Szmrecsanyi et al. (2016) define probabilistic indigenization as the process whereby probabilistic constraints shape variation patterns in different ways, which eventually leads to more heterogeneity in the constraints governing syntactic variation across different varieties of English. The present study extends our knowledge of the heterogeneity of probabilistic grammars by sketching a corpus-based variationist method for calculating the similarity between varieties thereby drawing inspiration from the comparative sociolinguistics literature. Based on linguistic material from the International Corpus of English, we ascertain the degree of regional variability of five probabilistic constraints on the genitive, dative, particle placement and subject pronoun omission alternations across three varieties of English, namely British, Indian and Singapore English. Our results indicate that, of the four alternations under study, the genitive alternation is the most homogeneous one from a regional perspective, followed – in increasing order of heterogeneity – by subject pronoun omission, dative and particle placement alternations. On the basis of these findings, we evaluate claims in the literature according to which the extent of probabilistic indigenization is proportional to the lexical specificity of the syntactic phenomenon under study, a hypothesis that is borne out by our data.

Far-field three-dimensional X-ray diffraction microscopy allows for quick measurement of the centers of mass and volumes of a large number of grains in a polycrystalline material, along with their crystal lattice orientations and internal stresses. However, the grain boundaries—and, therefore, individual grain shapes—are not observed directly. The present paper aims to overcome this shortcoming by reconstructing grain shapes based only on the incomplete morphological data described above. To this end, cross-entropy (CE) optimization is employed to find a Laguerre tessellation that minimizes the discrepancy between its centers of mass and cell sizes and those of the measured grain data. The proposed algorithm is highly parallel and is thus capable of handling many grains (>8,000). The validity and stability of the CE approach are verified on simulated and experimental datasets.

Depth profiling is performed by monochromatic primary excitation using variable incidence and take-off angles, A proper choice of the photon energy and the angular range of incident radiation allows depth profiling of layered structures without comparison to reference samples. The method has been verified for two different systems. Thin Al(x)Ga(1-x)As-layers on GaAs substrates are characterized by thickness D and atomic ratio x. For an excitation of AlKα-radiation by SiKα-radiation from a secondary target, the lower limit of measurement is layer thicknesses of 40 to 80 nm at x=0.6 to 0.4. Zn-coatings on steel have been investigated with CuKα radiation for selective excitation of FeKα-radiation from the substrate and with GeKα radiation for the excitation of ZnKα radiation from the layer. The scatter of the results required a measurement of the lateral homogeneity of the coating thickness. These experiments have been performed by step scanning in steps of 1 mm under fixed incidence and take-off geometry over an area of 30mm*30mm and excitation with unfiltered radiation from a Cu target diffraction tube with a beam cross section of less than 1 mm2. The obtained thickness distribution of ±20% has been confirmed by electron micrographs.

A method is presented for the X-ray spectrometric determination of copper, tin, and uranium in a bronze heat-treating material. The method is based on the irradiation of an acid solution of the sample, to which indium and zinc have been added as internal standards. Quantitative determinations of copper and tin (each in the 40 to 60% range) are calculated from the ratios of the CuK α/ZnK α and SnK α/In K α intensities. Uranium concentration (in the 1 to 10% range) is calculated from the ratio of the ULα/ In K α intensities, A correction for the interference of the second-order In Kβ1,3 doublet with the first-order ULα peak is described. The over-all limits of error for single determinations at the 95% confidence level are ±0,58% copper, ±0,56% tin, and ±0,31% uranium.

An X-ray emission spectrographic method of analysis is presented for the determination, of rare earth elements in fractions obtained from bastnaesite ore. The method includes the determination of yttrium, thorium, lanthanum., and the rare earth elements in various complex mixtures. The analysis technique is based upon comparing the samples to synthetic standards approximating the composition of the samples. Working curves are plotted on an absolute intensity basis, with, no correction for background. Examples of working curves and the analyses of typical rare earth concentrates are included. The selection of spectral lines for the various sample matrices is discussed. A special technique is used for samples in which rapid hydration and carbonation occurred.

By analyzing synthetic samples of known composition, the accuracy of the method was determined. The error of analysis was about 3 per cent of the amount present in the range from 5 to 100 per cent and about 7 per cent in the 0.2 to 5 per cent range. A maximum of about 40 samples per day may be analyzed for 7 elements each. The advantages and disadvantages of the method are discussed.

