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Ground-dwelling invertebrates are vital for soil biodiversity and function maintenance. Contemporary biodiversity assessment necessitates novel and automatic monitoring methods because of the threat of sharp reductions in soil biodiversity in farmlands worldwide. Using infrared camera traps (ICTs) is an effective method for assessing richness and abundance of ground-dwelling invertebrates. However, the influence that the shooting area of ICTs has on the diversity of ground-dwelling invertebrates has not been strongly considered during survey design...

PURPOSE: To assess the effect of blue-light filtering (BLF) intraocular lenses (IOLs) on the development and progression of macular atrophy (MA) in eyes with neovascular age-related macular degeneration (nAMD). DESIGN: Retrospective clinical cohort study. METHODS: nAMD patients with anti-vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) injections who underwent uneventful cataract surgery between 2007 and 2018 with follow-up until June 2023. Subsequent MA rates were compared between subjects who received a BLF IOL or a non-BLF IOL...

The increasing presence of microbial and emerging organic contaminants pose detrimental effects on the environment and ecosystem such as diseases, pandemics and toxicity. Most of these synthetic pollutants are biorecalcitrant and therefore persist in the environment. Conventional water treatment methods are not effective thereby necessitating the development of advanced techniques such as photocatalysis and membrane processes. In this study, visible light-driven photocatalytic membrane was synthesized through the immobilization of nitrogen-doped nanoparticles onto the polyvinylidene fluoride (PVDF) membrane and performance evaluated with E...

INTRODUCTION: Although vegan and vegetarian diets and lifestyles differ significantly from each other, among other things, notably in their respective consequences regarding animal welfare and their ecological impact, vegans and vegetarians are often grouped together and usually compared to omnivores in psychological research. Considering that vegans and vegetarians often share similar motives for their lifestyle choices, namely animal and environmental issues, the question arises why similar motives lead to different conclusions and correspondingly different behaviors, most notably, of course, that vegetarians consume animal-derived foods such as cheese or milk while vegans do not consume animal-derived products (e...

According to the predictive processing framework, perception emerges from the reciprocal exchange of predictions and prediction errors (PE) between hierarchically organized neural circuits. The nonlemniscal division of the inferior colliculus (IC) is the earliest source of auditory PE signals, but their neuronal generators, properties and functional relevance have remained mostly undefined. We recorded single-unit mismatch responses to auditory oddball stimulation at different intensities, together with activity evoked by two sequences of alternating tones to control frequency-specific effects...

To investigate the association of attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) with the 48-base pair (bp) variable number of tandem repeats (VNTR) in exon 3 of the dopamine receptor D4 (DRD4) gene, we genotyped 240 ADHD patients and their parents from Hong Kong. The 4R allele was most common, followed by 2R. We examined association between the 2R allele (relative to 4R) and ADHD by Transmission Disequilibrium Test (TDT). The odds ratio (OR) (95% confidence interval) was 0.90 (0.64-1.3). The p-value was 0...

Single-cell RNA sequencing (scRNA-seq) is a transformative technology that unravels the intricate cellular state heterogeneity. However, the Poisson-dependent cell capture and low sensitivity in scRNA-seq methods pose challenges for throughput and samples with a low RNA-content. Herein, to address these challenges, we present Well-Paired-Seq2 (WPS2), harnessing size-exclusion and quasi-static hydrodynamics for efficient cell capture. WPS2 exploits molecular crowding effect, tailing activity enhancement in reverse transcription, and homogeneous enzymatic reaction in the initial bead-based amplification to achieve 3116 genes and 8447 transcripts with an average of ∼20000 reads per cell...

BACKGROUND: Various animal models have been used to explore the pathogenesis of choledochal cysts (CCs), but with little convincing results. Current surgical techniques can achieve satisfactory outcomes for treatment of CCs. Consequently, recent studies have focused more on clinical issues rather than basic research. Therefore, we need appropriate animal models to further basic research. AIM: To establish an appropriate animal model that may contribute to the investigation of the pathogenesis of CCs...

INTRODUCTION: Effective communication in the operating room (OR) is crucial. Addressing a colleague by their name is respectful, humanising, entrusting and associated with improved clinical outcomes. We aimed to enhance team communication in the perioperative environment by offering personalised surgical caps labelled with name and provider role to all OR team members at a large academic medical centre. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This was a quasi-experimental, uncontrolled, before-and-after quality improvement study...

In this study, a Si defect structure was added into the silica network in order to activate the bismuth and silica structure active center. TD-DFT theoretical simulations show that the Bi and Si ODC(I) models can excite the active center of the E-band at 1408 nm. Additionally, the Bi-doped silica fiber (BDSF) with improved fluorescence was fabricated using atomic layer deposition (ALD) combined with the modified chemical vapor deposition (MCVD) technique. Some tests were used to investigate the structural and optical properties of BDSF...

