Social Responsibility in Cross-Sector Relationships

The performance and development of an organisation depends not only on the organisation itself, but – to an increasing extent – on its relationships with its surroundings. This also refers to cross-sector relationships outside the world of business. Thus, the purpose of the article is to analyse the cross-sector collaboration between public administration and non-governmental organisations (NGOs), and to highlight its fundamental terms and conditions, e.g. trust and social responsibility. The more honesty there is in such relations, the more trust and willingness to co-operate there arises in both parties. The analysed model of collaboration between public administration and NGOs seems to be a helpful tool for the development of collaboration based on social responsibility

Rapid Detection of Bloodstream Pathogens in Oncologic Patients with a FilmArray Multiplex PCR Assay: a Comparison with Culture Methods

The results of the FilmArray® Blood Culture Identification Panel (BCID) (BioFire Diagnostics) and the culture with susceptibility testing of 70 positive blood cultures from oncologic patients were compared. The multiplex PCR assay (BCID) identified 81 of the 83 isolates (97.6%), covered by the panel. The panel produced results in significantly shorter time than standard identification methods, when counted from receiving positive blood cultures bottles to the final results. It is an accurate method for the rapid identification of pathogens and resistance genes from blood culture in oncologic patient

An analysis of the influence of infection on overall survival rates, following modified posterior pelvic exenteration for advanced ovarian cancer

Objectives: The aim of our study was to determine the association between the appearance of infection after modified posterior pelvic exenteration (MPE) and the time to adjuvant chemotherapy (TTC), and to examine whether infection has any impact on clinical results by delaying the start of chemotherapy.Material and methods: Our retrospective study analyzed 77 patients who had undergone MPE followed by adjuvantchemotherapy. Postoperatively, either there was no residual tumor or, the residual tumor was less than 2.5 mm, in 76.7% of the study patients. Our study group was divided into two subgroups for comparison; the first group consisted of 41 patients with postoperative infections, and the second group of 36 patients had no infections. The infections of the first group were monitored during a 90-day postoperative period. Median TTC and overall survival rates (OS) were determined for those patients who developed an infection as well as for those who did not.Results: The expected 5-year survival rate was 0.40 (SD = 0.09) for those patients without infection and 0.17 (SD = 0.07) for those patients with infection. The survival curves of patients with infection and those without infection were significantly different statistically (p = 0.038). The median TTC differed significantly for those patients who developed infection compared with those patients who did not develop infection (37 days compared with 27.5 days respectively, p = 0.024); and patients without infection were statistically more likely to receive chemotherapy within 25 days following surgery than in the subsequent 25–42-day period compared with those patients who did develop infection (p = 0.048). No statistically significant differences were found between the two groups in relation to results following the initiation of chemotherapy during the first 42 days postoperatively (p = 0.445).Conclusions: The absence of postoperative infection was associated with better survival rates. Patients with infectionexperienced a longer time interval between surgery and the start of chemotherapy, without negative impact to theiroverall survival rates

Analysis of Treg cell population in patients with breast cancer with respect to progesterone receptor status

Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed type of cancer in women worldwide. Both the development and progression of breast cancer are related to tumour evasion of the immune system through a process called cancer immune-editing, in which regulatory lymphocytes play an important role. The infiltration of Treg cells in patients with breast cancer has been proposed as an independent unfavourable prognostic factor. In the present study, we aimed to evaluate the percentages of the Treg cell populations in the peripheral blood of patients with breast cancer with respect to progesterone receptor expression. Peripheral blood samples were collected from 27 patients with breast cancer treated in the Clinical Department of Breast Cancer and Reconstructive Surgery of the Professor Franciszek Lukaszczyk Oncological Centre, Bydgoszcz. Flow cytometry was used to evaluate the percentage of CD25+/ FOXP3+/CD127 (–/low) T cells within CD3+/CD4+ T cells. The presence of CD25+/FOXP3+/ CD127 (–/low) T cells within CD3+/ CD4+ T cells was identified in all the examined blood samples. A statistically significantly higher percentage of CD25+/FOXP3+/CD127 (–/low) T cells within CD3+/CD4+ T cells was observed in progesterone receptor (PR)-negative breast cancer patients when compared to PR-positive breast cancer patients. The observed high percentage of CD25+/FOXP3+/CD127 (–/low) T cells within CD3+/CD4+ T cells in PR (–) breast cancer patients when compared to PR (+) breast cancer patients seems to confirm the unfavourable prognostic significance of these cells in breast cancer patients. This may indicate a rationale for combining standard oncological treatment in breast cancer patients with Treg-depleting therap

The possible use of the blood serum concentration measurements of sHLA-G in women with endometrial and cervical cancers during radiotherapy as an indicator of the status of the tumour microenvironment

