Academic literature on the topic 'Compounding'

Echocardiography (echo) is a widely available method to obtain images of the heart, however, echo can suffer due to the presence of artefacts, high noise and a restricted field-of-view. One method to overcome these limitations is to use multiple images, using the "best" parts from each image to produce a higher quality "compounded" image. This thesis describes a new method to allow multiple 3D echo images to be compounded into a single better quality volume. I have proposed a definition for an "ideal" compounded image and have used this to guide the design of my compounding method, in particular designing a method to reduce the effect of image artefacts and to make use of larger numbers of images. My compounding method has been validated using phantom, volunteer and clinical images. The overall motivations for improving echo image quality are twofold: Firstly to provide clinicians with higher quality images which I hope will improve the accuracy of clinical decision making. Secondly to provide higher quality images for subsequent post-processing algorithms. A number of methods have been proposed to compound sets of ultra-sound images, all of which have reported improvements in image quality. However, previous 3D compounding methods have typically been applied to a relatively small number of images (most of them only use two images, and only one uses six images). I have investigated the effect of compounding with larger numbers of images. Results showed continued improvement in image quality up to ten images (the maximum number we deemed feasible to acquire in a clinical setting and it is approximately double of images used previously). Artefacts occur regularly within echo images, particularly shadowing artefacts (due to the highly reflecting interfaces caused by the ribs and lungs when imaging the heart). However, previous 3D compounding methods haven’t directly claimed and demonstrated the effect of artefacts. Therefore, I have proposed a 3D compounding algorithm which specifically aims to reduce the effect of echo artefacts (shadowing) as well as improving the signal-to-noise ratio, contrast, and extending the field-of-view. My method to reduce the effect of artefacts is to weight image information from different views based on a local feature coherence/consistency. I hypothesize that the presence of an artefact in an image varies greatly depending on view direction, therefore much lower consistency values will be calculated for artefact regions enabling them to be detected, and their influence on the compounded image to be greatly reduced. The accuracy of the image registration is important and errors will likely affect the final compounded images quality. In addition to registration ac-curacy my system needs to work robustly and have a large enough capture range to enable automatic registration from a suitable starting position.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--West Virginia University, 2004.
Title from document title page. Document formatted into pages; contains iv, 146 p. : ill. (some col.) + computer files. Includes supplementary version computer files in java applets, txt, and MS Word. Includes abstract. Includes bibliographical references (p. 90-91).

Compounding in the world’s languages is a complex word-­‐formation process that is not easily accounted for. Moreover, incorporation is equally complex and problematic. This examination of compounding and incorporation in the Ket language seeks to identify the underlying logic of these processes and to work towards a typology that captures generalizations among the numerous ways in which languages expand their lexicons through these processes. Canonical Typology provides a framework that does just this. A preliminary canonical typology of compounds is proposed here, one that subsumes a range of compounds as well as incorporation. For this reason, the Ket language, which relies heavily on compounding and incorporation, will be used as a test case. The aim is to define the canonical com

This study concerns Malay compounding. The aim is to have an in-depth description and analysis of the topic which will create a more comprehensive and systematic understanding of the phenomenon in the language. Various features and issues in relation to compounding are identified and explored in order to achieve this aim. Given that Malay compounds and phrases are structurally similar, the question of whether compounding is a morphological or syntactical product is first entertained. Discussion on this issue favours the understanding that compounds can be distinct objects from those of structurally identical phrasal ones in Malay language. The focus is then given on the topics of definition, components, headedness, criteria and classification of compounds as the foundations of Malay compoundhood. It is agreed that Malay can have left, right and headless compounds, with the prototypical structures of [X Y] (X)(Y) for endocentric and [X Y] (Z) for exocentric compounds. It is also agreed that the measures for Malay compounds (with degrees of suitability) are the syntactical criteria (inseparability, modification, component switching, circumfixation and reduplication), phonological criteria (stress and assimilation), and semantic criteria (compositional/lexicalised status) of compoundhood. This study also supports the classification of Malay compounds base on the relationship between their components, i.e. under the subordinative, attributive or coordinative relationships. Based on these foundations, this study is able to analyse and organize the different types of compounds available from the corpus, among others the (NN, NV, NA) nominal compounds, the (VN, VV, VA) verbal compounds, the (AN, AA) adjectival compounds and the idiomatic compounds. In general, the attributive relationship has the most common occurrence throughout the analysis, followed by the coordinative ones, and finally the extremely limited subordinative relationship. The discussions and findings of this study have definitely enhanced the overall knowledge on Malay compounding.

