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Cadmium (Cd) is a non-redox toxic heavy metal present in the environment and induces oxidative stress in plants. We investigated whether exogenous nitric oxide (NO) supplementation as sodium nitroprusside (SNP) has any ameliorating action against Cd-induced oxidative damage in plant roots and thus protective role against Cd toxicity. Cd treatment (50 or 250 μM) alone or in combination with 200 μM SNP was given to hydroponically grown wheat roots for a short time period of 24 h and then these were shifted to distilled water to observe changes in levels of oxidative markers (lipid peroxidation, H2O2 content and electrolyte leakage). Supplementation of Cd with SNP significantly reduced the Cd-induced lipid peroxidation, H2O2 content and electrolyte leakage in wheat roots. It indicated a reactive oxygen species (ROS) scavenging activity of NO. However, even upon removal of Cd-treatment solution, the levels of oxidative markers increased during 24 h recovery stage and later at 48 h these decreased. Cd treatment resulted in an upregulation of activities of antioxidant enzymes—superoxide dismutase (SOD, 1.15.1.1), guaiacol peroxidase (GPX, 1.11.1.7), catalase (CAT, 1.11.1.6), and glutathione reductase (GR, 1.6.4.2). SNP supply resulted in a reduction in Cd-induced increased activities of scavenging enzymes. The protective role of exogenous NO in decreasing Cd-induced oxidative damage was also evident from the histochemical localization of lipid peroxidation, plasma membrane integrity and superoxides. The study concludes that an exogenous supply of NO protects wheat roots from Cd-induced toxicity.

L’exemple d’une déesse qui a eu trois vies, différentes mais reliées entre elles, nous permet de montrer comment la relation entre une divinité et des groupes humains s’instaure, se développe, se défait. Dans le village de référence, les Kāpu, propriétaires terriens et dominants, l’ont abandonnée après quelques générations – cependant qu’une faction opposée tentait d’introduire le culte d’une autre déesse. Les Blanchisseurs l’ont alors récupérée pour eux seuls, lui rendant hommage dans le temple qu’ils lui ont construit. Troisième avatar : il y a longtemps, les Kāpu d’un village voisin étaient venus voler ses symboles dans son sanctuaire pour l’honorer chez eux de la même manière que ces Blanchisseurs l’ont fait récemment. Sur cet exemple, je voudrais argumenter quatre propositions. La première est simple : ce sont les hommes qui assignent aux déesses qui et quels lieux elles doivent protéger – en retour de la nourriture qu’elles sont venues réclamer. Le rapport d’une déesse aux hommes est premier ; sa relation à un espace quel qu’il soit – le quartier résidentiel d’une caste, le village dans son entier (grāmamu), le territoire ou le terroir d’un village – n’est que seconde : c’est là où sont ses dévots qu’est le « territoire » d’une déesse. Seconde proposition : les grands dieux de l’hindouisme qui sont svayambhū, inamovibles et à honorer là où ils se sont manifestés matériellement, sont radicalement différents de ces déesses dont les dévots peuvent changer, qui leur assigneront d’autres fonctions, d’autres domaines. Troisième proposition : la grāmadēvata, « déesse du village », est celle de la lignée (de la caste) qui a le pouvoir ; elle est son affirmation dans le religieux et lui apporte sa légitimité. Quatrième proposition : il existe un lien étroit qui ne se perd jamais entre une divinité et la lignée qui a instauré son culte (localement). C’est ce que j’appelle « l’appartenance » de cette divinité à une lignée.This paper seeks to show, through the example of a local goddess who had three different but interconnected lives, how a relation between a goddess and groups of human beings is established, develops and eventually ends. In the village we have used as an example, the Kāpu (powerful and dominant land owners who first elected her) abandoned her after a few generations, while an opposite political faction meanwhile tried to introduce a new goddess they could control. The Laundry Men of the village in turn reclaimed her for themselves, built her a temple and dedicated a yearly festival to her. Lastly, this paper shows how, a long time ago, the Kāpu of a neighboring village stole her symbols from her sanctuary and honored her the same way as the Laundry Men recently had. With these examples, I would like to defend four propositions. The first one is very simple: it is men who assign to the goddess which people and places she will have to protect in return for the food she obtains from them. The goddess’ relations to men come first, before her relation to places, whatever they are —a caste quarter in a village, the entire village (grāmamu), the whole of the territory of a village—: her “territory” is where her devotees are. Second: the grand Hindu gods who are svayambhū (immovable) have to be honored and served at the spot where they manifested themselves; from this point of view, they are completely different from these goddesses, whom devotees can change and to whom they can decide to attribute functions and domains. Third: the grāmadēvata ( “village goddess”) is the goddess of the lineage which is presently in power: she brings it the legitimacy it needs. Fourth: there is a strong bond, which is never broken, between a divinity and the lineage who first established her local cult. This is what I call the “belonging” of a divinity to a linage

