Skeletal Features Research Articles

Shift Gait: A Skeleton-Based Gait Recognition Method

Gait recognition is a promising biometrics identification technology that is widely used in criminal investigations, surveillance systems, social security, and other fields. Most existing methods of gait recognition are appearance-based methods that use silhouettes as the input of networks to acquire gait features. However, silhouettes will be lost fine-grained spatial information. In addition, the silhouette contains other information that is not related to gait, such as dress, backpack, etc., therefore, it cannot be treated as a pure “gait” recognition. At the same time, most methods do not take into account the complexity of background extraction in the context of dynamic changes. To solve the above mentioned problems, ShiftGait, a method based on skeletal features, is proposed, which extracts body posture from RGB images using 2D pose estimator and feeds the extracted skeletal sequences into graph convolutional network to acquire the features of skeletal sequences. Finally, the extracted features are used for classification. Experiments on the CASIA-B dataset indicates that our network is superior and more robust to dressing changes.

New species from the early Eocene London Clay suggest an undetected early Eocene diversity of the Leptosomiformes, an avian clade that includes a living fossil from Madagascar

We report the first records of the leptosomiform taxon Plesiocathartes from the early Eocene London Clay of Walton-on-the-Naze (Essex, UK). Two species could be distinguished, one of which is described as Plesiocathartes insolitipes, sp. nov. (the other is classified as Plesiocathartes sp.). We furthermore describe two small leptosomiform-like birds from Walton-on-the-Naze, Waltonavis paraleptosomus, gen. et sp. nov. and W. danielsi, gen. et sp. nov., which are represented by partial skeletons of multiple individuals. In plesiomorphic characters of the coracoid and furcula, the new taxon Waltonavis is distinguished from Plesiocathartes and the extant Leptosomus; the skull of Waltonavis furthermore exhibits basipterygoid processes, which are absent in Leptosomus. Another new species, Lutavis platypelvis, gen. et sp. nov., is based on a partial skeleton from Walton-on-the-Naze and closely resembles Plesiocathartes in the overall shape of the tarsometatarsus. However, L. platypelvis is clearly distinguished from leptosomiform birds in the morphology of the hypotarsus, the more massive coracoid, and other skeletal features. Although we consider close affinities to Plesiocathartes and, hence, the Leptosomiformes to be possible, we could not identify derived characters that enable an unambiguous phylogenetic placement of L. platypelvis. In any case, the new species document an unexpected diversity of Plesiocathartes-like fossil in the London Clay and may open a new perspective for a reconstruction of the ancestral morphology of the avian clade Afroaves, which includes the Leptosomiformes and other arboreal landbirds.

Biochemical, hematologic, and skeletal features associated with underweight, overweight, and eating disorders in young Korean women: A population-based study.

Extreme weight conditions in young women are associated with adverse health outcomes. Closely linked with extreme weight status, eating disorders (EDs) are associated with several medical complications and high mortality rates. The study aimed to investigate the biochemical, hematologic, and skeletal features of young Korean women with underweight (UW) and overweight/obesity (OW) conditions, and patients with anorexia nervosa (AN) and bulimia nervosa (BN) compared to women with normal-weight (NW). A total of 808 women (mean age 22.3 ± 3.4 years) were recruited for the study, including 144 with UW status [body mass index (BMI) < 18.5 kg/m2], 364 with NW, 137 with OW or obesity (27 with obesity; BMI ≥ 25 kg/m2), 63 patients with anorexia nervosa (AN), and 100 with bulimia nervosa (BN). We measured blood pressure and performed biochemical, hematologic and bone mineral density (BMD) evaluations at the lumbar and femoral neck. Blood pressure and triiodothyronine levels were found to be lower in both ED groups and higher in the OW group, but no difference in the UW group, compared to the NW group. The aminotransferases and total cholesterol levels were higher in the ED and OW groups, compared to the NW group. Blood cell counts were decreased in the AN group, while increased in the OW group, compared to the NW group. Blood urea nitrogen was elevated in both ED groups. The UW and AN groups had lower BMD, whereas the OW group had higher BMD, compared to the NW group. Our findings suggested that both ED groups were associated with decreases in the resting energy expenditure. OW status was associated with a risk of metabolic syndrome, and UW status with lower BMD in young women. Overall, the medical parameters in Korean patients with ED were similar to the patterns reported in Western samples in previous studies, with few exceptions such as potassium level in BN.

