Regulation of ciliary pattern in ciliates.

The modes of pattern regulation found in the ciliates Dileptus and Paraurostyla are compared. These forms are systematically distant but both possess very extensive regenerative capacities. They are characterized by 2 types of ciliary patterns: the ciliature of Dileptus has largely a simple pattern composed of single kinetosomes while that of Paraurostyla has a complex pattern composed of aggregates of kinetosomes interconnected by amorphic matter. In both ciliates a change in cell size evokes pattern regulation which differs substantially in the extent of pattern replacement, timing, and localization of morphogenetic activities. It is concluded that these differences result from the pattern constituents.     

Pattern formation of the cone mosaic in the zebrafish retina: a cell rearrangement model

In fish retinas, cone photoreceptor cells are arranged in two-dimensional regular patterns, called cone mosaics. In the zebrafish retina, four subtypes of cone cells, which are maximally sensitive to different wavelengths of light, appear in quasi-periodic patterns. The pattern formation mechanism is unknown. Here, I develop a mathematical model to examine whether cell adhesion can explain the formation of the zebrafish mosaic. I assume that the movement of differentiated cells is responsible for generating the pattern, and that the movement rate is modified by cell adhesion. The pattern is formed if the magnitudes of cell adhesion between cell types are chosen appropriately. I determine the conditions of cell adhesion for generating the pattern. I also compare this cell rearrangement model with a previously studied model in which the pattern is formed by transitions of cell fate. The condition for obtaining the focal pattern is looser in the cell rearrangement model than in the fate transition model.     

Structural patterns of enamel in the superfamily Ceboidea

A fundamental enamel structure was found in the superfamily Ceboidea, and tentatively named the nonserial pattern, as distinguished from the multiserial and uniserial patterns. In the nonserial pattern, almost all rows of enamel prisms are straight to slightly curved from the enameldentin junction to the surface of the tooth, and are nearly uniformly oriented. Accordingly, Schreger's band is definitely lacking throughout the length and width of enamel. The interprismatic bundles between both adjacent rows are well developed. The nonserial pattern has so far been found to be limited to some genera of which the molars preserve rather primitive external features; i.e.,Saimiri, Callicebus, Aotus, Alouatta, Saguinus andLeontopithecus. On the other hand, the multiserial pattern is fairly common in many genera of the Ceboidea. The nonserial pattern, which corresponds to the pattern I described byBoyde (1964), is the most primitive, judging from its occurrence, structural simplicity and other factors. The multiserial and uniserial patterns are assumed to be independently evolved from the nonserial pattern.     

An exploration of spatial auditory BCI paradigms with different sounds: music notes versus beeps

Visual brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are not suitable for people who cannot reliably maintain their eye gaze. Considering that this group usually maintains audition, an auditory based BCI may be a good choice for them. In this paper, we explore two auditory patterns: (1) a pattern utilizing symmetrical spatial cues with multiple frequency beeps [called the high low medium (HLM) pattern], and (2) a pattern utilizing non-symmetrical spatial cues with six tones derived from the diatonic scale [called the diatonic scale (DS) pattern]. These two patterns are compared to each other in terms of accuracy to determine which auditory pattern is better. The HLM pattern uses three different frequency beeps and has a symmetrical spatial distribution. The DS pattern uses six spoken stimuli, which are six notes solmizated as “do”, “re”, “mi”, “fa”, “sol” and “la”, and derived from the diatonic scale. These six sounds are distributed to six, spatially distributed, speakers. Thus, we compare a BCI paradigm using beeps with another BCI paradigm using tones on the diatonic scale, when the stimuli are spatially distributed. Although no significant differences are found between the ERPs, the HLM pattern performs better than the DS pattern: the online accuracy achieved with the HLM pattern is significantly higher than that achieved with the DS pattern (p = 0.0028).     

Transformation and relational-structure schemes for visual pattern recognition

Two models for visual pattern recognition are described; the one based on application of internal compensatory transformations to pattern representations, the other based on encoding of patterns in terms of local features and spatial relations between these local features. These transformation and relational-structure models are each endowed with the same experimentally observed invariance properties, which include independence to pattern translation and pattern jitter, and, depending on the particular versions of the models, independence to pattern reflection and inversion (180° rotation). Each model is tested by comparing the predicted recognition performance with experimentally determined recognition performance using as stimuli random-dot patterns that were variously rotated in the plane. The level of visual recognition of such patterns is known to depend strongly on rotation angle. It is shown that the relational-structure model equipped with an invariance to pattern inversion gives responses which are in close agreement with the experimental data over all pattern rotation angles. In contrast, the transformation model equipped with the same invariances gives poor agreement to the experimental data. Some implications of these results are considered.     

