Design of Signed Language Tests for Deaf L1 Children

Recent changes in the earlier diagnosis of deafness and improved amplification options have meant that deaf children increasingly have better opportunities to develop spoken language. Nevertheless, a significant proportion of children continue to use signed language as a first language (L1), including deaf and hearing children in deaf signing families and deaf children in hearing families where families use signed language in the home. For both groups, mastery of sign language as an L1 is important because it paves the way to communication and also because it provides the basis for development of spoken language, in either its oral or written form, as a second language (L2). It is crucial that signed language development proceeds in an age-appropriate manner, and assessments of signed language are therefore important to ensure that this is the case. However, the development of effective tests of signed language acquisition is not without challenges. This chapter presents these challenges and other issues and gives examples of how available tests seek to overcome them.

Homeostatic regulation of lipid droplet content in mammalian oocytes and embryos

Lipid droplets (LDs) consist of a core of neutral lipids such as triacylglycerols and cholesteryl esters covered by a phospholipid monolayer. Recent studies have shown that LDs not only store neutral lipids but are also associated with various physiological functions. LDs are found in most eukaryotic cells and vary in size and quantity. It has long been known that mammalian oocytes contain LDs. Porcine and bovine oocytes contain substantial amounts of LDs, which cause their cytoplasm to darken, whereas mouse and human oocytes are translucent due to their low LD content. A sufficient amount of LDs in mammalian oocytes has been thought to be associated with oocyte maturation and early embryonic development, but the necessity of LDs has been questioned because embryonic development proceeds normally even when LDs are removed. However, recent studies have revealed that LDs play a crucial role during implantation and that maintaining an appropriate amount of LDs is important for early embryonic development, even in mammalian species with low amounts of LDs in their oocytes. This suggests that a fine-tuned balance of LD content is essential for successful mammalian embryonic development. In this review, we discuss the physiological importance of LDs in mammalian oocytes and preimplantation embryos based on recent findings on LD biology.

Osr1 Is Required for Mesenchymal Derivatives That Produce Collagen in the Bladder

The extracellular matrix of the bladder consists mostly of type I and III collagen, which are required during loading. During bladder injury, there is an accumulation of collagen that impairs bladder function. Little is known about the genes that regulate production of collagens in the bladder. We demonstrate that the transcription factor Odd-skipped related 1 (Osr1) is expressed in the bladder mesenchyme and epithelium at the onset of development. As development proceeds, Osr1 is mainly expressed in mesenchymal progenitors and their derivatives. We hypothesized that Osr1 regulates mesenchymal cell differentiation and production of collagens in the bladder. To test this hypothesis, we examined newborn and adult mice heterozygous for Osr1, Osr1+/−. The bladders of newborn Osr1+/− mice had a decrease in collagen I by western blot analysis and a global decrease in collagens using Sirius red staining. There was also a decrease in the cellularity of the lamina propria, where most collagen is synthesized. This was not due to decreased proliferation or increased apoptosis in this cell population. Surprisingly, the bladders of adult Osr1+/− mice had an increase in collagen that was associated with abnormal bladder function; they also had a decrease in bladder capacity and voided more frequently. The results suggest that Osr1 is important for the differentiation of mesenchymal cells that give rise to collagen-producing cells.

Decategorialization and Chinese nouns

This chapter explores the interaction between semantic change and morphosyntactic decategorialization in the light of the development of classifiers and measure words in Chinese. The vast majority of both classifiers and measure words ultimately derive from independent nouns. Börjars and Payne argue that the decategorialization which measure words have undergone is strikingly unusual in that they have lost the full modificational properties of independent nouns without any accompanying semantic reduction: a measure word maintains its nominal meaning. On the other hand, classifiers lose both the independent semantics and morphosyntax of independent nouns, but because their development proceeds by analogy with that of measure words, they reacquire the same very limited potential for modification. Modelling these diachronic developments from an LFG perspective, they show that, while each individual stage has its own motivation, the end result is an interesting decoupling of the semantic and syntactic aspects of change.

Root infinitives in Jamaican Creole

This paper addresses the question of the existence and manifestation of Root Infinitives (RI) in the acquisition of a creole language, Jamaican Creole (JC). It examines JC children’s omission of progressive and prospective aspectual markers in the clausal map in order to determine if early JC includes a root infinitive stage. It shows that non-target-consistent bare verb structures in child JC have distributional properties which have been claimed to be hallmarks of RI: in particular, they occur in declaratives (and in yes-no questions), but not in wh-questions, and they typically co-occur with null subjects, whereas subjects are typically overt in clauses with fully specified aspectual markers. It shows that these properties are expected under a truncation approach (Rizzi, 1993/4; De Lisser et al., 2016), and briefly compares truncation and other approaches to RI. Additionally, the paper compares the properties of truncation and the “growing trees” approach introduced in Friedmann, Belletti and Rizzi (this volume), according to which learners’ productions start with minimal structures in a bottom up fashion, and then higher zones get added on top of the structure as development proceeds, following the hierarchical organization uncovered by cartographic work. Finally, the paper discusses the similarities and differences between the two ideas, and argues that they are compatible, and possibly reflect different stages in language development.

Building Pluripotency Identity in the Early Embryo and Derived Stem Cells

The fusion of two highly differentiated cells, an oocyte with a spermatozoon, gives rise to the zygote, a single totipotent cell, which has the capability to develop into a complete, fully functional organism. Then, as development proceeds, a series of programmed cell divisions occur whereby the arising cells progressively acquire their own cellular and molecular identity, and totipotency narrows until when pluripotency is achieved. The path towards pluripotency involves transcriptome modulation, remodeling of the chromatin epigenetic landscape to which external modulators contribute. Both human and mouse embryos are a source of different types of pluripotent stem cells whose characteristics can be captured and maintained in vitro. The main aim of this review is to address the cellular properties and the molecular signature of the emerging cells during mouse and human early development, highlighting similarities and differences between the two species and between the embryos and their cognate stem cells.

