Organisational reforms in active welfare states: A comparative analysis of the turn to 'single gateways' in Western Europe

Based on the case of reforms aimed at integrating the provision of income protection and employment services for jobless people in Europe, this thesis seeks to understand the reasons which may prompt governments to engage in large-scale organisational reforms. Over the last 20 years, several European countries have indeed radically redesigned the organisational structure of their welfare state by merging or bundling existing front-line offices in charge of benefit payment and employment services together into 'one-stop' agencies. Whereas in academic and political debates, these reforms are generally presented as a necessary and rational response to the problems and inconsistencies induced by fragmentation in a context of the reorientation of welfare states towards labour market activation, this thesis shows that the agenda setting of these reforms is in fact the result of multidimensional political dynamics. More specifically, the main argument of this thesis is that these reforms are best understood not so such from the problems induced by organisational compartmentalism, whose political recognition is often controversial, but from the various goals that governments may simultaneously achieve by means of their adoption. This argument is tested by comparing agenda-setting processes of large-scale reforms of coordination in the United Kingdom (Jobcentre Plus), Germany (Hartz IV reform) and Denmark (2005 Jobcentre reform), and contrasting them with the Swiss case where the government has so far rejected any coordination initiative involving organisational redesign. This comparison brings to light the importance, for the rise of organisational reforms, of the possibility to couple them with the following three goals: first, goals related to the strengthening of activation policies; second, institutional goals seeking to redefine the balance of responsibilities between the central state and non-state actors, and finally electoral goals for governments eager to maintain political credibility. The decisive role of electoral goals in the three countries suggests that these reforms are less bound by partisan politics than by the particular pressures facing governments arrived in office after long periods in opposition.

Resting-State Functional Connectivity Emerges from Structurally and Dynamically Shaped Slow Linear Fluctuations.

Brain fluctuations at rest are not random but are structured in spatial patterns of correlated activity across different brain areas. The question of how resting-state functional connectivity (FC) emerges from the brain's anatomical connections has motivated several experimental and computational studies to understand structure-function relationships. However, the mechanistic origin of resting state is obscured by large-scale models' complexity, and a close structure-function relation is still an open problem. Thus, a realistic but simple enough description of relevant brain dynamics is needed. Here, we derived a dynamic mean field model that consistently summarizes the realistic dynamics of a detailed spiking and conductance-based synaptic large-scale network, in which connectivity is constrained by diffusion imaging data from human subjects. The dynamic mean field approximates the ensemble dynamics, whose temporal evolution is dominated by the longest time scale of the system. With this reduction, we demonstrated that FC emerges as structured linear fluctuations around a stable low firing activity state close to destabilization. Moreover, the model can be further and crucially simplified into a set of motion equations for statistical moments, providing a direct analytical link between anatomical structure, neural network dynamics, and FC. Our study suggests that FC arises from noise propagation and dynamical slowing down of fluctuations in an anatomically constrained dynamical system. Altogether, the reduction from spiking models to statistical moments presented here provides a new framework to explicitly understand the building up of FC through neuronal dynamics underpinned by anatomical connections and to drive hypotheses in task-evoked studies and for clinical applications.

Enhanced biodegradation of hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) in contaminated soils via inoculation with Sphingobium indicum B90A.

Soil pollution with hexachlorocyclohexane (HCH) has caused serious environmental problems. Here we describe the targeted degradation of all HCH isomers by applying the aerobic bacterium Sphingobium indicum B90A. In particular, we examined possibilities for large-scale cultivation of strain B90A, tested immobilization, storage and inoculation procedures, and determined the survival and HCH-degradation activity of inoculated cells in soil. Optimal growth of strain B90A was achieved in glucose-containing mineral medium and up to 65% culturability could be maintained after 60 days storage at 30 degrees C by mixing cells with sterile dry corncob powder. B90A biomass produced in water supplemented with sugarcane molasses and immobilized on corncob powder retained 15-20% culturability after 30 days storage at 30 degrees C, whereas full culturability was maintained when cells were stored frozen at -20 degrees C. On the contrary, cells stored on corncob degraded gamma-HCH faster than those that had been stored frozen, with between 15 and 85% of gamma-HCH disappearance in microcosms within 20 h at 30 degrees C. Soil microcosm tests at 25 degrees C confirmed complete mineralization of [(14)C]-gamma-HCH by corncob-immobilized strain B90A. Experiments conducted in small pits and at an HCH-contaminated agricultural site resulted in between 85 and 95% HCH degradation by strain B90A applied via corncob, depending on the type of HCH isomer and even at residual HCH concentrations. Up to 20% of the inoculated B90A cells survived under field conditions after 8 days and could be traced among other soil microorganisms by a combination of natural antibiotic resistance properties, unique pigmentation and PCR amplification of the linA genes. Neither the addition of corncob nor of corncob immobilized B90A did measurably change the microbial community structure as determined by T-RFLP analysis. Overall, these results indicate that on-site aerobic bioremediation of HCH exploiting the biodegradation activity of S. indicum B90A cells stored on corncob powder is a promising technology.

