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The tropical forests of Indochina harbor a suite of globally threatened tropical mammal species. These species are difficult to detect, and subsequently understudied. Noninvasive camera trapping was used to survey terrestrial mammals from a protected area in southeastern Lao PDR (Xe Sap National Protected Area). The presence-absence of four mammals (mainland serow Capricornis milneedwardsii, muntjac Muntiacus spp., macaque Macaca spp., and wild pig Sus scrofa) was modeled in an occupancy framework thereby accounting for detection probabilities. Our goals were to establish baseline occupancy data to assist with biological monitoring and to better understand the factors influencing the distribution of the target species. Naïve occupancy, or the proportion of sites at which the target species was detected, was 0.58 for muntjac, 0.55 for macaque, 0.38 for wild pig, and 0.30 for serow. True occupancy estimates (Ψ ± SE) from top-ranked models was 0.79 ± 0.21 for macaque, 0.74 ± 0.13 for muntjac, 0.51 ± 0.13 for wild pig, and 0.48 ± 0.18 for serow. The results underscore the importance of accounting for imperfect detection rates when studying rare or elusive species. I included two site covariates (forest type and distance to nearest village) in the occupancy models. Estimating occupancy as a function of site covariates improved model performance and provided insight into landscape-level factors that affect species occurrence. In the top-ranked models, serow occupancy was higher in hill evergreen forest (HEGF) than semi-evergreen forest (SEGF). Muntjac occupancy was higher in areas further from villages. Macaque occupancy was higher in areas closer to villages. Wild pig occupancy was higher in areas further from villages and in HEGF. I recommend using an occupancy framework to analyze occurrence data for difficult-to-study tropical mammal species. The results highlight the importance of Xe Sap NPA for large mammal conservation in the region. / text

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Abstract The present thesis describes the development of a novel method, referred to as xenon porometry, for the determination of the structural properties of porous materials by means of xenon NMR spectroscopy. The method exploits the high sensitivity of the chemical shift of the ¹²⁹Xe isotope to its local environment. The purpose of the medium added to the sample is to slow down the diffusion of xenon so that the NMR signal of a xenon atom is characteristic of the properties of one pore, and the signals of all the atoms in the sample represent the distribution of the properties. Two types of porous materials (controlled pore glasses and silica gels) with well-known properties and three different media (acetonitrile, cyclohexane, and naphthalene) were used in the studies. The behavior of the medium and dissolved xenon at different temperatures around the melting point of the medium was explained. By varying the pore size of the material, three different correlations that make it possible to measure the pore sizes of unknown materials were experimentally determined. The chemical shift of xenon inside pockets built up in the pores during solidification of the medium turned out to be especially sensitive to pore size, and this correlation makes it possible to determine the pore size distribution. The curious behavior of the chemical shift as a function of pore size was explained by using a model based on the fast exchange between xenon adsorbed on the walls of the pockets and free xenon in the middle of the pockets. It was also proved that the porosity of the materials can be determined by comparing the intensities of two signals originating from xenon dissolved in a liquid medium. A comparison of the xenon porometry method with other methods used for pore size characterization leads to the following conclusions: The range of applications of the method is relatively wide, the measurements are fast and easy to do, the analysis of the spectra is simple on the basis of the information presented in this thesis, and the properties of the materials can be extracted from the spectral data with basic mathematical conversions. Because there are several different types of correlations available in the same spectra that represent the properties of the porous material, the complementary information of all the correlations make it possible to obtain a picture of the structures of very complex systems.

Sieben fibrogene und fünf nicht fibrogene (inerte) Mineralstäube wurden auf ihr Adsorptionsvermögen gegenüber Lipoproteinen untersucht. Die Adsorption erfolgte aus menschlichem Serum bzw. bovinem Lipoproteinkonzentrat. Die spezifischen Oberflächen der Stäube wurden mit Hilfe einer neuen Methode ermittelt, die auf der Adsorption von Nonadecansäure beruht. Sie vernachlässigt Oberflächenporen mit Öffnungsdurchmessern / Seven fibrogenic and five nonfibogenic (inert) mineral dusts were examined for their adsorption capacity for lipoproteins. Lipoproteins came from human serum and bovine lipoprotein- concentrate. The specific surface areas of the dusts were determined with the help of a new method, which is based on the adsorption of nonadecanoic acid. It neglects surface pores with opening diameters less than 2,5nm. The most important result is that fibrogenic dusts adsorb significantly more high density lipoproteins (HDL), than the inert dusts. The adsorption of HDL on quartz can be reduced up to 96% by addition of Polyvinylpyridine-N-oxide (PVPNO), an inhibitor of quartz- induced fibrosis. The HDL- adsorption might play a role during the developing process of mineral-dust-induced fibrosis.

