The feet construction of 9-year-old children

Introduction and purpose of the work, The human foot it is a very complex structure of the body, as it contains 26 bones, 19 muscles and 33 joints. Because of the cooperation all of those elements, the foot could fulfillthree basic functions such as load, amortization and locomotive functions. The aim of this research was to evaluate the feet construction in 9-year-old children from Masłów and Górno District. Material and method, The study involved 168 9-year-old children. There were 89 (53%) and boys 79 (47%) in the study group. The study was conducted in 2015/2016. The children were examined in schools after prior permission given by principals and parents or legal guardians. The body weight of the children was measured using the Tanita device and the body height was measured with the use of SECA. Then, the BMI index was calculated and compared to Centil grid presented in Olaf study. The plantar part of the foot was evaluated by 2D podoscanner. The relationship between the chosen parameters, sex and BMI was calculated. To examine the relationships, the author took advantage of nonparametric tests - Spearman’s rank correlation analysis, Manna-Whitneya-Wilcoxona test and χ2 test. When the level of statistical significance equaled

Fuzzy sets predict flexural strength and density of silicon nitride ceramics

In this work, we utilize fuzzy sets theory to evaluate and make predictions of flexural strength and density of NASA 6Y silicon nitride ceramic. Processing variables of milling time, sintering time, and sintering nitrogen pressure are used as an input to the fuzzy system. Flexural strength and density are the output parameters of the system. Data from 273 Si3N4 modulus of rupture bars tested at room temperature and 135 bars tested at 1370 C are used in this study. Generalized mean operator and Hamming distance are utilized to build the fuzzy predictive model. The maximum test error for density does not exceed 3.3 percent, and for flexural strength 7.1 percent, as compared with the errors of 1.72 percent and 11.34 percent obtained by using neural networks, respectively. These results demonstrate that fuzzy sets theory can be incorporated into the process of designing materials, such as ceramics, especially for assessing more complex relationships between the processing variables and parameters, like strength, which are governed by randomness of manufacturing processes

The analysis of feet construction versus BMI in 8-year-old boys

Introduction.  The foot due to its complex structure provides three basic functions: supportive, locomotive and amortization. The human foot is an important static-dynamic part of the motor system. A properly shaped foot should be supported by three points: the first and the fifth metatarsal bone and the external part of the heel.Purpose of research. The aim of the study was to analyze the feet construction and find the relationships between the foot structure parameters and BMI among 8-year-old boys.Material and methods. The study involved 85 boys. The weight and the body height of the children were measured, body mass index was calculated, and the footprint using the was made. On the basis of the foot picture, the basic parameters for foot assessment as well as relations between these indicators and BMI were calculated. Subsequently, the Clarke angle, the hallux valgus angle and Wejsflog index were determined in manual way. Then the dependency between these parameters and BMI was investigated.Results. The number of lower foot arch or flat foot in the study group amounted to 53%, the transverse flat foot was observed among 17% of the studied boys feet and the hallux valgus angle beyond the norm occurred in 9% of the studied feet. There is a relationship between the Clark’s angle, Wejsflog index, hallux valgus angle α and BMI of boys.Conclusions. Boys with a higher BMI have lower values of the Clark angle and the Wejsflog index which are the evidence of a lower longitudinal and transverse arch. Children with higher BMI have higher values of the angle of hallux valgus

The influence of body posture parameters on selected parameters of the dynamic foot analysis

Introduction and purpose of work. The correct body posture and its evaluation in children of all ages is of great importance. Special attention should be paid to two critical periods, when the posture may deteriorate significantly. Monitoring the body posture makes it possible to detect any abnormalities at an early stage that may subsequently lead to other health problems. The aim of the paper was to analize the connections between the body posture parameters and the selected parameters of the dynamic foot examination. Material and methods. 106 children at the age of 10-15 years old from schools located in the Świętokrzyskie Voivodeship took part in the study. The posture of children assessed with the use of the Diers system is analyzed using a three-dimensional light-optical system. The next stage of the research was to conduct the dynamic foot analysis on the FreeMed platform. Results. No dependence between the majority of the studied body posture parameters and the parameters of the dynamic analysis was found. A statistically significant dependence was observed between: the right foot surface and the pelvic tilt, the right foot surface and the rotation surface, the number of steps per minute and the pelvic tilt, the contact time of the right foot surface and the pelvic tilt. When the pelvic tilt was standard, the authors observed a smaller surface while loading the right foot, a greater number of steps, and a shorter right foot contact time. The standard surface rotation affected the larger foot surface in the dynamic analysis. Conclusion. The study needs to be continued and extended in order to verify if there are any dependencies between the body posture parameters and the selected parameters of the dynamic analysis of the foot and gait pressure in children

