“Linking Venus”. New Technologies of Memory and the Reconfiguration of Space at the Warburg Library.

The Hamburg art historian Aby Warburg (1866- 1929) anticipated what, in network science, we would call today the practice and mapping of complex patterns of information. Both his Library and his last project Mnemosyne were conceived as experiences of conceptual and emotional rhizomatic connection. In our days, his idea of Kulturwissensschaft presents a number of “elective affinities” with the concepts of “transdisciplinarity” (Nicolescu 2002), “convergence” (Jenkins 2006) and “information visualization” (Lima 2011), suggesting that digital technologies could enhance the resources of the Warburg Library in ways that could not only reflect but also expand the original plan of his founder. On these assumptions, this article investigates how digital media – including linked data – are likely to affect the transdisciplinary process of knowledge production represented in paper format in the Warburg Library. We look at how these have been developed in the digital resources of the Warburg Institute, their potential for further development and what impact they have on the process of knowledge production and scholarly training. It concentrates on the specific case study of a mythological figure, Venus, examining how the potential connections between images and texts available in the Library can be reconfigured in the digital space

Cooking pots, tableware, and the changing sounds of sociability in Italy, 1300–1700

This article considers how the sounds produced by the preparation and consumption of meals in Italy changed between around 1300 and 1700. It argues that by focusing on sound, and by using ecological approaches, we can rediscover obscured connections between different categories of material objects. By examining material and textual evidence for three categories of objects associated with cooking and dining – metalwork, ceramics, and glass – the article traces changes in the material cultures of kitchen and table, and the clear impact these changes had on domestic soundscapes. It considers these sound-producing objects as agents of social interaction, exploring the social relationships they constructed, and the role sound played in those relationships. The article then focuses on the practices of cooking and dining, and the way they shaped the sound of objects. Finally, the article situates objects and social practices within the spatial context of the home, tracing an increasing impetus to manage and control specific types of sound in relation to gender. In the discourse on hospitality, noise came to signify a badly-managed, and therefore morally dubious, household, while silence testified to decorous and authoritative domestic management

Essai de taxonomie des Amibes libres du genre

Pour vérifier l’apport de la microscopie électronique à balayage dans l’étude taxonomique des amibes libres, les auteurs ont étudiés 21 souches d’amibes libres représentant 20 espèces (1 Naegleria gruberi, 1 Tetramitus rostratus et 18 Acanthamoeba sp.), au seul stade de kystes. La méthode utilisée est satisfaisante pour faire la discrimination entre des genres différents. Mais pour le seul genre Acanthamoeba par contre, alors que par des méthodes optiques, il est possible d’individualiser trois groupes (I, II et III), regroupant respectivement 3, 10 et 5 espèces, par la microscopie électronique à balayage, les résultats sont moins précis. Le groupe II notamment ne comprend plus que quatre sous-groupes et le groupe III deux sous-groupes et une espèce, A. culbertsoni. Le groupe I par contre reste tout aussi valable

Improved molecular platform for the gene therapy of rare diseases by liver protein secretion

International audienceMany rare monogenic diseases are treated by protein replacement therapy, in which the missing protein is repetitively administered to the patient. However, in several cases, the missing protein is required at a high and sustained level, which renders protein therapy far from being adequate. As an alternative, a gene therapy treatment ensuring a sustained effectiveness would be particularly valuable. Liver is an optimal organ for the secretion and systemic distribution of a therapeutic transgene product. Cutting edge non-viral gene therapy tools were tested in order to produce a high and sustained level of therapeutic protein secretion by the liver using the hydrodynamic delivery technique. The use of S/MAR matrix attachment region provided a slight, however not statistically significant, increase in the expression of a reporter gene in the liver. We have selected the von Willebrand Factor (vWF) gene as a particularly challenging large gene (8.4 kb) for liver delivery and expression, and also because a high vWF blood concentration is required for disease correction. By using the optimized miniplasmid pFAR free of antibiotic resistance gene together with the Sleeping Beauty transposon and the hyperactive SB100X transposase, we have obtained a sustainable level of vWFblood secretion by the liver, at 65% of physiological level. Our results point to the general use of this plasmid platform using the liver as a protein factory to treat numerous rare disorders by gene therapy

Improved molecular platform for the gene therapy of rare diseases by liver protein secretion

Many rare monogenic diseases are treated by protein replacement therapy, in which the missing protein is repetitively administered to the patient. However, in several cases, the missing protein is required at a high and sustained level, which renders protein therapy far from being adequate. As an alternative, a gene therapy treatment ensuring a sustained effectiveness would be particularly valuable. Liver is an optimal organ for the secretion and systemic distribution of a therapeutic transgene product. Cutting edge non-viral gene therapy tools were tested in order to produce a high and sustained level of therapeutic protein secretion by the liver using the hydrodynamic delivery technique. The use of S/MAR matrix attachment region provided a slight, however not statistically significant, increase in the expression of a reporter gene in the liver. We have selected the von Willebrand Factor (vWF) gene as a particularly challenging large gene (8.4 kb) for liver delivery and expression, and also because a high vWF blood concentration is required for disease correction. By using the optimized miniplasmid pFAR free of antibiotic resistance gene together with the Sleeping Beauty transposon and the hyperactive SB100X transposase, we have obtained a sustainable level of vWFblood secretion by the liver, at 65% of physiological level. Our results point to the general use of this plasmid platform using the liver as a protein factory to treat numerous rare disorders by gene therapy.status: publishe