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We report a novel application of computerized morphometric analysis in the diagnosis of Hirschsprung’s disease (HD). HD is an important cause of constipation in children. Traditionally, HD has been diagnosed by the evaluation of ...
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We report a novel application of computerized morphometric analysis in the diagnosis of Hirschsprung’s disease (HD). HD is an important cause of constipation in children. Traditionally, HD has been diagnosed by the evaluation of full thickness rectal biopsy. Mucosal suction biopsy is, however, now gaining acceptance as the method of choice. The principal methods employed for its diagnosis in histopathology are evaluation of hematoxylin-eosin (H-E)–stained sections and acetylcholinesterase (AChE) staining on frozen sections. Immunohistochemistry has also been applied widely in this area.1 Two of the common immunohistochemical markers applied by various authors are neuron-specific enolase2 and S-100.3-6 However, there is no single method by which one can arrive at the diagnosis, as each of the available methods has its own limitations and cannot be applied in every situation. The role of computerized morphometric analysis in the diagnosis of HD has not been evaluated in any previous study. Hence we have tried to assess the diagnostic utility of S-100 staining interpretation by computerized morphometry.
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Previous morphological studies on Neomys fodiens and Neomys anomalus describe a pronounced ecological variance, mainly attributed to altitudinal and/or climatic conditions especially for Neomys fodiens. The major aim of this study...
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Previous morphological studies on Neomys fodiens and Neomys anomalus describe a pronounced ecological variance, mainly attributed to altitudinal and/or climatic conditions especially for Neomys fodiens. The major aim of this study was to find out whether there are intraspecific geographic variations related to cranial morphometry. Two different methods were used: classical linear measurements and modern geometric morphometric 2D method. Shrew skulls from Germany and Slovakia separated into different regional groups were studied. For Neomys fodiens, the linear method showed a clearer separation than the geometric method, whereby the skull measures CBL and CORH followed Bergmann's rule, which could be explained with an allopatric living. Both methods produced various results for the characters in which the groups differed the most. For N. anomalus, the selectivity was high in both methods, with similar results. The linear skull measures were heterogeneous, which may possibly have been caused by an interspecific competition with N. fodiens. The lengths of the unicuspid teeth of the maxilla showed the strongest variation between the regions, which might be associated with a different prey selection. Likewise, a non-metric study on N. fodiens was performed to obtain knowledge about the epigenetic variability. There was no sign for significant epigenetic impoverishment (I-ev = 0.42), and the degrees of the epigenetic distances (MMD = 0.01 to 0.06) indicated a small differentiation between the N. fodiens groups. The fluctuating asymmetry (FA = 0.15 to 0.21) is rather small by comparison with other mammals. So, there is only a small indication of reduced developmental stability in all regional groups, but with an increase from south to north.
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There is as yet no agreement about the criteria by which to arrive at an imaging diagnosis of a vertebral fracture. Because high-grade fractures result in alterations in vertebral shape, 1 possible avenue of diagnosis has been to ...
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There is as yet no agreement about the criteria by which to arrive at an imaging diagnosis of a vertebral fracture. Because high-grade fractures result in alterations in vertebral shape, 1 possible avenue of diagnosis has been to quantitate changes in vertebral shape. The result has been a variety of methods for the relative and absolute measurements of vertebral dimensions. Such measurements have also lent themselves to automated computed analysis. The number of techniques reflects the absence of any consensus about the best. The semiquantitative technique proposed by Genant has become the most widely used and has served the field well for comparative purposes. Its use in higher grade fractures has been widely endorsed, if some concepts (e.g., short vertebral height vertebrae) are at variance with lower grades of fracturing. Vertebral morphometry may be the only recourse in high volume epidemiological and interventional studies.
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Fruit flies (Tephritidae) include pests of quarantine importance, some of which belong to the genus Anastrepha. Some species in this group are difficult to identify. We tested the accuracy of morphometric techniques to distinguish...
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Fruit flies (Tephritidae) include pests of quarantine importance, some of which belong to the genus Anastrepha. Some species in this group are difficult to identify. We tested the accuracy of morphometric techniques to distinguish three species of the fraterculus group (A. fraterculus, A. obliqua, and A. sororcula), using images of the aculeus and wing. The geometric morphometrics of the wings, using 17 landmarks, indicated differences in the wing shape of each species, separating them successfully into distinct groups. The conventional morphometrics of seven measurements of the aculeus tip, by linear discriminant analysis, also indicated differences in the species, separating them into three groups.
