The influence of the retinal inhomogeneity on the perception of spatial patterns.
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OBJECTIVES: After unification in 1990 the two parts of Germany underwent a complex process that has led to convergence of infant mortality. The pattern of change did, however, differ in east and west. This study investigates whether these differences conceal a complex pattern of heterogeneity at the regional level. METHODS: Examination of routine data on infant, neonatal and postneonatal mortality. Time trends in the 16 federal states of Germany (Länder) from 1991 to 1997 were studied using a log-linear model. RESULTS: In 1991, infant mortality was higher in almost all eastern Länder than in the west. By 1997, this east-west gap had disappeared. Over this period, infant mortality fell in all Länder but one. The decline was steepest in the east, ranging from 31% to 52%. Improvements were largely due to steep declines in both neonatal and postneonatal mortality. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that, at the time of unification, there was an almost complete demarcation between east and west, a pattern that disappeared by 1997. There is, however, still a substantial regional variation in infant mortality that is largely determined by postneonatal mortality.
Concentrations of selenium and five heavy metals (lead, cadmium, mercury, chromium, and manganese) in the eggs of herring gulls (Larus argentatus) were studied at six breeding colonies in the New York Bight to detect locational differences and to explore their use as a bioindicator of point source or nonpoint source pollution. The herring gull is widespread in North America, Europe, and Asia, and has urban-adapted counterparts in the southern hemisphere as well. We anticipated that the chromium contamination at Jersey City and high levels of manganese in industrial releases to the Passaic River would be reflected in the nearest colony (Shooter's Island), and that lead contamination from bridge remediation would be apparent in the Jamaica Bay colonies. There were significant locational differences in all metal levels, although the patterns were not the same for all metals. Shooter's Island in Newark Bay ranked first or second for five of the elements, but inexplicably had the lowest mercury level. Cadmium levels were highest at Canarsie Pol in Jamaica Bay, but mercury levels were highest at the relatively isolated Lavallette colony in northern Barnegat Bay. Chromium and manganese levels were indeed highest at Shooter's Island, but the lead levels in Jamaica Bay were only intermediate. We predicted that the essential trace elements, manganese, chromium, and selenium, which are known to be present at relatively high concentrations in various animal species, would have relatively low coefficients of variation, reflecting homeostatic mechanisms. This was confirmed. In conclusion, herring gull egg contents can be used to monitor metal concentrations at nearby colonies to indicate areas of concern for particular metals. They may confirm suspected associations or identify hitherto unsuspected problems.
INTRODUCTION: There are controversies over the pattern of glial differentiation in spinal open neural tube defect (ONTD) at the prenatal stage. A surgical model of ONTD allows a more precise comparison of glial differentiation between the ONTD and control groups than chemical and genetic models. MATERIALS AND METHODS: To investigate the influence of ONTDs on the patterns of glial differentiation, ONTDs were induced by surgery using Hamburger and Hamilton stage 18 or 19 chick embryos. The spinal cord tissues on postoperative days (POD) 5, 7, 10, and 14 were processed to observe astrocytic, radial glial, and microglial differentiations by glial fibrillary acid protein (GFAP), vimentin and ricinus communis agglutinin-I (RCA-I) stainings, respectively. Four embryos were assigned to subgroups of each POD. Control embryos ( n=4) were staged but the neural tubes were not incised. RESULTS: In the control group, GFAP positivity was shown faintly at the dorsal midline on embryonic day (E) 10 (corresponding to POD 7), in the ventral one-third of the white matter on E 13 and in the whole white matter on E 17. Embryos with ONTDs showed earlier and stronger GFAP positivity from POD 7-14, especially at the dorsal surface and the adjacent gray matter. In the control group, vimentin staining demonstrated a positive reaction at the midline with positivity in a faint, radial pattern on E 8 and E 10. This had all disappeared by E 13 and 17. In embryos with ONTDs, vimentin positivity was enhanced and persisted from POD 5-14. These findings were prominent along the dorsal surface of ONTDs. No difference in RCA-I staining was found between the control and ONTD groups. CONCLUSION: The results reveal that ONTD promotes astrocytic differentiation and prolongs expression of radial glial fibers, which seems to be a reaction to the damage caused by exposure of the spinal cord tissue to amniotic fluid.
It is shown that contrast interrelation functions for small compound gratings and for small compound edge-type patterns have different shapes: the former are lozenges, the latter ellipses in the normalised contrast space. These findings can be described by a simple p-norm model, comprising one channel which is most sensitive to the first pattern, another channel which is most sensitive to the second pattern and a non-linear summation of the channel outputs. Since the value of the summation exponent p is constant within but varies between pattern classes, an interpretation of the model parameters is limited to pattern class. Channel models based on the p-norm are discussed, taking into account the interpretation of the first derivative of the contrast interrelation function and the summation exponent, p.
