Wolves are currently recolonising their historic range in France. The collection of scats is a widely used a non-invasive survey method to monitor wolf population size. However, seasonal changes in wolf faecal deposition patterns might affect the results of surveys. We used a detection dog and camera trapping (CT) to compare wolf scat detectability during winter and the nursing season. We collected 113 scats deposited by adult wolves at 29 marking sites on forest roads in the Sainte-Baume Regional Park, Provence, France. After parturition, the mean number of adult wolf scats increased by 160% inside the nursing territory and decreased by 80% outside of it. Around the time the pups are born, changes in faecal deposition patterns of adults make it easier to find scats around the wolf den (87% probability per wolf marking site) and harder to find scats outside the nursing territory (11% probability). During winter, the chance to find scats is equal (38 to 40% probability per wolf marking site) inside vs. outside the nursing territory. The combined use of a detection dog and camera traps allowed us to gather data on wolf defecation patterns non-invasively. Detectability of adult wolf scats during the nursing season is highly variable compared to winter due to seasonal behavioural changes affecting scat location. We conclude that surveys to collect samples and estimate wolf population size should be conducted exclusively during winter to avoid sampling biases.
Copepods of the genus Achtheinus Wilson, 1908 (Pandaridae) are parasites of elasmobranchs that attach to their fins, gill slits and around the nostrils. Specimens of Achtheinus pinguis Wilson, 1912 were collected and examined using histology and scanning electron microscopy to determine their way of attachment to the host and the possible effect on the host. They insert their antennae deep into the dermis of the shark's skin, which causes the most damage due to possible tissue compression and/or fibrosis as well as rupture of the connective tissue. Additionally, the presence of the copepod on the skin causes cell erosion of the epidermal cells and thus reduces the number of epidermal layers. The maxillipeds are used to attach to the placoid scales that cover the shark's skin and probably serve to keep the copepod and inserted antennae in position. This is accomplished by the insertion of the placoid scales into the flaccid corpus of the maxillipeds. Observed damage seems to be negligible to the shark apart from the possibility of secondary infection., Susan M. Dippenaar, Anine Jordaan., and Obsahuje bibliografii
The whipworms, i.e. parasitic nematodes of the genus Trichuris Roederer, 1761, infect a variety of mammals. Apparently low diversity of primate-infecting species of Trichuris strongly contrasts with the high number of species described in other mammalian hosts. The present study addresses the diversity of whipworms in captive and free-ranging primates and humans by analysing nuclear (18S rRNA, ITS2) and mitochondrial (cox1) DNA. Phylogenetic analyses revealed that primate whipworms form two independent lineages: (i) the Trichuris trichiura (Linnaeus, 1771) clade comprised of genetically almost identical whipworms from human and other primates, which suggests the ability of T. trichiura to infect a broader range of primates; (ii) a clade containing primarily Trichuris suis Schrank, 1788, where isolates from human and various primates formed a sister group to isolates from pigs; the former isolates thus may represent of more species of Trichuris in primates including humans. The analysis of cox1 has shown the polyphyly of the genera Trichuris and Capillaria, Zeder, 1800. High sequence similarity of the T. trichiura isolates from humans and other primates suggests their zoonotic potential, although the extent of transmission between human and other non-human primates remains questionable and requires further study., Jana Doležalová, Miroslav Oborník, Eva Hajdušková, Milan Jirků, Klára J. Petrželková, Petra Bolechová, Cristina Cutillas, Rocio Callejón, Jozef Jaroš, Zuzana Beránková, David Modrý., and Obsahuje bibliografii
Tsetse flies are well-known vectors of trypanosomes pathogenic for humans and livestock. For these strictly blood-feeding viviparous flies, the host blood should be the only source of nutrients and liquids, as well as any exogenous microorganisms colonising their intestine. Here we describe the unexpected finding of several monoxenous trypanosomatids in their gut. In a total of 564 individually examined Glossina (Austenia) tabaniformis (Westwood) (436 specimens) and Glossina (Nemorhina) fuscipes fuscipes (Newstead) (128 specimens) captured in the Dzanga-Sangha Protected Areas, Central African Republic, 24 (4.3%) individuals were infected with monoxenous trypanosomatids belonging to the genera Crithidia Léger, 1902; Kentomonas Votýpka, Yurchenko, Kostygov et Lukeš, 2014; Novymonas Kostygov et Yurchenko, 2020; Obscuromonas Votýpka et Lukeš, 2021; and Wallacemonas Kostygov et Yurchenko, 2014. Moreover, additional 20 (3.5%) inspected tsetse flies harboured free-living bodonids affiliated with the genera Dimastigella Sandon, 1928; Neobodo Vickerman, 2004; Parabodo Skuja, 1939; and Rhynchomonas Klebs, 1892. In the context of the recently described feeding behaviour of these dipterans, we propose that they become infected while taking sugar meals and water, providing indirect evidence that blood is not their only source of food and liquids.
