Compliance with pharmacological treatment among patients after minimally invasive coronary bypass grafting

Background: We sought to evaluate patients’ adherence to optimal pharmacotherapy as recommended by the European Society of Cardiology, together with the assessment of potential clinical determinants of medical non-compliance in a large cohort of patients after endoscopic atraumatic coronary artery bypassing (EACAB).Methods: This cross sectional study was conducted in a group of 706 individuals who underwent EACAB between April 1998 and December 2010. Data covering current pharmacological treatment with antiplatelet agents, beta-blockers (BB) (or heart rate lowering calcium channel blockers [CCB] in case of intolerance and/or poor efficacy of beta-blockade), angiotensin-converting enzyme (ACE) inhibitors (or angiotensin receptor blockers [ARB]) and statins was acquired. Mean duration of observation after the surgery was 2132 ± 1313 days.Results: Complete follow-up data has been obtained from 415 living patients (341 males). Amongst them, 353 (85%) received antiplatelet agents, while BB or CCB were routinely ingested by 349 (84%) patients. Statins were used by 310 (74.7%) individuals and 274 (66%) subjects took ACE inhibitors or ARB. Baseline demographic and clinical features, including major co-morbidities had no impact on patients’ compliance with all investigated medications. There was no clear association between adherence to treatment and risk of rehospitalization or occurrence of major cerebral and cardiovascular events.Conclusions: EACAB patients’ compliance with pharmacotherapy guidelines is insufficient and is unrelated to demographic and clinical features of the subjects. Multidisciplinary approach involving health education, enhancement in prescription drug affordability and a better rapport between doctors and patients should be incorporated into clinical practice to overcome therapeutic disobedience

Balancing the immune response in the brain: IL-10 and its regulation

Background: The inflammatory response is critical to fight insults, such as pathogen invasion or tissue damage, but if not resolved often becomes detrimental to the host. A growing body of evidence places non-resolved inflammation at the core of various pathologies, from cancer to neurodegenerative diseases. It is therefore not surprising that the immune system has evolved several regulatory mechanisms to achieve maximum protection in the absence of pathology. Main body: The production of the anti-inflammatory cytokine interleukin (IL)-10 is one of the most important mechanisms evolved by many immune cells to counteract damage driven by excessive inflammation. Innate immune cells of the central nervous system, notably microglia, are no exception and produce IL-10 downstream of pattern recognition receptors activation. However, whereas the molecular mechanisms regulating IL-10 expression by innate and acquired immune cells of the periphery have been extensively addressed, our knowledge on the modulation of IL-10 expression by central nervous cells is much scattered. This review addresses the current understanding on the molecular mechanisms regulating IL-10 expression by innate immune cells of the brain and the implications of IL-10 modulation in neurodegenerative disorders. Conclusion: The regulation of IL-10 production by central nervous cells remains a challenging field. Answering the many remaining outstanding questions will contribute to the design of targeted approaches aiming at controlling deleterious inflammation in the brain.We acknowledge the Portuguese Foundation for Science and Technology (FCT) for providing a PhD grant to DLS (SFRH/BD/88081/2012) and a post-doctoral fellowship to SR (SFRH/BPD/72710/2010). DS, AGC and SR were funded by FEDER through the Competitiveness Factors Operational Programme (COMPETE) and National Funds through FCT under the scope of the project POCI-01-0145-FEDER007038; and by the project NORTE-01-0145-FEDER-000013, supported by Norte Portugal Regional Operational Programme (NORTE 2020), under the PORTUGAL 2020 Partnership Agreement, through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF). The MS lab was financed by Fundo Europeu de Desenvolvimento Regional (FEDER) funds through the COMPETE 2020—Operacional Programme for Competitiveness and Internationalisation (POCI), Portugal 2020, and by Portuguese funds through FCT in the framework of the project “Institute for Research and Innovation in Health Sciences ” (POCI-01-0145-FEDER-007274). MS is a FCT Associate Investigator. The funding body had no role in the design of the study and collection, analysis, and interpretation of the data and in writing the manuscript

Mikrobiologiczne przemiany N, S i P w glebie zdegradowanej poddanej rocznej rekultywacji różnymi odpadami

