Body Fragments Research Articles

Insect Pest Management in Stored Products

Insects are a common problem in stored produce. The author describes the extent of the problem and approaches to countering it. Stored products of agricultural and animal origin, whether edible or non-edible, are favourite food for insect pests. Durable agricultural produce comprising dry raw and processed commodities and perishables (fresh produce) are vulnerable to insect pests at various stages from production till end-use. Similarly, different animal products and museum objects are infested mainly by dermestids. Insect pests proliferate due to favourable storage conditions, temperature and humidity and availability of food in abundance. In addition to their presence in food commodities, insects occur in storages (warehouses, silos) and processing facilities (flour mills, feed mills). Insect infestation is also a serious issue in processed products and packed commodities. The extent of loss in stored products due to insects varies between countries depending on favourable climatic conditions, and pest control measures adopted. In stored food commodities, insect infestation causes loss in quantity, changes in nutritional quality, altered chemical composition, off-odours, changes in end-use products, dissemination of toxigenic microorganisms and associated health implications. The insects contribute to contaminants such as silk threads, body fragments, hastisetae, excreta and chemical secretions. Insect activity in stored products increases the moisture content favouring the growth of moulds that produce mycotoxins (e.g., aflatoxin in stored peanuts). Hide beetle, Dermestes maculatus infesting silkworm cocoons has been reported to act as a carrier of microsporidian parasite Nosema bombycis that causes pebrine disease in silkworms. In dried fish, insect infestation leads to higher bacterial count and uric acid levels. Insects cause damage in hides and skins affecting their subsequent use for making leather products. The trend in stored product insect pest management is skewing in favour of pest prevention, monitoring, housekeeping and finally control. Hermetic storage system can be supplemented with CO2 or phosphine application to achieve quicker results. Pest detection and monitoring has gained significance as an important tool in insect pest management. Pheromone traps originally intended for detection of infestations have been advanced as a mating disruption device ensuing pest suppression in storage premises and processing facilities; pheromones also have to undergo registration protocols similar to conventional insecticides in some countries. Control measures involve reduced chemical pesticide use and more non-chemical inputs such as heat, cold/freezing and desiccants. Furthermore, there is an expanding organic market where physical and biological agents play a key role. The management options for insect control depend on the necessity or severity of pest incidence. Generally, nonchemical treatments, except heat, require more treatment time or investment in expensive equipment or fail to achieve 100% insect mortality. Despite insect resistance, environmental issues and residue problems, chemical control is inevitable and continues to be the most effective and rapid control method. There are limited options with respect to alternative fumigants and the alternatives have constraints as regards environmental and health concerns, cost, and other logistics. For fumigation of fresh agricultural produce, new formulations of ethyl formate and phosphine are commercially applied replacing methyl bromide. Resistance management is now another component of stored product pest management. In recent times, fumigation techniques have improved taking into consideration possible insect resistance. Insect control deploying nanoparticles, alone or as carriers for other control agents, is an emerging area with promising results. As there is no single compound with all the desired qualities, a necessity has arisen to adopt multiple approaches. Cocktail applications or combination treatments (IGRs plus organophosphorus insecticides, diatomaceous earth plus contact insecticides, nanoparticles plus insecticides/pathogens/phytocompounds and conventional fumigants plus CO2; vacuum plus fumigant) have been proved to be more effective. The future of store product insect pest management is deployment of multiple approaches and/or combination treatments to achieve the goal quickly and effectively.

