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International audience; Bedload transport is a complex phenomenon that is not well understood, especially for poorly sorted sediment and low transport rates, which is what is typically found in alpine gravel-bed rivers. In this paper, the interaction between bedload rate, bed stability and flow is investigated using flume experiments. Significant differences in bedload rates were observed for experiments conducted on beds formed with the same gravel material but presenting diverse arrangements and bedforms. Tests were performed under regimes of low transport rate, which are mainly controlled by gravel-bed roughness. Different scales of roughness were identified using the statistical characteristics of detailed bed elevation measurements: grain, structure and large bedform scales. The role played by these different roughness scales in bedload dynamics was examined. For quasi-flat beds, bed stability was quantified using a combination of bed surface criteria describing grain and structure scales. It was found that bed stability affects the bedload rate directly and not only through its influence on the flow or on the incipient motion. For beds with large bedforms, the analysis of bedload dynamics also showed the importance of accounting for effective bed shear stress distributions. An empirical bedload model for low transport regimes was suggested. Compared with previous formulae developed for alpine rivers, this model accounts for bed stability and distribution of effective bed shear stress. It significantly improves the understanding of the gravel dynamics over complex beds such as arranged beds or beds with large bedforms. However, further tests are needed to use the model outside the range of conditions of this study.

The observation of a charge density wave in the underdoped cuprate high Tc superconductors (Cu-CDW) raised a debate about its relationship with superconductivity. In bulk YBa2Cu3O7−δ the Cu-CDW is incipient and mainly pinned by defects. Nevertheless, a large magnetic field can induce a true long-range Cu-CDW order as it suppresses superconductivity. An enhanced Cu-CDW order was also observed in YBa2Cu3O7/La2/3Ca1/3MnO3 multilayers. Here, we show that the magnitude of the Cu-CDW in YBa2Cu3O7−δ / Nd0.65(Ca1-ySry)0.35MnO3 multilayers can be varied by adjusting the strength of the manganite charge and orbital order via the Sr content (tolerance factor). Furthermore, we resolve the reconstruction of the crystal field levels of the interfacial Cu ions that are also affected by the manganite charge and orbital order. This tuneable interfacial coupling and Cu-CDW in YBa2Cu3O7−δ can be used for studying the relationship between the Cu-CDW and superconductivity and, possibly, for inducing new intertwined quantum states.

International audience; A reliable estimation of sediment transport in gravel-bed streams is important for various practical engineering and biological studies (e.g., channel stability design, bed degradation/aggradation, restoration of spawning habitat). In the present work, we report original laboratory experiments investigating the transport of gravel particles at low bed shear stresses. The laboratory tests were conducted under unsteady flow conditions inducing low bed shear stresses, with detailed monitoring of the bed topography using a laser scanner. Effects of bed surface arrangements were documented by testing loose and packed bed configurations. Effects of fine sediments were examined by testing beds with sand, artificial fine sand or cohesive silt infiltrated in the gravel matrix. Analysis of the experimental data revealed that the transport of gravel particles depends upon the bed arrangement, the bed material properties (e.g., size and shape, consolidation index, permeability) and the concentration of fine sediments within the surface layer of moving grains. This concentration is directly related to the distribution of fine particles within the gravel matrix (i.e., bottom-up infiltration or bridging) and their transport mode (i.e., bedload or suspended load). Compared to loose beds, the mobility of gravel is reduced for packed beds and for beds clogged from the bottom up with cohesive fine sediments; in both cases, the bed shear stress for gravel entrainment increases by about 12%. On the other hand, the mobility of gravel increases significantly (bed shear stress for particle motion decreasing up to 40%) for beds clogged at the surface by non-cohesive sand particles.

We studied how the electronic, superconducting, and magnetic properties of $\mathrm{YB}{\mathrm{a}}_{2}\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{u}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{7}/\mathrm{N}{\mathrm{d}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{(\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{a}}_{1\ensuremath{-}y}\mathrm{S}{\mathrm{r}}_{y})}_{x}\mathrm{Mn}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ multilayers depend on the tolerance factor and the hole doping of the manganite. In particular, we investigated the granular superconducting state and the related magnetic-field-driven insulator-to-superconductor transition that was previously discovered in corresponding multilayers with $\mathrm{P}{\mathrm{r}}_{0.5}\mathrm{L}{\mathrm{a}}_{0.2}\mathrm{C}{\mathrm{a}}_{0.3}\mathrm{Mn}{\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ [B. P. P. Mallett et al., Phys. Rev. B 94, 180503(R) (2016)]. We found that this granular superconducting state occurs only when the manganite layer is in a charge/orbital ordered and CE-type antiferromagnetic state (Mn-CO/OO). The coupling mechanism underlying this intriguing proximity effect seems to involve the domain boundaries of the Mn-CO/OO and/or the charge disordered regions of the manganite layer that become more numerous as the hole doping is reduced below $x=0.5$.

