New forms of democratic citizenship in the Middle East and North Africa: an alternative approach for the EU and the United States. Euspring Working Paper No. 3 July 2016

The Arab Spring and its truncated aftermath raise many important questions about political reform. Citizenship and rights, in particular, form an important area of concern in light of the obstacles to wholesale democratization and to the reform of formal institutional structures in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). As most regimes have pushed back strongly against societal pressure for political opening, many reformers hope that active citizenship can compensate for the lack of progress in other areas. One of the few enduring legacies of the flowering of democratic activism in 2011 is citizens’ search for more active involvement in decisions that affect their day-to-day lives — even as the prospect of democratization has receded in most states. This has engendered much debate over how citizens across the region understand rights — and whether they seek a concept of citizenship that is distinct to the region

Evaluation of fixed point H2S gas detectors intended for use in industrial safety applications

International audienceH2S gas detectors are used by a wide variety of industrial companies for safety reasons, e.g: Oil&Gas, Chemistry, Water Treatment. The detectors are usually installée! where H2S can be found in ambient air in order to prevent toxic risk. The tests, requested by the French Ministry for Environment, were conducted by INERIS in partnership with Exera (an association of companies and organizations which invest in instruments, measurement, control and automation Systems). This évaluation was carried out to investigate if H2S gas detectors can operate efficiently under différent operating conditions on industrial sites (température, humidity, pressure, interfering species, etc.). The measurement range of the detectors that were evaluated is 0- 20 ppm

Modèles d'acoustique phénoménologiques - Application à la conception de matériaux sur mesure

Les modèles d'acoustique phénoménologique permettent, à partir de la description géométrique d'un matériau poreux, d'obtenir sa courbe d'absorption en fonction de la fréquence d'une onde le traversant. Faciles à programmer et à calculer, ces modèles permettent lors de la phase de conception d'une architecture poreuse d'accorder la structure aux exigences d'un cahier des charges. Nous présenterons une utilisation de ces modèles dans le cadre d'une approche Material-by-design

Diversidad críptica en gasterópodos mediterráneos del género Aplus (Neogastropoda: Buccinidae)

Northeastern Atlantic and Mediterranean gastropods previously ascribed to the buccinid genus Pollia Gray, 1837 are more correctly classified in the genus Aplus de Gregorio, 1885. Using an integrative taxonomy approach combining molecular, morphological and geographic data, we revisit the limits of the extant species in the area, and propose a molecular phylogenetic hypothesis based on 66 specimens from various localities in the Mediterranean Sea, including type localities of some nominal taxa. We used a preliminary morphological inspection, followed by a DNA-barcoding approach to propose species hypotheses, subsequently consolidated using additional data (phylogenetic, geographic and refined morphological data). Seven species hypotheses were eventually retained within our molecularly assayed samples, versus three classical morphologically recognized species. Among these, three correspond to Aplus dorbignyi (Payreaudeau, 1826) with its hitherto unrecognized geographical cognates A. gaillardoti (Puton, 1856) (eastern Mediterranean) and Aplus nodulosus (Bivona Ant., 1832) (Sicily); two closely related, yet considerably divergent, lineages are treated as a single species under Aplus scaber (Locard, 1892); the classically admitted Aplus scacchianus (Philippi, 1844) is confirmed by molecular evidence; Mediterranean populations attributable to Aplus assimilis (Reeve, 1846) may represent either cryptic native populations or an ongoing invasion of the Mediterranean by what was hitherto considered to be a West African species; finally, specimens from the Strait of Gibraltar may represent an undescribed species, but we conservatively refrain from formally introducing it pending the analysis of more material, and it is compared with the similar Aplus campisii (Ardovini, 2014), recently described from Sicily and not assayed molecularly, and Aplus scaber.Los gasterópodos mediterráneos y del Atlántico nordeste previamente asignados al género Pollia Gray, 1837 deben ser más correctamente incluidos en el género Aplus de Gregorio, 1885. Se revisan aquí los límites de las especies recientes de este género en el área estudiada por medio de un enfoque de taxonomía integrativa. En base a ello se propone una hipótesis filogenética basada en 66 ejemplares procedentes de varias localidades del Mediterráneo, incluyendo las localidades tipo de algunos taxones nominales. Primero se realizó una diferenciación morfológica, seguida de la aplicación del marcador molecular COI para proponer las especies a modo de hipótesis, que finalmente fueron validadas con datos adicionales (filogenéticos, geográficos y detalles morfológicos). Como resultado se reconocieron siete especies válidas entre los ejemplares analizados molecularmente, en contraste con las tres especies previamente reconocidas morfológicamente. Tres de ellas corresponden a Aplus dorbignyi (Payreaudeau, 1826) y a sus afines geográficos no reconocidas hasta ahora A. gaillardoti (Puton, 1856) [del Mediterráneo oriental] y Aplus nodulosus (Bivona Ant., 1832) [de Sicilia]; dos linajes estrechamente relacionados, aunque divergentes, son considerados como una misma especie con el nombre de Aplus scaber (Locard, 1892); la especie tradicionalmente admitida Aplus scacchianus (Philippi, 1844) se confirma en base a evidencias moleculares; las poblaciones mediterráneas atribuibles a Aplusas similis (Reeve, 1846) pueden ser crípticas nativas o corresponder a una invasión en curso por parte de esta especie del noroeste africano; finalmente los ejemplares del Estrecho de Gibraltar pueden representar una especie no descrita, pero se ha preferido optar por una posición conservadora y no introducir un nuevo nombre a la espera del estudio de material adicional y compararla con Aplus campisii (Ardovini, 2014), especie descrita recientemente de Sicilia y pendiente de su análisis molecular, y con Aplus scaber

