Away with words: commentary on the Atlan-Cohen essay 'Immune information, self-organization and meaning'. (1/76)

Drawing on metaphors from linguistics and information theory, Atlan and Cohen challenge us to take a very different view of the immune system, one that engages in constant chatter among the constituents and allows the immune system to arrive at a decision about what to, and not to, destroy. Our commentary responds to this challenge and points out many logical biological flaws in their view. We seem to agree that specificity is important, and that there is some kind of somatic selection process at work to distinguish self from non-self. Our analysis of models depends on the basis of how self and non-self are separated. There are only two possibilities, time or space; and space-based models are all but ruled out. There are two major kinds of time-based model, one based on the time taken for an organism to develop from embryo to adult, the other based on the time taken for a cell to differentiate from one state to another. With so many ambiguities in the metaphors and so little attention to mechanism, the Atlan and Cohen challenge is, we suspect, based on time measured in cell differentiation units. They also make the common mistake of assuming repertoires that are transcendental in size (>10(10)), making it impossible to have a functional immune system in animals smaller than a rabbit--a feature that does not instill confidence in the biological relevance of such models.  (+info)

Unconscious violinists and the use of analogies in moral argument. (2/76)

Analogies are the stuff out of which normative moral philosophy is made. Certainly one of the most famous analogies constructed by a philosopher in order to argue for a specific controversial moral conclusion is the one involving Judith Thomson's unconscious violinist. Reflection upon this analogy is meant to show us that abortion is generally not immoral even if the prenatal have the same moral status as the postnatal. This was and still is a controversial conclusion, and yet the analogy does seem to reveal in a very vivid way what makes abortion a reasonable response to a terrible situation. But Thomson's example has frequently been attacked on all sides for not being truly analogous to abortion. Here I develop a brand new analogy that sheds light on the issue with which Thomson was concerned, while at the same time avoiding most of the more serious objections made to her analogy.  (+info)

Comprehension of metaphors and idioms in patients with Alzheimer's disease: a longitudinal study. (3/76)

Language in patients with Alzheimer's disease has been extensively studied, with the exception of non-literal language comprehension. However, in our speech, we often make use of expressions, which are not necessarily interpreted on a literal ground. Comprehension of metaphors and idioms was examined in 39 patients with probable early Alzheimer's disease. The results showed that the decline of figurative language is not an early symptom of dementia and can occur independently from the impairment of propositional language. It was also found that metaphors and idioms differ as far as the predominant kind of error is concerned.  (+info)

A concordance-based study of metaphoric expressions used by general practitioners and patients in consultation. (4/76)

BACKGROUND: All languages use metaphoric expressions; some deliberately chosen, some (for example, 'digesting information') not usually perceived as metaphoric. Increasingly, it is suggested metaphoric expressions constrain the way we conceptualise the world, as well as being a means of achieving stylistic effect. AIM: To study metaphoric expressions used by doctors and patients in general practice. DESIGN OF STUDY: Concordance-based language analysis of spoken data. METHOD: A database containing transcriptions of 373 consultations with 40 doctors in a UK general practice setting was scrutinised for metaphoric expressions, using 'concordancing' software. Concordancing enables identification of strings of text with similar lexical properties. Comparators (for example, 'like'), selected verb-types (for example, of feeling), and the verb 'to be' were used as starting points for systematically exploring the data. Quantitative and qualitative thematic methods were used in analysis. RESULTS: Doctors and patients use different metaphors. Doctors use mechanical metaphors to explain disease and speak of themselves as problem-solvers' and 'controllers of disease'. Patients employ a range of vivid metaphors, but fewer metaphors of machines and problem/solution. Patients use metaphors to describe symptoms and are more likely to use metaphoric language at the interface of physical and psychological symptoms ('tension, 'stress'). CONCLUSION: The different patterns of metaphoric expression suggest that doctors make limited attempts to enter the patients' conceptual world. This may not be a bad thing. One function of the consultation may be to reinterpret vivid and unique descriptions as accounts of the familiar and systemically comprehensible. Doctors may use different conceptual metaphors as a reassuring signal of expertise.  (+info)

