Reflections on the lexicon in Functional Discourse Grammar

This article contains a series of reflections on the nature of the lexicon in FDG inspired in large measure by the preceding articles. We start by considering how the lexicon relates to the Conceptual Component, arguing that lexemes do not label units of conceptualization but rather are associated with experientially based beliefs about their appropriate use. In our view, the Conceptual Component first develops a Message, which then influences the choice of a frame in the Grammatical Component into which appropriate lexemes are inserted. Lexemes are thus not inherently associated with frames, as was proposed in earlier work. Instead, they are marked with numerical indicators for the set of frames with which they are compatible, with coercion allowing one-off extensions of that frameset. It is a further consequence of our position that lexemes come with neither meaning definitions nor selection restrictions. We adopt Keizer's notion of partially instantiated frames to account for idiomatic expressions. We then turn to parts-of-speech, as they apply to lexemes in various language types. Lexemes are distinguished from Words: for example, the single class of Contentives in the Esperanto lexicon corresponds to Verb Words, Noun Words, etc. in morphosyntax. This leads to a discussion of derivation and compounding, where it is shown that two types of derivation are to be distinguished in FDG, lexical derivation, which uses lexical primitives ($) as its input, and grammatical derivation, which takes place after insertion of a lexeme into its frame. Three major types of compounding are differentiated and exemplified from English and Dutch: predicate-argument, nucleus-modifier, and conjunct-conjunct compounds, each of which can be either endocentric or exocentric. Turning finally to the difficulty of drawing a sharp distinction between the lexicon and the grammar, we apply Keizer's (2007) distinctions among primary and secondary lexical elements and primary and secondary grammatical elements, showing how findings from various of the preceding articles can be interpreted in this light

TRANSFERRING THE SCIENCE OF ORGANIC AGRICULTURE THROUGH ACCESSIBLE WRITTEN AND ORAL COMMUNICATION

One of the tenets of organic agriculture is that of land stewardship and respect for the environment. Long term sustainability goals of healthy soils, people and the environment require uninterrupted nurturance. Profitability for the sector must be stressed in order for this production system to thrive and have a positive ecological impact. Thus, the first step towards sustainable agriculture and business practices in organic require a focus on industry stability. This stability begins with economic stability, which revolves around profitability in business endeavors. Stewardship of the land and respect for the environment can involve complex decision-making. Organic practitioners are compelled to follow stringent management practices, designed to optimize environmental benefits in relation to land, air, water and livestock. As self-identified stewards of the land, organic practitioners also create additional management systems designed to protect the environment. Decision-making in organic agriculture is a process in which the needs of the whole are considered, rather than the needs of one aspect of the business. The ability to effectively make these decisions is one which requires a new way of thinking and a critical mass of credible scientific research. Research has shown that organic practitioners prefer information that is developed specifically for the organic community rather than for the agricultural community as a whole (Padel, 1994)

Equivariant cohomology over Lie groupoids and Lie-Rinehart algebras

Using the language and terminology of relative homological algebra, in particular that of derived functors, we introduce equivariant cohomology over a general Lie-Rinehart algebra and equivariant de Rham cohomology over a locally trivial Lie groupoid in terms of suitably defined monads (also known as triples) and the associated standard constructions. This extends a characterization of equivariant de Rham cohomology in terms of derived functors developed earlier for the special case where the Lie groupoid is an ordinary Lie group, viewed as a Lie groupoid with a single object; in that theory over a Lie group, the ordinary Bott-Dupont-Shulman-Stasheff complex arises as an a posteriori object. We prove that, given a locally trivial Lie groupoid G and a smooth G-manifold f over the space B of objects of G, the resulting G-equivariant de Rham theory of f boils down to the ordinary equivariant de Rham theory of a vertex manifold relative to the corresponding vertex group, for any vertex in the space B of objects of G; this implies that the equivariant de Rham cohomology introduced here coincides with the stack de Rham cohomology of the associated transformation groupoid whence this stack de Rham cohomology can be characterized as a relative derived functor. We introduce a notion of cone on a Lie-Rinehart algebra and in particular that of cone on a Lie algebroid. This cone is an indispensable tool for the description of the requisite monads.Comment: 47 page

