Quantification of Lipophilicity of 1,2,4-Triazoles Using Micellar Chromatography

High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), over-pressured-layer chromatography (OPLC) and thin-layer chromatography (TLC) techniques with micellar mobile phases were proposed to evaluate the lipophilicity of 21 newly synthesized 1,2,4-triazoles, compounds of potential importance in medicine or agriculture as fungicides. Micellar parameters log km were compared with extrapolated RM0 values determined from reversed-phase (RP) TLC experimental data obtained on RP-8 stationary phases as well as with log P values (Alog Ps, AClog P, Alog P, Mlog P, KowWin, xlog P2 and xlog P3) calculated from molecular structures of solutes tested. The results obtained by applying principal component analysis (PCA) and linear regression showed considerable similarity between partition and retention parameters as alternative lipophilicity descriptors, and indicated micellar chromatography as a suitable technique to study lipophilic properties of organic substances. In micellar HPLC, RP-8e column (Purospher) was applied, whereas in OPLC and TLC, RP-CN plates were applied, which was the novelty of this study and allowed the use of micellar effluents in planar chromatography measurements

PARTICIPATORY BUDGETING AS A FORM OF RESIDENTS’ CO-DECISION ON THE ALLOCATION OF LOCAL FUNDS: A CASE STUDY OF THE CITY OF PRZEMYŚL

Participatory budgeting, also called civic budgeting, is a major instrument to facilitate engagement in local government affairs and foster social awareness among residents. It consists in involving residents in the allocation of a pool of public funds made available by local authorities. The purpose of this article is to assess the implementation of participatory budgeting in the city of Przemyśl, Podkarpackie Province, between 2013 and 2022. The assessment methods are desk research based on publicly available data, and interviews with city hall staff. The study confirms that the implementation of participatory budgeting made it possible to achieve the overarching goal of the project, which was to increase engagement by encouraging citizens to participate in public life and co-decide on the allocation of public funds

Transition metal containing particulate matter promotes Th1 and Th17 inflammatory response by monocyte activation in organic and inorganic compounds dependent manner

In recent years, a significant increase in the frequency of disorders caused by air pollutants has been observed. Here we asked whether transition metal-containing particulate matter (TMCPM), a component of air pollution, has an effect on the activity of human CD4+ T cell subsets (Th1, Th2, Th17, and Treg). Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) from healthy donors were cultured with or without NIST (SRM 1648a—standard urban particulate matter purchased from the National Institute for Standards and Technology) and LAP (SRM 1648a particulate matter treated within 120 min with cold oxygen plasma) preparations of TMCPM, differing in organic compounds content. Data show that TMCPM treatment increased the level of CD4+ cells positive for IFN-γ and IL-17A, specific for Th1 and Th17 cells, respectively. Moreover, a substantial decrease in frequency of Foxp3 positive CD4+ cells was observed in parallel. This effect was more pronounced for NIST particles, containing more organic components, including endotoxin (LPS - lipopolysaccharide) and required the presence of monocytes. Inactivation of LPS by treatment of TMCPM with polymyxin B reduced the inflammatory response of monocytes and Th subsets but did not abolish this activity, suggesting a role of their inorganic components. In conclusion, treatment of human PBMC with TMCPM skews the balance of Th1/Th2 and Treg/Th17 cells, promoting polarization of CD4+ T cells into Th1 and Th17 subsets. This phenomenon requires activation of monocytes and depends on the organic and inorganic fractions, including endotoxin content in TMCPM, as significantly higher inflammatory response was observed for the NIST comparing to LAP. This observation may shed a new light on the role of TMCPM in development and exacerbation of allergies, inflammatory, and autoimmune disorders

Percutaneous coronary interventions in new oral anticoagulants-threated patient

Doustne antykoagulanty niebędące antagonistami witaminy K, tzw. nowe doustne antykoagulanty (NOAC), ze względu na swoją dużą skuteczność w zapobieganiu zdarzeniom zakrzepowo-zatorowym i wygodny sposób dawkowania są coraz powszechniej stosowane przez pacjentów wymagających przewlekłej antykoagulacji z powodu migotania przedsionków (AF). Znajduje to odzwierciedlenie w najnowszych wytycznych dotyczących zarówno AF, jak i postępowania w ostrych zespołach wieńcowych, które uwzględniają taką formę leczenia przeciwkrzepliwego. Niniejszy przypadek przedstawia 74-letnią chorą leczoną NOAC, która z powodu niestabilnej dławicy piersiowej została 2-krotnie poddana terapii inwazyjnej.Because of their high effectiveness in thromboembolic prevention and convenient management, new oral anticoagulants (NOAC) became frequently used by patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) requiring sustained anticoagulation therapy. This situation reflects in the newest guidelines for management of patients with AF and treatment of acute coronary syndromes which take into account that kind of therapy. Case report presents 73-year-old patient treated with new oral anticoagulant who underwent two invasive procedures

