The phonology of Japanese /r/: a panchronic account

The aim of this study is to understand how /r/ emerged and developed in Proto-Japanese and how the conditions of its emergence shed light on its present phonological behavior. The paper first offers a review of the phonetic, phonological, and morpho-phonological characteristics of /r/ in Japanese through examination of a large array of empirical evidence. The picture that emerges is that of an unmarked, phonologically empty segment, confirming a number of previous studies, in particular that by Mester and Itoˆ (Language 65:258-293, 1989). I argue that /r/ primarily developed in Japanese as a default epenthetic consonant in the intervocalic position within the morphological domain of a stem and its affixes, through an 'emergence of the unmarked' mechanism before becoming a fully contrastive phoneme later on by virtue of a phonologization process. A formal account of this proposal within the framework of Optimality Theory is offered. It is shown that the phonological content of /r/ is acquired due to the application of well-formedness constraints (ONSET, ALIGN, MAXIO, DEPIO) as well as that of two sets of markedness constraints (FEATURAL AGREEMENT and HARMONY SCALE), which ensure that the null input is mapped to the least marked output in terms of phonological features

Le japonais

International audienceCette série de 5 conférences invitées données à Evian en aout 2012 vise à donner une présentation générale de la langue japonaise. Elle se décompose comme suit: 1. Introduction 1.1 Le japonais parmi les langues du monde 1.2 Repères historiques 1.3 Langue standard et dialectes 1.4 Parenté et origines 1.5 Le système d'écriture 2. Phonologie 2.1 Les voyelles 2.2 Les consonnes 2.3 Les phonèmes mores 2.4 Unités rythmiques et prosodiques 2.5 L'accent 3. Lexique, parties du discours, morphologie 3.1 Les strates lexicales 3.2 Parties du discours: mots variables, mots invariables 3.3 La composition 4. Structure syntaxique 4.1 La phrase simple 4.2Les phrases complexes 4.3 Le jeu de wa et ga 5. La catégorie de la déférence 6. L'expression de la personne et la nature des pronoms Bibliographie (Voir l'article éponyme paru dans la rubrique "publications

Domain wall structure in magnetic bilayers with perpendicular anisotropy

We study the magnetic domain wall structure in magnetic bilayers (two ultrathin ferromagnetic layers separated by a non magnetic spacer) with perpendicular magnetization. Combining magnetic force and ballistic electron emission microscopies, we are able to reveal the details of the magnetic structure of the wall with a high spatial accuracy. In these layers, we show that the classical Bloch wall observed in single layers transforms into superposed N\'eel walls due to the magnetic coupling between the ferromagnetic layers. Quantitative agreement with micromagnetic calculations is achieved.Comment: Author adresses AB, SR, JM and AT: Laboratoire de Physique des Solides, CNRS, Universit\'e Paris Sud, UMR 8502, 91405 Orsay Cedex, France ML : Laboratoire PMTM, Institut Galil\'ee, CNRS, Universit\'e Paris-13, UPR 9001, 93430 Villetaneuse, Franc

Low temperature plasma deposition of silicon thin films: From amorphous to crystalline

International audienceWe report on the epitaxial growth of crystalline silicon films on (100) oriented crystalline silicon substrates by standard plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition at 175 °C. Such unexpected epitaxial growth is discussed in the context of deposition processes of silicon thin films, based on silicon radicals and nanocrystals. Our results are supported by previous studies on plasma synthesis of silicon nanocrystals and point toward silicon nanocrystals being the most plausible building blocks for such epitaxial growth. The results lay the basis of a new approach for the obtaining of crystalline silicon thin films and open the path for transferring those epitaxial layers from c-Si wafers to low cost foreign substrates

Structure and diversity of shallow soft-bottom benthic macrofauna in the Gulf of Lions (NW Mediterranean).

14 páginas, 10 figuras, 4 tablas.Samples of soft-sediment macrobenthos from 92 sites between 10 and 50 m depth were used to assess (1) the main soft-bottom macrofauna communities in the Gulf of Lions, (2) the different components of the diversity of benthic macrofauna in this area, and (3) the relevance of the use of major taxonomic groups as surrogates for the analysis of the structure and diversity of total macrofauna. Three main communities were identified by cluster analysis and associated procedures. These communities corresponded well to the assemblages recently identified on the basis of polychaete composition. The a-diversity indices were in accordance with those reported for similar communities in the Mediterranean. Conversely, the b-diversity value was higher than the few other data available in the literature for marine soft-bottom macrofauna. The total number of species in the studied area estimated by the ‘‘total species accumulation curve’’ (TS) method was 2,319, which was only 10% higher than the number obtained by extrapolation of the species–area curve. The similarity matrix based on polychaetes correlated best with the one based on total macrofauna. Polychaetes and crustaceans were also the best surrogates of total macrofauna when assessing a-diversity (except in the case of D*). Conversely, molluscs were the best surrogates of total macrofauna b-diversity. Our results show that the choice of an optimal surrogate for total benthic macrofauna depends on the characteristic of the benthic macrofauna to be studied. Moreover, this choice is also dependent on the environment to be studiedThis work is part of the PhD thesis of Ce´line Labrune. It was carried out within the EC Network of Excellence MARBEF. Ce´line Labrune was supported by the SYSCOLAG project run by the Re´gion Languedoc-Roussillon.Peer reviewe

<i>Malmgrenia louiseae</i> sp. nov., a new scale worm species (Polychaeta: Polynoidae) from southern Europe with a key to European <i>Malmgrenia</i> species

