Environmental Effects On Drosophila Brain Development And Learning

Brain development and behavior are sensitive to a variety of environmental influences including social interactions and physicochemical stressors. Sensory input in situ is a mosaic of both enrichment and stress, yet little is known about how multiple environmental factors interact to affect brain anatomical structures, circuits and cognitive function. In this study, we addressed these issues by testing the individual and combined effects of sub-adult thermal stress, larval density and early-adult living spatial enrichment on brain anatomy and olfactory associative learning in adult Drosophila melanogaster. In response to heat stress, the mushroom bodies (MBs) were the most volumetrically impaired among all of the brain structures, an effect highly correlated with reduced odor learning performance. However, MBs were not sensitive to either larval culture density or early-adult living conditions. Extreme larval crowding reduced the volume of the antennal lobes, optic lobes and central complex. Neither larval crowding nor early-adult spatial enrichment affected olfactory learning. These results illustrate that various brain structures react differently to environmental inputs, and that MB development and learning are highly sensitive to certain stressors (pre-adult hyperthermia) and resistant to others (larval crowding). © 2018. Published by The Company of Biologists Ltd

Non-genetic Transgenerational Inheritance of Acquired Traits in Drosophila

It is increasingly recognized that acquired traits may be transgenerationally transmitted through non-DNA sequence-based elements, with epigenetics as perhaps the most important mechanism. Here we review examples of non-genetic transgenerational inheritance in Drosophila, highlighting transgenerational programming of metabolic status and longevity, one particular histone modification as an evolutionarily conserved underlying mechanism, and important implications of such studies in understanding health and diseases

Specifying sickle cell disease interventions: A study protocol of the Sickle Cell Disease Implementation Consortium (SCDIC)

Abstract Background Sickle cell disease (SCD) is an inherited blood disorder that results in a lifetime of anemia, severe pain, and end-organ damage that can lead to premature mortality. While the SCD field has made major medical advances, much needs to be done to improve the quality of care for people with SCD. This study capitalizes on the Sickle Cell Disease Implementation Consortium (SCDIC), a consortium of eight academic sites aiming to test implementation strategies that could lead to more accelerated application of the NHLBI guidelines for treating SCD. This report documents the process to support the consortium by specifying the interventions being developed. Methods This study consists of three steps. The Principal Investigator of each site and two site representatives who are knowledgeable of the intervention (e.g., study coordinator or the person delivering the intervention) will answer an online survey aiming to capture components of the interventions. This survey will be completed by the site representatives three times during the study: during the development of the interventions, after one year of the interventions being implemented, and at the end of this study (after 2 years). A site visit and semi-structured interview (Step 2) in the first year of the process will capture the context of the sites. Step 3 comprises of the development of a framework with the details of the multi-component SCDIC interventions at the sites. Discussion The outcome of this study, a framework of the SCDIC, will enable accurate replication and extension of published research, facilitating the translation of SCD studies to diverse populations and settings and allowing for theory testing of the effects of the intervention components across studies in different contexts and for different populations. Trial registration ClinicalTrial.Gov (#NCT03380351). Registered December 21, 2017

A NASA/RAE cooperation in the development of a real-time knowledge-based autopilot

As part of a US/UK cooperative aeronautical research program, a joint activity between the NASA Dryden Flight Research Facility and the Royal Aerospace Establishment on knowledge-based systems was established. This joint activity is concerned with tools and techniques for the implementation and validation of real-time knowledge-based systems. The proposed next stage of this research is described, in which some of the problems of implementing and validating a knowledge-based autopilot for a generic high-performance aircraft are investigated

Marla Sokolowski: and now for someone completely different

A comprehensive science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education has persistent formative effects on individuals, communities, and society. In this regard, Marla Sokolowski’s academic legacy will forever reflect her unique contributions to STEM education and mentoring. Furthermore, her creative and multidisciplinary approach to research has resulted in groundbreaking advances in our understanding of behavior genetics. Illustrated here are a few of our life-long learning experiences drawn mainly from earlier parts of Marla’s careerinfo:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Microstructural contributions of different polyolefins to the deformation mechanisms of their binary blends

The mixing of polymers, even structurally similar polyolefins, inevitably leads to blend systems with a phase-separated morphology. Fundamentally understanding the changes in mechanical properties and occurring deformation mechanisms of these immiscible polymer blends, is important with respect to potential mechanical recycling. This work focuses on the behavior of binary blends of linear low-density polyethylene (LLDPE), low-density polyethylene (LDPE), high-density polyethylene (HDPE), and polypropylene (PP) under tensile deformation and their related changes in crystallinity and morphology. All of these polymers plastically deform by shear yielding. When unmixed, the high crystalline polyolefins HDPE and PP both exhibit a progressive necking phenomenon. LDPE initiates a local neck before material failure, while LLDPE is characterized by a uniform deformation as well as clear strain hardening. LLDPE/LDPE and LLDPE/PP combinations both exhibit a clear-cut matrix switchover. Polymer blends LLDPE/LDPE, LDPE/HDPE, and LDPE/PP show transition forms with features of composing materials. Combining PP in an HDPE matrix causes a radical switch to brittle behavior

Metamorphosis of the Mushroom Bodies; Large-Scale Rearrangements of the Neural Substrates for Associative Learning and Memory in Drosophila

Paired brain centers known as mushroom bodies are key features of the circuitry for insect associative learning, especially when evoked by olfactory cues. Mushroom bodies have an embryonic origin, and unlike most other brain structures they exhibit developmental continuity, being prominent components of both the larval and the adult CNS. Here, we use cell-type-specific markers, provided by the P{GAL4} enhancer trap system, to follow specific subsets of mushroom body intrinsic and extrinsic neurons from the larval to the adult stage. We find marked structural differences between the larval and adult mushroom bodies, arising as the consequence of large-scale reorganization during metamorphosis. Extensive, though incomplete, degradation of the larval structure is followed by establishment of adult specific α and β lobes. Kenyon cells of embryonic origin, by contrast, were found to project selectively to the adult γ lobe. We propose that the γ lobe stores information of relevance to both developmental stages, whereas the α and β lobes have uniquely adult roles