IgG4-related disease in the head and neck region : report of two cases and review of the literature

IgG4-related disease (IgG4-RD) is a rare immune-mediated condition characterized by extensive tissue fibrosis and infiltration by immunoglobulin G4 positive plasma cells in a single organ or systemic appearance. Two cases are presented including an unusual case of a 30-year-old man with IgG4-RD appearing simultaneously in the cervical lymph nodes, ethmoid, maxillary sinuses, and upper gingiva, with spontaneous loss of teeth. According to the literature, this is the first case with loss of teeth occurring in the course of the disease. The second case is a 46-year-old man suffering from IgG4-related chronic sclerosing sialadenitis of the right submandibular gland

The impact of metformin on the development and course of anaplastic thyroid cancer in comparison to other histologic types of thyroid cancer

Anaplastic thyroid cancer (ATC) is the rarest (1–2%) form of thyroid cancer, but also the most aggressive and associated with the worst prognosis. The survival median rate is 5–6 months, whereas only 20% of patients survive more than one year from the diagnosis, even though the usage of radiotherapy and surgical resection. The growing incidence rate of thyroid cancer and ATC determine the need for new prophylactic, diagnostic and therapeutic solutions. Metformin was first introduced as an oral antidiabetic drug. The beneficial effect of metformin on anaplastic thyroid cancer cells was confirmed, however, the mechanism of this interaction is still unclear. The usage of metformin in thyroid cancer prevention is still under discussion — nevertheless, studies conducted on larger groups support this beneficial impact, at least in patients with insulin resistance or metabolic syndrome. Both the synergistic effect of metformin in anaplastic thyroid cancer chemotherapy and its protective effect in radiotherapy are still concerns and need additional confirmation in randomized clinical trials. This review aims to sum up the recent knowledge on metformin usage in ATC

Single-agent MOR208 salvage and maintenance therapy in a patient with refractory/relapsing diffuse large B-cell lymphoma : a case report

Background: Diffuse large B-cell lymphoma is the most common subtype of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma. Standard first-line treatment for this aggressive subtype comprises the anti-CD20 antibody rituximab combined with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone. If patients receiving such treatment have an early relapse, or their disease is initially refractory to such treatment, standard salvage regimens may not be effective. There is therefore a high unmet clinical need for new targeted agents that might improve the outcome for such patients. CD19 is a B-lymphocyte lineage-specific cell surface antigen that is expressed by most B-cell non-Hodgkin's lymphomas. MOR208 is an fragment-crystallizable engineered humanized monoclonal antibody with enhanced antitumor activity that targets CD19 and that may consequently have clinical utility in this setting. Case presentation: We describe the case of a 33-year-old Caucasian man who presented with a 3-month history of general symptoms and who was admitted to our pulmonology ward with dyspnea due to pneumonia and severe anemia. A histopathological examination of an enlarged right suprasternal lymph node confirmed a diagnosis of T-cell/ histiocyte-rich large B-cell lymphoma, an uncommon morphological variant of diffuse large B-cell lymphoma. Our patient had a complete response to first-line rituximab combined with cyclophosphamide, doxorubicin, vincristine, and prednisone, but had an early relapse 5 months after the end of treatment. After intensive salvage therapy consolidated with an autologous stem-cell transplant, our patient again had an early relapse and was subsequently enrolled in a phase IIa trial of single-agent MOR208. Following a scheduled 3 months of weekly treatment, a partial response was confirmed and MOR208 was continued as maintenance therapy, with administration every second week. Positron emission tomography-computed tomography confirmed a complete response 9 months later. This response is ongoing, with a duration of 24 months. MOR208 was well-tolerated by our patient and his quality of life and performance status remain high. No hospitalizations were required and our patient engaged in full-time work and physical activities. Conclusion: Third-line single-agent therapy with the CD19 antibody MOR208 was highly effective in this patient, despite a history of early relapse after standard first-line and second-line treatment regimens. These data provide support for future randomized studies of MOR208

Genetic heterogeneity in primary and relapsed mantle cell lymphomas : impact of recurrent CARD11 mutations

