LE STUDIUM Multidisciplinary Journal

Valérie Hayaert
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In Europe, most of today’s courthouses are symbolically silent. Because Justice not only needs to be done but also needs to be seen to be done, this project intends to exemplify the claim that images of justice have an important role to play in the maintenance of social bonds. The power of judicial images is a useful ally to revive the foundational principles of fair trial and due process. Drawing inspiration from visual studies, cultural legal history, legal anthropology, this multidisciplinary investigation aims at revealing the essential dynamic function of a civic allegory: its composition or invention, its role into the dissemination of meaning and the ways in which it was perceived by different audiences, in order to question to which extent this device fulfilled didactic, persuasive, mnemonic, evidential, or deontological functions.

Grégory Guirimand, Natalja Kulagina, Céline Melin, Pamela Lemos-Cruz, Ines Carqueijeiro, Johan-Owen De Craene, Audrey Oudin, Vladimir Heredia, Konstantinos Koudounas, Marianne Unlubayir, Arnaud Lanoue, Nadine Imbault, Benoit St-Pierre
Nicolas Papon, Marc Clastre, Nathalie Giglioli-Guivarc’h, Jillian Marc, Sébastien Besseau, Sébastien Rose, Vincent Courdavault
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The tropical plant Madagascar periwinkle (Catharanthus roseus) is a natural source of anticancer monoterpene indole alkaloids (MIA), such as vinblastine and vincristine, two molecules of major interest and therapeutic values. The MIA biosynthetic pathway in C. roseus is described in the literature as the most complex pathway in all living organisms and shows, in planta, an outstanding compartmentation at both cellular and subcellular levels. Our approach aimed to producing vindoline and catharanthine, two precursors of vinblastine and vincristine, in yeast cell factories. In particular, we developed and optimized yeast cell factories efficiently converting tabersonine to vindoline. First, fine-tuning of heterologous gene copies restrained side metabolites synthesis towards vindoline production. Tabersonine to vindoline bioconversion was further enhanced through a rational medium optimization (pH, composition) and a sequential feeding strategy. Finally, a vindoline titer of 266 mg/L (88% yield) was reached in an optimized fed-batch bioreactor. This precursor-directed synthesis of vindoline thus paves the way towards a future industrial bioproduction through the valorization of abundant tabersonine resources. 

Erida Gjini and Sten Madec
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Co-infection is an important aspect of many infectious diseases, with substantial modeling efforts in the last decades. Yet, simple and sufficiently general mathematical frameworks to analyze and unify the full spectrum of hierarchical patterns emerging from co-infection interactions and variation in other fitness dimensions between two or more strains are missing. Here, we contribute to fill this gap, thanks to a model reduction obtained after assuming strain similarity. We model simultaneously 5 fitness dimensions where strains can differ close to neutrality, and decompose dynamics in two timescales: neutral dynamics between types on a fast timescale, and non-neutral selective processes on a slow timescale, driven explicitly by trait variation and a replicator equation. We bridge adaptive dynamics and epidemiological multi-strain models, generalizing and advancing analytically these two perspectives on co-infection and coexistence.

Arunabh Ghosh, Fouad Ghamouss, Flavien Ivol, Marina Porcher, Johan Jacquemin
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The increasing need in the development of storage devices is calling for the formulation of alternative electrolytes, electrochemically stable and safe over a wide range of conditions. To achieve this goal, electrolyte chemistry must be explored to propose alternative solvents and salts to the current acetonitrile (ACN) and tetraethylammonium tetrafluoroborate (Et4NBF4) benchmarks, respectively. Herein, phenylacetonitrile (Ph-ACN) has been proposed as a novel alternative solvent to ACN in supercapacitors. To establish the main advantages and drawbacks of such a substitution, Ph-ACN + Et4NBF4 blends were formulated and characterized prior to being compared with the benchmark electrolyte and another alternative electrolyte based on adiponitrile (ADN). While promising results were obtained, the low Et4NBF4 solubility in Ph-ACN seems to be the main limiting factor. To solve such an issue, an ionic liquid (IL), namely 1-ethyl-3-methylimidazolium bis[(trifluoromethyl)sulfonyl] imide (EmimTFSI), was proposed to replace Et4NBF4. Unsurprisingly, the Ph-ACN + EmimTFSI blend was found to be fully miscible over the whole range of composition giving thus the flexibility to optimize the electrolyte formulation over a large range of IL concentrations up to 4.0 M. The electrolyte containing 2.7 M of EmimTFSI in Ph-ACN was identified as the optimized blend thanks to its interesting transport properties. Furthermore, this blend possesses also the prerequisites of a safe electrolyte, with an operating liquid range from at least −60 °C to +130 °C, and operating window of 3.0 V and more importantly, a flash point of 125 °C. Finally, excellent electrochemical performances were observed by using this electrolyte in a symmetric supercapacitor configuration, showing another advantage of mixing an ionic liquid with Ph-ACN. We also supported key structural descriptors by density functional theory (DFT) and COnductor-like Screening Model for Real Solvents (COSMO-RS) calculations, which can be associated to physical and electrochemical properties of the resultant electrolytes.

