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When invaders meet locally adapted types: rapid moulding of hybrid zones between sculpins (Cottus, Pisces) in the Rhine system.

Hybrid zones are commonly studied to dissect the processes that drive divergence among lineages, which have incomplete barriers of reproduction. Most hybrid zones have existed for an extended time making inferences on the initial mode of formation difficult. It is a priori unclear how fast a nascent hybrid zone would form as a response to endogenous and exogenous factors. We have studied several hybrid zones between two lineages of sculpins (Cottus spp.), which emerged due to a recent range expansion of one of the lineages along the river Rhine in the early 1990s. Applying a dense sampling across two contact areas and using a highly informative set of 45 microsatellite markers we found pronounced genetic structure. Steep genetic clines suggest that strong selective forces have shaped the respective hybrid zones from the beginning. We find that the zones are coupled to ecological transitions from small streams to larger rivers. The width of these zones is much smaller than estimates of annual individual dispersal distances, as estimated outside of the hybrid zones. The pattern is apparently not strongly affected by pre- or postzygotic reproductive isolation because numerous backcross hybrids occur within the zones. This suggests that strong natural selection acts against immigrant genotypes. The study exemplifies how local adaptation can play a key role in preventing admixture in dependence of the ecological context.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Genetic evidence of local adaptation of wheat yellow rust (Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici) within France.

Puccinia striiformis f. sp. tritici (PST), a clonal basidiomycete causing yellow rust disease on wheat, has a long record of 'overcoming' cultivar resistance introduced by breeders. Despite the long dispersal capacity of its spores, the French population of PST presents a strong geographical structure, with the presence of a specific pathotype (array of avirulence genes) at high frequencies in the south of France. The genetic diversity underlying this differentiation was analysed by microsatellite and AFLP markers. A total of 213 French isolates belonging to 10 pathotypes collected over a 15-year period were investigated. For each of the 12 microsatellites used, polymorphism resulted from a unique allelic variant associated to the south-specific pathotype. This pathotype was characterized by 40 specific markers over the total of 63 polymorphins detected using 15 AFLP primer combinations. Phylogeographical analysis indicated a strictly clonal structure of the population, and a strong genomic divergence between the northern population and a south-specific clone. Both virulence and molecular data show that the northern French population belongs to the northwestern European population, whereas the southern clone is most likely related to a Mediterranean population, the two subpopulations resulting from the ancient divergence of two clonal lineages. While the virulence complexity in the northern population may be explained by the successive introduction of corresponding resistance genes in cultivars, the maintenance of a simple virulence type in southern France, despite gene flow between the two populations, may be explained in terms of host cultivars repartition and local adaptation to specific host or climatic conditions.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Acute effects of intramuscular aponeurotomy and tenotomy on multitendoned rat EDL: indications for local adaptation of intramuscular connective tissue.

Intervention with the continuity of the tendon and part of the muscle fibers allows investigation of myofascial force transmission. The present study investigates the effects of proximal aponeurotomy on length-force characteristics and the geometry of the extensor digitorum longus (EDL) muscle, and compares those effects with the effects of both distal tenotomy (TT) and intramuscular fasciotomy (IF) of the EDL. After proximal aponeurotomy, the intramuscular connective tissue ruptured spontaneously below the location of intervention. Due to this rupturing, a gap developed within the proximal aponeurosis. The fibers that were continuous with the tendon at only one end were substantially shorter than before the intervention. Optimum muscle force was reduced by 29%. After distal TT (of heads II-IV) a gap developed within the muscle belly. This gap increased at higher muscle lengths. However, the length of the gap was much smaller than after aponeurotomy. Despite the TT-related gap, there was no rupturing of intramuscular connective tissue at the interface between heads IV and V, as there was after proximal aponeurotomy. The effects of TT on length-force characteristics and on lengths of fibers continuous with the tendon at only one end were much less compared to the effects of aponeurotomy. Subsequent IF for two-thirds the length of the interface between heads IV and V resulted in changes similar to the effects of proximal aponeurotomy plus rupture. The contrast regarding the occurrence of intramuscular connective tissue rupture indicates increased failure strength of the intramuscular connective tissue at distal locations. It is hypothesized that for multitendoned muscles in vivo, local shear and stress deformations will initiate local adaptation of the intramuscular connective tissue.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Locally adaptive wavelet-based image interpolation.