This study was conducted on the material originating from a reclamation experiment established in the area of the former Sulphur Mine “Jeziórko”, on a soil-less formation with a particle size distribution of weakly loamy sand, strongly acidified and with poor sorptive properties. In the particular treatments of the experiment, the following were applied to the soil-less formation: flotation lime and NPK; lime and sewage sludge; sewage sludge; mineral wool (5 cm 50 cm⁻¹), lime and NPK; mineral wool (5 cm 50 cm⁻¹), lime and sewage sludge; mineral wool (500 m3 ha⁻¹), lime and NPK; mineral wool (500 m3 ha⁻¹), lime and sewage sludge. Plots prepared in this manner were then sown with a mix of grasses. The control treatment in the experiment was the ground with no amendments. The analyses of the soil material comprised assays of the numbers of bacteria and fungi degrading protein, and of their enzymatic activities i.e. arylsulphatase and alkaline phosphatase. The waste materials applied to the degraded soil had a stimulating effect on the analyzed parameters. All of the wastes applied, and the sewage sludge in particular caused an increase in the numbers of proteolytic bacteria and in the activity of alkaline phosphatase and arylsulphatase. Sewage sludge applied separately or in combination with other wastes contributed also to an increase in the number of proteolytic fungi and to an intensification of the process of nitrification. The process of ammonification was also stimulated, but only under the effect of sewage sludge applied alone or together with lime. The application of mineral wool at the dose of 5 cm 50 cm⁻¹ in combination with lime caused a slight decrease in the activity of that process

Liczebnosc i aktywnosc mikroorganizmow czynnych w przemianach azotu w glebie, w czwartym roku od wzbogacenia jej osadem sciekowym

The objective of the study was to determine the direction, intensity and duration of changes in abundance and activity of certain microbial groups active in nitrogen transformations in soil subjected to a 4-year fertilization treatment with municipal and industrial sewage sludge. The study was conducted on podzolic soil, whose accumulation horizon had been fertilized in 1998 with fermented sewage sludge at doses of 30 Mg⋅ha-1(1%), 75 Mg⋅ha-1(2.5%), 150 Mg⋅ha-1(5%), 300 Mg⋅ha-1(10%) and 600 Mg⋅ha-1(20%) and planted with willow (Salix viminalis L.). Four years after the application of sludge, microbiological and biochemical analyses were made in two soil horizons (0-20 cm and 20-40 cm). It was found that in the soil from the 0-20 cm depth significant stimulation of the growth of proteolytic fungi and bacteria continued, but only under the effect of the highest dose of sludge. Moreover, there was a notable stimulation of protease activity and nitrification process alongside a slight inhibition of ammonification. In the soil from the 20-40 cm layer stimulation of the growth of protein-decomposing fungi was observed as well as that of proteolytic and nitrification activity of soil, while ammonification was inhibited. However, the effect of sludge was generally less pronounced in the deeper soil layer than in the surface soil horizon.Celem pracy było określenie kierunku, natężenia i czasu utrzymywania się zmian w liczebności i aktywności niektórych grup mikroorganizmów czynnych w przemianach azotu, w glebie poddanej 4-letniemu oddziaływaniu osadu ścieków komunalno-przemysłowych. Badaniami objęto glebę bielicową, której poziom akumulacyjny nawieziono w 1998 r. przefermentowanym osadem ściekowym w ilości: 30 Mg·ha-1(1%), 75 Mg·ha-1(2,5%), 150 Mg·ha-1 (5%), 300 Mg·ha-1(10%) i 600 Mg·ha-1(20%). Następnie glebę obsadzono wierzbą (Salix viminalis L.) i w 4-tym roku od wprowadzenia osadu wykonano w dwu jej warstwach (0-20 cm i 20-40 cm) analizy mikrobiologiczne i biochemiczne. Stwierdzono, że w glebie z głębokości 0-20 cm utrzymywało się nadal istotne pobudzenie rozwoju bakterii i grzybów proteolitycznych, ale tylko pod wpływem najwyższej dawki osadu. Ponadto występowała wyraźna stymulacja aktywności proteazy i procesu nitryfikacji oraz niewielkie hamowanie amonifikacji. W glebie z warstwy 20-40 cm odnotowano również stymulację rozwoju grzybów rozkładających białko, aktywności proteolitycznej i nitryfikacyjnej gleby oraz hamowanie amonifikacji. Jednak oddziaływanie osadu było w tych warunkach na ogół słabsze niż w wierzchniej warstwie gleby

