Wind-tunnel modelling of the phenomenon of railway wagons rolling over under strong crosswind action

This paper deals with the derivation of similarity criteria for the phenomenon of railway wagons rolling over when exposed to strong crosswinds. Utilizing these criteria, the authorial method for the determination of the aerodynamic coefficient of the rollover moment is also presented in the paper

Immunoexpression of IgA receptors (CD89, CD71) in dermatitis herpetiformis

Introduction. The role of IgA receptors in dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) pathogenesis is still unknown. CD89 and CD71 may be associated with immune response during DH development. The purpose of this study was to perform semiquantitative analysis of simultaneous immunoexpression of CD89 and CD71 in DH and IgA/neutrophil-mediated non-DH dermatoses (IgAN) in relation to specific IgA autoantibodies/antibodies (tissue and epidermal transglutaminases, nonapeptides of gliadin — eTG/tTG/npG) as well neutrophil activation via the release of neutrophil elastase (NE). Material and methods. In total, 48 patients were studied. The study was conducted on skin lesions and sera obtained from DH and IgAN patients. DH and IgAN served as mutually positive control groups. We used immunohistochemical technique with semiquantitative digital morphometry and ELISA to measure serum levels of anti-eTG/tTG/npG IgA. Results. CD89 showed a significantly higher expression in DH than in IgAN. CD71 was overexpressed in DH and IgAN. CD89 immunoexpression correlated negatively with CD71 in IgAN. A positive correlation was revealed between CD89 immunoexpression and anti-npG IgA in DH. No statistically significant correlations were found in DH between the CD89/CD71 and NE immunoexpression, between CD71 immunoexpression and anti-tTG/eTG/npG IgA, or between CD89 immunoexpression and anti-eTG/tTG IgA serum levels. Conclusions. CD89 is probably a key IgA Fc receptor in DH development, where it is associated with immune response to gluten. CD71 may be linked with inflammation in DH and IgAN. We suggest that interaction between CD89 and CD71 can modulate the inflammation in IgAN

Association between Levels of IgA Antibodies to Tissue Transglutaminase and Gliadin-Related Nonapeptides in Dermatitis Herpetiformis

Dermatitis herpetiformis (DH) is an autoimmunity-driven inflammatory blistering dermatosis associated with a gluten-dependent enteropathy. Tissue transglutaminase (tTG) and nonapeptides of gliadin (npG) are considered in its pathomechanism/diagnostics. Here, the diagnostic accuracy of anti-tTG/anti-npG IgA ELISAs in Slavic DH patients with active skin rash was assessed through creating receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves, determining cutoff values, and calculating correlations between levels of anti-tTG/anti-npG IgA in DH, IgA/neutrophil-mediated non-DH patients and healthy persons. Altogether, sera from 80 Slavic individuals were examined. There were negligible differences between cutoff points obtained by the ELISAs manufacturer and those in this study. There were statistically significant correlations between levels of anti-tTG/anti-npG IgA in both DH group and the group of IgA/neutrophil-mediated non-DH dermatoses. There was no such correlation in healthy controls. It seems that IgA autoantibodies to tTG and npG in the IgA/neutrophil-mediated DH are produced in the coordinated way implying their causal relationship

Cytotoxic efficacy of a novel dinuclear platinum(II) complex used with anti-MUC1 in human breast cancer cells

Mucin 1 (MUC1) is overexpressed in various cancer cells especially in breast cancer cells. There are known research works on the use of anti-MUC1 antibody with docetaxel in ovarian cancer, but there are no data about combined therapy platinum compounds with anti-MUC1 in breast cancer. The aim of the study was to evaluate the antiproliferative properties of a new dinuclear platinum(II) complex (Pt12) used with anti-MUC1 in human breast cancer cells. The dinuclear platinum(II) complex (Pt12) has been synthesized, and its cytotoxicity with anti-MUC1 has been tested in both MCF-7 and MDA-MB-231 breast cancer cells. In this study, the effects of Pt12 with anti-MUC1 on collagen and DNA biosynthesis in human breast cancer cells were compared to those evoked by cisplatin and cisplatin with anti-MUC1. The mechanism of action of Pt12 with anti-MUC1 was studied employing flow cytometry assessment of annexin V binding assay. It was found that Pt12 with anti-MUC1 was more active inhibitor of DNA and collagen synthesis as well more cytotoxic agent than Pt12 alone and cisplatin with anti-MUC1. Cytotoxicity of Pt12 with anti-MUC1 against breast cancer cells is due to apoptotic cell death as well as necrotic cell death. These results indicate that the use of Pt12 with anti-MUC1 may constitute a novel strategy in the chemotherapy of breast cancer tumors

Analysis of the autoimmune response against BP180 and BP230 in ethnic Poles with neurodegenerative disorders and bullous pemphigoid

Abstract recent studies postulated the association between bullous pemphigoid (BP) and neurodegenerative disorders (nD). the autoantibodies to BP180 and/or BP230 may be present not only in BP, but also in nD as neuronal isoforms of these proteins are identified in the central nervous system. however, there are only scant data about the precise pathogenetic mechanisms interlinking nD and BP as well as the immunologic profile in these patients. the aim is to analyze the serological immunopathological profiles (anti-BP180 igG, anti-BP230 igG) in BP patients with and without nD in order to identify the specific autoantibody(ies) and corresponding antigens responsible for nD development in BP patients. altogether, 82 ethnic Poles with BP and their medical records were examined (62 BP-nD; 20 BP+nD). Levels of serum anti-BP180/BP230 igG in BP patients were evaluated with eLisas. the statistical analyses involved Pearson chi-squared test, Mann-whitney u-test and ranking of autoantibodies. the prevalence of nD among BP patients was 24.4%. there were no statistically significant differences in autoantigens profiles (anti-BP180/anti-BP230 igG) between BP+nD and BP-nD groups. there was no relationship between nD development and anti-BP180/anti-BP230 igG leve