We talk to Dr. Andrzej Kruszewicz, director of Warsaw Zoo, about animals being held in “captivity.”

Empathy is one of the traits that make us human. In exploring the origins of empathy disorders, however, we can learn a lot by studying animals.

How can we learn about the diet, health and parasites of animals which have long since gone extinct? One excellent, although perhaps slightly revolting way is to study pieces of fossilized excrement, known as coprolites.

The amount and composition of lipids m some Antarctic animals were studied. The material consisted of crustaceans (Euphausia superba, Paramoera sp., Orchomene sp.), tunicates (Salpa thompsoni) and vertebrates (Notothenia rossi marmorata and Hydrurga leptonyx). The author's data are discussed on the background of available literature information.

Enterococcus hirae belongs in the Enterococcus faecium group within the genus Enterococcus. This species occurs naturally in the environment, commensally in the alimentary tracts of animals, and pathologically for example in humans with urinary infections. Some strains of E. hirae possess virulence factors, including biofilm formation. Biofilm growth protects bacteria against host de- fences; biofilm can be a source of persistent infection. Testing bacterial strains for their ability to form biofilm might therefore facilitate their treatment or prevention. This study focuses on bio- film formation by E. hirae strains derived from various animals. This kind of testing has never been done before. A total of 64 identified E. hirae from laying hens, ducks, pheasants, ostriches, rabbits, horses and a goat were tested by means of three methods; using Congo red agar, the tube method and microtiter plate agar. The majority of strains were found to form biofilm. 62.5% of strains were biofilm-forming, four categorized as highly positive (OD570 ≥1); most strains were low-grade biofilm positive (0.1 ≤ OD 570 < 1). Related to poultry, 55 E. hirae strains were tested nd found to produce biofilm; 24 strains did not form biofilm, 31 strains were biofilm-forming; 27 strains showed low-grade biofilm formation, and four strains were highly biofilm-forming. Four strains from hens and ostriches reached the highest OD570 values, more than 0.500. Rabbit-derived E. hirae strains as well as strains isolated from horses and the goat were low-grade bio- film-forming. Microtiter plate assay proved to be the best tool for testing the in vitro biofilm for- mation capacity of E. hirae strains from different species of animals.

The aim of this paper is to analyse various animal-specifi c complex lexical units together with patterns that can be held responsible for their underlying conceptual structure. Many examples of the data investigated in the paper seem to represent compounds as they are traditionally understood in the literature of the subject (see, among others, Bauer 2003; Katamba and Stonham 2006; Lieber and Štekauer 2009; Fàbregas and Scalise 2012; Bauer et al. 2013); however, others do not meet the basic criteria for compoundhood as postulated by, for example, Altakhaineh (2016). In my research I use the term animal-specifi c complex lexical units with reference to all animal-related composite expressions being the result of the working of metaphor-metonymy interaction.

The pace of climate change observed since the beginning of the industrial era has prompted scientists to seriously consider whether human activity is to blame for global warming. On the geological timescale, however, climate change is certainly nothing new or exceptional – as is clear when one looks at the record of plant and animal fossils.

Animals kept outside their natural environment often suffer from boredom. They don’t hunt or have a chance to conduct their mating rituals, and their natural tendency for physical activity is limited by space. These deficiencies affect their psychological well-being. But when it comes to dogs, we can help them by exploiting their excellent sense of smell.

The article tackles issues of the pedagogy of place, with a special emphasis on the urban context. On the basis of fundamental theses asserting that a city is a text (Vladimir Toporov) and that places are pedagogical (Maria Mendel) – the author concentrates on symbols. Definition of this concept, as well as de3 nitions of its particular exemplifications, create a theoretical basis for further practical considerations. Presenting methodology of a research project Reading the City (Czytanie miasta) conducted in the years 2015–2016, the author creates new research challenges for pedagogues. Presentation of wide variety of city symbolism, encompassing both cultural manifestations (towers, bridges) and a realm of nature (mountains, river), leads to proposed educational applications. Descriptions of realized animations based on research form a summary of this article.

Introduction: Effective and safe anesthesia for rodents has long been a leading concern among biomedical researchers. Intraperitoneal injection constitutes an alternative to inhalant anesthesia.

Purpose: The aim of this study was to identify a safe, reliable, and effective anesthesia and postoperative analgesia protocol for laboratory rats exposed to painful procedures.

Material and methods: Twenty-seven female Wistar rats in an ongoing study that required surgery were randomized into groups for three different intraperitoneal anesthesia protocols and three different analgesia regimens. The anesthesia groups were (1) medetomidine + ketamine (MK), (2) ketamine + xylacine (KX), and (3) fentanyl + medetomidine (FM). Three analgesia groups were equally distributed among the anesthesia groups: (1) local mepivacaine + oral ibuprofen (MI), (2) oral tramadol + oral ibuprofen (TI), and (3) local tramadol + oral tramadol + oral ibuprofen (TTI). A core was assigned to measure anesthesia (0-3) and analgesia (0-2) effectiveness; the lower the score, the more effective the treatment.

