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Effective population size (Ne) is one of the most important parameters in evolutionary biology, as it is linked to the long‐term survival capability of species. Therefore, Ne greatly interests conservation geneticists, but it is also very relevant to policymakers, managers, and conservation practitioners. Molecular methods to estimate Ne rely on various assumptions, including no immigration, panmixia, random sampling, absence of spatial genetic structure, and/or mutation‐drift equilibrium. Species are, however, often characterized by fragmented populations under changing environmental conditions and anthropogenic pressure. Therefore, the estimation methods' assumptions are seldom addressed and rarely met, possibly leading to biased and inaccurate Ne estimates. To address the challenges associated with estimating Ne for conservation purposes, the COST Action 18134, Genomic Biodiversity Knowledge for Resilient Ecosystems (G‐BiKE), organized an international workshop that met in August 2022 in Brașov, Romania. The overarching goal was to operationalize the current knowledge of Ne estimation methods for conservation practitioners and decision‐makers. We set out to identify datasets to evaluate the sensitivity of Ne estimation methods to violations of underlying assumptions and to develop data analysis strategies that addressed pressing issues in biodiversity monitoring and conservation. Referring to a comprehensive body of scientific work on Ne, this meeting report is not intended to be exhaustive but rather to present approaches, workshop findings, and a collection of papers that serve as fruits of those efforts. We aimed to provide insights and opportunities to help bridge the gap between scientific research and conservation practice. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This database compiles comprehensive occurrence information, based on voucher specimens of small-eared shrews, genus Cryptotis, that occur from México to Peru. The database integrates the information obtained from four main sources: natural history museums, public databases, fieldwork and scientific literature. It contains 3,639 records from 53 species in 12 countries. Of the total, 83.54% have collecting dates, 51.36% of the specimens are sexed and 84.56% have decimal degrees coordinates. By generating this database and making it publicly available, we hope to improve the biological knowledge of this group of small mammals still poorly studied in the region. It aims to be a valuable resource for students, researchers, conservationists and decision-makers.The dataset contains information on all species of the genus Cryptotis in the Neotropical Region (namely from México to Peru), incorporating the most updated taxonomic and nomenclatural changes. The database includes records in regions and countries that are poorly represented in currently available data repositories. Most records have verified temporal and spatial information.

The described dataset contains occurrence records of invertebrate specimens deposited at the State Museum of Natural History of the NAS of Ukraine, Lviv, Ukraine (SMNH NASU). It combines diverse taxonomic groups, mostly belonging to the class Insecta of the phylum Arthropoda, that were selected as prioritised for digitisation in war conditions. Selected specimens were ascertained as those being the most vulnerable to hostilities and requiring virtual preservation. Such virtual preservation is essential in the war realities as collection can be lost or damaged at any moment, resulting in a significant retrospective biodiversity data gap. At the same time, collection virtualisation and its deposition on the internet grant remote access to scientists who cannot visit it in person due to the war. Moreover, we believe that the mobilisation of the data from the Ukrainian collections and their publication online are essential for the integration of Ukrainian research facilities into a global scientific biodiversity pool.A total of 3,660 occurrence records mobilised in 2023-2024 from the collection of invertebrates of the SMNH NASU, were published. This dynamic dataset will be continually supplied by new records during further digitisation work.

We present a new record of Scaphiodontophis annulatus (Duméril, Bibron & Duméril, 1854) from Serranía Montes de María, department of Sucre, Colombia. This represents the second record of this species from the Colombian Caribbean region and the first from a tropical dry forest habitat. We discuss color variation across this species range, as the taxonomy of this species remains unresolved.

Insects are one of the most diverse eukaryotic groups on the planet, with one million or more species present, including those yet undescribed. The DNA barcoding system has been developed, which has aided in the identification of cryptic species and undescribed species. The mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase I region (mtDNA COI) has been utilised for the barcoding analysis of insect taxa. Thereafter, next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology has been developed, allowing for rapid acquisition of massive amounts of sequence data for genetic analyses. Although NGS-based PCR primers designed to amplify the mtDNA COI region have been developed, their target regions were only a part of COI region and/or there were taxonomic bias for PCR amplification. As the mtDNA COI region is a traditional DNA marker for the DNA barcoding system, modified primers for this region would greatly contribute to taxonomic studies. In this study, we redesigned previously developed PCR primer sets that targetted the mtDNA COI barcoding region to improve amplification efficiency and to enable us to conduct sequencing analysis on NGS. As a result, the redesigned primer sets achieved a high success rate (> 85%) for species examined in this study, covering four insect orders (Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Orthoptera and Odonata). Thus, by combining the primers with developed primer sets for 12S or 16S rRNA regions, we can conduct more detailed taxonomic, phylogeographic and conservation genetic studies using NGS.

