Why animals construct helical burrows: Construction vs. post-construction benefits.

The extended phenotype of helical burrowing behavior in animals has evolved independently many times since the Cambrian explosion (~540 million years ago [MYA]). A number of hypotheses have been proposed to explain the evolution of helical burrowing in certain taxa, but no study has searched for a general explanation encompassing all taxa. We reviewed helical burrowing in both extant and extinct animals and from the trace fossil record and compiled 10 hypotheses for why animals construct helical burrows, including our own ideas.

Geographic variation in incubation temperatures promoting viable offspring production in broadly co-distributed turtles.

Organisms whose early life stages are environmentally sensitive produce offspring within a relatively narrow range of suitable abiotic conditions. In reptiles, development rate and survival are often maximized if incubation temperatures remain under 31°C, though this upper bound may vary within and among species. We addressed this expectation by comparing responses to egg incubation at 30°C versus 33°C in congeneric turtle species pairs with broad syntopic geographic distributions.

Dosimetric impact of rotational errors in trigeminal neuralgia radiosurgery using CyberKnife.

Purpose: Trigeminal neuralgia (TN) can be treated on the CyberKnife system using two different treatment delivery paths: the general-purpose full path corrects small rotations, while the dedicated trigeminal path improves dose fall-off but does not allow rotational corrections. The study evaluates the impact of uncorrected rotations on brainstem dose and the length of CN5 (denoted as L) covered by the prescription dose.

Methods And Materials: A proposed model estimates the delivered dose considering translational and rotational delivery errors for TN treatments on the CyberKnife system.

Ablative vs. Non-Ablative Radiotherapy in Palliating Locally Advanced Pancreatic Cancer: A Single Institution Experience and a Systematic Review of the Literature.

We studied the dose-local control (LC) relationship in ablative vs. non-ablative radiotherapy in a non-radical treatment setting of "locally advanced pancreatic cancer (LAPC)" by comparing our patients (n = 89) treated with SBRT on the CyberKnife unit vs. conventional radiation between January 2005 and January 2021, and by reviewing the literature.

The evolution of sociality and the polyvagal theory.

The polyvagal theory (PT), offered by Porges (2021), proposes that the autonomic nervous system (ANS) was repurposed in mammals, via a "second vagal nerve", to suppress defensive strategies and support the expression of sociality. Three critical assumptions of this theory are that (1) the transition of the ANS was associated with the evolution of 'social' mammals from 'asocial' reptiles; (2) the transition enabled mammals, unlike their reptilian ancestors, to derive a biological benefit from social interactions; and (3) the transition forces a less parsimonious explanation (convergence) for the evolution of social behavior in birds and mammals, since birds evolved from a reptilian lineage. Two recently published reviews, however, provided compelling evidence that the social-asocial dichotomy is overly simplistic, neglects the diversity of vertebrate social systems, impedes our understanding of the evolution of social behavior, and perpetuates the erroneous belief that one group-non-avian reptiles-is incapable of complex social behavior.

Estimating the population at high risk for tuberculosis through household exposure in high-incidence countries: a model-based analysis.

Background: Household contacts of people with pulmonary tuberculosis (TB) have greater risk of developing TB. Recent guidelines conditionally recommended TB preventive treatment (TPT) for household contacts of any age living in TB high-incidence countries, expanding earlier guidance to provide TPT to household contacts under five. The all-age population of household contacts has not been estimated.

In the post-COVID-19 era, is the illegal wildlife trade the most serious form of trafficking?

Despite the immense impact of wildlife trafficking, comparisons of the profits, costs, and seriousness of crime consistently rank wildlife trafficking lower relative to human trafficking, drug trafficking and weapons trafficking. Using the published literature and current events, we make the case, when properly viewed within the context of COVID-19 and other zoonotic diseases transmitted from wildlife, that wildlife trafficking is the most costly and perhaps the most serious form of trafficking. Our synthesis should raise awareness of the seriousness of wildlife trafficking for humans, thereby inducing strategic policy decisions that boost criminal justice initiatives and resources to combat wildlife trafficking.

Optimal cooling rates for sperm cryopreservation in a threatened lizard conform to two-factor hypothesis of cryo-injury.

Assisted reproductive technologies provide important tools for wildlife conservation but have rarely been developed for reptiles. A critical step in developing cryopreservation protocols is establishing optimal cooling rates for cell survival. The two-factor hypothesis explaining cryoinjury to cells originates from an inverted 'U' shape of recovery curves generated in many cell types thawed after cryopreservation, due to cell recovery declining at cooling rates either side of a single optimum.

Stereotactic radiosurgery optimization with hippocampal-sparing in patients treated for brain metastases.

Background And Purpose: Cranial irradiation is associated with significant neurocognitive sequelae, secondary to radiation-induced damage to hippocampal cells. It has been shown that hippocampal-sparing (HS) leads to modest benefit in neurocognitive function in patients with brain metastases, but further improvement is possible. We hypothesized that improved benefits could be seen using HS in patients treated with stereotactic radiation (HS-SRS).

International Pediatric Otolaryngology Group (IPOG) consensus recommendations: Management of suprastomal collapse in the pediatric population.

Introduction: Suprastomal Collapse (SuStCo) is a common complication of prolonged tracheostomy in children. There is a paucity of literature on this subject, especially regarding how to manage significant suprastomal collapse that prevents safe decannulation.

