André Mas

Polycomb-Dependent Regulatory Contacts between Distant Hox Loci in Drosophila

In Drosophila melanogaster, Hox genes are organized in an anterior and a posterior cluster, called Antennapedia complex and bithorax complex, located on the same chromosome arm and separated by 10 Mb of DNA. Both clusters are repressed by Polycomb group (PcG) proteins. Here, we show that genes of the two Hox complexes can interact within nuclear PcG bodies in tissues where they are corepressed. This colocalization increases during development and depends on PcG proteins. Hox gene contacts are conserved in the distantly related Drosophila virilis species and they are part of a large gene interaction network that includes other PcG target genes. Importantly, mutations on one of the loci weaken silencing of genes in the other locus, resulting in the exacerbation of homeotic phenotypes in sensitized genetic backgrounds. Thus, the three-dimensional organization of Polycomb target genes in the cell nucleus stabilizes the maintenance of epigenetic gene silencing.

Testing Hypotheses in The Functional Linear Model

The functional linear model with scalar response is a regression model where the predictor is a random function defined on some compact set of ℝ and the response is scalar. The response is modelled as Y=Ψ(X)+ɛ, where Ψ is some linear continuous operator defined on the space of square integrable functions and valued in ℝ. The random input X is independent from the noise ɛ. In this paper, we are interested in testing the null hypothesis of no effect, that is, the nullity of Ψ restricted to the Hilbert space generated by the random variable X. We introduce two test statistics based on the norm of the empirical cross‐covariance operator of (X,Y). The first test statistic relies on a χ2 approximation and we show the asymptotic normality of the second one under appropriate conditions on the covariance operator of X. The test procedures can be applied to check a given relationship between X and Y. The method is illustrated through a simulation study.

Improvement of adhesion of PET fibers to rubber by argon‐oxygen plasma treatment

Polyethylene terephthalate fibers cords were modified with argon, oxygen, and successive argon/oxygen cold plasmas as a function of treatment time. Plasma treated cords were coated with resorcinol formaldehyde latex, then tested as rubber reinforcing materials. The peel strength was discussed with respect to the polar component of the surface energy and the etching of the fibers. An increased adhesion of ∼ 280% was obtained with 30 min argon plasma followed by 30 min oxygen plasma, at 75 W power and 40 Pa pressure without altering the traction strength of the fibers cords.

Weak convergence for the covariance operators of a Hilbertian linear process

Let Xt=[summation operator]k=-[infinity]+[infinity]ak([var epsilon]t-k) be a linear process with values in a Hilbert space H. The H valued r.v. [var epsilon]k are i.i.d. centered, the aks are linear operators. We prove a central limit theorem for the vector of empirical covariance operators of the random variables Xt at orders 0 to in the space of Hilbert-Schmidt operators. Statistical applications are given in the area of principal component analysis for vector dependent random curves.

Perturbation Approach Applied to the Asymptotic Study of Random Operators

We prove that, for the main kind of limit theorems (laws of large numbers, central limit theorems, large deviations principles, laws of the iterated logarithm) asymptotic results for selfadjoint random operators yield equivalent results for their eigenvalues and associated projections.

Functional linear regression with derivatives

We introduce a new model of linear regression for random functional inputs taking into account the first-order derivative of the data. We propose an estimation method that comes down to solving a special linear inverse problem. Our procedure tackles the problem through a double and synchronised penalisation. An asymptotic expansion of the mean square prevision error is given. The model and the method are applied to a benchmark dataset of spectrometric curves and compared with other functional models.

Synthesis of antibacterial surfaces by plasma grafting of zinc oxide based nanocomposites onto polypropylene

Antibacterial polymer surfaces were designed using ZnO nanoparticles as a bactericide. Mineral encapsulated nanoparticles were grafted onto activated polymer surfaces through their shells. Polypropylene (PP) surfaces were treated using an innovative process coupling core-shell technology and plasma grafting, well-known techniques commonly used to obtain active surfaces for biomedical applications. First, ZnO nanoparticles were encapsulated by (co)polymers: poly(acrylic acid) (PAA) or a poly(methyl methacrylate-co-methacrylic acid) copolymer [P(MMA-MA)]. Second, PP substrates were activated using plasma treatment. Finally, plasma-treated surfaces were immersed in solutions containing the encapsulated nanoparticles dispersed in an organic solvent and allowed to graft onto it. The presence of nanoparticles on the substrates was demonstrated using Fourier-Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR) analysis, Scanning Electron Microspcopy (SEM)/Energy-Dispersive X-ray (EDX), and Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM) studies. Indeed, the ZnO-functionalized substrates exhibited an antibacterial response in Escherichia coli adhesion tests. Moreover, this study revealed that, surprisingly, native ZnO nanoparticles without any previous functionalization could be directly grafted onto polymeric surfaces through plasma activation. The antibacterial activity of the resulting sample was shown to be comparable to that of the other samples.

Large and moderate deviations for infinite-dimensional autoregressive processes

We consider large and moderate deviations for the empirical mean and covariance of hilbertian autoregressive processes. As an application we obtain moderate deviations principles for the eigenvalues and associated projectors of the empirical covariance.

Minimax adaptive tests for the functional linear model

We introduce two novel procedures to test the nullity of the slope function in the functional linear model with real output. The test statistics combine multiple testing ideas and random projections of the input data through functional Principal Component Analysis. Interestingly, the procedures are completely data-driven and do not require any prior knowledge on the smoothness of the slope nor on the smoothness of the covariate functions. The levels and powers against local alternatives are assessed in a nonasymptotic setting. This allows us to prove that these procedures are minimax adaptive (up to an unavoidable \log\log n multiplicative term) to the unknown regularity of the slope. As a side result, the minimax separation distances of the slope are derived for a large range of regularity classes. A numerical study illustrates these theoretical results.

Grafting of poly-L-lysine dendrigrafts onto polypropylene surface using plasma activation for ATP immobilization - Nanomaterial for potential applications in biotechnology

The present work describes a new environmental friendly strategy for the development of surfaces with high amine density via the grafting of native or modified poly-L-lysine dendrigraft (DGL G3) onto plasma activated polypropylene (PP), polystyrene (PS), polyimide, and polytetrafluoroethylene (PTFE) surface. Modified DGL G3 was prepared by replacement of few peripheral amines by various functionalities. Grafting efficiency was determined by wettability measurements, IRTF, XPS, AFM, and by colorimetry using optimized Coomassie Brilliant Blue method tailored for surface analysis. It was shown that a 4-7nm DGL G3 monolayer with 4×10(14)aminecm(-)(2) was covalently grafted onto various surfaces. Immobilization of adenosine triphosphate on the DGL-g-PP material from dilute solution was studied by bioluminescence and proved the ability of the material to interact with polyanionic biological compounds: 1 ATP complex with 5 amine groups. So, this material has a potential use in diagnostic and more widely for biotechnology due to its high capacity for biomolecule immobilization.