Post-pastoral and the Nonmodern: Jean Giono’s Engagement with Nature

Dismissal of the pastoral as naïve and hostile to progress echoes the critiques which Bruno Latour, in We Have Never Been Modern, makes of what he calls the “antimodern” sensibility. Rather than advocating for an abandonment of the past, however, Latour puts forth a position he calls “nonmodern,” one that allows for recognition of the value of the past and of the natural without idolizing it, that does not demand the forward motion of the modern impulse. While eschewing the “modern” label, he seeks a way to resolve contemporary dichotomies of man vs. nature, human vs. technological, etc., which find themselves entangled in issues such as pollution, climate change, and the political response to these issues. Like the antimodern, the pastoral, according to Terry Gifford, traditionally involves a movement of return (to the land, the past, etc.). This movement itself has also been viewed as suspiciously tied to fascist “back to the land” nostalgia. This same accusation has been leveled at Jean Giono, whom Catherine Savage Brosman suggests “Perhaps…comes closest in our century to being a true pastoral writer” (220). His depictions of the rural environment, however, are not blindly nostalgic for the bucolic, despite the intense beauty of rural landscapes, the sensual pleasure he often derives from them, and his suspicion of city life and industrialization. Giono\u27s writing shows a profound ambivalence towards nature, with which he nonetheless sees humanity as being inextricably intertwined. This view of the destruction possible in nature, combined with the recognition of humanity’s engagement in the natural world, situates Giono in what Terry Gifford would call the post-pastoral, while also demonstrating an attitude towards time and progress that allows us to see post-pastoral writing as a literature appropriate to the nonmodern approach advocated by Latour

A novel plant actin-microtubule bridging complex regulates cytoskeletal and ER structure at ER-PM contact sites

In plants, the cortical endoplasmic reticulum (ER) network is connected to the plasma membrane (PM) through the ER-PM contact sites (EPCSs), whose structures are maintained by EPCS resident proteins and the cytoskeleton.1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 Strong co-alignment between EPCSs and the cytoskeleton is observed in plants,1,8 but little is known of how the cytoskeleton is maintained and regulated at the EPCS. Here, we have used a yeast-two-hybrid screen and subsequent in vivo interaction studies in plants by fluorescence resonance energy transfer (FRET)-fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM) analysis to identify two microtubule binding proteins, KLCR1 (kinesin-light-chain-related protein 1) and IQD2 (IQ67-domain 2), that interact with the actin binding protein NET3C and form a component of plant EPCS that mediates the link between the actin and microtubule networks. The NET3C-KLCR1-IQD2 module, acting as an actin-microtubule bridging complex, has a direct influence on ER morphology and EPCS structure. Their loss-of-function mutants, net3a/NET3C RNAi, klcr1, or iqd2, exhibit defects in pavement cell morphology, which we suggest is linked to the disorganization of both actin filaments and microtubules. In conclusion, our results reveal a novel cytoskeletal-associated complex, which is essential for the maintenance and organization of cytoskeletal structure and ER morphology at the EPCS and for normal plant cell morphogenesis

Finishing the euchromatic sequence of the human genome

The sequence of the human genome encodes the genetic instructions for human physiology, as well as rich information about human evolution. In 2001, the International Human Genome Sequencing Consortium reported a draft sequence of the euchromatic portion of the human genome. Since then, the international collaboration has worked to convert this draft into a genome sequence with high accuracy and nearly complete coverage. Here, we report the result of this finishing process. The current genome sequence (Build 35) contains 2.85 billion nucleotides interrupted by only 341 gaps. It covers ∼99% of the euchromatic genome and is accurate to an error rate of ∼1 event per 100,000 bases. Many of the remaining euchromatic gaps are associated with segmental duplications and will require focused work with new methods. The near-complete sequence, the first for a vertebrate, greatly improves the precision of biological analyses of the human genome including studies of gene number, birth and death. Notably, the human enome seems to encode only 20,000-25,000 protein-coding genes. The genome sequence reported here should serve as a firm foundation for biomedical research in the decades ahead

