Struktura doznań stresowych pacjentów w zespole bólowym odcinka lędźwiowego kręgosłupa podczas epidemii COVID-19 w Polsce

Introduction. The rapid transmission of the SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus has prompted government officials from many countries around the world to introduce severe epidemic restrictions to reduce the risk of developing coronavirus disease (COVID-19). However, apart from the necessity to protect somatic health, it turned out in a relatively short time that the pandemic also posed a serious threat to the mental functioning of many people.Aim. The aim of the study is assessing the structure of stressful experiences of women and men in the pain syndrome of the lumbar spine during the COVID-19 epidemic in Poland.Material and Methods. The study sample consists of 102 patients hospitalized in the Department of Neurosurgery and Pediatric Neurosurgery of the Independent Public Clinical Hospital No. 4 in Lublin. The first group is women, the second is men. The research used the KPS Questionnaire and a proprietary questionnaire. Statistical analyses were carried out using the IBM SPSS 25 program using the two-factor analysis of variance in the mixed schema included in the multivariate OML model.Results. In the group of women, 49.0% of patients feel high stress, 31.4% — moderate, and 19.6% — low. In the male population, 37.3% of the respondents exhibited high stress, 51.0% — average and 11.7% — low. Women exhibit lower emotional tension but higher external stress than men. In addition, the patients have the highest emotional tension and external stress, and the lowest — intrapsychic stress. In men, emotional tension dominates, next is external stress, and intrapsychic stress is significantly lower than them.Conclusions. The obtained data suggest that when designing interventions supporting the mental functioning of this group of patients, consideration should be given to taking into account individual differences identified in the studies. (JNNN 2021;10(3):96–104)Wstęp. Szybka transmisja koronawirusa SARS-CoV-2 skłoniła przedstawicieli rządów wielu państw na całym świecie do wprowadzenia surowych ograniczeń epidemicznych, mających na celu ograniczenie ryzyka rozwoju choroby koronawirusowej (COVID-19). Jednak poza koniecznością ochrony stanu zdrowia somatycznego, w stosunkowo krótkim czasie okazało się, iż występująca pandemia stanowi również poważne zagrożenie dla funkcjonowania psychicznego wielu osób.Cel. Celem badań jest określenie struktury doświadczeń stresowych kobiet i mężczyzn w zespole bólowym odcinka lędźwiowego kręgosłupa podczas epidemii COVID-19 w Polsce.Materiał i metody. Badaną próbę tworzy 102 pacjentów hospitalizowanych w Klinice Neurochirurgii i Neurochirurgii Dziecięcej Samodzielnego Publicznego Szpitala Klinicznego nr 4 w Lublinie. Pierwszą grupę stanowią kobiety, a drugą mężczyźni. W badaniach zastosowano Kwestionariusz KPS oraz ankietę. Analizy statystyczne przeprowadzono za pomocą programu IBM SPSS 25 z wykorzystaniem dwuczynnikowej analizy wariancji w schemacie mieszanym wchodzącej w skład wielozmiennowego modelu OML.Wyniki. W grupie kobiet 49,0% pacjentek odczuwa wysoki stres, 31,4% — umiarkowany, a 19,6% — niski. W populacji mężczyzn 37,3% badanych ujawnia wysoki stres, 51,0% — przeciętny i 11,7% — niski. Kobiety wykazują niższe napięcie emocjonalne, ale wyższy stres zewnętrzny niż mężczyźni. Ponadto pacjentki w największym stopniu mają nasilone napięcie emocjonalne i stres zewnętrzny, a w najniższym stres intrapsychiczny. U mężczyzn dominuje napięcie emocjonalne, następnie jest to stres zewnętrzny, a stres intrapsychiczny jest istotnie od nich niższy.Wnioski. Uzyskane dane sugerują, iż podczas opracowywania interwencji wspierających funkcjonowanie psychiczne tej grupy pacjentów należy rozważyć uwzględnienie zidentyfikowanych w badaniach różnic indywidualnych. (PNN 2021;10(3):96–104

p21/Wafl/Cipl cellular expression in chronic long-lasting hepatitis C: correlation with HCV proteins (C, NS3, NS5A), other cell-cycle related proteins and selected clinical data.

