Language as an Element of the Extended Phenotype: A Contribution to the Application of the Extended Phenotype Concept in Linguistic Research

This paper discusses evolutionary and neurobiological approaches to linguistic research. The role and significance of the co-evolution processes of language and the brain are highlighted. Thus language is regarded as a product of natural selection, shaped by the brain (but the influence is mutual). The author also indicates a possibility of applying the extended phenotype concept to the study of language. That original idea implies the perception of language as a neuromimesis-based phenotypic expression of the biological and cultural replicators outside the organism’s body.This paper discusses evolutionary and neurobiological approaches to linguistic research. The role and significance of the co-evolution processes of language and the brain are highlighted. Thus language is regarded as a product of natural selection, shaped by the brain (but the influence is mutual). The author also indicates a possibility of applying the extended phenotype concept to the study of language. That original idea implies the perception of language as a neuromimesis-based phenotypic expression of the biological and cultural replicators outside the organism’s body

Cortical memory mechanisms in the functional grasp: A biolinguistic perspective

This paper presents correlations between language and memory with specific focus given to working memory. Cortico-cortical and cortical-striatal-cortical interactions for language processing are proposed, and therein, a neurocognitive network connecting temporal, parietal and prefrontal cortices is discussed. This approach is explored with the framework of Baddeley’s model of working memory, language origins, and some psychopathologies and genetic linguistics. This paper presents correlations between language and memory with specific focus given to working memory. Cortico-cortical and cortical-striatal-cortical interactions for language processing are proposed, and therein, a neurocognitive network connecting temporal, parietal and prefrontal cortices is discussed. This approach is explored with the framework of Baddeley’s model of working memory, language origins, and some psychopathologies and genetic linguistics.

Grammatical gender of nouns as a means of conveying extragrammatical information I. Review of the research concerning grammatical gender

This article aims at investigating the nature of the gender system in Polish. The paper includes a review of various approaches to the problem, as seen by psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics and feminist linguistics, as well as an attempt at presenting a synchronic view on the gender system. It is also the theoretical introduction to a following empirical article treating of Polish genders.This article aims at investigating the nature of the gender system in Polish. The paper includes a review of various approaches to the problem, as seen by psycholinguistics, neurolinguistics and feminist linguistics, as well as an attempt at presenting a synchronic view on the gender system. It is also the theoretical introduction to a following empirical article treating of Polish genders

Two Ways of Processing Language: Associative Memory and Computational Rules in the Case of Modern Polish

This paper discusses associational and computational approaches to language and cognition with a special focus on modern Polish. The authors indicate the sources for both views and try to combine these views in order to answer the underlying question of how language is processed. The analysis of Polish morphology (scil. verb inflection) has shown that such a combination is possible and scientifically valuable but still more specific research on the neuronal correlates of linguistic behaviours is needed

Epistemologiczne i metodologiczne aspekty sozologii

It seems necessary that the police surroundings should get known about the natural environmental protection which sozology is. During the research that I carried out among the policemen I’ve done the questionnare about information and ecological consciousness of the police. I’ve examined 500 policemen. Just 2 % of the surveyed brought the environmental protection to their mind, 98% wrongly thought just about ecology. This situation forces wider defining teh sozology and presenting its episthemological and methodological aspects. What is more it demands wider participation in police teaching programmes

Benign gastro-bronchial fistula – an uncommon complication of esophagectomy: case report

BACKGROUND: Gastro-bronchial fistula (GBF) is a rare and devastating complication following esophagectomy. Making the correct diagnosis is difficult and there is no agreement on the treatment for this rare condition. CASE PRESENTATION: We report the case of a 56-year-old man who presented with features of repeated aspiration and chest infections six years following an esophagectomy for Barrett's esophagus. Despite extensive investigations the cause of symptoms was difficult to determine. The correct diagnosis of fistula from stomach to right main stem bronchus was made at bronchoscopy under general anesthesia. After ruling out local recurrence of cancer, a successful primary repair was carried out by resection of fistula and direct repair of gastric conduit and bronchus. He is well after 6 months of treatment. CONCLUSION: Late development of gastro-bronchial fistula is a rare complication of esophageal resection that may be difficult to diagnose. Surgical resection and direct closure is the treatment of choice, although the method of treatment should be tailored according to the anatomy of the fistula and the patient's condition

