Use of remotely-derived bathymetry for modelling biomass in marine environments

The paper presents results on the influence of geometric attributes of satellite-derived raster bathymetric data, namely the General Bathymetric Charts of the Oceans, on spatial statistical modelling of marine biomass. In the initial experiment, both the resolution and projection of the raster dataset are taken into account. It was found that, independently of the equal-area projection chosen for the analysis, the calculated areas are very similar, and the differences between them are insignificant. Likewise, any variation in the raster resolution did not change the computed area. Although the differences were shown to be insignificant, for the subsequent analysis we selected the cylindrical equal area projection, as it implies rectangular spatial extent, along with the automatically derived resolution. Then, in the second experiment, we focused on demersal fish biomass data acquired from trawl samples taken from the western parts of ICES Sub-area VII, near the sea floor. The aforementioned investigation into processing bathymetric data allowed us to build various statistical models that account for a relationship between biomass, sea floor topography and geographic location. We fitted a set of generalised additive models and generalised additive mixed models to combinations of trawl data of the roundnose grenadier (Coryphaenoides rupestris) and bathymetry. Using standard statistical techniques—such as analysis of variance, Akaike information criterion, root mean squared error, mean absolute error and cross-validation—we compared the performance of the models and found that depth and latitude may serve as statistically significant explanatory variables for biomass of roundnose grenadier in the study area. However, the results should be interpreted with caution as sampling locations may have an impact on the biomass–depth relationship

Cross-talk interactions of exogenous nitric oxide and sucrose modulates phenylpropanoid metabolism in yellow lupine embryo axes infected with Fusarium oxysporum

AbstractThe aim of the study was to examine cross-talk of exogenous nitric oxide (NO) and sucrose in the mechanisms of synthesis and accumulation of isoflavonoids in embryo axes of Lupinus luteus L. cv. Juno. It was verified whether the interaction of these molecules can modulate the defense response of axes to infection and development of the pathogenic fungus Fusarium oxysporum f. sp. lupini. Sucrose alone strongly stimulated a high level of genistein glucoside in axes pretreated with exogenous nitric oxide (SNP or GSNO) and non-pretreated axes. As a result of amplification of the signal coming from sucrose and GSNO, high isoflavonoids accumulation was observed (+Sn+GSNO). It needs to be stressed that infection in tissues pretreated with SNP/GSNO and cultured on the medium with sucrose (+Si+SNP/+Si+GSNO) very strongly enhances the accumulation of free isoflavone aglycones. In +Si+SNP axes phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity was high up to 72h. As early as at 12h in +Si+SNP axes an increase was recorded in gene expression level of the specific isoflavonoid synthesis pathway. At 24h in +Si+SNP axes a very high total antioxidant capacity dependent on the pool of fast antioxidants was noted. Post-infection generation of semiquinone radicals was lower in axes with a high level of sucrose than with a deficit

Seed morphometric characteristics of European species of Elatine (Elatinaceae)

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Multiplying unitary random matrices - universality and spectral properties

In this paper we calculate, in the large N limit, the eigenvalue density of an infinite product of random unitary matrices, each of them generated by a random hermitian matrix. This is equivalent to solving unitary diffusion generated by a hamiltonian random in time. We find that the result is universal and depends only on the second moment of the generator of the stochastic evolution. We find indications of critical behavior (eigenvalue spacing scaling like $1/N^{3/4}$) close to $\theta=\pi$ for a specific critical evolution time $t_c$.Comment: 12 pages, 2 figure

Wstępne próby konstrukcji bibliotek peptydowych jako narzędzia w diagnostyce nowotworów złośliwych tarczycy

Introduction: Cancer of thyroid gland is the most common malignancy of the endocrine system. The treatment improvement could be achieved by early diagnosis. The aim of the study was to identify cancer specific antigenes with use of peptide libraries. Material and methods: The material from 6 patients with thyroid cancer (4 with papillary cancer, 1 with follicular cancer and 1 with oxyphilic tumor) were analyzed. It was performed with use of lipophylic peptide libraries by direct comparison of staining of specimens prepared from normal and malignant tissue. Results: Preliminary results confirm practical value of peptide libraries in early diagnostics of thyroid cancer. Conclusions: It is important to optimize construction of peptide libraries by using different staining agents hydrolyzed by proteases.Wstęp: Nowotwory złośliwe tarczycy należą do najczęstszych nowotworów złośliwych układu endokrynnego. Poprawa wyników leczenia wiąże się z postępem wczesnej diagnostyki raka. Celem niniejszych badań jest poszukiwanie wskaźników nowotworowych za pomocą bibliotek peptydowych umieszczonych na podłożu z bibuły. Materiał i metody: Analizie poddano tkanki pobrane od 6 pacjentów: 4 z rakiem brodawkowatym tarczycy, 1 z nowotworem pęcherzykowym oraz 1 pacjenta z rakiem oksyfilnym. Badania wykonywano z wykorzystaniem bibliotek peptydowych lipofilowych, porównując tkankę zdrową i chorą oraz oceniając zmianę zabarwienia w poszczególnych bibliotekach. Wyniki: Wstępne wyniki wskazują, że biblioteki peptydowe można zastosować w diagnostyce nowotworów tarczycy. Wnioski: Niezbędna jest optymalizacja budowy bibliotek peptydowych, gdzie konieczne jest zastosowanie innego barwnika hydrolizowanego przez proteazy

Results of Polish Adult Leukemia Study Group (PALG) project assessing TP53 mutations with next-generation sequencing technology in relapsed and refractory chronic lymphocytic leukemia patients — an 18-month update

Indtroduction and methods: In chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL), molecular and cytogenetic diagnostics are crucial for the determination of accurate prognosis and treatment choice. Among different genetic aberrations, del(17p13) or TP53 mutations constitute high-risk factors, and early identification of such defects is a high priority for CLL patients. While cytogenetic diagnostics is well-established and accessible for the majority of CLL patients in Poland, molecular diagnostics of TP53 mutations is performed only in a few ERIC-certified centers (eight as of September 2020), and only two of these employ next-generation sequencing (NGS) for routine analysis of TP53 status in CLL patients. Here we report the interim results of a project assessing TP53 mutations with NGS technology in relapsed or refractory CLL patients with confirmed negative del(17p13) status. 249 patients from 32 clinical centers were included in the study. Results: NGS analysis revealed TP53 mutations in 42/249 (17%) patients, half of whom (21/249, 8.5%) had subclonal mutations (VAF ≤10%). These results are in line with published data in relapsed/refractory CLL patients. Conclusions: The results of the project demonstrated the feasibility and accuracy of NGS testing in CLL patients despite several initial logistical and technical obstacles. Our study also proved that, with appropriate funding, CLL patients from any hematological center in Poland can have access to state-of-the-art molecular diagnostic