Miracle-dz/UniFAR-FTUs huggingface dataset:
A POSSIBLE ORIGIN FOR RABBITS

The relationship of lagomorphs (rabbits, hares, and pikas) to other mammals has been obscure ever since general acceptance of Gidley's (1912) conclusion that their few special similarities to rodents are not necessarily indicative of a close common ancestry. The most recent authoritative opinions are those of A. E. Wood (1957), who has tentatively derived the lagomorphs from the periptychid condylarths, and L. S. Russell (1959), who has derived them from the zalambdodont insectivores. The latter view is discussed and rejected by Van Valen (in press). I have not found clearcut evidence as to the actual ancestry of lagomorphs, but I do think that the Mongolian genus Pseudictops (late Paleocene, early Eocene, or both) provides the most probable indication of this ancestry. The earliest known lagomorph is Eurymylus from the Gashato Formation (approximately late Paleocene) of Mongolia, in which Pseudictops also occurs; the basic reference is Wood (1942). A second eurymylid, Mimolagus, was described by Bohlin (1952) from deposits of unknown but very probably later age (cf. also McKenna, 1963) of Kansu in northwest China. Comparison will be mainly with Eurymylus, although unworn upper teeth are not known in either eurymylid. Eurymylus is known from two moderately worn sets of upper cheek teeth with adjoining parts of the maxilla, and the anterior parts of three mandibles containing nearly or quite unworn P3 and P4, worn M1 and M2, and a broken incisor. Mimolagus is known from the muzzle with incisors, most of a set of worn cheek teeth with nearby maxilla and anterior zygoma, and several probably associated limb bones. Pseudictops is known from nearly unworn P3-M3, the mandible below most of this region and slightly anterior and posterior to it, and two maxillary fragments with moderately worn P4 (possibly DP4), M1, and M2, and the roots of M3. A palate with teeth or alveoli posterior from J? 2 was poorly figured by Trofimov (1952). The descriptions and important discussion of Pseudictops are by Matthew, Granger, and Simpson (1929) and Trofimov (1952). Except for the specimens of Mimolagus, and those of Pseudictops described by Trofimov, all the known specimens (or important samples) of the genera discussed in the present paper are in the American Museum of Natural History (A.M.N.H.) and have been compared directly with each other. The existence of two species of Pseudictops is questionable. They are the same size, and I can see (from Trofimov's figures of P. ariloplio,don) no difference in morphology. The three characters given in Trofimov's diagnoses do not seem to me to distinguish the two species (although they do in part distinguish Trofimov's figures of P. arilophiodon from the slightly inaccurate figures of P. lophiodon), but direct comparison of specimens or casts will probably be necessary for a final resolution of this question.
Upregulation of nAChRs and Changes in Excitability on VTA Dopamine and GABA Neurons Correlates to Changes in Nicotine-Reward-Related Behavior

Abstract Previous reports indicate that nicotine reward is mediated through α4β2*, α6β2*, and α4α6β2* nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs; * indicates that additional nAChR subunits may be present). Little is known about α4α6β2* nAChR involvement in reward and reinforcement because of a lack of methods that allow the direct investigation of this particular nAChR subtype. Here, we use male and female mice that contain α4-mCherry and α6-GFP nAChR subunits to show that concentrations of nicotine sufficient to evoke reward-related behavior robustly upregulate α4* and α4α6* nAChRs on midbrain dopamine (DA) and GABA neurons. Furthermore, the extent of α4α6* nAChR upregulation on ventral tegmental area (VTA) DA neurons aligns with the magnitude of nicotine reward-related behavior. We also show that the upregulation of nAChRs is accompanied by a functional change in firing frequency of both DA and GABA neurons in the VTA that is directly linked to nicotine reward-related behavior.
Effects of Unloaded Sprint and Heavy Sled Training on Sprint Performance in Physically Active Women.

