Laboratoire de Recherche Historique Rhône-Alpes

Oxygen-isotope ratios of precipitation (delta18OP) inferred from deep-lake ostracods from the Ammersee (southern Germany) provide a climate record with decadal resolution. The record in detail shows many of the rapid climate shifts seen in central Greenland ice cores between 15,000 and 5000 years before the present (B.P.). Negative excursions in the estimated delta18OP from both of these records likely reflect short weakenings of the thermohaline circulation caused by episodic discharges of continental freshwater into the North Atlantic. Deviating millennial-scale trends, however, indicate that climate gradients between Europe and Greenland changed systematically, reflecting a gradual rearrangement of North Atlantic circulation during deglaciation.

Plants, unlike other higher eukaryotes, possess all the necessary enzymatic equipment for de novo synthesis of methionine, an amino acid that supports additional roles than simply serving as a building block for protein synthesis. This is because methionine is the immediate precursor of S-adenosylmethionine (AdoMet), which plays numerous roles of being the major methyl-group donor in transmethylation reactions and an intermediate in the biosynthesis of polyamines and of the phytohormone ethylene. In addition, AdoMet has regulatory function in plants behaving as an allosteric activator of threonine synthase. Among the AdoMet-dependent reactions occurring in plants, methylation of cytosine residues in DNA has raised recent interest because impediment of this function alters plant morphology and induces homeotic alterations in flower organs. Also, AdoMet metabolism seems somehow implicated in plant growth via an as yet fully understood link with plant-growth hormones such as cytokinins and auxin and in plant pathogen interactions. Because of this central role in cellular metabolism, a precise knowledge of the biosynthetic pathways that are responsible for homeostatic regulation of methionine and AdoMet in plants has practical implications, particularly in herbicide design.

The ubiquitous transcription factor NF-kappaB is an essential component in signal transduction pathways, in inflammation, and in the immune response. NF-kappaB is maintained in an inactive state in the cytoplasm by protein-protein interaction with IkappaBalpha. Upon stimulation, rapid degradation of IkappaBalpha allows nuclear translocation of NF-kappaB. To study the importance of IkappaBalpha in signal transduction, IkappaBalpha-deficient mice were derived by gene targeting. Cultured fibroblasts derived from IkappaBalpha-deficient embryos exhibit levels of NF-kappaB1, NF-kappaB2, RelA, c-Rel, and IkappaBbeta similar to those of wild-type fibroblasts. A failure to increase nuclear levels of NF-kappaB indicates that cytoplasmic retention of NF-kappaB may be compensated for by other IkappaB proteins. Treatment of wild-type cells with tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) resulted in rapid, transient nuclear localization of NF-kappaB. IkappaBalpha-deficient fibroblasts are also TNF-alpha responsive, but nuclear localization of NF-kappaB is prolonged, thus demonstrating that a major irreplaceable function Of IkappaBalpha is termination of the NF-kappaB response. Consistent with these observations, and with IkappaBalpha and NF-kappaB's role in regulating inflammatory and immune responses, is the normal development Of IkappaBalpha-deficient mice. However, growth ceases 3 days after birth and death usually occurs at 7 to 10 days of age. An increased percentage of monocytes/macrophages was detected in spleen cells taken from 5-, 7-, and 9-day-old pups. Death is accompanied by severe widespread dermatitis and increased levels of TNF-alpha mRNA in the skin.

BACKGROUND: Acute rejection is still a major problem in renal transplantation and is one of the most important causes of chronic graft dysfunction and late graft loss. Selective immunosuppression with a humanized antibody against the alpha-chain of the interleukin (IL)-2 receptor (CD25) was evaluated to demonstrate the efficacy of this type of immunoprophylaxis in combination with dual immunosuppression. METHODS: We studied the effect of daclizumab, a humanized monoclonal antibody against the alpha-chain of the IL-2 receptor, in a randomized double-blind, prospective phase III clinical trial in 275 patients receiving a first cadaveric renal allograft. Among them 111 (83%) in the placebo arm and 116 (82%) in the daclizumab arm received the full regimen of five doses (1.0 mg/kg) every other week. Baseline immunosuppression consisted of cyclosporine and corticosteroids. RESULTS: At 6 months, 39 (28%) of the patients in the daclizumab group had biopsy-proven rejections, as compared with 63 (47%) in the placebo group (P=0.001). The need for additional antilymphocyte therapy, antithymocyte globulin, antilymphocyte globulin (ATG, ALG, OKT3) was also lower in the daclizumab group (8% vs. 16%, P=0.02), and they required significantly lower mean (+/- SD) cumulative doses of prednisone (3750+/-1981 mg vs. 4438+/-2667 mg in the placebo group, P=0.01). Graft function was significantly better (P=0.02) in the daclizumab group (graft function rate: 58 vs. 51 ml/min, mean) as was patient survival (P=0.01, 99% vs. 94%). No specific adverse events were observed in daclizumab-treated patients. Patients receiving daclizumab experienced fewer cytomegalovirus infections (18% vs. 25%), and none died from severe infectious complications, compared to four patients in the placebo arm. No patient in the daclizumab group had a lymphoproliferative disorder or any other form of immunosuppression-related tumor during the first year after transplant. CONCLUSIONS: Administration of daclizumab in addition to dual immunosuppression therapy significantly reduced biopsy-proven acute rejection after renal transplantation, improved patient survival, and did not add to the toxicity of the immunosuppressive regimen.

