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The articular surfaces of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in the cat consist of the articular head of the condylar process of the ramus of the mandible and the mandibular fossa of the petrous part of the temporal bone. Anatomic conformation of the TMJ articular surfaces can vary; however, this has not been studied in the cat. Thus, the aim of this study was to characterize the conformation of the medial region of the TMJ in mesocephalic adult cats as well as to determine the articular relationship by measurement of the degree of coverage of the mandibular fossa over the articular head. This was accomplished by assessing 60 TMJs from 30 mesocephalic adult cats by means of cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT). The width and depth of the mandibular fossa, and the degree of coverage of the mandibular fossa were evaluated using parasagittal reconstructions of the medial aspect of the TMJ by two observers. No statistically significant difference was observed during the intra and interobserver evaluation of the mandibular fossa width and depth and the degree of coverage of the mandibular fossa over the articular head. P-values for the studied variables were greater than 0.05. The resulting measurements demonstrated a concave mandibular fossa with a prominent retroarticular process and a poorly developed articular eminence; a well-defined rounded articular surface, and a high degree of coverage (171°) of the mandibular fossa over the articular head. In conclusion, the articular surfaces at the medial aspect of the TMJ displayed elevated geometric similarity, with an articular head of the condylar process deeply seated in the mandibular fossa.

Background: In physical therapy, postural tests are frequently used to diagnose neuropathies, particularly in diabetic individuals. This study aims to develop a method based on the analysis of time series that allows discriminating between healthy and diabetic subjects with or without a neuropathic condition., Research Question: Do features obtained from time series corresponding to postural tests allow us to reliably discriminate between healthy, diabetic and neuropathic patients?, Methods: In this study, 32 people participated in the healthy, diabetic, and neuropathic categories (11, 9, and 12, respectively). The data was collected by positioning each participant on a Wii Balanced Board platform, under 8 different conditions. The analyzed time series are sensed by devices that capture variations in the subject's center of pressure when subjected to a test on different conditions over a short period of time. The method proposed considers statistical techniques used for characterizing the time series combined with machine learning techniques to classify the individual's profile into one of the three categories mentioned. The classification is supported by an underlying probabilistic model, based on the characteristics of the time series, generating average curves for each class, which are then used by the classification methods., Results: The empirical results include classification models for each class, obtaining a performance (F-score) over 98%. In addition, other models considering the particular conditions to which the subject is exposed during the test are developed, revealing that the conditions of eyes open and eyes closed show the highest levels of discrimination to classify participants into one of the three class categories., Significance: These results suggest a test protocol simplification and, at the same time, that the proposed method based on the analysis of the time series associated with the test used is highly predictive and may reliably complement or substitute a questionnaire-based diagnosis., Competing Interests: Declaration of Competing Interest The authors declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper., (Copyright © 2022 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

Importance: Use of antibiotics for the treatment of appendicitis is safe and has been found to be noninferior to appendectomy based on self-reported health status at 30 days. Identifying patient characteristics associated with a greater likelihood of appendectomy within 30 days in those who initiate antibiotics could support more individualized decision-making., Objective: To assess patient factors associated with undergoing appendectomy within 30 days of initiating antibiotics for appendicitis., Design, Setting, and Participants: In this cohort study using data from the Comparison of Outcomes of Antibiotic Drugs and Appendectomy (CODA) randomized clinical trial, characteristics among patients who initiated antibiotics were compared between those who did and did not undergo appendectomy within 30 days. The study was conducted at 25 US medical centers; participants were enrolled between May 3, 2016, and February 5, 2020. A total of 1552 participants with acute appendicitis were randomized to antibiotics (776 participants) or appendectomy (776 participants). Data were analyzed from September 2020 to July 2021., Exposures: Appendectomy vs antibiotics., Main Outcomes and Measures: Conditional logistic regression models were fit to estimate associations between specific patient factors and the odds of undergoing appendectomy within 30 days after initiating antibiotics. A sensitivity analysis was performed excluding participants who underwent appendectomy within 30 days for nonclinical reasons., Results: Of 776 participants initiating antibiotics (mean [SD] age, 38.3 [13.4] years; 286 [37%] women and 490 [63%] men), 735 participants had 30-day outcomes, including 154 participants (21%) who underwent appendectomy within 30 days. After adjustment for other factors, female sex (odds ratio [OR], 1.53; 95% CI, 1.01-2.31), radiographic finding of wider appendiceal diameter (OR per 1-mm increase, 1.09; 95% CI, 1.00-1.18), and presence of appendicolith (OR, 1.99; 95% CI, 1.28-3.10) were associated with increased odds of undergoing appendectomy within 30 days. Characteristics that are often associated with increased risk of complications (eg, advanced age, comorbid conditions) and those clinicians often use to describe appendicitis severity (eg, fever: OR, 1.28; 95% CI, 0.82-1.98) were not associated with odds of 30-day appendectomy. The sensitivity analysis limited to appendectomies performed for clinical reasons provided similar results regarding appendicolith (adjusted OR, 2.41; 95% CI, 1.49-3.91)., Conclusions and Relevance: This cohort study found that presence of an appendicolith was associated with a nearly 2-fold increased risk of undergoing appendectomy within 30 days of initiating antibiotics. Clinical characteristics often used to describe severity of appendicitis were not associated with odds of 30-day appendectomy. This information may help guide more individualized decision-making for people with appendicitis.

