Development of virtual morphometric globes using Blender

Virtual globes - programs implementing interactive three-dimensional (3D) models of planets - are increasingly used in geosciences. Global morphometric models can be useful for tectonic and planetary studies. We describe the development of the first testing version of the system of virtual morphometric globes for the Earth, Mars, and the Moon. As the initial data, we used three 15'-gridded global digital elevation models (DEMs) extracted from SRTM30_PLUS, the Mars Orbiter Laser Altimeter, and the Lunar Orbiter Laser Altimeter gridded archives. For three planetary bodies, we derived global digital models and maps of several morphometric attributes (i.e., horizontal curvature, vertical curvature, minimal curvature, maximal curvature, and catchment area). To develop the system, we used Blender, the open-source software for 3D modeling and visualization. First, a 3D sphere model was generated. Second, the global morphometric maps as textures were imposed to the sphere surface. Finally, the real-time 3D graphics Blender engine was used to implement globe rotation and zooming. The testing of the developed system demonstrated its good performance. Morphometric globes clearly represent peculiarities of planetary topography, according to the physical and mathematical sense of a particular morphometric variable.Comment: 14 pages, 7 figures (references corrected

Chthonius (Chthonius) carinthiacus and Chthonius (Ephippiochthonius) tuberculatus new to the fauna of Slovakia (Pseudoscorpiones: Chthoniidae)

The pseudoscorpions Chthonius (Chthonius) carinthiacus Beier, 1951 and Chthonius (Ephippiochthonius) tuberculatus Hadži, 1937, are recorded for the first time from Slovakia. An illustrated description of these species is provided based on their morphological and morphometric characters. The descriptions of the species offer an update on the variability of their morphological and morphometric characters

Morphometric and Phylogenic Analysis of Six Population Indonesian Local Goats

The research objectives were to characterize morphometric and genetic distance between populations of Indonesian local goats. The morphological discriminant and canonical analysis were carried out to estimate the phylogenic relationship and determine the discriminant variable between Benggala goats (n= 96), Marica (n= 60), Jawarandu (n= 94), (Kacang (n= 217), Muara (n= 30) and Samosir (n= 42). Discriminant analysis used to clasify body weight and body measurements. In the analysis of variance showed that body weight and body measurement (body length, height at withers, thorax width, thorax height, hert girth, skull width and height, tail length and width, ear length and width) of Muara goats was higher (P<0.05) compared to the other groups, and the lowest was in Marica goats. The smallest genetic distance was between Marica and Samosir (11.207) and the highest were between Muara and Benggala (255.110). The highest similarity between individual within population was found in Kacang (99.28%) and the lowest in Samosir (82.50%). The canonical analysis showed high correlation on canon circumference, body weight, skull width, skull height, and tail width variables so these six variables can be used as distinguishing variables among population. The result from Mahalonobis distance for phenogram tree and canonical analysis showed that six populations of Indonesian local goats were divided into six breed of goats: the first was Muara, the second was Jawarandu, the third was Kacang, the fourth was Benggala, the fifth was Samosir and the sixth was Marica goats. The diversity of body size and body weight of goats was observed quite large, so the chances of increasing productivity could be made through selection and mating programs

Molecular and morphometric variation in European populations of the articulate brachiopod <i>Terebeatulina retusa</i>

Molecular and morphometric variation within and between population samples of the articulate brachiopod &lt;i&gt;Terebratulina&lt;/i&gt; spp., collected in 1985-1987 from a Norwegian fjord, sea lochs and costal sites in western Scotland, the southern English Channel (Brittany) and the western Mediterranean, were measured by the analysis of variation in the lengths of mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) fragments produced by digestion with nine restriction endonucleases and by multivariate statistical analysis of six selected morphometric parameters. Nucleotide difference within each population sample was high. Nucleotide difference between population samples from the Scottish sites, both those that are tidally contiguous and those that appear to be geographically isolated, were not significantly different from zero. Nucleotide differences between the populations samples from Norway, Brittany, Scotland and the western Mediterranean were also very low. Morphometric analysis confirmed the absence of substantial differentiation

Morphometric, meristics and comparative studies of Chrysichthys nigrodigititus (Lacepede) from Lagos Lekki and Badagry Lagoons, Lagos State, south west Nigeria

