Le poisson Astyanax mexicanus présente, au sein de la même espèce, plusieurs populations de poissons de rivières (SF) et de poissons de grottes aveugles (CF). Chez les poisons cavernicoles aveugles, les yeux se développent presque normalement pendant l’embryogenèse. Mais 24 heures après la fécondation (hpf), quand l’embryon éclot, le cristallin entre en apoptose, ce qui déclenche la dégénérescence progressive de l’œil entier. Mon projet de thèse visait à comprendre le mécanisme conduisant à l’apoptose du cristallin, jusqu’alors totalement incompris, en partant du postulat selon lequel le défaut devait avoir lieu pendant les stades précoces du développement du cristallin. Le cristallin se développe à partir d’une placode, un épaississement de l’ectoderme au stade neurula. Toutes les placodes, qui donnent naissance à des organes des sens de la tête, sont issues du champ panplacodal, situé à la bordure de la plaque neurale antérieure à 10 hpf. Nous avons comparé la régionalisation de ce champ chez les deux morphes, par hybridations in situ de gènes marqueurs des différentes placodes. Chez le CF, le territoire présomptif du cristallin est réduit à 10 hpf, et le cristallin est plus petit à tous les stades étudiés. D’autre part, la placode olfactive est étendue, et donne naissance à un épithélium olfactif plus large chez le CF. Les modifications de taille de ces deux placodes pourraient être le résultat évolutif d’un « trade-off » entre ces deux composantes sensorielles. La régionalisation modifiée du champ panplacodal chez le CF est due au moins partiellement à des différences spatiales et temporelles d’expression des molécules de signalisation Shh, Fgf, et peut-être Bmp4.Nous avons pensé que la petite taille du cristallin pouvait être la cause directe de son entrée en apoptose, par un défaut d’effet de communauté. Nous avons réalisé une ablation laser partielle des cellules précurseurs du cristallin à 12-14 hpf chez l’embryon SF, mimant ainsi la taille du cristallin CF. L’apoptose dans le petit cristallin des larves SF à 60 hpf n’a pas été augmentée, ce qui montre que la petite taille n’est pas suffisante pour induire l’apoptose.L’apoptose du cristallin pourrait aussi provenir de défauts de morphogenèse ou d’un problème de lignage cellulaire. Nous utilisons donc l’imagerie biphoton in vivo sur des embryons SF et CF, de 10 à 24 hpf, préalablement injectés au stade une cellule avec des ARNm de H2B-mCherry et Ras-GFP pour marquer les noyaux et les membranes. Les premiers résultats sur les poissons de surface montrent que nous pouvons suivre à rebours les cellules du cristallin de la fin du film jusqu’au champ panplacodal, et étudier la morphogenèse et les divisions.La différenciation du cristallin est également affectée chez le CF : au moins 5 cristallines, qui sont des protéines structurales du cristallin, ne sont pas exprimées correctement chez le CF, d’après des hybridations in situ et des qPCR. Cependant, le rôle fonctionnel de deux de ces modifications d’expression a été testé, et individuellement, elles n’expliquent pas le phénotype apoptotique. Nous émettons l’hypothèse qu’une combinaison de défauts d’expression de plusieurs cristallines serait à l’origine de l’apoptose du cristallin CF. Enfin, et plus largement, les forces évolutives qui ont conduit à la perte de l’œil chez Astyanax mexicanus ne sont pas encore comprises. Par une étude d’évolution moléculaire à l’échelle du transcriptome nous avons identifié des mutations fixées entre SF et CF, et avons pu mettre en évidence une accumulation de mutations dans des « gènes