Publications by authors named "S Marzec"

Article Synopsis
  • - This study focused on community-acquired pneumonia (CAP) in children, aiming to identify mucosal biomarkers that can aid in determining the severity and cause of the illness.
  • - Researchers analyzed cytokine levels in nasopharyngeal samples from 182 children with CAP and 26 healthy controls, finding that those with atypical bacteria and influenza virus had significantly elevated cytokine concentrations compared to those with typical bacteria.
  • - The findings suggest that differences in inflammatory and antiviral cytokine levels correlate with disease severity in CAP, indicating that mucosal biomarkers might be helpful for better assessing and classifying the condition in pediatric patients.
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We evaluated miRNA and mRNA expression differences in head tissues between avid-biting vs. reluctant-biting Aedes albopictus (Skuse) females from a single population over a 20-min timescale. We found no differences in miRNA expression between avid vs.

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Understanding the molecular and physiological processes underlying biting behavior in vector mosquitoes has important implications for developing novel strategies to suppress disease transmission. Here, we conduct small-RNA sequencing and qRT-PCR to identify differentially expressed microRNAs (miRNAs) in the head tissues of two subspecies of that differ in biting behavior and the ability to produce eggs without blood feeding. We identified eight differentially expressed miRNAs between biting (Pipiens) and non-biting (Molestus); six of these miRNAs have validated functions or predicted targets related to energy utilization (miR8-5-p, miR-283, miR-2952-3p, miR-1891), reproduction (miR-1891), and immunity (miR-2934-3p, miR-92a, miR8-5-p).

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The pathogenic yeast, Candida albicans, and other microbes must be able to handle drastic changes in nutrient availability within the human host. Copper, iron, and phosphate are essential micronutrients for microbes that are sequestered by the human host as nutritional immunity; yet high copper levels are employed by macrophages to induce toxic oxidative stress. Grf10 is a transcription factor important for regulating genes involved in morphogenesis (filamentation, chlamydospore formation) and metabolism (adenylate biosynthesis, 1-carbon metabolism).

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Mosquitoes transmit a wide variety of devastating pathogens when they bite vertebrate hosts and feed on their blood. However, three entire mosquito genera and many individual species in other genera have evolved a nonbiting life history in which blood is not required to produce eggs. Our long-term goal is to develop novel interventions that reduce or eliminate the biting behavior in vector mosquitoes.

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