81 research outputs found
Tree rings of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) as a source of information about past climate in northern Poland
Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris) is a very common tree in Polish forests, and therefore was widely used as timber. A relatively large amount of available wood allowed a long-term chronology to be built up and used as a source of information about past climate. The analysis of reconstructed indexed values of mean temperature in 51-year moving intervals allowed the recognition of the coldest periods in the years 1207–1346, 1383–1425, 1455–1482, 1533–1574, 1627–1646, and 1694–1785. The analysis of extreme wide and narrow rings forms a complementary method of examining climatic data within tree rings. The tree ring widths, early wood and late wood widths of 16 samples were assessed during the period 1581–1676. The most apparent effect is noted in the dry summer of 1616. According to previous research and our findings, temperature from February to March seems to be one of the most stable climatic factors which influenced pine growth in Poland. Correlation coefficients in the calibration and validation procedure gave promising results for temperature reconstruction from the pine chronology
Scientific merits and analytical challenges of tree-ring densitometry
R.W. was supported by NERC grant NE/K003097/1.X-ray microdensitometry on annually-resolved tree-ring samples has gained an exceptional position in last-millennium paleoclimatology through the maximum latewood density parameter (MXD), but also increasingly through other density parameters. For fifty years, X-ray based measurement techniques have been the de facto standard. However, studies report offsets in the mean levels for MXD measurements derived from different laboratories, indicating challenges of accuracy and precision. Moreover, reflected visible light-based techniques are becoming increasingly popular and wood anatomical techniques are emerging as a potentially powerful pathway to extract density information at the highest resolution. Here we review the current understanding and merits of wood density for tree-ring research, associated microdensitometric techniques, and analytical measurement challenges. The review is further complemented with a careful comparison of new measurements derived at 17 laboratories, using several different techniques. The new experiment allowed us to corroborate and refresh ?long-standing wisdom?, but also provide new insights. Key outcomes include; i) a demonstration of the need for mass/volume based re-calibration to accurately estimate average ring density; ii) a substantiation of systematic differences in MXD measurements that cautions for great care when combining density datasets for climate reconstructions; and iii) insights into the relevance of analytical measurement resolution in signals derived from tree-ring density data. Finally, we provide recommendations expected to facilitate future inter-comparability and interpretations for global change research.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe
Diagnosis and treatment of thyroid cancer in children in the multicenter analysis in Poland for PPGGL
Introduction: Differentiated thyroid carcinoma (DTC) in
children presents different biological behavior in comparison
to adults. Authors presents preliminary results of multicenter
analysis concerning incidence, diagnostics and treatment
of DTC in children.
Material and methods: The study is a retrospective analysis
of 107 pediatric patients from 14 academic centers based
on the data from 2000 to 2005 obtained by questionnaire in
hospitals involved in the treatment of DTC in children.
Results: Papillary thyroid cancer was diagnosed in 83 children,
follicular thyroid cancer in 10 children and medullary
thyroid cancer in 14 children. Incidence of DTC in children
was estimated between 18 and 23 cases per year. The biggest
group of patients consisted of children between 11 and
15 years of age, with girls to boys ratio 3.3 : 1. Clinically DTC
in children presented most often as solitary thyroid nodule.
Cervical lymphadenopathy was observed in 42% of patients.
Intraoperative verification indicated metastatic nodes
in 50% of children. Low stage DTC predominated (T1
in 36% and T2 in 26% of children). One step surgery was performed in 65% of children with DTC, two step surgery
in 25% of patients. I131 therapy was undertaken in 80% of
children. Lung metastases were indicated in post therapeutic
studies in 14% of children with DTC. Prophylactic thyroidectomies
were performed in 79% of children in the group
of patients with MTC and RET gene mutations.
Conclusions: The necessity of introduction of unified therapeutic
standard in children with DTC in Poland is underlined.Wstęp: Zróżnicowane raki tarczycy (DTC, differentiated thyroid
carcinoma) występują u dzieci rzadko. Większość przypadków
wykrywanych jest w wieku 11-17 lat. W odróżnieniu
od dorosłych DTC u dzieci prezentują odmienne zachowanie
biologiczne. Mała liczba przypadków DTC
w poszczególnych ośrodkach oraz względnie łagodny ich
przebieg utrudniają ocenę występowania i leczenia DTC
u dzieci w Polsce, uzależniając ją od wysiłków włożonych
w uzyskanie rzetelnych danych. Autorzy przedstawiają
wstępne wyniki analizy wieloośrodkowej dotyczące występowania,
diagnostyki i leczenia DTC u dzieci.
