Northeastern Europe Research Articles

Summer atmospheric drying could contribute more to soil moisture change than spring vegetation greening

Widespread spring vegetation greening (inferred by LAI) in the Northern Hemisphere leads to additional summer soil moisture (SM) deficits through increasing transpiration. Meanwhile, vapor pressure deficit (VPD) has also been rising, which can increase atmospheric evaporative demand. However, the extent and magnitude of influence of these two factors on SM changes have not been elucidated. Here, based on the state-of-the-art reanalysis and remote sensing data, we use three statistical methods to quantify the contributions of spring LAI and summer VPD to summer SM deficit. The results show that summer VPD contributes more to SM change than spring LAI in the southwestern and northern regions of North America, northeastern Europe, and central and southeastern Asia, covering 13.4% of the vegetated areas despite of the certain influence of spring vegetation greening on summer soil drying. The results are of great significance for climate change adaptation and the enhancement of surface water management.

Analysis of the structure and dynamics of epidemiological indicators of renal cell carcinoma in the world and Ukraine

Aim. To analyze the structure and dynamics of epidemiological indicators of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) worldwide and in Ukraine. Materials and methods. The study materials were publications in scientific journals, statistical reports of international and national health organizations, including data from the Global Cancer Observatory (GLOBOCAN) and European Association of Urology databases, as well as data from the Ukrainian National Cancer Registry Bulletin and official statistics from various regions of Ukraine. The methods of content analysis, comparative, logical, analytical, mathematical, graphical methods, and generalization of information were used in the study. Results. According to the results of the analysis, it has been found that the incidence of RCC varies considerably around the world, with the highest rates in North America, Eastern and Northern Europe and the lowest in Africa and South Asia. In the United States, about 79,000 new cases of RCC are registered annually, while in Europe, 145,000 cases were reported in 2022. In Ukraine, 3,544 people fell ill with RCC in 2022, of whom 1,238 died. The highest number of cases of RCC was observed in men (2126 cases versus 1418 among women). Among the new cases of RCC in 2022, 20.3 % of patients did not live more than one year. It has been determined that there is heterogeneity in the incidence of RCC in different regions of Ukraine. Thus, the largest number of reported cases of RCC (absolute value) in 2022 was observed in Dnipro (344 cases), Lviv (313 cases) regions and the city of Kyiv (234 cases). The lowest number of new cases of renal malignancies was recorded in the temporarily occupied areas from the active hostilities zone (Luhansk, Donetsk, Kherson regions), as well as in Mykolaiv (39 cases) and Chernivtsi (68 cases) regions. The regional differences identified in the morbidity and mortality of patients with RCC may be due to various factors, including, first of all, epidemiological, socio-demographic, and medical factors. Conclusions. It has been determined that RCC occupies a significant position in the structure of morbidity and mortality among different age and gender groups of the population both in Ukraine and in the world. In general, there is an increase in the number of cases of RCC among both men and women in the world with a significant predominance among men. It has been found that the dynamics of morbidity in Ukraine has a heterogeneous trend with an increase in the number of cases in 2019 compared to 2018; at the same time, a significant decrease in 2020 and 2022 compared to previous years. The study of the data on epidemiological indicators of RCC will further expand the possibilities for evaluating medical technologies and, accordingly, forming directions for improving existing approaches to pharmacotherapy for this group of patients in Ukraine.

Temporal variation in travel greenery across 86 cities in Europe

The positive impacts of urban greenery on human health and wellbeing are well documented in scholarly literature. The focus has mostly been on residential greenery or availability and access to recreational green spaces. The importance of greenery in travel environments has received much less attention. Furthermore, little consideration has been given to temporal dynamics, although research suggests that greenery benefits are not uniformly distributed over different seasons or daytimes. In this study, we aimed to fill these knowledge gaps by systematically assessing travel and residential greenery in 86 European cities. Moreover, we quantified the impact of seasonality and variation in daytime length by using an open data approach at the pan-European level. First, we compared travel and residential greenery using monthly NDVI composites derived from high-resolution Sentinel-2 satellite imagery. In addition, we explored the temporal dynamics of greenery and adjusted NDVI values accordingly. The results demonstrated that travel environments have significantly lower greenery levels than residential environments in European cities. Overall, we found a latitudinal gradient from low to high travel greenery in southern Europe compared to Nordic cities. The findings also indicated that accounting for temporal variations, especially in northeastern Europe, has significant impact on the measured availability of travel greenery. We conclude that travel environment greenery and temporal variations should not be overlooked in exposure studies because they can lead to a biased understanding of greenery availability and related spatial disparities. Our findings can therefore serve as a methodological and policy benchmark for greening goals in European cities.