Disarticulated Membranes: Pregnancy, Excess, and Radical Resistance

My color photography is a theater of psychological and physical transformations that reveal a luminescent excess. This excess combines both the civilized and the animal-istic. For my photography series the Gestation Project I choreographed groups of ten to thirty naked pregnant women in San Francisco public spaces such as the zoo, hair salons, bookstores, nightclubs, boxing rings, and empty auditoriums. The women’s pregnant bodies in community render the private explicitly public. While exploring the erasure of public spaces and our potential for reimagining our collective future, my article conjures the fertility of environmental justice within the commons. Juxtaposing bodies / body fragments with organic and synthetic materials and environments, I play with the illusory distinctions between “them” and “us.” By recognizing how vulnerability can engender a humane global culture, ecofeminist strategies for living our principles without self-censorship, we can hold ourselves accountable as the fear of perceived difference becomes more urgent in our technoeuphoric media-saturated age. A cross-cultural, interspecies approach to climate-crisis mitigation integrates individual, community, and infrastructural change. From this visceral commitment, we can cultivate regenerative economic tools for biocultural transformation, integrating rather than competing with our natural environment or isolating ourselves from it.

Mineralogical and Geochemical Evidence for Granite Metasomatism in Dikes in the North of the Berezovskoe Ore Field (Middle Urals)

Abstract —We present results of petrographic, geochemical, and mineralogical studies of apogranite metasomatites associated with sulfide–quartz gold ore veins. The studies show a predominance of muscovite and quartz–muscovite metasomatites. Formation of muscovite metasomatites was accompanied by the accumulation of W, Sc, Zr, Hf, Ga, REE, U, Th, Ta, and Nb and the genesis of new accessory minerals: monazite-(Ce), apatite, zircon, scheelite, W-containing rutile, uraninite, thorianite, cassiterite, etc. Compared with the primary granites, quartz–muscovite metasomatites are richer in Pb, Bi, As, Sb, Co, Ni, Ba, In, Cd, Mo, Te, Ag, and Au (elements of the gold ore assemblage). The high contents of these trace elements are due to abundant galena, fahlores, chalcopyrite, and pyrite among the accessory minerals. Metasomatism of granites was followed by the removal of SiO2, which was then spent for the formation of quartz veins. We have revealed that the distribution of metasomatites of different types within a dike body affects directly the distribution of sulfide–quartz veins and thus determines the ore content of the dike body fragments.

ESTIMATION OF STATURE FROM FOREARM & HAND LENGTH IN WEST BENGAL POPULATION

Background: In the present scenario of increasing crime rate the identification of an individual has become immensely important. Measurement of different body parts of human body to estimate stature plays a vital role for establishing individual identity, especially in those cases where mutilated body parts are found or mere body fragments discovered. Here comes the role of anthropometry, where length of hand, forearm, foot etc plays a vital role for estimation of stature of a human being. Objective: The objective of the present study is to find out the relation between length of forearm with hand and stature in west bengal population. Method: For the purpose of study 300 young and healthy medical students both male and female, aged between 18 to 25 years, without any known disease or body deformity, were examined anthropometrically to measure their respective height with stadiometer and length of forearm with hand by vernier slide caliper. Result: The stature varied from 157.48 cm to 169.75 cm with mean value 167.0 cm and 159.0 in case of male and female subject respectively. On the other hand length of forearm with hand varied from 40.1 cm to 46.4 cm with mean value 46.2 and 43.2 respectively. Conclusion: Study results shows that length of forearm and hand poses significant correlation with stature.So, it may be desirable to apply this knowledge especially in cases of fragmented body parts or mutilated bodies.
 Keywords: Length of hand, stature, anthropometrical measurement

In Search of the Ancestral Organization and Phylotypic Stage of Porifera

Each animal phylum has its own bauplan. The phylotypic stage is the ontogenetic stage during which the phylum level characteristics appear. This stage refers to different stages of development in different animals. Sponges are one of the simplest, and probably the oldest multicellular lineage of extant animals. On the basis of the analysis of sponge development during (i) sexual and asexual reproduction, (ii) regeneration from small body fragments, and (iii) cell reaggregation, we suggest a hypothetical variant of their phylotypic stage (spongotype): the mono-oscular juvenile—the rhagon. The major feature, which permits to consider the rhagon as the phylotypic stage of the Porifera is the final, definitive position of all the cellular and anatomical elements of the future adult sponge. It seems that at the rhagon stage the pattern of the axial complex of anlagen is already formed, and only growth processes occur at the later stages.

