Science & Mathematics

The aim of this paper is to test for the relevance of spatial linkages for Dutch (outbound) foreign direct investment (FDI). We estimate a spatial lag model for Dutch FDI to 18 host countries. After controlling for fixed effects, we find for our sample period 1984–2004 that third-country effects matter. Apart from our benchmark spatial lag model, we also estimate various alternative models by looking at European host FDI countries only, by dividing FDI into industry and services FDI, and by estimating a spatial error model.

Depuis un siècle, quatre figures ont marqué l’évolution politique et économique du pays le plus peuplé du monde, la Chine : Chiang Kai-shek s’est fait oublier après 1949 où, battu, il se réfugia à Taiwan. Mao Zedong demeure la figure mythique et pourtant, il n’avait guère connaissance du monde extérieur et des réalités économiques. Il est trop tôt pour juger Xi- Jinping : que pense-t-il derrière son masque impénétrable ? Quant à Deng Xiaoping, il paraissait ouvert sur le monde où il avait vécu, entretenant des relations souriantes, jusqu’au drame de Tiananmen en 1989. Jean-Pierre Cabestan, en relatant son parcours, nous aide à comprendre sa personnalité. Deng naquit en 1904 au Se Chouan où son père, petit notable, aida Xiaoping « petit et plat » à suivre l’enseignement Confucéen avant de l’envoyer en France de 1920 à 1926. Il y travailla en usine, avant d’adhérer à la Ligue Chinoise de la Jeunesse Socialiste où il rencontra Zhou-Enlai, avant d’être expulsé à Moscou.

Aujourd’hui, l’agglomération Lyonnaise compte dix-neuf parcs relais (P+R) TCL répartis sur l’ensemble du territoire, ce qui représente environ 6200 places disponibles. Ces P+R ont pour but de favoriser l’intermodalité en encourageant les clients du réseau TCL à laisser leur véhicule dans ces parcs de stationnement situés généralement en périphérie et en leur proposant de prendre en lieu et place les transports en communs Lyonnais, afin de compléter leur déplacement. Cependant, une saturation quasi quotidienne et un mauvais emploi des P+R sont constatés depuis un certain temps. C’est avec la volonté de rompre avec l’inertie relative à ce sujet que cette étude tarifaire est menée par l’exploitant du réseau des P+R : (Keolis Lyon) suite à la demande faite par l’autorité organisatrice (le SYTRAL). L’objectif et la problématique de ce travail sont la mise en cohérence tarifaire des P+R vis-à-vis des autres possibilités de stationnement situées à proximité de ces P+R dont il est question.

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Depuis le début des années 1980, les élus locaux ont progressivement construit leur capacité à répondre au « problème » de l’intégration des étrangers. Cette mise à l’agenda politique a émergé en raison de sollicitations de la part du pôle associatif de l’espace local de la cause des étrangers et d’une dynamique de territorialisation des politiques d’ « intégration des étrangers » encouragée par l’État. Toutefois, c’est avec l’arrivée de nouvelles équipes municipales en 1989 que les exécutifs municipaux ont accru leurs revendications pour de nouvelles compétences sur cette thématique. Cette dynamique d’affirmation de nouvelles compétences pour les villes s’est poursuivie au cours des décennies 1990 et 2000 aussi bien dans l’espace européen que face aux autorités étatiques. Néanmoins, l’institutionnalisation d’une politique municipale d’ « intégration des étrangers » peine à avoir lieu en raison d’un engagement politique qui reste limité et de la montée en puissance d’un paradigme concurrent, celui de la « discrimination ethno-raciale ». Finalement, les exécutifs municipaux ont délaissé une action visant à résoudre les phénomènes de discriminations et d’exclusion socio-économiques des populations étrangères et de leurs enfants. L’enquête menée met en lumière plusieurs ressorts de cette dynamique générale. En premier lieu, elle permet de démontrer la force de la variable politics dans la conduite de l’action publique. Ensuite, l’enquête permet de saisir le rôle joué par la scène européenne dans le processus de contestation de la suprématie des autorités étatiques par les villes. Enfin, l’analyse des dispositifs mis en place par les trois villes étudiées révèle l’usage du critère ethnique dans le façonnement de la figure de l’ « étranger » visé par les actions municipales d’ « intégration ».

