ALICE est dédié à l'étude d'un état de la matière nucléaire dans lequel les quarks et les gluons ne sont plus confinés dans les hadrons, qui est appelé Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP). La production de bottomonia (états liés beauté antibeauté) est sensible au QGP parce-que les états du bottomonium sont formés avant la formation du QGP et traversent le plasma pendant son évolution. L'objectif principal de cette thèse est la mesure des modification des mésons Upsilon dans le canal de désintégration en deux muons en collisions Pb-Pb à √SNN = 5.02 TeV. En outre, un nouveau framework pour l'analyse des performances des détecteurs utilisés pour l'identification des muons a été réalisé et utilisé pour l'analyse des données du RUN1 et RUN2 du LHC. Enfin, et avec l’objectif d’optimiser des résultats de l’analyse, un nouvel algorithme d’identification de muons a été développé. Cet algorithme deviendra nécessaire pour faire face aux nouvelles conditions de prise de données du RUN3, pendant lequel une reconstitution quasi-en ligne du détecteur est prévue. / ALICE is devoted to the study of a deconfined state of nuclear matter called Quark Gluon Plasma (QGP), in which quarks and gluons behave as free particles. The bottomonium (bound states of beauty-anti beauty quark) production is affected by the presence of the QGP, since bottomonium states are produced sooner than the QGP and witness the whole evolution of the plasma. In this analysis the data coming from Pb-Pb collisions have been analysed in order to detect possible modifications of the production rates in the dimuon decay channel, with respect to the rates observed in proton-proton collisions. Furthermore, the performances of the detectors involved in the muon identification during the LHC RUN1 and RUN2 has been tested using a new analysis framework implemented as part of this thesis. Finally, in order to optimize the results of future analyses, a new muon identification algorithm has been developed and tested. This algorithm will become necessary in the LHC RUN3 running conditions, when the much higher luminosity will require a quasi online reconstruction of data.

The aim of this thesis is to show the importance of memory in Giacomo Leopardi’s Canti and Zibaldone, not only as a theme for his poems and a source of theoretical speculation, but as a modelling structure of his writing. Following the first chapter on Leopardi and the philosophy of memory from Locke to the first half of the nineteenth century, chapter II investigates the self-referential perspective implicit in the recurrence of certain images in the Canti, and its consequences for the structure of the book, both in the Piatti and the Starita editions. Chapter III, focusing on the concept of clarity, demonstrates the importance and effect of Leopardi’s reading and re-reading of the Zibaldone, and shows the constant presence of a habit memory which acts through repetition, binds together demonstrative thoughts, and is responsible for their expansion. The second part of this chapter highlights Leopardi’s search for perfect images and their mnemonic power, as well as their general influence on the text. Leopardi’s knowledge of the phenomenology of memory is reflected in the text and offers an insight into the strong links in his works between thinking and writing as a whole.

This thesis analyses Spanish nation-building from a social-constructionist perspective assuming that nations are historically evolving social constructs and that nationhood is a largely modern phenomenon with pre-modern antecedents. A theoretical model for studying nationhood is proposed based on a critique of nationalism theories, Giddens’s social structuration model (Giddens 1984) refined by Sewell (2005); modernisation theories and discourse analytical approaches. A discourse-oriented methodology is proposed: Spanish nation-building, conceptualised as semiotically-mediated social action situated across time-space, is analysed nomothetically and ideographically, both in its broad historical context and in connection with recent narratives extracted from a large purpose-built corpus of newspaper articles. Several factors behind Spain’s problematic nation-building are identified in the socio-historical analysis: an unyielding geography inhibiting communications, a long history of political and cultural fragmentation, a late and uneven modernisation and the lack of hegemonic national narratives in the context of a long history of confrontation between different identities. The corpus-based discourse analytical approach employed in the latter part of the analysis illustrates the potential offered by corpus-assisted discourse studies in social research, revealing that a widely-accepted Spanish identity discourse from the centre’s perspective has not yet emerged.

This study uses the combination of block copolymer and metal nanoparticles to array ordered structure and specific physical properties such as optics, electricity and magnetism. In this first part, 2-phenylethanethiol was used as the monolayer-protected gold nanoparticles (nps) and dispersed in block copolymer PS-b-PB-E thin film. Two different methods are compared, the first method was PS-b-PB-E thin film by partial crosslinked treatment then the 2-phenylethanethiol of monolayer-protected gold nanoparticles soaked into PS-b-PB-E thin film. The second method was blended gold nps within PS-b-PB-E directly. We found that the first method was better than second method which had arrangement dispersedly. The analyses of UV-VIS, TEM, and SAXS measurement are able to provide the positive evidence to characterize the dispersion of gold nps in diblock copolymer thin film. In the second part, we design to manufacture the multi-nanoholes golden electrode, which has many application in catalysis, selective transit function and fuel cell electrode. We use the PS-b-PB-E copolymer as the spherical micelle, which is the templates and then micelle surface reaction in mercaptane (S-H) function. Gold nps will use the exchange stabilizing ligands method in the micelle surface layer, and the porous gold electrode material by way of the heat treatment step.

