Frequency-dependent assembly processes determine the coexistence and relative abundance of tropical plant species.

Testing the extent to which ecological communities are structured by deterministic (niche-based) assembly processes, resulting in predictable species abundance and composition, is a fundamental goal of ecology. Here we use a 10-year dataset of 55,156 lianas comprising 86 species in an old-growth tropical forest in Panama to test whether community assembly is consistent with niche-based assembly processes. We find that species diversity and community composition was maintained because species conformed to four general requirements of coexistence theory: (1) species have negative conspecific frequency-dependent feedback that control their local population size; (2) species have a stronger negative effect on their own population than that of heterospecifics; (3) the equilibrium frequencies of species correspond to their relative abundance; and (4) species have positive invasibility.

Decision analysis of Integrated Pest Management: A case study on invasive sea lamprey in the Great Lakes Basin.

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) provides a powerful framework for addressing threats to human well-being caused by nuisance species including invasives. We examined the hypothesis that adaptive management could erode barriers to IPM implementation by developing a decision-analytic adaptive management framework for invasive sea lamprey (Petromyzon marinus) IPM in the Laurentian Great Lakes of North America. The framework addressed objectives associated with coordinating multiple sea lamprey control actions at the regional scale and objectives associated with internal validity of control actions.

Cadaveric Diagnostic Study of Subtle Syndesmotic Instability Using a 3-Dimensional Weight-Bearing CT Distance Mapping Algorithm.

Background: The diagnosis of syndesmotic instability is challenging, and chronically unstable injuries can potentially lead to ankle arthritic degeneration. The objective of this cadaveric study was to utilize a 3-dimensional (3D) weight-bearing computed tomography (WBCT) distance mapping algorithm for the detection of subtle syndesmotic instability, induced by complete syndesmotic ligament sectioning and stressed by isolated axial load. We hypothesized that this algorithm would accurately detect subtle syndesmotic instability.

Ballroom Dancing for People With Multiple Sclerosis: Perceptions of the Experience.

Background: Multiple sclerosis (MS) encompasses various symptoms, including fatigue, pain, spasticity, motor dysfunction, postural instability, sexual and bladder dysfunction, and cognitive impairment. Despite the documented benefits of exercise for alleviating MS symptoms, adherence to physical activity guidelines often is low, resulting in sedentary lifestyles among people with MS. This qualitative study explores the experiences of individuals with MS who participated in a ballroom dance intervention.

Long-term assessment of skeletal and dental asymmetry after conventional and mini-implant-assisted rapid palatal expansion.

Introduction: This study aimed to evaluate the short-term and long-term skeletal and dental asymmetry with miniscrew-assisted rapid palatal expansion (MARPE), rapid palatal expansion (RPE), and control group using cone-beam computed tomography (CBCT) analysis.

Methods: A total of 180 CBCT scans were analyzed for 60 patients divided into 3 groups: MARPE (mean age 13.7 ± 1.

PFAS in landfill leachate: Practical considerations for treatment and characterization.

Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) are widely used in consumer products and are particularly high in landfill leachate. The practice of sending leachate to wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) is an issue for utilities that have biosolids land application limits based on PFAS concentrations. Moreover, landfills may face their own effluent limit guidelines for PFAS.

The Influence of a Deep Learning Tool on the Performance of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiologists in the Detection of Apical Radiolucencies.

Title: The Influence of a Deep Learning Tool on the Performance of Oral and Maxillofacial Radiologists in the Detection of Apical Radiolucencies.

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the impact of a deep learning model on oral radiologists' ability to detect periapical radiolucencies on periapical radiographs. The secondary objective was to conduct a regression analysis to evaluate the effects of years of experience, time to diagnose, and specialty.

Whole body angular momentum characterizes reactive balance adaptations and perturbation intensity.

Identifying measures which accurately quantify reactive balance adaptation during walking is essential to understand how emerging perturbation-based gait paradigms impact stability over the course of an intervention. These perturbation paradigms have shown promise in reducing falls for numerous clinical populations, however tracking progress in objective terms throughout an intervention remains challenging. Whole body angular momentum (H) may be particularly suited to detect subtle adaptations in the reactive balance response and is applicable within numerous perturbation environments.

Real-World and Clinical Trial Validation of a Deep Learning Radiomic Biomarker for PD-(L)1 Immune Checkpoint Inhibitor Response in Advanced Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer.

Purpose: This study developed and validated a novel deep learning radiomic biomarker to estimate response to immune checkpoint inhibitor (ICI) therapy in advanced non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) using real-world data (RWD) and clinical trial data.

Materials And Methods: Retrospective RWD of 1,829 patients with advanced NSCLC treated with PD-(L)1 ICIs were collected from 10 academic and community institutions in the United States and Europe. The RWD included data sets for discovery (Data Set A-Discovery, n = 1,173) and independent test (Data Set B, n = 458).

Intrinsic and environmental drivers of pairwise cohesion in wild Canis social groups.

Animals within social groups respond to costs and benefits of sociality by adjusting the proportion of time they spend in close proximity to other individuals in the group (cohesion). Variation in cohesion between individuals, in turn, shapes important group-level processes such as subgroup formation and fission-fusion dynamics. Although critical to animal sociality, a comprehensive understanding of the factors influencing cohesion remains a gap in our knowledge of cooperative behavior in animals.

Laser-driven betatron x rays for high-throughput imaging of additively manufactured materials.

