Deliberative pedagogy encourages productive science communication and learning through engagement and discussion of socio-scientific issues (SSI). This article examines a two-day deliberation module ...on gene editing that took place in an introductory nonmajors biology course, furthering research on integrating deliberative discussion into the biology classroom. The results demonstrate the benefits of a single, episodic deliberation in the classroom, which can positively encourage active discussion and critical awareness of connections between biology and real-world issues, thus contributing to the development of scientific citizenship. Additionally, the findings show that gene editing is an apt SSI topic for the deliberative process because it encourages productive communication practices of scientific citizenship, including discussion, perspective taking, questioning, and consideration of different types of evidence when coming to a decision.
The paper presents the results of experimental research in axisymmetric free jet performed in order to verify the previous numerical calculations. During the study the influence of the initial ...conditions at the outlet of the nozzle on the formation of self-sustained oscillations in free jet was determined. The variables affecting the initial conditions were: the shape of nozzle tip (free – slip and no – slip), contraction ratio (C 128 and 144) and Reynold's number (Re 5 000 – 40 000). Measurements were taken using the CTA probes. An analysis of the distributions of mean velocity at the nozzle exit shows that a laminar boundary layer was obtained, values of integral boundary layer parameters were not significantly affected by the type of nozzle tip. Some differences were observed in the turbulence intensity distributions in the exit plane and along the jet axis, where characteristic plateau could be noted for case with the free – slip nozzle tip, which indicates the presence of coherent structures in the flow. These results suggest that for almost the same initial conditions obtained for plane and profiled nozzle tip the modification of organized structures in the far flow field was obtained. For physical explanation of these phenomena it was necessary to perform spectral and spatio – temporal correlation analysis (not discussed in the present paper).
The aim of this study was to analyse the experience of Polish Pediatric Group for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in respect to donor lymphocyte infusion procedure. The study included 51 ...pediatric patients with malignant (45) and non-malignant (6) diseases treated with DLI in the period 1993-2012. The indications for DLI were as follows: (1) increasing recipient chimerism after non-ablative hematopoietic SCT (18 patients); (2) immunomodulation after a reduced intensity conditioning regimen (2 patients); (3) increase in minimal residual disease detection (3 patients); and (4) relapse (28 patients). DLI was carried out at a median of 6 (0.5-79) months after SCT. DLI was administered as either a single-dose (in 19 cases) or in escalating-dose regimens (in 32 cases). The median total dose of CD3-positive T cells was 28.0 (0.1-730.0) × 10(6)/kg body weight. The time for assessment of DLI efficacy ranged from 0 to 70 (median 3) months. At evaluation, 18 patients experienced CR, 3 achieved PR, 19 showed relapse and 11 rejected the graft. DLI was found to be effective in 39% of cases. Complications of the procedure occurred in 18 patients; of these, 2 died. To sum up DLI shows efficacy in a significant percentage of children. Mortality related to the therapy adverse effects is low. However, this method requires standardization.
Summary
Differences in gene expression were compared between RNAs from lungs of high (HR) and low (LR) porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome virus (PRRSV) burden pigs using the swine ...protein–annotated long oligonucleotide microarray, the Pigoligoarray. Pathway analyses were carried out to determine biological processes, pathways and networks that differ between the LR and HR responses. Differences existed between HR and LR pigs for 16 signalling pathways P < 0.01/−log (P‐value) >1.96. Top canonical pathways included acute phase response signalling, crosstalk between dendritic cells and natural killer cells and tight junction signalling, with numerous immune response genes that were upregulated (SOCS1, SOD2, RBP4, HLA‐B, HLA‐G, PPP2R1A and TAP1) or downregulated (IL18, TF, C4BPA, C1QA, C1QB and TYROBP). One mechanism, regulation of complement activation, may have been blocked in HR (PRRSV‐susceptible) pigs and could account for the poor clearance of PRRSV by infected macrophages. Multiple inhibiting signals may have prevented effective immune responses in susceptible HR pigs, although some protective genes were upregulated in these pigs. It is likely that in HR pigs, expression of genes associated with protection was delayed, so that the immune response was not stimulated early; thus, PRRSV infection prevented protective immune responses.
