Japanese mimetics as prenominal modifiers: The distribution of accented and accentless mimetics

This thesis investigates the grammatical properties and functions of Japanese mimetics when they are used as prenominal modifiers. I focus on the cases where mimetics modify nouns with physical referents. I argue that mimetic-na (M-na) should be considered neither ungrammatical nor less acceptable than other modifiers, contrary to suggestions in the previous literature. Looking at different grammatical markers combined with a mimetic, I demonstrate that M-na gives rise to a situation-descriptive reading, that mimetic-sita (M-sita) denotes a characterizing property and that mimetic-no (M-no) denotes a defining property, in Roy’s (2013) terms. The thesis includes examples in French, Russian and Spanish to illustrate these three different interpretations. As for the syntactic structures of mimetic modifiers, I demonstrate that M-na is a tensed clausal modifier, while M-sita is a tenseless attributive modifier, following Hamano (1986, 1988, 1998). More specifically, I claim that M-sita is an AP. I provide evidence showing that M-na is tensed (allowing a temporally anchored interpretation), whereas M-sita disallows tensed interpretations. There is currently no consensus about the grammatical status of M-no. Based on the distributions of mimetic and non-mimetic words presented in this thesis, I suggest that M-no can be marked by either the genitive or the copula. Each of the modifiers enters into a stacking structure when they occur together. I show that semantics associate with structural positions, and argue that mimetic modifiers appear in the order of M-na, M-sita, M-no in a hierarchical structure. This thesis sheds light on the various grammatical properties of mimetics in relation to their prosody. In broad agreement with previous research, I claim that accentless mimetics, as in M-na and M-no, denote an abstract quality, while I argue that M-sita (which involves an accented mimetic) denotes a physical concrete property. I consider the bare accented mimetics to be somewhat verb-like

Support for UNRWA's survival

The United Nations Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) provides life-saving humanitarian aid for 5·4 million Palestine refugees now entering their eighth decade of statelessness and conflict. About a third of Palestine refugees still live in 58 recognised camps. UNRWA operates 702 schools and 144 health centres, some of which are affected by the ongoing humanitarian disasters in Syria and the Gaza Strip. It has dramatically reduced the prevalence of infectious diseases, mortality, and illiteracy. Its social services include rebuilding infrastructure and homes that have been destroyed by conflict and providing cash assistance and micro-finance loans for Palestinians whose rights are curtailed and who are denied the right of return to their homeland

ANTXR-1 and -2 independent modulation of a cytotoxicity mediated by anthrax toxin in human cells

Several animal models have shown that anthrax toxin (ATX) elicits a cytotoxic effect on host cells through anthrax toxin receptor (ANTXR) function. In this study, compared with mouse cells, cells obtained from humans exhibited low sensitivity to ATX-mediated cytotoxicity, and the sensitivity was not correlated with expression levels of ANTXRs. ATX treatment also induced a cytotoxic effect in other cultured human cells, human embryonic kidney (HEK) 293 cells, that express ANTXRs at undetectable levels. Furthermore, ectopic expression of ANTXRs in HEK293 cells did not affect the sensitivity to ATX treatment. These findings suggest that there is an ANTXR-independent cytotoxic mechanism in human cells

Ciliates Expel Environmental Legionella-laden Pellets for Stockpiling Food

When the ciliate Tetrahymena is cultured with Legionella pneumophila, they expel bacteria packaged in free spherical pellets. Why the ciliates expel these pellets remains unclear. Hence, we determined optimal conditions for pellet expulsion, and assessed whether they contribute to maintenance of growth and survival of ciliates. When incubated environmental L. pneumophila, the ciliates maximally expelled the pellets at 2 days after infection. Heat-killed bacteria failed to produce pellets from ciliates, and there was no obvious difference in pellet production among the ciliates or bacterial strains. Morphological studies with assessment of lipid accumulation showed that pellets contained tightly packed bacteria with rapid lipid accumulation and were composed of the layers of membranes; bacterial culturability in the pellets rapidly decreased in contrast to that in ciliate-free culture, although the bacteria maintained membrane integrity in the pellets. Furthermore, ciliates newly cultured with pellets were maintained and grew vigorously compared with those without pellets. In contrast, a human L. pneumophila isolate killed ciliates 7 day post-infection in a Dot/Icm dependent manner and pellets harboring this strain did not support ciliate growth. Also, pellets harboring the human isolate were resuscitated by co-culture with amoebae, depending on Dot/Icm expression. Thus, while ciliates expel pellet-packaged environmental L. pneumophila for stockpiling food, the pellets packaged the human isolate are harmful on ciliate's survival, possibly connecting clinical significance

Cerebrospinal fluid-contacting neuron tracing reveals structural and functional connectivity for locomotion in the mouse spinal cord

Cerebrospinal fluid-contacting neurons (CSF-cNs) are enigmatic mechano- or chemosensory cells lying along the central canal of the spinal cord. Recent studies in zebrafish larvae and lampreys have shown that CSF-cNs control postures and movements via spinal connections. However, the structures, connectivity, and functions in mammals remain largely unknown. Here we developed a method to genetically target mouse CSF-cNs that highlighted structural connections and functions. We first found that intracerebroventricular injection of adeno-associated virus with a neuron-specific promoter and Pkd2l1-Cre mice specifically labeled CSF-cNs. Single-cell labeling of 71 CSF-cNs revealed rostral axon extensions of over 1800 μm in unmyelinated bundles in the ventral funiculus and terminated on CSF-cNs to form a recurrent circuitry, which was further determined by serial electron microscopy and electrophysiology. CSF-cNs were also found to connect with axial motor neurons and premotor interneurons around the central canal and within the axon bundles. Chemogenetic CSF-cNs inactivation reduced speed and step frequency during treadmill locomotion. Our data revealed the basic structures and connections of mouse CSF-cNs to control spinal motor circuits for proper locomotion. The versatile methods developed in this study will contribute to further understanding of CSF-cN functions in mammals