d’yeux » chez les CF. Cela suggère un relâchement de la pression de sélection sur ces gènes, peut-être devenus inutiles dans l’obscurité. De même, les séquences des cristallines de CF paraissent accumuler des mutations fixées à un taux élevé vu leur bas niveau de polymorphisme. / The fish Astyanax mexicanus presents, within the same species, several populations of river-dwelling surface fish (SF) and blind cave-living fish (CF). In blind cavefish, the eyes first develop almost normally during embryogenesis. But 24 hours after fertilization (hpf), when the embryo hatches, the lens enters apoptosis, which triggers the progressive degeneration of the entire eye. My thesis project aimed at understanding the mechanism leading to lens apoptosis, which was so far unknown. We reasoned that the defect(s) should take place during the early stages of lens development. The lens develops from a placode, a thickening of the ectoderm at the neurula stage. All placodes, giving rise to sense organs of the head, originate from the “panplacodal” field, located at the border of the anterior neural plate at 10 hpf. We compared the patterning of the panplacodal field in the 2 morphs, using in situ hybridizations for placodal marker genes. In CF, the lens placode territory is reduced at 10 hpf, and the lens is smaller at all stages examined. Conversely, the olfactory placode is enlarged, and gives rise to a bigger olfactory epithelium in CF. The modifications in size of these two placodes could result evolutionarily from a trade-off between these two sensory components. Developmentally, the modified patterning of the panplacodal field in CF is at least partly due to the spatial and temporal differences in the expression of Shh and Fgf (and perhaps Bmp4) signaling molecules.We hypothesized that the small size of the lens could be the direct cause of its apoptosis, through a lack of community effect. We performed partial laser ablation of lens precursor cells at 12-14hpf in surface fish (thereby mimicking the CF lens size). Apoptosis in the resulting small lens of SF larvae at 60hpf was not enhanced, showing that small size is not sufficient to induce apoptosis. Lens apoptosis could also result from morphogenesis defects or from a problem in cell lineage. We are performing two-photon live imaging, from 10 to 24 hpf, of SF and CF embryos previously injected at the one cell stage with H2B-mCherry and Ras-GFP mRNAs to label nuclei and membranes. First results on surface fish show that we can back-track lens cells to the panplacodal field, and follow morphogenesis and divisions. Lens differentiation is also affected in cavefish: at least 5 crystallins, which are lens structural components, are not expressed correctly in CF, based on in situ hybridization and qPCR data. However the functional role of two of these expression modifications / losses was tested and, individually, they don’t seem to explain the apoptosis phenotype. We propose that a combination of several crystallins expression defects would explain CF lens apoptosis.Finally, and more globally, evolutionary forces that led to eye loss in Astyanax mexicanus are not yet understood. Through a transcriptome-wide molecular evolution approach, we identified fixed mutations in transcripts between SF and CF, and we could show an accumulation of mutations in “eye genes” in CF. This suggests that the selection is relaxed on these genes, that have maybe become useless in the dark. Similarly, CF crystallin sequences seem to accumulate fixed mutations at a high rate, considering their low polymorphism level.