Radiographic assessment of the temporomandibular joint in the domestic cat using conventional radiographic views can be challenging due to superimposition of overlying structures and the complex anatomy of the skull. The use of computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging, and cone beam computed tomography to assess the temporomandibular joint in the cat has increased, but these modalities are not always available in general veterinary practices. Conventional radiography is still commonly used for first line assessment of the temporomandibular joint. The aim of this preliminary study was to determine optimal angle of obliquity of lateroventral-laterodorsal and laterorostral-laterocaudal (nose up lateral oblique) oblique radiographic views in the assessment of the temporomandibular joints in five feline mesaticephalic dry skulls. Visibility of the mandibular head, mandibular fossa, retroarticular process, and temporomandibular joint space were evaluated and scored by two veterinary radiologists. The results of this study identified that the dependent temporomandibular joint anatomy was best seen on the latero-10°-ventral-laterodorsal, latero-15°-ventral-laterodorsal, and latero-20°-ventral-laterodorsal, oblique views, and opposite lateral oblique views at these angulations may be helpful in characterization of this anatomy in clinical patients. The results also indicate that the laterorostral-laterocaudal (nose up lateral oblique) oblique view did not allow adequate discrimination of all TMJ anatomy at any angle, and is not recommended.

Objectives: Temporomandibular joint ankylosis (TMJA) is the partial or complete inability to open the mouth due to intra- or extra-articular fibrous, bony or fibro-osseous tissue proliferation. Surgical procedures such as gap arthroplasty, condylectomy or wide extra-articular osteotomy have been recommended to treat this condition; these techniques are challenging, time-consuming and have been occasionally associated with postoperative recurrence, severe periarticular neurovascular iatrogenic trauma and death. Segmental mandibulectomy had previously been recommended as an alternative option for unilateral TMJA, but the location of mandibulectomy and extent of bone removal from the mandible region have not been mentioned in the literature. This study aimed to validate the area of the mandibular body (rostral, middle or caudal) and amount of bony tissue that should be osteotomized during a segmental mandibulectomy for treatment of unilateral TMJA in cats., Methods: In this block study, 30 cadaver heads of domestic shorthair cats were randomly divided into three groups of 10 specimens each based on the mandibular region that would undergo segmental mandibulectomy (rostral, middle and caudal). The size of the removed mandibular segment and pre- and postoperative vertical range of mandibular motion were compared for statistical purposes., Results: A significant statistical difference was observed between the pre- and postoperative vertical range of mandibular motion between the rostral, middle and caudal segmental mandibulectomies ( P <0.001). The mean postoperative recovered range of mandibular motion for the rostral, middle and caudal segmental mandibulectomies was 50.4%, 81.9% and 90.4%, respectively., Conclusions and Relevance: The caudal segmental mandibulectomy showed the highest postoperative vertical range of mandibular motion. The removal of a minimum of 1.2 cm of the caudal mandibular body was required to achieve nearly full recovery of presurgical mouth opening in the specimens of this study. The caudal segmental mandibulectomy may eliminate the risk of iatrogenic periarticular neurovascular damage inherent to more invasive surgeries performed at the temporomandibular joint area. When performed unilaterally, the caudal segmental mandibulectomy is a viable surgical alternative that may show a similar outcome to other surgical techniques.

This paper studies the ritual and aesthetic performances of Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine's Coronavirus press conferences. It argues that the press conferences are mediatized sanctuaries-solidaristic respites from the chaos of pandemic and partisan politics. They achieve this via performing a regular ritual of affliction where basic cultural commitments are affirmed, institutional action is validated, and the where the trouble of Coronavirus can healed as a result., (© Springer Nature Limited 2020.)

Background: Parasitoids are frequently used in biological control due to the fact that they are considered host specific and highly efficient at attacking their hosts. As they spend a significant part of their life cycle within their hosts, feeding habits and life history of their host can promote specialization via host-race formation (sequential radiation). The specialized host races from different hosts can vary morphologically, behaviorally and genetically. However, these variations are sometimes inconspicuous and require more powerful tools in order to detect variation such as geometric morphometrics analysis., Methods: We examined Aphidius ervi , an important introduced biological control agent in Chile associated with a great number of aphid species, which are exploiting different plant hosts and habitats. Several combinations (biotypes) of parasitoids with various aphid/host plant combinations were analyzed in order to obtain measures of forewing shape and size. To show the differences among defined biotypes, we chose 13 specific landmarks on each individual parasitoid wing. The analysis of allometric variation calculated in wing shape and size over centroid size (CS), revealed the allometric changes among biotypes collected from different hosts. To show all differences in shape of forewings, we made seven biotype pairs using an outline-based geometric morphometrics comparison., Results: The biotype A. pis&#95;pea ( Acyrthosiphon pisum on pea) was the extreme wing size in this study compared to the other analyzed biotypes. Aphid hosts have a significant influence in the morphological differentiation of the parasitoid forewing, splitting biotypes in two groups. The first group consisted of biotypes connected with Acyrthosiphon pisum on legumes, while the second group is composed of biotypes connected with aphids attacking cereals, with the exception of the R. pad&#95;wheat ( Rhopalosiphum padi on wheat) biotype. There was no significant effect of plant species on parasitoid wing size and shape., Discussion: Although previous studies have suggested that the genotype of parasitoids is of greater significance for the morphological variations of size and shape of wings, this study indicates that the aphid host on which A. ervi develops is the main factor to alter the structure of parasitoid forewings. Bigger aphid hosts implied longer and broader forewings of A. ervi., Competing Interests: The authors declare there are no competing interests.