Using the TWIFOR, an electronic device for continuous, in vivo measurement of the forces exerted by twining vines, we examined the forces generated by vines growing on cylindrical poles of slender (6.35 mm) and thicker (19.05 mm) diameter. In stems of Ipomoea purpurea (L.) Roth. magnitudes of twining force (axial tensions) were, on average, less at a particular time and location on the more slender poles; while twining loads (normal force per unit length of vine) were much greater on the slender poles because of the greater curvature of the vines. Thus, the geometry of the helix formed by the vine on the pole affects the ability of the vine to maintain a frictional interaction with its support. In addition, the plant-to-plant variation in twining force was twice as great on the thicker support poles. Metaxylem and fibers developed closer to the plant apex in vines on the slender poles. On the thicker poles, a significant fraction of the maximum twining force developed during the establishment of the first gyre, before fibers were lignified, indicating that primary growth can be sufficient to establish high twining forces. On the slender poles, however, twining force increased with developmental stage until the gyre was at least 1.5 m from the apex. Thus, twining force can increase after cessation of primary growth. No simple relationship was found between the site of fiber differentiation and twining force.
Cbfa1, a transcription factor of the runt family, was recently shown to be a key regulator in skeletal development in mammals. In the present study, we identified the cbfa1 gene from the medaka, Oryzias latipes. The amino acid sequence, including the runt domain, is highly conserved with that of mammalian cbfa1. Whole mount in situ hybridization showed that the medaka cbfa1 was expressed prominently in immature osteoblasts and chondrocytes of the developing skeletal structures during embryogenesis. The expression pattern suggests functional and evolutionary implications of the cbfa1 gene in chondrocyte differentiation between teleosts and mammals.
To investigate the possible role of phosphorylation of protein tyrosine during myofibrillogenesis (6- to 13-somite stages) of the chicken embryonic heart tube, immunolocalization of phosphotyrosine (P-Tyr) and the relationship between P-Tyr and developing myofibrils were studied by means of confocal scanning laser microscopy and immuno-electron microscopy. The staining pattern of P-Tyr varied in different sites of myocytes at different stages of embryonic development: At the cell-cell boundaries, P-Tyr was localized at the adhesion belt of outer myocardial layer cells (6- to 13-somite stages), non-junctional cell-cell contacts (6- to 13-somite stages) and early intercalated disks of both the outer and inner myocardial layer cells (8- to 13-somite stages). At the cell-extracellular matrix boundaries of inner layer cells, the first stages of myofibril formation appeared as serially aligned areas of P-Tyr localization closely associated with circumferentially aligned thick actin bundles (8- to 9-somite stages). This P-Tyr immunostaining decreased when the thick actin bundles developed into mature striated myofibrils at the 10- to 13-somite stages. These findings suggest that the phosphorylation of protein tyrosine residues is primarily concentrated at the modulating cell-cell and cell-matrix adhesion sites of developing myocytes and myofibrils.
Phytoseiid mites were sampled in a grapefruit orchard at various times of the day to study their diurnal and seasonal distributions in the tree canopy. Samples were collected on 14, 20 and 28 October 1999 at 2 h intervals from 0600 to 2200 h. Similar samples were collected in a grapefruit orchard at 3 h intervals from 0600 to 2100 h on 9 and 16 March and on 17 and 24 August 2000 for phytoseiid mites. No differences in numbers of phytoseiid motiles were observed among the hours sampled in any of the three months. However, significant differences were observed in the number of phytoseiids per leaf based on location within the tree (eastern, western sides of the canopy or interior). Interior leaves collected in March and August 2000 had higher numbers of phytoseiids than exterior leaves taken from either the eastern or western sides of the tree canopy. Phytoseiids were more abundant in the March 2000 samples (mean = 1.10 phytoseiids/leaf) than in either October 1999 or August 2000 samples (mean = 0.16 and 0.19 phytoseiids/leaf, respectively). Prevalent phytoseiid species were Typhlodromalus peregrinus (Muma) (42.1%) and Iphiseiodes quadripilis (Banks) (50.4%) in October 1999, Typhlodromalus peregrinus (Muma) (76.2%) in March 2000, and Euseius mesembrinus (Dean) (54%) in August 2000.
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Mean values of eight contaminants in Herring Gull (Larus argentatus) eggs were calculated for 15 Great Lakes sites for the 5 year period 1998-2002. The sites were ranked according to the concentrations of each of seven compounds relative to fish flesh criteria for the protection of piscivorous wildlife, and a single overall rank of contamination was calculated for each site. Based on this weighted ranking scheme, we found that sum PCBs, dioxin and DDE contributed the most (60.2, 30.5% and 8.5%, respectively) to the overall rankings. The weighted ranking scheme showed that eggs from Channel-Shelter Island (Saginaw Bay, Lake Huron), Strachan Island (St. Lawrence River) and Gull Island (northern Lake Michigan) ranked as the three most contaminated sites, while Agawa Rocks (eastern Lake Superior), Chantry Island (southern Lake Huron) and Port Colborne (eastern Lake Erie) ranked as the three least contaminated sites. Two of the three most contaminated sites are Areas of Concern; none of the three least contaminated sites are Areas of Concern.
