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PubMed2001

Effect of inherent location uncertainty on detection of stationary targets in noisy image sequences.

The effect of inherent location uncertainty on the detection of stationary targets was determined in noisy image sequences. Targets were thick and thin projected cylinders mimicking arteries, catheters, and guide wires in medical imaging x-ray fluoroscopy. With the use of an adaptive forced-choice method, detection contrast sensitivity (the inverse of contrast) was measured both with and without marker cues that directed the attention of observers to the target location. With the probability correct clamped at 80%, contrast sensitivity increased an average of 77% when the marker was added to the thin-cylinder target. There was an insignificant effect on the thick cylinder. The large enhancement with the thin cylinder was obtained even though the target was located exactly in the center of a small panel, giving observers the impression that it was well localized. Psychometric functions consisting of d' plotted as a function of the square root of the signal-energy-to-noise-ratio gave a positive x intercept for the case of the thin cylinder without a marker. This x intercept, characteristic of uncertainty in other types of detection experiments, disappeared when the marker was added or when the thick cylinder was used. Inherent location uncertainty was further characterized by using four different markers with varying proximity to the target. Visual detection by human observers increased monotonically as the markers better localized the target. Human performance was modeled as a matched-filter detector with an uncertainty in the placement of the template. The removal of a location cue was modeled by introducing a location uncertainty of approximately equals 0.4 mm on the display device or only 7 microm on the retina, a size on the order of a single photoreceptor field. We conclude that detection is affected by target location uncertainty on the order of cellular dimensions, an observation with important implications for detection mechanisms in humans. In medical imaging, the results argue strongly for inclusion of high-contrast visualization markers on catheters and other interventional devices.

Artifacts↗

PubMed2003

Hemoglobin correction for near-infrared pH determination in lysed blood solutions.

The near-infrared (NIR) measurement of blood pH relies on the spectral signature of histidine residing on the hemoglobin molecule. If the amount of hemoglobin in solution varies, the size of the histidine signal can vary depending on changes in either the pH or hemoglobin concentration. Multivariate calibration models developed using the NIR spectra collected from blood at a single hemoglobin concentration are shown to predict data from different hemoglobin levels with a bias and slope. A simple, scalar path length correction of the spectral data does not correct this problem. However, global partial least-square (PLS) models built with data encompassing a range of hemoglobin concentration have a cross-validated standard error of prediction (CVSEP) similar to the CVSEP of data obtained from a single hemoglobin level. It will be shown that the prediction of pH of an unknown sample using a global PLS model requires that the unknown have a hemoglobin concentration falling within the range encompassed by the global model. An alternative method for correcting the predicted pH for hemoglobin levels is also presented. The alternative method updates the single-hemoglobin-level models with slope and intercept estimates from the pH predictions of data collected at alternate hemoglobin levels. The slope and intercept correction method gave SEP values averaging to 0.034 pH units. Since both methods require some knowledge of the hemoglobin concentration in order for a pH prediction to be made, a model for hemoglobin concentration is developed using spectral data and is used for pH correction.

Algorithms↗

PubMed2024

Assessing the causal link between liver function and acute pancreatitis: A Mendelian randomisation study.

A correlation has been reported to exist between exposure factors (e.g. liver function) and acute pancreatitis. However, the specific causal relationship remains unclear. This study aimed to infer the causal relationship between liver function and acute pancreatitis using the Mendelian randomisation method. We employed summary data from a genome-wide association study involving individuals of European ancestry from the UK Biobank and FinnGen. Single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SCNPs), closely associated with liver function, served as instrumental variables. We used five regression models for causality assessment: MR-Egger regression, the random-effect inverse variance weighting method (IVW), the weighted median method (WME), the weighted model, and the simple model. We assessed the heterogeneity of the SNPs using Cochran's Q test. Multi-effect analysis was performed using the intercept term of the MR-Egger method and leave-one-out detection. Odds ratios (ORs) were used to evaluate the causal relationship between liver function and acute pancreatitis risk. A total of 641 SNPs were incorporated as instrumental variables. The MR-IVW method indicated a causal effect of gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) on acute pancreatitis (OR = 1.180, 95%CI [confidence interval]: 1.021-1.365, P = 0.025), suggesting that GGT may influence the incidence of acute pancreatitis. Conversely, the results for alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (OR = 0.997, 95%CI: 0.992-1.002, P = 0.197) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) (OR = 0.939, 95%CI: 0.794-1.111, P = 0.464) did not show a causal effect on acute pancreatitis. Additionally, neither the intercept term nor the zero difference in the MR-Egger regression attained statistical significance (P = 0.257), and there were no observable gene effects. This study suggests that GGT levels are a potential risk factor for acute pancreatitis and may increase the associated risk. In contrast, ALP and AST levels did not affect the risk of acute pancreatitis.

