“Blind men and an elephant”:The need for animals in research,drug safety studies,and understanding civilizational diseases

Animal-based research and drug safety studies are essential to understanding the mysteries of nature and the long-term survival of humans.Due to the rapid increase in the global human population,conflict-and economically driven human migration,tourism-related activities,densely populated metropolitan areas,and local policies,humans will be affected by a multitude of novel disease-causing microorganisms and civilizational diseases.Despite disparities among countries,recent and planned changes in regulations concerning animal research and drug safety studies could have detrimental effects on both the animal research community and nations lacking sufficient social support systems.Based on existing scientific literature,I argue that we need animal research encompassing aspects such as animal development,behavior,drug safety studies,and for the understanding of future civilizational diseases.Depending on the nature of the research questions and local challenges,a suitable animal model organism should be made mandatory.

Redesigning the Model of Book Evaluation in the Polish Performance-based Research Funding System

Purpose: This study aims to present the key systemic changes in the Polish book evaluation model to focus on the publisher list, as inspired by the Norwegian Model. Design/methodology/approach: In this study we reconstruct the framework of the 2010 and 2018 models of book evaluation in Poland within the performance-based research funding system. Findings: For almost 20 years the book evaluation system in Poland has been based on the verification of various technical criteria(e.g. length of the book). The new 2018 model is based on the principle of prestige inheritance(a book is worth as much as its publisher is) and is inspired by the publisher list used in the Norwegian Model. In this paper, we argue that this solution may be a more balanced policy instrument than the previous 2010 model in which neither the quality of the publisher nor the quality of the book played any role in the evaluation.Research limitations: We work from the framework of the 2018 model of book evaluation specified in the law on higher education and science from 20 July 2018, as implementation acts are not available yet. Practical implications: This study may provide a valuable point of reference on how structural reforms in the research evaluation model were implemented on a country level. The results of this study may be interesting to policy makers, stakeholders and researchers focused on science policy. Originality/value: This is the very first study that presents the new framework of the Polish research evaluation model and policy instruments for scholarly book evaluation. We describe what motivated policy makers to change the book evaluation model, and what arguments were explicitly raised to argue for the new solution.

Biogeography and Evolutionary Factors Determine Genetic Differentiation of Pinus mugo(Turra) in the Tatra Mountains(Central Europe)

Inter Simple Sequence Repeats(ISSR) markers were used to assess genetic diversity within and among populations of dwarf mountain pine(Pinus mugo Turra) growing in the Tatra National Park(UNESCO Biosphere Reserve) in Southern Poland(Central Europe). The analyzed population belongs to two different geobotanical sub-districts: the Western and High Tatras. The level of genetic diversity assessed in this study for P. mugo is generally comparable to that reported for the other pine species in the Pinaceae family assessed by ISSR markers, especially with respect to Nei's genetic diversity and the percentage of polymorphic bands. Bayesian analysis clustered the analyzed populations into two groups, corresponding to their geobotanical locations in the Tatras. Significant divergence between the two genetical clusters was supported by the results of Analysis of Molecular Variance(AMOVA). According to the Mantel test, there was no correlation between the genetic distance and the geographical distance. The present study confirms the existence of two genetically distinct clusters of P. mugo populations in the Tatra Mountains. The observed high population-genetic differentiation of P.mugo in the Tatras could be attributed to several genetic, environmental and historical factors occurring in this mountain area.

Reducing SARS-CoV-2 pathological protein activity with small molecules

Coronaviruses are dangerous human and animal pathogens.The newly identified coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is the causative agent of COVID-19 outbreak,which is a real threat to human health and life.The world has been struggling with this epidemic for about a year,yet there are still no targeted drugs and effective treatments are very limited.Due to the long process of developing new drugs,reposition of existing ones is one of the best ways to deal with an epidemic of emergency infectious diseases.Among the existing drugs,there are candidates potentially able to inhibit the SARS-CoV-2 replication,and thus inhibit the infection of the virus.Some therapeutics target several proteins,and many diseases share molecular paths.In such cases,the use of existing pharmaceuticals for more than one purpose can reduce the time needed to design new drugs.The aim of this review was to analyze the key targets of viral infection and potential drugs acting on them,as well as to discuss various strategies and therapeutic approaches,including the possible use of natural products.We highlighted the approach based on increasing the involvement of human deaminases,particularly APOBEC deaminases in editing of SARS-CoV-2 RNA.This can reduce the cytosine content in the viral genome,leading to the loss of its integrity.We also indicated the nucleic acid technologies as potential approaches for COVID-19 treatment.Among numerous promising natural products,we pointed out curcumin and cannabidiol as good candidates for being antiSARS-CoV-2 agents.

