Ionic profiles close to dielectric discontinuities: Specific ion-surface interactions

We study, by incorporating short-range ion-surface interactions, ionic profiles of electrolyte solutions close to a non-charged interface between two dielectric media. In order to account for important correlation effects close to the interface, the ionic profiles are calculated beyond mean-field theory, using the loop expansion of the free energy. We show how it is possible to overcome the well-known deficiency of the regular loop expansion close to the dielectric jump, and treat the non-linear boundary conditions within the framework of field theory. The ionic profiles are obtained analytically to one-loop order in the free energy, and their dependence on different ion-surface interactions is investigated. The Gibbs adsorption isotherm, as well as the ionic profiles are used to calculate the surface tension, in agreement with the reverse Hofmeister series. Consequently, from the experimentally-measured surface tension, one can extract a single adhesivity parameter, which can be used within our model to quantitatively predict hard to measure ionic profiles.Comment: 14 pages, 6 figure

La division du travail linguistique : déférence et stéréotypes

L’objet de cet essai est d’élucider le phénomène de la division du travail linguistique tel qu’il a été mis en exergue et décrit par Hilary Putnam dans son article célèbre « The Meaning of “Meaning” » (1975). Par le concept de division du travail linguistique, Putnam prétend capturer et décrire la différence, l’hétérogénéité et la complémentarité des compétences des locuteurs d’une même communauté linguistique engagées dans leur usage d’un même terme conceptuel. Pièce maîtresse de son anti-subjectivisme en matière de sémantique, il rend partiellement compte de la contribution de l’environnement social et culturel à la signification et à la fixation de la référence des termes conceptuels et, de ce fait, constitue un des aspects centraux de l’externalisme sémantique promu par Putnam. Deux notions contribuent à en expliciter le contenu : la notion (et les phénomènes associés) de déférence des locuteurs « non-experts » envers des locuteurs « experts » et la notion de stéréotype associé à un terme conceptuel. Tandis que la notion de déférence a pour objet de rendre compte des relations asymétriques de dépendance des locuteurs non-experts envers des locuteurs experts engagées dans l’usage d’un terme conceptuel comme « or » ou « hêtre », celle de stéréotype a pour objet de rendre compte de la compétence individuelle minimale requise d’un locuteur employant un terme conceptuel à bon escient. Or, la réception de l’externalisme sémantique de Putnam parmi les philosophes comme parmi les linguistes, a pu donner lieu à un certain nombre de mécompréhensions au sujet des notions de déférence et de stéréotype. Aussi l’objet second de cet essai est de contribuer à lever les malentendus qui entravent la bonne intelligibilité de ces notions et, par-là, de contribuer à une compréhension adéquate de la division du travail linguistique et, plus généralement, de l’externalisme sémantique sous la version qu’en propose Putnam.The main purpose of this essay is to elucidate the phenomenon of the division of linguistic labor as highlighted and described by Hilary Putnam in his seminal article “The Meaning of ‘Meaning’” (1975). By devising the concept of division of linguistic labor, Putnam inteds to describe the difference, heterogeneity and complementarity of speakers’ competences involved in their uses of a conceptual term. As a cornerstone of Putnam’s semantic anti-subjectivism and semantic externalism, this concept partially accounts for the contribution of the social and cultural environment to the meaning and reference-fixing of our conceptual terms and, as such, constitutes one of the central aspects of the semantic externalism promoted by Putnam. Two aspects are essential to it: the deference of “non-expert” speakers to « expert » speakers and the notion of stereotype associated with a conceptual term. While the notion of a deference is intended to account for the asymmetrical relations of dependence of non-expert speakers on expert speakers involved in uses of conceptual terms like “gold” or “beech”, the notion of stereotype is aimed at capturing the minimal individual competence required of a speaker to use a conceptual term appropriately. However, the reception of Putnam's semantic externalism among philosophers and linguists alike has led to a number of misunderstandings about these two notions. The second purpose of this essay is thus to help clear up the misunderstandings that hinder the proper understanding of these notions and, in so doing, to contribute to an adequate understanding of the division of linguistic labor and, more generally, of semantic externalism as Putnam proposes it

Entwined dimer formation from self-complementary bis-acridiniums

International audienceThe self-assembling entwined dimer of a bis-acridinium tweezer has been investigated in organic and aqueous media. Please check this proof carefully. Our staff will not read it in detail after you have returned it. Please send your corrections either as a copy of the proof PDF with electronic notes attached or as a list of corrections. Do not edit the text within the PDF or send a revised manuscript as we will not be able to apply your corrections. Corrections at this stage should be minor and not involve extensive changes. Proof corrections must be returned as a single set of corrections, approved by all co-authors. No further corrections can be made after you have submitted your proof corrections as we will publish your article online as soon as possible after they are received. Please ensure that: The spelling and format of all author names and affiliations are checked carefully. You can check how we have identified the authors' first and last names in the researcher information table on the next page. Names will be indexed and cited as shown on the proof, so these must be correct

Event timing in human vision : Modulating factors and independent functions

Essential for successful interaction with the environment is the human capacity to resolve events in time. Typical event timing paradigms are judgements of simultaneity (SJ) and of temporal order (TOJ). It remains unclear whether SJ and TOJ are based on the same underlying mechanism and whether there are fixed thresholds for resolution. The current study employed four visual event timing task versions: horizontal and vertical SJ and TOJ. Binary responses were analysed using multilevel binary regression modelling. Modulatory effects of potential explanatory variables on event timing perception were investigated: (1) Individual factors (sex and age), (2) temporal factors (SOA, trial number, order of experiment, order of stimuli orientation, time of day) and (3) spatial factors (left or right stimulus first, top or bottom stimulus first, horizontal vs. vertical orientation). The current study directly compares for the first time, performance on SJ and TOJ tasks using the same paradigm and presents evidence that a variety of factors and their interactions selectively modulate event timing functions in humans, explaining the variance found in previous studies. We conclude that SJ and TOJ are partially independent functions, because they are modulated differently by individual and contextual variables.Peer reviewe