Humans↗

PubMed2003

New enzymatic assay for glycohemoglobin.

BACKGROUND: Previous methods to measure glycohemoglobin (GHb) have been time-consuming or imprecise; we therefore developed a new enzymatic assay for GHb. METHODS: Blood cells were first hemolyzed, and hemoglobin was digested with protease to yield fructosyl amino acid. Fructosyl amino acid oxidase acts on the fructosyl amino acid and generates hydrogen peroxide, which reacts with chromogens in the presence of peroxidase. Total hemoglobin was measured spectrometrically in the same reaction tube. The results were reported as the ratio of the concentrations of GHb and hemoglobin. RESULTS: The measured values were comparable to those determined with a HPLC method and with an immunoassay in blood samples from 2854 patients with diabetes. Regression analysis for the enzymatic assay (y) vs the HPLC method (x) produced the following: r = 0.979; slope, 0.994 [95% confidence interval (CI), 0.986-1.001]; y-intercept, 0.04% (95% CI, -0.09% to 0.01%); n = 2854. For the enzymatic assay (y) vs the immunoassay (x), the regression statistics were as follows: r = 0.982; slope, 1.002 (95% CI, 0.995-1.009); y-intercept, 0% (95% CI, -0.05% to 0.05%); n = 2854. CONCLUSIONS: The values measured by the new enzymatic assay are sufficiently correlated with those of the conventional HPLC method and immunoassay, but the proposed assay for GHb is rapid and has high precision.

Amino Acid Oxidoreductases↗

PubMed2004

Comparison of continuous and discrete measurements of dyspnea during exercise in patients with COPD and normal subjects.

STUDY OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were as follows: (1) to compare results of the discrete and the continuous methods for measuring breathlessness; (2) to examine test-retest reliability; (3) and to test the hypothesis that patients with COPD have higher slopes and lower x-intercepts and absolute thresholds for power production, oxygen consumption (O(2)), and minute ventilation as independent variables and breathlessness ratings as the dependent variable, as compared with healthy subjects. DESIGN: Visit 1 (familiarization) and visit 2 and visit 3 (2 days apart) with randomized assignment of the discrete and continuous methods for subjects rating breathlessness during cycle ergometry. SETTING: Cardiopulmonary exercise laboratory in a university medical center. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-four patients with COPD (mean age, 66 +/- 8 years [+/- SD]) and 24 healthy subjects (mean age, 66 +/- 10 years). INTERVENTIONS: None. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Ratings of breathlessness on the Borg scale on cue with subjects moving and pressing the computer mouse button to indicate a rating (discrete method) or by moving the position of the mouse to adjust a vertical bar to indicate a change in breathlessness (continuous method). There were no significant differences in results between visit 2 and visit 3. Although peak exercise variables were similar with the discrete and continuous methods, both groups provided significantly more ratings of breathlessness with the continuous method. Patients with COPD exhibited higher slopes, lower x-intercepts, and lower absolute thresholds (breathlessness rating >/==" BORDER="0"> 0.5 ["just noticeable"] on the Borg scale) for power production and O(2)-breathlessness compared with healthy subjects (p < 0.05). CONCLUSIONS: Elderly patients with COPD and healthy subjects are able to use the continuous method successfully. Reliability is excellent for both methods. The continuous method provides a greater number of breathlessness ratings over the course of exercise, and allows the clinician to calculate an absolute threshold and just-noticeable differences. Regression parameters and absolute thresholds discriminate between patients with COPD and healthy subjects.