Since the end of the Cold War, political and geographical realities have changed considerably. One such reality was the balance of power between East and West, which was especially visible in Europe. The contest between rivals, the Warsaw Pact and the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO), was over. Ultimately, NATO found itself the pre-eminent security organisation in Europe. The new post-cold war environment forced questions about the appropriate role for NATO. However, that changed with both the process of NATO expansion into former Warsaw pact countries and the ethnic conflicts throughout the former Yugoslavia. NATO found a new purpose during the violent dissolution of Yugoslavia as ‘peace-enforcer’ in the Balkan region. The focus of this thesis is NATO’s role in peace-enforcement in the former Yugoslavia. It examines how NATO dealt with the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Warsaw Pact. Specifically, how NATO managed to re-establish its relevance as a security organisation. NATO’s military intervention in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Kosovo were crucial in securing the end of hostilities in both those regions. NATO’s Implementation Force (IFOR), Stabilisation Force (SFOR) and Kosovo Force (KFOR) all played significant roles in subsequent peace-enforcement and peace-building roles in the region by suppressing violence through power projection and institution building. In 2001, NATO undertook a third operation in the Balkans, that time of a more limited nature, disarming ethnic Albanians in the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia. NATO’s presence there also encouraged stability. This thesis argues that, ultimately, NATO maintained its relevance by the establishing a new role for itself after the Cold War through Eastward expansion and in suppressing ethnic conflict in the Balkans. Both these roles have been successful. The decisive interventions in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Kosovo and FYROM forced the belligerents to stop fighting. NATO’s subsequent enforcement of the peace has stopped each conflict from flaring up again. With NATO membership now including most of Europe, it remains the only viable security organisation on the continent. NATO’s effectiveness as a security organisation was demonstrated with its ability to end the conflict in the Balkans and providing a stable environment for the people of the region. This intervention was crucial to the definition of a new role for NATO in the post-Cold War world. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1320482 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- University of Adelaide, School of History and Politics 2008

Contemporary peacekeeping missions are complex, demanding, and potentially hazardous. There is general agreement that psychological factors are crucial to effective individual and collective performance of the military personnel deployed in support of these missions. This research has examined the human dimensions associated with capability, functioning, and health across the deployment cycle. The aim of this research was to increase understanding of the psychological issues associated with peace support operations at the individual, group, and organisational levels. The study applied precepts of the transactional model of stress (Lazarus & Folkman, 1984) to the context of military deployment on peace support operations. The overarching Human Dimensions of Operations model for this research incorporated stressor, buffer, and outcome components within the multi-level structure of the military organisation and across the stages (pre, peri, post) of deployment. Participants were Canadian and Australian military personnel deployed on Peace Support Operations. The dissertation comprised seven chapters. Chapter One provided an introduction to the psychological challenges posed by peace support operations and the research opportunities these missions afford. The second chapter detailed the methodology and psychometric evaluation of several measurement scales that were developed as part of this research in order to address the unique characteristics of peace support operations. Each of the six scales examined proved to have a meaningful component structure and adequate subscale reliabilities. The third chapter was devoted to an examination of the psychometric properties of a measure of psychological climate factors, the Unit Climate Profile (UCP), which was the cornerstone instrument of this research. The UCP demonstrated a robust, multi-dimensional structure that was conceptually concordant with its theoretical development and design. In addition, the component structure of the UCP changed in meaningful ways according to its level of analysis - individual or group. The next three chapters examined human dimension constructs at different stages of deployment, notably psychological readiness for operations, psychological resilience during deployment, and readjustment following return from deployment. In Chapter Four, the most compelling structural model that examined