Wolbachia infection and parasitoid occurrence among plant-feeding caterpillars of the endangered butterfly Phengaris teleius (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) in southern Poland

Parasites are an important component of ecological communities, as they shape host population dynamics and interfere with interspecific competition in ecosystems. Here, we studied Wolbachia infection and parasitoid occurrence among caterpillars of the endangered Phengaris teleius butterfly in five populations inhabiting southern Poland. The knowledge about potential parasites of P. teleius may be of particular importance for understanding forces regulating population processes of this species. Our study showed lack of Wolbachia infection and endoparasitoids in the sample of 91 4th instar P. teleius caterpillars. However, we found larvae of an unidentified hymenopteran ectoparasitoid on 17 3rd and 4th instar P. teleius caterpillars. We compare our results to findings from other populations of P. teleius, and its sister species in Europe and Asia, and discuss possible causes of observed patterns of parasite occurrence

The effect of pre-laying maternal immunization on offspring growth and immunity differs across experimentally altered postnatal rearing conditions in a wild songbird

Abstract Background Prenatal antibody transfer is an immune-mediated maternal effect by which females can shape postnatal offspring resistance to pathogens and parasites. Maternal antibodies passed on to offspring provide primary protection to neonates against diverse pathogenic antigens, but they may also affect offspring growth and influence the development of an offspring’s own immune response. The effects of maternal antibodies on offspring performance commonly require that the disease environment experienced by a mother prior to breeding matches the environment encountered by her offspring after hatching/birth. However, other circumstances, like postnatal rearing conditions that affect offspring food availability, may also determine the effects of maternal antibodies on offspring growth and immunity. To date, knowledge about how prenatal immune-mediated maternal effects interact with various postnatal rearing conditions to affect offspring development and phenotype in wild bird population remains elusive. Here we experimentally studied the interactive effects of pre-laying maternal immunization with a bacterial antigen (lipopolysaccharide) and post-hatching rearing conditions, altered by brood size manipulation, on offspring growth and humoral immunity of wild great tits (Parus major). Results We found that maternal immunization and brood size manipulation interactively affected the growth and specific humoral immune response of avian offspring. Among nestlings reared in enlarged broods, only those that originated from immunized mothers grew better and were heavier at fledging stage compared to those that originated from non-immunized mothers. In contrast, no such effects were observed among nestlings reared in non-manipulated (control) broods. Moreover, offspring of immunized females had a stronger humoral immune response to lipopolysaccharide during postnatal development than offspring of non-immunized females, but only when the nestling was reared in control broods. Conclusions This study demonstrates that offspring development and their ability to cope with pathogens after hatching are driven by mutual influences of pathogen-induced prenatal maternal effects and post-hatching rearing conditions. Our findings suggest that immune-mediated maternal effects may have context-dependent influences on offspring growth and immune function, related to the postnatal environmental conditions experienced by the progeny

CR1 clade of non-LTR retrotransposons from Maculinea butterflies (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae): evidence for recent horizontal transmission

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Non-long terminal repeat (non-LTR) retrotransposons are mobile genetic elements that propagate themselves by reverse transcription of an RNA intermediate. Non-LTR retrotransposons are known to evolve mainly via vertical transmission and random loss. Horizontal transmission is believed to be a very rare event in non-LTR retrotransposons. Our knowledge of distribution and diversity of insect non-LTR retrotransposons is limited to a few species – mainly model organisms such as dipteran genera <it>Drosophila</it>, <it>Anopheles</it>, and <it>Aedes</it>. However, diversity of non-LTR retroelements in arthropods seems to be much richer. The present study extends the analysis of non-LTR retroelements to CR1 clade from four butterfly species of genus <it>Maculinea </it>(Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae).</p> <p>The lycaenid genus <it>Maculinea</it>, the object of interest for evolutionary biologists and also a model group for European biodiversity studies, possesses a unique, specialized myrmecophilous lifestyle at larval stage. Their caterpillars, after three weeks of phytophagous life on specific food plants drop to the ground where they are adopted to the ant nest by <it>Myrmica </it>foraging workers.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>We found that the genome of <it>Maculinea </it>butterflies contains multiple CR1 lineages of non-LTR retrotransposons, including those from MacCR1A, MacCR1B and T1Q families. A comparative analysis of RT nucleotide sequences demonstrated an extremely high similarity among elements both in interspecific and intraspecific comparisons. CR1A-like elements were found only in family Lycaenidae. In contrast, MacCR1B lineage clones were extremely similar to CR1B non-LTR retrotransposons from Bombycidae moths: silkworm <it>Bombyx mori </it>and <it>Oberthueria caeca</it>.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The degree of coding sequence similarity of the studied elements, their discontinuous distribution, and results of divergence-versus-age analysis make it highly unlikely that these sequences diverged at the same time as their host taxa. The only reasonable alternative explanation is horizontal transfer. In addition, phylogenetic markers for population analysis of <it>Maculinea </it>could be developed based on the described non-LTR retrotransposons.</p

