Non-Woven PGA/PVA Fibrous Mesh as an Appropriate Scaffold for Chondrocyte Proliferation

Non-woven textile mesh from polyglycolic acid (PGA) was found as a proper material for chondrocyte adhesion but worse for their proliferation. Neither hyaluronic acid nor chitosan nor polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) increased chondrocyte adhesion. However, chondrocyte proliferation suffered from acidic byproducts of PGA degradation. However, the addition of PVA and/or chitosan into a wet-laid non-woven textile mesh from PGA improved chondrocyte proliferation seeded in vitro on the PGA-based composite scaffold namely due to a diminished acidification of their microenvironment. This PVA/PGA composite mesh used in combination with a proper hydrogel minimized the negative effect of PGA degradation without dropping positive parameters of the PGA wet-laid non-woven textile mesh. In fact, presence of PVA and/or chitosan in the PGA-based wet-laid non-woven textile mesh even advanced the PGA-based wet-laid non-woven textile mesh for chondrocyte seeding and artificial cartilage production due to a positive effect of PVA in such a scaffold on chondrocyte proliferation

Development and validation of novel self-report questionnaire about the assessment of adolescents’ relation to medicines use and risk

Adolescents have a lack of experience, knowledge of medicines, which often leads to incorrect use of medicines. Slovak adolescents' attitude towards the use and risk of medicines is not known, and therefore, we prepared a questionnaire and then we evaluated the face, content (CVR i <1) and construct validity and reliability (Cronbach’s α = 0.85). The questionnaire is an appropriate tool to assess the quality of knowledge and experience of adolescents with drugs and the data could, on the introduction of measures, contribute to the rational use of medicines by adolescents in Slovakia

Is gentamicin administered to individual patients in optimal doses already at the beginning of therapy?

Introduction A gentamicin dose, which the physicians select, frequently does not take any pharmacokinetic parameters into consideration

Mean diameter of nucleolar bodies in cultured human leukemic myeloblasts is mainly related to the S and G2 phase of the cell cycle

Mean diameter of nucleolar bodies (nucleoli without the perinucleolar chromatin) per cell was studied in human leukemic myeloblasts represented by K 562 and Kasumi 1 cell lines which originated from chronic and acute myeloid leukaemia. The measurement of mean diameter of nucleolar bodies in specimens stained for RNA was very simple. Such approach eliminated the variability of the perinucleolar chromatin discontinuous shell which might influence the measured nucleolar size as suggested by earlier studies. Ageing of K 562 myeloblasts produced a significant decrease of cells in S+G2 phase of the cell cycle accompanied by a significant reduction of mean diameter of nucleolar bodies (MDNoBs) per cell. In contrast, treatment of Kasumi 1 myeloblasts with histone deacetylase inhibitor - Trichostatin A - produced a large incidence of resistant cells in S+G2 phase which were characterised by a large increase of MDNoBs. Thus, MDNoBs in leukemic myeloblasts might be a helpful tool to estimate the incidence of cells in the S+G2 phase at the single cell level in smear preparations when the number of cells is very small

Dominant monoallelic variant in the PAK2 gene causes Knobloch syndrome type 2.

Knobloch syndrome is an autosomal recessive phenotype mainly characterized by retinal detachment and encephalocele caused by biallelic pathogenic variants in the COL18A1 gene. However, there are patients clinically diagnosed as Knobloch syndrome with unknown molecular etiology not linked to COL18A1. We studied an historical pedigree (published in 1998) designated as KNO2 (Knobloch type 2 syndrome with intellectual disability, autistic behavior, retinal degeneration, encephalocele). Whole exome sequencing of the two affected siblings and the normal parents resulted in the identification of a PAK2 non-synonymous substitution p.(Glu435Lys) as a causative variant. The variant was monoallelic and apparently de novo in both siblings indicating a likely germ-line mosaicism in one of the parents; the mosaicism, however, could not be observed after deep sequencing of blood parental DNA. PAK2 encodes a member of a small group of serine/threonine kinases; these P21-activating kinases (PAKs) are essential in signal transduction and cellular regulation (cytoskeletal dynamics, cell motility, death and survival signaling and cell cycle progression). Structural analysis of the PAK2 p.(Glu435Lys) variant that is located in the kinase domain of the protein predicts a possible compromise in the kinase activity. Functional analysis of the p.(Glu435Lys) PAK2 variant in transfected HEK293T cells results in a partial loss of the kinase activity. PAK2 has been previously suggested as an autism-related gene. Our results show that PAK2-induced phenotypic spectrum is broad and not fully understood. We conclude that the KNO2 syndrome in the studied family is dominant and caused by a deleterious variant in the PAK2 gene

Floristic composition and spatial distribution assessment of montane mesophilous grasslands in the Central Apennines (Italy): a multi-scale and diachronic approach

Evaluation of past land use offers valuable information in seeking to understand the distribution patterns of plant communities, insofar as such activity may have altered soil features, causing anthropogenic soil patchiness and marked plant diversity both locally and regionally. This study sought to provide a general overview of the relationships between the different syntaxonomical units and the soil features in a sub-Mediterranean grassland landscape, starting from assessment of soil parameters. In addition, we wanted to verify whether soil features and hierarchical landscape assessments of grasslands under homogeneous grazing disturbance are sufficient to explain the floristic differentiation of the plant communities, and whether study of land use history helps explain the distribution patterns of these plant communities. A clear understanding of the relationships between environmental factors and the floristic composition of plant communities is a strong basis for future inquiries into how disturbance variations (grazing, mowing, manuring, etc.) and past land use variations have affected grassland structures. This study examined nine syntaxa that develop on semi-flat slopes or those with northern exposure