Cardiovascular risk management in type 2 diabetes of more than 10-year duration: Results of Polish ARETAEUS2-Grupa Study

Background: ARETAEUS 1 study showed that a great majority of patients with type 2 dia­betes mellitus (T2DM) of short duration did not meet all of the treatment goals. Since then the treatment goals in T2DM have been changed. The aim of the ARETAEUS 2-Grupa Study was to assess cardiovascular (CV) risk management and meeting treatment goals in the population of T2DM of more than 10-year duration. Methods: ARETAEUS2-Grupa was a cross-sectional questionnaire-based study conducted in Poland in 2012. Randomly selected physicians recruited 1,740 patients with T2DM diag­nosed more than 10 years before the study. Results: Lipid treatment goals were met respectively: for total cholesterol in 34.5% of all patients, triglycerides in 53.8%, low density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in 26.5% and high density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) in 38.2%. Most of patients with and without coronary artery disease were receiving aspirin (90.3% and 60%, respectively) and statins (84.4% and 67.7%, respectively). The current blood pressure (BP) goal (140/90 mm Hg) was met in 43.5% of pa­tients and the previous goal (< 130/80 mm Hg) in 12.4%. The patients were mainly treated with ≥ 3 antihypertensive drugs. All treatment goals (for HbA1c, BP and LDL-C) were reached only by 8.2% of patients, any two goals by 26.3% of patients, one goal by 39.8% of patients, none by 25.6% of patients. Conclusions: The new less restrictive treatment goals are reached more frequently but still much is to be done in the field of clinical practice guidelines implementation and CV prevention in T2DM population

Manganites at Quarter Filling: Role of Jahn-Teller Interactions

We have analyzed different correlation functions in a realistic spin-orbital model for half-doped manganites. Using a finite-temperature diagonalization technique the CE phase was found in the charge-ordered phase in the case of small antiferromagnetic interactions between $t_{2g}$ electrons. It is shown that a key ingredient responsible for stabilization of the CE-type spin and orbital-ordered state is the cooperative Jahn-Teller (JT) interaction between next-nearest Mn$^{+3}$ neighbors mediated by the breathing mode distortion of Mn$^{+4}$ octahedra and displacements of Mn$^{+4}$ ions. The topological phase factor in the Mn-Mn hopping leading to gap formation in one-dimensional models for the CE phase as well as the nearest neighbor JT coupling are not able to produce the zigzag chains typical for the CE phase in our model.Comment: 16 pages with 16 figures, contains a more detailed parameter estimate based on the structural data by Radaelli et al. (accepted for publication in Phys. Rev. B

Magnetic polarons in weakly doped high-Tc superconductors

We consider a spin Hamiltonian describing $d$-$d$ exchange interactions between localized spins $d$ of a finite antiferromagnet as well as $p$-$d$ interactions between a conducting hole ($p$) and localized spins. The spin Hamiltonian is solved numerically with use of Lanczos method of diagonalization. We conclude that $p$-$d$ exchange interaction leads to localization of magnetic polarons. Quantum fluctuations of the antiferromagnet strengthen this effect and make the formation of polarons localized in one site possible even for weak $p$-$d$ coupling. Total energy calculations, including the kinetic energy, do not change essentially the phase diagram of magnetic polarons formation. For parameters reasonable for high-$T_c$ superconductors either a polaron localized on one lattice cell or a small ferron can form. For reasonable values of the dielectric function and $p$-$d$ coupling, the contributions of magnetic and phonon terms in the formation of a polaron in weakly doped high-$T_c$ materials are comparable.Comment: revised, revtex-4, 12 pages 8 eps figure

Processing optimization with parallel computing for the J-PET tomography scanner

The Jagiellonian-PET (J-PET) collaboration is developing a prototype TOF-PET detector based on long polymer scintillators. This novel approach exploits the excellent time properties of the plastic scintillators, which permit very precise time measurements. The very fast, FPGA-based front-end electronics and the data acquisition system, as well as, low- and high-level reconstruction algorithms were specially developed to be used with the J-PET scanner. The TOF-PET data processing and reconstruction are time and resource demanding operations, especially in case of a large acceptance detector, which works in triggerless data acquisition mode. In this article, we discuss the parallel computing methods applied to optimize the data processing for the J-PET detector. We begin with general concepts of parallel computing and then we discuss several applications of those techniques in the J-PET data processing.Comment: 8 page

Feasibility studies of the polarization of photons beyond the optical wavelength regime with the J-PET detector

J-PET is a detector optimized for registration of photons from the electron-positron annihilation via plastic scintillators where photons interact predominantly via Compton scattering. Registration of both primary and scattered photons enables to determinate the linear polarization of the primary photon on the event by event basis with a certain probability. Here we present quantitative results on the feasibility of such polarization measurements of photons from the decay of positronium with the J-PET and explore the physical limitations for the resolution of the polarization determination of 511 keV photons via Compton scattering. For scattering angles of about 82 deg (where the best contrast for polarization measurement is theoretically predicted) we find that the single event resolution for the determination of the polarization is about 40 deg (predominantly due to properties of the Compton effect). However, for samples larger than ten thousand events the J-PET is capable of determining relative average polarization of these photons with the precision of about few degrees. The obtained results open new perspectives for studies of various physics phenomena such as quantum entanglement and tests of discrete symmetries in decays of positronium and extend the energy range of polarization measurements by five orders of magnitude beyond the optical wavelength regime.Comment: 10 pages, 14 figures, submitted to EPJ

Ogniska zakażeń szpitalnych w województwie małopolskim w latach 2011-2013

Despite the continuous advances of medicine and higher safety standards for patients, nosocomial infections are a major problem accompanying of treatment process. Infected patients are exposed to prolonged hospital stay, require additional medical procedures, theresofore their treatment and care are associated with additional costs for health facility. In the present study the number of outbreaks of nosocomial infections, which occurred in hospitals in the Malopolska province and in Poland, as well as etiological factors of the infections in the years 2011–2013 were analyzed. In the analyzed period we observed increase in the number of outbreaks of infections in Poland and in Malopolska (from 339 to 394 and from 19 to 26 in Poland and Malopolska respectively). The most frequently identified factor is C. difficile and Rotavirus, followed by K. pneumoniae ESBL, and Norovirus. There was a decrease in the number of outbreaks of unknown etiology, both in Poland and in Malopolska. The analysis identified an increase in the number of outbreaks caused by C. difficile, Noroviruses and Rotaviruses, as the main problem in the recent years. This trend occurs in the Malopolska region and in the country. However, the analysis of the reports shows improved reportability of outbreaks in Malopolska and in Poland which will allow for better control of nosocomial infections

Bilayer manganites: polarons in the midst of a metallic breakdown

The exact nature of the low temperature electronic phase of the manganite materials family, and hence the origin of their colossal magnetoresistant (CMR) effect, is still under heavy debate. By combining new photoemission and tunneling data, we show that in La{2-2x}Sr{1+2x}Mn2O7 the polaronic degrees of freedom win out across the CMR region of the phase diagram. This means that the generic ground state is that of a system in which strong electron-lattice interactions result in vanishing coherent quasi-particle spectral weight at the Fermi level for all locations in k-space. The incoherence of the charge carriers offers a unifying explanation for the anomalous charge-carrier dynamics seen in transport, optics and electron spectroscopic data. The stacking number N is the key factor for true metallic behavior, as an intergrowth-driven breakdown of the polaronic domination to give a metal possessing a traditional Fermi surface is seen in the bilayer system.Comment: 7 pages, 2 figures, includes supplementary informatio