Vibrational Predissociation in Hydrogen Bonded Dimers: The Case of (HF)2 and its Isotopomers

We use the dimer (HF???HF) as a model system to understand the dynamics in hydrogen-bonded systems. This particularly simple system has been widely used both in experimental and theoretical studies. Here we focus on the remarkable mode selectivity in vibrational predissociation processes which occur on time scales of picoseconds to nanoseconds. We have performed classical molecular dynamics (MD) calculations on the six-dimensional SO-3 potential energy surface (PES) of (HF)2[1] to estimate absorption spectra and predissociation lifetimes ?PD for various initial vibrational excitations involving HF stretching. Our calculations can qualitatively reproduce the mode selectivity in ?PD observed experimentally: Excitations involving the 'hydrogen-bonded' HF stretching mode give rise to shorter ?PD than those involving the 'free' HF stretching mode. Besides results concerning the HF dimer, this study offers the opportunity to check to what extent classical MD calculations on an accurate and realistic potential are suitable to study dynamical properties in such a molecular system

Definition and Exploration of the Integrated CO2 Mineralization Technological cycle

This paper is part of a multi-disciplinary research program on development and application of an integrated CO2 mineralization (ICM) framework for development of carbon mineralization as a CO2 mitigation solution. ICM is viewed as a three concentric layer system: technological, industrial integration, and decision-making. The search for viable ICM solutions in a given societal and economic context, which could be posed as an inverse design problem, begins with the identification and characterization of every system component. As an early writing on the development and applicability of the proposed ICM framework, this contribution focuses on ICM's inner technological layer. Several technological pathways, each one defined as a set of processing and transformation steps that connect a feedstock to a specific marketable product, can coexist within this layer. The paper addresses the characterization of one such technological pathway, whose cycle is divided into three successive blocks: feedstock, carbonation and valorization. The proposed concepts are illustrated through the valorization of ferronickel slag from New Caledonia as supplementary cementitious material or cement constituent, a case study that targets the production of “greener” construction materials. The data presented in the paper confirm the feasibility of characterizing the chosen ICM technological pathway, giving credit to the proposition that ICM can be approached as an inverse design problem. While exemplifying the significance of the characterization work necessary for one particular ICM technological pathway, the paper argues that development of ICM requires working on a scale considerably larger than that of standard mineral carbonation process research. Indeed, where grams of carbonated products are sufficient to investigate mineral carbonation processes, kilograms are mandatory to test and validate the use performance of final marketable products. Without precluding the merits of seeking innovative solutions, the authors argue that unit operations and transformation processes whose validity is proven at an industrial scale should be favored for timely development of viable ICM solutions

Effet de l'apprentissage systématique de l'écrit sur l'acquisition de la langue orale en L2 : cas du français appris par des enfants marocains au Maroc

This research on French-Arabic interlanguage is at the junction of psycholinguistics , cognitive psychology and didactics . It takes place in a multilingual country, Morocco (Agadir). Our study seeks to establish to what extent learning to read in French (L2) impacts the development of perception and pronunciation of this language and how important this learning is. We assume indeed that spelling and phonological skills gained through reading, could make certain phonological representations of the target language more salient. We explore this hypothesis by resorting to the acquisition of two French phonemes [e] and [y] create difficulties for Moroccan speakers.In order to verify that mastering spelling-phonological correspondences contributes to improving the quality of the phonological system of this language , we carried out a longitudinal study during a school year with Arabic-speaking Moroccan children Learning written French in Morocco. We have established a protocol for assessing oral proficiency in Arabic and French based on phonological awareness tasks (validated speech therapy tests) and on perception and expression skills. We set up to a reading test to provide information on speed , reading correction and vocabulary maturity of the subject. A questionnaire was also distributed to parents to provide insights into the linguistic environment of tested children. Result analysis shows that learning how to read in L2 consolidates writing and phonological conversion , which would allow children to own better defined phoneme categories , and consequently to better perceive and pronounce sounds that are absent from their first language phonological system.Ce travail de recherche interlangue arabe-français s’inscrit à la croisée de la psycholinguistique, la psychologie cognitive etla didactique. Il se déroule au Maroc (Agadir) pays polyglossique. Notre étude s’attache à déterminer dans quelle mesure etavec quelle importance, l’apprentissage de la lecture en français (L2) intervient dans le développement de la perception etde la prononciation de cette même langue. Nous supposons que les connaissances orthographiques et phonologiques,acquises par le biais de la lecture, permettraient de rendre plus saillantes certaines représentations phonologiques de lalangue cible. Nous étudions cette hypothèse en nous appuyant sur l’acquisition des phonèmes [e] et [y] du français sourcede difficultés pour le locuteur marocain. Nous avons mené une étude longitudinale sur une année scolaire avec des enfants arabophones marocains apprenant le français écrit au Maroc. Nous avons mis en place un protocole d’évaluation des compétences orales en français à partir de tâches de conscience phonologique, de perception, de prononciation et delecture. Un questionnaire a également été distribué aux parents afin de nous renseigner sur l’environnement linguistiquedes enfants testés. L’analyse des résultats indique que l’apprentissage de la lecture en L2 entraîne la consolidation desconversions graphophonologiques, ce qui permet aux enfants de disposer de catégories phonémiques mieux définies, et de mieux percevoir et prononcer des sons absents du système phonologique de leur langue première

The S-Transform From a Wavelet Point of View

Abstract—The -transform is becoming popular for time-frequency analysis and data-adaptive filtering thanks to its simplicity. While this transform works well in the continuous domain, its discrete version may fail to achieve accurate results. This paper compares and contrasts this transform with the better known continuous wavelet transform, and defines a relation between both. This connection allows a better understanding of the -transform, and makes it possible to employ the wavelet reconstruction formula as a new inverse -transform and to propose several methods to solve some of the main limitations of the discrete -transform, such as its restriction to linear frequency sampling.This work was supported by the projects SigSensual ref. CTM2004-04510-C03-02 and NEAREST CE-037110. The work of M. Schimmel was supported through the Ramon y Cajal and the Consolider-Ingenio 2010 Nr. CSD2006-00041 program.Peer reviewe

Thames Town, an English Cliché

This article contributes to the development of a reading grid for the globalisation of urban models and their hybrid forms through an analysis of the urban production and social construction of a district in the suburbs of an emerging Chinese metropolis based on a case‑study of Thames Town, located in the new city of Songjiang, to the south-west of Shanghai. First, this contribution gives an account of the circulation of internationalised urban planning models and practices and the local development of public-private growth coalitions, that is to say, the establishment of new configurations of players promoting “urban marketing” both at the level of the Shanghai Municipality and that of the District of Songjiang. Secondly, this urban creation with its borrowed architectural forms raises questions with regard to both its morphology and its social reception/construction. The “Town on the Thames” presents a meticulous English-style layout that crystallises the tensions encountered in Chinese urban peripheries: gated communities, the staging of Western architectural styles and their appropriation by the inhabitants, the identity enhancement they represent, and over and above this, relationship of the self to others and of others to the self. What do these districts with their Western-style architecture teach us about the way Shanghai, a metropolis that wishes to transmit its own model of Chinese urban planning, thinks, produces, and appropriates the Chinese city

Emprendimiento como herramienta de las habilidades gerenciales

El propósito de este artículo es construir de manera ecléctica y holística las bases de un marco teórico que describa, analice e interprete el fenómeno del emprendimiento empresarial desde el punto de vista interdisciplinario. Se busca que éste sea el fundamento para responder a la pregunta ¿cómo entender el emprendimiento?, y construir, a partir de su evolución, diversas perspectivas que enriquezcan su análisis y estudio