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The annual killifish genus Austrolebias includes approximately 38 species distributed throughout the ParancL-Plata basin and Patos-Mercn system. Within the Austrolebias adloffi species complex, the Uruguayan populations of Austrol...
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The annual killifish genus Austrolebias includes approximately 38 species distributed throughout the ParancL-Plata basin and Patos-Mercn system. Within the Austrolebias adloffi species complex, the Uruguayan populations of Austrolebias charrua were considered as an intergradation between A. adloffi and Austrolebias viarius populations. Austrolebias charrua presents an intermediate phenotype between both taxa and high levels of morphological and chromatic variability. In the present study, we incorporate different methodological approaches (molecular, morphology, and gamete ultrastructure) to elucidate the pattern of differentiation among the parapatric taxa (A. charrua, Austrolebias reicherti, A. viarius) distributed in a Biosphere Reserve Site. Analyses of cytochrome b sequences show high values of DNA polymorphism, in particular for A. charrua. This is in accordance with both morphological and gametic variation. Using a statistical parsimony network based on these sequences and analysis of morphological data, past fragmentation and range expansion involving perhaps secondary contact between A. charrua and A. reicherti could be proposed. Coloration pattern and morphometric analyses showed an unexpected higher similarity between the most distantly-related taxa, A. viarius and A. charrua. This could be the result of retention of ancestral polymorphisms, especially in A. charrua populations from ponds of higher elevation, or to directional selection acting in similar ecological environments. Because these annual killifish species are considered endangered, our work reinforces the high priority need to include them in a conservation programme.
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The morphometry, length-weight and condition index of green mussel P. viridis (L.) from St Mary's Island, off Malpe, near Udupi, were examined from December 2004 to December 2005. The calculated regression equations between length...
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The morphometry, length-weight and condition index of green mussel P. viridis (L.) from St Mary's Island, off Malpe, near Udupi, were examined from December 2004 to December 2005. The calculated regression equations between length and breadth and length and width for the entire study period were L=0.5071+ 0.3921B and L=0.0179 + 0.3225W respectively. The monthly b values of length-breadth and length-width relationships varied from 0.3636 (March 2005) to 0.4374 (December 2004) and from 0.3022 (December 2005) to 0.3466 (August 2005) respectively. The data on length-total weight (W=0.0986Lpo.#t#e), length-wet tissue weight (W=0.031Lpo."p#"pd), length-dry weight (W=0.005Lpo.#pdpd") and length-shell weight (W=0.0351Lpd.ep#) showed a nonlinear pattern. The coefficient of allometry (b) values ranged from 2.7949 (April 2005) to 3.0999 (September 2005) for length-total weight relationship and from 1.5203 (August 2005) to 3.328 (March 2005) for length-dry weight relationship. The monthly mean values of the condition index varied from 5.17 (December 2004) to 7.76 (November 2005). The variation in condition index followed the breeding period and seasons. The maximum condition index (22-24) was recoded in May 2005. Based on the data on condition, it is suggested that the ideal period for commercial exploitation of Perna viridis from the Island is from March to August, when the meat yield is the highest. The hierarchical cluster analysis using complete linkage showed three major groups of biological parameters of mussels. The PCA showed a total of five components, which together accounted for 89.31% of total variance. The first component accounted for 44.08% of variance, followed by second component for 18.02% and the third component for 11.66% of variance. The remaining fourth and fifth components together accounted for 15.55% of variance.
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Abstract Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD ) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interactions, communication and stereotyped behaviour. Recent evidence from neuroimaging supports the hypothesis thatA...
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Abstract Autistic spectrum disorder (ASD ) is a neurodevelopmental disorder characterized by deficits in social interactions, communication and stereotyped behaviour. Recent evidence from neuroimaging supports the hypothesis thatASD deficits in adults may be related to abnormalities in a specific frontaltemporal network [Autismspecific Structural Network (ASN )]. To see whether these results extend to younger children and to better characterize these abnormalities, we applied three morphometric methods on brain grey matter (GM) of children with and withoutASD . We selected 39sMRI images of male children withASD and 42 typically developing (TD ) from the Autism Brain Imaging Data Exchange database. We used sourcebased morphometry (SoBM ), a wholebrain multivariate approach to identify GM networks, voxelbased morphometry (VBM ), a voxelwise comparison of the local GM concentration and surfacebased morphometry (SuBM ) for the estimation of the cortical parameters. SoBM showed a bilateral frontalparietaltemporal network different between groups, including the inferiormiddle temporal gyrus, the inferior parietal lobule and the postcentral gyrus;VBM returned differences only in the right temporal lobe; SuBM returned a thinning in the right inferior temporal lobe thinner inASD , a higher gyrification in the right superior parietal lobule inTD and in the middle frontal gyrus inASD . For the first time, we investigated the brain abnormalities in children withASD using three morphometric techniques. The results were relatively consistent between methods, stressing the role of an Autismspecific Structural Network inASD individuals. We also make methodological speculations on the relevance of using multivariate and wholebrain neuroimaging analysis to captureASD complexity.
