BACKGROUND:The gut microbiome is recognized as a pivotal factor in the pathophysiology of sarcopenia-a condition marked by the accelerated loss of muscle strength, mass and function with ageing. Despite this well-known gut-muscle axis, the potential links between other microbial ecosystems and sarcopenia remain largely unexplored. The oral microbiome has been linked to various age-related health conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis and colorectal cancer. However, its potential association with sarcopenia is unknown. The Saliva and Muscle (SaMu) study seeks to address this knowledge gap. METHODS:The SaMu study comprises three sequential phases. In phase 1, a cross-sectional analysis will be conducted on a cohort of 200 individuals aged 70 years or older to examine the relationship between salivary microbiome and sarcopenia status. Participants will be recruited in the three main places of living: general community, assisted living facilities and nursing homes. The salivary microbiome composition will be evaluated utilizing shotgun metagenomics sequencing, while sarcopenia status will be determined through muscle mass (determined by whole-body bioelectrical impedance analysis and calf circumference), muscle strength (grip strength and the 5-times-sit-to-stand test) and physical performance (usual walking speed). In addition to investigating the microbiome composition, the study aims to elucidate microbiome functions by exploring potential omic associations with sarcopenia. To achieve this, salivary proteomics, metabolomics and quorum sensing peptidomics will be performed. Covariates that will be measured include clinical variables (sociodemographic factors, health status, health-related behaviours, oral health and quality of life) as well as blood variables (immune profiling, hormones, kidney and liver function, electrolytes and haematocrit). In phase 2, an in-depth mechanistic analysis will be performed on an envisaged subcohort of 50 participants. This analysis will explore pathways in muscle tissue using histology, genomics and transcriptomics, focusing on (maximal) 25 healthy older adults and (maximal) 25 with severe sarcopenia. Phase 3 involves a two-year clinical follow-up of the initial participants from the cross-sectional analysis, along with a resampling of blood and saliva. Additionally, secondary outcomes like falls, hospitalization and mortality will be examined. DISCUSSION:Using a salivary multi-omics approach, SaMu primarily aims to clarify the associations between the oral microbiome and sarcopenia. SaMu is expected to contribute to the discovery of predictive biomarkers of sarcopenia as well as to the identification of potential novel targets to prevent/tackle sarcopenia. This study-protocol is submitted for registration at the ISRCTN registry.

Sepsis and cancer are some of the causes of morbidity and mortality in hospitals. Prompt detection and administration of the appropriate drug targeting the correct causative agent increases the chance of patient survival. The study presents an optical method supported by machine learning for discriminating urinary tract infections from an infection capable of causing urosepsis and urinary changes suggestive of bladder cancer. The method comprises spectra of spectroscopy measurement of patients' urine samples with: urinary tract infection, urosepsis and bladder cancer. To provide reliable classification of results assistance of 27 algorithms were tested. We proved that is possible to obtain up to 95% accuracy of the measurement method with the use of machine learning. The method was validated on urine samples from 93 patients. The advantages of the proposed solution are the simplicity of the sensor, mobility, versatility, and low cost of the test.

Abstract Background Pulmonary hypertension constitutes a rare disease characterized by a severe development and a high risk of premature death. One of its main clinical types is pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH), in which the highest percentage of patients are affected by idiopathic PAH. The pathogenesis of this disease has not completely been discovered and elucidated so far, and non-specific clinical symptoms make the diagnosis of PAH a serious problem. Currently, PAH is confirmed with invasive examination based on right heart catheterization. Purpose The main aim of the study was to evaluate and compare both plasma and urine fingerprints of PAH patients and control group with the use of an untargeted metabolomics approach. The study also focused on correlation analysis between the observed metabolic changes and the clinical parameters to select specific indicators of PAH disease. Methods An untargeted metabolomics approach was applied to the plasma and urine samples with the use of gas chromatography coupled to triple quadrupole mass spectrometry (GC-QqQ/MS) and advanced statistical tests were applied to evaluate the potential metabolic indicators of PAH. The PAH patients (n=40) and healthy controls (n=39) were matched for age, sex, BMI and included in the study. The obtained raw datasets were properly processed (data deconvolution, signal correction using QCSVR method and PQN normalization) and subsequently subjected to uni- and multivariate statistical tests (Student's t-test, Welch's test, U Mann-Whitney test, PCA and OPLS-DA). The identification of the statistically significant metabolites was performed using universal libraries, such as: Fiehn's and NIST11. Results The statistically significant metabolites (n=10 and 11 for urine and plasma samples, respectively)originate from various biochemical pathways associated with the carbohydrate, amino acid, lipid, fatty acid and pyrimidine metabolism. The metabolic changes observed in the urine samples of PAH patients (compared to the control group) included different concentrations in: threonic acid, hippuric acid, acetic acid, sorbitol, butanoic acid and propionic acid. The metabolic alterations in the plasma samples covered changes in the levels of valine, leucine, lactic acid, hydroxybutanoic acid, nonanoic acid, cholesterol and octadecanoic acid. Metabolites representing the highest correlation with mean pulmonary arterial pressure include, for instance: propionic acid (r=0.85), valine (r=0.75) and lactic acid (r=0.63) Conclusions The observed metabolic changes are related to various biological processes that are disturbed in the course of PAH, namely: proliferation of pulmonary vascular cells or the functions of cardiomyocytes and the right ventricle of the heart. The obtained results confirmed the potential of a metabolomics approach to uncover and explain the underlying molecular mechanisms of PAH. Funding Acknowledgement Type of funding sources: Public grant(s) – National budget only. Main funding source(s): Ministry of Science and High Education of Poland

