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Mouse models that carry mutations causing thalassemia represent a suitable tool to testin vivonew mutation-specific therapeutic approaches. Transgenic mice carrying theβ-globin IVSI-6 mutation (the most frequent in Middle-Eastern regions and recurrent in Italy and Greece) are, at present, not available. We report the production and characterization of a transgenic mouse line (TG-β-IVSI-6) carrying the IVSI-6 thalassemia point mutation within the humanβ-globin gene. In the TG-β-IVSI-6 mouse (a) the transgenic integration region is located in mouse chromosome 7; (b) the expression of the transgene is tissue specific; (c) as expected, normally spliced humanβ-globin mRNA is produced, giving rise toβ-globin production and formation of a human-mouse tetrameric chimeric hemoglobinαmu-globin2/βhu-globin2and, more importantly, (d) the aberrantβ-globin-IVSI-6 RNAs are present in blood cells. The TG-β-IVSI-6 mouse reproduces the molecular features of IVSI-6β-thalassemia and might be used as anin vivomodel to characterize the effects of antisense oligodeoxynucleotides targeting the cryptic sites responsible for the generation of aberrantly splicedβ-globin RNA sequences, caused by the IVSI-6 mutation. These experiments are expected to be crucial for the development of a personalized therapy forβ-thalassemia.

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International audience

International audience; Three unpublished versions of the beginning of the Book of Nut (§ 1-4) are published in this article. They all come from Late Period Theban Tombs in the Asasif necropolis (Montuemhat, Padiamenope, Pabasa). They share the peculiarity of being depicted on the walls (and not under the ceiling as expected) in order to relate the end of the night described in the Book of Nut (§ 1-4) to the concluding sunrise scene in the Book of Gates.

Polymers have become an important material group in fabricating discrete photonic components and integrated optical devices. This is due to their good properties: high optical transmittance, versatile processability at relative low temperatures and potential for low-cost production. Recently, nanoimprinting or nanoimprint lithography (NIL) has obtained a plenty of research interest. In NIL, a mould is pressed against a substrate coated with a moldable material. After deformation of the material, the mold is separated and a replica of the mold is formed. Compared with conventional lithographic methods, imprinting is simple to carry out, requires less-complicated equipment and can provide high-resolution with high throughput. Nanoimprint lithography has shown potential to become a method for low-cost and high-throughput fabrication of nanostructures. We show the development process of nano-structured, large-area multi-parameter sensors using Photonic Crystal (PC) and Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) methodologies for environmental and pharmaceutical applications. We address these challenges by developing roll-to-roll (R2R) UV-nanoimprint fabrication methods. Our development steps are the following: Firstly, the proof of concept structures are fabricated by the use of wafer-level processes in Si-based materials. Secondly, the master molds of successful designs are fabricated, and they are used to transfer the nanophotonic structures into polymer materials using sheet-level UV-nanoimprinting. Thirdly, the sheet-level nanoimprinting processes are transferred to roll-to-roll fabrication. In order to enhance roll-to-roll manufacturing capabilities, silicone-based polymer material development was carried out. In the different development phases, Photonic Crystal and SERS sensor structures with increasing complexities were fabricated using polymer materials in order to enhance sheet-level and roll-to-roll manufacturing processes. In addition, chemical and molecular imprint (MIP) functionalization methods were applied in the sensor demonstrators. In this paper, the process flow in fabricating large-area nanophotonic structures by the use of sheet-level and roll-to-roll UV- nanoimprinting is reported. cop. 2014 SPIE. Organisation: Brussels Photonics Team (B-PHOT); Brussels-Capital Region; Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO); The Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE); Ville de Bruxelles

conférence-débat à l’Institut de recherche et d’études sur la Méditerranée et le Moyen-Orient (IREMMO), youtube. com/watch?v=kehJabuhfLU

Polymers have become an important material group in fabricating discrete photonic components and integrated optical devices. This is due to their good properties: high optical transmittance, versatile processability at relative low temperatures and potential for low-cost production. Recently, nanoimprinting or nanoimprint lithography (NIL) has obtained a plenty of research interest. In NIL, a mould is pressed against a substrate coated with a moldable material. After deformation of the material, the mold is separated and a replica of the mold is formed. Compared with conventional lithographic methods, imprinting is simple to carry out, requires less-complicated equipment and can provide high-resolution with high throughput. Nanoimprint lithography has shown potential to become a method for low-cost and high-throughput fabrication of nanostructures. We show the development process of nano-structured, large-area multi-parameter sensors using Photonic Crystal (PC) and Surface Enhanced Raman Scattering (SERS) methodologies for environmental and pharmaceutical applications. We address these challenges by developing roll-to-roll (R2R) UV-nanoimprint fabrication methods. Our development steps are the following: Firstly, the proof of concept structures are fabricated by the use of wafer-level processes in Si-based materials. Secondly, the master molds of successful designs are fabricated, and they are used to transfer the nanophotonic structures into polymer materials using sheet-level UV-nanoimprinting. Thirdly, the sheet-level nanoimprinting processes are transferred to roll-to-roll fabrication. In order to enhance roll-to-roll manufacturing capabilities, silicone-based polymer material development was carried out. In the different development phases, Photonic Crystal and SERS sensor structures with increasing complexities were fabricated using polymer materials in order to enhance sheet-level and roll-to-roll manufacturing processes. In addition, chemical and molecular imprint (MIP) functionalization methods were applied in the sensor demonstrators. In this paper, the process flow in fabricating large-area nanophotonic structures by the use of sheet-level and roll-to-roll UV- nanoimprinting is reported. cop. 2014 SPIE. Organisation: Brussels Photonics Team (B-PHOT); Brussels-Capital Region; Fonds Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek (FWO); The Society of Photo-Optical Instrumentation Engineers (SPIE); Ville de Bruxelles

Thermal R2RNIL process is used for various different polymer films and coated substrates. We have used e.g. polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), CA and polycarbonate (PC) films, conducting polymers, such as polyaniline coated films [4, 5], and very recently nanofiber cellulose films in our experiments. A result indicates that by optimization of the printing parameters linewidths down to 50 nm is possible using R2R process at least with 1:1 aspect ratio. However in many target applications the targeted pattern size will be 500 nm and up to 100 micrometer. These kinds of application are optical lenses on plastic films, backlight/frontlight in displays and microchannels for fluidics. In this presentation several applications will be shown and R2RNIL process suitability for different features will be discussed.

