First applications of external beam mode RBS detection set up at the IPNAS cyclotron of Liege – Study of Roman gilding craftwork techniques

Conference (2010)

First approach on the skull morphology of the black rat (Rattus rattus) from Terceira and São Miguel islands (Azores archipelago)

in Vie et milieu (1996), 46(3-4), 245-251

The present paper deals with an analysis of metric (cranial measurements) and non metric (epigenetic cranial characters) variation in black rat populations from S. Miguel and Terceira islands compared to ... [more ▼]

The present paper deals with an analysis of metric (cranial measurements) and non metric (epigenetic cranial characters) variation in black rat populations from S. Miguel and Terceira islands compared to a continental sample. Assuming the Azorean rats originate from the European continent, we tested the similarity between the samples, considering only adult and subadult animals. Having verified that there was no sexual dimorphism in the characters studied, we computed discriminant functions and made a PCA with the most discriminant variables. The three samples are clearly separated by these functions, the Azorean rats showing a larger general skull size and differing between the two islands. The Mean Measure of Divergence (MMD), based on non metric cranial traits frequencies, was also used to express the interpopulational differences: the rats of Terceira differ significantly either from the continental ones or from those of S. Miguel. Finally, the possible origin of these differences is disussed. [less ▲]

A first approximation for quantization of singular spaces

in Journal of Geometry & Physics (2009), 59(4), 503-518

Many mathematical models of physical phenomena that have been proposed in recent years require more general spaces than manifolds. When taking into account the symmetry group of the model, we get a ... [more ▼]

Many mathematical models of physical phenomena that have been proposed in recent years require more general spaces than manifolds. When taking into account the symmetry group of the model, we get a reduced model on the (singular) orbit space of the symmetry group action. We investigate quantization of singular spaces obtained as leaf closure spaces of regular Riemannian foliations on compact manifolds. These contain the orbit spaces of compact group actions and orbifolds. Our method uses foliation theory as a desingularization technique for such singular spaces. A quantization procedure on the orbit space of the symmetry group–that commutes with reduction–can be obtained from constructions which combine different geometries associated with foliations and new techniques originated in Equivariant Quantization. The present paper contains the first of two steps needed to achieve these just detailed goals. [less ▲]

First assessment of chimpanzee (Pan troglodytes troglodytes) density and bedding behaviour in the Pongara National Park, Gabon

in Pan Africa News (2007), 14(2), 22-27

First assessment of the biogeochemistry of the Congo River and its tributaries

Scientific conference (2011, November 29)

First assessment of the biogeochemistry of the Congo River and tributaries

Poster (2011, April 08)

First asteroseismic results from CoRoT

in Communication in Asteroseismology (2008), 157

About one year after the end of the first observational run and six months after the first CoRoT data delivery, we comment the data exploitation progress for different types of stars. We consider first ... [more ▼]

About one year after the end of the first observational run and six months after the first CoRoT data delivery, we comment the data exploitation progress for different types of stars. We consider first results to illustrate how these data of unprecedented quality shed a new light on the field of stellar seismology. [less ▲]

First birth of an animal from an extinct subspecies (Capra pyrenaica pyrenaica) by cloning

in Theriogenology (2009), 71

Two experiments have been performed to clone the bucardo, an extinct wild goat. The karyoplasts were thawed fibroblasts derived from skin biopsies, obtained and cryopreserved in 1999 from the last living ... [more ▼]

Two experiments have been performed to clone the bucardo, an extinct wild goat. The karyoplasts were thawed fibroblasts derived from skin biopsies, obtained and cryopreserved in 1999 from the last living specimen, a female, which died in 2000. Cytoplasts were mature oocytes collected from the oviducts of superovulated domestic goats. Oocytes were enucleated and coupled to bucardo's fibroblasts by electrofusion. Reconstructed embryos were cultured for 36h or 7d and transferred to either Spanish ibex or hybrid (Spanish ibex malex domestic goat) synchronized recipients. Embryos were placed, according to their developmental stage, into the oviduct or into the uterine horn ipsilateral to an ovulated ovary. Pregnancy was monitored through their plasmatic PAG levels. In Experiment 1, 285 embryos were reconstructed and 30 of them were transferred at the 3- to 6-cells stage to 5 recipients. The remaining embryos were further cultured to day 7, and 24 of them transferred at compact morula/blastocyst stage to 8 recipients. In Experiment 2, 154 reconstructed embryos were transferred to 44 recipients at the 3- to 6-cells stage. Pregnancies were attained in 0/8 and 7/49 of the uterine and oviduct-transferred recipients, respectively. One recipient maintained pregnancy to term, displaying very high PAG levels. One morphologically normal bucardo female was obtained by caesarean section. The newborn died some minutes after birth due to physical defects in lungs. Nuclear DNA confirmed that the clone was genetically identical to the bucardo's donor cells. To our knowledge, this is the first animal born from an extinct subspecies. [less ▲]

The First Cities in the Near East

Conference (2002, April 03)

The first community forests of Gabon : towards sustainable local forest management ?

in Nature et Faune (2011), 25(2), 40-45

Forest resources abound in Gabon. Species diversity and quality of trees in the Gabonese forests make it a very lucrative production niche. Even though international forest operators are well established ... [more ▼]

Forest resources abound in Gabon. Species diversity and quality of trees in the Gabonese forests make it a very lucrative production niche. Even though international forest operators are well established there and are making profit, the Gabonese rural communities have not yet developed their own operations. In view of their remoteness from decision-making centers, villagers often unlawfully lose, without being aware of it, a great deal of the riches in their villages. Today, the rural socio-economic component is not sufficiently integrated in the management factors of the resource, even though populations that depend on them daily are supposedly the best placed individuals to make wise use of them. In this sense, community forestry helps to promote sustainable use of forest resources at a scale that is at par with the needs of the community, and seeks to guarantee that profits are shared at village level. In Gabon, the process of legalization of community forests is ongoing since 2001. Pilot projects such as DACEFI (Development of Community Alternatives to Illegal Logging) strive to assist communities in securing their community forest. However their legalization is slow in coming, while logging activities in the rural forest estate are increasing, and the quality of the species is deteriorating continually. [less ▲]