous x-ray scattering (AXS) method. This relatively new method using the anomalous dispersion effect of a specific constituent element in a film reduces the difficulty in the subtraction process of a substrate intensity for estimating the net intensity of a thin film, which becomes a main cause of errors of the resultant data in the conventional method. The environmental radial distribution functions around Bi and Fe in the amorphous Bi-Fe-Ca-O film were determined, from which the structural features were obtained

Portrety kobiet w dziele Julesa Barbey'a d'Aurevilly'ego

Niniejsza rozprawa doktorska traktuje o idei portretñw kobiet w dziele JulesaBarbey’a d’Aurevilly’ego na podstawie bogatego zbioru dzieł tego dziewiętnastowiecznego pisarza, nowelisty, eseisty, poety, dziennikarza, czy wreszcie krytyka literackiego. Poprzez ukazanie wizerunku fizycznego oraz psychologicznego pierwszoplanowych postaci kobiecych, praca ma również za zadanie przedstawienie osoby Barbey’a d’Aurevilly’ego jako wybitnego portrecisty dwóch rodzajów charakterów kobiecych: natury anielskiej i demonicznej swoich bohaterek. Na rozprawę doktorską składają się trzy główne rozdziały. Wstęp do pracy tworzy ogólna charakterystyka portretu literackiego ujmująca wielość definicji portretu, jego główne rodzaje, założenia oraz rolę, jaką odgrywa on w tekście literackim. Przy okazji tej analizy naszkicowana zostaje także charakterystyka twórczości Julesa Barbey’a d’Aurevilly’ego celem stworzenia odpowiedniego tła dla podejmowanej problematyki. Pierwsza część rozprawy obejmuje portret fizyczny bohaterek Barbey’a d’Aurevilly’ego, wzbogacony o znaczenie i kod ich ubioru. Fragment ten podejmuje zatem analizę sposobu traktowania przez pisarza cech charakterystycznych twarzy, spojrzenia, wyglądu czy też części ciała kobiet seraficznych i szatańskich. W tej części zostają również przywołane imiona i nazwiska bohaterek, celem pochylenia się nad ich sensem, wymową oraz ważnością w budowaniu wizerunku fizycznego i psychologicznego heroin świętych i diabelskich. Podobną rolę odgrywa także interpretacja atrybutów odnoszących się do ubioru. W części końcowej pierwszego rozdziału niniejsza rozprawa traktuje o związku między portretem fizycznym a psychologicznym, co pozwala zbudować adekwatny kontekst dla rozważań zawartych w drugim rozdziale pracy, a poświęconych opisowi charakterów i umysłu postaci pierwszoplanowych Barbey’a d’Aurevilly’ego. Na kartach tego fragmentu zaprezentowane zostają dwie sprzeczne natury enigmatycznych bohaterek dzieł pisarza: Anioła i Diabła. Antagonizm ten zajmuje bowiem kluczowe miejsce w twórczości tego kontrowersyjnego architekta portretu. Praca zakończona jest przybliżeniem różnych funkcji portretu w prozie Barbey’a d’Aurevilly’ego. Tematyka ta jest impulsem do refleksji i próby odpowiedzi na pytanie, czy portret tworzony w dziełach tego nieprzeciętnego i utalentowanego autora pozostaje jedynie elementem dekoracyjnym tekstu, czy raczej stanowi integralną część tworzącą tożsamość postaci. Koncepcja ta pozwala także na uchwycenie strategii pisarza w przedsięwzięciu kreacji swoich bohaterek w aspekcie portretu fizycznego oraz psychologicznego

Discrepancy between the in vitro and in vivo effects of murine mesenchymal stem cells on T-cell proliferation and collagen-induced arthritis