International audienceMalmgrenia louiseae sp. nov. is described from both the Western Mediterranean in the Gulf of Lions, and the Northeast Atlantic from off Portugal and the Bay of Biscay. The species was found in muddy sediments in shallow water and is possibly associated with echiurids or synaptid holothurians. Malmgrenia louiseae sp. nov. can be clearly distinguished from all other known Malmgrenia species by the presence of an infra-acicular process in addition to the supra-acicular process on the acicular lobe of the neuropodia, the lack of microtubercules on the elytra, two kinds of notochaetae (stout with blunt tip and slender with fine pointed tip), and exclusively unidentate neurochaetae. An identification key to the Northeast Atlantic and Mediterranean Malmgrenia species is provided

Effects of tallow and ground flaxseed on sensory and color characteristics of ribeye steaks

Forty-eight ribeye steaks from steers fed diets containing steam-flaked corn (SFC), steam-flaked corn with tallow (SFC/Tallow), or steam-flaked corn with rolled flaxseed (Flax) were used to evaluate the effects of dietary fat on sensory traits, retail display color stability, and fatty acid composition. Steaks from Flax-fed steers had increased deposition of alpha linolenic acid (C18:3n3, an omega-3 fatty acid; P<0.01) and developed a detectable off-flavor (P<0.05) when compared to those of cattle fed SFC and SFC/Tallow. There were no differences in tenderness, juiciness, or flavor intensity (P>0.10) among the three treatments. Steaks from cattle fed SFC retained a desirable color longer than those from cattle fed Flax (P<0.05) which may be attributable to premature lipid oxidation in steaks from cattle fed Flax. This study suggests that altering the fat in the diet may affect flavor and color stability of the meat. Feeding flaxseed can effectively alter composition of carcass tissues to yield beef that is high in omega-3 fatty acids, which may lead to premature lipid oxidation

Magnetic relaxation measurements of exchange biased (Pt/Co) multilayers with perpendicular anisotropy

Magnetic relaxation measurements were carried out by magneto-optical Kerr effect on exchange biased (Pt/Co)5/Pt/FeMn multilayers with perpendicular anisotropy. In these films the coercivity and the exchange bias field vary with Pt spacer thickness, and have a maximum for 0.2 nm. Hysteresis loops do not reveal important differences between the reversal for ascending and descending fields. Relaxation measurements were fitted using Fatuzzo's model, which assumes that reversal occurs by domain nucleation and domain wall propagation. For 2 nm thick Pt spacer (no exchange bias) the reversal is dominated by domain wall propagation starting from a few nucleation centers. For 0.2 nm Pt spacer (maximum exchange bias) the reversal is strongly dominated by nucleation, and no differences between the behaviour of the ascending and descending branches can be observed. For 0.4 nm Pt spacer (weaker exchange bias) the nucleation density becomes less important, and the measurements reveal a much stronger density of nucleation centers in the descending branch.Comment: Europhysical Journal B, in print DOI: 10.1140/epjb/e2005-00053-

Nucleation of magnetisation reversal, from nanoparticles to bulk materials

We review models for the nucleation of magnetisation reversal, i.e. the formation of a region of reversed magnetisation in an initially magnetically saturated system. For small particles models for collective reversal, either uniform (Stoner-Wohlfarth model) or non-uniform like curling, provide good agreement between theory and experiment. For microscopic objects and thin films, we consider two models, uniform (Stoner-Wohlfarth) reversal inside a nucleation volume and a droplet model, where the free energy of an inverse bubble is calculated taking into account volume energy (Zeeman energy) and surface tension (domain wall energy). In macroscopic systems, inhomogeneities in magnetic properties cause a distribution of energy barriers for nucleation, which strongly influences effects of temperature and applied field on magnetisation reversal. For these systems, macroscopic material parameters like exchange interaction, spontaneous magnetisation and magnetic anisotropy can give an indication of the magnetic coercivity, but exact values for nucleation fields are, in general, hard to predict.Comment: 12 pages; Published in a Special Issue of the C. R. Physique devoted to nucleation. C.R. Physique 7, 977 (2006). Corrected version, as publishe

Effects of supplementation of limit-fed growing diets with either soybean meal or nonenzymatically browned soybean meal on steer performance

Seventy two individually fed Angus × Hereford steers (642 lb) were used to evaluate the effects of supplementing limit-fed, growing diets with either soybean meal (SBM) or nonenzymatically browned soybean meal (NSBM). Eight steers were allotted to a control diet composed of 39.1% high-moisture corn, 42% cottonseed hulls, 10.4% ground corn, 5% cane molasses 2.25% urea, and 1.5% vitamins and minerals (dry basis). The remaining steers were allotted to diets that derived 100, 80, 60, or 40% of their supplemental protein from SBM or 60, 45, 30, or 15% of their supplemental protein from NSBN. The balance of supplemental protein came from urea. All diets were formulated to contain 13.0% crude protein (dry basis). Steers were fed once daily for 80 days at 2.25% of BW. Average daily gain and efficiency did not differ (P>.05) between sources (ADG=1.932 + .103 × (% CP from SBM) + .097 × (% CP from NSBM); gain:feed=.140 + .0058 × (% CP from SBM) + .0051 × (% CP from NSBM)). The lack of response to NBSBM supplementation above that for SBM suggests that either degradable intake protein was limiting in the basal diet or a large proportion of the amino acids in the NSBM were unavailable due to overprocessing