Upper respiratory tract infection in children – immunostimulating treatment

This paper is a review of publications on viral infections of the upper aerotract in children. Recurring infections can be a consequence of the lack of treatment, inappropriate therapy or accompanying diseases. It is possible that an impaired condition of immunity leads to recurring infections. In this review a great deal of attention has been given to the mechanisms and the various stages of viral infection, and the onset of an organism’s defense mechanisms against viruses. The function of the immunomodulatory and immunostimulatory medical product, namely inosine pranobex has been evaluated in in vitro and in vivo studies. A review of the antiviral activity of inosine pranobex and the onset of cellular and humoral immunity has been presented

An analysis of longitudinal and transverse arches of children from świętokrzyskie voivodship

Introduction and purpose of the work. Sedentary lifestyle being promoted at present is negatively affecting health and physical fitness of young people. Flat feet is a defect of lower limbs which consists in lowering arches shaping feet. The foot, under normal conditions, rests with three points on the ground: a calcaneal tuber, the head of the first and fifth metatarsals. The purpose of the work was to evaluate longitudinal and transverse arches of children from świętokrzyskie voivodship. Material and methods. The study involved 184 children from świętokrzyskie voivodship. The majority of the respondents were female – 100, whereas the male respondents - 84 people. The MS Excel program and the statistical program R.3.3.1 were applied therefor. The Clarke’s angle index and the Wejsflog index were was used to assess the foot arch. The relationships between these parameters and gender, age, and BMI were investigated as well. Results. As a result of the conducted studies, the correct structure of both feet was found in 51% of the examined children. Flat feet of both feet was found in 4 children, whereas 34 children demonstrated a reduced arch of both feet. The problem of a reduced arch in one foot concerned 48 children, while 5 children had one foot with an elevated arch. Conclusions. Children with higher BMI index tend to have a decreased feet arch. With age, the Clarke's angle values decrease

Nanocarriers in photodynamic therapy—in vitro and in vivo studies

Photodynamic therapy (PDT) is a minimally invasive technique which has proven to be successful in the treatment of several types of tumors. This relatively simple method exploits three inseparable elements: phototoxic compound (photosensitizer [PS]), light source, and oxygen. Upon irradiation by light with specified wavelength, PS generates reactive oxygen species, which starts the cascade of reactions leading to cell death. The positive therapeutic outcome of PDT may be limited due to several aspects, including low water solubility of PSs, hampering their effective administration and blood circulation, as well as low tumor specificity, inefficient cellular uptake and activation energies requiring prolonged illumination times. One of the promising approaches to overcome these obstacles involves the use of carrier systems modulating pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the PSs. In the present review, we summarized current in vitro and in vivo studies regarding the use of nanoparticles as potential delivery devices for PSs to enhance their cellular uptake and cytotoxic properties, and thus—the therapeutic outcome of PDT

Non-pharmacological treatment in high blood pressure

Introduction and purpose of the work. High blood pressure causes an early death of people all over the world. It develops circulatory system diseases such as: heart attack, stroke, heart failure, peripheral artery disease, and also kidney failures. The following factors could have an influence on high blood pressure: age, sex, physical activity, stress, force contracting the heart, circulated blood, and resistance of blood vessels. The purpose of the study was to analyze the literature of non-pharmacological treatment of high blood pressure. Brief description of the state of the art. Non-pharmacological treatment consists mainly in changing the lifestyle, i.e. quitting smoking, reducing the weight, decreasing alcohol consumption, reducing salt consumption, increasing physical activity level, consuming fruit and vegetables, decreasing consumption of saturated fat and the total fat intake. Summary (conclusions). Non-pharmacological treatment should be abided by each patient with high blood pressure. That kind of non-pharmacological treatment brings a lot of advantages, such as decreased blood pressure, better clinical observations and decreased therapeutic dose of hypertensive drugs

Buffer composition affects rose bengal dialysis rate through cellulose membrane

Due to its fluorescent and phototoxic properties, rose bengal (RB) is used in photodynamic therapy. To improve the delivery of RB to its site of action, the application of nanocarrier systems has been proposed. The most promising approach includes the use of pH-responsive nanoparticles. To evaluate the pattern of drug release in different buffers, equilibrium dialysis is commonly used. Here, we used water and two buffers to determine the impact of solvent composition on the aggregation and dialysis rate of RB through a cellulose membrane. The results show that buffer composition does not influence the fluorescent properties of RB. However, the presence of additional ions causes a change in diffusion rate that is most probably linked to the size of RB aggregates