Entrapment of the ablation catheter in the mitral valve apparatus during transaortic ablation of premature ventricular complexes is a rare complication that usually requires surgical removal. Random rotating and pulling of the catheter exacerbate the extent of the entrapment, causing chest pain and a drop in blood pressure. The catheter can be loosened by changing the direction of the vector at the tip of the catheter, pulling in the reverse direction and rotating. We describe the case of the thought process and catheter maneuvers used to diagnose, loosen, and remove a trapped catheter.

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a multifaceted framework that aims to make learning accessible to all students by providing multiple means of representation, engagement, and expression. In this article, we explore the principles of UDL and its practical application in educational settings. Drawing on insights from various experts and research studies, we discuss the importance of UDL in creating inclusive and equitable learning environments. We also provide practical strategies and examples for implementing UDL in the classroom, along with reflections on its benefits and challenges. By prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion, educators can empower every learner to succeed and thrive.

Foliar herbivory is known to directly affect phyllosphere microbiomes through altering plant phenotypes. However, how plant evolutionary responses to herbivory shape phyllosphere microbiomes is unclear. Here we use different invasive populations of the plant Ambrosia artemisiifolia that vary in reassociation timespan with a native specialist herbivore, to test whether renewed selection imposed by the herbivore is accompanied by evolutionary shifts in leaf chemistry and correlated changes in phyllosphere microbial communities. In common garden experiments we found directional changes in phyllosphere fungal communities with increasing duration of reassociation, accompanied by increased phyllosphere fungal alpha diversity and community complexity. These changes were associated with shifts in concentrations of plant metabolites, expression levels of their underlying biosynthetic genes, and increased plant herbivore resistance. Invasive plant reassociation with specialist insects can thus reshape phyllosphere fungal communities via changes in plant chemistry, demonstrating the role of plant evolutionary responses to herbivores in modulating microbial communities.

Planktonic Foraminifera have been collected from the water column with different plankton sampling devices equipped with nets of various mesh sizes, which impedes direct comparison of observed quantifications. Here, we use data on the community size structure of planktonic Foraminifera to assess the impact of mesh size on the measured abundance (ind/m 3) of planktonic Foraminifera. We use data from the FORCIS database (Chaabane et al., 2023) on the global ocean at different sampling depths over the past century. We find a global cumulative increase in abundance with size, which is best described using a Michaelis-Menten function. This function yields multiplication factors by which one size fraction can be normalized to any other size fraction equal to or larger than 100 µm. The resulting size normalization model is calibrated over a range of different depth intervals, and validated with an independent dataset from various depth ranges. The comparison to the Berger, 1969 equivalent catch approach shows a significant increase in the predictive skill of the model. The new size normalization scheme enables comparison of Foraminifera abundance data sampled with plankton nets of different mesh sizes, such as compiled in the FORCIS database. The correction methodology may be effectively employed for various other plankton groups such as diatoms and dinoflagellates.

This report is for colleges of education that are interested in adding or increasing Computer Science Education (CSEd) offerings in teacher education programs, either preservice or inservice. The report is based on data collected through a workshop of national leaders in CSEd who are involved with teacher education. The workshop convened 51 people from across the country to collate resources, share experiences, and make recommendations for colleges of education. The attendees represented 25 colleges of education in 16 different states as well as stakeholders from non-profits, government, and industry. Results and recommendations are included.

In this paper we deal with the following attraction-repulsion chemotaxis system { u t = ∆ u − χ ∇ · ( u ∇ v )+ ξ ∇ · ( u ∇ w ) , x ∈ Ω , t > 0 , 0 = ∆ v − βv + αu , x ∈ Ω , t > 0 , 0 = ∆ w − δw + γu , x ∈ Ω , t > 0 , ∂u ∂ν = ∂v ∂ν = ∂w ∂ν = 0 , x ∈ ∂ Ω , t > 0 , u ( x , 0 )= u 0 ( x ) , x ∈ Ω , under homogenous Neumann boundary conditions in a smoothly bounded domain Ω ⊂ R 4 , where χ, ξ, β, α, δ and γ are positive constants. In this paper, we develop a new method to establish the existence and boundedness of global classical solutions for arbitrarily large initial data under the assumption ξγ= χα and ξ δ λ 0 γ ∫ Ω u 0 < 1 C GN , where C GN and λ 0 are some positive constants only depending on Ω. This result significantly improves or extends previous results of several authors (see Remark 1.1).