Role of PI3K/AKT Pathway in Insulin-Mediated Glucose Uptake

Glucose uptake is regulated by several mechanisms, where insulin plays the most prominent role. This powerful anabolic hormone regulates the transport of glucose into the cell through translocation of glucose transporter from an intracellular pool to the plasma membrane mainly in metabolically active tissues like skeletal muscles, adipose tissue, or liver (GLUT4). This translocation occurs through multiple steps of PI3K/AKT signaling pathway. In this chapter, we will focus on molecular events leading to GLUT4 translocation, starting with activation of insulin receptors through signaling cascade involving phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) and protein kinase B (PKB) and finally, the action of their effectors. We will present regulatory mechanisms and modulators of insulin-mediated glucose uptake

Morphology of caterpillars and pupae of European Maculinea species (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae) with an identification table

Ofthe four recognized Maculinea species that occur in Europe, three (M. teleius, M. nausitlzous, and M. alcon) are found on damp meadows, and may co-occur; sometimes their larval instars even occupy the same host ant nest. It is, therefore, important to be able to distinguish between the caterpillars of these species for effective conservation. We present the morphology of the larvae and pupae of these three species, and a simple key to their identification. Inter-specific differences among larvae and pupae, and within-species differences among larval instars, are underlined in order to enable their proper identification. The length, colour and distribution of bristles are considered the best features for species and instar identification. The morphology ofthe described species is compared with that of the other European species, M. arion

Rodzaje urazów i częstość ich występowania w siatkówce wyczynowej kobiet = Types of injuries and frequency of occurrence in women's volleyball

Wójcik Gustaw, Skalska-Izdebska Renata, Śliwińska Ewa, Szulc Anna. Rodzaje urazów i częstość ich występowania w siatkówce wyczynowej kobiet = Types of injuries and frequency of occurrence in women's volleyball. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2016;6(12):98-108 eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.192457http://ojs.ukw.edu.pl/index.php/johs/article/view/4036    The journal has had 7 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. Part B item 755 (23.12.2015).755 Journal of Education, Health and Sport eISSN 2391-8306 7© The Author (s) 2016;This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, PolandOpen Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium,provided the original author(s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License(http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercialuse, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited.The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper.Received: 02.11.2016. Revised 22.11.2016. Accepted: 03.12.2016.   RODZAJE URAZÓW I CZĘSTOŚĆ ICH WYSTĘPOWANIA W SIATKÓWCE WYCZYNOWEJ KOBIET TYPES OF INJURIES AND FREQUENCY OF OCCURRENCE IN WOMEN'S VOLLEYBALL Gustaw Wójcik1, Renata Skalska-Izdebska2, Ewa Śliwińska2, Anna Szulc3 1Państwowa Szkoła Wyższa im. Papieża Jana Pawła II w Białej Podlaskiej. Wydział Nauk o Zdrowiu i Nauk Społecznych, Katedra Kultury Fizycznej i Fizjoterapii2Uniwersytet Rzeszowski, Wydział Medyczny, Instytut Fizjoterapii3Uniwersytet Medyczny w Lublinie, Wydział Nauk o Zdrowiu, Katedra Rehabilitacji  STRESZCZENIEWstęp: Sport wyczynowy od zawsze był nieodłącznie związany z kontuzjami i uszkodzeniami narządu ruchu. Medialna promocja sportu oraz jego komercjalizacja zmusiły zawodowych sportowców do znoszenia obciążeń treningowych przekraczających możliwości organizmu. W celu osiągnięcia jak najlepszych wyników, zaczęto wprowadzać do sportu wyczynowego coraz młodszych zawodników, których organizmy trudno znoszą nadmierne obciążenia treningowe. Ciągła pogoń za sukcesem, realizowana zgodnie z zasadą „cel uświęca środki”, doprowadziła do gwałtownego wzrostu liczby urazów i uszkodzeń narządu ruchu od drugiej połowy XX wieku.Cel pracy: celem pracy było zbadanie, jaki rodzaj urazu występował najczęściej wśród zawodowych siatkarek, jakiej okolicy ciała najczęściej dotyczył oraz czy powodował wystąpienie dysfunkcji w uszkodzonej części ciała.Materiał i metody: Badanie przeprowadzono na grupie 31 zawodowych siatkarek trenujących w polskich klubach orlenligowych i pierwszoligowych. W celu oceny rodzaju i częstotliwości najczęściej występujących urazów posłużono się ankietą autorską. W opracowaniu wyników wykorzystano program Statistica 10.0Wyniki: Wśród badanych zawodniczek 96,7% doznało w swojej karierze urazu. Większość kontuzji dotyczyła stawów w tym najwięcej skokowego (67,7%) i kolanowego (48,3%).Wnioski: Najczęściej występującym urazem wśród siatkarek trenujących wyczynowo były skręcenia stawu. Obszarem ciała, najczęściej ulegającym kontuzjom, był staw skokowy. Słowa kluczowe: uraz sportowy, piłka siatkowa, zwichnięcia, skręcenia ABSTRACTBackground: Professional sport is always integrally connected with injuries of body. Media promotion of sport and its commercialisation forces players to endure training load, which crosses their bodies possibilities. To achieving the best scores, people was starting to bring younger players to proffesional sport. Their bodies wasn’t completely formed and not be able to  match excessive training load. Unstoppable pursuit of success led to sudden increase of sport injuries since the second half of 20th century.Aim: The aim of this thesis is examination which kind of injury is generally appearance and in which part of the body it generally occurs.Material and methods: The thesis is conducted on a group of 31 professional women volleyball players from Orlenliga and first league. To assessment the kind and frequency of the most common injuries the own questionnaire has been used. In elaboration of results, the Statisctica 10.0 program has been used.Results: Among professional women volleyball players 97,6% had an injury. Injuries mostly concern joints, especially ankle and knee.Conclusion: The most common injuries in professional women volleyball is joint sprains. Injuries mostly occur in the ankle. Key words: sport injury, volleyball, dislocations, torsion joint

