Properties of Recurrent Equations for the Full-Availability Group with BPP Traffic

The paper proposes a formal derivation of recurrent equations describing the occupancy distribution in the full-availability group with multirate Binomial-Poisson-Pascal (BPP) traffic. The paper presents an effective algorithm for determining the occupancy distribution on the basis of derived recurrent equations and for the determination of the blocking probability as well as the loss probability of calls of particular classes of traffic offered to the system. A proof of the convergence of the iterative process of estimating the average number of busy traffic sources of particular classes is also given in the paper

Clinical Characteristics, Treatment, and Short-Term Outcome in Patients with Heart Failure and Cancer.

(1) Our study aimed to look at the clinical characteristics, treatment and short-term outcomes of patients hospitalized due to heart failure with coexisting cancer. (2) Methods: Seventy one cancer (Ca) patients and a randomly selected 70 patients without Ca, hospitalized due to heart failure exacerbation in the same time period constituted the study group (Ca patient group) and controls (non-Ca group), respectively. Data on clinical characteristics were collected retrospectively for both groups. (3) Results: Cancer patients presented with a less advanced NYHA class, had more frequent HFpEF, a higher peak troponin T level, and smaller left atrium size, as compared with controls. The in-hospital deaths of Ca patients were associated with: a higher New York Heart Association (NYHA) class, lower HgB level, worse renal function, higher K and AST levels, presence of diabetes mellitus, and HFpEF. By multivariate logistic regression analysis, impaired renal function was the only independent predictor of in-hospital death in Ca patients (OR-1.15; CI 1.05; 1.27); p = 0.017). The following covariates entered the regression: NYHA class, HgB, GFR, K+, AST, diabetes mellitus t.2, and HFpEF. (4) Conclusions: The clinical picture and the course of heart failure in patients with and without cancer are different

The contribution of amber to heritage tourism development

This article explores the relationship between amber and heritage tourism, utilizing Poland as an illustrative context. Amber, a form of fossilized resin, holds significant importance across a multitude of fields, such as science, culture, and economy, having been used as a material by artists, craftsmen, and jewelers for centuries. Today, amber draws visitors to locations where it is found and to institutions that display amber collections, such as museums and galleries. Furthermore, it is an essential component of various events, including exhibitions, fairs, and amber fishing competitions. Amber also forms the foundation of many tourist routes, such as the renowned Amber Route. Owing to its deep ties with cultural heritage, amber is considered a central attraction within amber-based heritage tourism. This paper examines the current contribution of amber to the development of heritage tourism. The authors conducted a literature analysis, online source queries, evaluations of institutions (e.g., museums), and personal observations to address the topic. The article is divided into eight sections, each highlighting different aspects of the investigated subject, ultimately suggesting an adaptation of Timothy and Boyd’s (2003) model to illustrate the development of amber-based heritage tourism

A bio-inspired microstructure induced by slow injection moulding of cylindrical block copolymers.

It is well known that block copolymers with cylindrical morphology show alignment with shear, resulting in anisotropic mechanical properties. Here we show that well-ordered bi-directional orientation can be achieved in such materials by slow injection moulding. This results in a microstructure, and anisotropic mechanical properties, similar to many natural tissues, making this method attractive for engineering prosthetic fibrous tissues. An application of particular interest to us is prosthetic polymeric heart valve leaflets, mimicking the shape, microstructure and hence performance of the native valve. Anisotropic layers have been observed for cylinder-forming block copolymers centrally injected into thin circular discs. The skin layers exhibit orientation parallel to the flow direction, whilst the core layer shows perpendicularly oriented domains; the balance of skin to core layers can be controlled by processing parameters such as temperature and injection rate. Heart valve leaflets with a similar layered structure have been prepared by injection moulding. Numerical modelling demonstrates that such complex orientation can be explained and predicted by the balance of shear and extensional flow.This is the author-accepted manuscript. It will be under embargo for 12 months after publication. The final version of this article is published by RSC in Soft Matter and can be found here: http://pubs.rsc.org/en/Content/ArticleLanding/2014/SM/C4SM00884G#!divAbstract

KnotProt: a database of proteins with knots and slipknots

The protein topology database KnotProt, http://knotprot.cent.uw.edu.pl/, collects information about protein structures with open polypeptide chains forming knots or slipknots. The knotting complexity of the cataloged proteins is presented in the form of a matrix diagram that shows users the knot type of the entire polypeptide chain and of each of its subchains. The pattern visible in the matrix gives the knotting fingerprint of a given protein and permits users to determine, for example, the minimal length of the knotted regions (knot's core size) or the depth of a knot, i.e. how many amino acids can be removed from either end of the cataloged protein structure before converting it from a knot to a different type of knot. In addition, the database presents extensive information about the biological functions, families and fold types of proteins with non-trivial knotting. As an additional feature, the KnotProt database enables users to submit protein or polymer chains and generate their knotting fingerprint

Fluid dynamic characterization of a polymeric heart valve prototype (Poli-Valve) tested under continuous and pulsatile flow conditions.