We radio-tracked in Upper Bavaria, Germany to identify the key-foraging habitats and to enable an adequate habitat management for this endangered species. The studied females foraged at a distance of up to 8.1 km around their colony roost. The average distance of the foraging area was 3.7 km, where 70% of foraging areas were located within a distance of 5 km and 90% within 6 km of the nurseries. Moreover, these bats spent about 75% of their foraging time within 5 km and 85% within a 6-km radius. To reach the foraging areas, the bats usually used riparian woodlands, hedges and tree lines as flight paths. Specifically, 46.9% of the foraging areas were located in forests, 24.5% in cow sheds, 18.4% in riparian woodlands along streams and 10.2% in fields, villages, orchards, hedges and groves on open land. On average, the bats foraged in forests for 56.2% of the time, during which habitat allocation was possible. In cow sheds the percentage was 29.2%, in riparian deciduous woodland 11.5% and in the other habitats 3.1%. Within forests avoided foraging in spruce monocultures. Pure stands of spruce covered 45% of the total forest area, but only 10% of the foraging areas were located in this forest type. Deciduous forests on the other hand were much more common as foraging sites (40% versus 11%). Therefore, the availability of native deciduous forest and of fly-infested stables within a radius of 6 km around the colony roosts should be the focus of conservation concepts for .

The sand fly-borne Toscana virus (TOSV) is the major cause of human meningoencephalitis in the Mediterranean basin during the summer season. In this work, we have developed a T7 RNA polymerase-driven reverse genetics system to recover infectious particles of a lineage B strain of TOSV. The viral protein pattern and growth properties of the rescued virus (rTOSV) were found to be similar to those of the corresponding wild-type (wt) virus. Using this system, we genetically engineered a TOSV mutant lacking expression of the non-structural protein NSs (rTOSV phi NSs). Unlike rTOSV and the wt virus, rTOSV phi NSs was unable to (i) suppress interferon (IFN)-b messenger RNA induction; and (ii) grow efficiently in cells producing IFN-b. Together, our results highlight the importance of NSs for TOSV in evading the IFN response and provide a comprehensive toolbox to investigate the TOSV life cycle in mammalian and insect host cells, including several novel polyclonal antibodies.

This work aims to study the transesterification of sunflower oil for biodesel production and the steam reforming of glycerol for renewable hydrogen production. Mg-Al hydrotalcite derived mixed oxides were chosen as catalytic support materials given their known basicity, thermal stability and low cost. Only one active phase was studied for biodiesel production (Ca) and two different active phases (Ru and Ni) for glycerol steam reforming. The various prepared catalysts were characterized by different techniques such as X-Ray Diffraction (XRD), specific surface area determination by BET method, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), H₂-Temperature Programmed Reduction (H₂-TPR), CO₂-Temperature Programmed Desorption (CO₂-TPD) and Simultaneous Thermogravimetric-Differential Scanning Calorimetry (TG-DSC). For biodiesel production, the effects of thermal treatment and the preparation method for Ca incorporation were both studied. The catalyst that showed the best catalytic performance was an uncalcined Mg₄Al₂ support impregnated with 40 wt% Ca followed by a calcination at 600°C (Ca/600Mg₄Al₂HT) due to its enhanced basic properties. After several optimization steps over this catalyst, the optimum conditions for biodiesel synthesis were: a methanol to oil molar ratio of 15:1, a catalyst to oil ratio of 2.5 wt% and a reaction time of 6 hours which gave a FAME yield of 95%. The properties of the produced biodiesel were studied and found to be in good agreement with ASTM (American Society for Testing and Materials) requirements. For the catalytic steam reforming of glycerol, the activity of NI-based pure metal oxides (Ni/CeO₂, Ni/Y₂O₃, Ni/ZrO₂) was first studied as pure metal oxides are commonly used as support materials. The effect of the support was evaluated and the Ni/ZrO₂ catalyst was found to be the most efficient for hydrogen production. To study the effect of the zirconia phase, a tetragonal Ni/ZrO₂ was also prepared. The tetragonal catalyst was less active for hydrogen production compared to the monoclinic catalyst. A stability test at 600°C also showed the desactivation of the tetragonal Ni/ZrO₂ after 6 hours on stream. For the catalytic steam reforming of glycerol using Mg-Al hydrotalcite derived mixed oxides, Ru-based Mg-Al catalysts were first studied. The effect of the preparation method (impregnation vs grafting) on the catalytic activity of Ru-Mg-Al catalysts was studied. The catalyst prepared by the impregnation method resulted in a better catalytic activity than the catalyst prepared by the grafting method as it allowed a higher accessibility of the active phase. For the Ni-based Mg-Al catalysts, the hydrotalcite supports were modified with La to study the effects of promoter addition on catalytic properties and activity. The bimetallic effect (1%Ru-5%Ni) and effect of a higher Ni loading (15 wt%) were also studied. The 5 wt% Ni impregnated on a La modified Mg-Al support (Ni/Mg₆Al₁.₆La₀.₄) catalyst was the most efficient for hydrogen production due to its enhanced basicity and metal-support interaction. The activities of the most efficient catalysts, Ni/ZrO₂ and Ni/Mg₆Al₁.₆La₀.₄, were compared. Both catalysts produced similar hydrogen yields. Differences in glycerol conversion to gaseous products were attributed to a higher formation of liquid by-products over the hydrotalcite support compared to the zirconia support. Nevertheless, less coke was produced over the hydrotalcite catalyst given its higher basicity. A stability test at 600°C showed the desactivation of the Ni/Mg₆Al₁.₆La₀.₄ catalyst after 6 hours on stream. Upon optimization of the reaction conditions on Ni/Mg₆Al₁.₆La₀.₄, a significant improvement in the stability was observed as the catalyst lasted for 24 hours on steam.Therefore, Ni/Mg₆Al₁.₆La₀.₄ could be a promising candidate for industrial application.

