Neurobiological Causal Models of Language Processing.

The language faculty is physically realized in the neurobiological infrastructure of the human brain. Despite significant efforts, an integrated understanding of this system remains a formidable challenge. What is missing from most theoretical accounts is a specification of the neural mechanisms that implement language function.

The Tripod neuron: a minimal structural reduction of the dendritic tree.

Neuron models with explicit dendritic dynamics have shed light on mechanisms for coincidence detection, pathway selection and temporal filtering. However, it is still unclear which morphological and physiological features are required to capture these phenomena. In this work, we introduce the Tripod neuron model and propose a minimal structural reduction of the dendritic tree that is able to reproduce these computations.

Neuronal spike-rate adaptation supports working memory in language processing.

Language processing involves the ability to store and integrate pieces of information in working memory over short periods of time. According to the dominant view, information is maintained through sustained, elevated neural activity. Other work has argued that short-term synaptic facilitation can serve as a substrate of memory.

Language ERPs reflect learning through prediction error propagation.

Event-related potentials (ERPs) provide a window into how the brain is processing language. Here, we propose a theory that argues that ERPs such as the N400 and P600 arise as side effects of an error-based learning mechanism that explains linguistic adaptation and language learning. We instantiated this theory in a connectionist model that can simulate data from three studies on the N400 (amplitude modulation by expectancy, contextual constraint, and sentence position), five studies on the P600 (agreement, tense, word category, subcategorization and garden-path sentences), and a study on the semantic P600 in role reversal anomalies.

Evaluation of sentinel lymph node biopsy prior to axillary lymph node dissection: the role of isolated tumor cells/micrometastases and multifocality/multicentricity-a retrospective study of 1214 breast cancer patients.

Purpose: Sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) alone has thus become an accepted surgical approach for patients with limited axillary metastatic disease. We investigated to what extent isolated tumor cells (ITC) or micrometastasis in SLNBs is associated with proven tumor cells or metastasis in non-sentinel lymph nodes. Furthermore, we investigated the feasibility of SLNB in multifocal and multicentric tumors as both entities have been considered a contraindication for this technique.

Evaluation of Sentinel Lymph Node Biopsy and Axillary Lymph Node Dissection for Breast Cancer Treatment Concepts - a Retrospective Study of 1,214 Breast Cancer Patients.

Background: Most breast cancer patients require lumpectomy with axillary sentinel lymph node biopsy (SLNB) or axillary lymph node dissection (ALND). The ACOSOG Z0011-trial failed to detect significant effects of ALND on disease-free and overall survival among patients with limited sentinel lymph node (SLN) metastases. Intense dose-dense chemotherapy and supraclavicular fossa radiation (SFR) are indicated for patients with extensive axillary metastases.

Meaningful questions: The acquisition of auxiliary inversion in a connectionist model of sentence production.

Nativist theories have argued that language involves syntactic principles which are unlearnable from the input children receive. A paradigm case of these innate principles is the structure dependence of auxiliary inversion in complex polar questions (Chomsky, 1968, 1975, 1980). Computational approaches have focused on the properties of the input in explaining how children acquire these questions.

Reservoir computing and the Sooner-is-Better bottleneck.

Prior language input is not lost but integrated with the current input. This principle is demonstrated by "reservoir computing": Untrained recurrent neural networks project input sequences onto a random point in high-dimensional state space. Earlier inputs can be retrieved from this projection, albeit less reliably so as more input is received.

What baboons can (not) tell us about natural language grammars.

Rey et al. (2012) present data from a study with baboons that they interpret in support of the idea that center-embedded structures in human language have their origin in low level memory mechanisms and associative learning. Critically, the authors claim that the baboons showed a behavioral preference that is consistent with center-embedded sequences over other types of sequences.

Do lemmas speak German? A verb position effect in German structural priming.

Lexicalized theories of syntax often assume that verb-structure regularities are mediated by lemmas, which abstract over variation in verb tense and aspect. German syntax seems to challenge this assumption, because verb position depends on tense and aspect. To examine how German speakers link these elements, a structural priming study was performed which varied syntactic structure, verb position (encoded by tense and aspect), and verb overlap.

The interaction of gelsolin with tropomyosin modulates actin dynamics.

We have investigated the interactions between the actin-binding proteins gelsolin and tropomyosin, with special respect to any effects on the functional properties of gelsolin. Limited proteolysis indicated that the loop connecting the gelsolin domains G3 and G4 is involved in tropomyosin binding. Under nonpolymerizing conditions, binding of tropomyosin neither prevented the formation of a 2: 1actin-gelsolin complex, nor did it affect the nucleating activity of gelsolin in actin polymerization, likely as a result of competitive displacement of tropomyosin from gelsolin.

Getting real about semantic illusions: rethinking the functional role of the P600 in language comprehension.

