Ecophysical constraints on avian adaptation and diversification.

The evolution of morphological diversity is ultimately governed by physical laws and ecological contexts, which together impose a range of ecophysical constraints. Substantial progress has been made in identifying how these constraints shape the form and function of producers (plants), but similar knowledge is lacking for consumers, in part because the requisite data have not been available at sufficient scale for animals. Using morphometric measurements for all birds, we demonstrate that observed variation is restricted-both for beak shape and body shape-to triangular regions of morphospace with clearly defined boundaries and vertices (corners).

Safety of Intrathecal Clonidine as an Adjuvant to Spinal Anesthesia in Infants and Children.

Introduction: Preliminary clinical studies have demonstrated that clonidine is an effective adjuvant to spinal anesthesia in neonates and infants. However, the studies conducted previously have had a limited cohort size of 80-100, potentially limiting an accurate measure of its safety.

Methods: The current study retrospectively examines our 5-6-year experience with clonidine as an adjuvant to spinal anesthesia in a large cohort of neonates and infants.

LRP5 promotes adipose progenitor cell fitness and adipocyte insulin sensitivity.

Background: WNT signaling plays a key role in postnatal bone formation. Individuals with gain-of-function mutations in the WNT co-receptor LRP5 exhibit increased lower-body fat mass and potentially enhanced glucose metabolism, alongside high bone mass. However, the mechanisms by which LRP5 regulates fat distribution and its effects on systemic metabolism remain unclear.

A novel classifier of radiographic knee osteoarthritis for use on knee DXA images is predictive of joint replacement in UK Biobank.

Objectives: DXA scans may offer a novel means of evaluating radiographic knee OA (rKOA) in large population studies and through opportunistic screening. We aimed to develop and apply a semi-automated method for assessing rKOA using ≈20 000 knee DXA images from UK Biobank (UKB) and assess its face validity by checking for expected relationships with clinical outcomes.

Methods: Right knee DXA scans were manually annotated for osteophytes to derive corresponding grades.