Raw Number Research Articles

Common Injuries Associated with Falls from Tree Stands in Iowa

Tree stand falls are a common injury among hunters. This study was designed to identify specific injury patterns and local and regional factors affecting access to and care for this unique trauma cohort in Iowa. The University of Iowa trauma registry was retrospectively queried from 2004 to 2014 for patients with a mechanism of injury of fall from tree stands. Data are presented as mean±SD, median, and range, or raw number and percentages as appropriate. Correlation analyses were performed using the Spearman coefficient. Fifty-three patients were identified. Age was 44±14 (17-78) y. Median fall height was 4.6 m (15 ft), ranging from 1.5 to 12 m (5 to 40 ft). Transport times varied from <1 h to >7 h. Hypothermia was observed in 6 patients (11%). Two patients (4%) tested positive for alcohol. Three patients (6%) tested positive for drugs. Soft tissue injuries (32 [60%]; ie, lacerations and abrasions) were the most common, followed by 30 spine fractures (57%, including 11 lumbar and 10 thoracic fractures), 16 other bone fractures (30%), and 11 rib fractures (21%). Twenty-two patients underwent surgery. Median hospital length of stay was 4 d, ranging from 0 to 20 d. Tree stand falls lead to significant injuries. Hypothermia represents a significant risk for these patients, and remote location resulted in long transportation time. Improper use or poor condition of safety equipment contributed to falls and injuries in a few of our patients.

Guiding Residency Program Educational Goals Using Institutional Keyword Reports from the Ophthalmic Knowledge Assessment Program Examination

Abstract Introduction Residency programs receive an institutional keyword report following the annual Ophthalmic Knowledge Assessment Program (OKAP) examination containing the raw number of incorrectly answered questions. Programs would benefit from a method to compare relative performance between subspecialty sections. We propose a technique of normalizing the keyword report to determine relative subspecialty strengths and weaknesses in trainee performance. Methods We retrospectively reviewed our institutional keyword reports from 2017 to 2019. We normalized the percentage of correctly answered questions for each postgraduate year (PGY) level by dividing the percent of correctly answered questions for each subspecialty by the percent correct across all subsections for that PGY level. We repeated this calculation for each PGY level in each subsection for each calendar year of analysis. Results There was a statistically significant difference in mean performance between the subspecialty sections (p = 0.038). We found above average performance in the Uveitis and Ocular Inflammation section (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.02–1.18) and high variability of performance in the Clinical Optics section (95% CI: 0.76–1.34). Discussion The OKAP institutional keyword reports are extremely valuable for residency program self-evaluation. Performance normalized for PGY level and test year can reveal insightful trends into the relative strengths and weaknesses of trainee knowledge and guide data-driven curriculum improvement.

Air quality monitoring using mobile low-cost sensors mounted on trash-trucks: Methods development and lessons learned

Air quality monitoring (AQM) is crucial for cities to develop management plans supporting population health. However, there is a dearth of measurements due to the high cost of standard reference instruments. Mobile AQM using low-cost sensors deployed on routine fleets of vehicles can enable the continuous detection of fine-scale pollutant variations in cities at a lower cost. New methods need to be developed to interpret these measurements. This paper presents three such methods. First, we propose a technique to identify aerosol hotspots. Second, we employ techniques published previously to assess the generalizable map of fine and coarse particle number concentrations, to understand qualitatively the contribution of local and regional sources across the region sampled. By using the raw number concentration of differently sized particles from the Optical Particle Counters (OPCs) instead of the noisier mass concentrations, we obtain more robust results. Third, in order to evaluate source signatures in cities, we propose another technique, in which we cluster the entire range of aerosol size-distribution measurements acquired. The properties of each cluster provide insight into the aerosol source characteristics in the sampling environment. We test these methods using a dataset we collected by mounting OPCs on two trash-trucks in Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Random Forest Models for Predicting Survival in Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Seeing the Forest for the Trees: Random Forest Models for Predicting Survival in Kidney Transplant Recipients.

