Laminins in stemness and germ cell development in human

Stem cell niches regulate the fine balance between self-renewal and differentiation of various stem cells. Although crucial hallmarks of stem cell niches, such as the mechanical signalling, neural inputs communicating distant cues, the proximity to blood vessels and the structural support by the surrounding basement membrane (BM), have been evaluated in different niches, little much attention has been directed to the specific composition of the BM. As a crucial component of the BM, laminins have shown major importance for physiological development, with lack of laminin α (LAMA) 1 and 5 resulting in major developmental disruptions. Although, the importance of laminin 521 (LN521) in the embryonic inner cell mass (ICM) from which pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) are derived and in tissues such as the pancreas, nervous and muscular system and vasculature has been established, recent mass spectrometry studies of decellularized adult testicular tissue have suggested the presence of LN521 as well as LN121 in the testis. Hence, we aimed to investigate the role of LN521 in stemness behaviour of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs) and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) as well as the potential role of LN521 and 121 in the testicular stem cell niche. Utilizing five human foreskin fibroblast cultured hESC lines, pluripotency after short-term culture on LN521, LN121 and Matrigel was evaluated. We found that LN521, not only supports cell adhesion and stem cell maintenance but further homogenises the pluripotency expression pattern between the cell lines. Further, by applying LN521 as a culture substrate for derivation of Klinefelter syndrome (KS) hiPSCs, we demonstrated the beneficial effect of LN521 on fibroblast reprogramming efficiency. By utilizing LN521 as culture substrate of KS derived hiPSCs we additionally revealed a similar X chromosome inactivation (XCI) behaviour to female cultured PSCs, observed by either the maintenance of XCI with one inactive X chromosome or erosion of XCI. Finally, testicular laminin composition was evaluated during gonadal development and its importance for spermatogonial stem cell maintenance evaluated. We found LAMA 5 to be restricted to the vasculature while LAMA 1 was the sole α laminin chain of prenatal and preand peripubertal seminiferous cords and tubules. LAMA 1 was further restricted to the innermost basal lamina of the adult seminiferous tubules. Interestingly, LAMA 1 loss, as a result of inadequate culture conditions, correlated with a loss of germ cells. In conclusion we demonstrated the importance of LN521 in stem cell maintenance of hESCs and hiPSCs and revealed a correlation between germ cell maintenance and presence of LN121

Equity crowdfunding in Ukraine: the proposal of legal solutions at the background of regulations in the selected countries

Motivation: The capital market developing in Ukraine is not capable of filling the capital gap for innovative ventures presenting high risk of failure, therefore equity crowdfunding can be perceived as a significant alternative offering a source of funding for enterprises, primarily in relation to the development of initiatives and projects, the value of which has not yet been verified by the market (the so-called startups). At the same time, it should be remembered that one of the important factors responsible for the development and popularization of crowdfunding in a particular country is the development of the explicit crowdfunding regulation. Aim: The aim of this article is to propose legal solutions dedicated to ECF in Ukraine, developed based on the analysis of legal regulations in the selected countries. The model of legal regulations proposed by the authors was assessed by the experts from Ukraine. The study consisted in an expert assessment of the suggested model solution being the result of legal regulations regarding the functioning of crowdfunding in the selected countries worldwide, an identification of the desired changes in legal regulations in Ukraine, and the assessment of the potential for the development of equity crowdfunding as the source of funding for the Ukrainian companies. Results: The results of the conducted research show that as many as 90% of the Ukrainian experts agreed with the proposed legal solutions dedicated to equity crowdfunding and described the developed legal model as suitable for the Ukrainian market. At the same time, the vast majority of respondents (85%) acknowledged that the scope of regulations proposed in the model is appropriate, without indicating the need for introducing regulations in other areas

Profiling the Proteome of Cyst Nematode-Induced Syncytia on Tomato Roots

Cyst nematodes are important herbivorous pests in agriculture that obtain nutrients through specialized root structures termed syncytia. Syncytium initiation, development, and functioning are a research focus because syncytia are the primary interface for molecular interactions between the host plant and parasite. The small size and complex development (over approximately two weeks) of syncytia hinder precise analyses, therefore most studies have analyzed the transcriptome of infested whole-root systems or syncytia-containing root segments. Here, we describe an effective procedure to microdissect syncytia induced by Globodera rostochiensis from tomato roots and to analyze the syncytial proteome using mass spectrometry. As little as 15 mm2 of 10-µm-thick sections dissected from 30 syncytia enabled the identification of 100–200 proteins in each sample, indicating that mass-spectrometric methods currently in use achieved acceptable sensitivity for proteome profiling of microscopic samples of plant tissues (approximately 100 µg). Among the identified proteins, 48 were specifically detected in syncytia and 7 in uninfected roots. The occurrence of approximately 50% of these proteins in syncytia was not correlated with transcript abundance estimated by quantitative reverse-transcription PCR analysis. The functional categories of these proteins confirmed that protein turnover, stress responses, and intracellular trafficking are important components of the proteome dynamics of developing syncytia

