Testing the Validity of Patellar Measurements in Sex Estimation – A Computed Tomography Study in a Contemporary Polish Population

Introduction and purpose: Human skeleton-based sex estimation is a major topic of interest for forensic anthropologists. Various bones have been examined for sex heterogeneity. The most commonly used include skull and pelvis, however they may not always be used due to damage or fragmentation. The patella has been shown to be resistant to postmortem changes, which creates a potential use for determining the sex of unknown human remains. Materials and methods: The samples were gathered from patients examined by computed tomography angiography (CTA) of lower extremities in University Hospital No. 4 in Lublin. Exclusion criteria included patellar fractures, knee replacement and advanced osteoporosis. A total of 120 CTA examinations of 65 males and 55 females, were included in the analysis. Four measurements for every patella: craniocaudal patella dimension (CCP), transverse dimension (TP), anteroposterior dimension (APP) and patellar angle (PA), were obtained from CTA images. Results: The statistical analysis proved that sex differences of all variables, except for PA, were statistically significant (p < 0,001). Conclusions: Patellar measurements can be helpful in sex determination in the Polish population. CT is a useful tool for skeleton-based sex identification

Testing the Validity of Patellar Measurements in Sex Estimation – A Computed Tomography Study in a Contemporary Polish Population

JAKUBIK, Karol, JEŻAK, Mikołaj, NOWIŃSKA, Aleksandra, GRUDZIEŃ, Monika, PIECH, Piotr, KARPIŃSKA, Justyna and STAŚKIEWICZ, Grzegorz. Testing the Validity of Patellar Measurements in Sex Estimation – A Computed Tomography Study in a Contemporary Polish Population. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2023;20(1):156-168. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.12775/JEHS.2023.20.01.015 https://apcz.umk.pl/JEHS/article/view/46149 https://zenodo.org/record/8379001 The journal has had 40 points in Ministry of Education and Science of Poland parametric evaluation. Annex to the announcement of the Minister of Education and Science of 17.07.2023 No. 32318. Has a Journal's Unique Identifier: 201159. Scientific disciplines assigned: Physical Culture Sciences (Field of Medical sciences and health sciences); Health Sciences (Field of Medical Sciences and Health Sciences). Punkty Ministerialne z 2019 - aktualny rok 40 punktów. Załącznik do komunikatu Ministra Edukacji i Nauki z dnia 17.07.2023 Lp. 32318. Posiada Unikatowy Identyfikator Czasopisma: 201159. Przypisane dyscypliny naukowe: Nauki o kulturze fizycznej (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu); Nauki o zdrowiu (Dziedzina nauk medycznych i nauk o zdrowiu). © The Authors 2023; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Nicolaus Copernicus University in Torun, Poland Open Access. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Noncommercial License which permits any noncommercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author (s) and source are credited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non commercial license Share alike. (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. The authors declare that there is no conflict of interests regarding the publication of this paper. Received: 08.09.2023. Revised: 15.09.2023. Accepted: 26.09.2023. Published: 27.09.2023. Testing the Validity of Patellar Measurements in Sex Estimation – A Computed Tomography Study in a Contemporary Polish Population Karol Jakubik1, Mikołaj Jeżak1, Aleksandra Nowińska1, Monika Grudzień1, Piotr Piech2, Justyna Karpińska2, Grzegorz Staśkiewicz2 1Student Research Group at the Department of Clinical and Radiological Anatomy, Medical University of Lublin, Poland 2Department of Clinical and Radiological Anatomy, Medical University of Lublin, Poland Correspondence to: Karol Jakubik [email protected] Abstract Introduction and purpose: Human skeleton-based sex estimation is a major topic of interest for forensic anthropologists. Various bones have been examined for sex heterogeneity. The most commonly used include skull and pelvis, however they may not always be used due to damage or fragmentation. The patella has been shown to be resistant to postmortem changes, which creates a potential use for determining the sex of unknown human remains. Materials and methods: The samples were gathered from patients examined by computed tomography angiography (CTA) of lower extremities in University Hospital No. 4 in Lublin. Exclusion criteria included patellar fractures, knee replacement and advanced osteoporosis. A total of 120 CTA examinations of 65 males and 55 females, were included in the analysis. Four measurements for every patella: craniocaudal patella dimension (CCP), transverse dimension (TP), anteroposterior dimension (APP) and patellar angle (PA), were obtained from CTA images. Results: The statistical analysis proved that sex differences of all variables, except for PA, were statistically significant (p < 0,001). Conclusions: Patellar measurements can be helpful in sex determination in the Polish population. CT is a useful tool for skeleton-based sex identification. Keywords: Sex Estimation; Sexual Dimorphism; Patella; Forensic Anthropology; Multidetector Computed Tomograph

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy as additional treatment in deep sternal wound infections : a single center's experience

