Isotopic envelope identification by analysis of the spatial distribution of components in MALDI-MSI data

One of the significant steps in the process leading to the identification of proteins is mass spectrometry, which allows for obtaining information about the structure of proteins. Removing isotope peaks from the mass spectrum is vital and it is done in a process called deisotoping. There are different algorithms for deisotoping, but they have their limitations, they are dedicated to different methods of mass spectrometry. Data from experiments performed with the MALDI-ToF technique are characterized by high dimensionality. This paper presents a method for identifying isotope envelopes in MALDI-ToF molecular imaging data based on the Mamdani-Assilan fuzzy system and spatial maps of the molecular distribution of peaks included in the isotopic envelope. Several image texture measures were used to evaluate spatial molecular distribution maps. The algorithm was tested on eight datasets obtained from the MALDI-ToF experiment on samples from the National Institute of Oncology in Gliwice from patients with cancer of the head and neck region. The data were subjected to pre-processing and feature extraction. The results were collected and compared with three existing deisotoping algorithms. The analysis of the obtained results showed that the method for identifying isotopic envelopes proposed in this paper enables the detection of overlapping envelopes by using the approach oriented to study peak pairs. Moreover, the proposed algorithm enables the analysis of large data sets

Death as a result of autoerotic activities : criminalistic, legal, forensic-medical and psychological aspects

abstract The aim of the paper is to discuss issues related to cases of death during autoerotic activities (defined in international literature as autoerotic death) on the basis of criminalistic, legal, forensic-medical and psychological knowledge. These are events in which death usually occurs as a result of rapid suffocation (autoerotic asphyxia, sexual asphyxia) due to the blocking of respiratory openings, hanging or strangulation, in the course of activities undertaken in order to evoke defined experiences of a sexual nature. A fatal consequence should be investigated rather as an unfortunate accident than the conscious intention of the victim/ perpetrator of the incident. As in the case of suicide, the victim is at the same time the perpetrator of the action, although other people may also have participated in the behaviour or provoked it. Some cases of this type must surely number among the dark figure of crimes. The case selected and described in this paper was studied at the Department of Forensic Medicine, Jagiellonian University Medical College in Kraków. It constituted both an example and a starting point for broader analysis of the issue with reference to various fields of science. Incidents consisting in self-strangulation with the aim of achieving sexual satisfaction have been noted by sexologists, and in situations ending in death, such cases are analysed by law enforcement agencies with the participation of forensic medical doctors. Cases of death as a result of autoerotic activities thus requires a complex, interdisciplinary approach in order to explain them

Zbrodnicze rozkawałkowanie zwłok : aspekty kryminalistyczne i prawne

Th is article presents diffi culties of forensic sciences and forensic medicine that might occur in cases of dismemberment of a body of a homicide victim. Th e diffi culties occur as a result of the body’s incompleteness. Th e body may be diffi cult to identify and it may be hard to determine the cause of death. All this depends on the time that has passed between the homicide and the moment when the dismembered body was found. A criminal case of dismemberment has been studied. It includes an analysis as to whether performing scientifi c experiments on bodies, like the “body farm” in the USA, is allowed by law. Although it may be diffi cult to socially accept such experiments, the authors argue that allowing them can be helpful in solving criminal cases. Th ese experiments may provide a signifi cant contribution to assigning criminal responsibility in cases where the off ender dismembered or burned the body wanting to escape responsibility

Estimation of Cutoff Values of Cotinine in Urine and Saliva for Pregnant Women in Poland

Setting appropriate cutoff values and the use of a highly sensitive analytical method allow for correct classification of the smoking status. Urine-saliva pairs samples of pregnant women in the second and third trimester, and saliva only in the first trimester were collected. Offline SPE and LC-ESI-MS/MS method was developed in the broad concentration range (saliva 0.4–1000 ng/mL, urine 0.8–4000 ng/mL). The mean recoveries were 3.7±7.6% for urine and 99.1±2.6% for saliva. LOD for saliva was 0.12 ng/mL and for urine 0.05 ng/mL; LOQ was 0.4 ng/mL and 0.8 ng/mL, respectively. Intraday and interday precision equaled, respectively, 1.2% and 3.4% for urine, and 2.3% and 6.4% for saliva. There was a strong correlation between salivary cotinine and the uncorrected cotinine concentration in urine in the second and third trimesters of pregnancy. The cutoff values were established for saliva 12.9 ng/mL and urine 42.3 ng/mL or 53.1 μg/g creatinine with the ROC curve analysis. The developed analytical method was successfully applied to quantify cotinine, and a significant correlation between the urinary and salivary cotinine levels was found. The presented cut-off values for salivary and urinary cotinine ensure a categorization of the smoking status among pregnant women that is more accurate than self-reporting