The symmetry of the superconducting order parameter in PuCoGa5_5

The symmetry of the superconducting order parameter in single-crystalline PuCoGa$_5$ ($T_{\rm c} = 18.5$ K) is investigated via zero- and transverse- field muon spin relaxation ($\mu$SR) measurements, probing the possible existence of orbital and/or spin moments (time reversal-symmetry violation TRV) associated with the superconducting phase and the in-plane magnetic-field penetration depth $\lambda(T)$ in the mixed state, respectively. We find no evidence for TRV, and show that the superfluid density, or alternatively, $\Delta\lambda(T) = \lambda(T) - \lambda(0)$, are $\propto T$ for $T/T_{\rm c} \leq 0.5$. Taken together these measurements are consistent with an even-parity (pseudo-spin singlet), d-wave pairing state.Comment: 4 pages, 5 figure

H-dibaryons and Primordial Nucleosynthesis

The apparent discrepancy between abundances of light nuclides predicted by the standard Big-Bang and observational data is explained, by assuming the presence of metastable H dibaryons at the nucleosynthesis era. These dibaryons could be formed out of a small fraction of strange quarks at the moment of the confinement transition. For a primordial deuterium abundance of the order of 3 10^{-5}, the measured differences in the 4He abundances requires a relative abundance of H dibaryons of the order of n_H/n_B = 0.07, decaying in a timescale of the order of 10^5 s.Comment: Latex, 5 pages, to appear in PR

Density Fluctuation Mediated Superconductivity

We conpare predictions of the mean-field theory of supercnductivity for metallic systems on the border of a density instability for cubic and tetragonal lattices. The calculations are based on a parametrisation of an effective interaction arising from the exchange of density fluctuations and assume that a single band is relevant for superconductivity. The results show that for comparable model parameters, desnity fluctuation mediated pairing is more robust in quasi-two dimensions than in three dimensions, and that the robustness of pairing increases gradually as one goes from a cubic to a more and more anisotropic tetragonal structure. We also find that the robustness of density fluctuation mediated pairing can depend sensitively on the incipient ordering wavevector. We discuss the similarities and differences between the mean-field theories of superconductivity for density and magnetically mediated pairing

Spin Glass Ordering in Diluted Magnetic Semiconductors: a Monte Carlo Study

We study the temperature-dilution phase diagram of a site-diluted Heisenberg antiferromagnet on a fcc lattice, with and without the Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya anisotropic term, fixed to realistic microscopic parameters for $IIB_{1-x} Mn_x Te$ (IIB=Cd, Hg, Zn). We show that the dipolar Dzyaloshinskii-Moriya anisotropy induces a finite-temperature phase transition to a spin glass phase, at dilutions larger than 80%. The resulting probability distribution of the order parameter P(q) is similar to the one found in the cubic lattice Edwards-Anderson Ising model. The critical exponents undergo large finite size corrections, but tend to values similar to the ones of the Edwards-Anderson-Ising model.Comment: 4 pages plus 3 postscript figure

The underreporting of phase III chemo-therapeutic clinical trial data of older patients with cancer: A systematic review

Purpose: Inspired by the American Society of Clinical Oncology's recommendations to strengthen the evidence base for older adults with cancer, the purpose of this systematic review is to identify the reporting of treatment efficacy and adverse events specific to older adults with cancer in Phase III chemo-therapeutic clinical trials. This review also investigates the frequency with which these data points were reported in the literature to identify gaps in reporting and opportunities to expand the knowledge base on clinical outcomes for older adults with cancer. Methods: Chemo-therapeutic clinical trial data published from July 1, 2016 to June 30, 2017 was reviewed. Manuscripts (n = 929) were identified based on keyword searches of EMBASE and PubMed. After removal of duplicates (n = 116) and articles that did not meet this study's inclusion criteria (n = 654), 159 articles were identified for review. Results: Reviewed papers were published in 36 different scientific journals and included twenty-five different cancer types. Of the 159 articles, 117 (73.6%) reported age-specific medians and 75 (47.2%) included stratifications of data by age. Treatment efficacy was reported in 96.2% of the articles with 39.9% reporting effectiveness of treatment by age. Reporting of adverse events was included in 84.9% of the articles with only 8.9% reporting these events stratified by age. Conclusion: Results suggest inadequate reporting of treatment efficacy and adverse events as well as basic descriptive statistics about the age distribution of study subjects. Conscious efforts are needed to address these deficiencies at every level of planning and conducting clinical trials as wells as reporting outcomes stratified by age. Ultimately, standardized reporting could lead to improved treatment decisions and outcomes for older adults with cancer