Fauna of monogenean trematodes-parasites of some cyprinid fishes from lake Prespa, Macedonia

During parasitological investigations six species of monogenean trematodes were found on the gills of three cyprinid fish species from Lake Prespa (Macedonia), as follows: Dactylogyrus prostae and Dactylogyrus sphyrna in Leuciscus cephalus albus, Dactylogyrus erhardovae, Dactylogyrus sphyrna and Paradiplozoon zeller in Rutilus rubilio prespensis and Dactylogyrus elegantis and Dactylogyrus vistulae in Chondrostoma nasus prespensis. The prevalence in Leuciscus cephalus albus was 62.22%, in Rutilus rubilio prespensis 59.87% while in Chondrostoma nasus prespensis it was the lowest and amounted to 41.59%. The overall, prevalence of monogeneans in the investigated cyprinid fishes from Lake Prespa was 53.65%, and the mean intensity of infestation was 6.08. Among the monogenean species the highest prevalence occurred with Dactylogyrus sphyrna (25.08%), and the greatest intensity of infestation was evident in the cases of infestation with Dactylogyrus erhardovae (12.87). The greatest pathological effect was associated with the monogeneans Dactylogyrus vistulae and Paradiplozoon zeller. All monogenean species found represented the first record for such parasite fauna of fishes in Macedonia.U toku parazitoloških istraživanja ciprinidnih riba iz Prespanskog jezera (Makedonija), kod 3 vrste riba na škrgama pronađeno je 6 vrsta monogenih trematoda, i to: kod Leuciscus cephalus albus su nađeni Dactylogyrus prostae i Dactylogyrus sphyrna, kod Rutilus rubilio prespensis su pronađeni Dactylogyrus erhardovae, Dactylogyrus sphyrna i Paradiplozoon zeller, kod Chondrostoma nasus prespensis su pronađeni Dactylogyrus elegantis i Dactylogyrus vistulae. Ekstenzitet infestacije kod Leuciscus cephalus albus iznosio je 62,22%, kod Rutilus rubilio prespensis 59,87%, a kod Chondrostoma nasus prespensis je bio najniži i iznosio je 41,59%. Ukupno, ekstenzitet infestacije sa monogeneama kod ispitivanih ciprinidnih riba Prespanskog jezera iznosio je 53,65%, a intenzitet infestacije 6,08. Pojedinačno, po vrstama monogenea, najviši ekstenzitet infestacije je bio sa Dactylogyrus sphyrna (25,08%), a najviši intenzitet infestacije je utvrđen u slučajevima infestacije sa Dactylogyrus erhardovae (12,87). Najveći patogeni uticaj su imale monogene trematode Dactylogyrus vistulae i Paradiplozoon zeller. Sve pronađene vrste monogenea predstavljaju prvi nalaz za parazitofaunu riba Makedonije.nul

Fauna of monogenean trematodes-parasites of some cyprinid fishes from lake Prespa, Macedonia