Fossil pollen data supplemented by tree macrofossil records were used to reconstruct the vegetation of the Former Soviet Union and Mongolia at 6000 years. Pollen spectra were assigned to biomes using the plant‐functional‐type method developed by Prentice et al . (1996). Surface pollen data and a modern vegetation map provided a test of the method. This is the first time such a broad‐scale vegetation reconstruction for the greater part of northern Eurasia has been attempted with objective techniques. The new results confirm previous regional palaeoenvironmental studies of the mid‐Holocene while providing a comprehensive synopsis and firmer conclusions. West of the Ural Mountains temperate deciduous forest extended both northward and southward from its modern range. The northern limits of cool mixed and cool conifer forests were also further north than present. Taiga was reduced in European Russia, but was extended into Yakutia where now there is cold deciduous forest. The northern limit of taiga was extended (as shown by increased Picea pollen percentages, and by tree macrofossil records north of the present‐day forest limit) but tundra was still present in north‐eastern Siberia. The boundary between forest and steppe in the continental interior did not shift substantially, and dry conditions similar to present existed in western Mongolia and north of the Aral Sea.

Abstract Lake-level data can be used to refine palaeoclimate reconstructions based on pollen data. This approach is illustrated for the European Holocene. Estimates of P-PET (precipitation minus potential evapotranspiration) were first inferred from modern pollen analogues. The pollen-based estimates were then compared with the status of lakes within a 5° radius. Analogues with P-PET anomalies inconsistent with the lake-level changes were rejected. The "constrained" sets of analogues were used to estimate continental-scale patterns of annual mean temperature and annual precipitation at 3000-yr intervals. Estimated temperature anomalies differed only slightly from the unconstrained reconstructions. Estimated precipitation anomalies, however, showed improved spatial coherence and increased regional contrast and were occasionally reversed in sign. The effect of the constraint was to impose a rational selection among almost equally similar modern pollen analogues with similar temperatures but widely varying moisture regimes. The resulting maps showed clear, spatially coherent patterns of change in precipitation as well as temperature, suitable for comparison with climate-model results. Further improvement of these maps will become possible as a more extensive coverage of lake-level data is obtained.

International audience

Small angle neutron scattering and electron microscopy are used to investigate the ordering of soft latex particles which have been dispersed in water and then brought into contact through evaporation of the solvent. We observe a succession of metastable states where the particles are kept separated by their hydrophilic surface layers: colloidal liquid (short range order only) to colloidal crystal (long range order) to foam (dense packing of polyhedral cells with latex interior and hydrophilic walls). At each stage the structure may collapse into a homogeneous latex phase through coalescence of the particles and expulsion of the hydrophilic material.

summary The lower part (460–650 cm) of a lacustrine sequence from Lac de Creno, Corsica (1310 m) is analysed on the basis of 68 pollen spectra and with the support of 10 14 C dates (including nine A.M.S. dates). This sequence, which extends from the end of the Würm to the beginning of the Postglacial, reveals a complete late‐glacial. The absence of forest dynamics during the late glacial Interstadial in Corsica is a real mystery. Pollen data clearly suggest that Pinus laricio (= Pinus nigra Arnold ssp. laricio Maire) and perhaps other tree species did not exist in Corsica at that time.

