Journal articles on the topic 'Longitudinal metamorphosis'

The lancelet (amphioxus) performs metamorphosis and produces minute and ciliate pelagic larvae commonly found in other metamorphic marine invertebrates. During larval life and metamorphosis, however, the animal displays interesting combination of features not found in other animals such as long coexistence of ciliate and muscular locomotion and no change in feeding behavior. The uniqueness of lancelet metamorphosis can provide important data to understand the evolutionary history of this animal as well as the metamorphosis broadly appeared in metazoans. Although lancelet metamorphosis has been studied, all previous studies depended on cross-sectional observations. To get serial data on metamorphic events, we performed longitudinal observations on the Japanese lancelet under the culture condition and confirmed the following: (1) there were individual variations of the duration of metamorphosis from 15 to 27 days; (2) growth was arrested for a month and the maximum reduction of the body length (2.2%–3.2%) occurred when gill slits became paired; (3) during rather long duration of metamorphosis, the oral transformation and the division of the gill pores by tongue bar were completed within two to four days. Our observations suggest that the duration and mode of lancelet metamorphosis depend mainly on intrinsic requirements rather than on extrinsic selective pressures.

We have examined the development of innervation to the indirect flight muscles of Drosophila. During metamorphosis, the larval intersegmental nerve of the mesothorax is remodelled to innervate the dorsal longitudinal muscles and two of the dorsoventral muscles. Another modified larval nerve innervates the remaining dorsoventral muscle. The dorsal longitudinal muscles develop using modified larval muscles as templates while dorsoventral muscles develop without the use of such templates. The development of innervation to the two groups of indirect flight muscles differs in spatial and temporal patterns, which may reflect the different ways in which these muscles develop. The identification of myoblasts associated with thoracic nerves during larval life and the association of migrating myoblasts with nerves during metamorphosis indicate the existence of nerve-muscle interactions during indirect flight muscle development. In addition, the developing pattern of axonal branching suggests a role for the target muscles in respecifying neuromuscular junctions during metamorphosis.

The early embryonic development of Hydractinia lasts about 2.5 days until the developing planula larva acquires competence for metamorphosis. Most embryonic cells stop cycling on reaching the larval stage. In older larvae of Hydractinia, cells that are still proliferating occur exclusively in the endoderm in a typical distribution along the longitudinal axis. During metamorphosis, proliferation activity begins again. The number of S-phase cells has increased by the 9th hour after induction of metamorphosis. Proliferative activity starts in the middle gastric region and in basal parts of primary polyps. Tentacles and stolon tips are always free of replicating cells.

The six Dorsal Longitudinal flight Muscles (DLMs) of Drosophila develop from three larval muscles that persist into metamorphosis and serve as scaffolds for the formation of the adult fibers. We have examined the effect of muscle scaffold ablation on the development of DLMs during metamorphosis. Using markers that are specific to muscle and myoblasts we show that in response to the ablation, myoblasts which would normally fuse with the larval muscle, fuse with each other instead, to generate the adult fibers in the appropriate regions of the thorax. The development of these de novo DLMs is delayed and is reflected in the delayed expression of erect wing, a transcription factor thought to control differentiation events associated with myoblast fusion. The newly arising muscles express the appropriate adult-specific Actin isoform (88F), indicating that they have the correct muscle identity. However, there are frequent errors in the number of muscle fibers generated. Ablation of the larval scaffolds for the DLMs has revealed an underlying potential of the DLM myoblasts to initiate de novo myogenesis in a manner that resembles the mode of formation of the Dorso-Ventral Muscles, DVMs, which are the other group of indirect flight muscles. Therefore, it appears that the use of larval scaffolds is a superimposition on a commonly used mechanism of myogenesis in Drosophila. Our results show that the role of the persistent larval muscles in muscle patterning involves the partitioning of DLM myoblasts, and in doing so, they regulate formation of the correct number of DLM fibers.

The meaning of openness in open source is both intrinsically unstable and dynamic, and tends to fluctuate with time and context. We draw on a very particular open-source project primarily concerned with building rigorous clinical concepts to be used in electronic health records called openEHR. openEHR explains how openness is a concept that is purposely engaged with, and how, in this process of engagement, the very meaning of open matures and evolves within the project. Drawing on rich longitudinal data related to openEHR we theorise the evolving nature of openness and how this idea emerges through two intertwined processes of maturation and metamorphosis. While metamorphosis allows us to trace and interrogate the mutational evolution in openness, maturation analyses the small, careful changes crafted to build a very particular understanding of openness. Metamorphosis is less managed and controlled, whereas maturation is representative of highly precise work carried out in controlled form. Both processes work together in open-source projects and reinforce each other. Our study reveals that openness emerges and evolves in open-source projects where it can be understood to mean rigour; ability to participate; open implementation; and an open process. Our work contributes to a deepening in the theorisation of what it means to be an open-source project. The multiple and co-existing meanings of ‘open’ imply that open-source projects evolve in nonlinear ways where each critical meaning of openness causes a reflective questioning by the community of its continued status and existence.

We have followed the pupal development of the indirect flight muscles (IFMs) of Drosophila melanogaster. At the onset of metamorphosis larval muscles start to histolyze, with the exception of a specific set of thoracic muscles. Myoblasts surround these persisting larval muscles and begin the formation of one group of adult indirect flight muscles, the dorsal longitudinal muscles. We show that the other group of indirect flight muscles, the dorsoventral muscles, develops simultaneously but without the use of larval templates. By morphological criteria and by patterns of specific gene expression, our experiments define events in IFM development.

The histology of the nectochaeta larva of the polychaete Sabellaria cementarium Moore and its changes during metamorphosis are described. The epidermis of the nectochaeta consists of five types of cells: locomotory, sensory, pigment, gland, and nonciliated. Setal sacs, containing provisional setae and settling paleae, are located on either side of the body. The muscle system consists of circular and longitudinal trunk muscles and a setal sac – esophageal muscle complex. The alimentary tract consists of an esophagus possessing three types of gland cells, a stomach composed of large vacuolated cells anteriorly and squamous cells containing lipid droplets posteriorly, and an intestine. The nervous system is composed of a cerebral ganglion, circumesophageal connectives, subesophageal ganglia, and paired ventral nerve cords. The blood vascular system consists of supraesophageal, lateral esophageal, dorsal and ventral blood vessels, and dorsal and ventral blood sinuses. Mucous glands are present in the episphere and pygidium and five types of gland cells are found in the parathoracic region. Metamorphosis of the nectochaeta into a sedentary, benthic juvenile involves the following morphological changes: atrophy of prototrochal cells, loss of provisional setae and regional histolysis within the setal sacs, loss of epispheral and pygidial mucous glands, discharge of parathoracic glands that form the mucoid tube, formation of a head coelom, enlargement of cerebral ganglion, histolysis of the setal sac – esophageal muscle complex, and hypertrophy and dissociation of the vacuolated stomach cells.

