Catalan focus markers as discourse particles

In this paper, we investigate focus markers in Catalan that can take on discourse-particle readings. We focus on two Catalan elements that have not been studied from a formal linguistics perspective so far: the focus adverb precisament ‘precisely’ and the focus particle també ‘also’. We demonstrate that these elements feature interpretations that we identify as a type of meaning familiar from discourse particles in languages other than Catalan. After having outlined the basic distribution and interpretative effects of these particles, we analyze the semantics and pragmatics of precisament and també within a probabilistic argumentative framework, and we then conclude the paper by comparing the observations and analyses we have pointed out for Catalan to other languages that feature a discourse-particle reading of similar focus markers.

RESEARCH OF DIAGNOSTIC PARAMETERS OF COMPOSITE MATERIALS USING JOHNSON DISTRIBUTION

In this paper, it was proposed to carry out a preliminary normalization of diagnostic parameters using the Johnson distribution, which with three basic distribution groups (SL, SB, SU), covers a wide class of empirical distributions. The mathematical description of the family allows us to find the approximating probability density function in an explicit form, to determine the distribution parameters for obtaining the corresponding function (curve), as well as the inverse function for finding the quantiles of the specified levels. To assess the accuracy of the obtained normalized data, they were compared with the data obtained by replacing the resulting law with a Gaussian one. Percentages of values were compared in the implementation under study, which concentrated in the limits of estimated quantiles. Implementations were obtained using the simulation method. By the same method, the correctness (relative systematic error) of determining the quantile values of the specified levels was evaluated. The error value δ was estimated between the conditionally true quantile value calculated from the generated pseudo-general complex and the value estimated using the methods considered in the paper. Obtained data show that the relative error in the calculation of quantiles using the Johnson distribution does not exceed 0.07% and decreases in two orders of magnitude than the currently accepted procedure for replacing sample laws with Gaussian.

Fingerprinting Starch Degradation Products: Chemical Species of Interest to Ancient Starch Research

Molecular degradation of heteroatom rich biopolymers such as polysaccharides is to be expected in archaeological samples, and these must show damage proportional to the taphonomic environment where they belong. The exceptional preservation of native starch granules extensively reported in archaeological sciences remains unexplained. Amino acids and starch react to create complex mixtures of heteroatom-containing products known as melanoidins. Their compounds have a wide range of molecular weights and geochemical species. Some of them are refractory and, if found in archaeological contexts, they could be utilized as proxies of the burial environment and starch precursors. While all the melanoidins show the same basic distribution of heteroatom groups and/or DBE distributions, clear differences among starch taxa do emerge. After the endogenous starch structures and chemistries from native starch granules have been lost to degradation, FTICR-MS is an analytical window to characterize starchy residue. Thus, there is potential for recognizing taxonomic signals in the Maillard reaction degradation products that remain on archaeological residues from stone tools, ceramics, dental calculus, and sediment.

Populism, Foreign Policy, and the GOP

This chapter investigates the state of foreign policy opinion within the Republican Party today. Perhaps surprisingly, the basic distribution of voter opinion on foreign policy within the GOP has not changed that much since the early Obama era. However, Republican voters do support Trump, and not only because he is an incumbent president from the same party. The GOP has moved in a populist, culturally conservative, and white working-class direction over a period now spanning several decades. In this sense, Trump is as much an effect as a cause. He has broken open prior conservative orthodoxies. In certain ways, on a range of specific issues following his presidency, this leaves the future of Republican foreign policy wide open. But observers should understand that the conservative-leaning American nationalism he has championed is not about to disappear when he leaves the scene. In one form or another, it is here to stay.

