Accessory muscle in the forearm: a clinical and embryological approach

Muscular variations of the flexor compartment of forearm are usual and can result in multiple clinical conditions limiting the functions of forearm and hand. The variations of the muscles, especially accessory muscles may simulate soft tissue tumors and can result in nerve compressions. During a routine dissection of the anterior region of the forearm and hand, an unusual muscle was observed on the left side of a 65-year-old male cadaver. The anomalous muscle belly arose from the medial epicondyle approxiamately 1 cm posterolateral to origin of normal flexor carpi ulnaris muscle (FCU), and from proximal part of the flexor digitorum superficialis muscle. It inserted to the triquetral, hamate bones and flexor retinaculum. Passive traction on the tendon of accessory muscle resulted in flexion of radiocarpal junction. The FCU which had one head, inserted to the pisiform bone hook of hamate and palmar aponeurosis. Its contiguous muscles displayed normal morphology. Knowledge of the existence of muscle anomalies as well as the location of compression is useful in determining the pathology and appropriate treatment for compressive neuropathies. In this study, a rare accessory muscle has been described

Public Health - "More than just a carrot in the hand" - a qualitative study of the municipial public health work in Region Västra Götaland

Introduktion: I regeringens proposition ”En förnyad folkhälsopolitik” lyfts kommunerna fram som några av de viktigaste aktörerna. Utifrån dess breda verksamhet har kommunerna goda möjligheter att påverka invånarnas hälsosituation. Syfte: Syftet med studien är explorativt och undersöker hur kommunala folkhälsosamordnare i Västra Götalandsregionen arbetar samt vilka eventuella hinder de upplever i sitt arbete. Detta studeras utifrån frågeställningar om organisering, styrdokument och implementering. Metod: Insamling av data har skett via intervjuer med åtta kommunala folkhälsosamordnare i åtta kommuner i Västra Götalandsregionen. Intervjuerna har spelats in och transkriberats för att sedan analyseras med hjälp av manifest innehållsanalys. Resultat: Utifrån intervjuerna framkom två centrala teman: Strategier för att integrera folkhälsoperspektivet samt Strategier för implementering av folkhälsoarbetet. Strategier för integrering handlade om hur folkhälsosamordnaren använder sig av de styrdokument som finns för folkhälsoarbetet samt hur folkhälsoarbetet organiserades i kommunen, till exempel om kommunen använde sig av folkhälsoråd och var i organisationen folkhälsosamordnaren var placerad samt vilken roll detta spelade för arbetet. Under temat om implementering av folkhälsoarbetet diskuterades samordnarens arbetssätt samt vilka faktorer som påverkade implementeringsarbetet. Diskussion: Då folkhälsosamordnaren själv inte kan genomföra det operativa arbetet handlar dennes arbete i mångt och mycket om att få andra att arbeta utifrån ett folkhälsoperspektiv. För att detta ska fungera krävs ett sektorsövergripande arbete där alla kommunala förvaltningar och nämnder ser sin del i folkhälsoarbetet samt samverkar sinsemellan. Viktiga faktorer som hjälper till att förverkliga detta är att det i folkhälsorådet finns politiker och tjänstemän med höga mandat samt att det finns ett avtal med Hälso- och sjukvårdsnämnden vilket fungerar som ett stöd för arbetet. Slutsats: En stor del av folkhälsosamordnarnas arbete var att göra folkhälsoarbetet kommunövergripande. Detta arbete påverkades av organisatoriska faktorer samt individers förhållningssätt, engagemang och kunskap. Respondenterna framhöll vikten av att organisera folkhälsoarbetet utifrån den lokala kontexten.ABSTRACT. Introduction: In the Swedish government’s public health policy the municipalities are emphasized as one of the most important actors. Based on their broad range of operations the municipalities have good opportunities to influence the health situation of its citizens. Aim: The purpose of this study is to investigate how the local public health coordinators in Region Västra Götaland are working and what barriers they experience in their work. This is done based on questions about governance, policy documents and implementation. Method: Data collection has been made through interviews with eight local public health coordinators in eight municipalities in Region Västra Götaland. The interviews were recorded and transcribed and then analyzed using manifest content analysis. Result: Based on the interviews two central themes were found: Strategies for integration of the public health perspective and Strategies for implementation of the public health work. Strategies for integration focused on how the public health coordinator used the governing documents related to public health and how the public health work in the municipality was organized, for example if the municipality used a public health council and where in the organization the public health coordinator was located and how this affected the work. The second theme focused on implementation of public health work and here the coordinators’ work was discussed as well as what factors affected the implementation work. Discussion: As the public health worker alone cannot implement the operational work their task is mainly to get other people to work from a public health perspective. This requires a multidisciplinary work involving all city councils and boards, that they see their part in the public health work and collaborate and participate. Important factors that help to achieve this is that the public health council consists of politicians and civil servants with high seats and also that there is an agreement with the health- and medical board which serves as a support of the work. Conclusion: A major part of the public health coordinators’ work was to make the public health question community-wide. This work was influenced by organizational factors and individuals' attitudes, commitment and knowledge. Respondents emphasized the importance of organizing public health efforts by the local context

