Superregular grammars do not provide additional explanatory power but allow for a compact analysis of animal song

A pervasive belief with regard to the differences between human language and animal vocal sequences (song) is that they belong to different classes of computational complexity, with animal song belonging to regular languages, whereas human language is superregular. This argument, however, lacks empirical evidence since superregular analyses of animal song are understudied. The goal of this paper is to perform a superregular analysis of animal song, using data from gibbons as a case study, and demonstrate that a superregular analysis can be effectively used with non-human data. A key finding is that a superregular analysis does not increase explanatory power but rather provides for compact analysis: Fewer grammatical rules are necessary once superregularity is allowed. This pattern is analogous to a previous computational analysis of human language, and accordingly, the null hypothesis, that human language and animal song are governed by the same type of grammatical systems, cannot be rejected.Comment: Accepted for publication by Royal Society Open Scienc

Efficacy and Tolerability of Weekly Paclitaxel in Combination with High-dose Toremifene Citrate in Patients with Metastatic Breast Cancer

Toremifene citrate is expected to prevent drug resistance in cancer patients by inhibiting p-glycoprotein activity. The safety and efficacy of combination therapy with high-dose toremifene citrate and paclitaxel were investigated. Between December 2003 and June 2004, 15 women with a mean age of 53 years old with metastatic breast cancer were enrolled. The administration schedule was 80mg/m2 of paclitaxel given on Days 1, 8, and 15, and 120mg/day of toremifene citrate orally administered starting on Day 18. On Days 32 and 39, paclitaxel was concurrently administered again. Toxicities, response rate, and time to treatment failure were assessed. All patients had been treated with endocrine or chemotherapy. Grade 3 leukopenia occurred in 2 patients on the administration of paclitaxel alone, and grade 3 febrile neutropenia occurred in 1 patient given the combination therapy. There was no grade 3 or greater non-hematological toxicity. There was no complete response and 1 partial response, producing a response rate of 6.7%. Median time to treatment failure was 2.7 months. Combination therapy of paclitaxel and toremifene was safe and well tolerated with minimal toxicity. Further clinical trials targeting patients with functional p-glycoprotein are warranted.</p

Peculiar mechanisms of graft recovery through anti-inflammatory responses after rat lung transplantation from donation after cardiac death

Background: Although lung transplantation from donation after cardiac death (DCD), especially uncontrolled DCD, is limited by warm ischemic periods, the molecular mechanism of warm ischemia-reperfusion-injury (IRI) has not been well elucidated. The purpose of this study was to clarify the particular longitudinal mechanisms of molecular factors involved in warm IRI. Methods: Cold ischemic-time (CIT)-group lungs were retrieved and subjected to 3-h of cold preservation, whereas warm ischemic-time (WIT)-group lungs were retrieved after 3-h of warm ischemia. Orthotopic rat lung transplantation was performed and the grafts were reperfused for 1 or 4-h. The graft functions, gene expression, and activation of inflammatory molecules in the grafts were analyzed. Exhaled-carbon-monoxide-concentration (ExCO-C) was measured during reperfusion. Results: Only the WIT-group showed obvious primary graft dysfunction at 1-h reperfusion, but the graft function was recovered during 4-h reperfusion. Most of pro-inflammatory cytokines and stress-induced molecules showed different expression and activation patterns between CIT and WIT groups. In the WIT-group, the expressions of anti-inflammatory molecules, IL-10 and HO-1, were significantly increased at 1-h reperfusion compared to the CIT-group, and these high levels were maintained through 4-h reperfusion. Furthermore, ExCO-C levels in the WIT-group increased immediately after reperfusion compared to the CIT-group. Conclusions: This study indicates that warm IRI may involve a different mechanism than cold IRI and anti-inflammatory pathways may play important roles in the graft recovery after lung transplantation from uncontrolled DCD

A compact statistical model of the song syntax in Bengalese finch

Songs of many songbird species consist of variable sequences of a finite number of syllables. A common approach for characterizing the syntax of these complex syllable sequences is to use transition probabilities between the syllables. This is equivalent to the Markov model, in which each syllable is associated with one state, and the transition probabilities between the states do not depend on the state transition history. Here we analyze the song syntax in a Bengalese finch. We show that the Markov model fails to capture the statistical properties of the syllable sequences. Instead, a state transition model that accurately describes the statistics of the syllable sequences includes adaptation of the self-transition probabilities when states are repeatedly revisited, and allows associations of more than one state to the same syllable. Such a model does not increase the model complexity significantly. Mathematically, the model is a partially observable Markov model with adaptation (POMMA). The success of the POMMA supports the branching chain network hypothesis of how syntax is controlled within the premotor song nucleus HVC, and suggests that adaptation and many-to-one mapping from neural substrates to syllables are important features of the neural control of complex song syntax

99mTcーMIBI(methyloxyisobutylisonitrile)による異所性副甲状腺のより明瞭な視覚化 201Tlと比較して(英語)

富山医科薬科大学 医 放射線原著論文/症例報

琉球弧の奄美群島におけるユリ科ウケユリの自生地

ユリ科ウケユリは琉球列島固有植物で，絶滅が危惧されているが，近年の自生地の現状が不明であった。本研究は，鹿児島県の奄美大島，加計呂麻島，与路島，請島，徳之島においてウケユリの自生地を探索し，現存個体数とその生育環境を調査したものである。2007 年3 月から2008 年7 月に対象地域をほぼ網羅的に踏査した結果，奄美大島9 箇所，加計呂麻島2 箇所，請島6 箇所，徳之島1 箇所の計18 箇所において，374 個体の生育を確認した。このうち292 個体は茎に5 枚以上の葉をつけた大株で，その中の137 個体は花または若い果実をつけていた。さらに，実生の可能性がある小型の１６個体と，枯れた茎をつけた66 個体を確認した。生育場所は北緯27°50′から28°20′，東経128°55′から129°25′，標高174ｍから595ｍの範囲内に点在する露岩のほぼ垂直な壁面であった。ウケユリは林冠の被覆が無く日当りがよい岩壁の中部や上部に多く生育していた。露岩の周辺はスダジイなどを優占種とする常緑広葉樹の二次林であった