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Human–wildlife interactions (HWIs) are increasingly common human disturbances as development continues to remove wildlife habitats. Documenting HWI is critical for environmental protection agencies to develop strategies and management decisions that meet the needs of both people and wildlife. However, evaluation of the frequency and types of HWI at broad spatial scales (e.g., national or regional level) can be costly and difficult to implement by managers. In this study, we apply a novel method for the evaluation of patterns of HWI in urban areas by using publicly available data from emergency calls (ECs) placed by inhabitants of Romania's urban areas. We used information from 4601 ECs placed at the Romanian National Emergency Call System 112, which consisted of (1) wildlife species, (2) spatial location, (3) date and time, and (4) a short description of the emergency. Of the 318 analyzed cities, 300 cities documented ECs on HWI between 2015 and 2020, with roe deer and brown bear being the most frequently mentioned species. We recorded an increasing trend in HWI‐related ECs in 73% of the urban areas over the five‐year period. We mapped the large‐scale distribution of HWI by species and type of interactions in order to capture variations at the national level. Further, we analyzed the social and the biophysical factors potentially influencing the occurrence and frequency of HWI. The results showed that social factors have the same effect on all species, while the effect of the biophysical factors varied between species. Particularly, the presence of large natural habitats, represented by forests, influenced the number of calls only for brown bears. Seminatural landscapes with agricultural land have a different influence in terms of effect and significance for the considered species. Our results suggest that publicly available data from ECs can be used for the rapid assessment of HWI and for evaluating trends and predictors of HWI at broad spatial scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Large carnivore management is often contentious, particularly in jurisdictions where hunting and conservation efforts collide. Regulated hunting is a common management tool, yet relevant decisions are commonly taken in the absence of reliable population data and are driven by factors other than biological considerations. 2. We used European large carnivore (brown bear Ursus arctos, wolf Canis lupus and Eurasian lynx Lynx lynx) management to evaluate the biological plausibility of reported population estimates used in hunting decisions. We used Romania as a test case as this region is not only data-poor, but the public and private game managers are beneficiaries of revenue from hunting activities. We assessed the following: (i) how population growth rates calculated from reported abundances between 2005 and 2012 compared to published growth rates empirically derived from European and North American populations; (ii) whether biological unrealism compounded through time by testing whether reported estimates fell within the bounds of biologically plausible trajectories; and (iii) the relationship between the occurrence of biologically unrealistic estimates and financial incentives (amount of hunting). 3. For U. arctos, which generates high revenue, estimated annual population growth rates were frequently greater than maximum published growth rates (up to 1·5 for reported versus 1·136 in the literature). Reported estimates were greater than maximum simulated populations in 32% of cases, and the difference was positively correlated with hunting (rs = 0·576). 4. Population growth rates for C. lupus overshot the maximum published growth rate (1·35) less frequently, reported estimates were within the bounds of biologically plausible estimates (91% of cases), and there was a weak correlation between hunting and biologically unrealistic estimates (rs = 0·182). 5. L. lynx population growth rates derived from reported estimates were lower than minimum simulated populations (60% of cases), and there was a weak correlation between hunting and biologically unrealistic estimates (rs = 0·164). 6. Synthesis and applications. Our study suggests that comparing population estimates used by management agencies to demographic data obtained through rigorous peer-reviewed studies is a useful approach for evaluating the biological plausibility of wildlife data in data-poor systems, especially when management decisions might be influenced by non-scientific incentives. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Globally, prostate cancer is a significant disease that impacts men's health. Objective: We decided to evaluate the position of prostate cancer among oncological pathologies in Mures County during 2022. Material and methods: We used data collected from the county oncology department regarding incidence, mortality, age grouping, origin environments and for 44 cases, informations referring to staging, Gleason score and treatments performed. Results: In 2022 there were 107 cases of which 65(60.74%) were from rural areas. A total of 8(7.47%) deaths were recorded, all in rural areas. The highest incidence was between 71-80 years old(41.12%) followed by 61-70 years old(34.57%). There were no reports under 50 years old. The highest prevalence in rural areas was between the ages of 71-80(41.53%), followed by 61-70(33.84%), and in urban areas between 71-80(40.47%), followed by 61-70(35.71%). In urban areas we had no cases under age of 60. We collected data about 44 patients, 27(61.36%) from rural areas. Gleason scores were between 7 and 8 for 33 out of 44 cases(75%) and ≤6 for 4 cases(9%). In rural areas, 33% of cases were stage III, 30% stage IV and 30% stage II. In urban areas, 35% were stage III, 24% stage IV and 23% stage II. Monotherapy, either as surgery, hormone therapy, radiotherapy, chemotherapy, was done in 34 cases(77.27%) while combination therapies were used in 9 cases(20,45%). Prostatectomy was done in 16 cases(36.36%) and hormone therapy in 26 cases(59.09%). Conclusions: The incidence of prostate cancer is high over the age of 70 and occurs at older ages in rural than in urban areas. The higher mortality rate in rural areas is explained by the advanced stage of detection. The most common Gleason score is intermediate. The main treatments include hormone therapy and prostatectomy at younger ages, with chemotherapy and radiotherapy playing a less important role. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Carpathian Mountains have been constantly inhabited by grey wolves and present one of the largest distribution areas in Europe, comprising between 2300 and 2700 individuals in Romania. To date, however, relatively little is known about the Romanian wolf population. We aimed to provide a first assessment of genetic diversity, population structure and wolf-dog hybridisation based on 444 mostly non-invasively collected samples in the Eastern Romanian Carpathians. Pack reconstruction and analysis of population genetic parameters were performed with mitochondrial DNA control-region sequencing and microsatellite genotyping. We found relatively high levels of genetic diversity, which is similar to values found in previous studies on Carpathian wolves from Poland and Slovakia, as well as to the long-lasting Dinaric-Balkan wolf population. We found no significant population structure in our study region, suggesting effective dispersal and admixture. Analysis of wolf-dog hybridisation using a Single Nucleotide Polymorphism panel optimised for hybrid detection revealed low rates of admixture between wolves and domestic dogs. Our results provide evidence for the existence of a genetically viable wolf population in the Romanian Carpathians. The genetic data obtained in this study may serve as valuable baseline information for the elaboration of monitoring standards and management plans for wolves in Romania., (© 2023. The Author(s).)