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Medical literature is an important source of drug safety information relevant for signal detection, safety profile analysis and risk-benefit assessment. The main goal of our study was to assess the utility of domestic medical literature as a source of drug safety information. All safety information identified for active substances published between 1.01.2018-31.12.2019 in domestic medical journals published in Poland were analyzed. Four thousand seven hundred eighty-nine drug safety information was reported for 500 active substances. Two thousand and forty-four submissions dealing with drug safety (48.28%) were identified in the 10 journals from the list of analyzed journals (3 of these were identified in the 2019 JCR and 5 of these were indexed in the main scientific databases and 9 of these had an affiliation to scientific society). There was a correlation between journal impact factor and scientific database indexation with the number of published individual literature reports and type of safety information. Journals publishing in Polish constituted source for about 40% of all safety information published in the examined period. Journals indexed in Medline were the source of about 37% of all safety information while 42% was published in Embase. Local medical literature is a source of valuable safety information but the list of journals for monitoring should be carefully selected with particular attention to journals with impact factor.

We assessed changes in the population size, density, and diet composition of wolves inhabiting the Romincka Forest (RF), an area of 480 km2 situated along the state border between Poland, Russian Federation (Kaliningrad), and Lithuania. We compared the results of our research in 2020–2021 with data from other projects conducted since 1999. We found that both packs living in RF had transboundary territories. The number of packs was stable over 21 years; the average pack size almost doubled (from 4–4.5 to 7.5–8 wolves per pack); the total wolf numbers increased 1.8 times, reaching 15–16 wolves; and the density increased 1.5 times up to 3.1–3.3 wolves/100 km2 in winter 2020/2021. Our analyses of 165 scats revealed that beavers Castor fiber made up 45.6% of food biomass in the wolf diet in 2020, which was 3.4 times more than in 1999–2004 (n = 84 scats,13.4%). Wild ungulates constituted 44.8% of the wolf food biomass in 2020, 1.6 times less than before (71.1%). In our study, among wild ungulates, wolves primarily consumed roe deer Capreolus capreolus (22.6% of food biomass), then wild boars Sus scrofa (13.7%), and red deer Cervus elaphus (5.0%), while moose Alces alces was eaten rarely (0.4%). We also recorded domestic dogs (4.9% of food biomass) and cattle (3.1%). The food niche breadth was wider (B = 2.31) than in the earlier period (B = 1.84), and the Pianka index showed moderate similarity in food composition between both periods (α = 0.816). In November 2022, due to the migration crisis, a 199 km impermeable fence along the state border with Kaliningrad was erected, which blocked access to 48% of the RF area that was regularly used by the resident wolf packs. This may cause wolf numbers to decrease and isolation from the central part of the Baltic wolf population to which they belong, according to our DNA analyses. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Molecular methods are routinely used to estimate the effective size of populations (Ne). However, underlying model assumptions are frequently violated to an unknown extent. Although simulations can detect sources of bias and help to adjust sampling strategies and analyses methods, additional information from empirical data can also be used to calibrate methods and improve molecular Ne estimation methods. Here, we take advantage of long‐term genetic and ecological monitoring data of the grey wolf (Canis lupus) in Germany, and detailed population genetic studies in Poland, Spain and Portugal to improve Ne estimation strategies in this species, and species with similar life history traits. We first calculated Ne from average lifetime reproductive success and detailed census data from the German population, which served as a baseline to compare to molecular estimates based on linkage disequilibrium and sibship frequency. This yielded a robust Ne/Nc estimation that we used to calibrate molecular estimates of German, Polish and Iberian wolf populations. The linkage disequilibrium method was strongly influenced by spatial genetic structure, much more than the sibship frequency method. When Ne was estimated in local neighbourhoods, both methods yielded comparable results. Estimates of the metapopulation effective size seemed to correspond generally well with the sum of the estimates of local neighbourhoods. Overall, we found that the number of packs is a good proxy of the effective population size. Using this as a rule of thumb, we evaluated for all European wolf populations the Ne 500 indicator and concluded that half of the European wolf populations do not yet fulfil this criterion. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the effect of changes in population size and migration on variation in functional immunity genes in the previously bottlenecked population of the grey wolf, Canis lupus. Location: Eastern/Central Europe: Poland, Czechia, Slovakia. Methods: We genotyped 7 immunity genes: three MHC‐DLA genes (dog leukocyte antigen) and four Toll‐like receptor (TLR) genes among 130 wolves originating from three populations: two lowland (Baltic and Central European), and highland Carpathian. We contrasted the population structure in immunity genes with a neutral structure based on 13 microsatellites, and we analysed signatures of selection in the immunity loci. Results: We found high overall genetic variance in immunity genes and no evidence for decreased diversity in the recently established populations. The population structure in immunity loci was weak, with pairwise FST lower than for neutral markers. Although the results of neutrality tests were not significant, we identified codons under selection, both positive and negative. Main Conclusions: We demonstrated that despite recent population expansion which is expected to result in decreased genetic diversity, the diversity of immunity genes in the newly established wolf population is similar to those in the source population. This suggests that migrations do not cause allele loss in grey wolf. Signatures of selection on codon level, but not in tests using allele frequencies, suggest the contrasting effects of demography and selection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

