The paper proposes that the understanding of human language evolution requires the comprehensive understanding of language in terms of language types, formations, and learnings and the comprehensive understanding of h...The paper proposes that the understanding of human language evolution requires the comprehensive understanding of language in terms of language types, formations, and learnings and the comprehensive understanding of human biological evolution in terms of the emergences of various hominin species with various language capacities. This paper proposes language neuromechanics and the human biological-language evolution. Language is derived from bodily movement. Language neuro-mechanics combines neuroscience to study language brain and biomechanics to study language movement. Language neuromechanics consists of language type, language formation, and language learning. Language types for advanced animals include gestural language verse vocal language, instinctive language verse controllable language, and symbolic language verse iconic language. Language formation involves the developments of the different types of languages from different bodily movements phylogenetically and ontogenetically. Language learning involves the learning of controllable language to adapt to communicative environment through language brain regions and language genes. This paper proposes a gradual and step-by-step human language evolution from the language of great apes to the human language through the human biological evolution which chronologically and geographically consists of early hominins, early Homos, middle Homos, and late Homos with different language capacities. For hominins, vocal language and gestural language were evolved together. In conclusion, combining neuroscience and bio-mechanics, language neuromechanics provides the comprehensive understanding of language. The combination of language neuromechanics and the human biological-language evolution provides the clear evolutionary path from great apes’ articulate gestural language without articulate speech to human articulate gestural language and articulate speech.展开更多
Apolipoprotein C-I has evolved more rapidly than any of the other soluble apolipoproteins. During the course of primate evolution, the gene for this apolipoprotein was duplicated. Prompted by our observation that the ...Apolipoprotein C-I has evolved more rapidly than any of the other soluble apolipoproteins. During the course of primate evolution, the gene for this apolipoprotein was duplicated. Prompted by our observation that the two resulting genes encode two distinct forms of apoC-I in great apes, we have reviewed both the genomic and proteomic data to examine what changes have occurred during the course of primate evolution. We have found data showing that one of the duplicated genes, known to be a pseudogene in humans, was also a pseudogene in Denisovans and Neandertals. Using genomic and proteomic data for primates, we will provide in this review evidence that the duplication took place after the divergence of New World monkeys from the human lineage and that the formation of the pseudogene took place after the divergence of the bonobos and chimpanzees from the human lineage.展开更多
In the selected experimental conditions, firstly, the branched products with functional groups, N-（2-hydroxylpropylphenylether） （3-aminopropyl） triethoxysilane （APES-PGE, containing one hydroxyl group） and N-[di...In the selected experimental conditions, firstly, the branched products with functional groups, N-（2-hydroxylpropylphenylether） （3-aminopropyl） triethoxysilane （APES-PGE, containing one hydroxyl group） and N-[di（2-hydroxylpropylphenylether）]（3-aminopropyl） triethoxysilane （APES-PGE2, containing two hydroxyl groups）, were synthesized by reacting 1 mole of （3-aminopropyl）triethoxysilane （APES） with 2 mole of phenylglycidylether （PGE）. Then the hydrolytic condensation of APES-PGE and APES-PGE2 was performed by dissolving 1 g of the corresponding silane in 1.5 ml tetrahydrofuran （THF）, adding water and eventually a catalyst （molar ratios: [H2O]/Si=3, [NaOH]/Si=0.05）, and heating at 50 ℃ for 24 h, allowing continuous evaporation of volatiles. The final products with branches containing hydroxyl groups were polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes （POSS）. The products from two reactions were characterized by standard spectroscopic techniques, gel partition chromatography （GPC）, Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy （FTIR） and matrix-assisted ultraviolet laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry （UV-MALDI-TOF MS）. Additionally, a narrow mass distribution of multifunctionalized POSS was shown by UV-MALDI-TOF MS and assignments of the MS peaks.展开更多
