Suchergebnisse

Full author list: B Canuel, S Abend, P Amaro-Seoane, F Badaracco, Q Beaufils, A Bertoldi, K Bongs, P Bouyer, C Braxmaier, W Chaibi, N Christensen, F Fitzek, G Flouris, N Gaaloul, S Gaffet, C L Garrido Alzar, R Geiger, S Guellati-Khelifa, K Hammerer, J Harms, J Hinderer, M Holynski, J Junca, S Katsanevas, C Klempt, C Kozanitis, M Krutzik, A Landragin, I Làzaro Roche, B Leykauf, Y-H Lien, S Loriani, S Merlet, M Merzougui, M Nofrarias, P Papadakos, F Pereira dos Santos, A Peters, D Plexousakis, M Prevedelli, E M Rasel, Y Rogister, S Rosat, A Roura, D O Sabulsky, V Schkolnik, D Schlippert, C Schubert, L Sidorenkov, J-N Siemß, C F Sopuerta, F Sorrentino, C Struckmann, G M Tino, G Tsagkatakis, A Viceré, W von Klitzing, L Woerner and X Zou ; Gravitational waves (GWs) were observed for the first time in 2015, one century after Einstein predicted their existence. There is now growing interest to extend the detection bandwidth to low frequency. The scientific potential of multi-frequency GW astronomy is enormous as it would enable to obtain a more complete picture of cosmic events and mechanisms. This is a unique and entirely new opportunity for the future of astronomy, the success of which depends upon the decisions being made on existing and new infrastructures. The prospect of combining observations from the future space-based instrument LISA together with third generation ground based detectors will open the way toward multi-band GW astronomy, but will leave the infrasound (0.1-10 Hz) band uncovered. GW detectors based on matter wave interferometry promise to fill such a sensitivity gap. We propose the European Laboratory for Gravitation and Atom-interferometric Research (ELGAR), an underground infrastructure based on the latest progress in atomic physics, to study space-time and gravitation with the primary goal of detecting GWs in the infrasound band. ELGAR will directly inherit from large research facilities now being built in Europe for the study of large scale atom interferometry and will drive new pan-European synergies from top research centers developing quantum sensors. ELGAR will measure GW radiation in the infrasound band with a peak strain sensitivity of 3.3 × 10-22/√Hz at 1.7 Hz. The antenna will have an impact on diverse fundamental and applied research fields beyond GW astronomy, including gravitation, general relativity, and geology. ; This work was realized with the financial support of the French State through the 'Agence Nationale de la Recherche' (ANR) in the frame of the 'MRSEI' program (Pre-ELGAR ANR-17-MRS5-0004-01) and the 'Investissement d'Avenir' program (Equipex MIGA: ANR11-EQPX-0028, IdEx Bordeaux—LAPHIA: ANR-10-IDEX-03-02). AB acknowledges support from the ANR (project EOSBECMR), IdEx Bordeaux—LAPHIA (project OE-TWR), the QuantERA ERA-NET (project TAIOL) and the Aquitaine Region (projets IASIG3D and USOFF). The work was also supported by the German Space Agency (DLR) with funds provided by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) due to an enactment of the German Bundestag under Grant Nos. 50WM1556, 50WM1956 and 50WP1706 as well as through the DLR Institutes DLR-SI and DLR-QT. XZ thanks the China Scholarships Council (No. 201806010364) program for financial support. JJ thanks 'Association Nationale de la Recherche et de la Technologie' for financial support (No. 2018/1565). PA-S, MN, and CFS acknowledge support from contracts ESP2015-67234-P and ESP2017-90084-P from the Ministry of Economy and Business of Spain (MINECO), and from contract 2017- SGR-1469 from AGAUR (Catalan government). LAS thanks Sorbonne Universit´es (Emergence project LORINVACC) and Conseil Scientifique de l'Observatoire de Paris for funding. RG acknowledges Ville de Paris (Emergence programme HSENS-MWGRAV), ANR (project PIMAI) and the Fundamental Physics and Gravitational Waves (PhyFOG) programme of Observatoire de Paris for support. We also acknowledge networking support by the COST actions GWverse CA16104 and AtomQT CA16221 (Horizon 2020 Framework Programme of the European Union). DS gratefully acknowledges funding by the Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) through the funding program Photonics Research Germany under contract number 13N14875. SvAb, NG, SL, EMR, DS, and CS gratefully acknowledge support by 'Nieders¨achsisches Vorab' through the 'Quantum- and Nano-Metrology (QUANOMET)' initiative within the project QT3, and through 'Förderung von Wissenschaft und Technik in Forschung und Lehre' for the initial funding of research in the new DLRSI Institute, the CRC 1227 DQ-mat within the projects A05, B07 and B09, the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG, German Research Foundation) under Germany's Excellence Strategy—EXC-2123 QuantumFrontiers—390837967 (B2), and the German Space Agency (DLR) with funds provided by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) due to an enactment of the German Bundestag under Grants No. DLR 50WM1641 (PRIMUSIII), 50WM1952 (QUANTUS-V-Fallturm), and 50WP1700 (BECCAL), 50WM1861 (CAL), 50WM2060 (CARIOQA) as well as 50RK1957 (QGYRO). FS, GMT and AV gratefully acknowledge support by the Italian 'Ministero dell'Istruzione, Universit`a e Ricerca' through the funding program PRIN, under contract number 2015L33WAK_003. BL, VS, MK, and AP gratefully acknowledge support by the Berlin School of Optical Sciences and Quantum Technology (BOS.QT) and by the German Space Agency (DLR) with funds provided by the Federal Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy (BMWi) due to an enactment of the German Bundestag under Grants No. 50WP1432 (QUANTUS-IV-MAIUS), 50WP1953 (QUANTUS-V-Fallturm), and 50WP1702 (BECCAL).