INTRODUCTION: Deep sternal wound infection (DSWI) is one of the most serious complications after cardiac surgery procedures, observed in 5% of patients. Current standard medical therapy for DSWI includes antibiotics, surgical debridement, resuturing or negative pressure wound therapy (NPWT). Unfortunately, in some cases these methods are insufficient, and additional therapeutic options are needed. AIM: To assess the effects and usefulness of additional hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBO2) in patients with DSWI after cardiac surgery procedures. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective analysis of 10 patients after cardiac surgery who developed DSWI in the period 2010–2012 was performed. After 3 months of ineffective conventional therapy including targeted antibiotic, surgical sternal debridement and NPWT, patients were qualified for additional HBO2 therapy. A total of 20 sessions of HBO2 therapy were performed, each 92 minutes long. RESULTS: After 4 weeks of HBO2 treatment, 7 patients presented complete wound healing with fibrous scar formation. One patient was qualified for the another cycle of HBO2 therapy with 20 additional sessions, and complete wound healing was observed. In 2 cases, after 5 and 19 sessions, HBO2 was interrupted because of improper qualifications. CONCLUSIONS: The HBO2 as an additional therapy in DSWI was successful in 80% of cases, and no complications were observed. However, due to the small number of published studies with a small number of patients, randomized, clinical trials are needed to assess the clinical results of HBO2 in DSWI after cardiac surgery procedures

Developing a novel positronium biomarker for cardiac myxoma imaging

Purpose: Cardiac myxoma (CM), the most common cardiac tumor in adults, accounts for 50–75% of benign cardiac tumors. The diagnosis of CM is often elusive, especially in young stroke survivors and transthoracic echocardiography (TTE) is the initial technique for the differential diagnostics of CM. Less invasive cardiac computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are not available for the majority of cardiac patients. Here, a robust imaging approach, ortho-Positronium (o-Ps) imaging, is presented to determine cardiac myxoma extracted from patients undergoing urgent cardiac surgery due to unexpected atrial masses. We aimed to assess if the o-Ps atom, produced copiously in intramolecular voids during the PET imaging, serves as a biomarker for CM diagnosing. Methods: Six perioperative CM and normal (adipose) tissue samples from patients, with primary diagnosis confirmed by the histopathology examination, were examined using positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy (PALS) and micro-CT. Additionally, cell cultures and confocal microscopy techniques were used to picture cell morphology and origin. Results: We observed significant shortening in the mean o-Ps lifetime in tumor with compare to normal tissues: an average value of 1.92(02) ns and 2.72(05) ns for CM and the adipose tissue, respectively. Microscopic differences between tumor samples, confirmed in histopathology examination and micro-CT, did not influenced the major positronium imaging results. Conclusions: Our findings, combined with o-Ps lifetime analysis, revealed the novel emerging positronium imaging marker (o-PS) for cardiovascular imaging. This method opens the new perspective to facilitate the quantitative in vivo assessment of intracardiac masses on a molecular (nanoscale) level

NIEINWAZYJNE METODY KONTROLNO-POMIAROWE W ZASTOSOWANIACH PRZEMYSŁOWYCH

Monitoring and control systems constitute an important group of diagnostic tools used in the industry. When selected properly, they allow for the early detection of adverse conditions of the process, making it possible to prevent catastrophes. While these systems are becoming more precise and effective it is essential to exploring the state of knowledge about the nature of the processes that are the domains of their proper execution. Based on a process of gravitational flow of solids proposed measuring and control system is described, which includes tools such as strain gauges, accelerometers and capacitance tomography sensors. Preliminary results of conducted tests confirmed the efficiency of the proposed system for the monitoring of an installation for storage and unloading of bulk solids. The flow rig is located in the Tom Dyakowski Process Tomography Lab at the Institute of Applied Computer Science.Systemy kontrolno-pomiarowe stanowią istotną grupę narzędzi diagnostycznych wykorzystywanych w przemyśle. Prawidłowo dobrane do charakteru procesu pozwalają na wczesne wykrywanie niepożądanych stanów procesu, dzięki czemu możliwe jest np. zapobieganie katastrofom przemysłowym. Nieustanny rozwój tych systemów powoduje, że są one coraz bardziej precyzyjne i efektywne, jednak od dokładności urządzeń często ważniejsze jest zgłębianie stanu wiedzy na temat natury badanych procesów. Na podstawie procesu grawitacyjnego przepływu substancji sypkich opisany został system pomiarowo-kontrolny, w skład którego wchodzą takie narzędzia jak: tensometry, akcelerometry oraz tomograficzne czujniki pojemnościowe. Wstępne wyniki przeprowadzonych eksperymentów potwierdzają skuteczność proponowanego systemu w odniesieniu do monitorowania przemysłowej instalacji przechowywania i rozładowywania materiałów sypkich, znajdującej się w Laboratorium Tomografii Procesowej im. T. Dyakowskiego Instytutu Informatyki Stosowanej

A new clonal chromosomal aberration (47, XY, +21) in atrial myxoma from an elderly male patient

Myxomas are the most common primary cardiac tumors, with an estimated incidence of 0.5 per million per year. Familial myxoma constitutes 10% of all myxomas, among these tumors, one in ten is part of Carney complex - an autosomal dominant syndrome, which are related to some mutations in the PRKAR1A gene. We report a case of 75-year-old man with sporadic cardiac myxoma of a 4-cm large tumor, arising from the left side of the atrial septum and causing a severe left ventricle inflow obstruction. Cytogenetic analysis confirmed by fluorescence in situ hybridization method (FISH), demonstrated a numerical aberration in atrial myxoma cells: 47, XY, +21. Flow cytometry analysis demonstrated that a quarter of tumors cells were hematopoietic progenitor cells (CD34+) and that a similar number were endothelial specific neovascular cells (CD31+). These finding suggest that, hematopoietic progenitor cells may play an important role in the histogenesis of cardiac myxomas and the karyotype aberrations have an impact on sporadic tumor genesis. Nevertheless, genetic screening for sporadic (non-familial) cardiac myxomas is not recommended