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Several countries have implemented stocking programmes to enhance abundance and fish production by releases of hatchery-reared fish. However, due to fluctuations in population size, stocking history, and potential indirect effects of straying of hatchery-reared fish, it is often difficult to predict how these factors will affect genetic diversity and differentiation patterns among wild populations. This study characterized the population genetic structure and temporal variability of four Estonian sea trout populations by evaluating the degrees of direct and indirect genetic impacts of stocking over two decades using 14 microsatellite loci. Our results demonstrate considerable temporal change combined with weak genetic structuring among studied sea trout populations. We found a reduction of the overall level of genetic differentiation combined with the tendency for increased genetic diversity, and an effective number of breeders (Nb) over the study period. Furthermore, we found that immigration rates (m) from hatchery stocks were highest in the population subjected to direct stocking and in non-stocked populations that were located geographically closer to the stocked rivers. This work suggests that hatchery releases have influenced the genetic diversity and structuring of studied sea trout populations. However, the impact of hatchery releases on the adaptive variation and fitness-related traits in wild trout populations remains to be revealed by more informative genetic markers. This study illustrates the dynamic nature of the population genetic structure of sea trout and the value of long-term genetic monitoring for management and conservation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Liocrobyla Meyrick, 1916 is a relatively small genus within the family Gracillariidae, consisting of nine species worldwide, including five species in Korea.In this study, we recognise five species belonging to the genus Liocrobyla Meyrick, 1916 from Korea. Amongst them, one species, L. indigofera Liu, Wang & Wang, 2018, is reported for the first time in Korea. Figures of adults, male and female genitalia, along with a key to the species of Liocrobyla in Korea, are provided.

This virtual workshop was convened by the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, in partnership with the Office of Strategic Coordination of the Office of the National Institutes of Health Director, and held September 2 to 3, 2020. The intent was to assemble a multidisciplinary group of experts in basic, translational, and clinical research in neuroscience and cardiopulmonary disorders to identify knowledge gaps, guide future research efforts, and foster multidisciplinary collaborations pertaining to autonomic neural mechanisms of cardiopulmonary regulation. The group critically evaluated the current state of knowledge of the roles that the autonomic nervous system plays in regulation of cardiopulmonary function in health and in pathophysiology of arrhythmias, heart failure, sleep and circadian dysfunction, and breathing disorders. Opportunities to leverage the Common Fund's SPARC (Stimulating Peripheral Activity to Relieve Conditions) program were characterized as related to nonpharmacologic neuromodulation and device-based therapies. Common themes discussed include knowledge gaps, research priorities, and approaches to develop novel predictive markers of autonomic dysfunction. Approaches to precisely target neural pathophysiological mechanisms to herald new therapies for arrhythmias, heart failure, sleep and circadian rhythm physiology, and breathing disorders were also detailed.

The paper deals with an ongoing change in the clitic paradigm of contemporary Italian, namely the incipient overextension of functions of the clitic ne. In the standard variety ne can only stand for prepositional phrases consisting of di + [noun phrase] and da + [noun phrase], such as those found in genitival, partitive, and locative constructions or in passive 'by'-phrases. In contemporary Italian, on the other hand, ne is increasingly appearing as a substitute of a + [noun phrase] when used as the second argument of intransitive bivalent verbs, such as accennare (a) 'to mention', appassionarsi(a) 'to get passionate (about)', and sopravvivere (a) 'to survive'. The latter use has not received much attention in the literature. This overextension is observed in a number of verbs, drawing on data from four corpora of written and spoken Italian, and is discussed as an incipient change from above, originating in formal registers of Italian and moving downwards into the neo-standard and (albeit rarely) colloquial varieties. The change seems to have been triggered and favored by the fact that the standard variants for that slot of the paradigm, namely locative vi and ci, are avoided because they are considered too obsolete or low-prestige respectively, and also by the fact that these clitics, when combined with others, especially in pronominal verbs, might be judged agrammatical by some speakers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Trauma represents one of the leading causes of death worldwide. Traumatic injuries elicit a dynamic inflammatory response with systemic release of inflammatory cytokines. Disbalance of this response can lead to systemic inflammatory response syndrome or compensatory anti‐inflammatory response syndrome. As neutrophils play a major role in innate immune defence and are crucial in the injury‐induced immunological response, we aimed to investigate systemic neutrophil‐derived immunomodulators in trauma patients. Therefore, serum levels of neutrophil elastase (NE), myeloperoxidase (MPO) and citrullinated histone H3 (CitH3) were quantified in patients with injury severity scores above 15. Additionally, leukocyte, platelet, fibrinogen and CRP levels were assessed. Lastly, we analysed the association of neutrophil‐derived factors with clinical severity scoring systems. Although the release of MPO, NE and CitH3 was not predictive of mortality, we found a remarkable increase in MPO and NE in trauma patients as compared with healthy controls. We also found significantly increased levels of MPO and NE on Days 1 and 5 after initial trauma in critically injured patients. Taken together, our data suggest a role for neutrophil activation in trauma. Targeting exacerbated neutrophil activation might represent a new therapeutic option for critically injured patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Siderocalin/Lipocalin 2/Neutrophil Gelatinase Associated Lipocalin/24p3 is an innate immune system protein with bacteriostatic activity, acting by tightly binding and sequestering diverse catecholate and mixed-type ferric siderophores from enteric bacteria and mycobacteria. Bacterial virulence achieved through siderophore modifications, or utilization of alternate siderophores, can be explained by evasion of Siderocalin binding. Siderocalin has also been implicated in a wide variety of disease processes, though often in seemingly contradictory ways, and has been proposed to bind to a broader array of ligands beyond siderophores. Using structural, directed mutational, and binding studies, we have sought to rigorously test, and fully elucidate, the Siderocalin recognition mechanism. Several proposed ligands fail to meet rigorous binding criteria, including the bacterial siderophore pyochelin, the iron-chelating catecholamine hormone norepinephrine, and the bacterial second messenger cyclic diguanylate monophosphate. While possessing a remarkably rigid structure, in principle simplifying analyses of ligand recognition, understanding Scn recognition is complicated by the observed conformational and stoichiometric plasticity, and instability, of its bona fide siderophore ligands. Since the role of Siderocalin at the early host/pathogen interface is to compete for bacterial ferric siderophores, we also analyzed how bacterial siderophore binding proteins and enzymes alternately recognize siderophores that efficiently bind to, or evade, Siderocalin sequestration - including determining the crystal structure of Bacillus cereus YfiY bound to schizokinen. These studies combine to refine the potential physiological functions of Siderocalin by defining its multiplexed recognition mechanism.

