INTRA-ORGANIZATIONAL TRUST AS A FACTOR THAT AFFECTS SATISFACTION WITH DOCTORAL STUDIES

The aim of the article is to examine intra-organizational trust as a factor impacting satisfaction with doctoral studies. The study on intra-organizational trust is related to three types of trust: vertical trust, horizontal trust and institutional trust. In turn, perceived satisfaction is linked to knowledge and competences gained at a university (academic satisfaction) and studying atmosphere (satisfaction with atmosphere). Furthermore, the following research questions were addressed in this paper: (1) Does personal experience from the past, current personal experience and the impact of surroundings affect particular types of trust? (2) Do particular types of trust and support provided by a university influence the willingness to take a risk? Therefore, in the underlying research the following factors that may be related to trust have been studied: university's support, willingness to take a risk, personal experience from the past, impact of surroundings. The sample consisted of 41 PhD students (26 women and 16 men). The Jagiellonian University has been represented by 11 doctorate student, where as  AGH University of Science and Technology surveyed 30 PhD students. The results of the study allow to answer the research question by pointing out to particular types of intra-organizational trust at a university as factors that affect PhD students’ satisfaction with doctoral studies. Study presents a positive correlation between intra-organizational trust and satisfaction at a university. Moreover, the impact of institutional trust on academic satisfaction and the influence of trust in lecturer and the impact of horizontal trust on satisfaction from atmosphere has been prove.

Cardiac sympathetic hyperactivity in chronic kidney disease — a comparison between haemodialysis and peritoneal dialysis patients

BACKGROUND: The effect of renal replacement therapy on cardiac sympathetic function in patients with chronic kidney disease has not yet been completely elucidated. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of renal replacement therapy on the activity of cardiac sympathetic nervous system. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Thirty-four patients with chronic kidney disease were studied: 14 patients (6 men, mean age 48 ± 11 years) were receiving peritoneal dialysis (PD) and 20 patients (20 men, mean age 52 ± 10 years) were receiving haemodialysis (HD). Patients with diabetes and heart failure were excluded from the study. All patients underwent resting gated myocardial perfusion and 123I-mIBG myocardial scintigraphy from which early and late heart to mediastinum ratios (HRM) and myocardial washout rate (WR) values were calculated. RESULTS: PD and HD patients did not differ with respect to left ventricular ejection fraction (52 ± 9% vs. 57 ± 7%) and summed rest score (3.8 ± 2.4 vs. 3.5 ± 0.3). Similarly, early (1.89 ± 0.23 vs. 1.87 ± 0.27) and late (1.76 ± 0.47 vs. 1.74 ± 0.25) HMR, and washout rate (35.5 ± 15.8% vs. 31.3 ± 9.4%) were not significantly different between the two groups of patients. CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that the applied method of renal replacement therapy has no significant influence on global activity of cardiac sympathetic nervous system

Benefits and risks of vitamin D supplementation

Vitamin D deficiency is a common problem not only in Poland but also in the world. Studies from previous years indicate its pleiotropic effect and indicate the need for supplementation both in individual risk groups and in the general population. The main sources of cholecalciferol are skin synthesis and intestinal absorption. Vitamin D deficiency adversely affects the cardiovascular, immune and nervous systems. It is also associated with gastrointestinal, metabolic, cancer and autoimmune diseases. Through the immune system, it also affects the respiratory system. Prophylactic doses should depend on age, body weight, seasonal insolation and sun exposure, as well as individual factors such as diet and lifestyle. Excessive supply of vitamin D can lead to hypercalcemia and hypercalciuria, although it is not known how high doses cause toxic effects. Monitoring the exponents of calcium and phosphate metabolism is the basic method of preventing vitamin D toxicity