Long-term changes and periodicity of ice phenomena in the high mountain Lake Morskie Oko(Tatra Mountains,Western Carpathians)

High montain lakes are regarded as sensitive indicators of environmental changes in local and global scales.In recent years,climate change has considerablely influenced the timing of ice phenomena in these lakes.The objective of the paper is an investigation of long-term changes and periodicity of ice phenomena in high mountain Lake Morskie Oko(1392.8 m a.s.l.)located in the Tatra Mts.in the period 1971-2020.The study employed the Lomb-Scargle periodogram,linear regression modelling for temporal trends,correlation analysis,parameters of variability,and flashiness index.Periodicity of the duration of ice phenomena(~5.4 y)and ice cover on the lake(~13.5 y)was observed,although both are statistically insignificant.Ice cover duration has been interrupted several times by winter thaws after 1996 whereas no such events had been reported earlier.The trend towards a delayed appearance of ice phenomena reaches 4.0 d·decade^(-1)(p<0.001).The observed trend towards an earlier ice phenomena disappearance reaches 5.1 d·decade^(-1)(p<0.001).It results in a decline of the number of days with ice phenomena on Lake Morskie Oko at a rate of 9.0 d·decade^(-1)(p<0.001).The duration of ice cover on Lake Morskie Oko has been decreasing at a rate of 10.4 d·decade^(-1).It is attributed to later freezeup(3.9 d·decade^(-1),p<0.001)and earlier ice break-up(5.6 d·decade^(-1),p<0.001).An increasing trend of average annual air temperature(0.4°C·decade^(-1),p<0.001)in the period 1971-2020 is observed.A statistically significant correlation is recorded between ice phenomena and ice cover(beginning,end,duration),average annual air temperature,average air temperature of three summer months(June,July,August),and average air temperature of the six months period from June to November.Higher air temperature induces growing heat resources accumulated in the lake water in the summer and autumn seasons,potentially causing later initiation of ice phenomena in the lake.There is no statistically significant relationship between maximum ice thickness and any air temperature parameters.Variability of maximum ice thickness appears to have been significantly increasing in the second part of the investigated period(1996-2020).

Effects of stand features and soil enzyme activity on spontaneous pedunculate oak regeneration in Scots pine dominated stands – implication for forest management

Background:A challenge in current forestry is adaptation of managed forests to climate change,which is likely to alter the main processes of forest dynamics,i.e.natural regeneration.Scots pine will probably lose some parts of its distribution area in Europe.However,two native oaks,pedunculate and sessile may maintain or expand the area of their occurrence in central Europe.The utilization of spontaneous(not initialized by foresters)oak regeneration in Scots pine stands for the creation of next generation stands is one of the adaptation methods to climate change.Many factors influencing pedunculate oak regeneration are well known,but there is a lack of knowledge on the relation between soil enzyme activity and the establishment and development of the species.The aim of the study was to identify the relationships among stand characteristics,herb species composition,soil enzyme activity and the establishment or recruitment of oak regeneration in Scots pine-dominated stands.Results:The one of the most influential factors shaping the oak seedling count was dehydrogenase activity in the humus horizon.We found that plots without litter and fern cover had higher seedling density.The raspberry ground cover and birch crown projection area had a positive influence on oak seedling number.The factor indicating good conditions for high density of oak saplings was phosphatase activity in the organic horizon.The same enzyme activity but in humus horizon described conditions in which more numerous recruits were observed.Conclusions:The activity of soil enzymes can be used as the predictor of the establishment and advancement of oak regeneration but also could be seen as a new dimension of oak regeneration.The general density of spontaneous oak regeneration was not sufficient for the creation of new generation forest stands dominated by oak,but it is possible to use them as admixtures in new generation stands.

