The Quest for Fictionality: Prostitution and Metatextuality in Rachilde’s Monsieur Vénus

This article considers the theme of prostitution in the decadent writings of the fin-de-siecle French author, Rachilde. It proposes that an analysis of this critically-neglected trope of her work reveals new connections between the erotics and aesthetics of her fiction. As a vector for considering tensions between fantasy and truth, and illusion and reality, prostitution, in Rachilde's texts, invites us to reflect on two of the most common cultural manifestations of decadence: sexual non-conformism and the cult of artifice. The article focuses in particular on the (male) prostitute-body of Monsieur Venus, arguing that, in its transcendence of nature, reality and utilitarian purpose, it is elevated to the status of art in Rachilde's fictional world.

Moving beyond the rhetoric of provocation: the French and World War II in the novels of the Hussards (1949-1954)

In the immediate aftermath of the Second World War, only those who had opposed the Germans or were perceived to have done so could freely express themselves. Soon, however, three young writers clearly leaning to the right of the political spectrum – Antoine Blondin, Roger Nimier and Jacques Laurent – dared to challenge their narratives in a series of provocative novels published between 1949 and 1954. Quickly referred to as the Hussards after the publication in 1952 of a famous essay by Bernard Frank, these writers momentarily occupied the literary space left vacant by their older peers. Without denying the provocative, political and subversive dimensions of the Hussards’ war novels, this article will argue that their success was mainly due to the fact that they were largely in line – and not in contradiction – with the ‘horizon of expectations’ of their time (Jauss, 1982).

The evaluative nature of the folk concepts of weakness and strength of will

This article examines the evaluative nature of the folk concepts of weakness and strength of will and hypothesizes that their evaluative nature is strongly connected to the folk concepts of blame and credit. We probed how people apply the concepts of weakness and strength of will to prototypical and non-prototypical scenarios. While regarding prototypical scenarios the great majority applied these concepts according to the predictions following from traditional philosophical analyses, when presented with non-prototypical scenarios, people were divided. Some, against traditional analyses, did not apply these concepts, which we explain in terms of a clash of evaluations involving different sorts of blame and credit. Others applied them according to traditional analyses, which we explain in terms of a disposition to be reflective and clearly set apart the different sorts of blame and credit involved. Still others applied them in an inverse way, seemingly bypassing the traditional components resolution and best judgment, which we explain in terms of a reinterpretation of the scenarios driven by an assumption that everyone knows deep inside that the best thing to do is to act morally. This division notwithstanding, we claim that our results are largely supportive of traditional analyses (qua analyses of folk concepts).

Wahrnehmungs- und Betätigungsformen des Vertrauens im deutsch-französischen Vergleich:Representations, Forms and practice of Trust in French and German comparison

Thomas Würtenberger, Dieter K. Tscheulin, Jean-Claude Usunier, Dominique Jeannerod, Eric Davoine (Hrsg.):
Wahrnehmungs- und Betätigungsformen des Vertrauens im deutsch-französischen Vergleich
Berlin, Berlin GmbH, 2002

French literature, from 1945 to 1999

pp. 181-204

Insights into the Staggered Nature of Hydrogenation Reactivity over the 4d Transition Metals

Hydrogenation reactions at transition metal surfaces comprise a key set of reactions in heterogeneous catalysis. In this paper, density functional theory methods are employed to take an in-depth look at this fundamental reaction type. The energetics of hydrogenation of atomic C, N, and O have been studied in some detail over low index Zr, Nb, Mo, Tc, Ru, Rh, and Pd surfaces. Detailed bonding analysis has also been employed to track carefully the chemical changes taking place during reaction. A number of interesting horizontal and vertical trends have been uncovered relating to reactant valency and metal d-band filling. A general correlation has also been found between the reaction barriers and the reaction potential energies. Moreover, when each reaction is considered independently, correlation has been found to improve with decreasing reactant valency. Bonding analysis has pointed to this being related to the relative position of the transition state along the reaction coordinate and has shown that as reactant valency decreases, the transition states become progressively later.

