L’épilepsie est une des maladies neurologiques la plus fréquentes dans le monde. Cette maladie constitue un problème de santé publique dans les pays en développement où les ressources médicales et économiques sont faibles pour la prise en charge de cette pathologie. Ce travail de doctorat a été raisonné comme une recherche en santé publique qui vise à analyser la mise en place progressive de la prise en charge des personnes vivant avec une épilepsie (PVE) en République Démocratique Populaire Lao (RDP Lao). Nos travaux de recherche ont été conduits dans un premier temps par des recherches observationnelles,sanctionnées par 5 publications scientifiques concernant le personnel de santé, les médicaments antiépileptiques, l’adhérence au traitement antiépileptique et la prise en charge des enfants épileptiques. Dans un deuxième temps, des recherches interventionnelles ont expérimenté le dépistage actif des PVEs et un suivi à fréquence régulière par des visiteurs (personnels de santé) à domicile. Ce travail a identifié les enjeux de la prise en charge de l’épilepsie en RDP Lao : les croyances socioculturelles, la faible qualification des personnels de santé, le faible approvisionnement en médicaments antiépileptiques et leurs prix élevés. Nos interventions ont été efficaces et ont augmenté le nombre de PVEs traitées dans le système de soin. L’extension spatiale de la prise en charge efficace de l’épilepsie à l’échelle nationale nécessite le renforcement de la capacité des soins au niveau communautaire, d’une gouvernance dédiée, de la contribution de l’Association pour les Personnes avec une Epilepsie (APE) et des acteurs de recherches. / Epilepsy is one of the most common neurological diseases worldwide. It is a public health issuein developing countries, where the medical and economic resources are poor for the case management. This doctoral work was set-up as a public health research, assessing the progressive implementation of the management of people living with epilepsy (PWE) in Lao People’s Democratic Republic (Lao PDR). Our research was conducted first through observational research and produces five scientific publications on the health staff,antiepileptic drugs, management of pediatric cases and treatment adherence. Secondly, interventional research focused on a one-year PWE’s follow-up using active screening and domestic health visitors. This work has identified the challenges of the management of epilepsy in Lao PDR: the socio-cultural beliefs, the low qualification of health staff for epilepsy management, the low antiepileptic drug supply and the high price of the drugs. Our interventions were successful, increasing the number of PWEs treated in the healthcare system. The extension of effective management for epilepsy at a national level requires the strengthening of capacity of healthcare at community level, the governance, the contributions of civil society and research actors.

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Pathogen derived resistance (PDR) is a recent breakthrough where plant hosts can be made to be resistant to viral infections through transformation with conserved viral genes. Given the severity of Tospovirus diseases worldwide (particularly in tomato), PDR has the potential to garner large yield returns where pathogen populations have overcome the established resistance. Tomato breeding lines FLA7804, FLA8044, and the research line MP1 were used in transformation experiments with potions of the Tomato spotted wilt virus (TSWV) N-gene, and two other chimerical viral nucleocapsid gene constructs from, Impatiens necrotic spot virus (INSV), and Groundnut ringspot virus (GRSV). We conducted 19 independent transformations consisting of 300 to 700 14-day old whole cotyledons each for a total number of approximately 9,000 potentially transformed explants. Of those, approximately 6,300 explants failed to produce regenerants, 2,419 explants underwent abnormal development on elongation media, 187 failed to root, and 215 plants to be characterized genetically. Of the 215 plants, 9 were from FLA 7804, 96 from FLA 8044, and 110 from MP1. Both PCR and Southern blot hybridization analysis later confirmed that none of the 215 plants were transgenic. Opposite to tomato, we were able to transform Arabidopsis thaliana ecotype wassilewskija (Ws) via floral dip with the above listed constructs demonstrating that constructs were not deleterious within a plant once fully introgressed. Sixteen independent transformants in the T0 generation resulted from 19,000 germinated seed from three dipped plants resulting in a total transformation rate of 0.08%. Of the 1,000 T1 seed germinated on kanamycin media from each of the 16 putative Arabidopsis plants transformed with the construct containing elements of the N-gene from all three of the aforementioned tospoviruses, four populations exhibited simple Mendelian inheritance of the transgene. DNA walking analysis yielded amplification of the unknown region outside the nptII region of the insert for three of the four remaining transformants, which was subsequently sequenced and mapped to chromosomes 1, 3, and 4. There were 25 T1 individuals selected from each population and transferred to soil for DNA extraction and zygosity determination. Homozygous T2 seed was collected for future resistance studies.

