Beak Type Research Articles

Association of quantitative traits and genetic diversity in Ethiopian sesame (Sesamum indicum L.) genotypes

To enhance sesame yield, it is important to utilize diverse parents in breeding programs and implement an effective selection procedure, which exploits the association of quantitative traits. Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to explore the correlation among quantitative traits and assess genetic variability and diversity using both qualitative and quantitative traits. Correlation coefficients indicated a noteworthy (P < 0.001) positive phenotypic (rp) and genotypic (rg) correlation between seed yield and various traits: plant height (rp = 0.60; rg = 0.58), length of the capsule-bearing zone (rp = 0.77; rg = 0.80), number of capsules on the main stem (rp = 0.80; rg = 0.85), primary branches (rp = 0.66; rg = 0.66), and capsules per plant (rp = 0.90; rg = 0.91). In contrast, a negative correlation (P < 0.001) was observed between yield and bacterial blight disease severity, both phenotypically (rp = −0.60) and genotypically (rg = −0.76). The analysis of path coefficients indicated that the most substantial positive direct effect on yield (0.77) was attributed to capsules per plant, whereas other traits associated with yield exhibited a significant indirect influence on yield through capsules per plant. Qualitative traits exhibited diversity, except for plant growth type, plant growth habit, and stem branching. Shannon-Weaner (H) and Simpson (1-D) diversity indices were higher for interior corolla color (H = 1.63; 1-D = 0.66), seed color (H = 1.50; 1-D = 0.46), and capsule beak type (H = 1.08; 1-D = 0.50). The analysis of variance indicated a notable variation among the examined genotypes regarding quantitative traits, excluding internode length. The plant materials were divided into five clusters through cluster analysis, where clusters I to V consisted of 21, 29, 4, 4, and 6 genotypes, respectively. The current study has shown that the yield of sesame can be enhanced through indirect selection for traits associated with yield, particularly the highest number of capsules per plant. Furthermore, examinations of genetic diversity confirmed the presence of variability within the assessed genotypes, providing valuable insights for upcoming sesame breeding programs.

Comprehensive view of the posterior mandibular ridge morphology

The anatomy of the posterior mandibular ridge and the anatomical structures present in this region are important in the planning and execution of dental treatments. The aim of this study was to examine all forms of alveolar ridge in detail to provide a comprehensive description of the posterior mandibular ridge. This study included 1865 cross-sectional sections of cone beam computed tomography scans obtained from 511 Iranian patients with a mean age of 48.14 years (280 female, 231 male). The alveolar ridge was described based on the ridge shape, including the existence and location of convexity and concavity. The morphology of the posterior mandibular ridge was categorized into 14 types: straight, pen shape, oblique, D type, B type, kidney, hourglass, sickle, golf club, toucan beak, tear, cudgel, basal, and saddle. Among the alveolar ridge types, the straight type in the premolar region and toucan beak type in the molar region were most frequent in the female, male, dentulous, and edentulous ridges. This study found significant differences in alveolar ridge morphology according to sex, dental status, and region of the ridge (all P < 0.001). In conclusion, the morphology of the alveolar ridge varies significantly between the sexes and between dentulous and edentulous locations.

Efficacy of Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy for Achalasia: Evaluation of Treatment Effect using Timed Barium Esophagography

Peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is one of the standard treatment modality for achalasia. This study was to evaluate the usefulness of timed barium esophagography (TBE) in the evaluation of treatment effect of POEM for achalasia. A total of 36 patients (M:F=22:14) underwent pre- and post-POEM TBE (3 groups according to lower esophageal sphincter (LES) caliber, A: &lt; 5 mm, B: 5~8 mm, C: &gt; 8 mm). On pre and post-POEM TBE, the rate of area changes of barium column and the changes of LES caliber were investigated. All data were statistically analyzed using the Kruskal-Wallis test or Mann-Whitney U test. The mean rate of area change of the barium column at 5 minutes between pre- and post-POEM TBE were -51.7%, -28.8% and -11.6% in group A (n=10), B (n=18), and C (n=8), respectively, statistically significant (p &lt; 0.001). The rate difference of the barium column area changes between group A and group B only showed the statistical significance (p &lt; 0.001). The mean increased caliber of LES after POEM was 5.5 mm, 2.9 mm, and 3.3 mm in group A, B, and C, respectively. Group A and bird’s beak type showed a statistically significant treatment effect (p &lt; 0.001). In conclusion, TBE was useful in the evaluation of the treatment effect of POEM for achalasia and the narrowest LES group and bird’s beak esophageal type on TBE showed statistically significant treatment effects.