永瓣藤的地理分布及其种群空间格局

应用Ｇｒｅｉｇ－Ｓｍｉｔｈ邻接格子取样法,研究了我国珍稀植物永瓣藤（ＭｏｎｉｍｏｐｅｔａｌｕｎｃｈｉｎｅｎｓｅＲｅｈｄ）,的地理分布和种群空间格局及其形成机制,分析了其克隆生长格局和生态适应对策,研究结果表明,永瓣藤的分布区域狭窄,其种群空间格局为集群型,克隆生长格避为游击式稀疏形式样式,这与其生物学特性和种群生态适应的对策密切相关。     

Sensitivity of basic oscillatory mechanisms for pattern generation and detection

 Intrinsic oscillators are the basic building blocks of central pattern generators, which model the neural circuits underlying pattern generation. Coupled intrinsic oscillators have been shown to synchronize their oscillatory frequencies and to maintain a characteristic pattern of phase relationships. Recently, oscillatory neurons have also been identified in sensory systems that are involved in decoding phase information. It has been hypothesized that the neural oscillators are part of neural circuits that implement phase-locked loops (PLLs), which are well-known electrical circuits for temporal decoding. Thus, there is evidence that intrinsic neural oscillators participate in both temporal pattern generation and temporal pattern decoding. The present paper investigates the dynamics underlying forced oscillators and forced PLLs, using a single framework, and compares both their stability and sensitivity characteristics. In particular, a method for assessing whether an oscillatory neuron is forced directly or indirectly, as part of a PLL, is developed and applied to published data. Received: 17 July 2000 / Accepted in revised form: 14 March 2001     

Regulation of Ciliary Pattern in Ciliates*

SYNOPSIS. The modes of pattern regulation found in the ciliates Dileptus and Paraurostyla are compared. These forms are systematically distant but both possess very extensive regenerative capacities. They are characterized by 2 types of ciliary patterns: the ciliature of Dileptus has largely a simple pattern composed of single kinetosomes while that of Paraurostyla has a complex pattern composed of aggregates of kinetosomes interconnected by amorphic matter. In both ciliates a change in cell size evokes pattern regulation which differs substantially in the extent of pattern replacement, timing, and localization of morphogenetic activities. It is concluded that these differences result from the pattern constituents.     

Reducing aberration by inverse filtering in Fresnel zone plate transducers

Transducers employing a spatial electrode pattern in the form of a Fresnel zone plate (FZP) are useful in acoustic imaging systems for focusing an ultrasonic beam. A technique has been developed to predict the spatial acoustic output of such a transducer from a knowledge of the spatial electrode pattern. It has been shown that, due to mechanical aberration, sharp edges in the electrode pattern are not reproduced in the output pattern. The mechanism producing the aberration can be modeled as a low-pass spatial filter. A desired acoustic spatial pattern may be generated by a synthesized electrode pattern obtained through inverse filtering. The approach is to assume that the desired acoustic pattern is the output of a linear spatial system and then to synthesize the electrode pattern that would produce it by multiplying it with the inverse of the aberrating low-pass filter. The synthesized electrode pattern will then generate an acoustic pattern which replicates the desired acoustic pattern very closely.     

Spatial pattern changes of grazing cattle population I

A cattle population presents three spatial patterns according to their behaviour. These patterns are as follows: the random spatial pattern which occurs when the cattle move during grazing (feeding), the aggregated spatial pattern which occurs when they rest, and the regular or quasi-regular spatial pattern which occurs when they separate into two or more subgroups. In this study, these three states of behaviour were represented by a mathematical model, and a method to test the pattern statistically was derived.     

Spatial analysis of limb bud myogenesis: Elaboration of the proximodistal gradient of myoblasts requires the continuing presence of apical ectodermal ridge

Myogenic tissue from embryonic chick wing and leg buds is composed of several subpopulations of myoblasts. These clonally distinct subpopulations first appear at different developmental stages, and are distributed differently along the proximo-distal axis of the buds, giving the appearance of a gradient of myoblast cell types. This myoblast distribution pattern has been utilized to investigate the dependence of muscle tissue outgrowth and development on the presence of the apical ectodermal ridge (AER). Wing buds which have had the AER removed at stages 17–18 (2 days) subsequently develop normal proximal regions, but fail to elaborate skeletal structures distal to the humerus. The myoblast pattern of operated buds is also normal proximally, but distal portions of the pattern are not observed. Removal of the AER at stage 20 (3 days) results in buds which develop slightly more distal skeletal structures and the coinciding portions of the myoblast pattern, but in which the more distal portions of the normal myoblast gradient are truncated. These data suggest that elaboration of the myogenic pattern in early limb buds is dependent on the continuing presence of the AER, and that early removal of the AER leads to the subsequent cessation of myoblast pattern specification.     