[spa]La acuñación de moneda en un territorio sin historia ni tradición monetaria previa supone que se ha producido una serie de cambios políticos, sociales y culturales para hacerla posible. Tales cambios se perfilan como algunos de los puntos más relevantes dentro del proceso de colonización que tuvo lugar a lo largo del siglo II a. C. e inicios de la centuria siguiente en el valle de Cabrera de Mar así como en el territorio Layetano. Cuando se descubre que aspectos aparentemente tan distintos como la moneda, la cerámica de importación, la epigrafía, los ritos funerarios o la arquitectura –elementos que, en ocasiones, se tiende a individualizar en publicaciones y congresos demasiado específicos– son todos parte de una relación causa­efecto -que no hace más que reflejar fases de un mismo proceso en el registro arqueológico-, es el momento de llevar a cabo estudios de síntesis que ayuden a interrelacionar las distintas partes de un todo. Esa es la tarea que se ha tratado de llevar a cabo de una forma sintética y muy resumida en la primera parte de este trabajo. En ella, nos adentraremos en los principales yacimientos del valle de Cabrera de Mar, veremos su urbanismo, su arquitectura, las cerámicas que importaron, la lengua de la que se sirvieron y las monedas que utilizaron y conocieron. Por otro lado, las preguntas básicas que se pretenden responder son siempre muy similares cuando se emprende el estudio de un taller monetal: ¿Quién acuñó la moneda? ¿Por qué? ¿Para qué? ¿Cómo? ¿Dónde? ¿Cuándo? ¿Cuánta? Con la intención de responder a todos estos interrogantes, la mayoría de las monografías numismáticas sigue unas características formales básicas que apenas se diferencian unas de otras. En la segunda parte de esta tesis doctoral, se intenta contestar de la forma más exhaustiva posible a dichas incógnitas. Los apartados dedicados a la ubicación de los talleres y a las leyendas utilizadas suelen ser elementos clave para responder a las cuestiones de quién acuñó la moneda y dónde. A su vez, aspectos como la metrología, tipología y la técnica (análisis metalográficos) utilizada por la ceca son fundamentales para conocer cómo se acuño la moneda e, incluso, plantear hipótesis sobre el uso que se dio al numerario puesto en circulación que hoy estudiamos. Finalmente, los capítulos dedicados a la producción, ordenación y cronología de las emisiones deberían ofrecer respuestas a interrogantes tan trascendentes como cuándo y cuánta moneda se puso en circulación. Si bien estas dos primeras partes –arqueológica y numismática– resultan complementarias entre sí, presentan unas características básicamente descriptivas. En ellas, se detallan todos los datos de que se dispone y se presentan las reflexiones derivadas de los mismos, pero solo en raras ocasiones se intentará incorporar la ceca de ilduro dentro del que fue su contexto histórico –el proceso de colonización del NE peninsular–. Para llevar a cabo esta última tarea, se ha elaborado una tercera y última parte mucho más breve, teórica y explicativa. En ella, se pretende desarrollar un hilo expositivo que narre los acontecimientos que tuvieron lugar en el valle de Cabrera de Mar durante los siglos II­I a. C. y que contextualice históricamente las mencionadas dos primeras partes de la tesis. Como no podía ser de otra manera, el estudio se cierra con las correspondientes conclusiones y la obligada bibliografía. Dichas conclusiones se han basado en la confrontación de los datos expuestos en las dos primeras partes del estudio, donde arqueología y numismática se dan la mano para, en la medida de lo posible, intentar responder a las seis preguntas fundamentales anteriormente formuladas: ¿Quién acuñó la moneda? ¿Por qué? ¿Para qué? ¿Cómo? ¿Dónde? ¿Cuándo? ; [eng] A coinage in a territory without former monetary history or tradition, means a series of political, social and cultural changes took place, enabling it. Such changes showed up as some of the most relevant points of the colonization process that took place during the whole second century b. C. and the beginning of the next century in the valley of Cabrera de Mar and the Layetan territory. When it is discovered that apparently different aspects, like money, imported ceramics, epigraphy, funerary rituals or architecture – elements sometimes tending to be individualized in too specific publications and conferences – are part of a cause-effect relationship, showing phases of one same process of the archeological register, synthesis studies are needed that help the interlinking of the different parts of an entire. This task has been performed in a synthetic and summarized way in the first part of the present work, where we enter the main excavations at the valley of Cabrera de Mar, looking at its urbanism, its architecture, imported pottery and the language and coins used. The second part of this PhD thesis tries to answer as extensively as possible the following questions: Who minted the coins? Why? What for? How? Where? When? How much? The paragraphs dedicated to the situation of the workshops and the legends, use to be key elements to answer the question who minted the coins and where. On the other side, aspects like metrology, typology and the technic (metallographic analysis) used by the mint are essential to know how the coins were minted, and also for the setting up of hypothesis about the use given to the issued cash, object of this study. Finally the chapters about the production, ordination and chronology of the issues should answer questions as important as when, and how much cash was put into circulation. Even if the first two parts – archeology and numismatics – are complementary to each other, they have basically descriptive characteristics. The third part of this work aims to develop an expository thread that relates the events happened in the valley of Cabrera de Mar during the II-I centuries b.C., and historically contextualize the mentioned two previous parts of the thesis. Of course, the study is closed, by the corresponding conclusions and the required bibliography.

