Soil and Vegetation Development on Coal-Waste Dump in Southern Poland.

As an anthropogenic element of urban landscapes, coal heaps undergo changes due to both natural and anthropogenic factors. The aim of this study was to determine the common development of soil under the influence of vegetation succession against a background of environmental conditions. Vegetation changes and soil properties were analysed along a transect passing through a heap representing a particular succession stage. It was found that changes in the development of vegetation were closely related to the stages of coal-waste disposal, where the initial, transitional, and terminal stages were distinguished. The mean range of pH (H2O) values in the profiles was 6.75 ± 0.21 (profile 1), 7.2 ± 0.31 (profile 2), 6.3 ± 1.22 (profile 3), and 5.38 ± 0.42 (profile 4). The organic carbon (OC) content in all samples was high, ranging from 9.6% to 41.6%. The highest content of total nitrogen (Nt) was found (1.132%) in the algal crust and sub-horizon of the organic horizon (Olfh-0.751%) and humus (A-0.884) horizon in profile 3 under the initial forest. Notable contents of available elements were found in the algal shell for P (1588 mg∙kg-1) and Mg (670 mg∙kg-1). Soil organic matter content was mainly dominated by n-alkanes (n-C11-n-C34) and alkanoic acids (C5-C20). Phytene and Phytadiene were typical for the algal crust on the initial pedigree. The initiation of succession was determined by the variation in grain size of the waste dumped on the heap and the variation in relief and associated habitat mosaic. Algal crusts forming on clay-dust mineral and organic material accumulating in the depressions of the site and at the foot of the heap can be regarded as the focus of pedogenesis.

Country-Wide qPCR Based Assessment of Plasmodiophora brassicae Spread in Agricultural Soils and Recommendations for the Cultivation of Brassicaceae Crops in Poland.

Clubroot is a damaging disease of oilseed rape and vegetable brassicas worldwide, caused by the soil-borne protist Plasmodiophora brassicae Wor. Due to the long life of resting spores, the assessment of the pathogen abundance in agricultural fields can serve as a guideline for disease control at the country-wide level or the regional scale. Between 2013 and 2019, we collected 431 soil samples from fields cultivated with Brassicaceae crops throughout 16 provinces of Poland. The samples were subjected to qPCR based analysis of P. brassicae DNA concentration. From these data, the spore loads and gene copies g-1 soil were calculated and used to produce an assessment of the current clubroot risk potential at a country-wide and regional scale. The country-wide map, showing the spread of the pathogen in agricultural soils, was made using ArcGis software package implementing the interpolation with the Inverse Distance Weight method. The calculation of gene copies specific to P. brassicae helped to formulate the recommendations for farmers in respect to the cultivation guidelines. It showed a high risk of yield losses in defined regions of north, south-west and central Poland and an urgent need to undertake intensive preventative measures.

Comprehensive study of the mountainous lake sediments in relation to natural and anthropogenic processes and time (Maly Staw Lake, Poland).

The Sudety Mts. form a chain of mountains in the South of Poland and during the last 200 years were subjected to strong industrial and agricultural pressure. The records of these human-induced changes are stored in natural archives like lake sediments. For the comprehensive study, three sediment cores taken from Maly Staw Lake (Sudety Mts.) were analyzed for the concentration of K, Na, Mn, Fe, Cu, Mg, Zn, Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb and radioactivity of 137Cs and 210Pb. As a result of the studies, the bathymetry map was developed and the sources of solid material supplied to the lake were identified. The geochronology studies of the cores were performed using 210Pb method, to evaluate model of time changes in the sediment. Radioactivity of 210Pbuns (determined indirectly by 210Po) ranged from 1051 ± 64 to 12 ± 8 Bq kg-1. The 137Cs radioactivity was determined directly by gamma spectrometry and varied from 525 ± 37 Bq kg-1 for top layers to 9.80 ± 5.40 Bq kg-1 for the bottom of the core. Two characteristic peaks of 137Cs radioactivity related to the global fallouts after nuclear weapons testing and the Chernobyl accident were observed and used to confirm 210Pb dating method. Chemometrics analysis of the chosen metal's concentrations combined with sample dating showed distinct imprint of human activity on the studied area.

Family of microRNA-146 Regulates RARß in Papillary Thyroid Carcinoma.

Retinoic acid is a promising tool in adjuvant cancer therapies, including refractory thyroid cancer, and its biological role is mediated by the retinoic acid receptor beta (RARß). However, expression of RARß is lowered in papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), contributing to promotion of tumor growth and inefficiency of retinoic acid and radioactive iodine treatment. The causes of aberrant RARB expression are largely unknown. We hypothesized that the culpable mechanisms include the action of microRNAs from the miR-146 family, previously identified as significantly upregulated in PTC tumors. To test this hypothesis, we assessed the expression of RARB as well as miR-146a-5p and miR-146b-5p in 48 PTC tumor/normal tissue pairs by Taqman assay to reveal that the expression of RARB was 3.28-fold decreased, and miR-146b-5p was 28.9-fold increased in PTC tumors. Direct interaction between miRs and RARB was determined in the luciferase assay and further confirmed in cell lines, where overexpression of miR-146a-5p and miR-146b-5p caused a 31% and 33% decrease in endogenous RARB mRNA levels. Inhibition of miR-146a and miR-146b resulted in 62.5% and 45.4% increase of RARB, respectively, and a concomitant decrease in proliferation rates of thyroid cancer cell lines, analyzed in xCELLigence system.We showed that two microRNAs of the miR-146 family directly regulate RARB. Inhibition of miRs resulted in restoration of RARB expression and decreased rates of proliferation of thyroid cancer cells. By restoring RARB levels, microRNA inhibitors may become part of an adjuvant therapy in thyroid cancer patients.

Variants in the ATM-CHEK2-BRCA1 axis determine genetic predisposition and clinical presentation of papillary thyroid carcinoma.

The risk of developing papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC), the most frequent form of thyroid malignancy, is elevated up to 8.6-fold in first-degree relatives of PTC patients. The familial risk could be explained by high-penetrance mutations in yet unidentified genes, or polygenic action of low-penetrance alleles. Since the DNA-damaging exposure to ionizing radiation is a known risk factor for thyroid cancer, polymorphisms in DNA repair genes are likely to affect this risk. In a search for low-penetrance susceptibility alleles we employed Sequenom technology to genotype deleterious polymorphisms in ATM, CHEK2, and BRCA1 in 1,781 PTC patients and 2,081 healthy controls. As a result of the study, we identified CHEK2 rs17879961 (OR = 2.2, P = 2.37e-10) and BRCA1 rs16941 (odds ratio [OR] = 1.16, P = 0.005) as risk alleles for PTC. The ATM rs1801516 variant modifies the risk associated with the BRCA1 variant by 0.78 (P = 0.02). Both the ATM and BRCA1 variants modify the impact of male gender on clinical variables: T status (P = 0.007), N status (P = 0.05), and stage (P = 0.035). Our findings implicate an important role of variants in the ATM- CHEK2- BRCA1 axis in modification of the genetic predisposition to PTC and its clinical manifestations.