This study has analyzed Pb-210 activity in cores taken from northern coastal South China Sea (SCS) and the area west of the Luzon Strait (LS) in order to estimate the sedimentation rates and the mass accumulate rates which allow a direct comparison with measured settling particulate fluxes. Also, the particulate and dissolved Po-210 and Pb-210 distributions in a water column located to the west of the LS were measured and compared with earlier data. Core samples were collected at Stations G and H (box cores) during the ORI-688 cruise (July, 2003) and at M1, F and 1 (box cores) during the ORI-722 cruise (June and July, 2004). The water column samples were collected at S7 during the ORI-763 curise (August, 2005). Stations H, G and 1 are located in the continental shelf of the northern SCS; Stations, M1, F and S7 are located in the deep water area west of the LS. The water content of the cores at F and M1 west of the LS is mostly around 40%~55%, while that of the cores at H, G and 1 in the coastal area of the northern SCS ranges about 25%~37%. The total organic matter as estimated from the total loss on ignition at F and M1 is, respectively, about 6% and 12% on the average. The coastal cores contain about 3%~8% total organic matter. The Pb-210 activity generally decreases with the core depth but reaches a constant at a certain depth, below which the excess Pb-210 vanishes in the core. Based on the excess Pb-210 distributions in the cores, the estimated sedimentation rates vary between 16 and 52cm/100yr. At M1 station, the mean Pb-210 flux and the mean mass flux are, respectively, 129 dpm/m2/d and 0.55 g/m2/d as determined from the deepest sediment trap(2848m) (Chung et al., 2004). These values are much smaller than what were estimated from the cores: the Pb-210 flux at 201 dpm/m2/d and the mass flux at 5.3 g/m2/d. The Pb-210 flux obtained from the trap is 65% of that measured from the core, and the mass flux from the trap is only 10% of that from the core. These large differences may arise from an over estimation of the sedimentation rate in the core (due to bioturbation) and near-bottom lateral transport of sediments from elsewhere. Compared to the basin west of the LS, the mass flux at the coastal area is much higher but the Pb-210 flux is much lower, probably due to the fact that shallow water has little amount of Pb-210 to be scavenged and no boundary scavenging effect has been observed. The Pb-210 specific activity at S7 station ranges from 155 to 900 dpm/g; the Po-210 activity at this station ranges from 78 to 507dpm/g. The particulate Po/Pb ratio is about unity at 1800m depth, but the ratio at all other depths is less than unity, indicating that the Po-210 is deficient relative to Pb-210 in particles at this station. The total (dissolved + particulate) Po/Pb ratio in the water column is generally less than unity, showing Po-210 deficiency relative to Pb-210 probably due to absorption and/or adsorption of Po-210 by plankton and other organisms. The Po/Pb ratio for the water column averages about 0.6, corresponding to a mean residence time of 0.83yr for Po-210 removal.

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The liquid argon target of the DEAP-3600 dark matter detector is contained by an extremely radiopure acrylic vessel. Alpha decays from the inner surface of the acrylic vessel are a source of background. If a fraction of the alpha energy is observed, or if the recoiling nucleus from the alpha decay is observed, the event will not be separated from a dark matter candidate event. In addition to the low level of inherent contamination from uranium and thorium, the Pb-210 from Rn-222 diffusion during manufacturing must be measured. The limit for the DEAP-3600 acrylic vessel is 1.1 × 10^−20 g/g Pb-210. By vaporizing a large quantity of acrylic and counting the concentrated residue with an ultralow background HPGe well detector and a low background alpha spectrometer, the bulk acrylic was found to have an upper limit of 10^−19 g/g Pb-210. The design, installation, commissioning, operation, and analysis for various aspects of the acrylic assay are described. / Thesis (Master, Physics, Engineering Physics and Astronomy) -- Queen's University, 2014-01-14 19:27:47.533

Based on a framework of linking intercultural rhetoric research to genre theories, the present study investigated Taiwanese EFL novice students’ construction of generic structures and rhetorical features in writing in L1 (Chinese) and L2 (English). Quantitative and qualitative research methods were combined in the present study, including textual analysis of students’ genre writing, a student questionnaire and interviews with students. The textual analysis focused on the construction of genre-rhetoric conventions in intercultural letters of job application and argumentative writing, respectively. The student questionnaire explored writers’ reported writing instructional experiences in L1 and L2. The results of interviews suggested that writers’ decisions on the genre-rhetoric construction were affected by a wider range of small culture factors, for example, familiarity with writing topics, L2 language proficiency, transferability of writing experiences, and contextual factors, together with writers’ large cultural influence. The overall findings suggest that the way writers approach genre writing is significantly influenced and shaped by the context of situation. More importantly, writers’ agency has to be highlighted as it triggers and mediates social processes of multidimensional negotiation between text, writer and context in L2 writing. It is therefore suggested that context of situation where writing is produced and writers’ agency are two influential factors for shaping Taiwanese novice EFL students’ intercultural genre writing.