Brak różnic w ekspresji konwertazy proproteinowej 6 u kobiet niepłodnych z endometriozą minimalnego stopnia i u kobiet z niepłodnością idiopatyczną

Abstract Objective: Proprotein convertase 6(PC6) is known to be the key enzyme involved in the transformation of many hormones, cytokines and their receptors into their active forms. Experimental in vitro studies have also proven that lack of PC6 in the endometrium prevents decidualisation. Therefore in our study we have aimed at determining whether infertility in some patients might be attributable to decreased expression of PC6. Material and methods: With the use of RealTime PCR we have studied the expression level of PC6 in receptive phase endometria from 36 idiopathic infertile patients, 26 infertile patients with minimal grade endometriosis and compared those results with fertile, age-matched controls. The endometria were collected 7-9 days after ovulation. Results: There were no statistically significant differences regarding the expression of PC6 in endometria from patients with idiopathic infertility, infertile patients with endometriosis and controls. Conclusions: Since there is no detectable difference in PC6 expression, the decreased expression of PC6 is unlikely to cause infertility.Streszczenie Cel pracy: Konwertaza proproteinowa 6 (PC6) jest kluczowym enzymem biorącym udział w przekształceniu wielu prohormonów, cytokin i ich receptorów w aktywne formy. Badania eksperymentalne in vitro dowiodły, iż brak PC6 uniemożliwia przemianę doczesnową w endometrium. Naszym celem była ocena czy u pacjentek niepłodnych czynnikiem wywołującym niepłodność może być zaburzona ekspresja PC6. Materiał i metoda: Stosujac RT-PCR zbadaliśmy poziom ekspresji PC6 w fazie receptywnej endometrium u 36 kobiet z niepłodnością idiopatyczną, 26 pacjentek z endometriozą minimalną oraz porównaliśmy te wyniki z płodnymi pacjentkami dobranymi pod względem wieku. Endometrium zostało pobrane 7-9 dni po owulacji. Wyniki: Nie stwierdziliśmy statystycznie znamiennych różnic w ekspresji PC6 w endometrium z grupy z niełΠodnością idiopatyczną, niepłodnymi pacjentkami z endometriozą a grupą kontrolną. Wnioski: Wydaje się, że zaburzona ekspresja PC6 nie jest przyczyną niepłodności

Preeclampsia – two manifestations of the same disease

Abstract Preeclampsia, due to its complicated and unexplained pathophysiology, remains one of the most difficult subjects in modern maternal-fetal medicine. Despite of the fact that diagnostic criteria of preeclampsia are clear and homogenous, the clinical manifestation of the disease, the prognosis and the frequency of maternal and fetal complications differ considerably among the cases. The aim of the review was to emphasize the heterogenous character of preeclampsia which may be manifested in two different clinical forms – a maternal and placental one. The maternal preeclampsia occurs mostly in multiparous patients with known risk factors of preeclampsia such as: 1) insulin resistance, 2) diabetes mellitus, 3) dyslipidemia, 4) obesisty, and 5) chronic hypertension. The placental form of the disease is more common among nulliparous women without prior risk factors of preeclampsia. The main clinical differences between the two forms are: 1) an earlier onset of placental preeclampsia in most cases, and 2) a more frequent presence of placental insufficiency in placental preeclampsia. The following article focuses on both forms of preeclampsia in the aspect of different clinical manifestations, different prognosis, as well as different management of the disease

The management of ovarian tumors in pregnancy and perinatal outcome

Summary Aim: The pregnancy course in women with gestational ovarian mass and conservative or operative management. Material and methods: In retrospective analysis we analyzed 83 pregnant women with ovarian mass diagnosed between 2002-2009. We considered the following factors: gestational age when diagnosed, ultrasound picture, clinical symptoms, level of CA 125, treatment used, pathologic results and pregnancy outcome. Results: In this group of patients 29 (35%) underwent surgery and 54 (65%) were managed conservatively. In 83% of operated women ovarian mass was diagnosed before 11 gestational week. Only 27,5% of patients had pain. CA 125 level was elevated in 48,3% women. In all operated patients laparotomy was performed. The most common pathologic finding was mature teratoma (37,9%) and serous cyst (34,5%). In only one patient we diagnosed borderline serous carcinoma in both ovaries. Among operated patients, 86% delivered at term healthy newborns. In conservatively managed group level of CA 125 remain within a normal range. Patients were symptoms free and pregnancy course was uneventful. In 85% non operated women within 6 postpartum weeks ovarian masses disappeared. Conclusion: According to our analysis adequate ultrasound image interpretation of ovarian’ tumors in pregnancy is of the highest importance in further medical management. Conservative treatment with systematic obstetric care may help to reduce the number of surgical intervention. Surgical treatment of ovarian tumors in pregnancy increases the risk of premature deliveries

Solvent effects on Grubbs’ pre-catalyst initiation rates

Initiation rates for Grubbs and Grubbs-Hoveyda second generation pre-catalysts have been measured accurately in a range of solvents. Solvatochromic fitting reveals different dependencies on key solvent parameters for the two pre-catalysts, consistent with different mechanisms by which the Grubbs and Grubbs-Hoveyda pre-catalysts initiate

