<Reports on the Sixteenth annual Meeting of the Tsukuba English Linguisic Society> Semantic Constraints on the Middle Construction in English

Van Oosten (1977, 1896) introduces the notion of "responsibility" as a crucial constraint on middle formation in English. He argues that the subject of middle cinstructions must be perceived as responsible for the action denoted by the verb. However, it is unclear what factors characterize the notion of responsibility. ..

Experimental observations on the optimal layout of orientation blocks for safe road crossing by the visually impaired

For people with visual impairments who face difficulties when crossing the road, in urban areas of Japan the infrastructure designed to provide an indication of crossing direction and the curbstones at sidewalk-roadway boundaries often varies in reliability from one crossing to another. If anything, this promotes stress for users and is an issue for which improvement is urgently needed. The authors have proposed new orientation blocks to be installed at crosswalk entrances as a means of more accurately indicating to people with visual impairments the trajectory to follow when crossing the road, and in prior research have derived desirable specifications for the profile of these blocks and their position relative to tactile walking surface indicators (TWSI). For this paper, in order to examine in greater detail the desirable position of orientation blocks relative to TWSI, the authors conducted an experiment using totally blind subjects to evaluate conditions on a 10 m walk that simulated an actual crossing. The results, based on observations of the trajectories walked by participants in the experiment and interviews eliciting their subjective evaluations, showed that separating orientation blocks and blister tactile blocks by about 8–12 cm is effective in constraining lateral deviation at a point 5 m from the start of crossing and that an 8 cm separation was desirable in order to maintain an effective reduction of mental stress while crossing

Trust in Physicians, Continuity and Coordination of Care, and Quality of Death in Patients with Advanced Cancer

Background: Provider-centered factors contribute to unexplained variation in the quality of death (QOD). The relationship between healthcare providers (HCPs) and patients, bidirectional communication, and consistency of longitudinal care planning are important provider-centered factors.Objective: To explore whether the level of trust in HCPs, the quality of continuity of care, and the level of coordination of care among home HCPs are associated with the QOD for cancer patients dying at home.Design: This study was a part of a nationwide multicenter questionnaire survey of bereaved family members of cancer patients evaluating the quality of end-of-life care in Japan.Setting/Subjects: We investigated 702 family members of cancer patients who died at home.Measurements: The QOD was evaluated from nine core domains of the short version of the Good Death Inventory (GDI). We measured five factors on a Likert scale, including patient and family trust in HCPs, continuity of care by home hospice and hospital physicians, and coordination of care among home hospice staff.Results: A total of 538 responses (77%) were obtained and 486 responses were analyzed. Trust in HCPs was correlated with the GDI score (r = 0.300–0.387, p < 0.001). The quality of care coordination was associated with the GDI score (r = 0.242, p < 0.001).Conclusions: Trust of the patient and family in home hospice staff, as well as coordination of care among hospice staff, are associated with the QOD for cancer patients dying at home

High Resolution Intravital Imaging of Subcellular Structures of Mouse Abdominal Organs Using a Microstage Device

Intravital imaging of brain and bone marrow cells in the skull with subcellular resolution has revolutionized neurobiology, immunology and hematology. However, the application of this powerful technology in studies of abdominal organs has long been impeded by organ motion caused by breathing and heartbeat. Here we describe for the first time a simple device designated ‘microstage’ that effectively reduces organ motions without causing tissue lesions. Combining this microstage device with an upright intravital laser scanning microscope equipped with a unique stick-type objective lens, the system enables subcellular-level imaging of abdominal organs in live mice. We demonstrate that this technique allows for the quantitative analysis of subcellular structures and gene expressions in cells, the tracking of intracellular processes in real-time as well as three-dimensional image construction in the pancreas and liver of the live mouse. As the aforementioned analyses based on subcellular imaging could be extended to other intraperitoneal organs, the technique should offer great potential for investigation of physiological and disease-specific events of abdominal organs. The microstage approach adds an exciting new technique to the in vivo imaging toolbox

An Analysis of Near-miss Accidents related to Two-way Bicycle Traffic on Sidewalk : Conflict Evaluation Using Taxis’ Driving Recorder Data

わが国において慣習化している歩道上の自転車の双方向通行について，ドライバーにとって双方向から現れる自転車への注視不足が危険要因となる実態が指摘されている．本研究では，歩道上の双方向通行の危険度についてヒヤリハットの錯綜評価により明らかにすることを目的として，ドライブレコーダデータを用いて急減速発生に至るまでの挙動解析による考察を行った． まず，自転車の挙動に着目したマクロ分析では，自転車の詳細な通行位置による発生状況の違いのほか、通行方向によりヒヤリハット類型の特徴が異なる傾向がみられた．さらに，幹線道路同士の信号交差点で発生する左折時のヒヤリハットについて検討したところ，歩道を逆走して横断する自転車は順走に比べてより自車付近での錯綜が生じており危険度が高いこと等が明らかとなった．It's pointed out that drivers have to pay more attention for two-way traffic of bicycles on a sidewalk which many bicycles users pass through as customary in Japan. In this study, it is intended to identify the dangerousness of two-way traffic of bicycles on a sidewalk by analyzing near-miss accidents which were recorded a behavior on a driving recorder in case of heavy braking occurred. From the macro-analysis focusing on bicycle behavior, it is observed the difference of incidents condition based on passing positions of bicycle. It is also observed the difference of near-miss accidents type based on passing direction of bicycle. Furthermore, on an analysis of near-miss accidents on left turn vehicles at the signalized intersections of arterial streets, it is clear that a reversing bicycle on a sidewalk has a high risk because it conflicts with a vehicle more closely than the bicycle passing right way