Morphology and Distribution of Cutaneous Sensory Organs on the Digits of Anolis carolinensis and A. sagrei (Squamata: Dactyloidae) in Relation to the Adhesive Toepads and Their Deployment

Cutaneous sensory organs are characteristic of many squamate lineages. Such organs may occur on the surface of scales as button-like, circular protuberances set off from their surroundings by a noticeable boundary, often taking the form of a moat or furrow. They may be relatively unadorned, clad with the surface micro-ornamentation of the scales on which they are carried, or they may carry one or more bristles of varying length and surface ornamentation. Such bristles may extend away from the body of the organ to interface with the surrounding environment or to contact adjacent scales. Cutaneous sensory organs have been physiologically demonstrated to have a mechanoreceptive function but have also been posited to potentially be involved with additional sensory modalities. Their distribution and structure across the body surface has been shown to be unequal, with some regions being much more extensively endowed than others, indicative of regional differential sensitivity. The digits of Anolis (Iguania: Dactyloidae) carry adhesive toepads that are convergent with those of geckos (Gekkota). Geckos exhibit a high density of cutaneous sensory organs on their toepads and their form and distribution has been associated with the operation and control of the toepads during locomotion. Investigation of the form and topographical distribution of cutaneous sensory organs on the toepads of Anolis shows them to be convergent in these attributes with those of geckos and quite distinct from those of the ancestrally padless Iguana (Iguania: Iguanidae). Their location at scale margins and the direction of their bristles towards adjacent scales indicates that the cutaneous sensory organs play an important role in proprioception during toepad deployment in Anolis.

Effects of word predictability on eye movements during Arabic reading

Contextual predictability influences both the probability and duration of eye fixations on words when reading Latinate alphabetic scripts like English and German. However, it is unknown whether word predictability influences eye movements in reading similarly for Semitic languages like Arabic, which are alphabetic languages with very different visual and linguistic characteristics. Such knowledge is nevertheless important for establishing the generality of mechanisms of eye-movement control across different alphabetic writing systems. Accordingly, we investigated word predictability effects in Arabic in two eye-movement experiments. Both produced shorter fixation times for words with high compared to low predictability, consistent with previous findings. Predictability did not influence skipping probabilities for (four- to eight-letter) words of varying length and morphological complexity (Experiment 1). However, it did for short (three- to four-letter) words with simpler structures (Experiment 2). We suggest that word-skipping is reduced, and affected less by contextual predictability, in Arabic compared to Latinate alphabetic reading, because of specific orthographic and morphological characteristics of the Arabic script.

Improvement of Soil by Using Natural Material (JUTE AND GYPSUM)

Generally clay exhibits undesirable engineering properties like poor bearing capacity and higher compressibility. Thus the improvement of the soil at site is indispensable. There are many stabilizers to improve the strength of soil like Jute, Gypsum, fly ash, rice husk ash, cement, lime used rubber tyres etc. In the present Study , we added jute and gypsum as stabilizer to improve the properties of clayey soil . Locally available clayey soil is used in this study . The objective of this study is to improve the strength of the clayey soil by making soil-jute and soil-jute-gypsum mixture. six specimens are prepared to investigate the properties of soil out of which three specimens are prepared by adding 1% of jute with varying length of 1cm,2cm and 3cm and the remaining three specimens are prepared by adding 1% jute and gypsum each with varying length of 1cm,2cm and 3cm of jute . Standard proctor test and unconfined compressive strength test are conducted to analyse the optimum moisture content (OMC), Maximum dry density (MDD) and compressive strength of soil mixture.

Trichotillomania Masked by Diffuse Alopecia Areata: A Case Report

An 11-year-old girl previously treated for tinea capitis presented a 3-month history of continuous decrease in hair density on the vertex, frontal, and parieto-temporal areas of the scalp. Hair pull test was negative. Trichoscopic findings showed black dots, micro-exclamation point hairs, regrowing vellus hair, and zigzag hairs. Histopathology showed CD3+ peribulbar lymphocytic infiltrates and occasional eosinophils around the anagen hair follicle consistent with a non-scarring alopecia. A diagnosis of diffuse alopecia areata was made. Patient was given methylprednisolone (0.5 mg/kg/day) for 2 weeks and noted marked increase in hair density except on focal areas of the scalp. Patient eventually admitted to occasional hair pulling. Trichoscopy revealed trichoptilosis, V-sign, tulip hairs, and multiple broken hairs of varying length while a second biopsy showed trichomalacia and pigment casts consistent with trichotillomania. In this case, where co-existence of alopecia areata and trichotillomania is considered to be uncommon, trichoscopy proved to be an important tool in differentiating hair disorders with similar presentation. Knowing key features of hair diseases can help elucidate the diagnosis when presented with an atypical case.