Thermal R2RNIL process is used for various different polymer films and coated substrates. We have used e.g. polymethyl-methacrylate (PMMA), polyethylene terephthalate (PET), CA and polycarbonate (PC) films, conducting polymers, such as polyaniline coated films [4, 5], and very recently nanofiber cellulose films in our experiments. A result indicates that by optimization of the printing parameters linewidths down to 50 nm is possible using R2R process at least with 1:1 aspect ratio. However in many target applications the targeted pattern size will be 500 nm and up to 100 micrometer. These kinds of application are optical lenses on plastic films, backlight/frontlight in displays and microchannels for fluidics. In this presentation several applications will be shown and R2RNIL process suitability for different features will be discussed.

Un aride desert et une campagne magnifique entre deux remparts de montagnes, voila l’Egypte.Amr Ibn al-A’as au Calife ’Umar L’espace hydropolitique constitue par le Nil est l’exemple type de l’espace « createur cree ». Sans lui, l’Egypte ne serait probablement qu’un vaste desert avec quelques points de peuplement, les cotes n’etant pas beaucoup plus habitees. C’est sur un tel espace que se sont succedes civilisations et conquerants, c’est un tel espace qui a donne a l’Egypte son aspect geogra...

The harsh conditions of the Mediterranean coast contrast with those of the Nile valley. The coast is also an area of strategic importance, a frontier with Israel. These factors have justified the substantial development of irrigation in the area around the Suez canal. Further east, the harnessing of water resources, initiated by the Israelis, has given rise to an original form of agricultural development. The future of the region is conditioned as much by its water resources as by the problematic international litigation over the Nile's waters., Le littoral méditerranéen du Sinaï contraste par la rigueur de ses conditions naturelles avec la vallée du Nil. Mais c'est aussi un espace stratégique, un front pionnier face à Israël. Ces données justifient un effort d'équipement hydraulique considérable aux abords du canal de Suez. Plus à l'Est, l'exploitation des nappes phréatiques, initiée par les Israéliens, donne lieu à un développement agricole original. L'avenir de la région n'en est pas moins conditionné par une dotation en eau que le litige international sur les eaux du Nil rend problématique., Bethemont Jacques, Faggi Pierpaolo. Originalité, potentialités et limites de l'agriculture dans le Nord-Sinaï / Originality, potentialities and limits of agriculture in North Sinai. In: Revue de géographie de Lyon, vol. 73, n°3, 1998. Géographie sociale de l'Egypte : ouverture et cloisonnement. pp. 239-245.

Background Verticillium longisporum is a soil-borne vascular pathogen infecting cruciferous hosts such as oilseed rape. Quantitative disease resistance (QDR) is the major control means, but its molecular basis is poorly understood so far. Quantitative trait locus (QTL) mapping was performed using a new (Bur×Ler) recombinant inbred line (RIL) population of Arabidopsis thaliana. Phytohormone measurements and analyses in defined mutants and near-isogenic lines (NILs) were used to identify genes and signalling pathways that underlie different resistance QTL. Results QTL for resistance to V. longisporum-induced stunting, systemic colonization by the fungus and for V. longisporum-induced chlorosis were identified. Stunting resistance QTL were contributed by both parents. The strongest stunting resistance QTL was shown to be identical with Erecta. A functional Erecta pathway, which was present in Bur, conferred partial resistance to V. longisporum-induced stunting. Bur showed severe stunting susceptibility in winter. Three stunting resistance QTL of Ler origin, two co-localising with wall-associated kinase-like (Wakl)-genes, were detected in winter. Furthermore, Bur showed a much stronger induction of salicylic acid (SA) by V. longisporum than Ler. Systemic colonization was controlled independently of stunting. The vec1 QTL on chromosome 2 had the strongest effect on systemic colonization. The same chromosomal region controlled the level of abscisic acid (ABA) and jasmonic acid (JA) in response to V. longisporum: The level of ABA was higher in colonization-susceptible Ler than in colonization-resistant Bur after V. longisporum infection. JA was down-regulated in Bur after infection, but not in Ler. These differences were also demonstrated in NILs, varying only in the region containing vec1. All phytohormone responses were shown to be independent of Erecta. Conclusions Signalling systems with a hitherto unknown role in the QDR of A. thaliana against V. longisporum were identified: Erecta mediated resistance against V. longisporum-induced stunting. Independent of Erecta, stunting was caused in a light-dependent manner with possible participation of SA and Wakl genes. ABA and JA showed a genotype-specific response that corresponded with systemic colonization by the fungus. Understanding the biological basis of phenotypic variation in A. thaliana with respect to V. longisporum resistance will provide new approaches for implementing durable resistance in cruciferous crops. peerReviewed

Near-isogenic lines (NILs) are a critical genetic resource for the soybean research community. The ability to identify and characterize the genes driving the phenotypic differences between NILs is limited by the degree to which differential genetic introgressions can be resolved. Furthermore, the genetic heterogeneity extant among NIL sub-lines is an unaddressed research topic that might have implications for how genomic and phenotypic data from NILs are utilized. In this study, a recently developed high-resolution comparative genomic hybridization (CGH) platform was used to investigate the structure and diversity of genetic introgressions in two classical soybean NIL populations, respectively varying in protein content and iron deficiency chlorosis (IDC) susceptibility. There were three objectives: assess the capacity for CGH to resolve genomic introgressions, identify introgressions that are heterogeneous among NIL sub-lines, and associate heterogeneous introgressions with susceptibility to IDC. Using the CGH approach, introgression boundaries were refined and previously unknown introgressions were revealed. Furthermore, heterogeneous introgressions were identified within seven sub-lines of the IDC NIL ‘IsoClark’. This included three distinct introgression haplotypes linked to the major iron susceptible locus on chromosome 03. A phenotypic assessment of the seven sub-lines did not reveal any differences in IDC susceptibility, indicating that the genetic heterogeneity among the lines does not have a significant impact on the primary NIL phenotype.

