Sequence and intramolecular distance scoring analyses of microbial rhodopsins [version 2; referees: 2 approved]

Recent accumulation of sequence and structural data, in conjunction with systematical classification into a set of families, has significantly advanced our understanding of diverse and specific protein functions. Analysis and interpretation of protein family data requires comprehensive sequence and structural alignments. Here, we present a simple scheme for analyzing a set of experimental structures of a given protein or family of proteins, using microbial rhodopsins as an example. For a data set comprised of around a dozen highly similar structures to each other (overall pairwise root-mean-squared deviation < 2.3 Å), intramolecular distance scoring analysis yielded valuable information with respect to structural properties, such as differences in the relative variability of transmembrane helices. Furthermore, a comparison with recent results for G protein-coupled receptors demonstrates how the results of the present analysis can be interpreted and effectively utilized for structural characterization of diverse protein families in general

Sequence and intramolecular distance scoring analyses of microbial rhodopsins [version 1; referees: 2 approved]

Recent accumulation of sequence and structural data, in conjunction with systematical classification into a set of families, has significantly advanced our understanding of diverse and specific protein functions. Analysis and interpretation of protein family data requires comprehensive sequence and structural alignments. Here, we present a simple scheme for analyzing a set of experimental structures of a given protein or family of proteins, using microbial rhodopsins as an example. For a data set comprised of around a dozen highly similar structures to each other (overall pairwise root-mean-squared deviation < 2.3 Å), intramolecular distance scoring analysis yielded valuable information with respect to structural properties, such as differences in the relative variability of transmembrane helices. Furthermore, a comparison with recent results for G protein-coupled receptors demonstrates how the results of the present analysis can be interpreted and effectively utilized for structural characterization of diverse protein families in general

Replication Data for: A rhythm landscape approach to the developmental dynamics of birdsong rhythm

The dataset of the song development of Bengalese finches (n=12). Please read the paper for details about the song recording. Each compressed file contains the MySQL table (*frm, *MYD, *MYI) for a single bird, which was created by Sound Analysis Pro (http://soundanalysispro.com). Please refer to Sound Analysis Pro manual for the structure of the MySQL table

中学生の心の健康、食行動と健康自覚症状 および親子コミュニケーション

長崎県内の公立A中学校の生徒299名全員およびその親を対象に心の健康、食行動と健康自覚症状および親子コミュニケーションについて、小西らの質問票を一部改変した質問票によって、2001年10月中旬に自記式留置調査法により調査を行った（有効回答率は男子61.1％、女子73.2％）。「心の健康度」、「食行動」、「健康自覚症状」は、いずれも男子は女子に比べ平均値が高く、良好な状態にあった。「心の健康」、「健康自覚症状」で女子は男子よりも多くの項目で平均値が高く、有意差が見られたが、これらは月経随伴症状と共通している不定愁訴であると思われる。この男女間の差は対象者が思春期であることに影響され、女性の第二次性徴期との関連が推察される。親子コミュニケーションは、全ての項目で子どもの親に対するコミュニケーション度よりも親の子どもに対するコミュニケーション度が高値を示し、10項目中6項目で親の子どもに対する認知度が高かった。それらのギャップを認識し、親は子どもとの会話やその時の雰囲気などに気を配り、子どもが自分の気持ちや困ったことを話しやすいように環境づくりをし、日頃から親子関係をよくするように、コミュニケーションがスムースに運ばれるようにする必要性を感じた

Stepwise acquisition of vocal combinatorial capacity in songbirds and human infants

Human language, as well as birdsong, relies on the ability to arrange vocal elements in new sequences. However, little is known about the ontogenetic origin of this capacity. Here we track the development of vocal combinatorial capacity in three species of vocal learners, combining an experimental approach in zebra finches (Taeniopygia guttata) with an analysis of natural development of vocal transitions in Bengalese finches (Lonchura striata domestica) and pre-lingual human infants. We find a common, stepwise pattern of acquiring vocal transitions across species. In our first study, juvenile zebra finches were trained to perform one song and then the training target was altered, prompting the birds to swap syllable order, or insert a new syllable into a string. All birds solved these permutation tasks in a series of steps, gradually approximating the target sequence by acquiring new pairwise syllable transitions, sometimes too slowly to accomplish the task fully. Similarly, in the more complex songs of Bengalese finches, branching points and bidirectional transitions in song syntax were acquired in a stepwise fashion, starting from a more restrictive set of vocal transitions. The babbling of pre-lingual human infants showed a similar pattern: instead of a single developmental shift from reduplicated to variegated babbling (that is, from repetitive to diverse sequences), we observed multiple shifts, where each new syllable type slowly acquired a diversity of pairwise transitions, asynchronously over development. Collectively, these results point to a common generative process that is conserved across species, suggesting that the long-noted gap between perceptual versus motor combinatorial capabilities in human infants1 may arise partly from the challenges in constructing new pairwise vocal transitions