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The nearly five-year period of implementing new solutions in initial teacher education, caused by the introduction of new legal regulations, encourages verifying the validity of the assumptions made and rethinking the adopted concepts. The article aims to indicate the key issues related to the design of future teachers' education, in particular the development of their research competence. For this purpose, the author analysed the legal regulations affecting its conception and the solutions implemented at Polish universities. The article discusses the doubts related to the inclusion of a five-year teacher training path into the two-stage study system, the consequences of choosing a study profile and the placement of psychological, pedagogical and didactic preparation in the study programme. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A cultivated mushroom species, Pleurotus citrinopileatus, is becoming increasingly popular thanks to its attractive colour and medicinal properties. In this study, P. citrinopileatus was grown in a cultivation medium enriched with wheat bran (WB), thymus post-extraction waste (TPEW) and pumpkin post-extraction waste (PPEW) products. The study showed that the post-extraction wastes are a crucial factor determining the accumulation of minerals, the content/profile of low-molecularweight organic acids (LMWOAs) and phenolic compounds in fruit bodies, thereby increasing their nutritional value. The use of the waste materials significantly increased LMWOAs contents. The sum of LMWOAs under all cultivation mediums increased, especially quinic, malic and citric acids under the 20% PPEW, 25 and 50% TPEW addition. Total phenolic content, phenolic content, as well as the composition and scavenging effect on DPPH radicals, were strongly dependent on the used substrate. The control variant was poor in phenolic compounds, while the supplementation increased the contents and diversity of these metabolites. In the control, only four phenolic compounds were quantified (chlorogenic, gallic, syringic and vanillic acids), while in the supplemented substrates up to 14 different phenolic compounds (caffeic, chlorogenic, p-coumaric, 2,5-dihydroxybenzoic acid, ferulic, gallic, protocatechuic, salicylic, sinapic, syringic, trans-cinnamic and vanillic acids, catechin and rutin). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ménière’s disease is characterized by sudden episodes of vertigo accompanied by tinnitus and/or feeling of fullness in the ear as well as fluctuating sensorineural hearing loss. Despite numerous studies, the etiology of this disease remains unknown. However, the enlargement of the inner ear’s endolymphatic spaces, referred to as endolymphatic hydrops, is considered the underlying condition. Thanks to recent advances in magnetic resonance (MR) technology, it is now possible to obtain in vivo imaging of endolymphatic hydrops in patients presenting with Ménière’s disease symptoms. Visualization of the inner ear fluid compartments is achieved after gadolinium contrast is administered into the tympanic cavity or via the intravenous route. Evaluation of endolymphatic hydrops is possible as the contrast agent selectively penetrates the perilymph, and endolymph is visualized as contrast defects. The currently used radiological hydrops grading systems include qualitative, semi-quantitative, and volumetric scales. The methods are subject to ongoing modifications to increase their sensitivity and specificity. Numerous studies describe correlations between clinical symptoms and audiological and otoneurological examination results with the endolymphatic hydrops grade. MRI is also applicable in patients’ diagnostics with an incomplete or atypical course of the Ménière’s disease. In the course of the treatment, follow-up MRI scans enable assessing individual treatment modalities’ efficacy in terms of the severity of lesions and the further course of the disease within the inner ear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The study demonstrated that Pleurotus eryngii cultivation on substrate enriched with thymus (Thymus vulgaris) post‐extraction waste (TPEW) and spent coffee grounds (SCG) can beneficially affect yield and modify the mineral composition, profile of phenolic compounds, organic acids, and antioxidant activity. Cultivation with TPEW and SCG did not result in any significant differences in the contents of K, Mg, P, and S in fruiting bodies. The highest content of Ca and Na was recorded in cultivation with TPEW. The use of TPEW and SCG increased the total phenolic content, while in the phenolic profile changes were observed in the variants of 50% and 100% TPEW and 50% SCG. Cultivation with TPEW increased the sum of the organic acids and quinic, malonic, malic, acetic, and succinic acids, while addition of SCG resulted in their significant decrease. Practical applications: The use of different additives to growing substrate is a possible way to improve the harvest yield. Moreover, this modification of cultivation allows to manage some waste materials. However, the application of waste materials can carry the risk to introduce substances potentially dangerous for human health into substrate. Additionally, the supplementation allows to modify the content of bioactive compounds. In this context, the monitoring of the quality of fruiting bodies seems to be necessary. Therefore, the study evaluated the content of elements (especially toxic trace elements), some bioactive compounds and antioxidant activity was examined. The results pointed, how the waste materials added to the substrate affect the quality of the final product. These findings could lead to improvements in the commercial production of P. eryngii and increase the quality of the final product. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Vasculogenesis was originally defined by Risau in 1997 [Nature 386: 671-674] as the de novo formation of vessels from endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs), so-called angioblasts. Initially, this process was believed to be related only to embryonic life; however, further studies reported vasculogenesis to occur also in adult tissues. This overview presents the current knowledge about the origin, differentiation and significance of EPCs that have been observed in various diseases, tumors, and reparative processes. We also summarize the knowledge of how to activate these cells for therapeutic purposes and the outcomes of the therapies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The electrochemical behaviour of profluralin (PFL) was investigated with square wave voltammetry (SWV) and cyclic voltammetry at bare and modified with graphene, graphene oxide, reduced graphene oxide, carbon nanotubes glassy carbon electrode. The influence of various factors such as pH, buffer composition, ionic surfactants and voltammetric parameters was studied. The best results in terms of signal shape and intensity were recorded in 0.04 M Britton-Robinson buffer at pH 2.0 at −0.43 V versus Ag/AgCl. In acidic medium profluralin produces single cathodic signal of an irreversible nature. Observed peak (two superimposed signals from two nitro groups) is a result of PFL reduction controlled by diffusion processes. Linearity of peak currents ( Ip) vs. concentrations of profluralin was found in the range of 1.0×10−7 to 1.0×10−6 M with a detection limit of 2.6×10−8 M using fast and sensitive SWV. The developed method has been applied for the quantitative analysis of profluralin in spiked environmental samples with very good average recoveries in the range from 98.6 to 99.9 % with a mean relative standard deviation of 4.0 %. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]