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Two newly discovered specimens of passerine birds—an isolated sternum and an associated skeleton—from the upper Middle Miocene (ca. 12 Ma) are the oldest representatives of Passeriformes from Austria. Although the condition of the specimens prevents their accurate identification, they provide further clues on the morphological diversity of the avifauna during this period and fill gaps in the paleobiogeography of Miocene passerines. The associated skeleton represents a bird similar in size to the extant Sylvia atricapilla or Erithacus rubecula, and the delicate beak indicates that the bird fed mainly on small invertebrates and possibly also soft fruit. The isolated sternum belonged to a small thrush-sized bird and, considering the fragility of this skeletal element, is one of the best-preserved Miocene passerine sterna in the world.

Based on marine benthic diatoms collected at Potter Cove (Western Antarctic Peninsula), we present a detailed study, using both light and electron microscopy, of the morphology of Campyloneis frenguelliae, a species recently transferred from Cocconeis. Ultrastructural observations revealed a combination of new and unusual features within the Achnanthales: a raphe valve with different areolation patterns, a hollow valvocopula with no apparent fimbriae, and a sternum valve externally ornamented by an embossed structure, areolae occluded by hymenes mostly supported by one short peg, and multiple marginal pores that open internally into shallow valve depressions. In view of these unique set of features, we describe Australoneis gen. nov. to include Australoneis frenguelliae comb. nov. and designate a sample from Potter Cove as epitype of the latter. The main characteristics of the new genus are compared to those of its closely allied Cocconeis, Campyloneis, Xenococconeis and Amphicocconeis.

Presented here are new insights into the marine monoraphid diatom genera Schizostauron and Astartiella, based on molecular and morphological data, including descriptions of new species. Although no unambiguous morphological synapomorphies between the two genera are currently recognized, they are closely related by DNA sequence data. Heterovalvate frustules of Schizostauron are characterized by a bifid stauros on the raphe-bearing valve and intricate areolate occlusions on the sternum valve. In Astartiella, the raphe-bearing valve is characterized by a process resembling a fistula by morphology, while the sternum valve presents a particular striation pattern. Observations by light and electron microscopy were made, along with a molecular phylogenetic analysis using a three-gene (SSU, rbcL, and psbC) concatenated dataset. Three new Schizostauron species are described (S. kajotkei, S. rawaii, S. papilliareae), and two new combinations proposed (S. citronella and S. trachyderma) for species that were previously included either in Achnanthes and Cocconeis, respectively. Likewise, six new species of Astartiella (A. almalikii, A. bornmanii, A. chunlianlii, A. marksii, A. persica, and A. wangii) are described. Molecular results exclude Schizostauron and Astartiella from three clades of exclusively monoraphid diatoms, the Achnanthaceae, Cocconeidaceae, and Achnanthidiaceae, instead placing them in the Stauroneidaceae. Morphological features of Schizostauron and Astartiella, such as the stauros, fistula, and coaxial internal proximal raphe endings, are found in other genera in this clade, whereas the only common feature with monoraphid diatoms as whole group is the heterovalvy of frustules.

Langerhans cell hyperplasia is a group of diseases characterized by the proliferation or dissemination of the Langerhans cell, which can come in the form of localized benign lesions, or extensive disseminated invasive neoplastic lesions. These lesions mainly invade the patient's bone. In this paper, we describe the case of a 3-year-old boy who was admitted to the pediatric department with sternum pain. Following a focused sternum ultrasound, a diagnosis was made of Langerhans cell histiocytosis.

Pelecanimimus polyodon was discovered in 1993 in the Spanish Barremian fossil site of Las Hoyas, being the first ornithomimosaur described from Europe. So far, there has been no detailed description of the holotype of Pelecanimimus, which is composed of the anterior-half of an articulated skeleton. Here we report a new, detailed, revised and more accurate osteological description of its postcranial skeleton, comparing this new data to information about Ornithomimosauria from the last three decades. This osteological and phylogenetic analysis of Pelecanimimus shows several ornithomimosaur synapomorphies and a unique combination of characters that emend its original diagnosis. Pelecanimimus diverged early in Ornithomimosauria and reveals an enlargement trend of the manus, shared with derived ornithomimosaurians, due to a long metacarpal I and elongated distal phalanges. This evolutionary novelty, and other synapomorphies, has led to the definition of a new clade, Macrocheiriformes, including Pelecanimimus and more derived ornithomimosaurs. Pelecanimimus has the only ossified sternal plates among ornithomimosaurs and the first evidence of uncinate processes in a non-maniraptoran theropod, indicating a convergent appearance of these structures in Coelurosauria. The character combination in an early-diverging ornithomimosaur like Pelecanimimus found in this analysis provides a key step in the evolution of the manus and pectoral girdle in Ornithomimosauria.

