Relationships between body weight and percentage body fat in the body and the development of osteopenia and osteoporosis

Obesity nowadays is a significant problem in developing countries and developed ones. Both the percentage of adipose tissue in the body and the proportion of muscle tissue affect the condition of the skeletal system. The common origin of adipose tissue and muscle tissue shows that overweight and obesity are not indifferent to the metabolism of bone tissue. Both malnutrition and obesity can lead to unfavorable health effects, contributing to the development of bone disorders and the occurrence of osteopenia, osteopenia with sarcoidosis, osteoporosis or osteoarthritis. Increased percentage of adipose tissue and/or muscle tissue during menopause may have an osteoprotective effect and thus prevent or relieve the effects of menopause in women or andropause in men. Research aimed at measuring the content of adipose tissue as a supplement to other diagnostic tests may contribute to the early detection and even prevention of osteoporosis. Key words: BMI, obesity, osteoporosis, osteopeni

Ocena zależności między dobowym profilem ciśnienia tętniczego a natriurezą u pacjentów z przewlekłą chorobą nerek oraz po przeszczepieniu nerki

Introduction. The disturbed circadian rhythm of blood pressure (BP) is more prevalent in patients with chronic kidney disease (CKD). Diminished renal capacity to excrete sodium may result in nocturnal BP elevation in order to enhance pressure natriuresis to compensate for impaired daytime natriuresis. We hypothesized that kidney transplantation (KTx) that restores glomerular filtration should normalize circadian BP profile. The aim of the study was to assess and compare natriuresis and circadian BP profiles of patients at different stages of CKD and KTx recipients. Material and methods. Blood pressure was monitored noninvasively for 24 hours and urinary samples were collected during the daytime and night-time to measure natriuresis among 55 patients with stable graft or kidney function: 41 with CKD and 14 patients after KTx. Results. Mean awake systolic blood pressure (SBP) was lower in KTx recipients than in CKD at all stages. Night-time mean BP was lowest in CKD patients with eGFR > 45 ml/min (126/68 mmHg vs. KTx 130/75 mmHg; p = 0.005). The prevalence of dipper status was also highest in CKD patients with eGFR > 45 ml/min. 50% vs. 8.3% (CKD 3b), 0% (CKD 4–5) and 7.1% (KTx) (p 60 ml/min, whereas reverse dipping profile only in those with eGFR < 60 ml/min. More than half CKD patients were taking at least 4 antihypertensive medications. In contrast, 64% of KTx recipients were receiving no more than 3 antihypertensive drugs to control BP. Conclusions. Kidney transplantation improves blood pressure control and reduces a number of antihypertensive drugs used. Normal circadian rhythm could be restored only in the transplant patients with well-functioning renal graft.Wstęp. Niedostateczne wydalanie sodu spowodowane upośledzoną czynnością nerek w przewlekłej chorobie nerek (PChN) może być wyrównywane zwiększoną natriurezą w nocy. Wymaga ona zwiększenia systemowego ciśnienia tętniczego, co wyjaśnia częste występowanie zaburzeń rytmu dobowego ciśnienia tętniczego w PChN. Zwiększenie filtracji kłębuszkowej po udanym przeszczepieniu nerki (KTx, kidney transplantation) powinno prowadzić do zmian dobowego profilu ciśnienia tętniczego. Celem pracy była ocena i porównanie dobowego profilu ciśnienia tętniczego i natriurezy u pacjentów z PChN oraz po KTx. Materiał i metody. Monitorowano równolegle ciśnienie tętnicze oraz prowadzono zbiórki moczu przez 24h u 55 chorych, w tym 41 z PChN oraz 14 po KTx. Wyniki. Średnie dzienne skurczowe ciśnienie tętnicze było najniższe po KTx. Natomiast średnie nocne ciśnienie tętnicze było najniższe w grupie z PChN i eGFR > 45 ml/min. (126/68 mm Hg wzgl. KTx 130/75 mm Hg; p = 0,005). Prawidłowy rytm ciśnienia tętniczego obserwowano u 50% chorych z eGFR > 45 ml/min. wzgl. 8,3% w stadium 3b, 0% stadium 4.–5. PChN i 7,1% po KTx (p 60 ml/min, natomiast profil „reverse dipping” tylko gdy eGFR < 60 ml/min. Ponad połowa pacjentów z PChN przyjmowała przynajmniej 4 leki hipotensyjne, w przeciwieństwie do pacjentów po KTx, którzy w większości (64%) wymagali nie więcej niż 3 leków. Wnioski. Przeszczepienie nerki poprawia kontrolę ciśnienia tętniczego i pozwala na zmniejszenie liczby leków hipotensyjnych, jednak poprawę dobowego rytmu obserwuje się jedynie przy dobrej czynności przeszczepu

