PURPOSE The homeobox (Hox) genes a and d controlling limb and genital development influence the digit ratio and the fetal production of testicular androgen, which may result in testicular descent in boys. To assess whether the digit ratio reflects disease status, we investigated the second and fourth finger lengths in children with cryptorchidism, in children with hydrocele as a disease control...

In this paper, we use a lattice Boltzmann (LB) multiphase/multicomponent model to study the flow of two immiscible fluids with different viscosities. The approach is first validated for a two-dimensional layered flow. The velocity profiles and the relative permeability coefficients are compared with the analytic results. We then apply this method to studying fingering in a two-dimensional chann...

It has been demonstrated that pictorial illusions have a smaller influence on grasping than they do on perceptual judgments. Yet to date this work has not considered the reduced influence of an illusion as it is measured repeatedly. Here we studied this decrement in the context of a Ponzo illusion to further characterize the dissociation between vision for perception and for action. Participant...

although acrometastases are rare but clinically they are considered important. their etiology is quite different from the metastases to other sites; bronchogenic carcinoma is by far the most frequent case. the prognosis is always similar to metastatic bronchial cancer with an average survival of three months. treatment may involve distal digital amputation or antalgic radiotherapy. the main dif...

dsRBP-ZFa is a Xenopus zinc finger protein that binds dsRNA and RNA-DNA hybrids with high affinity and in a sequence-independent manner. The protein consists of a basic N-terminal region with seven C2H2 zinc finger motifs and an acidic C-terminal region that is not required for binding. The last four zinc finger motifs, and the linkers that join them, are nearly identical repeats, while the fir...

BACKGROUND It has been suggested that finger length may correlate with function or disorders of the male reproductive system. This is based on the HOXA and HOXD genes' common embryological control of finger development and differentiation of the genital bud. The objective of this study was to explore the association between the ratio of 2nd to 4th finger length (2D:4D ratio) and testis function...

The relative length of the second and fourth fingers (the 2D:4D ratio) has been taken to be an indicator of prenatal exposure to testosterone, and hence possibly relevant to sexual orientation and other sex-differentiated behaviors. Studies have reported a difference in this ratio between Caucasian males in Britain and in the U.S.: higher average 2D:4D ratios were obtained in Britain. This rais...

Much recent research has focused on the ratio of the lengths of the second to fourth manual digits (2D:4D) as a predictor of the degree of expression of sexually dimorphic and other sex-hormonemediated traits. However, published findings are often contradictory or subject to various methodological problems. In the present study, we reassessed the relationships among three measures of 2D:4D (lef...

BACKGROUND The mapping from muscle activation to joint torque production can be difficult to determine for the multi-articular muscles of the fingers. This relationship was examined in vivo as a function of posture in the index finger. METHODS Five healthy adults participated in an experiment in which the seven muscles of the index finger were sequentially electrically stimulated using intram...

Background: The ratio of the second finger length to fourth (2D:4D ratio) is considered be negatively correlated with prenatal androgen exposure (PAE) and positively estrogen. Coincidentally, various brain regions are sensitive PAE, their functions in adults may influenced by actions sex hormones.