1. Following protection measures implemented since the 1970s, large carnivores are currently increasing in number and returning to areas from which they were absent for decades or even centuries. Monitoring programmes for these species rely extensively on non-invasive sampling and genotyping. However, attempts to connect results of such studies at larger spatial or temporal scales often suffer from the incompatibility of genetic markers implemented by researchers in different laboratories. This is particularly critical for long-distance dispersers, revealing the need for harmonized monitoring schemes that would enable the understanding of gene flow and dispersal dynamics. 2. Based on a review of genetic studies on grey wolves Canis lupus from Europe, we provide an overview of the genetic markers currently in use, and identify opportunities and hurdles for studies based on continent-scale datasets. 3. Our results highlight an urgent need for harmonization of methods to enable transnational research based on data that have already been collected, and to allow these data to be linked to material collected in the future. We suggest timely standardization of newly developed genotyping approaches, and propose that action is directed towards the establishment of shared single nucleotide polymorphism panels, next-generation sequencing of microsatellites, a common reference sample collection and an online database for data exchange. 4. Enhanced cooperation among genetic researchers dealing with large carnivores in consortia would facilitate streamlining of methods, their faster and wider adoption, and production of results at the large spatial scales that ultimately matter for the conservation of these charismatic species. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Collecting information about drugs in clinical practice is essential for ongoing riskbenefit analysis of the drug use. Medical literature is an important source of new information on drug safety, in particular for the signal assessment. A signal is an information about a new potentially causal association, or a new aspect of a known association (e.g. change in frequency or severity of the reaction) between a drug and an adverse event (AE)., Aim of the Study: To verify the effectiveness of the identification of adverse drug reaction (ADR) reports published in the local medical literature using MEDLINE and Embase, versus manual full text review of journals., Material and Methods: The study was performed for 20 randomly selected drugs and 84 Polish medical journals and covers a review of 1,576 individual journal issues with 20,146 articles. Retrospective analysis of literature reports collected during manual full text review was performed and compared to the outcome of database search., Results: ADRs for analyzed drugs were identified only in 17 out of 84 journals, as a result of which 66 reports were analyzed. The majority of reports (55%) were found in local non-indexed journals. Three reports originated from journals indexed in MEDLINE and 9 reports from journals indexed in Embase were not found in these databases because databases do not fully cover conference abstracts and journal supplements. Moreover, while using databases for ADR report search there is a risk of missing up to 30% of ADR reports. The average gap between article publication date and database entry was 119 days., Conclusions: We verified that the effectiveness of the identification of ADR reports published in the local medical literature is more accurate based on manual full text review than by searching in bibliographic databases., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest, (© National Institute of Public Health NIH – National Research Institute.)

