À ce jour, la scoliose idiopathique de l’adolescent (SIA) est la déformation rachidienne la plus commune parmi les enfants. Il est bien connu dans le domaine de recherche sur la SIA que les forces mécaniques, en particulier les forces biomécaniques internes dans le système musculosquelettique, pourraient jouer un rôle majeur dans l’initiation et le développement de la maladie. Cependant, les connaissances sur la transformation des forces et des stimulations mécaniques en activité biochimique sont peu abondantes. Cet axe de recherche est très prometteur et peut nous fournir de nouvelles idées dans le dépistage et le traitement de la SIA. Dans le cadre de cette étude, nous visons à caractériser la mécanotransduction chez les patients atteints de la SIA en employant des techniques novatrices aux niveaux in vivo et in vitro. Antérieurement dans notre laboratoire, nous avons démontré que les niveaux d’Ostéopontine (OPN) plasmatique chez l’humain corrèlent avec la progression et la sévérité de la maladie, et que ces changements sont observables avant le début de la scoliose. En plus, selon la littérature, l’OPN est une molécule sensible à la force mécanique, dont l’expression augmente en réponse dans de nombreux types de cellules chez plusieurs espèces. Toutefois, il n’existe aucune preuve que ce résultat soit valide in vivo chez l’humain. L’hétérogénéité physique et biochimique de la SIA pose un gros défi aux chercheurs. Souvent, il est très difficile de trouver des résultats ayant une grande applicabilité. Les études portant sur les facteurs biomécaniques ne font pas exception à cette tendance. En dépit de tout cela, nous croyons qu’une approche basée sur l’observation des contraintes de cisaillement présentes dans le système musculosquelettique pourrait aider à surmonter ces difficultés. Les contraintes de cisaillement physiologique sont générées par des courants de fluide en mouvement à l’intérieur des os. Aussi, elles sont omniprésentes et universelles chez l’humain, peu importe l’âge, le sexe, la condition physique, etc., ce qui veut dire que l’étudier pourrait fort bien avancer nos connaissances en formant une base fondamentale avec laquelle on pourra mieux comprendre les différences quant à la mécanotransduction chez les patients atteints de la SIA par rapport aux sujets sains. Pour ce projet, donc, nous proposons l’hypothèse que les sujets atteints de la SIA se différencient par leurs réponses respectives à la force mécanique au niveau cellulaire (en termes de l’expression génique) ainsi qu’au niveau in vivo (en termes du marqueur OPN et son récepteur, sCD44). Afin de vérifier la partie de notre hypothèse de recherche concernant l’aspect in vivo, nous avons recruté une cohorte de patients âgés de 9-17 ans, y compris i) des cas pré-chirurgicaux (angle de Cobb > 45°), ii) des cas modérément atteints (angle de Cobb 10-44°), iii) des témoins, et iv) des enfants asymptomatiques à risque de développer la scoliose (selon nos dépistages biochimiques et fonctionnels) d’âge et sexe appariés. Une pression pulsatile et dynamique avec une amplitude variant de 0-4 psi à 0.006 Hz a été appliquée à un des bras de chacun de nos sujets pour une durée de 90 minutes. Au tout début et à chaque intervalle de 30 minutes après l’initiation de la pression, un échantillon de sang a été prélevé, pour pouvoir surveiller les niveaux d’OPN et de sCD44 circulants chez les sujets. Nous avons découvert que le changement des niveaux d’OPN plasmatique, mais pas des niveaux de sCD44, corrélaient avec la sévérité de la difformité rachidienne chez les sujets, ceux ayant une courbe plus prononcée démontrant une ampleur de réponse moins élevée. Pour vérifier la partie de notre hypothèse de recherche concernant la réponse mécanotransductive cellulaire, des ostéoblastes prélevées à 12 sujets ont été mis en culture pour utilisation avec notre appareil (le soi-disant « parallel plate flow chamber »), qui sert à fournir aux ostéoblastes le niveau de contraintes de cisaillement désiré, de manière contrôlée et prévisible. Les sujets étaient tous femelles, âgées de 11-17 ans ; les patients ayant déjà une scoliose possédaient une courbe diagnostiquée comme « double courbe majeure ». Une contrainte fluidique de cisaillement à 2 Pa, 0.5 Hz a été appliquée à chaque échantillon ostéoblastique pour une durée de 90 minutes. Les changements apportés à l’expression génique ont été mesurés et quantifiés par micropuce et qRT-PCR. En réponse à notre stimulation, nous avons trouvé qu’il n’y avait que quelques gènes étant soit différentiellement exprimés, soit inchangés statistiquement dans tous les groupes expérimentaux atteints, en exhibant simultanément la condition contraire chez les témoins. Ces résultats mettent en évidence la grande diversité de la réponse mécanotransductive chez les patients comparés aux contrôles, ainsi qu’entre les sous-groupes fonctionnels de la SIA. Globalement, cette œuvre pourrait contribuer au développement d’outils diagnostiques innovateurs pour identifier les enfants asymptomatiques à risque de développer une scoliose, et évaluer le risque de progression des patients en ayant une déjà. Aussi, dans les années à venir, les profils mécanotransductifs