Importance of substratum quality for potential competitive niche overlap between native and invasive unionid mussels in Europe

Infaunal freshwater mussels are highly threatened and declining worldwide. One of the potential threats to mussels consists of biological invasions. We intended to investigate the habitat overlap and behavioural differences between native (Unio pictorum, Unio tumidus, Anodonta anatina, Anodonta cygnea) and invasive (Asian Sinanodonta woodiana) unionid bivalves to determine potential sources of competition. Furthermore, we investigated differences between S. woodiana from the established population in artificially heated waters and from the recent population in a natural thermal regime. We used pairwise choice tests on mud, medium, coarse and very coarse sand, mixture of medium and coarse sand, fine, medium and coarse gravel, and observed mussel locomotion and burrowing in preferred and non-preferred substrata. All species generally preferred fine-grained materials. The widest preference range was exhibited by S. woodiana (both populations), whereas A. cygnea was the most selective. The preferences of the cold-water population of S. woodiana were shifted towards coarser materials compared to conspecifics from the heated waters, and highly overlapped with the preferences of the native species. Anodonta cygnea most often moved horizontally and spent the shortest time deeply burrowed. Both Unio species were deeply burrowed for the largest amount of time and the horizontal locomotion of U. tumidus was the lowest among the test species. Sinanodonta woodiana, especially from the heated water population, exhibited relatively weak locomotion (compared to A. cygnea) and burrowing (compared to Unio spp. and A. anatina). Deep burrowing was more common on fine-grained materials. Our results suggest that the native mussels can be threatened by S. woodiana due to their overlapping habitat preferences, potentially hindering habitat separation. However, mobile native mussels may be capable of migrating and avoiding competition. Accumulating knowledge of the biology and ecology of freshwater mussels could contribute to the creation and improvement of conservation plans to protect these threatened animals.

The correlation between the concentration of hepcidin in serum and the occurrence of insulin resistance and hyperandrogenemia in women with polycystic ovary syndrome

OBJECTIVE

Scarce clinical and experimental studies suggest that hepcidin can be a protein participating in the development of metabolic disorders, while its synthesis and concentration in the circulation outside of the iron metabolism parameters can be influenced by hormones. The aim of the present study was to determine the correlation between the concentration of hepcidin in serum and the occurrence of insulin resistance and hyperandrogenemia in women with PCOS.

PATIENTS AND METHODS

Five groups of women with PCOS were divided based on: correct body mass (17 without hyperandrogenemia and insulin resistance - G1; 17 with hyperandrogenemia and without insulin resistance - G2; 11 without hyperandrogenemia and with insulin resistance - G3; 10 with hyperandrogenemia and insulin resistance - G4), metabolic and hormonal parameters and selected markers of iron metabolism.

RESULTS

Serum glucose levels were significantly higher in the group G3 than G1 and in the group G4 than G1 and G2. Serum insulin levels and HOMA-IR values were significantly higher in the groups G3 and G4 than G1 and G2. Serum androstenedione levels were significantly higher in the group G2 than G1 and G3 than G2. Serum transferrin levels were significantly lower in the group G1 than in the reaming study groups.

CONCLUSIONS

It has been demonstrated that insulin resistance and hyperandrogenemia appear to be the factors decreasing the concentration of transferrin circulation, but not the remaining parameters of the iron metabolism in the studied women. No relationship between the concentration of hepcidin circulation and other studied parameters of the iron metabolism and the parameters of the carbohydrate metabolism was discovered. Androstenedione can stimulate hepcidin synthesis in women with PCOS with correct body mass.

Mercury bonds with carbon (OC and EC) in small aerosols (PM1) in the urbanized coastal zone of the Gulf of Gdansk (southern Baltic)