This paper describes the post-disaster reconstruction in the Tohoku region after the 2011 earthquake. Nine years have passed since the Great East Japan Earthquake and Tsunami occurred, and many efforts have been made since to rebuild the devastated territories. Some Japanese architects and urban planners have seen the recovery as a window of opportunity to aim for more resilient cities. Nevertheless, building disaster-resilient communities remains a challenging task. This short paper presents the initiatives made to improve refugees’ social conditions in disaster-relief housing, using the case study of Iwanuma’s relocation project. Concluding remarks suggest that many efforts have been made to improve the social aspect of disaster-relief housing in Japan, for example through the development of community spaces or the pursuit of friendlier dwellings.
An application of different mulch materials may lead to changes in soil properties. Our previous study, focused on the impact of various mulches during the 4-year period, showed that the change in some properties can be very rapid (e.g., soil pH), but in other cases such as hydraulic properties, the changes can be gradual. To find out, whether the extension of the mulching period will further affect the studied soil properties, the experiment continued for another 2 years. Differences between values of organic carbon content (Cox), soil physical quality (Sinf), gravitational water (GW) and readily available water (RAW) of soils not covered by any mulch and under various mulches (bark chips; wood chips; wheat straw; Agrotex EKO+ decomposable matting; polypropylene fabric covered bark chips; crushed stone) were much larger than those observed in our previous study. On the other hand, the opposite trend was observed for the water stable aggregates (WSA) index or soil pH. Differences between additionally measured hydraulic conductivities at the pressure head of −2 cm and repellency index (RI) were mostly insignificant. Results indicated that organic mulches can either positively (e.g., increase WSA index and Cox, and decrease GW) or negatively (e.g., decrease Sinf and RAW, and increase RI) affect soil properties.
Objectives. The aim of the study was to assess the psychometric properties of a Czech adapta-tion of the Humor Structure Appreciation Scale (HSAS) which measures appreciation of two structural dimensions of humor: incongruity-resolution (INC-RES), and nonsense (NON). Differences in humor structure appreciation were investigated between a Czech and a Mac-edonian sample, and measurement invariance was tested.Participants and setting. Two online studies were conducted. After a back-translation of the scale, the first proposal of the Czech version of the HSAS was given to 145 participants from the Czech Republic. In the second study, the HSAS-CZ was completed by a Czech sample of 346 subjects. A measure of the need for closure was also completed to assess construct valid-ity. The Macedonian sample comprised of 562 subjects filled in only the original version of the HSAS.Results. Principal component analysis showed that the sum of variance explained by the two dimensions was 60.8%, and the factor loadings were satisfactory. The second study confirmed the factor structure of the scale. The results of the Confirmatory factor analyses showed that the two-factor model had acceptable fit (RMSEA = .053 [.034, .072], CFI = .986, TLI = .981). The standardized factor loadings were high for INC-RES (λ = .62 to .79), as well as for NON humor (λ = .57 to 80). Initial construct validity was obtained. The HSAS-CZ scales were theoretically related to the need for closure. The jokes were found funnier by the Macedonian sample in comparison to the Czech by one third to one half standard deviation. Finally, strict measurement invariance model comparing the Czech and Macedonian versions of the test showed an acceptable fit. However, significant differences were found in factor loadings as well as in residual variances.Limitations. The main limitation of the study is the use of convenience samples. and Cíle. Cílem studie bylo posoudit psychometric-ké vlastnosti české adaptace Škály hodnocení struktury humoru (HSAS), která měří ocenění dvou strukturálních dimenzí humoru: inkon-gruence-vyřešení (INC-RES) a nesmyslnost (NON). Hodnocení struktury humoru bylo srov-náváno mezi českým a makedonským vzorkem a dále byla testována invariance měření.