Unexploded Ordnance (UXO) contamination presents a considerable level of danger in almost all post-conflict environments. Globally there are a vast amount of casualties every year. However, accurate numbers of casualties is hard to obtain both globally and locally. The purpose of this thesis is to examine how UXO affects Human Security in Lao PDR. The methodology used is a theory consuming empirical and heuristic method. The thesis is a case study that does not attempt to generalize but to understand and analyze the relation between UXO and Human Security in the context of Lao PDR. The theory used in the thesis is Human Security based on the concept of the 1994 UNDP Human Development Report. The findings of the thesis make clear the connection between UXO contamination and lack of Human Security in Lao PDR. The direct and indirect consequences of UXO contamination are explored. Finally, the thesis works at a broader societal level where the links to poverty and development are illustrated.

The size of the IoT network is expanding due to advancements in the IoT field, leading to increased interest in the multi-sink mechanism. The IPv6 Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) is a representative IoT protocol that focuses on the Low-Power and Lossy Networks. However, research on comparing multi-sink strategies within the RPL network is limited. Therefore, this project aims to compare three common strategies: multiple-DODAG in one instance, virtual root, and multiple-instance. Using these strategies, we design and implement RPL networks and conduct simulations in various scenarios. Five different topologies are utilized in the experiments, considering different packet loss rates. Performance evaluation of each strategy is conducted using the Cooja simulator and Contiki-NG system, with a focus on the number of RPL control packets, Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR), and energy consumption. The results indicate that both the virtual root and multiple-DODAG strategies perform well with low packet loss, while the virtual root strategy outperforms the multiple-DODAG strategy with high packet loss. Additionally, the virtual root strategy incurs slightly higher energy costs than the multiple-DODAG strategy. Furthermore, the multiple-instance strategy demonstrates poor performance in most scenarios, except for the packet delivery ratio under high packet loss conditions. Besides the analysis, potential areas for future research on the RPL’s multi-sink mechanism are finally identified. / Storleken på IoT-nätverket expanderar på grund av framsteg inom IoT-området, vilket leder till ökat intresse för multi-sink-mekanismen. IPv6 Routing Protocol for Low-Power and Lossy Networks (RPL) är ett representativt IoT-protokoll som fokuserar på Nät med låg effekt och förluster. Forskningen om jämförelse av multi-sink-strategier inom RPL-nätverket är dock begränsad. Därför syftar detta projekt till att jämföra tre vanliga strategier: multiple - DODAG i en instans, virtuell rot och multi-instans. Med hjälp av dessa strategier designar och implementerar vi RPL-nätverk och genomför simuleringar i olika scenarier. Fem olika topologier används i experimenten, med olika packet loss rate. Prestationsutvärdering av varje strategi utförs med hjälp av Cooja-simulatorn och Contiki-NG-systemet, med fokus på antalet RPL control packets, Packet Delivery Ratio (PDR) och energiförbrukning. Resultaten indikerar att både virtuell rot och multiple-DODAG strategier fungerar bra vid låg datapaketförlust, medan den virtuella rotstrategin överträffar multiple-DODAG strategin vid hög datapaketförlust. Dessutom medför den virtuella rotstrategin något högre energikostnader än flera DODAG-strategin. Dessutom visar multi-instans-strategin dålig prestanda i de flesta scenarier, förutom när det gäller datapaketleveransförhållandet under höga datapaketförlustförhållanden. Utöver analysen identifieras slutligen potentiella områden för framtida forskning om RPL-protokollets multi-sink-mekanism.

