La collection d’Invertébrés fossiles d’Alcide d’Orbigny et la salle d’Orbigny

Fossil invertebrates collected or received by Alcide d’Orbigny, all his life long, have been brought together in a renowned collection that is very rich in terms of both species and specimens. The collection has resulted from a huge palaeontological work. Study of faunas from numerous French sites led Alcide d’Orbigny to do biostratigraphical comparisons and to erect geological stages, the definitions of which rest on their stratotypes. His wide knowledge of European fossil faunas was strengthened by a more global palaeobiogeographical view derived from his travel in South America. The d’Orbigny collection is housed in the ‘Muséum’ of Paris and is often visited by experts.     

Analyse d’ouvrage

Despite its small area (20.18 km²), the Eyne Valley, (France, E. Pyrenees) is known to be a place of great faunistic and floristic diversity. The authors have studied the bumblebee fauna of the valley for six years, gathering more than 5000 detailed observations. They observed 33 species, of the 46 living in continental France. For each species, the distribution and ecological preferences (altitude, vegetation type, CORINE biotopes, floral choices) were recorded. Floral resources may be the most important ecological factor. The altitude, the abundance, the diversity of food plants, and the heterogeneity of habitats seem to explain the survival and the coexistence of this great number of species of bumblebees with various ecological affinities.     

Les travaux micropaléontologiques d’Alcide d’Orbigny

D’Orbigny has created the order of Foraminifera for minute animals classed, at this time, amongst Cephalopoda, and proposed the first classification of this order in 1826, laying the foundations of micropalaeontology. All along his life, he described, figured or clarified diagnosis of about 1500 recent and fossil species. His collections, stored in the National Museum of Natural History in Paris, represent an inestimable patrimony and are still actively consulted. Several micropalaeontologists had contributed to their valorisation and recognised the validity of most of his species. Nowadays, one hundred and two are considered as type species of genera.     

Was what ail’d ya what kill’d ya?

Making use of those Union Army veterans for whom death certificates are available, we compare the conditions with which they were diagnosed by Civil War pension surgeons to the causes of death on the certificates. We divide the data between those veterans who entered the pension system early because of war injuries and those who entered the pension system after the 1890 reform that made it available to many more veterans. We examine the correlation between specific medical conditions rated by the surgeons and death causes to gauge support for the hypothesis that death is attributable to something specific. We also examine the correlation between the accumulation of rated conditions to the length of time until death to gauge support for the “insult hypothesis.” In general, we find support for both hypotheses. Examining the hazard ratios for dying of a specific condition, there is support for the idea that what ail’d ya’ is what kill’d ya’.     

Le développement de l’inventaire de dépistage ERIraos: un outil global d’appréciation du risque d’évolution psychotique

Adequate identification of patients for early intervention programmes requires reliable and valid assessment tools. Within the German Schizophrenia Network (Kompetenznetz Schizophrenie) a set of schedules for early detection of schizophrenia has been proposed: the Early Recognition Inventory ERIraos. ERIraos is a two-step procedure with a 17-item checklist used at step 1 by GPs, psychologists, teachers, while a comprehensive 110-item symptom list is applied at early intervention centres at the expert level. In addition, ERIraos allows the assessment of several risk factors for psychosis such as familial load, childhood deficiencies, alcohol and drug use by special modules. Some preliminary results are presented here. The frequency of the 17 checklist symptoms increases from the early to the late prodrome, and more specific symptoms occur over time. The 17 checklist symptoms are grouped by factor analysis to 5 factors (psychotic, depressive, disorganised, withdrawn, dysphoric). In addition to prodromal symptoms, most patients (86.2%) report at least one additional risk factor (mean: 1.7 risks). 68% demonstrate some schizotypal features, 53% report alcohol and/or drug consumption, 24% demonstrate some deficiency or delay in childhood development, 21% report definite obstetric or birth complications, and 10% have a family history of schizophrenia or some schizophrenia-like diagnosis in first degree relatives. So far, the results are of a preliminary nature, and when sufficient information on psychotic transitions is available, the predictive value of ERIraos will be determined.     