Influence of biocontrol strain Pseudomonas fluorescens CHA0 and its antibiotic overproducing derivative on the diversity of root colonizing pseudomonads

Non-target effects of biocontrol strains of Pseudomonas on the population of resident pseudomonads should be assessed prior to their large scale application in the environment. The rifampicin resistant bacterium P. fluorescens CHA0-Rif and its antibiotic overproducing derivative CHA0-Rif/pME3424 were introduced into soil microcosms and the population of resident pseudomonads colonizing cucumber roots was investigated after 10 and 52 days. Both CHA0-Rif and CHA0-Rif/pME3424 displaced a part of the resident pseudomonad population after 10 days. To investigate the population structure, utilization of 10 carbon sources and production of two exoenzymes was assessed for 5600 individual pseudomonad isolates and 1700 isolates were subjected to amplified ribosomal DNA restriction analysis of the spacer region (spacer-ARDRA). After 10 days, only the proportion of pseudomonads able to degrade -tryptophan was reduced in treatments inoculated with either biocontrol strain. In parallel the phenotypic diversity was reduced. These effects were only observed 10 days after inoculation, and they were similar for inoculation with CHA0-Rif and CHA0-Rif/pME3424. Changes in the population structure of resident pseudomonads on cucumber roots during plant growth were more pronounced than changes due to the inoculants. The inoculants did not affect the genotypic diversity detected with spacer-ARDRA, but the genotypic fingerprints corresponded only partially to the phenotypic profiles. Overall CHA0-Rif had a small and transient impact on the population of resident pseudomonads and the effect was essentially the same for the genetically engineered derivative CHA0-

Comparative phylogeography in a specific and obligate pollination antagonism.

In specific and obligate interactions the nature and abundance of a given species can have important effects on the survival and population dynamics of associated organisms. In a phylogeographic framework, we therefore expect that the fates of organisms interacting specifically are also tightly interrelated. Here we investigate such a scenario by analyzing the genetic structures of species interacting in an obligate plant-insect pollination lure-and-trap antagonism, involving Arum maculatum (Araceae) and its specific psychodid (Diptera) visitors Psychoda phalaenoides and Psycha grisescens. Because the interaction is asymmetric (i.e., only the plant depends on the insect), we expect the genetic structure of the plant to be related with the historical pollinator availability, yielding incongruent phylogeographic patterns between the interacting organisms.Using insect mtDNA sequences and plant AFLP genome fingerprinting, we inferred the large-scale phylogeographies of each species and the distribution of genetic diversities throughout the sampled range, and evaluated the congruence in their respective genetic structures using hierarchical analyses of molecular variances (AMOVA). Because the composition of pollinator species varies in Europe, we also examined its association with the spatial genetic structure of the plant.Our findings indicate that while the plant presents a spatially well-defined genetic structure, this is not the case in the insects. Patterns of genetic diversities also show dissimilar distributions among the three interacting species. Phylogeographic histories of the plant and its pollinating insects are thus not congruent, a result that would indicate that plant and insect lineages do not share the same glacial and postglacial histories. However, the genetic structure of the plant can, at least partially, be explained by the type of pollinators available at a regional scale. Differences in life-history traits of available pollinators might therefore have influenced the genetic structure of the plant, the dependent organism, in this antagonistic interaction.

