A French missionary with the MÉP, Fr Bruno Saint Girons, served as a priest for 15 years in the Southeast Asian metropolis that is currently welcoming the Pope. He told AsiaNews about the daily life of his communities, confiding that he would like this great city to learn from Francis to listen to everyone, not to judge. Milan (AsiaNews) – Fr Bruno Saint Girons, a French missionary with the Missions étrangères de Paris (MÉP), carried out his ministry for 15 years in the great Southeast Asian metropolis, where Pope Francis arrived today on the last leg of his apostolic journey to Asia and Oceania. "The first thing that strikes you when you arrive in Singapore is the image of the modern, advanced city. Slowly, however, I got to realise that there are deeper traditions (Chinese, Malay, Indian) that operate in people's minds and hearts,” said the clergyman, speaking to AsiaNews. In 2019, he returned to his diocese of origin, Evreux, where he is now a parish priest, prison chaplain, and head of interfaith dialogue, but he has kept in touch with many friends in Singapore, whom he visited this summer. AsiaNews talked to him about the daily life in the big city, a melting pot of humanity, with its historic communities, its migrants, and the many expats who stay for a few years to work in Asian branches of large global companies. Their different faces are also reflected in the local Catholic community, about 395,000 strong, about 7 per cent of the country’s population, with whom Pope Francis will celebrate Mass tomorrow afternoon in the National Stadium. “In Singapore I was in charge of four parishes," says Fr Saint Girons. “Quite large entities, with about 10,000 people attending Mass every weekend. Composite communities, with people who participate with different motivations. “Interfaith communities: I found people usually searching for meaning in their lives. Openness among different groups living in Singapore? It depends a bit on the individual; in some, I found this desire, in others less so.” Despite the image of efficiency, the place is also crisscrossed by more complex trends. For the MÉP missionary, “There is a sort of tension between tradition and modernity. Many young people today question many things, carrying within them the desire to 'deconstruct' this model.” Singapore appears to be one of the Asian metropolises that today offers the most opportunities to those who live there. But what do people miss the most? “There is a tendency to look for success," notes Fr Saint Girons, “and this can lead people to stress and exacerbate this desire. A friend told me: 'Singapore is like a prison for me'; it applies to work, business. But this danger can also be reflected in the Church herself; there is even the risk of looking at 'salvation' as a form of success, where what matters is only that in the end I go to heaven . . .” What legacy would you like this visit of Pope Francis to leave to the local Catholic community? “I think his message of openness, including to those who are not like us," the missionary says. “The invitation not to judge them, but to listen, to journey with them. I think that underscoring these attitudes can be very useful in a context like Singapore.” Subscribe to Asia News updates or change your preferences Volume 3 - 2015 | https://doi.org/10.3389/fphy.2015.00038 This article is part of the Research TopicFormation Mechanisms of Functional Oxides NanostructuresView all 4 articles The combination of standard wafer-scale semiconductor processing with the properties of functional oxides opens up to innovative and more efficient devices with high value applications which can be produced at large scale This review uncovers the main strategies that are successfully used to monolithically integrate functional complex oxide thin films and nanostructures on silicon: the chemical solution deposition approach (CSD) and the advanced physical vapor deposition techniques such as oxide molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) Special emphasis will be placed on complex oxide nanostructures epitaxially grown on silicon using the combination of CSD and MBE with a particular stress on the control of interfaces and crystallization mechanisms on epitaxial perovskite oxide thin films This review enlightens on the potential of complex oxide nanostructures and the combination of both chemical and physical elaboration techniques for novel oxide-based integrated devices Complex functional oxides display a wide range of properties: from colossal magnetoresistance and high-temperature superconductivity to ferroelectricity and multiferroicity oxides might provide a way to tackle large number of technological challenges including devices with lower energy consumption and transition to renewable sources of energy silicon is to-date the most fundamental technological material in the electronics industry integrating high quality epitaxial oxide films and nanostructures on silicon is a milestone toward the fabrication of a number of devices based on the functionalities of oxides combined with the traditional Si-based complementary metal-oxide-semiconductor (CMOS) technology The growth of structurally different materials on the same wafer represents a bottleneck in the development of new devices based on the coupling of the physical properties of these materials at the heterostructure level a successful integration of functional oxides on silicon offers an unlimited potential for new applications in electronics large efforts are currently focused on matching dissimilar oxides (structurally and in general chemically reactive) and silicon in hybrid structures This strong EO response makes the film an optimal candidate as a base material for novel applications in the field of silicon photonics including modulators In this review we describe the main strategies that have been successfully used to monolithically integrate functional complex oxide nanostructures on silicon via CSD methods and advanced physical vapor deposition techniques such as MBE This review will also focus on recent advances combining CSD and nanoporous polymer templates with the epitaxial growth for the controlled design and growth of textured crystalline solids This novel approach offers an attractive methodology to further integrate functional oxide nanostructures on silicon substrates The review will mainly cover single-crystalline oxide films and nanostructures Crystalline oxides present two main advantages: (i) the properties of a crystalline film or nanostructure are in general superior to those of the same material under an amorphous/polycrystalline form and (ii) their interfaces with silicon are better defined and therefore can be more effectively characterized and modeled Functional oxide thin films and nanostructures can be produced through physical or chemical methods. The main physical deposition techniques that are typically used to grow epitaxial films and nanostructures of complex oxides are: (i) pulsed laser deposition (PLD), (ii) sputtering deposition, and (iii) molecular beam epitaxy (MBE) [7] These three techniques fall within the broad category commonly known as physical vapor deposition (PVD) where chemical reactions are excluded or poorly involved in the growth mechanism MBE is also another vacuum deposition method in which well-defined thermal beams of atoms or molecules react at a crystalline surface to finally produce an epitaxial film [12]. Each molecular beam is created by separated effusion cells, which operate at different temperatures to provide the desired element flux [13] MBE offers excellent stoichiometric compositional control because effusion cells can evaporate homogeneously and separately different elements the growth rate of complex oxide films via MBE is very slow and expensive MBE and PLD have important differences regarding the instantaneous deposition rate during thin films growth the typical growth rate for MBE is 1 monolayer (ML) per second while in PLD the instantaneous growth rates can reach 1 ML/microsecond the average growth speed for PLD is limited only by the repetition rate of the laser PLD technique can perform a variety of fundamental kinetic studies that are difficult to be achieved by using MBE technique Schematic of an oxide-MBE (O-MBE) setup that shows the epitaxial integration of perovskite based-oxides on silicon through a metallic evaporation under oxygen PLD and sputtering are much more mature than MBE for the growth of oxides, but MBE technique offers some advantages such as broader homogeneity over large surfaces and flexibility of doping compared to PLD. More importantly, MBE provides advanced control of the interfaces and growth processes, which allows the development of interface engineering strategies to grow functional oxides on Si and other semiconductor platforms [7, 19, 20] Epitaxial growth of complex oxides on silicon is far from straightforward as a result of material dissimilarities. Most of the strains are linked to the fact that a crystalline oxide on a semiconductor induces a transition from a network of strongly covalent bonds in silicon to a mode of primarily ionic bonding in the oxide over a length-scale of less than a nanometer [21] in addition to the overall film stoichiometry it is crucial to monitor the thermodynamics of each layer during the growth process in order to control the heteroepitaxial transition The formation of amorphous SiO2 or silicates layers during the first stages of the growth process might hinder epitaxy the partial pressure of the oxygen and the silicon temperature need to be controlled throughout the process Chemical vapor deposition (CVD) is a process widely used in industry for the growth of thin films as a result of its good stability and reproducibility. Thus, it is used in a broad array of applications. CVD is based on the deposition of a thin solid film onto a substrate through chemical reaction of gaseous species [30] The main difference between