Objective The quality of semen depends upon several factors such as environment, life style, physical activity, age and occupation. The aim of this study was to analyze and compare the conventional and functional semen parameters in men who practice vigorous physical activity to those of sedentary men. MaterialsAndMethods Semen samples from 17 physically active men and 15 sedentary men were col...

1 Metaphor and What is Said: A Defense of a Direct Expression View of Metaphor Anne Bezuidenhout

Metaphors are pervasive in both mass communication and interpersonal exchanges and can play an important role in persuasion. Metaphor serves multiple functions in persuasive communication, and the effect of metaphor on persuasion is potentially mediated by multiple psychological process mechanisms. Nevertheless, we propose that past and future research in this area can be organized or grouped i...

A case of acute acalculous perforated cholecystitis with acute generalized peritonitis in a middle aged cachectic man, presenting late in a moribund condition, is reported. He underwent emergency laparotomy (subtotal cholecystectomy), went into multi-organ failure and was managed accordingly. The patient recovered in about 2 weeks and was followed-up regularly.

The decision to withdraw or withhold life supporting treatment in moribund patients is difficult under any circumstances. When the patient becomes incompetent to clarify their wishes regarding continued maintenance in long-term facilities, surrogates sometimes cannot agree, further clouding the issue. We examine a case where the State's interests come into play, forcing a controversial resolution.

Yersinia ruckeri SC09 is a Gram-negative bacterium isolated from a moribund Ictalurus punctatus collected in Jianyang, China. Here, we report the complete genome sequence of this microorganism to facilitate the investigation of its pathogenicity and to reevaluate its taxonomic position.

An intensional logic with dynamic interpretation is presented in order to provide a formal semantics for sense extension, lexical ambiguity and metaphoricity. Intensionality is required in order to provide the right account of polysemy and homonymy. The dynamics are required in order to allow the interpretation of a sentence to impact the interpretation of subsequent sentences by adding any ext...

Metaphors are generally accepted as essential to the design of effective human computer interfaces. However, “The generally assumed theoretical benefits of user interface metaphor are supported by surprisingly little empirical evidence.” (Blackwell, 1998) This paper discusses the concept of “concrete metaphor” and the problems that it presents in interface and interaction design. Concrete metap...

Debate has raged for decades over what counts as metaphor. Do proverbs, such as better the devil you know than the one you don't, involve metaphor? When we refer to a generic-brand tissue as a Kleenex, is that a metaphor? In this paper, we observe that controversial examples such as these fall into the class of structures called " Generic is Specific " in Conceptual Metaphor Theory (Lakoff & Jo...