Representation graphique des coefficients d'anisotropies des milieux élastiques généralisés

On s'intéressera à des modèles d’élasticité généralisé : modèles se caractérisant par la prise en compte de longueurs internes. Nous introduirons une méthode graphique permettant de savoir, a priori, pour un modèle généralisé quelconque et pour un groupe de symétrie quelconque, le nombre de coefficients définissant l'opérateur de comportement associé. Cette approche permet d’obtenir les informations nécessaires pour dériver l’expression analytique de l’opérateur concerné

Study of SVOM/ECLAIRs inhomogeneities in the detection plane below 8 keV and their mitigation for the trigger performances

The Space-based multi-band astronomical Variable Objects Monitor (SVOM) is a Chinese-French mission dedicated to the study of the transient sky. It is scheduled to start operations in 2024. ECLAIRs is a coded-mask telescope with a large field of view. It is designed to detect and localize gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) in the energy range from 4 keV up to 120 keV. In 2021, the ECLAIRs telescope underwent various calibration campaigns in vacuum test-chambers to evaluate its performance. Between 4 and 8 keV, the counting response of the detection plane shows inhomogeneities between pixels from different production batches. The efficiency inhomogeneity is caused by low-efficiency pixels (LEPs) from one of the two batches, together with high-threshold pixels (HTPs) whose threshold was raised to avoid cross-talk effects. In addition, some unexpected noise was found in the detection plane regions close to the heat pipes. We study the impact of these inhomogeneities and of the heat-pipe noise at low energies on the ECLAIRs onboard triggers. We propose different strategies in order to mitigate these impacts and to improve the onboard trigger performance. We analyzed the data from the calibration campaigns and performed simulations with the ground model of the ECLAIRs trigger software in order to design and evaluate the different strategies. Most of the impact of HTPs can be corrected for by excluding HTPs from the trigger processing. To correct for the impact of LEPs, an efficiency correction in the shadowgram seems to be a good solution. An effective solution for the heat-pipe noise is selecting the noisy pixels and ignoring their data in the 4--8 keV band during the data analysis.Comment: Accepted for publication in Astronomy&Astrophysics Accepted for publication in Astronomy&Astrophysics Accepted for publication in Astronom

FOREDUNE GUIDED REMOBILIZATION EXPERIMENTS ALONG THE SOUTHWEST COAST OF FRANCE

This contribution presents the response of experimental management methods implemented along 2 km stretch of the southwest coast of France with the objective to restore aeolian dynamics and foredune mobility to promote quasi alongshore-uniform landward foredune migration. The analysis based on eight airborne LiDAR campaigns and several morphometric indicators shows that the alongshore and temporal variability of foredune evolution depends on natural dynamics and contrasted managed strategies. These experiments offer new perspectives and guidelines for coastal dune managers in areas where chronic erosion threatens fixed dune systems

