PHILOSOPHY AND POETRY: THE UNITY AND DIFFERENCE OF DIMENSIONS (Marginalia to E.K. Sobolevskaja’s article “Yearning – homeland – rowan...”)

The poetic dimension of philosophical thought is the central problem of this paper. Poetry and philosophy have different tasks, but both poetry and philosophy are concerned with the word as an instrument – knowledge (for philosophy) and expression (for poetry). Philosophy uses the word in its semantic constituents, abstracting from its external form. For poetry, the external sound side is inseparable from meaning and its various semantic aspects. In some cases, however, these typological attitudes and tenets are reversed. In philosophy, such cases can be considered as the work with language in its poetic dimension. Heraclitus worked in this way in antiquity, Heidegger works with language and with the word similarly in modern times. In poetry, we can consider the work of M. Tsvetaeva as such a case. Poeticizing, as represented by Tsvetaeva, is a cardinal linguistic shift, determined by the inner experience: distancing from any national language, or cardinal defamiliarization of the language in the constitutive centres of its conventional symbolic coordination, recognizing it every time and, accordingly, recognizing, renaming, defamiliarizing of the world. More than anybody else poets are immersed in the world, in search of the names, in giving meanings to things. When considering the poet’s work from the perspective of poetic dimensions of philosophical thought, the author relies on an article by Elena Sobolevskaya “Yearning – homeland – rowan...”, which uses both philological and philosophical approaches to the analysis and interpretation of Marina Tsvetaeva’s poetic work.

Numerical modelling and computer visualization of the storm surge in and around the Croatan-Albemarle-Pamlico estuary system produced by hurricane Emily of August 1993

Hurricane Emily unleashed its fury on the Outer Banks of North Carolina on 31 August 1993. Storm surge was a major cause of damage along the Outer Banks. The highest flood water (11-11.5ft) occurred in the Buxton area near Cape Hatteras, North Carolina. It was reported that this flood water was from storm surges along the sound side of the barrier islands. An experimental forecast was conducted for this event in real time using Croatan-Albemarle-Pamlico estuary systems (CAPES) storm surge prediction model developed at North Carolina State University (NCSU). It uses as input parameters the projected hurricane track, minimum center pressure, maximum sustained wind speed and radius of maximum wind speed provided by the National Hurricane Center (NHC). The forcing of the model also includes fresh water input from sound system rivers, and of coastal waters intruding into the sound via Ocracoke, Hatteras and Oregon inlets. The predicted maximum surge along the sound side of the Outer Banks was within 85-90% of the post-storm highwater-mark survey data provided by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). Albeit, an after the fact simulation using the post-storm analysis of the track of Emily provided by the NHC, the maximum storm surge along the sound side of the Outer Bancks predicted by the model was within 95-98% of the maximum highwater mark data. The location of the predicted maximum surge for both pre and first model runs was near Cape Hatteras, which agreed well with USGS's survey data. We conclude that the CAPES storm surge model is capable of providing accurate storm surge forecasts in and around the CAPES, but such forecasts are sensitive to not only the observed storm size and intensity but in particular, the projected storm track.

Effects on ankle power and sound limb load with an active prosthetic foot

The performance of conventional prosthetic feet depends on material and construction principles. Certain powered feet can even generate net positive mechanical work in order to provide an active push-off. The aim of this study was to evaluate the influence of ankle power on the gait of transfemoral amputees. For this purpose level walking of six transfemoral amputees was analysed with a basic and an active foot and three different power settings of the latter. The results show clear advantages of the active foot in comparison with a basic foot. However, a strong relation of the sound side knee loading parameters with the varied ankle power outputs of the active foot couldn’t be shown.

POETICAL AND ARTISTIC FEATURES OF THE OSSETIAN FOLK APHORISTICS: PARALLELISM, HYPERBOLE, METONYMY, SYNTAX STRUCTURE.