CVD and PVD methods relies on the reactive process the final product is what dictates the different energy sources The thermal decomposition of the precursor gives rise to a thin film deposit along the process the ligands that are associated with the precursor are cleanly eliminated to the gas phase in the form of reaction products Atomic layer deposition (ALD) is based in the sequential transfer of precursors or reagents that either adsorb to saturation coverage or undergo selective ligand reactions. On either case, the process is self-limiting thus, leading to a layer-by-layer growth of an atomic film [31, 32] this growth technique can provide atomic layer control and the deposition of ultrathin conformal films onto very high aspect ratio structures ALD is thus a CVD technique based on sequential Scheme of the formation of epitaxial thin films of perovskite-based oxides via solution processing routes (dip-coating) Light-sensitive materials containing UV absorbing species (like β-diketonates) were formed by tailoring the chemistry of the sol-gel precursors The subsequent UV irradiation produces the pyrolysis and oxidation of the organic components of the sol-gel film which makes possible the formation of the M-O-M bonds of the ferroelectric perovskite at low temperatures Another strategy is based on the incorporation of seeds into the photoactive sol. This enlarges the number of nucleation sites in the emerging film, leading to a reduction of the crystallization temperature [40]. In this direction, lead zirconate titanate (PZT) attains a lower limit of crystallization temperature at 300°C [41] therefore allowing the use of these multifunctional oxide layers as advanced devices supported on flexible polymeric substrates In addition, bismuth ferrite BiFeO3 (BFO) thin films have been successfully prepared onto silicon and Pt-coated silicon substrates at low temperatures (400°C) using a synthesis strategy based on the use of purely water-based systems and nonhazardous reagents [42, 43] In this direction, the authors present a novel example in Figure 3 that shows a HAADF-STEM image of a LaCoO3 (LCO) cobaltite thin film (15 nm) deposited by PAD on top of a STO buffer (10 nm) grown by MBE on a (001)-Si substrate with sharp interfaces (see Figure 3) The strain state of the cobaltite film and its influence on the physical properties are currently under investigation We found that the structural quality and the sharpness of the interfaces are similar in the layers grown by MBE and by PAD (A) Cross-sectional HAADF-STEM image of a STO thin film epitaxially grown on silicon substrate by MBE (450°C) (B) Enlarged view of the interface showing the epitaxial relationship between STO film and silicon substrate according to [100] STO//[110] silicon (C) Cross-sectional HAADF-STEM image of a LCO cobaltite thin film deposited by PAD (800°C during 2 h) on top of a STO buffer layer grown by MBE on a (001)-Si substrate (D) Magnified view of the interface exhibiting the epitaxial similarity between STO buffer layer and LCO film All images were acquired with a Nion UltraSTEM 100 dedicated aberration-corrected STEM which features an atomic-size probe ~1.0Å HAADF-STEM imaging resolution The shape of the nanostructures and their distribution are largely determined by the misfit strain between the substrate and the functional oxide itself The shape of the nanoislands can be stabilized by the convenient selection of the substrate's crystallographic orientation The main improvement of these self-assembly techniques are the low costs to-date high quality crystalline oxides have been established only for epitaxially grown structures and the nanostructures size shape and precise position cannot be efficiently controlled Nevertheless, submicron size nanostructures in a well-defined arrangement are required for many interesting applications such as ferroelectric or ferromagnetic memory applications. High-density ferroelectric nanostructure arrays have been fabricated using a heated AFM tip on sol-gel precursor films deposited onto platinized or plain Si substrates [62] Crystallization mechanism of nanostructured epitaxial α-quartz thin films on silicon substrate Note that this growth mechanism is prepared by a dip-coating process During the gelification and drying of films barium or calcium ions were uniformly distributed within the amorphous silica matrix After crystallization thin films maintain the initial porous structure achieved at room temperature The nucleation of crystals quartz at the silicon-silica interface takes place over 900°C just after a devitrification mechanism that result in a monooriented polycrystalline quartz film Compared to standard method of production of quartz films top down technology based on cutting and polishing of large hydrothermally grown crystals this bottom-up approach that produces nanostructured quartz films allows obtaining much thinner films with thicknesses between 150 and 750 nm The thicknesses of the quartz films obtained by standard method cannot be below 10 μm and for most applications these need to be bonded on Si substrates quartz films obtained by this novel approach could find applications in the future in the field of electromechanical devices because thanks to its thicknesses below 500 nm these are expected to present higher resonance frequencies Analogously, it is possible to take advantage of the catalytic devitrification process of the silica native layer at the silicon interface for the epitaxial stabilization of complex oxide nanowires on silicon as shown by Carretero-Genevrier et al. In that case, the authors used supported track etched polymeric templates as a nanoreactor for the confined growth and further stabilization of epitaxial oxide nanowires on silicon [69] The nucleation and crystalline growth of these 1D nanostructures was detected when Sr2+ or Ca2+ cations were present in the precursor solution the homogeneous dissemination of these catalyst cations was needed for the crystallization of interfacial α-quartz layer as result of the confinement of the precursor solution within the nanoporous template FE-SEM images and graphics (below) representing the intermediary steps during the OMS nanowires epitaxial growth on Si (A) FE-SEM Cross-sectional image of the porous polymer template after infiltration of nanopores with the precursor solution or Ca2+ cations are homogenously distributed (B) FE-SEM image of the sample quenched at 600°C Precursor nanocolumns that maintain the dimensions of the initial template nanopores are developed the porous template has been disintegrated and the devitrification of SiO2 native layer and nucleation of α-quartz occurs at the interface (C) FE-Cross-section SEM image of the nanowires grown on top of the α-quartz/Si substrate at 800°C The growth process of LaSr-2 × 4 OMS nanowires on Si substrates has been well established in recent works [70–72] The confinement imposed by a polymer template during thermal treatment results in the formation of ε-MnO2 nanoparticles in the early stages of the growth process at low temperatures (up to 500°C) These nanoparticles will act as seeds for the growth of manganate nanowires under high temperature conditions (i.e. the close contact of the silica native layer with the alkaline-earth metal cations present in the precursor solution during the thermal treatment assists the devitrification of the silica native layer This melting process allows the crystallization of an intermediate α-quartz film and to further stabilize LaSr-2 × 4 OMS manganese oxide nanowires that crystallize in new monoclinic crystallographic structure The α-quartz films render a better lattice matching to the complex oxide nanostructures therefore promoting the epitaxial growth of the LaSr-2 × 4 nanowires due to the low annealing temperature (800°C) the α-quartz layer grown on (100)-Si substrates is polycrystalline which results in the growth of nanowires along with different orientations with respect to the substrate plane The structural, electronic and magnetic structure of LaSr-2 × 4 manganese oxide molecular sieve nanowires were investigated by aberration corrected scanning transmission electron microscopy (STEM), in combination with electron energy loss spectroscopy (EELS). This combination has shown to be a powerful technique for structural, chemical and magnetic analysis down to the atomic scale [73] (A) Low magnification and high magnification (in inset image) field emission gun scanning electron microscope (FEG-SEM) images of epitaxial LaSr-2 × 4 nanowires on α-quartz/Si substrate (B) Low magnification HAADF image of the quartz film and LaSr-2 × 4 nanowires interface (C) High-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM) image exhibiting the epitaxial relationship between LaSr-2 × 4 nanowires and the α-quartz conforming to [20-2] LaSr-2 × 4//[−101] (D) Hysteresis loops of the LaSr-2 × 4 nanowires registered at 400 K Notice that both filled symbols and open symbols in the plot mean fields experimented parallel and orthogonal to the substrate surface respectively (E) Temperature tendency during field-cooled (FC) measurement at H = 1.5 T orthogonal to the substrate of LaSr-2 × 4 nanowires and powder blank samples along the two polarized configurations (+) and (−) The different disposition and arrangement of La and Sr cations in the new structure of the nanowires might well affect the Mn-O bonds of MnO6 octahedra Further theoretical work is thus needed to interpret the features of the electronic structure of LaSr-2 × 4 monoclinic nanowires In addition to the solution template-based growth methodology, the authors are investigating a novel strategy for the epitaxial integration of oxides nanowires on different substrates. This new procedure consists in the use of the MBE technology to allow the metallic evaporation under atomic oxygen inside the pores of supported track etched polymer templates (see Figure 7) the authors have successfully prepared