des patients pourraient s’avérer un facteur crucial à considérer cliniquement, particulièrement en concevant ou personnalisant des plans de traitements pour des personnes atteintes. / Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is the most commonly occurring musculoskeletal deformity among children today. It is generally well accepted in scoliosis research that mechanical forces, especially the internal biomechanical forces of the musculoskeletal system, could well have a major role in the induction and pathogenesis of the disease. However, the process by which mechanical loads or stimuli are converted into biochemical activity (mechanotransduction) has not been explored so deeply. This emerging facet of research in AIS holds much promise for new insights into the disease. Here, we aim to characterize mechanotransduction in scoliosis patients using some novel techniques at both the in vivo and in vitro levels. Previously in our lab, we demonstrated that the level of plasma osteopontin (OPN) and sCD44 in the human body is a strong indicator of disease progression and severity, and that these changes are observable before scoliosis onset. In the literature, OPN in vitro is known to be mechanosensitive, showing upregulation in response to mechanical stress in a variety of cell types across many species. However, to the best of the author’s knowledge, no literature exists as to whether this behaviour carries over in vivo in humans. A major difficulty in AIS research is the heterogeneity of the disease, both physically and biochemically. Because of this, many times it is difficult to find results with wide applicability to patients. Study of biomechanical factors in AIS is no exception. We believe, however, that study of fluid shear stress in the musculoskeletal system may be able to solve this problem for mechanotransduction-related issues in AIS. Native physiological fluid shear stresses in humans are experienced in the musculoskeletal system, caused by fluid movement over cells therein. These fluid shear stresses are omnipresent and universal in all humans, regardless of age, gender, fitness level, etc., which means that studying it could very well go a long way towards establishing a fundamental basis of understanding the differences as to mechanotransduction in scoliosis patients as opposed to normal cases. In this project, then, we advanced the hypothesis that AIS patients are distinguishable in the way they respond to mechanical force at both the cellular level (in terms of gene expression) as well as globally at the in vivo level (in terms of the scoliosis marker OPN and its receptor sCD44). To test the in vivo portion of our hypothesis, we recruited a cohort of patients between the ages of 9-17, each one of which fell into one of 4 subject groups: i) surgical cases (pre-surgery, Cobb angle > 45°), ii) moderately affected cases (Cobb angle 10-44°), iii) controls, or iv) asymptomatic children at risk of developing scoliosis matched for age and gender against healthy controls. A dynamic, pulsatile, compressive pressure of variable amplitude from 0-4 psi at 0.006 Hz was applied to the arm of each subject for a period of 90 minutes. Initially and at intervals of 30 minutes after the start of force application, blood samples were taken in order to monitor circulating plasma OPN and sCD44 levels in subjects. We found that the change of circulating OPN levels, but not sCD44 levels, measured in vivo in response to our mechanical stimulation was statistically significantly correlated to status of spinal deformity severity, with more severely affected subjects demonstrating lower magnitudes of ΔOPN. To test the cellular portion of our hypothesis, osteoblasts from severely affected AIS patients and unaffected controls were cultured for use with our parallel plate flow chamber (PPFC) apparatus setup, which permits application of fluid shear stress patterns to cells in a predictable, controllable manner. Subjects were all females who fell into the 11-17 years age range, with scoliotic patients presenting with double major curves. A dynamic, sinusoidal and oscillatory fluid shear stress pattern was applied to osteoblasts at 2 Pa, 0.5 Hz for 90 minutes. Overall gene expression changes across RNA samples as a result of our stimulation were measured using microarray and qRT-PCR approaches. In response, only a very small number of genes are either mutually differentially expressed or statistically unchanged across all functional scoliotic subgroups while having the opposite condition in the control group, indicating a great degree of difference in terms of mechanotransductive response as compared internally between AIS functional subgroups, as well as between control and AIS patients. Globally, this project’s work may contribute to the development of innovative diagnostic tools to identify asymptomatic children at risk of developing scoliosis, and to assess the risk of curve progression at an early stage in those already affected. Also, in years to come, the mechanotransductive profile of a patient could be another integral factor to weigh, clinically, when considering or designing treatment plans for affected persons.