INTRODUCTION: The goal of this study is to analyze the potential immunosuppressive properties of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) on T cell proliferation and in collagen-induced arthritis (CIA). An additional aim is to investigate the role of interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in these processes. METHODS: MSC were isolated from bone marrow of DBA/1 wild type and IFN-gamma receptor knock-out (IFN-gammaR KO) mice and expanded in vitro. Proliferation of anti-CD3-stimulated CD4+ T cells in the presence or absence of MSC was evaluated by thymidine incorporation. CIA was induced in DBA/1 mice and animals were treated with MSC by intravenous or intraperitoneal injections of wild type or IFN-gammaR KO MSC. RESULTS: Purity of enriched MSC cultures was evaluated by flow cytometry and their ability to differentiate into osteoblasts and adipocytes. In vitro, wild type MSC dose-dependently suppressed anti-CD3-induced T cell proliferation whereas IFN-gammaR KO MSC had a significantly lower inhibitory potential. A role for inducible nitric oxide (iNOS), programmed death ligand-1 (PD-L1) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), but not indoleamine 2,3-dioxigenase (IDO), in the T cell inhibition was demonstrated. In vivo, neither wild type nor IFN-gammaR KO MSC were able to reduce the severity of CIA or the humoral or cellular immune response toward collagen type II. CONCLUSIONS: Whereas MSC inhibit anti-CD3-induced proliferation of T cells in vitro, an effect partially mediated by IFN-gamma, MSC do not influence in vivo T cell proliferation nor the disease course of CIA. Thus there is a clear discrepancy between the in vitro and in vivo effects of MSC on T cell proliferation and CIA.status: publishe

Composition and Heat-treatment of Fe_<81> (B, C, Si)_<19> Amorphous Alloys as Low Core Loss Materials

Effects of metalloid composition and post-quench heat-treatment on low field magnetic properties in Fe_ (B, C, Si)_ amorphous alloys were investigated and the amorphous alloys in the vicinity of Fe_B_C_2Si_4 were found to exhibit a high flux density of about 16.8 kG and a low core loss of about 1.3 mw.s/kg at 50 Hz and 15 kG after magnetic field annealing at temperatures around 340℃. For further reducing core losses, the effect of a tensile stress and an oblique field annealing on the core loss was examined. The application of the tensile stress of about 2 kg/mm^2 to the as-prepared sample reduced the core loss by about 50%. It should be noted that this stress-treatment made it possible to reduce the effective maximum annealing temperature below 300℃, at which the sample remained in ductile state. The annealing in oblique magnetic fields also gave rise to the reduction of core loss by about 30%. Temperature dependence of the core loss and coercive force was examined on Fe_B_C_3Si_3 amorphous alloy. It was found that both values were maintained nearly constant in the temperature range from 25℃ to 250℃

Study of Camelpox Virus Pathogenesis in Athymic Nude Mice

Camelpox virus (CMLV) is the closest known orthopoxvirus genetically related to variola virus. So far, CMLV was restricted to camelids but, recently, three human cases of camelpox have been described in India, highlighting the need to pursue research on its pathogenesis, which has been hampered by the lack of small animal models. Here, we confirm that NMRI immunocompetent mice are resistant to intranasal (i.n.) CMLV infection. However, we demonstrate that CMLV induced a severe disease following i.n. challenge of athymic nude mice, which was accompanied with a failure in gaining weight, leading to euthanasia of the animals. On the other hand, intracutaneous (i.c.) infection resulted in disease development without impacting the body weight evolution. CMLV replication in tissues and body fluids was confirmed in the two models. We further analyzed innate immune and B cell responses induced in the spleen and draining lymph nodes after exposure to CMLV. In both models, strong increases in CD11b+F4/80+ macrophages were seen in the spleen, while neutrophils, NK and B cell responses varied between the routes of infection. In the lymph nodes, the magnitude of CD11c+CD8α+ lymphoid and CD11c+CD11b+ myeloid dendritic cell responses increased in i.n. challenged animals. Analysis of cytokine profiles revealed significant increases of interleukin (IL)-6 and IL-18 in the sera of infected animals, while those of other cytokines were similar to uninfected controls. The efficacy of two antivirals (cidofovir or HPMPC, and its 2, 6-diaminopurine analog) was evaluated in both models. HPMPC was the most effective molecule affording 100% protection from morbidity. It appeared that both treatments did not affect immune cell responses or cytokine expression. In conclusion, we demonstrated that immunodeficient mice are permissive for CMLV propagation. These results provide a basis for studying the pathogenesis of CMLV, as well as for evaluating potential antiviral therapies in an immunodeficiency context