BaTi5O11 nanowires on LaAlO3 (LAO) substrate using this approach The epitaxial relationship of BaTi5O11 and its influence on the physical properties are currently under investigation This finding proves once more that the confined growth of metastable phases within nanopores combined with an epitaxial growth offers interesting opportunities for the further integration of functional oxide nanowires on silicon substrates Scheme of an O-MBE setup that shows the epitaxial integration of oxides nanowires on silicon through a metallic evaporation under atomic oxygen inside the pores of a supported track etched polymer templates Along this review we have provided an overview showing the most successful strategies used to monolithically integrate functional complex oxide thin films and nanostructures on silicon the interplay of parameters such as chemical reactivity crystallographic structure epitaxial misfit and surface energies is crucial for the nucleation and the final crystallographic phase stabilization of nanostructures A special emphasis has been put on the combination of chemical solutions deposition methodology with physical methods (MBE) in order to obtain novel functional oxide heterostructures on silicon We have shown the power of coupling solution chemistry and epitaxial growth chemistry and processing allows nanostructured epitaxial crystalline thin films and nanostructures we have presented the integration of LCO thin film by PAD on top of a STO buffer layer grown by MBE is based on the controlled catalytic devitrification of the silica native layer at the silicon interface which makes possible the integration of novel functional oxide thin films and nanostructures on silicon we have shown in detail the development of nanostructured piezoelectric epitaxial quartz films grown on silicon and the epitaxial stabilization of complex oxide nanowires with enhanced magnetic properties The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest AC acknowledges the financial support from 1D-RENOX project (Cellule Energie INSIS-CNRS) also acknowledges MINECO for support with a Ph.D Goure for technical assistance on the Nanolyon technological platform We acknowledge MICINN (MAT2008-01022 MAT2011-28874-c02-01 and MAT2012-35324) Generalitat de Catalunya (2009 SGR 770 and Xarmae) The HAADF-STEM microscopy work was conducted at the Center for Nanophase Materials Sciences which is a DOE Office of Science User Facility This research was supported by the European Research Council (ERC StG-2DTHERMS) Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad of Spain (MAT2013-44673-R) and EU funding Project “TIPS” Thermally 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Hundreds of homes have experienced power outages Several people were evacuated in areas of Toulouse Red alerts were issued for flooding and heavy rain in the southwest departments of Pyrénées-Atlantiques Haute-Garonne and Ariège on 09 January 2022 In a 36 hours period to 14:00 on 10 January Aulus-les-Bains (Ariège) 138 mm and Arbeost (Hautes-Pyrénées) 129.1 mm Ariège jumped to levels not seen for 30 years the highest since October 1992 (3.02 metres) and the second highest on record after the June 1875 floods (6 metres) the Gave d’Oloron river reached its second highest ever level below the record high of 5.27 metres seen in June 2018 Communities along the Garonne river in the Haute-Garonne Department saw some of the worst flooding the Garonne river stood at 4.31 metres as of 11 January the highest level seen since the floods of June 2000 (4.38 metres) Over 700 university students were evacuated from a student residence in the Îles du Ramier neighbourhood in response to the rising river Many of the students were accommodated in a local gymnasium for the evening flood waters reached the stadium of Toulouse Football Club Local media reported an elderly woman went missing and was later found dead in a flooded area in Merville near Toulouse Heavy rain also affected areas of Landes Department where authorities reported around 15 roads were closed due to flooding River levels are slowly falling but orange flood alerts remain in place for the departments of Gironde Authorities also warn of an increased avalanche risk in mountainous areas 720 #étudiants sont évacués ce soir de la résidence universitaire Daniel Faucher Ils sont pris en charge par la ville de #Toulouse. 120 d’entre eux dormiront cette nuit dans un gymnase de la ville. Nous sommes à leurs côtés. #Garonne #Toulouse pic.twitter.com/lwK6wsjVCm — Jonnhy Dunal (@dunaljonnhy) January 10, 2022 La #Garonne s'est bel et bien invitée au Stadium… L'inondation est contenue au virage et n'a pas atteint la pelouse Saluons le travail des équipes techniques qui sont sur site et bien sûr, toutes nos pensées vont vers celles et ceux touchés par cette crue 😕#TFCASNL pic.twitter.com/bX68WeIzeT — Toulouse FC (@ToulouseFC) January 11, 2022 — Mairie de Toulouse (@Toulouse) January 11, 2022 La #Garonne en crue à #Toulouse pic.twitter.com/rhIqAgIInb — Mairie de Toulouse (@Toulouse) January 10, 2022 Retour à Saint Girons #inondation 📷ian ours ariegeois l’ensemble du Couserans et du Comminges sont les zones les plus touchées pic.twitter.com/iAUsKJToLx — Météo Pyrénées (@Meteo_Pyrenees) January 10, 2022 #inondations #Pyrenees #AlerteRougeA Navarrenx, le gave d'Oloron est en crue pic.twitter.com/cszyB37jbh — Bénédicte Mallet (@BenedicteMallet) January 10, 2022 Richard Davies is the founder of floodlist.com and reports on flooding news Cookies | Privacy | Contacts © Copyright 2025 FloodList The French government is trying to restore the centuries-old brown bear population which dwindled nearly to extinction by the 1990s The shepherds are not interested in the bear as “an element of the natural heritage in the Pyrénées,” as a government brochure puts it France — The big brown bear is rarely seen in the mountains but there are hints of its looming presence: a pawprint in the mud furtive video images captured by government cameras The nearly invisible bear haunts the shepherds who drive their flocks across the high Pyrénées the sheep flecking the dark-green slopes with patches of white and supplying France with savory cheeses and tender lamb Hidden by the omnipresent fog or glimpsed only from a distance the predatory bear has driven some of these sheepmen from the high meadows and they vow never to return “I’ve seen the carcasses,” said Christian Marrot a sheep raiser who was helping lead a flock through the streets of Saint-Girons sheep and humans are a volatile mix in these mountains The combination has set up a classic French clash between the know-it-all state in Paris guided by the stiff hand of the European Union The conflict is elemental: The French government is trying to restore the centuries-old brown-bear population the victim of encroaching humanity and hunting If the bears are a hidden part of the landscape shepherds spend two days parading their flocks through area villages to watch 800 sheep stream through this gray provincial town The main street became a sea of woolly white sheep baahing and nuzzling their handlers to the delight of children watching open-mouthed from the sidewalk A shepherd yelled out “Ah-to!” to encourage the scrambling sheepdogs to keep order the bears have pitted bureaucrats against peasants “They’re taking surveys in Paris about our life here in the Ariège,” grumbled Pierre Fort a sheep farmer tending his flock in the town’s streets referring to the French department where most of the bears live Each one of his animals had his initials stamped on its backside “They didn’t ask us if we wanted the bears here,” said Fort This fall the government plans to introduce two more bears to the existing population of 43 A court ruling in March gave it little choice after years of foot-dragging because of local opposition France was not living up to its commitment to reestablish the bears nor to an EU mandate on biodiversity under the European Union directives,” said Alain Reynes who heads a pro-bear association that was a plaintiff in the case officials have been trucking in anesthetized bears from Slovenia for more than 20 years They issue lavish reports about the bears’ lifestyle assign multiple wildlife agents to watch over them film them nuzzling forest trees and give each a cuddly name like Callisto or Cannellito or Caramellito the bear was addressed simply and respectfully as “lo moussu,” or “the mister,” in local dialect The Slovenian bears have adapted to their new French surroundings as best they can But the shepherds say these Central European animals don’t play by the same rules as the more civilized French bears of old and are more prone to eat their sheep They are tired of mourning over the bloodied remains of animals that are like family members “These Slovenian bears are much more opportunistic,” said Robin Cazalé a farmer who lost three sheep to the bears last month The numbers back the belief that the bears are becoming more of a menace Bear attacks on sheep increased 46 percent in 2017 compared with 2016 Some 464 sheep were killed or wounded by bears the greatest number since the bear-import program began in 1996 ran to their deaths off high cliffs last year the sheep owner who no longer goes to the mountain Tempers are rising in the Pyrénées over the issue In the last year there have been demonstrations The tension is likely to increase before the two new bears are dropped into the area in September While bear hunting has been forbidden since 1962 the shepherds are threatening to ignore the ban A clandestine video of masked and hooded gunmen warning that bear hunting would begin again circulated widely The bears are “a sword of Damocles hanging over our heads,” said François Thibaut a former shepherd who said he had been losing 40 to 50 animals a year to the bears before giving up going to the mountain pasture with the animals several years ago “It’s a feeling of powerlessness,” said Thibaut police