eDNA based bycatch assessment in pelagic fish catches

Pelagic fish like herring, sardines, and mackerel constitute an essential and nutritious human food source globally. Their sustainable harvest is promoted by the application of precise, accurate, and cost-effective methods for estimating bycatch. Here, we experimentally test the new concept of using eDNA for quantitative bycatch assessment on the illustrative example of the Baltic Sea sprat fisheries with herring bycatch. We investigate the full pipeline from sampling of production water on vessels and in processing factories to the estimation of species weight fractions. Using a series of controlled mixture experiments, we demonstrate that the eDNA signal from production water shows a strong, seasonally consistent linear relationship with herring weight fractions, however, the relationship is influenced by the molecular method used (qPCR or metabarcoding). In four large sprat landings analyzed, despite examples of remarkable consistency between eDNA and visual reporting, estimates of herring bycatch biomass varied between the methods applied, with the eDNA-based estimates having the highest precision for all landings analyzed. The eDNA-based bycatch assessment method has the potential to improve the quality and cost effectiveness of bycatch assessment in large pelagic fisheries catches and in the long run lead to more sustainable management of pelagic fish as a precious marine resource.

Cooperativity, Information Gain, and Energy Cost During Early LTP in Dendritic Spines

We investigate a mutual relationship between information and energy during the early phase of LTP induction and maintenance in a large-scale system of mutually coupled dendritic spines, with discrete internal states and probabilistic dynamics, within the framework of nonequilibrium stochastic thermodynamics. In order to analyze this computationally intractable stochastic multidimensional system, we introduce a pair approximation, which allows us to reduce the spine dynamics into a lower-dimensional manageable system of closed equations. We found that the rates of information gain and energy attain their maximal values during an initial period of LTP (i.e., during stimulation), and after that, they recover to their baseline low values, as opposed to a memory trace that lasts much longer. This suggests that the learning phase is much more energy demanding than the memory phase. We show that positive correlations between neighboring spines increase both a duration of memory trace and energy cost during LTP, but the memory time per invested energy increases dramatically for very strong, positive synaptic cooperativity, suggesting a beneficial role of synaptic clustering on memory duration. In contrast, information gain after LTP is the largest for negative correlations, and energy efficiency of that information generally declines with increasing synaptic cooperativity. We also find that dendritic spines can use sparse representations for encoding long-term information, as both energetic and structural efficiencies of retained information and its lifetime exhibit maxima for low fractions of stimulated synapses during LTP. Moreover, we find that such efficiencies drop significantly with increasing the number of spines. In general, our stochastic thermodynamics approach provides a unifying framework for studying, from first principles, information encoding, and its energy cost during learning and memory in stochastic systems of interacting synapses.

Information encoded in volumes and areas of dendritic spines is nearly maximal across mammalian brains

Many experiments suggest that long-term information associated with neuronal memory resides collectively in dendritic spines. However, spines can have a limited size due to metabolic and neuroanatomical constraints, which should effectively limit the amount of encoded information in excitatory synapses. This study investigates how much information can be stored in the population of sizes of dendritic spines, and whether it is optimal in any sense. It is shown here, using empirical data for several mammalian brains across different regions and physiological conditions, that dendritic spines nearly maximize entropy contained in their volumes and surface areas for a given mean size in cortical and hippocampal regions. Although both short- and heavy-tailed fitting distributions approach [Formula: see text] of maximal entropy in the majority of cases, the best maximization is obtained primarily for short-tailed gamma distribution. We find that most empirical ratios of standard deviation to mean for spine volumes and areas are in the range [Formula: see text], which is close to the theoretical optimal ratios coming from entropy maximization for gamma and lognormal distributions. On average, the highest entropy is contained in spine length ([Formula: see text] bits per spine), and the lowest in spine volume and area ([Formula: see text] bits), although the latter two are closer to optimality. In contrast, we find that entropy density (entropy per spine size) is always suboptimal. Our results suggest that spine sizes are almost as random as possible given the constraint on their size, and moreover the general principle of entropy maximization is applicable and potentially useful to information and memory storing in the population of cortical and hippocampal excitatory synapses, and to predicting their morphological properties.

Correlation of selected serum protein levels with the degree of disability and NEDA-3 status in multiple sclerosis phenotypes

OBJECTIVE

Multiple sclerosis (MS) is a multifactorial disease that begins in 80-85% of patients as a relapsing-remitting form (RRMS), and about 50% of patients gradually develop a secondary progressive form (SPMS). Approximately 10-20% of patients are affected primarily by the progressive form (PPMS) of this disease, which is characterised by a progressive course. This work focuses on the detection of potential protein biomarkers (CHI3L1, sNfL, CXCL13, MCP-1, MMP-2, and MMP-9) in the serum of patients with multiple sclerosis, divided according to phenotype.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We detected serum (RRMS: n=40, SPMS: n=25, PPMS: n=15) concentrations of selected markers of demyelination and inflammation using ELISA and zymographic determination for accurate and reproducible recognition of individual forms of MS, as well as a comparison of their levels with a worsening of no evidence of disease activity (NEDA-3) status and patients' disability.

