Application of Chemical Sensors and Olfactometry Method in Ecological Audits of Degraded Areas.

Mineral excavation is a common process throughout the world. The open pits remaining after the closure of a mine require well-considered and meticulous reclamation activities aimed at restoring the environmental properties of a given area. The inspections carried out in Poland indicate numerous irregularities in implementing the reclamation process. The research in this study was conducted in six measurement series and includes both chemical and olfactometry determinations by devices: multisensor portable gas detector and field olfactometer. Statistical analysis of the results obtained show high concentrations in ambient air of both chemical compounds (NH3, VOCs, H2S, CH3SH) and odour, excluding the possibility of occurrence in the pit of only waste types contained in the administrative decision on reclamation. In addition to the unpleasant odour, the listed compounds can have dangerous effects on the health and life of living organisms. This paper presents a suitable method of control and detection of irregularities in the conducted processes. The main advantage is the relatively low cost of purchasing sensors and field olfactometers compared to other devices, and the possibility to test the polluted air in situ, without the risk of chemical processes occurring during transport of gas samples to the laboratory.

The presence of A5935G, G5949A, G6081A, G6267A, T9540C mutations in MT-CO1 and MT-CO3 genes and other variants of MT-CO1 and MT-CO3 gene fragments in the study population diagnosed with endometrial cancer.

OBJECTIVES: The specific purpose of this study was the assessment of A5935G, G5949A, G6081A, G6267A mutations in MT-CO1 and T9540C in MT-CO3, and alterations detected during the analysis of MT-CO gene fragments in subject and control groups. A secondary aim was to assess the relationship between MT-CO1 and MT-CO3 gene alterations and endometrial cancer incidence and evaluation of the prognostic value of MT-CO1 and MT-CO3 gene alterations. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In this study, we investigated A5935G, G5949A, G6081A, G6267A mutations in MT-CO1 and T9540C in MT-CO3, and alterations detected during the analysis of MT-CO gene fragments in formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded endometrial and benign endometrial hyperplasia of a cohort of 125 subjects. RESULTS: The T9540C mutation in MT-CO3 was detected in one patient from the subject group. None of the remaining muta-tions were detected. The research showed that the presence of alterations in MT-CO1 and MT-CO3 typical of other types of cancer is not a risk factor for endometrial cancer. Analysis of MT-CO1 and MT-CO3 gene fragments revealed 10 alterations (6 and 4 respectively). The alterations detected were identified in 10% of the tested group and 8% of the control group. CONCLUSIONS: The research showed that the presence of alterations in MT-CO1 (A5935G, G5949A, G6081A, G6267A) typical of other types of cancer is not a risk factor for endometrial cancer. Three new alterations detected in this study (A6052G, A9545G, G9575A) were described for the first time.

Comparison of different measurement methods of odour and odorants used in the odour impact assessment of wastewater treatment plants in Poland.

The aim of this study was to compare sensory and analytical methods used to measure odour and odorants concentrations for odour impact assessment on municipal wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs). A range of sources and odour or odorants concentrations were used to compare the methods. Four different odours and odorants measurement methods were compared: field olfactometry using Nasal Ranger® field olfactometer, dynamic olfactometry according to PN-EN 13725:2007 standard, colorimetric assays (hydrogen sulphide, ammonia) and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) methods (methanethiol, ethanethiol, dimethyl sulphide). Mechanical-biological and mechanical-biological-chemical WWTPs were chosen. Receptor points were selected inside of 'closed' facilities of the technological line (screening rooms, mechanical thickening and dewatering building) and downwind at 'open' facilities (collection chambers, sand trap, mechanical thickeners) which were the most significant regarding the potential for odour nuisance. By the research, it is not possible to specify explicit dependencies between results obtained from different research methods used in the odour impact assessment of WWTPs. A strong correlation (Pearson's correlation coefficient was equal R = 0.79) was determined only once between odour concentrations measured by dynamic olfactometry and methanethiol concentrations in the screen room at the WWTP No. 3.