collective psychological readiness demonstrated that perceptions of readiness at the group level, along with effective senior leadership, could significantly impact morale. The results in Chapter Five revealed that leadership both buffered the immediate impact of stressors, and also fostered meaning and morale, thereby reducing strain. Positive aspects of deployment and the personal meaning assumed to be derived from these experiences were also found to bolster morale significantly during deployment. In Chapter Six, the stressors specific to the postdeployment transition phase, rather than stressors encountered during deployment, had the strongest impact on postdeployment adjustment. Social support and a positive psychological climate in the unit (particularly evidenced by cohesiveness and caring behaviour by proximal leaders) moderated the impact of homecoming stressors. A concluding chapter summarised the dissertation and discussed its practical significance and avenues for the dissemination of its findings. Broadly, the outcomes demonstrated that an understanding of the human factors in military units within the context of the stressors-strain relationship can provide potentially useful information to commanders who want to enhance the well-being, performance, and commitment of Service members deployed on peace support operations. / http://proxy.library.adelaide.edu.au/login?url= http://library.adelaide.edu.au/cgi-bin/Pwebrecon.cgi?BBID=1331630 / Thesis (Ph.D.) -- School of Psychology, 2008

La microscopie à force atomique (AFM) dynamique est née il y a maintenant presque quinze ans (Albrecht, 1991). Depuis la première image en résolution atomique (F. J. Giessibl, 1995), les avancées de cette technique de champ proche permettent aujourd'hui de manipuler des atomes à température ambiante (Oyabu, 2005) sur des surfaces conductrices ou isolantes. La compréhension du fonctionnement de cette machine complexe et l'optimisation des réglages des nombreux asservissements est un des objectifs de ce travail de thèse. A cette fin, un formalisme analytique provenant des méthodes de l'Automatique non linéaire (J. Ch. Gille, 1956) sera introduit pour traiter de façon naturelle les blocs de régulation de la machine mais aussi pour traiter l'interaction pointe-surface comme une fonction de transfert. Un outil numérique de simulation confirmera notre approche théorique. Dans un deuxième temps, le rôle capital de la sonde et sa caractérisation seront traités à travers une méthode expérimentale simple et originale. Cette méthode se base sur l'étude des changements des propriétés de résonance de la sonde oscillante sur des surfaces isolantes et conductrices. Les forces conservatives à longue portée du type électrostatique et van der Waals seront quantifiées. Les forces à courte portée essentiellement chimiques seront mises en évidence en mesurant la dissipation de la sonde oscillante en fonction de sa distance avec la surface. Nous finirons cette étude en montrant expérimentalement, sur un sytème MoS2/îlots d'or/molécules d'octanedithiol, la grande versatilité de ce microscope. En effet, cet appareil d'observation par sa complexité apparente laisse beaucoup de degrés de liberté à l'utilisateur pour aborder l'étude d'un tel système physicochimique. Des perspectives seront données pour améliorer la stabilité et le pouvoir de résolution des pointes qui permettraient de rendre pérenne cette technique de champ proche.

<p>Interoperabilitet blir viktigare och viktigare för Sveriges del, även för funktionen sjukvård. Denna uppsats kommer att behandla likheter och skillnader mellan sjukvårdsdoktriner, handböcker och reglementen med NATO:s och framförallt Norges motsvarigheter, för att undersöka om den svenska Försvarsmakten sjukvårdsorganisation är interoperabel, och för att finna saker som kan förändras för att öka effektiviteten och interoperabiliteten. Under uppsatsen dras slutsatser som att svenska Försvarsmakten tagit åt sig stora delar av de kunskaper som NATO tidigare har gjort. Sverige ”kopierar” delar av NATO:s doktrin för sjukvård, NATO AJP-4,10 Allied joint medical support doctrine. Saker som skulle kunna påverka samarbete med andra länder på ett negativt sätt, t.ex. att alla länder har egna nationella regler samt vissa olikheter i doktriner och handböcker som hur vi i Sverige sätter färger på skadade vid olyckor med en stor mängd skadade, medan detta inte nämns i NATO:s doktrin diskuteras också i uppsatsen. Vi i Sverige har även vid dessa stora olyckor satt tidpunkter för när patienterna kan behövas vård, vilket inte heller går att finna i NATO:s doktrin. Väldigt få skillnader har hittats mellan Sveriges och NATO:s sjukvårdsorganisationer och arbetssätt. Däremot är likheterna väldigt många, vilket gör att samarbete mellan Sverige och NATO länder kan vara mycket effektivt. Detta gör att man i slutsatserna och diskussionen kan läsa om hur svenska Försvarsmaktens sjukvård är interoperabel, men självklart finns saker att förbättra för att öka effektiviteten.