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.

Cardiopoietic cell therapy for advanced ischaemic heart failure: results at 39 weeks of the prospective, randomized, double blind, sham-controlled CHART-1 clinical trial.

Abstract: Aims Cardiopoietic cells, produced through cardiogenic conditioning of patients’ mesenchymal stem cells, have shown preliminary efficacy. The Congestive Heart Failure Cardiopoietic Regenerative Therapy (CHART-1) trial aimed to validate cardiopoiesis-based biotherapy in a larger heart failure cohort. Methods and results This multinational, randomized, double-blind, sham-controlled study was conducted in 39 hospitals. Patients with symptomatic ischemic heart failure on guideline-directed therapy ( n = 484) were screened; n = 348 underwent bone marrow harvest and mesenchymal stem cell expansion. Those achieving > 24 million mesenchymal stem cells ( n = 315) were randomized to cardiopoietic cells delivered endomyocardially with a retention-enhanced catheter ( n = 157) or sham procedure ( n = 158). Procedures were performed as randomized in 271 patients ( n = 120 cardiopoietic cells, n = 151 sham). The primary efficacy endpoint was a Finkelstein–Schoenfeld hierarchical composite (all-cause mortality, worsening heart failure, Minnesota Living with Heart Failure Questionnaire score, 6-min walk distance, left ventricular end-systolic volume, and ejection fraction) at 39 weeks. The primary outcome was neutral (Mann–Whitney estimator 0.54, 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.47–0.61 [value > 0.5 favours cell treatment], P = 0.27). Exploratory analyses suggested a benefit of cell treatment on the primary composite in patients with baseline left ventricular end-diastolic volume 200–370 mL (60% of patients) (Mann–Whitney estimator 0.61, 95% CI 0.52–0.70, P = 0.015). No difference was observed in serious adverse events. One (0.9%) cardiopoietic cell patient and 9 (5.4%) sham patients experienced aborted or sudden cardiac death. Conclusion The primary endpoint was neutral, with safety demonstrated across the cohort. Further evaluation of cardiopoietic cell therapy in patients with elevated end-diastolic volume is warranted.

Sexual selection protects against extinction

Abstract: Reproduction through sex carries substantial costs, mainly because only half of sexual adults produce offspring. It has been theorized that these costs could be countered if sex allows sexual selection to clear the universal fitness constraint of mutation load. Under sexual selection, competition between (usually) males and mate choice by (usually) females create important intraspecific filters for reproductive success, so that only a subset of males gains paternity. If reproductive success under sexual selection is dependent on individual condition, which is contingent to mutation load, then sexually selected filtering through 'genic capture' could offset the costs of sex because it provides genetic benefits to populations. Here we test this theory experimentally by comparing whether populations with histories of strong versus weak sexual selection purge mutation load and resist extinction differently. After evolving replicate populations of the flour beetle Tribolium castaneum for 6 to 7 years under conditions that differed solely in the strengths of sexual selection, we revealed mutation load using inbreeding. Lineages from populations that had previously experienced strong sexual selection were resilient to extinction and maintained fitness under inbreeding, with some families continuing to survive after 20 generations of sib × sib mating. By contrast, lineages derived from populations that experienced weak or non-existent sexual selection showed rapid fitness declines under inbreeding, and all were extinct after generation 10. Multiple mutations across the genome with individually small effects can be difficult to clear, yet sum to a significant fitness load; our findings reveal that sexual selection reduces this load, improving population viability in the face of genetic stress.

Molecular systematics of Hydrobiidae (Mollusca: Gastropoda: Rissooidea): testing monophyly and phylogenetic relationships

Abstract: The rissooidean family Hydrobiidae Troschel, 1857 is supposedly one of the largest gastropod families with more than 400 recent genera assigned. Due to the limited number of robust anatomical characters in hydrobiids, the high degree of intraspecific variation, the unknown phylogenetic significance of anatomical characters, and the high degree of homoplasy in anatomical characters, its systematic is confusing and phylogenetic relationships within the family and with other rissooidean groups are poorly understood. We studied fragments of the COI and 18S genes from representatives of 40 genera to determine if the family Hydrobiidae (as defined by Kabat and Hershler, 1993) is monophyletic, if the family Hydrobiidae could be resolved using these genes, and whether the Cochliopidae are a distinct family as previously suggested. The cluster patterns in the combined 18S + COI tree as well as in the individual 18S and COI trees show that the Hydrobiidae of Kabat and Hershler (1993) are polyphyletic. The ...

Oral and bronchial provocation tests with aspirin for diagnosis of aspirin-induced asthma

Abstract: In 35 asthmatic patients with acetylsalicylic acid (aspirin; ASA) intolerance (AIA) and 15 asthmatics tolerating ASA well, the authors compared the diagnostic value of the placebo-controlled oral ASA versus inhaled L-lysine (L) ASA challenges. All AIA subjects gave a history of asthmatic attacks following ingestion of ASA and in all of them the intolerance was confirmed by oral challenge test over the past 10 yrs. Doses of ASA increasing in geometric progression were used in oral tests 10-312 mg (cumulative dose 500 mg); in bronchial tests 0.18-115 mg (cumulative dose 182 mg). Either challenge was considered as positive, if forced expiratory volume in one second (FEV1) dropped at least 20% from the baseline value and/or strong extrabronchial symptoms of intolerance occurred. Urinary leukotriene E4 excretion was determined at baseline and following the challenges. In 24 out of 35 patients the oral test was positive, based on a 20% decrease in FEV1. When including extrabronchial symptoms this was positive in 31 cases. Bronchial L-ASA challenge led to > or =20% fall FEV1 in 21 out of 35 cases, and in 27 cases when including extrabronchial symptoms. No correlation was observed between ASA provocative dose causing a 20% fall in FEV1, determined by the oral route compared to the inhalation route. Urinary LTE4 increased after both challenges the rise being higher following oral as compared to inhalation provocation (p=0.0001). It is concluded that both tests had similar specificity whilst the oral test showed a tendency to higher sensitivity for the clinical diagnosis of acetylsalicylic acid intolerance. The inclusion of extrabronchial symptoms into the criteria of test positivity enhanced the diagnostic value of both procedures. In both tests the highest leukotriene E4 increases were found in the presence of extrabronchial symptoms, suggesting the participation of tissues other than the lung in aspirin induced leukotriene E4 release to urine.

Zarządzanie zasobami ludzkimi

Abstract: This article is based on a text by Tom Keenoy Human Resource Management, published in 2009 in a book The Oxford Handbook of Critical Management Studies. We can find there many definitions of human resource management and very detailed characterization of it, as well as about the history of the concept and its evolution over the years. We can see the process of introduction HRM to many different countries and the process of change through which it passed. This article touches the problem of reception of the popular HRM by the scientific community. In this text we may also find a description of the practices characterized the discourse of this concept and at the end a little bit criticism of it.