Using a side‐selective fyke net barrier to research fish assemblages in the transitional and transboundary waters of the Vistula Lagoon,southern Baltic

The natural and territorial conditions of the Vistula Lagoon render it difficult to perform repeatable and representative investigations of fish assemblages. The changeability of hydro‐meteorological conditions (wind strength and direction), hydrological conditions (shallowness, the thickness of bottom sediments, submerged barriers, wavy motion) and the social and transboundary conditions mean that most standard monitoring methods and fish migration studies are either impossible to apply or produce unsatisfactory results. This current work presents the results of long‐term observations of fisheries deploying a side‐selective fyke‐net barrier. The fishing gear was deployed parallel to the border in the Vistula Lagoon in order to determine the difference in the movement of fish from the Polish and Russian sides of the lagoon. Thanks to the co‐operation with fishermen, data was collected from catches during the 1995–2002 period; this permitted the identification of variations in relative abundance and the dominant direction of fish migrations during the fishing season. The highest statistically significant differences between the fishing results on either side of the barrier were noted in the autumn months of September and October.     

Improvement of biohydrogen production using a reduced pressure fermentation

Bioprocess and Biosystems Engineering - This study investigated the effect of reduced pressure on biohydrogen production in an upflow anaerobic sludge blanket (UASB) reactor from whey permeate. The...     

Anthropometry and Body Composition of Adolescents in Cracow,Poland

Background and Objective

The aim of the present study was to determine the level of adiposity and obesity in Polish adolescents and compare the results with earlier studies conducted in this population as well as those carried out in other populations.

Methods

The study group consisted of 456 boys and 514 girls aged 14-18 years living in Cracow chosen from randomly selected secondary schools. Weight, height, waist, and hip circumference (WC, HC) as well as triceps, biceps, subscapular, and suprailiac skinfold thickness (SFT) were measured. Body mass index (BMI), waist-to-hip ratio (WHR), waist-to-height ratio (WHtR), subscapular/triceps skinfold ratio (STR), and percentage body fat were computed. The prevalence of overweight and obesity based on Polish children growth reference were calculated and age-dependent and gender-specific smoothed percentile curves for BMI and ROC curves were generated.

Results

Weight, height, WC, HC (up 16yr), WHtR (up 15yr), and WHR were considerably higher in males than females. Weight, height, and HC increased with age; WHtR remained the same. The prevalence of overweight and obesity were 10.2% (boys 10.3%; girls 10.1%) and 4.2% (boys 5.3%; girls 3.3%). ROC analysis revealed that WHtR was the best tool for detection of obesity (AUC of 0.982±0.007) in males, whereas the sum of four SFTs (AUC: 0.968±0.011) and WHtR (AUC: 0.963±0.012) were the best predictors of obesity in females.

Conclusions

The level of adiposity in Cracow adolescents increased during the last decade. However, it is still lower than in other well-developed societies struggling with obesity epidemics.     

Molecular Characterization of Melanoma Cases in Denmark Suspected of Genetic Predisposition

Both environmental and host factors influence risk of cutaneous melanoma (CM), and worldwide, the incidence varies depending on constitutional determinants of skin type and pigmentation, latitude, and patterns of sun exposure. We performed genetic analysis of CDKN2A, CDK4, BAP1, MC1R, and MITFp.E318K in Danish high-risk melanoma cases and found CDKN2A germline mutations in 11.3% of CM families with three or more affected individuals, including four previously undescribed mutations. Rare mutations were also seen in CDK4 and BAP1, while MC1R variants were common, occurring at more than twice the frequency compared to Danish controls. The MITF p.E318K variant similarly occurred at an approximately three-fold higher frequency in melanoma cases than controls. To conclude, we propose that mutation screening of CDKN2A and CDK4 in Denmark should predominantly be performed in families with at least 3 cases of CM. In addition, we recommend that testing of BAP1 should not be conducted routinely in CM families but should be reserved for families with CM and uveal melanoma, or mesothelioma.     