IntroductionDispersal limitation is the failure of a seed to reach all regeneration sites suitable for its germination after leaving the parent. The failure reasons include seed factors (i.e., seed dispersal mode, dispersal ability, seed size, and yield) and environmental factors (i.e., wind, water flow, and topography) (Han and Wang, 2002; Thomson, 2011). Previous studies have shown that dispersal limitation played an important role in Changbai Mountain forests for the Jaccard coefficient of seed rain and neighboring mature trees decreased sharply with increasing neighborhood radius (Li et al. , 2012) and in the habitat fragmentation of tropical forest, where species diversity is rich and seeds are mainly dispersed by animals (Cordeiro et al. , 2009). Considering niche differentiation and dispersal limitation simultaneously may better explain successional mechanisms in tropical forests (Dalling et al. , 2002), and dispersal limitation may be more important than ecological niche differentiation in determining species composition in habitats where dispersers are scarce and forest cover is low (Dent and Estrada-Villegas, 2021). For example, dispersal limitation due to the disappearance of seed dispersers such as birds and mammals in tropical forests has been a major factor in the inability of later successional species to spread into young forests (Abbas et al. , 2021). Therefore, birds and mammals are believed to play an important role in seed dispersal (Willson, 1993; Glyphis et al. , 1981). Previous studies suggested that mammals and birds were probably the main dispersers of palm seeds (Zona & Henderson, 1989), and mainly focused on the effects of large mammals and birds on seed dispersal (Gosper et al. , 2005). Seeds from excrement or seeds dropped during consumption by fruit-feeding primates could survive and germinate (Corlett & Lucas, 1990), and these seedlings had a higher survival rate (Pearson & Theimer, 2003). The composition and dynamics of large mammal and bird communities have undergone significant alterations, primarily attributable to pervasive overhunting and extensive habitat loss on a global scale (Carpenter et al. , 2020; Fernández-Palacios et al. , 2021). Furthermore, this has resulted in a significant reduction in the population of these large herbivores, leading to extinctions in certain cases, as well as a conspicuous reduction in the average body weight of large mammalian species. Evidenced by a shift from an average of approximately 14 kilograms at the 95th percentile to a mere 4 kilograms (Wenny & Levey, 1998), this trend underscores a substantial change in mammalian community structure. Consequently, this transformation has elevated the ecological significance of smaller fauna, particularly rodent species, in the process of seed dispersal.While feeding on plant seeds and fruits, rodents carry some seeds and fruits to other places for storage to cope with food shortages (Zhanget al.et al. , 2015), and to help seeds escape predators, ultimately leading to successful seed dispersal and regeneration (Hirschet al. , 2012). Therefore, dispersal hoarders, mainly rodents, are prominent seed dispersers of plants (Roth & Vander Wall, 2005). These rodents can spread viable seeds to different favorable environments (Jansen & Forget, 2001), some seeds buried can be retrieved by animals for food, while others would germinate successfully and achieve seedling settlement to a large extent. This animal storage behavior, especially decentralized storage, is profitable in reducing the competition for resources and space between seedlings and mother trees, to promote seed germination and seedling formation and to realize plant regeneration (Xiao & Zhang, 2016; Yang et al. , 2020). Food storage animals usually have an advantage over general foragers in finding storage food (Stapanian & Smith, 1978), this may be related to not only the difficulty of retrieval and the hidden conditions (Tamura et al. , 1999), but also the directional dispersal preference of certain storage animals. For example, scatter-hoarding rodents would transport seeds to high-density microsites (such as the tree canopy) and redistribute them for storage (Dimitri & Longland, 2017), resulting in the seed survival rate and the dispersal pattern, and ultimately affecting the regeneration pattern of vegetation (Yu et al. , 2017). The repeated movement of seeds and the distance to the habitat as the two main factors determining seed dispersal in rodents (Perea, 2011), and chemosensory information from predators and parasitoids also influence foraging decisions of storage rodents, and thus seed dispersal (Sunyeret al. , 2013).Seed dispersal and seedling establishment are the key stages to the mountain forest succession and regeneration, and their failure would limit the recolonization of farmland (Standish et al. , 2007). Some studies exploring seed dispersal constraints are currently receiving increasing attention from naturalists, especially topography-specific structures (Muscarella et al. , 2020; Wanget al. , 2014; Freitas et al. , 2010). The topography in mountainous and hilly areas plays a significant role in regulating the distribution of the solar radiation and precipitation, this can effectively reveal the microclimatic state of the local environment and showcases variations in the soil depth and nutrient content across different locations (McDonald et al. , 1996). As an important topographical factor, slope position directly affects vegetation through geomorphic processes and controls the spatial redistribution of resource factors through morphological changes, thus indirectly affecting the distribution of vegetation (Kikuchi, 2001; Yang, 2005). Furthermore, slope position also has an effect on vegetation cover and its ability to recover after disturbance, with lower slopes having higher vegetation cover and height, while upper slopes are more susceptible to disturbances such as forest fire and deforestation (Pereira et al. , 2016). The higher the slope of the mountain, the more spatially isolated it is and the more susceptible it is to fire and logging disturbances (Han et al. ,2018). Furthermore, crop yields are generally lower in the upper slope than those in the lower slope due to differences in soil types (McPhee, 1997), and acorns on the upper slope are more susceptible to insects than those on the lower slope (Yu, 2003). Scatter hoarders also weigh the pros and cons of cache difficulty against the risk of theft, with higher risk of predation often implying higher seed establishment rates (Muñoz & Bonal, 2011; Steele et al. , 2014). Compared to the hilltop area, there are usually many exposed rocks and vegetation providing safe shelter for rodents in midslope (Meliyo et al. , 2014), this may lead to better seed storage and seedling regeneration. Treeline recruitment was seriously affected by the high rate of seed theft by rodents (Pansing et al. , 2007). Therefore, the dispersal limitation is more pronounced on the upper slope than on the lower slope (Han et al. ,2018). However, the relationship between food storage rodents and their dispersal plants often changes depending on environmental conditions, with mutual benefits and seed predation occurring (Vander Wall, 2010), and there is no strict consistency.As a result, differences in vegetation regeneration exist between different slope positions, yet the reasons for these disparities remain unknown. Could rodent-mediated seed dispersal serve as a critical factor in explaining the regeneration variations among slope positions? To quantitatively measure variations in seed dispersal across slope positions, the current study explored rodent abundance and tracked seed removal rate, seed fate, and seed dispersal distance by establishing experimental plots at different slope positions of the Q. wutaishanica -rodent ecosystem in the Dongling Mountains situated in the North of Taihang Mountains. Thus, addressing the following questions: 1) Do slope positions significantly influence rodent-mediated seed dispersal? 2) What about the seed dispersal efficiency among different slope positions? 3) Are there definite seed dispersal limitations among slope positions? Based on the aforementioned inquiries, we formulate the following preliminary hypotheses: 1) Concerning seed dispersal, in accordance with the Mid-domain Effect (MDE) Model (Colwell and Lees, 2000), the dispersal rate is expected to exhibit a unimodal pattern as slope position increases, characterized by an initial rise followed by a subsequent decline. 2) In terms of faunal and floral abundance, according to the Resource Availability Hypothesis (Coley, 1985), with increasing slope position, an equilibrium point of resource utilization is anticipated to exist, resulting in a pattern of initial abundance escalation followed by a subsequent decline.Materials and MethodsStudy regionThe Beijing Forest Ecosystem Research Station (40°00’-40°03’N, 115°26’-115°30’ E) was located in Dongling Mountains, the northern part of the Taihang Mountains. The region belongs to warm temperate semi-humid continental monsoon climate, and its average annual temperature is 5~10℃ and mean annual precipitation is 500~600 mm, mainly precipitate from July to August. The main soil type is brown soil and its depth is about 50 cm. The zonal vegetation is warm temperate deciduous broad-leaved and coniferous mixed forest, especially the Q. wutaishanica forest, which is widely distributed and plays a significant role in the conservation of water and soil, the maintenance of biodiversity and the regulation of climate in the Taihang Mountains. To minimize heterogeneity among forest types dominated by Q. wutaishanica , ten transects were established from the foot to the top of every mountain’s western slope (i.e., each transect occupied a different elevation segment of the slopes), forming a single elevational gradient of montane forests (1020 m-1770 m) (Xu et al. , 2017). According to Parker’s (1982) classification method widely used in previous studies (Coppoletta et al. , 2016; Guarín et al. , 2005; Clinton et al. , 1993) and the topographic characteristics of Dongling Mountains, the transects were divided into three slope positions: ridge, midslope, and valley, forming three continuous sampling lines of oak forest at the different slope positions.Seed markingThe seed of Q. wutaishanica was collected during the mature period in 2020, and stored in the refrigerator at 4 ℃ for the germination rate of the oak seeds stored for seven days only slightly decreased and there was no significant difference compared to fresh seeds (Chen and Yan, 2019). Therefore, fresh and healthy seeds were selected within 48 hours by the water flotation and visual inspection method. The seed marking was completed by referring to the original method proposed by Zhang and Wang (2001) and made some necessary changes. A micro-drill was used to drill a small hole with a diameter of 0.3 mm at the bottom of the seed to avoid damaging the core. Small consecutively numbered plastic labels were made to track the seed fate, and 10 cm thick wires were used to pass through the holes in the seeds to connect the plastic labels with the seeds. Tags are generally exposed to the surface of the ground in most cases, so there is a high chance of finding them after the seeds have been buried by rodents. According to Kempter’s (2018) research, labels have some influence on seed dispersal, but would not change with slope position and other factors concerned.Seed releaseThe seeds were released in 10 transects set along the elevation gradient in the Q. wutaishanicaforest in the Taihang Mountains from August 26 to October 14 in 2020. According to the elevation gradient, each transect line was classified into three slope positions: ridge (the upper 1/3 of each transect), midslope (the middle 1/3 of each transect), and valley (the lower 1/3 of each transect). In total, there were 90 seed stations, 10 transects×3 slope positions×3 seed stations, and there were 10 seeds released at each 1 m × 1 m seed station. For repeated experiments, the scale of concern was the community and the factor of interest was the slope position, with 30 seed stations set for each slope position. Considering that seed fates changed little after 15 days, observations were made only once a week. Therefore, it is observed two or three times a week in the early stage and only once a week after 15 days, in order to assess the harvest of the seeds and their removal by small rodents (Fig.1). Seed fates were classified as six types: (1) intact in situ (IIS), (2) eaten in situ (EIS), (3) eaten after removal (EAR), (4) intact after removal (IAR), (5) scatter hoarded (SH) or (6) missing (M). We recorded the seed code numbers, measured the distance between the tagged seed and its original seed station where the seed was removed, and marked the specific cache locations. During March and May of the following year, we investigated and identified the seedlings established from seeds scattered by rodents according to the tagged plastic labels.Rodent composition structureTrapping plots were set at about 500 m from the seed dispersal experiment region at each transect and its three slope positions in the Taihang Mountains to minimize interference. Three live traps, formed a trapping plot, were placed at each slope position in August 2019 and 2020, respectively. Rodents were captured using 40 cm× 25 cm× 20 cm live stell wire traps with peanuts as bait. The trapping experiment lasted one week per transect and slope position, and the trapping period was one month per year. From August to October 2020, an infrared camera was set up in each seed dispersal area of each slope position to monitor rodent activity.Seedling surveysWe selected 10 transects to survey seedlings in the Taihang Mountains from October 3 to October 6 in 2019 before seed release experiment. Three slope positions (ridge, midslope and valley) were selected for each transect to investigate the abundance of Q. wutaishanicaseedlings. The seedling survey experiment was repeated three times and a total of 90 (3 slope positions × 10 sample strips × 3 replicates) seedling data were obtained.Data analysisAll statistical analysis were performed in R version 4.1.1 (R Core Team, 2021). The seed removal time of three slope positions was compared using Cox Regression Analysis, and seed fate and dispersal distance were analysed using seed tracking experiments. Differences in seed fate (i.e., IIS, EIS, EAR, IAR, SH and M) among three slope positions and the influence of the distance group on the removal