„Niechaj nam w Jasełkach nikt nie przedstawia, że Jezus urodził się w Palestynie” – „Betlejem polskie” Lucjana Rydla jako szopka literacka

The article is focused on Lucjan Rydel as the author of Polish Bethlehem – a nativity play in which its author saw the most perfect form of folk theatre, a concept he himself keenly propagated. The central issue here is an attempt to observe how Rydel, drawing upon the history of nativity plays as well as their traditional text and character, created a sublime patriotic spectacle which later became a template for all subsequent literary nativity plays inspiriting Polish history and at the same time commenting on current affairs. Furthermore, the text presents Polish Bethlehem through the prism of modernist artists’ interest in the nativity scene as a literary genre and juxtaposes Rydel’s work with the nativity plays written by the Green Balloon Cabaret in order to show two significant directions in which this cultural phenomenon was evolving at the turn of the 20th century

Morphometry of the heart orifices and morphometry and topography of the coronary ostia in the goat

Background: The coronary vessels have been described in various species of domestic and wild ruminants. However, no studies on the detailed morphology and morphometry of heart orifices and coronary ostia in the Polish goat are available. Materials and methods: The study was carried out on 112 female, adult dairy goats belonging to Polish Fawn Improved and Polish White Improved breed, closely related to French Alpine and Saanen, respectively. Results: In all examined individuals, all heart orifices and heart valves were of normal structure. There was no significant diametrical difference between the aortic and pulmonary orifice. The right atrioventricular opening was significantly wider than the left atrioventricular opening. The dimension of the left coronary ostium ranged from 1.0 to 5.5 mm with the arithmetic mean (±standard deviation [SD]) of 4.3 ± 0.8 mm. The dimension of the right coronary ostium ranged from 0.5 to 5.0 mm with the arithmetic mean (±SD) of 2.8 ± 0.7 mm. Both coronary artery ostia were located under the sinotubular junction. 39/112 examined goats (34.8%) had variations in the structure of the coronary ostia such as the lack of main trunk or the presence of additional coronary ostia. They were observed in one (in 34/39 goats) or both coronary arteries (5/39 goats). Conclusions:  In goats, the dimensions of aortic and pulmonary orifices are similar while the right atrioventricular opening outsizes the left one. On the other hand, the left coronary ostium is wider than the right one. Morphological variations in the coronary ostia occur in approximately one third of goats, more often in the right than in the left ostium

Genome-Wide Analyses Reveal a Role for Peptide Hormones in Planarian Germline Development

Genomic/peptidomic analyses of the planarian Schmidtea mediterranea identifies >200 neuropeptides and uncovers a conserved neuropeptide required for proper maturation and maintenance of the reproductive system

Dygasiński - "the Polish Kipling"? : on the vague boundaries between the human and non-human in Adolf Dygasiński and Rudyard Kipling's literary worlds

Niniejszy artykuł ma na celu weryfikację utrwalonego w polskim literaturoznawstwie przekonania o analogiczności pisarstwa Adolfa Dygasińskiego oraz Rudyarda Kiplinga, którzy po dziś dzień w świadomości czytelników funkcjonują przede wszystkim jako autorzy tekstów poświęconych związkom człowieka ze światem natury. Nasuwające się automatycznie skojarzenia pomiędzy oboma pisarzami sprzyjają bowiem formułowaniu pochopnych wniosków i niezbyt fortunnemu określaniu Dygasińskiego mianem "polskiego Kiplinga". Jak zostaje tu wykazane, dokładniejsza lektura ich utworów wyraźnie wskazuje na dzielące ich różnice, wynikające nie tylko z odmiennego zaplecza kulturowego, a co za tym idzie odmiennych uwarunkowań historycznych i geograficznych kształtujących światopogląd autorów, lecz także z kontrastujących ze sobą zapatrywań na kwestię relacji "ludzkiej" i "nie-ludzkiej" natury.The main purpose of this paper is to verify the idea founded in Polish literary studies that the writings of Adolf Dygasiński and Rudyard Kipling can be classified as analogous. Up to this day the two authors are perceived to have been preoccupied mainly with the relationship between humans and the natural world and thus the automatic association between them fosters the formulation of superficial conclusions and the unfortunate title of "the Polish Kipling" commonly used in reference to Dygasiński. As it is exemplified here, a closer reading of their respective texts highlights numerous differences between them resulting not only from their different cultural backgrounds as well as distinct historical and geographical conditions influencing their worldviews, but also from their contrasting stances on the relationship between human and nonhuman nature

The Agreement between Feline Pancreatic Lipase Immunoreactivity and DGGR-Lipase Assay in Cats—Preliminary Results