Since the number of electric vehicles (EVs) grows rapidly, the EVs charging schedule problem has attracted more attention than before. On account of continuous and random power requirement from EVs, the burden of grid will increase and thus jeopardize the stability of grid. In this paper, an accessible close-loop vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) charging mechanism with interaction of energy and information under charging station is proposed to cope with EVs charging schedule problem. And the non-cooperative game model is adopted to analyze the V2V charging mechanism. Furthermore, the optimal strategy algorithm is introduced to get the Nash Equilibrium (NE) of the game. Simulation with 10 EVs illustrates that V2V charging with non-cooperative game can decrease the load variance (0.0701) compared to V2V charging without the game (1.7248). And the convergence of the optimal strategy algorithm can reach in less than 20 iterations.

Abstract Objective The main objectives of the study were to investigate the reliability and accuracy of cone‐beam computed tomography (CBCT) in the diagnosis of adenoid hypertrophy in Chinese children and to evaluate its value in clinical diagnosis. Methods From January 2019 to January 2020, 300 children with sleep snoring in Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Medical College of Shanghai Jiaotong University were retrospectively studied. All patients underwent nasopharyngoscopy (NE) and CBCT scanning. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio of CBCT were determined according to the diagnostic criteria of NE, and the consistency between CBCT and NE was evaluated. Results The clinical study of 300 children patients found that compared with NE, CBCT had a sensitivity of 87.3%, specificity of 89.2%, the positive predictive value of 93.20%, the negative predictive value of 80.5%, the positive likelihood ratio of 8.08, the negative likelihood ratio of 0.14, and Kappa value of .748. Conclusion CBCT is a reliable and accurate tool for the diagnosis of adenoid hypertrophy and can be used as an alternative examination method for children with contraindications or intolerance during NE. Level of Evidence 4.

In this paper, based on the observations from Langmuir probe (LAP) onboard the China Seismo-Electromagnetic Satellite (CSES), the annual/semi-annual variations of electron density (Ne) measured at 02:00 and 14:00 local time (LT) in the topside ionosphere have been analyzed. Results indicated that the Ne exhibits an amplification-linear-saturation with the increase of P10.7 in the daytime, while roughly linear in the nighttime. The annual/semi-annual variations of CSES Ne at around 500 km are found by morphological analysis and Morlet wavelet analysis, with dominant period of 187 days and 374 days. The annual components of longitude-averaged Ne dominate at most magnetic latitudes (Mlats) with maxima around the June solstices in the northern hemisphere and the December solstice in the southern hemisphere (except for the northern hemisphere in the nighttime), while the semi-annual variation dominates at the magnetic equator and low magnetic latitudes with two maxima at equinoxes. The Ne dominant period is characterized by a transition from semi-annual variation at the equator and low magnetic latitudes regions to annual variation at the middle magnetic latitudes region. The annual/semi-annual variations of Ne observed by CSES satellite show a consistent performance with previous studies, and have complemented the ionospheric characteristics at 500 km altitude, especially in the nighttime.