Most phase I trials in oncology use standard methods for treating successive groups of patients with increasing doses in order to determine the maximum tolerated dose (MTD). These methods have been criticized because they treat many patients at suboptimal dose levels, and do not provide an accurate estimation of the best dose level. Continual reassessment methods for the study of toxicity in single agent phase I trials have recently been advocated since they present many advantages over traditional methods. Although the advantages of these methods are recognized by most clinical investigators, their use is not widespread and their advantages have not yet been universally accepted. A maximum likelihood continual reassessment method was conducted retrospectively and compared to the originally planned standard method in a two drug combination phase I trial in order to study its applicability in this setting. Calculations from the binomial distributions and simulations were used for identifying the MTD, for the proportion of patients treated at the MTD or at one dose level just below, and for the proportion of patients treated at doses above the MTD. If the new method had been applied in this study, the MTD would have been reached much earlier, since, most of the time, higher dose levels were recommended. This result shows the feasibility of the new method in a two-drug setting and its use should be encouraged since fewer patients are treated at suboptimal dose levels or at dose levels above the MTD.

CR de Stefania Pastore, Il Vangelo e la spada. L'Inquisizione di Castiglia e i suoi critici (1460-1598), Edizioni di Storia e Letteratura, Roma 2003; Ead., Un'eresia spagnola. Spiritualità conversa, alumbradismo e Inquisizione (1449-1559), Olschki, Firenze 2004

Summary Relatively inexpensive sodium silicate gels are attractive candidates for large-scale well conformance treatments. For a successful treatment, gelation must be delayed to permit proper placement of the silicate solution within the reservoir, to minimize rock/fluid interactions during placement, and to ensure long-term gel stability. We investigated each of these process phases, focusing on stable high-pH (≈11) sodium silicate solutions ranging up to 10 wt% SiO2 concentration. The addition of an acid or alcohol will cause these high-pH sodium silicate solutions to gel. To regulate the gelling time, an organic material that reacts with water to produce an alcohol and/or acid is often mixed with the silicate solution. An organic rather than inorganic compound is selected because the slow organic reaction rates yield a controlled gelation. The choice of the organic compound normally is quite limited because it must possess sufficient water solubility to be present in the quantities needed to cause gelling. This study shows that diesters, which hydrolize to produce both acid and alcohol, can be solubilized into silicate solutions as a microemulsion (not a macroemulsion), thus eliminating this limitation. All the rules developed with regard to selection of surfactants for EOR also apply to sodium silicate solutions. Field processes should use caustic preflushes to propagate silicate solutions deep into the formation. Long-term stability studies showed that, upon standing for several weeks, silicate gels tend to contract, expelling water. This process, called syneresis, clearly will affect the long-term effectiveness of a silicate treatment. We investigated syneresis over a wide range of silicate concentrations and temperatures. Gels formed from the high silicate concentrations exhibited the greatest degree of syneresis; up to an 80% decrease in volume. Increasing the temperature increased the syneresis. Some degree of syneresis may be desirable because all treated zones will retain residual permeability.

Alors que le Secours populaire fête ses soixante ans d’existence, cette première étude historique a le mérite d’explorer simultanément trois champs historiques convergents : l’histoire du conglomérat communiste, l’histoire contemporaine des associations humanitaires et de solidarité, l’histoire de l’engagement. À partir des archives du PCF et de nombreux entretiens, Axelle Brodiez analyse les liens entre le parti, ses organisations “satellites” et les dirigeants du Secours populaire. Elle cherche à comprendre à partir de l’implosion du PCF dès les années 1960, les causes de réussite ou d’échec des différentes organisations qui lui sont liées. Avec l’histoire du Secours populaire se dessine celle des organisations humanitaires et de solidarité, notamment dans leur rapport au politique. Plus généralement, elle pose la question de la “crise du militantisme” au profit d’un “phénomène bénévole”.

A survey of the literature concerning the preparation and the characterization of structured latex particles is presented. The main features of the various processing techniques are discussed; the mechanisms and also the various parameters which shape the polymeric phase arrangement throughout the volume of the particles are emphasized.

Nowadays, cultural heritage is more than ever linked to the present. It links us to our cultural past through the conscious act of preserving and bequeathing to future generations, turning society into its custodian. The appreciation of cultural heritage happens not only because of its communicative power, but also because of its economic power, through sustainable development and the promotion of creative industries. This paper presents SILKNOW, an EU-H2002 funded project and its application to cultural heritage, as well as to creative industries and design innovation. To this end, it presents the use of image recognition tools applied to cultural heritage, through the interoperability of data in the open-access registers of silk museums and its presentation, analysis and creative process carried out by the design students of EASD Valencia as a case study, in the branches of jewellery and fashion project, inspired by the heritage of silk.

