Traditional Picture Research Articles

Human dirofilariosis in the 21st century: A scoping review of clinical cases reported in the literature.

Human dirofilariosis is a clinical entity caused by infection with nematode species of the genus Dirofilaria. The traditional picture depicts the disease as a sporadic event associated with the presence of a single immature worm causing a nodular lesion. With the aim to reassess this paradigm, establishing a more accurate picture of the disease and homogenize criteria, a scoping review was conducted by searching, screening and analysing published clinical cases of human dirofilariosis worldwide during the 21st century. After extracting data from 305 publications containing 576 case reports, results showed that human dirofilariosis is currently caused by five Dirofilaria species (mainly D. repens). Maturation was not uncommon, since 42.95% of the parasites recovered were described as mature worms, most of them females, 26.42% of which contained micofilariae in the uterus. Moreover, six microfilaremic cases have been described. The predominant clinical manifestation was the presence of a worm encapsulated within a nodule, but there is a considerable variety of accompanying symptoms depending on anatomical location and type of dirofilariosis. Parasites/nodules were found in 71 different anatomical locations, being the traditional nomenclature of human dirofilariosis unable to properly cover this complex situation. Delay in seeking medical assistance (patient perception) and the frequency of wrong clinical suspicions (doctor knowledge), strongly influenced clinical management. The initial suspicion in cases of subcutaneous and pulmonary dirofilariosis is predominantly a tumour, while in the ocular dirofilariosis a parasite (but not directly Dirofilaria) is mostly suspected. Surgery is usually applied, regardless of the use of non-invasive techniques during preoperative management and although its use is still limited, molecular approach is the most accurate technique to establish a species-level diagnosis. Accurate epidemiological, parasitological and clinical information while handling and reporting human clinical cases is a need for physicians and researchers to improve and standardize the clinical management of human dirofilariosis.

ЦВЕТООБОЗНАЧЕНИЯ В МИФОЛОГИЧЕСКОМ ДИСКУРСЕ АЛТАЙЦЕВ

Аннотация: В статье впервые анализируются цветообозначения в мифологическом дискурсе алтайцев. На материале фольклорных текстов — мифов, легенд, сказаний, шаманских текстов — выявлены характерные для мифов базовые традиционные цветообозначения. Цветообозначения рассматриваются как образные признаки мифологических концептов, в семантике которых лежат древние архетипы, возникшие в языке в результате ассоциативно-метафорического переноса. The paper first considers the specifics of color designations in the Altai mythological discourse. The factual material of the research was published and unpublished folklore texts, in particular, myths, legends, tales, shamanistic campaigns in the Altai language. The color code is important in the conceptualization of the mythological picture of Altaians. The national-cultural specificity of color designations in the mythological discourse is due to their compatibility with concepts-nominations, designating various objects and phenomena of the invisible world. Color designations can be the first component of naming the various names of supernatural beings, deities, spirits, or their clothes. The basic colors revealed in the traditional mythological picture of Altaians — ak “white”, kara “black”, kyzyl “red”, sary “yellow”, kÿreң “brown”, kök “blue” and jazhyl “green” — in the conceptualization of mythological, mythical images, objects of the unreal (invisible) world on the basis of their deepest archetypal signs that arose as a result of associative-metaphorical transfer. In combination with mythological concepts related to the Upper World, white is a sign of divine purity, holiness, blue is a sign of heaven, green is a sign of greenery and lighted sky, red and yellow are a sign of the shining sun. In combination with the mythological images of the Lower World, black as the antipode of white symbolizes darkness, death, red symbolizes blood, hellish hell, yellow means withering, disease, evil, blue means cold, ice, water, green — dim light in darkness. When mythological archetypes were refracted into the system of folk ethics, the transformation of the signs “light — dark” into the signs “good — evil” occurred. In addition to the color code, the zoomorphic code of the Altai culture is used in the conceptualization and structuring of the mythological other world, in the modeling of its geographical landscape and the conceptualization of the world.

