After a boom in foreign-currency denominated (forex) mortgage loans in the 2000s and the resulting debt crisis in 2008-2009, Hungary’s debt management came to be defined by a highly politicised combination of several phenomena: the existence of a large social base at risk of defaulting on their mortgages; the integration of debtors’ struggles into a shift from the post-socialist dominance of neoliberalism to a national conservative political hegemony during the crisis years; and the political foregrounding of forex debt management in the post-2010 Orbán governments’ construction of a new financial model as part of a post-neoliberal authoritarian capitalist regime. The article traces how two main aspects of the forex mortgage crisis, housing debt under dependent financialisation and the problem of limited housing access, became integrated into Hungary’s electoral politics and macroeconomic transformation in the last decade.
Multivalvulid myxosporeans of the genera Kudoa Meglitsch, 1947 and Unicapsula Davis, 1924 (Cnidaria: Myxozoa) are often the cause of unsightly cyst formation or postmortem myoliquefaction in the trunk muscle of commercial marine fish, which reduces the market value of infected individuals. Twenty species (18 Kudoa spp. and two Unicapsula spp.) have been recorded from carangid fish, although the majority of them, excluding polyxenous species, such as K. amamiensis Egusa et Nakajima, 1980, K. iwatai Egusa et Shiomitsu, 1983, K. nova Naidenova, 1975, K. quadratum (Thélohan, 1895) and K. yasunagai (Hsieh et Chen, 1984), are limited to a single or a few fish species. We report the occurrence of macroscopic cysts of Kudoa trachuri Matsukane, Sato, Tanaka, Kamata et Sugita-Konishi, 2011 in the trunk muscle of four new host fish species, i.e., Pseudocaranx dentex (Bloch et Schneider), Decapterus akaadsi Abe, D. muroadsi (Temminck et Schlegel) and Decapterus tabl Berry, fished from the Philippine Sea (Northwest Pacific Ocean), off southwestern of Japan. Myxospore morphology and genetic characteristics of the ribosomal RNA gene (rDNA) of these isolates were consistent with previous records of K. trachuri from Trachurus japonicus (Temminck et Schlegel) from around Japan. In addition, a new species of Kudoa that forms long filamentous pseudocysts in trunk myofibres was found in four of the six D. tabl collected in this study. We describe Kudoa longichorda sp. n. for this new isolate, based on its morphology of subquadrate myxospores with four shell valves and polar capsules and with small dimensions (length 4.3-5.5 µm, width 6.0-6.8 µm, thickness 4.8-6.3 µm, polar capsule length 2.3-3.1 µm, polar capsule width 1.1-1.7 µm), as well as 18S and 28S rDNA sequences distinct from those of known species.
The examination of eight spotted skates, Raja straeleni Poll, resulted in the discovery of four new species of Acanthobothrium van Beneden, 1849, namely A. microhabentes sp. n., A. microtenuis sp. n., A. crassus sp. n., and A. dolichocollum sp. n., located off the Western Cape of South Africa. With a total of over 200 valid species of Acanthobothrium recognised worldwide, the use of an integrative approach becomes imperative in the interest of simplifying interspecific comparisons between congeners. In accordance with this, the four new species were incorporated into the category classification system established by Ghoshroy and Caira in 2001, where they were identified as category 2 species, which, at present, includes 47 recognised species of Acanthobothrium. Nevertheless, each of the four new species exhibits postovarian testes, a most intriguing and highly unusual feature among Acanthobothrium, instantly differentiating them from most congeners. This feature has been reported in 12 congeners, which have previously been considered to be restricted to waters of the Indo-Pacific Ocean. Not only do the four new congeners represent the first species of Acanthobothrium reported from southern Africa, but they also represent the first reported species with postovarian testes from the southern Atlantic Ocean. and Regarding the legitimacy of the four new species, only two other category 2 species are reported to exhibit this feature, namely A. popi Fyler, Caira et Jensen, 2009, and A. bobconniorum Fyler et Caira, 2010, to which the four congeners were compared to. Acanthobothrium microhabentes sp. n. is the smallest of the congeners and differs from A. popi and A. bobconniorum by having fewer testes and postovarian testes, a shorter body, fewer proglottids, a shorter scolex, and longer cephalic peduncle. Acanthobothrium microtenuis sp. n. differs from A. popi and A. bobconniorum by having fewer testes and postovarian testes, a shorter scolex, longer cephalic peduncle, and the possession of columnar spinitriches on the anterior region of the terminal proglottid. Acanthobothrium crassus sp.n. differs from A. popi and A. bobconniorum by having fewer postovarian testes, a narrower cirrus-sac, larger vitelline follicles, and a longer cephalic peduncle. Acanthobothrium dolichocollum sp. n. is the longest of the four new species and differs from A. popi and A. bobconniorum by having fewer postovarian testes, more postporal testes, a larger body, more proglottids, larger testes and vitelline follicles, and an exceptionally long cephalic peduncle. Apart from differences in overall size, the four new species differ in a combination of measurements for the scolex, vitelline follicles, muscular pad and cephalic peduncle, and the number of proglottids and testes. The four species were recovered from a previously unexplored host and locality, expanding the host associations and geographical distribution of the genus.
