Protective effects of Mycobacterium vaccae ATCC 15483 against "Western"-style diet-induced weight gain and visceral adiposity in adolescent male mice.

The prevalence of noncommunicable inflammatory disease is increasing in modern urban societies, posing significant challenges to public health. Novel prevention and therapeutic strategies are needed to effectively deal with this issue. One promising approach is leveraging microorganisms such as Mycobacterium vaccae ATCC 15483, known for its anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory, and stress-resilience properties.

A new species in the Cyrtodactylus intermedius (Squamata: Gekkonidae) group from an isolated limestone karst formation in southwestern Cambodia.

The gekkonid lizard Cyrtodactylus intermedius was formerly considered to be a single widespread species in hilly areas across eastern Thailand through southern Vietnam but has recently been partitioned into a complex of 12 nominal species across its range. A population belonging to the C. intermedius group was recently found in an isolated limestone karst block in Kampot Province in southwestern Cambodia, part of which lies within the recently designated Phnom Preah Kuhear Loung Natural Heritage Site.

Review of the Slender Geckos (Squamata: Gekkonidae: Hemiphyllodactylus) of the Cardamom Mountains of southwestern Cambodia, with descriptions of two new species and one country record.

The gekkonid lizard genus Hemiphyllodactylus contains small, secretive species that are often overlooked in their habitats. Recent molecular and morphological analyses have resulted in the descriptions of numerous new species of Hemiphyllodactylus in mainland Southeast Asia and southern China, many of which were historically hidden within the geographically widespread taxon H. yunnanensis (Boulenger, 1903).

Determining the minimal important change of the recap of atopic eczema (RECAP) instrument in clinical trials.

Background: The Recap of atopic eczema (RECAP) is a patient-reported instrument designed to assess eczema control. There is a lack of evidence on the interpretability of change scores in clinical trials.

Objectives: To calculate the smallest detectable change (SDC) in RECAP and estimate the minimal important change (MIC) for RECAP using various calculation methods in three eczema clinical trial datasets.

A complex intervention to reduce antibiotic prescribing in rural China: a cluster randomised controlled trial.

Background: Excessive use of antibiotics is a widespread problem. We aim to evaluate the efficacy of a multifaceted intervention for reducing antibiotic use in patients with respiratory tract infections (RTIs).

Methods: In this two-arm cluster randomized controlled trial, we enrolled patients aged 18+ with symptomatic RTIs at 40 township health centers (THCs) selected from 10 counties in Anhui, China.

Active surveillance for prostate cancer is a shared journey: the dyadic perspective.

Active surveillance for prostate cancer monitors disease progression, with a view to actively treat only if progression is evident. Living with an untreated cancer can negatively impact psychological wellbeing. Partners can influence decisions to convert to active treatment in the absence of disease progression, it is, therefore, important to consider partner reactions and responses to prostate cancer treatment options.

Unravelling taphono-myths. First large-scale study of histotaphonomic changes and diagenesis in bone from modern surface depositions.

The use of diagenetic alterations in bone microstructure ('histotaphonomy') as indicators of funerary treatment in the past and for post-mortem interval calculations in forensic cases has received increasing attention in the last decade. Studies have used histological changes to conclude in-situ decomposition, mummification, infanticide and post-mortem interval. There has been very little attempt to experimentally validate the links between decomposition, depositional conditions, time-since-death and microscopic changes in human bone so that meaningful interpretations of archaeological and forensic observations can be made.

A new species of karst-dwelling bent-toed gecko of the group (Squamata, Gekkonidae) from eastern Thailand and the phylogenetic placement of .

A new karst-dwelling bent-toed gecko of the group is described from Khlong Hat District, Sa Kaeo Province, eastern Thailand, based on an integrative taxonomic analysis of genetic data and morphological characteristics. Phylogenetic analyses using the mitochondrial NADH dehydrogenase subunit 2 (ND2) gene revealed that topotypes of were sister to a clade containing from Cambodia, an unnamed lineage from Sakaerat Biosphere Reserve in Nakhon Ratchasima Province, Thailand, and the Khlong Hat lineage described here as Multivariate analyses of morphometric and meristic characters showed that is morphologically distinct from all other species in the group by having the combination of SVL 76.5-82.

The postcranial anatomy of (Therapsida: Therocephalia) from the Karoo Basin of South Africa.

Therocephalia are an important clade of non-mammalian therapsids that evolved a diverse array of morphotypes and body sizes throughout their evolutionary history. The postcranial anatomy of therocephalians has largely been overlooked, but remains important towards understanding aspects of their palaeobiology and phylogenetic relationships. Here, we provide the first postcranial description of the large akidnognathid eutherocephalian by examining multiple specimens from fossil collections in South Africa.

