Spine Shape Research Articles

Comparison of three validated systems to analyse spinal shape and motion

The assessment of spinal shape and mobility is of great importance for long-term therapy evaluation. As frequent radiation should be avoided, especially in children, non-invasive measurements have gained increasing importance. Their comparability between each other however stays elusive. Three non-invasive measurement tools have been compared to each other: Idiag M360, raster stereography and Epionics SPINE. 30 volunteers (15 females/15 males) have each been assessed by each system, investigating lumbar lordosis, thoracic kyphosis and spinal range-of-motion in the sagittal plane. Lumbar lordosis differed significantly (p < 0.001) between measurement devices but correlated significant to each other (Pearson’s r 0.5–0.6). Regarding thoracic kyphosis no significant difference and a high correlation (r = 0.8) could be shown between Idiag M360 and raster stereography. For lumbar mobility resulting measurements differed significantly and correlated only moderate between Idiag M360 and Epionics SPINE. Although the different measurement systems are moderate to high correlated to each other, their absolute agreement is limited. This might be explained by differences in their angle definition for lordotic and kyphotic angle, their measurement placement, or their capturing of mobility (static vs. dynamic assessment). Therefore, for long-term evaluation of the back profile, inter-modal comparison of values between different non-invasive devices should be avoided.

Pollen morphology of the genera Hidalgoa and Dahlia (Coreopsideae, Asteraceae): implications for taxonomy.

Hidalgoa and Dahlia are two closely related genera in Asteraceae, tribe Coreopsideae whose limits need to be clarified. Pollen morphology has been useful for delimitation at the genus level in this family. To better define these genera, the morphology of pollen grains was observed and measured using light and scanning electron microscopy. The pollen grains of 25 species of Dahlia and Hidalgoa were acetolyzed and analyzed. Pollen is tricorporate in most of the species studied, although in a few species in Dahlia, grains were found to be hexacolporate. The most outstanding differentiating characters among species of Dahlia and Hidalgoa are colpus length (greater in Hidalgoa) and shape of spines (conical in Hidalgoa). In addition, lalongate ora are larger in Hidalgoa than in Dahlia. A PCA analysis of thirteen pollen characters, identified species of Hidalgoa in a discrete group and Dahliacuspidata as an outlier. These distinctive attributes in pollen morphology support the idea that pollen morphology is useful for delimitation at the generic level in the Dahlia clade. Further evidence from other sources, genetic or anatomical, might contribute to demarcating Dahlia and Hidalgoa, and provide insight into the family's evolutionary history.

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Functional Investigation of TUBB4A Variants Associated with Different Clinical Phenotypes.

Dominant TUBB4A variants result in different phenotypes, including hypomyelination with atrophy of the basal ganglia and cerebellum (H-ABC), dystonia type 4 (DYT4), and isolated hypomyelination. Here, we report four new patients with a novel TUBB4A variant (p.K324T) and three new patients with previously reported variants (p.Q292K, p.V255I, p.E410K). The individual carrying the novel p.K324T variant exhibits epilepsy of infancy with migrating focal seizures (EIMFS), while the other three have isolated hypomyelination phenotype. We also present a study of the cellular effects of TUBB4A variants responsible for H-ABC (p.D249N), DYT4 (p.R2G), a severe combined phenotype with combination of hypomyelination and EIMFS (p.K324T), and isolated hypomyelination (p.Q292K and p.E410K) on microtubule stability and dynamics, neurite outgrowth, dendritic spine development, and kinesin binding. Cellular-based assays reveal that all variants except p.R2G increase microtubule stability, decrease microtubule polymerization rates, reduce axonal outgrowth, and alter the density and shape of dendritic spines. We also find that the p.K324T and p.E410K variants perturb the binding of TUBB4A to KIF1A, a neuron-specific kinesin required for transport of synaptic vesicle precursors. Taken together, our data suggest that impaired microtubule stability and dynamics, defected axonal growth, and dendritic spine development form the common molecular basis of TUBB4A-related leukodystrophy. Impairment of TUBB4A binding to KIF1A is more likely to be involved in the isolated hypomyelination phenotype, which suggests that alterations in kinesin binding may cause different phenotypes. In conclusion, our study extends the spectrum of TUBB4A mutations and related phenotypes and provides insight into why different TUBB4A variants cause distinct clinical phenotypes.