RESULTS

We detected that concentrations of sNfL in the blood of patients with PMS were higher than in those with RRMS (about 46%, p<0.001). The association with a worsening of NEDA-3 status was confirmed in the RRMS group by positive correlation of sNfL and the expanded disability status scale (EDSS) score (r=0.579, p<0.01). The levels of MCP-1 protein were not significantly different in patients with the RRMS to the progressive form of MS (r=0.58, p=0.02), while the levels of CHI3L1 in both the RRMS and PMS groups were significantly increased in groups with evidence of disease activity (RRMS about 76%, p<0.001 and PMS about 62%, p<0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

Earlier and non-invasive detection of serum biomarkers and their correlations with neurological disability can help to recognise the transition from RRMS to progressive forms of MS and complement the results of clinical and radiological follow-up of the patient and potentially help in monitoring the patient's response to the treatment.

Thermal Waves and Heat Transfer Efficiency Enhancement in Harmonically Modulated Turbulent Thermal Convection

We study turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection over four decades of Rayleigh numbers 4×10^{8}<Ra<2×10^{12}, while harmonically modulating the temperatures of the plates of our cylindrical cell. We probe the flow by temperature sensors placed in the cell interior and embedded in the highly conducting copper plates and detect thermal waves propagating at modulation frequency in the bulk of the convective flow. We confirm the recent numerical prediction [Yang et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 125, 154502 (2020)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.125.154502] of the significant enhancement of the Nusselt number and report its dependence on the frequency and amplitude of the temperature modulation of plates.

Expression of selected inflammatory proteins and metalloproteinases in periodontitis

OBJECTIVE

Periodontitis is a chronic inflammatory disease caused by microbial dental plaque which leads to the destruction and loss of supporting tissues of the tooth. Microbial plaque alone, however, is not enough to cause the disease. The body's response plays an important role, in which an imbalance between the pro-inflammatory and anti-inflammatory effects of cytokines leads to an inflammatory reaction.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

We detected changes in mRNA expression and protein levels of MIP-1α, and metalloproteinases (MMP-2, MMP-9) contributing to cascades in the initiation and progression of inflammatory bone resorption and destruction of periodontal soft tissues in patients with aggressive (AP) or chronic (CP) forms of periodontitis in comparison with healthy individuals (control).

RESULTS

MIP-1α mRNA levels were highest in AP (280 ± 23% higher than the control) also in comparison with CP. The difference in protein level was less pronounced. MMP-2 mRNA expression values were similar (300 ± 12% higher in comparison with control), but protein levels were lower, also when compared to CP. Only in CP MMP-9 mRNA levels were significantly higher than the control (30 ± 8%), while protein levels were again higher in AP. Both AP and CP showed a positive correlation between the level of MIP-1a and MMP-2 (0.879, and 0.954 respectively). However, a strong positive correlation was only found between the levels of MMP-2 and MMP-9 in CP (0.812).

CONCLUSIONS

MIP-1α, MMP-2 and MMP-9 mRNA expression, along with the concentration of proteins in saliva in patients with periodontal disease, is higher than in healthy individuals and correlates with the severity of the disease.

DNA-metabarcoding reveals the importance of gelatinous zooplankton in the diet of Pandalus borealis, a keystone species in the Arctic

Information about the dietary composition of a species is crucial to understanding their position and role in the food web. Increasingly molecular approaches such as DNA-metabarcoding are used in studying trophic relations, not least because they may alleviate problems such as low taxonomic resolution or underestimation of digestible taxa in the diet. Here, we used DNA-metabarcoding with universal primers for cytochrome c oxidase I (COI), to study the diet composition of the Northern shrimp (Pandalus borealis), an Arctic keystone species with large socio-economic importance. Across locations, jellyfish and chaetognaths were the most important components in the diet of P. borealis, jointly accounting for 40-60% of the total read abundance. This dietary importance of gelatinous zooplankton contrasts sharply with published results based on SCA. At the same time, diet composition differed between fjord and shelf locations, pointing to different food webs supporting P. borealis in these two systems. Our study underscores the potential of molecular approaches to provide new insights into the diet of marine invertebrates that are difficult to obtain with traditional methods, and calls for a revision of the role of gelatinous zooplankton in the diet of the key Arctic species P. borealis, and in extension, Arctic food webs.

The Role of Interhemispheric Interactions in Cortical Plasticity

Despite the fact that there is a growing awareness to the callosal connections between hemispheres the two hemispheres of the brain are commonly treated as independent structures when peripheral or cortical manipulations are applied to one of them. The contralateral hemisphere is often used as a within-animal control of plastic changes induced onto the other side of the brain. This ensures uniform conditions for producing experimental and control data, but it may overlook possible interhemispheric interactions. In this paper we provide, for the first time, direct proof that cortical, experience-dependent plasticity is not a unilateral, independent process. We mapped metabolic brain activity in rats with 2-[¹⁴C] deoxyglucose (2DG) following experience-dependent plasticity induction after a month of unilateral (left), partial whiskers deprivation (only row B was left). This resulted in ∼45% widening of the cortical sensory representation of the spared whiskers in the right, contralateral barrel field (BF). We show that the width of 2DG visualized representation is less than 20% when only contralateral stimulation of the spared row of whiskers is applied in immobilized animals. This means that cortical map remodeling, which is induced by experience-dependent plasticity mechanisms, depends partially on the contralateral hemisphere. The response, which is observed by 2DG brain mapping in the partially deprived BF after standard synchronous bilateral whiskers stimulation, is therefore the outcome of at least two separately activated plasticity mechanisms. A focus on the integrated nature of cortical plasticity, which is the outcome of the emergent interactions between deprived and non-deprived areas in both hemispheres may have important implications for learning and rehabilitation. There is also a clear implication that there is nothing like “control hemisphere” since any plastic changes in one hemisphere have to have influence on functioning of the opposite one.