Aged↗

PubMed2004

Oral N-acetylcysteine attenuates elastase-induced pulmonary emphysema in rats.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To study the effect of the antioxidant N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in the development of elastase-induced emphysema in rats. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Wistar rats (n = 72) were orotracheally instilled with 75 IU elastase or saline solution. Eighteen rats from each group received the antioxidant NAC from 2 days before induction of the lesion until they were killed 2, 8, and 28 days after instillation. The effects of treatment were assessed by measuring collagen content for the left lung, a histopathology evaluation (ie, mean alveolar internal surface area (AIA) and mean linear intercept measurement), and lung function. RESULTS: Twenty-eight days after elastase instillation, rats treated with NAC showed significant attenuation of the lesion in comparison with rats treated only with elastase, including the following: normalization of mean (+/- SEM) collagen content (1.23 +/- 0.09 vs 1.51 +/- 0.10 mg per left lung, respectively; p < 0.05); partial inhibition of mean AIA (14,860 +/- 1,135 vs 19,622 +/- 1,294 micro m(2), respectively; p < 0.05) and mean linear intercept (108.8 +/- 3.7 vs 123.0 +/- 4.2 micro m, respectively; p < 0.05); and increases and improvement in expiratory flows (27.8 +/- 1.2 vs 23.4 +/- 1.3 mL/s, respectively; p < 0.05). NAC was not able to avoid the compliance increase in the elastase-plus-NAC group. CONCLUSION: Consistent with the results of anatomic, pathologic, and functional studies, NAC is able to attenuate the lesions induced by elastase in rats, which is in accordance with previous data supporting the idea that oxidant injury could contribute to the development of elastase-induced emphysema.

Acetylcysteine↗

PubMed1987

Measurement of cardiac output by CO2 rebreathing in unsteady state exercise.

The ability to determine cardiac output (Q) noninvasively during a nonsteady state (NSS) incremental exercise test was assessed. Seven healthy subjects performed two maximal incremental cycle ergometer exercise tests (100 kpm/min increments every minute), and also steady state exercise (SS) at 25, 50, and 75 percent of their maximum power output. The Q was determined by the indirect CO2 Fick method; mixed venous PCO2 was calculated using the exponential CO2 rebreathing method. No significant differences were observed for the cardiac output/oxygen uptake relationship (Q/VO2) obtained between the two incremental exercise tests. During NSS, the Q/VO2 was linear (r = .89; intercept = 5.69 L/min; slope = 5.39). During the SS, Q/VO2 was linear (r = .90; intercept = 5.47 L/min; slope = 4.87). No significant difference was observed between the SS and NSS Q/VO2 relationships (p greater than 0.05), and the NSS relationship was similar to Q/VO2 values previously reported in the literature. Accurate and reproducible measurements of Q can be obtained noninvasively in healthy subjects using the exponential CO2 rebreathing method during incremental progressive exercise tests, with similar values at comparable VO2 to those obtained in the steady state.

Adult↗

PubMed2000

Mechanistic and kinetic studies of inhibition of enzymes.

A graphical method for analyzing enzyme data to obtain kinetic parameters, and to identify the types of inhibition and the enzyme mechanisms, is described. The method consists of plotting experimental data as nu/(V0 - nu) vs 1/(I) at different substrate concentrations. I is the inhibitor concentration; V0 and nu are the rates of enzyme reaction attained by the system in the presence of a fixed amount of substrate, and in the absence and presence of inhibitor, respectively. Complete inhibition gives straight lines that go through the origin; partial inhibition gives straight lines that converge on the 1-I axis, at a point away from the origin. For competitive inhibition, the slopes of the lines increase with increasing-substrate concentration; with noncompetitive inhibition, the slopes are independent of substrate concentration; with uncompetitive inhibition, the slopes of the lines decrease with increasing substrate concentrations. The kinetic parameters, Km, Ki, Ki', and beta (degree of partiality) can best be determined from respective secondary plots of slope and intercept vs substrate concentration, for competitive and noncompetitive inhibition mechanism or slope and intercept vs reciprocal substrate concentration for uncompetitive inhibition mechanism. Functional consequencs of these analyses are represented in terms of specific enzyme-inhibitor systems.

Animals↗

PubMed1976

[Effect of oral contraceptive on the pituitary and plasma L.H. levels and on the hypothalamic LH-RH level (author's transl)].

