Zatorska goose - a subject of parasitological research

The aim of the study was to determine the level of gastrointestinal parasites in a native breed of geese – Zatorska goose – based on coproscopic testing. Faecal samples were collected from 90 young geese in three age groups (5, 7 and 9 weeks old) in 2014. The geese were kept indoors on deep litter and pastured from spring to autumn. The area of the pastures around the buildings where the geese grazed was about 1 hectare, divided into quarters for different age groups. Before grazing, the birds were dewormed with fenbendazole (Fenbenat powder 4%, Naturan). As additional treatment for coccidiosis, coccidiostats were added to the feed. The study was conducted using the McMaster quantitative method with centrifugation (flotation liquid: NaCl and glucose). The birds were shown to be infected with coccidia and nematodes. The prevalence of Eimeria sp. infection (mean 40%) and the number of oocysts per gram of faeces (reaching 5,300 OPG) were highest in the youngest age group of geese. The level of Amidostomum anseris infection was similar in the three age groups, with prevalence from 40% to 50% (nematode egg output ranged from 50 to 350 eggs per gram of faeces, EPG). Capillaria anatis was observed only in 5- and 7-week-old geese

The Alice : "Follow the White Rabbit" : parasites of farm rabbits based on coproscopy

The aim of the study, conducted in the years 2011–2013, was to determine the level of gastrointestinal parasites infection in New Zealand White rabbits, kept at the Experimental Station of the University of Agriculture in Krakow. The study showed rabbits protozoan infection with the genus Eimeria, belonging – based on the sporulation method – to the following species: E. magna, E. media, E. perforans, E. stiedae and E. irresidua. The highest prevalence of infection, as well as the intensity of oocysts output (OPG – oocysts per gram of faeces), was noted for E. magna and E. media – respectively 31.4 % (19477.3 OPG), and 40.0 % (14256.07 OPG). The infection of rabbits with Eimeria spp. differed significantly between years. With regard to oocysts output, the level of infection was strongly connected with the age of rabbits, being higher in young animals. However, the range of infection was highest among adults. Among nematodes, Passalurus ambiguus pinworm was regularly found (prevalence reached 21.9%), other species – Trichuris leporis, and Graphidium strigosum were rarely noted. The overall infection with nematodes did not differ between years. Similarly, as in the case of Eimeria older individuals were more often infected by nematodes. We observed some trends in parasite oocysts/eggs output; the protozoan oocysts were recorded more often in faecal samples collected in the evenings, whereas the nematodes eggs occurred frequently in the mornings. This situation may be related to the phenomenon of coprophagy occurring in the mammals of Lagomorpha order. The results of the study indicate that especially coccidiosis constitute permanently throughout the years an important problem in the rabbitry examined

Impairment of microcirculation in juvenile idiopathic arthritis - studies by nailfold videocapillaroscopy and correlation with serum levels of sICAM and VEGF.

Impairment of vascular endothelium plays a key role in the pathogenesis of inflammatory diseases including juvenile idiopathic arthritis (JIA) and atherosclerosis. We hypothesized that structural abnormalities of the smallest blood vessels (capillaries) might exist and reflect endothelial dysfunction in children with JIA. Microcirculation was studied, by means of nailfold videocapillaroscopy with computer-associated image analysis, in 43 patients with JIA and compared with 20 healthy children. Moreover, capillaroscopic findings were correlated with the activity of the disease and the levels of serum biomarkers of endothelial injury, namely soluble intercellular adhesion molecule (sICAM) and vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF). We found that in JIA patients capillaries were significantly wider and longer than in healthy controls. Moreover, irregular capillaries and dilated subpapillary venous plexus were found significantly more frequently in JIA in comparison with the control group. Serum levels of sICAM and VEGF were significantly higher in JIA patients with capillary abnormalities than in JIA patients with normal capillaroscopy. Our study indicates that there are structural changes in the microcirculation of patients with JIA and that these changes might reflect endothelial injury. Whether capillaroscopy might have a role in early identification of JIA patients being at higher risk of atherosclerosis requires further studies

