Morphometric comparisons among yellowfin tuna, Neothunnus macropterus, from the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean

ENGLISH: The fishery for yellowfin tuna in the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean extends from Southern California to Northern Peru and offshore to a distance of several hundred miles. Sound management of this resource is dependent on knowledge of the relationships among stocks of the many fishing regions within this oceanic area of about one and one quarter million square miles. Godsil (1948), Godsil and Greenhood (1951), Schaefer (1952, ]955) and Royce (1953) have previously examined the morphometry of the yellowfin tuna of the Pacific Ocean and, although these studies were helpful in delineating the major yellowfin stocks of this region, they were of limited value in examining possible sub-divisions f the population fished off the West Coast of the Americas. The importance of this problem and the increase in fishing effort, in recent years, in the new areas off Peru, suggested a re-examination of selected body measurements from fish taken in the various areas of the Eastern Tropical Pacific Ocean, including the more recently exploited grounds off Peru. SPANISH: La pesquería de atún aleta amarilla en el Océano Pacífico Oriental Tropical se extiende desde la California del Sur hasta la región septentrional del Perú, y mar afuera en una extensión de varios cientos de millas. La acertada administración de este recurso depende del conocimiento de las relaciones entre los stocks de las muchas regiones de pesca que se encuentran dentro de esta área oceánica, cuya dimensión es de alrededor de un millón y cuarto de millas cuadradas. Godsil (1948), Godsil y Greenhood (1951), Schaefer (1952, 1955) y Royce (1953) han examinado la morfología del atún aleta amarilla del Océano Pacífico, y a pesar de que los estudios de estos científicos contribuyeron a delinear los más importantes stocks de dicha especie en esta región, han sido, sin embargo, de un valor limitado para el examen de posibles subdivisiones de la población explotada por la pesca frente a la costa occidental de las Américas. La importancia de este problema y el aumento en el esfuerzo de pesca, en años recientes, en las nuevas áreas frente al Perú, han hecho pensar en una revisión de las medidas anatómicas seleccionadas en pescados que se han obtenido en las diversas áreas del Océano Pacífico Oriental Tropical, incluyendo las localidades más recientemente explotadas a la altura de la tierra peruana.

Morphometric study and length-weight relationship of Therapon jarbua, Forsskal

The different morphometric characters of Therapon jarbua showed a linear relationship and uniformity in the various biometric measurements whereas the length-weight relationship showed a curvilinear graph. The studies also indicate that there is no significant difference, in the morphometric characters and length-weight relationship between the males and females. Ponderal index values for males and females was found to fluctuate between 1.3 to 1.5 for most of their life times with the peaks and crests appearing at different lengths for males and females.

Mandibular morphometric variation among Chinese cercopithecoids and the unique structure of the snub-nosed monkey (Rhinopithecus) mandible

In order to understand how mandibular structure differs among the Chinese cercopithecoids (Rhinopithecus, Trachypithecus and Macaca), particularly the uniqueness of the snub-nosed monkeys (Rhinopithecus), we analysed ten mandibular measurements by principal components analysis (PCA), and examined scaling patterns. The results provided by the PCA illustrated differences due to size among the cercopithecoids and the relationship between colobines (Trachypithecus and Rhinopithecus) and cercopithecines, in which macaques (Macaca) are included. Allometric analysis indicated that, biomechanically, there is not a marked difference between macaques and leaf-eating monkeys. This may be associated with the fact that both share some similar ecology and niches in south and southwest China. The snub-nosed monkeys exhibit a significantly more robust mandible, evident in the symphysis, corpus, condyle, and masticatory momentum arm. This supports the hypothesis, based on the study of dental structure, that Rhinopithecus is a unique group in Asian Old World monkeys (OWMs) and has developed some unique characteristics in order to adapt to the tough food available in the severe cold climate of the Plateaux of Qinghai-Tibet, Yun-Gui and Qingling in China.

Morphometric study of the root anatomy in furcation area of mandibular first molars

Furcation involvement in periodontal disease has been a challenge for the dentist. Objective: The aim of this study was to investigate root dimensions in the furcation area of 233 mandibular first molars. Material and Methods: Digital photomicrographs were used to obtain the following measurements on the buccal and lingual surfaces of each tooth: root trunk height (RT), horizontal interadicular distance obtained 1 mm (D1) and 2 mm (D2) below the fornix and interadicular angle (IA). Results: Mean standard deviation of buccal and lingual furcation measurements were, respectively, 1.37 +/- 0.78 mm and 2.04 +/- 0.89 mm for RT; 0.86 +/- 0.39 mm and 0.71 +/- 0.42 mm for D1; 1.50 +/- 0.48 mm and 1.38 +/- 0.48 mm for D2; 41.68 +/- 13.20 degrees and 37.78 +/- 13.18 degrees for IA. Statistically significant differences were found between all measured parameters for buccal and lingual sides (p<0.05, paired t test). Conclusions: In conclusion, the lingual furcation of mandibular first molars presented narrower entrance and longer root trunk than the buccal furcation, suggesting more limitation for instrumentation and worse prognosis to lingual furcation involvements in comparison to buccal lesions.