The temporomandibular joint (TMJ) in the domestic dog is a synovial joint with 2 articular surfaces, the mandibular fossa of the squamous portion of the temporal bone and the articular head of the condylar process of the mandible. Although different diagnostic imaging techniques have been used to study the TMJ in dogs, morphologic and morphometric studies based on computed tomography (CT) are scarce. The purpose of the present study was to describe the morphologic and morphometric features of the TMJ in domestic dogs using CT. Width and depth of the mandibular fossa and 2 different angles between the mandibular fossa and the condylar process were measured in 96 TMJs of 48 dogs of different breeds (Labrador retriever, German shepherd, cocker spaniel, boxer, English bulldog, pug, shih tzu, and Cavalier King Charles spaniel). Temporomandibular joint conformation differed between breeds. Mid- and small-sized dogs had mandibular fossae that were more shallow, less developed retroarticular processes, and irregularly shaped condylar processes. The TMJs were more congruent in large dogs, presenting with deeper mandibular fossae, prominent retroarticular processes, and more uniform condylar processes. The measurements proposed in this study demonstrated 3 different morphologic conformations for the TMJ in the dogs of this study.

Background and Aims: Trisomy 21 is the most frequent genetic cause of intellectual disability. It is caused by different cytogenetic aberrations: free trisomy, Robertsonian translocations, mosaicism, duplication of the critical region and other structural rearrangements of chromosome 21. The aim of the study was to identify in Mexican trisomy 21 patients who attended Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez from 1992-2011 the type and frequency of the cytogenetic aberration and to evaluate the effect of maternal age., Methods: A retrospective analysis of epidemiological data and karyotype reports were carried out; type and frequency of the cytogenetic variants were determined., Results: We identified 2,018 cases referred with a clinical diagnosis of trisomy 21. In 1,921 analyses (95.2%) a cytogenetic variant of trisomy 21 was identified: free trisomy 21 in 1,787 cases (93.02%), four cases (0.21%) had an additional non-contributory aberration; Robertsonian translocations in 92 cases (4.79%); mosaicism in 31 cases (1.61%) and seven cases (0.36%) had other chromosomal abnormalities, five (0.26%) had other contributory structural rearrangements and two corresponded to double aneuploidies (0.10%). Gender distribution was 1,048 (54.56%) males and 873 (45.44%) females. A maternal age effect was observed in patients with free trisomy 21 with mothers >36 years of age., Conclusion: The present work reports the experience of a Mexican referral center regarding the karyotype diagnosis of patients with trisomy 21 and is one of the most extensive studies published so far. Percentages of the cytogenetic abnormalities present in our population reflect the ones previously reported for these cytogenetic alterations worldwide., (Copyright © 2015 IMSS. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)

For some surgical procedures in veterinary dentistry including exodontia, orthognathic surgery, orthopedic surgery, oncologic surgery, and for the placement of dental implants, it is important to know the accurate location of the neurovascular structures within the mandibular canal. The aim of this research was to determine the course of the mandibular canal in the mandible and its relationship with other anatomical structures in brachycephalic dogs using computerized tomography. Mandibles from 10 brachycephalic cadaver dogs were evaluated. Measurements were taken in relation to the lingual, vestibular alveolar crest, and ventral surfaces. These measurements indicated that the mandibular canal descends slightly from the mandibular foramen to the molar area, decreasing the distance of the mandibular canal from the mandibular ventral border. The mandibular canal is slightly closer to the lingual surface than the vestibular surface except in the molar tooth region. The mandibular canal continues in a rostral direction occupying the ventral region of the mandibular body, reaching its maximum distance from the alveolar crest at the level of the first molar and fourth premolar teeth. In the third and fourth premolar tooth region, the mandibular canal maintains a similar distance between the vestibular and lingual borders; then, at the level of the second premolar tooth, the distance of the mandibular canal from the lingual and ventral border increases before its termination at the mental foramen. The study reported here documents the feasibility of using CT to determine the location of the mandibular canal in relation to bony and dental parameters. Although the difference in mandible size of the group of brachycephalic dogs reported here resulted in broad ranges of measurements, it is clear that the MC course may vary between individual dogs.