Évolution géologique de la marge ouest-ibérique

This paper is a summary of the results of the authors recent researches about the Western Iberian continental margin. During the Mesozoic, the margin is affected by two consecutive extensional phases interpreted as the result from two episodes of rifting in the Atlantic. Then during Cenozoic, subsidence was interrupted by compression and related deformation, specially during Eocene time. Ante-mesozoic basement controls the structural and sedimentary evolution of the margin

PHOTOS Monte Carlo and its theoretical accuracy

Because of properties of QED, the bremsstrahlung corrections to decays of particles or resonances can be calculated, with a good precision, separately from other effects. Thanks to the widespread use of event records such calculations can be embodied into a separate module of Monte Carlo simulation chains, as used in High Energy Experiments of today. The PHOTOS Monte Carlo program is used for this purpose since nearly 20 years now. In the following talk let us review the main ideas and constraints which shaped the program version of today and enabled it widespread use. Finally, we will underline importance of aspects related to reliability of program results: event record contents and implementation of channel specific matrix elements.Comment: Presented by Z. Was, April 08 2008, International Workshop on e+e- collisions from Phi to Ps

DNA adducts in fish following an oil spill exposure

On 12 December 1999, one third of the load of the Erika tanker, amounting to about 10,000 t crude oil flowed into sea waters close to the French Atlantic Coast. This oil contained polycyclic aromatic compounds (PAC) that are known to be genotoxic. Genotoxic effects induce DNA adducts formation, which can thus be used as pollution biomarkers. Here, we assessed the genotoxic impact of the “Erika” oil spill by DNA adducts detection in the liver of immature fishes (Solea solea) from four locations of the French Brittany coasts. Two months after the spill, a high amount of DNA adducts was found in samples from all locations, amounting to 92–290 DNA adduct per 109 nucleotides. Then total DNA adduct levels decreased to reach about 50 adducts per 109 nucleotides nine months after the spill. In vitro experiments using human cell cultures and fish liver microsomes evidence the genotoxicity of the Erika fuel. They also prove the formation of reactive species able to create DNA adducts. Furthermore, in vitro and in vivo DNA adducts fingerprints are similar, thus confirming that DNA adducts are a result of the oil spill

Overview of the recent operation of the AAC and LEAR for the low-energy antiproton physics programme

This paper reviews the recent performance of the AAC and LEAR. Activities on the AAC include the successful exploitation of a magnetic horn as an antiproton collector lens and an energy-saving mode of operation, which has been possible since 1992, when LEAR became the only client of the AAC. LEAR worked in its full momentum range between 100 MeV/c and 2 GeV/c, with perform-ance (intensities, ejection modes and spill length) exceeding the design specifications. Improvements are described, which contributed to the quality of the beam delivered to experiments. The reliability and availability of the antiproton machines are also discussed

The formation of passive margins: constraints from the crustal structure and segmentation of the deep Galicia margin, Spain

