Impact of Land Use Changes and Dynamic Vegetation Changes on Vascular Flora Diversity in Małków-Bartochów (The Warta River Valley)

The paper presents the changes of vascular plant flora in the Małków-Bartochów peatland area (the Warta River valley) which took place over a 40-year period. Vanishing, permanent and new components of the flora are presented with a special focus on valuable (protected by the law, threatened and locally rare) species. Changes in the share of ecological groups are estimated and discussed. Anthropogenic and natural factors, directly or indirectly influencing (in the past and at present) flora composition, are noted and analyzed

„Pigułka szczęścia”, czyli o kreacji świata na internetowych stronach gabinetów stomatologicznych (leksyka wartościująca)

Udostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu „Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia”. Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00

Lekarz szuka pacjenta. Leksyka wartościująca pozytywnie na internetowych stronach gabinetów stomatologicznych

Modern business is connected with the Internet, and—on the background of the prototypiccorporate Web sites—the pages of doctors’ offices constitute a separate category as theadvertising of medical services in Poland is regulated by law. Because of that, doctors—beingthe owners of private surgeries—are confronted with significant limitations in this area. Accordingto the Act of the Supreme Medical Council (Pol. Naczelna Rada Lekarska) of December 16, 2011 doctors are not allowed to advertise the health services they provide. It is permitted to publish only the information including, among others, the professional title, specialization, the name and surname, days and hours of admission, with the reservation that such information may not possess the attributes of an advertisement. Practically, it is very hard to discern the difference between information and advertisement. The survey of the Web sites of dental offices indicates the presence of communicative elements fulfilling the persuasive function. More careful reading allows one to notice also the evaluating lexis. The compiled research material allows the author to suggest a hypothesis that the studied texts represent persuasive acts of speech.Modern business is connected with the Internet, and—on the background of the prototypic corporate Web sites—the pages of doctors’ offices constitute a separate category as the advertising of medical services in Poland is regulated by law. Because of that, doctors—being the owners of private surgeries—are confronted with significant limitations in this area. According to the Act of the Supreme Medical Council (Pol. Naczelna Rada Lekarska) of December 16, 2011 doctors are not allowed to advertise the health services they provide. It is permitted to publish only the information including, among others, the professional title, specialization, the name and surname, days and hours of admission, with the reservation that such information may not possess the attributes of an advertisement. Practically, it is very hard to discern the difference between information and advertisement. The survey of the Web sites of dental offices indicates the presence of communicative elements fulfilling the persuasive function. More careful reading allows one to notice also the evaluating lexis. The compiled research material allows the author to suggest a hypothesis that the studied texts represent persuasive acts of speech

Is there a relationship between loneliness and psychotic experiences? An empirical investigation and a meta-analysis

Purpose The aim of the systematic review and meta-analysis was to determine the magnitude and strength of the loneliness-psychosis relationship, and to synthesise current evidence. The aim of the empirical investigation was to establish whether, in older people, loneliness may increase proneness to auditory hallucinations and perceiving visual human-like features in ambiguous stimuli. Methods For the meta-analysis a search of electronic databases was conducted (PsychINFO, MEDLINE, EMBASE and Web of Science). Studies were included if they reported usable data relating to the association between loneliness and psychotic symptoms. A random effects meta-analysis was used to compute a pooled estimate of the correlation, together with 95% Confidence Intervals (CI). Study quality and outcome quality were systematically assessed using adapted versions of the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ) tool and GRADE approach, respectively. For the empirical study, a parallel group experimental design with random allocation to experimental conditions was employed. Participants (62 healthy adults aged 65 and above) were assigned to one of the two conditions – the experimental condition or a control condition. A loneliness induction procedure was employed in the experimental condition whereas participants in the control condition completed a neutral task. A logistic regression was conducted to evaluate performance on auditory and visual tasks across the groups and an odds ratio was calculated. Results Thirteen studies were included in the meta-analysis, providing data from 15,647 participants. A moderate association between psychosis and loneliness was observed (k=13, N=15,647, r=0.32, 95% CI 0.20, 0.44; I2 97.56%; moderate quality evidence). Whether loneliness was assessed by single-item or a more comprehensive measure had no moderating effect on the estimate. The experimental study revealed that participants in the neutral condition were significantly less likely to hear words in ambiguous stimuli than those in the experimental condition (OR = 0.70, 95% CI 0.51 – 0.94, p < 0.05). Exploratory analysis revealed that higher scores on the state loneliness measure were associated with an increase in the likelihood of hearing words (OR=1.17, 95% CI 1.01-1.35, p = 0.03). No effect of loneliness induction was found on perceiving human-like features in ambiguous visual stimuli. Conclusions The meta-analysis confirmed a significant positive relationship between loneliness and psychosis, while the experimental study suggested that loneliness may have a causal role in the development of subclinical auditory experiences in older people. Further studies examining whether loneliness is involved in proneness to other psychotic experiences would be beneficial

Hospitalizowani chorzy po 80. roku życia — charakterystyka kliniczna i rokowanie wewnątrzszpitalne; badanie pilotażowe

