A rapid response of testate amoebae and vegetation to inundation of a kettle hole mire

Our palaeoecological study covers 73 years of history (1929-2002) of a kettle hole peatland inundated by water from a nearby, dammed lake. Testate amoebae, pollen and non-pollen palynomorphs (NPPs) were used to track the shift to wetter conditions in the peatland. Lead-210 was used to try and construct the chronology. We investigated how peatland testate amoebae communities changed since the damming of a nearby river. Furthermore, we evaluated how rapidly local vegetation responded to the increase in wetness, and how vegetation changes correlated with shifts in testate amoebae and NPPs. The Mukrza kettle hole provided palaeoecological evidence of trophic state and hydrological changes since the lake filled with water in 1929. Three stages of development were revealed. The first two were associated with initial inundation, and the third was related to Sphagnum expansion and acidification. Quantitative reconstruction of groundwater level and pH, inferred using testate amoebae, confirmed our hypotheses about changes in hydrology and trophic state. Subfossil desmid remains lend qualitative support to the reconstruction. The ecology of several testate amoeba taxa is discussed in the context of succession and population establishment. There was complete species replacement since the time of inundation. Our investigation has two important applied aspects: (1) it enables prediction of the response of peatlands to a rise in water table on restored sites; and (2) it provides analogues for palaeoclimatological studies. The history of the Mukrza mire is an example of how palaeoecological studies can be used to assess the degree of change in peatlands transformed by human activities

Surgical treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis in children

Objective. To estimate the results of surgical treatment in children, suffering pulmonary tuberculosis. Materials and methods. The results of surgical treatment of 83 children, suffering pulmonary tuberculosis in Jan. 2008 - June 2019 yrs are presented. Immediate and late results of performance of various operative interventions, rate of tuberculosis recurrence and postoperative morbidity are presented. Results. Efficacy of operative treatment (arrest of bacterioleak, improvement of clinical state, closure of the destruction cavity, positive roentgenological dynamics) in terms of observation up to10 yrs was observed in 81 (97.6%) patients. Postoperative complications were developed in 11 (13.3%) patients, they have healed conservatively. Tuberculosis recurrence in postoperative period have occurred in (2.4%) patients. Conclusion. It is possible to enhance the efficacy of treatment in children, suffering pulmonary tuberculosis, using various operative procedures. While selecting the method for surgical treatment of pulmonary tuberculosis in children, the advantage must be given to anatomic resection. Lobectomy constitutes the optimal variant of the operation. During performance of resection in children, in patients with multiresistant tuberculosis or tuberculosis with extended medicinal resistance, for prevention of pulmonary overstretching it is mandatory to apply the methods for the hemithorax volume correction (pneumoperitoneum, phrenicotripsy or one of thoracoplasty procedures)

Результати застосування відеоторакоскопії для діагностики етіології синдрому легеневої дисемінації

Мета. Визначити чутливість, специфічність і точність відеоторакоскопічної (ВТС) і відеоасистованої торакоскопічної (ВАТС) біопсії легені у хворих із синдромом легеневої дисемінації (СЛД) неясного ґенезу. Матеріали і методи. Проаналізовано і узагальнено дані 143 хворих із СЛД різної етіології, яким виконували ВТС або ВАТС біопсію легені. Проводили цитологічне, бактеріологічне і патогістологічне дослідження всіх отриманих біоптатів. Результати. Чутливість, специфічність і точність ВТС і ВАТС біопсії легені при СЛД є високими і суттєво не відрізняються: 98,0, 99,0 та 95,2% і 94,7, 100,0 та 94,7% відповідно. Для ВТС і ВАТС біопсії легені характерні низька частота післяопераційних ускладнень - 4,8 та 7,9% відповідно, невеликий об’єм середньої інтраопераційної крововтрати - (20,0 ± 3,5) та (35,6 ± 4,3) мл відповідно, невелика середня тривалість оперативного втручання - (25,2 ± 2,6) та (45,1 ± 5,6) хв відповідно. Частота інтраопераційних ускладнень ВТС біопсії легені становила 1,9%. Інтраопераційних ускладнень ВАТС біопсії легені не зафіксували. Висновки. Використання відеоторакоскопічних методик при СЛД дає можливість швидко та малотравматично встановити етіологію захворювання

Palaeoecological data indicates land-use changes across Europe linked to spatial heterogeneity in mortality during the Black Death pandemic

