MYCOSIS FUNGOIDES—Local Injection of Triamcinolone

Three patients with mycosis fungoides in the thickened plaque and early tumor stages of the disease were treated with intralesional injections of triamcinolone solution. Both triamcinolone diacetate and acetonide in concentrations of 0.75 per cent or higher were effective in reducing the tumors and symptomatically controlling the pruritus. Other parts of the same lesions treated with other substances or not treated remained unchanged.     

Line Orientation Adaptation: Local or Global?

Prolonged exposure to an oriented line shifts the perceived orientation of a subsequently observed line in the opposite direction, a phenomenon known as the tilt aftereffect (TAE). Here we consider whether the TAE for line stimuli is mediated by a mechanism that integrates the local parts of the line into a single global entity prior to the site of adaptation, or the result of the sum of local TAEs acting separately on the parts of the line. To test between these two alternatives we used the fact the TAE transfers almost completely across luminance contrast polarity [1]. We measured the TAE using adaptor and test lines that (1) either alternated in luminance polarity or were of a single polarity, and (2) either alternated in local orientation or were of a single orientation. We reasoned that if the TAE was agnostic to luminance polarity and was parts-based, we should obtain large TAEs using alternating-polarity adaptors with single-polarity tests. However we found that (i) TAEs using one-alternating-polarity adaptors with all-white tests were relatively small, increased slightly for two-alternating-polarity adaptors, and were largest with all-white or all-black adaptors. (ii) however TAEs were relatively large when the test was one-alternating polarity, irrespective of the adaptor type. (iii) The results with orientation closely mirrored those obtained with polarity with the difference that the TAE transfer across orthogonal orientations was weak. Taken together, our results demonstrate that the TAE for lines is mediated by a global shape mechanism that integrates the parts of lines into whole prior to the site of orientation adaptation. The asymmetry in the magnitude of TAE depending on whether the alternating-polarity lines was the adaptor or test can be explained by an imbalance in the population of neurons sensitive to 1^st-and 2^nd-order lines, with the 2^nd-order lines being encoded by a subset of the mechanisms sensitive to 1^st-order lines.     

Local approximation of a metapopulation’s equilibrium

Journal of Mathematical Biology - We consider the approximation of the equilibrium of a metapopulation model, in which a finite number of patches are randomly distributed over a bounded...     

Won't you be my neighbor? Local induction of arteriogenesis

Two recent papers in Cell and Developmental Cell provide evidence that VEGF directs arterial differentiation. Evidence that sensory nerves direct arteriogenesis and that the membrane-spanning Notch signaling system is downstream of VEGF emphasize the paracrine regulation of vessel formation.     

Local lateral inhibition: a key to spike synchronization?

 Starting from the idea that neural group activity as such is unlikely to be immediately relevant for neural synchronization, we investigate mechanisms that act at the level of individual nerve impulses (spikes). Hence, we consider populations of formal spike-emitting ‘leaky integrate and fire’ neurons instead of networks built from non-spiking oscillators. After outlining the principle of synchronization for basic forms of recurrent impulse coupling by using a pair of simplified formal neurons, we show that local lateral inhibition results in robust impulse synchronization in networks with non-vanishing transmission delays. Received: 12 January 1994/Accepted in revised form: 25 April 1995     

Protein β-Sheet Nucleation Is Driven by Local Modular Formation

Despite its central role in the protein folding process, the specific mechanism(s) behind β-sheet formation has yet to be determined. For example, whether the nucleation of β-sheets, often containing strands separated in sequence by many residues, is local or not remains hotly debated. Here, we investigate the initial nucleation step of β-sheet formation by performing an analysis of the smallest β-sheets in a non-redundant dataset on the grounds that the smallest sheets, having undergone little growth after nucleation, will be enriched for nucleating characteristics. We find that the residue propensities are similar for small and large β-sheets as are their interstrand pairing preferences, suggesting that nucleation is not primarily driven by specific residues or interacting pairs. Instead, an examination of the structural environments of the two-stranded sheets shows that virtually all of them are contained in single, compact structural modules, or when multiple modules are present, one or both of the chain termini are involved. We, therefore, find that β-nucleation is a local phenomenon resulting either from sequential or topological proximity. We propose that β-nucleation is a result of two opposite factors; that is, the relative rigidity of an associated folding module that holds two stretches of coil close together in topology coupled with sufficient chain flexibility that enables the stretches of coil to bring their backbones in close proximity. Our findings lend support to the hydrophobic zipper model of protein folding (Dill, K. A., Fiebig, K. M., and Chan, H. S. (1993) Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 90, 1942–1946). Implications for protein folding are discussed.     