Parallel-Stranded Oligonucleotides with Alternating d(A-isoG)/d(T·C) and d(A·G)/d(T·m5isoC) Sequences

Abstract

Parallel-stranded (ps) DNA hairpins with alternating d(A-isoG)/d(T·C) (designated as ps-t1) and d(A·G)/d(T·m⁵isoC) (ps-t2) sequences were studied by means of UV, CD and fluorescence spectroscopy. The thermostability of d(A·G)/d(T·m⁵isoC) sequence was close to that of aps d(G·A)/d(T·C). The stability of the ps d(A·isoG)/d(T·C) sequence was even higher than that of a related anti-parallel-stranded (aps) d(G·A)/d(T·C) sequence, being unique for ps DNAs studied so far.     

Transformation maligne d’un goitre ovarien. À propos d’une observation

Struma ovarii is a monodermal variant of ovarian teratoma, which predominantly contains thyroid tissue. Malignant transformation and metastasis are very rare. The treatment of malignant struma ovarii remains controversial. We report the case of a patient with a recurrent struma ovarii, treated 18 years ago. The malignant transformation and metastases were treated with a combination of surgery and I¹³¹ ablation therapy.     

叶绿素d制取方法的改进

叶绿素d是Manning和Strain发现的,可从红藻(Rhodophyceas)中提取。Holf和Morley将叶绿素a在丙酮中用高锰酸钾氧化,发现所得产物之一的吸收光谱和红藻中提取所得的叶绿素d的吸收光谱相一致。故目前制取叶绿素d都用叶绿素a氧化制取。但这方法以蔗糖为吸附剂,使用多元溶剂,进行多次层析,手续繁复。     

Conception et suites de la Paléontologie française d’Alcide d’Orbigny

The whole formed by his Paléontologie française, his Prodrome, and his Cours élémentaire, which are closely linked, constitutes one of the major parts of Alcide d’Orbigny’s scientific production, in which he exposed his concept of Palaeontology as a science closely related with Zoology and as an indispensable tool for Stratigraphy. The result was a remarkable impulsion for palaeontological and stratigraphical research, which from that time developed on new scientific foundations. Two annexes complete this communication, the first concerning the ‘Comité de la Paléontologie française’ (1860–1893), the second specifying the publication dates of four volumes of the Paléontologie française.     

Pour une histoire du désir

The striking feature of the history of sexual desire is the contrast between the omnipresence of sexual desire in human societies, regardless of the period considered, and the negative representation constantly and systematically given to this desire by philosophers and religious leaders. Sexual desire was automatically rejected by those who were disgusted by the animal side of man. The Stoics of the first century A.D., rapidly followed by theologians of the young Christian religion, were convinced that animals only act to satisfy their physical needs, but that moral man had to distinguish himself from the animals by refusing to act simply for pleasure. For Cicero and Seneca “seeking an act because of the pleasure it procures is an abuse”. They applied this principle to food as well as bodily care: unthinking animals live to eat, while moral humans eat to live; food and maintenance of the body ensure health but do not provide pleasure. Similarly, sexuality is only justified for reproductive purposes. However, as already observed by Saint Augustine, this is not the way in which human beings act, and this Church Father had to admit that he had never met a husband able to claim that he “only had sexual intercourse in the hope of fathering”. Other thinkers were more moderate and distinguished acceptable desire, kept under the control of reason and leading to positive action from degrading, irrational desire ending in passion (always considered to be unreasonable). Only the second form of desire must be avoided; the first leads to happiness and fulfilment and remains the force that usually drives human action. Christian thinkers of the Middle Ages, attentive to the real life of believers, finally accepted that the human characteristic of memory is one of the most beautiful gifts of God, allowing man to remember past pleasures and therefore to rightfully experience the desire to repeat these pleasures: coitus without a reproductive purpose therefore appears to be part of the divine plan. A theologian, in contrast with dominant religious opinion, even declared “if someone eats a pear or a beautiful fruit only for the pleasure, it is not a sin. The same applies when a man has intercourse with his wife only for the pleasure”. However, far from theoretical discussions, individuals declared their deep attachment to desire, during the Renaissance, at the court of the Sun King, in salons of the Enlightenment or even, in contrast with a widely held belief, in the new industrial world of the 19th century. Today, while religious authorities still generally have a Stoic view of pleasure and desire, modern thought has advanced in its understanding of the place of desire in human experience and recognizes it an essential driving role responsible for fulfilment and a powerful stimulus for all forms of creativity. The history of sexual desire therefore corresponds to the steps of enrichment of basic animal instinct by the human species and the individual and social forms of expression of this desire.     