In traditional theories of language comprehension, syntactic and semantic processing are inextricably linked. This assumption has been challenged by the 'semantic illusion effect' found in studies using event related brain potentials. Semantically anomalous sentences did not produce the expected increase in N400 amplitude but rather one in P600 amplitude.

Impact of the axillary nodal status on sentinel node mapping in breast cancer and its relevance for technical proceeding.

Objective: The aim of this study is to analyze whether the axillary status influences the lymphatic mapping procedure in malignant breast disease and whether clinically relevant consequences for the technique of Sentinel Node (SN) biopsy may be drawn from this information.

Materials And Methods: SN biopsy was performed in 150 consecutive patients using a combination of the radioguided and the blue-dye technique. Axillary status was compared with the number of detected nodes.

Results of a standardized protocol for sentinel node imaging in breast cancer with Tc-99m labeled nanocolloidal albumin.

Aim: Of this study was to evaluate the results of a standardized protocol for sentinel node (SN) detection in breast cancer using Tc-99m labeled nanocolloidal albumin and a combined intra- and subdermal injection technique.

Methods: One hundred and fifty-five women with proven breast cancer (disease stages Tis-T2) were included. Four injections of 10 to 15 MBq of Tc-99m nanocolloid in 0.

Development of the parafollicular cells in recurrent goiter.

Objective: To provide more data for the discussion on whether thyroid hormones, iodide and other factors controlling the thyroid also influence the parafollicular (PF) cells, as the answer is of great importance for optimization of the medical treatment of medullary thyroid carcinoma (MTC) after surgery.

Design: We compared the density of the PF cells in patients who underwent surgery for the second time due to recurrent goiter with that in normal-sized thyroid glands after the first operation.

Methods: In 20 patients with only one operation, all specimens were taken from morphologically and functionally normal lobular thyroid parenchyma.

Lymphoscintigraphic sentinel node imaging and gamma probe detection in breast cancer with Tc-99m nanocolloidal albumin: results of an optimized protocol.

Purpose: The purpose of this study was to aid in the standardization of lymphoscintigraphy for detecting the sentinel node (SN) in breast cancer using Tc-99m-labeled nanocolloidal albumin.

Materials And Methods: One hundred twenty-three women with proved breast cancer were enrolled. Four injections of 10 to 15 MBq (0.

[Early manifestation of polycystic kidney changes in tuberous sclerosis].

Tuberous sclerosis (McKusick number: 19110) is well documented as an inheritable autosomal dominant disorder. On the occasion of results of an autopsy of a male fetus (1950 g, 29th gestational week) we report on the very early onset of a giant cell astrocytoma (microcalzified focally) and a cystic kidney disorder which in association with this phacomatosis is described first for this age. Thus, based on sonography there is a new differential diagnosis for the weighty prenatal diagnosis of a "Potter syndrome" or of "cystic kidneys".

Cardiac transplantation in a neonate with endocardial fibroelastosis.

An investigational orthotopic cardiac transplantation was performed to manage subendocardial fibroelastosis in a neonate. No unmanageable technical complications arose from the transplantation. Postoperative observation showed the infant developed normally except for moderate cerebral palsy.

A modified technique for the production of an arterio-venous shunt in sheep, allowing a comparison of biocompatibility of synthetic materials.

Polytetrafluorethylene (PTFE) prostheses were implanted in 12 sheep as a shunt between the carotid artery and the jugular vein using an end-to-side anastomosis technique. This technique allows repeated tests of the pharmacological and toxicological safety of artificial kidney units after both single and multiple administration. Furthermore, it enables the investigation of detoxification of compounds via dialysis, thus contributing to drug safety.

Primary cardiac tumors--clinical experiences and late results in 48 patients.

Between 1971 and 1987 48 patients (35 female and 13 male) underwent operations at the Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, Justus-Liebig-University Giessen, for primary cardiac tumors. The age of the patients ranged from 21 to 71 years. Clinical symptoms were congestive heart failure, cardiac murmurs and findings similar to mitral stenosis, chest pain, arrhythmias, arterial embolism, myocardial infarction and pericarditis.

Laser-assisted trachea anastomoses in dogs.

Tracheal anastomoses are known to be related to special surgical risks. We performed laser-assisted trachea anastomoses in 10 Beagle dogs, using an Argon-laser system and a handheld quarz fiber for energy transmission. All animals showed an uneventful postoperative course without signs of infection, air-leakage or respiratory impairment.

Myxoma of the aortic valve in a child.

Myxomas are predominantly located in the right on left atrium. We report an unusual case of a myxoma adherent to the aortic valve. The child presented with symptoms of subaortic stenosis.

[Screening and detection of tetrazepam and its major metabolites].

The paper describes a screening procedure for 7-Chloro-1,3-dihydro-1-methyl-5-(cyclohexene-1-yl)-2H-1,4-benzodiazepine -2-one (Tetrazepam, Musaril) and other important analytical data (TLC, GLC, UV-, IR-, and mass spectra).