A look back

Ostatnie lata przyniosły modę na powrót do wspomnień o architekturze PRL-u. Powstają artykuły i książki, w których autorzy w mniej lub bardziej rzetelny sposób odnoszą się do tych obiektów zabytkowych. Generalnie jest to zjawisko ciekawe, bo z zapomnienia wydobywa się wszelkie dokonania, zarówno te wartościowe, jak i mniej ciekawe, nieudane. Wydaje się jednak, że nadal można odnotować brak społecznej akceptacji, brak zrozumienia dla wartości tych budowli, co prowadzi do ich dewastacji, zwłaszcza poprzez zaniedbanie. Architektura ta posiada specyficzne konotacje, jest symbolem minionej przeszłości. Dlatego też wydaje się, że bez zmiany nastawienia ludzi nie uratuje się tego dziedzictwa. Może zbyt mało czasu upłynęło, by doceniać relikty poprzedniej, minionej epoki?In recent years, it has become a fashion to look back on the architecture of the Polish People’s Republic. Many articles and books have been written about the historic objects of the period, expressing more or less reliable opinions. On the whole, the trend is rather interesting as it brings back from oblivion all architectural accomplishments including the less interesting and unsuccessful ones. Yet, there still seems to be no social acceptance or understanding of the value of these buildings, which results in their devastation due to neglect. This kind of architecture has specific connotations and is a symbol of the past but it will not be saved until people start treating it as heritage. Perhaps not enough time has passed for the relics of the past epoch to be appreciated

INCREASED LEVELS OF INTERLEUKIN-10 EXPRESSION COMPARED TO INTERLEUKIN-6 IN LEUKOCYTES OF HEALTHY SUBJECTS. COULD IT BE USEFUL IN THE FUTURE OF THE DEPRESSION DIAGNOSIS?

It is a well known, that the physical activity promotes mental health. Physically active people relatively rarely suffer from psychosomatic and depressive disorders. It is possible that the differences in gene activity in peripheral blood leukocytes may be associated with depression, especially genes participating in inflammatory response. Thus, the aim of our study was to investigate the levels of IL6 and IL10 mRNA and IL10/IL6 ratio in peripheral blood leukocytes in healthy, physically active individuals. One hundred healthy young men (20-23 years old) participated in this study. All of them declared regular physical activity. Participants were non-smokers, and consumed alcohol occasionally. To access genes expression, 2 ml of venous blood was collected. RNA isolation was performed and then the relative expression of IL6 and IL10 was calculated using quantitative real-time polymerase chain reaction (Q-RT-PCR). Pro and anti-inflammatory balance was calculated as 2^relative of IL10/ 2^relative expression of IL6. Low expression of tested genes was found in healthy young men. Mean expression for IL6 was 2^0.051 (n=90) and for IL10 2^0.08 (n=98). Mean ratio IL10/IL6 was 2^1.58. Higher expression of IL10 compared to IL6 may be essential not only for the physical performance but also for the mental health. Diverse reports in the literature may be associated with choosing various control groups, i.e. sedentary or older individuals. It is possible, that measuring the expression of IL6 and IL10 (especially the ratio IL10/IL6) in peripheral blood leukocytes may be useful in the assessment of depressive disorders. Thus, molecular study of active young men can confirm the need for physical activity among people suffering from depression, but further studies are needed, particularly among people with psychosomatic disorders

Influence of temperature on muscle metabolism and exercise performance time

The aim of the research was determine the influence of temperature on muscle metabolism ! and exercise performance time among elite athletes. The study was conducted in 10 high performance athlete's rowers participating in national level leagues. All the participants of the study performed load 70% VO2max intensity on ergometer Concept II before the withdrawal. Physical load was performed at 3°C (Z), 18°C (V) ir 30°C (A) environmental temperature. The biochemical parameters as lactate (La), creatine kinase (CK), epinefrine (E), ammonia (NH3) heart rate (HR) and performance time were estimated. The results showed that significant differences were obtained in E, La, and CK indices and performance time after performing in 30°C (A) environmental temperature (p <.05). There is a suggestion, that La and E concentration indices variations can be determined by stress to perform the load as long as possible. Increase in the concentration of NH3 3°C temperature after exercise may be due to AMP-deaminase activity have also placed by other authors ((Cheurount et al., 2001; Febbraio et al., 1996). Shorter working time in 30°C shows that the hot environment influenced on faster running out of energy. The study results show that high performance athletes (rowers) physical loads in a hot environment affects muscle metabolism and limits their activityVytauto Didžiojo universitetasŠvietimo akademij

Anti-inflammatory effect on genes expression after four days of Qigong training in peripheral mononuclear blood cells in healthy women

Introduction. Some studies have shown the influence of Qigong on gene expression in different cells, but there is little data associated with the influence of this kind of therapy on genes expression in pheripheral monocellucar blood cells. Objective. The aim of this study was to evaluate changes in the expression of genes associated with cellular stress response in peripheral mononuclear blood cells (PMBC) in healthy women. Materials and method. The experiment took place at the Japanese Martial Arts Centre “DOJO” in Stara Wieś, Poland, conducted over the course of a 4-day qigong training session. To evaluate the genes effect of this training, blood samples were taken before and after the training period. This experiment involved 20 healthy women (aged 56.2±9.01, body height 164.8±6.5 and mass 65.5±8.2). To determine the expression of HSF-1, HSPA1A, NF-kB, IL10 and CCL2 mRNA, 3 ml of venous blood was collected. The blood samples were placed in tubes allowing for separation (BD Vacutainer CPTTM) before and after the 4 days of qigong training. Isolated PMBC were used to determine gene expression using real-time qRT-PCR (quantitative reverse transcription polymerase chain reaction). Results. Significant decreases in NF-kB and CCL2 mRNA and increases in IL10, HSF1 and HSPA1A m-RNA were detected after 4 days of qigong training. The obtained findings suggest that qigong caused a reduction in the inflammatory and intensified anti-inflammatory gene expression, as well as a higher expression of HSF-1 and HSPA1A. Conclusion. The adaptive response to qigong training was similar to the adaptive response to physical activity and was detected through gene expression in PMBC. Furthermore, this kind of training is especially indicated for women because of their higher susceptibility to psychosocial stress when compared to men