Pratiques politiques subalternes dans un quartier populaire de Tokyo: des formes de résistance?

Cet article, qui s’appuie sur une ethnographie des pratiques politiques dans un quartier populaire de Tokyo, se propose de voir dans quelle mesure l’utilisation du concept de résistance pour décrire et analyser ces pratiques fait sens. L’enquête permet de mettre en lumière différents types de pratiques politiques non-institutionnalisées qui sont autant de tactiques pour contester, contourner ou éluder des rapports de pouvoir défavorables – renversement de rapports de pouvoir, négociation, contournement, grignotage, création d’espaces autonomes, pratiques émancipatrices. Ces différents types de pratiques peuvent-ils être considérés comme des formes de résistance ? On verra qu’une réponse affirmative suppose d’opérer une distinction entre résistance pour soi et résistance en soi. Cette distinction permet en outre de replacer les résistances dans la dynamique plus globale des rapports de pouvoir en cours, dont elles ne constituent que l’un des pôles.Drawing from ethnographic research conducted in a working class neighborhood of Tokyo on subaltern political practices, this article aims to test the relevance of the concept of resistance to describe and analyze such practices. This study sheds light on different types of non-institutionalized political practices that contest, bypass or elude unfavorable power relations. Examples of individual and collective practices include the reversal of power relations, negotiation, bypassing, encroachment, building of autonomous spaces and emancipatory practices. Yet, can these different practices be considered as forms of resistance? In order to suggest the affirmative, it becomes necessary to distinguish between resistance for itself and resistance in itself. This conceptual distinction permits the placement of forms of resistance within a wider dynamic of global power relations, wherein such resistances are only constitutive of one pole of the spectrum

Seafloor and Shallow Subsurface of the St. Lawrence River Estuary

A new surficial geology map of the St. Lawrence River Estuary illustrates sediment distribution and variability in a relatively confined environment. This map is based on recently collected geophysical and geological data that provide a link between submarine land-forms and sedimentary units. The strong dichotomy between the areas to the northeast and to the southwest of the Saguenay River is the main characteristic of the St. Lawrence River Estuary. To the northeast, the Lower St. Lawrence Estuary is mainly floored by fine silts within the Laurentian Channel and sediments varying from sands to fine silts on its margins. To the southwest, the Middle Estuary corresponds to a high-energy sedimentary environment that precludes the deposition of fine-grained sediments. In the latter area, Holocene sediments are either absent or correspond to a sand unit shaped by currents. Sommaire Une nouvelle carte de la géologie des sédiments superficiels du fond marin de l’estuaire du Saint-Laurent présente un cas de la distribution et de la variabilité des sédiments dans un environ-nement relativement confiné. Cette carte est basée sur des données géophysiques et géologiques récentes qui assurent un lien entre le relief sous-marin et les unités sédimentaires. La forte dichotomie entre les zones situées au nord-est et au sud-ouest de la rivière Saguenay est la caractéristique principale de l’estuaire du Saint-Laurent. Au nord-est, le fond de l’estuaire maritime du Saint-Laurent est recouvert de silts fins au sein du chenal Laurentien et par des sédiments variant de sables à silts fins sur ses marges. Au sud-ouest, l’estuaire moyen correspond à un environnement sédimentaire de forte énergie qui empêche le dépôt de sédiments fins. Dans cette dernière zone, les sédiments holocènes sont absents ou correspondent à une unité sableuse façonnée par les courants

Recognizing Chordal-Bipartite Probe Graphs

A graph G is chordal-bipartite probe if its vertices can be partitioned into two sets P (probes) and N (non-probes) where N is a stable set and such that G can be extended to a chordal-bipartite graph by adding edges between non-probes. A bipartite graph is called chordal-bipartite if it contains no chordless cycle of length strictly greater than 5. Such probe/non-probe completion problems have been studied previously on other families of graphs, such as interval graphs and chordal graphs. In this paper, we give a characterization of chordal-bipartite probe graphs, in the case of a fixed given partition of the vertices into probes and nonprobes. Our results are obtained by solving first the more general case without assuming that N is a stable set, and then this can be applied to the more specific case. Our characterization uses an edge elimination ordering which also implies a polynomial time recognition algorithm for the class. This research was conducted in the context of a France-Israel Binational project, while the French team visited Haifa in March 2007

Let-7f: A New Potential Circulating Biomarker Identified by miRNA Profiling of Cells Isolated from Human Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

International audienceAbdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a progressive vascular disease responsible for 1-4% of the deaths in elderly men. This study aimed to characterize specific microRNA (miRNA) expression in aneurysmal smooth muscle cells (SMCs) and macrophages in order to identify circulating miRNAs associated with AAA. We screened 850 miRNAs in aneurysmal SMCs, M1 and M2 macrophages, and in control SMCs isolated by micro-dissection from aortic biopsies using microarray analysis. In all, 92 miRNAs were detected and 10 miRNAs were selected for validation by qRT-PCR in isolated cells (n = 5), whole control and aneurysmal aorta biopsies (n = 13), and plasma from patients (n = 24) undergoing AAA (over 50 mm) repair matched to patients (n = 18) with peripheral arterial disease (PAD) with atherosclerosis but not AAA. Seven miRNAs were modulated similarly in all aneurysmal cells. The Let-7f was downregulated in aneurysmal cells compared to control SMCs with a significant lower expression in M1 compared to M2 macrophages (0.1 fold, p = 0.03), correlated with a significant downregulation in whole aneurysmal aorta compared to control aorta (0.2 fold, p = 0.03). Significant levels of circulating let-7f (p = 0.048) were found in AAA patients compared to PAD patients with no significant correlation with aortic diameter (R 2 = 0.03). Our study underlines the utility of profiling isolated aneurysmal cells to identify other miRNAs for which the modulation of expression might be masked when the whole aorta is used. The results highlight let-7f as a new potential biomarker for AAA

Echocardiographic diastolic function evolution in patients with an anterior Q-wave myocardial infarction: insights from the REVE-2 study.

International audienceBackground: Myocardial fibrosis plays a key role in the development of adverse left ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction (MI). This study aimed to determine whether the circulating levels of BNP, collagen peptides, and galectin-3 are associated with diastolic function evolution (both deterioration and improvement) at 1-year after an anterior MI.Methods: The REVE-2 is a prospective multicenter study including 246 patients with a first anterior Q-wave MI. Echocardiographic assessment was performed at hospital discharge and ±1-year after MI. BNP, Galectin-3 and collagen peptides were measured ±1-month after MI. Left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (DD) was defined according to the presence of at least 2 criteria of echocardiographic parameters: septal e’6 mg/l (Odds Ratio, OR=5.29; 95%CI=1.05-26.66; p=0.044), Galectin-3>13 μg/l (OR=5.99; 95%CI=1.18-30.45; p=0.031), and BNP>82 ng/l (OR=10.25; 95%CI=2.36-44.50; p=0.002) quantified at 1-month post-MI were independently associated with 1-year DD. Follow-up of the 137 patients with DD at baseline among the 159 patients showed that 36 patients (26%) had a normalized diastolic function at 1-year post-MI. Patients with a BNP>82 ng/l were less likely to improve diastolic function (OR=0.06; 95%CI=0.01-0.28; p=0.0003).Conclusions. The present study suggests that circulating levels of PIIINP, Galectin-3 and BNP may be independently associated with new-onset DD in post-MI patients

Transcriptomic and proteomic profiles of vascular cells involved in human abdominal aortic aneurysm

Diseases & disorder

Expression and implication of clusterin in left ventricular remodeling after myocardial infarction

