Effects of biometrics, location and persistent organic pollutants on blood clinical-chemical parameters in polar bears (Ursus maritimus) from Svalbard, Norway

Embargo until 31 May 2020.In the present study, blood clinical-chemical parameters (BCCPs) were analysed in 20 female and 18 male Svalbard polar bears (Ursus maritimus) captured in spring 2007. The aim was to study how age, body condition (BC), biometrics, plasma lipid content and geographical location may confound the relationship between persistent organic pollutants (POPs) including PCBs, HCB, chlordanes, DDTs, HCHs, mirex and OH-PCBs and the concentrations of 12 specific BCCPs (hematocrit [HCT], hemoglobin [HB], aspartate aminotransferase [ASAT], alanine aminotransferase [ALAT], γ-glutamyltransferase [GGT], creatine kinase [CK], triglycerides [TG], cholesterol [CHOL], high-density lipoprotein [HDL], creatinine (CREA], urea, potassium (K]), and to investigate if any of these BCCPs may be applied as potential biomarkers for POP exposure in polar bears. Initial PCA and O-PLS modelling showed that age, lipids, BC and geographical location (longitude and latitude) were important parameters explaining BCCPs in females. Following subsequent partial correlation analyses correcting for age and lipids, multiple POPs in females were still significantly correlated with HCT and HDL (all p < 0.05). In males, age, BM, BC and longitude were important parameters explaining BCCPs. Following partial correlation analyses correcting for age, biometrics, lipids and longitude in males, multiple POPs were significantly correlated with HCT, ASAT, GGT and CHOL (all p < 0.05). In conclusion, several confounding parameters has to be taken into account when studying the relations between BCCPs and POPs in polar bears. When correcting for these, in particular HCT may be used as a simple cost-efficient biomarker of POP exposure in polar bears. Furthermore, decreasing HDL concentrations and increasing CHOL concentration with increasing POP concentrations may indicate responses related to increased risk of cardiovascular disease. We therefore suggest to further study POP exposure and lipidome response to increase knowledge of the risk of cardiometabolic syndrome in polar bears.acceptedVersio

Sprofilowanie oddziału chirurgicznego w kierunku chirurgii onkologicznej istotnie poprawia wyniki leczenia raka żołądka

Wstęp. Gastrektomia z powodu raka pozostaje wyzwaniem dla pacjenta i dla zespołu leczącego. Wyzwala znaczący uraz w organizmie pacjenta. Towarzyszy jej ryzyko powikłań i kilkuprocentowe ryzyko śmiertelności okołooperacyjnej. Doświadczenie w zakresie leczenia chirurgicznego oraz we właściwym przygotowaniu i doborze pacjenta do operacji to czynniki wpływające na wyniki leczenia tej choroby. Celem pracy jest analiza zmian w jakości doraźnych i odległych wyników leczenia raka żołądka na materiale własnym nowo utworzonego, powołanego do leczenia nowotworów złośliwych oddziału chirurgii onkologicznej w centrum onkologicznym na przestrzeni pierwszych 6 lat funkcjonowania oddziału. Materiał i metody. Materiał stanowi 114 kolejnych chorych poddanych zabiegowi resekcyjnemu z powodu raka gruczołowego żołądka w pierwszych 6 latach istnienia Oddziału Chirurgii Onkologicznej. Oddział został utworzony na bazie istniejącego wcześniej Oddziału Chirurgii Ogólnej. Wykonano 87 resekcji radykalnych i 27 paliatywnych. Zdecydowaną większość zabiegów stanowiły gastrektomie (84%). Materiał podzielono na dwie grupy: chorych operowanych w pierwszych 3 latach istnienia oddziału (grupa I, n = 47) oraz chorych operowanych w 3 następnych latach (grupa II, n = 67). Wyniki. W grupie II stwierdzono: wyższą medianę wieku operowanych chorych (67,7 vs 63,1 roku), wyższy odsetek pacjentów leczonych żywieniem sztucznym w okresie okołooperacyjnym (94% vs 66%), większą liczbę wyciętych węzłów chłonnych (21,3 vs 15,9), niższy odsetek nieszczelności zespolenia przełykowo-jelitowego (0% vs 8,5%) oraz wyższy wskaźnik 2-letnich przeżyć (62,7% vs 44,7%). Wszystkie wymienione powyżej różnice osiągnęły próg istotności statystycznej. Śmiertelność okołooperacyjna wyniosła w II grupie 1,5% w porównaniu z 8,5% w grupie I (p &gt; 0,05). Wnioski. Profil oddziału chirurgicznego skupionego wyłącznie na leczeniu nowotworów sprzyja osiąganiu lepszych wyników leczenia u pacjentów z resekcyjnym rakiem żołądka

