Horses are gaining importance in European nature conservation management, for which usually so-called primitive breeds are favored due to their claimed robustness. An increasingly popular breed, the ...Konik horse, is often said to be the direct descendent of the alleged European wild horse, the Tarpan. However, both the direct descent of the Konik from European wild horses and the existence of the Tarpan as a wild species are highly debated. In this review, we scrutinized both contemporary research and historical sources and suggest that the Tarpan and the Konik as its direct descendent are manmade myths that hinder effective conservation management. We did not find evidence that the Tarpan was a wild horse rather than a feral horse. We did not find any evidence either for a closer connection between the Konik and any extinct wild horse than between other domestic breeds and wild horses. We discuss three perspectives on why the myth has become widely accepted and survived to this day: a historical-political, a biological-ecological, and an emotional perspective. It seems that the origin story of the Konik and its connection to the Tarpan was shaped by personal and political interests, including nationalistic ideas. These as well as general human emotions towards horses have influenced researchers and laypeople to keep the myth alive, which has been possibly negatively impacting contemporary nature conservation. Indeed, today’s Koniks originated from a small founder population of only six male lines that were selected according to their phenotypic traits, with the aim to rebreed the ‘wild Tarpan’. Strict breeding practices have led to high inbreeding levels in recent Konik populations, which may undermine nature conservation purposes. Therefore, we suggest that mythologized origin stories should not be an argument for selecting breeds of grazers for nature conservation.
Grazing by large herbivores is increasingly used as a management tool in European nature reserves. The aim is usually to support an open but heterogeneous habitat and its corresponding plant and ...animal communities. Previous studies showed that birds may profit from grazing but that the effect varies among bird species. Such studies often compared bird counts among grazed areas with different stocking rates of herbivores. Here, we investigated how space use of Konik horses and Highland cattle is related to bird counts in a recently restored conservation area with a year-round natural grazing management. We equipped five horses and five cattle with GPS collars and correlated the density of their GPS positions on the grazed area with the density of bird observations from winter through the breeding season. We found that in the songbirds of our study site, both the overall density of bird individuals and the number of species increased with increasing density of GPS positions of grazers. Correlations of bird density with horse density were similar to correlations with cattle density. Of the eight most common songbird species observed in our study area, the Eurasian Skylark and the Common Starling had the clearest positive correlations with grazer density, while the Blackbird showed a negative correlation. Skylarks and Starlings in our study area thus seem to profit from year-round natural grazing by a mixed group of horses and cattle.
Background and Aims:
Biosimilar infliximab CT-P13 is approved for all indications of the originator product in Europe. Prospective data on its efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity in inflammatory ...bowel diseases are lacking.
Methods:
A prospective, nationwide, multicentre, observational cohort was designed to examine the efficacy, safety, and immunogenicity of CT-P13 infliximab biosimilar in the induction treatment of Crohn’s disease CD and ulcerative colitis UC. Demographic data were collected and a harmonised monitoring strategy was applied. Early clinical remission, response, and early biochemical response were evaluated at Week 14, steroid-free clinical remission was evaluated at Week 30. Therapeutic drug level was monitored using a conventional enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.
Results:
In all, 210 consecutive inflammatory bowel disease 126 CD and 84 UC patients were included in the present cohort. At Week 14, 81.4% of CD and 77.6% of UC patients showed clinical response and 53.6% of CD and 58.6% of UC patients were in clinical remission. Clinical remission rates at Week 14 were significantly higher in CD and UC patients who were infliximab naïve, compared with those with previous exposure to the originator compound p < 0.05. Until Week 30, adverse events were experienced in 17.1% of all patients. Infusion reactions and infectious adverse events occurred in 6.6% and 5.7% of all patients, respectively.
Conclusions:
This prospective multicentre cohort shows that CT-P13 is safe and effective in the induction of clinical remission and response in both CD and UC. Patients with previous infliximab exposure exhibited decreased response rates and were more likely to develop allergic reactions.
The tachykinin hemokinin-1 (HK-1) is involved in immunological processes, inflammation, and pain. Although the neurokinin 1 receptor (NK1R) is described as its main target, several effects are ...mediated by currently unidentified receptor(s). The role of HK-1 in pain is controversial, depending on the involvement of peripheral and central sensitization mechanisms in different models. We earlier showed the ability of HK-1 to activate the trigeminovascular system, but the mechanisms need to be clarified. Therefore, in this study, we investigated HK-1-induced transcriptomic alterations in cultured rat trigeminal ganglion (TRG) primary sensory neurons. HK-1 was applied for 6 or 24 h in 1 μM causing calcium-influx in these neurons, 500 nM not inducing calcium-entry was used for comparison. Next-generation sequencing was performed on the isolated RNA, and transcriptomic changes were analyzed to identify differentially expressed (DE) genes. Functional analysis was performed for gene annotation using the Gene Ontology (GO), Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG), and Reactome databases. NK1R and Neurokinin receptor 2 (NK2R) were not detected. Neurokinin receptor 3 (NK3R) was around the detection limit, which suggests the involvement of other NKR isoforms or other receptors in HK-1-induced sensory neuronal activation. We found protease-activated receptor 1 (PAR1) and epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) as DE genes in calcium signaling. The transmembrane protein anthrax toxin receptor 2 (ANTXR2), a potential novel pain-related target, was upregulated. Acid-sensing ion channel 1; 3 (Asic1,3), N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) and alpha-amino-3-hydroxy-5-methyl-4-isoxazolepropionic acid (AMPA) glutamate receptors decreased, myelin production and maintenance related genes (Mbp, Pmp2, Myef2, Mpz) and GNDF changed by HK-1 treatment. Our data showed time and dose-dependent effects of HK-1 in TRG cell culture. Result showed calcium signaling as altered event, however, we did not detect any of NK receptors. Presumably, the activation of TRG neurons is independent of NK receptors. ANTXR2 is a potential new target, PAR-1 has also important role in pain, however their connection to HK-1 is unknown. These findings might highlight new targets or key mediators to solve how HK-1 acts on TRG.
Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) is a multifactorial disorder, therefore, airflow limitation alone does not reflect the full burden of COPD. In Hungary, no national data are available yet ...about the results obtained with the different COPD questionnaires in daily patient care, and about difficulties of questionnaires for patients.
The aim of the study was to evaluate patient-reported outcomes with guideline-suggested questionnaires (CCQ, CAT, mMRC, EQ-5D-5L) in patients treated with glycopyrronium-bromide (therapy naïve, add-on combination or switch from another therapy) in the real life setting during 16 weeks treatment. This study was open-label, multi-centre, non-interventional, observational.
527 patients were enrolled in the study (mean age: 63.8 ± 9.64 years, mean FEV
: 59.8 ± 15.12%). In all of the groups, the CCQ mean scores, all of the CCQ subscores, CAT and mMRC scores significantly decreased from visit 1 to visit 3. The EQ-5D-5L index and VAS scores increased significantly between visits. According to investigators' opinion, the CAT test reflects the patient's condition better (84.7%) than CCQ or mMRC; also, from the patient's point of view, CAT was simpler and easier to understand (83.2%). There was a positive, statistically significant correlation between CCQ and CAT (r
= 0.711, p<0.001), between CCQ and mMRC (r
= 0.524, p<0.001) and between CAT and mMRC scores at visit 3 (r
= 0.475, p<0.001).
Our results suggest that the CAT test may be simpler and easier to understand for patients. Also, according to investigators' opinion, CAT reflects the patient's condition better, so CAT appears to be the most promising tool in COPD evaluation. Orv Hetil. 2020; 161(8): 295-305.
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