The genetic mechanisms underlying disease progression, relapse and therapy resistance in mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) remain largely unknown. Whole-exome sequencing was performed in 27 MCL samples from 13 patients, representing the largest analyzed series of consecutive biopsies obtained at diagnosis and/or relapse for this type of lymphoma. Eighteen genes were found to be recurrently mutated in these samples, including known (ATM, MEF2B and MLL2) and novel mutation targets (S1PR1 and CARD11). CARD11, a scaffold protein required for B-cell receptor (BCR)-induced NF-κB activation, was subsequently screened in an additional 173 MCL samples and mutations were observed in 5.5% of cases. Based on in vitro cell line-based experiments, overexpression of CARD11 mutants were demonstrated to confer resistance to the BCR-inhibitor ibrutinib and NF-κB-inhibitor lenalidomide. Genetic alterations acquired in the relapse samples were found to be largely non-recurrent, in line with the branched evolutionary pattern of clonal evolution observed in most cases. In summary, this study highlights the genetic heterogeneity in MCL, in particular at relapse, and provides for the first time genetic evidence of BCR/NF-κB activation in a subset of MCL

External quality monitoring facilitates improvement in already well-performing stroke units: insights from RES-Q Poland

Introduction. The Registry of Stroke Care Quality (RES-Q) is used in Poland for quality monitoring by numerous hospitals participating in the Angels Initiative. Our aim was to assess the degree of improvement in highly stroke-oriented centres that report cases to the RES-Q each year. Material and methods. This retrospective analysis included Polish stroke units that from January 2017 to December 2020 contributed to the RES-Q at least 25 patients annually. Results. Seventeen out of 180 Polish stroke units reported patients each year (2017, n = 1,691; 2018, n = 2,986; 2019, n = 3,750; 2020, n = 3,975). The percentage of ischaemic stroke patients treated with alteplase remained stable (26%, 29%, 30% and 28%, respectively). The door-to-needle time progressively decreased, from a median 49 minutes to 32 minutes. The percentage of patients treated ≤ 60 minutes and ≤ 45 minutes significantly increased (from 68% to 86% and from 43% to 70%, respectively), with no change observed between 2019 and 2020. Despite a general improvement in dysphagia screening (81%, 91%, 98% and 99%), screening performed within the first 24h from admission became less frequent (78%, 76%, 69% and 65%). In-hospital mortality significantly increased (11%, 11%, 13% and 15%), while the proportion of patients discharged home remained stable. Conclusions. Quality-oriented projects facilitate the improvement of stroke care, even in centres demonstrating good baseline performance. Polish stroke units that consistently reported cases to the RES-Q demonstrated improvement in terms of door-to- -needle time and dysphagia screening. However, there is still a need to shorten the time to dysphagia screening, and carefully monitor stroke unit mortality following the COVID-19 pandemic

High risk of invasive fungal disease in children undergoing hematopoietic cell transplantation or complex anticancer therapy: the adverse role of post-transplant CMV replication

Introduction: We analyzed the epidemiology and outcomes of treatment of invasive fungal disease (IFD) in children during anticancer therapy (PHO, pediatric hematology and oncology) or after hematopoietic cell transplantation (HCT) over a period of eight consecutive years in a single-center study. Material and methods: Overall, a total of 254 HCTs were performed, and 415 children were newly diagnosed for malignancy. Incidence, epidemiology and outcome of IFD were analyzed. Results: The cumulative incidence of any IFD was 32.6% in allo-HCT, 22.2% in PHO, and 6.0% in auto-HCT patients. The incidence of proven +probable IFD was 12.6%, 10.4%, and 6.0%, respectively. As many as 77.0% HCT and 67.4% PHO of fungal episodes occurred in acute leukemia patients: the highest incidence of any IFD was observed for acute lymphoblastic leukemia (29.3% in HCT; 40.5% in PHO) and for acute myeloblastic leukemia (51.1% in HCT; 65.0% in PHO) patients. There were no significant differences in the incidence of fungal infections in both allo-HCT and PHO patients between the 2-year periods. Factors contributing to an increased risk of IFD in allo-HCT patients were: CMV replication, and acute and chronic graft-versus-host disease (GvHD). Survival from IFD was 91.9% in PHO, and 78.1% in HCT patients. Fungal pneumonia in HCT patients resolved in 62.9%, while in PHO patients it resolved in 93.5%. Conclusions: The risk of IFD in allo-HCT patients is much higher than in auto-HSCT and PHO patients. The outcome of IFD is better in PHO and auto-HCT than in allo-HCT settings

