Respiratory motion and its compensation possibilities in the modern external beam radiotherapy of lung cancer

The aim of this paper is to present a systematic review of the current characteristics and recent development of commercially available respiratory motion solutions and their compensation possibilities in the external beam radio­therapy treatment of lung cancer. The most commonly used X-ray and radiotherapeutic technologies are presented, as well as their division into pre-treatment methods and intra-treatment verification. The article discusses the most important technological achievements that allow radiation to be safely applied in the lung region and reports the potential advantages and limitations of each. Finally, it presents details concerning selected research trends and problems related to motion compensation

The case of Nowe Warpno – new dimension of underwater research in the Szczecin Lagoon

Following paper presents a new aspect of the study of submerged landscapes in the Szczecin Lagoon. This aspect is the importance of coastal processes for the conservation status of the sites and archaeological contexts. Underwater prospection can lead to collection of archaeological material of an entirely different character. These artifacts may in fact come from the destroyed land erosion processes (abrasion), and so – in terms of methodology of archeology – lie on the secondary deposit. Of course, cognitive value of such sources is very different than artifacts found in full context. However, there is possibility to use them not only to study archeology, but to assess the scale, pace and extent of coastal phenomena perceived as post-depositional processes

Viscosity of associated mixtures approximated by the Grunberg-Nissan model

Previous experiments demonstrated that microheterogeneities occur in liquid systems (2-methylpyridine or 2,6-dimethylpyridine) + water. They are most probably due to the association of the hydrates through hydrogen bonds between water molecules. Substitution of methanol for water causes that the mixtures become homogenous. The results of viscometric studies reported in this study confirmed that the molecular clusters in aqueous solutions are much larger than the complexes occurring in the methanolic systems. Taking into consideration “kinetic entities” rather than monomeric molecules, the dependence of viscosity on concentration and temperaturę have been satisfactorily approximated by the Grunberg-Nissan relation with two adjustable coefficients. The kinetic entities were trimers of water, dimers of methanol, and monomeric amines. The same approach proved to be valid for the activation energy of viscous flow as well

Viscosity of associated mixtures approximated by the Grunberg-Nissan model

Previous experiments demonstrated that microheterogeneities occur in liquid systems (2-methylpyridine or 2,6-dimethylpyridine) + water. They are most probably due to the association of the hydrates through hydrogen bonds between water molecules. Substitution of methanol for water causes that the mixtures become homogenous. The results of viscometric studies reported in this study confirmed that the molecular clusters in aqueous solutions are much larger than the complexes occurring in the methanolic systems. Taking into consideration “kinetic entities” rather than monomeric molecules, the dependence of viscosity on concentration and temperaturę have been satisfactorily approximated by the Grunberg-Nissan relation with two adjustable coefficients. The kinetic entities were trimers of water, dimers of methanol, and monomeric amines. The same approach proved to be valid for the activation energy of viscous flow as well

Ruchomość oddechowa i możliwości jej kompensacji we współczesnej radioterapii nowotworów zlokalizowanych w obrębie płuc

  Celem artykułu było przygotowanie przeglądu aktualnej charakterystyki i kierunków rozwoju komercyjnie dostępnych rozwiązań umożliwiających ocenę ruchomości oddechowej i jej kompensację w radioterapii nowotworów zlokalizo­wanych w obrębie płuc. Opisano najczęściej wykorzystywane technologie oparte na obrazowaniu diagnostycznym i aparacie terapeutycznym oraz ich podział na metody stosowane przed rozpoczęciem leczenia, jak również wery­fikację w trakcie realizacji frakcji radioterapeutycznej. W artykule poruszono także aspekty opisujące najważniejsze osiągnięcia technologiczne pozwalające na bezpieczne stosowanie promieniowania w obrębie płuc. Ponadto autorzy raportują potencjalne zalety i ograniczenia każdego rozwiązania technologicznego. W opracowaniu przedstawiono również szczegóły dotyczące trendów i problemów badawczych związanych z kwestią kompensacji ruchomości oddechowej

Kreowanie wartości dla klientów w sieciach DIY

Współcześnie dąży się do przedefiniowania celów działalności przedsiębiorstwa, a także sposobu szacowania wpływu różnorodnych działań organizacji i dostosowania do wymagań przyszłości. Działania te mają w efekcie końcowym doprowadzić do sytuacji, w której wiodącym pragmatycznym oraz zorientowanym na przyszłość celem działań przedsiębiorstwa będzie maksymalizacja jego wartości. Przetrwanie przedsiębiorstwa, osiąganie wzrostu oraz zysku, maksymalizowanie jego wartości są jedynie możliwe pod warunkiem ukierunkowania na budowę wartości klienta – nabywcy i konsumenta. Zatem podstawowym warunkiem tworzenia wartości dla właścicieli jest satysfakcjonowanie i zatrzymanie rentownych klientów. W opracowaniu scharakteryzowano rynek DIY w Polsce oraz zaprezentowano wyniki badań zachowań nabywczych konsumentów. Zaprezentowano także wyniki badań własnych. Objęto nimi odbiorców wartości.Nowadays, efforts are being made to redefine the goals of the company's activities, as well as the method of estimating the impact of various actions of the organization and adapting to the requirements of the future. These activities are ultimately intended to lead to a situation in which the leading pragmatic and future-oriented goal of the company's activities will be to maximize its value. The survival of the enterprise, achieving growth and profit, maximizing its value are only possible on the condition of focusing on building the value of the customer - the buyer and the consumer. Thus, the basic condition for creating value for owners is satisfying and retaining profitable customers. The study characterizes the DIY market in Poland and presents the results of research on consumer purchasing behavior. The results of own research were also presented. Value recipients were covered

