Search Results (8)

Francis Picabia’s Bobinage (Bobbin, Winding or Coil) is a pencil and ink work produced on gouache-painted paper between 1921–1922. The free-floating forms in this piece appear, at first glance, to be studies in geometric abstraction. Yet, they, and the work’s title, make both semiotic and real-world references. The admixture of perspectives is notable, for it retains traces of the Cubist visual language that motivated Picabia and his peers as well as the imagery of the early twentieth-century technical diagrams that, as has been demonstrated by scholars, inspired his work. Examining Coil and other of Picabia’s artworks in tandem with the scholarship that has investigated these influences, this article explores the artist’s engagement with the very issue of representation. Through this investigation, this paper considers the ways in which Picabia’s work alludes to gender in a manner that privileges masculinity yet calls attention to the destabilizing effects of modernity—and modern representations—on notions about gender and, even, what it means to be human. Contextualized thusly, Coil represents not an abstract divergence but rather a continuation of the artist’s technical, gender, and, one could say, even cyborg investigations, revealing his engagement with new and innovative ways of perceiving, conceiving, and depicting modern experience. Full article

Paintings and other works of art created with fragile and mechanically unstable powdery media present challenges to conservators. Frequently, powdery media is water-sensitive, extremely fragile, tends to delaminate, and may be altered by even the slightest physical action or interaction with liquids. Materials that can provide an efficient stabilization without unacceptably altering the optical characteristics of the delicate substrate are extremely limited. Among these, Funori, Isinglass, and Methocel A4C have become established for this use. In bench practice, consolidants are frequently applied in a non-contact way, using ultrasonic and pneumatic aerosol generators to minimize the impact of the consolidant on sensitive substrates. However, nebulizing the available materials is problematic in bench practice, because of their high viscosity and, only extremely low concentrations can be nebulized using low kinetic impact ultrasonic or pressure-based misting systems adopted from the healthcare industry. As a potential innovative solution, this study introduces novel ultra-low viscosity (ULV) cellulose ethers (ULV-HPMC) for stabilisation of unstable porous and powdery surfaces, which have been successfully applied in bench practice for the pilot treatment of Edvard Munch painting on canvas and two 19th c. Thai gouache paintings on panel. Novel ULV-HPMC materials have multiple desirable qualities for consolidation treatments in conservation, and in accelerated aging tests marginally outperformed Methocel A4C, considered to be one of the most stable consolidants in the practice of conservation. Because of the ultra-low viscosity, higher concentrations of ULV-HPMC materials can be applied as water-based aerosols in a non-contact way and in fewer applications, which is a significant advantage in the treatment of delicate water-sensitive surfaces. Notably, novel ULV biopolymers are low-cost, derive from sustainable and renewable sources, and do not raise health and environmental concerns. Such novel materials and methods seamlessly resonate with the ICOM-CC’s Melbourne 2014 declaration, EU Green Deal, and the UN’s Sustainable Development goals and show potential adding new sustainable materials with the exceptionally low viscosity to the conservator’s tool box. Full article

Background: There is a lack of knowledge regarding the actionable key predictive factors of homelessness in psychiatric populations. Therefore, we used a machine learning model to explore the REHABase database (for rehabilitation database—n = 3416), which is a cohort of users referred to French psychosocial rehabilitation centers in France. Methods: First, we analyzed whether the different risk factors previously associated with homelessness in mental health were also significant risk factors in the REHABase. In the second step, we used unbiased classification and regression trees to determine the key predictors of homelessness. Post hoc analyses were performed to examine the importance of the predictors and to explore the impact of cognitive factors among the participants. Results: First, risk factors that were previously found to be associated with homelessness were also significant risk factors in the REHABase. Among all the variables studied with a machine learning approach, the most robust variable in terms of predictive value was the nature of the psychotropic medication (sex/sex relative mean predictor importance: 22.8, σ = 3.4). Post hoc analyses revealed that first-generation antipsychotics (15.61%; p < 0.05 FDR corrected), loxapine (16.57%; p < 0.05 FWER corrected) and hypnotics (17.56%; p < 0.05 FWER corrected) were significantly associated with homelessness. Antidepressant medication was associated with a protective effect against housing deprivation (9.21%; p < 0.05 FWER corrected). Conclusions: Psychotropic medication was found to be an important predictor of homelessness in our REHABase cohort, particularly loxapine and hypnotics. On the other hand, the putative protective effect of antidepressants confirms the need for systematic screening of depression and anxiety in the homeless population. Full article