International audience; A substantial laboratory data set from the literature is gathered for studying sediment transport rates under steady flow without any upstream sediment feeding. We analysed the decrease in sediment transport rate from bed armouring, i.e., coarsening of the bed surface and structure development. We quantified an equilibrium time, which corresponds to the time after which sediment transport rate is reduced by a factor of twenty. This choice is highly correlated to a characteristic time of the exponential decrease in the sediment transport rate. This equilibrium time was found to be mainly controlled by a set of four parameters: the ratio between bed shear stress and its critical value for sediment incipient motion, the Reynolds particle number, the dimensionless median diameter, and the width-to-depth ratio. The influence of each parameter can be linked to either bed mobility, armouring, or bedform development. A formula to quantify the equilibrium time as function of these four parameters is proposed. This is of great value to scale unsteady sediment transport experiments for which stepped hydrographs are very convenient and often used. A new dimensionless time is also proposed merging the decrease of sediment transport rate for hydraulically rough beds.

In the context of sharing public data, science results are expected to be reproducible and therefore we need full traceability of the origin of the data. On the documentalist side, there is a need to relate instrumental origins to the published data. We propose to define a shared nomenclature to index each publication with unique designations for facilities, telescopes and instruments which could benefit from the Virtual Observatory work on semantics. This would help the documentalists to check the consistency of the instrument description in publications or make it more explicit. Observation period, data quality and spectral coverage, for instance, may be checked by referencing a global instrumentation service which gathers the nominal observation parameters for the telescope/facility/instrument involved. Based on this indexation mechanism, then the bibliographic metrics for telescope /instrument usage would be easy to compute, and tracking services like the ESO telescope bibliography database (TelBib) or others would be easier to feed. This paper traces the existing initiatives and gives the example of a facility description framework reusing Virtual Observatory metadata which could be fed by the community.

Astronomers are nowadays required by their funding agencies to make the data obtained through public-financed means (ground and space observatories and labs) available to the public and the community at large. This is a fundamental step in enabling the open science paradigm the astronomical community is striving for. In other words, tabular data (catalogs) arriving to CDS for ingestion into its databases, in particular VizieR, is more and more frequently accompanied by the reduced observed dataset (spectra, images, data cubes, time series). While the benefits of making this associated data available are obvious, the task is very challenging: in this context "big data" takes the meaning of "extremely heterogeneous data", with a diversity of formats and practices among astronomers, even within the FITS standard. Providing librarians with efficient tools to index this data and generate the relevant metadata is therefore paramount.

We studied the structural, magnetic and electronic properties of [Formula: see text] (SFO) thin films and [Formula: see text]/[Formula: see text] [Formula: see text]MnO

La_(1.85)Sr_(0.15)CuO₄/La₂CuO₄ (LSCO15/LCO) bilayers with a precisely controlled thickness of N unit cells (UCs) of the former and M UCs of the latter ([LSCO15_N/LCO_M]) were grown on (001)- oriented SrLaAlO₄ (SLAO) substrates with pulsed laser deposition (PLD). X-ray diffraction and reciprocal space map (RSM) studies confirmed the epitaxial growth of the bilayers and showed that a [LSCO15_2/LCO_2] bilayer is fully strained, whereas a [LSCO15_2/LCO_7] bilayer is already partially relaxed. The in situ monitoring of the growth with reflection high energy electron diffraction (RHEED) revealed that the gas environment during deposition has a surprisingly strong effect on the growth mode and thus on the amount of disorder in the first UC of LSCO15 (or the first two monolayers of LSCO15 containing one CuO₂ plane each). For samples grown in pure N₂O gas (growth type B), the first LSCO15 UC next to the SLAO substrate is strongly disordered. This disorder is strongly reduced if the growth is performed in a mixture of N₂O and O₂ gas (growth type A). Electric transport measurements confirmed that the first UC of LSCO15 next to the SLAO substrate is highly resistive and shows no sign of superconductivity for growth type B, whereas it is superconducting for growth type A. Furthermore, we found, rather surprisingly, that the conductivity of the LSCO15 UC next to the LCO capping layer strongly depends on the thickness of the latter. A LCO capping layer with 7 UCs leads to a strong localization of the charge carriers in the adjacent LSCO15 UC and suppresses superconductivity. The magnetotransport data suggest a similarity with the case of weakly hole doped LSCO single crystals that are in a so-called 'cluster-spin-glass state.' We discussed several mechanisms that could lead to such a localization of holes that are embedded in a short-range ordered antiferromagnetic background for the case of a thick LCO capping layer with M = 7 but not for a thin one with M = 2.

