Integrative phylogenetic, phylogeographic and morphological characterisation of the Unio crassus species complex reveals cryptic diversity with important conservation implications.

The global decline of freshwater mussels and their crucial ecological services highlight the need to understand their phylogeny, phylogeography and patterns of genetic diversity to guide conservation efforts. Such knowledge is urgently needed for Unio crassus, a highly imperilled species originally widespread throughout Europe and southwest Asia. Recent studies have resurrected several species from synonymy based on mitochondrial data, revealing U. crassus to be a complex of cryptic species. To address long-standing taxonomic uncertainties hindering effective conservation, we integrate morphometric, phylogenetic, and phylogeographic analyses to examine species diversity within the U. crassus complex across its entire range. Phylogenetic analyses were performed using cytochrome c oxidase subunit I (815 specimens from 182 populations) and, for selected specimens, whole mitogenome sequences and Anchored Hybrid Enrichment (AHE) data on âˆ¼ 600 nuclear loci. Mito-nuclear discordance was detected, consistent with mitochondrial DNA gene flow between some species during the Pliocene and Pleistocene. Fossil-calibrated phylogenies based on AHE data support a Mediterranean origin for the U. crassus complex in the Early Miocene. The results of our integrative approach support 12 species in the group: the previously recognised Unio bruguierianus, Unio carneus, Unio crassus, Unio damascensis, Unio ionicus, Unio sesirmensis, and Unio tumidiformis, and the reinstatement of five nominal taxa: Unio desectusstat. rev., Unio gontieriistat. rev., Unio mardinensisstat. rev., Unio nanusstat. rev., and Unio vicariusstat. rev. Morphometric analyses of shell contours reveal important morphospace overlaps among these species, highlighting cryptic, but geographically structured, diversity. The distribution, taxonomy, phylogeography, and conservation of each species are succinctly described.

[Penetrating aortic ulcers--case report on endovascular therapy]. / Penetrující aortální vred: kazuistická sdelení endovaskulární lécby.

We report our experience with two cases of endovascular treatment of penetrating aortic ulcers (PAU). The first patient was a 71-year-old woman with 30 mm width aortic ulcer accompanied by intramural hematoma of the descending thoracic aorta. The second patient was an 80-year-old obese woman with 50 mm pseudoaneurysma of the abdominal aorta, which was result of PAU. Both patients were successfully treated by means of tubular stentgraft, implanted from surgical cut down of the right femoral artery. Penetrating aortic ulcer represents localized, potentially lethal pathology of the aorta. Together with dissection and intramural hematoma belongs among the acute aortic syndromes. During nature course PAU can progress to the acute classic dissection, pseudoaneurysma or rupture of the aorta. It is principally disease of elderly hypertensive patients. Early diagnosis and appropriate therapy improves prognosis of patients with PAU. Open surgical repair with synthetic graft has been the gold standard of treatment but endovascular therapy is an attractive option in risk elderly patients. It seems to be a safe, effective treatment but stability of results of this method should be proved.

Environmental benefits and economic costs of manure incorporation on dairy waste application fields.

Model simulations performed representing dairies in a 93000 ha watershed in north central Texas suggest that manure incorporation results in reduced phosphorus (P) losses at relatively small to moderate cost to producers. Simulated manure incorporation with a tandem disk on fields double-cropped with sorghum/winter wheat resulted in up to 33, 45, and 37% reductions in per hectare sediment-bound, soluble, and total P losses in edge-of-field runoff, relative to simulated surface manure applications. The effects of incorporation were evaluated at three different manure application rates. On aggregate across all three manure application rates, significant declines in P losses were obtained with incorporation except for sediment-bound P losses under the N-based manure application rate scenario. We found that the practice of incorporating manure shortly after it has been broadcast on the soil surface could help reduce P losses in such situations where P-based rates alone prove inadequate. The cost the producer incurs when manure is incorporated is on average about 1% of net returns when manure is applied at the N rate and 2-3% when it is applied at alternative P-based rates. In practice the costs could be lower because producers may substitute the manure incorporation operation for a tandem disk operation performed prior to manure application. As more and more dairy producers switch to the use of sorghum and corn silage in dairy rations and consequent on-farm production of these forages, the practice of manure incorporation may help to reduce phosphorus losses resulting from dairy manure applications to fields with these forage crops.

[Formal concept analysis]. / O formální analýze koncepcí.

Formal Concept Analysis plays a fundamental role in different fields of research and it is widely used in applied sciences in the last years. In the present paper the authors show in detail how it can be applied to the study of results obtained in clinical practice.