Terminological Methods in Lexicography: Conceptualising, Organising, and Encoding Terms in General Language Dictionaries

Os dicionários de língua geral apresentam inconsistências de uniformização e cientificidade no tratamento do conteúdo lexicográfico especializado. Analisando a presença e o tratamento de termos em dicionários de língua geral, propomos um tratamento mais uniforme e cientificamente rigoroso desse conteúdo, considerando também a necessidade de compilar e alinhar futuros recursos lexicais em consonância com padrões interoperáveis. Partimos da premissa de que o tratamento dos itens lexicais, sejam unidades lexicais (palavras em geral) ou unidades terminológicas (termos ou palavras pertencentes a determinados domínios), deve ser diferenciado, e recorremos a métodos terminológicos para tratar os termos dicionarizados. A nossa abordagem assume que a terminologia – na sua dupla dimensão linguística e conceptual – e a lexicografia, como domínios interdisciplinares, podem ser complementares. Assim, apresentamos objetivos teóricos (aperfeiçoamento da metalinguagem e descrição lexicográfica a partir de pressupostos terminológicos) e práticos (representação consistente de dados lexicográficos), que visam facilitar a organização, descrição e modelização consistente de componentes lexicográficos, nomeadamente a hierarquização das etiquetas de domínio, que são marcadores de identificação de léxico especializados. Queremos ainda facilitar a redação de definições, as quais podem ser otimizadas e elaboradas com maior precisão científica ao seguir uma abordagem terminológica no tratamento dos termos. Analisámos os dicionários desenvolvidos por três instituições académicas distintas: a Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, a Real Academia Española e a Académie Française, que representam um valioso legado da tradição lexicográfica académica europeia. A análise inicial inclui um levantamento exaustivo e a comparação das etiquetas de domínio usadas, bem como um debate sobre as opções escolhidas e um estudo comparativo do tratamento dos termos. Elaborámos, depois, uma proposta metodológica para o tratamento de termos em dicionários de língua geral, tomando como exemplo dois domínios, GEOLOGIA e FUTEBOL, extraídos da edição de 2001 do dicionário da Academia das Ciências de Lisboa. Revimos os termos selecionados de acordo com os princípios terminológicos defendidos, dando origem a sentidos especializados revistos/novos para a primeira edição digital deste dicionário. Representamos e anotamos os dados usando as especificações da TEI Lex-0, uma extensão da TEI (Text Encoding Initiative), dedicada à codificação de dados lexicográficos. Destacamos também a importância de ter etiquetas de domínio hierárquicas em vez de uma lista simples de domínios, vantajosas para a organização dos dados, correspondência e possíveis futuros alinhamentos entre diferentes recursos lexicográficos. A investigação revelou que a) os modelos estruturais dos recursos lexicais são complexos e contêm informação de natureza diversa; b) as etiquetas de domínio nos dicionários gerais da língua são planas, desequilibradas, inconsistentes e, muitas vezes, estão desatualizadas, havendo necessidade de as hierarquizar para organizar o conhecimento especializado; c) os critérios adotados para a marcação dos termos e as fórmulas utilizadas na definição são díspares; d) o tratamento dos termos é heterogéneo e formulado de diferentes formas, pelo que o recurso a métodos terminológicos podem ajudar os lexicógrafos a redigir definições; e) a aplicação de métodos terminológicos e lexicográficos interdisciplinares, e também de padrões, é vantajosa porque permite a construção de bases de dados lexicais estruturadas, concetualmente organizadas, apuradas do ponto de vista linguístico e interoperáveis. Em suma, procuramos contribuir para a questão urgente de resolver problemas que afetam a partilha, o alinhamento e vinculação de dados lexicográficos.General language dictionaries show inconsistencies in terms of uniformity and scientificity in the treatment of specialised lexicographic content. By analysing the presence and treatment of terms in general language dictionaries, we propose a more uniform and scientifically rigorous treatment of this content, considering the necessity of compiling and aligning future lexical resources according to interoperable standards. We begin from the premise that the treatment of lexical items, whether lexical units (words in general) or terminological units (terms or words belonging to particular subject fields), must be differentiated, and resort to terminological methods to treat dictionary terms. Our approach assumes that terminology – in its dual dimension, both linguistic and conceptual – and lexicography, as interdisciplinary domains, can be complementary. Thus, we present theoretical (improvement of metalanguage and lexicographic description based on terminological assumptions) and practical (consistent representation of lexicographic data) objectives that aim to facilitate the organisation, description and consistent modelling of lexicographic components, namely the hierarchy of domain labels, as they are specialised lexicon identification markers. We also want to facilitate the drafting of definitions, which can be optimised and elaborated with greater scientific precision by following a terminological approach for the treatment of terms. We analysed the dictionaries developed by three different academic institutions: the Academia das Ciências de Lisboa, the Real Academia Española and the Académie Française, which represent a valuable legacy of the European academic lexicographic tradition. The initial analysis includes an exhaustive survey and comparison of the domain labels used, as well as a debate on the chosen options and a comparative study of the treatment of the terms. We then developed a methodological proposal for the treatment of terms in general language dictionaries, exemplified using terms from two domains, GEOLOGY and FOOTBALL, taken from the 2001 edition of the dictionary of the Academia das Ciências de Lisboa. We revised the selected terms according to the defended terminological principles, giving rise to revised/new specialised meanings for the first digital edition of this dictionary. We represent and annotate the data using the TEI Lex-0 specifications, a TEI (Text Encoding Initiative) subset for encoding lexicographic data. We also highlight the importance of having hierarchical domain labels instead of a simple list of domains, which are beneficial to the data organisation itself, correspondence and possible future alignments between different lexicographic resources. Our investigation revealed the following: a) structural models of lexical resources are complex and contain information of a different nature; b) domain labels in general language dictionaries are flat, unbalanced, inconsistent and often outdated, requiring the need to hierarchise them for organising specialised knowledge; c) the criteria adopted for marking terms and the formulae used in the definition are disparate; d) the treatment of terms is heterogeneous and formulated differently, whereby terminological methods can help lexicographers to draft definitions; e) the application of interdisciplinary terminological and lexicographic methods, and of standards, is advantageous because it allows the construction of structured, conceptually organised, linguistically accurate and interoperable lexical databases. In short, we seek to contribute to the urgent issue of solving problems that affect the sharing, alignment and linking of lexicographic data