We describe a spatially adaptive algorithm for image interpolation. The algorithm uses a wavelet transform to extract information about sharp variations in the low-resolution image and then implicitly applies interpolation which adapts to the image local smoothness/singularity characteristics. The proposed algorithm yields images that are sharper compared to several other methods that we have considered in this paper. Better performance comes at the expense of higher complexity.

Algorithms↗

Integrating regression formulas and kernel functions into locally adaptive knowledge-based neural networks: a case study on renal function evaluation.

OBJECTIVE: In many medical areas, there exist different regression formulas to predict/evaluate a medical outcome on the same problem, each of them being efficient only in a particular sub-space of the problem space. The paper aims at the development of a generic, incremental learning model that includes all available regression formulas for a particular prediction problem to define local areas of the problem space with their best performing formula along with useful explanation rules. Another objective of the paper is to develop a specific model for renal function evaluation using nine existing formulas. METHODS AND MATERIALS: We have used a connectionist neuro-fuzzy approach and have developed a knowledge-based neural network model (KBNN) which incorporates and adapts incrementally several existing regression formulas and kernel functions. The model incorporates different non-linear regression functions as neurons in its hidden layer and adapts these functions through incremental learning from data in particular local areas of the space. More specifically, each hidden neural node has a pair of functions associated with it--one regression formula, that represents existing knowledge and one Gaussian kernel function, that defines the sub-space of the whole problem space, in which the formula is locally adapted to new data. All these functions are aggregated and changed through incremental learning. The proposed KBNN model is illustrated using a medical dataset of observed patient glomerular filtration rate (GFR) measurements for renal function evaluation. In this case study, the regression function for each cluster is selected by the model from nine formulas commonly used by medical practitioners to predict GFR. 441 GFR data vectors from 141 patients taken from 12 sites in Australia and New Zealand have been used as a case study experimental data set. RESULTS: The proposed GFR prediction model, based on the proposed generic KBNN model, outperforms at least by 10% accuracy any of the individual regression formulas or a standard neural network model. Furthermore, we have derived locally adapted regression formulas to perform best on local clusters of data along with useful explanatory rules. CONCLUSION: The proposed KBNN model manifests better accuracy then existing regression formulas or neural network models for renal function evaluation and extracts modified formulas that perform well in local areas of the problem space.

Algorithms↗

[Local adaptation curves evoked by the pupillo-motor reflex].

We have studied local dark-adaptation curves using the pupillary reflex. The results obtained indicate that the dark-adaptation curves produced by central and peripheral stimulation are variable and are in principle similar to the psychophysical curves obtained in matching conditions. This result demonstrates that the pupillary reflex is triggered by two different types of receptors which have the same characteristics as the cones and the rods, and that the system of the pupillary receptors and the optical pathways is identical.

Adult↗

Does selection by resistant hosts trigger local adaptation in plant-pathogen systems?

Understanding the consequences of selection by host resistance on pathogen population structure provides useful insights into the dynamics of host-parasite co-evolution processes and is crucial for effective disease management through resistant cultivars. We tested general vs. local population adaptation to host cultivars, by characterizing a French collection of Phytophthora infestans (the causal organism of potato late blight) sampled during two consecutive years on cultivars exhibiting various levels of resistance. Local populations were structured by the host for virulence (qualitative pathogenicity) but also for aggressiveness (quantitative pathogenicity). All populations had a low genotypic diversity for amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs), and presumably consisted of a few closely related clonal lineages. No correlation was detected between pathogenicity traits and AFLP genotypes. The data support the hypothesis of general adaptation for aggressiveness, to which directional selection for virulence is superimposed when race-specific resistance is introduced.

