Development and Assessment of Fully Automated and Globally Transitive Geometric Morphometric Methods, With Application to a Biological Comparative Dataset With High Interspecific Variation.

Automated geometric morphometric methods are promising tools for shape analysis in comparative biology, improving researchers' abilities to quantify variation extensively (by permitting more specimens to be analyzed) and intensively (by characterizing shapes with greater fidelity). Although use of these methods has increased, published automated methods have some notable limitations: pairwise correspondences are frequently inaccurate and pairwise mappings are not globally consistent (i.e.

Mycoplasma hominis Empyema in an 18-Year-old Stem Cell and Lung Transplant Recipient: Case Report and Review of the Literature.

Mycoplasma hominis has been identified as a rare cause of respiratory infections in immunocompromised adults. Here, we describe a case of Mycoplasma hominis empyema in an 18-year-old immunocompromised patient with a review of the literature highlighting diagnostic challenges associated with this infection.

What Is the Contribution of City-Scale Actions to the Overall Food System's Environmental Impacts?: Assessing Water, Greenhouse Gas, and Land Impacts of Future Urban Food Scenarios.

This paper develops a methodology for individual cities to use to analyze the in- and trans-boundary water, greenhouse gas (GHG), and land impacts of city-scale food system actions. Applied to Delhi, India, the analysis demonstrates that city-scale action can rival typical food policy interventions that occur at larger scales, although no single city-scale action can rival in all three environmental impacts. In particular, improved food-waste management within the city (7% system-wide GHG reduction) matches the GHG impact of preconsumer trans-boundary food waste reduction.

Integrated results from the COPERNICUS and GALILEO studies.

Objectives: To report on the efficacy and safety of intravitreal aflibercept in patients with macular edema secondary to central retinal vein occlusion (CRVO) in an integrated analysis of COPERNICUS and GALILEO.

Patients And Methods: Patients were randomized to receive intravitreal aflibercept 2 mg every 4 weeks or sham injections until week 24. From week 24 to week 52, all intravitreal aflibercept-treated patients in both studies and sham-treated patients in COPERNICUS were eligible to receive intravitreal aflibercept based on prespecified criteria.

Postcrania of the most primitive euprimate and implications for primate origins.

The fossil record of early primates is largely comprised of dentitions. While teeth can indicate phylogenetic relationships and dietary preferences, they say little about hypotheses pertaining to the positional behavior or substrate preference of the ancestral crown primate. Here we report the discovery of a talus bone of the dentally primitive fossil euprimate Donrussellia provincialis.

Retinal amyloid pathology and proof-of-concept imaging trial in Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Noninvasive detection of Alzheimer's disease (AD) with high specificity and sensitivity can greatly facilitate identification of at-risk populations for earlier, more effective intervention. AD patients exhibit a myriad of retinal pathologies, including hallmark amyloid β-protein (Aβ) deposits.

Methods: Burden, distribution, cellular layer, and structure of retinal Aβ plaques were analyzed in flat mounts and cross sections of definite AD patients and controls (n = 37).

Long-term outcomes with as-needed aflibercept in diabetic macular oedema: 2-year outcomes of the ENDURANCE extension study.

Background/aims: To evaluate the efficacy and safety of individualised 2.0 mg intravitreal aflibercept retreatment for diabetic macular oedema (DME) through the fifth year of management.

Methods: This is a phase IV, 2-year, open-label extension study.

Pediatric lung transplantation and end of life care in cystic fibrosis: Barriers and successful strategies.

Pediatric lung transplantation has advanced over the years, providing a potential life-prolonging therapy to patients with cystic fibrosis. Despite this, many challenges in lung transplantation remain and result in worse outcomes than other solid organ transplants. As CF lung disease progresses, children and their caregivers are often simultaneously preparing for lung transplantation and end of life.

Semi-supervised determination of pseudocryptic morphotypes using observer-free characterizations of anatomical alignment and shape.

Accurate, quantitative characterization of complex shapes is recognized as a key methodological challenge in biology. Recent development of automated three-dimensional geometric morphometric protocols (auto3dgm) provides a promising set of tools to help address this challenge. While auto3dgm has been shown to be useful in characterizing variation across clades of morphologically very distinct mammals, it has not been adequately tested in more problematic cases where pseudolandmark placement error potentially confounds interpretation of true shape variation.

Integrating Education and Service in Pediatric Residency Training: Results of a National Survey.

Objective: The definition and proper role of service, as it relates to education, in the residency training experience has been long debated. In this study we aimed to develop definitions for service and education, delineate how each is perceived to contribute value to training, and to measure respondents' ratings of service and education using case vignettes.

Methods: We conducted a multisite cohort survey study of pediatric residents (n = 797) and program directors (PDs; n = 37) using a region-stratified sample of 2 to 3 participating pediatric residency programs per region.

Postreceptor Neuronal Loss in Intermediate Age-related Macular Degeneration.

