Application of a Novel PM Model to Assess the Risk of Infections in Medical Facilities as a Tool for Improving the Quality of Health Services and the Safety of Patients.

Infections with multi-drug resistant microorganisms associated with the provision of health services have become an acute problem worldwide. These infections cause increased morbidity as well as mortality and are a financial burden for the healthcare system. Effective risk management can reduce the spread of infections and thus minimize their number in hospitalized patients.

Costs Associated with the Treatment of Clostridioides Difficile Infections.

Background: , as the main cause of infectious diarrhoea in hospitalised patients, is a considerable challenge for medical personnel (hospital environment) who have direct contact with the patient, as well as being of interest to public health specialists. Financial issues related to the occurrence of the above-mentioned micro-organism are being increasingly raised. Due to the scale of the phenomenon, we are beginning to pay attention to the significant system costs caused by the diagnosis and treatment of CDI infection and its complications.

Level of Knowledge of Medical Staff on the Basis of the Survey in Terms of Risk Management, Associated with Infections.

Infections caused by the toxigenic strains of in the hospital environment pose a serious public health problem. The progressive increase in hospital infections in Poland indicates that risk management is a tool that is not used in an effective way and significantly differs from the goals set by the Leading Authorities, the Ministry of Health and its subordinate units. Systematic education of medical personnel constitutes the basic element of rational risk management aimed at reducing the number of infections as it allows for the transfer of knowledge, development of appropriate organizational procedures, and improves internal communication.

The Role of Monocytes and Macrophages in Homeostasis and Disease and Novel Avenues for Putative Treatments.

Macrophages were discovered in the 19th century by Ukrainian biologist Élie Metchnikoff who worked in Ukraine, Russia, and France [...

New Insights into Cellular Functions of Nuclear Actin.

Actin is one of the most abundant proteins in eukaryotic cells. There are different pools of nuclear actin often undetectable by conventional staining and commercial antibodies used to identify cytoplasmic actin. With the development of more sophisticated imaging and analytical techniques, it became clear that nuclear actin plays a crucial role in shaping the chromatin, genomic, and epigenetic landscape, transcriptional regulation, and DNA repair.

A 10-Year-old Girl With Late Acute Lymphoblastic Leukemia Recurrence Diagnosed With COVID-19 and Treated With Remdesivir.

Patients with hemato-oncologic diseases are particularly vulnerable to severe infections. Adult patients with blood cancers infected with SARS-CoV-2 had poorer treatment outcomes and higher mortality than patients with COVID-19 without burden. However, in pediatric patients with hemato-oncologic diseases the course of COVID-19 is milder than in adults in the same group of patients.

Exaptation of Retroviral Syncytin for Development of Syncytialized Placenta, Its Limited Homology to the SARS-CoV-2 Spike Protein and Arguments against Disturbing Narrative in the Context of COVID-19 Vaccination.

Human placenta formation relies on the interaction between fused trophoblast cells of the embryo with uterine endometrium. The fusion between trophoblast cells, first into cytotrophoblast and then into syncytiotrophoblast, is facilitated by the fusogenic protein syncytin. Syncytin derives from an envelope glycoprotein (ENV) of retroviral origin.

RhoA- and Actin-Dependent Functions of Macrophages from the Rodent Cardiac Transplantation Model Perspective -Timing Is the Essence.

The small GTPase RhoA, and its down-stream effector ROCK kinase, and the interacting Rac1and and mTORC2 pathways, are the principal regulators of the actin cytoskeleton and actin-related functions in all eukaryotic cells, including the immune cells. As such, they also regulate the phenotypes and functions of macrophages in the immune response and beyond. Here, we review the results of our and other's studies on the role of the actin and RhoA pathway in shaping the macrophage functions in general and macrophage immune response during the development of chronic (long term) rejection of allografts in the rodent cardiac transplantation model.

Vitamin D and Immunological Patterns of Allergic Diseases in Children.

Vitamin D, in addition to its superior role as a factor regulating calcium-phosphate metabolism, shows wide effects in other processes in the human body, including key functions of the immune system. This is due to the presence of vitamin D receptors in most cells of the human body. In our study, we aimed to assess whether there is a correlation between vitamin D content and the clinical course of allergic diseases as well as establish their immunological parameters in children.

Role of Macrophages and RhoA Pathway in Atherosclerosis.

The development, progression, or stabilization of the atherosclerotic plaque depends on the pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory macrophages. The influx of the macrophages and the regulation of macrophage phenotype, inflammatory or anti-inflammatory, are controlled by the small GTPase RhoA and its downstream effectors. Therefore, macrophages and the components of the RhoA pathway are attractive targets for anti-atherosclerotic therapies, which would inhibit macrophage influx and inflammatory phenotype, maintain an anti-inflammatory environment, and promote tissue remodeling and repair.

Effects of vitamin D on macrophages and myeloid-derived suppressor cells (MDSCs) hyperinflammatory response in the lungs of COVID-19 patients.

Vitamin D regulates homeostasis, anti-microbial response, and inflammation. The vitamin D receptors are expressed in the macrophages and other immune cells, regulating the transcription of many different genes, including those coding the anti-microbial peptides. One of the most severe complications of the SARS-CoV-2 infection is the acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) caused by the hyperinflammatory response (commonly called cytokine storm) of the lung macrophages.

Macrophage Proinflammatory Responses to Microorganisms and Transplanted Organs.

Tissue-resident macrophages and those conscripted from the blood/bone marrow are professional phagocytes. They play a role in tissue homeostasis, replacement, and healing, and are the first-line responders to microbial (viral, bacterial, and fungi) infections. Intrinsic ameboid-type motility allows non-resident macrophages to move to the site of inflammation or injury, where, in response to the inflammatory milieu they perform the anti-microbial and/or tissue repair functions.