Salicylic acids: Local,systemic or inter-systemic regulators?

Salicylic acid is well known phytohormone, emerging recently as a new paradigm of an array of manifestations of growth regulators. The area unleashed yet encompassed the applied agriculture sector to find the roles to strengthen the crops against plethora of abiotic and biotic stresses. The skipped part of integrated picture, however, was the evolutionary insight of salicylic acid to either allow or discard the microbial invasion depending upon various internal factors of two interactants under the prevailing external conditions. The metabolic status that allows the host invasion either as pathogenesis or symbiosis with possible intermediary stages in close systems has been tried to underpin here.     

Local translation in neuronal compartments: how local is local?

Efficient neuronal function depends on the continued modulation of the local neuronal proteome. Local protein synthesis plays a central role in tuning the neuronal proteome at specific neuronal regions. Various aspects of translation such as the localization of translational machinery, spatial spread of the newly translated proteins, and their site of action are carried out in specialized neuronal subcompartments to result in a localized functional outcome. In this review, we focus on the various aspects of these local translation compartments such as size, biochemical and organelle composition, structural boundaries, and temporal dynamics. We also discuss the apparent absence of definitive components of translation in these local compartments and the emerging state‐of‐the‐art tools that could help dissecting these conundrums in greater detail in the future.     

Local endemicity and high diversity characterise high-latitude coral–Symbiodinium partnerships

Obligate symbiotic dinoflagellates (Symbiodinium) residing within the tissues of most reef invertebrates are important in determining the tolerance range of their host. Coral communities living at high latitudes experience wide fluctuations in environmental conditions and thus provide an ideal system to gain insights into the range within which the symbiotic relationship can be sustained. Further, understanding whether and how symbiont communities associated with high-latitude coral reefs are different from their tropical counterparts will provide clues to the potential of corals to cope with marginal or changing conditions. However, little is known of the host and symbiont partnerships at high latitudes. Symbiodinium diversity and specificity of high-latitude coral communities were explored using denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis (PCR-DGGE) analysis of the internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS1 and ITS2) of the ribosomal DNA at Lord Howe Island (31°S; Australia), and the Kermadec Islands (29°S; New Zealand). All but one host associated with clade C Symbiodinium, the exception being a soft coral (Capnella sp.) that contained Symbiodinium B1. Besides ‘host-generalist’ Symbiodinium types C1 and C3, approximately 72% of the Symbiodinium identified were novel C types, and zonation of symbionts in relation to environmental parameters such as depth and turbidity was evident in certain host species. The high-latitude Symbiodinium communities showed little overlap and relatively high diversity compared with communities sampled on the tropical Great Barrier Reef. Although host specificity was maintained in certain species, others shared symbionts and this potential reduction of fidelity at high-latitude locations may be the result of locally challenging and highly variable environmental conditions.     

Does Land-Use Intensification Decrease Plant Phylogenetic Diversity in Local Grasslands?

Phylogenetic diversity (PD) has been successfully used as a complement to classical measures of biological diversity such as species richness or functional diversity. By considering the phylogenetic history of species, PD broadly summarizes the trait space within a community. This covers amongst others complex physiological or biochemical traits that are often not considered in estimates of functional diversity, but may be important for the understanding of community assembly and the relationship between diversity and ecosystem functions. In this study we analyzed the relationship between PD of plant communities and land-use intensification in 150 local grassland plots in three regions in Germany. Specifically we asked whether PD decreases with land-use intensification and if so, whether the relationship is robust across different regions. Overall, we found that species richness decreased along land-use gradients the results however differed for common and rare species assemblages. PD only weakly decreased with increasing land-use intensity. The strength of the relationship thereby varied among regions and PD metrics used. From our results we suggest that there is no general relationship between PD and land-use intensification probably due to lack of phylogenetic conservatism in land-use sensitive traits. Nevertheless, we suggest that depending on specific regional idiosyncrasies the consideration of PD as a complement to other measures of diversity can be useful.     

Local vs. Trans-regional Perspectives on Southeast Asian ‘Indianness’

This article is an attempt to define the concept ‘(Southeast Asian) Indianness’ through a comparative approach based on a local vs. trans-regional perspective. I shall analyse the complex relationships that develop between a translocal, urban and literate Indo-Aryan Great Tradition and a local, rural and oral Little Tradition. First, I shall tackle the question of whether literacy has any socio-religious relevance and endeavour to identify its relationship to orality. I will subsequently analyse the (re-) Indianisation process as a socio-political construct and will finally propose some re-readings of ‘Aryapheresis’ (i.e. ‘Indian [ārya] Transplant’ [phérein]), which I believe has been applied wrongly in some cases, to some Southeast Asian Indian-based socio-cultural realities.     

