Bowdenfeldman6145

Forest harvesting did not significantly affect soil carbon stocks, despite an elevated dead wood density relative to undisturbed forests, but it did remove nearly all live biomass. Aquaculture conversion removed 60% of soil carbon stock and 85% of live biomass carbon stock, relative to reference sites. By contrast, mangroves left to regenerate for more than 25 years reached the same level of biomass carbon compared to undisturbed forests, with annual biomass accumulation rates of 3.6 ± 1.1 Mg C/ha/year. This study shows that hydrogeomorphic setting controls natural dynamics of mangrove blue carbon stocks, while long-term land-use changes affect carbon loss and gain to a substantial degree. see more Therefore, current land-based climate policies must incorporate landscape and land-use characteristics, and their related carbon management consequences, for more effective emissions reduction targets and restoration outcomes. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.The objectives of this study were to describe the birth prevalence of limb reduction defects (LRD) in Argentina, their clinical features, and to review the literature on this topic. The data source was the National Network of Congenital Anomalies of Argentina, a surveillance system that has been operative since 2009. Data were collected from November 1, 2009 to December 31, 2016. 1,663,610 births and 702 affected patients were registered during this period. The prevalence of LRD was 4.22/10,000 births (CI 95% 3.93-4.54). In 15,094 stillbirths, prevalence was 30.80/10,000 (CI 95% 22.31-40.65). Perinatal mortality (stillbirths plus early neonatal deaths) was 24.6%, mostly explained by postnatal deaths. LRD were classified according to different variables, including Gold's anatomic classification. Then, 41.0% of patients had transverse terminal defects and 50.2% had longitudinal defects. We found multiple and syndromic clinical presentation to be associated with both preaxial LRD and lethality. The prevalence of LRD was lower and perinatal mortality was higher in our study compared to that of previously published studies. Because there is heterogeneity in the inclusion and exclusion criteria among publications, a greater effort should be made in order to include similar populations and to use a unified anatomic classification and nomenclature. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.Microglia are a specialized population of tissue macrophages in the mammalian brain. Microglial phenotype is tightly regulated by local environmental factors, although little is known about these factors and their region-preferred roles in regulating local neuroinflammatory responses. We hypothesized that microglia in different brain regions respond differently to neuroinflammatory stimulation and that CD200, an anti-inflammatory protein mainly originated from neurons, acts as a local cue inhibiting microglia activation in the midbrain. We utilized a CD200-deficient mouse line to analyze the phenotypic role of CD200 in the regulation of normal neuron-microglia homeostasis in the midbrain and in the dopaminergic degeneration in an α-synuclein overexpression model of PD. We found that systemic administration of an endotoxin lipopolysaccharide induced a region-preferred change in CD200 expression in the midbrain. Similarly, CD200-/- mice showed a regional preference in an enhancement of microglia activation and baseline inflammatory levels in the midbrain and dopamine neuron loss in the substantia nigra (SN). In a mouse model of Parkinson's disease (PD) induced by rAAV-hSYN injection into the SN, CD200-/- mice showed more dopamine neuron loss in the SN than wild type mice. Activation of CD200 receptors with a CD200 fusion protein alleviated the neuroinflammation and neuronal death in the SN of PD mice. These findings demonstrate that CD200 is essential for the midbrain homeostasis and acts as a critical local regulator in controlling microglial properties related to the PD pathogenesis. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.BACKGROUND The objective of this study was to explore the 10-year plus outcomes of Intensity Modulated Radiotherapy with concomitant chemotherapy (CRT) combined with preventive swallowing rehabilitation (CRT+) for head and neck cancer (HNC). METHODS Subjective and objective swallowing, trismus, and speech related outcomes were assessed at 10-year plus after CRT+. Outcomes were compared to previously published 6-year results of the same cohort. RESULTS Fourteen of the 22 patients at 6-year follow-up were evaluable. Although objective swallowing-related outcomes showed no deterioration (eg, no feeding tube dependency and no pneumonia), swallowing-related quality of life slightly deteriorated over time. No patients had or perceived trismus. Voice and speech questionnaires showed little problems in daily life. Overall quality of life (QOL) was good. CONCLUSIONS After CRT with preventive rehabilitation exercises for advanced HNC, swallowing, trismus, and speech related outcomes moderately deteriorated from 6 to 10 years, with an on average good overall QOL after. © 2020 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.BACKGROUND To explore the clinical value of the serum superoxide dismutase-to-standard deviation of erythrocyte distribution width ratio (SRSR) in systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE). METHODS A total of 222 SLE patients from the Rheumatology and Immunology Department in the Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University from January 2017 to April 2019 were collected as the experimental group, and a total of 202 healthy physical examiners were extracted as the control group. Neutrophil-to-lymphocyte ratio (NLR), superoxide