Reasons for not using ecstasy: a qualitative study of non-users, ex-light users and ex-moderate users

Background: Although ecstasy is often consumed in the electronic music scene, not everyone with the opportunity to use it chooses to do so. the objective of this study was to understand the reasons for non-use or the cessation of use, which could provide information for public health interventions.Methods: A qualitative reference method was used. Our snowball sample group consisted of 53 people who were split into three subgroups: non-users (NU, n = 23), ex-light users (EX-L, n = 12) and ex-moderate users (EX-M, n = 18). Individual, semi-structured interviews were conducted, transcribed and subjected to content analysis with the aid of NVivo8.Results: Adverse health effects and personal values were given as reasons for non-use in the three groups. Non-users (NU) and ex-light users (EX-L) provided reasons that included fear of possible effects as well as moral, family and religious objections. Ex-moderate users (EX-M) cited reasons related to health complications and concomitant withdrawal from the electronic music scene. However, most of the ex-moderate users did not rule out the possibility of future use.Conclusions: Potential effects and undesirable consequences appear to guide the decisions within the different groups. Prevention might target these motivations. Individuals who have used ecstasy indicate that social and environmental factors are the most important factors.Fundação de Amparo à Pesquisa do Estado de São Paulo (FAPESP)UNIFESP Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psychobiol, BR-04023062 São Paulo, BrazilUNIFESP Universidade Federal de São Paulo, Dept Psychobiol, BR-04023062 São Paulo, BrazilWeb of Scienc

Learning to manage in knowledge based organizations: the role of portfolios

Paper presented at the 8th European Conference on Knowledge Management, Barcelona, 6-7 Sep. 2008 URL: http://www.academic-conferences.org/eckm/eckm2007/eckm07-home.htmAt the forefront of organizational performance are organizations which recognise that information, knowledge and their intelligent application are the essential factors of success. The know-how to promote these activities must now become a part of the “skills and abilities armoury” acquired by graduates in the domain of “Information Systems” and “Information Management”. This paper will address the use of “individual reflective portfolios” (IRP), either as “learning” or as “learning and assessment” tools in modules of the “Knowledge Management” course taught at two Portuguese Universities - Universidade Nova de Lisboa and Universidade de Coimbra. This learning and assessment approach is aimed primarily at developing students; it enables them to reflect and make a meta-analysis of their learning process. At the same time, it gives students an opportunity to integrate their learning across subjects that are relevant to knowledge-based management. In one of the case studies described, it also provides an opportunity to expose them to a wide literature base, where several approaches to the use of knowledge in organizations are discussed. Results show that, in the initial stages, students do not see this methodology as useful (only time-wasting) but by the end of the course they recognise that it helps them to reflect on their learning processes, deepens their learning and helps keep up-to-date with the course content. This paper introduces best practices for this teaching and learning approach and includes an evaluation of the methodology by a student sample

