Actualistic taphonomic study of the rodents digested by the Achala culpeo fox (Lycalopex culpaeus smithersi) in the highlands of central Argentina

We present the first actualistic study of the rodents consumed by the South American foxLycalopex culpaeus smithersi (Achala culpeo fox), a subspecies of the culpeo fox that is endemicto the highlands of central Argentina. We provide a taphonomic characterization of this canidbased on digested micromammal bones, and compare it to other carnivores. We studied over 1000bones derived from 83 scats collected in Quebrada del Condorito National Park, Córdobaprovince, Argentina, corresponding to caviomorph and myomorph rodents. Galea leucoblepharawas the main prey (59.8% MNI, 93.1% biomass). Average relative abundance for the totalassemblage was 26.7. Cranial and, to a lesser extent, proximal limb bones were the most abundantelements. A high degree of breakage was observed in cranial elements and, to a lesser extent, inlimb bones. A high proportion of heavy and extreme digestion was inferred, while some elementsbear light or no digestion traces at all. Overall, the Achala culpeo fox fits best with othermammalian carnivores in the category of extreme modification, and shows types and proportionsof taphonomic attributes similar to other South American mammalian predators. These resultscontribute to the understanding of regional taphonomic processes and of digestivemodifications by Lycalopex foxes generally, and are thus relevant to interpreting the presence of micromammal remains in the archaeological and palaeontological recordsand the impact of these foxes in their formation.Fil: Coll, Daiana Geraldine. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Montalvo, Claudia Inés. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales; ArgentinaFil: Fernández, Fernando Julián. Universidad de Buenos Aires. Facultad de Ingeniería; Argentina. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas; ArgentinaFil: Pia, Monica Valeria. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa. Universidad Nacional de La Pampa. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas y Naturales. Instituto de Ciencias de la Tierra y Ambientales de La Pampa; ArgentinaFil: Mondini, Nora Mariana. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Antropología de Córdoba. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Filosofía y Humanidades. Instituto de Antropología de Córdoba; Argentin

Search for doubly charged Higgs boson production in multi-lepton final states with the ATLAS detector using proton-proton collisions at √s = 13TeV

A search for doubly charged Higgs bosons with pairs of prompt, isolated, highly energetic leptons with the same electric charge is presented. The search uses a proton–proton collision data sample at a centre-of-mass energy of 13 TeV corresponding to 36.1 fb −1 of integrated luminosity recorded in 2015 and 2016 by the ATLAS detector at the LHC. This analysis focuses on the decays H±±→e±e±, H±±→e±μ± and H±±→μ±μ±, fitting the dilepton mass spectra in several exclusive signal regions. No significant evidence of a signal is observed and corresponding limits on the production cross-section and consequently a lower limit on m(H±±) are derived at 95% confidence level. With ℓ±ℓ±=e±e±/μ±μ±/e±μ±, the observed lower limit on the mass of a doubly charged Higgs boson only coupling to left-handed leptons varies from 770 to 870 GeV (850 GeV expected) for B(H±±→ℓ±ℓ±)=100% and both the expected and observed mass limits are above 450 GeV for B(H±±→ℓ±ℓ±)=10% and any combination of partial branching ratios

The evolution of the ventilatory ratio is a prognostic factor in mechanically ventilated COVID-19 ARDS patients

Background: Mortality due to COVID-19 is high, especially in patients requiring mechanical ventilation. The purpose of the study is to investigate associations between mortality and variables measured during the first three days of mechanical ventilation in patients with COVID-19 intubated at ICU admission. Methods: Multicenter, observational, cohort study includes consecutive patients with COVID-19 admitted to 44 Spanish ICUs between February 25 and July 31, 2020, who required intubation at ICU admission and mechanical ventilation for more than three days. We collected demographic and clinical data prior to admission; information about clinical evolution at days 1 and 3 of mechanical ventilation; and outcomes. Results: Of the 2,095 patients with COVID-19 admitted to the ICU, 1,118 (53.3%) were intubated at day 1 and remained under mechanical ventilation at day three. From days 1 to 3, PaO2/FiO2 increased from 115.6 [80.0-171.2] to 180.0 [135.4-227.9] mmHg and the ventilatory ratio from 1.73 [1.33-2.25] to 1.96 [1.61-2.40]. In-hospital mortality was 38.7%. A higher increase between ICU admission and day 3 in the ventilatory ratio (OR 1.04 [CI 1.01-1.07], p = 0.030) and creatinine levels (OR 1.05 [CI 1.01-1.09], p = 0.005) and a lower increase in platelet counts (OR 0.96 [CI 0.93-1.00], p = 0.037) were independently associated with a higher risk of death. No association between mortality and the PaO2/FiO2 variation was observed (OR 0.99 [CI 0.95 to 1.02], p = 0.47). Conclusions: Higher ventilatory ratio and its increase at day 3 is associated with mortality in patients with COVID-19 receiving mechanical ventilation at ICU admission. No association was found in the PaO2/FiO2 variation

Lower extremity blood flow and responses to occlusion ischemia differ in exercise-trained and sedentary tetraplegic persons

Objective: To test whether lower extremity blood flow and hyperemic responses to vascular occlusion differ among electrically stimulated exercise trained and sedentary tetraplegic persons and subjects without tetraplegia (control). Désign: Blinded cross-sectional comparison, control group. Setting: Academic medical center. Participants: Ten sedentary tetraplegic men, 10 tetraplegic persons previously habituated to electrically stimulated cycling exercise for 0.4 to 7 years, and 10 nondisabled controls. Outcome Measures: Subjects underwent quantitative Doppler ultrasound examination of the common femoral artery (CFA). End-diastolic arterial images and arterial flow-velocity profiles obtained at rest and following five minutes of suprasystolic thigh occlusion were computer digitized for analysis of heart rate (HR), CFA peak systolic velocity (PSV), CFA cross-sectional area (CSA), flow velocity integral (FVI), and computed CFA inflow volume (IV). Results: No group main effects were observed for resting HR or FVI. At rest, trained tetraplegic men had 14.9% greater PSV, 29.8% larger CSA, and 51.3% greater IV ( p values < .05) than sedentary tetraplegic subjects. Resting PSV and IV of the trained subjects did not differ from controls, although CSA was smaller than controls ( p < .05). Following occlusion, PSV, CSA, and IV averaged 16.5%, 33.4%, and 65.1% greater for trained tetraplegics persons, respectively, than sedentary tetraplegic subjects ( p values < .05). Only CSA differed between the control and the trained groups ( p < .05). Conclusion: Tetraplegic persons conditioned by electrically stimulated cycling have greater lower extremity blood flow and hyperemic responses to occlusion than do their sedentary counterparts

Computed tomography in gunshot wounds to the neck: Can we predict vascular injury?

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the ability of helical computed tomography (CT) to detect arterial injuries in gunshot wounds to the neck. In a blinded retrospective review, 54 helical CT scans of the cervical spine were evaluated for bullet/bone fragments, subcutaneous air, bullet path, hematoma, spine fractures, and pharyngoesophageal compromise. The distance of fragments to a major vessel was calculated. CT findings that correlated significantly with major arterial injury included the presence of fragments (bullet/bone) close to a major vessel (2.5 mm) and spine fractures. Visualizing fragments <5 mm from a vessel or a transcervical bullet trajectory predicted 12 of 13 major arterial injuries. We conclude that CT clearly depicts anatomic damage. Specific findings, such as the location of fragments and bullet trajectory adjacent to a vessel and spine fractures, indicate a higher probability of vascular damage, thus directing more definitive evaluation