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PubMed1997

Patterns of connectivity in a Drosophila nerve.

We investigated the spatial patterns of synaptic profiles in en passant synapses between the premotor axon of a peripherally synapsing interneuron (PAPSI) and a set of individually identifiable motoneuron axons in Drosophila melanogaster. These synaptic profiles are distributed as the axons travel parallel to each other in a bundle; the synapses begin as the axons leave the thoracic ganglion and continue peripherally for 45-65 microm. We found that the number of synaptic profiles per micron length of the motoneuron axons was greatest close to the ganglion; the cumulative distribution of profiles could be fitted to curves of the form f(x) = alpha(1 - e(-beta x)), where x = the distance from the thoracic ganglion, and alpha and beta are constants. The distribution of synaptic profiles was also examined in a mutant strain, Passover (Pas), known to affect connectivity in a pathway that includes the PAPSI. The synaptic profiles between the PAPSI and the motoneuron axons appeared ultrastructurally unremarkable in Pas. Also, the total number of synaptic profiles between the PAPSI and the motoneuron axons did not differ between Pas and wild type flies. However, the distribution of synaptic profiles among the individual motoneuron axons did differ significantly from wild type flies, as did the area of contiguity between the motoneuron axons and the PAPSI, which was much greater in Pas than in wild type flies.

Animals↗
PubMed2005

Complex networks approach to gene expression driven phenotype imaging.

MOTIVATION: The need is to visualize and quantify gene expression spatial patterns. Because of their generality for representation of interaction among several elements, complex networks are used to measure the spatial interactions and adjacencies defined by gene expression patterns. RESULTS: Enhanced visualization of spatial interactions between elements where genes are expressed is possible, allowing the identification of structures which would go unnoticed by using conventional imaging. The quantification of the expression intensity in terms of the node degree and clustering coefficient allows the identification of different types of interactions, yielding insights about cell signaling and differentiation, and providing the basis for comparison and discrimination of the patterns along the developmental stages. AVAILABILITY: Supplementary Material, including visualizations as well as the basic routines for translating gene expression images into complex networks and obtaining node degree and clustering coefficient measurements, are provided. CONTACT: luciano@if.sc.usp.br; diambra@univap.br.

Algorithms↗
PubMed2026

Pattern Formation in a Spatial Public Goods Dilemma due to Diffusive or Directed Motion.

The costly provision of public goods serves as a model problem for the evolution of cooperative behavior, presenting a social dilemma between the collective benefits of shared resources and the individual incentive to free-ride in resource production. The spatial structure of populations can also impact cooperation over public goods, as diffusion of public goods and intentional motion of individuals towards regions with greater resources can interact with population and public goods dynamics to produce heterogeneous patterns in the spatial distribution of strategies and resources. In this paper, we build off a model introduced by Young and Belmonte for the reaction dynamics of interacting individuals and an explicit public good, deriving a system of PDEs that describes the spatial profiles of strategies and the public good in the presence of both diffusive motion of individuals and resources and chemotaxis-like directed motion of individuals in response to gradients in the concentration of public goods. Through linear stability analysis, we show that spatial patterns in strategic and public goods profiles can emerge due to either Turing instability with high defector diffusivity or a directed-motion instability through strong sensitivity of cooperators towards increasing resource concentration. We further explore the emergent spatial patterns with a mix of weakly nonlinear stability analysis and numerical simulation, showing that, for a wide range of reaction parameters, diffusion-driven instability appears to increase cooperation and public goods across the spatial domain, while directed motion of cooperators towards public goods tends to decrease cooperation and environmental quality across the environment.

Models, Biological↗
PubMed1995

Effects of luminance and spatial noise on interferometric contrast sensitivity.

Optical properties of the eye contribute to the reduced visibility of spatial patterns at low luminance. To study the limits of spatial vision when optical factors are minimized, we measured contrast-sensitivity functions (CSF's) for 543.5-nm laser interference fringes imaged directly on the retina. Measurements were made in the fovea at four luminance levels, ranging from 0.3 to 300 photopic trolands (Td). At each luminance the fraction of coherent light in the stimulus pattern was varied to assess the masking effects of laser speckle, which is visible as spatial noise in fields of coherent light. Compared with published CSF's obtained under natural viewing conditions, interferometric CSF's were similar in height but broader, with the range of visibility being extended to higher spatial frequencies. The masking effects of speckle were greatest at the highest luminance and were negligible at the lowest luminance. For low coherent fractions, contrast sensitivity improved over the entire luminance range at a rate consistent with a square-root law; with purely coherent light, sensitivity tended to level off at approximately 30 Td because of speckle masking. The results indicate that the optical quality of the eye reduces the spatial bandwidth of vision even at luminances near the foveal threshold. The change in interference fringe visibility with luminance is consistent with noise-limited behavior, and the masking effects of speckle noise diminish as luminance decreases.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Modeling the dynamics of human hair cycles by a follicular automaton.

