Poor Linkage to Care Despite Significant Improvement in Access to Early cART in Central Poland - Data from Test and Keep in Care (TAK) Project

BACKGROUND: The main objective of the TAK project is investigating barriers in accessing HIV care after HIV-diagnosis at the CBVCTs of central Poland. Here we describe factors associated with and changes over time in linkage to care and access to cART. METHOD: Data collected in 2010–2013 in CBVCTs were linked with HIV clinics records using unique identifiers. Individuals were followed from the day of CBVCTs visit until first clinical visit or 4/06/2014. Cox-proportional hazard models were used to identify factors associated with being linked to care and starting cART. RESULTS: In total 232 persons were diagnosed HIV-positive and 144 (62.1% 95%CI: 55.5–68.3) persons were linked to care. There was no change over time in linkage to care (p = 0.48), while time to starting cART decreased (p = 0.02). Multivariate factors associated with a lower rate of linkage to care were hetero/bisexual sexual orientation, lower education, not having an HIV-positive partner and not using condoms in a stable relationship. Multivariate factors associated with starting cART were lower education, recent year of linked to care, and first HIV RNA and CD4 cell count. CONCLUSIONS: Benefits of linkage to care, measured by access to early treatment, steadily improved in recent years. However at least 1 in 3 persons aware of their HIV status in central Poland remained outside professional healthcare. Persons at higher risk of remaining outside care, thus target population for future interventions, are bi/heterosexuals and those with lower levels of education

Different distribution of CD4 and CD8 T cells in synovial membrane and peripheral blood of rheumatoid arthritis and osteoarthritis patients.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) and osteoarthritis (OA) are chronic diseases associated with morphological joint changes. Synovial membrane (SM) involvement was established for RA, but the data for OA are limited, because OA is usually regarded as noninflammatory disease. Changes in immune system in RA are not limited to joints, and the significant role of T cells of peripheral blood (PB) is not disputable. However, there is still an open debate about PB immunological profile in OA. Therefore, we decided to measure the distribution of CD4+ and CD8+ T cells, regarding CD28 expression, both in PB and SM of RA and OA patients, on the same day. Altogether, eleven RA patients, 11 OA patients and similar numbers of age-matched healthy controls were included into the study. Flow cytometry was used for T cells subpopulation distinguishing and quantification; monoclonal antibodies against CD3, CD4, CD8 and CD28 with different fluorochromes were used for stainings. The RA patients had significantly higher percentage of CD3+4+ cells in PB as compared to OA patients and relevant control group. Both within the CD4+ and CD8+ compartments, significantly lower percentages of cells bearing the CD28 marker were found in the PB of OA as compared to RA patients. The proportion of CD3+CD4+ cells in SM was dependent on age of OA patients, older OA patients had significantly higher value of their SM/blood ratio than RA patients. Older OA subjects were also characterized by higher values of the SM/blood ratio of both CD4+CD28+ and CD8+CD28+ subpopulations than RA or younger OA patients. In conclusion, in contrast to the traditional view of OA disease, our results give support to the hypothesis that OA may also (like RA) be a disease with a local immunological involvement

Ballistic Tests of Susceptibility to Fragmentation of Tungsten Heavy Alloys Made from Differently Prepared Mixtures

W artykule zamieszczono wyniki badań balistycznych wolframowych stopów ciężkich (WSC) skłonnych do fragmentacji. Materiałem badawczym były próbki w formie zmodyfikowanych pocisków naboi kal. 7,62 × 54 mm do karabinu „Mosin” wykonane ze stopów ciężkich otrzymanych z mieszanek proszków W, Ni, Fe, Co z dodatkiem ceramiki. WSC uzyskano z wyprasek spiekanych z udziałem fazy ciekłej lub w fazie stałej, w atmosferze wodorowej. Testy z zakresu balistyki końcowej przeprowadzono zgodnie z procedurą badawczą PBO-50. Otrzymane rezultaty umożliwiają przedstawienie skłonności WSC do fragmentacji w postaci graficznej. W pracy zaproponowano ilościowe kryterium oceny podatności WSC na fragmentację materiałów.The paper describes the results of ballistic tests of tungsten heavy alloys (WSC) susceptible to fragmentation. The materials being studied were the samples in the form of cal. 7.62 × 54 mm „Mosin” of heavy alloys projectiles prepared from the mixtures of powders W, Ni, Fe, and Co with the addition of ceramics. WSC’s were obtained from the compacts which were liquid phase or solid sintered in the hydrogen atmosphere. Final ballistics tests were conducted in accordance with the research procedure PBO-50. The results obtained allow for the graphic evaluation of WSC susceptibility to fragmentation. On the basis of analysis of the results obtained during ballistic experiment, the qualitative criterion of frangible WSC to fragmentation was proposed