Most morphological studies focus on adult specimens, or if developmental studies are pursued, especially in Euarthropoda, they focus on embryonic development. Araneae (spiders) is one of these groups, in consequence with understudied post-embryonic development. Here we present aspects of the post-embryonic stages of different species of Mesothelae, sister group to the remaining spiders (when fossil species are not taken into account). We used different imaging methods and measured different external morphological structures to detect possible ontogenetic changes. One structure exhibiting post-embryonic changes is the chelicera. Here the significant change occurs between the last immature stage and the adult, yet only in males. For the spinnerets, we could not detect ontogenetic changes, but instead a high variability in length and width, probably due to their lack of pivot joints between the elements. The strongest morphological change during ontogeny occurred on the sternum, which begins with a rather roundish shape in the first stage and changes to being fairly elongate in shape in the last immature stages and the adult. This specific sternum shape only occurs in adults of mesothelan spiders, while opisthothelan spiders have a broader sternum also in the adult. We discuss our results in an evolutionary context, also taking into account recent finds of fossil spiders.

Cystic lymphangioma is a benign lymphatic system malformation that occurs usually in children. Most common site being cervicofacial region followed by axilla; the cases in the chest wall are very rare. We report a case of male infant with cystic lymphangioma occurring at an unusual site- over the sternum. Keywords: Cystic lymphangioma, Histopathology, Infant, Sternum, Unusual site.

Introduction: The gender determination from the skeletal remains is of very much interest in the field of medical science. Ashley GT -1956b formulated the 149 rule according to which a male sternum exceeded 149mm in length whereas the female sternum was less than 149mm. on the basis of previous researcher I have been planned to verify the external data and establish them in reference to population in and around Lucknow. With the help of this study we were distinguishes the male and female sternum bone in north zone of India as well as Uttar Pradesh. Materials and Methods: The above mentioned measurements have been further use to calculate various sternal dimensions and indices according to the technique described by Ashley. Each linear measurement has been taken thrice on the anatomical position of the sternum using Mitutoyo-digital vernier calipers to the nearest millimeter with precision of 0.01 mm. Discussion: This study was fully supported the previous researchers, who has done the work in morphometry of sternum bone in cadaver and skeletal of human, because they told that the sterna has distinguish in different zone of India, as well as it is shorter than European country. Conclusion: The comparison of mean length of manubrium, mesosternum and sternum ranged from 40.39-71.31 mm, 83.49-129.97 mm and 150.21-170.39 mm respectively in adult male (16-60yrs) where as in adult female ranged from 23.79-60.35 mm, 68.33-122.42 mm and 116.36-148.92 mm respectively. Keywords: Sternum bone, Gender determination, Length of manubrium, Length of mesostenum.

SUMMARY: The purpose of this research is to determine a regression equation for estimation of stature from length of sternum measurements. This research was carried out on 1001 subjects (504 male and 497 female) among the population of Montenegrin adolescents. The stature and length of sternum measurements were taken according to the ISAK protocol, and the data were analyzed statistically. Linear regression analysis determined the prediction of and length of sternum on the criterion variable a body height at the significance level of p

This article describes an uncommon example of a human sternal developmental anomaly in an anatomical specimen from the Department of Anatomy at Shahid Nirmal Mahto Medical College Dhanbad. The non-fusion of lateral ossication centres in the sternebrae caused the uncommonly recognized developmental anomaly, which results in a honeycomb-like appearance of the mesosternum. Sternal deciencies are normally under diagnosed in the clinical literature due to the fact that many instances are asymptomatic. As a result, there is a gap in our modern understanding of the development and anatomical variations of the sternum. Although in the past, large-scale CT investigations have been conducted to explore the incidence of sternal developmental anomalies. A very rare work has been reported on sternal malformations. Most of the sternal abnormalities are clinically insignicant; a lack of awareness of these variants can lead to interpretation of radiological and pathological evidence. Hence, anatomical variants are asymptomatic which is vital in nature.

