Probing the dynamics and structure of confined benzene in MCM-41 based catalysts

A combination of Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations and Quasielastic Neutron Scattering (QENS) experiments has been used to investigate the dynamics and structure of benzene in MCM-41 based catalysts. QENS experiments of benzene as both an unconfined liquid and confined in the catalyst Pt/MCM-41 find that the mobility of benzene decreases upon confinement as shown by the decreased diffusion coefficients. Complementary MD simulations on benzene in MCM-41 show agreement with the QENS experiments when using a novel fully flexible model of MCM-41. Structural information from the MD simulations show that benzene in MCM-41 has a significantly different structure from that of the bulk liquid; with benzene molecules closer together and no prefered orientation

Language and intercultural communication

This study intends to highlight the role that Foreign Language Education (FLE), particularly in the Higher Education context, can play so as to contribute to the rapprochement of two distant and still mutually unknown countries such as Portugal and Turkey. In this sense, it ultimately aims at supporting the training of intercultural speakers, capable of promoting an effective Intercultural Dialogue between the two countries. A diagnosis is presented of the reciprocal images of Portuguese and Turkish students learning each other’s language and culture. Conclusions are drawn on how their self- and hetero-images may pertain on the construction of their identities, on their awareness about and attitudes towards each other, on their motivation to learn each other’s language, and on intercultural communication itself. Allying the study of Images of Languages and Cultures and the concept of Intercultural Competence in the study of students’ representations within the FLE research tradition, a content analysis was carried out of the responses given to an inquiry by questionnaire. Conative implications of the students’ images as revealed in the results were pointed out. Some important distinctions are highlighted in the reciprocal images of both groups. On this basis, recommendations for FLE are made focusing on the positive reconstruction of students’ reciprocal images.Este estudo pretende destacar o papel do Ensino de Línguas Estrangeiras (ELE), no contexto do Ensino Superior, na aproximação de dois países distantes e ainda mutuamente desconhecidos como são Portugal e a Turquia. Visa-se, em última instância, fomentar a formação de falantes interculturais capazes de promover um efetivo Diálogo Intercultural entre os dois países. É feito um diagnóstico das imagens recíprocas de dois grupos de estudantes portugueses e turcos a estudarem a língua e a cultura um do outro. São tiradas conclusões sobre as implicações das respetivas auto- e hetero-imagens na sua construção identitária, conscientização e atitudes relativamente ao Outro, na sua motivação para o estudo da língua da sua contraparte e na própria comunicação intercultural. Com base na conjugação do conceito de Imagens de Línguas e Culturas com o conceito de Competência Intercultural no estudo das representações dos alunos na tradição investigativa em ELE, realizou-se uma análise de conteúdo das respostas a um inquérito por questionário, sendo apontadas as implicações conativas das imagens recíprocas dos participantes tal como as revelam os resultados. Com base nas diferenças observadas nas imagens recíprocas de ambos os grupos, são feitas recomendações relativamente à ELE com enfoque na reconstrução positiva destas imagens

Céramiques des dépotoirs du site de Montoir-Poissonnerie (Caen, Calvados) : Puits (XVe, début XVIe siècle) et latrines (XIVe-XVIe siècle)

International audienc

Probing the dynamics and structure of confined benzene in MCM-41 based catalysts

A combination of Molecular Dynamics (MD) simulations and Quasielastic Neutron Scattering (QENS) experiments has been used to investigate the dynamics and structure of benzene in MCM-41 based catalysts. QENS experiments of benzene as both an unconfined liquid and confined in the catalyst Pt/MCM-41 find that the mobility of benzene decreases upon confinement as shown by the decreased diffusion coefficients. Complementary MD simulations on benzene in MCM-41 show agreement with the QENS experiments when using a novel fully flexible model of MCM-41. Structural information from the MD simulations show that benzene in MCM-41 has a significantly different structure from that of the bulk liquid; with benzene molecules closer together and no prefered orientation

The promise of computational journalism

Computational journalism involves the application of software and technologies to the activities of journalism, and it draws from the fields of computer science, the social sciences, and media and communications. New technologies may enhance the traditional aims of journalism, or may initiate greater interaction between journalists and information and communication technology (ICT) specialists. The enhanced use of computing in news production is related in particular to three factors: larger government data sets becoming more widely available; the increasingly sophisticated and ubiquitous nature of software; and the developing digital economy. Drawing upon international examples, this paper argues that computational journalism techniques may provide new foundations for original investigative journalism and increase the scope for new forms of interaction with readers. Computer journalism provides a major opportunity to enhance the delivery of original investigative journalism, and to attract and retain readers online