The hair follicle cycle successively goes through the anagen, catagen, telogen, and latency phases, which correspond, respectively, to hair growth, arrest, shedding, and absence before a new anagen phase is initiated. Experimental observations collected over a period of 14 years in a group of 10 male volunteers, alopecic and nonalopecic, allowed us to determine the characteristics of scalp hair follicle cycles. On the basis of these observations, we propose a follicular automaton model to simulate the dynamics of human hair cycles. The automaton model is defined by a set of rules that govern the stochastic transitions of each follicle between the successive states anagen, telogen, and latency, and the subsequent return to anagen. The transitions occur independently for each follicle, after time intervals given stochastically by a distribution characterized by a mean and a variance. The follicular automaton model accounts both for the dynamical transitions observed in a single follicle and for the behavior of an ensemble of independently cycling follicles. Thus, the model successfully reproduces the evolution of the fractions of follicle populations in each of the three phases, which fluctuate around steady-state or slowly drifting values. We apply the follicular automaton model to the study of spatial patterns of follicular growth that result from a spatially heterogeneous distribution of parameters such as the mean duration of anagen phase. When considering that follicles die or miniaturize after going through a critical number of successive cycles, the model can reproduce the evolution to hair patterns similar to well known types of diffuse or androgenetic alopecia.

Alopecia↗
PubMed1987

Component analysis of spatial and spectral patterns in multispectral images. I. Basis.

A new (to our knowledge) theory of component pattern analysis in multispectral images is developed by using the methods of principal component analysis and nonlinear optimization with a nonnegativity constraint. Given images of a scene in different color bands, we estimate both the spectral curves of components included in the image and the spatial pattern corresponding to each spectral curve. In this method, neither spatial nor spectral features of the components are necessary, but the physical rule of nonnegative absorptivity and density nonnegativity is used for any material of any optical frequency at any position in the image. Experimental results of component analysis with real microscopic image data are shown to demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed method.

Form Perception↗
PubMed1991

Pattern of epithelial cell cycling in hydra.

We have investigated the spatial pattern of epithelial cell cycling in a mutant strain of Hydra magnipapillata (sf-1). This strain has temperature sensitive interstitial stem cells and thus polyps containing only epithelial cells can be obtained by growth at the restrictive temperature. Epithelial animals were pulse labeled with the thymidine analog 5'-bromo-2'-deoxyuridine (Brdu) and stained with anti-Brdu antibody to visualize S phase cells. Our results indicate that Brdu-labeled cells are broadly and fairly evenly distributed along the body column. Feeding stimulates a rapid decrease and then an increase in labeled cells in gastric tissue; labeled cells in the head are not affected. Starvation leads to a twofold decrease in labeled cells in the gastric region; the density of labeled cells in head tissue remains similar to that in well-fed animals. During bud formation the number of labeled epithelial cells increases significantly in the evaginating bud. During head regeneration the number of labeled cells declines sharply during the first 12 hr and then increases to a density typical of head tissue by 24-36 hr of regeneration. The results indicate the release of signals by feeding and regeneration which inhibit mitosis. By contrast head tissue and developing buds express signals stimulating mitosis. Thus changes in epithelial cell cycling in hydra are closely correlated with morphogenetic events as well as with feeding stimuli.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Transient dynamics and pattern formation: reactivity is necessary for Turing instabilities.

The theory of spatial pattern formation via Turing bifurcations - wherein an equilibrium of a nonlinear system is asymptotically stable in the absence of dispersal but unstable in the presence of dispersal - plays an important role in biology, chemistry and physics. It is an asymptotic theory, concerned with the long-term behavior of perturbations. In contrast, the concept of reactivity describes the short-term transient behavior of perturbations to an asymptotically stable equilibrium. In this article we show that there is a connection between these two seemingly disparate concepts. In particular, we show that reactivity is necessary for Turing instability in multispecies systems of reaction-diffusion equations, integrodifference equations, coupled map lattices, and systems of ordinary differential equations.

