Neurophysiological foundations of organ electrodermal diagnostics, acupuncture, TENS and other reflexive therapies: review

The nervous system is the primary computing system of the human body. The sensory nervous system detects any damage done to the body from both outside and inside and sends the information, at the earliest stage of pathology, to the central nervous system (CNS), which controls potent self-defense mechanisms. The CNS cannot simultaneously process all available information, originating internally and externally, due to limited capacity. The necessity to eliminate information which is less important at the time, created the specific converging structure of the sensory nervous system. Due to this structure, signals sent from internal organs to the CNS can also reach certain skin areas influencing their electrical characteristics. In this way organ electrodermal diagnostics (OED) may get access to this 'first hand' source of diagnostic information. The CNS gives higher priority to signals resulting from external stimuli (skin) than to messages coming from internal organs: information coming from sensory organs is generally more important for the organism's self-defense and survival. This is why signals generated by internal organs can be blocked by even mild stimulation of the relevant skin areas. 'Convergence modulation theory' is introduced, which proposes that acupuncture and other reflexive therapies function by controlling the flow of information in the nervous system and thereby reprogramming the powerful self-defense systems according to actual needs. Southern African Journal of Analgesia and Anaesthetics Vol10(3) 2004: 21-2

Shear Wave Elastography May Add a New Dimension to Ultrasound Evaluation of Thyroid Nodules: Case Series with Comparative Evaluation

Although elastography can enhance the differential diagnosis of thyroid nodules, its diagnostic performance is not ideal at present. Further improvements in the technique and creation of robust diagnostic criteria are necessary. The purpose of this study was to compare the usefulness of strain elastography and a new generation of elasticity imaging called supersonic shear wave elastography (SSWE) in differential evaluation of thyroid nodules. Six thyroid nodules in 4 patients were studied. SSWE yielded 1 true-positive and 5 true-negative results. Strain elastography yielded 5 false-positive results and 1 false-negative result. A novel finding appreciated with SSWE, were punctate foci of increased stiffness corresponding to microcalcifications in 4 nodules, some not visible on B-mode ultrasound, as opposed to soft, colloid-inspissated areas visible on B-mode ultrasound in 2 nodules. This preliminary paper indicates that SSWE may outperform strain elastography in differentiation of thyroid nodules with regard to their stiffness. SSWE showed the possibility of differentiation of high echogenic foci into microcalcifications and inspissated colloid, adding a new dimension to thyroid elastography. Further multicenter large-scale studies of thyroid nodules evaluating different elastographic methods are warranted

Czynniki determinujące oszczędności polskich gospodarstw domowych

The relevant literature provides an array of factors determining the propensity of households to save. There is no unanimity among researchers as to the direction of statistical relationships among some variables such as, e.g. household income, the place of residence or concerns regarding the worsening of financial circumstances, and a household’s propensity to save. The aim of this article is to verify the statistical relationships between the amount of savings of Polish households and their attributes, such as: income, biological type of the family, and the size of the place of residence. The author of the article analyses the responses provided by Polish households with regard to the size of their savings measured as a multiple of their income. The data under analysis were collected during a panel study Diagnoza społeczna 2015 (ang. Social Diagnosis 2015). Higher earnings were accompanied by higher levels of savings. It was more common for households from bigger cities to have higher earnings. Taking into consideration the biological type of the family, childless marriages and people, who lived alone, declared having the highest savings.</jats:p

Temporomandibular Disk Dislocation Impacts the Stomatognathic System: Comparative Study Based on Biexponential Quantitative T2 Maps

In this study, we aimed to assess the potential impact of temporomandibular disk displacement on anatomical structures of the stomatognathic system using biexponential T2 magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) maps. Fifty separate MRI scans of the temporomandibular joints (TMJ) of 25 patients were acquired with eight echo times. Biexponential T2 maps were created by weighted reconstruction based on Powell&rsquo;s conjugate direction method and divided into two groups: the TMJ without (32 images) and with (18 images) disk displacement. The disk, retrodiscal tissue, condylar bone marrow, masseter muscle, lateral and medial pterygoid muscles and dental pulp of the first and second molars were manually segmented twice. The intrarater reliability was assessed. The averages and standard deviations of the T2 times and fractions of each segmented region for each group were calculated and analysed with multiple Student&rsquo;s t-tests. Significant differences between groups were observed in the retrodiscal tissue, medial pterygoid muscle and bone marrow. The pulp short T2 component showed a trend toward statistical significance. The segmentation reliability was excellent (93.6%). The relationship between disk displacement and quantitative MRI features of stomatognathic structures can be useful in the combined treatment of articular disk displacement, pterygoid muscle tension and occlusive reconstruction