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Publikacja sfinansowana ze środków z zakresu działalności upowszechniającej naukę (DUN) Polskiej Akademii Nau

Udział mniejszości narodowych w Polsce w wyborach lokalnych

Wybory samorządowe w Polsce przeprowadza się do organów jednostek samorządu terytorialnego, w tym do rad gmin (także rad miast na prawach powiatu), rad powiatów oraz sejmików województw. Od 2002 roku w wyborach bezpośrednich wybierani są przedstawiciele organów wykonawczych gmin- wójtowie, burmistrzowie i prezydenci miast. Kadencja powyższych organów trwa 4 lata

Variation in Indicators of Respiratory Functions among Warsaw Adolescents in Relation to Ambient Air Pollution and Smoking

This work presents results of studies on secondary school adolescents inhabiting two regions of Warsaw: Śródmieście district (Downtown) and Międzylesie (Wawer district - Vicinity), conducted in 2006. These two districts significantly differ according to air pollution, which is much higher in Downtown than in Vicinity. The sample consists of 219 boys and 225 girls aged 13-16 years. The measurements included body height and weight and 8 respiratory variables of lung function: VC, FEV1, TV, MV, IRV, ERV, Ap, RR. Additionally information about education of parents, number of children in family, number of rooms in a house/apartment, smoking habits of pupils and their parents were provided. Sib-sib size, parents education level and number of rooms in apartment or house were included in a principal component analysis (PCA) to obtain a common factor representing general socio-economic status (SES) for families. First factor scores were used as covariates in the further analysis. The influence of air pollution on respiratory variables was evaluated using the analysis of covariance (ANCOVA). The results show that there are significant relations of air pollution to Ap, MV and IRV and smoking habits of individuals on their MV and TV. In the heavier polluted region there are observed longer time of Ap and higher values of IRV. There is an opposite reaction of MV on air pollution and smoking. The MV values are lower in the heavier polluted area but presents greater values in smoking individuals. Also values of TV are greater if individuals smoke comparing with non smokers

Specyfika rozwoju osobniczego Homo sapiens na tle ssaków łożyskowych i Naczelnych

During ontogeny, there are many phenomena that significantly differentiate humans from other mammals, including Primates. The present considerations and analysis of regression applied for many species to illustrate allometric relations of developmental spurts of height and weight to final values of these parameters in adults, allow to compare processes of growth of Homo sapiens with other Primates and to submit the following results: In Homo sapiens, the maximal rate of growth in length and body mass exists at the prenatal period (during gestation), and after birth, it decelerates. In the evolution of human ontogeny, two new stages occurred: The first one is „childhood" which is manifested by slow body growth and intense brain development. The second one is named „adolescence" and includes pubertal spurt of many body variables. In Humans, as compare with other Primates, the infancy and juvenile stages had been shortened. Human puberty begins when the postnatal rate of growth in height and weight is the lowest since birth and there is a considerable delay in puberty and sexual maturation than in other Primates. The adolescent growth spurt shortens the time needed to reach sexual maturity, which could have been much longer as the result of a slow growth that childhood. Sexual dimorphism in the intensity of pubertal spurt of body mass is smaller in Humans than in other Primates. On the contrary,  sexual dimorphism in the onset of puberty and growth rate in height at this stage is rather well manifested. The adolescent stage is divided into two parts because there is a delay of years between puberty and the onset of the adult reproductive stage of life

Childhood and Adolescent Body Fat and Its Relationship with Health Outcome in 50 Year Old Males and Females: The Wroclaw Growth Study

The aim of the study was to estimate the association between relative weight in childhood and adolescence and its relationship with adult health outcome. Longitudinal data of the body mass index (BMI) from the Wroc³aw Growth Study (WGS) covering ages 8 to 18 and then a follow-up at 50 were used. At the age of 50, 124 males and 139 females in the longitudinal study underwent medical examination. Systolic and diastolic blood pressure (SBP, DBP), total cholesterol (TCH), high density lipoprotein cholesterol level (HDL), low density lipoprotein cholesterol level (LDL), triglyceride level (TGL) and fasting glucose level (GLUC) were assessed by using standard techniques. The values of BMI were standardised with the LMS method. Multiple linear regression was used to assess the relationship between health parameters and BMI at ages 8–18, adjusted for BMI at the age of 50, separately for different age categories and parameters, except for blood pressure where the usage of anti-hypertension medication was additionally used as a control variable. In males total cholesterol concentration showed a significant negative correlation with standardised BMI at ages 9–12 and 16 and 17. In females, only blood pressure showed a significant negative relationship with standardised BMI in all age categories reaching the highest values at age 15. The BMI in childhood and adolescence have only a weak effect on health outcome at age 50

Suppressing Side-Lobes of Linear Phased Array of Micro-Strip Antennas with Simulation-Based Optimization