PURPOSE This study aimed to compare the effects of unresisted versus heavy sled sprint training (0% vs 40% body mass [BM]) on sprint performance in women. Moreover, the effects of the aforementioned loads on resisted sprint and jump performance were analyzed. METHODS Twenty-eight physically active women were randomly allocated into 2 groups: unloaded sprint training group (G0%, n = 14), and resisted sprint training with 40% BM group (G40%, n = 14). Pretraining and posttraining assessments included countermovement jump, unloaded 30-m sprint, and 20-m sprint with 20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% BM. Times to cover 0 to 10 (T10), 0 to 20 (T20), 0 to 30 (T30), 10 to 20 (T10-20), 20 to 30 (T20-30), and 10 to 30 m (T10-30) were recorded. Both groups were trained once a week for 8 weeks and completed the same training program, but with different loads (0% vs 40% BM). RESULTS No significant time × group interactions were observed. For unloaded sprint performance, G0% showed significant (P = .027) decreases only in T10-20, while G40% attained significant decreases in T30 (P = .021), T10-30 (P = .015), and T20-30 (P = .003). Regarding resisted sprint performance, G0% showed significant (P = .010) improvements only for the 20% BM condition. The G40% group attained significant improvements in all loading conditions (20%, 40%, 60%, and 80% BM). Both groups showed significant improvements (P < .001) in countermovement jump height. CONCLUSIONS In physically active women, no significant differences in sprint and countermovement jump performance were detected after 8 weeks of resisted and unresisted sprint training programs. Future studies should, therefore, be devoted to how sprint training should be individualized to maximize performance.
Characterization of Rhizoctonia spp., Causal Agents of Sheath Diseases of Rice Plant, by Total Cellular Fatty Acids Analysis

The total cellular fatty acid compositions of 38 isolates from four Rhizoctonia spp. , causal agents of sheath diseases of rice, were characterized by gas-liquid chromatography analysis. The major fatty acids identified were palmitic, stearic, oleic and linoleic acids. Principal component analysis based on the percentage composition of total cellular fatty acids revealed consistently low variability among isolates of a single species and significant differences between the four Rhizoctonia spp. Average linkage cluster analysis also showed that isolates in the same species formed individual clusters on the dendrogram and that each species could be distinguished according to the composition of total cellular fatty acids. These results suggest that the percentage composition of total cellular fatty acids is a distinct characteristic for the causal agents of sheath diseases of rice and that fatty acid analysis will be useful for the differentiation and characterization of these fungi.
Cross-Talk between P2X and NMDA Receptors

Purinergic P2X receptors (P2X) are ATP-gated ion channels widely expressed in the CNS. While the direct contribution of P2X to synaptic transmission is uncertain, P2X reportedly affect N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor (NMDAR) activity, which has given rise to competing theories on the role of P2X in the modulation of synapses. However, P2X have also been shown to participate in receptor cross-talk: an interaction where one receptor (e.g., P2X2) directly influences the activity of another (e.g., nicotinic, 5-HT3 or GABA receptors). In this study, we tested for interactions between P2X2 or P2X4 and NMDARs. Using two-electrode voltage-clamp electrophysiology experiments in Xenopus laevis oocytes, we demonstrate that both P2X2 and P2X4 interact with NMDARs in an inhibited manner. When investigating the molecular domains responsible for this phenomenon, we found that the P2X2 c-terminus (CT) could interfere with both P2X2 and P2X4 interactions with NMDARs. We also report that 11 distal CT residues on the P2X4 facilitate the P2X4–NMDAR interaction, and that a peptide consisting of these P2X4 CT residues (11C) can disrupt the interaction between NMDARs and P2X2 or P2X4. Collectively, these results provide new evidence for the modulatory nature of P2X2 and P2X4, suggesting they might play a more nuanced role in the CNS.
Possible Phylogenetic Constraint on Clutch Size in the Parthenogenetic Teiid Lizard Cnemidophorus neotesselatus