Four new species of Acanthobothrium van Beneden, 1850 are described from guitarfish, Rhynchobatus cf. djiddensis (Forsskål), collected from the Gulf of Oman and Persian Gulf. Acanthobothrium janineae sp. n., a category 1 species, differs from all congeners in category 1 by having a long vagina extending into the vas deferens and different, proglottid and testis number except Acanthobothrium hypermekkolpos Fyler et Caira, 2010. Acanthobothrium fylerae sp. n., a category 1 species, can be differentiated by a combination of characters including the total length, proglottid and testis number, cirrus sac shape, and the length of the vagina and ovarian lobes. Both new species are similar to A. hypermekkolpos reported from Rhynchobatus laevis (Bloch et Schneider) from Australia in their scolex proper length, hook size and muscular pad, respectively. Acanthobothrium asrinae sp. n., a category 1 species, differs from other category 1 species by the shape of its hooks and the position of the tubercle at the mid-length of the axial prongs; in this respect it resembles A. bartonae Campbell et Beveridge, 2002 reported from Australia. Acanthobothrium jamesi sp. n. is among six category 1 species with post-ovarian testes. It differs from these species by total length, proglottid and testis number and the extension of the ovarian lobes. Although it is thought that R. djiddensis occurs in the region, the identities of the hosts of the newly described Acanthobothrium species await verification. There are two forms of host in the region and were designated as R. cf. djiddensis 1 and R. cf. djiddensis 2. More taxonomic work and the use of molecular techniques are needed to resolve the true identity of the host species., Loghman Maleki, Masoumeh Malek, Harry W. Palm., and Obsahuje bibliografii
This review updates the information on the actual status and distribution of freshwater gobies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The available literature has been critically reviewed to provide more complete and up-to-date information. Consequently four species are proposed for removal from the national checklist, given the lack of any data to support their presence: Knipowitschia panizzae, Pomatoschistus microps, Proterorhinus marmoratus and Zosterisessor ophiocephalus. Therefore, the freshwater gobiid fauna is confirmed to include seven species from six genera. The Adriatic Sea basin (Neretva River catchment) is inhabited by three endemic species: Knipowitschia radovici, Orsinigobius croaticus and Ninnigobius canestrinii, while the Black Sea basin (Danube River catchment) is inhabited by the invasive species: Babka gymnotrachelus, Neogobius fluviatilis, Neogobius melanostomus and Ponticola kessleri. However, due to the possibility of misidentify the finding of B. gymnotrachelus is questionable and needs confirmation. Distribution of both endemic Knipowitschia and Orsinogobius species is restricted to small areas in the lower Neretva River catchment on both sides of the Croatia-Bosnia and Herzegovina border. The vulnerability of these species is discussed, and the IUCN conservation and units meriting conservation attention were identified. The invasive character of other species is highlighted. This review indicates that the knowledge on the Bosnia-Herzegovinian freshwater gobiid fauna is still far from complete, hence this up-to-date checklist can serve as a basis for further ecological and zoogeographical studies. For better species inventory, finer scale distribution surveys are needed, followed by detailed morphological, molecular phylogenetic and ecological studies.