Evaluation of Condylar Morphology Using Orthopantomogram among Patient Reporting at Sandeman Provincial Hospital Quetta

Objective: To assess the condylar morphology using orthopantomogram among adult patient. Study design: Cross sectional study Place and duration of study: Department of Orthodontics, Dental Section, Sandeman Provincial Hospital, Quetta, from June 2020 to December 2020. Material and methods: All patients presented to orthodontic department who fulfilled inclusion criteria were included in this study. One hundred and eighty candidates were included and underwent Orthopantomogram. Reports were assessed and condylar shape was noted. Data was analyzed by using SPSS. Vs. 20. Results: The mean age of candidates was 25.5 ± 5 years. There were 90 (50%) males and 90 (50%) females. In left side, the condylar shape was oval in 101 (56.0%) while in right side, condylar shape was oval in 100 (55.6%) cases. In left side, the condylar shape was bird beak like in 32 (18.0%) while in right side, condylar shape was bird beak like in 33 (18.3%) cases. In left side, the condylar shape was diamond like in 26 (14.4%) while in right side, condylar shape was diamond like in 27 (15.0%) cases. In left side, the condylar shape was crooked finger like in 21 (11.7%) while in right side, condylar shape was crooked finger like in 20 (11.0%) cases. Conclusion: Thus in our population, the most common condylar shape was observed to be oval type followed by bird beak type. Keywords: Condylar morphology, Orthopantomogram, Orthodontics

Morphology of the coracoid process as a predictor of articular-side tear at the upper border of the subscapularis.

Articular-side tear at the upper border of the subscapularis (SSC-AST) is often detected during shoulder arthroscopic surgery, although its exact pathology remains unknown. The purpose of this study was to investigate the correlation between various characteristics of the coracoid process, including classification of the morphology of the coracoid process tip, and the presence of SSC-AST. This retrospective, case-controlled study included patients who underwent arthroscopic subacromial decompression with or without rotator cuff repair between January 2018 and September 2021. A total of 130 shoulders in 124 patients, including 77 male and 53 female shoulders (mean age at surgery, 64 years [range, 39-88 years]), were included in this study. Three-dimensional (3D) computed tomography examination was performed preoperatively, and the following indices were measured: coracoid proximal length, coracoid distal length, coracoid angle, coracoglenoid angle, offset of the coracoid process and glenoid (anterior, lateral, and superior offset), and coracoid base angle. The morphology of the tip of the coracoid process was classified into 3 types according to 3D reconstructed views: flat type, round type, and beak type. The presence of SSC-AST was intraoperatively evaluated arthroscopically via a posterior glenohumeral portal. Morphologic risk factors for SSC-AST were evaluated between SSC-AST cases (group T) and non-SSC-AST cases (group N) by multivariable logistic analysis. In addition, the correlation between the incidence of SSC-AST and classification of the tip of the coracoid process was analyzed. SSC-AST was present in 53 shoulders (40.8%). Group T patients were significantly older than group N patients (68.4±10.0 years vs. 61.5±11.8 years, P<.001). No sex difference was detected between the 2 groups (28 male and 25 female shoulders in group T vs. 49 male and 28 female shoulders in group N, P=.28). Multivariate analysis of morphologic parameters between the 2 groups detected a smaller superior offset as a risk factor for SSC-AST (odds ratio, 0.91; 95% confidence interval, 0.84-0.98; P=.01). No significant differences were found in the other parameters. Regarding classification of the tip of the coracoid process, round- and beak-type coracoid tips had a significantly higher rate of SSC-AST than flat-type tips (flat type, 21.8%; round type, 64.7%; and beak type, 46.3%) (P<.001). Evaluation of the correlation between the morphology of the coracoid process on 3D computed tomography and the presence of SSC-AST visualized during arthroscopy indicated a significant association between SSC-AST and the morphology of the coracoid process.

