Remnants of Serbo-Croatian Lexis in Present-day Croatian

This article deals with the process of language purism and the presence of Serbisms in Croatian. We attempt to show whether the speakers of Croatian know and use specific lexical items that are generally considered to be more characteristic of Serbian usage. For this purpose we use two data sources: a corpus of Croatian and a questionnaire survey. The results show that the speakers of Croatian are aware of the differences between Croatian and Serbian to a large extent. Even though they mostly do not use them, most speakers do know the meaning of lexemes that were used in the Serbo-Croatian period. This leads to the conclusion that the process of “cleansing” Croatian is being successfully implemented (but is far from completion). However, we argue against the justifiability of this process

Numerical Study of the L/D Ratio and Turbulent Prandtl Number Effect on Energy Separation in a Counter-Flow Vortex Tube

Vortex tube is a device without moving parts with ability to separate pressurized gas into two streams: cold and hot. This is a consequence of the Eckert-Wiese effect, which is responsible for spontaneous redistribution of total energy within the flow domain. In order for vortex tubes to work properly, there are some constraints which have to be fulfilled. The most important constraint in that sense is the L/D ratio. One part of this paper is dedicated to the research of the influence of L/D ratio on the energy separation in a vortex tube, i.e. to the values of total temperatures on cold and hot outlets of the device. On the other hand, experimental research of the inner flow is quite challenging since vortex tube is a device of small dimensions. Hence, we are relaying on numerical computations. One of important quantities that has to be prescribed in these computations is the turbulent Prandtl number Pr-T. Because of that, the other part of this paper is dedicated to research of the influence of Pr-T on the results of numerical computations. The research is conducted using open-source software OpenFOAM. Turbulence is modelled using two-equation and RST models. For small L/D ratios there is a secondary circulation that acts as a refrigeration cycle, and for greater L/D ratios distribution of velocity and temperature inside the vortex tube remains the same, regardless of the stagnation point presence. It is not justified to increase the length of the vortex tube beyond 20D since the change in cold total temperature inside the vortex tube as well at the cold outlet is practically null. For L/D variation from 1.8 to 10, the cold outlet temperature changes from 270.9 K to 266.8 K, and then rises to its final value of 270.5 K. For L/D ratio from 20 to 60, the total temperature at cold end remains unchanged at 271.3 K. We obtained good results with the unit value of turbulent Prandtl number, and demonstrated that increasing the Pr-T beyond unit value is not necessary in order to numerically obtain the energy separation inside the vortex tube

Do users’ reading skills and difficulty ratings for texts affect choices and evaluations?

In our contribution, we consider how corpus data can be used as a proxy for the written language environment around us in constructing offline studies of native-speaker intuition and usage. We assume a broadly emergent perspective on language: in other words, the linguistic competence of individuals is not identical or hardwired but forms gradually through exposure and coalescence of patterns of production and reaction. We hypothesize that while users presumably all in theory have access to the same linguistic material, their actual exposure to it and their ability to interpret it may differ, which will result in differing judgments and choices. Our study looks at the interaction between corpus frequency and two possible indicators of individual difference: attitude towards reading tasks and performance on reading tasks. We find a small but consistent effect of task performance on respondents’ judgments but do not confirm any effects on respondents’ production tasks

Some Characteristics of Compressible Air Impingement Jet Applied in Pneumatic Dimensional Control

The present paper studies the impingement of compressible air jet on a flat plate primarily from the aspect of its application in the domain of pneumatic metrology, i.e. in cases of small distance between the jet nozzle exit and the flat plate. Besides this direct application in the area of pneumatic metrology, the distance between the nozzle exit and the flat plate has been considerably increased and the case of a free jet was analysed with a view to compare the results applicable in various domains. This experimental study demonstrates that the structures of a free jet and this special case of an impingement jet are totally different. In the pressure distribution of the impingement jet, pressure discontinuity above the flat plate may occur, which is shown to be the result of low intensity shock waves and transonic flow. The experimental results show that the pneumatic sensitivity of a pneumatic comparator is a function of the supply pressure and the internal orifice diameter, as well as that the impingement air jet is a typical case of non-isentropic flow

Tianeptine’s effects on spontaneous and Ca2+-induced uterine smooth muscle contraction

Tianeptine is a novel anti-depressant with an efficacy equivalent to that of classical anti-depressants. Additional beneficial effects include neuroprotection, anti-stress and anti-ulcer properties whose molecular mechanisms are still not completely understood but may involve changes in the anti-oxidant defence system. Herein, we have studied the effects of tianeptine on both contractile activity of isolated rat uteri and components of the endogenous anti-oxidative defence system. Tianeptine-induced dose-dependent inhibition of both spontaneous and Ca2+-induced contraction of uterine smooth muscle. The effect was more pronounced in the latter. Tianeptine treatment increased glutathioneperoxidase (GSH-Px) and catalase (CAT) activities in spontaneous and Ca2+-stimulated uteri. A significant decrease in glutathione-reductase (GR) activity in both spontaneous and Ca2+-induced uterine contractions after tianeptine treatment indicated a reduction in reduced glutathione and consequently a shift toward a more oxidised state in the treated uteri. In spontaneously contracting uteri, tianeptine caused a decrease in copper-zinc SOD (CuZnSOD) activity. Tianeptine’s anti-depressant effects may be accomplished by triggering a cascade of cellular adaptations including inhibition of smooth muscle contractility and an adequate anti-oxidative protection response

Development of an international schedule for the assessment and staging of care for dementia

© 2015 - IOS Press and the authors. All rights reserved. Background: A reliable and valid global staging scale has been lacking within dementia care. Objective: To develop an easy-to-use multi-dimensional clinical staging schedule for dementia. Methods: The schedule was developed through: i) Two series of focus groups (40 and 48 participants, respectively) in Denmark, France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Switzerland, and UK with a multi-disciplinary group of professionals working within dementia care, to assess the need for a dementia-staging tool and to obtain suggestions on its design and characteristics; ii) A pilot-study over three rounds to test inter-rater reliability of the newly developed schedule using written case histories, with five members of the project's steering committee and 27 of their colleagues from Netherlands, France, and Spain as participants; and iii) A field-study to test the schedule's inter-rater reliability in clinical practice in France, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Italy, Turkey, South Korea, Romania, and Serbia, which included 209 dementia patients and 217 of their caregivers as participants. Results: Focus group participants indicated a clear need for a culture-fair international dementia staging scale and reached consensus on face validity and content validity. Accordingly, the schedule has been composed of seven dimensions including behavioral, cognitive, physical, functional, social, and care aspects. Overall, the schedule showed adequate face validity, content validity, and inter-rater reliability; in the nine field-sites, intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs; absolute agreement) for individual dimensions ranged between 0.38 and 1.0, with 84.4% of ICCs over 0.7. ICCs for total sum scores ranged between 0.89 and 0.99 in the nine field-sites. Conclusion: The IDEAL schedule looks promising as tool for the clinical and social management of people with dementia globally, though further reliability and validity testing is needed