The H3.3K27M oncohistone antagonizes reprogramming in Drosophila

Development proceeds by the activation of genes by transcription factors and the inactivation of others by chromatin-mediated gene silencing. In certain cases development can be reversed or redirected by mis-expression of master regulator transcription factors. This must involve the activation of previously silenced genes, and such developmental aberrations are thought to underlie a variety of cancers. Here, we express the wing-specific Vestigial master regulator to reprogram the developing eye, and test the role of silencing in reprogramming using an H3.3K27M oncohistone mutation that dominantly inhibits histone H3K27 trimethylation. We find that production of the oncohistone blocks eye-to-wing reprogramming. CUT&Tag chromatin profiling of mutant tissues shows that H3K27me3 of domains is generally reduced upon oncohistone production, suggesting that a previous developmental program must be silenced for effective transformation. Strikingly, Vg and H3.3K27M synergize to stimulate overgrowth of eye tissue, a phenotype that resembles that of mutations in Polycomb silencing components. Transcriptome profiling of elongating RNA Polymerase II implicates the mis-regulation of signaling factors in overgrowth. Our results demonstrate that growth dysregulation can result from the simple combination of crippled silencing and transcription factor mis-expression, an effect that may explain the origins of oncohistone-bearing cancers.

Specific Domains of Creativity and Their Relationship with Intelligence: A Study in Primary Education

This study focuses on the relationships between creativity and intelligence. The main objectives of this study are to know the relationship between creativity and intelligence manifested in individuals aged 9 to 12 and to predict the creativity scores from IQ scores. The design of this study is non-experimental with a correlational, cross-sectional, quantitative approach. In order to achieve the stated objectives, several education centres located in Murcia were selected, in which 323 students took part in a creativity test (PIC-N) and a test about intelligence, depending on the educational level (BADYG/E2r or BADYG/E3r). The results obtained were that intelligence (IQ) was related to general creativity and narrative creativity, but not to the specific domain of graphic creativity. In addition, the analyses indicate that scores on general creativity (F (1,321) = 14.302, p < 0.01) and narrative creativity (F (1,321) = 14.114, p < 0.01) can be predicted from the IQ. At the educational level, language is a determining factor in narrative creativity and, in turn, language is consolidated as children’s cognitive development proceeds.

GAF is essential for zygotic genome activation and chromatin accessibility in the early Drosophila embryo

Following fertilization, the genomes of the germ cells are reprogrammed to form the totipotent embryo. Pioneer transcription factors are essential for remodeling the chromatin and driving the initial wave of zygotic gene expression. In Drosophila melanogaster, the pioneer factor Zelda is essential for development through this dramatic period of reprogramming, known as the maternal-to-zygotic transition (MZT). However, it was unknown whether additional pioneer factors were required for this transition. We identified an additional maternally encoded factor required for development through the MZT, GAGA Factor (GAF). GAF is necessary to activate widespread zygotic transcription and to remodel the chromatin accessibility landscape. We demonstrated that Zelda preferentially controls expression of the earliest transcribed genes, while genes expressed during widespread activation are predominantly dependent on GAF. Thus, progression through the MZT requires coordination of multiple pioneer-like factors, and we propose that as development proceeds control is gradually transferred from Zelda to GAF.

Hidden limbs in the “limbless skink” Brachymeles lukbani: developmental observations

Reduced limbs and limblessness have evolved independently in many lizard clades. Skinks exhibit a wide range of limb-reduced morphologies, but only some species have been used to study the embryology of limb reduction (i.g., digit reduction in Chalcides and limb reduction in Scelotes). The genus Brachymeles, a Southeast Asian clade of skinks, includes species with a range of limb morphologies, from pentadactyl to functionally as well as structurally limbless species. Adults of the small, snake-like species Brachymeles lukbani show no sign of external limbs in the adult except for small depressions where they might be expected to occur. Embryos of B. lukbani in early stages of development, on the other hand, show a truncated but well-developed limb with a stylopod and a zeugopod, but no signs of an autopod. As development proceeds, the limb’s small size persists even while the embryo elongates. These observations are made based on external morphology. We used florescent whole-mount immunofluorescence to visualize the morphology of skeletal elements and muscles within the embryonic limb of B. lukabni. Early stages have a humerus and separated ulna and radius cartilages; associated with these structures are dorsal and ventral muscle masses as those found in the embryos of other limbed species. While the limb remains small, the pectoral girdle grows in proportion to the rest of the body, with well-developed skeletal elements and their associated muscles. In later stages of development, the small limb is still present under the skin but there are few indications of its presence, save for the morphology of the scale covering it. The adult morphology consists of a well-developed pectoral girdle, small humerus, extremely reduced ulna and radius, and well-developed limb musculature connected to the pectoral girdle. These muscles form in association with a developing limb during embryonic stages, a hint that “limbless” lizards that possesses these muscles may have or have had at least transient developing limbs, as we find in B. lukbani. Overall, the observed pattern of ontogenetic reduction, leading to an externally limbless adult in which a limb rudiment is hidden and covered under the trunk skin, is a situation called cryptomelia. The results of this work add to our growing understanding of clade-specific patterns of limb reduction and the convergent evolution of limbless phenotypes through different developmental processes.