Last decade brought new achievements in the melanoma research, which resulted in an important changes in the clinical management of stage III melanoma. The article summarizes recent updates with ...particular focus on practical aspects. Results from surgical studies, Multicenter Selective Lymphadenectomy Trial II (MSLT-II) and German Dermatologic Cooperative Oncology Group (DeCOG-SLT) proved that surgical dogmatic approach that all sentinel node melanoma metastasis warrants completion lymphadenectomy is no longer valid; omission of completion lymphadenectomy in large proportion of sentinel node positive melanoma patients has no negative impact on survival rates. Moreover oncological trials (COMBI-AD, EORTC 1325/KEYNOTE-054 and CheckMate 238) showed that in stage III melanoma patients' chances of recurrence-free survival can be improved by 10-20% by modern immunotherapy and/or molecular targeted therapy. These findings led to fall of another dogma in oncology: lack of effective adjuvant therapy for stage III melanoma at acceptable toxicity. At the end of the day in 2021 modern multidisciplinary approach incorporating newest findings offer stage III melanoma patients less surgical complications of better tailored surgery and longer survival in result of efficient adjuvant therapy.
Background
Infectious complications are a significant cause of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) failure, especially allogeneic HSCT (allo‐HSCT) because of delayed immune reconstitution ...and graft‐versus‐host disease (GVHD) occurrence. Identifying the factors responsible for bacterial infections (BI) in patients undergoing HSCT will provide much more effective empirical antimicrobial treatment in this group of patients.
Objective
The aim of this study was to evaluate the epidemiology and profile of BI in patients after HSCT in 5 centers of the Polish Pediatric Group for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation in 2012–2013.
Patients and methods
In 308 HSCT recipients, we retrospectively analyzed 273 episodes of BI in 113 (36.7%) children aged 0.02–22 years (median age: 7 years), 92 after allo‐HSCT and 22 after autologous HSCT (auto‐HSCT). We assessed incidence of BI in different HSCT types by calculating the Index of Bacterial Infection (IBI) as a ratio of patients with at least 1 BI to all patients who underwent this type of HSCT in the analyzed period. We assessed the profile of BI with particular emphasis on multidrug‐resistant organisms, and impact of underlying disease and of graft‐versus‐host disease on BI episodes.
Results
In the studied group, 273 episodes of BI were diagnosed, including 237 episodes after allo‐HSCT and 36 after auto‐HSCT. Among allo‐HSCT recipients diagnosed with at least 1 BI, the IBI was 0.4 (matched sibling donor‐HSCT 0.3; matched donor‐HSCT 0.4; mismatched unrelated donor MMUD‐HSCT 0.8; P = 0.027) and after auto‐HSCT 0.3 per 1 transplanted patient. In patient after allo‐HSCT because of myelo‐ or lymphoproliferative diseases and bone marrow failures, the major cause of infections was Enterobacteriaceae, while gram‐positive bacteria predominated in the group with primary immunodeficiencies. In all patients after auto‐HSCT, the dominant pathogen of BI were Enterobacteriaceae (P = 0.011). Time from each type of HSCT to infection caused by different pathogens did not differ significantly.
Conclusions
The risk of BI does not depend on the underlying disease, but only on HSCT donor type and is the highest after MMUD‐HSCT procedure. The profile of BI depends on the underlying disease and HSCT donor type, but does not depend on the occurrence of acute GVHD. Gram‐negative bacteria predominated in patients with myelo‐ and lymphoproliferative diseases, while in patients with primary immunodeficiencies gram‐positive strains were predominant.
To assess the prevalence of 25-hydroxyvitamin D (25OHD) insufficiency and deficiency in the acute inpatient rehabilitation setting, identify risk factors associated with low serum 25(OH)D levels, and ...assess whether hypovitaminosis D affects the function of rehabilitation patients.
Retrospective cohort study.
Academic acute rehabilitation facility.
Patients (N=101) admitted for acute inpatient rehabilitation between September 2008 and December 2008.
Serum 25(OH)D levels drawn within 24 hours of admission.
25(OH)D level, total/motor/cognitive FIM efficiency.
