Transcriptional cytokine responses associated with pathological outcomes in chickens experimentally infected with pigeon variant of avian avulavirus type 1

Background: Newcastle disease (ND) caused by virulent avian avulavirus 1 (AAvV-1) within the family paramyxoviridae, affects variety of avian species around the globe as well as responsible for significant economic losses in the poultry industry.Methods: Transcriptional response of selected cytokines associated with pathological outcomes were studied on chickens after experimental infection with three virulent isolates of pigeon variant avian avulavirus type 1 (PAvV-1). The specific pathogen free (SPF) chickens were used in the study, after virus inoculation via the intranasal route virus, observed daily for clinical symptoms. On day 3 of post infection, the experiment was terminated and then anatomopathogical and histopathological changes, virus load and transcriptional cytokine response were determined in the spleen.Results: For the study, four cytokines were chosen: interferons (IFN-β, IFN-γ) and interleukins (IL-2, IL-6). The increased transcriptional levels of cytokine expression were associated with viral gene expression and marked lesions. The increase in the mRNA levels of IL-6 was most significant in chickens with clinical symptoms. The combined up-regulations of IFN-γ and IL-6 mRNA expression were detected simultaneously with infiltration of macrophages in the histopathology analysis. The RNA expression of IL-2 and slight up-regulation of IFN-β were only in chickens infected with isolate closely related to poultry isolates in the phylogenetic study.Conclusions: The difference in the mRNA expression levels of cytokines may help to elucidate mechanisms of immune responses in birds infected with different virulent strains of avian avulavirus type 1

Characterization of hepatic macrophages and evaluation of inflammatory response in heme oxygenase-1 deficient mice exposed to scAAV9 vectors

Adeno-associated viral (AAV) vectors are characterised by low immunogenicity, although humoral and cellular responses may be triggered upon infection. Following systemic administration high levels of vector particles accumulate within the liver. Kupffer cells (KCs) are liver resident macrophages and an important part of the liver innate immune system. Decreased functional activity of KCs can contribute to exaggerated inflammatory response upon antigen exposure. Heme oxygenase-1 (HO-1) deficiency is associated with considerably reduced numbers of KCs. In this study we aimed to investigate the inflammatory responses in liver and to characterise two populations of hepatic macrophages in adult wild type (WT) and HO-1 knockout (KO) mice following systemic administration of one or two doses (separated by 3 months) of self-complementary (sc)AAV9 vectors. At steady state, the livers of HO-1 KO mice contained significantly higher numbers of monocyte-derived macrophages (MDMs), but significantly less KCs than their WT littermates. Three days after re-administration of scAAV9 we observed increased mRNA level of monocyte chemoattractant protein-1 (Mcp-1) in the livers of both WT and HO-1 KO mice, but the protein level and the macrophage infiltration were not affected. Three days after the 1st and 3 days after the 2nd vector dose the numbers of AAV genomes in the liver were comparable between both genotypes indicating similar transduction efficiency, but the percentage of transgene-expressing MDMs and KCs was higher in WT than in HO-1 KO mice. In the primary culture, KCs were able to internalize AAV9 particles without induction of TLR9-mediated immune responses, but no transgene expression was observed. In conclusion, in vivo and in vitro cultured KCs have different susceptibility to scAAV9 vectors. Regardless of the presence or absence of HO-1 and initial numbers of KCs in the liver, scAAV9 exhibits a low potential to stimulate inflammatory response at the analysed time points

Atmospheric circulation conditions during winter warm spells in Central Europe

The objective of the paper was to characterise the temporal and spatial variability of winter warm spells in Central Europe in the years 1966/1967-2015/2016 and to determine the circulation conditions of their occurrence. The applied data were obtained from the Polish Institute of Meteorology and Water Management, Deutscher Wetterdienst and the National Centre for Environmental Prediction/National Centre for Atmospheric Research. A warm spell was defined as a sequence of at least three warm days, i.e. when the maximum air temperature is higher than the 95th percentile of the probability density function designated from observation. The research has proven that over the study period the air temperature increased in the winter season in Central Europe and this translated into an increase in the number of warm days. An average of 3-5 warm spells was recorded per 10 years. The most numerous warm spells occurred during three winter seasons, i.e. 1989/1990, 2006/2007 and 2015/2016. The occurrence of warm spells was related to positive anomalies of geopotential heights over the study area in the cross section of the entire troposphere. Maximum anomalies appeared at 250 hPa geopotential height, and they developed on average 9 days before the commencement of warm spells over the study area

Breast cancer prevention behaviour of nurses and midwives - introduction to the discussion

Introduction Nurses and midwives are a large and therefore very important - for the population effect of many public health activities - group of health care professionals. Breast cancer prevention is one of them. Aim of the study The aim of the study was to initiate a discussion on the decision-making processes related to the reporting of breast cancer screening by nurses and midwives. The discussion was prompted by the diagnosis of analogous behaviours in a selected group of nurses and midwives working in a selected hospital. Material and methods A total of 118 nurses and midwives working in one of the Podkarpackie hospitals were studied. A diagnostic survey was used with an author's questionnaire prepared for this study with elements of a knowledge test. The study was conducted in January 2023. Results In the group of nurses and midwives aged 50 years and older, 10% of nurses and 33.3% of midwives had never performed mammography. Breast ultrasound had never been performed by 25% of nurses and 23.8% of midwives. The reasons for this are varied and stem from both the family experience of the respondents and personal health concerns and beliefs. In the light of the review, it was shown that the participation of nurses and midwives in breast cancer prevention programmes requires a special approach in the design of such programmes and the attitude of nurses and midwives towards participation in oncology screenings demonstrates the need for special support for this group in their decisions. Conclusions There is an urgent need to use different approaches and models in the preparation of modern decision aids for women recipients of oncology prevention programmes that take into account the trade-offs and preferences of women from both groups - medical women and their clients. &nbsp

