Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences

About: Wroclaw University of Environmental and Life Sciences is a education organization based out in Wrocław, Poland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Population & GNSS applications. The organization has 3108 authors who have published 6672 publications receiving 57774 citations.

Effect of Semen Extenders and Storage Time on Sperm Morphology of Four Chicken Breeds

Abstract: SUMMARY A wide range of extenders are available for storing fowl semen. Three of them (the Lakeextender, the EK extender described by Łukaszewicz, and an extender described by Tselutinet al.) were tested for their suitability to store semen of 4 fowl breeds: Green-Legged Partridge,Black Minorca, White Crested Black Polish, and Italian Partridge. Changes in spermatozoaviability and morphology were evaluated in fresh neat semen and in semen diluted 1:4 andstored for 3, 6, and 24 h at 4°C. During the time of semen storage, a decrease in thenumber of live, morphologically normal spermatozoa and an increase in dead spermatozoaand spermatozoa with bent necks were observed. The EK extender was found to be the mostsuitable regardless of the fowl breed because the number of live spermatozoa did not decreaseas much as in semen diluted with the other extenders. The Lake extender had the least beneficialeffect on stored sperm morphology in every breed. Key words: sperm quality, in vitro storage, semen extender, sperm morphology2008 J. Appl. Poult. Res. 17:101–108doi:10.3382/japr.2007-00048

Podoplanin expression by cancer-associated fibroblasts predicts poor outcome in invasive ductal breast carcinoma.

Abstract: Pula B, Jethon A, Piotrowska A, Gomulkiewicz A, Owczarek T, Calik J, Wojnar A, Witkiewicz W, Rys J, Ugorski M, Dziegiel P & Podhorska-Okolow M (2011) Histopathology 59, 1249–1260 Podoplanin expression by cancer-associated fibroblasts predicts poor outcome in invasive ductal breast carcinoma Aims: It has recently been shown that podoplanin, a mucin-type glycoprotein, is expressed by cancer cells and cancer-associated fibroblasts (CAFs), and promotes cancer cell migration and invasiveness. The biological role of podoplanin expression in tumour stroma of invasive ductal carcinoma of the breast (IDC) has not been determined. Methods and results: Podoplanin expression was analysed in 117 cases of IDC and 27 cases of fibrocystic change, as well as in breast cancer cell lines, with the use of immunohistochemistry and real-time polymerase chain reaction. In 82.1% of analysed tumours, podoplanin was found only in CAFs. Only two of 117 IDC cases (1.7%) were characterized by expression of this glycoprotein in cancer cells. None of the fibrocystic changes or stroma surrounding normal ducts showed podoplanin expression. Podoplanin-positive CAFs correlated with tumour size (P = 0.0125), grade of malignancy (P = 0.0058), lymph node metastasis (P = 0.0149), lymphovascular invasion (LVI) (P = 0.0486) and Ki67 expression in cancer cells (P = 0.0128). High-level podoplanin expression (>50% of positive stroma) in the tumour stroma was significantly associated with a negative oestrogen status (P = 0.0201). Univariate, but not multivariate, analysis showed that podoplanin expression by CAFs was associated with poor patient outcome (P = 0.0202). Conclusions: Our results suggest that podoplanin expression by CAFs could be an unfavourable prognostic marker for IDC.

Physico-chemical, nutritional, and volatile composition and sensory profile of Spanish jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) fruits

Abstract: Background Jujube fruit is eaten mostly fresh, but may be dried (Chinese dates and tea) or processed into confectionary recipes in bread, cakes, compotes, and candy. Given that the quality of jujube available on the market differs on account of various factors such as geographical environment, cultivar, processing conditions, and storage conditions, and that, for consumers, flavour and nutrition properties of jujube represent the major parameters in determining the quality of jujube, the main goal of this study were to determine the main physico-chemical properties of jujube fruits, sugars and organic acids profiles, protein, mineral constituents, volatile composition and sensory profile of jujube fruits. This would allow breeders to select cultivars with higher levels of nutrients and also enable increasing dietary intake by consumers. Results Investigations showed that jujube fruit weight ranged from 4.8 to 29.3 g fruit(-1) . Four sugars (glucose, fructose, sucrose and sorbitol) and four organic acids (citric, malic, ascorbic and succinic acids) were identified and quantified by high-performance liquid chromatography in jujube fruits. Potassium, calcium and magnesium were the major mineral constituents in jujube fruits. Fifteen volatiles compounds were found in the aroma profile of jujube fruits (nine were aldehydes, three terpenes, one ester, one ketone and one linear hydrocarbon). Conclusion The results showed that Spanish jujube cultivars studied are a good source of vitamin C, and they have a low content of Na. The jujube cultivar with the most appreciated quality by consumers was GAL; the GAL fruits were sweet, crunchy, and had high intensities of jujube ID and apple flavour a long after-taste. Therefore, jujube grown in Spain has a great potential to be exploited for functional foods. © 2015 Society of Chemical Industry.