The purpose of the first part of the study was to establish the variability of repeated measurements in different measuring conditions. In the second part, we performed in a large number of patients, a measurement of thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis and compared them to age, gender, and level of nourishment. In the first part, measurements were performed on a plastic model of the back of a...

Spinal curvatures associated with myelo­ meningocele represent complex problems which, if no t recognized early, determine the future ambula tory status of the patient. In recognizing the importance of functional spinal alignment, it is manda tory to supervise closely a child from infancy and to institute early protective care (Bunch et al., 1972). Spinal problems are not necessarily evident a ...

The Lie group Sol(p, q) is the semidirect product induced by the action of R on R which is given by (x, y) 7→ (ex, e−qzy), z ∈ R. Viewing Sol(p, q) as a 3-dimensional manifold, it carries a natural Riemannian metric and Laplace-Beltrami operator. We add a linear drift term in the z-variable to the latter, and study the associated Brownian motion with drift. We derive a central limit theorem and...

BACKGROUND The main purpose of this research was to develop a new method for differentiating between scoliotic and healthy subjects by analysing the curvatures of their spines in the cranio-caudal view. METHODS The study included 247 subjects with physiological curvatures of the spine and 28 subjects with clinically confirmed scoliosis. The curvature of the spine was determined by a computer ...

Scoliosis is a complex genetic disorder of the musculoskeletal system, characterized by three-dimensional rotation of the spine. Curvatures caused by malformed vertebrae (congenital scoliosis (CS)) are apparent at birth. Spinal curvatures with no underlying vertebral abnormality (idiopathic scoliosis (IS)) most commonly manifest during adolescence. The genetic and biological mechanisms responsi...