Baryon femtoscopy in heavy-ion collisions at ALICE

In this report, femtoscopic measurements with proton-proton, antiproton-antiproton, proton-antiproton, proton-antilambda, antiproton-lambda and lambda-antilambda pairs in Pb-Pb collisions at sqrt(s_NN)=2.76 TeV registered by ALICE at the LHC are presented. Emission source sizes extracted from the correlation analysis with (anti)protons grow with the event multiplicity, as expected. A method to extract the interaction potentials (e.g. for proton-antilambda and antiproton-lambda pairs) based on femtoscopy analysis is discussed. The importance of taking into account the so-called residual correlations induced by pairs contaminated by secondary particles is emphasized for all analyses mentioned above.Comment: 8 pages, 8 figures, submitted to the European Physical Journal: Web of Conferences (proceedings of ICNFP 2013 conference

REMARKS ON THE CHRONOLOGY OF THE GOŁDAP GROUP IN THE MIGRATION PERIOD WITH THE EXAMPLE OF THE CEMETERY IN CZERWONY DWÓR

This article discusses the development of the Gołdap Group, which is part of Sudovian culture, during the Migration Period. The graves from necropolises of that region (especially from the cemetery at Czerwony Dwór) have quite rich grave goods, which allows for a detailed chronological analysis. It is complemented by an analysis of the stratigraphy of features dug into the barrows. On this basis, five chronological phases in the development of the Gołdap Group, which existed from the early Phase D of the Early Migration Period until Phase E2 of the Late Migration Period, can be distinguished.Key words: Gołdap Group, Sudovian culture, barrows, Migration Period.DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.15181/ab.v26i0.202

Hypoxia - an explanation of prostate cancer progression mechanisms

Prostate cancer (PC) is a common malignancy in males in most industrialized countries, where it is the most commonly diagnosed cancer affecting men after middle age (>50 years). Although the screening and surgical procedures for prostate cancer have improved, successful treatment is still a major challenge. In the tumor microenvironment, hypoxia is one of the crucial factors which promote an aggressive phenotype of tumor cells and decrease the effectiveness of standard treatment. It implies that tumor cells surviving hypoxic stress are likely to be a significant source of viable clonogens that can repopulate tumors with more malignant/metastatic cells. Unfortunately, most treatment protocols are less effective against hypoxic cells which are resistant not only to radiotherapy, but also to standard cytotoxic chemotherapy. There is now a considerable amount of clinical evidence that tumors with a higher proportion of hypoxic cells have a poor diagnosis. Tolerance of hypoxic conditions varies in different tumor types. However, prostate cancer cells seem to be highly tolerant of hypoxia. The main problem concerning the effectiveness of prostate tumor therapies are changes in the biology of hypoxic tumor cells after standard hormone- and radiotherapy. Despite the many studies of tumor hypoxia, very little attention has been given to the oxygen concentration in the conditions of in vitro cancer cells studies. To date, there has been no comprehensive characterization of prostate cancer cells under hypoxic condition, which seems to be crucial in the light of the intensive search for novel cancer therapies. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.256755

Hypoxia - an explanation of prostate cancer progression mechanisms

Prostate cancer (PC) is a common malignancy in males in most industrialized countries, where it is the most commonly diagnosed cancer affecting men after middle age (>50 years). Although the screening and surgical procedures for prostate cancer have improved, successful treatment is still a major challenge. In the tumor microenvironment, hypoxia is one of the crucial factors which promote an aggressive phenotype of tumor cells and decrease the effectiveness of standard treatment. It implies that tumor cells surviving hypoxic stress are likely to be a significant source of viable clonogens that can repopulate tumors with more malignant/metastatic cells. Unfortunately, most treatment protocols are less effective against hypoxic cells which are resistant not only to radiotherapy, but also to standard cytotoxic chemotherapy. There is now a considerable amount of clinical evidence that tumors with a higher proportion of hypoxic cells have a poor diagnosis. Tolerance of hypoxic conditions varies in different tumor types. However, prostate cancer cells seem to be highly tolerant of hypoxia. The main problem concerning the effectiveness of prostate tumor therapies are changes in the biology of hypoxic tumor cells after standard hormone- and radiotherapy. Despite the many studies of tumor hypoxia, very little attention has been given to the oxygen concentration in the conditions of in vitro cancer cells studies. To date, there has been no comprehensive characterization of prostate cancer cells under hypoxic condition, which seems to be crucial in the light of the intensive search for novel cancer therapies. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.256755

Wider Perspective of Testing Early Shrinkage of Concrete Modified with Admixtures in Changeable W/C Ratio as Innovative Solution in Civil Engineering

