"À quoi rêvent les algorithmes?" Le dernier ouvrage de Dominique Cardon

Pour ceux qui suivent les pistes de la recherche menée depuis plusieurs années autour des enjeux sociaux-politiques de la technologie par Dominique Cardon, ce dernier ouvrage était très attendu et marque l'achèvement temporaire d’une réflexion visant à déchiffrer la logique des algorithmes (en interprétant les rêves) qui s’annonçait dans les travaux précédents. [...]

El desarrollo psicomotor de 1702 niños de 0 a 24 meses de edad.

Determinar la normalidad estadística de los elementos (ítems) más significativos o comunes del desarrollo psicomotor de los niños de la población de Cataluña, menores de 24 meses. Comparar los resultados obtenidos con los estudios similares realizados en otros países con el fin de apreciar las coincidencias y discrepancias existentes. 1702 niños de 15 días a 2 años que habitan en Cataluña. Aplica un protocolo de 186 elementos del desarrollo psicomotor y 136 aspectos sociales de la familia y de la conducta de los padres frente al sujeto. Somete los datos obtenidos a un estudio estadístico con el fin de obtener las curvas de frecuencia acumulada. Compara los resultados con otros estudios para ver las coincidencias y discrepancias. Estudia las posibles diferencias significativas según las características del instrumento del examen utilizado. Variables independientes: edad, sexo, clase social, lugar de residencia familiar. Variable dependiente: desarrollo psicomotor. Hipótesis: los valores obtenidos en Cataluña son discordantes en algunos elementos con investigaciones de otras poblaciones.. Estudio de Frankenburg. Denver Development Screening Test. Estudio de DDST. Estudio de Bayley. Test de Brunet y Lezines. Estudio de Coplan. Análisis estadístico. Método descriptivo. Diseño cuasi experimental. Estudio transversal. No existe diferencia significativa según las características del instrumento de examen utilizado. Se confirma la hipótesis. Las discordancias entre este estudio y los de otras investigaciones pueden ser atribuidas a: diferentes características genéticas o culturales de las poblaciones estudiadas. Diferencias en las técnicas de examen aplicadas o en el método de valoración.

Temporalidade e existência em Dominique de Fromentin

Faculdade de Letras da Universidade de Lisboa

Investigation of a unique short open reading frame within the 3' untranslated region of the canine distemper virus matrix messenger RNA

Increasing evidence suggest that the long "untranslated" region (UTR) between the matrix (M) and the fusion (F) proteins of morbilliviruses has a functional role. In canine distemper virus (CDV), the F 5' UTR was recently shown to code for a long F signal peptide (Fsp). Subsequently, it was reported that the M/F UTRs combined with the long Fsp were synergistically regulating the F mRNA and protein expression, thereby modulating virulence. Unique to CDV, a short putative open reading frame (ORF) has been identified within the wild-type CDV-M 3' UTR (termed M2). Here, we investigated whether M2 was expressed from the genome of the virulent and demyelinating A75/17-CDV strain. An expression plasmid encoding the M2 ORF tagged both at its N-terminal (HA) and C-terminal domains (RFP), was first constructed. Then, a recombinant virus with its putative M2 ORF replaced by HA-M2-RFP was successfully recovered from cDNA (termed recA75/17(green)-HA-M2-RFP). M2 expression in cells transfected or infected with these mutants was studied by immunoprecipitation, immunofluorescence, immunoblot and flow cytometry analyses. Although fluorescence was readily detected in HA-M2-RFP-transfected cells, absence of red fluorescence emission in several recA75/17(green)-HA-M2-RFP-infected cell types suggested lack of M2 biosynthesis, which was confirmed by the other techniques. Consistent with these data, no functional role of the short polypeptide was revealed by infecting various cell types with HA-M2-RFP over-expressing or M2-knockout recombinant viruses. Thus, in sharp contrast to the CDV-F 5' UTR reported to translate a long Fsp, our data provided evidence that the CDV-M 3' UTR does not express any polypeptides.

Synergistic inhibition in cell-cell fusion mediated by the matrix and nucleocapsid protein of canine distemper virus

Canine distemper virus (CDV) causes a chronic, demyelinating, progressive or relapsing neurological disease in dogs, because CDV persists in the CNS. Persistence of virulent CDV, such as the A75/17 strain has been reproduced in cell cultures where it is associated with a non-cytolytic infection with very limited cell-cell fusion. This is in sharp contrast to attenuated CDV infection in cell cultures, such as the Onderstepoort (OP) CDV strain, which produces extensive fusion activity and cytolysis. Fusion efficiency may be determined by the structure of the viral fusion protein per se but also by its interaction with other structural proteins of CDV. This was studied by combining genes derived from persistent and non-persistent CDV strains in transient transfection experiments. It was found that fusion efficiency was markedly attenuated by the structure of the fusion protein of the neurovirulent A75/17-CDV. Moreover, we showed that the interaction of the surface glycoproteins with the M protein of the persistent strain greatly influenced fusion activity. Site directed mutagenesis showed that the c-terminus of the M protein is of particular importance in this respect. Interestingly, although the nucleocapsid protein alone did not affect F/H-induced cell-cell fusion, maximal inhibition occurred when the latter was added to combined glycoproteins with matrix protein. Thus, the present study suggests that very limited fusogenicity in virulent CDV infection, which favours persistence by limiting cell destruction involves complex interactions between all viral structural proteins.

R. Jafr Chajjim Bacharach (1638-1702) und seine Ahnen

von David Kaufmann

Eine Bücherconfiscation zu Fürth im Jahre 1702 : Zur Abwehr

Bernhard Ziemlich