Structural, metamorphic and geochronological relations between the Zanskar Shear Zone and the Miyar Shear Zone (NW Indian Himalaya): Evidence for two distinct tectonic structures and implications for the evolution of the High Himalayan Crystalline of Zanskar

The geologic structures and metamorphic zonation of the northwestern Indian Himalaya contrast significantly with those in the central and eastern parts of the range, where the high-grade metamorphic rocks of the High Himalayan Crystalline (HHC) thrust southward over the weakly metamorphosed sediments of the Lesser Himalaya along the Main Central Thrust (MCT). Indeed, the hanging wall of the MCT in the NW Himalaya mainly consists of the greenschist facies metasediments of the Chamba zone, whereas HHC high-grade rocks are exposed more internally in the range as a large-scale dome called the Gianbul dome. This Gianbul dome is bounded by two oppositely directed shear zones, the NE-dipping Zanskar Shear Zone (ZSZ) on the northern flank and the SW-dipping Miyar Shear Zone (MSZ) on the southern limb. Current models for the emplacement of the HHC in NW India as a dome structure differ mainly in terms of the roles played by both the ZSZ and the MSZ during the tectonothermal evolution of the HHC. In both the channel flow model and wedge extrusion model, the ZSZ acts as a backstop normal fault along which the high-grade metamorphic rocks of the HHC of Zanskar are exhumed. In contrast, the recently proposed tectonic wedging model argues that the ZSZ and the MSZ correspond to one single detachment system that operates as a subhorizontal backthrust off of the MCT. Thus, the kinematic evolution of the two shear zones, the ZSZ and the MSZ, and their structural, metamorphic and chronological relations appear to be diagnostic features for discriminating the different models. In this paper, structural, metamorphic and geochronological data demonstrate that the MSZ and the ZSZ experienced two distinct kinematic evolutions. As such, the data presented in this paper rule out the hypothesis that the MSZ and the ZSZ constitute one single detachment system, as postulated by the tectonic wedging model. Structural, metamorphic and geochronological data are used to present an alternative tectonic model for the large-scale doming in the NW Indian Himalaya involving early NE-directed tectonics, weakness in the upper crust, reduced erosion at the orogenic front and rapid exhumation along both the ZSZ and the MSZ.

Oxygen-isotope thermometry of quartz-calcite veins - Unraveling the thermal-tectonic history of the subgreenschist facies Morcles nappe (Swiss Alps)

Combined structural analysis and oxygen isotope thermometry of syntectonic quartz-calcite fibrous veins can be used to correlate the thermal history of deformed rocks,vith specific structural and tectonic events. Results are presented for the Mercies nappe in the western Helvetic Alps, Switzerland, where mineral parageneses, illite `'crystallinity,'' and fluid inclusion chemistry record an apparent peak metamorphic temperature gradient that increased across the Morcles nappe from anchizonal conditions in the foreland to epizonal conditions in its hinterland root zone. Twenty-seven quartz-calcite veins were analyzed in this study in order to determine the temperatures of veining during formation and deformation of the nappe, Peak metamorphic temperatures ranged from approximate to 260 to 290 degrees C in the shallower, foreland localities and to approximate to 330 to 350 degrees C in the deeper, more hinterland localities at the end of S1-foliation formation, related to large-scale folding. Temperatures gradually decreased throughout the nappe during subsequent development of the S2 foliation and S3 crenulation cleavage, Uplift and erosion of the overlying nappe pile resulted in slow cooling of the Morcles nappe during the waning stages of the Alpine Orogeny. The dominant foliation-forming deformation of the Morcles nappe occurred at elevated temperatures over the course of 10 to 15 Ma. Combined structure-oxygen isotope analyses of quartz-calcite veins yield better temperature and temporal constraints on the thermal histories of subgreenschist vein-bearing tectonites than do other geothermometers.

Blind docking of 260 protein-ligand complexes with EADock 2.0.

Molecular docking softwares are one of the important tools of modern drug development pipelines. The promising achievements of the last 10 years emphasize the need for further improvement, as reflected by several recent publications (Leach et al., J Med Chem 2006, 49, 5851; Warren et al., J Med Chem 2006, 49, 5912). Our initial approach, EADock, showed a good performance in reproducing the experimental binding modes for a set of 37 different ligand-protein complexes (Grosdidier et al., Proteins 2007, 67, 1010). This article presents recent improvements regarding the scoring and sampling aspects over the initial implementation, as well as a new seeding procedure based on the detection of cavities, opening the door to blind docking with EADock. These enhancements were validated on 260 complexes taken from the high quality Ligand Protein Database [LPDB, (Roche et al., J Med Chem 2001, 44, 3592)]. Two issues were identified: first, the quality of the initial structures cannot be assumed and a manual inspection and/or a search in the literature are likely to be required to achieve the best performance. Second the description of interactions involving metal ions still has to be improved. Nonetheless, a remarkable success rate of 65% was achieved for a large scale blind docking assay, when considering only the top ranked binding mode and a success threshold of 2 A RMSD to the crystal structure. When looking at the five-top ranked binding modes, the success rate increases up to 76%. In a standard local docking assay, success rates of 75 and 83% were obtained, considering only the top ranked binding mode, or the five top binding modes, respectively.

