9th Geosymposium of Young Researches 'Silesia 2016' Kroczyce, 31.08-2.09.2016 r.

W dniach 31 sierpnia-2 września 2016 r. odbyła się konferencja naukowa 9th Geosymposium of Young Researches „Silesia 2016” dedykowana młodym naukowcom prowadzącym badania z zakresu szeroko pojętych nauk o Ziemi. Organizatorem spotkań, które od 2015 r. mają status konferencji naukowej o charakterze międzynarodowym, jest Koło Naukowe Doktorantów Wydziału Nauk o Ziemi Uniwersytetu Śląskiego. Młodzi naukowcy z 11 państw spotkali się w Kroczycach na Wyżynie Krakowsko- Częstochowskiej. Podczas sesji tematycznych poruszano zagadnienia m.in. z zakresu geografii fizycznej, kartografii, teledetekcji, systemów informacji geograficznej, ochrony środowiska, ekologii krajobrazu oraz badań polarnych[...

The Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly questionnaire as a tool for the assessment of needs in elderly individuals living in long-term care institutions

AbstractObjectivesThe aim of the study was to evaluate the Camberwell Assessment of Need for the Elderly questionnaire (CANE) in assessing the needs of elderly individuals living in long-term care institutions (LTCI) in Poland.Setting and ParticipantsThe needs of 173 residents were assessed. The inclusion criteria were age (at least 75 years of age) and the lack of severe cognitive impairment (Mini Mental Scale Examination score of at least 15 points).MeasurementsIn all participants, met and unmet needs were assessed by themselves and by the nursing staff involved in care activities.ResultsThe number of met needs assessed by the staff was higher than in the users’ opinions (p<0.0001), whereas the number of unmet needs was lower (p<0.001). However, the average percentage of the agreement between the user and the staff was as high as 86.2%. The areas characterized by the lowest agreement were Company (65.3%), Memory (75.7%), Eyesight/hearing/communication (70.5%) and Psychological distress (70.5%).ConclusionsDespite a high percentage of agreement reached between the staff and user assessments of needs in our study, we were able to identify the areas of discrepancies between these two perceptions of needs. These can be treated as signals pointing to those aspects of care that should be addressed

Mechanical thrombectomy in acute stroke – Five years of experience in Poland

Objectives Mechanical thrombectomy (MT) is not reimbursed by the Polish public health system. We present a description of 5 years of experience with MT in acute stroke in Comprehensive Stroke Centers (CSCs) in Poland. Methods and results We retrospectively analyzed the results of a structured questionnaire from 23 out of 25 identified CSCs and 22 data sets that include 61 clinical, radiological and outcome measures. Results Most of the CSCs (74%) were founded at University Hospitals and most (65.2%) work round the clock. In 78.3% of them, the working teams are composed of neurologists and neuro-radiologists. All CSCs perform CT and angio-CT before MT. In total 586 patients were subjected to MT and data from 531 of them were analyzed. Mean time laps from stroke onset to groin puncture was 250±99min. 90.3% of the studied patients had MT within 6h from stroke onset; 59.3% of them were treated with IV rt-PA prior to MT; 15.1% had IA rt-PA during MT and 4.7% – emergent stenting of a large vessel. M1 of MCA was occluded in 47.8% of cases. The Solitaire device was used in 53% of cases. Successful recanalization (TICI2b–TICI3) was achieved in 64.6% of cases and 53.4% of patients did not experience hemorrhagic transformation. Clinical improvement on discharge was noticed in 53.7% of cases, futile recanalization – in 30.7%, mRS of 0–2 – in 31.4% and mRS of 6 in 22% of cases. Conclusion Our results can help harmonize standards for MT in Poland according to international guidelines

Machine Learning Identifies Stemness Features Associated with Oncogenic Dedifferentiation.

Cancer progression involves the gradual loss of a differentiated phenotype and acquisition of progenitor and stem-cell-like features. Here, we provide novel stemness indices for assessing the degree of oncogenic dedifferentiation. We used an innovative one-class logistic regression (OCLR) machine-learning algorithm to extract transcriptomic and epigenetic feature sets derived from non-transformed pluripotent stem cells and their differentiated progeny. Using OCLR, we were able to identify previously undiscovered biological mechanisms associated with the dedifferentiated oncogenic state. Analyses of the tumor microenvironment revealed unanticipated correlation of cancer stemness with immune checkpoint expression and infiltrating immune cells. We found that the dedifferentiated oncogenic phenotype was generally most prominent in metastatic tumors. Application of our stemness indices to single-cell data revealed patterns of intra-tumor molecular heterogeneity. Finally, the indices allowed for the identification of novel targets and possible targeted therapies aimed at tumor differentiation

