THE IMPACT OF INFORMATION ASYMMETRY ON THE USE OF SHORT-TERM DEBT IN SELECTED EUROPEAN STATES

The article analysed the relation between the degree of information asymmetry and the scope of the use of short-term debt by companies from 5 European countries: France, Greece, Germany, the United Kingdom and Italy. Information asymmetry was measured by Synthetic Measure of the Degree of Information Asymmetry, which was constructed on the basis of 9  indicators. The presented analyses showed that, according to expectations resulting from the capital structure theory, the enterprises characterized by a higher degree of information asymmetry use short-term debt to a greater extent. Information asymmetry is an important determinant of the maturity structure of debt. However, the association between information asymmetry and the maturity structure of debt may be modified by various country-specific factors

Ostry zespół aortalny imitujący zawał serca ściany przedniej z uniesieniem odcinka ST

We present a case of a 58-year-old man presenting with chest pain irradiating to the back and left arm, history of smoking and untreated hypertension. The anamnesis, symptoms and ECG findings consisting of ST elevation in leads aVR and V1–V2 suggested ST segment elevated myocardial infarction. Performed ECHO examination revealed possible acute aortic dissection. Considering haemodynamic instability, augmentation of chest pain and passing time which was obviously worsening the prognosis patient was submitted to aortography which finally proofed acute aortic dissection. Patient was subsequently transferred to cardiac surgery unit and successfully treated

Chory z ropnym zapaleniem osierdzia: czy przypadek był skazany od początku na niepowodzenie?

Exudative pericarditis, and in particular a purulent type, is a rare condition which requires emergency medical intervention. In our paper we present a case report concerning a patient with purulent pericarditis

Znaczenie ekspresji antygenu Ki-67 ocenianej metodą mikromacierzy tkankowych dla rokowania u chorych z gruczolakorakiem endometrialnym endometrium

Objectives: To assess the prognostic significance of Ki-67 expression in the tissue microarray method (TMA) for disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in endometrioid endometrial cancer (EEC). Material and methods: The study examined 159 consecutive patients aged 37-86 (62.82±9.95) with EEC stages I-III according to FIGO, treated surgically at the Pirogow Memorial Hospital of Lodz between 2000 and 2007. Afterwards they were subsequently treated and examined at the Regional Cancer Center, Copernicus Memorial Hospital of Lodz. Tissue cores 2 mm in size, in duplicate, were taken from the formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue donor blocks from surgery, and constructed into the TMA recipient blocks. Using TMA method, the relationship between Ki-67 expression, DFS and OS was examined. DFS was defined as a period from primary surgery until relapse. OS was defined as a period from primary surgery until the end of the follow-up (60 months) or until the death of the patient. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Medical University of Lodz (RNN/82/11/KE; KE/1673/12). Results: The follow-up time varied between 3 - 60 months (51.42±15.87). In 31 patients (19.50%) the relapse of was diagnosed 1–59 months (24.97±16.08) after commencement of the treatment. During follow-up 32 patients (20.12%) died. DFS and OS were 80.50% and 79.88%, respectively. The lack of Ki-67 expression was found in 37 cases (23.27%) while in 122 patients (76.73%) the expression was present (p20% was present in 76 cases, 26 cases and 20 cases, respectively. Positive correlation between the expression of Ki-67 and staging was present (r=0.353; pCel pracy: Celem pracy była ocena znaczenia rokowniczego obecności i wielkości ekspresji antygenu Ki-67 ocenianej metodą mikromacierzy tkankowych (TMA) dla przeżycia wolnego od choroby (DFS) oraz przeżycia ogólnego (OS) chorych z gruczolakorakiem endometrialnym endometrium (GEE). Materiał i metody: Grupę badaną stanowiło 159 chorych. Wykorzystując metodę TMA, oceniono zależność między obecnością i wielkością ekspresji Ki-67 a DFS i OS. Wyniki: Okres obserwacji wynosił 3-60 miesięcy (51,42±15,87). DFS i OS wynosiły odpowiednio 80,50% i 79,88%. Brak ekspresji Ki-67 stwierdzono w 37 przypadkach (23,27%), a obecność ekspresji Ki-67 u 122 chorych (76,73%;

Effectiveness of tissue microarray technique for the assessment of estrogen and progesterone receptors expression in endometrioid endometrial cancer – preliminary report