Evaluation of the (hu)MANid program for sex and ancestry estimation in a diverse, contemporary CT scan-based sample.

Human remains from forensic and bioarcheological contexts are often fragmentary, requiring methods for estimating a forensic profile that are based upon limited skeletal features. In 2017, Berg and Keryhercz created an online application, (hu)MANid, that provides sex and ancestry estimation from mandibular morphoscopic traits and linear measurements. In this study, we examine the utility of the (hu)MANid application in a diverse, urban US adult sample (aged 20-45; n=143) derived from computed tomography (CT) scans. We secondarily conduct a preliminary analysis of the program's utility in a sample of adolescents (aged 15-17; n=40). Six morphoscopic, and eleven morphometric traits were recorded as directed by the literature associated with the (hu)MANid program. Percent correct classification and posterior predictive values were calculated for the sex and ancestry estimations output by the program; chi-squared tests were employed to compare self-reported and predicted ancestry. In the adult sample, sex was accurately predicted for 75.52% of the sample. Ancestry prediction, however, was less favorable ranging from 19.3% to 50% correct. For the adolescent sample, correct sex estimation (45%) did not surpass what could occur by chance alone, though ancestry prediction fared better than in the larger adult sample (percent correct prediction overall average: 47.5%, range 35.71%-71.43%). The (hu)MANid application shows utility for use with CT scan-derived adult samples for sex estimation, but caution is warranted for ancestry estimation and use with samples that may not have reached full adult maturity.

Extracellular vesicle-derived miRNAs improve stem cell-based therapeutic approaches in muscle wasting conditions.

Skeletal muscle holds an intrinsic capability of growth and regeneration both in physiological conditions and in case of injury. Chronic muscle illnesses, generally caused by genetic and acquired factors, lead to deconditioning of the skeletal muscle structure and function, and are associated with a significant loss in muscle mass. At the same time, progressive muscle wasting is a hallmark of aging. Given the paracrine properties of myogenic stem cells, extracellular vesicle-derived signals have been studied for their potential implication in both the pathogenesis of degenerative neuromuscular diseases and as a possible therapeutic target. In this study, we screened the content of extracellular vesicles from animal models of muscle hypertrophy and muscle wasting associated with chronic disease and aging. Analysis of the transcriptome, protein cargo, and microRNAs (miRNAs) allowed us to identify a hypertrophic miRNA signature amenable for targeting muscle wasting, consisting of miR-1 and miR-208a. We tested this signature among others in vitro on mesoangioblasts (MABs), vessel-associated adult stem cells, and we observed an increase in the efficiency of myogenic differentiation. Furthermore, injections of miRNA-treated MABs in aged mice resulted in an improvement in skeletal muscle features, such as muscle weight, strength, cross-sectional area, and fibrosis compared to controls. Overall, we provide evidence that the extracellular vesicle-derived miRNA signature we identified enhances the myogenic potential of myogenic stem cells.

A prediction model for difficult intubation using skeletal features in patients affected by apnea-hypopnea syndrome.