Research into the biodeteriorative potential of fungi can serve as an indicator of the condition of heritage items. Biodeterioration of canvas paintings as a result of fungal metabolic activity is understudied with respect to both the species diversity and mechanisms involved. This study brings new evidence for the physiology of fungi biodeteriorative capacity of canvas paintings. Twenty-one fungal isolates were recovered from four oil paintings (The Art Museum, Cluj-Napoca) and one gouache painting (private collection), dating from the 18th to 20th centuries. The species, identified based on the molecular markers Internal Transcribed Spacer (ITS), beta-tubulin (tub2), or translation elongation factor 1 (TEF-1), are common colonisers of canvas paintings or indoor environments (e.g., Penicillium spp., Aspergillus spp., Alternaria spp.). Fungi enzymatic profiles were investigated by means of hydrolysable substrates, included in culture media or in test strips, containing components commonly used in canvas paintings. The pigment solubilisation capacity was assessed in culture media for the primary pigments and studied in relation to the organic acid secretion. Caseinases, amylases, gelatinases, acid phosphatase, N-acetyl-β-glucosaminidase, naphthol-AS-BI-phosphohydrolase, and β-glucosidase were found to be the enzymes most likely involved in the processes of substrate colonisation and breakdown of its components. Aureobasidium genus was found to hold the strongest biodeteriorative potential, followed by Cladosporium, Penicillium, Trichoderma, and Aspergillus. Blue pigment solubilisation was detected, occurring as a result of organic acids secretion. Distinct clusters were delineated considering the metabolic activities detected, indicating that fungi specialise in utilisation of certain types of substrates. It was found that both aged and modern artworks are at risk of fungal biodeterioration, due to the enzymatic activities’ diversity and intensity, pigment solubilisation capacity or pigment secretion. Full article

Mainland France is characterized by low-to-moderate seismic activity, yet it is known that major earthquakes could strike this territory (e.g., Liguria in 1887 or Basel in 1356). Assessing this French seismic hazard is thus necessary in order to support building codes and to lead prevention actions towards the population. The Probabilistic Seismic Hazard Assessment (PSHA) is the classical approach used to estimate the seismic hazard. One way to apply PSHA is to generate synthetic earthquakes by propagating information from past seismicity and building various seismic scenarios. In this paper, we present an implementation of a stochastic generator of earthquakes and discuss its relevance to mimic the seismicity of low-to-moderate seismic areas. The proposed stochastic generator produces independent events (main shocks) and their correlated seismicity (only aftershocks). Main shocks are simulated first in time and magnitude considering all available data in the area, and then localized in space with the use of a probability map and regionalization. Aftershocks are simulated around main shocks by considering both the seismic moment ratio and distribution of the aftershock’s proportion. The generator is tested with mainland France data. Full article

Jazz, the illustrated book by Henri Matisse, is a testament to the vitality of the artist in the last decade of his career. The book consists of twenty illustrations reproduced in 370 copies using a stencil-based printing technique and the same Linel gouaches the artist had used for the original maquettes. This study reports on the comprehensive analysis carried out to identify the pigments in the gouaches used in Jazz by transmitted and reflectance infrared, Raman, SERS, and X-ray fluorescence spectroscopies, and describes the lightfastness of these gouaches as evaluated by microfaedometry. This study also highlights the necessity of a multi-analytical approach for comprehensive identification of artist materials and investigates the suitability of portable and non-invasive techniques. The results were consistent across the three copies investigated: a portfolio in the collection of the Museum of Modern Art in New York and two books in the collection of the Musée National d’Art Moderne in Paris. In total, 39 distinct colors were characterized, with the magenta, pinks, and blues being the most fugitive. Full article

Data regarding coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) description are still limited in pediatric oncology. The French society of pediatric oncology (SFCE) initiated a study to better describe COVID-19 in patients followed in French pediatric oncology and hematology wards. All patients diagnosed with COVID-19 and followed in a SFCE center were enrolled. Data from medical records were analyzed for all patients enrolled up to the end of May 2020. Data were available for 37 patients. Thirty-one were children under 18 years of age. Nineteen patients were female. Seventeen patients had a solid tumor, 16 had a hematological malignancy and four recently underwent hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) for non-oncological conditions. Twenty-eight patients presented symptoms, most often with fever, cough, rhinorrhea and asthenia. Ground-glass opacities were the most frequent radiological finding with abnormalities mostly bilateral and peripherally distributed. Twenty-four patients received chemotherapy a month prior to COVID-19 diagnosis. Most patients did not require hospitalization. Three patients required oxygen at the time of diagnosis. In total, five patients were admitted in an intensive care unit because of COVID-19 and one died from the disease. Children and young adults treated for a cancer and/or with a HSCT may be at risk for severe COVID-19 and should be closely monitored. Full article

Breeding for crops in the context of climate change necessitates phenotyping tools for roots in field conditions. Such in-field phenotyping requires the development of rapid and non-destructive measurement techniques for the screening of relevant root traits under sub-optimal conditions. In this study, we used scanner-based minirhizotrons to measure in situ the root length and surface/volume densities of roots for four wheat varieties, under four different growth conditions: irrigated and rainfed coupled with optimal and sub-optimal N fertilization under a Mediterranean climate. For all the treatments, grain yield correlates with minirhizotron-based root surface density measured at anthesis (r² = 0.48). Irrigated and rainfed conditions led to contrasted relations between roots and grain yield: no correlation was found in irrigated plots, while under rainfed conditions and sub-optimal fertilization, the higher yields are related to a higher root colonization of the deeper soil layers (r² = 0.40). Shoot biomass was correlated to grain yield in irrigated conditions, but not in rainfed conditions. However, for the latter, the total root weight, the proportion of which being mainly located in the top soil, is not related to the grain yield. In this way, we show the relationship between these higher grain yields and a stress avoidance mechanism of the root system characterized by a higher root density in the deep soil layers. Thus, unlike shoot biomass measurements, scanner-based minirhizotron allows the direct detection of such a stress-related root development, and therefore opens the door to a better prediction of grain yield. Full article