The crustal structure of the Mesozoic deep Galicia margin and adjacent ocean-continent boundary (OCB) was investigated by seismic reflection (including pre-stack depth migration and attenuation of seismic waves with time). The seismic data were calibrated using numerous geological samples recovered by drilling and/or by diving with submersible. The N-S trending margin and OCB are divided in two distinct segments by NE-SW synrift transverse faults locally reactivated and inverted by Cenozoic tectonics. The transverse faulting and OCB segmentation result from crustal stretching probably in a NE-SW direction during the rifting stage of the margin in early Cretaceous times. The Cenozoic tectonics are related to Iberia-Eurasia convergence in Palaeogene times (Pyrenean event). In both segments of the deep margin, the seismic crust is made of four horizontal layers: (1) two sedimentary layers corresponding to post- and syn-rift sequences, where velocity ranges from 1.9 to 3.5 km s−1, and where the Q factor is low, the two sedimentary layers being separated by a strong reflector marking the break-up unconformity; (2) a faulted layer, where velocity ranges from 4.0 to 5.2 km s−1, and where the Q factor is high. This layer corresponds to the margin tilted blocks, where continental basement and lithified pre-rift sediments were sampled; (3) the lower seismic crust, where the velocity (7 km s−1 and more) and the Q factor are the highest. This layer, probably made of partly serpentinized peridotite, is roofed by a strong S-S’ seismic reflector, and resting on a scattering, poorly reflective Moho. A composite model, based both on analogue modelling of lithosphere stretching and on available structural data, accounts for the present structure of the margin and OCB. Stretching and thinning of the lithosphere are accommodated by boudinage of the brittle levels (upper crust and uppermost mantle) and by simple shear in the ductile levels (lower crust and upper lithospheric mantle). Two main conjugate shear zones may account for the observations and seismic data: one (SZ1), located in the lower ductile continental crust, is synthetic to the tilting sense of the margin crustal blocks; another (SZ2), located in the ductile mantle, accounts for the deformation of mantle terranes and their final unroofing and exposure at the continental rift axis (now the OCB). The S-S′ reflector is interpreted as the seismic signature of the tectonic contact between crustal terranes and mantle rocks partly transformed into serpentinite by syn-rift hydrothermal activity. It is probably related to both shear zones SZ1 and SZ2. The seismic Moho is lower within the lithosphere, at the fresh-serpentinized peridotite boundary

Pressure-induced switching properties of the iron(iii) spin-transition complex [FeIII(3-OMeSalEen)2]PF6

We investigated the effect of an externally applied pressure on the iron(III) Schiff-base compound [Fe(3-OMeSalEen)2]PF6 (H-3-OMeSalEen, condensation product of 3-methoxy-substituted salicylaldehyde and N-ethylethylenediamine), which at ambient pressure displays a thermal spin transition with a 3 K wide hysteresis loop centered at 164 K. Raman spectrometry revealed the occurrence of a complete spin-state switching process for a pressure of P1/2 = 8–9 kbar at room temperature. The evolution of lattice parameters as a function of pressure was followed by X-ray diffraction measurements on single crystals, highlighting the important microscopic aspects at the origin of the pressure-induced transition, i.e. an anisotropic response and a high compressibility of the HS molecular lattice. Variable temperature magnetic susceptibility measurements at different applied pressures revealed the smoothening of the spin transition curves and a linear increase of the transition temperatures by ca. 16.4 (1.0) K kbar?1, in good agreement with the Clausius–Clapeyron law. The non-negligible influence of the pressure transmitting oils on the intrinsic transition properties was also evidenced and attributed to mechanical interactions between the particles and the solidified matrix

Robotic Wireless Sensor Networks

In this chapter, we present a literature survey of an emerging, cutting-edge, and multi-disciplinary field of research at the intersection of Robotics and Wireless Sensor Networks (WSN) which we refer to as Robotic Wireless Sensor Networks (RWSN). We define a RWSN as an autonomous networked multi-robot system that aims to achieve certain sensing goals while meeting and maintaining certain communication performance requirements, through cooperative control, learning and adaptation. While both of the component areas, i.e., Robotics and WSN, are very well-known and well-explored, there exist a whole set of new opportunities and research directions at the intersection of these two fields which are relatively or even completely unexplored. One such example would be the use of a set of robotic routers to set up a temporary communication path between a sender and a receiver that uses the controlled mobility to the advantage of packet routing. We find that there exist only a limited number of articles to be directly categorized as RWSN related works whereas there exist a range of articles in the robotics and the WSN literature that are also relevant to this new field of research. To connect the dots, we first identify the core problems and research trends related to RWSN such as connectivity, localization, routing, and robust flow of information. Next, we classify the existing research on RWSN as well as the relevant state-of-the-arts from robotics and WSN community according to the problems and trends identified in the first step. Lastly, we analyze what is missing in the existing literature, and identify topics that require more research attention in the future