Structural and biochemical studies of the Zα domain family and the RNA editing enzyme ADAR1

Detection of foreign nucleic acids is a crucial component of innate immunity against viruses. For that purpose, cells are equipped with a repertoire of cytoplasmic and membrane-bound DNA/RNA sensors. Recognition of non-self nucleic acids leads to the activation of downstream pathways dedicated to elimination or containment of infection. One of the strategies to counteract viral infections is the production of interferons, the cytokines which alert neighboring cells about potential threats.(...)Fundação Calouste Gulbenkia

Monitoring of Thermal and Flow Processes in the Two-Phase Spray-Ejector Condenser for Thermal Power Plant Applications

The paper deals with the problem of accurate measuring techniques and experimental research methods for performance evaluation of direct contact jet-type flow condensers. The nominal conditions and range of temperature, pressure and flow rate in all characteristic points of novel test rig installation were calculated using the developed model. Next, the devices for measurement of temperature, pressure and flow rate in a novel test rig designed for testing the two-phase flow spray ejector condensers system (SEC) were studied. The SEC can find application in gas power cycles as the device dedicated to condensing steam in exhaust gases without decreasing or even increasing exhaust gas pressure. The paper presents the design assumptions of the test rig, its layout and results of simulations of characteristic points using developed test rig models. Based on the initial thermal and flow conditions, the main assumptions for thermal and flow process monitoring were formulated. Then, the discussion on commercially available measurement solutions was presented. The basic technical parameters of available sensors and devices were given, discussed with details. © 2022 by the authors.Monitoring of Thermal and Flow Processes in the Two-Phase Spray-Ejector Condenser for Thermal Power Plant ApplicationspublishedVersio

Ocena dostępności ekonomicznej pacjentów do wybranych grup leków w rocznej perspektywie od wprowadzenia nowej ustawy refundacyjnej

The evaluation of the patients economic availability to some groups of medicines. One year follow up of a new reimbursement systemChanges in the organization and financing of the public health care are always a reason of the social restlessness. The same situation was observed in Poland where at the beginning of 2012 a new reimbursement system was introduced. Therefore the main aim of this paper is to verify economic availability of patients to medicines after implementation of the changes. The annual research perspective ensures the reliability of analysis. The study concerns 11 medicines and was conducted using official announcements of the Polish Minister of Health. Due to changes introduced by the Polish government, prices of some drugs have been permanently reduced. But in some analyzed cases (olanzapine) reduction is not sufficient. Some medicines, like gosereline were significantly more expensive in 2012 than in 2011. Although the new reimbursement system has a lot of advantages, further studies and amendments are necessary to provide a real economic availability to many important medicines

Direct costs of hypertension treatment - primary study

Wstęp Nadciśnienie tętnicze jest jedną z najbardziej rozpowszechnionych chorób cywilizacyjnych na świecie. Niewłaściwy styl życia współczesnych społeczeństw (dieta bogatotłuszczowa, mała aktywność fizyczna, nadużywanie alkoholu, wzrost spożycia soli i palenie tytoniu) jest główną przyczyną rozwoju nadciśnienia tętniącego. W Polsce na nadciśnienie choruje 29% dorosłej populacji. Wyniki ogólnopolskiego badania NATPOL PLUS wskazują, że 62% badanych przyjmuje leki hipotensyjne systematycznie, 19% czyni to nieregularnie, a aż 19% nie podjęło proponowanego leczenia. Analiza kosztów terapii nadciśnienia tętniczego dostarcza informacji na temat wielkości obciążenia systemu ochrony zdrowia kosztami leczenia związanymi z danym schorzeniem. Celem badania była analiza kosztów bezpośrednich stosowanej farmakoterapii, badań laboratoryjnych i diagnostycznych oraz kosztów związanych z zakupem aparatury pomocniczej pacjenta z rozpoznanym nadciśnieniem tętniczym, który był monitorowany w jednej z większych aptek Poznania. Materiały i metody Badania przeprowadzono wstępnie u 20 pacjentów ze zdiagnozowanym i leczonym nadciśnieniem tętniczym w przedziale wieku 37-61 lat w horyzoncie czasowym 12 miesięcy. Wyniki Łączny koszt terapii nadciśnienia tętniczego w horyzoncie badania wynosił 46 568,02 PLN. W przeliczeniu na jedną osobę stanowi to wartość 2328,40 PLN. Wnioski Przeprowadzona analiza kosztów bezpośrednich wykazała, że koszty związane z farmakoterapią ponoszone przez pacjenta są 3-krotnie wyższe niż nakłady poniesione przez płatnika (NFZ). słowa kluczowe: nadciśnienie tętnicze, koszty bezpośrednie, horyzont badania, perspektywa badania, pacjenci, badanie pilotażowe Nadciśnienie Tętnicze 2010, tom 14, nr 6, strony 460-473Background Arterial hypertension (AH) is one of the most widespread diseases of the contemporary civilization in the world. The improper lifestyle of the contemporary society (rich-fat diet, low physical activity, alcohol abuse, increase in salt intake and smoking cigarettes) is the main cause of the progress of arterial hypertension. In Poland 29% of adult population suffers from arterial hypertension. The results of the nationwide research NATPOL PLUS shows that 62% of subjects take hypotensive medicines systematically, 19% irregularly and almost 19% didn’t adopt the proposed treatment. The analysis of the costs of arterial hypertension therapy delivers information about the size of the burden of the health system and also the patient himself. The aim of the research was the analysis of the direct costs of pharmacotherapy, medical visits, laboratory tests, the costs of associated with the purchase of ancillary equipment of the patient with arterial hypertension, who was monitored in one of the largest pharmacies of the city of Poznan. Material and methods The research was conducted initially in 20 patients with diagnosed and treated arterial hypertension in the age group from 37 to 61 years during the 12 months. Results The total cost of the arterial hypertension therapy was 46,568.02 PLN which means that one person represents a value of 2328.40 PLN. Conclusions The analysis of the direct costs showed that the pharmacotherapy costs paid by a patient are almost three times higher in comparison with the expenses of the taxpayer (NFZ). Arterial Hypertension 2010, vol. 14, no 6, pages 460-47