Iranian Revolution – causes, course and consequences

Artykuł przedstawia przyczyny oraz najważniejsze okoliczności wybuchu rewolucji islamskiej w Iranie, a także prezentuje jej główne założenia oraz postaci przewódców na czele z Ruhollahem Musawim Chomeinim. Część pierwsza dotyczy powstania islamu oraz stosunku tej religii do życia społecznego i politycznego, a także definicji fundamentalizmu islamskiego, którego przykładem jest ruch Chomeiniego. Część druga dotyczy sytuacji Iranu na początku XX w. oraz rządów dynastii Pahlawi ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem programu reform modernizacyjnych. Kolejne części zawierają prezentację najważniejszych myślicieli i przywódców opozycji religijnej, opis metod działania tego ruchu, analizę przebiegu samej rewolucji z lat 1978-1979 oraz analizę sytuacji po przejęciu władzy przez obóz ajatollaha Chomeiniego w 1979 r. wraz z prezentacją podstawowych założeń Republiki Islamskiej ustanowionej po rewolucji.This article describes the background, causes and objectives of the Iranian Revolution and its leaders, like Ruhollah Musavi Khomeini. The first part deals with the origins of Islam, its attitude to social life and politics and Islamic fundamentalism, with a focus on the movement led by Khomeini. The second part describes the situation of Iran in the beginning of the 20th century, the rule of the Pahlavi dynasty and attempts to modernise the country through various reforms. The rest of the article presents the main thinkers and leaders of the religious opposition and their methods, the course of the revolution from 1978 to 1979, the consequences of the take-over by the group led by Ayatollah Khomeini in 1979 and the fundamental objectives of the Islamic Republic of Iran

Interpretation of Jesus Christ in New Age

Artykuł przedstawia różne interpretacje postaci Jezusa z Nazaretu i Chrystusa, traktowanych jako odrębne istoty w ruchu New Age. W pierwszym punkcie artykułu omówione zostały najważniejsze założenia New Age, dotyczące spojrzenia na Boga i człowieka, które warunkują ujęcie Chrystusa. W punkcie drugim ukazano źródła, będące podstawą newage’owych koncepcji dotyczących tej postaci. Omówione teorie dotyczą rzekomego pobytu Jezusa na Dalekim Wschodzie, „powrotu Chrystusa” (przewidzianego przez Alice Ann Bailey), przekazów pozaziemskich istot, przedstawiających się jako Chrystus. Z koncepcji tych wynika, że celem Jezusa było objawienie człowiekowi jego własnej boskości. Postać ta była wcieleniem lub awatarem Chrystusa, rozumianego jako duchowa istota z kosmicznej Hierarchii, która zstąpiła na ziemię, by nauczać o wewnętrznej boskości człowieka. U zarania Nowej Ery Chrystus pojawi się ponownie – nie w postaci osobowej, ale w ewoluującej świadomości człowieka.New Age followers divide Jesus Christ into two separate entities: Jesus of Nazareth and Christ. The first part of this article presents the basic beliefs of New Agers about God, man and Christ. The second part is a survey of sources for their beliefs. Their theories include alleged visit of Jesus to Far East, “Christ’s return” (foreseen by Alice Ann Bailey) and messages from extraterrestial creatures, each claiming they were Christ. He was an incarnation, or an avatar, a spiritual being coming from the cosmic hierarchy down to earth to teach about man’s inner divinity. His goal was to reveal to man that he, the man, was actually divine. At the dawn of New Era, Christ will come again; not in person, but in man’s evolving awareness

The complexity of TRIM28 contribution to cancer

Abstract Since the first discovery in 1996, the engagement of TRIM28 in distinct aspects of cellular biology has been extensively studied resulting in identification of a complex nature of TRIM28 protein. In this review, we summarize core biological functions of TRIM28 that emerge from TRIM28 multi-domain structure and possessed enzymatic activities. Moreover, we will discuss whether the complexity of TRIM28 engagement in cancer biology makes TRIM28 a possible candidate for targeted anti-cancer therapy. Briefly, we will demonstrate the role of TRIM28 in regulation of target gene transcription, response to DNA damage, downregulation of p53 activity, stimulation of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition, stemness sustainability, induction of autophagy and regulation of retrotransposition, to provide the answer whether TRIM28 functions as a stimulator or inhibitor of tumorigenesis. To date, number of studies demonstrate significant upregulation of TRIM28 expression in cancer tissues which correlates with worse overall patient survival, suggesting that TRIM28 supports cancer progression. Here, we present distinct aspects of TRIM28 involvement in regulation of cancer cell homeostasis which collectively imply pro-tumorigenic character of TRIM28. Thorough analyses are further needed to verify whether TRIM28 possess the potential to become a new anti-cancer target

Application of induced pluripotency in cancer studies

As soon as induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) reprogramming of somatic cells were developed, the discovery attracted the attention of scientists, offering new perspectives for personalized medicine and providing a powerful platform for drug testing. The technology was almost immediately applied to cancer studies. As presented in this review, direct reprogramming of cancer cells with enforced expression of pluripotency factors have several basic purposes, all of which aim to explain the complex nature of cancer development and progression, therapy-resistance and relapse, and ultimately lead to the development of novel anti-cancer therapies. Here, we briefly present recent advances in reprogramming methodologies as well as commonalities between cell reprogramming and carcinogenesis and discuss recent outcomes from the implementation of induced pluripotency into cancer research

Gene delivery methods and genome editing of human pluripotent stem cells

Induced pluripotent stem cells derived from normal somatic cells could be utilized to study tumorigenesis through overexpression of specific oncogenes, downregulation of tumor suppressors and dysregulation of other factors thought to promote tumorigenesis. Therefore, effective approaches that provide direct modifications of induced pluripotent stem cell genome are extremely needed. Emerging strategies are expected to provide the ability to more effectively introduce diverse genetic alterations, from as small as single-nucleotide modifications to whole gene amplification or deletion, all with a high degree of target specificity. To date, several techniques have been applied in stem cell studies to directly edit cell genome (ZFNs, TALENs or CRISPR/Cas9). In this review, we summarize specific gene delivery strategies that were applied to stem cell studies together with genome editing techniques, which enable a direct modification of endogenous DNA sequences in the context of cancer studies