The Relationship Between the Shape of the Spine and the Width of Linea Alba in Children Aged 6-9 Years. Case-Control Study.

IntroductionCivilization development coupled with contemporary lifestyle leads to a systematic increase in postural disorders. An analysis of factors that may provoke postural disorders indicates that such a stimulus may be the diastasis of the rectus abdominis muscles. Moreover, abnormal activity of the rectus abdominis muscles may affect balance disorders through reduced spinal stabilization and disturbed body statics. There is an increase in body posture abnormalities between the ages of 6 and 9 related to new school duties.Purpose of the StudyThe purpose of the study was to evaluate the relationship between the shape of the spine and the width of the linea alba in children aged 6–9 years.Material and MethodThe study was designed to evaluate parameters determining the shape of the spine, and the width of the linea alba in healthy children aged 6–9 years. The study participants were divided into two groups based on the width of the linea alba. The study group with the width of the linea alba >10 mm and the control group with the width of the linea alba ≤ 10 mm. The study group were included 37 children and the control group 24 children. The examination of the linea alba width was performed by a radiology specialist using a linear transducer and SAOTE- My Lab Classc-type ultrasound at rest and during contraction of the rectus abdominis muscles. Parameters describing the shape of the spine were measured using the Diers Formetric 4D system: trunk inclination, trunk imbalance, pelvis tilt, pelvic torsion, kyphotic apex, lordotic apex, kyphotic angle, lordotic angle, rotation angle, trunk torsion, lateral deviation. The obtained results were statistically analyzed using a Paired t test for comparison of differences between the results in the study and control groups and Pearson's test to assess the correlation between the width of the linea alba and parameters describing spinal alignment.ResultsIn both groups, the parameters describing the shape of the spine did not differ from the norms accepted as typical for the age norm. The only statistically significant difference between the study and control group concerned the trunk inclination, which was negative in the study group, signifying a shift of the entire spine axis backwards beyond the vertical.ConclusionsThere is a correlation between the shape of spine and the width of the linea alba in terms of selected parameters determining the body posture in the sagittal plane, which concern: the position of the lumbar lordotic apex, trunk inclination and the depth of the lumbar lordotic angle. The width of the linea alba is not explicitly related to abnormalities of pelvic and spinal alignment in the frontal and transverse planes.

Image Quality Control in Lumbar Spine Radiography Using Enhanced U-Net Neural Networks.

PurposeTo standardize the radiography imaging procedure, an image quality control framework using the deep learning technique was developed to segment and evaluate lumbar spine x-ray images according to a defined quality control standard.Materials and MethodsA dataset comprising anteroposterior, lateral, and oblique position lumbar spine x-ray images from 1,389 patients was analyzed in this study. The training set consisted of digital radiography images of 1,070 patients (800, 798, and 623 images of the anteroposterior, lateral, and oblique position, respectively) and the validation set included 319 patients (200, 205, and 156 images of the anteroposterior, lateral, and oblique position, respectively). The quality control standard for lumbar spine x-ray radiography in this study was defined using textbook guidelines of as a reference. An enhanced encoder-decoder fully convolutional network with U-net as the backbone was implemented to segment the anatomical structures in the x-ray images. The segmentations were used to build an automatic assessment method to detect unqualified images. The dice similarity coefficient was used to evaluate segmentation performance.ResultsThe dice similarity coefficient of the anteroposterior position images ranged from 0.82 to 0.96 (mean 0.91 ± 0.06); the dice similarity coefficient of the lateral position images ranged from 0.71 to 0.95 (mean 0.87 ± 0.10); the dice similarity coefficient of the oblique position images ranged from 0.66 to 0.93 (mean 0.80 ± 0.14). The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the assessment method on the validation set were 0.971–0.990 (mean 0.98 ± 0.10), 0.714–0.933 (mean 0.86 ± 0.13), and 0.995–1.000 (mean 0.99 ± 0.12) for the three positions, respectively.ConclusionThis deep learning-based algorithm achieves accurate segmentation of lumbar spine x-ray images. It provides a reliable and efficient method to identify the shape of the lumbar spine while automatically determining the radiographic image quality.