Betatron x rays from a laser wakefield accelerator provide a new avenue for high-resolution, high-throughput radiography of solid materials. Here, we demonstrate the optimization of betatron x rays for three-dimensional tomography of defects in additively manufactured (AM) alloys at a repetition rate of 2.5 Hz.

The effective multiplicity of infection for HCMV depends on the activity of the cellular 20S proteasome.

Human cytomegalovirus (HCMV) is a betaherpesvirus capable of infecting numerous cell types and persisting throughout an infected individual's life. Disease usually occurs in individuals with compromised or underdeveloped immune systems. Several antivirals exist but have limitations relating to toxicity and resistance.

Does Social Media Increase Perioperative Anxiety in Patients Undergoing Impacted Third Molar Surgery?

Background: In anticipation of third molar surgery, patients may experience increased anxiety. Patients frequently access social media platforms and view content about surgical treatments.

Purpose: The study purpose was to measure the level of perioperative anxiety of patients scheduled for third molar surgery exposed to social media and identify factors associated with patient anxiety.

Effect of fathers in Preemie Prep for Parents (P3) program on couple's preterm birth preparedness.

Objective: Evaluate the effect of fathers' participation in the Preemie Prep for Parents (P3) program on maternal learning and fathers' preterm birth knowledge.

Methods: Mothers with preterm birth predisposing medical condition(s) enrolled with or without the baby's father and were randomized to the P3 intervention (text-messages linking to animated videos) or control (patient education webpages). Parent Prematurity Knowledge Questionnaire assessed knowledge, including unmarried fathers' legal neonatal decision-making ability.

Two new freshwater crab species from the Eastern Arc Mountains, Tanzania, East Africa (Brachyura: Potamoidea: Potamonautidae).

This work focuses on two new freshwater crab species from Tanzania, East Africa: Arcopotamonautes parekeeae n. sp. and A.

A new species of freshwater crab from the East Usambara Mountains of Tanzania, East Africa, with a redescription of Telphusa infravallata Hilgendorf, 1898 (Brachyura: Potamoidea: Potamonautidae).

This work describes a new species of freshwater crab from the East Usambara Mountains of Tanzania from previously unidentified museum material. A second species from these mountains, T. infravallata Hilgendorf, 1898, is redescribed based on reexamination of the type material, and its gonopods and mandible are illustrated for the first time.

Identifying Medical Concepts and Semantic Types in Lay Vocabularies of Health Consumers Who are Concerned with Diabetes on Social Media Using the UMLS and NLP.

This study suggests a way to utilize the existing medical ontology and natural language processing techniques to extract major medical concepts from lay vocabularies of health consumers on social media and group them based on the defined semantic types in the ontology. Diabetes-related discussions on Tumblr was used to test the efficiency of SpaCy and the Markov-Viterbi algorithm to map lay medical terms to the defined medical concepts in the UMLS. The system discussed in this paper can better analyze free texts, take care of word ambiguity and extract the lifestyle indicators from the daily life discussions of diabetic people on Tumblr.

Efficacy of 3D-printed chitosan‑cerium oxide dressings coated with vancomycin-loaded alginate for chronic wounds management.

Multifunctional wound dressings with antibacterial and antioxidant properties hold significant promise for treating chronic wounds; however, achieving a balance of these characteristics while maintaining biocompatibility is challenging. To enhance this balance, this study focuses on the design and development of 3D-printed chitosan-matrix composite scaffolds, which are incorporated with varying amounts of cerium oxide nanoparticles (0, 1, 3, 5, and 7 wt%) and subsequently coated with a vancomycin-loaded alginate layer. The structure, antibiotic drug delivery kinetics, biodegradation, swelling, biocompatibility, antibacterial, antioxidant, and cell migration behaviors of the fabricated dressings were evaluated in-vitro.

Age-related differences in behavioral outcomes of bimanual functional motor tasks in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy: a scoping review.

Aim: The objective of this review is to determine age-related differences in behavioral outcomes of bimanual motor tasks in children and adolescents with cerebral palsy (CP).

Method: This review followed the 6-stage Joanna Briggs Institute methodology. The Embase, EBSCO CINAHL, and PubMed databases were searched on May 2024.

Reflecting on diagnosis: The Metacognitive Diagnostic Reasoning Model ©.

Background: Diagnostic reasoning is a complex cognitive process that requires intuitive, heuristic processing from knowledge and experience, as well as deliberate and reflective thinking. Evidence on interventions to improve diagnostic reasoning is inconsistent, in part because different terms and models are used to guide research.

Purpose: To present a model of the factors of diagnostic reasoning in Advanced Practice Registered Nurses (APRNs), based on a review of the literature supporting the Metacognitive Diagnostic Reasoning (MDR) Model © .

The novel estrogen receptor beta agonist EGX358 and genotype influence memory, vasomotor, and anxiety outcomes in an Alzheimer's mouse model.

Introduction: Alzheimer's disease (AD) prevalence and severity are associated with increased age, female sex, and apolipoprotein E4 (APOE4) genotype. Although estrogen therapy (ET) effectively reduces symptoms of menopause including hot flashes and anxiety, and can reduce dementia risk, it is associated with increased risks of breast and uterine cancer due to estrogen receptor alpha (ERα)-mediated increases in cancer cell proliferation. Because ERβ activation reduces this cell proliferation, selective targeting of ERβ may provide a safer method of improving memory and reducing hot flashes in menopausal women, including those with AD.