Anthropomorphic Metaphor in the English Veterinary Terminology

Introduction. The article is devoted to the presentation of the results of the study of metaphorization and the study of metaphorical terms, widely represented in the English terminology of veterinary medicine. The purpose of the article is to represent the features of the anthropomorphic metaphorical name in the English terminology of veterinary medicine. Materials and methods of research. The study of metaphorization as a way of forming English veterinary terms was conducted by us on the basis of lexicographic data recorded in English terminological dictionaries of veterinary medicine. Results of the research. The analysis of lexicographic material allowed to identify four donor domains that served as a source of metaphorical names in the terminology of veterinary medicine: HUMAN, LIVING ORGANISM, NATURAL FACT, ARTIFACT. Conceptual analysis of metaphorical terms of veterinary medicine revealed that one of the most productive metaphors used in the creation of terminological units is anthropomorphic. In anthropomorphic metaphorization, the names are transferred from the donor domain HUMAN to the recipient domain VETERINARY. The article attempts to consider the cognitive basis of anthropomorphic metaphor as one of the mechanisms of creation of veterinary terms in English. Based on the theory of conceptual metaphor, it was found that the sources of anthropomorphic metaphor are the biological characteristics of people, the names of body parts and properties of a living organism. Semantic groups of metaphorical terms formed on the basis of cognitive transfer of tokens related to the structure of the human body, its behavior, inherent qualities, life and way of life in the field of veterinary medicine based on external or functional similarity between donor and recipient domains are considered. Сonclusions. Thus, the study allows us to conclude that the terms-metaphors occupy a certain niche in the terminology of veterinary medicine in English and ensure their effective functioning in the language of veterinarians. Conceptual analysis of metaphorical terms of veterinary medicine revealed that one of the most productive is anthropomorphic metaphor. As a result of anthropomorphic metaphorization, new terms of veterinary medicine are formed on the basis of cognitive transfer of tokens that relate to the social characteristics of a person that determine his appearance, behavior or condition, in the field of veterinary medicine on the basis of external or functional similarity between donor and recipient domains.

Scent dog identification of SARS-CoV-2 infections in different body fluids

Background The main strategy to contain the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic remains to implement a comprehensive testing, tracing and quarantining strategy until vaccination of the population is adequate. Scent dogs could support current testing strategies. Methods Ten dogs were trained for 8 days to detect SARS-CoV-2 infections in beta-propiolactone inactivated saliva samples. The subsequent cognitive transfer performance for the recognition of non-inactivated samples were tested on three different body fluids (saliva, urine, and sweat) in a randomised, double-blind controlled study. Results Dogs were tested on a total of 5242 randomised sample presentations. Dogs detected non-inactivated saliva samples with a diagnostic sensitivity of 84% (95% CI: 62.5–94.44%) and specificity of 95% (95% CI: 93.4–96%). In a subsequent experiment to compare the scent recognition between the three non-inactivated body fluids, diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 95% (95% CI: 66.67–100%) and 98% (95% CI: 94.87–100%) for urine, 91% (95% CI: 71.43–100%) and 94% (95% CI: 90.91–97.78%) for sweat, 82% (95% CI: 64.29–95.24%), and 96% (95% CI: 94.95–98.9%) for saliva respectively. Conclusions The scent cognitive transfer performance between inactivated and non-inactivated samples as well as between different sample materials indicates that global, specific SARS-CoV-2-associated volatile compounds are released across different body secretions, independently from the patient’s symptoms. All tested body fluids appear to be similarly suited for reliable detection of SARS-CoV-2 infected individuals.

Primitive visual channels have a causal role in cognitive transfer

Scientific investigations have long emphasized the cortex’s role in cognitive transfer and arithmetic abilities. To date, however, this assumption has not been thoroughly empirically investigated. Here we demonstrated that primitive mechanisms—lower visual channels—have a causal role in cognitive transfer of complex skills such as symbolic arithmetic. We found that exposing only one monocular channel to a visuospatial training resulted in a larger transfer effect in the trained monocular channel compared to the untrained monocular channel. Such cognitive transfer was found for both novel figural-spatial problems (near transfer) and novel subtraction problems (far transfer). Importantly, the benefits of the trained eye were not observed in old problems and in other tasks that did not involve visuospatial abilities (the Stroop task, a multiplication task). These results challenge the exclusive role of the cortex in cognitive transfer and complex arithmetic. In addition, the results suggest a new mechanism for the emergence of cognitive skills, that could be shared across different species.

