Antitrust and Copyright Collectives – an Economic Analysis

The activity of the copyright collecting societies had been scrutinized by many antitrust authorities. The paper presents the decision taken by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), which deals with abusing practices of Polish copyright collective society – ZAiKS. The paper concentrates on the economic aspects of the decision from the President of UOKiK.collecting societies, copyright, antitrust, transaction costs, welfare

Project Management In Universities: The Institutional Aspect

The complementary aims of this manuscript are to describe the issue of project management in universities and to present proposals that may improve that area within selected institutions. The improvements are meant to enable project management at the university level in a coherent and coordinated way. These proposals were derived from experiential research carried out by the authors at a Polish university

Antitrust and Copyright Collectives – an Economic Analysis

The activity of the copyright collecting societies had been scrutinized by many antitrust authorities. The paper presents the decision taken by the President of the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection (UOKiK), which deals with abusing practices of Polish copyright collective society – ZAiKS. The paper concentrates on the economic aspects of the decision from the President of UOKiK

Energy recovery and efficiency improvement for an activated sludge, agro-food WWTP upgrade

Abstract Wastewater treatment's primary purpose is to protect surface water quality, aquatic life, beneficial and recreational uses of waterways, and primarily comply with local water emission standards. Lately, additional requirements were added for these facilities, concerning minimization of a series of sidestream environmental impacts (i.e., odours, generated waste by-products, etc.), air emissions, including CO2, methane and nitrogen greenhouse gases (GHGs), and mitigation of various other likely impacts resulting from energy and chemical use in treatment processes. This paper describes a case study in Northern Europe, where critical analysis of an industrial wastewater treatment plant's present conditions, during an evaluation of upgrade possibilities to improve regulatory compliance, led to a sustainable intervention proposal. According to the formulated proposal, process improvement, energy recovery, and overall savings and GHG emissions reduction could be simultaneously achieved with a series of relatively simple interventions

Upregulation of FOXP3+Regulatory T Lymphocytes and CD8+Lymphocytes in Patients with High-Grade Squamous Intraepithelial Lesions Correlated with HPV Infection

Raksts ir publicēts 2022.gada aprīlī. Tas redzams žurnāla publikācijā, raksta PDF publikācijā un Web of Science publikācijā. Scopus datubāzē publicēšanas gads ir norādīts kļūdaini kā 2021.gads. Publisher Copyright: © Latvian Academy of Sciences.Modern therapeutic strategies for precancerous cervical intraepithelial neoplasia (CIN) focus on immune-modulatory and cancer vaccination. The local cervical immune status in cervical cancer and CIN could influence HPV infection persistence, progression and carcinogenesis. We analysed the role of FOXP3+ regulatory T lymphocytes, CD4+ and CD8+ T lymphocytes in CIN I, CIN II and CIN III patients with and without HPV infection. Sixty-two patients were enrolled in the study. Each patient underwent a colposcopy-guided cervical biopsy. FOXP3+ lymphocytes and CD4+,CD8+ lymphocytes were detected by immunostaining in tissue samples obtained from a control group (n = 10), patients with CIN I (n = 20), CIN II (n = 14) and CIN III (n = 18) lesions. HPV was assayed by Aptima. The results showed that the numbers of CD4+ T lymphocytes did not differ between patients with CIN I, CIN II, and CIN III. However, patients with CIN II and CIN III had significantly upregulated CD8+T lymphocytes compared to patients with CIN I. In addition, patients with CIN II and CIN III had increased FOXP3 + T lymphocytes compared with patients with CIN I, which was associated with HPV status. Upregulation of FOXP3+ regulatory T lymphocytes and CD8-positive lymphocytes in patients with CIN II and CIN III suggested a pivotal role of T regulatory lymphocytes and CD8+ lymphocytes for counteracting the host immune response in the progression from CIN I to CIN II and CIN III.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Effects of BRAF V600E and NRAS mutational status on the progression-free survival and clinicopathological characteristics of patients with melanoma

