Defects in leaf epidermis of Arabidopsis thaliana plants with CDKA;1 activity reduced in the shoot apical meristem

In Arabidopsis thaliana, like in other dicots, the shoot epidermis originates from protodermis, the outermost cell layer of shoot apical meristem. We examined leaf epidermis in transgenic A. thaliana plants in which CDKA;1.N146, a negative dominant allele of A-type cyclin-dependent kinase, was expressed from the SHOOTMERISTEMLESS promoter, i.e., in the shoot apical meristem. Using cleared whole mount preparations of expanding leaves and sequential in vivo replicas of expanding leaf surface, we show that dominant-negative CDKA;1 expression results in defects in epidermis continuity: loss of individual cells and occurrence of gaps between anticlinal walls of neighboring pavement cells. Another striking feature is ingrowth-like invaginations of anticlinal cell walls of pavement cells. Their formation is related to various processes: expansion of cells surrounding the sites of cell loss, defected cytokinesis, and presumably also, the actual ingrowth of an anticlinal cell wall. The mutant exhibits also increased variation in cell size and locally reduced waviness of anticlinal walls of pavement cells. These unusual features of leaf epidermis phenotype may shed a new light on our knowledge on morphogenesis of jigsaw puzzle-shaped pavement cells and on the CDKA;1 role in regulation of plant development via influence on cytoskeleton and plant cell wall

Duality nature of Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators and Specific Steroids Substance

Selective Androgen Receptor Modulators (SARMs) are the novel class of the androgen receptors (AR), often called tissue-selective AR ligands. Discovery of SARMs will give a possibility to the alternative therapy for androgens therapy (osteoporosis, prostate cancer, muscle wasting). SARMs should have high specificity for the AR, tissue-selective pharmacokinetic activities, improved oral bioavailability and pharmacokinetic profile which allows once-a-day administration [1]. Example of SARMs is flutamide (flutamidum, Eulexin, imid 2-methyl-N-{4-nitro-(3-trifluoromethyl)-phenyl]- propionic acid), a synthetic nonsteroidal drug that is a competitive antagonist of the androgen receptor. SARMs were recognized as forbidden substances by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and since 2004 they are on the Prohibited List. To point on the Prohibited List 2019 “Substance and methods prohibited at all time (in- and out-of-competition)” SARMs belong to group S1. 2. Other Anabolic Agents, and to group S4. Hormone Antagonist and Modulators [2]. The main role of an anti-doping laboratory is to analyse and to determine whether a given substance should be prohibited in sport. The principal analyses of SARMs and Specific Steroid Substance are a different variant of chromatography (LC — liquid or GC — gas) with many detection techniques (MS — mainly mass spectrometer, MS/MS — tandem mass spectrometer)

Growing cell walls show a gradient of elastic strain across their layers

The relatively thick primary walls of epidermal and collenchyma cells often form waviness on the surface that faces the protoplast when they are released from the tensile in-plane stress that operates in situ. This waviness is a manifestation of buckling that results from the heterogeneity of the elastic strain across the wall. In this study, this heterogeneity was confirmed by the spontaneous bending of isolated wall fragments that were initially flat. We combined the empirical data on the formation of waviness in growing cell walls with computations of the buckled wall shapes. We chose cylindrical-shaped organs with a high degree of longitudinal tissue stress because in such organs the surface deformation that accompanies the removal of the stress is strongly anisotropic and leads to the formation of waviness in which wrinkles on the inner wall surface are always transverse to the organ axis. The computations showed that the strain heterogeneity results from individual or overlaid gradients of pre-stress and stiffness across the wall. The computed wall shapes depend on the assumed wall thickness and mechanical gradients. Thus, a quantitative analysis of the wall waviness that forms after stress removal can be used to assess the mechanical heterogeneity of the cell wall

Discriminant analysis in Polish manufacturing sector performance assessment

This is a presentation of the preliminary results of a larger project on the determination of the attractiveness of manufacturing branches. Results of the performance assessment of Polish manufacturing branches in 2000 (section D „Manufacturing” – based on NACE – Nomenclatures des Activites de Communite Europeene) are shown. In the research, the classical (Fisher’s) linear discriminant analysis technique was used for the analysis of the profit generation ability by the firms belonging to a certain production branch. For estimation, the data describing group level was used – for cross-validation, the classes data

Selected aspects of self-education of pedagogy students at Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń in the context of new media

Technological advances, changing standards of living and the aging of societies that encourage people to take different forms of additional learning and self-education, which is not only due to necessity, but also to the need to take care of personal development. The article presents an overview of selected research results in the field of self-education of students of Pedagogy of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń: understanding the concept, using TI tools in the discussed process and the purpose and methods of their use. It follows that educational activities should be undertaken with the aim to increase information awareness and the level of information literacy of students, , from the first year of study, to secure the success and increase the effectiveness of self-learning process

Structure, assembly and function of cuticle from mechanical perspective with special focus on perianth

This review is devoted to the structure, assembly and function of cuticle. The topics are discussed from the mechanical perspective and whenever the data are available a special attention is paid to the cuticle of perianth organs, i.e., sepals, petals or tepals. The cuticle covering these organs is special in both its structure and function and some of these peculiarities are related to the cuticle mechanics. In particular, strengthening of the perianth surface is often provided by a folded cuticle that functionally resembles profiled plates, while on the surface of the petal epidermis of some plants, the cuticle is the only integral continuous layer. The perianth cuticle is distinguished also by those aspects of its mechanics and development that need further studies. In particular, more investigations are needed to explain the formation and maintenance of cuticle folding, which is typical for the perianth epidermis, and also to elucidate the mechanical properties and behavior of the perianth cuticle in situ. Gaps in our knowledge are partly due to technical problems caused by very small thicknesses of the perianth cuticle but modern tools may help to overcome these obstacles

