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The study focused on gill lesions observed in Prespa barbel individuals caught on the north littoral site of Lake Prespa in the area of the Golema River confluence, which is under agricultural, industrial and urban pollution pressure. Microscopic analysis revealed a series of circulatory, regressive, progressive and, to a less extent, inflammatory changes of which the most prominent were: telangiectasia, necrosis of respiratory epithelium accompanied by collapsed secondary lamellae, necrosis and proliferation of interlamellar and lamellar respiratory epithelium, and parasite infection. These results indicate that the reiterated gill lesions were probably due to the double influence of the toxic effects of a polluted aquatic environment and opportunistic infections, which indicates that the application of mitigating measures is urgently needed in order to protect the Prespa Lake ecosystems.

As a result of the global warming, the average ambient temperature during summertime has increased in regions with moderate continental climate. The effects of 24 h exposure to heat stress (35±1 °C) on the morphology and function of pituitary adrenocorti cotropes were examined in adult male Wistar rats. Significant changes in the morphofunctional features of adrenocorti cotropes were found after the heat stress, with no differences noted in the cell shape or localization, com pared to controls. The adrenocorti cotropes cell volume, as well as the volume density, were significantly decreased (p

The activity of the adrenal gland is connected with the activity of other endocrine glands, such as the gonads. The experiments were conducted on testectomized adult, male rats, Wistar strain, acclimated on two ambient temperatures: room and moderately high temperature. Bilateral testectomy was performed on the rats of both temperatures and analyses were made 15-20 days after surgery. It was shown that the adrenal weight of testectomized heat acclimated rats was significantly increased. The widening of zona reticularis, shortening of zona fasciculata, as well as presence of supracortical nodules in the adrenal cortex of testectomized rats, regardless of the ambient temperature, was evidenced. Lipid content in the adrenocortical cells was lowered in both groups, but that was more prominent in testectomized rats from room temperature. The morphometric measurements of the nuclear area and volume were significantly elevated only in zona reticularis cells of testectomised animals from room temperature. Those parameters were significantly decreased in testectomized heat acclimated rats in comparison with the same values in the testectomized animals from room temperature. These results suggest that testectomy provokes changes towards increased activity of the adrenal cortex in both ambient temperatures, but those changes are less intense in heat acclimated animals.