Grambank reveals the importance of genealogical constraints on linguistic diversity and highlights the impact of language loss

While global patterns of human genetic diversity are increasingly well characterized, the diversity of human languages remains less systematically described. Here, we outline the Grambank database. With over 400,000 data points and 2400 languages, Grambank is the largest comparative grammatical database available. The comprehensiveness of Grambank allows us to quantify the relative effects of genealogical inheritance and geographic proximity on the structural diversity of the world's languages, evaluate constraints on linguistic diversity, and identify the world's most unusual languages. An analysis of the consequences of language loss reveals that the reduction in diversity will be strikingly uneven across the major linguistic regions of the world. Without sustained efforts to document and revitalize endangered languages, our linguistic window into human history, cognition, and culture will be seriously fragmented.

Loss determination in microsphere resonators by phase-shift cavity ring-down measurements

The optical loss of whispering gallery modes of resonantly excited microresonator spheres is determined by optical lifetime measurements. The phase-shift cavity ring-down technique is used to extract ring-down times and optical loss from the difference in amplitude modulation phase between the light entering the microresonator and light scattered from the microresonator. In addition, the phase lag of the light exiting the waveguide, which was used to couple light into the resonator, was measured. The intensity and phase measurements were fully described by a model that assumed interference of the cavity modes with the light propagating in the waveguide.

Detection of PCR products of the ipaH gene from Shigella and enteroinvasive Escherichia coli by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay

PCR techniques applied to diarrheal stools reliably diagnose Shigella and enteroinvasive Escherichia coli (EIEC) infections. Identification of PCR products using agarose gel electrophoresis (AGE) and hybridization with DNA probes has several shortcomings. Automated methods of identifying PCR products that process larger numbers of specimens can facilitate epidemiologic studies and standardize results. In this study, we used ELISA following PCR to detect ipaH gene sequences of Shigella and EIEC from 89 diarrheal stools. Results of ELISA were compared with AGE with and without DNA probe, and with culture. Two specimen preparation methods were compared as well: boiling/centrifugation, and purification with silicon dioxide (SiO(2)). Both PCR product-detection methods identified significantly more infections than did culture. PCR-ELISA detected significantly more infections than PCR-AGE when processed using SiO2 (P = 0.014). PCR-ELISA allows screening of larger numbers of specimens, automates test results, and avoids use of mutagenic reagents. PCR-ELISA is faster than PCR-AGE when testing large numbers of specimens, although not when testing small numbers of specimens.