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The DPF plesiosaurian fossils were recovered from both estuarine/bay and fluvial palaeochannel sediments. The holotype skeleton represents an osteologically mature individual with an estimated body length of around 5 m, although the largest referred DPF elasmosaurid might have been closer to 7 m, which is considerably larger than other plesiosaurians reported from non-marine deposits. This suggests small-body lengths relative to typical elasmosaurids from marine settings, but is consistent with other plesiosaurians recovered from non-marine sediments. The identification of a distinct elasmosaurid taxon in the DPF might be evidence of niche-partitioning among the predominantly oceanic members of the ubiquitous plesiosaurian clade.The freshwater pulmonate snail Planorbella trivolvis is a common species in various bodies of water but is not native to China. Planorbella trivolvis usually live on diets with high fiber content, such as water grasses, algae and fallen leaves. These snails can attach to the wall of a water tank or to water grass and can be transported overseas to China through the ornamental fish trade. There are few studies investigating the intestinal microbiota of freshwater snails. In this study, using culture-independent molecular analysis, we assessed for the first time the complexity of bacterial communities in the intestines of reared snails. The intestinal microbiota in the snails fed different diets, that is, herbivorous feed (HV) with high cellulose and non-herbivorous feed (NHV) with low cellulose, were analyzed by Illumina sequencing. The results showed that the NHV-based diet significantly increased the body mass, shell diameter and specific growth rate of the snails after 60 days of rearing (P less then 0.05ed higher lignocellulose enzyme activity than did the NHV snails. selleck chemical This study represents a first step in characterizing the gut microbiota of the freshwater snail. Most of these microbes can process plant biomass and digest cellulose and lignocellulose, and the enzymes of these bacteria may have potential biotechnological applications in a variety of industrial processes.

Replacement of vitamin D (VD) among patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) before viral eradication has demonstrated a protective effect on serum markers associated with hepatic fibrogenesis. We therefore hypothesized that VD may facilitate further fibrosis amelioration following curative treatment with direct-acting antivirals (DAA).

This study was a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial conducted between February 2018 and August 2018. Patients with CHC and VD deficiency were randomized in a 11 ratio to either receive ergicalciferol or placebo over 6 weeks. Biochemical analysis indicators, including 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25(OH)D), fibrogenic markers [(transforming growth factor beta 1 (TGF-

1) and tissue inhibitors of matrix metalloproteinases 1 (TIMP-1)], and fibrolytic markers [matrix metalloproteinase 9 (MMP-9) and amino terminal type III procollagen peptide (P3NP)], were assessed at baseline and at 6 weeks. Serum 25(OH)D was analyzed by a chemiluminescence immunoassay. Serum hepatic fibeffect of VD supplementation on hepatic fibrosis regression.

Short-term VD supplementation after DAA treatment in patients with CHC does not improve serum fibrogenesis markers and may not expedite the residual liver fibrosis healing process. Future studies are warranted to evaluate the long-term effect of VD supplementation on hepatic fibrosis regression.

The use of consumer-grade electroencephalography (EEG) systems for research purposes has become more prevalent. In event-related potential (ERP) research, it is critical that these systems have precise and accurate timing. The aim of the current study was to investigate the timing reliability of event-marking solutions used with Emotiv commercial EEG systems.

We conducted three experiments. In Experiment 1 we established a jitter threshold (i.e. the point at which jitter made an event-marking method unreliable). To do this, we introduced statistical noise to the temporal position of event-marks of a pre-existing ERP dataset (recorded with a research-grade system, Neuroscan SynAmps

at 1,000 Hz using parallel-port event-marking) and calculated the level at which the waveform peaks differed statistically from the original waveform. In Experiment 2 we established a method to identify ‘true’ events (i.e. when an event

appear in the EEG data). We did this by inserting 1,000 events into Neuroscan data usingquivalent to a research-standard system. Though all systems exhibited some level of inaccuracy, researchers could easily account for these during data processing.The Eastern Tropical Pacific (ETP) is one of the most isolated and least studied regions in the world. This particularly applies to the coast of El Salvador, where the only reef between Guatemala and Nicaragua, called Los Cóbanos reef, is located. There is very little published information about the reef’s biodiversity, and to our knowledge, no research on its ecology and responses to anthropogenic impacts, such as overfishing, has been conducted. The present study, therefore, described the benthic community of Los Cóbanos reef, El Salvador, using the Line-Point-Intercept-Transect method and investigated changes in the benthic community following the exclusion of piscine macroherbivores over a period of seven weeks. Results showed high benthic algae cover (up to 98%), dominated by turf and green algae, and low coral cover (0-4%). Porites lobata was the only hermatypic coral species found during the surveys. Surprisingly, crustose coralline algae (CCA) showed a remarkable total cover increase by 58%, while turactions.This is the first revision in more than 100 years of the African genus Pseudohydrosme, formerly considered endemic to Gabon. Closely related to Anchomanes, Pseudohydrosme is distinct from Anchomanes because of its 2-3-locular ovary (vs. unilocular), peduncle concealed by cataphylls at anthesis and far shorter than the spathe (vs. exposed, far exceeding the spathe), stipitate fruits and viviparous (asexually reproductive) roots (vs. sessile, roots non-viviparous), lack of laticifers (vs. laticifers present) and differences in spadix spathe proportions and presentation. However, it is possible that a well sampled molecular phylogenetic analysis might show that one of these genera is nested inside the other. In this case the synonymisation of Pseudohydrosme will be required. Three species, one new to science, are recognised, in two sections. Although doubt has previously been cast on the value of recognising Pseudohydrosme buettneri, of Gabon, it is here accepted and maintained as a distinct species in the monotypic section, Zyganthera.