Characterization of patients with pulmonary arterial hypertension : data from the polish registry of pulmonary hypertension (BNP-PL)

Current knowledge of pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) epidemiology is based mainly on data from Western populations, and therefore we aimed to characterize a large group of Caucasian PAH adults of Central-Eastern European origin. We analyzed data of incident and prevalent PAH adults enrolled in a prospective national registry involving all Polish PAH centers. The estimated prevalence and annual incidence of PAH were 30.8/mln adults and 5.2/mln adults, respectively and they were the highest in females ≥65 years old. The most frequent type of PAH was idiopathic (n = 444; 46%) followed by PAH associated with congenital heart diseases (CHD-PAH, n = 356; 36.7%), and PAH associated with connective tissue disease (CTD-PAH, n = 132; 13.6%). At enrollment, most incident cases (71.9%) were at intermediate mortality risk and the prevalent cases had most of their risk factors in the intermediate or high risk range. The use of triple combination therapy was rare (4.7%). A high prevalence of PAH among older population confirms the changing demographics of PAH found in the Western countries. In contrast, we found: a female predominance across all age groups, a high proportion of patients with CHD-PAH as compared to patients with CTD-PAH and a low use of triple combination therapy

Original paper<br>The managed health care study for screening and early detection of colorectal cancer in Lodz urban population

The quality improvement initiative was undertaken in parallel with prospective studies on the incidence and frequency of colorectal cancer (CRC) in urban population of Lodz, Poland. The study was conducted in four primary care providers with the support of academic medical institutions. The study population included the citizens of Lodz, both genders, aged 45 to 65. The study was divided in two stages; each conducted consecutively in 2003 and 2004. This prospective, two stage study included 3152 patients. After positive serial guaiac-based fecal occult blood tests, high CRC odds ratio based on per rectum examination and the standardized questionnaire data 47.8% out of 1648 and 18.9% out of 1504 initially enrolled patients were enrolled into the extended diagnostic stage of the study within the consecutive years, respectively. CRC was found in 0.9% and 0.54% patients, respectively and the diagnosis of CRC was confirmed with histopathological tests. Colorectal diseases other than CRC were found in 23.1% and 11.2% of the study subjects, respectively. It is crucial to design and implement follow-up studies for those among our study subjects at high risk of CRC who finished the current study even without an unfavourable diagnosis or risk rating

Automatic Threat Detection for Historic Buildings in Dark Places Based on the Modified OptD Method

Historic buildings, due to their architectural, cultural, and historical value, are the subject of preservation and conservatory works. Such operations are preceded by an inventory of the object. One of the tools that can be applied for such purposes is Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR). This technology provides information about the position, reflection, and intensity values of individual points; thus, it allows for the creation of a realistic visualization of the entire scanned object. Due to the fact that LiDAR allows one to &lsquo;see&rsquo; and extract information about the structure of an object without the need for external lighting or daylight, it can be a reliable and very convenient tool for data analysis for improving safety and avoiding disasters. The main goal of this paper is to present an approach of automatic wall defect detection in unlit sites by means of a modified Optimum Dataset (OptD) method. In this study, the results of Terrestrial Laser Scanning (TLS) measurements conducted in two historic buildings in rooms without daylight are presented. One location was in the basement of the ruins of a medieval tower located in Dobre Miasto, Poland, and the second was in the basement of a century-old building located at the University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn, Poland. The measurements were performed by means of a Leica C-10 scanner. The acquired dataset of x, y, z, and intensity was processed by the OptD method. The OptD operates in such a way that within the area of interest where surfaces are imperfect (e.g., due to cracks and cavities), more points are preserved, while at homogeneous surfaces (areas of low interest), more points are removed (redundant information). The OptD algorithm was additionally modified by introducing options to detect and segment defects on a scale from 0 to 3 (0&mdash;harmless, 1&mdash;to the inventory, 2&mdash;requiring repair, 3&mdash;dangerous). The survey results obtained proved the high effectiveness of the modified OptD method in the detection and segmentation of the wall defects. The values of area of changes were calculated. The obtained information about the size of the change can be used to estimate the costs of repair, renovation, and reconstruction

Effect of phosphorylation of the maize starch on thermal generation of stable and short-living radicals

Effect of hydrolysis, phosphorylation and treatment with high hydrostatic pressure on thermal generation of stable and short-living radicals in maize starch was studied by X-ray diffraction (XRD), electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy, differential scanning calorim- etry and polarized light microscopy. Phosphorus was introduced into maize starch as mono- and distarch phosphates. XRD indicated localization of phosphate groups in amorphous part of the granule whereas calorimetric data suggested some cross-linking of the distarch phosphates. Stable and short-living radicals with unpaired electron localized at carbon atom were generated in all investigated samples in the temperature range commonly used for processing food. The number of detected short-living radicals, stabilized by a spin trap, is of two orders of magnitude greater than that of the stable radical species. Hydrolysis and phosphorylation strongly increase the number of stable radicals while pretreatment of the starch with high hydrostatic pressure diminishes their amount. The EPR spectra of stable radicals consist of two components, single line and another one with hyperfine structure, indicating interaction of unpaired electron with neighboring hydrogen atom. The EPR spectra of the spin trap adducts with short-living radicals contain three components from species differing in their dynamic properties depending on localization in zones of various degree of crystallinity

Managing the Uncertainty and Accuracy of Life Cycle Assessment Results for the Process of Beverage Bottle Moulding

Using environmentally friendly materials in the technological process of bottle production fits perfectly into the idea of sustainable development. The use of natural raw materials as well as conscious energy consumption are strategic aspects that should be considered in order to improve the effectiveness of the bottle moulding process. This paper presents a new and structured approach to the analysis of uncertainty and sensitivity in life cycle assessment, one developed in order to support the design process of environmentally friendly food packaging materials. With regard to this &ldquo;probabilistic&rdquo; approach to life cycle assessment, results are expressed as ranges of environmental impacts, and alternative solutions are developed while offering the concept of input uncertainty and the effect thereof on the final result. This approach includes: (1) the evaluation of the quality of inputs (represented by the origin matrix); (2) the reliability of results and (3) the uncertainty of results (the Monte Carlo method). The use of the methodology is illustrated based on an experiment conducted with real data from the technological process of bottle production. The results provide insight into the uncertainty of life cycle assessment indicators regarding global warming, acidification and the use of arable fields and farmland