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Hsisosuchus, with three known species, was the most common genus of crocodyliforms in the Sichuan Basin during the Jurassic. However, the overall shape of the ventral trunk shield of osteoderms has not been clarified due to the lack of complete specimens. A new specimen of Hsisosuchus recently recovered from the Upper Jurassic of Yunnan has the nearly complete ventral trunk shield preserved. This specimen provides an example for the first time for us to understand the shape and the way of the arrangement of the osteoderms in the ventral trunk shield in the genus. Compared with the articulated part of the ventral trunk shield preserved in two of the three species of the genus, the osteoderms of the ventral trunk shield of the new specimen are different in both shape and way of arrangement, indicating that the pattern of the ventral trunk shield is not constant within Hsisosuchus. With no skull and much of the postcranial skeleton poorly preserved as well as no corresponding element that can be used to compare with all the three species, the new specimen was considered as an indeterminate species of Hsisosuchus, awaiting more materials to clarify the problem. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The neural bases of fatigue in Parkinson's disease (PD) remain uncertain. We aimed to assess the brain metabolic correlates of fatigue in patients with PD. Patients and methods: Twenty-seven PD patients without clinically relevant depression (17-item Hamilton Depression Rating Scale (HAMD) score ≥ 14), apathy (Apathy Scale (AS) score ≥ 14) and excessive daytime somnolence (Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) score ≥ 10) were evaluated with Fatigue Severity Scale (FSS). Each patient had an F-18 fluorodeoxyglucose positron emission tomography (FDG-PET) scan. Motor symptoms were measured with the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale motor part. Levodopa equivalent daily dose for each patient was also calculated. The PET images were analyzed using statistical parametric mapping software. We introduced the age, educational level, HAMD scores, AS scores and ESS scores as covariates. Results: High FSS scores were associated with brain hypermetabolism in areas including the right middle temporal gyrus (Brodmann area (BA) 37) and left middle occipital gyrus (BA 19). Increased FSS scores correlated with hypometabolism in regions such as the right precuneus (BA 23), left inferior frontal gyrus (BA 45) and left superior frontal gyrus (orbital part, BA 11). Conclusion: This study demonstrates that brain areas including frontal, temporal and parietal regions indicative of emotion, motivation and cognitive functions are involved in fatigue in PD patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to explore plasma antioxidant status inde novoChinese Parkinson's disease (PD) patients and investigate its relationship with specific motor features of PD.Patients and methods: Sixty-fourde novoChinese PD patients and 40 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were recruited. Each motor feature of PD patients was assessed by unified Parkinson's disease rating scale. Plasma antioxidant status, including plasma level of glutathione (GSH) and plasma activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), glutathione peroxidase (GSH-Px), was detected using enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay. The relationship between the plasma antioxidant status and motor features of PD was evaluated by Spearman's coefficient.Results: Plasma GSH level and plasma activities of GSH-Px, CAT and SOD of PD patients were lower than those of healthy controls. Moreover, the declining activity of plasma CAT was related with the increasing mean postural instability and gait disorder (PIGD) score and growing age. In contrast, the severity of tremor was positively correlated with plasma SOD activity.Conclusion: Our study demonstrates that the plasma antioxidant status is impaired inde novoChinese PD patients. The complex relationship between the plasma antioxidant status and different motor features indicates that the antioxidant mechanisms underlying tremor and PIGD of PD may be different. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: This study aimed to evaluate the level of taurine in plasma, and its association with the severity of motor and non-motor symptoms (NMS) and chronic levodopa treatment in Parkinson's disease (PD).Patients and methods: Plasma taurine level was measured in treated PD (tPD), untreated PD (ntPD) and control groups. Motor symptoms and NMS were assessed using the Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale, the short form of the McGill Pain Questionnaire, the Hamilton Depression Scale, the Scale for Outcomes in Parkinson's disease for Autonomic Symptoms and the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. Longtime exposure to levodopa was indicated by its approximate cumulative dosage.Results: The plasma taurine levels of PD patients were decreased when compared with controls and negatively associated with motor severity but not NMS. Moreover, tPD patients exhibited lower levels of plasma taurine than ntPD patients. Interestingly, plasma taurine levels negatively correlated with cumulative levodopa dosage in tPD. After controlling for potential confounders, the association between taurine and levodopa remained significant.Conclusion: Our study supports that taurine may play important roles in the pathophysiology of PD and the disturbances caused by chronic levodopa administration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]