Secretion of cytokines and heat shock protein (HspA1A) by ovarian cancer cells depending on the tumor type and stage of disease.

Epithelial ovarian cancer is a heterogeneous disease comprising several tumor types that each have multiple histopathological features and different biological behaviors. Recent morphologic and molecular genetic studies have allowed for the categorization of various types of ovarian cancer into two groups: type I and type II. Type I tumors are low-grade and are genetically more stable, while type II tumors are high-grade and genetically unstable. The determination of the type of ovarian cancer may have implications in terms of the appropriate therapeutic strategy because different prognoses and responses to chemotherapeutic agents are observed. Therefore, the current challenge is better recognition of the features of cancer cells, which may result in more individualized therapy. The aim of the current studies was to compare the ability of ovarian cancer cells isolated from tumors, which were classified as type I or type II ovarian cancer, to release pro-inflammatory and immunosuppressive cytokines and heat shock protein (HspA1A). These factors are known to facilitate tumor cell survival, invasion and metastasis. Our studies demonstrated that ovarian cancer cells isolated from patients with type II tumors released high levels of immunosuppressive cytokines (i.e., interleukin 10 and transforming growth factor ß) and HspA1A in vitro. Conversely, ovarian cancer cells obtained from of type I tumors were significantly less active. We did not observe any difference in the ability of the isolated cancer cells to secrete pro-inflammatory cytokines, regardless of the type of ovarian cancer. In this study, we found that cancer cells from patients with type II tumors demonstrated more intense activity in regards to survival and metastasis, which should be considered during therapy.

Prognostic value of HER3, PTEN and p-HER2 expression in patients with HER2positive breast cancer.

BACKGROUND: HER2 overexpression is an unfavorable prognostic factor in patients with breast cancer, but it is also a target for the monoclonal antibody trastuzumab, which is effective in adjuvant and palliative settings. HER2 positivity is an inclusion criterion for immunotherapy, but it is not a positive predictive factor, and only half of patients benefit from the treatment. AIM: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prognostic and predictive value of HER3, PTEN and phosphorylated HER2 (p-HER2) expression in primary breast tumors of patients treated with trastuzumab in an adjuvant or palliative regimen. MATERIAL/METHODS: Immunohistochemical (IHC) analysis with 3 antibodies specific to the proteins was performed in tumor specimens obtained from 81 HER2-positive patients treated with trastuzumab. RESULTS: HER3 overexpression was present in 55.6% of the examined tumors, and PTEN or pHER2 positivity was present in 32.0% and 34.6% of them, respectively. HER3 overexpression and PTEN positivity correlated with larger tumor size (p=0.016 and p=0.008, respectively). p-HER2 positivity correlated with more advanced clinical stage of the disease (p=0.032). There was no correlation between the proteins' expression and survival for 31 patients treated with trastuzumab in the palliative regimen. DISCUSSION: HER3 overexpression, PTEN positivity and p-HER2 positivity in tumor cells of HER2-positive patients correlate with more advanced clinical stage of breast cancer. Expression of these proteins does not predict outcome of trastuzumab treatment.

Modeling the average shortest-path length in growth of word-adjacency networks.

We investigate properties of evolving linguistic networks defined by the word-adjacency relation. Such networks belong to the category of networks with accelerated growth but their shortest-path length appears to reveal the network size dependence of different functional form than the ones known so far. We thus compare the networks created from literary texts with their artificial substitutes based on different variants of the Dorogovtsev-Mendes model and observe that none of them is able to properly simulate the novel asymptotics of the shortest-path length. Then, we identify the local chainlike linear growth induced by grammar and style as a missing element in this model and extend it by incorporating such effects. It is in this way that a satisfactory agreement with the empirical result is obtained.

Interdisciplinary treatment of the patient with adenoid cystic carcinoma of the Bartholin's gland resulting in 15 years' survival: a case report and review of literature.