High Viral Loads of Epstein-Barr Virus DNA in Peripheral Blood of Patients with Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia Associated with Unfavorable Prognosis

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) is a ubiquitous γ-herpesvirus that infects more than 90% of the world population. The potential involvement of EBV in the clinical course of chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) remains unexplained. The aim of this study was to determine whether EBV-DNA load in the peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) of CLL patients may influence heterogeneity in the course of the disease. The study included peripheral blood samples from 115 previously untreated patients with CLL (54 women and 61 men) and 40 healthy controls (16 women and 24 men). We analyzed the association between the EBV-DNA load in PBMCs and the stage of the disease, adverse prognostic factors, and clinical outcome. Detectable numbers of EBV-DNA copies in PBMCs were found in 62 out of 115 CLL patients (53.91%). The EBV-DNA copy number/μg DNA was significantly higher in patients who required early implementation of treatment, presented with lymphocyte count doubling time <12 months, displayed CD38-positive or ZAP-70-positive phenotype, and with the del(11q22.3) cytogenetic abnormality. Furthermore, the EBV-DNA copy number/μg DNA showed significant positive correlation with the concentrations of lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) and beta-2-microglobulin. We have shown that in CLL patients, higher EBV-DNA copy number predicted shorter survival and shorter time to disease progression, and it was associated with other established unfavorable prognostic factors. This suggests that EBV may negatively affect the outcome of CLL.     

Evaluation of DNA Variants Associated with Androgenetic Alopecia and Their Potential to Predict Male Pattern Baldness

Androgenetic alopecia, known in men as male pattern baldness (MPB), is a very conspicuous condition that is particularly frequent among European men and thus contributes markedly to variation in physical appearance traits amongst Europeans. Recent studies have revealed multiple genes and polymorphisms to be associated with susceptibility to MPB. In this study, 50 candidate SNPs for androgenetic alopecia were analyzed in order to verify their potential to predict MPB. Significant associations were confirmed for 29 SNPs from chromosomes X, 1, 5, 7, 18 and 20. A simple 5-SNP prediction model and an extended 20-SNP model were developed based on a discovery panel of 305 males from various European populations fitting one of two distinct phenotype categories. The first category consisted of men below 50 years of age with significant baldness and the second; men aged 50 years or older lacking baldness. The simple model comprised the five best predictors: rs5919324 near AR, rs1998076 in the 20p11 region, rs929626 in EBF1, rs12565727 in TARDBP and rs756853 in HDAC9. The extended prediction model added 15 SNPs from five genomic regions that improved overall prevalence-adjusted predictive accuracy measured by area under the receiver characteristic operating curve (AUC). Both models were evaluated for predictive accuracy using a test set of 300 males reflecting the general European population. Applying a 65% probability threshold, high prediction sensitivity of 87.1% but low specificity of 42.4% was obtained in men aged <50 years. In men aged ≥50, prediction sensitivity was slightly lower at 67.7% while specificity reached 90%. Overall, the AUC=0.761 calculated for men at or above 50 years of age indicates these SNPs offer considerable potential for the application of genetic tests to predict MPB patterns, adding a highly informative predictive system to the emerging field of forensic analysis of externally visible characteristics.     

DNA Base Pair Resolution Measurements Using Resonance Energy Transfer Efficiency in Lanthanide Doped Nanoparticles

Lanthanide-doped nanoparticles are of considerable interest for biodetection and bioimaging techniques thanks to their unique chemical and optical properties. As a sensitive luminescence material, they can be used as (bio) probes in Förster Resonance Energy Transfer (FRET) where trivalent lanthanide ions (La³⁺) act as energy donors. In this paper we present an efficient method to transfer ultrasmall (ca. 8 nm) NaYF₄ nanoparticles dispersed in organic solvent to an aqueous solution via oxidation of the oleic acid ligand. Nanoparticles were then functionalized with single strand DNA oligomers (ssDNA) by inducing covalent bonds between surface carboxylic groups and a 5’ amine modified-ssDNA. Hybridization with the 5’ fluorophore (Cy5) modified complementary ssDNA strand demonstrated the specificity of binding and allowed the fine control over the distance between Eu³⁺ ions doped nanoparticle and the fluorophore by varying the number of the dsDNA base pairs. First, our results confirmed nonradiative resonance energy transfer and demonstrate the dependence of its efficiency on the distance between the donor (Eu³⁺) and the acceptor (Cy5) with sensitivity at a nanometre scale.