Children’s experiences with a transmedia narrative: Insights for promoting critical multimodal literacy in the digital age

Children’s engagement with transmedia narratives, where the same story is presented through different media such as book, film and interactive app, can reveal their knowledge about different modes, media and software for multimedia authoring. Such insights provide a suitable starting point for developing effective approaches to critical multimodal literacy education in the digital age. Specifically, they can inform decisions about which concepts and frameworks for the critical multimodal analysis of texts and digital technologies to adapt for use with young learners. We advance this argument through a case study comprising:•the transmedia narrative The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr Morris Lessmore in its film (Joyce and Oldenburg, 2011), interactive app (Moonbot Studios, 2011), and traditional picture book (Joyce, 2012) formats;•observations of mothers and their 4–5-year-old children’s interaction with the book and the app;•a comic strip and a LEGO animation created respectively by a 7-year-old (Oskar) and a 10-year-old (Ollen), which represent a scene from that narrative; and.•an interview with Ollen about his experience of making the animation with the software tools Stop Motion Studio and GarageBand ’08.The case study’s findings reveal:•preschool-aged children’s awareness of media affordances and semantic patterns in narrative.•the older children’s understanding of narrative conventions and capacity to construe broad social themes by selecting the most apt semiotic resources available in their chosen media.•the ways both familiarity with different digital semiotic technologies and non-digital resources (e.g. LEGO) and a software’s design can shape a child’s multimedia authoring.Drawing on these findings, we argue that observations of children’s experiences with transmedia narratives provide a suitable starting point for developing effective approaches to critical multimodal literacy education in the digital age. We posit that such observations can help educators consider which concepts and frameworks for the critical multimodal analysis of texts and digital technologies to adapt for use with young learners in the classroom. This necessarily involves examining continuity and change across old and new technologies and semiotic practices.

«Ak ash» – white food in the traditional culture of the Altaians

In the study, milk appears not just as food, but as one of the highest traditional values of the Altaians «ak ash»- white food, symbolizing well-being, fertility and wealth. An attempt has been made to consider milk and dairy products as a source of human comprehension of the traditional picture of the world, culturally conditioned ideas about the properties, characteristics of products that, in addition to their natural properties, carry meanings that are functionally significant for culture. Attention is also paid to the semantics of the «ak»-white color. In the culture of the Altaians, this color occupies a special place, it is sacred. The article uses folklore texts to reflect archaic ideas. The presented modern field material of the author testifies to the stability of views and the preservation of the special place of «ak ash»-white food in modern Altai society. The work consists of two parts, in the first part information about the traditional experience in the preparation of dairy products is involved, this information is relevant today, due to the interest in the national cuisine. In the second part of the study, milk and dairy food is examined from the point of view of religious beliefs, its place in ritual practice. Key words: milk, dairy products, sacredness, altaians.

The Life Cycle of Magnetars: A Novel Approach to Estimate Their Ages

Abstract Anomalous X-ray pulsars and soft gamma repeaters are slowly rotating, young, and isolated neutron stars exhibiting sporadic outbursts and high X-ray quiescent luminosities. They are believed to be powered by ultrastrong magnetic fields, B ∼ 1014−1015 G, associated with “magnetars.” In the peculiar case of SGR 0418+5729, timing parameters imply a dipolar B-field of 6.1 × 1012 G. This discovery has challenged the traditional picture of magnetars in terms of B-field strengths, evolutionary stages, and ages. Here we provide a novel approach to estimate a magnetar’s age by considering the self-consistent time evolution of a plasma-filled oblique pulsar with the state-of-the-art magnetospheric particle acceleration gaps. The rotational period of magnetars increases over time due to angular momentum extraction by gravitational-wave radiations, magnetic dipole radiations, and particle winds. These torques also change the obliquity angle between the magnetic and rotation axes. For SGR 0418+5729, we obtain a dipolar B-field of 1.0 × 1014 G, and a realistic age of ∼18 kyr, consistent within the magnetar paradigm.