Evaluation of morphological variation of mandibular condyle using panoramic radiography

Background: The current study was done to evaluate variations of TMJ condylar morphology using conventional panoramic radiograph. Methods: This study comprised radiographic evaluation of 120 condylar heads of 60 patients. Then evaluate the mandibular condylar shape in 2D dimensional view (OPG). Results: In this study, 60 pairs of condylar heads were evaluated. Out of them 55% were oval in shape, followed by bird beak (30%), diamond (12%) and least being crooked finger (3%).Conclusion: Oval shape followed by bird beak type was found to be the most common in both genders with the condyle shape being symmetrical in about three quarters of the studied sample.

Supporting the Learning of Evolution Theory Using an Educational Simulator

This paper analyzes Sim-Evolution, an educational simulator designed to help teachers presenting three basic principles of the theory of evolution by natural selection (TENS): the trait variation within a population, the heritability of trait variation, and the selective survival based on heritable traits. Sim-Evolution focuses on high school students, so its interface was designed to be joyful, helping to engage them. Although it was designed based on the concept of population genetics, knowing it is not a requirement for exploring TENS. Sim-Evolution models the population of a hypothetic bird species in two possible vegetations: forest or veld. Individuals of this bird species vary over two characteristics (color and beak type), with three possible phenotypes for each one. The user can choose individuals to form an initial population and monitor variation through successive generations. Birds breed independently of their phenotype, and natural selection (based on the fitness of each trait) was the only driven factor of population variation. Sim-Evolution was evaluated with high school students during a biology class. Students were able to describe and analyze the simulation process from a scientific perspective, observing the phenomenon associated with TENS. They correctly associated the bird's evolution with different survivor rates associated with the different traits and identified evolution by natural selection as a population and not an individual/organism process. Our proposal opens the possibility that TENS simulator does not obligatorily require users to be familiar with population genetics concepts, which is especially interestingly for high school pedagogical uses.

The determination of some morphological characteristics of Bursa Oynarı pigeon breed

The aim of this study was to evaluate the morphological characteristics and to describe some quantitative traits of Bursa Oynarı native pigeon breed in Bursa province in Turkey. The study was carried out on a total of randomly selected 43 Bursa Oynarı pigeons (23 males, 20 females). The morphological characteristics (head type, eye colour, head and bib colour, neck blend colour, beak type and colour, head plumage, ventral abdomen colour and claw colour) and the quantitative traits (body weight and morphometric measurements) were determined from both male and female pigeons. The results indicated that the most frequent morphological characteristics of this pigeon breed were round shaped head (72.09%), dusty rose eye colour (67.44%), veiled head/bib colour (37.21%), purple neck blend colour (53.49%), flat-shaped type beak (67.44%), white beak (51.16%), markless head plumage (69.77%), white ventral abdomen colour (93.02%) and white claw colour (95.35%). Sex significantly (P<0.01) affected the quantitative traits such as the body length, leg length and tail length. Male pigeons had higher means of the mentioned traits than those of female pigeons. Over the past few decades, there has been an increased awareness for the conservation of native breeds for their importance to genetic diversity. Thus, studies conducted on native breeds in various species may provide a noteworthy contribution to this purpose.

Phenotypical Variation and Characterisation of Mango (Mangifera indica L.) Varieties

Mango (Mangifera indica L.) is a member of family Anacardiceae and the genus Mangifera belongs to the order sapindales. Mangifera species consists of 69 species and only two species are found in Sri Lanka. M. zeylanica is endemic and wild while M. indica is a cultivated species in Sri Lanka. Diversity of mango varieties is rich in northern part of Sri Lanka. However, characterisation of mango varieties in field is a difficult task. Thus this study was designed to identify and characterise mango varieties in field and provide identification keys with most useful morphological traits. 18 grafted mango varieties including popular „Karuthakolumban‟, „Willard‟, „Ambalavi‟ and „Chembaddan‟ with 54 mango accessions were selected for preparation of identification keys. Selected leaf and inflorescence characters to prepare identification key were; colour of immature leaf, leaf shape, leaf margin, inflorescence axis colour, flower colour and number of petals in the flower (tetramerous, pentamerous or hexamerous) while selected fruit morphological traits were; fruit skin colour, skin texture, skin thickness, fruit shape, weight, size, stalk insertion, beak type and stem end cavity. Identification keys were prepared based on the mango descriptors listed by IPGRI (2006). Two types of key were prepared based on the variation of the qualitative parameters. First key was prepared using leaf and inflorescence characters while fruit characters were used in the second key. Due to these keys, mango varietal identification in the field is feasible and it will be helpful to local mango growers, researchers and breeders. This method of identification and characterisation is a low cost, cheap and efficient tool compared to molecular techniques and therefore it is suitable for developing country like Sri Lanka. Validity of the key has been subsequently evaluated in the field and it was found validity is consistent due to the uniform environmental conditions of dry zone. Keywords: Mango varieties, Leaf, Inflorescence and fruit morphological traits, Identification keys

