Evolution of European bison image and its implications for current species conservation.

Visual media are one of the fastest and most effective tools informing the public about conservation goals and convincing societies to support conservation actions. Similar mechanisms functioned in the past, only within a much longer time scale and different communication channels. We analyse the evolution of European bison's depictions between 1500 and 1900 in the context of building public awareness of the species and its conservation needs. Experts evaluated the anatomical accuracy of thirty eight images of the species from the period analysed, and their conservation appeal was assessed by using an online survey of the general public. Existing knowledge and previous publications allowed authors to describe the development of the scientific knowledge about European bison in 1500-1900. By juxtaposing this with anatomical accuracy of depictions, a conclusion was reached that the accuracy of depictions was not directly linked to the state of knowledge about the species. In the survey, the public reception of the accuracy of historical pictures of European bison, as well as their potential to be used in conservation campaigns, was connected with subjective appeal of depicted animals. This lesson can be translated to modern conservation campaigns using mass media and global communication channels: popularization of knowledge on species of concern should be accompanied by appealing depictions of these species to strengthen public reception.

Culturally modified trees or wasted timber: Different approaches to marked trees in Poland's Bialowieza Forest.

Studies of past forest use traditions are crucial in both understanding the present state of the oldest European forests, and in guiding decisions on future forest conservation and management. Current management of Poland's Bialowieza Forest (BF), one of the best-preserved forests of the European lowlands, is heavily influenced by anecdotal knowledge on forest history. Therefore, it is important to gain knowledge of the forest's past in order to answer questions about its historical administration, utilisation, and associated anthropogenic changes. Such understanding can then inform future management. This study, based on surveys in Belarussian and Russian archives and a preliminary field survey in ten forest compartments of Bialowieza National Park, focuses on culturally-modified trees (CMTs), which in this case are by-products of different forms of traditional forest use. Information about the formation of the CMTs can then be used to provide insight into former forest usage. Two types of CMTs were discovered to be still present in the contemporary BF. One type found in two forms was of 1) pine trees scorched and chopped in the bottom part of the trunk and 2) pine trees with carved beehives. A second type based on written accounts, and therefore known to be present in the past (what we call a 'ghost CMT'), was of 3) lime-trees with strips of bark peeled from the trunk. Written accounts cover the period of transition between the traditional forest management (BF as a Polish royal hunting ground, until the end of the eighteenth century) and modern, "scientific" forestry (in most European countries introduced in the second half of the nineteenth century). These accounts document that both types of CMTs and the traditional forest uses responsible for their creation were considered harmful to "rational forestry" by the nineteenth-century forest administration. Thus the practices which created CMTs were banned and the trees gradually removed from the forest. Indeed, these activities drew the attention of forest administrators for several decades, and in our view delayed the introduction of new, timber-oriented, forest management in the BF.

Lessons from Bialowieza Forest on the history of protection and the world's first reintroduction of a large carnivore.

Understanding how the relationships between large carnivores and humans have evolved and have been managed through centuries can provide relevant insights for wildlife conservation. The management history of many large carnivores has followed a similar pattern, from game reserved for nobility, to persecuted pests, to conservation targets. We reconstructed the history of brown bear (Ursus arctos) management in Bialowieza Forest (Poland and Belarus) based on a detailed survey of historical literature and Russian archives. From the end of the Middle Ages to the end of 18th century, the brown bear was considered "animalia superiora" (i.e., game exclusively reserved for nobility and protected by law). Bears, also a source of public entertainment, were not regarded as a threat. Effective measures to prevent damages to traditional forest beekeeping were already in practice. In the beginning of 19th century, new game-management approaches allowed most forest officials to hunt bears, which became the primary target of hunters due to their valuable pelt. This, together with an effective anticarnivore policy enhanced by bounties, led to bear extirpation in 1879. Different approaches to scientific game management appeared (planned extermination of predators and hunting levels that would maintain stable populations), as did the first initiatives to protect bears from cruel treatment in captivity. Bear reintroduction in Bialowieza Forest began in 1937 and represented the world's first reintroduction of a large carnivore motivated by conservation goals. The outbreak of World War II spoiled what might have been a successful project; reproduction in the wild was documented for 8 years and bear presence for 13. Soft release of cubs born in captivity inside the forest but freely roaming with minimal human contact proved successful. Release of captive human-habituated bears, feeding of these bears, and a lack of involvement of local communities were weaknesses of the project. Large carnivores are key components of ecosystem-function restoration, and site-specific histories provide important lessons in how to preserve them for the future.

Post-marketing observational program of the effectiveness of fluvoxamine for the treatment of depression in patients with neurological disorders: the FRIENDS study.

In a prospective, non-blinded, uncontrolled, multicenter, post-marketing, observational study (FRIENDS; NCT02043197), fluvoxamine (50-300 mg/day for 90 days) was effective for the treatment of depression in 299 adult patients (age ≥18 years) with neurological disorders at baseline. The therapeutic effect of fluvoxamine was measured by means of changes in the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale depression and anxiety scores (HADS-D and HADS-A, respectively), global severity of illness, and clinical condition (measured using the Clinical Global Improvement [CGI] scale). The mean HADS-D subscale score at baseline in the per-protocol cohort (n=296) was 11.7±3.1 points and the corresponding mean HADS-A score was 12.6±3.2. Significant (P<0.0001) improvements in both scores were recorded during fluvoxamine treatment and later follow-up. Most patients (>85%) recorded reductions versus baseline in both indices. In the CGI-based assessment, most evaluated patients (>200) experienced moderate to very substantial clinical improvement, with no or limited side effects. Significant improvements were also recorded in the exploratory outcomes of sleep quality, assessed using the Insomnia Severity Index, and cognitive function, assessed using the Montreal Cognitive Assessment (P<0.0001 vs baseline for both). No death or serious adverse drug reactions were reported during the study. The results of this observational study affirm that fluvoxamine is effective and well tolerated for the treatment of depression in the context of neurological disorders. The effects on the exploratory endpoints of this research merit evaluation in controlled trials.

Transition from traditional to modern forest management shaped the spatial extent of cattle pasturing in Bialowieza Primeval Forest in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.

Pasturing of livestock in forests has had profound consequences for Europe's landscapes. In Bialowieza Primeval Forest (BPF), cattle pasturing was a part of traditional forest use that ceased only in the second half of the twentieth century. We collected information on the institutional changes governing forest cattle pasturing and the changes in spatial extent of cattle presence in BPF in last two centuries and information on cattle numbers and their impact on forest regeneration. The spatial extent of cattle pasturing was highly variable, with the distribution of grazing areas frequently changing. Forest near villages (constituting less than 10 % of the area) was most often used for cattle grazing during continued longer time periods. Historical data showed that cattle have had a clear impact on forest regeneration. However, the frequent changes that occurred in the extent of cattle grazing indicate that their impact occurred locally, was smaller in other less intensively used areas, and in the forest as a whole.