Nanostructures as color-tunable luminescent markers have become major, promising tools for bioimaging and biosensing. In this paper separated molybdate/Gd 2 O 3 doped rare earth ions (erbium, Er 3+ and ytterbium, Yb 3+ ) core-shell nanoparticles (NPs), were fabricated by a one-step homogeneous precipitation process. Emission properties were studied by cathodo- and photoluminescence. Scanning electron and transmission electron microscopes were used to visualize and determine the size and shape of the NPs. Spherical NPs were obtained. Their core-shell structures were confirmed by x-ray diffraction and energy-dispersive x-ray spectroscopy measurements. We postulated that the molybdate rich core is formed due to high segregation coefficient of the Mo ion during the precipitation. The calcination process resulted in crystallization of δ/ξ (core/shell) NP doped Er and Yb ions, where δ-gadolinium molybdates and ξ-molybdates or gadolinium oxide. We confirmed two different upconversion mechanisms. In the presence of molybdenum ions, in the core of the NPs, Yb 3+ -[Formula: see text] (∣ 2 F 7/2 , 3 T 2 〉) dimers were formed. As a result of a two 980 nm photon absorption by the dimer, we observed enhanced green luminescence in the upconversion process. However, for the shell formed by the Gd 2 O 3 :Er, Yb NPs (without the Mo ions), the typical energy transfer upconversion takes place, which results in red luminescence. We demonstrated that the NPs were transported into cytosol of the HeLa and astrocytes cells by endocytosis. The core-shell NPs are sensitive sensors for the environment prevailing inside (shorter luminescence decay) and outside (longer luminescence decay) of the tested cells. The toxicity of the NPs was examined using MTT assay.

The human SUV3 helicase (SUV3, hSUV3, SUPV3L1) is a DNA/RNA unwinding enzyme belonging to the class of DexH-box helicases. It localizes predominantly in the mitochondria, where it forms an RNA-degrading complex called mitochondrial degradosome with exonuclease PNP (polynucleotide phosphorylase). Association of this complex with the polyA polymerase can modulate mitochondrial polyA tails. Silencing of the SUV3 gene was shown to inhibit the cell cycle and to induce apoptosis in human cell lines. However, since small amounts of the SUV3 helicase were found in the cell nuclei, it was not clear whether the observed phenotypes of SUV3 depletion were of mitochondrial or nuclear origin. In order to answer this question we have designed gene constructs able to inhibit the SUV3 activity exclusively in the cell nuclei. The results indicate that the observed growth rate impairment upon SUV3 depletion is due to its nuclear function(s). Unexpectedly, overexpression of the nuclear-targeted wild-type copies of the SUV3 gene resulted in a higher growth rate. In addition, we demonstrate that the SUV3 helicase can be found in the HeLa cell nucleoli, but it is not detectable in the DNA-repair foci. Our results indicate that the nucleolar-associated human SUV3 protein is an important factor in regulation of the cell cycle.

Mitochondria are not only ATP producing organelles, but they play pivotal roles in apoptosis, neurodegeneration, cancer and aging. Mammalian mitochondrial genome is a small DNA molecule of about 16.5 kb, encoding less than 20 polypeptides and a set of ribosomal RNAs and tRNAs. In order to ensure proper cell functioning a continous communication between cell nucleus and mitochondria must be maintained. This review presents novel developments in the field of nucleo-mitochondrial communications. We discuss the import of regulatory cytosolic miRNAs into mitochondria, export of RNA from mitochondria, the existence of novel 3 polypeptides encoded by the mitochondrial genome and the transfer of mitochondrial DNA to nuclear genomes. Mechanisms of these processes and their significance for cellular homeostasis are poorly known and present an important challenge for molecular biology.