The vertical distribution of 14 geochemical elements (Si, Al, Ti, K, Na, Ca, Mg, Fe, Mn, Cu, Cr, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in nine serpentine pedons for three ophiolite complexes was investigated. The pedons are located at Wu-Mau, Tong-An, and Shih-Tao mountains in the Coastal Range, eastern Taiwan. The objective of this study was to discriminate the parent material inheritance and pedogenic factors by comparison of the element concentrations based on principal component (PC) analysis. From the experimental results, the relative abundance of major elements was as follows: Si 9 Fe 9 Mg 9 Al, with lesser concentrations of Ti, K, Na, and Ca. In addition, Cr, Mn, and Ni contents in these soils were higher than in soils formed from other parent materials, with considerable variation between pedons on different landscapes, which reflected the ophiolite differences and degrees in chemical weathering of the associative serpentinitic rocks. The contents of pairs of Si-Fe, Si-Mn, Si-Pb, and Si-Zn showed significantly (P G 0.05) positive correlations. The close relations among contents of Fe, Mn, Cr, and Ni were observed herein. According to the eigenvalue in PC analysis, the elements most responsible for separation along the PC-1 axis were Si, Fe, Mn, Zn, Mg, and Ca, whereas Cr and Ni were the trace metals responsible for separation along the PC-2 axis. This result reflected the parent material differences in igneous rock composition and the degree of serpentinization between ophiolite complexes.

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Background: Most orthopedists are right-handed. However, osteoarthritis occurs with equal frequency over both sides. Does perfect and effective arthroplasty surgery require ambidextrous motor skills? Objectives: In this study, we aimed to investigate the clinical features of arthroplasty for hip and knee joints (THR and TKR) on different sides affected by orthopedist laterality. Patients and Methods: All right-handed orthopedists performed 64 right and 52 left primary THR among 100 patients, and 115 right and 118 left primary TKR among 192 patients. Clinical and surgical features were retrospectively reviewed and analyzed. The body mass index (BMI), inner diameter of acetabular cup liners (ACD), diameter of the femoral head (FHD), diameter of the femoral stem (FSD), and the femoral neck length (FNL) were included in THR-receiving patients. The BMI, femoral component (FC) size, tibial plate (TP) size, and thickness of articular surface inserts (ASI) were included in TKR-receiving patients. Results: No significant differences were observed in ACD, FHD and FSD between patients receiving right and left THR groups (p = 0.16, 0.11, and 0.05, respectively). Similarly, there were no significant differences in FC, TP, and ASI between patients receiving right and left TKR groups (p = 0.06, 0.80, and 0.46, respectively). However, FNL in left THR group was significantly longer than that in right THR group (p = 0.01). Conclusion: This study showed that dexterity or proprioception in handedness had no affect on bone resection and thicknesses of the polyethylene in TKR and acetabular reaming and femoral canal rasping in THR. However, it did lead to differences in femoral neck resection. Right-handed orthopedists significantly tend to perform excessive femoral neck cutting or prefer the larger How to cite this paper: