Doskonalenie kompetencji studentów w międzynarodowym środowisku wystawy Expo w Dubaju – learning by doing. Dydaktyczny case study

Ostatnia Wystawa Expo odbyła się w Dubaju, w Zjednoczonych Emiratach Arabskich. Ze względu na sytuację epidemiologiczną, wydarzenie zostało przesunięte o rok i odbyło się w okresie od 1 października 2021 do 31 marca 2022 roku. Nazwy jednak nie zmieniono i pozostano przy oznaczeniu „Expo 2020 Dubai”. Była to pierwsza wystawa na Bliskim Wchodzie i dotychczas jedyna, którą zorganizował kraj arabski. Expo 2020 w Dubaju pod hasłem „Łącząc umysły, tworzymy przyszłość” inspirowało uczestników do kreowania nowych rozwiązań o zasięgu globalnym. W wydarzeniu wzięło udział ponad 190 krajów

Picolinic Acid in Patients with Chronic Hepatitis C Infection: A Preliminary Report

Macrophage activation seems to be a feature of chronic liver diseases. Picolinic acid (PA) as a macrophage secondary signal causes the activation of interferon-gamma- (IFN-γ-) prime macrophage and triggers cytokine-driven inflammatory reactions. The rationale for seeking increased PA formation in chronic viral hepatitis is based on the involvement of activated macrophages in chronic viral hepatitis-associated inflammation. The aim of this study was to determine serum PA levels in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection, taking into account the presence of diabetes. We assessed PA and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) as a marker of inflammation in 51 patients with chronic hepatitis C infection (CHC), both with and without diabetes and 40 controls. Compared with the controls, the patients with CHC showed a significant increase in plasma concentrations of PA and hsCRP (P < 0.01 and P < 0.05, resp.). The values of PA and hsCRP were more elevated in patients with diabetes than without diabetes (both P < 0.01). The positive relationships were between PA and hsCRP levels (P < 0.05) and the presence of diabetes (P < 0.001). We documented that significant elevation in serum PA levels is associated with diabetes prevalence and increased inflammatory response reflected in hsCRP levels in CHC patients

Ischemia-Modified albumin level in type 2 diabetes mellitus—Preliminary report

Aim: The main goal of the present study was the evaluation of ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus and estimation of its connection with vascular complications, glycemic control, hypertension, dyslipidemia and obesity

Comparison of the usefulness of plasma levels of oxidatively modified forms of albumin in estimating kidney dysfunction in diabetic patients

Purpose: Advanced oxidation protein products (AOPP) and ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) are forms of oxidatidatively modified albumin and have recently been investigated as indicators of oxidative stress. They are increased in different disorders, including diabetes mellitus, as a result of hyperglycaemia, oxidative stress and hypoxia. The usefulness of the plasma levels of these two parameters in estimating kidney dysfunction in type 2 diabetic patients (T2DM) was compared in this study. Methods: Plasma levels of AOPP and IMA were determined spectrophotometrically in 218 individuals, 153 patients with T2DM and 65 healthy people.. The urinary albumin/creatinine ratio (UACR) was used as the reference to define the stage of kidney dysfunction by the assessment of the degree of albuminuria. Results: Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) curve analysis, likelihood ratio (LR), and Youden’s index (J) revealed that AOPP and IMA had acceptable sensitivities and specificities in individuals with different degrees of albuminuria; however, AOPP had higher values of the area under the curve (AUC: 0.934) than IMA, as well as 100% sensitivity and 77.01% specificity for distinguishing patients with micro- and macroalbuminuria. Conclusions: Both AOPP and IMA may be helpful clinical markers for estimating kidney dysfunction, but AOPP is better able to identify diabetic patients with nephropathy. We suggest that AOPP is almost ideal for discriminating between T2DM patients with micro- and macroalbuminuria

Ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) is increased in patients with chronic hepatitis C infection and related to markers of oxidative stress and inflammation

Inflammation and oxidative stress have been reported in patients with chronic hepatitis C (CHC) infection, but their influence on ischemia-modified albumin (IMA) levels and diabetes prevalence remains unknown. Sixty-three CHC patients, 28 with diabetes, and 40 healthy controls were enrolled in the study. Circulating levels of oxidative stress markers [Nε-(carboxymethyl)lysine- advanced glycation end products (CML-AGEs) and advanced oxidation protein products-(AOPPs)], pro-inflammatory cytokines (interleukin-6, and tumor necrosis factor α), and high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hsCRP) were assessed. Compared with the controls, the CHC patients with diabetes showed a significant increase in plasma concentrations of IMA, AOPPs, interleukin-6 and hsCRP (P < 0.05). The values of IMA and hsCRP were more elevated in patients with diabetes than without diabetes (both P < 0.01). The positive relationships were found between hsCRP and presence of diabetes, IMA (both P < 0.01) and AOPP levels (P < 0.05). CML-AGEs did not show any significant correlation with IMA, markers of inflammation and presence of diabetes. In conclusion, we have documented significant elevation in plasma levels of IMA and AOPPs in CHC patients. In addition, circulating IMA was associated with inflammation markers and diabetes prevalence. This observation suggests a relationship between IMA and inflammation in CHC patients with diabetes, which may represent one of the mechanisms involved in the accelerated atherosclerosis in this population

Cathepsin B-Like Activity as a Serum Tumour Marker in Ovarian Carcinoma

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