distance were examined using a Generalized Linear Model (GLM). Tukey’s HSD post hoc test was applied for multiple comparisons of seed fates, seed removal rate, and seed dispersal distance among three slope positions. The number of seedlings was analysed using One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) with post hoc tests using the Least Significant Difference (LSD)method.ResultsRodent species composition and abundanceThere were 38, 32 and 3 captured rodents in valley, midslope, and ridge, respectively, including Apodemus peninsulae , Apodemus agrarius , Sciurotamias davidianus , Tamiops swinhoei , andSciurus vulgaris (Table 1). A. peninsulae was the most common, accounting for 64.4% of the total, followed by S. davidianus and T.s swinhoei , and their percentages were 17.8% and 12.3%. Specifically, the first four rodent species mentioned above were captured in midslope and their relative abundances in the midslope were 68.6%, 3.1%, 9.4% and 18.8%, respectively. All five species of rodents were captured in valley, and A. peninsulae and S. davidianus were common, accounting for 63.2% and 26.3%, respectively. Only three rodents were captured in ridge, including A. peninsulae , A. agrarius , and T. swinhoei .Seed removal rateMost of the seeds released in valley and midslope, except the ridge, were carried by rodents within 11 days (Fig.2). Cox regression analysis showed that seed removal rates were significantly higher in midslope (Z=10.69, P <0.001) and valley (Z=10.21,P <0.001) than that in ridge. Furthermore, the seed removal rate was significantly higher in midslope (Z=2.24P =0.0252) than in valley. The seed removal rates in midslope and valley almost had no change after 11 days and then became basically stable after 22 days.Seed fateAlmost all seeds were kept intact (ISS) in ridge, while half of the seeds at valley and midslope were eaten by rodents (EAR, EIS) (Fig.3). The ratios of IIS, EIS, EAR, IAR and M in valley (IIS: t =14.112,df =87, P <0.001; EIS: t =6.504,df =87, P <0.001; EAR: t =8.619,df =87, P <0.001; IAR: t =2.707,df =87, P =0.0220; M: t =8.800, df =87,P <0.001) and midslope (IIS: t =13.363,df =87, P <0.0001; EIS: t =5.488,df =87, P <0.001; EAR: t =9.328,df =87, P <0.0001; IAR: t =4.410,df =87, P =0.0001; M: t =4.470, df =87,P =0.0001) differed significantly from those in ridge. The proportion of SH in ridge (t =1.892, df =87,P =0.1470) and midslope (t = 3.478, df = 87,P = 0.0023) had not significant difference with that in valley, while there was significant difference in the proportion of SH between ridge and midslope (t =3.379, df =87, P =0.0031).Seed dispersal distanceThe seeds dispersed by the rodent in ridge were all within 3 m and were mainly concentrated in 1-3 m (Fig.4). The maximum dispersal distance of midslope was almost 15 m, with a major concentration around 5 m. The average seed dispersal distance was significantly higher in midslope (t =3.449, df =207,P =0.002) than that in ridge, indicating that the seed was dispersed farther in midslope. In contrast, the dispersal distance of the seeds in ridge was finite.Seedling surveyThe mean value of seedling was 1.43 cm as a whole, while those in ridge, midslope and valley were 1.13 cm, 1.83 cm and 1.33 cm. The variance test statistic showed that the number of seedling in different slope positions were significantly different (F=4.567, P = 0.013<0.05). The number of seedling was significantly less in ridge than those in midslope (P =0.004, SE=0.239) and valley (P =0.039, SE=0.239). There were no significant differences for the number of seedling between midslope and valley (P =0.404, SE=0.239).DiscussionSeedling regenerationAccording to our investigation, the number of seedlings in ridge was lower than midslope and valley, this is consistent with the results of Takahashi et al. (2010) and O’Brien & Escudero (2022), supporting our hypothesis (2) as mentioned above. The reason is that soil in ridge is shallower and drier than other slope position, creating droughty and frost-prone conditions, which can be detrimental to seedling germination and early establishment (Fenner & Thompson, 2005; Takahashi et al. , 2010). Furthermore, as the ridge slope increased near the top, airflow velocity increased, increasing snow flux and snow transport, leading to an increase in snow accumulation (Toloui-Semnani & Johnson, 2019) and intensifying transpiration of pioneer seedlings (Renison et al. , 2015). This further exacerbates the challenges faced by seedlings trying to establish themselves in ridge. Seedlings at ridge showed wilting and needle discoloration due to low photosynthetic carbon gain, reduced soil water potential, low symbiotic infection of seedlings with mycorrhizal fungi, limited root growth, and ultimately seedling dehydration, which may explain the higher than ninety percent mortality rate of seedlings in the ridge region (Smith et al. , 2009). As long as the processes of freezing, tumbling, and burial persist at ridge, it will be very difficult to establish seedlings in these areas (Butler et al. , 2009). The ecosystem stability of mid-elevation zones at the altitude between 500 and 2000 m were particularly stable, while high-elevation zones (above 2000 m) and low-elevation zones (below 500 m) were comparatively vulnerable (Geng et al., 2019). This is, the communities of middle region being more stable compared to the other two regions (Jin et al., 2022). Furthermore, the forest litter layer may act as a barrier, making it difficult for seeds to contact the soil, thus affecting tree regeneration in the Taihang Mountains (Yang et al., 2014). These natural challenges make ridge areas particularly inhospitable for seedling regeneration and survival. Therefore, topographic fragmentation, special climate and soil conditions lead to poor vegetation regeneration in Taihang Mountains, with simple layers and low coverage, especially at the ridge of the mountain.Rodent abundanceAmong the five recorded rodent species, the Apodemus peninsulaewas the most common in the Taihang Mountains, and the midslope and valley had more rodents than ridge. According to the ’landscape of fear’ theory, vegetated habitats can provide shelter and improve survival chances for animals, so animals prefer vegetated habitats over open high-risk habitats (Laundré et al. , 2001), small rodents were found in greater numbers in forested sparse grassland areas (Afonso, 2021), and nests around shrubs on the slopes could avoid the negative effects of rainfall and uphill runoff on burrows (Jiang et al. , 2017). Furthermore, plants generally exhibit better growth in midslope compared to ridge and valley (Liao et al. , 2021; Ohsawa & Ide, 2008), and the vertical structure of vegetation distribution on the mountain exhibits a central peak pattern (Lomolino, 2001). A similar feature was also found that the distribution of alpha diversity of plant community in the Taihang Mountains had unimodal distribution on the elevational gradient, which was in line with the theory of ”diversity peaked at the intermediate altitude” (Liang, 2022). Therefore, the midslope and valley may have more rodents than the ridge. Significantly, the distribution of small mammals exhibits a mid-elevation peak, i.e., a single-peaked distribution at mid-elevation (McCain, 2010) according to the MDE (Colwell and Lees, 2000), meaning that the midslope should have more rodents than ridge and valley. Unfortunately, this study showed that there were more rodents in the valley, which is inconsistent with hypothesis (2), but there is little difference in rodent abundance between the valley and the midslope. This may be due to the limitation of plant growth by forest water sources as vegetation is primarily driven by energy supply (Roebroek et al. , 2020). According to the energy limitation hypothesis (Colwell and Lees, 2000), light, water and other conditions in mid-slope may be moderate, but not as abundant as in valley, some rodent species may adapt to this medium energy limitation environment, but other species may not adapt well, reducing their diversity and quantity. Our results of rodent abundance were obtained based on camera trap monitoring and traditional survey methods, the applicability of the high resolution, the large breadth, and the high sensitivity of infrared camera may allow better access to animal behavioral data and may improve the results in future.Seed removal rate and seed fateThe seed removal rate and the seed collected proportion by rodents was lowest in ridges, which is consistent with our hypothesis (1). On the contrary, we found that the midslope had the highest seed removal rate and proportion collected. Seed removal rate is a critical metric for understanding the dynamics of seed dispersal and regeneration within an ecosystem, reflecting a composite of various ecological activities, including those of seed predators, primary seed dispersers, and secondary seed dispersers (Hambuckers et al. , 2020; Milotić et al. , 2018). So, this rate is not merely a quantitative measure but also provides insights into the qualitative aspects of seed dispersal mechanisms and their effectiveness under different environmental conditions (Carlo & Morales, 2016). Seeds in ridges exhibit limited dispersal, encountering challenges in germination primarily attributed to restricted movement towards suitable germination sites (Forget, 1990). The limitation in seed dispersal is chiefly due to the diminished or absent role of key seed dispersers, particularly rodents and birds. According to the niche limitation hypothesis (Romanuk & Kolasa, 2002), the scarcity of resources and lower temperatures at high elevations would increase the intensity of competition so that only rodent species adapted to these conditions and survived in these regions. Ecological niches at high altitudes may only be suitable for some specific rodent species. Previous studies highlight the importance of specific seed dispersers for large-seeded plants is underscored (Moreira et al. , 2017). For example, the critical function of various bird sizes in seed dispersal (Godínez-Alvarez et al. , 2020), the interspecific interactions of rodents for enhancing seed dispersal effectiveness in Japanese walnut (Okawa et al. , 2023), and the dual reciprocal roles in pollination and seed dispersal of dispersal-storage rodents (Xiao, 2021). These studies emphasize the necessary contribution of vertebrates in overcoming the challenges of seed dispersal, confirming the integrated part of these animals in maintaining ecosystem balance and plant reproduction (La Mantia et al. , 2019). Thus, the limiting effects of the absence of dispersers on seed dispersal are evident, which not only hinders the movement of seeds to suitable germination sites, but may also has long-term effects on the balance of the ecosystem as a whole.An interesting observation is that rodent-mediated seed dispersal was more active in midslope, instead of the valley and ridge. Within our study, the EIS of Q. wutaishanica on the mid-slope was found to be lower than the average EIS rate (74%) reported in previous studies (Li and Zhang, 2001). Midslope’s higher seed removal rate and scatter-hoarding rate imply greater opportunities for seed dispersal and establishment. This is inconsistent with the idea that seed release at the top of the mountain was an order of magnitude greater than at the bottom of the mountain (Katul, 2012). This is mainly because: 1) the seeds are likely to roll downhill when they break away from the mother tree, which can lead to superimposed seed shadows from different mother trees (Ohsawa et al. , 2007; Schupp et al. , 2019) on midslope and valley. Furthermore, some valleys may accumulate seeds at the bottom or in valley areas, as they may be natural meeting points for wind or water. (Boland, 2017). 2) Rodents prefer to spread seeds horizontally or downward because it consumes less energy (Li and Zhang, 2003), but the absence of rodents may limit seed dispersal and seedling regeneration in ridge. Although birds are capable of dispersing and establishing seeds in high mountainous or other high-altitude areas (Watanabe, 1994), Quercus species are only moderately preferred as food by birds (Wright, 2022). Consequently, the impact of birds on the dispersal of Quercus seeds is quite limited.Seed dispersal distanceThe dispersal distance reflects rodent foraging strategies and dispersing effectiveness to some extent (Wang and Yan, 2017). We found that the dispersal distances of the seeds were longer in midslope and valley than those in ridge where the dispersal distance in ridge was extremely limit (Fig.4). This phenomenon further validates the reasonableness of our hypothesis (1). Although seeds would tend to accumulate on lower slopes due to gravity and topography, and then valley had a higher seed density (Yamase and Sekioka, 2006), rodent-mediated seed dispersal is a central driver of horizontal seed dispersal as it requires less energy (Wang et al. , 2018), while in the vertical direction is just the opposite. Compared to the ridge and valley, the better vegetation and less disturbance on midslope attract more rodents to feed, and provide more diverse habitats for rodents to meet their requirements of spreading over a longer distance while avoiding predation (Bergstedt and Milberg, 2001). Furthermore, long-distance dispersal increases reproduction rates by allowing seeds to escape the high density of conspecifics in the vicinity of the mother tree, reducing competition and predators, and providing them with the opportunity to find suitable colonization sites (Novaes et al. , 2020) according to the negative density-dependent hypothesis (Metzet al. , 2010; Jansen et al. , 2014). In our study, the dispersal distance was concentrated within 15 m, which is consistent with previous studies (Chen et al. , 2022). The dispersal distance was mostly around and within 5 m, and the seed removal rate exhibited an initial rapid decline followed by a gradual slowdown, indicating that the rodents accelerated the possession of food, which might be caused by competition (Jenkins and Peters, 1992).These results, as mentioned above, were helpful in understanding the dispersal of seeds mediated by rodents in the Q. wutaishanicapopulation at different slope positions. Further research still needs to interpret the seed dispersal and vegetation regeneration pattern at a larger temporal and spatial scale (Nathan and Muller-Landau, 2000). For example, Q. wutaishanica interannual variation and its subsequent effects on vegetation structure might have been overlooked (Wang and Smith, 2002).

