Analysis of Selected Physicochemical Properties of Commercial Apple Juices

The paper presents the comparison of quality of six different commercial apple juices produced in Poland. The apple juices came from two different Polish companies. From each manufacturer three various juices were selected: two cloudy and clarified one produced as a mixture of different apple varieties. The following properties were evaluated: density, soluble solid content, viscosity, total phenolic contents, phenolic acid, and antiradical activity. The obtained results showed that three from fourth cloudy juices (M1Sz, M1A and M2A) differed from clarified juices. The highest differences were noticed for total phenolic contents, phenolic acids, antiradical activity and viscosity. The values of these properties ranged between 60.72–103.6 mg GAE·100-1 mL-1 for phenolic contents, 78.3–90.9% for antiradical activity and 2.68–5.79 mPa·s for viscosity. The remaining cloudy juice (M2Sz) was more similar to the clarified ones. The strong correlation between total phenolic content and antiradical activity of apple juices was found. The high correlation coefficient obtained between these features indicates that both producers do not apply excessive amounts of vitamin C during the production of cloudy apple juices. There was also a strong interrelation between the density of juice and solid soluble content. However, no correlation was found between the solid soluble content and the viscosity of the tested juices

Th17 responses are not altered by natural exposure to seasonal allergens in pollen-sensitive patients

Background: Allergic rhinitis affects 10–30 % of the global population and this number is likely to increase in the forthcoming years. Moreover, it commonly co-exists with allergic asthma as a chronic allergic respiratory syndrome. While the involvement of Th2 cells in allergy is well understood, alterations of pro-inflammatory Th17 responses remain poorly characterized. The aim of our study was to determine whether natural seasonal allergen exposure causes changes in T cell subset characteristics in patients with allergic rhinitis and asthma. Methods: Sixteen patients with allergic rhinitis/atopic asthma (9M, 7F; age 31.8 ± 12.1) and 16 healthy controls were recruited into the study (9M, 7F; age 31.2 ± 5.3). Blood samples were collected from the patients 1–3 months before pollen season (visit 1), within 7 days of the appearance of pollen/initiation of allergic symptoms (visit 2) and 2 weeks after visit 2 following the introduction of symptomatic treatment with antihistamines (visit 3). Flow cytometry was used to assess major T cell subsets (naïve, central memory, effector memory and CD45RA+ effector) and key T cell cytokine production (IFNγ, IL-17A, TNF and IL-4) using intracellular staining. Data were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA and paired t test. Results: As expected, an increase in the percentage of IL‐4+ CD4+ cells was observed during natural pollen exposure in patients with allergic respiratory syndrome. No significant changes were observed in the production of other cytokines, including Th17 cells, which tended to be lower than in the control population but unchanged during pollen exposure. Introduction of antihistamine treatment led to only moderate changes in cytokine production from CD4 and CD8 T cells. Selective changes in CD8+ T cells were observed during natural pollen exposure including a decrease in transient cells (with features of CD45RA+ and CD45RO+ cells) and a decrease in the percentage of central memory cells in the peripheral circulation. Within the CD4 cell group the total percentage of CD45RA positive CD4 cells was increased during pollen exposure. Conclusions: Th1 and Th17 responses are not altered during pollen season but allergen exposure affects T cell activation and memory cell status in patients with allergic respiratory syndrome

Inflammatory aortic abdominal aneurysm - immunophenotypic characterization of inflammatory infiltrate

No abstract available

Mechanisms of oxidative stress in human aortic aneurysms — association with clinical risk factors for atherosclerosis and disease severity