33rd European Photovoltaic Solar Energy Conference and Exhibition; 947-951, The European PV manufacturing industry has faced strong foreign competition in the last years, which has led to a dramatic reduction of its production capacity. It has completely shifted from a massive leadership at the beginning of the new millennium, with five EU companies in the top ten manufacturers, to a situation of survival where few of them are struggling in an actual extremely competitive market. Europe still has solid industrial assets consisting of silicon & material suppliers, and high quality equipment suppliers that constitute the core of a value chain to be rebuilt. AMPERE, acronym for Automated photovoltaic cell and Module industrial Production to regain and secure European Renewable Energy market, was born for these purposes. AMPERE project aims to the setting-up of an innovative 100 MWp/y full-scale automated pilot line at the 3SUN module PV production line delivering a power module of 380 Wp (bifacial G/G 72-cells). Soon after the end of the project a rapid scale up to 240 MWp/y is planned and a route paving the way to the GWp/y scale will deliver the roadmap to reach production capacity stated. The project will operate with the support of the technological platforms for solar cells at CEA-INES and modules at MBR, the platform for advanced module technologies at MBS along with the support of high level research institutes (CSEM, EPFL, F-ISE, ENEA, CNR) as well as key EU companies covering the whole PV value chain (Norsun, Rise technology, Jonas & Redmann, ERM). Ampere has EGP as internal end-user and with the support of the project it will target an LCOE reduction of at least 15% compared to conventional PV mc-Si technology.

With x-ray absorption spectroscopy and polarized neutron reflectometry we studied how the magnetic proximity effect at the interface between the cuprate high-TC superconductor YBa_(2)Cu_(3)O_(7) (YBCO) and the ferromagnet La_(2/3)Ca_(1/3)MnO_(3) (LCMO) is related to the electronic and magnetic properties of the LCMO layers. In particular, we explored how the magnitude of the ferromagnetic Cu moment on the YBCO side depends on the strength of the antiferromagnetic (AF) exchange coupling with the Mn moment on the LCMO side. We found that the Cu moment remains sizable if the AF coupling with the Mn moments is strongly reduced or even entirely suppressed. The ferromagnetic order of the Cu moments thus seems to be intrinsic to the interfacial CuO_(2) planes and related to a weakly ferromagnetic intraplanar exchange interaction. The latter is discussed in terms of the partial occupation of the Cu 3d_(3z^(2)−r^(2)) orbitals, which occurs in the context of the so-called orbital reconstruction of the interfacial Cu ions.

River Flow 2018: 9th International Conference on Fluvial Hydraulics, Lyon, FRA, 05-/09/2018 - 08/09/2018; International audience; Existing formulas for predicting bedload rate may be not adapted for mountain rivers with poorly sorted sediments, partly because they were often established using laboratory data with conditions far from those found in such rivers. Natural bed arrangement is particularly difficult to reproduce in flumes, although recent studies highlighted its importance on bedload dynamics. This study aims to quantify bed arrangement impact on bedload rate using original laboratory tests and to improve existing bedload formulas. Three types of bed composed with the same material but having different bed arrangements were studied: loose beds were installed manually in the flume and the others, packed and water-worked beds, were created using water power. Packed beds were assimilated to flat beds composed of a static armor layer whereas water-worked beds exhibited stronger bed organization, including large-scale bed forms. Laser-scanner surveys were used to characterize differences in bed morphology. Similar unsteady hydraulic conditions were applied over these beds. Results showed that bedload dynamics varies significantly depending on the initial arrangement. Compared to loose bed, bedload was enhanced over water-worked bed and reduced over packed bed. Bed surface indicators are thus important parameters to take into account when predicting gravel transport.

