Phylogenetic positions of the genus Longgenacris and one of its members, i.e. L. rufiantennus are controversial. The species boundaries within both of L. rufiantennus+Fruhstorferiola tonkinensis and F. viridifemorata species groups are unclear. In this study, we explored the phylogenetic positions of the genus Longgenacris and the species L. rufiantennus and the relationships among F. viridifemorata group based on the 658-base fragment of the mitochondrial gene cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (COI) barcode and the complete sequences of the internal transcribed spacer regions (ITS1 and ITS2) of the nuclear ribosomal DNA. The phylogenies were reconstructed in maximum likelihood framework using IQ-TREE. K2P distances were used to assess the overlap range between intraspecific variation and interspecific divergence. Phylogenetic species concept and NJ tree, K2P distance, the statistical parsimony network as well as the generalized mixed Yule coalescent model (GMYC) were employed to delimitate the species boundaries in L. rufiantennus+F. tonkinensis and F. viridifemorata species groups. The results demonstrated that the genus Longgenacris should be placed in the subfamily Melanoplinae but not Catantopinae, and L. rufiantennus should be a member of the genus Fruhstorferiola but not Longgenacris. Species boundary delimitation confirmed the presence of oversplitting in L. rufiantennus+F. tonkinensis and F. viridifemorata species groups and suggested that each group should be treated as a single species.

Estimating the risk of pre-existing comorbidities on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) mortality may promote the importance of targeting populations at risk to improve survival. This systematic review and meta-analysis aimed to estimate the association of pre-existing comorbidities with COVID-19 mortality.

We searched MEDLINE, SCOPUS, OVID, and Cochrane Library databases, and medrxiv.org from December 1st, 2019, to July 9th, 2020. The outcome of interest was the risk of COVID-19 mortality in patients with and without pre-existing comorbidities. We analyzed 11 comorbidities cardiovascular diseases, hypertension, diabetes, congestive heart failure, cerebrovascular disease, chronic kidney disease, chronic liver disease, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, asthma, and HIV/AIDS. Two reviewers independently extracted data and assessed the risk of bias. All analyses were performed using random-effects models and heterogeneity was quantified.

Eleven pre-existing comorbidities from 25 studies were in, diabetes, congestive heart failure, chronic kidney disease and cancer have a greater risk of mortality compared to patients with COVID-19 without these comorbidities. Tailored infection prevention and treatment strategies targeting this high-risk population might improve survival.In addition to quantitative individual differences in working memory (WM) capacity, qualitative aspects, such as enhanced sensory modality (modality dominance), can characterize individual WM ability. This study aimed to examine the neurological basis underlying the individual modality dominance component of WM using functional near-infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS). To quantify the degree of individual WM modality dominance, 24 participants were required to find seven hidden targets and hold their spatial location and appearance order with vibrotactile or visual stimuli aids. In this searching task, eight participants demonstrated higher performance with the tactile condition (tactile-dominant) whereas sixteen demonstrated visual dominance. We then measured prefrontal activity by fNIRS during memorization of visual stimulus numbers while finger tapping as a cognitive-motor dual-task. Individual modality dominance significantly correlated with bilateral frontopolar and dorsolateral prefrontal activity changes over repeated fNIRS sessions. In particular, individuals with stronger visual dominance showed marked decreases in prefrontal area activity. These results suggest that distinct processing patterns in the prefrontal cortex reflect an individual’s qualitative WM characteristics. Considering the individual modality dominance underlying the prefrontal areas could enhance cognitive or motor performance, possibly by optimizing cognitive resources.

Levels of cortisol, melatonin, ghrelin, and leptin are highly correlated with circadian rhythmicity. The levels of these hormones are affected by sleep, feeding, and general behaviors, and fluctuate with light and dark cycles. During the fasting month of Ramadan, a shift to nighttime eating is expected to affect circadian rhythm hormones and, subsequently, the levels of melatonin, cortisol, ghrelin, and leptin. The present study aimed to examine the effect of diurnal intermittent fasting (DIF) during Ramadan on daytime levels of ghrelin, leptin, melatonin, and cortisol hormones in a group of overweight and obese subjects, and to determine how anthropometric, dietary, and lifestyle changes during the month of Ramadan correlate with these hormonal changes.

Fifty-seven overweight and obese male (40) and female (17) subjects were enrolled in this study. Anthropometric measurements, dietary intake, sleep duration, and hormonal levels of serum ghrelin, leptin, melatonin, and salivary cortisol were assessed one week before the start of Ramadan fasting and after 28 days of fasting at fixed times of the day (1100 am-100 pm).

At the end of Ramadan, serum levels of ghrelin, melatonin, and leptin significantly (P<0.001) decreased, while salivary cortisol did not change compared to the levels assessed in the pre-fasting state.

DIF during Ramadan significantly altered serum levels of ghrelin, melatonin, and serum leptin. Further, male sex and anthropometric variables were the most impacting factors on the tested four hormones. Further studies are needed to assess DIF’s impact on the circadian rhythmicity of overweight and obese fasting people.

