The Skin as a Mirror of Internal Disease: Comorbidities and Epidemiology of Acne Vulgaris and Adult Female Acne – A Cross-sectional Study and Current State of Knowledge

Acne vulgaris is a common skin condition affecting an increasing number of adults and might be a clue to identifying systemic disease. Objective of this study is assessment of the demographic and clinical characteristic, including comorbidities, of patients with acne with a special focus on adult female acne (AFA). This cross-sectional study analyzed the medical records of 354 patients with acne (323 outpatients and 31 hospitalized). Data concerning patient age, sex, lesions morphology and distribution on body areas, duration of the disease, Body Mass Index, and dermatologic and systemic comorbidities were collected. 61% of all patients were female, 45.37% of women were classified as AFA. The median age of patients with acne was 24 years and 32.5 years for AFA. The face was the most commonly affected area; patients with AFA had lesions on their back than less frequently non-AFA. Predominant eruptions were pustules and papules. 38.7% of patients had concomitant systemic chronic disease, 15.25% had an endocrinologic disorder, and 6.21% had thyroid gland dysfunction. Women with AFA had endocrinologic disorders more frequently (P=0.002), whereas cutaneous signs of hyperandrogenism were observed less frequently than in the non-AFA group (P=0.034). AFA possess distinct clinical features and it should raise suspicion towards possible underlying endocrinologic disturbance

Spectrin-based skeleton as an actor in cell signaling

This review focuses on the recent advances in functions of spectrins in non-erythroid cells. We discuss new data concerning the commonly known role of the spectrin-based skeleton in control of membrane organization, stability and shape, and tethering protein mosaics to the cellular motors and to all major filament systems. Particular effort has been undertaken to highlight recent advances linking spectrin to cell signaling phenomena and its participation in signal transduction pathways in many cell types

Methods of repairing wooden constructions paralysed by biological factors

Nadmierna wilgotność, grzyby domowe i pleśniowe oraz owady - techniczne szkodniki drewna - stanowią podstawową grupę czynników powodujących powstawanie rozwarstwień, pęknięć oraz rozkład i korozję drewna i materiałów drewnopochodnych zastosowanych w konstrukcji budynków. Powszechnie stosowane są inżynierskie metody napraw uszkodzonych elementów i ustrojów konstrukcyjnych, które polegają na wymianie uszkodzonych elementów lub na wprowadzeniu elementów wzmacniających. W referacie przedstawiono nowoczesne metody naprawy z zastosowaniem żywic epoksydowych. Żywica wypełnia powstałe zarysowania, pęknięcia lub ubytki, tworząc z pozostałą zdrową strukturą drewna połączenie niepodatne. Pozwala to na przywrócenie konstrukcji wymaganej nośności z jednoczesnym zachowaniem walorów estetycznych drewnianego ustroju konstrukcyjnego.Excessive humidity, Basidiomycetes and moulds as well as insects - technical wood pests - form the basic group of factors causing delamination, cracks, decay and corrosion of wood and wood-based materials used in buildings construction. Engineery methods of repairing damaged construction elements and structures involving replacing those parts or injecting strengthening elements are widely used. This paper presents modern repair methods using epoxide resins. Resin fills scratches, cracks or defects creating inflexible connection between healthy wood structure. This action allows to restore desired load-carrying ability of the construction along with preserving construction structure aestetical values

The removal of fungi from wood by laser

W pracy przedstawiono wstępne wyniki badań dotyczących zastosowania lasera do likwidowania zagrzybienia z powierzchni drewna. Pod wpływem naświetlania laserem Nd:YAG drewno porażone przez Aspergillus niger zostało oczyszczona na skutek zdmuchiwania konidiów z powierzchni. Liczba aktywnych grzybów zmniejszyła się o 2 wartości logarytmu w stosunku do wartości początkowej.The results of preliminary experiments on the use of laser for the removal of fungi from wood surface were presented. The wood contaminated by Aspergillus niger was visual cleaned under the exposure of Nd:Y AG laser. The fungal conidia were removing as a result of their "blowing" from the surface of wood. The beginning number of active fungi decreased of 2 logarithm value

The role of outdoor air on fungal aerosol formation in indoor environment

Celem badań było określenie wpływu mikroflory powietrza zewnętrznego na skład ilościowy i jakościowy bioaerozolu grzybowego w pomieszczeń zamkniętych. Przebadano pomieszczenia zdrowe i z obecnością grzybów na przegrodach budowlanych. Wykazano zanieczyszczenie powietrza zewnętrznego na poziomie od 6, 7x 10² do 1,3x 10³ jtk/m³ w zależności od dzielnicy, zaś powietrza wewnętrznego w mieszkaniach zdrowych i zagrzybionych na porównywalnym poziomie średnio ok. 10² jtk/m³. We wszystkich badanych próbach stwierdzono dominację grzybów należących do rodzajów Aspergillus i Penicillium. Źródłem mikroflory pomieszczeń zamkniętych jest powietrze atmosferyczne oraz mikroflora aktywująca się na przegrodach budowlanych, wprowadzana do pomieszczeń wraz z różnymi materiałami budowlanymi.The aim of this study was to examine the sources and composition of fungal aerosol in indoor environment. The healthy and mouldy buildings were investigated. Total counts of airbome fungi in open air were in the range from 6,7x10² to l,3x10³ cfu/m³ depending of district. The concentration of indoor air fungal aerosol was similar in healthy and mouldy buildings (mean about 10²cfu/m³). The Aspergillus and Penicillium species were dominant in the investigated environment. The sources of indoor air pollution were outdoor air and microflora of dividing walls carrying with different building materials

Tall stature and gigantism in adult patients with acromegaly.

OBJECTIVES: Increased height in patients with acromegaly could be a manifestation of growth hormone (GH) excess before epiphysis closure. The aim of this study was to evaluate the relationship between the height of adult patients with GH excess related to mid-parental height (MPH) and population mean and to find whether taller patients with acromegaly come from tall families. METHODS: This is a single-centre, observational study involving 135 consecutive patients with acromegaly diagnosed as adults and no family history of GH excess. We established three categories for height for patients with acromegaly: normal stature, tall stature (TS, height above the 97th percentile (1.88 standard deviations (SD)) to <3 SD for gender- and country-specific data or as a height which was greater than 1.5 SD but less than 2 SD above the MPH) and gigantism (height which was greater than 3 SD) above the gender- and country-specific mean or greater than 2 SD above MPH). RESULTS: Thirteen percent (17/135) of patients (53% females) met the criteria for gigantism, 10% (14/135) fulfilled the criteria for TS (57% females). Parents and adult siblings were not taller than the population mean. CONCLUSION: In a group of 135 consecutive adult patients with acromegaly, 23% had increased height based on country-specific and MPH data: 13% presented with gigantism while 10% had TS. The frequency of gigantism and TS in patients diagnosed with GH excess as adults is not higher in males than in females. Patients with acromegaly come from normal-stature families

Reflex syncope, anxiety level, and family history of cardiovascular disease in young women: case-control study.

Anxiety is an emotion, which stimulates sympathetic nervous outflow potentially facilitating vasovagal reflex syncope (VVS) but reports on anxiety levels in patients with VVS are sparse