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In the paper a problem of outlier detection in the stream data is raised. The authors propose a new approach, using well known outlier detection algorithms, of outlier detection in the stream data. The method is based on the definition of a sliding window, which means a sequence of stream data observations from the past that are closest to the newly coming object. As it may be expected the outlier detection accuracy level of this model becomes worse than the accuracy of the model that uses all historical data, but from the statistical point of view the difference is not significant. In the paper several well known methods of outlier detection are used as the basis of the model.

In the paper the issue of outlier detection and substitution (correction) in stream data is raised. The previous research showed that even a small number of outliers in the data influences the prediction model application quality in a significant way. In this paper we try to find a proper complex method of outliers proceeding for stream data. The procedure consists of a method of outlier detection, a statistic used for the outstanding values replacement, a historic horizon for the replacing value calculation. To find the best strategy, a wide grid of experiments were prepared. All experiments were performed on semi–artificial data: data coming from the underground coal mining environment with an artificially introduced dependent variable and randomly introduced outliers. In the paper a new approach for the local outlier correction is presented, that in several cases improved the classification quality.

The paper presents results of the research related to influence of the level of outliers in the data (train and test data considered separately) on the quality of a model prediction in a classification task. The set of 100 semi–artificial time series was taken into consideration, which independent variables was close to real ones, observed in a underground coal mining environment and dependent variable was generated with the decision tree. For every considered method (decision trees, naive bayes, logistic regression and kNN) a reference model was built (no outliers in the data) which quality was compared with the quality of two models: Out–Out (outliers in train and test data) and Non-out–Out (outliers only in test data). 50 levels of outliers in the data were considered, from 1 % to 50 %. Statistical comparison of models was done on the basis of sign test.

A vitrification method enabled efficient cryopreservation of embryogenic tissue (ETs) of Norway spruce (Picea abies L.) at −196 °C in liquid nitrogen (LN). Correctly formed, normal somatic embryos were generated from ETs that had been thawed after removal from LN. The pregrowth-dehydration method involved preculture of ETs with sucrose (0.25–1.00 M) in the presence or absence of 10 μM abscisic acid (ABA), followed by air-drying for 2 h and rapid freezing in LN. Pretreatment of ETs with both sucrose and ABA promoted ET growth after preculture and thawing more effectively than treatment with sucrose alone. Survival of ETs after thawing from LN using both sucrose and ABA was 54.4 % compared to pretreatment with sucrose alone which was 20 %. Addition of ABA in the preculture medium also improved the ability of ETs to form cotyledonary stage somatic embryos. The somatic embryos, which had normal shoot and root apices and the correct number of cotyledons, were indistinguishable from regenerants obtained from control cultures. Genetic analysis of control and cryopreserved ETs, as well as somatic embryos derived from cryopreserved ETs, indicated that the cryopreservation method had no effect on any of the five microsatellite loci (SpAGC1, SpAGC2, SpAGG3, SpAC1H8, and SpAC1F7) tested. The cryopreservation protocol outlined should enable the long-term storage of valuable clones of Norway spruce in LN, potentially for hundreds of years.

A 63-year-old woman with symptomatic tachycardia-bradycardia syndrome was admitted to the clinic for implantation of a permanent pacemaker. Due to the bilateral mastectomy with lymphadenectomy and upper limb swelling it was decided to use leadless pacemaker with femoral vein access.

article Introduction: Pre-procedural predictors of early stent thrombosis (ST) and future response to platelet inhibitors are in demand. We sought to evaluate the impact of baseline platelet indices on the occurrence of early ST and future residual platelet reactivity. Materials and methods: Hundred and eight patients with acute coronary syndromes (ACS) in whom stents were implanted were included: 36 consecutive ST cases and 72 matched controls. Platelet indices assessed with flow cytometry before stent implantation were retrieved from the department's data base. Residual platelet reactivity specific to aspirin (aspirin reaction units-ARU) and clopidogrel (P2Y12 reaction units- PRU) was assessed prospectively with VerifyNow ® under dual antiplatelet treatment. Results: Platelet size reported as mean platelet volume (MPV) or proportion of large platelets (LPLT) was significantly higher in ST cases compared with controls (10.4, 95% confidence intervals (CI), 10.1-10.8 vs. 9.7, CI, 9.5-9.9, P=0.0004 and 35.8, CI, 34.2-37.3 vs. 33.3, CI, 32.2-34.3, P=0.007, respectively). Dual aspirin and clopidogrel poor-responsiveness was diagnosed significantly more often in ST cases than in controls (19.6% vs. 1.4%, P=0.004), whereas no difference was observed for single aspirin or clopidogrel poor- responsiveness. A strong correlation was found between MPV and both, ARU (r=0.66, P