TOURIST FUNCTION DEVELOPMENT IN EU COUNTRIES: MEASUREMENT AND STATISTICAL EVALUATION

Iako su zemlje Europske unije (EU) među najvažnijim turističkim destinacijama na svijetu, njihov je razvoj funkcije turizma različit. Stoga nam se čini interesantnim usporediti razinu razvoja funkcije turizma u zemljama EU-a. U ovom se članku pokušava odrediti vrijednost sintetičke mjere razina razvoja funkcije turizma zemalja EU-a, uzimajući u obzir osam najčešće korištenih indikatora. U istraživanju se koristila Mjera opće udaljenosti (MOU) prema M. Walesiaku gdje je normalizacija varijabli provedena za razdoblje od 2007. do 2016. godine korištenjem formule temeljene na medijanu. Empirijsko istraživanje provedeno je za prosječne podatke i vremenske nizove, što je omogućilo usporedbu promjena u vremenskoj dimenziji analiziranih pojava. Na osnovu rezultata autori su rangirali zemlje EU-a prema stupnjevima razvoja funkcije turizma i klasifi cirali ih u tri skupine. Prema razini razvoja 2016. godine vodila je Malta. Srednje visok stupanj razvoja funkcije turizma zabilježen je u skupini zapadno-europskih zemalja dok su na srednje niskom stupnju razvoja bile srednjoeuropske i skandinavske zemlje te neke u Zapadnoj Europi. Dobiveni bi rezultati mogli poslužiti kao osnova za ispravnije upravljanje turizmom u zemljama EU-a i kompetentnije odlučivanje o alokaciji europskih sredstava.European Union countries are the most signifi cant tourist destinations around the world. However, the level of development of tourist function is not the same in all European Union countries. It seems interesting to compare the level of tourist function development of European Union countries. The article attempts to determine the value of the synthetic measure of levels of development of the tourist function of European Union countries, taking into consideration the eight most frequently utilised indicators. The study applies M. Walesiak’s General Distance Measure (GDM), where the normalisation of variables was undertaken during 2007-2016 with the application of a median-based formula. The empirical research was conducted, using the dynamic approach (for cross-sectional and tidal data) thus, enabling the comparison of changes observed in the analysed phenomenon tidally. The research findings enabled the authors to rank EU countries in terms of their tourist function development levels and to classify them into three groups. In 2016, the leader regarding the level of development of tourist function was Malta. The majority of Western European countries have medium-high levels of development of in tourist function, whereas the group of countries with medium-low levels included countries from East-Central Europe, Scandinavian countries and several Western Europe countries. The obtained results can lay the foundation for the proper management of tourism in EU countries and for proper decision-making regarding the allocation of EU funds

Control of arms of au stars size and its dependent cytotoxicity and photosensitizer effects in photothermal anticancer therapy

Gold nanostars (AuS NPs) are a very attractive nanomaterial, which is characterized by high effective transduction of the electromagnetic radiation into heat energy. Therefore, AuS NPs can be used as photosensitizers in photothermal therapy (PTT). However, understanding the photothermal conversion efficiency in nanostars is very important to select the most appropriate shape and size of AuS NPs. Therefore, in this article, the synthesis of AuS NPs with different lengths of star arms for potential application in PTT was investigated. Moreover, the formation mechanism of these AuS NPs depending on the reducer concentration is proposed. Transmission electron microscopy (TEM) with selected area diffraction (SEAD) and X-ray diffraction (X-Ray) showed that all the obtained AuS NPs are crystalline and have cores with similar values of the diagonal (parameter d), from 140 nm to 146 nm. However, the widths of the star arm edges (parameter c) and the lengths of the arms (parameter a) vary between 3.75 nm and 193 nm for AuS1 NPs to 6.25 nm and 356 nm for AuS4 NPs. Ultraviolet-visible (UV-Vis) spectra revealed that, with increasing edge widths and lengths of the star arms, the surface plasmon resonance (SPR) peak is shifted to the higher wavelengths, from 640 nm for AuS1 NPs to 770 nm for AuS4 NPs. Moreover, the increase of temperature in the AuS NPs solutions as well as the values of calculated photothermal efficiency grew with the elongation of the star arms. The potential application of AuS NPs in the PTT showed that the highest decrease of viability, around 75%, of cells cultured with AuS NPs and irradiated by lasers was noticed for AuS4 NPs with the longest arms, while the smallest changes were visible for gold nanostars with the shortest arms. The present study shows that photothermal properties of AuS NPs depend on edge widths and lengths of the star arms and the values of photothermal efficiency are higher with the increase of the arm lengths, which is correlated with the reducer concentration

Chemokine receptors and chemokine production by CD34+ stem cell-derived monocytes in response to cancer cells

Background: The chemokine-chemokine receptor (CR) network is involved in the regulation of cellular infiltration of tumours. Cancer cells and infiltrating macrophages produce a whole range of chemokines. This study explored the expression of some CR and chemokine production by cord blood stem cell-derived CD34+ monocytes and their novel CD14++CD16+ and CD14+CD16– subsets in response to tumour cells. Material and Methods: CR expression was determined by flow cytometry and their functional activity by migration to chemoattractants. Monocytes were cultured with tumour cells and the chemokine content was assessed in culture supernatants. Results: CD14++CD16+ monocytes exhibited increased expression of chemokine (C-C) receptor (CCR) 1, while CD14+CD16– of CCR2, chemokine (C-X-C) receptor (CXCR) 1, 2 and 4. The increased expression of CCR2 on CD14+CD16– monocytes was associated with their enhanced migration to monocyte chemoattractant protein–1 (CCL2), MCP-3 (CCL7), MCP-2 (CCL8) and MCP-4 (CCL13), while that of CXCR1 and 2 to interleukin 8 (CXCL8), and CXCR4 to stromal cell-derived factor-1 (CXCL12). Tumour cells induced production of macrophage inflammatory protein-1α (CCL3) MIP-1β and regulated on activation normal T-cells expressed and secreted (CCL5) but not CCL2 or CXCL8, monokine induced by gamma interferon (CXCL9), interferon gamma-induced protein 10 (CXCL10). Conclusion: The studied monocyte subsets, in comparison to those from blood, exhibit different expression of CRs and response to the stimuli that occur from tumour cells