Differentiation and Taxonomic Identification of Roburoid Oaks in the Caucasian and Crimean Regions Using Nuclear Microsatellite Markers

The inter- and intra-specific structure of genetic variability was studied using 18 microsatellite loci (nSSRs) in closely related roburoid oaks in the Crimean-Caucasian region.The seven most widespread Quercus taxa in the region were studied in 29 morphologically pure populations from different parts of the North Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Crimea and northeastern Europe. Most taxa were studied using nSSR markers for the first time. Among the 492 trees studied, Bayesian clustering method implemented in STRUCTURE identified clusters corresponding to the pedunculate oak Quercus robur, the Hartwiss oak Q. hartwissiana, the Caucasian oak Q. macranthera, the downy oak Q. pubescens and three subspecies of sessile oak: Q. petraea ssp. petraea, Q. petraea ssp. iberica, Q. petraea ssp. medwediewii. Geographic structure was identified within Q. robur, Q. pubescens and Q. p. ssp. petraea. The 18 nSSR loci used are efficient in the taxonomic assignment of individuals, and identifying hybrids. The close relationship between the “long-pedunculate” roburoid oaks (Q. robur and Q. hartwissiana) is shown, with a greater difference from other species. For one of the subspecies of sessile oak, widespread in the North Caucasus and Crimea Q. petraea ssp. medwediewii (syn. Q. calcarea), or limestone oak, significant differences from other taxa were found, reaching the species level. The assumption of a possible hybrid origin of this taxon as a result of hybridization of Q. petraea and Q. pubescens is not confirmed by genetic analysis. The other two subspecies of Q. petraea (Q. p. ssp. petraea and Georgian oak Q. p. ssp. iberica) are differentiated to a lesser extent and are related to each other, which confirms the legitimacy of distinguishing two geographically isolated taxa at the rank of subspecies. The highest variability was observed in Q. pubescens (He = 0.777). In Q. p. ssp. medwediewii variability was lower than in other widespread taxa (He = 0.652), and was approximately at the level of variability of Q. hartwissiana (He = 0.633) and Q. macranthera (He = 0.659). Clear differentiation of taxa by nuclear markers shows the limited introgression in closely related oak species in the Caucasus and Crimea. The identified genetic clusters can be used as reference groups for further population genetic studies of oaks in the Crimean-Caucasian region.

Global burden of drug use disorders by region and country, 1990-2021.

This study used data from the Global Burden of Disease Study (GBD) database to systematically assess the magnitude of drug use disorders (DUD) burden between 1990 and 2021. This study used GBD data to analyze the trends in ASIR, DALYs and other DUD indicators from 1990 to 2021, and compared them among different regions and countries. The Estimated Annual Percentage Change (EAPC) and its 95% Confidence Interval (CI) were calculated to assess the temporal and geographical disparities. ASIR and DALYs were used to evaluate the burden of DUDs, and socio-demographic index (SDI) was used to measure the socio-economic development level of each country. The global ASIR of DUDs showed a slight downward trend (EAPC = -0.26). The age-standardized DALY rate (per 100,000) significantly declined from 1990 to 2021 (EAPC = -1.44). Among the regions, the high SDI region exhibited the most substantial increase in ASIR (EAPC = 0.65). On a regional level, the high-income North America region had the highest EAPC for both age-standardized DALYs and ASIR (EAPC = 4.82, 1.02, respectively). Nationally, the United States of America reported the largest increase in age-standardized DALY rates and EAPC for ASIR (EAPC of 4.88, 1.05, respectively), while South Africa had the most significant decrease in EAPC (EAPC of -3.62, -1.52, respectively). In 2021, the highest ASIR was observed in high-income North America at 520.07; Central Asia had the highest age-standardized DALY rate. Globally, age-standardized DALYs and ASIR for DUDs were generally higher in men than in women, and the burden of DUDs decreased with age. The global burden of DUDs has shown complex and changing trends over the last decades, with large differences in burden between regions and countries. This highlights the need for targeted public health policies and interventions in High income North America region and Eastern Europe.