Materiał i metody: Podjęte badania są retrospektywną analizą
obejmującą lata 2000-2005, opartą na danych z historii
chorób uzyskanych z ankiet rozesłanych do ośrodków dla
dzieci i dorosłych podejmujących leczenie DTC. Do analizy
zgłoszono 107 pacjentów z 14 ośrodków akademickich
w Polsce. Analizie poddano wiek i płeć dzieci z DTC, wielkość
i lokalizację zmian w tarczycy, sposoby rozpoznawania
DTC, rodzaje i zakres wykonywanych zabiegów operacyjnych
oraz leczenie uzupełniające izotopem J131.
Wyniki: Raka brodawkowatego stwierdzono u 83 dzieci,
pęcherzykowego u 10 dzieci, a rdzeniastego u 14 dzieci. Częstość
występowania DTC u dzieci w Polsce wahała się między
18 a 23 przypadkami rocznie. W województwach: mazowieckim
i połączonych wielkopolskim i lubuskim wykazano
w okresie 2000-2005 wyższą (24 i 25) częstość występowania
DTC, w pozostałych województwach wykazywano
od 2 do 10 przypadków DTC. Największą grupę pacjentów
stanowiły dzieci w wieku 11-15 lat, a stosunek dziewcząt do chłopców wynosił 3,3 : 1. Klinicznie DTC prezentowały
się najczęściej jako pojedyncze guzki tarczycy. Limfadenopatię
szyjną w badaniu klinicznym stwierdzono
u 42% pacjentów, a śródoperacyjnie u 50% dzieci. U większości
pacjentów dominowały niższe stopnie zaawansowania
DTC (T1 u 36% i T2 u 26% dzieci). Operacje jednoetapowe
wykonano u 65% dzieci, operacje dwuetapowe u 25%
dzieci, a profilaktyczne tyreoidektomie u 79% dzieci z grupy
pacjentów z rakiem rdzeniastym tarczycy (MTC, medullary
thyroid cancinoma) i mutacją genu Ret. Leczenie izotopowe
J131 podjęto u 80% dzieci. Przerzuty do płuc w scyntygrafii
poterapeutycznej wykazano u 14% dzieci z DTC.
Wnioski: We wnioskach podkreśla się konieczność wdrożenia
na terenie całego kraju ujednoliconego i ocenianego
na podstawie obiektywnych przesłanek sposobu postępowania
z dziećmi z DTC
Regional Patterns of Late Medieval and Early Modern European Building Activity Revealed by Felling Dates
Although variations in building activity are a useful indicator of societal well-being and demographic development, historical datasets for larger regions and longer periods are still rare. Here, we present 54,045 annually precise dendrochronological felling dates from historical construction timber from across most of Europe between 1250 and 1699 CE to infer variations in building activity. We use geostatistical techniques to compare spatiotemporal dynamics in past European building activity against independent demographic, economic, social and climatic data. We show that the felling dates capture major geographical patterns of demographic trends, especially in regions with dense data coverage. A particularly strong negative association is found between grain prices and the number of felling dates. In addition, a significant positive association is found between the number of felling dates and mining activity. These strong associations, with well-known macro-economic indicators from pre-industrial Europe, corroborate the use of felling dates as an independent source for exploring large-scale fluctuations of societal well-being and demographic development. Three prominent examples are the building boom in the Hanseatic League region of northeastern Germany during the 13th century, the onset of the Late Medieval Crisis in much of Europec. 1300, and the cessation of building activity in large parts of central Europe during armed conflicts such as the Thirty Years’ War (1618–1648 CE). Despite new insights gained from our European-wide felling date inventory, further studies are needed to investigate changes in construction activity of high versus low status buildings, and of urban versus rural buildings, and to compare those results with a variety of historical documentary sources and natural proxy archives.</jats:p
One-Step Nucleic Acid Amplification - a new method for the detection of metastases of solid tumours of the lymph nodes
