Impact of the Skull Size on the Normal Brain Radiation Dose During Gamma Knife Radiosurgery: Results of a Pilot Study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of the present study was evaluation of the interrelationships between changes in the skull size and variations in the normal brain radiation dose during Gamma Knife surgery (GKS). METHODS: With use of systematic modeling within Leksell GammaPlan® (Elekta AB; Stockholm, Sweden) in each of 15 analyzed cases, the skull was "expanded" and "contracted" by variation of its measurement values from 0 to ±3 cm. The mean normal brain radiation dose was then computed for each variant of the adjusted skull size and compared with the original treatment plan. Variations in the maximum point dose delivered to selected critical anatomical structures were also investigated. RESULTS: With changes in the skull radius within ±3 cm, the maximum absolute deviation in the mean normal brain radiation dose was 0.8%. As the skull radius increased, the mean normal brain radiation dose also increased linearly (confidence level >99%) with a positive slope of 0.2% per centimeter of radius length change. The maximum point dose deviations in all evaluated critical anatomical structures did not exceed 0.5%, with an overall trend toward a dose increase in parallel with an increase in the skull radius. CONCLUSION: The small skull size of pediatric patients may be associated with dosimetric advantages in terms of normal brain sparing during GKS.

Hunting as a management tool? Cougar-human conflict is positively related to trophy hunting.

BACKGROUND: Overexploitation and persecution of large carnivores resulting from conflict with humans comprise major causes of declines worldwide. Although little is known about the interplay between these mortality types, hunting of predators remains a common management strategy aimed at reducing predator-human conflict. Emerging theory and data, however, caution that such policy can alter the age structure of populations, triggering increased conflict in which conflict-prone juveniles are involved. RESULTS: Using a 30-year dataset on human-caused cougar (Puma concolor) kills in British Columbia (BC), Canada, we examined relationships between hunter-caused and conflict-associated mortality. Individuals that were killed via conflict with humans were younger than hunted cougars. Accounting for human density and habitat productivity, human hunting pressure during or before the year of conflict comprised the most important variables. Both were associated with increased male cougar-human conflict. Moreover, in each of five regions assessed, conflict was higher with increased human hunting pressure for at least one cougar sex. CONCLUSION: Although only providing correlative evidence, such patterns over large geographic and temporal scales suggest that alternative approaches to conflict mitigation might yield more effective outcomes for humans as well as cougar populations and the individuals within populations.

Spotted Hyena skull size variation across geography favors the energetic equivalence rule over Bergmann's Rule.

Much historic work has focused on establishing geographical and ecological rules that broadly explain patterns in size variation. We examined geographic variation in Spotted Hyena skull size using geometric morphometrics and spatial statistics. We quantified size variation and sexual size dimorphism of the skull, and evaluated the influence of temperature, precipitation, land cover type, and population density on skull size. We found that female spotted hyenas are slightly larger on average than males. Our analysis of regional differences did not indicate geographic variation in sexual size dimorphism. Skull size of Spotted Hyenas varies with geography but does not adhere to Bergmann's Rule. The smallest individuals of both sexes occur between -5.00° and 10.00° latitude and east of 28.50° longitude, with larger individuals being found elsewhere. Although Spotted Hyena skull size co-varies in some views with such variables as habitat type and climate indicators, skull size in this species most strongly co-varies with population density. The highest population densities are associated with the smallest skull size, possibly reflecting a relationship between high population density and access to resources. These results suggest that geographic variation in Spotted Hyena skull size is better explained by the energetic equivalence rule than Bergmann's Rule.

Fifty years of data show the effects of climate on overall skull size and the extent of seasonal reversible skull size changes (Dehnel's phenomenon) in the common shrew.

Global climate change affects many aspects of biology and has been shown to cause body size changes in animals. However, suitable datasets allowing the analysis of long-term relationships between body size, climate, and its effects are rare. The size of the skull is often used as a proxy for overall body size. Skull size does not change much in fully grown vertebrates; however, some high-metabolic small mammals shrink in winter and regrow in spring, including their skull and brain. This is thought to be a winter adaptation, as a smaller brain size reduces energy requirements. Climate could thus affect not only the overall size but also the pattern of the size change, that is, Dehnel's phenomenon, in these animals. We assessed the impact of the changes in climate on the overall skull size and the different stages of Dehnel's phenomenon in skulls of the common shrew, Sorex araneus, collected over 50 years in the Bialowieza Forest, E Poland. Overall skull size decreased, along with increasing temperatures and decreasing soil moisture, which affected the availability of the shrews' main food source, earthworms. The skulls of males were larger than those of females, but the degree of the decrease in size did not differ between sexes. The magnitude of Dehnel's phenomenon increased over time, indicating an increasing selection pressure on animals in winter. Overall, climate clearly affected the common shrew's overall size as well as its seasonal size changes. With the current acceleration in climate change, the effects on the populations of this cold-adapted species may be quite severe in a large part of its distribution range.

The Predictability from Skull Morphology of Temporalis and Masseter Muscle Cross-Sectional Areas in Humans.

To carry out functional simulations of the masticatory system that aim to predict strain magnitudes it is important to apply appropriate jaw-elevator muscle forces. Force magnitude estimation from directly measured muscle physiological cross-sectional area or anatomical cross-sectional area (CSA) is not possible for fossils and skeletal material from museum collections. In these cases, muscle CSAs are often estimated from bony features. This approach has been shown to be inaccurate in a prior study based on direct measurements from cadavers. Postmortem alterations as well as age changes in muscle form might explain this discrepancy. As such, the present study uses CT images from 20 living individuals to directly measure temporalis and masseter muscle CSAs and estimated cross-sectional areas (ECSAs) from bony features. The relationships between CSAs and ECSAs were assessed by comparing mean values and by examining correlations. ECSAs are up to 100% greater than CSA and the means of these variables for each muscle differ significantly. Further, ECSA is significantly correlated with CSA for temporalis but not masseter. Cranial centroid size is only significantly associated with CSA for temporalis. These findings indicate that ECSAs should be employed with caution in simulations of human masticatory system functioning; they do not reflect CSAs and it is plausible that this also applies to studies of closely related living and fossil taxa. When ECSAs are used, sensitivity analyses are required to determine the impact of potential errors.