Risk of long COVID and associated symptoms after acute SARS-COV-2 infection in ethnic minorities: a Danish nationwide cohort study

Abstract Background and aim Ethnic minorities living in high-income countries have been disproportionately affected by COVID-19 in terms of infection rates, hospitalisations, and deaths; however, less is known about long COVID in these populations. Our aim was to examine the risk of long COVID and associated symptoms among ethnic minorities. Methods We used Danish nationwide register-based cohort data on individuals diagnosed with COVID-19 aged ≥18 years (n = 2 334 271) between January 2020 and August 2022. We calculated the risk of long COVID diagnosis and long COVID symptoms among ethnic minorities compared with native Danes using multivariable Cox proportional hazard regression and logistic regression, respectively. Results Of the diagnosed COVID-19 cases, 1 973 998 (84.6%) were native Danes and 360 273 (15.4%) were ethnic minorities. After adjustment for age, sex, civil status, education, family income, and Charlson comorbidity index, ethnic minorities from North Africa (adjusted hazard ratio [aHR] 1.41, 95% CI [1.12,1.79]), Middle East (aHR 1.38, 95% CI [1.24,1.55]), Eastern Europe (aHR 1.35, 95% CI [1.22,1.49]), and Asia (aHR 1.23, 95% CI [1.09,1.40]), had significantly greater risk of long COVID diagnosis than native Danes. In the analysis by largest countries of origin, the greater risks of long COVID diagnosis were found in Iraqis (aHR 1.56, 95% CI [1.30,1.88]), Turks (aHR 1.42, 95% CI [1.24,1.63]), and Somalis (aHR 1.42, 95% CI [1.07,1.91]). A significant factor associated with an increased risk of long COVID diagnosis was COVID-19 hospitalisation. Conclusions Migrants and ethnic minorities had higher risk of long-COVID compared to native Danes.

The characterisation of mercury pollution in the faeces of Baltic region breeding black storks

Mercury is a pollutant that negatively impacts wildlife's physical fitness, reproduction success, as well as foraging and migrating abilities; especially high risk is posed to the animals that consume fish as their main food source, such as black storks Ciconia nigra. The black stork is a sensitive and solitary bird species, whose populations in north-eastern Europe have declined in recent years for various reasons. In this study, we present the first-ever multi-year assessment of mercury pollution in black stork faeces, analysing samples collected over a six-year period (2018–2023) from 121 nests across Latvia. We found a temporal and spatial total mercury pollution pattern and a distinction between total mercury pollution in juvenile (range: 4.75–521.78 ng/g) and adult (range: 7.32–365.60 ng/g) black stork faeces. Total mercury concentrations also differed based on faeces colour – light faeces had a statistically significant lower mercury concentration than dark faeces. In addition, we tested juvenile black stork food samples gathered from the nests and found up to five times higher total mercury concentrations than the government-permitted limit. Causes for the variability of mercury pollution across different nest sites as well as between adult and juvenile black storks are still open for future studies.

AI in Surgery: Navigating Trends and Managerial Implications Through Bibliometric and Text Mining Odyssey.

Background:This research employs bibliometric and text-mining analysis to explore artificial intelligence (AI) advancements within surgical procedures. The growing significance of AI in healthcare underscores the need for healthcare managers to prioritize investments in this technology. Purpose:To assess the increasing impact of AI on surgical practices through a comprehensive analysis of scientific literature, providing insights that can guide managerial decision-making in adopting AI solutions.Research Design:The study analyzes over 6000 scientific articles published since 1990 to evaluate trends and contributions in the field, informing managers about the current landscape of AI in surgery.Study Sample:The research focuses on publications from various influential publishers across North America, Northern Asia, and Eastern & Western Europe, highlighting key markets for AI implementation in surgical settings.Data Collection and Analysis:A bibliometric approach was utilized to identify key contributors and influential journals. At the same time, text-mining techniques highlighted significant keywords related to AI in surgery, aiding managers in recognizing essential areas for further exploration and investment.Results:The year 2022 marked a significant upsurge in publications, indicating widespread AI integration in healthcare. The U.S. emerged as the foremost contributor, followed by China, the UK, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, and India. Key journals, such as Annals of Surgery and Spine Journal, play a crucial role in disseminating research findings, serving as valuable resources for managers seeking to stay informed.Conclusions:The findings underscore AI's pivotal role in enhancing diagnostic precision, predicting treatment outcomes, and improving operational efficiency in surgical practices. This progress represents a significant milestone in modern medical science, paving the way for intelligent healthcare solutions and further advancements in the field. Healthcare managers should leverage these insights to foster innovation and improve patient care standards.