L’oggetto di studio di questa tesi sono i composti verbali [V V]V con testa a sinistra in cinese mandarino. Tali formazioni costituiscono un fenomeno di grande interesse, in quanto rappresentano un’eccezione alla tendenza generale del cinese a formare parole composte con testa a destra. Questa ricerca si focalizza, in particolare, su alcune tipologie di composti causativi con testa a sinistra; in questo lavoro, tali composti sono considerati come una strategia innovativa del cinese moderno, diffusasi in seguito alla perdita di altri mezzi per esprimere causatività in questa lingua, nel quadro del cambiamento tipologico del cinese da lingua maggiormente sintetica a lingua maggiormente analitica. I composti causativi oggetto di questa ricerca sono stati analizzati utilizzando il framework proposto da Ramchand (2008), che consiste in una scomposizione sintattica della struttura dell’evento. Il lavoro è supportato empiricamente da una varietà di dati provenienti da diverse fonti. Innanzitutto, i dati sono stati ricavati dalla bibliografia sull’argomento e da alcuni dizionari di cinese mandarino. Inoltre, sono stati utilizzati due corpora di cinese mandarino (il corpus del Centro di Linguistica Cinese dell’Università di Pechino e, marginalmente, il corpus di cinese mandarino dell’Academia Sinica), testi letterari e giornalistici (soprattutto testi disponibili on-line) e dati tratti da ricerche sul web. Infine, per i giudizi di grammaticalità ci si è avvalsi anche della consulenza di parlanti nativi, soprattutto studenti universitari. Il primo tipo di verbi complessi analizzato è costituito da composti in cui V1 è una radice verbale light, fonologicamente realizzata, come ad esempio 弄 nòng ‘fare’, 打 dǎ ‘colpire’, 搞 gǎo ‘fare’, 加 jiā ‘aggiungere, aumentare’. Questi verbi light sono stati considerati, all’interno del framework proposto da Ramchand (2008), come items lessicali causativi che formano la versione transitiva di verbi incoativi, attraverso un processo di costruzione della struttura. L’alternanza causativa in cinese, dunque, può essere ottenuta per mezzo di verbi light che marcano la variante transitiva. Tra le radici causative light, una particolare attenzione è stata rivolta a 打 dǎ, il cui sviluppo diacronico ci ha portato ad ipotizzare che la sua funzione come elemento lessicale causativo si sia sviluppata a partire dal suo significato di ‘fare, creare’. A sostegno di questa ipotesi, la radice 打 dǎ è stata messa a confronto con forme parallele di altre due lingue sinitiche, ossia 拍 phah4 nel dialetto Min meridionale parlato a Taiwan e 打 da2 in Hakka. Inoltre, in questo lavoro è stata analizzata come elemento causativo anche la radice 加 jiā ‘aggiungere, aumentare’. Questa radice rappresenterebbe un tipo particolare di verbo causativo light: forma la versione transitiva di verbi deaggettivali di scala aperta, in particolare di quei verbi che esprimono un “aumento” nella proprietà denotata dalla base aggettivale. I composti causativi formati con una radice verbale light sono stati messi a confronto con un altro tipo di verbi complessi, ossia verbi derivati con il suffisso 化 -huà ‘-izzare, -ificare, ecc.’ (ad es. 现代化 xiàndàihuà ‘modernizzare’, 美化 měihuà ‘bello + SUFF = abbellire), un modello di formazione di parola piuttosto produttivo in questa lingua, sottolineando le differenze in termini di caratteristiche e di funzioni tra il suffisso 化 -huà e i verbi causativi light. La discussione sui verbi causativi light, che tiene conto anche di elementi simili in altre lingue sinitiche (il dialetto Min meridionale parlato a Taiwan e l’Hakka), fornisce argomenti a sostegno dell’ipotesi che la direzione dell’alternanza causativa sia da incoativo a causativo (cfr. Hale & Keyser 1998, Hoekstra 1992, 2004, Ramchand 2008) e non viceversa (cfr. Levin & Rappaport Hovav 1995, Reinhart 2002, Chierchia (2004 [1989]), dal momento che il verbo light esplicita la presenza di una componente causativa e la forma transitiva è strutturalmente marcata. Il secondo tipo di verbi complessi presi in esame sono i composti risultativi, oggetto di un vivace dibattito nella bibliografia sull’argomento. In questo lavoro si sostiene che i composti risultativi, così come i verbi formati con un verbo causativo light, esprimono causatività diretta. La differenza tra i due tipi di verbi complessi sta nel fatto che, mentre i composti formati con un verbo light esplicitano la presenza di una componente causativa, ma non specificano il tipo di azione che porta allo stato risultante, nei composti risultativi viene specificata l’azione particolare che porta al cambiamento di stato. L’analisi dei composti risultativi basata sul framework proposto da Ramchand (2008) permette di superare molte delle difficoltà derivanti da approcci che cercano di spiegare le proprietà di questi composti in base alla transitività dei costituenti (ad esempio, Li 1990) ed evidenzia i vantaggi di un approccio basato sulla struttura dell’evento (cfr. Cheng & Huang 1994). Inoltre, questo tipo di analisi permette di scomporre l’evento in una struttura funzionale che si presuppone essere universale: i blocchi fondamentali che costituiscono l’evento sono gli stessi a livello cross-linguistico (cfr. Ramchand 2008, Son & Svenonius 2008). La scomposizione sintattica della struttura eventiva dei composti risultativi del cinese fornisce anche sostegno all’ipotesi secondo la quale tali composti hanno testa a sinistra sulla base di motivazioni strutturali (cfr. Cheng & Huang 1994). L’ultimo tipo di composti causativi analizzati sono verbi complessi che, a nostro avviso, esprimono causatività indiretta. Diversamente dagli altri due tipi di verbi complessi analizzati in questo lavoro, questi composti permettono un certo grado di autonomia dell’evento causato, che varia a seconda del tipo di V1 utilizzato. Il gruppo di possibili V1 utilizzati nella formazione di questi composti è piuttosto ristretto: ad esempio, 请 qǐng ‘chiedere’, 邀 yāo ‘invitare’, 求 qiú ‘chiedere, richiedere’, 劝 quàn ‘dare un consiglio/persuadere’, 促 cù ‘promuovere’, 助 zhù ‘aiutare’, 逼 bì ‘forzare’, 迫 pò ‘forzare’, 禁 jìn ‘proibire’, 拒 jù ‘rifiutare’. L’analisi di queste forme