COMPARISON OF CEPSTRAL COEFFICIENTS TO OTHER VOICE EVALUATION PARAMETERS IN PATIENTS WITH OCCUPATIONAL DYSPHONIA

Background: Special consideration has recently been given to cepstral analysis with mel-frequency cepstral coefficients (MFCCs). The aim of this study was to assess the applicability of MFCCs in acoustic analysis for diagnosing occupational dysphonia in comparison to subjective and objective parameters of voice evaluation. Materials and Methods: The study comprised 2 groups, one of 55 female teachers (mean age: 45 years) with occupational dysphonia confirmed by videostroboscopy and 40 female controls with normal voice (mean age: 43 years). The acoustic samples involving sustained vowels "a" and four standardized sentences were analyzed by computed analysis of MFCCs. The results were compared to acoustic parameters of jitter and shimmer groups, noise to harmonic ratio, Yanagihara index evaluating the grade of hoarseness, the aerodynamic parameter: maximum phonation time and also subjective parameters: GRBAS perceptual scale and Voice Handicap Index (VHI). Results: The compared results revealed differences between the study and control groups, significant for MFCC2, MFCC3, MFCC5, MFCC6, MFCC8, MFCC10, particularly for MFCC6 (p < 0.001) and MFCC8 (p < 0.009), which may suggest their clinical applicability. In the study group, MFCC4, MFCC8 and MFCC10 correlated significantly with the major objective parameters of voice assessment. Moreover, MFCC8 coefficient, which in the female teachers correlated with all eight objective parameters, also showed the significant relation with perceptual voice feature A (asthenity) of subjective scale GRBAS, characteristic of weak tired voice. Conclusions: The cepstral analysis with mel frequency cepstral coefficients is a promising tool for evaluating occupational voice disorders, capable of reflecting the perceptual voice features better than other methods of acoustic analysis. Med Pr 2013;64(6):805–81

Evolution of major histocompatibility complex class I and class II genes in the brown bear

International audienceBackground: Major histocompatibility complex (MHC) proteins constitute an essential component of the vertebrate immune response, and are coded by the most polymorphic of the vertebrate genes. Here, we investigated sequence variation and evolution of MHC class I and class II DRB, DQA and DQB genes in the brown bear Ursus arctos to characterise the level of polymorphism, estimate the strength of positive selection acting on them, and assess the extent of gene orthology and trans-species polymorphism in Ursidae . Results: We found 37 MHC class I, 16 MHC class II DRB, four DQB and two DQA alleles. We confirmed the expression of several loci: three MHC class I, two DRB, two DQB and one DQA. MHC class I also contained two clusters of non-expressed sequences. MHC class I and DRB allele frequencies differed between northern and southern populations of the Scandinavian brown bear. The rate of nonsynonymous substitutions (d N ) exceeded the rate of synonymous substitutions (d S ) at putative antigen binding sites of DRB and DQB loci and, marginally significantly, at MHC class I loci. Models of codon evolution supported positive selection at DRB and MHC class I loci. Both MHC class I and MHC class II sequences showed orthology to gene clusters found in the giant panda Ailuropoda melanoleuca. Conclusions: Historical positive selection has acted on MHC class I, class II DRB and DQB, but not on the DQA locus. The signal of historical positive selection on the DRB locus was particularly strong, which may be a general feature of caniforms. The presence of MHC class I pseudogenes may indicate faster gene turnover in this class through the birth-and-death process. South - north population structure at MHC loci probably reflects origin of the populations from separate glacial refugia