scholarly journals Transcriptome programs involved in the development and structure of the cerebellum

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Donatella Farini ◽  
Daniela Marazziti ◽  
Maria Concetta Geloso ◽  
Claudio Sette
Keyword(s):  
Time Windows ◽  
Neuronal Population ◽  
Autism Spectrum ◽  
Cerebellar Development ◽  
Cerebellar Neurons ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cerebellar Neuron ◽  
And Function ◽  
And Behavior

AbstractIn the past two decades, mounting evidence has modified the classical view of the cerebellum as a brain region specifically involved in the modulation of motor functions. Indeed, clinical studies and engineered mouse models have highlighted cerebellar circuits implicated in cognitive functions and behavior. Furthermore, it is now clear that insults occurring in specific time windows of cerebellar development can affect cognitive performance later in life and are associated with neurological syndromes, such as Autism Spectrum Disorder. Despite its almost homogenous cytoarchitecture, how cerebellar circuits form and function is not completely elucidated yet. Notably, the apparently simple neuronal organization of the cerebellum, in which Purkinje cells represent the only output, hides an elevated functional diversity even within the same neuronal population. Such complexity is the result of the integration of intrinsic morphogenetic programs and extracellular cues from the surrounding environment, which impact on the regulation of the transcriptome of cerebellar neurons. In this review, we briefly summarize key features of the development and structure of the cerebellum before focusing on the pathways involved in the acquisition of the cerebellar neuron identity. We focus on gene expression and mRNA processing programs, including mRNA methylation, trafficking and splicing, that are set in motion during cerebellar development and participate to its physiology. These programs are likely to add new layers of complexity and versatility that are fundamental for the adaptability of cerebellar neurons.

Molecular Paleontology and Biochemical Evolution

2008 ◽  
Author(s):  
Susan M. Gaines ◽  
Geoffrey Eglinton ◽  
Jürgen Rullkötter
Keyword(s):  
Twentieth Century ◽  
Cambrian Explosion ◽  
Microbial World ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
The Past ◽  
Unicellular Algae ◽  
Almost All ◽  
And Function ◽  
Multicellular Organisms ◽  
Molecular Paleontology

Carl Woese’s drive for a unified system of biological classification didn’t just open the microbial world to exploration: it reshuffled the entire taxonomic system and revolutionized the way that biologists study evolution, reigniting interest in preanimal evolution. Studies of evolution from the mid-nineteenth through most of the twentieth century relied on the comparison of forms in living and fossil organisms and were limited to the complex multicellular organisms that developed over the past 550 million years. In other words, much was known about the evolution of animals and land plants that left distinctive hard fossils, and very little was known about the unicellular algae and microorganisms that occupied the seas for most of the earth’s history. Woese’s Tree of Life, derived from nucleic acid sequences in ribosomal RNA, has revealed ancestral relationships that form and function don’t even hint at, allowing biologists to look beyond the rise of multicellular life and link it with less differentiated, more primal forms—which was precisely Woese’s intention. But evolution is a history, not just a family tree of relationships. If the information stored in the genes of extant organisms is to provide true insight into that history, it needs to be anchored in time, linked to extinct organisms and to past environments. Ultimately, we must look to the record in the rocks and sediments, just as paleontologists and biologists have been doing for the past two centuries. In Darwin’s time, that record comprised rocks from the past 550 million years, a span of time that geologists now call the Phanerozoic eon, based on Greek words meaning visible or evident life. The eon began with the rocks of the Cambrian period, in which nineteenth- and early-twentieth-century paleontologists discovered a fabulous assortment of fossils—traces of trilobites, anemones, shrimp, and other multicellular animals that were completely missing from any of the earlier strata. Thousands of new animals and plants, including representatives of almost all contemporary groups, as well as hundreds of now-extinct ones, appeared so suddenly between 542 and 530 million years ago that paleontologists refer to the phenomenon as the Cambrian “explosion.”