PM1 aerosols were collected at the coastal station in Gdynia between 1st January and 31st December 2012. The main purpose of the study was to determine the variability in concentrations of mercury Hg(p), organic carbon (OC) and elemental carbon (EC) in PM1 aerosols under varying synoptic conditions in heating and non-heating periods. Additionally, sources of origin and bonds of mercury with carbon species were identified. The highest concentrations of Hg(p), OC and EC were found during the heating period. Then all analyzed PM1 components had a common, local origin related to the consumption of fossil fuels for heating purposes under conditions of lower air temperatures and poor dispersion of pollutants. Long periods without precipitation also led to the increase in concentration of all measured PM1 compounds. In heating period mercury correlated well with elemental carbon and primary and secondary organic carbon when air masses were transported from over the land. At that time, the role of transportation was of minor importance. In the non-heating period, the concentration of all analyzed compounds were lower than in the heating period, which could be associated with the reduced influence of combustion processes, higher precipitation and, in the case of mercury, also the evaporation of aerosols at higher air temperatures. However, when air masses were transported from over the sea or from the port/shipyard areas the mercury concentration increased significantly. In the first case higher air humidity, solar radiation and ozone concentration as well as the presence of marine aerosols could further facilitate the conversion of gaseous mercury into particulate mercury and its concentration increase. In the second case Hg(p) could be adsorbed on particles rich in elemental carbon and primary organic carbon emitted from ships.

Neurophysiological Assessment of the Electrostimulation Procedures Used in Stroke Patients during Rehabilitation

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of the associated electrotherapeutical and kinesiotherapeutical treatment in patients after ischemic stroke (N=24), mainly by means of neurophysiological tests. All patients underwent the same 20 days of neurorehabilitation procedures. Particular attention was paid to three-stage modified electrotherapy procedures such as: oververtebral functional electrical stimulation (FES), transcutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (TENS) and the alternate neuromuscular functional electrical stimulation (NMFES) of antagonistic muscles of the wrist and the ankle (N=16). Electrotherapy was supplemented with kinesiotherapeutic (mainly PNF) procedures acting as an amplifier. Clinical assessment included muscle tension (Ashworth's scale), muscle force (Lovett's scale) and reflex scoring at wrist and ankle. However, the effectiveness of the procedures was measured by the assessment of results in complex and repetitive, bilaterally performed global electromyography (EMG) and electroneurography (ENG; M-wave studies). The statistical analysis obtained from results in clinical and neurophysiological examinations suggested that the dorsiflexion of wrist and ankle was improved in the majority of patients who took part in this study. EMG and ENG examinations showed that 20 days of therapy improved both activity in muscle motor units on the more paralyzed side (mainly within upper extremities) and to a lesser degree in the transmission of efferent impulses within motor fibers of nerves. The results obtained suggest that patients after ischemic strokes never show an isolated unilateral disability in motor functions.

No definite similarities between the results of clinical and neurophysiological studies were found, which may suggest greater accuracy of the neurophysiological evaluation.

Phase transition studies of dutasteride crystalline forms

Polymorphism of dutasteride is studied. Details of the crystal and molecular structure of unsolvated form I are presented.

Diagnosis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis in ultrasound using tissue characterization and pixel classification

Hashimoto's thyroiditis is the most common type of inflammation of the thyroid gland, and accurate diagnosis of Hashimoto's thyroiditis would be helpful to better manage the disease process and predict thyroid failure. Most of the published computer-based techniques that use ultrasound thyroid images for Hashimoto's thyroiditis diagnosis are limited by lack of procedure standardization because individual investigators use various initial ultrasound settings. This article presents a computer-aided diagnostic technique that uses grayscale features and classifiers to provide a more objective and reproducible classification of normal and Hashimoto's thyroiditis-affected cases. In this paradigm, we extracted grayscale features based on entropy, Gabor wavelet, moments, image texture, and higher order spectra from the 100 normal and 100 Hashimoto's thyroiditis-affected ultrasound thyroid images. Significant features were selected using t-test. The resulting feature vectors were used to build the following three classifiers using tenfold stratified cross validation technique: support vector machine, k-nearest neighbor, and radial basis probabilistic neural network. Our results show that a combination of 12 features coupled with support vector machine classifier with the polynomial kernel of order 1 and linear kernel gives the highest accuracy of 80%, sensitivity of 76%, specificity of 84%, and positive predictive value of 83.3% for the detection of Hashimoto's thyroiditis. The proposed computer-aided diagnostic system uses novel features that have not yet been explored for Hashimoto's thyroiditis diagnosis. Even though the accuracy is only 80%, the presented preliminary results are encouraging to warrant analysis of more such powerful features on larger databases.