Historical accounts of the mortality outcomes of the Black Death plague pandemic are variable across Europe, with much higher death tolls suggested in some areas than others. Here the authors use a 'big data palaeoecology' approach to show that land use change following the pandemic was spatially variable across Europe, confirming heterogeneous responses with empirical data.The Black Death (1347-1352 ce) is the most renowned pandemic in human history, believed by many to have killed half of Europe's population. However, despite advances in ancient DNA research that conclusively identified the pandemic's causative agent (bacterium Yersinia pestis), our knowledge of the Black Death remains limited, based primarily on qualitative remarks in medieval written sources available for some areas of Western Europe. Here, we remedy this situation by applying a pioneering new approach, 'big data palaeoecology', which, starting from palynological data, evaluates the scale of the Black Death's mortality on a regional scale across Europe. We collected pollen data on landscape change from 261 radiocarbon-dated coring sites (lakes and wetlands) located across 19 modern-day European countries. We used two independent methods of analysis to evaluate whether the changes we see in the landscape at the time of the Black Death agree with the hypothesis that a large portion of the population, upwards of half, died within a few years in the 21 historical regions we studied. While we can confirm that the Black Death had a devastating impact in some regions, we found that it had negligible or no impact in others. These inter-regional differences in the Black Death's mortality across Europe demonstrate the significance of cultural, ecological, economic, societal and climatic factors that mediated the dissemination and impact of the disease. The complex interplay of these factors, along with the historical ecology of plague, should be a focus of future research on historical pandemics

Palaeoecological data indicates land-use changes across Europe linked to spatial heterogeneity in mortality during the Black Death pandemic

The Black Death (1347–1352 CE) is the most renowned pandemic in human history, believed by many to have killed half of Europe’s population. However, despite advances in ancient DNA research that conclusively identified the pandemic’s causative agent (bacterium Yersinia pestis), our knowledge of the Black Death remains limited, based primarily on qualitative remarks in medieval written sources available for some areas of Western Europe. Here, we remedy this situation by applying a pioneering new approach, ‘big data palaeoecology’, which, starting from palynological data, evaluates the scale of the Black Death’s mortality on a regional scale across Europe. We collected pollen data on landscape change from 261 radiocarbon-dated coring sites (lakes and wetlands) located across 19 modern-day European countries. We used two independent methods of analysis to evaluate whether the changes we see in the landscape at the time of the Black Death agree with the hypothesis that a large portion of the population, upwards of half, died within a few years in the 21 historical regions we studied. While we can confirm that the Black Death had a devastating impact in some regions, we found that it had negligible or no impact in others. These inter-regional differences in the Black Death’s mortality across Europe demonstrate the significance of cultural, ecological, economic, societal and climatic factors that mediated the dissemination and impact of the disease. The complex interplay of these factors, along with the historical ecology of plague, should be a focus of future research on historical pandemics.The authors acknowledge the following funding sources: Max Planck Independent Research Group, Palaeo-Science and History Group (A.I., A.M. and C.V.); Estonian Research Council #PRG323, PUT1173 (A.Pos., T.R., N.S. and S.V.); European Research Council #FP7 263735 (A.Bro. and A.Plu.), #MSC 655659 (A.E.); Georgetown Environmental Initiative (T.N.); Latvian Council of Science #LZP-2020/2-0060 (N.S. and N.J.); LLNL-JRNL-820941 (I.T.); NSF award #GSS-1228126 (S.M.); Polish-Swiss Research Programme #013/2010 CLIMPEAT (M.Lam.), #086/2010 CLIMPOL (A.W.); Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education #N N306 275635 (M.K.); Polish National Science Centre #2019/03/X/ST10/00849 (M.Lam.), #2015/17/B/ST10/01656 (M.Lam.), #2015/17/B/ST10/03430 (M.Sło.), #2018/31/B/ST10/02498 (M.Sło.), #N N304 319636 (A.W.); SCIEX #12.286 (K.Mar.); Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness #REDISCO-HAR2017-88035-P (J.A.L.S.); Spanish Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports #FPU16/00676 (R.L.L.); Swedish Research Council #421-2010-1570 (P.L.), #2018-01272 (F.C.L. and A.S.); Volkswagen Foundation Freigeist Fellowship Dantean Anomaly (M.B.), Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation #RTI2018-101714-B-I00 (F.A.S. and D.A.S.), OP RDE, MEYS project #CZ.02.1.01/0.0/0.0/16_019/0000728 (P.P.)Peer reviewe

Palaeoecological data indicates land-use changes across Europe linked to spatial heterogeneity in mortality during the Black Death pandemic

The Black Death (1347–1352 CE) is the most renowned pandemic in human history, believed by many to have killed half of Europe’s population. However, despite advances in ancient DNA research that conclusively identified the pandemic’s causative agent (bacterium Yersinia pestis), our knowledge of the Black Death remains limited, based primarily on qualitative remarks in medieval written sources available for some areas of Western Europe. Here, we remedy this situation by applying a pioneering new approach, ‘big data palaeoecology’, which, starting from palynological data, evaluates the scale of the Black Death’s mortality on a regional scale across Europe. We collected pollen data on landscape change from 261 radiocarbon-dated coring sites (lakes and wetlands) located across 19 modern-day European countries. We used two independent methods of analysis to evaluate whether the changes we see in the landscape at the time of the Black Death agree with the hypothesis that a large portion of the population, upwards of half, died within a few years in the 21 historical regions we studied. While we can confirm that the Black Death had a devastating impact in some regions, we found that it had negligible or no impact in others. These inter-regional differences in the Black Death’s mortality across Europe demonstrate the significance of cultural, ecological, economic, societal and climatic factors that mediated the dissemination and impact of the disease. The complex interplay of these factors, along with the historical ecology of plague, should be a focus of future research on historical pandemics