It is well known that the mammalian uterine tube (UT) plays a crucial role in female fertility, where the most important events leading to successful fertilization and pre-implantation embryo development occur. The known functions of these small intraabdominal organs are: an uptake and transport of oocytes; storage, transportation, and capacitation of spermatozoa, and finally fertilization and transport of the fertilized ovum and early embryo through the isthmus towards the uterotubal junction. The success of all these events depends on the interaction between the uterine tube epithelium (UTE) and gametes/embryo. Besides that, contemporary research revealed that the tubal epithelium provides essential nutritional support and the most suitable environment for early embryo development. Moreover, recent discoveries in molecular biology help understand the role of the epithelium at the cellular and molecular levels, highlighting the factors involved in regulating the UT signaling, that affects different steps in the fertilization process. According to the latest research, the extracellular vesicles, as a major component of tubal secretion, mediate the interaction between gametes/embryo and epithelium. This review aims to provide up-to-date knowledge on various aspects concerning tubal epithelium activity and its cross-talk with spermatozoa, oocytes and preimplantation embryo and how these interactions affect fertilization and early embryo development.
Nad názvem: Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Czech Academy of Sciences, International Polymer Colloid Group, International Union of Pure and Applied Chemistry, European Polymer Federation, Obsahuje bibliografické odkazy a rejstřík, and born digital
The involvement of the mTOR system/enzyme sirtuin 1 (SIRT1) intracellular signaling system in the control of ovarian functions and its role in mediating hormonal action on the ovary has been proposed, but this hypothesis should be supported by a demonstrated influence of hormones on mTOR/SIRT1. Therefore, the aim of our in vitro experiments was to examine the effect of the known hormonal regulators of ovarian functions, such as follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), oxytocin (OT) and insulin-like growth factor I (IGF-I), on mTOR/SIRT1. The accumulation of SIRT1 in porcine ovarian granulosa cells cultured with and without these hormones (at doses of 1, 10 or 100 ng.ml-1 ) was evaluated using immunocytochemistry. It was observed that the addition of FSH (at 10 ng.ml-1 but not at 1 or 100 ng/ml) and OT (at all tested doses) increased the expression of SIRT1 in ovarian cells. In addition, 100 ng.ml-1 , but not at 1 or 10 ng.ml-1 , of IGF-I decreased SIRT1 accumulation. Our observations are the first demonstration that hormones can directly regulate the ovarian mTOR/SIRT1 system and that this system could mediate the action of hormonal regulators on the ovary.
The uterine tube (UT) pathologies account for 25-35 % of female factor infertility. Although these peculiar organs were first studied several hundred years ago, they have become overlooked and neglected mainly due to the successes of reproductive medicine. Nevertheless, reproductive medicine still faces many challenges regarding the fertility outcomes of in vitro fertilization (IVF). Many obstacles and problems can be resolved by a more detailed understanding of the UT morphology and function during normal reproduction. Over the course of the 21st century, many new insights have been obtained: the presence of a population of telocytes in the tubal wall responsible for normal motility and hormone sensory function, the demonstration of lymphatic lacunae of the mucosal folds necessary for oocyte capture and tubal fluid recirculation, or a thorough profiling of the immune makeup of the UT epithelial lining with the discovery of regulatory T cells presumably important for maternal tolerance towards the semiallogenic embryo. New discoveries also include the notion that the UT epithelium is male sex hormone-sensitive, and that the UT is not sterile, but harbors a complex microbiome. The UT epithelial cells were also shown to be the cells-of-origin of high-grade serous ovarian carcinomas. Finally, yet importantly, several modern morphological directions have been emerging recently, including cell culture, the development of tubal organoids, in silico modelling, tissue engineering and regenerative medicine. All these novel insights and new approaches can contribute to better clinical practice and successful pregnancy outcomes.
Functional responses at each developmental stage of predators and intraspecific competition associated with direct interactions among them provide insights into developing biological control strategies for pests. The functional responses of Harmonia axyridis (Pallas) at each developmental stage of Melanaphis sacchari (Zehntner) and intraspecific competition among predators were evaluated under laboratory conditions. The results showed that all stages of H. axyridis displayed a type II functional response to M. sacchari. Based on Holling's disc equation, the instantaneous searching rates were highest (a) and handling time was shortest (Th) of fourth instar larvae (a = 0.8818; Th = 3.9 min) and female adults (a = 0.9881; Th = 3.0 min) at larval and adult stages, respectively. The coefficients of mutual interference (m) assessed by the intraspecific competition equation were higher for fourth instar larvae (m = 0.4764) and female adults (m = 0.4183). The present study indicates that fourth instar and female adult were more effective stages of H. axyridis in the context of biological control but suitable predator densities need to be considered before natural enemy release., Pengxiang Wu, Jing Zhang, Muhammad Haseeb, Shuo Yan, Lambert Kanga, Runzhi Zhang., and Obsahuje bibliografii