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Some characteristics of vegetation and flora of the Beka Landscape Park and its close surroundings (southwestern Slovenia)
Full text linkV delih krajinskega parka Beka (povirni in srednji del doline Glinščice, oba bregova ob potoku Griža, dolina Korošca pri Beško-Ocizeljskih jamah) in v njegovi neposredni okolici (travniki pri Beki in Ocizli) smo ugotovili enajst gozdnih združb na rangu asociacije, v katerih so prevladujoče vrste graden, puhasti hrast, črni gaber, navadni beli gaber, bukev, črna jelša, lipa, gorski javor in (ali) črni bor. Popisana travišča lahko uvrstimo v vsaj šest sintaksonov na rangu asociacije. Deloma smo raziskali tudi rastje melišč in skalnih razpok, grmišč, mejic, kalov in opuščenih njiv. V raziskovanem območju smo popisali okoli 730 semenk in praprotnic, med njimi jih je 49 zavarovanih, 48 na rdečem seznamu, 30 je tujerodnih. Nekatere od ugotovljenih rastlinskih združb uvrščamo v varstveno pomembne habitatne tipe, med drugimi sta to Ilirski bukovi gozdovi (Aremonio-Fagion) in Vzhodna submediteranska suha travišča (Scorzoneretalia villosae). Pri Ocizli in Beki so nahajališča evropsko varstveno pomembne vrste Himantoglossum adriaticum.In the Beka Landscape Park (the spring and central part of the Glinščica valley, both banks of the gorge of Griža, the valley of Korošca near Beka-Ocizla caves) and its immediate surroundings (meadows by Beka and Ocizla) we determined eleven forest communities at the rank of association, with dominant Quercus petarea, Q. pubescens, Ostrya carpinifolia, Carpinus betulus, Fagus sylvatica, Alnus glutinosa, Tilia platyphyllos, Acer pseudoplatanus and (or) Pinus nigra. The recorded grasslands can be classified into at least six syntaxa at the rank of association. We partly investigated also the vegetation of screes, rock crevices, shrubs, hedges, ponds and abandoned fields. In the researched area we recorded approximately 730 taxa of vascular plants, including 49 protected, 48 Red List, and 30 alien species. Some of the identified plant communities belong to Natura 2000 habitat types, among them Eastern sub-mediterranean dry grasslands (Scorzoneretalia villosae) and Illyrian Fagus sylvatica forests (Aremonio-Fagion). At Ocizla and Beka are localities of Himantoglossum adriaticum, a species of Community interest
At mid-gestation, markers of placental function rather than maternal cardiac function are stronger determinants of birthweight
Full text linkBackground: The role of maternal cardiac and hemodynamic assessment during normal and complicated pregnancies has gained attention during the last few years. Some researchers suggested that the manifestation of complications in pregnancy suffering from impaired placentation is mainly driven by preexisting cardiac changes, identifiable at an early stage by echocardiographic and hemodynamic assessment. It is therefore of great importance to determine the link between placental perfusion and maternal cardiac function and hemodynamics. Also, the impact of maternal cardiac function on birth weight has not been thoroughly studied. Objective: To elucidate the possible association of maternal cardiovascular indices with placental perfusion at mid-gestation and birthweight. Study design: Prospective study on women with singleton pregnancies attending Kings\u27 College Hospital, London, UK for a routine hospital visit at 19 to 24 weeks of gestation. We recorded maternal characteristics and medical history, measured mean arterial pressure, heart rate, uterine artery pulsatility index, umbilical artery pulsatility index, middle cerebral artery pulsatility index, and serum placental growth factor. We also performed maternal echocardiogram to assess cardiac output and peripheral vascular resistance as well as indices of diastolic and systolic cardiac function. Multivariable regression modeling was used. Results: Our cohort included 4006 women. Higher uterine artery pulsatility index values were associated with lower mean arterial pressure, heart rate, and left ventricular systolic function, after adjustment for maternal characteristics and subsequent development of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus. In a multivariable approach that explained 17.9% of the variance of the birthweight, we found that some cardiovascular indices provided small but significant contribution to the model after accounting for maternal factors and development of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy and gestational diabetes mellitus, uterine artery pulsatility index, and placental growth factor. Conclusion: The findings of our study indicate a weak but significant association between maternal cardiovascular indices with placental perfusion at mid-gestation and birthweight. Our data would not support routine maternal cardiovascular assessment for predicting birthweight
