Further Applications of EDMA - An Invariant Approach to Statistical Analysis of Shapes - page 267

Measurements for which the null hypothesis of symmetry is not reject-
ed span bilateral and midline landmarks: FZJ — SEL, EAM — BAS,
EAM — SEL, AST — BAS, and AST — SEL. In general, these results
indicate that the sutural fusion does little to affect the breadths of the
middle and posterior cranial fossae. Finally, there is a single distance
where the fused-side measurement is larger than the measurement on
the unfused side (AST — OPI). This suggests that the posterior cranial
fossa is broader in the fused side. However, the mean difference is only
about 2% and the confidence interval barely excludes 1.

Table 7.1 Unicoronal Example
Distance A (Fused / Unfused) 90% Confidence Interval Pattern

FZJ — AST 0.891 0.842 — 0.938 F < U

FZJ — EAM 0.894 0.835 — 0.944 F < U

FZJ — NAS 0.919 0.864 — 0.965 F < U

EAM — AST 0.928 0.910 — 0.952 F < U

EAM — NAS 0.932 0.891 — 0.974 F < U

AST — NAS 0.932 0.896 — 0.969 F < U

FZJ — OPI 0.962 0.938 — 0.984 F < U

FZJ — BAS 0.967 0.927 — 0.999 F < U

AST — SEL 0.967 0.936 — 1.006 F = U

EAM — OPI 0.980 0.967 — 0.990 F < U

EAM — BAS 0.986 0.961 — 1.011 F = U

FZJ — SEL 0.987 0.944 — 1.021 F = U

AST — BAS 0.991 0.960 — 1.047 F = U

EAM — SEL 1.002 0.979 — 1.024 F = U

AST — OPI 1.024 1.001 — 1.047 F > U

Note: A = asymmetry vector; F = fused; U = unfused. Elements of A
are sorted in ascending order.

7.2 Comparisons of molecular structures

Morphologists are only some of many scientists who are interested in
comparing three-dimensional forms. Biochemists, molecular biologists,
and pharmacologists have a considerable interest in describing and
comparing three-dimensional macromolecular structures. This is
because there is an intimate relationship between molecular structure
and function, and molecules with similar structures may behave simi-