Continent wide response of mountain vegetation to climate change

Climate impact studies have indicated ecological fingerprints of recent global warming across a wide range of habitats. Whereas these studies have shown responses from various local case studies, a coherent large-scale account on temperature-driven changes of biotic communities has been lacking. Here we use 867 vegetation samples above the treeline from 60 summit sites in all major European mountain systems to show that ongoing climate change gradually transforms mountain plant communities. We provide evidence that the more cold-adapted species decline and the more warm-adapted species increase, a process described here as thermophilisation. At the scale of individual mountains this general trend may not be apparent, but at the¦larger, continental scale we observed a significantly higher abundance of thermophilic species in 2008, compared with 2001. Thermophilisation of mountain plant communities mirrors the degree of recent warming and is more pronounced in areas where the temperature increase has been higher. In view of the projected climate change the observed transformation suggests a progressive decline of cold mountain habitats and their biota.

Tectonic and metamorphic evolution of the Central Himalayan Domain in Southeast Zanskar (Kashmir, India)

La région du Zanskar, étudiée dans le cadre de ce travail, se situe au passage entre deux domaines himalayens fortement contrastés, la Séquence Cristalline du Haut Himalaya (HHCS), composée de roches métamorphiques et l'Himalaya Tethysien (TH), composé de séries sédimentaires. La transition entre ces deux domaines est marquée par une structure tectonique majeure, la Zone de Cisaillement du Zanskar (ZSZ), au sein de laquelle on observe une augmentation extrêmement rapide, mais néanmoins graduelle, du degré du métamorphisme entre le TH et le HHCS. Il a été établi que le HHCS n'est autre que l'équivalent métamorphique des séries sédimentaires de la base du TH. C'est principalement lors d'un épisode de mise en place de nappes à vergence sudouest, entre l'Eocène moyen et l'Oligocène, que les séries sédimentaires de la base du TH ont été entraînées en profondeur où elles ont subi un métamorphisme de type barrovien. Au début du Miocène, le HHCS à été exhumé en direction du sud-ouest sous forme d'une grande nappe, délimitée a sa base par le MCT (principal chevauchement central) et à son sommet par la Zone de Cisaillement du Zanskar. L'ensemble des zones barroviennes, de la zone à biotite jusqu'à la zone à disthène, a été cisaillée par les mouvements en faille normale au sommet du HHCS et se retrouve actuellement sur une épaisseur d'environ 1 kilomètre au sein de la ZSZ. La décompression associée à l'exhumation du HHCS a provoqué la fusion partielle d'une partie du HHCS et a donné naissance à des magmas de composition leucogranitiques. Grâce à la géothermobarometrie, et connaissant la géométrie de la ZSZ, il nous a été possible de déterminer que le rejet le long de cette structure d'extension est d'au moins 35?9 kilomètres. Une série d'arguments nous permet cependant de suggérer que ce rejet aurait pu être encore bien plus important (~100km). Les données géochronologiques nous permettent de contraindre la durée des mouvements d'extension le long de la ZSZ à 2.4?0.2 Ma entre 22.2?0.2 Ma et 19.8?0.1 Ma. Ce travail apporte de nouvelles données sur les processus métamorphiques, magmatiques et tectoniques liés aux phénomènes d'extension syn-orogeniques.<br/><br/>The southeastern part of Zanskar is located at the transition between two major Himalayan domains of contrasting metamorphic grade, the High Himalayan Crystalline Sequence (HHCS) and the Tethyan Himalaya (TH). The transition between the TH and the HHCS is marked by a very rapid, although perfectly gradual, decrease in metamorphic grade, which coincides with a major tectonic structure, the Zanskar Shear Zone (ZSZ). It is now an established fact that the relation between the HHCS and the TH is not one of basement-cover type, but that the metasedimentary series of the HHCS represent the metamorphic equivalent of the lowermost sedimentary series of the TH. This transformation of sedimentary series into metamorphic rocks, and hence the differentiation between the TH and the HHCS, is the consequence of crustal thickening associated to the formation of large scale southwest vergent nappes within the Tethyan Himalaya sedimentary series. This, Middle Eocene to Oligocene, episode of crustal thickening and associated Barrovian metamorphism is followed, shortly after, by the exhumation of the HHCS as a, large scale, south-west vergent, nappe. Foreword The exhumation of the HHCS nappe is marked by the activation of two contemporaneous structures, the Main Central Thrust at its base and the Zanskar Shear Zone at its top. Extensional movements along the ZSZ, caused the Barrovian biotite to the kyanite zones to be sheared and constricted within the ~1 km thick shear zone. Decompression associated with the exhumation of the HHCS induced the formation of leucogranitic magmas through vapour-absent partial melting of the highest-grade rocks. The combination of geothermobarometric data with a geometric model of the ZSZ allowed us to constrain the net slip at the top of the HHCS to be at least 35?9 kilometres. A set of arguments however suggests that these movements might have been much more important (~ 100 km). Geochronological data coupled with structural observations constrain the duration of ductile shearing along the ZSZ to 2.4?0.2 Ma between 22.2?0.2 Ma and 19.8?0.1 Ma. This study also addresses the consequences of synorogenic extension on the metamorphic, tectonic and magmatic evolution of the upper parts of the High Himalayan Crystalline Sequence.