AbstractThe problems of concrete shrinkage have been debated by a number of authors, including those specializing in concrete chemistry. The development of concrete technologies, introducing chemical admixtures and mineral additives and high resistance concretes has contributed to creating a wider perspective on shrinkage in recent years and charting a new area of research. This article is the result of author's work in creating innovative solution for concrete shrinkage testing taking into consideration the following stages: initial shrinkage comprising: swelling, chemical (contraction), and plastic shrinkage, followed by expansion and then a second shrinkage (during drying)

Congruence between breeding and wintering biodiversity hotspots: A case study in farmlands of Western Poland

Farmland landscapes are recognized as important ecosystems, not only for their rich biodiversity but equally so for the human beings who live and work in these places. However, biodiversity varies among sites (spatial change) and among seasons (temporal change). In this work, we tested the hypothesis that bird diversity hotspots distribution for breeding is congruent with bird diversity hotspots for wintering season, focusing also the representation of protected areas for the conservation of local hotspots. We proposed a framework based on the  use of species richness, functional diversity, and evolutionary distinctiveness to characterize avian communities. Although our findings show that the spatial distribution of local bird hotspots differed slightly between seasons, the protected areas’ representation was similar in both seasons. Protected areas covered 65% of the most important zones for breeding and 71% for the wintering season in the farmland studied. Functional diversity showed similar patterns as did bird species richness, but this measure can be most effective for highlighting differences on bird community composition. Evolutionary distinctiveness was less congruent with species richness and functional diversity, among seasons. Our findings suggest that inter-seasonal spatial congruence of local hotspots can be considered as suitable areas upon which to concentrate greater conservation efforts. However, even considering the relative congruence of avian diversity metrics at a local spatial scale, simultaneous analysis of protected areas while inter-seasonally considering hotspots, can provide a more complete representation of ecosystems for assessing the conservation status and designating priority areas

Seasonal changes in avian communities living in an extensively used farmland of Western Poland

To study the seasonal changes in avian communities, we collected data in an extensively used farmland in Western Poland during 2006-2013. Generalized additive mixed models were used in order to study the effects of seasonality and protected areas on the overall bird species richness. A similarity percentage analysis was also conducted in order to identify the species that contribute most strongly to dissimilarity among each bird according to the phenological season. Furthermore, the differences in bird communities were investigated applying the decomposition of the species richness in season, trend, and remainder components. Each season showed significant differences in bird species richness (seasonality effect). The effect of the protected areas was slightly positive on the overall species richness for all seasons. However, an overall negative trend was detected for the entire period of eight years. The bird community composition was different among seasons, showing differences in terms of dominant species. Greater differences were found between breeding and wintering seasons, in particular, the spatial pattern of sites with higher bird richness (hotspots) were different between breeding and wintering seasons. Our findings showed a negative trend in bird species richness verified in the Polish farmlands from 2006. This result mirrors the same negative trend already highlighted for Western Europe. The role of protected areas, even if slightly positive, was not enough to mitigate this decline process. Therefore, to effectively protect farmland birds, it is necessary to also consider inter-seasons variation, and for this, we suggest the use of medium-term temporal studies on bird communities’ trends

Post-menopausal vulvovaginal atrophy — an overview of the current treatment options

Sex hormone deficiency in post-menopausal women causes changes in the lower urinary tract. Vulvovaginal atrophy is a pathology resulting from those changes. VVA has a negative effect on the quality of life therefore prompting a search for new therapeutic options. The aim of this article is to summarize the current treatment modalities, both hormonal and non-hormonal for post-menopausal vaginal atrophy. Topical oestrogen therapy remains the “golden standard”. Alternatives, although promising, require well-designed control studies

Neuroimaging diagnosis in neurodegenerative diseases

Dementia affects about 8% of people age 65 years and older. Identification of dementia is particularly difficult in its early phases when family members and physicians often incorrectly attribute the patient’s symptoms to normal aging. The most frequently occurring ailments that are connected with neurodegeneration are: Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, Huntington’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and multiple sclerosis. A variety of powerful techniques that have allowed visualization of organ structure and function with exact detail have been introduced in the last twenty-five years. One such neuroimaging technique is positron emission tomography (PET), which measures in detail the functioning of distinct areas of the human brain and as a result plays a critical role in clinical and research applications. Radiotracer-based functional imaging provides a sensitive means of recognizing and characterizing the regional changes in brain metabolism and receptor binding associated with cognitive disorders. The next functional imaging technique widely used in the diagnosis of cognitive disorders is single photon emission computed tomography (SPECT). New radiotracers are being developed and promise to expand further the list of indications for PET. Prospects for developing new tracers for imaging other organ diseases also appear to be very promising. In this review, we present current opportunities of neuroimaging techniques in the diagnosis and differentiation of neurodegenerative disorders. Nuclear Med Rev 2010; 13, 1: 23–3