High Impact Polylactide Based on Organosilicon Nucleation Agent

Various sectors of the industry are searching for new materials with specific requirements,providing improved properties.The study presents novel composite materials based on polylactide that have been modified with the organosilicon compound,(3-thiopropyl)polysilsesquioxane(SSQ-SH).The SSQ-SH compound is a mixture of cage structures and not fully condensed random structures.The composite materials were obtained through injection moulding.The study includes a comprehensive characterization of the new materials that analyze their functional properties,such as rheology(MFR),mechanical strength(tensile strength,Charpy impact strength),and thermal properties.SEM microscopic photos were also taken to analyze the microstructure of the samples.The addition of a 5%by-weight organosilicon compound to polylactide resulted in a significant increase in MFR by 73.8%compared to the neat polymer.The greatest improvement in impact strength was achieved for the 5%SSQ-SH/PLA composite,increasing it by 32.0 kJ/m^(2)compared to PLA,which represents an increase of up to 187%.The conducted research confirms the possibility of modifying the properties of the polymer by employing organosilicon compounds.

From trees to fleas: masting indirectly affects flea abundance on a rodent host

Mast seeding causes strongfluctuations in populations of forest animals.Thus,this phenomenon can be used as a natural experiment to examine how variation in host abundance affects parasite loads.We investigatedfleas infesting yellow-necked mice in beech forest after 2 mast and 2 non-mast years.We tested 2 mutually exclusive scenarios:(1)as predicted by classical models of density-dependent transmission,an increase in host density will cause an increase in ectoparasite abundance(defined as the number of parasites per host),versus(2)an increase in host density will cause a decline inflea abundance(“dilution,”which is thought to occur when parasite population growth is slower than that of the host).In addition,we assessed whether masting alters the relationship between host traits(sex and body mass)andflea abundance.We found a hump-shaped relationship between host andflea abundance.Thus,the most basic predictions are too simple to describe ectoparasite dynamics in this system.In addition,masting modified seasonal dynamics offlea abundance,but did not affect the relationship between host traits andflea abundance(individuals with the highest body mass hosted the mostfleas;after controlling for body mass,parasite abundance did not vary between sexes).Our results demonstrate that pulses of tree reproduction can indirectly,through changes in host densities,drive patterns of ectoparasite infestation.

Gadolinium-modified titanium oxide materials for photoenergy applications:a review

Gadolinium doped titania materials were explored for application in photoenergy production. Incorporation of gadolinium into titania permitted improvement of photocatalytic or photovoltaic performance of the latter. This review provided a deep analysis of gadolinium applications in photoenergy processes and devices with the main focus on explanation of gadolinium doping effect on physicochemical properties of titania.

Ultrasound-triggered directional release from turmeric capsules

The scientific interest in capsules with the shell composed of fused microparticles is still growing due to a large number of practical applications.Well-designed capsules should ensure the safe cargo delivery and facilitate its controlled release on demand.The biocompatibility and biodegradability are additional essential features of structures intended for biomedical use.This paper presents two kinds of ultrasound sensitive capsules:the first type with the homogeneous shell made of a monolayer of fine turmeric granules,and the other with Janus shell composed of two different materials i.e.turmeric granules and synthetic polystyrene particles.We demonstrated that plane ultrasonic waves with low intensity and high frequency and also focused ultrasound can act as a trigger for smooth liberation of a liquid cargo,in our case,the dispersion of probiotic preparation.The ultrasound-induced puncture of the shell was followed by unidirectional and controlled release of encapsulated payload.In case of Janus structures,in addition to sonication time and ultrasound frequency,distinct mechanical properties of two shell regions also influenced the course of content liberation process.We expect that the use of natural material such as turmeric granules for the formation of the shells of the ultrasound-responsive capsules can further increase the range of their potential applications.

Modeling of ultrafast X-ray induced magnetization dynamics in magnetic multilayer systems

In this work,we report on modeling results obtained with our recently developed simulation tool enabling nanoscopic description of electronic processes in X-ray irradiated ferromagnetic materials.With this tool,we have studied the response of Co/Pt multilayer system irradiated by an ultrafast extreme ultraviolet pulse at the M-edge of Co(photon energy~60 eV).It was previously investigated experimentally at the FERMI free-electron-laser facility,using the magnetic small-angle X-ray scattering technique.Our simulations show that the magnetic scattering signal from cobalt decreases on femtosecond timescales due to electronic excitation,relaxation,and transport processes both in the cobalt and in the platinum layers,following the trend observed in the experimental data.The confirmation of the predominant role of electronic processes for X-ray induced demagnetization in the regime below the structural damage threshold is a step toward quantitative control and manipulation of X-ray induced magnetic processes on femtosecond timescales.