Effects of Macleaya cordata extract on small intestinal morphology and gastrointestinal microbiota diversity of weaned pigs

To investigate the effects of Macleaya cordata extract (MCE) on the gut morphology and microbiota, a total of 90 weaned pigs at 35 days of age were allocated to one of two treatments: CON group, fed with basal diet; or MCE group, fed with basal diet supplemented with 50 mg MCE/kg diet. After continuous administration for 28 days, six pigs per group were selected and euthanized to collect the tissues and chyme or digesta samples of seven gastrointestinal (GI) locations for sequencing the 16S rRNA gene. An interaction between diet and GI location was found in villus height/crypt depth (VH/CD) ratio (P = 0.011). MCE increased VH (310 vs. 278 μm; P = 0.048) and VH/CD ratio (1.108 vs. 0.928; P = 0.007) in the ileum but had a tendency to decrease VH/CD (1.044 vs. 1.153; P = 0.088) in the duodenum. Both diet (P = 0.014) and GI location (P = 0.002) influenced the gut microbial composition. MCE increased Simpson and Shannon indexes in the jejunum (P < 0.01) and stomach (P < 0.001). At the genus level, MCE increased (P < 0.05) the relative abundance of p-75-a5 in the cecum and colon, Oscillospira in the jejunum, and Lachnospira in the cecum and colon. Especially, the relative abundance of Lactobacillus in the MCE group was considerably decreased in the duodenum (1.23% vs. 49.17%; P = 0.020), jejunum (5.32% vs. 52.71%; P = 0.006) and ileum (1.08% vs. 5.30%; P = 0.004). MCE decreased the raw copy number of Lactobacillus in the colon (9.66 vs. 10.71; P = 0.047) and a tendency to decrease in the jejunum (8.91 vs. 10.08; P = 0.068). These results evaluated the effects of MCE supplementation on intestinal morphology and microbiota diversity at different GI locations in weaned pigs, which provides valuable information for the development of MCE additives.

The Untapped Potential of Preschool Classroom Volunteers in Language–Literacy Instruction: A Feasibility Study

Purpose This pretest–posttest study examined the effects of a professional development training on five volunteer instructors' (VIs) utilization of language and literacy facilitation strategies within interactive shared book readings with low-income preschool children. The training specifically targeted the VIs' use of wh -questions, expansions, and references to story grammar elements (SGEs) with use of a corresponding visual aid. Method VIs participated in a 3-hr training composed of lecture, video models, role playing, four opportunities to explicitly practice the target strategies, and four opportunities to receive immediate feedback from the investigators. The VIs led storybook readings that were video-recorded for comparison prior to and after the training sessions (two pretraining, two posttraining). The investigators analyzed the VIs' language and literacy strategy usage in the readings. The investigators compared the raw number of wh -questions asked, expansions of child responses or comments, the number of references (out of 20) to SGEs, and use of the visual aid pre- and posttraining. Results After the training, four of the five VIs increased the number of wh -questions asked during readings, and one VI maintained a large number of questions asked, compared to pretraining readings. All VIs provided an increased number of references to SGEs (character, setting, problem, fixing problem, solution) in a variety of capacities (name, definition, book-specific element, visual aid use) to reinforce narrative concepts. VIs had inconsistent increases in expansions of child responses or comments posttraining. Conclusion Results revealed the VIs generally increased their facilitation of language and literacy strategies after participating in a professional development training, suggesting utilization of volunteers as instructors may be a valuable area to explore, especially in low-income environments where children may be at risk for language and literacy delays. Supplemental Material https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.12070824

A Novel Method for Protecting Swimmers and Surfers From Shark Attacks Using Communicating Autonomous Drones

Shark attacks can make beach tourists anxious about sharing the ocean with apex predators. Although the raw number of shark attacks is deficient, the absolute terror caused by sharks is genuine. This article introduces a novel method named as the “drone shark shield system,” which uses communicating autonomous drones to intervene and prevent shark attacks for protecting swimmers and surfers. We detail the design of the drone shark shield system and the strategy for repelling sharks through multiple intersections. A shark interception algorithm is developed to guide drones to predicted intersection points for deterring sharks. Computer simulations are conducted to illustrate our method.