Impact of cognitive function on compliance with treatment in heart failure

Jankowska-Polańska Beata, Kuśnierz Maria, Dudek Krzysztof, Jaroch Joanna, Uchmanowicz Izabella. Impact of cognitive function on compliance with treatment in heart failure. Journal of Education, Health and Sport. 2017;7(2):392-420. eISSN 2391-8306. DOI http://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.400294 http://ojs.ukw.edu.pl/index.php/johs/article/view/4337 The journal has had 7 points in Ministry of Science and Higher Education parametric evaluation. Part B item 754 (09.12.2016). 754 Journal of Education, Health and Sport eISSN 2391-8306 7 © The Author (s) 2017; This article is published with open access at Licensee Open Journal Systems of Kazimierz Wielki University in Bydgoszcz, 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 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted, non commercial use, distribution and reproduction in any medium, provided the work is properly cited. This is an open access article licensed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/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: 02.02.2017. Revised 15.02.2017. Accepted: 28.02.2017. Impact of cognitive function on compliance with treatment in heart failure Wpływ funkcji poznawczych na przestrzeganie zaleceń terapeutycznych w niewydolności serca Beata Jankowska-Polańska*a, Maria Kuśnierza, Krzysztof Dudekb, Joanna Jarochc, Izabella Uchmanowicza aDepartment of Clinical Nursing, Faculty of Health Science, Wroclaw Medical University, 5 Bartla Street, 51-618 Wroclaw, Poland. bDepartment of Logistic and Transport Systems, Faculty of Mechanical Engineering, Wroclaw University of Technology, 27 Wyspianski street, 50-370 Wroclaw, Poland. c Marciniak Lower-Silesian Specialist Hospital ‒ Emergency Medicine Centre, Cardiology Unit Corresponding author: Beata Jankowska-Polańska, Department of Clinical Nursing, Wroclaw Medical University, K. Bartla 5, 51-616 Wroclaw, Poland. Tel.: +48 71 784 1824; Fax: +48 71 345 9324. E-mail addresses: (B. Jankowska-Polańska) [email protected] (Marysia Kuśnierz) [email protected] (I. Uchmanowicz) [email protected] (Krzysztof Dudek) [email protected] (Joanna Jaroch) [email protected] Abstract: In heart failure (HF) patients frailty syndrome and cognitive impairment (CI) affect outcome by decreasing the capability for performing self-care, adhering to the prescribed treatment regimen, monitoring symptoms. The aim was to investigate whether CI affects the compliance to therapeutic regimens. Methods: 170 with HF were included. We employed the Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE), for dementia and the Revised Heart Failure Compliance Scale to assess compliance. Results: CI patients showed lower compliance in all domains: 2.8±1.0 vs 3.3±1.0 (keeping appointments), 2.8±0.9 vs. 3.4±0.9 (pharmaceutical compliance), 0.4±0.8 vs. 1.4±1.2 (regular body weight monitoring), 2.0±1.3 vs. 2.7±1.0 (reduced salt intake), 1.9±1.2vs. 2.9±1.0 (fluid intake restriction), and 0.5±0.8 vs. 1.7±1.1 (regular exercise). Multiple regression analysis showed cognitive function to be an independent predictor for regular body weight monitoring (β=1.223;p<0.001), fluid intake restriction (β=1.081;p<0.001), and regular exercise (β=1.237;p<0.001). In multivariate analysis, the stimulant variables for compliance with HF treatment were: education (β=1.124), being in a relationship (β=2.231), and lack of cognitive impairment (β=0.320); the number of hospitalizations due to HF was identified as a destimulant (β=-0.495). Conclusion: Non-compliance is a major problem in elderly with HF. The cognitive function is an independent contributor to total compliance and to compliance with non-pharmaceutical recommendations. Being in a relationship and education are independent predictors of better compliance, while the number of rehospitalizations due to HF exacerbations is an independent predictor of worse compliance. Early detection of CI may offer an opportunity for intervention and a key strategy for improving clinical outcomes in older adults with HF. Streszczenie: U pacjentów z niewydolnością serca występowanie zespołu kruchości i zaburzeń funkcji poznawczych może wpływać na efekty leczenia, poprzez zmniejszenie możliwości samoopieki, przestrzegania ustalonych schematów terapeutycznych oraz upośledzenie monitorowania objawów. Celem badania była ocena związku funkcji poznawczych z przestrzeganiem zaleceń terapeutycznych w leczeniu niewydolności serca. Metody: Do badania włączono 170 pacjentów z rozpoznaną niewydolnością serca. W badaniu wykorzystano Mini Mental State Examination (MMSE) do oceny funkcji poznawczych oraz Revised Heart Failure Compliance Scale (RHFCS) do oceny przestrzegania zaleceń terapeutycznych ograniczania podaży sodu w diecie, ograniczenia płynów, codziennego ważenia i aktywności fizycznej. Wyniki Pacjenci z zaburzeniami funkcji poznawczych mają niższy poziom przestrzegania zaleceń w zakresie wszystkich domen kwestionariusza RHFCS, stosownie: przestrzeganie wizyt kontrolnych (2.8 ± 1.0 vs 3.3 ± 1.0), przestrzeganie zaleceń farmakologicznych (2.8 ± 0.9 vs. 3.4 ± 0.9), regularna kontrola masy ciała (0.4 ± 0.8 vs. 1.4 ± 1.2), ograniczenia spożycia soli (2.0 ± 1.3 vs. 2.7 ± 1.0), ograniczenia spożycia płynów (1.9 ±1.2 vs. 2.9 ±1.0), regularna aktywność fizyczna (0.5 ±0.8 vs. 1.7 ±1.1). Analiza regresji wielorakiej pokazała, że funkcje poznawcze są niezależnym predyktorem związanym z regularną kontrolą masy ciała (β=1.223; p<0.001), ograniczeniem płynów (β=1.081; p<0.001) i regularną aktywnością fizyczną (β=1.237; p<0.001). W analizie wieloczynnikowej niezależnymi predyktorami dostosowania do terapii niewydolności serca (stymulantami) okazały się: wykształcenie (β-1.124), życie w związku (β=2.231) i brak zaburzeń funkcji poznawczych (suma punktów kwestionariusza MMSE) (β=0.320) natomiast destymulantem - liczba hospitalizacji z powodu niewydolności serca. (β=-0.495) Wnioski Nieprzestrzeganie zaleceń terapeutycznych jest istotnym problemem wśród pacjentów z niewydolnością serca w wieku podeszłym. Funkcje poznawcze są niezależnym predyktorem mającym związek z przestrzeganiem zaleceń terapeutycznych. Życie w związku i wykształcenie są niezależnymi predyktorami zwiększającymi przestrzeganie zaleceń terapeutycznych, natomiast liczba rehospitalizacji z powodu zaostrzenia niewydolności serca jest niezależnym predyktorem obniżającym przestrzeganie zaleceń terapeutycznych. Wczesne rozpoznawanie zaburzeń funkcji poznawczych może przyczyniać się do lepszego planowania interwencji i strategii zmierzającej do poprawy przestrzegania zaleceń i zwiększenia skuteczności leczenia. Key words: heart failure, compliance, cognitive function Słowa kluczowe: niewydolność serca, przestrzeganie zaleceń, funkcje poznawcz

