Bacillus anthracis requires siderophore biosynthesis for growth in macrophages and mouse virulence

Systemic anthrax infections can be characterized as proceeding in stages, beginning with an early intracellular establishment stage within phagocytes that is followed by extracelluar stages involving massive bacteraemia, sepsis and death. Because most bacteria require iron, and the host limits iron availability through homeostatic mechanisms, we hypothesized that B. anthracis requires a high-affinity mechanism of iron acquisition during its growth stages. Two putative types of siderophore synthesis operons, named B acillus a nthracis c atechol, bac (anthrabactin), and a nthrax s iderophore b iosynthesis, asb (anthrachelin), were identified. Directed gene deletions in both anthrabactin and anthrachelin pathways were generated in a B. anthracis (Sterne) 34F2 background resulting in mutations in asbA and bacCEBF . A decrease in siderophore production was observed during iron-depleted growth in both the δ asbA and δ bacCEBF strains, but only the δ asbA strain was attenuated for growth under these conditions. In addition, the δ asbA strain was severely attenuated both for growth in macrophages (Mφ) and for virulence in mice. In contrast, the δ bacCEBF strain did not differ phenotypically from the parental strain. These findings support a requirement for anthrachelin but not anthrabactin in iron assimilation during the intracellular stage of anthrax.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72033/1/j.1365-2958.2003.03861.x.pd

Nowe ustalenia w kwestii śmierci i pochówku kardynała Jerzego Radziwiłła (1556–1600)

Presented article adds several important telling to cardinal Radziwiłł’s dossier. First of all article presents a place where Radziwiłł stayed in Rome and where he died. It was the palace (not-existing any more) belonging to the famous Orsinis, located near the Ponte di Sant’Angelo. Circumstances of cardinal’s death and burial were discussed widely. Details of this discussion can be found in Roman avvisi,which were a kind of a local press; in example some speculations and comments on cardinal’s wealth, property and a burial place were made. The author shows some hypothesis on the project of a gravestone for cardinal Radzwiłł, which are derived from different, unknown previously, historical records. Some of them are edited and published within the article

The role of Mnk1 kinase in pancreas biology and exocrine diseases

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Biología Molecular. Fecha de lectura: 07-05-201

Clinical, ultrasound parameters and tumor marker-based mathematical models and scoring systems in pre-surgical diagnosis of adnexal tumors

The choice of management for patients with adnexal tumors requires careful pre-surgical assessment. In case of adnexal masses, the diagnostic difficulties arise from the heterogenic nature of the adnexal diseases, presence of multiple functional changes, and lack of early symptoms of malignancy. A reliable pre-surgical differentiation cannot be performed using clinical features, ultrasound examination, or tumor markers alone. New diagnostic techniques and novel markers are under investigations, however no single test can be used to conclusively differentiate between malignant and non-malignant adnexal masses. Mathematical models and scoring systems based on different clinical, ultrasonographic and laboratory parameters alone or together may facilitate the diagnosis. Selected mathematical models and scoring systems are presented in this article. Models using only ultrasound features include simple rules, regression models, Gynecologic Imaging Report and Data System, and various morphologic scores. Some logistic regression models are based on multiple clinical and ultrasound data. The OVA1 test is based on five tumor markers without using other data. The Risk of Malignancy Algorithm uses two tumor markers with one clinical parameter. i.e. the menopausal status. Some models used clinical, ultrasound and tumor marker data together. This group of models includes risk of malignancy indices, artificial neural networks, and the ADNEX model. Although some of these models have been compared in the literature, more prospective studies are needed to select the most effective model, to develop the existing models, or to create new more effective models of oncological assessment of the adnexal tumors

Inflammatory bowel disease and pregnancy

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) comprising Crohn’s disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC), and IBD-unclassified (IBD-U) may appear at any age. As such, IBD commonly affects young patients in their reproductive age. Rate of voluntary childlessness among women with IBD far exceed that of the general population, as patients with IBD fear not only the effect of pregnancy on the course of inflammatory bowel disease, but also the increased risk of the offspring developing the disease, adverse pregnancy outcomes, the effect IBD treatment may have on the health and development of the infant or the risk of relapse during pregnancy and the influence of lactation on child development and disease course. This article aims at improving pre-conception counseling of patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Społeczeństwo bezpieczeństwa jako konsekwencje życia w płynnych czasach

The article discusses the issue of attitudes and behaviors of the 21st-century man in the perspective of the threats of the modern world, resulting from the conditions of the “network society”. The importance of security, as the main human need, in the context of socio-political changes at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries and rapidly developing information technologies, constitutes a pretext to formulate the thesis about the emergence of a specifically shaped security society. This paper is an attempt to understand the attitudes and behaviors of modern man, with particular emphasis on the conditions related to the changing social reality.Artykuł porusza problematykę postaw i zachowań człowieka XXI wieku w perspektywie zagrożeń współczesnego świata wynikających z uwarunkowań „społeczeństwa sieci”. Znaczenie bezpieczeństwa jako naczelnej potrzeby człowieka w kontekście przemian społeczno-politycznych przełomu XX i XXI wieku i szybko rozwijających się technologii informacyjnych stanowi pretekst do sformułowania tezy o pojawieniu się specyficznie ukształtowanego społeczeństwa bezpieczeństwa. Publikacja ta jest próbą zrozumienia postaw i zachowań współczesnego człowieka ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem uwarunkowań związanych ze zmienną rzeczywistością społeczną

The role of HE4 and CA125 in differentiation between malignant and non-malignant endometrial pathologies

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the role of HE4 and CA125 in differentiation between malignant and non-malignant endometrial pathologies. Material and methods: A retrospective study of 87 patients with endometrial pathologies was conducted. Tumor markers were assessed two weeks before surgical intervention in each subject. The final diagnosis was established on the basis of the histopathological examination of the endometrium. Results: Serum HE4 levels were significantly higher in patients with endometrial cancer (EC) as compared to non-malignant endometrial pathologies (p < 0.001), patients with stage I EC as compared to non-malignant endometrial pathologies (p < 0.001), and patients with stage Ia EC as compared to non-malignant endometrial pathologies (p = 0.003). Serum CA125 levels were not significantly different as far as these groups of patients were concerned. Both tumor markers were significantly higher in patients with stage II-III as compared to stage I EC and non-malignant endometrial pathologies (p < 0.001 for both markers). Sensitivity and specificity of HE4 at the cut-off level of 70 pmol/L for detecting endometrial malignancies were 73.08% and 85.71%, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity of CA125 at the cut-off level of 35 U/mL were 29.41% and 94.29%, respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) for HE4 was 0.875, suggesting that this marker reliably differentiates malignant from non-malignant endometrial pathologies (p < 0.001). AUC for CA125 was 0.552, suggesting that this marker does not reliably differentiate between malignant and non-malignant endometrial pathologies (p = 0.414). Conclusion: HE4, in contrast to CA125, might be a useful tool for detecting malignant endometrial pathologies

Safe Crib

Capstone Design and Manufacturing Experience: Fall 2006Cribs are the most significant cause of injury and death in infants with an average of 35 deaths and an additional 12,000 hospitalizations per year. This project aims to redesign a crib to improve its safety with these statistics in mind. It was presented by the non-profit organization Kids In Danger, which is dedicated to improving children’s product safety and to increasing the public’s awareness of dangerous children’s products. The crib produced by this project has been designed to reduce the possibility of hardware failure or loosening and to make the crib easier for the consumer to assemble without error. The new crib can compete with current crib designs and decrease the number of deaths and injuries to children resulting from cribs.http://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/49569/2/ME450 Final Team 01.pd