Changing Tendencies of Patients with Electrical Burns in Lithuania from 2016 to 2020

Background. Electrical injuries are not common, however these injuries are severe. The burns cause damage for both superficial and deep layers of skin, as well as deeper tissues, and can lead to necrosis. Morbidity and mortality from electrical injuries are quite high and have physical and psychological consequences. Epidemiological analysis of electrical burns helps to understand patterns of these devastating injuries and to plan further treatment strategies. The objective of the study is to evaluate the number of patients affected by electrical injuries in Lithuania from 2016 to 2020. Methods. Data for the study were used from the Health Information Center of the Institute of Hygiene, calculated from the information system SVEIDRA of the State Health Insurance Fund under the Ministry of Health of Lithuania. Statistical analysis of the data was performed using IBM SPSS statistics 23.0 software. Using the Mann-Whitney criterion, a comparison was made between the percentage distributions of electrical injuries during the study period. Results. During five years (2016–2020), 355 peop­le in total, 85 of them children, were affected by electrical injuries. Men were more likely to suffer from electric injuries. 80.4 percent males were affected and 19.6 percent females. Overall, electrical injuries decreased by 8.45 percent. The number of electrical injuries decreased by 3.66% in the children group and 4.79% in the adult group. Conclusions. After reviewing the research data, it can be concluded that from 2016 to 2020, there was decreased tendency of electrical injuries in Lithuania by 15.3% among children and by 6.29% among adults. Men were more likely to experience electrical injuries. Ongoing prevention strategies and measures in society and raising social awareness are key factors in reducing electrical injuries

The Effect of CaV1.2 Inhibitor Nifedipine on Chondrogenic Differentiation of Human Bone Marrow or Menstrual Blood-Derived Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Chondrocytes

AbstractCartilage is an avascular tissue and sensitive to mechanical trauma and/or age-related degenerative processes leading to the development of osteoarthritis (OA). Therefore, it is important to investigate the mesenchymal cell-based chondrogenic regenerating mechanisms and possible their regulation. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of intracellular calcium (iCa²⁺) and its regulation through voltage-operated calcium channels (VOCC) on chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells derived from human bone marrow (BMMSCs) and menstrual blood (MenSCs) in comparison to OA chondrocytes. The level of iCa²⁺ was highest in chondrocytes, whereas iCa²⁺ store capacity was biggest in MenSCs and they proliferated better as compared to other cells. The level of CaV1.2 channels was also highest in OA chondrocytes than in other cells. CaV1.2 antagonist nifedipine slightly suppressed iCa²⁺, Cav1.2 and the proliferation of all cells and affected iCa²⁺ stores, particularly in BMMSCs. The expression of the CaV1.2 gene during 21 days of chondrogenic differentiation was highest in MenSCs, showing the weakest chondrogenic differentiation, which was stimulated by the nifedipine. The best chondrogenic differentiation potential showed BMMSCs (SOX9 and COL2A1 expression); however, purposeful iCa²⁺ and VOCC regulation by blockers can stimulate a chondrogenic response at least in MenSCs.Abstract Cartilage is an avascular tissue and sensitive to mechanical trauma and/or age-related degenerative processes leading to the development of osteoarthritis (OA). Therefore, it is important to investigate the mesenchymal cell-based chondrogenic regenerating mechanisms and possible their regulation. The aim of this study was to investigate the role of intracellular calcium (iCa²⁺) and its regulation through voltage-operated calcium channels (VOCC) on chondrogenic differentiation of mesenchymal stem/stromal cells derived from human bone marrow (BMMSCs) and menstrual blood (MenSCs) in comparison to OA chondrocytes. The level of iCa²⁺ was highest in chondrocytes, whereas iCa²⁺ store capacity was biggest in MenSCs and they proliferated better as compared to other cells. The level of CaV1.2 channels was also highest in OA chondrocytes than in other cells. CaV1.2 antagonist nifedipine slightly suppressed iCa²⁺, Cav1.2 and the proliferation of all cells and affected iCa²⁺ stores, particularly in BMMSCs. The expression of the CaV1.2 gene during 21 days of chondrogenic differentiation was highest in MenSCs, showing the weakest chondrogenic differentiation, which was stimulated by the nifedipine. The best chondrogenic differentiation potential showed BMMSCs (SOX9 and COL2A1 expression); however, purposeful iCa²⁺ and VOCC regulation by blockers can stimulate a chondrogenic response at least in MenSCs

COVID-19 and Environment: Impacts of a Global Pandemic

This is a reprint of the MDPI IJERPH Special Issue entitled "COVID-19 and Environment: Impacts of a Global Pandemic". The reprint consists of 17 papers with different topics related to the COVID-19 pandemic and environmental impacts using data from different countries all over the globe

A History of Materials and Technologies Development

The purpose of the book is to provide the students with the text that presents an introductory knowledge about the development of materials and technologies and includes the most commonly available information on human development. The idea of the publication has been generated referring to the materials taken from the organic and non-organic evolution of nature. The suggested texts might be found a purposeful tool for the University students proceeding with studying engineering due to the fact that all subjects in this particular field more or less have to cover the history and development of the studied object. It is expected that studying different materials and technologies will help the students with a better understanding of driving forces, positive and negative consequences of technological development, etc

Solid Waste Management (SWM) at a University Campus (Part 1/10): Comprehensive-Review on Legal Framework and Background to Waste Management, at a Global Context

