Informal Interview

While eating dinner at the Indianapolis Athletic Club the other evening we noticed an old gentleman dining alone next to us. His loneliness was so apparent that we invited him over to our table. We were quite surprised to find that we had a celebrity in our midst when he joined us. The old gentleman was Meredith Nicholson, American essayist and novelist

Sur la destruction d’œuvres d’art au Moyen Âge

Dans la chrétienté latine à laquelle cet article se limite, l’iconoclasme byzantin a été rejeté tant par le pape que par le pouvoir carolingien. La législation canonique qui obligeait à entretenir les églises et interdisait l’aliénation de leurs biens, tout comme l’absence de censure des images, limitèrent considérablement les destructions. Comme à d’autres époques, les guerres provoquèrent des dégradations. Avant la fin du Moyen Âge, les actes iconoclastes perpétrés par des hérétiques semblent avoir été très limités. C’est la rénovation somptueuse des édifices et du mobilier existant qui est la principale cause de destructions, qui n’ont pas été menées de bon cœur, comme en témoigne la fréquence des remplois, souvent des portails entiers dans le cas de l’architecture. Cette situation durable entraîne un accroissement continu du patrimoine ecclésiastique et de son décor, avec un effet de saturation de plus en plus critiqué à la fin du Moyen Âge. Chez les lollards et les hussites, l’iconoclasme ressurgit, ouvrant la voie à celui de la Réforme.In Latin Christianity, to which this text is limited, both the Pope and the Carolingian authorities rejected Byzantine iconoclasm. Destruction was considerably limited by canonical legislation requiring the maintenance of churches and forbidding the alienation of their property, as well as the absence of image censorship. As in other eras, wars resulted in damage. Before the end of the Middle Ages, iconoclastic acts by heretics seem to have been very limited. The sumptuous renovation of existing buildings and furnishings were the principle cause of destruction, which was not done willingly, evidenced by the prevalence of reuse, in the case of architecture, often entire portals. This long-lasting situation led to a continuing increase in ecclesiastical heritage and its decoration, with a saturation effect that was increasingly criticized in the late Middle Ages. Among the Lollards and Hussites, iconoclasm resurfaced, paving the way for the Reformation.Im westlichen Christentum, worauf sich dieser Artikel beschränkt, wurde der byzantinische Ikonoklasmus sowohl vom Papst, als auch von der karolingischen Herrschaft abgelehnt. Die kanonische Rechtslage begrenzte erheblich die Zahl der Zerstörungen, indem sie vorschrieb, Kirchen instand zu halten und ihre Güter als untrennbar zu bewahren. Wie auch während anderer Epochen sorgten Kriege für Beschädigungen. Vor dem Ende des Mittelalters schienen die von Häretikern verübten ikonoklastischen Taten eher sehr selten vorgekommen zu sein. Die aufwendigen Renovierungen von Bauten und existierendem Mobiliar sind der Hauptgrund der halbherzigen Zerstörungen, wie es die Häufigkeit der Wiederverwendung oftmals von gesamten Portalen im Falle der Architektur aufzeigt. Diese andauernde Situation führte zu einer permanenten Bereicherung der Kirchenbauten und ihrer Ausgestaltung, die zu einer immer stärker kritisierten Überlastung am Ende des Mittelalters führte. Bei den Lollarden und den Hussiten flammte der Ikonoklasmus wieder auf und wirkte richtungsweisend für die Reformation.Nell’epoca cristiana latina, alla cui analisi si limita il presente articolo, l’iconoclastia bizantina venne rigettata tanto dal papa che dal potere dei Carolingi. La legislazione canonica che obbligava ad avere cura delle chiese e vietava l’alienazione dei loro beni, oltre all’assenza di censura delle immagini, limitarono considerevolmente le distruzioni. Come in altre epoche, le guerre provocarono però dei deterioramenti. Prima della fine del Medio Evo, gli atti di iconoclastia perpetrati da eretici sembrano essere stati molto limitati. È il rinnovo sontuoso degli edifici e del mobilio, che spesso ha come scopo il reimpiego di intere strutture architettoniche, come nel caso dei portali, a essere la principale causa di distruzione. Questa situazione duratura implica un aumento continuo del patrimonio ecclesiastico e del suo decoro, con un effetto di saturazione sempre più critico alla fine del Medio Evo. Presso i lollardi e gli ussiti, l’iconoclastia riprese dunque grande vigore, aprendo la via a quella della Riforma.En la cristiandad latina a la cual este artículo se limita, la iconoclasia bizantina fue rechazada tanto por el papa como por el poder carolingio. La legislación canónica que obligaba a mantener las iglesias y prohibía la alienación de sus bienes, así como la ausencia de censura a imágenes, limitaron considerablemente las destrucciones. Como en otras épocas, las guerras provocaron degradaciones. Antes de la Edad Media, los actos iconoclastas perpetrados por heréticos parecen haber sido muy limitados. Fue la renovación suntuosa de los edificios y del mobiliario existentes la principal causa de las destrucciones, las cuales no fueron realizadas de buen corazón, como lo demuestra la frecuente reutilización, muchas veces de pórticos enteros en el caso de la arquitectura. La perduración de esta situación genera un crecimiento continuo del patrimonio eclesiástico y de su decorado, con un efecto de saturación cada vez más crítico hacia el final de la Edad Media. En los lolardos y husitas la iconoclasia resurgió, abriendo el camino a la de la reforma