干旱半干旱区坡面覆被格局的水土流失效应研究进展

植被恢复与建设是控制水土流失的重要措施.在干旱半干旱地区,植被在空间上的分布呈现离散特征,在坡面上形成的裸地-植被镶嵌和植被条带分布等覆被格局对水土流失过程具有重要影响.覆被格局与水土流失关系研究是景观生态学格局与过程研究的重要内容.从植被斑块、坡面覆被格局对水土流失的影响与耦合覆被格局与水土流失的手段和方法三个方面对国内外相关研究进行总结分析.从中发现,植被类型、层次结构和形态特征是植被斑块尺度上影响径流泥沙的关键因素;不同覆被类型的产流产沙特征与覆被格局的准确描述是研究覆被格局水土流失效应的重要基础;坡面覆被格局对水土流失的影响关键在于其改变了径流泥沙运移和汇集的连续性,应重点关注径流泥沙源汇区的连通性和空间分布在水土流失中的作用;以坡面的精确覆被制图为基础,建立基于水土流失过程的覆被格局指数和耦合格局信息的径流与侵蚀模型是定量研究覆被格局影响的有效手段.今后应加强以下研究:以动态系统的观点研究覆被格局的变化对水土流失的影响,系统理解覆被格局与水土流失之间的相互联系与反馈机制,探讨两者间动态关系随尺度变化的规律性并发展尺度上推方法;构建过程意义明确且简单实用的格局指数,将覆被格局与水土流失过程有机联系起来;发展覆被格局的动态信息与产流产沙过程相结合的水文模型,加强对格局与径流泥沙反馈系统的耦合,建立真正意义上的覆被格局-水土流失过程耦合模型.     

Evolution of meiotic patterns of oogenesis and spermatogenesis in centric diatoms

The evolution of meiotic patterns of the oogenesis and spermatogenesis in centric diatoms was inferred according to the parsimony principle. The pattern provisionally named type 1, in which one of two daughter nuclei becomes pycnotic, no cytokinesis occurs at meiosis II and two eggs are produced, was inferred to be the most primitive among extant meiotic patterns of oogenesis. It was also inferred that the pattern provisionally named 4‐2EC, in which equal cytokinesis occurs after each nuclear division and four functional haploid cells are produced, is the most primitive among extant meiotic patterns of spermatogenesis. The evolution of meiotic pattern suggests that bipolar or multipolar forms are primitive among centric diatoms.     

Zebrafish puma mutant decouples pigment pattern and somatic metamorphosis

The genetic and developmental bases for trait expression and variation in adults are largely unknown. One system in which genes and cell behaviors underlying adult traits can be elucidated is the larval-to-adult transformation of zebrafish, Danio rerio. Metamorphosis in this and many other teleost fishes resembles amphibian metamorphosis, as a variety of larval traits (e.g., fins, skin, digestive tract, sensory systems) are remodeled in a coordinated manner to generate the adult form. Among these traits is the pigment pattern, which comprises several neural crest-derived pigment cell classes, including black melanophores, yellow xanthophores, and iridescent iridophores. D. rerio embryos and early larvae exhibit a relatively simple pattern of melanophore stripes, but this pattern is transformed during metamorphosis into the more complex pattern of the adult, consisting of alternating dark (melanophore, iridophore) and light (xanthophore, iridophore) horizontal stripes. While it is clear that some pigment cells differentiate de novo during pigment pattern metamorphosis, the extent to which larval and adult pigment patterns are developmentally independent has not been known. In this study, we show that a subset of embryonic/early larval melanophores persists into adult stages in wild-type fish; thus, larval and adult pigment patterns are not completely independent in this species. We also analyze puma mutant zebrafish, derived from a forward genetic screen to isolate mutations affecting postembryonic development. In puma mutants, a wild-type embryonic/early larval pigment pattern forms, but supernumerary early larval melanophores persist in ectopic locations through juvenile and adult stages. We then show that, although puma mutants undergo a somatic metamorphosis at the same time as wild-type fish, metamorphic melanophores that normally appear during these stages are absent. The puma mutation thus decouples metamorphosis of the pigment pattern from the metamorphosis of many other traits. Nevertheless, puma mutants ultimately recover large numbers of melanophores and exhibit extensive pattern regulation during juvenile development, when the wild-type pigment pattern already would be completed. Finally, we demonstrate that the puma mutant is both temperature-sensitive and growth-sensitive: extremely severe pigment pattern defects result at a high temperature, a high growth rate, or both; whereas a wild-type pigment pattern can be rescued at a low temperature and a low growth rate. Taken together, these results provide new insights into zebrafish pigment pattern metamorphosis and the capacity for pattern regulation when normal patterning mechanisms go awry.     