KLAWINSKI, P. D. , R. K. VAUGHAN, D. SAENZ, AND W. B. GOODWIN 1994. Comparison of dietary overlap between allopatric and sympatric geckos. J Herpetol. 28:225-230. PIANKA, E. R. 1986. Ecology and Natural History of Desert Lizards. Princeton Univ Press, Princeton, New Jersey. SAENZ, D. 1996. Dietary overview of Hemidactylus turcicus with possible implications of food partitioning. J. Herpetol. 30:461-466. SAS INSTITUTE, 1988. SAS User's Guide: Statistics. SAS Institute, Cary, North Carolina. SELCER, K. W. 1986. Life history of a successful colonizer: the Mediterranean gecko, Hemidactylus turcicus, in southern Texas. Copeia 1986:956-962. T. C. I. , 1993. Guida d'Italia, Roma. VIII edition, Touring Club Italiano, Milano. VAUGHAN, K. R. 1991. Competitive interference for habitat space among three species of Texas geckos. Unpubl. Ph.D. Thesis, Texas A&M Univ., College Station, Texas. , J. R. DIXON, AND J. L. COOKE 1996. Behavoural interference for perch sites in two species of introduced house geckos. J. Herpetol. 30:46-51.
Temperature Regulation in Hedgehogs from Temperate and Desert Environments

Three species of hedgehog (Insectivora) were chosen to represent temperate (Erinaceus europaeus), semi-arid (Hemiechinus auritus), and desert regions (Paraechinus aethiopicus). Metabolic rates, temperature regulation, and evaporation of water were studied under laboratory conditions. All three species maintained their body temperature close to 34 C (about 3-4 C lower than other mammals). All three species are competent temperature regulators which at low air temperature maintain body temperature by increasing oxygen consumption, and at high air temperature by increasing the evaporation of water. The rate of oxygen consumption is lowest in the desert species (Paraechinus) and highest in the temperate species (Erinaceus). However, thermoregulatory abilities are similar in all three species and not readily correlated with their geographical distribution.
An iterative method to protect the type I error rate in bioequivalence studies under two‐stage adaptive 2×2 crossover designs

Bioequivalence studies are the pivotal clinical trials submitted to regulatory agencies to support the marketing applications of generic drug products. Average bioequivalence (ABE) is used to determine whether the mean values for the pharmacokinetic measures determined after administration of the test and reference products are comparable. Two‐stage 2×2 crossover adaptive designs (TSDs) are becoming increasingly popular because they allow making assumptions on the clinically meaningful treatment effect and a reliable guess for the unknown within‐subject variability. At an interim look, if ABE is not declared with an initial sample size, they allow to increase it depending on the estimated variability and to enroll additional subjects at a second stage, or to stop for futility in case of poor likelihood of bioequivalence. This is crucial because both parameters must clearly be prespecified in protocols, and the strategy agreed with regulatory agencies in advance with emphasis on controlling the overall type I error.
Protective effects of oregano oil on Aflatoxicosis in Japanese quail

Contamination of feeds with mycotoxins is a major problem in quail production that causes severe economic losses. This study was performed to investigate the effects of oregano oil, avolatile oil mixture, on the adverse effect of aflatoxins (AFs) on serum oxidative stress, interleukin 1 (IL-1) and interleukin 6(IL-6) in Japanese quails. A total of 90 unsexed one weekold Japanese quails chicks ( Coturnix japonica ) were divided into 3 groups. Group (A) was considered control quails and fed basal diet, mycotoxins free diet. Group(B) fed basal diet with 2.5 mg AFs/kg diet. Group(C) fed basal diet with 2.5 mg AFs/kg diet and 400 mg oregano oil /kg diet. The experiment was continued for 40 days. Initial and final quails’ body weights were recorded. Serum reduced glutathione (GSH), catalase, superoxide dismutase (SOD) and malondialdehyde (MDA) were measured. Serum nitric oxide (NO), interleukin 1 (IL-1) and interleukin 6 (IL-6) were estimated. The level of totalAFs in rice was 7.13 mg/kg,final body weight was significantly (P<0.05) reduced in quails treated with AFs while it was significantly (P<0.05) increased in group C than group B. At end ofthe experiment, MDA was significantly (P<0.05) increased in quails treated with AFs. When AFsadministered with 400 mg oregano oil, MDA was decreased to a levelsimilar to control group . Catalase, SOD and GSH were significantly (P<0.05) decreased in AFs treated quails and wereincreasedin group C than group B. The levels of NO and IL-6 were increased significantly (P<0.05) in quails of group B, while their levels were decreased in group C. IL-1, was declined significantly (P<0.05) in group B than control, while its level was improved nearly similar to control one in group C. It could be concluded that oregano oil mixture has antioxidant effect and ameliorating effect to AFsimmunosuppression in Japanese quails.
Rate and maintenance of improvement of myofascial pain with dry needling alone vs. dry needling with intramuscular electrical stimulation: a randomized controlled trial