Taxonomic significance of palynological studies for identification of two morphologically similar Malva species.

Pollen studies can assist in distinguishing different plant taxa on the basis of pollen diameter, exine thickness, spines length, spine shape, number of rows of spines between colpi, shape of pollen, P/E ratio, pollen class and aperture type. Light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was used to compare and differentiate two Malva species on the basis of different pollen characteristics. Pollen in Malva neglecta and Malva parviflora had punctate and subpsilate, and, granulate and verrucate sculpturing between spines respectively. Both species pollen had bulbous spine base, but were more swollen in M.parviflora. M.neglecta had more pollen size, spine length and distance between spine base and spine apex, except spine base and pore diameter. The scatterplot matrix showed a wide variation among sculpturing types and other pollen attributes of both species. In PCA biplot, pore diameter and spine length were linked to M.parviflora while other pollen attributes were clearly linked to M.neglecta, indicating the taxonomic significance of the observed characters. It was concluded that the palynological studies can act as an identification tool and are of great significance in delimiting Malva and different plant taxa. RESEARCH HIGHLIGHTS: Taxonomic identifications is a big problem in morphologically identical Malva neglecta and Malva parviflora. The usefulness of pollen morphology (pollen diameter and exine thickness) and wall ornamentation in identification through light microscopy (LM) and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was confirmed. Pollen of M.neglecta can be differentiated from M.parviflora by its sculpturing patterns. Spine base and pore diameter of M.parviflora is a taxonomically important feature.

Statistical modelling of how the sagittal alignment of the cervical spine is affected by adolescent idiopathic scoliosis and how scoliosis surgery changes that.

The relationship between the sagittal shape of the cervical spine and that of the thoracolumbar spine is established in the normal spine. Adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) is recognised as a change in the shape of the spine in both the coronal and sagittal planes. The effects of AIS on the alignment of the cervical spine, including the effects of surgery, has been less well studied. The objective of this study was to identify, using regression analysis, the significant relationships between the alignment of the thoracolumbar spine, in both the coronal and sagittal planes, and the sagittal alignment of the cervical spine in AIS. This study used coronal and sagittal radiographic measures from a group with AIS, both pre and post-operatively, which were analysed using multiple linear regression methods to identify significant parameters that explain the sagittal shape of the cervical spine. There were 51 pairs of pre and post-operative radiographs analysed, 40 of which were Lenke 1 curves and 11 Lenke 3 curves. Posterior spinal fusion was performed for all. The significant parameters pre-operatively were T1 slope, thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis and SVA with an R2 value of 78%. Post-operatively, the significant parameters were T1 slope, thoracic kyphosis, lumbar lordosis and thoracolumbar scoliosis with an R2 of 63%. The sagittal alignment of the cervical spine in AIS is related to the shape of key parameters in the rest of the spine. Changes in the cervical sagittal shape occur to compensate for changes in shape to the rest of the spine that occur as a consequence of surgery. This has implications for the understanding of how the compensatory mechanisms of the spine are used to maintain a horizontal gaze, along with prediction of the effects of surgery on the shape of the spine.

Proximal Junction Kyphosis in Adult Scoliosis: Best Postoperative Radiological Predictors-A Retrospective Cohort Study.

