Cardiovascular risk in patients with selected cutaneous diseases

Introduction and purpose: Cardiovascular diseases (CVD) are the leading cause of death worldwide. The classic cardiovascular risk factors include age, gender, obesity, diabetes, hypertension, dyslipidemia, smoking and genetic factors. Some dermatological disorders are also potential risk factors for the development of CVD. The aim of the study is to review recent knowledge on the impact of dermatological diseases on cardiovascular risk. Description of the state of knowledge: The relationship between skin diseases and cardiovascular risk is influenced by various common dependencies such as: shared pathophysiological basis of disorders, risk factors, presence of a chronic inflammatory process, genetic susceptibility and environmental influences. Increased cardiovascular risk has been reported for several dermatological conditions, including psoriasis, systemic lupus erythematosus, systemic sclerosis, pemphigus, hidradenitis suppurativa, rosacea, atopic dermatitis. Chronic systemic inflammation, typically present in skin conditions, is a cardiovascular risk factor, because inflammation accelerates atherosclerosis, and furthermore may predispose patients to the development of metabolic syndrome, insulin resistance and diabetes mellitus. In patients who are initially metabolically unbalanced, these processes may be even more intense. Cardiovascular disorders, the frequency of which increases in patients with skin diseases, include atherosclerosis, coronary artery disease, ischemic heart disease, cardiac dysfunction, arrhythmias, heart failure, cerebrovascular disease (stroke, TIA) and peripheral arterial disease. Summary: Many cutaneous disorders, in addition to significantly increasing cardiovascular morbidity and mortality, also reduce the patient's quality of life. The cooperation of dermatologists and cardiologists in the care of patients with dermatological diseases is crucial for the proper treatment of the disease and prevention of cardiovascular complications

Preeclampsia – long-term effects on mother and child

Preeclampsia (PE) is a pregnancy complication that affects 5% to 8% of all pregnancies. It is a leading cause of maternal mortality that contributes annually more than 60,000 maternal deaths all over the world. Data submitted so far by clinicians are still insufficient to completely understand the disease. Despite many researches, the prediction of patients suffering from PE remains difficult. Moreover therapeutic methods are also limited and concentrated on symptomatic treatment and early termination of pregnancy. The  aim  of  the  presented  article  is  to  review  current research on the PE and its long-term effects on mother and child. PE is defined as a hypertension developing after 20 weeks of gestation with at least one of the following symptoms: proteinuria, maternal organ dysfunction or foetal growth restriction. Because initially patients may be completely asymptomatic, the diagnosis is usually difficult. Untreated PE may lead to the death of both mother and neonate. In later life it predisposes woman and child to cardiovascular and metabolic diseases. Maternal consequences are related to increased risk of hypertension, stroke, thrombosis or chronic kidney disease, whilst offspring implications are directly correlated with hypertension, increased body mass index, hormonal changes and reductions in cognitive functions. In the future there is a need to develop more effective diagnostic methods of PE. Comprehensive understanding of the pathophysiology would allow to avoid many negative long-term effects and reduce its mortality rate

Functionalization of graphite with oxidative plasma

Surface-modified graphite is studied as an electrode material, an adsorbent, and a membrane component, among other applications. Modifying the graphite with plasma can be used to create relevant surface functionalities, in particular, various oxygen groups. The application of surface-oxidized graphite often requires its use in an aqueous environment. The application in an aqueous environment is not an issue for acid-oxidized carbons, but a discrepancy in the structure–activity relationship may arise because plasma-oxidized carbons show a time-dependent decrease in the degree of functionalization and related properties. Moreover, plasma-oxidized materials are often characterized in terms of their chemical and physical properties, most notably their degree of functionalization after plasma treatment, without contact with water. In this study, we used low-temperature plasma oxidation with pure oxygen and carbon dioxide and sample-washing with concentrated nitric and sulfuric acids. To evaluate the electronic properties of modified graphite, the work function changes and surface oxygen content were measured just after plasma modification and after water immersion. We show that water immersion drastically decreases the work function of plasma-treated samples, which is accompanied by a decrease in the number of radicals introduced by plasma. Our results demonstrate that the increase in stable work function as a result of plasma treatment, brought about by an increase in the surface oxygen species concentration, can be realized most effectively for the acid-washed graphite