summoned three sheep breeders for questioning after shots were fired as wildlife agents were examining dead sheep for signs of a bear attack at Le Saleix wildlife agents and bear associations periodically declare only a minority of sheep farmers are against the bears that damage is relatively minor and that the owners are fully indemnified for any losses which typically range from 350 to 550 pounds But all that discounts the psychological toll the bears have taken on these shepherds They describe being at the mercy of the fog that envelops these mountains for hours hiding the flock and allowing the bear to strike unseen In the period when he was losing many animals Cazalé once saw a bear on the mountainside “calmly eating one of my beasts,” he said “It was like seeing your dog being eaten.” The way the bears feed also disturbs the farmers The sheepmen fear the bears are ultimately attacking not only their flocks “The state needs to find a solution,” Cazalé said “Because pretty soon they will have to release men in these mountains Stay secure and make sure you have the best reading experience possible by upgrading your browser This website is using a security service to protect itself from online attacks The action you just performed triggered the security solution There are several actions that could trigger this block including submitting a certain word or phrase You can email the site owner to let them know you were blocked Please include what you were doing when this page came up and the Cloudflare Ray ID found at the bottom of this page Please enable JS and disable any ad blocker Simon Carr secures final stage 4 victory in Saint-Girons Simon Carr (EF Education-Easypost) won the final stage 4 at La Route d'Occitanie out-pacing breakaway companion Lars van den Berg (Groupama-FDJ) at the finish line in Saint-Girons The pair were part of a large breakaway that formed early in the race, but they broke away over the main ascent of the Col de le Core and succeeded all the way to the finish line, holding a slim two-second margin on the chase group that included overall leader Michael Woods (Israel-Premier Tech) Woods secured the victory at the four-day race after winning the previous stage 3 and maintaining his lead through the final day of racing He won the race by nine seconds over Cristián Rodríguez (Arkéa Samsic) and 40 seconds over Georg Steinhauser (EF Education-EasyPost) "It's really special to win this race overall for a second time and to have my family and kids there to watch me win on Father's Day was something really special," Woods said climbing with the best climbers in the race It was just a shame that we couldn't catch the break and have Corbin [Strong] sprint for the win The final stage 4 at the La Route d'Occitanie was a 164.7km race from Saint-Gaudens to Saint-Girons the peloton tackled two main ascents; Col de le Core (14km at 5.9%) and Col de Latrape (5.9km at 7.2%) before 30km of gentle descending into the run-in to Saint-Girons A series of attacks split the front of the peloton in the opening kilometres until a large leading group emerged three managed to break away with Francois Bidard (Cofidis) Lars van den Berg (Groupama-FDJ) and Paul Lapeira (AG2R-Citroën) and the lead group reshuffled until there were 12 riders who solidified their gap Marijn van den Berg (EF Education-Easypost) Joris Delbove (St Michel-Mavic-Auber93) and Maxime Jarnet (Van Rysel-Roubaix Lille Metropole) The riders gained more than four minutes on the peloton but the highest-placed riders – Van den Berg and Molard – sat at 4:56 and 5:46 Overall leader Michael Woods and his Israel Premier Tech team help the group at a manageable distance The race hit the day's long ascent over the Col de le Core with the breakaway three minutes ahead of the field Van den Berg and Molard set a quick pace on the climb but behind Movistar and Israel Premier Tech controlled the speeds from the 40-rider main peloton reducing the gap to under two minutes Several riders attacked Woods on the climb including Ivan Sosa and Ruben Guerreiro (Movistar) but Stephen Williams (Israel-Premier Tech) helped keep the front selection together with Woods safely among the mix of about 20 riders Carr attacked the breakaway with Van den Berg was the only rider able to follow the move and the pair maintained a gap of 1:40 over the second and final climb Although there were several attacks in the 15-rider selection behind all but solidifying his overall race lead on the descent into the finish line the two breakaway riders held onto a slim two seconds as Carr crossed the line to take the stage win ahead of Van den Berg Results powered by FirstCycling Kirsten has a background in Kinesiology and Health Science She has been involved in cycling from the community and grassroots level to professional cycling's biggest races She began her sports journalism career with Cyclingnews as a North American Correspondent in 2006 Kirsten became Women's Editor – overseeing the content strategy race coverage and growth of women's professional cycling – before becoming Deputy Editor in 2023 Metrics details A Publisher Correction to this article was published on 22 June 2018 This article has been updated Epitaxial PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 (PZT) layers were integrated on Si(001) with single PZT {001} orientation mosaïcity below 1° and a majority of a-oriented ferroelectric domains (∼65%) Ferroelectric and pyroelectric properties are determined along both the out-of-plane and in-plane directions through parallel-plate capacitor and coplanar interdigital capacitor along the <100>PZT direction A large anisotropy in these properties is observed The in-plane remnant polarization (21.5 µC.cm−2) is almost twice larger than that measured along the out-of-plane direction (13.5 µC.cm−2) the in-plane pyroelectric coefficient (−285 µC.m−2.K−1) is much lower than that measured out-of-plane (−480 µC.m−2.K−1) The pyroelectric anisotropy is explicated in term of degree of structural freedom with temperature the low in-plane pyroelectric coefficient is explained by a two-dimensional clamping of the layers on the substrate which induces tensile stress (from thermal expansion) competing with the decreasing tetragonality of a-domains (shortening of the polar c-axis lattice parameter) Temperature-dependent XRD measurements have revealed an increased fraction of a-domains with temperature attesting the occurrence of a partial two-dimensional clamping These observed properties are of critical importance for integrated pyroelectric devices no clear anisotropy measurements (probed along different crystallographic axes on the same oriented film) have been reported at the macroscale these reports do not include out-of-plane characterizations and do not contain enough experimental details for parameters extraction to evidence a possible anisotropy they do not include measurements of the in-plane pyroelectric response we report both out-of-plane and in-plane ferroelectric and pyroelectric measurements of PZT films and demonstrate a large anisotropy in these functional properties correlated with their structural properties (a–c) Sketchs of the orientation of field lines in (a) parallel-plate capacitors and (b,c) coplanar interdigital capacitors (IDCs) (d–e) Optical images of a Pt-patterned IDCs formed by photolithography (a,c) XRD θ/2θ scans of PZT deposited on (a) SRO/STO/Si(001) and (b) STO/Si(001) Dash lines show the {002} bulk Bragg reflections of a-oriented and c-oriented PZT ferroelectric domains (b,d) XRD ω-scans around the {002} Bragg reflections of PZT on (b) SRO/STO/Si(001) and (d) STO/Si(001) Ferroelectric hysteresis loops (Polarization versus electric field by PUND method) of PZT epitaxial layers measured along the out-of-plane (OOP) and in-plane (IP) <100> direction at room temperature (a–b) Ferroelectric hysteresis loops (Polarization versus electric field by PUND method) of the PZT epitaxial layers measured at various stabilized temperatures from 80 K to 300 K (a) along the out-of-plane (OOP) direction and (b) along the in-plane (IP) 〈100〉 direction (c) Variation of the corresponding remnant polarization as a function of temperature (d) Summary of the remnant polarization and the pyroelectric coefficient measured both along the OOP and IP directions Some sketched basic features of ferroelectric materials in bulk form (a,b) and epitaxial films (c,d) to take into account for ferroelectric and pyroelectric anisotropy (a) Variation of the lattice parameters with temperature (b) Consequent variation of remnant electric polarization with temperature (c) The main orientations of the tetragonal domains leading to different polydomain structures (a) XRD θ/2θ scan of {002} Bragg peak of PZT at room temperature and fits corresponding to a-oriented and c-oriented domains components (b) Out-of-plane plane lattice cell parameters as a function of temperature (c) Normalized diffracted intensity of a-oriented and c-oriented ferroelectric domains as a function of temperature (d) XRD θ/2θ scan of {002} Bragg peak of PZT at room temperature before the measurement at temperature These results are essential to further tailor the pyroelectric properties of integrated films and to optimize the design of ferroelectric and pyroelectric nanodevices the large anisotropy of the ferroelectric and pyroelectric properties of epitaxial PZT layers integrated on silicon was demonstrated In-plane remnant polarization is about 21.5 μC.cm−2 compared to 13.5 μC.cm−2 measured along the out-of-plane direction in very good agreement with structural properties (65% of a-oriented domains) In-plane pyroelectric coefficient along the <100> direction is found lower than that measured out-of-plane (−285 µC.m−2.K−1 and −480 µC.m−2.K−1 respectively) oppositely to the main polar axis orientation The pyroelectric anisotropy has been explained by the degree of structural freedom: two opposite in-plane forces occur with temperature (reduction of tetragonality of a-domains and thermal expansion imposed by the substrate) which minimizes the pyroelectric effect along the in-plane direction These properties can be exploited in other ferroelectric/pyroelectric heterostructures for which the functional properties depend on their domain structure Pt top electrodes were deposited by rf magnetron sputtering at room temperature A high-brilliance X-ray diffractometer with high-resolution (Rigaku SmartLab) equipped with a copper rotating anode and a Ge(220) monochromator with λCuKα1 = 1.54056 Å was used to investigate the structure and the crystalline orientation of the layers Temperature-dependent diffraction was performed in air using an Anton Paar heater with a graphite dome The ferroelectric properties were analyzed along both OOP (in top-bottom configuration) and IP directions by measuring the electric polarization versus electric field (P-E) at room temperature PUND (Positive Up Negative Down) excitation pulse trains have been used allowing to discriminate the polarization current from dielectric displacement and leakage currents The pyroelectric properties were determined by measuring the remnant polarization (Pr) from the ferroelectric hysteresis loops (P-E) using PUND method at different temperatures ranging from 80 K to 300 K A correction to this article has been published and is linked from the HTML and PDF versions of this paper Thin Films and Heterostructures for Oxide Electronics Pyroelectric materials and devices for energy harvesting applications Epitaxial growth of ferroelectric oxide films Optical and electro-optic anisotropy of epitaxial PZT thin films Composition and orientation dependence of electrical properties of epitaxial Pb(ZrxTi1−x)O3 thin films grown using metalorganic chemical vapor deposition Orientation dependence of ferroelectricity of epitaxially grown Pb(ZrxTi1−x)O3 thin films prepared by metalorganic chemical vapor deposition Role of substrate on the dielectric and piezoelectric behavior of epitaxial lead magnesium niobate-lead titanate relaxor thin films Effect of 90° domain walls and thermal expansion mismatch on the pyroelectric properties of epitaxial PbZr0.2Ti0.8O3 thin films Dramatic effect of thermal expansion mismatch on the structural ferroelectric and pyroelectric properties of low-cost epitaxial PZT films on SrTiO3 and Si Interdigital capacitors and their application to lumped-element microwave integrated circuits Tunable and high quality factor SrTiO3 surface acoustic wave resonator dielectric and calorimetric methods for the detection of organic solvent vapours using poly(ether urethane) coatings Preparation and characterization of (Ba,Sr)TiO3 thin films using interdigital electrodes Ferroelectric BaxSr1−xTiO3 thin-film varactors with parallel plate and interdigital electrodes for microwaves applications In-plane dielectric properties of epitaxial 0.65Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3 – 0.35PbTiO3 thin films in a very wide frequency range Thickness dependence of in-plane dielectric and ferroelectric properties of Ba0.7Sr0.3TiO3 thin films epitaxially grown on LaAlO3 Microstructure and enhanced in-plane ferroelectricity of Ba0.7Sr0.3TiO3 thin films grown on MgAl2O4 (001) single-crystal substrate Enhanced in-plane ferroelectricity in Ba0.7Sr0.3TiO3 thin films grown on MgO (001) single-crystal substrate Pyroelectricity: from ancient curiosity to modern imaging tool Ferroelectric thin films: Review of materials Pyroelectric nanogenerators for driving wireless sensors A one-structure-based piezo-tribo-photoelectric effects coupled nanogenerator for simultaneously scavenging mechanical Thickness dependence of structural and piezoelectric properties of epitaxial Pb(Zr0.52Ti0.48)O3 films on Si and SrTiO3 substrate Huge gain in pyroelectric energy conversion through epitaxy for integrated self-powered nanodevices Epitaxy of SrTiO3 on silicon: the knitting machine strategy Fractal dimension and size scaling of domains in thin films of multiferroic BiFeO3 Phase transitions in [001]-oriented morphotropic PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 thin film deposited onto SrTiO3-buffered Si substrate Tetragonal-to-monoclinic phase transition in a ferroelectric perovskite: the structure of PbZr0.52Ti0.48O3 Strain relaxation and critical temperature in epitaxial ferroelectric Pb(Zr0.20Ti0.80)O3 thin films Pyroelectric properties of polydomain epitaxial Pb(Zr1−x,Tix)O3 thin films Thermodynamic theory of epitaxial ferroelectric thin films with dense domain structures Phase diagrams and physical properties of single-domain epitaxial Pb(Zr1−xTix)O3 thin films Electro-optical modulation based on pockels effect in BaTiO3 with multi-domain structure Download references the French government and STMicroelectronics (S Crolles) are gratefully acknowledged for financial supports through the projects SITOGA (FP7-ICT-2013-11-619456) The authors also acknowledge the region Rhône-Alpes for the doctoral fellowship of R the “Cellule Energie” of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS-INSIS) for the financial support of the exploratory project PEPS “PYROS” and the Ecole Centrale de Lyon (ECL) for the funding of emergent thematic and transversal projects Institut des Nanotechnologies de Lyon (INL) - CNRS UMR 5270 contributed to the fabrication of IDCs top electrodes contributed to the temperature-dependent XRD measurements contributed to the growth of SrRuO3 and PZT The authors declare no competing interests Publisher's note: Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations Download citation DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-018-22349-y Anyone you share the following link with will be able to read this content: a shareable link is not currently available for this article Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science In an article published in collaboration with the Institut Pasteur in Paris and the Institut Pasteur de Montevideo these new leptospira species are described in detail and named The names chosen for these new species pay tribute to New Caledonia but also to Pasteurian scientists who have contributed to advances in the field of leptospirosis research researcher and director of the Institut Pasteur de Nouvelle-Calédonie from 1998 to 2001 "Philippe Pérolat has largely contributed to the development of expertise on leptospira at the Institut Pasteur de Nouvelle-Calédonie He was one of the pioneers in the molecular typing and diagnosis of leptospira a genus studied only with serological tools at the time He also initiated work on the physio-pathology of the disease Isabelle Saint Girons is also honored with Leptospira saintgironsiae sp She was formerly working in the Unit of Molecular and Medical Bacteriology at the Institut Pasteur (Director of this unit from 2004 to 20006) and she isolated the first leptospira bacteriophage in 1990 nov pays tribute to Professor Guy Baranton who led the National Reference Center for Leptospirosis at the Institut Pasteur from 1986 to 2003 Pr emeritus at Monash University in Australia and member of the Institut Pasteur de nouvelle-Calédonie Scientific Council is also honored with Leptospira adleri sp The researchers also show in this work the ability of the MALDI-ToF mass spectrometry technique to correctly identify the existing 35 Leptospira species "Leptospira bacteria are very difficult to isolate Their growth is slow and they need very specific environments to develop With mass spectrometry it is possible to identify a species in 3 min instead of several days or weeks with conventional techniques "explains Cyrille Goarant Researchers at the Institut Pasteur de Nouvelle-Calédonie have thus established a portable database that they share in their article with the entire scientific community to facilitate the leptospira identification worldwide opening the way to a more collaborative science This work illustrates again the good cooperation between the institutes of the Institut Pasteur International Network and the complementarity between field work and more basic approaches Biodiversity of environmental Leptospira: improving identification and revisiting the diagnosis. Front. Microbiol. 9: 816.  doi.org/10.3389/fmicb.2018.00816 You don't have permission to access the page you requested What is this page?The website you are visiting is protected.For security reasons this page cannot be displayed Late in Friday’s 207-km stage of the Vuelta a España to Cuenca His teammates rallied around him in an effort to bring the squads general classification hopeful back into contact with the lead group of favorites with the exception of Warren Barguil Sunweb’s team management decided to withdraw Barguil from the race citing his unwillingness to conform to the team’s goals It is the latest development in a souring relationship between the Dutch WorldTour team and the talented Frenchman Barguil’s desire to have a free role to hunt personal success has clashed with the teams goals on other occasions “Working according to a team plan with clear goals is deeply anchored in the team’s way of working,” Sunweb’s announcement read “Since 2008 this has been the basis of the gradual growth and success of Team Sunweb therefore is a value that cannot be varied.” Barguil confirmed that he would be leaving Sunweb for UCI pro continental team Fortuneo-Oscaro ending his contract with Sunweb a year early Barguil’s decision was prompted by his recognition that he sat further down in the teams Tour hierarchy than he liked With Giro d’Italia winner Tom Dumoulin receiving the teams full backing and a contract extension Barguil wanted a free role and that prompted his move to a different team “I have to leave the Vuelta by the decision of the team. I feel very well and have good legs. I see myself in different a role and am eager to attack in the mountains, as I did in the Tour,” Barguil said in a team press release “The Vuelta is a great race and it is disappointing to leave but this is a decision from the team that I need to accept.” Barguil won two stages of the Vuelta in 2013 but Sunweb’s frustration in the talented rider still prompted them to remove him from the 2017 race “Team Sunweb has decided to withdraw Warren Barguil from the Vuelta,” the team’s press release read recent winner of two stages and the mountains jersey at the Tour de France openly expressed that he didn’t race conform to the team’s goal which left Team Sunweb with no other option than to take this decision.” Get the digital edition of Canadian Cycling Magazine Δdocument.