Obstructive sleep apnea-hypopnea syndrome (OSAHS) has been linked to increased risk of perioperative morbidity and mortality because of difficult intubation (DI). However, there is a lack of clinically validated tools to identify OSAHS patients who are likely to have an increased the risk of DI. For model development, a prospective cohort study included patients with OSAHS who underwent elective surgery between September 2018 to December 2020. The outcome was DI and classified according to the Cormack-Lehane grading. Conventional airway assessment tests, skeletal features, and the severity of OSAHS were recorded, and LASSO regression was used. Validation was performed on an external sample of patients from the same hospital between January 2021 and December 2021. The development (prevalence of DI: 44%) and validation cohorts (prevalence of DI: 32%) included 247 and 82 patients, respectively. Based on the result of LASSO, age and four skeletal features (thyromental height, maximum mandibular protrusion, mandibulohyoid distance, and neck hypokinesis grade) were included in the final model. Discrimination and calibration of the model were satisfactory with high AUC (0.97), sensitivity (88.5%), specificity (94.6%), accuracy (92.7%), PPV (88.5%) and NPV (94.6%) from external validation. Our study developed and externally validated a DI prediction model using skeletal features in OSAHS patients. The final model had an NPV of nearly 95%, suggesting that a simple nomogram including only five predictors was quite helpful for ruling out the presence of difficult intubation in OSAHS patients who underwent elective surgery.

Sex Determination by Pelvis: A Mini Literature Review

Abstract: An endeavor involving the application of physical anthropology in the context of civil or criminal cases is forensic anthropology. Determination of sex is the matter of absolute attention for a forensic anthropologist as it is the first step towards positive identification process after discovering the skeletal or bone remains of human origin. Pelvic Girdle is the most sexually dimorphic part of human skeleton which estimates the result with an accuracy of 95% and along with sacrum i.e. pelvis it estimates the sex with 98% accuracy and it decomposes slowly than other parts. Sex can be estimated by skeletal remains only in adults as the marked variations on bones be in terms of morphology or size are visible only after attaining puberty. Methods involved in sex estimation process are Morphological, Metric and Radiological. The Morphological method accords the result by considering the morphological sexual traits on pelvis and in contrary the Metric method involves measurement of bones and indices. Metric recipe should be applied in combination with Morphological results as Morphometric in order to get more accurate results. Whereas, in radiological recipe radiographs of collected remains are taken from which certain measurements and morphologic observations can be carried out. Quantitative and statistical analysis can be done using these mentioned methods. Skeletal features may vary with population. Bones are very frail in nature so, in turn, cannot be collected fully thus when fragmented remains are collected the morphometric method is of ultimate importance in the estimation process.

Spectrum of Skeletal Imaging Features in Osteopetrosis: Inheritance Pattern and Radiological Associations.

Osteopetrosis (from the Greek "osteo": bone; "petrosis": stone) is a clinically and genetically heterogeneous group of rare diseases of the skeleton, sharing the same main characteristic of an abnormally increased bone density. Dense bones in radiological studies are considered the hallmark of these diseases, and the reason for the common term used: "Marble bone disease". Interestingly, a radiologist, Dr. Albers-Schonberg, described this disease for the first time in Germany in 1904. Indeed, radiology has a key role in the clinical diagnosis of osteopetrosis and is fundamental in assessing the disease severity and complications, as well as in follow-up controls and the evaluation of the response to treatment. Osteopetrosis includes a broad spectrum of genetic mutations with very different clinical symptoms, age onset, and prognosis (from mild to severe). This diversity translates into different imaging patterns related to specific mutations, and different disease severity. The main recognized types of osteopetrosis are the infantile malignant forms with autosomal recessive transmission (ARO-including the rarer X-linked recessive form); the intermediate autosomal recessive form (IAO); and the autosomal dominant ones ADO, type I, and type II, the latter being called 'Albers-Schonberg' disease. Imaging features may change among those distinct types with different patterns, severities, skeletal segment involvement, and speeds of progression. There are several classical and well-recognized radiological features related to osteopetrosis: increased bone density (all types with different degrees of severity assuming a 'Marble Bone Appearance' especially in the ARO type), different metaphyseal alterations/enlargement including the so-called 'Erlenmeyer flask deformity' (particularly of femoral bones, more frequent in ADO type 2, and less frequent in ARO and IAO), 'bone in bone' appearance (more frequent in ADO type 2, less frequent in ARO and IAO), and 'rugger-jersey spine' appearance (typical of ADO type 2). After conducting an overview of the epidemiological and clinical characteristic of the disease, this review article aims at summarizing the main radiological features found in different forms of osteopetrosis together with their inheritance pattern.

