This thesis is a study of the morphology and sediment transport dynamics of mountain streams in southeast Australia. Mountain streams represent important geomorphological and ecological systems in Australia which have hitherto been poorly studied. The variability of mountain stream reach morphology was investigated at the regional scale using topographical surveys and sediment sampling techniques. Study sites were stratified by slope and local lithology. Eight channel-morphologies including Bedrock, Cascade, Step-pool, Planebed, Pool-Riffle, Cascade-pool, Riffle-step and Infilled, were identified using an objective statistical approach. Overall, channel types were found to correspond to existing reach-scale mountain stream templates. Five morphologies were associated with a specific lithology type which controlled the size and shape of grains supplied to the channels. Differences in coarse sediment transport processes between morphologies were investigated using stream monitoring techniques and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating. Monitoring results from a 3 year period indicated that channel beds are resistant to entrainment with shear stress thresholds for bedload transport ranging between 64 to 74 N/m2. Transport of reach median grain sizes requires floods that exceed bankfull discharge. Existing competence equations were found to over-predict the hydraulic driving force and consequently, a modified entrainment model was used to account for the regional channel characteristics. OSL dating was investigated as a tool to provide data on long-term sediment transport processes. Minimum age model results from the OSL dates show overall agreement with a selected entrainment model, and indicate differences in sediment transport dynamics between some reach morphology types. A regime model was used to quantify the physical domains of different channel morphologies. Limitations of the model were overcome by modifying the sediment supply surrogate to better reflect the dominant transported bedload size. Morphology types were delineated according to different sediment transport capacity-sediment supply domains. The distribution of channel morphology types within a series of catchments in southeast Australia was modelled within a GIS platform using the diagnostics of reach morphology derived from this study. The model provides a conceptual framework to evaluate the potential link between channel form, potential habitat diversity and aquatic biodiversity within the channel network in mountain streams.

This thesis is a study of the morphology and sediment transport dynamics of mountain streams in southeast Australia. Mountain streams represent important geomorphological and ecological systems in Australia which have hitherto been poorly studied. The variability of mountain stream reach morphology was investigated at the regional scale using topographical surveys and sediment sampling techniques. Study sites were stratified by slope and local lithology. Eight channel-morphologies including Bedrock, Cascade, Step-pool, Planebed, Pool-Riffle, Cascade-pool, Riffle-step and Infilled, were identified using an objective statistical approach. Overall, channel types were found to correspond to existing reach-scale mountain stream templates. Five morphologies were associated with a specific lithology type which controlled the size and shape of grains supplied to the channels. Differences in coarse sediment transport processes between morphologies were investigated using stream monitoring techniques and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating. Monitoring results from a 3 year period indicated that channel beds are resistant to entrainment with shear stress thresholds for bedload transport ranging between 64 to 74 N/m2. Transport of reach median grain sizes requires floods that exceed bankfull discharge. Existing competence equations were found to over-predict the hydraulic driving force and consequently, a modified entrainment model was used to account for the regional channel characteristics. OSL dating was investigated as a tool to provide data on long-term sediment transport processes. Minimum age model results from the OSL dates show overall agreement with a selected entrainment model, and indicate differences in sediment transport dynamics between some reach morphology types. A regime model was used to quantify the physical domains of different channel morphologies. Limitations of the model were overcome by modifying the sediment supply surrogate to better reflect the dominant transported bedload size. Morphology types were delineated according to different sediment transport capacity-sediment supply domains. The distribution of channel morphology types within a series of catchments in southeast Australia was modelled within a GIS platform using the diagnostics of reach morphology derived from this study. The model provides a conceptual framework to evaluate the potential link between channel form, potential habitat diversity and aquatic biodiversity within the channel network in mountain streams.

This thesis is a study of the morphology and sediment transport dynamics of mountain streams in southeast Australia. Mountain streams represent important geomorphological and ecological systems in Australia which have hitherto been poorly studied. The variability of mountain stream reach morphology was investigated at the regional scale using topographical surveys and sediment sampling techniques. Study sites were stratified by slope and local lithology. Eight channel-morphologies including Bedrock, Cascade, Step-pool, Planebed, Pool-Riffle, Cascade-pool, Riffle-step and Infilled, were identified using an objective statistical approach. Overall, channel types were found to correspond to existing reach-scale mountain stream templates. Five morphologies were associated with a specific lithology type which controlled the size and shape of grains supplied to the channels. Differences in coarse sediment transport processes between morphologies were investigated using stream monitoring techniques and Optically Stimulated Luminescence (OSL) dating. Monitoring results from a 3 year period indicated that channel beds are resistant to entrainment with shear stress thresholds for bedload transport ranging between 64 to 74 N/m2. Transport of reach median grain sizes requires floods that exceed bankfull discharge. Existing competence equations were found to over-predict the hydraulic driving force and consequently, a modified entrainment model was used to account for the regional channel characteristics. OSL dating was investigated as a tool to provide data on long-term sediment transport processes. Minimum age model results from the OSL dates show overall agreement with a selected entrainment model, and indicate differences in sediment transport dynamics between some reach morphology types. A regime model was used to quantify the physical domains of different channel morphologies. Limitations of the model were overcome by modifying the sediment supply surrogate to better reflect the dominant transported bedload size. Morphology types were delineated according to different sediment transport capacity-sediment supply domains. The distribution of channel morphology types within a series of catchments in southeast Australia was modelled within a GIS platform using the diagnostics of reach morphology derived from this study. The model provides a conceptual framework to evaluate the potential link between channel form, potential habitat diversity and aquatic biodiversity within the channel network in mountain streams.

Orientador: Maria de Lourdes Ribeiro de Souza da Cunha / Resumo: A alta frequência de Estafilococos Coagulase-Negativa (CoNS) na pele de indivíduos saudáveis e em doenças associadas ao sangue, associados à seleção de cepas resistentes devido a uso indiscriminado de antimicrobianos, tornou mais estreitos os limites entre o ambiente hospitalar e o comunitário quanto à distribuição de cepas. Objetivou-se, com este estudo, caracterizar isolados de CoNS de origem hospitalar e comunitária da cidade de Botucatu-SP quanto ao perfil clonal, analisar os aspectos de resistência à oxacilina pela aferição de metodologia de detecção, e investigar os determinantes de heterorresistência à vancomicina nessas cepas. As espécies estudadas incluíram S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus, S. warneri, S. hominis, S. lugdunensis, S. capitis, S. saprophyticus, S. pasteuri, S. simulans e S. xylosus. O teste de disco-difusão (TDD) com discos de oxacilina e cefoxitina, fitas de Etest impregnadas com oxacilina e pesquisa do gene mecA por PCR em tempo real foram realizadas. A triagem em ágar com 6 e 8 µg/ml de vancomicina, microdiluição em caldo para aferição da Concentração Inibirtória Mínima (MIC), microscopia eletrônica de transmissão para verificar espessamento da parede celular e alterações fenotípicas por testes bioquímicos foram realizadas. O perfil clonal foi determinado por PFGE (Pulsed-Field Gel Eletrophoresis) e para clones de S. epidermidis, o MLST (Multilocus Sequence Typing). S. epidermidis apresentou alta diversidade clonal, mas presença de clusters no ambien... (Resumo completo, clicar acesso eletrônico abaixo) / Abstract: The high frequency of Coagulase-Negative Staphylococci (CoNS) on the skin of healthy individuals and in bloodstream infections, together with the selection of resistant strains, has narrowed the boundaries between the hospital and the community environment for the distribution of strains. This study aimed to characterize CoNS isolated from clinical and colonization specimens of patients and individuals from Botucatu-SP, to compare their clonal profile, to analyze the determination of oxacillin resistance by the evaluation of the methodology of detection, and to investigate the determinants of reduced susceptibility to vancomycin in those strains. CoNS species included S. epidermidis, S. haemolyticus, S. warneri, S. hominis, S. lugdunensis, S. capitis, S. saprophyticus, S. pasteuri, S. simulans and S. xylosus. The disc diffusion test (DDT) using oxacillin and cefoxitin discs was employed, Etest strips impregnated with oxacillin and mecA gene detection by real-time PCR were used. An agar screening with 6 and 8 µg/ml of vancomycin, the broth microdiluition method for the Minimal Inhibitory Concentration (MIC), the transmission eletronic microscopy for evaluation of cellwall thickening and phenotypic modifications by biochemical tests were performed. Clonal profile was determined by PFGE (Pulsed-Field Gel Eletrophoresis) and, for S. epidermidis clones, MLST (Multilocus Sequence Typing). S. epidermidis presented high clonal diversity, despite some clusters circulating within hospi... (Complete abstract click electronic access below) / Doutor

As bromélias são valorizadas por suas características ornamentais, sendo o gênero Vriesea representativo neste setor. O aprimoramento de métodos de propagação in vitro destas plantas é altamente necessário a fim de suprir as necessidades do mercado, e evitar o extrativismo ilegal. Nesse contexto, o presente trabalho objetivou aprimorar o protocolo de propagação in vitro de espécies do gênero Vriesea, bem como aumentar o conhecimento global das espécies em estudo. Para tanto, sementes das espécies V. carinata, V. friburgensis, V. paraibica e V. simplex foram submetidas a processos de assepsia e introduzidas in vitro sob três temperaturas: 22 °C, 27 °C e 32 °C. Paralelamente, sementes das mesmas espécies foram semeadas em bandejas e mantidas em casa de vegetação. Através da microscopia eletrônica de varredura e ótica foi realizada a descrição morfo-anatômica do desenvolvimento pós-seminal das plântulas das mesmas espécies. Além disso, procurou-se adequar o meio de cultura às necessidades das mesmas espécies e de V. hieroglyphica, sendo testadas 3 doses de nitrogênio e 3 doses de magnésio. Também procurou-se avaliar a taxa de sobrevivência durante o processo de aclimatização de plântulas das espécies de Vriesea mencionadas (com exceção de V. hieroglyphica). Objetivou-se comparar características anatômicas e morfológicas de folhas das referidas espécies cultivadas in vitro e em casa de vegetação. Por fim, com o objetivo de estabelecer um protocolo de micropropagação para as espécies Vriesea carinata, V. paraibica, V. phillipo-coburgii; V. simplex e Aechmea nudicaulis, foram introduzidos in vitro explantes somáticos, após testes de assepsia. A partir dos experimentos citados foi verificado que a temperatura exerce uma forte influência nas taxas de germinação e mortalidade das sementes de Vrieseas in vitro, sendo que a temperatura de 32°C proporcionou as maiores taxas de mortalidade, mostrando-se prejudicial ao sucesso reprodutivo. A germinação em casa de vegetação apresentou altas taxas de mortalidade e taxas de germinação mais baixas do que in vitro. A descrição morfo-anatômica do desenvolvimento pós-seminal permitiu a caracterização de cinco estágios de desenvolvimento. Com relação ao experimento de nutrição mineral, foi evidenciado que as doses de nitrogênio e magnésio testadas acarretaram em menor acúmulo de cálcio e de potássio nas plantas, sendo que esse fato resultou em menor acúmulo de massa fresca. O experimento de aclimatização ficou inviabilizado devido ao ataque às plântulas por praga Fungus Gnats. Com a análise morfo-anatômica das folhas de plantas cultivadas in vitro e em casa de vegetação foi possível observar a presença de estruturas típicas de Bromeliaceae nas plantas cultivadas em ambas as condições: estômatos, tricomas escamiformes, mesofilo com epiderme unisseriada, parênquima aqüífero, feixes colaterais fechados e canais de aeração. Com relação à introdução in vitro a partir de explantes somáticos, pode-se afirmar que o uso de cefotaxima apresentou uma boa eficiência no combate à contaminação bacteriana em cultura de ápices caulinares. A escolha de ápice vegetativo de brotos laterais como explantes iniciais para a cultura das referidas espécies in vitro é uma boa opção. A otimização da propagação destas espécies in vitro poderá diminuir a pressão extrativista que estas vêm sofrendo e, ao mesmo tempo, abastecer o mercado ornamental / Bromeliads are valued for their ornamental characteristics and the genus Vriesea is representative in this sector. The improvement of in vitro propagation of these plants is highly necessary in order to meet market needs, and, at the same time, to prevent illegal extraction of this plants from their natural habitat. In this context, this study aimed to improve the protocol for in vitro propagation of species of Vriesea and increase the global knowledge of these by morpho-anatomical characterization of the development of the seedling and leaf. Seeds of V. carinata, V. friburgensis, V.paraiba and V. simplex were submitted to aseptic procedures and introduced in vitro under three temperatures: 22 ° C, 27 ° C and 32 ° C. Additionaly, seeds of these species were sown in trays and maintained in a greenhouse. The post-seminal development was described by light and scanning electron microscopy. In addition, the adjustment of the culture medium for these four species and V. hieroglyphica was tested, by testing three doses of nitrogen combined with three doses of magnesium. The acclimatization efficiency of these Vriesea species, except for V. hieroglyphica, after a prior culture in the presence and absence of IBA was done, in three commercial substrates to verify IBA effect in rooting and seedling survival. This study also aimed