Scales and causes of heterogeneity in bars in a large multi-channel river: Rio Parana, Argentina

To date, published studies of alluvial bar architecture in large rivers have been restricted mostly to case studies of individual bars and single locations. Relatively little is known about how the depositional processes and sedimentary architecture of kilometre-scale bars vary within a multi-kilometre reach or over several hundreds of kilometres downstream. This study presents Ground Penetrating Radar and core data from 11, kilometre-scale bars from the Rio Parana, Argentina. The investigated bars are located between 30km upstream and 540km downstream of the Rio Parana - Rio Paraguay confluence, where a significant volume of fine-grained suspended sediment is introduced into the network. Bar-scale cross-stratified sets, with lengths and widths up to 600m and thicknesses up to 12m, enable the distinction of large river deposits from stacked deposits of smaller rivers, but are only present in half the surface area of the bars. Up to 90% of bar-scale sets are found on top of finer-grained ripple-laminated bar-trough deposits. Bar-scale sets make up as much as 58% of the volume of the deposits in small, incipient mid-channel bars, but this proportion decreases significantly with increasing age and size of the bars. Contrary to what might be expected, a significant proportion of the sedimentary structures found in the Rio Parana is similar in scale to those found in much smaller rivers. In other words, large river deposits are not always characterized by big structures that allow a simple interpretation of river scale. However, the large scale of the depositional units in big rivers causes small-scale structures, such as ripple sets, to be grouped into thicker cosets, which indicate river scale even when no obvious large-scale sets are present. The results also show that the composition of bars differs between the studied reaches upstream and downstream of the confluence with the Rio Paraguay. Relative to other controls on downstream fining, the tributary input of fine-grained suspended material from the Rio Paraguay causes a marked change in the composition of the bar deposits. Compared to the upstream reaches, the sedimentary architecture of the downstream reaches in the top ca 5m of mid-channel bars shows: (i) an increase in the abundance and thickness (up to metre-scale) of laterally extensive (hundreds of metres) fine-grained layers; (ii) an increase in the percentage of deposits comprised of ripple sets (to >40% in the upper bar deposits); and (iii) an increase in bar-trough deposits and a corresponding decrease in bar-scale cross-strata (<10%). The thalweg deposits of the Rio Parana are composed of dune sets, even directly downstream from the Rio Paraguay where the upper channel deposits are dominantly fine-grained. Thus, the change in sedimentary facies due to a tributary point-source of fine-grained sediment is primarily expressed in the composition of the upper bar deposits.