Global risk dynamics of Borrelia miyamotoi in the context of climate change.

The impact of Borrelia miyamotoi on human health, facilitated by the expanding geographical distribution and increasing population of Ixodes ticks, remains obscure in the context of global climate change. We employed multiple models to evaluate the effect of global climate change on the risk of B. miyamotoi worldwide across various scenarios. The habitat suitability index of four primary vector tick species for B. miyamotoi, including Ixodes persulcatus, Ixodes ricinus, Ixodes pacificus and Ixodes scapularis, was projected using a boosted regression tree model, considering multiple shared socio-economic pathway scenarios over various time periods. The modelling analysis reveals that, apart from I. scapularis, future global warming will result in a northward shift in the other three vector tick species and a gradual reduction in suitable habitats. Random forest models indicate consistent changes in B. miyamotoi and its primary tick species, with potential risk areas shrinking and shifting northward, particularly in the eastern USA, northeastern and northern Europe and northeast Asia. These findings highlight the urgent need for enhanced active surveillance of B. miyamotoi infection in primary vector tick species across projected potential risk areas. The effect of climate change on B. miyamotoi distribution might have significant implications for public health decision-making regarding tick-borne pathogens.

Prevalence and gender - specific analysis of a systemic sclerosis cohort in Latvia

BackgroundSystemic sclerosis (SSc) is considered by many to be one of the most severe autoimmune rheumatic diseases with lower prevalence observed in Northern Europe. No previous studies on the prevalence of SSc in Latvia have been conducted and the aim was to study the demographic and clinical data of patients with SSc in northeastern Europe country.MethodsThis study was conducted in two main Latvian hospitals for adults and includes patients with SSc who were consulted between 2016 and 2021.ResultsDuring the study period, 159 patients with SSc were consulted. The point prevalence on 1 January 2021 was 84.0 per million. Female to male ratio was 4.67:1, and highest gender ratio was observed in the age group 70–79-year (6.75:1). Antinuclear antibodies were present in 82.58% of patients, without gender difference. Centromere pattern was more frequently observed in females (40.19% vs. 19.04%), in contrast to speckled pattern (50.98% vs. 57.14%). At disease onset females tended to be younger (46.51 ± 13.52) than males (50.5 ± 16.64). Males had more diffuse cutaneous subtype, interstitial lung disease, pulmonary hypertension and esophageal dysmotility. More than half of patients received treatment with glucocorticoids at any point of the disease (68.31%), without gender difference.ConclusionsSystemic sclerosis is less common in Latvia than in other countries and regions. Due to its location, the data from Latvia are consistent with a north-south gradient in Europe. Gender ratio differences persisted in older age groups as well. Antinuclear antibodies presence did not differ between genders, but in female’s centromere pattern was much more likely to be present. Males had more severe disease course, but in both genders more than half of patients received treatment with GCs at any point of the disease.

Eneolithic and Bronze Age of the Forest Zone of Eastern Europe: disharmony of archaeological periodization

The results of the study of the discrepancies problem between regional cultural and chronological schemes in the context of the modified "system of three centuries" are presented. The study is based on the materials of the Garino and Chirki cultures, which sites are located in the extreme northeast of Europe, and on the results of radiocarbon dating of the Eneolithic and Bronze Age complexes of the Eastern European Plain forest zone. The disharmony of the archaeological periodization is expressed in the presence of both populations of the culture attributed to the Late Bronze Age and the Eneolithic culture in the studied region. As a result, it was determined that the sites with Chirkovsko-Seiminskiy or Fatianoid pottery types including the complexes of the Atamannur culture, are synchronous with the Garino culture within the Eneolithic or the 2nd half of the 3rd millennium B.C. However, the main arguments in favor of the Eneolithic of the Chirki culture are the use of pure copper artefacts together with intensive flint knapping with a developed bifacial industry. Therefore, it is predicted that existing ideas about the periodization of early metal sites in north-eastern Europe will be corrected. The comparison of radiocarbon dates showed that complexes with porous and asbestos pottery with sparse decoration (Orovnavolok XVI and Pelya types) are generally older than the pottery of the Garino (Choinovty) culture. This complicates the problem of the origin of the latter, since it is likely that its ceramic traditions originated to the west of the extreme north-east of Europe.

