The first Devonian holocephalian tooth from Poland

A recently found "bradyodont" holocephalian tooth from bituminous shales of the Kowala Quarry, south-western Holy Cross Mountains, Poland, dated as the middle Famennian Palmatolepis trachytera conodont Zone, is described. In spite of its resemblance to the forms often attributed to Helodus, the tooth is referred to as Psephodus cf. magnus (Agassiz, 1838), and supposed to represent the anterior part of the dentition, based on a partly articulated specimen of Psephodus from the Carboniferous of Scotland. The analysis of early helodonts and psephodonts, and other Famennián chondrichthyan crushing teeth, shows numerous similarities in tooth-base structure, such as the reduction of lingual basal extension, loss of articulation devices, development of numerous nutritive foramina, and the tendency to fusion between the teeth in a tooth-family. Based on these shared characters, close phylogenetic relationships between the Protacrodontoidea, Hybodontoidea, and the Holocephali are postulated

Late Triassic charophytes around the bone-bearing bed at Krasiejów (SW Poland) – palaeoecological and environmental remarks

Thousands of Late Carnian (Late Triassic) charophyte gyrogonites belonging to four species [Stellatochara germanica KOZUR & REINHARDT, Stomochara starozhilovae (KISIELEVSKY), Stenochara kisielevskyi BILAN and Porochara triassica (SAIDAKOVSKY)] occur in the beds around the vertebrate-bearing level at Krasiejów, SW Poland. The abundant and wellpreserved gyrogonites generally attest to fossilization in situ. Information about the habitat of recent charophytes is useful for reconstruction of their past environments. The factors limiting the habitat of modern charophytes suggests that these algae, and other micro- and macrofauna sedimented within the bone-bearing bed, lived in a shallow, freshwater environment (probably lacustrine). Above the bone bed, there is a rapid drop in gyrogonite abundance. This could have been caused by changes in environmental conditions: increase in salinity, or increase in water energy. The preliminary mineralogical data suggest arid to semi-arid climate

Dziewiętnastowieczne katalogi wystaw artystycznych jako źródło bibliologiczne

The aim of the article was a bibliological analysis of over thirty catalogs of artistic exhibitions published in the 19th century for the needs of public institutions related to art. It was important to clarify what catalogs of exhibitions are, paying attention to their promotional and functional functions. An attempt was made to answer the question about the purpose of issuing and the form (typology) of this type of ephemeral prints. The bibliological analysis of catalogs of exhibitions covered conversions, including the content, topography of publishing centers in the repertoire of which these types of prints appear, as well as the architecture of catalogs, i.e. external construction (format, paper, binding) and internal (fonts, composition of the main text and auxiliary materials, publishing frame). Significant research was conducted, paying attention to the recipient/reader of catalogs, as well as to the aesthetics (readability of the magazine and graphic techniques) of catalogs of artistic exhibitions.Celem artykułu była analiza bibliologiczna ponad trzydziestu katalogów wystaw artystycznych wydawanych w XIX wieku na potrzeby instytucji publicznych związanych ze sztuką. Istotne było doprecyzowanie, czym są katalogi wystaw ze zwróceniem uwagi na ich funkcje promocyjne i użytkowe. Starano się odpowiedzieć na pytanie o cel wydawania oraz formę (typologię) tego rodzaju druków ulotnych. Analiza bibliologiczna katalogów wystaw obejmowała przemiany, m.in. w zawartości treściowej, topografii ośrodków wydawniczych, w których repertuarze pojawiają się tego typu druki, jak również w architekturze katalogów, czyli budowie zewnętrznej (format, papier, oprawa) i wewnętrznej (czcionki, kompozycja tekstu głównego i materiałów pomocniczych, rama wydawnicza). Istotne badania przeprowadzono w obrębie tytulatury, zwracając uwagę na adresata/czytelnika katalogów, jak również w estetyce (czytelność pisma i techniki graficzne) katalogów wystaw artystycznych

Differences in Ear Rot Resistance and Fusarium verticillioides-Produced Fumonisin Contamination Between Polish Currently and Historically Used Maize Inbred Lines

