Count-mass distinction in Sakurabiat

Acknowledging the fact that not all languages seem to distinguish grammatically between mass nouns and count nouns, this paper aims to provide information on whether or not the count-mass distinction is expressed in the Sakurabiat language, which belongs to the Tuparic branch of the Tupian linguistic family. The paper presents a brief survey of the grammatical properties associated with notional mass and notional count nouns in Sakurabiat. The properties of constructions with nouns and numerals are described and compared to constructions with pluralized nouns and numerals. The question of individual versus event quantification with numerals, and the role played by quantifiers and comparatives are also analyzed. The Sakurabiat data contributes to the investigation about the expression (or non-expression) of a count-mass distinction in underrepresented and understudied languages.

Assessment of Drought Over Parambikulam Aliyar Basin of Tamil Nadu

Rainfall has a greater impact on agricultural, hydrological, economic, environmental and social systems. Inconsistencies in rainfall pattern could lead to extremities like drought and flood. Drought is a long period of unusually low rainfall that severely affects crop production and welfare of the people. Understanding the impacts of drought is crucial for planning, mitigation and responses. The Standardized precipitation index (SPI) method was employed for identifying drought occurrence in Parambikulam aliyar basin based on rainfall data of 37 years (1981–2017). SPI method indicated PAP basin had drought once in 4 years. In 19 per cent times, wet situation found to exist in PAP basin, five years exhibited moderately wet condition (1984, 1996, 2010, 2015 and 2017) and two years (1992 and 2005) fell under extremely wet event. Quantification on the drought events forms the scientific basis for decision makers to reduce the societal vulnerability to drought.

The syntax and semantics of descriptive V-de constructions

This paper tackles the long-standing problem of the phrase structure of the descriptive V-de construction in Mandarin, and proposes a variant of the Primary Predication analysis. I argue that the suffix -de is a nominalizing head that turns the verb to which it attaches into a nominal event argument, which is in turn predicated over by the descriptive adjectival phrase, the primary predicate of the construction. This syntactic analysis allows for a straightforward explanation for the presupposition-focus semantics of this construction based on structured event quantification. In addition, it is shown that previous arguments that go against the Primary Predication hypothesis (including the distribution of the A-not-A form and negation, and the scope relation between an IP-level element and the adjectival phrase) either do not constitute counterevidence or are simply irrelevant. Further support for the proposal is provided that draws on a number of syntactic properties of the descriptive V-de construction and on the distinction between the descriptive adjectival phrase on the one hand and secondary predicates and adverbial adjuncts on the other hand.

A Decade of Pipeline Geotechnical Monitoring Using Distributed Fiber Optic Monitoring Technology

Many pipelines are built in regions affected by harsh environmental conditions where changes in soil texture between winter and summer increase the likelihood of risks. Pipeline routes also cross the mountains that are characterized by steep slopes and unstable soils as in the Andes and along the coastal range of Brazil. In other cases, these pipelines are laid in remote areas with significant seismic activity or exposure to permafrost. Depending on weather conditions and location, visual inspection is difficult or even impossible and therefore remote sensing solutions for pipes offer significant advantages over conventional inspection techniques. Optical fibers can help solve these challenges. Optical fiber based geotechnical and structural monitoring use distributed measurement of strain and temperature thanks to the sensitivity of Brillouin scattering to mechanical and thermal stresses. The analysis of scattering combined with a time domain technique allows the measurement of strain and temperature profiles. Temperature measurement is carried out to control soil erosion or dune migration through event quantification and spatial location. Direct measurement of strain in the soil also improves the detection of environmental hazards. As an example the technology can pinpoint the early signs of landslide. In some cases, pipe actual deformation must be monitored such as in case of active tectonic fault crossing. Pipe deformation monitoring operation is achieved by the measurement of distributed strain along fiber sensors attached to the structure. This paper comprehensively reviews over 10 years of continuous development from technology qualification and validation to its implementation in real cases as well as its successful continuous operation. Case studies present pipeline monitoring in Arctic and Siberian environment as well as in the Andes. They illustrate how the technology is used and demonstrate proof of early detection and location of events such as erosion, landslide, subsidence and pipe deformation.