Jagiellonian University

About: Jagiellonian University is a education organization based out in Krakow, Poland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & Catalysis. The organization has 17438 authors who have published 44092 publications receiving 862633 citations. The organization is also known as: Academia Cracoviensis & Akademia Krakowska.

Porphyromonas gingivalis proteinases as virulence factors in the development of periodontitis.

Abstract: Porphyromonas gingivalis contains exceedingly high concentrations of cysteine proteinases with trypsin-like activity which have been implicated as virulence factors in adult-onset periodontitis. These enzymes, referred to as gingipains, cleave protein and peptide substrates after arginine (gingipain R) and lysine residues (gingipain K), and it has been found that neither is easily inhibited by host proteinase inhibitors. Examination of the properties of each proteinase clearly indicates a role(s) for both in the dysregulation of a number of normally tightly controlled pathways. The effects of such uncontrolled proteolysis are the development of edema (kallikrein/kinin pathway activation by gingipain R), neutrophil infiltration (complement pathway activation by gingipain R), and bleeding (degradation of fibrinogen by gingipain K). Since three of the major hallmarks of periodontitis involve increased crevicular flow, neutrophil accumulation at infected sites and bleeding on probing, it seems likely that both P. gingivalis-derived proteinases are important virulence factors in the development of periodontal disease.

Measurement of hard double-parton interactions in W(-> lv) plus 2-jet events at root s=7 TeV with the ATLAS detector

Abstract: The production of W bosons in association with two jets in proton-proton collisions at a centre-of-mass energy of root s = 7 TeV has been analysed for the presence of double-parton interactions using data corresponding to an integrated luminosity of 36 pb(-1), collected with the ATLAS detector at the Large Hadron Collider. The fraction of events arising from double-parton interactions, f(DP)((D)), has been measured through the p(T) balance between the two jets and amounts to f(DP)((D)) = 0.08 +/- 0.01 (stat.) +/- 0.02 (sys.) for jets with transverse momentum p(T) > 20 GeV and rapidity vertical bar y vertical bar < 2.8. This corresponds to a measurement of the effective area parameter for hard double-parton interactions of sigma(eff) = 15 +/- 3 (stat.)(-3)(+5) (sys.) mb.

Poland health system review.

Abstract: Since the successful transition to a freely elected parliament and a market economy after 1989, Poland is now a stable democracy and is well represented within political and economic organizations in Europe and worldwide. The strongly centralized health system based on the Semashko model was replaced with a decentralized system of mandatory health insurance, complemented with financing from state and territorial self-government budgets. There is a clear separation of health care financing and provision: the National Health Fund (NFZ) the sole payer in the system is in charge of health care financing and contracts with public and non-public health care providers. The Ministry of Health is the key policy-maker and regulator in the system and is supported by a number of advisory bodies, some of them recently established. Health insurance contributions, borne entirely by employees, are collected by intermediary institutions and are pooled by the NFZ and distributed between the 16 regional NFZ branches. In 2009, Poland spent 7.4% of its gross domestic product (GDP) on health. Around 70% of health expenditure came from public sources and over 83.5% of this expenditure can be attributed to the (near) universal health insurance. The relatively high share of private expenditure is mostly represented by out-of-pocket (OOP) payments, mainly in the form of co-payments and informal payments. Voluntary health insurance (VHI) does not play an important role and is largely limited to medical subscription packages offered by employers. Compulsory health insurance covers 98% of the population and guarantees access to a broad range of health services. However, the limited financial resources of the NFZ mean that broad entitlements guaranteed on paper are not always available. Health care financing is overall at most proportional: while financing from health care contributions is proportional and budgetary subsidies to system funding are progressive, high OOP expenditures, particularly in areas such as pharmaceuticals, are highly regressive. The health status of the Polish population has improved substantially, with average life expectancy at birth reaching 80.2 years for women and 71.6 years for men in 2009. However, there is still a vast gap in life expectancy between Poland and the western European Union (EU) countries and between life expectancy overall and the expected number of years without illness or disability. Given its modest financial, human and material health care resources and the corresponding outcomes, the overall financial efficiency of the Polish system is satisfactory. Both allocative and technical efficiency leave room for improvement. Several measures, such as prioritizing primary care and adopting new payment mechanisms such as diagnosis-related groups (DRGs), have been introduced in recent years but need to be expanded to other areas and intensified. Additionally, numerous initiatives to enhance quality control and build the required expertise and evidence base for the system are also in place. These could improve general satisfaction with the system, which is not particularly high. Limited resources, a general aversion to cost-sharing stemming from a long experience with broad public coverage and shortages in health workforce need to be addressed before better outcomes can be achieved by the system. Increased cooperation between various bodies within the health and social care sectors would also contribute in this direction. The HiT profiles are country-based reports that provide a detailed description of a health system and of policy initiatives in progress or under development. HiTs examine different approaches to the organization, financing and delivery of health services, and the role of the main actors in health systems; they describe the institutional framework, process, content and implementation of health and health care policies; and highlight challenges and areas that require more in-depth analysis.

Contribution of insect pollinators to crop yield and quality varies with agricultural intensification.

Abstract: Background. Up to 75% of crop species benefit at least to some degree from animal pollination for fruit or seed set and yield. However, basic information on the level of pollinator dependence and pollinator contribution to yield is lacking for many crops. Even less is known about how insect pollination affects crop quality. Given that habitat loss and agricultural intensification are known to decrease pollinator richness and abundance, there is a need to assess the consequences for different components of crop production. Methods. We used pollination exclusion on flowers or inflorescences on a whole plant basis to assess the contribution of insect pollination to crop yield and quality in four flowering crops (spring oilseed rape, field bean, strawberry, and buckwheat) located in four regions of Europe. For each crop, we recorded abundance and species richness of flower visiting insects in ten fields located along a gradient from simple to heterogeneous landscapes. Results. Insect pollination enhanced average crop yield between 18 and 71% depending on the crop. Yield quality was also enhanced in most crops. For instance, oilseed rape had higher oil and lower chlorophyll contents when adequately pollinated, the proportion of empty seeds decreased in buckwheat, and strawberries' commercial grade improved; however, we did not find higher nitrogen content in open pollinated field beans. Complex landscapes had a higher overall species richness of wild pollinators across crops, but visitation rates were only higher in complex landscapes for some crops. On the contrary, the overall yield was consistently enhanced by higher visitation rates, but not by higher pollinator richness. Discussion. For the four crops in this study, there is clear benefit delivered by pollinators on yield quantity and/or quality, but it is not maximized under current agricultural intensification. Honeybees, the most abundant pollinator, might partially compensate the loss of wild pollinators in some areas, but our results suggest the need of landscape-scale actions to enhance wild pollinator populations.