Adult trematodes of two species of the genus Plagiorchis were found in the southern Far East of Russia: one species in the intestine of a naturally infected Japanese large-footed bat (Myotis macrodactylus) and the other in a golden hamster (Mesocricetus auratus) experimentally infected with metacercariae collected from a stonefly. On the basis of morphological and molecular studies, the trematode individuals found in the bat were identified as Plagiorchis koreanus, which confirms that this species is cosmopolitan. The trematodes reared in the hamster were similar in their morphological features to the European Plagiorchis eutamiatis. However, due to the lack of nucleotide sequences for this species from the type region, the southern Far East of Russia trematodes, found in this study, were provisionally designated as Plagiorchis cf. eutamiatis. In addition, the phylogenetic reconstruction based on a mitochondrial marker revealed inconsistency of the data obtained from cercariae diagnosed as a single species, Plagiorchis elegans. Our data also indicate that the specimens available in the NCBI database referred to as Plagiorchis multiglandularis and Plagiorchis neomidis belong to the same species.

This study aimed to investigate the effects of infant formula supplements on Bifidobacterium level in the infant gut through a systematic review and network meta-analysis (NMA) of randomized controlled trials (RCTs).

Systematic review included PubMed, EMBASE, MEDLINE, Scopus, Web of Science, and Cochrane CENTRAL to identify RCTs evaluating the effects of formulas supplemented with prebiotics, probiotics, synbiotics, β-palmitic acid, or combinations of β-palmitic acid with prebiotics on infant gut Bifidobacterium levels. A meta-analysis compared bifidogenic effects to standard formula. The main outcome was the relative abundance (RA) of Bifidobacterium in fecal samples measured by various microbiota assessment techniques, with effect sizes as mean differences and standard deviations. An overall effect estimate was derived using a random-effects model. NMA assessed formula effects using breastfeeding as the reference.

Nineteen studies were included. Compared to standard formula, supplementation with prebiotics (p < 0.0001), synbiotics (p < 0.0001), β-palmitic acid (p = 0.0005), or β-palmitic acid combined with prebiotics (p < 0.0001) significantly increased Bifidobacterium levels in the infant gut. Probiotic supplementation showed no significant effect (p = 0.9755). NMA and p-score ranking, comparing formulas to breastmilk, indicated that prebiotic-supplemented formulas with the lowest ranking p-score (0.2764), most closely resembled breastfeeding’s bifidogenic effect. However, prebiotics and probiotics were analyzed as broad categories, and group variability may affect outcomes. In conclusion, formula supplementation with prebiotics, synbiotics, β-palmitic acid, or combinations of β-palmitic acid with prebiotics increased the RA of Bifidobacterium in infant’s gut, with prebiotic formula most closely mimicking the bifidogenic effects of breastfeeding.

Dispersion of microswimmers is widespread in environmental and biomedical applications. In the category of continuum modelling, the present study investigates the dispersion of microswimmers in a confined unidirectional flow under a diffuse reflection boundary condition, instead of the specular reflection and the Robin boundary conditions prevailing in existing studies. By the moment analysis based on the Smoluchowski equation, the asymptotic and transient solutions are directly obtained, as validated against random walk simulations, to illustrate the effects of mean flow velocity, swimming velocity and gyrotaxis on the migration and distribution patterns of elongated microswimmers. Under the diffuse reflection boundary condition, microswimmers are found more likely to exhibit M-shaped low-shear trapping and even pronounced centreline aggregation, and elongated shape affects depletion at the centreline. Along the flow direction, they readily form unimodal distributions oriented downstream, resulting in prominent downstream migration. Near the centreline, the migration is almost entirely downstream, while upstream and vertical migrations are confined near the boundaries. When the mean flow velocity and swimming velocity are comparable, the system undergoes a temporal transition from M-shaped low-shear trapping to M-shaped high-shear trapping and ultimately to centreline aggregation. The downstream migration continuously strengthens over time, while the upstream first strengthens and then weakens. Moreover, the coupling between swimming-induced diffusion and convective dispersion leads to non-monotonic, fluctuating trends in both drift velocity and dispersivity over time. These results contribute to a deeper understanding of the underlying mechanisms governing the locomotion and control of natural and synthetic microswimmers.