Morphometric changes associated with sex and development in the Malpighian tubules of Aedes aegypti

The Malpighian tubules of Aedes aegypti showed significant differences in their diameters between male and female larvae, male and female pupae, male larvae and male adults and male pupae and male adults. in every case, female values were greater than in males. Measurements of mean nuclear areas of the principal and stellate cells from Malpighian tubules, taken in males and females during development, showed that this parameter in both types of cell was significantly greater in females than in male larvae, pupae and adult stages. In males, significant differences between developmental stages were observed only in comparison with the nuclear area of larvae and adults in the principal cells, but in females, every comparison between stages showed significant differences except between pupae and adults in stellate cells. The frequency distribution of nuclear area values, in development, for male stellate and principal cells, were mostly concentrated in the first seven classes among the 30 classes considered in every stage, while for females, the frequency dropped drastically in the same classes from larvae to pupae and adults, moving to classes of higher values. Considering the importance of Malpighian tubules in insect physiology, the meaning of the differences detected are discussed on the basis of different metabolic levels, between sexes and developmental stages.

Morphometric evaluation by ultrasonographic exam of the portal veinm vaudal vein and abdominal aorta in healthy dogs of diferent body weights

The diameters and areas of portal vein, caudal vena cava and abdominal aorta are useful measurements in dogs. These values can be easily measured by ultrasonographic exam, and variations of normality can be an important indicator of hepatic or extra-hepatic alterations. This study aimed to measure the diameter and areas of portal vein, caudal vena cava and abdominal aorta inhealthy dogs, with normal corporal score, divided in groups according to the body weight, and assess whether the data are influenced by animal weight. Thirty dogs were examined and divided into three groups (Group A: ≤ 10 kg Group B: from 10.1 to 20.0 kg; Group C: ≥ 20.1 kg). To measure thediameters and areas of portal vein, caudal vena cava and abdominal aorta, the animal was kept in left lateral decubitus position and the transducer was placed on the right lateral abdominal wall, at approximately the 10th or 11th intercostal space, in the porta hepatis region. The diameters and areas of the portal vein, caudal vena cava and abdominal aorta were significantly lower for dogs in Group A with respect to other groups and the dogs from Groups B and C had similar results with each other. The diameters and areas of the portal vein, caudal vena cava and abdominal aorta may vary with the animal size, and reference values must be specific for small, medium and large dogs. Key words: abdominal vessels; area; diameter; measurement; ultrasonographic exam

Morphometric endoscopic study of the pharynx in patients with sleep apnea

Purpose: The aims of the study were to measure endoscopically the retrolingual pharynx during wakefulness and sleep before and after maxillomandibular advancement surgery and to quantify the changes observed. Materials and Methods: Eighteen patients with mild to severe grade obstructive sleep apnea hypopnea were evaluated during wakefulness while sitting and lying down and during induced sleep in dorsal decubitus while breathing naturally. Images of the retrolingual region of the pharynx were captured with a nasofibroscope and recorded on a DVD using the Sony Vegas 8.0 software (Sony Creative Software, Madison, WI). The images captured in greater and smaller aperture were measured with the Image J software (produced by Wayne Rasband, United States National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, MD) in linear anteroposterior and linear laterolateral areas. A correction factor was then applied to equalize the size of the images and thus compare them to one another. Results: The postoperative dimensions of the pharynx always increased significantly in all measurements compared with the preoperative ones. During induced sleep in dorsal decubitus, there was a greater gain in the area of smaller aperture (201.33%). Conclusions: The proposed method showed that the dimensions of the pharynx always increased significantly after surgery for maxillomandibular advancement, although the gain was not homogeneous in all dimensions and also varied according to state of consciousness. The greatest gain was observed in the area of smaller aperture with the patient in induced sleep, thus reducing the collapse of the pharynx. (C) 2012 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

Morphometric analysis of fetal development of Cavia porcellus (Linnaeus, 1758) by ultrasonography: pilot study

