Publications by authors named "Zienkiewicz A"

There is an ongoing search for a reliable and continuous method of noninvasive blood pressure (BP) tracking. In this study, we investigate the feasibility of utilizing seismocardiogram (SCG) signals, i.e.

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Wounding caused by insects or abiotic factors such as wind and hail can cause severe stress for plants. Intrigued by the observation that wounding induces expression of genes involved in surface wax synthesis in a jasmonoyl-isoleucine (JA-Ile)-independent manner, the role of wax biosynthesis and respective genes upon wounding was investigated. Wax, a lipid-based barrier, protects plants both from environmental threats and from an uncontrolled loss of water.

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Rapeseed oil, constituting 12% of global vegetable oil production, is susceptible to quality degradation due to stress-induced incomplete seed degreening, fatty acid oxidation, or poor nutrient accumulation. We hypothesise that the hyperphosphorylated nucleotide alarmone ppGpp (guanosine tetraphosphate), acts as a pivotal regulator of these processes, given its established roles in nutrient management, degreening, and ROS regulation in leaves. Using qPCR, UHPLC-MS/MS, and biochemical methods, our study delves into the impact of ppGpp on seed nutritional value.

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Here, we present an approach combining fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH) and immunolabeling for localization of pri-miRNAs in isolated nuclei of A. thaliana. The presented method utilizes specific DNA oligonucleotide probes, modified by addition of digoxigenin-labeled deoxynucleotides to its 3' hydroxyl terminus by terminal deoxynucleotidyl transferase (TdT).

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  • Lipid droplets (LDs) in seed tissues serve as storage for triacylglycerols (TAGs), crucial for providing energy and carbon for seedlings.
  • The major degradation process for LDs involves lipolysis through lipases, but LDs can also be degraded via lipophagy—specifically microlipophagy in Arabidopsis seedlings.
  • The study highlights interactions between structural LD proteins, like caleosins, and autophagy-related proteins (ATG8), suggesting a significant role of these proteins in LD degradation during seed germination.
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  • Triacylglycerol (TAG) helps plants maintain lipid balance during stress, particularly after wounding where it accumulates as a storage form of fatty acids from damaged membranes.
  • The study examined whether the phytohormones jasmonoyl-isoleucine (JA-Ile) and abscisic acid (ABA) are necessary for this TAG accumulation by analyzing certain mutant plants.
  • Findings revealed that TAG accumulation occurs regardless of JA-Ile or ABA presence, with newly synthesized TAG primarily made of polyunsaturated fatty acids stored in lipid droplets, suggesting it serves as a temporary energy reserve after injury.
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In plants, lipids serve as one of the major and vital cellular constituents. Neutral lipids reserves play an essential role in the plant life cycle by providing carbon and energy equivalents for periods of active metabolism. The most common form of lipid storage are triacylglycerols (TAGs) packed into specialized organelles called lipid droplets (LDs).

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A plant-based diet has become more popular as a pathway to transition to more sustainable diets and personal health improvement in recent years. Hence, vegan mayonnaise can be proposed as an egg-free, allergy friendly vegan substitute for full-fat conventional mayonnaise. This study intends to evaluate the effect of aquafaba from chickpeas and blends of refined rapeseed oil (RRO) with different cold-pressed oils (10% of rapeseed oil-CPRO, sunflower oil-CPSO, linseed oil-CPLO or camelina oil-CPCO) on the radical scavenging, structural, emulsifying, and optical properties of novel vegan mayonnaise samples.

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Ceramides (Cers) and long-chain bases (LCBs) are plant sphingolipids involved in the induction of plant programmed cell death (PCD). The fatty acid hydroxylase mutant fah1 fah2 exhibits high Cer levels and moderately elevated LCB levels. Salicylic acid glucoside level is increased in this mutant, but no cell death can be detected by trypan blue staining.

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Cerebral autoregulation is critically important to maintain proper brain perfusion and supply the brain with oxygenated blood. Non-invasive measures of blood pressure (BP) are critical in assessing cerebral autoregulation. Wave propagation velocity may be a useful technique to estimate BP but the effect of the location of the sensors on the readings has not been thoroughly examined.

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Retinal arterial macroaneurysms (RAM) are characterized by a saccular or fusiform dilation of the retinal artery wall. An 84-year-old Caucasian woman with a medical history of poorly controlled hypertension was diagnosed with RAM in the left eye. Previous macular spectral-domain optical coherence tomography images from the patient were available for comparison.