The aim of this study was to evaluate the ethnomedical knowledge of the population of South Ubangi on Myrianthus arboreus,a plant consumed by chimpanzees,with the assumption that this bio-resource is also used by the ...The aim of this study was to evaluate the ethnomedical knowledge of the population of South Ubangi on Myrianthus arboreus,a plant consumed by chimpanzees,with the assumption that this bio-resource is also used by the population in African Traditional Medicine to treat common diseases.The results revealed that M.arboreus treats 23 diseases in the province of South Ubangi in Democratic Republic of the Congo.Of these diseases,six(anaemia,bronchitis,tooth decay,gastritis,hypertension,and spleen)are the most cited.Anaemia and spleen are treated by all socio-cultural groups.The leaf is the most used organ(48%)followed by sap,roots,stems,bark,flowers,and seeds.Expression(61.5%)is the most used method of preparation followed by decoction,maceration,and mastication.Oral(94.5%)is the most used method of administration followed by body bath,massage,anal and auricular route.M.arboreus is a vulnerable species(Iv≥2.5)in the study area.The diseases treated are influenced by the level of education and the profession of the respondents(p<0.05).While the mode of preparation of recipes is influenced by the family situation,also the composition of recipes is influenced by gender,age and occupation(p<0.05).The search for new sources of bio-inspired drugs through zoopharmacognosy may thus allow the development of effective phytomedicines for the health care of humans or non-human primates ex situ.Thus the need for advanced phytochemical and pharmacological studies and the domestication of M.arboreus for its multiple food and pharmacological uses is necessary.展开更多
Virtual simulated environments provide multiple ways of testing cognitive function and evaluatingproblem solving with humans （e.g., Woollett et al. 2009）. The use of such interactive technologyhas increasingly becom...Virtual simulated environments provide multiple ways of testing cognitive function and evaluatingproblem solving with humans （e.g., Woollett et al. 2009）. The use of such interactive technologyhas increasingly become an essential part of modern life （e.g., autonomously driving vehicles, glo-bal positioning systems （GPS）, and touchscreen computers; Chinn and Fairlie 2007; Brown 2011）.While many nonhuman animals have their own forms of technology, such as chimpanzees whocreate and use tools, in captive animal environments the opportunity to actively participate withinteractive technology is not often made available. Exceptions can be found in some state-of-the-art zoos and laboratory facilities （e.g., Mallavarapu and Kuhar 2005）. When interactive technologyis available, captive animals often selectively choose to engage with it. This enhances the animal＇ssense of control over their immediate surroundings （e.g., Clay et al. 2011; Ackerman 2012）. Suchself-efficacy may help to fulfill basic requirements in a species＇ daily activities using problem solv-ing that can involve foraging and other goal-oriented behaviors. It also assists in fulfilling thestrong underlying motivation for contrafreeloading and exploration expressed behaviorally bymany species in captivity （Young 1999）. Moreover, being able to present nonhuman primates vir-tual reality environments under experimental conditions provides the opportunity to gain insightinto their navigational abilities and spatial cognition. It allows for insight into the generation andapplication of internal mental representations of landmarks and environments under multiple con-ditions （e.g., small- and large-scale space） and subsequent spatial behavior. This paper reviewsmethods using virtual reality developed to investigate the spatial cognitive abilities of nonhumanprimates, and great apes in particular, in comparison with that of humans of multiple age groups.We make recommendations about training, best practices, and also pitfalls to avoid.展开更多
享誉世界的非洲黑猩猩研究学者和保护者Jane Goodall最近重访四十年前的研究基地,东非的坦桑尼亚。她的所见所闻令她悲哀,同时,本文的第一、二段所形成的鲜明对比,也让读者悲从中来: 40年之前:she could climb to a hilltop and see not...享誉世界的非洲黑猩猩研究学者和保护者Jane Goodall最近重访四十年前的研究基地,东非的坦桑尼亚。她的所见所闻令她悲哀,同时,本文的第一、二段所形成的鲜明对比,也让读者悲从中来: 40年之前:she could climb to a hilltop and see nothing but rain forest andchimpanzee habitat stretching to the horizon. 40年之后:…only a tiny piece of its old size,about ten miles long andthree miles deep,surrounded by cleared land and eroding soil. 20世纪初,非洲黑猩猩的数量估计近二百万,而今只有二十万左右！ 下面这句道出了非洲黑猩猩数量锐减的根本原因: As loggong companies push into the rain forests,their roads give ruthlesshunters access to chimp populations,which they kill for the lucrative(有利的)trade in bush meat. 可悲的是,much of the meat ends up in upscale(高消费阶层的)restaurantsin African cities. 遗憾的是,the chimpanzee’s greatest liabilities(不利条件)was its inability(无能)to adapt to new habitats.展开更多