The residual layer inherent for nanoimprinting is usually taken to be a problem in the process. We exploit the residual layer in fabrication of the complex free-standing membranes by growing a layer of Al2O3 or Al2O3/TiO2 lamellae by ALD directly on top of the nanoimprinted polymer film, following by removal of the sacrificial polymer layer.

A phylogeographic study was conducted on the Nile grass rat, Arvicanthis niloticus, a rodent species that is tightly associated with open grasslands from the Sudano-Sahelian regions. Using one mitochondrial (cytochrome b) and one nuclear (intron 7 of Beta Fibrinogen) gene, robust patterns were retrieved that clearly show that (i) the species originated in East Africa concomitantly with expanding grasslands some 2 Ma, and (ii) four parapatric and genetically well-defined lineages differentiated essentially from East to West following Pleistocene bioclimatic cycles. This strongly points towards allopatric genetic divergence within savannah refuges during humid episodes, then dispersal during arid ones; secondary contact zones would have then stabilized around geographic barriers, namely, Niger River and Lake Chad basins. Our results pertinently add to those obtained for several other African rodent as well as non-rodent species that inhabit forests, humid zones, savannahs and deserts, all studies that now allow one to depict a more comprehensive picture of the Pleistocene history of the continent south of the Sahara. In particular, although their precise location remains to be determined, at least three Pleistocene refuges are identified within the West and Central African savannah biome.

Plasmonic metasurface coloration has attracted considerable attention in recent years due to its industrial potential. So far, demonstrations have been limited to small patterned areas fabricated using expensive techniques with limited scalability. This study elevates the technology beyond the common size and volume limitations of nanofabrication and demonstrates aluminum-coated polymer-based colored metasurfaces of square-centimeter size by embossing, injection molding, roll-to-roll printing, and film insert molding. Different techniques are compared and the requirements and bottlenecks in terms of master fabrication, replication, metallization, and protection coating for large-scale production of sub-wavelength metasurfaces are discussed. Most notably, it is demonstrated that plasmonic metasurface colors are compatible with film insert molding. The results indicate a promising future for plasmonic colors as a viable alternative for decorating mass-produced polymer parts.

Buscar dar una definición inmediata, clara y precisa de lo que es K-teoría sería pretencioso y por demás limitante para una teoría que ha permeado muchas y variadas ramas de la matemáticas, por mencionar algunas: topología, geometría algebraica y teoría de números. La K-teoría algebraica, rústicamente dicho, asocia a cada anillo R grupos abelianos Ki (R), i ∈ Z, vamos que la K-teoría “luce”, para fijar ideas, como una teoría de homología de anillos . Nosotros abarcaremos solamente los casos i = 0, 1, 2 que son, por así decirlo, los más accesibles computacionalmente. Los casos de K-teoría negativa vienen dados como co-nucleos de ciertas aplicaciones [Bass, Chap XII] y se definen de manera recursiva, mientras que para i ≥ 3 se requirió el genio de Quillen para definirse y requiere comenzar en el algebra, pasar a la topología y grupos de homotopía. El resultado medalla Fields para Quillen y un universo en el cual trabajar para todos los matemáticos. En el presente trabajo de tesis nos propusimos estudiar los llamados Nil-grupos de Bass de los anillos de grupo Z[C p2 ] y Z[C p × C p ]. La definición de los Nil-grupos de Bass se da al considerar un anillo R y buscar calcular la K-teoría de su anillo de polinomios R[x] o bien, su anillo de poli nomios de Laurent R[x, x ], como su nombre indica, son el nucleo de un homomorfismo llamado aumentación obtenido de inducir en K-teoría el homomorfismo de anillos x → 0. Los resultados obtenidos son nuevos. Esta tesina tiene como antecedente el árticulo de C. Weibel [We] en el cual los cálculos son desarrollados para el caso p = 2, nosotros generalizamos estos resultados para un número primo cualquiera. Weibel explota la estructura de modulos sobre el anillo de vectores de Witt y nosotros simplemente confinamos el trabajo a estudiarlos como grupos abelianos.

La lagune du Maryût se situe sur la marge nord-occidentale du delta du Nil, dans la région d’Alexandrie, en Egypte. Son évolution a été mise en évidence sur la base d’analyses biosédimentologiques. A partir de ~8 000 ans cal. B.P., la lagune se met en place en relation avec la transgression marine holocène. Cette lagune fut alors rapidement confinée en arrière de cordons littoraux, dans un contexte de progradation du delta. Un premier biofaciès indique des conditions de confinement jusqu’à ~4 800 ans cal. B.P., puis un second biofaciès témoigne d’une ouverture aux influences marines jusqu’à ~3 200 ans cal. B.P. Le passage de ce milieu lagunaire confiné à un environnement plus ouvert aux influences marines s’effectue vers ~4800 ans cal. B.P., lorsque les débits du Nil diminuent de manière importante dans un contexte d’aridification du climat. En comparaison avec le modèle stratigraphique de remblaiement des milieux littoraux à l’Holocène, qui décrit la continentalisation des environnements de dépôts en un point donné, la lagune du Maryût présente une évolution géomorphologique originale, qui conduit à l’ouverture du milieu lagunaire entre ~4 800 et ~3 200 ans cal. B.P. Pour cette période, nous observons l’alternance des deux biofaciès avec une périodicité très rapide, d’ordre pluri-décennale. Cette phase d’instabilité environnementale paraît être corrélée à une variabilité accrue des débits du Nil. Notre étude permet donc de préciser la chronologie et la spécificité hydrosédimentaire de la marge nord occidentale du delta. Maryut lagoon is situated on the north-western margin of the Nile Delta, near Alexandria in Egypt. Its evolution has been reconstructed through the biosedimentological study of ten radiocarbon-dated borings. The lagoon was formed at about ~8,000 years cal. B.P., during the marine transgression, before being rapidly isolated from the sea by a sand barrier during the progradation of the Nile Delta coastline. A first biofacies highlights confined ecological conditions until ~4,800 years cal. B.P., followed by a second biofacies that records a more open lagoon until ~3,200 years cal. B.P. Transition towards a more open lagoon is recorded when the Nile’s discharge strongly decreased during a period of regional aridification. Then, we describe the alternation of two biofacies with a much finer resolution, each lasting several decades. This phase of environmental change appears to be correlated with higher fluctuations in Nile discharge. Our study refines the chronology and the hydrosedimentary specificity of the northwestern delta margin.