Background Proximal junction kyphosis (PJK) is the postsurgical radiographic event seen in the surgical plane after the fusion of a spinal deformity. Unfavorable health outcomes have been reported in symptomatic PJK patients compared to non-PJK patients. Methods The data for adult scoliosis patients who underwent curve correction were extracted from the hospital database. Pelvic and spinal parameters were measured and calculated to compare four predictive formulae for occurrences of PJK. Formula 1. Restoration of hypothetical values of lumbar lordosis (LL) and thoracic kyphosis (TK) according to pelvic incidence (PI). Formula 2. Evaluation of global sagittal alignment. Formula 3. Restoration of the apex of LL to its hypothetical position according to the spine shape. Formula 4. Evaluation of positive-sum and negative-sum of (LL + TK). Results A total number of cases were 52. There were 14 cases of PJK. The incidence of PJK was 26.9%, and the mean age for PJK cases was 63.2 ± 5.2. The excellent predictor for occurrences of PJK was formula 3. Postsurgical sagittal apexes of lumbar lordosis were located in their hypothetical position in 24 cases, and 12.5% of these cases developed PJK. While sagittal apexes were not located in their hypothetical position in 28 patients, PJK occurred in 39.3% of them (P=0.03, OR: 4.53, (95% CI: 1.09–18.9)). The second good predictor for occurrences of PJK was formula 2 (GSA >45° versus GSA <45° OR = 2.5, (95% CI: 0.67–9.38), P=0.17). The other two formulae (1 and 4) were not good predictors for occurrences of PJK. Conclusion Among the four proposed formulae for predicting occurrences of PJK, the position of the sagittal apex of lumbar lordosis is an excellent predictor of the development of PJK, followed by GSA. Hypothetical values of LL and TK, and positive or negative-sum of (LL + TK), are weak predictors for occurrences of PJK.

Dysregulation of miRNAs Levels in Glycogen Synthase Kinase-3β Overexpressing Mice and the Role of miR-221-5p in Synaptic Function

Glycogen synthase kinase-3β (GSK-3β) is a highly expressed kinase in the brain, where it has an important role in synaptic plasticity. Aberrant activity of GSK-3β leads to synaptic dysfunction which results in the development of several neuropsychiatric and neurological diseases. Notably, overexpression of constitutively active form of GSK-3β (GSK-3β[S9A]) in mice recapitulates the cognitive and structural defects characteristic for neurological and psychiatric disorders. However, the mechanisms by which GSK-3β regulates synaptic functions are not clearly known. Here, we investigate the effects of GSK-3β overactivity on neuronal miRNA expression in the mouse hippocampus. We found that GSK-3β overactivity downregulates miRNA network with a potent effect on miR-221-5p (miR-221*). Next, characterization of miR-221* function in primary hippocampal cell culture transfected by miR-221* inhibitor, showed no structural changes in dendritic spine shape and density. Using electrophysiological methods, we found that downregulation of miR-221* increases excitatory synaptic transmission in hippocampal neurons, probably via postsynaptic mechanisms. Thus, our data reveal potential mechanism by which GSK-3β and miRNAs might regulate synaptic function and therefore also synaptic plasticity.

A new species of Homatula (Teleostei, Cobitoidea, Nemacheilidae) from the Pearl River drainage, Yunnan, China.

Based on morphological and molecular analysis of Homatula species distributed in the Nanpanjiang River in Yunnan, China, we described a new species, Homatularobustasp. nov. It differs from its congeners by a combination of the following characters: naked and robust body with well-developed crests (caudal peduncle depth as a percentage of its length: 70.5–78.5%); lateral line complete; median notch on lower jaw; median gap on lower lip; three pairs of short barbels, with maxillary barbels extending posteriorly to anterior edge of eyes; branched dorsal-fin rays 8½; and vertebrae 37–39. It can further be distinguished from H.nanpanjiangensis by several differences of the caudal skeleton such as the number of hypural elements, the presence of epurale and the shape of neural and haemal spines. Phylogenetic analysis of the mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) gene indicated that the new species represents an independent lineage. It is separated from other Homatula species by a minimum of 5.3% Kimura-2-parameter distance in the COI gene. Furthermore, we confirmed that Homatulawenshanensis should be a member of Homatula based on both skeleton and molecular evidence.

Anatomy-Aware Inference of the 3D Standing Spine Posture from 2D Radiographs.

An important factor for the development of spinal degeneration, pain and the outcome of spinal surgery is known to be the balance of the spine. It must be analyzed in an upright, standing position to ensure physiological loading conditions and visualize load-dependent deformations. Despite the complex 3D shape of the spine, this analysis is currently performed using 2D radiographs, as all frequently used 3D imaging techniques require the patient to be scanned in a prone position. To overcome this limitation, we propose a deep neural network to reconstruct the 3D spinal pose in an upright standing position, loaded naturally. Specifically, we propose a novel neural network architecture, which takes orthogonal 2D radiographs and infers the spine’s 3D posture using vertebral shape priors. In this work, we define vertebral shape priors using an atlas and a spine shape prior, incorporating both into our proposed network architecture. We validate our architecture on digitally reconstructed radiographs, achieving a 3D reconstruction Dice of , indicating an almost perfect 2D-to-3D domain translation. Validating the reconstruction accuracy of a 3D standing spine on real data is infeasible due to the lack of a valid ground truth. Hence, we design a novel experiment for this purpose, using an orientation invariant distance metric, to evaluate our model’s ability to synthesize full-3D, upright, and patient-specific spine models. We compare the synthesized spine shapes from clinical upright standing radiographs to the same patient’s 3D spinal posture in the prone position from CT.