Mechanisms of Fibrinogen Adsorption on Silica Sensors at Various pHs: Experiments and Theoretical Modeling

International audienceThe adsorption kinetics of human serum fibrinogen at silica substrates was studied using optical waveguide lightmode spectroscopy (OWLS) and quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) techniques. Measurements were performed at pH 3.5, 4, and 7.4 for various ionic strengths. The experimental data were interpreted in terms of a hybrid random sequential adsorption model. This allowed the mass transfer rate coefficient for the OWLS cell and maximum coverages to be determined at various pHs. The appearance of different, pH-dependent mechanisms of fibrinogen adsorption on silica substrates was confirmed. At pH 3.5 the molecules mostly adsorb in the side-on orientation that produces a low maximum coverage of ca. 1 mg m-2. At this pH, the kinetics derived from the OWLS measurements agree with those theoretically predicted using the convective-diffusion theory. In consequence, a comparison of the OWLS and QCM results allows the water factor and the dynamic hydration of fibrinogen molecules to be determined. At pH 7.4, the OWLS method gives inaccurate kinetic data for the low coverage range. However, the maximum coverage that was equal to ca. 4 mg m-2 agrees with the QCM results and with previous literature results. It is postulated that the limited accuracy of the OWLS method for lower coverage stems from a heterogeneous structure of fibrinogen monolayers, which consist of side-on and end-on adsorbed molecules. One can expect that the results acquired in this work allow development of a robust procedure for preparing fibrinogen monolayers of well-controlled coverage and molecule orientation, which can be exploited for efficient immunosensing purposes

Cutaneous recurrence of long term pulmonary sarcoidosis - literature review and case report

Sarcoidosis is a systemic granulomatous disease, the exact etiology of which is unknown. This paper presents a case of a patient with a long course of pulmonary sarcoidosis with exacerbation of the disease in the form of skin lesions.                A 50-year-old female patient was admitted to the Department of Tuberculosis and Lung Diseases, Medical University of Lublin, because of cervical lymphadenopathy. Based on the histopathological examination, she was diagnosed with sarcoidosis. The patient reported constant fatigue, throat tightness and difficulty swallowing, as well as decreased exercise tolerance. Computed tomography studies revealed small nodular changes in both lungs and mediastinal lymphadenopathy. The patient was actively monitored. The results of spirometry tests improved spontaneously and remained at a satisfactory level for years. After 15 years of follow-up, the patient reported skin lesions that are constantly progressing. Examination of the cut from the skin lesion confirmed skin sarcoidosis. This case report highlights the varied course of sarcoidosis, which, as a multi-system disease, may show various manifestations. In clinical practice, therefore, one should consider the possibility of disease progression and transmission to multiple organs. It is important that the patient is under constant observation and that new lesions undergo differential diagnosis and histopathological examination

Relationship between stroke severity, extensity of leukoaraiosis, and brain atrophy in patients with ischaemic stroke

Purpose: Leukoaraiosis (LA), according to the latest classification, is white matter hyperintensity - morphological findings of small blood vessel disease of the brain. This radiological detection of small vessels disease is important because there are no technical possibilities to assess small vessels of the brain using computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) angiography. Our aim was to analysis the relationship between the extension of leukoaraiosis and severity of ischaemic stroke and brain atrophy. Material and methods: We retrospectively analysed 77 head CT scans of patients admitted from the emergency room (ER) to the Radiology Department due to suspected stroke. We assessed the severity of leukoaraiosis using the van Swieten scale and brain atrophy by numerous linear measurements. Results: Statistical analysis failed to demonstrate differences between LA1 and LA2 groups with regard to stroke severity in National Institutes of Health Stroke Scale (NIHSS) (p = 0.2159). There were no differences with regard to clinical severity of stroke between the study groups divided depending on the extent of brain atrophy. There were statistically significant differences with regard to the anterior horn width of the right and left lateral ventricle, posterior horn width of the right and left lateral ventricle, distance between occipital horn of the left lateral ventricle and internal surface of the cranium and third ventricle width depending on the severity of leukoaraiosis. Conclusions: The results of our studies present an association between the degree leukoaraiosis extension and brain atrophy, but no association between central nervous system tissue atrophy of extent of leukoaraiosis and ischaemic stroke severity