Standard Blood Tests Indicate Changes of Toxocariasis in Carnivores

This study presents the main changes in the biochemical and hematological blood parameters of dogs and cats infected with toxocara. Presented data are based on the animal’s age and welfare. The authors conclude that the pattern of hematological disorders is most pronounced in young animals and proceeds with signs of general intoxication and sensibilizationof the body, hypoxia, anemia and damage to the internal organs (liver and pancreas). Keywords: hematological studies, biochemical studies, toxocariasis, Toxocara canis, T. cat

Horse gastrointestinal parasites in the Moscow region

The purpose of our work was to conduct a survey of the horse population for the presence of parasites of the gastrointestinal tract in Moscow and the Moscow region. The research included horses aged 1.5 months to 26 years from horse farms and from private owners too. Fecal samples were collected rectally from 571 horses and were examined on the day of collection by flotation method and sedimentation method. Horses are infected with parasites of the gastrointestinal tract by 47.5% in the Moscow region. The main representatives of the parasite fauna are nematodes. Strongylidae gen. sp. (44%), Parascaris sp. (10.3%), Oxyuris equi (1.4%), Eimeria leuckarti (0.5%) were found. Statistically revealed correlations between the level of infection and the age of the horse (p < 0.001), as well as between the level of infection and the conditions of keeping (p < 0.001). The most infected were horses in the age group from 1 to 3 years. According to the study, herd horses are significantly more likely to be infected with Parascaris sp. and O. equi. No correlation was found between the level of infection and the type of farming (horse farms or private owners) (p = 0.252)

The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), version 2

The Eurasian (nee European) Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) was established in 2013 to provide a public database of high-quality modern pollen surface samples to help support studies of past climate, land cover, and land use using fossil pollen. The EMPD is part of, and complementary to, the European Pollen Database (EPD) which contains data on fossil pollen found in Late Quaternary sedimentary archives throughout the Eurasian region. The EPD is in turn part of the rapidly growing Neotoma database, which is now the primary home for global palaeoecological data. This paper describes version 2 of the EMPD in which the number of samples held in the database has been increased by 60% from 4826 to 8134. Much of the improvement in data coverage has come from northern Asia, and the database has consequently been renamed the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database to reflect this geographical enlargement. The EMPD can be viewed online using a dedicated map-based viewer at https://empd2.github.io and downloaded in a variety of file formats at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909130 (Chevalier et al., 2019).Peer reviewe

The Eurasian Modern Pollen Database (EMPD), version 2

The Eurasian (née European) Modern Pollen Database (EMPD) was established in 2013 to provide a public database of high-quality modern pollen surface samples to help support studies of past climate, land cover, and land use using fossil pollen. The EMPD is part of, and complementary to, the European Pollen Database (EPD) which contains data on fossil pollen found in Late Quaternary sedimentary archives throughout the Eurasian region. The EPD is in turn part of the rapidly growing Neotoma database, which is now the primary home for global palaeoecological data. This paper describes version 2 of the EMPD in which the number of samples held in the database has been increased by 60 % from 4826 to 8134. Much of the improvement in data coverage has come from northern Asia, and the database has consequently been renamed the Eurasian Modern Pollen Database to reflect this geographical enlargement. The EMPD can be viewed online using a dedicated map-based viewer at https://empd2.github.io and downloaded in a variety of file formats at https://doi.pangaea.de/10.1594/PANGAEA.909130 (Chevalier et al., 2019)Swiss National Science Foundation | Ref. 200021_16959

Artysta i poetyckie prowokacje w bułgarskim filmie akcji Iluzja z lat 80.

This text highlights the aesthetic explorations of Bulgarian cinematographers from the 1980s, specifically those aimed at people of art. The article offers, first, a brief overview of films that examine the symbolic potential of the artist, which defines the consideration of an established and meaningful tendency in the development of Bulgarian cinema. The article focuses then on the live-action film Illusion (1980, directed by Lyudmil Staykov and written by Konstantin Pavlov) and examines the figure of the artist in the piece. The presented interpretation supports the view of the film as a morally valuable expression of modern art.Tekst skupia się na estetycznych poszukiwaniach bułgarskich operatorów filmowych z lat 80. Artykuł zawiera krótki przegląd filmów, które badają symboliczny potencjał artysty, wskazując na istotną tendencję tego typu w rozwoju kina bułgarskiego. Badania koncentrują się na filmie aktorskim Illusion (1980, reż. Ludmiła Staykowa, na podstawie scenariusza Konstantina Pawłowa). Zaproponowano tezę, że film zajmuje centralne miejsce w twórczości Konstantina Pawłowa, ponieważ daje szczególnie wyraźny obraz złożonych zależności między poezją autora a scenariuszopisarstwem. Badaniu poddane zostałe postać artysty oraz pojęcia sztuki pojawiające się w tym filmie. Analizie poddane są również poetyckie prowokacje prezentowane w tym filmie. Przedstawiona interpretacja ukazuje wspomniany film jako wartościowy moralnie wyraz sztuki współczesnej

Does government support of a few leading universities have a broader impact on the higher education system? Evaluation of the Russian University Excellence Initiative.