verbali complesse in cinese mandarino, anche in prospettiva diacronica e, marginalmente, cross-linguistica, ci ha permesso di sostenere la proposta di Ramchand (2008), secondo cui i blocchi fondamentali che costruiscono il significato dell’evento sono gli stessi per tutte le lingue, e le lingue variano solo nel modo in cui esprimono la struttura dell’evento, a seconda dell’inventario di items lessicali disponibili e di altre caratteristiche idiolinguistiche. Dunque, la preferenza per l’espressione di eventi complessi in cinese attraverso la composizione sarebbe strettamente legata all’analiticità di questa lingua. L’indagine sui composti causativi in cinese mandarino ha anche dimostrato che i composti con testa a sinistra in questa lingua sono caratterizzati da una struttura funzionale gerarchica soggiacente, in cui i due costituenti rappresentano lo spell-out di teste differenti di questa struttura. Sarebbe proprio la presenza di struttura funzionale a guidare l’interpretazione di questi composti; infatti, mentre i composti con testa a destra in cinese sembrano essere caratterizzati da una grande libertà di interpretazione (le relazioni possibili tra i costituenti possono essere molteplici), caratteristica particolarmente evidente nei composti nominali, i composti con testa a sinistra sembrano avere un’interpretazione piuttosto ristretta.
This thesis deals with the issue of left-headed verbal V-V compounds in Mandarin Chinese, which represent an interesting phenomenon, since they are an exception to the general tendency of Chinese to form right-headed compounds. In particular, this research takes into account some types of left-headed causative compounds, which are considered as an alternative (analytic) strategy to express causativity in Mandarin Chinese, after the loss of other morphological and phonological strategies, as a consequence of the typological shift of Chinese from a synthetic to an analytic language. This thesis provides an analysis of such causative compounds adopting the framework put forth by Ramchand (2008), which consists in a syntactic decomposition of the event structure. First, we consider the issue of the causative alternation by means of phonetically realized light V1s, e.g. 弄 nòng ‘make’, 打 dǎ ‘hit’, 搞 gǎo ‘do’, 加 jiā ‘add; increase’. The phonetically realized light verbs are considered to be init heads with semantics of general causation, which build an extra-layer on top of verbs lacking an [init] feature in their lexical entry, through a process of structure building. We focus mainly on 打 dǎ ‘hit’ (and, also, comparing it with analogous roots in Taiwanese Southern Min and Hakka) and 加 jiā ‘add; increase’, which is found only in the formation of transitive deadjectival verbs based on open-range adjectives, in particular those involving an increase in the property denoted by the adjective. We claim that 加 jiā ‘add; increase’, besides contributing an extra (causative) layer, seems also to be the overt realization of one of the parts involved in the logical representation of degree achievement verbs, i.e. the increasing event (cf. Hay, Kennedy & Levin 1999). The second type of causative V-V compounds discussed in this thesis are resultative compounds, e.g. 摇醒 yáoxǐng ‘shake-awake’, 哭湿 kūshī ‘cry-wet’, a very debated issue in the literature on the topic, which apparently arose as an alternative causative strategy after the loss of other means to express causativity in Chinese, following the typological shift undergone by this language. In resultative compounds the nature of the causing event is fully expressed by the left-hand verbal root, specifying the kind of action which brings about the change of state, while in transitive verbs formed with a light V1 the causing event is spelled out by the left-hand verbal root, which just provides an [init] feature to the event. In the latter case, many different actions can bring about the resultant state expressed by V2, much as in the case of English labile causatives, e.g. break. The decomposition of the event structure based on a hierarchical functional structure also enables us to defend the position that resultative compounds are left-headed due to structural reasons (cf. Cheng & Huang 1994). In fact, assuming a structural notion of headedness, it is clear that V1 acts as the head of the compound: the two constituents of a resultative compound spell out different heads in a functional hierarchical structure characterized by causal embedding; nevertheless, it is V1 which identifies the hierarchically superior head in the structure. Lastly, this thesis takes into account another kind of left-headed causative compounds, which, to the best of our knowledge, have not received much attention in the literature. We propose a tentative analysis of this kind of compounds, which, according to us, express indirect causation. Differently from resultative compounds and causative verbs with a light V1, these compounds allow a certain degree of autonomy of the caused event, which varies according to the kind of V1 involved. The set of possible roots occurring in this kind of compounds is quite restricted, e.g. 请 qǐng ‘ask’, 邀 yāo ‘invite, request’, 求 qiú ‘ask, request’, 劝 quàn ‘advice/persuade’, 促 cù ‘promote’, 助 zhù ‘help’, 逼 bì ‘force’, 迫 pò ‘force’, 禁 jìn ‘prohibit’, 拒 jù ‘refuse’. Some of these items are apparently very similar to curative affixes in some languages . The analysis of such verbal formations, also in a diachronic and, marginally, cross-linguistic perspective, enables us to support Ramchand’s (2008) claim, namely that the fundamental building blocks of the eventive meaning are the same for all languages, and languages vary only in the “size” of their lexical items, plus other idiolinguistic characteristics: thus, the very same syntactic structures can be expressed lexically, synthetically or analytically, depending on the language and on the particular lexical items in its inventory. Therefore, it does not come as a surprise that an analytic language like Modern Chinese prefers to express complex event structures through compounding, which is also its most productive means of word formation.