La présence d’un récit d’enfance est un élément constitutif important de l’autobiographie selon Philippe Lejeune. L’enfance, longtemps invisible ou à peine évoquée chez de nombreux mémorialistes anciens, s’impose de plus en plus dans les mémoires à la fin du XVIIe siècle et surtout au XVIIIe siècle ; de la simple mention d’une naissance et d’une place dans la lignée agrémentée, au mieux, d’un développement à propos de la famille et de remarques sur l’éducation, on passe à un récit plus circon..

Le clergé chrétien s’est essentiellement attaché à organiser la dévotion à saint Jean autour de son rôle de baptiste, qui l’établit comme Précurseur du Christ. Mais Jean ne s’est pas contenté de venir en Précurseur pour prêcher la pénitence aux hommes ; il a aussi connu une mort, interprétée par les chrétiens comme un martyre. Loin que l’histoire se close ici, la tradition populaire, une fois le récit de la décapitation de Jean fixé par les évangiles, a utilisé ce thème comme support de nombreuses croyances, légendes et cultes qui ont su lui prêter, en retour, une ampleur nouvelle au moyen d’une véritable exégèse populaire qui peut s’observer jusque dans les représentations sacrées. Ce sont quelques-unes de ces traditions, forgées en marge du récit évangélique, que Claudine Gauthier analyse dans cet ouvrage, en les envisageant au regard du complexe mythologique et culturel qui les sous-tend et dont elles ont transformé le sens. Car, comme le dit Michel Tardieu dans sa préface : « Il...

During the past twenty years Open Educational Resources (OER) and Open Educational Practices (OEP) have increased educational access and affordability worldwide. The OER-OEP synergy reflects one of the most promising strategies for increasing access to education globally. Despite significant progress, emerging research suggests the need for a more concerted focus on moving from awareness raising to implementation. This article analyses the current status of OER and OEP in concert with the recent educational response to COVID-19 by educational providers with complimentary mini-case studies from Africa, Brazil, Canada, China, Sweden, and Turkey. The ICDE Ambassadors for the global advocacy of OER, and members of ICDE OER Advocacy Committee (authors) argue that in the six countries studied, there is a greater need and greater receptivity to expand access to education through OER and OEP. To better address the immediate needs of the COVID-19 educational crisis, and to make longer term educational improvements, countries should harness the policy supports and actionable steps offered by the UNESCO OER Recommendation. Currently, we see an opportunity to move OER-OEP to resilient sustainable education and the international policy framework to support such work. The article concludes with some general observations for the way forward.

Low temperature is one of the most common environmental stresses affecting plant growth and agricultural production. Serine/threonine protein phosphatases 2C (PP2Cs) have been suggested to play an important role in stress signaling. To identify potential new member of the PP2C proteins in maize and investigate its functions for stress responses, the ZmPP2C2 gene, encoding a new PP2C protein from maize roots, was cloned by RT-PCR and RACE-PCR. Its constitutive expression in roots, stems and leaves of maize seedlings was detected by RNA gel blot, and its regulation in response to cold stress was also examined. To further evaluate its function in the cold stress response, we over-expressed the ZmPP2C2 gene in tobacco under the control of the Cauliflower Mosaic Virus (CaMV) 35S promoter, and assessed a series of physiological changes in wild type and transgenic plants under low temperatures. Compared with wild type tobacco under cold stress, plants that over-expressed ZmPP2C2 displayed higher germination speed and rate, higher antioxidant enzyme (SOD, POD, CAT) activities, with lower cold-induced electrolyte leakage and malondialdehyde (MDA) contents. These results show that over-expression of ZmPP2C2 in tobacco enhanced tolerance to cold stress, suggesting that this new gene, ZmPP2C2, may act as a positive regulator of cold resistance in plants.