Is protein folding hierarchic? I. Local structure and peptide folding

The folding reactions of some small proteins show clear evidence of a hierarchic process, whereas others, lacking detectable intermediates, do not. Nevertheless, we argue that both classes fold hierarchically and that folding begins locally. If this is the case, then the secondary structure of a protein is determined largely by local sequence information. Experimental data and theoretical considerations support this argument. Part I of this article reviews the relationship between secondary structures in proteins and their counterparts in peptides.     

Local effects drive heterozygosity–fitness correlations in an outcrossing long-lived tree

Heterozygosity–fitness correlations (HFCs) have been used to understand the complex interactions between inbreeding, genetic diversity and evolution. Although frequently reported for decades, evidence for HFCs was often based on underpowered studies or inappropriate methods, and hence their underlying mechanisms are still under debate. Here, we used 6100 genome-wide single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) to test for general and local effect HFCs in maritime pine (Pinus pinaster Ait.), an iconic Mediterranean forest tree. Survival was used as a fitness proxy, and HFCs were assessed at a four-site common garden under contrasting environmental conditions (total of 16 288 trees). We found no significant correlations between genome-wide heterozygosity and fitness at any location, despite variation in inbreeding explaining a substantial proportion of the total variance for survival. However, four SNPs (including two non-synonymous mutations) were involved in significant associations with survival, in particular in the common gardens with higher environmental stress, as shown by a novel heterozygosity–fitness association test at the species-wide level. Fitness effects of SNPs involved in significant HFCs were stable across maritime pine gene pools naturally growing in distinct environments. These results led us to dismiss the general effect hypothesis and suggested a significant role of heterozygosity in specific candidate genes for increasing fitness in maritime pine. Our study highlights the importance of considering the species evolutionary and demographic history and different spatial scales and testing environments when assessing and interpreting HFCs.     

Frequency-Dependent Polarization Properties of Local Electric Field in Gold–Dielectric Multi-Nanoshells

The polarization properties of the local electric field in the gold–dielectric–gold multilayer nanoshells are investigated by theoretical calculation based on the quasi-static approximation. The calculation results show that the complete polarized incident light does not only stimulate the same directional polarized local electric field. The polarized angle of the local field may changes from 0° to 90° as the wavelength and location are changed. The distributions of local field polarization are different in dielectric layer or gold shell and display different features in different plasmonic hybridization mode. As the incident wavelength is increased, the hot spot of polarizing angle moves monotonously in the middle dielectric shell, whereas moves nonmonotonously in the gold shell and surrounding environment. In the gold shell, the gap between hot spots of polarizing angle may occur at the resonance frequency. However, the hot spots of polarizing angle always occur at the resonance frequencies in the surrounding environment. These interesting results show that the single-molecule detection based on metal nanostructure induced surface-enhanced Raman scattering and surface enhanced fluorescence could be optimized by adjusting the incident light polarization and frequency.     

Gene-Flow in a Mosaic Hybrid Zone: Is Local Introgression Adaptive?

Genome-wide scans of genetic differentiation between hybridizing taxa can identify genome regions with unusual rates of introgression. Regions of high differentiation might represent barriers to gene flow, while regions of low differentiation might indicate adaptive introgression—the spread of selectively beneficial alleles between reproductively isolated genetic backgrounds. Here we conduct a scan for unusual patterns of differentiation in a mosaic hybrid zone between two mussel species, Mytilus edulis and M. galloprovincialis. One outlying locus, mac-1, showed a characteristic footprint of local introgression, with abnormally high frequency of edulis-derived alleles in a patch of M. galloprovincialis enclosed within the mosaic zone, but low frequencies outside of the zone. Further analysis of DNA sequences showed that almost all of the edulis allelic diversity had introgressed into the M. galloprovincialis background in this patch. We then used a variety of approaches to test the hypothesis that there had been adaptive introgression at mac-1. Simulations and model fitting with maximum-likelihood and approximate Bayesian computation approaches suggested that adaptive introgression could generate a “soft sweep,” which was qualitatively consistent with our data. Although the migration rate required was high, it was compatible with the functioning of an effective barrier to gene flow as revealed by demographic inferences. As such, adaptive introgression could explain both the reduced intraspecific differentiation around mac-1 and the high diversity of introgressed alleles, although a localized change in barrier strength may also be invoked. Together, our results emphasize the need to account for the complex history of secondary contacts in interpreting outlier loci.     