Animals↗
PubMed2002

Pattern discrimination in a hawkmoth: innate preferences, learning performance and ecology.

Spatial patterns are important cues for flower detection and recognition by nectar-feeding insects. Pattern vision has been studied in much detail in bees and flies but rarely in butterflies and moths. In this paper, I present a first proof of pattern-learning abilities in a moth, and discuss reasons for the limitations to their pattern learning. The diurnal hawkmoth Macroglossum stellatarum spontaneously prefers patterned to uniformly coloured stimuli but can be trained to choose the uniform stimulus. By contrast, experience does not override the innate preferences for radial over tangential patterns, and for tangential over striped patterns. These results do not reflect bad visual discrimination but rather a lack of learning ability and motivation to abolish innate preferences. I propose that radial and tangential flower patterns are good predictors of nectar reward, a condition under which learning is unlikely to evolve. These patterns serve not only as cues for flower detection but also as guides to the reward. Hovering pollinators strongly depend on these guides and should therefore: (i). have rigid pattern preferences; and (ii). not be motivated to abolish these preferences as easily as their innate preferences for colours.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Developing an ecosystem perspective from experimental monitoring programs: I. Demographic responses of a rare geothermal grass to soil temperature.

The geysers panic grass [Dichanthelium lanuginosum Spellenberg var. thermale (Bol.) Spellenberg or DILA] is exclusively associated with surface geothermal manifestations in Sonoma County, California, USA (38 degrees 46'N, 122 degrees 38'W). Steam extraction by power plants could alter the subsurface distribution of heat and water to the site, potentially impacting subpopulations of this rare plant. The purpose of this study was to use demographic monitoring to determine: (1) temporal and spatial patterns of soil temperature in relation to the distribution of established DILA individuals at Little Geysers, (2) in situ response of experimental populations of DILA to spatial variations in soil temperature, and (3) habitat requirements of DILA as an indicator of its tolerance to variations in surficial geothermal features. Thermocouple transects and a datalogger provided data for characterizing the spatial and temporal patterns of soil temperature in four microhabitats (fumarole, DILA stand, Andropogon stand, and cleared). Experimental populations were established by precisely sowing and monitoring DILA seeds in these microhabitats. The results indicated that spatial and temporal variations in soil temperature had significant effects on the processes of germination, growth, survivorship, and reproduction, thus producing a readily observed metapopulation patch dynamic in relation to geothermal activity. Seasonal depressions of soil temperature near the fumaroles by cold air and prolonged rainfall events also promoted the emergence and survival of DILA seedlings in a microhabitat that was previously too hot to occupy. Over longer periods of time, DILA metapopulation dynamism reflected climatic and geothermal variation. Drought years inhibited germination for lack of water, but more importantly for the lack of requisite soil temperature depressions in the fumarole microhabitat. Wet years promoted subpopulation expansion into transition areas that were once too hot and dry. There have also been shifts in the underground distribution of steam into areas distant from known geothermal features. The demographic responses of DILA to spatial and temporal variations in soil temperature indicate that heat is an absolutely essential component of the steam resource. In its absence, germination, seeding survivorship, growth, and maturation are significantly inhibited even if soil conditions are favorable and potential competitors are controlled. Ultimately, persistence of the species depends on maintaining the ecosystem dynamic of colonization and extirpation in response to variations in surficial geothermal features over long spatial and temporal scales. This should shift management perspective from its narrow focus on individual plants to a wider focus on monitoring the essential habitat component of steam.

Conservation of Natural Resources↗
PubMed1989

Wavelike isomorphic prepatterns in development.

The patterns generated by these mechanisms are usually wavelike spatial patterns in the distribution of the chemical components and/or physical properties of the organism or tissue being considered. In this paper the range of patterns generated by one of these mechanisms, namely the reaction-diffusion (RD) system (Turing, 1952), is reviewed and its potential to function as a source of isomorphic prepatterns for the regulation of development in a wide range of organisms is illustrated. Examples have been chosen to show the capacity of an RD system to generate a single stationary spatial prepattern, as well as a travelling wavelike spatial prepattern. However, the full potential of an RD system to regulate development stems from its capacity to spontaneously generate a temporal sequence of isomorphic stationary wavelike spatial prepatterns, rather than just a single isomorphic stationary spatial prepattern. To demonstrate this point the examples presented include the morphogenesis of the skin and some of its appendages, as well as the early decisions in the embryogenesis of Drosophila leading to segmentation. The mini-review begins by comparing the concepts of positional information and a temporal sequence of isomorphic prepatterns, which represent two quite different approaches to understanding the spatial and temporal regulation of cellular differentiation.