PURPOSE: Only mechanical and biological heart valve prostheses are currently commercially available. The former show longer durability but require anticoagulant therapy; the latter display better fluid dynamic behavior but do not have adequate durability. New Polymeric Heart Valves (PHVs) could potentially combine the hemodynamic properties of biological valves with the durability of mechanical valves. This work presents a hydrodynamic evaluation of 2 groups of newly developed supra-annular, trileaflet prosthetic heart valves made from styrenic block copolymers (SBC): Poli-Valves. METHODS: 2 types of Poli-Valves made of SBC and differing in polystyrene fraction content were tested under continuous and pulsatile flow conditions as prescribed by ISO 5840 Standard. A pulse duplicator designed ad hoc allowed the valve prototypes to be tested at different flow rates and frequencies. Pressure and flow were recorded; pressure drops, effective orifice area (EOA), and regurgitant volume were computed to assess the behavior of the valve. RESULTS: Both types of Poli-Valves met the minimum requirements in terms of regurgitation and EOA as specified by the ISO 5840 Standard. Results were compared with 5 mechanical heart valves (MHVs) and 5 tissue heart valves (THVs), currently available on the market. CONCLUSIONS: Based on these results, PHVs based on styrenic block copolymers, as are Poli-Valves, can be considered a promising alternative for heart valve replacement in the near future.This work was funded by the British Heart Foundation, New Horizons grant NH/11/4/29059.This is the final version of the article. It first appeared from Wichtig Publishing via http://dx.doi.org/10.5301/ijao.500045

Single Hysteresis Model for Limited-availability Group with BPP Traffic, Journal of Telecommunications and Information Technology, 2013, nr 3

This paper presents a single hysteresis model for limited-availability group that are offered Erlang, Engset and Pascal traffic streams. The occupancy distribution in the system is approximated by a weighted sum of occupancy distributions in multi-threshold systems. Distribution weights are obtained on the basis of a specially constructed Markovian switching process. The results of the calculations of radio interfaces in which the single hysteresis mechanism has been implemented are compared with the results of the simulation experiments. The study demonstrates high accuracy of the proposed model

A Newly Developed Tri-Leaflet Polymeric Heart Valve Prosthesis.

The potential of polymeric heart valves (PHV) prostheses is to combine the hemodynamic performances of biological valves with the durability of mechanical valves. The aim of this work is to design and develop a new tri-leaflet prosthetic heart valve (HV) made from styrenic block copolymers. A computational finite element model was implemented to optimize the thickness of the leaflets, to improve PHV mechanical and hydrodynamic performances. Based on the model outcomes, 8 prototypes of the designed valve were produced and tested in vitro under continuous and pulsatile flow conditions, as prescribed by ISO 5840 Standard. A specially designed pulse duplicator allowed testing the PHVs at different flow rates and frequency conditions. All the PHVs met the requirements specified in ISO 5840 Standard in terms of both regurgitation and effective orifice area (EOA), demonstrating their potential as HV prostheses.This work was funded by the British Heart Foundation (New Horizons NH/11/4/29059).This is the final published version. It first appeared at http://www.worldscientific.com/doi/abs/10.1142/S0219519415400096?src=recsys

A comparative analysis of the effectiveness of treatment of acne with oral isotretinoin therapy