Hydration effects turn a highly stretched polymer from an entropic into an energetic spring

Polyethylene glycol (PEG) is a structurally simple and nontoxic water-soluble polymer that is widely used in medical and pharmaceutical applications as molecular linker and spacer. In such applications, PEG’s elastic response against conformational deformations is key to its function. According to text-book knowledge, a polymer reacts to the stretching of its end-to-end separation by a decrease in entropy that is due to the reduction of available conformations, which is why polymers are commonly called entropic springs. By a combination of single-molecule force spectroscopy experiments with molecular dynamics simulations in explicit water, we show that entropic hydration effects almost exactly compensate the chain conformational entropy loss at high stretching. Our simulations reveal that this entropic compensation is due to the stretching-induced release of water molecules that in the relaxed state form double hydrogen bonds with PEG. As a consequence, the stretching response of PEG is predominantly of energetic, not of entropic, origin at high forces and caused by hydration effects, while PEG backbone deformations only play a minor role. These findings demonstrate the importance of hydration for the mechanics of macromolecules and constitute a case example that sheds light on the antagonistic interplay of conformational and hydration degrees of freedom

Standard operating procedure for curation and clinical interpretation of variants in cancer

Manually curated variant knowledgebases and their associated knowledge models are serving an increasingly important role in distributing and interpreting variants in cancer. These knowledgebases vary in their level of public accessibility, and the complexity of the models used to capture clinical knowledge. CIViC (Clinical Interpretation of Variants in Cancer - www.civicdb.org) is a fully open, free-to-use cancer variant interpretation knowledgebase that incorporates highly detailed curation of evidence obtained from peer-reviewed publications and meeting abstracts, and currently holds over 6300 Evidence Items for over 2300 variants derived from over 400 genes. CIViC has seen increased adoption by, and also undertaken collaboration with, a wide range of users and organizations involved in research. To enhance CIViC\u27s clinical value, regular submission to the ClinVar database and pursuit of other regulatory approvals is necessary. For this reason, a formal peer reviewed curation guideline and discussion of the underlying principles of curation is needed. We present here the CIViC knowledge model, standard operating procedures (SOP) for variant curation, and detailed examples to support community-driven curation of cancer variants

Mutations associated with progression in follicular lymphoma predict inferior outcomes at diagnosis: Alliance A151303

Follicular lymphoma (FL) is clinically heterogeneous, with select patients tolerating extended watch-and-wait, whereas others require prompt treatment, suffer progression of disease within 24 months of treatment (POD24), and/or experience aggressive histologic transformation (t-FL). Because our understanding of the relationship between genetic alterations in FL and patient outcomes remains limited, we conducted a clinicogenomic analysis of 370 patients with FL or t-FL (from Cancer and Leukemia Group B/Alliance trials 50402/50701/50803, or real-world cohorts from Washington University School of Medicine, Cleveland Clinic, or University of Miami). FL subsets by grade, stage, watch-and-wait, or POD24 status did not differ by mutation burden, whereas mutation burden was significantly higher in relapsed/refractory (rel/ref) FL and t-FL than in newly diagnosed (dx) FL. Nonetheless, mutation burden in dx FL was not associated with frontline progression-free survival (PFS). CREBBP was the only gene more commonly mutated in FL than in t-FL yet mutated CREBBP was associated with shorter frontline PFS in FL. Mutations in 20 genes were more common in rel/ref FL or t-FL than in dx FL, including 6 significantly mutated genes (SMGs): STAT6, TP53, IGLL5, B2M, SOCS1, and MYD88. We defined a mutations associated with progression (MAP) signature as ≥2 mutations in these 7 genes (6 rel/ref FL or t-FL SMGs plus CREBBP). Patients with dx FL possessing a MAP signature had shorter frontline PFS, revealing a 7-gene set offering insight into FL progression risk potentially more generalizable than the m7-Follicular Lymphoma International Prognostic Index (m7-FLIPI), which had modest prognostic value in our cohort. Future studies are warranted to validate the poor prognosis associated with a MAP signature in dx FL, potentially facilitating novel trials specifically in this high-risk subset of patients