Quasiarithmetic-type invariant means on probability space

For a family $(\mathscr{A}_x)_{x \in (0,1)}$ of integral quasiarithmetic means sattisfying certain measurability-type assumptions we search for an integral mean $K$ such that $K\big((\mathscr{A}_x(\mathbb{P}))_{x \in (0,1)}\big)=K(\mathbb{P})$ for every compactly supported probabilistic Borel measure $\mathbb{P}$. Also some results concerning the uniqueness of invariant means will be given

Professional Communication in Healthcare as an Element of Support Offered to Medical Personnel and Patients – Needs and Expectations

Communication between medical personnel and their patients is not easy due to various legal regulations and complex emotional situations. Therefore, this type of communication depends on selecting an appropriate manner of communication and the choice of words. Teaching communication skills to healthcare professionals is absolutely essential and should be carried out according to the latest knowledge and standards developed in many countries. The Center of Clinical Communication was founded in Bydgoszcz to meet the needs and expectations of the Polish healthcare staff. In cooperation with the European Association of Communication in Healthcare, the Center is to work out and develop curricula for teaching clinical communication and adjusting them to the resources and needs existing in Poland. The Center of Clinical Communication is also planning to teach trainers who, according tohighest international standards, shall teach communication skills to future as well as active healthcare personnel.3534936618Studia Edukacyjn

Social Support and the Prospects of Sociopsychological Development of Children with Oncological Disease

Despite the disease which poses a real threat to the child’s psychological and physical development, the young patient still needs to develop. For that reason the treatment, care and education must be assisted by specialists – an interdisciplinary team of doctors, physiotherapists, psychologists and educators. The team’s cooperation with the child and its family could alleviate or at least limit the negative consequences of the disease. Unfortunately, as has been shown by the research, this postulate is not implemented. Although the study was carried out on concrete, individual cases, it may be generally concluded that the support offered to such children is not of universal character and that there are too few specialists who are motivated and competent enough to provide the children with professional psychological assistance.Udostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu „Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia”. Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00

A deceptive case of emphysematous cholecystitis complicated with retroperitoneal gangrene and emphysematous pancreatitis : clinical and computed tomography features

Purpose: Emphysematous cholecystitis (EC) is an uncommon, severe variant of acute cholecystitis caused by gasforming bacteria - most often Clostridium perfringens and Escherichia coli. We present a deceptive case of EC associated with retroperitoneal gas gangrene and emphysematous pancreatitis. Case report: An 86-year-old, overweight woman was admitted to the emergency department with non-specific abdominal symptoms. Admission laboratory tests showed elevated diastase levels indicating acute pancreatitis. Computed tomography (CT) demonstrated a substantial amount of gas in the retroperitoneum and peritoneal cavity, which raised a suspicion of duodenal perforation. Primary diagnosis was not confirmed during emergency laparotomy, which revealed a gangrenous gallbladder adjacent to the duodenum and surrounded by purulent fluid. The final diagnosis established after laparotomy and rereading of CT scans was that of emphysematous cholecystitis associated with gangrenous pancreatitis and retroperitoneal gangrene. After surgery, the patient was transferred to the intensive care unit in septic shock. Shortly after, the second laparotomy was undertaken on suspicion of internal bleeding. During surgery, the patient experienced cardiac arrest and died despite immediate resuscitation. Conclusions: Emphysematous cholecystitis may be associated with a spread of infection both to the peritoneal cavity and retroperitoneum and result in a substantial amount of gas in those anatomic compartments. The knowledge of this rare complication may be helpful in establishing a correct diagnosis

Assessment of laboratory markers of inflammation in patients with primary hypertension