DNA Fingerprinting↗

Cooperation, social networks, and the emergence of leadership in a prisoner's dilemma with adaptive local interactions.

Cooperative behavior among a group of agents is studied assuming adaptive interactions. Each agent plays a Prisoner's Dilemma game with its local neighbors, collects an aggregate payoff, and imitates the strategy of its best neighbor. Agents may punish or reward their neighbors by removing or sustaining the interactions, according to their satisfaction level and strategy played. An agent may dismiss an interaction, and the corresponding neighbor is replaced by another randomly chosen agent, introducing diversity and evolution to the network structure. We perform an extensive numerical and analytical study, extending results in M. G. Zimmermann, V. M. Eguíluz, and M. San Miguel, Phys. Rev. E 69, 065102(R) (2004). We show that the system typically reaches either a full-defective state or a highly cooperative steady state. The latter equilibrium solution is composed mostly by cooperative agents, with a minor population of defectors that exploit the cooperators. It is shown how the network adaptation dynamics favors the emergence of cooperators with the highest payoff. These "leaders" are shown to sustain the global cooperative steady state. Also we find that the average payoff of defectors is larger than the average payoff of cooperators. Whenever "leaders" are perturbed (e.g., by addition of noise), an unstable situation arises and global cascades with oscillations between the nearly full defection network and the fully cooperative outcome are observed.

Journal Article↗

Colour constancy in context: roles for local adaptation and levels of reference.

By determining the locations of boundaries between colour categories, we measured changes in the colour appearance of test-reflectances as a function of the simulated illumination. Test-reflectances were displayed against a variegated background of reflectance samples. Under prolonged adaptation to each illuminant, observers demonstrated a high degree of appearance-based colour constancy. By using backgrounds that consisted of chromatically biased sets of reflectances, we tested whether this stability depends on estimates of the illuminant's cone-coordinates based on simple scene statistics. The chromatic bias of the background had only a small effect on the classification of test materials. To compare the roles of spatially local and spatially extended estimation processes, we then (unknown to the observer) simulated different illuminants on the test and on the background. Observers continued to demonstrate reasonable colour constancy. To examine the relative roles of automatic adaptation and perceptual strategies, we reduced the duration of exposure to the test compared to exposure to the background (under the conflicting illuminant). The results suggest that mechanisms that preserve information across successive test-presentations (e.g. spatially local adaptation with a time course of a few seconds, and perceptual adjustments to levels of reference) are key determinants of the stability of colour appearance.

Adaptation, Ocular↗

Hot spots in cold adaptation: localized increases in conformational flexibility in lactate dehydrogenase A4 orthologs of Antarctic notothenioid fishes.

To elucidate mechanisms of enzymatic adaptation to extreme cold, we determined kinetic properties, thermal stabilities, and deduced amino acid sequences of lactate dehydrogenase A4 (A4-LDH) from nine Antarctic (-1.86 to 1 degree C) and three South American (4 to 10 degree C) notothenioid teleosts. Higher Michaelis-Menten constants (Km) and catalytic rate constants (kcat) distinguish orthologs of Antarctic from those of South American species, but no relationship exists between adaptation temperature and the rate at which activity is lost because of heat denaturation. In all species, active site residues are conserved fully, and differences in kcat and Km are caused by substitutions elsewhere in the molecule. Within geographic groups, identical kinetic properties are generated by different substitutions. By combining our data with A4-LDH sequences for other vertebrates and information on roles played by localized conformational changes in setting kcat, we conclude that notothenioid A4-LDHs have adapted to cold temperatures by increases in flexibility in small areas of the molecule that affect the mobility of adjacent active-site structures. Using these findings, we propose a model that explains linked temperature-adaptive variation in Km and kcat. Changes in sequence that increase flexibility of regions of the enzyme involved in catalytic conformational changes may reduce energy (enthalpy) barriers to these rate-governing shifts in conformation and, thereby, increase kcat. However, at a common temperature of measurement, the higher configurational entropy of a cold-adapted enzyme may foster conformations that bind ligands poorly, leading to high Km values relative to warm-adapted orthologs.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

'Structural autoregulation'--the local adaptation of vascular beds to chronic changes in pressure.

