Band-edge-induced Bragg diffraction in two-dimensional photonic crystals

Two-dimensional photonic crystals composed of two orthogonal volume diffraction gratings have been photogenerated in photopolymers. When the read beam is set at the Bragg angle, the diffraction efficiency of the transmission grating is strongly enhanced at the band edge of the reflection grating recorded in the material. Such a device provides Bragg operation and enhancement of the diffraction efficiency of the thin diffraction grating together with good wavelength selectivity. Such advantages could be interesting for optical signal processing

Vers une gestion globale des archives du Service de probation et d'insertion de l'Etat de Genève

Le Service de probation et d'insertion de l'Etat de Genève (SPI) a pour principale mission d’aider et de conseiller toute personne ayant été incarcérée. Soucieux d'être en conformité avec les lois genevoises sur la gestion des archives, le SPI a proposé à la Haute école de gestion (HEG) un mandat pour la mise en place d'un système intégré de gestion de ses archives courantes, intermédiaires et définitives. Ce système devait s'appliquer aussi bien aux documents papier qu'électroniques, ces derniers étant enregistrés sur l'espace-réseau du service. Nature et intérêt du mandat : L'essentiel du mandat consistait à élaborer les outils de gestion-clés du records management, soit un plan de classement et un calendrier de conservation. En vue d'uniformiser les pratiques de gestion des documents au sein du service, ce mandat prévoyait également l'établissement de procédures, ainsi que l'organisation de séances de formation pour les utilisateurs. Le mandat proposé par le SPI présente l’intérêt de mettre en application l’ensemble de la démarche de records management, de la création des documents à l'application de leur sort final, de la conception d'outils à la formation du personnel, et d'inclure la gestion des documents électroniques. Par ailleurs, le projet offre un exemple d’adaptation de l’approche théorique du records management à un contexte spécifique, notamment en ce qui concerne la gestion des documents électroniques. Le défi de ce projet résidait dans la conception d’un système facile d’utilisation pour des utilisateurs non spécialistes et prenant en compte l’ensemble des composantes de la gestion des documents au sein du service. La réalisation de ce projet devait également faire bénéficier le SPI des avantages du records management, qui améliore l’efficacité dans la réalisation des activités et permet le contrôle de la masse documentaire

LOWER BODY KINEMATICS AND MUSCLE ACTIVITY DURING EXERCICES IN 3D MOTORIZED ROTATING PLATFORM. IN-VIVO STUDY AND MODEL

The purpose of this study was to characterize muscle solicitations implied by the movement of a motorized rotating platform (MRP). Subjects performed five classical exercises on a MRP as part of lower limbs rehabilitation programs. EMG signals were recorded to quantify level and duration of activation of seven lower limbs muscles. Subject-specific musculoskeletal models were built and animated from kinematic recordings to estimate muscle lengths evolution. Results show that unipodal stance exercise was more demanding compared to bipodal ones. The characterization of solicitations imposed by MRP exercises could be useful for physiotherapists in order to help them to better select and configure exercises regarding to subject specificities, pathology and rehabilitation evolution

Do position and species identity of neighbours matter in 8–15-year-old post harvest mesic stands in the boreal mixedwood?

Neighbourhood competition indices (NCI), where position and species identity of neighbours are known, have been used to investigate growth and competitive interactions among adult trees. In this study, we used NCI in 8–15-year-old stands following clear-cutting in a boreal mixedwood forest of eastern Canada to improve our understanding of early successional forest dynamics. Trees of increasing diameter from the center (≥1 cm) to the edge (≥5 cm) were mapped in twenty-five circular 450m2 plots. Target trees (DBH≥1 cm) were sampled in plot center to determine their annual radial stem growth. For each species, we compared a set of growth models using either a spatially explicit NCI or a non-spatial competition index. Both types of indices estimated a species-specific competition coefficient for each pair of competitor–target species. NCI were selected as the best competition model for all target species although differences in variance explained relative to the non-spatial index were small. This likely indicates that competition occurs at the local level but that the high density and the relative uniformity of these young stands creates similar neighbourhoods for most trees in a given stand. The effective neighbourhood radius for competitors varied among species and was smaller for shade tolerant species. Intraspecific neighbours were the strongest competitors for most species. Aspen (Populus tremuloides) was a weak competitor for all species as opposed to balsam fir (Abies balsamea) which was a strong competitor in all cases. These results are in contradiction with some widely used forest policies in North America (e.g. free-to-grow standards) that consider broadleaf species, such as aspen, as the strongest competitors. For these early successional forests, the decision regarding the use of spatial or non-spatial competition indices should rest on the intended use. For even-age management, spatial indices might not justify their use in highdensity stands but they are needed for the simulation of novel harvest techniques creating complex stand structure