Purpose: To investigate the relationship between ganglion cell complex (GCC) thickness and photoreceptor alterations in eyes with intermediate age-related macular degeneration (AMD).

Design: Retrospective case-control study.

Methods: We collected data from 68 eyes with intermediate AMD from 68 patients with spectral-domain optical coherence tomography (SDOCT) imaging.

Oral Tyrosine Kinase Inhibitor for Neovascular Age-Related Macular Degeneration: A Phase 1 Dose-Escalation Study.

Importance: An oral treatment for neovascular age-related macular degeneration would be less burdensome than repeated intravitreous injections. X-82 is an oral tyrosine kinase inhibitor active against vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and platelet-derived growth factor.

Objective: To undertake safety testing of oral X-82 administered for the treatment of neovascular AMD.

Physical activity alters limb bone structure but not entheseal morphology.

Studies of ancient human skeletal remains frequently proceed from the assumption that individuals with robust limb bones and/or rugose, hypertrophic entheses can be inferred to have been highly physically active during life. Here, we experimentally test this assumption by measuring the effects of exercise on limb bone structure and entheseal morphology in turkeys. Growing females were either treated with a treadmill-running regimen for 10 weeks or served as controls.

Crystal structure, NIR luminescence and X-ray computed tomography of Nd:BaLuF nanospheres.

Uniform, hydrophilic 50 nm diameter Nd-doped BaLuF nanospheres are synthesized at 120 °C using a singular one-pot method based on the use of ethylene glycol as solvent, in the absence of any additive. The composition and crystal structure of the undoped material are analyzed in detail using ICP and XRD, which reveals a BaF cubic crystal structure that is able to incorporate 70 mol% of Lu ions. This finding contrasts with the reported phase diagram of the system, where the maximum solubility is around 30 mol% Lu.

The evolutionary radiation of plesiadapiforms.

Very shortly after the disappearance of the non-avian dinosaurs, the first mammals that had features similar to those of primates started appearing. These first primitive forms went on to spawn a rich diversity of plesiadapiforms, often referred to as archaic primates. Like many living primates, plesiadapiforms were small arboreal animals that generally ate fruit, insects, and, occasionally, leaves.

Open data and digital morphology.

Over the past two decades, the development of methods for visualizing and analysing specimens digitally, in three and even four dimensions, has transformed the study of living and fossil organisms. However, the initial promise that the widespread application of such methods would facilitate access to the underlying digital data has not been fully achieved. The underlying datasets for many published studies are not readily or freely available, introducing a barrier to verification and reproducibility, and the reuse of data.

Quantification of the position and depth of the flexor hallucis longus groove in euarchontans, with implications for the evolution of primate positional behavior.

Objective: On the talus, the position and depth of the groove for the flexor hallucis longus tendon have been used to infer phylogenetic affinities and positional behaviors of fossil primates. This study quantifies aspects of the flexor hallucis longus groove (FHLG) to test if: (1) a lateral FHLG is a derived strepsirrhine feature, (2) a lateral FHLG reflects inverted and abducted foot postures, and (3) a deeper FHLG indicates a larger muscle.

Methods: We used linear measurements of microCT-generated models from a sample of euarchontans (n = 378 specimens, 125 species) to quantify FHLG position and depth.

Variability of Retinal Thickness Measurements in Tilted or Stretched Optical Coherence Tomography Images.

Purpose: To investigate the level of inaccuracy of retinal thickness measurements in tilted and axially stretched optical coherence tomography (OCT) images.

Methods: A consecutive series of 50 eyes of 50 patients with age-related macular degeneration were included in this study, and Cirrus HD-OCT images through the foveal center were used for the analysis. The foveal thickness was measured in three ways: (1) parallel to the orientation of the A-scan (Tx), (2) perpendicular to the retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) surface in the instrument-displayed aspect ratio image (Ty), and (3) thickness measured perpendicular to the RPE surface in a native aspect ratio image (Tz).

Fibrin-associated EBV-positive Large B-Cell Lymphoma: An Indolent Neoplasm With Features Distinct From Diffuse Large B-Cell Lymphoma Associated With Chronic Inflammation.

Incidental cases of localized fibrin-associated Epstein-Barr virus (EBV)+ large B-cell proliferations have been described at unusual anatomic sites and have been included in the category of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma associated with chronic inflammation (DLBCL-CI) in the WHO Classification. We describe 12 cases and review the literature to define their clinicopathologic spectrum and compare features with typical cases of DLBCL-CI. Median age was 55.

Impact of gastroesophageal reflux and delayed gastric emptying on pediatric lung transplant outcomes.

Background: Gastroesophageal reflux disease is thought to predispose to adverse lung allograft outcomes. However, little is known about the burden of gastroesophageal reflux (GER) and gastroparesis in pediatric patients. In this study we describe the burden of reflux and gastroparesis in children undergoing lung transplant, and evaluates their impact on allograft survival and rejection incidence.