A Survey of the Management and Development of Captive African Elephant (\u3cem\u3eLoxodonta africana\u3c/em\u3e) Calves: Birth to Three Months of Age

We used four surveys to collect information about the birth, physical growth, and behavioral development of 12 African elephant calves born in captivity. The management of the birth process and neonatal care involved a variety of standard procedures. All of the calves were born at night, between 7PM and 7AM. The calves showed a systematic progression in behavioral and physical development, attaining developmental milestones at least a quickly as calves in situ. This study emphasized birth-related events, changes in the ways that calves used their trunks, first instances of behaviors, and interactions of the calves with other, usually adult, elephants. Several behaviors, such as the dam covering her calf with hay and the calf sucking its own trunk, were common in the captive situation and have been observed in situ. Overall, the behaviors of the calves resembled those observed for African elephant calves in situ. These data should help in the management of African elephants under human care by providing systematic reference values for the birth and development of elephant calves

Environmental Factors Affecting the Efficiency of Water Reservoir Restoration Using Microbiological Biotechnology

Aquatic ecosystems are often subject to degradation due to various environmental stressors. The accumulation of an organic sediment layer causes shallowing, algal blooms, and hypertrophy in water reservoirs. The processes of overgrowth and shallowing lead to a reduction in the ecosystem services provided by the reservoir as well as potentially causing the disappearance of the water body. To address these challenges and restore the ecological balance of water reservoirs, effective and sustainable revitalisation methods are essential. In recent years, biotechnological approaches, particularly utilizing microbiological interventions, have emerged as promising strategies for water reservoir revitalization. Microorganisms, with their remarkable ability to degrade pollutants and enhance nutrient cycling, offer great potential in remediating environmental issues in a natural and eco-friendly manner. This article presents the results of a study of 33 Polish reservoirs subjected to reclamation with microbial biopreparations from 2014 to 2023. The results of changes in bottom sediment reduction, water transparency, dissolved oxygen concentration, and water turbidity are presented. Reduction in morphological changes in the fraction of soft organic sediments, an improvement in the oxygen profile of the bottom and surface water layers, and an increase in water transparency were observed after reclamation with the use of biopreparations.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Policy responses to invasive native species: issues of social and private benefits and costs

Farm and catchment managers in Australia face decisions about controlling invasive native species (or scrub) which may infest agricultural land. The treatment of this land to remove the infestation and re-establish native pastures is likely to be expensive for landholders. Yet there are potential social benefits from such remediation and so a policy question arises of what to do to about facilitating such change. New South Wales state government legislation addresses this issue through regulations, and the Catchment Management Authorities are responsible for administering public funds to achieve associated natural resource improvements. However, the extent of the private costs and social benefits associated with such changes are not known, which precludes benefit-cost analyses using the traditional welfare economics framework. This paper reports results of a social and private economic analysis of the impacts of a typical infestation remediation decision. We show that for the landholder the private costs exceed the benefits achieved from increased livestock productivity. However, there are social benefits expressed by the willingness to pay by members of the local catchment community for improvements in native vegetation and biodiversity. When these social benefits are included, the economic analysis shows a positive social net benefit. This raises questions of how to reconcile the public and private accounting, and whether any changes to policies, regulations or procedures for natural resource management in New South Wales are warranted.Invasive native scrub, environmental values, choice modelling, financial, economic, Namoi catchment,

Transoesophageal echocardiography reduces invasiveness of cavoatrial tumour thrombectomy

The traditional approach to cavoatrial thrombus excision requires median sternotomy, cardiopulmonary bypass with or without hypothermia and circulatory arrest and is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. We describe a transoesophageal echocardiography guided balloon catheter assisted technique for cavoatrial thrombectomy that avoids thoracotomy, extracorporeal circulation and circulatory arrest as an alternative to traditional methods. A 74-year-old man presented with a right solid renal mass confined to the kidney with thrombus extension through the right renal vein and the inferior vena cava into the right atrium. A right radical nephrectomy with cavoatrial thrombectomy under transoesophageal echocardiography guidance was successfully achieved using a balloon catheter-assisted technique with minimal intra-and postoperative morbidity. Cavoatrial tumour thrombectomy can be successfully performed without cardiopulmonary bypass, hypothermia and circulatory arrest