Synergistic action of nectins and cadherins generates the mosaic cellular pattern of the olfactory epithelium

In the olfactory epithelium (OE), olfactory cells (OCs) and supporting cells (SCs), which express different cadherins, are arranged in a characteristic mosaic pattern in which OCs are enclosed by SCs. However, the mechanism underlying this cellular patterning is unclear. Here, we show that the cellular pattern of the OE is established by cellular rearrangements during development. In the OE, OCs express nectin-2 and N-cadherin, and SCs express nectin-2, nectin-3, E-cadherin, and N-cadherin. Heterophilic trans-interaction between nectin-2 on OCs and nectin-3 on SCs preferentially recruits cadherin via α-catenin to heterotypic junctions, and the differential distributions of cadherins between junctions promote cellular intercalations, resulting in the formation of the mosaic pattern. These observations are confirmed by model cell systems, and various cellular patterns are generated by the combinatorial expression of nectins and cadherins. Collectively, the synergistic action of nectins and cadherins generates mosaic pattern, which cannot be achieved by a single mechanism.     

A model for basic pattern generating mechanisms in the lobster stomatogastric ganglion

The stomatogastric ganglion of the lobster contains three central pattern generators-the pyloric, lateral gastric and medial gastric systems. These networks are modelled using a simple neural model in which the only variable parameters are the synaptic potentials and thresholds for each cell. In each case a model network with the appropriate synaptic connections reproduces the main features of the observed output patterns. The basic pattern generating mechanisms are quite different for each of these model networks. For the pyloric and lateral gastric systems our results confirm previously suggested mechanisms. For the medial gastric system we have determined a network which explains pattern generation; no satisfactory mechanism was previously known.     

Young dentate granule cells mediate pattern separation, whereas old granule cells facilitate pattern completion

Adult-born granule cells (GCs), a minor population of cells in the hippocampal dentate gyrus, are highly active during the first few weeks after functional integration into the neuronal network, distinguishing them from less active, older adult-born GCs and the major population of dentate GCs generated developmentally. To ascertain whether young and old GCs perform distinct memory functions, we created a transgenic mouse in which output of old GCs was specifically inhibited while leaving a substantial portion of young GCs intact. These mice exhibited enhanced or normal pattern separation between similar contexts, which was reduced following ablation of young GCs. Furthermore, these mutant mice exhibited deficits in rapid pattern completion. Therefore, pattern separation requires adult-born young GCs but not old GCs, and older GCs contribute to the rapid recall by pattern completion. Our data suggest that as adult-born GCs age, their function switches from pattern separation to rapid pattern completion.     

主题分辨率对NDVI空间格局的影响

景观格局与尺度的相互关系一直是景观生态学的研究重点。景观生态学中的尺度内涵包括时间、空间和分析（观察）等。近年来景观格局与空间、时间尺度关系受到广泛关注,而分析尺度对格局的影响探讨较少。地理空间信息的主题分辨率反映了地理空间信息的制图细节,即专题图的分类数。以NDVI（Normalized Difference Vegetation Index）为专题图内容,选择福州行政区、福州城区和永泰县为研究区域,通过改变NDVI分类数,研究主题分辨率对空间格局的影响。NDVI格局指数包括：斑块数量（NP）、最大斑块占景观面积比例（LPI）、斑块平均大小（AREA-MN）、面积加权平均形状指数（SHAPE-AM）、面积加权平均分维数（FRAC-AM）、蔓延度指数（CONTAG）、散步与并列指数（IJI）、香农多样性指数（SHDI）。结果表明格局指数对主题分辨率（分类数）的连续响应特征如下：初始条件敏感区（分类数2—4类）、敏感响应区（分类数为4—8类）、适合分析尺度区（分类数8—12类）、不敏感区（分类数≥12类）;格局指数与主题分辨率的关系有对数增长、线性增长和幂函数下降等。分析尺度对NDVI空间格局影响的本质原因是相对应的生态系统等级结构的存在