Herbaria as manuscripts: Philology, ethnobotany, and the textual-visual mesh of early modern botany

While interest in early modern herbaria has so far mainly concentrated on the dried plants stored in them, this paper addresses another of their qualities - their role as manuscripts. In the 1670s, the German botanist Paul Hermann (1646-95) spent several years in Ceylon (today Sri Lanka) as a medical officer in the service of the Dutch East India Company. During his stay he put together four herbaria, two of which contain a wealth of handwritten notes by himself and several later owners. First, it will be shown that these notes provide information on the linguistic skills and interests of those who collected plants in an overseas trading settlement. Hermann's botanical practice demanded and, at the same time, generated knowledge of Sinhalese (an Indo-Aryan language that is spoken by the largest ethnic group on the island) and its script. In his herbarium, observations on the semantics, morphology, and pronunciation of Sinhalese are inextricably intertwined with those of botanical nature. Second, on the basis of these voluminous notes, the character of early modern herbaria as manuscripts will be highlighted. And third, Hermann's herbaria will be integrated into an investigation of scribal practices and publication strategies of eighteenth-century botany. Along with field notes, letters, manuscripts, illustrations, and printed books, herbaria were knots in the textual-visual mesh of early modern botany.

James Cowles Prichard and the Linguistic Foundations of Ethnology

This article examines the English scholar James Cowles Prichard's attention to language and comparative philology within his wider project on the natural history of man. It reveals that linguistic evidence was among the most important elements for Prichard in his overarching scientific aim of investigating human physical diversity, and served as the evidential foundation for his ethnology. His work on Celtic comparative philology made him not only one of the earliest British adopters of German comparative grammar, but a comparative philologist of European stature in his own right. More generally, linguistic evidence helped Prichard to keep his magnum opus, Researches into the Physical History of Mankind, as logically ordered as possible, and therefore to turn ethnology into a discipline with analytical aspirations on a global scale.

[The quotations of Yijing Dazhi from the Danxi Yi An]

The Yijing Dazhi (, Great Illustrated Directions on Medical Classics) was written by Haiyan He Yue in the Ming Dynasty. This book cited some sections from the Danxi Yi An ( , Danxi's Medical Cases), and some cases in this book were new discoveries. Using the method of philology, this paper compared the cited sections from the Danxi Yi An () in The Yijing Dazhi with the medical records in Danxi Yi An (), Gezhi Yu Lun (, Further Discourses on the Properties of Things), Danxi Zuanyao (, Collected Essentials of Master Danxi's Medical Book), and Danxi Zhifa Xinyao (, Heart and Essentials of Danxi's Treatment Methods). It found that Danxi Yi An() and Danxi Yi An () are actually two individual books. In addition, the contents of Yijing Dazhi cited from Danxi Yi An () are well preserved and have important reference value for collating the medical records of Zhu Danxi in other relevant medical archives.

Molecular Epidemiology and Evolution of European Bat Lyssavirus 2

Bat rabies cases in Europe are mainly attributed to two lyssaviruses, namely European Bat Lyssavirus 1 (EBLV-1) and European Bat Lyssavirus 2 (EBLV-2). Prior to the death of a bat worker in Finland in 1985, very few bat rabies cases were reported. Enhanced surveillance in the two subsequent years (1986-1987) identified 263 cases (more than a fifth of all reported cases to date). Between 1977 and 2016, 1183 cases of bat rabies were reported, with the vast majority (>97%) being attributed to EBLV-1. In contrast, there have been only 39 suspected cases of EBLV-2, of which 34 have been confirmed by virus typing and presently restricted to just two bat species; Myotis daubentonii and Myotis dasycneme. The limited number of EBLV-2 cases in Europe prompted the establishment of a network of European reference laboratories to collate all available viruses and data. Despite the relatively low number of EBLV-2 cases, a large amount of anomalous data has been published in the scientific literature, which we have here reviewed and clarified. In this review, 29 EBLV-2 full genome sequences have been analysed to further our understanding of the diversity and molecular evolution of EBLV-2 in Europe. Analysis of the 29 complete EBLV-2 genome sequences clearly corroborated geographical relationships with all EBLV-2 sequences clustering at the country level irrespective of the gene studied. Further geographical clustering was also observed at a local level. There are high levels of homogeneity within the EBLV-2 species with nucleotide identities ranging from 95.5-100% and amino acid identities between 98.7% and 100%, despite the widespread distribution of the isolates both geographically and chronologically. The mean substitution rate for EBLV-2 across the five concatenated genes was 1.65 × 10^-5, and evolutionary clock analysis confirms the slow evolution of EBLV-2 both between and within countries in Europe. This is further supported by the first detailed EBLV-2 intra-roost genomic analysis whereby a relatively high sequence homogeneity was found across the genomes of three EBLV-2 isolates obtained several years apart (2007, 2008, and 2014) from M. daubentonii at the same site (Stokesay Castle, Shropshire, UK).