Struktura relacji aktywności fizycznej i wybranych czynników kształtujących stan i samoocenę stanu zdrowia pacjentów w zespole bólowym odcinka lędźwiowego kręgosłupa

Introduction. The pain syndrome of the lumbar spine is one of the most common civilization diseases and requires surgery in the case of a significant percentage of patients. It is also associated with a number of other health problems, with gender being an important factor that differentiates patients’ health.Aim. For this reason, our own research was focused on determining the structure of the relationship between physical activity and selected factors shaping the condition and self-assessment of health of patients in the lumbar spine pain syndrome depending on gender.Material and Methods. The study sample consists of 205 patients hospitalized at the Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery and Neurosurgery of the Independent Public Clinical Hospital No. 4 in Lublin and at the Department of Pediatric Neurosurgery, Neurotraumatology and Neurosurgery, University Hospital No. 1 in Bydgoszcz. The Research used the Physical Activity Questionnaire IPAQ in Polish version, Visual Analogue Scale VAS, Questionnaire for Depression Measurement KPD, a proprietary questionnaire, as well as the results of laboratory tests of glucose concentration in the blood serum. The analysis of multidimensional relations between the variables was performed using the SEM structural equation modeling using the IBM SPSS 25 program with the AMOS extension.Results. In the subgroups of women and men, models that were structurally similar, although different in the values of selected path coefficients, were developed, which explains the variances of: blood glucose concentration, BMI, intensity of depression symptoms and self-assessment of health condition. The developed structural model shows that physical activity with mediating participation of blood glucose concentration, BMI and depression is associated with self-assessment of health. The indirect dependencies of physical activity and self-assessment of health condition also occur with the mediating participation of the BMI index and blood glucose concentration, as well as the BMI index and depression.Conclusions. The obtained data indicate that in the absence of health contraindications, an important element of interdisciplinary programs supporting the condition and self-assessment of health of patients with lumbar spine pain syndrome may be regular physical activity, adjusted to the needs and capabilities of the body. The differences between men and women suggest that preventive interventions should be gender-specific. (JNNN 2021;10(4):153–161)Wstęp. Zespół bólowy odcinka lędźwiowego kręgosłupa jest jedną z najczęstszych chorób cywilizacyjnych i u znacznego odsetka pacjentów wymaga operacji. Wiąże się to również z szeregiem innych problemów zdrowotnych, przy czym płeć jest ważnym czynnikiem różnicującym stan zdrowia pacjentów.Cel. Badania własne koncentrowały się na określeniu struktury związku między aktywnością fizyczną a wybranymi czynnikami kształtującymi stan i samoocenę zdrowia pacjentów z zespołem bólowym odcinka lędźwiowego kręgosłupa w zależności od płci.Materiał i metody. Badaną próbę stanowiło 205 pacjentów hospitalizowanych w Oddziale Neurochirurgii i Neurochirurgii Dziecięcej Samodzielnego Publicznego Szpitala Klinicznego nr 4 w Lublinie oraz w Oddziale Neurochirurgii, Neurotraumatologii i Neurochirurgii Dziecięcej Szpitala Uniwersyteckiego nr 1 w Bydgoszczy. W badaniu wykorzystano Kwestionariusz Aktywności Fizycznej IPAQ, Wizualną Skalę Analogową VAS, Kwestionariusz do Pomiaru Depresji KPD, autorską ankietę, a także wyniki badań laboratoryjnych stężenia glukozy w surowicy krwi. Analizę wielowymiarowych relacji między zmiennymi przeprowadzono za pomocą modelowania równań strukturalnych SEM za pomocą programu IBM SPSS 25 z rozszerzeniem AMOS.Wyniki. W podgrupach kobiet i mężczyzn opracowano analogiczne pod względem strukturalnym modele, ale różniące się wartościami wybranych współczynników ścieżkowych, które wyjaśniają wariancje: stężenia glukozy we krwi, BMI, nasilenia objawów depresji oraz samooceny stanu zdrowia. Opracowany model strukturalny wskazuje, że aktywność fizyczna przy pośredniczącym udziale stężenia glukozy we krwi, BMI i depresji wiąże się z samooceną stanu zdrowia. Pośrednie zależności aktywności fizycznej i samooceny stanu zdrowia występują również przy mediującym udziale wskaźnika BMI i stężenia glukozy we krwi oraz wskaźnika BMI i depresji.Wnioski. Uzyskane dane wskazują, że przy braku przeciwwskazań zdrowotnych istotnym elementem interdyscyplinarnych programów wspierających stan i samoocenę stanu zdrowia pacjentów w zespole bólowym odcinka lędźwiowego kręgosłupa może być regularna aktywność fizyczna, dostosowana do potrzeb i możliwości organizmu. Różnice między mężczyznami i kobietami sugerują, że interwencje zapobiegawcze powinny być dostosowane do płci. (PNN 2021;10(4):153–161

