Ability to determine the nontransferrin-bound iron and total iron in the human placenta using high-performance liquid chromatography method

Iron is one of the most important microelements in the human body. It is a component of haemoglobin, which transports oxygen to all cells in the organism. It is also used in the synthesis of myelin, neurotrans-mitters, and DNA and transfers electrons in biochemical reactions. Iron is also responsible for regular development of the foetus’ central nervous system. Furthermore, as a result of Fenton reactions, iron leads to formation of toxic free radicals. The existence of non-transferrin-bound iron (NTBI) and its part desfer-rioxamine-chelatable iron (DCI) can be used to assess this element in the body. The placenta is an organ transition that is formed during pregnancy in the female organism. It has a dense web of blood vessels in which dynamic exchange of blood between mother and foetus takes place. As a result, a fraction of NTBI may be present in the placenta. The main goal of this work was to develop a method for determining total iron and desferrioxamine-chelatable iron in solid tissues - the human placenta.Iron is one of the most important microelements in the human body. It is a component of hemoglobin which transports oxygen to all cells in the organism. It is also used in a synthesis of myelin, neurotransmitters and DNA, and transfers electrons in the biochemical reactions. Iron is also responsible for regular development of a fetus central nervous system. Furthermore, as a result of Fenton reactions, iron leads to formation of toxic free radicals. Existence of non-transferrin-bound iron (NTBI) and its part - desferrioxamine-chelatable iron (DCI) can be used for assess this element in a body. Placenta is an organ transition which is formed during pregnancy in a female organism. It has a dense web of blood vessels where dynamic exchange of blood between mother and fetus takes place. As a result, fraction of NTBI may be present in the placenta. The main goal of this work was to develop a method for determination of total iron and desferrioxamine-chelatable iron in solid tissues - a human placent

Preface

Tekst w języku polskim i angielskimPrzedmowa do: "Aktualne Problemy Ochrony Środowiska. Ocena Stanu, Zagrożenia Zasobów i Stosowane Technologie"

Combining low-dose CT-based radiomics and metabolomics for early lung cancer screening support

Due to its predominantly asymptomatic or mildly symptomatic progression, lung cancer is often diagnosed in advanced stages, resulting in poorer survival rates for patients. As with other cancers, early detection significantly improves the chances of successful treatment. Early diagnosis can be facilitated through screening programs designed to detect lung tissue tumors when they are still small, typically around 3mm in size. However, the analysis of extensive screening program data is hampered by limited access to medical experts. In this study, we developed a procedure for identifying potential malignant neoplastic lesions within lung parenchyma. The system leverages machine learning (ML) techniques applied to two types of measurements: low-dose Computed Tomography-based radiomics and metabolomics. Using data from two Polish screening programs, two ML algorithms were tested, along with various integration methods, to create a final model that combines both modalities to support lung cancer screening

BRONCO: Automated modelling of the bronchovascular bundle using the Computed Tomography Images

Segmentation of the bronchovascular bundle within the lung parenchyma is a key step for the proper analysis and planning of many pulmonary diseases. It might also be considered the preprocessing step when the goal is to segment the nodules from the lung parenchyma. We propose a segmentation pipeline for the bronchovascular bundle based on the Computed Tomography images, returning either binary or labelled masks of vessels and bronchi situated in the lung parenchyma. The method consists of two modules, modeling of the bronchial tree and vessels. The core revolves around a similar pipeline, the determination of the initial perimeter by the GMM method, skeletonization, and hierarchical analysis of the created graph. We tested our method on both low-dose CT and standard-dose CT, with various pathologies, reconstructed with various slice thicknesses, and acquired from various machines. We conclude that the method is invariant with respect to the origin and parameters of the CT series. Our pipeline is best suited for studies with healthy patients, patients with lung nodules, and patients with emphysema

The Effect of Selenium Supplementation on Glucose Homeostasis and the Expression of Genes Related to Glucose Metabolism

The aim of the study was to evaluate the effect of selenium supplementation on the expression of genes associated with glucose metabolism in humans, in order to explain the unclear relationship between selenium and the risk of diabetes. For gene expression analysis we used archival samples of cDNA from 76 non-diabetic subjects supplemented with selenium in the previous study. The supplementation period was six weeks and the daily dose of selenium was 200 µg (as selenium yeast). Blood for mRNA isolation was collected at four time points: before supplementation, after two and four weeks of supplementation, and after four weeks of washout. The analysis included 15 genes encoding selected proteins involved in insulin signaling and glucose metabolism. In addition, HbA1c and fasting plasma glucose were measured at three and four time points, respectively. Selenium supplementation was associated with a significantly decreased level of HbA1c but not fasting plasma glucose (FPG) and significant down-regulation of seven genes: INSR, ADIPOR1, LDHA, PDHA, PDHB, MYC, and HIF1AN. These results suggest that selenium may affect glycemic control at different levels of regulation, linked to insulin signaling, glycolysis, and pyruvate metabolism. Further research is needed to investigate mechanisms of such transcriptional regulation and its potential implication in direct metabolic effects

Childhood Obesity: Position Statement of Polish Society of Pediatrics, Polish Society for Pediatric Obesity, Polish Society of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes, the College of Family Physicians in Poland and Polish Association for Study on Obesity

Childhood obesity is one of the most important problems of public health. Searching was conducted by using PubMed/MEDLINE, Cochrane Library, Science Direct, MEDLINE, and EBSCO databases, from January 2022 to June 2022, for English language meta-analyses, systematic reviews, randomized clinical trials, and observational studies from all over the world. Five main topics were defined in a consensus join statement of the Polish Society of Pediatrics, Polish Society for Pediatric Obesity, Polish Society of Pediatric Endocrinology and Diabetes and Polish Association for the Study on Obesity: (1) definition, causes, consequences of obesity; (2) treatment of obesity; (3) obesity prevention; (4) the role of primary care in the prevention of obesity; (5) Recommendations for general practitioners, parents, teachers, and regional authorities. The statement outlines the role of diet, physical activity in the prevention and treatment of overweight and obesity, and gives appropriate recommendations for interventions by schools, parents, and primary health care. A multisite approach to weight control in children is recommended, taking into account the age, the severity of obesity, and the presence of obesity-related diseases. Combined interventions consisting of dietary modification, physical activity, behavioral therapy, and education are effective in improving metabolic and anthropometric indices. More actions are needed to strengthen the role of primary care in the effective prevention and treatment of obesity because a comprehensive, multi-component intervention appears to yield the best results