Ingrid Zanella Saenz
Elisabeth Herniou
María Cristina Del Rincón Castro
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The fall armyworm Spodoptera frugiperda is recognized as a polyphagous, voracious, and economically important pest in America and other continents. The control of this pest has been used mainly chemical insecticides, but biological control is an alternative strategy, and different isolates of baculoviruses were evaluated for this control. In this work, the biological activity, in vitro susceptibility, phylogenetic relationship, and protein expression in insect cells of six SfNPV baculoviruses isolated from S.  frugiperda were determined. The infection of the cell line Sf9 was permissive to four of the five SfNPVs strains and non-infective to the SfGV strain. SfNPV isolates from Argentina, Honduras and the USA were more virulent than those from Mexico, resulting in up to 12 and 1000 times more effectiveness. The genes lef-8, lef-9 y polh/granulin were partially amplified in five SfNPVs and the SfGV, where nucleotide changes were identified in lef-8 of the SfNPVs and lef-8, lef-9, and granulin from SfGV-RV. The phylogenetic analysis showed that the five strains SfNPVs turn out to be closely related to the others reported SfNPV, just like the strain SfGV-RV and SfGV. The protein expression of host cells in response to SfNPV-Fx identified six proteins differentially expressed. They are involved in changes in the host cell, altering its cellular structure and normal functions. The characterization from these six SfNPV strains has established the basis for exploring the specific mechanisms, evolution, and ecology to evaluate the potential to be used as biological control agents against S. frugiperda.

Emilio Maria Sanfilippo
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Institutions working in cultural heritage contexts have at their disposal large quantities of data, which need to be properly handled and classified to be used in applications, shared, and possibly even integrated. For these purposes to be achieved, shared conceptual models - in the form of ontologies - are needed. CIDOC-CRM is the reference standard for managing cultural heritage data. However, some of its modeling choices do not meet the modeling criteria of formal ontology. The purpose of this report is to document the research work done during my fellowship at Le Studium in 2019-2020 concerning the use ontologies for cultural heritage. This covers the ontological analysis of (some portions of) CIDOC and the development of an extension of the latter model for research purposes in the scope of scientific projects at the IPAT-CESR.

Thimmalapura M Vishwanatha
Vincent Aucagne
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A novel strategy has been devised that allows a ligation of of thioacids and imidazolyl urea activated amines under aqueous conditions. This approach enables the traceless removal of imidazole and CO2 to directly generate the desired amide bond without affecting the side chain reactive side chain functional groups on the peptide chain. Meanwhile, the novel synthesis of peptide thioacid is also reported.  

 
Magdiel Pérez-Cruz
Florence Savigny
Elodie Culerier
Pauline Chenuet
Valerie J.F. Quesniaux
Jack Van Snick
Bernhard Ryffel
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Periostin (POSTN) is a matricellular protein that plays a key role in development and repair within the biological matrix of the lung. POSTN is highly expressed in several cell types in lung such as epithelial or endothelial cells, fibroblasts, smooth muscle and mast cells, contributing to mucus secretion, alveolar epithelial repair, and lung fibrosis. However, the underlying mechanism how POSTN contributes to the development of lung inflammation remains unclear. In the current study, we attempted to determine whether treatment with a monoclonal anti-POSTN antibody induces a significant inhibition of asthmatic reactions in a mouse asthma model. Mice sensitized and challenged with papain evidenced an increased periostin expression in lung and typical asthmatic reactions, as follows: an increase in the number of eosinophils in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid; a marked influx of inflammatory cells into the lung around blood vessels and airways, and Th2 cytokines including IL-4 and IL-5 and chemokines in the bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid; emphysema; the detection of thymic stromal lymphopoietin (TSLP) produced by epithelial cells. However, the administration of anti-POSTN prior to the final airway papain challenge resulted in a significant inhibition of all asthmatic reactions. We also demonstrated that anti-POSTN antibody treatment resulted in significant reductions on collagen expression and a reduction in the increased eosinophil. The treatment of animals with anti-POSTN resulted in a significant reduction in the concentrations of the chemokines (CCL-11 and CCL-17) in the airways, without any concomitant increase in the concentration of Th1 cytokines. This study identifies a novel therapeutic strategy for airway hyperresponsiveness, which uses antibodies reactive against POSTN via the inhibition of the Th2 response. It also provides theoretical evidence for the control of allergic asthma and fibrosis by targeting POSTN.

Margriet Hoogvliet
Chiara Lastraioli
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The research has shown to that up to ca. 1550 many of the inhabitants of “average” French towns as Tours and Orléans were literate and that they did have access to religious texts in French, contrarily to ideas regularly expressed in historical scholarship. Archival documents, as well as surviving handwritten texts and printed books have provided information about the wide range of social backgrounds of the readers, from stocking makers in Tours and Orléans, the grandson of Gaultiere who ran the public baths in Tours, to well-off merchants and lawyers. Next to books and their owners, the research has resulted in evidence about the presence and location of libraries, open access texts and books, booksellers and printers. Furthermore, an inventory of a book collection (probably a bookshop) with more than 276 books in French in Tours has given much data about textual cultures and reading interests. The historical data often allow plotting these “lieux de savoir” on historical maps of premodern Tours and Orléans. Further analysis of places of religious knowledge by making use of computerised Geographical Information Systems allow for more refined conclusions about concentrations (near religious institutions and schools) and accessibility (in the heart of urban life). The project has already resulted in one accepted peer-reviewed publication; two other articles and a collection of articles in open access, authored by specialists in the field, are in preparation.

Kristina Djanashvili
Éva Tóth
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Effective cancer treatment requires its early diagnosis in combination with safe drug delivery mechanisms. Up to date many therapeutics have failed due to their limited ability to reach the diseased site selectively without damaging healthy cells. Furthermore, none of the existing imaging techniques is absolutely reliable due to the differences in resolution and sensitivity. Therefore, synergistic combination of imaging modalities in one, typically nanodimensional, probe is the key-strategy  to benefit from, for example the sensitive and quantifiable PET signal and the high resolution of MRI. Nanozeolites are among the most promising candidates for realization of this concept due to their unique crystalline structure capable of stable hosting of metal-ions with diagnostic and therapeutic properties. Even though, these materials have found many applications in various technologies, their medicinal potential still requires thorough investigations. This project aimed at the design, preparation and testing of novel nanozeolitic probes that can be applied as personalized drugs for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes