Cette thèse est consacrée aux propriétés des exciton-polaritons, les particules mixtes formées à partir de la lumière et la matière dans les microcavités de semi-conducteurs dans le régime de couplage fort. D'abord, j'analyse la possibilité de condensation de Bose des exciton- polaritons à température ambiante dans les microcavités de GaN avec les équations de Boltzmann semi-classiques. Puis les effets de polarisation dans le régime d'oscillateur paramétrique sont étudiés avec les équations de Boltzmann semi-classiques avec pseudospin. La deuxième partie de la thèse est consacrée aux propriétés des condensats et modes macrooccupés des exciton-polaritons. Leur polarisation, dispersion des excitations, propagation, localisation et superfluidité sont décrits avec l'équation de Gross-Pitaevskii

Ce manuscrit présente les travaux théoriques et expérimentaux réalisés dans le cadre de la construction du laser pilote de la station LASERIX. L'objectif en début de thèse était de concevoir un amplificateur de type "saphir dopé titane" (Ti:Sa) haute énergie et haute cadence permettant d'obtenir une énergie de 40 joules à la cadence de 0.1Hz avant compression des impulsions.<br />Après une introduction générale sur l'amplification dans les chaines laser Ti:sa à amplification à dérive de fréquence (chapitre 1), je présente les deux développements particuliers réalisés durant ce travail pour l'amplification à haute énergie (chapitre 2 :<br />- la mise en forme spatiale et l'homogénéisation à l'aide de systèmes à microlentilles des huit faisceaux des lasers de pompe Nd-Verre utilisés pour le pompage du dernier étage d'amplification<br />- La suppression des phénomènes parasites d'amplification transverse de la fluorescence dans le cristal amplificateur du dernier étage d'amplification. Deux techniques différentes sont présentées.<br />Ces développements ont permis d'amplifier, dans un cristal de 10cm de diamètre, une impulsion de 2J jusqu'à une énergie de 39J.<br />Je présente ensuite le programme de simulation que j'ai réalisé (Chapitre 3) pour modéliser en trois dimensions les phénomènes de lasage parasite transverse et de fluorescence transverse amplifiée dans les cristaux de Ti:Sa de grandes dimensions. Ce code m'a permis d'étudier les principaux paramètres influant ces phénomènes parasites.<br />Finalement, la dernière partie (Chapitre 4) présente les perspectives de mon travail dans le cadre des futurs grands projets lasers ILE et ELI.

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The environmental fate of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) is a significant issue, raising interest in bioremediation. However, the physio-chemical characteristics of PAHs and the physical, chemical, and biological properties of soils can drastically influence in the degradation. Moreover, PAHs are toxic and carcinogenic for humans and their rapid degradation is of great importance. The process of degradation of pollutants can be enhanced by manipulating abiotic factors. The effect of soil pH on degradation of PAHs with a view to manipulating soil pH to enhance the bioremediation of PAH’s was studied. The degradation rate of key model PAHs (Phenanthrene, Anthracene, Fluoranthene, and Pyrene) was monitored in J Arthur Brower’s topsoil modified to a range of pH between pH 4.0 and pH 9.0 at half pH intervals. Photo-catalytic oxidation of PAHs in the presence of a catalyst (TiO2) under UV light at two different wavelengths was studied. The degradation of PAHs during photo-catalytic oxidation was carried out at varying soil pH, whilst the degradation rate of each individual PAH was monitored using HPLC. It was observed that pH 6.5 was most suitable for the photo-degradation of all the PAHs, whilst in general acidic soil had greater photo-degradation rates than alkaline soil pH. Photo-degradation of PAHs at 375 nm exhibited greater degradation rates compared to 254 nm. Phenanthrene at both the wavelengths had greater degradation rate and pyrene has lower degradation rate of the four PAHs. Pure microbial cultures were isolated from road-side soil by shaken enrichment culture and characterized for their ability to grow on PAHs. Bacterial PAH degraders, isolated via enrichment were identified biochemically and by molecular techniques using PCR amplification and sequencing of 16S rDNA. Sequences were analyzed using BLAST (NCBI) and their percentage identity to known bacterial rDNA sequences in the GeneBank database (NCBI) was compared. The 6 bacterial strains were identified as Pseudomonas putida, Achromobacter xylosoxidans, Microbacterium sp., Alpha proteobacterium, Brevundimonas sp., Bradyrhizobium sp. Similarly, fungal PAH degraders were identified microscopically and with molecular techniques using PCR amplification and sequencing of 18S rDNA and identified as Aspergillus niger and Penicillium freii. Biodegradation of four PAHs with two and four aromatic rings were studied in soil with inoculation of the six identified bacteria and two identified fungi over a range of pH. It was observed that pH 7.5 was most suitable for the degradation of all the PAHs maintained in the dark. A degradation of 50% was observed in soil pH 7.5 within first three days which was a seventh of the time taken at pH 5.0 and pH 6.5 (21 days). Greater fungal populations were found at acidic soil pH and alkaline soil pH, in comparison with neutral pH 7.0. Pencillium sp. was found to be more prevalent at acidic pH whilst Aspergillus sp. was found to be more prevalent at pH 7.5-8.0. Bacterial populations were greater at pH 7.5 which was highly correlated with soil ATP levels. It was therefore evident that the greatest rates of degradation were associated with the greatest bacterial population. Soil enzyme activities in general were also greatest at pH 7.5. The converse effect of pH was found with fastest rate of photo-catalytic degradation at the optimal conditions were observed at acidic condition in soil pH 6.5 whilst, the results obtained during biodegradation at the optimal conditions exhibits fastest rate of degradation at alkaline conditions particularly at pH 7.5. Thus, manipulation of soil pH to 7.5 has significant potential to dramatically increase the degradation rate of PAHs.