Liposomal Bupivacaine in Rhinoplasty: An Underused Tool

An average of 130 Americans die each day from an opioid overdose.1 The raw number of overdose deaths involving opioids has increased 6-fold from 1999 to 2017, and about 68% of all drug overdose deaths in 2017 involved opioids. Reliance on opioids for postoperative analgesia is concerning as up to 10% of opioid-naive patients prescribed opioids postoperatively will continue to take them 1 year after surgery and the rate of long-term opioid use may not differ after major compared with minor surgery, with 6% of patients continuing to fill prescriptions 90 days after surgery, irrespective of extent.

Daylight photodynamic therapy with methyl aminolevulinate cream is as effective as conventional photodynamic therapy with blue light in the treatment of actinic keratosis: a controlled randomized intra-individual study.

We know the efficacy of daylight phototherapy dynamic (DL-PDT) in the treatment of actinic keratosis (AK). But the almost studies have compared daylight with red light using methyl aminolevulinate cream and not with blue light. PDT with blue light is another conventional PDT that is effective in the treatment of AKs. The aim of this study is to assess the efficacy and the safety of DL-PDT vs. PDT in blue light in the treatment of AKs. This randomized, controlled, intra-individual efficacy and safety study enrolled 26 subjects. AKs on the face/scalp were treated once, with DL-PDT on one side and c-PDT on the contralateral side. Primary endpoints for DL-PDT at week 12 were efficacy with clearance of AKs and safety with assessment of pain. Lesions with complete response 12weeks after one treatment session were followed until week 24. More than 1000 AK were studied. At week 12, the raw number of disappeared AK lesions at 3-month follow-up was 19.6 (±6.0) for DL-PDT and 20.0 (±6.9) for c-PDT with P=0.8460 (90.5% vs. 94.2% of AK disappearance, respectively). The response was maintained at 6months (90.0% and 94.6% of AK reduction, respectively). DL-PDT was nearly painless than c-PDT with light blue: 1.2 vs. 5.1, respectively (P<0.0001). Daylight-PDT seems as effective as c-PDT with light blue and DL-PDT is less painful. The response of DL-PDT was sustainable until 6months.

The Impact of Mass Gatherings on Emergency Department Patient Presentations with Communicable Diseases Related to Syndromic Indicators: An Integrative Review.

Mass-gathering events (MGEs) are commonly associated with a higher than average rate of morbidity. Spectators, workers, and the substantial number of MGE attendees can increase the spread of communicable diseases. During an MGE, emergency departments (EDs) play an important role in offering health care services to both residents of the local community and event attendees. Syndromic indicators (SIs) are widely used in an ED surveillance system for early detection of communicable diseases. This literature review aimed to develop an understanding of the effect of MGEs on ED patient presentations with communicable diseases and their corresponding SIs. An integrative literature review methodology was used. Online databases were searched to retrieve relevant academic articles that focused on MGEs, EDs, and SIs. Inclusion/exclusion criteria were applied to screen articles. The Standard Quality Assessment Criteria for Evaluating Primary Research (QualSyst) assessment tool was used to assess the quality of included papers. Eleven papers were included in this review; all discussed the impact of an MGE on patient presentations with communicable diseases at EDs/hospitals. Most included studies used the raw number of patients who presented or were admitted to EDs/hospitals to determine impact. Further, the majority of studies focused on either respiratory infections (n = 4) or gastrointestinal infections (n = 2); two articles reported on both. Eight articles mentioned SIs; however, such information was limited. The quality of evidence (using QualSyst) ranged from 50% to 90%. Limited research exists on the impact of MGEs on ED presentations with communicable diseases and related SIs. Recommendations for future MGE studies include assessing differences in ED presentations with communicable diseases regarding demographics, clinical characteristics, and outcomes before, during, and after the event. This would benefit health care workers and researchers by offering more comprehensive knowledge for application into practice.

