The mitochondrial genome of the critically endangered enigmatic Kazakhstani endemic Selevinia betpakdalaensis (Rodentia: Gliridae) and its phylogenetic relationships with other dormouse species.

Dormice (family Gliridae) are an ancient group of rodents. It was fully dominant in the Oligocene and Early Miocene, and its current diversity is represented by a few extant species. A Kazakhstani endemic, the desert dormouse Selevinia betpakdalaensis is one of the most enigmatic dormouse species.

Acute Concussion.

Concussions are the most common type of traumatic brain injury. They result from external force to the head that causes a neuro-metabolic cascade to unfold. This can then lead to a variety of symptoms in the domains of physical, cognition, mood, and sleep.

A Cybertaxonomic Revision of the "" Species Complex with a Special Focus on Endemic Rocky Shrews: and (Soricidae).

The extraction of museum DNA from a unique collection of samples of the "" species complex, which comprises local endemics of Central and West Asia, allowed us to determine their inter- and intragroup relationships. The first step of this study was the re-evaluation of heavily damaged type specimens of via a microcomputed-tomography-based cybertaxonomic approach (CTtax), which enabled a precise description of the species' morphology; three-dimensional models of the cybertypes were made available through the MorphoBank Repository. We developed the "AProMaDesU" pipeline on the basis of five requirements for micro-CT-based cyber-datasets in relation to mammalian collections.

Peer education as a strategy to promote vaccine acceptance: A randomized controlled trial within New York community healthcare practices.

Background: Effective strategies are needed to improve vaccine acceptance. This study sought to determine if a peer-led vaccine education intervention embedded within community medical practices increases parental acceptance of pediatric pneumococcal conjugate vaccination.

Methods: From March 2022-July 2023, we conducted a randomized trial at three pediatric health practices in predominantly Hasidic Jewish neighborhoods in New York, where vaccine deferral is common.

Case Ascertainment of Measles during a Large Outbreak-Laboratory Compared to Epidemiological Confirmation.

Measles is a highly contagious viral disease, and hence, sufficient herd immunity is obligatory to prevent infection transmission. Measles is still a cause of considerable disease burden globally, mainly in children. During a national measles outbreak in Israel in 2018-2019, the peak incidence rates occurred in the Jerusalem district.

In Search of the Elusive North: Evolutionary History of the Arctic Fox () in the Palearctic from the Late Pleistocene to the Recent Inferred from Mitogenomic Data.

Despite the high level of interest, the population history of arctic foxes during the Late Pleistocene and Holocene remains poorly understood. Here we aimed to fill gaps in the demographic and colonization history of the arctic fox by analyzing new ancient DNA data from fossil specimens aged from 50 to 1 thousand years from the Northern and Polar Urals, historic DNA from museum specimens from the Novaya Zemlya Archipelago and the Taymyr Peninsula and supplementing these data by previously published sequences of recent and extinct arctic foxes from other regions. This dataset was used for reconstruction of a time-calibrated phylogeny and a temporal haplotype network covering four time intervals: Late Pleistocene (ranging from 30 to 13 thousand years bp), Holocene (ranging from 4 to 1 thousand years bp), historical (approximately 150 years), and modern.

Inferring phylogenetic structure, taxa hybridization, and divergence times within rock voles of subgenus (Cricetidae: ) using quaddRAD sequencing and a dataset.

The subgenus belongs to the genus (Central Asian mountain vole) and consists of two species: and Phylogenetic relationships within the subgenus remain obscure due to limited sampling, an insufficient number of molecular markers used in phylogenetic studies, and paraphyly observed on mitochondrial trees. In this work, to infer reliable phylogenetic relationships and evaluate putative scenarios of ancient hybridization within the subgenus, we applied double-digest restriction site-associated DNA paired-end (quaddRAD) sequencing to 20 DNA samples (20 individuals), including five species of the genus , and dated the divergence of cytochrome b () lineages within using a "second calibration" approach. We showed monophyly of the two species on the basis of thousands of nuclear loci and demonstrated traces of introgression also in the nuclear genome.

SARS-CoV-2 infection characteristics among students and staff in a large high school COVID-19 outbreak and secondary transmission in households.

