Studia z Dziejów Państwa i Prawa Polskiego T. XXI Badania nad rozwojem instytucji politycznych i prawnych

Tytuł finansowany przez: Krakowską Akademię im. Andrzeja Frycza Modrzewskiego, Uniwersytet im. Marii Curie-Skłodowskiej w Lublinie, Uniwersytet Gdański, Uniwersytet Warszawsk

The Comet Interceptor Mission

Here we describe the novel, multi-point Comet Interceptor mission. It is dedicated to the exploration of a little-processed long-period comet, possibly entering the inner Solar System for the first time, or to encounter an interstellar object originating at another star. The objectives of the mission are to address the following questions: What are the surface composition, shape, morphology, and structure of the target object? What is the composition of the gas and dust in the coma, its connection to the nucleus, and the nature of its interaction with the solar wind? The mission was proposed to the European Space Agency in 2018, and formally adopted by the agency in June 2022, for launch in 2029 together with the Ariel mission. Comet Interceptor will take advantage of the opportunity presented by ESA’s F-Class call for fast, flexible, low-cost missions to which it was proposed. The call required a launch to a halo orbit around the Sun-Earth L2 point. The mission can take advantage of this placement to wait for the discovery of a suitable comet reachable with its minimum ΔV capability of 600 ms−1. Comet Interceptor will be unique in encountering and studying, at a nominal closest approach distance of 1000 km, a comet that represents a near-pristine sample of material from the formation of the Solar System. It will also add a capability that no previous cometary mission has had, which is to deploy two sub-probes – B1, provided by the Japanese space agency, JAXA, and B2 – that will follow different trajectories through the coma. While the main probe passes at a nominal 1000 km distance, probes B1 and B2 will follow different chords through the coma at distances of 850 km and 400 km, respectively. The result will be unique, simultaneous, spatially resolved information of the 3-dimensional properties of the target comet and its interaction with the space environment. We present the mission’s science background leading to these objectives, as well as an overview of the scientific instruments, mission design, and schedule

The extent of lymphadenectomy in endometrial cancer and its effect on blood loss and procedure duration

The clinical staging of endometrial cancer is performed based on surgical-pathological criteria. The extent of lymph node dissection represents a clinical problem. The study was performed in order to assess the occurrence of metastases in iliac and para-aortic lymph nodes as well as to compare selected surgical risk factors in the case of extending the surgery with the dissection of these lymph nodes. The control group included 27 patients undergoing hysterectomy with iliac lymph node dissection; the study group included 30 patients after iliac and para-aortic lymph node removal. The incidence of metastases was assessed as well as the duration of procedure and intraoperative blood loss were compared. Metastases to lymph nodes were found in 10 (17.5%) females. Iliac lymph node metastases were detected in four patients (14.8%) in group I. In group II, metastases were detected in six (20%) patients: isolated para-aortic metastases in two patients (6.67%), para-aortic and iliac metastases in four (13.33%) patients. Statistically significant difference (p = 0.0035) was found in the duration of procedures: the median was 102.5 minutes for iliac lymphadenectomy, and 132.5 minutes for iliac/para-aortic lymphadenectomy; the maximum duration of iliac/para-aortic lymphadenectomy was 20 minutes longer. There was no statistically significant difference in blood loss (p = 0.4980). However, significantly higher maximum blood loss volume was noticeable in the study group. It is necessary to adjust the para-aortic lymphadenectomy in endometrial cancer to patient’s health status as well as to make maximum use of preoperative diagnostics. The procedure should be performed by a specialist experienced in gynecologic oncology to minimize the surgical risk. Information on lymph node status is the most important prognostic factor in endometrial cancer, which allows for a proper qualification for adjuvant therapy

