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Mesozoic fossils of frogs are rare in the palaeontological record, particularly those exhibiting soft tissues that offer limited insights into early life-history characteristics. Here we report on a skeletally immature frog from the Lower Cretaceous of northwest China, with egg masses in the body and eggs in the oviduct, indicative of a gravid female. CT reconstruction of the specimen allows referral to Gansubatrachus qilianensis and we assign it as a paratype complementing the diagnosis of the type species. The new fossil, which might represent a younger individual than the holotype of Gansubatrachus, shows that sexual maturation occurred before full adulthood in this frog and provides evidence of death linked to mating behaviour. We also discuss other potential sources of variation and life-history traits of Gansubatrachus. The new finding represents the oldest Early Cretaceous frog preserving in situ eggs and provides a glimpse into ancient anuran development during Mesozoic times. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction is presented to article, "A cretaceous frog with eggs from northwestern China provides fossil evidence for sexual maturity preceding skeletal maturity in anurans," published in the previous issue of the periodical.

• SVR models enhance skeletal age accuracy vs. original metrics. • Studied 5,018 individuals aged 1–17 in Wuhan. • SVR outperforms original metrics for bone age assessment. • Best accuracy achieved with SVR using TW3 and CHN05 with a large training set. • SVR shows promise for accuracy in limited datasets. The objective of the study was to determine if support vector regression (SVR) models could enhance the accuracy of skeletal age estimation compared to original metrics. The study used a dataset of 5,018 individuals from Wuhan, spanning ages 1 to 17. Optimal model parameters were found using cross-validation and grid search techniques. The study compared SVR-based bone age assessment metrics with original metrics and evaluated the performance of the SVR model across different sample sizes. The findings unequivocally demonstrated SVR's superior reliability over original metrics in assessing bone age among children in central China. Regardless of the training set size, constructing SVR models based on TW3, CHN05, or a combination of TW3, CHN05, and GP consistently results in top-tier predictive accuracy. This research highlights SVR's potential for accuracy improvement and robustness with limited datasets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The aim was to assess growth velocity (GV) during human recombinant growth hormone (hGH) treatment of children with multiple pituitary hormone deficiency (MPHD) caused by pituitary stalk interruption syndrome (PSIS) and to analyze the characteristics of patients that attained normal adult heights. Methods: Data from 74 (16 female) children with MPHD caused by PSIS with GH, thyroid stimulating hormone, gonadotropin and adrenocorticotropic hormone deficiencies were collected. Subjects were divided into groups: 12 pre-pubescent females (Female-Group) and 36 pre-pubescent males (Male-Group 1). The remaining 22 males were further sub-divided into two groups (Male-Group 2 and Male-Group 3) according to the initiation of gonadotropin replacement treatment, based on bone age and height. Results: No differences in change in height standard deviation score (ΔHtSDS) and GV were observed at different time points of hGH treatment between the Female-Group and Male-Group 1 (p>0.05). GV was significantly greater in the first year of hGH therapy than in subsequent years: Female-Group p=0.011; Male-Group 1 p<0.001; Male-Group 2 p=0.005; and Male-Group 3 p=0.046. Adult height was achieved by 23 (19 males and 4 females) patients. The total gain in height positively correlated with the GV during the first year (r=0.626, p<0.001). Conclusion: GV during hGH treatment were similar amongst pre-pubescent males and females with MPHD caused by PSIS. GV during the first year of hGH treatment appears to be an effective predictor of final height in patients with MPHD caused by PSIS. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

• A correlative color alteration with advancing age was observed in costal cartilage. • Mean gray value (MGV) was introduced to quantify the pigmentation of costal cartilage. • Age, but not gender, shows a significant relationship with MGV. • A linear regression model based on MGV was constructed for age estimation. Age estimation is considered a crucial and challenging issue in forensic casework. Costal cartilage appears a potential mortal remain in age-at-death estimation attributable to its correlative alteration in color based on pigment accumulation with the advancing age. In this study, samples from the second costal cartilage were collected in a Chinese Han population, and the cross sections were subsequently scanned and digitalized in a standard way. Color change was quantified using mean gray value (MGV), which was measured by Photoshop CS5. After the exclusion of samples with factors which could impair the quality of images and the accuracy of values, a high correlation was demonstrated between age and MGV in samples. A linear regression model (AGE = 173.425–0.755*aveMGV) was established for age prediction, with its performance evaluated using both samples from the training set and the blind test set, in