Importance: Alzheimer disease (AD) is the leading cause of death in individuals with Down syndrome (DS). Previous studies have suggested that the APOE ɛ4 allele plays a role in the risk and age at onset of dementia in DS; however, data on in vivo biomarkers remain scarce. Objective: To investigate the association of the APOE ɛ4 allele with clinical and multimodal biomarkers of AD in adults with DS. Design, setting, and participants: This dual-center cohort study recruited adults with DS in Barcelona, Spain, and in Cambridge, UK, between June 1, 2009, and February 28, 2020. Included individuals had been genotyped for APOE and had at least 1 clinical or AD biomarker measurement; 2 individuals were excluded because of the absence of trisomy 21. Participants were either APOE ɛ4 allele carriers or noncarriers. Main outcomes and measures: Participants underwent a neurological and neuropsychological assessment. A subset of participants had biomarker measurements: Aβ1-42, Aβ1-40, phosphorylated tau 181 (pTau181) and neurofilament light chain (NfL) in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF), pTau181, and NfL in plasma; amyloid positron emission tomography (PET); fluorine 18-labeled-fluorodeoxyglucose PET; and/or magnetic resonance imaging. Age at symptom onset was compared between APOE ɛ4 allele carriers and noncarriers, and within-group local regression models were used to compare the association of biomarkers with age. Voxelwise analyses were performed to assess topographical differences in gray matter metabolism and volume. Results: Of the 464 adults with DS included in the study, 97 (20.9%) were APOE ɛ4 allele carriers and 367 (79.1%) were noncarriers. No differences between the 2 groups were found by age (median [interquartile range], 45.9 [36.4-50.2] years vs 43.7 [34.9-50.2] years; P = .56) or sex (51 male carriers [52.6%] vs 199 male noncarriers [54.2%]). APOE ɛ4 allele carriers compared with noncarriers presented with AD symptoms at a younger age (mean [SD] age, 50.7 [4.4] years vs 52.7 [5.8] years; P = .02) and showed earlier cognitive decline. Locally estimated scatterplot smoothing curves further showed between-group differences in biomarker trajectories with age as reflected by nonoverlapping CIs. Specifically, carriers showed lower levels of the CSF Aβ1-42 to Aβ1-40 ratio until age 40 years, earlier increases in amyloid PET and plasma pTau181, and earlier loss of cortical metabolism and hippocampal volume. No differences were found in NfL biomarkers or CSF total tau and pTau181. Voxelwise analyses showed lower metabolism in subcortical and parieto-occipital structures and lower medial temporal volume in APOE ɛ4 allele carriers. Conclusions and relevance: In this study, the APOE ɛ4 allele was associated with earlier clinical and biomarker changes of AD in DS. These results provide insights into the mechanisms by which APOE increases the risk of AD, emphasizing the importance of APOE genotype for future clinical trials in DS. ; This study was funded in part by the Fondo de Investigaciones Sanitario; Instituto de Salud Carlos III (grants PI14/01126 and PI17/01019 to Dr Fortea, grants PI13/01532 and PI16/01825 to Dr Blesa, grant PI18/00335 to Dr Carmona-Iragui, grants PI18/00435 and INT19/00016 to Dr Alcolea, grant PI18/00327 to Dr Belbin, and grants PI14/1561 and PI17/01896 to Dr Lleó); Center of Biomedical Investigation Network for Neurodegenerative Diseases (CIBERNED) Program 1, Alzheimer Disease (Dr Lleó) and SIGNAL study, which was partly jointly funded by Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional, Unión Europea, and Una Manera de Hacer Europa; National Institutes of Health (NIH; grants 1R01AG056850-01A1, R21AG056974, and R01AG061566 to Dr Fortea); Departament de Salut de la Generalitat de Catalunya, Pla Estratègic de Recerca i Innovació en Salut (grant SLT002/16/00408 to Dr Lleó); Fundació La Marató de TV3 (grant 20141210 to Dr Fortea and grant 044412 to Dr Blesa); Fundació Catalana Síndrome de Down and Fundació Víctor Grífols i Lucas (Dr Fortea); Generalitat de Catalunya (grant SLT006/17/00119 to Dr Fortea, grant SLT006/17/95 to Dr Vilaplana, and grant SLT006/17/00125 to Dr Alcolea); Fundació Bancaria La Caixa to Dr Blesa; NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre; NIHR Collaborations in Leadership for Applied Health Research and Care (CLAHRC) for the East of England; NIHR Cambridge Dementia Biomedical Research Unit; Down Syndrome Association; and the Health Foundation. Dr Bejanin was supported by a Juan de la Cierva Incorporación grant (IJCI-2017-32609) from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and by a Miguel Servet I grant (CP20/00038) from the Carlos III Health Institute. Dr Iulita was supported by the Jérôme Lejeune Foundation and Sisley D'Ornano Foundations. Dr Estellés was supported by grant CM19/00017 from Pío del Río Hortega. Dr Padilla was supported as a Sara Borrell Postdoctoral Fellow (CD20/00133) at the Carlos III Health Institute. Dr Illán-Gala was supported by a Juan Rodés contract (JR21-00018) and the Pilot Award for Global Brain Health Leaders (GBHI ALZ UK-21-720973). Dr Belbin was supported by a Miguel Servet II grant (CP18/00011). Dr Osorio was supported by grants R01AG056031, R01AG056531, R01AG066870, and R21AG067549 from the NIH and grant 98480 from the Medical Research Council. Dr Lehmann was supported by grants from the Programme Hospitalier de Recherche Clinique National program, grant NeuroMET2 #18HLT09 from the European Union (EU) European Metrology Programme for Innovation and Research, and the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement 860197 from the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme. Dr Holland was supported by CLAHRC for the East of England at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust. Dr Zetterberg was supported by grant 2018-02532 from the Swedish Research Council; grant 681712 from the European Research Council; grant ALFGBG-720931 from the Swedish State Support for Clinical Research; grant 201809-2016862 from the Alzheimer Drug Discovery Foundation (ADDF); grants ADSF-21-831376-C, ADSF-21-831381-C, and ADSF-21-831377-C from the Alzheimer's Strategic Fund and the Alzheimer's Association; Olav Thon Foundation; Erling-Persson Family Foundation; grant FO2019-0228 from the Stiftelsen för Gamla Tjänarinnor, Hjärnfonden, Sweden; the Marie Skłodowska-Curie grant agreement 860197 from the EU Horizon 2020 research and innovation programme; and the UK Dementia Research Institute at UCL. Dr Blennow was supported by grant 2017-00915 from the Swedish Research Council; grant RDAPB-201809-2016615 from the ADDF; grant AF-742881 from the Swedish Alzheimer Foundation; grant FO2017-0243 from Hjärnfonden, Sweden, the Swedish state under the agreement between the Swedish government and the County Councils; grant ALFGBG-715986 from the ALF agreement; and grant JPND2019-466-236 from the EU Joint Program for Neurodegenerative Disorders. Dr Zaman was supported by CLAHRC for the East of England at Cambridgeshire and Peterborough NHS Foundation Trust and grant 98480 from the Medical Research Council. Dr Fortea was supported by grants from the Jérome Lejeune Foundation.