Relationship Between Jaw Apparatus, Feeding Habit, and Food Source in Oriental Woodpeckers

Associations among feeding habit, beak type, and food source in birds have been widely studied and are well known to exist. The relationship between feeding habit and jaw apparatus in birds has not attracted attention from ornithologists, perhaps because of the complexity of the skeletal morphology of the feeding system of birds. The goal of this study was to compare the jaw apparatus and foraging strategies of various Oriental species of the Picidae (Meiglyptini and Picini tribes) using a morphofunctional analysis of the skeletal structure of the jaw apparatus. This study showed that there are at least three types of jaw apparatus in these woodpeckers, as follows: 1) robust, developed, and complex; 2) complexity and development intermediate, as observed in Meiglyptes tristis and Dinopium spp., whose main foraging method involves gleaning, probing, and tapping; and 3) poorly developed, as observed in Picus miniaceus and Hemicircus concretus. The success of woodpeckers as a natural group is due not only to their feeding diversity, but also their ability to explore a wide range of different resources, as appropriate to their jaw apparatus.

The analysis of prognostic factors in patients with thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum and thoracic ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament by posterior decompression

To investigate the prognostic factors for patients with thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF) and thoracic ossification of posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL). Clinical information of 83 patients suffering from thoracic OLF and OPLL was reviewed retrospectively from January 2006 to June 2010. The related factors such as gender, age, preoperative and postoperative Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) score, pathological segment, type of thoracic OPLL, degree of thoracic kyphosis, anteroposterior diameter of OPLL, range of circumferential decompression, cerebrospinal fluid leakage or not and dysfunction or not and carotid lumbar disorders or not were analyzed by Chi-square and Logistic regression. All cases were classified into desirable group (58 cases) and undesirable group (25 cases) based on the postoperative JOA score improvement rate. Comparison of physical characteristics between two groups of age, preoperative JOA and the course of the disease had not statistically significant (P > 0.05). Two groups in pathological segment of thoracic OPLL (χ(2) = 6.290, P = 0.043), the ossification type of OPLL (χ(2) = 5.361, P = 0.021) and dysfunction or not in preoperative (χ(2) = 27.711, P = 0.000) had significant difference. Logistic regression analysis showed that the upper thoracic segments (P = 0.044), beak type ossification (P = 0.023) and with dysfunction in preoperative (P = 0.009) were risk factors. There were 24 patients (28.9%) with cerebrospinal fluid leakage, 3 patients with early postoperative deep infection and neurological deterioration of 2 cases in postoperative. Patients with ossification on the upper section of thoracic have a better prognosis, but the beaked localized longitudinal ligament ossification in patients and associated with preoperative dysfunction show a poor prognosis, combined jumping segmental ossification and cervical or lumbar severe disorders are the influencing factor for poor prognosis.