Arterial hypertension in children and adolescents

Arterial hypertension is a serious clinical problem in everyday medical practice. It mainly affects adult patients, but is also increasingly common in children and adolescents. Making a diagnosis is possible thanks to systematic measurements of blood pressure during routine medical visits, while maintaining appropriate rules and referring to adequate biological norms - centile charts. Arterial hypertension in children and adolescents may be primary, but much more often than in the adult population, it occurs secondary to diseases of other organs and systems. Early diagnosis of hypertension in the developmental age gives a chance to implement adequate therapy by treating the underlying disease, lifestyle modification or pharmacological treatment. The aim of effective therapy of hypertension is to prevent the occurrence of early and long-term complications of the disease, as well as to reduce the risk of hypertensive emergencies

A fungal peritonitis in patient after heart transplant treated by continous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis — case report

Grzybicze zapalenie otrzewnej (GZO) jest rzadkim, choć ciężkim powikłaniem dializoterapii otrzewnowej (DO). Najczęściej prowadzi do zakończenia stosowania DO, często przyczynia się do śmierci pacjenta. Czynnikami ryzyka wystąpienia GZO są: zaawansowany wiek, płeć żeńska, uprzednia antybiotykoterapia i leczenie immunosupresyjne. Czynnikiem etiologicznym są najczęściej drożdżaki, zwykle Candida albicans. W artykule przedstawiono opis przypadku 63-letniej pacjentki po transplantacji serca leczonej immunosupresyjnie, u której rozwinęła się niewydolność nerek. Z tego powodu chora była leczona nerkozastępczo za pomocą DO. Po 12 miesiącach terapii ciągłą ambulatoryjną DO rozwinęło się dializacyjne zapalenie otrzewnej o ciężkim przebiegu. Jak wykazały badania mikrobiologiczne, jego przyczyną była infekcja grzybicza wywołana przez Candida albicans. Dzięki szybkiej i właściwej diagnostyce, usunięciu cewnika Tenckhoffa, zastosowaniu celowanej terapii przeciwgrzybiczej i zmianie metody leczenia na hemodializę uzyskano przeżycie chorej.Fungal peritonitis (FP) is a rare but very severe complication of peritoneal dialysis. It usually leads to method failure, even to the patient’s death. The risk factors predisposing to FP are: older age, female gender, prior antibiotic use, immunosuppressive treatment. The most common cause of FP are yeasts, mainly Candida albicans. We present a case report of a 63-year-old women on immunosuppressive treatment because of heart transplant, with end-stage renal disease (ESRD). The patient underwent renal replacement therapy — peritoneal dialysis. Twelve months after continuous ambulatory peritoneal dialysis begun, we observed severe peritonitis. The cause of peritonitis was fungal infection caused by Candida albicans. Quick and proper diagnostic, Tenckhoff’s catheter removing, antifungal therapy and transfer on hemodialysis made patient’s survival possible

Major regulators of microRNAs biogenesis Dicer and Drosha are down-regulated in endometrial cancer

Alterations in microRNAs expression have been proposed to play role in endometrial cancer pathogenesis. Dicer and Drosha are main regulators of microRNA biogenesis and deregulation of their expression has been indicated as a possible cause of microRNAs alterations observed in various cancers. The objective of this study was to investigate Dicer and Drosha genes expression in endometrial cancer and to analyze the impact of clinicopathological characteristics on their expression. Fresh tissue samples were collected from 44 patients (26 endometroid endometrial carcinoma and 18 controls). Clinical and pathological data were acquired from medical documentation. Dicer and Drosha genes expressions were assessed by qRT-PCR using validated reference genes. Dicer and Drosha expression levels were significantly lower in endometrial cancer samples comparing to controls. Dicer was down-regulated by the factor of 1.54 (p = 0.009) and Drosha gene mean expression value was 1.4 times lower in endometrial cancer group versus control group (p = 0.008). Down-regulation of Dicer significantly correlated with decreased expression of Drosha (coefficient value 0.75). Decreased expression of Drosha correlated with higher histological grade and was influenced by BMI. Lower Dicer expression was found in nulli- and uniparous females comparing to multiparous individuals (p = 0.002). Neither the FIGO stage nor the menstrual status had significant influence on the expression of studied genes. This study revealed for the first time that expression alterations of main regulators of microRNAs biogenesis are present in endometrial cancer tissue and could be potentially responsible for altered microRNAs profiles observed in this malignancy