Studies indicate that proteins of hepatitis C virus (HCV) disturb expression of cell-cycle-related proteins. A disturbed cell-cycle control is a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk factor in patients with HCV-related liver damage. The present study aimed to analyse the cellular expression of p21/Wafl/Cipl (p21) in long-lasting chronic hepatitis C (CH-C), its correlation with the key oncogenic HCV proteins (C, NS3, NS5A), other cell-cycle-related proteins (PCNA, Ki-67, cyclin D1, p53) and selected clinical data. Archival liver biopsies, obtained from patients with CH-C, normal livers, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) specimens were analysed by immunocytochemistry and ImmunoMax technique. In CH-C overexpression of p21 protein was demonstrated. Positive correlations of p21 protein expression in CH-C involved age of the patients, grading, and liver steatosis. Moreover, expression of p21 correlated significantly with expression of p53 protein, of D1 cyclin and Ki-67. Although Ki-67 antigen was related to p21 expression, only Ki-67 expression proved to be directly related to liver staging. Expression of the NS3 protein, which prevailed in CH-C patients, manifested correlation with p21 expression, and that of cyclin D1. In presence of preserved potential for regeneration, overexpression of p21 indicates inhibition of cell cycle in hepatocytes, which probably plays a protective role for the chronically damaged cells. Out of the three HCV proteins only NS3 seems to affect control of p21 protein expression in in vivo infection. Nevertheless, the studies indicate that neither expression of p21 protein nor that of viral NS3 protein can serve as a marker of progression of CH-C to HCC in vivo

La capacité de lecture face aux exigences de nouveaux examens externes en Pologne

Der Band enthält die Abstracts ausschließlich in englischer Sprache.The way reading literacy is conceptualised has changed over the last decades. Regarding comprehension as deep processing, in which skimming or scanning neither encourage the reader to engage in texts nor lead to the expected levels of understanding has influenced the way reading literacy is taught and assessed. The aim of the article is to analyse new task types introduced to the external exams as well as to provide evidence that the changes in the exam format reflect the way reading comprehension skills have recently been conceptualised. The analysis of the exam tasks is preceded by an overview of the recent trends in conceptualising L2 reading literacy.L'article contient uniquement les résumés en anglais

Sporadic Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease : a case report of long disease duration and difficulties in confirming the diagnosis with short literature review

Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) is a spongiform encephalopathy with the fatal outcome, caused by the accumulation of pathological prion protein in the central nervous system (CNS). CJD is classified into four types: sporadic (sCJD), familial or genetic (fCJD), iatrogenic (iCJD) and variant form (vCJD). The recognition of CJD is based on the clinical presentation, neuroimaging, electroencephalography and biochemical tests. The hyperintense signals in basal ganglia on brain magnetic resonance imaging (MRI), periodic sharp and slow wave complexes (PSWCs) in the electroencephalogram as well as presence of neuronal proteins such as protein 14-3-3 in the cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) support the diagnosis. The definite diagnosis of CJD still demands neuropathological confirmation. We report the case of a 56-year-old woman with the rapidly progressive cognitive impairment, motor dysfunctions and the fulminant neurological deterioration to akinetic mutism during the five weeks’ hospitalisation. The probable diagnosis of sCJD was based on medical history and characteristic findings in MRI. The positive result of the real-time quaking-induced conversion (RT-QuIC) test and presence of protein 14-3-3 were obtained post-mortem and definite diagnosis was confirmed by neuropathological examination. In this paper we would like to emphasize the difficulties in reaching the diagnosis and the need for a series of diagnostic examinations in different points of time to obtain the confirming results

Nanostructured Titanium-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass-Ag Composite Foams for Medical Applications

