Comparing multiple correspondence and principal component analyses with biomechanical signals. Example with turning the steering wheel

The purpose of this article is to compare Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and a much less used method, i.e. MCA (Multiple Correspondence Analysis) with data being first changed into membership values to fuzzy space windows. For such a comparison, data from an experimental study about turning the steering wheel is used. In a didactic perspective, this article only considers one multidimensional signal with 5 components: 3 linked to the steering wheel angle and hand positions and 2 to hand effort variables. A discussion weighs out the pros and the cons of both methods with criteria such as the possibility to show complex relational phenomena, the analysis/computing time or the information loss inherent to the averaging stage (in the perspective to analyze several hundreds of large multidimensional signals).     

The monoclonal antibody 22/18 recognizes a conformational change in an intermediate filament of the newt,Notophthalmus viridescens,during limb regeneration

Summary Previous work has shown that the monoclonal antibody 22/18 identifies progenitor cells (blastemal cells) which depend on the nerve for their division in the early stages of limb regeneration in the newt,Notophthalmus viridescens. This antibody also reacts with cultured cells derived from the newt limb, and the intensity of immunoreactivity appears related to cell density and differentiation into myotubes. We report here that the monoclonal antibody 22/18 recognizes a polypeptide (22/18 antigen) which is intracellular and filamentous. Double staining of cells with 22/18 monoclonal antibody and antibodies against various cytoskeletal components indicates that the epitope is expressed on an intermediate filament component. Although this antibody is specific for blastemal cells in cryostat sections of the regenerating limb, its reactivity on immunoblots is not confined to this tissue. The 22/18 antigen is differentially affected by aldehyde fixatives distinguished by the spacing of their reactive groups. While formaldehyde fixation impairs detection of the antigen, ethylene glycol-bis[succinic acid n-hydroxysuccinimide ester] reveals the antigen in sections of normal and regenerating limbs in a distribution that is consistent with the one obtained from immunoblots. We suggest that the 22/18 monoclonal antibody detects a change in protein conformation, probably related to changes in the physiological state of the cell, that occurs transiently during regeneration and possibly during development.     

Structure and growth pattern of the bizarre hemispheric prominence on the rostrum of the fossil beaked whale Globicetus hiberus (Mammalia,Cetacea, Ziphiidae)

The rostrum of most ziphiids (beaked whales) displays bizarre swollen regions, accompanied with extreme hypermineralisation and an alteration of the collagenous mesh of the bone. The functional significance of this specialization remains obscure. With the voluminous and dense hemispheric excrescence protruding from the premaxillae, the recently described fossil ziphiid Globicetus hiberus is the most spectacular case. This study describes the histological structure and interprets the growth pattern of this unique feature. Histologically, the prominence in Globicetus is made up of an atypical fibro‐lamellar complex displaying an irregular laminar organization and extreme compactness (osteosclerosis). Its development is suggested to have resulted from a protraction of periosteal accretion over the premaxillae, long after the end of somatic growth. Complex shifts in the geometry of this tissue are likely to have occurred during its accretion and no indication of Haversian remodeling could be found. X‐ray diffraction and Raman spectroscopy indicate that the bone matrix in the premaxillary prominence of Globicetus closely resembles that of the rostrum of the extant beaked whale Mesoplodon densirostris: apatite crystals are of common size and strongly oriented, but the collagenous meshwork within bone matrix seems to be extremely sparse. These morphological and structural data are discussed in the light of functional interpretations proposed for the highly unusual and diverse ziphiid rostrum. J. Morphol. 277:1292–1308, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.     

