Evolved structure of language shows lineage-specific trends in word-order universals

Languages vary widely but not without limit. The central goal of linguistics is to describe the diversity of human languages and explain the constraints on that diversity. Generative linguists following Chomsky have claimed that linguistic diversity must be constrained by innate parameters that are set as a child learns a language. In contrast, other linguists following Greenberg have claimed that there are statistical tendencies for co-occurrence of traits reflecting universal systems biases, rather than absolute constraints or parametric variation. Here we use computational phylogenetic methods to address the nature of constraints on linguistic diversity in an evolutionary framework. First, contrary to the generative account of parameter setting, we show that the evolution of only a few word-order features of languages are strongly correlated. Second, contrary to the Greenbergian generalizations, we show that most observed functional dependencies between traits are lineage-specific rather than universal tendencies. These findings support the view that-at least with respect to word order-cultural evolution is the primary factor that determines linguistic structure, with the current state of a linguistic system shaping and constraining future states.     

Ethical skill development as an imperative for emancipatory practice

Total Systems Intervention (TSI) as a form of Critical Systems Thinking has been subject to criticism concerning the actual application of its emancipatory commitment. The emancipatory potentials of TSI or other systems-oriented change efforts may possibly be improved through their linkage to employee ethical skill development. Acknowledging a “strategic twist” in consulting efforts to encourage greater emancipatory practice and a more communicative ethic, an agenda for consultants is suggested to provide incremental emancipatory potentials for organizations with many apparently coercive characteristics.     

蒙特卡罗方法初步 第二卷

本书是作者于2002年在Kluwer公司出版的《A Monte Carlo Primer--A Practical Approach to Radiation Transport》（蒙特卡罗方法初步——辐射迁移的实用方法）一书的续篇。该书给出了蒙特卡罗方法的基本原理及对辐射迁移等实际问题的应用，包含了不少实用例子，配备了若干习题。本书在该书基础上，应用Monte Carlo码及PFC给出该书全部习题的解答。每个问题均予重复叙述，     

影响聚丙烯酰胺在土壤和水分管理应用的因素

水溶性阴离子聚丙烯酰胺(PAMs)。因其影响土壤的分散、结絮和团聚作用，稳定土壤的结构争提高土壤的渗流，使得土壤地表水的径流、土壤侵蚀和板结程度降低到最小。已被应用于不同的农业目标来有效地控制土壤侵蚀、保护地下水水质和显著地降低动物废弃水中的细菌和养分含量。对影响PAM在土壤和水分管理应用的因素，从土壤和水特性包括土壤质地、溶解盐的浓度、有机质含量对PAM吸附的影响，PAM分子量及其电荷在土壤渗透作用中的作用等两方面进行了评述，介绍了PAM在土壤和水中降解与环境安全问题和今后研究的某些方向。参36。     

Antimitotic effect of nimbidin — A first report

Summary The antimitotic activity of nimbidin, a drug from the plantMelia azadirecta indica, was assessed by its effect on the meristematic cells of onion root tips. The effect was almost similar to those of colchicine and vinca alkaloids. Recovery trials showed that the drug induces lethal damage in a considerable proportion of treated cells and may hence have applications in cancer chemotherapy.     

Continental mantle signature of Bushveld magmas and coeval diamonds

The emplacement of the 2.05-billion-year-old Bushveld complex, the world's largest layered intrusion and platinum-group element (PGE) repository, is a singular event in the history of the Kaapvaal craton of southern Africa, one of Earth's earliest surviving continental nuclei. In the prevailing model for the complex's mineralization, the radiogenic strontium and osmium isotope signatures of Bushveld PGE ores are attributed to continental crustal contamination of the host magmas. The scale of the intrusion and lateral homogeneity of the PGE-enriched layers, however, have long been problematical for the crustal contamination model, given the typically heterogeneous nature of continental crust. Furthermore, the distribution of Bushveld magmatism matches that of seismically anomalous underlying mantle, implying significant interaction before emplacement in the crust. Mineral samples of the ancient 200-km-deep craton keel, encapsulated in macrodiamonds and entrained by proximal kimberlites, reveal the nature of continental mantle potentially incorporated by Bushveld magmas. Here we show that sulphide inclusions in approximately 2-billion-year-old diamonds from the 0.5-billion-year-old Venetia and 1.2-billion-year-old Premier kimberlites (on opposite sides of the complex) have initial osmium isotope ratios even more radiogenic than those of Bushveld sulphide ore minerals. Sulphide Re-Os and silicate Sm-Nd and Rb-Sr isotope compositions indicate that continental mantle harzburgite and eclogite components, in addition to the original convecting mantle magma, most probably contributed to the genesis of both the diamonds and the Bushveld complex. Coeval diamonds provide key evidence that the main source of Bushveld PGEs is the mantle rather than the crust.     

The genome of the choanoflagellate Monosiga brevicollis and the origin of metazoans

Choanoflagellates are the closest known relatives of metazoans. To discover potential molecular mechanisms underlying the evolution of metazoan multicellularity, we sequenced and analysed the genome of the unicellular choanoflagellate Monosiga brevicollis. The genome contains approximately 9,200 intron-rich genes, including a number that encode cell adhesion and signalling protein domains that are otherwise restricted to metazoans. Here we show that the physical linkages among protein domains often differ between M. brevicollis and metazoans, suggesting that abundant domain shuffling followed the separation of the choanoflagellate and metazoan lineages. The completion of the M. brevicollis genome allows us to reconstruct with increasing resolution the genomic changes that accompanied the origin of metazoans.     

Comparative genomics of the neglected human malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax

The human malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax is responsible for 25-40% of the approximately 515 million annual cases of malaria worldwide. Although seldom fatal, the parasite elicits severe and incapacitating clinical symptoms and often causes relapses months after a primary infection has cleared. Despite its importance as a major human pathogen, P. vivax is little studied because it cannot be propagated continuously in the laboratory except in non-human primates. We sequenced the genome of P. vivax to shed light on its distinctive biological features, and as a means to drive development of new drugs and vaccines. Here we describe the synteny and isochore structure of P. vivax chromosomes, and show that the parasite resembles other malaria parasites in gene content and metabolic potential, but possesses novel gene families and potential alternative invasion pathways not recognized previously. Completion of the P. vivax genome provides the scientific community with a valuable resource that can be used to advance investigation into this neglected species.