scholarly journals Convex-hull mass estimates of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus): application of a CT-based mass estimation technique

PeerJ ◽  
2016 ◽  
Vol 4 ◽  
pp. e1432 ◽  
Author(s):  
Charlotte A. Brassey ◽  
Thomas G. O’Mahoney ◽  
Andrew C. Kitchener ◽  
Phillip L. Manning ◽  
William I. Sellers
Keyword(s):  
Convex Hull ◽  
Hind Limb ◽  
Soft Tissues ◽  
The Body ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Reliable Estimate ◽  
Estimation Technique ◽  
Predictive Equations ◽  
Mass Estimation ◽  
Raphus Cucullatus

The external appearance of the dodo (Raphus cucullatus,Linnaeus, 1758) has been a source of considerable intrigue, as contemporaneous accounts or depictions are rare. The body mass of the dodo has been particularly contentious, with the flightless pigeon alternatively reconstructed as slim or fat depending upon the skeletal metric used as the basis for mass prediction. Resolving this dichotomy and obtaining a reliable estimate for mass is essential before future analyses regarding dodo life history, physiology or biomechanics can be conducted. Previous mass estimates of the dodo have relied upon predictive equations based upon hind limb dimensions of extant pigeons. Yet the hind limb proportions of dodo have been found to differ considerably from those of their modern relatives, particularly with regards to midshaft diameter. Therefore, application of predictive equations to unusually robust fossil skeletal elements may bias mass estimates. We present a whole-body computed tomography (CT) -based mass estimation technique for application to the dodo. We generate 3D volumetric renders of the articulated skeletons of 20 species of extant pigeons, and wrap minimum-fit ‘convex hulls’ around their bony extremities. Convex hull volume is subsequently regressed against mass to generate predictive models based upon whole skeletons. Our best-performing predictive model is characterized by high correlation coefficients and low mean squared error (a= − 2.31,b= 0.90,r2= 0.97, MSE = 0.0046). When applied to articulated composite skeletons of the dodo (National Museums Scotland, NMS.Z.1993.13; Natural History Museum, NHMUK A.9040 and S/1988.50.1), we estimate eviscerated body masses of 8–10.8 kg. When accounting for missing soft tissues, this may equate to live masses of 10.6–14.3 kg. Mass predictions presented here overlap at the lower end of those previously published, and support recent suggestions of a relatively slim dodo. CT-based reconstructions provide a means of objectively estimating mass and body segment properties of extinct species using whole articulated skeletons.

Computerized Tomography: A Perspective in the Pediatric Patient

PEDIATRICS ◽  
1977 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 305-308
Author(s):  
Derek Harwood-Nash ◽  
Herman Grossman ◽  
Alvin Felman ◽  
John Kirkpatrick ◽  
Leonard Swischuk
Keyword(s):  
Computerized Tomography ◽  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Conventional Radiography ◽  
The United States ◽  
The Body ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Central Research ◽  
X Ray ◽  
Whole Body Ct

Computerized tomography (CT), a technique conceptualized by Oldendorf in 19611 and developed by Hounsfield2 of EMI-Tronics Inc. (EMI) Central Research Laboratories, has proven to be a successful innovation in neuroradiology. Reviews by Ambrose3 in England and by Baker et al.4 and by New et al.5 in the United States have clearly demonstrated the value of this new modality in neuroradiological diagnosis. In 1975 Houser et al.6 and Harwood-Nash et al.7 provided the initial clinical and radiological data about CT in infants and children. More recently this technique has been extended to the study of tissues and organs in the body other than those in the head. This has been accomplished by modification of the original machine into a whole-body CT system. Early reviews by Ledley et al.8 and by Alfidi et al.9 suggest a significant potential for diagnosis of lesions in the abdomen, pelvis, and thorax. The advantages of CT are that it is less invasive than standard special diagnostic radiological procedures and that for the first time it provides in vivo information regarding the content and the characteristics of tissue composing organs and masses. DESCRIPTION OF EQUIPMENT In conventional radiography an image is made on radiographic film by an attenuated X-ray beam. In passing through a core of tissue, each ray of the beam is attenuated as it is absorbed and scattered by the tissue in its path. The intensity of the transmitted ray depends on the sum total of X-ray attenuation by all the different soft tissues in its path.