Multistage Adaptive Point-Growth Network for Dense Point Cloud Completion

The point cloud data from actual measurements are often sparse and incomplete, making it difficult to apply them directly to visual processing and 3D reconstruction. The point cloud completion task can predict missing parts based on a sparse and incomplete point cloud model. However, the disordered and unstructured characteristics of point clouds make it difficult for neural networks to obtain detailed spatial structures and topological relationships, resulting in a challenging point cloud completion task. Existing point cloud completion methods can only predict the rough geometry of the point cloud, but cannot accurately predict the local details. To address the shortcomings of existing point cloud complementation methods, this paper describes a novel network for adaptive point cloud growth, MAPGNet, which generates a sparse skeletal point cloud using the skeletal features in the composite encoder, and then adaptively grows the local point cloud in the spherical neighborhood of each point using the growth features to complement the details of the point cloud in two steps. In this paper, the Offset Transformer module is added in the process of complementation to enhance the contextual connection between point clouds. As a result, MAPGNet improves the quality of the generated point clouds and recovers more local detail information. Comparing our algorithm with other state-of-the-art algorithms in different datasets, experimental results show that our algorithm has advantages in dense point cloud completion.

Morphology of ctenostome bryozoans: 6. Amphibiobeania epiphylla.

Ctenostome bryozoans are unmineralized and mostly marine. Their lack of calcified skeletal features requires other characters to be considered for systematic and phylogenetic considerations. As a continuation of an ongoing series of studies, we herein investigate the morphology of Amphibiobeania epiphylla, a unique bryozoan inhabiting mangrove leaves that are highly exposed to tidal cycles and regular dry events according to the tidal cycle. Besides this interesting mode of life, the species was originally interpreted to be a weakly mineralized cheilostome bryozoan, whereas molecular data place it among ctenostome bryozoans. To elucidate the systematic and phylogenetic position of the genus and also find morphological adaptations to an extreme habitat, we investigated the morphology of A. epiphylla in detail. Zooids show a lophophore with eight tentacles and a simple gut with a prominent caecum, lophophoral anusand most notably a distinct gizzard in the cardiac region. Gizzard teeth are multiple, simple homogeneous cuticular structures. The cuticle of the zooid is rather uniform and shows no respective thickenings into opercular flaps or folds. Likewise, apertural muscles are represented by a single pair of muscles. There are no specific closing muscles in the apertural area like the operculum occlusors of cheilostomes. Most prominent within zooids is a spongiose tissue filling most of the body cavity. Although not properly understood, this tissue may aid in keeping animals moist and hydrated during prolonged dry times. In summary, all morphological characters support a ctenostome rather than a cheilostome affinity, possibly with Vesicularioidea or Victorelloidea. In addition, we provide new molecular data that clearly supports such a closer relationship.

New Rufomycins from Streptomyces atratus MJM3502 Expand Anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis Structure-Activity Relationships.

Four new rufomycins, compounds 1-4, named rufomycins 56, 57, 58, and 61, respectively, exhibiting new skeletal features, were obtained from Streptomyces atratus strain MJM3502 and were fully characterized. Compounds 1 and 2 possess a 4-imidazolidinone ring not previously encountered in this family of cyclopeptides, thereby resulting in a [5,17] bicyclic framework. The in vitro anti-Mycobacterium tuberculosis potency of compounds 3 and 4 is remarkable, with minimum inhibitory concentration values of 8.5 and 130 nM, respectively.

