Ultrasonic evaluation of the abductor hallucis muscle in hallux valgus: a cross-sectional observational study.

Background: The aim of the study was to investigate the abductor hallucis muscle characteristics, defined as dorso-plantar (DP) thickness, medio-lateral (ML) width, and cross-sectional area (CSA) in relation to the severity of hallux valgus using musculoskeletal ultrasound. One hundred and two feet, mean (SD) age of 60.3 (20.

Factors controlling the abundance and size distribution of the phototrophic ciliate Myrionecta rubra in open waters of the North Atlantic.

Myrionecta rubra, a ubiquitous planktonic ciliate, has received much attention due to its wide distribution, occurrence as a red tide organism, and unusual cryptophyte endosymbiont. Although well studied in coastal waters, M. rubra is poorly examined in the open ocean.

Development and application of an analytical method for the determination of storage lipids, fatty acids and fatty alcohols in Calanus finmarchicus.

A method was developed for the determination of the major storage lipids, wax ester and triglycerides, in the copepod Calanus finmarchicus. A variation of the Folch method was used to extract the lipid. The method was scaled down to enable the extraction of either pooled (-1 mg) or individual (approximately 200 microg) copepods.

Challenges of modeling ocean basin ecosystems.

With increasing pressure for a more ecological approach to marine fisheries and environmental management, there is a growing need to understand and predict changes in marine ecosystems. Biogeochemical and physical oceanographic models are well developed, but extending these further up the food web to include zooplankton and fish is a major challenge. The difficulty arises because organisms at higher trophic levels are longer lived, with important variability in abundance and distribution at basin and decadal scales.