Using striated tooth marks on bone to predict body size in theropod dinosaurs: a model based on feeding observations of Varanus komodoensis, the Komodo monitor

Paleobiology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Domenic C. D'Amore ◽  
Robert J. Blumenschine
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Theropod Dinosaurs ◽  
Feeding Observations ◽  
Tooth Marks

Using striated tooth marks on bone to predict body size in theropod dinosaurs: a model based on feeding observations of Varanus komodoensis, the Komodo monitor

Paleobiology ◽  
2012 ◽  
Vol 38 (1) ◽  
pp. 79-100 ◽  
Author(s):  
Domenic C. D'Amore ◽  
Robert J. Blumenschine
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Capra Hircus ◽  
Tooth Size ◽  
Variable Degree ◽  
Degree Of Branching ◽  
Theropod Dinosaurs ◽  
Feeding Trials ◽  
Degree Of Convergence ◽  
Feeding Observations ◽  
Tooth Marks

Mesozoic tooth marks on bone surfaces directly link consumers to fossil assemblage formation. Striated tooth marks are believed to form by theropod denticle contact, and attempts have been made to identify theropod consumers by comparing these striations with denticle widths of contemporaneous taxa. The purpose of this study is to test whether ziphodont theropod consumer characteristics can be accurately identified from striated tooth marks on fossil surfaces. We had three major objectives (1) to experimentally produce striated tooth marks and explain how they form; (2) to determine whether body size characteristics are reflected in denticle widths; and (3) to determine whether denticle characters are accurately transcribed onto bone surfaces in the form of striated tooth marks. We conducted controlled feeding trials with the dental analogue Varanus komodoensis (the Komodo monitor). Goat (Capra hircus) carcasses were introduced to captive, isolated individuals. Striated tooth marks were then identified, and striation width, number, and degree of convergence were recorded for each. Denticle widths and tooth/body size characters were taken from photographs and published accounts of both theropod and V. komodoensis skeletal material, and regressions were compared among and between the two groups. Striated marks tend to be regularly striated with a variable degree of branching, and may co-occur with scores. Striation morphology directly reflects contact between the mesial carina and bone surfaces during the rostral reorientation when defleshing. Denticle width is influenced primarily by tooth size, and correlates well with body size, displaying negative allometry in both groups regardless of taxon or position. When compared, striation widths fall within or below the range of denticle widths extrapolated for similar-sized V. komodoensis individuals. Striation width is directly influenced by the orientation of the carina during feeding, and may underestimate but cannot overestimate denticle width. Although body size can theoretically be estimated solely by a striated tooth mark under ideal circumstances, many caveats should be considered. These include the influence of negative allometry across taxa and throughout ontogeny, the existence of theropods with extreme denticle widths, and the potential for striations to underestimate denticle widths. This method may be useful under specific circumstances, especially for establishing a lower limit body size for potential consumers.

scholarly journals Inclusion Body Bead Size in E. coli Controlled by Physiological Feeding

2018 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 116 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julian Kopp ◽  
Christoph Slouka ◽  
Daniel Strohmer ◽  
Julian Kager ◽  
Oliver Spadiut ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Inclusion Body ◽  
Uptake Rate ◽  
Inclusion Bodies ◽  
Downstream Processing ◽  
Sugar Uptake ◽  
E Coli ◽  
Model Based ◽  
Bead Size

The Gram-negative bacterium E. coli is the host of choice for producing a multitude of recombinant proteins relevant in the pharmaceutical industry. Generally, cultivation is easy, media are cheap, and a high product titer can be obtained. However, harsh induction procedures combined with the usage of IPTG (isopropyl β-d-1 thiogalactopyranoside) as an inducer are often believed to cause stress reactions, leading to intracellular protein aggregates, which are so known as so-called inclusion bodies (IBs). Downstream applications in bacterial processes cause the bottleneck in overall process performance, as bacteria lack many post-translational modifications, resulting in time and cost-intensive approaches. Especially purification of inclusion bodies is notoriously known for its long processing times and low yields. In this contribution, we present screening strategies for determination of inclusion body bead size in an E. coli-based bioprocess producing exclusively inclusion bodies. Size can be seen as a critical quality attribute (CQA), as changes in inclusion body behavior have a major effect on subsequent downstream processing. A model-based approach was used, aiming to trigger a distinct inclusion body size: Physiological feeding control, using qs,C as a critical process parameter, has a high impact on inclusion body size and could be modelled using a hyperbolic saturation mechanism calculated in form of a cumulated substrate uptake rate. Within this model, the sugar uptake rate of the cells, in the form of the cumulated sugar uptake-value, was simulated and considered being a key performance indicator for determination of the desired size. We want to highlight that the usage of the mentioned screening strategy in combination with a model-based approach will allow tuning of the process towards a certain inclusion body size using a qs based control only. Optimized inclusion body size at the time-point of harvest should stabilize downstream processing and, therefore, increase the overall time-space yield. Furthermore, production of distinct inclusion body size may be interesting for application as a biocatalyst and nanoparticulate material.

scholarly journals Large neotheropods from the Upper Triassic of North America and the early evolution of large theropod body sizes

