Abnormal uterine bleeding in adolescence - three cases of heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB)

Heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) is profuse, acyclic bleeding from the genital tract, with or without clots, usually lasting more than 10 days. They are the most common cause of abnormal uterine bleeding in adolescence. The following are used in the treatment: iron preparations, antifibrinolytic drugs, NSAIDs, estrogen-progestagen therapy or progestagen therapy. In cases where the Hb concentration is <7-8 g/dl, red blood cells preparation should be transfused. In the article we present a description of three cases of patients with heavy menstrual bleeding (HMB) who were treated in the Pediatric Department of the Independent Public Provincial Specialist Hospital in Chełm

The assessment of the attitude of the students of the 5th year of the medical faculty concerning the specialization in family medicine and the state of knowledge on the functioning of Primary Health Care

Introduction: Family Medicine is a relatively new specialisation in Poland, that was created to increase availability of comprehensive medical care near the place of residence. Due to the major deficiency of human resources there is a huge need of educating medical personnel. Objectives: This study is an evaluation of knowledge level and attitudes towards family medicine specialisation of The Lublin Medical University Medical Faculty 5th year students, starting their family medicine classes. Results: Among the respondents 1.49% declared willingness to start family medicine specialisation, 40.89% is considering this career path, 39.03% is not considering this career path, 18.59% is definitely not considering this specialisation. Main factors, which are the reasons why students consider undertaking family medicine specialisationwere: flexible working hours (79.82%), wide range of patient’s ailments (78.07%), no on-call time (73.68%). On the other hand, students consider job in PHC as monotonous and hardly prestigious and 94.1% of respondents assessed that cooperation of family physicians with other specialisations is average at best. Only 13% correctly indicated what are the factors the amount of money per patient depends on. Majority of students correctly named family physicians’ responsibilities and medical examinations that family physician can perform under the agreement with National Health Fund. Conclusion: Research gathered in this document indicate on little interest in family medicine specialisation among students and at the same time on lack of certain knowledge about job in PHC. Thus, there is a need to create relevant educational programmes which would turn future doctor’s attention to general practice

Monocyte chemoattractant protein-induced protein 1 (MCPIP1) enhances angiogenic and cardiomyogenic potential of murine bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells

The current evidence suggests that beneficial effects of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) toward myocardial repair are largely due to paracrine actions of several factors. Although Monocyte chemoattractant protein-induced protein 1 (MCPIP1) is involved in the regulation of inflammatory response, apoptosis and angiogenesis, whether MCPIP1 plays any role in stem cell-induced cardiac repair has never been examined. By employing retroviral (RV)-transduced overexpression of MCPIP1, we investigated the impact of MCPIP1 on viability, apoptosis, proliferation, metabolic activity, proteome, secretome and differentiation capacity of murine bone marrow (BM) - derived MSCs. MCPIP1 overexpression enhanced angiogenic and cardiac differentiation of MSCs compared with controls as indicated by elevated expression of genes accompanying angiogenesis and cardiomyogenesis in vitro. The proangiogenic activity of MCPIP1-overexpressing MSCs (MCPIP1-MSCs) was also confirmed by increased capillary-like structure formation under several culture conditions. This increase in differentiation capacity was associated with decreased proliferation of MCPIP1-MSCs when compared with controls. MCPIP1-MSCs also expressed increased levels of proteins involved in angiogenesis, autophagy, and induction of differentiation, but not adverse inflammatory agents. We conclude that MCPIP1 enhances endothelial and cardiac differentiation of MSCs. Thus, modulating MCPIP1 expression may be a novel approach useful for enhancing the immune-regulatory, anti-apoptotic, anti-inflammatory and regenerative capacity of BM-derived MSCs for myocardial repair and regeneration of ischemic tissues

Significance of neutrophil to lymphocyte ratio as a predictor of outcome in head and neck cancer treated with definitive chemoradiation

Background: The role of host immune system in carcinogenesis and response to treatment is increasingly studied, including predictive potential of circulating neutrophils and lymphocytes. The objective of the study was to evaluate the prognostic value of pre- and post-treatment neutrophil-to-lymphocyte (NLR) for treatment outcome in patients diagnosed with squamous cell carcinoma of head and neck (HNSCC) treated with definitive chemoradiation. Materials and methods: Electronic medical records of patients were evaluated and NLR was calculated. Cox regression was used to assess the impact of selected variables on overall survival (OS), disease specific survival (DSS), progression free survival (PFS) and distant failure free survival (DFFS). Logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios of complete response with NLR. Results: 317 patients' records were included in the study. Increases in both pre-and post-NLR were associated with decreased OS in univariable analysis [hazard ratio (HR): 2.26 (1.25–4.07), p = 0.0068 and HR: 1.57 (1.03–2.37), p = 0.035 respectively). Post-NLR remained significant for OS in multivariable analysis [HR: 1.93 (1.22–3.1), p = 0.005] as well as for unfavorable DSS [HR: 2.31 (1.22–4.4), p = 0.01]. Pre-treatment NLR and nodal status correlated with shorter DFFS in multivariable analysis [HR 4.1 (1.14–14), p = 0.03 and HR 5.3: (1.62–18), p = 0.0062, respectively]. Strong correlation of increased both pre- and post-NLR with probability of clinical tumor response (CR) was found [odds ratio (OR): 0.23 (0.08–0.6), p = 0.003, and OR: 0.39 (0.2–0.8), p = 0.01 respectively]. Conclusion: NLR evaluated before and post treatment was a strong predictor of unfavorable treatment outcome and can be used for risk evaluation and clinical decision about treatment and post-treatment surveillance