The effects of the oral contraceptive on the pituitary content and plasma level of LH and the hypothalamic LH-RH level were investigated in 16 adult female rabbits. The oral contraceptive preparation, Sophia-C (Norethindrone 2mg + Mestranol 0.1 mg), as administered orally by a stomach tube each day for 7 days in 8 adult female rabbits. At the end of the treatment, the rabbits were bled from the abdominal aorta into heparinized syringes and the plasma was separated. The stalk median eminences were excised. All the materials were stored in -80 degrees C until assayed. Plasma level and the pituitary content of LH and the hypothalamic LH-RH were measured by radioimmunoassay. All the dose response curved were drawn using logitlog transformation. Radioimmunoassay procedures for LH was described in detail elsewhere. Purified rabbit LH for iodination (125-I) and strandard were prepared by T. Makino and R.O. Greep, at Research Laboratories for Human Reproduction, Harvard Medical School, Boston, U.S.A. The starting B/T was 25% at the final dilution of the antibody of 1/20,000. Minimal detectable quantity was about 40 pg/tube. The 50% intercepts were approximately 460 pg/tube. Radioimmunoassay procedures for LH-RH were performed according to the method described by Arimura et al. Antiserum against synthetic LH-RH was kindly supplied to us by Drs. A. Arimura and A.V. Schally, New Orleans, U'S.A. The synthetic LH-RH was kindly supplied to us by Dr. N. Yanaihara. The starting B/T ratio was 29% at the final dilution of the antibody of I/17,500. Minimal detectable quantity was about 40pg/tube and the 50% intercepts were 150pg/tube. It has been assumed that oral contraceptive drugs exert their action by blocking the hypothalamic LH-RH, resulting in a depression of the plasma level of LH, because plasma level of LH returned to the normal level when LH-RH was administered intravenously even while oral contraceptive steroids were given continuously. However, these findings concerning the site of action of the drugs furnished only indirect evidences. The possibility of a direct inhibitary effect of these steroids on the anterior pituitary cannot be ruled out. Administration of 2mg of Norethindrone and 0.1mg of Mestranol significantly depressed both the pituitary content and the plasma level of LH. On the other hand, they significantly increased the hypothalamic LH-RH level. Those findings strongly suggested the direct action of this drug on the anterior pituitary in the female adult rabbits. Detailed mechanisms on how the hypothalamic LH-RH was increased were not known in this experiment, further investigations are now in progress.

Animals↗

PubMed1981

Measurements of human luteinizing hormone in plasma by in vitro bioassay and by conventional and improved radioimmunoassays.

Daily plasma samples obtained from normally menstruating women were measured for human luteinizing hormone (hLH) by in vitro bioassay and by conventional and improved radioimmunoassays (RIA). The improvement of hLH RIA consisted in the choice of standard and the extensive purification of tracer. The profiles of the biological and immunological activity of hLH throughout the cycle showed a qualitative similarity with the mid-cycle hLH surge. The estimated values obtained with the conventional RIA were consistently and significantly higher than those by the improved RIA (p less than 0.001). The elevation of the Y-intercept on RIA (5.22 +/- 3.22 uIU/ml) indicated the possible influences of crossreacting substances on the estimates obtained with the conventional RIA. The Y-intercept values calculated from the bioassay and the improved RIA estimates were indistinguishable from the origin (0.45 +/- 1.81 mIU/ml). The inter-individual variations of the biological/immunological activity ratios indicate the different proportions of multiple sub-populations of hLH molecules with various biological and immunological activities in each case. The improved RIA was concluded to be more preferable for detecting hLH levels in biological fluid than the conventional RIA. The need for more suitable standard preparations for hLH RIA was proposed.

Adult↗

PubMed1980

Preliminary results on the use of an antiserum to human parathyrin in a homologous radioimmunoassay.