Molecular cloning of chicken interleukin-17B, which induces proinflammatory cytokines through activation of the NF-κB signaling pathway

Interleukin (IL)-17B is a little known member of the IL-17 cytokine family, which plays an important role in immunity by regulating the expression of proinflammatory cytokines. In this study, we determined the coding sequence and biological functions of a novel chicken IL-17B (chIL-17B). The full-length chIL-17B coding sequence includes 567 nucleotides encoding 188 amino acids, which was identified in small intestinal epithelial cells. The chIL-17B protein shares 96.48% amino acid sequence identity with turkey, 92.57% with duck, and 44.92-64.06% with mammalian IL-17B proteins. ChIL-17B shares three exons and two introns with mammals, turkey, and duck. Moreover, IL-17B mRNA was more highly expressed than IL-17A mRNA in several organs of chickens infected with Salmonella and was upregulated in chicken cell lines following LPS stimulation. In addition, in chicken cell lines, chIL-17B induced the mRNA expression of several proinflammatory cytokines, including IL-1β, IL-6, LITAF, and INF-γ, but not IL-17A, and activated MyD88, TAK1, NF-κB1, and SOCS1, which are associated with the NF-κB signaling pathway. Taken together, chicken interleukin-17B plays a critical role in host defense against the bacterial pathogens, and regulates proinflammatory cytokines by activating the NF-κB signaling pathway.

History of Science and History of Philologies

While both the sciences and the humanities, as currently defined, may be too heterogeneous to be encompassed within a unified historical framework, there is good reason to believe that the history of science and the history of philologies both have much to gain by joining forces. This collaboration has already yielded striking results in the case of the history of science and humanist learning in early modern Europe. This essay argues that first, philology and at least some of the sciences (e.g., astronomy) remained intertwined in consequential ways well into the modern period in Western cultures; and second, widening the scope of inquiry to include other philological traditions in non-Western cultures offers rich possibilities for a comparative history of learned practices. The focus on practices is key; by shifting the emphasis from what is studied to how it is studied, deep commonalities emerge among disciplines--and intellectual traditions--now classified as disparate.

[Philological structure of Dan xi shou jing (Danxi's Hand Mirror)]

Zhu Danxi, one of the four Major Schools of the Jin-Yuan Dynasties, had a lot of works circulated with its authorship in disarray. Part of the works were compiled by his disciples, while others were by his self-taught followers based on prior circulated Danxi's originals, plus some apocryphal so-called Danxi's works circulated posthumously. When sorting out Danxi's Hand Mirror, we found that some of its contents are closely related to Bei ji qian jin yao fang (Essential Prescriptions Worth a Thousand Gold for Emergencies), Qian jin yi fang (Supplements to Qian jin yao fang), Tai ping sheng hui fang (Peaceful Holy Benevolent Prescriptions), Zhu jie shang han lun (Annotated Treatises of Cold Pathogenic Disease), Shang han ming li lun (Elucidation of Cold Pathogenic Disease), Ge zhi yu lun (Treatise of Inquiring the Properties of Things), either by transcription or with an identical origin. By clearing their relationships, it can provide assistance to the research of the philological structure of Danxi's hand Mirror.

[Effectiveness of expression of tdh gene of Vibrio parahaemolyticus depends on two point mutations in promoter region]

A molecular-biological study of the clinical strains of Vibrio parahaemolyticus that contain genes of thermostable direct hemolysin Tdh) and Tdh-related hemolysin (Trh). Using Southern blot hybridization, it is shown that genomes of strains that carry determinants of both hemolysins (tdh(+)-trh+) represent a single copy, whereas in tdh2+RH+ strains, there are two copies (tdh1 and tdh2). All of the examined tdh+trh+ and some of the tdh+trh strains either did not express the tdh gene or did not express the tdh gene (Kanagawa negative or KP-) or expressed it weakly and not often (Kanagawa intermediate, KP+), unlike several Kanagawa positive tdh+trh- strains. To establish the reasons for KP -/+ phenotypes, tdh, tdh11, and tdh2 genes of 13 strains isolated in Russia and neighboring foreign countries were sequenced, followed by the biotransformation analysis of the obtained sequences, as well as a comparison with those of a number of strains presented in GenBank. The results revealed that the weak expression of the tdh gene depends, not only on one point mutation in the promoter region (substitution of A for G in the -35 region), as was thought previously, but also on the second substitution (G for A in the -3 position relative to the -10 sequence), which is quite sufficient when the former is absent. Therefore, the reversion of KP -/+ strains that contain one of these substitutions can take place as a result of a single reverse point mutation, and they should be considered potentially dangerous. Strains that contain both substitutions may revert with lesser probability because, in this case, both mutations are necessary.

