The Bcl I single nucleotide polymorphism of the human glucocorticoid receptor gene h-GR/NR3C1 promoter in patients with bronchial asthma: pilot study

Bcl I in the promoter polymorphism observed within h-GR/NR3C1 gene may play an important role in the development of bronchial asthma and resistance to GCs in the severe bronchial asthma. The aim of the investigation was to study the correlation between this h-GR/NR3C1 gene polymorphism and occurrence of asthma in the population of Polish asthmatics. Peripheral blood was obtained from 70 healthy volunteers and 59 asthma patients. Structuralized anamnesis, spirometry and allergy skin prick tests were performed in all participants. Genotyping was carried out with PCR–RFLP method. In healthy, non-atopic population variants of Bcl I: GG, GC, CC were found with frequency 0.129/0.471/0.400, respectively. In asthma patients Bcl I: GG, GC, CC occurred with respective frequencies of 0.410/0.462/0.128. Chi-square analysis revealed a significantly different (P < 0.05) distribution between cases and controls for the Bcl I polymorphism. The Bcl I polymorphism of h-GR/NR3C1 gene is significantly associated with bronchial asthma, susceptibility to the development of severe form and resistance to GCs in Polish population

Mesoporous carbon-containing voltammetric biosensor for determination of tyramine in food products

A voltammetric biosensor based on tyrosinase (TYR) was developed for determination of tyramine. Carbon material (multi-walled carbon nanotubes or mesoporous carbon CMK-3-type), polycationic polymer—i.e., poly(diallyldimethylammonium chloride) (PDDA), and Nafion were incorporated into titania dioxide sol (TiO(2)) to create an immobilization matrix. The features of the formed matrix were studied by scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and cyclic voltammetry (CV). The analytical performance of the developed biosensor was evaluated with respect to linear range, sensitivity, limit of detection, long-term stability, repeatability, and reproducibility. The biosensor exhibited electrocatalytic activity toward tyramine oxidation within a linear range from 6 to 130 μM, high sensitivity of 486 μA mM(−1) cm(−2), and limit of detection of 1.5 μM. The apparent Michaelis–Menten constant was calculated to be 66.0 μM indicating a high biological affinity of the developed biosensor for tyramine. Furthermore, its usefulness in determination of tyramine in food product samples was also verified. [Figure: see text] ELECTRONIC SUPPLEMENTARY MATERIAL: The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00216-016-9612-y) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users

A three-valued photoelectrochemical logic device realising accept anything and consensus operations

A new application of a hybrid material exhibiting the photoelectro-chemical photocurrent switching (peps) effect in a three-valued logic device is reported. In contrast to other similar peps-based systems, the one described here is capable of performing basic ternary logic operations: gullibility and consensus