Background: SARS-CoV-2 clinical presentation is associated with the patients' age group. Overall, young individuals present higher proportions of asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 infection, compared to adults. Data on secondary COVID-19 transmission in households, according to the cases' age group, are accumulating.

The effect of biogeochemical redox oscillations on arsenic release from legacy mine tailings.

Exposed and un-remediated metal(loid)-bearing mine tailings are susceptible to wind and water erosion that disperses toxic elements into the surrounding environment. Compost-assisted phytostabilization has been successfully applied to legacy tailings as an inexpensive, eco-friendly, and sustainable landscape rehabilitation that provides vegetative cover and subsurface scaffolding to inhibit offsite transport of contaminant laden particles. The possibility of augmented metal(loid) mobility from subsurface redox reactions driven by irrigation and organic amendments is known and arsenic (As) is of particular concern because of its high affinity for adsorption to reducible ferric (oxyhydr)oxide surface sites.

Invasive Disease Due to : Surveillance and Trends in Israel Prior to and during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Invasive meningococcal disease (IMD) is a devastating disease with significant mortality and long-term morbidity. The COVID-19 pandemic and containment measures have affected the epidemiology of infectious pathogens. This study's aim was to assess IMD trends in Israel prior to and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Pertussis outbreak mainly in unvaccinated young children in ultra-orthodox Jewish groups, Jerusalem, Israel 2023.

Despite being a vaccine-preventable disease for decades, pertussis control is still a public health challenge. A pertussis outbreak emerged in Jerusalem ( = 257 cases, January to June 2023). Most cases were young children (median age 1.

The Complete Mitochondrial Genome of (Tupaiidae) and Phylogeny of Scandentia.

In this paper, we report the complete mitochondrial genome of the northern smooth-tailed treeshrew , which was sequenced for the first time using the Illumina next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. The total length of the mitochondrial genome is 16,844-16,850 bp and encodes 37 genes, including two ribosomal RNAs (rRNAs) and , 22 transfer RNAs (tRNAs), 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs), and a D-loop in the characteristic arrangement of family Tupaiidae (Mammalia: Scandentia). The overall base composition of the complete mitochondrial DNA is A (33.

Population dynamics and demographic history of Eurasian collared lemmings.

Background: Ancient DNA studies suggest that Late Pleistocene climatic changes had a significant effect on population dynamics in Arctic species. The Eurasian collared lemming (Dicrostonyx torquatus) is a keystone species in the Arctic ecosystem. Earlier studies have indicated that past climatic fluctuations were important drivers of past population dynamics in this species.

Signatures of Adaptation in Mitochondrial Genomes of Palearctic Subterranean Voles (Arvicolinae, Rodentia).

This study evaluates signatures of selection in the evolution of the mitochondrial DNA of voles, subfamily Arvicolinae, during the colonization of subterranean environments. The comparative sequence analysis of mitochondrial protein-coding genes of eight subterranean vole species (, three species of the genus : , and , two species of the genus : and , and ) and their closest aboveground relatives was applied using codon-substitution models. The highest number of selection signatures was detected in genes and The relaxation of selection was observed in most mitochondrial DNA protein-coding genes for subterranean species.

Contrasting Community Assembly Forces Drive Microbial Structural and Potential Functional Responses to Precipitation in an Incipient Soil System.

Microbial communities in incipient soil systems serve as the only biotic force shaping landscape evolution. However, the underlying ecological forces shaping microbial community structure and function are inadequately understood. We used amplicon sequencing to determine microbial taxonomic assembly and metagenome sequencing to evaluate microbial functional assembly in incipient basaltic soil subjected to precipitation.

A mitochondrial genome phylogeny of voles and lemmings (Rodentia: Arvicolinae): Evolutionary and taxonomic implications.

Arvicolinae is one of the most impressive placental radiations with over 150 extant and numerous extinct species that emerged since the Miocene in the Northern Hemisphere. The phylogeny of Arvicolinae has been studied intensively for several decades using morphological and genetic methods. Here, we sequenced 30 new mitochondrial genomes to better understand the evolutionary relationships among the major tribes and genera within the subfamily.

Searching for signatures of positive selection in cytochrome b gene associated with subterranean lifestyle in fast-evolving arvicolines (Arvicolinae, Cricetidae, Rodentia).