The influence of nasturtium officinale R. Br. Agar and agitated microshoot culture media on glucosinolate and henolic acid production, and antioxidant activity

This paper presents an optimization of conditions for microshoot cultures of Nasturtium officinale R. Br. (watercress). Variants of the Murashige and Skoog (MS) medium containing different plant growth regulators (PGRs): cytokinins—BA (6-benzyladenine), 2iP (6-γ,γ-dimethylallylaminopurine), KIN (kinetin), Zea (zeatin), and auxins—IAA (3-indoleacetic acid), IBA (indole-3-butyric acid), 2,4-d (2,4-dichlorophenoxyacetic acid), IPA (indole-3-pyruvic acid), NAA (naphthalene-1-acetic acid), total 27 MS variants, were tested in agar and agitated cultures. Growth cycles were tested for 10, 20, or 30 days in the agar cultures, and 10 or 20 days in the agitated cultures. Glucosinolate and phenolic acid production, total phenolic content and antioxidant potential were evaluated. The total amounts of glucosinolates ranged from 100.23 to 194.77 mg/100 g dry weight of biomass (DW) in agar cultures, and from 78.09 to 182.80 mg/100 g DW in agitated cultures. The total phenolic acid content varied from 15.89 to 237.52 mg/100 g DW for the agar cultures, and from 70.80 to 236.74 mg/100 g DW for the agitated cultures. Extracts of the cultured biomass contained higher total amounts of phenolic acids, lower total amounts of glucosinolates, a higher total phenolic content and similar antioxidant potentials compared to plant material. The analyses performed confirmed for the first time the explicit influence on secondary metabolite production and on the antioxidant potential. The significance was statistically estimated in a complex manner

Case study of Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease observed in Radom (Poland, 18th–19th century) with literature review

The aim of this study is to present the pathological lesions observed in a skeleton (male, about 35–38 years old) from Radom (Poland), dated to the 18th–19th century. Bone changes were observed in both femurs and both pelvic bones. The head of the femur is enlarged and deformed, described as “mushroom-shaped”, with areas of smooth cortex and cavities, or possible cystic residues. The neck of femur is short and thick. The bone shaft and distal epiphysis do not show any changes. The changes were also observed in both acetabularies of the hip joint (marginal bone formation, subchondral bone remodelling). Radiographic images show bilateral necrosis of the femoral head. There is a significant sclerotization of the femoral head, with a discrete visible crescent sign. These macroscopic and radiological changes match the symptoms associated with Legg-Calvé-Perthes disease. This is the first case of the disease described in bioarchaeological materials from Poland

Response to a DNA vaccine against the H5N1 virus depending on the chicken line and number of doses

Background Avian influenza virus infections cause significant economic losses on poultry farms and pose the threat of a possible pandemic outbreak. Routine vaccination of poultry against avian influenza is not recommended in Europe, however it has been ordered in some other countries, and more countries are considering use of the avian influenza vaccine as a component of their control strategy. Although a variety of such vaccines have been tested, most research has concentrated on specific antibodies and challenge experiments. Methods We monitored the transcriptomic response to a DNA vaccine encoding hemagglutinin from the highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza virus in the spleens of broiler and layer chickens. Moreover, in layer chickens the response to one and two doses of the vaccine was compared. Results All groups of birds immunized with two doses of the vaccine responded at the humoral level by producing specific anti-hemagglutinin antibodies. A response to the vaccine was also detected in the spleen transcriptomes. Differential expression of many genes encoding noncoding RNA and proteins functionally connected to the neuroendocrine-immune system was observed in different immunized groups

Lack of NWC protein (c11orf74 homolog) in murine spermatogenesis results in reduced sperm competitiveness and impaired ability to fertilize egg cells in vitro

<div><p>NWC is an uncharacterised protein containing three strongly conserved domains not found in any other known protein. Previously, we reported that the NWC protein is detected in cells in the germinal layer in murine testes (strain: C57BL/6), and its knockout results in no obvious phenotype. We determined the NWC expression pattern during spermatogenesis, and found this protein in spermatocytes and round spermatids, but not in epididymal sperm. Although NWC knockout males are fertile, we further characterised their reproductive potential employing non-standard mating that better simulates the natural conditions by including sperm competition. Such an approach revealed that the sperm of knockout males fail to successfully compete with control sperm. After analysing selected characteristics of the male reproductive system, we found that <i>NWC</i> knockout sperm had a reduced ability to fertilize cumulus-intact eggs during IVF. This is the first report describing a subtle phenotype of <i>NWC</i> knockout mice that could be detected under non-standard mating conditions. Our results indicate that NWC plays an important role in spermatogenesis and its deficiency results in the production of functionally impaired sperm.</p></div