SIMBAD is a bibliographic added-value database on astronomical objects, where the data on individual objects are cross-identified as far as possible. The data comes exclusively from what has been published by the scientific community. To treat large tables, the work is done semi-automatically with the help of a customized software. Since 2014, we are using a new one, called COSIM (Comparison of Objects for SIMBAD). It meets the new requirements which is a consequence of the evolution of the available astronomical data. It has increased in number, accuracy and diversity. On the basis of the data presented in a published table, COSIM searches for objects that are already known in SIMBAD, by name or by coordinates. A combination of scores based on the available and comparable parameters, like the main object type, coordinates, velocity and magnitudes, suggests whether the candidate is good for cross-identification or not. As soon as the result of the search is clear, indicating that there is either no matching candidate or only one good candidate, COSIM creates the commands necessary for updating the SIMBAD database. The documentalists can act on the method of calculation of each score, according to the nature of the objects in the table. Thus, with COSIM the documentalists manage to obtain a good cross-identification level with a minimum risk of omitted or false cross-identifications in a relatively short time compared to the treated data number.

Classical cadherins are primary mediators of calcium-dependent cell interactions in multicellular organisms. Organized in five tandemly repeated E-cadherin (EC) modules, the extracellular segments of these membrane-spanning glycoproteins interact homophilically between opposing cells to create highly regulated patterns of attachment stabilized by cytoskeletal elements inside the cells. Despite many structural and functional studies, a significant controversy exists in regard to the organization of cadherin binding in adhesion sites. Supported by considerable evidence, perhaps the most widely held view is that opposing N-terminal EC1–EC2 (EC12) domains form a “zipper” of bonds. However, immobilized on two atomically smooth surfaces and pushed to adhesive contact, opposing cadherins become fully interdigitated and unbind through three discrete jumps comparable with domain dimensions when pulled apart. So the question remains as to whether mechanical adhesion strength emanates solely from interactions between the peripheral N-terminal domains or involves multiple overlapping domains. It is also unclear whether a primary adhesion complex is formed by a single opposing pair of cadherins or whether the complex involves a more complicated network of cis-bonded multimers. To address these questions, we used a special jump/ramp mode of force spectroscopy to test isolated pairwise interactions between recombinant fragments of ECs. Besides the formation of strong trans-bonded dimers, we find a remarkable hierarchy of rupture strengths for bonds between the full five-domain fragments that suggests multiple mechanical functions for cadherins, perhaps providing distinct properties needed for transient-specific recognition as well as stable tissue formation.

We studied the structural, magnetic and electronic properties of [Formula: see text] (SFO) thin films and [Formula: see text]/[Formula: see text] [Formula: see text]MnO3 (LCMO) superlattices that have been grown with pulsed laser deposition (PLD) on [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] [Formula: see text] (LSAT) substrates. X-ray reflectometry and scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM) confirm the high structural quality of the films and flat and atomically sharp interfaces of the superlattices. The STEM data also reveal a difference in the interfacial layer stacking with a SrO layer at the LCMO/SFO and a LaO layer at the SFO/LCMO interfaces along the PLD growth direction. The x-ray diffraction (XRD) data suggest that the as grown SFO films and SFO/LCMO superlattices have an oxygen-deficient [Formula: see text] structure with I4/ mmm space group symmetry ([Formula: see text]). Subsequent ozone annealed SFO films are consistent with an almost oxygen stoichiometric structure ([Formula: see text]). The electronic and magnetic properties of these SFO films are similar to the ones of corresponding single crystals. In particular, the as grown [Formula: see text] films are insulating whereas the ozone annealed films are metallic. The magneto-resistance effects of the as grown SFO films have a similar magnitude as in the single crystals, but extend over a much wider temperature range. Last but not least, for the SFO/LCMO superlattices we observe a rather large exchange bias effect that varies as a function of the cooling field.