In the science fiction novel titled The Planet of the Apes （1963）, Pierre Boulle tells a story about a completely reversed world where the apes dominate the humans. Coming from the normal world that is ours, a small...In the science fiction novel titled The Planet of the Apes （1963）, Pierre Boulle tells a story about a completely reversed world where the apes dominate the humans. Coming from the normal world that is ours, a small group of people is totally embarrassed and confused by observing this strange world. On the planet of the apes that they have discovered, it is the apes that are more intelligent than the humans. On the earth, it was the other way around. That observation results in their perplexity. The two communities, human and simian, bear with one another the relationship that corresponds to what Lotman calls ＂enantiomorphic pairings＂. In this context, a series of questions deserves to be raised： Is a ＂common language＂ possible between the two communities in the enantiomorphic pairings？ If the answer is yes, under what conditions could they succeed in opening up a space where they can have something in common？ In rereading The Planet of the Apes with reference to Lotman＇s semiotics of culture, we would like to formulate a response to those questions. Our claim is that the experience of finitude of one＇s own language can make possible an access to the new form of universality requisite for the cross-cultural communication： commonality without common points.展开更多
文摘The paper proposes that the understanding of human language evolution requires the comprehensive understanding of language in terms of language types, formations, and learnings and the comprehensive understanding of human biological evolution in terms of the emergences of various hominin species with various language capacities. This paper proposes language neuromechanics and the human biological-language evolution. Language is derived from bodily movement. Language neuro-mechanics combines neuroscience to study language brain and biomechanics to study language movement. Language neuromechanics consists of language type, language formation, and language learning. Language types for advanced animals include gestural language verse vocal language, instinctive language verse controllable language, and symbolic language verse iconic language. Language formation involves the developments of the different types of languages from different bodily movements phylogenetically and ontogenetically. Language learning involves the learning of controllable language to adapt to communicative environment through language brain regions and language genes. This paper proposes a gradual and step-by-step human language evolution from the language of great apes to the human language through the human biological evolution which chronologically and geographically consists of early hominins, early Homos, middle Homos, and late Homos with different language capacities. For hominins, vocal language and gestural language were evolved together. In conclusion, combining neuroscience and bio-mechanics, language neuromechanics provides the comprehensive understanding of language. The combination of language neuromechanics and the human biological-language evolution provides the clear evolutionary path from great apes’ articulate gestural language without articulate speech to human articulate gestural language and articulate speech.
文摘Apolipoprotein C-I has evolved more rapidly than any of the other soluble apolipoproteins. During the course of primate evolution, the gene for this apolipoprotein was duplicated. Prompted by our observation that the two resulting genes encode two distinct forms of apoC-I in great apes, we have reviewed both the genomic and proteomic data to examine what changes have occurred during the course of primate evolution. We have found data showing that one of the duplicated genes, known to be a pseudogene in humans, was also a pseudogene in Denisovans and Neandertals. Using genomic and proteomic data for primates, we will provide in this review evidence that the duplication took place after the divergence of New World monkeys from the human lineage and that the formation of the pseudogene took place after the divergence of the bonobos and chimpanzees from the human lineage.
文摘In the selected experimental conditions, firstly, the branched products with functional groups, N-（2-hydroxylpropylphenylether） （3-aminopropyl） triethoxysilane （APES-PGE, containing one hydroxyl group） and N-[di（2-hydroxylpropylphenylether）]（3-aminopropyl） triethoxysilane （APES-PGE2, containing two hydroxyl groups）, were synthesized by reacting 1 mole of （3-aminopropyl）triethoxysilane （APES） with 2 mole of phenylglycidylether （PGE）. Then the hydrolytic condensation of APES-PGE and APES-PGE2 was performed by dissolving 1 g of the corresponding silane in 1.5 ml tetrahydrofuran （THF）, adding water and eventually a catalyst （molar ratios: [H2O]/Si=3, [NaOH]/Si=0.05）, and heating at 50 ℃ for 24 h, allowing continuous evaporation of volatiles. The final products with branches containing hydroxyl groups were polyhedral oligomeric silsesquioxanes （POSS）. The products from two reactions were characterized by standard spectroscopic techniques, gel partition chromatography （GPC）, Fourier-transformed infrared spectroscopy （FTIR） and matrix-assisted ultraviolet laser desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry （UV-MALDI-TOF MS）. Additionally, a narrow mass distribution of multifunctionalized POSS was shown by UV-MALDI-TOF MS and assignments of the MS peaks.
