Caractérisation expérimentale de métamatériaux en utilisant une ligne triplaque à hauteur variable

National audienceNous présentons une méthode de caractérisation expérimentale des propriétés électromagnétiques des métamatériaux dans la bande (1-6 GHz). Cette technique se base sur la mesure des paramètres de répartition d'une ligne triplaque à hauteur variable permettant ainsi de caractériser des métamatériaux dont le nombre de cellules peut varier suivant plusieurs directions. Cette possibilité d'augmenter le nombre de cellules est nécessaire pour l'étude de la réponse asymptotique des métamatériaux. Nous présentons la cellule de mesure, la procédure expérimentale et les premiers résultats expérimentaux

Méthode de mesure basée sur une ligne triplaque asymétrique pour la caractérisation électromagnétique des métamatériaux

National audienceUne méthode large bande en ligne triplaque pour mesurer des propriétés électromagnétiques (permittivité e et perméabilité μ complexes) des métamatériaux est présentée. La bande de fréquence, la géométrie et la configuration des champs électromagnétiques de la ligne utilisée sont bien adaptées à la caractérisation de ce type de matériaux. La description de la cellule, les conditions nécessaires pour garantir la validité des mesures et quelques résultats expérimentaux sont présentés

Asymmetrical Stripline Based Method for the Electromagnetic Characterization of Metamaterials

International audienceAn experimental method for obtaining the effective electromagnetic parameters of metamaterials is presented. The measurement cell consists in an asymmetric stripline which satisfies certain conditions required for the characterization of this type of materials. The advantages of this cell, its electromagnetic analysis and preliminary experimental and simulated results are shown

Contribution of reactive and proactive control to children's working memory performance:Insight from item recall durations in response sequence planning

The present study addressed whether developmental improvement in working memory span task performance relies upon a growing ability to proactively plan response sequences during childhood. Two hundred thirteen children completed a working memory span task in which they used a touchscreen to reproduce orally presented sequences of animal names. Children were assessed longitudinally at 7 time points between 3 and 10 years of age. Twenty-one young adults also completed the same task. Proactive response sequence planning was assessed by comparing recall durations for the 1st item (preparatory interval) and subsequent items. At preschool age, the preparatory interval was generally shorter than subsequent item recall durations, whereas it was systematically longer during elementary school and in adults. Although children mostly approached the task reactively at preschool, they proactively planned response sequences with increasing efficiency from age 7 on, like adults. These findings clarify the nature of the changes in executive control that support working memory performance with age

The temporal dynamic of response inhibition in early childhood: An ERP study of partial and successful inhibition

Event-related potentials were recorded while five-year-old children completed a Go/No-Go task that distinguished between partial inhibition (i.e., response is initiated but cancelled before completion) and successful inhibition (i.e., response is inhibited before it is initiated). Partial inhibition trials were characterized by faster response initiation and later latency of the lateral frontal negativity (LFN) than successful Go and successful inhibition trials. The speed of response initiation was influenced by the response speed on previous trials and influenced the response speed on subsequent trials. Response initiation and action decision dynamically influenced each other, and their temporal interplay determined response inhibition success

A preparação das unidades hoteleiras com classificação de 4 e 5 estrelas para a obtenção do certificado de qualidade: o caso de Portugal continental

A certificação pela ISO 9000 é um tema que ao longo dos últimos anos tem recebido maior atenção no setor da hotelaria, embora muitas das empresas não retirem benefícios económicos dessa certificação. Baseado numa revisão da literatura, este estudo sugere que a existência de uma pré-preparação para a certificação é um fator-chave para o sucesso da sua implementação e, nesse sentido, propõe-se um modelo que engloba um conjunto de iniciativas que as empresas podem desenvolver antes de iniciarem o processo de certificação ISO 9000. Para responder à questão «de que forma é que os hotéis de 4 e 5 estrelas se preparam para a obtenção da Certificação da Qualidade?», foram desenvolvidas quatro hipóteses de estudo e, como forma de se conseguir verificar ou refutar as mesmas, foram enviados questionários via correio eletrónico aos hotéis de 4 e 5 estrelas em Portugal Continental. Após a recolha dos dados procedeu-se à sua análise com o recurso a métodos estatísticos, utilizando essencialmente técnicas de análise de dados não paramétricas. Foram realizados testes às quatro hipóteses de estudo (testes binominais), foi feito um teste ao enviesamento por não resposta (teste de Mann-Whitney) e um teste à aleatoriedade da amostra (teste de Wald–Wolfowitz). Após a análise dos resultados obtidos constatou-se que apenas uma das quatro hipóteses não foi rejeitada, evidenciado este resultado que a maior parte das empresas da população em estudo não procede a todas as iniciativas contidas no modelo para terem uma adequada pré-preparação antes do início do processo de certificação.Universidade do Algarve, Faculdade de Economi