System-wide analyses of the fission yeast poly(A)+ RNA interactome reveal insights into organization and function of RNA–protein complexes

Large RNA-binding complexes play a central role in gene expression and orchestrate production, function, and turnover of mRNAs. The accuracy and dynamics of RNA–protein interactions within these molecular machines are essential for their function and are mediated by RNA-binding proteins (RBPs). Here, we show that fission yeast whole-cell poly(A)+ RNA–protein crosslinking data provide information on the organization of RNA–protein complexes. To evaluate the relative enrichment of cellular RBPs on poly(A)+ RNA, we combine poly(A)+ RNA interactome capture with a whole-cell extract normalization procedure. This approach yields estimates of in vivo RNA-binding activities that identify subunits within multiprotein complexes that directly contact RNA. As validation, we trace RNA interactions of different functional modules of the 3′ end processing machinery and reveal additional contacts. Extending our analysis to different mutants of the RNA exosome complex, we explore how substrate channeling through the complex is affected by mutation. Our data highlight the central role of the RNA helicase Mtl1 in regulation of the complex and provide insights into how different components contribute to engagement of the complex with substrate RNA. In addition, we characterize RNA-binding activities of novel RBPs that have been recurrently detected in the RNA interactomes of multiple species. We find that many of these, including cyclophilins and thioredoxins, are substoichiometric RNA interactors in vivo. Because RBPomes show very good overall agreement between species, we propose that the RNA-binding characteristics we observe in fission yeast are likely to apply to related proteins in higher eukaryotes as well

Development of a spray-ejector condenser for the use in a negative CO2 emission gas power plant

One promising solution for developing low-emission power technologies is using gaseous fuel combustion in pure oxygen when the exhaust gas mixture is composed of H2O and CO2, and where CO2 is separated after steam condensation. The paper presents the results of computational analyses providing to the Spray-Ejector Condenser (SEC) development, which is one of the crucial components of the negative CO2 gas power plant (nCO2PP) cycle development. The proposed design of the ejector-condenser to ensure the high effectivity of vapor condensation and CO2 compression with preparation to separation, ready for application in gas power cycle, is a novelty of this research. Different computational techniques leading to the development and better understating of ejector operation were applied. The main operating conditions in the characteristic connected with the developed nCO2pp cycle points were investigated to evaluate the impact of the operating conditions on SEC performances. The amount of motive water needed for the cooling purpose is susceptible to the inlet water pressure and temperature and strongly affects the generated pressure of the suction stream. The preliminary results confirm that the SEC's basic design and geometrical dimensions can be applied in the negative CO2 power plant cycle. Results from CFD modeling give the possibility to investigate the turbulent flow of water/steam/CO2 mixture together with the condensation process occurring at this same time. It is found that the average droplet diameter and motive water supplying method significantly effects the condensation intensity. The further direction of the presented computational research activities and results is to test various designs of Spray-Ejector Condensers that will enable the evaluation of the direct contact condensation process and develop the final geometrical design. © 2023 The AuthorsDevelopment of a spray-ejector condenser for the use in a negative CO2 emission gas power plantpublishedVersio

The comparison of Kardia Mobile and Hartmann Veroval 2 in 1 in detecting first diagnosed atrial fibrillation

Background: Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the leading cause of stroke. The European Society of Cardiology (ESC) advises opportunistic AF screening among patients aged ≥ 65 years. Considering this, the aim herein, was compare the feasibility of two different systems of smartphone-based electrocardiogram (ECG) recordings to identify AF among those without a previous arrhythmia history. Methods: Prospective AF screening was conducted at six pharmacies using Kardia Mobile and Hartmann Veroval 2 in 1. A single-lead ECG was acquired by the placement of fingers on the pads. A cardiologist evaluated findings from both devices. Results: Atrial fibrillation was identified in 3.60% and previously unknown AF was detected in 1.92% of the study participants. Sensitivity and specificity of the Kardia application in detecting AF were 66.7% (95% confidence interval [CI] 38.4–88.2%) and 98.5% (95% CI 96.7–99.5%), and for Veroval 10.0% (95% CI 0.23–44.5%) and 94.96% (95% CI 92.15–96.98%), accordingly. Inter-rater agreement was k = 0.088 (95% CI 1.59–16.1%). Conclusions: Mobile devices can detect AF, but each finding must be verified by a professional. The Kardia application appeared to be more user-friendly than Veroval. Cardiovascular screening using mobile devices is feasible at pharmacies. Hence it might be considered for routine use