Stress is ever present in our modern, performance-oriented and demanding society, which causes adverse stress reactions of the body and affects health seriously. Chronic stress has been recognized as a significant risk factor leading to cognitive impairment, but the underlying mechanism is far from fully understood. Norepinephrine (NE), a pivotal stress-induced hormone, has been found to induce cell apoptosis. However, the function and the key downstream mediator of NE on the regulation of hippocampal neurons still need further exploration. In this study, we explored the role of NE in neuronal apoptosis and its association with MALAT1. Flow cytometry assay and automated western bot assay were carried out to evaluate the cell apoptosis. The data showed that the rate of apoptosis rate and the levels of apoptotic proteins (cleaved-Caspase3 and cleaved-PARP) were significantly increased in HT22 cells after a high dose of NE treatment, suggesting a facilitative role of NE on hippocampal neuronal apoptosis. Besides, a high level of NE up-regulated the expression of MALAT1 in HT22 cells. Then, a lentivirus expressing MALAT1 shRNA was constructed to investigate the role of MALAT1 in cell apoptosis and the results revealed that MALAT1 depletion decreased the cell apoptosis. Moreover, the knockdown of MALAT1 abolished the discrepancy in apoptosis between NE-treated cells and control cells. In conclusion, a high level of the stress-induced hormone NE promoted apoptosis of hippocampal neurons by elevating the expression of MALAT1. Our findings provide new experimental data supporting the epigenetic mechanisms in the regulation of stress response and may provide a potential therapeutic target for stress-related cognition dysfunction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nanostructured lipid carriers (NLC) were prepared from solid lipid (glyceryl monostearate, GMS) and vegetable oils, including palm oil (PO), rice bran oil (RBO) or virgin coconut oil (VCO), at different ratios (95:5, 90:10 and 80:20), while nanoemulsions (NE) were prepared with sole vegetable oils. After production, the particle size of the lutein-free NLC and NE was found to be between 100 and 150 nm and increased after loading with lutein. An increase in oil loading in NLC reduced the particle size and resulted in a less ordered lipid matrix and an increase in % entrapment efficiency. From the stability study, it was observed that the types of oils and oil content in the lipid matrix had an impact on the chemical stability of lutein. Regarding the release study, lutein-loaded NE showed higher release than lutein-loaded NLC. Both NLC and NE prepared from VCO exhibited higher release than those prepared from PO and RBO, respectively (p < 0.05). In contrast, among the formulations of NLC and NE, both lutein-loaded NLC and NE prepared from RBO showed the highest permeation through the human epidermis due to the skin enhancement effect of RBO. Based on all the results, the lipid nanocarriers composed of RBO could effectively enhance the chemical stability of lutein and promote drug penetration into the skin. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: The main objectives of the study were to investigate the reliability and accuracy of cone‐beam computed tomography (CBCT) in the diagnosis of adenoid hypertrophy in Chinese children and to evaluate its value in clinical diagnosis. Methods: From January 2019 to January 2020, 300 children with sleep snoring in Xinhua Hospital Affiliated to Medical College of Shanghai Jiaotong University were retrospectively studied. All patients underwent nasopharyngoscopy (NE) and CBCT scanning. The sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value, positive likelihood ratio, and negative likelihood ratio of CBCT were determined according to the diagnostic criteria of NE, and the consistency between CBCT and NE was evaluated. Results: The clinical study of 300 children patients found that compared with NE, CBCT had a sensitivity of 87.3%, specificity of 89.2%, the positive predictive value of 93.20%, the negative predictive value of 80.5%, the positive likelihood ratio of 8.08, the negative likelihood ratio of 0.14, and Kappa value of.748. Conclusion: CBCT is a reliable and accurate tool for the diagnosis of adenoid hypertrophy and can be used as an alternative examination method for children with contraindications or intolerance during NE. Level of Evidence: 4. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Major depression (MD) is one of the most common psychiatric disorders worldwide. Currently, the first-line treatment for MD targets the serotonin system but these drugs, notably the selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, usually need 4 to 6 weeks before the benefit is felt and a significant proportion of patients shows an unsatisfactory response. Numerous treatments have been developed to circumvent these issues as venlafaxine, a mixed serotonin-norepinephrine reuptake inhibitor that binds and blocks both the SERT and NET transporters. Despite this pharmacological profile, it is difficult to have a valuable insight into its ability to produce more robust efficacy than single-acting agents. In this review, we provide an in-depth characterization of the pharmacological properties of venlafaxine from in vitro data to preclinical and clinical efficacy in depressed patients and animal models of depression to propose an indirect comparison with the most common antidepressants. Preclinical studies show that the antidepressant effect of venlafaxine is often associated with an enhancement of serotonergic neurotransmission at low doses. High doses of venlafaxine, which elicit a concomitant increase in 5-HT and NE tone, is associated with changes in different forms of plasticity in discrete brain areas. In particular, the hippocampus appears to play a crucial role in venlafaxine-mediated antidepressant effects notably by regulating processes such as adult hippocampal neurogenesis or the excitatory/inhibitory balance. Overall, depending on the dose used, venlafaxine shows a high efficacy on depressive-like symptoms in relevant animal models but to the same extent as common antidepressants. However, these data are counterbalanced by a lower tolerance. In conclusion, venlafaxine appears to be one of the most effective treatments for treatment of major depression. Still, direct comparative studies are warranted to provide definitive conclusions about its superiority. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) is a powerful characterization technique which allows the study of microstructure, grain size, and orientation as well as strain of a crystallographic sample. In addition, the technique can be used for phase analysis. A mirror-flat sample surface is required for this analysis technique and different polishing approaches have been used over the years. A commonly used approach is the focused ion beam (FIB) polishing. Unfortunately, artefacts that can be easily induced by Ga FIB polishing approaches are seldom published. This work aims to provide a better understanding of the underlying causes for artefact formation and to assess if the helium ion microscope is better suited to achieve the required mirror-flat sample surface when operating the ion source with Ne instead of He. Copper was chosen as a test material and polished using Ga and Ne ions with different ion energies as well as incident angles. The results show that crystal structure alterations and, in some instances, phase transformation of Cu to Cu3Ga occurred when polishing with Ga ions. Polishing with high-energy Ne ions at a glancing angle maintains the crystal structure and significantly improves indexing in EBSD measurements. By milling down to a depth equaling the depth of the interaction volume, a steady-state condition of ion impurity concentration and number of induced defects is reached. The EBSD measurements and Monte Carlo simulations indicate that when this steady-state condition is reached more quickly, which can be achieved using high-energy Ne ions at a glancing incidence, then the overall damage to the specimen is reduced.