文摘The aim of this study was to evaluate the ethnomedical knowledge of the population of South Ubangi on Myrianthus arboreus,a plant consumed by chimpanzees,with the assumption that this bio-resource is also used by the population in African Traditional Medicine to treat common diseases.The results revealed that M.arboreus treats 23 diseases in the province of South Ubangi in Democratic Republic of the Congo.Of these diseases,six(anaemia,bronchitis,tooth decay,gastritis,hypertension,and spleen)are the most cited.Anaemia and spleen are treated by all socio-cultural groups.The leaf is the most used organ(48%)followed by sap,roots,stems,bark,flowers,and seeds.Expression(61.5%)is the most used method of preparation followed by decoction,maceration,and mastication.Oral(94.5%)is the most used method of administration followed by body bath,massage,anal and auricular route.M.arboreus is a vulnerable species(Iv≥2.5)in the study area.The diseases treated are influenced by the level of education and the profession of the respondents(p<0.05).While the mode of preparation of recipes is influenced by the family situation,also the composition of recipes is influenced by gender,age and occupation(p<0.05).The search for new sources of bio-inspired drugs through zoopharmacognosy may thus allow the development of effective phytomedicines for the health care of humans or non-human primates ex situ.Thus the need for advanced phytochemical and pharmacological studies and the domestication of M.arboreus for its multiple food and pharmacological uses is necessary.
文摘Virtual simulated environments provide multiple ways of testing cognitive function and evaluatingproblem solving with humans （e.g., Woollett et al. 2009）. The use of such interactive technologyhas increasingly become an essential part of modern life （e.g., autonomously driving vehicles, glo-bal positioning systems （GPS）, and touchscreen computers; Chinn and Fairlie 2007; Brown 2011）.While many nonhuman animals have their own forms of technology, such as chimpanzees whocreate and use tools, in captive animal environments the opportunity to actively participate withinteractive technology is not often made available. Exceptions can be found in some state-of-the-art zoos and laboratory facilities （e.g., Mallavarapu and Kuhar 2005）. When interactive technologyis available, captive animals often selectively choose to engage with it. This enhances the animal＇ssense of control over their immediate surroundings （e.g., Clay et al. 2011; Ackerman 2012）. Suchself-efficacy may help to fulfill basic requirements in a species＇ daily activities using problem solv-ing that can involve foraging and other goal-oriented behaviors. It also assists in fulfilling thestrong underlying motivation for contrafreeloading and exploration expressed behaviorally bymany species in captivity （Young 1999）. Moreover, being able to present nonhuman primates vir-tual reality environments under experimental conditions provides the opportunity to gain insightinto their navigational abilities and spatial cognition. It allows for insight into the generation andapplication of internal mental representations of landmarks and environments under multiple con-ditions （e.g., small- and large-scale space） and subsequent spatial behavior. This paper reviewsmethods using virtual reality developed to investigate the spatial cognitive abilities of nonhumanprimates, and great apes in particular, in comparison with that of humans of multiple age groups.We make recommendations about training, best practices, and also pitfalls to avoid.
文摘享誉世界的非洲黑猩猩研究学者和保护者Jane Goodall最近重访四十年前的研究基地,东非的坦桑尼亚。她的所见所闻令她悲哀,同时,本文的第一、二段所形成的鲜明对比,也让读者悲从中来: 40年之前:she could climb to a hilltop and see nothing but rain forest andchimpanzee habitat stretching to the horizon. 40年之后:…only a tiny piece of its old size,about ten miles long andthree miles deep,surrounded by cleared land and eroding soil. 20世纪初,非洲黑猩猩的数量估计近二百万,而今只有二十万左右！ 下面这句道出了非洲黑猩猩数量锐减的根本原因: As loggong companies push into the rain forests,their roads give ruthlesshunters access to chimp populations,which they kill for the lucrative(有利的)trade in bush meat. 可悲的是,much of the meat ends up in upscale(高消费阶层的)restaurantsin African cities. 遗憾的是,the chimpanzee’s greatest liabilities(不利条件)was its inability(无能)to adapt to new habitats.
文摘In the science fiction novel titled The Planet of the Apes （1963）, Pierre Boulle tells a story about a completely reversed world where the apes dominate the humans. Coming from the normal world that is ours, a small group of people is totally embarrassed and confused by observing this strange world. On the planet of the apes that they have discovered, it is the apes that are more intelligent than the humans. On the earth, it was the other way around. That observation results in their perplexity. The two communities, human and simian, bear with one another the relationship that corresponds to what Lotman calls ＂enantiomorphic pairings＂. In this context, a series of questions deserves to be raised： Is a ＂common language＂ possible between the two communities in the enantiomorphic pairings？ If the answer is yes, under what conditions could they succeed in opening up a space where they can have something in common？ In rereading The Planet of the Apes with reference to Lotman＇s semiotics of culture, we would like to formulate a response to those questions. Our claim is that the experience of finitude of one＇s own language can make possible an access to the new form of universality requisite for the cross-cultural communication： commonality without common points.
