For a recent publication, the authors identified a seven-region model of mammal family distribution patterns, in which each unit contributes equally to the system's overall statistical characteristics of diversity, despite its individual units having measurably different levels of diversity and endemism. This systemization presents a highly efficient descriptive model that can possibly be interpreted as a form of natural classification. An additional analysis of the same mode is described here, in which the seven-region model of the distribution of mammal families' spatial affinities is shown to closely approach a most-probable-state arrangement, as assessed through combinatorics, raising some important questions about how macroevolutionary patterns might self-organize spatially.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBiological evolution is generally regarded as a stochastic or probabilistic process, per the ideas of Darwin in the nineteenth century. Even if this is true at the meso-scale, it still may, however, be impacted by overarching constraints that we have not yet identified. In this paper, we revisit the subject of mammal faunal regions with a mind to explore a potential kind of macroevolutionary influence.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFSaxagliptin and dapagliflozin are individually indicated as an adjunct to diet and exercise to improve glycemic control in adults with type 2 diabetes mellitus. The bioequivalence of saxagliptin/dapagliflozin 2.5/5 mg and 5/10 mg fixed-dose combination (FDC) tablets compared with coadministration of the individual tablets and the food effect on both strengths of saxagliptin/dapagliflozin FDCs were evaluated in this open-label, randomized, single-dose crossover study.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFConventional wisdom has had it that the naturalist Alfred Russel Wallace and his colleague Henry Walter Bates journeyed to the Amazon in 1848 with two intentions in mind: to collect natural history specimens, and to consider evidential materials that might reveal the causal basis of organic evolution. This understanding has been questioned recently by the historian John van Wyhe, who points out that with regard to the second matter, at least, there appears to be no evidence of a "smoking gun" variety proving it so. In the present essay the circumstances of Wallace's interest in the matter are reviewed, and van Wyhe is taken to task with alternate explanations for the facts he introduces in his argument.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFRecent debates on the mailing date of Alfred Russel Wallace's 'Ternate essay' to Charles Darwin in the spring of 1858 have ignored certain details that, once taken into account, alter the matter considerably. Here, a closer look is taken at the critical question of whether Wallace's manuscript-accompanying letter represented a reply to the Darwin letter that arrived in Ternate on 9 March; it is concluded that it very probably did not.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFAlfred Russel Wallace (1823-1913) is an important figure in the history of science, but there remain many questions about the nature of his world view, and how it developed. Here, Wallace's appreciation of the role of final causes in evolution is linked to some of its probable origins, with an emphasis on the influence of Alexander von Humboldt (1769-1859). The question is then asked whether a final causes-based scientific agenda might be possible, and answered by drawing attention to two current efforts in that direction by Adrian Bejan, and by the author.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFIn this analysis natural systems are posed to subsystemize in a manner facilitating both structured information/energy sharing and an entropy maximization process projecting a three-dimensional, spatial, outcome. Numerical simulations were first carried out to determine whether n × n input-output matrices could, once entropy-maximized, project a three-dimensional Euclidean metric. Only 4 × 4 matrices could; a small proportion passed the test.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFBackground And Objectives: As compared with individual tablets, saxagliptin/metformin extended-release (XR) fixed-dose combination (FDC) tablets offer potential for increased patient compliance with the convenience of once-daily dosing. Two bioequivalence studies assessed the fed-state bioequivalence of saxagliptin/metformin XR 5 mg/500 mg FDC (study 1) and saxagliptin/metformin XR 5 mg/1000 mg FDC (study 2) relative to the same dosage strengths of individual component tablets administered concurrently. The effect of food on saxagliptin and metformin pharmacokinetics from the saxagliptin/metformin XR 5 mg/500 mg FDC and their steady-state pharmacokinetics from the saxagliptin/metformin XR 5 mg/1000 mg were also investigated.
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