Arenavirus budding resulting from viral-protein-associated cell membrane curvature

Viral replication occurs within cells, with release (and onward infection) primarily achieved through two alternative mechanisms: lysis, in which virions emerge as the infected cell dies and bursts open; or budding, in which virions emerge gradually from a still living cell by appropriating a small part of the cell membrane. Virus budding is a poorly understood process that challenges current models of vesicle formation. Here, a plausible mechanism for arenavirus budding is presented, building on recent evidence that viral proteins embed in the inner lipid layer of the cell membrane. Experimental results confirm that viral protein is associated with increased membrane curvature, whereas a mathematical model is used to show that localized increases in curvature alone are sufficient to generate viral buds. The magnitude of the protein-induced curvature is calculated from the size of the amphipathic region hypothetically removed from the inner membrane as a result of translation, with a change in membrane stiffness estimated from observed differences in virion deformation as a result of protein depletion. Numerical results are based on experimental data and estimates for three arenaviruses, but the mechanisms described are more broadly applicable. The hypothesized mechanism is shown to be sufficient to generate spontaneous budding that matches well both qualitatively and quantitatively with experimental observations.

Judah Benjamin: marginalized outsider or admitted insider?

Judah Benjamin (1811-1884) was one of the greatest of nineteenth century lawyers. This article analyses how a young man who might have been marginalized in society because of the circumstances of his birth, ethnic origin and religious identity rose to prominence in law, politics and business in the United Kingdom and the United States.

Le Statut comparé de l'autofiction chez Benjamin Constant et Amélie Nothomb : une histoire de genre?

Le genre autobiographique, malgré une popularité qui ne se dément pas depuis deux siècles, ne bénéficie pas d’une définition claire. Cet article se propose de montrer que cela est sans doute dû à l’hybridité intrinsèque de ce genre qui se traduit aussi par un pacte autobiographique complexe. Plus précisément, en s’appuyant sur les cas de Constant et de Nothomb, sera démontré que la lecture qui est faite des écrits intimes détermine bien souvent le genre. En ce qui concerne en particulier ces deux auteurs, leur personnalité changeante, contradictoire voire affabulatoire repousse le genre autobiographique dans ses limites, illustrent l’adage selon lequel le roman est plus vrai que la réalité vécue.  

Otto Klitgord and Major Benjamin Namm

Otto Klitgord is depicted giving Benjamin H. Namm, chairman of the college's Board of Trustees a degree. Otto Klitgord was the first president of the New York City College of Technology. He was named director of the New York State Institute of Applied Arts and Sciences when it was formed in the 1946 and became president in the 1950s when the administration was reorganized. Klitgord served until 1960, making his tenure as president the longest in City Tech's history.

O lugar do tempo : experiência e tradição em Walter Benjamin

A presente dissertação versa sobre o conceito de experiência em Walter Benjamin. Discute, por conseguinte, a relação que esse conceito mantém com a tradição, a memória, a arte, o tempo, a história e a linguagem no corpus filosófico do autor em questão. Essa constelação de conceitos mantém estreita relação com a religião e a antropologia. Nesse sentido, o texto procura investigar, para além do conhecimento filosófico do autor, as referências antropológicas que constituiriam o substrato místico e político do pensamento benjaminiano sobre a experiência. Walter Benjamin é um pensador da modernidade, escreve a partir dela e para ela. A literatura, como forma de expressão histórica, é basicamente a modalidade artística por intermédio da qual o “filósofo da aura” lê o tempo, a história. A experiência estética, por seu turno, representa o termo em que se sintetiza no autor a modificação da experiência enquanto tal na era moderna. Como crítico cuidadoso da cultura, Benjamin é também seu maior protetor.