58 research outputs found
Michael Mitton\u27s Merman.
No full textPublished 1994, by the George Cleeve Family Association. Reprinted 1997.
The author relates the tale of Michael Mitton\u27s sighting of a mermaid or triton in Casco Bay in the 1630s, and explores the idea that it could have been a marine mammal such as a manatee that had strayed into northern waters.
Includes bibliographical references.https://digitalcommons.portlandlibrary.com/peaks_local_printed/1005/thumbnail.jp
Not the word I wanted? How online English learners' dictionaries deal with misspelled words
No full textThis study looks at how well the leading monolingual English learners’ dictionaries in their online versions cope with misspelled words as search terms. Six such dictionaries are tested on a corpus of misspellings produced by Polish, Japanese, and Finnish learners of English. The performance of the dictionaries varies widely, but is in general poor. For a large proportion of cases, dictionaries fail to supply the intended word, and when they do, they do not place it at the top of the list of suggested alternatives. We attempt to identify some of the mechanisms behind the failures and make further suggestions that might improve the success rate of dictionary interfaces when identifying and correcting misspellings. To see whether it is possible to do better than the dictionaries tested, we compare the success rates of the dictionaries with that of an experimental context-free spellchecker developed by the second author, and find the latter to be markedly superior
The literary phenomenon of 'conflation’ in the reworking of Paul’s letter to the Colossians by the author of the letter to the Ephesians
No full textThis thesis is concerned with the nature of the relationship of the Letter to the Ephesians (Eph) to Paul's Letter to the Colossians (Col).The first three chapters seek to argue that this relationship should be designated as "literary dependent". In Chapter I the suggestion made by A.T. Lincoln (Dallas [Texas], 1990) that the contemporary redaction of the Letter of Aristeas by Josephus in his Jewish Antiquities, Book XII, §§ 11-118 is similar to the use the author of Eph made of Col, is exposed to critical review. Chapter II focuses on the phenomenon of repeated 'conflation' in Eph. This literary phenomenon entails that several 'Colossian' texts from different parts of Col are conflated by the author of Eph into one passage and is subjected to exhaustive analysis. It is argued that conflation is the main feature of the literary dependence of Eph on Col but does not occur in Josephus' reworking of the Letter of Aristeas. Chapter III continues the comparison between the method of reworking employed in the Jewish Antiquities and in Eph by pointing out that the fluctuation in verbatim agreement of one document with its source can be meaningful. Chapter IV provides the new synopsis of both letters on which the whole examination is based. This synoptic overview is a desideratum since the previous synoptic editions of the Greek text of both letters by E.J. Goodspeed (Chicago, 1933) and C.L. Mitton (Oxford, 1951) are not accurate enough and unsuitable for research that focuses on the conflations of 'Colossian' verses in Eph. The fifth and last chapter deals with the question why Eph is literary dependent on Col and shows that despite the literary dependence, the theology of Eph is distinctive in comparison with its source Col. The distinctiveness of Eph's theology consists in a critical modification of the stress which Col places on Christ's already accomplished victory over the cosmic powers (Co/ 2.15). In order to safeguard an authoritative reception of his modification of Col, the author of Eph presented his letter as the parallel letter of Col alluded to m Col 4.16. The literary dependence on Col is necessary both to modify its content and to present his own writing as its parallel letter
How Helpful Are Online English Learners' Dictionaries in Dealing with Misspellings?
No full textThis is a Pre-Print: An unrefereed manuscript version of an article, as submitted for review in
a journal. This pre-print version is much more substantial than the final published version.
The final published version has appeared as:
Lew, Robert and Roger Mitton 2012. `Online English Learners´ Dictionaries and Misspellings: One
Year On.´ International Journal of Lexicography. DOI: 10.1093/ijl/ecs016This study looks at how well the leading monolingual English learners’ dictionaries in their online versions cope with misspelled words as search terms. Seven such dictionaries (Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, free online version; Longman Dictionary of Contemporary English, premium subscription version; Merriam-Webster's English Learner's Online Dictionary; Macmillan English Dictionary Online; Cambridge Advanced Learner's Dictionary; Oxford Advanced Learner’s Dictionary; and Google English Dictionary) are tested on a corpus of misspellings produced by Polish, Japanese, and Finnish learners of English. The performance of the dictionaries varies widely, but is in general disappointing. In a large proportion of cases, the dictionaries fail to supply the intended word, and when they do, they do not place it at the top of the list of suggested alternatives. Results are then compared with those from one year ago for the same dictionaries and the same misspellings. A detailed analysis follows, identifying some of the mechanisms behind the failures in identifying and correcting misspellings. The success rates of the dictionaries are compared with that of an experimental context-free spellchecker developed by the second author, and the spellchecker is found to be markedly superior. The data are subjected to a cluster analysis to see if the dictionaries can be grouped based solely on their performance. The article concludes with suggestions on how to improve the performance of the spellchecking facilities in online dictionaries
Evidence for defective glucose sensing by islets of fa/fa obese Zucker rats
