Antlions (Neuroptera,Myrmeleontidae) from ornithological traps on the Curonian Spit: A three-species community containing a new species

A mixed antlion community is recorded at the “Fringilla” Research Station, “Rybachii” Biological Station, Curonian Spit, Baltic Sea, Kaliningrad Province, Russia; the adults were captured using ornithological traps and the larvae were found on sand dunes around. The ratio of the larval numbers in the mixed colonies of Myrmeleon tschernovi sp. n., Myrmeleon formicarius L., and Euroleon nostras (Geoffr.) is 100: 3: 2. The new species is described, the other two are recorded in Kaliningrad Province for the first time. Morphologically, Myrmeleon tschernovi sp. n. is similar to Myrmeleon bore (Tjed.), being its neighbor in the Baltic Region and occupying its econiche. The most characteristic distinctions between these species are found in the male genitalia and in the larval head chaetotaxy and color pattern.     

Nocturnal lepidopterans (Lepidoptera,Macroheterocera) of the Courish Spit in the Baltic Sea

Eighty-two species of Macroheterocera belonging to 15 families were collected from 1982 to 2004 on the Courish Spit of the Baltic Sea; records of 21 more species are borrowed from the published sources.     

Role of endothelin-1 in the central neural cardiovascular control

In acute experiments on cats, endothelin-1 (ET-1) was injected into the sympathoexcitatory neuronal structures of the ventrolateral medulla (VLM) and the effects of injections on the peripheral mechanisms of circulation control were studied. Effects of ET-1 appeared to be dose-dependent. Injections of 200 pmol ET-1 into the structures of the tested brain zone resulted in considerable regular hypertensive responses due to an increase in the common peripheral vascular resistance (PVR), which corresponds to vasospasm. ET-1 in a smaller dose (100 pmol) could cause either hypertensive or, in some cases, hypotensive responses. Hemodynamic responses induced by injections of 100 pmol ET-1 into the sites of localization of vasomotor neurons in the VLM were based on less expressed shifts in the peripheral vascular resistance, as compared with the effects of ET-1 in the dose of 200 pmol. The effects were related to either facilitation or suppression (in the cases of hypertensive or hypotensive responses, respectively) of descending sympathoexcitatory influences from the VLM on different vascular pools. The threshold for excitation of vasomotor neurons in the tested brain area is likely to be considerably lower as compared with that for medullary “cardiac” neurons, because injections of 200 pmol ET-1 in the site of localization of cardiac neurons were followed by either enhancement, or suppression of the contractile myocardiac activity, while the heart rate usually decreased. The effects of ET-1 were facilitated after blocking of GABAa receptors with bicuculline and attenuated after preliminary application of GABA to the ventral surface of the medulla. The results indicate the possibility of interaction ET-1 and GABA on the neurons in the VLM. Such interaction is likely to be directed toward providing an optimum mode of regulation of the blood circulation.     

The role of fish-poultry integration on fish growth performance,yields and economic benefits among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa,Tanzania

Aquaculture practices from sub-Saharan Africa are characterised by low production, owing to improper technology. Production can be increased through integrating fish farming with other existing on-farm activities, particularly livestock husbandry. We assessed the role of fish-poultry integration on all male Nile tilapia, Oreochromis niloticus growth performance, yields and economic benefits among smallholder farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, Tanzania. The study also compared phytoplankton species composition, abundance and biomass between the fish-poultry integration and non-integrated system. After 180 days of the experiment, all male O. niloticus cultured under fish-poultry integration exhibited significantly higher growth rates than those in the non-integrated system (p < 0.05). Gross fish yield (GFY), net fish yield (NFY) and net annual yields (NAY) obtained from fish-poultry integration were significantly higher than those from non-integrated system (p < 0.05). Partial enterprise budget analysis revealed that fish-poultry integration was more profitable than the non-integrated system. Moreover, fish-poultry integrated system produced significantly higher phytoplankton abundance and biomass than those from the non-integrated system. Results demonstrate that rural smallholder farmers can achieve higher growth rate, farm net yields and income by integrating all male O. niloticus with other on-farm activities than practising a stand-alone fish culture system.     

The Impact of the West Africa Ebola Outbreak on Obstetric Health Care in Sierra Leone

Background

As Sierra Leone celebrates the end of the Ebola Virus Disease (EVD) outbreak, we can begin to fully grasp its impact on already weak health systems. The EVD outbreak in West Africa forced many hospitals to close down or reduce their activity, either to prevent nosocomial transmission or because of staff shortages. The aim of this study is to assess the potential impact of EVD on nationwide access to obstetric care in Sierra Leone.

