Niemcy wobec propozycji reformy Rady Bezpieczeństwa ONZ

Ze wstępu: "Koniec zimnej wojny zmusił państwa do debaty nad porządkiem międzynarodowym i wywołał dyskusję na temat reformy ONZ. Od pewnego czasu w różnych gremiach, zarówno polityków, jak i ekspertów, toczą się bardzo ożywione dyskusje na temat przyszłego kształtu ONZ. Szczególne ich nasilenie widać od lat 90. Obserwując przebieg tych dyskusji, zauważyć można zgodność stanowisk - nikt nie kwestionuje potrzeby przeprowadzenia gruntownej reformy ONZ. Argumentów uzasadniających takie stanowisko pada wiele, m.in. że zmieniły się bardzo realia międzynarodowe, wzrosła liczba państw, zmienił się układ między nimi oraz cała globalna geopolityka. Głębokie przemiany zaistniały również w gospodarce światowej. ONZ jako powszechna i uniwersalna organizacja międzynarodowa ma wiele zadań do spełnienia. Przed społecznością międzynarodową pojawiają się nowe wyzwania, zagrożenia i problemy globalne, więc konieczne jest usprawnienie funkcjonowania tej organizacji, tak aby była zdolna sprawniej i skuteczniej reagować na potrzeby państw członkowskich."(...

Uwarunkowania formalno-prawne procesu rozszerzania Unii Europejskiej

"Unia Europejska stoi w obliczu kolejnego, piątego rozszerzenia1. Przystąpienie do struktury unijnej nowego państwa oznacza jego podporządkowanie się regułom elitarnego i wymagającego klubu państw. Podporządkowanie się polega na dostosowaniu własnego prawodawstwa do standardów wspólnie wypracowanych przez kraje członkowskie, od momentu podpisania pierwszego traktatu ustanawiającego Europejską Wspólnotę Węgla i Stali do momentu wejścia w życie umowy przystąpienia. Zasadniczym skutkiem przystąpienia państwa do Unii Europejskiej jest uzyskanie przez takie państwo pełni praw państwa członkowskiego i konieczność wypełnienia zobowiązań wynikających z członkostwa."(...

Carbazole ligands as c-myc G-quadruplex binders

The interactions of c-myc G-quadruplex with three carbazole derivatives were investigated by UV-Vis spectrophotometry, fluorescence, CD spectroscopy, and molecular modeling. The results showed that a combination of carbazole scaffold functionalized with ethyl, triazole and imidazole groups resulted in stabilization of the intramolecular G-quadruplex formed by the DNA sequence derived from the NHE III1 region of c-myc oncogene (Pu22). Binding to the G-quadruplex Pu22 resulted in the significant increase in fluorescence intensity of complexed ligands 1-3. All ligands were capable of interacting with G4 DNA with binding stoichiometry indicating that two ligand molecules bind to G-quadruplex with comparable affinity, which agrees with binding model of end-stacking on terminal G-tetrads

What does the volume of stomach resected during Laparoscopic Sleeve Gastrectomy depend on and what impact does it have on postoperative results?

Introduction: Obesity is a chronic, multifactorial disease and its extent is equal to pandemics. Sleeve gastrectomy is one of the methods of obesity treatment. Constantly, research is conducted on factors influencing postoperative bariatric-metabolic results. In this study, a correlation between the volume of stomach resected during LSG with preoperative anthropometric measurements and its influence on postoperative results was analysed. Material and methods: The study included 196 patients who qualified and were subjected to laparoscopic sleeve gastrectomy in the study Centre. Surgery was conducted by the same surgical team according to standard procedure. The volume of the stomach resected was analysed, filling it with CO2 under the pressure of 15 mm Hg. The influence of the volume of stomach resected on bariatric efficiency as well as parameters of lipid and carbohydrate profile results in a 1-year follow-up was analysed. Results: The statistically significant connection between the volume of the stomach resected with preoperative body mass, height and body surface was proved. A correlation between BMI and stomach volume was not found. The volume of stomach resected did not influence body mass loss in a 1-year follow-up. The influence of the volume of the stomach resected on the percentage of glycated haemoglobin and HDL was proved. A significant decrease in body mass and BMI in a 1-year follow-up, as well as an improvement in lipid and carbohydrate balance, was observed. Conclusions: LSG is an efficient method of obesity treatment and for the improvement of biochemical parameters. The volume of stomach resected correlates with preoperative measurements of body mass, height and body surface, but not BMI. There is a lack of correlation between the volume of stomach resected with postoperative body mass loss results

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease (NAFLD) and Bariatric/Metabolic Surgery as Its Treatment Option: A Review

The prevalence of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and non-alcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) has considerably increased over the last years. NAFLD is currently the most common cause of chronic liver disease in the developing world. The diagnosis of NAFLD/NASH is often incidental, as the early-stage of disease is frequently free of symptoms. Most patients recognized with NAFLD have severe obesity and other obesity-related disease such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM), insulin-resistance, dyslipidemia and hypertension. The only proven method for NAFLD improvement and resolution is weight loss. Bariatric surgery leads to significant and long-term weight loss as well as improvement of coexisting diseases. There is a lot of evidence suggesting that metabolic/bariatric surgery is an effective method of NAFLD treatment that leads to reduction in steatosis, hepatic inflammation and fibrosis. However, there is still a need to perform long-term studies in order to determine the role of bariatric surgery as a treatment option for NAFLD and NASH. This review discusses current evidence about epidemiology, pathogenesis and treatment options for NAFLD including bariatric/metabolic surgery and its effect on improvement and resolution of NAFLD

Practical Microwave Synthesis of Carbazole Aldehydes for the Development of DNA-Binding Ligands

Microwave formylation of carbazole derivatives was investigated and 3-monoaldehydes were obtained in high yield. A potential DNA-binding ligand, 3-[(3-ethyl)-2-vinylbenzothiazolium]-9-N-ethyl carbazole iodide, was synthesized and characterized including spectral properties (UV-Vis absorption and fluorescence spectra). The binding selectivity and affinity of three carbazole ligands for double-stranded and G-quadruplex DNA structures were studied using a competitive dialysis method in sodium- and potassium-containing buffer solutions

Binding Study of the Fluorescent Carbazole Derivative with Human Telomeric G-Quadruplexes

The carbazole ligand 3 was synthesized, characterized and its binding interactions with human telomeric (22HT) G-quadruplex DNA in Na+ and K+-containing buffer were investigated by ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectrophotometry, fluorescence, circular dichroism (CD) spectroscopy, and DNA melting. The results showed that the studied carbazole ligand interacted and stabilized the intramolecular G-quadruplexes formed by the telomeric sequence in the presence of sodium and potassium ions. In the UV-Vis titration experiments a two-step complex formation between ligand and G-quadruplex was observed. Very low fluorescence intensity of the carbazole derivative in Tris HCl buffer in the presence of the NaCl or KCl increased significantly after addition of the 22HT G4 DNA. Binding stoichiometry of the ligand/G-quadruplex was investigated with absorbance-based Job plots. Carbazole ligand binds 22HT with about 2:1 stoichiometry in the presence of sodium and potassium ions. The binding mode appeared to be end-stacking with comparable binding constants of ~105 M−1 as determined from UV-Vis and fluorescence titrations data. The carbazole ligand is able to induce formation of G4 structure of 22HT in the absence of salt, which was proved by CD spectroscopy and melting studies. The derivative of carbazole 3 shows significantly higher cytotoxicity against breast cancer cells then for non-tumorigenic breast epithelial cells. The cytotoxic activity of ligand seems to be not associated with telomerase inhibition