[The analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms of the DGCR8 and XPO5 genes, and their association with the incidence of primary open angle glaucoma].

Purpose: To analyse the single nucleotide polymorphisms of DGCR8 and XPO5 genes, involved in miRNA processing pathway, in relation to the incidence of primary open-angle glaucoma.

Material And Methods: Blood samples as the biological material used for the experiment were voluntarily donated by patients with known primary open-angle glaucoma and age-matched healthy controls. The two control groups – rs3757 DGCR8 and rs11077 XPO5 – consisted of 135 and 140 volunteers, respectively.

Fluctuating fitness shapes the clone-size distribution of immune repertoires.

The adaptive immune system relies on the diversity of receptors expressed on the surface of B- and T cells to protect the organism from a vast amount of pathogenic threats. The proliferation and degradation dynamics of different cell types (B cells, T cells, naive, memory) is governed by a variety of antigenic and environmental signals, yet the observed clone sizes follow a universal power-law distribution. Guided by this reproducibility we propose effective models of somatic evolution where cell fate depends on an effective fitness.

Assessment of selected carbohydrate parameters in children exposed to gestational diabetes in utero.

Objectives: The study was undertaken to assess the selected carbohydrate parameters in children exposed to gestational diabetes in utero.

Methods: 50 children exposed to gestational diabetes were compared with 46 control subjects. Anthropometric parameters of a newborn were obtained from the medical records.

Artificial aortic valve dysfunction due to pannus and thrombus - different methods of cardiac surgical management.

Introduction: Approximately 60 000 prosthetic valves are implanted annually in the USA. The risk of prosthesis dysfunction ranges from 0.1% to 4% per year.

Association of Polymorphic Variants of miRNA Processing Genes with Larynx Cancer Risk in a Polish Population.

Laryngeal cancer (LC) is one of the most prevalent types of head and neck cancer. An increasing interest has been focused on the role of microRNA (miRNAs) in LC development. The study group consisted of 135 larynx cancer patients and 170 cancer-free individuals.

Repeat proteins challenge the concept of structural domains.

Structural domains are believed to be modules within proteins that can fold and function independently. Some proteins show tandem repetitions of apparent modular structure that do not fold independently, but rather co-operate in stabilizing structural forms that comprise several repeat-units. For many natural repeat-proteins, it has been shown that weak energetic links between repeats lead to the breakdown of co-operativity and the appearance of folding sub-domains within an apparently regular repeat array.

TDR Technique for Estimating the Intensity of Evapotranspiration of Turfgrasses.

The paper presents a method for precise estimation of evapotranspiration of selected turfgrass species. The evapotranspiration functions, whose domains are only two relatively easy to measure parameters, were developed separately for each of the grass species. Those parameters are the temperature and the volumetric moisture of soil at the depth of 2.

A systematic review of evidence for end-of-life communication interventions: Who do they target, how are they structured and do they work?

Objective: To identify and synthesise evidence for interventions targeting end-of-life communication.

Methods: Database, reference list and author searches were conducted to identify evaluations of end-of-life communication-focussed interventions. Data were extracted, synthesised and QUALSYST quality analyses were performed.

A Reassessment of IgM Memory Subsets in Humans.

From paired blood and spleen samples from three adult donors, we performed high-throughput VH sequencing of human B cell subsets defined by IgD and CD27 expression: IgD(+)CD27(+) ("marginal zone [MZ]"), IgD(-)CD27(+) ("memory," including IgM ["IgM-only"], IgG and IgA) and IgD(-)CD27(-) cells ("double-negative," including IgM, IgG, and IgA). A total of 91,294 unique sequences clustered in 42,670 clones, revealing major clonal expansions in each of these subsets. Among these clones, we further analyzed those shared sequences from different subsets or tissues for VH gene mutation, H-CDR3-length, and VH/JH usage, comparing these different characteristics with all sequences from their subset of origin for which these parameters constitute a distinct signature.

[Neurological symptoms and syndromes in municipal transport drivers].

Background: The way the municipal transport drivers perform their job contributes to varied burdens linked with the body posture at work, stress, shift work, vibration, noise and exposure to chemical agents. The aim of the study was to assess the condition of the nervous system (NS) in municipal transport drivers.

Material And Methods: The study covered 42 men, aged 43.

Inferring processes underlying B-cell repertoire diversity.

We quantify the VDJ recombination and somatic hypermutation processes in human B cells using probabilistic inference methods on high-throughput DNA sequence repertoires of human B-cell receptor heavy chains. Our analysis captures the statistical properties of the naive repertoire, first after its initial generation via VDJ recombination and then after selection for functionality. We also infer statistical properties of the somatic hypermutation machinery (exclusive of subsequent effects of selection).

Capturing coevolutionary signals inrepeat proteins.