Animals↗
PubMed1974

Responses of olfactory bulb neurones to odour stimulation of small nasal areas in the salamander.

1. Previous experiments have suggested that one way odours may be discriminated is by different spatial patterns of response at both the olfactory bulb and receptor level. The present experiments were designed to test to what extent the position of an odour on the receptor mucosa can influence the activity of olfactory bulb neurones.2. To deliver odours to small areas on the nasal receptor sheet a new method for local application of odour was developed. The flow rate, concentration, and time course of the odour were controlled using the olfactometer described in the preceding paper.3. In thirty olfactory bulb units in the salamander it was found that if the response of a unit to odour delivered to the entire exposed receptor epithelium were suppression (type S), then the unit tended to be suppressed when odour was delivered to a number of localized epithelial regions. If the response were excitation (type E) to stimulation of the entire epithelium, then stimulation to only one or two localized regions would elicit the maximum response.4. Different epithelial regions had the ability to cause excitation in the same bulbar unit depending on the odour being used. Two odours, camphor and amyl acetate, elicited maximum excitation when they were presented to different mucosal areas. The areas at which presentation of these odours gave excitation were surprisingly consistent from unit to unit and animal to animal.5. The data presented here suggest the presence of restricted excitatory receptive fields for some olfactory bulb neurones for a particular odour.6. The presence of spatial response patterns using odour delivery to small nasal receptor regions and thus the presence of receptive fields is discussed with reference to bulbar neuronal circuitry.

Action Potentials↗
PubMed2002

Multiple Cdk1 inhibitory kinases regulate the cell cycle during development.

The Wee kinases block entry into mitosis by phosphorylating and inhibiting the activity of the mitotic cyclin-dependent kinase, Cdk1. We have found that the various Xenopus Wee kinases have unique temporal and spatial patterns of expression during development. In addition, we have isolated and characterized a new Wee1-like kinase, Xenopus Wee2. By both in vivo and in vitro tests, Xenopus Wee2 functions as a Wee1-like kinase. The previously isolated Wee1-like kinase, Xenopus Wee1, is expressed only as maternal gene product. In contrast, Xenopus Wee2 is predominantly a zygotic gene product, while the third Wee kinase, Xenopus Myt1, is both a maternal and zygotic gene product. Concurrent with the changing levels of these Cdk inhibitory kinases, the pattern of embryonic cell division becomes asynchronous and spatially restricted in the Xenopus embryo. Interestingly, once zygotic transcription begins, Xenopus Wee2 is expressed in regions of the embryo that are devoid of mitotic cells, such as the involuting mesoderm. In contrast, Xenopus Myt1 is expressed in regions of the embryo that have high levels of proliferation, such as the developing neural tissues. The existence of multiple Wee kinases may help explain how distinct patterns of cell division arise and are regulated during development.

Amino Acid Sequence↗
PubMed1985

Metabolic labeling associated with index finger stimulation in monkey SI: between animal variability.

Four monkeys (Macaca fascicularis) were stimulated with an identical intermittent vertical displacement (flutter) stimulus on the tip of the index finger and received intravenous [14C]2-deoxyglucose (2-DG). The majority of metabolic labeling was found to exist in areas 3b and 1 of the anterior parietal cortex (SI) in the form of intermittent patches, which extended vertically across the cortical laminae. When the patches were traced through adjacent sections and reconstructed to produce a 2-dimensional map, it became evident that the patches of label combined to form a complex spatial pattern consisting of strips. Although the flutter stimulus was applied to a spatially restricted peripheral field, the metabolic pattern was always complex and widely distributed within SI. Nevertheless, the 2-DG patterns produced in the different animals stimulated with the same stimulus were strikingly similar. The relationships between descriptions of the SI index finger representation based on neurophysiological mapping data and the distribution of 2-DG uptake are described. The reproducibility of the 2-DG labeling pattern and relationship to neurophysiological maps suggests that the 2-DG mapping method provides a potent and useful tool for the investigation of stimulus representation in the somatosensory cortex.

Animals↗
PubMed1989

Dopamine D1 receptor development in the rat striatum: early localization in striosomes.

