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.

Risk Factors of Prolonged ICU Stay in Liver Transplant Recipients in a Single-Center Experience.

BACKGROUND: Prolonged initial intensive care unit (ICU) stay after liver transplantation (LT) is associated with prolonged total hospitalization, increased hospital mortality, and impaired patient and graft survival. Recent data suggested that model for end-stage liver disease (MELD) score at the time of LT and the length of surgery were the two independent risk factors for an ICU stay longer than 3 days after LT. We further identified factors influencing prolonged ICU stay in single-center liver graft recipients. PATIENTS AND METHODS: One hundred fifty consecutive LT recipients (M/F 94/56, median age 55 (range, 39-60), 36% with viral hepatitis, were prospectively enrolled into the study. Associations between clinical factors and prolonged ICU stay were evaluated using logistic regression models. Receiver operating characteristic curves were analyzed to determine the appropriate cutoffs for continuous variables. Threshold for significance was P ≤ .05. RESULTS: Highly prolonged (≥8 days) and moderately prolonged (≥6 days) postoperative ICU stay was noted in 19 (12.7%) and 59 (39.3%) patients, respectively. Serum bilirubin (P = .001) and creatinine concentrations (P = .011), international normalized ratio (P = .004), and sodium-MELD (P < .001) were all significantly associated with postoperative intensive care unit stay over or equal to 75th percentile (6 days). Sodium-MELD was significantly associated with postoperative care unit stay greater or equal to the 90th percentile (8 days; P = .018). CONCLUSIONS: Sodium-MELD might be a novel risk factor of prolonged ICU stay in this single-center experience.

Evolution of Organ Transplantation in Poland 1966 to 2014: Dates and Numbers.

BACKGROUND: Several events inspired us to collect data on organ transplantation in Poland (2016: the 50th anniversary of the first transplantation and the 20th anniversary of Polish Transplant Coordinating Center Poltransplant). The paper aims at presenting comprehensive data on all organ transplants, beginning with the first in 1966 (deceased kidney) until the end of 2014. METHODS: Source documents were reports published in Poltransplant Bulletin, a website registry managed by Poltransplant, reports by the Transplantation Council and by the Transplantation Institute of Warsaw. A source data enabled us to establish a preliminary report, presented for verification during the 12th Congress of the Polish Transplantation Society. RESULTS: By the end of 2014, the total number of organ transplants was 26,691. Kidney transplantation is the most common (total number = 19,812). The number of living kidney transplants is low, about 50 per year. The number of liver part transplants from living donors is relatively high, 20 to 30 annually. The program of deceased liver transplantation results in more than 300 transplants yearly. The first heart transplantation was in 1985, but the number of these procedures has been decreasing. No significant increase in the number of lung transplantations was noted. CONCLUSIONS: The number of organ transplantations from deceased donors places Poland in the middle among European countries. The number of living donor kidney transplants is lower than in other countries; therefore a living donor liver transplantation program belongs to leading programs. Progress of lung transplantation has been slow. The development is highlighted by vascularized composite tissue transplantations of the hands and face. The strength of the report lies in its reliability and completeness. Numbers are the unique source of information to be used and referred to in the literature.

Response of Development and Body Mass to Daily Temperature Fluctuations: a Study on Tribolium castaneum.

Differences in thermal regimes are of paramount importance in insect development. However, experiments that examine trait development under constant temperature conditions may yield less evolutionarily relevant results than those that take naturally occurring temperature fluctuations into account. We investigated the effect of different temperature regimes (constant 30 °C, constant 35 °C, fluctuating with a daily mean of 30 °C, or fluctuating with a daily mean of 35 °C) on sex-specific development time and body mass in Tribolium castaneum. Using a half-sib breeding design, we also examined whether there is any evidence for genotype-by-environment interactions (GEI) for the studied traits. In response to fluctuating temperature regimes, beetles demonstrated reaction norm patterns in which thermal fluctuations influenced traits negatively above the species' thermal optimum but had little to no effect close to the thermal optimum. Estimated heritabilities of development time were in general low and non-significant. In case of body mass of pupae and adults, despite significant genetic variance, we did not find any GEI due to crossing of reaction norms, both between temperatures and between variability treatments. We have observed a weak tendency towards higher heritabilities of adult and pupa body mass in optimal fluctuating thermal conditions. Thus, we have not found any biasing effect of stable thermal conditions as compared to fluctuating temperatures on the breeding values of heritable body-size traits. Contrary to this we have observed a strong population-wide effect of thermal fluctuations, indicated by the significant temperature-fluctuations interaction in both adult and pupa mass.