It is generally accepted that the mechanical properties of short fibre reinforced thermoplastics do not correspond with the high mechanical properties of fibres used to reinforce them. A study is made into the methods of compounding reinforcing fibres into thermoplastics to produce short fibre reinforced thermoplastics of enhanced properties. The initial method chosen for investigation is the twin screw extrusion compounding process. Variables such as fibre feeding arrangement and extrusion screw design are found to be factors influencing the properties of carbon and glass reinforced nylon 6,6. Use is made of computer programs to predict properties, assess compound quality and estimate fibre-matrix bond strength. Investigations indicate that the presence of reinforcing fibres with enhanced lengths does not result in the predicted property increases. The reasons for this shortfall are believed to lie in unfavourable fibre orientation in injection mouldings and the reduced strain to break of these materials. Short Kevlar reinforced thermoplastics are compounded and their mechanical properties assessed. The reasons for the poor mechanical properties for these materials are identified as a poor bond strength between fibre and matrix, the formation of points of weakness within the fibres by the compounding and moulding processes and the coiled arrangement of fibres present in injection mouldings. A method suitable for the routine assessment of fibre-matrix bond strength is used to examine combinations of fibre and thermoplastic matrix. A comparison is made of the values derived from this method with values calculated from stress-strain curves of injection mouldings. This allows an understanding of the nature of the fibre-matrix bond yielded by compounding and injection moulding steps. A description is given of a novel method designed to overcome the limitations of conventional compounding routes to produce long fibre reinforced injection moulding feedstock. Further work is necessary before this method is a feasible production technique.

