The sense of coherence and styles of coping with disease in patients with diagnosed arterial hypertension

Wstęp Choroba nadciśnieniowa stanowi duże obciążenie psychiczne dla chorego i negatywnie wpływa na jakość życia. Czynnikiem wpływającym na umiejętność radzenia sobie ze stresem jest poczucie koherencji (SOC). Celem pracy było zbadanie poziomu SOC oraz stylów radzenia sobie u osób z nadciśnieniem tętniczym, jako wyznacznika powrotu do optymalnego stanu zdrowia. Materiał i metody Przebadano 73 osoby z rozpoznanym nadciśnieniem tętniczym w NZOZ "Gemini" w Chojnicach. Poczucie koherencji oceniono za pomocą kwestionariusza SOC-29, a pomiar radzenia sobie w sytuacjach stresowych przeprowadzono, stosując kwestionariusz CISS. Wyniki Ustalono, że chorzy nie różnią się między sobą poziomem SOC oraz rodzajem stylów radzenia sobie w sytuacjach trudnych. Stwierdzono, że SOC ogólny jest znacznie obniżony (113,53 punktów). Wnioski Istnieje potrzeba podjęcia działań o charakterze wspierająco-edukacyjnym ze strony zespołu terapeutycznego dostosowanych do poziomu i sytuacji życiowej chorych.Background Arterial hypertension is a big mental burden for the patient and it negatively influences the quality of life. Sense of coherence (SOC) is a factor which influences the ability to cope with stress. The aim of the study was to examine the level of SOC and styles of coping as determinants of regaining optimum health in patients with arterial hypertension. Material and methods The study included 73 arterial hypertension patients of NZOZ ‘Gemini’ Clinic in Chojnice. Sense of coherence was assessed using SOC-29 questionnaire and coping with stress was assessed using CISS questionnaire. Results The study shows no differences between the patients’ level of SOC and kinds of coping styles in difficult situation. General SOC is significantly lowered (113.53). Conclusions The therapeutic team should perform educational and supportive actions adjusted to the life situation of the patient

Purification of phage display-modified bacteriophage T4 by affinity chromatography

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Affinity chromatography is one of the most efficient protein purification strategies. This technique comprises a one-step procedure with a purification level in the order of several thousand-fold, adaptable for various proteins, differentiated in their size, shape, charge, and other properties. The aim of this work was to verify the possibility of applying affinity chromatography in bacteriophage purification, with the perspective of therapeutic purposes. T4 is a large, icosahedral phage that may serve as an efficient display platform for foreign peptides or proteins. Here we propose a new method of T4 phage purification by affinity chromatography after its modification with affinity tags (GST and Histag) by <it>in vivo </it>phage display. As any permanent introduction of extraneous DNA into a phage genome is strongly unfavourable for medical purposes, integration of foreign motifs with the phage genome was not applied. The phage was propagated in bacteria expressing fusions of the phage protein Hoc with affinity tags from bacterial plasmids, independently from the phage expression system.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Elution profiles of phages modified with the specific affinity motifs (compared to non-specific phages) document their binding to the affinity resins and effective elution with standard competitive agents. Non-specific binding was also observed, but was 10²-10⁵times weaker than the specific one. GST-modified bacteriophages were also effectively released from glutathione Sepharose by proteolytic cleavage. The possibility of proteolytic release was designed at the stage of expression vector construction. Decrease in LPS content in phage preparations was dependent on the washing intensity; intensive washing resulted in preparations of 11-40 EU/ml.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Affinity tags can be successfully incorporated into the T4 phage capsid by the <it>in vivo </it>phage display technique and they strongly elevate bacteriophage affinity to a specific resin. Affinity chromatography can be considered as a new phage purification method, appropriate for further investigations and development.</p

Immunogenic epitope scanning in bacteriolytic enzymes Pal and Cpl-1 and engineering Pal to escape antibody responses

Bacteriolytic enzymes are promising antibacterial agents, but they can cause a typical immune response in vivo. In this study, we used a targeted modification method for two antibacterial endolysins, Pal and Cpl-1. We identified the key immunogenic amino acids, and designed and tested new, bacteriolytic variants with altered immunogenicity. One new variant of Pal (257-259 MKS → TFG) demonstrated decreased immunogenicity while a similar mutant (257-259 MKS → TFK) demonstrated increased immunogenicity. A third variant (280-282 DKP → GGA) demonstrated significantly increased antibacterial activity and it was not cross-neutralized by antibodies induced by the wild-type enzyme. We propose this variant as a new engineered endolysin with increased antibacterial activity that is capable of escaping cross-neutralization by antibodies induced by wild-type Pal. We show that efficient antibacterial enzymes that avoid cross-neutralization by IgG can be developed by epitope scanning, in silico design, and substitutions of identified key amino acids with a high rate of success. Importantly, this universal approach can be applied to many proteins beyond endolysins and has the potential for design of numerous biological drugs

Szkoła wobec wymagań państwa. Poradnik dla nauczycieli i dyrektorów.