This-work, being the-first, in-a-series of 10, was intended to-provide a-sufficient-introductory to SWM; yet, it can also-be-treated-as an-independent and a-complete-piece. This-article starts-with a-concentrated-digest (synthesized from over 400 published-reference-documents), providing a-starting point, for readers, interested in-advanced-investigation on the-topic. As-such, the-following-issues were presented and analyzed: SWM history; Global and regional-generation-rates; WM-‘value-chain’; SWM-technologies; Impacts of uncontrolled-SW; International-Conventions, Protocols, Agreements, and commitments, addressing SWM, and their-analysis; as-well-as Global-SWM-practices (including municipal-waste management) and current-challenges, incorporating POPs. It was concluded, that waste is completely-unavoidable in-any, and every-human-activity; however, the-way the-waste is handled, stored, collected, and disposed-off, will-determine the-quality of our-surrounding-environment, to-be-either; clean, pleasant, healthy, and sustainable, or filthy, disgusting, harmful, and wasteful. The-way each-individual, company/organization, government, and society, at-large, deal with their-waste, will-eventually-determine our-own-future, as-humans. The-study also justified, that the-waste should-be-treated as a-resource, as it still-contains many-valuable-materials. The-study also-offered a-new-analogy; the-sustainable SWM-system should-be analogous to-a-digestive-system, extracting all-the-recyclables from the-waste, and only then discarding, the-small-remainder/waste. The-author, also-believes that Recycling (with a-capital R) is the-future of human-civilization; however, it must be done in the-environmentally sound-sustainable-manner, to-protect health of workers, and also to-extract the-optimum-amount of valuable-materials, from the-waste. This-study also-exposed, that despite the-existence of International, regional, and multilateral-agreements, illegal-trafficking of hazardous, toxic, radioactive, and e-waste, is still widely-practiced. Such-practices can-be regarded-as Environmental-racism, conducted by, or with the-help of, an-international-‘eco-mafia’. Environmental-racism was analyzed against human-rights; in-the-context of both; the-Universal-Declaration of Human-Rights and the-generation-approach. The-author also-justified, that Environmental-racism is real, alive, and widespread-global-trend, affecting many, if not all-countries. Environmental-racism is a-sin, against humanity; logically, as any-sin, it should-be exposed, condemned, and fought against, with every-fibre, of impartiality, left in-us. The-study also-exposed an-increasing-interest of majority of African-countries in inherently-dangerous nuclear-energy (with its-by-product--radioactive-waste); the-recommendation was offered, to-shift their-interest to clean/green/renewable-energy-sector, particularly solar-energy. There is also a-common-prejudiced stereotyped-misconception, that, in-the-developed-countries almost-everything (including WM) is: superior, brainy, flawless, highly-organized, and tidy; in-contrast, in-developing countries, and particularly in-the-‘dark’-continent of Africa, almost-everything (including WM) is substandard, mediocre, unsound, ad-hoc, and filthy. The-selected-examples, provided in-this-paper, will, possibly, demonstrate, that the-current-situation, at-least, with-regard-to WM, is not so ‘black and white’. This-paper has also-offered several-recommendations for further-research. Lastly, this-article does not claim to-be fully comprehensive, as it-is physically-impossible ‘to-fill an-ocean into a-small-cup’, and even the-most-comprehensive-review, have to-stop, at a-certain-point. Nevertheless, the-cohesive-theoretical-background, alongside-with author’s analytical-scholarly-input, hopefully provides a-credible-contribution to-the-body of knowledge, on-the-subject-matter, as-well-as a ‘food-for-thought’. With anticipation, this-work will not only attract, but also hold, considerable-attention, from SWM stakeholders, and other-interested-parties, both; locally and internationally. Keywords: Environmental racism, Convention, human rights, ‘eco’ mafia, POPs, e-waste, toxic, hazardous, radioactive, nuclear plants, solar energy, Africa.

ATHENA Research Book, Volume 2

ATHENA European University is an association of nine higher education institutions with the mission of promoting excellence in research and innovation by enabling international cooperation. The acronym ATHENA stands for Association of Advanced Technologies in Higher Education. Partner institutions are from France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Lithuania, Portugal and Slovenia: University of Orléans, University of Siegen, Hellenic Mediterranean University, Niccolò Cusano University, Vilnius Gediminas Technical University, Polytechnic Institute of Porto and University of Maribor. In 2022, two institutions joined the alliance: the Maria Curie-Skłodowska University from Poland and the University of Vigo from Spain. Also in 2022, an institution from Austria joined the alliance as an associate member: Carinthia University of Applied Sciences. This research book presents a selection of the research activities of ATHENA University's partners. It contains an overview of the research activities of individual members, a selection of the most important bibliographic works of members, peer-reviewed student theses, a descriptive list of ATHENA lectures and reports from individual working sections of the ATHENA project. The ATHENA Research Book provides a platform that encourages collaborative and interdisciplinary research projects by advanced and early career researchers

Weathering:Ecologies of Exposure

Weathering is atmospheric, geological, temporal, transformative. It implies exposure to the elements and processes of wearing down, disintegration, or accrued patina. Weathering can also denote the ways in which subjects and objects resist and pass through storms and adversity. This volume contemplates weathering across many fields and disciplines; its contributions examine various surfaces, environments, scales, temporalities, and vulnerabilities. What does it mean to weather or withstand? Who or what is able to pass through safely? What is lost or gained in the process