Revalidating Sherlock Holmes for a role in medical education

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle endowed Sherlock Holmes with extraordinary skills that Dr Watson and others found incomprehensible until Holmes gave explanations, often in the form of memorable maxims and short monologues. Intentionally or not, Doyle left us crime-solving precepts that still inform aspects of medical practice. Experienced clinicians share with Holmes the dilemma of how to make complex, often unconscious, capability accessible to novices. Doctors still invoke Holmes's methods in clinical contexts, but the validity of some of the parallels has been challenged and quoting the more popular sayings has been equated with conceit. This paper examines how the use of selected maxims and monologues can help to link abstract principles and live context in a credible way in order to make aspects of clinical reasoning and professional behaviour more accessible and memorable.

Galen's commentary on Hippocrates' De humoribus

This paper deals with the fragments of the Galenic commentary on Hippocrates' De humoribus preserved in Oribasius, Rhazes, Maimonides, their philological history and a comparison of some passages.

DNA sequences of Paragonimus skrjabini populations from five provinces in China

BACKGROUND

To study differences among Paragonimus skrjabini (P. skrjabini) populations from five provinces in China (Guangdong, Fujian, Yunnan, Hubei, and Sichuan) and Paragonimus szechuanensis.

METHODS

DNA sequences were obtained from the ITS2 and CO1 genes and phylogenetic trees were constructed from the results. Sequences were also obtained from several other species of Paragonimus for comparative purposes.

RESULTS

Although differences existed in the DNA sequence among P. skrjabini populations from five provinces, the differences were very small. There was also some resemblance between P. miyazakii from Japan and Fujian strains of P. skrjabini.

CONCLUSION

All studied populations can be regarded as different strains of P. skrjabini; P. szechuanensis is not a separate species but may be a geographical strain of P. skrjabini. We also found that P. miyazakii may be synonymous with P. skrjabini.

Life sentences: Ontology recapitulates philology

Ontology is a structured vocabulary in the form of a directed acyclic graph such that each term is descended from its parent by some defined relationship such as "part of". The network we should be interested in is not the network of names but the network of the objects themselves.

Advancing nursing scholarship through the interpretation of imaginative literature: ancestral connectedness and the survival of the sufferer

Imaginative literature has played an important role in nursing practice and education since the time of Florence Nightingale. Used primarily as an exemplar, however, its potential has not been realized fully by nurses. This article addresses the use of imaginative literature in scholarly inquiry. Often considered the aegis of literary critics and philosophers, the formal discipline of literary criticism enables the nurse to identify concepts and to generate theoretic explanations about human phenomena. The relationship between the ancestor and the survival of the sufferer is illustrated using Morrison's literary and cultural paradigm applied to selected novels. Implications for practice are identified.

Grammatical style of nutrition education messages

Nutrition education messages were written about eight different foods or food products in eight different styles. Styles were suggestions, instructions using 'should', rhetorical questions using 'how about' or 'why not', statements of fact, positive commands, positive commands followed by negative commands or vice versa. Subjects (n 160) rated messages for persuasiveness and also stated how often they already complied with each message. Scores were adjusted to remove the contributions related to sex, age group, social class, reported compliance and food about which the message had been written. The main factor influencing score for persuasiveness was the extent to which subjects claimed to be already complying with the messages. There were no significant effects of the method of construction of messages on score using one-way analysis of variance.

Psychotherapy, revelation, science, and deep thinking

Psychodynamic psychotherapy has evolved in the 30 years since John Nemiah was the author's mentor in the endeavor. It has always occupied an epistemologic position somewhere between the scientific standard of physics and the postmodern or poststructuralist view that the search for truth using language is totally futile. However, the awkward niche that psychotherapeutic practice occupies is closer to literary imagination than "hard science." The use of such imagination was presented 25 years ago by John Nemiah in his paper on "Deep Thinking." The poet's "revelation ... not discovered by the rational intellect alone" often imparts in psychotherapeutic practice a compelling urgency toward a previously unrealized choice. Such vision is, however, always located at the periphery of acceptable scientific theory. Psychotherapists persist, often with doubts, because their place is reflective of humanity's awkwardness. Evolution and civilization mutually enfold the human ability to resonate to the anguish of others as well. A species altruism directed toward repair of human problems is coupled with the skills of affectively linked "deep thinking." There is a continuing marginalization of such efforts, which now need to be cared for deeply.

A probable case of clicks influencing the sound patterns of some European languages

In the history of various European languages (Latin, Spanish, English, Swedish, and various dialects of French) there are instances of the cluster mn appearing as mpn. There are philological controversies as to whether this 'epenthetic' p was actually pronounced or was just a learned hypercorrect spelling. I offer here a novel phonetic scenario supporting the claim that the p was pronounced and arose in a phonetically natural way: I posit that in the mn cluster there was temporal overlap of the m and n closures. The simultaneous labial and apical closure would create a pocket of air between them which, when the labial closure was released, would undergo a momentary rarefaction of pressure and thus be released with a click-like burst. Listeners would be likely to interpret this stop burst auditorily as a pulmonic [p] and this would be the basis of their own pronunciations.