Mean platelet volume and its prognostic value in acute coronary syndrome complicated by cardiogenic shock

Background: Elevated mean platelet volume (MPV) has been recently discussed as a predictorof death in patients with acute coronary syndrome (ACS), but the cut-off point of MPV inrelation to poor prognosis has not been estimated so far. The aim of this study was to evaluate MPV and its prognostic value in ACS complicated by cardiogenic shock (CS). Such an analysisin patients with the most serious and fatal complication of ACS has not been performed inpreviously published research.Methods: Fifty three patients with ACS complicated by CS (age 68.9 ± 11.4, 49% women, 92% STEMI, 55% fatal CS) and 53 age- and gender-matched patients with uncomplicated ACS as a control group (age 69.1 ± 10.6, 49% women, 92% STEMI, 0% fatal) were includedin our prospective study from 2010 to 2012. All the patients underwent successful primary percutaneous coronary intervention. MPV was determined on admission (MPV1) and in consecutive two days of hospitalization (MPV2, MPV3). The blood sample was analyzed immediately after collection in EDTA tubes using an automatic blood counter.Results: MPV1 was similar in both groups (8.91 ± 1.11 fl vs. 8.57 ± 0.74 fl, NS). Furthermore, there were no statistically significant differences in MPV value in fatal and nonfatal CS(8.90 ± 1.18 fl vs. 8.93 ± 1.05 fl, NS).Conclusions: The above results suggest that MPV cannot be considered a predictor of poorin-hospital outcome in patients with ACS complicated by cardiogenic shock

Development of the anterior-posterior axis is a self-organising process in the absence of maternal cues in mouse embryo

This work was supported by Wellcome Trust, Grant ID: 098287 (MZG) and EMBO (MB).This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from NPG via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/cr.2015.10

Development of the anterior-posterior axis is a self-organizing process in the absence of maternal cues in the mouse embryo.

This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Nature Publishing Group via http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/cr.2015.104This work was supported by Wellcome Trust, Grant ID: 098287 (MZG) and EMBO (MB)

Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Cascades in Plant Hormone Signaling

Mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) modules play key roles in the transduction of environmental and developmental signals through phosphorylation of downstream signaling targets, including other kinases, enzymes, cytoskeletal proteins or transcription factors, in all eukaryotic cells. A typical MAPK cascade consists of at least three sequentially acting serine/threonine kinases, a MAP kinase kinase kinase (MAPKKK), a MAP kinase kinase (MAPKK) and finally, the MAP kinase (MAPK) itself, with each phosphorylating, and hence activating, the next kinase in the cascade. Recent advances in our understanding of hormone signaling pathways have led to the discovery of new regulatory systems. In particular, this research has revealed the emerging role of crosstalk between the protein components of various signaling pathways and the involvement of this crosstalk in multiple cellular processes. Here we provide an overview of current models and mechanisms of hormone signaling with a special emphasis on the role of MAPKs in cell signaling networks.One-sentence summary: In this review we highlight the mechanisms of crosstalk between MAPK cascades and plant hormone signaling pathways and summarize recent findings on MAPK regulation and function in various cellular processes

Table of Contents

Chromosome errors, or aneuploidy, affect an exceptionally high number of human conceptions, causing pregnancy loss and congenital disorders. Here, we have followed chromosome segregation in human oocytes from females aged 9 to 43 years and report that aneuploidy follows a U-curve. Specific segregation error types show different age dependencies, providing a quantitative explanation for the U-curve. Whole-chromosome nondisjunction events are preferentially associated with increased aneuploidy in young girls, whereas centromeric and more extensive cohesion loss limit fertility as women age. Our findings suggest that chromosomal errors originating in oocytes determine the curve of natural fertility in humans. [Abstract copyright: Copyright © 2019 The Authors, some rights reserved; exclusive licensee American Association for the Advancement of Science. No claim to original U.S. Government Works.