DIF during Ramadan significantly altered serum levels of ghrelin, melatonin, and serum leptin. Further, male sex and anthropometric variables were the most impacting factors on the tested four hormones. Further studies are needed to assess DIF’s impact on the circadian rhythmicity of overweight and obese fasting people.Although popular culture describes them as mortal enemies, more and more often, dogs and cats live under the same roof. Does this make them best friends? Can sharing the same social and physical environment make them similar? This study compares the approaches of dogs and cats living in the same household have towards humans and other pets as perceived by the owner. Questionnaires collected from 1270 people owning both dog(s) and cat(s) were analysed. Most dogs and cats living together are playful with familiar humans (76.2%) but dogs have a more sociable approach towards strangers and conspecifics than cats (P less then 0.001). Moreover, the percentage of dogs that have a playful relationship with the owner (84.0%) was higher than cats (49.2%; P less then 0.001). Dogs and cats living together eat in different places and show different mutual interactions more dogs lick the cat (42.8%) and more cats ignore the dog (41.8%) than vice versa (P less then 0.001). However, most dogs and cats sleep at least occasionally (68.5%) and play together (62.4%; P less then 0.001). Although some body postures, such as the tail’s position, are interpreted differently by the two species, the greater proportions of dogs and cats show a relaxed response to several kinds of approaches of their roommate. Our questionnaire confirms the common beliefs about the sociability of the dog and the privacy of the cat, but this does not result in continuous internal struggles. Most cohabitations are peaceful. Moreover, it is true that they speak different languages, but they seem to understand each other well and interpret each other’s approaches in the right way. Thus, aspiring owners should not blindly believe popular assumptions, but both knowledge and respect for species-specific pet behaviours are essential to establish a balance in the household.Modeling the behavior of zoonotic pandemic threats is a key component of their control. Many emerging zoonoses, such as SARS, Nipah, and Hendra, mutated from their wild type while circulating in an intermediate host population, usually a domestic species, to become more transmissible among humans, and this transmission route will only become more likely as agriculture and trade intensifies around the world. Passage through an intermediate host enables many otherwise rare diseases to become better adapted to humans, and so understanding this process with accurate mathematical models is necessary to prevent epidemics of emerging zoonoses, guide policy interventions in public health, and predict the behavior of an epidemic. In this paper, we account for a zoonotic disease mutating in an intermediate host by introducing a new mathematical model for disease transmission among three species. We present a model of these disease dynamics, including the equilibria of the system and the basic reproductive number of the pathogen, finding that in the presence of biologically realistic interspecies transmission parameters, a zoonotic disease with the capacity to mutate in an intermediate host population can establish itself in humans even if its R0 in humans is less than 1. This result and model can be used to predict the behavior of any zoonosis with an intermediate host and assist efforts to protect public health.Although mass spectrometry-based plasma proteomics enables sensitive and large-scale discovery and validation of biomarkers for various diseases, its integrative application to hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) and cholangiocarcinoma (CCA) is not well investigated. Therefore, we analyzed albumin- and immunoglobulin G-depleted plasma samples from 148 and 60 patients with HCC and CCA, respectively, using liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. The algorithm used to measure the content of each protein was the percentage of exponentially modified protein abundance index. From 5320 proteins assayed in plasma, 53 and 25 biomarker candidates were identified for HCC and CCA, respectively. The abundance of six and two HCC markers particularly protruded in stage II and III, respectively, whereas plasma serine protease inhibitor was the sole marker the level of which steadily decreased with CCA progression. From a prognostic facet, we showed candidate markers and their cutoff levels for evaluating probability of tumor recurrence and patient survival period. Combination Kaplan-Meier models showed that HCC stage III or IV and both the content of alpha-2-HS-glycoprotein and apolipoprotein CIII less then 0.2% exhibited the poorest post-surgical recurrence-free and overall survivals. Furthermore, the content of afamin ≥0.2% played a significant role on the poor prognosis in patients with CCA. Our findings, taken together, characterized novel plasma biomarker signatures in dissecting tumor stages and post-surgical outcomes of HCC and CCA.Nosocomial infections caused by extensively drug-resistant (XDR) or Pan-Drug resistant (PDR) Acinetobacter (A.) baumannii have recently increased dramatically creating a medical challenge as therapeutic options became very limited. The aim of our study was to investigate the antibiotic-resistance profiles and evaluate the various combinations of ciprofloxacin (CIP) or levofloxacin (LEV) with antimicrobial agents and non-antimicrobial agents to combat antimicrobial resistance of XDR A. baumannii. A total of 100 (6.25%) A. baumannii clinical isolates were recovered from 1600 clinical specimens collected from hospitalized patients of two major university hospitals in Upper Egypt. Antimicrobial susceptibility tests were carried out according to CLSI guidelines. Antimicrobial susceptibility testing of the respective isolates showed a high percentage of bacterial resistance to 19 antimicrobial agents ranging from 76 to99%. However, a lower percentage of resistance was observed for only colistin (5%) and doxycycline (57%).