Účastníci a prostředí. Byly realizovány dvě on-line studie. První návrh české verze HSAS-CZ vytvořený s pomocí zpětného překladu byl ad-ministrován 145 účastníkům z České republiky. Ve druhé studii vyplnilo HSAS-CZ 346 subjektů z ČR spolu se Škálou potřeby kognitivního uza-vření k posouzení konstruktové validity. A dále 562 respondentů z Makedonie, kterým byla ad-ministrována pouze původní verze HSAS.Výsledky. Analýza hlavních komponent nalez-la dvoufaktorové řešení, které vysvětlovalo 60,8 % rozptylu položkových skórů a posky-tovalo uspokojivé faktorové zátěže. Druhá studie tuto faktorovou strukturu potvrdila. Výsledky konfirmační faktorové analýzy uká-zaly, že dvoufaktorový model má přijatelnou shodu s daty (RMSEA = 0,053 [0,034, 0,072], CFI = 0,986, TLI = 0,981). Standardizované faktorové zátěže byly vysoké pro dimenzi INC-RES (λ = 0,62 až 0,79) i pro NON humor (λ = 0,57 až 0,80). Přítomnost konstruktové va-Přítomnost konstruktové va-lidity naznačuje fakt, že škály HSAS-CZ byly teoreticky spojeny s potřebou kognitivního uza-vření. Vtipy byly shledány vtipnějšími u make-donského vzorku ve srovnání s českým o třetinu až polovinu směrodatné odchylky. Při analýze národnostních skupin byla nalezena přijatelná shoda u modelu striktní invariance měření, při srovnání s modely s méně restrikcemi je nicmé-ně rozdíl v nábojích i reziduálních rozptylech statisticky významný.Omezení. Hlavním omezením studie je použití nepravděpodobnostních metod sběru dat.
To investigate the effect of hydrogen sulfide (H2S) on myocardial injury in sepsis-induced myocardial dysfunction (SIMD), male C57BL/6 mice were intraperitoneally injected with lipopolysaccharide (LPS) (10 mg/kg, i.p.) to induce cardiac dysfunction without or with the H2S donor sodium hydrosulfide (NaHS) (50 µmol/kg, i.p.) administration 3 h after LPS injection. Six hours after the LPS injection, echocardiography, cardiac hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining, myocardial damage and inflammatory biomarkers and Western blot results were analyzed. In mice, the administration of LPS decreased left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) by 30 % along with lowered H2S levels (35 % reduction). It was observed that cardiac troponin I (cTnI), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and interleukin-1β (IL-1β) levels were all increased (by 0.22-fold, 2000-fold and 0.66-fold respectively). HE staining revealed structural damage and inflammatory cell infiltration in the myocardial tissue after LPS administration. Moreover, after 6 h of LPS treatment, toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) and nod-like receptor protein 3 (NLRP3) expressions were up-regulated 2.7-fold and 1.6-fold respectively. When compared to the septic mice, NaHS enhanced ventricular function (by 0.19-fold), decreased cTnI, TNF-α, and IL-1β levels (by 11 %, 33 %, and 16 % respectively) and downregulated TLR4 and NLRP3 expressions (by 64 % and 31 % respectively). Furthermore, NaHS did not further improve cardiac function and inflammation in TLR4-/- mice or mice in which NLRP3 activation was inhibited by MCC950, after LPS injection. In conclusion, these findings imply that decreased endogenous H2S promotes the progression of SIMD, whereas exogenous H2S alleviates SIMD by inhibiting inflammation via the TLR4-NLRP3 pathway suppression.