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Introduction: All epidemiological studies suggest that vitamin D deficiency is prevalent among the Polish general population. Since vitamin D deficiency was shown to be among the risk factors for many diseases and for all-cause mortality, concern about this problem led us to update the previous Polish recommendations. Methods: After reviewing the epidemiological evidence, case-control studies and randomized control trials (RCTs), a Polish multidisciplinary group formulated questions on the recommendations for prophylaxis and treatment of vitamin D deficiency both for the general population and for the risk groups of patients. The scientific evidence of pleiotropic effects of vitamin D as well as the results of panelists’ voting were reviewed and discussed. Thirty-four authors representing different areas of expertise prepared position statements. The consensus group, representing eight Polish/international medical societies and eight national specialist consultants, prepared the final Polish recommendations. Results: Based on networking discussions, the ranges of total serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D concentration indicating vitamin D deficiency [

Background Infantile hypercalcaemia (IH) is a vitamin D3 metabolism disorder. The molecular basis for IH is biallelic mutations in the CYP24A1 or SLC34A1 gene. These changes lead to catabolism disorders (CYP24A1 mutations) or excessive generation of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 [1,25(OH)2D3] (SLC34A1 mutations). The incidence rate of IH in children and the risk level for developing end-stage renal disease (ESRD) are still unknown. The aim of this study was to analyse the long-term outcome of adolescents and young adults who suffered from IH in infancy. Design Forty-two children (23 girls; average age 10.7 ± 6.3 years) and 26 adults (14 women; average age 24.2 ± 4.4 years) with a personal history of hypercalcaemia with elevated 1,25(OH)2D3 levels were included in the analysis. In all patients, a genetic analysis of possible IH mutations was conducted, as well as laboratory tests and renal ultrasonography. Results IH was confirmed in 20 studied patients (10 females). CYP24A1 mutations were found in 16 patients (8 females) and SLC34A1 in 4 patients (2 females). The long-term outcome was assessed in 18 patients with an average age of 23.8 years (age range 2–34). The average glomerular filtration rate (GFR) was 72 mL/min/1.73 m2 (range 15–105). Two patients with a CYP24A1 mutation developed ESRD and underwent renal transplantation. A GFR 2.6 mmol/L. A renal ultrasound revealed nephrocalcinosis in 16 of 18 (88%) patients, however, mild hypercalciuria was detected in only one subject. Conclusions Subjects who suffered from IH have a greater risk of progressive chronic kidney disease and nephrocalcinosis. This indicates that all survivors of IH should be closely monitored, with early implementation of preventive measures, e.g. inhibition of active metabolites of vitamin D3 synthesis.

Infantile hypercalcemia (IH), is a rare disorder caused by CYP24A1 or SLC34A1 variants which lead to disturbed catabolism of 25(OH)DTo assess the status of 2425(OH)16 IH survivors in whom CYP24A1 (n = 13) or SLC34A1 (n = 3) variants were found and 41 subjects in whom hypercalcemia was diagnosed in the first year of life but in whom CYP24A1 or SLC34A1 variants were not found were included in the study. 25(OH)DSubjects with CYP24A1 variants, despite normal 25(OH)DSurvivors of IH with CYP24A1 variant, despite being normocalcemic, still presented extremely high 25(OH)D

Idiopathic infantile hypercalcemia (IIH) is a mineral metabolism disorder characterized by severe hypercalcemia, failure to thrive, vomiting, dehydration, and nephrocalcinosis. The periodical increase in incidence of IIH, which occurred in the twentieth century in the United Kingdom, Poland, and West Germany, turned out to be a side effect of rickets over-prophylaxis. It was recently discovered that the condition is linked to two genes, CYP24A1 and SLC34A1. The aim of the study was to search for pathogenic variants of the genes in adult persons who were shortlisted in infancy as IIH caused by “hypersensitivity to vit. D”. All persons were found to carry mutations in CYP24A1 or SLC34A1, nine and two persons respectively. The changes were biallelic, with one exception. Incidence of IIH in Polish population estimated on the basis of allele frequency of recurrent p.R396W CYP24A1 variant, is 1:32,465 births. It indicates that at least a thousand homozygotes and compound heterozygotes with risk of IIH live in the country. Differences in mechanism of developing hypercalcemia indicate that its prevention may vary in both IIH defects. Theoretically, vit. D restriction is a first indication for CYP24A1 defect (which disturbs 1,25(OH)2D degradation) and phosphate supplementation for SLC34A1 defect (which impairs renal phosphate transport). In conclusion, we suggest that molecular testing for CYP24A1 and SLC34A1 mutations should be performed in each case of idiopathic hypercalcemia/hypercalciuria, both in children and adults, to determine the proper way for acute treatment and complications prevention.

Rhizobia that nodulate peas comprise a heterogeneous group of bacteria. The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between phylogeny and electrophoretic and hydroxy fatty acid lipopolysaccharide (LPS) profiles of pea microsymbionts. Based on amplified fragment length polymorphism (AFLP) fingerprinting data, the pea microsymbionts were grouped into two clusters distinguished at 58% similarity level. Based on the concatenated 16S rRNA, recA, and atpD housekeeping gene data, the microsymbionts appeared to be most closely related to Rhizobium leguminosarum biovars viciae and trifolii. Applying cluster analysis to their LPS electrophoretic profiles, the strains were assigned to two major groups with different banding patterns. All hydroxy fatty acids common to R. leguminosarum and R. etli were detected in each examined strain. Differences in the proportions of 3- to ω-1 hydroxy fatty acids allowed us to distinguish two groups of strains. This classification did not overlap with one based on LPS electrophoretic profiles. No clear correlation was apparent between the genetic traits and LPS profiles of the pea nodule isolates. Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (doi:10.1007/s00203-017-1374-1) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Infantile hypercalcemia (IH), is a rare disorder caused by CYP24A1 or SLC34A1 variants which lead to disturbed catabolism of 25(OH)D3 and 125(OH)2D3 or increased generation of 125(OH)2D3. Aim of study To assess the status of 2425(OH)2D3 and other markers of vitamin D in IH survivors, in whom variants of CYP24A1 or SLC34A1 gene were found and to compare these unique biochemical features with those obtained from subjects who were diagnosed in the first year of life with hypercalcemia, elevated 25(OH)D3 and low PTH but in whom neither CYP24A1 nor SLC34A1 variant was found. Patients and methods 16 IH survivors in whom CYP24A1 (n = 13) or SLC34A1 (n = 3) variants were found and 41 subjects in whom hypercalcemia was diagnosed in the first year of life but in whom CYP24A1 or SLC34A1 variants were not found were included in the study. 25(OH)D3, 3-epi-25(OH)D3, 25(OH)D2, 2425(OH)2D3 were assessed by liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. 125(OH)2D3 concentrations were assessed by chemiluminescence. Results Subjects with CYP24A1 variants, despite normal 25(OH)D3 levels, had higher 25(OH)D3/2425(OH)2D3 ratio values (487; 265−1073 ng/mL) when compared to subjects with SLC34A1 variants (16; 16−23 ng/mL) and with subjects in whom CYP24A1 or SLC34A1 were not found (56; 9−56 ng/mL) (p = 0.00003). Separation of interfering metabolite further increased differences between subjects with and without CYP24A1 mutation. Conclusions Survivors of IH with CYP24A1 variant, despite being normocalcemic, still presented extremely high 25(OH)D3/2425(OH)2D3 ratio values. Separation of interfering compound further increased differences between subjects with CYP24A1 mutation and without this mutation.

Biotransformation processes accompanied by whole yeast cells as biocatalyst are a promising area of food industry. Among the chemical sanitizers currently used in food technology, hydrogen peroxide is a very effective microbicidal and bleaching agent. In this paper, permeabilization has been applied to Saccharomyces cerevisiae yeast cells aiming at increased intracellular catalase activity for decomposed H2O2. Ethanol, which is non-toxic, biodegradable and easily available, has been used as permeabilization factor. Response surface methodology (RSM) has been applied in determining the influence of different parameters on permeabilization process. The aim of the study was to find such values of the process parameters that would yield maximum activity of catalase during decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. The optimum operating conditions for permeabilization process obtained by RSM were as follows: 53% (v/v) of ethanol concentration, temperature of 14.8 °C and treatment time of 40 min. After permeabilization, the activity of catalase increased ca. 40 times and its maximum value equalled to 4711 U/g.

Sorption of Cd(II) ions from dilute aqueous solutions by alginate beads has been studied. The measurements were run at 25°C at a fixed pH of 5.0. Equilibrium sorption isotherms have been determined over a wide cadmium concentration range of 0.3-3 mmol/dm3. The Langmuir equation has been found to adequately describe experimental results, and the equilibrium constants depended on the alginate content in the beads. The values of the maximum sorption capacity of Cd(II) ions have been found to decrease with increasing alginate content in the beads. Effective diffusivity (De) of the cadmium compounds was also calculated in the beads. The study was carried out using two methods: a shrinking core model (SCM) method and a newly developed method named conductometric. The conductometric method turned out to be a simple and effective one for calculation of effective diffusivity of Cd(II) in alginate sorbents. The De values obtained by the two methods depended on the alginate content in the beads. However, the SCM met...