Asymmetrical stripline based method for retrieving the electromagnetic properties of metamaterials

International audienceAn experimental characterization technique for determining the electromagnetic properties of metamaterials in the microwave frequency band is presented. The method consists in measuring the S-parameters of an asymmetrical stripline partially filled with the sample to be characterized. For retrieving the characteristic parameters, two different approaches based on quasi-static approximations are compared. This measurement cell allows an "in situ" characterization because it reproduces the electromagnetic environment frequently found in planar technologies for microwave applications of metamaterials. The whole sample is uniformly excited in magnitude and direction by the interacting electromagnetic field which guarantees representativeness of extracted permittivity and permeability and avoids possible inconsistencies due to anisotropy and heterogeneity of metamaterials

Electromagnetic characterization of metamaterials in the centimetric frequency band using an original adjustable height stripline

International audienceWe propose a broadband measurement method for measuring the electromagnetic (EM) properties of metamaterials in the 1-6 GHz frequency range. For this experimental technique, an original adjustable height strip transmission-line was developed that makes it possible to characterize metamaterials with different volumes and different numbers of unit cells. Therefore, it was possible to assess the influence of the number of unit cells in a sample on the measured constitutive parameters (complex permittivity and permeability). This study enabled us to define the criterion of the representative elementary number of cells. This criterion must be satisfied in practice in order to determine the microwave behavior for the sample under test in as close as possible to an infinite medium, whose EM properties can only be determined from simulations. Experimental and theoretical results for split ring resonator-type metamaterials are presented, compared, and discussed

Simultaneous Triggered Collapse of the Presolar Dense Cloud Core and Injection of Short-Lived Radioisotopes by a Supernova Shock Wave

Cosmochemical evidence for the existence of short-lived radioisotopes (SLRI) such as $^{26}$Al and $^{60}$Fe at the time of the formation of primitive meteorites requires that these isotopes were synthesized in a massive star and then incorporated into chondrites within $\sim 10^6$ yr. A supernova shock wave has long been hypothesized to have transported the SLRI to the presolar dense cloud core, triggered cloud collapse, and injected the isotopes. Previous numerical calculations have shown that this scenario is plausible when the shock wave and dense cloud core are assumed to be isothermal at $\sim 10$ K, but not when compressional heating to $\sim 1000$ K is assumed. We show here for the first time that when calculated with the FLASH2.5 adaptive mesh refinement (AMR) hydrodynamics code, a 20 km/sec shock wave can indeed trigger the collapse of a 1 $M_\odot$ cloud while simultaneously injecting shock wave isotopes into the collapsing cloud, provided that cooling by molecular species such as H$_2$O, CO$_2$, and H$_2$ is included. These calculations imply that the supernova trigger hypothesis is the most likely mechanism for delivering the SLRI present during the formation of the solar system.Comment: 12 pages, 4 color figures. Astrophysical Journal Letters (in press

Generation of redesigned homing endonucleases comprising DNA-binding domains derived from two different scaffolds

Homing endonucleases have become valuable tools for genome engineering. Their sequence recognition repertoires can be expanded by modifying their specificities or by creating chimeric proteins through domain swapping between two subdomains of different homing endonucleases. Here, we show that these two approaches can be combined to create engineered meganucleases with new specificities. We demonstrate the modularity of the chimeric DmoCre meganuclease previously described, by successfully assembling mutants with locally altered specificities affecting both I-DmoI and I-CreI subdomains in order to create active meganucleases with altered specificities. Moreover these new engineered DmoCre variants appear highly specific and present a low toxicity level, similar to I-SceI, and can induce efficient homologous recombination events in mammalian cells. The DmoCre based meganucleases can therefore offer new possibilities for various genome engineering applications