Pour mieux comprendre les mécanismes impliqués dans la genèse et la régulation de l'activité rythmique cardiaque, une bonne connaissance des gènes impliqués dans ces mécanismes et de leur fonction est nécessaire.J'ai mis au point les conditions expérimentales d'un crible génétique et identifié deux gènes régulateur du rythme cardiaque : ork1, code pour un canal potassique à deux pores, pur régulateur du rythme cardiaque ; painless, code pour un canal TRPA, régulateur du rythme cardiaque et acteur essentiel de la réponse cardiaque au stress mécanique. Du fait de l'importance de la régulation de l'activité cardiaque par le stress acide, le rôle de NDAE, échangeur Cl/HCO3, a été recherché. Il est requis pour une meilleure récupération après un stress acide et couplé à l'échangeur Na/Ca.Ces travaux ont permis de valider le modèle Drosophile pour identifier de nouveaux gènes et pour étudier le rôle des gènes encore mal connu dans l'activité cardiaque. / A good knowledge of genes implicated in genesis of cardiac activity and in its regulation is crucial for a better understanding of arrhythmia.In this study, I have developed experimental conditions to perform a genetic screen and identified two gens implicated in cardiac activity : ork1, encoding a two-pore potassium channel is a pure regulator of cardiac rhythm ; painless, encoding a TRPA channel, regulates cardiac frequency and mediates the cardiac response to mechanical stress. We know that cardiac activity is particulary sensitive to acidic stress and the study of NDAE, the unique Drosophila Cl/HCO3 exchanger, has shown that NDAE is required for cardiac activity recovery after acidic stress and displayed the genetic link with the Na/Ca exchanger.This work validates Drosophila as a good system to found new genes implicates in cardiac activity, particularly in genetic screen, and to precise the role of genes still unknown in cardiac activity.

Mayonnaise is a mixture of egg yolk, vinegar, water, spices and 70-80% oil forming a semi-solid oil-in-water emulsion. When preparing a low-fat mayonnaise with an increased water content, thickening agents are required for increased viscosity and emulsion stability. The hydrocolloids xanthan gum and guar gum are sometimes used for this purpose and they act synergistically creating a viscosity increase. However, guar gum has poor acid stability, and because mayonnaise is an acidic product guar gum will eventually start to degrade causing a viscosity decrease and subsequent emulsion separation. Despite this fact, guar gum and xanthan gum are extensively used in mayonnaises today. The aim of this degree project was to explore how the synergy between guar gum and xanthan gum influences the viscosity of a low fat mayonnaise and whether high acidity will have an impact on the viscosity over a 4-week period. This was to examine if and if so, how a mayonnaise recipe can be modified to maintain a cost efficient product with the desired rheological properties in times of hydrocolloid price fluctuations. The study was conducted by preparing 15 mayonnaises with 50% fat, either at pH 3,5; 4 or 5 and a total of 0,6 % hydrocolloids with varying proportions of guar gum and xanthan gum. The mayonnaise samples were studied by measurements of viscosity, color changes and a visual comparison of their mayonnaise-like flow-properties compared to Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise used as reference. The viscosity of the mayonnaises increased with increasing ratio of guar gum. On the other side, there were greater viscosity losses in mayonnaises with increasing ratio of guar gum 4 weeks after preparation compared to 4 days, with no apparent signs of correlation between higher