3D-printed polyester-based prototypes for cosmetic applications—future directions at the forensic engineering of advanced polymeric materials

Knowledge of degradation and impairment phenomena of (bio)degradable polymeric materials under operating conditions, and thus the selection of test procedures and prediction of their behavior designates the scope and capabilities as well as possible limitations of both: the preparation of the final product and its durability. The main novelty and objective of this research was to determine the degradation pathways during testing of polylactide and polylactide/polyhydroxyalkanoate materials made with three-dimensional printing and the development of a new strategy for the comprehensive characterization of such complex systems including behavior during waste disposal. Prototype objects were subjected to tests for damage evolution performed under simulating operating conditions. The reference samples and the tested items were characterized by gel permeation chromatography and differential scanning calorimetry to determine changes in material properties. The studies showed that: polyhydroxyalkanoate component during accelerated aging and degradation in environments rich in microorganisms accelerated the degradation of the material; paraffin accelerates polylactide degradation and slows degradation of polyhydroxyalkanoate-based material; under the influence of an environment rich in enzymes, paraffin contamination accelerates biodegradation; under the influence of natural conditions, paraffin contamination slowed degradation; the processing conditions, in particular the printing orientation of individual parts of the container, influenced the material properties in its various regions, affecting the rate of degradation of individual parts.European Regional Development Fun

Cytological picture of the oral mucosa in patients with gastric and colon cancer

The incidence of malignant gastrointestinal cancers in Poland has been constantly growing, which hasled to an intensification of the search for new markers of the early clinical stage of this disease. The oral cavity,as the first part of the gastrointestinal tract, has a very important role. The oral cavity presents symptoms of bothtypically stomatological and systemic diseases. Oral cancers, benign or malignant, may originate and grow in anyof the tissues of the mouth, and within this small area they may be of varied clinical, histological and biologicalfeatures. These can be lesions typically observed in the oral cavity, but also characteristic of cases where thesymptoms occur both in the mouth and in other body parts. The aim of this study was to present a cytologicalpicture of the oral mucosa in patients with gastric and colon cancer and to compare the cytological picture withthat obtained from a group of patients with no cancer, using the Papanicolaou classification and the Bethesdasystem. The study was conducted in 126 patients treated surgically in the II General and GastroenterologicalSurgery Clinic between 2006 and 2008. All patients were divided into two groups based on the type of lesions. Inboth of the studied groups, more than half of the patients did not present any abnormalities in the mucosa of themouth, lips and cheeks in the physical examination. None of the patients had erosion, ulceration or lesionstypical of leukoplakia or lichen planus. No malignant cells were detected in either of the studied groups, andthere were no well-defined lesions found in the oral cavity that would distinguish the patients with gastrointestinalcancer. (The incidence of malignant gastrointestinal cancers in Poland has been constantly growing, which hasled to an intensification of the search for new markers of the early clinical stage of this disease. The oral cavity,as the first part of the gastrointestinal tract, has a very important role. The oral cavity presents symptoms of bothtypically stomatological and systemic diseases. Oral cancers, benign or malignant, may originate and grow in anyof the tissues of the mouth, and within this small area they may be of varied clinical, histological and biologicalfeatures. These can be lesions typically observed in the oral cavity, but also characteristic of cases where thesymptoms occur both in the mouth and in other body parts. The aim of this study was to present a cytologicalpicture of the oral mucosa in patients with gastric and colon cancer and to compare the cytological picture withthat obtained from a group of patients with no cancer, using the Papanicolaou classification and the Bethesdasystem. The study was conducted in 126 patients treated surgically in the II General and GastroenterologicalSurgery Clinic between 2006 and 2008. All patients were divided into two groups based on the type of lesions. Inboth of the studied groups, more than half of the patients did not present any abnormalities in the mucosa of themouth, lips and cheeks in the physical examination. None of the patients had erosion, ulceration or lesionstypical of leukoplakia or lichen planus. No malignant cells were detected in either of the studied groups, andthere were no well-defined lesions found in the oral cavity that would distinguish the patients with gastrointestinalcancer.

Complement in the homeostatic and ischemic brain

The complement system is a component of the immune system involved in both recognition and response to pathogens, and it is implicated in an increasing number of homeostatic and disease processes. It is well documented that reperfusion of ischemic tissue results in complement activation and an inflammatory response that causes post-reperfusion injury. This occurs following cerebral ischemia and reperfusion and triggers secondary damage that extends beyond the initial infarcted area, an outcome that has rationalized the use of complement inhibitors as candidate therapeutics after stroke. In the central nervous system, however, recent studies have revealed that complement also has essential roles in synaptic pruning, neurogenesis, and neuronal migration. In the context of recovery after stroke, these apparent divergent functions of complement may account for findings that the protective effect of complement inhibition in the acute phase after stroke is not always maintained in the subacute and chronic phases. The development of effective stroke therapies based on modulation of the complement system will require a detailed understanding of complement-dependent processes in both early neurodegenerative events and delayed neuro-reparatory processes. Here, we review the role of complement in normal brain physiology, the events initiating complement activation after cerebral ischemia-reperfusion injury, and the contribution of complement to both injury and recovery. We also discuss how the design of future experiments may better characterize the dual role of complement in recovery after ischemic stroke

Astrocyte activation and reactive gliosis : A new target in stroke?