Regulatory peptides of the TGF-beta family affect various aspects of embryonic development. Recent immunolocalization and in situ hybridization studies have demonstrated a specific time- and tissue-dependent expression of TGF-beta 1 in the developing mouse embryo. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the distribution of TGF-beta 1 within rat molars at different stages of development, using a well-characterized antibody, highly specific for TGF-beta 1, and immunohistochemical methods of detection. TGF-beta 1 was immunolocalized intensely within the ectodermally derived stellate reticulum and the mesenchyme of the dental papilla at the bell stage of development. Marked immunostaining was also evident in the papillary layer and the reduced dental organ subjacent to ameloblasts in the differentiation and secretory phases of amelogenesis. During the formation of coronal tissues and in the pre-eruptive phase, immunoreactive TGF-beta 1 was localized conspicuously within the dental follicle overlying the tooth germ. This temporospatial pattern of expression of TGF-beta 1 appears to correlate with specific events in morphogenesis, histogenesis and cytodifferentiation during tooth development.
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Our recent studies have shown that chick embryo epiphyseal cartilage synthesizes three distinct species of proteoglycan (PG-H, PG-Lb, and PG-Lt) which are analogous in having glycosaminoglycan side chains of the chondroitin (dermatan) sulfate type but different from one another in regard to the structure of core protein. In the present report, the expression of PG-H and PG-Lb has been studied in developing chick hind limbs (stages 19-33), using antibodies specific for these substances in indirect immunofluorescence. At the onset of cartilage morphogenesis (stage 24), PG-H became recognizable in the cartilage primordia, whereas a parallel section stained for PG-Lb showed no reaction. The first evidence of PG-Lb appearance was seen in a stage 28 cartilage (e.g., tibia) in which the cells in the middiaphysis became elongated in a direction perpendicular to the long axis of the cartilage. The PG-Lb fluorescence was confined to the zone of these flattened, disc-like cells, whereas the fluorescence for PG-H was uniformly distributed throughout the cartilage. With further development of cartilage (stage 29 approximately), the zone of flattened cells spread proximally and distally, and simultaneously large hypertrophied cells appeared at the diaphyseal region. During these zonal changes of cell morphology, the PG-Lb fluorescence remained restricted to the zone of flattened cells. Parallel sections stained for PG-H, in contrast, showed an evenly distributed pattern of the PG-H fluorescence throughout the cartilage. The results indicate that the appearance of PG-Lb is closely associated with the zonal changes of cell shape and orientation along the proximal-distal axis of the developing limb cartilage, and further suggest that the flattened chondrocytes in this particular zone have undergone additional changes in gene expression to form an extracellular matrix of still another chemical property.
Feather germs arise in a specific sequence and spatio-temporal pattern within each of 10 feather areas on the White Leghorn chick embryo. The time of feather germ initiation was determined by histological and gross macroscopic analyses. Protruding feather germs are sequentially visualized in the dorsal, thigh, breast, head, humoral, ventral, wing, eye, and external auditory meatus feather areas, respectively, from stage 31- to stage 39+ [V. Hamburger and H.L. Hamilton (1951) J. Morphol. 88, 49-92]. The rate at which successive feather tracts appear was found to differ for different feather areas and was not simply due to the size of a feather area. Feather germ histogenesis was examined in the dorsal, thigh, breast, ventral, wing, and tail feather areas. The stages of feather germ histogenesis, examined on the wing feather area, are similar to those previously described for the dorsal surface. Gross and histological analyses gave different times and temporal sequences of feather germ visualization. Some feather areas were readily visualized at the time of feather germ initiation, while others showed a lag between the histological appearance of feather germs and their macroscopic visualization. Thus, macroscopic observations do not accurately reflect the pattern of histogenesis.
Metallothioneins (MTs) are small, cysteine-rich proteins that bind heavy metals which induce their synthesis. Tissue fractionation of embryos at pluteus stage previously demonstrated that in the absence of added zinc, basal expression of MT mRNA is confined to ectoderm, whereas induction by zinc results in increased expression in the endoderm + mesoderm tissue fraction. Using in situ hybridization we now show that expression in the pluteus larva is restricted almost exclusively to the single cell type comprising the aboral ectoderm. Induction by Zn results in a marked accumulation of MT mRNA in gut and oral ectoderm to levels at least as high as that in aboral ectoderm. MT mRNA is also expressed in presumptive aboral ectoderm at earlier stages of normal development. In addition it is transiently expressed at variable levels in oral ectoderm and, to a lesser extent, in presumptive gut.