Recursive syntactic pattern learning by songbirds

Humans regularly produce new utterances that are understood by other members of the same language community. Linguistic theories account for this ability through the use of syntactic rules (or generative grammars) that describe the acceptable structure of utterances. The recursive, hierarchical embedding of language units (for example, words or phrases within shorter sentences) that is part of the ability to construct new utterances minimally requires a 'context-free' grammar that is more complex than the 'finite-state' grammars thought sufficient to specify the structure of all non-human communication signals. Recent hypotheses make the central claim that the capacity for syntactic recursion forms the computational core of a uniquely human language faculty. Here we show that European starlings (Sturnus vulgaris) accurately recognize acoustic patterns defined by a recursive, self-embedding, context-free grammar. They are also able to classify new patterns defined by the grammar and reliably exclude agrammatical patterns. Thus, the capacity to classify sequences from recursive, centre-embedded grammars is not uniquely human. This finding opens a new range of complex syntactic processing mechanisms to physiological investigation.     

NMDA receptors mediate calcium accumulation in myelin during chemical ischaemia

Central nervous system myelin is a specialized structure produced by oligodendrocytes that ensheaths axons, allowing rapid and efficient saltatory conduction of action potentials. Many disorders promote damage to and eventual loss of the myelin sheath, which often results in significant neurological morbidity. However, little is known about the fundamental mechanisms that initiate myelin damage, with the assumption being that its fate follows that of the parent oligodendrocyte. Here we show that NMDA (N-methyl-d-aspartate) glutamate receptors mediate Ca2+ accumulation in central myelin in response to chemical ischaemia in vitro. Using two-photon microscopy, we imaged fluorescence of the Ca2+ indicator X-rhod-1 loaded into oligodendrocytes and the cytoplasmic compartment of the myelin sheath in adult rat optic nerves. The AMPA (alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazole propionic acid)/kainate receptor antagonist NBQX completely blocked the ischaemic Ca2+ increase in oligodendroglial cell bodies, but only modestly reduced the Ca2+ increase in myelin. In contrast, the Ca2+ increase in myelin was abolished by broad-spectrum NMDA receptor antagonists (MK-801, 7-chlorokynurenic acid, d-AP5), but not by more selective blockers of NR2A and NR2B subunit-containing receptors (NVP-AAM077 and ifenprodil). In vitro ischaemia causes ultrastructural damage to both axon cylinders and myelin. NMDA receptor antagonism greatly reduced the damage to myelin. NR1, NR2 and NR3 subunits were detected in myelin by immunohistochemistry and immunoprecipitation, indicating that all necessary subunits are present for the formation of functional NMDA receptors. Our data show that the mature myelin sheath can respond independently to injurious stimuli. Given that axons are known to release glutamate, our finding that the Ca2+ increase was mediated in large part by activation of myelinic NMDA receptors suggests a new mechanism of axo-myelinic signalling. Such a mechanism may represent a potentially important therapeutic target in disorders in which demyelination is a prominent feature, such as multiple sclerosis, neurotrauma, infections (for example, HIV encephalomyelopathy) and aspects of ischaemic brain injury.     

A photometric redshift of z = 6.39 +/- 0.12 for GRB 050904

Gamma-ray bursts (GRBs) and their afterglows are the most brilliant transient events in the Universe. Both the bursts themselves and their afterglows have been predicted to be visible out to redshifts of z approximately 20, and therefore to be powerful probes of the early Universe. The burst GRB 000131, at z = 4.50, was hitherto the most distant such event identified. Here we report the discovery of the bright near-infrared afterglow of GRB 050904 (ref. 4). From our measurements of the near-infrared afterglow, and our failure to detect the optical afterglow, we determine the photometric redshift of the burst to be z = 6.39 - 0.12 + 0.11 (refs 5-7). Subsequently, it was measured spectroscopically to be z = 6.29 +/- 0.01, in agreement with our photometric estimate. These results demonstrate that GRBs can be used to trace the star formation, metallicity, and reionization histories of the early Universe.     