Biomechanical study of the spinal cord in thoracic ossification of the posterior longitudinal ligament

BackgroundOssification of the posterior longitudinal ligament (OPLL) in the thoracic spine produces myelopathy. This is often progressive and is not affected by conservative treatment. Therefore, decompressive surgery is usually chosen.ObjectiveTo conduct a stress analysis of the thoracic OPLL.MethodsThe three-dimensional finite element spinal cord model was established. We used local ossification angle (LOA) for the degree of compression of spinal cord. LOA was the medial angle at the intersection between a line from the superior posterior margin at the cranial vertebral body of maximum OPLL to the top of OPLL with beak type, and a line from the lower posterior margin at the caudal vertebral body of the maximum OPLL to the top of OPLL with beak type. LOA 20°, LOA 25°, and LOA 30° compression was applied to the spinal cord in a preoperative model, the posterior decompressive model, and a model for the development of kyphosis.ResultsIn a preoperative model, at more than LOA 20° compression, high stress distributions in the spinal cord were observed. In a posterior decompressive model, the stresses were lower than in the preoperative model. In the model for development of kyphosis, high-stress distributions were observed in the spinal cord at more than LOA 20° compression.ConclusionsPosterior decompression was an effective operative method. However, when the preoperative LOA is more than 20°, it is very likely that symptoms will worsen. If operation is performed at greater than LOA 20°, then correction of kyphosis by fixation of instruments or by forward decompression should be considered.

Ossification of the ligamentum flavum of the thoracic spine in the Korean population

Thoracic ossification of the ligamentum flavum (OLF), a main cause of thoracic myelopathy, is an uncommon disease entity. It is seen mostly in East Asia, although the majority of reports have issued from Japan. In the present study, the clinical features and prognostic factors of thoracic OLF were examined in a large number of Korean patients. Data from 51 consecutive patients who underwent decompressive laminectomy with or without fusion for thoracic OLF between 1998 and 2008 were retrospectively analyzed. Patients were evaluated pre- and postoperatively using the modified Japanese Orthopedic Association (JOA) scale (maximum total score of 11). Patient age, sex, preoperative symptoms, duration of initial symptoms, number of involved segments, duration of follow-up, presence of dural adhesion (dural tearing), intramedullary high signal intensity, morphological classification of OLF (axial or sagittal), coexisting disease, and fusion or no fusion were also evaluated. Surgical outcomes were assessed using JOA recovery rate/outcome scores, and patient satisfaction grades and prognostic factors were analyzed. There were 18 men and 33 women with a mean age of 60.9 years (range 38-80 years). A mean preoperative JOA score of 5.5 improved to a mean score of 7.4 at the last follow-up (mean 52 months after surgery). The mean duration of the initial symptoms was 34.5 months (range 0.1-240 months) prior to surgery. The most common symptoms were motor dysfunction (80%); sensory deficit (67%); and pain, numbness, and claudication (59%) in the lower extremities. Knee hyperreflexia appeared in 69% of the patients. There were a total of 130 ossified segments, and the mean number of segments per patient was 2.6. Ninety-two (71%) of 130 segments were located below T-8. Recovery outcomes were good (18 patients), fair (16 patients), unchanged (11 patients), or worse (6 patients). Thirty-one patients (61%) were satisfied with their operations. Patients with a beak type of OLF on sagittal MR images experienced a higher recovery rate and a better satisfaction grade than did those with a round OLF. The patients with higher preoperative JOA scores demonstrated significantly higher JOA scores postoperatively (p < 0.001), and the preoperative JOA score had a significant correlation with the recovery rate in patients exhibiting mainly motor dysfunction (p = 0.040, r = 0.330). Of the thoracic OLF studies published to date, the present analysis involves the largest Korean population. The most common symptoms of thoracic OLF were motor dysfunction and sensory deficit in the lower extremities, although pain, numbness, and claudication were observed in some patients and were notably accompanied by knee hyperreflexia. At a minimum of 2 years after surgery for thoracic OLF, operative outcomes were generally good, and the prognostic factors affecting good surgical outcomes included a beak type of OLF and a preoperative JOA score > 6.

Contributing factors affecting the prognosis surgical outcome for thoracic OLF

The thoracic ossification of ligamentum flavum (OLF) is a disease that produces spastic paraparesis, and there are various factors that may affect the surgical outcome of thoracic OLF patients. The authors of this study treated 19 of these thoracic OLF patients from 1998 to 2002, and retrospectively reviewed the patients' age, sex, symptom duration, involved disease level, preoperative clinical features, neurological findings, radiological findings, the other combined spinal diseases and the surgical outcomes. There were excellent or good surgical outcomes in 16 patients, but 3 patients did not improve after thoracic OLF surgery: this included 1 patient, whose motor function worsened after decompressive thoracic OLF surgery. The favorable contributing factors of surgical outcome in thoracic OLF are a short preoperative symptom duration, single-level lesion, and unilateral lesion type on CT axial scan. On the contrary, the poor prognostic factors are beak type lesion and intramedullary signal changes on T(2)-weighted sagittal MRI. The complete preoperative evaluation including radiologic findings will provide valuable aid in presuming the surgical outcome for the thoracic OLF patients.