Functional Morphology of Gastropods and Bivalves

Functional morphology analyzes the relationships between form and function in organisms. However, a comprehensive analysis of any organic structure requires an integrated approach to morphology. For this purpose constructional morphology was developed, where function, phylogeny and construction together explain form. This thesis investigates functional and constructional aspects of gastropods and bivalves; two groups of molluscs which are among the most common shell-bearing invertebrates. Their shell protects the soft parts and different morphologic specializations enhance this function. Morphology and mode of life are often closely coupled. Comparison of the distantly related cardiid bivalves Cardium costatum and Budmania spp. reveals similar shell modifications. Both have prominent keels functional in anchoring the shell within the sediment. The straight keels in C. costatum indicate an additional strengthening function, whereas the keels in Budmania spp. often are deformed and do not. Other shell modifications include secondary resorption of shell material and hollow keel interiors, reducing shell weight. These similarities are explained by parallel evolution and a common cardiid Bauplan. Morphological shell characters in cerithiform gastropods have evolved independently in different taxonomic groups and multiple times within the same group. Shell characters are adaptive within five functional areas: defence from shell-peeling predators, burrowing and infaunal life, clamping, stabilization, and righting of the shell. Most characters are made feasible by determinate growth and a count-down programme. In most environments predators that crush, peel and bore shells are present. As bivalves and gastropods grow by marginal accretion, and are able to replace lost shell material, traces of unsuccessful predation are preserved as scars. Experiments on the snail Nucella lamellosa show that repaired shells are just as strong as shells without damage. However, new scars follow old scar lines in 43% of tested specimens. This might be due to a higher organic content in this area

Trace fossils from the Permian of western Dronning Maud Land, Antarctica

Non-marine trace fossils from the Permian of Antarctica are systematically described and possible depositional environments are discussed. The studied material derives from sedimentary sequences consisting mainly of sandstone and shale at Vestfjella and Kirwanveggen, western Dronning Maud Land. The ichnofauna is considered to represent the Scoyenia ichnofacies. Ichnotaxa present in the material are Aulichnites, Cochlichnus, Helminthopsis, Lockeia, Palaeophycus, Skolithos and a number of traces placed in open nomenclature. Depositional environments are represented by floodplain sediments at Vestfjella and glacial, post-glacial and fluvial sediments at Kirwanveggen.Populärvetenskaplig sammanfattning: Arbetet beskriver systematiskt spårfossil av permisk ålder hämtade från Antarktis. Spårfossilfaunan anses vara icke-marin. Eventuella depositionsmiljöer diskuteras. Materialet härstammar från en sekvens bestående i huvudsak av sandsten och skiffer. Det insamlade materialet är hämtat från två områden i Dronning Maud Land - Vestfjella och Kirwanveggen. Ichnofaunan anses tillhöra den icke-marina Scoyenia Ichnofacies. De ichnotaxa som återfinns i materialet är Aulichnites, Cochlichnus, Helminthopsis, Lockeia, Palaeophycus, Skolithos samt ett flertal ichnotaxa som ej kunnat definieras närmare. Depositionsmiljön vid Vestfjella representeras av flodplans-sediment och vid Kirwanveggen påträffas glaciala, post-glaciala och fluviala sediment