Guidelines of the Polish Respiratory Society for diagnosis and treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis

Introduction: This document presents the guidelines of the Polish Respiratory Society (PTChP, Polskie Towarzystwo Chorób Płuc) for diagnosis and treatment of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), developed by a group of Polish experts.Material and methods: The recommendations were developed in the form of answers to previously formulated questions concer-ning everyday diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. They were developed based on a current literature review using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development and Evaluation (GRADE) methodology.Results: We formulated 28 recommendations for diagnosis (8), pharmacological treatment (12) as well as non-pharma-cological and palliative therapy (8). The experts suggest that surgical lung biopsy (SLB) not be performed in patients with the probable usual interstitial pneumonia (UIP) pattern, with an appropriate clinical context and unanimous opinion of a  multidisciplinary team. The experts recommend using antifibrotic agents in IPF patients and suggest their use irrespective of the degree of functional impairment. As regards non-pharmacological and palliative treatment, strong re-commendations were formulated regarding pulmonary rehabilitation, oxygen therapy (in patients with chronic respiratory failure), preventive vaccinations as well as referring IPF patients to transplant centres. Table 1 presents an aggregate list of recommendations.Conclusions: The Polish Respiratory Society Working Group developed guidelines for IPF diagnosis and treatment

Are the weak channels really weak?

The transfer probabilities for 20Ne + 90Zr and 20Ne + 92Zr at energies near the Coulomb barrier were measured. This quantity turned out to be very similar for both Zr isotopes and does not explain the observed differences in the barrier height distributions for these systems

The agt gene m235t polymorphism and response of power-related variables to aerobic training

© Journal of Sports Science and Medicine.The C allele of the M235T (rs699) polymorphism of the AGT gene correlates with higher levels of angiotensin II and has been associated with power and strength sport performance. The aim of the study was to investigate whether or not selected power-related variables and their response to a 12-week program of aerobic dance training are modulated by the AGT M235T genotype in healthy participants. Two hundred and one Polish Caucasian women aged 21 ± 1 years met the inclusion criteria and were included in the study. All women completed a 12-week program of low and high impact aerobics. Wingate peak power and total work capacity, 5 m, 10 m, and 30 m running times and jump height and jump power were determined before and after the training programme. All power-related variables improved significantly in response to aerobic dance training. We found a significant association between the M235T polymorphism and jump-based variables (squat jump (SJ) height, p = 0.005; SJ power, p = 0.015; countermovement jump height, p = 0.025; average of 10 countermovement jumps with arm swing (ACMJ) height, p = 0.001; ACMJ power, p = 0.035). Specifically, greater improvements were observed in the C allele carriers in comparison with TT homozygotes. In conclusion, aerobic dance, one of the most commonly practiced adult fitness activities in the world, provides sufficient training stimuli for augmenting the explosive strength necessary to increase vertical jump performance. The AGT gene M235T polymorphism seems to be not only a candidate gene variant for power/strength related pheno-types, but also a genetic marker for predicting response to training

Dilemmas and errors in traffic models and forecasts

Artykuł zawiera omówienie podstawowych dylematów i błędów na jakie można się natknąć lub jakie można popełnić na różnych etapach budowy modelu ruchu. Opiera się na 30 letnim doświadczeniu w budowie modeli ruchu różnej skali dla różnych środków transportu.The article includes discussion of basic dilemmas and possible errors at different stages of four step traffic model. It is based on 30 years old experience in creating and developing of traffic models of different scale for different means of transport

Pros and cons of the GEH statistic for the evaluation of traffic models

Artykuł omawia możliwości stosowania statystyki GEH do oceny poprawności modeli ruchu. Statystyka ta nosi nazwę od Geoffreya E. Haversa, który zastosował ją w trakcie prac nad modelem ruchu dla Londynu w latach 70. ubiegłego wieku. Jest to formuła empiryczna, która dla niskich wartości dopuszcza większe odchylenie od pomiaru, a dla wysokich mniejsze. Statystyka GEH jest zalecana przez brytyjskie wytyczne projektowania dróg i mostów i inne wytyczne do oceny poprawności modeli transportowych. W artykule podjęto dyskusję na temat konieczności stosowania różnych wartości granicznych GEH w zależności od rozkładu wielkości ruchu uzyskiwanych w pomiarach.The article discusses the possibility of applying the GEH statistic for the evaluation of traffic models. The statistic is called after the name of Geoffrey E. Havers, who has applied it during his works for the London’s traffic model in the seventies of last century. It is an empirical formula which allows for greater variance in the measurement for low values and lower deviation for high values. The GEH statistic is recommended by British guidelines for road and bridges modeling and other directives for evaluation of transport models correctness. Discussion on the necessity to apply different limit values of the GEH factor depending on the distribution of the traffic values obtained in the measurements has been conducted in the article

Road importance index

Artykuł pokazuje szybką metodę oceny istotności drogi z punktu widzenia natężenia ruchu. Miarą istotności jest iloraz średniego ważonego ruchu dobowego na drodze i średniego ważonego ruchu dobowego na analizowanej sieci drogowej. Wskaźnik ten może być pomocny przy podejmowaniu decyzji inwestycyjnych. Wskaźnik istotności w odniesieniu do ruchu ciężkiego może także stanowić wskazówkę, które drogi należy objąć systemem elektronicznego poboru opłat.Article shows the simple method of validation the road importance from the point of view of the traffic volumes. Measure of road value is ratio of annual average daily traffic for road and annual average daily traffic for the whole road network. Importance index could help to make a decision about road investment. Value index for heavy traffic may be a guideline for electronic toll system