Voyages et voyageurs dans le livre des Actes et dans la culture gréco-romaine

D'où vient la fascination de l'auteur des Actes des apôtres pour le voyage et les voyageurs? Luc a fait du voyage un thème narratif de première importance: les héros de Luc-Actes sont sans cesse en mouvement. Contrairement à l'idée que Luc a hérité ce thème du roman grec, Daniel Marguerat montre que le motif du voyage traverse l'ensemble de la culture gréco-romaine (récits de fondation de colonie, récits d'exploration, Vies de philosophes, etc). Une riche sémantique se déploie dans les Actes où voyage devient synonyme de conquête, d'aventure, d'universalité, de quête identitaire et de parcours initiatique.

Working with Iowans building a culture of conservation, Program Summary, November 2008

Over 94% of Iowa ’ s land is held in private ownership, and the programs of the Iowa Department of Agriculture and Land Stewardship Division of Soil Conservation (IDALS-DSC) have been established to work with these landowners. Over 90% of the landscape is used for agricultural production so much of our focus is in rural communities, but we haven’t overlooked the importance of land management in urban areas. It is crucial to understanding of both conservation and hydrology issues, that what happens on the landscape has immense consequences to the environmental health of our state and the quality of life we enjoy. IDALS-DSC is striving to integrate our programs with other agencies and local concerns to improve water and local concerns to improve water and soil quality throughout the state and nation.

Chemical labelling of oyster shells used for time-calibrated high-resolution Mg/Ca ratios: A tool for estimation of past seasonal temperature variations

The geochemical compositions of biogenic carbonates are increasingly used for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. The skeletal delta O-18 temperature relationship is dependent on water salinity, so many recent studies have focused on the Mg/Ca and Sr/Ca ratios because those ratios in water do not change significantly on short time scales. Thus, those elemental ratios are considered to be good palaeotemperature proxies in many biominerals, although their use remains ambiguous in bivalve shells. Here, we present the high-resolution Mg/Ca ratios of two modern species of juvenile and adult oyster shells, Crassostrea gigas and Ostrea edulis. These specimens were grown in controlled conditions for over one year in two different locations. In situ monthly Mn-marking of the shells has been used for day calibration. The daily Mg/Ca.ratios in the shell have been measured with an electron microprobe. The high frequency Mg/Ca variation of all specimens displays good synchronism with lunar cycles, suggesting that tides strongly influence the incorporation of Mg/Ca into the shells. Highly significant correlation coefficients (0.70<R<0.83, p<0.0001) between the Mg/Ca ratios and the seawater temperature are obtained only for juvenile C. gigas samples, while metabolic control of Mg/Ca incorporation and lower shell growth rates preclude the use of the Mg/Ca ratio in adult shells as a palaeothermometer. Data from three juvenile C. gigas shells from the two study sites are selected to establish a relationship: T = 3.77Mg/Ca + 1.88, where T is in degrees C and Mg/Ca in mmol/mol. (c) 2012 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.

Europe and the Petersberg Tasks – Nation-State behavior through the prism of Strategic Culture

Les missions Petersberg són l'operatiu militar més ambiciós organitzat per la Unió Europea en el desenvolupament de la CSDP, Política Europea de Seguretat i Defensa. Amb l'objectiu d'aconseguir una organització efectiva y funcional d'aquestes missions, és desitjable que les cultures estratègiques dels diferents Estats membres siguin, en gran mesura, compatibles en benefici d'una cultura estratègica europea amb directrius clares. Aquest estudi compara les cultures estratègiques d'Alemanya, el Regne Unit i França en referència al seu nivell de compatibilitat contrastant-les amb dos casos recents, exemples paradigmàtics de cultures estratègiques integrals. D'aquesta manera, pretenem descriure les circumstàncies en què es desenvolupen les missions Petersberg.

Application of real-time PCR for total airborne bacterial assessment : comparison with epifluorescence microscopy and culture-dependent methods

Traditional culture-dependent methods to quantify and identify airborne microorganisms are limited by factors such as short-duration sampling times and inability to count nonculturableor non-viable bacteria. Consequently, the quantitative assessment of bioaerosols is often underestimated. Use of the real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (Q-PCR) to quantify bacteria in environmental samples presents an alternative method, which should overcome this problem. The aim of this study was to evaluate the performance of a real-time Q-PCR assay as a simple and reliable way to quantify the airborne bacterial load within poultry houses and sewage treatment plants, in comparison with epifluorescencemicroscopy and culture-dependent methods. The estimates of bacterial load that we obtained from real-time PCR and epifluorescence methods, are comparable, however, our analysis of sewage treatment plants indicate these methods give values 270-290 fold greater than those obtained by the ''impaction on nutrient agar'' method. The culture-dependent method of air impaction on nutrient agar was also inadequate in poultry houses, as was the impinger-culture method, which gave a bacterial load estimate 32-fold lower than obtained by Q-PCR. Real-time quantitative PCR thus proves to be a reliable, discerning, and simple method that could be used to estimate airborne bacterial load in a broad variety of other environments expected to carry high numbers of airborne bacteria. [Authors]

Theme of "swinging" in shamanism and folk culture

V. E. Sharapov & D. A. Nesanelis

A simple culture system for time-lapse video recording of bovine embryos

Selostus: Yksinkertainen viljelymenetelmä naudan alkioiden aikaviivenauhoitusta varten

Commentary on the need for a research culture in the forensic sciences

Asked to comment on a collective discussion paper by Jennifer L. Mnookin et al., this Commentary identifies difficulties the authors encountered in defining or agreeing on the subject matter "forensic science" and its perceived deficiencies. They conclude that there is a need for a research culture, whereas this Commentary calls for the development of a forensic science culture through the development of forensic science education fed by research dedicated to forensic science issues. It is a call for a change of emphasis and, perhaps, of paradigm.