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Mon travail de thèse présente deux types de structures denses : des sources froides compactes détectées par Planck et des condensations denses dans une région de photodissociation (PDR), à savoir la Barre d’Orion. Les deux types de structures sont étroitement liées à la formation des étoiles. Les sources froides sont étudiées comme objets potentiellement gravitationnellement liés, c’est-à-dire comme objets préstellaires. La Barre d’Orion est intéressante en tant que PDR à fort champ UV (G0 ∼104) prototypique, avec plusieurs disques protoplanétaires connus, éclairés par les jeunes étoiles du Trapèze.D’abord, je présente un article publié dans A&A: The Physical state of selected cold clumps. Dans cet article, nous avons comparé les observations du continuum de la poussière par Herschel provenant de l’open time key program Galactic Cold Cores (Herschel) aux observations de raies moléculaires par le radiotélescope de 20-m de l’Onsala Space Observatory en Suède. Les objets ont été sélectionnés en fonction de leur luminosités et faibles températures de couleur des poussières (T∼10−15 K). Nous avons calculé les masses du viriel et de Bonnor-Ebert et les avons comparées aux masses déduites à partir des observations. Les résultats indiquent que la plupart des objets froids observés ne sont pas nécessairement préstellaires.Dans mon étude de la Barre d’Orion, j’utilise des observations de l’instrumentPACS d’Herschel du programme Unveiling the origin and excitation mechanisms of the warm CO, OH and CH+ . Je présente des cartes de 110” ×110” du cation méthylidyne (CH+ J=3-2), des doublets de OH à 84 μm, et des raies de CO á hauts J (J=19-18). C’est la première fois que ces traceurs des PDR ont présentés avec une telle résolution spatiale et un tel rapport signal-sur-bruit.La répartition spatiale de CH+ et OH montre la même structure de la Barre qui a été vue dans d’autres observations. La morphologie du CH+ et H2 confirme que la formation et l’excitation de CH+ est fortement dépendante du H2 excité vibrationnellement. Le maximum d’émission de OH84 μm correspond à un objet brillant jeune, identifié comme le disque protoplanetaire 244-440.Je présente également des transitions rotationnelles de CO de moyenne (∼20 K) et haute (∼1000 K) énergie. La morphologie de l’émission du CO rotationnellement excité est corrélée avec la présence des petites structures denses irradiées. Nous établissons le lien entre le coeur de ces structures, tracé en CS J=2-1 par Lee et al. (2013) et H 13 CN par Lis and Schilke (2003) et le bord de la PDR, tracé en CO J=19-18 et le H 2 vibrationnellement excitée. Nous montrons également que le CO est principalement excité par le chauffage UV. / In this thesis I present a study of two kinds of dense ISM structures: compact cold sources detected by Planck and dense condensations in a photodissociation region (PDR), namely the Orion Bar detected by ground-based and Herschel telescopes. Both kinds of structures are closely related to star formation. The cold sources are investigated as potentially gravitationally bound, prestellar, objects. The Orion Bar is a highly FUV-illuminated (G0=104) prototypical PDR, with several known protoplanetary disks, illuminated by the young Trapezium stars.First I introduce a paper published in A&A: The Physical state of selected cold clumps. In this paper we compared the Herschel dust continuum observations from the open time key program Galactic Cold Cores to ground based molecular line observations from the 20-m radio telescope of the Onsala Space Observatory in Sweden. The clumps were selected based on their brightness and low dust color temperatures (T=10-15 K). We calculated the virial and Bonnor-Ebert masses and compared them to the masses calculated from the observations. The results indicate that most of the observed cold clumps are not necessarily prestellar.Then I move on to the warm and dense condensations of the ISM. In my study of the Orion Bar, I use observations from PACS instrument on board Herschel from the open time program Unveiling the origin and excitation mechanisms of the warm CO, OH and CH+. I present maps of 110”x110” of the methylidyne cation (CH+ J=3-2), OH doublets at 84 µm, and high-J CO (J=19-18). This is the first time that these PDR tracers are presented in such a high spatial resolution and high signal-to-noise ratio. The CH+ and OH have critical densities (1010 cm-3) and upper level energy temperatures (250 K). In addition the endothermicity of the CH+ + H2 reaction (4300 K) that forms CH+ is comparable to the activation barrier of the O + H2 reaction (4800 K) forming OH. Given these similarities it is interesting to compare their emission. The spatial distribution of CH+ and OH shows the same clumpy structure of the Bar that has been seen in other observations. The morphology of CH+ and H2 confirms that CH+ formation and excitation is strongly dependent on the vibrationally excited H2, while OH is not. The peak in the OH 84 µm emission corresponds to a bright young object, identified as the externally illuminated protoplanetary disk 244-440.Finally, I study the high-J CO in the Orion Bar. I also introduce low- and mid-J CO observations of the area. The high-J CO morphology shows a clumpy structure in the Bar and we establish a link between the dense core of the clumps, traced in CS J=2-1 by Lee et al. (2013) and in H13CN by Lis and Schilke (2003). We also show that the high-J CO is mainly excited by the UV heating.