Prosocial behavior is defined as actions intended to benefit others regardless of potential gains the person performing the actions or behaviors may receive. Prosocial creativity is described as an ability to produce a solution for someone’s problem in an effective, original, and convenient way. This study mainly investigated predictors of prosocial behavior (e.g., prosocial decision-making and prosocial creativity) in 3-to-5-year-old children and explored the role of demographics on empathy and moral behavior. The children completed a series of child appropriate computerized standardized picture-based tasks to evaluate their creativity, empathy, moral development, prosocial decision-making, and prosocial creativity. Parents completed questionnaires on their children’s prosocial skills and empathy, while researchers used the children’s task performance to determine their prosocial behavior and creativity levels. Binary and ordinal logistic regression indicated that children’s age, creativity, and cognitive empathy played an important role in prosocial decision-making and prosocial creativity. These elements likely construct the foundation of children’s prosocial behavior. Moral behavior was also important for prosocial decision-making, which was a precondition for prosocial creativity. A developmental pattern was also found for the emergence of empathy and moral behaviors, suggesting that these abilities may mature over time or may be learned as children mature.

Let E be a Banach space, A:D(A)⊂E→E be a linear operator on E. Denote by D a locally closed subset of E and F:[0,+∞)×B→E a continuous function. A sufficient condition for D to be a forward invariant set of the following partial functional differential equation with infinite delay dv(t)/dt=Av(t)+F(t,vt),for t⩾0, v_0=ϕ∈B, is the tangency condition namely: there exists a bounded linear operator B:D(A)￣→E such that for every ξ>0 and τ>0 there exists γ>0 such that: lim_h→0^+ (1/h)d(T(A−γB)_0(h)ϕ(0)+S(A−γB)(h)[F(t,ϕ)+γBϕ(0)],D)=0, for every t∈[0,τ] and every ϕ∈B with ∥ϕ∥⩽ξ and ϕ(0)∈D.