Dental and skeletal features in subjects with missing maxillary lateral incisors: a case control retrospective study.

The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between missing maxillary lateral incisors and the mesio-distal (MD) diameters of the teeth. Occlusal and skeletal characteristics of the patients have been analyzed. Seventy-nine patients were included in the study (permanent dentition, mean age: 13.7): 30 subjects with uni- or bilateral maxillary lateral incisors agenesis (study group, SG) and 49 patients with no maxillary lateral incisors agenesis (control group, CG). Orthopanoramics, plaster models and cephalometric analysis were used to perform the evaluations. Compared to the CG, in the SG, most of the teeth had smaller MD diameter. In the bilateral agenesis subgroup, the average differences between teeth diameters were lower than those found by comparing them to the unilateral agenesis subgroup and to the SG. Overjet was reduced on average in the SG. In the SG were found less cases of cross-bite and scissor-bite, less frequency of impaction of at least one tooth and agenesis of other teeth, crowding only in the lower arch, square or ovoid arch shape in the upper arch and square in the lower arch, increased interincisal angle and decreased SN^GoMe. Upper lateral incisors agenesis, especially in cases of unilateral agenesis, is associated with MD teeth reduction. The agenesis of the upper lateral incisors is associated with a greater probability of agenesis affecting other teeth, molar and canine class II, reduced overjet and overbite, square or ovoid upper arch shapes, increased interincisal angle and reduced total divergence.

Impact of pearl-necklace-like skeleton on pore sizes and mechanical properties of porous materials: A theoretical view

The structural and mechanical properties of open-porous cellular materials are often described in terms of simple beam-based models. A common assumption in these models is that the pore walls have a constant cross section, which may be in agreement for a vast majority of such materials. However, for many of those materials that are characterized by a pearl-necklace-like network, this assumption seems too idealized. Aerogels are perfect examples of such materials. In this paper, we investigate the effect of such pore walls having a string of pearls-like morphology on the properties of such open-porous materials. First, the pore size is mathematically modeled. Three scenarios are described, where the pore sizes are calculated for cells in 2D, 3D, and 3D with overlapping particles. The dependency of the skeletal features on the resulting pore size is investigated. In the second part, pore walls with 3D overlapping spheres are modeled and subjected to axial stretching, bending, and buckling. The effect of the particle sizes and the amount of overlap between the particles on the mechanical features is simulated and illustrated. The results are also compared with models that assume a constant cross section of pore-walls. It can be observed that neglecting the corrugations arising from the pearl-necklace-like morphology in open-porous cellular materials can result in serious miscalculations of their mechanical behavior. The goal of this paper is not to quantify the bulk mechanical properties of the materials by accounting for the pearl-necklace-like morphology but rather to demonstrate the significant deviations that may arise when not accounted for.

Does the c.-14C>T Mutation in the IFITM5 Gene Provide Identical Phenotypes for Osteogenesis Imperfecta Type V? Data from Russia and a Literature Review

Osteogenesis imperfecta (OI) is a large group of genetically heterogeneous diseases resulting from decreased bone density and an abnormal microarchitecture, which are clinically manifested by abnormal bone fractures. A distinctive clinical feature of this group of diseases is the presence of spontaneous fractures and skeletal deformities. However, the clinical manifestations of different types of OI are characterized by marked polymorphism with variable severity of skeletal and extra-skeletal features. Previous studies have shown that a mutation (c.-14C>T) in the IFITM5 gene is responsible for autosomal dominant OI type V. However, the mutation has a variable expression pattern and marked clinical heterogeneity. In this study, a clinical and genetic analysis of 12 cases with molecularly confirmed OI type V from 12 unrelated families was performed. Significant clinical heterogeneity of the disease with the same molecular defect was detected. In six subjects (50%), there were no classic signs of OI type V (formation of a hyperplastic bone callus, calcification of the interosseous membrane and dislocation of the radial head). In all cases, the mutation occurred de novo.

