Climate and Species Richness Predict the Phylogenetic Structure of African Mammal Communities

We have little knowledge of how climatic variation (and by proxy, habitat variation) influences the phylogenetic structure of tropical communities. Here, we quantified the phylogenetic structure of mammal communities in Africa to investigate how community structure varies with respect to climate and species richness variation across the continent. In addition, we investigated how phylogenetic patterns vary across carnivores, primates, and ungulates. We predicted that climate would differentially affect the structure of communities from different clades due to between-clade biological variation. We examined 203 communities using two metrics, the net relatedness (NRI) and nearest taxon (NTI) indices. We used simultaneous autoregressive models to predict community phylogenetic structure from climate variables and species richness. We found that most individual communities exhibited a phylogenetic structure consistent with a null model, but both climate and species richness significantly predicted variation in community phylogenetic metrics. Using NTI, species rich communities were composed of more distantly related taxa for all mammal communities, as well as for communities of carnivorans or ungulates. Temperature seasonality predicted the phylogenetic structure of mammal, carnivoran, and ungulate communities, and annual rainfall predicted primate community structure. Additional climate variables related to temperature and rainfall also predicted the phylogenetic structure of ungulate communities. We suggest that both past interspecific competition and habitat filtering have shaped variation in tropical mammal communities. The significant effect of climatic factors on community structure has important implications for the diversity of mammal communities given current models of future climate change

Opicapone, a Novel Catechol-O-methyl Transferase Inhibitor, for Treatment of Parkinson\u27s Disease Off Episodes

Parkinson\u27s Disease (PD) is a common neurodegenerative disorder and the leading cause of disability. It causes significant morbidity and disability through a plethora of symptoms, including movement disorders, sleep disturbances, and cognitive and psychiatric symptoms. The traditional pathogenesis theory of PD involves the loss of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra (SN). Classically, treatment is pursued with an assortment of medications that are directed at overcoming this deficiency with levodopa being central to most treatment plans. Patients taking levodopa tend to experience off episodes with decreasing medication levels, causing large fluctuations in their symptoms. These off episodes are disturbing and a source of morbidity for these patients. Opicapone is a novel, peripherally acting Catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) inhibitor that is used as adjunctive therapy to carbidopa/levodopa for treatment and prevention of off episodes. It has been approved for use as an adjunct to levodopa since 2016 in Europe and has recently (April 2020) gained FDA approval for use in the USA. By inhibiting COMT, opicapone slows levodopa metabolism and increases its availability. Several clinical studies demonstrated significant improvement in treatment efficacy and reduction in duration of off episodes. The main side effect demonstrated was dyskinesia, mostly with the 100mg dose, which is higher than the approved, effective dose of 50mg. Post-marketing surveillance and analysis are required to further elucidate its safety profile and contribute to patient selection. This paper reviews the seminal and latest evidence in the treatment of PD off episodes with the novel drug Opicapone, including efficacy, safety, and clinical indications

Single-qubit unitary gates by graph scattering

We consider the effects of plane-wave states scattering off finite graphs, as an approach to implementing single-qubit unitary operations within the continuous-time quantum walk framework of universal quantum computation. Four semi-infinite tails are attached at arbitrary points of a given graph, representing the input and output registers of a single qubit. For a range of momentum eigenstates, we enumerate all of the graphs with up to $n=9$ vertices for which the scattering implements a single-qubit gate. As $n$ increases, the number of new unitary operations increases exponentially, and for $n>6$ the majority correspond to rotations about axes distributed roughly uniformly across the Bloch sphere. Rotations by both rational and irrational multiples of $\pi$ are found.Comment: 8 pages, 7 figure

Post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis: an unresolved mystery

Post kala-azar dermal leishmaniasis (PKDL), a cutaneous sequela of visceral leishmaniasis (VL), develops in some patients alongside but more commonly after apparent cure from VL. In view of the pivotal role of PKDL patients in the transmission of VL, here we review clinical, epidemiological, parasitological, and immunological perspectives of this disease, focusing on five hypotheses to explain the development of PKDL: (i) the role of antimonial drugs; (ii) UV-induced skin damage; (iii) reinfection; (iv) organ specific failure of memory T cell responses; and (v) genetic susceptibility of the host. This review will enable researchers and clinicians to explore the unresolved mystery of PKDL and provide a framework for future application of ‘omic’ approaches for the control and eventual elimination of VL