Dynamic aggregation operators and Einstein operations based on interval-valued picture hesitant fuzzy information and their applications in multi-period decision making

The traditional picture hesitant fuzzy aggregation operators are generally suitable for aggregating information acquired in the form of picture hesitant fuzzy numbers, but they will fail in dealing with interval-valued picture hesitant fuzzy information. In this paper, we describe the notion of interval-valued picture hesitant fuzzy set and the operational laws of interval-valued picture hesitant fuzzy variables. Moreover, we derive some dynamic interval-valued picture hesitant fuzzy aggregation operators (based on Einstein operators) to aggregate the interval-valued picture hesitant fuzzy information collected at different periods. Some desirable properties of these aggregation operators are discussed in detail. In addition, we develop the approaches to tackle the multi-period decision-making problems, where all decision information takes the form of interval-valued picture hesitant fuzzy information collected at different periods. In an attempt to illustrate the applications of the proposed approaches, two numerical examples are given to measure the impact of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) in daily life and to identify the optimal investment opportunity. Finally, a comparative analysis of the proposed and existing studies are conducted to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed approaches. The presented interval-valued picture hesitant fuzzy operations, aggregation operators, and decision-making approaches can widely apply to dynamic decision analysis and multi-stage decision analysis in real life.

Turbulent secondary flows in channels with no-slip and shear-free boundaries

Abstract

The pervasiveness of the rational-conceptual: an educational-philosophical perspective on nature, world and ‘sustainable development’

ABSTRACT At the heart of our current environmental predicament lies the issue of our relationship with nature. Michael Bonnett’s educational rehabilitation of nature, which might be called a ‘metaphysical’ turn in nature-related issues, brings us back to the core question of educational-philosophical thinking: how we are to understand ourselves and our relation to the world. In this paper, by confronting his environmental philosophy of education with what John McDowell, in his debate with Hubert Dreyfus, terms the ‘pervasiveness thesis’ – that conceptual rationality in a relevant sense pervades human lives – I try to offer an analytical supplement to the notion Bonnett entertains: that a phenomenological project to ‘retrieve’ nature and ‘ecologise’ education can have massive implications for the character of philosophy of education and the whole enterprise of education. I also argue a confluence of their nature-related ideas adds an educational nuance to the traditional picture of human beings as rational animals.

Do you know your user group? Why it is essential to put your user-requirements analysis on a broad database

When developing a novel technological system, it is important to meet the users’ needs and expectations to ensure that the product will be accepted and applied by future users. To achieve that, a broadly based qualitative user-requirements analysis is essential. Following a user-centered design approach, a qualitative analysis was conducted to identify users’ needs and expectations for a future TV system. A prototype of the system has been developed with a focus on accessibility for deaf consumers by providing sign language via a virtual interpreter inserted into the traditional TV picture. The requirements analysis based on three different methods: the user interviews, the online questionnaire and the workshop. The statements given in the different studies handle similar topics. The respective detailed expectations by young and elder signers are mostly complementary, but partly even contrary. The results highlight the importance to set a user-requirements analysis on a broad database when developing technological systems. Only asking individual representatives of the user group and only applying individual methods would give very limited insight into users’ expectations and needs toward a technical system. To gain a detailed and representative picture for the whole community, a multimethod approach should be followed allowing for a feedback of several subgroups of the targeted population.