Spreading Depressions and Periinfarct Spreading Depolarizations in the Context of Cortical Plasticity

Studies of cortical function-recovery require a comparison between normal and post-stroke conditions that lead to changes in cortical metaplasticity. Focal cortical stroke impairs experience-dependent plasticity in the neighboring somatosensory cortex and usually evokes periinfarct depolarizations (PiDs) - spreading depression-like waves. Experimentally induced spreading depressions (SDs) affect gene expression and some of these changes persist for at least 30 days. In this study we compare the effects of non-stroke depolarizations that impair cortical experience-dependent plasticity to the effects of stroke, by inducing experience-dependent plasticity in rats with SDs or PiDs by a month of contralateral partial whiskers deprivation. We found that whiskers' deprivation after SDs resulted in normal cortical representation enlargement suggesting that SDs and PiDs depolarization have no influence on experience-dependent plasticity cortical map reorganization. PiDs and the MMP-9, -3, -2 or COX-2 proteins, which are assumed to influence metaplasticity in rats after stroke were compared between SDs induced by high osmolarity KCl solution and the PiDs that followed cortical photothrombotic stroke (PtS). We found that none of these factors directly caused cortical post-stroke metaplasticity changes. The only significant difference between stoke and induced SD was a greater imbalance in interhemispheric activity equilibrium after stroke. The interhemispheric interactions that were modified by stroke may therefore be promising targets for future studies of post-stroke experience-dependent plasticity and of recuperation studies.

Study of the K-S distance on skulls from different modern populations for sex and ancestry determination

In forensic science determination of the origin and sex of skeletal remains is an important task for identification purposes. In this study we investigated the krotaphion-sphenion distance (K‑S distance) in the pterion region of German, Euro-American, African-American and Rwandan skulls of modern individuals from the nineteenth to the twenty-first century to look for statistically significant differences in sex and ancestry. We found a statistically significant sex-specific difference in the K‑S distance, which was greater in male skulls than in female skulls for both sides of the skull. Our study also showed that there is a statistically significant difference in the K‑S distance between the four populations studied. Landmarks and morphometric parameters measured in our investigations, which were not used for the present examination were provided to the software program Fordisc for its reference data to enhance the range of its usability for identification of unknown skulls or partial skulls of European individuals.

The effects of temperature on the proxies of visual detection of Danio rerio larvae: observations from the optic tectum

Numerous studies have indicated that temperature improves the visual capabilities of different ectotherms, including a variety of fish species. However, none of these studies has directly tested whether elevated temperature extends the visual detection distance - the distance from which a visual stimulus is detected. To test this hypothesis, we investigated the effect of temperature on the visual detection distance of zebrafish (Danio rerio) larvae by measuring the largest distance from a moving target that induced a neural response in the optic tectum. We applied advanced methods of functional calcium imaging such as selective plane illumination microscopy in combination with a miniature OLED screen. The screen displayed an artificial, mobile prey, appearing in the visual field of the larvae. We performed experiments in three temperature treatments (18, 23 and 28°C) on transgenic fish expressing a fluorescent probe (GCaMP5G) that changes intensity in response to altered Ca2+ concentrations in the nerves in the optic tectum. Based on the obtained data, we also measured three additional parameters of the neural response in the optic tectum, each being a proxy of sensitivity to changes in the stimulus movement. We did not confirm our hypothesis, since the visual detection distance shortened as the temperature increased. Moreover, all of the three additional parameters indicated a negative effect of the temperature on the speed of the neural response to the stimuli. However, the obtained results could be explained not only by worse visual capabilities at the elevated temperature, but also by the differences in the visual field and in turn, the retinotopic location of the visual stimulus between the temperature treatments, since the stimulus in the experiments moved horizontally rather than forward and backward from the fish's eye.

Thermal radiation in Rayleigh-Bénard convection experiments

An important question in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection (RBC) is the effectiveness of convective heat transport, which is conveniently described via the scaling of the Nusselt number (Nu) with the Rayleigh (Ra) and Prandtl (Pr) numbers. In RBC experiments, the heat supplied to the bottom plate is also partly transferred by thermal radiation. This heat transport channel, acting in parallel with the convective and conductive heat transport channels, is usually considered insignificant and thus neglected. Here we present a detailed analysis of conventional far-field as well as strongly enhanced near-field radiative heat transport occurring in various RBC experiments. A careful inclusion of the radiative transport appreciably changes the Nu=Nu(Ra) scaling inferred in turbulent RBC experiments near ambient temperature utilizing gaseous nitrogen and sulfur hexafluoride as working fluids. On the other hand, neither the conventional far-field radiation nor the strongly enhanced near-field radiative heat transport appreciably affects the heat transport law deduced in cryogenic helium RBC experiments.