Carcinoma of the Bartholin's gland is very rare, comprises below 2% of Bartholin's gland lesions and adenoid cystic carcinoma (ADC) is one of the most uncommon variants and accounts for 10-15% of Bartholin's gland malignancies. There is no consensus on treatment of ADC of the Bartholin's gland: reported cases were treated with local excision or vulvectomy with or without lymphadenectomy followed or not by radiotherapy. The survival of patients varies significantly, so we present a case of interdisciplinary treatment of ADC resulting in 15 years' survival. The patient was initially treated with local excision, but the margins were not clear. Then vulvectomy, inguinal lymphadenectomy and adjuvant brachytherapy were performed resulting in 7 years free of the disease. Relapses were excised by abdominoperineal amputation of the rectum and distal part of the vagina with sigmoideostomy, excisions of local recurrences in vagina and metastasectomy of isolated lung metastases. The patient died manifesting multiple lung metastases 15 years after the initial diagnosis. Based on our experience and world literature, in cases of adenoid cystic carcinoma of the Bartholin's gland, vulvectomy with or without lymphadenectomy should be considered as a treatment of choice and in patients with positive margin, surgery should be extended by adjuvant radiotherapy.

Different distribution of c-kit positive interstitial cells of Cajal-like in children's urinary bladders.

We describe the presence of c-kit positive interstitial cells of Cajal-like (ICCs-like) in the walls of the urinary bladders of children. An immunohistochemical study of specimens, obtained at autopsy from either the trigonum (Group A) or the corpus (Group B), was performed using antibodies against c-kit (CD 117). Histological morphometry of the immunoexpression of c-kit positive ICCs-like was performed by means of image analysis system. The c-kit positive ICCs-like were identified by their morphology and counted in the vesical muscle layer in ten adjacent high power fields, each of 0.0479 mm(2). The areas of the epithelial and subepithelial layers containing c-kit positive mast cells (rounded body with no dendritic processes) were neglected. The results were expressed as the number of ICCs-like cells per mm(2). Differences between groups were tested using unpaired Student's t-test preceded by evaluation of normality and Levene's test. Results were considered statistically significant if p 〈 0.05. In Group A, the mean number of ICCs-like cells was statistically significantly higher (41.5 cells/mm(2)) than in Group B (30.4 cells/mm(2)), p 〈 0.05. ICCs-like cells were found within the smooth muscle layer of the urinary bladder. There was a different distribution of these cells in particular parts of the bladder, which was probably due to the different roles of the trigonum and the corpus in the bladders of children.

Multiple congenital epuli (congenital granular cell tumours) in the newborn: a case report and review of literature.

Congenital epulis of newborn is very rare benign intraoral entity of uncertain ethiology. Histologically the lesion is similar to the granular cell tumour of an adult but immunohistochemical stainings prove their different origin. Treatment involves surgical excision, recurrences are rare.

The prevalence of cationic trypsinogen (PRSS1) and serine protease inhibitor, Kazal type 1 (SPINK1) gene mutations in Polish patients with alcoholic and idiopathic chronic pancreatitis.

