th lowest quartile of FEV1% or FVC% predicted in Korean general population. This correlation between hyperuricemia and low pulmonary function was more pronounced in women and older age.The Middle Stone Age record in southern Africa is recognising increasing diversity in lithic technologies as research expands beyond the coastal-montane zone. New research in the arid Tankwa Karoo region of the South African interior has revealed a rich surface artefact record including a novel method of point production, recognised as Nubian Levallois technology in Late Pleistocene North Africa, Arabia and the Levant. We analyse 121 Nubian cores and associated points from the surface site Tweefontein against the strict criteria which are used to define Nubian technology elsewhere. The co-occurrence of typically post-Howiesons Poort unifacial points suggests an MIS 3 age. We propose that the occurrence of this distinctive technology at numerous localities in the Tankwa Karoo region reflects an environment-specific adaptation in line with technological regionalisation seen more widely in MIS 3. The arid setting of these assemblages in the Tankwa Karoo compares with the desert context of Nubian technology globally, consistent with convergent evolution in our case. The South African evidence contributes an alternative perspective on Nubian technology removed from the 'dispersal' or 'diffusion' scenarios of the debate surrounding its origin and spread within and out of Africa.There arose one of the most important ecological transitions in Earth's history approximately 750 million years ago during the middle Neoproterozoic Era (1000 to 541 million years ago, Ma). Biomarker evidence suggests that around this time there was a rapid shift from a predominantly bacterial-dominated world to more complex ecosystems governed by eukaryotic primary productivity. The resulting 'Rise of the algae' led to dramatically altered food webs that were much more efficient in terms of nutrient and energy transfer. Yet, what triggered this ecological shift? In this study we examined the theory that it was the alleviation of phosphorus (P) deficiency that gave eukaryotic alga the prime opportunity to flourish. We performed laboratory experiments on the cyanobacterium Synechocystis salina and the eukaryotic algae Tetraselmis suecica and examined their ability to compete for phosphorus. Both these organisms co-occur in modern European coastal waters and are not known to have any allelopathic capabilities. https://www.selleckchem.com/products/PHA-739358(Danusertib).html were cultured in mono and mixed cultures in chemostats across a range of dissolved inorganic phosphorus (DIP) concentrations to reflect modern and ancient oceanic conditions of 2 μM P and 0.2 μM P, respectively. Our results show that the cyanobacteria outcompete the algae at the low input (0.2 μM P) treatment, yet the eukaryotic algae were not completely excluded and remained a constant background component in the mixed-culture experiments. Also, despite their relatively large cell size, the algae T. #link# suecica had a high affinity for DIP. With DIP input concentrations resembling modern-day levels (2 μM), the eukaryotic algae could effectively compete against the cyanobacteria in terms of total biomass production. These results suggest that the availability of phosphorus could have influenced the global expansion of eukaryotic algae. However, P limitation does not seem to explain the complete absence of eukaryotic algae in the biomarker record before ca. 750 Ma. There is extensive literature with comparisons between Anti-Thymocyte Globulin (ATG) and Basiliximab (BSX) as induction therapy in kidney transplant recipients. The purpose of our benchmarking study was to describe the consequences in terms of practices in 6 transplantation centers of a French prospective cohort. We included adult patients who received a first or second kidney graft between 2013 and 2019 (n = 4157). We used logistic regressions to identify characteristics associated with the use of ATG or BSX. Use of ATG between the centers ranged from 41% to 75%. We observed different factors associated with the treatment decision. Compared to a first transplant, performing a second graft was the only factor significantly associated with the choice of ATG in all centers. The AUC ranged from 0.67 to 0.91, indicating that the centers seemed to define their own rules. As a result, for patients with the same low immunological risk, the probability of receiving ATG varied from 7% to 36%. We stratified the analyses according to two periods, from 2013 to 2015 and from 2016 to 2019. A similar heterogeneity was observed, and in some cases ATG indications between the centers were inverted. The heterogeneity of induction therapy practices did not decrease in France, even if the reated literature is prolific. This illustrates the necessity to improve the literature by using meta-analyses of recent studies stratified by graft and patient profiles. The heterogeneity of induction therapy practices did not decrease in France, even if the reated literature is prolific. This illustrates the necessity to improve the literature by using meta-analyses of recent studies stratified by graft and patient profiles. The Democratic Republic of Congo (DR Congo) struggled to end the tenth outbreak of Ebola virus disease (Ebola), which appeared in North Kivu in 2018. It was reported that rumors were hampering the response effort. We sought to identify any rumors that could have influenced outbreak containment and affected prevention in unaffected areas of DR Congo. We conducted a qualitative study in DR Congo over a period of 2 months (from August 1 to September 30, 2019) using in-depth interviews (IDIs) and focus group discussions (FGDs). The participants were recruited from five regional blocks using purposeful sampling. Both areas currently undergoing outbreaks and presently unaffected areas were included. We collected participants' opinions, views, and beliefs about the Ebola virus. The IDIs (n = 60) were performed with key influencers (schoolteachers, religious and political leaders/analysts, and Ebola-frontline workers), following a semi-structured interview guide. FGDs (n = 10) were conducted with community members.