We studied the social and spatial organisation of the beira () in arid low mountains in the South of the Republic of Djibouti. Beira was found to live in socio-spatial units whose ranges were almost non-overlapping, with a surface area of about 0.7 km. Each unit included a single adult male, and from one to three adult females. On average, the members of a unit made up a single group during 76% of the observation time, 92% outside the periods when a neonate was in the “hider” stage and/or an adult female in oestrus. Collective sequences of linked urination–defecation were frequent. Members of neighbouring units rarely met and interacted, chasing behaviour occurring mainly between adult males. Overall, the social and spatial organisation of the beira appears to be intermediate between that of the dik-diks ( spp.), in which units exceptionally include more than one adult female, and that of the oribi (), in which units can include several adult males. Moreover, it resembles those of the klipspringer () and rhebok (), two morphologically conservative species that do not belong to the tribe Antilopini. We suggest that the beira's social and spatial organisation might be similar to that of the last common ancestor to the Antilopini, if not to most of the extant Antilopinae.

Ferromagnetic materials show magnetic structures with domains and walls. Thanks to decades of research regarding the origin and behaviour of magnetic domains, we now possess a general foundation which has been verified experimentally in single crystals and powders. The governing equations at the microscopic scale were built in the 1960 s when Brown published calculations of the magnetic moments distribution inside domain walls. This micromagnetic theory uses the so called LLG ‘Landau-Lifshitz-Gilbert’ equation and can include the damping effects. The LLG equation requires a coupling to the field derived from energy contributions: exchange, anisotropy, magnetostriction, stray-field … and the anti-eddy field. At the macroscopic scale, such behaviours are lumped in a homogenized magnetization law for the electromagnetic field equations inside larger polycrystals. Therefore, the inhomogeneous magnetic material nature is always ignored. The Tensor Magnetic Phase Theory (TMPT) describes the magnetic structure and the magnetization thanks to a tensor variable at a mesoscopic scale. The material structuring is then explained thanks to an energy balance which will be discussed.This paper presents the results of investigations on entangled relationships between the micromagnetic theory, the electromagnetic theory and what is called the Tensor Magnetic Phase Theory (TMPT), which statistically describes the magnetic structures of soft ferromagnetic materials. It examines a connection between the TMPT and the LLG by deriving the main energy terms. Then, the TMPT must stay compatible and coupled to the Maxwell equations at low frequencies with volume and surface connections. Additionally, this paper investigates the way to derive the domains structuring and magnetization laws through the Lagrange principle and the corresponding conservation laws with invariants linked to the Nœther theorem. Finally, the TMPT must be discussed while checking its coherence and formulation when changing the reference frame.