Many of the chemical and physical interactions that take place in natural soil-water systems are strongly influenced by the presence of natural organic polyelectrolytes. The most common of these organic polyelectrolytes is humic acid, which is defined as the alkali soluble, acid insoluble fraction of soil organic matter. Over a hundred years of experimental data have demonstrated that a wide variety of different materials having different physical and chemical properties fit this definition. If we are to make any progress in understanding the role of humic materials in soil-water systems, then we must have a classification system which, as far as possible, provides a unique taxonomic definition for each separate molecular species that falls into the category of humic acid.

Several excellent studies of the theology of Lefèvre d'Étaples are in print. Although they approach his work from a variety of perspectives all it seems reach essentially similar conclusions. They all take for granted that Lefèvre's application of humanist principles to the study of the Bible marked a notable break with the past. All admit that his stress on the inner reception of the Word, his consequent insistence on a hermeneutic which was at the same time more direct and more spiritual, and his more or less exclusive evangelicism represented a clear departure from the established modes of religious thought. On the other hand, Hahn, Dörries, and the others all agree that Lefèvre's thought must be clearly differentiated from the more radical evangelicisms of Luther or Calvin.

Although the United States has relied on the ICJ's doctrine of specially-affected states to claim that it and other powerful states in the Global North play a privileged role in the formation of customary international law, the doctrine itself has never been systematically developed by the ICJ or by legal scholars. This article fills that lacuna by addressing two questions: (1) what makes a state “specially affected”?; and (2) what is the importance of a state qualifying as “specially affected” for the formation of custom? It concludes that a theoretically coherent understanding of the doctrine would give states in the Global South significant power over custom formation.

A large body of research has explored opportunities to mitigate climate change in agricultural systems; however, less research has explored opportunities across the food system. Here we expand the existing research with a review of potential mitigation opportunities across the entire food system, including in pre-production, production, processing, transport, consumption and loss and waste. We detail and synthesize recent research on the topic, and explore the applicability of different climate mitigation strategies in varying country contexts with different economic and agricultural systems. Further, we highlight some potential adaptation co-benefits of food system mitigation strategies and explore the potential implications of such strategies on food systems as a whole. We suggest that a food systems research approach is greatly needed to capture such potential synergies, and highlight key areas of additional research including a greater focus on low- and middle-income countries in particular. We conclude by discussing the policy and finance opportunities needed to advance mitigation strategies in food systems.

With the advent of modern astronomy, humans might now have acquired the technological and intellectual requirements to communicate with other intelligent beings beyond the solar system, if they exist. Radio signals have been identified as a means for interstellar communication about 60 years ago. And the Square Kilometer Array will be capable of detecting extrasolar radio sources analogous to terrestrial high-power radars out to several tens of light years. The ultimate question is: will we be able to understand the message or, vice versa, if we submit a message to extraterrestrial intelligence first, how can we make sure that they will understand us? Here I report on the largest blind experiment of a pretend radio message received on Earth from beyond the solar system. I posted a sequence of about two million binary digits (‘0’ and ‘1’) to the social media that encoded a configuration frame, two slides with mathematical content and four images along with spatial and temporal information about their contents. Six questions were asked that would need to be answered to document the successful decryption of the message. Within a month after the posting, over 300 replies were received in total, including comments and requests for hints, 66 of which contained the correct solutions. About half of the solutions were derived fully independently, the other half profited from public online discussions and spoilers. This experiment demonstrates the power of the world wide web to help interpreting possible future messages from extraterrestrial intelligence and to test the decryptability of our own deliberate interstellar messages.

The interannual variations in atmospheric transport patterns to Summit, Greenland, are studied using twice-daily, three-dimensional, 10 day backward trajectory data corresponding to the summers (1 June–31 August) of 1989–98. While previous trajectory climatology studies have been prepared for Summit, the present work considers both the horizontal and vertical components of transport. A three-dimensional residence-time methodology is employed to account for both horizontal and vertical components of transport. the vertical transport component is quantified by passing all trajectories through a three-dimensional grid and tracking the time spent (i.e. the residence time) in each gridcell. This method also allows inspection of trajectory altitude distributions corresponding to transport from upwind regions of interest. the three-dimensional residence-time methodology is shown to be a valuable tool for diagnosing the details of long-range atmospheric transport to remote locations. for Summit, we find that the frequent transport from North America tends to occur at low altitudes, whereas transport from Europe is highly variable. Mean summertime flow patterns are described, as are anomalous patterns during 1990,1996 and 1998.