INFLUENCE OF PINE AND SPRUCE ADMIXTURE IN EUROPEAN BEECH STAND ON SOME PROPERTIES OF ORGANIC AND HUMIC HORIZONS OF DYSTRIC ARENOSOLS AND THE INTENSITY OF BIOLOGICAL TURNOVER

The aim of the study has been to assess the influence of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) and Norway spruce (Picea abies) admixture in European beech (Fagus sylvatica) stand on some properties of organic and humic horizons of Dystric Arenosols and the intensity of biological turnover. The studies were conducted in northern Poland in Łysomice Forest Subdistrict (Forest District Leśny Dwór, Regional Directorate of State Forest Szczecinek). Significant differences in some properties of examined soil horizons were noticed between the stands. About 3-times higher stocks of organic matter in ectohumus were found in beech-pine and about 2-times in beech-spruce in relation to pure beech stand. Higher stocks of soil organic matter recorded in beech-pine and beech-spruce stands may result from the influx of coniferous litter and reduction of the intensity of biological turnover. The stocks of organic matter in A horizons were slightly higher in beech stand. Lower values of pH in O and A horizons were found in mixed stand in relation to pure beech. The concentration of nitrogen was comparable in both stands. It can be assumed that spatial variability of the stocks of nitrogen was strongly related to spatial diversity of soil organic matter stocks

The optimal fiscal rule in the context of accession to the Eurozone

The aim of the paper is to compare the macroeconomic effects of fiscal rules that can be applied in the context of the future full participation of Poland in the Economic and Monetary Union. The results of our analyses show that we observe the smallest changes in the structural balance when fiscal policy is aimed at both GDP stabilisation and business cycles synchronisation. Unfortunately, when we analyse the characteristics of the fiscal rule we discover that the possibility of effective practical application of such a rule is very limited. The reason for this may be the lack of transparency and delays we face in publishing macroeconomic data, which is indispensable for fiscal rule application

Expression of p16 in sporadic primary uveal melanoma

Expression of p16 protein, intragenic mutations of CDKN2A and hypermethylation of CDKN2A promoter region in 41 sporadic primary uveal melanomas were studied. There were 2 cases of spindle cell B histological type, 11 of A + B and 28 of mixed type. All melanomas infiltrated sclera but in 28 cases infiltration was superficial while in 13 profound. In 7 cases the tumor infiltrated the optic nerve. Expression of p16 was studied by immunohistochemistry and recorded by assessment of the proportion of positive tumor cells and staining intensity. Results were expressed as staining index (IRS). Intragenic mutations were studied by PCR-SSCP followed by sequencing, while hypermethylation of the promoter region by CpG methylation assay. In 15% of cases less than 10% of melanoma cells were p16 positive, in 70% of cases less than 50% of cells, while in 7% more than 80% of cells stained for p16 (mean IRS for all cases was 4.87 ± 2.43). In B type the IRS was 8.5 ± 0.7, in A + B type 6.0 ± 2.1 and in the mixed type 4.17 ± 2.43 (differences statistically significant). In melanomas profoundly infiltrating sclera mean IRS was 4.16, while in those infiltrating optic nerve 3.71 (statistically not significant). Analysis of the intragenic mutations revealed in two patients a GAC/GAT substitution in codon 84 - a silent mutation. No hypermethylation of the CpG island of the p16 promoter region was found. In conclusion, we found that the degree of p16 expression is related to the histological type of tumor but not to the histological indicators of tumor invasiveness and that intragenic mutations and promoter hypermethylation are not major mechanisms of p16 inactivation in sporadic uveal melanoma

The outcomes of Polish patients with advanced BRAFpositive melanoma treated with vemurafenib in a safety clinical trial