Сила воздействия осетинских афористических высказываний кроется в их имплицитной экспрессивной окрашенности, в их художественной природе, благодаря которой они вызывают эмоциональный отклик самого широкого диапазона и ненавязчиво программируют стиль и тональность общения, сообщая собеседнику или аудитории чувства добра, расположения, снисхождения, сопричастности (ровно, как и противоположные чувства). Современный интерес к этническому идеалу культуры речевого взаимодействия, этикетным установкам традиционного общения актуализирует непреходящую ценность афористического материала, делает востребованным исследовательский поиск поэтических особенностей его художественной природы, которая вкупе с особенностями синтаксического строя и ритмической организации формирует поэтико-семантическую и художественную завершенность, смысловую емкость и актуализируемость в речи носителей языка афористических изречений. В статье, резюмирующей рассмотрение большого массива осетинских афоризмов, констатируется, что пословично-поговорочные единицы – это самые различные виды предложений, загадки, как правило, односоставны, а сходные по своей синтаксической модели проклятия и благопожелания в своем большинстве представлены простыми двусоставными предложениями, клятвы и заклинания – односоставные сказуемные предложения. Синтагматическое членение народных афоризмов, несущее большую смысловую нагрузку, позволяет углублять, конкретизировать смысл высказывания без ущерба для его формы. В многочисленных пословицах и загадках находит широкую реализацию параллелизм, предполагающий как минимум два элемента структуры художественного целого; наиболее распространен параллелизм антитетический. В афористике гипербола в сочетании с литотой кладется в основу антитетических двухчастных пословиц; в загадках встречается гиперболизированная метафора, укрупняющая предметы; в формулах различных пожеланий гипербола способствует повышению их эмоциональности. Усилению эмоционального и эстетического воздействия афоризмов способствует и звуковая сторона, связанная с целенаправленным выделением звуков речи (аллитерация, анафора, эпифора, рифма). The strength of the influence of Ossetian aphoristic utterances lies in their implicit expressive coloring, in their artistic nature, due to which they evoke an emotional response of the widest range and unobtrusively program the style and tone of communication, informing the interlocutor or audience of feelings of kindness, disposition, condescension, involvement (exactly as and opposite feelings). The modern interest in the ethnic ideal of the culture of verbal interaction, the etiquette of traditional communication actualizes the enduring value of aphoristic material, makes the research search for the poetic features of its artistic nature, which, coupled with the peculiarities of the syntactic structure and rhythmic organization, form a poetic-semantic and artistic completeness, semantic capacity and relevance in the speech of native speakers of aphoristic sayings. The article, which summarizes the consideration of a large array of Ossetian aphorisms, states that the genre units of aphorisms do not exceed the volume of one sentence; proverbs and sayings are represented by all kinds of sentences, for riddles the most typical is the form of a simple one-compound sentence, and curses and well-wishes that are similar in their syntactic model are for the most part represented by simple two-component sentences, oaths and spells are single-component predicate sentences. The syntagmatic division of folk aphorisms, which carries a n expressed semantic load, allows to deepen, concretize the meaning of the statement without prejudice to its form. In numerous proverbs and riddles, parallelism finds wide realization, suggesting at least two elements of the structure of the artistic whole. Antithetical parallelism is the most common, allowing in one phrase to reveal the essence of the phenomenon, contrasting two objects, signs or phenomena on the basis of their dissimilarity. In antithetic riddles, people noticed contrasts in the states of nature, plants, and animals. In the aphorism of a hyperbole in combination with a litho, it is the basis of antithetic two-part proverbs; in riddles there is a hyperbolic metaphor that enlarges objects; in the formulas of various wishes, hyperbole helps to increase their emotionality. Strengthening the emotional and aesthetic impact of aphorisms contributes to the sound side associated with the targeted allocation of speech sounds (alliteration, anaphora, epiphora, rhyme).

Clinometric Gait Analysis Using Smart Insoles in Patients With Hemiplegia After Stroke: Pilot Study

Background For effective rehabilitation after stroke, it is essential to conduct an objective assessment of the patient’s functional status. Several stroke severity scales have been used for this purpose, but such scales have various limitations. Objective Gait analysis using smart insole technology can be applied continuously, objectively, and quantitatively, thereby overcoming the shortcomings of other assessment tools. Methods To confirm the reliability of gait analysis using smart insole technology, normal healthy controls wore insoles in their shoes during the Timed Up and Go (TUG) test. The gait parameters were compared with the manually collected data. To determine the gait characteristics of patients with hemiplegia due to stroke, they were asked to wear insoles and take the TUG test; gait parameters were calculated and compared with those of control subjects. To investigate whether the gait analysis accurately reflected the patients’ clinical condition, we analyzed the relationships of 22 gait parameters on 4 stroke severity scales. Results The smart insole gait parameter data were similar to those calculated manually. Among the 18 gait parameters tested, 14 were significantly effective at distinguishing patients from healthy controls. The smart insole data revealed that the stance duration on both sides was longer in patients than controls, which has proven difficult to show using other methods. Furthermore, the sound side in patients showed a markedly longer stance duration. Regarding swing duration, that of the sound side was shorter in patients than controls, whereas that of the hemiplegic side was longer. We identified 10 significantly correlated gait parameters on the stroke severity scales. Notably, the difference in stance duration between the sound and hemiplegic sides was significantly correlated with the Fugl-Meyer Assessment (FMA) lower extremity score. Conclusions This study confirmed the feasibility and applicability of the smart insole as a device to assess the gait of patients with hemiplegia due to stroke. In addition, we demonstrated that the FMA score was significantly correlated with the smart insole data. Providing an environment where stroke patients can easily measure walking ability helps to maintain chronic functions as well as acute rehabilitation. Trial Registration UMIN Clinical Trials Registry UMIN000041646, https://upload.umin.ac.jp/cgi-open-bin/ctr_e/ctr_view.cgi?recptno=R000047538

Reliability and Criterion-Related Validity of the activPAL™ Accelerometer When Measuring Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior in Adults With Lower Limb Absence

Introduction: Accurate measurement of physical behavior in adults with lower limb absence is essential to report true patterns of physical behavior and the effectiveness of interventions. The effect of placing accelerometers on prostheses may also affect the reliability and validity. Purpose: To assess reliability and criterion-related validity of the activPAL for measuring incidental and purposeful stepping, and reclining and stepping time in adults with unilateral lower limb absence. Methods: 15 adults with unilateral lower limb absence completed simulated lifestyle activities in a laboratory setting that were retrospectively scored via video analysis. Objective data were obtained simultaneously from two activPAL monitors placed on the sound and prosthetic side. Data were analyzed using one-way intraclass correlation coefficients (ICC), paired t-tests and Cohen’s d. Results: Reliability (prosthetic side vs. sound side) was poor for incidental steps (ICC = .05, d = 0.48) but acceptable for all other measures (ICC = .77–.88; d = .00–.18). Mean activPAL measures, although highly related to the criterion, underestimated, on average, stepping and time-related variables. Differences were large for all stepping variables (d = .38–.96). Conclusions: The activPAL is a reliable measurement tool in adults with lower limb absence when used in a laboratory setting. Placement of the monitor on the sound side limb is recommended for testing. The activPAL shows evidence of relative validity, but not absolute validity. Further evaluation is needed to assess whether similar evidence is found in free-living activity and sedentary contexts.