A quantitative thermal analysis of cyclists’ thermo-active base layers

It is well known that clothes used in sporting activity are a barrier for heat exchange between the environment and athlete, which should help in thermoregulation improvement. However, it is difficult to evaluate which top is best for each athlete according to the characteristics of the sport. Researchers have tried to measure the athlete’s temperature distribution during exercise at the base layers of tops with different approaches. The aim of this case study was to investigate the use of thermography for thermo-active base layer evaluation. Six new base layers were measured on one cyclist volunteer during a progressive training on a cycloergometer. As a control condition, the skin temperature of the same volunteer was registered without any layer with the same training. A training protocol was selected approximate to cycling race, which started from the warm-up stage, next the progressive effort until the race finished and at the end ‘‘cool-down’’ stage was over. In order to show which layer provided the strongest and weakest barrier for heat exchange in comparison with environment, the temperature parameters were taken into consideration. The most important parameter in the studies was the temperature difference between the body and the layers, which was changing during the test time. The studies showed a correlation between the ergometer power parameter and the body temperature changes, which has a strong and significant value. Moreover, the mass of every layer was checked before and after the training to evaluate the mass of the sweat exuded during the test. From this data, the layer mass difference parameter was calculated and taken into consideration as a parameter, which may correspond with the mean heart rate value from each training. A high and positive correlation coefficient was obtained between the average heart rate and the mass difference for the base layers. Thermal analysis seems to have a new potential application in the objective assessment of sports clothing and may help in choosing the proper clothes, which could support heat transfer during exercising and protect the body from overheating

Thermal imaging application in chronic venous disease

Thermal imaging was used for the estimation of lower-limb primary chronic venous diseases connected with an insufficiency of superficial veins. The current study was performed by means of a Thermovision A40 camera. The curves of the chosen regions of interest were performed in a research room with a stabilized temperature. Curves of the lower extremities showed that the patients suffered from a venous insufficiency characterized by a higher skin temperature connected with pathological changes in the veins. Changes seen in the lower extremities skin thermal map may be associated with blood stasis, inflammatory states and swelling. The differences in temperature distribution are due to a correlation between the medical diagnosis and the parameters obtained from duplex scanning. The results of the thermal imaging showed differences between patients’ health may suggest that a thermovision of lower extremities venous diseases can be very useful in medical diagnosis. The correlation was obtained from temperature parameters and duplex scanning. The parameters may suggest that thermovision diagnostics may be useful as a complementary method in the diagnosis of chronic venous diseases in the lower extremities

Berberine, a popular dietary supplement for human and animal health: Quantitative research literature analysis a review

Berberine is an alkaloid with a wide range of reported beneficial health effects. The current work provides an extensive literature analysis on berberine. Bibliometric data were identified by means of the search string TOPIC=(berberin* OR umbellatine*), which yielded 5,547 publications indexed in the Web of Science Core Collection electronic database. The VOSviewer software generated bubble maps to visualize semantic terms with citation results. The ratio of original articles to reviews was 13.6:1. The literature has been growing more quickly since the 2010s. Major contributing countries were China, the United States, India, Japan, and South Korea. Most of the publications appeared in journals specialized in pharmacology pharmacy, biochemistry molecular biology, chemistry, and plant science. Some of the frequently mentioned chemicals/chemical classes were alkaloid, palmatine, jatrorrhizine, coptisine, isoquinoline, and sanguinarine. The prevalent medical conditions under investigation included Alzheimers disease, cancer, diabetes, and obesity.Acknowledge the support by the Polish KNOW (LeadingNational Research Centre) Scientific Consortium “Healthy Animal-Safe Food,” decision of Ministry of Science and Higher Education No. 05-1/KNOW2/2015 and the European Union under the European Regional Development Fund (Homing/2017-4/41). Antoni Sureda has been supported by the Institute of Health Carlos III (Project CIBEROBN CB12/03/30038). Joanna Feder-Kubis was financed by the Polish Ministry of Science and Higher Education for the Faculty of Chemistry of Wrocław University of Science and Technology.info:eu-repo/semantics/publishedVersio

