Study of the changes in respiratory function in self-contained underwater breathing apparatus divers

Background: The objective was to investigate the respiratory function of professional divers by conducting spirometry and to compare the data obtained with those of non-divers. Materials and methods: This study involved 52 military divers who carried out dives at small and medium depths using a self-contained underwater breathing apparatus (SCUBA) with open-circuit regulators attached to a mouthpiece. The control group consisted of 48 persons from deck commands with similar physiological characteristics and lifestyle that were not divers and had never been under increased pressure.  Results: It was found that, compared with non-divers, the spirometry parameters of the divers are charac- terised by higher values of forced vital capacity (FVC) of the lungs (p = 0.02), but significantly lower values of the mid-expiratory flow (MEF) parameters: MEF25 (p = 0.06), MEF50 (p = 0.04), and MEF75 (p = 0.01), as well as for the ratio of forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) to forced vital capacity (FEV1/FVC; p = 0.001) and MEF25–75/FVC ratio (p < 0.001).  Conclusions: Hyperoxia, gas decompression bubbles, hypothermia, mouth-breathing dry, cold, compressed air, and other factors accompanying the diving activity are capable of initiating damage to the airways, which is reflected in characteristic changes in spirometry. The pattern of these changes is consistent with small airway obstruction and they could be related mostly to diving activities.

Analysing and Forecasting the Debt Burden of the EU Countries: Is There a New European Debt Crisis on the Horizon?

The debt crisis which afflicted Europe highlights the weaknesses and instability of the EU member states' financial systems, as well as the inability of their national economies to maintain normal levels of indebtedness. The deteriorating economic environment requires changes in the fiscal policies across Europe. These changes are effected using new financial instruments to raise the necessary funds for implementation of economic reforms in the EU member states. The aim of this study is to analyse the current levels of sovereign debt across the European Union and to forecast their development in the future using specialized econometric software. The results may be used to identify possible future economic shocks in Europe

Gallbladder with chronic calculous cholecystitis, reactive lymphoid hyperplasia and pyloric metaplasia

The lymphoid hyperplasia of the gallbladder is a rare condition, which can be diagnosed only by performing a histological examination. Here, we present the case of a 62-year-old woman with complaints of repeatable pain in the area of the right hypochondrium for a few months. Ultrasonography revealed chronic cholecystitis with a concrement in the lumen. A cholecystectomy was then performed. Histology shows nests of cells with lymphoid origin in the lamina propria, a multitude of lymphoid follicles and areas with pyloric metaplasia in the gallbladder wall.The case presented herein is of reactive lymphoid hyperplasia resembling a lymphoma combined with chronic cholecystitis, pyloric metaplasia, and cholelithiasis

A rare epithelioid leiomyoma of the vagina with sections of myxoid degeneration

Leiomyomas are common benign tumors in the uterus. Leiomyomas of the vagina are rare, and the epithelioid leiomyoma of the vagina is an extremely rare benign tumor. They are often accompanied by different symptoms. Here, I present the case of a 42-yearold woman, with local discomfort and dysuria. Enucleation of the tumor through a vaginal approach was done successfully without urethra injury as a healing method

NON-CONTACT METHOD FOR METAL RECOGNITION

 The present article proposes a non-contact method for metal recognition - aluminium, chrome-nickel steel, brass and copper. A piezoelectric emitter sends an acoustic wave to the object to be identified. The reflected signal is received and processed using orthogonal wavelet basis functions. Clusters are formed based on feature spaces of classifiers realized following the knearest neighbour (kNN) method. During each subsequent measurement the results are related to a specific cluster. This approach has yielded a 100%  recognition of the above materials, as well as three types of explosive