The development of dopamine D1-receptors in rat striatum during the early postnatal period is examined, using autoradiography and [3H]SCH 23390 as ligand. Dopamine D1-receptors are present in striatum at birth and are more dense than in any adjacent region. The receptors are preferentially localized in striosomes and to some extent in a subcallosal streak. The density of D1-receptors in the matrix increases with age so that by two weeks postnatally the striosomal pattern is no longer evident, and the overall dense labelling is the same as seen in adults. Dopamine D1-receptor development seems to take place earlier than that of dopamine terminals but at the same time as or somewhat later than that of acetylcholinesterase. The D1-defined striosomes move from ventrolateral towards dorso-medial striatum with increasing age and from anterior to posterior striatum. This direction is nearly perpendicular to the direction of development of several other markers, including dopamine terminals and D2-receptors. The present studies indicate that for markers appearing in the striosomal compartment there are different patterns of development with respect to time and spatial pattern. Regulation of striatal development by interaction of neuronal systems with one another and with other factors is complex and will require extensive study to clarify the mechanisms involved.

Aging↗
PubMed1994

Expression of the inducible form of nitric oxide synthase by reactive astrocytes after transient global ischemia.

We recently demonstrated that reactive astrocytes express NADPH diaphorase activity, a marker for Nitric Oxide Synthase, following transient global ischemia (Neuroscience Letters 154: 125-128). There has been little evidence that astrocytes express Nitric Oxide Synthase or produce NO (nitric oxide) in vivo; although in vitro experiments have shown that cultured astrocytes can produce NO. To determine whether reactive astrocytes express inducible form of NOS (iNOS) in vivo, we studied the pathological changes of rat hippocampus by immunohistochemistry after 10 minutes of transient global ischemia, which results in the selective delayed death of CA1 pyramidal cells and marked gliosis in the CA1 subfield. In the normal hippocampus, astrocytes express neither NADPH diaphorase activity nor iNOS. After ischemia, the temporal and spatial pattern of iNOS, NADPH diaphorase, and GFAP are very similar, indicating that reactive astrocytes express iNOS. Double staining for NADPH diaphorase and GFAP, or iNOS and GFAP confirmed that reactive astrocytes express both NADPH diaphorase activity and iNOS immunoreactivity. These changes were observed three day after ischemia and increased in prominence from one week to one month. The staining pattern of OX42, an antibody that recognizes both microglia and macrophages, is spatially and temporally distinct from the pattern of NADPH diaphorase and iNOS staining. Thus, we conclude that transient global ischemia induces iNOS primarily in reactive astrocytes. This increase in NOS expression and, presumably, NO production by reactive astrocytes may play a role in the process of delayed neuronal death or in the remodeling responses that occur after ischemic damage.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗
PubMed2006

Genetics, genomics, and molecular biology of sex determination in small animals.

The genomic revolution is beginning to facilitate advances in canine and feline medicine, as illustrated in our research. Our studies are focused upon identifying the gene mutation that causes canine Sry-negative XX sex reversal, a disorder of sex determination in which chromosomal females (78,XX) develop testicular tissue, becoming either XX true hermaphrodites with ovotestes, or XX males with bilateral testes. A genome-wide screen, using mapped markers in our pedigree of Sry-negative XX sex reversed dogs founded upon the American cocker spaniel, identified five chromosomal regions in which the causative gene may be located. The canine genome was used to identify the canine homologue of goat Pisrt1 and so determine that canine and caprine Sry-negative XX sex reversal are genetically heterogeneous. A second goal of our research is to determine the molecular mechanism by which the mutation causes testis induction. Thus far, we have reported gonadal Sry and Sox9 expression patterns in normal embryos, which have temporal and spatial patterns similar to those reported in humans, sheep, and pigs. Once gene mutations causing such inherited disorders are identified, DNA tests will become a part of general veterinary practice, advancing both diagnostic techniques and preventative medicine.

Animals↗
PubMed2001

Lobster sniffing: antennule design and hydrodynamic filtering of information in an odor plume.

The first step in processing olfactory information, before neural filtering, is the physical capture of odor molecules from the surrounding fluid. Many animals capture odors from turbulent water currents or wind using antennae that bear chemosensory hairs. We used planar laser-induced fluorescence to reveal how lobster olfactory antennules hydrodynamically alter the spatiotemporal patterns of concentration in turbulent odor plumes. As antennules flick, water penetrates their chemosensory hair array during the fast downstroke, carrying fine-scale patterns of concentration into the receptor area. This spatial pattern, blurred by flow along the antennule during the downstroke, is retained during the slower return stroke and is not shed until the next flick.

Animals↗