Denise Aigle. L’intégration des Mongols dans le rêve eschatologique médiéval

Dans cette étude détaillée d’une quarantaine de pages, D. Aigle s’intéresse à la question du Prêtre Jean, relue à travers la confrontation avec les sources islamiques. La victoire du chef des Qara Kitai sur le sultan seldjoukide Sanjar en 1141 fut à l’origine des premiers bruits sur le Prêtre Jean dans les sources latines. L’A. rappelle la montée au pouvoir de Gengis Khan pour passer ensuite à l’attaque mongole sur l’Europe. En réaction, les premiers missionnaires partent vers les terres mong..

« De la “non-négociation” à l’alliance inaboutie. Réflexions sur la diplomatie entre les Mongols et l’Occident latin », in : D. Aigle, P. Buresi, dir.,Les relations diplomatiques entre le monde musulman et l’Occident latin (XIIe-XVIe siècle). Vol. spécial d’Oriente Moderno, vol. 88/2, 2008, p. 395-434 [numéro thématique].

At the first glance, the Mongol diplomatic correspondence might seem something quite exotic, but without too much historical depth. Quite the contrary, explains D. Aigle, who begins first by reminding us that many historians, beginning with 18th century Laurent Mosheim or 19th century Abel Rémusat analyzed these letters as the remnants of a vast network of exchange and communication from one side of Eurasia to the other. The first important point of the current paper is to underline the abili..

Denise Aigle. L’intégration des Mongols dans le rêve eschatologique médiéval

Dans cette étude détaillée d’une quarantaine de pages, D. Aigle s’intéresse à la question du Prêtre Jean, relue à travers la confrontation avec les sources islamiques. La victoire du chef des Qara Kitai sur le sultan seldjoukide Sanjar en 1141 fut à l’origine des premiers bruits sur le Prêtre Jean dans les sources latines. L’A. rappelle la montée au pouvoir de Gengis Khan pour passer ensuite à l’attaque mongole sur l’Europe. En réaction, les premiers missionnaires partent vers les terres mong..

« Aḥmad Tegüder’s Second Letter to Qalā’ūn (682/1283) », in : J. Pfeiffer, Sh. A. Quinn, eds., in collaboration with E. Tucker, History and Historiography of Post-Mongol Central Asia and the Middle East: Studies in Honour of John E. Woods. Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, 2006, pp. 167-202.

L’A. reprend le dossier des correspondances échangées entre Aḥmad Tegüder, le premier Ilkhan converti à l’islam, et le sultan mamelouk Qalā’ūn. Après avoir retracé l’historique des recherches sur l’ambassade ilkhanide au Caire, l’A. analyse la seconde lettre (juin 1283) adressée par Aḥmad Tegüder au sultan mamelouk. J. Pfeiffer montre bien que le ton de cette seconde missive est beaucoup plus conciliant que celui de la première (août 1282) dans laquelle la proposition de paix était plutôt un ..

« World-Conquest and Local Accommodation: Threat and Blandishment in Mongol Diplomacy », in : J. Pfeiffer, Sh. A. Quinn, eds., in collaboration with E. Tucker, History and Historiography of Post-Mongol Central Asia and the Middle East: Studies in Honour of John E. Woods. Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, 2006, pp. 3-22.

Dans cet article, l’A. s’est attaché à reprendre le dossier de la diplomatie mongole. Il passe en revue les documents qui attestent de la croyance des Mongols en un mandat qui leur aurait été octroyé par le « Ciel éternel » (möngke tenggeri) pour conquérir le monde. M.-L. Beffa s’appuyant sur l’analyse linguistique du concept de « Ciel » (tenggeri) dans l’Histoire secrète des Mongols, a fortement nuancé cette thèse. Cependant, comme le souligne P. Jackson (pp. 3-4), les sources chinoises indi..

« Aḥmad Tegüder’s Second Letter to Qalā’ūn (682/1283) », in : J. Pfeiffer, Sh. A. Quinn, eds., in collaboration with E. Tucker, History and Historiography of Post-Mongol Central Asia and the Middle East: Studies in Honour of John E. Woods. Wiesbaden, Harrassowitz, 2006, pp. 167-202.

