MR imaging in evaluation of the temporomandibular lateral disc displacement in patients with posterior occlusion

Background: The aim of this work was to assess the usefulness of MR imaging in the evaluation of temporomandibular lateral disc displacement in patients with posterior occlusion and the significance of the results of MRI in the diagnosis and treatment of posterior occlusion. Material/Methods: Imaging evaluation was performed to 80 temporomandibular joints in 40 patients with posterior occlusion, of both sexes, at the age of 16-35, prior to orthodontic treatment. The imaging technique used for the evaluation of temporomandibular joints was magnetic resonance using the Signa Horizon 1.5 T System (GEMS) during rest occlusion. The evaluation was focused on bony structures of the joint and its posterior ligament. The type of joint was defined as intermediate in case of the articular tuberculum of a semicircular shape, shallow - in case of horizontally elongated ellipse, and deep - in case of vertically elongated ellipse. The symmetry of the articular space as well as the alignment of the articular disc in the frontal plane was also evaluated. The obtained data were presented in form of figures and graphs and analysed using the statistics software - BMDP New System 2.0. Results: In patients with posterior occlusion, the so-called intermediate type of temporomandibular joint was found to be the most common, whereas the symmetrical articular space occurred in 33.7% of cases. The rate of narrowed retrodiscal region was 61.2%, which was a statistically significant difference in comparison with the control group. The assessment of position of the disc in the frontal plane during occlusion revealed 12.6% of medial displacement and 6.2% of lateral displacement. Statistically significant differences between the study group and the control group were found concerning the disc position during occlusion assessed in the frontal plane (χ2=9.564; p=0.008). Statistically significant differences were confirmed concerning the width and symmetry of the articular space between the two groups - the persons with posterior occlusion and the control group (χ2=24.174; p=0.0001). In persons with posterior occlusion no significant correlation was found between the type of the joint and the position of the articular disc during occlusion in the frontal plane, that is the lateral and medial displacement (χ2=2.529; p=0.640). Correlation was found between the type of the joint and its symmetry, narrowed or widened articular space in the retrodiscal region (χ2=15.54; p<0.004). Conclusions: Diagnostic efficacy of the magnetic resonance imaging was found in the evaluation of temporomandibular joints in case of posterior occlusion. Based on the obtained results we believe that in MR of occlusion defects T2-weighted sequences can be excluded, as the application of only T1- and PD-weighted sequences is sufficient

Rescue of mutant rhodopsin traffic by metformin-induced AMPK activation accelerates photoreceptor degeneration

Protein misfolding caused by inherited mutations leads to loss of protein function and potentially toxic ‘gain of function’, such as the dominant P23H rhodopsin mutation that causes retinitis pigmentosa (RP). Here, we tested whether the AMPK activator metformin could affect the P23H rhodopsin synthesis and folding. In cell models, metformin treatment improved P23H rhodopsin folding and traffic. In animal models of P23H RP, metformin treatment successfully enhanced P23H traffic to the rod outer segment, but this led to reduced photoreceptor function and increased photoreceptor cell death. The metformin-rescued P23H rhodopsin was still intrinsically unstable and led to increased structural instability of the rod outer segments. These data suggest that improving the traffic of misfolding rhodopsin mutants is unlikely to be a practical therapy, because of their intrinsic instability and long half-life in the outer segment, but also highlights the potential of altering translation through AMPK to improve protein function in other protein misfolding diseases

Associate professor Mieczysław Marczuk

Docent dr Mieczysław Marczuk urodził się 5 października 1924 r. w Wielgorzu. Po zakończeniu II wojny światowej wznowił naukę, w roku szkolnym 1945/46 ukończył gimnazjum rolnicze i rozpoczął kurs pedagogiczny dla kandydatów na nauczycieli szkół powszechnych. Studia pedagogiczne ukończył na Uniwersytecie Warszawskim uzyskując w 1958 r. tytuł magistra. Z UMCS związał się w 1963 r. i pozostał wierny uczelni do ostatnich dni swego życia. Jako do-cent został zastępcą, a następnie dyrektorem Instytutu Nauk Filozoficznych. Od 1973 r. pełnił funkcję kierownika Zakładu Andragogiki i Pedeutologii przy Instytucie Pedagogiki i Psycho-logii Wydziału Humanistycznego UMCS. Był prodziekanem Wydziału Pedagogiki i Psychologii oraz dyrektorem Instytutu Pedagogiki w latach 1984-1991. Reaktywował „Lubelski Rocznik Pedagogiczny” i został jego redaktorem naczelnym. Był współtwórcą Lubelskiego Uniwersyte-tu Trzeciego Wieku. Współpracował z uczelniami wyższymi, zarówno polskimi, jak i zagranicz-nymi oraz ważnymi instytucjami, jak np. Międzynarodowa Organizacja Sztuki Ludowej. Zmarł 22 lipca 2016 r. w Lublinie.Associate professor Mieczysław Marczuk, PhD, was born on 5 October 1924 in Wielgorz, Po-land. After World War II he continued his education and in the academic year 1945/46 he graduated from an agricultural middle school and started a pedagogy course for candidates for public school teachers. In 1958 he graduated with a master’s degree in pedagogy from the University of Warsaw. In 1963 he started working at the Maria Curie-Sklodowska University in Lublin and remained loyal to the MCSU until the last day of his life. As an associate professor he became the assistant director and then the director of the Institute of Philosophy. Since 1973 he had been the head of the Department of Andragogy and Pedeutology at the Institute of Pedagogy and Psychology at the Faculty of Humanities of the MCSU. He was the deputy dean of the Institute of Pedagogy and Psychology and the director of the Institute of Peda-gogy between 1984 and 1991. He resumed the publication of the “Lubelski Rocznik Pedagog-iczny” journal and became its editor-in-chief. He was a co-creator of the University of the Third Age in Lublin. He cooperated with various universities, both in Poland and abroad, and with many important institutions, including the International Organization of Folk Art. He died on July 22, 2016 in Lublin, Poland

Moderation of Inulin and Polyphenolics Contents in Three Cultivars of Helianthus tuberosus L. by Potassium Fertilization

Jerusalem artichoke, a widely consumed edible, is an excellent source of inulin and selected phytochemicals. However, the improvement of its chemical composition by potassium fertilization has not yet been studied. Thus, the aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of different potassium (K) fertilization levels (K2O 150 kg ha&minus;1, 250 kg ha&minus;1, 350 kg ha&minus;1) on the content of inulin; profile and changes in polyphenolic compounds; and the antioxidant capacity, including on-line ABTS antioxidant profiles of freeze-dried tubers originated from Violette de Rennes, Topstar, and Waldspindel cultivars. Inulin content was highest in the early maturing cv. Topstar. The application of 350 kg ha&minus;1 of K fertilizer rates during the growth of cv. Topstar increased the inulin content of tubers by 13.2% relative to the lowest K fertilizer rate of 150 kg ha&minus;1. In cv. Violette de Rennes, inulin accumulation increased in response to the fertilizer rate of 250 kg ha&minus;1. A further increase in K fertilizer rates had no effect on inulin content. The inulin content of cv. Waldspindel was not modified by any of the tested K fertilizer rates. Thus, the accumulation of the inulin was cultivar-dependent. In the cultivars analyzed, 11 polyphenolic compounds were identified and polyphenolic compound content was affected by the applied rate of potassium fertilizer, which was dependent on the cultivar. Chlorogenic acid was the predominant phenolic acid in all cultivars, and it accounted for around 66.4% of the identified polyphenolic compounds in cv. Violette de Rennes and for around 77% of polyphenolic compounds in cv. Waldspindel and Topstar