Incidental Learning of the Figurative Meanings of Duplex Collocations from Reading: Three Case Studies

There is little research available on incidental learning of figurative language from reading (Webb et al., 2013; Pellicer-Sánchez, 2017). This study looked at collocations that had both literal and figurative meanings, i.e. duplex collocations (Author Aa) and whether reading could enhance lexical knowledge of the figurative meanings of these collocations. In three case studies, relatively advanced L2 learners read a semi-authentic novel that contained 38 target items. Through one-to-one interviews, conducted one week and three weeks after the treatment, the study examined how much learning occurred at the meaning-recall level and how repetition affected this knowledge. Results showed that figurative language could be learned incidentally and that knowledge of more than half of the target collocations for each participant was enhanced either partially or fully. They also indicated that repetition was consistently positive, but that the correlations did not always reach the significance threshold

Role of traditional and new biomarkers in breast carcinogenesis

In recent decades, several biomarkers have been investigated as predictors of breast cancer risk, development, prognosis and treatment efficacy

The figurative and polysemous nature of collocations and their place in ELT

© The Author 2016. Published by Oxford University Press; all rights reserved. There is little guidance on how to teach different meaning senses of collocations as most pedagogical materials treat collocations as word partners which co-occur together. However, if we consider meaning, collocations fall into three categories. Literal collocations are combinations where the literal meanings of the words are simply added together. Figurative collocations have idiomatic meanings which are not derivable from the component words. Duplex collocations are polysemous, having both literal and figurative meanings. This exploratory study analysed 54 collocations and found that even though the majority of the collocations appeared to be literal, a substantial percentage had both literal and figurative meanings, and relatively few seemed to be solely figurative. We discuss the teaching implications of this, depending on whether the most important collocational characteristic is a pattern of co-occurrence or of meaning. Overall, we argue that considering meaning can bring useful insights to the nature of collocations and how to teach them

Interplay among work function, electronic structure and stoichiometry in nanostructured VO: X films

The work function is the parameter of greatest interest in many technological applications involving charge exchange mechanisms at the surface. The possibility to produce samples with a controlled work function is then particularly interesting, albeit challenging. We synthetized nanostructured vanadium oxide films by a room temperature supersonic cluster beam deposition method, obtaining samples with tunable stoichiometry and work function (3.7-7 eV). We present an investigation of the electronic structure of several vanadium oxide films as a function of the oxygen content via in situ Auger, valence-band photoemission spectroscopy and work function measurements. The experiments probed the partial 3d density of states, highlighting the presence of strong V 3d-O 2p and V 3d-V 4s hybridizations which influence 3d occupation. We show how controlling the stoichiometry of the sample implies control over work function, and that the access to nanoscale quantum confinement can be exploited to increase the work function of the sample relative to the bulk analogue. In general, the knowledge of the interplay among work function, electronic structure, and stoichiometry is strategic to match nanostructured oxides to their target applications

Clinical trials for elderly patients with multiple diseases (CHROMED) pilot study

The problem COPD (Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease) is a significant socioeconomic burden which, particularly when associated with comorbidities such as Chronic Heart Failure (CHF), markedly affects patient outcomes. Care models based on telemedicine systems that enable early diagnosis and treatment of exacerbations are advocated to reduce the impact of chronic diseases on patient outcomes and health service costs. CHROMED (www.chromed.eu) is an international EU-funded project aimed at developing a multi-centre clinical trial to evaluate the impact of a new integrated home care approach to reduce care costs and improve quality of life in COPD. The approach We collaborated in a pilot study prior to the main trial which will include 300 patients from seven European countries (Italy, Spain, UK, Estonia, Slovenia, Sweden and Norway) with nine partners. The home monitoring system includes a novel forced oscillation technique (FOT) device for self-measurement of lung mechanics (RESMONPRO DIARY, Restech srl, Italy), a touch screen for collecting patients' symptoms and, where COPD is associated with CHF, by a device for measuring heart rate (HR), blood pressure (BP), pulse oximetry (SpO2) and body temperature (WRIST CLINIC, Medic4all, Israel). Findings The pilot included 16 patients (n=11 COPD, 5 COPD+CHF). The average monitoring period was 48.3±23.4 days resulting in a total of 504 patient days. The percentage of data correctly received within the period was: lung impedance and breathing pattern 90.0%; HR 91.7%, BP 91.7%; SpO2 74.0% and body temperature 71.4%. During the pilot, one patient was treated pharmacologically for an exacerbation of COPD. Offline processing demonstrated that the system identified warning of an exacerbation five days prior to admission. We also analysed qualitative data from patients and professionals about the acceptability of the telemedicine system and the interaction between patients, professionals and the monitoring system. Consequences The data suggest good acceptability and short-term compliance among patients with COPD. Lung function, HR and BP provided the most reliable data. The full RCT is currently under way and will be completed in August 2015