Language without representation: Gibson's first- and second-hand perception on a pragmatic continuum

Ecological psychology isn't just a psychology of perception and action but offers a post-cognitivist approach to psychology as a whole. In this paper we explore how the conceptual tools of ecological psychology might be put to work to account for linguistic deeds, the activities people can perform when they are competent speakers of a language. We pursue this question by starting from a suggestion Gibson made that language use and perception co-shape each other. However such a relation of reciprocity between active perception and linguistic practices has generally not been taken to heart in ecological psychology. The relation between first-hand perception, based on natural laws, and second-hand perception, enabled by social and cultural convention, has been understood hierarchically not reciprocally. We show there is a trace of a traditional (cognitivist) view of language in how Gibson characterised what people do when they talk to each other. A second obstacle to a reciprocal reading lies in Gibson's concept of information. Gibson argued explicitly against thinking of ecological information for perception as a quantity that can be transmitted. However, when it comes to language he treated information as a commodity, as something that can be re-presented, contained and transferred through conventional patterns, through speaking, writing and depiction. In order to move away from a traditional cognitivist picture of language as mediated by systems of representations, we offer an alternative usage-based view of information, one where information is not a thing that can be re-presented, in language or anywhere else. This allows us to fully set aside the assumption that language is re-presentational and symbolic at heart and follow through on the post-cognitivist ambitions of ecological psychology.

Massive picture retrieval system based on big data image mining

The traditional picture retrieval system has a slow retrieval speed, poor retrieval accuracy, and a low recall when performing massive picture retrieval. In this paper, we design a massive picture retrieval system using the big data image mining technology. It is constructed with data processing layer, business logic layer and presentation layer and works through three steps of data segmentation, mining and merging. For instance, it runs the distributed file system module in a Master/Slave operation mode and designs file read and write requests according to user interaction. Next, it performs parallel computing of picture data sets based on Map Reduce module to solve the picture matching and similarity metrics and returns to the user sorted picture matching result. Then, it extracts the color and texture features of the target area to generate the final picture retrieval result. We select a large number of pictures on a big data platform as simulation test set. The results show that the system we designed has a good retrieval accuracy and a high retrieval speed, which greatly improves the recall of picture retrieval.

Can constructed wetlands be more land efficient than centralized wastewater treatment systems? A case study based on direct and indirect land use

Compared with centralized wastewater treatment systems, constructed wetlands are generally regarded as not suitable for wide deployment due to the comparatively larger direct land area. Much of the traditional thinking is based on an onsite perspective, while the offsite information is left out. By a comparative case study with systems accounting of both onsite and offsite land use, this study questioned the traditional picture and found that constructed wetlands can be more land use efficient than centralized wastewater treatment systems. On a unit of wastewater treated basis, the land use induced by a typical constructed wetland in China is revealed to be less than half of that by the case of a centralized wastewater treatment plant or a hybrid system. On a unit removal basis for biological oxygen demand (BOD5), chemical oxygen demand (COD), total suspended solid (TSS) and ammonia‑nitrogen (NH3−N), the land use induced by a constructed wetland is only around 61%, 67%, 73% and 64% of that by a centralized wastewater treatment system, respectively. Meanwhile, the indirect effect is demonstrated to be significant for these three systems: this magnitude amounts to three times the direct land occupation for a constructed wetland, and one order of magnitude higher of that for the a centralized wastewater treatment system. By a scenario analysis for China in 2017, it is preliminarily estimated that over two billion square meters of land use could be reduced if all the centralized wastewater treatment systems are replaced by constructed wetlands. The outcome may serve a benchmark and offers a new way of thinking for management of wastewater treatment systems.

