Eliza Orzeszkowa: Polish patriot, positivist writer, social critic and feminist.

Eliza Orzeszkowa (1841-1910) became one of most popular and influential authors of the Positivist movement in Polish arts, letters, and politics during the later nineteenth and early twentieth centuries when Poles experienced economic and social instability and foreign political repression. Orzeszkowa achieved renown as a writer of realistic fiction, as a pioneering Polish feminist, and as a vigorous advocate of political and social reform who sought to challenge all discrimination based on gender, ethnicity, and religious affiliation. Many of her publications dealt with the emancipation of women, the assimilation of Jews, and the integration of the Polish peasantry into the Polish nation. Through her writings, Eliza Orzeszkowa exposed and critically examined contemporary problems in Polish society, often by creating memorable fictional characters based upon people whom she came to know well through her association with all social classes and ethnic and religious groups in Russian-ruled Poland and Lithuania. Eliza Orzeszkowa\u27s exemplary professional life and her manifold contributions to late nineteenth century Polish literature embodied her patriotic and reform-minded spirit and earned her the everlasting gratitude of all future generations of Poles. Given the fact that few of Orzeszkowa\u27s novels as well as few publications about her have been translated into English, this thesis seeks to introduce her to an English-speaking audience

Parathyroid hormone serum concentration kinetic profile in critically ill patients undergoing continuous renal replacement therapies: a prospective observational study

Introduction: Elevated serum parathormone (PTH) levels have been observed in acute kidney injury and are related to calcium-phosphate metabolism disturbance, decreased renal production of 1,25 dihydroxyvitamin D3, impaired renal PTH excretion, and other renal-independent factors. There are no data regarding PTH concentration kinetics in critically ill patients undergoing continuous renal replacement therapies (CRRT) in an intensive care setting. The primary objective of this study was to investigate trends in PTH serum levels in critically ill patients with multiorgan failure undergoing CRRT, by performing periodic PTH measurements in the acute phase of critical illness. Material and methods: This was a single-centre, prospective, observational study conducted in an mixed, university-affiliated intensive care unit. Critically ill patients who fulfilled all of the following criteria were included: respiratory failure; circulatory failure; acute kidney injury treated by CRRT; and sequential organ failure assessment score (SOFA score) of 5 or more. Patients who met any of the following criteria were excluded: acute liver failure; hypercalcemia at admission (total calcium serum level > 10.6 mg/dL; total ionized calcium plasma level > 1.35 mmol/L); parathyroid gland disease; end-stage renal disease; patients undergoing therapeutic plasma exchange or extracorporeal membrane oxygenation procedures; aged under 18 years;  pregnant; and life expectancy after admission to the intensive care unit anticipated to be less than 72 hours as assessed by the investigator. Results: Thirty patients met the inclusion criteria. A statistically significant change in PTH over time was observed (Friedman ANOVA; p = 0.0001). The post-hoc test showed a statistically significant decrease in PTH: measurements 5–8 relative to measurement 1, and measurements 4–8 relative to measurement 2 (p < 0.05). No significant correlations between 25 hydroxyvitamin D3 deficiency, age, diagnosis, SOFA score, and PTH levels were observed. A statistical test indicated that serum concentrations of PTH were significantly higher in the de novo sepsis group (p < 0.05). Conclusions: The PTH serum concentration decreases during the course of CRRT in the majority of patients. When the course of the disease starts to be complicated by sepsis, PTH serum levels then remain high. A probable reason for this is the existence of the inflammatory state triggered by sepsis