Three-dimensional hydrodynamic numerical modelling of fold nappe formation, basement-cover deformation and slab detachment with applications to the helvetic nappe system (W Switzerland)

Many three-dimensional (3-D) structures in rock, which formed during the deformation of the Earth's crust and lithosphere, are controlled by a difference in mechanical strength between rock units and are often the result of a geometrical instability. Such structures are, for example, folds, pinch-and-swell structures (due to necking) or cuspate-lobate structures (mullions). These struc-tures occur from the centimeter to the kilometer scale and the related deformation processes con-trol the formation of, for example, fold-and-thrust belts and extensional sedimentary basins or the deformation of the basement-cover interface. The 2-D deformation processes causing these structures are relatively well studied, however, several processes during large-strain 3-D defor-mation are still incompletely understood. One of these 3-D processes is the lateral propagation of these structures, such as fold and cusp propagation in a direction orthogonal to the shortening direction or neck propagation in direction orthogonal to the extension direction. Especially, we are interested in fold nappes which are recumbent folds with amplitudes usually exceeding 10 km and they have been presumably formed by ductile shearing. They often exhibit a constant sense of shearing and a non-linear increase of shear strain towards their overturned limb. The fold axes of the Morcles fold nappe in western Switzerland plunges to the ENE whereas the fold axes in the more eastern Doldenhorn nappe plunges to the WSW. These opposite plunge direc-tions characterize the Rawil depression (Wildstrubel depression). The Morcles nappe is mainly the result of layer parallel contraction and shearing. During the compression the massive lime-stones were more competent than the surrounding marls and shales, which led to the buckling characteristics of the Morcles nappe, especially in the north-dipping normal limb. The Dolden-horn nappe exhibits only a minor overturned fold limb. There are still no 3-D numerical studies which investigate the fundamental dynamics of the formation of the large-scale 3-D structure including the Morcles and Doldenhorn nappes and the related Rawil depression. We study the 3-D evolution of geometrical instabilities and fold nappe formation with numerical simulations based on the finite element method (FEM). Simulating geometrical instabilities caused by sharp variations of mechanical strength between rock units requires a numerical algorithm that can accurately resolve material interfaces for large differences in material properties (e.g. between limestone and shale) and for large deformations. Therefore, our FE algorithm combines a nu-merical contour-line technique and a deformable Lagrangian mesh with re-meshing. With this combined method it is possible to accurately follow the initial material contours with the FE mesh and to accurately resolve the geometrical instabilities. The algorithm can simulate 3-D de-formation for a visco-elastic rheology. The viscous rheology is described by a power-law flow law. The code is used to study the 3-D fold nappe formation, the lateral propagation of folding and also the lateral propagation of cusps due to initial half graben geometry. Thereby, the small initial geometrical perturbations for folding and necking are exactly followed by the FE mesh, whereas the initial large perturbation describing a half graben is defined by a contour line inter-secting the finite elements. Further, the 3-D algorithm is applied to 3-D viscous nacking during slab detachment. The results from various simulations are compared with 2-D resulats and a 1-D analytical solution. -- On retrouve beaucoup de structures en 3 dimensions (3-D) dans les roches qui ont pour origines une déformation de la lithosphère terrestre. Ces structures sont par exemple des plis, des boudins (pinch-and-swell) ou des mullions (cuspate-lobate) et sont présentés de l'échelle centimétrique à kilométrique. Mécaniquement, ces structures peuvent être expliquées par une différence de résistance entre les différentes unités de roches et sont généralement le fruit d'une instabilité géométrique. Ces différences mécaniques entre les unités contrôlent non seulement les types de structures rencontrées, mais également le type de déformation (thick skin, thin skin) et le style tectonique (bassin d'avant pays, chaîne d'avant pays). Les processus de la déformation en deux dimensions (2-D) formant ces structures sont relativement bien compris. Cependant, lorsque l'on ajoute la troisiéme dimension, plusieurs processus ne sont pas complètement compris lors de la déformation à large échelle. L'un de ces processus est la propagation latérale des structures, par exemple la propagation de plis ou de mullions dans la direction perpendiculaire à l'axe de com-pression, ou la propagation des zones d'amincissement des boudins perpendiculairement à la direction d'extension. Nous sommes particulièrement intéressés les nappes de plis qui sont des nappes de charriage en forme de plis couché d'une amplitude plurikilométrique et étant formées par cisaillement ductile. La plupart du temps, elles exposent un sens de cisaillement constant et une augmentation non linéaire de la déformation vers la base du flanc inverse. Un exemple connu de nappes de plis est le domaine Helvétique dans les Alpes de l'ouest. Une de ces nap-pes est la Nappe de Morcles dont l'axe de pli plonge E-NE tandis que de l'autre côté de la dépression du Rawil (ou dépression du Wildstrubel), la nappe du Doldenhorn (équivalent de la nappe de Morcles) possède un axe de pli plongeant O-SO. La forme particulière de ces nappes est due à l'alternance de couches calcaires mécaniquement résistantes et de couches mécanique-ment faibles constituées de schistes et de marnes. Ces différences mécaniques dans les couches permettent d'expliquer les plissements internes à la