Clinical and instrumental characteristics of axial involvement in psoriatic arthritis in real-life clinical practice

Objective: to evaluate clinical and instrumental characteristics of axial lesion in psoriatic arthritis (PsA) in real-life clinical practice.Subjects and methods. Examination were made in 52 patients (32 men and 20 women) with back pain recorded either at the time of their admission or in their medical histories. The inflammatory back pain (IBP) was diagnosed according to the Assessment of SpondyloArthritis international Society (ASAS) criteria. Back pain lasting over three months without meeting the ASAS criteria was taken to be chronic back (chrBP). Hands, feet, pelvis, cervical spine (CSP) and lumbar spine (LSP) were X-rayed. Erosions, osteolysis, and periarticular osteo-proliferative lesions were evaluated applying PsA-modified Sharp/van der Heijde score (SHS). Sacroiliitis (SI) was considered radiologically significant (r-sSI) when it was bilateral grade II or higher, or unilateral grade III or higher by Kellgren. 15 patients without r-sSI had their sacroiliac joints (SIJs) scanned using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Syndesmophytes, paravertebral ossifications, constriction and ankylosis of the CSP zygapophysial joints were considered to be radiological signs of psoriatic spondylitis. HLA-B27 typing was performed in 45 patients.Results and discussion. IBP was identified in 34 (66.7%), chrBP in 17 (33.3%) patients; 15 patients (28.8%) were of advanced age (over 40) at the onset of IBP/chrBP; 30 cases (57.7%) had r-sSI; in 18 cases SI was not detected. 13 out of 30 r-sSI patients (43.3%) didn’t suffer IBP. Erosions were detected in 38 (76%) patients, osteolysis in 13 (26%) and osteo-proliferative lesions in 18 (36%) patients. Average SHS was 82.79±64.77 correlating with the presence of r-sSI (r=0,46; p&lt;0,05). Correlation of r=0.35 was found between r-sSI and the spine limited mobility according to Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index (BASMI); r-sSI was detected with much higher statistical significance in the presence of periarticular osteo-proliferative lesions than in the absence of such (р=0.02). In PsA patients having periarticular osteolysis, axial lesion in the form of asymmetric syndesmophytes was detected ten times more frequently than in those not having it (OR=10; 95% CI: 1.63–61.327). In CSP, syndesmophytes developed two times more frequently than in LSP (p=0.01). Discrete CSP lesions in the absence of any LSP changes was observed in 30% of cases. SI was MRI detected in 2 (13.3%) patients. In 9 (18.0%) patients axial lesions were observed without SI. 15 patients (33.3%) were HLA-B27 positive. A set of specific PsA axial skeletal involvement features were revealed: possibility of oligosymptomatic clinical presentation; patient’s advanced age at the back pain onset; association with severe destructive peripheral arthritis; and more pronounced CSP lesions as compared to LSP. An alternative phenotype patient group (18%) without X-ray or MRI SI but with spine involvement was identified. Key words: psoriatic arthritis; axial lesion&gt;˂ 0,05). Correlation of r=0.35 was found between r-sSI and the spine limited mobility according to Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Metrology Index (BASMI); r-sSI was detected with much higher statistical significance in the presence of periarticular osteo-proliferative lesions than in the absence of such (р=0.02). In PsA patients having periarticular osteolysis, axial lesion in the form of asymmetric syndesmophytes was detected ten times more frequently than in those not having it (OR=10; 95% CI: 1.63–61.327). In CSP, syndesmophytes developed two times more frequently than in LSP (p=0.01). Discrete CSP lesions in the absence of any LSP changes was observed in 30% of cases. SI was MRI detected in 2 (13.3%) patients. In 9 (18.0%) patients axial lesions were observed without SI. 15 patients (33.3%) were HLA-B27 positive. A set of specific PsA axial skeletal involvement features were revealed: possibility of oligosymptomatic clinical presentation; patient’s advanced age at the back pain onset; association with severe destructive peripheral arthritis; and more pronounced CSP lesions as compared to LSP. An alternative phenotype patient group (18%) without X-ray or MRI SI but with spine involvement was identified.