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value" Alexander Grothendieck, 86, whose brilliant mind electrified the world of mathematics in the 1950s and 1960s, earning him the equivalent of the Nobel Prize in his field, and who later disappeared into a mysterious life of self-imposed isolation, died Nov. 13 in Saint-Girons, France. His contributions to mathematics were often likened to those of Albert Einstein in physics. David Greer, 89, a doctor who co-founded a group that won the 1985 Nobel Peace Prize for working to prevent nuclear war and who helped transform the medical school at Brown University, died of heart disease Tuesday in Fall River, Mass. He was a founding director of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War. John T. Downey, 84, a former CIA agent who became the longest-serving U.S. prisoner of war by surviving more than 20 years in Chinese prisons after he was shot down over Manchuria in 1952, died Monday in Branford, Conn. He was released in 1973. The Duchess of Alba, 88, a flamboyant Spanish aristocrat known for her lifestyle, her vast wealth, her art collection and her unmatched list of titles, died Thursday in her palace in Seville. She had more than 40 titles and was recognized by Guinness World Records as the noble with the most official titles in the world. Wilhelm "Willy" Burgdorfer, 89, a medical entomologist who gained international recognition for discovering in 1982 the bacteria that causes Lyme disease, died of Parkinson's disease Monday in Hamilton, Mont. Carl E. Sanders, 89, a moderate Democratic governor of Georgia in the 1960s who banished "whites only" signs from the state Capitol and who promoted education and other advances that helped make Atlanta the center of the New South, died Nov. 16 in Atlanta. It is well-known that southern France is dealing with an extended heatwave that has seen temperatures hit 40C this week Focused on the departments on the country’s Mediterranean coast there are numerous reasons for the mercury spikes One of the most interesting has been the impact of a hot It can lead to sudden and intense rises in heat Experts say this is what happened on Tuesday (July 18) when the temperature in Saint-Girons rose from 17C to over 35C in less than an hour 🥵 La levée du vent de sud sur les #Pyrénées entraîne un important effet de #foehn en #Ariège. À 9h, le thermomètre affiche déjà 35,5°C à Saint-Girons ! pic.twitter.com/5UOOb6jG7c When a warm wind comes into contact with a mountain the air will typically rise but also relaxes,” said weather forecaster Sébastien Laés to actu.fr “resulting in precipitation on the windward side of the mountain” "the air will compress as atmospheric pressure returns The lack of moisture in the air means the wind has a greater chance of rapidly increasing temperatures If winds hit the eastern sides of the mountain cities on the west – the majority of mountainous French towns lie to the west of the French Alps – will see temperatures rise The Foehn effect can lead to huge temperature differences on either side of a mountain See also: Map: What is the highest temperature recorded in your part of France? Areas affected by the Foehn effect are threatened by a number of issues violent storms can often occur with gusts of accompanying wind storm Barbara (a foehn storm) saw wind speeds of 210 km/h recorded in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques department which can happen in any hilly area but is more predominant in mountainous regions Heatwave-hit south of France set for respite by the weekend France heatwave tips: How to sleep, keep cool and stay healthy Recent power cut in Spain and Portugal is warning to holidaymakers to ensure they are prepared for worst-case scenario The resort is set to remain open to the public and not only to professionals Storms from the weekend will persist across some areas Resident Peter Cossins shares insider tips to making the most of the climber's playground figuring that if he could thrive on the climbs in his home country he could impress just as much on those in the sport’s biggest race which he later described as “not like any mountains I’ve climbed before.” He further explained: “It’s hot humid and the climbs are harder mentally than they are physically… The Pyrenees are like nothing I’ve seen or climbed before.” >>> Best cycling holidays Living on the French side of the chain that runs from the Atlantic to the Mediterranean I can appreciate the point that Cunego was trying to make the Pyrenean passes are mostly dwarfed by the famous ascents in the Alps and Dolomites where the roads are generally better engineered and more regular in gradient But find a rhythm there and you can usually stick with it However, in the Pyrenees, and particularly on the French side many of the passes are routes that have been used by shepherds traders and livestock for thousands of years the stereotypical goat tracks covered by tarmac there is something other-worldly about them a feeling frequently enhanced by the lack of traffic the Pyrenees are the perfect playground for climbers Here’s how to make the best of them… There’s all that Tour de France history for a start The race first ventured into the range in 1910 with back-to-back stages that led overall winner Octave Lapize to brand the organisers “assassins” Aubisque and Peyresourde have gained legendary status the former becoming the most visited climb on the Tour route and appearing almost every year since Lapize’s famous outburst With more than 500 passes to choose from – and that’s just including those over 1,000m – there are almost limitless riding options right along the chain it’s easy to put together circuits to suit riders of every ability from those riding in the mountains for the first time to much more experienced riders who want to tackle Tour-like routes which sits halfway between Toulouse and the mountain state of Andorra is about half the size of Yorkshire but with less than 3 per cent of its population Once away from the main population centres it’s not hard to find roads that are almost car-free While the Tour’s passage in July is the main incentive for most to visit the months either side of this tend to be more settled and the autumn months can be spectacularly so the other side of the range is much drier and consistently hotter As the biggest city lying close to the Pyrenees and an immensely important hub for the aeronautical industry as well Toulouse is the best-connected airport to the UK with daily flights all year round With lots of often very cheap car hire options available it is little more than an hour’s drive from the nearest passes in the Ariège and Couserans Toulouse also boasts a wide range of car hire options with the former now well established as a leading cycling destination thanks in large part to the proliferation in the number of professional riders who are based there While there are almost infinite possibilities having a base in certain well-located towns opens up more of these Foix and nearby towns in the Ariège valley are ideally placed for Tour regulars such as Plateau de Beille the Port de Pailhères and the Col de Péguère with the brutally steep Mur de Péguère on its southern flank Foix stands out because the terrain around it varies so much from the flatlands around Pamiers just to the north some of them topped off with spectacular Cathar castles dating back almost a thousand years to the long passes to the south towards Andorra and to the west towards Saint Girons base for the illustrious Ronde de l’Isard under-23 race is the gateway to the heavily wooded and often misty peaks of the Couserans among them the Portet d’Aspet and Col de Menté these are some of the quietest roads in France where you’re almost as likely to come across a Pyrenean chamois (as the isard is also known) as a car the grand spa town of Luchon de Bagnères has long been a Tour de France stepping stone to major cols Port de Balès and ski stations such as Superbagnères I’ve always loved the village of Arreau which sits at the foot of the Col d’Aspin but the bigger town of Bagnères de Bigorre is a better option for iconic Tour ascents like the Tourmalet and Aubisque Over in Spain, Girona is an obvious draw Puigcerda has a wonderfully dramatic sitting on a ridge above a huge high-altitude valley that resembles the Wild West The mountain passes and ski stations around this town are often the key feature of the Volta a Catalunya Sabiñánigo is the start and finish town for Spain’s biggest cyclosportive The thousands that participate in that event cross into Spain via the Somport pass and return via the Portalet The valley leading into the Spain off the latter is spectacular with the devilish climb of the Hoz de Jaca well worth a diversion is also a well-placed as a stopping-off point with some lovely roads close by that climb towards the Pyrenees before joining the Col de Pierre Saint Martin that crosses into France Andorra is another spot well worth a look. Increasingly popular with pro riders, including Dan Martin the tiny country ringed by high peaks is not a place for rouleurs Almost every road out of Andorra requires climbing beyond 2,000 metres while many of those within it are equally lofty Andorra has long been a place for the Spanish and French to pick up bargains and much of the duty-free commercial activity in the valleys