Garlic and Citrullus colocynthis are medicinal plants that are widely used in herbal medicine. However, as they may be used as preventives for some diseases, they may represent side effects. However, their side effects on male reproduction have rarely been studied. The purpose of this study is to investigate the toxic effects and possible mechanism of consuming garlic and Citrullus colocynthis separately and in combination for 1 month on the testicles of normal rats. Twenty-eight male Wistar rats were divided into 4 groups (n=7): 1. Control; 2. Garlic, which received 1 ml/100 g of bw of garlic extract; 3. C. colocynthis, which received 10 mg/kg of bw of C. colocynthis; 4. Garlic+ C. colocynthis, which received 1 ml/100 g of bw of garlic extract and 10 mg/kg of bw of C. colocynthis. After 30-days of experiment, body & testis weight, endogenous hormone levels and sperm count were determined. In addition, apoptosis and oxidative stress markers were identified. The results showed that the administration of garlic and C. colocynthis separately and in combination decreased testis weight, sperm count and the level of testosterone and luteinizing hormones in rats. In addition, oxidative stress markers, expression of mRNAs for NADPH oxidase-4 (Nox-4) and nuclear factor kappa B (NF-κB), and of caspase-3 immunoexpression were all increased in the testis. It seems that consuming garlic and C. colocynthis separately and in combination for 1 month causes testicular injury in rats and dosage of usage should be taken into account for preventive purposes.