All-fiber LP11 mode convertors

We describe two all-fiber devices for converting light from the fundamental mode to the second-order set of modes in optical fibers. The first is made by controlled hole collapse in a photonic crystal fiber, and the second is a twisted fused coupler made from few-moded conventional fiber. As well as having applications within fiber optics, the devices can be used to generate azimuthally polarized free-space beams.

Wavelength-independent all-fiber mode converters

We have used two different photonic crystal fiber (PCF) techniques to make all-fiber mode converters. An LP(01) to LP(11) mode converter was made by the ferrule technique on a drawing tower, and an LP(01) to LP(02) mode converter was made by controlled hole inflation of an existing PCF on a tapering rig. Both devices rely on adiabatic propagation rather than resonant coupling; so high extinction was achieved across a wide wavelength range.

All-fiber anamorphic core-shape transitions

We demonstrate low-loss anamorphic transitions between circular and rectangular fiber cores with aspect ratios up to 5:1, and hence improved coupling from a diode laser by using only a spherical lens. Differential hole pressurization and localized heating of a stock photonic crystal fiber inflates the holes at different rates. Some holes are plugged in the fiber end face where pressure is applied, so they remain at ambient pressure. Alternatively, holes of different sizes expand at different rates because the effective pressure due to surface tension differs.

Enhanced visible continuum generation from a microchip 1064nm laser

We demonstrate a cascaded nonlinear process using pump conversion to 742 nm by four-wave mixing in the normal dispersion regime then continuum generation by modulation instability to generate bright single-mode visible continuum with an average power up to -20 dBm/nm, from a compact 1064 nm infrared source in a monolithic single-mode photonic crystal fibre with a tapered section in one end.

Hole inflation and tapering of stock photonic crystal fibres

We report controlled hole expansion in photonic crystal fibres (PCFs) by heating the fibre while the holes were pressurised. This was done by post-processing an existing fibre, not during fibre fabrication. Small holes in an endlessly single-mode (ESM) PCF were inflated to become large holes. The large-hole PCF was then tapered to produce a "cobweb" PCF with a small highly-nonlinear core, interfaced to the ESM PCF at both ends by gradual transitions. The loss was less than 0.4 dB in the complete structure, which was used to demonstrate supercontinuum generation when pumped with a fs Ti:sapphire laser.

Human telomerase RNA as endogenous control in endometrial tissue

Telomerase is a reverse transcriptase that adds repetitive telomere sequences to the end of chromosomes, which is thought to be essential for cellular immortality and oncogenesis. The enzyme consists of three subunits: human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), human telomerase RNA (hTR), and telomerase protein 1 (TP1). The hTERT subunit determines the activity of telomerase as an enzyme and is detected in most human tumors and regenerative cells. But many studies have revealed that hTR and TP1 are expressed constitutively. This results suggest that the hTR and TP1 subunits may be potentially good markers of endogenous RNA control. Endometrial dating was determined from the pathomorphology of the endometrium and classified into normal proliferative endometrium, endometrial hyperplasia (simple, complex, and atypical), and endometrial adenocarcinoma. The analysis of the expression of the hTERT, TP1, and hTR telomerase subunits was performed by a quantitative polymerase chain reaction method, based on fluorescent TaqMan methodology (ABI Prism 7,700 Sequence Detection System) capable of measuring fluorescence in real time. The aim of the study was an analysis of the expression profiles of genes encoding hTR and TP1 telomerase subunits in normal endometrium, endometrial hyperplasia, and adenocarcinoma for the estimation of the possibility of once application in endogenous RNA control of gene analysis in the endometrium. The nonparametric Mann-Whitney U test and analysis of variance Friedman test were used to evaluate the variation in telomerase subunit mRNA level between normal endometrium, and endometrial hyperplasia and adenocarcinoma. The results confirm the hTR subunit expression as a good marker of endogenous control in quantitative analysis of gene transcription in endometrial tissue. TP1 subunit transcriptions have not been detected constitutively in our study.