BACKGROUND: The main cause of chronic pancreatitis (CP) is excessive alcohol consumption. On the other hand, only 5-10% of heavy drinkers develop chronic pancreatitis. We have only limited information regarding the pathogenic mechanism by which alcohol leads to the disease. Mutations of the PRSS1 and SPINK 1 have been mostly implicated in hereditary and idiopathic CP, but their presence in other types of this disease have also been reported. AIMS: The aim of the study was to determine the frequency of PRSS1 and SPINK1 mutations in patients with chronic alcoholic (ACP) and idiopathic pancreatitis (ICP) as well as to investigate their relation to the clinical course of the disease. METHODS: The study included 33 ACP and 14 ICP patients as well 46 healthy subjects. The diagnosis of CP was based on clinical data, ultrasound, and computed tomography. After isolation of DNA from peripheral blood two trypsinogen mutations were detected N29I and R122H by allelo-specific amplification polymerase chain reaction (ASA-PCR) and by the PCR-restriction fragment length polymorphism (RFLP). Beside this N34S mutation of SPINK1 was analyzed by PCR restriction fragment length polymorphism (PCR-RFLP). RESULTS: PRSS1 mutations have been detected in 11 (33%) patients with ACP. The frequency of the PRSS1 mutations was higher in patients with ACP than in controls (4.3%) (p < 0.001). The frequency of PRSS1 mutation was present in 21.4% of ICP patients, which was significantly higher (p < 0.05) than in controls. Overall, six (18%) SPINK1 mutations in ACP group have been detected. Among 14 patients with ICP, in four (28.6%) of them SPINK1 has been detected. The same mutations have also been found in three (6.5%) control subjects. The frequency of the N34S mutation was higher in patients with ICP than in the controls (p < 0.05), but the frequency of N34S mutation did not differ between ACP and the control group. No relations have been detected between PRSS1 and SPINK1 mutations presence and clinical course and complications of CP. CONCLUSIONS: Those preliminary data suggest the high prevalence of SPINK1 and PRSS1 mutations in the Polish population, generally, as well as in CP patients. It may be speculated that those mutations contribute to the development of chronic pancreatitis, especially in patients with alcohol overindulgence.

Prognostic value of the immunological phenomena and relationship with clinicopathological characteristics of the tumor--the expression of the early CD69+, CD71+ and the late CD25+, CD26+, HLA/DR+ activation markers on T CD4+ and CD8+ lymphocytes in squamous cell laryngeal carcinoma. Part II.

One of the most important challenges in contemporary oncology is to find objective biomarkers of tumor aggressiveness, which help to identify more invasive phenotypes of the carcinoma. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationships between the early and the late activation markers expression on T CD4(+) and CD8(+) cells subpopulations and certain clinicopathological characteristics of the neoplastic infiltration in order to determine their role as biomarkers for tumor behavior in squamous cell laryngeal carcinoma. Analysis of the early (CD69(+), CD71(+)) and the late activation antigens (CD25(+) (high), CD26(+), HLA/DR(+)) expression on T CD4+ and CD8(+) lymphocytes by cytofluorymetry in 55 patients treated for squamous cell laryngeal carcinoma was performed. Clinicomorphological analysis on the basis of TNM criteria and tumor front grading, which included tumor-related features and adjacent stroma-related characteristics of the peripheral edge of infiltration was carried out. The relationships between the activation markers expression and parameters of tumor aggressiveness were investigated. Our work revealed statistically significant differences in the expression of the studied activation markers on T cells with regard to certain clinicomorphological features. The expressions of CD69(+) and CD71(+) antigens on T CD3(+)CD4(+) and CD3(+)CD8(+) cells as well as CD4(+)HLA/DR(+) markers were higher for pT3 and pT4 tumors, in comparison with pT2 carcinomas. Moreover, tumors with the smallest number of TFG points were characterized by significantly lower values of the average expression of CD3(+)CD69(+) and CD3(+)CD71(+) as well as CD4(+)HLA/DR(+) markers on T lymphocytes. In addition, more aggressive and deeply infiltrating laryngeal carcinomas were most often characterized by significantly higher values of the average expression of CD69(+) and CD71(+) antigens on CD8(+) as well as HLA/DR(+) markers on CD4(+). Our study confirmed the implication of the early and the late activation antigens expression on CD4(+) and CD8(+) T lymphocytes in clinicomorphological parameters of the tumor, especially TFG total score and depth of invasion, and their importance as indicators of the invasive phenotype of laryngeal carcinoma.

The role of tumor cells in the modification of T lymphocytes activity--the expression of the early CD69+, CD71+ and the late CD25+, CD26+, HLA/DR+ activation markers on T CD4+ and CD8+ cells in squamous cell laryngeal carcinoma. Part I.