which a mean absolute deviation of 4.42 years and 3.57 years was obtained, respectively. Altogether, MGV could be reckoned as a precise quantification of pigmentation in costal cartilage and an excellent indicator of age prediction in the age interval from 20 to 60 years. Moreover, our strategy appears more user-friendly and accurate, thus exceedingly practical for age estimation in forensic anthropology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Methamphetamine (MA) abuse continues in East Asia and shows an increasing trend among youths in South Korea, Japan, and China. Although the negative effects of MA abuse on youth are considered as significant problems, few studies have been conducted on the topic in these countries. This paper focuses on the effects of MA on the human body and current MA abuse among youths in South Korea, Japan, and China. To investigate the negative effects of MA on the human body, we searched the keywords "MA," "human," and "effect" for studies published from 2013 to 2017. MA activates the neurotransmitter system and the central nervous system, and when used at high dosage or for long term, MA can cause severe neurotoxicity and cardiovascular problems. Online networks contribute to MA abuse by sharing methods for preparing synthetic MA. Despite efforts to reduce MA abuse, social crimes associated with its abuse continue and numbers of illegal MA users are increasing steadily in Korea, Japan, and China. In young users, diverse factors associated with drug addiction, such as curiosity and peer effect, lead to MA abuse and its attendant personal and social problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to develop population – specific discriminant function equations and stature prediction equations for predicting sex and stature from measurements of the scapula in a contemporary Chinese, 414 individual 3D CT images were collected from participants undergoing routine examination. Sex differences for the variables were tested by Student’s t -test. Fisher’s method has been followed for discriminant analysis. Regression analysis was applied to match the six linear parameters against stature. The stepwise analysis of all measurements yielded a sex classification accuracy rate of 86.7% and a sex bias of 3.1%. All the classification accuracy rates of the univariate discriminant function analyses are of more than 80%. For stature estimation, the accuracy of stature prediction ranged from 5.252 to 7.210 cm for male, from 4.630 to 6.484 cm for female, respectively. This paper provides indications that the scapula is an important bone for sex diagnosis and it could be effectively used as alternatives in forensic cases. Furthermore, the equations presented for stature estimation in this study should be used as alternatives in forensic cases when long bones were unavailable for stature estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Upper lip morphology is essential in diagnosis and treatment of orthodontics and orthognathic surgery. This study is aimed to evaluate the association between upper lip characteristics (ULCs) and skeletal patterns (SPs). Methods: 2079 patients were involved and grouped by sagittal and vertical. Class I, II, and III were identified by ANB angle, while normodivergent, hyperdivergent, and hypodivergent were identified by Facial Height Index and Sum of Angles. ULCs were evaluated by superior sulcus depth, nasolabial angle, upper lip length, basic upper lip thickness, and upper lip thickness. Confounders including demography, malocclusion, upper incisors, and upper lips were adjusted by multivariate linear regression to identify the association between ULCs and SPs. Group differences were evaluated with analysis of variance and Chi-square test. Results: The mean value of ULCs and prevalence of SPs were explored in the Western China population. ULCs were significantly different in various sagittal, vertical, and combined SPs. Superior sulcus depth was negatively related to Class II, and positively related to Class III and the hypodivergent pattern after adjusted by confounders. Conclusions: ULCs significantly varied among different SPs, while only superior sulcus depth was independently associated with SPs, indicating superior sulcus depth is the only ULC that might be significantly corrected by intervention of skeletal growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study included 17 401 normal Han urban children aged 1-20 years from five cities in China in 2005. The skeletal maturity scores were assessed by the Tanner-Whitehouse 3 (TW3) method, and the smoothed centiles curves of scores (TW3-Chinese RUS and TW3-Chinese Carpal) were calculated using the LMS method. The skeletal maturity of the Chinese is approximately the same as Europeans in childhood, but the extent of TW3-RUS skeletal maturity advance in puberty and the ages of complete maturity of TW-Carpals are evidently more advanced in the Chinese. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background : RUS (radius–ulna–short bones) maturity of children has been estimated in two provinces in China, but not in the capital. In order to obtain a clearer picture of skeletal maturity in China, it is indispensable to include children from Beijing in the study. Aim : The aims of this study were three-fold: (1) to establish RUS skeletal maturity of children in Beijing, (2) to compare RUS skeletal maturity in Beijing with the Tanner–Whitehouse 3 (TW3) standard and the Tokyo standard, and (3) to examine regional variation in skeletal maturity in China. Methods : Hand and wrist radiographs of 631 boys and 642 girls, aged 6–18, were obtained in Beijing in 1997, and their RUS skeletal maturity was estimated using the TW3 method. Results : RUS maturity of the Beijing children was very similar to the TW3 standard until the age of 10 years in the girls, and the age of 12 years in the boys. The girls attained full maturity at 15 years of age, matching the TW3 and Tokyo standards, while the boys reached full maturity at the age of 16 years, as in Tokyo boys, but 1 year earlier than the TW3 standards. Beijing children showed progressively more rapid bone maturation than the Harbin and Changsha children, and attained full maturation 1 year earlier, in both girls and boys. Conclusion : The RUS maturity of the Beijing children was comparable with that of Tokyo children, except for the boys between 11 and 13 years. Variability of the RUS maturation among the Chinese children was greater than that found among the TW3, Tokyo and Beijing children. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Unlabelled: Childhood thyrotoxicosis is an uncommon condition. To investigate the effect of thyrotoxicosis on the growth of children and to detect possible influence of the disease on their final height, 105 Chinese children (90 girls; 15 boys) with thyrotoxicosis were studied longitudinally from diagnosis. At presentation their mean age was 11. 57 years. Their height and weight measurements were converted to standard deviation scores (SDS) using normal height and weight-for-height reference standards for Chinese children established in Hong Kong. Their mean height SDS at diagnosis was +0. 73. Bone age assessment at diagnosis was done in 48 girls and 8 boys and their mean +/- S.D. bone development quotient was 1.16 +/- 0.11. A total of 53 girls have reached adult height and their mean height was 161.3 cm, corresponding to a SDS of +0.63. Their final heights significantly exceeded their target heights.Conclusion: This study demonstrates that children with thyrotoxicosis were tall for age and their bone ages were advanced at presentation. They continued to be tall for age after starting treatment and they achieved final heights exceeding their target height. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The developmental patterns of the pelvic epiphyses are one of the anatomical markers used in the assessment of skeletal age and the legally relevant age threshold. In this study, four regression models and five classification models were developed for forensic age estimation and the determination of the 18-year threshold, respectively. A total of 2137 conventional pelvic radiographs (1215 males and 922 females) aged 10.00-25.99 years were analyzed, and the ossification and fusion of the iliac crest and ischial tuberosity epiphyses were scored separately. The epiphyses on both sides were used as inputs for all models. The accuracy of the regression models was compared using the mean absolute error (MAE) and root mean square error. The percentages of correct classifications were evaluated for the determination of the 18-year threshold. Support vector regression (SVR) and gradient boosting regression (GBR) showed higher accuracy for age estimation in both sexes. The lowest MAE was 1.38 years in males when using SVR and 1.16 years in females when using GBR. In the demarcation of minors and adults, the percentage of correct classification was over 92%, and the area under the receiver operating characteristic curves was over 0.91 in all models, except the Bernoulli naive Bayes classifier. This study demonstrated that the present models may be helpful for age estimation and the determination of the 18-year threshold. However, owing to the high effective dose of ionizing radiation used during conventional radiography of the pelvis, it is expected that these models will be tested with pelvic MRI for age estimation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Determining the age at death of females by skeletal features is extremely difficult and important, both in forensics and in physical anthropology. Our previous study of male pubic symphysis suggests that the indicators of morphological changes provide the best results for personal age identification. The indicators that help deduce of the age of females was approximately the same as males except for two specific indicators, which are bone density of the symphysial surface and viz. Viz are ridges and furrows on the symphysial surface, ossific nodules, lower extremities, ventral and ridge of the rampart, dorsal margin, ventral beveling and general macroscopic changes on the symphysial surface. Samples were drawn from 338 female individuals. The study procedures are as follows: Firstly, we examined the morphological features of pubic symphysis using the criteria similar to Hanihara''s, Gilbert–McKern and Suchey–Brooks''s methods. Secondly, we evaluated each stage with an appropriate score. Thirdly, we deduced four equations to assess the morphological features of the ages of females by statistic analysis. The results were discussed by comparing with Hanihara''s, Gilbert–McKern and Suchey–Brooks''s methods. The results were consistent and the developing methods for determining the age of death of females were produced. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]