A wide range of abiotic habitat factors and genetic diversity facilitate expansion of Trapa natans within its native range

Climate change and intense human activity are exacerbating changes in species' ranges. While the rapid spread of invasive alien species is well documented worldwide, the phenomenon of the spread of native species is poorly understood. To explain the problem of rapidly spreading species in the changing world, it is necessary to understand their ecology, genetic diversity and habitat limitation. The aim of our study was to analyze the ecological requirements and genetic diversity in the population of the macrophyte Trapa natans s. l., an invasive alien species in North America but native in Europe and Asia. We investigated the populations in its native range (Central and Northeastern Europe), where the species is defined as rare or extinct. We found the occurrence of T. natans in Northeastern Europe aquatic habitats where, up to now, it was described as an extinct species. The results of our environmental studies showed that the species has a wide range of tolerance to habitat conditions and lives in medium to highly nutrient-rich water with low and high salinity. Using Amplified Fragment Length Polymorphism (AFLP) analysis, we revealed high genetic variability within populations with relatively limited differentiation between populations. We showed that some populations are highly diverse (possibly refugia; Central Europe) and others are homogeneous (new sites, commercial reintroduction; Northeastern Europe). Conservation status of T. natans in its native range should be reconsidered, as the species has spread rapidly in recent decades and could be detrimental to aquatic habitats. The conclusion is that expansion/invasion can start from small populations, but under favorable conditions these populations spread rapidly. The introduction of species (even native) should be done carefully, if at all, as uncontrolled introduction to new locations, e.g. private ponds, could be the start of dispersal (native habitats) or invasion (non-native area).

Discriminating the origin of fish from closely related water bodies by combining NMR spectroscopy with statistical analysis and machine learning

Pikeperch, perch and bream are among the most traded and valued fish species in North-Eastern Europe. Therefore, it is necessary to be able to distinguish fish from different lakes and coastal sea regions to ensure a good traceability of products in the fish market and to protect both consumers and fish stocks. Untargeted metabolomics using nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy is a suitable tool for this purpose. It is an established method for determining various properties of biological and living systems, such as health, origin, type, etc. Statistical methods including principal component analysis (PCA) and linear discriminant analysis (LDA) are typically applied to NMR data to correlate spectra with a particular research question.Herein we examine fish from three closely related water bodies and demonstrate that reliable determination of the water body that a particular fish originates from by traditional statistical analysis (PCA and LDA) of fish NMR spectra is not possible. In contrast, determining the fish species is possible. We proceed to show that machine learning methods perform better and that a combination of statistical analysis (LDA) and random forest (RF), a supervised machine learning technique, allows reliable determination of the originating water body, while being also tolerant to seasonal variations. This is an improvement over prior work, which has dealt with more clearly distinguished origins of fish. Exceptional accuracy was achieved in correctly assigning fish to their origin even in a scenario where two of the water bodies are connected by a river through which the fish are known to migrate. Since determining the origin of fish is important in environmental protection, we recommend following up this approach and using it as the basis of a robust tool for environmental protection and other monitoring purposes.

Russian olive distribution and invasion dynamics along the Powder River, Montana and Wyoming, USA

The invasive shrub, Russian olive (Elaeagnus augustifolia), is widely established within riparian areas across North America and eastern Europe. Limited information on its distribution and invasion dynamics in northern regions has hampered understanding and management efforts. Given this lack of spatial and ecological information we worked with local stakeholders and developed two main objectives: (1) map the distribution of Russian olive along the Powder River (Montana and Wyoming, United States) as of 2020 with field data and remote sensing; and (2) relate that distribution to environmental variables to understand its habitat suitability and community/invasion dynamics. Field data showed Russian olive has reached near equal canopy cover (18.3%) to native Plains cottonwood (Populus deltoides; 19.1%) and has a broader distribution. At the watershed scale, we modeled Russian olive distribution using field surveys, ocular sampling of aerial imagery, and spectral variables from Sentinel-2 MultiSpectral Instrument using a random forest model (RMSE = 15.42, R2 = 0.64). A statistical model linking the resulting Russian olive percent cover detection map to environmental variables for the entire watershed indicated Russian olive cover increased with flow accumulation and decreased with elevation, and was associated with poorer soil types. We attribute the success of Russian olive to its broad habitat suitability combined with changing hydrologic conditions favoring it over natives. The maps of Russian olive cover along the Powder River and its main tributaries in northern Wyoming and southern Montana revealed regions of the watershed with high and low cover, which can guide landscape-scale management prioritization. This study provides a repeatable Russian olive detection method due to the use of Sentinel-2 imagery that is available worldwide and provides insight into Russian olive’s ecological relationships and success with relevance for management across areas with similar environmental conditions.