Machine Learning Successfully Detects Patients with COVID-19 Prior to PCR Results and Predicts Their Survival Based on Standard Laboratory Parameters in an Observational Study

Introduction: In the current COVID-19 pandemic, clinicians require a manageable set of decisive parameters that can be used to (i) rapidly identify SARS-CoV-2 positive patients, (ii) identify patients with a high risk of a fatal outcome on hospital admission, and (iii) recognize longitudinal warning signs of a possible fatal outcome. Methods: This comparative study was performed in 515 patients in the Maria Skłodowska-Curie Specialty Voivodeship Hospital in Zgierz, Poland. The study groups comprised 314 patients with COVID-like symptoms who tested negative and 201 patients who tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 infection; of the latter, 72 patients with COVID-19 died and 129 were released from hospital. Data on which we trained several machine learning (ML) models included clinical findings on admission and during hospitalization, symptoms, epidemiological risk, and reported comorbidities and medications. Results: We identified a set of eight on-admission parameters: white blood cells, antibody-synthesizing lymphocytes, ratios of basophils/lymphocytes, platelets/neutrophils, and monocytes/lymphocytes, procalcitonin, creatinine, and C-reactive protein. The medical decision tree built using these parameters differentiated between SARS-CoV-2 positive and negative patients with up to 90–100% accuracy. Patients with COVID-19 who on hospital admission were older, had higher procalcitonin, C-reactive protein, and troponin I levels together with lower hemoglobin and platelets/neutrophils ratio were found to be at highest risk of death from COVID-19. Furthermore, we identified longitudinal patterns in C-reactive protein, white blood cells, and D dimer that predicted the disease outcome. Conclusions: Our study provides sets of easily obtainable parameters that allow one to assess the status of a patient with SARS-CoV-2 infection, and the risk of a fatal disease outcome on hospital admission and during the course of the disease

Pathway: a fast and flexible unified stream data processing framework for analytical and Machine Learning applications

We present Pathway, a new unified data processing framework that can run workloads on both bounded and unbounded data streams. The framework was created with the original motivation of resolving challenges faced when analyzing and processing data from the physical economy, including streams of data generated by IoT and enterprise systems. These required rapid reaction while calling for the application of advanced computation paradigms (machinelearning-powered analytics, contextual analysis, and other elements of complex event processing). Pathway is equipped with a Table API tailored for Python and Python/SQL workflows, and is powered by a distributed incremental dataflow in Rust. We describe the system and present benchmarking results which demonstrate its capabilities in both batch and streaming contexts, where it is able to surpass state-of-the-art industry frameworks in both scenarios. We also discuss streaming use cases handled by Pathway which cannot be easily resolved with state-of-the-art industry frameworks, such as streaming iterative graph algorithms (PageRank, etc.)