Online Computerized Adaptive Tests (CAT) of Children's Vocabulary Development in English and Mexican Spanish

Purpose: Measuring the growth of young children's vocabulary is important for researchers seeking to understand language learning as well as for clinicians aiming to identify early deficits. The MacArthur-Bates Communicative Development Inventories (CDI) are parent-report instruments that offer a reliable and valid method for measuring early productive and receptive language across a number of languages. CDI forms typically include hundreds of words, however, and so the burden of completion is significant. We address this limitation by building on previous work using Item Response Theory (IRT) models to create Computer Adaptive Test (CAT) versions of the CDI. We created CDI-CATs for both comprehension and production, for both American English and Mexican Spanish.Method: Using a dataset of 7,633 English-speaking children ages 12-36 months and 1,692 Spanish-speaking children ages 12-30 months, across three CDI forms (Words & Gestures, Words & Sentences, and CDI-III), we found that a 2-parameter logistic IRT model fits well for a majority of the 680 pooled items. We conducted CAT simulations on this dataset, assessing simulated tests of varying length (25-400 items). Results: We found that even very short CATs recovered participant abilities very well with little bias across ages. An empirical validation study with N=204 children ages 15-36 months showed a correlation of r=0.92 between language ability estimated from full CDI vs. CDI-CAT forms. Conclusions: We provide our item bank along with fitted parameters and other details, offer recommendations for how to construct CDI-CATs in new languages, and suggest when this type of assessment may or may not be appropriate.

Outcomes of spontaneous regression of retinopathy of prematurity

Purpose. To analyze postnatal outcomes in children with spontaneous ROP regression. Material and methods. The study included 37 children (74 eyes) with spontaneous ROP regression. Gestational age was ranged from 23 to 32 weeks, body weight - from 493 to 1660 g at birth. Depending on the observation period, the children were divided into 2 age groups: 1 - from 1 month to 4 years old - 31 children (62 eyes), 2 - from 9 to 13 years old - 6 children (12 eyes). The diagnostics included standard ophthalmological examinations and additional methods. Results. In the first group, upon reaching the age of 1-year, complete retinal vascularization was observed in 26 (83%) cases (52 eyes). 5 children (10 eyes) had a narrow retinal avascular zone in the temporal segment. In the second group, in cases of postponed 3-rd stage of ROP, more severe disorders in the peripheral parts of the retina were revealed: compaction of the posterior hyaloid membrane with fixation and zones of traction retinoschisis of varying length. In the first years of life, all patients with ROP had a history of predominantly hyperopic refraction (94%). However, myopic refraction prevailed (82%) in the second group of children reaching school age. Conclusion. Considering the significant variability of the clinical manifestations of the cicatricial stage of ROP with spontaneous regression, long-term observation and a comprehensive ophthalmological examination of this group of patients are necessary for timely treatment. Key words: retinopathy of prematurity, spontaneous regression, cicatricial phase.

Features of surgery for proliferative diabetic retinopathy in young patients

Purpose. To investigate the technical features and difficulties of performing vitreoretinal surgery in proliferative diabetic retinopathy (DR) in young patients. Material and methods. 12 patients (12 eyes) aged 19 to 30 years, averaging 26±2 years. There were 4 men and 8 women. All patients had diabetes mellitus (DM) in childhood. The duration of type 1 diabetes ranged from 12 to 18 years. Results. Initially, 8 eyes showed combined retinal and peripapillary neovascularization with gliza on the vascular arcades. In 4 eyes, there was both diffuse hemophthalmos and preretinal clots of varying length and volume. In 8 eyes, dense adhesion of the altered posterior hyaloid membrane and the inner border membrane was revealed. In 4 eyes, vasoproliferative membranes were determined, which contributed to the development of traction effects on the retina. The most dangerous was the traction component on the macular retina. Conclusion. Surgical treatment of proliferative DR in young patients has a number of technical difficulties associated with the anatomical features of the macular interface and the features of the proliferative response to surgery. Noteworthy is the minimum time for the transition of DR to the proliferative stage. Key words: proliferative diabetic retinopathy, endovitreal surgery, type 1 diabetes mellitus.