Morphology reflects ecological pressures, phylogeny, and genetic and biophysical constraints. Disentangling their influence is fundamental to understanding selection and trait evolution. Here, we assess the contributions of function, phylogeny, and habitat to patterns of plastron (ventral shell) shape variation in emydine turtles. We quantify shape variation using geometric morphometrics, and d...

Ja-Yeon Jeong: Estimation of Probability Distribution on Multiple Anatomical Objects and Evaluation of Statistical Shape Models (Under the direction of Stephen M. Pizer) The estimation of shape probability distributions of anatomic structures is a major research area in medical image analysis. The statistical shape descriptions estimated from training samples provide means and the geometric sha...

Ja-Yeon Jeong: Estimation of Probability Distributions on Multiple Anatomical Objects and Evaluation of Statistical Shape Models (Under the direction of Stephen M. Pizer) The estimation of shape probability distributions of anatomic structures is a major research area in medical image analysis. The statistical shape descriptions estimated from training samples provide means and the geometric sh...

This paper describes the use of Active Shape Models to segment the tibia bone in ultrasound images. Using CT images from three volunteers, a training set consisting of 60 tibia contours, each represented by 45 labeled points, is first established. After aligning the contours in the training set, a Point Distribution Model (PDM) is generated that includes a mean shape of tibia and six modes of s...

Fruit shape is one of the most important quality factors in many domesticated plants. In this study, we used bulked segregate analysis (BSA) to identify two sequence-related amplified polymorphism (SRAP) markers linked to fruit shape in cucumber (Cucumis sativus L.). A segregating F2 population of 130 plants from a cross (B-2-2×Y-3) of B-2-2 with long fruit shape trait and Y-3 with round fruit ...

Understanding locomotor energetics is imperative, because energy expended during locomotion, a requisite feature of primate subsistence, is lost to reproduction. Although metabolic energy expenditure can only be measured in extant species, using the equations of motion to calculate mechanical energy expenditure offers unlimited opportunities to explore energy expenditure, particularly in extinc...

The main aim of this study was to investigate the shape variation in the human ear canal and the effects of venting on the spatial design of hearing aids. The second aim was to determine the design feasibility of a multiple venting hearing aid and assess the flexibility of design provided. A statistical shape model based on principal component analysis was created from a dataset of 60 left and ...

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Brassicaceae is one of the most diversified families in the angiosperms. However, most species from this family exhibit a very similar floral bauplan. In this study, we explore the Brassicaceae floral morphospace, examining how corolla shape variation (an estimation of developmental robustness), integration and disparity vary among phylogenetically related species. Our aim i...

Phenotype variation is a key feature in evolution, being produced by development and the target of the screening by selection. We focus here on a variable morphological feature: the third upper molar (UM3) of the bank vole, aiming at identifying the sources of this variation. Size and shape of the UM3 occlusal surface was quantified in successive samples of a bank vole population. The first sou...