Estimation of body height from percutaneous length of tibia in Debre Markos University students, North West Ethiopia

IntroductionEstimation of body height from measurement of various body parts is a particular interest to forensic scientists to complete biological profile after death. However, establishing the identity of an individual from mutilated, decomposed, and amputated body fragments has become a challenging task in medico-legal cases.Objective of the studyTo estimate body height from percutaneous length of the tibia in Debre Markos University (DMU) students.Materials and methodsInstitution-based cross-sectional prospective study was conducted in undergraduate students of DMU. The sample size was 572, and data were collected from April 2018 to December 2018. Height and percutaneous tibial length were measured in both sexes. Data were analyzed through SPSS version 25. Level of significance was set at P < 0.05.ResultsThe mean age of study participants was 21.27 ± 1.74 years for males and 20.41 ± 1.58 years for females. The mean height of study participants was also 168.36 ± 5.89 cm for males and 165.24 ± 4.01 cm for females. The tibial length was strongly correlated with body height in the males than the females: right tibial length (males R = 0.634, females R = 0.259) and left tibial length (males R = 0.632, females R = 0.258). Independent t test exhibited statistically significant gender differences (P < 0.05) with the males having consistently higher values than the females. Paired t test revealed the existence of bilateral asymmetry between the right and left tibial lengths (P < 0.05). The relatively highest correlation was depicted in the right tibial length in both males and females.ConclusionThe mean value of height and tibial length was greater in males than that of females, and these differences were statistically significant (P < 0.05). Tibial length was significantly (P < 0.05) correlated with height in both sexes. Therefore, tibial length can predict body height in both sexes.

Estimation of stature by anatomical anthropometric parameters in first-year regular undergraduate students at Debre Markos University, North West Ethiopia

Introduction: The stature of an individual is an inherent characteristic and is considered as an important parameter of personal identification. Estimating stature from the measurement of various body parts is of particular interest to forensic scientists, anatomists and medical researchers in order to complete biological profiles after death or when measuring standing height is impossible. However, establishing the identity of an individual from mutilated, decomposed and amputated body fragments is a challenging task in medico-legal cases, and a necessity when measuring standing height is difficult. Objectives of the study: To assess the relationship between anatomical anthropometric measurements and stature in undergraduate students at Debre Markos University (DMU), Ethiopia. Materials and Methods: An institutional-based, cross-sectional, prospective study was conducted among first-year undergraduate students at DMU. The sample size was 572 and data were collected from April to June 2018. Height, weight, head circumference, head length, inter-acromial length, humeral length, ulnar length, hand length and breadth, tibial length, and foot length and breadth were measured in both sexes. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 25 statistical software. The level of significance was set at p<0.05. Results: The mean age of study participants was 21.27±1.74 years for males and 20.41±1.58 years for females. The mean height of study participants was 168.36±5.89cm for males and 165.24±4.01cm for females. The correlation coefficients (R) of anatomical anthropometric measurements with height were: head circumference (males R = 0.404, females R = 0.127), head length (males R = 0.422, females R = 0.168), inter-acromial length (males R = 0.530, females R = 0.140), right humeral length (males R = 0.539, females R = 0.163), left humeral length (males R = 0.535, females R = 0.159), right ulnar length (males R = 0.496, females R = 0.147), left ulnar length (males R = 0.498, females R = 0.144), right hand length (males R = 0.276, females R = 0.125), left hand length (males R = 0.243, females R = 0.122), right hand breadth (males R = 0.349, females R = 0.129), left hand breadth (males R = 0.331, females R = 0.124), right tibial length (males R = 0.634, females R = 0.259), left tibial length (males R = 0.632, females R = 0.258), right foot length (males R = 0.579, females R = 0.185), left foot length (males R = 0.581, females R = 0.186), right foot breadth (males R = 0.311), left foot breadth (males R = 0.306). The highest correlation was found in the right tibial length in both males and females. Conclusions: All anatomical anthropometric parameters were significantly (p<0.05) correlated with height in both sexes, except foot breadth in females. Therefore, all anatomical anthropometric parameters, including head circumference, head length, inter-acromial length, humeral length, ulnar length, hand length, hand breadth, tibial length, foot length and foot breadth, can estimate stature in both sexes, except foot breadth in females. Ethiop. J. Health Dev. 2019; 33(3):188-197] Key words: Estimation of stature, anthropometry, anatomical anthropometric parameters

