Die Entwicklungslogik der nominalen Determinativkomposition im Deutschen – verstanden als Grammatikalisierung

Under the assumption of an individually grammatical semantics of word-formation types, this paper deals with the development of determinative compounding in the history of German from an inner-morphological perspective. Diachronically, the former research observed that German nouns have become “longer”, i. e. more complex (firstly been formulated by Wurzel 1996). Additionally, some morphological restrictions within nominal compounding have been documented for historical stages of German, but some of them cannot be attested in present-day German. This suggests a formally and semantically motivated, inner-morphological change which can be described in terms of grammaticalization theory. For this purpose, previ-ous results from historical word-formation and semantics will be combined with new observa-tions on morphological discontinuities in the history of German, especially by focussing on morphological restrictions from a synchronic and a diachronic perspective. Since this approach comprises various linguistic phenomena (such as the diachronic development of part of speeches, (de-)referencialization, definiteness etc.) and since morphological restrictions have merely not been documented empirically – neither for present-day nor for historical stages of German, the paper aims at sketching the most prominent lines of development from a theoreti-cal perspective, also by contrasting them with results from language typology, variational lin-guistics, and semantics. Additionally, the paper provides morpho-syntactical prospects for further theoretical and empirical research on historical morphology, also by conceiving word-internal language change as an integral part of the dynamics of morpho-syntactic structuring

The challenges of model based policy advice

In policy consultation, communicating model results to administration and policy makers has always proven to be a challenge for scientists. Many of the relevant preconditions for effective and successful policy advice are aggravated when results are based on the simultaneous use of a multitude of different models. This paper identifies key issues – e.g., relations to administration; correct identification of prevailing objectives of all agents involved; ability to run scenarios ‘in time’ - and discusses strategies for successful communication based on the experiences of the vTI model network. Specific attention is paid to the issue of communicating ‘conflicting’ results of different models: while often seen as a source for scientific insight, such ‘inconsistencies’ have proven to be a major obstacle for acceptance in a non-academic institutional setting. The experiences, as well as the literature, point specifically to the importance of tight linkages between modellers and policy makers, and the need to abandon decisionist or technocratic approaches of policy advice in favour of pragmatic approaches stressing the bilateral nature of communication.model network, policy advice, Agricultural and Food Policy, Teaching/Communication/Extension/Profession,

Die Zukunft der Derivation oder: Derivation 2.0

Traditionally, contemporary German is considered to be rich in affixes which is displayed by a wide range of e. g. nominal suffixes (such as -ung, -heit, -nis, -tum, -sal). However, productivity tests, especially with non-native lexemes, challenge this view since many formal restrictions between affixes and different word classes can be formally identified – synchronically and diachronically – and which cannot be explained by traditional approaches. This paper questions the general morphological productivity of derivation coinciding with a decrease of nominal, adjectival and verbal affixation and, in parallel, pointing to morphological alternatives. In this view, a process of an increasing “syntactification” (as it will be called) is taking place resulting in a morphological preference for conversion. Diachronically, the morphological development from compounding to derivation is well-described. The question as to why and how conversion emerges, especially in an inflectional language, and how it is linked to former or coexisting morphological types, here derivation, has never been asked – though important observations from language typology have been made. Against this background, the process of syntactification fills this research lacuna, also in a morpho-theoretical way, since it can be interpreted as an ongoing language change consisting of a change in linguistic encoding

EU-Osterweiterung: Sinkende Akzeptanz eines Beitritts in Bewerberländern

Approaching the end of the accession negotiations with the EU, the ratification of the accession contracts in the Central and Eastern European candidate countries gains in impoprtance. The article shows that the decreasing acceptance of EU-accession in the candidate countries is rooted in their increaing levels of prosperity, in the progress of negotiations and particularly in the role of agriculture. In several countries, a no-vote in a referendum seems likely, but could adversely affect prospects for future economic.

Korpuslinguistische Perspektiven auf die sprachhistorische Entwicklung der nominalisierten Infinitive im Deutschen

Nominalized infinitives (NIs, such as (das) Lachen ‘(the) laughing’, (das) Um-die-Ecke-Wohnen lit. ʻ(the) around-the-corner-living’) are the morphologically most elaborated deverbal nominalization patterns without restrictions in present-day German. However, this was not the case in earlier stages of German. The article reconstructs the steps behind the increase in productivity of the NI since Old High German with the support of historical corpora from Old High, Middle High, Early New High, and present-day German. It will be shown that the increase in productivity is due to an interplay of morphology and syntax. Syntactically, NIs develop from the verbal infinitive together with a syncretism with the pre-Old High German nominal gerund. Morphologically, NIs replace -ung-derived nouns in order to form abstract nouns in Middle High German. In a further step, the morphological complexity of NIs increases, because syntagmata are nominalized, including the emergence of synthetic compounds. In a reverse development taking place from Middle High German onwards, nominalized infinitives can also get result-readings which coincides with pluralizability (such as das Schreiben ‘letter’ – die Schreiben ‘letters’). &nbsp

Evaluation of renal Kt/V as a marker of renal function in predialysis patients

Evaluation of renal Kt/V as a marker of renal function in predialysis patients.BackgroundThe use of renal Kt/V (r-Kt/V) as an indicator for the need of dialysis initiation has been recommended in the NKF-DOQI guidelines. In analogy to clinical practice in peritoneal dialysis, a fall of r-Kt/V below a threshold of 2.0 per week may indicate inadequate renal toxin elimination. However, there are no studies linking r-Kt/V with other parameters of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) in predialysis patients, and the validity of r-Kt/V as parameter for timing of dialysis initiation is unknown.MethodsRenal function was assessed repeatedly in 125 patients (N = 465 measurements). In predialysis patients (r-Kt/V <2.5 per week) r-Kt/V was compared with creatinine [CCr], urea [CUr], averaged creatinine/urea clearance [CCr/Ur], Cockcroft-Gault formula [CCG], and MDRD prediction equation 6 (MDRD6-GFR). The diagnostic performance of r-Kt/V as a parameter for timing the initiation of dialysis was evaluated.ResultsRenal Kt/V <2.5 was prevalent in 24.9% of cases (N = 116, mean 1.92 ± 0.34). In this group mean CCr was 13.8 ± 4.9, mean CUr 6.7 ± 1.3, and CCr/Ur 10.2 ± 2.9mL/min/1.73m2. There was no correlation of r-Kt/V with serum creatinine and MDRD6-GFR, but a significantly positive correlation with CCr/Ur (r2 = 0.3382, P < 0.001). Sensitivity of r-Kt/V to detect CCr/Ur < 10.5mL/min/1.73m2, defined as the threshold for dialysis initiation, was 73.6% with a specificity of 91.9%.ConclusionsThese results suggest that r-Kt/V is a parameter of acceptable specificity but poor sensitivity for the timing of dialysis initiation. Additional measures of renal function, such as the average of measured creatinine and urea clearance, also should be taken into consideration when deciding on the timing of dialysis initiation prior to the development of clinical signs of uremia and malnutrition

Colony losses – interactions of plant protection products and other factors

contribution to session V Honey bee poisoning incidents and monitoring scheme