New localities of Sarcodontia crocea (Polyporales, Basidiomycota) in Poland

Sarcodontia crocea is a fungus relatively rarely recorded in Central and Northern Europe, where as a parasite it grows mainly on old apple trees. The most recent data on the occurrence of this fungus in Poland are presented in this study. Seven new localities of S. crocea are reported, found in the regions of Mazowsze, Podkarpacie, Ziemia Łódzka, and Żuławy Wiślane in the years 2013–2016. The S. crocea basidiomes were recorded on 12 apple trees. The fungus occurrence on Malus pumila ‘Niedzwetzkyana’ was documented for the first time. Four beetle species representing four families were found in the studied S. crocea basidiomes. Their feeding on S. crocea has not been mentioned in the literature so far

Clinical application of pulsatility index

Pulsatility index (PI) is defined as the difference between the peak systolic flow and minimum diastolic flow velocity, divided by the mean velocity recorded throughout the cardiac cycle. It is a non-invasive method of assessing vascular resistance with the use of Doppler ultrasonography. It was first introduced in 1974 by Gosling and King and is also known as the Gosling Index. PI as a method of examining macrocirculation has a variety of clinical applications. For instance, in diabetic patients, it has been measured on the common carotid, middle cerebral or renal arteries to help predict complications such as cerebrovascular disease or nephropathy. In hypertensive patients, it has been used to assess complications and assess the chronicity of the disease. To our knowledge, despite the diverse use of this ultrasonographic parameter, there is a deficiency in reports that would comprehensively summarize its clinical applications. Based on our extensive review of the literature and the gathered information, we conclude that pulsatility index (PI) is an easy to obtain parameter with a broad range of both, research and clinical applications. It has been widely used in the assessment of macrocirculation in highly prevalent chronic medical conditions, such as hypertension, both type 1 and type 2 diabetes and thyroid disorders

Przezskórny pomiar prężności tlenu w ocenie stanu mikrokrążenia

Microcirculation plays a significant role in the regulation of blood flow and blood pressure, ensures the maintenance of adequate oxygenation of tissues, transport of nutrients and waste products between the blood and tissues and proper thermoregulation. Dysfunction of the skin microvasculature often reflects disturbances occurring within the microcirculation of other tissues and organs, which may occur in the course of various disease processes. Favorable conditions for observation of skin microcirculation were the basis for the development of many non-invasive research methods. Transcutaneous measurement of oxygen pressure allows for the most direct functional assessment of skin microcirculation by measuring the oxygenation of related tissues. In the last period this method is used in the diagnosis and monitoring of numerous and pathological conditions and diseases.Mikrokrążenie odgrywa znaczącą rolę w regulacji przepływu i ciśnienia krwi, gdyż zapewnia utrzymanie odpowiedniego dotlenienia tkanek, transport substancji odżywczych i produktów przemiany materii pomiędzy krwią i tkankami oraz właściwą termoregulację. Dysfunkcja mikrounaczynienia skóry często odzwierciedla zaburzenia zachodzące w obrębie mikro - krążenia innych tkanek i narządów, do których może dochodzić w przebiegu różnorakich procesów chorobowych. Dogodne warunki obserwacji mikrokrążenia skórnego były podstawą opracowania wielu nieinwazyjnych metod badawczych. Przezskórny pomiar prężności tlenu (tcpO 2) pozwala na najbardziej bezpośrednią ocenę czynnościową przepływu w naczyniach mikrokrążenia skórnego, poprzez pomiar utlenowania związanych z nim tkanek. W ostatnim okresie znajduje zastosowanie w diagnostyce i monitorowaniu szeregu stanów patologicznych i procesów chorobowych

Effective inhibition of lytic development of bacteriophages λ, P1 and T4 by starvation of their host, Escherichia coli

BACKGROUND: Bacteriophage infections of bacterial cultures cause serious problems in genetic engineering and biotechnology. They are dangerous not only because of direct effects on the currently infected cultures, i.e. their devastation, but also due to a high probability of spreading the phage progeny throughout a whole laboratory or plant, which causes a real danger for further cultivations. Therefore, a simple method for quick inhibition of phage development after detection of bacterial culture infection should be very useful. RESULTS: Here, we demonstrate that depletion of a carbon source from the culture medium, which provokes starvation of bacterial cells, results in rapid inhibition of lytic development of three Escherichia coli phages, λ, P1 and T4. Since the effect was similar for three different phages, it seems that it may be a general phenomenon. Moreover, similar effects were observed in flask cultures and in chemostats. CONCLUSION: Bacteriophage lytic development can be inhibited efficiently by carbon source limitation in bacterial cultures. Thus, if bacteriophage contamination is detected, starvation procedures may be recommended to alleviate deleterious effects of phage infection on the culture. We believe that this strategy, in combination with the use of automated and sensitive bacteriophage biosensors, may be employed in the fermentation laboratory practice to control phage outbreaks in bioprocesses more effectively

