The anatomy of the fundic branches of the stomach: preliminary results

The fundic branches of the stomach can be defined as a group of vessels that can arise either directly or indirectly from the following source arteries: the left inferior phrenic artery, the accessory left hepatic artery, the left gastric artery, the left middle suprarenal artery, the main trunk of the splenic artery, the posterior gastric artery, the superior polar artery, the gastrosplenic artery, the left gastroepiploic artery and the splenic artery with its inferior and superior terminal branches. It is worth mentioning that the fundic branches of the left gastroepiploic artery and the superior and inferior terminal branches of the splenic artery, like other vessels arising from these three source arteries and supplying the stomach, are defined as short gastric arteries. The anatomy of these fundic branches, particularly relevant to some surgical procedures, is not sufficiently described, and the current literature suffers from lack of publications on this particular topic. We therefore decided to explore in detail the arterial vascularisation of the gastric fundus. The research was carried out on material consisting of 15 human stomach specimens. The anatomical analysis comprised the following: the number of occurrences of fundic branches in each of the source arteries defined above, the distance between the origins of the source artery and its arising fundic branch, the way in which the fundic branches arose, the length, diameter at point of origin and morphology of the fundic braches, as well as the exact point of perforation of each fundic branch on the fundus. The highest incidence of the direct-branching pattern of fundic branches was in the left middle suprarenal artery, the gastrosplenic artery and the left gastrosplenic artery. The accessory left hepatic artery, the left gastric artery and the main trunk of the splenic artery were the most frequent site of the indirectly arising pattern of fundic branch. The highest median value of fundic branch length was 63.05 mm, found in the accessory left hepatic artery group. The largest median diameter value of the vessel was encountered among those originating in the left middle suprarenal artery and reached 2.17 mm. The posterolateral quadrant of the fundus received the largest number of fundic branches, amounting to 46.5% of all the fundic branches studied. (Folia Morphol 2008; 67: 120–125

The Effect of stem cell mobilisation with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor on the morphology of the haematopoietic organs in mice

The cellular mobilisation of mice with granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (G-CSF) results in an egress of haematopoietic stem/progenitor cells from the bone marrow and an increase in their level in the peripheral blood. While the mobilisation process with different agents is widely studied, little is known about the morphology of the murine haematopoietic organs during the mobilisation. The purpose of this study was to examine the morphology of the bone marrow, spleen and liver in mice mobilised with G-CSF. To address this issue mice were injected subcutaneously with G-CSF for 6 consecutive days. Morphological analysis revealed an increase in the number of mature neutrophils close to the wall of sinusoids in the bone marrow as well as hypertrophy of the red pulp in the spleen. At the same time no morphological changes were noticed in the livers of G-CSF-mobilised mice. In conclusion, G-CSF induces discrete ultrastructural changes in the bone marrow, which intensify the transendothelial traverse of haematopoietic stem and progenitor cells from it. The changes in the spleen are related to repopulation of this organ by mobilised early haematopoietic cells circulating in the peripheral blood. We also noticed that the process of migration of haematopoietic cells from the bone marrow into the peripheral blood began on day 2 and was most pronounced on day 4 after stimulation with G-CSF

Sigmatropic rearrangements in 5-allyloxytetrazoles

Mechanisms of thermal isomerization of allyl tetrazolyl ethers derived from the carbocyclic allylic alcohols cyclohex-2-enol and 3-methylcyclohex-2-enol and from the natural terpene alcohol nerol were investigated. In the process of the syntheses of the three 1-aryl-5-allyloxytetrazoles, their rapid isomerization to the corresponding 1-aryl-4-allyltetrazol-5-ones occurred. The experiments showed that the imidates rearrange exclusively through a [3,3¢]-sigmatropic migration of the allylic system from O to N, with inversion. Mechanistic proposals are based on product analysis and extensive quantum chemical calculations at the DFT(B3LYP) and MP2 levels, on O-allyl and N-allyl isomers and on putative transition state structures for [1,3¢]- and [3,3¢]-sigmatropic migrations. The experimental observations could be only explained on the basis of the MP2/6-31G(d,p) calculations that favoured the [3,3¢]-sigmatropic migrations, yielding lower energies both for the transition states and for the final isomerization products

Palimpsest in the transformations of the Cistercian abbey in Rudy after World War II

Artykuł ma na celu naświetlenie przekształceń, jakich dokonano w opactwie cysterskim w Rudach Raciborskich po II wojnie światowej. Ten bogaty i rozległy zespół architektoniczny, ukształtowany w ciągu kilku epok artystycznych, po sekularyzacji zamieniono na pałac książęcy. Na skutek zniszczeń w czasie wojny utracona została część zabytkowej materii, tj. m.in. średniowieczne sklepienia, nowożytne tynki, sztukaterie, detale i elementy architektoniczne. Jednocześnie spod barokowego tynku odsłoniły się świetnie zachowane średniowieczne polichromie. Prace konserwatorskie wówczas przeprowadzone miały charakter purystycznej odbudowy bez szacunku dla zabytkowej materii. Bez względu na stan zachowania usunięto wszystkie średniowieczne malowidła, patynę ścian, barokowe stiuki, które mogły pozostać w formie tzw. świadków. Kreując architektoniczny palimpsest, pozbawiono obiekt znacznej części jego historii, albowiem straty poniesione nie są możliwe do odrobienia.The article is aimed at describing the transformations of the Cistercian abbey in Rudy Raciborskie after World War II. This architectural complex,established after the secularization was converted into a ducal palace. During the World War II medieval vaults, stucco works, details and elements of architecture were destroyed. However, due to that fact, medieval polychromes were revealed. All the conservation works conducted at that time were of purifying character and resulted in the destruction of all medieval paintings, patina on the walls as well as Baroque stucco works, which could have been left in the form of the so called “testimony”. This architectural palimpsest deprived the building of a part of its history and the losses are impossible to recover