DNA barcoding of sea turtles (Dermochelyidae and Cheloniidae) and its protocol using different tissues quality: implication to conservation managers

Conservation effort of sea turtles faces several challenges, e.g. habitat destruction, eggs and turtle meat consumptions, or production of souvenirs (e.g. turtle bodies). In their duties, conservation officers may find sea turtles in different condition (e.g. body fragments, eggs, pieces of meat, etc.), usually it is difficult to identify due to incomplete morphology. Therefore, the use of DNA barcoding becomes an alternative for for identification at species level, contribute taxonomic and biodiversity research. This study was conducted to develop a protocol suitable for identifying sea turtles from different tissue samples conditions using DNA barcoding. A total of 16 tissue samples in different condition (fresh, dead-body, smoked-meat) were collected. A protocol was developed to enable identification of tissue samples of different quality or condition. A 719 bp control region fragment was analyzed. The high percentage similarity was confirmed in GenBank CO1 sequence with 99%-100%. Four sea turtle species were identified among the samples, i.e. Chelonia mydas (4 samples), Lepidochelys olivacea (9 samples), Eretmochelys imbricata (2 samples) and Dermochelys coriacea (1 samples). This study was successfully amplified by using DNA target of control region and therefore, will be beneficial for conservation management of sea turtles in Indonesia.

CURRENT PRACTICE TRENDS IN THE SURGICAL MANAGEMENT OF PATELLOFEMORAL INSTABILITY; A SURVEY OF THE PEDIATRIC RESEARCH IN SPORTS MEDICINE (PRiSM) SOCIETY

Background: Patellofemoral instability in young athletes presents both diagnostic and management dilemmas for which consensus often does not exist. Surgical options and treatments are heterogeneous among orthopaedic surgeons. The purpose of this study is to survey members of the Pediatric Research in Sports Medicine (PRiSM) Society regarding their practice and treatment for patellofemoral instability and to identify trends in management of patellofemoral instability in children and adolescents nationwide. Methods: A 27-question multiple choice online survey was distributed to the members of the PRiSM Society. The survey was sent via email 3 times over a six week time span after which time the survey was closed. Members were asked about clinical and imaging evaluation, methods of conservative treatment, surgical indications, and surgical techniques when treating patellofemoral instability. Results: 65/70 (93%) of respondents reported performing surgery for patella instability more than 5 times in the past year. Of these 65, 56 respondents completed the questionnaire in its entirety. While some trends regarding treatment emerged, the respondent data demonstrated the large discrepancies in practice patterns that exist nationwide. 48% (27/56) of respondents obtained an MRI for patients with a 1+ knee effusion or greater on exam within one week after a first-time traumatic patellar dislocation while 20% (11/56) obtain an MRI in all patients presenting with a patella dislocation. To assess skeletal maturity, 75% (42/56) of respondents obtained knee x-rays to evaluate the physes around the knee, whereas 53% (30/56) obtained a hand x-ray to assess bone age. 41% (23/56) of respondents reported that surgical intervention for fragment refixation or loose body removal is indicated anytime there is evidence of a loose body or osteochondral fragment regardless of fragment size. 11% (6/56) reported only performing osteochondral fracture repair when the fragment was large enough to repair. If surgery is performed for an osteochondral loose body, 38% (21/56) of respondents performed an MPFL reconstruction. 59% (33/56) reported performing the MPFL reconstruction in children and adolescent athletes with hamstring allograft, while 30% (17/56) prefer autograft (hamstring, quadriceps). MRI was strongly preferred over CT when considering a tibial tubercle anteromedialization. TT-TG distance is the diagnostic measurement of choice with no respondents selecting TT-PCL as their preferred diagnostic measurement. The indication for surgical correction of angular deformity in the setting of patellar instability had mixed responses. 18% (10/56) would indicate surgery when the mechanical axis is lateral to the center of the lateral femoral condyle, while others considered this angular correction only when the patient is skeletally immature or when the mechanical axis is lateral to the lateral tibial spine. For surgical recommendations in a patient with significant trochlear dysplasia, 46% (26/56) reported no surgical management of trochlear dysplasia in first-time surgery while 41% (23/56) reported no surgical management of trochlear dysplasia in first-time or revision surgery. Conclusion: There was significant heterogeneity among respondents that highlights a lack of consensus regarding optimal diagnostic and treatment algorithms. Understanding management trends nationwide may help practicing surgeons gain insights and develop evidence based treatment algorithms to best serve patients with this condition.