Influence of melatonin and its precursor L-tryptophan on Th1 dependent contact hypersensitivity.

There is strong evidence that melatonin possesses immunomodulatory activity. It has been shown that it enhances the immune response, acting as a pro-inflammatory agent. It is suggested that melatonin promotes Th1-mediated immune responses by upregulating IL-12 production by antigen presenting cells. In contrast, it has also been shown that melatonin can inhibit Th1 immunity and instead promote a Th2 response. This discrepancy between different observations of the regulatory activity of melatonin on Th1 immunity encouraged us to further investigate the influence of melatonin and its precursor L-tryptophan on Th1 mediated contact hypersensitivity (CHS). Our results show that both melatonin and L-tryptophan inhibit the inflammatory response associated with CHS. Melatonin inhibited the Th1-dependent immune response by suppressing the production of IFN-gamma and IL-12 by cells in the lymph node. On the other hand treatment with L-tryptophan inhibits CHS without affecting INF-gamma production by Th1 effector cells. Observed suppression of CHS after L-tryptophan treatment is at least partly through the production of the anti-inflammatory cytokine IL-10.

Synthesis and application of chiral triazine condensing reagents prepared from esters of amino acids.

Treatment of cyanuric chloride with chiral amines or esters of chiral amino acids gave chiral 2,4-dichloro-6-alkylamino-1,3,5-triazines (2-5) in 49-69% yield, which were found useful as coupling reagents. Enantioselective activation and enantioselective aminolysis in the presence of 2-5 was observed.

[Carbon dioxide pneumoperitoneum with gynecologic laparoscopy as a safe procedure in general anesthesia]. / Odma otrzewnowa dwutlenkiem wegla do laparoskopii ginekologicznej jako postepowanie bezpieczne w znieczulaniu ogólnym.

The studies have been performed in 33 women aged 12 to 60 years, underwent gynecological laparoscopy in complex general anesthesia with intubation. The pneumoperitoneum was induced by CO2. Laparoscopy was made according to the H. Frangenheim method. Patients showed no pathological changes when examined electrocardiographically, CTK, pulse frequency, total lung capacity, acid-base balance in the blood well as the CO2 blood concentration remained also within normal range. Above result showed that CO2 as a gas used for pneumoperitoneum induction during laparoscopy is a secure agent. Full security of the gas use in conditioned by caution concerning the lung ventilation, patient monitoring, the gas flow equal to 1000 ml/min during the pneumoperitoneum induction and the final intraabdominal pressure 17-18 mm Hg.

[Contribution to studies on the model of the family]. / Przyczynek do badan nad modelem rodziny.

PIP: Fertility data obtained in Wolbrom, Poland were utilized for the analysis of family models. During the period of 1877-1950 the average number of births per married couple decreased gradually from 7.71 to 3.00. Between 1881 and 1980 about 50% of all births occurred in families of 7-10 children. The analysis of the periods of 1877-1910 and 1941-1950 showed that the age of the mother of the first child was under 34, while the father's age was under 40. The age of the parents of the second child was 39 and 44, respectively, however, the upper age limit of mothers and fathers to whom children were born decreased by 5 and 15 years between the two periods. The number of births was the highest in the first 3 years of marriage (19% and 44% of all births fell in this range during 1881-1910 and 1945-1950, respectively). The average age of men getting married decreased, while that of women was increased (mean values of 28.6 and 24.4 years, respectively). Most people married during 20-24 years of age. The demographic changes that occurred were caused by socio-economic factors, e.g., industrialization, migration, improvement of living standards and health care, and culture.^ieng

[Treatment of Guillain-Barré syndrome by the method of fractionated plasma exchange with controlled hemodilution]. / Leczenie zespolu Guillaina-Barrego metoda frakcjonowanej wymiany osocza w hemodilucji sterowanej.

Plasma exchange under controlled haemodilution was tried in 9 patients with Guillain-Barré syndrome repeating the procedure at 24-hour intervals for from 7 to 17 times with a total exchange of plasma ranging from 2.0 to 4.9 litres. All patients had significant paresis or paralysis of all four extremities, and 3 had additionally respiratory failure. The criteria accepted for performing plasmapheresis included a very severe form of the disease and a steady progression of signs despite treatment with corticosteroids. Already after the first exchange of plasma arrest of disease progression was observed in all cases, and after the 2nd or 3rd exchange a progressing improvement began. Six patients regained the ability of walking within 4 to 8 weeks, all were discharged walking unaided. The obtained results suggest the conclusion that the therapeutic method used is a very effective way of treating severe cases of Guillain-Barré syndrome and should be used in these patients.