Developmental history of two kettle-hole mires in Tuchola Pinewoods (N Poland)

Our research confirmed the value of kettle-hole mires for reconstructing Holocene environmental changes. The multi-proxy approach in which three palaeoecological methods were used (analyses of testate amoebae, plant macrofossils and pollen) improved the interpretation potential. We studied two Sphagnum mires situated in Tuchola Pinewoods (N Poland). In Tuchola mire 9000 years of environmental changes (groundwater level and pH) were recorded. Water table changes inferred from Tuchola mire show patterns similar to regional hydrological changes recorded in Polish lakes and mires as well as in other European sites. Jelenia Wyspa mire recorded changes in local vegetation and palaeohydrology during the last 1500 years. A rise in the groundwater table, caused by deforestation in the catchment area, allowed Sphagnum to expand. Consequently, the peatland evolved into an oligotrophic mire dominated by peat mosses. Approx. 200 years ago water pH increased and subsequently decreased, the lowest value being associated with the deforestation maximum. Furthermore, the planting of pine probably also caused an acidification of Jelenia Wyspa mire

Cascading effects between climate, vegetation, and macroinvertebrate fauna in 14,000-year palaeoecological investigations of a shallow lake in eastern Poland

Late glacial and Holocene environmental history of Lake Łukie and its catchment is reconstructed from the lake sediments. This shallow lake is situated in the marshy Polesie region in eastern Poland. Sediments began to accumulate in the lake in the Older Dryas. On the basis of macrofossils, pollen, and Oribatida remains, and with the use of Kohonen’s artificial neural network (self-organising map, SOM), six stages (corresponding to subclusters X1, X2, X3 in cluster X, and Y1, Y2, Y3 in cluster Y) of the lake history were distinguished, and indicator taxa of each stage were identified from the indicator value (IndVal) index. During the transition period corresponding to the border between X and Y, the ecosystem transformed in the broad sense from the protocratic to mesocratic phase in a 5-point scale transformation of the landscape in the glacial–interglacial cycle. All the steps involved in post-glacial history succession during interglacial cycles include changes in climate, soil, and biotic interactions. Indicator taxa for the subsequent SOM subclusters X1, X2, and X3 are associated with the first phase of the protocratic glacial–interglacial cycle. The transformation that occurs on the level of cluster Y (subcluster Y1) is the mesocratic phase (ca. 9000–5000 14C age BP), which is characterised by high temperatures and development of closed forest (climax forest). Subcluster Y2 corresponds to the transformation of forest cover during the oligocratic phase (ca. 5000–3000 14C age BP), which is associated with decreasing forest share and deteriorating soils. Finally, subcluster Y3 can be associated with the telocratic phase, characterised by the influence of a more oceanic climate (from ca. 2500 14C age BP) with declining temperatures, higher humidity, and milder seasonal contrasts, which contributed to the development of more open vegetation and infertile soils. This stage also corresponds to an increased human activity and landscape transformation, such as from forests to cornfields and from wetlands to meadows. Interestingly, the currently strictly protected brittle naiad (Najas minor) was present in the lake during the Atlantic, Subboreal, and Subatlantic periods; however, this species is not listed as being part of the present vegetation and may have become extinct relatively recently

Reconstructing climate change and ombrotrophic bog development during the last 4000years in northern Poland using biotic proxies, stable isotopes and trait-based approach

In this study, we present a record spanning the last 4000 years from a Baltic bog (Kusowskie Bagno) in northern Poland. Using numerous biotic and abiotic proxies, such as testate amoebae (depth to water table reconstructions), stable carbon isotopes (13C), plant macrofossils (proxies for local vegetation and mire surface wetness), pollen and spores (proxies for regional vegetation and human impact), we reconstructed and identified the regional hydro-climatic signal of Kusowskie Bagno bog and compared it to other bog records around the Baltic Sea. Our aims were to: 1) combine the species traits of bryophytes and testate amoebae, and more common proxies (isotopes, plant micro-and macro-remains) to infer past peatland development, 2) compare the hydro-climatic signal of Kusowskie Bagno bog to existing records around the Baltic Sea. We found that Kusowskie Bagno bog was very wet during the last 4000 years, and even drainage and peat exploitation had not disturbed its hydrology in northern part in the last 200 years. Carbon isotopes and plant macrofossils were significantly related to specific traits of testate amoebae, which in turn reflected the water table changes over the last 4000 years. Kusowskie Bagno recorded at least the following wet shifts: AD 250, 550, 850, 1250 and 1700, while wet conditions occurred during the Migration period at ca AD 550. Furthermore, the testate amoeba-based quantitative wetness reconstruction in Kusowskie Bagno bog resembles the pattern observed in other sites around the Baltic, i.e., Estonia, Finland, Ireland, northern Britain and the 7500-year record from the Stążki bog, northern Poland. Our results provided statistically validated evidence that interactions between plant and microbe need to be more considered further to reconstruct past hydrological. This is the first study of past hydro-climatic changes in peatlands based upon a trait-based approach