Two-year-old embryogenic tissues (ET) of Picea omorika (Pancic) Purk. were successfully cryopreserved after preculture with sucrose, air-drying for 2 h, and freezing in liquid nitrogen (LN). The preculture protocol consisted of passaging the ET onto standard Litvay medium containing increasing concentrations of sucrose (0.25 M sucrose for 24 h, 0.5 M for 24 h, 0.75 M for 2 days, and 1.0 M for 3 days) for 7 days, at 25°C, and in the dark. The clumps were subsequently air-dried over silica gel, down to a 20% water content (based on fresh weight), placed in cryovials, and immersed in liquid nitrogen (LN) for 24 h. These were thawed at 42°C and progressively rehydrated in phytagel-solidified LM media containing decreasing concentrations of sucrose. After 3 weeks of in vitro culture, surviving clumps were friable and white in color, similar to their morphology prior to cryostorage. The frequency of bacterial and fungal contamination was higher if ET was frozen in LN-containing vials than in LN-free vials. This efficient cryopreservation protocol would be useful for the ex-situ conservation of P. omorika germplasm in gene banks at very low temperatures.

Genetic differentiation of common reed (Phragmites australis) populations from selected lakes of Pomerania (NW Poland), revealed by electrophoretically detected peroxidase variability Three populations of common reed (Phragmites australis (Cav) Trin. ex Steud.), growing under differing edaphic conditions in lakes near the town of Koszalin (the Pomerania region in north-western Poland), were studied in respect to frequencies of electrophoretically detected allozymes in two peroxidase loci: a monomeric locus with three alleles and a dimeric locus with two alleles. On the basis of genetic distances, similarity between these populations and levels of variation were assessed both within populations (GST = 0.0376) and between populations (DST = 0.0194). Gene flow between populations was low (Nm = 6.399).

Objective To assign cutoff values for human chorionic gonadotropin (β-hCG) in pretreatment and after one methotrexate (MTX) cycle and determine its correspondence to the number of MTX cycles in successfully treated ectopic pregnancy. Design Retrospective study. Setting Polish university hospital. Patient(s) 68 women with ectopic pregnancies who qualified for medical treatment. Intervention(s) A single-dose of MTX (50 mg/m 2 ) repeated every 7 days, plus laparoscopy in cases of tubal rupture or increased (≥50% over 1 week) β-hCG concentration. Main Outcome Measure(s) Resolution of serum β-hCG without the necessity of laparoscopy. Result(s) Success rate was 78% (53 of 64 women). The medians of pretreatment β-hCG levels in the groups treated successfully and unsuccessfully (943 vs. 3085 mIU/mL) and after the first dose of MTX (564 vs. 4049 mIU/mL) were statistically significantly different. The decrease in β-hCG level after one MTX dose differed statistically significantly only in successfully treated women. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curve cutoff value in the success group indicated an initial β-hCG level of 1790 and 1218 mIU/mL after one MTX cycle. The median of β-hCG titer was not statistically different in patients requiring one or more treatment cycles. Conclusion(s) When the β-hCG level is >1790 mIU/mL, the MTX treatment of ectopic pregnancy is at risk of failure. However, the initial β-hCG titer is not a predictor of the number of MTX cycles that can guarantee a successful outcome.

The paper presents the results of research related to the efficiency of the so called rule quality measures which are used to evaluate the quality of rules at each stage of the rule induction. The stages of rule growing and pruning were considered along with the issue of conflicts resolution which may occur during the classification. The work is the continuation of research on the efficiency of quality measures employed in sequential covering rule induction algorithm. In this paper we analyse only these quality measures (9 measures) which had been recognised as effective based on previously conducted research.

The paper presents a new approach of wall conveyor engines diagnosis. A wall conveyor is an essential device in coal mines. Its work is usually represented by three time series of current values of three conveyor engines. The startup of the conveyor is the phase with the maximal observed load during its work cycle. In the research, each startup is described with almost twenty variables. On the basis of 1000 real monitored startups, a set of association rules was inducted. On the basis of the further rules analysis and interpretation, a set of almost 50 rules was selected to the diagnosis system. The proposed diagnosis system compares the quality (precision) of each association rule from a selected subset—the precision evaluated on the representative data—with the precision of the same rule, evaluated on newly detected startups.

