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Old and New Avenues in Paul Auster’s Work
Full text link4 3 2 1 (2017) marks a new direction in Paul Auster’s work. This coming-of-age novel relates the formative years of Archie Ferguson through four parallel destinies. Delighting in story-telling, it embodies Auster’s notion of the “spectrum of a human being”: four characters, identical in name, body and heredity, four versions of the same weaving an anatomy of ontological plurality. The first page tells the tale of migrant arrival at Ellis Island to where the protagonist’s grandfather, Reznikoff, has travelled after leaving Minsk on foot. His name, which no doubt pays homage to one of Auster’s most influential precursors, deemed insufficiently American, he is advised to call himself Rockefeller, but forgets and is mistakenly transformed into Ichabod Ferguson (from the Yiddish “I have forgotten”). Consequently, the tycoon is dismissed in favor of the literary fathers and the rewriting of founding myths.
Between pastiche and homage, memory and oblivion (the “archive” surfaces in Archie), at the crossroads between the picaresque and the metafictional playfulness of Auster’s early novels, not to mention the darker concerns of his post-9/11 work, where history is obliquely yet systematically inscribed, 4 3 2 1 (released on the eve of Paul Auster’s seventieth birthday) takes on the misleading appearance of a testamentary piece. After writing short poems, essays, novels, autobiographical pieces and movie scripts, Auster now expands the body of his narrative prose with a titan novel that turns on parallelism and counterfactual realities––thus adding a new mode of representation to the literary scene.
Although this exponential narrative unfolds in part along thirty to forty-line run-on sentences, it is paradoxically composed of very short fragments––blank pages, embedded short stories and poems, historical narratives immune to the distortion of fiction. It explores the typically Austerian themes of enclosure, doubles and the process of writing. In this new book, the characters from Auster’s previous novels who attended Columbia in the 60s resurface. Paul Auster’s New York and Paris are mapped out again and again. His early enquiries recur, be they poetic or philosophical, into notions of solitude, loss, love, ambiguity, chance and failure; he probes the boundary between the world and the word, the necessary distancing between the writer and his pen, or else the interiority of literary experience. And so, given that several key elements in Paul Auster’s work are present in 4 3 2 1, it offers the opportunity to look back on his overall achievements.
After a seven-year gap in fiction, Paul Auster has now returned with a tour de force—a family saga, a Bildungsroman quadrupled, an odyssey radically different from his previous work (Ferguson 3 in fact reads Homer’s Odyssey). Meanwhile, Auster has also published two autobiographical books (2012-13) and two outstanding books of conversations, respectively with J. M. Coetzee (2013) and I. B. Siegumfeldt (2017), which focus on the autobiographical and fictional breakthroughs of his multi-faceted oeuvre.
The critical and popular success of 4 3 2 1 calls for a renewed effort to develop Auster studies. Various international projects undertaken since Beyond the Red Notebook (1995) demonstrate that academic interest in his work remains as strong as ever: among the monographs are Aliki Varvogli’s The World that is the Book (2001) and Mark Brown’s Paul Auster (2007). While S. Ciocia and J. A. Gonzáles edited The Invention of Illusions: International Perspectives on Paul Auster (2011), and Arkadiusz Misztal published Time, Narrative and Imagination: Essays on Paul Auster (2015), I. B. Siegumfeldt has been seeking to establish the Center for Paul Auster Studies in collaboration with Paul Auster.
In order to strengthen these advances, we are inviting specialists to contribute to this issue on Paul Auster’s old and new avenues. Abstracts in English or French may address the following aspects, among others:
The American canon
The French and European heritage
Fiction, poetry, essays, autobiographical writings and filmography
Jewish-American writing
Paul Auster and postmodernism
Bildung, filiation, initiation and the picaresque
Embedded narratives, scripts, pictures, artworks, poems, short stories, articles and archives
Story-telling, tales and myths
Trauma, disaster, violence, testimony
The process of writing and enclosure
Political engagement
Poetry and prose studies: rhythm, musicality, breath, syntax
Hybridity, formal mutations, translation, trans-media representation
Humor and comedy
300-word abstracts should be sent to François Hugonnier ([email protected]) and I. B. Siegumfeldt ([email protected]) together with a brief bio-bibliographical note before 15 September 2018. Notification will be sent to the participants by 15 October 2018. Completed articles to be submitted by 1st March 2019.