Aim of the study: The BRAF inhibitor vemurafenib has improved progression- free survival and overall survival in patients with BRAFV600-mutationpositive metastatic melanoma. Here we present the results of an open-label safety study with vemurafenib in patients with metastatic melanoma enrolled in Polish oncological centres. Material and methods: Patients with untreated or previously treated Stage IIIC/IV BRAFV600 mutation-positive melanoma were treated with oral vemurafenib in an initial dose of 960 mg twice daily. Assessments for safety and efficacy were made every 28 days. For the survival analysis the Kaplan-Meier estimator was used with the log-rank tests for bivariate comparisons. Results: In total, 75 Polish patients were enrolled in the safety study across four centres. At data cut-off, 28 patients died (37%), mainly (26) due to disease progression; 33 (44%) patients continued vemurafenib after disease progression. The objective response rate was 46%, including two patients with a complete response and 29 with a partial response. Median progression-free survival was 7.4 months. The one-year overall survival rate was 61.9% (median overall survival was not reached). Seventy-three (97.3%) patients reported adverse events (AEs), and grade 3–5 toxicity was reported in 49.4% (37) patients. The most common AEs were: skin lesions (including rash and photosensitivity), arthralgia, and fatigue. Conclusions: The overall safety profile and response rate of vemurafenib were comparable to those reported in previous studies of this drug. Our study confirmed the value of well-established prognostic features for overall survival, such as initial LDH (lactate dehydrogenase) level and AJCC staging

A designer hyper interleukin 11 (H11) is a biologically active cytokine

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Interleukin 11 (IL-11) is a pleiotropic cytokine with anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory and hematopoietic potential. The IL-11 activity is determined by the expression of the IL-11R receptor alpha (IL-11Rα) and the signal transducing subunit β (gp130) on the cell membrane. A recombinant soluble form of the IL-11Rα (sIL-11Rα) in combination with IL-11 acts as an agonist on cells expressing the gp130 molecule. We constructed a designer cytokine Hyper IL-11 (H11), which is exclusively composed of naturally existing components. It contains the full length sIL-11Rα connected with the mature IL-11 protein using their natural sequences only. Such a construct has two major advantages: (i) its components are as close as possible to the natural forms of both proteins and (ii) it lacks an artificial linker what should avoid induction of antibody production.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The H11 construct was generated, the protein was produced in a baculovirus expression system and was then purified by using ion exchange chromatography. The H11 protein displayed activity in three independent bioassays, (i) it induced acute phase proteins production in HepG2 cells expressing IL-11, IL-11Rα and gp130, (ii) it stimulated the proliferation of B9 cells (cells expressing IL-11Rα and gp130) and (iii) proliferation of Baf/3-gp130 cells (cells not expressing IL-11 and IL-11Rα but gp130). Moreover, the preliminary data indicated that H11 was functionally distinct from Hyper-IL-6, a molecule which utilizes the same homodimer of signal transducing receptor (gp130).</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The biologically active H11 may be potentially useful for treatment of thrombocytopenia, infertility, multiple sclerosis, cardiovascular diseases or inflammatory disorders.</p

Benchmarks in antimicrobial peptide prediction are biased due to the selection of negative data

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) are a heterogeneous group of short polypeptides that target not only microorganisms but also viruses and cancer cells. Due to their lower selection for resistance compared with traditional antibiotics, AMPs have been attracting the ever-growing attention from researchers, including bioinformaticians. Machine learning represents the most cost-effective method for novel AMP discovery and consequently many computational tools for AMP prediction have been recently developed. In this article, we investigate the impact of negative data sampling on model performance and benchmarking. We generated 660 predictive models using 12 machine learning architectures, a single positive data set and 11 negative data sampling methods; the architectures and methods were defined on the basis of published AMP prediction software. Our results clearly indicate that similar training and benchmark data set, i.e. produced by the same or a similar negative data sampling method, positively affect model performance. Consequently, all the benchmark analyses that have been performed for AMP prediction models are significantly biased and, moreover, we do not know which model is the most accurate. To provide researchers with reliable information about the performance of AMP predictors, we also created a web server AMPBenchmark for fair model benchmarking. AMP Benchmark is available at http://BioGenies.info/AMPBenchmark