Observation of sand samples collected from an estuarine sandy beach in Southern China revealed the presence of a new biraphid diatom. It is characterized by the presence of a twisted raphe system, apically elongate areolae, and striae interrupted by longitudinal H-shaped lateral areas in a form of valve face depressions, as well as girdle composed of open, plain copulae. The structure of valve outline, the raphe sternum and striae bears some resemblance to some established genera including e.g., Lyrella, Fallacia, Scolioneis, Scoliopleura and Scoliotropis, however, these characters are uniquely combined in this novel taxon. The new species, Scoliolyra elliptica, belongs to a new biraphid genus, Scoliolyra, and it is tentatively placed within the family Scolioneidaceae.

The article presents the case of successful treatment of chronic post-sternotomy sternomediastinitis with thoracomyoplasty with the right rectus abdominis muscle in a patient who underwent repeated interventions at the previous stages of treatment. The applied technique, the sequence of stages of treatment, and the result are described in detail.

Objective: The purposes of this study was to evaluate the diagnostic values of abdominal muscles thickness and sterno-costal angle as the quantitative...

The involvement of yellow genes y-b, y-c, y-e, and y-h in cuticle tanning has poorly been clarified. In the present paper, six putative yellow (y-y, y-b, y-c, y-e y-f, and y-h) genes were identified in Henosepilachna vigintioctopunctata. Hvy-b, Hvy-c, Hvy-e, and Hvy-h were abundantly transcribed at early larval and late pupal stages, especially in the epidermis. Accordingly, RNA interference (RNAi) experiments were performed by an injection of dsy-b, dsy-c, dsy-e, or dsy-h into the second instar larvae and 1-day-old pupae. The head capsule, scoli and strumae, and legs in the fourth-instar larvae became blacker; the blackish spots in the pupae were darkened and widened after RNAi of Hvy-b, compared with those of dsegfp-treated controls. Depletion of Hvy-b at the 1-day-old pupal stage expanded two pair of black markings on the sternum of the metathorax, and darkened the black patched on the sterna of the abdomen segments I-VI in the resultant adults. Depletion of Hvy-e caused darker pigmented adult body and elytral cuticles than those of dsegfp-introduced controls. However, there was no obvious difference in pigmentation of the black markings. Hvy-h-deficient larvae displayed dark yellow body color, whereas the body color of the dsegfp-injected control was pale yellow. There was no obvious difference in coloration of larval specific-black markings or pupal cuticle between dsHvy-h- and dsegfp-treated animals. Moreover, silence of Hvy-c at the second instar larval stage lightened black markings in the resulting larvae and pupae, but had no influence on pale yellow body color. Our results demonstrated their different roles of the four yellow genes during body pigmentation: HvY-b and HvY-c, respectively, inhibit and facilitate the coloration within dark markings, whereas HvY-e and HvY-h, respectively, repress the pigmentation in adult and larval body cuticles outside the black patches in H. vigintioctopunctata.

Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma (DBCL) is the largest subgroup of non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. Primary dural lymphoma, primary skull vault lymphoma, and primary sternum lymphoma are the rare lymphomas. We present the case of a 69-year-old patient with scalp, skull, and dura involvement that accompanying sternum involvement. It should be kept in mind that in the differential diagnosis of high-grade diffuse large B-cell lymphoma in patients presenting with a mass in the skull or sternum.