Depression and anxiety are prominent symptoms of withdrawal syndrome, often caused by the abuse of addictive drugs like morphine. N-palmitoylethanolamide (PEA), a biologically active lipid, is utilized as an anti-inflammatory and analgesic medication. Recent studies have highlighted PEA's role in mitigating cognitive decline and easing depression resulting from chronic pain. However, it remains unknown whether PEA can influence negative emotions triggered by morphine withdrawal. This study seeks to explore the impact of PEA on such emotions and investigate the underlying mechanisms. Mice subjected to morphine treatment underwent a 10-day withdrawal period, followed by assessments of the effect of PEA on anxiety- and depression-like behaviors using various tests. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was conducted to measure levels of monoamine neurotransmitters in specific brain regions. The findings indicate that PEA mitigated anxiety and depression symptoms and reduced 5-hydroxytryptamine, noradrenaline, and dopamine levels in the hippocampus and prefrontal cortex. In summary, PEA demonstrates a significant positive effect on negative emotions associated with morphine withdrawal, accompanied with the reduction in levels of monoamine neurotransmitters in key brain regions. These insights could be valuable for managing negative emotions arising from morphine withdrawal. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Global patterns of brain injury correlate with motor, cognitive, and language outcomes in survivors of neonatal encephalopathy (NE). However, it is still unclear whether local changes in brain structure predict specific deficits. We therefore examined whether differences in brain structure at 6 months of age are associated with neurodevelopmental outcomes in this population. We enrolled 32 children with NE, performed structural brain MR imaging at 6 months, and assessed neurodevelopmental outcomes at 30 months. All subjects underwent T1-weighted imaging at 3 T using a 3D IR-SPGR sequence. Images were normalized in intensity and nonlinearly registered to a template constructed specifically for this population, creating a deformation field map. We then used deformation based morphometry (DBM) to correlate variation in the local volume of gray and white matter with composite scores on the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development (Bayley-III) at 30 months. Our general linear model included gestational age, sex, birth weight, and treatment with hypothermia as covariates. Regional brain volume was significantly associated with language scores, particularly in perisylvian cortical regions including the left supramarginal gyrus, posterior superior and middle temporal gyri, and right insula, as well as inferior frontoparietal subcortical white matter. We did not find significant correlations between regional brain volume and motor or cognitive scale scores. We conclude that, in children with a history of NE, local changes in the volume of perisylvian gray and white matter at 6 months are correlated with language outcome at 30 months. Quantitative measures of brain volume on early MRI may help identify infants at risk for poor language outcomes.

The adrenergic system contributes to the stress‐induced onset and progression of cancer. Adrenergic fibers are the primary source of norepinephrine (NE). The underlying mechanisms involved in NE‐induced colon cancer remain to be understood. In this study, we describe the function and regulatory network of NE in the progression of colon cancer. We demonstrate that NE‐induced phosphorylation of cAMP response element‐binding protein 1 (CREB1) promotes proliferation, migration, and invasion of human colon cancer cells. The downstream effector of NE, CREB1, bound to the promoter of miR‐373 and transcriptionally activated its expression. miR‐373 expression was shown to be necessary for NE‐induced cell proliferation, invasion, and tumor growth. We confirmed that proliferation and invasion of colon cancer cells are regulated in vitro and in vivo by miR‐373 through targeting of the tumor suppressors TIMP2 and APC. Our data suggest that NE promotes colon cancer cell proliferation and metastasis by activating the CREB1–miR‐373 axis. The study of this novel signaling axis may provide mechanistic insights into the neural regulation of colon cancer and help in the design of future clinical studies on stress biology in colorectal cancer.

Abstract Background Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) patients with different phenotypes show different clinical characteristics. Therefore, we conducted a meta-analysis to explore the clinical characteristics between the non-exacerbator (NE) phenotype and the frequent exacerbator with chronic bronchitis (FE-CB) phenotype among patients with COPD. Methods CNKI, Wan fang, Chongqing VIP, China Biology Medicine disc, PubMed, Cochrane Library, and EMBASE databases were searched from the times of their inception to April 30, 2019. All studies that reported the clinical characteristics of the COPD phenotypes and which met the inclusion criteria were included. The quality assessment was analyzed by Cross-Sectional/Prevalence Study Quality recommendations. The meta-analysis was carried out using RevMan5.3. Results Ten cross-sectional observation studies (n = 8848) were included. Compared with the NE phenotype, patients with the FE-CB phenotype showed significantly lower forced expiratory volume in 1 s percent predicted (FEV1%pred) (mean difference (MD) -8.50, 95% CI -11.36–-5.65, P