Pattern formation in muscle development is often mediated by special cells called muscle organizers. During metamorphosis in Drosophila, a set of larval muscles function as organizers and provide scaffolding for the development of the dorsal longitudinal flight muscles. These organizers undergo defined morphological changes and dramatically split into templates as adult fibers differentiate during pupation. We have investigated the cellular mechanisms involved in the use of larval fibers as templates. Using molecular markers that label myoblasts and the larval muscles themselves, we show that splitting of the larval muscles is concomitant with invasion by imaginal myoblasts and the onset of differentiation. We show that the Erect wing protein, an early marker of muscle differentiation, is not only expressed in myoblasts just before and after fusion, but also in remnant larval nuclei during muscle differentiation. We also show that interaction between imaginal myoblasts and larval muscles is necessary for transformation of the larval fibers. In the absence of imaginal myoblasts, the earliest steps in metamorphosis, such as the escape of larval muscles from histolysis and changes in their innervation, are normal. However, subsequent events, such as the splitting of these muscles, fail to progress. Finally, we show that in a mutant combination, null for Erect wing function in the mesoderm, the splitting of the larval muscles is aborted. These studies provide a genetic and molecular handle for the understanding of mechanisms underlying the use of muscle organizers in muscle patterning. Since the use of such organizers is a common theme in myogenesis in several organisms, it is likely that many of the processes that we describe are conserved.

The morphology of an early nectochaete larva belonging to Chrysopetalum sp. is aligned with that of a planktotrophic larva at a crucial stage of benthic settlement: an entire provisional spinose notochaetal scleritome, large episphere with prostomial nascent sensory structures and larval podia and cirri of the anterior two segments in transition. Morphological sequences of post-larvae and juveniles, common to a number of Chrysopetalum species, indicate that long, slender, provisional, camerate notochaetal spines are replaced during metamorphosis and growth with an entire adult, camerate notochaetal scleritome consisting of broad paleae with internal, longitudinal ribs. The Chrysopetalum sp. six segment larva supports achaetous notopodia I and chaetous notopodia II, each with a pair of dorsal cirri, ie. 4 cirri in total; segment II has acirrose neuropodia. Individuals of post-larvae and juvenile Chrysopetalum species, 8–15 segments, possess a total of 6 cirri on segments I and II: segment I with a pair of tentacular dorsal cirri and the formation of a pair of tentacular ventral cirri, and segment II comprising a pair of dorsal cirri, spinous notochaetae and acirrose neuropodia. During metamorphosis the acirrous neuropodia of segment II are reabsorbed and replaced in stages with a pair of ventral tentacular cirri until the adult state is achieved: achaetous segment 1 with two pairs of tentacular cirri and segment II similar, ie. total of 8 cirri. The cirri arrangement of segments I and II before final metamorphosis in post-larval stages of Chrysopetalum species is, interestingly, that described for adults in the majority of other Chrysopetalinae taxa. Ontogenetic developmental processes of formation and loss of acirrose neuropodia and replacement of spinose larval notochaetae with adult paleae observed in Chrysopetalum species are compared with species of other taxa of the Chrysopetalinae.

During the degenerative processes that precede and accompany metamorphosis of the larval mesothoracic dorsal longitudinal muscles of Manduca sexta, the motor nerves and neuromuscular junctions undergo a variety of structural changes that are largely secondary to the changing morphologies of their respective glia. In the central region of the main motor nerve, the multiple layers of glial processes surrounding each of the large axons withdraw, leaving them apposed. In the peripheral region of the main motor nerve and in the secondary and tertiary nerve branches supplying the muscle, the outer glial processes of the nerve sheath and those that loosely wrap accompanying small neurosecretory axons all swell. Phagocytic cells and cells of unknown function invade the outer region of the nerve. In the neuromuscular junctions, the glial cells withdraw their processes from a complicated interdigitation with processes from the muscle fiber and from their relationship with the nerve terminal. As degeneration proceeds, this allows a greater area of contact between each nerve terminal and the muscle fiber. Within each junction there is a mixture of both functional and non-functional regions and active zones, as determined by both thin-section and freeze-fracture observations. No correlation was found between the degree of degeneration of a neuromuscular junction and its association with a particular muscle fiber or its position on the fiber relative to the origin or insertion.

Telomere shortening with age has been documented in many organisms, but few studies have reported telomere length measurements in amphibians, and no information is available for growth after metamorphosis, nor in wild populations. We provide both cross-sectional and longitudinal evidence of net telomere attrition with age in a wild amphibian population of natterjack toads ( Epidalea calamita ). Based on age-estimation by skeletochronology and qPCR telomere length measurements in the framework of an individual-based monitoring programme, we confirmed telomere attrition in recaptured males. Our results support that toads experience telomere attrition throughout their ontogeny, and that most attrition occurs during the first 1–2 years. We did not find associations between telomere length and inbreeding or body condition. Our results on telomere length dynamics under natural conditions confirm telomere shortening with age in amphibians and provide quantification of wide telomere length variation within and among age-classes in a wild breeding population.

In order to reveal syncytia within the visceral musculature of Drosophila melanogaster, we have combined the GAL4/UAS system with the single-cell transplantation technique. After transplantation of single cells from UAS-GFP donor embryos into ubiquitously GAL4-expressing recipients, the expression of the reporter gene was exclusively activated in syncytia containing both donor- and recipient-derived nuclei. In the first trial, we tested the system in the larval somatic musculature, which is already known to consist of syncytia. By this means we could show that most of the larval somatic muscles are generated by clonally non-related cells. Moreover, using this approach we were able to detect syncytia within the visceral musculature – a tissue that has previously been described as consisting of mononuclear cells. Both the longitudinal visceral musculature of the midgut and the circular musculature of the hindgut consist of syncytia and persist through metamorphosis. This novel application of the transplantation technique might be a powerful tool to trace syncytia in any organism using the GAL4/UAS system.

During Drosophila pupal metamorphosis, the motoneurons and muscles differentiate synchronously, providing an opportunity for extensive intercellular regulation during synapse formation. We examined the existence of such interactions by developmentally delaying or permanently eliminating synaptic partners during the formation of indirect flight muscles. When we experimentally delayed muscle development, we found that although adult-specific primary motoneuron branching still occurred, the higher order (synaptic) branching was suspended until the delayed muscle fibers reached a favourable developmental state. In reciprocal experiments we found that denervation caused a decrease in the myoblast pool. Furthermore, the formation of certain muscle fibers (dorsoventral muscles) was specifically blocked. Exceptions were the adult muscles that use larval muscle fibers as myoblast fusion targets (dorsal longitudinal muscles). However, when these muscles were experimentally compelled to develop without their larval precursors, they showed an absolute dependence on the motoneurons for their formation. These data show that the size of the myoblast pool and early events in fiber formation depend on the presence of the nerve, and that, conversely, peripheral arbor development and synaptogenesis is closely synchronized with the developmental state of the muscle.