An update on the status of Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus Bennett, 1833 (Carnivora: Felidae) in Thailand

Fishing Cat Prionailurus viverrinus is threatened throughout its range by habitat loss, persecution, and non-targeted hunting; it is listed as Vulnerable on the IUCN Red List of Threatened Species. Even basic distribution data are still lacking in many parts of its range, particularly in southeastern Asia where most wildlife surveys focus on large charismatic carnivores in protected habitats, typically inland blocks of evergreen or semi-evergreen and deciduous forests. This report aims to update on distribution and status of Fishing Cat in Thailand. Historic (the 1980s) and current (2007–2017) records from Thailand were compiled based on personal communications, local news agencies, social media pages, and publications. The current Thai Fishing Cat distribution seems to be highly fragmented and mostly in coastal wetlands of the Inner Gulf of Thailand and the Thai-Malay Peninsula with one confirmed record from a riverine habitat in central Thailand. No confirmed records came from protected forested areas—perhaps these are marginal habitat for Fishing Cat. Nevertheless, there were no targeted surveys in those areas. Fishing Cat was so far not detected from on-going otters’ targeted camera trap surveys along Thailand’s Andaman coast. Future surveys should focus on coastal and inland wetlands to expedite the discovery of remaining populations before these are extirpated.

Parallel corpora and contrastive linguistics: Where to look for pitfalls in the translation of information structure

This paper deals with some of the problems encountered in English-Czech contrastive studies of information structure based on parallel texts. It largely focuses on those arising from the different hierarchy of the respective word order principles, the primary one being grammatical function in English, and information structure / functional sentence perspective (FSP) in Czech. Three aspects are considered: linear ordering of clause elements, FSP structure, and the basic distribution of communicative dynamism. Owing to the character and complexity of the FSP factors, word order, context, semantics and intonation, and the lack of distinctive realization forms of the carriers of the FSP functions, the study is based on manual excerpts from passages of digitalized running text of three English novels and their Czech translations drawn from the InterCorp. The results show that most problems arise in the case of different linear ordering as it may indicate either an identical or a different FSP structure.

The Union of Conjunction and Disjunction: The Case of and/or

And/or is a coordinator in English that has virtually never been remarked on in the syntactic literature on coordination. I present a new empirical survey of and/or, supported by naturally-occurring examples from several English corpora. I examine the basic distribution of and/or, and its interaction with collective predicates, relational modifiers with an internal reading, anaphors, ‘respectively’, semantic contradiction, quantifiers, and gapping with negation. Based on the distribution across corpora and its syntactic behavior, I argue that and/or is a completely lexicalized coordinator in productive use, and conclude that the constraints on the syntactic distribution of and/or are a union of the set of constraints on and and or.

Dollar Tree Logistics

This case explores the decision of a fast-growing company to expand its distribution network. Financial information is provided in it so students can understand the basic distribution network design covering inbound transportation, outbound transportation, distribution-center operations, and inventory.

Spatial distribution pattern and sequential sampling plans for Bactrocera oleae (Gmelin) (Dip: Tephritidae) in olive orchards

The distribution of adult and larvae <em>Bactrocera oleae</em> (Diptera: Tephritidae), a key pest of olive, was studied in olive orchards. The first objective was to analyze the dispersion of this insect on olive and the second was to develop sampling plans based on fixed levels of precision for estimating <em>B. oleae</em> populations. The Taylor’s power law and Iwao’s patchiness regression models were used to analyze the data. Our results document that Iwao’s patchiness provided a better description between variance and mean density. Taylor’s <em>b</em> and Iwao’s <em>β</em> were both significantly more than 1, indicating that adults and larvae had aggregated spatial distribution. This result was further supported by the calculated common <em>k</em> of 2.17 and 4.76 for adult and larvae, respectively. Iwao’s a for larvae was significantly less than 0, indicating that the basic distribution component of <em>B. oleae</em> is the individual insect. Optimal sample sizes for fixed precision levels of 0.10 and 0.25 were estimated with Iwao’s patchiness coefficients. The optimum sample size for adult and larvae fluctuated throughout the seasons and depended upon the fly density and desired level of precision. For adult, this generally ranged from 2 to 11 and 7 to 15 traps to achieve precision levels of 0.25 and 0.10, respectively. With respect to optimum sample size, the developed fixed-precision sequential sampling plans was suitable for estimating flies density at a precision level of D=0.25. Sampling plans, presented here, should be a tool for research on pest management decisions of <em>B. oleae</em>.