Polysynthesis and Head Marking

Author(s):  
Johanna Nichols

Polysynthetic languages are mostly head-marking. But the great majority of polysynthetic languages come from what I will call the Greater Pacific Rim (GPR) population, where the head-marking type is extremely common compared to the rest of the world. Is head marking a genuine distinctive property of polysynthetic languages, or a conspicuous accident of geography that is equally common in non-polysynthetic languages of the GPR? A typological survey shows that polysynthesis entails open head marking: either verbal slots and/or their fillers are not a closed set. Polysynthesis is conditioned by grammar (head marking), not geography. It is an inevitable development in a population of mostly head-marking languages, but the geographical distribution of head marking is the result of historical contingency.

Author(s):  
Loïc Epelboin ◽  
Carole Eldin ◽  
Pauline Thill ◽  
Vincent Pommier de Santi ◽  
Philippe Abboud ◽  
...  

Abstract Purpose of Review In this review, we report on the state of knowledge about human Q fever in Brazil and on the Guiana Shield, an Amazonian region located in northeastern South America. There is a contrast between French Guiana, where the incidence of this disease is the highest in the world, and other countries where this disease is practically non-existent. Recent Findings Recent findings are essentially in French Guiana where a unique strain MST17 has been identified; it is probably more virulent than those usually found with a particularly marked pulmonary tropism, a mysterious animal reservoir, a geographical distribution that raises questions. Summary Q fever is a bacterial zoonosis due to Coxiella burnetii that has been reported worldwide. On the Guiana Shield, a region mostly covered by Amazonian forest, which encompasses the Venezuelan State of Bolivar, Guyana, Suriname, French Guiana, and the Brazilian State of Amapá, the situation is very heterogeneous. While French Guiana is the region reporting the highest incidence of this disease in the world, with a single infecting clone (MST 117) and a unique epidemiological cycle, it has hardly ever been reported in other countries in the region. This absence of cases raises many questions and is probably due to massive under-diagnosis. Studies should estimate comprehensively the true burden of this disease in the region.


Resources ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (4) ◽  
pp. 38
Author(s):  
Leandro Pereira ◽  
Rita Carvalho ◽  
Álvaro Dias ◽  
Renato Costa ◽  
Nelson António

The fashion industry being one of the most polluting industries in the world means that it is an industry with an immense potential for change. Consumers are central and are closely intertwined with how companies act. This research reflects consumer perspectives and practices towards the topic of sustainability implemented in the fashion industry. The relevance of sustainability in the fashion industry and the key role of consumers in its implementation are undeniable and confirmed by consumers in a representation of general awareness and concern, despite not always being translated into actual practices. A qualitative research methodology, followed by a set of interviews conducted with consumers, revealed that the great majority are implementing a variety of practices when making their buying choices towards fashion items. Barriers such as lack of education, information, knowledge and transparency were identified, and this aspect was shared by consumers as a reason why they are not motivated to make more conscious decisions. Companies should educate consumers from a general perspective and focus on the group of consumers that are not implementing sustainability in the fashion industry in their buying choices, as they represent the potential for the future.


2015 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 437-440 ◽  
Author(s):  
Martin J Wiseman

The burden of cancer worldwide is predicted to almost double by 2030 to nearly 23 million cases annually. The great majority of this increase is expected to occur in less economically developed countries, where access to expensive medical, surgical and radiotherapeutic interventions is likely to be limited to a small proportion of the population. This emphasises the need for preventive measures, as outlined in the declaration from the United Nations 2011 High Level Meeting on Non-communicable Diseases. The rise in incidence is proposed to follow from increasing numbers of people reaching middle and older ages, together with increasing urbanisation of the population with a nutritional transition from traditional diets to a more globalised ‘Western’ pattern, with a decrease in physical activity. This is also expected to effect a change in the pattern of cancers from a predominantly smoking and infection dominated one, to a smoking and obesity dominated one. The World Cancer Research Fund estimates that about a quarter to a third of the commonest cancers are attributable to excess body weight, physical inactivity and poor diet, making this the most common cause of cancers after smoking. These cancers are potentially preventable, but knowledge of the causes of cancer has not led to effective policies to prevent the export of a ‘Western’ pattern of cancers in lower income countries such as many in Africa.


1952 ◽  
Vol 98 (413) ◽  
pp. 515-564 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. M. Yap

Few mental diseases have attracted the attention of medical men working in outlandish parts of the world more than Latah. This is due, not only to its intrinsic interest, showing as it regularly does the unusual symptoms of echolalia, echopraxia, and automatic obedience, but also to its remarkable geographical distribution. This illness was described by travellers to the Malay Archipelago in the latter part of the nineteenth century, but very similar reactions were later found to exist in other lands, known to the native peoples by other names. The term “Latah,” however, is the best known, and as the common features between these various reactions became apparent, it has been used as an inclusive name for them all. It is to-day employed with much the same connotation in the French, Dutch, Italian, and English literature, but the discussion of its nature betrays inadequate understanding, attempts at its nosological classification remain unsatisfactory, and speculations as to its aetology continue to be somewhat fanciful.