The main reason for blaming the EU for not watching the regional reforms more often is based on the idea that the EU has a chance to stimulate and positively influence developments in Central Asia and Kazakhstan and to provide a democratic social model. Many analysts think the EU could use economic relations and business ties in the region for the sake of social development and vice versa arguing that social instability affects the EU business relations forcing Kazakhstani government to finally solve problems and execute necessary democratic reforms. For instance, Sebastien Peyrouse sees the following behavior: "In theory, Europe could make use of its business potential to help spread the social model it incarnates. The EU could thus choose to privilege business relations that commit the participants to ensuring certain legal standards in economic activity and to strengthening the rule of law. This could be done, for instance, by giving preference to Central Asian companies that are committed to respecting the rights of local workers, to fighting corruption, promoting fair competition and good corporate governance, and recognizing the importance of contracts. The long-term objective would be to increase the social responsibility of Central Asian companies – something that has indirect repercussions on the societies" (PEYROUSE 2009, P. 11). Nevertheless, he also doubts that it can be easily done because of possible accusations by using "its own doorstep to tax heavens – particularly in Luxembourg - where Central Asian heads of state, their families and the oligarchs close to them deposit money siphoned off from national wealth" (PEYROUSE 2009, P. 11). However, the history of the EU as a welfare union of states is more powerful than the use of accusations. Therefore, European politicians may successfully use economic ties, contacts, and obligations in long-term trade relations to influence the government to provide better social reforms to secure stability, as well as strengthen the power of the EU as an external player in the region. In this case, the economic topic should serve as a basis for the European strategy in the region. "The EU therefore has every reason to implement forms of development assistance which, by helping European companies to establish themselves in the market, will play a key role in reducing Central Asia's social vulnerability and will contribute to the fight against poverty, which is currently the main issue that needs to be addressed by the international community and by regional governments" (PEYROUSE 2009, P. 11). Continuation of this strategy that will enforce Kazakhstani government to provide the society with necessary reforms will gain a positive image for the union both within the region and globally. This also may help the EU, as an external player, to further obtain influence on governmental decision-making processes. It is obvious that social stability is the key to decrease economical risk factors and to improve the investment climate to benefit the whole development of a country or union. In this case, the EU strategy will profit the EU itself. Chances for a successful realization of such a plan are relatively high. Kazakhstan has been conduction fruitful business with EU Member States. According to the statistics, provided by the German Auswaertiges Amt, Germany takes place number eight in the list of Kazakhstan trading partners with a commodity turnover of EUR 5.7 billion in 2008, and it continues to grow (AUSWAERTIGES AMT 2009). "In this area, Kazakhstan does not hide its ambitions; its "Path to Europe" program clearly states its intention to become one of the main communications hubs between Asia and Europe" (PEYROUSE 2009, P. 9), according to Sebastien Peyrouse, who specialized on Central Asian trade and economic relations. The program called "Path to Europe" was signed by the President in August 2008 and supposed to be implemented during 2009-2011. According to evaluations made by the EU and Kazakhstani political analysts, the program will help to intensify and deepen the political collaboration between Kazakhstan and the EU. The introduction of the program has 3 stages and the basis for implementation of the program was prepared carefully. First of all, the president addressed his hopes for future profitable relations with the EU beforehand, in his annual message to the people of Kazakhstan. This message was used by Kazakhstani officials during political meetings to announce the future document. Finally, the document was signed and came into force in August 2008. The program seemed to be very promising. For instance, in March 2008, during the conference in the Netherlands, organized with the help of the Kazakhstan embassy, the ambassador of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Mainura Murzamadiyeva, familiarized more than 70 representatives of political, informational, and business layers of the Netherlands with the President´s message to the people of Kazakhstan, where he had announced the future program. Many of Dutch political scientists stated that the proposals the president made in his message will definitely intensify political cooperation between Kazakhstan and the EU, attract foreign investments, bring new technologies, and help to bring people of different regions close to each other. Analyzing the program "Path to Europe" that is celebrating its first anniversary this August, since it was signed in 2008, the following objectives are performed by the government of the Republic of Kazakhstan: - Cooperation with the EU