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Sphingolipids are enriched in microdomains in the plant plasma membrane (PM). Hydroxyl groups in the characteristic long-chain base (LCB) moiety might be essential for the interaction between sphingolipids and sterols during microdomain formation. Investigating LCB hydroxylase mutants in Physcomitrium patens might therefore reveal the role of certain plant sphingolipids in the formation of PM subdomains.

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In eukaryotic cells, lipids in the form of triacylglycerols (TAGs) are the major reservoir of cellular carbon and energy. These TAGs are packed into specialized organelles called lipid droplets (LDs). They can be found in most, if not all, types of cells, from bacteria to human.

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  • The mutant CHT7 in Chlamydomonas shows significant changes in gene expression during nitrogen deprivation, impacting DNA metabolism and cell cycle processes.
  • Cells with this mutation struggle to halt growth and properly divide under nitrogen deficiency, leading to reduced colony formation after nitrogen is reintroduced.
  • The C-terminal half of the CHT7 protein, despite not having a DNA binding domain, is crucial for forming complexes that regulate gene expression related to the cell cycle in response to nitrogen levels.
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Sphingolipids act as regulators of programmed cell death (PCD) and the plant defence response. The homeostasis between long-chain base (LCB) and ceramide (Cer) seems to play an important role in executions of PCD. Therefore, deciphering the role of neutral ceramidases (NCER) is crucial to identify the sphingolipid compounds that trigger and execute PCD.

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  • The marine microalgae CCMP1779 produces significant amounts of oil and is a promising sustainable source for biofuels, but its response to nitrogen availability is not fully understood.
  • Transitioning from a dormant state due to nitrogen deprivation to an active state involves major changes in its photosynthetic system and lipid balance, leading to the accumulation of triacylglycerol.
  • Upon nitrogen resupply, the algae reactivates its cell cycle and photosynthesis, which triggers the breakdown of stored lipids, indicating complex cellular processes that could inform strategies for improving algal biomass and lipid production.
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Unlabelled: Background Antimicrobial-resistant (AMR) gonorrhoea is a global public health threat. Discriminatory point-of-care tests (POCT) to detect drug sensitivity are under development, enabling individualised resistance-guided therapy.

Methods: An individual-based dynamic transmission model of gonorrhoea infection in MSM living in London has been developed, incorporating ciprofloxacin-sensitive and resistant strains.

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  • - Online STI testing is more cost-effective than traditional clinical testing and influences overall testing demand, prompting a need for broader system-level economic analysis to evaluate cost-effectiveness.
  • - Data from sexual health services in inner London showed that after two years of online services, 37% of STI tests were conducted online, increasing total diagnoses while slightly lowering the average cost per diagnosis.
  • - The positivity rate for online testing tends to be lower than for clinics, but varies by location; under certain conditions, online testing could reduce costs, suggesting a need for a combined approach to testing methods in clinics and online services.
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Ultra-fast functional magnetic resonance encephalography (MREG) enables separate assessment of cardiovascular, respiratory, and vasomotor waves from brain pulsations without temporal aliasing. We examined effects of breath hold- (BH) related changes on cardiovascular brain pulsations using MREG to study the physiological nature of cerebrovascular reactivity. We used alternating 32 s BH and 88 s resting normoventilation (NV) to change brain pulsations during MREG combined with simultaneously measured respiration, continuous non-invasive blood pressure, and cortical near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) in healthy volunteers.

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Background: Although microalgal biofuels have potential advantages over conventional fossil fuels, high production costs limit their application in the market. We developed bio-flocculation and incubation methods for the marine alga, CCMP1779, and the oleaginous fungus, AG77, resulting in increased oil productivity.

Results: By growing separately and then combining the cells, the mycelium could efficiently capture due to an intricate cellular interaction between the two species leading to bio-flocculation.

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Chloroplast membranes with their unique lipid composition are crucial for photosynthesis. Maintenance of the chloroplast membranes requires finely tuned lipid anabolic and catabolic reactions. Despite the presence of a large number of predicted lipid-degrading enzymes in the chloroplasts, their biological functions remain largely unknown.

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Background: Regular testing for sexually transmitted infections (STIs) is important to maintain sexual health. Self-sampling kits ordered online and delivered in the post may increase access, convenience, and cost-effectiveness. Sexual health economies may target limited resources more effectively by signposting users toward Web-based or face-to-face services according to clinical need.

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