Background: The analysis of correlations of amino acid occurrences in globular domains has led to the development of statistical tools that can identify native contacts - portions of the chains that come to close distance in folded structural ensembles. Here we introduce a direct coupling analysis for repeat proteins - natural systems for which the identification of folding domains remains challenging.

Results: We show that the inherent translational symmetry of repeat protein sequences introduces a strong bias in the pair correlations at precisely the length scale of the repeat-unit.

How a well-adapted immune system is organized.

The repertoire of lymphocyte receptors in the adaptive immune system protects organisms from diverse pathogens. A well-adapted repertoire should be tuned to the pathogenic environment to reduce the cost of infections. We develop a general framework for predicting the optimal repertoire that minimizes the cost of infections contracted from a given distribution of pathogens.

Combinatorial code governing cellular responses to complex stimuli.

Cells adapt to their environment through the integration of complex signals. Multiple signals can induce synergistic or antagonistic interactions, currently considered as homogenous behaviours. Here, we use a systematic theoretical approach to enumerate the possible interaction profiles for outputs measured in the conditions 0 (control), signals X, Y, X+Y.

In vitro gastrointestinal digestion increases the translocation of polystyrene nanoparticles in an in vitro intestinal co-culture model.

The conditions of the gastrointestinal tract may change the physicochemical properties of nanoparticles (NPs) and therewith the bioavailability of orally taken NPs. Therefore, we assessed the impact of in vitro gastrointestinal digestion on the protein corona of polystyrene NPs (PS-NPs) and their subsequent translocation across an in vitro intestinal barrier. A co-culture of intestinal Caco-2 and HT29-MTX cells was exposed to 50 nm PS-NPs of different charges (positive and negative) in two forms: pristine and digested in an in vitro gastrointestinal digestion model.

Exome sequencing reveals mutations in MFN2 and GDAP1 in severe Charcot-Marie-Tooth disease.

The aim of our study was to characterize electrophysiologically and explain the genetic cause of severe Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) in a 3.5-year-old with asymptomatic parents and a maternal grandfather with a history of mild adult-onset axonal neuropathy. Severity of neuropathy was assessed by Charcot-Marie-Tooth neuropathy score (CMTNS).

Independent predictors of early mortality after coronary artery bypass grafting in a single centre experience--does gender matter?

Background: It is commonly believed that women undergoing isolated coronary artery bypass graft surgery (CABG) are subject to a higher risk of perioperative complications and death.

Aim: To evaluate the effect of sex as a risk factor on early complications and mortality after isolated CABG performed with cardiopulmonary bypass, and to evaluate the profile of the risk determined by the patient's sex.

Methods: Data derived from 2,194 surgical procedures performed in the Department of Cardiac Surgery at the Medical University of Lodz between January 2009 and March 2011 was analysed.

Translocation of differently sized and charged polystyrene nanoparticles in in vitro intestinal cell models of increasing complexity.

Intestinal translocation is a key factor for determining bioavailability of nanoparticles (NPs) after oral uptake. Therefore, we evaluated three in vitro intestinal cell models of increasing complexity which might affect the translocation of NPs: a mono-culture (Caco-2 cells), a co-culture with mucus secreting HT29-MTX cells and a tri-culture with M-cells. Cell models were exposed to well characterized differently sized (50 and 100 nm) and charged (neutral, positively and negatively) polystyrene NPs.

A qualitative analysis of responses to a question prompt list and prognosis and end-of-life care discussion prompts delivered in a communication support program.

Objective: Discussing end-of-life (EOL) care is challenging when death is not imminent, contributing to poor decision-making and EOL quality-of-life. A communication support program (CSP) targeting these issues may facilitate discussions. We aimed to qualitatively explore responses to a nurse-led CSP, incorporating a question prompt list (QPL-booklet of questions patients/caregivers can ask clinicians), promoting life expectancy and EOL-care discussions.

A ten-year observation of somatic development of a first group of Polish children with Silver-Russell syndrome.

Objective: Silver-Russell syndrome is heterogeneous both clinically and genetically. The best known genetic aberrations existing in this syndrome are an 11p15 epimutation, present in 20-60% patients, and a maternal uniparental chromosome 7 disomy (7-15%) (upd(7)mat). Children with SRS suffer from physical growth impairments - intrauterine and after birth.

Advanced cancer patients' and caregivers' use of a Question Prompt List.

Objective: The objective of this study was to provide insight into how advanced cancer patients and their caregivers use a Question Prompt List (QPL) during a consultation and for preparation for future consultations.

Methods: Audiotaped consultations and follow-up phone calls of 28 advanced cancer patients were coded and content analyzed. Questions asked and concerns expressed in consultations were coded for initiator, content, inclusion in the QPL and exact wording.