The peripheral and central oculomotor organization of the adult flatfish presents no morphological substrates that suffice to explain adaptive changes in its vestibuloocular reflex system. The necessity for an adaptation occurs because of a 90 degrees displacement of the vestibular with respect to the extraocular coordinate axes during metamorphosis. Since a reorganization of vestibuloocular pathways must be hypothesized (12), the location and termination of electrophysiologically identified secondary vestibular neurons with focus on the horizontal canal system was studied with the intracellular horseradish peroxidase method in adult winter flounders. Pseudopleuronectes americanus. The oculomotor target sites of vertical canal related neurons were similar to those described in mammals. Presumed excitatory anterior canal neurons bifurcated after the main axon had crossed the midline. The descending branch headed toward the spinal cord. The ascending branch reached the oculomotor nucleus via the contralateral medial longitudinal fasciculus and terminated in the superior rectus and inferior oblique subdivisions. Presumed inhibitory posterior canal neurons ascended ipsilaterally in the medial longitudinal fasciculus and terminated mainly in the superior rectus and inferior oblique subdivisions. Horizontal canal neurons exhibited characteristics distinctly different from mammalian ones. Two types of second-order neurons were observed. In the first case, cell bodies were located in the anterior portion of the vestibular nuclear complex. After crossing the midline, the axon ascended in the contralateral medial longitudinal fasciculus. Major termination sites were found in the inferior oblique and superior rectus subdivisions of the oculomotor nucleus. Axonal branches then recrossed the midline and terminated in identical locations on the ipsilateral side. In the second case, cell bodies were located in the descending vestibular nucleus. Their axons crossed the midline and also ascended in the contralateral medial longitudinal fasciculus. Major termination sites were in the trochlear nucleus and in the inferior rectus subdivision of the oculomotor nucleus. As in the first case, axonal branches also recrossed the midline and terminated in identical motoneuron pools on the ipsilateral side. The above target sites were exactly those expected to be used in a reciprocal excitatory-inhibitory fashion during compensatory eye movements. Head-down movement would be excitatory for the lower horizontal canal producing contractions of both superior recti and inferior obliques as well as relaxation of the antagonistic inferior recti and superior obliques.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

The transformation of China’s political elite provides important insights into the nation’s political metamorphosis and the changes in cadre selection criteria. The current literature explains the composition of Chinese political elites by referencing cross-sectional biographic data and describing how the revolutionary veterans stepped down and were replaced by the technocrats who emerged in the 1980s and 1990s. However, explanations for the rise of the technocrats have largely been limited to socioeconomic factors. By analyzing the longitudinal data of Chinese provincial leaders during the period of 1990–2013, this article shows the rise of technocrats in Chinese politics in the 1990s but also provides an explanation for it from the perspectives of individuals’ career paths and the contemporaneous political and policy landscapes. These explanations were drawn from analyses of the expansion of higher education and faculty restructuring in the 1950s, graduate job assignments, the recruitment and promotion of young and middle-aged cadres, and the cadre policy known as the Four Modernizations of the early 1980s. This article presents the interactions among individuals’ career opportunities, group composition characteristics, and socioeconomic and macropolitical dynamics. It also reveals how the Chinese Communist Party legitimizes its ruling power and maintains state capacity and political order through elite recruitment.

Adolescent development involves a complex interplay between genetics, biology, and social and emotional relationships within multiple contexts of home, school and the broader community. The transition from primary to secondary school, coupled with the onset of puberty, can therefore be a difficult period for young people to negotiate at a critical period of their developmental pathway. Using a social ecological perspective, this article examines the impact of the transition experience on adolescent social and emotional health, both immediately following transition to secondary school and at the end of the first year in this new school environment. This 1-year prospective study involving 1,500 Australian Grade 8 secondary school students found that 31% of students in the sample experienced a ‘difficult’ or ‘somewhat difficult’ transition to their new school. This third of the student sample were consequently more likely to experience poorer social and emotional health, including higher levels of depression and anxiety at the end of their first year of secondary school, while controlling for these variables at the time of transition. A central message from this work exemplifies the urgent need for a longitudinal intervention trial to develop best practice guidelines for activities that help ameliorate the negative impact a change in education context can create for adolescents negotiating a rapid metamorphosis from childhood to adulthood.

Abstract The capacity to convert exogenous leukotriene A4 to lipoxins (LXs) was investigated in platelet suspensions from patients with myeloproliferative disorders (MPD) (n = 22) and healthy control subjects (n = 14). Platelets isolated from the controls produced mainly LXA4, but also 6(S)-LXA4 and the all-trans isomers of lipoxins A4 and B4, as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography and computerized UV spectroscopy. In comparison to control levels, the mean LX synthesis was significantly lower in platelets from the MPD patients (438.7 +/- 62.8 and 157.4 +/- 31.2 pmol LXA4 per 10(9) platelets, respectively; mean +/- SEM; P = .0001). Platelets from six of the patients showed a particularly low capacity to produce LXs, resulting in LX levels below the detection limit or less than 7% of mean control levels. Notably, all these patients were in blastic crisis of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). This severely deficient LX production was paralleled by a dramatically attenuated conversion of arachidonic acid to 12-HETE (12-hydroxyheptadecatrienoic acid), a product formed via the prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase pathway, was normal. In addition, longitudinal studies of CML patients showed that blastic metamorphosis was associated with a markedly reduced capability to synthesize LXs, while this capacity improved after retransformation into a second chronic phase. The results reveal deficient LX synthesis as a novel platelet dysfunction in MPD, particularly in blastic crisis of CML in which an essentially abolished 12-lipoxygenase activity may be a general phenomenon.

The capacity to convert exogenous leukotriene A4 to lipoxins (LXs) was investigated in platelet suspensions from patients with myeloproliferative disorders (MPD) (n = 22) and healthy control subjects (n = 14). Platelets isolated from the controls produced mainly LXA4, but also 6(S)-LXA4 and the all-trans isomers of lipoxins A4 and B4, as determined by high-performance liquid chromatography and computerized UV spectroscopy. In comparison to control levels, the mean LX synthesis was significantly lower in platelets from the MPD patients (438.7 +/- 62.8 and 157.4 +/- 31.2 pmol LXA4 per 10(9) platelets, respectively; mean +/- SEM; P = .0001). Platelets from six of the patients showed a particularly low capacity to produce LXs, resulting in LX levels below the detection limit or less than 7% of mean control levels. Notably, all these patients were in blastic crisis of chronic myelogenous leukemia (CML). This severely deficient LX production was paralleled by a dramatically attenuated conversion of arachidonic acid to 12-HETE (12-hydroxyheptadecatrienoic acid), a product formed via the prostaglandin endoperoxide synthase pathway, was normal. In addition, longitudinal studies of CML patients showed that blastic metamorphosis was associated with a markedly reduced capability to synthesize LXs, while this capacity improved after retransformation into a second chronic phase. The results reveal deficient LX synthesis as a novel platelet dysfunction in MPD, particularly in blastic crisis of CML in which an essentially abolished 12-lipoxygenase activity may be a general phenomenon.

We have characterized two new members of the FMRFamide family of neuropeptides from the segmental ganglia of the tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta. Levels of peptides in ganglia used for purification were enhanced by manipulating their exposure to the steroid molting hormones. Explants of ganglia were cultured in the low-level ecdysteroid environment of diapausing pupae shown previously to evoke accumulation of FMRFamide-like immunoreactivity (FLI). Sufficient material for sequencing was obtained from 180 explanted ganglia. Extracts of ganglia were fractionated using two reverse-phase liquid chromatography procedures, and the immunoreactive fractions were subjected to sequence analysis using electrospray mass spectrometry. The sequences of the two peptides were determined to be GNSFLRFamide and DPSFLRFamide. These peptides have been named MasFLRFamide II and MasFLRFamide III, respectively; the previously characterized M. sexta FLRFamide (pEDVVHSFLRFamide) has been renamed MasFLRFamide I. The three peptides show distinctive tissue and developmental distributions as determined from fractionated extracts of larval and adult central nervous system structures and neurohemal organs. In the retrocerebral corpora cardiaca/corpora allata, MasFLRFamide I was the predominant form, while in the segmental ganglia MasFLRFamides II and III predominated. Higher levels of MasFLRFamide I and II were found in the adult, whereas there was little apparent change in the level of MasFLRFamide III upon metamorphosis. Determinations of peptide levels in fractionated hemolymph of newly emerged moths revealed that levels of MasFLRFamide I and III could exceed 10 nmol l-1. The actions of the three peptides were tested on the moth ileum. MasFLRFamides II and III were found to be stimulatory. At 1 nmol l-1, these peptides induced robust increases in the rate of rhythmic longitudinal and peristaltic waves of contractions. In contrast, MasFLRFamide I was ineffective even at 20 nmol l-1. Thus, while all three peptides have the characteristics of neurohormones in M. sexta, the physiological findings show that the heptapeptide FLRFamides have properties distinct from those of the decapeptide.

In juvenile flatfish the vestibuloocular reflex (VOR) circuitry that underlies compensatory eye movements adapts to a 90° relative displacement of vestibular and oculomotor reference frames during metamorphosis. VOR pathways are rearranged to allow horizontal canal-activated second-order vestibular neurons in adult flatfish to control extraocular motoneurons innervating vertical eye muscles. This study describes the anatomy and physiology of identified flatfish-specific excitatory and inhibitory vestibular pathways. In antidromically identified oculomotor and trochlear motoneurons, excitatory postsynaptic potentials (EPSPs) were elicited after electrical stimulation of the horizontal canal nerve expected to provide excitatory input. Electrotonic depolarizations (0.8–0.9 ms) preceded small amplitude (<0.5 mV) chemical EPSPs at 1.2–1.6 ms with much larger EPSPs (>1 mV) recorded around 2.5 ms. Stimulation of the opposite horizontal canal nerve produced inhibitory postsynaptic potentials (IPSPs) at a disynaptic latency of 1.6–1.8 ms that were depolarizing at membrane resting potentials around −60 mV. Injection of chloride ions increased IPSP amplitude, and current-clamp analysis showed the IPSP equilibrium potential to be near the membrane resting potential. Repeated electrical stimulation of either the excitatory or inhibitory horizontal canal vestibular nerve greatly increased the amplitude of the respective synaptic responses. These observations suggest that the large terminal arborizations of each VOR neuron imposes an electrotonic load requiring multiple action potentials to maximize synaptic efficacy. GABA antibodies labeled axons in the medial longitudinal fasciculus (MLF) some of which were hypothesized to originate from horizontal canal-activated inhibitory vestibular neurons. GABAergic terminal arborizations were distributed largely on the somata and proximal dendrites of oculomotor and trochlear motoneurons. These findings suggest that the species-specific horizontal canal inhibitory pathway exhibits similar electrophysiological and synaptic transmitter profiles as the anterior and posterior canal inhibitory projections to oculomotor and trochlear motoneurons. Electron microscopy showed axosomatic and axodendritic synaptic endings containing spheroidal synaptic vesicles to establish chemical excitatory synaptic contacts characterized by asymmetrical pre/postsynaptic membrane specializations as well as gap junctional contacts consistent with electrotonic coupling. Another type of axosomatic synaptic ending contained pleiomorphic synaptic vesicles forming chemical, presumed inhibitory, synaptic contacts on motoneurons that never included gap junctions. Altogether these data provide electrophysiological, immunohistochemical, and ultrastructural evidence for reciprocal excitatory/inhibitory organization of the novel vestibulooculomotor projections in adult flatfish. The appearance of unique second-order vestibular neurons linking the horizontal canal to vertical oculomotor neurons suggests that reciprocal excitation and inhibition are a fundamental, developmentally linked trait of compensatory eye movement circuits in vertebrates.

Purpose: This report describes the development of focal choroidal excavation (FCE) and recurrent central serous chorioretinopathy (CSCR) following the treatment of choroidal neovascularization (CNV) years earlier. Methods: A case report is presented. Results: A 30-year-old man previously treated for an active CNV returned several years later with subacute metamorphopsia. Optical coherence tomography and angiography demonstrated no recurrence of the CNV but instead found an FCE and associated CSCR in its place. Conclusion: Longitudinal follow-up with multimodal imaging demonstrated FCE with recurrent CSCR as possible sequelae of treated CNV.

The research was focused on the political identity dynamics of the Japanese people through their attitude towards specific political issues, concepts, and doctrines, through ideas about the role of their country in the world, their attitude to “constituent Others” and their military history, as well as the analysis of differences between identities at the macro and micro levels during the emergence of the official course towards transforming Japan into a “normal country”. The solution to this problem is relevant in regards to Russia building a constructive policy in relation to Japan. The article analyzes a series of special and longitudinal studies characterizing generational change over the past 20 years in order to determine how much Japanese political preferences have changed in reference points that reflect their political identity, and which of these points allow us to identify significant determinants. As a key determinant of these surveys, the authors selected the degree of stability of pacifist self-consciousness, while analyzing the cumulative effect of several major factors in the formation of pacifism as the core of Japanese political identity: a) the archetypal principle of harmony (wa), expressed in the tendency of the Japanese people to smoothen out potential conflicts and in the outstanding ability to adapt and to adopt, b) the long-term implications of the constructivist paradigm in political rhetoric concerning the problem of national security; c) the impact of pacifist cultural and political discourse; d) the victimization complex that has developed in the wake of the defeat; and e) the absence of a clear perception of military threat in the society. Together, they make us believe that pacifist self-identification has a large margin of stability, and speak to the bifurcation of the current political identity of the Japanese people, which is experiencing a multi-vector pressure of the ‘power’ strategy of political realism and value-oriented approaches of constructivism. The authors identify the main directions of stratification of the political identity of Japanese society, point to some emerging trends in the realm of ideas on security policy, draw conclusions about the real place and influence of reflection on the Russian-Japanese territorial issue in the structure of Japanese political identity.