BackgroundThe origin of powered avian flight was a locomotor innovation that expanded the ecological potential of maniraptoran dinosaurs, leading to remarkable variation in modern birds (Neornithes). The avian sternum is the anchor for the major flight muscles and, despite varying widely in morphology, has not been extensively studied from evolutionary or functional perspectives. We quantify sternal variation across a broad phylogenetic scope of birds using 3D geometric morphometrics methods. Using this comprehensive dataset, we apply phylogenetically informed regression approaches to test hypotheses of sternum size allometry and the correlation of sternal shape with both size and locomotory capabilities, including flightlessness and the highly varying flight and swimming styles of Neornithes.ResultsWe find evidence for isometry of sternal size relative to body mass and document significant allometry of sternal shape alongside important correlations with locomotory capability, reflecting the effects of both body shape and musculoskeletal variation. Among these, we show that a large sternum with a deep or cranially projected sternal keel is necessary for powered flight in modern birds, that deeper sternal keels are correlated with slower but stronger flight, robust caudal sternal borders are associated with faster flapping styles, and that narrower sterna are associated with running abilities. Correlations between shape and locomotion are significant but show weak explanatory power, indicating that although sternal shape is broadly associated with locomotory ecology, other unexplored factors are also important.ConclusionsThese results display the ecological importance of the avian sternum for flight and locomotion by providing a novel understanding of sternum form and function in Neornithes. Our study lays the groundwork for estimating the locomotory abilities of paravian dinosaurs, the ancestors to Neornithes, by highlighting the importance of this critical element for avian flight, and will be useful for future work on the origin of flight along the dinosaur-bird lineage.

A new genus of family Perlodidae, Tibetisoperla Huo & Du, gen. nov. is described with one new species from Tibet, China. Male of the new genus is characterized by the divided tergum 10 with several large apical erect setae, highly reduced vesicle on sternum 8, and the sclerotized paraprocts with separate apical sclerite.

In the course of preparation of a major checklist for Yap and ongoing investigations into the benthic marine diatom flora of Micronesia, thirteen new araphid and raphid pennate diatom species have been recognized and are described here. Plagiogramma subatomus is even smaller than P. atomus and the pseudoseptum forms a box with only a small opening toward the cell interior. Licmophora romuli is similar in size and spathulate shape to L. remulus, but the majority of the striae in the lamina lack vimines. L. graphis is exceedingly delicate, pencil-shaped, with apical striae 60–70 in 10 µm. Divergita biformis and D. decipiens are straight species with striae biseriate on the margin, uniseriate on the valve face, differing in the shape and prominence of the sternum and the shape of the valve-face areolae. D. macinnisii (from Marshall Islands, but included here for comparison) is curved, again with the decussate areolar pattern on the mantle, but with single extended areolae along each side of the linear sternum. These characters slightly amend the diagnosis of the genus. Thalassionema baculum is a very short member of the genus, linear and isopolar. Climaconeis tarangensis is curved and differs from C. riddleae in stria density and areola shape; C. minaegensis is straight, without a stauros or craticular bars, of intermediate length, 228–247 µm. First SEM observations of Climaconeis lorenzii are presented and an updated key to Climaconeis is appended. Parlibellus paschalis is a tube-dwelling species differing from P. delognei is lacking cuniculi and pores in the central area. P. waabensis is a relatively large species, possibly tube-dwelling, that differs from P. delognei in shape and spacing of central striae and from P. berkeleyi in width and stria density. Pleurosigma simulacrum differs in ultrastructural details from P. intermedium. Lastly, Nitzschia tarangensis is a conopeate species, spathulate in profile with ribs along the edge of the valve depression and bordering the raphe, and with pores in the peri-raphe zone.

In this report we show an unusual case of a giant ascending aortic double chambers pseudoaneurysm eroding the sternum. The patient was an asymptomatic 22-year-old man who underwent CT Angiography with ECG gating and who previously underwent aortic valve replacement.

Morphological integration of the bird skeleton is of great interest because it relates to issues of specialization, plasticity, and rate of evolutionary transformations of a skeleton as a whole and its anatomical regions. Despite growing interest, the integration and modularity of the skeleton of birds, in general, remain little studied. We evaluated the change of relative sizes and integration of shapes of skull, sternum and pelvis, and factors that influence the covariation of these regions among passerines. Results of both standard and phylogenetic reduced major axis showed that the relative lengths of the most studied skeletal traits were largely determined by body mass. The length of the skull scaled isometrically on body mass, and the lengths of both synsacrum and ilium showed positive allometry. Within the skull, beak length was positively allometric, whereas cranium length was negatively allometric with body mass. We found the presence of covariation between shapes of skull, sternum and pelvis using standard partial least squares (PLS) analysis and absence of covariation between most of these blocks using evolutionary PLS analysis on phylogenetic independent contrasts. Evolutionary integration is confirmed only for shapes of skull and pelvis (dorsal view).