Cette thèse présente une simulation, en canal à houle, des processus naturels hydrodynamiques etde transport sédimentaire de la zone de déferlement bathymétrique. L’analyse spatio-temporelle dela structure moyenne et instantanée de l’écoulement repose sur un jeu de mesures hauterésolutions.On effectue une étude des processus de couche limite et de l’impact des processus desurface libre sur le fond sédimentaire.Un profil de plage en forme de terrasse est engendré par le déferlement de séries de vagues irrégulières(JONSWAP) sur un fond mobile constitué de sédiments de faible densité (_ _ 1.19). Dans cesconditions, la mesure acoustique (ADVP) de profils de vitesse, de concentration et de flux de sédimentsest synchronisée à des séquences d’images vidéo et à des mesures de hauteurs de vagues.Une analyse de l’évolution des quantités moyennes hydrodynamiques et de transport solide est réaliséedans la zone de déferlement. Une analyse à l’échelle intra-vague aborde la structure del’écoulement sous le déferlement de vagues irrégulières. Enfin, on s’attache à une comparaison de lacontrainte au fond sous une vague déferlée calculée par des modèles physiques, à celle obtenue parmesures directes. / This thesis presents a wave channel simulation of the hydrodynamic and sediment transportprocesses in the wave breaking region. The spatio-temporal analysis of the mean and instantaneousflow structure relies on a full set of high resolution data. The study focuses on processes related tothe wave boundary layer and to the impact of surface breaking on the mobile bed.A terraced beach profile is generated by the breaking of irregular wave sequences (JONSWAP) on amobile bed constituted of low density sediments (_ _ 1.19). In these conditions, the acoustic measurementof velocity profiles, concentration profiles and sediment flux profiles are synchronised withsequences of video images and wave heights. An analysis of the evolution of mean hydrodynamicand sediment transport quantities is undertaken across the entire wave breaking zone. An intra-waveanalysis on the flow structure below irregular breaking waves is carried out. Finally, bed shear stressbelow a breaking wave predicted by different physical models and direct measurements, are comparedand discussed.