The Mixture of Autoregressive Hidden Markov Models of Morphology for Dentritic Spines During Activation Process

The dendritic spines play a crucial role in learning and memory processes, epileptogenesis, drug addiction, and postinjury recovery. The shape of the dendritic spine is a morphological key to understand learning and memory process. The classification of the dendritic spines is based on their shapes but the major questions are how the shapes changes in time, how the synaptic strength changes, and is there a correlation between shapes and synaptic strength? Because the changes of the classes by dendritic spines during activation are time dependent, the forward-directed autoregressive hidden Markov model (ARHMM) can be used to model these changes. It is also more appropriate to use an ARHMM directed backward in time. Thus, the mixture of forward-directed ARHMM and backward-directed ARHMM (MARHMM) is used to model time-dependent data related to the dendritic spines. In this article, we discuss (1) how to choose the initial probability vector and transition and dependence matrices in ARHMM and MARHMM for modeling the dendritic spines changes and (2) how to estimate these matrices. Many descriptors to classify dendritic spines in two-dimensional or/and three-dimensional (3D) are available. Our results from sensitivity analysis show that the classification that comes from 3D descriptors is closer to the truth, and estimated transition and dependence probability matrices are connected with the molecular mechanism of the dendritic spines activation.

Paediatric stroke - a review of current guidelines for diagnosis and treatment

Stroke, increasingly recognised in children in recent years, is an important cause of long-term morbidity and disability. It can be classified by the stroke type as either arterial ischaemic stroke (AIS), haemorrhagic stroke (HS), or cerebral sinovenous thrombosis (CSVT). Furthermore, perinatal and childhood stroke can be distinguished. A wide range of conditions associated with paediatric stroke has been identified, which differ significantly from those in adults. A paediatric stroke can also present with a variety of symptoms and signs, both specific and non-specific. Because of the diversity of the underlying risk factors, limited awareness among the medical community, and therefore insufficient recognition of paediatric stroke symptoms, diagnosis can be difficult and is often delayed. This limits access to acute interventions. The goal of this paper was to examine the current guidelines for the diagnosis and treatment of paediatric stroke.

Molecular recognition of aortic valve stenosis and regurgitation

OBJECTIVE

Aortic valve stenosis (AS) presents a disease during which there are changes of the aortic valve structure that modify the blood structure of patients. The aim of this study was to improve the effectiveness of differential diagnostics of aortic stenosis and aortic regurgitation using molecular techniques on both mRNA (RT-PCR) and protein (biochip protein).

PATIENTS AND METHODS

An experimental group (n = 58) consisting of patients with aortic valve stenosis (n = 26) and aortic regurgitation (AR, n = 32) was compared with a control group (n = 35). Both blood serum and valve tissue samples were used for the determination of gene expression specific genes related to inflammatory response (CRP, IL6, IL2R, IL6R, TNFR1, and 2) as well as genes and proteins involved in remodeling of the extracellular matrix (MMP9, TIMP, Emilin-1).

RESULTS

We found that hsCRP and IL6 plasma levels of patients with AS were higher than both controls and patients with AR (mean 5.6 ng/ml). The differences between AS and AR were detected only in mRNA levels of MMP9 and TIMP where increased levels characteristic for AS were found (about 74%, p < 0.01 and 87%, p < 0.001 higher than AR).

CONCLUSIONS

The achieved results could contribute to the improvement of early diagnosis of selected cardiovascular disease in the future and improve the quality of patient's life.

Combined effects of elevated epilimnetic temperature and metalimnetic hypoxia on the predation rate of planktivorous fish

Increased temperature in the epilimnion and hypoxia in the metalimnion of a lake would result in an increase of positive-size-selective fish predation on zooplankton and in turn in a decrease of mean body size in zooplankton populations and communities. We tested this hypothesis in four types of experiments with juvenile rudd (Scardinius erythrophthalmus) foraging on Daphnia longispina in an indoor twin column tank system. In each experiment of the first three types, one column contained one of three types of experimental treatments differing from the control treatment (in the other column) by the following: (i) elevated temperature in the epilimnion, (ii) hypoxia in the metalimnion and (iii) simultaneous elevated temperature in the epilimnion and hypoxia in the metalimnion. In the fourth type of experiment, the gradients of temperature and oxygen concentration in both columns were the same, but prior to the experiments, Daphnia and fish in the control treatment were acclimated to normoxia and, in the experimental treatment, to hypoxia. The results confirmed our hypothesis, since the predation rate of fish was greater in each of the first three experimental treatments than in the control. We did not detect an effect of the acclimation to hypoxia on the predation rate of the fish.

Dendritic Spines Taxonomy: The Functional and Structural Classification • Time-Dependent Probabilistic Model of Neuronal Activation

Categorizing spines into four subpopulations, stubby, mushroom, thin, or filopodia, is one of the common approaches in morphological analysis. Most cellular models describing synaptic plasticity, long-term potentiation (LTP), and long-term depression associate synaptic strength with either spine enlargement or spine shrinkage. Unfortunately, although we have a lot of available software with automatic spine segmentation and feature extraction methods, at present none of them allows for automatic and unbiased distinction between dendritic spine subpopulations, or for the detailed computational models of spine behavior. Therefore, we propose structural classification based on two different mathematical approaches: unsupervised construction of spine shape taxonomy based on arbitrary features (SpineTool) and supervised classification exploiting convolution kernels theory (2dSpAn). We compared two populations of spines in a form of static and dynamic data sets gathered at three time points. The dynamic data contain two sets of spines: the active set and the control set. The first population was stimulated with LTP, and the other population in its resting state was used as a control population. We propose one equation describing the distribution of variables that best fits all dendritic spine parameters.