Objective: Provide a definition, classification system, and recommend management options for significant suprastomal collapse in children with tracheostomy.

Plasticity in nest site choice behavior in response to hydric conditions in a reptile.

Natural selection is expected to select for and maintain maternal behaviors associated with choosing a nest site that promotes successful hatching of offspring, especially in animals that do not exhibit parental care such as reptiles. In contrast to temperature effects, we know little about how soil moisture contributes to successful hatching and particularly how it shapes nest site choice behavior in nature. The recent revelation of exceptionally deep nesting in lizards under extreme dry conditions underscored the potential for the hydric environment in shaping the evolution of nest site choice.

Unresectable Foramen Magnum Meningioma Treated With CyberKnife Robotic Stereotactic Radiosurgery.

Meningiomas are tumors that originate from the meningeal or dural cover of the brain and are the most common primary benign brain tumors. Currently, the accepted management of these tumors is attempted total surgical excision when technically possible and associated with an acceptable risk. However, radiation therapy has been shown to provide excellent local control when used either as an adjunct to surgery or as a primary treatment.

A model protocol for the cryopreservation and recovery of motile lizard sperm using the phosphodiesterase inhibitor caffeine.

Reproductive technologies such as genome storage and assisted reproduction have a significant role to play in ending or reversing species extinctions. However, such technologies for non-model organisms (i.e.

FS118, a Bispecific Antibody Targeting LAG-3 and PD-L1, Enhances T-Cell Activation Resulting in Potent Antitumor Activity.

Purpose: Although programmed death-ligand 1 (PD-L1) antibody-based therapy has improved the outcome of patients with cancer, acquired resistance to these treatments limits their clinical efficacy. FS118 is a novel bispecific, tetravalent antibody (mAb) against human lymphocyte activation gene-3 (LAG-3) and PD-L1 with the potential to reinvigorate exhausted immune cells and overcome resistance mechanisms to PD-L1 blockade. Here, using FS118 and a murine surrogate, we characterized the activity and report a novel mechanism of action of this bispecific antibody.

The evolution of crocodilian nesting ecology and behavior.

Crocodilians comprise an ancient and successful lineage of archosaurs that repeatedly raises questions on how they survived a mass extinction and remained relatively unchanged for ~100 million years. Was their success due to the change-resistant retention of a specific set of traits over time (phylogenetic conservatism) or due to flexible, generalist capabilities (e.g.

The Genetic and Molecular Determinants of Juvenile Nasopharyngeal Angiofibroma: A Systematic Review.

Objective: Juvenile nasopharyngeal angiofibroma (JNA) is a rare vascular tumor of unknown etiology. Studies investigating the molecular and genetic determinants of JNA are limited by small sample size and inconsistent approaches. The purpose of this study is to examine all eligible JNA studies in aggregate, applying qualitative analysis to highlight areas of particular relevance, including potential targets for therapeutic intervention.

Nasal foreign bodies in the paediatric emergency department.

Background: Nasal foreign body(-ies) (FB) cause local irritation, inflammation, and mucosal erosion and carry a potential risk of aspiration. The aim is to describe the management of nasal FBs in our Emergency Department (ED).

Method: A retrospective study of 100 sequential suspected nasal FB presentations to a tertiary paediatric ED.

Novel habitat causes a shift to diurnal activity in a nocturnal species.

Plastic responses may allow individuals to survive and reproduce in novel environments, and can facilitate the establishment of viable populations. But can novel environments reveal plasticity by causing a shift in a behavior as fundamental and conspicuous as daily activity? We studied daily activity times near the invasion front of the cane toad (Rhinella marina), an invasive species that has colonized much of northern Australia. Cane toads in Australia are nocturnal, probably because diurnal activity would subject them to intolerably hot and dry conditions in the tropical savannah during the dry season.

Generation of Fcabs targeting human and murine LAG-3 as building blocks for novel bispecific antibody therapeutics.

The immunoglobulin superfamily protein lymphocyte-activation gene 3 (LAG-3) participates in immune suppression and has been identified as a suitable target for cancer therapies. In order to generate bispecific antibodies targeting LAG-3, Fcabs (Fc-region with antigen binding) targeting human and murine LAG-3 were generated from phage libraries. These Fcabs bind to LAG-3, inhibiting its interaction with MHC class II, and induce IL-2 production in a T cell assay.

Claw morphometrics in monitor lizards: Variable substrate and habitat use correlate to shape diversity within a predator guild.

Numerous studies investigate morphology in the context of habitat, and lizards have received particular attention. Substrate usage is often reflected in the morphology of characters associated with locomotion, and, as a result, claws have become well-studied ecomorphological traits linking the two. The Kimberley predator guild of Western Australia consists of 10 sympatric varanid species.

Reducing errors in prostate tracking with an improved fiducial implantation protocol for CyberKnife based stereotactic body radiotherapy (SBRT).

Purpose: Ultra-hypofractionated radiotherapy with SBRT is an established technique for treating localized prostate cancer. CyberKnife based SBRT requires implantation of fiducial markers for soft tissue target tracking by the orthogonal KV X-ray imaging system. The spatial distribution of fiducial markers must allow accurate calculation of a 3D transformation that describes the position of the prostate within the reference frame of the planning CT scan.