The role of pharmacists includes dispensing medication, and the packaging and compounding of prescriptions. But over the last two decades these responsibilities have expanded to include ensuring the proper use of medication as well as identifying, preventing and resolving drug-related problems. Pharmacists also promote health services and provide educational information.

The World is facing numerous, overlapping crises with the war in Ukraine exacerbating a global cost-of-living crisis, coupled with the lingering effects of Covid-19 and ongoing climate change impacts. After nearly three years of dealing with Covid-19, the world economy has been left in a fragile state and the ability of countries and people to deal with multiple, compounding issues has therefore also been eroding (UN, 2022, p. 2). Those that are most marginalised and least able to cope will likely be hit the hardest by these crises. This rapid review does not provide an in-depth discussion of these issues or the proposed solutions needed, but looks to learnings from managing the Covid-19 pandemic, especially where the pandemic overlapped with other crises, as well as the wider disaster risk and crisis management literature to gather insights into how these turbulent times and future crises can be navigated.

International climate finance is vital to global cooperation on climate change. As many developing countries reel from the effects of coronavirus, the prospect of climate-induced extreme weather risks compounding crises and poverty. Climate change could undo decades of progress in development and dramatically increase global inequalities. There is an urgent need for climate finance to help countries cope and adapt. Over a decade ago, developed countries committed to mobilize $100bn per year by 2020 to support developing countries to adapt and reduce their emissions. The goal is a critical part of the Paris Agreement. As 2020 draws to a close, Oxfam’s Climate Finance Shadow Report 2020 offers an assessment of progress towards the $100bn goal. The third in a series, this report looks at the latest donor figures for 2017–18, with a strong focus on public finance. It considers how climate finance is being counted and spent; where it is going; how close we are to the $100bn goal; and what lessons need to be learned for climate finance post-2020.

This paper explores how climate change, violent conflict, the Covid-19 pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis combine to drive rapidly increasing levels of food insecurity. These drivers play out differently across and within regions and countries, and this paper focuses on how a combination of the drivers plays out on the African continent. It looks at four subregions—North Africa, the Horn of Africa, the Sahel, and Central and Southern Africa—and several countries within these regions. Africa is the continent with the highest proportion of people—just over 20 per cent— facing hunger. Africa also carries the heaviest burden from the impact of climate change. In 2021 18 countries in sub-Saharan Africa experienced armed conflicts. The economic fallout of climate change, conflict and the Covid-19 pandemic has widened inequality and sharpened societal divisions. Addressing the impacts of these compounding crises and breaking the vicious cycle of climate change, food insecurity and conflict requires a concerted effort by local, national, regional and global humanitarian, development and peacebuilding actors, governments and donors. To this end, the paper concludes with nine recommendations on the way forward.