Fat, water and tissue solids of the whole body less its bone mineral

1959 ◽  
Vol 14 (6) ◽  
pp. 1009-1012 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. H. Allen ◽  
B. E. Welch ◽  
T. T. Trujillo ◽  
J. E. Roberts
Keyword(s):  
Bone Mineral ◽  
Soft Tissues ◽  
The Body ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Water Density ◽  
Simultaneous Measurements ◽  
Free Body ◽  
Total Tissue ◽  
Isolated Tissues ◽  
Healthy Persons

Except for bone mineral, the body is shown to belong to the same water:fat:protein system as its soft tissues. Hence, an equation verified with a variety of freshly isolated tissues can be used to estimate the body fat and the so-called total tissue solids. On the average, there are 0.784 kg of water/kg of body weight less bone mineral and fat. However, this water content probably fluctuates between extremes of 0.816 and 0.752, in accordance with the time elapsing since imbibing much water. This causes the density of the tissues in the fat-free, bone mineral-free body to range from 1.050 to 1.071. Combined simultaneous measurements of water, density and bone mineral, therefore, are required for the estimation of fat and tissue solids. Bone mineral occurs in the proportion of about one part to three parts of tissue solids, irrespective of ranges in quantities of fat and water among 30 healthy persons. Submitted on June 15, 1959

Decay and preservation of polychaetes: taphonomic thresholds in soft-bodied organisms

Paleobiology ◽  
1993 ◽  
Vol 19 (1) ◽  
pp. 107-135 ◽  
Author(s):  
Derek E. G. Briggs ◽  
Amanda J. Kear
Keyword(s):  
Chemical Composition ◽  
Soft Tissues ◽  
Lipid Fraction ◽  
Relative Proportion ◽  
Two Dimensions ◽  
The Body ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
Fluid Loss ◽  
Preservation Potential ◽  
Grès À Voltzia

A series of experiments was carried out to investigate the nature and controls (oxygen, microbial populations, agitation) on the degradation of soft tissues. Decay was monitored in terms of morphological change, weight loss, and change in chemical composition in the polychaete Nereis virens. Polychaetes include a range of tissue types of differing chemical composition and preservation potential: muscle, cuticle, setae, and jaws. Regardless of conditions, all the muscle had broken down and fluid loss through the ruptured cuticle had reduced the carcass to two dimensions within 8 days at 20°C. In most cases some cuticle, in addition to the jaws and setae, remained after 30 days. Where oxygen was completely eliminated, the rate of decay of the more volatile issues was significantly reduced. The degree of both osmotic uptake of water by the carcass and changes in water pH differed depending on whether the system was open or closed to oxygen diffusion. Autolytic and chemical processes are not sufficient to fully degrade the carcass in the absence of bacteria. Where internal bacteria are present, the presence or absence of water column bacteria made little difference to decay rate. Initial degradation (in the first 3 days) affects mainly the lipid fraction and the collagen of the cuticle. Later decay reduces the nonsoluble protein and increases the relative proportion of refractory structural components (tanned chitin and collagen) to more than 95% by day 30. Thus, only the sclerotized tissues are likely to survive beyond 30 days in the absence of early diagenetic mineralization. The sequence of degradation predicted from the relative decay resistance of macromolecules in the sedimentary record (protein → carbohydrate → lipid) is not, therefore, a consistent indicator of the preservation potential of structural tissues which incorporate them.The experiments reveal five stages in the decay of polychaete carcasses; whole/shriveled, flaccid, unsupported gut, cuticle sac, jaws and setae. All are represented in the fossil record. This allows an estimation of how far decay proceeded before it was halted by the fossilization process. The most complete preservations occur in the Cambrian where the Burgess Shale preserves evidence of muscle tissues. Traces of the gut and cuticle are more widely preserved, as at Mazon Creek, Grès à Voltzia, Solnhofen, and Hakel. Preservation varies within Konservat-Lagerstätten. The most common whole body preservation includes only the more recalcitrant tissues, jaws (where present) and setae, with an impression of the body outline. The stage of decay can be used as a taphonomic threshold, to provide an indication of how significantly the diversity of an exceptionally preserved biota is likely to have been reduced by taphonomic loss.

O2 extraction by hind limb versus whole dog during anemic hypoxia

1978 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 966-970 ◽  
Author(s):  
S. M. Cain ◽  
C. K. Chapler
Keyword(s):  
Blood Flow ◽  
Hind Limb ◽  
Femoral Vein ◽  
Control Level ◽  
The Body ◽  
Stage Ii ◽  
Whole Body ◽  
O2 Uptake ◽  
O2 Extraction ◽  
O2 Delivery

The ability of the hind limb to obtain oxygen and maintain its O2 uptake in relation to the whole body during isovolemic hemodilution with dextran was measured in eight anesthetized, paralyzed dogs kept at constant ventilation. Hind limb venous outflow (ankle to upper thigh) was restricted by tourniquets to femoral vein. Hind limb blood flow, O2 uptake (VO2), cardiac output, and total VO2 were measured at normal hematocrit, at hematocrits just above (16%, stage 2) and just below (10%, stage II) that at which total VO2 could be maintained at the control level, and following isovolemic reinfusion of recovered red blood cells (Hct = 23%). VO2 was maintained at the control level in whole body and hind limb during stage I. Total VO2 decreased significantly in stage II (P less than 0.05), whereas limb VO2 did not. Hind limb had a consistently greater extraction ratio for O2 (P less than 0.01) and lower venous oxygen partial pressure than the body as a whole (P less than 0.01). In spite of limitations of O2 delivery by anemia to the point that total O2 demand was not met, there was no redistribution of blood flow away from or decreased demand for O2 by the hind limb, which was mostly skeletal muscle.

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