The birds along twenty 500 m lengths of coastal borrowdyke (water-filled ditches left when clay is extracted to make a sea wall) in eastern England were counted in spring 2004 and occurrence related to features of habitat. A total of 45 species was recorded with species richness ranging from 5–21. The most widespread species were little grebe Tachybaptus ruficollis, mute swan Cygnus olor, mallard Anas platyrhynchos, moorhen Gallinula chloropus, coot Fulica atra, sedge warbler Acrocephalus schoenobaenus, reed warbler Acrocephalus scirpaceus and reed bunting Emberiza schoeniclus, all typical wetland birds. Of 20 habitat variables measured, six (open water, narrow and broad marginal Scirpus, width, and low and tall thick scrub) were significant in describing species abundance data in a Canoco analysis. The linear coastal habitat of borrowdykes is regionally important for the conservation of some wetland species and current rotational management for land drainage purposes maintains the variety of habitats to retain a diversity of bird species.
In 2005, we dissected 102 wildfowl from the Czech Republic and 73 wildfowl from Poland including representatives of Anseriformes, Gruiformes and Gaviiformes. Schistosome infection was found in a total of 21 (29%) and 23 (23%) birds from Poland and the Czech Republic, respectively. All infected birds belonged to the order Anseriformes. The prevalences of nasal and visceral species were, respectively, 22% and 16% in Poland and 6% and 19% in the Czech Republic. Four species of schistosomes were found: Bilharziella polonica Kowalewski, 1895, Trichobilharzia regenti Horák, Kolářová et Dvořák, 1998, T. szidati Neuhaus, 1952, and an undetermined schistosome from the intestinal wall of Anas penelope L. The finding of T. szidati represents the first record of the parasite from natural final host since the species description.
Nádorová onemocnění urogenitálního traktu mají skelet jako predilekční místo metastazování. Bez léčby zaměřené na kostní postižení má většina nemocných s metastatickým karcinomem prostaty v průběhu onemocnění zkušenost s SREs – skeletal-related events – zahrnujících patologické fraktury, kompresi míchy, potřebu paliativní radioterapie, chirurgické výkony na kosti, cementoplastiku a přítomnost hyperkalcemie, které zhoršují kvalitu života a zvyšují mortalitu. V léčbě kostních metastáz karcinomu prostaty, močového měchýře a ledviny byl hodnocen efekt různých bisfosfonátů. Podání kyseliny zoledronové signifikantně redukuje riziko vzniku SREs nejen u karcinomu prostaty, ale také u karcinomu ledviny a močového měchýře., The skeleton is a predilection site for metastasis of genitourinary tumours. If there is no treatment for bone disease, the majority of patients with metastatic prostate cancer experience skeletal-related events (SREs) during the course of the disease, including pathological fractures, spinal cord compression, the need for palliative radiotherapy, surgical procedures on the bones, cementoplasty, and the presence of hypercalcaemia, that all reduce the quality of life and increase the mortality rate. The effect of various bisphosphonates in treating bone metastases in prostate, bladder, and kidney cancers was assessed. The administration of zoledronic acid significantly reduces the risk of developing SREs not only in prostate cancer, but also in kidney and bladder cancers., Jana Katolická, and Literatura
Pozornost věnovaná účinku bisfosfonátů v léčbě kostního postižení je zaměřena především na kostní postižení u karcinomu prsu a prostaty, výjimečně i u jiných solidních nádorů. Nové informace o bisfosfonátech přináší každoročně sympozium ZENITH Meeting. Tématem jednání během posledních let byly především důkazy o protinádorovém účinku bisfosfonátů a jejich možném použití v adjuvantním podání. A bylo překvapením, že letošní téma ZENITH Meetingu bylo zaměřeno na kostní postižení u maligního myelomu, tedy oblast, která je diskutovaná spíše hematology. V březnu 2012 se sešlo v Mnichově 150 odborníků z celého světa, věnujících se problematice bisfosfonátů, aby pohovořili o současném postavení bisfosfonátů v léčbě kostního postižení maligního myelomu. Většina sdělení prezentovala nové údaje, ve snaze přehlédnout současný stav v dané indikaci. V následujícím je uveden výběr z přednesených sdělení., The attention devoted to the effect of bisphosphonates in treating bone disease is particularly focused on bone disease in breast and prostate cancer and only exceptionally in other solid tumours. Every year, new information on bisphosphonates is presented at the ZENITH Meeting. In recent years, the meetings’ topics have centred around evidence of antitumour activity of bisphosphonates and their potential use in adjuvant therapy. Surprisingly, this year’s topic of the ZENITH Meeting was focused on bone disease in malignant myeloma, i.e. an area more likely debated by haematologists. In March 2012, 150 bisphosphonates experts from all over the world met in Munich, Germany, to discuss the current role of bisphosphonates in treating bone disease in malignant myeloma. The majority of the papers presented new data in an effort to synthesise the current status in this area. This paper provides a selection of the papers presented., Zdeněk Mechl, and Literatura