Wprowadzenie i cel pracy. Żadna ze stosowanych metod oceny węzłów chłonnych nie jest idealna. Wadą pooperacyjnego badania histopatologicznego jest długi czas oczekiwania na wynik. W przypadku dodatniego wyniku pooperacyjnego badania histopatologicznego węzła wartowniczego zachodzi konieczność przeprowadzenia drugiego zabiegu operacyjnego. Część przerzutów mniejszych niż 2 mm może zostać przeoczona w rutynowym badaniu histopatologicznym. Z kolei, badanie mrożakowe przy stosunkowo wysokiej swoistości ma niższą niż badanie pooperacyjne czułość. Badania molekularne z wykorzystaniem technik PCR, przy wysokiej czułości, charakteryzują się niższą swoistością. Ponadto techniki PCR, poza badaniem w czasie rzeczywistym, nie nadają się do wykorzystania jako badanie śródoperacyjne ze względu na długi czas oczekiwania na wynik. Jedną z nowych metod oceny węzłów chłonnych w guzach litych jest badanie OSNA. Artykuł podsumowuje światowe doniesienia dotyczące zastosowania tej techniki w ocenie węzłów chłonnych pacjentów z guzami litymi. Opis stanu wiedzy. Badanie OSNA polega na amplifikacji mRNA cytokeratyny 19 (CK19). W chwili obecnej badanie to jest często wykonywane w badaniu węzłów chłonnych u pacjentów z rakiem piersi. W tym przypadku śródoperacyjna ocena węzłów chłonnych wartowniczych za pomocą metody OSNA pozwala na podjęcie decyzji o konieczności lub zaniechaniu wykonania limfadenektomii. W innych nowotworach zastosowanie metody OSNA podlega ewaluacji w licznych badaniach klinicznych. Podsumowanie. Metoda OSNA być może stanie się rutynową techniką oceny węzłów chłonnych. Przy stosunkowo wysokiej czułości pozwala ona na ocenę węzłów chłonnych w czasie 30 minut, co umożliwi wykorzystanie jej jako badania śródoperacyjnego.Introduction and purpose. None of the applied methods of lymph node assessment is perfect. The need to wait a long
time for the results is the disadvantage of postoperative histopathological examination. In the case of a positive outcome
of the post-operative histopathology of sentinel lymph node it is necessary to perform a second surgery. Some metastases
smaller than 2 mm can be omitted in routine histopathology. In turn, frozen section examination, with relatively high
specificity, has lower sensitivity than postoperative histopathology. Molecular assays, using PCR techniques, with high
sensitivity, have lower specificity. In addition, except for real-time PCR, all other techniques are not suitable for use as an
intraoperative examination due to the long waiting time for the result. OSNA is one of the latest methods of lymph node
assessment in solid tumours. The article summarizes world reports on the application of this technique in the evaluation
of lymph nodes in patients with solid tumours.
Summary of the state of knowledge. The OSNA test is based on mRNA for cytokeratin 19(CK19) amplification. At present,
this test is often performed in the search for lymph nodes metastases in patients with breast cancer. Intraoperative
evaluation of sentinel lymph nodes in breast cancer, using the OSNA method, allows deciding whether or not to perform
lymphadenectomy. In other cancers, the use of the OSNA method has been evaluated in numerous clinical trials.
Summary. The OSNA method could become a routine technique for the assessment of lymph nodes. It has a relatively high
sensitivity and allows evaluation of lymph nodes in 30 minutes, which enables its use as an intraoperative examination
Flash floods in the Tatra Mountain streams: Frequency and triggers
Flash floods represent a frequently recurring natural phenomenon in the Tatra Mountains. On the northern slopes of the mountain chain, located in Poland, ongoing and expected future changes in climate are thought to further increase the adverse impacts of flash floods. Despite the repeat occurrence of major floods in the densely populated foothills of the Polish Tatras, the headwaters have been characterized by a surprising lack of data, such that any analysis of process variability or hydrometeorological triggers has been largely hampered so far. In this study, dendrogeomorphic techniques have been employed in four poorly-gauged torrential streams of the northern slope of the Tatra Mountains to reconstruct temporal and spatial patterns of past events. Using more than 1100 increment cores of trees injured by past flash floods, we reconstruct 47 events covering the last 148 years and discuss synoptic situations leading to the triggering of flash floods with the existing meteorological and flow gauge data. Tree-ring analyses have allowed highlighting the seasonality of events, providing new insights about potential hydrometeorological triggers as well as a differentiating flash flood activity between catchments. Results of this study could be useful to design future strategies to deal with flash flood risks at the foothills of the Polish Tatras and in the Vistula River catchment
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