HAEMODYNAMIC RESPONSE DURING EXERCISE TESTING IN PATIENTS WITH CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE UNDERGOING A CARDIAC REHABILITATION PROGRAMME

Haemodynamic monitoring during exercise testing is seldom used during cardiac rehabilitation. The aim was to evaluate haemodynamic changes using the cardiac impedance method during exercise testing in patients after percutaneous coronary interventions and coronary artery bypass grafting during cardiac rehabilitation. Thirty (25 M; 5 F) patients were included in the programme. The group was divided according to ejection fraction (EF): low – below 50% normal – equal to or above 50%. The exercise test was performed simultaneously with a four-electrode impedance cardiogram before and after rehabilitation. ECG, blood pressure, thoracic impedance, first derivative dz/dt, stroke volume (SV) and cardiac output were recorded. Contractility index (Heather index – HI) and vascular peripheral resistance were calculated. The pattern of haemodynamic changes was normal in 24 patients. The deflection points for HI and SV trend patterns were observed among patients with low EF. The contractility index decreased 90 s before maximal exercise and after the next 30-60 s a deflection point was observed in SV curve trends. In 24 patients with normal EF the contractility index trends did not decrease and SV trends increased until the end of exercise or a deflection point was not noted. The deflection points of the contractility index and SV curves were observed before the clinical indications for exercise test termination appeared in patients with a low ejection fraction. Impedance cardiography may indicate the threshold of the workload during real-time exercise testing

A comparative study of the in vitro activity of iodopropynyl butylcarbamate and amphotericin B against Prototheca spp. isolates from European dairy herds.

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to assess the in vitro effect of iodopropynyl butylcarbamate (IPBC) and amphotericin B (AMB) on Prototheca zopfii genotype 2 and Prototheca blaschkeae isolates recovered from dairy herds of Belgium, France, Italy, Germany, and Poland. The combination of IPBC with AMB on Prototheca isolates and toxicity of IPBC to the bovine mammary epithelial cells were also evaluated. The in vitro activity of IPBC and AMB against 96 isolates of P. zopfii genotype 2 and 42 isolates of P. blaschkeae was performed. Minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) and minimum algicidal concentrations (MAC) of IPBC and AMB were determined. To determine any synergistic, additive, or antagonistic effect of the combination of IPBC and AMB, 2-dimensional checkerboard combination tests were also performed to calculate fractional inhibitory concentrations. Cytotoxicity analysis of IPBC to the bovine mammary epithelial cell line was performed using a 3-(4,5-dimethyl-2-thiazol-2yl)-2,5-diphenyl tetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. The MIC for 50 and 90% of isolates (MIC 50 and MIC 90 , respectively) for IPBC were 4 and 8 mg/L versus 0.5 and 1 mg/L for AMB, respectively. The MIC profiles differed between P. zopfii genotype 2 and P. blaschkeae , with the latter species being more susceptible to both compounds. The MIC 50 and MIC 90 of IPBC were 4 and 8 mg/L for P. zopfii genotype 2 and 1 and 2 mg/L for P. blaschkeae , respectively. The MIC 50 and MIC 90 of AMB were both 1 mg/L for P. zopfii genotype 2 and 0.25 and 1 mg/L for P. blaschkeae , respectively. Both IPBC and AMB exhibited the ability to kill Prototheca spp. The MAC for 90% of isolates of IPBC was twice the MIC 90 , whereas an 8-fold increase of the MIC 90 was algicidal in the case of AMB. Overall, the combined use of IPBC and AMB exhibited an increased algicidal effect, albeit the fractional inhibitory concentration index showed synergistic activity only against 3 P. zopfii genotype 2 isolates. For all the remaining isolates (87.5%), this combination produced only an additive effect. The MTT assay results showed both IPBC and AMB, at the concentrations employed in the study, to be nontoxic to the epithelial mammary gland cells (cell viability >90%). Notably, only IPBC at the highest concentration (i.e., 8 mg/L) exerted a slight cytotoxic effect on the cell line tested (mean cell viability: 88.54 ± 3.88 and 90.66 ± 3.0, after 2 and 4 h of MTT treatment, respectively). The anti- Prototheca activity of IPBC was here demonstrated for the first time. In addition, the combined use of IPBC with AMB enhanced each other's effect, creating an additive rather than synergistic interaction. Both agents, used at concentrations corresponding to MIC values against Prototheca spp., showed no toxic effect for the mammary epithelial cells. In conclusion, IPBC, used either alone or in combination with AMB, can be considered a promising option in the treatment armamentarium for protothecal mastitis in dairy cows