Cryo-EM structures of the human Elongator complex at work

tRNA modifications affect ribosomal elongation speed and co-translational folding dynamics. The Elongator complex is responsible for introducing 5-carboxymethyl at wobble uridine bases (cm5U34) in eukaryotic tRNAs. However, the structure and function of human Elongator remain poorly understood. In this study, we present a series of cryo-EM structures of human ELP123 in complex with tRNA and cofactors at four different stages of the reaction. The structures at resolutions of up to 2.9 Å together with complementary functional analyses reveal the molecular mechanism of the modification reaction. Our results show that tRNA binding exposes a universally conserved uridine at position 33 (U33), which triggers acetyl-CoA hydrolysis. We identify a series of conserved residues that are crucial for the radical-based acetylation of U34 and profile the molecular effects of patient-derived mutations. Together, we provide the high-resolution view of human Elongator and reveal its detailed mechanism of action

E2/E3-independent ubiquitin-like protein conjugation by Urm1 is directly coupled to cysteine persulfidation.

Post-translational modifications by ubiquitin-like proteins (UBLs) are essential for nearly all cellular processes. Ubiquitin-related modifier 1 (Urm1) is a unique UBL, which plays a key role in tRNA anticodon thiolation as a sulfur carrier protein (SCP) and is linked to the noncanonical E1 enzyme Uba4 (ubiquitin-like protein activator 4). While Urm1 has also been observed to conjugate to target proteins like other UBLs, the molecular mechanism of its attachment remains unknown. Here, we reconstitute the covalent attachment of thiocarboxylated Urm1 to various cellular target proteins in vitro, revealing that, unlike other known UBLs, this process is E2/E3-independent and requires oxidative stress. Furthermore, we present the crystal structures of the peroxiredoxin Ahp1 before and after the covalent attachment of Urm1. Surprisingly, we show that urmylation is accompanied by the transfer of sulfur to cysteine residues in the target proteins, also known as cysteine persulfidation. Our results illustrate the role of the Uba4-Urm1 system as a key evolutionary link between prokaryotic SCPs and the UBL modifications observed in modern eukaryotes

Comparison of Physico-mechanical Properties of Fibre and Yarn Made of Alpaca, Sheep, and Goat Wool

Textile industry is one of the most important branches of the economy of many countries in the world and the importance of wool is still huge. Due to the unique properties of natural animal fibers and their positive effect on the human organism, the authors decided to evaluate and compare the quality of fibers and yarn coming from three animal species, i.e., sheep, goats, and alpacas. The study was included the physico-mechanical analysis of properties of fiber and yarn: such as diameter, breaking force, elongation at break, Young modulus, breaking strain and strain energy. The study on the selected physical and mechanical properties of the fibers showed that goat fibers are the stiffest, but concurrently the most durable, while the yarn made of sheep fibers is the most resistant, the yarn of alpaca fibers is the most elastic, and that of goat fibers is the most rigid

Effect of acceptance of disease on quality of life in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Wstęp. Przewlekła obturacyjna choroba płuc wpływa na jakość życia i ma ścisły związek z poziomem akceptacji choroby. Zwiększenie akceptacji choroby, może zwiększać przystosowanie się do POChP i wpływać na bardziej aktywne radzenie sobie z tym schorzeniem. Cel. Ocena wpływu akceptacji choroby na jakość życia pacjentów z przewlekłą obturacyjną chorobą płuc. Materiał i metody. Badania przeprowadzono wśród 100 osób w wieku od 31 do 80 lat z rozpoznaną przewlekłą obturacyjną chorobą płuc. W badaniu posłużono się skalą akceptacji choroby AIS, kwestionariuszem ogólnym jakości życia SF-36 oraz kwestionariuszem własnego autorstwa. Wyniki. Osoby w wieku 71–80 lat znacznie częściej akceptują swoją chorobę niż osoby młodsze. Osoby pracujące fizycznie charakteryzują się wyższym poziomem skali akceptacji choroby niż osoby będące na rencie lub emeryturze. Mężczyźni cechują się większą wartością wymiaru fizycznego oraz indeksu jakości życia, a zatem gorszą jakością życia niż kobiety.Wnioski. Osoby w wieku do 50 lat określają swoją jakość życia jako lepszą w porównaniu z grupą osób powyżej 50. roku życia. Wzrost poziomu akceptacji choroby wpływa na poprawę jakości życia we wszystkich wymiarach.Problemy Pielęgniarstwa 2014; 22 (4): 471–476Introduction. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease affects the quality of life and has a close relationship with the level of acceptance of the disease. Increasing acceptance of the disease may increase to adapt to COPD and affect a more active dealing with this condition. Material and methods. The research was conducted among 100 people aged from 31 to 80 years old diagnosed with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The study used a scale of acceptance of disease AIS, the quality of life of the general questionnaire SF-36 and questionnaire by your own. Aim. Assessment of the effects of the acceptance of the disease on quality of life of patients with COPD. Results. A person at the age of 71–80 is much more accepting of their illness than younger people. People working physically are characterized by higher levels of the scale of acceptance of disease than persons who are in the pension or retirement. Men have a more physical dimension value and the quality of life index, and therefore the worse quality of life than women.Conclusions. A person under the age of 50 years, determine its quality of life as better compared to those over 50 years of age. The increase in the level of acceptance of the disease affects the improvement of the quality of life in all dimensions. Nursing Topics 2014; 22 (4): 471–47