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In volcanology, 2D morphometric analysis is a method often applied for quantitative characterization of eruptive products, used to compare tephra from different events or phases, infer eruptive styles and underlying clast generati...
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In volcanology, 2D morphometric analysis is a method often applied for quantitative characterization of eruptive products, used to compare tephra from different events or phases, infer eruptive styles and underlying clast generating mechanisms, or describe the aerodynamic behavior of tephra. Such particle shape analyses can be conducted using particle silhouettes or cross-sectional slices, obtained under by means of electron or optical microscope imagery. Over the course of the last years, a number of different morphometric systems have been used. Each of them uses its own nomenclature and mathematical definitions of shape-describing parameters, some of which can only be obtained using specific commercial software. With the PARTIcal Shape ANalyzer PARTISAN we present a freeware tool which parameterizes 2D shapes and provides a suite of shape descriptors, following the respective standards of the five most commonly used 2D morphometric systems. Use of PARTISAN will enable the user to study and archive the results of particle shape analysis in a format compatible with various published routines, thus increasing the potential for linking new work with results of work previously published by other groups. It will allow as well the cross-comparison of results obtained by these morphological routines. PARTISAN hence could be seen as a “Rosetta Stone” for volcanological particle morphometry, and opens the way towards an inter-group effort for a standardized 2D description of particle shapes.
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Morphometries can be an important tool in systematic studies, providing taxonomists with strong elements of quantification and formal hypothesis testing. Here, these tools are tested for the trilobite Leptoplastides marianus (Hoek...
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Morphometries can be an important tool in systematic studies, providing taxonomists with strong elements of quantification and formal hypothesis testing. Here, these tools are tested for the trilobite Leptoplastides marianus (Hoek) which was originally described on the basis of three deformed specimens from west Tarija, Bolivia. Following the conclusions of Harrington & Leanza, a wide range of morphological variation is accepted for this species, and the name was applied to a large number of specimens from north-western Argentina. Based on specimens collected from the quebrada Moya (Huacalera, Jujuy), as well as on material in the Harrington & Leanza collections in the University of Buenos Aires, traditional morphometric and geometric morphometric methods were used to evaluate the variation of the cranidial shape of L. marianus sensu Harrington & Leanza. The results allow discrimination between two clearly different morphotypes. The name L. marianus should be restricted to the type specimens, given the deformation of these materials. In addition, L. argentinensis and L. granulosus are both valid names for the two morphotypes recognized in the present paper.
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Bess beetles are sapro-xillophagous insects that inhabit decaying logs. They display sub-social behavior and acoustic communication. Adults produce sounds with an abdomino-alary stridulatory system. The sixth abdominal tergum has ...
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Bess beetles are sapro-xillophagous insects that inhabit decaying logs. They display sub-social behavior and acoustic communication. Adults produce sounds with an abdomino-alary stridulatory system. The sixth abdominal tergum has lateral protuberances with spines (pars stridens), whereas the hind wings have spines in the radial cell (plectrum). The potential taxonomic utility of these spines has not been studied. We evaluated the variation of spines in the plectrum of adult females sampling four species of Proculini using traditional and geometric morphometric methods. We divided the plectrum into five zones to compare the density, size and shape of spines among zones and among species comparing each zone separately. Spine shape and size were quantified with 2D cartesian coordinates and four variables from SEM micrographs. Separate univariate and multivariate analyses of variance revealed that the size, density and shape of spines is different among zones in each of the four species. Also, spine shape and size in all zones is different among species, which would imply that plectrum spines might have taxonomic utility. Additionally, disparity analyses showed that the peripheral zones have a higher variability, and the disparity values in the middle and apex zones are higher in the two species with a wide distribution range. (C) 2020 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
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