Poland is the fifth largest European country, in terms of maize production. Ear rots caused by Fusarium spp. are significant diseases affecting yield and causing grain mycotoxin contamination. Inbred lines, which are commonly used in Polish breeding programs, belong, mostly, to two distinct genetic categories: flint and dent. However, historically used lines belonging to the heterotic Lancaster, IDT and SSS groups were also present in previous Polish breeding programs. In the current study, 98 inbred lines were evaluated across a 2-year-long experiment, after inoculation with F. verticillioides and under natural infection conditions. Lancaster, IDT, SSS and SSS/IDT groups were characterized as the most susceptible ones and flint as the more resistant. Based on the results obtained, the moderately resistant and most susceptible genotypes were defined to determine the content of fumonisins (FBs) in kernel and cob fractions using the HPLC method. Fumonisin's content was higher in the grain samples collected from inoculated plants than in cobs. The association of visible Fusarium symptoms with fumonisin concentration in grain samples was significant. Conversely, the cobs contained more FB1 under natural infection, which may be related to a pathogen's type of growth, infection time or presence of competitive species. Using ddRADseq genome sampling method it was possible to distinguish a basal relationship between moderately resistant and susceptible genotypes. Genetic distance between maize genotypes was high. Moderately resistant inbreed lines, which belong to IDT and IDT/SSS belong to one haplotype. Genotypes which belong to the flint, dent or Lancaster group, and were characterized as moderately resistant were classified separately as the same susceptible one. This research has demonstrated that currently grown Polish inbred lines, as well the ones used in the past are a valid source of resistance to Fusarium ear rot. A strong association was observed between visible Fusarium symptoms with fumonisin concentration in grain samples, suggesting that selection in maize for reduced visible molds should reduce the risk of mycotoxin contamination. NGS techniques provide new tools for overcoming the long selection process and increase the breeding efficiency

The dissection of transcriptional modules regulated by various drugs of abuse in the mouse striatum

BACKGROUND: Various drugs of abuse activate intracellular pathways in the brain reward system. These pathways regulate the expression of genes that are essential to the development of addiction. To reveal genes common and distinct for different classes of drugs of abuse, we compared the effects of nicotine, ethanol, cocaine, morphine, heroin and methamphetamine on gene expression profiles in the mouse striatum. RESULTS: We applied whole-genome microarray profiling to evaluate detailed time-courses (1, 2, 4 and 8 hours) of transcriptome alterations following acute drug administration in mice. We identified 42 drug-responsive genes that were segregated into two main transcriptional modules. The first module consisted of activity-dependent transcripts (including Fos and Npas4), which are induced by psychostimulants and opioids. The second group of genes (including Fkbp5 and S3-12), which are controlled, in part, by the release of steroid hormones, was strongly activated by ethanol and opioids. Using pharmacological tools, we were able to inhibit the induction of particular modules of drug-related genomic profiles. We selected a subset of genes for validation by in situ hybridization and quantitative PCR. We also showed that knockdown of the drug-responsive genes Sgk1 and Tsc22d3 resulted in alterations to dendritic spines in mice, possibly reflecting an altered potential for plastic changes. CONCLUSIONS: Our study identified modules of drug-induced genes that share functional relationships. These genes may play a critical role in the early stages of addiction

Co-administration of angiotensin II and simvastatin triggers kidney injury upon heme oxygenase-1 deficiency

Kidneys are pivotal organ in iron redistribution and can be severely damaged in the course of hemolysis. In our previous studies, we observed that induction of hypertension with angiotensin II (Ang II) combined with simvastatin administration results in a high mortality rate or the appearance of signs of kidney failure in heme oxygenase-1 knockout (HO-1 KO) mice. Here, we aimed to address the mechanisms underlying this effect, focusing on heme and iron metabolism. We show that HO-1 deficiency leads to iron accumulation in the renal cortex. Higher mortality of Ang II and simvastatin-treated HO-1 KO mice coincides with increased iron accumulation and the upregulation of mucin-1 in the proximal convoluted tubules. In vitro studies showed that mucin-1 hampers heme- and iron-related oxidative stress through the sialic acid residues. In parallel, knock-down of HO-1 induces the glutathione pathway in an NRF2-depedent manner, which likely protects against heme-induced toxicity. To sum up, we showed that heme degradation during heme overload is not solely dependent on HO-1 enzymatic activity, but can be modulated by the glutathione pathway. We also identified mucin-1 as a novel redox regulator. The results suggest that hypertensive patients with less active HMOX1 alleles may be at higher risk of kidney injury after statin treatment