Human telomerase RNA as endogenous control in endometrial tissue

Telomerase is a reverse transcriptase that adds repetitive telomere sequences to the end of chromosomes, which is thought to be essential for cellular immortality and oncogenesis. The enzyme consists of three subunits: human telomerase reverse transcriptase (hTERT), human telomerase RNA (hTR), and telomerase protein 1 (TP1). The hTERT subunit determines the activity of telomerase as an enzyme and is detected in most human tumors and regenerative cells. But many studies have revealed that hTR and TP1 are expressed constitutively. This resuts suggest that the hTR and TP1 subunits may be potentially good markers of endogenous RNA control. Endometrial dating was determined from the pathomorphology of the endometrium and classified into normal proliferative endometrium, endometrial hyperplasia (simple, complex, and atypical), and endometrial adenocarcinoma. The analysis of the expression of the hTERT, TP1, and hTR telomerase subunits was performed by a quantitative polymerase chain reaction method, based on fluorescent TaqMan methodology (ABI Prism 7 700 Sequence Detection System) capable of measuring fluorescence in real time. The aim of the study was an analysis of the expression profiles of genes encoding hTR and TP1 telomerase subunits in normal endometrium, endometrial hyperplasia, and adenocarcinoma forthe estimation of the possibility of once application in endogenous RNA control of gene analysis in the endometrium. The nonparametric Mann–Whitney U test and analysis of variance Friedman test were used to evaluate the variation in telomerase subunit mRNA level between normal endometrium, and endometrial hyperplasia and adenocarcinoma. The results confirm the hTR subunit expression as a good marker of endogenous control in quantitative analysis of gene transcription in endometrial tissue. TP1 subunit transcriptions have not been detected constitutively in our study.

Family with Li-Fraumeni syndrome and no evidence of a germline mutation of the p53 gene or chromosomal aberrations

Li-Fraumeni syndrome is a rare autosomal, dominant trait of diverse types of cancers in children and young adults, with a predominance of soft tissue sarcomas, osteosarcomas, brain tumours, adrenocortical and breast carcinomas, as well as leukaemias. We present a family with an unusual cancer history fulfilling the criteria of Li-Fraumeni syndrome. Mutational analysis of the p53 gene in constitutional DNA of several affected members of the family did not show any germline p53 defect. Cytogenetic studies did not reveal any structural aberrations.

The evaluation of total dietary fibre content in standard hospital diets during the winter and summer seasons

The main aim of the study was to determine the total dietary fiber in standard diets for hospitalized patients in winter and summer. In the randomized trial performed in the winter of 1995/1996 and summer 1997, we assessed the dietary fiber content in 12 standard diets with AOAC method. The dietary fiber in the tested hospital diets was derived mainly from grains--average value 12.2 g/day in winter and 15.8 g/day in summer. The second group of plant products to supply fiber in the diet were vegetables. Food portions covered an average of 11.5 g dietary fiber per day in winter and 8.5 g in summer. In spite of the variety of cheap vegetables on sale, a significantly lower content of fiber was observed in summer (p < 0.05). Fruits and fruit products in hospital food contained 1.4 g/day of fiber in winter and 1.7 g/day in summer respectively. We also made a simulation, where white bread, present in every diet, was replaced by dark bread. This let us determine the degree to which the alternative food product influences the diet's composition. The results demonstrate that the replacement everyday of eaten food products may evoke significant changes in dietary fiber contents. The change induced statistically significant differences between diets containing white bread and dark bread (p < 0.001).

[The role of dietary fiber and its preparations in the protection and treatment of overweight]

Optimal amounts of dietary fibre in the diet are regarded as a protective factor against several health disorders such as some alimentary tract diseases, atherosclerosis and coronary heart disease. It is considered that the dietary fibre may help reduce body weight. The preparations of dietary fibre slow gastric emptying and decrease the appetite. However, the reduction of body weight with the application of high fibre diets, but without a change in the eating habits, is not significant.

Nitrate and nitrite content in daily hospital diets during the winter season--comparison of analytical and calculation methods

A comparison of two methods: analytical and calculation on an estimation of dietary intakes of nitrate and nitrite from six different types of general hospital diets was studied. Studies were performed in the winter season of 1996-1997. It was found that the mean daily intake of nitrates was 85 mg per person in the analytical method, and 65 mg per person in the calculated method. The estimation of average dietary intakes of nitrite was adequate: 1.67 mg per person (the analytical method) and 1.18 mg per person (the calculated method). The main source of nitrates were vegetables, whereas the main source of nitrites was meat and meat-containing products. We suggest that the different methodologies, analytical and calculation methods, for measuring dietary intakes of nitrate and nitrite from diets make it possible to make direct comparisons of intakes.