Aim. To study the mineral composition of the sternum in patients with congenital funnel-shaped deformations of the chest. Methods. X-ray spectral microanalysis of the sternum was performed in 10 patients with pectus excavatum aged 1417 years (30 zones) on a scanning electron microscope with an accelerating voltage of 25 kV. The results of the sternum examination of 3 patients aged 1416 years (10 zones) operated on for other diseases were used as the control. Results. Graphic images of mineralization of each investigated zone of the sternum were obtained. As a result of processing the graphic data, the IBAS-200 system obtained average atomic orbital values, weight and atomic percent, net and background intensities and their ratios, intensity errors of the elements-constituents of mineral matrix of the sternum. The structures of the sternum in the main and control groups did not differ. The predominant elements are oxygen (O), phosphorus (P) and calcium (Ca). Their net intensity in patients and in healthy subjects of the corresponding age was 101.162.78 and 99.231.97 (р 0.001), respectively; 402.382.23 and 421.281.99 (р 0,001); 586.412.37 and 601.321.99 (р 0.001). Net intensity of phosphorus and calcium in healthy children was higher by 2.54.5%, and that of oxygen was lower by 1.9%. An important indicator is the ratio of the net and background intensities of the elements. Conclusion. Net intensity of phosphorus and calcium in healthy children was higher, in the pathogenesis of the deformation of the chest, the sternum changes its shape secondarily.

Achnanthes maolanensis nov. sp. is a large diatom collected from subaerial, freshwater habitats in karst landforms in central‐south China. Living cells have two chloroplasts. Valves of this new species are panduriform in outline, slightly constricted in the middle part of the margins, with uniseriate areolae; the raphe is filiform, and there is a linear, thickened stauros in the central area of the RV. On the ARV, there is no central area, and as well there are no terminal orbiculi, marginal ridge, or terminal spine externally. The axial area (rapheless sternum) is located down the center, not offset from the center as in many other species of the genus and is narrow and almost straight. This suite of characters makes the new species easy to distinguish from other species in the genus. Its presence adds further documentation of the unique and diverse freshwater diatom flora from karst habitats in this region of China.

We report a new small enantiornithine, Shangyang graciles gen. et sp. nov., based on a nearly complete and articulated skeleton from the Lower Cretaceous Jiufotang Formation of Liaoning Province, north-eastern China. Shangyang has premaxillae that are completely fused rostrally as well as along the frontal processes, a previously unrecognized condition in Early Cretaceous birds. As in three other enantiornithine taxa, Shangyang preserves a pair of craniolateral processes in the sternum. Phylogenetic analysis places Shangyang in a relatively derived position within Enantiornithes, suggesting that the craniolateral processes of the sternum evolved independently among some enantiornithine lineages from the condition seen in some basal ornithuromorphs. The craniolateral processes in modern birds provide the insertions of the M. sternocoracoideus that functions in the downstroke, which can also originate from the two cranialmost sternal ribs instead when these processes are absent. The altered origin of this muscle shows that diverse pectoral musculoskeletal modifications took place early in avian history. http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:20C69B6A-473B-4C6D-9672-F5B2CC2D8FE1

Hedychrum zenobia sp. n. is described from Syria and Iraq, and H. linsenmaieri sp. n. from Pakistan. They belong to the H. cirtanum species group hereby established, which includes some of the largest Palaearctic Hedychrum species, characterised by a modified metascutellum projecting over the propodeum, a deep mid-tibial groove in the male and an apicomedial tooth on the third metasomal sternum in the female. Hedychrum cirtanum var. minusculum du Buysson, 1898 is transferred to the genus Hedychridium Abeille de Perrin, 1878 and elevated to species rank as Hedychridium minusculum (du Buysson, 1898) stat. n.http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:DE7B4BF7-3E4B-4664-8F3A-1FD480F72A41

