Working Paper 03-05 - European R&D Strategy: impact and feasibility study for Belgium

Following the Lisbon strategy designed to transform the European economy into the most competitive and dynamic knowledge-based society, the Barcelona Summit quantified one of the available instruments to reach this ambitious objective by fixing the amount of resources which have to be devoted to r&d by 2010, at 3% of the European gdp. What could be the implications of the Barcelona objective in terms of the main economic variables for Belgium and the eu? What are the needs for human capital to reach this objective? How are these needs covered by the current trends in the supply of qualified labour in Belgium? These are the main questions analysed in the present working paper.

Design de matériaux hôtes à haut état triplet pour des applications dans des diodes organiques électrophosphorescentes

Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) in which light is emitted from fluorescence pathway of an organic molecule, represent an evolution of the light emitting diode (LED) technology. Phosphorescent OLEDs (PhOLEDs) which combine in the emitting layer an “organic host doped with a guest phosphor”, may reach theoretically higher performances than OLEDs. This work is focused on the synthesis and the study of new organic compounds with high triplet state energy, which will be used as host material in blue PhOLEDs. After an introduction of this important field of organic electronics, the synthesis of new organic semi-conductors based on the 2π-1spiro architecture and the detailed analysis of their physicochemical properties through a structure/properties relationship study are presented. The performances of blue PhOLEDs using these matrices are then described and show the great interest of the new host designs.Les diodes organiques électroluminescentes (OLEDs), dans lesquelles l’émission de couleur provient de la fluorescence de molécules organiques, représentent une évolution de la technologie des diodes électroluminescentes (LED) classiques. Les OLEDs phosphorescentes (PhOLEDs) permettre d’atteindre des rendements plus élevée que les OLEDs, en utilisant comme couche émissive un couple « matériau organique/dopant phosphorescent ». Ce travail porte sur la synthèse et l'étude de nouvelles molécules à haut état triplet, pour des applications comme matrices hôtes dans des PhOLEDs bleues. Après une introduction à ce domaine novateur, la synthèse de nouveaux semi-conducteurs organiques dérivés de l’architecture 2π-1spiro et l’analyse détaillée des propriétés physico-chimiques sont présentées. Les performances de PhOLEDs bleues utilisant ces nouvelles matrices sont alors décrites et montrent l’intérêt du design de ces nouvelles molécules hôtes

Explosive properties of superheated aqueous solutions in volcanic and hydrothermal systems

Superheated aqueous solutions in volcanic and hydrothermal environments are known to reequilibrate violently through explosive boilings and gas exsolutions. While these phenomena are purely kinetic problems in essence, the explosivity conditions of these demixion processes can be investigated by following a thermodynamic approach based on spinodal curves. In a first part, we recall briefly the concepts of mechanical and diffusion spinodals. Then, we propose to differentiate superspinodal (explosive) transformations from subspinodal (non-explosive) ones. Finally, a quantitative study of spinodal curves is attempted on the binary systems H2O-CO2 and H2O-NaCl with equations of state with solid theoretical basis. It is shown that dissolved gaseous components and electrolytes have an antagonist effect: dissolved volatiles tend to shift the superspinodal region towards lower temperatures, whereas electrolytes tend to extend the metastable field towards higher temperatures. This study may give some clues to understand the explosive destabilization conditions of aqueous solutions in phreatic, phreato-magmatic and hydrothermal eruption

Terminal NK cell maturation is controlled by concerted actions of T-bet and Zeb2 and is essential for melanoma rejection

Natural killer (NK) cell maturation is a tightly controlled process that endows NK cells with functional competence and the capacity to recognize target cells. Here, we found that the transcription factor (TF) Zeb2 was the most highly induced TF during NK cell maturation. Zeb2 is known to control epithelial to mesenchymal transition, but its role in immune cells is mostly undefined. Targeted deletion of Zeb2 resulted in impaired NK cell maturation, survival, and exit from the bone marrow. NK cell function was preserved, but mice lacking Zeb2 in NK cells were more susceptible to B16 melanoma lung metastases. Reciprocally, ectopic expression of Zeb2 resulted in a higher frequency of mature NK cells in all organs. Moreover, the immature phenotype of Zeb2(-/-) NK cells closely resembled that of Tbx21(-/-) NK cells. This was caused by both a dependence of Zeb2 expression on T-bet and a probable cooperation of these factors in gene regulation. Transgenic expression of Zeb2 in Tbx21(-/-) NK cells partially restored a normal maturation, establishing that timely induction of Zeb2 by T-bet is an essential event during NK cell differentiation. Finally, this novel transcriptional cascade could also operate in human as T-bet and Zeb2 are similarly regulated in mouse and human NK cells

Design of high triplet state level host materials for application in phosphorescent organic light emitting diodes

Les diodes organiques électroluminescentes (OLEDs), dans lesquelles l’émission de couleur provient de la fluorescence de molécules organiques, représentent une évolution de la technologie des diodes électroluminescentes (LED) classiques. Les OLEDs phosphorescentes (PhOLEDs) permettre d’atteindre des rendements plus élevée que les OLEDs, en utilisant comme couche émissive un couple « matériau organique/dopant phosphorescent ». Ce travail porte sur la synthèse et l'étude de nouvelles molécules à haut état triplet, pour des applications comme matrices hôtes dans des PhOLEDs bleues. Après une introduction à ce domaine novateur, la synthèse de nouveaux semi-conducteurs organiques dérivés de l’architecture 2π-1spiro et l’analyse détaillée des propriétés physico-chimiques sont présentées. Les performances de PhOLEDs bleues utilisant ces nouvelles matrices sont alors décrites et montrent l’intérêt du design de ces nouvelles molécules hôtes.Organic light emitting diodes (OLEDs) in which light is emitted from fluorescence pathway of an organic molecule, represent an evolution of the light emitting diode (LED) technology. Phosphorescent OLEDs (PhOLEDs) which combine in the emitting layer an “organic host doped with a guest phosphor”, may reach theoretically higher performances than OLEDs. This work is focused on the synthesis and the study of new organic compounds with high triplet state energy, which will be used as host material in blue PhOLEDs. After an introduction of this important field of organic electronics, the synthesis of new organic semi-conductors based on the 2π-1spiro architecture and the detailed analysis of their physicochemical properties through a structure/properties relationship study are presented. The performances of blue PhOLEDs using these matrices are then described and show the great interest of the new host designs

Un certain art de la conquête

Thiery Sébastien. Un certain art de la conquête. In: Raison présente, n°160, 4e trimestre 2006. Les mutations de la sphère culturelle. pp. 45-53

Avant-propos

Thiery Sébastien. Avant-propos. In: Quaderni, n°53, Hiver 2003/2004. La convivialité, fable contemporaine. pp. 57-59