Permeabilization was used for the purpose of transforming the cells of microorganisms into biocatalysts with an enhanced enzyme activity. Baker’s yeast cells were permeabilized with various organic solvents. A high degree of catalase activity was observed upon permeabilization with acetone, chloroform, isopropyl alcohol and ethyl acetate. Response surface methodology was used to model the effect of concentration of isopropyl alcohol, temperature and treatment time on the permeabilization of baker’s yeast cells to maximize the decomposition of H2O2. The optimum operating conditions for permeabilization were observed at 53.7% concentration of isopropyl alcohol, treatment time of 40 min and temperature of 15.6oC. A maximum value of catalase activity was found to be 6.188 U/g wet wt. and was ca. 60 times higher than the catalytic activity of yeast not treated by the permeabilization process.

A simple process of biotransformation carried out in a batch reactor in the presence of native enzyme undergoing deactivation independent of substrate concentration has been analyzed. An analytical expression has been derived enabling answering the question how much of enzyme can be saved if instead of commonly applied isothermal conditions an optimal temperature control without its limitations were used. An effect of the quotient of the activation energy on the magnitude of such benefits has also been considered. It has also been proved that the reaction kinetics has no influence on the derived expression. Based on an example of sucrose hydrolysis by immobilized invertase the obtained result has been verified.

The symposium V entitled "Stress, structure and stoichiometry effects on the properties of nanomaterials" was organized for the third time during the European Materials Research Society Fall Meeting 2015 in Warsaw, following the previous two successful symposia held in 2011 and 2013. Four sessions were jointly organized with the symposium W entitled "Nanoscale separations in spintronic materials, superconductors, and other systems". Both symposia (V and W) were co-organized by the EU 7-th Framework Programme under the project REGPOT-CT-2013-316014 (EAgLE). Overall, more than 70 scientists attended the symposium V, as they presented 10 invited talks, 26 oral contributions and 28 posters, covering many different and new subjects in nanostructures, thin films and interfaces. Representative articles are published in this proceedings volume. We would like to thank the participants who submitted high quality articles and the referees who helped us with excellent and timely reports.

Perhaps the role of Vitamin D supplementation has been most exhaustively studied in calcium absorption, skeletal wellbeing, muscular potency, balance and risk of falling. Nonetheless, new data has emerged and the recent research on sarcopenia makes the topic increasingly interesting. Given the socioeconomic burden of the musculoskeletal consequences of hypovitaminosis D it is vital to keep abreast with the latest literature in the field. The recommended Vitamin D supplementation dose should suffice to increase the serum 25 hydroxyvitamin D level to 30 ng/mL (75 nmol/L) and this level should be optimally maintained with a maintenance dose, particularly for those diagnosed with osteoporosis.

A course of simple enzymatic reactions in a batch reactor in the presence of the whole cells of microorganisms has been analyzed. A possibility of analytical determination of the optimal temperature profiles has been pointed out. An influence of the effectiveness factor on the said profiles and the reaction time of the batch process have been considered by accounting for the mass transfer across the cell membrane.

A temperature policy for the n-th-order reaction with the m-th-order deactivation of catalyst has been analysed on the basis of the variational calculus. For the process mentioned above, the optimum tf,opt and isothermal tf,isot times of the process and consequently their quotient have been calculated. On this basis, it was found that the higher was the quotient, the lower was the final activity of catalyst af and the higher was the quotient of activation energy E. An effect of deactivation order m is dependent on its value.

An alternative method to determine the diffusion coefficient for the shrinking core model A new method to determine the effective diffusion coefficient of sorbate in sorbent granule based on the analytical solution of the shrinking core model (SCM) has been proposed. The experimental data presented by Lewandowski and Roe1 concerning the sorption of copper ions by alginate granules have been applied to compare the analytical and numerical methods. The results obtained by both methods are very close.

A reaction carried out in a batch reactor in the presence of deactivating catalyst has been analysed. The considered model of the process encompasses all the cases analysed in the references. After formulating an optimization criterion and application of the necessary Euler–Lagrange condition to the resulting expression, an analytical method of solution of the second-order differential equation has been suggested. It enabled one to obtain a dependence between the catalyst activity and the substrate concentration at the optimal conditions. This then made possible to get a general relationship describing the optimal time of the chemical reaction with deactivation and the optimal trajectories of the substrate concentrations, catalyst activity and temperature.

The effect of pH on the sorption of copper ions by alginates The effect of pH on copper ions sorption by alginates has been investigated. The granules of the sorbent obtained from sodium alginate (type DMF, manufactured by KELCO) have been applied. By using a new method of gelation a biosorbent containing from 11.3 to 20.3% mas. of alginate has been produced. Investigations have been carried out at a constant temperature of 25°C and the pH values ranging from 3 to 5. The obtained experimental results have been described by the Langmuir equation. It has been found that with the increasing pH of the solution the maximum biosorbent sorption capacity increased.

In this note, the analytical dependence allowing for calculation of the t f,isot /t f,opt quotient for the nth-order reaction and the first-order deactivation has been derived. The single reaction A→R proceeding in batch reactor in the presence of deactivating catalyst was considered.