New insights into the possible role of bacteriophages in host defense and disease

BACKGROUND: While the ability of bacteriophages to kill bacteria is well known and has been used in some centers to combat antibiotics – resistant infections, our knowledge about phage interactions with mammalian cells is very limited and phages have been believed to have no intrinsic tropism for those cells. PRESENTATION OF THE HYPOTHESIS: At least some phages (e.g., T4 coliphage) express Lys-Arg-Gly (KGD) sequence which binds β3 integrins (primarily αIIbβ3). Therefore, phages could bind β3+ cells (platelets, monocytes, some lymphocytes and some neoplastic cells) and downregulate activities of those cells by inhibiting integrin functions. TESTING THE HYPOTHESIS: Binding of KGD+ phages to β3 integrin+ cells may be detected using standard techniques involving phage – mediated bacterial lysis and plaque formation. Furthermore, the binding may be visualized by electron microscopy and fluorescence using labelled phages. Binding specificity can be confirmed with the aid of specific blocking peptides and monoclonal antibodies. In vivo effects of phage – cell interactions may be assessed by examining the possible biological effects of β3 blockade (e.g., anti-metastatic activity). IMPLICATION OF THE HYPOTHESIS: If, indeed, phages can modify functions of β3+ cells (platelets, monocytes, lymphocytes, cancer cells) they could be important biological response modifiers regulating migration and activities of those cells. Such novel understanding of their role could open novel perspectives in their potential use in treatment of cardiovascular and autoimmune disease, graft rejection and cancer

Catalogue of parasites and diseases of the common cockle Cerastoderma edule

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Atlas des parasites et maladies de la coque commune Cerastoderma edule

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Inventario de parasitos e enfermidades do berberecho Cerastoderma edule

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Catálogo de parasitas e patologias do berbigão-vulgar Cerastoderma edule

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EVENT-RELATED POTENTIALS STUDIES OF PTSD AFTER INFECTION OF SARS-COV-2 AND NEUROCOVID-19

Coronavirus disease 19 (COVID-19) hospitalisation is a potentially traumatic experience, especially in severe cases. Furthermore, the unprecedented context of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, with the daily media bombardment about COVID-19 mortality, may have amplified its life-threatening perception also in patients with moderate infection. The purpose of our study was twofold: 1) to evaluate QEEG/ERPs shows of PTSD associated with severe infection SARS-CoV-2, and neuroCOVID-19, 2) to construct a neurofeedback protocol based on these indices to support the psychotherapy of the case study described herein. Patient N.C. 49, a frontline healthcare worker in the emergency services (an ambulance driver), became ill with Covid-19 on November 14, 2020. Initially, he lost his sense of smell (anosmia), of taste (ageusia), and had latent blinks (heterophila), headaches, and dizziness. After 10 days of illness, the patient had additionally a dry cough and a shortness of breath and he was hospitalized, sedated and mechanically ventilated for 24 days. After a few months he was diagnosed with PTSD (according to the DSM- 5 criteria) and referred to the Reintegration and Training Center of the Polish Neuropsychological Society for further diagnosis and treatment. It was found that the P3 GO and P3 NOGO waves were indeed less in his case (p < 0.01) when compared to the ERPs results of a health group of individuals of a similar age (n = 100), derived from the normative data bases of the Human Brain Index (HBI) in Switzerland. The ERPs wave pattern in our patient reflects the pattern appearing in patients with PTSD. The patient took part in 20 sessions of individually tailored anodal transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), with the excitatory stimulation of the left prefrontal cortex and inhibitory stimulation of the right prefrontal cortex which can reduce anxiety, as was proposed in the subject literature. Also, the neuromarker of PTSD obtained with the use of QEEG/ERPs was helpful in choosing the appropriate tDCS protocol. Neurostimulation with the use of tDCS was administered systematically, every day, 15-20 and 30-40 minutes for each session, for 20 days. He also received individual sessions of psychotherapy every day, 30-40 minutes for each session, for 20 day. After the treatment the patient improved and returned to his previous job as a frontline healthcare worker in the emergency services (an ambulance driver) in the fight against COVID-19. Detection of the PTSD neuromarker enabled the development of a proper tDCS protocol and the conduct of effective brain neurostimulation of a patient with PTSD. The proposed protocol of treatment, in combination with goal-oriented individual psychotherapy, offered to the patient, was effective in the reduction of PTSD. ERPs can be useful in the diagnosis of PTSD as well as in selecting an appropriate therapy protocol for these patients