reflects this But once away from the bustling and sometimes ugly valley floor the riding is stunning and the roads to the ski stations often quiet in what is their low summer season Bagnères de Bigorre and Sabiñánigo might look like big population centres on the map they are relatively small towns and are not blessed with abundant accommodation options For those who fancy getting a full-on taste of the whole range in one single hit tackling the Raid Pyrénéen is an ideal challenge Run between Hendaye on the Atlantic coast and Cerbère on the Mediterranean (or vice versa) it’s a timed ride covering just shy of 800km to be completed within 10 days The route, which was created by Pau’s Cyclo Club Béarnais in the 1950 and is entirely on the French side of the range which provide a total of 18,000 metres of vertical gain The CCB’s website provides a list of hotels along the route as well as links to companies that take some of the sweat out of the Raid by organising accommodation and ferrying luggage including Marmot Tours and Sports Tours International There are a number of options in both Girona and Sabiñánigo the Pyrenees offers a wealth of choice beyond road biking Although the skiing season ends in early April in most resorts on both sides of the range while for those who like their interaction with water to be rather more relaxing there are many spa towns and resorts As you’d expect of the high mountains the scenery is often jaw-droppingly dramatic Spain’s Ordesa valley and the Cirques of Lescun and Gavarnie are the most celebrated sites but there are views and sights to be seen in all parts The Cathar castles of the eastern Pyrenees are so eyrie-like that you’re left wondering how they managed to build them more than 800 years ago notably the Niaux caves with their prehistoric paintings but also huge caverns at Lombrives and an underground river at Labouiche that can be navigated via punt including Collioure on the Mediterranean and Biarritz on the Atlantic Thank you for reading 20 articles this month* Join now for unlimited access Enjoy your first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 *Read 5 free articles per month without a subscription Try first month for just £1 / $1 / €1 Frenchman Warren Barguil was crowned the King of the Mountains while winning his second stage of the 2017 Tour de France on Thursday prevailing atop the formidable Izoard in the final day in the mountains Barguil also earned top honours on Stage 13 Romain Bardet could only put a few bonus seconds into Chris Froome BARGUIL ! pic.twitter.com/R89wRaOshp — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 20, 2017 The final high mountains. The last summit finish. Another huge day starts NOW! #TDF2017 #AllezArgyle #GoRigoGo pic.twitter.com/rrLndiztMV — EF Pro Cycling (@EFprocycling) July 20, 2017 Since Kirchmann and Karol-Ann Canuel were in the top-20 they will race the 22.5-km pursuit in Marseille on Saturday #LaCourse Huge crowds, iconic climb, solo victory…what an amazing day for the #OricaScott women ✨? pic.twitter.com/BtlsEjZVTW — Mitchelton-SCOTT (@MitcheltonSCOTT) July 20, 2017 Sonny Colbrelli–and Bahrain-Merida–finally got some satisfaction Sonny Colbrelli wins the intermediate sprint at Les Thuiles to single-handedly double Bahrain-Merida's race prize money #TDF2017 — Felix Lowe (@saddleblaze) July 20, 2017 The first major obstacle coming up shortly today on @letour… The Col de Vars. A 9.3 kilometre-long climb at an average of 7.5%. #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/cOYo1fiT08 — Le Tour de France UK (@letour_uk) July 20, 2017 AG2R accélère en tête de peloton / AG2R pushes up the pace #TDF2017 pic.twitter.com/5nbhhgKGBr — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 20, 2017 Last summit finish of #TDF2017: Col d'Izoard (14.1km, 7.3%). pic.twitter.com/XAVR8nnwzU — Deceuninck-QuickStep (@deceuninck_qst) July 20, 2017 Darwin Atapuma (Colombia/UAE-Emirates) joined Lutsenko with 6.5-km left to go Aru disappeared from the yellow jersey group Bardet then put in a surge but couldn’t dislodge Froome and Uran Martin hit the gas but didn’t get far Atapuma had to be a little worried about the speed Barguil was heading towards him with 4-km left to race Aru kept fighting back on and losing ground Landa part seul ! / Landa goes! pic.twitter.com/fhyA7cAyg3 — Tour de France™ (@LeTour) July 20, 2017 Froome and Bardet gapped Uran by a couple of seconds Bardet nipped Froome for the remaining bonus seconds and reclaims second place Friday’s rolling stage is somewhat of an anticlimax before Saturday’s key time trial More than 100 communes have been added to the list of areas in France at risk of coastal erosion published in the Journal Officiel on August 1 meaning that their urban planning projects must consider the shifting ground due to the risk of coastal erosion Most (but not all) of the newly added communes are in Charente-Maritime The coasts of Normandy are also at particular risk with the cliffs between Le Havre and Le Tréport (Seine-Maritime) estimated to retreat by around 20cm per year even taking away part of the road above it a huge part of the cliff fell close to the Tilleul beach Local mayor Raphaël Lesueur told France 3: “That was the first time that I saw a collapse of that size in the commune [The rock was] 90 metres long and 50 metres wide Read more: Rising sea levels provoke exodus from northern French coastline The list of at-risk communes was first created in a decree of April 29 within the context of the climate change law la loi Climat et résilience [Climate and Resilience Act] Despite criticism from some local authorities these extra 100 communes joined the list voluntarily Being on the list means that any urban planning or changes must meet the conditions laid out in the urban code article L. 121-22-3 du code de l’urbanisme to take account of the coastal areas at risk The code outlines which developments would be authorised for the area The erosion areas concerned are categorised into two sections; one at risk within the next 30 years Planning permission will be refused for any projects in areas at risk of collapse within the next 30 years and will be only be granted to areas at risk between 30-100 years on condition that the owner of the land and property agrees to pay for the project’s demolition when the risk becomes too great Communes on the list are also set to benefit from help and direction to enable them to make changes to ensure the safety of their inhabitants they should gradually relocate housing and activities in areas that will be affected by erosion Sébastien Fagnen, Mayor of Cherbourg-Octeville and vice-chairman in charge of town planning and land strategy for the Cotentin region, told La Presse de la Manche: “This decree introduces new administrative measures [and] useful legal tools “Although coastal risks had already been incorporated into certain town planning documents the Climate and Resilience Act provides a useful framework Climate change is a reality that we need to anticipate in order to limit the risks and protect the population.” Yves Asseline, mayor of Réville (Manche), which was added to the list, said: "Urban development is complicated and is becoming even more so due to the receding coastline and legislation we accepted the proposal to add the commune to this list to apply the law without harming the communes the amount of financial help the government will offer remains to be confirmed as communes can decide to be added (or withdrawn as in the case of Vielle-Saint-Girons in Landes) from the list It is also revised at least every nine years to ensure it includes the communes most at-risk French succession laws can qffect inheritance of property from a step-parent France: Frenchman Warren Barguil took an emotional stage 13 victory on Bastille Day at the Tour de France yesterday as Nairo Quintana and Alberto Contador resurrected their yellow jersey hopes Colombia’s Quintana was second and Spaniard Contador third to take back almost two minutes on Italian Fabio Aru who maintained the race lead at the end of the short 101km Pyrenean stage from Saint Girons to Foix who missed out to Colombia’s Rigoberto Uran in a photo finish on Sunday This just felt so good today,” said Barguil the 16th Frenchman to win a Tour stage on Bastille Day “Alberto Contador went on the attack I went on the outside of him and then back in and I knew that I would be the fastest “Contador was my idol when I was younger I never would have believed that I could do this a few years ago.” Reigning champion Chris Froome finished alongside Aru to keep hold of second place at 6sec with Frenchman Romain Bardet remaining third at 25sec “That’s another day down so I can’t be anything but delighted,” said a beaming Aru was Froome’s Sky team-mate Mikel Landa who finished fourth at just 2sec and moved up two places to fifth overall “Yesterday was a tough day for me in the final,” said Froome who lost the yellow jersey to Aru on Thursday after cracking on the brutally steep uphill finish we played a bit with our team because we had Mikel Landa Mikel was very strong – maybe in the next few days we can play even more with this.” But the race was made initially by Contador who attacked on the first of three mountain climbs and Quintana who attacked early on the second Contador’s move with 70km to ride was marked by Landa while Quintana The latter two caught the former just before cresting the final summit of the day And those were the four who contested the sprint for victory with Barguil bringing great delight to the home fans on their national holiday Both Contador and Quintana had lost significant time over the first 12 days that left their overall hopes in tatters although still more than five minutes back a resurgent Quintana is once again a serious threat for overall victory “Whenever I feel good and have even a gramme of strength I’ll try to give everything,” said Quintana Ireland’s Dan Martin and Simon