International audience; La Corne de l'Afrique : une région qui n'évoque guère que famines, guerres, anarchie et insécurité. L'année 2011 n'a certes pas dérogé à ce registre : la précarité des conditions naturelles s'y conjugue toujours avec le poids de l'histoire pour y exacerber les tensions autour de l'accès aux ressources. Pourtant, des éléments de stabilisation, sans doute temporaires et annonciateurs de recompositions à venir, sont à relever. Un Grand Jeu s'esquisse, où l'Ethiopie, géant régional, tente de s'imposer tandis que le Soudan désormais divisé tente d'échapper à la désintégration.

The efficiency of an organic photovoltaic cell depends mainly on its morphology where an exciton has to migrate to a p-n junction to create a photocurrent. Therefore the distance from the bulk of the cell to a junction interface should not exceed the diffusion length of the exciton. In this thesis, two novel lithographical methods, to produce specific polymer morphologies, were developed and evaluated. In the first method, called embedded annealing, self-assembled polystyrene colloids were embedded in a polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) film and annealed under an electric field to produce a bi-polymer structure consisting of polymer columns in a thin film of PDMS. Polymer colloids were successfully assembled into two dimensional hexagonally close packed arrays. However, the annealing process was unsuccessful. The second method, imprint annealing, aimed to increase the aspect ratio (height/width) of thermally imprinted micrometer sized polystyrene features by annealing them in uniform electric fields. The results showed that the aspect ratio of imprinted features can be significantly increased, 21-fold, while maintaining the periodicity of the original imprint. This is in contrast to previous results where smooth polymer films annealed in uniform fields where the periodicity of the resulting structures cannot be independently controlled, and are highly sensitive to the electrode spacing. Feature sizes down to 1 µm and aspect ratios up to 4.5 were achieved using imprint annealing. Verkningsgraden hos en hos en solcell beror, för givna material, framförallt på dess uppbyggnad. För att bidra till fotoströmmen måste en genererad exciton vandra till en pn-övergång. På grund av detta bör det längsta avståndet till närmaste pn-övergång i solcellen inte vara längre än excitonens diffusionslängd. I detta examensarbete testas två olika litografiska metoder för att åstadkomma en specifik filmgeometri lämpad för organiska solceller. Den första metoden, kallad embedded annealing, går ut på att bädda in spontant ordnade sfäriska polystyrenkolloider i en polydimetylsiloxan (PDMS) -film för att sedan vid förhöjd temperatur applicera ett elektiskt fält över filmen. Förhoppningen var att på detta sätt töja ut kolloiderna till pelare genom PDMS-filmen. I det första steget ordnades kolloiderna sponant i tätpackade hexagonala tvådimensionella gitter på kiselsubstrat. Experimenten lyckades inte med hjälp av elektriska fält töja ut kolloiderna. Den andra metoden, imprint annealing, syftar till att öka höjd/bredd -förhållandet och minska diametern hos präglade polystyrenstrukturer. Dessa ursprungliga topografiska stukturer skapas med hjälp av en tryckpressmetod kallad nanoimprinting. Dessa strukturer värmdes upp, och ett uniformt elekrisk fält applicerades över dem. Mina resultat visar att man med elektriska fält avsevärt kan öka höjd-breddförhållandet hos polymerstrukturer och samtidigt bevara periodiciteten hos de ursprungliga strukturerna. Detta står i kontrast mot tidigare resultat på släta filmer, där periodiciteten inte kan kontrolleras oberonde av andra parametrar. Med imprint annealing ökades höjd-breddförhållandet hos enskilda strukturer upp till 21 gånger. Diametrar ner till 1 µm och höjd/breddförhållanden upp till 4,5 uppnåddes.