Functional Brain Networks Develop from a “Local to Distributed” Organization

The mature human brain is organized into a collection of specialized functional networks that flexibly interact to support various cognitive functions. Studies of development often attempt to identify the organizing principles that guide the maturation of these functional networks. In this report, we combine resting state functional connectivity MRI (rs-fcMRI), graph analysis, community detection, and spring-embedding visualization techniques to analyze four separate networks defined in earlier studies. As we have previously reported, we find, across development, a trend toward ‘segregation’ (a general decrease in correlation strength) between regions close in anatomical space and ‘integration’ (an increased correlation strength) between selected regions distant in space. The generalization of these earlier trends across multiple networks suggests that this is a general developmental principle for changes in functional connectivity that would extend to large-scale graph theoretic analyses of large-scale brain networks. Communities in children are predominantly arranged by anatomical proximity, while communities in adults predominantly reflect functional relationships, as defined from adult fMRI studies. In sum, over development, the organization of multiple functional networks shifts from a local anatomical emphasis in children to a more “distributed” architecture in young adults. We argue that this “local to distributed” developmental characterization has important implications for understanding the development of neural systems underlying cognition. Further, graph metrics (e.g., clustering coefficients and average path lengths) are similar in child and adult graphs, with both showing “small-world”-like properties, while community detection by modularity optimization reveals stable communities within the graphs that are clearly different between young children and young adults. These observations suggest that early school age children and adults both have relatively efficient systems that may solve similar information processing problems in divergent ways.     

Syndromic Surveillance for Local Outbreaks of Lower-Respiratory Infections: Would It Work?

Background

Although syndromic surveillance is increasingly used to detect unusual illness, there is a debate whether it is useful for detecting local outbreaks. We evaluated whether syndromic surveillance detects local outbreaks of lower-respiratory infections (LRIs) without swamping true signals by false alarms.

Methods and Findings

Using retrospective hospitalization data, we simulated prospective surveillance for LRI-elevations. Between 1999–2006, a total of 290762 LRIs were included by date of hospitalization and patients place of residence (>80% coverage, 16 million population). Two large outbreaks of Legionnaires disease in the Netherlands were used as positive controls to test whether these outbreaks could have been detected as local LRI elevations. We used a space-time permutation scan statistic to detect LRI clusters. We evaluated how many LRI-clusters were detected in 1999–2006 and assessed likely causes for the cluster-signals by looking for significantly higher proportions of specific hospital discharge diagnoses (e.g. Legionnaires disease) and overlap with regional influenza elevations. We also evaluated whether the number of space-time signals can be reduced by restricting the scan statistic in space or time. In 1999–2006 the scan-statistic detected 35 local LRI clusters, representing on average 5 clusters per year. The known Legionnaires'' disease outbreaks in 1999 and 2006 were detected as LRI-clusters, since cluster-signals were generated with an increased proportion of Legionnaires disease patients (p:<0.0001). 21 other clusters coincided with local influenza and/or respiratory syncytial virus activity, and 1 cluster appeared to be a data artifact. For 11 clusters no likely cause was defined, some possibly representing as yet undetected LRI-outbreaks. With restrictions on time and spatial windows the scan statistic still detected the Legionnaires'' disease outbreaks, without loss of timeliness and with less signals generated in time (up to 42% decline).

Conclusions

To our knowledge this is the first study that systematically evaluates the performance of space-time syndromic surveillance with nationwide high coverage data over a longer period. The results show that syndromic surveillance can detect local LRI-outbreaks in a timely manner, independent of laboratory-based outbreak detection. Furthermore, since comparatively few new clusters per year were observed that would prompt investigation, syndromic hospital-surveillance could be a valuable tool for detection of local LRI-outbreaks.     

Local,regional and global markets: what drives the tuna fisheries?

Tuna products are amongst the most popular seafoods in the world and widely traded across the globe. Their global trade developed at a very early stage in the growth and development of tuna fisheries. In this article, recent evolutions of tuna markets in terms of products (for both sashimi and cannery-grade tuna products), market structures, and trade are introduced followed by a comprehensive study of global integration through price linkages. Most studies show a high degree of market integration and competition through prices at the world-wide level. Finally, we introduce some original results about the relationship between catches and prices (estimated coefficients of demand elasticity and flexibility), and provide answers to a few key questions for tuna fisheries and markets, including: How do consumers respond to price changes? Are fish price changes fully transmitted to consumers? Is there any economic incentive for fishers to comply with reduced catch quotas? Do fishers target particular tuna species according to the relative price of tuna species?