PREFACE. the dust of the land, that it inay become lice throughout all the land of Egypt.-And they did so, for Aaron stretched out his hand with his rod, and smote the dust of the earth, and it became lice in man and in beast, all the dust of the land became lice throughout all the land of Egypt."* Notwithstanding the apparent simplicity of this passage, it has been the subject of much controversy between several learned commentators,-some supposing Flies or Gnats, and others Ticks were intended by the sacred historian. From being totally ignorant of the Hebrew language 1 cannot of course presume to decide the question as to its philological accuracy. But taking it in another point of view, it appears to me at least to be very evident, that the animals referred to by Moses, were identical with what we now know to infest man and beast, and designate Lice, for were Flies or Gnats intended to be understood by the term employed, the habits of the Insects would not be in accordance with what we know to be usual. And I do not think we are justified in supposing that the natural habits of the animals employed as plagues were at all altered. The only circumstance which rendered them so great a calamity was the surprising increase in their numbers, and the miraculous manner in which that increase was effected. The Locusts differed in no wise, in their general economy, from locusts of the present day. The Frogs again only became annoying from their extraordinary multitudes, which caused them to spread over the land, and enter the houses of the Egyptians. The Flies, in like manner, from their countless swarms, filled their habitations, and tormented both man and beast. But supposing we grant, for the sake of argument, that they were of the genera Chrysops Hcematopota , Stomoxys, CEstrus , and Culex , or of the family Hippoboscidce. This would have rendered nugatory the plague which immediately succeeded it, and is expressly stated to .

J Bryant on the Plagues of Egypt, p 44-48. b * Die Farnilien und Gattungen der Thierinsekten, Von Dr. C. L. Nitzsch. Germar's Magazin def Entomologie, iii. pp. 261, 31G. * The measurements adopted in this work refer to a line and its fractions. * Nouv. Die. et Hist. Nat. vol. xv. p. 152. * This gigantic flower, or Vegetable Titan, as it has been called, was discovered in 1818, when Sir Stamford Raffles, then Governor of Sumatra,

Key points This study characterizes the mechanisms underlying defects in synaptic transmission when dynamin‐related protein 1 (DRP1) is genetically eliminated. Viral‐mediated knockout of DRP1 from the presynaptic terminal at the mouse calyx of Held increased initial release probability, reduced the size of the synaptic vesicle recycling pool and impaired synaptic vesicle recycling. Transmission defects could be partially restored by increasing the intracellular calcium buffering capacity with EGTA‐AM, implying close coupling of Ca2+ channels to synaptic vesicles was compromised. Acute restoration of ATP to physiological levels in the presynaptic terminal did not reverse the synaptic defects. Loss of DRP1 impairs mitochondrial morphology in the presynaptic terminal, which in turn seems to arrest synaptic maturation. Abstract Impaired mitochondrial biogenesis and function is implicated in many neurodegenerative diseases, and likely affects synaptic neurotransmission prior to cellular loss. Dynamin‐related protein 1 (DRP1) is essential for mitochondrial fission and is disrupted in neurodegenerative disease. In this study, we used the mouse calyx of Held synapse as a model to investigate the impact of presynaptic DRP1 loss on synaptic vesicle (SV) recycling and sustained neurotransmission. In vivo viral expression of Cre recombinase in ventral cochlear neurons of floxed‐DRP1 mice generated a presynaptic‐specific DRP1 knockout (DRP1‐preKO), where the innervated postsynaptic cell was unperturbed. Confocal reconstruction of the calyx terminal suggested SV clusters and mitochondrial content were disrupted, and presynaptic terminal volume was decreased. Using postsynaptic voltage‐clamp recordings, we found that DRP1‐preKO synapses had larger evoked responses at low frequency stimulation. DRP1‐preKO synapses also had profoundly altered short‐term plasticity, due to defects in SV recycling. Readily releasable pool size, estimated with high‐frequency trains, was dramatically reduced in DRP1‐preKO synapses, suggesting an important role for DRP1 in maintenance of release‐competent SVs at the presynaptic terminal. Presynaptic Ca2+ accumulation in the terminal was also enhanced in DRP1‐preKO synapses. Synaptic transmission defects could be partially rescued with EGTA‐AM, indicating close coupling of Ca2+ channels to SV distance normally found in mature terminals may be compromised by DRP1‐preKO. Using paired recordings of the presynaptic and postsynaptic compartments, recycling defects could not be reversed by acute dialysis of ATP into the calyx terminals. Taken together, our results implicate a requirement for mitochondrial fission to coordinate postnatal synapse maturation.

* I have used this expression in consequence of authors differing as to tllc ;iun

Datasets collected in neuroscientific studies are of ever-growing complexity, often combining high dimensional time series data from multiple data acquisition modalities. Handling and manipulating these various data streams in an adequate programming environment is crucial to ensure reliable analysis, and to facilitate sharing of reproducible analysis pipelines. Here, we present Pynapple, a lightweight python package designed to process a broad range of time-resolved data in systems neuroscience. The core feature of this package is a small number of versatile objects that support the manipulation of any data streams and task parameters. The package includes a set of methods to read common data formats and allows users to easily write their own. The resulting code is easy to read and write, avoids low-level data processing and other error-prone steps, and is fully open source. Libraries for higher-level analyses are developed within the Pynapple framework but are contained within in a collaborative repository of specialized and continuously updated analysis routines. This provides flexibility while ensuring long-term stability of the core package. In conclusion, Pynapple provides a common framework for data analysis in neuroscience.HighlightsAn open-source framework for data analysis in systems neuroscience.Easy-to-use object-oriented programming for data manipulation.A lightweight and standalone package ensuring long-term backward compatibility.