Anemia in pregnancy (AIP) is associated with multiple severe maternal and perinatal adverse outcomes. However, there is a lack of evidence on the association between environmental factors and AIP. Aim to explore the association between ambient temperature and the risk of AIP, and identify susceptible exposure windows, we conducted a matched case-control study from 2013 to 2016 in Xi'an, China, which included 710 women with AIP and 1420 women without AIP. The conditional logistic regression model was used to evaluate the association between ambient temperature and AIP at different gestational weeks and gestational months...

BACKGROUND: Ruminant mastitis continues to be a cause of economic losses in the dairy industry and remains a major public health hazard globally. OBJECTIVES: This cross-sectional study was carried out in Mukurweini Sub-County of Nyeri County, Kenya, to investigate the prevalence of bacteria causing mastitis, risk factors associated with goat mastitis and the antibiotic resistance profiles of bacteria isolated from the goat milk. METHODS: Farm level data on risk factors for mastitis was obtained from 56 farmers using a semi structured questionnaire...

In metallurgical practice, the material is considered of adequate quality if it meets the customer's expectations. It is necessary to take representative samples and perform quality testing to avoid financial and intangible losses. Sample contamination and matrix and surface quality play a significant role in the accuracy of chemical analyses. The purpose of this paper is to point out the advantages of specific methods of taking samples, such as immersion and spoon sampling of molten metal, and, in the experimental part, to assess the impacts of factors affecting the quality of the sampling...

Slow transit constipation (STC) is a refractory gastrointestinal disease, accounting for approximately 13 ∼ 37 % of chronic constipation. However, the molecular mechanism of STC remains poorly understood. Herein, this study aims to identify the key mRNAs and lncRNAs associated with STC. To this end, we performed high-throughput RNA sequencing to identify differentially expressed (DE) mRNAs and lncRNAs in the whole-layer sigmoid intestinal tissues from 4 STC patients and 4 non-STC patients...

IMPORTANCE: In the face of an emerging heart failure (HF) epidemic, describing the association between perceived economic burden (PEB) and health care outcomes is an important step toward more equitable and achievable care. OBJECTIVES: To examine the association between PEB and risk of 1-year clinical outcomes and HF-specific health status in patients with acute decompensated HF. DESIGN, SETTING, AND PARTICIPANTS: This prospective, multicenter, hospital-based cohort study prospectively enrolled adult patients hospitalized for acute decompensated HF at 52 hospitals in China from August 2016 to May 2018, with 1-year follow-up...

Dietary patterns may be a crucial modifiable factor in colorectal cancer (CRC) risk. This study aimed to examine the associations of dietary patterns derived from two methods with CRC risk in Korea. In a study of 1420 CRC patients and 2840 control participants, we obtained dietary patterns by principal component analysis (PCA) and reduced rank regression (RRR) using 33 predefined food groups. The associations between dietary patterns and CRC risk were assessed using unconditional logistic regression models to calculate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs)...

BACKGROUND: Mitral annulus calcification (MAC) represents a degenerative process resulting in calcium deposition in the mitral valve apparatus. MAC is associated with adverse clinical outcomes. We sought to examine the long-term significance of mild MAC and its relationship to subsequent mitral valve dysfunction (MVD) and mortality in patients without MVD on the initial echocardiogram. METHODS: A total of 1420 patients with mild MAC and no MVD at baseline, and one or more follow-up echocardiograms at least one year after the baseline echocardiogram were included in the analysis...

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine the correlation between maternal body composition during the second trimester and the occurrence of dyslipidemia in the third trimester. METHODS: A cohort of 1508 pregnant women who underwent antenatal testing at Shanghai Sixth People's Hospital, affiliated with Shanghai Jiao Tong University School of Medicine, were included in this study. Maternal body composition was assessed using bioimpedance analysis between 14 and 22 weeks of gestation...

BACKGROUND & AIMS: Patients with acute decompensated (AD) liver cirrhosis or acute-on-chronic liver failure (ACLF) often require intensive care unit (ICU) admission for organ support. Existing research, mostly from specialized liver transplant centers, largely addresses short-term outcomes. Our aim was to evaluate in-hospital mortality and 1-year transplant-free survival after hospital discharge in the Netherlands. METHODS: We conducted a nationwide observational cohort study, including patients with an history of cirrhosis or first complications of cirrhotic portal hypertension admitted to ICUs in the Netherlands between 2012 and 2020...

OBJECTIVE: To determine whether hospital- and surgeon-level operative volumes are associated with differences in postoperative outcomes among infants undergoing elective lung surgery for a congenital lung malformation (CLM). SUMMARY BACKGROUND DATA: Infant lung surgery is a relatively uncommon procedure performed by pediatric surgeons nationwide. The relationship between surgical volume and postoperative outcomes remains unknown. METHODS: A retrospective cohort study of asymptomatic infants who underwent elective lung resection of a CLM was conducted using the Pediatric Health Information System database (2016-2020)...