</p> / <p>Interoperability becomes more and more important for Sweden, also for the medical. This paper will discuss the similarities and differences between medical doctrines, manuals, regulations, etc. with NATO and particularly the Norwegian similarities, to investigate if the Swedish Armed Forces health care organization are interoperable, and to find things that can be changed to increase efficiency and to be more interoperable. In this paper the author’s conclusions that the Swedish Armed Forces have access to large parts of the knowledge that NATO had done. Sweden "copy" part of NATO's doctrine for medical care, NATO AJP-4, 10 Allied joint medical support doctrine. The author also sees things that could affect the cooperation with other countries in a negative way. Things like that all countries have their own national rules and some differences in doctrine and manuals like how we in Sweden puts colour on damaged in accidents with a large number wounded, while this is not mentioned in the NATO doctrine. We in Sweden have also set times for when patients may need treatment in major accidents, which again can be found in the NATO doctrine. Very few differences have existed between Sweden and NATO's healthcare organizations and practices. However, many similarities, which makes cooperation between Sweden and NATO countries can be very effective. This means that the conclusions and the discussion can be read on the Swedish Armed Forces' medical care is quite interoperable, but obviously there are things to improve in order to increase efficiency.</p>

La modélisation par éléments finis des conducteurs en mouvement nécessite généralement des calculs successifs et le remalliage de certaines régions. Une modélisation 3D de géométries complexes par les techniques classiques nécessite dès lors de gros efforts en terme de temps de calcul. Dans cette thèse, une méthode originale basée sur une approche par sous-problèmes, appelée méthode de perturbation, a été développée. Utilisant la méthode des éléments finis, cette technique consiste à subdiviser un problème entier en sous-problèmes. La complexité du problème initial est par conséquent diminuée en ne se concentrant que sur les zones les plus pertinentes. Appliquée aux systèmes en mouvement, la méthode de perturbation permet d'exploiter les résolutions antérieures au lieu d'effectuer un nouveau calcul pour chaque position. L'analyse par la méthode de perturbation des microsystèmes électromécaniques (MEMS) électrostatiques comprenant des parties en déplacement ou en déformation est en outre considérée dans ce travail. Il est notamment question de démontrer l'implication naturelle de cette approche pour des simulations plus efficaces et plus précises des MEMS électrostatiques.

The use of hydrophobic surfaces is important for many processes both in nature and industry. Interactions between hydrophobic species play a key role in industrial applications such as water-cleaning procedures and pitch control during papermaking but they also give information on how to design surfaces like hydrophobic mineral pigments. In this thesis, the influence of surface properties on wetting and interaction forces has been studied. Surfaces with close-packed particles, pore arrays, randomly deposited nanoparticles as well as reference surfaces were prepared. The atomic force microscope (AFM) was utilized for force and friction measurements while contact angles and confocal Raman microscopy experiments were mainly used for wetting studies. The deposition of silica particles in the size range of nano- to micrometers using the Langmuir-Blodgett (LB) technique resulted in particle coated surfaces exhibiting hexagonal close-packing and close to Wenzel state wetting after hydrophobization. Force measurements displayed long-range interaction forces assigned to be a consequence of air cavitation. Smaller roughness features provided larger forces and interaction distances interpreted as being due to fewer restrictions of capillary growth. Friction measurements proved both the surface structure and chemistry to be important for the observed forces. On hydrophobic pore array surfaces, the three-phase contact line of water droplets avoided the pores which created a jagged interface. The influence of the pores was evident in the force curves, both in terms of the shape, in which the three-phase contact line movements around the pores could be detected, as well as the depth of the pores providing different access and amount of air. When water/ethanol mixtures were used, the interactions were concluded to be due to ethanol condensation. Confocal Raman microscopy experiments with water and water/ethanol mixtures on superhydrophobic surfaces gave evidence for water depletion and ethanol/air accumulation close to the surface. Force measurements using superhydrophobic surfaces showed extremely long-range interaction distances. This work has provided evidence for air cavitation between hydrophobic surfaces in aqueous solution. It was also shown that the range and magnitude of interaction forces could, to some extent, be predicted by looking at certain surface features like structure,roughness and the overall length scales. / <p>QC 20121011</p>