Linguistic Harmony as a Means of Symbolization in Folklore and Poetic Texts

The article discusses the use of linguistic harmony in traditional culture as a means of symbolisation. In folklore texts, the phonetic similarity of the words heightens the semantic connections between them. This happens when homonyms, paronyms, and other similar-sounding words in the text along with anagrammatic coding of the meaning of the text (for example, riddles) merge, combining two words in one hybrid word paronymous with both of them; by means of phonetic strengthening, complex sound compilation of the text as a whole, as frequently seen in poetry, etc. Symbolic correlations based on verbal consonances usually occur in spells, conjurations, dream interpretations, superstitions, and rituals that have a magical function (prognostic, healing, etc.). In archaic elements of the poetry, the harmony of the words combines an aesthetic function with a magical one (merging more and more with the aesthetic one over time), which allows us to talk about their true syncretism and the magical origins of poetry. Sound and logical-conceptual methods of symbolisation often interact with each other. The symbolism generated by the harmony of words fits into a wide cultural context, revealing deep-semantic cultural parallels from different eras and communities, since the supraindividual memory operating in culture is able to store and bring to life the accumulated connotations. Symbolism arising from the consonances of words has the property of reviving the etymological memory of a word in cultural contexts. In some archaic Slavic zones, symbolism, based on consonant words, still retains its productivity. In the symbolic language of the culture, it also performs a structuring function, takes part in the formation of connections and relationships between the single elements of the traditional picture of the world setting up certain parameters for it, for example, it forms parallels in folk zoology in animal and bird codes, isolating single groups of characters.

Tolkien's Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages by Holly Ordway

Reviewed by: Tolkien's Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages by Holly Ordway Zachary D. Schmoll Tolkien's Modern Reading: Middle-earth Beyond the Middle Ages, by Holly Ordway. Park Ridge, IL: Word on Fire Academic, 2021. vii, 392 pp. $29.95 (hardcover). ISBN 978-1-943243-72-3. Holly Ordway's thesis is paradoxically modest and bold. On one hand, her argument is restrained, as she says that in contrast to Tolkien's modern reading, "principally his medieval reading, but also the study of languages, his personal friendships with the Inklings and other formative experiences, especially in the Great War—occupy a more important place in his creative imagination" (9). The traditional picture of Tolkien, established in the authorized biography by Humphrey Carpenter and reinforced by numerous other works, emphasizes these elements of Tolkien's inspiration to the exclusion of anything modern. Ordway cites Carpenter's statement on Tolkien, "He read very little [End Page 249] modern fiction, and took no serious notice of it" (Carpenter 158; qtd. at 7), as a representative attitude that many have taken towards the Professor of Anglo-Saxon's reading habits. Her contention is that this popular conception of Tolkien's literary interests is incorrect. She writes, "My argument in this book is that they [the medieval reading, languages, friendships, and formative experiences mentioned in the quote above] are not the only materials upon which he drew" (9). Ordway continues in the following paragraph, "Let me not be misunderstood: I shall not be arguing that his modern reading is more important than his medieval reading, nor even that it is equally important" (9). On the surface, this would not be a remarkable claim for just about any other literary figure. It would not be shocking to imagine any scholar picking up a work of popular fiction and enjoying something outside of their usual academic fare. Not only that, but authors seem to be influenced by just about anything they read, for good or bad. Again, it would hardly be surprising for Tolkien to see something that he liked in a work of modern fiction and be inspired to put something into his sub-creation as a result of that. To the contrary, and Ordway shows evidence of this as well, it is possible for an author to be influenced away from certain narrative forms, techniques, or devices because of a story's poor execution. Both of these events are so commonplace for almost any author that Ordway's claim seems modest. It may seem overstating the case to call her contention bold, because it seems so simple to accept that Tolkien may have read and been influenced by modern fiction in some way. Ordway demonstrates that Carpenter's work has been largely responsible for the anti-modern image of Tolkien and seeks to correct that misinterpretation for the rest of her book. Ordway does not speculate about books that were popular in Tolkien's circles and assume that he read them. Instead, evidence for what she defines as his reading "comes from a range of sources: Tolkien's own writings, published and unpublished; interviews with him; accounts by family, friends, colleagues, and students; biographical studies; and finally, material in Christina Scull and Wayne G. Hammond's magisterial J.R.R. Tolkien Companion and Guide (revised 2017 edition)" (30). However, even with this conservative filter applied, Ordway was able to chronicle 148 authors and over 200 individual titles of post–1850 English fiction, poetry, or drama that Tolkien is documented to have read. One may compare the list Ordway compiles in the Appendix with the recently published work Tolkien's Library, by Oronzo Cilli. Their general approaches to qualifying source material are similar, although [End Page 250] it is worth noting that Cilli cites a greater number of secondary scholars than Ordway, who only includes books chronicled in the work of Hammond and Scull. Also, Cilli presents an anthology as one entry whereas Ordway lists the contributing authors separately. That is why there is an entry for C. S. Forester on Ordway's list, for example, but he is not found in Cilli's work. The collection that Forester's work is...