nappe, particulièrement dans le flanc inver-se de la nappe de Morcles. Il faut également noter que le développement du flanc inverse des nappes n'est pas le même des deux côtés de la dépression de Rawil. Ainsi la nappe de Morcles possède un important flanc inverse alors que la nappe du Doldenhorn en est presque dépour-vue. A l'heure actuelle, aucune étude numérique en 3-D n'a été menée afin de comprendre la dynamique fondamentale de la formation des nappes de Morcles et du Doldenhorn ainsi que la formation de la dépression de Rawil. Ce travail propose la première analyse de l'évolution 3-D des instabilités géométriques et de la formation des nappes de plis en utilisant des simulations numériques. Notre modèle est basé sur la méthode des éléments finis (FEM) qui permet de ré-soudre avec précision les interfaces entre deux matériaux ayant des propriétés mécaniques très différentes (par exemple entre les couches calcaires et les couches marneuses). De plus nous utilisons un maillage lagrangien déformable avec une fonction de re-meshing (production d'un nouveau maillage). Grâce à cette méthode combinée il nous est possible de suivre avec précisi-on les interfaces matérielles et de résoudre avec précision les instabilités géométriques lors de la déformation de matériaux visco-élastiques décrit par une rhéologie non linéaire (n>1). Nous uti-lisons cet algorithme afin de comprendre la formation des nappes de plis, la propagation latérale du plissement ainsi que la propagation latérale des structures de type mullions causé par une va-riation latérale de la géométrie (p.ex graben). De plus l'algorithme est utilisé pour comprendre la dynamique 3-D de l'amincissement visqueux et de la rupture de la plaque descendante en zone de subduction. Les résultats obtenus sont comparés à des modèles 2-D et à la solution analytique 1-D. -- Viele drei dimensionale (3-D) Strukturen, die in Gesteinen vorkommen und durch die Verfor-mung der Erdkruste und Litosphäre entstanden sind werden von den unterschiedlichen mechani-schen Eigenschaften der Gesteinseinheiten kontrolliert und sind häufig das Resulat von geome-trischen Istabilitäten. Zu diesen strukturen zählen zum Beispiel Falten, Pich-and-swell Struktu-ren oder sogenannte Cusbate-Lobate Strukturen (auch Mullions). Diese Strukturen kommen in verschiedenen Grössenordungen vor und können Masse von einigen Zentimeter bis zu einigen Kilometer aufweisen. Die mit der Entstehung dieser Strukturen verbundenen Prozesse kontrol-lieren die Entstehung von Gerbirgen und Sediment-Becken sowie die Verformung des Kontaktes zwischen Grundgebirge und Stedimenten. Die zwei dimensionalen (2-D) Verformungs-Prozesse die zu den genannten Strukturen führen sind bereits sehr gut untersucht. Einige Prozesse wäh-rend starker 3-D Verformung sind hingegen noch unvollständig verstanden. Einer dieser 3-D Prozesse ist die seitliche Fortpflanzung der beschriebenen Strukturen, so wie die seitliche Fort-pflanzung von Falten und Cusbate-Lobate Strukturen senkrecht zur Verkürzungsrichtung und die seitliche Fortpflanzung von Pinch-and-Swell Strukturen othogonal zur Streckungsrichtung. Insbesondere interessieren wir uns für Faltendecken, liegende Falten mit Amplituden von mehr als 10 km. Faltendecken entstehen vermutlich durch duktile Verscherung. Sie zeigen oft einen konstanten Scherungssinn und eine nicht-lineare zunahme der Scherverformung am überkipp-ten Schenkel. Die Faltenachsen der Morcles Decke in der Westschweiz fallen Richtung ONO während die Faltenachsen der östicher gelegenen Doldenhorn Decke gegen WSW einfallen. Diese entgegengesetzten Einfallrichtungen charakterisieren die Rawil Depression (Wildstrubel Depression). Die Morcles Decke ist überwiegend das Resultat von Verkürzung und Scherung parallel zu den Sedimentlagen. Während der Verkürzung verhielt sich der massive Kalkstein kompetenter als der Umliegende Mergel und Schiefer, was zur Verfaltetung Morcles Decke führ-te, vorallem in gegen Norden eifallenden überkippten Schenkel. Die Doldenhorn Decke weist dagegen einen viel kleineren überkippten Schenkel und eine stärkere Lokalisierung der Verfor-mung auf. Bis heute gibt es keine 3-D numerischen Studien, die die fundamentale Dynamik der Entstehung von grossen stark verformten 3-D Strukturen wie den Morcles und Doldenhorn Decken sowie der damit verbudenen Rawil Depression untersuchen. Wir betrachten die 3-D Ent-wicklung von geometrischen Instabilitäten sowie die Entstehung fon Faltendecken mit Hilfe von numerischen Simulationen basiert auf der Finite Elemente Methode (FEM). Die Simulation von geometrischen Instabilitäten, die aufgrund von Änderungen der Materialeigenschaften zwischen verschiedenen Gesteinseinheiten entstehen, erfortert einen numerischen Algorithmus, der in der Lage ist die Materialgrenzen mit starkem Kontrast der Materialeigenschaften (zum Beispiel zwi-schen Kalksteineinheiten und Mergel) für starke Verfomung genau aufzulösen. Um dem gerecht zu werden kombiniert unser FE Algorithmus eine numerische Contour-Linien-Technik und ein deformierbares Lagranges Netz mit Re-meshing. Mit dieser kombinierten Methode ist es mög-lich den anfänglichen Materialgrenzen mit dem FE Netz genau zu folgen und die geometrischen Instabilitäten genügend aufzulösen. Der Algorithmus ist in der Lage visko-elastische 3-D Ver-formung zu rechnen, wobei die viskose Rheologie mit Hilfe eines power-law Fliessgesetzes beschrieben wird. Mit dem numerischen Algorithmus untersuchen wir die Entstehung von 3-D Faltendecken, die seitliche Fortpflanzung der Faltung sowie der Cusbate-Lobate Strukturen die sich durch die Verkürzung eines mit Sediment gefüllten Halbgraben bilden. Dabei werden die anfänglichen geometrischen Instabilitäten der Faltung exakt mit dem FE Netz aufgelöst wäh-rend die Materialgranzen des Halbgrabens die Finiten Elemente durchschneidet. Desweiteren wird der 3-D Algorithmus auf die Einschnürung während der 3-D viskosen Plattenablösung und Subduktion angewandt. Die 3-D Resultate werden mit 2-D Ergebnissen und einer 1-D analyti-schen Lösung verglichen.