Inventing a vegetal post-exotic in the work of Antoine Volodine

The physical environment plays a key role in the writing of Antoine Volodine, and in that of his “post-exotic” pen name authors. The ruins of human construction and the unwelcoming landscape of the post-apocalyptic world contribute to this literature’s bleak and menacing atmosphere. The ongoing catastrophe portrayed in Volodine’s work is equally environmental, human and political. This article will focus on the environment as agent and as a victim of violence, especially in the novels “Terminus radieux [Radiant Terminus]” and “Herbes et golems" [“Herbs and Golems”], and attend to what a specifically literary post-exotic engagement with the environment would look like. In addition to investing the vegetal with agency, the literary production itself acts as a form of political resistance that is dependent on one’s relationship with that world. Volodine applies his extensive power of invention as a linguist to naming herbs as a reparative and political act. The collective of post-exotic writers takes the side of the wild herbs they name and gives a voice to them by creating a place for them in literature. Questions driving my analysis of the vegetal post-exotic in Volodine’s work include: Can resistance take place without solidarity with the environment, and what would that solidarity look like? What communication can one have with the natural environment in the post-exotic mode that follows the cataclysm? Can one speak in the place of plants or other non-human agents? How must language change both what it is telling and how it tells it in a world in which disaster has already occurred and humans are only one of many agents who must contend with its aftermath?El medio ambiente juega un papel esencial en la obra de Antoine Volodine, así como en la de sus y alias “post-exóticos.” En el mundo post-apocalíptico ocupado por sus personajes, las ruinas de la construcción humana y un paisaje hostil contribuyen a la atmósfera lúgubre y amenazante de esta literatura. Volodine afirma que la catástrofe en curso representada en su obra es tanto ambiental como humana y política. Este ensayo se concentrará en el medio ambiente como agente tanto como receptor de violencia, sobre todo en las novelas “Terminus radieux” y “Herbes et golems", y prestará atención especial a cómo sería un compromiso literario post-exótico con el mundo vegetal. Además de dotar a la flora de agencia, la producción literaria en sí misma funciona como una forma de resistencia política dependiente de la relación de uno con ese mundo. Volodine utiliza su gran poder de invención lingüística para dar nombre a las hierbas como un acto restaurador y político. El colectivo de escritores post-exóticos toma partido por las hierbas salvajes que nombra y les da voz al crear un lugar para ellas la literatura. ¿Puede haber una resistencia sin solidaridad con las plantas, y de ser así cómo sería esa solidaridad? ¿Qué tipo de comunicación se puede establecer con el medio ambiente natural en el modo post-exótico después de un cataclismo? ¿Se puede hablar por las las planas o por otros agentes no humanos? ¿Cómo se debe cambiar el lenguaje lo que se cuenta y cómo se cuenta en un mundo en que el desastre ya ha ocurrido y los seres humanos son los únicos de varios agentes que tienen que enfrentarse a las consecuencias

Inventando un post-exótico vegetal en la obra de Antoine Volodine

      The physical environment plays a key role in the writing of Antoine Volodine, and in that of his “post-exotic” pen name authors. The ruins of human construction and the unwelcoming landscape of the post-apocalyptic world contribute to this literature’s bleak and menacing atmosphere. The ongoing catastrophe portrayed in Volodine’s work is equally environmental, human and political.  This article will focus on the environment as agent and as a victim of violence, especially in the novels Terminus radieux [Radiant Terminus] and Herbes et golems [“Herbs and Golems”], and attend to what a specifically literary post-exotic engagement with the environment would look like. In addition to investing the floral with agency, the literary production itself acts as a form of political resistance that is dependent on one’s relationship with that world.  Volodine applies his extensive power of invention as a linguist to naming herbs as a reparative and political act. The collective of post-exotic writers takes the side of the wild herbs they name and gives a voice to them by creating a place for them in literature. Questions driving my analysis of the vegetal post-exotic in Volodine’s work include: Can resistance take place without solidarity with the environment, and what would that solidarity look like? What communication can one have with the natural environment in the post-exotic mode that follows the cataclysm? Can one speak in the place of plants or other non-human agents? How must language change both what it is telling and how it tells it in a world in which disaster has already occurred and humans are only one of many agents who must contend with its aftermath?       El medio ambiente juega un papel esencial en la obra de Antoine Volodine, así como en la de sus y alias “post-exóticos.” En el mundo post-apocalíptico ocupado por sus personajes, las ruinas de la construcción humana y un paisaje hostil contribuyen a la atmósfera lúgubre y amenazante de esta literatura. Volodine afirma que la catástrofe en curso representada en su obra es tanto ambiental como humana y política. Este ensayo se concentrará en el medio ambiente como agente tanto como receptor de violencia, sobre todo en las novelas Terminus radieux y Herbes et golems, y prestará atención especial a cómo sería un compromiso literario post-exótico con el mundo vegetal. Además de dotar a la flora de agencia, la producción literaria en sí misma funciona como una forma de resistencia política dependiente de la relación de uno con ese mundo.       Volodine utiliza su gran poder de invención lingüística para dar nombre a las hierbas como un acto restaurador y político. El colectivo de escritores post-exóticos toma partido por las hierbas salvajes que nombra y les da voz al crear un lugar para ellas la literatura. ¿Puede haber una resistencia sin solidaridad con las plantas, y de ser así cómo sería esa solidaridad? ¿Qué tipo de comunicación se puede establecer con el medio ambiente natural en el modo post-exótico después de un cataclismo? ¿Se puede hablar por las las planas o por otros agentes no humanos? ¿Cómo se debe cambiar el lenguaje lo que se cuenta y cómo se cuenta en un mundo en que el desastre ya ha ocurrido y los seres humanos son los únicos de varios agentes que tienen que enfrentarse a las consecuencias