Purpose. Patients with central serous chorioretinopathy (CSC) typically present with acute visual impairment and metamorphopsia. The disease previously has been associated with psychological stress. Population-based cohort studies on the risk of CSC among patients with nonorganic sleep disturbance (NOSD) are limited. An early sign of psychiatric disorder was probably sleep disturbance. Furthermore, psychological stress may be caused by sleep disturbance. We investigated the relationship between NOSD and the incidence of CSC. Design. Longitudinal cohort study. Participants. We used the Longitudinal Health Insurance Database and collected the data of 53,743 NOSD patients without CSC between 2000 and 2005 as the study group. Four-fold controls were selected randomly from those without neither sleep disturbance nor a CSC history with frequency matching of age, sex, and index-year. Methods. The difference in sex, age group, comorbidities, and steroid use between the two groups was analyzed by the χ2 test. Cox-proportional hazard regression was utilized to estimate the hazard ratio (HR) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) for comparison of the two groups. Kaplan–Meier analysis was applied to measure the cumulative incidence of CSC. Furthermore, the log-rank test was used to test the incidence difference between the two groups. Main Outcome Measures. The incidence rate of CSC in the following years until 2011 was detected. Results. During a mean follow-up of 7.36 ± 2.88 years, NOSD patients had a higher incidence of CSC than the controls (3.10 vs. 1.86 per 10,000 person-years; adjusted HR, 1.65; 95% CI, 1.34–2.02). Men had a higher risk of CSC than women. Sensitivity analyses stratified by sex, age group, or comorbidity condition showed consistently that NOSD patients had a higher risk of CSC than their controls. Dose-response showed that higher NOSD severity had even higher CSC risk. Conclusions. NOSD is an independent indicator for the increased risk of subsequent CSC development.

Immigrant associations known commonly as huiguan have long been a research area among specialists on the Overseas Chinese. Recently, the same subject has attracted increasing attention among scholars who attempt to examine urban life in late imperial China. In either case, the existing historical literature seems to have focused on the two following aspects of huiguan development: the various principles of organizational formation such as common native place, surname, occupation and the new locational identity, and how they interacted with one another and shaped the community structure; the functional relevance of huiguan firstly to the various needs of the immigrant society and the local elite, and secondly to the overriding concerns of the ruling authority, be it the Chinese imperial bureaucracy or the governing authorities in a foreign settlement. Yet few attempts have been made to delineate the longitudinal evolution of these associations over an extended period in any single locale, and above all, to provide an analytical framework to decipher the complex interplay of different forces behind organizational changes. Relying primarily on Chinese newspapers, huiguan archives and publications in Singapore,3 this paper represents a very preliminary effort along both lines. After a brief background discussion on the nineteenth century, I will try to document closely several significant features in the development of Chinese huiguan in Singapore between the turn of the century and the beginning of the Pacific War. The main thrust here is to demonstrate the possibility of going beyond number games, that pay too much attention to organizational inventory, to examine more substantive issues such as changes in organizational forms, the revamping of institutional set-ups, leadership turnover and varying functional priorities. Then the following section will seek to account for these organizational metamorphoses. It will be argued that our explanatory paradigm should at least consist of three categories of factors: domestic forces associated with community evolution; the impact of the host society; and influences emanating from China and particularly the native area.

Abstract During April 2007, a coordinated series of snow measurements was made across the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada, during a snowmobile traverse from Fairbanks, Alaska, to Baker Lake, Nunavut. The purpose of the measurements was to document the general nature of the snowpack across this region for the evaluation of satellite- and model-derived estimates of snow water equivalent (SWE). Although detailed, local snow measurements have been made as part of ongoing studies at tundra field sites (e.g., Daring Lake and Trail Valley Creek in the Northwest Territories; Toolik Lake and the Kuparak River basin in Alaska), systematic measurements at the regional scale have not been previously collected across this region of northern Canada. The snow cover consisted of depth hoar and wind slab with small and ephemeral fractions of new, recent, and icy snow. The snow was shallow (&lt;40 cm deep), usually with fewer than six layers. Where snow was deposited on lake and river ice, it was shallower, denser, and more metamorphosed than where it was deposited on tundra. Although highly variable locally, no longitudinal gradients in snow distribution, magnitude, or structure were detected. This regional homogeneity allowed us to identify that the observed spatial variability in passive microwave brightness temperatures was related to subgrid fractional lake cover. Correlation analysis between lake fraction and Advanced Microwave Scanning Radiometer for Earth Observing System (AMSR-E) brightness temperature showed frequency dependent, seasonally evolving relationships consistent with lake ice drivers. Simulations of lake ice thickness and snow depth on lake ice produced from the Canadian Lake Ice Model (CLIMo) indicated that at low frequencies (6.9, 10.7 GHz), correlations with lake fraction were consistent through the winter season, whereas at higher frequencies (18.7, 36.5 GHz), the strength and direction of the correlations evolved consistently with the penetration depth as the influence of the subice water was replaced by emissions from the ice and snowpack. A regional rain-on-snow event created a surface ice lens that was detectable using the AMSR-E 36.5-GHz polarization gradient due to a strong response at the horizontal polarization. The appropriate polarization for remote sensing of the tundra snowpack depends on the application: horizontal measurements are suitable for ice lens detection; vertically polarized measurements are appropriate for deriving SWE estimates.

The study of the feeding mechanisms in vertebrates requires an integrative approach since the feeding event consists of a chain of behaviors. In the present study we investigated the food uptake behavior in different ontogenetic stages in the Danube crested newt (Triturus dobrogicus). We focused on the coordination in the kinematics of the elements of the locomotor and the feeding systems at the transition between the approach of the newt to the prey and the food uptake start. In the feeding strategy of the larvae ofT. dobrogicus, the phase of food search is replaced by an initial “food detection phase.” In both larvae and adult specimens, the animals approached the food to a close distance by a precise positioning of the snout besides the food item. The larvae were able to reach food items offered at over 80° relative to the longitudinal midline of the head. When the food was offered at a large distance or laterally, the food uptake was either not successful or the coordination chain at the transition between food approach and food uptake was interrupted. In young larvae we detected an abrupt change in the activity of the locomotor system and the feeding system. The larvae approached the food by tail undulation and after reaching the final position of attack, no further activity of the locomotor apparatus was detectable. The larvae used a pure form of inertial suction to ingest food. In pre-metamorphic larvae and adults we registered an integrated activation of the locomotor apparatus (both limbs and tail) and the feeding apparatus during prey capture in the form of compensatory suction. The drastic change in the feeding mode of the pre-metamorphotic larvae and the adults compared to the younger larvae inT. dobrogicusmay indicate the evolutionary development of a defined relation in the activity of the locomotor system and the control of the feeding apparatus. We propose that in newts, the interaction between the control execution in both systems switched from successive (body movement – feeding) into integrated (body movement – body movement and feeding) during the ontogeny. The main trigger for such a switch (at least inT. dobrogicus) is the formation of functional limbs during the late larval development.