Nasal sprays and behavioural interventions compared with usual care for acute respiratory illness in primary care: a randomised, controlled, open-label, parallel-group trial.

Background: A small amount of evidence suggests that nasal sprays, or physical activity and stress management, could shorten the duration of respiratory infections. This study aimed to assess the effect of nasal sprays or a behavioural intervention promoting physical activity and stress management on respiratory illnesses, compared with usual care.

Methods: This randomised, controlled, open-label, parallel-group trial was done at 332 general practitioner practices in the UK.

Trajectories in long-term condition accumulation and mortality in older adults: a group-based trajectory modelling approach using the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing.

Objectives: To classify older adults into clusters based on accumulating long-term conditions (LTC) as trajectories, characterise clusters and quantify their associations with all-cause mortality.

Design: We conducted a longitudinal study using the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing over 9 years (n=15 091 aged 50 years and older). Group-based trajectory modelling was used to classify people into clusters based on accumulating LTC over time.

How the 1963 Equal Pay Act and 1964 Civil Rights Act Shaped the Gender Gap in Pay.

In the 1960s, two landmark statutes-the Equal Pay and Civil Rights Acts-targeted the long-standing practice of employment discrimination against U.S. women.

Affordability and adherence gains for Medicare Part D low-income subsidy recipients when low-income subsidy benefits expanded in 2024.

Background: The lowest-income beneficiaries enrolled in the Medicare Part D prescription drug program receive "full subsidies" that waive the premium and deductible and impose minimal copayments. Those with slightly higher incomes and assets may be eligible for "partial subsidies." Prior to 2024, individuals receiving partial subsidies faced reduced Part D premiums and deductibles and paid 15% coinsurance.

Internet and Telephone Support for Discontinuing Long-Term Antidepressants: The REDUCE Cluster Randomized Trial.

Importance: There is significant concern regarding increasing long-term antidepressant treatment for depression beyond an evidence-based duration.

Objective: To determine whether adding internet and telephone support to a family practitioner review to consider discontinuing long-term antidepressant treatment is safe and more effective than a practitioner review alone.

Design, Setting, And Participants: In this cluster randomized clinical trial, 131 UK family practices were randomized between December 1, 2018, and March 31, 2022, with remote computerized allocation and 12 months of follow-up.

Adjustment of Regional Cortical Thickness Measures for Global Cortical Thickness Obscures Deficits Across the Schizophrenia Spectrum: A Cautionary Note About Normative Modeling of Brain Imaging Data.

Recent neuroimaging studies and publicly disseminated analytic tools suggest that regional morphometric analyses covary for global thickness. We empirically demonstrated that this statistical approach severely underestimates regional thickness dysmorphology in psychiatric disorders. Study 1 included 90 healthy control participants, 51 participants at clinical high risk for psychosis, and 78 participants with early-illness schizophrenia.

Supporting self-management of low back pain with an internet intervention with and without telephone support in primary care (SupportBack 2): a randomised controlled trial of clinical and cost-effectiveness.

Background: Low back pain is prevalent and a leading cause of disability. We aimed to determine the clinical and cost-effectiveness of an accessible, scalable internet intervention for supporting behavioural self-management (SupportBack).

Methods: Participants in UK primary care with low back pain without serious spinal pathology were randomly assigned 1:1:1 using computer algorithms stratified by disability level and telephone-support centre to usual care, usual care and SupportBack, or usual care and SupportBack with physiotherapist telephone-support (three brief calls).

Brain Age Gap in Early Illness Schizophrenia and the Clinical High-Risk Syndrome: Associations With Experiential Negative Symptoms and Conversion to Psychosis.

Background And Hypothesis: Brain development/aging is not uniform across individuals, spawning efforts to characterize brain age from a biological perspective to model the effects of disease and maladaptive life processes on the brain. The brain age gap represents the discrepancy between estimated brain biological age and chronological age (in this case, based on structural magnetic resonance imaging, MRI). Structural MRI studies report an increased brain age gap (biological age > chronological age) in schizophrenia, with a greater brain age gap related to greater negative symptom severity.

Morphological Species Delimitation in The Western Pond Turtle (): Can Machine Learning Methods Aid in Cryptic Species Identification?

As the discovery of cryptic species has increased in frequency, there has been an interest in whether geometric morphometric data can detect fine-scale patterns of variation that can be used to morphologically diagnose such species. We used a combination of geometric morphometric data and an ensemble of five supervised machine learning methods (MLMs) to investigate whether plastron shape can differentiate two putative cryptic turtle species, and has been the focus of considerable research due to its biogeographic distribution and conservation status. Despite this work, reliable morphological diagnoses for its two species are still lacking.