countries; - Creation of required conditions for technological cooperation; - Energy cooperation development; - Transport cooperation development; - Technical regulation and metrology cooperation; - Trade-economic relation strengthening and broadening; - Small and medium-sized enterprises development; - Living conditions improvement cooperation; - Humanitarian cooperation; - Kazakhstani legal base improvement and European experience application. Kazakhstan clearly stated that it expects the level of a strategic partnership with leading European countries in political, economic, and humanitarian spheres and a trade commodity turnover increase by 10% per year as well as a high level of exchange visits. The country also expects the EU to help to promote Kazakhstan internationally which will improve the investment climate and, therefore, the economic situation. However, priorities of the country remain unclear showing the country's reluctance to answer the questions on how to establish democracy and solve the following problems "continuation of efforts on creation of conditions for democracy institutions development on the OSCE territory; transport and transit potential development; Eurasian transcontinental transport corridors development; ecological problems solutions; trust measures and regional security strengthening; non-military aspects of safety development under the OSCE activities including terror, extremism, drug trafficking, organized crime, weapons' and people's sale fighting and Afghanistan reconstruction". To reach the declared goals and priorities, Kazakhstan needs the support of the EU and cooperation. Many political and business analysts provide recommendations suggesting to establish trade chambers and delegation sections related to trade and business that will monitor the activities, provide more legal support and consultations for small and medium-sized business in the region. Further, they suggest establishing more exchange programs for Kazakhstani businessmen to bring more business culture and experience. To monitor and evaluate the progress, the EU can establish clear and visible rating systems with distinct conditions and deadlines. In this case, evaluation committees and reports with full transparency are crucial. However, the first step, the EU should fulfill, is to admit that the time of 'soft power' has ended and finally declare a clear political dimension. Without a distinctive view and goal, the EU will not succeed in representing a strong power and will not improve the policy that has been executing in Kazakhstan since signing the Partnership and Cooperation Agreement in 1992.

This report describes the SLE study concerning quality infrastructure in three value chains and its potential to contributing to economic growth in southern Kyrgyzstan. In the context of GIZ's Sustainable Economic Development Programme in Kyrgyzstan, the German development agency tasked SLE to perform the study out its Jalal-Abad office, with the following subtasks: - Studied three value chains (apple, tomato and plum) partly; - Has interviewed companies producing and processing those commodities and - Has analyzed the national quality infrastructure (NQI) serving the three. Following a similar task in Ghana, SLE developed a qualitative research methodology with a five week stay in Kyrgyzstan. Through 60 interviews mainly with food processors, but also including farmers, quality infrastructure (QI) service providers and GIZ partners, the three staff SLE team prepared recommendations after verifying them in workshops. Three recommendation groups were developed: 1. Strengthen utilization of formal market demands as driver for improved Food Safety and QI 2. Widen scope of Kyrgyz QI services and increase clients' satisfaction in order to boost QI utilization 3. Flank intervention in quality management through facilitating investment climate Background and Task This summary condensates the SLE study on how quality infrastructure in three value chains can contribute to economic growth in southern Kyrgyzstan. In the context of GIZ's Sustainable Economic Development Programme in Kyrgyzstan, the German development agency operates an office in the rural South Fergana Valley. Based out of that office in Jalal-Abad, this research consultancy has: • Studied three value chains (apple, tomato and plum) partly; • Has interviewed companies producing and processing those commodities and • Has analyzed the national quality infrastructure (NQI) serving the three. These steps were taken in order to come up with recommendations how to support economic growth in rural Kyrgyzstan through specific interventions. The Kyrgyz national economy is still much depending on Russia, 27 years after Soviet Union's breakup. Yet, many young Kyrgyz people migrate to Russia instead of farming on their families' properties with the consequence of them not being available in the Kyrgyz national labor market. Stemming from Soviet's era, the Quality Infrastructure (QI) subsector serves companies and their customers alike through Metrology, Standardization, Testing, Certification and Accreditation. The -mostly governmental- NQI operates on the policy level out of the capital, the regional hubs such as Osh being relevant to Jalal Abad and on the county level (oblast). Besides supplying national Kyrgyz markets, exports play a particular role as they are relevant to apple and plum products. Since the accession of Kyrgyzstan to the Eurasian Economic Union (EAEU) with Russia, Belarus, Armenia and Kazakhstan, export regulations are expected for summer 2017. In light of this the client defined the main research questions as to how to improve food safety and how quality infrastructure services can contribute to creating job opportunities, especially for youth. Methodology Having completed a study of Ghana's national quality infrastructure in 2015, the Seminar Ländliche Entwicklung (SLE) has been commissioned by GIZ to perform this task, replicating partially the methods and partly in personal union. Given the explorative character of the Kyrgyzstan study, and in coordination with the client during the inception phase, a qualitative approach was adopted. Given the results of the research in Ghana showing the best chances of QI utilization on the medium size company level, the Kyrgyzstan study focused on food processors. The three expatriate SLE consultants designed a five week field phase, flanked by two national Kyrgyz experts. Supported by GIZ's logistics, the SLE team spent a week in each value chain. The interviews covered 20 food processing companies; three farmers and one retailer were interviewed. 