Methods and Findings

Community health officers collected weekly data between January 2014—May 2015 on in-hospital deliveries and caesarean sections (C-sections) from all open facilities (public, private for-profit and private non-profit sectors) offering emergency obstetrics in Sierra Leone. This was compared to official data of EVD cases per district. Logistic and Poisson regression analyses were used to compute risk and rate estimates. Nationwide, the number of in-hospital deliveries and C-sections decreased by over 20% during the EVD outbreak. The decline occurred early on in the EVD outbreak and was mainly attributable to the closing of private not-for-profit hospitals rather than government facilities. Due to difficulties in collecting data in the midst of an epidemic, limitations of this study include some missing data points.

Conclusions

Both the number of in-hospital deliveries and C-sections substantially declined shortly after the onset of the EVD outbreak. Since access to emergency obstetric care, like C-sections, is associated with decreased maternal mortality, many women are likely to have died due to the reduced access to appropriate care during childbirth. Future research on indirect health effects of health system breakdown should ideally be nationwide and continue also into the recovery phase. It is also important to understand the mechanisms behind the deterioration so that important health services can be reestablished.     

Hemodynamic responses induced by modulation of the nitric oxide system and mitochondrial permeability in the medullary cardiovascular nuclei of rats

In acute experiments on normotensive rats and those with genetically determined hypertension (urethane anesthesia), we studied hemodynamic effects resulting from modulation of the activities of neuronal NO synthase (NOS-1), arginase II, and superoxide dismutase, and also of the mitochondrial permeability in medullary cardiovascular neurons. Unilateral microinjections of either a nitric oxide (NO) donor, sodium nitroprusside, or a substrate for endogenous NO synthesis, L-arginine, into the medullary cardiovascular nuclei (nucl. tractus solitarius, NTS, nucl. ambiguous, AMB, paramedian nucleus, PMn, and lateral reticular nucleus LRN) were shown to induce hemodynamic responses with rather similar dynamics in both normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats, although in the latter the reactions were more intense. Injections of an antagonist of NOS-1, N^G nitro-L-arginine (L-NNA), into the medullary nuclei under study in spontaneously hypertensive rats resulted in shifts of the systemic arterial pressure (SAP), which did not differ dramatically from those observed in normotensive animals. The data obtained serve as the background for the suggestion that the functional activity of NOS-1 is not fundamentally impaired under hypertension conditions, but, probably, the amount of the substrate for adequate synthesis of NO via the NO-synthase pathway of metabolism of L-arginine is insufficient. Considering this, we examined the functional activity of arginase, an enzyme that also, similarly to NOS, uses L-arginine for metabolic transformation. Injections of antagonists of arginase, norvaline or α-difluoromethylornithine hydrochloride (DFMO), into populations of the medullary neurons under study induced similar shifts of the SAP in normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats, and those responses did not differ significantly from the effects of inhibition of the NOS-1 activity. Thus, both the above-mentioned enzymes are potentially active in normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats; so, a possibility for their competition for L-arginine in certain situations does exist. Modulation of the mitochondrial permeability in medullary cardiovascular neurons in normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats induced significant hemodynamic effects. In particular, an increase in the mitochondrial permeability in the medullary cardiovascular nuclei by injections of an inductor of mitochondrial permeability transition pore (mPTP) opening, phenylarsine oxide (PAO), was accompanied by SAP drops in both normotensive and spontaneously hypertensive rats; the effects were dose-dependent and, in some cases, irreversible. A decrease in the mitochondrial permeability in the neurons under study by injections of an inhibitor of mPTP, melatonin, induced mostly hypertensive responses, although in some experiments we observed hypotensive and two-phase responses. Neirofiziologiya/Neurophysiology, Vol. 39, No. 3, pp. 232–244, May–June, 2007.     

Influence of doxorubicin on the development of resistance of staphylococci to ceftriaxone

Effect of combined use of doxorubicin and ceftriaxone on 5 strains of Staphylococcus aureus (standard S. aureus ATCC 29213 and 4 isolated strains) was studied. The method of passages in meat-pepton broth with constant and increasing concentrations of ceftriaxone in presence of 1/2 and 1/4 minimum inhibitory concentration of doxorubicin was used. It has been shown that doxorubicin in such concentrations does not influence on the development of resistance of tested strains to ceftriaxone. The combination of doxorubicin as anti-tumor drug with intercalary action and ceftriaxone does not increase the risk of development of resistance of staphylococci to antibiotics, which has a matter during their combined use.