ABSTRACT Study design Prospective, randomized Objectives To determine the difference in rate and maintenance of improvement of pain and disability for Dry Needling (DN) compared to Dry Needling with Intramuscular Electrical Stimulation (DN/IMES), in Myofascial Pain Syndrome (MPS). Background DN and neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) have been shown to be efficacious in treating MPS. DN/IMES for MPS treatment has not been studied extensively, but initial results are promising. Methods Forty-five subjects were randomly assigned to the DN (n = 25) or DN/IMES (n = 20) group. Both groups received six consecutive weekly treatments and completed NDI and NPRS questionnaires (week 0, 3, 6, and 12). Results Both DN and DN/IMES groups showed significant improvement between weeks 0–6 on NDI (p = 0.008 and 0.00002, respectively) and NPRS scores (0 = 0.017 and p = 0.018, respectively). DN/IMES group showed significant within group changes on the NPRS between weeks 0–3 (p = 0.029). No changes were noted in the DN or DN/IMES groups between week 6–12 on NDI (p = 0.497 and p = 0.714, respectively) or NPRS (p = 0.801 and p = 0.164, respectively). Conclusion DN and DN/IMES demonstrated improvement and maintenance in disability and pain for 6 weeks. No differences in improvement of disability or pain existed between the groups at week 6 or 12. Graphical abstract
Effects of exogenous spermidine on antioxidants and glyoxalase system of lettuce seedlings under high temperature

ABSTRACT In this research, the lettuce high-temperature-sensitive variety Beisan San 3 was used as a test material. The effects of exogenous spermidine (Spd) on membrane lipid peroxidation, the antioxidant system, the ascorbic acid-glutathione (AsA-GSH) system and the glyoxalase (Glo) system in lettuce seedlings under high-temperature stress were studied by spraying either 1 mM spermidine or ionized water as a control. The results showed that, under high-temperature stress, the growth of lettuce seedlings was weak, and the dry weight (DW) and fresh weight (FW) were reduced by 68.9% and 82%, respectively, compared with those of the normal-temperature controls. In addition, the degree of membrane lipid peroxidation increased, and the reactive oxygen species (ROS) level increased, both of which led to a significant increase in malondialdehyde (MDA) content and lipoxygenase (LOX) activity. Under high-temperature stress, the activity of superoxide dismutase (SOD) decreased, the activities of peroxidase (POD) and catalase (CAT) increased first but then decreased, and the activity of ascorbic acid peroxidase (APX) decreased first but then increased. Glutathione reductase (GR) activity, ascorbic acid (AsA) and glutathione (GSH) content showed an upward trend under high-temperature stress. The activities of glyoxalase (GloI and GloII) in the lettuce seedling leaves increased significantly under high-temperature stress. In contrast, the application of exogenous Spd alleviated the oxidative damage to the lettuce seedlings, which showed a decrease in MDA content and LOX activity and an increase in SOD, POD, CAT, APX, GR, GloI, and GloII activities. In addition, the antioxidant AsA and GSH contents also increased to varying degrees. It can be seen from the results that high temperature stress leads to an increase in the level of ROS and cause peroxidation in lettuce seedlings, and exogenous Spd can enhance the ability of lettuce seedlings to withstand high temperature by enhancing the antioxidant system, glyoxalase system and AsA-GSH cycle system.
Confidence intervals for the COVID-19 neutralizing antibody retention rate in the Korean population

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), has become a global pandemic. No specific therapeutic agents or vaccines for COVID-19 are available, though several antiviral drugs, are under investigation as treatment agents for COVID-19. The use of convalescent plasma transfusion that contain neutralizing antibodies for COVID-19 has become the major focus. This requires mass screening of populations for these antibodies. While several countries started reporting population based antibody rate, its simple point estimate may be misinterpreted without proper estimation of standard error and confidence intervals. In this paper, we review the importance of antibody studies and present the 95% confidence intervals COVID-19 antibody rate for the Korean population using two recently performed antibody tests in Korea. Due to the sparsity of data, the estimation of confidence interval is a big challenge. Thus, we consider several confidence intervals using Asymptotic, Exact and Bayesian estimation methods. In this article, we found that the Wald method gives the narrowest interval among all Asymptotic methods whereas mid p-value gives the narrowest among all Exact methods and Jeffrey’s method gives the narrowest from Bayesian method. The most conservative 95% confidence interval estimation shows that as of 00:00 on September 15, 2020, at least 32,602 people were infected but not confirmed in Korea.
Evaluation of a digital triage platform in Uganda: A quality improvement initiative to reduce the time to antibiotic administration