Dual-isotope ratios of carbonaceous aerosols for seasonal observation and their assessment as source indicators

Carbonaceous aerosols exhibit seasonal variations due to a complex interplay of emission sources, meteorological conditions, and chemical processes. This study presents the first year-round dual‑carbon isotopic analysis of carbonaceous aerosols in Northeastern Europe (Lithuania). The emphasis was placed on the processes affecting carbonaceous submicron particle (PM1) concentrations and their isotopic composition (δ13CTC, fc) during different seasons. Aerosol particles were collected in the two distinct sites: at an urban background site (Vilnius) and a coastal site (Preila). The concentrations of total carbon (TC) and black carbon (BC) varied both spatially and temporally. The annual average concentrations were 4 μg/m3 for TC and 2.3 μg/m3 for BC at the urban background site. They were considerably lower at the coastal site with 2.9 μg/m3 for TC and 0.74 μg/m3 for BC. The peak concentrations of TC and BC that occur during the cold season indicate a significant impact from residential heating. The δ13C in aerosols exhibited a distinct seasonal cycle with depleted δ13CTC values during the warm season (April–October). Through the integration of isotopic composition, contemporary carbon (fc), and BC source apportionment, we achieved precise predictions of isotopic parameter changes, encompassing pollution sources and the influence of meteorological parameters. To better understand the respective contributions of local and regional sources, air mass trajectories, wind patterns (speed and direction), and the polar conditional probability function (CPF) were studied in parallel. The study indicates that the isotopic composition of PM1 at both sites is primarily controlled by emission sources (local and regional), while meteorological conditions (temperature and mixing layer height) have less influence. These variations have important implications for regional air quality, climate dynamics, and public health, which are persistently subject to continuous research and monitoring.

Utilising bryophyte herbarium material as a source of fungal novelty: a case study presenting new records of Bryobroma gymnomitrii (Döbbeler) Döbbeler on Gymnomitrion Corda in Britain and North America

ABSTRACT Introduction Bryophyte herbarium material often contains inadvertently collected bryophilous fungi preserved with their host plant tissues, providing snapshots of the biotic aspects of bryophyte ecology in space and time. During an ongoing project to study bryophilous fungi on leafy liverworts in the genus Gymnomitrion, new records of the bryophilous ascomycete Bryobroma gymnomitrii (≡ Bryomyces gymnomitrii) were discovered in herbarium material from areas in which the fungus was previously unknown. While many host vouchers were screened, the fungus was observed in only five collections. Using B. gymnomitrii as a case study, some of the advantages and limitations associated with the utility of bryophyte collections for bryo-mycological analyses are considered. Methods More than 400 herbarium specimens from across Europe and North America were screened for the presence of fungi by different researchers at the following four herbaria: ALA, BBSUK, NMW and OSC. Key results and conclusions Bryobroma gymnomitrii appears to be specific to Gymnomitrion concinnatum and G. corallioides, forming gregarious, black perithecioid fruitbodies on the lower parts of host shoots. The study expands the known distribution of the fungus from a stronghold in northern and northeastern Europe to include the Aleutian Islands in Alaska. One of the host bryophytes, G. corallioides, is threatened by deterioration of its high-altitude Arctic-montane habitats, especially along the southern parts of its range, including Britain and Ireland. Our work supports the concept that research utilising herbarium material may provide valuable, unexpected outcomes, with bryophytes as important sources of fungi that have been inadvertently collected in the past.

Old Permic Universal Dependencies Treebank

Old Permic, also known as Old Komi, is an extinct variety of Komi that was spoken in the late Middle Ages in the lower Vychegda river basin in Northeastern European Russia, in an area that currently is not Komi-speaking. This language variety is attested in fragmentary records from the 14th to 17th century written both in the Old Permic alphabet and in Cyrillic. These records are of significant importance for research on the history of the Komi language. Here we introduce our attempt towards a new Universal Dependencies treebank that will eventually contain the existing corpus of Old Permic in a structured and CoNLL-U annotated format. This will be the first time this material is being made openly available in digital format, and our contribution describes the current state of the art and remaining challenges.