With x-ray absorption spectroscopy we investigated the orbital reconstruction and the induced ferromagnetic moment of the interfacial Cu atoms in ${\mathrm{YBa}}_{2}{\mathrm{Cu}}_{3}{\mathrm{O}}_{7}/{\mathrm{La}}_{2/3}{\mathrm{Ca}}_{1/3}{\mathrm{MnO}}_{3}$ (YBCO/LCMO) and ${\mathrm{La}}_{2\ensuremath{-}x}{\mathrm{Sr}}_{x}{\mathrm{CuO}}_{4}/{\mathrm{La}}_{2/3}{\mathrm{Ca}}_{1/3}{\mathrm{MnO}}_{3}$ (LSCO/LCMO) multilayers. We demonstrate that these electronic and magnetic proximity effects are coupled and are common to these cuprate/manganite multilayers. Moreover, we show that they are closely linked to a specific interface termination with a direct Cu-O-Mn bond. We furthermore show that the intrinsic hole doping of the cuprate layers and the local strain due to the lattice mismatch between the cuprate and manganite layers are not of primary importance. These findings underline the central role of the covalent bonding at the cuprate/manganite interface in defining the spin-electronic properties.

In animal models of asthma, interleukin-13 (IL-13) induces goblet cell metaplasia, eosinophil infiltration of the bronchial mucosa, and bronchial hyperreactivity, but the basis of its effects on airway epithelia remain unknown. Lesions of the epithelial barrier, frequently observed in asthma and other chronic lung inflammatory diseases, are repaired through proliferation, migration, and differentiation of epithelial cells. An inflammatory process may then, therefore, influence epithelial regeneration. We have thus investigated the effect of IL-13 on mucociliary differentiation of human nasal epithelial cells in primary culture. We show that IL-13 alters ciliated cell differentiation and increases the proportion of secretory cells. IL-13 downregulates the actin-binding protein ezrin and other cytoskeletal components. IL-13 also impairs lateral cell contacts and interferes with the apical localization of ezrin seen in differentiated ciliated cells. In addition, an IL-4 antagonistic mutant protein (Y124D), which binds to the IL-4 receptor alpha subunit, a common chain of IL-4 and IL-13 receptors, inhibits IL-13's effects. IL-13 also decreases ciliary beat frequency in a time- and dose-dependent manner. These results suggest that, in human allergic asthmatic responses, IL-13 affects both ciliated and secretory cell differentiation, leading to airway damage and obstruction.

The modification in the G-line (969.5 meV) and the C-line (789.4 meV) photoluminescence (PL) intensities were studied as a function of the fluence, energy, and mass of the bombarding ions (He, Ne, Ar, and Kr). The intensities of the luminescent lines induced by 1 keV Ne bombardment were found to decrease with increasing dose after reaching a maximum at about 1×1012 ions/cm2. Considerable reductions in the intensities of the G- and C-lines were also recorded during bombardment using heavier noble gas ions and they have been attributed to the higher rates of nuclear energy deposition with increasing bombarding ion mass. The incident ion energy at which the PL intensities of the spectral lines reached their maximum values was found to be dependent on the ion mass and fluence. We have explained the decrease in PL intensities of the G-line and C-line to be due to the introduction of increased amounts of nonradiative recombination centers with increasing incident ion dose and mass. Further, the integral sum of ...

We show that in Pr$ _{0.5} $La$ _{0.2} $Ca$ _{0.3} $MnO$ _{3} $/YBa$ _{2} $Cu$ _{3} $O$ _{7} $ (PLCMO/YBCO) multilayers the low temperature state of YBCO is very resistive and resembles the one of a granular superconductor or a frustrated Josephson-junction network. Notably, a coherent superconducting response can be restored with a large magnetic field which also suppresses the charge-orbital order in PLCMO. This coincidence suggests that the granular superconducting state of YBCO is induced by the charge-orbital order of PLCMO. The coupling mechanism and the nature of the induced inhomogeneous state in YBCO remain to be understood., Comment: 6 pages, 4 figures. Supplementary Information as extra file

Horse grazing practices are seldom analysed in European farms. We extensively surveyed farms in two regions in France where horse husbandry is important, Normandy and Auvergne. Both regions differ in terms of climate (oceanic vs. continental) and type of horse production and activities (riding vs. draught). The survey has been performed on 66 farms whose herds were greater than 5 broodmares, as the sole livestock or associated with cattle. The farmers have been questioned about the grassland management and the animal steering during the grazing period. Farms with equine and bovine production have larger agricultural areas than the regional average. The permanent grasslands cover more than 80% of the agricultural area in most of the surveyed farms. The analysis suggests splitting the farms set into several groups, depending on the altitude of their pastures (grazing season is 30 days longer in lowlands) and on their agricultural systems: horse rearing specialisation or horse production mixed with cattle rearing. The main characteristics of the grazing management practices are the following: the share of only grazed area is similar in Normandy and Auvergne uplands, despite the difference in climate. It is 20% bigger than in the Auvergne lowlands. The number of grass cuts is higher in Normandy. In the two regions, the main driver for management of grassland areas is the need to have the animals close to the farm buildings at some specific times (mating season for mares, training of young horses, milking of dairy cows). The mixed farms favour the both species grazing the same pasture together or successively, according to suckling or dairy production. It is also worthwhile noting that grazed grass is the main feed resource for mares and young horses whatever the production type is.