The Macrophages and Intestinal Symbiosis.

The human intestinal tract is inhabited by trillions of microorganisms and houses the largest pool of macrophages in the human body. Being a part of the innate immune system, the macrophages, the professional phagocytes, vigorously respond to the microbial and dietary antigens present in the intestine. Because such a robust immune response poses the danger to the survival of the non-harmful and beneficial gut microbiota, the macrophages developed mechanisms of recognition and hyposensitivity toward the non-harmful/beneficial inhabitants of the gut.

The Central Role of Cadherins in Gonad Development, Reproduction, and Fertility.

Cadherins are a group of membrane proteins responsible for cell adhesion. They are crucial for cell sorting and recognition during the morphogenesis, but they also play many other roles such as assuring tissue integrity and resistance to stretching, mechanotransduction, cell signaling, regulation of cell proliferation, apoptosis, survival, carcinogenesis, etc. Within the cadherin superfamily, E- and N-cadherin have been especially well studied.

Macrophages in diabetes mellitus (DM) and COVID-19: do they trigger DM?

Diabetes mellitus (DM) augments the risk of hospitalization and mortality resulting from viral, bacterial, or fungal pathogen infection. This has been also true for the past SARS and MERS, and current SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus epidemics. Clinical data indicate that SARS-CoV-2 infection triggers a severe course of COVID-19 more frequently in diabetic than non-diabetic patients.

Children were less frequently infected with SARS-CoV-2 than adults during 2020 COVID-19 pandemic in Warsaw, Poland.

Clinical data suggest that during the current COVID-19 pandemic, children are less prone than adults to SARS-CoV-2 infection. Our purpose was to determine the frequency of SARS-CoV-2 in children vs. adults during the 2020 pandemic in Warsaw, Poland, and to investigate whether RSV and/or influenza A/B infections were associated with SARS-CoV-2 infections.

The Role of Genetic Sex and Mitochondria in Response to COVID-19 Infection.

The difference between the female and male immune response to COVID-19 infection, and infections in general, is multifactorial. The well-known determiners of the immune response, such as X and Y chromosomes, sex hormones, and microbiota, are functionally interconnected and influence each other in shaping the organism's immunity. We focus our commentary on the interplay between the genetic sex and mitochondria and how this may affect a sex-dependent immune response in COVID-19 infection.

Development of child immunity in the context of COVID-19 pandemic.

Children, because of having an immature immune system, are usually more prone than the adults to the microbial infections and have more severe symptoms, which is especially true for the newborns, and very young children. However, the review of clinical data from the current COVID-19 pandemic indicates otherwise. We discuss here what are the main features and components of children's immune system, the role of maternal transmission of immunity, and what are the possible explanations for the seemingly lower infection rate and severity of COVI-19 in children.

How nicotine can inhibit cytokine storm in the lungs and prevent or lessen the severity of COVID-19 infection?

Statistical surveys of COVID-19 patients indicate, against all common logic, that people who smoke are less prone to the infection and/or exhibit less severe respiratory symptoms than non-smokers. This suggests that nicotine may have some preventive or modulatory effect on the inflammatory response in the lungs. Because it is known that the response to, and resolution of the SARS-CoV-2 infection depends mainly on the lung macrophages, we discuss the recent scientific findings, which may explain why and how nicotine may modulate lung macrophage response during COVID-19 infection.

N-Cadherin Is Critical for the Survival of Germ Cells, the Formation of Steroidogenic Cells, and the Architecture of Developing Mouse Gonads.

Normal gonad development assures the fertility of the individual. The properly functioning gonads must contain a sufficient number of the viable germ cells, possess a correct architecture and tissue structure, and assure the proper hormonal regulation. This is achieved by the interplay between the germ cells and different types of somatic cells.

Mathematical Model Explaining the Role of CDC6 in the Diauxic Growth of CDK1 Activity during the M-Phase of the Cell Cycle.

In this paper we propose a role for the CDC 6 protein in the entry of cells into mitosis. This has not been considered in the literature so far. Recent experiments suggest that CDC 6 , upon entry into mitosis, inhibits the appearance of active CDK 1 and cyclin B complexes.

RhoA Pathway and Actin Regulation of the Golgi/Centriole Complex.

In vertebrate cells, the Golgi apparatus is located in close proximity to the centriole. The architecture of the Golgi/centriole complex depends on a multitude of factors, including the actin filament cytoskeleton. In turn, both the Golgi and centriole act as the actin nucleation centers.

Tissue-specific knockout of E-cadherin (Cdh1) in developing mouse gonads causes germ cells loss.

The normal course of gonad development is critical for the sexual development and reproductive capacity of the individual. During development, an incipient bipotential gonad which consists of unorganized aggregate of cells, must differentiate into highly structured testis or ovary. Cell adhesion molecules (CAMs) are a group of proteins crucial for segregation and aggregation of different cell types to form different tissues.

Characterisation of white and yellow eye colour mutant strains of house cricket, Acheta domesticus.

Two eye-colour mutant strains, white (W) and yellow (Y) of house cricket Acheta domesticus were established in our laboratory. We phenotyped and genotyped the mutants, performed genetic crossings and studied the eye structure and pigment composition using light and electron microscopy and biochemical analysis. We show that W and Y phenotypes are controlled by a single autosomal recessive allele, as both traits are metabolically independent.

Modeling Cell Reactions to Ionizing Radiation: From a Lesion to a Cancer.

This article focuses on the analytic modeling of responses of cells in the body to ionizing radiation. The related mechanisms are consecutively taken into account and discussed. A model of the dose- and time-dependent adaptive response is considered for 2 exposure categories: acute and protracted.