Abstract P4-06-05: Heterogeneity of DCIS does not appear to be a biomarker for development of subsequent invasive cancer

Abstract Genomic instability is a key feature of carcinogenesis, giving rise to tumour promoting aberrations. The inherent unpredictability of these processes leads to a high degree of intratumour heterogeneity, previously shown to be advantageous for cancer progression in a series of cancer types. We sought to explore the role of genomic instability and intratumour heterogeneity in the progression of ductal carcinoma in situ (DCIS) to invasive disease, in a cohort of 49 women with pure DCIS that developed subsequent ipsilateral invasive disease and 90 women with pure DCIS with no evidence of recurrence with a median follow up of 5.4 years. All samples were identified from within the Sloane project, a prospective national cohort study of DCIS within the UK National Health Service Breast Screening Programme. DNA extracted from bulk tissue samples was processed on the HumanCytoSNP array, and allele-specific copy number aberration (CNA) data was obtained from ASCAT. We measured genomic instability using Scores Of Chromosomal Instability Scarring (SCINS), as well as by calculating the Shannon diversity index for the different copy number states occurring in the tumour genome. We also attempted to deconvolute the clonal structure of the tumours by applying the Shannon diversity index on the raw copy number estimates provided by ASCAT. Non-integer copy number states were interpreted as indicative of the presence of subclonal CNAs. As a positive control, we compared ER+ and ER- DCIS in a larger cohort of 173 DCIS samples (129 ER+ and 44 ER-), using the same methods. We expect ER- tumours to be more genomically unstable, and consequentially more clonally diverse. Measured using SCINS, both copy-neutral loss of heterozygosity (≥ 4 Mbp) and allelic-imbalanced CNAs (≥ 8 Mbp) were shown to be higher in ER- tumours (Fisher’s exact test, p = 0.014 and p = 0.034, respectively). Overall genomic instability was also shown to be higher in ER- tumours using the Shannon diversity index (Fisher’s exact test, p = 0.0085). Our attempt at clonal structure deconvolution also indicates increased heterogeneity in ER- tumours (Fisher’s exact test, p = 0.027). However, no significant difference was identified in the genomic instability or heterogeneity of DCIS that developed subsequent invasive disease compared to that of indolent DCIS, using any of the aforementioned measures. We were therefore unable to identify evidence of a direct link between DCIS heterogeneity and progression to invasive cancer. Our methods did, however, demonstrate that DCIS in general is highly genomically diverse, with ER- tumours exhibiting increased diversity compared to ER+ ones. We aim to validate these findings using spatial sampling data from our cohort, as well as integrating mutation data to allow the use of established clonal heterogeneity deconvolution pipelines. Citation Format: Anargyros Megalios, Vandna Shah, Rana Shami, Salpie Nowinski, Jelmar Quist, Mathini Sridharan, Carolina Salinas de Souza, Karen Clements, Anita Grigoriadis, Sarah Pinder, Alastair Thompson, Elinor Sawyer. Heterogeneity of DCIS does not appear to be a biomarker for development of subsequent invasive cancer [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 2019 San Antonio Breast Cancer Symposium; 2019 Dec 10-14; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2020;80(4 Suppl):Abstract nr P4-06-05.

Studying the Influence of Acoustic Cavitation and Avalanche-Streamer Discharge on the Quality of Raw Milk in Order to Achieve the Pasteurization Effect