[pt] O atual esgotamento de campos de petróleo tradicionais tem aumentado a demanda pela produção e transporte óleos não convencionais, que podem possuir uma alta viscosidade dinâmica. Neste contexto, o estudo do escoamento simultâneo de gás e óleos viscosos em tubulações é de grande importância para a indústria de Óleo e Gás. Simulações numéricas uni-dimensionais desempenham um papel essencial nestes estudos, especialmente aquelas baseadas no Modelos de Dois-Fluidos 1D, cuja solução numérica em malhas refinadas consiste na Metodologia de Captura de Regimes. O propósito deste trabalho é utilizar esta abordagem para reproduzir dados experimentais de escoamentos óleo viscoso-gás em golfadas e estratificado ondulado em um duto horizontal em escala laboratorial. Para aprimorar os resultados desta metodologia, dados experimentais foram usados conjuntamente com um procedimento de otimização e uma versão simplificada do Modelos de Dois-Fluidos 1D para criar duas novas expressões para o fator de atrito interfacial, as quais mostraram maior eficiência que correlações padrão da literatura. O efeito da introdução da pressão dinâmica, difusão axial de quantidade de movimento e tensão interfacial dinâmica no Modelo de Dois-Fluidos 1D foi analisado. Resultados de gradiente de pressão e de fração volumétrica de líquido (histogramas, valores médios e perfis transientes) foram comparados com dados experimentais. Observou-se, com o auxílio de análises de boa-colocação, que a pressão dinâmica e as novas expressões para o fator de atrito interfacial fornecem resultados satisfatórios. / [en] The current depletion of traditional oil fields is increasing the demand for the production and transport of unconventional oils, which might possess a high dynamic viscosity. In this context, the study of the simultaneous flow of gas and viscous oils in pipelines is of paramount importance for the Oil and Gas industry. One-dimensional numerical simulations play a key role in such studies, especially the ones based on the 1D Two-Fluid Model, whose numerical solution in fine meshes consists in the Regime Capturing Methodology. The purpose of this work is to use this approach for reproducing the experimental data of isothermal slug and stratified wavy viscous oil-gas flows in a horizontal laboratory-scale pipe. For improving the results of the methodology, experimental data were used together with an optimization procedure and a simplified version of the 1D Two-Fluid Model for successfully creating two new expressions for the interfacial friction factor, which showed better efficiency than standard literature correlations. The effect of introducing a dynamic pressure, axial momentum diffusion and dynamic interfacial shear in the 1D Two-Fluid Model was examined. Results of pressure gradient and liquid holdup (histograms, mean values and transient profiles) were compared against experimental data. It was seen, with the aid of well-posedness analyses, that the dynamic pressure and the new expressions for the interfacial shear stress provided satisfactory results.

Polypropylene fibers are used in concrete mixtures to avoid early cracks during shrinkage. Low thickness of each fiber and low density are reasons, why these fibers are effective in small dosage. Their disadvantages are smooth surface and hydrophobic character of polypropylene, thus it is necessary to improve their surface for better spread during mixing and to reach needed adhesion between fibers and cement paste. In present time are using chemical solutions applied on surface of the fibers to provide better water absorption, but the trend is reducing of using chemicals in industry and this situation demands new technology. There is possible solution, polypropylene fibers treated by low-temperature plasma. This method was developer by cooperation Masaryk University in Brno with company KrampeHarex and Brno Universiry of Technology. The goal of this thesis is to bring comparison, of influence on rheology properties of fresh concrete, between admixed the fibers with applied chemical layer and low-temperature plasma treated polypropylene fibers.

Fundação Carlos Chagas Filho de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado do Rio de Janeiro / The Amazon river, located in northernBrazil, discharges between 80,000 and 250,000 m3s-1 of water onto the adjacent shelf, creating a plume of brackish water that extends hundreds of kilometers away from the river mouth. This river also carries a large amount of fine sediments to the ocean where fluid mud has been found in the topset and upper foreset layers of the subaqueous delta formed on the mid-shelf. One of the main goals of this dissertation is to describe how turbulence and suspended sediment concentration vary along the Northern Channel of the Amazon river. Water column measurements were carried out in October 2008 at six anchor stations (P1, P3, P5, P6, P8 e P9) located seaward of the river mouth; P1 and P9 were 125 km apart. Each station was occupied during 13 hours during which current speed and direction were continuously sampled with a 600 kHz Teledyne-RDI ADCP; hourly profiles of temperature, salinity, turbidity and depth were also obtained. Water samples were collected for determination of Suspended Particulate Matter (SPM) concentration and calibration of the turbidity sensor. Current speed reached values above 1.5 m s1 in the along-channel direction (NE-SW); a remarkable ebb-flood asymmetry was observed and flows were strongly ebb-dominated. Throughout the water column, SPM concentration at stations P1 and P3 varied between 100 and 300 mg L1 in association with the presence of freshwater. In contrast, a strong salinity gradient was observed between stations P6 and P9, coinciding with the occurrence of concentrations of SPM above 10 g L-1 (fluid mud). At stations P3, P5 and P6, interface between freshwater from the Amazon river and salt water from the continental shelf, shear stresses wereestimated through four diferents methods: Reynolds, Turbulent Kinetic Energy (TKE), modified TKE and Quadratic Law; in the nearbed region (3 mab) the computed values varied between 0 and 3 Pa. At the three stations (P3, P5 and P6) the lowest and the highest shear stress values were obtained through, respectively, the Reynolds and the TKE methods. Over the whole water column turbulence intensity was estimated through the standard deviation of the turbulent component of the along-channel current velocity (root-mean square of u); from these values, it was estimated the turbulent dissipation of energy (G), whose values at 3 mab varied between zero and 20 s1.

