H3K27 Demethylases, at Long Last

Methylation of lysine 27 on histone H3 (H3K27me) by the Polycomb complex (PRC2) proteins is associated with gene silencing in many developmental processes. A cluster of recent papers (Agger et al., 2007; De Santa et al., 2007; Lan et al., 2007; Lee et al., 2007) identify the JmjC-domain proteins UTX and JMJD3 as H3K27-specific demethylases that remove this methyl mark, enabling the activation of genes involved in animal body patterning and the inflammatory response

Nowa klasyfikacja WHO guzów piersi – wydanie z 2019 roku

Pod koniec 2019 roku Światowa Organizacja Zdrowia (World Health Organization, WHO) opublikowała nową klasyfikację nowotworów piersi. Popularna nazwa klasyfikacji to „niebieska księga” i wywodzi się od koloru jej okładki. Nową klasyfikację udostępniono po 7 latach od poprzedniej. W 2019 roku WHO wprowadziła nowe jednostki chorobowe: śluzowy torbielakogruczolakorak i rak wysokokomórkowy o odwrotnej polaryzacji. Najnowsza klasyfikacja zawiera również klasyfikację oceny mikroskopowej raka przewodowego in situ (ductal carcinoma in situ, DCIS) oraz oceny parametrów niezbędnych, aby określić stopień zaawansowania raka piersi, a także parametrów predykcyjnych lub prognostycznych. Wszystkie powyższe zmiany zostały przedstawione i skomentowane w artykule

Postawy życiowe młodzieży licealnej i ich wybrane - społeczno-demograficzne - korelaty

The paper presents the analysis of life attitudes/attachment styles among secondary school teenagers in terms of selected factors that determine their development. The authors draw on the fundamental assumptions of E. Berne’s theory of transactional analysis, as well as on the model of attachment styles, created by K. Bartholomew and L.M. Horowitz, which describes the individual's attitudes towards self and others and emphasizes the fact that the attitudes are determined by the environment in which the person lives. Research data indicate that secondary school teenagers tend to have positive views of self, although they exhibit negative attitudes towards others. This points to a dismissive-avoidant model of attachment (I am OK, You are not OK), characterized by drive for self-reliance and a tendency to avoid emotional intimacy in interpersonal relations. The research reveals that the most significant correlates of attitudes towards self include such variables as gender, age and mother’s education level, whereas the individual’s opinions of others are influenced by the person’s religiosity as well as his or her mother’s education level

Postawy życiowe młodzieży licealnej i ich wybrane osobowościowe korelaty

The paper presents the analysis of life attitudes/attachment styles among secondary school teenagers, in terms of selected personal factors that determine their development. The authors draw on the fundamental assumptions of E. Berne’s theory of transactional analysis as well as on the model of attachment styles, created by K. Bartholomew and L.M. Horowitz, describing the individual’s attitudes towards self and others, and emphasizing the fact that the attitudes are determined by such personal factors as the level of stress experienced by an individual, aggressiveness, emotional intelligence and hope of success. The research data indicate that secondary school teenagers tend to have positive views of self; however, they exhibit negative attitudes towards others. This points to a dismissive-avoidant model of attachment (I am OK, You are not OK), characterized by a drive for self-reliance and a tendency to avoid emotional intimacy in interpersonal relations. The study revealed that the most significant correlates of life attitudes (having taken into consideration the strength of the correlation) included such factors as hope of success, experiencing stress, emotional intelligence, and aggressiveness. A strong correlation was discovered between the aforementioned variables and attitudes towards self, which were found to be determined primarily by hope of success (willpower and the ability to find solutions); experiencing stress, predominantly intrapsychic stress and, to a lesser extent, external stress; and emotional intelligence (in particular, the ability to use emotions in the process of thinking and acting). No significant correlations were detected between attitudes towards self and aggressive behaviour and its dimensions (except a weak correlation with emotional sensitivity). It was revealed that attitudes towards other people were primarily predicted by such factors as aggressive behaviour and all its dimensions; external stress; and emotional intelligence (particularly the ability to recognize emotions). A weak, albeit significant, correlation was observed between attitudes towards others and hope of success (in particular, willpower)

Combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma containing the cells of hepatocellular cancer and bile duct cancer

Combined hepatocellular-cholangiocarcinoma (cHCC-CC) is a rare (< 1%) primary liver cancer which contains elements of hepatocellular cancer (HCC) and bile duct cancer (CC). On account of the difficulties in reaching preoperative dia­gnosis, it is frequently diagnosed only after resection is performed. A surgical resection of the liver is the treatment of choice, whilst a liver transplant is a rarely implemented option. The prognosis of cHCC-CC tumours is better than in CC but worse than in HCC. This paper presents the case report of a 62-year-old man undergoing a left hemihepa­tectomy for a cHCC-CC liver tumour

Time perspective and experience of depression, stress, and loneliness among adolescents in youth educational centres