The colorimetric catalytic assay based on the use of 1,2-o-dilauryl-rac-glycero-3-glutaric acid-(6′-methylresorufin) (DGGR) ester as a substrate for pancreatic lipase activity is commonly used for the diagnosis of pancreatitis in dogs and cats. Even though the assay has generally been shown to yield consistent results with feline pancreatic lipase immunoreactivity (fPLI) assay, the agreement may vary between assays of different manufacturers. In this study, the chance-corrected agreement between a DGGR-lipase assay offered by one of the biggest providers of diagnostic solutions in Poland and fPLI assay was investigated. The study was carried out on 50 cats in which DGGR-lipase activity and fPLI were tested in the same blood sample. The chance-corrected agreement was determined using Gwet’s AC1 coefficient separately for the fPLI assay’s cut-off values of >3.5 μg/L and >5.3 μg/L. The DGGR-lipase activity significantly positively correlated with fPLI (Rs = 0.665; CI 95%: 0.451, 0.807, p < 0.001). The chance-corrected agreement between the fPLI assay and DGGR-lipase assay differed considerably depending on the cut-off values of the DGGR-lipase assay. When the cut-off value reported in the literature (>26 U/L) was used, it was poor to fair. It was moderate at the cut-off value recommended by the laboratory (>45 U/L), and good at the cut-off value recommended by the assay’s manufacturer (>60 U/L). The highest agreement was obtained between the fPLI assay at the cut-off value of 3.5 μg/L and the DGGR-lipase assay at the cut-off value of 55 U/L (AC1 = 0.725; CI 95%: 0.537, 0.914) and between the fPLI assay at the cut-off value of 5.3 μg/L and the DGGR-lipase assay at the cut-off value of 70 U/L (AC1 = 0.749; CI 95%: 0.577, 0.921). The study confirms that the chance-corrected agreement between the two assays is good. Prospective studies comparing both assays to a diagnostic gold standard are needed to determine which of them is more accurate

Resistance to antihelmintics in gastro-intestinal nematodes in goats. Part I. Epidemiology, clinical course and infection recognition

This article presents the major genera and species of gastrointestinal nematodes found in goats, along with appropriate diagnostic methods. Many health problems in goat herds are related to the infection gastrointestinal nematodes. In Poland, the most common goat nematodes belong to the species H. contortus and to genera Trichostrongylus and Teladorsagia. The clinical signs of infection are non-specific and include diarrhoea, pale mucous membranes, oedema of soft tissues, and weight loss. Diagnosis is based on qualitative (simple flotation), and quantitative (McMaster’s method), and larvoscopic methods (Baermann’s method). Differentiation of the species and genus of gastrointestinal nematodes is carried out using invasive larvae culture methods and molecular biology (PCR) methods

The purulent meningoencephalitis in goats caused by <i>Trueperella pyogenes</i>

This article presents a case of purulent meningoencephalitis in goat kid caused by Trueperella pyogenes (formerly: Corynebacterium pyogenes, Actinomyces pyogenes and Arcanobacterium pyogenes), a Gram-positive, non-sporulating and microaerophilic bacteria. This opportunistic pathogen is a common resident on the skin and mucous membranes of many animal species and can cause suppurative and necrotizing infections of tissues, including also central nervous system. In goats, purulent brain lesions caused by T. pyogenes are often associated with hot-iron disbudding and the disease manifests itself by various neurological signs. Despite the risk of the complications from thermal disbudding procedure, it is still the most common and humane method of preventing horn related injuries in the goats herd

Resistance to anthelmintics in gastro-intestinal nematodes in goats. Part II. Methods of control and prevention of infection

Many health disorders in goats result from infections with intestinal nematodes, however this problem is commonly misdiagnosed by veterinarians. Treatment is based on the use of an effective anthelmintic in a goat-proper dose. In practice, the control of parasitic infections in goat herds is based on the use of antiparasitic drugs: benzimidazoles (albendazole), imidazothiazoles/tetrahydroxypyrimidines (especially levamisole) and macrocyclic lactones (ivermectin, eprinomectin). Unfortunately, only few antiparasitics are registered in Poland for use in goats. This renders veterinarians to extrapolate dosage from cows and sheep, which is however considerably different. Thus, the failure of treatment is the most direct consequence of incorrect protocol of therapy, but growing resistance of nematodes to anthelmintics quickly follows. Furthermore, it is crucial to comply with the Directive 2001/82/WE and assume longer withdrawal periods, when the drug is used in an extra-label pattern. The aim of this article was to present methods of control and prevention of infection with gastro-intestinal nematodes in goats

Ultrasonographic and anatomical examination of normal thyroid and internal parathyroid glands in goats.

Ultrasonographic examination of the normal thyroid and parathyroid glands has been described for humans and many animal species. However, similar reports for goats are still missing. The aim of the study was to present ultrasound features of the normal thyroid and internal parathyroid glands in goats with the determination of their dimensions and volume, followed by a comparison of the results to the gross examination. Seventy-two goats were used in the study. The echostructure and echogenicity of the thyroid and parathyroid glands were assessed. The length, width and height of the thyroid and the length and width of the parathyroid glands were measured. The thyroid volume was calculated using the ellipsoid formula, basing on the ultrasonographic dimensions. Size and volume of the dissected thyroid glands were established grossly, followed by a histological examination. In order to accurately describe the anatomy of the thyroid, new anatomical terminology characterizing this gland was proposed. The mean dimensions of the thyroid lobes were 30.2 x 10.5 x 6.3 mm. There were no statistically significant differences between the right and left lobe. Parathyroid glands measured an average of 3.6 x 2.4 mm. The percentage Root Mean Square Error between the results of ultrasonographic and gross examination was 16.73%, 20.65% and 17.01% for thyroid length, width and height, respectively, and 46.30% for volume. In order to obtain more precise calculation of the thyroid volume, a modified correction factor for the ellipsoid formula was introduced. For the first time, the normal ultrasonographic characteristics and dimensions of the caprine thyroid and internal parathyroid glands were presented. The results may serve as a radiological reference and be the basis for further research