A variable response of Prunus avium L. seeds to desiccation and storage in liquid nitrogen (LN) has been reported in the literature. The majority of these experiments were conducted on initially dried seeds. The desiccation and LN exposure tolerance of fresh P. avium seeds is unknown. In the present study, fresh seeds were used to determine seed response to desiccation and cryopreservation. Desiccation of seeds from a moisture content (MC) of 19.7-20.2% to 10.1-10.9% or 07.6-8.5% reduced seedling emergence from approximately 73 to 19 and 16% for first provenance; and from approximately 89 to 10-12% for second provenance of seeds. After exposure to LN, seeds had the highest seedling emergence when seed MC was the highest (19.7 and 20.2%, respectively) prior to cryostorage. Results indicated that P. avium seeds should be classified as intermediate. For cryopreservation in seed banks, we recommend that seeds be dried directly after extraction from fruits in the range of 16.8-20.2% of MC (0.21-0.25 g·g–1 of WC) and directly immersed in LN in tightly closed cryovials.

Due to increasing efforts on saving natural environment – observed also as an increase of renewable resource energy production – a traditional underground coal mining introduces new technologies of machine diagnosis to assure this process to be more safe and generate less pollution. Also the economic reasons influence development of monitoring systems. Among the most important elements of underground coal mining are longwall systems, whose essential parts are powered roof supports. Avoiding failures and limitation of power consumption should result in more ecological underground coal mining. The paper presents the new model of powered roof support single unit work. The better understanding of its operating and the possibility to generate data describing a proper and improper operation will help to develop monitoring and diagnosis systems.

Due to the increasing efforts on saving our natural environment a change in the structure of energy resources can be observed - an increasing fraction of a renewable energy sources. In many countries traditional underground coal mining loses its significance but there are still countries, like Poland or Germany, in which the coal based technologies have the greatest fraction in a total energy production. This necessitates to make an effort to limit the costs and negative effects of underground coal mining. The longwall complex is as essential part of the underground coal mining. The safety and the effectiveness of the work is strongly dependent of the diagnostic state of powered roof supports. The building of a useful and reliable diagnostic system requires a lot of data. As the acquisition of a data of any possible operating conditions it is important to have a possibility to generate a demanded artificial working characteristics. In this paper a new approach of modelling a leg pressure in the single unit of powered roof support. The model is a result of the analysis of a typical working cycles., {"references":["Statystyka elektroenergetyki polskiej (in Polish), ARE annual report","International Energy Agency Report,\nhttp://www.iea.org/statistics/statisticssearch/report/?year=2012\n&country=GERMANY&product=ElectricityandHeat","http://www.patriotcoal.com","http://www.mining.com","http://www.joy.com","K. Atul, K. Dheeraj, U. P. Singh and U.K. and P. S. Gupta, \"Development\nof an Automated System for Continuous Monitoring of Powered Roof\nSupport in Longwall Panel\", Journal of Coal Science and Engineering,\nVol. 16, No. 4, pp. 337-340, 2010.","W. Bartelmus, Condition Monitoring of Open Cast Mining Machinery,\nWroclaw, Poland: Wroclaw University of Technology Press, 2006.","S. Ga¸sior, Diagnosis of Longwall Chain Conveyor, Mining Review, Vol.\n57, No. 7-8, pp. 33–36, 2001.","W. L. Howie, \"Mobile Roof Support Load Rate Monitoring System\",\nIEEE Indistry Applications Conference, Thirty-Fourth IAS Annual\nMeeting, Vol. 1., pp. 234 – 239, 1999.\n[10] M. Kacprzak, P. Kulinowski and D. We¸drychowicz, \"Computerized\nInformation System Used for Management of Mining Belt Conveyors\nOperation\", Eksploatacja i Niezawodnosc Maintenance and Reliability,\nVol. 13, No. 2, pp. 81–93, 2011.\n[11] M. Michalak, M. Sikora, \"Analiza pracy silnik´ow przeno´snik´ow\n´scianowych - propozycje raport´ow i wizualizacji\" (in Polish),\nMechanizacja i Automatyzacja Grnictwa, Vol. 436, No. 5, pp. 17–26,\n2007.\n[12] M. Michalak, M. Sikora, J. Sobczyk \"Analysis of the longwall conveyor\nchain based on a harmonic analysis\", Eksploatacja i Niezawodnosc\nMaintenance and Reliability, Vol. 15, No. 4, pp. 332–336, 2013."]}