Funding Information: The study was supported by the project ‘Strengthening of the capacity of doctoral studies at the University of Latvia within the framework of the new doctoral model’ (grant no. 8.2.2.0/20/I/006). Publisher Copyright: © 2023 Spandidos Publications. All rights reserved.Hotspot mutations of the BRAF and NRAS genes are the most common genetic alterations in invasive cutaneous melanoma; however, the prognostic significance of BRAF and NRAS co-mutations remains controversial. The present study aimed to determine the association between NRAS and BRAF mutation status and the clinicopathological characteristics of patients with stage IA-IIC melanoma. A total of 118 patients who underwent surgical treatment for stage IA-IIC melanoma at the Riga East University Hospital between 2012 and 2018 were retrospectively enrolled in the present study. BRAF and NRAS mutation status was assessed by digital droplet PCR using the BRAFV600, NRAS Q61 and NRAS G12/G13 Screening Assays. The association between mutation status and clinicopathological features and progression-free survival (PFS) was then analyzed. The BRAF V600 mutation was detected in 67 out of 118 patients (56.8%). The PFS did not differ between patients with BRAF wild-type and BRAF-mutant melanoma. NRAS mutations were detected in 35 out of 118 patients (29.6%). The NRAS mutational status was associated with Breslow thickness (P=0.035), tumor type (P=0.020; χ2=0.20), mitotic rate (P=0.025) and lymphovascular invasion (P=0.02; χ2=0.20). Patients with NRAS-mutant melanoma had significantly worse PFS compared with NRAS wild-type melanoma (HR=12.30; 95% CI=5.78-26.21, P<0.0001). Furthermore, BRAF and NRAS co-mutant melanoma was associated with a significantly worse PFS compared with BRAF-mutant melanoma (HR=6.30; 95% CI=3.10-12.70, P<0.0001). In conclusion, NRAS-mutant and NRAS/BRAF co-mutant stage IA-IIC melanoma was associated with worse PFS compared with NRAS wild-type and BRAF-mutant melanoma. The assessment of NRAS mutation status in melanoma in routine clinical practice may be beneficial for the risk stratification of disease progression for primary non-metastatic malignant melanoma.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Cost-effective removal of COD in the pre-treatment of wastewater from the paper industry

The present paper reveals results of research for cost-effective removal of chemical oxygen demand (COD) contained in industrial paper mill effluent. Not only process efficiency but also wastewater treatment costs are discussed. Different pre-treatment processes are applied aiming to investigate the COD removal before discharge to the municipal sewage network. The objective of this paper is to find the optimal operating conditions for the coagulation process. The effects of key operational parameters, including the type of coagulant, initial pH, temperature and coagulant dose, on COD percentage removal were investigated. The laboratory experiments confirmed the high efficiency of chemically enhanced mechanical treatment towards COD. The data obtained show that even low dose of chemicals provides sufficient COD reduction. The initial pH of the wastewater had a significant impact on the COD removal. Under the optimal operational conditions (pH = 7.5, T = 18 °C) the treatment of wastewater from paper industries by coagulation has led to a reduction of 70% COD for wastewater discharged. In terms of the investigated paper industry wastewater, polyaluminium chloride appears to be most suitable for treatment of high COD concentration. However, in an economic evaluation of requirements for wastewater treatment, operating costs and associated saving were such that PAX was more favourable.Fil: Boguniewicz Zablocka, Joanna. Opole University Of Technology; PoloniaFil: Klosok Bazan, Iwona. Opole University Of Technology; PoloniaFil: Naddeo, Vincenzo. Universita di Salerno; ItaliaFil: Mozejko, Clara Alexandra. Consejo Nacional de Investigaciones Científicas y Técnicas. Centro Científico Tecnológico Conicet - Córdoba. Instituto de Estudios Avanzados en Ingeniería y Tecnología. Universidad Nacional de Córdoba. Facultad de Ciencias Exactas Físicas y Naturales. Instituto de Estudios Avanzados en Ingeniería y Tecnología; Argentin

Stage IIA Skin Melanoma Treatment With ECHO-7 Oncolytic Virus Rigvir

Melanoma is a global problem due to the rising numbers of skin melanoma cases. Current treatment guidelines for patients with stage IIA melanoma recommend only observation after surgery. In this report, the authors describe a patient with stage IIA skin melanoma treated with surgery and Rigvir virotherapy. Two years after the patient discovered a brown spot on the right cheek, surgery was indicated because the mass had started to ulcerate. Rigvir virotherapy was applied both before and after surgery. Observations made more than 7 years after surgery indicated no signs of disease progression. This case report illustrates an early treatment approach. Neoadjuvant treatment for early-stage melanoma is gaining more interest in both scientific and medical communities; therefore, the authors believe it is relevant to share their observations.publishersversionPeer reviewe

Mitochondrial phenotypes in genetically diverse neurodegenerative diseases and their response to mitofusin activation

Mitochondrial fusion is essential to mitochondrial fitness and cellular health. Neurons of patients with genetic neurodegenerative diseases often exhibit mitochondrial fragmentation, reflecting an imbalance in mitochondrial fusion and fission (mitochondrial dysdynamism). Charcot-Marie-Tooth (CMT) disease type 2A is the prototypical disorder of impaired mitochondrial fusion caused by mutations in the fusion protein mitofusin (MFN)2. Yet, cultured CMT2A patient fibroblast mitochondria are often reported as morphologically normal. Metabolic stress might evoke pathological mitochondrial phenotypes in cultured patient fibroblasts, providing a platform for the pre-clinical individualized evaluation of investigational therapeutics. Here, substitution of galactose for glucose in culture media was used to redirect CMT2A patient fibroblasts (MFN2 T105M, R274W, H361Y, R364W) from glycolytic metabolism to mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation, which provoked characteristic mitochondrial fragmentation and depolarization and induced a distinct transcriptional signature. Pharmacological MFN activation of metabolically reprogrammed fibroblasts partially reversed the mitochondrial abnormalities in CMT2A and CMT1 and a subset of Parkinson\u27s and Alzheimer\u27s disease patients, implicating addressable mitochondrial dysdynamism in these illnesses