On the fractal nature of complex syntax and the timescale problem

Fundamental to complex dynamic systems theory is the assumption that the recursive behavior of complex systems results in the generation of physical forms and dynamic processes that are self-similar and scale-invariant. Such fractal-like structures and the organismic benefit that they engender has been widely noted in physiology, biology, and medicine, yet discussions of the fractal-like nature of language have remained at the level of metaphor in applied linguistics. Motivated by the lack of empirical evidence supporting this assumption, the present study examines the extent to which the use and development of complex syntax in a learner of English as a second language demonstrate the characteristics of self-similarity and scale invariance at nested timescales. Findings suggest that the use and development of syntactic complexity are governed by fractal scaling as the dynamic relationship among the subconstructs of syntax maintain their complexity and variability across multiple temporal scales. Overall, fractal analysis appears to be a fruitful analytic tool when attempting to discern the dynamic relationships among the multiple component parts of complex systems as they interact over time

Response of established alfalfa to herbicides applied in the winter

Herbicide injury to established alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.) was studied to determine the effects of single and repeated herbicide applications, dates of herbicide application, alfalfa dormancy, and alfalfa cultivars. Metribuzin [4-amino-6-tert-butyl-3(methylthio)-as-tria2in-5(4H)- one] at 0.56 and 1.12 kg/ha, simazine [2-chloro-4,6-bis(ethylamino)-striazine] at 1.12 and 2.24 kg/ha, and terbacil (3-tert-butyl-5-chloro- 6-methyluracil) at 0.84 and 1.68 kg/ha were applied to dormant alfalfa for three years. The low rate of each herbicide did not cause alfalfa injury. At high rates for a single season, alfalfa injury was greatest from terbacil and less from simazine. Metribuzin caused the least injury. After three annual applications simazine at 2.24 kg/ha caused the most alfalfa injury. A bioassay to detect herbicide residues revealed that alfalfa injury on simazine treated plots resulted from toxic soil residue. Date of herbicide application was studied in two experiments. High rates of metribuzin, simazine, and terbacil were applied in December, January, and February to dormant alfalfa. Alfalfa was injured more at the later application dates. In a second experiment simazine at 2.24 kg/ha and terbacil at 1.68 kg/ha were applied to dormant alfalfa at six winter dates for three years. The trend of more alfalfa injury with later applications was not apparent in this experiment. Injury from terbacil was more dependent on climatological conditions than injury from simazine. Precipitation for ten days following terbacil application correlated best with alfalfa injury. The effect of alfalfa dormancy on herbicide injury was studied by stimulating alfalfa to break dormancy by using plastic covered frames. Terbacil was applied at 1.68 kg/ha to alfalfa plots both in side and outside the frames when 10% of the alfalfa plants inside the frames appeared to have broken dormancy. Terbacil injury on dormant and non-dormant alfalfa was not significantly different in 62% of the comparisons. Thirty alfalfa cultivars were screened against several herbicides for injury as measured by alfalfa height. Herbicides included: chlorpropham (isopropyl m-chloro-carbanilate) at 3.4 kg/ha, metribuzin at 0.84 kg/ha, pronamide [3,5-dichloro (N-l,l-dimethyl-2-propynyl) benzamide] at 2.5 kg/ha, simazine at 1.7 kg/ha, terbacil at 1.7 kg/ha, and hexazinone [3-cyclohexyl--6-(dimethyl ami no)-1-methy1-1,3,5- triazine-2,4(lH,3H)-dione] at 3.4 kg/ha. Alfalfa cultivars did not vary significantly in susceptibility to herbicide treatments

Yield and quality of burley tobacco as affected by feeding of adult tobacco flea beetles, Epitrix hirtipennis (Melsheimer) (Coleoptera : Chrysomelidae)

Insecticidal treatments applied to both early and late planted hurley tobacco significantly reduced adult flea beetle populations, but no measureable differences in leaf yield or value were observed. Beetle numbers peaked near the end of July and again in mid-August, reaching maximum numbers of 13 beetles per plant in untreated plots. Beetle population densities were positively correlated with rainfall quantity for both one and two week periods before each count

The ethical infrastructure of legal practice in larger law firms: values, policy and behaviour

The article examines the impact of the cultures and organisational structures of large law firms on individual lawyers' ethics. The paper suggests that large law firms in Australia should consciously design and implement 'ethical infrastructures' to both counteract pressures for misbehaviour and positively promote ethical behaviour and discussion. The paper goes on to explain what implementing ethical infrastructures in law firms could and should mean by reference to what Australian law firms are already doing and US innovations in this area. Finally, the paper warns that the 'ethical infrastructure' of a firm should not be seen merely as the formal ethics policies explicitly enunciated by management. Formal and legalistic ethical infrastructures that fail to support or encourage the development of individual lawyers' awareness oftheir own ethical values and ethical judgment in practice will be useless