NATACHA LESUEUR, DES CLICHÉS IRONIQUES : UN FÉMINISME DISCRET1

Natacha Lesueur is a French photographer, who discreetly conforms with the feminist tendencies, starting from her earliest works realized in the 1990s. Her first photographs depict compositions, in which fragments of the body, the head, the bust, the legs, etc., are adorned with intricately composed pieces of food, sometimes creating mysterious alphabets. The colour photographs are exceptionally painstainkingly processed – refined – and disorient the viewer with the vision of body fragments staged in weird situations. On the exhibition entitled White shadows, in the Marc Chagall Museum in Nice in 2014, Natacha Lesueur presented a work realized during several trips to Tahiti. Moved by the similarity of the Tahitian landscapes to her own shots, she would ask herself a question, how to use visual means to depict the reality in which the women and men of Tahiti lived, the reality so distant from the postcards which we all see in front of our eyes. Her choice included adopting these schematic representations as a starting point, together with introducing elements of destruction connected with colonisation, and especially with nuclear tests. She also considered voluptuous looks cast at young Tahitian women (wahine) by the colonizers. Playing with the Tahitian exoticism in an exaggerated way, undertaking strategic topics and perspectives (the landscape and wahine), Natacha Lesueur stages these subjects in order to introduce distortions into their perception. The light of the stroboscope lamp or red lighting make the viewers embarrassed, as they also perceive typical pictures from the well- known categories: the paradise lagoon, the lewd native, light flashes or overly erotic dance. Lesueur’s work criticises depictions of the Tahitian exoticism, with which it enters into a dispute, thus deconstructing it. The article analyses in detail two video films, Omaï and Upa Upa, shown during the exhibition mentioned. At the same time it attempts to answer the question, in what way, while making use of special lighting in her work, Natacha Lesueur utilizes the feminist methodology, whose aim is to deconstruct identity.

IRONIC STEREOTYPES: DESCREET FEMINISM OF NATACHA LESUEUR

Sandrine Ferret Ironic banalities: the discreet Feminism of Natacha Lesueur Natacha Lesueur is a French photographer, who discreetly conforms with the feminist tendencies, starting from her earliest works realized in the 1990s. Her first photographs depict compositions, in which fragments of the body, the head, the bust, the legs, etc., are adorned with intricately composed pieces of food, sometimes creating mysterious alphabets. The colour photographs are exceptionally painstainkingly processed – re- fined – and disorient the viewer with the vision of body fragments staged in weird situations. On the exhibition entitled White shadows, in the Marc Chagall Museum in Nice in 2014, Natacha Lesueur presented a work realized during several trips to Tahiti. Moved by the similarity of the Tahitian landscapes to her own shots, she would ask herself a question, how to use visual means to depict the reality in which the women and men of Tahiti lived, the reality so distant from the postcards which we all see in front of our eyes. Her choice included adopting these schematic representations as a starting point, together with introducing elements of destruction connected with colonisation, and especially with nuclear tests. She also considered vo- luptuous looks cast at young Tahitian women (wahine) by the colonizers. Playing with the Tahitian exoticism in an exaggerated way, underta- king strategic topics and perspectives (the landscape and wahine), Nata- cha Lesueur stages these subjects in order to introduce distortions into their perception. The light of the stroboscope lamp or red lighting make the viewers embarrassed, as they also perceive typical pictures from the well- known categories: the paradise lagoon, the lewd native, light flashes or overly erotic dance. Lesueur’s work criticises depictions of the Tahitian exoticism, with which it enters into a dispute, thus deconstructing it. The article analyses in detail two video films, Omaï and Upa Upa, shown during the exhibition mentioned. At the same time it attempts to answer the question, in what way, while making use of special lighting in her work, Natacha Lesueur utilizes the feminist methodology, whose aim is to deconstruct identity.

