Long-term effect of temperature and precipitation on radial growth in a threatened thermo-Mediterranean tree population

The combined effect of climate change and habitat destruction and fragmentation threatens many plant populations and even entire communities in Mediterranean ecosystems. The Iberian pear, Pyrus bourgaeana Decne, a characteristic species of Mediterranean ecosystems, is threatened by both habitat and climate changes. We ask whether and how the growth of mature P. bourgaeana in the thermo-Mediterranean zone (i.e., altitude <700 m) has been affected by long-term climate changes during the last century in a fragmented landscape. Dendrochronological methods were used to find growth–climate relationships. We made the first dendroclimatological analyses and constructed a first 103-year tree-ring chronology (1905–2007) of this species. The tree-ring series revealed large growth variability. We found a clear, strong relationship between tree growth and climate, with annual precipitation being the most important climate factor enhancing radial growth. Our results also showed that warm autumns and winters positively affect growth. There was no temporal stability in the relationship between tree growth and climate. The most general trend was in the relationship between annual precipitation and tree growth: the decrease of rainfall in the last decades of the twentieth century was associated with a constant increase of the correlation coefficient. Water accumulated in the soil in autumn and winter proved to be a key factor augmenting tree growth in the following vegetation period. The climate–growth relationship in P. bourgaeana has strengthened in recent decades apparently due to decreased precipitation levels.Peer reviewe

Health assessment of patients over 65 in selected hospital wards

Introduction: Aging is currently a process that is progressing significantly, in which modern medicine and leading a healthy lifestyle are important factors. Unfortunately, age is most often associated with a deteriorating state of health. The gradual reduction of biological reserves in people over 65 years of age reduces the response to pathogens and triggers the simultaneous occurrence of symptoms characteristic of aging. Objective: Assess the health of patients over 65in selected hospital wards. Materials and methods:The study was conducted among 142 patients over 65 years of age, who were hospitalized in the following wards: Neurology, Rheumatology, Endocrinology and Internal Medicine,atSamodzielnyPublicznySzpitalKliniczny nr 4 w Lublinie[Independent Public Clinical Hospital No. 4 in Lublin] and 1 WojskowySzpitalKliniczny z Polikliniką w Lublinie[Military Clinical Hospital No. 1 with the Polyclinic in Lublin]between December 2015 and May 2016. Results: Better performance is statistically more common for people below 75 years of age, living alone, taking 1-2 medication(s),as well as not having neurological/rheumatic diseases or mental disorders. Lower scores, indicating better functional capacity in each of the areas, were recorded for younger people. Conclusions: 1. Functional capacityin patients over 65 with relation of basic life activities differs significantly. 2. Patients over 65 who are in selected hospital wards are mostly at varied risk of falling and risk of malnutrition. 3. Mental and psychiatric state is normal in most patients over 65 years of age. 4. Patients show reduced functional capacity in all NOSGER areas. 5. Health status in respondents is significantly affected by: old age, systematic intake of 5 and more medications per day, as well as neurological/rheumatic diseases and mental disorders

The γ-secretase substrate proteome and its role in cell signaling regulation

γ-Secretases mediate the regulated intramembrane proteolysis (RIP) of more than 150 integral membrane proteins. We developed an unbiased γ-secretase substrate identification (G-SECSI) method to study to what extent these proteins are processed in parallel. We demonstrate here parallel processing of at least 85 membrane proteins in human microglia in steady-state cell culture conditions. Pharmacological inhibition of γ-secretase caused substantial changes of human microglial transcriptomes, including the expression of genes related to the disease-associated microglia (DAM) response described in Alzheimer disease (AD). While the overall effects of γ-secretase deficiency on transcriptomic cell states remained limited in control conditions, exposure of mouse microglia to AD-inducing amyloid plaques strongly blocked their capacity to mount this putatively protective DAM cell state. We conclude that γ-secretase serves as a critical signaling hub integrating the effects of multiple extracellular stimuli into the overall transcriptome of the cell.</p

Identification of genetic variants associated with Huntington's disease progression: a genome-wide association study