Background: The selective suppression of cytotoxic immune cells constitutes a crucial event in the development of malignancy. This phenomenon increases in accordance with the growth of a tumor and is just one result of the increased expression in the cancer milieu of those proteins, such as human leukocyte antigen G (HLA-G) and its soluble form (sHLA-G). Given that radiotherapy may influence immune system activity, we aimed to measure (sHLA-G) serum levels both before and after the radiotherapy due to endometrial or cervical cancer.   Methods: We assessed the sHLA-G blood serum concentration levels in a group of 43 patients (28 and 15 diagnosed with cervical cancer and endometrial cacer respectively), who received primary or adjuvant radiotherapy. We assessed the blood serum concentrations of the sHLA-G through a series of measurements taken before and four days after the latest radiation dosage using an ELISA kit.   Results: Median serum sHLA-G levels significantly decreased after radiotherapy (5.63 U/ml; range 0.00 – 344.55; vs 5.57 U/ml; 0.00 –94.02; P = 0.045). The changes of sHLA-G levels didn’t influence patients’ survival. Pretreatment and post-treatment sHLA-G levels were negatively correlated with patients’ age (R Spearman = -0.45, P = 0.041; R Spearman = -0.46. P = 0.038).   Conclusions: The detected levels of sHLA-G blood serum concentrations may supply clinically applicable information regarding the status of the tumor microenvironment — that is, the size and  the degree of  suppression of the tumor environment — where the tumor-immune cell interaction is realized. Finally, this information may also prove helpful in the treatment of cancer

Bronchial bacterial colonization in patients with lung cancer

Introduction: Infections are a part of the natural course of lung cancer but few studies have looked at the clinical and microbiological documentation of infections in these patients. The aim of this study is to analyze the profile of potentially pathogenic bacteria that colonize the bronchial tree in patients with primary lung cancer. Material and methods: The study was conducted from January 2006 to August 2007. It included 44 consecutive patients (34 males and 10 females) with primary lung cancer aged from 38 to 77 (mean age of 57.9 years). In all patients, bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) was performed during bronchofiberoscopy. Obtained BAL fluid was subjected to microbiological examination. The number of bacteria present in 1 ml of fluid was estimated by quantitative culture. A diagnostic level was set on &#8805; 104 cfu/ml. Results: In 26 (59.1%) of 44 patients physiologic bacterial flora was found in the bronchial tree. In three cases (6.8%), potentially pathological bacteria were cultured but their number was < 104 cfu/ml. In 15 (34.1%) cases, the colonization of potentially pathogenic bacteria was &#8805; 104 cfu/ml. Both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria were isolated. The most frequently isolated bacterium in the first group was Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 7), and in the second group Haemophilus influenzae (n = 3). Multibacterial colonization was found in five patients (11.4%). In four cases (9.1%), the bronchial tree was colonized simultaneously by two and in one case [2.3%] by three types of micro-organism. Multi-drug-resistant strains were not found in the examined materials but among Streptococcus pneumoniae the constitutive MLSB phenotype was observed. Conclusions: 1. Approximately 30% of patients with lung cancer had a respiratory tract colonized by micro-organisms whose number was higher than the assumed diagnostic level. 2. Among micro-organisms colonizing the lower respiratory tract, Gram-positive cocci such as Streptococcus pneumoniae and Staphylococcus aureus were dominant. 3. The analysis of antibiotic-resistance did not detect multi-drug-resistant micro-organisms but some strains of Streptococcus pneumoniae exhibited resistance to macrolide, lincosamide and streptogramin B.Wstęp: Zakażenia stanowią część naturalnego przebiegu raka płuca. Jedynie wyniki nielicznych badań ukazują kliniczną i mikrobiologiczną dokumentację zakażeń u chorych na raka płuca. Celem pracy była ocena profilu szczepów bakteryjnych potencjalnie chorobotwórczych, kolonizujących drzewo oskrzelowe chorych na pierwotnego raka płuca. Materiał i metody: Badanie przeprowadzano od stycznia 2006 roku do sierpnia 2007 roku. Do analizy włączono 44 chorych (34 mężczyzn i 10 kobiet) z pierwotnym rakiem płuca w wieku od 38 do 77 lat (średnia 57,9 roku). U wszystkich chorych, w trakcie bronchofiberoskopii, pobierano popłuczyny oskrzelikowo-pęcherzykowe. Uzyskany materiał poddano badaniu mikrobiologicznemu. Wykonano posiew metodą ilościową, określając liczbę bakterii/ml. Próg diagnostyczny dla posiewu ilościowego przyjęto na poziomie &#8805; 104 cfu/ml. Wyniki: Spośród 44 chorych u 26 (59,1%) stwierdzono obecność fizjologicznej flory bakteryjnej. W trzech przypadkach (6,8%) wykryto szczepy bakterii potencjalnie patogennych w ilości < 104 cfu/ml, a u 15 chorych (34,1%) stwierdzono bakterie potencjalnie patogenne w ilości &#8805; 104 cfu/ml. Wśród izolowanych bakterii stwierdzano zarówno bakterie Gram (+), jak i Gram (-). W pierwszej grupie najczęściej izolowano Streptococcus pneumoniae (n = 7), a w drugiej Haemophilus influenzae (n = 3). Wielobakteryjną kolonizację wykryto u pięciu chorych (11,4%): u czterech chorych (9,1%) stwierdzono jednoczesne występowanie dwóch, a w jednym przypadku (2,3%) - trzech drobnoustrojów. Nie wyhodowano szczepów wieloopornych w badanym materiale. Jednak wśród Streptococcus pneumoniae zaobserwowano występowanie fenotypu z opornością konstytutywną MLSB. Wnioski: 1. U 34,1% badanych chorych na raka płuca stwierdzono kolonizację drzewa oskrzelowego przez drobnoustroje potencjalnie patogenne w liczbie &#8805; 104 cfu/ml. 2. Wśród drobnoustrojów kolonizujących dolne drogi oddechowe chorych na raka płuca dominowały ziarenkowce Gram (+): Streptococcus pneumoniae i Staphylococcus aureus. 3. Analiza wrażliwości nie wykazała obecności drobnoustrojów wieloopornych. Stwierdzono natomiast występowanie szczepów Streptococcus pneumoniae opornych na makrolidy, linkozamidy i streptograminy B