The skeletal transformations of diterpenoid forskolin were achieved employing an oxidative rearrangement strategy. A library of 52 forskolin analogues, including 12 CTD compounds and 40 SAR compounds with unique scaffolds/ring systems, was produced during the course of this work. Compounds 2c and 10c exhibited inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) production in lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated RAW 264.7 cells, with IC50 values of 0.3µM and 4.1µM.

In big plant genera such as Astragalus (Fabaceae), the evaluation of morphological evidence from reliable resources is a prerequisite for understanding the evolutionary history, relationships, and taxonomic placements. The present study is the most comprehensive effort to assess the seed morphological characters in a large sample of species. Seed characteristics including size, color, shape, and testa ornamentation of 494 seed samples representing 348 species and 83 sections and all 11 main clades recognized in Astragalus and five species of related genera were investigated using light and Scanning Electron Microscopy. We provide here a standard terminology for all examined characters to suggest a consensus for future seed morphological studies. Accordingly, seed morphological features show considerable variability, making them useful in some taxonomic aspects, but they may also be heterogeneous, which sometimes limits their application. Based on our results none of the natural groups known as section or clades in Astragalus can be defined based on one character, but rather using a combination of distinctive character states. Considering the currently available phylogenetic trees of Astragalus, the present seed morphological survey allows us to suggest some evolutionary trends. In the course of evolution in most clades, the seed size tends to reduce, reddish seeds tend to be frequent over other colors, black dots or spots appear or distribute more densely on the surface, oblong and square as well as semi-oblong-elliptic shapes become abundant, the pit-like depressions on the seed surface tend to increase, and the multiple reticulate-rugulate testa ornamentation appears more frequently.

Acquired methemoglobinemia due to nitrobenzene poisoning: an unusual acquaintance.Authors : Bhatta Sunil1, Awasthi Pusp Raj21-Department of Anesthesia and Critical Care, Nisarga Hospital and Research Center Pvt. Ltd.Email:bhattasunil26@gmail.com(Corresponding author)2-Department of Pediatric Critical Care, Nisarga Hospital and Research Center Pvt. Ltd.Email: prapgi697@gmail.comData availability statement : Data described to support the findings is openly accessible in the article.