The marine dinoflagellate Prorocentrum micans Ehrenberg was used as a test organism to determine the conditions of use of fluorescence induction kinetic measurements in the study of parathion phytotoxicity. Measurements were taken of the kinetics of slow and fast fluorescence induction in whole cells and isolated chloroplast fragments at various concentrations of parathion. In both types of induction, the addition of parathion greatly decreased the fluorescence yield, indicating either inhibition of electron transport or physical changes. The action of parathion was a function of its concentration and was similar to the action of DCMU. Fluorescence induction was clearly less in isolated chloroplast fragments than in whole cells.

To evaluate a population of dysphonic treated in rehabilitation by comparing the VHI score and GRB scale.300 questionnaires were completed, only 42 cases were matched before and after 15 rehabilitation sessions; that is 84 questionnaires. Patients were divided into two groups: group 1 (impaired mobility of the vocal cords), group 2 (benign mucosal lesions). All patients completed a VHI questionnaire, a questionnaire evaluating subjective voice abuse (SSVS), a GRB score. The two tests were correlated to the diagnosis of voice pathology but also used for follow up after voice therapy. The tests used for statistical studies were: comparison by pathology by unpaired series tests (theoretical deviation=0); mean tests, Wilcoxon type.Patients were more handicapped by impaired mobility of the vocal cord than by a nodule or a cyst. The patients' vocal handicap (VHI) was significantly lower after 15 therapy sessions, in all of its components. The perceptual evaluation GRB is also significantly better for these patients after 15 therapy sessions. We could not demonstrate a favorable evolution, that is a diminution of the SSVS before and after 15 sessions.The efficacy of speech therapy for certain vocal cord pathologies has been demonstrated both in respect of the Vocal Handicap felt by the patient as well as the Hirano scale.

The short-term effects of giant kelp Macrocystis pyrifera C.A. Agardh on the growth of subantarctic bacterial microflora were followed under various seasonal conditions in coastal seawater of the Kerguelen Archipelago. Artificial degradation experiments were carried out in 3-m 3 tanks (daily sampling allowed a regular survey of bacterial changes in the supplemented seawater). The results clearly revealed a significant response of the subantarctic bacterial community to macrophyte addition. Bacteria grew rapidly on freshly harvested or stranded kelp. Doubling time had a mean value of 40 h for total bacteria and 8 h for heterotrophic bacteria. Bacterial growth peaked within the first 3–5 days but declined thereafter. Both total and heterotrophic bacterial increases were higher in stranded or detritic kelp experiments than in freshly harvested kelp experiments. The amphipod Parathemisto gaudichaudii Guerin was used to assess the stimulating effect of macrofaunal breakdown on the bacterial decomposition of the kelp.

A new approach, named the scale changing technique, is performed here for the electromagnetic modelling of reflect arrays controlled by radio-frequency micro- electromechanical switches. Based on the partition of the reflectarray surface in planar sub-domains with various scale levels, this technique derives the phase- shift dynamics from the simple cascade of networks, each network describing the electromagnetic coupling between two scale levels. Higher-order modes allow the accurate representation of the electromagnetic field local variation while lower-order modes are used for coupling the various scales.