A new antiserum (Ab Giselle) raised in sheep against extracted human parathyrin was evaluated and compared with an established antiserum (Ab S-478 VI) under several test conditions. The assay system contained an extracted 1--84 human parathyrin standard and a 1--84 bovine parathyrin tracer. The total assay time was 24 h and the main assay characteristics as follows: B0/T 0.28 +/- 0.02 and 50% intercept 553 +/- 47 U . 1(-1). The corresponding data for Ab S-478 VI were: B0/T 0.23 +/- 0.02 and 50% intercept 890 +/- 142 U . 1(-1). The normal range in 152 normocalcaemic volunteers (age range 16--67 years) was 10.6--423 U . 1(-1) (where 1 vial MRC reference preparation 75/549 for human parathyrin = 25 U), compared with 0--300 U . 1(-1) for Ab S-478 VI. With the new antiserum, differentiation between hypoparathyroid patients and those with normal function was often possible, and differentiation between normal and elevated levels, as in hyperparathyrinaemia, was very good. Correlation between Ab Giselle and Ab S-478 VI in 80 normal volunteers was positive (r = 0.450, p = 0.01) although the regression line showed that the antisera had different specificities (data for the regression line y = a + bx, a = 0.13, b = 0.55). Under the assay conditions, the association constant for Ab Giselle was 0.41 +/- 10(14) l . mol-1 in contrast to Ab S-478 VI which had a Ka for 0.53 x 10(10) l . mol-1 under identical conditions. Assays using Ab Giselle could be performed at room temperature, whereas those using Ab S-478 VI performed best at 0 degrees C. Preliminary results suggest that Ab Giselle is better for the routine assay of human parathyrin in serum than Ab S-478 VI, especially in the case of hypoparathyroid patients.

Adenoma↗

PubMed2004

Comparison of serum digoxin concentration monitoring by fluorescence polarization immunoassay on the TDxFLx and dry chemistry enzyme immunoassay on the Vitros 950.

The aim of the study was to compare the results of digoxin assays performed using fluorescence polarization immunoassay (FPIA) on the TDxFLx and a dry chemistry enzyme immunoassay (EIA) on the Vitros 950. Within-run CV amounted to 8.52-10.49% for FPIA and 2.47-5.39% for EIA. Between-run CV amounted to 6.41-8.97% for FPIA and 3.40-5.04% for EIA. Analytical bias ranged from 2.57-4.0% for FPIA and from 9.86-11.9% for EIA. In comparative studies the correlation coefficient was 0.878; Deming regression analysis yielded a slope of 1.057 (95% CI: 0.573 to 1.541) and intercept of 0.078 (95% CI: -0.391 to 0.547), and the Passing-Bablok agreement test yielded a slope of 1.111 (95% CI: 0.988 to 1.212) and intercept of 0.094 (95% CI: -0.018 to 0.182). The mean digoxin concentration in patients' sera measured by EIA was significantly higher than that measured by FPIA (1.347 vs. 1.196 ng/ml, p<0.02). The mean absolute difference between results amounted to 0.146 ng/ml (95% CI: 0.0261 to 0.266). In comparison to EIA, FPIA yielded a higher number of subtherapeutic concentrations <0.5 ng/ml (29.7% vs. 21.8%) and a lower number of digoxin concentrations >1.2 ng/ml (25.7% vs. 35.6%). These discrepancies occurred in approximately 10% of samples. The obtained results showed different analytical performance and method-dependent differences in the distribution of results. This indicates the necessity to harmonize digoxin immunoassays if two different analytical systems are used in the same clinical setting.

Digoxin↗

PubMed2005

Comparison of pharmacodynamic target attainment between healthy subjects and patients for ceftazidime and meropenem.

STUDY OBJECTIVE: To compare the pharmacodynamics of two beta-lactams--ceftazidime and meropenem--in healthy subjects versus patients. DESIGN: Monte Carlo simulation based on published pharmacokinetic studies. SUBJECTS: One hundred and ninety-seven participants (75 healthy volunteers and 122 patients) from published pharmacokinetic studies of ceftazidime or meropenem. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Data on total body clearance and volume of distribution for ceftazidime and meropenem in healthy subjects and patients were obtained from published studies. Monte Carlo simulations were performed based on the pharmacokinetics from each study for ceftazidime 1000 mg every 8 hours and meropenem 1000 mg every 8 hours against isolates of Escherichia coli , Klebsiella pneumoniae , Acinetobacter baumannii , and Pseudomonas aeruginosa collected from North and South America. We calculated the likelihood of obtaining bactericidal exposures (50% time above the minimum inhibitory concentration [MIC] for ceftazidime and 40% time above the MIC for meropenem) for each combination of pharmacokinetic study data and MIC distribution. Linear regression was used to compare target attainments for healthy subjects versus patients. Only three drug-pathogen combinations differed in target attainment between healthy subjects and patients: ceftazidime against P. aeruginosa in North America and meropenem against E. coli and P. aeruginosa in South America. The regression line of target attainment for patients versus healthy subjects had a slope of 1.04 (95% confidence interval [CI] 0.983-1.093) and a y intercept of -3.73 (95% CI -8.265-0.827, r2 = 0.992). The beta values for slope and intercept did not differ to a statistically significant extent between the regression line and the line of identity (p=0.264). CONCLUSION: The pharmacodynamic target attainment calculated with healthy subject pharmacokinetic data was predictive of patient target target attainment for ceftazidime and meropenem.