Elusive transition to the ultimate regime of turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection

By using cryogenic ^{4}He gas as the working fluid in a cylindrical cell 0.3 m in both height and diameter, we study the influence of non-Oberbeck-Boussinesq (NOB) effects on the heat transfer in turbulent Rayleigh-Bénard convection (RBC). We show that the NOB effects increase the heat transfer efficiency when the top plate temperature closely approaches the saturation vapor curve even far away from the critical point. Viewed in this light, our analysis points to the likelihood that the claim of having observed the transition to Kraichnan's ultimate regime, under nominally similar conditions in the experiments with SF_{6} [Phys. Rev. Lett. 108, 024502 (2012)PRLTAO0031-900710.1103/PhysRevLett.108.024502], is probably an NOB effect and the important issue of the transition to the ultimate state of RBC remains open.

Evaluation of molecular changes of distal organs after small bowel transplantation

The ischemia and reperfusion of a jejunal graft during transplantation triggers the stress of endoplasmic reticulum thus inducing the synthesis of pro-inflammatory cytokines. Spreading of these signals stimulate immunological reactions in distal tissues, i.e. lung, liver and spleen. The aim of this study was to detect the molecular changes in liver and spleen induced by transplanted jejunal graft with one or six hours of reperfusion (group Tx1 and Tx6). Analysis of gene expression changes of inflammatory mediators (TNF-alpha, IL-10) and specific chaperones (Gadd153, Grp78) derived from endoplasmic reticulum (ER) was done and compared to control group. The qRT-PCR method was used for amplification of the specific genes. The levels of corresponding proteins were detected by Western blot with immunodetection. Protein TNF-alpha was in liver tissue significantly overexpressed in the experimental group Tx1 by 48 % (p<0.001). In the group Tx6 we found decreased levels of the same protein to the level of controls. However, the protein concentrations of TNF-alpha in spleen showed increased levels in group Tx1 by 31 % (p<0.001) but even higher levels in the group Tx6 by 115 % (p<0.001) in comparing to controls. Our data demonstrated that the spleen is more sensitive to post-transplantation inflammation than liver, with consequent stress of ER potentially inducing apoptosis and failure of basic functions of lymphoid tissue.

Ideal free distribution of Daphnia under predation risk-model predictions and experimental verification

The vertical distribution of planktonic animals, such as Daphnia, in overlapping gradients of food concentration and risk of visual predation should depend on Daphnia population density and should be the result of the group effect of optimizing decisions taken by each individual (juvenile or adult), trading-off a high growth rate to low mortality risk. We tested this hypothesis by comparing the theoretical distributions from simulations based on an experimentally parameterized, optimizing individual-based model (consistent with the assumptions of the concept of the interference ideal free distribution with costs) with distributions observed in laboratory experiments. The simulations were generated for two scenarios, where the shape of the functional response of fish is consistent with either type II or III. The results confirmed the hypothesis. The greatest similarity of the distributions obtained in the experiments and simulations was found for the simulations based on the scenario assuming the type III rather than type II for both age classes of Daphnia. This was consistent with the results of the experiments for the model parameterization, which revealed the type III functional response of fish. Therefore, the results suggest that aggregating may be maladaptive as an anti-vertebrate-predation defense in the case of zooplankton.

Training in Temporal Information Processing Ameliorates Phonetic Identification

Many studies revealed a link between temporal information processing (TIP) in a millisecond range and speech perception. Previous studies indicated a dysfunction in TIP accompanied by deficient phonemic hearing in children with specific language impairment (SLI). In this study we concentrate in SLI on phonetic identification, using the voice-onset-time (VOT) phenomenon in which TIP is built-in. VOT is crucial for speech perception, as stop consonants (like /t/ vs. /d/) may be distinguished by an acoustic difference in time between the onsets of the consonant (stop release burst) and the following vibration of vocal folds (voicing). In healthy subjects two categories (voiced and unvoiced) are determined using VOT task. The present study aimed at verifying whether children with SLI indicate a similar pattern of phonetic identification as their healthy peers and whether the intervention based on TIP results in improved performance on the VOT task. Children aged from 5 to 8 years (n = 47) were assigned into two groups: normal children without any language disability (NC, n = 20), and children with SLI (n = 27). In the latter group participants were randomly classified into two treatment subgroups, i.e., experimental temporal training (EG, n = 14) and control non-temporal training (CG, n = 13). The analyzed indicators of phonetic identification were: (1) the boundary location (α) determined as the VOT value corresponding to 50% voicing/unvoicing distinctions; (2) ranges of voiced/unvoiced categories; (3) the slope of identification curve (β) reflecting the identification correctness; (4) percent of voiced distinctions within the applied VOT spectrum. The results indicated similar α values and similar ranges of voiced/unvoiced categories between SLI and NC. However, β in SLI was significantly higher than that in NC. After the intervention, the significant improvement of β was observed only in EG. They achieved the level of performance comparable to that observed in NC. The training-related improvement in CG was non-significant. Furthermore, only in EG the β values in post-test correlated with measures of TIP as well as with phonemic hearing obtained in our previous studies. These findings provide another evidence that TIP is omnipresent in language communication and reflected not only in phonemic hearing but also in phonetic identification.

A randomized adaptive phase II/III study of buparlisib, a pan-class I PI3K inhibitor, combined with paclitaxel for the treatment of HER2- advanced breast cancer (BELLE-4)

Background

Phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3K) pathway activation in preclinical models of breast cancer is associated with tumor growth and resistance to anticancer therapies, including paclitaxel. Effects of the pan-Class I PI3K inhibitor buparlisib (BKM120) appear synergistic with paclitaxel in preclinical and clinical models.