An unbiased genetic screen reveals the polygenic nature of the influenza virus anti-interferon response

UNLABELLED: Influenza A viruses counteract the cellular innate immune response at several steps, including blocking RIG I-dependent activation of interferon (IFN) transcription, interferon (IFN)-dependent upregulation of IFN-stimulated genes (ISGs), and the activity of various ISG products; the multifunctional NS1 protein is responsible for most of these activities. To determine the importance of other viral genes in the interplay between the virus and the host IFN response, we characterized populations and selected mutants of wild-type viruses selected by passage through non-IFN-responsive cells. We reasoned that, by allowing replication to occur in the absence of the selection pressure exerted by IFN, the virus could mutate at positions that would normally be restricted and could thus find new optimal sequence solutions. Deep sequencing of selected virus populations and individual virus mutants indicated that nonsynonymous mutations occurred at many phylogenetically conserved positions in nearly all virus genes. Most individual mutants selected for further characterization induced IFN and ISGs and were unable to counteract the effects of exogenous IFN, yet only one contained a mutation in NS1. The relevance of these mutations for the virus phenotype was verified by reverse genetics. Of note, several virus mutants expressing intact NS1 proteins exhibited alterations in the M1/M2 proteins and accumulated large amounts of deleted genomic RNAs but nonetheless replicated to high titers. This suggests that the overproduction of IFN inducers by these viruses can override NS1-mediated IFN modulation. Altogether, the results suggest that influenza viruses replicating in IFN-competent cells have tuned their complete genomes to evade the cellular innate immune system and that serial replication in non-IFN-responsive cells allows the virus to relax from these constraints and find a new genome consensus within its sequence space.

IMPORTANCE: In natural virus infections, the production of interferons leads to an antiviral state in cells that effectively limits virus replication. The interferon response places considerable selection pressure on viruses, and they have evolved a variety of ways to evade it. Although the influenza virus NS1 protein is a powerful interferon antagonist, the contributions of other viral genes to interferon evasion have not been well characterized. Here, we examined the effects of alleviating the selection pressure exerted by interferon by serially passaging influenza viruses in cells unable to respond to interferon. Viruses that grew to high titers had mutations at many normally conserved positions in nearly all genes and were not restricted to the NS1 gene. Our results demonstrate that influenza viruses have fine-tuned their entire genomes to evade the interferon response, and by removing interferon-mediated constraints, viruses can mutate at genome positions normally restricted by the interferon response.

The Nature of Magnetoelectric Coupling in Pb(Zr,Ti)O3-Pb(Fe,Ta)O3

The coupling between magnetization and polarization in a room temperature multiferroic (Pb(Zr,Ti)O3–Pb(Fe,Ta)O3) is explored by monitoring changes in capacitance that occur when a magnetic field is applied in each of three orthogonal directions. Magnetocapacitance effects, consistent with P2M2 coupling, are strongest when fields are applied in the plane of the single crystal sheet investigated.

The signature of fine scale local adaptation in Atlantic salmon revealed from common garden experiments in nature

Understanding the extent, scale and genetic basis of local adaptation is important for conservation and management. Its relevance in salmonids at microgeographic scales, where dispersal (and hence potential gene flow) can be substantial, has however been questioned. Here we compare the fitness of communally-reared offspring of local and foreign Atlantic salmon Salmo salar from adjacent Irish rivers and reciprocal F1 hybrid crosses between them, in the wild ‘home’ environment of the local population. Experimental groups did not differ in wild smolt output but a catastrophic flood event may have limited our ability to detect freshwater performance differences, which were evident in a previous study. Foreign parr exhibited higher, and hybrids intermediate, emigration rates from the natal stream relative to local parr, consistent with genetically-based behavioural differences. Adult return rates were lower for the foreign compared to the local group. Overall lifetime success of foreigners and hybrids relative to locals was estimated at 31% and 40% (mean of both hybrid groups), respectively. The results imply a genetic basis to fitness differences among populations separated by only 50km, driven largely by variation in smolt to adult return rates. Hence even if supplementary stocking programs obtain broodstock from neighbouring rivers, the risk of extrinsic outbreeding depression may be high.