We have used deep level transient spectroscopy (DLTS) and photoluminescence (PL) to determine the electronic and optical properties of the defects created during 1 keV He-, Ne- and Ar-ion bombardment. Except for their different relative concentrations, the defects induced by He- and Ne-ion bombardment were found to be similar. The different set of defects introduced by Ar ions has been associated with their higher rates of nuclear energy deposition in Si. Some of the low energy defects were found to be electronically similar to primary defects formed during 5.4 MeV alpha-particle irradiation, while some others are proposed to be noble gas species related. PL studies have shown that the intensities of the G- and C-lines decreased with increasing irradiation dose of Ne ions after reaching a maximum at 1/spl times/10/sup 12/ cm/sup -2/. The G-line intensity was found to decrease with the mass of noble gas used.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) UL53 belongs to a family of conserved herpesvirus genes. In this work, the expression and localization of the UL53 gene product was analysed. Results obtained showed that pUL53 is a new structural protein. In infected human fibroblasts, pUL53 localizes in cytoplasmic perinuclear granular formations together with other structural viral proteins. In the nucleus, pUL53 forms patches at the nuclear periphery and co-localizes with lamin B at the internal nuclear membrane level. Immunoelectron microscopy studies have disclosed that nuclear pseudo-inclusions are labelled, whereas nucleocapsid formations within the intranuclear skein are negative. Furthermore, the mature virus particle maintains pUL53 at its tegumental level. These data suggest that pUL53 could be involved either in nucleocapsid maturation or in the egress of nucleocapsids from the nucleus to the cytoplasm through the nuclear membrane, a role compatible with the function hypothesized for UL31, its positional homologue in herpes simplex virus type 1.

Desmin-related myopathy is a familial or sporadic disease characterized by skeletal muscle weakness and cardiomyopathy as well as the presence of intracytoplasmic aggregates of desmin-reactive material in the muscle cells. Previously, two kinds of deletions and eight missense mutations have been identified in the desmin gene and proven to be responsible for the disorder. The present study was conducted to determine structural and functional defects in a pathogenic desmin variant that caused a disabling disorder in an isolated case presenting with distal and proximal limb muscle weakness and cardiomyopathy. We identified a novel heterozygous Q389P desmin mutation located at the C-terminal part of the rod domain as the causative mutation in this case. Transfection of desmin cDNA containing the patient's mutation into C2.7, MCF7, and SW13 cells demonstrated that the Q389P mutant is incapable of constructing a functional intermediate filament network and has a dominant negative effect on filament formation. We conclude that Q389P mutation is the molecular event leading to the development of desmin-related myopathy.

Background: Rat Nb2-11C lymphoma cells are dependent on prolactin for proliferation and are widely used to study prolactin signaling pathways. To investigate the role of this hormone in the transcriptional mechanisms that underlie prolactin-stimulated mitogenesis, five different techniques were used to isolate differentially expressed transcripts: mRNA differential display, representational difference analysis (RDA), subtractive suppressive hybridization (SSH), analysis of weakly expressed candidate genes, and differential screening of an organized library. Results: About 70 transcripts were found to be modulated in Nb2 cells following prolactin treatment. Of these, approximately 20 represent unknown genes. All cDNAs were characterized by northern blot analysis and categorized on the basis of their expression profiles and the functions of the known genes. We compared our data with other cell-cycle-regulated transcripts and found several new potential signaling molecules that may be involved in Nb2 cell growth. In addition, abnormalities in the expression patterns of several transcripts were detected in Nb2 cells, including the constitutive expression of the immediate-early gene EGR-1. Finally, we compared the differential screening techniques in terms of sensitivity, efficiency and occurrence of false positives. Conclusions: Using these techniques to determine which genes are differentially expressed in Nb2 lymphoma cells, we have obtained valuable insight into the potential functions of some of these genes in the cell cycle. Although this information is preliminary, comparison with other eukaryotic models of cell-cycle progression enables identification of expression abnormalities and proteins potentially involved in signal transduction, which could indicate new directions for research.

17 intrinsic hypothalamic tumors in infancy and childhood occurring between 1963 and 1973 were analyzed in detail because of the consistent mode of approach to diagnosis, therapy and follow-up care. Careful examination of the symptom-time sequence and location provided anatomical-clinical correlations and was even suggestive of the probable histologic type of lesion present. The postoperative and long-term management problems have led to significant conclusions. The best results were obtained with those patients who underwent craniotomy and biopsy, followed by irradiation therapy.

Regular surveys of heterotrophic microflora from seawater were conducted in the subantarctic (Kerguelen archipelago) and Antarctic (Terre Adélie area). Although a predominance of psychrophilic bacteria could be expected for such polar marine environments, there were no significant differences between results obtained after incubation at two different temperatures (4°C for 21 days or 18°C for 6 days). To investigate this further, four sets of bacterial strains were isolated from the subantarctic area (early fall, late fall, spring, and summer) and one set of Antarctic bacteria was isolated in summer. The growth rates of the 143 strains collected were determined at four different temperatures (4, 7, 20, and 30°C). The results clearly indicated that a large majority of the isolated bacteria must be considered psychrotrophic and not truly psychrophilic strains.