Leg Length Discrepancy and Nonspecific Low Back Pain: 3-D Stereophotogrammetric Quantitative Posture Evaluation Confirms Positive Effects of Customized Heel-Lift Orthotics.

Background: The literature reports evidence of leg length discrepancy (LLD) associated with musculoskeletal disorders, alterations in spinopelvic alignment, and body posture, leading to low back pain and lumbar scoliosis. The most common conservative treatment for LLD is the use of internal or external shoe lifts although no treatment guidelines have been established. Aim: The study aimed to contribute to low back pain–LLD relationship comprehension, highlighting the benefits of LLD correction in the nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP) population. Methods: A cross-sectional observational study recruited a cohort of 80 NSLBP patients (48 females, 32 males) with LLD, age (μ = 35 ± 17.2). Entire body posture, including 3-D spine shape reconstruction, was measured using a nonionizing 3-D optoelectronic stereophotogrammetric approach. After the first 3-D posture evaluation, patients were provided with customized orthotics, including 100% LLD heel lift correction. No other therapeutic interventions were considered. Pain level was assessed using the numerical pain rating scale (NPRS). The gender, age-related, and time-dependent effects of LLD equalization treatment in NSLBP patients was investigated during 2 years of follow-up. The statistical analysis was performed at the global level using multivariate methods by Hotelling T 2 tests and intrasubject-level using t-test. Results and Discussion: An initial average NPRS = 7.8 was determined. In the medium-term follow-up group (4 months), the NPRS dramatically decreased (NPRS = 1.1). The pain disappeared in the long-term (2 years) follow-up group (NPRS = 0). The study results highlight that LLD equalization treatment led to clear statistically significant improvements in all the postural parameters of the frontal plane, including the underfoot load asymmetry. No worsening has been detected. An adaptation period long enough is needed to obtain progressive pain relief improvements and structural posture changes. Younger NSLBP patients showed slightly better improvements than older ones. Minimal differences between healthy young adults’ and NSLBP patients’ postures were found either in natural erect standing posture or when LLD equalization is applied. Conclusion: Heel-lift customized orthotics with 100% LLD correction are an effective short- and long-term treatment in patients with nonspecific LBP, inducing pain symptom recession and stimulating the improvement of postural parameters without contraindications.

Thoracolumbar Rotation During Tai Chi Movements-A Biomechanical Analysis of the Entire Peking Style Routine.

The impact of spinal mobility and sagittal spinal shape on the development of balance impairment supports the hypothesis that enhancing spine flexibility results in an improvement in postural balance ability. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate whether the range of motion of thoracolumbar rotation during the movements of the Tai Chi Peking style routine is sufficient to improve thoracolumbar flexibility. Three-dimensional kinematic and kinetic data were collected from eight athletes of the German Wushu Federation, while performing all movements of the entire Peking style routine (1) in a competition version corresponding to national/international championships and (2) in a health sport version performed with shorter and higher stances (i.e. a smaller distance between the feet and thus less knee flexion). For each movement the total mean and standard deviation values for the total range of motion of thoracolumbar rotation was calculated. Statistical analysis was performed using the Wilcoxon signed-rank test for paired differences. Eight movements showed major differences (10.12–19.73°) between the two versions. For the remaining movements, only minor differences (0.7–9.56°) were observed. All movements performed on both sides showed no significant lateral differences. Most of the Tai Chi movements, regardless of the performed version, cover a range of motion of thoracolumbar rotation that has the potential to lead to an improvement of thoracolumbal spine flexibility with appropriate training. The most effective single movements (25.97–72.22°) are Brush Knee and Step Forward, Step Back and Repulse Monkey, Grasp the Sparrow‘s Tail, Wave Hand in the Clouds, and Fair Lady Weaves with Shuttle.

