Consumption patterns and labelling of fish and fishery products in Poland after the EU accession

Poland is a country with one of the lowest fish consumption levels in Europe. After accessing the European Union (EU) in 2004, Polish law including fish labelling legislation has been adapted. This study investigates consumers’ perceptions and awareness of fish information cues placed either on the package or on the shelf in a shop, with a special focus on information about the commercial designation of the fish species, the production method and the catch area. The study investigates the availability and visibility of this mandatory fish information in Poland. Results indicate that Polish consumers perceive labels on fish as a good source of information. However, consumer awareness about fish origin is still on a very low level.     

Lateral and vertical isolation by arsenic implantation into MOCVD-grown GaAs layers

We have demonstrated the formation of arsenic precipitates in GaAs using arsenic implantation and annealing. Electrical measurements show that very high resistivity (surface or buried) GaAs layers can be produced by this method. The arsenic-implanted materials are similar to GaAs:As buffer layers grown by low-temperature molecular beam epitaxy, which are used for eliminating backgating problems in GaAs circuits. Arsenic implantation is a nonepitaxial process which is compatible with current GaAs technology. Formation of insulating GaAs layers by this technique may improve the performance and packing density of GaAs integrated circuits, leading to advanced novel III–V compound-based technologies for high-speed and radiation-hard circuits.     

First direct observation of EL2-like defect levels in annealed LT-GaAS

Nonstoichiometric arsenic-rich GaAs grown at low temperatures by molecular beam epitaxy (LT-GaAs) has been found to be semi-insulating after high-temperature annealing. The origin of this technologically important conversion is not yet fully understood. In order to study this effect, we performed photocurrent measurements on p-LT GaAs-n diodes in the spectral range between 0.75 and 1.5eV at 8K. The photocurrent spectra revealed the following features which are unique to the EL2 level: photoquenching, characteristic photoionization transitions to conduction band minima and a presence of a broad band due to the effect of auto-ionization from the excited state. Moreover, modeling of the optical excitation process using realistic band structure demonstrates that these features cannot be explained by “internal photoemission” originating from As precipitates, as the “buried Schottky barrier model” predicts. This is the first direct experimental evidence for the existence of EL2-like defect levels and their importance for understanding the optical and electronic properties of annealed LT-GaAs.     

Ordering in InGaAs/InAlAs layers

The structure of InCaAs/InAlAs layers lattice matched to an InP substrate, grown on either (100) or on (110) with a 4° tilt toward [111] at 500 and 300°C has been investigated by transmission electron microscopy. High perfection resulted for the layers grown on [001] oriented substrates whereas growth on the near [110] substrates resulted in compositional nonuniformities, macrosteps formation, and ordering of the group III elements. This difference in structural perfection between the two sets of samples was also reflected in differences in electrical properties.     

Combining Embeddings of Input Data for Text Classification

Neural Processing Letters - The problem of automatic text classification is an essential part of text analysis. The improvement of text classification can be done at different levels such as a...     

Ketoprofen Combined with UVA Irradiation Exerts Higher Selectivity in the Mode of Action against Melanotic Melanoma Cells than against Normal Human Melanocytes

Malignant melanoma is responsible for the majority of skin cancer-related deaths. The methods of cancer treatment include surgical removal, chemotherapy, immunotherapy, and targeted therapy. However, neither of these methods gives satisfactory results. Therefore, the development of new anticancer therapeutic strategies is very important and may extend the life span of people suffering from melanoma. The aim of this study was to examine the effect of ketoprofen (KTP) and UVA radiation (UVAR) therapy on cell proliferation, apoptosis, and cell cycle distribution in both melanotic melanoma cells (COLO829) and human melanocytes (HEMn-DP) in relation to its supportive effect in the treatment of melanoma. The therapy combining the use of pre-incubation with KTP and UVAR causes a significant increase in the anti-proliferative properties of ketoprofen towards melanoma cells and the co-exposure of melanotic melanoma cells induced apoptosis shown as the mitochondrial membrane breakdown, cell-cycle deregulation, and DNA fragmentation. Moreover, co-treatment led to GSH depletion showing its pro-apoptotic effect dependent on ROS overproduction. The treatment did not show a significant effect on normal cells—melanocytes—which indicates its high selectivity. The results suggest a possible benefit from the use of the ketoprofen and ultraviolet A irradiation as a new concept of melanotic melanoma therapy.     