The article presents an investigation on the effectiveness of nanostructured titanium-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass-1 wt% Ag composite foams as a novel class of antibacterial materials for medical applications. The Ti-based composite foams were prepared by the combination of mechanical alloying and a “space-holder” sintering process. In the first step, the Ti-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass-1 wt% Ag powder synthesized by mechanical alloying and annealing mixed with 1.0 mm diameter of saccharose crystals was finally compacted in the form of pellets. In the next step, the saccharose crystals were dissolved in water, leaving open spaces surrounded by metallic-bioceramic scaffold. The sintering of the scaffold leads to foam formation. It was found that 1:1 Ti-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass-1 wt% Ag/sugar ratio leads to porosities of about 70% with pore diameter of about 0.3–1.1 mm. The microstructure, corrosion resistance in Ringer’s solution of the produced foams were investigated. The value of the compression strength for the Ti-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass-1 wt% Ag foam with 70% porosity was 1.5 MPa and the Young’s modulus was 34 MPa. Silver modified Ti-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass composites possess excellent antibacterial activities against Staphylococcus aureus. Porous Ti-10 wt% 45S5 Bioglass-1 wt% foam could be a possible candidate for medical implants applications

The Influence of Maternal-Foetal Parameters on Concentrations of Zonulin and Calprotectin in the Blood and Stool of Healthy Newborns during the First Seven Days of Life. An Observational Prospective Cohort Study

Background: It can be hypothetically assumed that maternal and perinatal factors influence the intestinal barrier. Methods: The study was conducted with 100 healthy, full-term newborns breastfed in the first week of life, with similar analyses for their mothers. Zonulin and calprotectin levels were used as intestinal permeability markers. Results: The median (range) zonulin concentrations (ng/mL) were in mothers: serum, 21.39 (6.39–57.54); stool, 82.23 (42.52–225.74); and newborns: serum cord blood, 11.14 (5.82–52.34); meconium, 54.15 (1.36–700.65); and stool at age seven days, 114.41 (29.38–593.72). Calprotectin median (range) concentrations (µg/mL) in mothers were: stool, 74.79 (3.89–211.77); and newborns: meconium, 154.76 (6.93–8884.11); and stool at age seven days 139.12 (11.89–627.35). The use of antibiotics during pregnancy resulted in higher zonulin concentrations in umbilical-cord serum and calprotectin concentrations in newborn stool at seven days, while antibiotic therapy during labour resulted in higher zonulin concentrations in the stool of newborns at seven days. Zonulin concentrations in the stool of newborns (at seven days) who were born via caesarean section were higher compared to with vaginal birth. With further analyses, caesarean section was found to have a greater effect on zonulin concentrations than prophylactic administration of antibiotics in the perinatal period. Pregnancy mass gain >18 kg was associated with higher calprotectin concentrations in maternal stool. Body Mass Index (BMI) increase >5.7 during pregnancy was associated with decreased zonulin concentrations in maternal stool and increased calprotectin concentrations in stool of mothers and newborns at seven days. There was also a negative correlation between higher BMI increase in pregnancy and maternal zonulin stool concentrations and a positive correlation between BMI increase in pregnancy and maternal calprotectin stool concentrations. Conclusion: Maternal-foetal factors such as caesarean section, antibiotic therapy during pregnancy, as well as change in mother’s BMI during pregnancy may increase intestinal permeability in newborns. Changes in body mass during pregnancy can also affect intestinal permeability in mothers. However, health consequences associated with increased intestinal permeability during the first days of life are unknown. Additionally, before the zonulin and calprotectin tests can be adopted as universal diagnostic applications to assess increased intestinal permeability, validation of these tests is necessary

p21/Wafl/Cipl cellular expression in chronic long-lasting hepatitis C: correlation with HCV proteins (C, NS3, NS5A), other cell-cycle related proteins and selected clinical data.