Aducanumab, a Novel Anti-Amyloid Monoclonal Antibody, for the Treatment of Alzheimer’s Disease: A Comprehensive Review

Alzheimer’s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia affecting millions of individuals, including family members who often take on the role as caregiver. This debilitating disease reportedly consumes 8% of the total United States healthcare expenditure, with medical and nursing outlays accounting for an estimated $290 billion. Cholinesterase inhibitors and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists have historically been the most widely used pharmacologic therapies for patients with AD, however, these drugs are not curative. This review discusses the epidemiology, pathophysiology, risk factors, presentation, and current treatment of AD followed by the role of the novel monoclonal antibody, aducanumab, in treatment of AD. Currently aducanumab is the only Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drug that acts to slow progression of this disease. Aducanumab is an anti-amyloid drug which functions by selectively binding amyloid aggregates in both the oligomeric and fibrillar states. Studies show aducanumab may help to restore neurological function in patients with AD by reducing beta-amyloid plaques and reestablishing neuronal calcium permeability. However, there is concern the magnitude of this drug’s benefit may only be statistically significant and not clinically significant. Despite this skepticism, aducanumab has proven to significantly decrease amyloid in all cortical brain regions examined. In summary, aducanumab has provided hope for those working toward the goal of providing patients a safe and viable treatment option in the management of AD

Beam tests of the 12 MHz RFQ RIB injector for ATLAS

Beam tests of the ANL 12 MHz Radio-Frequency Quadrupole (RFQ), designed for use as the initial element of an injector system for radioactive beams into the existing ATLAS accelerators, are in progress. Recent high-voltage tests of the RFQ without beam achieved the design intervane voltage of 100 kV cw, enabling beam tests with A /q as large as 132 using beams from the ANL Physics Division 4 MV Dynamitron accelerator facility. Although the RFQ was designed for bunched beams, initial tests have been performed with unbunched beams. Experiments with stable, unbunched beams of singly-charged /sup 132/Xe and /sup 84/Kr measured the output beam energy distribution as a function of the RFQ operating voltage. The observed energies are in excellent agreement with numerical beam simulations. (5 refs)

100 years of chemistry at Rhodes University

The history of Grahamstown is well documented and two books deal with the history of Rhodes University.1,2 Although the Chemistry Department was one of the founding departments, coverage in the official histories is minimal and sometimes inaccurate or misleading. The Rhodes University Centenary is an appropriate time to look back on some of the achievements of the department and some of its graduates over the past 100 years

Aduhelm, a novel anti-amyloid monoclonal antibody, for the treatment of Alzheimer\u27s Disease: A comprehensive review.

Alzheimer\u27s disease (AD) is the most common form of dementia affecting millions of individuals, including family members who often take on the role of caregivers. This debilitating disease reportedly consumes 8% of the total United States healthcare expenditure, with medical and nursing outlays accounting for an estimated $290 billion. Cholinesterase inhibitors and N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor antagonists have historically been the most widely used pharmacologic therapies for patients with AD; however, these drugs are not curative. The present investigation describes the epidemiology, pathophysiology, risk factors, presentation, and current treatment of AD followed by the role of the novel monoclonal antibody, Adulhelm, in the treatment of AD. Currently, Adulhelm is the only Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved drug that acts to slow the progression of this disease. Adulhelm is an anti-amyloid drug that functions by selectively binding amyloid aggregates in both the oligomeric and fibrillar states. Studies show Adulhelm may help to restore neurological function in patients with AD by reducing beta-amyloid plaques and reestablishing neuronal calcium permeability. At present, there is concern the magnitude of this drug\u27s benefit may only be statistically significant, although not clinically significant. Despite skepticism, Adulhelm has proven to significantly decrease amyloid in all cortical brain regions examined. With such high stakes and potential, further research into Adulhelm\u27s clinical efficacy is warranted in the treatment of AD