UVA Radiation Enhances Lomefloxacin-Mediated Cytotoxic,Growth-Inhibitory and Pro-Apoptotic Effect in Human Melanoma Cells through Excessive Reactive Oxygen Species Generation

Melanoma, the most dangerous type of cutaneous neoplasia, contributes to about 75% of all skin cancer-related deaths. Thus, searching for new melanoma treatment options is an important field of study. The current study was designed to assess whether the condition of mild and low-dose UVA radiation augments the lomefloxacin-mediated cytotoxic, growth-inhibitory and pro-apoptotic effect of the drug in melanoma cancer cells through excessive oxidative stress generation. C32 amelanotic and COLO829 melanotic (BRAF-mutant) melanoma cell lines were used as an experimental model system. The combined exposure of cells to both lomefloxacin and UVA irradiation caused higher alterations of redox signalling pathways, as shown by intracellular reactive oxygen species overproduction and endogenous glutathione depletion when compared to non-irradiated but lomefloxacin-treated melanoma cells. The obtained results also showed that lomefloxacin decreased both C32 and COLO829 cells’ viability in a concentration-dependent manner. This effect significantly intensified when melanoma cells were exposed to UVA irradiation and the drug. For melanoma cells exposed to lomefloxacin or lomefloxacin co-treatment with UVA irradiation, the concentrations of the drug that decreased the cells’ viability by 50% (EC₅₀) were found to be 0.97, 0.17, 1.01, 0.18 mM, respectively. Moreover, we found that the redox imbalance, mitochondrial membrane potential breakdown, induction of DNA fragmentation, and changes in the melanoma cells’ cell cycle distribution (including G₂/M, S as well as Sub-G₁-phase blockade) were lomefloxacin in a dose-dependent manner and were significantly augmented by UVA radiation. This is the first experimental work that assesses the impact of excessive reactive oxygen species generation upon UVA radiation exposure on lomefloxacin-mediated cytotoxic, growth-inhibitory and pro-apoptotic effects towards human melanoma cells, indicating the possibility of the usage of this drug in the photochemotherapy of malignant melanoma as an innovative medical treatment option which could improve the effectiveness of therapy. The obtained results also revealed that the redox imbalance intensification mediated by the phototoxic potential of fluoroquinolones may be considered as a more efficient treatment model of malignant melanoma and may constitute the basis for the development of new compounds with a high ability to excessive oxidative stress generation upon UVA radiation in cancer cells.     

Elemental changes in the brain, muscle, and gut cells of the housefly, Musca domestica, exposed to heavy metals

The toxic effects of heavy metals on organisms are well established. However, their specific action at the cellular level in different tissues is mostly unknown. We have used the housefly, Musca domestica, as a model organism to study the toxicity of four heavy metals: copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), cadmium (Cd), and lead (Pb). These have been fed to larvae at low and high, semi-lethal concentrations, and their accumulation in the head, thorax, and abdomen was subsequently measured in adult flies. In addition, their impact on the cellular concentration of several elements important for cell metabolism-sodium (Na+), magnesium (Mg++), phosphorous (P), sulphur (S), chloride (Cl-) and potassium (K+)-were measured in neural cells, muscle fibers, and midgut epithelial cells. Our study showed that the heavy metals accumulate mainly in the abdomen, in which the concentrations of two of the xenobiotic metals, Cd and Pb, were 213 and 23 times more concentrated, respectively, than in controls. All the heavy metals affected the cellular concentration of light elements in all cell types, but the changes observed were dependent on tissue type and were specific for each heavy metal, and its concentration.     

Assessing the Interactions of Statins with Human Adenylate Kinase Isoenzyme 1: Fluorescence and Enzyme Kinetic Studies

Statins are the most effective cholesterol-lowering drugs. They also exert many pleiotropic effects, including anti-cancer and cardio- and neuro-protective. Numerous nano-sized drug delivery systems were developed to enhance the therapeutic potential of statins. Studies on possible interactions between statins and human proteins could provide a deeper insight into the pleiotropic and adverse effects of these drugs. Adenylate kinase (AK) was found to regulate HDL endocytosis, cellular metabolism, cardiovascular function and neurodegeneration. In this work, we investigated interactions between human adenylate kinase isoenzyme 1 (hAK1) and atorvastatin (AVS), fluvastatin (FVS), pravastatin (PVS), rosuvastatin (RVS) and simvastatin (SVS) with fluorescence spectroscopy. The tested statins quenched the intrinsic fluorescence of hAK1 by creating stable hAK1-statin complexes with the binding constants of the order of 10⁴ M⁻¹. The enzyme kinetic studies revealed that statins inhibited hAK1 with significantly different efficiencies, in a noncompetitive manner. Simvastatin inhibited hAK1 with the highest yield comparable to that reported for diadenosine pentaphosphate, the only known hAK1 inhibitor. The determined AK sensitivity to statins differed markedly between short and long type AKs, suggesting an essential role of the LID domain in the AK inhibition. Our studies might open new horizons for the development of new modulators of short type AKs.