<p>This theses covers the design and implementation of recording functionality for a set-top box in a home network. An initial investigation is done and possibilities for extending the system to support specific features are presented. </p><p>Digital TV is becoming more common each day, and soon it will be more widely used than todays analogue standard. At the same time the need for recording TV shows remains the same or is increasing, which is shown by the number of PVR solutions popping up on the market. </p><p>The goal of this thesis work was to investigate the possibilities for extending an existing set-top box to support common PVR features and, if possible, to implement a prototype. This was supposed to be done in a home network environment with the set-top box as the digital media center. </p><p>A satisfying solution, covering basic recording functionality is defined and implemented. The solution includes recording to a USB hard drive and to a PC on the local network. On top of this, a graphical user interface is built and some simple benchmarks show the performance of the set-top box with the new functionality.</p>

The aim of the thesis is to investigate patterns and consequences of internal and international migration in Laos during the period 1985-2005 on both a macro-and a micro-level. The thesis focuses on the influences of socio-economic change and government policies on inter-regional and rural-urban migration as well as on crossborder migration from Laos to Thailand. The study also examines the effects of migration and industrial factory work on gender relations during economic transition and consequences of undocumented migration to Thailand. The background consists of a discussion on socio-economic change within the country and on government policies influencing migration patterns, as well as on how socio-economic change, urbanization and industrialization in the region affect internal and international migration in Laos. The thesis consists of three empirical studies which derive from different sources of data; the first is based on Population Censuses in 1995 and 2005 and the second and the third draw from empirical surveys in 2004-2005 and 2006. Paper I focuses on how socioeconomic factors and government policies influence migration patterns in Laos. The paper found that the interregional migration rate decreased in the later census period. This was due to significantly higher rural-rural migration in the earlier period, which in turn was influenced by various types of government policies. Papers II and III are based on micro surveys; paper II focuses on an urban industrial area in Vientiane Capital and explores the current feminization of rural-urban migrations during economic transition with specific focus on the effects of industrial work on gender roles and status of women as industrial workers. Industrial work was seen by the women as temporary jobs for saving money, for sending remittances, and for either returning home or moving to other jobs in Vientiane or Thailand. Paper III is based on surveys in three provinces, and deals with undocumented migration from Laos to Thailand and its consequences. Different income levels, existing social networks, similar language and socio-cultural backgrounds were determinants of cross-border migrations. The study found that migrants who had contacts with informal brokers were highly exposed to risks of human trafficking and violence.

This thesis looks at the introduction of educational action research as part of the national education reforms in Lao PDR. National policies on education emphasise concepts such as ‘education for all’ and ‘student-centred education’ taken from the globalised education reform agenda. Action research became a tool to implement the new pedagogy of student-centred education that was labelled ‘the five-pointed star’. The thesis contributes to the field of global policy studies. It combines global and contextual aspects in order to analyse how action research travelled from policy to practice. This process was part of a Lao national education reform that developed after the introduction of the new economic mechanism, when the previous socialist planned-economy system was replaced by a globalised market-oriented system. Data were collected from national policy documents, international donor documents, instructional material, and interviews with Lao educators involved with action research in different ways. Furthermore, we carried out action research as part of our own teaching duties in Lao PDR, which were subsequently documented and analysed. In this study of educational reform in Lao PDR we have found that an educational approach like action research that is introduced as part of a taken-for-granted global agenda of change, is reduced to a technical rationality and practices that resemble previous experiences. Our findings are explained from the theoretical perspectives of hidden policy ensembles and policy backlashes. Hidden policy ensembles reduce action research to a technical rationality due to their alien cultural and social connections that are not brought into the open at the reform arena. Policy backlashes become a way for practitioners to create meaning based on previous contextual practices, conceptions, and discourses as a consequence of the technical rationality created by the hidden policy ensembles and the use of the cascade model. The thesis concludes with an outline of a possible future educational development in the form of a critical and educative action research network in Lao PDR that is inspired by cross-cultural dialogue, a critical pedagogy of place, and our own action research experiences.