Seasonal reproductive anatomy and sperm storage in pleurocerid gastropods (Cerithioidea: Pleuroceridae)

2014 ◽  
Vol 92 (12) ◽  
pp. 989-995 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nathan V. Whelan ◽  
Ellen E. Strong
Keyword(s):  
Seasonal Variation ◽  
Life Histories ◽  
Gross Anatomy ◽  
Egg Laying ◽  
Conservation Strategies ◽  
Freshwater Species ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Reproductive Anatomy ◽  
And Function ◽  
And Behavior

Life histories, including anatomy and behavior, are a critically understudied component of gastropod biology, especially for imperiled freshwater species of Pleuroceridae. This aspect of their biology provides important insights into understanding how evolution has shaped optimal reproductive success and is critical for informing management and conservation strategies. One particularly understudied facet is seasonal variation in reproductive form and function. For example, some have hypothesized that females store sperm over winter or longer, but no study has explored seasonal variation in accessory reproductive anatomy. We examined the gross anatomy and fine structure of female accessory reproductive structures (pallial oviduct, ovipositor) of four species in two genera (round rocksnail, Leptoxis ampla (Anthony, 1855); smooth hornsnail, Pleurocera prasinata (Conrad, 1834); skirted hornsnail, Pleurocera pyrenella (Conrad, 1834); silty hornsnail, Pleurocera canaliculata (Say, 1821)). Histological analyses show that despite lacking a seminal receptacle, females of these species are capable of storing orientated sperm in their spermatophore bursa. Additionally, we found that they undergo conspicuous seasonal atrophy of the pallial oviduct outside the reproductive season, and there is no evidence that they overwinter sperm. The reallocation of resources primarily to somatic functions outside of the egg-laying season is likely an adaptation that increases survival chances during winter months.

Indigenous approaches to the past: ‘Creative histories’ at the Hyde Park Barracks, Sydney

2020 ◽  
Vol 9 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-102 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kiera Lindsey
Keyword(s):  
Visual Art ◽  
The Other ◽  
Cultural Relations ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
The Past ◽  
Cultural Responses ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Way

This article discusses a recent art project created by the Wiradjuri and Kamilaroi artist Jonathon Jones, which was commissioned to commemorate the opening of the revitalized Hyde Park Barracks in Sydney in early 2020. Jones’ work involves a dramatic installation of red and white crushed stones laid throughout the grounds of the barracks, merging the image of the emu footprint with that of the English broad convict arrow to ‘consider Australia’s layered history and contemporary cultural relations’. This work was accompanied by a ‘specially-curated programme’ of performances, workshops, storytelling and Artist Talks. Together, these elements were designed to unpack how certain ‘stories determine the ways we came together as a nation’. As one of the speakers of the Artist Talk’s programme, I had a unique opportunity to experiment with what colleagues and I have been calling ‘Creative histories’ in reference to the way some artists and historians are choosing to communicate their research about the past in ways that experiment with form and function and push disciplinary or generic boundaries. This article reflects upon how these two distinct creative history projects – one visual art, the other performative – renegotiate the complex and contested pasts of the Hyde Park Barracks. I suggest that both examples speak to the role of memory and creativity in shaping cultural responses to Australia’s colonial past, while Jones' programme illustrates how Indigenous artists and academics are making a profound intervention into contemporary understandings of how history is ‘done’ in Australia.

scholarly journals Taiwan’s Mythological Theme Parks: Mnemonic Guardians and Uncanny Imaginaries

2006 ◽  
Vol 7 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 61-76 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian G. Brereton
Keyword(s):  
Filial Piety ◽  
Theme Park ◽  
Theme Parks ◽  
Social Production ◽  
Cornell University ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
The Past ◽  
Ethnographic Data ◽  
And Function