You are invited to read and follow the norms for presentation indicated on the peer-reviewed Revue LISA / LISA e-journal website (< https://lisa.revues.org/159 >), ISSN: 1762-6153, Presses Universitaires de Rennes, Revues.org
Bertin l'Aîné et Pavie-père, deux exemples de promotion de la langue française par la presse
Full text linkSi la défense et l’illustration de la langue française trouvèrent leurs champions, dès la Renaissance, en Du Bellay et ses amis de la Pléiade, si les auteurs des siècles suivants, de La Fontaine à Voltaire et de Montesquieu à Chateaubriand pour ne citer que quelques-uns de leurs meilleurs représentants, s’en firent également les hérauts, il est d’autres personnages, plus modestes en apparence mais qui se révélèrent tout autant nécessaires à la mise en valeur de notre patrimoine linguistique : les directeurs de journaux et principalement ceux du dix-neuvième siècle. Car ces patrons de presse, inventeurs du quatrième pouvoir, créateurs des premiers organes de masse que furent les « feuilles », les « affiches », les « feuilletons », firent des mots imprimés leur arme, leur métier, leur raison d’être et portèrent haut – jusque dans les capitales et les cours européennes – et loin – jusqu’au cœur de la moyenne bourgeoisie puis du peuple – les lettres, les débats et la culture de l’écrit.
Parmi eux, deux personnalités emblématiques œuvrant au sein de ce milieu du journalisme naissant sont à signaler : le Parisien Louis François Bertin, dit Bertin-l’Aîné (1766-1841), directeur du Journal des Débats, qui s’attacha à la mise en forme du nouveau média (chroniques politiques, rubriques artistiques, feuilletons littéraires…) en même temps qu’il devenait le dépositaire d’un « style », d’une sensibilité : le débattisme, sorte de nouvel art d’écrire, qualifié par ses contemporains de mélange de modération, d’élégance, d’indépendance et d’éloquence ; et l’Angevin Louis Pavie (1782-1859), fils d’imprimeur, directeur des Affiches d’Angers, qui dota son journal d’un supplément littéraire, Le Feuilleton (ainsi que d’une devise : « Sine litteris, vita mors est » !) et qui agrégea autour de son titre les notables érudits d’Angers.
Les points communs entre ces deux « honnêtes hommes » (au sens que le Grand Siècle donnait à cette appellation), sont nombreux. Hommes de presse, hommes de culture, hommes politiques, mentors et pères de famille affectueux, chacun, dans son environnement propre, participa à la douloureuse passation entre l’Ancien Régime et l’époque contemporaine, et contribua à la transition entre Classicisme et Romantisme. À travers leur œuvre journalistique, leur apport essentiel réside, finalement, dans la promotion de la langue écrite dans la Cité, vecteur de culture, d’éducation et de démocratie
Interaction of gentamicin sulfate with alginate and consequences on the physico-chemical properties of alginate-containing biofilms
Full text linkBACKGROUND: Alginate is one of the main extracellular polymeric substances (EPS) in biofilms of Cystic Fibrosis (CF) patients suffering from pulmonary infections. Gentamicin sulfate (GS) can strongly bind to alginate resulting in loss of pharmacological activity; however neither the mechanism nor its repercussion is fully understood. In this study, we investigated how GS modifies the alginate macromolecular network and its microenvironment.
MATERIAL AND METHODS: Alginate gels of two different compositions (either enriched in guluronate units (G) or enriched in mannuronate units (M)) were crosslinked with Ca and exposed to GS at varying times and concentrations. The complexes formed were characterized via turbidimetry, mechanical tests, swelling assay, calorimetry techniques, nuclear magnetic resonance, Ca displacement, macromolecular probe diffusion and pH alteration.
RESULTS: In presence of GS, the alginate network and its environment undergo a tremendous reorganization in terms of gel density, stiffness, diffusion property, presence and state of the water molecules. We noted that the intensity of those alterations is directly dependent on the polysaccharide motif composition (ratio M/G).
CONCLUSION: Our results underline the importance of alginate as biofilm component, its pernicious role during antibiotherapy and could represent a potential macromolecular target to improve anti-infectious therapies
Syndicat professionnel
No full textMise à jour des fascicules du jurisclasseur Travail traité en matière de syndicats professionnels.