Lifetime measurement of neutron-rich even-even molybdenum isotopes

Background: In the neutron-rich A approximate to 100 mass region, rapid shape changes as a function of nucleon number as well as coexistence of prolate, oblate, and triaxial shapes are predicted by various theoretical models. Lifetime measurements of excited levels in the molybdenum isotopes allow the determination of transitional quadrupole moments, which in turn provides structural information regarding the predicted shape change. Purpose: The present paper reports on the experimental setup, the method that allowed one to measure the lifetimes of excited states in even-even molybdenum isotopes from mass A = 100 up to mass A = 108, and the results that were obtained. Method: The isotopes of interest were populated by secondary knock-out reaction of neutron-rich nuclei separated and identified by the GSI fragment separator at relativistic beam energies and detected by the sensitive PreSPEC-AGATA experimental setup. The latter included the Lund-York-Cologne calorimeter for identification, tracking, and velocity measurement of ejectiles, and AGATA, an array of position sensitive segmented HPGe detectors, used to determine the interaction positions of the gamma ray enabling a precise Doppler correction. The lifetimes were determined with a relativistic version of the Doppler-shift-attenuation method using the systematic shift of the energy after Doppler correction of a gamma-ray transition with a known energy. This relativistic Doppler-shift-attenuation method allowed the determination of mean lifetimes from 2 to 250 ps. Results: Even-even molybdenum isotopes from mass A = 100 to A = 108 were studied. The decays of the low-lying states in the ground-state band were observed. In particular, two mean lifetimes were measured for the first time: tau = 29.7(-9.1)(+11.3) ps for the 4(+) state of Mo-108 and tau = 3.2(-0.7)(+ 0.7) ps for the 6(+) state of Mo-102. Conclusions: The reduced transition strengths B(E2), calculated from lifetimes measured in this experiment, compared to beyond-mean-field calculations, indicate a gradual shape transition in the chain of molybdenum isotopes when going from A = 100 to A = 108 with a maximum reached at N = 64. The transition probabilities decrease for Mo-108 which may be related to its well-pronounced triaxial shape indicated by the calculations

Territorialization, the Papacy, and the Institutions of the Polish Church, 1198-1357

This thesis traces the development of the Polish church’s institutions as a result of their territorial behaviours and activities. While much historiography presents the Latin Church as a ‘state-maker,’ this thesis demonstrates how secular and religious practices and behaviours developed in tandem with one another. The initial fragmented nature of the Polish duchies allowed the episcopate to strengthen itself by providing a united front, supported by the papacy, in the face of ducal incursions. A consequence of this unity was that the duchies never lost the idea of a unified regnum to reflect the provincia, affecting the polity’s developments. This co-determination is concretised by analysing how the ecclesiastical and secular elites created distinctive but overlapping territories in a shared space, articulating and exercising their authority and power within them. The ability of the papacy, the episcopate, and the regular clergy to coexist within a space shared with one another and lay powers was possible because each made use of their territoriality at different levels: jurisdictional, administrative, agricultural, pastoral, disciplinary, and financial. They operated in distinctive ways which were recognised, repeated, and accepted. This process of institutionalisation was the result of pragmatic behaviours caused by competing and complementing interests and ideologies present in a shared space. The thesis is divided into two parts. Part One focuses on how the papacy contributed to the creation and consolidation of ecclesiastical territories in Poland. Chapter One traces how Innocent III and the Polish Archbishop Henryk Kietlicz set out the parameters for ecclesiastical territories in Poland at the beginning of the thirteenth century, and how these were used by the papacy to exercise its authority through crusading and inquisitorial tribunals. Chapter Two focuses on how papal envoys continued this process of creation and assertion of papal authority, progressing from one-off missions of legates in the thirteenth century to consistent, routine operations carried out by papal nuncios in the fourteenth, which allowed papal authority to permeate the Polish landscape. Part Two studies local negotiations of space, particularly in relation to secular powers. Chapter Three demonstrates that territorial practices, focused especially on agriculture, were the common foundation for the development of both lay and ecclesiastical lordship. Chapter Four analyses how the episcopate functioned within these co-determined spaces, projecting distinctive clerical status onto its territories. The Fifth and final chapter shows how the patronage of different religious orders expanded the ability of the papacy, episcopate, and lay lords to exercise their authority

Nowakowska (ed.), Remembering the Jagiellonians (Routledge, 2019)

Review of Natalia Nowakowska, ed., Remembering the Jagiellonians (London: Routledge, 2019)