2019 ◽  
Vol 93 (5) ◽  
pp. 1010-1030 ◽  
Author(s):  
Christopher T. Griffin
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Phylogenetic Analyses ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Upper Triassic ◽  
Early Evolution ◽  
Phylogenetic Position ◽  
Ancestral State ◽  
Femur Length ◽  
Theropod Dinosaurs ◽  
Body Sizes

AbstractLarge body sizes among nonavian theropod dinosaurs is a major feature in the evolution of this clade, with theropods reaching greater sizes than any other terrestrial carnivores. However, the early evolution of large body sizes among theropods is obscured by an incomplete fossil record, with the largest Triassic theropods represented by only a few individuals of uncertain ontogenetic stage. Here I describe two neotheropod specimens from the Upper Triassic Bull Canyon Formation of New Mexico and place them in a broader comparative context of early theropod anatomy. These specimens possess morphologies indicative of ontogenetic immaturity (e.g., absence of femoral bone scars, lack of co-ossification between the astragalus and calcaneum), and phylogenetic analyses recover these specimens as early-diverging neotheropods in a polytomy with other early neotheropods at the base of the clade. Ancestral state reconstruction for body size suggests that the ancestral theropod condition was small (~240 mm femur length), but the ancestral neotheropod was larger (~300–340 mm femur length), with coelophysoids experiencing secondary body size reduction, although this is highly dependent on the phylogenetic position of a few key taxa. Theropods evolved large body sizes before the Triassic–Jurassic extinction, as hypothesized in most other ancestral state reconstructions of theropod body sizes, but remained rare relative to smaller theropods until the Jurassic.

scholarly journals Vertebral Adaptations to Large Body Size in Theropod Dinosaurs

PLoS ONE ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. e0158962 ◽  
Author(s):  
John P. Wilson ◽  
D. Cary Woodruff ◽  
Jacob D. Gardner ◽  
Holley M. Flora ◽  
John R. Horner ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Large Body Size ◽  
Theropod Dinosaurs

scholarly journals Construction of a Standardized Tongue Image Database for Diagnostic Education: Development of a Tongue Diagnosis e-Learning System

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 ◽  
Author(s):  
Makoto Segawa ◽  
Norio Iizuka ◽  
Hiroyuki Ogihara ◽  
Koichiro Tanaka ◽  
Hajime Nakae ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Image Database ◽  
Learning Systems ◽  
Learning System ◽  
Tongue Coating ◽  
Body Color ◽  
Educational Method ◽  
Tongue Diagnosis ◽  
E Learning ◽  
Tooth Marks

Tongue examination is an important diagnostic method for judging pathological conditions in Kampo (traditional Japanese medicine), but it is not easy for beginners to learn the diagnostic technique. One reason is that there are few objective diagnostic criteria for tongue examination findings, and the educational method for tongue examination is not standardized in Japan, warranting the need for a tongue image database for e-learning systems that could dramatically improve the efficiency of education. Therefore, we constructed a database comprising tongue images whose findings were determined on the basis of votes given by five Kampo medicine specialists (KMSs) and confirmed the educational usefulness of the database for tongue diagnosis e-learning systems. The study was conducted in the following five steps: development of a tongue imaging collection system, collection of tongue images, evaluation and annotation of tongue images, development of a tongue diagnosis e-learning system, and verification of the educational usefulness of this system. Five KMSs evaluated the tongue images obtained from 125 participants in the following eight aspects: (i) tongue body size, (ii) tongue body color, (iii) tongue body dryness and wetness, (iv) tooth marks on the edge of the tongue, (v) cracks on the surface of the tongue, (vi) thickness of tongue coating, (vii) color of tongue coating, and (viii) dryness and wetness of tongue coating. Medical students (MSs) were given a tongue diagnosis test using an e-learning system after a lecture on tongue diagnosis. The cumulative and individual match rates (%) (individual match rates of 100% (5/5), 80% (4/5), and 60% (3/5) are shown in parentheses, respectively) were as follows: (i) tongue body size: 92.8 (26.4/26.4/40.0); (ii) tongue body color: 83.2 (10.4/20.8/52.0); (iii) tongue body dryness and wetness: 88.8 (13.6/34.4/40.8); (iv) tooth marks on the edge of the tongue: 88.8 (6.4/35.2/47.2); (v) cracks on the surface of the tongue: 96.8 (24.0/35.2/37.6); (vi) thickness of tongue coating: 84.8 (7.2/21.6/56.0); (vii) color of tongue coating: 88.0 (15.2/37.6/35.2); and (viii) dryness and wetness of tongue coating: 74.4 (4.8/19.2/50.4). The test showed that the tongue diagnosis ability of MSs who attended a lecture on tongue diagnosis was almost the same as that of KMSs. We successfully constructed a tongue image database standardized for training specialists on tongue diagnosis and confirmed the educational usefulness of the e-learning system using a database. This database will contribute to the standardization and popularization of Kampo education.

scholarly journals Body Size as a Driver of Scavenging in Theropod Dinosaurs

2016 ◽  
Vol 187 (6) ◽  
pp. 706-716 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Kane ◽  
Kevin Healy ◽  
Graeme D. Ruxton ◽  
Andrew L. Jackson
Keyword(s):  
Body Size ◽  
Theropod Dinosaurs
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