分子佐剂C3d的研究进展

C3d是补体C3不可再被酶解的最小片段,在抗原特异性免疫建立之前,C3d可识别非已抗原并与之共价结合,增强了抗原递呈细胞的递呈能力、降低了B细胞的活化阈、提高特异性抗体的滴度、促进抗体亲和力成熟等。近年来研究显示,C3d还可以促进抗原特异性细胞免疫应答水平并改变机体免疫应答模式。所以,C3d是连接固有性免疫和获得性免疫的桥梁。本文对C3d的分子生物学特征、生物学功能以及作为分子佐剂可能的分子机制进行了简要总结。     

La dénitrification bactérienne

Résumé Les extraits de cultures anaérobies avec NO₃ ^- de Micrococcus denitrificans et Pseudomonas aeruginosa catalysent la réduction du nitrite en N₂ lorsqu'on les met en présence de p-phénylène-diamine ou de p-amino-N:N-diméthyl-aniline. Un atome de N₂ est issu de-NH₂; l'autre provient de NO₂ ^- Quand la quantité d'extrait ou de cellules augmente, l'activité spécifique de l'enzyme, mesurée par la méthode manométrique de Warburg, décroît.La p-phénylène-diamine-NO₂ ^--réductase est inhibée par le cyanure, présente une activité optimale à pH 6,6, existe à l'état soluble dans les extraits bruts: elle ne sédimente pas à 140 000×g pendant 2 heures. Elle précipite en majeure partie dans la fraction 45–70 (pour cent de saturation en sulfate d'ammonium). Chez M. denitrificans, elle est inductible et sa biosynthèse semble réprimée par l'oxygène.Les observations suivantes suggrent que la p-phénylène-diamine-NO₂ ^--réductase joue un rôle dans la dénitrification: (1) jusqu'ici elle a été trouvée uniquement chez les bactéries dénitrifiantes; (2) les conditions de culture influencent de la même manière l'activité nitrite-réductase des cellules, mesurée en présence de glucose, et l'activité p-phénylène-diamine-NO₂ ^--réductase des extraits; (3) les activités glucose (ou lactate)-NO₂ ^--réductase et p-phénylène-diamine-NO₂ ^--réductase des cellules ne sont pas additives.Lorsque la N:N:N:N-tétraméthyl-p-phénylène-diamine sert de donneuse d'électrons, les extraits produisent à la fois de l'oxyde nitrique et de l'azote.

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Bacterial denitrification

Summary Extracts of Microccus denitrificans and Pseudomonas aeruginosa grown anaerobically in the presence of NO₃ ^- catalyze the reduction of nitrite to N₂ when p-phenylene-diamine or p-amino-N:N-dimethyl-aniline is added. One atom of N₂ originates from-NH₂; the other from NO₂ ^-. When the quantity of extract or of cells is increased, the specific activity of enzyme, measured by the Warburg manometric method, decreases.The p-phenylene-diamine-NO₂ ^- reductase is inhibited by cyanide, has a pH optimum at 6.6, and in crude extracts exists in soluble form: it does not sediment at 140,000×g for 2 hours. The enzyme precipitates for the most part in the ammonium sulfate fraction 45–70. In M. denitrificans it is inducible and its biosynthesis seems to be repressed by oxygen.The following observations suggest that p-phenylene-diamine-NO₂ ^- reductase has a role in denitrification: (1) until now it has been found only in denitrifying bacteria; (2) cellular nitrite reductase activity, measured in presence of glucose, and p-phenylene-diamine-NO₂ ^- reductase activity of extracts are similarly infuenced by culture conditions; (3) the glucose (or lactate)-NO₂ ^- reductase and p-phenylene-diamine-NO₂ ^- reductase activities of cells are not additive.When N:N:N:N-tetramethyl-p-phenylene-diamine is used as electron donor, the extracts produce both nitric oxide and nitrogen.

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Abréviations PDA p-phénylène-diamine - DMPDA N:N-diméthyl-p-phénylène-diamine - TMPDA N:N:N:N-tétraméthyl-p-phénylène-diamine avec la collaboration technique de