to compare anatomical and morphological characteristics of leaves of the species cultivated in vitro and in the greenhouse. Finally, in order to establish a micropropagation protocol for the species Vriesea carinata, V. paraiba, V. phillipo-coburgii; V. simplex and Aechmea nudicaulis, somatic explants were introduced in vitro after sterilization tests. From all the experiments cited it was observed that the temperature strongly influences germination and mortality rates of Vriesea germinating seeds in vitro. The temperature of 32 ° C provided the highest mortality rates, being harmful to the reproductive success of this species. The germination in the greenhouse showed higher mortality and lower germination rates than in vitro germination. The morpho-anatomical description of the post-seminal development allowed for the characterization of five stages of development. With regard to the mineral nutrition experiment, the doses of nitrogen and magnesium tested resulted in less accumulation of calcium and potassium in plants, resulting in less accumulation of fresh weight. The acclimatization experiment was lost by the attack of Fungus gnats. With the morpho-anatomical analysis of leaves of plants grown in vitro and in the greenhouse it was possible to observe the presence of typical structures of Bromeliaceae such as stomata, scales, mesophyll with uniseriate epidermis, water storage tissue, collateral vascular bundles and air channels. Finally, the use of cefotaxime proved efficient against bacterial contamination in in vitro establishment of shoot apex explants in vitro. The choice of shoot apices from lateral buds as initial explants for in vitro establishment of those species was a good alternative. Optimization of in vitro propagation of bromeliad species can reduce their extractivism pressure and, at the same time, supply the ornamental plant market

La thèse étudie les dénominations du procès de combattre en latin et montre que l’évolution des signes linguistiques est corrélative des realia historiques et politiques. Cette étude sémantique articule différentes approches et propose un éclairage linguistique et anthropologique sur les verbes signifiant « combattre » dans la poésie épique latine. Au vu des problématiques liées à tout sujet onomasiologique, une partie préliminaire se concentre sur l’établissement du corpus de verbes. Les première et seconde parties confrontent l’approche sémantique aux approches morphologique et syntaxique. Les lexèmes retenus sont décrits plus précisément afin de déterminer s’ils adoptent des tendances morphologiques et rectionnelles particulières, rattachables à leur signifié. La première partie permet, à travers l’étude des radicaux, des morphèmes (temps – personne) et des préverbes, de dégager des spécificités morphosémantiques en relation avec les trois types morphologiques isolés (verbes simples, locutions et préverbés). La seconde partie étudie, dans une perspective sémantico-syntaxique, les rôles sémantiques et les types rectionnels et crée des zones d’intersection entre lexèmes, qui ne rejoignent pas toujours les trois types morphologiques. Ces nouveaux recoupements permettent d’opposer les lexèmes et de déterminer les motivations (littéraires ou anthropologiques) de leurs emplois. La thèse en arrive à l’idée que la perpétuation ou le renouvellement des signes linguistiques pour dénoter le procès « combattre » a partie liée avec des données culturelles et anthropologiques et que le genre épique est un genre littéraire vivant, qui suit la mouvance et les idéologies de son temps. / This study of Latin verbs meaning “to fight” in epic poetry shows that the evolution of linguistic signs and lexical units reflects extralinguistic phenomena. It is a semantic study which, by combining several approaches, sheds new light, both linguistic and anthropological, on the verbs meaning “to fight” in Latin epic poetry. The preliminary chapter (after the introduction) presents the selected verbs belonging to the corpus. In the first and second sections of the work, the contrast is drawn between a fundamentally semantic approach to the verbs and a more morphological and syntactical approach. The first section analyses the verbs’ synchronic radicals, their tenses, their personal morphemes, and their preverbs, in order to show their semantic specificities in the context of the three morphological types in which they may be found: simple verbs, verbal phrases and preverbed verbs. In a semantic-syntactic approach, the second section deals with the participant roles and syntactic environments and creates new intersections between lexemes. These links shed light on the oppositions that exist between the individual lexemes and determine the – literary or anthropological – motivations in the use of the selected verbs. The conclusion makes two important points. Firstly, we see that the continuation or the renewal of linguistic signs and lexical units denoting the process of fighting also depend on cultural and anthropological factors. Secondly, it is made clear that the epic literary genre in Latin is not frozen throughout the historical periods studied here, since it is continually evolving and adapting to the changes and ideologies of the times.