‘Other’ Posts in ‘Other’ Places: Poland through a Postcolonial Lens?

Postcolonial theory has tended to focus on those spaces where European colonialism has had a territorial and political history. This is unsurprising, as much of the world is in this sense ‘postcolonial’. But not all of it. This article focuses on Poland, often theorised as peripheral to ‘old Europe’, and explores the application of postcolonial analyses to this ‘other’ place. The article draws upon reflections arising from a study of responses to ethnic diversity in Warsaw, Poland. In doing so we conclude that postcolonialism does indeed offer some important insights into understanding Polish attitudes to other nationalities, and yet more work also needs to be done to make the theoretical bridge. In the case of Poland we propose the ‘triple relation’ be the starting point for such work

Experiences of RTK positioning in hard observational conditions during Nysa Kłodzka river project

The paper presents the application of RTK technology for measuring the horizontal and vertical cross-sections of the Nysa Kłodzka River located in the southern part of Poland. GPS measurements were performed by the staff of Chair of Satellite Geodesy and Navigation of University of Warmia and Mazury in Olsztyn in cooperation with the team of the OPeGieKa Wroclaw company. The measurements had been done for 30 days during August and September 2004. Three GPS receivers were used such as two Ashtech Z-Xtreme and one Ashtech Z-Surveyor. The radiomodems Satelline of SATEL company were used for transmitting RTK corrections from a reference station to rovers. RTK measurements were being performed in very difticult observational conditions Iike in heavy shrubbery or under trees. It was excellent occasion to test reliability and accuracy of RTK positioning in practice. In general, the use of RTK technology in woodlands and rural terrain extremely improved efficiency of works, but gross errors were being occurred from time to time in very severe conditions of GPS observations due to the lack of good satellite geometry and availability

Utilization of GPS positioning methods for modernization of geodetic control network and cadastre

W artykule zaprezentowano technologię modernizacji ewidencji gruntów i budynków z zastosowaniem satelitarnej technologii GPS. Przeprowadzenie modernizacji ewidencji odbywa się na podstawie materiałów archiwalnych oraz nowych współrzędnych punktów wówczas założonej osnowy geodezyjnej, które uzyskuje się w wyniku wzmocnienia starej sieci osnowy geodezyjnej pomiarami GPS. Efektem końcowym przeprowadzonej modernizacji jest numeryczna mapa ewidencji gruntów i budynków oraz wykaz powierzchni działek obliczonych automatycznie na podstawie danych tworzących mapę numeryczną. W dalszej części artykułu opisano metodę RTK umożliwiającą wyznaczenie współrzędnych punktów z centymetrową dokładnością w dowolnie zdefiniowanym układzie współrzędnych oraz możliwość wykorzystania tej metody w pracach związanych z modernizacją ewidencji gruntów i budynków.In his paper, a new technology for land and buildings registration modernization supported by GPS (Global Positioning System) technique is presented. The modernization is based on archival materials and new coordinates of the reference network. The new coordinates are provided through strengthening an existing reference network with new points derived from GPS survey. As the result of the modernization, a numeric map of parcel and building cadastre together with the list of parcel areas calculated from numeric map data is provided. The authors provide also insight into RTK (Real-Time Kinematic) GPS technique that allows for centimeter-level point surveying in any user-defined reference frame. The feasibility of using RTK GPS technique for works related to cadastre modernization is also discussed