Distribution widening of a ground-nesting social bee across Europe favored by climate change and urban setting

Climate change and/or land use change were repeatedly reported as important for both range expansion of alien bee species and range shrinking for native bee species. However, environmental changes may also positively affect native species that may expand across contiguous areas to their native ones. Here, we focused on Halictus scabiosae (Rossi, 1790) (Hymenoptera: Halictidae), a ground-nesting, primitively eusocial wild bee that has its primary distribution in Western-Southern Europe but that was recently recorded in Eastern-Central Europe. In particular, we studied the range expansion patterns of H. scabiosae, and we hypothesized that previously unsuitable areas may be currently colonized because of environmental changes. In the last 5 years, H. scabiosae moved its densest record areas to North-Eastern Europe, but its ecological niche remained almost unchanged from 1970 to date, suggesting that this bee species is following its preferred conditions (high temperature, high temperature seasonality, and low precipitation seasonality). Potential distribution models revealed high suitability in still unoccupied North-Eastern areas, with urbanization increasingly important as potential stepping stones towards the expansion. The relevant role of urbanization is confirmed by the increase in the number of urban records through time and by the fact that cities with greater population density and greater fragmentation are more likely associated with this species’ occurrence. Halictus scabiosae is thus expanding its range because climate change is producing—and urban environment is offering—suitable conditions in areas previously inadequate for its establishment.

Phenomenology of the Composition of PM2.5 at an Urban Site in Northern France

In this work, PM2.5 was sampled at Dunkerque, a medium-sized city located in northern France. The mean concentration of PM2.5 during the sampling period was 12.6 ± 9.5 μg·m−3. Samples were analyzed for elemental and organic carbon (EC/OC), water-soluble organic carbon (WSOC), humic-like substances (HULIS-C), water-soluble inorganic ions, and major and trace elements. The origin and the variations of species concentrations were examined using elemental enrichment factors, bivariate polar plot representations, and diagnostic concentration ratios. Secondary inorganic ions were the most abundant species (36% of PM2.5), followed by OC (12.5% of PM2.5). Secondary organic carbon (SOC) concentrations were estimated to account for 52% of OC. A good correlation between SOC and WSOC indicated that secondary formation processes significantly contribute to the WSOC concentrations. HULIS-C also represents almost 50% of WSOC. The determination of diagnostic ratios revealed the influence of anthropogenic emission sources such as integrated steelworks and fuel oil combustion. The clustering of 72 h air masses backward trajectories data evidenced that higher concentrations of PM2.5, OC, and secondary inorganic aerosols were recorded when air masses came from north-eastern Europe and the French continental sector, showing the considerable impact of long-range transport on the air quality in northern France.

International attitudes towards medical and planned oocyte cryopreservation.

This study aims to better understand the knowledge and attitudes of men and women internationally towards oocyte cryopreservation (OC). An online 25-question survey was distributed internationally via email and social media. Knowledge and attitudes towards OC among different regions and genders were assessed. The study population consisted of adults from North America (NA, 15.7%), Southeastern and Eastern Europe (SE, 34.7%), Central and Western Europe (CWE, 12.7%), Asia (12.7%), and Middle East (ME, 8.9%). A total of 496 respondents initiated the survey and the completion rate was 80.2%. The mean (SD) age was 35.2 (12.1) years. Over 70% were aware of OC, but only 4.8% had previously undergone the procedure. Most considered ages 26-31 as optimal for OC and correctly identified conditions that could impact the chance of spontaneous conception. Significant differences were observed regarding etiologies that would render OC acceptable. Only in NA and ME did solid majorities strongly agree that it is acceptable to proceed with OC to allow more time to find the right partner or for professional opportunities. More similar opinions were observed between genders. When medical conditions existed, large majorities across all nationalities and genders strongly agreed that OC is acceptable. In NA, SE, and ME most respondents would consider or recommend OC for any reason, whereas most respondents in CWE and Asia would do that only for certain social reasons or medical necessity. A good understanding of OC was observed. Nationality appeared to impact opinions on appropriate indications for this procedure, though overall positive attitudes were documented.