Many governments attempt to improve the national higher education through competitive support of universities. This approach raises questions about the impact of targeted support for a small number of universities on the entire system − both in educational and research aspects. Using data from Russian University Excellence Initiative (RUEI) that gives as an example, we estimate spillover effects of such focused support and demonstrate that broader impact may indeed exist. In particular, we examine the performance of higher education institutions that were not part of the RUEI in the last five years and were not directly supported by it. We compare the universities’ performance in regions both with and without universities from the RUEI. In doing so, we estimate the indirect impact of the RUEI on the higher education sector at the regional level. We show a positive effect on the level of publication activity that has recently become apparent. However, there has been no effect on the share of young faculty, international collaboration in publications, quality of enrollment

Horse gastrointestinal parasites in the Moscow region

The purpose of our work was to conduct a survey of the horse population for the presence of parasites of the gastrointestinal tract in Moscow and the Moscow region. The research included horses aged 1.5 months to 26 years from horse farms and from private owners too. Fecal samples were collected rectally from 571 horses and were examined on the day of collection by flotation method and sedimentation method. Horses are infected with parasites of the gastrointestinal tract by 47.5% in the Moscow region. The main representatives of the parasite fauna are nematodes. Strongylidae gen. sp. (44%), Parascaris sp. (10.3%), Oxyuris equi (1.4%), Eimeria leuckarti (0.5%) were found. Statistically revealed correlations between the level of infection and the age of the horse (p < 0.001), as well as between the level of infection and the conditions of keeping (p < 0.001). The most infected were horses in the age group from 1 to 3 years. According to the study, herd horses are significantly more likely to be infected with Parascaris sp. and O. equi. No correlation was found between the level of infection and the type of farming (horse farms or private owners) (p = 0.252)

The Hidden Pandemic of COVID-19-Induced Organizing Pneumonia

Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, clinical, radiological, and histopathological studies have provided evidence that organizing pneumonia is a possible consequence of the SARS-CoV2 infection. This post-COVID-19 organizing pneumonia (PCOP) causes persisting dyspnea, impaired pulmonary function, and produces radiological abnormalities for at least 5 weeks after onset of symptoms. While most patients with PCOP recover within a year after acute COVID-19, 5&ndash;25% of cases need specialized treatment. However, despite substantial resources allocated worldwide to finding a solution to this problem, there are no approved treatments for PCOP. Oral corticosteroids produce a therapeutic response in a majority of such PCOP patients, but their application is limited by the anticipated high-relapse frequency and the risk of severe adverse effects. Herein, we conduct a systematic comparison of the epidemiology, pathogenesis, and clinical presentation of the organizing pneumonias caused by COVID-19 as well as other viral infections. We also use the clinical efficacy of corticosteroids in other postinfection OPs (PIOPs) to predict the therapeutic response in the treatment of PCOP. Finally, we discuss the potential application of a candidate anti-inflammatory and antifibrotic therapy for the treatment of PCOP based on the analysis of the latest clinical trials data

Nanopore Sequencing for De Novo Bacterial Genome Assembly and Search for Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism

Nanopore sequencing (ONT) is a new and rapidly developing method for determining nucleotide sequences in DNA and RNA. It serves the ability to obtain long reads of thousands of nucleotides without assembly and amplification during sequencing compared to next-generation sequencing. Nanopore sequencing can help for determination of genetic changes leading to antibiotics resistance. This study presents the application of ONT technology in the assembly of an E. coli genome characterized by a deletion of the tolC gene and known single-nucleotide variations leading to antibiotic resistance, in the absence of a reference genome. We performed benchmark studies to determine minimum coverage depth to obtain a complete genome, depending on the quality of the ONT data. A comparison of existing programs was carried out. It was shown that the Flye program demonstrates plausible assembly results relative to others (Shasta, Canu, and Necat). The required coverage depth for successful assembly strongly depends on the size of reads. When using high-quality samples with an average read length of 8 Kbp or more, the coverage depth of 30× is sufficient to assemble the complete genome de novo and reliably determine single-nucleotide variations in it. For samples with shorter reads with mean lengths of 2 Kbp, a higher coverage depth of 50× is required. Avoiding of mechanical mixing is obligatory for samples preparation. Nanopore sequencing can be used alone to determine antibiotics-resistant genetic features of bacterial strains