The role of interactions between tumor cells and autologous immunocompetent cells, the impact on the modulation of the activity of T CD4(+) and CD8(+) lymphocytes, as well as the influence on the regulation and determination of antitumor cellular immune response in patients with head and neck squamous cell carcinomas (HNSCC) is not completely clear. The aim of this study was to analyze early and late activation antigens expression on T cells subpopulations modified under the influence of the presence of cancer cells to investigate the regulatory mechanisms of the local cellular immune response in carcinoma of the larynx. Cytofluorymetric analysis of the early (CD69(+), CD71(+)) and late activation markers (CD25(+) (high), CD26(+), HLA/DR(+)) expression on T CD3(+)CD4(+) and CD3(+)CD8(+) cells subpopulations in mixed cellular cultures of freshly isolated tumor cells (MLTMC) and non-cancerous normal epithelial cells (MLNCC) with immunocompetent cells was performed in 55 cases of squamous cell laryngeal carcinoma. The whole peripheral blood concentrations of IL-10 and IFN-γ in 21 h and 72 h of experiments were also measured by ELISA. The relationships between the activation markers expression depending on the type of cells used in co-cultures, as well as the level of secreted cytokines, were investigated. Our work has revealed a statistically significant dependence of cytofluorymetric results on the presence of TMC or NCC in mixed cellular cultures. Increased expression of CD69(+), CD71(+) and CD25(+) (high), CD26(+), HLA/DR(+) antigens on T CD3(+)CD4(+) and CD3(+)CD8(+) cells was higher in MLTMC cultures, in comparison with MLNCC. We demonstrated negative significant relationships of IFN-γ and IL-10 secretion with regard to CD4(+)CD69(+), CD8(+)CD69(+), CD4(+)CD71(+), CD8(+)CD71(+) antigens expression in 21 h of experiments without mitogenic stimulation. Furthermore, this study revealed negative significant relationships of IFN-g secretion with regard to CD4(+)HLA/DR(+) and CD8(+)HLA/DR(+) as well as between IL-10 concentration and CD4(+)HLA/DR(+) in trials without PHA stimulation. Our findings have confirmed a key role for tumor cells in determining the function of T cells involved in the immunological processes and impact of neoplastic cells on modulating the activity of T CD4(+) and CD8(+) lymphocytes in laryngeal carcinoma.

Segmental congenital defect of the intestinal musculature.

Congenital defect of the small intestine muscular layer is rare cause of spontaneous bowel perforation or obstruction in premature infants. Etiology is still unknown. The authors report one case of segmental absence of small bowel muscular layer in preterm born infant. Some ideas concerning the pathogenesis of this entity and review of the literature is presented.

[Prenatal ultrasonographic diagnosis of congenital epulis--two case reports and literature review]. / Prenatalna diagnostyka guzów jamy ustnej--opis dwóch przypadków oraz przeglad pismiennictwa.

The following work presents prenatal ultrasonographic examination of two rare fetal cases of epulis, among 13 792 fetuses referred to our unit due to suspected fetal anomalies by obstetricians (estimated prevalence 1/7000 among fetuses with different anomalies). Sonographic differential diagnosis, value of fetal nasal amniotic fluid flow assessment by color Doppler and the probability of EXIT procedure have been described.