Background Heart failure (HF) is the most common cause of morbidity and mortality in developed countries. Here, we identify biologically relevant transcripts that are significantly altered in the early phase of myocardial infarction and are associated with the development of post-myocardial infarction HF. Methods We collected peripheral blood samples from patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI): n = 111 and n = 41 patients from the study and validation groups, respectively. Control groups comprised patients with a stable coronary artery disease and without a history of myocardial infarction. Based on plasma NT-proBNP level and left ventricular ejection fraction parameters the STEMI patients were divided into HF and non-HF groups. Microarrays were used to analyze mRNA levels in peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) isolated from the study group at four time points and control group. Microarray results were validated by RT-qPCR using whole blood RNA from the validation group. Results Samples from the first three time points (admission, discharge, and 1 month after AMI) were compared with the samples from the same patients collected 6 months after AMI (stable phase) and with the control group. The greatest differences in transcriptional profiles were observed on admission and they gradually stabilized during the follow-up. We have also identified a set of genes the expression of which on the first day of STEMI differed significantly between patients who developed HF after 6 months of observation and those who did not. RNASE1, FMN1, and JDP2 were selected for further analysis and their early up-regulation was confirmed in HF patients from both the study and validation groups. Significant correlations were found between expression levels of these biomarkers and clinical parameters. The receiver operating characteristic (ROC) curves indicated a good prognostic value of the genes chosen. Conclusions This study demonstrates an altered gene expression profile in PBMCs during acute myocardial infarction and through the follow-up. The identified gene expression changes at the early phase of STEMI that differentiated the patients who developed HF from those who did not could serve as a convenient tool contributing to the prognosis of heart failure. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s13073-015-0149-z) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Malignant gliomas represent the most devastating group of brain tumors in adults, among which glioblastoma multiforme (GBM) exhibits the highest malignancy rate. Despite combined modality treatment, GBM recurs and is invariably fatal. A further insight into the molecular background of gliomagenesis is required to improve patient outcomes. The primary aim of this study was to gain broad information on the miRNA expression pattern in malignant gliomas, mainly GBM. We investigated the global miRNA profile of malignant glioma tissues with miRNA microarrays, deep sequencing and meta-analysis. We selected miRNAs that were most frequently deregulated in glioblastoma tissues, as well as in peritumoral areas, in comparison with normal human brain. We identified candidate miRNAs associated with the progression from glioma grade III to glioma grade IV. The meta-analysis of miRNA profiling studies in GBM tissues summarizes the past and recent advances in the investigation of the miRNA signature in GBM versus noncancerous human brain and provides a comprehensive overview. We propose a list of 35 miRNAs whose expression is most frequently deregulated in GBM patients and of 30 miRNA candidates recognized as novel GBM biomarkers.

5-methylcytosine, an abundant epigenetic mark, plays an important role in the regulation of plant growth and development, but there is little information about stress-induced changes in DNA methylation in seeds. In the present study, changes in a global level of m5C were measured in orthodox seeds of Acer platanoides L. during seed desiccation from a WC of 1.04 to 0.05-0.06 g H2O g g(-1) dry mass (g g(-1)). Changes in the level of DNA methylation were measured using 2D TLC e based method. Quality of desiccated seeds was examined by germination and seedling emergence tests. Global m5C content (R2)increase was observed in embryonic axes isolated from seeds collected at a high WC of 1.04 g g(-1) after their desiccation to significantly lower WC of 0.17 and 0.19 g g(-1). Further desiccation of these seeds to a WC of 0.06 g g(-1), however, resulted in a significant DNA demethylation to R2 ¼ 11.52-12.22%. Similar m5C decrease was observed in seeds which undergo maturation drying on the tree and had four times lower initial WC of 0.27 g g(-1) at the time of harvest, as they were dried to a WC of 0.05 g g(-1). These data confirm that desiccation induces changes in seed m5C levels. Results were validated by seed lots derived from tree different A. platanoides provenances. It is plausible that sine wave-like alterations in m5C amount may represent a specific response of orthodox seeds to drying and play a relevant role in desiccation tolerance in seeds.