Measurements on the growth process and placental development of the embryo and fetuses of Cavia porcellus were carried out using ultrasonography. Embryo, fetus, and placenta were monitored from Day 15 after mating day to the end of gestation. Based on linear and quadratic regressions, the following morphometric analysis showed a good indicator of the gestational age: placental diameter, biparietal diameter, renal length, and crown rump. The embryonic cardiac beat was first detected at an average of 22.5 days. The placental diameter showed constant increase from beginning of gestation then remained to term and presented a quadratic correlation with gestational age (r2 = 0.89). Mean placental diameter at the end of pregnancy was 3.5 ± 0.23 cm. By Day 30, it was possible to measure biparietal diameter, which followed a linear pattern of increase up to the end of gestation (r2 = 0.95). Mean biparietal diameter in the end of pregnancy was 1.94 ± 0.03 cm. Kidneys were firstly observed on Day 35 as hyperechoic structures without the distinction of medullar and cortical layers, thus the regression model equation between kidney length and gestational age presents a quadratic relationship (r2 = 0.7). The crown rump presented a simple linear growth, starting from 15 days of gestation, displaying a high correlation with the gestational age (r2 = 0.9). The offspring were born after an average gestation of 61.3 days. In this study, we conclude that biparietal diameter, placental diameter, and crown rump are adequate predictive parameters of gestational age in guinea pigs because they present high correlation index.

Advanced morphometric techniques applied to the study of human brain anatomy

El desarrollo de las técnicas de imágenes por resonancia magnética han permitido el estudio y cuantificación, in vivo, de los cambios que ocurren en la morfología cerebral ligados a procesos tales como el neurodesarrollo, el envejecimiento, el aprendizaje o la enfermedad. Un gran número de métodos de morfometría han sido desarrollados con el fin de extraer la información contenida en estas imágenes y traducirla en indicadores de forma o tamaño, tales como el volumen o el grosor cortical; marcadores que son posteriormente empleados para encontrar diferencias estadísticas entre poblaciones de sujetos o realizar correlaciones entre la morfología cerebral y, por ejemplo, la edad o la severidad de determinada enfermedad. A pesar de la amplia variedad de biomarcadores y metodologías de morfometría, muchos estudios sesgan sus hipótesis, y con ello los resultados experimentales, al empleo de un número reducido de biomarcadores o a al uso de una única metodología de procesamiento. Con el presente trabajo se pretende demostrar la importancia del empleo de diversos métodos de morfometría para lograr una mejor caracterización del proceso que se desea estudiar. En el mismo se emplea el análisis de forma para detectar diferencias, tanto globales como locales, en la morfología del tálamo entre pacientes adolescentes con episodios tempranos de psicosis y adolescentes sanos. Los resultados obtenidos demuestran que la diferencia de volumen talámico entre ambas poblaciones de sujetos, previamente descrita en la literatura, se debe a una reducción del volumen de la región anterior-mediodorsal y del núcleo pulvinar del tálamo de los pacientes respecto a los sujetos sanos. Además, se describe el desarrollo de un estudio longitudinal, en sujetos sanos, que emplea simultáneamente distintos biomarcadores para la caracterización y cuantificación de los cambios que ocurren en la morfología de la corteza cerebral durante la adolescencia. A través de este estudio se revela que el proceso de “alisado” que experimenta la corteza cerebral durante la adolescencia es consecuencia de una disminución de la profundidad, ligada a un incremento en el ancho, de los surcos corticales. Finalmente, esta metodología es aplicada, en un diseño transversal, para el estudio de las causas que provocan el decrecimiento tanto del grosor cortical como del índice de girificación en adolescentes con episodios tempranos de psicosis. ABSTRACT The ever evolving sophistication of magnetic resonance image techniques continue to provide new tools to characterize and quantify, in vivo, brain morphologic changes related to neurodevelopment, senescence, learning or disease. The majority of morphometric methods extract shape or size descriptors such as volume, surface area, and cortical thickness from the MRI image. These morphological measurements are commonly entered in statistical analytic approaches for testing between-group differences or for correlations between the morphological measurement and other variables such as age, sex, or disease severity. A wide variety of morphological biomarkers are reported in the literature. Despite this wide range of potentially useful biomarkers and available morphometric methods, the hypotheses and findings of the grand majority of morphological studies are biased because reports assess only one morphometric feature and usually use only one image processing method. Throughout this dissertation biomarkers and image processing strategies are combined to provide innovative and useful morphometric tools for examining brain changes during neurodevelopment. Specifically, a shape analysis technique allowing for a fine-grained assessment of regional thalamic volume in early-onset psychosis patients and healthy comparison subjects is implemented. Results show that disease-related reductions in global thalamic volume, as previously described by other authors, could be particularly driven by a deficit in the anterior-mediodorsal and pulvinar thalamic regions in patients relative to healthy subjects. Furthermore, in healthy adolescents different cortical features are extracted and combined and their interdependency is assessed over time. This study attempts to extend current knowledge of normal brain development, specifically the largely unexplored relationship between changes of distinct cortical morphological measurements during adolescence. This study demonstrates that cortical flattening, present during adolescence, is produced by a combination of age-related increase in sulcal width and decrease in sulcal depth. Finally, this methodology is applied to a cross-sectional study, investigating the mechanisms underlying the decrease in cortical thickness and gyrification observed in psychotic patients with a disease onset during adolescence.