(In this abstract, numbers in parentheses refer to key figures in the text which facilitate understanding.) Selected aspects of notostracan morphology are considered from a functional standpoint and related to habits whenever possible. Scanning electron microscopy and observations on the early stages of development have revealed differences, some of functional significance, between what have been regarded as no more than racially different populations of certain species. These suggest that our taxonomic understanding of the Notostraca is still incomplete. The natural history and general habits of notostracans are briefly described. Many structural features are related to benthic habits. The development of a dorsal, dome-shaped carapace (2 and 3) has probably influenced the evolution of the trunk and other features involved in maintaining hydrodynamic efficiency when swimming. Eggs, which in some species are firmly attached to substrata (4), are probably less easily dispersed than often supposed. Besides its ecological significance, this has a bearing on taxonomy, zoogeography and evolution. The gross morphology of the trunk limbs is re-described as an essential preliminary to interpreting function, and various hitherto undescribed structural features are reported. The anterior series of trunk limbs (5—9) fulfil a multiplicity of roles (in standing, swimming, digging, clambering, food collection and manipulation, egg-carrying, respiration and sensing the environment) and have evolved within the constraints imposed by the overlying carapace, whose presence has, conversely, been exploited. Limbs of the posterior series (10-15) are less constrained by the carapace and have developed large exopodite paddles that set up a respiratory stream, but they are also involved in food handling. Scanning electron microscopy has revealed details of trunk limb armature previously poorly known and often of great complexity. Many of the spines and setae that play an important part in food handling are hinged at the base in a characteristic manner (21, 24, 33, 34 and 40), a feature of great functional significance. Spectacular groups of sensillae are present on the trunk limbs of Lepidurus apus (54—62). The profusion of sensillae on the trunk limbs of the Notostraca stands in marked contrast to the situation in other branchiopods and is probably related to the versatility of food collecting techniques employed, which necessitates an ability to handle a wide range of food items, ranging from detrital particles to large prey organisms. An account of the functional anatomy of the head (63—67) is presented. The mandibles are biting appendages (29, 69-71, 87 and 102) that can abduct widely. In this they contrast strikingly with the rolling, grinding and crushing mandibles of most branchiopods whose ability to abduct is extremely limited. Nevertheless they share many features with such mandibles. Skeletally they have the same hollow, boat-like structure, but their arm ature is very different, consisting of heavily sclerotized, toothed ridges with additional refinements (69-76). The articulating surface is broad (68), not pointed as in most branchiopods. There is a massive transverse mandibular tendon (64, 81, 82, 85, 87, 88 and 90) homologous with that of other branchiopods but vastly thicker. On each side it is suspended and braced by three dorsal ligaments, and braced by an anteroventral ligament and by four dorsal muscles (66, 67, 87 and 88). It is also supported posteriorly by a pair of complex cuticular apodemes and anchored by fibres to simpler anterior apodemes (64-66, 91 and 93). The mandibular muscles share many basic attributes with those of other branchiopods but differ strikingly in ways that are related to the different actions that notostracan mandibles and those of the rolling and grinding type have to perform. The transverse muscles originate essentially from the ends of the transverse mandibular tendon (19, 81 and 102). None does so from the main part of its posterior face as they often do in other branchiopods. There are no 5c muscles, in which respect adult notostracan mandibles appear to be unique among branchiopods. Abduction is achieved by dorsally located abductor muscles (66, 67, 86 and 87) that have no counterpart in other branchiopods. The broad articulating surface can slide as these muscles contract, allowing abduction of the molar regions. The paragnaths, maxillules, maxillae and post-mandibular apodemes make up a functionally integrated complex (64, 66, 67, 94, 97 and 99). The maxillules (100 and 101) are much more complex than hitherto appreciated and far more so than in any other order of the Branchiopoda. Each is two-segmented, the proximal segment having elaborate armature. Intrinsic and extrinsic muscles are involved in maxillulary movements. Among their several roles the post-mandibular apodemes provide firm anchorage for the ventral longitudinal muscles of the trunk (81). In contrast to the fleshy labrum of most branchiopods with its often conspicuous labral glands, that of the Notostraca is a flattened structure that lacks labral glands (63 and 64). Standing, swimming and digging are important elements in the life of notostracans and are related to feeding habits. Aspects of trunk limb structure in relation to the feeding mechanism are discussed. Notostracans feed both on finely particulate material and on large items. These food sources call for different handling techniques, both of which are described. In neither case is filtration involved. In both, food is passed forward along, or adjacent to, the shallow food groove from gnathobase to gnathobase and eventually to the mouthparts. The morphological specializations involved in the process and in the actions of the mouthparts are described. Notostracans hatch as nauplii (119 and 120) (with the possible exception of certain populations of Lepidurus arcticus in which this stage may have been eliminated, though the evidence is ambiguous). These do not feed. Feeding begins at stage 2 in Triops . Food is collected by the m andibular palps and passed to the oesophagus by a masticatory spine on each mandibular gnathobase (105). At this stage the gnathobase has no armature on the prospective masticatory surface, exactly as in the Anostraca. Proximal masticatory spines of the antennae help to pass food forward but the distal masticatory spines do not collect food and, in T. cancriformis at least, seem not to play any part in food handling. In T. cancriformis the mandibular gnathobases develop their first masticatory armature at stage 3 (106). During subsequent ontogeny in Triops the naupliar mechanism is gradually replaced by that of the adult. Development is essentially anamorphic but the trunk limbs develop at much earlier stages than in the Anostraca. Lepidurus arcticus hatches as a non-feeding nauplius that very quickly moults to a stage much more advanced than stage 2 of Triops , there being a virtual metamorphosis at the first moult. Although the second instar swims by an essentially adult (though still rudimentary) mechanism, it does not feed. Its mandibles indeed are incapable of handling food, being in essentially the same state of development as those in stage 2 of T. cancriformis but with minute, non-functional gnathobasic spines (122) At no stage do the antennae possess either proximal or distal masticatory spines (121) and the mandibular palps never collect food. There is in fact no naupliar feeding mechanism. When feeding begins, at stage 3, the mechanism involved is already of an essentially adult type. Although the absence of the 5c muscles of the transverse mandibular series is an outstanding feature of adult notostracans, these muscles are present in the early stages of development (116, 125 and 129). Swimming of the early stages of Triops has been analysed. As in early anostracan larvae the nauplii and early post-naupliar stages inhabit a low Reynolds number environment and have essentially no momentum. Oar-like movements of the antennae propel the larva forwards during the working stroke but, as soon as this impetus ceases, so does forward motion, and during the recovery phase of the cycle of antennal beat the larva moves backwards (130 and 131). Over a series of moults this mechanism is gradually replaced by the adult mechanism as the trunk limbs develop and the antennae atrophy. A comparison between the early stages of the Notostraca and Anostraca from both functional and evolutionary standpoints reveals striking differences, as well as similarities that are probably indicative of remote common ancestry. The Notostraca occupy an isolated position within the Branchiopoda. Although primitive, the Notostraca may be less so than the Anostraca.