The article presents the results of the studies obtained in the investigation of the quality of milk processed with the use of physical methods of exposure - acoustic cavitation and avalanche-streamer discharge, in order to achieve a pasteurizing effect. It is shown that in the treatment of high-frequency ultrasonic oscillations (over 45 kHz) generated by an electric ultrasonic device of the submersible type of impulse action ”Activator-150”, the number of bacteria of the E. coli group decreased by almost 40%, which allows concluding that the chosen method of influence is effective for the destruction of sanitary and pathogenic (indicative) microflora in raw milk and achieve a certain pasteurization effect. Using low-frequency ultrasonic exposure (20-22 kHz) generated by the cavitation ultrasonic flow type reactor RKU, the raw milk indicators QMAFAnM (Quantity of Mesophilic Aerobic and Facultative Anaerobic Microorganisms) and number of Coliform bacteria did not change after processing, as well as physical and chemical indicators, apart from the indicators of particle fineness. It can be stated that low-frequency ultrasonic cavitation treatment is not effective in terms of achieving a pasteurizing effect. In order to achieve a pasteurization effect by applying avalanche-streamer treatment we assessed its effect on QMAFAnM - the microbiological background of milk. The use of avalanche-streamer discharge does not have the expectation effect on the total number of microorganisms in milk. It is advisable to use high-frequency acoustic cavitation for microbial biota inactivation and avalanche-streamer discharge to reduce spore bacteria contamination.

Model Dependency in the Analysis of Women's Electoral Success

AbstractMaciej Górecki provides a detailed and interesting discussion of our analysis regarding women's electoral success in the Polish open-list proportional representation (PR) system and the impact of a gender quota implemented in 2011. In essence, he claims that it remains an open question whether the gender quota had a ‘paradoxical’ effect (i.e., whether the introduction of the gender quota had a negative impact on female candidates) due to ‘debatable’ methodological choices in our analysis. In this article, we respond to Górecki's critique. First, we demonstrate that we do not necessarily disagree on the paradoxical impact of the gender quota but rather on the strength of the paradoxical effect. Second, we discuss some drawbacks of using the raw number of votes cast for a candidate as the dependent variable. Finally, we respond to the critique of including the ballot position in the regression model. We emphasize that even if one agrees with Górecki's critique that the ballot position is endogenous, excluding this variable leads to a severely misspecified model that does not allow one to reliably identify the effect of gender.

Tubal ligation and endometrial Cancer risk: a global systematic review and meta-analysis

BackgroundStudies on relationship between tubal ligation and endometrial cancer have led to contradictory findings. In several studies, however, a reduced endometrial cancer risk was suggested following tubal ligation. Therefore, a systematic review and meta-analysis was conducted to examine the relationship between tubal ligation and endometrial cancer risk.MethodsIn this systematic review and meta-analysis, PubMed/Medline, Web of Science, Scopus, Embase, and Google Scholar were searched for relevant studies published up to May 30th, 2018. We compared endometrial cancer risk in women with and without tubal ligation in retrieved studies.ResultsTwo hundred nine studies were initially retrieved from the data bases. After exclusion of duplicates and studies which did not meet inclusion criteria, ten cohort and case-control studies, including 6,773,066 cases, were entered into the quantitative meta-analysis. There was 0.90% agreement between two researchers who searched and retrieved the studies. The summary OR (SOR) was reported using a random effect model. Begg’s test suggested that there was no publication bias, but a considerable heterogeneity was observed (I2 = 95.4%, P = 0.001). We pooled the raw number of tables cells (i.e. a, b, c, and d) of eight studies. The SOR suggested that tubal ligation was significantly associated with a lower risk of endometrial cancer (SOR = 0.577, 95% CI = 0.420–0.792). Also, given the rare nature of endometrial cancer (< 5%), different effect sizes were considered as comparable measures of risk. Therefore we pooled ten studies and SOR of these studies revealed that tubal ligation was significantly associated with a lower risk of endometrial cancer (SOR = 0.696, 95% CI = 0.425–0.966). Besides that, we pooled eight studies in which adjusted effect sizes were reported and a subsequent analysis revealed that the summary estimate of adjusted odds ratio (SAOR) was significant (SAOR = 0.862, 95% CI = 0.698–1.026).ConclusionsThis study revealed a protective effect of tubal ligation on endometrial cancer risk (approximately 42% lower risk of cancer). It is recommended that studies should be designed to reveal mechanisms of this relationship.

A proof-of-concept study on the effects of low total cfDNA content and solutions to increase the NIPT trisomy 21 detection rate.