Morphometric redefinition of the component chronospecies of the Globorotalia conoidea - G. inflata lineage in DSDP Hole 29-284

Phylo-zonations (or lineage-zonations) are based upon morphological changes within individual evolutionary lineages. These zonations, although potentially of use for stratigraphic subdivision and correlation, often suffer from a lack of quantitative exactness in the definitions of chronospecies. Thus exact reproducibility is hindered for stratigraphic determinations. The potential of morphometrically defined phylo-zonations is demonstrated on a temperate South Pacific Late Cenozoic lineage of planktonic foraminifera (Globorotalia conoidea through intermediate forms to Globorotalia inflata in DSDP Site 284) exhibiting phyletic gradualism. Our sampling interval is about 0.1 m.y. during the last 8 m.y. Changes in the number of chambers in the final whorl, test conicalness, percentage of keeled forms, and test roundness or inflatedness, are used to quantitatively define the following five chronospecies: G. conoidea (Late Miocene; 6.1->8.3 m.y.), G. conomiozea (latest Miocene ; 5.3-6.1 m.y.), G. puncticulata sphericomiozea (earliest Pliocene; 4.5-5.3 m.y.), G. puncticulata puncticulata (Early-Middle Pliocene; 2.9-4.5 m.y.), and G. inflata (Late Pliocene-Quaternary; 0-2.9 m.y.). This phylo-zonation is directly applicable to temperate cool subtropical Southern Hemisphere areas where the evolution took place (Kennett, 1967, 1973; Scott, 1979). It is still not known if the lineage occurs elsewhere; thus the applicability of the phylo-zonation over broader areas is still uncertain. Trends in general size and aperture shape seem to be climatically controlled, and thus may be only of local stratigraphic utility. The practical applications of morphometric phylo-zonation for stratigraphy is to a large extent dependent upon the amount of time and effort required to statistically define the trends. Experiments with large numbers of subsamples from this lineage demonstrate that accurate stratigraphic determinations are possible from measurements on only 15 specimens per sample, except for those very close to chronospecies boundaries.

Point clouds of measurements in the Dechen Cave near Iserlohn, Germany

Modeling natural phenomena from 3D information enhances our understanding of the environment. Dense 3D point clouds are increasingly used as highly detailed input datasets. In addition to the capturing techniques of point clouds with LiDAR, low-cost sensors have been released in the last few years providing access to new research fields and facilitating 3D data acquisition for a broader range of applications. This letter presents an analysis of different speleothem features using 3D point clouds acquired with the gaming device Microsoft® Kinect. We compare the Kinect sensor with terrestrial LiDAR reference measurements using the KinFu pipeline for capturing complete 3D objects (< 4m**3). The results demonstrate the suitability of the Kinect to capture flowstone walls and to derive morphometric parameters of cave features. Although the chosen capturing strategy (KinFu) reveals a high correlation (R2=0.92) of stalagmite morphometry along the vertical object axis, a systematic overestimation (22% for radii and 44% for volume) is found. The comparison of flowstone wall datasets predominantly shows low differences (mean of 1 mm with 7 mm standard deviation) of the order of the Kinect depth precision. For both objects the major differences occur at strongly varying and curved surface structures (e.g. with fine concave parts).

Identification of deep water lantern sharks (Chondrichthyes : Etmopteridae) using morphometric data and multivariate analysis

Taxonomic distinction to species level of deep water sharks is complex and often impossible to achieve during fisheries-related studies. The species of the genus Etmopterus are particularly difficult to identify, so they often appear without species assignation as Etmopetrus sp. or spp. in studies, even those focusing on elasmobranchs. During this work, the morphometric traits of two species of Etmopterus, E. spinax and E. pusillus were studied using 27 different morphological measurements, relatively easy to obtain even in the field. These measurements were processed with multivariate analysis in order to find out the most important ones likely to separate the two species. Sexual dimorphism was also assessed using the same techniques, and it was found that it does not occur in these species. The two Etmopterus species presented in this study share the same habitats in the overlapping ranges of distribution and are caught together on the outer shelves and slopes of the north-eastern Atlantic.