The Artemidorus papyrus contains an unfinished map and beside it a geographical description of Iberia. Firstly I try to demonstrate that the map can not be a representation of Iberia, for the sake of its regional or even microregional scale. There is a strong probability that it represents a part of the Nile's delta. Secondly, the description of columns IV-V is discussed from the point of view of the mental representation and the cartographic vision it involves. This documents sheds light on the history of late Hellenistic cartography, insofar as it helps to understand the evolution of spatial perception from Eratosthenes to Agrippa. Artemidorus' figure of Iberia is based on a geometrical construction that partly derives from Polybius and the Hellenistic tradition, but it also includes original features that reveal the Roman environment of his inquiry, in several fields such as choronymy, provincial organization and limits, road network, measures based on Roman miles... Finally, Artemidorus' influence appears to be deeper on Varro and Agrippa than on Posidonius and Strabo., Le papyrus d'Artémidore contient, à côté d'une carte sans légendes, une description géographique de l'Ibérie. On défend l'idée que la carte ne peut figurer l'Ibérie, car son échelle est régionale ou micro-régionale ; plusieurs indices laissent penser qu'elle représente une partie du delta du Nil. La description des colonnes IV et V est ensuite envisagée dans sa globalité et sous le rapport de la représentation cartographique qu'elle suppose. Ce document jette un éclairage déterminant sur l'histoire de la cartographie tardo-hellénistique, dans la mesure où il permet de mieux comprendre l'évolution de la perception spatiale de la péninsule Ibérique entre l'époque d'Ératosthène et celle d'Agrippa. Artémidore fut, un peu avant 100 a.C., le premier géographe de langue grecque à enregistrer et à prendre en compte de façon cohérente les transformations choronymiques, territoriales et administratives qu'entraîna la conquête romaine. Sa dépendance à l'égard de sources romaines apparaît notamment dans le fait que son « périple » est partiellement basé sur un itinéraire côtier terrestre dont les mesures de distances, originellement en milles romains, sont converties en stades. S'il maintient des affinités avec Polybe du point de vue de l'orientation de la péninsule, il n'exerce qu'une influence limitée sur Posidonius et Strabon. C'est plutôt chez Varron et Agrippa qu'il faut chercher ses héritiers et ses continuateurs.

PubMed: 22766498 The floral buds of Iris flowers (Iris x hollandica) are enclosed by two sheath leaves. Flower opening depends on lifting the flower up to a position whereby the tepals can move laterally. This upward movement is carried out by elongation of the subtending pedicel and ovary. In the pedicels and ovaries of unstressed control flowers, the concentration of ACC (1-aminocyclopropane-1-carboxylic acid) and the rate of ethylene production increased during d 0-1 of flower opening, and then decreased. Exposure to ?200nLL-1 ethylene for 24h at 20°C inhibited elongation of the pedicel+ovary, and inhibited flower opening. However, pulsing of unstressed flowers with solutions containing inhibitors of ethylene synthesis (AOA, AVG), or an inhibitor of ethylene action (STS), did not affect pedicel+ovary elongation or flower opening. When the flowers were dehydrated for 2 d at 20°C and 60% RH, they did not open when subsequently placed in water, and showed inhibited elongation in the pedicel+ovary. This dehydration treatment resulted in elevated pedicel+ovary ACC levels and in increased ethylene production. Treatment with STS prevented the increase in ACC levels and ethylene production, overcame the effect of dehydration on elongation of the pedicel+ovary, and resulted in full flower opening. It is concluded that flower opening in unstressed Iris flowers is not regulated by endogenous ethylene. An increase in endogenous ethylene above normal levels during stress, by contrast, strongly inhibited flower opening, due to its inhibitory effect on elongation of the pedicel+ovary. © 2012 Elsevier GmbH. Fisun Çelikel received a grant from the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature Management and Fisheries of the Netherlands . The help of Harmannus Harkema and Ernst J. Woltering in this project is gratefully acknowledged.

We present the most recent results of EU funded project P3SENS (FP7-ICT-2009.3.8) aimed at the development of a low-cost and medium sensitivity polymer based photonic biosensor for point of care applications in proteomics. The fabrication of the polymer photonic chip (biosensor) using thermal nanoimprint lithography (NIL) is described. This technique offers the potential for very large production at reduced cost. However several technical challenges arise due to the properties of the used materials. We believe that, once the NIL technique has been optimised to the specific materials, it could be even transferred to a kind of roll-to-roll production for manufacturing a very large number of photonic devices at reduced cost.

International audience; Le bassin du Nil est en ébullition. Les bouleversements politiques en Egypte, la partition du Soudan et la montée en puissance de l’Ethiopie sont autant d’éléments de changements dans la région. C’est dans ce contexte que la question du partage du Nil entre les différents pays riverains est récemment revenue sous les feux de l’activité. Les Etats d’amont se sont en effet coalisés pour contester les droits de l’Egypte sur les eaux du Nil tels qu’ils sont précisés par les accords de 1929 et de 1959. Depuis ces accords, Le Caire et Khartoum se partagent l’essentiel des volumes du fleuve. L’intensification des revendications des Etats d’amont, doublée de certains projets de développement hydraulique dans ces pays, peut donc avoir des conséquences pour les pays d’aval, particulièrement l’Egypte dont la sécurité alimentaire est déjà menacée tandis que les territoires habitables sont limités par le fort aréisme qui sévit dans le pays.

Le Sud-Soudan a obtenu son indépendance par la voie de la démocratie, après 50 années de lutte armée. Une guerre qui continue de déchirer le pays. La gestion des ressources en eau est un des principaux défis que le nouvel état va devoir relever. Une des premières conditions à une bonne gestion de l’eau est de connaître ses ressources afin d’en préserver la pérennité. L’accès à l’eau est un toujours été un enjeu crucial pour les populations. Le Sudsoudan manque d’infrastructures et de moyens. Les conditions politiques instables n’aident pas le pays à se construire et à évoluer sur les voies d’un développement durable. Il devra être soutenu et aider à établir une bonne gouvernance, car sans bonne gouvernance, pas d’accès à l’eau potable.