Rola internetu w rozwoju kompetencji młodzieży ponadgimnazjalnej

Artykuł z numeru 3/2012 internetowego czasopisma edukacyjnego ORE "Trendy

Standard 12-lead electrocardiogram tele-transmission: Support in diagnosing cardiovascular diseases in operations undertaken by Warsaw-area basic medical rescue teams between 2009 and 2013

Background: Basic medical rescue teams (BMRTs) administer aid in the pre-hospital phase to people in a life-threatening condition. A tele-transmission and teleconsultation system (TTaTC) supports the team without a physician. The aim of the presented study was to evaluate the application and spectrum of use of a 12-lead ECG TTaTC in BMRT operations. Methods: Medical records of BMRTs in Warsaw from September 2009 to August 2013 regarding TTaTC were checked. Successful TTaTC, electrocardiography (ECG) results, sex, age, consultant advice, and decisions of BMRT leaders were analyzed. Results: BMRTs performed 28,557 12-lead ECG transmissions within the analyzed period. The teams recorded 26,208 (91.8%) successful tele-transmissions, while 2,349 tests (8.2%) failed to reach the TC. The average TTaTC time was 6 min 12 s. The most common reason for using the ECG TTaTC was chest pain. ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) was diagnosed in 2.1% of the cases, and non-ST segment elevation myocardial infarction — NSTEMI — in 3.8%. Cardiac arrhythmia was recorded in 20.5% of the events. TTaTC proved to be useful when making decisions on transporting patients to appropriate hospitals. One hundred percent of STEMI cases — all confirmed by TC — were transported directly to cardiac centers. Conclusions: 1. TTaTC constitutes an increasing support in BMRT everyday operations and is widely used. 2. Standard ECG TTaTC with a physician improved BMRT diagnostic capaci­ties and exerted a beneficial impact on cardiovascular patient segregation and target hospital selection. 3. It seems possible to expand the scope of operations performed by BMRT members based on TTaTC

Laparoscopic gastric resections with per oral specimen extraction in the treatment of intramural gastric tumors

Cel: Celem pracy jest przedstawienie doświadczeń i wczesnych wyników leczenia guzów żołądka z zastosowaniem techniki usunięcia preparatu operacyjnego przez usta (POSE - per oral specimen extraction).. Materiał i Metodyka: Przeprowadzono retrospektywną analizę leczenia chorych, u których wykonano klinową resekcję żołądka techniką laparoskopową z powodu podejrzenia nowotworu podścieliskowego przewodu pokarmowego (GIST). W okresie tym operowano sposobem laparoskopowym 50 chorych z powodu podejrzenia GIST żołądka. U 12 chorych materiał pooperacyjny usunięto przez usta przy pomocy endoskopu (POSE). U pozostałych 38 chorych preparat usunięto przez minilaparotomię. Średni wiek chorych leczonych techniką POSE wyniósł 65,6 lat (48 – 81 lat). W grupie tej znalazło się 9 kobiet oraz 3 mężczyzn. Wyniki: Średni czas zabiegu z użyciem techniki POSE wyniósł 92,5 min (40 – 160). Wielkość usuniętych zmian wahała się od 14 mm do 40 mm (średnio 25 mm). Czas pobytu po zabiegu w oddziale chirurgicznym chorych leczonych techniką POSE wyniósł średnio 3,2 dnia (od 2 do 8 dni). Jeden chory (8,3%) wymagał dłuższego pobytu (hospitalizacja 8-dniowa) ze względu na obecność zbiornika płynowego w okolicy miejsca szycia ściany żołądka. Chorego tego leczono zachowawczo. U jednego chorego (8,3%) stwierdzono infekcję rany pooperacyjnej (rany w pępku po trokarze optycznym). U wszystkich chorych w naszej grupie ocena histopatologiczna potwierdziła radykalność zabiegu (R0). Wnioski: Wydaje się, że technika POSE jest kolejnym etapem rozwoju chirurgii małoinwazyjnej, który może stanowić pośrednie ogniwo w rozwoju technik operacyjnych przez naturalne otwory ciała. Usuwanie preparatu przez usta jest efektowną, skuteczną i bezpieczną metodą, posiadającą jednak wiele ograniczeń.Aim: The goal of this work was to present our experiences and results of treatment of gastric tumors using the per oral specimen extraction (POSE) technique. Material and methods: A retrospective analysis a group of patients treated with laparoscopic stomach wedge resection of gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST). During that time 50 patients underwent laparoscopy due to the suspicion of GIST. In 12 patients resected material was removed endoscopically per os (POSE). In the remaining 38 subjects it was evacuated through minilaparotomy. Mean age of patients treated using POSE technique was 65.6 years (48-81 years). There were 9 women and 3 men in this group Results: Mean time of the POSE procedure was 92.5 min (40-160 min). Size of removed tumors ranged from 14 mm to 40 mm (mean: 25 mm). The mean length of hospital stay was 3.2 days (2 to 8 days) for patients treated with POSE. One patient (8.3%) required longer hospitalization (8 days) due to the presence of a fluid collection at the site of gastric suture. This patient was treated conservatively. One patient (8.3%) was diagnosed with surgical site infection (navel wound after an optical trocar). Histopathological examination confirmed radical excision in all of our patients (R0). Conclusions: It seems that the POSE technique is the next stage of development of minimally invasive surgery and may constitute a link in evolution of natural orifice translumenal surgery techniques. Removal of excised material through oral cavity is an attractive, effective, and safe method despite its many limitations