18 interviews were conducted with service providers in the quality infrastructure sector. The total of sixty interviews included also six with development agencies, partly in GIZ partnership. During the final stages, recommendation workshops were hold in Jalal Abad and Bishkek with the purpose of verifying the results and recommendations. Findings and Observations Some out of many observations shall be reflected here: The interviews with producers revealed that EAEU markets, especially Russia are highly relevant to them and will become even more once compliance with customs regulations become obligatory, foreseen in 2017. Looking at the type of producer and processor, the research found a "dual-economy" existing with informal markets for fresh products and formal markets requiring certifiable quality management. Given the formal markets concluding contracts between producers, processors and their clients also concerning quality characteristics, it results in a higher chance of quality management and QI services playing a role. Pondering obligatory and voluntary use of QI, this research applied the assumption that formal markets impose quality regimes sparing the authorities from obligating farmers, processors and exporters as well as policing compliance. On paper, Kyrgyz NQI should function, but in reality this is barely in position to check compliance of products being exported to EAEU countries. While the EAEU is supposed to equip Kyrgyz QI providers even in regions, much is left to be done. Since soviet past, the line ministries for agriculture and health shared the task of maintaining QI services. However, given the nowadays' involvement of the state inspectorate, exporters have to check compliance for each authority the same characteristics. This duplication withholds willing QI customers and frustrates them, instead of facilitating their work. With 28'000 out of the total 150'000 tones annual apple production, apple products are subject to export regulations. In so far, EAEU's customs union is very relevant, which can even become restrictive, like it was observable with potatoes evading quality infrastructure. Apple juice, which is examined by health authorities additionally for sanitary reasons, requires quality infrastructure services, but does lack inspection. Given this situation, Kyrgyz apples or products more generally do not reach lucrative markets. Like apple, the pomicultures plum is growing in orchards typically planted back in Soviet times. The up to 20'000 tons of Plums produced annually, are dried in order to conserve them with the few micro-drying facilities. However, even more is sold to intermediaries who partly export them to more lucrative markets, through Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. Hardly any QI service utilization was observed. Tomatoes are produced on some 10'000 ha of fields in Southern Kyrgyzstan. 60% of these tomatoes are processed to juices and paste, where hygiene and quality regimes apply. On the fields, fertilizer is applied leading to a necessity to analyze Nitrate concentrations, yet hardly any QI utilization has been observed. In all three value chains, it would be required using Hazard Analysis and Critical Control Points (HACCP) because it is the most effective and economic way to combat food safety problems. Nevertheless, HACCP is not mandatory in the EAEU quality management and training has been too theoretical. While organic products do not play any role on Kyrgyz national markets, there is an opportunity for European markets. Already now, Kyrgyz Walnuts, plums and other are exported to Turkey, and partly re-dispatched onwards to the EU. A few European processors even invest directly, such as in Kyrgyz nuts. However, in order to do so, they utilize their own company based quality management. Nevertheless, given the growing EU organic market, an opportunity arises for Kyrgyz plums, dried apples, herbal spices and more. This is even more relevant, given the national quality infrastructure contributing. Looking at job opportunities, income generation and youth's migration, the youth's multitude of motives for leaving the country presented itself. Youth also leaves rural South in order to be in reach of urban opportunities from mobile phone access to training opportunities. The research concludes that in order to influence migration, the necessary condition is an integrated program offering job opportunities Results and recommendations Summarizing all three value chains, quality infrastructure is utilized rarely by farmers and micro-scale processors, also because National QI is concentrated in Bishkek. In order to solve this, QI services need to be offered on the producer level in relevant villages. Extending services on village level also involves consultancy as to how translating the QI results in a proper HACCP management. Already now, Quality infrastructure is not utilized sufficiently to access profitable markets. The reason is partly the high cost, the unawareness by producers and partly the poor presence in relevant fields and area. Given the poor scope of tests and compliance checks, farmers and processors risk having to check twice quality properties. Consequently, and in order to comply with EAEU regulations already during 2017, the rejection risk of Kyrgyz products grows. In light of this, it is recommended to stimulate QI utilization, widen the scope of QI services and facilitate general economic conditions as follows: 1. In order to use formal market demand as driver for improved Food Safety and QI – service utilization in selected value chains (VC) it is necessary to: a. improve the linkage of local VC actors with formal markets b. facilitate compliance of local VC actors with market requirements 2. QI utilization should grow through fulfillment of two recommendations. a. In order to increase QI service utilization, the necessary condition is to increase its scope. b. The sufficient condition is customers satisfied with easy access, speed and precision of service. 3. Besides these two main recommendations, general conditions should augment room for change.