During parasitological investigations six species of monogenean trematodes were found on the gills of three cyprinid fish species from Lake Prespa (Macedonia), as follows: Dactylogyrus prostae and Dactylogyrus sphyrna in Leuciscus cephalus albus, Dactylogyrus erhardovae, Dactylogyrus sphyrna and Paradiplozoon zeller in Rutilus rubilio prespensis and Dactylogyrus elegantis and Dactylogyrus vistulae in Chondrostoma nasus prespensis. The prevalence in Leuciscus cephalus albus was 62.22%, in Rutilus rubilio prespensis 59.87% while in Chondrostoma nasus prespensis it was the lowest and amounted to 41.59%. The overall, prevalence of monogeneans in the investigated cyprinid fishes from Lake Prespa was 53.65%, and the mean intensity of infestation was 6.08. Among the monogenean species the highest prevalence occurred with Dactylogyrus sphyrna (25.08%), and the greatest intensity of infestation was evident in the cases of infestation with Dactylogyrus erhardovae (12.87). The greatest pathological effect was associated with the monogeneans Dactylogyrus vistulae and Paradiplozoon zeller. All monogenean species found represented the first record for such parasite fauna of fishes in Macedonia.U toku parazitoloških istraživanja ciprinidnih riba iz Prespanskog jezera (Makedonija), kod 3 vrste riba na škrgama pronađeno je 6 vrsta monogenih trematoda, i to: kod Leuciscus cephalus albus su nađeni Dactylogyrus prostae i Dactylogyrus sphyrna, kod Rutilus rubilio prespensis su pronađeni Dactylogyrus erhardovae, Dactylogyrus sphyrna i Paradiplozoon zeller, kod Chondrostoma nasus prespensis su pronađeni Dactylogyrus elegantis i Dactylogyrus vistulae. Ekstenzitet infestacije kod Leuciscus cephalus albus iznosio je 62,22%, kod Rutilus rubilio prespensis 59,87%, a kod Chondrostoma nasus prespensis je bio najniži i iznosio je 41,59%. Ukupno, ekstenzitet infestacije sa monogeneama kod ispitivanih ciprinidnih riba Prespanskog jezera iznosio je 53,65%, a intenzitet infestacije 6,08. Pojedinačno, po vrstama monogenea, najviši ekstenzitet infestacije je bio sa Dactylogyrus sphyrna (25,08%), a najviši intenzitet infestacije je utvrđen u slučajevima infestacije sa Dactylogyrus erhardovae (12,87). Najveći patogeni uticaj su imale monogene trematode Dactylogyrus vistulae i Paradiplozoon zeller. Sve pronađene vrste monogenea predstavljaju prvi nalaz za parazitofaunu riba Makedonije.nul

Occurence of Anguillicola crassus, ematoda: Dracunculoidea, in eels of lake Ohrid, Macedonia

The first record of the eel parasite Anguillicola crassus Kuwahara (Niimietltagaki, 1974) from Lake Ohrid and the Republic of Macedonia is reported here. Parasitological examinations comprised 68 specimens of the eel Anguilla anguilla Linnaeus, 1758 of which 39.71% were infected with Anguillicola crassus. The prevalence varied depending on the season, with the highest value occuring during the autumn (47.06%). Average intensity of infection was 10.33. Anguillicola crassus was probably introduced into the lake by the artificial stocking with eel young, imported from abroad. It has found convenient conditions for development and multiplication in the lake due to the presence of transitional and paratenic hosts.U periodu od aprila 1995. do marta 1996. godine, na makedonskom delu Ohridskog jezera, parazitološkompretragomobuhvaćenoje68primerakajegulja (Anguilla anguilla Linnaeus, 1758), od kojih je 27 bilo inficirano nematodom Anguillicola crassus (ekstenzitet infekcije je iznosio 39,71%). Ekstenzitet infekcije je varirap u zavisnosti od sezone. Najveći je bio u toku jeseni. Intenzitet infekcije je iznosio između 1-90, a prosecan intenzitet infekcije je iznosio 10,33. Anguillicola crassus je najverovatnije uneta u jezero veštačkim poribljavanjem podmlatkom jegulja, uvezenim iz inostranstva. U jezeru je ovaj parazit našao povoljne uslove za razvoj i razmnožavanje prisustvo prelaznih i parateničnih domaćina. Anguillicola crassus je po prvi put spomenuta u ihtioparazitofauni Ohridskog jezera i Makedonije.nul

Emergence of contact injuries in invasion team sports : an ecological dynamics rationale

The incidence of contact injuries in team sports is considerable, and injury mechanisms need to be comprehensively understood to facilitate the adoption of preventive measures. In Association Football, evidence shows that the highest prevalence of contact injuries emerges in one-on-one interactions. However, previous studies have tended to operationally report injury mechanisms in isolation, failing to provide a theoretical rationale to explain how injuries might emerge from interactions between opposing players. In this position paper, we propose an ecological dynamics framework to enhance current understanding of behavioural processes leading to contact injuries in team sports. Based on previous research highlighting the dynamics of performer–environment interactions, contact injuries are proposed to emerge from symmetry-breaking processes during on-field interpersonal interactions among competing players and the ball. Central to this approach is consideration of candidate control parameters that may provide insights on the information sources used by players to reduce risk of contact injuries during performance. Clinically, an ecological dynamics analysis could allow sport practitioners to design training sessions based on selected parameter threshold values as primary and/or secondary preventing measures during training and rehabilitation sessions