IntroductionPilonidal cyst is a disorder of the skin characterized by highly inflamed soft tissue and recurrent infections and can result in chronic sinuses and cysts that become intermittently occluded and form abscess, thus significantly reducing patient quality of life[1]. An infected hair follicle extends and ruptures into the subcutaneous tissue, forming a pilonidal abscess which can form a sinus track extending to deeper subcutaneous cavities. Pilonidal cysts are often associated with high recurrence due to frequent pathogenic microbes and chronically inflamed tissue. Obese patients with high BMI have a higher risk of recurrence of pilonidal sinus disease after surgical intervention. Although pilonidal disease is a benign disorder, it can be painful, leading to poor quality of life and delayed absence from work. It is estimated that pilonidal disease affects roughly 70,000 patients annually in the US alone[1]. Over the past 50 years, the incidence of this disease has risen continuously in European and North American young men[2].Incision and drainage (I&D) are the initial procedures to manage the wound, however, simple I&D procedures are associated with a 15–40% reoccurrence rate requiring revisional surgeries[3]. Surgical excision is the current standard of care and is intended to remove pits or sinuses and debride hair and foreign body[4]. The resultant wound defect can be closed primarily or with a flap or via excision with healing by secondary intention[1].Management of such wounds is still unsatisfactory as the options lead to either considerable discomfort (“open” method) or increase the recurrence rate (“closed” method). Therefore, alternative approaches have been explored in recent years. Amniotic allografts have been explored as an effective option due to their structural matrix and growth factors required for healing. Over the last couple of decades, this technology has been successfully used in randomized clinical trials for patients with chronic ulcers and in prospective cohort studies in patients with diabetes and complex surgical wounds with exposed tendon, muscle and bone [5]. Amniotic tissue allografts have also been recently reported to have a significantly lesser recurrence rates than standard of care in diabetic wounds[6]. They can therefore be a viable option to close the excision thus avoiding discomfort to the patient but potentially preventing long term recurrence.While amnion or amnion-chorion allografts are thin and designed for weekly clinic applications with a focus on treating full thickness ulcers, umbilical tissue allografts, which also have the amnion layer and are much thicker, suture-able and can be effective with a single application. With the development of the lyopreservation technique, it is now possible to process the tissues and store at room temperature while preserving the native components of the tissues[7]. STRAVIX PL is a shelf stable human umbilical tissue allograft that aids in covering hard-to-treat wounds, including those with exposed structures or hardware and is similar to the cryopreserved STRAVIX that has been commercially available in the US for a while[7, 8]. It can be used as a cover or wrap for tendon, ligament, bone, nerve repair or soft tissue sites in various surgical procedures from head to toe and can provide a barrier under incisions. The tissue is manufactured using proprietary processes allowing retention of all native components such as extracellular matrix rich in hyaluronic acid, growth factors and native cells of the tissue. It is durable, strong and conforming, can be easily sutured, about 1 to 3 millimeters thick, intimately adapts to injured tissue to form adhesion barrier, arthroscopic and robotic procedure friendly and easy to maneuver and apply. STRAVIX family of grafts have been shown to improve closure rates of challenging wounds as a cover[8, 9] and is suitable for a wide range of surgical procedures, particularly those involving high-risk patients. In this retrospective case series, we report the results of using STRAVIX PL for management of recurrent closure of pilonidal cyst wounds.

Obesity has been identified as an independent risk factor for severe outcomes in humans with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and other infectious diseases. Here, we established a mouse model of COVID-19 using the murine betacoronavirus, mouse hepatitis virus 1 (MHV-1). C57BL/6 and C3H/HeJ mice exposed to MHV-1 developed mild and severe disease, respectively. Obese C57BL/6 mice developed clinical manifestations similar to those of lean controls. In contrast, all obese C3H/HeJ mice succumbed by 8 days post-infection, compared to a 50% mortality rate in lean controls. Notably, both lean and obese C3H/HeJ mice exposed to MHV-1 developed lung lesions consistent with severe human COVID-19, with marked evidence of diffuse alveolar damage (DAD). To identify early predictive biomarkers of worsened disease outcomes in obese C3H/HeJ mice, we sequenced RNA from whole blood 2 days post-infection and assessed changes in gene and pathway expression. Many pathways uniquely altered in obese C3H/HeJ mice post-infection aligned with those found in humans with severe COVID-19. Furthermore, we observed altered gene expression related to the unfolded protein response and lipid metabolism in infected obese mice compared to their lean counterparts, suggesting a role in the severity of disease outcomes. This study presents a novel model for studying COVID-19 and elucidating the mechanisms underlying severe disease outcomes in obese and other hosts.

The double-line frequency ripple power exists inherently in single-phase power converters. To address this problem, active power decoupling technique (APD) is widely used. It diverts the ripple power into a small energy storage element through introducing passive and active power devices. This inevitably involves more voltage and current sensors for corresponding control, which raises the cost while decreasing reliability and power density. In this paper, a Lyapunov-based methodology is proposed to achieve APD control without adding any sensor. According to the designed controller laws, the practical decoupling capacitor voltage will converge to its reference. The decoupling voltage reference is given by taking into account buffering the double-line frequency ripple power. Afterwards, the robustness against parameter perturbations of the proposed method is discussed. Finally, the experimental results verify the feasibility of the proposed control strategy.

Purpose: There is increasing recognition of the importance of transparency and reproducibility in scientific research. This study aimed to quantify the extent to which programming code is publicly shared in pharmacoepidemiology, and to develop a set of recommendations on this topic. Methods: We conducted a literature review identifying all studies published in “Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety” (PDS) between 2017 and 2022, Data was extracted on the frequency and types of programming code shared, and other key open science practices (clinical codelist sharing, data sharing, study pre-registration, and use of reporting guidelines). We developed six recommendations for investigators who choose to share to programming code and gathered feedback from members of the International Society of Pharmacoepidemiology (ISPE). Results: Programming code sharing by articles published in PDS ranged from 2.4% in 2017 to 13.4% in 2022. It was more prevalent among articles with a methodological focus, simulation studies, and papers which also shared record-level data. We recommend that reporting of open science practices, including code sharing, is standardised to enable continued monitoring. When sharing programming code, we recommend the use of permanent digital identifiers, appropriate licenses, and, where possible, adherence to good software practices around the provision of metadata and documentation, computational reproducibility, and data privacy. Conclusion: Programming code sharing is rare but increasing in pharmacoepidemiology studies published in Pharmacoepidemiology and Drug Safety. We recommend improved and consistent reporting of code sharing, and adherence to good programming practices in order to maximize the utility of code when this is shared.

