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The paper addresses the problem of weighting in an analysis that supports the selection of a categorical data set according to user needs. Using the Relative Change (RC) of the Compound Correspondence Index (CCI), it is shown that weights have a significant impact on user choice - reaching extreme values in both urbanized and forested areas. Decreasing the weights from 0.25 to 0.17 in forested and built-up areas resulted in the maximum variations that were seen in the hot spot maps, with cold areas generally corresponding to builtup regions and hot areas to forested areas. The analysis covers seven counties that are located in different regions of Poland: Pomerania, Podlasie, Mazovia, Greater Poland and the Beskidy Mountains. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study aims at a comparative analysis of quantitative data, namely, OSM and BDOT10k. Analyses were conducted in a 1 km2 hexagonal grid, in seven test counties located in different regions of Poland, differing in the degree of urbanization, land cover and natural environment. It is assumed that the authors' consolidated regional classification of the Compound Correspondence Index CCIRn is attributed to the geometric mapping unit based on TOPSIS values, and their statistical measure of dispersion enables the comparison of datasets for individual geographically disjointed areas according to uniform criteria, e.g., the number of topographic features stored in analyzed datasets, both polygonal (buildings, forests, surface water) and linear (roads, watercourses, railroads). The final results of the regional assessment outperform the local classification giving a higher level of data compliance. Overestimation of regional concordance ranges from 9 to 20% of the county area, with an average of 3% reduction in the area where the two datasets (BDOT10k and OSM) have comparable information ranges. Areas of medium and high nonconformity are decreased by an average of 2.4%. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The purpose of this article was to provide the user with information about the number of buildings in the analyzed OpenStreetMap (OSM) dataset in the form of data completeness indicators, namely the standard OSM building areal completeness index (C Index), the numerical completeness index (COUNT Index) and OSM building location accuracy index (TP Index). The official Polish vector database BDOT10k (Database of Topographic Objects) was designated as the reference dataset. Analyses were carried out for Piaseczno County in Poland, differentiated by land cover structure and urbanization level. The results were presented in the form of a bivariate choropleth map with an individually selected class interval suitable for the statistical distribution of the analyzed data. The results confirm that the completeness of OSM buildings close to 100% was obtained mainly in built-up areas. Areas with a commission of OSM buildings were distinguished in terms of area and number of buildings. Lower values of completeness rates were observed in less urbanized areas. The developed methodology for assessing the quality of OSM building data and visualizing the quality results to assist the user in selecting a dataset is universal and can be applied to any OSM polygon features, as well as for peer review of other spatial datasets of comparable thematic scope and detail. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evidence has accumulated that murine haematopoietic stem/progenitor cells (HSPCs) share several markers with the germline, a connection supported by recent reports that pituitary and gonadal sex hormones (SexHs) regulate development of murine HSPCs. It has also been reported that human HSPCs, like their murine counterparts, respond to certain SexHs (e.g. androgens). However, to better address the effects of SexHs, particularly pituitary SexHs, on human haematopoiesis, we tested for expression of receptors for pituitary SexHs, including follicle-stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), and prolactin (PRL), as well as the receptors for gonadal SexHs, including progesterone, oestrogens, and androgen, on HSPCs purified from human umbilical cord blood (UCB) and peripheral blood (PB). We then tested the functionality of these receptors in ex vivo signal transduction studies and in vitro clonogenic assays. In parallel, we tested the effect of SexHs on human mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). Finally, based on our observation that at least some of the UCB-derived, CD45¯ very small embryonic-like stem cells (VSELs) become specified into CD45+ HSPCs, we also evaluated the expression of pituitary and gonadal SexH receptors on these cells. We report for the first time that human HSPCs and VSELs, like their murine counterparts, express pituitary and gonadal SexH receptors at the mRNA and protein levels. Most importantly, SexH if added to suboptimal doses of haematopoietic cytokines and growth factors enhance clonogenic growth of human HSPCs as well as directly stimulate proliferation of MSCs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We recently reported that normal hematopoietic stem cells express functional pituitary sex hormone (SexH) receptors. Here we report for the first time that pituitary-secreted gonadotrophins stimulate migration, adhesion, and proliferation of several human myeloid and lymphoid leukemia cell lines. Similar effects were observed after stimulation of human leukemic cell lines by gonadal SexHs. This effect seems to be direct, as the SexH receptors expressed by leukemic cells responded to stimulation by phosphorylation of MAPKp42/44 and AKTser473. Furthermore, in parallel studies we confirmed that human primary patient-derived AML and CML blasts also express several functional SexH receptors. These results shed more light on the potential role of SexHs in leukemogenesis and, in addition, provide further evidence suggesting a developmental link between hematopoiesis and the germline.

Introduction: A common feature of many types of cells is their responsiveness to chemotactic gradients of factors for which they express the corresponding receptors. The most studied chemoattractants so far are peptide-based growth factors and a family of cytokines endowed with strong chemotactic properties, called chemokines. However, additional evidence has accumulated that, in addition to these peptide-based chemoattractants, an important role in cell migration is played by bioactive lipids., Areas Covered: Solid evidence has accumulated that two bioactive phosphorylated sphingolipids that are derivatives of sphingolipid metabolism, namely sphingosine-1-phosphate (S1P) and ceramide-1-phosphate (C1P), are potent chemoattractants for a variety of cells. In this review, we will discuss the effect of these two phosphorylated sphingolipids on the trafficking of normal and malignant cells, and, in particular, we will focus on their role in trafficking of normal hematopoietic stem/progenitor cells. Unlike other mediators, S1P under steady-state conditions maintain a steep gradient between interstitial fluid and peripheral blood and lymph across the endothelial barrier, which is important in the egress of cells from bone marrow. Both S1P and C1P may be upregulated in damaged tissues, which may result in reversal of this gradient., Expert Opinion: S1P and C1P are important regulators of the trafficking of normal and malignant cells, and modification of their biological effects will have important applications in optimizing stem cell mobilization and homing, tissue organ/regeneration, and preventing cancer metastasis.

It is well known that somatotrophic/insulin signaling affects lifespan in experimental animals. To study the effects of insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1) plasma level on the morphology of major organs, we analyzed lung, heart, liver, kidney, bone marrow, and spleen isolated from 2-year-old growth hormone receptor knockout (GHR-KO) Laron dwarf mice (with low circulating plasma levels of IGF-1) and 6-month-old bovine growth hormone transgenic (bGHTg) mice (with high circulating plasma levels of IGF-1). The ages of the two mutant strains employed in our studies were selected based on their overall ~50% survival (Laron dwarf mice live up to ~4 years and bGHTg mice up to ~1 year). Morphological analysis of the organs of long-living 2-year-old Laron dwarf mice revealed a lower biological age for their organs compared with normal littermates, with more brown adipose tissue (BAT) surrounding the main body organs, lower levels of steatosis in liver, and a lower incidence of leukocyte infiltration in different organs. By contrast, the organs of 6-month-old, short-living bGHTg mice displayed several abnormalities in liver and kidney and a reduced content of BAT around vital organs.