As one of the most frequently occurring injuries, thoracic trauma is a significant public health burden occurring in road traffic crashes, sports accidents, and military events. The biomechanics of the human thorax under impact loading can be investigated by computational finite element (FE) models, which are capable of predicting complex thoracic responses and injury outcomes quantitatively. One of the key challenges for developing a biofidelic FE model involves model evaluation and validation. In this work, the biofidelity of a mid-sized male thorax model has been evaluated and enhanced by a multi-level, hierarchical strategy of validation, focusing on injury characteristics, and model improvement of the thoracic musculoskeletal system. At the component level, the biomechanical responses of several major thoracic load-bearing structures were validated against different relevant experimental cases in the literature, including the thoracic intervertebral joints, costovertebral joints, clavicle, sternum, and costal cartilages. As an example, the thoracic spine was improved by accurate representation of the components, material properties, and ligament failure features at tissue level then validated based on the quasi-static response at the segment level, flexion bending response at the functional spinal unit level, and extension angle of the whole thoracic spine. At ribcage and full thorax levels, the thorax model with validated bony components was evaluated by a series of experimental testing cases. The validation responses were rated above 0.76, as assessed by the CORA evaluation system, indicating the model exhibited overall good biofidelity. At both component and full thorax levels, the model showed good computational stability, and reasonable agreement with the experimental data both qualitatively and quantitatively. It is expected that our validated thorax model can predict thorax behavior with high biofidelity to assess injury risk and investigate injury mechanisms of the thoracic musculoskeletal system in various impact scenarios. The relevant validation cases established in this study shall be directly used for future evaluation of other thorax models, and the validation approach and process presented here may provide an insightful framework toward multi-level validating of human body models.

A new large species of the millipede genus Prionopetalum Attems, 1909, P. nessiae sp. nov. from Mt. Kilimanjaro, Tanzania, is described, with SEM imaging and illustrations of relevant taxonomic characters, and mapped. Comments on the significance of sternum 9 in descriptions of Odontopygidae, and on the intrageneric differences in Prionopetalum, are included.

Subxiphoid thymectomy with double elevation of the sternum is a novel minimally invasive method that might provide a good surgical view and space for operating.1,2 Here we report the use of this approach to manage a Masaoka stage III thymoma with invasion to the edge of the innominate vein, which proved safe and feasible

Xantho-granulomatous inflammation is a rare type of chronic inflammation, when seen in the bones it is known as xanthogranulomatous osteomyelitis (XO). Here we present a rare case XO of the manubrium sterni, to best of our knowledge this is the first diagnosed. XO of the manubrium sterni mimics radiologically as tuberculosis and as eosinophillic granuloma. We have a 23 year old lady who presented with pain and swelling in the anterior chest, radiology was done and finally the lesion was biopsied. We accepted the patient as Xanthomatous Osteomyelitis and planned for into excision of manubrium sterni, with a flap comprising of ribs and muscle advancements to cover the midline gap in the chest wall, that would have been created. Meanwhile she was put on a short course of antibiotics. It had been observed that the first open biopsy scar had exhibited a tendency for keloid formation. Hence, the risk of final surgery incision producing a disfiguring keloid was informed to the patient, which unfortunately led the patient deter surgery indefinitely, since she was to be married soon. We proposed a local injection of steroid into the lesion to minimize the inflammation. Under image intensifier we injected 40 mg of methyl prednisolone into the tumor. There was some tolerable discomfort the next day of injection that eventually subsided in 3 days. However, the biopsy came inconclusive second core needle biopsy came as XO. Since 1984 with the first case by Cozzutto et al, only 17 cases have been reported in the worldwide literature including us.