Stroke is an acute insult to the central nervous system (CNS) that triggers a sequence of responses in the acute, subacute as well as later stages, with prominent involvement of astrocytes. Astrocyte activation and reactive gliosis in the acute stage of stroke limit the tissue damage and contribute to the restoration of homeostasis. Astrocytes also control many aspects of neural plasticity that is the basis for functional recovery. Here, we discuss the concept of intermediate filaments (nanofilaments) and the complement system as two handles on the astrocyte responses to injury that both present attractive opportunities for novel treatment strategies modulating astrocyte functions and reactive gliosis.Peer reviewe

Caries-preventing effect of a hydroxyapatite-toothpaste in adults: a 18-month double-blinded randomized clinical trial

BackgroundDental caries is a worldwide challenge for public health. The aim of this 18-month double-blinded, randomized, clinical trial was to compare the caries-preventing effect of a fluoride-free, hydroxyapatite toothpaste (test) and a toothpaste with sodium fluoride (1450 ppm fluoride; positive control) in adults.MethodsThe primary endpoint was the percentage of subjects showing no increase in overall Decayed Missing Filled Surfaces (DMFS) index. The study was designed as non-inferiority trial. Non-inferiority was claimed if the upper limit of the exact one-sided 95% confidence interval for the difference of the primary endpoint DMFS between test and control toothpaste was less than the predefined margin of non-inferiority (Δ ≤ 20%).ResultsIn total, 189 adults were included in the intention-to-treat (ITT) analysis; 171 subjects finished the study per protocol (PP). According to the PP analysis, no increase in DMFS index was observed in 89.3% of subjects of the hydroxyapatite group and 87.4% of the subjects of the fluoride group. The hydroxyapatite toothpaste was not statistically inferior to a fluoride toothpaste with regard to the primary endpoint.ConclusionHydroxyapatite was proven to be a safe and efficient anticaries agent in oral care.Clinical trial registrationNCT04756557

Genre markers in a cookery book on the basis of Nowoczesna kuchnia domowa… ‘Modern home cooking…’ edited by prof. Emil Wyrobek

The article is focusing on analysis of characteristics exponents of the text in a cook‑ book Nowoczesna kuchnia domowa given in 1932 in Warsaw. Cookbook and recipe are connected with non‑linguistic reality and are classified as functional texts. Culinary texts demonstrate specific linguistic‑stylistic and genre features, such as: the accuracy, the conciseness, competence of the sender and the impersonality. Even though recipes in narrative form are close to general language, it is possible also to classify them to the specialist variation of language. In the Nowoczesna kuchnia domowa and otherUniwersytet w BiałymstokuNowoczesna kuchnia domowa. Najnowszy poradnik w sztuce kulinarnej z objaśnieniami naukowemi o witaminach, o wartości odżywczej pokarmów i ich pożywności, o jarstwie, o poznawaniu środków spożywczych i ich przechowaniu, red. E. Wyrobek, Warszawa 1932.Akacka E. M.,2004, Wybrane słownictwo dotyczące żywienia człowieka. Różnice pokoleniowe w mowie mieszkańców Białegostoku, [w:] Polszczyzna mówiona mieszkańców miast, red. H. Sędziak, Białystok, s. 177–185.Bochankowa A, 1984, Terminy kulinarne romańskiego pochodzenia w języku polskim do końca XVIII wieku, Kraków.Falińska B., 1991, Z badań nad regionalizmami w słownictwie kulinarnym, [w:] Regionalizmy w języku familijnym (zbiór studiów), red. K. Handke, Wrocław, s. 79–88.Handke K., 1999, Zjawiska konserwatyzmu językowego w tekstach polskich książek kucharskich, [w:] Polszczyzna północno‑wschodnia, cz. 2, red. B. Nowowiejski, Białystok, s. 135–160.Gajda S., 1988, O pojęciu idiostylu, [w:] Język osobniczy jako przedmiot badań lingwistycznych, red. J. Brzeziński, Zielona Góra, s. 23–34.Klemensiewicz Z, 1961, W kręgu języka literackiego i artystycznego, Warszawa.Kurkowska H, Skorupka S., 1959, Stylistyka polska. Zarys, Warszawa.Żarski W. 2008, Książka kucharska jako tekst, Wrocław.Żarski W., 2013, Książka kucharska dla dzieci – adaptacja, odmiana gatunkowa, wariant tekstu?, [w:] Tekst – akt mowy – gatunek wypowiedzi, red. U. Sokólska, Białystok, s. 415–438.35536