Instituto de Física y Matemáticas. Facultad de Ciencias Físico Matemáticas. Unidad Morelia del Instituto de Matemáticas de la UNAM. Programa Conjunto de Maestría en Matemáticas In the present work of thesis we set out to study the so-called Nil-groups of Bass of the rings of group Z [C p 2] and Z [C p × C p]. The definition of the Bass Nil-groups is given by considering a ring R and seeking to compute the K-theory of its ring of polynomials R [x] or its ring of Laurent polynomials R [x, x -1], As its name implies, are the nucleus of a homomorphism called increase obtained by inducing in K-theory the ring homomorphism x → 0. The results obtained are new. This thesis has as antecedent the article of C. Weibel [We] in which the calculations are developed for the case p = 2, we generalize these results for a prime number anyone. Weibel explores the structure of modules on the vector ring of Witt and us we simply confine the work to studying them as abelian groups. We begin with the classical definitions of K 0 with finitely generated projective modules, K 1 as the abelianization of GL, the infinite linear general group with entries in a ring and K 2 seen as problems of central extensions. In the second chapter we discuss properties of the previously defined groups, in particular we study how these groups with respect to ideals, a tool that is fundamental to this work. In the third chapter we define properly the Bass Nil-groups, some properties of these groups (being imprecise and colloquial we can say that if it is valid for the groups K i is highly probable that it is worth for NK i) and address the problem. En el presente trabajo de tesis nos propusimos estudiar los llamados Nil-grupos de Bass de los anillos de grupo Z [C p 2] y Z [C p × C p]. La definición de los Nil-grupos de Bass se da al considerar un anillo R y buscar calcular la K-teoría de su anillo de polinomios R[x] o bien, su anillo de polinomios de Laurent R [x, x −1], como su nombre indica, son el núcleo de un homomorfismo llamado aumentación obtenido de inducir en K-teoría el homomorfismo de anillos x → 0. Los resultados obtenidos son nuevos. Esta tesina tiene como antecedente el artículo de C. Weibel [We] en el cual los cálculos son desarrollados para el caso p = 2, nosotros generalizamos estos resultados para un numero primo cualquiera. Weibel explota la estructura de módulos sobre el anillo de vectores de Witt y nosotros simplemente confinamos el trabajo a estudiarlos como grupos abelianos. Comenzamos por las definiciones clásicas de K 0 con módulos proyectivos finitamente generados, la de K 1 como la abelianización de GL el grupo general lineal infinito con entradas en un anillo y de K 2 visto como problemas de extensiones centrales. En el segundo capítulo abordamos propiedades de los grupos previamente definidos, en concreto estudiamos cómo se comportan estos grupos respecto de ideales, herramienta que es fundamental para este trabajo. En el tercer capítulo definimos propiamente los Nil-grupos de Bass, algunas propiedades de estos grupos (siendo imprecisos y coloquiales podemos decir que si vale para los grupos K i es altamente probable que valga para NK i) y abordamos el problema.

In this work, the angular positioning accuracy was evaluated by imprinting gratings with 250 nm features into thermoplastic polymer by varying the angle by 15° steps. The quality of the imprints was evaluated by optical and AFM microscopy. The theta angle of the gratings was measured by SEM. In figure fourteen imprints with theta angles between -90° and +90° are shown.

In this work we demonstrate the fabrication of backlight device on 50 mm wide and 95 micron thick cellulose acetate (CA) web. The size of backlight structure is 30 mm x 60 mm consisting a blocks of 5 micron wide cavities.

This work deals with a basic question of modern science and it is its indefectibility. Quality of education is reduce to an evaluation of conformity to a common known knowledge and its quantity representation. Seeds of this long process go back to an ancient academia of Gondisapur established in an Arabic world. Author proclaims that the main goal of philosophy is to show, that this is not the only way of thinking and in the same time that the main goal and power of phenomenology is to apply the transcendental epoche to overcame the truth in its regularization shape. The hardcore of modern science is located in the world of mathematics and a lot of thinkers find the Math as a land of pure sureness - the core of this work in an opposite proofs, that in fact nowadays math is all, but the correct way of thinking. The two examples are explicit: the Pythagorean Theorem and the Sum of the geometric row. This work brings a quite new view on the mathematical problem of "the point" and "the nothing" as a border of things. In the second part uses as a frame of its topic the first 18 §§ of the work "Paradoxes of the infinite" by Czech mathematician of German mother tongue Bernard Bolzano. The important idea of this study is a new ontological view on the set of prime numbers.

In this work, the angular positioning accuracy was evaluated by imprinting gratings with 250 nm features into thermoplastic polymer by varying the angle by 15° steps. The quality of the imprints was evaluated by optical and AFM microscopy. The theta angle of the gratings was measured by SEM. In figure fourteen imprints with theta angles between -90° and +90° are shown.

In this paper bottom gate bottom contact organic thin film transistors utilizing R2R-processes for gate manufacturing, application of dielectric, application of imprint resist, and hot-embossing of source-drain patterns are demonstrated. Also the other process steps involved in the manufacturing process i.e. dry etching, evaporation of source-drain electrodes, lift-off, and evaporation of semiconductor can be made in a roll-to-roll fashion, thus making the manufacturing route roll-to-roll compatible. The work presented in this paper demonstrates that roll-to-roll NIL is applicable to create source-drain structures with channel lengths much smaller than achieved by other traditional R2R-printing techniques.

In this work, we used a poly(methyl methacrylate) (PMMA) substrate which was at first pre-patterned with a nanoscale binary line grating by thermal NIL. A rather thick polymer slab (3 mm) ensured a sufficient mechanical stability when the substrate is exposed to the heat load of a second thermal imprint step. The linear grating was replicated onto the PMMA slab at 165 °C. A reduced pressure of 0.25 MPa enabled the generation of a surface patterning without reducing the slab thickness, which was previously observed for increased temperatures and imprint pressure. The second imprint was added into the linear surface-gratings by thermal imprinting using a nickel stamp with micron scale blaze gratings. The rotation controlled patterning was realized by Step and Stamp Imprint Lithography (SSIL) using NPS300 nanoimprinting stepper with rotation imprint head. The rotating head introduces ability to control X/Y positioning and angular orientation of the stamp. The imprinting head can be rotated between -90° and +90° with accuracy of 0.1°

This paper deals with roman fortifications in the Nile valley from the mouth of Delta to site of Qasr Ibrim located between first and second cataract. Period described in this paper can be limit by two dates. Beginning lay in the year 30BC, when Egypt became a roman province. The end of this period is year AD 641, when the city of Alexandria capitulated to Arab conquerors. The paper focuses on the architecture of forts and archaeological excavations.