A review of the renal system and diurnal variations of renal activity in livestock

Kidneys are the main organs regulating water-electrolyte homeostasis in the body. They are responsible for maintaining the total volume of water and its distribution in particular water spaces, for electrolyte composition of systemic fluids and also for maintaining acid-base balance. These functions are performed by the plasma filtration process in renal glomeruli and the processes of active absorption and secretion in renal tubules, all adjusted to an 'activity-rest' rhythm. These diurnal changes are influenced by a 24-hour cycle of activity of hormones engaged in the regulation of renal activity. Studies on spontaneous rhythms of renal activity have been carried out mainly on humans and laboratory animals, but few studies have been carried out on livestock animals. Moreover, those results cover only some aspects of renal physiology. This review gives an overview of current knowledge concerning renal function and diurnal variations of some renal activity parameters in livestock, providing greater understanding of general chronobiological processes in mammals. Detailed knowledge of these rhythms is useful for clinical, practical and pharmacological purposes, as well as studies on their physical performance

Constructing living buildings: a review of relevant technologies for a novel application of biohybrid robotics

Biohybrid robotics takes an engineering approach to the expansion and exploitation of biological behaviours for application to automated tasks. Here, we identify the construction of living buildings and infrastructure as a high-potential application domain for biohybrid robotics, and review technological advances relevant to its future development. Construction, civil infrastructure maintenance and building occupancy in the last decades have comprised a major portion of economic production, energy consumption and carbon emissions. Integrating biological organisms into automated construction tasks and permanent building components therefore has high potential for impact. Live materials can provide several advantages over standard synthetic construction materials, including self-repair of damage, increase rather than degradation of structural performance over time, resilience to corrosive environments, support of biodiversity, and mitigation of urban heat islands. Here, we review relevant technologies, which are currently disparate. They span robotics, self-organizing systems, artificial life, construction automation, structural engineering, architecture, bioengineering, biomaterials, and molecular and cellular biology. In these disciplines, developments relevant to biohybrid construction and living buildings are in the early stages, and typically are not exchanged between disciplines. We, therefore, consider this review useful to the future development of biohybrid engineering for this highly interdisciplinary application.publishe

Antideuteron and deuteron production in mid-central Pb+Pb collisions at 158AA GeV

Production of deuterons and antideuterons was studied by the NA49 experiment in the 23.5% most central Pb+Pb collisions at the top SPS energy of $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$=17.3 GeV. Invariant yields for $\bar{d}$ and $d$ were measured as a function of centrality in the center-of-mass rapidity range $-1.2<y<-0.6$. Results for $\bar{d}(d)$ together with previously published $\bar{p}(p)$ measurements are discussed in the context of the coalescence model. The coalescence parameters $B_2$ were deduced as a function of transverse momentum $p_t$ and collision centrality.Comment: 9 figure

Phase-space dependence of particle-ratio fluctuations in Pb+Pb collisions from 20A to 158A GeV beam energy

A novel approach, the identity method, was used for particle identification and the study of fluctuations of particle yield ratios in Pb+Pb collisions at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron (SPS). This procedure allows to unfold the moments of the unknown multiplicity distributions of protons (p), kaons (K), pions ($\pi$) and electrons (e). Using these moments the excitation function of the fluctuation measure $\nu_{\text{\text{dyn}}}$[A,B] was measured, with A and B denoting different particle types. The obtained energy dependence of $\nu_{\text{dyn}}$ agrees with previously published NA49 results on the related measure $\sigma_{\text{dyn}}$. Moreover, $\nu_{\text{dyn}}$ was found to depend on the phase space coverage for [K,p] and [K,$\pi$] pairs. This feature most likely explains the reported differences between measurements of NA49 and those of STAR in central Au+Au collisions

Energy dependence of kaon-to-proton ratio fluctuations in central Pb+Pb collisions from sNN\sqrt{s_{NN}} = 6.3 to 17.3 GeV

Kaons and protons carry large parts of two conserved quantities, strangeness and baryon number. It is argued that their correlation and thus also fluctuations are sensitive to conditions prevailing at the anticipated parton-hadron phase boundary. Fluctuations of the $(\mathrm{K}^+ + \mathrm{K}^-)/(\mathrm{p}+\bar{\mathrm{p}})$ and $\mathrm{K}^+/\mathrm{p}$ ratios have been measured for the first time by NA49 in central Pb+Pb collisions at 5 SPS energies between $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$= 6.3 GeV and 17.3 GeV. Both ratios exhibit a change of sign in $\sigma_{\mathrm{dyn}}$, a measure of non-statistical fluctuations, around $\sqrt{s_{NN}}$ = 8 GeV. Below this energy, $\sigma_{\mathrm{dyn}}$ is positive, indicating higher fluctuation compared to a mixed event background sample, while for higher energies, $\sigma_{\mathrm{dyn}}$ is negative, indicating correlated emission of kaons and protons. The results are compared to UrQMD calculations which which give a good description at the higher SPS energies, but fail to reproduce the transition to positive values.Comment: 5 pages, 4 figure