La plupart des méthodes de traitement automatique des langues (TAL) peuvent être formalisées comme des problèmes de prédiction, dans lesquels on cherche à choisir automatiquement l'hypothèse la plus plausible parmi un très grand nombre de candidats. Malgré de nombreux travaux qui ont permis de mieux prendre en compte la structure de l'ensemble des hypothèses, la taille de l'espace de recherche est généralement trop grande pour permettre son exploration exhaustive. Dans ce travail, nous nous intéressons à l'importance du design de l'espace de recherche et étudions l'utilisation de contraintes pour en réduire la taille et la complexité. Nous nous appuyons sur l'étude de trois problèmes linguistiques — l'analyse morpho-syntaxique, le transfert cross-lingue et le problème du réordonnancement en traduction — pour mettre en lumière les risques, les avantages et les enjeux du choix de l'espace de recherche dans les problèmes de TAL.Par exemple, lorsque l'on dispose d'informations a priori sur les sorties possibles d'un problème d'apprentissage structuré, il semble naturel de les inclure dans le processus de modélisation pour réduire l'espace de recherche et ainsi permettre une accélération des traitements lors de la phase d'apprentissage. Une étude de cas sur les modèles exponentiels pour l'analyse morpho-syntaxique montre paradoxalement que cela peut conduire à d'importantes dégradations des résultats, et cela même quand les contraintes associées sont pertinentes. Parallèlement, nous considérons l'utilisation de ce type de contraintes pour généraliser le problème de l'apprentissage supervisé au cas où l'on ne dispose que d'informations partielles et incomplètes lors de l'apprentissage, qui apparaît par exemple lors du transfert cross-lingue d'annotations. Nous étudions deux méthodes d'apprentissage faiblement supervisé, que nous formalisons dans le cadre de l'apprentissage ambigu, appliquées à l'analyse morpho-syntaxiques de langues peu dotées en ressources linguistiques.Enfin, nous nous intéressons au design de l'espace de recherche en traduction automatique. Les divergences dans l'ordre des mots lors du processus de traduction posent un problème combinatoire difficile. En effet, il n'est pas possible de considérer l'ensemble factoriel de tous les réordonnancements possibles, et des contraintes sur les permutations s'avèrent nécessaires. Nous comparons différents jeux de contraintes et explorons l'importance de l'espace de réordonnancement dans les performances globales d'un système de traduction. Si un meilleur design permet d'obtenir de meilleurs résultats, nous montrons cependant que la marge d'amélioration se situe principalement dans l'évaluation des réordonnancements plutôt que dans la qualité de l'espace de recherche. / Most natural language processing tasks are modeled as prediction problems where one aims at finding the best scoring hypothesis from a very large pool of possible outputs. Even if algorithms are designed to leverage some kind of structure, the output space is often too large to be searched exaustively. This work aims at understanding the importance of the search space and the possible use of constraints to reduce it in size and complexity. We report in this thesis three case studies which highlight the risk and benefits of manipulating the seach space in learning and inference.When information about the possible outputs of a sequence labeling task is available, it may seem appropriate to include this knowledge into the system, so as to facilitate and speed-up learning and inference. A case study on type constraints for CRFs however shows that using such constraints at training time is likely to drastically reduce performance, even when these constraints are both correct and useful at decoding.On the other side, we also consider possible relaxations of the supervision space, as in the case of learning with latent variables, or when only partial supervision is available, which we cast as ambiguous learning. Such weakly supervised methods, together with cross-lingual transfer and dictionary crawling techniques, allow us to develop natural language processing tools for under-resourced languages. Word order differences between languages pose several combinatorial challenges to machine translation and the constraints on word reorderings have a great impact on the set of potential translations that is explored during search. We study reordering constraints that allow to restrict the factorial space of permutations and explore the impact of the reordering search space design on machine translation performance. However, we show that even though it might be desirable to design better reordering spaces, model and search errors seem yet to be the most important issues.