Motivating Cord Blood Donation with Information and Behavioral Nudges

Umbilical cord blood is a source of hematopoietic stem cells essential to treat life-threatening diseases, such as leukemia and lymphoma. However, only a very small percentage of parents donate upon delivery. The decision to donate the cord blood occurs at a very specific time and when parents likely experience emotional, informational, and decisional overloads; these features of cord blood donation make it different from other pro-social activities. In collaboration with an OB-GYN clinic in Milan, Italy, we conducted the first randomized controlled trial that applies tools from behavioral science to foster cord blood donation, and quantified the gains that informational and behavioral "nudges" can achieve. We found that information and "soft" commitments increased donations; approaching expecting parents closer to the delivery date and providing them with multiple reminders, moreover, had the strongest impact. However, a significant portion of women who expressed consent to donate could not do so because of organizational constraints. We conclude that simple, non-invasive behavioral interventions that address information gaps and procrastination, and that increase the salience of the activity can substantially enhance altruistic donations of cord blood, especially when coupled with organizational support

Dimethyl carbonate as a green alternative to acetonitrile in reversed-phase liquid chromatography. Part I: Separation of small molecules

: Nowadays, environmental problems are drawing the attention of governments and international organisations, which are therefore encouraging the transition to green industrial processes and approaches. In this context, chemists can help indicate a suitable direction. Beside the efforts focused on greening synthetic approaches, currently also analytical techniques and separations are under observation, especially those employing large volumes of organic solvents, such as reversed-phase liquid chromatography (RPLC). Acetonitrile has always been considered the best performing organic modifier for RPLC applications, due to its chemical features (complete miscibility in water, UV transparency, low viscosity etc); nevertheless, it suffers of severe shortcomings, and most importantly, it does not fully comply with Environmental, Health and Safety (EHS) requirements. For these reasons, alternative greener solvents are being investigated, especially easily available alcohols. In this work, chromatographic performance of the most common solvents used in reversed-phase chromatography, i.e., acetonitrile, ethanol and isopropanol, have been compared to a scarcely used solvent, dimethyl carbonate (DMC). The analytes of interest were two small molecules, caffeine and paracetamol, whose kinetics and retention behaviour obtained with the four solvents have been compared, and all contributions to band broadening have been assessed. Results about kinetic performance are very promising, indicating that a small amount (7 % v/v) of DMC is able to produce the same efficiency as a 2.5-times larger ACN volume (18 % v/v), and larger efficiency than alcohols. This paper reports, for the first time, fundamental studies concerning the mass transfer phenomena when DMC is used as an organic solvent in RPLC, and, together with the companion paper, represents the results of a research whose final aim was to discover whether DMC is suitable for chromatographic applications both in linear and preparative conditions

Not just ‘small potatoes’: Knowledge of the idiomatic meanings of collocations

© 2016, © The Author(s) 2016. This study investigated learner knowledge of the figurative meanings of 30 collocations that can be both literal and figurative. One hundred and seven Chilean Spanish-speaking university students of English were asked to complete a meaning-recall collocation test in which the target items were embedded in non-defining sentences. Results showed limited collocation knowledge, with a mean score of 33% correct. The study also examined the effects of frequency, semantic transparency, year at university, and everyday engagement with the second language (L2) outside the classroom on this collocation knowledge. Mixed-effects modelling indicated that there was no relationship between frequency and semantic transparency and the knowledge of the figurative meanings. However, a positive relationship was found between this knowledge and year at university, time spent in an English-speaking country, and time spent reading