Ranking ecosystem services delivered by trees in urban and rural areas.

Policies and strategies for tree management and protection on a national, regional, and local level have not sufficiently considered differences between rural and urban areas. We used expert knowledge to compare rural and urban areas in a case study evaluating the relative importance of ecosystem services (ES) in policy development. The Analytic Hierarchy Process (AHP) and focus group discussions were used to rank 17 ES, representing four classes of services: provisioning, regulating, habitat, and cultural.

Hand Areas Which Are Commonly Missed during Hand Disinfection by Nursing Students Who Completed a Basic Educational Course in Hand Hygiene.

Background: Teaching nursing students how to correctly perform hand hygiene procedures may guarantee a reduction in transmitting pathogens through direct contact and, thus, it may lead to a decrease in the number of hospital infections. The aim of the study, which was conducted in low fidelity simulation conditions, was to assess the performance and the efficiency of a hand-rubbing disinfection technique among nursing students on the last day of their course.

Materials And Methods: The study was conducted in a group of 190 nursing students studying at the Jagiellonian University and it focused on the performed hand-rubbing disinfection procedure.

A water-soluble [60]fullerene-derivative stimulates chlorophyll accumulation and has no toxic effect on Chlamydomonas reinhardtii.

Chlamydomonas reinhardtii (WT 2137) P. A. Dang.

Colostrinin proline-rich polypeptide complex from ovine colostrum--a long-term study of its efficacy in Alzheimer's disease.

Background: Colostrinin, a proline-rich polypeptide complex (PRP) isolated from ovine colostrum, with immunoregulatory and procognitive properties, has shown positive effects in the treatment of Alzheimer's disease (AD). The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of long-term Colostrinin treatment of AD patients.

Material/methods: The patients were taking Colostrinin tablets (containing 100 mg of PRP complex) every other day for three weeks, followed by a 2-week hiatus to avoid the development of hyporeactivity.

Colostrinin: a proline-rich polypeptide (PRP) complex isolated from ovine colostrum for treatment of Alzheimer's disease. A double-blind, placebo-controlled study.

A proline-rich polypeptide (PRP) complex, subsequently called Colostrinin, was isolated from ovine colostrum. The complex showed immunomodulatory properties in mice, rats, and chickens, inducing maturation and differentiation of thymocytes. It was recently found that Colostrinin is a cytokine-like factor that acts as an inducer of interferon gamma (IFN-gamma) and other cytokines in human peripheral blood and cord blood leukocyte cultures and has psycho-immuno-enhancing activity in volunteers.

Development and disappearance of tolerance to induction of interferon and tumor necrosis factor response in athletes treated with natural immunostimulant.

The effect of nonspecific immunostimulation was examined in 15 basketball players subjected to extensive physical effort. The Tołpa* Torf Preparation (TTP*), a natural immunostimulating drug, was applied orally, one 5 mg tablet daily, in two 21-day cycles, separated by 2-week hiatus. Blood samples were collected 4 times, after each of two TTP* cycles and after the first and second hiatus.

Antifungal activity of 2-(4-chlorophenyl)-1,2-benzisoselenazol-3(2H)-one, the analog of Ebselen.

The antimicrobial activity of 8 selenoorganic compounds (3-benzisoselenazoles, 1-benzisoselenazolone oxide and 4-disaryl diselenides) was investigated. It was found that selenoorganic compounds from benzisoselenazolone group suppress growth of some fungi and bacteria. The growth of Saccharomyces cerevisiae sigma 127-8b and Candida albicans 258 strains was strongly inhibited by the 2-(4-chlorophenyl)-1,2-benzisoselenazol-3(2H)-one.

[Selenium in health and disease].

Selenium deficiency occurs in many regions of the world including Poland. It leads to human body dysfunctions and diseases among which Keshan disease is the most known. Biologically active selenium is usually incorporated into proteins as selenocysteine, which is the most useful in nutritional supplementation.

Tumor-associated antigens are cytokine inducers and hyporeactivity factors to the immune system.

We investigated possible mechanisms leading to the inhibition of the immune system in people with chronic disorders. Tumor cell produce protein released into the circulation, such as tumor associated antigens, may play an important role in processes preceding paralysis of the immune system. To test this hypothesis the following tumor associated antigens were used: AFP, OFP, CA-125, CA-50 and CA-19-9.

Modulation of cytokine production by a selenoorganic compound (AE-22) in hyperreactive or hyporeactive bronchoalveolar leukocytes of asthmatics or lung cancer patients.

We have found that many synthetic selenoorganic compounds, including ebselen, have immunotropic activity. These studies were designed to assess the effect of the analog of ebselen bis[2-pyridyl (2-carbamoyl) phenyl]diselenide (AE-22) on human leukocytes that may express various activation states. The cells were obtained from bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells of patients with various inflammatory lung diseases.

Classification of cytokines according to the receptor code.

A simple classification of cytokines is presented. It is based on voluminous information available from published papers of many outstanding researchers of the cytokines and their receptors and/or summarized by experts in this field. The cytokines are divided into 7 families according to their receptor code.

Coincidence between spontaneous release of interferon and tumor necrosis factor by colostral leukocytes and the production of a colostrinine by human mammary gland after normal delivery.

We have tentatively identified colostrinines as novel cytokines produced by the mammary gland after delivery and detectable in colostrum. The primary colostrinine, the proline-rich polypeptide, was isolated from ovine colostrum in 1974. It is generally understood that the various factors present in colostrum play a pivotal role in transmitting of passive or active immunity from mother to child.

Colostrinine: a proline-rich polypeptide from ovine colostrum is a modest cytokine inducer in human leukocytes.

A proline-rich polypeptide (PRP), now named colostrinine, molecular weight 18,000, was isolated from ovine colostrum and characterized by Janusz, Lisowski et al. The nonapeptide (NP) which is an active fragment of PRP was obtained by chemical synthesis. In mice, PRP has many regulatory effects on the humoral and cellular immune response.

Seleno-organic compounds as immunostimulants: an approach to the structure-activity relationship.

Our studies on the seleno-organic compounds were focused at their activities as the modest cytokine inducers in human peripheral blood leukocyte cultures. Our bioassays used in the screening methods were based on the quantitative determinations of mainly two types of cytokines: interferons (IFNs) and tumor necrosis factors (TNFs). More recently we have found that several of the compounds have direct immunotropic actions in vitro and in vivo, in mice and in chickens.

[Successful therapy of the psychiatric patient with catatonic paranoidal syndrome and monitoring of induced cytokine production].

The paper reports the case of a 42-year-old woman with a diagnosed catatonic-paranoidal syndrome and a noted dysfunction as regards lymphocyte subpopulation and the production of some cytokins: Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF) and interferons (IFN). As the first phase of the treatment had proved unsuccessful and there appeared symptoms hinting at the possibility of a subclinical inflammatory process in the brain, parallel to psychiatric therapy, treatment was instituted in the system of successive three-week cycles with Tołpa's Peat Extract (PTT), Selenium and Zinc on a natural yeast basis (Selenium and Zinc preparations) as well as with encortone. After a month of treatment a complete clinical remission was achieved as well as normalization as regards all the tested immunological markers.

Immunotropic activities of benzisoselenazolones and organic diselenides in mice.

We have investigated the immunotropic effects of 23 seleno-organic compounds (8 benzisoselenazolones, 3 benzisoselenazolone oxides and 12 organic diselenides). All of the compounds increased the rosette formation of sheep red blood cells (SRBC) with spleen cells obtained from thymectomized C53BL/6 mice and incubated in vitro in the presence of imuran. Furthermore, 16 of the compounds were also assayed in vitro in the hydrocortisone test performed with C57BL/6 mouse thymocytes.

Effect of benzisoselenazolones and organic diselenides on graft versus host reaction and immunoglobulins levels in chickens.

Two week old chickens were treated once daily for 5 days with AE8--1-pyridyl-1,2-benzisoselenazol-3(2H)-one, AE22--bis-2-(N-phenyle-carboxamido) 1 pyridyl diselenide and AE31--bis(phenylo-diselenide with R3 = CONHC18H37). Their whole blood alone or blood mixed with thymus cells were used to generate graft versus host (GvH) reaction in 15 day old chicken embryos. The treatment of the chickens with the compounds stimulated the GvH reaction modifying activity of the donor cells as measured by increase of the spleen weight of the recipient chicken embryos.

Interferon responses in schizophrenia and major depressive disorders.

The spontaneous and induced interferon (IFN) production in whole blood cultures was examined in 45 psychiatric inpatients and in 65 normal controls. Among inpatients there were 32 who were chronic schizophrenics (14 women, 18 men) and 13 who were severely depressed (11 women, 2 men). The analysis of the pooled results of assays in the heterogeneous population showed that leukocytes of the psychiatric patients produced significantly lower levels of IFN after stimulation with virus (NDV), lipopolysaccharide (LPS), and IFN spontaneously released without the inducers that control cells.

Interferon and tumor necrosis factor responses of HIV+ patients as markers for monitoring of the AIDS progression.

The blood samples taken from 31 HIV+ and AIDS patients were used to study interferon (IFN) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) responses. The IFN and TNF levels in plasma were determined. In the whole blood assay (whole blood diluted 1:10 with culture medium) Newcastle disease virus (NDV) and phytohemagglutinin (PHA) were used as cytokine inducers.

Elevated release of tumor necrosis factor-alpha and interferon-gamma by bronchoalveolar leukocytes from patients with bronchial asthma.

Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) leukocyte-secreted cytokines are considered to be important mediators of the inflammatory and allergic reactions in the lung. This study examines quantitative changes in the level of tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF alpha) and interferon-gamma (IFN gamma) production in BAL cell cultures derived from patients (n = 11) with bronchial asthma. The secretion of TNF alpha and IFN gamma was determined in intact (unstimulated) and phytohemagglutinin/phorbol myristate acetate (PHA + PMA)-stimulated BAL leukocyte cultures and compared with that in control cultures.

Production of cytokines by mouse peritoneal cells treated with Tołpa Torf Preparation (TTP): dependence on age and strain of mice.

Production of two cytokines: Interferon beta (IFN-beta) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) by freshly isolated resident mouse peritoneal cells (RPC) treated with immunostimulating drug Tołpa* Torf Preparation (TTP) was investigated. Nontoxic concentrations of TTP (10 and 100 micrograms/ml) potentiated the cytokine production by RPC of BALB/c mice. The observed effects were dose-dependent.

A method to assess the immunomodulating effects of the Tołpa Torf Preparation (TTP) by measuring the hyporeactivity to interferon induction and tumor necrosis factor response.

Tołpa Torf Preparation (TTP) is an immunomodulator which was found to be interferon (IFN) and tumor necrosis factor (TNF) inducer in human peripheral blood leukocytes (PBL). PBL cultures prepared from the blood of healthy volunteers taking 5 mg TTP tablet daily loose ability to respond to IFN induction by TTP, phytohemagglutinin (PHA) or lipopolysaccharide (LPS). The phenomenon of hyporeactivity or tolerance is characteristic of every IFN inducer described so far.

Tołpa Torf Preparation (TTP) induces interferon and tumor necrosis factor production in human peripheral blood leukocytes.

Tołpa Torf Preparation (TTP) is a natural immunomodulating drug registered in Poland for use in humans. TTP is a biologically active low molecular weight fraction of an extract from peat containing organic substances, primary bound sugars, amino-acids, uronic and huminic acids and mineral salts. The toxicity of TTP is remarkably low, eg.

Inhaled natural human interferon alpha induces bronchospastic reactions in asthmatics.

There is a relationship between viral infection and aggravation of bronchial asthma symptoms. Viruses belong to the strongest and fast acting inducers of interferon (IFN), which, in turn, may enhance histamine release from effector cells. We have administered IFN intrabronchially to 49 patients suffering from bronchial asthma.