Introduction. The elderly above 75 years of age are characterized by lower body capabilities, a significant decrease inadaptability, and susceptibility to geriatric diseases, which strongly correlate with management problems in these agegroups. The aim of the study was to assess the population of hospitalized patients above 80 years of age. Demographicdata, comorbidities and in-hospital outcomes in the studied population were evaluated. Material and methods. A retrospective study included 8100 patients hospitalized at the Department of Cardiology in2013–2015. Overall, 982 patients (including 561 women) were evaluated. The mean age of the study group was 86years (± 3.7 years). In the study group, 884 patients (90%) were aged 80–89, 97 patients (9.9%) were aged 90–99,and one person (0.1%) was older than 99 years. Results. Ischaemic heart disease was present in 606 patients (61.7%), heart failure in 600 patients (60%), and atrialfibrillation in 452 patients (46%). Heart failure was the most common reason for hospitalization, identified in 340 subjects (34.6%), or one in three subjects, followed by a cardiac pacemaker implantation in 162 subjects (16.5%). Overall, a pacemaker or cardioverter-defibrillator was implanted in 473 subjects (48.2%) among those above 80 years of age. The most common causes of in-hospital mortality were heart failure in 29 patients (56.9%) and an acute coronary syndrome in 17 patients (33.3%). Conclusions. Heart failure is the most common cause of hospitalization in patients above 80 years of age, and ischaemic heart disease is the most common comorbidity in this age group. In the study population, cardiovascular decompensation was the main cause of mortality.Wstęp. Wiek starczy (75–90 lat) i wiek sędziwy ( > 90 lat) cechuje mniejsza wydajność organizmu, istotny spadek zdolności adaptacyjnych i podatność na choroby geriatryczne, co silnie koreluje z utrudnioną terapią w tych grupach wiekowych. Celem pracy była ocena populacji hospitalizowanych chorych powyżej 80. roku życia. Oceniono dane demograficzne, schorzenia współistniejące oraz rokowanie wewnątrzszpitalne badanej populacji. Materiały i metody. Retrospektywnym badaniem objęto 8100 chorych hospitalizowanych w klinice kardiologii w latach 2013–2015. Ocenie poddano 982 chorych (561 kobiet), a średni wiek badanej grupy wynosił 86 lat (± 3,7 roku). W badanej grupie 884 osób (90%) miało 80–89 lat, 97 osób (9,9%) — 90–99 lat, a 1 osoba (0,1%) przekroczyła 99. rok życia. Wyniki. Choroba niedokrwienna serca występowała u 606 chorych (61,7%), niewydolność serca — u 600 chorych (60%), a migotanie przedsionków — u 452 chorych (46%). Najczęstszym powodem przyjęcia do szpitala była niewydolność serca, która — dotyczyła co 3. pacjenta (340 osób; 34,6%). Drugą z kolei przyczyną hospitalizacji było wszczepienie stymulatora serca (162 osoby; 16,5%). W badanej grupie chorych powyżej 80. roku życia 473 osobom (48,2%) implantowano stymulator lub kardiowerter-defibrylator. Najczęstszymi przyczynami zgonu wewnątrzszpitalnego były niewydolność serca u 29 chorych (56,9%) oraz ostry zespół wieńcowy u 17 chorych (33,3%). Wnioski. Niewydolność serca to najczęstsza przyczyna hospitalizacji chorych powyżej 80. roku życia, natomiast choroba niedokrwienna serca to najczęstsza współtowarzysząca jednostka chorobowa w tej grupie. W analizowanej populacji główną przyczyną zgonów była dekompensacja układu sercowo-naczyniowego

Spontaniczna dyssekcja tętnicy wieńcowej — nie wszystkie ostre zespoły wieńcowe są takie same

A 54-year-old female patient with history of hypertension and smoking has been described. After the infection of the upper respiratory tract, she manifested acute coronary syndrome. Coronary angiography revealed spontaneous artery dissection in the middle part of the left anterior descending artery with a 40–50% blockage. After the risk stratification, strategies for conservative treatment were adopted.Przedstawiono 54-letnią pacjentkę z nadciśnieniem tętniczym oraz nikotynizmem w wywiadzie, u której po przebytejinfekcji górnych dróg oddechowych wystąpiły objawy ostrego zespołu wieńcowego. Angiografia wieńcowa ujawniłaspontaniczną dyssekcję gałęzi przedniej zstępującej lewej tętnicy wieńcowej w środkowym odcinku z przewężeniemo średnicy 40–50%. Po stratyfikacji ryzyka przyjęto strategię leczenia zachowawczego

Non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants in patients with atrial fibrillation in secondary stroke and systemic embolism prevention

Background: Oral anticoagulants (OAC) are recommended in all patients with atrial fibrillation (AF) after thromboembolic events without contraindications. It is hypothesized herein, that the majority of patients with AF after thromboembolic events receive OAC and the presence of specific factors, predisposes the use of non-vitamin K antagonist oral anticoagulants (NOACs). Methods: This is a retrospective study, encompassing patients with AF hospitalized in a reference cardiology center over the years 2014–2017. Thromboembolic events were defined as: ischemic stroke, transient ischemic attack and systemic embolism. Inclusion criteria were the following: diagnosis of non-valvular AF at discharge from hospital, hospitalization not resulting in death. Results: Among 2834 hospitalized patients with AF, a history of thromboembolic events was identified in 347 (12.2%) patients. In the group studied, of 347 patients with AF after a thromboembolic event, 322 (92.8%) received OAC, including 133 patients on vitamin K antagonist (41.3% of patients on OAC) and 189 patients on NOACs (58.7% of patients on OAC). Among patients treated with NOACs the majority were on dabigatran (116 patients, 61.4%), followed by rivaroxaban (54 patients, 28.6%), and apixaban (19 patients, 10%). Multivariate logistic regression analysis demonstrated that the presence of arterial hypertension reduced the chance for NOACs use (OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.2–0.9, p = 0.04) and left atrial size ≤ 40 mm was a factor increasing the chance for the use of NOACs (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.1–5.8, p = 0.03). Conclusions: Nearly all hospitalized patients with AF received OAC in the secondary prevention of thromboembolic complications. NOACs were used for secondary prevention of stroke among patients with AF in patients with fewer comorbidities