Practical Recommendations for Optimal Thromboprophylaxis in Patients with COVID-19: A Consensus Statement Based on Available Clinical Trials.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has been shown to be strongly associated with increased risk for venous thromboembolism events (VTE) mainly in the inpatient but also in the outpatient setting. Pharmacologic thromboprophylaxis has been shown to offer significant benefits in terms of reducing not only VTE events but also mortality, especially in acutely ill patients with COVID-19. Although the main source of evidence is derived from observational studies with several limitations, thromboprophylaxis is currently recommended for all hospitalized patients with acceptable bleeding risk by all national and international guidelines. Recently, high quality data from randomized controlled trials (RCTs) further support the role of thromboprophylaxis and provide insights into the optimal thromboprophylaxis strategy. The aim of this statement is to systematically review all the available evidence derived from RCTs regarding thromboprophylaxis strategies in patients with COVID-19 in different settings (either inpatient or outpatient) and provide evidence-based guidance to practical questions in everyday clinical practice. Clinical questions accompanied by practical recommendations are provided based on data derived from 20 RCTs that were identified and included in the present study. Overall, the main conclusions are: (i) thromboprophylaxis should be administered in all hospitalized patients with COVID-19, (ii) an optimal dose of inpatient thromboprophylaxis is dependent upon the severity of COVID-19, (iii) thromboprophylaxis should be administered on an individualized basis in post-discharge patients with COVID-19 with high thrombotic risk, and (iv) thromboprophylaxis should not be routinely administered in outpatients. Changes regarding the dominant SARS-CoV-2 variants, the wide immunization status (increasing rates of vaccination and reinfections), and the availability of antiviral therapies and monoclonal antibodies might affect the characteristics of patients with COVID-19; thus, future studies will inform us about the thrombotic risk and the optimal therapeutic strategies for these patients

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) as a marker for cancer progression - a review

Angiogeneza zwana również neowaskularyzacją jest wieloetapowym procesem tworzenia nowych naczyń krwionośnych w miejscu już istniejących, regulowanym przez czynniki pobudzające (proangiogenne) oraz hamujące (antyangiogenne). Nowotworzenie naczyń zachodzi w procesach fizjologicznych oraz w stanach patologicznych organizmu. W wyniku zaburzenia równowagi między czynnikami proangiogennymi, aktywującymi proces tworzenia nowych naczyń a czynnikami hamującymi (antyangiogennymi) dochodzi do przewagi aktywacji czynników angiogennych oraz nadmiernej angiogenezy, co sprzyja rozwojowi guza nowotworowego. W wyniku niedotlenienia (hipoksji) tkanki dochodzi do aktywacji czynników angiogennych, w tym przede wszystkim czynnika odgrywającego kluczową rolę w progresji nowotworowej – VEGF (ang. Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor). VEGF jest białkiem uważanym za główny czynnik odpowiedzialny za proces angiogenezy oraz wzrost przepuszczalności naczyń krwionośnych; nazywany jest również czynnikiem przepuszczalności naczyniowej. Najważniejszym czynnikiem indukującym proces angiogenezy oraz wydzielanie czynnika VEGF przez komórki nowotworowe jest niedotlenienie (hipoksja) panujące w mikrośrodowisku guza. VEGF jest złym czynnikiem prognostycznym odpowiadającym za progresję oraz aktywację tworzenia przerzutów wielu guzów litych. Zmniejszenie wydzielania czynnika VEGF ma istotne znaczenie w zahamowaniu procesu angiogenezy, a także potencjału metastatycznego komórek nowotworowych, które wcześniej nie uległy zniszczeniu na drodze apoptozy lub nekrozy.Angiogenesis, also called neovascularization is a multistep process of forming new blood vessels and it is regulated by stimulating factors (proangiogenic) and inhibitors (anti-angiogenenic). Neovascularization occurs in physiological processes and in pathological states of the organism. As a result of an imbalance between proangiogenic factors activating the process of creating new blood vessels and inhibitors (anti-angiogenic) comes to lead the activation of angiogenic factors and excessive angiogenesis, which promotes tumor growth. As a result of hypoxia an activation of tissue angiogenic factors occurs, including, in particular, the key factor in tumor progression - VEGF (Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor). VEGF is a protein considered to be the main factor responsible for process of angiogenesis and an increased vascular permeability’ It is also known as a vascular permeability factor. The most important factor that induces angiogenesis and VEGF secretion by cancer cells is hypoxia in the tumor microenvironment. VEGF is a poor prognostic factor responsible for the progression and metastasis activation of many solid tumors. Decreased levels of VEGF is important in the inhibition of angiogenesis and metastatic potential of tumor cells that have not been destroyed by apoptosis or necrosis

The influence of low-frequency variable magnetic fields in reducing pain experience after dental implant treatment

The paper presents the evaluation of analgesic effect or magnetostimulation and magnetoledtherapy after implantation treatment. The study was conducted on 3 groups (Z applicator, IR applicator and conventional drug therapy) of 10 patients each of whom underwent a single implantation. Magnetostimulation was carried out using Viofor JPS Delux equipment. The patients were exposed to magnetic field for approx. 15 minutes before the treatment and during the visit after 6 hours after the implantation procedure. Pain perception of patients was recorded on the Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). Results: the most intense pain was reported in the control group. The least intense pain appeared in the group with Z applicator. Patients using Z and IR applicators took analgesics less frequently and used much weaker analgesics than the control group. Pain perceived in the first group was between 0 and 2, while in the second group – between 2 and 3, and in the control group – between 3 and 5 in VAS scale. Magnetostimulation reduces patient’s demand for analgesics after implantation procedures and yielded better effects in reduction of pain in comparison with magnetostimulation with LED therapy