Do we need non-ideal magnetohydrodynamic to model protostellar discs?

ABSTRACT We investigate and discuss protostellar discs in terms of where the various non-ideal magnetohydrodynamics (MHD) processes are important. We find that the traditional picture of a magnetized disc (where Ohmic resistivity is dominant near the mid-plane, surrounded by a region dominated by the Hall effect, with the remainder of the disc dominated by ambipolar diffusion) is a great oversimplification. In simple parametrized discs, we find that the Hall effect is typically the dominant term throughout the majority of the disc. More importantly, we find that in much of our parametrized discs, at least two non-ideal processes have coefficients within a factor of 10 of one another, indicating that both are important and that naming a dominant term underplays the importance of the other terms. Discs that were self-consistently formed in our previous studies are also dominated by the Hall effect, and the ratio of ambipolar diffusion and Hall coefficients is typically less than 10, suggesting that both terms are equally important and listing a dominant term is misleading. These conclusions become more robust once the magnetic field geometry is taken into account. In agreement with the literature we review, we conclude that non-ideal MHD processes are important for the formation and evolution of protostellar discs. Ignoring any of the non-ideal processes, especially ambipolar diffusion and the Hall effect, yields an incorrect description of disc evolution.

Electron-phonon drag enhancement of transport properties from a fully coupled ab initio Boltzmann formalism

We present a combined treatment of the non-equilibrium dynamics and transport of electrons and phonons by carrying out \textit{ab initio} calculations of the fully coupled electron and phonon Boltzmann transport equations. We find that the presence of mutual drag between the two carriers causes the thermopower to be enhanced and dominated by the transport of phonons, rather than electrons as in the traditional semiconductor picture. Drag also strongly boosts the intrinsic electron mobility, thermal conductivity and the Lorenz number. Impurity scattering is seen to suppress the drag-enhancement of the thermal and electrical conductivities, while having weak effects on the enhancement of the Lorenz number and thermopower. We demonstrate these effects in \textit{n}-doped 3C-SiC at room temperature, and explain their origins. This work establishes the roles of microscopic scattering mechanisms in the emergence of strong drag effects in the transport of the interacting electron-phonon gas.

Symbol of Mouse in Slavonic and Chinese Linguocultures

The article describes in comparative aspect the main symbolic meanings of the zoononym mouse in Slavic and Chinese linguocultures. The study of animal symbolism in Russian (wider - Slavic) and Chinese cultural traditions is one of the current trends in modern linguistics, which, on the one hand, has a pronounced anthropocentric orientation, and on the other, is characterized by a noticeable increase in interest in the Chinese language and culture of China in different countries of the world. Turning to the study of complex and ambiguous symbolism of the mouse is quite timely and taking into account the confinement of 2020 to the year of the White Rat / Mouse. The purpose of the study is to identify similar and specific for each culture features of perception and characteristics of the mouse as an animal, which has a significant impact on everyday life. The tasks of the work include identifying the sources of the appearance of a negatively connotated mouse image in culture, determining the ambivalent nature of rituals, customs and ritual actions, the object of which are mice, as well as revealing the contents of the “Mouse Wedding” custom in Chinese and South Slavic traditions. The analysis of the actual material (stable phrases, folklore texts, ethnocultural records, traditional drawings) showed, on the one hand, the mostly negative symbolism of the mouse in the Slavic spiritual culture, and on the other, the perception of the mouse as an animal, bringing material wealth and prosperity, in the traditional picture of the world the Chinese. At the same time, it was established that both the Slavs and the Chinese use a number of magic tricks aimed at fighting mice that cause considerable damage to the peasant economy. Significant for the linguoculturological analysis of the mouse image is the appeal to oriental folklore texts, as well as to traditional popular prints of Chinese and Russians, reflecting differently the symbolism of mice and their relation to the main enemy - the cat.