Background Sepsis is the leading cause of death in children under five in low- and middle-income countries. The rapid identification of the sickest children and timely antibiotic administration may improve outcomes. We developed and implemented a digital triage platform to rapidly identify critically ill children to facilitate timely intravenous antibiotic administration. Objective This quality improvement initiative sought to reduce the time to antibiotic administration at a dedicated children’s hospital outpatient department in Mbarara, Uganda. Intervention and study design The digital platform consisted of a mobile application that collects clinical signs, symptoms, and vital signs to prioritize children through a combination of emergency triggers and predictive risk algorithms. A computer-based dashboard enabled the prioritization of children by displaying an overview of all children and their triage categories. We evaluated the impact of the digital triage platform over an 11-week pre-implementation phase and an 11-week post-implementation phase. The time from the end of triage to antibiotic administration was compared to evaluate the quality improvement initiative. Results There was a difference of -11 minutes (95% CI, -16.0 to -6.0; p < 0.001; Mann-Whitney U test) in time to antibiotics, from 51 minutes (IQR, 27.0–94.0) pre-implementation to 44 minutes (IQR, 19.0–74.0) post-implementation. Children prioritized as emergency received the greatest time benefit (-34 minutes; 95% CI, -9.0 to -58.0; p < 0.001; Mann-Whitney U test). The proportion of children who waited more than an hour until antibiotics decreased by 21.4% (p = 0.007). Conclusion A data-driven patient prioritization and continuous feedback for healthcare workers enabled by a digital triage platform led to expedited antibiotic therapy for critically ill children with sepsis. This platform may have a more significant impact in facilities without existing triage processes and prioritization of treatments, as is commonly encountered in low resource settings.
Neuron-specific enolase and neuroimaging for prognostication after cardiac arrest treated with targeted temperature management

Background Prognostication after cardiac arrest (CA) needs a multimodal approach, but the optimal method is not known. We tested the hypothesis that the combination of neuron-specific enolase (NSE) and neuroimaging could improve outcome prediction after CA treated with targeted temperature management (TTM). Methods A retrospective observational cohort study was performed on patients who underwent at least one NSE measurement between 48 and 72 hr; received both a brain computed tomography (CT) scan within 24 hr and diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging (DW-MRI) within 7 days after return of spontaneous circulation (ROSC); and were treated with TTM after out-of-hospital CA between 2009 and 2017 at the Seoul St. Mary’s Hospital in Korea. The primary outcome was a poor neurological outcome at 6 months after CA, defined as a cerebral performance category of 3–5. Results A total of 109 subjects underwent all three tests and were ultimately included in this study. Thirty-four subjects (31.2%) experienced good neurological outcomes at 6 months after CA. The gray matter to white matter attenuation ratio (GWR) was weakly correlated with the mean apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC), PV400 and NSE (Spearman’s rho: 0.359, -0.362 and -0.263, respectively). NSE was strongly correlated with the mean ADC and PV400 (Spearman’s rho: -0.623 and 0.666, respectively). Serum NSE had the highest predictive value among the single parameters (area under the curve (AUC) 0.912, sensitivity 70.7% for maintaining 100% specificity). The combination of a DWI parameter (mean ADC or PV400) and NSE had better prognostic performance than the combination of the CT parameter (GWR) and NSE. The addition of the GWR to a DWI parameter and NSE did not improve the prediction of neurological outcomes. Conclusion The GWR (≤ 24 hr) is weakly correlated with the mean ADC (≤ 7 days) and NSE (highest between 48 and 72 hr). The combination of a DWI parameter and NSE has better prognostic performance than the combination of the GWR and NSE. The addition of the GWR to a DWI parameter and NSE does not improve the prediction of neurological outcomes after CA treatment with TTM.