Input of particulate heavy metals from rivers and associated sedimentary deposits on the Gulf of Lion continental shelf

Fluxes of the heavy metals chromium (Cr), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), copper (Cu), lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd) and zinc (Zn) delivered by rivers to the Gulf of Lion (NW Mediterranean Sea) were estimated over a three year study of the River Rhone and its smaller tributaries. Most of the particulate metal fluxes (80e90%) delivered by these rivers occurred within a very short period of time (less than 12%), a typical trend for the Mediterranean environment, where highly contrasting hydrological regimes were observed over the year. Temporal and spatial variations in the fluxes of these particulate metals were driven by the fluxes in both water discharge and suspended particulate matter load. On the shelf, these particulate metal fluxes, largely arising from the Rhone watershed, were two to ten times more important than those resulting from atmospheric deposition. Co, Cr and Ni in the rivers and on the shelf surface sediments were mainly natural and associated with the finest particles. Cd and Phosphorus appeared to be associated with the silt fraction and to be enriched in the prodelta areas. Pb, Zn and Cu were more closely associated with the organic matter content and also showed enrichment in the organic rich prodeltaic sediments. Anthropogenic influences diminished offshore, except for Pb and Zn which could be supplied from the atmosphere by man-made aerosols. Although most of the metals tended to be enriched in the prodelta areas, these did not constitute a permanent sink due to resuspension processes affecting these shallow depths. A resuspension experiment conducted on sediment cores from the Rhone prodelta demonstrated that metal deposited on the surface layer, especially those associated with the organic matter, may be resuspended; this should be taken into account for a complete understanding of the biogeochemical cycle of these metals

L'accomplissement d’une tâche en contexte linguistique inconnu

Si certains travaux et projets se concentrent sur une approche de l'intercompréhension centrée sur le linguistique, tous les chercheurs s'accordent pour souligner l'importance de la mise en place et de l'utilisation de stratégies de réception utilisant l'extra-linguistique dans tout processus de compréhension en langue inconnue. C'est précisément le rapport entre linguistique et extra-linguistique que ce texte entend faire ressortir dans le cadre spécifique de la réalisation d'une tâche de la vie de tous les jours. Dans un premier temps, nous définissons le cadre théorique de nos recherches en intercompréhension en nous appuyant principalement sur le modèle discursif de F. Capucho, de même que sur les recherches menées sur les inférences en langue étrangère tout en nous situant par rapport aux grands projets précédents. Dans un deuxième temps, ce texte se propose de faire connaître les résultats d'une expérience coordonnée par le Centre de langues de Salzburg dans le cadre du projet européen European Awareness and Intercomprehension. Cette expérience visait notamment à mieux connaître et définir la part du linguistique et de l'extra-linguistique dans l'accomplissement d'une tâche de la vie quotidienne en langue inconnue. L'analyse des résultats est accompagnée d'une réflexion sur les implications pour le développement d'une didactique de l'intercompréhension au-delà des familles de langues

Aides à l’apprentissage et retour pédagogique dans les sites d’apprentissage des langues en ligne

En se fondant sur la notion d’autonomie, notion centrale en matière d’apprentissage sur des sites Internet, cet article fera ressortir l’importance d’accompagner et de guider l’apprenant dans sa prise d’autonomie et la construction de son projet et de ses parcours d’apprentissage. Il présentera notamment plusieurs possibilités d’aider l’apprenant à fixer et atteindre ses objectifs et quelques critères de qualité qui, s’ils sont respectés, devraient permettre une meilleure prise de contrôle de son apprentissage par l’utilisateur du site en lui laissant toujours le choix de ses cheminements et de l’ampleur de l’aide qu’il entend solliciter du système. Sur la base de récentes recherches menées par des didacticiens et techniciens spécialisés dans la conception de didacticiels, nous distinguerons ensuite les différentes formes de retours pédagogiques pour faire ressortir leurs spécificités et leur complémentarité pour un apprentissage efficace.The article aims first of all at redefining the notion of autonomy, which is to be considered as a central concept in the domain of net-based learning. Secondly, it stresses the importance of leading and guiding learners towards autonomy, i.e. supporting learners to create their own projects and to structure their own learning path. It will be demonstrated how it is possible to help learners to reach their objectives. This entails the definition of quality criteria which allow learners to control their learning process, leaving it up to them at the same time to define their individual learning route and to determine the amount of support they want to have. Taking into consideration recent research in the field of internet-didactics and technology, we will present different types of feedback in order to point out their relevance for efficient autonomous learning

From precipitation to ice core: On the importance of surface processes for stable water-isotope records in East Antarctica

Stable water-isotope records from Antarctic ice cores allow the reconstruction of past temperature variability. However, accurate interpretation of the isotopic signal requires comprehensive understanding of the processes leading to its archiving in snow and ice, which can be documented by in situ measurements

ANALYSIS OF PROFESSORS’ EVALUATION AT LA SALLE UNIVERSITY MÉXICO FROM 2010 TO 2016: WHAT THE RESULTS INDICATE?