In genomic‐scale data sets, loci are closely packed within chromosomes and hence provide correlated information. Averaging across loci as if they were independent creates pseudoreplication, which reduces the effective degrees of freedom (df') compared to the nominal degrees of freedom, df. This issue has been known for some time, but consequences have not been systematically quantified across the entire genome. Here, we measured pseudoreplication (quantified by the ratio df'/df) for a common metric of genetic differentiation (FST) and a common measure of linkage disequilibrium between pairs of loci (r2). Based on data simulated using models (SLiM and msprime) that allow efficient forward‐in‐time and coalescent simulations while precisely controlling population pedigrees, we estimated df' and df'/df by measuring the rate of decline in the variance of mean FST and mean r2 as more loci were used. For both indices, df' increases with Ne and genome size, as expected. However, even for large Ne and large genomes, df' for mean r2 plateaus after a few thousand loci, and a variance components analysis indicates that the limiting factor is uncertainty associated with sampling individuals rather than genes. Pseudoreplication is less extreme for FST, but df'/df ≤0.01 can occur in data sets using tens of thousands of loci. Commonly‐used block‐jackknife methods consistently overestimated var (FST), producing very conservative confidence intervals. Predicting df' based on our modelling results as a function of Ne, L, S, and genome size provides a robust way to quantify precision associated with genomic‐scale data sets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study investigates the global ionospheric responses at different altitudes during the geomagnetic storm in September 2017 by using the observations from IGS GIMs and GRACE, TerraSAR-X, COSMIC, Metop LEO satellite missions. According to different satellite heights, a hierarchical subtraction method is proposed to characterize the disturbance of total electron content (TEC) at the vertical regions of below 340 km , 340 ∼ 520 km , 520 ∼ 800 km and above 800 km , respectively. The integrated TEC from IRI-Plas2017 are applied to verify the feasibility and rationality of the proposed method and the electron density (Ne) profiles from the ionosonde and radio occultation (RO) measurements are used to explore the variations of Ne in different height regions. The resulting TEC disturbances (Δ TEC) on a global scale show that: 1) There was significant increase on Ne peak in F2 region during the magnetic storm, due to the strong recombination in the lower ionosphere while more intense electron ionization in the upper ionosphere; 2) During the main phase, TEC enhancement had a tendency to drift westward, which may correlate with the twice Dst minimums. 3) The east–west and north–south hemispheric asymmetry of Δ TEC exist simultaneously in this magnetic storm. However, the former is mainly attributed to ionospheric plasma bubbles, while the latter might be the seasonal thermospheric effects or the energetic particle emissions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Linkage disequilibrium (LD) across the genome provides information to identify the genes and variations related to quantitative traits in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and for the implementation of genomic selection (GS). LD can also be used to evaluate genetic diversity and population structure and reveal genomic regions affected by selection. LD structure and Ne were assessed in a set of 83 water buffaloes, comprising Azeri (AZI), Khuzestani (KHU), and Mazandarani (MAZ) breeds from Iran, Kundi (KUN) and Nili-Ravi (NIL) from Pakistan, Anatolian (ANA) buffalo from Turkey, and buffalo from Egypt (EGY). The values of corrected r 2 (defined as the correlation between two loci) of adjacent SNPs for three pooled Iranian breeds (IRI), ANA, EGY, and two pooled Pakistani breeds (PAK) populations were 0.24, 0.28, 0.27, and 0.22, respectively. The corrected r 2 between SNPs decreased with increasing physical distance from 100 Kb to 1 Mb. The LD values for IRI, ANA, EGY, and PAK populations were 0.16, 0.23, 0.24, and 0.21 for less than 100Kb, respectively, which reduced rapidly to 0.018, 0.042, 0.059, and 0.024, for a distance of 1 Mb. In all the populations, the decay rate was low for distances greater than 2Mb, up to the longest studied distance (15 Mb). The r 2 values for adjacent SNPs in unrelated samples indicated that the Affymetrix Axiom 90 K SNP genomic array was suitable for GWAS and GS in these populations. The persistency of LD phase (PLDP) between populations was assessed, and results showed that PLPD values between the populations were more than 0.9 for distances of less than 100 Kb. The Ne in the recent generations has declined to the extent that breeding plans are urgently required to ensure that these buffalo populations are not at risk of being lost. We found that results are affected by sample size, which could be partially corrected for; however, additional data should be obtained to be confident of the results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Linkage disequilibrium (LD) across the genome provides information to identify the genes and variations related to quantitative traits in genome-wide association studies (GWAS) and for the implementation of genomic selection (GS). LD can also be used to evaluate genetic diversity and population structure and reveal genomic regions affected by selection. LD structure and Ne were assessed in a set of 83 water buffaloes, comprising Azeri (AZI), Khuzestani (KHU), and Mazandarani (MAZ) breeds from Iran, Kundi (KUN) and Nili-Ravi (NIL) from Pakistan, Anatolian (ANA) buffalo from Turkey, and buffalo from Egypt (EGY). The values of corrected r2 (defined as the correlation between two loci) of adjacent SNPs for three pooled Iranian breeds (IRI), ANA, EGY, and two pooled Pakistani breeds (PAK) populations were 0.24, 0.28, 0.27, and 0.22, respectively. The corrected r2 between SNPs decreased with increasing physical distance from 100 Kb to 1 Mb. The LD values for IRI, ANA, EGY, and PAK populations were 0.16, 0.23, 0.24, and 0.21 for less than 100Kb, respectively, which reduced rapidly to 0.018, 0.042, 0.059, and 0.024, for a distance of 1 Mb. In all the populations, the decay rate was low for distances greater than 2Mb, up to the longest studied distance (15 Mb). The r2 values for adjacent SNPs in unrelated samples indicated that the Affymetrix Axiom 90 K SNP genomic array was suitable for GWAS and GS in these populations. The persistency of LD phase (PLDP) between populations was assessed, and results showed that PLPD values between the populations were more than 0.9 for distances of less than 100 Kb. The Ne in the recent generations has declined to the extent that breeding plans are urgently required to ensure that these buffalo populations are not at risk of being lost. We found that results are affected by sample size, which could be partially corrected for; however, additional data should be obtained to be confident of the results.

Genetic bottlenecks can reduce effective population sizes (Ne), increase the rate at which genetic variation is lost via drift, increase the frequency of deleterious mutations and thereby accentuate inbreeding risk and lower evolutionary potential. Here, we tested for the presence of a genetic bottleneck in the endangered Australian sea lion (Neophoca cinerea), estimated Ne and predicted future losses of genetic variation under a range of scenarios. We used 2238 genome‐wide neutral single‐nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) from 72 individuals sampled from colonies off the southern (SA) and western (WA) coastline of Australia. Coalescent analyses using approximate Bayesian computation (ABC) methods indicated that both the SA and WA populations have experienced a historical genetic bottleneck. Using LD‐based methods, we estimated contemporary Ne to be 160 (CI = 146–178) and 424 (CI = 397–458) for the WA and SA populations respectively. Modelled future population declines suggested that disease epidemics prompted the highest increases in inbreeding relative to fishery‐related mortalities and other modelled threats. Small effective sizes and relatively low genetic variation leave this species vulnerable, and these risks may be compounded if current population declines are not reversed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This is the first record of Pouteria franciscana Baehni (Chrysophylloideae, Sapotaceae) in Amapá state, Brazil. We provide a brief description as well as a distribution map, illustrations, and a table with useful features to distinguish P. franciscana from its morphologically related Amazonian species. Using geographic data and applying IUCN criteria, we assign the status as Least Concern for P. franciscana.