Queratoplastia como tratamento cirúrgico de úlceras de córnea, descemetocelos, perfurações e outras afeções corneanas em cães e gatos

As afeções corneanas surgem sobrerrepresentadas em oftalmologia veterinária, podendo necessitar de intervenção cirúrgica. A queratoplastia – substituição de tecido corneano por uma córnea dadora – é uma opção frequente. Esta dissertação compreende uma revisão bibliográfica da anatomofisiologia da córnea e da queratite ulcerativa, e um estudo retrospetivo. Este incluiu 17 cães e quatro gatos submetidos a uma queratoplastia como tratamento cirúrgico de úlceras de córnea profundas, descemetocelos, perfurações e outras afeções corneanas. O objetivo do estudo foi confirmar a eficácia da queratoplastia no tratamento destas afeções, avaliando as complicações, capacidade visual e opacidade corneana resultantes. Registaram-se 95,2% de animais visuais, 57,1% com opacidade corneana ligeira, 28,6% moderada e 9,5% severa. Constataram-se associações significativas entre o diâmetro do defeito corneano e o tempo de cicatrização do enxerto e o número de complicações pós-cirúrgicas. Concluiu-se que a queratoplastia é eficaz no tratamento de úlceras de córnea profundas, descemetocelos, perfurações e outras afeções corneanas; ABSTRACT: KERATOPLASTY AS A SURGICAL TREATMENT FOR CORNEAL ULCERS, DESCEMETOCELES, PERFORATIONS AND OTHER CORNEAL AFFECTIONS IN DOGS AND CATS Corneal diseases are overrepresented in veterinary ophthalmology and might require surgical intervention. Keratoplasty – corneal tissue replacement with a donor cornea – is a frequent option. This dissertation includes a literature review on cornea anatomy and physiology and on ulcerative keratitis, and a retrospective study. The latter included 17 dogs and four cats that underwent keratoplasty as surgical treatment for deep corneal ulcers, descemetoceles, perforations, and other corneal diseases. The purpose of this study was to confirm the efficacy of keratoplasty as a treatment for the aforementioned diseases, evaluating its resulting complications, visual acuity, and corneal opacity. Of all cases, 95,2% remained visual, 57,1% had mild corneal opacity, 28,6% moderate and 9,5% severe. There were significant associations between the diameter of the corneal defect and the corneal healing time, as well as the number of post-surgical complications. It was concluded that keratoplasty is an effective treatment for deep corneal ulcers, descemetoceles, perforations, and other corneal affections

Tailoring career education and counseling for Portuguese foster-youth

Young people living in out-of-homes care usually do not benefit from a gradual transition to adulthood, and without a stable family network to support this process, they mostly face, on their own, the changes related to an independent care from other adults ([1]). In Portugal, a considerable number of young people enter adulthood in an institutional context, leaving at that stage the foster care institutions, due to legal requirements ([2]; [3]). When these young people leave care, employment is necessary to replace the financial assistance assured by the welfare system until that moment. However, foster youth are at a higher risk of unemployment due to the fact that they are more likely, compared to their peers who live in stable family settings, to be involved in the criminal justice system, have lower academic skills and achievement rates, and present psychological and physical health problems. In this sense, these young people will highly benefit of tailored career education and development programs. This paper presents an analysis of foster youth career development and counseling needs in the context of the Portuguese educational system and labor market, and discusses implications for career counseling and educational interventions for this at-risk group of young people.Fundação para a Ciência e a Tecnologia (FCT

Osteolipoma of the buccal mucosa

Lipomas are benign mesenchymal neoplasms of soft tissue that can be found in any part of the human body. Conversely, their presence in the oral mucosa is rather uncommon, with approximately 4% of the cases occurring in the oral cavity. In such cases, they are likely to have originated from mature adipose tissue and to be among several described histological variants of lipomas, which are identified according to the predominant type of tissue. There is a rare lipoma, known as an osteolipoma or an ossifying lipoma; however, little has been written this type of lipoma characterized by a classical lipoma with areas of osseous metaplasia. Considering the few cases of oral osteolipomas previously described in the English-related literature and the consequent risk of misdiagnosis and overtreatment, this paper describes an extreme case of an osteolipoma affecting the buccal mucosa of an adult patient. This paper focuses particularly on the pathogenesis of this lesion and the discussion of a correct diagnosis

Evolution of hepatitis B serological markers in HIV coinfected patients: a case study