Sagittal imbalance of the spine is associated with poor sitting posture among primary and secondary school students in China: a cross-sectional study

BackgroundLong-term poor posture may affect the morphological development of the spine. However, there is no definite answer as to how writing posture affects students’ spine. This study attempted to compare the sagittal curvature of the spine between sitting and standing postures in adolescents to reveal the variation rule of spinal sagittal curvature of students with learning posture, and to discover the key factors that may affect students’ spinal health.Methods1138 participants (male, 604; female, 534; age range, 6–18 years) from three schools in Tianjin, China, including 570 primary school students and 568 secondary school students. This study used SpineScan and PA200 Station Posture Assessment System to assess the sagittal curvature of the spine for three postures: sitting on a chair in upright position, seated at a desk while reading/writing, and standing in natural relaxed position. Analyze the difference between spine angle of the three postures and the correlation between the sagittal plane angle of the spine and body posture.ResultsThe mean sagittal angle of the spine changed when the participants were in reading/writing position compared to standing position, with the lumbar lordosis angle significantly decreased (p < 0.05) and the thoracic kyphosis angle significantly increased (p < 0.05). The TKA and LLA angles were abnormal in 33 and 52% of students in reading/writing posture respectively. There was a significant correlation between sitting posture and standing spinal Angle and were positively correlated with the height of the teenager (p < 0.05). By contrast, a higher percentage of TKA and LLA subjects in the standard reading/writing posture reference range maintained normal spinal shape while standing.ConclusionsThe angle of thoracic kyphosis significantly increased from standing posture to upright sitting, reading/writing posture, while lumbar lordosis significantly decreased or even disappeared. There was a significant correlation between sagittal angle of spine in different postures. The poor sitting posture associated with sagittal angle abnormalities impact the shape of the spine such that sagittal imbalance was also observed when students in natural standing posture. Height is an important factor affecting the sitting spine shape of students.

3D Stereophotogrammetric Quantitative Evaluation of Posture and Spine Proprioception in Subacute and Chronic Nonspecific Low Back Pain.

The literature shows that low back pain causes a reduced lumbar range of movement, affecting patients’ proprioception and motor control. Nevertheless, studies have found that proprioception and motor control of the spine and posture are vague and individually expressed even in healthy young adults. This study aimed to investigate the standing posture and its modifications induced by an instinctive self-correction manoeuvre in subacute and chronic nonspecific low back pain (NSLBP) patients to clarify how NSLBP relates to body upright posture, proprioception, and motor control and how these are modified in patients compared to healthy young adults (121 healthy young adults: 57 females and 64 males). A cohort of 83 NSLBP patients (43 females, 40 males) were recruited in a cross-sectional observational study. Patients’ entire body posture, including 3D spine shape reconstruction, was measured using a non-ionising 3D optoelectronic stereophotogrammetric approach. Thirteen quantitative biomechanical parameters describing the nature of body posture were computed. The statistical analysis was performed using multivariate methods. NSLBP patients did not present an altered proprioception and motor control ability compared to healthy young adults. Furthermore, as for healthy subjects, NSLBP patients could not focus and control their posture globally. Proprioception and motor control in natural erect standing are vague for most people regardless of gender and concurrent nonspecific low back pain. Self-correction manoeuvres improving body posture and spine shape must be learned with specific postural training focusing on the lumbar spine.

CaMKIIβ knockdown decreases store-operated calcium entry in hippocampal dendritic spines.

Calcium/calmodulin-dependent protein kinase II (CaMKII) and neuronal store-operated calcium entry (nSOCE) have been implicated in the development of Alzheimer's disease (AD). nSOCE is involved in regulation of dendritic spine shape, particularly in stability of mushroom spines that play role in formation of strong synapses. CaMKII is involved in regulation of induction of long-term potentiation, that is needed for shaping of memory. In the present study, we demonstrated that inhibition of kinase activity of CaMKII by KN-62 decreases nSOCE amplitude in soma of primary hippocampal neurons. We have shown that knockdown of CaMKIIβ leads to the downregulation of nSOCE in dendritic spines. In agreement with previously published data, we have also observed that CaMKIIβ knockdown causes mushroom spine loss in primary hippocampal culture. The effect of CaMKIIβ knockdown on the nSOCE may be associated with a decrease of dendritic spine head size.