dismutase-to-standard deviation of erythrocyte distribution width ratio (SRSR), and platelet-to-lymphocyte ratio (PLR) were calculated from the collected data and then compared the level of the above three indexes between the two groups. In addition, we analyzed the association between SRSR and clinically relevant indicators. RESULTS We found that the SRSR of SLE patients was significantly lower than healthy control group, by analyzing the receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve; it revealed that the SRSR had higher specificity and sensitivity than either superoxide dismutase (SOD) or standard deviation of erythrocyte distribution width (RDW-SD) alone. The area under the curve (AUC) for SRSR was significantly larger than either SOD or RDW-SD alone, and the AUC for SRSR was also larger than NLR and PLR. And it was found that SRSR was independently correlated with SLE disease activity through multiple linear regression analysis. CONCLUSION SRSR is a useful biomarker for the diagnosis of SLE, and it is of great significance in the clinical application. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Clinical Laboratory Analysis Published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc.BACKGROUND Preoperative differentiation between malignant and benign soft-tissue masses is important for treatment decisions. PURPOSE/HYPOTHESIS To construct/validate a radiomics-based machine method for differentiation between malignant and benign soft-tissue masses. STUDY TYPE Retrospective. POPULATION In all, 206 cases. FIELD STRENGTH/SEQUENCE The T1 sequence was acquired with the following range of parameters relaxation time / echo time (TR/TE), 352-550/2.75-19 msec. The T2 sequence was acquired with the following parameters TR/TE, 700-6370/40-120 msec. The data were divided into a 3.0T training cohort, a 1.5T MR validation cohort, and a 3.0T external validationcohort. ASSESSMENT Twelve machine-learning methods were trained to establish classification models to predict the likelihood of malignancy of each lesion. The data of 206 cases were separated into a training set (n = 69) and two validation sets (n = 64, 73, respectively). STATISTICAL TESTS 1) Demographic characteristics a one-way analysis of variandation 1 set (0.92, 0.88 respectively). The accuracy, sensitivity, and specificity of the radiomics nomogram were 90.5%, 100%, and 80.6%, respectively, for validation set 1; and 80.8%, 75.8%, and 85.0% for validation set 2. DATA CONCLUSION A machine-learning nomogram based on radiomics was accurate for distinguishing between malignant and benign soft-tissue masses. EVIDENCE LEVEL 3 TECHNICAL EFFICACY Stage 2. © 2020 International Society for Magnetic Resonance in Medicine.BACKGROUND An angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) gene polymorphism occurs in dogs; however, functional importance is not well studied. HYPOTHESIS We hypothesized that dogs with the polymorphism would show alternative renin-angiotensin aldosterone system (RAAS) pathway activation and classical RAAS pathway suppression before and after ACE-inhibitor administration, as compared to dogs without the polymorphism that would show this pattern only after ACE-inhibitor administration. ANIMALS Twenty-one dogs with mitral valve disease that were genotyped for the ACE gene polymorphism. METHODS This retrospective study utilized stored samples from 8 ACE gene polymorphism-negative (PN) dogs and 13 ACE gene polymorphism-positive (PP) dogs before and after enalapril administration. Equilibrium analysis was performed to evaluate serum RAAS metabolites and enzyme activities. Results were compared before and after enalapril, and between groups. RESULTS The classical RAAS pathway was suppressed and the alternative RAAS pathway was enhanced for both genotypes after administration of enalapril, with no differences before enalapril administration. Aldosterone breakthrough occurred in both PN (38%) and PP (54%) dogs despite angiotensin II suppression. Aldosterone was significantly higher (P = .02) in ACE gene PP dogs (median, 92.17 pM; IQR, 21.85-184.70) compared to ACE gene PN dogs (median, 15.91 pM; IQR, less then 15.00-33.92) after enalapril. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE The ACE gene polymorphism did not alter baseline RAAS activity. Aldosterone breatkthrough in some dogs suggests nonangiotensin mediated aldosterone production that might be negatively influenced by genotype. These results support the use of aldosterone receptor antagonists with ACE-inhibitors when RAAS inhibition is indicated for dogs, especially those positive for the ACE gene polymorphism. © 2020 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.BACKGROUND Cardiac disease is an important cause of morbidity and mortality in Irish Wolfhounds (IWs), but its prevalence and clinical characteristics in North American IWs are incompletely described. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES That atrial fibrillation (AF) is a diagnostic marker of echocardiographic abnormalities, and that clinical characteristics predict development of IW cardiomyopathy (IWCM). To define the prevalence of arrhythmias and echocardiographic abnormalities in North American IWs. ANIMALS Six hundred and forty-five adult IWs presented for screening examinations intended to identify familial cardiac disease. METHODS In this retrospective cohort study, reference intervals defined based on echocardiographic data from IW classified as normal, were used to define the prevalence of structural and functional abnormalities. A logistic model was developed to identify clinical findings that predict future development of IWCM. RESULTS The prevalence of AF was 8.9% (95% confidence interval [CI], 6.6-11.2) of which 55.