Depuis la fin du Pléistocène, l’évolution des conditions environnementales et les pratiques anthropiques ont influencé les dynamiques morpho-sédimentaires des bassins versants du Nord-Ouest européen. Les petits hydrosystèmes sont particulièrement sensibles à ces évolutions qui s’expriment dans les archives sédimentaires. La démarche adoptée confronte les données des géosciences, de l’archéologie et de la géomorphologie, pour appréhender les interrelations Homme/climat/environnement durant l’Holocène en Normandie. En étudiant les archives pédo-sédimentaires de trois sites archéologiques des plateaux aux fonds de vallée, l’objectif est de discriminer les forçages climato-anthropiques pour chaque épisode d’érosion/sédimentation. L’étude des plateaux normands à Villers-Ecalles dévoile une intense troncature érosive des luvisols holocènes à la fin de La Tène. Les colluvions stockées en fond de vallon soulignent la continuité des dépôts et l’intensification de l’érosion à l’époque moderne. Les archives sédimentaires de Brionne, en pied de versant, ont révélé la séquence Tardiglaciaire et la diagenèse tufacée du début de l’Holocène. La séquence holocène d’une vallée littorale, la Scie, permet de reconstituer son évolution diachronique, les dynamiques morpho-sédimentaires et l’évolution du couvert végétal. L’étude des sites met en évidence la synchronicité de certains événements, malgré des épisodes parfois locaux. Les schémas d’évolution s’inscrivent dans le contexte bien documenté du Bassin parisien. La comparaison des séquences témoigne de la complexité des réponses aux interactions Homme/milieu et d’une mosaïque de pression anthropique différentielle pendant l’Holocène. / Since the end of the Pleistocene, the variations of environmental and anthropic conditions influenced the morpho-sedimentary dynamics of North-Western european catchments. The small hydrosystem are very sensitive to these evolutions, recorded in sedimentary archives. Our approach confronts geoscience, archaeology and geomorphological data, in order to apprehend the interrelationships between Human activity, climate and environment during the Holocene in Normandy. By studying the sedimentary archives from three settlements, from the plateau to the valleys, our aim is to discriminate climato-anthropic forcing for each episode of erosion and sedimentation. The three sites, located in small catchments, give pedo-sedimentary references for each geosystemic unit. The study a loessic plateau shows an intense erosion of Holocene luvisol since the end of La Tene period. The colluvial deposits, accumulated in a dry valley show the continuity of detrital sedimentation, and the intensification of erosional processes during modern times. At the bottom of a slope, the study of Brionne’s sedimentary archives reveals the Late Glacial sequence and the tufa diagenesis at the early Holocene. The Holocene sequence on a small coastal valley, la Scie, allows to reconstruct its diachronical evolution, the morphosedimentary dynamics and the landcape evolution. The diachronical evolution of these three sites shows the synchronicity of events, even if some ones appear to be local. These data enter in the well-documented context of the Paris Basin. Comparing those sequences has revealed the spatial and chronological complexity of the landscape responses to the human and climate forcing.

<p>Impressive examples of the generation of hierarchically-patterned, three-dimensional (3-D) structures for the control of light can be found throughout nature. <i>Morpho rhetenor</i> butterflies, for example, possess scales with periodic parallel ridges, each of which consists of a stack of thin (nanoscale) layers (lamellae). The bright blue color of <i>Morpho</i> butterflies has been attributed to controlled scattering of the incident light by the lamellae of the wing scales. Another stunning example is the frustule (microshell) of the <i>Coscinodiscus wailesii</i> diatom, which is capable of focusing red light without possessing a traditional lens morphology. The photonic structures and the optical behaviors of <i>Morpho</i> butterflies and <i>Coscinodiscus wailesii</i> diatoms have been extensively studied. However, no work has been conducted to shift such light manipulation from the visible to the infrared (IR) range via shape-preserving conversion of such biogenic structures. Controlling IR radiation (i.e., heat) utilizing biogenic or biomimetic structures can be of significant utility for the development of energy-harvesting devices. In order to enhance the optical interaction in the IR range, inorganic replicas of biogenic structures comprised of high-refractive-index materials have been generated in this work. Such replicas of <i>Morpho</i> <i>rhetenor</i> scales were fabricated via a combination of sol-gel solution coating, organic pyrolysis, and gas/solid reaction methods. Diatomimetic structures have also been generated via sol-gel coating, gas/solid reaction, and then patterning of pore arrays using focused ion beam (FIB) milling.</p> Throughout the sol-gel solution coating and chemical conversion steps of the processes developed in this study, attention was paid to preserve the starting shapes of the nanopatterned, microscale biogenic or biomimetic structures. Factors affecting such shape preservation included the thicknesses and uniformities of coatings applied to the biogenic or biomimetic templates, nano/microstructural evolution during thermal treatment, and reaction-induced volume changes. A conformal surface sol-gel (SSG) coating process was developed in this work to generate oxide replicas of <i>Morpho rhetenor</i> butterfly scales with precisely-controlled coating thicknesses. The adsorption kinetics and relevant adsorption isotherm of the SSG process were investigated utilizing a quartz crystal microbalance. Analyses of thermodynamic driving forces, rate-limiting kinetic steps, and volume changes associated with various chemical reactions were used to tailor processing parameters for optimized shape preservation.