Preventing Recurrence of Depression: Long-Term Effects of a Randomized Controlled Trial on Cognitive Control Training for Remitted Depressed Patients

Previous studies suggest that cognitive control training (CCT) shows potential as a preventive intervention for depression. In this study, the first to examine long-term preventive effects of CCT, we examined effects on (a) task-specific cognitive transfer at 1-year follow-up, (b) recurrence of depression, and (c) functioning over the course of a year. Each of 92 remitted depressed patients were randomly assigned to a CCT condition or an active control condition (ACT). Effects of training were monitored using weekly assessments of emotion regulation, cognitive complaints, depressive symptoms, and resilience (brief weekly questionnaire). At 1-year follow-up, participants completed a structured clinical interview, cognitive transfer task, and questionnaires. We observed task-specific cognitive transfer ( p < .001, d = 1.23) and lower recurrence rates in the CCT condition ( p = .04; odds ratio = 0.38). However, no long-term beneficial effects of training were observed on the weekly ratings of functioning, and groups did not differ in performance on the self-report questionnaires at 1-year follow-up.

Scent dog identification of SARS-CoV-2 infections, similar across different body fluids

ABSTRACTBackgroundThe main strategy to contain the current SARS-CoV-2 pandemic remains to implement a comprehensive testing, tracing and quarantining strategy until vaccination of the population is adequate.MethodsTen dogs were trained to detect SARS-CoV-2 infections in beta-propiolactone inactivated saliva samples. The subsequent cognitive transfer performance for the recognition of non-inactivated samples were tested on saliva, urine, and sweat in a randomised, double-blind controlled study.ResultsDogs were tested on a total of 5242 randomised sample presentations. Dogs detected non-inactivated saliva samples with a diagnostic sensitivity of 84% and specificity of 95%. In a subsequent experiment to compare the scent recognition between the three non-inactivated body fluids, diagnostic sensitivity and specificity were 95% and 98% for urine, 91% and 94% for sweat, 82%, and 96% for saliva respectively.ConclusionsThe scent cognitive transfer performance between inactivated and non-inactivated samples as well as between different sample materials indicates that global, specific SARS-CoV-2-associated volatile compounds are released across different body secretions, independently from the patient’s symptoms.FundingThe project was funded as a special research project of the German Armed Forces. The funding source DZIF-Fasttrack 1.921 provided us with means for biosampling.

Teaching stress-strain behaviour of ductile and brittle materials using concept-context maps to mechanical engineering freshmen

Stress-Strain relations are graphical measures to determine the mechanical properties and morphology of engineering materials. In engineering universities, stress-strain curves are introduced in the introductory course of materials science for the mechanical, metallurgical and civil engineers. Stress-strain diagrams can be easily plotted from experimental data obtained from the uniaxial tensile testing of specimens made as per standards of engineering material. However, understanding of the metal’s deformation, dislocation behaviour, as well as the microstructure, is considered challenging. Common teaching aids present stress-strain diagrams as a working tool but does not explain how to relate various attributes like microstructural characteristics and mechanical behaviour with its engineering properties. This accumulated difficulty leads to a decreased level of motivation among first-year engineering students. The article presents CC maps an instructional strategy to gain sustainable knowledge on how to read stress-strain characteristics, interpret engineering properties and promote cognitive transfer in learning. The results obtained indicated that intervention of CC maps has improved conceptual understanding, learning interest and performance of students in the class.

The spatial conceptualization of time in Spanish and Chinese

There is a general consensus about the existence of a cognitive transfer by which we conceive time in terms of space, witnessed by the recurrence of this metaphor in many languages. We can distinguish two theoretical trends in the treatment of this conceptual metaphor: those based on universalistic apriorisms and those based on more relativistic and empirical assumptions. While the first tend to extrapolate from English, reducing this metaphor to very few basic models with a natural motivation, the second privilege Amerindian languages, with empirical data which do not fit in such speculative universals. This contrastive work on the two typologically distant languages Spanish and Chinese confirms the cross-linguistic productivity of other space-to-time associations (reversed time, mirror time, vertical time, cyclic time). Though our results show more similarities than differences in the overall available inventory, some specific divergences between Chinese and Spanish are also noted.

English Zero Derivation Revisited: Nouning and Verbing in Online Business Articles

Zero derivation is a word-formation process when from a word in a certain lexical (sub)category by adding a zero derivational affix, but with allowed inflectional interventions, another, new lexeme is created, with absolutely same form (from a derivational point of view); similar, expanded meaning; and, most importantly, belonging to a different lexical (sub)category. The analytical structure of English makes this a very frequent, productive, and economic process, across almost all categories, with the noun to verb and the verb to noun directions marking the most common process formations. Yet, regardless of the direction, the newly formed, zero derived lexeme belongs to a different lexical (sub)category not only based on the same form but on the similar semantics that the old and the new lexemes share, due to the meaning transfer through cognition. Having seen that the process of zero derivation is present and widespread in everyday life, this paper aims at researching its presence and productivity in online business articles, that is, in online texts which discuss business topics. Online media have been chosen since its quest for timely information requires fast expression and, in such a need, quick word-formation processes, like zero derivation, are in place, making the expression formally short but semantically expanded. Therefore, it is the cognitive transfer of meaning that drives the process. Similar to the reason for selecting online media, business articles have been used as a corpus, to show what language is used when discussing non-language-centred topics, that is, business.