Analysis of the needs and possibilities of using psychological help among the society

Introduction Young people find themselves in stressful situations more and more frequently. Mental health and access to professional psychical help is necessary. Unfortunately, the availability of the psychologist's offices, as well as knowledge about mental health, is very limited. Aim of the study We aimed to check factors that cause stress and the access to psychological help in Poland. Material and method In order to analyze the issue, an Internet survey was prepared and disseminated in  February and March 2022. Results Over 80% of respondents claimed that sometime in their life they needed psychological help, although the majority of them did not seek professional help. 41,1% of people who took part in the survey could get help from psychologists in their place of work or study, but over 83% of them did not seek help there. Everyday problems and situations in work, school or university were mentioned as the most stressful situations (63,7%). According to the respondents' opinion, problems with concentration and nervousness (80,6% and 76,6% respectively) due to stress have a negative influence on their health. 74,2% of young people consider themselves as not stress-resistant. The best option to deal with stress is to listen to music or to converse with their closest ones. Conclusion Everyone should have ensured good access to psychological help. There is a great demand for it, regardless of gender or age. Despite the need to see an expert, the majority of people do not ask for help

AI-based multi-PRS models outperform classical single-PRS models

Polygenic risk scores (PRS) calculate the risk for a specific disease based on the weighted sum of associated alleles from different genetic loci in the germline estimated by regression models. Recent advances in genetics made it possible to create polygenic predictors of complex human traits, including risks for many important complex diseases, such as cancer, diabetes, or cardiovascular diseases, typically influenced by many genetic variants, each of which has a negligible effect on overall risk. In the current study, we analyzed whether adding additional PRS from other diseases to the prediction models and replacing the regressions with machine learning models can improve overall predictive performance. Results showed that multi-PRS models outperform single-PRS models significantly on different diseases. Moreover, replacing regression models with machine learning models, i.e., deep learning, can also improve overall accuracy

Complications following transcatheter edge-to-edge mitral valve repair: Personal experience and review of the literature

Mitral valve dysfunction affects around 2% of the population and its incidence is still increasing, making it the second most common valvular heart disease, after aortic stenosis. Depending on the etiology of the disease, it can be classified into primary or secondary mitral regurgitation. The first line of treatment is optimal medical therapy. If ineffective, mitral valve intervention can be considered. For patients disqualified from surgical treatment, transcatheter edge-to-edge repair with the use of MitraClip may be considered. Over 100,000 MitraClip procedures have been performed which makes this the most established transcatheter technique for the treatment of severe mitral regurgitation. The aim of this review is to discuss the technical details of the MitraClip procedure, clinical evidence regarding the efficacy of MitraClip, complications related to the clip implantation alongside with acute complications based on the currently available evidence and clinical experience

Impact of landscape configuration and composition on pollinator communities across different European biogeographic regions

IntroductionHeterogeneity in composition and spatial configuration of landscape elements support diversity and abundance of flower-visiting insects, but this is likely dependent on taxonomic group, spatial scale, weather and climatic conditions, and is particularly impacted by agricultural intensification. Here, we analyzed the impacts of both aspects of landscape heterogeneity and the role of climatic and weather conditions on pollinating insect communities in two economically important mass-flowering crops across Europe. MethodsUsing a standardized approach, we collected data on the abundance of five insect groups (honey bees, bumble bees, other bees, hover flies and butterflies) in eight oilseed rape and eight apple orchard sites (in crops and adjacent crop margins), across eight European countries (128 sites in total) encompassing four biogeographic regions, and quantified habitat heterogeneity by calculating relevant landscape metrics for composition (proportion and diversity of land-use types) and configuration (the aggregation and isolation of land-use patches). ResultsWe found that flower-visiting insects responded to landscape and climate parameters in taxon- and crop-specific ways. For example, landscape diversity was positively correlated with honey bee and solitary bee abundance in oilseed rape fields, and hover fly abundance in apple orchards. In apple sites, the total abundance of all pollinators, and particularly bumble bees and solitary bees, decreased with an increasing proportion of orchards in the surrounding landscape. In oilseed rape sites, less-intensively managed habitats (i.e., woodland, grassland, meadows, and hedgerows) positively influenced all pollinators, particularly bumble bees and butterflies. Additionally, our data showed that daily and annual temperature, as well as annual precipitation and precipitation seasonality, affects the abundance of flower-visiting insects, although, again, these impacts appeared to be taxon- or crop-specific. DiscussionThus, in the context of global change, our findings emphasize the importance of understanding the role of taxon-specific responses to both changes in land use and climate, to ensure continued delivery of pollination services to pollinator-dependent crops