Rapid determination of thyroid hormones in blood plasma from Glaucous gulls and Baikal seals by HybridSPE®-LC-MS/MS

A rapid hybrid solid phase extraction (HybridSPE®) protocol tailored to liquid chromatography–electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (LC–ESI–MS/MS) analysis, was developed for the determination of four thyroid hormones, L-Thyroxine (T4), 3,3′,5-triiodo-L-thyronine (T3), 3,3′,5′-triiodo-L-thyronine (rT3) and 3,3′-diiodo-L-thyronine (T2) in blood plasma from Glaucous gulls (Larus hyperboreus) and Baikal seals (Phoca sibirica). The use of target analyte specific 13C internal standards allowed quantification to be performed through the standard solvent calibration curves and alleviated the need to perform quantification with matrix match curves. The relative recoveries were 100.0–110.1 % for T4, 99.1–102.2 % for T3, 100.5–108.0 % for rT3, and 100.5–104.6 % for T2. The matrix effects ranged from −1.52 to −6.10 %, demonstrating minor signal suppression during analysis. The method intra-day precision (method repeatability, RSD %, N = 5, k = 1 day) and inter-day precision (method reproducibility, RSD %, N = 10, k = 2 days) at the 1 ng/mL concentration of fortification were 8.54–15.4 % and 15.4–24.8 %, respectively, indicating acceptable chromatographic peak stabilities for all target THs even at trace level concentrations. The method limit of detection (LOD) for T4, T3, rT3 and T2 was 0.17, 0.16, 0.30 and 0.17 ng/mL, respectively. The HybridSPE® protocol was simple and rapid (<1 min) upon application, while the HybridSPE® cartridge did not require (as in classical SPE cartridges) any additional equilibration nor conditioning step prior sample loading. A total of 46 blood plasma samples, 30 samples collected from Glaucous gulls and 16 samples collected from Baikal seals, were analyzed for thyroid hormones to demonstrate the applicability of the developed method in these wildlife species. The concentrations of T4 and T3 in blood plasma from the Glaucous gulls were 5.95–44.2 and 0.37–5.61 ng/mL, respectively, whereas those from Baikal seals were 3.57–46.5 and 0.45–2.07 ng/mL, respectively. In both species, rT3 demonstrated low detection rate, while T2 was not detected. Furthermore, cross-array comparison between the HybridSPE®-LC-MS/MS protocol and an established routine radioimmunoassay (RIA) kit-based method was performed for T4 and T3 concentrations from selected Baikal seal plasma samples.publishedVersio

Effects of mine tailing exposure on early life stages of cod (Gadus morhua) and haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus)

Mining and processing of minerals produce large quantities of tailings as waste. Some countries, including Norway, allow disposal of mine tailings in the sea. In this study we investigated the impacts of tailings from a calcium carbonate (CaCO3) processing plant on early live stages of haddock (Melanogrammus aeglefinus) and Atlantic cod (Gadus morhua). Fish eggs (3 days post fertilisation; dpf) were exposed for 48 h to three concentrations of tailings, nominally 1 mg L−1 (low, L); 10 mg L−1 (medium, M) and 100 mg L−1 (high, H); with L and M representing concentrations occurring at tailing release points. Results show that tailings rapidly adhered to eggs of both species, causing negative buoyancy (sinking of eggs) in M and H exposures. While tailings remained on egg surfaces in both species also after exposure termination, adhesion seemed more pronounced in cod, leading to larger impacts on buoyancy even after exposure. Tailing exposure further induced early hatching and significantly reduced survival in M and H exposed embryos in both fish species, and in cod from the L exposure group. Moreover, tailing exposure caused reduced survival and malformations in larvae, potentially related to premature hatching. This study shows that mineral particles adhere to haddock and cod eggs, affecting egg buoyancy, survival and development.publishedVersio

