The aim of this study was to evaluate the intestinal and cardiac biomarkers in the determination of intestinal and cardiac damage in dogs with parvoviral enteritis. The material of this study consisted of 10 healthy dogs (control group) and 30 dogs with parvoviral enteritis (experimental group) admitted to the Department of Internal Medicine, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Selcuk University.

Serum samples were extracted from the collected blood samples taken from vena cephalica venipuncture for analysis of blood gases, haemogram and to measure the levels of intestinal-fatty acid-binding protein (I-FABP), trefoil factor 3 (TFF-3), claudin-3 (CLDN-3), heart-type fatty acid-binding protein (H-FABP), cardiac troponin I (cTnI), and creatine kinase-myocardial band (CK-MB) by enzyme linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test kits.

Statistically significant decreases in the blood gas hydrogen ion concentration (pH), partial pressure of oxygen (pO2), sodium (Na), bicarbonate (HCO3), and oxygen saturation (SatO2) levels and significant increase in the levels of I-FABP, TFF-3, CK-MB, cTnI and also in the haemogram, a decrease in leukocyte (WBC) level and an increase in platelet (THR) level were detected in parvoviral dogs compared to the control group (p<0.05). Also ROC analysis revealed on 0th hour for the utility of I-FABP and on 48th hour for TFF-3 in differentiating in the experimental group between the survivor and non-survivor dogs. Other intestinal-related biomarker (CLDN-3) and none of the cardiac-related biomarkers (H-FABP, CK-MB and cTnI) are not high enough for prediction of mortality.

In conclusion, it was determined that I-FABP and TFF-3 for the intestinal injury and mortality prediction, and CK-MB and cTnI for the cardiac injury were useful and reliable biomarkers to determine the damage caused by parvovirus in dogs.

The aim of this study was to determine if reticulorumen ph, temperature and cow activity registered before calving can serve as indicators of diseases after calving.

The cows were selected according to those fitting the profile of having had two or more lactations (on average 2.9±0.13 lactations), from 60 to 0 days before and the first 30 days after calving, and being clinically healthy. The clinical examination (identification of diseases after calving) was performed from 60 days before calving to 60 days after calving. Diseases after calving were diagnosed based on clinical symptoms specific to these diseases. The pH and temperature of the contents of the cow reticulorumens and cow activity were measured using specific smaX-tec boluses manufactured for animal care.

We found that the highest pH and temperature before calving can serve as biomarkers of healthy cows after calving. The lowest reticulum temperature before calving can serve as an indicator of MF after calving. A positive correlation of reticulum pH and temperature before calving can serve as biomarkers of PR. Decreasing cow activity before calving can serve as an indicator of diseases after calving. For calving prognosis, temperature of the reticulorumen can be used; it decreased 6–7 days before calving.

I n t r o d u c t i o n: RANTES regulates leukocyte recruitment to areas affected by the inflammatory process. Microvesicles (MVs) belong to a subpopulation of extracellular vesicles and show proangiogenic potential by transferring bioactive molecules to target cells.

Obj e c t i v e s: The aim of this study was to determine the relationship between circulating proangiogenic factors (MVs and RANTES) and diabetes complications in patients with different severities of diabetic retinopathy (DR). CCR5 (CD195) receptors transported by annexin V-labeled MVs were also investigated. Patients and Methods: Diabetic patients (n = 61), among whom 35 had confirmed DR classified according to guidelines, and controls (n = 25) were included. MVs were isolated by centrifugation and analyzed using flow cytometry, RANTES was assessed by ELISA.