Impact of landscape configuration and composition on pollinator communities across different European biogeographic regions

Introduction: Heterogeneity in composition and spatial configuration of landscape elements support diversity and abundance of flower-visiting insects, but this is likely dependent on taxonomic group, spatial scale, weather and climatic conditions, and is particularly impacted by agricultural intensification. Here, we analyzed the impacts of both aspects of landscape heterogeneity and the role of climatic and weather conditions on pollinating insect communities in two economically important mass-flowering crops across Europe. Methods: Using a standardized approach, we collected data on the abundance of five insect groups (honey bees, bumble bees, other bees, hover flies and butterflies) in eight oilseed rape and eight apple orchard sites (in crops and adjacent crop margins), across eight European countries (128 sites in total) encompassing four biogeographic regions, and quantified habitat heterogeneity by calculating relevant landscape metrics for composition (proportion and diversity of land-use types) and configuration (the aggregation and isolation of land-use patches). Results: We found that flower-visiting insects responded to landscape and climate parameters in taxon- and crop-specific ways. For example, landscape diversity was positively correlated with honey bee and solitary bee abundance in oilseed rape fields, and hover fly abundance in apple orchards. In apple sites, the total abundance of all pollinators, and particularly bumble bees and solitary bees, decreased with an increasing proportion of orchards in the surrounding landscape. In oilseed rape sites, less-intensively managed habitats (i.e., woodland, grassland, meadows, and hedgerows) positively influenced all pollinators, particularly bumble bees and butterflies. Additionally, our data showed that daily and annual temperature, as well as annual precipitation and precipitation seasonality, affects the abundance of flower-visiting insects, although, again, these impacts appeared to be taxon- or crop-specific. Discussion: Thus, in the context of global change, our findings emphasize the importance of understanding the role of taxon-specific responses to both changes in land use and climate, to ensure continued delivery of pollination services to pollinator-dependent crops

Interdyscyplinarne aspekty nauk o zdrowiu

Praca recenzowana / Peer-reviewed pape

Monitoring bee health in European agroecosystems using wing morphology and fat bodies

Current global change substantially threatens pollinators, which directly impacts the pollination services underpinning the stability, structure and functioning of ecosystems. Amongst these threats, many synergistic drivers, such as habitat destruction and fragmentation, increasing use of agrochemicals, decreasing resource diversity, as well as climate change, are known to affect wild and managed bees. Therefore, reliable indicators for pollinator sensitivity to such threats are needed. Biological traits, such as phenotype (e.g. shape, size and asymmetry) and storage reserves (e.g. fat body size), are important pollinator traits linked to reproductive success, immunity, resilience and foraging efficiency and, therefore, could serve as valuable markers of bee health and pollination service potential. This data paper contains an extensive dataset of wing morphology and fat body content for the European honeybee (Apis mellifera) and the buff-tailed bumblebee (Bombus terrestris) sampled at 128 sites across eight European countries in landscape gradients dominated by two major bee-pollinated crops (apple and oilseed rape), before and after focal crop bloom and potential pesticide exposure. The dataset also includes environmental metrics of each sampling site, namely landscape structure and pesticide use. The data offer the opportunity to test whether variation in the phenotype and fat bodies of bees is structured by environmental factors and drivers of global change. Overall, the dataset provides valuable information to identify which environmental threats predominantly contribute to the modification of these traits