Cornell University This paper analyzes the mnemonic roles of mythological theme parks in contemporary Taiwan. I investigate two popular theme parks, Madou’s “Prefecture that Represents Heaven” (代天府) and its single Taiwanese precedent, the “Palace of Southern Heaven” (南天宮) in Zhanghua. I term these sites “mythological theme parks” because they differ significantly in form and function from other popular religious temples throughout Taiwan and China. Though both theme park and temple are loci of social production and reproduction, the nature of interaction at mythological theme parks resembles in many ways that which occurs at the imaginary realms manufactured by secular theme parks. These mythological theme parks feature moral imaginaries displayed in sculptural and animatronic depictions of the afterlife and acts of filial piety. My study addresses both textual sources and ethnographic data, collected while conducting fieldwork during the summers of 2004 and 2005, to evaluate how these mythological theme parks culturally convey the past into the present.

The nice-of-you construction and its fragments

Linguistics ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 59 (1) ◽  
pp. 285-318
Author(s):  
Adele E. Goldberg ◽  
Thomas Herbst
Keyword(s):  
Survey Data ◽  
Unique Function ◽  
Past Century ◽  
Modal Verbs ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
The Past ◽  
And Function

Abstract This article argues that a usage-based construction (a conventional pairing of form and function) is required to account for a certain pattern of English exemplified by e.g., it’s nice of you to read this. Contemporary corpus and survey data reveal that the construction is strongly associated with certain adjectives (e.g., nice, good) over others, while diachronic data demonstrate that the construction’s overall frequency has systematically waxed and waned over the past century. The construction’s unique function – namely to concisely convey a judgment regarding how an action reflects on the agent of the action – enables us to predict many observations about its distribution without stipulation. These include restrictions on the interpretation of adjectives that occur in the construction, its infinitive complement, the modal verbs that may appear in it and its ability to be embedded. We further observe that certain conventional fragments of the construction evoke the semantics of the entire construction. Finally, we situate the construction within a network of related constructions, as part of a speaker’s “construct-i-con”.

scholarly journals Genome-enabled discovery of evolutionary divergence in brains and behavior

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Chinar Patil ◽  
Jonathan B. Sylvester ◽  
Kawther Abdilleh ◽  
Michael W. Norsworthy ◽  
Karen Pottin ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Reverse Genetics ◽  
Natural Populations ◽  
Bmp Signaling ◽  
Evolutionary Divergence ◽  
Genetic Changes ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
Brain Gene Expression ◽  
Evolutionarily Conserved ◽  
And Function ◽  
And Behavior

AbstractLake Malawi cichlid fishes exhibit extensive divergence in form and function built from a relatively small number of genetic changes. We compared the genomes of rock- and sand-dwelling species and asked which genetic variants differed among the groups. We found that 96% of differentiated variants reside in non-coding sequence but these non-coding diverged variants are evolutionarily conserved. Genome regions near differentiated variants are enriched for craniofacial, neural and behavioral categories. Following leads from genome sequence, we used rock- vs. sand-species and their hybrids to (i) delineate the push–pull roles of BMP signaling and irx1b in the specification of forebrain territories during gastrulation and (ii) reveal striking context-dependent brain gene expression during adult social behavior. Our results demonstrate how divergent genome sequences can predict differences in key evolutionary traits. We highlight the promise of evolutionary reverse genetics—the inference of phenotypic divergence from unbiased genome sequencing and then empirical validation in natural populations.

scholarly journals The Form and Function of PIEZO2

2021 ◽  
Vol 90 (1) ◽  
pp. 507-534
Author(s):  
Marcin Szczot ◽  
Alec R. Nickolls ◽  
Ruby M. Lam ◽  
Alexander T. Chesler
Keyword(s):  
Shear Stress ◽  
Ion Channels ◽  
Molecular Level ◽  
Sensory Biology ◽  
Mechanical Stimuli ◽  
Functional Roles ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
The Past ◽  
And Function ◽  
Sense Of Touch