Laetitia Merli, De l'ombre à la lumière, de l'individu à la nation. Ethnographie du renouveau chamanique en Mongolie postcommuniste, Paris, EPHE, Centre d'Études Mongoles et Sibériennes, 2010, 333 p. Cet ouvrage est le fruit d'un travail doctoral que Laetitia Merli a mené durant plusieurs années auprès des chamanes mongols de la ville d'Ulaanbaatar et ses provinces. Dès les premiers chapitres, on est saisi par la profonde intimité et connaissance de l'auteur pour ce terrain et ses acteurs. Cette remarquable imprégnation permet une assise ethnographique fouillée qui est l'une des grandes qualités de l'ouvrage. Son fil conducteur est tissé de rencontres de chamanes, hommes et femmes, auxquels Laetitia Merli donne la parole tout en restituant finement les scènes de leurs vies et pratiques quotidiennes. Ces personnages, souvent excentriques et hauts en couleur, nous introduisent eux-mêmes aux diverses thématiques de l'ouvrage.

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Quantum chromodynamics (QCD) is the theory of strong interaction and accounts for the internal structure of hadrons. Physicists introduced phe- nomenological models such as the M.I.T. bag model, the bag approximation and the soliton bag model to study the hadronic properties. We prove, in this paper, the existence of excited state solutions in the symmetric case and of a ground state solution in the non-symmetric case for the soliton bag and the bag approximation models thanks to the concentration compactness method. We show that the energy functionals of the bag approximation model are Gamma -limits of sequences of soliton bag model energy functionals for the ground and excited state problems. The pre- compactness, up to translation, of the sequence of ground state solutions associated with the soliton bag energy functionals in the non-symmetric case is obtained combining the Gamma -convergence theory and the concentration-compactness method. Finally, we give a rigorous proof of the original derivation of the M.I.T. bag equations done by Chodos, Jaffe, Johnson, Thorn and Weisskopf via a limit of bag approximation ground state solutions in the spherical case. The supersymmetry property of the Dirac operator is the key point in many of our arguments.

Les maladies parodontales représentent une des causes majeures de pertes dentaires chez les patients. Il est établi que l’inflammation et la destruction des tissus parodontaux, caractéristiques de ces maladies, ont pour origine une infection polymicrobienne, le tout sous dépendance de facteurs de risques divers. Quelques généralités sur les parodontopathies seront tout d’abord rappelées en insistant toutparticulièrement sur le facteur étiologique bactérien (description de la flore parodontopathogène et notion de biofilm). L’arsenal thérapeutique à disposition du praticien pour combattre ces maladies sera ensuite décrit (rôle du traitement parodontal mécanique et des prescriptions d’antimicrobiens). La seconde partie s’attardera sur les antibiotiques et les antiseptiques à travers une description desmolécules prescrites en odontologie et leurs mécanismes d’action sur les bactéries, le tout afin de mieux cerner leur apport à la thérapeutique parodontale. La dernière partie traitera des intérêts et des limites des antimicrobiens. Ces substances présentent notamment des effets secondaires et peuvent présenter une action limitée du fait du développement de résistances bactériennes. Ces phénomènes de résistances seront détaillés avant d’envisager quelles sont les alternatives actuelles ou à venir à disposition du praticien pour mieux traiter la maladie parodontale.

Four species inhabit the Mediterranean area, where they represent important gamebirds subject to human manipulations. The Sardinian partridge is peculiar in Europe, in that it belongs to the African species . Nevertheless, no comprehensive study has as yet investigated its genetic status as regards both the extant levels of genetic diversity and the possible contamination due to introgressive hybridization with other Mediterranean species. For the purposes of this study, we analyzed 65 samples of Sardinian partridges, 40 of which came from the wild population and 25 from captive stocks. No one of them showed a mtDNA polymerase chain reaction restriction fragment length polymorphism haplotype assigned to another species than , thus, ruling out a possible introgression in the maternal line. In addition, we compared these samples with 94 partridges from other circum-Mediterranean populations using a set of eight chicken () microsatellites. A low level of genetic variation was observed in the Sardinian population ( = 0.310; = 2.69), comparable only to that observed in the Sicilian rock partridge (). The comparison with the Tunisian population showed that its present genetic composition is consistent with a historical introduction from North Africa, showing possible effects of a post-introductional genetic drift. Bayesian tests assigned all but one individuals with >90% probability to , thus, providing evidence that no or only a few exotic genes have introgressed into Sardinian partridges.