Literal and figurative interpretations are computed in equal time. (5/76)

The time courses for constructing literal and figurative interpretations of simple propositions were measured with the response signal, speed-accuracy tradeoff procedure. No differences were found in comprehension speed for literal and figurative strings in a task that required judging whether a string of words was meaningful. Likewise, no differences were found in processing speed for nonsense and figurative strings in a task that required judging whether a string of words was literally true. Figurative strings were less likely to be judged meaningful than were literal strings and less likely to be rejected as literally true than were nonsense strings. The absence of time-course differences is inconsistent with approaches to figurative processing that contend that a figurative interpretation is computed after an anomalous literal interpretation. The time-course profiles suggest that literal and figurative interpretations are computed in equal time but that the meaning of the latter is less constrained than that of the former.  (+info)

Ozone as Janus: this controversial gas can be either toxic or medically useful. (6/76)

Ozone is an intrinsically toxic gas and its hazardous employment has led to a poor consideration of ozone therapy. The aim of this review is to indicate that a wrong dogma and several misconceptions thwart progress: in reality, properly performed ozone therapy, carried out by expert physicians, can be very useful when orthodox medicine appears inadequate. The unbelievable versatility of ozone therapy is due to the cascade of ozone-derived compounds able to act on several targets leading to a multifactorial correction of a pathological state. During the past decade, contrary to all expectations, it has been demonstrated that the judicious application of ozone in chronic infectious diseases, vasculopathies, orthopedics and even dentistry has yielded such striking results that it is deplorable that the medical establishment continues to ignore ozone therapy.  (+info)

Lilly lecture 2003: the struggle for mastery in insulin action: from triumvirate to republic. (7/76)

Type 2 diabetes arises from a combination of impaired insulin action and defective pancreatic beta-cell function. Classically, the two abnormalities have been viewed as distinct yet mutually detrimental processes. The combination of impaired insulin-dependent glucose metabolism in skeletal muscle and impaired beta-cell function causes an increase of hepatic glucose production, leading to a constellation of tissue abnormalities that has been referred to as the diabetes "ruling triumvirate." Targeted mutagenesis in mice has led to a critical reappraisal of the integrated physiology of insulin action. These studies indicate that insulin resistance in skeletal muscle and adipose tissue does not necessarily lead to hyperglycemia, so long as insulin sensitivity in other tissues is preserved. Additional data suggest a direct role of insulin signaling in beta-cell function and regulation of beta-cell mass, thus raising the possibility that insulin resistance may be the overarching feature of diabetes in all target tissues. I propose that we replace the original picture of a ruling triumvirate with that of a squabbling republic in which every tissue contributes to the onset of the disease.  (+info)

Cancer as metaphor. (8/76)

Shortly before his death in 1995, Kenneth B. Schwartz, a cancer patient at Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH), founded The Kenneth B. Schwartz Center at MGH. The Schwartz Center is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and advancing compassionate health care delivery, which provides hope to the patient and support to caregivers and encourages the healing process. The center sponsors the Schwartz Center Rounds, a monthly multidisciplinary forum where caregivers reflect on important psychosocial issues faced by patients, their families, and their caregivers, and gain insight and support from fellow staff members. Metaphors illuminate complex issues and can paint a thousand words. However, fundamental to individual and collective expression, they are also capable of creating or perpetuating stereotypes, and stigma. In oncology, the military metaphor is perhaps the most prominent, with the high profile of the "War on Cancer," and the imperative for patients to have a fighting spirit. Balancing the instinct to fight with words of healing and acceptance remains a challenge. The history of the military metaphor and how the humanities have illuminated cancer as a metaphor are reviewed. The advantages and disadvantages of the use of this metaphor are discussed, as well as the use of other metaphors in the psychosocial dynamic of care.  (+info)