Compliant Lower Body Exoskeleton

ME450 Capstone Design and Manufacturing Experience: Winter 2008Robotic exoskeletons that assist human locomotion are currently comprised of multiple actuators and motors driving link systems. Current designs, such as BLEEX and HAL, are active systems requiring multiple sensors coupled with a computer system that signals the actuators and motors. This project proposes a passive, compliant elastic exoskeleton to be worn in parallel with the entire lower limb. The goal of this project is to design, prototype and test a lower-body elastic exoskeleton that reduces the metabolic cost of human locomotion through a low weight, low-profile compliant mechanism.Michael S. Cherryhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/58679/1/me450w08project22_report.pd

Defective CD4(+)CD25(+ )regulatory T cell functioning in collagen-induced arthritis: an important factor in pathogenesis, counter-regulated by endogenous IFN-γ

Mice with a deficiency in IFN-γ or IFN-γ receptor (IFN-γR) are more susceptible to collagen-induced arthritis (CIA), an experimental autoimmune disease that relies on the use of complete Freund's adjuvant (CFA). Here we report that the heightened susceptibility of IFN-γR knock-out (KO) mice is associated with a functional impairment of CD4(+)CD25(+ )T(reg )cells. Treatment of wild-type mice with depleting anti-CD25 antibody after CFA-assisted immunisation with collagen type II (CII) significantly accelerated the onset of arthritis and increased the severity of CIA. This is an indication of a role of T(reg )cells in the effector phase of CIA. IFN-γR deficiency did not affect the number of CD4(+)CD25(+ )T cells in the central and peripheral lymphoid tissues. In addition, CD4(+)CD25(+ )T cells isolated from naive IFN-γR KO mice had a normal potential to suppress T cell proliferation in vitro. However, after immunisation with CII in CFA, the suppressive activity of CD4(+)CD25(+ )T cells became significantly more impaired in IFN-γR-deficient mice. Moreover, expression of the mRNA for Foxp3, a highly specific marker for T(reg )cells, was lower. We further demonstrated that the effect of endogenous IFN-γ, which accounts for more suppressive activity in wild-type mice, concerns both T(reg )cells and accessory cells. Our results demonstrate that the decrease in T(reg )cell activity in CIA is counter-regulated by endogenous IFN-γ

Effector mechanisms of interleukin-17 in collagen-induced arthritis in the absence of interferon-γ and counteraction by interferon-γ

Introduction Interleukin (IL)-17 is a pro-inflammatory cytokine in rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and collagen-induced arthritis ( CIA). Since interferon (IFN)-gamma inhibits Th17 cell development, IFN-gamma receptor knockout (IFN-gamma R KO) mice develop CIA more readily. We took advantage of this model to analyse the mechanisms of action of IL-17 in arthritis. The role of IFN-gamma on the effector mechanisms of IL-17 in an in vitro system was also investigated. Methods IFN-gamma R KO mice induced for CIA were treated with anti-IL-17 or control antibody. The collagen type II (CII)-specific humoral and cellular autoimmune responses, myelopoiesis, osteoclastogenesis, and systemic cytokine production were determined. Mouse embryo fibroblasts (MEF) were stimulated with IL-17, tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha and the expression of cytokines and chemokines were determined. Results A preventive anti-IL-17 antibody treatment inhibited CIA in IFN gamma R KO mice. In the joints of anti-IL-17-treated mice, neutrophil influx and bone destruction were absent. Treatment reduced the cellular autoimmune response as well as the splenic expansion of CD11b(+) cells, and production of myelopoietic cytokines such as granulocyte macrophage colony-stimulating factor (GM-CSF) and IL-6. IL-17 and TNF-alpha synergistically induced granulocyte chemotactic protein-2 (GCP-2), IL-6 and receptor activator of NF kappa B ligand (RANKL) in MEF. This induction was profoundly inhibited by IFN-gamma in a STAT-1 (signal transducer and activator of transcription-1)dependent way. Conclusions In the absence of IFN-gamma, IL-17 mediates its proinflammatory effects mainly through stimulatory effects on granulopoiesis, neutrophil infiltration and bone destruction. In vitro IFN-gamma profoundly inhibits the effector function of IL-17. Thus, aside from the well-known inhibition of the development of Th17 cells by IFN-gamma, this may be an additional mechanism through which IFN-gamma attenuates autoimmune diseases