OBJECTIVE To describe the evolution of serological markers among HIV and hepatitis B coinfected patients, with emphasis on evaluating the reactivation or seroreversion of these markers. METHODS The study population consisted of patients met in an AIDS Outpatient Clinic in São Paulo State, Brazil. We included in the analysis all HIV-infected and who underwent at least two positive hepatitis B surface antigen serological testing during clinical follow up, with tests taken six months apart. Patients were tested with commercial kits available for hepatitis B serological markers by microparticle enzyme immunoassay. Clinical variables were collected: age, sex, CD4+ T-cell count, HIV viral load, alanine aminotransferase level, exposure to antiretroviral drugs including lamivudine and/or tenofovir. RESULTS Among 2,242 HIV positive patients, we identified 105 (4.7%) patients with chronic hepatitis B. Follow up time for these patients varied from six months to 20.5 years. All patients underwent antiretroviral therapy during follow-up. Among patients with chronic hepatitis B, 58% were hepatitis B “e” antigen positive at the first assessment. Clearance of hepatitis B surface antigen occurred in 15% (16/105) of patients with chronic hepatitis B, and 50% (8/16) of these patients presented subsequent reactivation or seroreversion of hepatitis B surface antigen. Among hepatitis B “e” antigen positive patients, 57% (35/61) presented clearance of this serologic marker. During clinical follow up, 28.5% (10/35) of those who initially cleared hepatitis B “e” antigen presented seroreversion or reactivation of this marker. CONCLUSIONS Among HIV coinfected patients under antiretroviral therapy, changes of HBV serological markers were frequently observed. These results suggest that frequent monitoring of these serum markers should be recommended

Validação de uma metodologia por EAA/AE para avaliação dos níveis de crómio total e crómio hexavalente em cogumelos

Os cogumelos têm sido utilizados como bioindicadores da contaminação ambiental provocada por alguns metais pesados, tais como, o cádmio, cobre, chumbo, crómio, mercúrio e zinco. Vários autores referem que foram observadas grandes concentrações de metais pesados nestes macromicetes colhidos em zonas muito poluídas, como sejam, a proximidade de estradas com muito trânsito, zonas industriais onde haja emissão de gases e resíduos, bem como, zonas próximas de fundições e minas

Validation of an electrothermal atomization atomic absorption spectrometry method for quantification of total Chromium and Chromium(VI) in wild mushrooms and underlying soils

An ETAAS method was validated to quantify total Cr and CrVI in mushrooms and the underlying soils. The method includes a sample pretreatment for total Cr dissolution using a wet acid digestion procedure and a selective alkaline extraction for CrVI. The limits of detection were, expressed in íg/L, 0.15 and 0.17 for total Cr and CrVI, respectively. The linearity ranges under the optimized conditions were 0.15-25.0 and 0.17-20.0 íg/L for total Cr and CrVI, respectively. The limits of quantification were, expressed in íg/g of dry weight, 0.0163 and 0.0085 for total and hexavalent chromium, respectively. The precision of the instrumental method for total Cr and CrVI was lower than 1.6%, and for the analytical method, it was lower than 10%. The accuracy of the method for CrVI quantification was evaluated by the standard additions method, with the recoveries being higher than 90% for all of the added concentrations. For total Cr, certified reference materials (lichen CRM 482 and soil sample NCS ZC73001) were used. An interference study was also carried out in a mushroom simulated matrix, and it was verified that the deviations of the expected values were lower than 4.0% for both total Cr and CrVI. The validated method was applied to the evaluation of total Cr and CrVI in 34 wild mushrooms and 34 respective underlying soil samples collected in two different regions of Portugal (Beira Interior and Trás-os-Montes), with different locations regarded as noncontaminated or contaminated areas. The species were identified by a mycologist and subdivided into 10 genera and 15 species: Amanita ( rubescens, muscaria, and ponderosa), Boletus ( regius), Lactarius( deliciosus, vellereus, and piperatus), Suillus( granulatusand luteus), Tricholoma( acerbum), Agaricus( sylvicola), Volvariella( gloiocephala), Lecopaxillus( giganteus), Macrolepiota( procera), and Psilocybe( fascicularis). The mean values found for total Cr were 1.14 and 1.11 íg/g of dry weight, and for CrVI, the mean values were 0.103 and 0.143 íg/g of dry weight for cap and stalk, respectively. For soils, the mean concentrations found were, for total Cr, 84.0 íg/g and, for CrVI, 0.483 íg/g. The bioconcentration factors (BCFs) based on dry weight for cap and stalk were determined, and the values found, for both total Cr and CrVI, were always <1, although for hexavalent chromium, the BCFs were 10 times higher than for total chromium