Blood vessels readily adapt their design in response to sustained functional changes. If pressure (P) increases, the resulting thickening of the walls (w) of the resistance vessels, associated with a reduction in average inner radius (ri), keeps wall tension per unit wall layer (T) constant, because the increased w/ri ratio largely balances the raised pressure (Laplace's law: T = P X ri/w). The opposite occurs when there are sustained reductions in pressure. This locally elicited, mainly precapillary structural adaptation is a long-range equivalent to precapillary functional autoregulation and deserves to be called structural autoregulation. In primary hypertension there is an early 'structural resetting' of the systemic precapillary resistance, due to narrowing of ri and to vascular hyperreactivity ensuing from the increase in w/ri. These structural changes imply an increased resistance to flow at normal levels of vascular smooth muscle activity. Furthermore, even mild functional pressor influences will, if sustained, by a positive feedback interaction with the initially mild vascular hyperreactivity gradually accentuate the structural increase in w/ri. Marked rises in pressure may ensue from this interaction, implying that it is a major causative element in primary hypertension. As the renal preglomerular resistance vessels are similarly structurally autoregulated, this implies an early largely parallel resetting of the important renal 'long-term barostat function'. Further, as the walls of large arteries get thicker and stiffer, this helps to reset the baroreceptors. Finally, as the venous capacitance vessels adapt in a similar way the slight rise in average venous pressure in primary hypertension will reduce venous compliance, which helps to 'centralize' the usually slightly reduced blood volume.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

Adaptive local regularization methods for the inverse ECG problem.

One of the fundamental problems in theoretical electrocardiography can be characterized by an inverse problem. We present new methods for achieving better estimates of heart surface potential distributions in terms of torso potentials through an inverse procedure. First, we outline an automatic adaptive refinement algorithm that minimizes the spatial discretization error in the transfer matrix, increasing the accuracy of the inverse solution. Second, we introduce a new local regularization procedure, which works by partitioning the global transfer matrix into sub-matrices, allowing for varying amounts of smoothing. Each submatrix represents a region within the underlying geometric model in which regularization can be specifically 'tuned' using an a priori scheme based on the L-curve method. This local regularization method can provide a substantial increase in accuracy compared to global regularization schemes. Within this context of local regularization, we show that a generalized version of the singular value decomposition (GSVD) can further improve the accuracy of ECG inverse solutions compared to standard SVD and Tikhonov approaches. We conclude with specific examples of these techniques using geometric models of the human thorax derived from MRI data.

Algorithms↗

Locally adaptive function estimation for binary regression models.

In this paper we present a nonparametric Bayesian approach for fitting unsmooth or highly oscillating functions in regression models with binary responses. The approach extends previous work by Lang et al. for Gaussian responses. Nonlinear functions are modelled by first or second order random walk priors with locally varying variances or smoothing parameters. Estimation is fully Bayesian and uses latent utility representations of binary regression models for efficient block sampling from the full conditionals of nonlinear functions.

Bayes Theorem↗

Adaptive local refinement of the electron density, one-particle density matrices, and electron orbitals by hierarchical wavelet decomposition.