Quantifying and filtering knowledge generated by literature based discovery

Background Literature based discovery (LBD) automatically infers missed connections between concepts in literature. It is often assumed that LBD generates more information than can be reasonably examined. Methods We present a detailed analysis of the quantity of hidden knowledge produced by an LBD system and the effect of various filtering approaches upon this. The investigation of filtering combined with single or multi-step linking term chains is carried out on all articles in PubMed. Results The evaluation is carried out using both replication of existing discoveries, which provides justification for multi-step linking chain knowledge in specific cases, and using timeslicing, which gives a large scale measure of performance. Conclusions While the quantity of hidden knowledge generated by LBD can be vast, we demonstrate that (a) intelligent filtering can greatly reduce the number of hidden knowledge pairs generated, (b) for a specific term, the number of single step connections can be manageable, and (c) in the absence of single step hidden links, considering multiple steps can provide valid links

Predicting volleyball serve-reception at group level

In a group-serve-reception task, how does serve-reception become effective? We addressed "who" receives/passes the ball, what task-related variables predict action mode selection and whether the action mode selected was associated with reception efficacy. In 182 serve-receptions we tracked the ball and the receivers' heads with two video-cameras to generate 3D world-coordinates reconstructions. We defined receivers' reception-areas based on Voronoi diagrams (VD). Our analyses of the data showed that this approach was accurate in describing "who" receives the serve in 95.05% of the times. To predict action mode selection, we used variables related to: serve kinematics, receiver's movement and on-court positioning, the relation between receiver and his closest partner, and interactions between receiver-ball and receiver-target. Serve's higher initial velocities together with higher maximum height, as well as smaller longitudinal distances between receiver and target increased the chances for the use of the overhand pass. Conversely, decreasing alignment of the receiver with the ball and the target increased the chances of using the underhand-lateral pass. Finally, the use of the underhand-lateral pass was associated with lower quality receptions. Behavioural variability's relevance for serve-reception training is discussed

Neurobiological degeneracy and affordance perception support functional intra-individual variability of inter-limb coordination during ice climbing

This study investigated the functional intra-individual movement variability of ice climbers differing in skill level to understand how icefall properties were used by participants as affordances to adapt inter-limb coordination patterns during performance. Seven expert climbers and seven beginners were observed as they climbed a 30 m icefall. Movement and positioning of the left and right hand ice tools, crampons and the climber's pelvis over the first 20 m of the climb were recorded and digitized using video footage from a camera (25 Hz) located perpendicular to the plane of the icefall. Inter-limb coordination, frequency and types of action and vertical axis pelvis displacement exhibited by each climber were analysed for the first five minutes of ascent. Participant perception of climbing affordances was assessed through: (i) calculating the ratio between exploratory movements and performed actions, and (ii), identifying, by self-confrontation interviews, the perceptual variables of environmental properties, which were significant to climbers for their actions. Data revealed that experts used a wider range of upper and lower limb coordination patterns, resulting in the emergence of different types of action and fewer exploratory movements, suggesting that effective holes in the icefall provided affordances to regulate performance. In contrast, beginners displayed lower levels of functional intra-individual variability of motor organization, due to repetitive swinging of ice tools and kicking of crampons to achieve and maintain a deep anchorage, suggesting lack of perceptual attunement and calibration to environmental properties to support climbing performanc

Building Disease-Specific Drug-Protein Connectivity Maps from Molecular Interaction Networks and PubMed Abstracts