Results: The mean MK score was 0.44 versus 2.00 for FM and 2.33 for KX. Mean score for analgesia on the first postoperative day was TTI (4.66) TI (9.13), and MI (10.14). Mean score 48 hours after surgery was TTI (3.4), TI (6.71), and MI (9.5). These differences were statistically significant.

Conclusion: MK was shown to be a reliable, safe, and effective method of anesthesia. The TTI analgesia regimen is strongly recommended in light of these results.

The aim of the study was to evaluate the visualization of the rabbit common calcanean tendon and adjacent structures in the high-field magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of 1.5 T field strength and to compare the results with those previously obtained for the low-field MRI (0.25 T). Eight New Zealand rabbits were used in the post-mortem study and the results indicate that the high-field MRI provides more detailed images only in transverse scans, where the outer outline of the tendon was visualized more accurately. Other analysed structures were imaged with a resolution comparable to the low-field MRI.

The presence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) in blood induces an inflammatory response which leads to multiple organ dysfunction and numerous metabolic disorders. Uncontrolled, improper or late intervention may lead to tissue hypoxia, anaerobic glycolysis and a disturbance in the acid -base balance. The effects of LPS-induced toxemia on biological and immunological markers were well studied. However, parameters such as base excess, ions, and acid-base balance were not fully investigated. Therefore, the objective of this study was to examine these blood parameters collectively in LPS-induced inflammatory toxemia in rat’s model. After induction of toxemia by injecting LPS at a rate of 5 mg/kg body weight intravenously, blood was collected from the tail vein of twenty rats and immediately analyzed. After 24 hours, the animals were sacrificed and the blood was collected from the caudal vena cava. The results revealed that the levels of pH, bicarbonate, partial pressure of oxygen, oxygen saturation, Alveolar oxygen, hemoglobin, hematocrit, magnesium (Mg2+), and calcium (Ca2+) were significantly decreased. On the other side, the levels of Base excess blood, Base excess extracellular fluid, partial pressure of carbon dioxide, lactate, Ca2+/Mg2+, potassium, and chloride were significantly increased compared to those found pre toxemia induction. However, sodium level showed no significant change. In conclusion, Acute LPS-toxemia model disturbs acid-base balance, blood gases, and ions. These parameters can be used to monitor human and animal toxemic inflammatory response induced by bacterial LPS conditions to assist in the management of the diagnosed cases.

The article places the environmental history on the map of historical research. It contains a problematised definition of environmental history, outlines its key determinants, describes its research issues and methodology, and analyses the question of the historical sources that are used by environmental historians. The article also reflects on the relationship between environmental history research and theoretical reflection, primarily from the field of post-human studies and postcolonial studies. It also considers the interdisciplinary potential of these in relation to the humanities as well as natural and earth sciences. The article also contains a review of the state of research on environmental history in the Polish historiography of the last five years.

Five years ago, the Act on the protection of animals used for scientific or educational purposes entered into force. It is the implementation of Directive 2010/63/ EU into the Polish legal system. During the work on the Directive, most scientists were convinced that the previous Act on animal experiments of 2005 was in line with the new EU law and only minor modifications would be necessary. Legislators, however, decided to create a completely new legal act. Already at the time of the Act's creation, the scientific community made many critical comments regarding the law. Significant discrepancies between the Directive and the proposed provisions of the Act were far more stringent, and in many places with imprecise provisions which could have resulted in difficulties in conducting research using animals. Unfortunately, most of the postulates of the scientific community were not considered at that time. What does the Act look like 5 years after its adoption? Instead of a transparent and balanced law modeled on the EU Directive, which provides real protection for experimental animals, while safeguarding the intellectual rights of animal testing units, a patch of underdeveloped, sometimes mutually exclusive provisions has been issued. Instead of raising the welfare of the animals used for research to a higher level, it significantly increased the costs of operating research units and increased bureaucracy. Instead of rationalizing the system of issuing consents for research, it has been weakened and entangled in administrative and legal disputes without the provision of basic administrative facilities. Instead of increasing the international mobility of scientists and technicians working with experimental animals, the implementation of the law created a training “system” that is not recognized in any other EU country. In the light of the 5-year experience of the scientific community and the expert part of the composition of local ethics committees, we postulate to introduce a number of significant changes to the act so that its amended version actually ensures animal protection, respect for researchers and returns to the current of European legislation.