Background: Mitochondrial genes encode proteins involved in oxidative phosphorylation. Variations in lifestyle and ecological niche can be directly reflected in metabolic performance. Subterranean rodents represent a good model for testing hypotheses on adaptive evolution driven by important ecological shifts.

A systematic scoping study exploring opioid use across a variety of disability conditions.

Background: Opioid use experiences among people with disability (PWD) as a group has not been clearly articulated in the current literature, despite links between pain and measures of disability.

Objective: To conduct a systematic search and scoping study examining the characteristics of current literature focused on opioid use among PWD.

Methods: Four databases were queried (i.

The complete mitochondrial genomes of three mole vole species (Rodentia: Arvicolinae).

The subterranean voles of the genus are species of subfamily Arvicolinae well adapted to underground life. In this paper, we report the assemblies of complete mitochondrial genomes for three mole voles from genus - northern mole vole (16,376 bp), transcaucasian mole vole (16,540 bp), and southern mole vole s (16,388 bp). Each of three mitogenomes encode for 12S and 16S rRNAs, 22 tRNAs, 13 protein-coding genes, and D-loop in the characteristic arrangement of subfamily Arvicolinae (Rodentia: Cricetidae).

Utilization of the Public Health Ordinance to prevent nosocomial spread in a case of acute measles-associated psychosis.

Measles is a highly contagious disease. A 24 years old patient, recently exposed to measles (unvaccinated), presented in the emergency department with severe agitation, compatible with an acute psychotic episode, during the measles epidemic which spread in Israel in 2018-2019. Upon hospital admission, strict isolation was instructed, yet, without compliance, probably due to the patient's status.

The complete mitochondrial genome of the common pine vole (Arvicolinae, Rodentia).

In this paper, we report the complete mitochondrial genome of the common pine vole , which was sequenced for the first time using Illumina next-generation sequencing (NGS) technology. The total length of the mitogenome was 16,398 bp and contained 12S, 16S rRNAs, 22 tRNAs, 13 protein-coding genes, and a 883 bp D-loop in the characteristic arrangement of subfamily Arvicolinae, Rodentia. Overall base composition of the complete mitochondrial DNA is A (33.

Phylogenetic relationships and taxonomic position of genus (Rodentia: Arvicolinae) from Kashmir based on evidences from analysis of mitochondrial genome and study of skull morphology.

In this article, we present the nearly complete mitochondrial genome of the Subalpine Kashmir vole (Arvicolinae, Cricetidae, Rodentia), assembled using data from Illumina next-generation sequencing (NGS) of the DNA from a century-old museum specimen. De novo assembly consisted of 16,341 bp and included all mitogenome protein-coding genes as well as 12S and 16S RNAs, tRNAs and D-loop. Using the alignment of protein-coding genes of 14 previously published Arvicolini tribe mitogenomes, seven Clethrionomyini mitogenomes, and also and outgroups, we conducted phylogenetic reconstructions based on a dataset of 13 protein-coding genes (PCGs) under maximum likelihood and Bayesian inference.

Highly sampled measurements in a controlled atmosphere at the Biosphere 2 Landscape Evolution Observatory.

Land-atmosphere interactions at different temporal and spatial scales are important for our understanding of the Earth system and its modeling. The Landscape Evolution Observatory (LEO) at Biosphere 2, managed by the University of Arizona, hosts three nearly identical artificial bare-soil hillslopes with dimensions of 11 × 30 m (1 m depth) in a controlled and highly monitored environment within three large greenhouses. These facilities provide a unique opportunity to explore these interactions.

Depression in Girls With Obesity and Polycystic Ovary Syndrome and/or Type 2 Diabetes.

Objectives: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common reproductive/metabolic condition associated with obesity, type 2 diabetes (T2D) and depression in adult women. Depression in adults is related to PCOS dermatologic manifestations. Adolescents with obesity with or without T2D have elevated depression symptoms, but data from youth with PCOS and obesity with/without T2D are limited.

A large COVID-19 outbreak in a high school 10 days after schools' reopening, Israel, May 2020.

On 13 March 2020, Israel's government declared closure of all schools. Schools fully reopened on 17 May 2020. Ten days later, a major outbreak of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) occurred in a high school.