Proinflammatory and immunosuppressive serum, ascites and cyst fluid cytokines in patients with early and advanced ovarian cancer and benign ovarian tumors.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the profiles of interleukin-2 (IL-2), IL-6, IL-8, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), transforming growth factor-beta1 (TGF-beta1) and interferon-gamma (IFN-gamma) in serum and the tumor microenvironment (cyst fluid, ascites) in women with ovarian cancer or benign ovarian tumors to find the differences in their immunological status. We also estimated serum cytokines as biomarkers to distinguish preoperatively between malignant or benign character of tumors. DESIGN: Prospective study. SETTING: Tertiary referral hospital. POPULATION: 51 women with epithelial ovarian cancer, 26 with benign ovarian tumors of epithelial origin and 21 healthy controls. METHODS: The levels of cytokines were measured using ELISA sets. RESULTS: We did not found differences in the levels of IFN-gamma, TNF-alpha and IL-2 in all fluids isolated from patients with malignant or benign tumors. Women with advanced cancer had significantly higher serum IL-6, IL-10 and TGF-beta1 levels than women with early stages or benign tumors. Moreover, women with very advanced cancer in whom the optimal cytoreduction was disabled had the highest serum levels of IL-10, TGF-beta1 and IL-8. The concentrations of IL-6 and IL-8 were higher in ascites of cancer patients than in ascites of women with benign tumors. The areas under curves constructed for the selected cutoff serum cytokines levels (AUC-ROC) showed good predictive values for IL-6 (0.87), IL-10 (0.836) and IL-8 (0.797). CONCLUSIONS: Our results indicate on intensified inflammatory process in women with ovarian cancer (accompanied by their immunosuppression). Preoperative analysis of serum IL-6, IL-10 and IL-8 may improve the differential diagnosis of ovarian tumors.

Genetics polymorphism in DNA repair genes by base excision repair pathway (XRCC1) and homologous recombination (XRCC2 and RAD51) and the risk of breast carcinoma in the Polish population.

Background : Several polymorphisms in the DNA repair gene have been extensively studied in the association with various human cancers such as breast cancer. Material and methods : We investigated the association of polymorphisms in the DNA repair genes XRCC1-Arg399Gln, XRCC2-Arg188His and RAD51-135G/C with the breast cancer risk. Genotypes were determined by PCR-RFLP assays in 220 patients with breast cancer and 220 age-matched healthy controls. Results : Our results demonstrated a significant positive association between the XRCC1 399Gln/Gln homozygous genotype and breast carcinoma, with an adjusted odds ratio (OR) of 2.08 [1.08-3.98]. The 399Gln allele variant was also associated with type I breast cancer (OR = 1.41 [0.98-2.01], p = 0.034). The distributions of genotypes and alleles of the genes XRCC2 and RAD51 polymorphism were not significantly associated with the different stages of breast carcinoma (p > 0.05). Conclusion : These results suggest that 399Gln allele of XRCC1 Arg399Gln may be a risk factor for breast cancer in the Polish population.

Minichromosome maintenance (MCM) and AgNOR proteins expression in desmoid tumours: a tissue microarray analysis.

In the present study, nuclear proliferative proteins: MCM2, MCM5, MCM7, Ki-67 and AgNORs expression was assessed in paraffin sections from sporadic desmoid tumours using a tissue microarray (TMA)-based immuno- and histochemistry, respectively. Nuclear expression of MCM7, where the percentage of positive cells was 0.87% (± 1.64) (range 0-5%), was found in 4/20 (20.0%) cases. In 32/32 (100%) of the examined desmoid cases no expression of nuclear proteins MCM2 and MCM5 was detected. Nuclear expression of Ki-67 was observed in 4/21 (19%) cases. Paraffin sections from 30 cases of desmoid tumours were silver-stained to visualize AgNORs. The following AgNOR parameters were calculated: mean AgNOR number per nucleus (N), mean AgNOR area per nucleus, mean AgNOR dot area per nucleus (A), and mean AgNOR content (C = N/A). In the investigated group the mean values of AgNOR parameters were the following number: 4.34 (± 0.11); area: 0.74 µm2 (± 0.19); dot area: 0.18 m2 (± 0.01), and AgNOR content: 23.73 (± 1.85). The mean AgNOR number per nucleus and mean AgNOR content in desmoid tumours were statistically significantly higher as compared to the controls (tonsil tissue) (p<0.001). This study observed low level of MCM7 and Ki-67 and lack of MCM2, MCM5 proteins expression which may explain commonly known low mitotic activity of desmoid tumour cells. The morphology of dots related to AgNORs (number, area) and their morphometric parameters point to elevated transcriptional activity of desmoid cells.