[eng] New Generation Lithographic (NGL) techniques have been recently investigated in order to overcome the limitations of the long-used UV lithography. Several techniques have been proposed during the last decades, but the continued improvement of UV lithography rendered them useful only for a limited number of applications. More recently, nanoimprint lithography (NIL), invented in the nineties, has been considered as the new NGL due to its extreme simplicity and high resolution. Thermal NIL consists in the deformation of a thermoplastic under pressure and temperature by a nanostructured mold, while UV-NIL consists in the polymerization by UV light of a monomer at room temperature and under a lower pressure than Thermal NIL. One of the main problems of this technique is mold-polymer separation after the process. This problem is especially important for UV-NIL, because the working treatments for Thermal NIL degrade with UV light. In order to assess this problem, thin diamond-like amorphous carbon films (DLC) have been proposed as an alternative to existing treatments for their low chemical reactivity and the possibility to incorporate other chemical elements to further reduce their surface energy. Amorphous carbon exists in different forms, depending on how it is grown. Its mechanical properties range from polymer or graphite-like to almost as resistant as diamond. Besides the excellent mechanical properties of DLC (high hardness, elasticity and wear resistance, and low dry friction), amorphous carbon has also been found useful in applications requiring inert and/or biocompatible surfaces. The project DPI2007-61349 of the Science and Innovation Department of Spain, named “Amorphous carbon molds for micro and nanoimprint of polymeric surfaces”, aims to study the effect of the incorporation of different elements in DLC films for the improvement of NIL molds. This thesis has focused on a series of objectives of this project: - Design and construction of a very high vacuum reactor for deposition processes and ionic etch - Incorporation of fluorine to amorphous carbon films and subseqüent characterization by different surface, mechanical and tribological techniques, as well as spectroscopy for the characterization of the plasma used for the process. - Set up and optimization of a deep ion etch technique with ion beam for the production of molds. - The use of different lithographic techniques oriented to the production in large scale of nanometric patterns. - The exploration of mold coating to increase its durability and antisticking properties in nanoimprint processes. The incorporation of fluorine in DLC films has demonstrated to be useful in the improvement of the properties of NIL molds, because it avoids the use of the current surface treatments, which in addition to being less durable, can react with polymers in presence of UV light. In this thesis, the influence of fluorine incorporation in the films has been studied. Fluorinated amorphous carbon films have been deposited by pulsed-DC plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition, by progressively replacing methane by trifluoromethane. The experimental device used for deposition has been designed and built to allow a number of multiple processes in the same reactor. The results of the study demonstrate the feasibility of this technique, of easy industrial implementation, for the deposition of this type of coatings. The characterization of both the active species in the plasma and the groups incorporated into the deposited films has helped to understand the process of fluorine incorporation, as well as the change in the surface properties that it entails., [spa] La dificultad de extender el uso de la litografía de luz ultravioleta (UV) a los cada vez más estrictos requisitos de resolución, llevaron desde hace ya un par de décadas, a plantearse la necesidad de buscar técnicas litográficas llamadas de “Nueva Generación” (NGL) que las superasen. Son diversas las técnicas se han ido proponiendo durante estos años, pero la mejora de la litografía UV las ha ido relegando fuera del ámbito industrial. Más recientemente, la litografía por nanoestampación (NIL), ha tomado fuerza como la nueva NGL por su extrema sencillez y por su demostrada elevada resolución. La NIL térmica (T-NIL) consiste en la deformación de un termoplástico bajo presión y temperatura por un molde con estructuras nanométricas, mientras que la NIL por UV (UV-NIL) consiste en la polimerización de un monómero a temperatura ambiente con menor presión ejercida por un molde transparente al UV. Uno de los principales problemas de esta técnica es la separación de molde y polímero, una vez finalizado el proceso. Como alternativa a los tratamientos existentes, se han propuesto los recubrimientos de carbono amorfo tipo diamante (DLC) por su baja reactividad química, elevada dureza y posibilidad de incorporación de otros elementos químicos a fin de reducir su energía superficial. El proyecto del Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación DPI2007-61349, “Moldes de carbono amorfo para micro y nanograbado de superficies poliméricas”, en el cuál se ha enmarcado esta tesis, pretende estudiar los efectos de la incorporación de diferentes elementos en capas de DLC para la mejora de los moldes de NIL. La incorporación de flúor en capas de DLC ha demostrado recientemente ser útil en la mejora de las propiedades de los moldes de NIL, porque evita el uso de los actuales tratamientos superficiales (por ejemplo siloxanos), los cuales, además de ser menos duraderos, pueden reaccionar con los polímeros en presencia de luz UV. Así, en esta tesis se ha estudiado la influencia de la incorporación de flúor a capas de DLC en la composición y en las propiedades de superfície obtenidas.

UV nanoimprint lithography (UV-NIL) is applied for the fabrication of metallic scanning probe microscopy (SPM) tips. The NIL templates are generated by focused ion beam (FIB) processing. The tips are imprinted by UV-NIL using a resist which is a mixture of Ag particles and an UV-curing polymer. After imprinting, tips are further shaped by FIB to achieve a high aspect ratio and a small radius at the apex. The resulting tips are analyzed and methods for increasing the metal-to-polymer ratio are presented and discussed.

With our novel production method biopolymer micro cantilevers can be manufactured cheap and easily, rendering the measurement of degradability a matter of a few days. Our micro cantilevers are made of the PLLA (poly-l-lactide), measure 100 x 500 x 10 µm (width, length, height) but are positioned on a supporting body chip to allow handling with tweezers. As biopolymers are to fragile to process with standard silicon techniques we developed a fabrication method using nanoimprint lithography, where the chip structure is defined by pressing a stamp into the biopolymer layer. This has previously only been done with ordinary plastics. The degradation is then evaluated by placing the chip in a solution and measuring its resonance frequency, which depend on the cantilever mass. As proof of concept this measurement was also performed.