Aortic abdominal aneurysms (AAA) are important causes of cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. Oxidative stress may link multiple mechanisms of AAA including vascular inflammation and increased metalloproteinase activity. However, the mechanisms of vascular free radical production remain unknown. Accordingly, we aimed to determine sources and molecular regulation of vascular superoxide (O2radical dot−) production in human AAA. Methods and results: AAA segments and matched non-dilated aortic samples were obtained from 40 subjects undergoing AAA repair. MDA levels (determined by HPLC/MS) were greater in plasma of AAA subjects (n = 16) than in risk factor matched controls (n = 16). Similarly, superoxide production, measured by lucigenin chemiluminescence and dihydroethidium fluorescence, was increased in aneurysmatic segments compared to non-dilated aortic specimens. NADPH oxidases and iNOS are the primary sources of O2radical dot− in AAA. Xanthine oxidase, mitochondrial oxidases and cyclooxygenase inhibition had minor or no effect. Protein kinase C inhibition had no effect on superoxide production in AAA. NADPH oxidase subunit mRNA levels for p22phox, nox2 and nox5 were significantly increased in AAAs while nox4 mRNA expression was lower. Superoxide production was higher in subjects with increased AAA repair risk Vanzetto score and was significantly associated with smoking, hypercholesterolemia and presence of CAD in AAA cohort. Basal superoxide production and NADPH oxidase activity were correlated to aneurysm size. Conclusions: Increased expression and activity of NADPH oxidases are important mechanisms underlying oxidative stress in human aortic abdominal aneurysm. Uncoupled iNOS may link oxidative stress to inflammation in AAA. Oxidative stress is related to aneurysm size and major clinical risk factors in AAA patients

Role of chemokine RANTES in the regulation of perivascular inflammation, T-cell accumulation, and vascular dysfunction in hypertension

Recent studies have emphasized the role of perivascular inflammation in cardiovascular disease. We studied mechanisms of perivascular leukocyte infiltration in angiotensin II (Ang II)-induced hypertension and their links to vascular dysfunction. Chronic Ang II infusion in mice increased immune cell content of T cells (255 ± 130 to 1664 ± 349 cells/mg; P < 0.01), M1 and M2 macrophages, and dendritic cells in perivascular adipose tissue. In particular, the content of T lymphocytes bearing CC chemokine receptor (CCR) 1, CCR3, and CCR5 receptors for RANTES chemokine was increased by Ang II (CCR1, 15.6 ± 1.5% vs. 31 ± 5%; P < 0.01). Hypertension was associated with an increase in perivascular adipose tissue expression of the chemokine RANTES (relative quantification, 1.2 ± 0.2 vs. 3.5 ± 1.1; P < 0.05), which induced T-cell chemotaxis and vascular accumulation of T cells expressing the chemokine receptors CCR1, CCR3, and CCR5. Mechanistically, RANTES−/− knockout protected against vascular leukocyte, and in particular T lymphocyte infiltration (26 ± 5% in wild type Ang II vs. 15 ± 4% in RANTES−/−), which was associated with protection from endothelial dysfunction induced by Ang II. This effect was linked with diminished infiltration of IFN-γ-producing CD8+ and double-negative CD3+CD4−CD8− T cells in perivascular space and reduced vascular oxidative stress while FoxP3+ T-regulatory cells were unaltered. IFN-γ ex vivo caused significant endothelial dysfunction, which was reduced by superoxide anion scavenging. In a human cohort, a significant inverse correlation was observed between circulating RANTES levels as a biomarker and vascular function measured as flow-mediated dilatation (R = −0.3, P < 0.01) or endothelial injury marker von Willebrand factor (R = +0.3; P < 0.01). Thus, chemokine RANTES is important in the regulation of vascular dysfunction through modulation of perivascular inflammation.—Mikolajczyk, T. P., Nosalski, R., Szczepaniak, P., Budzyn, K., Osmenda, G., Skiba, D., Sagan, A., Wu, J., Vinh, A., Marvar, P. J., Guzik, B., Podolec, J., Drummond, G., Lob, H. E., Harrison, D. G., Guzik, T. J. Role of chemokine RANTES in the regulation of perivascular inflammation, T-cell accumulation, and vascular dysfunction in hypertension

Z zagadnień bezpieczeństwa biznesu

Praca recenzowana / peer-reviewed pape

Media - popular culture - politics: interactions and new phenomena

Praca recenzowana / peer-reviewed pape

Anasysis of the language of the catechism Пъпят на живота for its adaptation to the language capabilities of children