Objectives: To assess the effectiveness of the donor-block biopsies with a 2 mm-size needle in endometrioid endometrial cancer (EEC) in the tissue microarray (TMA) technique and the application of the TMA for estrogen receptors (ER) and progesterone receptors (PR) expression in EEC. Material and methods: The study examined EEC tissues from 60 patients. Tissue cores, 2 mm in size, in duplicate, were taken from the formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue donor blocks and constructed into the TMA recipient block. The presence of EEC tissue in the TMAs was analyzed, and the ER and PR expressions were examined. Results: EEC tissue in TMAs was confirmed in 56 cases (93.33%). In 49 of them (81.67%), both cores presented with cancer tissues. In 4 cases (6.67%) EEC tissue was absent. All cases with ECC present on the TMA slides were appropriate for the ER and PR analysis. In 29 EEC cases (51.98%) both ER and PR were expressed. In 3 cases (5.36%) only ER was expressed, in 8 cases (14.29%) only PR was expressed, and in 16 cases (28.57%) ER and PR were assessed as negative. Conclusions: Two 2 mm-sized tissue cores from donor-block biopsies constructed into the TMA recipient block were sufficient to diagnose EEC and enabled the assessment of ER and PR expression in 93.3% of the cases. The use of the described TMA technique makes the immunohistochemical study of EEC easier and more timeefficient

Evaluation of the Levels and Quality of Microbial Contamination in Medical Emergency Departments in Comparison to Other Workplaces

Work in Hospital Emergency Departments (HEDs) exposes both the emergency ward staff and patients to infectious and in other way harmful biological agents. The results of this study shows the presence of pathogenic bacteria isolated by three different methods. It revealed 9.8% of pathogens detected by imprint method, 10.5% of pathogens by swabbing method, 17.6% and 22% in HEDs corridors and rooms, respectively, by air sampling method. In control workplaces (offices) pathogenic bacteria reached the level of 6.5% and 14.7% by imprint method and swabbing, respectively. The relatively low level of contamination by bacteria in HEDs may depend on the effectiveness of Standard Protective Precautions in the studied hospitals

Endometrioid endometrial cancer – the prognostic value of selected clinical and pathological parameters

Objectives: to assess the relationship between selected clinical and pathological factors and disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in endometrioid endometrial cancer patients. Material and methods: A retrospective review of 262 patients aged 37-86 (6.0±9.0) was performed. Selected clinical and pathological data were correlated with DFS and OS. Results: Follow-up was 8-123 months (64.9±27.1). In 4 patients (1.5%) clinical progression was diagnosed during the treatment. In 43 patients (16.4%) relapse was diagnosed 2-61 months (23.9±15.7) after commencing treatment. DFS and OS were 82.1% and 81.3% respectively. In univariate analysis worse DFS was related to older patients (p=0.007) and non-radical surgery (

Znaczenie ekspresji receptorów progesteronowych i estrogenowych ocenianej metodą mikromacierzy tkankowych dla rokowania u chorych z gruczolakorakiem endometrioidalnym endometrium