The influence of selected household chemical products on the quality of greywater

Wpływ wybranych produktów chemii gospodarczej na jakość ścieków szarych. W pracy przedstawiono wyniki badań przeprowadzonych pod kątem jakości ścieków szarych w zależności od wybranych środków chemii gospodarczej w stałej i płynnej postaci. Pod uwagę wzięto następujące parametry fizyko-chemiczne: pH, ChZT, BZT5, barwa, fosfor ogólny, azot ogólny, azotany, azotyny, amoniak, zawiesinę ogólną, suchą pozostałości, przewodnictwo właściwe, zagniwalność oraz mętność. Przedstawiono analizę parametrów w zależności od użytych środków piorących oraz zmian w czasie.The influence of selected household chemical products on the quality of greywater. The paper presents results of studies conducted in terms of the quality of greywater depending on the selected household chemicals in solid and liquid form. The following physico-chemical parameters were taken into account: pH, COD, BOD5, color, total phosphorus, total nitrogen, nitrates, nitrites, ammonia, total suspended solids, dry residue, conductivity, decay and turbidity. The analysis of parameters depending on the used household chemicals and changes over time were presented

Evaluation of dynamic resistance of ADI with addition of copper and molybdenium

Materiały inżynierskie wykorzystywane w licznych zastosowaniach, w szczególności w motoryzacyjnych i wojskowych, muszą sprostać nowym wymaganiom, z których jednym z najważniejszych jest odporność na obciążenia dynamiczne. Ponieważ zjawiska związane z takimi interakcjami są dość złożone, stosuje się niestatyczne typy testów do oceny i porównania różnych potencjalnych materiałów. W pracy tej dwa rodzaje żeliwa ADI wytworzono w różnych warunkach austenityzowania i hartowania, otrzymując różną morfologię ausferrytu. Próbki z obu materiałów były poddawane różnym dynamicznym szybkościom odkształcania. Oceniono odporność na martenzytyczną przemianę odkształceniową w zależności od mikrostruktury i szybkości odkształcania. Badania XRD i LM były wykorzystane do oceny właściwości oraz wpływu dużych szybkości odkształcania na strukturę materiału.Engineering materials used in numerous applications, in particular in automotive and military applications, have to meet new requirements, one of the most important being resistance to dynamic loads. Because the phenomena associated with such interactions are quite complex, non-static test types are used to evaluate and compare different potential materials. In this work, two types of ADI cast iron were made in different austenitizing and quenching conditions to obtain different ausferrite morphology. Samples from both materials were subjected to different dynamic deformation rates. The resistance to martensitic strain transformation was evaluated depending on the microstructure and rate of deformation. XRD and LM were used to assess the properties and impact of high strain rates on the material structure

Piezoelectric textiles : state of the art

The textile industry has made significant advances in the fields of intelligent and multifunctional textiles, mainly in the sector of high performance products. Electrotextiles and intelligent textiles present enormous potential in creating a new generation of flexible, comfortable and multifunctional structures for many applications. Therefore, the textile sector is greatly interested in the development of new fibrous forms of sensors, exploring the potential resulting from materials science. Piezoelectric polymer films, monofilaments, multifilaments and fibres are highly suitable and attractive for the development of a new generation of intelligent textiles. The main objective of this paper is to give a comprehensive overview of piezoelectric textiles

Patient-Derived Xenografts of High-Grade Serous Ovarian Cancer Subtype as a Powerful Tool in Pre-Clinical Research

(1) Background. PDX models have become the preferred tool in research laboratories seeking to improve development and pre-clinical testing of new drugs. PDXs have been shown to capture the cellular and molecular characteristics of human tumors better than simpler cell line-based models. More recently, however, hints that PDXs may change their characteristics over time have begun to emerge, emphasizing the need for comprehensive analysis of PDX evolution. (2) Methods. We established a panel of high-grade serous ovarian carcinoma (HGSOC) PDXs and developed and validated a 300-SNP signature that can be successfully utilized to assess genetic drift across PDX passages and detect PDX contamination with lymphoproliferative tissues. In addition, we performed a detailed histological characterization and functional assessment of multiple PDX passages. (3) Results. Our data show that the PDXs remain largely stable throughout propagation, with marginal genetic drift at the time of PDX initiation and adaptation to mouse host. Importantly, our PDX lines retained the major histological characteristics of the original patients’ tumors even after multiple passages in mice, demonstrating a strong concordance with the clinical responses of their corresponding patients. (4) Conclusions. Our data underline the value of defined HGSOC PDXs as a pre-clinical tumor model