Human Dignity: Final, Inherent, Absolute?

In the traditional understanding, human dignity is often portrayed as a «final», «inherent», and «absolute» value. If human dignity as the core of the status of a human being did indeed have thos characteristics, this would yield a severe limitation for obligations that stem from the moral status of non-human animals, plants, eco systems and other entities discussed in environmental ethics; for obligations that arise from human dignity standardly take priority over the duties toward entities with non-human moral status. Yet, many theorists of human dignity nowadays have given up the traditional picture in favour of a more «contingent» understanding of human dignity that abandons one or more of its traditional characteristics.In this paper, I argue that to the contrary, we have good reasons to think that the three characteristics of human dignity just mentioned can indeed be attributed to a value that deserves the name «human dignity». In a first part, I argue for a specific understanding of the three value characteristics under consideration. After these preliminaries, I show in a second part that given such an understanding, we have ample evidence that we can indeed say that human dignity is an inherent, absolute and final value; and also that these three characteristics are properties of a single value.

Logical Form through Abstraction

Abstract In a recent book, Logical Form: between Logic and Natural Language, Andrea Iacona argues that semantic form and logical form are distinct. The semantic form of a sentence is something that (together with the meanings of its parts) determines what it means; the logical from of a sentence is something that (all by itself) determines whether it is a logical truth. Semantic form does not depend on context but logical form does: for example, whether ‘This is this’ is a logical truth depends on whether the two occurrences of ‘this’ are used to demonstrate the same individual. I respond by claiming that logical form is indifferent to reference and is sensitive only to obligatory co-reference. When the speaker intends both occurrences of ‘this’ to be interpreted the same way the logical from of ‘This is this’ is a=a, while in a context where the speaker has no such intention it is a=b. This proposal allows a much more conservative revision of the traditional picture than the one suggested by Iacona. Instead of identifying the logical form of a natural language sentence by seeking a formalization in an artificial language, we obtain it through abstraction from its syntactic analysis: replacing the non-logical expressions by schematic letters, making sure that we use identical ones if and only if the speaker intended co-reference.

Origin of Irradiation Synergistic Effects in Silicon Bipolar Transistors

The practical damage of silicon bipolar devices subjected to mixed ionization and displacement irradiations is usually evaluated by the sum of separated ionization and displacement damages. However, recent experiments show clear difference between the practical and summed damages, indicating significant irradiation synergistic effects (ISEs). Understanding the behaviors and mechanisms of ISEs is essential to predict the practical damages. In this work, we first make a brief review on the state of the art, critically emphasizing on the difficulty encountered in previous models to understand the dose rate dependence of the ISEs. We then introduce in detail our models explaining this basic phenomenon, which can be described as follows. Firstly, we show our experimental works on PNP and NPN transistors. A variable neutron fluence and $\gamma$-ray dose setup is adopted. Fluence-dependent `tick'-like and sublinear dose profiles are observed for PNP and NPN transistors, respectively. Secondly, we describe our theoretical investigations on the positive ISE in NPN transistors. We propose an atomistic model of transformation and annihilation of $\rm V_2$ displacement defects in p-type silicon under ionization irradiation, which is totally different from the traditional picture of Coulomb interaction of oxide trapped charges in silica on charge carriers in irradiated silicon. The predicted novel dose and fluence dependences are fully verified by the experimental data. Thirdly, the mechanism of the observed negative ISE in PNP transistors is investigated in a similar way as in the NPN transistor case. The difference is that in n-type silicon, VO displacement defects also undergo an ionization-induced transformation and annihilation process. Our results show that, the evolution of displacement defects due to carrier-enhanced defect diffusion and reaction is the dominating mechanism of the ISEs.