Chloroplast DNA phylogeography of Fagus crenata (Fagaceae) in Japan

 CpDNA variation in Japanese beech, Fagus crenata (Fagaceae), was studied in 45 populations distributed throughout the species' range. Two cpDNA regions were sequenced: the non-coding region between the trnL (UAA) 5′exon and trnF (GAA), and the trnK region (including matK). Thirteen distinct cpDNA haplotypes were recognized and each haplotype was found to be geographically structured. Two major clades (I and II+III) were revealed in phylogenetic analyses among the haplotypes using F. sylvatica as an outgroup. The haplotypes of Clade I were distributed mainly along the Japan Sea side of the Japanese Archipelago, while those of Clade II+III occurred chiefly along the Pacific Ocean side. Consequently, the distribution of the two major cpDNA clades suggests that there were two migration routes in the history of F. crenata; one along the Japan Sea and the other along the Pacific Ocean side of the Japanese Islands. Received March 19, 2001 Accepted November 22, 2001     

The Ca2+ channel β2 subunit is selectively targeted to the axon terminals of supraoptic neurons

The assembly of high voltage-activated Ca²⁺ channels with different β subunits influences channel properties and possibly subcellular targeting. We studied β subunit expression in the somata and axon terminals of the magnocellular neurosecretory cells, which are located in the supraoptic nucleus (SON) and neurohypophysis, respectively. Antibodies directed against the 4 Ca_Vβ subunits (Ca_Vβ₁-Ca_Vβ₄) were used for immunoblots and for immunostaining of slices of these two tissues. We found that all 4 β subunits are expressed in both locations, but that Ca_Vβ₂ had the highest relative expression in the neurohypophysis. These data suggest that the Ca_Vβ₂ subunit is selectively targeted to axon terminals and may play a role in targeting and/or regulating the properties of Ca²⁺ channels.     

Ants adjust their pheromone deposition to a changing environment and their probability of making errors

Animals must contend with an ever-changing environment. Social animals, especially eusocial insects such as ants and bees, rely heavily on communication for their success. However, in a changing environment, communicated information can become rapidly outdated. This is a particular problem for pheromone trail using ants, as once deposited pheromones cannot be removed. Here, we study the response of ant foragers to an environmental change. Ants were trained to one feeder location, and the feeder was then moved to a different location. We found that ants responded to an environmental change by strongly upregulating pheromone deposition immediately after experiencing the change. This may help maintain the colony''s foraging flexibility, and allow multiple food locations to be exploited simultaneously. Our treatment also caused uncertainty in the foragers, by making their memories less reliable. Ants which had made an error but eventually found the food source upregulated pheromone deposition when returning to the nest. Intriguingly, ants on their way towards the food source downregulated pheromone deposition if they were going to make an error. This may suggest that individual ants can measure the reliability of their own memories and respond appropriately.     

Preadapted for invasiveness: do species traits or their plastic response to shading differ between invasive and non‐invasive plant species in their native range?

Aim Species capable of vigorous growth under a wide range of environmental conditions should have a higher chance of becoming invasive after introduction into new regions. High performance across environments can be achieved either by constitutively expressed traits that allow for high resource uptake under different environmental conditions or by adaptive plasticity of traits. Here we test whether invasive and non‐invasive species differ in presumably adaptive plasticity. Location Europe (for native species); the rest of the world and North America in particular (for alien species). Methods We selected 14 congeneric pairs of European herbaceous species that have all been introduced elsewhere. One species of each pair is highly invasive elsewhere in the world, particularly so in North America, whereas the other species has not become invasive or has spread only to a limited degree. We grew native plant material of the 28 species under shaded and non‐shaded conditions in a common garden experiment, and measured biomass production and morphological traits that are frequently related to shade tolerance and avoidance. Results Invasive species had higher shoot–root ratios, tended to have longer leaf‐blades, and produced more biomass than congeneric non‐invasive species both under shaded and non‐shaded conditions. Plants responded to shading by increasing shoot–root ratios and specific leaf area. Surprisingly, these shade‐induced responses, which are widely considered to be adaptive, did not differ between invasive and non‐invasive species. Main conclusions We conclude that high biomass production across different light environments pre‐adapts species to become invasive, and that this is not mediated by plasticities of the morphological traits that we measured.