THREE-DIMENSIONAL RECONSTRUCTION OF LIQUID PHASES CONFINED IN DISORDERED POROUS MEDIA: AN IN SITU SYNCHROTRON SAS ANALYSIS

Conference (2012, December)

We use Synchrotron Small-Angle X-ray Scattering to investigate temperature-induced morphological changes in binary hexane/nitrobenzene solutions confined in the pores of disordered mesoporous solids. The ... [more ▼]

We use Synchrotron Small-Angle X-ray Scattering to investigate temperature-induced morphological changes in binary hexane/nitrobenzene solutions confined in the pores of disordered mesoporous solids. The scattering data is analyzed with a plurigaussian model, which enables us to reconstruct the 3D morphology of the phases with a nanometer resolution. The reconstructions bring to light wetting transitions whereby the morphology of the nitrobenzene passes from a nanometer-thin layer that uniformly covers the solid surface to plugs that locally occlude the pore space. Our analysis enables us to quantitatively analyze the SAS data in terms of changing interface areas and wetting angles. The present contribution offers unprecedented insight into nanometer-scale wetting transitions. It also presents a novel SAS data analysis methodology that is applicable to a host of experimental situations involving disordered mesoporous materials. [less ▲]

"Märchen sind Mutmachgeschichten". Interview mit Sabine Lutkat, Präsidentin der Europäischen Märchengesellschaft e.V.

in Das andere Theater (2012), 82(3), 6-8

Potentiel de dispersion du sanglier et historique de la colonisation de la plaine agricole

in Forêt Wallonne (2012, December), 121

Les populations de sangliers augmentent en nombre et étendent leur aire de répartition un peu partout en Europe. En Wallonie, la population de sangliers a quadruplé en 30 ans. Plusieurs études se sont ... [more ▼]

Les populations de sangliers augmentent en nombre et étendent leur aire de répartition un peu partout en Europe. En Wallonie, la population de sangliers a quadruplé en 30 ans. Plusieurs études se sont penchées sur le sujet et les raisons de cette augmentation concernent souvent l’influence du climat. Grâce aux différents suivis réalisés par le DEMNA, les déplacements au sein des populations de sangliers sont mieux compris. L’article se penche d’abord sur le potentiel de dispersion du sanglier en se basant sur les données de bagage de marcassins. Deux variables sont analysées : la distance parcourue dans le cadre de la dispersion natale (mouvement à sens unique à partir du site de naissance d’un individu jusqu’à son site de première reproduction) et le taux de cette dispersion natale. Quelques résultats provenant d’une étude génétique sont également présentés. Le génotypage de 1153 sangliers répartis sur l’ensemble de la Wallonie a mis en évidence quatre sous-populations génétiquement homogènes. Parallèlement à l’augmentation de la taille de ses populations, le sanglier a vu son aire de distribution s’accroître en Wallonie. Un suivi par enquête a été réalisé auprès des conseils cynégétiques et des agents du DNF pour mieux comprendre l’expansion géographique observée. Une première phase de l’enquête visait à retracer l’expansion géographique du sanglier en Wallonie. La seconde phase consistait à réaliser un état des lieux sur la situation actuelle de la distribution du sanglier en périphérie du sillon Sambre-et-Meuse. [less ▲]

Théories des relations internationales

Learning material (2012)

Kick synchronization versus diffusive synchronization

in Proceedings of the 51st IEEE Conference on Decision and Control (2012, December)

The paper provides an introductory discussion about two fundamental models of oscillator synchronization: the (continuous-time) diffusive model, that dominates the mathematical literature on ... [more ▼]

The paper provides an introductory discussion about two fundamental models of oscillator synchronization: the (continuous-time) diffusive model, that dominates the mathematical literature on synchronization, and the (hybrid) kick model, that accounts for most popular examples of synchronization, but for which only few theoretical results exist. The paper stresses fundamental differences between the two models, such as the different contraction measures underlying the analysis, as well as important analogies that can be drawn in the limit of weak coupling. [less ▲]

Exemple d'un dispositif de formation basé sur l'accompagnement réflexif de la pratique : le CAPAES en Langues et Littératures modernes à l'Université de Liège

in Puzzle (2012), 32

Cet article décrit le dispositif de formation du CAPAES en Langues et Llittératures modernes à l'ULg tel qu'il existait en 2010-2011 et les aménagements qui y ont été apportés suite à une évaluation du ... [more ▼]

Cet article décrit le dispositif de formation du CAPAES en Langues et Llittératures modernes à l'ULg tel qu'il existait en 2010-2011 et les aménagements qui y ont été apportés suite à une évaluation du dispositif par les étudiants et par le formateur. [less ▲]