BackgroundNon‐invasive prenatal testing (NIPT) is routinely used in clinical practice for fetal trisomy screening, but low total cfDNA content and low fetal fraction (LFF) are two factors that affect the detection rate. Samples with low total cfDNA or LFF usually end up with “no‐call” results, followed by the blood redraw and re‐testing, which is inconvenient for pregnant women and clinicians.MethodsWe created mock trisomy 21 (T21) samples to investigate the effects of low total cfDNA with low LFF and possible solutions to increase their detection rate.ResultsSamples with low total cfDNA resulted in the decreased unique reads number and increased duplication rate. Abnormal correlations between library concentration and raw reads number and the coverage fluctuation value, ZsdNorm, were also discovered, suggesting that low total cfDNA could lead to the overestimation of the library concentration. Additionally, a non‐reference‐based derivative value method (DV method) was evaluated and the data demonstrated that the detection sensitivity of trisomy 21 was increased from 33.33% (6/18) to 94.44% (17/18) in samples with 5% fetal fraction comparing with the z‐score approach, whereas for LFF (3.5%) group, the performance was raised from 0% to 35.29% (6/17).ConclusionLow total cfDNA has significant impacts on NIPT performance by altering sequencing quality. The non‐reference‐based DV method could increase the T21 detection rate in samples with limited cfDNA content and 5% fetal fraction, but it was not as effective for those with LFF.

Development of a specialty pharmacy productivity benchmarking model

Background: Benchmarking in healthcare is used to evaluate productivity on the basis of workflows, policies and performance in hopes of optimizing current practices and improving patient outcomes. Benchmarking has long been used in pharmacy practice, whether in tracking dispensing activities or optimizing clinical workflows. Internal benchmarking allows organizations to examine internal processes to determine allocation of institutional resources. Currently there is no validated model to evaluate productivity in specialty pharmacy workflows. Aims: To develop and validate a specialty pharmacy productivity benchmarking tool. Methods: A timer tool was developed to allow pharmacists to track the time spent performing activities which we identified as key performance indicators. Key performance indicators were identified as: prior authorizations, appeals of coverage denial, financial assistance activities, clinical onboarding activities, care plan activities and clinical assessments. These times were utilized to establish benchmarks for each key performance indicator. Raw activity number was tracked for each branch utilizing data from specialty management software database, Therigy. From these data, benchmark standards were derived, and all branches were evaluated. Results: Benchmarking standardized to the inflammatory diseases branch showed a near 2.5 fold elevation in workload in the hematology and oncology branch. The pulmonary branch showed a decreased workload compared to inflammatory diseases by approximately 35%. Neurology and infectious diseases within the 20% relative workload range of inflammatory diseases and are considered to have an equal productivity level. Conclusions: Results from this study provide a solid foundation for this benchmarking tool. Moving forward with this model the addition of technician metrics and a broader collection of performance indicators across a larger data collection period will be required to more fully develop the model.

Lessons learned from performance of students of Pharmacology in self coded surprise test with negative marking.

Introduction: The present study aims to find the effect of instruction of negative marking in a self-coded MCQ examination on the performance of students in the subject of Pharmacology with respect to the raw score, correct score and negative score.&#x0D; Material and methods: This longitudinal study was conducted in the Department of Pharmacology, Rural Medical College, Loni. The Second MBBS students were exposed to a self-coded MCQ test twice by surprise. The first test (T1) was given without instructions of negative marking, while during the second test (T2) instructions for negative marking were given. The parameters of the raw score, negative score, corrected score and number of students who did not attempt respective MCQs were calculated. The number of students passing with modified Minimum Passing Level was calculated was compared with conventional Minimum Passing Level.&#x0D; Results: Sixty-seven students participated in the study. There was a statistically significant decrease in the raw score in the T2, while the increase in the negative score when compared with T1. The number of non-attempted questions was increased in T2. There was a statistically significant difference in the number of students passed with respect to raw score in T1 and T2, while no such difference was seen with respect to Negative score and Corrected score.&#x0D; Conclusion: The Corrected score and Negative score are not affected by the minimum passing level, indicating a better parameter of scoring than the raw score. Hence, the use of Negative score or Corrected score should be encouraged than the use of conventional Raw score.&#x0D; Keywords: Minimum Passing Level, Negative Marking, MCQ, Corrected score, Pharmacology, Formative assessment, surprise test, self-coded test.

