The integrated stress response is tumorigenic and constitutes a therapeutic liability in KRAS-driven lung cancer.

The integrated stress response (ISR) is an essential stress-support pathway increasingly recognized as a determinant of tumorigenesis. Here we demonstrate that ISR is pivotal in lung adenocarcinoma (LUAD) development, the most common histological type of lung cancer and a leading cause of cancer death worldwide. Increased phosphorylation of the translation initiation factor eIF2 (p-eIF2α), the focal point of ISR, is related to invasiveness, increased growth, and poor outcome in 928 LUAD patients. Dissection of ISR mechanisms in KRAS-driven lung tumorigenesis in mice demonstrated that p-eIF2α causes the translational repression of dual specificity phosphatase 6 (DUSP6), resulting in increased phosphorylation of the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (p-ERK). Treatments with ISR inhibitors, including a memory-enhancing drug with limited toxicity, provides a suitable therapeutic option for KRAS-driven lung cancer insofar as they substantially reduce tumor growth and prolong mouse survival. Our data provide a rationale for the implementation of ISR-based regimens in LUAD treatment

Unmet psychosocial needs in haematological cancer: A systematic review

The final publication is available at Springer via http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s00520-014-2123-5A systematic review of key online databases and psycho-oncology journals was conducted to identify papers that formally assessed unmet psychosocial needs in adults with a diagnosis of haematological cancer

Antibiotic resistance determinants in the interplay between food and gut microbiota

A complex and heterogeneous microflora performs sugar and lactic acid fermentations in food products. Depending on the fermentable food matrix (dairy, meat, vegetable etc.) as well as on the species composition of the microbiota, specific combinations of molecules are produced that confer unique flavor, texture, and taste to each product. Bacterial populations within such “fermented food microbiota” are often of environmental origin, they persist alive in foods ready for consumption, eventually reaching the gastro-intestinal tract where they can interact with the resident gut microbiota of the host. Although this interaction is mostly of transient nature, it can greatly contribute to human health, as several species within the food microbiota also display probiotic properties. Such an interplay between food and gut microbiota underlines the importance of the microbiological quality of fermented foods, as the crowded environment of the gut is also an ideal site for genetic exchanges among bacteria. Selection and spreading of antibiotic resistance genes in foodborne bacteria has gained increasing interest in the past decade, especially in light of the potential transferability of antibiotic resistance determinants to opportunistic pathogens, natural inhabitants of the human gut but capable of acquiring virulence in immunocompromised individuals. This review aims at describing major findings and future prospects in the field, especially after the use of antibiotics as growth promoters was totally banned in Europe, with special emphasis on the application of genomic technologies to improve quality and safety of fermented foods

The importance of origin from the organic production as a factor influencing purchase and consumption of fruits and vegetables in the urban and rural households

Celem badań było określenie wpływu i znaczenia różnych czynników, w tym pochodzenia z produkcji ekologicznej na decyzje zakupowe i spożycie owoców i warzyw w gospodarstwach domowych polskich konsumentów. Źródłem danych były informacje pierwotne uzyskane w wyniku badania ankietowego zrealizowanego w styczniu, lutym i marcu 2003 r. na 542-osobowej próbie respondentów mieszkających w Warszawie, w miastach poniżej 50 tys. mieszkańców i na wsi mazowieckiej. Spośród badanych największą wagę do sposobu żywienia przywiązywali respondenci do 30-go roku życia i powyżej 60 roku życia, pracujący na własny rachunek oraz studenci, jednocześnie charakteryzujący się wyższym poziomem dochodów na osobę i mniejszą liczbą osób w gospodarstwie domowym, a najmniejszą osoby utrzymujące się z rolnictwa oraz z grup o najniższych dochodach. Dominującymi wśród respondentów miejscami zaopatrzenia w owoce i warzywa były targowiska lub bazary, następnie sklepy owocowo-warzywne, własna działka lub gospodarstwo i hipermarkety. Sklepy z żywnością ekologiczną jako miejsca najczęstszych zakupów owoców i warzyw wskazywane były najrzadziej. Jednocześnie większość badanych była zdania, że ceny ekologicznych owoców i warzyw są wysokie i zbyt wysokie, przy czym najczęściej taki pogląd reprezentowali mieszkańcy Warszawy oraz osoby młode do 20 roku życia, a także z grup wiekowych 31-40 i 41-50 lat. Wśród motywów zakupu owoców i warzyw najczęściej wskazywano walory smakowe, wygląd zewnętrzny, świeżość i wartość odżywczą. Pochodzenie owoców i warzyw z produkcji ekologicznej jako główny motyw zakupu było istotne odpowiednio dla 10,1% i 11,4% respondentów.The aim of this study was to describe the importance of origin of fruits and vegetables from the organic production as a factor influencing the decisions of Polish consumers to purchase and consume those products in their households. The source of data were information obtained from the survey conducted in January, February and March 2003 on 542 size sample, which included respondents living in Warsaw, as well as in the cities with less than 50 thousands inhabitants and in the Mazowian countryside. Among people participated in the survey the most concern about their diet were respondents aged 30 or younger and those aged over 60, working on their own, and also students. All of them characterized by higher level of household income and lower number of people in the household. People living from farming and groups with the lowest income were less concern about their diet. For respondents the most common places of fruits and vegetables purchase turned out to be open air markets and bazaars, then groceries, own plots, farms and supermarkets. Shops with organic food were indicated the rarest as a place of fruits and vegetables purchase. At the same time most people who took part in the survey were of the opinion that prices of the organic fruits and vegetables are high and too high. This opinion was presented the most often by the Warsaw inhabitants and young respondents aged 20 or younger, and also in the age group of 31-40 and 41-50. For respondents, the primary motivators for buying organic fruits and vegetables were taste, appearance, freshness and nutritional value. The origin of fruits and vegetables from organic production as a main motivator for buying organics, turned out to be essential for 10,1% and 11,4% of respondents

Red fox [Vulpes vulpes] a new host species for acanthocefalan Moniliformis moniliformis [Bremser, 1811] in Poland

Acanthocephalan Moniliformis moniliformis is a parasite of rodents, rarely also reported from carnivorous mammals. One female specimen of this parasite has been found in the small intestine of red fox Vulpes vulpes. It is the first report about this species invading the red fox in Poland