The extreme sexual size dimorphism of some spiders has long attracted the attention of biologists and triggered countless prominent studies on the phenomenon. This, in turn, has resulted in a widespread bias in the view of spider sexual dimorphisms, even in reviews on sexual dimorphism that looked beyond size. The present article challenges this view by exemplarily documenting sexual dimorphisms in a single family of spiders, the Pholcidae. It offers a comprehensive overview of sexual dimorphisms in this group, derived from the taxonomic literature. Sexual dimorphisms occur in the prosoma (ocular area, clypeus, sternum), abdomen, chelicerae, legs, sensory organs (setae, tarsal organs), and in colouration. In addition, this review provides a rough and conservative estimate of the number of independent origins of sexual dimorphisms in Pholcidae, based on published morphological and molecular phylogenies and character mapping; more than 120 independent origins are hypothesized. The first general conclusion is that spiders show a wealth of sexual dimorphisms beyond size, even in a family that is virtually absent from the general literature on spider sexual dimorphism. The second conclusion is that the taxonomic literature should be more widely appreciated as a rich source of information, not just as a provider of names. However, much of this information is not easily extracted from taxonomic papers. It is primarily the responsibility of taxonomists to do that.

Caenis americani sp. nov. is described based on larvae and female imagoes from the Mangalamkombu stream of Southern India. Caenis americani is most likely a parthenogenetic species, in the light of the fact that only females have been collected. The larva can be distinguished from other species of Caenis by the i) shape of the sternum IX and its shagreen field, ii) shape and denticulation of hind claws and iii) lateral lobes of mesonotum distinctly bulged. The phylogenetic relationships of the new species remain unknown, as molecular records of Caenis throughout the Oriental region are largely unknown, and the taxonomically important males are absent.

Muscles and bones are anatomically closely linked, and they can conduct communication by mechanical and chemical signals. However, the specific regulatory mechanism between the pectoral muscle and sternum in birds was largely unknown. The present study explored the potential relationship between them in ducks. The result of the sections showed that more nuclei in proliferate states were observed in the pectoral muscle fibers attached to the calcified sternum, than those attached to the un-calcified sternum. The RNA-seq identified 328 differentially expressed genes (DEGs) in the sternum between the calcified and un-calcified groups. Gene ontology (GO) showed that the DEGs were mainly enriched in pathways associated with calcification. In addition, DEGs in the muscles between the calcified and un-calcified sternum groups were mainly annotated to signal transduction receptor pathways. The expression patterns of genes encoding for secreted proteins, in bone (CXCL12, BMP7 and CTSK) and muscle (LGI1), were clustered with muscle development (MB) and bone calcification (KCNA1, OSTN, COL9A3, and DCN) related genes, respectively, indicating the regulatory relationships through a paracrine pathway existing between the sternum and pectoral muscles in ducks. Together, we demonstrated that the pectoral muscle development was affected by the sternal ossification states in ducks. The VEGFA, CXCL12, SPP1, NOG, and BMP7 were possibly the key genes to participate in the ossification of the duck sternum. We firstly listed evidence supporting the regulatory relationships through a paracrine pathway between the sternum and pectoral muscles in ducks, which provided scientific data for the study of the synergistic development of bone and skeletal muscle.

The sternum is of crucial significance while estimating body stature. Dwight, in the late 19th century, discussed potential use of the sternum for estimation of the stature. Various researchers have shown that the sternum may be of use in stature assessment merely when long bones are not obtainable. The study was conducted to analyse the correlation between the stature and various measurements of the sternum. The posterior curved length, length of manubrium, length of mesosternum and length of sternum were measured in 300 adult sterna. The mean length of a cadaver (Stature) was observed to be greater in males (162.34 ± 8.03 cm) as compared to females (156.53 ± 8.50 cm). A positive moderate correlation (R ranging from 0.332 to 0.647) was observed between various measurements of sternum with stature in both the genders. Sternal length shall be considered as a better parameter over other sternal measurements for estimating the stature. However the application for utilizing the sternum for stature estimation should be restricted to the population sample for and from which they have been developed.