Wstęp Celem badania było określenie ilościowego związku i ustalenie korelacji między laboratoryjnymi wskaźnikami stanu zapalnego we krwi chorych na pierwotne nadciśnienie tętnicze (WBC, liczba monocytów, CRP, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1). Materiał i metody Badaniem objęto 54 chorych na pierwotne nadciśnienie tętnicze oraz 35 osób zdrowych. U wszystkich badanych oznaczono liczbę leukocytów (WBC), liczbę monocytów oraz stężenie białka C-reaktywnego (CRP) i rozpuszczalnych form cząstek adhezyjnych sICAM-1 i sVCAM-1. U wszystkich pacjentów zmierzono ciśnienie tętnicze i tętno, określono wskaźnik masy ciała (BMI) i wskaźnik talia/biodra (WHR) oraz wykonano badania laboratoryjne. Liczbę WBC i monocytów oznaczono za pomocą analizatora hematologicznego CELL-DYN 3700. Stężenie CRP badano w surowicy ultraczułą (hsCRP) metodą turbidymetryczną z wykorzystaniem mikrocząsteczek na analizatorze Dimension firmy Siemens. Stężenie rozpuszczalnych form cząstek adhezyjnych w surowicy mierzono metodą immunoenzymatyczną w wersji sandwich, na podstawie testów firmy R&D Systems (Abingdon, Wielka Brytania). Wyniki Liczba WBC, monocytów oraz stężenia sICAM-1 i sVCAM-1 nie różniły się istotnie we krwi chorych na pierwotne nadciśnienie tętnicze i pacjentów z grupy kontrolnej. Natomiast różnice statystycznie znamienne otrzymano kiedy porównano stężenia hsCRP u chorych na pierwotne nadciśnienie tętnicze i u pacjentów w grupie kontrolnej. W grupie badanej wykazano 2 znamienne korelacje: pomiędzy liczbą WBC a liczbą monocytów oraz liczbą WBC a stężeniem rozpuszczalnej formy molekuły adhezyjnej ICAM-1 Wnioski Znamienny wzrost stężenia hsCRP nie przekraczający 10 mg/l sugeruje, że w ścianach naczyń chorych na pierwotne nadciśnienie tętnicze rozwija się stan zapalny o niewielkim nasileniu, który z kolei może przyspieszać rozwój miażdżycy. Znaczny odsetek chorych, u których wykazano podwyższone stężenie hsCRP (> 3 mg/l) wskazuje na zasadność oznaczania stężenia tego białka w surowicy chorych na pierwotne nadciśnienie tętnicze. Nadciśnienie Tętnicze 2011, tom 15, nr 4, strony 251–257.Background The purpose of the investigation was to estimate the quantitative relationship between laboratory markers of inflammation in blood of patients with primary hypertension (WBC, the amount of monocytes, CRP, sICAM-1, sVCAM-1). Material and methods The survey was carried out in 54 patients with primary hypertension and 35 healthy individuals. In each person amount of leukocytes (WBC) and monocytes, concentration of hsCRP and soluble adhesion molecules sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1, the blood pressure, BMI, WHR were determined and other laboratory tests were performed. The numbers of leukocytes and monocytes were evaluated with use of CELL-DYN 3700 analyzer. The concentration of CRP in serum was assayed with use of turbidimetric method on Dimension analyzer (Siemens). The level of soluble adhesion molecules in serum was assessed by immunoenzymatic “sandwich” method based on R&D system tests (Abingdon, UK). Results The number of leukocytes, monocytes, the concentration of adhesion molecules sICAM-1 and sVCAM-1 were not significantly different in blood of patients with primary arterial hypertension and healthy individuals. The statistically significant differences were obtained when the concentration of hsCRP in patients with primary arterial hypertension and healthy individuals were compared. In the investigated group significant correlations have been observed: 1. between the amount of leukocytes and monocytes, and 2. between the amount of leukocytes and the concentration of soluble adhesion molecule ICAM-1. Conclusions The concentration of hsCRP can become an useful marker in the assessment of the state of inflammation process in vascular walls in patients with primary hypertension. High number of patients with both primary hypertension and elevated concentration of hsCRP (>3 mg/l) suggests that the test can complement the clinical assay of those patients, because the inflammation of the vessels accelerates the progress of atherosclerosis and increases the risk of organ complications. Arterial Hypertension 2011, vol. 15, no 4, pages 251–257