A Self-Supervised Metric Learning Framework for the Arising-From-Chair Assessment of Parkinsonians With Graph Convolutional Networks

The onset and progression of Parkinson’s disease (PD) gradually affect the patient’s motor functions and quality of life. The PD motor symptoms are usually assessed using the Movement Disorder Society-sponsored revision of the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (MDS-UPDRS). Automated MDS-UPDRS assessment has been recently required as an invaluable tool for PD diagnosis and telemedicine, especially with the recent novel coronavirus pandemic outbreak. This paper proposes a novel vision-based method for automated assessment of the arising-from-chair task, which is one of the key MDS-UPDRS components. The proposed method is based on a self-supervised metric learning scheme with a graph convolutional network (SSM-GCN). Specifically, for human skeleton sequences extracted from videos, a self-supervised intra-video quadruplet learning strategy is proposed to construct a metric learning formulation with prior knowledge, for improving the spatial-temporal representations. Afterwards, a vertex-specific convolution operation is designed to achieve effective aggregation of all skeletal joint features, where each joint or feature is weighted differently based on its relative factor of importance. Finally, a graph representation supervised mechanism is developed to maximize the potential consistency between the joint and bone information streams. Experimental results on a clinical dataset demonstrate the superiority of the proposed method over the existing sensor-based methods, with an accuracy of 70.60% and an acceptable accuracy of 98.65%. The analysis of discriminative spatial connections makes our predictions more clinically interpretable. This method can achieve reliable automated PD assessment using only easily-obtainable videos, thus providing an effective tool for real-time PD diagnosis or remote continuous monitoring.

Spatio-temporal aggregation of skeletal motion features for human motion prediction

This study proposes a human body motion prediction model that can adapt to the disorders in various human motion patterns and represent the kinematic constraints. In human motion prediction, the acquisition of features that capture inter-motion and inter-joint linkages is considered effective. To generate links that are adaptive to the reference time of dominant features and their crossing-over joints, we construct an attention-based network that aggregates motion sequences temporally and spatially. We evaluated the motion prediction results using the Human3.6M dataset with the indices of mean angle error and mean per joint position error and showed that our method outperforms other state-of-the-art methods.

Analysis of skeletal characteristics of flat feet using three-dimensional foot scanner and digital footprint

BackgroundFlat feet increase the risk of knee osteoarthritis and contribute to frailty, which may lead to worse life prognoses. The influence of the foot skeletal structure on flat feet is not yet entirely understood. Footprints are often used to evaluate feet. However, footprint-based measurements do not reflect the underlying structures of feet and are easily confounded by soft tissue. Three-dimensional evaluation of the foot shape can reveal the characteristics of flat feet. Therefore, foot shape evaluations have garnered increasing research interest. This study aimed to determine the correlation between the three-dimensional (3D) features of the foot and the measurement results of footprint and to predict the evaluation results of flat feet from the footprint based on the 3D features. Finally, the three-dimensional characteristics of flat feet, which cannot be revealed by footprint, were determined.MethodsA total of 403 individuals (40–89 years) participated in this study. The proposed system was developed to identify seven skeletal features that were expected to be associated with flat feet. The loads on the soles of the feet were measured in a static standing position and with a digital footprint device. Specifically, two footprint indices were calculated: the Chippaux–Smirak index (CSI) and the Staheli index (SI). In the analysis, comparisons between male and female measurement variables were performed using the Student’s t test. The relationships between the 3D foot features and footprint index parameters were determined by employing the Pearson correlation coefficient. Multiple linear regression was utilized to identify 3D foot features that were strongly associated with the CSI and SI. Foot features identified as significant in the multivariate regression analysis were compared based on a one-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with Tukey’s post hoc test.ResultsThe CSI and SI were highly correlated with the instep height (IH) and navicular height (NH) of the 3D foot scanning system and were also derived from multiple regression analysis. In addition to the NH and IH, the indicators of the forefoot, transverse arch width, and transverse arch height were considered. In the flat foot group with CSI values above 62.7%, NH was 13.5% (p < 0.001) for males and 14.9% (p = 0.01) for females, and the axis of the bone distance was 5.3% (p = 0.05) for males and 4.9% (p = 0.10) for females. In particular, for CSI values above 62.7% and NH values below 13%, the axis of the bone distance was large and the foot skeleton was deformed.ConclusionsDecreased navicular bone height could be evaluated with the 3D foot scanning system even when flat feet were not detected from the footprint. The results indicate that the use of quantitative indices for 3D foot measurements is important when evaluating the flattening of the foot.Trial registration number UMIN000037694.Name of the registry: University Hospital Medical Information Network Registry.Date of registration: August 15, 2019.