Thymoma is the most common tumor of the anterior mediastinum and surgical resection for thymoma has been recommended as the principal treatment. Bleeding control remains as a challenging task under minimally invasive approach. Subxiphoid approach with double elevated of sternum was a novel method which might provide good surgical view and space for operating. In this study we reported a case of bleeding control with this approach after unexpected damage to innominate vein to address the advantage of bleeding control using this specific surgical approach. The case was a 66-year-old female patient with an anterior mediastinal mass incidentally detected during physical examination and was diagnosed with thymoma with a diameter of 5 cm. Injury to the joint of innominate vein and the vena cava occurred during a subxiphoid approach with double elevation of the sternum. It was well managed by controlling the bleeding site with Alice forceps and suture under thoracoscope view without conversion to median sternotomy. A 4-0 PROLENE line was used with an elbow needle holder under the thoracoscope to suture continuously. Intraoperative blood loss was 350 mL. The drainage tubes were removed on postoperative day (POD) 2, and the patient was discharged on POD 3. This case indicated that thymectomy by subxiphoid approach with double elevation of the sternum has more advantages when there is an emergency for bleeding during the operation compared with traditional intercostal approach or subxiphoid approach with carbon dioxide inflation.

Background: The sternum is one of the most important and characteristic skeletal elements in birds, highly adapted for flight and showing a diverse range of morphogenesis. The Asian koel (Eudynamys scolopaceus) is a member of the Cuckoo order of birds, found in the Indian sub-continent, China and Southeast Asia. The present study was carried out as anatomical data on the sternum of this species is scanty. Methods: Carcass of Asian koel brought to the Department of Wildlife Science, Madras Veterinary College, Chennai after the post-mortem examination was biologically macerated, cleaned, dried and morphological and morphometric studies were performed. Result: Gross morphological and morphometric data of the sternum of Asian koel was compared with other avian species. The sternum of Asian koel was large, broad, quadrilateral shaped and highly pneumatized bone with well developed sternal crest, craniolateral and caudolateral processes. These features provide protection to the viscera and facilitates superior flight.

Background The surgery of laparoscopic distal gastrectomy + D2 lymph node dissection (LADG) is widely used in patients with gastric cancer, the purpose of the study is to explore the effect of abdominal shape on short-term surgical outcomes.Methods This was a retrospective study which included 316 patients undergoing LADG from January 2013 to June 2019 at a single clinical center. The abdominal parameters including the shortest distance of the pancreas from the anterior abdominal skin (PAAD), the lower sternum angle (LSA), the thickness of subcutaneous fat at the navel level (SFT), the anteroposterior diameters (APD) and left-right diameters(LRD) at the navel level, the distance from xiphoid process to the navel (XND), and the distance from xiphoid process to the pubis (XBD) were calculated by preoperative abdominal computed tomography (CT) image. The parameters and short-term surgical outcomes were analyzed.Results In males, the number of retrieved lymph nodes was significantly higher in patients with BMI 370.0mm(p=0.042). The estimated blood loss was significantly lower in male patients with LSA Conclusion Various abdominal shapes can influence the difficulty of LADG. Lower LSA and PAAD can reduce the difficulty of LADG in male patients.

Creation of an individual’s biological profile is of extreme importance and depends on age, sex and stature. The cranial and pelvic bones are important in identifying the sex of an individual. However, loss of complete bones or bones getting destroyed renders it impossible to use them for such estimations. However, since such sex-specific bones are hard to find at each and every scene, forensic experts are left with no choice but to depend on less sexually dimorphic elements of the human skeleton such as the sternum. This study was conducted in subjects that were subjected to medicolegal autopsy. The deceased aged 18 years and above, of either sex, were included in study. The deceased with evidence of trauma and surgery to the anterior chest wall, generalized bone diseases, observable deformities over the sternum were excluded. The analysis of 300 sterna was carried out to study sexual dimorphism in sternum using different parameters such as width of suprasternal notch, width of sternum at level of fourth rib, posterior curved length of sternum, manubrio-corpus index and length of sternum.

The wishbone spider of genus Atmetochilus Simon, 1887 (Nemesiidae: Bemmerinae) containing six species and is known from Asia. We describe a new Thai species, Atmetochilus songsangchotei sp. nov. Since the holotype of the type species of Atmetochilus, A. fossor, is presumed lost, we describe fresh specimens (ARA-2018-132) and designate one as as neotype; similarly, because a holotype (only syntypes) of Atmetochilus atriceps in NHMUK was not designated, we chose the most intact specimen of the syntypes (NHMUK 1895.9.21.16) and designate it as lectotype. From a photo of the type specimen of Atmetochilus bifidus (sternum) from ZSI, we transfer Atmetochilus bifidus back to Damarchus.