The conversion of CF3-alkenes to gem-difluoroalkenes using reductive cross-coupling strategy has received much attention in recent years, however, the use of green and readily available reducing salt to mediate these reactions remains to be explored. In this work a concise construction of gem-difluoroalkenes, which requires neither a catalyst nor a metal reducing agent, was established. Rongalite, a safe and inexpensive industrial product, was employed as both a radical initiator and reductant. This procedure was compatible with both linear and cyclic diaryliodonium salts, enabling a wide variety of substrates (>70 examples). The utility of this approach was demonstrated through gram-scale synthesis and efficient late-stage functionalizations of anti-inflammatory drugs.

This study introduces a cutting-edge method for few-shot font generation, capturing the complexity and subtlety of font styles with minimal reference style images. Motivated by the time-consuming and labor-intensive process of traditional font design, particularly for languages with extensive glyph sets, such as Chinese or Korean, our approach streamlines font creation by utilizing both global and local style elements through a patch-based attention mechanism and a multi-task encoder. This innovation not only addresses the high production costs and manual effort associated with conventional font design but also overcomes the limitations of prior techniques that rely on comprehensive component definitions or multi-stage training processes. By extracting global style codes for common font family characteristics and local style codes from detailed patches, our model emphasizes critical stylistic features such as serifs, stroke shapes, and spacing. The inclusion of triplet loss and style fidelity loss further refines the model's accuracy, ensuring the generated fonts faithfully replicate the desired styles. Demonstrated through experiments on Korean and Chinese characters, our method achieves better efficiency, quality, and fidelity, outpacing current state-of-the-art solutions and highlighting the potential of an attention-based patch encoding for font generation for different languages.

A document by Gidion Edwin. Click on the document to view its contents.

The Central Valley of California (CVC) and Mid-Atlantic (MA) in the U.S. are critical sites for wintering waterfowl. Mapping waterfowl distributions using weather radar aids in the targeted adaptive management by highlighting important waterfowl habitats. Additionally, mapping broadscale waterfowl distributions improves food security by allowing government agencies and commercial poultry operations to better understand the interface between wild and domestic birds that is related to risk of highly pathogenic avian influenza outbreaks. Improving understanding of predictors of wintering waterfowl distributions at both local and landscape scales will allow facility managers and regulatory agencies to make more informed risk management decisions. We used 9 years (2014–2023) of data from the US NEXRAD network to model winter waterfowl distributions in the CVC and MA as a function of weather, temporal, and environmental characteristics using boosted regression tree modelling. We captured the spatial-temporal variability in effect size of 28 different covariates within two geographic regions which are critical to nationwide waterfowl management and have a high density of commercial poultry. In general, environmental, and geographic predictors had the strongest relative effect on predicting wintering waterfowl distributions in both regions, while effects of land cover composition were more regionally and temporally specific. Increased daily mean temperature was a major predictor of increasing waterfowl distributions in both regions throughout the winter. Increasing waterfowl densities in the CVC are strongly tied to the flooding of the landscape and rice availability, whereas waterfowl in the MA, where water is less limiting, are generally governed by waste grain availability and emergent wetland on the landscape. Waterfowl distributions in the MA increased closer to the Atlantic coast and lakes, while in the CVC they were higher nearer to lakes. Our findings promote understanding of the predictors of winter waterfowl densities in relationship with biosecurity of commercial poultry nationally.

A document by Rayyan Vaid. Click on the document to view its contents.

Today in the modern world, allergic diseases, also described as atopic allergies, are classified as a type of multifactorial disorder due to the complex interplay between genetics, environment, and socioeconomic factors that influence the disease’s manifestation, severity, and one’s predisposition to allergic diseases. It is undeniable that many reported studies have pointed out that the mast cell is one of the main key players involved in triggering an allergic reaction. In order to improve our current understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying allergy, various mast cell lines have been employed in vitro to study the pathogenesis of allergic diseases for the past decades. However, there is no consensus on many fundamental aspects associated with their use, such as the effects of culture media composition and the type of inducer used for cell degranulation. As the standardization of research protocols and disease models is crucial, we hereby present the outcome of a systematic review of scientific articles that used three major in vitro mast cell lines (HMC-1, LAD2, and RBL-2H3) to study allergy. This systematic review described the cell source, culture conditions, inducers used for degranulation, and mediators released for examination. We hope that the present systematic review may help to standardize the use of in vitro mast cell lines in allergy research and serve as a user’s guide to understand the fundamental aspects of allergy as well to develop an effective allergy therapy in the future for the betterment of human good health and wellbeing.

Objective: To determine prevalence of asthma in Pune and its relation to family history of allergic disease. Study Design: Cross-sectional study in two schools of Pune. Method: International Study of Asthma and Allergy in Childhood (ISAAC) based questionnaire was administered to 815 parents of students of 2 selected schools between ages of 5-15 years. Responses were analyzed and children with history suggestive of asthma were examined, investigated at a tertiary teaching hospital. Results: prevalence of asthma was 6.13%. Prevalence in males was 6.36% and in females was 8.05% (p= 0.639). Prevalence in English medium school was 7.36% as compared to Marathi medium school of 3.8%. Family history of asthma and allergic disease had strong association with asthma. PEFR at time of enrolment was decreased in many children irrespective of symptoms. Conclusion: Prevalence of asthma was 6.13%. Family history is strong determinant of asthma. Keywords: Asthma Prevalence, Family History, PEFR Correlation.