Aktywność mikrobiologiczna gleby nawożonej granulatem z osadu ściekowego

The study was conducted on a model of a pot experiment in which grey-brown podzolic soil developed from weakly loamy sand was amended with granulated dry organic-mineral fertilizer prepared from municipal sewage sludge. Three levels of pre-sowing fertilization with the granulate were applied: I – a dose which brought nitrogen in the amount of 0.35 g kg-1 d.m. of soil, II – a 50% higher dose, and III – a 100% higher dose. Additionally, a treatment with average mineral fertilization (NPK) was run. The control treatment was non-fertilized soil. Soil prepared as above was placed in pots and sown with white mustard (cv. Borowska) in spring in the 1st and 2nd year of the experiment. During the experiment, the soil moisture was maintained at the level of ca 60% t.w.c. Microbiological and biochemical soil assays were conducted three times in the first and second years of the experiment, i.e. in May and July and 41 days from harvesting the crop and mixing of its fragmented residues with the soil. The scope of the analyses included numbers of bacteria with low and high nutrition requirements, total numbers of filamentous fungi, cellulolytic, proteolytic and lipolytic bacteria and fungi. Other analyses included determinations of the respiratory activity in soil, the rate of cellulose mineralization and the activity of dehydrogenases, lipase, protease and acid phosphatase. The study showed a stimulating effect of the sludge granulate on the above groups of bacteria and fungi, both in the 1st and in the 2nd years of the experiment. The effect generally weakened with time. The fertilization also stimulated the respiratory rate and activity of phosphatase. However, it inhibited the mineralisation of cellulose as well as the activity of dehydrogenases, lipase and protease in soil. The application of mineral fertilization in the form of NPK did not cause any changes in numbers of the analyzed bacterial groups, except a certain decreasing tendency in the second year. In both years, mineral fertilization contributed to the stimulation of the growth of most fungi. It also enhanced the respiratory activity, rate of cellulose mineralisation, and the activity of dehydrogenase and acid phosphatase, albeit only in the first year of the experiment. Finally, in the soil with mineral fertilization the activity of protease and lipase was observed to have declined.Badania przeprowadzono na modelu doświadczenia wazonowego, w którym glebę płową, wytworzoną z piasku słabo gliniastego, nawieziono granulowanym suchym nawozem organiczno- mineralnym, wykonanym na bazie osadu ścieków komunalnych. W doświadczeniu zastosowano przedsiewnie trzy poziomy nawożenia granulatem: I – dawka z którą wniesiono azot w ilości 0,35g kg-1 s.m. gleby; II – dawka zwiększona o 50%, III dawka zwiększona o 100%. Dodatkowo wprowadzono kombinację z przeciętnym nawożeniem mineralnym (NPK). Kontrolę doświadczenia stanowiła gleba nienawożona. Tak przygotowaną glebę umieszczono w wazonach i obsiewano wiosną w 1. i 2. roku badań gorczycą białą odmiany Borowska. Wilgotność gleby w czasie doświadczenia utrzymywano na poziomie ok. 60% c.p.w. Analizy mikrobiologiczne i biochemiczne gleby wykonano trzykrotnie w 1. i 2. roku doświadczenia, tj. w maju i lipcu oraz po 41 dniach od zbioru rośliny i wymieszaniu jej rozdrobnionych resztek z glebą. Określano liczebność: bakterii o małych i dużych wymaganiach pokarmowych, grzybów nitkowatych ogółem, bakterii i grzybów celulolitycznych, proteolitycznych oraz lipolitycznych. Ponadto w glebie analizowano aktywność oddechową, tempo mineralizacji celulozy oraz aktywność dehydrogenaz, lipazy, proteazy i kwaśnej fosfatazy. Wykazano stymulujący wpływ zastosowanego granulatu osadowego na ww. grupy bakterii i grzybów, zarówno w 1., jak i w 2. roku doświadczenia. Obserwowane oddziaływanie na ogół słabło w miarę upływu czasu. Nawożenie to stymulowało również aktywność oddechową i aktywność fosfatazy. Natomiast hamowało tempo mineralizacji celulozy, a także aktywność dehydrogenaz, lipazy i proteazy w glebie. Zastosowanie nawozu mineralnego w postaci NPK w 1. roku badań nie spowodowało zmian w liczebności. badanych grup bakterii, a w kolejnym roku odnotowano nawet pewną tendencję spadkową w tym zakresie. W obu latach nawożenie mineralne przyczyniło się do pobudzenia rozwoju większości grup grzybów oraz tylko w 1. roku badań – aktywności oddechowej, tempa mineralizacji celulozy, aktywności dehydrogenaz i fosfatazy kwaśnej. W glebie z nawozem mineralnym odnotowano ponadto spadek aktywności proteazy i lipazy