Nowadays, bioinformatics offers advanced tools and procedures of data mining aimed at finding consistent patterns or systematic relationships between variables. Numerous metabolites concentrations can readily be determined in a given biological system by high-throughput analytical methods. However, such row analytical data comprise noninformative components due to many disturbances normally occurring in analysis of biological samples. To eliminate those unwanted original analytical data components advanced chemometric data preprocessing methods might be of help. Here, such methods are applied to electrophoretic nucleoside profiles in urine samples of cancer patients and healthy volunteers. The electrophoretic nucleoside profiles were obtained under following conditions: 100mM borate, 72.5mM phosphate, 160mM SDS, pH 6.7; 25kV voltage, 30°C temperature; untreated fused silica capillary 70cm effective length, 50μm I.D. Different most advanced preprocessing tools were applied for baseline correction, denoising and alignment of electrophoretic data. That approach was compared to standard procedure of electrophoretic peak integration. The best results of preprocessing were obtained after application of the so-called correlation optimized warping (COW) to align the data. The principal component analysis (PCA) of preprocessed data provides a clearly better consistency of the nucleoside electrophoretic profiles with health status of subjects than PCA of peak areas of original data (without preprocessing).

Despite of a rapid progression in minimally invasive treatment of benign prostatic hyperplasia, it is sometimes reasonable to consider an open operation, especially in cases of adenoma volume exceeding 100 ml. On the same time introduction of new surgical technologies enables us to significantly improve of the well-known retro-pubic prostatectomy described by Terence Millin in 1947. In film using of new modalities such as Ligasure, harmonic knife and “spray” electrocoagulation is presented.

Surgical treatment of Peronie's disease not always brings optimal results, especially if it causes shortening of the penis. That is why new techniques are still being developed in order to correct penile deviation without harming sexual function. The film presents a surgical method without excision of the plaque.

There are a large number of patients after cystectomy, which for various reasons does not qualify for ileal bladder. Continent urinary reservoir as an option not requiring wearing any appliances like urostomy plates and bags or not causing inconveniences like rectal bladder is a very attractive solution for some patients.

In last years we have been observing an increase of both urologists’ and patients’ interest in plastic surgery of the penis. Such procedures performed in male older than 40 years require diligent postoperative rehabilitation programs in order to achieve best possible result and to enable the patient to restore his sexual activity. In this film as an example we are presenting the treatment of patient with Peyronie disease.

The chiral recognition mechanism of Riboflavin Binding Protein (RfBP) stationary phase has been investigated by studying the influence of temperature on the retention process.

Drug-protein binding is an important process in pharmacokinetic phase of drug action. Capillary electrophoresis was employed, specifically the Hummel-Dreyer method and Scatchard analysis, to study the interactions of an anxiolytic drug, buspirone, with pure bovine serum albumin (BSA) and with BSA present in the human recombinant 5-HT(1A) serotonin receptor preparation. The binding constant of buspirone with BSA determined in free BSA solution was K = 5.55 x 10(4) M(-1) whereas its value with BSA present in the serotonin receptor preparation was K = 5.57 x 10(4) M(-1). The method was found to be inadequate for measuring the specific binding interactions between buspirone and the 5-HT(1A) receptor in the preparation employed.

Statistical evaluation of linear and quadratic models of chromatographic retention was performed. The relationships describing retention were derived for a set of 23 carefully selected test analytes chromatographed on 18 HPLC columns using methanol-water or acetonitrile-water solutions as mobile phase. It was ascertained whether the square term in the quadratic model improves the description of chromatographic retention in a statistically significant manner. It was also checked whether the retention data extrapolated to a hypothetical neat water eluent (log k(w)) obtained with the two models and the two organic modifiers are equivalent or should be considered different. The research proved that both models yield similar results and the extrapolated log k(w) values do not differ statistically significantly in the case of methanol-containing mobile phases. In the case of acetonitrile-water systems the log k(w) values obtained with linear and quadratic models are normally statistically different, Correlation analysis for log k(w) vs. log P parameters was performed for data determined on six columns. The best correlations were achieved employing log k(w) data derived with the linear model for methanol/water systems.