International audienceBACKGROUND: Left ventricular remodeling (LVR) after myocardial infarction is associated with an increased risk of heart failure and death. In spite of a modern therapeutic approach, LVR remains relatively frequent and difficult to predict in clinical practice. Our aim was to identify new biomarkers of LVR and understand their involvement in its development.METHODS AND RESULTS:Proteomic analysis of plasma from the REVE-2 study (Remodelage Ventriculaire)-a study dedicated to the analysis of LVR which included 246 patients after a first anterior myocardial infarction-identified increased plasma levels of CLU (clusterin) in patients with high LVR. We used a rat model of myocardial infarction to analyze CLU expression in the LV and found a significant increase that was correlated with LVR parameters. We found increased CLU expression and secretion in primary cultures of rat neonate cardiomyocytes hypertrophied by isoproterenol. Silencing of CLU in hypertrophied neonate cardiomyocytes induced a significant decrease in cell size, ANP (atrial natriuretic peptide), and BNP (B-type natriuretic peptide) expression, associated with a decreased ERK (extracellular signal-regulated kinase) 1/2 activity, suggesting a prohypertrophic role of CLU. We then confirmed a significant increase of both intracellular p-CLU (precursor form of CLU) and m-CLU (mature form of CLU) in failing human hearts. Finally, the circulating levels of CLU (secreted form) were increased in patients with chronic heart failure who died from cardiovascular cause during a 3-year follow-up (n=99) compared with survivors (n=99).CONCLUSIONS: Our results show for the first time that plasma CLU levels are associated with LVR post-myocardial infarction, have in part a cardiac origin, and are a predictor of early death in heart failure patients

The SuperCam Remote Sensing Instrument Suite for Mars 2020

International audienceThe Mars 2020 rover, essentially a structural twin of MSL, is being built to a) characterize the geology and history of a new landing site on Mars, b) find and characterize ancient habitable environments, c) cache samples for eventual return to Earth, and d) demonstrate in-situ production of oxygen needed for human exploration. Remote-sensing instrumentation is needed to support the first three of these goals [1]. The SuperCam instrument meets these needs with a range of instrumentation including the highest-resolution remote imaging on the rover, two different techniques for determining mineralogy , and one technique to provide elemental compositions. All of these techniques are co-boresighted, providing rapid comprehensive characterization. In addition, for targets within 7 meters of the rover the laser shock waves brush away the dust, providing cleaner surfaces for analysis. SuperCam will use an advanced version of the AEGIS robotic target selection software

The SuperCam Instrument Suite on the Mars 2020 Rover: Science Objectives and Mast-Unit Description

On the NASA 2020 rover mission to Jezero crater, the remote determination of the texture, mineralogy and chemistry of rocks is essential to quickly and thoroughly characterize an area and to optimize the selection of samples for return to Earth. As part of the Perseverance payload, SuperCam is a suite of five techniques that provide critical and complementary observations via Laser-Induced Breakdown Spectroscopy (LIBS), Time-Resolved Raman and Luminescence (TRR/L), visible and near-infrared spectroscopy (VISIR), high-resolution color imaging (RMI), and acoustic recording (MIC). SuperCam operates at remote distances, primarily 2-7 m, while providing data at sub-mm to mm scales. We report on SuperCam's science objectives in the context of the Mars 2020 mission goals and ways the different techniques can address these questions. The instrument is made up of three separate subsystems: the Mast Unit is designed and built in France; the Body Unit is provided by the United States; the calibration target holder is contributed by Spain, and the targets themselves by the entire science team. This publication focuses on the design, development, and tests of the Mast Unit; companion papers describe the other units. The goal of this work is to provide an understanding of the technical choices made, the constraints that were imposed, and ultimately the validated performance of the flight model as it leaves Earth, and it will serve as the foundation for Mars operations and future processing of the data.In France was provided by the Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales (CNES). Human resources were provided in part by the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS) and universities. Funding was provided in the US by NASA's Mars Exploration Program. Some funding of data analyses at Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) was provided by laboratory-directed research and development funds