Detection of Ubiquitination on Syk and Documenting Syk Stability

Post-translational modifications regulate the activities of proteins important to numerous diseases. Spleen Tyrosine Kinase (Syk) is particularly interesting to researchers because it modifies many targets and plays multiple roles in regulating cells in our bodies and its abnormal modifications may contribute to cancer, Alzheimer’s disease and allergies. In an attempt to study these modifications of Syk, we first looked at detecting ubiquitination on Syk protein. Ubiquitin, a small 8 kDa molecule, attaches to lysine residues on protein. The attachment of ubiquitin to Syk may cause Syk to either propagate signals onwards to activate other proteins or signal it to undergo proteasomal degradation. To detect ubiquitination of Syk, B cell lymphoma DG75 with endogenous Syk expression was electroporated with HA-tagged Ubiquitin expression vector to introduce the ubiquitin molecule into the cells. Immunoprecipitation of Syk was performed to isolate the total Syk and to visualize the ubiquitination by Western Blot with anti-HA antibody. When cells were treated with Cyclohexamide (CHX), a protein translation inhibitor, we did not observe significant decrease of Syk in protein level, indicating that Syk is an exceptionally stable protein with a half-life longer than 72 hours. Upon treatment of cells with both CHX and MG132, a proteasome inhibitor, we reproducibly observed a detectable accumulation of Syk protein in 24 hours. The established technique will not only facilitate the study of the impact of ubiquitination on Syk in signal transduction, it also will lead us to identify the potential significance of ubiquinated lysine residues on Syk in cellular function

What is the infant mortality rate in South Africa? The need for improved data

Objectives. To review recent infant mortality and birth registration data in South Africa and to investigate geographical differences.Outcome measures. Estimates of infant mortality rates, proportion of births not registered, and proportion of births recorded in health services.Methods. 1. Published infant mortality data for South Africa were collated. Demographic data from national household surveys (1993 and 1994 October Household Surveys and the 1993 Poverty Survey by the Southern African Labour and Development Research Unit (SALDRU) at Ucr) were analysed using the indirect method developed by Brass. 2. Birth registration data were analysed and compared with the estimated number of births to identify regions with greater under-registration. The number of births recorded in the health services was analysed by province in order to assess and explore alternatives within health authorities that could complement the existing system.Results. 1. Published estimates of infant mortality for the period from 1990 range from 40 to 71 / 1 000 births and estimates based on national household surveys conducted in this period from 11 to 81/1000 births. 2. Completeness of birth registration in the nine provinces ranges from less than 10"10 in the Eastern Cape, North West and Northern Province to 60% in the Western Cape. An overall improvement from 19% to 60% could be achieved if births recorded through the health services were included in the vital registration system.Conclusions. The infant mortality rate in South Africa is not known with any certainty. The extent of completeness of the birth registration system was 19%, which indicates a need for urgent improvement in order to provide key health status indicators. This study indicates that there is some potential for improving the extent of birth registration if it could be facilitated through the health service. However, this alone would not achieve complete registration.Recommendations. Surveys will have to be relied upon until such time as routinely available statistics are accurate. The October Household Survey conducted annually by the Central Statistical Service is potentially an important Source of health status information. It is imperative that either the design of the birth history questionnaire be improved or that it be replaced by a less frequent but more specialised demographic and health survey