R e s u l t s: T h e study group diff ered from the control group with respect to BMI, age, heart rate and systolic blood pressure. Additionally, glucose and creatinine concentrations were signifi cantly increased: 5.30 [5.09–5.62] vs. 9.38 [7.48–11.55] (p<0.0001) mmol/l and 74.59 [64–84] vs. 89.00 [77.11–105.44] μmol/l (p = 0.0005), respectively. RANTES concentrations were significantly increased in diabetic patients compared to those of controls (15.5 (9.7–18.1) vs. 8.9 (0.9–14.6) μg/ml (p = 0.011)), and RANTES concentration significantly increased with respect to nonproliferative DR progression. Moreover, the number of CCR5-positive MVs was significantly increased in patients with heavy nonproliferative diabetic retinopathy (HNPDR) compared to those with soft nonproliferative DR (SNPDR): 1178 [836–2254] vs. 394 [275–799] counts/μl.

C o n c l u s i o n s: Correlation of RANTES concentrations with the stage of nonproliferative DR and the statistically significant dependence of CCR5-positive MVs with disease progression suggest that MVs and RANTES can be considered new biomarkers.

The paper describes an integrated laser absorption system as a potential tool for breath analysis for clinical diagnostics, online therapy monitoring and metabolic disorder control. The sensors operate basing on cavity enhanced spectroscopy and multi-pass spectroscopy supported by wavelength modulation spectroscopy. The aspects concerning selection of operational spectral range and minimization of interference are also discussed. Tests results of the constructed devices collected with reference samples of biomarkers are also presented. The obtained data provide an opportunity to analyse applicability of optoelectronic sensors in medical screening.

We describe construction and investigation results of optical trace gas sensor working in the 3.334–3.337 μm spectral range. Laser spectroscopy was performed with a multipass cell. A setup was elaborated for detection of ethane at the 3.3368035 μm absorption line. Analysis of the gas spectra and the experiment have shown that, beside C2H6, the sensor is suitable for simultaneous detection of methane, formaldehyde and water vapor. Due to nonlinearity of the laser power characteristic we decided to detect the fourth harmonic of signal. Additional laser wavelength modulation was applied for optical interference suppression. In result, the precision of ethane detection of approximately 80 ppt has been achieved for the averaging time of 20 seconds. Long-term stability as well as the measurement linearity have also been positively tested. The system is suitable for detecting potential biomarkers directly in human breath.

In broiler chickens, the relationship between dietary supplementation of vitamin C and hepatic, cardiac and renal heat shock proteins (HSP60, HSP70 and HSP90), heat shock factors (HSF-1 and HSF-3) and enzymatic antioxidants requires further investigation. The current study aimed to investigate this relationship at cellular and molecular levels in a 42 days experiment. Two hundred, one-day-old broiler chicks (Ross 308) were allocated into four equal groups. Chicks in the first and third groups were thermo-neutral (TN; 22°C for 24 hours/day) and fed basal diet without or with vitamin C (1g/kg basal diet), respectively. Chicks in the second and fourth groups were heat stressed (HS; 34°C for 8 hours/day) and fed basal diet without or with vitamin C, respectively. Performance parameters were recorded throughout the experiment. Levels of malondialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione S-transferase (GST), glutathione peroxidase (GPX), Catalase (CAT) and gene expression of heat shock proteins (HSP60, 70 and 90) and heat shock factors (HSF 1 and 3) were analyzed in liver, heart and kidney tissues of the studied groups. Heat stress induced a negative impact on performance parameters, significant reduction in activities of all examined antioxidant enzymes and a significant up-regulation in heat shock proteins and factors genes in all studied tissues. Dietary supplementation of vitamin C corrected these parameters towards the normal control values. Conclusively, dietary supplementation of the examined dose of vitamin C was efficient at ameliorating the detrimental effects of heat stress on liver, heart and kidney tissues of broilers chickens at cellular and molecular levels.

The paper presents the fusion approach of different feature selection methods in pattern recognition problems. The following methods are examined: nearest component analysis, Fisher discriminant criterion, refiefF method, stepwise fit, Kolmogorov-Smirnov criteria, T2-test, Kruskall-Wallis test, feature correlation with class, and SVM recursive feature elimination. The sensitivity to the noisy data as well as the repeatability of the most important features are studied. Based on this study, the best selection methods are chosen and applied in the process of selection of the most important genes and gene sequences in a dataset of gene expression microarray in prostate and ovarian cancers. The results of their fusion are presented and discussed. The small selected set of such genes can be treated as biomarkers of cancer.