Au fil des siècles, de nombreux cours d’eau ont été régulés par des barrages pour assurer différents besoins tels que la gestion des inondations, la production d’énergie hydro-électrique, l’irrigation, l’approvisionnement en eau potable, etc. Aujourd’hui, dans le tiers nord de la planète, 77% des cours d’eau sont concernés par la présence de ces ouvrages et de très nombreux ouvrages sont en cours de construction ou prévus dans les prochaines décennies. Les impacts des barrages, notamment ceux dont les réservoirs sont les plus volumineux, sont aujourd’hui bien connus. Leur influence, plus ou moins prononcée, peut notamment affecter les crues (débits, fréquence, pointe et durée), ce qui entraine de facto une modification de l’occurrence du « débit morphogène » naturel dans les tronçons situés en aval. Il en résulte une morphologie et une dynamique fluviales modifiées, avec des Incidences sur la biologie et les usages. Afin d’améliorer, voire de restaurer le bon fonctionnement des milieux aquatiques et rivulaires, il est de plus en plus souvent demandé aux gestionnaires de barrages de générer des débits élevés, dits « morphogènes », depuis leurs ouvrages. Ce travail de thèse s’est attaché dans un premier temps à clarifier les concepts de débits, lâchers et écoulements « morphogènes ». Il a été proposé une nouvelle terminologie s’intégrant dans le contexte plus large des débits environnementaux et des débits écologiques (environmental et ecological flows). Dans un second temps, les précédents travaux et les expérimentations menées sur la Durance, la Selves et l’Isère, ont fourni des éléments pour construire une méthodologie de mise en œuvre de lâchers morphogènes dans le cadre d’une gestion adaptative. Cette méthodologie opérationnelle repose sur une série d’étapes successives découlant d’un diagnostic préalable. Elle permet de déterminer les paramètres nécessaires au dimensionnement, d’identifier les contraintes et de définir les résultats attendus (compartiments visés, ordres de grandeurs des processus, etc.) pour évaluer l’efficience de l’opération. Enfin, grâce à la mise en œuvre d’indicateurs de déclenchement, elle fournit des éléments d’évaluation pour décider de renouveler, d’améliorer ou non le lâcher. / Over the centuries, many rivers have been regulated by dams to meet various needs such as flood management, hydropower production, irrigation, drinking water supply, etc. Today, in the northern third of the planet, 77% of watercourses are affected by dams and a very large number are under construction or planned in the coming decades. The impacts of dams, particularly those with the largest reservoirs, are now well-known. Their influence, more or less pronounced, can affect floods (flow, frequency, peak and duration), which results in a change of the occurrence of the natural "channel morphing discharge" in the downstream reaches. The result is a modified river morphology and dynamics, with impacts on biological communities and uses. In order to improve/restore aquatic and riparian environments, dam managers are increasingly being asked to generate high flows, known as "flushing flows” or “ecomorphogenic flows”, from their dams.This thesis focuses initially on clarifying the concepts of discharge, water release, and "ecomorphogenic flows”. A new terminology has been proposed that fits into the broader context of “environmental flows” and “ecological flows”. In a second step, previous works and experiments carried out on the Durance River, the Selves River and the Isère River provided elements to build a methodology for implementing ecomorphogenic flow releases as part of adaptive management. This operational methodology is based on a series of successive steps resulting from a preliminary diagnosis. It makes it possible to determine the parameters necessary for designing releases, identifying constraints and defining expected results (target compartments, orders of magnitude of process, etc.) to evaluate the efficiency of the operation. Finally, through the implementation of trigger indicators, it provides evaluation information to decide whether to renew, or improve releases or to replace them with other management actions.