A simulation-based optimization approach to design of phase excitation tapers for linear phased antenna arrays is presented. The design optimization process is accelerated by means of Surrogate-Based Optimization (SBO); it uses a coarse-mesh surrogate of the array element for adjusting the array's active reflection coefficient responses and a fast surrogate of the antenna array radiation pattern. The primary optimization objective is to minimize side-lobes in the principal plane of the radiation pattern while scanning the main beam. The optimization outcome is a set of element phase excitation tapers versus the scan angle. The design objectives are evaluated at the high fidelity level of description using simulations of the discrete electromagnetic model of the entire array so that the effects of element coupling and other possible interaction within the array structure are accounted for. At the same time, the optimization process is fast due to SBO. Performance and numerical cost of the approach are demonstrated by optimizing a 16-element linear array of microstrip antennas. Experimental verification has been carried out for a manufactured prototype of the optimized array. It demonstrates good agreement between the radiation patterns obtained from simulations and from physical measurements (the latter constructed through superposition of the measured element patterns).The authors would like to thank Computer Simulation Technology AG, Darmstadt, Germany, for making CST Microwave Studio available. This work was supported in part by the Icelandic Centre for Research (RANNIS) under grant no. 141272051.Peer reviewe

Do the short die young? Evidence from a large sample of deceased Polish adults

Body height is associated with various socioeconomic and health-related outcomes. Despite numerous studies, the relationship between stature and longevity remains uncertain. This study explores the association between self-reported height and lifespan. Data from 848,860 adults who died between 2004 and 2008 in Poland were collected. After excluding a small proportion of records due to missing data or errors, we examined records for 848,387 individuals (483,281 men, age range: 20–110 years; 365,106 women, age range: 20–112 years). Height was expressed as standardized residual variance derived from linear regression in order to eliminate the variance of year of birth on height. After the elimination of the cohort effect, five height classes were designated using centiles: very short, short, medium, tall and very tall. The differences between sexes and among classes were evaluated with two-way ANOVA and post hoc Tukey’s test. The effect size was assessed using partial eta squared (η2). Pearson’s r coefficients of correlation were calculated. The effect of sex on lifespan was nearly 17 times stronger than the effect of height. No correlation between height and lifespan was found. In conclusion, these findings do not support the hypothesis that taller people have a longevity advantage. We offer tentative explanations for the obtained results

Jejunal perforation with obstruction due to enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma subtype II

Chłoniaki z komórek T stanowią grupę rzadkich chorób o niezwykle ciężkim przebiegu. Jedną z postaci jest enteropatyczny chłoniak T-komórkowy (EATL), występujący z częstością 0,5–1/mln populacji. Znane są dwie postacie tego chłoniaka: EATL 1 — pleomorficzny, który jest ściśle związany z celiakią oraz EATL 2 — monomorficzny, rzadko lub wcale niezwiązany z chorobą trzewną. Enteropatyczny chłoniak T-komórkowy umiejscawia się głównie w jelicie czczym lub krętym, a znacznie rzadziej w żołądku czy też dwunastnicy. Rozpoznanie przedoperacyjne jest trudne, a przyczyną laparotomii u większości chorych są objawy niedrożności, badalnego guza, krwawienie itp. W niniejszym artykule przedstawiono jeden z przypadków EATL podtypu 2 u 36-letniej kobiety. Chłoniak enteropatyczny z komórek T umiejscowiony był w jelicie czczym, a zdiagnozowany został dopiero po operacji. Mimo ogromnego postępu diagnostyki chorób jamy brzusznej nie jesteśmy w stanie bez pobrania materiału do badania histopatologicznego postawić rozpoznania. Brakuje też jednoznacznych zaleceń co do metody leczenia. Wydaje się, że standardem pozostaje chemioterapia CHOP, której skuteczność nie jest zadawalająca. Mimo to leczenie operacyjne powinno ograniczać się do przypadków powikłań EATL (krwawienia z przewodu pokarmowego lub do jamy otrzewnej, niedrożności jelit, perforacji czy też dużych rozmiarów guza). Rokowanie u pacjentów z wykrytym chłoniakiem enteropatycznym z komórek T jest złe, dużo gorsze niż w przypadku chłoniaków z komórek B. Przeżycie całkowite w tego typu przypadkach szacuje się na około 7 miesięcy.T-cell lymphomas are a group of rare diseases with extremely severe course. One of the forms is enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma (EATL), occurring with a frequency of about 0.5 to 1 per million population. Two forms of lymphoma are known: EATL 1 — pleomorphic, which is closely associated with celiac disease, and EATL 2 — monomorphic rarely or not at all associated with intestinal disorder. The most common complication is perforation and intestinal obstruction. EATL occurs in the jejunum or ileum (much less frequently is located in the stomach or duodenum) and this leads to difficulties in correct diagnosis of the disease. Present article shows one of the cases of EATL subtype II in a 36-year-old woman. Enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma was located in the jejunum, and was diagnosed after surgery. There is still no effective treatment despite a lot of research. It seems that the CHOP chemotherapy remains the standard of care, which however often does not provide desired effects. Surgical treatment should be confined to patients in whom haemorrhage, obstruction, perforation or extreme discomfort caused by tumour mass occured. The prognosis of patients with detected enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma is poor — much worse than in the case of B-cell lymphomas. Overall survival in these cases is estimated at 7 months