No full textThe hypothesis that a defect in glucose sensing by islets of fa/fa Zucker rats contributes to hyperinsulinemia in these animals was tested. Islets from lean and fa/fa rats were isolated by collagenase digestion and step-density gradient purification and then cultured overnight in Dulbecco's modified Eagle's medium containing 12.5 mM glucose. Obese rat islets were more sensitive to hypoglycemic glucose levels with half-maximal effective concentration (EC50) of 5.6 mM compared with an EC50 of 8.2 mM for lean rat islets. In contrast, responsiveness of both phenotypes to alpha-ketoisocaproate and quinine was similar. Mannoheptulose did not inhibit insulin secretion from fa/fa islets, although inhibitors of later events in the stimulus-secretion coupling pathway were normally inhibited by iodoacetate and diazoxide. Finally, starvation in vivo and culture of islets in low glucose concentrations (5 mM) in vitro both decreased glucose-stimulated insulin secretion from lean but not fa/fa rat islets. We conclude that fa/fa rat islets have an exaggerated insulin response to hypoglycemic stimuli, possibly as a result of a defect in B-cell glucokinase function.LR: 20061115; PUBM: Print; JID: 0372712; 0 (Amino Acids); 0 (Blood Glucose); 0 (Iodoacetates); 11061-68-0 (Insulin); 130-95-0 (Quinine); 364-98-7 (Diazoxide); 50-99-7 (Glucose); 56-65-5 (Adenosine Triphosphate); 64-69-7 (Iodoacetic Acid); 654-29-5 (Mannoheptulose); EC 2.7.1.2 (Glucokinase); ppublishSource type: Electronic(1
Contractile mechanisms of rainbow-trout intestines - transmurally stimulated contractions
No full text
Noise accelerates embryonic development in a key crab species: Morphological and physiological carryover effects on early life stages
No full textAnthropogenic noise is considered one important global pollutant. The impact of noise on marine invertebrates has been less assessed. The present study evaluated the chronic effect of the motorboat noise obtained from a lagoon´s soundscape, the natural habitat of the key crab Neohelice granulata, on its whole embryonic development, considering morphological and physiological carryover effects on embryos and hatched larvae. Results demonstrated that embryonic development was shortened under noise exposure. The effects on advanced embryos, larvae and adult females were: increased heartbeats and non-viable eggs, and decreased fecundity. Biochemical responses showed lipid peroxidation in embryos while antioxidant enzymes were activated in larvae and adults, indicating a counteracting effect related to the life stage. The negative effects on fitness offspring may imply ecological consequences at the population level. Results are discussed in terms of the ecosystem engineer species studied and the habitat, a MAB UNESCO Reserve lagoon, suggesting the urgent need to develop mitigation plans.Fil: Sal Moyano, María Paz. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Mitton, Francesca María. Instituto Nacional de Investigaciones y Desarrollo Pesquero; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Luppi, Tomas Atilio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Snitman, Solana Morena. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Nuñez, Jesus Dario. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Lorusso, Martin Ignacio. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Ceraulo, Maria. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; ItaliaFil: Gavio, Maria Andrea. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Mar del Plata. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras. Universidad Nacional de Mar del Plata. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Investigaciones Marinas y Costeras; ArgentinaFil: Buscaino, Giuseppa. Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche; Itali
Evaluation of an automated, homogeneous enzyme immunoassay for serum thyroxine measurement in dog and cat serum
No full textA homogenous enzyme immunoassay (EIA) for measurement of serum thyroxine (T4) concentration was evaluated for use with canine and feline serum. The EIA method was linear from 0 to 150 nmol T4/L for human serum, 0 to 94 nmol T4/L for feline serum and 10 to 60 nmol T4/L for canine serum. Intra- and interassay precision studies yielded coefficients of variation </= 8% using single point measurements. Method comparison studies gave close agreement between radioimmunoassay (RIA) and EIA results. Correlation coefficients (r values) were 0.88 and 0.97 for canine and feline samples respectively, after application of species-specific factors to correct the calibrator values assigned for human serum samples. The EIA showed no interference from hemolysis at hemoglobin concentrations </= 20 g/L or from moderate lipemia. Highly lipemic specimens could be tested after centrifugation to clarify the sample. The EIA showed less interference from autoantibodies to T4 than the RIA method. The EIA method allows automation of T4 testing in a veterinary hospital or laboratory, and can be integrated with the routine clinical chemistry panel.Source type: Electronic(1
Why Have Debt Ratios Increased for Firms in Emerging Markets?
No full text"I study trends in capital structure between 1980 and 2004 in a sample of over 11,000 firms from 34 emerging markets. The average firm's market-value debt ratio rose by 15 percentage points over this quarter century. I study how this rise in leverage was influenced by firm-level factors and by the availability of debt financing at the country level. The central finding is that the increase in debt ratios can largely be attributed to changes in the characteristics of emerging market firms over this period. For the average firm, the most prominent determinants of capital structure - size, profitability, asset tangibility, and growth opportunities - all shifted in the direction implying a higher optimal level of debt. At the country level, increased financial development within the country is associated with lower debt ratios, but increased financial openness to foreign markets is associated with higher debt ratios." Copyright 2007 The Author Journal compilation (c) Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
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