Morphometric measurements, meristic counts and comparative studies of Chrysicthys nigrodigitatus samples from Lagos, Lekki, and Badagry Lagoons was carried out to determine the amount of variation among the species from the different locations using seven meristic and two morphometric characters. Significant differences were observed only between the headlength (F==14.02; P<00.05), number of anal rays (F=19.9; P<0.05) and of gill raker counts (F=142.0, 160.94; P<0.05). The differences observed in the meristic characters could be attributed to environmental and climatic differences of the three isolated sites and therefore phenotypic rather than genetic. This study is valuable for the selection of quality strains of fish species for aquaculture productio

Effect of Urtica dioica L extract on quantitative morphometric alterations of liver parenchymal cells in STZ diabetic rats

Diabetes is associated with several structural and functional liver abnormalities that affect glycogen and lipid metabolism. In this study, an attempt was made to evaluate the effects of hydroalcoholic extract of Urtica dioica leaves on Quantitative morphometric changes in parenchymal cells of the livers in STZ diabetic rats. Thirty male Wistar rats were allocated in 3 groups: normal, diabetic and treatment. Hyperglycemia was induced by 80 mg/kg Streptozotocin intraperitoneally. One week after the injection of STZ, the third group received the hydroalcoholic extract of Urtica dioica at 100 mg/kg/day over four weeks. After five weeks, the animals were sacrificed and whole livers were removed. Liver specimens were used for quantitative morphometric analyze after hematoxylin and eosin staining. All data are shown as means plus standard errors of means and were analyzed using One-Way ANOVA test at P<0.05.The mean area of hepatocytes, nuclei and nucleolus had a decrease in periportal zone and an increase in perivenous zone in the diabetic and treatment groups. The increase of hepatocyte area in perivenous zone and reduce of nucleus area in periportal zone was significant in the diabetic group in comparison with control group (P<0.05), but were not significant between treatment and diabetic group. This study showed that administration of 100 mg/kg/day of Urtica dioica leaves extracts after induction of diabetes can cause a little modulating in the main morphometric indices of liver such as area of hepatocytes, nuclei and nucleolus in periportal and perivenous zones

Integrating species distribution models, genetics and morphology to infer species dynamics of New Zealand Phaulacridium grasshoppers : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Masters of Science in Zoology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

Species comparison studies have used a number of different methods that can contribute to our understanding of processes that influence the differences and similarities observed between species. This thesis describes the geographic distribution, spatial genetics, and morphology of two New Zealand Phaulacridium grasshoppers, the widespread P. marginale and the restricted P. otagoense. The primary focus was on Phaulacridium populations from the region of the southern South Island where the two species ranges overlap, for the purpose of examining the evolutionary and ecological interactions of the species. The geographic distribution of the two species was analysed using the recorded and potential modern distribution of Phaulacridium grasshoppers. Models of environmental envelopes for each species demonstrated that the potential distribution of P. marginale covered the majority of New Zealand. In contrast, the potential distribution of P. otagoense is restricted to patches of land primarily in the southern South Island where this species is known to occur. The phylogeographic structure of Phaulacridium species was analysed using dense population samples. Two main mtDNA COI sequence groups were found, one was shallow but geographically widespread, while the other was more diverse but geographically restricted. Within the southern South Island region both mitochondrial lineages co-occur within a single location. Demographic history analysis suggested that the widespread range of P. marginale is the result of recent population, and the restricted P. otagoense was recently represented in large populations. The morphological variation of Phaulacridium grasshoppers was explored using traditional and geometric techniques. Two distinct morphotypes were apparent, the larger morph was geographically widespread and the smaller morph was restricted to the southern South Island. Both morphotypes co-occur in locations within the southern South Island region. Furthermore, several individuals could not be classified into a discreet morphotype, suggesting that these individuals had a mixture of morphological features, as expected of a hybrid. Comparing the morphological and genetic data from the current study demonstrates the first reported case of introgression between P. marginale and P. otagoense. It is evident that Phaulacridium F1 hybrids exist in the wild, however it is unknown whether these F1 hybrids are fertile and also if F2 hybrids (backcrossed from parental species or F1 hybrids) are viable and fertile