Interoperabilitet blir viktigare och viktigare för Sveriges del, även för funktionen sjukvård. Denna uppsats kommer att behandla likheter och skillnader mellan sjukvårdsdoktriner, handböcker och reglementen med NATO:s och framförallt Norges motsvarigheter, för att undersöka om den svenska Försvarsmakten sjukvårdsorganisation är interoperabel, och för att finna saker som kan förändras för att öka effektiviteten och interoperabiliteten. Under uppsatsen dras slutsatser som att svenska Försvarsmakten tagit åt sig stora delar av de kunskaper som NATO tidigare har gjort. Sverige ”kopierar” delar av NATO:s doktrin för sjukvård, NATO AJP-4,10 Allied joint medical support doctrine. Saker som skulle kunna påverka samarbete med andra länder på ett negativt sätt, t.ex. att alla länder har egna nationella regler samt vissa olikheter i doktriner och handböcker som hur vi i Sverige sätter färger på skadade vid olyckor med en stor mängd skadade, medan detta inte nämns i NATO:s doktrin diskuteras också i uppsatsen. Vi i Sverige har även vid dessa stora olyckor satt tidpunkter för när patienterna kan behövas vård, vilket inte heller går att finna i NATO:s doktrin. Väldigt få skillnader har hittats mellan Sveriges och NATO:s sjukvårdsorganisationer och arbetssätt. Däremot är likheterna väldigt många, vilket gör att samarbete mellan Sverige och NATO länder kan vara mycket effektivt. Detta gör att man i slutsatserna och diskussionen kan läsa om hur svenska Försvarsmaktens sjukvård är interoperabel, men självklart finns saker att förbättra för att öka effektiviteten. / Interoperability becomes more and more important for Sweden, also for the medical. This paper will discuss the similarities and differences between medical doctrines, manuals, regulations, etc. with NATO and particularly the Norwegian similarities, to investigate if the Swedish Armed Forces health care organization are interoperable, and to find things that can be changed to increase efficiency and to be more interoperable. In this paper the author’s conclusions that the Swedish Armed Forces have access to large parts of the knowledge that NATO had done. Sweden "copy" part of NATO's doctrine for medical care, NATO AJP-4, 10 Allied joint medical support doctrine. The author also sees things that could affect the cooperation with other countries in a negative way. Things like that all countries have their own national rules and some differences in doctrine and manuals like how we in Sweden puts colour on damaged in accidents with a large number wounded, while this is not mentioned in the NATO doctrine. We in Sweden have also set times for when patients may need treatment in major accidents, which again can be found in the NATO doctrine. Very few differences have existed between Sweden and NATO's healthcare organizations and practices. However, many similarities, which makes cooperation between Sweden and NATO countries can be very effective. This means that the conclusions and the discussion can be read on the Swedish Armed Forces' medical care is quite interoperable, but obviously there are things to improve in order to increase efficiency.

University of Macau / Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities / Department of Government and Public Administration

When a mechanical system is subject to constraints its motion is in some way restricted. In accordance with Newton's second law, motion is a direct result of forces acting on a system; hence, constraint is inextricably linked to force. The presence of a constraint implies the application of particular forces needed to compel motion in accordance with the constraint; absence of a constraint implies the absence of such forces. The objective of this thesis is to formulate a comprehensive, consistent, and concise method for identifying a set of forces needed to constrain the behavior of a mechanical system modeled as a set of particles and rigid bodies. The goal is accomplished in large part by expressing constraint equations in vector form rather than entirely in terms of scalars. The method developed here can be applied whenever constraints can be described at the acceleration level by a set of independent equations that are linear in acceleration. Hence, the range of applicability extends to servo-constraints or program constraints described at the velocity level with relationships that are nonlinear in velocity. All configuration constraints, and an important class of classical motion constraints, can be expressed at the velocity level by using equations that are linear in velocity; therefore, the associated constraint equations are linear in acceleration when written at the acceleration level. Two new approaches are presented for deriving equations governing motion of a system subject to constraints expressed at the velocity level with equations that are nonlinear in velocity. By using partial accelerations instead of the partial velocities normally employed with Kane's method, it is possible to form dynamical equations that either do or do not contain evidence of the constraint forces, depending on the analyst's interests.