PORÓD MARTWEGO PŁODU – WPŁYW NA PSYCHIKĘ RODZĄCEJ

Ciąża obumarła to wewnątrzmaciczna śmierć płodu, u którego nie stwierdza się czynności serca, ruchów oddechowych, tętnienia pępowiny ani żadnych objawów życia. Według definicji WHO (ang. World Health Organization) poród  przedwczesny od poronienia wyróżnia bariera 22. tygodnia – 154 dni. W razie wątpliwości co do wieku ciążowego, czynnikiem decydującym o rozpoznaniu jest masa płodu – 500g. W krajach rozwijających się stwierdza się dużo wyższy odsetek obumarć płodu. Do czynników predysponujących należą: wiek, otyłość, pierwsza ciąża, obciążony wywiad położniczy, krwawienia, infekcje. Aby rozpoznać zgon wewnątrzmaciczny koniecznym jest przeprowadzenie badania USG potwierdzonego przez dwie niezależne osoby.Niezaprzeczalnym jest fakt, że wydarzenie to ma długofalowy wpływ na psychikę kobiety. Badania wskazują, że u 20% rozwija się depresja poporodowa, a kolejne 20% doznaje objawów stresu pourazowego.Jest to wydarzenie, które porównuje się do reakcji na katastrofę. Rodzice doświadczają wówczas reakcji na poziomie poznawczym i intelektualnym.Wyróżnia się fazy dynamiki emocji oraz fazy żałoby, które kolejno są przeżywane by dokonał się proces zdrowienia i nowa orientacja.

Facile Fabrication of a Selective Poly(caffeic acid)@MWCNT-Ni(OH)₂ Hybrid Nanomaterial and Its Application as a Non-Enzymatic Glucose Sensor

A novel catechol-based PCA@MWCNT-Ni(OH)2 hybrid material was prepared and used to construct a non-enzymatic glucose biosensor. In this synthesis, MWCNTs were covered with a poly(caffeic acid) coating and then subjected to a straightforward electrochemical process to decorate the hybrid material with Ni(OH)2 particles. The physicochemical properties and morphology of the nanomaterial were characterized using high-resolution transmission electron microscopy (HRTEM), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS), and atomic force microscopy (AFM). Amperometry and cyclic voltammetric studies demonstrated the enhanced redox properties of a GC/PCA@MWCNT-Ni(OH)2 electrode and its electrocatalytic activity in glucose detection, with a low detection limit (0.29 μM), a selectivity of 232.7 μA mM−1 cm−2, and a linear range of 0.05–10 mM, with good stability (5 months) and reproducibility (n = 8). The non-enzymatic sensor was also used for glucose determination in human serum and human blood, with recovery values ranging from 93.3% to 98.2%. In view of the properties demonstrated, the described GC/PCA@MWCNT-Ni(OH)2 sensor represents a facile synthesis method of obtaining the hybrid nanomaterial and a low-cost approach to electrochemical glucose measurement in real samples (human serum, human blood)

Interactive clustering : A comprehensive review

In this survey, 105 papers related to interactive clustering were reviewed according to seven perspectives: (1) on what level is the interaction happening, (2) which interactive operations are involved, (3) how user feedback is incorporated, (4) how interactive clustering is evaluated, (5) which data and (6) which clustering methods have been used, and (7) what outlined challenges there are. This article serves as a comprehensive overview of the field and outlines the state of the art within the area as well as identifies challenges and future research needs.Permission to make digital or hard copies of part or all of this work for personal or classroom use is granted without fee provided that copies are not made or distributed for profit or commercial advantage and that copies bear this notice and the full citation on the first page. Copyrights for third-party components of this work must be honored. For all other uses, contact the owner/author(s). © 2020 Copyright held by the owner/author(s).</p

NOx Photooxidation over Different Noble Metals Modified TiO2

We compared the activity enhancement effect of noble metal deposited on TiO2 in photocatalytic nitrogen oxides oxidation. Titanium dioxide was decorated with Ag, Au, Pt or Pd in the sol-gel process. Synthesized catalysts were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), Brunauer–Emmett–Teller measurement (BET), X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), transmission electron microscopy (TEM) and energy dispersive X-ray analysis (EDX). All catalysts together with pure TiO2 obtained by sol-gel (SG) technique were tested for their photocatalytic activity towards nitrogen oxide oxidation (high concentrations of 50, 150 and 250 ppm). FTIR spectrometry was used to determine the gas phase composition and identify TiO2 surface species. The Ag0.1 sample turned out to be deactivated within 60 min of UV/Vis irradiation. Photocatalytic oxidation rate towards NO2 turned to be the highest over SG (photocatalyst without metal deposition). NO2 formation was also observed for Au0.1, Au0.5, Pt0.1, Pt0.5 and Pd0.1. The best NOx removal, i.e., conversion to final product HNO3 was obtained with the Au0.5 photocatalyst