The Walt Disney Company has been creating magical fairy tales since the early 1900s and is a trusted brand synonymous with wholesome, family entertainment (Wasko). Over time, this reputation has resulted in the Disney brand’s huge financial growth and influence on audiences worldwide. (Wohlwend). As the largest global media powerhouse in the Western world (Beattie), Disney uses its power and influence to shape the perceptions and ideologies of its audience. In the twenty-first century there has been a proliferation of retellings of Disney fairy tales, and Kilmer suggests that although the mainstream perception is that these new iterations promote gender equity, new cultural awareness around gender stereotypes, and cultural insensitivity, this is illusory. Tangled, for example, was a popular film selling over 10 million DVD copies and positioned as a bold new female fairy tale character; however, academics took issue with this position, writing articles entitled “Race, Gender and the Politics of Hair: Disney’s Tangled Feminist Messages”, “Tangled: A Celebration of White Femininity”, and “Disney’s Tangled: Fun, But Not Feminist”, berating the film for its lack of any true feminist examples or progressiveness (Kilmer). One way to assess the impact of Disney is to look at the use of shape shifting and transformation in the narratives – particularly those that include women and young girls. Research shows that girls and women are often stereotyped and sexualised in the mass media (Smith et al.; Collins), and Disney regularly utilises body modification and metamorphosis within its narratives to emphasise what good and evil ‘look’ like. These magical transformations evoke what Marina Warner refers to as part of the necessary surprise element of the fairy tale, while creating suspense and identity with storylines and characters. In early Disney films such as the 1937 version of Snow White, the queen becomes the witch who brings a poison apple to the princess; and in the 1959 film Sleeping Beauty the ‘bad’ fairy Maleficent shapeshifts into a malevolent dragon. Whilst these ‘good to evil’ (and vice versa) tropes are easily recognised, there are additional transformations that are arguably more problematic than those of the increasingly terrifying monsters or villains. Disney has created what we have coined the ‘princess bubble’, where the physique and behaviour of the leading women in the tales has become a predictor of success and good fortune, and the impression is created of a link between their possession of beauty and the ‘happily-ever-after’ outcome received by the female character. The value, or worth, of a princess is shown within these stories to often increase according to her ability to attract men. For example, in Brave, Queen Elinor showcases the extreme measures taken to ‘present’ her daughter Merida to male suitors. Merida is preened, dressed, and shown how to behave to increase her value to her family, and whilst she manages to persuade them to set aside their patriarchal ideologies in the end, it is clear what is expected from Merida in order to gain male attention. Similarly, Cinderella, Aurora, and Snow White are found to be of high ‘worth’ by the princes on account of their beauty and form. We contend, therefore, that the impression often cast on audiences by Disney princesses emphasises that beauty = worth, no matter how transgressive Disney appears to be on the surface. These princesses are flawlessly beautiful, capable of winning the heart of the prince by triumphing over their less attractive rivals – who are often sisters or other family members. This creates the illusion among young audiences that physical attractiveness is enough to achieve success, and emphasises beauty as the priority above all else. Therefore, the Disney ‘princess bubble’ is highly problematic. It presents a narrow range of acceptability for female characters, offers a distorted view of gender, and serves to further engrain into popular culture a flawed stereotype on how to look and behave that negates a fuller representation of female characters. In addition, Armando Maggi argues that since fairy tales have been passed down through generations, they have become an intrinsic part of many people’s upbringing and are part of a kind of universal imaginary and repository of cultural values. This means that these iconic cultural stories are “unlikely to ever be discarded because they possess both a sentimental value and a moral ‘soundness’” (Rutherford 33), albeit that the lessons to be learnt are at times antiquated and exclusionary in contemporary society. The marketing and promotion of the Disney princess line has resulted in these characters becoming an extremely popular form of media and merchandise for young girls (Coyne et al. 2), and Disney has received great financial benefit from the success of its long history of popular films and merchandise. As a global corporation with influence across multiple entertainment platforms, from its streaming channel to merchandise and theme parks, the gender portrayals therefore impact on culture and, in particular, on how young audiences view gender representation. Therefore, it could be argued that Disney has a social responsibility to ensure that its messages and characters do not skew or become damaging to the psyche of its young audiences who are highly impressionable. When the representation of gender is examined, however, Disney tends to create highly gendered performances in both the early and modern iterations of fairy tales, and the princess characters remain within a narrow range of physical portrayals and agency. The Princess Bubble Although there are twelve official characters within the Disney princess umbrella, plus Elsa and Anna from the Disney Frozen franchise, this article examines the eleven characters who are either born or become royalty through marriage, and exhibit characteristics that could be argued to be the epitome of feminine representation in fairy tales. The characters within this ‘princess bubble’ are Snow White, Cinderella, Aurora, Ariel, Belle, Jasmine, Tiana, Rapunzel, Merida, Elsa, and Anna. The physical appearance of those in the princess bubble also connects to displays around the physical aspects of ethnicity. Nine out of eleven are white skinned, with Jasmine having lightened in skin tone over time, and Tiana now having a tanned look rather than the original dark African American complexion seen in 2009 (Brucculieri). This reinforces an ideology that being white is superior. Every princess in our sample has thick and healthy long hair, the predominant colour being blonde. Their eyes are mostly blue, with only three possessing a dark colour, a factor which reinforces the characteristics and representation of white ethnic groups. Their eyes are also big and bulbous in shape, with large irises and pupils, and extraordinarily long eyelashes that create an almost child-like look of innocence that matches their young age. These princesses have an average age of sixteen years and are always naïve, most without formal education or worldly experience, and they have additional distinctive traits which include poise, elegance and other desired feminine characteristics – like kindness and purity. Ehrenreich and Orenstein note that the physical attributes of the Disney princesses are so evident that the creators have drawn criticism for over-glamorising them, and for their general passiveness and reliance on men for their happiness. Essentially, these women are created in the image of the ultimate male fantasy, where an increased value is placed on the virginal look, followed by a perfect tiny body and an ability to follow basic instructions. The slim bodies of these princesses are disproportionate, and include long necks, demure shoulders, medium- to large-sized perky breasts, with tiny waists, wrists, ankles and feet. Thus, it can be argued that the main theme for those within the princess bubble is their physical body and beauty, and the importance of being attractive to achieve success. The importance of the physical form is so valued that the first blessing given by the fairies to Aurora from Sleeping Beauty is the gift of physical beauty (Rutherford). Furthermore, Tanner et al. argue that the "images of love at first sight in the films encourage the belief that physical appearance is the most important thing", and these fairy tales often reflect a pattern that the prince cannot help but to instantly fall in love with these women because they are so striking. In some instances, like the stories of Cinderella and Snow White, these princesses have not uttered a single word to their prince before these men fall unconditionally and hopelessly in love. Cinderella need only to turn up at the ball as the best dressed (Parks), while Snow White must merely “wait prettily, because someday her prince will come" (Inge) to reestablish her as royalty. Disney emphasises that these princesses win their man solely on the basis that they are the most beautiful girls in the land. In Sleeping Beauty, the prince overhears Aurora’s singing and that sets his heart aflame to the point of refusing to wed the woman chosen for