CAUSES OF MORTALITY IN SCHIZOPHRENIA: AN UPDATED REVIEW OF EUROPEAN STUDIES

Background: The excess mortality in schizophrenia is still a phenomenon insufficiently studied on the cross-national level. It is important to analyse current studies on morality in schizophrenia since significant changes have recently taken place in psychiatric health care systems and guidelines of pharmacological treatment have been developed in European countries. Subjects and methods: This article reviews studies addressing mortality in schizophrenia in Europe that were published in English in the Pubmed database in 2009-2014. It aimed at determining countries where studies were conducted, methodologies and tools used, and current main mortality rates, as well as direction of causality in this group of patients. Results: The recently published studies were conducted only in few European countries. The majority of data was obtained from general medical records and death records. The studies indicate that schizophrenia patients are characterized by higher mortality rate than the general population, with natural causes (cardiovascular diseases and cancers) and suicides predominating. The increasing mortality gap with significantly shorter life expectancy of patients with schizophrenia in comparison with the general population is considerable. Conclusions: Death records are a crucial tool in studies on mortality in schizophrenia patients; however they are insufficiently employed. Recent European reports do not show positive tendencies, indicating that standardized mortality rates in schizophrenia remain on the same level or even increase, particularly for deaths resulting from natural causes. Due to various methodologies used in studies, their direct comparison is difficult. This limitation warrants further discussion on methods used in future studies on schizophrenia mortality in Europe

Co-creation and regional adaptation of a resilience-based universal whole-school program in five European regions

The co-creation of educational services that promote youth resilience and mental health is still scarce. UPRIGHT (Universal Preventive Resilience Intervention Globally implemented in schools to improve and promote mental Health for Teenagers) is a research and intervention program in the Basque Country (Spain), Trentino (Italy), Low Silesia (Poland), Denmark and Reykjavik (Iceland). UPRIGHT implemented a co-creation research process whose results, outcomes and policy implications are presented here. The co-creation had a mixed-methods participatory research design with nine specific objectives linked to paired strategies of inquiry for adolescents, families, teachers and school staff. The overarching objective was to generate a valid and feasible regional adaptation strategy for UPRIGHT intervention model. Participants answered surveys (n= 794) or attended 16 group sessions (n= 217). The results integrate quantitative and qualitative information to propose a regional adaptation strategy that prioritizes resilience skills, adolescents' concerns, and preferred methods for implementation across countries and in each school community. In conclusion, a whole-school resilience program must innovate, include and connect different actors, services and communities, and must incorporate new technologies and activities outside the classroom. A participatory co-creation process is an indispensable step to co-design locally relevant resilience interventions with the involvement of the whole-school community

Co-creation and regional adaptation of a resilience-based universal whole-school program in five European regions

Publisher's version (útgefin grein)The co-creation of educational services that promote youth resilience and mental health is still scarce. UPRIGHT (Universal Preventive Resilience Intervention Globally implemented in schools to improve and promote mental Health for Teenagers) is a research and intervention program in the Basque Country (Spain), Trentino (Italy), Low Silesia (Poland), Denmark and Reykjavik (Iceland). UPRIGHT implemented a co-creation research process whose results, outcomes and policy implications are presented here. The co-creation had a mixed-methods participatory research design with nine specific objectives linked to paired strategies of inquiry for adolescents, families, teachers and school staff. The overarching objective was to generate a valid and feasible regional adaptation strategy for UPRIGHT intervention model. Participants answered surveys (n = 794) or attended 16 group sessions (n = 217). The results integrate quantitative and qualitative information to propose a regional adaptation strategy that prioritizes resilience skills, adolescents’ concerns, and preferred methods for implementation across countries and in each school community. In conclusion, a whole-school resilience program must innovate, include and connect different actors, services and communities, and must incorporate new technologies and activities outside the classroom. A participatory co-creation process is an indispensable step to co-design locally relevant resilience interventions with the involvement of the whole-school community.The author(s) disclosed receipt of the following financial support for the research, authorship and/or publication of this article: UPRIGHT is a research and innovation project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme (grant number 754919). UPRIGHT grant agreement (complete project description) has undergone peer-review by the European Commission reviewers (governmental and major funding organism) before getting approval. This paper reflects only the authors’ views, and the European Union is not liable for any use that may be made of the information contained therein. The funding body has had no role in the study design, in the writing of the manuscript or in the decision to submit the paper for publication.Peer Reviewe