Fin ray structure in ray-finned fishes (Actinopterygii) largely defines fin function. Fin rays convert the muscle activity at the base of the fin to shape changes throughout the external fin web. Despite their critical functional significance, very little is known about the relationship between form and function in this key vertebrate structure. In this study we demonstrate that morphological s...

Lovász and Schrijver [17] introduced several lift and project methods for 0-1 integer programs, now collectively known as Lovász-Schrijver (LS) hierarchies. Several lower bounds have since been proven for the rank of various linear programming relaxations in the LS and LS+ hierarchies. In this paper we investigate rank bounds in the more general LS∗ hierarchy, which allows lifts by any derived ...

Light sticks (LS) are sources of chemiluminescence commonly used in pelagic fishery, where hundreds are discarded and reach the shores. Residents from fishing villages report an improper use of LS contents on the skin. Given the scarce information regarding LS toxicity, the effects of LS solutions in cell cultures were evaluated herein. Loss of viability, cell cycle changes and DNA fragmentatio...

We investigated the widespread belief that life gets better and better over time—as revealed in individuals’ “subjective trajectories” for life satisfaction (LS) derived from their ratings of recollected past, current, and anticipated future LS— among depressed (i.e., current major depressive disorder, fully remitted, partially remitted) and nondepressed groups using a two-wave longitudinal sam...

BACKGROUND The aim of this study was to describe changes in repeated liver stiffness (LS) measurements and to assess the determinants of increase in LS in HIV-HCV-coinfected patients. METHODS HIV-HCV-coinfected adults enrolled in the ANRS CO 13 HEPAVIH cohort, for whom two results of LS, evaluated over ≥24 months, were available. Patients with unreliable LS results were not included. LS was m...

OBJECTIVE To assess the use of laparoscopic surgeries (LS) and the association between its performance and hospitals' preference for LS over open surgeries. SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA LS is increasingly used in many abdominal surgeries, albeit both with and without solid guideline recommendations. To date, the hospitals' preference (LS vs. open surgeries) and its association with in-hospital out...

Lung surfactant (LS) and albumin compete for the air-water interface when both are present in solution. Equilibrium favors LS because it has a lower equilibrium surface pressure, but the smaller albumin is kinetically favored by faster diffusion. Albumin at the interface creates an energy barrier to subsequent LS adsorption that can be overcome by the depletion attraction induced by polyethylen...

Background: Trabecular bone score (TBS) measures the underlying quality of bone texture using dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry (DXA) images. The present study aimed to investigate the correlation between lumbar spine bone mineral density (BMD) and TBS, and subsequently determine whether the association varies with the body mass index (BMI). Methods: Data from 548 patients were collected a...

Lichen sclerosus (LS) is a chronic benign inflammatory disorder of skin and mucosa which affects patients of all age groups, sex and race, particularly caucasian prepubertal girls and postmenopausal women. The etiology of LS is unknown, but it has been suggested that genetic predisposition to inflammatory disorders, immunological constitutions, hormonal influences and local factors might play a...

BACKGROUND Simultaneous assessment of longitudinal strain (LS) by 2D speckle-tracking echocardiography in all 4 cardiac chambers has not yet been explored. Our goal was to study LS curves obtained simultaneously from all 4 cardiac chambers in healthy subjects to gain insight into interchamber functional relationships. METHODS AND RESULTS We studied 259 healthy subjects (age 44±15; 118 men) in...