Sources, distribution and effects of rare earth elements in the marine environment : Current knowledge and research gaps

publishedVersio

Effects of marine mine tailing exposure on the development, growth, and lipid accumulation in Calanus finmarchicus

Marine tailing disposal (MTD) is sometimes practiced as an alternative to traditional mine tailing deposition on land. Environmental challenges connected to MTD include spreading of fine particulate matter in the water column and the potential release of metals and processing chemicals. This study investigated if tailing exposure affects the marine copepod Calanus finmarchicus, and whether effects are related to exposure to mineral particles or the presence of metals and/or processing chemicals in the tailings. We investigated the impacts of three different tailing compositions: calcium carbonate particles with and without processing chemicals and fine-grained tailings from a copper ore. Early life stages of C. finmarchicus were exposed over several developmental stages to low and high suspension concentrations for 15 days, and their development, oxygen consumption and biometry determined. The data was fitted in a dynamic energy budget (DEB) model to determine mechanisms underlying responses and to understand the primary modes of action related to mine tailing exposure. Results show that copepods exposed to tailings generally exhibited slower growth and accumulated less lipids. The presence of metals and processing chemicals did not influence these responses, suggesting that uptake of mineral particles was responsible for the observed effects. This was further supported by the applied DEB model, confirming that ingestion of tailing particles while feeding can result in less energy being available for growth and development.publishedVersio

Hipotermia terapeutyczna — potężne narzędzie w zapobieganiu uszkodzeniu niedokrwienno-reperfuzyjnemu w sercach szczurów

Introduction. The aim of the experiment was to find the relationship between the extent of myocardial infarction and the internal body temperature of the rats. Our second goal was to investigate if mild hypothermia applied during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion brings cardioprotective effects. Materials and methods. The study was performed in vivo on rat hearts. Myocardial infarction was induced by 30 minutes of the left anterior descending artery occlusion followed by 60 min reperfusion. Thirteen rats were assigned to a group depending on the internal body temperature (t) ≤ 35.5°C (n = 5), 35.6 ≥ t ≥ 37.5°C (n = 4) and t ≥ 37.6°C (n = 4). The desired temperature was achieved during pre-ischemic procedures. The presence of the infarction scar and its size were assessed in planimetry. Infraction size was calculated as the infarct area relative to the area at risk (IA/RA). Results. The incidence of infarction scar in the groups of rats with body temperature ≥ 35.6°C was significantly higher (p &lt; 0.01) compared to the group with the temperature ≤ 35.5°C. There was statistically significant positive correlation (r = 0.787, p &lt; 0.01) between IA/RA and the internal body temperature of the rats. Conclusions. Any reduction in the body temperature during myocardial ischemia and reperfusion seems to be beneficial for the rat’s myocardium. Moreover, hypothermia ≤ 35.5ºC applied during ischemia and reperfusion fully prevents from myocardial infarction. We believe that there is a great need to intensify research on therapeutic hypothermia in humans, so that this method of treatment could be finally used in the course of myocardial infarction.  Wstęp. Celem doświadczenia było zbadanie zależności obszaru zawału (IA) od temperatury wewnętrznej szczurów oraz określenie, czy łagodna hipotermia zastosowana podczas niedokrwienia i reperfuzji działa kardioprotekcyjne. Materiały i metody. Badanie przeprowadzono in vivo na sercach szczurzych. Zawał serca wywoływano poprzez 30-minutowe zamknięcie gałęzi przedniej zstępującej (LAD), po czym następowała 60-minutowa reperfuzja. Trzynaście szczurów przydzielono do grup zależnie od wewnętrznej temperatury ciała (t) ≤ 35,5°C (n = 5), 35,6 ≥ t ≥ 37,5°C (n = 4) oraz t ≥ 37,6°C (n = 4). Pożądaną temperaturę wewnętrzną osiągano podczas czynności poprzedzających rozpoczęcie niedokrwienia. Obecność zawału i jego rozmiar oceniano planimetrycznie. Obszar blizny zawałowej określano jako procent obszaru zagrożonego martwicą (RA). Wyniki. Występowanie blizny zawałowej w ocenie planimetrycznej w grupach zwierząt z temperaturą ≥ 35,6°C było znacząco wyższe (p < 0,01) niż w grupie z temperaturą ≤ 35,5ºC. Wykazano istotną statystycznie pozytywną korelację (r = 0,787; p < 0,01) między IA/RA a wewnętrzną temperaturą ciała szczurów. Wnioski. Nawet niewielkie obniżenie temperatury ciała podczas niedokrwienia i reperfuzji wydaje się korzystne dla zmniejszenia uszkodzenia miokardium. Co więcej, zastosowanie hipotermii ≤ 35,5ºC podczas niedokrwienia i reperfuzji pozwala w pełni zapobiec wystąpieniu obszaru martwicy w sercach szczurzych. Autorzy niniejszej pracy wierzą, że istnieje duża potrzeba poszerzenia badań na temat hipotermii, tak aby metoda ta mogła ostatecznie znaleźć zastosowanie u chorych z ostrym zespołem wieńcowym. Słowa kluczowe: zawał serca w uniesieniem odcinka ST, temperatura ciała, kardioprotekcj