CD133 (Prominin) Negative Human Neural Stem Cells Are Clonogenic and Tripotent

CD133 (Prominin) is widely used as a marker for the identification and isolation of neural precursor cells from normal brain or tumor tissue. However, the assumption that CD133 is expressed constitutively in neural precursor cells has not been examined

Transcriptional Portrait of Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae during Acute Disease - Potential Strategies for Survival and Persistence in the Host

BACKGROUND: Gene expression profiles of bacteria in their natural hosts can provide novel insight into the host-pathogen interactions and molecular determinants of bacterial infections. In the present study, the transcriptional profile of the porcine lung pathogen Actinobacillus pleuropneumoniae was monitored during the acute phase of infection in its natural host. METHODOLOGY/PRINCIPAL FINDINGS: Bacterial expression profiles of A. pleuropneumoniae isolated from lung lesions of 25 infected pigs were compared in samples taken 6, 12, 24 and 48 hours post experimental challenge. Within 6 hours, focal, fibrino hemorrhagic lesions could be observed in the pig lungs, indicating that A. pleuropneumoniae had managed to establish itself successfully in the host. We identified 237 differentially regulated genes likely to encode functions required by the bacteria for colonization and survival in the host. This group was dominated by genes involved in various aspects of energy metabolism, especially anaerobic respiration and carbohydrate metabolism. Remodeling of the bacterial envelope and modifications of posttranslational processing of proteins also appeared to be of importance during early infection. The results suggested that A. pleuropneumoniae is using various strategies to increase its fitness, such as applying Na+ pumps as an alternative way of gaining energy. Furthermore, the transcriptional data provided potential clues as to how A. pleuropneumoniae is able to circumvent host immune factors and survive within the hostile environment of host macrophages. This persistence within macrophages may be related to urease activity, mobilization of various stress responses and active evasion of the host defenses by cell surface sialylation. CONCLUSIONS/SIGNIFICANCE: The data presented here highlight the importance of metabolic adjustments to host conditions as virulence factors of infecting microorganisms and help to provide insight into the mechanisms behind the efficient colonization and persistence of A. pleuropneumoniae during acute disease

Reception Test of Petals for the End Cap TEC+ of the CMS Silicon Strip Tracker

The silicon strip tracker of the CMS experiment has been completed and was inserted into the CMS detector in late 2007. The largest sub system of the tracker are its end caps, comprising two large end caps (TEC) each containing 3200 silicon strip modules. To ease construction, the end caps feature a modular design: groups of about 20 silicon modules are placed on sub-assemblies called petals and these self-contained elements are then mounted onto the TEC support structures. Each end cap consists of 144 such petals, which were built and fully qualified by several institutes across Europe. Fro

Integration of the End Cap TEC+ of the CMS Silicon Strip Tracker

The silicon strip tracker of the CMS experiment has been completed and inserted into the CMS detector in late 2007. The largest sub-system of the tracker is its end cap system, comprising two large end caps (TEC) each containing 3200 silicon strip modules. To ease construction, the end caps feature a modular design: groups of about 20 silicon modules are placed on sub-assemblies called petals and these self-contained elements are then mounted into the TEC support structures. Each end cap consists of 144 petals, and the insertion of these petals into the end cap structure is referred to as TEC integration. The two end caps were integrated independently in Aachen (TEC+) and at CERN (TEC--). This note deals with the integration of TEC+, describing procedures for end cap integration and for quality control during testing of integrated sections of the end cap and presenting results from the testing