him at birth by the king. Fortunately, she is one and the same person, so the patriarchy survives, but this idea of beauty, and of 'love at first sight', continues to be a central part of Disney movies today, and shows that “Disney Films are vehicles of powerful gender ideologies” (Hairianto). These princesses within the bubble of perfection have priority placed on their physical and sexual beauty (Dietz), formulating a kind of ‘beauty contest motif’. Examples include Gaston, who does not love Belle in Beauty and the Beast, but simply wants her as his trophy wife because he deems her to be the most beautiful girl in the town. Ariel, from The Little Mermaid, looks as if she "was modeled after a slightly anorexic Barbie doll with thin waist and prominent bust. This representation portrays a dangerous model for young women" (Zarranz). The sexualisation of the characters continues as Jasmine has “a delicate nose and small mouth" (Lacroix), with a dress that can be considered as highly sexualised and unsuitable for a girl of sixteen (Lacroix). In Tangled, Rapunzel is held hostage in the tower by Mother Gothel because she is ‘as fragile as a flower’ and needs to be ‘kept safe’ from the harms in the world. But it is her beauty that scares the witch the most, because losing Rapunzel would leave the old woman without her magical anti-aging hair. She uses scare tactics to ensure that Rapunzel remains unseen to the world. These examples are all variations of the beauty theme, as the princesses all fall within narrow and predictable tropes of love at first sight where the woman is rescued and initiated into womanhood by being chosen by a man. Disney’s Progressive Representation? At times Disney’s portrayal of princesses appears illusively progressive, by introducing new and different variations of princesses into the fold – such as Merida in the 2012 film Brave. Unfortunately, this is merely an illusion as the ‘body-perfect’ image remains an all-important ideal to snare a prince. Merida, the young and spirited teenage princess, begins her tale determined not to conform to the desired standards set for a woman of her standing; however, when the time comes for her to be married, there is no negotiating with her mother, the queen, on dress compliance. Merida is clothed against her will to re-identify her in the manner which her parents deem appropriate. Her ability to express her identity and individuality removed, now replaced by a masked version, and thus with the true Merida lost in this transformation, her parents consider Merida to be of renewed merit and benefit to the family. This shows that Disney remains unchanged in its depiction of who may ‘fit’ within the princess bubble, because the rubric is unchanged on how to win the heart of the man. In fact, this film is possibly more troublesome than the rest because it clearly depicts her parents to deem her to be of more value only after her mother has altered her physical appearance. It is only after the total collapse of the royal family that King Fergus has a change of patriarchal heart, and in fact Disney does not portray this rumpled, ripped-sleeved version of the princess in its merchandising campaign. While the fantasy of fairy tales provides enthralling adventures that always end in happiness for the pretty princesses that encounter them, consideration must be given to all those women who have not met the standard and are left in their wake. If women do not conform to the standards of representation, they are presented as outcasts, and happiness eludes them. Cinderella, for example, has two ugly stepsisters, who, no matter how hard they might try, are unable to match her in attractiveness, kindness, or grace. Disney has embraced and not shunned Perrault’s original retelling of the tale, by ensuring that these stepsisters are ugly. They have not been blessed with any attributes whatsoever, and cannot sing, dance, or play music; nor can they sew, cook, clean, or behave respectably. These girls will never find a suitor, let alone a prince, no matter how eager they are to do so. On the physical comparison, Anastasia and Drizella have bodies that are far more rounded and voluptuous, with feet, for example, that are more than double the size of Cinderella’s magical slipper. These women clearly miss the parameters of our princess bubble, emphasising that Disney is continuing to promote dangerous narratives that could potentially harm young audience conceptions of femininity at an important period in their development. Therefore, despite the ‘progressive’ strides made by Disney in response to the vast criticism of their earlier films, the agency afforded to their new generation of princesses does not alter the fact that success comes to those who are beautiful. These beautiful people continue to win every time. Furthermore, Hairianto has found that it is not uncommon for the media to directly or indirectly promote “mental models of how a woman should look, speak and interact with others”, and that Disney uses its pervasive princess influence “to shape perceptions of female identity and desirability. Females are made to measure themselves against the set of values that are meted out by the films” (Hairianto). In the 2017 film Beauty and the Beast, those outside of the princess bubble are seen in the characters of the three maidens from the village who are always trying to look their very best in the hope of attracting Gaston (Rutherford). Gaston is not only disinterested but shows borderline contempt at their glances by permitting his horse to spray mud and dirt all over their fine clothing. They do not meet the beauty standard set, and instead of questioning his cruelty, the audience is left laughing at the horse’s antics. Interestingly, the earlier version of Disney’s Beauty and the Beast portrays these maidens as blonde, slim, and sexy, closely fitting the model of beauty displayed in our princess bubble; however, none match the beauty of Belle, and are therefore deemed inferior. In this manner, Disney is being irresponsible, placing little interest in the psychological ‘safety’ or affect the messages have upon young girls who will never meet these expectations (Ehrenreich; Best and Lowney; Orenstein). Furthermore, bodies are shaped and created by culture. They are central to self-identity, becoming a projection of how we see ourselves. Grosz (xii) argues that our notions of our bodies begin in physicality but are forever shaped by our interactions with social realities and cultural norms. The media are constantly filled with images that “glorify and highlight some kinds of bodies (for example, the young, able-bodied and beautiful) while ignoring or condemning others” (Jones 193), and these influences on gender, ethnicity, sexuality, race, and religion within popular culture therefore play a huge part in identity creation. In Disney films, the princess bubble constantly sings the same song, and “children view these stereotypical roles as the right and only way to behave” (Ewert). In The Princess and the Frog, Tiana’s friend Charlotte is so desperate to ‘catch’ a prince that "she humorously over-applies her makeup and adjusts her ball gown to emphasize her cleavage" (Breaux), but the point is not lost. Additionally, “making sure that girls become worthy of love seems central to Disney’s fairy tale films” (Rutherford 76), and because their fairy tales are so pervasive and popular, young viewers receive a consistent message that being beautiful and having a tiny doll-like body type is paramount. “This can be destructive for developing girls’ views and images of their own bodies, which are not proportioned the way that they see on screen” (Cordwell 21). “The strongly gendered messages present in the resolutions of the movies help to reinforce the desirability of traditional gender conformity” (England et al. 565). Conclusion The princess bubble is a phenomenon that has been seen in Disney’s representation of female characters for decades. Within this bubble there is a narrow range of representation permitted, and attempts to make the characters more progressive have instead resulted in narrow and restrictive constraints, reinforcing dangerous female stereotypes. Kilmer suggests that ultimately these representations fail to break away from “hegemonic assumptions about gender norms, class boundaries, and Caucasian privileging”. Ultimately this presents audiences with strong and persuasive messages about gender performance. Audiences conform their bodies to societal ‘rules’: “as to how we ‘wear’ and ‘use’ our bodies” (Richardson and Locks x), including for example how we should dress, what we should weigh, and how to become popular. In our global hypermediated society, viewers are constantly exposed to princesses and other appropriate bodies. These become internalised ideals and aid in positive and negative thoughts and self-identity, which in turn creates additional pressure on the female body in particular. The seemingly innocent stories with happy outcomes are therefore unrealistic and ultimately excluding of those who cannot or will not ‘fit into the princess bubble’. 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