Wstęp: Trądzik pospolity to przewlekła choroba zapalna mieszków łojowo-włosowych wywołana między innymi zmianami hormonalnymi, w tym nadmierną stymulacją androgenową. W postaciach o średnim lub ciężkim nasileniu stosuje się leczenie miejscowe i ogólne. Podstawą leczenia ogólnego są antybiotyki oraz stereoizomer kwasu all-trans-retinowego (tretinoiny) — izotretinoina. Cel pracy: Celem badania było przeprowadzenie obiektywnej analizy porównawczej skuteczności leczenia preparatami izotretinoiny w porównaniu z innymi lekami systemowymi stosowanymi w trądziku pospolitym, a także ocena działań niepożądanych izotretinoiny w populacji łódzkich chorych na trądzik. Materiał i metody: Badanie retrospektywne zostało przeprowadzone metodą ankietową: objęło 132 osoby (90 kobiet i 42 mężczyzn, średnia wieku 25,9 roku) leczące się na trądzik w przyszpitalnej poradni Kliniki Dermatologii i Wenerologii Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Łodzi w latach 2000–2014. Wyniki: Średnia wieku rozpoznania choroby to 15,7 roku. Dodatni wywiad rodzinny w kierunku trądziku zgłosiło 36,3% ankietowanych. Preparaty izotretinoiny stosowało 63,6% respondentów. Poprawę odnotowało 95% z nich. Średni czas od rozpoczęcia leczenia do zauważenia poprawy to 2 miesiące. Nawrót wystąpił u 33% chorych, średnio po 3 miesiącach od zaprzestania przyjmowania leku. U 85% osób wystąpiły działania niepożądane. Ponad 91% respondentów było zadowolonych z zastosowanej terapii. Z pacjentów nieprzyjmujących izotretinoiny 58% stosowało limecyklinę (poprawę zauważyło 71%). Klindamycynę stosowało 17% pacjentów, azytromycynę — 6%: w obu przypadkach poprawę zgłosiło 66% chorych. Lekarze poinformowali o konieczności stosowania antykoncepcji 74% kobiet. Wnioski: Izotretinoina jest skutecznym lekiem w leczeniu trądziku zwykłego. Pomimo wielu działań niepożądanych pacjenci są zadowoleni z jej działania.Introduction: Acne is a chronic inflammatory disease induced by hormonal changes — excessive androgen stimulation. Currently local and systemic treatment is used in average and severe form of juvenile acne. The basis of the systemic therapy are antibiotics and stereoisomer of all-trans-retinoic acid — isotretinoine. Aim of the study: The aim of the study was to compare the effectiveness of isotretinoin therapy with other acne treatment regimens and the analysis of the side effects of isotretinoin in acne patients from Lodz. Material and methods: The study was carried out through a questionnaire in a group of 132 acne patients (90 women and 42 men, with mean age 25,9 years) from the outpatient clinic of Department of Dermatology, Medical University of Lodz treated between 2000–2014. Results: The average age at first diagnosis among respondents was 15,7 years. A positive family history of the occurrence of juvenile acne was reported by 36.3% of the respondents, 63.6% of patients used isotretinoin. The improvement after using this drug was noted among 95% of people The average time to notice the improvement was 2 months from the start of application. Juvenile acne recurred after the discontinuation of isotretinoin in 33% of cases. The average time to recurrence was 3 months. The occurrence of at least one side effect was noticed by 85% of patients. More than 91% of patients were satisfied with isotretinoin treatment effects. Among the patients who did not used isotretinoin, 58% used lymecycline (71% noted improvement); 17% of patients used clindamycine, while azithromycin — 6%: in both cases improvement was reported by 66% of patients; 74% of women were informed about necessity of taking oral contraceptives. Conclusions: Isotretinoin is an effective drug used in acne treatment. Despite many side effects, patients were satisfied with the treatment

Influence of rearing system and sex on carcass traits and meat quality of broiler chickens

The trial was conducted in order to evaluate the effect of the rearing system and sex on live body weight, daily weight gain, carcass traits and meat quality of broiler chickens. Sixty 1-d-old Ross 308 chickens (males and females) were randomly divided, according to the sex, into 2 experimental groups based on rearing system: intensive system (IS; n = 30), birds reared till 42 d of age and semi-intensive system (SIS; n = 30), birds reared till 56 d of age. Compared with SIS group, IS group had higher (P < 0.01) daily weight gain, weight and yield of pectoral muscle (PM). Differently, SIS group had higher (P < 0.05) carcass weight and carcass yield. Males have usually a better performance than females. In comparison with IS, SIS exhibited a lower (P < 0.01) breast meat pH and higher (P < 0.01) lightness and yellowness values. Pectoral muscle from IS broiler chickens showed a greater (P < 0.01) fibre diameter and significantly higher shear force values than PM from SIS chicken. PM from IS chicken group had higher (P < 0.01) dry matter and protein content and slight fat content than PM from SIS chickens. The sex influence was not observed on physicochemical characteristics of PM in chickens reared in both system