Patients and methods

BELLE-4 was a 1:1 randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, adaptive phase II/III study investigating the combination of buparlisib or placebo with paclitaxel in women with human epidermal growth factor receptor 2-negative locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer with no prior chemotherapy for advanced disease. Patients were stratified by PI3K pathway activation and hormone receptor status. The primary endpoint was progression-free survival (PFS) in the full and PI3K pathway-activated populations. An adaptive interim analysis was planned following the phase II part of the study, after ≥125 PFS events had occurred in the full population, to decide whether the study would enter phase III (in the full or PI3K pathway-activated population) or be stopped for futility.

Results

As of August 2014, 416 patients were randomized to receive buparlisib (207) or placebo (209) with paclitaxel. At adaptive interim analysis, there was no improvement in PFS with buparlisib versus placebo in the full (median PFS 8.0 versus 9.2 months, hazard ratio [HR] 1.18), or PI3K pathway-activated population (median PFS 9.1 versus 9.2 months, HR 1.17). The study met protocol-specified criteria for futility in both populations, and phase III was not initiated. Median duration of study treatment exposure was 3.5 months in the buparlisib arm versus 4.6 months in the placebo arm. The most frequent adverse events with buparlisib plus paclitaxel (≥40% of patients) were diarrhea, alopecia, rash, nausea, and hyperglycemia.

Conclusions

Addition of buparlisib to paclitaxel did not improve PFS in the full or PI3K pathway-activated study population. Consequently, the trial was stopped for futility at the end of phase II.

[The Importance of MITF Signaling Pathway in the Regulation of Proliferation and Invasiveness of Malignant Melanoma]

BACKGROUND

Malignant melanoma is one of the most aggressive types of cancers. Melanoma is derived from pigment-producing cells, melanocytes, which are characterized by a specific survival mechanism. Microphthalmia-associated transcription factor (MITF-M) plays a role in the metabolism of melanoma and is involved in the regulation of the expression of multiple genes mediating processes such as melanogenesis, proliferation, differentiation, and melanocyte survival. The expression of this transcription factor in melanocytes is activated by several signaling pathways, and reduced expression or function of MITF-M can cause the dysregulation of anti-apoptotic mechanisms. MITF-M is also involved in matrix metalloproteinase 14 (MMP14) activity, which is responsible for shape changes in melanocytes and increases in their motility and invasiveness. Very low levels of expression of MITF-M are found in human melanocytes with an invasive phenotype, indicating that this transcription factor acts as a suppressor of the metastatic process. Cancer cells with low expression of cytosolic/nuclear β-catenin have a small amount of MITF-M 14 that is insufficient to inhibit MMP transcription. The enzyme catalyzes the degradation of laminin and fibronectin, thereby changing the shape of melanocytes, which leads to their increased mobility and invasiveness.

AIMS

This review describes the regulatory pathway of MITF-M activation, its involvement in the proliferation of transformed melanocytes, and its role in increasing the invasiveness of malignant melanoma. A detailed understanding of the MITF-M signaling pathway is highly topical and could help to develop new diagnostic and therapeutic applications for patients with malignant melanoma.Key words: neoplastic cell transformation - melanoma - MITF transcription factorThis work was supported by grant projects VEGA 1/0115/14 and VEGA 1/0873/16.The authors declare they have no potential confl icts of interest concerning drugs, products, or services used in the study.The Editorial Board declares that the manuscript met the ICMJE recommendation for biomedical papers.Submitted: 4. 12. 2015Accepted: 14. 6. 2016.

Phase II study of buparlisib (BKM120) and trastuzumab in patients with HER2+ locally advanced or metastatic breast cancer resistant to trastuzumab-based therapy

PURPOSE

A Phase Ib study in patients with trastuzumab-resistant, human epidermal growth factor receptor-2- (HER2)-positive advanced breast cancer defined the recommended Phase II dose of buparlisib as 100 mg/day in combination with 2 mg/kg weekly trastuzumab, and reported preliminary signs of clinical activity. Here we present results from the Phase II portion.

METHODS

Patients with trastuzumab-resistant, HER2-positive advanced breast cancer received buparlisib plus trastuzumab. Study endpoints included safety/tolerability and antitumour activity. The study was extended to include a Phase Ib dose-escalation phase, in which patients with progressive brain metastases also received capecitabine.

RESULTS

In the Phase II portion, of 50 patients treated with buparlisib and trastuzumab, the most common (≥ 30%) all-grade adverse events (AEs) were diarrhoea (54%), nausea (48%), decreased appetite, increased alanine aminotransferase (36% each), increased aspartate aminotransferase (34%), fatigue, rash (32% each), cough and hyperglycemia (30% each). One (2%) patient achieved complete response and four (8%) patients had confirmed partial responses [PR; including two patients with phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase (PI3 K) pathway-activated tumours]. Overall response rate (ORR) was 10%: the primary endpoint (ORR ≥ 25%) was therefore not met. In the Phase Ib portion, all patients with measurable brain lesions at baseline showed tumour shrinkage to some degree; due to low enrollment, maximum tolerated dose of buparlisib in combination with trastuzumab and capecitabine was not determined.