The secreted PAMP-induced peptide StPIP1_1 activates immune responses in potato

Abstract Treatment of potato plants with the pathogen-associated molecular pattern Pep-13 leads to the activation of more than 1200 genes. One of these, StPIP1_1, encodes a protein of 76 amino acids with sequence homology to PAMP-induced secreted peptides (PIPs) from Arabidopsis thaliana. Expression of StPIP1_1 is also induced in response to infection with Phytophthora infestans, the causal agent of late blight disease. Apoplastic localization of StPIP1_1-mCherry fusion proteins is dependent on the presence of the predicted signal peptide. A synthetic peptide corresponding to the last 13 amino acids of StPIP1_1 elicits the expression of the StPIP1_1 gene itself, as well as that of pathogenesis related genes. The oxidative burst induced by exogenously applied StPIP1_1 peptide in potato leaf disks is dependent on functional StSERK3A/B, suggesting that StPIP1_1 perception occurs via a receptor complex involving the co-receptor StSERK3A/B. Moreover, StPIP1_1 induces expression of FRK1 in Arabidopsis in an RLK7-dependent manner. Expression of an RLK from potato with high sequence homology to AtRLK7 is induced by StPIP1_1, by Pep-13 and in response to infection with P. infestans. These observations are consistent with the hypothesis that, upon secretion, StPIP1_1 acts as an endogenous peptide required for amplification of the defense response

A novel plant actin-microtubule bridging complex regulates cytoskeletal and ER structure at Endoplasmic Reticulum-Plasma Membrane Contact Sites (EPCS)

In plants, the cortical ER network is connected to the plasma membrane through the ER-PM contact sites (EPCS), whose structures are maintained by EPCS resident proteins and the cytoskeleton [1-7] . Strong co-alignment between EPCS and the cytoskeleton is observed in plants [1, 8], but little is known of how the cytoskeleton is maintained and regulated at the EPCS. Here we have used a yeast-two-hybrid screen and subsequent in vivo interaction studies in plants by FRET-FLIM analysis, to identify two microtubule binding proteins, KLCR1 (Kinesin Light Chain Related protein 1) and IQD2 (IQ67-Domain 2) that interact with the actin binding protein NET3C and form a component of plant EPCS, that mediates the link between the actin and microtubule networks. The NET3C-KLCR1-IQD2 module, acting as an actin-microtubule bridging complex, has a direct influence on ER morphology and EPCS structure. Their loss of function mutants, net3a/NET3C RNAi, klcr1 or iqd2, exhibit defects in pavement cell morphology which we suggest is linked to the disorganization of both actin filaments and microtubules. In conclusion, our results reveal a novel cytoskeletal associated complex, which is essential for the maintenance and organization of cytoskeletal structure and ER morphology at the EPCS, and for normal plant cell morphogenesis

Disease-Targeted treatment improves cognitive function in patients with precapillary pulmonary hypertension

BACKGROUND Patients with pulmonary hypertension (PH) may suffer from cognitive deficits that potentially relate to reduced oxygen delivery and cerebral tissue oxygenation (CTO). OBJECTIVE To evaluate the hypothesis that cognitive function improves with therapy, along with improved CTO. METHODS Twenty incident patients with arterial or chronic thromboembolic PH had CTO monitoring by near-infrared spectroscopy during diagnostic right heart catheterization. Cognitive tests [Trail Making Tests (TMTs), Victoria Stroop tests and the Five-Point Test (5PT)], the 6-min walk distance (6MWD) test, New York Heart Association (NYHA) class and health-related quality of life (HRQoL) were assessed and repeated after 3 months of disease-targeted medication. RESULTS At baseline, 45% of PH patients had cognitive deficits. At 3 months, the patients had improved on the TMT A and the Stroop 2 test [37 s (27; 55) versus 30 s (24; 42), p < 0.05, and 18 s (16; 22) versus 16 s (15; 20), p < 0.01], whereas CTO remained unchanged. Arterial oxygen saturation, NYHA class, 6MWD and HRQoL had also improved. Baseline CTO was the strongest predictor of cognitive function, even in multivariate analysis including age, 6MWD and HRQoL. Improvements in cognitive function were not associated with changes in CTO. CONCLUSIONS In patients with PH, 3 months of disease-targeted medication resulted in better cognitive function. Although CTO was the strongest predictor of cognitive function at baseline, it did not change during target therapy. The results of this pilot study should be confirmed in an adequately powered controlled trial