We presented the OES studies of the Zinc Selenite ZnSe plasma produced by the FHG (1064nm) of a Q-switched ND: YAG laser. The target material was placed in front of laser beam in air at atmospheric pressure. the experimentally observed line profiles of zinc (ZnI) have been used to extract the Te using the Boltzmann plot method. Whereas, the ne has been determined from the Stark broadening method using the Zinc (Zn I) line. And it is calculated ωp, λd and Nd. The Te is calculated by varying the laser energy at (100, 200, 300, 400 and 500) mJ. It is observed that Te, ne and ωp increases as laser energy is increased while λd and Nd decreases as laser energy increased. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Anticipating and preparing for difficulty in airway management is crucial. There are many bedside physical examination indices available for prediction of difficult laryngoscopy and intubation. These tests are easy to perform and cost effective. We have tried to evaluate the role of Thyro Mental Height Test (TMHT) as a simple bedside difficult airway predictive test and compared it with Modified Mallampati test (MMT), Thyro Mental Distance (TMD), Neck Circumference (NC), Neck Extension (NE) and Inter Incisor Gap (IIG). We hypothesized that TMHT is more accurate than MMT, TMD, NC, NE and IIG. Method: 100 consecutive patients aged between 18-65 years of ASA grade 1 and 2 requiring GA for elective surgery were assessed for airway evaluation with TMHT, MMT, TMD, NC, NE and IIG. After anaesthesia induction the best laryngoscopic view which lead to intubation was assigned as grade of 1 to 4 according to Cormack Lehane grading. Grade 3 and 4 were considered difficult. Results: Sensitivity of TMHT, MMT, TMD, NC, NE and IIG were 91.67 %, 75%, 25%, 25%, 50% and 58.33%, respectively. Highest sensitivity of TMHT means it is a good test to predict difficult intubations. Specificity of TMHT, MMT, TMD, NC, NE and IIG were 92.05 %, 88.64%, 72.73%, 16%, 70.45%, 86.36%, respectively. Highest specificity of TMHT means it is a good test to predict easy intubations. Accuracy of TMHT (92%) was higher than other tests, which testifies that the TMHT carries lower false positive and negative values in predicting a difficult laryngoscopic view. Conclusion: Our study demonstrated that the Thyromental Height Test (TMHT) is the best predictive test for difficult laryngoscopy out of all the predictive tests evaluated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is encountered among patients with epilepsy at a significantly higher rate than in the general population. Mechanisms of epilepsy-ADHD comorbidity remain largely unknown. We investigated whether a model of chronic epilepsy in rats produces signs of ADHD, and thus, whether it can be used for studying mechanisms of this comorbidity. Epilepsy was induced in male Wistar rats via pilocarpine status epilepticus. Half of the animals exhibited chronic ADHD-like abnormalities, particularly increased impulsivity and diminished attention in the lateralized reaction-time task. These impairments correlated with the suppressed noradrenergic transmission in locus coeruleus outputs. The other half of animals exhibited depressive behavior in the forced swimming test congruently with the diminished serotonergic transmission in raphe nucleus outputs. Attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder and depressive behavior appeared mutually exclusive. Therefore, the pilocarpine model of epilepsy affords a system for reproducing and studying mechanisms of comorbidity between epilepsy and both ADHD and/or depression.

Résumé: De nombreux patients porteurs de carcinome hépatocellulaire seront confrontés tôt ou tard au cours de l'histoire de leur maladie, aux traitements systémiques. Les inhibiteurs de tyrosine kinase en monothérapie ont été les seuls traitements disponibles pendant plus de dix ans. L'immuno-oncologie en monothérapie a été décevante. Par contre, en combinaison thérapeutique, elle paraît très prometteuse et le premier essai de phase III démontrant l'efficacité de l'association d'atézolizumab et de bévacizumab est devenu le traitement de référence de première ligne systémique du carcinome hépatocellulaire. Les essais de phases-phases I/II d'autres types de combinaisons d'immuno-oncologie (nivolumab/ipilimumab, durvalumab/trémélimumab, pembrolizumab/lenvatinib) ont donné des résultats prometteurs, et les résultats des phases III correspondantes sont en attente. Les stratégies de combinaisons sont aussi en cours d'évaluation dans des optiques adjuvantes après résection chirurgicale ou thermo-ablation, ou bien en complément de traitements locorégionaux. Many patients with hepatocellular carcinoma will undergo systemic therapies, soon or later along the natural history of their disease. Monotherapies of tyrosine kinase inhibitors have been the only available therapies for ten years. Immuno-oncology in monotherapy has been disappointing. By contrast in therapeutic combinations, it seems very promising and the first phase-3 clinical trial showing the efficacy of the atezolizumab and bevacizumab association has become the gold-standard of systemic first line option for hepatocellular carcinoma. The phase-1/2 trials with other types of immuno-oncology-based associations (nivolumab/ipilimumab, durvalumab/trémélimumab, pembrolizumab/lenvatinib) have shown promising results, and the corresponding phase 3 trials are pending. Further, strategies of immuno-oncology-based associations are ongoing in adjuvant setting after surgery or thermo-ablations, or in addition to loco-regional approaches. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To investigate the effects of DA combined with NE on liver function, inflammatory factors and NF-NF-kB p65 protein in rats with acute liver injury caused by septic shock, in order to provide a certain experimental basis for clinical treatment. A total of 48 SPF-grade healthy male SD rats were chosen as research subjects and were randomly divided into four groups,i.e. the control group (n=12), LPS group (n=12), NE group (n=12), and DA+NE group (n=12). The septic shock models were established in the LPS, NE and DA+NE group. The NE group received intravenous infusion of norepinephrine, and the DA+NE group received intravenous infusion of DA on the basis of the NE group's therapy. The liver function, inflammatory factors and NF-kB p65 protein levels of rats in each group were detected. Compared with the control group, the serum AST and ALT levels of the LPS, NE and DA+NE group were significantly increased (P＜0.05). Compared with the LPS group, the serum AST and ALT levels of the rats in the NE and DA+NE groups were decreased to varying degrees(P<0.05). Compared with the NE group, the serum AST and ALT levels of the DA+NE group decreased more significantly(P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the serum IL-6 and TNF-k levels in the LPS, NE and DA+NE group were significantly increased (P<0.05). Compared with the LPS group, the serum IL-6 and TNF-k in the NE and DA+NE group decreased to varying degrees (P<0.05). Compared with the NE group, the serum IL-6 and TNF-k levels in the DA+NE group decreased more significantly (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the expression of NF-kB p65 protein in the LPS, NE and DA+NE group was significantly increased(P＜0.05). Compared with the LPS group, the expressions of NF-kB p65 protein in the NE and DA+NE group were reduced to varying degrees (P<0.05). Compared with the NE group, the expression of NF-kB p65 protein in the DA+NE group decreased more significantly(P<0.05). Dopamine combined with NE has a good protective effect on acute liver injury caused by septic shock in rats. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

