Arnold-Chiari Syndrome – a review

Arnold Chiari syndrome, also known as Chiari malformation, is a group of deformations of the posterior cranial fossa and hindbrain, consisting in the lowering of the cerebellum or its tonsils towards the occipital foramen. This leads to a reduction in the volume reserve within the foramen magnum, pressure on surrounding structures and obstruction of the flow of cerebrospinal fluid. The process is most often asymptomatic. Symptoms include headaches, neck pain, but also fainting, sinus bradycardia, coordination disorders and many others. Chiari malformation is often diagnosed incidentally. The basis of diagnosis is the detection of characteristic morphological features in magnetic resonance imaging. Surgical treatment is successfully used among patients with severe Arnold-Chiari syndrome and progression of clinical symptoms.   Materials and methods Literature included in the PubMed, BioMed Central and Polish Medical Platform databases searched by means of the words such as Gamma Knife, CyberKnife, radiosurgery, stereotactic radiotherapy. Sources quoted in selected works were also used. Summary Arnold-Chiari malformation is often discovered incidentally. If the features observed on MRI suggest the above diagnosis, the patient should be referred to a neurologist. After excluding other possible causes of the imaged morphological features and performing a dedicated magnetic resonance imaging examination, the neurosurgeon decides whether to qualify for the procedure. In a selected group of patients, significant improvement can be expected after surgical treatment

Wpływ palenia papierosów na parametry noworodka oraz na kumulację kadmu i ołowiu w łożysku kobiet z Górnego Śląska

Aim: The aim of the study was to determine the content of cadmium and lead in different parts of the placenta and fetal membranes of women who were exposed to cigarette smoke. The correlation between the two chemical elements and the impact of the Cd and Pb accumulation on newborn parameters were established. Materials and methods: The study material was collected immediately after delivery from 40 patients of the Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Katowice. The marginal and central parts of the placenta and fetal membranes (amnion) were taken. The women were divided into two groups: smokers and non-smokers. Metal concentration in placenta was determined by flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Bioethical Commission approved of the study. Results: In both studied groups, smokers and non-smokers, the presence of cadmium and lead was detected. Smokers turned out to have accumulated more of the investigated heavy metals in the placenta and fetal membranes. In the analyzed groups of women of smokers and non-smokers, differences in the content of the studied metals were found, but they were not statistically significant. Differences in newborn parameters in the two groups of women occurred, but again they lacked statistical significance. The level of lead increases along with the increase in the amount of cadmium, which proves the existence of a statistically significant correlation between them (p = 0.000). Conclusions: The number of smoked cigarettes increases cadmium content in maternal placenta and fetal membranes. No significant differences in newborn parameters of either smoker or non-smokers were observed, which may indicate women’s adaptation to the environment containing cigarette smoke. The placenta and fetal membranes are biomarkers of the level of toxic exposure for the developing baby.Cel pracy: Celem badań było określenie zawartości kadmu i ołowiu w różnych częściach łożyska oraz w błonie płodowej kobiet narażonych na dym papierosowy. Została określona korelacja pomiędzy badanymi pierwiastkami oraz wpływ kumulacji tych Cd i Pb na parametry noworodka. Materiał i metod: Materiał do badań był pobierany zaraz po porodzie od 40 kobiet z Kliniki Położnictwa i Ginekologii w Katowicach. Od kobiet pobrano część brzeżną łożyska, część centralną łożyska oraz błonę płodową (owodnię). Kobiety podzielono na dwie grupy badawcze: palące oraz niepalące. Koncentrację metali w łożysku określono metodą płomieniowej absorpcyjnej spektrofotometrii atomowej (FAAS). Komisja Biotyczna wyraziła zgodę na przeprowadzenie badań wśród pacjentek. Wyniki: W badanych grupach kobiet: palących i niepalących wykryto obecność kadmu oraz ołowiu. Kobiety palące kumulują zwiększony poziom analizowanych metali ciężkich. Występują różnice w zawartościach badanych metali w poddanych analizie grupach kobiet palących oraz niepalących, ale nie są one istotne statystycznie. Zanotowano różnice w parametrach w badanych grupach kobiet, ale nie są to różnice statystycznie istotne. Wraz ze wzrostem ilości kadmu wzrasta poziom ołowiu, co świadczy o istnieniu wysoce statystycznych korelacji pomiędzy nimi (p=0,000). Wnioski: Wraz z ilością wypalanych papierosów rośnie zawartość kadmu w łożysku oraz w błonie płodowej kobiet. Brak istotnych różnic w parametrach noworodków kobiet palących oraz niepalących może świadczyć o adaptacji kobiet do otoczenia zawierającego w swoim składzie dym papierosowy. Łożysko oraz błona płodowa stanowią biomarker stopnia narażenia na rozwijającego się noworodka na substancje toksyczne

Environmental influences on reproductive health: the importance of chemical exposures

Chemical exposures during pregnancy can have a profound and life-long impact on human health. Due to the omnipresence of chemicals in our daily life, there is continuous contact with chemicals in food, water, air and consumer products. Consequently, human biomonitoring studies show that pregnant women around the globe are exposed to a variety of chemicals. In this review, we provide a summary of current data on maternal and fetal exposure as well as health consequences from these exposures. We review several chemical classes including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs), perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs), phenols, phthalates, pesticides, and metals. Additionally, we discuss environmental disparities and vulnerable populations, and future research directions. We conclude by providing some recommendations for prevention of chemical exposure and its adverse reproductive health consequences

Speelgoed van de slager: slachtdieren en kinderspel in de vroegmoderne Nederlandse literatuur

 Toys of the Butcher: Slaughter Animals and Children’s Play in Early Mod-ern Dutch LiteratureThis article discusses cultural representations of slaughter animals from the early modern period, setting them against the post-modern approach to animals. The point of departure constitutes a con­temporary story about a girl eating the heart of a deer, which she has shot. Then the author moves on to a discussion of the poem ‘Kinder-spel’ 1618/1625 by the seventeenth-century Dutch poet Jacob Cats and focuses on the socio-cultural notions of humans and animals which these two texts present. When discussing the poem, the author elaborates on the symbolic meaning of two situations where children play with animal body parts — a game of knucklebones and playing with an inflated bladder. The interpretation of Cats’ text shows that the stereotypical social perceptions of slaughter animals which can be found in the early modern Dutch literature are in fact meant to offer a certain view on humans, by which their domination over the natural world and exploitation of animals is justified. The methodologies applied in this study involve the so-called ‘activist ecocriticism’ and the New Historicism, both being the reading methods, which emphasize the topicality of historical research. By placing Cats’ texts in a broad context, it is shown that the motif of children playing with animal body parts refers to early modern polemics about such issues as the relationship between the human and animal, the tension between culture and nature, as well as children and upbringing models. Toys of the Butcher: Slaughter Animals and Children’s Play in Early Mod-ern Dutch LiteratureThis article discusses cultural representations of slaughter animals from the early modern period, setting them against the post-modern approach to animals. The point of departure constitutes a con­temporary story about a girl eating the heart of a deer, which she has shot. Then the author moves on to a discussion of the poem ‘Kinder-spel’ 1618/1625 by the seventeenth-century Dutch poet Jacob Cats and focuses on the socio-cultural notions of humans and animals which these two texts present. When discussing the poem, the author elaborates on the symbolic meaning of two situations where children play with animal body parts — a game of knucklebones and playing with an inflated bladder. The interpretation of Cats’ text shows that the stereotypical social perceptions of slaughter animals which can be found in the early modern Dutch literature are in fact meant to offer a certain view on humans, by which their domination over the natural world and exploitation of animals is justified. The methodologies applied in this study involve the so-called ‘activist ecocriticism’ and the New Historicism, both being the reading methods, which emphasize the topicality of historical research. By placing Cats’ texts in a broad context, it is shown that the motif of children playing with animal body parts refers to early modern polemics about such issues as the relationship between the human and animal, the tension between culture and nature, as well as children and upbringing models

Klasy topologiczne statycznie wyznaczalnych belek o dowolnej liczbie podpór

The paper presents all topologies of statically determinate beams with arbitrary number of pin supports. The geometry of each beam with a fixed topology is optimized by a genetic algorithm, with absolute maximum moment as the objective function. An equality relation between minimum values of this function is defined on the set of all topologies as an equivalence relation. This relation partitions the set of topologies into equivalence classes, called topological classes, for uniform, linear and parabolic gravity loads. An in-depth description of these classes is provided. Exact formulas for optimal locations of supports and hinges are found for the uniform load.W pracy omówiono wszystkie topologie statycznie wyznaczalnych belek o dowolnej liczbie przegubowych podpór. Geometrię każdej belki o ustalonej topologii zoptymalizowano za pomocą algorytmu genetycznego z bezwzględnie maksymalnym momentem jako funkcją celu. Relację równości minimalnych wartości tej funkcji zdefiniowano na zbiorze wszystkich topologii jako relację równoważności. Na podstawie tej relacji dokonano podziału zbioru topologii na klasy równoważności, zwane klasami topologicznymi, pod równomiernym, linowym i kwadratowym grawitacyjnym obciążeniem. Przedstawiono szczegółową charakterystykę tych klas. Znaleziono ścisłe wzory na optymalne położenie podpór i przegubów belek obciążonych równomiernie

Furniture form design with schemes of simply supported beams of any shape

Przedmiotem pracy jest kształtowanie form mebli, których płaskim schematem statycznym jest swobodnie podparta belka o dowolnym kształcie. Na podstawie linii wpływowych momentów zginających znaleziono najbardziej niekorzystne przypadki grawitacyjnych obciążeń dla różnych typów takich belek. Zaprezentowano odpowiadające tym obciążeniom wykresy maksymalnych momentów zginających we wszystkich przekrojach. Omówiono cechy charakterystyczne przekrojów prę- tów i płyt, dobranych w oparciu o obwiednie maksymalnych momentów i na wielu przykładach pokazano te optymalne rozwiązania. Praca jest skierowana do architektów, projektantów wnętrz i projektantów mebli zainteresowanych zrozumieniem zasad pracy takich konstrukcji i kształtowaniem ich optymalnych form.The paper deals with shaping furniture forms with static schemes of simply supported beams of any shape. The most unfavourable cases of gravitational load were found for various types of beams on the basis of bending moment influence lines. Diagrams of maximum bending moments in all cross-sections were presented for these loads. The characteristics of optimal bar and plate shapes were discussed and many examples of the optimal solutions were shown. The paper is addressed to architects, interior designers, and furniture designers with an interest in understanding of structural behaviour principles of such structures and in shaping their optimal forms

Topological classes of statically determinate beams with arbitrary number of supports under the most unfavourably distributed load

The paper deals with topological classes of statically determinate beams with an arbitrary number of pin supports. The beams carry piece-wisely distributed loads which are placed in such a way that bending moment values are extreme at any section. For such loads, it is sufficient to consider only two load cases with alternate spans uniformly loaded. Each beam with a fixed topology is subjected to geometrical optimization with the absolute maximum moment as the objective function. Exact formulas for optimal values of geometrical parameters are found for all topologies. An equality criterion between minimum values of the objective function is used as an equivalence relation. On the basis of this relation, the set of all topologies is divided into equivalence topological classes. Typical features of these classes are found and discussed