Background Huntington's disease is caused by a CAG repeat expansion in the huntingtin gene, HTT. Age at onset has been used as a quantitative phenotype in genetic analysis looking for Huntington's disease modifiers, but is hard to define and not always available. Therefore, we aimed to generate a novel measure of disease progression and to identify genetic markers associated with this progression measure. Methods We generated a progression score on the basis of principal component analysis of prospectively acquired longitudinal changes in motor, cognitive, and imaging measures in the 218 indivduals in the TRACK-HD cohort of Huntington's disease gene mutation carriers (data collected 2008–11). We generated a parallel progression score using data from 1773 previously genotyped participants from the European Huntington's Disease Network REGISTRY study of Huntington's disease mutation carriers (data collected 2003–13). We did a genome-wide association analyses in terms of progression for 216 TRACK-HD participants and 1773 REGISTRY participants, then a meta-analysis of these results was undertaken. Findings Longitudinal motor, cognitive, and imaging scores were correlated with each other in TRACK-HD participants, justifying use of a single, cross-domain measure of disease progression in both studies. The TRACK-HD and REGISTRY progression measures were correlated with each other (r=0·674), and with age at onset (TRACK-HD, r=0·315; REGISTRY, r=0·234). The meta-analysis of progression in TRACK-HD and REGISTRY gave a genome-wide significant signal (p=1·12 × 10−10) on chromosome 5 spanning three genes: MSH3, DHFR, and MTRNR2L2. The genes in this locus were associated with progression in TRACK-HD (MSH3 p=2·94 × 10−8 DHFR p=8·37 × 10−7 MTRNR2L2 p=2·15 × 10−9) and to a lesser extent in REGISTRY (MSH3 p=9·36 × 10−4 DHFR p=8·45 × 10−4 MTRNR2L2 p=1·20 × 10−3). The lead single nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) in TRACK-HD (rs557874766) was genome-wide significant in the meta-analysis (p=1·58 × 10−8), and encodes an aminoacid change (Pro67Ala) in MSH3. In TRACK-HD, each copy of the minor allele at this SNP was associated with a 0·4 units per year (95% CI 0·16–0·66) reduction in the rate of change of the Unified Huntington's Disease Rating Scale (UHDRS) Total Motor Score, and a reduction of 0·12 units per year (95% CI 0·06–0·18) in the rate of change of UHDRS Total Functional Capacity score. These associations remained significant after adjusting for age of onset. Interpretation The multidomain progression measure in TRACK-HD was associated with a functional variant that was genome-wide significant in our meta-analysis. The association in only 216 participants implies that the progression measure is a sensitive reflection of disease burden, that the effect size at this locus is large, or both. Knockout of Msh3 reduces somatic expansion in Huntington's disease mouse models, suggesting this mechanism as an area for future therapeutic investigation

The role of psychological support in building athletes' careers

Psychologia sportu to bardzo ważna dziedzina, która zyskuje globalnie na znaczeniu. Praca ze sportowcami w dążeniu do sukcesu wciąż się zmienia. Rozwój wiedzy, zmiana podejścia do zawodników, a także coraz większa dbałość o zdrowie psychiczne - to wszystko pomaga zapewnić sportowcom lepsze wsparcie i podejście do nich kompleksowo. Głównym celem mojej pracy była analiza doświadczeń związanych ze wsparciem psychologicznym wśród sportowców i próba odtworzenia zbioru oczekiwań zawodników wobec personelu doradczego. Z przeprowadzanych analiz wyłania się obraz sportowców świadomych możliwości i korzyści jakie daje konsultacja psychologiczna. Dostrzegają oni aktualne wyzwania i związane z nimi trudności, które mogą się pojawić na drodze do osiągnięcia sukcesu. Zwracają uwagę na utrzymanie równowagi pomiędzy treningami, a życiem zawodowym i prywatnym wpływającym korzystnie na zdrowie psychiczne. Oczekiwania stawiane psychologom sportu dotyczą cech charakteru, kwalifikacji zawodowych, posiadanego doświadczenia, a także podejścia do zawodnika. Wyniki, które uzyskałam mogą w pewnym stopniu pomóc psychologom sportu lepiej dostosowywać swoje podejście i usługi do zawodników, co przyczyni się do wsparcia kariery sportowej.Sports psychology is a very important field that is gaining global attention. Working with athletes in the pursuit of success is constantly changing. Developments in knowledge, changing approaches to athletes, and an increasing focus on mental health are all helping to provide better support and a holistic approach to athletes. The main aim of my thesis was to analyse the experience of psychological support among athletes and attempt to reconstruct a set of expectations of athletes from counselling staff. From the analyses conducted, a picture emerges of athletes who are aware of the opportunities and benefits of psychological counselling. They recognise the current challenges and associated difficulties that may arise on the path to success. They pay attention to maintaining a balance between training and professional and private life affecting mental health positively. The expectations placed on sport psychologists relate to character traits, professional qualifications, the experience they have and their approach to the athlete. To some extent, the results I obtained may help sport psychologists to better tailor their approach and services to athletes, which will contribute to supporting sport careers

Time perspective nad proactivity of imprisoned women.