Ostra zatorowość płucna u chorych kierowanych do wczesnego inwazyjnego leczenia ostrego zespołu wieńcowego

Wstęp: Rozpoznanie ostrej zatorowości płucnej (APE) jest dużym wyzwaniem klinicznym, ponieważ jej objawy nie są czułe i swoiste. Ból w klatce piersiowej połączony z niedokrwiennymi zmianami w EKG i/lub podwyższonym stężeniem troponiny we krwi stanowi podstawę rozpoznania ostrego zespołu wieńcowego (ACS), jednak objawy te występują także w APE.Materiał i metody: Badaniem objęto 18 osób spośród 625 kolejnych chorych z ACS skierowanych do wczesnego inwazyjnego leczenia, u których wynik koronarografii był prawidłowy lub prawie prawidłowy. Angiografię płucną wykonano u 7 pacjentów (30%) z klinicznym podejrzeniem APE opartym, poza bólem w klatce piersiowej, na przynajmniej 2 innych objawach lub czynnikach ryzyka APE (duszność, omdlenie, przebyta zakrzepicy żylna, schorzenie nowotworowe, operacja, przedłużone unieruchomienie, otyłość). Wyniki: Potwierdzono APE u wszystkich 7 chorych (wskaźnik Millera: 9,7 ± 3,3, zakres: 6-15, średnie ciśnienie w tętnicy płucnej: 24 ± 5,2 mm Hg, zakres: 18-30 mm Hg, stężenie troponiny: 0,55 ± 0,7, zakres: 0-2,6 ng/ml, stężenie D-dimerów: 2901 ± 2709 ng/l, zakres: 286-7220 ng/ml). Poddając pacjentów ocenie klinicznego prawdopodobieństwa według Wells i wsp., 6 z nich uzyskało wynik poniżej 2 pkt (niskie prawdopodobieństwo APE), a u 2 osób wynik testu D-dimerów był prawidłowy. Wnioski: Ostrą zatorowość płucną można stwierdzić u znacznej części chorych z prawidłowymi naczyniami wieńcowymi skierowanymi z rozpoznaniem ACS do wczesnego leczenia inwazyjnego. Jednak kliniczne objawy, prosty wskaźnik prawdopodobieństwa APE i dane laboratoryjne są zbyt mało użyteczne, aby podejrzewać APE jeszcze przed wykonaniem angiografii wieńcowej

Ostra zatorowość płucna u chorych kierowanych do wczesnego inwazyjnego leczenia ostrego zespołu wieńcowego

Wstęp: Rozpoznanie ostrej zatorowości płucnej (APE) jest dużym wyzwaniem klinicznym, ponieważ jej objawy nie są czułe i swoiste. Ból w klatce piersiowej połączony z niedokrwiennymi zmianami w EKG i/lub podwyższonym stężeniem troponiny we krwi stanowi podstawę rozpoznania ostrego zespołu wieńcowego (ACS), jednak objawy te występują także w APE.Materiał i metody: Badaniem objęto 18 osób spośród 625 kolejnych chorych z ACS skierowanych do wczesnego inwazyjnego leczenia, u których wynik koronarografii był prawidłowy lub prawie prawidłowy. Angiografię płucną wykonano u 7 pacjentów (30%) z klinicznym podejrzeniem APE opartym, poza bólem w klatce piersiowej, na przynajmniej 2 innych objawach lub czynnikach ryzyka APE (duszność, omdlenie, przebyta zakrzepicy żylna, schorzenie nowotworowe, operacja, przedłużone unieruchomienie, otyłość). Wyniki: Potwierdzono APE u wszystkich 7 chorych (wskaźnik Millera: 9,7 ± 3,3, zakres: 6-15, średnie ciśnienie w tętnicy płucnej: 24 ± 5,2 mm Hg, zakres: 18-30 mm Hg, stężenie troponiny: 0,55 ± 0,7, zakres: 0-2,6 ng/ml, stężenie D-dimerów: 2901 ± 2709 ng/l, zakres: 286-7220 ng/ml). Poddając pacjentów ocenie klinicznego prawdopodobieństwa według Wells i wsp., 6 z nich uzyskało wynik poniżej 2 pkt (niskie prawdopodobieństwo APE), a u 2 osób wynik testu D-dimerów był prawidłowy. Wnioski: Ostrą zatorowość płucną można stwierdzić u znacznej części chorych z prawidłowymi naczyniami wieńcowymi skierowanymi z rozpoznaniem ACS do wczesnego leczenia inwazyjnego. Jednak kliniczne objawy, prosty wskaźnik prawdopodobieństwa APE i dane laboratoryjne są zbyt mało użyteczne, aby podejrzewać APE jeszcze przed wykonaniem angiografii wieńcowej

