Although hedgehogs are well-known examples of postglacial recolonisation, the specific processes that shape their population structures have not been examined by detailed sampling and fast-evolving genetic markers in combination with model based clustering methods. This study aims to analyse the impacts of isolation within glacial refugia and of postglacial expansion on the population structure...

The subgenus Cladoconnus Reitter, 1909 of the megadiverse genus Euconnus Thomson, 1859 is redescribed and revised for the Balkan Peninsula, Turkey and Caucasus. The following species are described: Euconnus (Cladoconnus) gagranicus sp. nov., E. (C.) ispartaensis sp. nov., E. (C.) meybohmi sp. nov., E. (C.) brachati sp. nov. and E. (C.) croaticus sp. nov. Lectotypes are designated for E. (C.) an...

An international symposium, held in Zagreb, Croatia, in October 2006, brought together basic scientists and clinical investigators engaged in research on endemic (Balkan) nephropathy, a chronic renal tubulointerstitial disease of previously unknown cause that often is accompanied by upper urinary tract urothelial cancer. Although this disease is endemic in rural areas of Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croat...

Aetiology remains the main unanswered problem in Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) despite investigations into the roles of genetic factors, environmental agents and immune mechanisms. Evidence has accumulated that BEN is an environmentally-induced disease. Weathering of low-rank coals near to the villages where BEN is endemic produces water-soluble polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons and aromatic ...

The Balkan endemic nephropathy (BEN) is a significant clinical and scientific problem in need of novel effective therapies. Though many genetic and environmental factors have been investigated the basis, cause, and predisposition to BEN are still unclear. In this study, based on the hypothesis that the genetic pathways leading to BEN might be associated with p53 dysfunction, we screened for p53...

The causative organisms and susceptibility factors were compared in two groups of individuals with tinea pedis, coal miners (234) and dermatological outpatients (244). Trichophyton rubrum was the commonest dermatophyte in both groups, being isolated from 71% of infected miners and 77% of infected outpatients. The incidence of atopy in the outpatients, but not the miners, was significantly highe...

BACKGROUND We aimed to estimate the effect of anti-retroviral therapy (ART) on incident tuberculosis (TB) in a cohort of HIV-infected children. METHODS We analysed data from ART-naïve, TB disease-free children enrolled between December 2004 and April 2008 into an HIV care program in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of Congo. To estimate the effect of ART on TB incidence while accounting for time...

To investigate nephropathia epidemica in Sweden during 1997-2007, we determined case-fatality rates for 5,282 patients with this disease. Overall, 0.4% died of acute nephropathia epidemica ≤3 months after diagnosis. Case-fatality rates increased with age. Only women showed an increased case-fatality rate during the first year after diagnosis.