Badanie przeprowadzone w ramach niniejszej pracy ma na celu ukazanie związku perspektywy temporalnej z proaktywnością kobiet odbywających kary izolacyjne. Grupę badawczą stanowiły 63 kobiety z dwóch zakładów karnych: w Krakowie- Nowej Hucie oraz w Lublińcu. Do pomiaru proaktywności użyto skali SPIW-15, a perspektywę temporalną zbadano za pomocą skróconej, polskiej wersji Kwestionariusza Postrzegania Czasu Zimbardo (PS-ZTPI). Przy użyciu Dark Future Scale dodatkowo zmierzono poziom niepokoju przyszłościowego. Analiza uzyskanych wyników potwierdziła jedynie część zakładanych hipotez. Zaobserwowano, że jedynie proaktywność kontynuacyjna koreluje pozytywnie z perspektywą przeszłą pozytywną (p<0,01). Paradoksalnie, każdy typ proaktywności wiązał się dodatnio z perspektywą przeszłą negatywną (p<0,01). Nie wykazano żadnych istotnych korelacji między proaktywnością a pozostałymi rodzajami perspektyw czasowych. Wykazano jednak wyniki na poziomie tendencji statystycznej między przyszłą perspektywą czasową a proaktywnością projekcyjną (p=0,08) oraz teraźniejszą perspektywą czasową a proaktywnością ogólną (p=0,067), kontynuacyjną (p=0,08) i projekcyjną (p=0,066). Wyniki analiz pokazały także dodatnie korelacje między proaktywnością ogólną i doraźną a poziomem lęku przed przyszłością (p<0,01). Zidentyfikowano również istotne różnice w poziomie perspektywy przeszłej negatywnej, przy porównaniu perspektywy temporalnej kobiet osadzonych po raz pierwszy i po raz kolejny (p<0,01). Nie odnotowano natomiast różnic w ich poziomie proaktywności. Długość wyroku korelowała natomiast pozytywnie z proaktywnością projekcyjną (p<0,01), choć związek ten miał słabą siłę (Rho=0,295).The aim of the recent study was to explore the relationship between the time perspective and proactivity in imprisoned women. The research group contained 63 women from two penitentiary in Poland: the one in Krakow – Nowa Huta and the one in Lubliniec. The level of proactivity was measured by the SPIW-15 scale, whereas the time perspective was checked by polish short version of Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (PS-ZTPI). In addition, Dark Future Scale has been used to examine the level of future anxiety. Analysis of the results confirmed just few hypothesis. It has been observed that the only type of proactivity positively linked to past-positive time perspective was continuous proactivity (p<0,01). Paradoxically, all of the proactivity types showed significant, positive correlation with past-negative perspective (p<0,01). There has been no significant correlation between proactivity and the rest of the time perspective factors. However, some results was close to the level of significance and showed possible, positive trend between future time perspective and projective proactivity (p=0,08) and present-hedonistic time perspective and general (p=0,067), continuous (p=0,08) and projective proactivity (p=0,66). The results showed also positive correlation between future anxiety and general and extemporary proactivity (p<0,01). The significant differences was also identified between the level of past-negative perspective in women imprisoned for the first time and in delinquents (p<0,01). It was not significant dependencies regarding their level of proactivity. The length of the sentence correlated positively with projective proactivity (p<0,01). However, the correlation was rather weak (Rho= 0,295