Experimental study of the fluctuation theorem in a nonequilibrium steady state

The fluctuation theorem (FT) quantifies the probability of second law violations in small systems over short time scales. While this theorem has been experimentally demonstrated for systems that are perturbed from an initial equilibrium state, there are a number of studies suggesting that the theorem applies asymptotically in the long time limit to systems in a nonequilibrium steady state. The asymptotic application of the FT to such nonequilibrium steady states has been referred to in the literature as the steady-state fluctuation theorem (or SSFT). In this paper, we demonstrate experimentally the application of the FT to nonequilibrium steady states, using a colloidal particle localized in a translating optical trap. Furthermore, we show, for this colloidal system, that the FT holds under nonequilibrium steady states for all time, and not just in the long time limit, as in the SSFT

Concert recording 2018-04-21b

[Track 1]. Gesänge des Harfners op. 12. I. Wer sich der Einsamkeit ergibt [Track 2]. II. Wer nie sein Brot mit Thränen ass [Track 3]. III. An die Türen will ich schleichen / Franz Schubert -- [Track 4]. Poème d\u27avril op. 14. I. Prélude [Track 5]. II. Sonnet matinal [Track 6]. III. Voici que les grans lys [Track 7]. IV. Riezvous [Track 8]. V. Vous aimerez demain [Track 9]. VI. Que l\u27heure est donc brève [Track 10]. VII. Sur la source [Track 11]. VIII. Adieu (Complainte) / Jules Massenet -- [Track 12]. Clear or cloudy [Track 13]. In darkness let me dwell / John Dowland -- [Track 14]. I Canti Della Sera. I. L\u27assiolo canta [Track 15]. II. Alba di luna sul bosco [Track 16]. III. Tristezza crepuscolare [Track 17]. IV. L\u27incontro / Francesco Santoliquido -- [Track 18]. A letter from Sullivan Ballou / John Kander

Financial access to health care in Karuzi, Burundi: a household-survey based performance evaluation.

ABSTRACT: BACKGROUND: In 2003, Médecins Sans Frontières, the provincial government, and the provincial health authority began a community project to guarantee financial access to primary health care in Karuzi province, Burundi. The project used a community-based assessment to provide exemption cards for indigent households and a reduced flat fee for consultations for all other households. METHODS: An evaluation was carried out in 2005 to assess the impact of this project. Primary data collection was through a cross-sectional household survey of the catchment areas of 10 public health centres. A questionnaire was used to determine the accuracy of the community-identification method, households' access to health care, and costs of care. Household socioeconomic status was determined by reported expenditures and access to land. RESULTS: Financial access to care at the nearest health centre was ensured for 70% of the population. Of the remaining 30%, half experienced financial barriers to access and the other half chose alternative sites of care. The community-based assessment increased the number of people of the population who qualified for fee exemptions to 8.6% but many people who met the indigent criteria did not receive a card. Eighty-eight percent of the population lived under the poverty threshold. Referring to the last sickness episode, 87% of households reported having no money available and 25% risked further impoverishment because of healthcare costs even with the financial support system in place. CONCLUSION: The flat fee policy was found to reduce cost barriers for some households but, given the generalized poverty in the area, the fee still posed a significant financial burden. This report showed the limits of a programme of fee exemption for indigent households and a flat fee for others in a context of widespread poverty

Bifurcations and the Emergence of L2 Syntactic Structures in a Complex Dynamic System

We report on a complex dynamic systems study of an untutored adult French learner\u27s development of English syntax, specifically two non-finite adverbial constructions. The study was conducted over one academic year of 30 weeks. From an analysis of L2 speech samples collected weekly, certain patterns in the flux emerged. The learner\u27s ensuing second language development is characterized by a series of bifurcations, stemming from forms competing for the same functional terrain. Each bifurcation is accompanied by turbulence as the system moves from one attractor state to another. The transition is characterized by loss of stability, an increase in variability, and a period of dysfluency. It is in the dynamic relationship of accuracy and fluency that novel syntactic forms emerge, both convergent with and divergent from dominant contextual patterns, with dominance established by consulting a well-known corpus of contemporary English. Non-linear development occurs with continuous and iterative exposure to and interaction in English-from relexification to adaptation and synchronization, animated by the learner\u27s perception and memory of regular sequential associations, to pruning of divergent forms. What results over time is a branching hierarchy, connecting online processing with over time development. Multiple competing forms continue to co-exist in the learner\u27s repertoire, which is likely more typical of adult L2 development than of L1 acquisition

Arrival direction distribution of cosmic rays of energy 10 (18) eV

The Haverah Park air-shower experiment recorded over 8500 events with primary energy 10 to the 18th power eV between 1963 and 1983. An analysis of these events for anisotropies in celestial and galactic coordinates is reported. No very striking anisotropies are observed