Rola doszklistkowych steroidów we współczesnym leczeniu cukrzycowego obrzęku plamki

Powikłania cukrzycy są jednym z najczęstszych i najpoważniejszych problemów we współczesnej okulistyce. W pracy przedstawiono dane epidemiologiczne i zasady leczenia retnopatii cukrzycowej i cukrzycowego obrzęku plamki. Szczególną uwagę zwrócono na rolę iniekcji doszklistkowych, w tym steroidów, które w niektórych przypadkach mogą być alternatywą dla inhibitorów naczyniowo-śrdódbłonkowego czynnika wzrostu (anty-VEGF). Zdaniem grupy ekspertów konieczne jest stworzenie programu lekowego obejmującego leczenie cukrzycowego obrzęku plamki, który istotnie poprawi dostęp do nowoczesnej terapii dużej grupie chorych. W programie lekowym lekiem pierwszego rzutu powinien być anty-VEGF z możliwością zmiany na doszklistkowy implant deksametazonu, w przypadku braku odpowiedzi na leczenie lub istnienia przeciwskazań do terapii anty-VEGF. Należy stworzyć precyzyjne kryteria kwalifikacji do programu, zdefiniować brak odpowiedzi na leczenie oraz określić wskazania do zmiany leku

Biological role of long non-coding RNA in head and neck cancers

AimHead and neck squamous cell carcinoma (HNSCC) are one of the worst prognosis cancers with high mortality of patients. The treatment strategy is primarily based on surgery and radiotherapy but chemotherapy is also used. Every year the knowledge concerning HNSCC biology is updated with new elements such as the recent discovered molecules – long non-coding RNAs. Long non-coding RNAs are involved in regulatory processes in the cells. It has been revealed that the expression levels of lncRNAs are disturbed in tumor cells what results in the acquisition of their specific phenotype. lncRNAs influence cell growth, cell cycle, cell phenotype, migration and invasion ability as well as apoptosis. Development of the lncRNA panel characteristic for HNSCC and validation of specific lncRNA functions are yet to be elucidated. In this work, we collected available data concerning lncRNAs in HNSCC and characterized their biological role. We believe that the tumor examination, in the context of lncRNA expression, may lead to understanding complex biology of the cancer and improve therapeutic methods in the future

Vismodegib in the treatment of basal cell carcinoma — Polish clinical experience in the frame of therapeutic program

Introduction. Vismodegib is a small-molecule inhibitor of the sonic hedgehog pathway, registered for the treat- ment of patients with metastatic or locally advanced basal cell carcinoma, who were disqualified from surgical excision or radiotherapy. The full treatment refund from the National Health Fund has been available in Poland since 1st January 2018. The aim of the study was to analyse the frequency of occurrence of adverse events based on CTCAE and the treatment results based on the RECIST 1.1 criteria, in a group of patients treated for six or 12 months with vismodegib.  Material and methods. The patient database was gathered from three sites and consisted of 42 patients, who represented 53.8% of the patients treated with vismodegib in Poland. The duration of the treatment ranged between three weeks and 68 months. The median of the treatment period was 8.25 months (0.75–68); the median of the observation of patients treated for less than 12 months was eight months (6–11), and for those treated for more than 12 months it was 14 months (12–68).  Results. The summary of the treatment results after six and 12 months was performed on 29/42 and 17/42 patients accordingly. Complete response was achieved in 3/29 (10.3%) and 3/16 (17.6%) patients after six and 12 months of treatment, respectively, partial response in 13/29 (44.8%) and 5/16 (29.4%) patients, respectively, and stable disease in 13/29 (44.8%) and 8/16 (50.0%) patients, respectively. Progression of the disease was experienced by 7/42 (16.6%) patients within the period of 3–28 months of treatment. One patient with brain metastases died due to the progression of the disease. Adverse events were reported in 31/42 (73.8%) patients, more than one adverse event in a single patient was reported in 22/42 (52.3%) patients. No serious adverse events were observed.