Does the middle turbinate resection affect the success rate of endonasal dacryocystorhinostomy?

Purpose: To evaluate if the partial resection of the head of the middle turbinate increases a patency of the rhinostomy in the primary endonasal dacryocystorhinostomies (EDCR). Methods: The partial middle turbinate resection is performed during EDCRs in patients with the anteriorly enlarged middle turbinate to prevent rhinostomy closure. The definite evidence-based determination of the relative efficacy of partial turbinectomy has not been established so far. The data were retrospectivelly collected in 630 primary EDCRs performed in the patients over 16 years old in the period 1994-2008. Only the patients with subsaccal nasolacrimal duct obstructions were involved in the study (228 cases); the patients with canalicular obstructions and secondary surgical procedures (silicone intubation, Mitomycin C, ethmoidectomy, septoplasty) were excluded. The success rates of patients with the partial middle turbinate resection (group I) and without resection (group II) were compared one year after the surgery. Results: The overall success rate was 214/228 (93.9%) in EDCRs with/without partial turbinate resections. In group I the success rate was 94/96 (97.9%), in group II 120/132 (90.9%). The differences between the results in groups I and II were statistically significant (p<0.05). Conclusions: The partial middle turbinate resection significantly improves the success rate in the primary EDCRs

Możliwość ograniczenia uszkodzeń owoców przez owocnicę jabłkową (Hoplocampa testudinea Klug) w ekologicznym sadzie jabłoniowym

In 2010-2012, in the Experimental Ecological Orchard of the Research Institute of Horticulture in Skierniewice, a study was conducted on the possibility of reducing populations of the apple sawfly (Hoplocampa testudinea Klug) using biological formulations. The tests involved treatments with an extract from the wood of Quassia amara (4 kg/ha) and an extract from the seeds of Azadirachta indica in the form of a ready-made formulation NeemAzal-T/S at a rate of 2.5 l/ha with the addition of a 0.3% sugar solution. A single treatment was performed in the first two years, and two treatments in the last year. The effectiveness of the protection of fruitlets against damage varied and for the Q. amara extract was from 8.3% (one treatment) to 86.1% (two treatments), and for the NeemAzal-T/S formulation from 4.8% (one treatment) to 44.3% (two treatments). In relation to the damage to fruits, the efficacy of the treatments also varied, ranging from 10.3% to 60% for the Q. amara extract, and from 0% to 46.7% for NeemAzal-T/S.W latach 2010-2012 w Ekologicznym Sadzie Doświadczalnym Instytutu Ogrodnictwa wykonano badania nad możliwością ograniczenia populacji owocnicy jabłkowej (Hoplocampa testudinea Klug) przy pomocy preparatów biologicznych. Badano wywar z drewna gorzkli właściwej (Quassia amara) (4 kg/ha) oraz ekstrakt z nasion miodli indyjskiej (Azadirachta indica) w postaci gotowego preparatu NeemAzal-T/S w dawce 2,5 l/ha z dodatkiem 0,3% roztworu cukru. W pierwszych dwu latach wykonano 1 zabieg, a w ostatnim roku 2 zabiegi. Efektywność zabezpieczenia zawiązków owocowych przed uszkodzeniami była zróżnicowana i wyniosła dla wywaru z Quassia amara od 8,3% (1 zabieg) do 86,1% (dwa zabiegi), a preparatu Nee-mAzal-T/S od 4,8% (1 zabieg) do 44,3% (2 zabiegi). W stosunku do uszkodzeń owoców efektywność zabiegów również była zróżnicowana i wyniosła od 10,3% do 60% dla wywaru z Quassia amara oraz od 0% do 46,7% dla preparatu NeemAzal-T/S

Mineral composition of fruits and leaves of San Andreas® everbearing strawberry in soilless cultivation

Technological progress in the cultivation of horticultural and fruit plants makes the use of soil becoming less and less important. Growing plants in soilless substrates is becoming more and more common. The aim of the study was to determine the variability of the mineral composition of fruits and leaves of everbearing strawberry of the San Andreas® variety in soilless cultivation. Research was carried out at the experimental plantation of Polski Instytut Truskawki Sp. z o.o. (geographical coordinates: 50°02′11″N and 19°81′19″E). The cultivation of everbearing strawberry of the San Andreas® variety was carried out in a gutter system under covers in coconut substrate. The stability of the chemical composition of strawberry leaves and fruits depends on fertilisation, weather factors, and the quality of water used for fertigation. Despite maintaining the content of nutrient in the rhizosphere at the level recommended for organic substrates, low potassium and calcium content and high magnesium content in strawberry leaves were determined. Among the macroelements analysed in strawberry leaves, the lowest variation coefficient values were found for nitrogen, magnesium and calcium, and in fruits – for nitrogen, phosphorus, and magnesium. The highest variation coefficients were obtained for phosphorus and sodium in strawberry leaves, and for sulphur and sodium in strawberry fruits. Variation coefficient values of copper, zinc, and manganese content in leaves were similar. The content of iron in leaves and zinc in fruits was characterised by the lowest variation coefficients during the growing period

A distinct innate lymphoid cell population regulates tumor-associated T cells.

Antitumor T cells are subject to multiple mechanisms of negative regulation. Recent findings that innate lymphoid cells (ILCs) regulate adaptive T cell responses led us to examine the regulatory potential of ILCs in the context of cancer. We identified a unique ILC population that inhibits tumor-infiltrating lymphocytes (TILs) from high-grade serous tumors, defined their suppressive capacity in vitro, and performed a comprehensive analysis of their phenotype. Notably, the presence of this CD56+CD3- population in TIL cultures was associated with reduced T cell numbers, and further functional studies demonstrated that this population suppressed TIL expansion and altered TIL cytokine production. Transcriptome analysis and phenotypic characterization determined that regulatory CD56+CD3- cells exhibit low cytotoxic activity, produce IL-22, and have an expression profile that overlaps with those of natural killer (NK) cells and other ILCs. NKp46 was highly expressed by these cells, and addition of anti-NKp46 antibodies to TIL cultures abrogated the ability of these regulatory ILCs to suppress T cell expansion. Notably, the presence of these regulatory ILCs in TIL cultures corresponded with a striking reduction in the time to disease recurrence. These studies demonstrate that a previously uncharacterized ILC population regulates the activity and expansion of tumor-associated T cells