Pilot program on distance training in spirometry testing — the technology feasibility study

Introduction: Office spirometry has been widely used in recent years by general practitioners in primary care setting, thus the need for stricter monitoring of the quality of spirometry has been recognized. Material and methods: A spirometry counseling network of outpatients clinics was created in Poland using portable spirometer Spirotel. The spirometry data were transferred to counseling centre once a week. The tests sent to the counseling centre were analyzed by doctors experienced in the analysis of spirometric data. In justified cases they sent their remarks concerning performed tests to the centres via e-mail. Results: We received 878 records of spirometry tests in total. Data transmission via the telephone was 100% effective. The quality of spirometry tests performed by outpatients clinics was variable. Conclusions: The use of spirometers with data transfer for training purposes seems to be advisable. There is a need to proper face-to-face training of spirometry operators before an implementation of any telemedicine technologyIntroduction: Office spirometry has been widely used in recent years by general practitioners in primary care setting, thus the need for stricter monitoring of the quality of spirometry has been recognized. Material and methods: A spirometry counseling network of outpatients clinics was created in Poland using portable spirometer Spirotel. The spirometry data were transferred to counseling centre once a week. The tests sent to the counseling centre were analyzed by doctors experienced in the analysis of spirometric data. In justified cases they sent their remarks concerning performed tests to the centres via e-mail. Results: We received 878 records of spirometry tests in total. Data transmission via the telephone was 100% effective. The quality of spirometry tests performed by outpatients clinics was variable. Conclusions: The use of spirometers with data transfer for training purposes seems to be advisable. There is a need to proper face-to-face training of spirometry operators before an implementation of any telemedicine technolog

Register of New Localities for Bryophytes Occurring in Poland, 1

W publikacji przedstawiono nowe stanowiska rzadkich mszaków w Polsce, tj. Anastrophyllum michauxii, Eremonotus myriocarpus, Neckera pennata, Scapania crassiretis, Sphagnum majus, Ulota bruchii oraz Zygodon rupestris.This work presents a list of new localities in Poland for the following rare bryophytes: Anastrophyllum michauxii, Eremonotus myriocarpus, Neckera pennata, Scapania crassiretis, Sphagnum majus, Ulota bruchii, and Zygodon rupestris.The research was self-financed by the authors

A Rational Approach to Predicting Immediate Release Formulation Behavior in Multiple Gastric Motility Patterns: A Combination of a Biorelevant Apparatus, Design of Experiments, and Machine Learning

Gastric mechanical stress often impacts drug dissolution from solid oral dosage forms, but in vitro experiments cannot recreate the substantial variability of gastric motility in a reasonable time. This study, for the first time, combines a novel dissolution apparatus with the design of experiments (DoE) and machine learning (ML) to overcome this obstacle. The workflow involves the testing of soft gelatin capsules in a set of fasted-state biorelevant dissolution experiments created with DoE. The dissolution results are used by an ML algorithm to build the classification model of the capsule’s opening in response to intragastric stress (IS) within the physiological space of timing and magnitude. Next, a random forest algorithm is used to model the further drug dissolution. The predictive power of the two ML models is verified with independent dissolution tests, and they outperform a polynomial-based DoE model. Moreover, the developed tool reasonably simulates over 50 dissolution profiles under varying IS conditions. Hence, we prove that our method can be utilized for the simulation of dissolution profiles related to the multiplicity of individual gastric motility patterns. In perspective, the developed workflow can improve virtual bioequivalence trials and the patient-centric development of immediate-release oral dosage forms

Genetic support for the current discrete conservation unit of the Central European wolf population.

Article number: wlb.00809The gray wolf Canis lupus range in central Europe is dynamically expanding, reconnecting previously isolated populations. Thus, a recent paper has proposed to merge the current Baltic and Central European (CE) wolf management units, which are no longer isolated by distance. However, recent genetic findings indicate that these two populations are not genetically homogenous. Here we review the most recent data on wolf genetic structure in central Europe and show that even though the CE and Baltic wolves represent the same phylogeographic lineage, their demographic history has resulted in significant genetic structure between these two populations. While the groups are interconnected by moderate gene flow, it is not high enough to reduce the strong founder signal observed in the CE population, suggesting that population dynamics within the CE wolf range are largely independent from those of its source (Baltic) population. Consequently, a management unit combining the CE and Baltic wolves would not form a demographically coherent entity. Thus, we recommend that conservation management units maintain their separate statusMiškų ir ekologijos fakultetasUniversity of Veterinary MedicineVytauto Didžiojo universiteta