A lo largo de las últimas dos décadas, el desarrollo de sistemas de imagen infrarroja ha experimentado una notable evolución. Esta tecnología, aunque originaria del ámbito militar y de la teledetección, actualmente supone un claro ejemplo de transversalidad tras haberse trasladado con éxito a sectores como el industrial, el medioambiental, o la imagen médica, conforme su nivel de competitividad y prestaciones iban en aumento. Nuevas aplicaciones han demandado dispositivos cada vez más complejos, dotados de mecanismos de selección espectral cada vez más sofisticados, y dando lugar a sistemas de imagen con capacidad para un número reducido de canales. Recientemente, este progreso culmina con los sistemas de imagen hiperespectral, que aúnan las posibilidades que brinda la resolución espacial con una resolución espectral equiparable a la de los espectrorradiómetros clásicos; lo que justifica el nombre de espectrorradiómetro de imagen aplicado también a estos equipos. El potencial ofrecido por estos últimos desarrollos permite afrontar bajo nuevos enfoques desafíos tradicionalmente complejos, como es el caso de la teledetección de compuestos gaseosos. Muchas aplicaciones de carácter tanto civil (como la monitorización de fuentes de contaminantes, la detección de emisiones fugitivas o el control de procesos industriales) como militar (desde la detección e identificación de agentes químicos a labores de reconocimiento de amenazas) se beneficiarán de los logros alcanzados en la resolución de este problema. En particular, una de las tareas más exigentes es la cuantificación, esto es, la estimación de parámetros físicos relevantes, como la concentración de una determinada especie química o la temperatura a la que se encuentra. Esto se debe fundamentalmente a la baja determinación de los datos observados, donde hay fuertes relaciones de acoplamiento entre magnitudes, lo que obliga al uso de complejos algoritmos para su recuperación. Esta tesis doctoral aborda el problema de la cuantificación a distancia de gases mediante un espectrorradiómetro de imagen provisto de un interferómetro de Michelson, que le confiere una resolución espectral de 0,25 cm -¹, acoplado a un array de 320 x 256 detectores de InSb con sensibilidad en la región comprendida entre 1,5 y 5,5 μm. Nuestro estudio comienza con el análisis de una aplicación preliminar, la teledetección activa de gases mediante sensores de banda integrada, que nos sirve para introducir herramientas como el modelado de la transferencia radiativa o la simulación de prestaciones radiométricas. El trabajo continúa con el desarrollo de las funciones de procesado que permiten obtener espectros a partir de interferogramas en el sistema de imagen hiperespectral utilizado. A continuación, se propone una metodología que permite la recuperación de la densidad de columna (producto de la concentración y el camino óptico) y de la temperatura mediante un algoritmo de ajuste iterativo, resolviendo la relación de ambigüedad que estas variables mantienen, y que finalmente es validada de forma experimental a partir de espectros de transmitancia. Nuestro enfoque del problema de la cuantificación trabaja con un espectro de alta resolución para cada píxel de la imagen. Esto supone un volumen de datos sumamente grande, y consecuentemente, unos tiempos de cómputo muy elevados, lo que nos ha llevado a la búsqueda de procedimientos que permitan extraer la dimensionalidad intrínseca de la información contenida en dichos datos. La solución propuesta hace uso del análisis de componentes principales como técnica para generar sub-espacios adaptados a los espectros medidos, aunque con la particularidad de que dichas componentes se construyen a partir de datos teóricos que simulan el escenario observado. De esta forma se consigue no sólo una notable reducción de la dimensionalidad y la multicolinealidad, sino que ésta viene acompañada por una reducción del ruido, y se facilita la recuperación de las variables densidad de columna y temperatura. Esta nueva estrategia de estimación es validada a partir del caso experimental estudiado inicialmente, y se complementa su uso junto a distintas estrategias de generalización, que buscan optimizar la recuperación de datos explorando diferentes alternativas de aproximación de funciones (como el perceptrón multicapa) y de regresión no lineal (mediante redes neuronales de base radial y máquinas de vectores de soporte). Otro de los factores responsables del alto volumen de datos presente en los interferogramas es el sobremuestreo con el que son adquiridos, por lo que aquí se propone un algoritmo que consigue un uso eficiente de las muestras redundantes para reducir el nivel de ruido. Por último, esta tesis concluye poniendo a prueba los planteamientos expuestos hasta aquí para afrontar un problema metrológico actual, como es la medida de las altas temperaturas (>2400 K) que se producen en determinados procesos de combustión, en el contexto de un proyecto europeo de investigación. Nuestra aportación se basa en el uso de técnicas de espectroscopia de emisión, junto al de una metodología de recuperación de la temperatura basada en el método de ajuste iterativo ya desarrollado, obteniéndose como sub-productos estimaciones de la densidad de columna de las principales especies. No obstante, este proceso no resulta libre de contratiempos, principalmente por la dificultad que implica observar fenómenos dinámicos con un interferómetro de Michelson, en el que la radiación entrante fluctúa temporalmente durante el recorrido del espejo. Esto provoca una superposición entre la modulación propia del interferómetro y la modulación temporal, que ha sido necesario