G-CSF for stem cell mobilization increases circulating levels of myeloid cells at different stages of maturation. Polymorphonuclear cells (PMNs) are also mobilized in high numbers. It was previously reported that G-CSF primes PMNs toward the release of neutrophils extracellular traps (NETs). Since NETs are often involved in thrombotic events, we hypothesized that high G-CSF blood concentrations could enhance PMN priming toward NET formation in healthy hematopoietic stem cell donors, predisposing them to thrombotic events. However, we found that G-CSF does not prime PMNs toward NETs formation, but increases the serum concentration of cell-free DNA, proteases like neutrophils elastase and myeloperoxidase, and reactive oxygen species. This could possibly create an environment disposed to induce thrombotic events in the presence of additional predisposing factors.

Objective: To observe the effect of Elephantopus scaber Linn on chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), to investigate its effect on the MUC5AC hypersecretion of airway mucus mediated by neutrophil elastin in patients with acute exacerbation of COPD, and to observe its effect on lung function (FEV1,FEV1/FVC), so as to provide new ideas and theoretical basis for the prevention and treatment of COPD. Methods: 160 patients with acute exacerbation of COPD were randomly divided into observation group and control group with 80 cases each according to the numerical table method. The observation group was treated with aerosol inhalation of Elephantopus scaber Linn on the basis of conventional treatment. Both groups were treated for 2 weeks. During the same period, 80 healthy patients were selected as the healthy control group. The expression of NE and MUC5AC in serum of observation group, control group and healthy control group before and after treatment was detected by enzymelinked immunosorbent assay (ELISA). The changes of lung function (FEV1,FEV1/FVC) after treatment in the observation group and the control group were compared and analyzed, and the efficacy of Elephantopus scaber Linn in patients with acute exacerbation of copd was observed. Results: Compared with the control group, the total effective rate of the observation group was significantly better than that of the control group, with statistical significance (P<0.05). Compared with the healthy control group, there were significant differences in serum NE and MUC5AC between the observation group and the control group (P<0.05). Serum NE, MUC5AC,FEV1 and FEV1/FVC were significantly different in the observation group before and after treatment (P<0.05). Serum NE, MUC5AC,FEV1 and FEV1/FVC were significantly different in the observation group before and after treatment (P<0.05). Compared with the control group after treatment, there were significant differences in serum NE and MUC5AC in the observation group after treatment (P<0.05), and the increase of FEV1/FVC and FEV1 was significantly better than that of the control group after treatment (P<0.05). Conclusion: Elephantopus scaber Linn can significantly improve the clinical treatment effect of patients with acute exacerbation of COPD, improve lung function and airway mucus hypersecretion. It can effectively inhibit the expression of NE and MUC5AC in the blood. There were significant differences in serum NE and MUC5AC between the observation group and the control group after treatment (P<0.05), showing a positive correlation, suggesting that inhibition of MUC5AC secretion by Elephantopus scaber Linn in patients with COPD may be related to NE-mediated pathways. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The sheep area unit sometimes swaybacked or treated with pesticides annually so as to stop parasites which will ruin the fleece and doubtless prove fatal. Cypermethrin is a synthetic cypermethrin widely utilized in sheep dip formulations, its high toxicity to the animal and aquatic environment with high concentrations. The object of this study to improve and support the antioxidant enzymes of the body as well as immune system against the oxidative stress result from pyretheroid. Sixty sheep from One filed in Talyah city was divided into three groups: twenty sheep treated with subcutaneous S/C with 7mg/kg of vitamin E before for 3 days of suffering to dipping with cypermethrine; twenty sheep treated with orally 7 mg/kg of Vitamin E -TPGS before for 3 days of suffering to dipping; twenty animal still without treatment as control negative as well as blood sample was taken before given treatment. At the third animal was dipping with cypermethrine at concentration 0.001 of river water by using metallic tank at a size of 1000 litters. The serum blood level of norepinephrine and superoxide dismutase (SOD) was estimated and some physiological parameters. Our result showed that orally TPGS is more potent than ordinary vitamin E to reduce oxidative stress by normal return level of norepinephrine and elevating SOD, as well as improvement heart rate and regulate respiratory rate. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]