Slope processes are important to understand if we are to protect fragile environments. Every year slope development in weak soils put nearby infrastructure in risk zones of sliding and ravine erosion takes away field areal from farmers as they grow even larger. Many methods for doing a risk analysis of a slope and its soil are complicated and require a lot of equipment. A simple way to do a slope investigation is explained in this report, along with its advantages and disadvantages. The authors construct a shear ring, an apparatus to measure peak shear stress of soils before fracturing. LIDAR scanning of two small ravines are also made to illustrate how laser scanning can be used to accurately measure denudation in slopes. The results vary, the shear ring is mostly a success aside from errors caused by difficulty in taking representative samples and disturbance. Some of the laboratory work made to determine material properties fail at giving good results, often a result of bad samples or disturbance in the tests. The LIDAR is determined to be a good instrument when working with slope development. / Sluttningsprocesser är viktiga att förstå och studera om vi ska kunna skydda känsliga områden. Varje år så sätter svaga jordar i sluttningar närliggande infrastruktur i riskzonen för att ligga på ett glidplan som snabbt kan släppa om jorden blir för blöt eller om för mycket tyngd läggs ovanpå. Samtidigt så tar ravinerosion bort åkerareal från bönder varje år medan ravinerna blir större och större. Många metoder för att göra riskanalyser av sluttningar är komplicerade och kräver mycket utrustning. I denna rapport så testas ett enkelt sätt att göra en sluttningsanalys med tillhörande diskussion kring dess fördelar och nackdelar. Författarna konstruerar en shear ring, en apparat som används för att testa jordens möjlighet att motstå en applicerad kraft. Två sidoraviner scannas även med LIDAR som en bas för att studera denudation i sluttningar. Resultaten varierar, shear ring-apparaturen bestäms som väl fungerande med undantag från vissa utförda tester, där svårigheter uppstod då jordproverna var störda eller mindre representativa. Vissa av laborationerna på jorden misslyckas med att ge bra värden, vilket ofta är ett resultat av dåliga eller störda prover. Laserscanningar av raviner med LIDAR bestäms som ett bra sätt att studera utvecklingen i sluttningar samt att mäta erosion.

Les mécanismes d'érosion sont la principale cause de rupture des ouvrages hydrauliques en remblai, c'est pourquoi il est capital de pouvoir quantifier la résistance des sols à l'érosion. Divers appareillages permettent d'en obtenir une estimation, notamment le Jet Erosion Test (JET) dont le modèle d'interprétation est empirique. L'objectif de ce travail est de statuer sur la pertinence ce modèle d'interprétation. Pour cela, nous avons développé un modèle numérique 2D de type Navier-Stokes turbulent avec déplacement d'interface et remaillage, permettant de modéliser l'érosion d'un sol cohésif par un écoulement turbulent. En injectant dans notre modèle les paramètres d'érosion trouvés à la suite d'essais de JET, on retrouve numériquement l'évolution de la profondeur d'affouillement obtenue expérimentalement. Nous avons appliqué cette méthode à trois différents essais de JET, les résultats obtenus sont en bon accord avec les résultats expérimentaux. En plus d'une importante étude paramétrique, ces résultats ont permis d'apporter d'importants éléments de validation au modèle d'interprétation du JET. Pour étendre le champ d'applicabilité du modèle, nous avons également appliqué cette méthode de modélisation à la configuration de l'érosion de conduit. Trois essais de Hole Erosion Test (HET) ont été modélisés et nous avons également obtenus des résultats en bon accord avec les résultats expérimentaux. Une analyse de la loi d'érosion et des paramètres d'érosion obtenus à la suite d'essais de JET et de HET a ensuite été initiée. Les bases d'une étude portant sur l'influence de l'angle d'incidence de l'écoulement, sur l'efficacité de l'érosion, ont été posées. / Erosion mechanisms are the main cause of hydraulic failure in embankments. Therefore, the resistance of soils to erosion must be quantified. To this hand, several devices are used such as the Jet Erosion Test (JET), whose model of interpretation is strongly empirical. The aim of this study is to determine the relevance of the interpretation model of the JET. For this purpose, a 2D Navier-Stokes numerical model of erosion of cohesive soils by a turbulent flow has been proposed. We first developed and implemented an interface movement model, whose input parameters are the erosion parameters found experimentally by JET test. Then, the scour depth evolutions obtained numerically for three JET test cases are compared to experimental data. Good agreement is obtained. A parametric study has also been conducted to validate the accuracy of the numerical results. These results contribute to the validation of the JET interpretation model. To extend its domain of application, we applied the numerical model to concentrated leak erosion during Hole Erosion Tests (HET). Three HET were modeled and, here again, our numerical results are in satisfactory agreement with the experimental results from the tests. An analysis of the erosion law and erosion parameters obtained with JET and HET was finally initiated. The potential influence of the flow incidence angle on the erosion efficiency was underlined.

This thesis makes contributions towards the development of two different small-scale sensing systems which show promise for measurements in fluid mechanics. Well-resolved turbulent Wall Shear Stress (WSS) measurements could provide a basis for realistic computational models of near-wall turbulent flow in aerodynamic design. In aerodynamics field applications, they could provide indication of flow direction and regions of separation, enabling inputs for flight control or active control of wind-turbine blades to reduce shock and fatigue loading due to separated flow regions. Traditional thermal WSS sensors consist of a single microscale hot-film, flush-mounted with the surface and maintained at constant temperature. Their potential for fast response to small fluctuations may not be realized, as heat transfer through the substrate creates heat-exchange with fluid, leading to loss of spatial and temporal resolution. The guard-heated thermal WSS sensor is a design introduced to block this loss of resolution. A numerical flow-field with a range of length and time and scales was generated to study the response of both guard-heated and conventional single-element thermal WSS sensors. A conjugate heat transfer solution including substrate heat conduction and flow convection, provides spatiotemporal data on both the actual and the “measured” WSS fluctuations calculated from the heat transfer rates experienced due to the WSS field. For a single-element sensor in air, we found that the heat transfer through the substrate was up to six times larger than direct heat transfer from the hot-film to the fluid. The resulting loss of resolution in the single-element sensor can be largely recovered by using the guard-heated design. Spectra for calculated WSS from heat transfer response show that high frequencies are considerably better resolved in guard-heated sensors than in the single element sensor. Nanoresonators are nanowires (NWs) excited into mechanical vibration at a resonance frequency, with a change in spectral width created by gas damping from the environment, or a shift in the resonance peak frequency created by added mass. They enable a wide range of applications, from sensors to study rarefied gas flow friction to the detection of early-stage cancer. The extraordinary sensitivity of nanoresonators for disease molecule detection has been demonstrated with a few NWs, but the high cost of traditional electron-beam lithography patterning, have inhibited practical applications requiring large arrays of sensors. Field-directed assembly techniques under development in our laboratory enable a large number of devices at low cost. Electro-deposition of metals in templates yields high-quality single nanowires, but undesired clumps must be removed. This calls for separation (extraction) of single nanowires. In this work, single nanowires are extracted by using the sedimentation behavior of particles. Based on numerical and experimental analyses, the optimum time and region for extracting samples with the highest fraction of single nanowires ratio was found. We show that it is possible to take samples free of large clumps of nanowires and decrease the ratio of undesired particles to single nanowires by over one order of magnitude. / Graduate

L’épithélium digestif est recouvert d’une couche protectrice de mucus, qui est un hydrogel perméable et viscoélastique. La couche de mucus est formée d'un réseau de fibres de mucines. Ces dernières sont des glycoprotéines de haut poids moléculaire avec un squelette protéique riche en sérine et thréonine, lié à une grande variété de O-glycanes qui représentent une source nutritionnelle pour les bactéries et/ou des ligands potentiels pour les adhésines bactériennes, contribuant ainsi probablement à la sélection et l'implantation d'un microbiote régio-spécifique. Nous nous sommes intéressés aux capacités muco-adhésives de L. lactis TIL448 par le couplage de (i) la microscopie à force atomique (AFM), à l'échelle de la cellule unique et en mode statique et (ii) la méthode hydrodynamique en chambre à écoulement cisaillé, à l'échelle