27 research outputs found
Коксозамещающие энергосберигающие угольные технологии доменной плавки
Представлена рецензия на работу в области доменного производства, выдвинутую на соискание Государственной премии Украины в области науки и техники
за 2007 год в развитие
The evolution of the palaeognathous birds
UBL - phd migration 201
Flightlessness affects cranial morphology in birds
Flightless birds belonging to phylogenetically distant clades share several morphological features in the pectoral and pelvic apparatus. There are indications that skull morphology is also influenced by flightlessness. In this study we used a large number of flightless species to test whether flightlessness in modern birds does indeed affect cranial morphology. Discriminant analyses and variation partitioning show evidence for a relationship between skull morphology and the flightless condition in birds. A possible explanation for the change in cranial morphology can be linked to the reduced selective force for light-weight skulls in flightless birds. This makes an increase in muscle mass, and therefore an enlargement of muscle insertion areas on the skull, possible. We also compared the ontogenetic trajectory of Gallus with the adult morphology of a sample of flightless species to see whether the apomorphic features characterizing the skull of flightless birds share the same developmental basis, which would indicate convergent evolution by parallelism. Skull morphology (expressed as principal component scores) of palaeognathous flightless birds (ratites) is dissimilar (higher scores) to juvenile stages of the chicken and therefore seem peramorphic (overdeveloped). Principal component scores of adult neognathous flightless birds fall within the range of chicken development, so no clear conclusions about the ontogenetic trajectories leading to their sturdier skull morphology could be draw
Three-dimensional kinematics of skeletal elements in avian prokinetic and rhynchokinetic skulls determined by roentgen stereophotogrammetry
Several different types of cranial kinesis are present within modern birds, enabling them to move (part of) the upper bill relative to the braincase. This movement of the upper bill results from movement of the quadrate and the pterygoid-palatine complex (PPC). The taxon Palaeognathae is characterised by a very distinct PPC and a special type of cranial kinesis (central kinesis) that is very different from that found in the Neognathae. This has led some authors to hypothesise that there is a functional relationship between the morphology of the PPC and the type of cranial kinesis. This hypothesis is tested here by analysing the movement pattern of both the upper bill and the PPC in birds with three different types of cranial kinesis: prokinesis, distal rhynchokinesis and central rhynchokinesis. Movement patterns were determined using a Roentgen stereophotogrammetry method, which made it possible to detect very small displacements (0.5 mm) of bony elements in three dimensions, while the jaw muscles and ligaments remained intact. We found that in all types of kinesis investigated the movements of the quadrate, jugal bars and PPC are similar. Movement of the quadrate is transferred to the upper beak by the jugal bar and the PPC, which moves almost exclusively forwards and backwards, thereby elevating or depressing the upper bill. The differences between the types of kinesis lie only in the position of the point of rotation. These findings indicate that there is no correlation between the specific morphology of the PPC and the type of cranial kinesis. Several other factors, including the external forces applied during food acquisition, may influence the morphology of the PPC. Differences in PPC morphology therefore appear to be the result of different functional demands acting on the system simultaneously but with different strengths, depending on the species
Three-dimensional kinematics of skeletal elements in avian prokinetic and rhynchokinetic skulls determined by Roentgen
Several different types of cranial kinesis are present within modern birds, enabling them to move (part of) the upper bill relative to the braincase. This movement of the upper bill results from movement of the quadrate and the pterygoid–palatine complex (PPC). The taxon Palaeognathae is characterised by a very distinct PPC and a special type of cranial kinesis (central kinesis) that is very different from that found in the Neognathae. This has led some authors to hypothesise that there is a functional relationship between the morphology of the PPC and the type of cranial kinesis. This hypothesis is tested here by analysing the movement pattern of both the upper bill and the PPC in birds with three different types of cranial kinesis: prokinesis, distal rhynchokinesis and central rhynchokinesis. Movement patterns were determined using a Roentgen stereophotogrammetry method, which made it possible to detect very small displacements (0.5 mm) of bony elements in three dimensions, while the jaw muscles and ligaments remained intact. We found that in all types of kinesis investigated the movements of the quadrate, jugal bars and PPC are similar. Movement of the quadrate is transferred to the upper beak by the jugal bar and the PPC, which moves almost exclusively forwards and backwards, thereby elevating or depressing the upper bill. The differences between the types of kinesis lie only in the position of the point of rotation. These findings indicate that there is no correlation between the specific morphology of the PPC and the type of cranial kinesis. Several other factors, including the external forces applied during food acquisition, may influence the morphology of the PPC. Differences in PPC morphology therefore appear to be the result of different functional demands acting on the system simultaneously but with different strengths, depending on the species