CONCLUSION

Buparlisib plus trastuzumab, as a chemotherapy-free regimen, demonstrated an acceptable safety profile but limited efficacy in patients with heavily pretreated, trastuzumab-resistant HER2-positive breast cancer, and in patients with progressive brain metastases also receiving capecitabine.

The unusual tracheal system within the wing membrane of a dragonfly

Some consider that the first winged insects had living tissue inside the wing membrane, resembling larval gills or developing wing pads. However, throughout the developmental process of the wing membrane of modern insects, cells and tracheoles in the lumen between dorsal and ventral cuticle disappear and both cuticles become fused. This process results in the rather thin rigid stable structure of the membrane. The herewith described remarkable case of the dragonfly Zenithoptera lanei shows that in some highly specialized wings, the membrane can still be supplemented by tracheae. Such a characteristic of the wing membrane presumably represents a strong specialization for the synthesis of melanin-filled nanolayers of the cuticle, nanospheres inside the wing membrane and complex arrangement of wax crystals on the membrane surface, all responsible for unique structural coloration.

RADON CHAMBER IN THE CENTRAL MINING INSTITUTE-THE CALIBRATION FACILITY FOR RADON AND RADON PROGENY MONITORS

The article presents the advantages of the radon chamber with volume of 17 m3, that belongs to Silesian Centre for Environmental Radioactivity and its applicability for calibration of equipment designed to measure the radon concentration and its short-lived decay products. The chamber can be operated under controlled conditions in the range from -20 to 60°C and relative humidity from 20 to 90%. There is also discussed the influence of aerosol concentration and their size distribution on the calibration results. When calibrating the measuring devices in an atmosphere with a large contribution of ultrafine particles that are defined as particles with diameter <0.1 μm, their sensitivity may decrease by tens of percent.

MEASUREMENTS OF AIRBORNE CONCENTRATIONS OF RADON AND THORON DECAY PRODUCTS

Liquid scintillation counting (LSC) is a measuring technique, broadly applied in environmental monitoring of radionuclides. One of the possible applications of LSC is the measurement of radon and thoron decay products. But this method is suitable only for grab sampling. For long-term measurements a different technique can be applied-monitors of potential alpha energy concentration (PAEC) with thermoluminescent detectors (TLD). In these devices, called Alfa-2000 sampling probe, TL detectors (CaSO4:Dy) are applied for alpha particles counting. Three independent heads are placed over the membrane filter in a dust sampler's microcyclone. Such solution enables simultaneous measurements of PAEC and dust content. Moreover, the information which is stored in TLD chips is the energy of alpha particles, not the number of counted particles. Therefore, the readout of TL detector shows directly potential alpha energy, with no dependence on equilibrium factor, etc. This technique, which had been used only for radon decay products measurements, was modified by author to allow simultaneous measurements of radon and thoron PAEC. The LSC method can be used for calibration of portable radon decay products monitors. The LSC method has the advantage to be an absolute one, the TLD method to measure directly the (dose relevant) deposited energy.

[Idiopathic cranial nerve failure]

Cranial nerve lesions require a thorough diagnostic work-up and known etiologies have to be excluded before the term idiopathic can be considered. The focus of the present review is on idiopathic peripheral facial nerve paralysis (Bell's palsy) for which this terminology has been established. For all other cranial nerve lesions the typical clinical signs, established etiologies and possible diagnostic pitfalls are discussed.

Analysis of transcriptional activities of angiogenic biomarkers during intrauterine complications leading to preterm birth

OBJECTIVE

Pre-eclampsia, growth retardation and preterm delivery are the most common reasons leading to increased maternal and perinatal mortality. The increased expression of hypoxia induced factors, such as HIF-1, triggers the overexpression of anti-angiogenic genes. The aim of this study was to determine the transcriptional activity of individual pro- and anti-angiogenic markers (VEGF, HIF-1, sEng, Flt-1, PlGF-1) in maternal blood samples from patients with spontaneous preterm labor, preterm labor in combination with pre-eclampsia and fetal growth restriction in comparison with physiologically terminated pregnancies.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

The transcriptional activity of specific genes was detected from the blood of patients using the chromatin immunoprecipitation capture method coupled with quantitative real-time PCR.

RESULTS

The maximum differences in mRNA levels of PlGF-1 and VEGF-A were detected in two groups: the group of normal-term birth with complications and the group of preterm labor with complications (both significantly lower than the control, p < 0.001). In contrast, a marked increase of mRNA levels was found in the same groups of patients for the HIF-1, endoglin and Flt-1 genes (p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

According to our results, we can conclude that increased oxidative stress, increasing the expression levels of anti-angiogenic genes and reduction of the transcriptional activity of pro-angiogenic genes can provide additional information during diagnostics of pathological complications of labor.

[Wearable Technique for the Assessment of Parkinson Symptoms: What's the Future?]

Parkinson's disease (PD) is a multisystem disorder with a plethora of symptoms affecting the quality of life of patients in the home environment. Due to the rapid development of wearable technique in the health and fitness sector, an increasing number of such wearable devices are available to complement diagnostic strategies of PD symptoms not only in the clinical but also in the home environment. This development has clear advantages over clinical evaluation, as the latter is relatively subjective, time-consuming and costly, and provides only a snapshot of the condition. First results about the use of such technology for the assessment of PD symptoms (including bradykinesia, dyskinesia, tremor, daily activity and sleep behavior) in the home environment are promising. They suggest that these techniques can provide complementary information about the symptoms of PD patients, and have the potential to be included in future diagnostic workup concepts of routine care in PD. The use of such technique provides also the opportunity to more actively include patients into medical decision-making processes.