Obstructive sleep apnea and anatomical structures of the nasomaxillary complex in adolescents.

The aim of the present study was to reveal the associations between skeletal and soft tissue features of the nasomaxillary complex and development and severity of obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) in adolescents. A total of 100 adolescents (mean age, 14.9 ± 1.4 years; age range, 13–17 years) were enrolled. All participants underwent full-night polysomnography and had an assessment of size and position of the tongue, tonsillar size, body mass index (BMI), and circumference of the waist, neck, and hip. The skeletal features of the nasomaxillary complex, including the zygomatic arch width, nasal cavity width, nasal base width, intercanine width, intermolar width, maxillary dental arch length, palatal vault angle, palatal depth, and SNA were measured on the three-dimensional images constructed with computed tomography data. Participants with an apnea and hypopnea index (AHI) of lower than 5 (AHI ≤ 5) were classified as control and participants while those with an AHI of greater than 5 were classified as OSA group. Each variable with a significant outcome in the independent T-test and age and sex factors were integrated into the multivariate linear regression and the dependent variable was AHI. There were significant differences in the BMI and hip circumference between two groups. The width of nasal base, palatal vault angle and SNA also showed significant differences between groups. The results from multivariate linear regression demonstrated that the BMI, width of the nasal base, and SNA showed significant contributions to the severity of OSA in adolescents. The features of the nasomaxillary complex seemed to have significant influences on development and severity of OSA.

Traboulsi syndrome caused by mutations in ASPH: An autosomal recessive disorder with overlapping features of Marfan syndrome

Traboulsi syndrome, otherwise known as facial dysmorphism, lens dislocation, anterior-segment abnormalities and spontaneous filtering blebs, is an autosomal recessive condition associated with characteristic ocular features including dislocated crystalline lenses, anterior segment abnormalities and in some individuals, non-traumatic conjunctival cysts. There is a distinctive facial appearance which includes flattened malar region with convex nasal ridge. Alterations in the aspartate beta-hydroxylase (ASPH) gene are known to be the cause of the condition.We report seven further individuals from six unrelated families with characteristic ocular and facial features. Five individuals had aortic root dilatation, with childhood onset in some, and one undergoing aortic root repair aged 47 years for severe aortic regurgitation and aortic root dilatation. Interestingly, inguinal hernias were commonly reported. Although some skeletal features were seen, these were not consistent. One of the patients had mild deficiency of factor VII on clotting studies. The ASPH protein hydroxylates specific asparagine- and aspartate-residues in epidermal growth factor (EGF)-domain containing proteins including coagulation factors and associated genes including FBN1. We propose this as an explanation for the overlap in clinical features with Marfan syndrome and conclude that Traboulsi syndrome is an important differential diagnosis. We strongly recommend echocardiography surveillance for patients with Traboulsi syndrome.