Considering patients not receiving 25(OH)D supplementation at the time of admission, 23.0% were 25(OH)D sufficient, 68.9% were insufficient, and 8.1% were deficient. Patients receiving 25(OH)D supplementation at the time of admission had significantly higher 25(OH)D levels than patients not receiving 25(OH)D supplementation (33.4±12.8 vs 23.7±11.4ng/mL; P=.001). A total of 72.2% of patients with any fracture and 80.0% of patients with fracture due to fall were not receiving supplementation at the time of admission; 72.2% of patients with any fracture and 73.3% of patients with fracture due to fall were 25(OH)D insufficient. Unadjusted total FIM efficiency scores were statistically significantly different by 25(OH)D status (2.96±1.42 vs 2.29±1.41ng/mL; P=.039). However, 25(OH)D level was not a significant predictor of total FIM efficiency score after controlling for demographic and clinical factors.
Of acute rehabilitation patients, 77% are 25(OH)D insufficient or deficient at admission. 25(OH)D supplementation is associated with a greater 25(OH)D level in these patients; however, almost half those supplemented had 25(OH)D levels less than the reference range. Most inpatients with fracture due to fall were transferred to acute inpatient rehabilitation without 25(OH)D supplementation despite clear guidelines indicating its use in this situation.
A fully recycled carbon fiber reinforced maleic anhydride grafted polypropylene (MAPP)-modified polypropylene (rCF/rPP) composite material has been developed and characterized. This new composite was ...manufactured employing papermaking principles, dispersing the recycled carbon fibers (rCF) in water, and forming them into mats. Two layers of the recycled polypropylene (rPP) films manufactured using press-forming were sandwiched between three rCF preform layers in a stack. The stack was heated and press-formed resulting in a composite plate with a nominal thickness of 1.20 mm and a fiber volume fraction of 40%. A series of tensile tests using rectangular specimens cut in four different directions (0°, 90°, ± 45°) in the composite plate were performed to confirm in-plane material isotropy. Models to predict stiffness and strength of the short fiber rCF/rPP composite were also employed and validated using experiments. The models were found to be in good agreement with experimental results. Fiber length distribution measurements were performed before (unprocessed) and after (processed) composite manufacturing to investigate the influence of processing on fiber degradation. The results revealed a significant reduction in fiber length by the press-forming operation. To model the viscoelastic and viscoplastic responses of the composite an inelastic material model was employed and characterized using a series of creep and recovery tests. From the creep tests, it was found that the time and stress dependence of viscoplastic strains follows a power law. The viscoelastic response of the composite was found to be linear in the investigated stress range. The material model was validated in constant stress rate tensile tests and the agreement was good, even close to the rupture stress.
According to the published report on current practice of hematopoietic SCT in Europe, high-dose therapy (HDT) with autologous stem cell support is a standard of care in paediatric patients with high ...risk (HR) or relapsed Ewing's sarcoma (ES). Randomized trials, however, have not confirmed the value of this procedure yet. In this retrospective analysis we intended to evaluate the role of HDT as a consolidation therapy in first remission of ES. A total of 102 patients were included in the analysis and divided according to the following risk factors: metastatic disease at presentation, feasibility of surgery and histological response after induction. Forty-one patients were classified as standard risk (SR) patients, while the remaining 61 children, with at least one risk factor, were classified as HR patients. HR group patients were non-randomized and qualified according to the decision of the local clinician to give a conventional consolidation (CC) or to perform high-dose chemotherapy and radiotherapy in selected patients. Twenty-six children were given CC while 35 patients were treated with HDT. The HDT consisted of oral BU 4 mg/kg p.o. in divided doses daily for 4 days (total dose 16 mg/kg) followed by melphalan 140 mg/m(2) i.v. on day -2. Probability of relapse-free survival (RFS) in median observation time was significantly worse in HR patients who were given CC therapy as compared with children with HR features receiving high-dose chemotherapy (0.27 vs 0.66 (P = 0.008); OS 0.31 vs 0.71 (P = 0.007), respectively). Patients from the SR group had a probability of RFS of 0.72 and OS of 0.75, and the difference between SR and HR patients after HDT was NS (P = 0.37). Our observation confirms that the consolidation of the first-line treatment with BU and melphalan improves the outcome in ES patients with HR features.
A new series of palladium sensors based on fluorescein bis(allyl ether) compounds has been designed. We utilized reduced fluoresceins as key synthetic intermediates. These probes exhibit negligible ...background fluorescence and rapid reaction with palladium, allowing a concentration of <100 ppt to be detected in minutes using a handheld UV lamp.
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