Inhibition of caspase-1 slows disease progression in a mouse model of Huntington's disease.

Huntington's disease is an autosomal-dominant progressive neurodegenerative disorder resulting in specific neuronal loss and dysfunction in the striatum and cortex. The disease is universally fatal, with a mean survival following onset of 15-20 years and, at present, there is no effective treatment. The mutation in patients with Huntington's disease is an expanded CAG/polyglutamine repeat in huntingtin, a protein of unknown function with a relative molecular mass of 350,000 (M(r) 350K). The length of the CAG/polyglutamine repeat is inversely correlated with the age of disease onset. The molecular pathways mediating the neuropathology of Huntington's disease are poorly understood. Transgenic mice expressing exon 1 of the human huntingtin gene with an expanded CAG/polyglutamine repeat develop a progressive syndrome with many of the characteristics of human Huntington's disease. Here we demonstrate evidence of caspase-1 activation in the brains of mice and humans with the disease. In this transgenic mouse model of Huntington's disease, expression of a dominant-negative caspase-1 mutant extends survival and delays the appearance of neuronal inclusions, neurotransmitter receptor alterations and onset of symptoms, indicating that caspase-1 is important in the pathogenesis of the disease. In addition, we demonstrate that intracerebroventricular administration of a caspase inhibitor delays disease progression and mortality in the mouse model of Huntington's disease.     

金刚石钻进能量与花岗岩地层风化程度的关系

基于钻进过程监测系统在充填土-风化花岗岩地层中对液压旋转钻进的监测数据,对金刚石钻进系统的能量进行了分析.结果表明,钻进系统的能量分布与在普通风化花岗岩地层中的结果一致,黏滞能、动能以及钻进总能量与岩石的风化程度呈负相关,轴力功与岩石的风化程度呈正相关,说明金刚石钻进能量与岩石风化程度具有很好的响应关系.动能、轴力功及黏滞能受钻进方式影响,用于地层识别将受严格的可比条件限制.金刚石钻进比功随岩石风化程度的增强而减少,在不同风化程度的岩层中具有很好的分区性.而且,在充填土及全风化、强风化花岗岩地层中,金刚石旋转钻进比功值明显低于冲击凿碎比功,在微风化的坚硬岩中,旋转钻进比功则明显高于冲击凿碎比功.     

卫星编队飞行的轨道和姿态GPS自主同步反馈控制

鉴于编队飞行之中卫星不但对轨道有要求,而且对姿态也有要求,例如有的编队飞行卫星在惯性空间中有指向控制的要求,或者相互之间有保持一定的姿态关系的要求,同时在轨道控制过程中也需要姿态信息,因此在编队飞行的建立过程中,需要考虑姿态和轨道的协调控制和同步控制问题.本文提出了用汗同步控制的相对轨道和相对姿态运动学和动力学模型、控制率的选择和设计以及用GPS的伪距和载波相位实现轨道和姿态同步实时反馈控制方法.其中包括用修改的Kodrigues参数实现无奇异的大姿态机动的非线性状态跟踪控制.对EO-1/Landsat 7编队飞行的同步控制进行了数字仿真,证实了设计的正确性和实现的可行性.     

含油污泥微生物堆制处理研究

采用微生物堆制法对延长油田含油污泥进行处理,以除油率为指标,分别研究了不同菌种、接种量、调理剂及堆制时间等因素对处理效果的影响.结果表明:增加堆制时间与接种量,除油率提高.经过35 d堆制处理,YC-1菌与YC-13菌的除油率分别达43.41%和54.02%.YC-1菌采用土作为调理剂时除油率为40.01%,优于采用土+荞麦皮的19.05%,而YC-3菌采用土+荞麦皮作为调理剂时除油率为32.55%,略优于采用土作为调理剂的25.38%.