The earliest electrophysiological correlate of visual awareness in visual masking paradigm

Elektrofizjologiczny korelat świadomości to różnica, która pojawia się przy porównaniu potencjałów wywołanych skorelowanych z bodźcami, które stają się treścią świadomości z potencjałami wywołanymi skorelowanymi z bodźcami, które nie wchodzą do świadomości. Większość dotychczasowych badań w paradygmacie maskowania wstecznego wskazuje, że różnicą tą jest VAN (Visual Awareness Negativity) pojawiający się około 200 milisekund po prezentacji bodźca. Jednakże, nie we wszystkich badaniach udaje się go zaobserwować – wtedy zróżnicowanie związane ze świadomością wykazuje się dopiero w amplitudzie komponentu P3. Postawiono hipotezę, że źródłem braku jednoznacznych wniosków z dotychczasowych badań może być fakt wykorzystywania różnych rodzajów bodźców, zarówno prostych (kreski, kropki) jak i takich, które mają znaczenie (litery, złożone obiekty).Po przeprowadzeniu eksperymentu stwierdzono, że w przypadku bodźców prostych najwcześniej istotne statystycznie zróżnicowanie związane z poziomem uświadomienia widoczne jest w amplitudzie komponentu P3. Świadome versus nieświadome przetwarzaniepercepcyjne bodźców ze znaczeniem korelowało z różnicami w dwóch oknach czasowych: 264–350 ms oraz 400–622 ms (P3). W żadnym przypadku nie zaobserwowano VAN.Electrophysiological correlates of visual awareness can be operationalized as the difference between event-related potentials (ERPs) in response to stimuli that enter awareness and stimuli that do not. Most studies suggest that early posterior negativity around 200 ms (visual awareness negativity, VAN) is earliest correlate of visual consciousness. However, some research see the difference as enhancement of late positivity in the P3 window. This disagreement might be the result of using different types of stimuli: simple (dots, lines) and meaningful (letters, objects). To test this hypothesis an experiment in the visual masking paradigm was conducted. The gathered data support the idea that the effect of conscious perception is seen on P3 wave. Difference between conscious and unconscius perception was observed for simple stimuli in 360–480 ms time window and for meaningful between 264–350 ms and 400–622 ms. No sign of VAN was detected

Echinococcus Granulosus – Epidemiology, Control and Prevention

Rozpoznanie różnicowe bąblowcowych torbieli wywołanych przez Echinococcus granulosus u pacjentów ze zmianami ogniskowymi wątroby jest trudne i wymaga dużego doświadczenia klinicznego. Postawienie ostatecznego rozpoznania wymaga użycia różnych technik badawczych. Do identyfikacji E. granulosus wykorzystuje się badania obrazowe (RTG, USG, TK), testy serologiczne (test ELISA, metoda Western Blot), przezskórny drenaż torbieli PAIR, biopsję aspiracyjną cienkoigłową celowaną (BACC) oraz badania śródoperacyjne.Differential diagnosis of hydatid cysts caused by Echinococcus granulosus in patients with focal liver lesions is difficult and requires extensive clinical experience. Making a final diagnosis requires the use of various research techniques. E. granulosus is identified using imaging tests (X-ray, USG, CT), serological tests (ELISA, Western Blot), percutaneous drainage of the PAIR cyst, fine-needle aspiration biopsy (FNACC) and intraoperative tests

Hygiene pests as vectors for parasitic and bacterial diseases in humans

Diseases transmitted by hygiene pests remain a very serious problem in spite of fast developments in science and medicine. The present study focuses on pests carrying germs that pose a threat to human health and life. The quick pace of life, the need to satisfy human needs and mass production of food sometimes result in flagrant sanitary, hygienic and epidemiological deficiencies. These irregularities are conducive to hygiene pests, which, when not held in check by proper control measures, may act more efficiently and quickly

Phytochemical Screening and Acanthamoebic Activity of Shoots from in Vitro Cultures and in Vivo Plants of Eryngium alpinum L.—The Endangered and Protected Species