The popliteal cyst

A popliteal cyst, originally called Baker's cyst, is a synovial fluid-filled mass located in the popliteal fossa. The most common synovial popliteal cyst is considered to be a distension of the bursa located beneath the medial head of the gastrocnemius muscle. Usually, in an adult patient, an underlying intra-articular disorder is present. In children, the cyst can be isolated and the knee joint normal. The anatomy, etiopathogenesis, clinical presentation, differential diagnosis, imaging and treatment modalities of the popliteal cyst are presented. The authors try to answer some questions dealing with this condition. Is the cyst isolated, can it be treated as such, is its origin always well-defined and does surgical excision provide a permanent cure

Villard de Honnecourt, architecte du XIIIe siècle

The only document we have by a 13th-century architect, the Album of Villard de Honnecourt has been the subject of writings by art and architectural historians since the 19th century and has been considered the work of an amateur since the 1970s. Jean Wirth sheds new light on the question, based on a philological study of the manuscript, and proves that Villard himself is the author of the technical drawings relating to construction. He goes on to provide convincing analyses of the art of drawing and its numerous applications, from drawing from nature to architectural plans. Drawings relating to engineering, geometry and stereotomy are treated individually, in order to convey as clearly as possible the technical processes they illustrate. An examination of the architect’s travels, the monuments he saw and his stylistic evolution allows for an accurate, corrected chronology of this work, previously considered outdated. This intelligent and detailed study will be a landmark in the rehabilitation of Villard de Honnecourt’s reputation

MirZ: an integrated microRNA expression atlas and target prediction resource

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are short RNAs that act as guides for the degradation and translational repression of protein-coding mRNAs. A large body of work showed that miRNAs are involved in the regulation of a broad range of biological functions, from development to cardiac and immune system function, to metabolism, to cancer. For most of the over 500 miRNAs that are encoded in the human genome the functions still remain to be uncovered. Identifying miRNAs whose expression changes between cell types or between normal and pathological conditions is an important step towards characterizing their function as is the prediction of mRNAs that could be targeted by these miRNAs. To provide the community the possibility of exploring interactively miRNA expression patterns and the candidate targets of miRNAs in an integrated environment, we developed the MirZ web server, which is accessible at www.mirz.unibas.ch. The server provides experimental and computational biologists with statistical analysis and data mining tools operating on up-to-date databases of sequencing-based miRNA expression profiles and of predicted miRNA target sites in species ranging from Caenorhabditis elegans to Homo sapien

Visual Maturation at Term Equivalent Age in Very Premature Infants According to Factors Influencing Its Development