Author(s):  
C. Booth

Abstract A description is provided for Epicoccum purpurascens[Epicoccum nigrum]. Information is included on the disease caused by the organism, its transmission, geographical distribution, and hosts. HOSTS: plurivorous. DISEASE: The species usually occurs as a saprophyte or weak parasite although there are a number of reference to its occurance as a specific parasite. It occurs on a wide range of plants and plant material, human and animal tissue and processed foodstuffs. Generally regarded as a saprophyte or weak parasite but it has been listed as causing leaf spot of cassava (48, 2104), twig blight of Asiatic chestnuts (51, 1193) and because of its reddish-brown pigments (Β-carotene, torularhodin and rhodo-xanthin) it has been referred to as causing 'Red Kernel' disease of sweet corn (54, 2217), Red Blotch of rice (13, 538) and Brown Rot of apple. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: Although new records of its distribution are constantly being published its range is probably world-wide wherever vegetation occurs. The CMI has material from all the major regions of the world and collections too numerous to list here. TRANSMISSION: Spores of the species are amongst the commonest components of the air spore (51, 1193) and have been frequently isolated from seeds of rice (53, 135), millet (53, 3004) and cereals in general.


Author(s):  
Kyung Joo Kwon-Chung

Abstract A description is provided for Filobasidiella bacillispora. Information is included on the disease caused by the organism, its transmission, geographical distribution, and hosts. HOSTS: Unlike F. neoformans, F. bacillispora has been recorded only rarely from bird droppings and the natural habitat of this species is not known (RMVM 13, 480). Naturally-acquired infections have been recorded only in man and cat. DISEASE: Cryptococcosis (see CMI Description No. 649). GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: Cryptococcosis due to F. bacillispora is frequent in Southern California, but rare in other parts of the world.


Author(s):  
M. B. Ellis

Abstract A description is provided for Pyrenophora graminea. Information is included on the disease caused by the organism, its transmission, geographical distribution, and hosts. HOSTS: Barley and other Hordeum spp. Also, occasionally, on oats, wheat and rye. DISEASE: Causes leaf stripe of barley. Severe seedling infection can cause stunting and post-emergence death, but symptoms are not usually apparent until later, when long, chlorotic or yellow stripes on leaves and sheaths appear. Most leaves of a diseased plant are usually affected. Dark brown streaks develop later in the stripes, which eventually dry out and cause leaf shedding. Ears may not emerge or be deformed and discoloured. Grain production by infected plants is severely restricted. GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: Widespread distribution; occurs in most barley-growing areas of the world. TRANSMISSION: Seed-borne (49, 1342) usually by mycelium in the pericarp. Perithecia are uncommon, but overwintering sclerotia on crop debris have been reported from Russia (42, 13). Secondary infection by conidia is apparently important only for floral infection and subsequent seed contamination.


Author(s):  
C. Booth

Abstract A description is provided for Nectria cinnabarina. Information is included on the disease caused by the organism, its transmission, geographical distribution, and hosts. HOSTS: Many species including Ribes and Robinia. This species occurs on conifers and on a wide range of broad-leaved trees and shrubs. DISEASE: Coral spot fungus. Evidence supports the view that this species is a facultative parasite of considerable importance on blackcurrants (48, 3063); it occurs as the cause of cankers of Robinia (54, 1020) and may attack many other woody plants (55, 655). GEOGRAPHICAL DISTRIBUTION: It is very common and widespread in Northern Europe and has frequently been reported from temperate parts of the world, USA, Canada, Australia and New Zealand, and also from India and Hong Kong. TRANSMISSION: Because of the slimy nature of the conidia and the fact that they form a hard crust in dry weather, wind is not considered as important as water in their dispersal. Even the ascospores appear to be extruded or discharged only in moist weather (Jorgensen, 1952). Entry is usually through wounds or dead buds (47, 1181; 48, 3063).


2019 ◽  
pp. 1-10
Author(s):  
Samy Cohen

This introduction raises two fundamental questions: the first one tries to give a definition of what a peace camp is. What we call “the peace movement” in Israel is, in fact, an indistinct galaxy, a world that subdivides into a multitude of organizations and individuals, some highly prominent, and others completely unknown. It is a complex realm, crisscrossed by multiple currents that are often at variance with one another. It resembles no other peace movement in the world. Four main tendencies can be distinguished within this heterogeneous movement in Israel. The second question is that of the decline in the movement's capacity to organize mass demonstrations. Some argue that it is a result of a host of sociological changes that have come about in Israeli society. But the weight of sociological factors is secondary to emotional factors. The feeling of fear inspired by the Palestinians, the lack of confidence in the “other” that a great majority of Israelis refuse to consider a “partner for peace” weighs far more heavily than any sociological variable. This is one of the book's central arguments.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document