Evaluation of the utility of surfactin produced by the native strain of Bacillus subtilis natto BS19 in reducing the feeding and development of Oulema melanopus and Oulema gallaeciana

The study objective was to investigate the influence of microbiologically obtained surfactin on the feeding and development of Oulema melanopus and Oulema gallaeciana on spring wheat ( Triticum aestivum) and spring barley ( Hordeum vulgare). The purified bioproduct was applied to the leaves of cereal plants at a concentration of 660.5 mg · l –1. The tests were conducted as a no-choice test and a choice test. Pest feeding and egg-laying were analyzed. The addition of surfactin to the food reduced the feeding of female and male tested insects as compared to controls. Male pests caused less damage to plants than females. Insect feeding on surfactin-treated plants was low in the first days of the experiment. The tested insects laid fewer eggs on plants treated with the biosurfactant. In terms of food selection, both female and male Oulema spp. were much more likely to choose food to which surfactin had not been applied. It can thus be concluded that surfactin can contribute positively to the biological control of beetles of the genus Oulema under natural conditions. However, further research is needed to better understand the mechanisms by which analogues of this compound limit the development of this cereal pest in its natural environment

Denture-related stomatitis is associated with endothelial dysfunction

Oral inflammation, such as periodontitis, can lead to endothelial dysfunction, accelerated atherosclerosis, and vascular dysfunction. The relationship between vascular dysfunction and other common forms of oral infections such as denture-related stomatitis (DRS) is unknown. Similar risk factors predispose to both conditions including smoking, diabetes, age, and obesity. Accordingly, we aimed to investigate endothelial function and major vascular disease risk factors in 44 consecutive patients with dentures with clinical and microbiological features of DRS (n = 20) and without DRS (n = 24). While there was a tendency for higher occurrence of diabetes and smoking, groups did not differ significantly in respect to major vascular disease risk factors. Groups did not differ in main ambulatory blood pressure, total cholesterol, or even CRP. Importantly, flow mediated dilatation (FMD) was significantly lower in DRS than in non-DRS subjects, while nitroglycerin induced vasorelaxation (NMD) or intima-media thickness (IMT) was similar. Interestingly, while triglyceride levels were normal in both groups, they were higher in DRS subjects, although they did not correlate with either FMD or NMD. Conclusions. Denture related stomatitis is associated with endothelial dysfunction in elderly patients with dentures. This is in part related to the fact that diabetes and smoking increase risk of both DRS and cardiovascular disease

Polymorphism of the glutathione S-transferases in prostate cancer

Prostate cancer occurs more and more frequently in men over 50 years of age. Its etiology is still unclear, despite numerous studies of its main risk factors. Scientists discovered, that it  is genetically and environmentally determined. Recent publications suggest the role of S-glutathione transferases (GSTs) in modulation of prostate cancer risk. Numerous studies try to reveal the role of three the best known genetic variants, GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1. Glutathione S-transferases as a multi-family of metabolic enzymes of the II-phase, are responsible for detoxification of various, potentially carcinogenic compounds. Deficiencies or changed activity of the enzymes, may increase the risk of mutation. The GSTs could be important  in the etiology of cancers, including prostate cancer. Numerous study suggest the influence of GSTM1, GSTT1 and GSTP1 polimorphisms on susceptibility to prostate cancer, while others, exclude such correlation. Therefore determining the significance of these genetic variants in prostate cancer  should be the subject of further extensive research

Analysis of changes in fruit tissue after the pulsed electric field treatment using optical coherence tomography

The pulsed electric field (PEF) is one of the non-thermal methods used in the food industry for prolonging food preservation or obtaining better quality of end products. The structure of fruit and vegetable tissues subjected to PEF treatment changes under the influence of short-term high voltage electrical impulses. In this process, the hydrophilic spaces in the cell membranes occur. The authors present the results of the assessment of structural changes in fruit subjected to PEF, using the textural analysis of sub-peel layers. The images were obtained by optical coherence tomography (OCT) at an infrared wavelength of 1300 nm. The OCT cross-sections revealed the zone of strong infrared light reflection from internal structures indicating the loss of parenchymatic tissue integrity. The intensity of these changes depended on fruit type and used parameters of PEF. It was shown that the increasing intensity of the electric field affecting the tissue structure of raspberry or grape fruit generally increases the entropy, standard deviation and the mean of their OCT images. Changes in these feature values are usually not proportional to the field strength (0, 3.3, 5 kV/cm) and depend on the depth below the fruit surface. The raspberry fruit is more sensitive to PEF because at the strength of 5 kV/cm the corresponding features of grape fruit behave similarly with 10 times more field pulses. The OCT method can be used to assess noninvasively the suitability of fruit for further stages of processing, e.g. in PEF assisted pressing of fruit juice

The role of molecular predictors of the diagnosis and treatment in women with gynecological cancer

Tumor markers are substances that can be found in the body when cancer is present. The classic  tumor marker is a protein that can be found in the blood in higher than normal amounts when a certain type of cancer is present, but not all tumor markers are like that. Some are found in urine or other body fluid, and others are found in tumors and other tissue. They may be made by the cancer cells themselves, or by the body in response to cancer or other conditions. The paper presents the current state of research for identification of clinically useful molecular markers of cancer of the reproductive system of women. Overview of all molecular indicators would have been no possible, so focus on those that seem to be the most promising and have a chance to clinical application

Method of Biomass Discrimination for Fast Assessment of Calorific Value

Crop byproducts are alternatives to nonrenewable energy resources. Burning biomass results in lower emission of undesirable nitrogen and sulfur oxides and contributes no significant greenhouse effect. There is a diverse range of energy-useful biomass, including in terms of calorific value. This article presents a new method of discriminating biomass, and of determining its calorific value. The method involves extracting the selected texture features on the surface of a briquette from a microscopic image and then classifying them using supervised classification methods. The fractal dimension, local binary pattern (LBP), and Haralick features are computed and then classified by linear discrimination analysis (LDA). The discrimination results are compared with the results obtained by random forest (RF) and deep neural network (DNN) type classifiers. This approach is superior in terms of complexity and operating time to other methods such as, for instance, the calorimetric method or analysis of the chemical composition of elements in a sample. In the normal operation mode, our method identifies the calorific value in the time of about 100 s, i.e., 90 times faster than traditional combustion of material samples. In predicting from a single sample image, the overall average accuracy of 95% was achieved for all tested classifiers. The authors’ idea to use ten input images of the same material and then majority voting after classification increases the discrimination system accuracy above 99%