The use of virtual reality in air transport during a pandemic

Purpose: Considering the realities of the 21st century and the global COVID-19 pandemic, the article aims to present the pandemic's impact on transport processes in selected European countries and suggested using virtual reality in these processes. Findings: The data provided by the International Air Transport Association (IATA) shows that every day about one hundred thousand aircraft fly, carrying over 140 thousand tons of cargo in total. As far as passenger transport is concerned within the European Union territory alone, more than a billion people use air transport annually, which gives the daily average of almost three million passengers. With an average cruising speed of about 800 kilometers per hour, we can assume that air transport meets the time requirements. Practical Implications: Time is one of the key determinants in society's functioning and the economy on a European and global scale. This determinant of the implementation of specific tasks is, in many cases, the main determinant of decisions made. It is not without reason that the phrase "time is money" is in common use. Considering such perception of the reality of the first half of the 21st century, it is reasonable to consider what means of transport can meet the expectations related to saving time needed to transport people and goods. This is particularly important in times of disruptions caused by the COVID - 19 pandemic.peer-reviewe

Wilms’ tumor 1 antigen immunoreactivity in epithelial ovarian cancer — diagnostic and prognostic value

Objectives. Ovarian cancer is a heterogeneous disease, with a number of different histological subtypes with various responses to treatment. Wilms’ tumor 1 (WT1) immunoreactivity is used to distinguish between OC’s various subtypes. However, little is known about the protein’s role as a prognostic factor. Thus, the main aim of our study was to evaluate the relationship between WT1 expression and patient overall survival (OS) and lymph node metastases. Materials and methods. Study group consisted of 164 women aged 22–84, diagnosed with epithelial ovarian cancer (EOC). WT1 expression in histological slides was assessed by immunohistochemistry. Results. Serous tumors were the most common subtype among EOC (n = 126; 76.8%), followed by endometrioid (n = 20; 12.2%), clear-cell (n = 14; 8.5%) and mucinous cancer (n = 4; 2.4%). Of all serous EOC, WT1-positive tumors accounted for 75.6% of cases and this number was significantly higher than in other histological subtypes (p < 0.0001). Patients with lymph node metastases were more likely to have WT1-positive than WT1-negative tumors (p = 0.006). There was no significant correlation between WT1 immunoreactivity and OS across the whole study group of EOC patients (p = 0.6); however, in the group of non-serous (mucinous, endometrioid and clear-cell) EOC subjects, WT1 immunoreactivity was associated with shorter OS (p = 0.046). Conclusions. WT1 immunoreactivity may be helpful in differentiating primary epithelial serous carcinomas from non-serous ovarian cancers; however, its prognostic role in EOC is rather uncertain