A constant increase in dog numbers, especially in large towns, has been observed recently. The presence of dogs in urban spaces increases the risk of pollution by dogs’ feces, which may contain growth forms of parasites including canine, soil-transmitted helminths (cSTHs), most of which have a proven zoonotic potential. This study assessed the frequency of occurrence and estimated the potential risk associated with the presence of cSTHs in dogs’ feces left uncollected in urban areas. The study material consisted of 200 fecal samples obtained from city and dog parks situated in selected Warsaw districts. Each fecal sample was processed using the flotation technique. Eggs of cSTHs, including Toxocara canis, Toxascaris leonina, Trichuris vulpis, and hookworms from the Ancylostomatidae family were found in 23 (11.5%) of the examined fecal samples. The most prevalent species were hookworms from the family Ancylostomatidae (8%). The presence of parasites was confirmed in 14 out of 20 studied locations (70%), including eight city parks (72.7%) and six dog parks (66.7%). City and dog parks did not differ significantly in the frequency of parasite occurrence. This study indicated that dogs’ feces, left uncollected, may cause environmental contamination with cSTHs. It also indicated that the presence of dogs’ feces in public areas and the associated presence of parasites is still a problem.

This study aims to determine the effects of copper, copper oxide nanoparticles, aluminium, and aluminium oxide nanoparticles on the growth rate and expression of ACT-1, CDPK, LIP, NFC, P5CR, P5CS, GR, and SiZIP1 genes in five days old seedling of Setaria italica ssp. maxima, cultivated in hydroponic culture. Depending on their concentration (ranging from 0.1 to 1.8 mg L⁻¹), all tested substances had both stimulating and inhibiting effects on the growth rate of the seedlings. Copper and copper oxide-NPs had generally a stimulating effect whereas aluminium and aluminium oxide-NPs at first had a positive effect but in higher concentrations they inhibited the growth. Treating the seedlings with 0.4 mg L⁻¹ of each tested toxicant was mostly stimulating to the expression of the genes and reduced the differences between the transcript levels of the coleoptiles and roots. Increasing concentrations of the tested substances had both stimulating and inhibiting effects on the expression levels of the genes. The highest expression levels were usually noted at concentrations between 0.4 and 1.0 mg/L of each metal and metal nanoparticle, except for SiZIP1, which had the highest transcript amount at 1.6 mg L⁻¹ of Cu²⁺ and at 0.1–0.8 mg L⁻¹ of CuO-NPs, and LIP and GR from the seedling treated with Al₂O₃-NPs at concentrations of 0.1 and 1.6 mg L⁻¹, respectively.

Background: Poa pratensisis one of the most common species of meadow grass in Europe. Most cultivars of the species found in Poland were originally derived from its ecotypes. We compared the effectiveness of the RAPD and ISSR methods in assessing the genetic diversity of the selected populations ofP. pratensis. We examined whether these methods could be useful for detecting a possible link between the geographical origin of a given population and its assessed genetic variation.Methods: The molecular markers RAPD and ISSR were used and their efficiency compared using, inter alia, statistical multivariate methods (UPGMA and PCA).Results: The low value of Dice’s coefficient (0.369) along with the significantly high percentage of polymorphic products indicates a substantial degree of genetic diversity among the studied populations. Our results found a correlation between the geographical origin of the studied populations and their genetic variations. For ISSR, which proved to be the more effective method in that respect, we selected primers with the greatest differentiating powers correlating to geographical origin.Discussion: The populations evaluated in this study were characterized by a high genetic diversity. This seems to confirm the hypothesis that ecotypes ofP. pratensisoriginating from different regions of Central Europe with different terrain structures and habitat conditions can be a source of great genetic variability.

Here we redescribe the nine original species of Pintalia Stål, 1862 (Hemiptera, Fulgoromorpha, Cixiidae) based on type specimens from Brazil and provide an emended diagnosis for the genus. We provide an amended description of P. constellaris (Walker, 1858) with images of the fresh specimen. Furthermore, we describe twelve new species recently found in Brazilian caves in three proposed species-groups: Pintalia pictipennis-group, which includes P. pictipennis Stål, 1862, P. propria Muir, 1934, P. minuta sp. nov., P. minima sp. nov., P. magnaepiprocti sp. nov., P. serratilis sp. nov. and P. stali sp. nov.; Pintalia constellaris-group, which includes P. constellaris (Walker, 1858), P. ecuadorensis Muir, 1934, P. speciosa sp. nov and P. fennahi sp. nov.; and Pintalia painensis-group, which includes P. painensis sp. nov., P. dorensis sp. nov., P. lundi sp. nov., P. montalvaniensis sp. nov., and P. muiri sp. nov. Adults and nymphs of the new species herein described were observed inside caves feeding on roots from epigean vegetation and are hence tentatively classified as subtroglophiles, eutroglophiles and troglobionts. The new species were collected from caves in Minas Gerais state and Bahia state. A key to the Brazilian species-groups and new species is provided. Information on the distribution, depository, and a list of previously described taxa from Brazil are also provided. The species described herein increases the number of Pintalia species described for Brazil to thirty-two, and ninety-four in the Americas in total.

American mink Neovison vison is one of the most harmful non-indigenous species in Iceland and has been proven to be a useful indirect bioindicator and biomonitor for numerous environmental pollutants. Therefore, the main objective of the study was to determine the total nickel concentration in the spleen of 35 females and 30 males obtained from Brokey archipelago and the south coast of Hvammsfjorour (Dalabyggo, Iceland) using graphite furnace atomic absorption spectroscopy. We also assessed the correlation between nickel concentration and selected anatomical and morphological parameters, hypothesising that invasive alien N. vison is a promising candidate species for biomonitoring the deposition of this trace element. The results indicated a substantial variation in nickel concentration in the spleen tissue of examined animals. For males, the maximum concentration exceeded the average level by more than 16 times, and for females by more than 7 times. The correlation coefficient between morphometric features and the level of nickel concentration in the spleen did not show a significant relationship in any of the tested combinations, for all tested animals or for each sex separately. In conclusion, American mink in Iceland can be considered a promising species for qualitative and quantitative assessment of ecosystems in terms of nickel pollution.

The research problem undertaken in this study is to determine the scale of infection of Eurasian blue tit Cyanistes caeruleus and Great tit Parus major and the biological diversity of their internal parasites, helminths. The aim of the study is to gain new knowledge about the structure of the helminth communities of the Eurasian blue tit and Great tit on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea during autumn migration to their wintering grounds. Helminths of tits were collected in 2008–2012 on the southern coast of the Baltic Sea in Poland. PAST v. 2.11 software was used for the calculations. Barcoding DNA was used to identify trematodes initially classified based on morphological characters to the genera Leucochloridium and Urogonimus. Cestodes Anonchotaenia globata were recorded for the first time in Poland. The Eurasian blue tit is a new host in Poland for three species of helminths: cestode Monosertum parinum and filarial nematodes, Cardiofilaria pavlovskyi, and Diplotriaena henryi. The Great tit is a new host in Poland for trematode Urogonimus macrostomus, cestode A. globata and M. parinum, and filarial nematode Diplotriaena obtusa. The nematode C. pavlovskyi was the species most frequently recorded in both host species. A high degree of similarity was found between the component communities and infracommunities of helminths in Eurasian blue tit and Great tit. The new information provided in this study has increased our knowledge of the transmission of helminths in Central Europe.