Context Black poplar (Populus nigra L.) is an alluvial forest tree species whose genetic pool is decreasing in Europe. Poplar trees produce short-lived seeds that do not store well. Aim The feasibility of seed storage in conventional and cryogenic conditions after their desiccation from water content (WC) of 0.15 to 0.07 g H2O g−1 dry mass (g g−1) was investigated. Methods Seed germinability was evaluated (seeds with a radicle and green cotyledons were counted) after storage of seeds for a period of 3 to 24 months at different temperatures: 20°, 10°, 3°, −3°, −10°, −20° or −196°C. Results Seeds desiccated to a 0.07 g g−1 WC can be stored successfully at −10 °C and −20 °C for at least 2 years. A significant decrease in germination was observed only after 12 months of seed storage (WC 0.15 g g−1) at temperatures above 0 °C. We demonstrated that both fresh (0.15 g g−1 WC) and desiccated (0.07 g g−1 WC) seeds can be preserved at −196 °C for at least 2 years. Conclusions Seed storage temperature and time of storage were statistically significant factors affecting seed storability. The presented data provide a foundation for the successful gene banking of P. nigra seeds.

In the paper the analysis of the periodic kernels parameters is described. Periodic kernels can be used for the prediction task, performed as the typical regression problem. On the basis of the Periodic Kernel Estimator (PerKE) the prediction of real time series is performed. As periodic kernels require the setting of their parameters it is necessary to analyse their influence on the prediction quality. This paper describes an easy methodology of finding values of parameters of periodic kernels. It is based on grid search. Two different error measures are taken into consideration as the prediction qualities but lead to comparable results. The methodology was tested on benchmark and real datasets and proved to give satisfactory results.

We present a comprehensive evaluation of the influence of “harmonic” and rhythmic sections contained in an audio file on automatic music genre classification. The study is performed using the ISMIS database composed of music files, which are represented by vectors of acoustic parameters describing low-level music features. Non-negative Matrix Factorization serves for blind separation of instrument components. Rhythmic components are identified and separated from the rest of the audio signals. Using such separated streams, it is possible to obtain information on the influence of rhythmic and harmonic components on music genre recognition. Further, the “original” audio feature vectors stemming from the non-separated signal are extended with such that base exclusively on drum and harmonic sections. The impact of these new parameters on music genre classification is investigated comparing the “basic” k-Nearest Neighbor classifier and Support Vector Machines.

The effects of storage and deep desiccation on structural changes of DNA in orthodox seeds are poorly characterized. In this study we analyzed the 5-methylcytosine (m(5)C) global content of DNA isolated from seeds of common pear (Pyrus communis L.) that had been subjected to extreme desiccation, and the seedlings derived from these seeds. Germination and seedling emergence tests were applied to determine seed viability after their desiccation. In parallel, analysis of the global content of m(5)C in dried seeds and DNA of seedlings obtained from such seeds was performed with a 2D TLC method. Desiccation of fresh seeds to 5.3% moisture content (mc) resulted in a slight reduction of DNA methylation, whereas severe desiccation down to 2-3% mc increased DNA methylation. Strong desiccation of seeds resulted in the subsequent generation of seedlings of shorter height. A 1-year period of seed storage induced a significant increase in the level of DNA methylation in seeds. It is possible that alterations in the m(5)C content of DNA in strongly desiccated pear seeds reflect a reaction of desiccation-tolerant (orthodox) seeds to severe desiccation. Epigenetic changes were observed not only in severely desiccated seeds but also in 3-month old seedlings obtained from these seeds. With regard to seed storage practices, epigenetic assessment could be used by gene banks for early detection of structural changes in the DNA of stored seeds.

The sensitivity of a Polish provenance of dormant Corylus avellana seeds to extreme desiccation and cryopreservation in liquid nitrogen (LN, −196°C) was investigated. No sensitivity to desiccation was observed as seeds readily germinated and exhibited seedling emergence, even when the critical water content (WC) of seeds (nuts devoid of pericarp) was reduced to 0.027 g H2O/g dry mass, g g−1 by drying. Results of germination and seedling emergence tests indicated that seeds tolerated cooling in LN when desiccated to a WC in the range of 0.05–0.10 and 0.08–0.10 g g−1, respectively. The results of this study demonstrate the feasibility of long-term cryopreservation of European hazelnut seeds. As the seeds of this species have been classified in several different categories (orthodox, suborthodox and recalcitrant), based on their response to desiccation and low temperature, the assignment of the seeds of hazelnut to a specific category is provided and discussed.