The common experience that the distribution and interaction of electrons widely vary by scanning over various parts of a molecule is incorporated in the atomic-orbital expansion of wave functions. The application of Gaussian-type atomic orbitals suffers from the poor representation of nuclear cusps, as well as asymptotic regions, whereas Slater-type orbitals lead to unmanageable computational difficulties. In this contribution we show that using the toolkit of wavelet analysis it is possible to find an expansion of the electron density and density operators which is sufficiently precise, but at the same time avoids unnecessary complications at smooth and slightly detailed parts of the system. The basic idea of wavelet analysis is a coarse description of the system on a rough grid and a consecutive application of refinement steps by introducing new basis functions on a finer grid. This step could highly increase the number of required basis functions, however, in this work we apply an adaptive refinement only in those regions of the molecule, where the details of the electron structure require it. A molecule is split into three regions with different detail characteristics. The neighborhood of a nuclear cusp is extremely well represented by a moderately fine wavelet expansion; the domains of the chemical bonds are reproduced at an even coarser resolution level, whereas the asymptotic tails of the electron structure are surprisingly precise already at a grid distance of 0.5 a.u. The strict localization property of wavelet functions leads to an especially simple calculation of the electron integrals.

Journal Article↗

Contraceptive security, information flow, and local adaptations: family planning Morocco.

BACKGROUND: Many developing countries increasingly recognize and acknowledge family planning as a critical part of socio-economic development. However, with few health dollars to go around, countries tend to provide essential drugs for curative care, rather than for family planning products. Donors have historically provided free contraceptives for family planning services. Whether products are donated or purchased by the country, a successful family planning program depends on an uninterrupted supply of products, beginning with the manufacturer and ending with the customer. Any break in the supply chain may cause a family planning program to fail. A well-functioning logistics system can manage the supply chain and ensure that the customers have the products they need, when they need them. METHODOLOGY: Morocco was selected for the case study. The researchers had ready access to key informants and information about the Logistics Management Information System. Because the study had time and resource constraints, research included desktop reviews and interview, rather than data collection in the field. RESULTS: The case study showed that even in a challenging environment an LMIS can be successfully deployed and fully supported by the users. It is critical to customize the system to a country-specific situation to ensure buy-in for the implementation. CONCLUSIONS: Significant external support funding and technical expertise are critical components to ensure the initial success of the system. Nonetheless, evidence from the case study shows that, after a system has been implemented, the benefits may not ensure its institutionalization. Other support, including local funding and technical expertise, is required.

Contraceptive Agents↗

A locally adaptive registration technique for high precision registration of 3-D MRI data.

This study demonstrates how the rigid body registration parameters for good registration of serially acquired 3-D magnetic resonance images vary systematically when the registration routine is presented with a series of cropped data sets that are systematically positioned throughout the entire volume. The results of the registration of these subcubes are compared with the results of a single registration of the complete volume for two consecutive 3-D scans of the brain of a normal volunteer, with one scan having optimized shim coil currents and the other having all second-order shim coil currents set to zero. The technique is sensitive and able to reveal subvoxel misregistrations.

Artifacts↗

Local adaptations of two naturally occurring neuronal conductances, gK + (A) and gK + (Ca), allow for associative conditioning and contiguity judgements in artificial neural networks.

Features of two potassium conductances implicated in the acquisition of conditioned reflexes, the slow calcium dependent conductance (gK + (Ca] and the fast transient conductance (gK + (A], were incorporated into a 6 x 6 element artificial neural network. Adaptive algorithms derived from observations of cortical neurons during associative learning changed gK + (A) in proportion to the product of this current and an EPSP-induced second messenger concentration, and changed gK + (Ca) as a function of a spike-induced second messenger concentration. This network concurrently acquired two distinct representations in response to presentation of stimuli: one resembled associative conditioning (defined in terms of its sensitivity to forward pairing vs. simultaneous or backward pairing); the other reflected contiguous pairings of stimuli. The acquisition of one representation did not markedly interfere with acquisition of the other. This network may accordingly serve as an example of a self-organizing system which minimizes the postulated inherent cross talk between functionally dissiminar representations (Minsky and Papert 1988).

Acclimatization↗