Design of the High-&amp;lt;tex&amp;gt;$rm T_rm c$&amp;lt;/tex&amp;gt;Superconducting TF Coil for the Tight Aspect Ratio Tokamak Power Reactor (VECTOR)

The tight aspect ratio tokamak power reactor (VECTOR) is proposed as a compact fusion reactor in a cost-effective way at JAERI. In the coil system, a center solenoid is discarded from the inner side of the plasma to realize low aspect configuration and the TF coil inner leg side is a solid-like integrated center post structure. The toroidal field (TF) coil consists of 12 D-shaped coil units whose inner bores are 12 m in height and 6 m in width. The magnetic field at the plasma center is designed to be 5 T. The maximum field in winding of the TF coil is required to be 18.3 T because of low aspect ratio. The magnetic stored energy is 10.7 GJ much less than the 40 GJ for ITER. For such high field generation and high performance coil realization, a high T/sub c/ superconductor is applied to the TF coil. The coil operating current is 178 kA at 18.3 T. The structure of the TF coil unit is composed of 5 radial plates and 2 support plates unified through bolts without coil case. The radial plates are designed with "beak type" structure that its inner leg part is bent to attain high current density in winding. The conductor that is composed of high T/sub c/ superconductor strands impregnated with lead, is inserted into grooves of the radial plates. The lead plays an important role on solidification of the strands cabled and on enthalpy stabilization with its high heat capacity. For the high T/sub c/ material, Bi2212 is chosen. The operating temperature of the conductor is 20 K. The conductor is cooled indirectly from cooling plates provided between the radial plates. The conductor has the temperature margin of 3 K proofed against disturbance of 1 J/cc at 20 K.

Operative treatment for the beak type calcaneal fracture

Operative treatment for the beak type calcaneal fracture

Diversity of durum wheat (Triticum durum Desf.) at in situ conservation sites in North Shewa and Bale, Ethiopia

Biological resources used by local people for a long period of time preserve historical records and scientific competence attained while they develop, conserve, maintain and utilize the landrace varieties of those crops sustainably, ensuring their descent to successive generations. Ethiopian farmers and the traditional farming systems they still exercise have a tremendous positive impact on maintaining wheat genetic diversity with the associated indigenous knowledge. Twenty-one durum wheat landraces, 11 of which were collected from North Shewa and the remaining 10 from Bale were examined for five qualitative morphological characters. The long beak character was monomorphic at lower altitude (&lt; 2100 m a.s.l.). The phenotypic frequencies for characters showed that the long and intermediate beak types were found in both sites, with the long one being the predominant type in most of the strategic sites (localities). The short beak type was rare in most of the strategic sites (localities) in Bale whereas in North Shewa its frequency reached a maximum of 51%. Black glume was in rare frequency in most of the strategic sites (localities) and districts (depending on size, a district contains several localities). The three seed colour groups (white, brown and purple) were found in a similar proportion across districts, and in situ conservation zones (farmer-based on-farm crop conservation zones, and depending on size a zone contains several districts) with considerable differences among strategic sites (localities). While white glume colour was predominant at lower altitude (&lt; 2300 m a.s.l.), brown glume was most frequent at higher altitude (&gt; 2301 m a.s.l.). The frequency of the purple seed colour increases with increasing altitude. Intra-population polymorphism was common for most traits. The overall estimate of diversity in in situ crop conservation sites is very high (H′ = 0·81±0·01). The first three canonical functions accounted for 85·5% (48·5, 19·7 and 17·4% respectively) of the variation between varieties. The hierarchical cluster analysis revealed two major clusters and eight subclusters. In most cases, the cluster analysis based on the qualitative traits did not necessarily cluster varieties on the basis of their collection sites. The two major clusters contained varieties from Bale and North Shewa in situ crop conservation zones.