Organizacja pozarządowe w Polsce - rola i ich źródła finasowania

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are institutions that belong most often to the social service sector, whose goals are to meet the specific needs of people that are not being met, or not being met adequately, by commercial organizations or state administrations. Such NGOs work to help citizens develop and to improve themselves and their life situations. This article presents an overview of the role played by NGOs in Poland and how they are funded.Organizacje pozarządowe to instytucje zaliczające się do sektora społecznego, potrafiącego zaspokoić specyficzne potrzeby ludzi, których nie zaspokajają organizacje komercyjne i administracja państwowa. NGOsy wychowują, pomagają rozwijać i samorealizować się obywatelom. Artykuł przedstawia rolę jaką odgrywają organizacje pozarządowe oraz w jaki sposób są finansowanie. W artykule wykorzystano metodę desk research - przedstawiono i omówiono wyniki badań wtórnych, przeprowadzonych przez Stowarzyszenie Klon/Jawor oraz Główny Urząd Statystyczny

Enzymatic hydrolysis of lignocel- lulose biomass from energetic willow (Salix viminalis L.)

Przedstawiono wyniki analizy statystycznej procesu wykorzystującego przemysłowe preparaty enzymatyczne Cellic® CTec2 oraz СеШс® HTec2 do hydrolizy surowca lignocelulozowego z wierzby energetycznej (Salix viminalis L.) poddanego obróbce wstępnej metodą eksplozji pary. Wykazano niewielki wpływ preparatu Cellic HTec2 na efektywność hydrolizy. Według planu Boxa-Behnkena wyznaczono optymalne wartości temperatu¬ry (43,8°C) oraz odczynu pH (5,55) układu reakcyjnego, dla których po 72 h odnotowano stopień hydrolizy równy 0,52.Statistical analysis results of hydrolysis process of energetic willow (Salix viminalis L.) lignocellulose biomass (pre-treated with steam explosion) catalyzed by industrial enzyme preparations: Cellic® CTec2 and Cellic® HTec2, have been discussed. The negligible effect of Cellic® HTec2 on the hydrolysis efficiency has been demonstrated. Based on the Box-Behnken design, the optimum values of temperature (43.8°C) and pH (5.55) for the studied reaction system have been estimated

DNA strand breaks induced by concerted interaction of H radicals and low-energy electrons

We propose a mechanism of DNA single strand breaks induced by low-energy electrons. Density functional theory calculations have been performed on a neutral, hydrogenated, and/or negatively charged nucleotide of cytosine in the gas phase to identify barriers for the phosphate-sugar O–C bond cleavage. Attachment of the first excess electron induces intermolecular proton transfer to cytosine. The resulting neutral radical of hydrogenated cytosine binds another excess electron, and the excess charge is localized primarily on the C6 atom. A barrier encountered for proton transfer from the C2' atom of the adjacent sugar unit to the C6 atom of cytosine is 3.6 and 5.0 kcal/mol, based on the MPW1K and B3LYP electronic energies corrected for zero-point vibrations, respectively. The proton transfer is followed by a barrier-free sugar-phosphate C–O bond cleavage. The proton transfer is impossible for the neutral nucleotide, as there is no local minimum for the product. In the case of anionic and hydrogenated nucleotides the same barrier determined at the B3LYP level is as large as 29.3 and 22.4 kcal/mol respectively. This illustrates that the consecutive hydrogenation and electron attachment make the nucleotide of cytosine susceptible to a strand break. The rate of the C–O bond cleavage in the anion of hydrogenated nucleotide of cytosine is estimated to be ca. 1010  s-1. The proposed mechanism proceeds through bound anionic states, not through metastable states with finite lifetimes and discrete energy positions with respect to the neutral target. The results suggest that at least for DNA without hydration even very low-energy electrons may cleave the DNA backbone

Liquid/liquid culture system as an alternative method of adherent cells 3-D culture

Porównano wzrost mysich zarodkowych komórek macierzystych w postaci kul zarodkowych w hodowli standardowej (stała powierzchnia pokryta żelatyną) oraz w układzie ciecz/ciecz (perfluorodekalina/pożywka). Wykazano, że hodowla kul zarodkowych w układzie dwóch niemieszających się faz ciekłych pozwala znacznie wydłużyć żywotność agregatów mysich komórek macierzystych oraz prawdopodobnie utrzymać je w stanie niezróżnicowanym.The growth of mouse embryonic stem cell spheres cultured in the typical (on solid surface) and in liquid/liquid systems (perfluorodecalin/medium) has been compared. It has been showed that the liquid/liquid culture system enables one to extend the viability of cultured cells and probably maintains undifferentiated state of the mouse embryonic stem cell spheres