Background: In patients with Ovarian Cancer (OvCa) exosomes released by tumor cells are present in the plasma and could be involved in tumor progression. This study examines the association between the exosome presence/protein content in plasma of OvCa patients and disease outcome, response to standard therapy and/or tumorresistance to therapies in patients studied at diagnosis and also serially during and after therapy. Design and methods: Exosomes were purified from OvCa patients’ plasma (n=22), patients with benign tumors (n=10) or (n=10) healthy controls (NC) using ultracentrifugation. Exosomes were visualized by scanning electron microscopy. Their protein content was measured. The presence of MAGE 3/6 and TGF-β1 in exosomes was evaluated in Western blots. Results: The OvCa patients’ plasma contained higher levels of exosomal proteins (p

The article presents the new algorithm of biclustering, based on the rough biclustering foundations. Each rough bicluster is considered as the ordered pair of its lower and upper approximation. Notions of lower and upper bicluster approximation are derived from the Pawlak rough sets theory. Every considered discrete value in the data can be covered with more than one rough bicluster. The presented algorithm is hierarchical, so the number of biclusters can be controlled by the user.

Background Despite a substantial progress in diagnosis and therapy, acute myocardial infarction (MI) is a major cause of mortality in the general population. A novel insight into the pathophysiology of myocardial infarction obtained by studying gene expression should help to discover novel biomarkers of MI and to suggest novel strategies of therapy. The aim of our study was to establish gene expression patterns in leukocytes from acute myocardial infarction patients. Methods and Results Twenty-eight patients with ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) were included. The blood was collected on the 1st day of myocardial infarction, after 4–6 days, and after 6 months. Control group comprised 14 patients with stable coronary artery disease, without history of myocardial infarction. Gene expression analysis was performed with Affymetrix Human Gene 1.0 ST microarrays and GCS3000 TG system. Lists of genes showing altered expression levels (fold change >1.5, p

Bleeding negatively affects prognosis and adherence to antiplatelet therapy after acute coronary syndromes (ACSs). The potential association of on-aspirin platelet reactivity and bleeding is not established. We sought to determine whether low on-aspirin platelet reactivity (LAPR) is associated with bleeding events and antiplatelet therapy compliance in patients with ACSs receiving coronary stenting. On-aspirin platelet reactivity was measured by the VerifyNow™ Aspirin assay (Accumetrics Inc., San Diego, CA, USA) in 531 patients with ACS. Cut-offs for LAPR were calculated by receiver-operating characteristic curve (ROC) analysis. Bleeding was reported according to Bleeding Academic Research Consortium (BARC) definition. The endpoints were minor bleeding (BARC types 1 or 2), major bleeding (BARC types 3 or 5) and antiplatelet therapy cessation during 6-months follow-up. By ROC analysis the VerifyNow™ Aspirin assay was able to distinguish between patients with and without minor bleeding (area under the curve [AUC] 0.66, 95 % confidence interval [CI] 0.62–0.70, P

Transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI) is an alternative option for the treatment of severe aortic stenosis in patients carrying an elevated operative risk of conventional surgical aortic valve replacement (AVR). Recently, data from randomised clinical trials confirmed superiority of TAVI when compared with the conservative treatment in inoperable patients, and its non-inferiority when compared with AVR in a high-risk population. Transfemoral vascular access remains the preferred route for delivering the bioprosthesis. However, in a significant proportion of patients, the presence of severe iliac-femoral arteriopathy or small vessel diameter render the transfemoral approach unusable. In this article, we report the first Polish experience of two successful TAVI procedures with bioprostheses (both balloon- and self-expandable) delivered using direct aortic access.

In this paper the new approach to generating oblique decision rules is presented. On the basis of limitations for every oblique decision rules parameters the grid of parameters values is created and then for every node of this grid the oblique condition is generated and its quality is calculated. The best oblique conditions build the oblique decision rule. Conditions are added as long as there are non-covered objects and the limitation of the length of the rule is not exceeded. All rules are generated with the idea of sequential covering.

A successful implantation of transcatheter aortic valve was performed in a highrisk 85-year-old female with severe symptomatic stenosis of a bicuspid aortic valve (BAV) [ Panel A ] and tight lesions in left anterior descending (LAD) and circumflex artery (LCx). Until recently, BAV remained a contraindication to transcatheter aortic valve replacement …