Bisnik Cave is an important site of Middle Palaeolithic, with the longest sequence of Neanderthal settlement phases in Central Europe. In the previous studies of the Bisnik sediments, different elements of palaeoenvironment in the periods of Neanderthal occupation have been recognised, except of palaeovegetation, which could not be derived because of lack of preserved plant micro- or macrofossils. The current work is an attempt to reconstruct palaeovegetation in vicinity of the Bisnik Cave, using analysis of composition of plant-derived n-alkanes, preserved in sediments. In our study, we analyzed one sample from each of the sediment's layers 11 - 19c (early Late Pleistocene and late Middle Pleistocene). Abundant n-alkanes (mostly n-C27, n-C29 and n-C31) were found in all the sampled layers except for the layers 12, 16 and 19d, showing no alkanes at all. There is clear diversification of n-alkanes composition and cpr (carbon preference index) values between layers. Analysis of this composition, allows us to claim that the layers 11 and 14 were accumulated when the cave's vicinity was covered by dense coniferous forests, hence upon warm climate. The layers 19, 19a lower, 19b and 19c, presumably originated during cold periods when open woodlands or grasslands dominated. The other analyzed layers could be counected with intermediate vegetation in form of open woodland. However, not all of the achieved results stay in compliance with the actual stratigraphy, established basing on lithological data and palaeoecology offossil fauna, and we hope that explanation of this discrepancy would be possible after more extensive studies of molecular fossils are done.

Duringthe evolution organisms are subjected to the continuous impact of environmental factors. In recent years an increasing number of studies have focused on the physicochemical limits of lifeon Earthsuch as temperature, pressure, drought, salt content, pH, heavy metals, etc. Extreme environmental conditions disrupt the most important interactions that support the function and structure of biomolecules.Forthis reason,organisms inhabiting extreme habitats have recently become of particularlygreat interest. Although filamentous fungi are an important partof the polar ecosystem, information about their distribution and diversity, as well as their adaptation mechanisms, is insufficient. In the present study,the fungal strain Penicillium griseofulvum isolated from an Antarctic soil sample was used as a study model. The fungal cellular response against short term exposure to low temperature was observed. Our results clearly showed that short-term low temperature exposure caused oxidative stress in fungal cells and resulted in enhanced level of oxidative damaged proteins, accumulation of reserve carbohydrates and increased activity of the antioxidant enzyme defence. Ultrastructural changes in cell morphology wereanalysed. Different pattern of cell pathology provoked by the application of two stress temperatures was detected. Overall, this study aimed to observe the survival strategy of filamentous fungi in extremely cold habitats, and to acquire new knowledge about the relationship between low temperature and oxidative stress.

The goal of this article is to present and compare recent approaches which use speech and voice analysis as biomarkers for screening tests and monitoring of some diseases. The article takes into account metabolic, respiratory, cardiovascular, endocrine, and nervous system disorders. A selection of articles was performed to identify studies that assess voice features quantitatively in selected disorders by acoustic and linguistic voice analysis. Information was extracted from each paper in order to compare various aspects of datasets, speech parameters, methods of applied analysis and obtained results. 110 research papers were reviewed and 47 databases were summarized. Speech analysis is a promising method for early diagnosis of certain disorders. Advanced computer voice analysis with machine learning algorithms combined with the widespread availability of smartphones allows diagnostic analysis to be conducted during the patient’s visit to the doctor or at the patient’s home during a telephone conversation. Speech analysis is a simple, low-cost, non-invasive and easy-toprovide method of medical diagnosis. These are remarkable advantages, but there are also disadvantages. The effectiveness of disease diagnoses varies from 65% up to 99%. For that reason it should be treated as a medical screening test and should be an indication of the need for classic medical tests.