The Đurđevac Sands constitute a wide area of small-scale dune relief in the Podravina (NE Croatia), located along the central part of the southern Drava River valley. Even though it has been the subject of earlier investigations, the timing and characteristics of aeolian activity and pedogenesis remain unclear. In this study, field investigations and laboratory methods are combined to gather information on past aeolian systems in the southern part of the Pannonian Basin. The results indicate that weak soil formation during the Bølling-Allerød interstadial stabilized the dunes after the first episode of aeolian activity that took place since ca. 18 ka. The source material for dune building is thought to be fluvial sand from the Drava River, which was blown from exposed terraces. During the Younger Dryas and/or Early Holocene, a new phase of aeolian activity is recorded, with material showing stronger evidence of weathering compared to the underlying aeolian material. Finally, during the Mid and/or Late Holocene, dunes were overbuilt once again with fresh unweathered sand. In general, these new findings obtained from the Đurđevac Sands area correlate rather well with other regions in the Pannonian Basin, in terms of the timing and characteristics of soil formation and aeolian activity.

This manuscript documents the Presidential Address of Jan Janoušek as the incoming President of the Association for European Paediatric and Congenital Cardiology (AEPC) 2025–2028.

The Levine–Tristram signature admits a µ-variable extension for µ-component links: it was first defined as an integer-valued function on $(S^1\setminus\{1\})^\mu$, and recently extended to the full torus $\mathbb{T}^\mu$. The aim of the present article is to study and use this extended signature. Firstly, we show that it is constant on the connected components of the complement of the zero locus of some renormalized Alexander polynomial. Then, we prove that the extended signature is a concordance invariant on an explicit dense subset of $\mathbb{T}^\mu$. Finally, as an application, we present an infinite family of three-component links with the following property: these links are not concordant to their mirror image, a fact that can be detected neither by the non-extended signatures, nor by the multivariable Alexander polynomial, nor by the Milnor triple linking number.

Spread of invasive species can be impacted by their mode of reproduction (asexual vs. sexual) as well as the mating system (outcrossing vs. selfing). This is especially the case in the evergreen wintercreeper vine [Euonymus fortunei (Turcz.) Hand.-Maz.], which was originally brought to the United States for horticultural purposes and is now considered invasive across the Midwest. Wild wintercreeper populations consist primarily of a single polyploid genotype, the ornamental ‘Coloratus’ cultivar, but it is still unknown how this species produces its fruit during the fall. We examined the reproductive mode and mating system of wintercreeper by collecting leaves and fruits from 12 wild plants in an urban location of Cincinnati, OH. In this genetic survey, we used microsatellite markers to identify the pollen donor of each embryo within the seeds. Polyembryony was relatively common, with 37.4% of seeds each containing two to four embryos. Many of the 382 embryos extracted were produced asexually through apomixis (50.0%) or were sexual products of outcross fertilization (34.3%) or self-fertilization (15.7%). In seeds with multiple embryos, larger embryos were most likely to be outcrossed, with winged burning bush [Euonymus alatus (Thunb.) Siebold ‘Compactus’] as the most likely pollen donor, and apomixis increasing in successively smaller embryos. Single embryos within seeds were more often outcross fertilized (52%). The fact that all wild adult wintercreeper plants consist of a single genotype is consistent with the production of these apomictic offspring. However, lack of sexually produced wild plants, despite their appearance in the embryonic stage, warrants further study. This is the first report of polygamous apomixis in this species, and research is continuing into how this reproductive strategy may influence invasive spread of the species.

Kochia [Bassia scoparia (L.) A.J. Scott] is an invasive species in the High Plains of the United States that poses formidable management challenges in agricultural systems, primarily due to its evolution of resistance to glyphosate. Resistance is due to a transposon-associated increase in 5-enolpyruvyl-3-shikimate phosphate synthase (EPSPS) gene copy number relative to the sensitive biotype. Factors behind the rapid spread of glyphosate-resistant biotypes are likely associated with certain aspects of B. scoparia biology, such as a protogynous flower morphology producing large amounts of pollen, that encourages outcrossing and favors high genetic diversity. Furthermore, its ability to tumble over long distances ensures a rapid spread of the resistance trait. Herein, we explore glyphosate resistance in B. scoparia in Colorado. There was no difference in EPSPS gene (Type I, Type II) and FAR1 copy numbers between parent and progeny B. scoparia populations across multiple years (2018, 2020, and 2022), suggesting stable inheritance of glyphosate resistance. Further, the inheritance of glyphosate resistance was investigated using three specific microsatellites or simple sequence repeat (SSR) markers viz. 2656, 2896, and 1792. SSR marker analysis revealed an outcrossing rate of 78% and a selfing rate of 22% in B. scoparia progeny. By investigating the complex interplay between B. scoparia’s biology and genetics, this study investigates the inheritance of glyphosate resistance in B. scoparia, estimates the outcrossing rate under field conditions, and underscores the importance of developing effective management strategies to mitigate its impact on agricultural ecosystems.