Introduction: Visual impairment is a concern in premature infants as perinatal factors may alter maturation during visual development. This observational study aimed at evaluating visual maturation at term equivalent age and factors associated with impaired visual maturation.Methods: Infants born before 32 weeks’ gestation were evaluated with routine brain MRI, visual acuity, refraction, fundus, and clinical eye examination. Environmental factors were collected from infant’s files.Results: Fifty-four infants (29.5 ± 1.7 weeks’ gestation, birth weight 1194 ± 288 g) were studied at term equivalent age. Visual acuity was higher in premature infants at term equivalent age than in a reference publication with the same method in term newborns at birth (1.54 ± 0.67 vs. 0.99 ± 0.40 cycles/degree, p = 0.008). In multivariate analysis, abnormal brain MRI was the only factor associated with visual acuity (r2= 0.203; p = 0.026). Incomplete retinal vascularization was observed in 29/53 of infants at term equivalent age and associated with MRI abnormalities of the posterior fossa (p = 0.027) and larger refractive sphere difference between both eyes (1.2 ± 0.8 vs. 0.6 ± 0.4 diopters; p = 0.0005). Retinopathy of prematurity was associated with indices of smaller cerebral volume (p = 0.035).Conclusion: Higher visual acuity in premature infants at term equivalent age than in term newborns at birth may be related to longer visual experience from birth. Lower visual acuity was correlated with abnormal MRI in preterm infants at term equivalent age

Resourcing a Mosaic Force: Lesions from an Acquisition Wargame

Excerpt from the Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual Acquisition Research SymposiumDARPA has an ambitious vision for Mosaic Warfare, conceived by its Strategic Technology Office (STO) leadership as both a warfighting concept and a means to greatly accelerate capability development and fielding. Although the success of Mosaic depends on DARPA advancing multiple technologies, the Mosaic vision is inherently more challenging to “transition” than is a program or technology. Anticipating this challenge, DARPA sponsored RAND to examine the opportunities and challenges associated with developing and fielding a Mosaic force under existing or alternative governance models and management processes, as would be required for the vision to move from DARPA to widespread acceptance by DoD. To this end, RAND designed and executed a policy game that immersed participants in the task of fielding a Mosaic and required them to operate within the authorities, responsibilities, and constraints of the existing and an alternative governance model. This article presents select findings on the capacity of the existing acquisition resourcing system (i.e., the Planning, Programming, Budgeting, and Execution [or PPBE] process) to exploit STO’s vision of Mosaic Warfare.Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Resourcing a Mosaic Force: Lessons from an Acquisition Wargame

Symposium PresentationApproved for public release; distribution is unlimited

Flavonoid profiling among wild type and related GM wheat varieties

Pleiotropic effects are one of the main concerns regarding genetically modified organisms (GMOs). This includes unintended side effects of the transgene or its genome insertion site on the regulation of other endogenous genes, which could potentially cause the accumulation of different secondary metabolites that may have not only an impact on diet as repeatedly worried by the public but also on the environment. Regarding amount and possible environmental effects, flavonoids represent the most prominent group of secondary metabolites in wheat. Many flavonoids function as signalling or defence molecules. We used a robust and reproducible analytical method to compare the flavonoid content of genetically modified (GM) wheat (Triticum aestivum L., Gramineae) expressing genes that confer increased fungal resistance with their non-GM siblings. The transgenes provide either a broad-spectrum fungal defence (chitinase/glucanase from barley) or bunt-specific resistance by a viral gene (KP4). Significant differences in flavonoid composition were found between different wheat varieties whereas different lines of GM wheat with increased antifungal resistance showed only minor differences in their flavonoid composition relative to their non-GM siblings. In a field test, no significant differences were detectable between infected and non-infected wheat of the same variety regardless of the presence of the transgene. Our results are in agreement with the hypothesis that the transgenes we used to increase wheat defence to fungal pathogens do not interfere with the flavonoid biosynthesis pathway. More significantly, the genetic background resulting from conventional breeding has a direct impact on the biological composition of flavonoids, and thus possibly on the environmen