Przedmiotem niniejszej pracy jest analiza bułgarskojęzycznego katechizmu Пътят на живота pod kątem jego przystosowania do możliwości językowych dzieci. Została ona przeprowadzona pod kątem leksykalnym i gramatycznym. Praca składa się z dwóch rozdziałów teoretycznych i jednego rozdziału analitycznego. Rozdział pierwszy poświęcony jest rozwojowi mowy dziecka. Opisano w nim kolejne etapy opanowywania języka, oraz czynniki warunkujące rozwój mowy dziecka. .Przedstawiona została również kolejność, w jakiej dziecko opanowuje poszczególne części mowy. Rozdział powstał w oparciu o prace m. in. Stefana Szumana, Lidii Geppertowej, Leona Kaczmarka i Heleny Borowiec. Rozdział drugi zawiera charakterystykę języka religijnego. Opisuje jego różne odmiany oraz sposób przenikania do języka potocznego. Przedstawia również trudności, z jakimi musi się zmierzyć autor podręcznika do nauki religii. Język religijny ze względu na swoją specyfikę zawiera dużą ilość archaizmów oraz pojęć abstrakcyjnych, związanych ze sferą sakralną. Zadaniem autora katechizmu jest skonstruowanie takiego tekstu, który będzie przekazywał treści religijne w sposób przystępny dla dziecka. Wymaga to dużej sprawności językowej, tym bardziej, że autor nie ma możliwości weryfikacji reakcji odbiorcy na swoją wypowiedź. Musi więc byś w stanie przewidzieć, które wyrazy i pojęcia mogą sprawić trudność odbiorcy i odpowiednio je wyjaśnić. Celem pracy było sprawdzenie, jak z tym zadaniem poradził sobie autor katechizmu Пътят на живота.Rozdział trzeci jest rozdziałem analitycznym. Przedstawia przebieg badań nad językiem katechizmu oraz ich rezultaty. Pierwszy etap analizy polegał na określeniu procentowego udziału poszczególnych części mowy, które oprócz czego zostały pogrupowane według kategorii znaczeniowych. Kolejny etap analizy miał na celu zbadanie, w jaki sposób autor stara się objaśnić trudne wyrazy i pojęcia, których użycie było konieczne ze względu na omawianą treść. Zwrócono również uwagę na parafrazy cytatów biblijnych. Zostały one uproszczone, a treści nieodpowiednie dla dzieci zostały pominięte, jeśli nie powodowało to wypaczenia całości.Przeprowadzona analiza pozwoliła stwierdzić, że język katechizmu Пътят на живота jest przystosowany do możliwości umysłowych dziecka. Pozwala nie tylko na edukację religijną, ale również na rozwój językowy.The main aim of my thesis was to analyze the language of the religion textbook Пътят на живота. The analysis was performed in terms of vocabulary and grammar. The work consists of the three chapters. The first two chapters are theoretical and the third one is analytical. The first part of my thesis describes development of child’s speech. It shows the successive stages of learning the mother tongue. It also presents the factors affecting the development of the child's speech. In this chapter I also present the order of acquisition of particular parts of speech.The second chapter presents the characteristics of religious language. It shows its diversity and explains how religious language pervades to the everyday language. Religious language is characterized by a large number of archaisms and abstract concepts. They can be unclear for a child. Consequently to write a catechism is a challenging task. It requires a large linguistic knowledge, as the author has no possibility to verify reader’s response for his text. He need to predict, which concepts and words can be incomprehensible for children and explain them in an accessible way. The aim of my study was to verify how the author managed with this task.The third chapter is analytical, and it shows the course of the research and its results. The first step in the analysis was determine the contribution of particular parts of speech in the text. The second part of research shows, how the author simplified the text, and how he tried to explain difficult words and religious concepts. I also point the paraphrases of biblical quotations. They have been simplified, and the content that was inappropriate for children have been removed.The analysis leads to the conclusion, that catechism Пътят на живота s adapted for children's mental abilities. It allows not only for religious education, but also for the development of language

Intelligence and creativity of adolescents in the context of their parents’ educational attitudes

W artykule omówiono spostrzegane postawy rodzicielskie w powiązaniu z kształtowaniem się potencjału intelektualnego i twórczego adolescentów. Podstawowymi teoriami, z perspektywy których analizowano omawiane zagadnienie, były typologia postaw rodzicielskich Anny Roe i Marvina Siegelmana, teoria inteligencji ogólnej Charlesa Spearmana oraz teoria twórczości Stanisława Popka. Relacjonowane badania zostały przeprowadzone na grupie pełnoletnich uczniów liceum ogólnokształcącego, pochodzących z małych i średnich miejscowości. Zastosowano w nim Kwestionariusze PCR wersja „Moja matka” i wersja „Mój ojciec”, test TMS-K Ravena oraz Kwestionariusz Twórczego Zachowania KANH. Uzyskane wyniki wskazują na występowanie związku między ochraniającymi i liberalnymi postawami rodziców w percepcji dorastających oraz ich inteligencją i kreatywnością