Prolonged maturation of prefrontal white matter in chimpanzees

Delayed maturation in the prefrontal cortex, a brain region associated with complex cognitive processing, has been proposed to be specific to humans. However, we found, using a longitudinal design, that prefrontal white matter volume in chimpanzees increased gradually with age, and the increase appears to continue beyond the onset of puberty, as in humans. This provides the first evidence for a prolonged period of prefrontal connection elaboration in great apes

ゼンガク キョウツウ キョウイク ノ ゲンジョウ ト カダイ : ガクセイ ニヨル ジュギョウ ヒョウカ アンケート チョウサ ノ ブンセキ カラ

近年、全国の大学で授業評価アンケート調査が盛んに行われている。しかし、調査の結果は十分 に活用されているとは言い難い。本稿では、徳島大学の「全学共通教育授業評価アンケート調査」を取 り上げ、その現状について分析、考察を行った。2 節では、徳島大学の全学共通教育における授業評価 の取り組みについてみた。徳島大学の取り組みは他大学と比較しても、実施体制が整備されており、内 容も充実したものであることを確認した。3 節では、過去3 年間の調査結果を振り返った。欠席数が少 ないにもかかわらず、学習時間がきわめて少ないことなどが分かった。また、各授業分野の特徴も明ら かになった。この結果をふまえ、それぞれの分野の改善点や進むべき方向性について、いっそうの議論 が求められよう。4 節では、授業選択の理由および授業評価項目間の関連構造に注目した分析を行った。 そのうえで授業改善の方向性についていくつかの課題を示した。Recently, student evaluation surveys have been conducted at universities throughout the country. However, the results of the surveys have not been adequately utilized. In this paper, we examine “The Survey of Student Evaluation for General Education” of the University of Tokushima. In section 2, we examine the approach of the class evaluation in the University of Tokushima which, in comparison with other Japanese universities, has an adequate evaluation system with well-developed surveys for the class evaluation compared with another university. In section 3, we examine the survey results of the past three years which show that students’ study time is extremely low, though the number of absence is small. The features of each field addressed in the evaluation are clarified. In section 4, we analyze the reasons behind students’ class selection and the structure among the student evaluation items

Bilateral Chronic Subdural Hematoma in the Posterior Fossa Treated with a Burr Hole Irrigation: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Chronic subdural hematoma (CSH) in the posterior fossa is extremely rare. The surgical strategy is still controversial. We report a case of bilateral CSH in the posterior fossa successfully treated with a single-burr hole surgery. A 74-year-old man under anticoagulation and antiplatelet therapy developed headache and nausea during observation for an asymptomatic supratentorial CSH. Radiological examinations revealed appearance of bilateral CSH in the posterior fossa associated with hydrocephalus. Upon rapid deterioration of the patient’s consciousness, an urgent treatment was required. A burr hole was made near the transverse-sigmoid junction on the left side to access the hematoma. No ventricular drainage was placed as his consciousness improved during the decompression of the hematoma. Postoperative computed tomography showed that bilateral CSH and hydrocephalus had been successfully treated. In bilateral CSH in the posterior fossa, there may be a connection between each side. CSH in the posterior fossa, when urgent, can be treated under local anesthesia with a unilateral burr hole irrigation

Behavior-level Analysis of a Successive Stochastic Approximation Analog-to-Digital Conversion System for Multi-channel Biomedical Data Acquisition

In the present paper, we propose a novel high-resolution analog-to-digital converter (ADC) for low-power biomedical analog frontends, which we call the successive stochastic approximation ADC. The proposed ADC uses a stochastic flash ADC (SF-ADC) to realize a digitally controlled variable-threshold comparator in a successive-approximationregister ADC (SAR-ADC), which can correct errors originating from the internal digital-to-analog converter in the SAR-ADC. For the residual error after SAR-ADC operation, which can be smaller than thermal noise, the SF-ADC uses the statistical characteristics of noise to achieve high resolution. The SF-ADC output for the residual signal is combined with the SAR-ADC output to obtain high-precision output data using the supervised machine learning method

Intradural Lipoma at the Craniocervical Junction Presenting with Progressing Hemiparesis: A Case Report

Intradural spinal lipomas are rare in an adult population. They are mostly asymptomatic and usually associated with spinal dysraphism in a pediatric population. We report a rare case of spinal lipoma without dysraphism and with progressing hemiparesis. A 60-year-old woman had incidental lipoma at the craniocervical junction observed for more than 5 years. Recently, she developed right-sided hemiparesis and sensory disturbance. Radiological studies revealed a large lipoma compressing the dorsal medulla and C1–C2 spinal cord. Standard midline suboccipital craniotomy and C1 laminectomy were performed, and the lipoma was removed subtotally. The lipoma showed severe adhesion to the dorsal medulla and C1 spinal cord; therefore, the excision was limited as internal debulking. Her neurological deficit subsided within 6 months after the decompressive surgery. Considering the benign nature of lipoma, internal decompression is a reasonable management for this lesion