acidity and hydrocolloid degradation. Mayonnaises with 20% xanthan gum and 80% guar gum had the texture most similar to the reference. In these low-fat mayonnaises, the use of more xanthan gum led to an undesired “slimy” texture and a lower viscosity – an important aspect if adjusting a low-fat mayonnaise recipe by increasing the ratio of xanthan gum. Because a commercial mayonnaise sometimes is consumed several months after manufacturing, that time frame is most likely required in order to fully measure how much the high acidity in mayonnaise will affect its viscosity. This project has shown a pattern where viscosity in the assessed mayonnaises starts to decrease a few weeks after preparation. However to find out exactly to what extent and how this would affect the overall product, and ultimately: if guar gum/xanthan gum combinations are suitable for long-term mayonnaise applications, further studies are required. / Viskositet och syrastabilitet i majonnäs med låg fetthalt och olika proportioner av xantan och guarkärnmjöl Majonnäs är en blandning av äggula, vinäger, vatten, kryddor och 70-80% olja som bildar en semi-solid olja-i-vatten-emulsion. För att tillverka en lågfettsmajonnäs med högre vatteninnehåll behöver förtjockningsmedel tillsättas för viskositet och emulsionsstabilitet. Hydrokolloiderna xantangummi och guarkärnmjöl används ibland i detta syfte och de utövar en synergi som ger ökad viskositet. Dock har guarkärnmjöl dålig syrastabilitet och eftersom majonnäs är en sur produkt kommer guarkärnmjölet efter ett tag att brytas ned vilket leder till en viskositetsminskning och emulsionsseparation. Trots detta används guarkärnmjöl och xantangummi i stor utsträckning i majonnäser idag. Syftet med examensarbetet var att undersöka hur synergin mellan guarkärnmjöl och xantangummi påverkar viskositeten i en lågfettsmajonnäs och huruvida en hög syrahalt kommer att påverka viskositeten under en 4-veckorsperiod. Detta för att se om och i så fall hur ett majonnäsrecept kan modifieras för att erhålla en kostnadseffektiv produkt om priset på hydrokolloider växlar. För arbetet bereddes 15 majonnäser med 50% fetthalt, antingen med pH 3,5; 4 eller 5 och totalt 0,6% hydrokolloider med olika proportioner av guarkärnmjöl och xantangummi. Majonnäserna undersöktes genom mätning av viskositet, färgförändringar och en visuell jämförelse av deras majonnäsliknande flytegenskaper i förhållande till Hellmann’s Real Mayonnaise som användes som referens. Viskositeten i majonnäserna ökade med ökande halt guarkärnmjöl. Å andra sidan minskade viskositeten i högre grad med ökande halt guarkärnmjöl 4 veckor efter tillverkning jämfört med 4 dagar, men inga tydliga samband mellan högre syrahalt och nedbrytning av hydrokolloider syntes. Majonnäser med en blandning av 20% xantangummi och 80% guarkärnmjöl hade den konsistens som var mest lik referensen. I dessa försök med lågfettsmajonnäser ledde användandet av högre halt xantangummi till en oönskad ”slimig” textur och en lägre viskositet – en viktig aspekt om ett recept på lågfettsmajonnäs ska modifieras genom att öka halten xantangummi. Eftersom en kommersiell majonnäs ibland konsumeras flera månader efter tillverkning så är det troligtvis den tidsramen som krävs för att helt kunna mäta hur mycket den höga syrahalten i majonnäs kommer att påverka dess viskositet. Detta projekt har påvisat ett mönster där viskositeten i de analyserade majonnäserna börjar minska några veckor efter tillverkningen. Men för att få reda på exakt i vilken utsträckning och hur detta skulle påverka produkten i sin helhet, och i slutändan: om kombinationen med guarkärnmjöl och xantangummi är lämplig för majonnäser med lång hållbarhet krävs ytterligare studier.