Mechanosensation is the ability to detect dynamic mechanical stimuli (e.g., pressure, stretch, and shear stress) and is essential for a wide variety of processes, including our sense of touch on the skin. How touch is detected and transduced at the molecular level has proved to be one of the great mysteries of sensory biology. A major breakthrough occurred in 2010 with the discovery of a family of mechanically gated ion channels that were coined PIEZOs. The last 10 years of investigation have provided a wealth of information about the functional roles and mechanisms of these molecules. Here we focus on PIEZO2, one of the two PIEZO proteins found in humans and other mammals. We review how work at the molecular, cellular, and systems levels over the past decade has transformed our understanding of touch and led to unexpected insights into other types of mechanosensation beyond the skin.

scholarly journals “Like the Flame of Fire”

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (1) ◽  
pp. 4-29
Author(s):  
Ilona Katzew ◽  
Rachel Kaplan
Keyword(s):  
Sixteenth Century ◽  
Los Angeles ◽  
Precious Metals ◽  
Visual Language ◽  
Contact Period ◽  
Rock Crystal ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
The Past ◽  
And Function ◽  
Synoptic Approach

The so-called Hearst Chalice at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is widely regarded as one the most significant works of Mexican silversmithing from the sixteenth century. Its style, technique, and above all its unique combination of materials—including precious metals, feathers, wood carvings, and rock crystal—have led scholars to describe it as the perfect fusion of European and Ancient American (or pre-Columbian) traditions. Surprisingly, despite the consensus about the chalice’s importance, the cultural and artistic conditions that led to the creation of this singular object have not been thoroughly analyzed. By closely examining the different material components of the imposing artifact—which though carefully assembled also stand as independent units—we can better understand its uniqueness and symbolic potential. This essay espouses a synoptic approach by considering a range of agencies, perspectives, and sources—documentary and material—to restore the “Hearst” Chalice to its rightful context, without aspiring to a totalizing view of the past or a definitive decoding of its system of meaning. Categorizing its form and function as purely Indigenous and European poses a distinct set of challenges and limits its hermeneutic possibilities. The work—like many others created during the volatile period following the fall of Tenochtitlan—encodes a new visual language that reveals the highly subtle process of negotiation of these two cultures in a particular space and time. Moving away from the reductive concept of syncretism, the essay offers a fresh look at this impressive contact period work and its shifting values over time.

Nasr’s development as a writer in his second language

1986 ◽  
Vol 9 (2) ◽  
pp. 120-153 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marietta Elliott
Keyword(s):  
Second Language ◽  
Spoken Language ◽  
Past Tense ◽  
Form And Function ◽  
The Past ◽  
School Year ◽  
Pause Length ◽  
Most Significant Change ◽  
And Function ◽  
The Way

Abstract During the first 6 months of the school year of 1985, at Brunswick Language Centre, I observed Nasr as he was learning to write in his second language. The most significant change which occurred is that Nasr gained an appreciation of the way in which English written anguage is different from spoken language. That is, rather than merely recording his spoken language, Nasr became a writer in English. The changes manifested themselves not only in the product, namely the texts themselves, but also in the processes by which they were produced. These processes can be both directly observed, as recorded on videotape or in the observational diary, which was kept once weekly, or inferred from the product. The major ways in which the last piece is more “developed” is that Nasr has chosen a more “advanced” genre, and the piece conforms more strictly to one genre, rather than also containing elements of other genres. Nevertheless, the earlier pieces mark important, transitional stages and I have therefore chosen to call these intermediate forms “intertext”. Nasr gains mastery over linking mechanisms more characteristic of written than of spoken language he moves from co-ordination to subordination, and through the use of reference and ellipsis, he gradually eliminates the various forms of redundancy. Acquisition of form and function of the past tense Is regarded as essential for the production of sustained narrative and, as such, can also be viewed as a form of cohesion. In Nasr’s case the changes in the writing behaviour include an increase in pause length and a reduction in the number of pauses, changes in the number and type of revisions made, and differences in the way in which input from the teacher is generated.

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