Flexible metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) are capable of changing their crystal structure as a function of external stimuli such as pressure, temperature, and type of adsorbed guest species. DUT-49 is the first MOF exhibiting structural transitions accompanied by the counterintuitive phenomenon of negative gas adsorption (NGA). Here, we present high pressure in situ ¹²⁹Xe NMR spectroscopic studies of a novel isoreticular MOF family based on DUT-49. These po-rous materials differ only in the length of their organic linkers causing changes in pore size and elasticity. The series encompasses both, purely microporous materials as well as materials with both, micropores and small mesopores. The chemical shift of adsorbed xenon depends on xenon-wall interactions and thus, on the pore size of the material. The xenon adsorption behavior of the different MOFs can be observed over the whole range of relative pressure. Chemical shift adsorption/desorption isotherms closely resembling the conventional, uptake-measurement based isotherms were obtained at 237 K where all materials are rigid. The comparable chemical environment for adsorbed xenon in these isoreticular MOFs allows establishing a correlation between the chemical shift at a relative pressure of p/p₀ = 1.0 and the mean pore diameter. Furthermore, the xenon adsorption behavior of the MOFs is studied also at 200 K. Here, struc-tural flexibility is found for DUT 50, a material with an even longer linker than the previously known DUT-49. Its structural transitions are monitored by ¹²⁹Xe NMR spectroscopy. This compound is the second known MOF showing the phenomenon of negative gas adsorption. Further increase in the linker length results in DUT-151, a material with interpenetrated network topology. In situ ¹²⁹Xe NMR spectroscopy proves that this material exhibits another type of flexibility compared to DUT-49 and DUT-50. Further surprising observations are made for DUT-46. Volumetric xenon adsorption measurements show that this non-flexible microporous material does not exhibit any hysteresis. In contrast, in situ ¹²⁹Xe NMR spectroscopically detected xenon chemical shift isotherms exhibit a hysteresis even after longer equilibration times than in the volumetric experiments. This indicates kinetically hindered re-distribution processes and long-lived metastable states of adsorbed xenon within the MOF persisting at the time scale of hours or longer.

No description available.

Cerebrospinal fluid is examined using a variety of methods, which also include determining the number and type of each cell. Now the method of the first choice to determine the cellular elements is a microscopic method. This determination, however, can also be done using the analyzer method, which is not yet so widespread. The aim of my thesis was to compare these two methods and determine whether the examination of cerebrospinal fluid on the analyzer Sysmex XE-5000 in the "Body Fluid" mode can replace commonly used microscopic methods. To this purpose, we gathered the laboratory data measured by using both these methods. These data was compared, evaluated and statistically processed. The resulting data suggest that the values measured on the analyzer Sysmex XE-5000 are more accurate than from microscopic determination, especially at highly cell samples of cerebrospinal fluid. To this end, we came evaluation of Bland-Altman graphs and comparison graphs with marked of limits of physiological oligocytosis. For checking of the accuracy of measurements, we verified the repeatability of the analyzer for the values of leukocytes and erythrocytes, coefficients of variation corresponding to the values specified by the manufacturer's documentation. We also investigated the stability of samples of...