Genetically uniform shoots of Eryngium alpinum L. cultured in vitro were subjected to the qualitative analysis applying the UPLC-HESI-HRMS technique. In vitro cultures give the opportunity to perform the phytochemical studies on the protected species without harvesting the plant material from the natural environment. The phytochemical screening of the crude methanolic extracts of shoots, both from in vitro cultures and in vivo plants, revealed the presence of phenolic acids, coumarins, flavonoids, triterpenoid saponins, amino acids, or dipeptides. Active compounds detected are known to have medicinal importance, and for this reason, the present study represents a preliminary investigation of the extracts against pathogenic and opportunistic amoeba. Among the extracts tested, the extract of shoots from in vitro cultures exhibited remarkable amoebicidal action against trophozoites. On the second day of treatment, the extract at the concentrations of 5 mg/mL, 2.5 mg/mL, and 0.5 mg/mL showed the highest antiamoebicidal effect: the inhibition of trophozoites reached 81.14%, 66.38%, and 54.99%, respectively. To our best knowledge, the present report is the first to show the phytochemical screening and to discuss the antiamoebic activity of Eryngium alpinum L. shoots, both from in vitro cultures and in vivo plants

Comparative Study of <i>Plantago media</i> Extracts in the Treatment of <i>Acanthamoeba</i> sp. Trophozoites

(1) Background: The aim of the study was to compare the potency of Plantago media L. (Plantaginaceae) extracts on Acanthamoeba sp. trophozoites, which are opportunistic protozoan parasites leading to several dangerous diseases; (2) Methods: The chromatographically (TLC, HPLC-DAD) characterized water fractions of the extracts from biomass from in vitro cultures (shoots and roots), leaves, and inflorescences from field cultivation were used for the study of the acanthamoebic activity in a Thoma haemocytometer chamber; (3) Results: The anti-amoebic effect at the lowest concentration (1.0 mg/mL) was demonstrated only by the extract of the leaves from the cultivation (50.50% inhibition). The remaining samples inhibited the growth of parasites from a concentration of 5.0 mg/mL in the range of 41.36% inflorescences to 63.89% shoots in vitro. Quantitative determinations of phenolic compounds in the tested extracts indicate a tendency to increase the potency of the anti-amoebic effect with the content of a phenylethanoid glycoside—acteoside. The maximum content of this compound was determined in leaves from field cultivation (6.64%) and the minimum in inflorescences (0.65%). This is confirmed by the range of the lowest IC50 values (the strongest biological activity) for the tested samples, 0.95–1.80 mg/mL for leaves from cultivation, and the high values, 9.70–5.30 mg/mL for inflorescences and in-vitro-derived roots. The strength of the biological activity of the extracts correlated with the content of acteoside, which constituted 84–93% of the sum of phenolic compounds determined; (4) Conclusions: The performed investigations proved the anti-acanthamoebic efficacy of Plantago media organs, including those obtainable by biotechnological methods, and indicated phenylethanoid glycosides, their main phenolic constituents, to be responsible for the activity. To our knowledge, this is the first report on the amoebicidal activity of Plantago media extracts from biomass produced by biotechnological methods and organs of an intact plant

Labeled Trichoderma reesei Cellulase as a Marker for Acanthamoeba Cyst Wall Cellulose in Infected Tissues ▿

Some protozoans are able to encyst as a protective response to a harmful environment. The cyst wall usually contains chitin as its main structural constituent. Acanthamoeba is an exception since its cyst wall contains cellulose. Specific cytochemical differentiation between cellulose and chitin by microscopy has not been possible due to the similarity of the constituent β-1,4-linked hexose backbones of these molecules. Thus, various fluorescent brightening agents and lectins bind to both cellulose and chitin. The identification of Acanthamoeba spp., which is based primarily on morphological and biochemical features, is labor-intensive and requires cloning and axenization. We describe a novel immunocytochemical method for identification of Acanthamoeba spp. based on selective binding of Trichoderma reesei cellulase to protozoan cyst wall cellulose. A recombinant cellulose-binding protein consisting of two cellulose-binding domains (CBDs) from T. reesei cellulases was coupled to the fluorescent dyes Alexa Fluor 350 and Alexa Fluor 568 or was labeled with biotin using EZ-Link sulfo-NHS-biotin. No staining reaction was observed with chitin-containing preparations of fungi. Thus, the recombinant CBDs can be used as a marker to distinguish between cellulose and chitin. This allows rapid identification of Acanthamoeba cyst wall cellulose in paraffin or frozen sections of infected tissues