Objectives: To assess prognostic significance of progesterone receptors (PR) and estrogen receptors (ER) expression in the tissue microarray (TMA) technique for disease free survival (DFS) and overall survival (OS) in endometrioid endometrial cancer (EEC). Material and methods: The study included 151 consecutive patients, aged 37-86 years (62.80±9.99), with the EEC in stages I-III (FIGO), treated surgically at the Pirogow Memorial Hospital of Lodz between 2000 and 2007. Afterwards, they were subsequently treated and examined at the Regional Cancer Center, Copernicus Memorial Hospital of Lodz. Tissue cores 2 mm in size, in duplicate, were taken from the formalin-fixed and paraffin-embedded tissue donor blocks from surgery, and constructed into the TMA recipient blocks. Using TMAs, the expression of PR and ER was examined and presented as Total Score (TS). The TS was determined by adding the intensity and marker distribution scores in a given case. The relationship between PR and ER expression, DFS and OS was examined. DFS was defined as the period from primary surgery until relapse. OS was defined as the period from primary surgery until the end of the follow-up (60 months) or until the death of the patient. The study was approved by the Ethics Committee of the Medical University of Lodz (RNN/82/11/KE). Results: Lack of the PR and ER expression was found in 46 cases (30.46%) and 67 cases (44.37%), respectively. The expression of the PR and ER was weak in 24 cases (15.89%) and 22 cases (14.57%), respectively. Strong PR and ER expression was found in 81 patients (53.65%) and 62 patients (41.06%), respectively. Follow-up after surgery varied from 3 to 60 months (50.95±16.36). In 30 patients (19.87%) relapse was diagnosed 1–54 months (22.17±15.59) after surgery. During follow-ups, 29 patients (19.21%) died. In univariate analysis better DFS was related to the presence of PR (p=0.010), higher TS of PR (HR=0.81; 95% CI 0.71-0.94), the presence of ER (p=0.001) and higher TS of ER (HR=0.88; 95% CI 0.78-0.99). DFS differed significantly between the groups: without PR and ER expression (A), with presence of the PR but not ER expression (B), with the ER but not PR expression (C) and with the PR and ER expression (D) (p=0.004). In univariate analysis OS was not related to PR expression (p=0.110), TS of PR (HR= 0.89; 95% CI 0.80-1.02) and ER expression (p=0.070). TS of ER was connected to better OS (HR= 0.83; 95%CI 0.72-0.96). The OS differed between groups A, B, C and D (p=0.006). In multivariate analysis variants of PR/ER expression influenced the DFS (p=0.039) and OS (p=0.016). Conclusions: The expression of the PR and ER can significantly affect therapeutic decisions in selected patients with EEC. In EEC, common assessment of PR and ER expression is of higher prognostic value, than compared to single evaluation of PR and ER receptors.Cel pracy: Celem pracy była ocena znaczenia rokowniczego obecności i wielkości ekspresji receptorów estrogenowych (ER) i progesteronowych (PR) ocenianej metodą mikromacierzy tkankowych (TMA) dla przeżycia wolnego od choroby (DFS) oraz przeżycia ogólnego (OS) chorych z gruczolakorakiem endometrioidalnym endometrium (GEE). Materiał i metody: Grupę badaną stanowiło 151 chorych. Wykorzystując metodę TMA, oceniono zależność między obecnością i wielkością ekspresji ER i PR a DFS i OS. Wyniki: W analizie jednoczynnikowej stwierdzono zależność między wzrostem DFS a obecnością PR (p=0,010), wzrostem wskaźnika całkowitego (TS) ekspresji PR (HR=0,81; 95%CI 0,71-0,94), obecnością ER (p=0,001) i wzrostem TS ekspresji ER (HR=0,88; 95%CI 0,78-0,99). Stwierdzono występowanie różnic w DFS między grupami: bez ekspresji PR i ER (A), z ekspresją PR bez ekspresji ER (B), z ekspresją ER bez ekspresji PR(C), z ekspresją PR i ER (D) (p=0,004). Nie wykazano związku obecności PR (p=0,11), TS ekspresji PR (HR= 0,89; 95%CI 0,80-1,02) i ekspresji ER (p=0,07) z OS w analizie jednoczynnikowej. TS ekspresji ER było istotnym czynnikiem ochronnym, sprzyjającym dłuższemu OS (HR= 0,83; 95%CI 0,72-0,96). Stwierdzono różnice w OS między grupami: A, B, C i D (p=0,006). W analizie wieloczynnikowej kombinacje ekspresji PR/ER istotnie wpływały na DFS (p=0,039) i OS (p=0,016). Wnioski: Określenie ekspresji PR i ER może być istotnym elementem wpływającym na decyzje terapeutyczne u części chorych na GEE. Jednoczesna ocena ekspresji PR i ER ma większą wartość kliniczną od oceny tylko PRlub tylko ER

Security theory and practice: Stablisation and reconstrution of post-conlict areas in the 21st century

Wprowadzenie: Cieszymy się, że możemy skierować do Państwa rąk kolejny numer periodyku „Bezpieczeństwo.Teoria i Praktyka”, tym razem poświęcony problematyce stabilizacji i odbudowy obszarów pokonfliktowych w XXI w. Podjęty temat jest niezwykle ważny, ponieważ żyjemy w czasach nieuporządkowanego świata, w którym liczba konfliktów zbrojnych o różnej skali i charakterze oraz wynikające z nich konsekwencje wpływają destrukcyjnie na ład międzynarodowy.Umiędzynarodowienie konfliktów wewnętrznych pełni często funkcję instrumentalną w grze, której stawką jest zajęcie przez dane państwo właściwego – z punktu widzenia jego decydentów – miejsca w nowym systemie ról międzynarodowych. Przykładem tego jest wojna domowa w Syrii, którą Jerzy Zdanowski w artykule rozpoczynającym tom traktuje jako „wojnę zastępczą”. Krótko przedstawia także istotę rekonstrukcji obszarów pokonfliktowych, czym jako badacz rozwija myśli pułkownika Piotra Gąstała, wieloletniego żołnierza i dowódcy Jednostki Wojskowej GROM, który podczas swojej służby przebywał w niejednym państwie dotkniętym konfliktem zbrojnym i wojną oraz ich skutkami. W udzielonym wywiadzie odnosi się on do zagadnienia stabilizacji ze swojej perspektywy – praktyka, któremu nie raz, na terenie prowadzenia działań wojskowych, przyszło mierzyć się z tym wszystkim, co kryje się pod tym pojęciem. Należy przy tym uwzględnić, że jako żołnierz jednostki specjalnej wykonywał tam specyficzne działania. O tym, jak podchodzą do nich nie tylko praktycy, ale i badacze, pisze Piotr Orłowski, analizując znaczenie sił specjalnych jako narzędzia stabilizacji na obszarach pokonfliktowych