Powikłany nawracającymi epizodami choroby podstawowej przebieg dializoterapii otrzewnowej u pacjentki z rodzinną gorączką śródziemnomorską

W niniejszej pracy przedstawiono problemy kliniczne, które wystąpiły po 20 miesiącach od rozpoczęcia przewlekłej dializoterapii otrzewnowej (DO) u pochodzącej z Armenii pacjentki w wieku 26 lat ze schyłkową niewydolnością nerek spowodowaną amyloidozą wtórną w przebiegu rodzinnej gorączki śródziemnomorskiej (FMF). Rodzinna gorączka śródziemnomorska jest chorobą dziedziczną o nieznanej etiologii, charakteryzującą się nawracającymi epizodami gorączki oraz zapaleniem błon surowiczych i/lub stawów. Po wielomiesięcznym niepowikłanym leczeniu DO u pacjentki dwukrotnie miały miejsce nawroty choroby podstawowej sugerujące wystąpienie dializacyjnego zapalenia otrzewnej. Ze względu na nawracające ataki pod postacią, między innymi, surowiczego zapalenia otrzewnej, u chorej zaprzestano DO. Czasowe przerwanie stosowania przez pacjentkę długotrwale przyjmowanej kolchicyny mogło mieć związek z pojawieniem się nawrotów FMF

Assessment of patient knowledge and awareness of the occurrence of addiction

Introduction. Drug treatment and substance abuse treatment centers are mostly involved in the treatment of alcohol or drug addicts. At present, an increasing number of patients depend on several psychoactive substances simultaneously. These people have a phenomenon called mixed addiction.Aim. The aim of the study was an attempt to answer the question about the state of mind of psychiatric hospital patients about the occurrence of addiction.Material and methods. The study included a group of 100 patients in the Neuropsychiatric Hospital's Neuropsychiatric Ward and the SPZOZ Psychiatric Day Ward in Kraśnik. The survey was conducted between February and August 2017. The author's questionnaire method was fully anonymous.Results. Misuse of psychoactive substances is a serious social problem. The phenomenon of addiction is more common among men living in rural areas, working professionally in the age range of 31 to 40 years. The respondents acknowledge that their knowledge of narcotics is based on their experience and their friends.Conclusion. Respondents are aware of the occurrence of mixed dependency

Structural determinants of inhibition of Porphyromonas gingivalis gingipain K by KYT-36, a potent, selective, and bioavailable peptidase inhibitor

Abstract Porphyromonas gingivalis is a member of the dysbiotic oral microbiome and a “keystone pathogen” that causes severe periodontal disease, which is among the most prevalent infectious diseases. Part of the virulence factors secreted by P. gingivalis are the essential cysteine peptidases gingipain K (Kgp) and R (RgpA and RgpB), which account for 85% of the extracellular proteolytic activity of the pathogen and are thus prime targets for inhibition. We report the high-resolution (1.20 Å) complex structure of Kgp with KYT-36, a peptide-derived, potent, bioavailable and highly selective inhibitor, which is widely used for studies in vitro, in cells and in vivo. Sub-nanomolar inhibition of Kgp is achieved by tight binding to the active-site cleft, which is covered for its sub-sites S3 through S1’ under establishment of nine hydrophobic interactions, 14 hydrogen bonds and one salt bridge. In addition, an inhibitor carbonyl carbon that mimics the scissile carbonyl of substrates is pyramidalized and just 2.02 Å away from the catalytic nucleophile of Kgp, C477Sγ. Thus, the crystal structure emulates a reaction intermediate of the first nucleophilic attack during catalysis of cysteine peptidases. The present study sets the pace for the development of tailored next-generation drugs to tackle P. gingivalis