Publikacja powstała w ramach projektu „Program wzmocnienia efektywności systemu nadzorupedagogicznego i oceny jakości pracy szkoły etap III”

Szkoła wobec wymagań państwa. Poradnik dla rodziców

Publikacja powstała w ramach projektu "Progam wzmocnienia efektywności systemu nadzoru pedagogicznego i oceny jakości pracy szkoły etap III"Publikacja współfinansowana przez Unię Europejską w ramach Europejskiego Funduszu Społeczneg

Analysis of mugwort (Artemisia) pollen seasons in selected cities in Poland in 2018

The aim of the present study was to compare the mugwort pollen season in 2018 in Bialystok, Bydgoszcz, Cracow, Drawsko-Pomorskie, Lublin, Olsztyn, Opole, Sosnowiec, Szczecin, Warsaw, Wroclaw, and Zielona Gora. Pollen concentration measurements were made by the volumetric method using Burkard or Lanzoni pollen samplers. The pollen season was considered as the period during which 98% of the total annual pollen count occurred. The Seasonal Pollen Index (SPI) was calculated as the sum of the average daily pollen concentrations throughout the season determined for the individual cities. The mugwort pollen season started earliest in Bialystok (June 21st) and Bydgoszcz (June 25th), while in the other cities its onset occurred in the first 10 days of July. Significant differences were found in season duration (68–110 days), SPI, and peak value. The longest season occurred in Zielona Gora and Bydgoszcz, while the shortest one in Wroclaw. The highest SPI and maximum concentration values were observed in Lublin and Zielona Gora. In most of the cities, the peak value was recorded in the first 10 days of August. The highest risk of allergy in people sensitive to the pollen of this taxon was found in Zielona Gora, Lublin, and Warsaw

Ambrosia pollen season in selected cities in Poland in 2018

Ambrosia causes most pollen allergies in North America. After several Ambrosia species were introduced to Europe, an increase in the incidence of allergy to pollen of these plants has been observed in many countries. The aim of this study was to compare Ambrosia pollen seasons in 2018 in 13 cities located in different regions of Poland: Bialystok, Bydgoszcz, Cracow, Drawsko Pomorskie, Lublin, Olsztyn, Opole, Piotrkow Trybunalski, Sosnowiec, Szczecin, Warsaw, Wroclaw and Zielona Gora. The study was conducted by the volumetric method using Burkard or Lanzoni pollen samplers. The pollen season was determined by the 98% method. The earliest pollen season start dates (the end of July) were recorded in Zielona Gora, Bydgoszcz, Opole and Szczecin, while the latest ones in Drawsko Pomorskie and Bialystok. The longest pollen seasons occurred in Opole, Szczecin and Zielona Gora (79 days). The highest average daily concentrations of Ambrosia pollen were recorded in Bialystok (129 P/m3) and Lublin (99 P/m3), while the lowest ones in Drawsko Pomorskie and Szczecin (4 and 10 P/m3, respectively). The annual pollen sum reached the highest value in Opole (567 pollen grains) and Zielona Gora (555 pollen grains). It can be concluded from the pattern of Ambrosia pollen seasons at the monitoring sites studied that pollen of this taxon originates not only from Ambrosia locations in Poland but also from long-distance transport

The impact of data assimilation into the meteorological WRF model on birch pollen modelling

We analyse the impact of ground-based data assimilation to theWeather Research and Forecasting (WRF) meteorological model on parameters relevant for birch pollen emission calculations. Then, we use two different emission databases (BASE – no data assimilation, OBSNUD – data assimilation for the meteorological model) in the chemical transport model and evaluate birch pollen concentrations. Finally, we apply a scaling factor for the emissions (BASE and OBSNUD), based on the ratio between simulated and observed seasonal pollen integral (SPIn) to analyse its impact on birch concentrations over Central Europe. Assimilation of observational data significantly reducesmodel overestimation of air temperature,which is themain parameter responsible for the start of pollen emission and amount of released pollen. The results also show that a relatively small bias in air temperature from the model can lead to significant differences in heating degree days (HDD) value. This may cause the HDD threshold to be attained several days earlier/later than indicated from observational data which has further impact on the start of pollen emission. Even though the bias for air temperature was reduced for OBSNUD, the model indicates a start for the birch pollen season that is too early compared to observations. The start date of the seasonwas improved at two of the 11 stations in Poland. Data assimilation does not have a significant impact on the season's end or SPIn value. The application of the SPIn factor for the emissions results in a much closer birch pollen concentration level to observations even though the factor does not improve the start or end of the pollen season. The post-processing of modelled meteorological fields, such as the application of bias correction, can be considered as a way to further improve the pollen emission modelling

Real-Time qPCR as a Method for Detection of Antibody-Neutralized Phage Particles

The most common method for phage quantitation is the plaque assay, which relies on phage ability to infect bacteria. However, non-infective phage particles may preserve other biological properties; specifically, they may enter interactions with the immune system of animals and humans. Here, we demonstrate real-time quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR) detection of bacteriophages as an alternative to the plaque assay. The closely related staphylococcal bacteriophages A3R and 676Z and the coliphage T4 were used as model phages. They were tested in vivo in mice, ex vivo in human sera, and on plastic surfaces designed for ELISAs. T4 phage was injected intravenously into pre-immunized mice. The phage was completely neutralized by specific antibodies within 5 h (0 pfu/ml of serum, as determined by the plaque assay), but it was still detected by qPCR in the amount of approximately 107 pfu/ml of serum. This demonstrates a substantial timelapse between “microbiological disappearance” and true clearance of phage particles from the circulation. In human sera ex vivo, qPCR was also able to detect neutralized phage particles that were not detected by the standard plaque assay. The investigated bacteriophages differed considerably in their ability to immobilize on plastic surfaces: this difference was greater than one order of magnitude, as shown by qPCR of phage recovered from plastic plates. The ELISA did not detect differences in phage binding to plates. Major limitations of qPCR are possible inhibitors of the PCR reaction or free phage DNA, which need to be considered in procedures of phage sample preparation for qPCR testing. We propose that phage pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies should not rely merely on detection of antibacterial activity of a phage. Real-time qPCR can be an alternative for phage detection, especially in immunological studies of bacteriophages. It can also be useful for studies of phage-based drug nanocarriers or biosensors