High-Precision Radiosurgical Dose Delivery by Interlaced Microbeam Arrays of High-Flux Low-Energy Synchrotron X-Rays

Microbeam Radiation Therapy (MRT) is a preclinical form of radiosurgery dedicated to brain tumor treatment. It uses micrometer-wide synchrotron-generated X-ray beams on the basis of spatial beam fractionation. Due to the radioresistance of normal brain vasculature to MRT, a continuous blood supply can be maintained which would in part explain the surprising tolerance of normal tissues to very high radiation doses (hundreds of Gy). Based on this well described normal tissue sparing effect of microplanar beams, we developed a new irradiation geometry which allows the delivery of a high uniform dose deposition at a given brain target whereas surrounding normal tissues are irradiated by well tolerated parallel microbeams only. Normal rat brains were exposed to 4 focally interlaced arrays of 10 microplanar beams (52 µm wide, spaced 200 µm on-center, 50 to 350 keV in energy range), targeted from 4 different ports, with a peak entrance dose of 200Gy each, to deliver an homogenous dose to a target volume of 7 mm3 in the caudate nucleus. Magnetic resonance imaging follow-up of rats showed a highly localized increase in blood vessel permeability, starting 1 week after irradiation. Contrast agent diffusion was confined to the target volume and was still observed 1 month after irradiation, along with histopathological changes, including damaged blood vessels. No changes in vessel permeability were detected in the normal brain tissue surrounding the target. The interlacing radiation-induced reduction of spontaneous seizures of epileptic rats illustrated the potential pre-clinical applications of this new irradiation geometry. Finally, Monte Carlo simulations performed on a human-sized head phantom suggested that synchrotron photons can be used for human radiosurgical applications. Our data show that interlaced microbeam irradiation allows a high homogeneous dose deposition in a brain target and leads to a confined tissue necrosis while sparing surrounding tissues. The use of synchrotron-generated X-rays enables delivery of high doses for destruction of small focal regions in human brains, with sharper dose fall-offs than those described in any other conventional radiation therapy

New Species in the Old World: Europe as a Frontier in Biodiversity Exploration, a Test Bed for 21st Century Taxonomy

The number of described species on the planet is about 1.9 million, with ca. 17,000 new species described annually, mostly from the tropics. However, taxonomy is usually described as a science in crisis, lacking manpower and funding, a politically acknowledged problem known as the Taxonomic Impediment. Using data from the Fauna Europaea database and the Zoological Record, we show that contrary to general belief, developed and heavily-studied parts of the world are important reservoirs of unknown species. In Europe, new species of multicellular terrestrial and freshwater animals are being discovered and named at an unprecedented rate: since the 1950s, more than 770 new species are on average described each year from Europe, which add to the 125,000 terrestrial and freshwater multicellular species already known in this region. There is no sign of having reached a plateau that would allow for the assessment of the magnitude of European biodiversity. More remarkably, over 60% of these new species are described by non-professional taxonomists. Amateurs are recognized as an essential part of the workforce in ecology and astronomy, but the magnitude of non-professional taxonomist contributions to alpha-taxonomy has not been fully realized until now. Our results stress the importance of developing a system that better supports and guides this formidable workforce, as we seek to overcome the Taxonomic Impediment and speed up the process of describing the planetary biodiversity before it is too late

Enhancement and Inhibition of Spontaneous Photon Emission by Resonant Silicon Nanoantennas

Substituting noble metals for high-index dielectrics has recently been proposed as an alternative strategy in nanophotonics to design broadband optical resonators and circumvent the Ohmic losses of plasmonic materials. In this paper, we demonstrate that subwavelength silicon nanoantennas can manipulate the photon emission dynamics of fluorescent molecules. In practice, we show that dielectric nanoantennas can both increase and decrease the local density of optical states at room temperature, a process that is inaccessible with noble metals at the nanoscale. Using scanning probe microscopy, we analyze quantitatively, in three dimensions, the near-field interaction between a 100-nm fluorescent nanosphere and silicon nanoantennas with diameters ranging between 170 and 250 nm. Associated with numerical simulations, these measurements indicate increased or decreased total spontaneous decay rates by up to 15% and a gain in the collection efficiency of emitted photons by up to 85%. Our study demonstrates the potential of silicon-based nanoantennas for the low-loss manipulation of solid-state emitters at the nanoscale and at room temperature