corregir para evitar la aparición de artefactos en los espectros obtenidos. Finalmente, el análisis de las medidas realizadas mediante el método de Monte Carlo arroja niveles de incertidumbre en la estimación de la temperatura del orden de ± 5K. ; During the last two decades, the development of infrared imaging systems has experienced a remarkable evolution. This technology, although primarily originated in military and remote sensing fields, currently has become an example of transversality once it has been succesfully transferred to other sectors, like industry, environment, or healthcare, while both its competitiveness and performance followed a growing trend. New applications have required new and more complex devices, including mechanisms for spectral selection that become increasingly more sophisticated, and give rise to imaging systems able to sense along a reduced number of channels. Recently, this progress has culminated with the development of the so-called hyperspectral imaging systems, equipped with a spectral resolution comparable to that provided by classic spectroradiometers, whilst maintaining all the possibilities that spatial resolution grants. That is the reason why they are often referred to as imaging spectroradiometers. The potential offered by these developments allows to address old challenges through new perspectives, as it is the case of remote sensing of gases. Many applications both civil (as the case of pollutants emissions monitoring, fugitive emissions detection or industrial processes) and military (from detection and identification of chemical agents to threat recognition) will benefit from advances performed in this topic. In particular, one of the most demanding tasks is quantification, that is, the estimation of relevant physical parameters, as the concentration of a chemical compound or its temperature. This is mainly due to the fact that the targeted data are poorly determined, because of coupling relations between magnitudes, and it motivates the use of complex algorithms in the retrieval procedures. This dissertation faces the problem of gas remote quantification through the use of an imaging Fourier transform spectrometer (IFTS), fitted with a Michelson interferometer that provides a maximum spectral resolution of 0,25 cm-¹, and coupled to a 320 x 256 InSb array of detectors operating in the mid-infrared range, from 1,5 to 5,5 μm. Our analysis begins with a preliminar application, the active remote sensing of gases based on single band infrared imaging detectors. This stage will helps us to introduce some important tools, like modelling of radiative transfer functions, and the ability to perform radiometric simulations. Our work continues with the setup of our hyperspectral imaging system, and the development of processing functions that allow to obtain spectra from interferograms. Then, a full methodology has been proposed for both column density (the product of concentration and optical path) and temperature retrieval, through an iterative fitting algorithm that solves the ambiguity between these variables. Finally, it has been experimentally validated making use of transmittance spectra. Our approach to the quantification problem requires of high resolution spectra for each pixel in the image. This implies a huge volume of data, and consequently, very large computing times. This has lead us to the search of procedures for extracting the intrinsic dimensionality of the information contained in data. Our solution is based on the use of principal component analysis to build signal sub-spaces adapted to measured spectra, but with the distinctive feature that they are generated from theoretical datasets that simulate the target scene. Therefore, not only a notable dimensionality and multicolinearity reduction is achieved, but also noise levels are decreased, making easier to retrieve column density and temperature. This methodology is also validated for the experimental setup previously considered, and it is jointly applied with different generalization strategies, that aim to optimize data retrieval exploring different approaches like function approximation (with a multilayer perceptron) and non linear regression techniques (through radial basis neural networks and support vector machines). Another important factor responsible for the great volume of interferograms is oversampling. In that case, an algorithm is proposed to squeeze the redundant samples, so that they are rearranged to reduce noise and promote a more efficient use. This thesis concludes testing all the exposed work by dealing with a metrology topic of current interest: the accurate measurement of high temperatures (>2400 K) in combustion processes, in the context of a European research project. Our approach is based on the use of emission spectroscopy techniques along with a temperature retrieval methodology, that also provides column density estimations of major species. However, this is not a straightforward procedure, mainly due to the difficulties that entails to observe dynamic phenomenons with a Michelson interferometer, in which the collected radiation temporarily fluctuates during mirror's sweep. This causes a superposition between both interferometer modulation and external modulation, that has been corrected to avoid artifacts in the associated spectra. Finally, the Monte Carlo method applied to measurements reveals an uncertainty in the estimation of temperature of about ±5K. ; Programa Oficial de Doctorado en Ingeniería Eléctrica, Electrónica y Automática ; Presidente: Eusebio Bernabéu Martínez.- Secretario: Antonio Jesús de Castro González.- Vocal: Joaquín Campos Acosta