I have been interested in the molecular mechanisms of Haematopoietic malignant diseases such as leukaemia and lymphoma, especially those involving oncogenic tyrosine kinases. About 30 of the 90 tyrosine kinases in the human genome have been implicated in cancer (Blume-Jensen P, 2001). The oncogenic tyrosine kinases (OTKs), such as Bcr-Abl (product of chromosomal translocations of two genes bcr and abl) in Chronic Myelogenous Leukaemia, and Erythroblastic leukaemia viral oncogene homolog 2(Erb-B2) in mammary and other cancers, mediate their transforming effects via a diverse array of signalling pathways involved in DNA damage, cell survival and cell cycle regulation (Deutsch E, 2001; Skorski T, 2002; Kumar R, 1996). My work has been centred around the analysis of a mouse cancer model that is driven by an oncogenic tyrosine kinase – p56 Lck-F505 expressed on CD45 knock- out background (Baker M, 2000). The investigation of this mouse model has revealed that oncogenic inhibition of deamidation of the Bcl-xL survival protein plays a critical role in protecting thymocytes from DNA-damage induced apoptosis. Cells that would normally be eliminated due to accumulating DNA damage are instead preserved with an increasing load of double-stranded breaks, leading to genomic instability, chromosomal abnormalities and transformation. This work was published in Cancer Cell (An oncogenic tyrosine kinase inhibits DNA repair and DNA-damage-induced BclxL deamidation in T cell transformation. Zhao R, 2004). Following that I have tried to elucidate the different roles of the two deamidated species of Bcl-xL in apoptosis, and also the molecular mechanisms of DNA damage- induced Bcl-xL deamidation in order to understand the inhibition of Bcl-xL deamidation by oncogenic tyrosine kinases. Recently I have shown that Bcl-xL deamidation, whereby two critical Asn residues are converted to iso-Asp, cripples the ability of the protein to sequester pro-apoptotic BH3-only proteins such as Bim and p53- upregulated modulator of apoptosis (PUMA), thereby explaining its loss of pro-survival functionality. In vivo, DNA damage causes intracellular alkalinisation that is both necessary and sufficient to deamidate Bcl-xL, promoting apoptosis: no enzyme is necessary for this process. In pre-tumourigenic thymocytes alkalinisation is blocked, so preserving Bcl-xL in its pro-survival mode. Furthermore murine tumours are protected from genotoxic attack by native Bcl-xL, but enforced alkalinisation and consequent Bcl-xL deamidation promotes apoptosis. This part of work was published in Plos Biology (DNA damage-induced Bcl-xL deamidation is mediated by NHE-1 antiport regulated intracellular pH. Zhao R, 2007). Through collaboration with Prof AR Green’s research group at the Department of Haematology of the University of Cambridge, I have also analysed the Bcl-xL deamidation pathway in human myeloproliferative disorders, e.g. Polycythemia vera(PV) and Chronic Myelogenous Leukaemia (CML). We found that the oncogenic tyrosine kinases involved in these disorders, i.e. Jak2V617F and Bcr-Abl also inhibit the Bcl-xL deamidation pathway in DNA damage responses. These findings shed light on potential therapeutic application of the Bcl-xL deamidation pathway in human malignancies. This piece of work was recently published in the New England Journal of Medicine (Inhibition of the Bcl-xL deamidation pathway in myeloproliferative disorders. Zhao R, 2008). Overall the cited work has led to several important new insights into the molecular mechanisms involved in oncogenesis: first, that Bcl-xL deamidation is important in the cascade of events leading from DNA damage to apoptosis; second, that oncogenic tyrosine kinases inhibit these events in both the murine and human context; third, that up-regulation of the NHE-1 antiport and consequent intracellular alkalinisation are critical events in this DNA damage-induced cascade leading to apoptosis. In the process I have demonstrated the first in vivo mechanism for the deamidation of an internal protein Asn. Essentially, a completely new and unexpected signalling pathway has been uncovered that seems to pertain to all murine and human haematopoietic cell lineages that have been investigated so far.

Many chemical and physical factors govern the mobility of metal contaminants in soils and clay systems; some of these chemical factors include mineralogical composition, cation exchange capacity, organic matter content, pH and the ionic strength of soil water. This makes understanding and therefore predicting the fate of metal contaminants in soils a complex undertaking. There were two broad objectives in this study. The first was to investigate binary and ternary sorption systems, with the aim to understand the effects that factors such as pH, ionic strength, organic matter and metal concentrations, have on sorption of simple clay minerals (bentonite and kaolinite) with metals (cadmium, caesium, nickel and strontium). The second was to investigate the retention of heavy metals and radionuclides by well characterised organic-rich and organic-poor clay soils, breaking them down to their individual components to help understand the effects of each component separately, the study also tested to see if the additivity principle holds for these heavy metals and radionuclides, the additivity principle presumes that the overall sorption behaviour of a complex mixture is a summation of the weighted individual sorption behaviours of its constituents. The study also determined the relationship between the natural organic matter (NOM) content and cation exchange capacity (CEC) of the soils and how these affect the mobility of the metals, while also considering the relative importance of the speciation of the metals. Two British clay soils (Mercia Mudstone and London Clay) and two Nigerian soils (an organic-rich Ikeja Loam and the other organic-poor Magodo Laterite) were characterised by X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. Batch