Cigarette smoking and cerebral microvasculature in patients with type 1 diabetes: a pilot study

Introduction. A decrease in vasomotor reactivity reserve (VMRr) or an increase in pulsatility index (PI) are the early signs of cerebral microangiopathy in type 1 diabetes. Cigarette smoking is a risk factor for microvascular complications of type 1 diabetes, but cigarette smokers are routinely excluded from studies on VMRr or PI in type 1 diabetes (T1DM) and there is no evidence of any significant impact of smoking on these variables in T1DM. Therefore, we aimed to assess the impact of cigarette smoking on VMRr and PI in these patients. Methods. VMRr and PI of the middle cerebral artery were measured with Transcranial Doppler in 79 patients with T1DM (median age 33.0 years, range 20–51, 44% males) without a history of cerebrovascular events, coronary heart disease or carotid stenosis. The relationship between cigarette smoking (n = 20, mean pack-years 9.4 ± 6.1) and VMRr, PI, concomitant risk factors, medications and the presence of systemic microvascular complications were analysed. Results. Smokers and non-smokers did not differ in terms of their clinical characteristics, with an exception of higher circadian insulin demand in smokers (60 ± 12.9 v. 49.2 ± 14.2 units; p = 0.004). A correlation between pack-years and PI (r = 0.6, p = 0.004), but not with VMRr, was found in smokers. However, no significant differences between smokers and non-smokers were found regarding either VMRr (mean 85.9 ± 20% v. 84.1 ± 20.1%; p = 0.74) or PI (median 0.85, range 0.61–1.09 v. 0.88, range 0.48–1.52; p = 0.2). Conclusions. We did not prove any significant impact of smoking on VMRr in T1DM patients, but the association between pack-years and PI may indicate the negative impact of intensive cigarette smoking on the cerebral microvasculature in type 1 diabetes.

Restoration of sinus rhythm does not improve peripheral blood flow in hemodynamically stable patients with atrial fibrillation

Background. Atrial fibrillation (AFib) is the most common atrial tachyarrhythmia with multiple negative hemodynamicconsequences. Although there have been many studies on the effects of AFib on cardiac function, very fewhave focused on changes in peripheral circulation during arrhythmia. Therefore, the aim of the present study was todetermine the effect of the reversal of AFib to sinus rhythm (SR) on peripheral blood flow. Material and methods. The forearm blood flow was determined by strain gauge plethysmography (EC 5R, Hokanson,Bellevue, USA) in hemodynamically stable 41 patients aged 63 ± 12 years with paroxysmal or persistent AFib.Venous capacity (VC), venous outflow (VO) and V0.5–2.0 index, arterial inflow (AI) and fast blood flow (FBF) weremeasured. 24 patients underwent successful cardioversion. The assessment of peripheral blood flow, BP and HR wasperformed during arrhythmia and then replicated within 7 day period after restoring of SR. Results. At baseline, plethysmographic parameters, heart rate, systolic and diastolic BP did not differ significantlyfor patients who underwent successful cardioversion vs. in those who failed to restore SR. Conversion of AFib to SRdid not change values of indices characterizing both venous and arterial vessels, values of systolic and diastolic bloodpressure, whereas heart rate was significantly reduced. Conclusions. Restoration of sinus rhythm does not improve peripheral blood flow in hemodynamically stable patientswith AFib in short term observation

Search for dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks in √s = 13 TeV pp collisions with the ATLAS detector

A search for weakly interacting massive particle dark matter produced in association with bottom or top quarks is presented. Final states containing third-generation quarks and miss- ing transverse momentum are considered. The analysis uses 36.1 fb−1 of proton–proton collision data recorded by the ATLAS experiment at √s = 13 TeV in 2015 and 2016. No significant excess of events above the estimated backgrounds is observed. The results are in- terpreted in the framework of simplified models of spin-0 dark-matter mediators. For colour- neutral spin-0 mediators produced in association with top quarks and decaying into a pair of dark-matter particles, mediator masses below 50 GeV are excluded assuming a dark-matter candidate mass of 1 GeV and unitary couplings. For scalar and pseudoscalar mediators produced in association with bottom quarks, the search sets limits on the production cross- section of 300 times the predicted rate for mediators with masses between 10 and 50 GeV and assuming a dark-matter mass of 1 GeV and unitary coupling. Constraints on colour- charged scalar simplified models are also presented. Assuming a dark-matter particle mass of 35 GeV, mediator particles with mass below 1.1 TeV are excluded for couplings yielding a dark-matter relic density consistent with measurements