Interphonologie et représentations orthographiques. Le cas des catégories /b/ et /v/ chez des apprenants japonais de Français Langue Etrangère.

L'article essaie de clarifier l'apprentissage de catégories phonologiques dans une langue seconde quand cette dernière ne fait pas partie des catégories de la langue source. Il soulève aussi la question de l'orthographe et la façon dont elle peut interagir dans l'apprentissage pour des langues à longue tradition orthographique comme le japonais ou le français

Sacrifice ratio dispersion within the Euro Zone:<br />What can be learned about implementing a Single Monetary Policy?

International audienceThis article focuses on the comparison of sacrifice ratios as an indicator for structural dispersion within the euro area over the period 1972-2003. Estimates of the sacrifice ratio, defined as the cumulative output cost arising from permanent inflation reduction, are obtained using structural VAR models. Results from sub-period analysis as well as ten-year-period rolling estimates lead to two main conclusions. Firstly empirical evidence displays a recent increase in the average sacrifice ratio, which can be linked to the simultaneous decrease in the average inflation rate: this negative relationship between the initial level of inflation and the cost of disinflation can be seen as a justification for the choice of an inflation objective close to 2% for the European Central Bank (ECB) rather than a target of perfect price stability, potentially very damaging. Secondly, we can't provide evidence of any reduction in European sacrifice ratio dispersion, which would suggest that the nominal convergence triggered by the Maastricht Treaty didn't involve a true reduction of structural differences. It is likely to be a problem in the stance of a single monetary policy, since structural differences imply asymmetric responses of real national economies to the same monetary impulse

Maurice Allais et la dynamique des crises

La préoccupation majeure qui a constitué le fil directeur de la pensée et des travaux de Maurice Allais a été de définir les conditions d’un fonctionnement efficace d’une économie de marché. Cela l’a amené à réfléchir sur les questions monétaires et sur les obstacles, d’origine monétaire et financière, à ce bon fonctionnement : « … les aspects les plus importants d’une économie de marchés, qu’on la considère du point de vue de l’efficacité économique, de la répartition des revenus, ou de la s..

Sacrifice ratio dispersion within the Euro Zone:What can be learned about implementing a Single Monetary Policy?

This article focuses on the comparison of sacrifice ratios as an indicator for structural dispersion within the euro area over the period 1972-2003. Estimates of the sacrifice ratio, defined as the cumulative output cost arising from permanent inflation reduction, are obtained using structural VAR models. Results from sub-period analysis as well as ten-year-period rolling estimates lead to two main conclusions. Firstly empirical evidence displays a recent increase in the average sacrifice ratio, which can be linked to the simultaneous decrease in the average inflation rate: this negative relationship between the initial level of inflation and the cost of disinflation can be seen as a justification for the choice of an inflation objective close to 2% for the European Central Bank (ECB) rather than a target of perfect price stability, potentially very damaging. Secondly, we can't provide evidence of any reduction in European sacrifice ratio dispersion, which would suggest that the nominal convergence triggered by the Maastricht Treaty didn't involve a true reduction of structural differences. It is likely to be a problem in the stance of a single monetary policy, since structural differences imply asymmetric responses of real national economies to the same monetary impulse.Sacrifice ratio ; monetary policy ; convergence ; Economic and Monetary Union (EMU)

Le diagnostic rapide des bas-fonds soudano-sahéliens

Une méthode de diagnostic, à dominante hydraulique, des bas-fonds soudano-sahéliens a été finalisée au sein des écoles inter-états de l’équipement rural. D’abord élaborée à la demande de projets, cette approche a été développée sur le terrain, puis confrontée aux avis critiques des professionnels. Une méthode de terrain destinée aux projets de développement rural a donc été progressivement mise au point : il s’agit d’un outil permettant d’appréhender les éléments clefs du fonctionnement hydraulique et de la dynamique de mise en valeur d’un bas-fond pris dans son « contexte terroir ». Sa finalité est la proposition d’un schéma d’aménagement cohérent, hiérarchisant les priorités d’intervention et identifiant les ouvrages adaptés. Cette démarche est ou devrait in fine à l’aménagement du bas-fond. Elle permet de traduire au mieux la demande paysanne et de proposer aux bureaux d’étude des termes de référence les plus précis possibles pour l’étude détaillée et l’aménagement du site. Elle est illustrée, dans le présent article, par une étude de cas, au Burkina Faso. Cette méthode de diagnostic s’attache à l’analyser le fonctionnement actuel du bas fond, à travers sa dynamique hydraulique et sa dynamique de mise en valeur (occupation des sols, conflits fonciers…) à l’aide d’indices facilement observables. Elle a été progressivement élaborée avec et pour les différents acteurs intervenant à l’occasion de l’aménagement des bas-fonds : demandeurs, projet , O.N.G., bureau d’études… Une série d’étude de terrain conduite dans quatre pays de l’Afrique Soudano-Sahélienne a permis de la valider