3D PET image reconstruction based on Maximum Likelihood Estimation Method (MLEM) algorithm

Positron emission tomographs (PET) do not measure an image directly. Instead, they measure at the boundary of the field-of-view (FOV) of PET tomograph a sinogram that consists of measurements of the sums of all the counts along the lines connecting two detectors. As there is a multitude of detectors build-in typical PET tomograph structure, there are many possible detector pairs that pertain to the measurement. The problem is how to turn this measurement into an image (this is called imaging). Decisive improvement in PET image quality was reached with the introduction of iterative reconstruction techniques. This stage was reached already twenty years ago (with the advent of new powerful computing processors). However, three dimensional (3D) imaging remains still a challenge. The purpose of the image reconstruction algorithm is to process this imperfect count data for a large number (many millions) of lines-of-responce (LOR) and millions of detected photons to produce an image showing the distribution of the labeled molecules in space.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figure

Epidermal differentiation complex (locus 1q21) gene expression in head and neck cancer and normal mucosa

Epidermal differentiation complex (EDC) comprises a number of genes associated with human skin diseases including psoriasis, atopic dermatitis and hyperkeratosis. These genes have also been linked to numerous cancers, among them skin, gastric, colorectal, lung, ovarian and renal carcinomas. The involvement of EDC components encoding S100 proteins, small proline-rich proteins (SPRRs) and other genes in the tumorigenesis of head and neck squamous cell cancer (HNSCC) has been previously suggested. The aim of the study was to systematically analyze the expression of EDC components on the transcript level in HNSCC. Tissue specimens from 93 patients with HNC of oral cavity and 87 samples from adjacent or distant grossly normal oral mucosawere analyzed. 48 samples (24 tumor and 24 corresponding surrounding tissue) were hybridized to Affymetrix GeneChip Human 1.0 ST Arrays. For validation by quantitative real-time PCR (QPCR) the total RNA from all 180 samples collected in the study was analyzed with Real-Time PCR system and fluorescent amplicon specific-probes. Additional set of samples from 14 patients with laryngeal carcinoma previously obtained by HG-U133 Plus 2.0 microarray was also included in the analyses. The expression of analyzed EDC genes was heterogeneous. Two transcripts (S100A1 and S100A4) were significantly down-regulated in oral cancer when compared to normal mucosa (0.69 and 0.36-fold change, respectively), showing an opposite pattern of expression to the remaining S100 genes. Significant up-regulation in tumors was found for S100A11, S100A7, LCE3D, S100A3 and S100A2 genes. The increased expression of S100A7 was subsequently validated by QPCR, confirming significant differences. The remaining EDC genes, including all encoding SPRR molecules, did not show any differences between oral cancer and normal mucosa. The observed differences were also assessed in the independent set of laryngeal cancer samples, confirming the role of S100A3 and LCE3D transcripts in HNC. In HNC of oral cavity only one family of EDC genes (S100 proteins) showed significant cancer-related differences. A number of other transcripts which showed altered expression in HNC require further validation.