Neutrophil Extracellular Traps (NET) Entrap and Kill Borrelia burgdorferi sensu stricto Spirochetes and Are not Affected by Ixodes ricinus Tick Saliva.

in Journal of Immunology (2012), 189(11), 5393-5401

Lyme disease is a pathology caused by members of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) complex, most often by B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.). They are transmitted mainly by Ixodes ricinus ticks ... [more ▼]

Lyme disease is a pathology caused by members of the Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato (s.l.) complex, most often by B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (s.s.). They are transmitted mainly by Ixodes ricinus ticks. After a few hours of infestation, neutrophils massively infiltrate the bite site. They can kill Borrelia via phagocytosis, oxidative burst and hydrolytic enzymes. However, factors in tick saliva promote propagation of the bacteria in the host even in the presence of a large number of neutrophils. Neutrophil extracellular trap (NET) consists in the extrusion of the neutrophil’s own DNA, forming traps that can retain and kill bacteria. The production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) is apparently associated with the onset of NEtosis. Here we describe NETs formation at the tick bite site in vivo in mice. We show that Borrelia burgdorferi s.s. spirochetes become trapped and killed by NETs in humans and that the bacteria do not seem to release significant nucleases to evade this process. Saliva from I. ricinus did not affect NET formation by human neutrophiles or it stability. However, it strongly decreased neutrophil ROS production, suggesting that a strong decrease of hydrogen peroxide does not affect NET formation. Finally, round bodies were observed trapped in NETs, some of them staining as live cells. This observation could help contribute to a better explanation of erythema migrans. [less ▲]

Measure transformation and efficient quadrature in reduced-dimensional stochastic modeling of coupled problems

in International Journal for Numerical Methods in Engineering (2012), 92

Coupled problems with various combinations of multiple physics, scales, and domains are found in numerous areas of science and engineering. A key challenge in the formulation and implementation of ... [more ▼]

Coupled problems with various combinations of multiple physics, scales, and domains are found in numerous areas of science and engineering. A key challenge in the formulation and implementation of corresponding coupled numerical models is to facilitate the communication of information across physics, scale, and domain interfaces, as well as between the iterations of solvers used for response computations. In a probabilistic context, any information that is to be communicated between subproblems or iterations should be characterized by an appropriate probabilistic representation. Although the number of sources of uncertainty can be expected to be large in most coupled problems, our contention is that exchanged probabilistic information often resides in a considerably lower-dimensional space than the sources themselves. In this work, we thus propose to use a dimension reduction technique for obtaining the representation of the exchanged information, and we propose a measure transformation technique that allows subproblem implementations to exploit this dimension reduction to achieve computational gains. The effectiveness of the proposed dimension reduction and measure transformation methodology is demonstrated through a multiphysics problem relevant to nuclear engineering. [less ▲]

Introduction au droit international privé (belge et européen)

Learning material (2012)

Ce document constitue le support de présentation utilisé (en 2012) dans le cadre d'un enseignement destiné à introduire des étudiants de Master en droit au droit international privé. L'enseignement est ... [more ▼]

Ce document constitue le support de présentation utilisé (en 2012) dans le cadre d'un enseignement destiné à introduire des étudiants de Master en droit au droit international privé. L'enseignement est structuré en deux parties : dans un premier temps, l'approche est centrée sur la méthode, les raisonnements de droit international privé (tant pour la compétence internationale que pour le droit applicable). Dans un second temps, une présentation succincte est donnée des applications du raisonnement de droit international privé dans diverses matières. Cette présentation est largement effectuée sur base de cas pratiques. [less ▲]

Coordination practices in extreme situations

in European Management Journal (2012), 30(6), 475-489

This article addresses coordination practices in extreme situations. Whereas past literature has heavily focused on a structural and contingent approach of the phe- nomena, we argue that a practice-based ... [more ▼]

This article addresses coordination practices in extreme situations. Whereas past literature has heavily focused on a structural and contingent approach of the phe- nomena, we argue that a practice-based approach of coordination fruitfully enhances our understanding. We draw on an abductive approach and perform a systematic compar- ative analysis of four case studies: the crew of a sailing boat engaged in a race, military air and ground forces in theater, medical staff in a neonatology unit and a polar expedition confronted with polar bears. We outline highly heterogeneous coordination practices along four dimensions (formalization, verticality, openness, and specificity). Our results lead to invalidate both a configurational and a contingent perspective on coordination. We show that despite high heterogeneity, these four attributes represent a useful frame- work for managers to leverage coordination practices produced in situ. [less ▲]