Activity of Zearalenone in the Porcine Intestinal Tract

This study demonstrates that low doses (somewhat above the No Observed Adverse Effect Level, NOAEL) of the mycoestrogen zearalenone (ZEN) and its metabolites display multispecificity towards various biological targets in gilts. The observed responses in gilts were surprising. The presence of ZEN and zearalenols (ZELs) did not evoke a response in the porcine gastrointestinal tract, which was attributed to dietary tolerance. Lymphocyte proliferation was intensified in jejunal mesenteric lymph nodes, and lymphocyte counts increased in the jejunal epithelium with time of exposure. In the distal digestive tract, fecal bacterial counts decreased, the activity of fecal bacterial enzymes and lactic acid bacteria increased, and cecal water was characterized by higher genotoxicity. The accompanying hyperestrogenism led to changes in mRNA activity of selected enzymes (cytochrome P450, hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases, nitric oxide synthases) and receptors (estrogen and progesterone receptors), and it stimulated post-translational modifications which play an important role in non-genomic mechanisms of signal transmission. Hyperestrogenism influences the regulation of the host’s steroid hormones (estron, estradiol and progesteron), it affects the virulence of bacterial genes encoding bacterial hydroxysteroid dehydrogenases (HSDs), and it participates in detoxification processes by slowing down intestinal activity, provoking energy deficits and promoting antiporter activity at the level of enterocytes. In most cases, hyperestrogenism fulfils all of the above roles. The results of this study indicate that low doses of ZEN alleviate inflammatory processes in the digestive system, in particular in the proximal and distal intestinal tract, and increase body weight gains in gilts

Exposure to Low Zearalenone Doses and Changes in the Homeostasis and Concentrations of Endogenous Hormones in Selected Steroid-Sensitive Tissues in Pre-Pubertal Gilts

This study was undertaken to analyze whether prolonged exposure to low-dose zearalenone (ZEN) mycotoxicosis affects the concentrations of ZEN, α-zearalenol (α-ZEL), and β-zearalenol (β-ZEL) in selected reproductive system tissues (ovaries, uterine horn—ovarian and uterine sections, and the middle part of the cervix), the hypothalamus, and pituitary gland, or the concentrations of selected steroid hormones in pre-pubertal gilts. For 42 days, gilts were administered per os different ZEN doses (MABEL dose [5 µg/kg BW], the highest NOAEL dose [10 µg/kg BW], and the lowest LOAEL dose [15 µg/kg BW]). Tissue samples were collected on days seven, twenty-one, and forty-two of exposure to ZEN (exposure days D1, D2, and D3, respectively). Blood for the analyses of estradiol and progesterone concentrations was collected in vivo on six dates at seven-day intervals (on analytical dates D1–D6). The analyses revealed that both ZEN and its metabolites were accumulated in the examined tissues. On successive analytical dates, the rate of mycotoxin accumulation in the studied tissues decreased gradually by 50% and proportionally to the administered ZEN dose. A hierarchical visualization revealed that values of the carry-over factor (CF) were highest on exposure day D2. In most groups and on most exposure days, the highest CF values were found in the middle part of the cervix, followed by the ovaries, both sections of the uterine horn, and the hypothalamus. These results suggest that ZEN, α-ZEL, and β-ZEL were deposited in all analyzed tissues despite exposure to very low ZEN doses. The presence of these undesirable compounds in the examined tissues can inhibit the somatic development of the reproductive system and compromise neuroendocrine coordination of reproductive competence in pre-pubertal gilts

The Expression of Type-1 and Type-2 Nitric Oxide Synthase in Selected Tissues of the Gastrointestinal Tract during Mixed Mycotoxicosis

The aim of the study was to verify the hypothesis that intoxication with low doses of mycotoxins leads to changes in the mRNA expression levels of nitric oxide synthase-1 and nitric oxide synthase-2 genes in tissues of the gastrointestinal tract and the liver. The experiment involved four groups of immature gilts (with body weight of up to 25 kg) which were orally administered zearalenone in a daily dose of 40 μg/kg BW (group Z, n = 18), deoxynivalenol at 12 μg/kg BW (group D, n = 18), zearalenone and deoxynivalenol (group M, n = 18) or placebo (group C, n = 21) over a period of 42 days. The lowest mRNA expression levels of nitric oxide synthase-1 and nitric oxide synthase-2 genes were noted in the sixth week of the study, in particular in group M. Our results suggest that the presence of low mycotoxin doses in feed slows down the mRNA expression of both nitric oxide synthase isomers, which probably lowers the concentrations of nitric oxide, a common precursor of inflammation