Bleeding in the setting of acute coronary syndromes (ACS) has negative prognostic implications. We sought to determine the impact of different levels of on-treatment platelet reactivity (PR) to ADP on both bleeding and ischemic events in ACS patients receiving coronary stenting. PR to ADP was measured with the VerifyNow P₂Y₁₂ assay (Accumetrics, San Diego, CA) in 374 patients with ACS receiving standard dual antiplatelet therapy. Patients were stratified into three tertiles according to the increasing values of P₂Y₁₂ reaction units with the first tertile defined as low, second as medium, and third as high PR. The end points were bleeding (TIMI major or minor), ischemic end point (cardiovascular death and non-fatal myocardial infarction), and combined end point (bleeding or ischemic end point). At 30 days: low PR was associated with increased risk of bleeding as compared to medium (adjusted hazard ratio [HR] 3.50, 95% confidence intervals (CI) 1.30-9.42, p = 0.013) and high PR (HR 2.78, 95% CI 1.50-5.15, p = 0.001); high PR posed increased risk of ischemic endpoint as compared with medium PR (HR 7.26, 95% CI 1.67-31.55, p = 0.008) and a trend towards higher incidence of ischemic events was observed when compared with low PR (HR 1.51, 95% CI 0.96-2.36, p = 0.074); patients with medium PR were at significantly lower risk of combined end point as compared to those with low (HR 0.30, 95% CI 0.12-0.75, p = 0.01) and high PR (HR 0.31, 95% CI 0.12-0.77, p = 0.012). In conclusion, low PR to ADP is associated with increased hazard of bleeding and poses similar combined risk of bleeding and ischemic events as high PR. Medium PR predicts favorable net outcome in ACS patients.

A method of approximation the mass of coal moving on a conveyor belt under the ultrasonic sensor that measures a height of coal pile is described in the paper. A process of defining a set of variables that affects the approximated coal mass is presented. A model of multiple regression and an algorithm of regression rules induction based on the M5 algorithm have been exploited to relate momentary values of the coal pile with the mass of moving coal.

This paper presents a new approach for the biclustering problem. For this purpose new notions like half-bicluster and biclustering matrix were developed. Results obtained with the algorithm BicDM (Biclustering of Discrete value Matrix) were compared with some other methods of biclustering. In this article the new algorithm is applied for binary data but there is no limitation to use it for other discrete type data sets. In this paper also two postprocessing steps are defined: generalization and filtering. In the first step biclusters are generalized and after that only those which are the best become the final set - weak biclusters are filtered from the set. The usage of the algorithm makes it possible to improve the description of data with the reduction of bicluster number without the loss of information. The postprocessing was performed on the new algorithm results and compared with other biclustering methods.

Successful cryopreservation of Q. robur germplasm as plumules (i.e. shoot apical meristems of embryos) is described in this paper. After excision from the recalcitrant seeds and preliminary storage in 0.5 M sucrose solution (18 h), the plumules were subjected to cryoprotection (in 0.75 M sucrose, followed by 1.0 M sucrose and 1.5 M glycerol solutions), and next to desiccation (over silica gel or in nitrogen gas) and cooling (in slush at -210°C or in vials filled with liquid nitrogen, LN, -196°C), and were then cryostored for 24 h. High percentage of survival was obtained after cryostorage (21-67%, depending on pretreatment, assessed in vitro by greening plumules that increased in size). Desiccation of plumules over silica gel resulted in significantly higher survival after cryopreservation (58%) in comparison with desiccation in nitrogen gas (29%), with regrowth (shoots with leaves) 5-18%. The extent of plumule desiccation was comparable in both methods, in which drying of plumules for 20 min decreased the water content to 0.5-0.6 g H(2)O g(-1) dry weight before LN exposure. The type of LN exposure did not significantly influence plumule survival and regrowth after cryostorage. Plumules isolated from acorns of four provenances survived cryostorage after cryoprotection followed by desiccation over silica gel and direct cooling in vials with LN (survival 51-76%, regrowth 8-20%). Normal plants developed from the recovered shoots after rooting. The presented protocol for Q. robur plumule cryopreservation may offer a potential approach for establishing germplasm conservation in gene banks for Quercus species.

Multispectral pictures of skin are considered as the way of detection of regions with tumor. This article raises the problem of postprocessing of the color spectrum for the improvement of the tumor region detection accuracy. As the reference point spectra of 24 model colors were aquisited and then compared with their original spectra. Difference betweeen the original and aquisited spectra motivated the authors to use data mining nonparametrical techniques to find the measured spectra postprocessing technique. Two different approaches are described: classificational and regressional.