Acinetobacter baumannii↗

PubMed2006

Impact of trap design, windbreaks, and weather on captures of European corn borer (Lepidoptera: Crambidae) in pheromone-baited traps.

Pheromone-baited traps are often used in ecological studies of the European corn borer, Ostrinia nubilalis (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Crambidae). However, differences in trap captures may be confounded by trap design, trap location relative to a windbreak, and changes in local weather. The objectives of this experiment were, first, to examine differences in 0. nubilalis adult (moth) captures among the Intercept wing trap, the Intercept bucket/funnel UNI trap, and the Hartstack wire-mesh, 75-cm-diameter cone trap (large metal cone trap) as well as among three cone trap designs. Second, we examined the influence of the location of the large metal cone trap relative to a windbreak on the number of moths captured. Third, we examined the relationship between nightly mean air temperature, relative humidity, wind speed, precipitation, and the number of moths captured in large metal cone traps. The number of moths captured was significantly influenced by trap design, with large metal cone traps capturing the most moths. Wing and bucket traps were ineffective. Differences among trap captures were significant among trap locations relative to a windbreak. Under strong (>14 kph) or moderate (7 <14 kph) wind speeds, traps located leeward of the windbreak captured the most moths, but when wind speeds were light (<7 kph), traps not associated with windbreaks captured the most moths. The multiple regression model fitted to the relationship between number of moths captured per Julian date and nightly weather patterns was significant. Nightly mean air temperature was the most influential parameter in the model, and its relationship with moth capture was positive.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Effects of temperature on development of Phormia regina (Diptera: Calliphoridae) and use of developmental data in determining time intervals in forensic entomology.

Precise developmental data for forensic indicator blow fly species are essential for accuracy in the estimate of the post-mortem interval (PMI). Why, then, does the determination of the PMI result in conflicting time frames when published conspecific developmental data are used? To answer this question, we conducted constant temperature trials between the developmental minimum temperature and upper threshold temperatures (8-32 degrees C) on the forensically important blow fly species Phormia regina (Meigen) (Diptera: Calliphoridae). Flies were reared using two designs to quantify sources of variation. We measured rearing container temperatures and internal growth chamber temperatures by using thermocouples to accurately record temperatures experienced by larvae and to construct a degree-day model. Differences in experimental design, as seen across temperature studies for this fly species, did not significantly impact larval development. We also found that using set chamber temperatures rather than rearing container temperatures altered the final degree-day model. Using any minimum threshold (including an empirically determined true minimum) other than that from linear interpolation (x-intercept) violated degree-day assumptions and invalidated estimates of the PMI. We observed the minimum developmental temperature to be higher (14 degrees C) than that generated under the x-intercept method (5.46 degrees C) by using data from oviposition to adult emergence. This difference along with the noted difference in accumulated degree-days (using different base temperatures) suggests a need for additional experimentation on other forensically important fly species at low temperature thresholds to help with development of curvilinear models. Former and current estimates of the PMI may be inaccurate if the process to determine the time frame ignored degree-day model assumptions or was based upon questionable data sets.

Animals↗

PubMed2006

Architecture of 54 moist-forest tree species: traits, trade-offs, and functional groups.