Liczebność i aktywność wybranych grup mikroorganizmów, czynnych w przemianach węgla w glebie bielicowej wzbogaconej osadem

Laboratory experiments were conducted in two variants, on a podzolic soil amended with the following doses of municipal-industrial sewage sludge: 30 Mg ź ha–1 (1 %), 75 Mg ź ha–1 (2.5 %), 150 Mg ź ha–1 (5 %), 300 Mg ź ha–1 (10 %) and 600 Mg ź ha–1 (20 %). In one of the variants non-sterile sludge was applied, and in the other variant the sludge applied had been subjected to the process of sterilisation in order to determine the contribution of the sludge microorganisms in the transformation of organic matter. After 0.5, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 months from the application of the sludge, analyses were performed to determine the following parameters in the soils of the two variants: so-called total number of bacteria with low nutritional requirements, so-called total number of bacteria with high nutritional requirements, total number of filamentous fungi, number of cellulolytic fungi, respiratory activity, intensification of the process of cellulose mineralisation, and dehydrogenases activity. The analyses revealed that the non-sterile sewage sludge caused a stimulation of both the growth and the level of activity of the bacterial and fungal groups under study. That effect was usually the strongest at the beginning of the experiment and increased with increase in the dose of sludge applied. The non-sterile sludge had a stronger effect only on mineralisation of cellulose and on dehydrogenases activity, which may indicate participation of sludge microorganisms in those processes.Badania laboratoryjne przeprowadzono w dwóch wariantach na glebie bielicowej, do której dodano następujące dawki osadu oecieków komunalno-przemysłowych: 30 Mg ź ha–1 (1 %), 75 Mg ź ha–1 (2,5 %), 150 Mg ź ha–1 (5 %), 300 Mg ź ha–1 (10 %) i 600 Mg ź ha–1 (20 %). W jednym wariancie zastosowano osad niesterylny, a w drugim osad poddany procesowi sterylizacji, w celu poznania udziału mikroorganizmów osadowych w transformacji wymienionej materii organicznej Po upływie 0,5, 1, 2, 3, 4 i 5 miesięcy oznaczano w gleby obu wariantów: tzw. ogólną liczbę bakterii o małych wymaganiach pokarmowych, tzw. ogólną liczbę bakterii o dużych wymaganiach pokarmowych, tzw. ogólną liczbę grzybów nitkowatych, liczebnooeć grzybów celulolitycznych, aktywnooeć oddechową, nasilenie procesu mineralizacji celulozy i aktywnooeć dehydrogenaz. Przeprowadzone analizy wykazały, że niesterylny osad oeciekowy spowodował zarówno stymulację rozwoju, jak i aktywnooeci badanych grup bakterii i grzybów. Efekt ten na ogół najsilniej wystąpił na początku trwania dooewiadczenia i nasilał się wraz ze wzrostem dawki odpadu. Osad niesterylny wywarł silniejszy wpływ jedynie na mineralizację celulozy oraz aktywność dehydrogenazową, co może wskazywać na udział w nich drobnoustrojów osadowych