L’A. reprend le dossier des correspondances échangées entre Aḥmad Tegüder, le premier Ilkhan converti à l’islam, et le sultan mamelouk Qalā’ūn. Après avoir retracé l’historique des recherches sur l’ambassade ilkhanide au Caire, l’A. analyse la seconde lettre (juin 1283) adressée par Aḥmad Tegüder au sultan mamelouk. J. Pfeiffer montre bien que le ton de cette seconde missive est beaucoup plus conciliant que celui de la première (août 1282) dans laquelle la proposition de paix était plutôt un ..

Organic complementary-like inverters employing methanofullerene-based ambipolar field-effect transistors

Published versio

The ALS/FTD-related C9orf72 hexanucleotide repeat expansion forms RNA condensates through multimolecular G-quadruplexes

Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) and frontotemporal dementia (FTD) are neurodegenerative diseases that exist on a clinico-pathogenetic spectrum, designated ALS/FTD. The most common genetic cause of ALS/FTD is expansion of the intronic hexanucleotide repeat (GGGGCC)n in C9orf72. Here, we investigate the formation of nucleic acid secondary structures in these expansion repeats, and their role in generating condensates characteristic of ALS/FTD. We observe significant aggregation of the hexanucleotide sequence (GGGGCC)n, which we associate to the formation of multimolecular G-quadruplexes (mG4s) by using a range of biophysical techniques. Exposing the condensates to G4-unfolding conditions leads to prompt disassembly, highlighting the key role of mG4-formation in the condensation process. We further validate the biological relevance of our findings by detecting an increased prevalence of G4-structures in C9orf72 mutant human motor neurons when compared to healthy motor neurons by staining with a G4-selective fluorescent probe, revealing signal in putative condensates. Our findings strongly suggest that RNA G-rich repetitive sequences can form protein-free condensates sustained by multimolecular G-quadruplexes, highlighting their potential relevance as therapeutic targets for C9orf72 mutation-related ALS/FTD

Low-Temperature Growth of Graphene on a Semiconductor

The industrial realization of graphene has so far been limited by challenges related to the quality, reproducibility, and high process temperatures required to manufacture graphene on suitable substrates. We demonstrate that epitaxial graphene can be grown on transition metal treated 6H-SiC(0001) surfaces, with an onset of graphitization starting around $450-500^\circ\text{C}$. From the chemical reaction between SiC and thin films of Fe or Ru, $\text{sp}^{3}$ carbon is liberated from the SiC crystal and converted to $\text{sp}^{2}$ carbon at the surface. The quality of the graphene is demonstrated using angle-resolved photoemission spectroscopy and low-energy electron diffraction. Furthermore, the orientation and placement of the graphene layers relative to the SiC substrate is verified using angle-resolved absorption spectroscopy and energy-dependent photoelectron spectroscopy, respectively. With subsequent thermal treatments to higher temperatures, a steerable diffusion of the metal layers into the bulk SiC is achieved. The result is graphene supported on magnetic silicide or optionally, directly on semiconductor, at temperatures ideal for further large-scale processing into graphene based device structures.Comment: 10 pages, 4 figures, 51 reference

Exploitation of TerraSAR-X Data for Land use/Land Cover Analysis Using Object-Oriented Classification Approach in the African Sahel Area, Sudan.

Recently, object-oriented classification techniques based on image segmentation approaches are being studied using high-resolution satellite images to extract various thematic information. In this study different types of land use/land cover (LULC) types were analysed by employing object-oriented classification approach to dual TerraSAR-X images (HH and HV polarisation) at African Sahel. For that purpose, multi-resolution segmentation (MRS) of the Definiens software was used for creating the image objects. Using the feature space optimisation (FSO) tool the attributes of the TerraSAR-X image were optimised in order to obtain the best separability among classes for the LULC mapping. The backscattering coefficients (BSC) for some classes were observed to be different for HH and HV polarisations. The best separation distance of the tested spectral, shape and textural features showed different variations among the discriminated LULC classes. An overall accuracy of 84 % with a kappa value 0.82 was resulted from the classification scheme, while accuracy differences among the classes were kept minimal. Finally, the results highlighted the importance of a combine use of TerraSAR-X data and object-oriented classification approaches as a useful source of information and technique for LULC analysis in the African Sahel drylands