Estimation of Stature from Radiographic Foot Length in Bangladeshi Male by Regression Analysis

Context: Stature or height in upright position has an important role in medico-legal practice. In many tragic events or in crime scenes, direct identification of the victims is difficult because only mutilated, decomposed and amputed body fragments may be found. In such situations estimation of stature helps in establishing the biological profile of the victims through examination of the dismembered body parts remain.This study was aimed to investigate the correlation between stature and foot lengths, to derive regression equations for stature estimation from foot lengths and to make comparison with previous studies on other populations. Materials &amp; Methods: This cross-sectional study was carried out at the Anatomy Department of Sir Salimullah Medical College, Dhaka, Bangladesh from January 2017 to December 2017 on 50 male medical and dental students aged between 21 and 26 years. Full foot length (FFL) and truncated foot length (TFL) were measured by MB ruler software. Relationships between stature and foot lengths were obtained by Pearson’s correlation coefficient test. Results: Both FFL and TFL showed significant positive correlation with stature (r = 0.709 and 0.618 respectively). The linear regression equation for stature estimation derived from FFL and TFL were 60.954 + 4.571FFL and 81.687 + 4.915TFL respectively. The linear regression equations derived from FFL have larger correlation coefficient (R), coefficient of determination (R2), adjusted coefficient of determination (adj R2) and smaller standard error of estimation (SEE) than those derived from TFL. Bangladesh Journal of Anatomy January 2019, Vol. 17, No. 1, pp. 5-9

Diagnostics of Corrosion Protection Potential for Electric Water Heaters

The paper represents the mathematical model for diagnostics of the corrosion protection potential for the electric water heaters (EWH). The research objectives are the problem of determining the EWH corrosion protection technical condition during its operation. The EWH corrosion protection diagnostics is based on the mathematical model of the corrosion protection potential for EWH. The model is based on the nonlinear equivalent circuit which is modelling the nonlinear impedance of the corrosion cathodic protection. In the development of the mathematical model the authors carried out experimental measurements of the impedance for the EWH body fragment. The obtained experimental results show that mathematical model includes the fractional integrating elements. By using of the experimental results the expressions of the impedance, the impulse response is obtained. The methodological approach to increasing the reliability of the EWH corrosion protection diagnostics has been proposed, in terms of the multi-parameter diagnostics, by applying the EWH corrosion protection impedance model.

Estimation of Stature from Different Anthropometric Measurements of Gorkha Soldiers

Stature is one of the most important elements in the identification of a person. Many different anthropometric dimensions can be used in the estimation of stature. Establishing the identity of an individual from body fragments has become an important necessity in recent times due to natural and man-made disasters. This study was performed on 226 Gurung soldiers of Gorkha regiment of Indian Army. The studied soldier’s age range was 18 years - 48 years. Six anthropometric measurements (Stature, Hand length, Arm length, Standing knee height, Foot length and Leg length) were measured and stature is estimated with the help of these measurements.There was no significant difference between actual and estimated stature. All anthropometric measurements were highly correlated with stature at significance level p&lt; 0.001 but leg length had better correlation (r=0.816) compared to other variables. Staturecan be estimated with the help of standing knee height (r=0.686, p&lt;0.001) and arm length (r=0.653, p&lt;0.001). It can be concluded that leg length was a very good predictor of stature estimation for the studied population.

Actinopterygians of The Permian Locality Buxières-Les-Mines (Bourbonl’archambault Basin, France) and Their Relationship to Other Early Actinopterygians

Actinopterygians from the large opencast coal mine in the vicinity of the village of Buxières-les-Mines (Bourbonl’Archambault Basin, Allier, France) are revisited and redescribed based on newly studied specimens. The understanding of the anatomy of Progyrolepis heyleri POPLIN, 1999, originally described by Poplin (1999) on the basis of the upper and lower jaws only, is greatly enhanced and is relatively complete. The anatomy of the palatoquadrate, dermal bones of the skull roof, hyoid arch, operculum, suboperculum, shoulder girdle, cheek bones and branchiostegal rays is described. In addition, new observations have been made on changes in the shape of the maxilla during ontogenesis and microstructure of the teeth. Details of Progyrolepis heyleri scales, including their microstructure and morphology of the ridge scales are provided. The collection of whole individuals, body fragments and numerous isolated bones provide confirmation of the presence of Aeduella blainvillei which is the main component of the actinopterygian fauna in Buxières-les-Mines. Additional new knowledge was obtained regarding the great variability in bones of the opercular apparatus and maxilla, presence of the supraorbital, branchiostegal ray with a conspicuous hyoid process and the direction of mutual overlapping of the suboperculum and branchiostegal ray in Aeduella blainvillei (AGASSIZ, 1833). Microsculpture on the scales is redescribed in this species. Paramblypterus cf. duvernoy is the third member of the actinopterygians in the locality Buxières-les-Mines. Fragments of Paramblypterus are very rare and the bones of the skull roof are presented here. Anatomical features of Progyrolepis heyleri, Aeduella blainvillei and Paramblypterus cf. duvernoy were studied and compared with those of other Devonian and Permo-Carboniferous actinopterygians.

Ciało i jego fragmenty w prozie Mikołaja Gogola

The article presents a perspective of somatic present in the prose of Nikolai Gogol. The body is treated here as a project — a collection of body fragments. Particular attention is paid to the figure of nose, which occurs in two selected short stories entitledNose and Diary of a Madman. Therefore, any attempt to emancipate the body part is a threat to the need to preserve the face. Nose is a sense of belonging. This part of the body is thus a limit to what we used to be referred to as belonging to us. Its location creates the last bastion of perception, the selfness.

The Role of Dust Mites in Allergy.

House dust mites are an unsurpassed cause of atopic sensitization and allergic illness throughout the world. The major allergenic dust mites Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus, Dermatophagoides farinae, Euroglyphus maynei, and Blomia tropicalis are eight-legged members of the Arachnid class. Their approximately 3-month lifespan comprises egg, larval, protonymph, tritonymph, and adult stages, with adults, about one fourth to one third of a millimeter in size, being at the threshold of visibility. The geographic and seasonal distributions of dust mites are determined by their need for adequate humidity, while their distribution within substrates is further determined by their avoidance of light. By contacting the epithelium of the eyes, nose, lower airways, skin, and gut, the allergen-containing particles of dust mites can induce sensitization and atopic symptoms in those organs. Various mite allergens, contained primarily in mite fecal particles but also in shed mite exoskeletons and decaying mite body fragments, have properties that include proteolytic activity, homology with the lipopolysaccharide-binding component of Toll-like receptor 4, homology with other invertebrate tropomyosins, and chitin-cleaving and chitin-binding activity. Mite proteases have direct epithelial effects including the breaching of tight junctions and the stimulation of protease-activated receptors, the latter inducing pruritus, epithelial dysfunction, and cytokine release. Other components, including chitin, unmethylated mite and bacterial DNA, and endotoxin, activate pattern recognition receptors of the innate immune system and act as adjuvants promoting sensitization to mite and other allergens. Clinical conditions resulting from mite sensitization and exposure include rhinitis, sinusitis, conjunctivitis, asthma, and atopic dermatitis. Systemic allergy symptoms can also occur from the ingestion of cross-reacting invertebrates, such as shrimp or snail, or from the accidental ingestion of mite-contaminated foods. Beyond their direct importance as a major allergen source, an understanding of dust mites leads to insights into the nature of atopy and of allergic sensitization in general.

Observation of a Gelatinous Octopod, Haliphron atlanticus, along the Southern West Mariana Ridge: A Unique Cephalopod of Continental Slope and Mesopelagic Communities

The circumglobal deep-sea gelatinous giant octopod, Haliphron atlanticus, reaches 4 m in length and uses both benthic and pelagic habitats in the upper 3000 m of the ocean during different life history stages, but it is rarely observed due to the deep-depths where it typically lives. It has been collected in trawls and observed a few times near continental margins or islands and has been identified in the stomach contents of deep-diving predators such as sperm whales and blue sharks or detected as body fragments after predation events. An individual H. atlanticus (~1 m in total length) was video-recorded at 12:21 for about 3 minutes in front of the Shinkai 6500 submersible at 586–599 m (6.5°C, salinity 34.4) along the West Mariana Ridge. It made no escape attempt as the submersible approached and it moved slowly up or down in front of the submersible. It was over the outer seamount-slope (bottom depth ~3208 m) ~50 km west of seamounts (≥1529 m summits), but how it fits into the mesopelagic food web along the ridge is unclear. More information is needed to understand the role of H. atlanticus in oceanic food webs and if it typically lives along seamount ridges.

Vertebral body spread in thoracolumbar burst fractures can predict posterior construct failure

Background ContextThe load sharing classification (LSC) laid foundations for a scoring system able to indicate which thoracolumbar fractures, after short-segment posterior-only fixations, would need longer instrumentations or additional anterior supports. PurposeWe analyzed surgically treated thoracolumbar fractures, quantifying the vertebral body's fragment displacement with the aim of identifying a new parameter that could predict the posterior-only construct failure. Study DesignThis is a retrospective cohort study from a single institution. Patient SampleOne hundred twenty-one consecutive patients were surgically treated for thoracolumbar burst fractures. Outcome MeasuresGrade of kyphosis correction (GKC) expressed radiological outcome; Oswestry Disability Index and visual analog scale were considered. MethodsOne hundred twenty-one consecutive patients who underwent posterior fixation for unstable thoracolumbar burst fractures were retrospectively evaluated clinically and radiologically. Supplementary anterior fixations were performed in 34 cases with posterior instrumentation failure, determined on clinic-radiological evidence or symptomatic loss of kyphosis correction. Segmental kyphosis angle and GKC were calculated according to the Cobb method. The displacement of fracture fragments was obtained from the mean of the adjacent end plate areas subtracted from the area enclosed by the maximum contour of vertebral fragmentation. The “spread” was derived from the ratio between this subtraction and the mean of the adjacent end plate areas. Analysis of variance, Mann-Whitney, and receiver operating characteristic were performed for statistical analysis. The authors report no conflict of interest concerning the materials or methods used in the present study or the findings specified in this paper. No funds or grants have been received for the present study. ResultsThe spread revealed to be a helpful quantitative measurement of vertebral body fragment displacement, easily reproducible with the current computed tomography (CT) imaging technologies. There were no failures of posterior fixations with preoperative spreads <42% and losses of correction (LOC)<10°, whereas spreads >62.7% required supplementary anterior supports whenever LOC>10° were recorded. Most of the patients in a “gray zone,” with spreads between 42% and 62.7%, needed additional anterior supports because of clinical-radiological evidence of impending mechanical failures, which developed independently from the GKC. Preoperative kyphosis (p<.001), load sharing score (p=.002), and spread (p<.001) significantly affected the final surgical treatment (posterior or circumferential). ConclusionsTwenty-two years after the LSC, both improvements in spinal stabilization systems and software imaging innovations have modified surgical concepts and approach on spinal trauma care. Spread was found to be an additional tool that could help in predicting the posterior construct failure, providing an objective preoperative indicator, easily reproducible with the modern viewers for CT images.

Математическая модель разлета осколков метеорного тела после разрушения

Математическая модель разлета осколков метеорного тела после разрушения