The nitrate and nitrite contents in a whole day's hospital diet during the spring season

It was decided to evaluate the exposition of patients on nitrates and nitrites contained in 6 whole day's standard hospital diets taken in various days. Studies were performed in June 1995. It was found that the mean daily intake of nitrates was 311 mg and the mean intake of nitrites were 2.16 mg per patient. The main source of nitrates were vegetables (85%), whereas the main source of nitrites were meat and meat-containing products. The presented results suggest that the diets containing early vegetables (especially cabbage) may be harmful for human health.

Changes of creatine concentration during development of chick embryo

Changes of creatine concentration during development of chick embryo. Acta physiol. pol., 1985, 36 (3): 208-215. Investigations were carried out on embryos of Star Cross chicken after 6, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16, 18 and 20 days of incubation. It was found that the concentration of total creatine increased from 0.18 to 0.67 mg/g of embryo weight. The increase of creatine concentration at the time of development of the embryo was proportional to the increase in nitrogen concentration, and the share of creatine nitrogen in the pool of total nitrogen was about 1% throughout the whole period of embryonal development and during the first two days after hatching. The amount of creatine in fresh egg and in the yolk sac of the newly hatched chicken was about 1.5 mg. It was estimated that chick embryos during their development synthesized, on the average, 18 mg (6 mMol) of creatine. The course of changes in creatine concentration in the developing chick embryo is very similar to the course of changes in the rate of heat production.

Pronuclear development and the first cleavage division in polyspermic mouse eggs

Zona-free F1 (C57B1/10 X CBA/H) mouse eggs were fertilized in vitro with F1 spermatozoa and examined in whole mounts 4.5-5 h or 17-19 h after mixing the gametes. The fertilization rate was nearly 90% with about one-third of eggs undergoing monospermic and two-thirds polyspermic fertilization (2-8 spermatozoa). In all monospermic eggs the sperm head developed into a large pronucleus. In polyspermic eggs either all or only some of the spermatozoa had completed the process of transformation, while the remainder were arrested at the early phase of pronuclear development. During the first cleavage division these pronuclei condensed but separate chromosomes did not differentiate and therefore could not contribute to the genome of the embryo. The condensed pronuclei were passively displaced to one or both blastomeres. The number of decondensed sperm heads present in the egg shortly after fertilization was therefore not always equivalent to the ploidy of the future embryo. The duration of the first cell cycle appeared to be related to ploidy (number of functional = 'advanced' pronuclei), with the monospermic eggs dividing first.

Development of cytochalasin B-induced tetraploid and diploid/tetraploid mosaic mouse embryos

By subjecting F1 (CBA × C57/BL) × A eggs at the time of 2nd cleavage to 10 μg/ml of cytochalasin B (CB), tetraploidy was produced in 52 % of 2-cell eggs and 35 % of 3-cell eggs. 2n/4n mosaic embryos were produced from 2-, 3- and 4-cell eggs and amounted to 20 % of all treated eggs. 80 % of tetraploid embryos developed in vitro into regular blastocysts with half the cell number of control diploids. The effectiveness of CB in producing tetraploid embryos is limited by the asynchrony of 2nd cleavage, both between eggs and between sister blastomeres. Two-cell presumed tetraploids were transplanted to recipients and examined between the 6th and 11th day of pregnancy. Up to 6½ days development is normal and most embryos form egg-cylinders. At 7½ days the embryonic part of the cylinders is underdeveloped and in later development fails to form an embryo. Development of foetal membranes is much less affected and in the most successfully developing egg-cylinders their formation can be fully accomplished. Failure of embryonic development appears to be due to subnormal activity of the primitive streak, resulting in shortage of mesoderm. Postimplantation development of 2n/4n mosaics was normal. While in embryos tetraploid cells were either absent or in very low proportion (below 4 %), their contribution to the foetal membranes amounted in some cases to up to 50 %. Elimination of tetraploid cells from mosaic embryos suggests that they have a lower proliferation rate than diploid cells.