Differential cross section measurements for the production of a W boson in association with jets in proton–proton collisions at √s = 7 TeV

Measurements are reported of differential cross sections for the production of a W boson, which decays into a muon and a neutrino, in association with jets, as a function of several variables, including the transverse momenta (pT) and pseudorapidities of the four leading jets, the scalar sum of jet transverse momenta (HT), and the difference in azimuthal angle between the directions of each jet and the muon. The data sample of pp collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of 7 TeV was collected with the CMS detector at the LHC and corresponds to an integrated luminosity of 5.0 fb[superscript −1]. The measured cross sections are compared to predictions from Monte Carlo generators, MadGraph + pythia and sherpa, and to next-to-leading-order calculations from BlackHat + sherpa. The differential cross sections are found to be in agreement with the predictions, apart from the pT distributions of the leading jets at high pT values, the distributions of the HT at high-HT and low jet multiplicity, and the distribution of the difference in azimuthal angle between the leading jet and the muon at low values.United States. Dept. of EnergyNational Science Foundation (U.S.)Alfred P. Sloan Foundatio

Penilaian Kinerja Keuangan Koperasi di Kabupaten Pelalawan

This paper describe development and financial performance of cooperative in District Pelalawan among 2007 - 2008. Studies on primary and secondary cooperative in 12 sub-districts. Method in this stady use performance measuring of productivity, efficiency, growth, liquidity, and solvability of cooperative. Productivity of cooperative in Pelalawan was highly but efficiency still low. Profit and income were highly, even liquidity of cooperative very high, and solvability was good

Juxtaposing BTE and ATE – on the role of the European insurance industry in funding civil litigation

One of the ways in which legal services are financed, and indeed shaped, is through private insurance arrangement. Two contrasting types of legal expenses insurance contracts (LEI) seem to dominate in Europe: before the event (BTE) and after the event (ATE) legal expenses insurance. Notwithstanding institutional differences between different legal systems, BTE and ATE insurance arrangements may be instrumental if government policy is geared towards strengthening a market-oriented system of financing access to justice for individuals and business. At the same time, emphasizing the role of a private industry as a keeper of the gates to justice raises issues of accountability and transparency, not readily reconcilable with demands of competition. Moreover, multiple actors (clients, lawyers, courts, insurers) are involved, causing behavioural dynamics which are not easily predicted or influenced. Against this background, this paper looks into BTE and ATE arrangements by analysing the particularities of BTE and ATE arrangements currently available in some European jurisdictions and by painting a picture of their respective markets and legal contexts. This allows for some reflection on the performance of BTE and ATE providers as both financiers and keepers. Two issues emerge from the analysis that are worthy of some further reflection. Firstly, there is the problematic long-term sustainability of some ATE products. Secondly, the challenges faced by policymakers that would like to nudge consumers into voluntarily taking out BTE LEI