Poland : The radiance of a global parish

À l'occasion de la disparition du pape Jean-Paul II, la presse polonaise a publié de nombreux textes du défunt et un débat à contenu religieux a profondément imprégné la sphère publique. De nombreux sujets ont été traités, même dans les milieux qui considéraient habituellement l'Église et la religion comme une menace pour la démocratie et pour la séparation de l'Église et de l'État en Pologne. Par ailleurs, l'ensemble des manifestations populaires en Pologne autour de cette mort, ont donné lieu à l'émergence du thème, discuté, de « génération Jean-Paul II », sa vie étant présentée comme une nouvelle impulsion donnée à la culture chrétienne dans son pays, en établissant du coup des parallèles avec ce qu'avait été la «génération Solidarnosc» aux débuts des années 1980

Taxonomic revision of the Paradoxididae Hawle and Corda, 1847 from the Miaolingian (Cambrian) of the Holy Cross Mountains, Poland: a morphometric approach to simply deformed trilobites

The taxonomy of simply deformed paradoxidids from the Miaolingian (Cambrian) of Słowiec Hill, Holy Cross Mountains, Poland, is revised based on morphometric analysis. The material represents two species: Acadoparadoxides slowiecensis (Czarnocki in Orłowski, 1965) and Hydrocephalus? polonicus (Czarnocki in Orłowski, 1965). A new assemblage zone based on the combined although not precisely known ranges of these two taxa is suggested replacing the previous Paradoxides polonicus Zone of Orłowski (1975, 1988, 1992a). The Acadoparadoxides slowiecensis–Hydrocephalus? polonicus Assemblage Zone corresponds to the middle and upper part of the Wuliuan Stage (lower Miaolingian)

Application des techniques morphométriques à la revision systématique de &lt;i&gt;Berabichia oratrix&lt;/i&gt; (Orłowski, 1985) (Trilobita, Cambrien) des Monts Sainte-Croix, Pologne

L’analyse détaillée d’environ 900 spécimens de trilobites provenant de la Série 2 du Cambrien des Monts Sainte-Croix (Pologne), déterminés jusque-là comme Comluella oratrix Orłowski, 1985 et Comluella igrzycznae Orłowski, 1985, montre qu’il s’agit en fait d’un assemblage monospécifique de Berabichia oratrix (Orłowski, 1985). Il est certain que les différences indiquées dans les diagnoses originales sont dues à des processus taphonomiques. Pour vérifier l’hypothèse de la monospécificité de l’assemblage, six paramètres sagittaux et exsagittaux et cinq paramètres transversaux ont été mesurés et calculés pour les 182 cranidiums de suffisamment bon état de conservation. Les méthodes d’analyse morphométrique bivariée et multivariée ainsi que l’analyse discriminante ont été appliquées aux 121 cranidiums pour lesquels il a été possible d’effectuer la totalité des mesures. Les résultats de l’analyse morphométrique montrent que l’essentiel de la variation de l’échantillon étudié peut s’expliquer par la déformation tectonique, laquelle a pu amener Orłowski (1985) à distinguer deux espèces. L’application de techniques graphiques aux images de spécimens déformés différemment selon leur position par rapport au champ de tension a permis d’obtenir des spécimens statistiquement indistinguables en ce qui concerne leurs proportions sagittale et transversale. Cela confirme l’influence tectonique sur la morphologie de l’échantillon fossile étudié.Detailed analysis of c. 900 trilobite specimens from the Cambrian Series 2 of the Holy Cross Mountains in Poland, assigned hitherto to Comluella oratrix Orłowski, 1985 and Comluella igrzycznae Orłowski, 1985, has shown that the two species constitute in fact a monospecific assemblage representing Berabichia oratrix (Orłowski, 1985). The differences pointed out in the original diagnoses are obviously caused by taphonomic processes. To test the hypothesis of a monospecific assemblage, six sagittal and exsagittal and five transverse parameters were measured and calculated for 182 best-preserved cranidia; from this dataset, 121 cranidia with the complete set of measurements were subjected to bivariate and multivariate morphometric analyses and discriminant analysis. Results of the morphometric analysis point to the significant role of tectonic deformation in the variation of the studied sample that could have led Orłowski (1985) to distinguish two separate species. Application of graphic techniques on photographs of distorted specimens lying in different directions with regard to the stress field allowed to obtain specimens statistically indistinguishable in terms of their sagittal and transverse proportions, thus confirming the tectonic overprint on the morphology of the analyzed trilobite sample.</p