Sophie CHAUVEAU Genèse de la «sécurité sanitaire». Les produits pharmaceutiques en France aux XIXeet XXesiècles. La sécurité sanitaire est l’ensemble des procédures de contrôle et de surveillance des produits pharmaceutiques destinés à protéger la santé publique. Ces procédures sont modi~fiées sous l’influence du progrès scientifique et technique, des normes que se fixent les industriels, des attentes des malades et des exigences des pouvoirs publics.Au XIXesiècle, la protection de la santé publique est inspirée par les règles de la police sanitaire et par la volonté des industriels d’offrir des produits de qualité. La nécessité de «normaliser» cette qualité aboutit à l’institution de contrôles obli~gatoires de la composition des spécialités pharmaceutiques.Au XXesiècle,l’impératif de la sécurité est concurrent de la volonté d’in~nover. La découverte des risques thérapeu~tiques marque le point de départ de contrôles plus sévères et de nouvelles formes d’exper~tise.Les crises sanitaires des années 1980 per~mettent aux malades de faire valoir leurs exigences aux côtés de celles des gouverne~ments et des industriels, aboutissant à l’insti~tutionnalisation de la sécurité sanitaire et à un compromis sur l’évaluation du médicament, selon le régime de la preuve, en jouant sur le registre du droit et des méthodes scienti~fiques.

On estime à plus d'un million les orphelins français de la Grande Guerre. Ils sont, à ce titre, les meilleurs témoins de l'immense deuil collectif qui a gravement marqué une nation à jamais meurtrie dans sa chair. Dans cet ouvrage, Olivier Faron retrace l'histoire de ces « enfants du deuil ». Il montre en particulier comment, au lendemain de la victoire, l'État va progressivement assumer la prise en charge des enfants des tués au combat. Exaltés, voire sacralisés, par la nation, les orphelins vont occuper une place centrale dans la société à reconstruire de l'après-guerre. C'est pourquoi l'histoire des orphelins est aussi celle des débats qui ont animé le monde politique sur les modalités de leur prise en charge. Disputant cette mission aux associations et oeuvres philan-thropiques, les pouvoirs publics vont peu à peu mettre en place une politique d'assistance originale. Elle sera une étape importante de la construction de l'État social en France, seul pays européen à avoir créé un titre spécifique, encore en vigueur aujourd'hui : celui de « pupille de la nation ». Cependant, le travail de l'historien invite à dépasser les pratiques de la bienfaisance ou de l'aide publique. Les souvenirs des orphelins, des plus célèbres comme Albert Camus ou Jean-Louis Barrault jusqu'aux plus obscurs que l'auteur a pu rencontrer, permettent de montrer, au-delà de la douleur, que la perte du père a durablement structuré l'identité morale et politique de ces générations endeuillées. Olivier Faron révèle ainsi que, à côté des anciens combattants, un mouvement des orphelins de guerre s'est montré résolu à afficher de nouvelles valeurs. Glissant inexorablement du pacifisme des années trente au ralliement au maréchal Pétain, les pupilles permettent d'approcher la complexité de la société française de l'entre-deux-guerres.

Induction of beta-methylcrotonyl-coenzyme A carboxylase (MCCase) activity was observed during carbohydrate starvation in sycamore cells. In mitochondria isolated from starved cells, we noticed a marked accumulation of the biotinylated subunit of MCCase, of which the apparent molecular weight of 74000 was similar to that of the polypeptide from mitochondria of potato tubers. Our results provide evidence for a role of MCCase in the catabolic pathway of leucine, a branched-chain amino acid which transiently accumulates in carbon-starved cells in relation to a massive breakdown of proteins. Furthermore, when control sycamore cells were incubated in the presence of exogenous leucine, this amino acid accumulated in the cells and no induction or accumulation of MCCase was observed, indicating that leucine is not responsible for the induction of its catabolic machinery. Finally, MCCase is proposed as a new biochemical marker of the autophagic process triggered by carbohydrate starvation.

Après la question des déterminants du départ des femmes, la littérature sociologique sur femmes ou genre et migrations s’intéresse à la question des effets de la migration sur les migrantes (Oso-Casas, 2007). Il s’agit principalement de savoir si la migration représente ou non un « progrès » pour elles. Par exemple, l’un des enjeux majeurs des travaux féministes anglophones est d’examiner si la migration contribue à une « émancipation » des migrantes ou au contraire à les retenir dans une pos...

A recent workshop entitled "The Family Name as Socio-Cultural Feature and Genetic Metaphor: From Concepts to Methods" was held in Paris in December 2010, sponsored by the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and by the journal Human Biology. This workshop was intended to foster a debate on questions related to the family names and to compare different multidisciplinary approaches involving geneticists, historians, geographers, sociologists and social anthropologists. This collective paper presents a collection of selected communications.