techniques were employed for the sorption studies, and radiometric techniques, ICP-OES and ICP-MS were used to quantify metal distribution between phases. The sorption of dissolved organic matter to clay minerals is very dependent on pH; this dependence is greater with increasing concentration of organic matter. The formation of metal-humate complexes is dependent on the nature of the metal and pH. Caesium exhibits no discernible sorption to humic acid, cadmium sorption is enhanced by increasing alkalinity but this enhancement is slightly reduced in higher concentrations of humic acid, nickel sorption is mostly unaffected by pH except in higher concentrations of humic acid and enhanced only under very low concentrations of humic acid, while strontium sorption to humic acid is reduced with increasing alkalinity. The nature and preference of humic acid sorption for these metals are vital to understanding the role played by humic acid in the ternary sorption studies of metals, humic acid and clay minerals. Strongly acidic conditions dominate other factors affecting sorption such as ionic strength in sorption of metals to clay minerals. Caesium sorption to bentonite at pH 4 is poor and almost unaffected by ionic strength of the electrolyte solution; saturation of sorption sites is reached with low amounts of adsorbed caesium. Strontium also binds poorly to bentonite at pH 4, more so than caesium, but an ionic strength effect on sorption still exists and is discernible even under these conditions. Increasing alkalinity has the expected effect of increasing sorption capacity of bentonite for both metals. Bentonite has poor sorption properties, having low affinity for caesium and strontium, but has greater affinity for caesium than strontium. The presence of humic acid can enhance or suppresses sorption, this varies from metal to metal and from solid to solid, the degree of enhancement or suppression also depends on humic acid concentration. Kaolinite has better sorption properties than bentonie. Cadmium has greater sorption affinity for kaolinite in the absence of humic acid, but nickel sorption is more enhanced in the presence of humic acid. Although the presence of humic acid enhances cadmium and nickel sorption to kaolinite, low humic acid concentration provides the best conditions for maximum sorption of both metals. High concentrations of humic acid lead to colloid formation which block access of metals with larger hydration radii to sorption sites while also encouraging the formation of humic acid-metal complexes. As with bentonite, caesium and strontium are both poorly sorbed by kaolinite. Unlike with cadmium and nickel however, the enhancement of strontium sorption is supported by higher concentrations of humic acid, these confirm a greater preference for the formation of S-HA-Sr ternary and lower preference for the formation HA-Sr binary complexes. The presence of humic acid inhibits caesium binding, and retention but this reduces with increasing alkalinity, while the reverse is the case with strontium whose retention is very poor and improved in the presence of humic acid and increasing alkalinity. Both caesium and strontium are poorly sorbed and retained by kaolinite but their retention improves with increasing humic acid concentration and pH. Cadmium and nickel also exhibit poor retention to kaolinite but their retentions are more improved under alkaline conditions and higher humic acid concentrations, nickel more so than cadmium. Similar sorption affinities were exhibited by the British (London Clay and Mercia Mudstone) and Nigerian soils (Magodo Laterite and Ikeja Loam) for the metals studied, showing the significance of soil constituent contribution to sorption behaviour. Both British clay matrices have affinity for the metals in the order Cs >> Cd ≈ Ni >> Sr, London Clay has the greater sorption capacity for all the metals, the clay mineral content of Mercia Mudstone is almost entirely made up of Illite while London Clay contains a mixture of smectite, illite and kaolinite with smectite being the most prevalent clay mineral phase. These confirm that smectite-rich clay systems will exhibit better sorption and retention capacities for metal contaminants. Both Nigerian soils showed the same order of affinity for all the metals Cd >> Ni >> Cs >> Sr, cadmium s preferential sorption to kaolinite was observed in its greater sorption and retention by the Nigerian soils which are kaolinite-rich. This preferential sorption of cadmium by kaolinite is confirmed by the Standard Addition experiment where its contribution to cadmium sorption is clearly evident, a trend not replicated with nickel as the sorbing metal. The presence of organic matter in soils or clay systems improves their metal sorption capacity significantly, especially true for insoluble organic matter, however its significance is reduced as pH increases. The contribution of organic matter also depends on the sorption affinity of the metal for organic matter; metals such like strontium are more affected by organic matter presence. The overall sorption behaviour of complex systems such as soils is difficult to attribute to their individual constituents. The laterite soils can be considered a relatively simple soil system containing only four constituents in significant quantities, yet it is difficult to replicate its sorption behaviour using a replicate proportioned mixture of its constituent phases. The additively calculated sorption profiles for the synthetic laterite were different from those obtained experimentally, the reason for this is that the existence of significant particle size differences between the natural and synthetic soils give rise to differences in the availability of sorption sites which is evident from the different CEC values measured for both systems.

Thèse numérisée par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.

Mémoire numérisé par la Direction des bibliothèques de l'Université de Montréal.