La mondialisation et le risque de la fragmentation territoriale

L’Afrique de l’Ouest apparaît comme un continent en marge de la mondialisation : sa participation au commerce mondial est si faible que la plupart des experts estiment que les principaux acteurs de la mondialisation n’ont aucun intérêt à investir dans cette partie du monde. Et pourtant, les États de l’Afrique de l’Ouest sont en fait directement impliqués dans les processus de la mondialisation. Pour leur développement, ils ont un besoin impératif de s’insérer dans les réseaux mondiaux du transport maritime. Ils doivent s’ouvrir aux grandes routes maritimes et définir des politiques qui les relient à des partenaires situés partout dans le monde. En ce sens, les États sont concernés et les politiques qu’ils entreprennent sont du plus haut intérêt. C’est ce point que la communication présentée ici met en valeur. Le cas du Mali, l’un des États les plus pauvres du monde et en outre un État enclavé, est exemplaire de cette problématique. L’une des questions qui se posent est celle de l’ouverture au transport maritime d’un tel État comme passage obligé pour lui permettre de s’engager dans les voies du développement en partenariat avec le monde extérieur. Mais cette ouverture porte en elle le risque d’une fragmentation d’un espace national en voie de construction.West Africa doesn’t seem to be concerned by globalisation: her part in the world trade is so low that most of the observers think there is no interest for the major actors of globalisation to invest in this part of the world. In fact, West African countries are really involved in this evolution. For their development, they need to enter the world wide networks of maritime transport. They must open gateways and they must define policies which link them to partners all over the world.In that way, the states are concerned and their policies are of major interest. I would like to emphasize that point. My presentation aims to focus on the case of Mali, one of the poorest countries in the world and besides a land-locked state. One of the questions is how such a country can open itself to maritime transport as the only mode for a real development in a partnership with foreign countries

Nonlinear Quantum Dynamics

The vast majority of the literature dealing with quantum dynamics is concerned with linear evolution of the wave function or the density matrix. A complete dynamical description requires a full understanding of the evolution of measured quantum systems, necessary to explain actual experimental results. The dynamics of such systems is intrinsically nonlinear even at the level of distribution functions, both classically as well as quantum mechanically. Aside from being physically more complete, this treatment reveals the existence of dynamical regimes, such as chaos, that have no counterpart in the linear case. Here, we present a short introductory review of some of these aspects, with a few illustrative results and examples.Comment: 13 pages, 3 figures, invited talk at the NATO Advanced Workshop, "Nonlinear Dynamics and Fundamental Interactions," (October, 2004, Tashkent

Infrastructures de transport et recompositions urbaines et territoriales dans l’estuaire de la Seine

Cet article constitue une contribution au débat sur les effets territoriaux des infrastructures de transport et, au-delà, sur la question de la gouvernance territoriale. Le cas de l’estuaire de la Seine est exemplaire d’une invention territoriale portée par deux infrastructures de nature très différente : le Pont de Normandie et les premiers postes à quai de “Port 2000”. La singularité du processus est qu’il articule trois dimensions fondamentales : la dimension territoriale (construire une communauté de projets qui s’appuie sur les deux rives de l’estuaire), la dimension maritime (tirer partie des projets portuaires pour attirer des services maritimes et portuaires internationaux), la dimension urbaine (caractérisée par la transformation de l’interface ville-port pour accueillir des activités nouvelles). La préservation environnementale s’est imposée comme une quatrième dimension territoriale de l’estuaire de la Seine.This paper is a contribution to the discussion about territorial repercussions of transport facilities and forms of territorial governance. The estuary of the Seine is an exemplary place to understand the territory planning organized around two recent and very different facilities : the “Pont de Normandie” (built between 1988 and 1995 by the trade and industry organization of Le Havre) and the container traffic dock of “Port 2000”, opened in 2006 by the port authority of Le Havre. The process is quite peculiar as it brings together three dimensions : a territorial dimension (to organize a community of projects with the two banks of the estuary), a maritime dimension (projects of port development and intensification of maritime exchanges), an urban dimension (transformation of the waterfront). The environmental protection is now a new territorial dimension for the development of the estuary

The cold atom Hubbard toolbox

We review recent theoretical advances in cold atom physics concentrating on strongly correlated cold atoms in optical lattices. We discuss recently developed quantum optical tools for manipulating atoms and show how they can be used to realize a wide range of many body Hamiltonians. Then we describe connections and differences to condensed matter physics and present applications in the fields of quantum computing and quantum simulations. Finally we explain how defects and atomic quantum dots can be introduced in a controlled way in optical lattice systems.Comment: Review article, 31 pages, 14 figures, to be published in Annals of Physic

Myelin-associated glycoprotein gene mutation causes Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease-like disorder

Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease is an X-linked hypomyelinating leukodystrophy. Lossos et al. describe a family with an early-onset Pelizaeus-Merzbacher disease-like phenotype that slowly evolves into complicated hereditary spastic paraplegia, affecting both the CNS and PNS. Exome sequencing reveals a causative homozygous missense mutation in MAG, which encodes myelin associated glycoprotei

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

Genotype-stratified treatment for monogenic insulin resistance: a systematic review

This is the final version. Available from Nature Research via the DOI in this record. Data availability: All data used in this review is available from publicly available and herein referenced sources. A list of included studies is provided in Supplementary Data 1. All data generated or analyzed during this study are included in this published article and its supplementary information files. Source data for the figures are available as Supplementary Data 2.BACKGROUND: Monogenic insulin resistance (IR) includes lipodystrophy and disorders of insulin signalling. We sought to assess the effects of interventions in monogenic IR, stratified by genetic aetiology. METHODS: Systematic review using PubMed, MEDLINE and Embase (1 January 1987 to 23 June 2021). Studies reporting individual-level effects of pharmacologic and/or surgical interventions in monogenic IR were eligible. Individual data were extracted and duplicates were removed. Outcomes were analysed for each gene and intervention, and in aggregate for partial, generalised and all lipodystrophy. RESULTS: 10 non-randomised experimental studies, 8 case series, and 23 case reports meet inclusion criteria, all rated as having moderate or serious risk of bias. Metreleptin use is associated with the lowering of triglycerides and haemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) in all lipodystrophy (n = 111), partial (n = 71) and generalised lipodystrophy (n = 41), and in LMNA, PPARG, AGPAT2 or BSCL2 subgroups (n = 72,13,21 and 21 respectively). Body Mass Index (BMI) is lowered in partial and generalised lipodystrophy, and in LMNA or BSCL2, but not PPARG or AGPAT2 subgroups. Thiazolidinediones are associated with improved HbA1c and triglycerides in all lipodystrophy (n = 13), improved HbA1c in PPARG (n = 5), and improved triglycerides in LMNA (n = 7). In INSR-related IR, rhIGF-1, alone or with IGFBP3, is associated with improved HbA1c (n = 17). The small size or absence of other genotype-treatment combinations preclude firm conclusions. CONCLUSIONS: The evidence guiding genotype-specific treatment of monogenic IR is of low to very low quality. Metreleptin and Thiazolidinediones appear to improve metabolic markers in lipodystrophy, and rhIGF-1 appears to lower HbA1c in INSR-related IR. For other interventions, there is insufficient evidence to assess efficacy and risks in aggregated lipodystrophy or genetic subgroups.Wellcome TrustWellcome Trus

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure