Clinical outcomes of tocilizumab therapy in polyarticular and systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis: a single-center analysis (2018-2022).

This single-center retrospective study aimed to evaluate the safety and efficacy of Tocilizumab (TOC) in children with polyarticular (pJIA) and systemic juvenile idiopathic arthritis (sJIA) who exhibited inadequate responses to disease-modifying antirheumatic drugs (DMARDs) and biological modifiers (bDMARDs). Conducted at the Department of Pediatric Rheumatology, National Institute of Geriatrics, Rheumatology, and Rehabilitation in Warsaw, Poland, between 2018 and 2022, the study enrolled 29 patients diagnosed with JIA based on International League of Associations for Rheumatology (ILAR) criteria. The cohort comprised 13 sJIA and 16 pJIA patients, aged 2-18 years, receiving TOC treatment for 24 months.

Bean and Pea Plastoglobules Change in Response to Chilling Stress.

Plastoglobules (PGs) might be characterised as microdomains of the thylakoid membrane that serve as a platform to recruit proteins and metabolites in their spatial proximity in order to facilitate metabolic channelling or signal transduction. This study provides new insight into changes in PGs isolated from two plant species with different responses to chilling stress, namely chilling-tolerant pea () and chilling-sensitive bean (). Using multiple analytical methods, such as high-performance liquid chromatography and visualisation techniques including transmission electron microscopy and atomic force microscopy, we determined changes in PGs' biochemical and biophysical characteristics as a function of chilling stress.

The Arabidopsis Accessions Selection Is Crucial: Insight from Photosynthetic Studies.

Natural genetic variation in photosynthesis is strictly associated with the remarkable adaptive plasticity observed amongst accessions derived from environmentally distinct regions. Exploration of the characteristic features of the photosynthetic machinery could reveal the regulatory mechanisms underlying those traits. In this study, we performed a detailed characterisation and comparison of photosynthesis performance and spectral properties of the photosynthetic apparatus in the following selected accessions commonly used in laboratories as background lines: Col-0, Col-1, Col-2, Col-8, Ler-0, and Ws-2.

Too rigid to fold: Carotenoid-dependent decrease in thylakoid fluidity hampers the formation of chloroplast grana.

In chloroplasts of land plants, the thylakoid network is organized into appressed regions called grana stacks and loosely arranged parallel stroma thylakoids. Many factors determining such intricate structural arrangements have been identified so far, including various thylakoid-embedded proteins, and polar lipids that build the thylakoid matrix. Although carotenoids are important components of proteins and the lipid phase of chloroplast membranes, their role in determining the thylakoid network structure remains elusive.

Ultrasound image of healthy skin in newborns in the first 24 hours of life.

Introduction: Ultrasound imaging is a safe, repeatable and easily available imaging procedure. Based on these qualities, it may become a useful tool for skin assessment in newborns. The aim of the study was to evaluate the usefulness of high-frequency ultrasound imaging for neonatal skin assessment.

Compensation Mechanism of the Photosynthetic Apparatus in Mutants.

The origin of chlorophyll deficiency is a mutation () in chlorophyllide oxygenase (CAO), the enzyme responsible for Chl synthesis. Regulation of Chl synthesis is essential for understanding the mechanism of plant acclimation to various conditions. Therefore, the main aim of this study was to find the strategy in plants for compensation of low chlorophyll content by characterizing and comparing the performance and spectral properties of the photosynthetic apparatus related to the lipid and protein composition in four selected Arabidopsis mutants and two Arabidopsis ecotypes.

[Plastoglobules - Underestimated Components of the Plant Cell].

Plastoglobules (PGs), as important components of plastids, are involved in many stages of their development: from the chloroplast biogenesis through the chloroplast-chromoplast transformations, and finally in the process of gerontoplast formation. The unique protein and lipid composition of these structures, depending on their location, suggests that PGs are both a reservoir of spare materials and a center for many metabolic reactions. Plastoglobules play an active role in the metabolism of prenylquinones, carotenoids, and jasmonic acid, and are responsible for recycling of the thylakoid disintegration products.

Galactolipid deficiency disturbs spatial arrangement of the thylakoid network in Arabidopsis thaliana plants.

The chloroplast thylakoid network is a dynamic structure which, through possible rearrangements, plays a crucial role in regulation of photosynthesis. Although the importance of the main components of the thylakoid membrane matrix, galactolipids, in the formation of the network of internal plastid membrane was found before, the structural role of monogalactosyldiacylglycerol (MGDG) and digalactosylidacylglycerol (DGDG) is still largely unknown. We elucidated detailed structural modifications of the thylakoid membrane system in Arabidopsis thaliana MGDG- and DGDG-deficient mutants.

Comparative in vitro study of calcium phosphate ceramics for their potency as scaffolds for tissue engineering.

Background: Calcium phosphate ceramics have been widely considered as scaffolds for bone tissue engineering. Selection of the best support for cultured cells, crucial for tissue engineered systems, is still required.

Objective: We examined three types of calcium phosphate compounds: α-tricalcium phosphate - the most soluble one, carbonate hydroxyapatite - chemically the most similar to the bone mineral and biphasic calcium phosphate - with the best in vivo biocompatibility in order to select the best support for osteoblastic cells for tissue engineered systems.

Bone tissue engineering - a field for new medicinal products?

It was only in December 2008 that the European Union regulated the approval procedure for tissue engineered products (TEPs). Due to this regulation, TEP is classified as an advanced therapy medicinal product and as such may be recognized as a tool in pharmaceutical biotechnology. This paper gives a short review of the concept, the experimental evaluation and the clinical potency of tissue engineering (TE), with a particular focus on bone tissue engineered products.