Roll-to-roll UV imprinting for UV curable resists will be an excellent alternative when low pressure and adhesion force is needed. In this work we demonstrate roll-to-roll UV stamp manufacturing principle and continuous roll-to-roll UV imprinting process.

La fresa es uno de los frutos con mayor cuota en la exportación de frutas y hortalizas en nuesto país. Sin embargo, la naturaleza octoploide de su genoma ha lastrado históricamente las investigaciones genéticas en esta especie. La fresa diploide constituye un excelente modelo para el estudio de las bases genéticas que gobiernan la calidad del fruto de fresa y de otras especies de la familia Rosaceae, dado que es una planta pequeña, de ciclo de vida corto, posee un genoma muy pequeño, es susceptible de ser transformada y regenerada con facilidad, se reproduce tanto de manera sexual como asexual y produce gran cantidad de descendientes en una sóla generación. Además, los genomas diploide y octoploide del género Fragaria presentan un alto grado de sintenia y colinearidad. Es por ello que en este trabajo de Tesis Doctoral se ha escogido Fragaria vesca como modelo para el desarrollo de herramientas genómicas encaminadas a localizar en su genoma los factores genéticos que determinan las principales características agronómicas y nutricionales que más interesan al sector fresero, de cara a la mejora genética de la especie. Este trabajo se compone de dos partes. En la primera parte se detalla el desarrollo de herramientas moleculares para el estudio del genoma de Fragaria diploide como la mejora del mapa genético de referencia del género, mediante la transformación de algunos marcadores moleculares en marcadores de tipo PCR y la incorporación de nuevos marcadores, la generación y caracterización de una genoteca de BACs para la confección de un mapa físico del género y el mapeo genético de genes candidatos, seleccionados para la calidad del fruto y obtenidos mediante la transferencia de marcadores del género Prunus al género Fragaria. En la segunda parte, se detalla el desarrollo de una serie de poblaciones segregantes generadas con objeto de crear una colección de líneas de introgresión a partir de las especies diploides Fragaria vesca var. ‘Reine des Vallées’ (conocida como Reina de los Valles en nuestro país) y la especie silvestre Fragaria bucharica. Esta colección de líneas ha sido obtenida tras dos rondas de retrocruzamientos seguidas de una autofecundación, mediante selección asistida por marcadores. La colección consta de 30 líneas cuyo genoma es esencialmente igual al del parental recurrente, F. vesca, a excepción de un segmento definido por marcadores moleculares, heredado del parental donante, F. bucharica. Cada una de las líneas posee un segmento o introgresión diferente, de manera que la suma de todas las introgresiones cubre más del 97% del genoma de Fragaria diploide. Las introgresiones tienen un tamaño medio de 43 cM, proporcionando una resolución media para el mapeo de 16,9 cM. Dado que la mayoría de las líneas ha heredado más del 90% del genoma del parental recurrente, y puesto que éste es un cultivar comercial, la genoteca presentada aquí es, además, un recurso precompetitivo que puede ser usado en mejora genética. La caracterización preliminar de algunas de las líneas obtenidas mediante el análisis de algunos caracteres agronómicos como el tiempo de floración, la fenología de la planta, la resistencia a enfermedades, así como el tamaño y la forma de sus hojas y frutos ha permitido identificar ciertas regiones genómicas que parecen estar controlando estos caracteres en el género Fragaria, demostrando que ésta colección de líneas de introgresión es una herramienta muy eficaz para la identificación y disección de caracteres complejos. Además, se ha localizado un nuevo locus implicado en la autoincompatibilidad asociada a algunas especies del género y se han desarrollado líneas que pueden propagarse vegetativamente ya que, pese a ser comercial, la variedad ‘Reine des Vallées’ no produce estolones.

Roll-to-roll UV imprinting for UV curable resists will be an excellent alternative when low pressure and adhesion force is needed. In this work we demonstrate roll-to-roll UV stamp manufacturing principle and continuous roll-to-roll UV imprinting process.

In the high volume manufacturing long term stability of process the parameters is essential. In this work we demonstrate the fabrication of backlight device on 50 mm wide and 95 micron thick cellulose acetate (CA) web (from Clarifoil). Optical binary grating design and Ni-mold were produced by Modines Ltd. The fabrication process for flexible Ni-master is shown e.g. in ref. The size of backlight structure is 30 mm x 60 mm consisting a blocks of 5 micron wide cavities as shown in Fig. 1. More than 500 devices was printed on CA-film in continuous roll-to-roll process. Printing speed was varied from 0.1 to 1.0 m/min when temperature was maximized at 118 oC, which is close to the glass transition temperature (125 oC) of CA film. Pressure of ca. 20 MPa was applied in the process. These parameters were optimized for continuous printing process. Higher temperatures or pressures can lead to a break of the web, which prevents continuous processing. In this process we have used a custom made nanoimprinter device.

The notion of a 'major river' is analysed using a series of interrelated criteria, and is applied to a number of actual cases : Nile, Amazon, Yangtse-kiang, Mississippi and Saint Lawrence. For each of these rivers, the author considers the uses of the resource, the pressure that it has to support and the priority actions for environmental management. This latter issue is studied in detail for the Saint Lawrence., La notion de "grand fleuve" est analysée à partir de plusieurs critères croisés et appliqués à quelques cas concrets, Nil, Amazone, Yangtsekiang, Mississippi et Saint-Laurent. Pour chacun de ces fleuves, sont envisagés les usages de la ressource, la pression qu'elle supporte et les actions prioritaires en matière de gestion environnementale. Les modalités de la gestion environnementale du Saint-Laurent font l'objet d'un développement particulier., Lamontagne Michel, Baribeau Thérèse. L'évaluation comparative des grands fleuves / The comparative Evaluation of Major Rivers. In: Revue de géographie de Lyon, vol. 67, n°4, 1992. La gestion environnementale des grands bassins fluviaux. pp. 265-273.