Importance of education in bronchial asthma treatment — gender differences

Introduction: Despite significant progress in understanding mechanisms and effective treatment there are still therapeutic failures in patients treated for bronchial asthma. Education is vital in the therapeutic process. It improves the control of the disease at the individual level by influencing the adherence and compliance. Material and methods: The study included 100 patients suffering from bronchial asthma and treated according to GINA 2002 guidelines in Allergy Clinic. Asthma control test (ACT), analysis of patients’ medical documentation and a self-constructed questionnaire concerning health promotion and education were used in the study. Aim of this work was to assess differences in the influence of education on results of bronchial asthma control between sexes. Results: Average duration of asthma was similar in women and men (13.0 ± 11.16 vs.12.7 ± 9.74 years). Weaker asthma control was found in women (ACT 17.7 vs. 20.4), as well as lower FEV1 values (80−50% of predicted value in 60.3% of women vs. 43.25 of men). In women an analysis of correlation concerning patients’ knowledge and conducted health education with asthma control revealed a statistically significant positive correlation of knowledge acquired from the allergologist with asthma control, information about proceeding in acute attack, whereas negative correlation with asthma control with knowledge passed on by family doctor was found. Among the male respondents positive correlations of knowledge with asthma control within the scope of knowledge from allergologist and information concerning proceeding in asthmatic attack were found, while negative correlation with information coming from family doctor was revealed. Conclusions: Health education in patients with asthma should be conducted by a specialist in allergic diseases and well-prepared healthcare professionals