Morphometric analyses of sexual dimorphism in sound-emitting structures in adults of the bess beetle Vindex agnoscendus (Coleoptera: Passalidae)

In insects, the sexually dimorphic body size, color, and horns are very conspicuous. Other not so obvious characteristics, such as behavioral traits related to reproduction, are also dimorphic (courtship dances and sounds). Among these, the stridulation, stridulatory apparatus, and hearing systems could also be different between sexes. Passalids are subsocial beetles with acoustic communication in the interactions of larvae-adult and adult-adult. Most of the species do not have morphological traits with sexual dimorphism, but sounds are dimorphic under reproductive and aggression contexts. We studied sexual dimorphism in the stridulation organs (plectrum) in Vindex agnoscendus (Percheron) as an important step towards understanding its functioning. We acquired SEM micrographs of the plectrum for 14 specimens per sex, for measuring size, density and shape of the spines. We performed traditional and geometric morphometric analyses to test for sexual differences in the spines of three zones (Z1-Z3) of the plectrum. Allometric analyses showed spine variation is not related to body size in either sex. Our univariate and multivariate analyses uncovered sexual dimorphism in spine size (length and width of spines), spine density (distance between spines and number of spines), and spine shape (landmark coordinates). Spines were wider in males than in females in the apical zone (Z1). The spines were further apart in females than in males in two zones (Z1, Z2) and the spine numbers were higher in females than in males in the apical zone (Z1). The shape of spines was different between sexes in two zones (Z1, Z2). Moreover, our disparity analyses showed different variability patterns in size and density of spines. Variability of spine shape was similar between sexes, and variability of spine density was higher in females than in males, while for spine size it was higher in males than in females. These findings for the plectrum suggest further research for sexual dimorphism in the pars stridens and acoustic signals, and for the possible roles of natural and sexual selection in the patterns of variability of spines.

Statistical Shape Analyses of Pediatric Patients with Scoliosis After Surgical Correction.

To investigate the preoperative and postoperative differences in the upper-body and spinal shapes of patients with scoliosis. Digitized two-dimensional X-ray images were used to obtain the shapes of the upper-body and spine. The preoperative and postoperative mean shapes were compared by using a Generalized Procrustes analysis. The thin plate spline (TPS) method was used to evaluate the spinal shape deformation between the preoperative and postoperative periods. The pre- and postoperative upper-body and spinal shape differences were significant. The TPS graphics showed highlevel deformations between the pre- and postoperative periods. The left superior border of the L4 spinous process showed the highest deformation. The preoperative and postoperative upper-body and spinal shape differences and structural deformations that correlated with scoliosis were shown to be significant.

Concept of mathematical modeling of lumbar and thoracic spine based on elastic beam theory

Modeling of the human spine is important for establishing quantitative assessment methods of low back pain (LBP) caused by manual material handling (MMH). This study developed mathematical models of the lumbar and thoracic spine based on the elastic beam theory. Two types of models, uniform and non-uniform, were derived. First, to simplify the Bernoulli-Euler beam theory, three assumptions were introduced for the uniform beam model: (i) the vertebrae and intervertebral disc were considered as a composite material, (ii) constant cross-sectional area, and (iii) conversion of muscular strength to bending moment. However, on fitting to the actual spine position data from the literature, the uniform beam model was found to be unable to reproduce the spine shape, particularly in the lumbar region. Therefore, the non-uniform beam model was derived by removing assumption (ii), which does not agree with the actual human spine profile. Consequently, the spine was modeled as a trapezoid from around S1 to C7 in the sagittal plane, by adjusting the proportionality factor of trapezoid via tapering or widening, and the non-uniform beam model was found to better reproduce the spine shape, including the lumbar region. The model has practicability, such as estimation of spine shape; however, the proportionality factor that was used to reproduce the spine shape did not agree with the actual human spine profile; further theoretical development has been left as future work.