They Are the Future. Hope and a Call for Action

The text discusses two theatre performances, h. directed by Daniel Stachuła and To my jesteśmy przyszłością (We Are the Future) directed by Jakub Skrzywanek. Both productions are primarily addressed to teenage audiences and represent engaging theatre. Their main subject is violence suffered by young people due to their psychosexual orientation and gender. The author of the article notes the efficiency (effectiveness) of the two projects, which she associates with the concept of ‘performance of possibilities’. Performative ethnography, but also experimental pedagogy, feminism and studies of homophobic violence provide the research framework for the text

Translation Strategies in the German translations of Witold Gombrowiczs “Diary”

Wydział Neofilologii: Instytut Filologii GermańskiejRozprawa ma charakter interdyscyplinarny, łączy w sobie elementy literaturoznawcze, translatologiczne i językoznawcze. Celem pracy była analiza strategii tłumaczeniowych w niemieckich przekładach Dziennika Witolda Gombrowicza. Badania przekładów koncentrowały się na analizie transpozycji najbardziej charakterystycznych wyróżników stylu Gombrowicza: frazeologizmów, wyrażeń potocznych, sformułowań ironicznych oraz figur stylistycznych. Treścią pierwszego rozdziału jest historia niemieckiej recepcji Dziennika w niemieckojęzycznych środowiskach badaczy i krytyków literackich. W drugim rozdziale rozprawy zaprezentowano przegląd kategorii wywodzących się ze współczesnej translatologii i literaturoznawstwa, które zastosowano w analizie porównawczej tłumaczenia z oryginałem. Rozdział trzeci i czwarty zawiera analizę najważniejszych decyzji tłumaczy w ramach kodu leksykalno-semantycznego, kulturowego oraz estetycznego. Zaprezentowane przykłady rozwiązań translatorskich w zakresie frazeologii, kolokwializmów, ironii oraz stylu autora ilustrują, jak bardzo obraz świata oryginału zbliżony jest do jego niemieckich wersji oraz w jaki sposób przebiegała transpozycja jego poszczególnych elementów.The thesis has an interdisciplinary nature since it combines elements of literary studies, translatology and linguistics. The aim of the author was the analysis of translation strategies applied in the German translations of Witold Gombrowicz’s Diary. The research focused on the analysis of the most characteristic dominants of Gombrowicz’s style: idiomatic, colloquial and ironic expressions as well as figures of speech. The first chapter discuses the history of the reception of Witold Gombrowicz’s Diary in the German speaking circles of literary scholars and critics . The second chapter gives an overview of translation categories which were used in the comparative analysis of the translation and the source text. The third and fourth chapters contain the analysis of the most important decisions made by the translators within the lexical-semantic, cultural and aesthetic codes. The presented examples of the translation solutions concerning idiomatic, colloquial, ironic expressions and the author’s style illustrate, how close the image of the source text’s world is to its German versions and in which ways the transposition of its individual elements was carried out

Polyphenolic Herbal Extract of Cistus incanus as Natural Preservatives for Sausages Enriched with Natural Colors

This study evaluates the effects of polyphenolic extract of Cistus incanus, lycopene dye from tomatoes, and betanin dye from red beet on selected parameters of model meat products with reduced nitrate contents. The polyphenolic composition and activity of the C. incanus extract was analyzed, revealing the presence of elagotannins, flavanols, and glycosylated flavanols. We studied the effects of the extract and dyes as well as of mixtures of the extract and dyes on the growth of bacteria characteristic of the meat environment: E. coli, S. enterica, P. fragi, L. monocytogenes, B. thermosphacta, and L. sakei. We studied the effects of the extract and dyes on the lipid oxidation, color, and microbiological quality of pork sausages with reduced nitrate content over 28 days of storage. During storage, the amounts of malon dialdehyde reduced, which indicates that the extract and dyes exhibited antioxidant activity and slowed lipid oxidation in the sausages. An increase in red color was also observed in the sausages with natural additives, despite their decreased nitrate content. It was found that the C. incanus extract combined with coloring agents positively influenced the selected parameters of the analyzed pork sausages