Ten Years of Valuation of the Local Impact of Atmospheric Pollution: from Scientific Assessments to Political Decisions

This paper focuses on the economic valuation of the impact of local air pollution. Two main issues are considered: 1. The scientific issue: what is estimated, how and why? The main studies from the nineties are presented here. Two strong issues are stressed, with the diversity of valuation methods, on the one hand, and the debates on how to take the long term into account and the discount technique, on the other. 2. The political issue: how the results from the economic field are analysed and used to establish official values for public policies? The methods used in the transport sector in three different European countries (France, Sweden and Switzerland) are studied here.To conclude, we highlight the discrepancy between these two processes and, wherever possible, offer solutions to reach better synergy.Local air pollution ; External costs ; Economic valuation ; Official values ; Public decision ; International comparison

Plasticity of gene expression according to salinity in the testis of broodstock and F1 black-chinned tilapia, Sarotherodon melanotheron heudelotii

The black-chinned tilapia Sarotherodon melanotheron heudelotii Ruppell 1852 (Teleostei, Cichlidae) displays remarkable acclimation capacities. When exposed to drastic changes of salinity, which can be the case in its natural habitat, it develops quick physiological responses and keeps reproducing. The present study focused on the physiological impact of salinity on male reproductive capacities, using gene expression as a proxy of acclimation process. Two series of experimental fish were investigated: the first one was composed of fish maintained in freshwater for several generations and newly acclimated to salinities of 35 and 70, whereas the second one consisted of the descendants of the latter born and were raised under their native salinity. Expression patterns of 43 candidate genes previously identified from the testes of wild males was investigated in the three salinities and two generations. Twenty of them showed significant expression differences between salinities, and their predicted function revealed that most of them are involved in the osmotic tolerance of sperm cells and/or in the maintenance of sperm motility. A high level of expression variation was evidenced, especially for fish maintained in freshwater. In spite of this, gene expression patterns allowed the differentiation between fish raised in freshwater and those maintained in hypersaline water in both generations. Altogether, the results presented here suggest that this high variability of expression is likely to ensure the reproductive success of this species under varying salinities

Synthesis of CuInS2 nanometric powder by reaction in molten KSCN

CuInS2 was synthesized, with a yield of 70% by reaction in molten KSCN at 400 °C of CuCl2 and InCl3 with a ratio KSCN/Cu=15. The homogeneous powder obtained is constituted of nano-sized grains (70–100 nm), with a specific surface area of 6 m2/g and a band gap Eg of 1.5 eV

Single-molecule observations of RNA-RNA kissing interactions in a DNA nanostructure

RNA molecules uniquely form a complex through specific hairpin loops, called a kissing complex. The kissing complex is widely investigated and used for the construction of RNA nanostructures. Molecular switches have also been created by combining a kissing loop and a ligand-binding aptamer to control the interactions of RNA molecules. In this study, we incorporated two kinds of RNA molecules into a DNA origami structure and used atomic force microscopy to observe their ligand-responsive interactions at the single-molecule level. We used a designed RNA aptamer called GTPswitch, which has a guanosine triphosphate (GTP) responsive domain and can bind to the target RNA hairpin named Aptakiss in the presence of GTP. We observed shape changes of the DNA/RNA strands in the DNA origami, which are induced by the GTPswitch, into two different shapes in the absence and presence of GTP, respectively. We also found that the switching function in the nanospace could be improved by using a cover strand over the kissing loop of the GTPswitch or by deleting one base from this kissing loop. These newly designed ligand-responsive aptamers can be used for the controlled assembly of the various DNA and RNA nanostructures