Role of splenectomy in surgical treatment of ovarian cancer

In the treatment of ovarian cancer, surgery, chemotherapy or possibly radiotherapy are applied. The scope of surgery is the most significant prognostic factor. Complete cytoreduction is the optimal surgical method. Most frequently, ovarian carcinoma does not involve only the reproductive system, but spreads throughout the peritoneal cavity. In some cases, splenic involvement is found during a surgery. In such cases the surgery should be supplemented with splenectomy – when the spleen is removed as an additional procedure during the operation or as an element of the en bloc removal of the tumor along with the omentum, colon and gastrocolic ligament. Such an extended operation results in only slightly increased number of complications and has no significant impact on the quality of life of ovarian cancer patients. It often enables full cytoreduction. Complications of this part of the operation predominantly include hemorrhage, thromboembolism, infection and, in the case of en bloc operation, anastomotic separation within the gastrointestinal tract. The data available report increased number of intraoperative blood transfusions. The procedure in question is most frequently carried out during a secondary cytoreductive surgery. Despite the lack of recommendations, such procedures should be performed by a surgical team experienced in operations in the upper abdominal cavity. The treatment should be complemented with state-of-the-art chemotherapy. This kind of treatment requires establishing a national network of oncological centers dealing with combined therapies of malignant neoplasms.W terapii raka jajnika stosuje się leczenie chirurgiczne, chemioterapię i, ewentualnie, radioterapię. Zakres leczenia operacyjnego stanowi najistotniejszy czynnik prognostyczny. Całkowita cytoredukcja jest optymalną opcją leczenia chirurgicznego. Rak jajnika najczęściej dotyczy nie tylko narządu rodnego, ale również jamy otrzewnej. U niektórych chorych podczas zabiegów stwierdzane są przerzuty do śledziony. W takich przypadkach procedura chirurgiczna powinna być uzupełniona o wycięcie śledziony, która jest usuwana dodatkowo w trakcie zabiegu lub jako element operacji en bloc guza wraz z siecią, okrężnicą i więzadłem żołądkowo-okrężniczym. Takie poszerzenie zabiegu powoduje tylko nieznaczne zwiększenie liczby powikłań i nie wpływa znacząco na jakość życia chorych. Zabieg ten często umożliwia uzyskanie pełnej cytoredukcji. Do powikłań tej części zabiegu należą głównie powikłania krwotoczne, zakrzepowo-zatorowe, infekcje oraz w przypadkach operacji en bloc – rozejścia zespoleń w układzie pokarmowym. Dostępne dane wskazują na zwiększoną liczbę śródoperacyjnych przetoczeń krwi. Zazwyczaj zabieg ten jest wykonywany podczas wtórnej operacji cytoredukcyjnej. Pomimo braku takich zaleceń operację powinien wykonywać zespół doświadczony w przeprowadzaniu zabiegów w górnym piętrze jamy brzusznej. Leczenie należy uzupełnić o nowoczesną chemioterapię. Taki model postępowania wymaga utworzenia ogólnokrajowej sieci ośrodków onkologicznych, zajmujących się leczeniem skojarzonym nowotworów złośliwych

Comparison of INTEGRA and the Manual Method to Determine the Axis for Intraocular Lens Implantation—A Case Series of 60 Eyes

(1) Background: To compare the results of a new intraoperative contactless device (INTEGRA Optomed, Poland) with the result of a manual method for determining the axis for toric intraocular lens implantation. (2) Material and Methods: This retrospective observational study included 60 eyes of 40 patients (17 men, 23 women) who had toric intraocular lenses implanted. A video recording of each surgery that used the INTEGRA system was made for the analysis. Two researchers then independently assessed the location of the implant axes determined with both digital and manual slit-lamp methods, and compared the results between methods. (3) Results: The implantation axes suggested through the manual and INTEGRA methods were similar. The median axis disparities were 0.0 degrees for both groups. The standard deviation was 0.63 and 0.75 for researcher 1 and 2, respectively. The dominant value was 0.0 in both groups. The INTEGRA axis designation was statistically significantly different from the manual method for researcher 1 (p p = 0.79). (4) Conclusions: The INTEGRA system is a digital ink-free device for image tracking scleral vessels. It was helpful for determining the implantation axis in a precise manner, and the measurements were comparable with those obtained through a manual technique

3-D-Printed Flat Optics for THz Linear Scanners

THz beam shaping via a single diffractive optical element is used to convert a divergent beam into a focal line segment perpendicular to the optical axis. The novel structure was designed for narrowband applications as a kinoform element and we successfully applied it in active, high-speed, THz linear scanners. The theoretical approach and experimental results are presented