Conjunct Agreement and Gender in South Slavic: From Theory to Experiments to Theory

Agreement with coordinated subjects in Slavic languages has recently seen a rapid increase in theoretical and experimental approaches, contributing to a wider theoretical discussion on the locus of agreement in grammar (cf. Marušič, Nevins, and Saksida 2007; Bošković 2009; Marušič, Nevins, and Badecker 2015). This paper revisits the theoretical predictions proposed for conjunction agreement in a group of South Slavic languages, with a special focus on gender agreement. The paper is based on two experiments involving speakers of Bosnian/Croatian/Serbian (BCS) and Slovenian (Sln). Experiment 1 is an elicited production experiment investigating preverbal-conjunct agreement, while Experiment 2 investigates postverbal-conjunct agreement. The data provide experimental evidence discriminating between syntax proper and distributed-agreement models in terms of their ability to account for preverbal highest-conjunct agreement and present a theoretical mechanism for the distinction between default agreement (which has a fixed number and gender, independent of the value of each conjunct) and resolved agreement (which computes number and gender based on the values of each conjunct and must resolve potential conflicts). Focusing on the variability in the gender-agreement ratio across nine combinations, the experimental results for BCS and Sln morphosyntax challenge the notion of gender markedness that is generally posited for South Slavic languages

A novel algorithm for dynamic student profile adaptation based on learning styles

The file attached to this record is the author's final peer reviewed version. The Publisher's final version can be found by following the DOI link.E-learning recommendation systems are used to enhance student performance and knowledge by providing tailor- made services based on the students’ preferences and learning styles, which are typically stored in student profiles. For such systems to remain effective, the profiles need to be able to adapt and reflect the students’ changing behaviour. In this paper, we introduce new algorithms that are designed to track student learning behaviour patterns, capture their learning styles, and maintain dynamic student profiles within a recommendation system (RS). This paper also proposes a new method to extract features that characterise student behaviour to identify students’ learning styles with respect to the Felder-Silverman learning style model (FSLSM). In order to test the efficiency of the proposed algorithm, we present a series of experiments that use a dataset of real students to demonstrate how our proposed algorithm can effectively model a dynamic student profile and adapt to different student learning behaviour. The results revealed that the students could effectively increase their learning efficiency and quality for the courses when the learning styles are identified, and proper recommendations are made by using our method

Influence of Rare Earth Oxide Concentration on Electrochemical Co-Deposition of Nd and Pr from NdF3-PrF3-LiF Based Melts

The impact of rare earth oxide (REO) concentration on the deposition process and selective recovery of the metal being deposited from a molten fluoride salt system was investigated by applying deposition of Nd and Pr and varying the concentration of REO added to the electrolyte. A ternary phase diagram for the liquidus temperature of the NdF3-PrF3-LiF system was constructed to better predict the optimal electrolyte constitution. Cyclic voltammetry was used to record three redox signals, reflecting the processes involving Nd(III)/Nd and Pr(III)/Pr transformations. A two-step red/ox process for Nd(III) ions and a single-step red/ox process for Pr(III) ions were confirmed by square-wave voltammetry. The cyclic voltammetry results indicated the possibility of neodymium and praseodymium co-deposition. In order to sustain higher co-deposition rates on the cathode and to avoid increased production of PFC greenhouse gases on the anode, a low-overpotential deposition technique was used for Nd and Pr electrodeposition from the electrolyte with varying Nd2O3 and Pr6O11 concentrations. Co-deposited neodymium and praseodymium metals were characterized by electron probe microanalysis (EPMA) and X-ray diffraction (XRD) analysis. After electrodeposition, concentration profiles of neodymium and praseodymium were recorded, starting from the cathode surface towards the electrolyte bulk. The working temperature of 1050 °C of the molten fluoride salt basic electrolyte, in line with the constructed phase diagram, was validated by improved co-deposition and led to a more effective deposition process

Spatio-temporal varilability of annual PM 2.5 concentrations and population exposure assessment in Serbia for the period 2001-201

The long-term exposure to PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5 μm) is the leading global health risk factor. The spatio-temporal variability of annual values of the total PM2.5 concentrations in Serbia is analyzed using the high-resolution (0.01° × 0.01°) gridded data set V4.EU.02 for the period 2001–2016. Population counts and density data were used to calculate the population exposure while the urban land cover data were used to estimate the relations between the size of urban area and the concentration of PM2.5. The mean annual values vary in the range 13.93 μg/m3 –28.91 μg/m3 . The regional differences exist, but the highest values were obtained for urban environments (> 22.5 μg/m3 ). Negative trend of annual PM2.5 is present in most of the parts of the Serbian territory, especially in the eastern parts reaching –0.37 μg/m3 per year (p ≤ .05). More than 99% of the territory of Serbia has the mean annual values under the national safe limit established by regulation (25 μm/m3 ), but comparing to the World Health Organization (WHO) guideline (10 μm/m3 ), all the territory is above the safe level. In line with the trend of urbanization, there is a clear upward trend in the number of population exposed to the higher concentrations of PM2.5. The share of the population exposed to values higher than 25 μg/m3 increased from 6.65% in 2005 to 11.40% in 2015, while comparing to WHO standard, the total population in Serbia is exposed to the values higher than the safe one

Erratum: Global, regional, and national comparative risk assessment of 84 behavioural, environmental and occupational, and metabolic risks or clusters of risks for 195 countries and territories, 1990–2017: a systematic analysis for the Global Burden of Disease Study 2017

Interpretation: By quantifying levels and trends in exposures to risk factors and the resulting disease burden, this assessment offers insight into where past policy and programme efforts might have been successful and highlights current priorities for public health action. Decreases in behavioural, environmental, and occupational risks have largely offset the effects of population growth and ageing, in relation to trends in absolute burden. Conversely, the combination of increasing metabolic risks and population ageing will probably continue to drive the increasing trends in non-communicable diseases at the global level, which presents both a public health challenge and opportunity. We see considerable spatiotemporal heterogeneity in levels of risk exposure and risk-attributable burden. Although levels of development underlie some of this heterogeneity, O/E ratios show risks for which countries are overperforming or underperforming relative to their level of development. As such, these ratios provide a benchmarking tool to help to focus local decision making. Our findings reinforce the importance of both risk exposure monitoring and epidemiological research to assess causal connections between risks and health outcomes, and they highlight the usefulness of the GBD study in synthesising data to draw comprehensive and robust conclusions that help to inform good policy and strategic health planning