Evidence for daily and weekly rhythmicity but not lunar or seasonal rhythmicity of physical activity in a large cohort of individuals from five different countries.

Background Biological rhythmicity has been extensively studied in animals for many decades. Although temporal patterns of physical activity have been identified in humans, no large-scale, multi-national study has been published, and no comparison has been attempted of the ubiquity of activity rhythms at different time scales (such as daily, weekly, monthly, and annual). Methods Using individually worn actigraphy devices, physical activity of 2,328 individuals from five different countries (adults of African descent from Ghana, South Africa, Jamaica, Seychelles, and the United States) was measured for seven consecutive days at different times of the year. Results Analysis for rhythmic patterns identified daily rhythmicity of physical activity in all five of the represented nationalities. Weekly rhythmicity was found in some, but not all, of the nationalities. No significant evidence of lunar rhythmicity or seasonal rhythmicity was found in any of the groups. Conclusions These findings extend previous small-scale observations of daily rhythmicity to a large cohort of individuals from around the world. The findings also confirm the existence of modest weekly rhythmicity but not lunar or seasonal rhythmicity in human activity. These differences in rhythm strength have implications for the management of health hazards of rhythm misalignment. Key Messages Analysis of the pattern of physical activity of 2,328 individuals from five countries revealed strong daily rhythmicity in all five countries, moderate weekly rhythmicity in some countries, and no lunar rhythmicity or seasonal rhythmicity in any of the countries.