An integrative assessment of the diversity, phylogeny, distribution, and conservation of the terrestrial reptiles (Sauropsida, Squamata) of the United Arab Emirates.

In the present study we use an unprecedented database of 5,535 distributional records to infer the diversity, ecological preferences and spatial distribution of the 60 species of terrestrial reptiles of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and use the 57 native species to test the effectiveness of the protected areas’ network in conserving this unique vertebrate fauna. We infer a time-calibrated phylogeny with 146 species of squamates and 15 genes including all UAE terrestrial reptile species to determine the phylogenetic diversity (PD) and evolutionary distinctiveness (ED) of the native species and to compare it with the distribution of the hotspots of native species richness. The results of this study indicate that the sampling effort is remarkable, covering 75% of the country’s territory representing nearly the entire climatic space of the UAE defined by the mean annual temperature and the total annual precipitation, as well as the multivariate climatic space defined by a principal component analysis (PCA). Species richness is highest in the northeast of the country, in a transitional area from sandy desert to the mountainous terrain of the Hajar Mountains. The highest PD of a single square cell of 10 arc-minutes grid is of 2,430 million years (my) of accumulated evolutionary history and the strong correlation between PD and species richness suggests that the raw number of species is a good surrogate to quantify the evolutionary history (i.e., PD). The species with the highest values of ED are those in families represented by only one species in the UAE. Finally, the assessment of the UAE protected areas shows that, despite their relevance in protecting the terrestrial reptiles, they do not offer adequate protection for some threatened species. Therefore, a reassessment of some of the protected areas or the creation of species specific conservation action plans are recommended in order to ensure the preservation of the unique diversity of UAE terrestrial reptiles.

The intrinsic dimension of protein sequence evolution.

It is well known that, in order to preserve its structure and function, a protein cannot change its sequence at random, but only by mutations occurring preferentially at specific locations. We here investigate quantitatively the amount of variability that is allowed in protein sequence evolution, by computing the intrinsic dimension (ID) of the sequences belonging to a selection of protein families. The ID is a measure of the number of independent directions that evolution can take starting from a given sequence. We find that the ID is practically constant for sequences belonging to the same family, and moreover it is very similar in different families, with values ranging between 6 and 12. These values are significantly smaller than the raw number of amino acids, confirming the importance of correlations between mutations in different sites. However, we demonstrate that correlations are not sufficient to explain the small value of the ID we observe in protein families. Indeed, we show that the ID of a set of protein sequences generated by maximum entropy models, an approach in which correlations are accounted for, is typically significantly larger than the value observed in natural protein families. We further prove that a critical factor to reproduce the natural ID is to take into consideration the phylogeny of sequences.

MicroRNA expression profiles across blood and different tissues in cattle

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) play essential roles in regulating gene expression involved in various biological functions. The knowledge of miRNA expression profiles across different tissues in cattle is still limited. Using the miRNAs data generated from 158 samples in three studies, we characterized the miRNA expression profiles of bovine sera, exosomes and 11 different tissues. Totally 639 miRNAs were identified and 159 miRNAs were expressed in all samples. After relative log expression normalization, four miRNA expression clusters were generated: 1) sera and exosomes; 2) liver; 3) mammary gland; 4) rumen and gut tissues. The top 10 most abundant miRNAs accounted for >55% of total miRNA expression in each tissue. In addition, this study described a detailed pipeline for identification of both tissue and circulating miRNAs, and the shareable datasets can be re-used by researchers to investigate miRNA-related biological questions in cattle. In addition, a web-based repository was developed, which enables researchers to access the distribution range and raw counts number of the miRNA expression data (https://www.cattleomics.com/micrornaome).