The Intensifiers this/that in Some Varieties of English

The intensifiers this/that acquired their adverbial status as a result of a grammaticalization process by means of which the deictic demonstratives became degree adverbs with the meaning of ‘to this/that extent, so much, so’ (OED s.v. this/that adv). The intensifier use of that has been traced back to the second half of the 14th century, originally associated with expressions of quantity like as much as that, as far as that, as long as that and eventually developing into proper degree words like that much, that far and that long, respectively. The use of this, on the other hand, developed in the second half of the 15th century. The phenomenon disseminated in the early 19th century as a typical resource of spoken English and since then, these intensifiers have found their room in the written domain imposing a scalar construal on adjectives for which scale is not the default construal. These intensifiers have been hitherto ignored in the literature, perhaps as a result of an erroneous accusation of informality, and consequently so has been traditionally recommended in these contexts. Despite the intensifiers this/that are observed in practically all the varieties of English worldwide, it has a variable distribution. The present study, therefore, contributes to the study of the development of these intensifiers in some varieties of English worldwide with the following objectives: a) to analyse their use and compare their distribution in different varieties of English; and b) to cast light on the lexico-semantic structure of the right-hand collocates. The evidence comes from the New Zealand, Indian, Singaporean and Philippines components of the Corpus of Global Web- based English. This corpus contains 1.9 billion words from 340,000 websites in 20 different English-speaking countries using a random selection of web pages and blogs, thus becoming the appropriate input for the study of the phenomenon in the varieties of English worldwide.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tec

Executive Summary of Work Package 3 on Availability and Choice of Care of the ANCIEN Project. ENEPRI Research Report No. 101, February 2012

Work Package 3 on the Availability and Choice of Care of the ANCIEN project aims to document the forces driving the choice of formal and informal care across European countries and to characterise the linkages between the type of care used by dependent people and a country's institutional setting, which determines the supply of formal and informal care. Different issues related to formal and informal care choices and the LTC (long-term care) institutional setting in the EU have been analysed by the WP3 contributors. This research report summarises each partner’s contribution

Properties of bio-based gum Arabic/clay aerogels

Lightweight bio-based aerogels from sustainable gum Arabic (GA) and sodium montmorillonite (Na+-MMT) clay were prepared by means of a simple freeze-drying process. GA/clay aerogels showed high porosity (87.9%–94.9%) of mainly open type and the mechanical properties were improved by the clay. When 40% of clay was added to pure GA, the specific modulus and the absorbed energy of resultant aerogels increased by 1.6 and 4.2 times respectively. On the other hand, the exponent value for modulus in the power-law model for cellular materials increased from 1.95 to 3.28 due to the more anisotropic structures induced by the presence of the clay. In terms of thermal stability and flame retardancy, clay content played a dominant role. With 50% of clay loading, the initial decomposition temperature increased by nearly 16 °C and the peak of heat release rate was 3-fold reduced.Peer ReviewedPostprint (author's final draft

Path Planning for Reconfigurable Rovers in Planetary Exploration

This paper introduces a path planning algorithm that takes into consideration different locomotion modes in a wheeled reconfigurable rover. Power consumption and traction are estimated by means of simplified dynamics models for each locomotion mode. In particular, wheel-walking and normaldriving are modeled for a planetary rover prototype. These models are then used to define the cost function of a path planning algorithm based on fast marching. It calculates the optimal path, in terms of power consumption, between two positions, providing the most appropriate locomotion mode to be used at each position. Finally, the path planning algorithm was implemented in V-REP simulation software and a Martian area was used to validate it. Results of this contribution also demonstrate how the use of these locomotion modes would reduce the power consumption for a particular area.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Path planning for reconfigurable rovers in planetary exploration

This paper introduces a path planning algorithm that takes into consideration different locomotion modes in a wheeled reconfigurable rover. Such algorithm, based on Fast Marching, calculates the optimal path in terms of power consumption between two positions, providing the most appropriate locomotion mode to be used at each position. Finally, the path planning algorithm is validated on a virtual Martian scene created within the V-REP simulation platform, where a virtual model of a planetary rover prototype is controlled by the same software that is used on the real one. Results of this contribution also demonstrate how the use of two locomotion modes, wheel-walking and normal-driving, can reduce the power consumption for a particular area.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Role of the spin-orbit splitting and the dynamical fluctuations in the Si(557)-Au surface

Our it ab initio calculations show that spin-orbit coupling is crucial to understand the electronic structure of the Si(557)-Au surface. The spin-orbit splitting produces the two one-dimensional bands observed in photoemission, which were previously attributed to spin-charge separation in a Luttinger liquid. This spin splitting might have relevance for future device applications. We also show that the apparent Peierls-like transition observed in this surface by scanning tunneling microscopy is a result of the dynamical fluctuations of the step-edge structure, which are quenched as the temperature is decreased

Multi-scale path planning for a planetary exploration vehicle with multiple locomotion modes

Planetary exploration vehicles (rovers) can encounter with a great variety of situations. Most of them are related to the terrain, which can cause the end of the mission if these vehicles are not able to traverse it. It was the case of Spirit rover, which got stuck in loose sand, making it impossible to continue advancing. A solution to this is to make rovers capable of modifying their locomotion to traverse terrains with particular terramechanic parameters.Universidad de Málaga. Campus de Excelencia Internacional Andalucía Tech

Seasonal decline in breeding performance of the Kelp Gull Larus dominicanus

The effects of timing of breeding on reproductive parameters of Kelp Gulls Larus dominicanus were studied in Patagonia, Argentina, during 1998 and 1999. Yearly and spatial variation in the study were assessed by sampling nests during two field seasons and in different areas within the colony, and accounted for variation with respect to breeding synchrony and breeding density. In both years and in three study areas, individuals laying earlier had higher hatching success, a larger number of chicks fledged, heavier chicks at one month and higher breeding success. Significant variation between study areas within the colony and between years was observed only for breeding success and number of chicks fledged. No effects of breeding synchrony on breeding parameters were detected. Timing of breeding, independent of study year and area, had no effect on either clutch size or egg size. Our results document for the first time the seasonal decline in breeding performance in the Kelp Gull, a species widely distributed in the southern hemisphere.Fil: Garcia Borboroglu, Jorge Pablo. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Yorio, Pablo Martin. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Nacional Patagónico; ArgentinaFil: Moreno, Juan. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; EspañaFil: Potti Sánchez, Jaime. Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas; Españ