Essential Hypertension: Cardiovascular Response to Breath Hold Combined with Exercise

Essential hypertension (EH) is a widespread disease and might be prevalent in apnea divers and master athletes. Little is known about the influence of EH and the antihypertensive drugs (AHD) on cardiovascular reactions to combined breath hold (BH) and exercise. In this pilot study, healthy divers (HCON) were compared with treated hypertensive divers with regard to heart rate (HR) and mean blood-pressure (MAP) responses to BH, exercise and the combination of both. Ten subjects with EH and ten healthy divers were tested. 3 different 20 s stimuli were applied: BH combined with 30 W or 150 W and 150 W without BH. The time-charts during the stress intervals and during recovery were compared. Subjects treated with an angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitor showed higher changes for MAP values if breath hold was performed. HR responses were obviously changed if a β-blocker was part of the medication. One subject showed extreme MAP responses to all stimuli and conspicuous HR if BH was involved. The modulation of HR-/MAP-response in EH subjects depends on the mechanisms of antihypertensive agents. The combination of an ACE inhibitor and a β-blocker may give the best protection. It is recommended to include short apnea tests in the fitness-to-dive examination to individually predict potential endangerment.

[Occupational tuberculosis in Slovakia and in the Czech Republic]

STUDY OBJECTIVE

To conduct a retrospective 15-year study to monitor trends in the number of employees at risk for occupational tuberculosis (TB) (levels III and IV) in the Slovak Republic, and in particular in the sector of economic activities Q (health care and social assistance). Furthermore, to analyze reported cases of occupational TB and to compare the incidence and sex-specific and age-specific prevalence with the data reported in the Czech Republic.

MATERIAL AND METHODS

Data on the number of employees at risk of exposure to occupational TB were derived from the Automated Risk Classification System of the Slovak Republic. Data on cases of occupational TB were taken from health statistics (Institute of Health Information and Statistics/National Health Information Center in the Slovak Republic and the National Institute of Public Health in the Czech Republic). A retrospective analysis was conducted (for 1998-2012) of reported cases of occupational TB, selected from Article 24 of the List of occupational diseases (infectious and parasitic diseases except tropical infectious and parasitic diseases and diseases transmissible from animals to humans). The selection criterion was a TB diagnosis according to ICD-10. In the Czech Republic, the data were derived from Article 5.1.02 (tuberculosis), Chapter V. of the List of Occupational Diseases. The data obtained were analyzed by methods of descriptive statistics.

RESULTS

The numbers of employees with a level III risk of exposure to occupational TB in the Slovak Republic declined by 30% over the 15 years of study and by 40% in category Q. In 2012, 2027 employees were classified in category III and 1442 of them belonged to group Q. Females accounted for 81-84% of employees at risk of exposure to occupational TB. Eighty-six and 181 cases of occupational TB were reported in the Slovak Republic and in the Czech Republic, respectively, in 1998-2012, with the incidence showing a downward trend in both countries. TB of the respiratory tract was reported most often (83.7% of the total of reported cases of occupational TB). As expected, more cases occurred in females than in males (1.9 times as many cases in females as in males in the Slovak Republic and three times as many cases in females as in males in the Czech Republic). The incidence of occupational TB was the highest in sector Q, with the highest absolute numbers reported in nurses. In 2012, the incidence rates of occupational TB were 0.22 cases per 100,000 sick benefit policy holders in the Slovak Republic and 0.13 cases per 100,000 sick benefit policy holders in the Czech Republic.

CONCLUSION

The incidence of occupational TB has a downward trend in both countries, similarly to TB incidence in the general population. A negative aspect in both countries is the incidence of occupational TB at the middle productive age, in contrast to the population occupationally non-exposed to TB. Slovakia is surrounded by higher prevalence countries, with the exception of the Czech Republic. It cannot be ruled out that, in addition to the known factors influencing the prevalence of TB, including occupational TB, migration from eastern countries, including job search migration, can also play a role in increase in TB cases. It is vital to continue epidemiological surveillance and to reduce the risk of TB as much as possible also in healthcare settings by adhering to barrier nursing practices. Cases of active TB need early and adequately long, controlled treatment in order to reduce, among others, the incidence of multi-drug resistant TB.

[Effect of vitamin d receptor polymorphisms on the development and progression of malignant melanoma]

BACKGROUND

Malignant melanoma is one of the most aggressive cutaneous tumors in men and women. The risk of developing a malignant melanoma depends on several external factors along with deregulation of mutual interaction of genotype and phenotype. Nowadays, growing attention is focused on the study of the interactions of the active form of vitamin D3 with its receptor and inhibitory effect of vitamin D3 receptor polymorphisms on multiple signaling pathways involved in proliferative and metastatic processes.

OBJECTIVES

This review article addresses the relationship between factors involved in the development of malignant melanoma through Hedgehog signaling pathway (HH). It summarizes current knowledge of malignant melanoma in regard to the role of the active form of vitamin D3 binding to vitamin D3 receptor (VDR), as well as it describes the influence of polymorphisms of VDR on the inhibition of HH. Understanding of these mechanisms and critical assessment of available data is beneficial to both primary and secondary prevention of malignant melanoma particularly by means of chemo -preventive substances.