Time perspective is of key significance in overcoming an identity crisis in adolescence. Re-search using the Zimbardo Time Perspective Inventory (ZTPI) was conducted on a group of 311 adolescents (aged 13-18) in several youth educational centres in south-eastern Poland. The research was designed to identify the significance of time perspective when it comes to levels of depression, stress and loneliness experienced in conditions of institutional rehabilitation and education. Linear regression analysis demonstrated the following: a positive past focus reduces the intensity of anxiety and depression; a positive past and future focus results in reduced depression, loneliness and stress; the experience of stress combined with depression enhances the significance of time perspective for the feeling of loneliness; and a low level of family loneliness reduces depression

Selected abbreviations and new terms in breast pathology — a guide for clinicians

The aim of this article is to present briefly new pathological entities which are recently increasingly commonly used in pathology reports, as well as to discuss their clinical consequences. The new WHO classification of breast diseases includes, inter alia, invasive carcinoma of no special type: this is not a specific entity, but rather a group of malignancies without specific features. The lobular hyperplasia group includes a classical variant and a pleomorphic variant of lobular carcinoma in situ, as well as atypical lobular hyperplasia. The ductal hyperplasia group, according to the current revision of the WHO classification of breast diseases, encompasses: typical (i.e. non-atypical) ductal hyperplasia, columnar cell change, columnar cell hyperplasia, atypical ductal hyperplasia. The mesenchymal breast hyperplasia group includes pseudoangiomatous stromal hyperplasia. We briefly discuss the above mentioned entities together with their respective clinical and therapeutic consequences

Assessment of frequency of impaired cognitive functions in diabetic patients

WSTĘP. Chorych na cukrzycę charakteryzuje przyspieszony proces starzenia. Należałoby więc oczekiwać częstszego występowania w tej grupie osób zaburzeń funkcji poznawczych, ściśle powiązanych z wiekiem biologicznym. MATERIAŁ i METODY. Do badania częstości zaburzeń funkcji poznawczych wśród chorych na cukrzycę wybrano grupę 259 osób w wieku powyżej 50 lat, u których przeprowadzono ocenę funkcji poznawczych przy użyciu Krótkiej Skali Oceny Stanu Psychicznego (MMSE, Mini Mental State Examination) i Testu Rysowania Zegara (CDT, Clock Drawing Test). Uzyskane wyniki weryfikowano za pomocą badania psychologicznego. WYNIKI. Wykazano, że zaburzenia poznawcze występowały u 38,6% chorych na cukrzycę, z tego u 5,4% pacjentów rozpoznano zespół otępienny. Obecność zaburzeń poznawczych zależała od czasu trwania cukrzycy (p < 0,005), stężenia HbA1c (p < 0,05), wartości ciśnienia tętniczego (p < 0,05) i występowania powikłań naczyniowych (p < 0,05), a także od miejsca zamieszkania (p < 0,05), samotności (p < 0,05), a przede wszystkim od stopnia wykształcenia (p < 0,001). WNIOSKI. Uzyskane wyniki wskazują na potrzebę opracowania specjalnych metod edukacyjnych dla chorych na cukrzycę z zaburzeniami funkcji poznawczych.INTRODUCTION. Diabetic patients are characterized by accelerated aging. Therefore, it would be expected that this group of patients would more often present cognitive disturbances strictly depending on the biological age. MATERIAL AND METHODS. To assess the frequency of impaired cognitive functions in diabetic patients, the group of 259 subjects, aged above 50 years, was included into the study. Patients were examined with the use of the psychological state evaluation scales: Mini Mental State Examination and Clock Drawing Test. The obtained results were verified by psychological examination. RESULTS. It was shown that cognitive dysfunction was present in 38.6% of diabetic patients, out of which 5.4% were diagnosed to have dementia. The presence of cognitive disturbances was dependent from the duration of diabetes (p < 0.005), HbA1c value (p < 0.05), blood pressure value (p < 0.05) and vascular complications (p < 0.05). It was also related to living in the countryside (p < 0.05), being inmarried (p < 0.05), and most of all - level of education (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS. The data obtained suggest, that this group of diabetic patients requires specific and different methods of education

Sex estimation using measurements of the proximal femur in a historical population from Poland

Sex estimation is one of the most important components in assessing the biological profile of an individual. In an archaeological context, the pelvis, which is the most dimorphic part of the skeleton, is often poorly preserved, which can cause an inability to use morphological sex estimation methods. Therefore, alternative methods are required in such cases. Because the utility of the metric methods based on the femur measurement has been confirmed, and the bone is usually available for examination due to its good preservation, developing methods using the landmarks of the femur could have important implications in sex estimation.  This study aimed to derive a discriminant function equation for a Polish archaeological population based on measurements of the proximal end of the femur.  The study sample included individuals from a medieval cemetery in Milicz (n = 62) and an early modern necropolis at Czysty Square in Wrocław, Poland (n = 162). The analysis included seven measurements collected from the right and left proximal femora. To estimate the reproducibility of the measurements, intra-and interobserver errors and reliability coefficients were calculated. Subsequently, univariate and stepwise discriminant analyses were performed, and the sex sectioning points and equations were proposed.  No differences were observed between measurements of the right and left femora. The results indicated a high utility and reproducibility of the FHD measurement (regardless whether left or right femur was measured). The discriminant equations for sex estimation reached an accuracy of 83.0–92.3%, which implies the utility of the function on Polish historical populations when the other methods for sex estimation cannot be used.