The impact of premature rupture of membranes (PROM) on neonatal outcome

Abstract Objective: The aim of the following study was to evaluate the impact of premature rupture of membranes (PROM) on neonatal outcome, particularly on the incidence of intrauterine infections (IUI). Material and Methods: The study included 428 newborns, born after PROM and hospitalized in the Department of Neonatology at Poznan University of Medical Sciences in 2006. The influence of selected variables on the development of IUI and other complications was analyzed. Results: IUI occurred in 124 newborns (29%). The odds ratio (OR) of IUI incidence increased with decreasing gestational age, birth weight and Apgar score, as well as with increasing duration of the time between PROM and birth, called the latency period. Logistic regression showed that IUI was significantly influenced by the latency period (OR=1.37; 95% CI: 1.10-1.71;

Perinatal Ureaplasma Exposure Is Associated With Increased Risk of Late Onset Sepsis and Imbalanced Inflammation in Preterm Infants and May Add to Lung Injury

Background: Controversy remains concerning the impact of Ureaplasma on preterm neonatal morbidity.Methods: Prospective single-center study in very low birth weight infants &lt;30 weeks' gestation. Cord blood and initial nasopharyngeal swabs were screened for Ureaplasma parvum and U. urealyticum using culture technique and polymerase chain reaction. Neonatal outcomes were followed until death or discharge. Multi-analyte immunoassay provided cord blood levels of inflammatory markers. Using multivariate regression analyses, perinatal Ureaplasma exposure was evaluated as risk factor for the development of bronchopulmonary dysplasia (BPD), other neonatal morbidities until discharge and systemic inflammation at admission.Results: 40/103 (39%) infants were positive for Ureaplasma in one or both specimens, with U. parvum being the predominant species. While exposure to Ureaplasma alone was not associated with BPD, we found an increased risk of BPD in Ureaplasma-positive infants ventilated ≥5 days (OR 1.64; 95% CI 0.12–22.98; p = 0.009). Presence of Ureaplasma was associated with a 7-fold risk of late onset sepsis (LOS) (95% CI 1.80–27.39; p = 0.014). Moreover, Ureaplasma-positive infants had higher I/T ratios (b 0.39; 95% CI 0.08–0.71; p = 0.014), increased levels of interleukin (IL)-17 (b 0.16; 95% CI 0.02–0.30; p = 0.025) and matrix metalloproteinase 8 (b 0.77; 95% CI 0.10–1.44; p = 0.020), decreased levels of IL-10 (b −0.77; 95% CI −1.58 to −0.01; p = 0.043) and increased ratios of Tumor necrosis factor-α, IL-8, and IL-17 to anti-inflammatory IL-10 (p = 0.003, p = 0.012, p &lt; 0.001).Conclusions: Positive Ureaplasma screening was not associated with BPD. However, exposure contributed to BPD in infants ventilated ≥5 days and conferred an increased risk of LOS and imbalanced inflammatory cytokine responses