Bisphosphonates (BP) are potent inhibitors of bone resorption used mainly in the treatment of metastatic bone disease and osteoporosis. By inhibiting bone resorption, they prevent complications as pathological fracture, pain, tumor-induced hypercalcemia. Even though patient’s benefit of BP therapy is huge, various side effects may develop. Bisphosphonate-related osteonecrosis of the jaws (BRONJ) is among the most serious ones. Oncologic patients receiving high doses of BP intravenously are at high risk of BRONJ development. BPs impair bone turnover leading to compromised bone healing which may result in the exposure of necrotic bone in the oral cavity frequently following tooth extraction or trauma of the oral mucosa. Frank bone exposure may be complicated by secondary infection leading to osteomyelitis development with various symptoms and radiological findings. In the management of BRONJ, conservative therapy aiming to reduce the symptoms plays the main role. In patients with extensive bone involvement resective surgery may lead to complete recovery, provided that the procedure is correctly indicated. Since the treatment of BRONJ is difficult, prevention is the main goal. Therefore in high risk patients dental preventive measures should be taken prior to bisphosphonate administration. This requires adequate communication between the prescribing physician, the patient and the dentist., Zuzana Janovská, and Literatura 46
The present paper introduces a group of transformations on the collection of all bivariate copulas. This group contains an involution which is particularly useful since it provides (1) a criterion under which a given symmetric copula can be transformed into an asymmetric one and (2) a condition under which for a given copula the value of every measure of concordance is equal to zero. The group also contains a subgroup which is of particular interest since its four elements preserve symmetry, the order between two copulas and the value of every measure of concordance.
Cardiac resynchronization therapy is not commonly used in the early postoperative period in pati ents undergoing cardiac surgery who have left ventricular (LV) dysfunction and a history of heart failure. We performed a prospective randomized clinical trial to compare atrial synchronous right ventricular (DDD RV) and biventricular (DDD BIV) pacing within 72 hours after cardiac surgery in patients with an EF ≤ 35 %, a QRS interval longer than 120 msec and who had LV dyssynchrony detected by real-time three-dimensional echocardiography (RT3DE). Epicardial pacing was provided by a modified Medtronic INSYNC III pacemaker. An LV epicardial pacing lead was implanted on the latest activated segment of the LV based on RT3DE. The study included 18 patients with ischemic heart diseas e, with or without valvular heart disease (14 men, 4 women, average age 71 years). Patients undergoing DDD BIV pacing had a statistically significant greater CO and CI (CO 6.7±1.8 l/min, CI 3.4±0.7 l/min/m²) than patients undergoing DDD RV pacing (CO 5.5±1.4 l/min, CI 2.8±0.7 l/min/m²), p<0.001. DDD BIV paci ng in the early postoperative period after cardiac surgery corrects LV dyssynchrony and has better hemodynamic results than DDD RV pacing., F. Straka ... [et al.]., and Obsahuje bibliografii a bibliografické odkazy
Halting and reversing declines of black grouse populations in Britain represents a major conservation challenge. Programmes of dedicated management aiming to benefit black grouse have been introduced on several sites and areas across the species’ British range. These initiatives generally employ various managements, most aimed at improving habitat conditions, but some at reducing direct sources of mortality. Black grouse populations appear to respond to such conservation initiatives, with increases in numbers following the introduction of management in all six cases examined. However, these increases were not always sustained, and the frequent lack of control sites and baseline data means that there is limited ability to assess the full impact of management, and to distinguish management effects from the effects of coincident environmental variation. Similarly, it is difficult to identify the specific managements critical to producing black grouse response. Evidence exists for benefits of reducing large herbivore densities and of reducing generalist predator abundance, although these may be temporary in the case of herbivore reductions. Variation in annual productivity appeared to be a major determinant of population trends at two sites where productivity estimates were available, suggesting that responses to management may often arise via effects on productivity.
There is very little information on the importance of fleshy fruit in the diet of the nestlings and fledglings of partially frugivorous Holarctic passerines. In an area of 0.6 km2 in northwestern Spain, it was verified during 2001–2003 that at least one blackcap Sylvia atricapilla pair and five blackbird Turdus merula pairs fed their offspring on a certain proportion of ivy Hedera helix fruit. Observations made on a blackcap nest in May showed that the parents fed older nestlings on animal prey on 60.7% of occasions and 39.3% on fruit (n = 140 total number of identified feeds). The female fed nestlings on fruit more often than the male. According to observations carried out on five ivy plants in May, blackcaps brought fruit in their bills to feed nestlings or fledglings on 40.3% of 67 feeding visits and blackbirds on at least 22.1% of 86 feeding visits. The blackcaps consistently carried one fruit and the blackbirds between three and five. Both species fed their young on fruit under very different meteorological conditions. Seeds found in the faecal sacs of their nestlings showed high potential germination viability (95.6% undamaged seeds and 4.4% cracked seeds; n = 46 total seeds except for those gnawed by rodents), so the adults probably acted as indirect vectors in dispersing ivy whilst carrying faecal sacs away from the nest.