THE HISTORY OF THE HOLISTIC PROTOLANGUAGE IDEA

Research in language evolution has increased dramatically over the last two decades. The subject is of necessity multi-disciplinary and research from diverse fields of inquiry has helped inform the various hypotheses offered for language evolution scenarios. Computational and mathematical modelling, evolutionary biology, archaeology as well as linguistics are just some of the areas that help shape our conception of the origins of language. However, a hitherto untapped area in language evolution research is the history of the subject itself. A longitudinal study of certain theories related to the question is worthwhile in that it can both highlight the staying power of specific ideas, and perhaps stimulate discussion as to why they have persisted. One such idea is that of the holistic protolanguage. This dissertation will focus on the persistence of the claim that there was a stage in language evolution that was entirely holistic. As such the time-frame I will be looking at will cover the mid-to-late 18th century to the present day

A communal catalogue reveals Earth's multiscale microbial diversity

Our growing awareness of the microbial world's importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth's microbial diversity.Peer reviewe

A communal catalogue reveals Earth’s multiscale microbial diversity

Our growing awareness of the microbial world’s importance and diversity contrasts starkly with our limited understanding of its fundamental structure. Despite recent advances in DNA sequencing, a lack of standardized protocols and common analytical frameworks impedes comparisons among studies, hindering the development of global inferences about microbial life on Earth. Here we present a meta-analysis of microbial community samples collected by hundreds of researchers for the Earth Microbiome Project. Coordinated protocols and new analytical methods, particularly the use of exact sequences instead of clustered operational taxonomic units, enable bacterial and archaeal ribosomal RNA gene sequences to be followed across multiple studies and allow us to explore patterns of diversity at an unprecedented scale. The result is both a reference database giving global context to DNA sequence data and a framework for incorporating data from future studies, fostering increasingly complete characterization of Earth’s microbial diversity

Continued development of the Rural Active Living Perceived Environmental Support Scale (RALPESS): preliminary evidence for validity among American Indians

Introduction: Much of the US adult population does not engage in regular physical activity or meet the recommended guidelines for exercise. Moreover, many rural Americans disproportionately experience lower health status and life expectancy attributed to obesity, poor diet, and lack of physical activity. Evidence supports the role of perceived physical and social-environmental factors as potential influencers of exercise. However, measurement of these influencers, particularly within diverse, rural populations, has been sparse. A substantial number of American Indians live in federally defined rural areas, and many rural American Indians are at elevated risk for being overweight and obese due to physical inactivity. Therefore, this study established the validity and reliability of the Rural Active Living Perceived Environmental Support Scale (RALPESS) within a predominantly rural American Indian sample. Methods: In this cross-sectional pilot study, the 33-item RALPESS was administered to 130 adults, across 19 rural localities within Oklahoma, who were recruited from community events hosted by local partners of the tribal Head Start program. Confirmatory factor analysis was used to examine the hypothesized factor structure of the RALPESS. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis showed an adequate fit between the hypothesized model and the data. Analyses produced an acceptable $X^2$ goodness of fit index with two degrees of freedom. The comparative fit index and parsimony goodness of fit index were acceptable. The root mean square error of approximation and its 90% confidence interval were also acceptable. Overall, the RALPESS showed suitable internal consistency for the full measure and its subscales, resulting in Cronbach’s alpha between 0.82 and 0.96. Conclusions: This pilot study produced confirmatory evidence that the RALPESS is likely a valid and reliable tool for use with rural American Indian populations. Continued validation of this scale, particularly in international rural communities, will support further investigation into this important public health issue, and may further efforts towards the development and promotion of effective programming to increase exercise engagement

Neuroglobin Overexpression Promotes Mitochondrial Fusion and Prevents Mitochondrial Network Fragmentation in SHSY5Y Cells Subjected to Pro-apoptotic Conditions

Oxidative stress and hypoxia play a central role in neuronal injury and cell death in acute and chronic pathological conditions. Neuroglobin (NGB) is a monomeric heme-protein found in neurons that, when overexpressed, confers resistance to apoptosis cause by oxidative stress, hypoxia, and neurotoxicity. Although NGB has been traditionally considered a cytoplasmic protein, recent findings indicate that NGB can localize to mitochondria. However, we have an incomplete understanding of the details of NGB’s mitochondrial interactions and effects. Here, we investigated the effect of NGB overexpression on mitochondrial network morphology in SHSY5Y neuroblastoma cell line using a quantitative approach to measure mitochondrial network features including network size, branch length, and the overall abundance of mitochondria. We found that NGB overexpression caused the formation of larger and more highly branched mitochondrial networks and greater mitochondrial abundance. NGB overexpression also prevented mitochondrial fragmentation, an early event in the apoptotic pathway, in cells exposed to hypoxia, hypoxia/reperfusion, or hydrogen peroxide treatment. These data demonstrate interactions between NGB and mitochondrial fusion/fission processes. We are now exploring whether this effect is due to a direct interaction between mitochondria and Ngb, or involves cytosplasmic signaling pathways. Taken together, these observations have the potential to open new avenues to develop therapeutic strategies against neurodegenerative disease, where dysfunctional mitochondrial dynamics represent a common and prominent early pathological feature