Chinese philosophy in the twentieth century has often been related to some sort of cultural or other particularism or some sort of philosophical universalism. By and large, these still seem to be the terms along which...Chinese philosophy in the twentieth century has often been related to some sort of cultural or other particularism or some sort of philosophical universalism. By and large, these still seem to be the terms along which academic debates are carried out. The tension is particularly manifest in notions such as "Chinese philosophy" "Daoist cosmology," "Neo-Confucian idealism," or "Chinese metaphysics." For some, "Chinese metaphysics" may be a blatant contradictio in adiecto, while others may find it a most ordinary topic to be discussed at the beginning of the twenty-first century. In this article, I set out to examine two major discourses in which talk about "metaphysics" is frequent and popular and to which talk of "Chinese metaphysics" may wish to contribute: the history of philosophy and analytic philosophy. My contention is that it is usually far from obvious what reasons are behind putting "Chinese metaphysics" on the academic agenda and to what precise purpose this is done. What my discussion seeks to highlight is the as yet often largely unarticulated dimension of the politics of comparative philosophy--of which talk about "Chinese metaphysics" may but need not be an example.展开更多
Biological denitrification is a crucial process in the nitrogen biogeochemical cycle,and Thermus has been reported to be a significant heterotrophic denitrifier in terrestrial geothermal environments.However,neither t...Biological denitrification is a crucial process in the nitrogen biogeochemical cycle,and Thermus has been reported to be a significant heterotrophic denitrifier in terrestrial geothermal environments.However,neither the denitrification potential nor the evolutionary history of denitrification genes in the genus Thermus or phylum Deinococcota is well understood.Here,we performed a comparative analysis of 23 Thermus genomes and identified denitrification genes in 15 Thermus strains.We confirmed that Thermus harbors an incomplete denitrification pathway as none of the strains contain the nosZ gene.Ancestral character state reconstructions and phylogenetic analyses showed that narG,nirS,and norB genes were acquired by the last common ancestor of Thermales and were inherited vertically.In contrast,nirK of Thermales was acquired via two distinct horizontal gene transfers from Proteobacteria to the genus Caldithermus and from an unknown donor to the common ancestor of all known Thermus species except Thermus filiformis.This study expands our understanding of the genomic potential for incomplete denitrification in Thermus,revealing a largely vertical evolutionary history of the denitrification pathway in the Thermaceae,and supporting the important role for Thermus as an important heterotrophic denitrifier in geothermal environments.展开更多
This article investigates the word Du(毒)in premodern Chinese medicine and culture.It highlights the paradoxical meaning of the word that served as a foundation for the therapeutic use of poisons in traditional Chines...This article investigates the word Du(毒)in premodern Chinese medicine and culture.It highlights the paradoxical meaning of the word that served as a foundation for the therapeutic use of poisons in traditional Chinese medicine.The article then situates the study in a comparative framework.By comparing the Chinese notion of Du with the Greek concept of pharmakon,it demonstrates significant similarities on the medical use of poisons in the two cultures.It further identifies a striking difference:While the European pharmacy started to separate poisons from medicines in the medieval era,poisons remained an integral part of healing repertoire throughout imperial China.The article ends with offering some cultural explanations for this divergence,and more broadly,a distinct worldview as revealed by the intimate relationship between poisons and medicines in traditional Chinese pharmacy.展开更多
文摘Chinese philosophy in the twentieth century has often been related to some sort of cultural or other particularism or some sort of philosophical universalism. By and large, these still seem to be the terms along which academic debates are carried out. The tension is particularly manifest in notions such as "Chinese philosophy" "Daoist cosmology," "Neo-Confucian idealism," or "Chinese metaphysics." For some, "Chinese metaphysics" may be a blatant contradictio in adiecto, while others may find it a most ordinary topic to be discussed at the beginning of the twenty-first century. In this article, I set out to examine two major discourses in which talk about "metaphysics" is frequent and popular and to which talk of "Chinese metaphysics" may wish to contribute: the history of philosophy and analytic philosophy. My contention is that it is usually far from obvious what reasons are behind putting "Chinese metaphysics" on the academic agenda and to what precise purpose this is done. What my discussion seeks to highlight is the as yet often largely unarticulated dimension of the politics of comparative philosophy--of which talk about "Chinese metaphysics" may but need not be an example.
基金supported by funding from the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Nos.91951205,92051108,31850410475,and 31970122)the National Science and Technology Fundamental Resources Investigation Program of China(2021FY100900)the U.S.National Science Foundation(DEB 1557042 and DEB 1841658).
文摘Biological denitrification is a crucial process in the nitrogen biogeochemical cycle,and Thermus has been reported to be a significant heterotrophic denitrifier in terrestrial geothermal environments.However,neither the denitrification potential nor the evolutionary history of denitrification genes in the genus Thermus or phylum Deinococcota is well understood.Here,we performed a comparative analysis of 23 Thermus genomes and identified denitrification genes in 15 Thermus strains.We confirmed that Thermus harbors an incomplete denitrification pathway as none of the strains contain the nosZ gene.Ancestral character state reconstructions and phylogenetic analyses showed that narG,nirS,and norB genes were acquired by the last common ancestor of Thermales and were inherited vertically.In contrast,nirK of Thermales was acquired via two distinct horizontal gene transfers from Proteobacteria to the genus Caldithermus and from an unknown donor to the common ancestor of all known Thermus species except Thermus filiformis.This study expands our understanding of the genomic potential for incomplete denitrification in Thermus,revealing a largely vertical evolutionary history of the denitrification pathway in the Thermaceae,and supporting the important role for Thermus as an important heterotrophic denitrifier in geothermal environments.
文摘This article investigates the word Du(毒)in premodern Chinese medicine and culture.It highlights the paradoxical meaning of the word that served as a foundation for the therapeutic use of poisons in traditional Chinese medicine.The article then situates the study in a comparative framework.By comparing the Chinese notion of Du with the Greek concept of pharmakon,it demonstrates significant similarities on the medical use of poisons in the two cultures.It further identifies a striking difference:While the European pharmacy started to separate poisons from medicines in the medieval era,poisons remained an integral part of healing repertoire throughout imperial China.The article ends with offering some cultural explanations for this divergence,and more broadly,a distinct worldview as revealed by the intimate relationship between poisons and medicines in traditional Chinese pharmacy.