Yates of Britain escaped out of Aru’s group to snatch back a few seconds Mark Cavendish no longer holds the green jersey at the Tour De France.Norwegian Thor Hushovd gained 12 points on stage eight of the Tour de France on Saturday.And that allowed him to leapfrog the Manxman and open up an 11 point lead as Cavendish finished 113th overall on the tough mountain stage from Andorre-la-Vieille to Saint-Girons.The stage was won by Spain's Luis-Leon Sanchez.Italy's Rinaldo Nocentini retains the yellow jersey just ahead of Alberto Contador and Lance Armstrong while Britain's Bradley Wiggins remains fifth.There’s an even tougher mountain stage on Sunday before a rest day on Monday Marvel Studios and Sony Pictures' Spider-Man: No Way Home didn't take long to become the most successful blockbuster outing in quite a long time once it debuted in theaters on December 17. Earning rave reviews critically while breaking into the top ten highest grossing movies selection in box office history the threequel came in firing with a thrilling story and a once-in-a-lifetime experience overall Part of what made No Way Home such a special MCU movie was the inclusion of Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange, who tried to help Peter Parker out with his identity problem through the use of questionable magic. As things went awry with Strange's spell from the first act the good Doctor attempted to contain it with a magical artifact called the Machina de Kadavus the official name of the cube that was teased in multiple trailers This box held plenty of mystery as fans waited to find out exactly what it did particularly as marketing suggested an intense fight over it between Spider-Man and Doctor Strange a new interview is revealing some interesting details on how that box made its way into the final story for the picture Framestore visual effects supervisor Adrien Saint Girons, who worked with the VFX team on Spider-Man: No Way Home, spoke with Befores & Afters about the design of the Machina de Kadavus from Doctor Strange's Sanctum Sanctorum Saint Girons explained how she and the team designed the box which actually took "a lot of time" to complete to make sure it looked right for the movie This led to "a lot of changes" through the process and it even had "a whole backstory" that ended up being "simplified" during production: one of the things that we spent a lot of time on It took a lot of iterations to come up with exactly the right look and the right mechanism for the box It used to be a much more mechanical kind of puzzle–I don’t know if you ever saw those Chris Ramsey videos online where he’s solving big puzzles There was a whole backstory to it that got simplified in the end." Working the box from the physical set into post-production was another challenge as it started off as "a green cube" before the details of the look and mechanics evolved over the course of post-production The core idea centered on Strange working between sending the villains back to their universes and containing the spell that went wrong: "One thing that was pretty great with this film from the start is that we were involved in the creative process The box started off as a green cube and the idea behind the box evolved How the box worked actually changed throughout the lifespan of the project The general idea was always that it was something that Strange is solving and to send the guys back to their worlds it was to contain the spell that had gone wrong it got a little bit of a hybrid role and transformed in that sense." The planning process started with making sure the box looked "ancient" and "complex" while also being "an interesting mechanism." The team wanted to make sure it looked like a device that took a truly powerful and strong wizard to work with: "The initial brief was that it should look ancient and that it should be an interesting mechanism It should look like something that would take a strong wizard to solve The initial design was all exploded and Strange is bringing all the pieces back together and then the look was something where we had to figure out the right amount of metal versus wood versus stone to give a sense of an ancient artifact." Saint Girons expressed a great deal of pride in how much "artistry" went into designing the artifact despite the fact that it was all developed through CGI and largely came as "a background thing" throughout No Way Home: but then actually creating it and modeling the thing The same object in reality would’ve been amazing to see but I’m very happy with the way it came out Even though it’s there as a background thing in the whole movie it’s present throughout the whole experience we then passed it on to the other vendors and they kept it going throughout the movie after the chase sequence that we worked on." The VFX artist confirmed that this box was the movie's MacGuffin item sharing how "massively important" it was to the plot She also described how fun the process of developing it was which added to its authenticity in the final cut: it’s this massively important piece of the film as tedious as it was considering how long it took A lot of thought and energy went into that and I think it just adds to making it feel authentic." While most of No Way Home's blockbuster action centered on the returns of five villains and both Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield's Spider-Men some key supporting players also had their time to shine One of these players was the magic Machina de Kadavus which turned out to be an exciting prop to develop as the special effects came together this new box still remains a mystery without the backstory Unfortunately, the story behind the box didn't gain any more specifics through this interview, and it's unclear if and when it will come back into play in future Strange-centric stories more on that front will reveal itself someday as fans continue to celebrate the more mainstream major events of this outing Spider-Man: No Way Home is now playing in theaters worldwide Our MCU newsletter ranks the Top 5 Marvel Cinematic Universe news stories every week Copyright © 2025 The Direct Media Group LLC The trailer for Marvel Studios' Moon Knight currently have MCU fans eagerly looking forward to the future but that doesn't mean people have let go of Spider-Man: No Way Home just yet Tom Holland's latest adventure as Spidey has broken records and has only recently been dethroned from the number one spot at the box office Former The Amazing Spider-Man actor Andrew Garfield finally came out with interviews after having denied his involvement vehemently for months before the film's debut His words have created enthusiasm amongst fans and kept the Multiversal adventure's excitement alive and well Seeing Holland team up with Tobey Maguire and Garfield was fun but there's another sequence that simply doesn't get enough praise: the Mirror Dimension chase It was some of the first footage the world saw from the film but the best parts weren't revealed until the movie hit theaters Spidey does something fans have wanted for years now towards the end of the mirror debacle: solving a situation using his genius-level intellect. He does this by taking advantage of the trigonometry at play before webbing up Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange and escaping with the mystical cube Creating that sequence was undoubtedly a complex process and the film's VFX Supervisor recently shared exactly how enjoyable it really was In an interview with Before and Afters Framestore Visual Effects Supervisor Adrien Saint Girons talked about his work on Marvel Studios' Spider-Man: No Way Home and how the team pulled off the mirror dimension sequence he addressed how they waded through the complexity of the kaleidoscope finale Girons noted how "it was very important for the director that it was mathematical," and the scene clearly showed "Spider-Man using his education to figure this out:" One thing that was very important for the director was that it was mathematical that it was clear that it was Spider-Man using his education to figure this out figure out the end moment when he gets caught and what the math behind that was And then we could figure out what the kaleidoscoping look needed to be." As for how he started to figure all of that out Girons said that he "went online and looked up mathematical equations" and also drew inspiration from "dream catchers:" "I went online and looked up mathematical equations and mathematical formulas that generated interesting images and quickly you find all these interesting images of these spirals that are formed by straight lines There were some very interesting looks that come from math and you can create these pretty amazing patterns just by repeating the same action over and over again." The VFX Supervisor went on and revealed that it was one of "visdev team.. artists [who] came up with a really nice concept," one that when it "[came] perfectly front on-camera," it created a "pattern that looks mathematical and pretty:" one of the artists came up with a really nice concept where if you have a spiral and you connect the pieces in a particular way it just looks like loads of lines connected But when it comes perfectly front on-camera in a more orthographic view you get this pattern that looks mathematical and pretty." the visuals of Spider-Man's geometrical webbing is "a cheat," one that "tricked [the audience].. We needed to show that Spider-Man’s connecting all these spirals together as the camera pans over this orthographic view It happens at the same time and you can buy the fact that he’s getting caught It only works from that particular camera angle The artists involved with the kaleidoscope sequence and the entire Mirror Dimension did a fantastic job It's safe to say not many people question the math at play; it was simply accepted within the parameters of one's suspension of disbelief One can only hope the adventure lives up to its name