Ce mémoire traite de l’histoire politique et dynastique de l’empire byzantin du Xe au début du XIIe siècle, et propose de réinterpréter certaines querelles de succession et la stratégie, matrimoniale et politique, des grandes familles aristocratiques. Partant de la querelle de 1118 qui opposa Jean II à sa soeur Anne pour la succession d’Alexis Ier, l’analyse montre que ce conflit recouvrait l’opposition entre deux sources de légitimité, les Comnènes et les Doukai, et de deux principes, primogéniture masculine et primogéniture « absolue ». Cette hypothèse est confirmée par une analyse des relations avant et après le couronnement d’Alexis Ier : la campagne d’Alexis contre Roussel de Bailleul, le contexte des fiançailles d’Alexis Comnène et d’Irène Doukaina, ou la prise de Constantinople sont particulièrement revisités. Ayant dû accorder des garanties à sa belle-famille Doukas, Alexis Ier va utiliser les interdictions de mariage et les circonstances diplomatiques pour annuler les fiançailles de sa fille et de Constantin Doukas, le fils de Michel VII. L’analyse se poursuit par une étude de la révolte de 1057 et met en évidence que Constantin (X) Doukas et Isaac (Ier) Comnène étaient alors les défenseurs des héritières de Constantin Dalassènos, qui était, avec Romain (III) Argyros, le chef d’une des deux familles apparentées par mariage avec les Lécapènes et les Macédoniens. Après avoir vu la stratégie matrimoniale de Romain Ier Lécapène, l’étude montre que Constantin VIII maria sa fille Zôè tardivement afin de réserver le pouvoir à ses lointains cousins et ainsi établir par la pratique un règle de succession à Byzance. / This study deals with the political and dynastic history of the Byzantine empire from the 10th to the early 12th centuries. It offers a reinterpretation of some succession crises and of the matrimonial and political strategy of great aristocratic families. About the conflict which opposed John II and his sister Anna on the succession of Alexius I in 1118, the analysis shows that this conflict was also the opposition of two sources of legitimacy: the Doukas and Comnenus families, and of two principles: masculine and absolute primogeniture. This hypothesis is confirmed by an analysis of the relations between both families before and after Alexis I’s accession: Alexius’ campaign against Roussel, the context of his betrothal with Irene Doukaina, of the taking of Constantinople are particularly revisited. Having reluctantly given warrants to his step-family, Alexius I uses marriage prohibitions to cancel his sister’s betrothal with Constantine Doukas, Michael VII’s son. The study then deals with the revolt of 1057, and shows that Constantine (X) Doukas and Isaac (I) Comnenus were the defenders of the female heirs of Constantine Dalassenos, who was, along with Romanos (III) Argyros, the head of one of the two families related to the Lecapenus and Macedonian dynasties. After an analysis of Romanus I’s matrimonial strategy, the study shows that Constantine VIII married his daughter Zoe so late because he wanted to reserve the power to his distant relatives and thus to establish, through practice, a succession rule in Byzantium.

La présente étude s'inscrit dans le débat à propos d'une éventuelle " mutation féodale " autour de l'an mil. Il s'agit d'étudier l'aristocratie laïque durant les Xe et XIe siècles, en prêtant une égale attention aux ressorts matériels et idéologiques de sa domination sociale. La signification des transformations que connaît alors l'écriture diplomatique étant au cœur de la controverse, le choix a été fait de partir des sources hagiographiques originaires des abbayes d'Aurillac, Conques et Figeac. Mais le discours hagiographique présente ses propres biais. Afin de s'en prémunir au mieux, on a confronté autant que possible les affirmations des sources hagiographiques aux informations disponibles grâce à d'autres types de documents. La démonstration procède en deux étapes. En recourant aux méthodes de l'hagiologie, la première partie permet de contextualiser la production hagiographique et de s'interroger sur les conditions de sa réception : on s'aperçoit que si les textes latins sont d'abord destinés à être lus par des clercs, de multiples canaux de diffusion orale permettaient aux hagiographes de s'adresser également aux laïcs, en particulier à l'aristocratie. La seconde partie étudie l'évolution de la domination aristocratique à travers ce que permet d'en percevoir l'hagiographie. Elle montre qu'un certain nombre de transformations ont eu lieu dès le début du Xe siècle et permettent de parler d'une " mutation de l'an 900 " : l'émergence de la chevalerie, la mise en place de la féodalité, la montée en puissance des sires, l'importance des châteaux et des milites sont autant de phénomènes qui datent de cette époque. Toutefois, l'an mil connaît deux ajustements non négligeables : le redéploiement de l'identité aristocratique autour des châteaux et le passage d'une conception cognatique de la parenté noble à une autre d'avantage agnatique.