de l’ensemble de la population bactérienne. Dans l'optique d'identifier la nature et le rôle fonctionnel des déterminants de surface mis en jeu, nous avons testé, outre la souche sauvage, la souche curée de plasmides TIL1230 et deux mutants TIL1289 et TIL1290, altérés dans la synthèse de pili et d'une protéine "mucus-binding", respectivement. Pour relier les propriétés muco-adhésives et diffusives de L. lactis, les capacités de migration de la souche TIL448 et de ses dérivés ont ensuite été évaluées dans des suspensions de PGM à concentration variable (0,5% et 5% (m/v)), en mettant en œuvre une nouvelle méthode "Diffusion Front Tracking" (DFT). Cette méthode consiste à suivre le front de diffusion de la suspension bactérienne au cours du temps au sein du réseau de PGM, dans une chambre de Hele-Shaw, couplée à une caméra CCD. Les bactéries L. lactis sont préalablement marquées avec la fuschine pour mieux visualiser le front de diffusion. Par ailleurs, nous avons démontré que les bactéries L. lactis ont tendance à être plus diffusives dans PGM 0,5% (m/v) que dans PGM 5% (m/v). La microstructure du réseau de mucines a donc été caractérisée par des approches de microrhéométrie 1 point (1P) et 2 points (2P) et de suivi de particules fluorescentes / The digestive epithelium is covered with a protective mucus layer, regarded as a viscoelastic and permeable hydrogel. Mucins are large glycoproteins with a serine and threonine-rich protein backbone, linked to a wide variety of O-linked oligosaccharide side chains arranged in a bottle-brush configuration. Such O-glycans are nutritive sources for bacteria and/or potential ligands for bacterial adhesins, probably contributing in this way to the selection of the species-specific microbiota. In this thesis, we focused on unraveling multi-scale interactions between a vegetal L. lactis subsp. lactis isolate, TIL448 and a model mucin, Pig Gastric Mucin (PGM). Our study, based on the combination of different biophysical approaches and tools, has allowed dissecting the muco-adhesive and diffusive phenotype of L. lactis TIL448, in relation with the nature of the bacterial surface determinants and the structural, mechanical and rheological properties of the PGM network. Firstly, the muco-adhesion of TIL448 were examined using the single-cell scale AFM measurements with dedicated lacto-probes and shear stress flow chamber experiments at the bacterial population level, under laminar flow conditions. We also tested the plasmid-cured strain and two mutants, obtained by disruption of the genes encoding the major pilin and the mucus-binding protein. Then, the diffusion ability of L. lactis was determined by implementing a novel method, named Diffusion Front Tracking (DFT). It consists of tracking the diffusion front of stained cell suspensions over time within the PGM network. In a second part, in order to have a more thorough understanding of the L. lactis muco-adhesive and diffusive ability, the microstructure and mechanical properties of PGM were determined. Gel microstructure for varying PGM concentration was probed by the analysis of diffusivities of 200-nm and 500-nm fluorescent nanoparticles with different surface properties (carboxyl-terminated, amine-terminated and neutral charged tracers), using fluorescence Multiple-Particle Tracking

The main goal of this study is to define the technique to be used to assess the aggradation (by bed load) and degradation (of sediments) of the recessed as well as non-recessed stilling basins of rectangular cross section; when the hydraulic jump occurs in the stilling basin where the submergence coefficient equals 1,05. It consists of two parts, theoretical and experimental. The theoretical part summarizes the related theory on a hydraulic jump, design of a stilling basin, an incipient motion of sediment, an assessment of silting and scouring of the stilling basin. The second part, the actual experiment, led to the determination of the critical values essential for the assessment. For the evaluation, the nondimensional shear stress and the densimetric Froude number were used.