La Salle University México (La Salle) uses an internal system of professors’ evaluation, which main purpose is to evaluate professors’ performance and secure high quality of teaching at all of its faculties. Since its inception in 2010, La Salle has obtained 517,635 individual evaluations of 45,346 courses. However, no additional analysis of the obtained results has ever been done. This article provides introductory analysis of the accumulated results at faculty level. The main objective is to analyze whether there are differences between faculties regarding the evaluation. Although the results are highly skewed towards the maximal evaluation at all faculties, there are statistically significant differences. The next important task is to investigate what factors influence the evaluation. Moreover, as this is the introductory analysis, the article concludes with possible future steps that should be consider regarding eventual structural changes in the evaluation system

Citoyenneté numérique et didactique des langues, quels points de contacts ?

La notion de citoyenneté numérique et les appels à la mise en place, dans les systèmes éducatifs, d’une éducation à la citoyenneté numérique (ECN) se répandent. Nous proposons ici une méta-analyse de la littérature spécialisée traitant de cette notion afin, d’une part, de dresser un portrait maximal (non normatif) du citoyen usager du numérique et, d’autre part, de montrer les points de contact entre l’ECN et la didactique des langues. Concrètement, un corpus de 96 publications récentes (2016‑2020) a été soumis à une analyse thématique de contenu. Il en ressort cinq grandes catégories qui définissent le citoyen numérique. Nous avons exploré au sein de chacune d’elles les liens possibles avec la didactique des langues.The notion of digital citizenship and recommendations for the implementation of digital citizenship education (DCE) in education systems are becoming more and more widespread. The present work is a meta-analysis of the literature published on this topic. We draw on it to establish a broad (non prescriptive) profile of the digital citizen and to highlight how language education can be relevant to DCE. A thematic content analysis of the corpus (n = 96 texts published from 2016 to 2020) was conducted. Five main categories characterizing the digital citizen emerged. Within each of them, we explored possible links with language education

Reflexiones y conversaciones sobre el futuro de la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de lenguas mediados por la tecnología

Libro blanco para el análisis del impacto de la tecnología en el ámbito de la enseñanza y el aprendizaje de lenguas. Además de un capítulo introductorio y un epílogo, cada autor escribe un capítulo y es entrevistado para conocer su punto de vista sobre la relación entre tecnología y aprendizaje y enseñanza de lenguas. Whitepaper on the analysis of the impact of technology on language learning and teaching. Apart from a foreword and an epilogue, each author writes a chapter and is interviewed so as to get to know their points of view about the relationship between technology and language learning and teaching

The First Genomic and Proteomic Characterization of a Deep-Sea Sulfate Reducer: Insights into the Piezophilic Lifestyle of Desulfovibrio piezophilus

Desulfovibrio piezophilus strain C1TLV30T is a piezophilic anaerobe that was isolated from wood falls in the Mediterranean deep-sea. D. piezophilus represents a unique model for studying the adaptation of sulfate-reducing bacteria to hydrostatic pressure. Here, we report the 3.6 Mbp genome sequence of this piezophilic bacterium. An analysis of the genome revealed the presence of seven genomic islands as well as gene clusters that are most likely linked to life at a high hydrostatic pressure. Comparative genomics and differential proteomics identified the transport of solutes and amino acids as well as amino acid metabolism as major cellular processes for the adaptation of this bacterium to hydrostatic pressure. In addition, the proteome profiles showed that the abundance of key enzymes that are involved in sulfate reduction was dependent on hydrostatic pressure. A comparative analysis of orthologs from the non-piezophilic marine bacterium D. salexigens and D. piezophilus identified aspartic acid, glutamic acid, lysine, asparagine, serine and tyrosine as the amino acids preferentially replaced by arginine, histidine, alanine and threonine in the piezophilic strain. This work reveals the adaptation strategies developed by a sulfate reducer to a deep-sea lifestyle