Biodiversity of bacteriophages: morphological and biological properties of a large group of phages isolated from urban sewage

A large scale analysis presented in this article focuses on biological and physiological variety of bacteriophages. A collection of 83 bacteriophages, isolated from urban sewage and able to propagate in cells of different bacterial hosts, has been obtained (60 infecting Escherichia coli, 10 infecting Pseudomonas aeruginosa, 4 infecting Salmonella enterica, 3 infecting Staphylococcus sciuri, and 6 infecting Enterococcus faecalis). High biological diversity of the collection is indicated by its characteristics, both morphological (electron microscopic analyses) and biological (host range, plaque size and morphology, growth at various temperatures, thermal inactivation, sensitivity to low and high pH, sensitivity to osmotic stress, survivability upon treatment with organic solvents and detergents), and further supported by hierarchical cluster analysis. By the end of the research no larger collection of phages from a single environmental source investigated by these means had been found. The finding was confirmed by whole genome analysis of 7 selected bacteriophages. Moreover, particular bacteriophages revealed unusual biological features, like the ability to form plaques at low temperature (4 °C), resist high temperature (62 °C or 95 °C) or survive in the presence of an organic solvents (ethanol, acetone, DMSO, chloroform) or detergent (SDS, CTAB, sarkosyl) making them potentially interesting in the context of biotechnological applications

A Novel Composite Material Designed from FeSi Powder and Mn 0.8

A design of the novel microcomposite material composed of spherical FeSi particles and Mn0.8Zn0.2Fe2O4 ferrite is reported together with a characterization of basic mechanical and electrical properties. The sol-gel autocombustion method was used for a preparation of Mn0.8Zn0.2Fe2O4 ferrite, which has a spinel-type crystal structure as verified by XRD and TEM analysis. The final microcomposite samples were prepared by a combination of the traditional PM compaction technique supplemented with unconventional microwave sintering process of the prepared green compacts. The composition and distribution of the secondary phase formed by the spinel ferrite were examined by SEM. It is demonstrated that the prepared composite material has a tight arrangement without any significant porosity, which manifests itself through superior mechanical properties (high mechanical hardness, Young modulus, and transverse rupture strength) and specific electric resistivity compared to the related composite materials including resin as the organic binder

Architektura Miasto Piękno tom 2

"Wydział Architektury Politechniki Krakowskiej zawsze był miejscem pełnym osobowości, indywidualności, talentów. Gdy profesorowie i mistrzowie odchodzili z Wydziału, mieliśmy świadomość, że tu nigdy już nie będzie tak samo. Wydział jednak trwał i trwa jak piękno miasta, które jest przecież dziełem zbiorowym, o nakładających się warstwach, wzmacniających i tworzących jego tożsamość. Tak też kolejne pokolenia kontynuują i budują historię Wydziału. Wydział pełen jest wspomnień i anegdot. W fotografiach, księgach, obrazach, meblach kryją się opowieści."(...

Europejska polityka bezpieczeństwa i integracji

Praca recenzowana / peer-reviewed pape

Home branding as a marketing tool for creating a property image.

Niniejsza praca obejmuje zagadnienia związane z home brandingiem, czyli nowoczesnym narzędziem marketingowym służącym do kreowania wizerunku nieruchomości. Przedstawiono w niej etapy ewolucji marketingu oraz najważniejsze elementy wchodzące w jego skład. Następnie przedstawiono kształt rynku nieruchomości oraz podmioty na nim funkcjonujące. W dalszej części analizie poddano istotę wizerunku oraz jego znaczenie w procesie doskonalenia atrakcyjności nieruchomości. Dodatkowo w pracy zostały przeprowadzone badania, których celem była ocena wpływu home brandingu na postrzeganie nieruchomości mieszkalnej w Polsce.The thesis presents matters related to home branding, which is a modern marketing tool used to create the image of properties. It covers the stages of the evolution of marketing and the most important elements of its composition. Then, the shape of the real estate market and the entities operating on it are presented. In the next part was shown the essence of the image and its importance in the process of improving the attractiveness of the property. In addition, in the thesis, research was carried out to assess the impact of home branding on the perception of residential property in Poland