Tree architecture is an important determinant of the height extension, light capture, and mechanical stability of trees, and it allows species to exploit the vertical height gradient in the forest canopy and horizontal light gradients at the forest floor. Tropical tree species partition these gradients through variation in adult stature (Hmax) and light demand. In this study we compare 22 architectural traits for 54 Bolivian moist-forest tree species. We evaluate how architectural traits related to Hmax vary with tree size, and we present a conceptual scheme in which we combine the two axes into four different functional groups. Interspecific correlations between architecture and Hmax varied strongly from negative to positive, depending on the reference sizes used. Stem height was positively related to Hmax at larger reference diameters (14-80 cm). Species height vs. diameter curves often flattened toward their upper ends in association with reproductive maturity for species of all sizes. Thus, adult understory trees were typically shorter than similar-diameter juveniles of larger species. Crown area was negatively correlated with Hmax at small reference heights and positively correlated at larger reference heights (15-34 m). Wide crowns allow the small understory species to intercept light over a large area at the expense of a reduced height growth. Crown length was negatively correlated with Hmax at intermediate reference heights (4-14 m). A long crown enables small understory species to maximize light interception in a light-limited environment. Light-demanding species were characterized by orthotropic stems and branches, large leaves, and a monolayer leaf arrangement. They realized an efficient height growth through the formation of narrow and shallow crowns. Light demand turned out to be a much stronger predictor of tree architecture than Hmax, probably because of the relatively low, open, and semi-evergreen canopy at the research site. The existence of four functional groups (shade-tolerant, partial-shade-tolerant, and long- and short-lived pioneer) was confirmed by the principal component and discriminant analysis. Both light demand and Hmax capture the major variation in functional traits found among tropical rain forest tree species, and the two-way classification scheme provides a straightforward model to understand niche differentiation in tropical forests.

Adaptation, Physiological↗

PubMed2006

Vegetation structure constrains primary production response to water availability in the Patagonian steppe.

Grassland aboveground net primary production (ANPP) increases linearly with precipitation in space and time, but temporal models relating time series of ANPP and annual precipitation for single sites show lower slopes and regression coefficients than are shown by spatial models. The analysis of several ANPP time series showed lags in the ecosystem response to increased water availability, which may explain the difference between spatial and temporal models. The lags may result from constraints that ecosystems experience after drought. Our objective was to explore the structural constraints of the ANPP response to rainfall variability in a semiarid ecosystem, the Patagonian steppe, in southern Argentina. We designed a 3-yr rainfall manipulation experiment where we decreased water input with rainout shelters during two consecutive years, which included three levels of rainfall interception (30%, 55%, and 80%) and a control. In the third year, we irrigated one-half of the plots of each rainfall-interception treatment. We evaluated the immediate effects of drought on current-year ANPP and the effects of previous-year drought on vegetation recovery after water supplementation. ANPP (g x m(-2) x yr(-1)) was linearly related to annual precipitation input (APPT; mm/yr) along the experimental precipitation gradient (ANPP = 0.13 x APPT + 58.3; r2 = 0.34, P < 0.01), and this relationship was mostly accounted for by changes in the ANPP of grasses. Plant density (D; no. individuals/mm2) was related to the precipitation received during the drought period (D = 0.11 x APPT + 18; r2 = 0.39, P < 0.05). The recovery of plants after irrigation was lower for those plots that had experienced experimental drought the previous years relative to controls, and the lags were proportional to the intensity of drought. Therefore, our results suggest that the density of plants may constrain the recovery of vegetation after drought, and these constraints may determine lags that limit the capacity of the ecosystem to take advantage of wet years after dry years.

Argentina↗

PubMed1963

On some determinants of choice in pigeons.

A pigeon's pecking at each of two or three simultaneously available red keys was reinforced at different frequencies with a conditioned reinforcer, an orange key, on which 25 pecks resulted in a presentation of grain. Pecking was occasionally punished with a period of no reinforcement during which each key was dark. Both with two and with three keys, the relative frequency of pecking on a key was equal to the relative frequency of reinforcement obtained by pecks on that key. Also, the absolute frequency of pecking on each key was a linear function with zero intercept of the absolute frequency of reinforcement associated with that key. The slope of this function varied with the number of available keys; it was steeper with two than with three. The relative frequency of switching from any key (two successive pecks on different keys) approximated a linear function with zero intercept and slope slightly greater than 1.0 of the total relative frequency of reinforcement associated with the keys to which the bird could switch. However, the relative frequency of switching to a particular key often showed systematic irregularities. The invariance in these data is the equality between the relative frequency of pecks on one of two or three keys and the relative frequency of reinforcement associated with that key.

Animals↗