Somatic mutation detection in tumor tissue and matched cell-free DNA using PCR-based methods in pancreatic cancer patients undergoing upfront resection
Full text linkSomatic mutations in KRAS and TP53 are among the most common genetic alterations in pancreatic ductal adenocarcinoma (PDAC). Advances in PCR-based technologies now enable the detection of these mutations in tumor tissue and cell-free DNA (cfDNA), providing a minimally invasive approach to assess tumor burden. However, in resectable PDAC, circulating tumor DNA (ctDNA) may represent less than 0.1% of total cfDNA, requiring highly sensitive detection methods. The aim of our study was to assess two PCR-based assays—competitive allele-specific PCR (castPCR) and digital PCR (dPCR)—for detecting selected somatic mutations in tumor tissue, cfDNA, and extracellular vesicle-associated DNA (EV-DNA) from plasma. Matched primary tumor and preoperative plasma samples were collected from 50 patients undergoing upfront resection for PDAC. CastPCR was used for detecting selected KRAS, TP53, SMAD4, and CDKN2A mutations in tumor DNA. Additionally, dPCR was used to analyze KRAS and TP53 mutations in tumor DNA as well as cfDNA and EV-DNA. The concordance between both platforms was 71.4% for KRAS p.G12D and 58.3% for the analysis of TP53 p.R273H mutations in tumor tissue. However, dPCR detected these mutations in an additional 28.6% and 39.6% of samples, respectively. In cfDNA, dPCR identified KRAS p.G12D in 10.2% and TP53 p.R273H in 2.0% of samples. Mutation detection in EV-DNA was limited by low DNA yield. Both platforms proved effective for tumor DNA analysis, with dPCR offering greater sensitivity. Somatic mutation detection from liquid biopsy using dPCR further supports its potential utility in the preoperative setting
A dichotomy for 1-planarity with restricted crossing types parameterized by treewidth
Full text linkA drawing of a graph is 1-planar if each edge participates in at most one crossing and adjacent edges do not cross. Up to symmetry, each crossing in a 1-planar drawing belongs to one out of six possible crossing types, where a type characterizes the subgraph induced by the four vertices of the crossing edges. Each of the 63 possible nonempty subsets of crossing types gives a recognition problem: does a given graph admit an -restricted drawing, that is, a 1-planar drawing where the crossing type of each crossing is in ? We show that there is a set with three crossing types and the following properties: (i) If contains no crossing type from , then the recognition of graphs that admit an -restricted drawing is fixed-parameter tractable with respect to the treewidth of the input graph. (ii) If contains any crossing type from , then it is NP-hard to decide whether a graph has an -restricted drawing, even when considering graphs of constant pathwidth. We also extend this characterization of crossing types to 1-planar straight-line drawings and show the same complexity behaviour parameterized by treewidth
Comparable rates of catheter-related bloodstream infections between non-tunneled and tunneled hemodialysis catheters
Full text linkBackground: A hemodialysis catheter may serve as a short- or medium-term vascular access solution. Current guidelines suggest restricting non-tunneled catheter use to 2 weeks, partially based on studies using straight non-tunneled jugular catheters, which have now been widely replaced with pre-curved catheters. We compared the rate of catheter-related blood stream infections (CRBSIs) and possible CRBSIs (PCRBSIs) of pre-curved non-tunneled and tunneled catheters in our hemodialysis center. Methods: This was a retrospective study including patients dialyzed on an outpatient basis between 1 January 2018 and 1 July 2024, with a follow-up until 1 March 2025. The primary aim was to compare the rates of CRBSIs. Results: In 301 patients, 625 non-tunneled single lumen catheter pairs and 53 double lumen tunneled catheters were used. There were 53 CRBSIs in non-tunneled and 10 in tunneled catheters, with identical incidence rate (0.48/1000 catheter-days in both groups). Analyzing CRBSIs and PCRBSIs together also showed similar infection rates [0.66 vs 0.58, incidence rate ratio (IRR) with 95% confidence interval 1.14 (0.6–2.1), P = .68]. Two subanalyses were made: CRBSI IRR in 27 patients with both types of catheters during study period was 1.37 (0.55–3.41, P = .49) and 2.01 (0.52–7.72, P = .47) in 36 patients after their first CRBSI. Time to CRBSI was also comparable in all analyses. Conclusions: Our study found no significant difference in the incidence of CRBSIs. We conclude that prolonged use of non-tunneled pre-curved catheters, which are easily managed, is a viable option for patients awaiting construction of arteriovenous fistula, insertion of a peritoneal catheter or kidney transplantation in a reasonable time. Promising results on long-term use from this study need to be confirmed in prospective studies