The recently proposed concept of molecular connectivity maps enables researchers to integrate experimental measurements of genes, proteins, metabolites, and drug compounds under similar biological conditions. The study of these maps provides opportunities for future toxicogenomics and drug discovery applications. We developed a computational framework to build disease-specific drug-protein connectivity maps. We integrated gene/protein and drug connectivity information based on protein interaction networks and literature mining, without requiring gene expression profile information derived from drug perturbation experiments on disease samples. We described the development and application of this computational framework using Alzheimer's Disease (AD) as a primary example in three steps. First, molecular interaction networks were incorporated to reduce bias and improve relevance of AD seed proteins. Second, PubMed abstracts were used to retrieve enriched drug terms that are indirectly associated with AD through molecular mechanistic studies. Third and lastly, a comprehensive AD connectivity map was created by relating enriched drugs and related proteins in literature. We showed that this molecular connectivity map development approach outperformed both curated drug target databases and conventional information retrieval systems. Our initial explorations of the AD connectivity map yielded a new hypothesis that diltiazem and quinidine may be investigated as candidate drugs for AD treatment. Molecular connectivity maps derived computationally can help study molecular signature differences between different classes of drugs in specific disease contexts. To achieve overall good data coverage and quality, a series of statistical methods have been developed to overcome high levels of data noise in biological networks and literature mining results. Further development of computational molecular connectivity maps to cover major disease areas will likely set up a new model for drug development, in which therapeutic/toxicological profiles of candidate drugs can be checked computationally before costly clinical trials begin

Numerical relations and skill level constrain co-adaptive behaviors of agents in sports teams

Similar to other complex systems in nature (e.g., a hunting pack, flocks of birds), sports teams have been modeled as social neurobiological systems in which interpersonal coordination tendencies of agents underpin team swarming behaviors. Swarming is seen as the result of agent co-adaptation to ecological constraints of performance environments by collectively perceiving specific possibilities for action (affordances for self and shared affordances). A major principle of invasion team sports assumed to promote effective performance is to outnumber the opposition (creation of numerical overloads) during different performance phases (attack and defense) in spatial regions adjacent to the ball. Such performance principles are assimilated by system agents through manipulation of numerical relations between teams during training in order to create artificially asymmetrical performance contexts to simulate overloaded and underloaded situations. Here we evaluated effects of different numerical relations differentiated by agent skill level, examining emergent inter-individual, intra- and inter-team coordination. Groups of association football players (national - NLP and regional-level - RLP) participated in small-sided and conditioned games in which numerical relations between system agents were manipulated (5v5, 5v4 and 5v3). Typical grouping tendencies in sports teams (major ranges, stretch indices, distances of team centers to goals and distances between the teams' opposing line-forces in specific team sectors) were recorded by plotting positional coordinates of individual agents through continuous GPS tracking. Results showed that creation of numerical asymmetries during training constrained agents' individual dominant regions, the underloaded teams' compactness and each team's relative position on-field, as well as distances between specific team sectors. We also observed how skill level impacted individual and team coordination tendencies. Data revealed emergence of co-adaptive behaviors between interacting neurobiological social system agents in the context of sport performance. Such observations have broader implications for training design involving manipulations of numerical relations between interacting members of social collectives

Integrated Bio-Entity Network: A System for Biological Knowledge Discovery

A significant part of our biological knowledge is centered on relationships between biological entities (bio-entities) such as proteins, genes, small molecules, pathways, gene ontology (GO) terms and diseases. Accumulated at an increasing speed, the information on bio-entity relationships is archived in different forms at scattered places. Most of such information is buried in scientific literature as unstructured text. Organizing heterogeneous information in a structured form not only facilitates study of biological systems using integrative approaches, but also allows discovery of new knowledge in an automatic and systematic way. In this study, we performed a large scale integration of bio-entity relationship information from both databases containing manually annotated, structured information and automatic information extraction of unstructured text in scientific literature. The relationship information we integrated in this study includes protein–protein interactions, protein/gene regulations, protein–small molecule interactions, protein–GO relationships, protein–pathway relationships, and pathway–disease relationships. The relationship information is organized in a graph data structure, named integrated bio-entity network (IBN), where the vertices are the bio-entities and edges represent their relationships. Under this framework, graph theoretic algorithms can be designed to perform various knowledge discovery tasks. We designed breadth-first search with pruning (BFSP) and most probable path (MPP) algorithms to automatically generate hypotheses—the indirect relationships with high probabilities in the network. We show that IBN can be used to generate plausible hypotheses, which not only help to better understand the complex interactions in biological systems, but also provide guidance for experimental designs