How do speakers with and without aphasia use syntax and semantics across two discourse genres?

Background: Discourse is an increasing focus of assessment in clinical and research settings because it reflects everyday communication. Everyday communication is likely to include a range of different discourse genres, e.g. describing a scene, or reflecting on life experiences. It is likely that speakers use verbs differently in these different discourse genres, but very little is known about this. Aims: To explore whether there were differences in how two groups of speakers (with and without a communication impairment) used verbs in two different discourse genres, in terms of syntax and semantics. Methods & Procedures: Data from people with aphasia (PWA) were taken from an earlier study (Cruice and colleagues, 2010; 2014), and neurologically healthy people (NHP) were recruited for the current study. Participants produced discourses from two genres: a picture description (the Western Aphasia Battery ‘Picnic Scene’) and personal narrative (reflective responses to quality of life questions). Discourses were analysed using measures of argument structure (mean Predicate Argument Structure score), verb weight (% heavy verbs) and verb semantic category (% mental and relational verbs). Comparisons were made for each measure between genre and group using a series of two mixed two-way ANOVAs. Outcomes & results: Data from 26 PWA and 27 NHP were analysed. For PAS, there was a main effect of genre, significant interaction between group and genre, and main effect of group. For the semantic measures, there was a main effect of genre for % mental verbs but no effects or interactions for % heavy and % relational verbs. Post-hoc correlations explored associations between the variables. Conclusions: Genre exerts no demonstrable impact on semantic weight, in either speaker group, but does exert influence on the semantic category of verbs used because, for both speaker groups, the picture description genre elicited a smaller percentage of mental verbs than the personal narratives produced in response to QOL questions. For PWA only, genre also exerted an influence on argument structure, with QOL narratives eliciting significantly less complex argument structures. This has implications for clinical assessment. Discourses of different genres should be sampled to fully assess a speaker’s syntactic and lexico-semantic skills; and the genre of discourse used for assessment and therapy materials should align with the client’s communication goals

A Case of Clinically Diagnosed ANCA Negative Granulomatosis With Polyangiitis.

SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT: Granulomatosis with polyangitis (GPA) is a systemic necrotizing vasculitis comprising of inflammation of small and medium-sized vessels.1 It typically presents with involvement of the upper and lower airways as well as the kidneys. If left untreated, end-organ damage may occur. Hematological investigations typically demonstrate the presence of antinuclear cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA).2 Here, we discuss an unusual presentation of ANCA negative GPA, presenting initially with nasal symptoms

High-Frequency Jet Ventilation During Cryoablation of Small Renal Tumours

AIM: To evaluate the effect of high-frequency jet ventilation (HFJV) in place of standard intermittent positive-pressure ventilation (IPPV) on procedure duration, patient radiation dose, complication rates, and outcomes during CT-guided cryoablation of small renal tumours. MATERIALS AND METHODS: One hundred consecutive CT-guided cryoablation procedures to treat small renal tumours under general anaesthesia were evaluated-50 with standard IPPV and 50 after the introduction of HFJV as standard practice. Anaesthesia and procedural times, ionising radiation dose, complications, and 1-month post-treatment outcomes were collected. RESULTS: HFJV was feasible and safe in all cases. Mean procedure time and total anaesthetic time were shorter with HFJV (p = <0.0001). The number of required CT acquisitions (p = 0.0002) and total procedure patient radiation dose (p = 0.0027) were also lower in the HFJV group compared with the IPPV group. There were a total of four complications of Clavien-Dindo classification 3 or above-three in the IPPV group and one in the HFJV group. At 1-month follow-up, two cases (both in the IPPV group) demonstrated subtotal treatment. Both cases were subsequently successfully retreated with cryoablation. CONCLUSION: By reducing target tumour motion during CT-guided renal cryoablation, HFJV can reduce procedure times and exposure to ionising radiation. HFJV provides an important adjunct to complex image-guided interventions, with potential to improve safety and treatment outcomes

A novel flexible field-aligned coordinate system for tokamak edge plasma simulation

Tokamak plasmas are confined by a magnetic field that limits the particle and heat transport perpendicular to the field. Parallel to the field the ionised particles can move freely, so to obtain confinement the field lines are “closed” (ie.form closed surfaces of constant poloidal flux) in the core of a tokamak. Towards, the edge, however, the field lines intersect physical surfaces, leading to interaction between neutral and ionised particles, and the potential melting of the material surface. Simulation of this interaction is important for predicting the performance and lifetime of future tokamak devices such as ITER. Field-aligned coordinates are commonly used in the simulation of tokamak plasmas due to the geometry and magnetic topology of the system. However, these coordinates are limited in the geometry they allow in the poloidal plane due to orthogonality requirements. A novel 3D coordinate system is proposed herein that relaxes this constraint so that any arbitrary, smoothly varying geometry can be matched in the poloidal plane while maintaining a field-aligned coordinate. This system is implemented in BOUT++ and tested for accuracy using the method of manufactured solutions. A MAST edge cross-section is simulated using a fluid plasma model and the results show expected behaviour for density, temperature, and velocity. Finally, simulations of an isolated divertor leg are conducted with and without neutrals to demonstrate the ion-neutral interaction near the divertor plate and the corresponding beneficial decrease in plasma temperature

Coastal Modelling Environment version 1.0: a framework for integrating landform-specific component models in order to simulate decadal to centennial morphological changes on complex coasts

The ability to model morphological changes on complex, multi-landform coasts over decadal to centennial timescales is essential for sustainable coastal management worldwide. One approach involves coupling of landform-specific simulation models (e.g. cliffs, beaches, dunes and estuaries) that have been independently developed. An alternative, novel approach explored in this paper is to capture the essential characteristics of the landform-specific models using a common spatial representation within an appropriate software framework. This avoid the problems that result from the model-coupling approach due to between-model differences in the conceptualizations of geometries, volumes and locations of sediment. In the proposed framework, the Coastal Modelling Environment (CoastalME), change in coastal morphology is represented by means of dynamically linked raster and geometrical objects. A grid of raster cells provides the data structure for representing quasi-3-D spatial heterogeneity and sediment conservation. Other geometrical objects (lines, areas and volumes) that are consistent with, and derived from, the raster structure represent a library of coastal elements (e.g. shoreline, beach profiles and estuary volumes) as required by different landform-specific models. As a proof-of-concept, we illustrate the capabilities of an initial version of CoastalME by integrating a cliff–beach model and two wave propagation approaches. We verify that CoastalME can reproduce behaviours of the component landform-specific models. Additionally, the integration of these component models within the CoastalME framework reveals behaviours that emerge from the interaction of landforms, which have not previously been captured, such as the influence of the regional bathymetry on the local alongshore sediment-transport gradient and the effect on coastal change on an undefended coastal segment and on sediment bypassing of coastal structures