Studies indicate that proteins of hepatitis C virus (HCV) disturb expression of cell-cycle-related proteins. A disturbed cell-cycle control is a hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) risk factor in patients with HCV-related liver damage. The present study aimed to analyse the cellular expression of p21/Wafl/Cipl (p21) in long-lasting chronic hepatitis C (CH-C), its correlation with the key oncogenic HCV proteins (C, NS3, NS5A), other cell-cycle-related proteins (PCNA, Ki-67, cyclin D1, p53) and selected clinical data. Archival liver biopsies, obtained from patients with CH-C, normal livers, and hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) specimens were analysed by immunocytochemistry and ImmunoMax technique. In CH-C overexpression of p21 protein was demonstrated. Positive correlations of p21 protein expression in CH-C involved age of the patients, grading, and liver steatosis. Moreover, expression of p21 correlated significantly with expression of p53 protein, of D1 cyclin and Ki-67. Although Ki-67 antigen was related to p21 expression, only Ki-67 expression proved to be directly related to liver staging. Expression of the NS3 protein, which prevailed in CH-C patients, manifested correlation with p21 expression, and that of cyclin D1. In presence of preserved potential for regeneration, overexpression of p21 indicates inhibition of cell cycle in hepatocytes, which probably plays a protective role for the chronically damaged cells. Out of the three HCV proteins only NS3 seems to affect control of p21 protein expression in in vivo infection. Nevertheless, the studies indicate that neither expression of p21 protein nor that of viral NS3 protein can serve as a marker of progression of CH-C to HCC in vivo

Analysis of the Influence of Pre-Pregnancy BMI and Weight Gain during Pregnancy on the Weight of Healthy Children during the First 2 Years of Life: A Prospective Study

Background: Increased pre-pregnancy maternal BMI (pBMI) and gestational weight gain (GWG) have been found to increase infants’ birthweight and result in the programming of child weight and impact its later weight gain. Aim: To assess the impact of pBMI and GWG on the weight of children from birth to 2 years of age and over the duration of breastfeeding. Methods: Single Centre observational prospective longitudinal cohort study. Data were collected from medical records, and medical history. The analysis of multiple linear and mixed models was involved. Findings: 20% of females were overweight, while 13% were obese before the pregnancy. An overall model, including gender and smoking, indicated a significant impact of pBMI category on a child’s birth mass (p = 0.01). The GWG category affected a child’s birth weight (p = 0.018, Effect size 0.41). pBMI did not affect the breastfeeding duration. Conclusion: pBMI and GWG correlate with birth weight and weight in neonatal period, however they become insignificant in later childhood. Weight assessment methods among children aged up to two years of age require standardization. Maternal weight before the pregnancy nor the weight gain during the pregnancy do not influence the length of breastfeeding. The biggest limitation was the small sample size and the failure to account for weight gain per trimester of pregnancy. Further research on a larger population should be continued

Intracellular expression of the proliferative marker Ki-67 and viral proteins (NS3, NS5A and C) in chronic, long lasting hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection.

Hepatitis C virus (HCV) continues to represent the main causative agent of the hepatitis, which leads to chronic transformation of the process in 60-80% individuals. It remains unclear how far cellular expression of HCV proteins in vivo may represent an index of progression of the disease and of proliferative activity in the liver in chronic hepatitis C. Aim of the studies included detection and subcellular localization of three HCV proteins (NS3, NS5A and C) in liver biopsies from adults (n=19) with chronic, long lasting hepatitis C as related to hepatocyte proliferative activity. The immunocytochemical ABC (avidin biotin-peroxidase complex) technique was applied, alone or associated with the ImmunoMax technique. Results of the immunocytochemical tests were compared to histological alterations in liver biopsies, proliferation index and with selected clinical data. A significantly higher expression of NS3 protein was noted, as compared to expressions of NS5A and C proteins. In all the patients, cytoplasmic localization of all proteins dominated over nuclear localization (p0.05). At the level of electron microscopy, protein localization in endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membranes, mitochondria, perinuclear region and/or in hepatocyte cell nucleus was observed. No direct relationships could be demonstrated between expressions of HCV proteins and of Ki-67 antigen. No correlations could also be demonstrated between cellular expression of any HCV protein on one hand and grading or staging, alanine transaminase (ALT), serum level of HCV RNA or alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) on the other. However, positive correlations were disclosed between proliferative activity of hepatocytes on one hand and patient's age, grading and staging on the other. Advanced hepatic fibrosis correlated also with serum levels of AFP. The studies were supplemented with data on subcellular localization of HCV proteins. Moreover, they indicated that in HCV infection grading and staging, proliferative activity of hepatocytes and serum AFP level represent more valuable indices of the disease progress than those provided by cellular expression of three potentially oncogenic HCV proteins in vivo