Loss of DNA mismatch repair may result in resistance to platinum- based anticancer drugs. The hMLH1 and hMSH2 proteins play a critical role in the maintenance of genome integrity and are involved in resistance to platinum-based therapy in colorectal cancer, which is deficient in hMLH1 protein and endometrial cancer, as well as in hMSH2 protein. However, the predictive value of MLH1 and MSH2 expression in ovarian cancer cisplatin-resistance is still to be determined.The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of hMLH1 and hMSH2 proteins in ovarian carcinoma specimens and to evaluate their prognostic significance by means of overall survival (OS) and progression-free survival rates (PSF).Ovarian cancer tissues were obtained from 61 patients: 45 platinum-sensitive and 16 platinum-resistant. hMLH1 and hMSH2 proteins expression was evaluated by immunohistochemistry, with the use of mouse monoclonal antibodies clone 14 for hMLH1 and clone FE11 for hMSH2. The log-rank test and Kaplan-Meier statistics were used to analyze the relationship between proteins expression and progression free survival, as well as the overall survival.No significant correlation was found between hMLH1 and hMSH2 expression and overall survival and progression free survival in the group of patients sensitive and resistant to cisplatin. No significant difference was found in proteins expression intensity between the two compared groups of patients. Age of patients, type of cancer histology, FIGO staging, grading, clinical response and CA 125 did not reveal correlation with the expression of the analyzed proteins.The immunohistochemical expression of hMLH1 and hMSH2 proteins in ovarian cancer has no predictive value in resistance to cisplatin.

Background: Ectonucleotidases CD39/CD73 have been reported to play an important role in functional supression of various immune cells via adenosine that is generated locally in the tumor microenvironment. In patients with ovarian cancer (OvCa) exosomes released by tumor cells (TEX) are abundant in body fluids, including the plasma or ascites and may be involved in tumor progression. Based on the observations suggesting that TEX carry proteins that are expressed on tumor cells from which TEX originate, we hypothesized that CD39+ and CD73+ TEX could deliver these enzymes to distant immune cells. Adenosine produced fom ATP in the presence of TEX could suppress functions of these cells or elevate suppressor activity of regulatory T cells (Treg) , The aim of the study was to: (1) investigate the expression and clinical significance of CD39, CD73, adenosine deaminase (ADA) and CD26 in OvCa tissues and in TEX isolated from OvCa body fluids; (2) determine whether OvCa TEX metabolize exogeneous ATP to adenosine. (3) characterize the molecular profile of TEX; and (4) test whether OvCa TEX can suppress activities of NK cells and up-regulate suppressive activity of Treg. Methods: The expression of CD39, CD73, ADA and CD26 in OvCa tissues was determined by immunohistochemistry (IHC). The relationship between expression of these enzymes and clinicopathological characteristics was analyzed. TEX were isolated from supernatant of two OvCa cell lines (A2780, SKOV-3) and from the patients' plasma by exclusion chromatpgraphy followed by ultracentrifugation, as previously described.. Western blots were used for molecular characterization of TEX. NK cells and Treg were separated from the PMBC of normal donors and co-cultured with TEX. The phenotype of NK cells and Treg was evaluated by flow cytometry. ATP hydrolysis was measured using a luciferase detection assay. Results: By IHC in tissue sections, 70% of tumor cells were CD39+, 77% were CD73+ and 100% were CD26+ADA+.Expression levels of the ectonucleotidases varied from strong to moderate, and patients with a more advanced disease stage had tumors showing strongest CD73 expression (p Conclusion: Similar to OvCa tumor cells in tissue exosomes isolated from the plasma of OvCa patients were found to carry enzymatically-active ectonucleotidases and to produce extracellular adenosine. These exosomes were capable of down-regulating NK cell functions and up-regulating Treg activity in vitro. The same TEX-mesiated mechanisms could contribute to tumor-induced immune suppression characteristic of OvCa and resulting in tumor immune escape and OvCa progression. Note: This abstract was not presented at the conference. Citation Format: Marta E. Szajnik-Szczepanski, Magdalena Derbis, Michal Lach, Paulina Patalas, Marcin Michalak, Hanna Drzewiecka, Marta Glura, Ewa Nowak-Markwitz, Marek Spaczynski, Theresa L. Whiteside. The adenosine pathway in ovarian carcinoma: Tumor cells and tumor-derived exosomes express CD39 and CD73 ectonucleotidases, produce adenosine and mediate immune suppression. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Ovarian Cancer Research: From Concept to Clinic; Sep 18-21, 2013; Miami, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Clin Cancer Res 2013;19(19 Suppl):Abstract nr A79.

The microscopy trade-off between high-resolution and large-area imaging is eliminated by the use of an array microscope. We describe a system with 80 microscope objectives developed for scanning 30 microscope slides/hour at 54,045 dpi.