Fascicules 12-10, 12-20,12-22,12-30,12-32,-12-3
Performance of the extended use of the FilmArray BCID panel kit for bronchoalveolar lavage analysis
No full textVentilator-associated pneumonia (VAP) are responsible for an increase in morbidity, mortality, and prolonged hospital stay. A multiplex PCR kit such as the FilmArray BCID panel could allow early adaptation of antimicrobial therapy, which is crucial for clinical outcomes. The purpose of this study was to test the performances of FilmArray BCID panel for the detection of bacteria producing VAP. We tested the FilmArray BCID panel on 50 bronchoalveolar lavages (BALs), from patients hospitalized in two intensive care units at the Angers university hospital, compared to the conventional culture-based method. The sensitivity and the specificity of the FilmArray BCID panel were 67.2% and 98.9% respectively. They were 88.6% and 98.3% respectively when considering BALs with a positive culture > 10 CFU/mL, and 94.7% and 99.6% respectively if considering BALs with a positive direct examination. This study underlines the good performance of the FilmArray BCID panel for BAL fluid analysis. In case of positive direct examination, this test allows reliable results that can be obtained at an early stage, facilitating the early adaptation of antimicrobial therapy
Agroinfiltration is a key factor to improve the efficiency of apple and pear transformation
No full textGenetic transformation of apple and pear is mainly performed via Agrobacterium tumefaciens. The average efficiency of transformation remains low in most laboratories and the success of the transformation experiments is very variable. Improving the efficiency and the reproducibility of apple and pear transformation is thus highly desirable. Adventitious regeneration ability of the explants is not a limiting factor for apple or pear transformation. The present study focuses on improving the frequency of stably transformed cells in the explants following A. tumefaciens inoculation. We report here the results of 36 independent transformation experiments on ‘Gala’ apple, performed with 10 different binary plasmids, comparing three methods of A. tumefaciens inoculation. Agroinfiltration (Agrobacterium-mediated vacuum infiltration) of the explants in a bacterial suspension containing a surfactant (Silwet L-77) at a low concentration (0.002% v/v) significantly increased the average transformation efficiency (mean rate of 5.8% and maximum rate of 30%) and reduced the number of failed experiments (16%) compared to the method of crushing the explants with non-traumatic forceps prior to immersion into the inoculum. The success of the agroinfiltration method was associated with a very high level of GUS expression one month after inoculation.In addition, agroinfiltration dramatically increased the transformation efficiency of pear, reaching rates of transformation between 50 and 80%, compared to inoculation with a scalpel dipped into the inoculum. Altogether, our results demonstrate that the production of large number of transgenic apple or pear lines in a short period of time is feasible using the agroinfiltration method
O Controle sobre os Espaços (Patrimonialização, Privatização e Monopolização): o Caso das Ondas de Surfe
No full textNeste artigo, as ondas do litoral costeiro são consideradas “materialidades naturais” que adquirem visibilidade principalmente através da sua qualidade para a prática do surfe. As ondas constituem um bom meio para identificar diferentes processos de apropriação. Considerando os territórios e suas configurações espaciais, assim como as vontades dos praticantes e/ou as formas de regulação política, três processos de apropriação de ondas são identificados, cada um levando a diferentes resultados, sejam de ordem política, econômica, sejam “identitária”. Em primeiro lugar, as ondas de surfe podem ser patrimonializadas a fim de identificação territorial (principal caso analisado aqui). Elas também podem ser pura e simplesmente privatizadas, a fim de alcançar lucros estritamente econômicos. Finalmente, elas podem ser mais ou menos monopolizadas, a fim de manter uma comunidade fechada em si mesma. Essas três formas de apropriação, constituídas a partir de casos analisados em diferentes pesquisas de campo, permitem insistir no fato de que os processos de apropriação de um objeto homogêneo como a onda podem trazer resultados completamente diferentes
Nanoencapsulated deltamethrin as synergistic agent potentiates insecticide effect of indoxacarb through an unusual neuronal calcium-dependent mechanism
Full text linkThe use of neurotoxic chemical insecticides has led to consequences against the environment, insect resistances and side-effects on non-target organisms. In this context, we developed a novel strategy to optimize insecticide efficacy while reducing doses. It is based on nanoencapsulation of a pyrethroid insecticide, deltamethrin, used as synergistic agent, combined with a non-encapsulated oxadiazine (indoxacarb). In this case, the synergistic agent is used to increase insecticide efficacy by activation of calcium-dependant intracellular signaling pathways involved in the regulation of the membrane target of insecticides. In contrast to permethrin (pyrethroid type I), we report that deltamethrin (pyrethroid type II) produces an increase in intracellular calcium concentration in insect neurons through the reverse Na/Ca exchanger. The resulting intracellular calcium rise rendered voltage-gated sodium channels more sensitive to lower concentration of the indoxacarb metabolite DCJW. Based on these findings, in vivo studies were performed on the cockroach Periplaneta americana and mortality rates were measured at 24 h, 48 h and 72 h after treatments. Comparative studies of the toxicity between indoxacarb alone and indoxacarb combined with deltamethrin or nanoencapsulated deltamethrin (LNC-deltamethrin), indicated that LNC-deltamethrin potentiated the effect of indoxacarb. We also demonstrated that nanoencapsulation protected deltamethrin from esterase-induced enzymatic degradation and led to optimize indoxacarb efficacy while reducing doses. Moreover, our results clearly showed the benefit of using LNC-deltamethrin rather than piperonyl butoxide and deltamethrin in combination commonly used in formulation. This innovative strategy offers promise for increasing insecticide efficacy while reducing both doses and side effects on non-target organisms