Bronchial asthma - what should every doctor know?

More than 235 million people worldwide suffer from asthma. Most of the patients have mild asthma, but in a large part of them asthma is not fully controlled and they are exposed to the occurrence of exacerbations. It is believed that the most important reason for poor asthma control is the patients' failure to comply with chronic treatment recommendations. This article describes the symptoms and course of the disease. There is also contain information about the criteria of diagnosis and changes in therapeutic progress which were announced in 2019 by Global Organization for Asthma

The onerous consequences of pregnancy and childbirth

Pregnancy is a physiological condition characterized by changes in the functioning of the female body. These changes, referred to as pregnancy adaptation, are necessary both for the development of the foetus and are an expression of the mother's defense against an invasion of the tissues of the foetus egg, which is harmful to her body. Large adaptive changes in anatomy, physiology and metabolism determine the proper course of pregnancy and childbirth. Unfortunately, there are also negative effects of these changes - weakened tissues, increased intraabdominal pressure, irreversible changes in the whole body. [16] Childbirth (especially vaginal) leads to damage to the fascial-muscular-nerve structures. These structures ensure proper statics and function of the pelvic floor, and their damage may cause functional abnormalities. [8

Inguinal hernia common problem of modern surgery

Hernia is a very common challenge faced by modern medicine. It is estimated that this problem affects about 20 million people annually, including 30% abdominal hernias with the highest percentage of inguinal hernias. Despite constant progress of imaging methods, surgical techniques and understanding of the biomechanics muscles, it is still a serious challenge for physicians. This article deals with the most important issues related to the diagnosis and treatment of inguinal hernia. We pay particular attention to the frequency of complications after surgery, comparing the effectiveness of specific repair methods

The hernia in the postoperative scar – can it be avoided?

The surgery of hernia is the most common surgical procedure performed around the world. It estimates that every year this problem affects about 20 million people including 30% of it is a abdominal hernia. Despite constant advances in surgical technique, imaging methods and the meaning of muscle biomechanics, the hernia still pose a serious challenge to physicians. The best chance of effective cure is the first repair surgery, however, postoperative hernias occur in approximately 15-20% of patients. The aim of this work is to show the problem of hernias appearing in a scar after a previously performed operation. This article contains basic information on factors that increase the risk of hernia recurrence, classification according to the recommendations of the European Hernia Society (EHS), the clinical picture and the recommended treatment for hernia

Theoretical validity and reliability of Vespide Quality of Life Questionnaire in Polish adolescents with Hymenoptera venom allergy

Measurement of health-related quality of life is mostly used with advanced measurement tools, such as scales. The use of a certain scale in different cultural settings or in age groups other than those it was designed for needs conducting the adaptation process and assessment of psychometric properties of the adapted scale. This paper presents the results of theoretical validity and reliability analysis of the Polish adaptation of the VQLQ scale for adolescents with Hymenoptera venom allergy. The study sample consisted of 78 adolescents aged 14-19 years, who were treated with venom immunotherapy in Polish allergological centers in 2008 year. Theoretical validity of the scale was analyzed with exploratory factor analysis using the principal components method. Reliability analysis was assessed in terms of internal consistency with Cronbach's α coefficient and by testing Kline's criterion. The results showed satisfactory validity of the scale: factor analysis revealed a 3-factor structure of the scale - extracted factors were described as anxiety, caution and discomfort. All the scale items contributed to unique factors, except for one item concerning limitation in summer due to allergy, which was identified as a separate dimension of health-related quality of life of Polish adolescents with Hymenoptera venom allergy. All the extracted subscales were characterized by values of α coefficient equal or higher than 0.8, what is usually considered as a high-level reliability coefficient. The adapted scale is a valid and reliable tool measuring health-related quality of life in Polish adolescents treated with venom-specific immunotherapy

Health-related quality of life in Polish adolescents with "Hymenoptera" venom allergy treated with venom immunotherapy

Introduction: Venom allergy, though rare, may seriously influence health-related quality of life (HRQoL). There is a paucity of research on HRQoL of adolescents and young adults with Hymenoptera venom allergy. The aim was to assess the level of HRQoL and to evaluate its independent predictors in Polish adolescents and young adults treated with venom immunotherapy. Material and methods: A multicenter cross-sectional study based on the Vespid Allergy Quality of Life Questionnaire (VQLQ) adapted for Polish adolescents was used. The study sample included 87 patients (14-21 years) studied at different stages of venom immunotherapy (VIT). Statistical analysis was done with multivariate linear regression. Results: Anxiety level was higher in patients with 4th grade of Mueller’s classification (anaphylactic shock) than in those with 3rd grade (B = 0.84, 95% CI = 0.07-1.61, p = 0.03). Caution increased along with an increase of anxiety of adolescents treated with VIT (B = 0.54, 95% CI = 0.39-0.68, p < 0.01). Level of limitations increased with increasing caution of adolescents (B = 0.63, 95% CI = 0.35-0.91, p < 0.01). Discomfort increased along with a rise of caution of patients (B = 0.38, 95% CI = 0.22-0.55, p < 0.01). Similarly, it increased with an increase of their feeling of limitations (B = 0.37, 95% CI = 0.23-0.51, p < 0.01). The level of discomfort in adolescents treated with VIT was lower in those who were treated with conventional protocol in comparison to those treated with rush or ultrarush ones (B = –0.47, 95% CI = –0.90 - –0.03, p = 0.04). Conclusions: Severity of anaphylactic reaction is an independent determinant of anxiety level in adolescents treated with VIT. The VIT protocol affects HRQoL of treated patients

Two-particle correlations in azimuthal angle and pseudorapidity in inelastic p + p interactions at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron

Results on two-particle ΔηΔϕ correlations in inelastic p + p interactions at 20, 31, 40, 80, and 158 GeV/c are presented. The measurements were performed using the large acceptance NA61/SHINE hadron spectrometer at the CERN Super Proton Synchrotron. The data show structures which can be attributed mainly to effects of resonance decays, momentum conservation, and quantum statistics. The results are compared with the Epos and UrQMD models.ISSN:1434-6044ISSN:1434-605

Size of submicrometer particles measured by FCS: Correction of the confocal volume

When fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) in combination with a confocal microscope is used to determine the hydrodynamic radius a of particles comparable to or larger than the linear size σ of the confocal volume of the microscope, a correction must be used that depends on the a2/σ2 ratio and the distribution of the dye within the particle. Here we present the experimental validation of the theoretically predicted approximate correction necessary for appropriate measurements of the size of uniformly fluorescently labeled spheres of radius comparable to the size of the confocal volume. We also test the approximate correction formula for different ranges of the a/σ ratio and propose a simple procedure to obtain the correct nanoparticle size from such a measurement

Structure and dimensions of core-shell nanoparticles comparable to the confocal volume studied by means of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy

In some applications the dye distribution within fluorescently labeled nanoparticles and its stability over long periods of time are important issues. In this article we study numerically and experimentally the applicability of fluorescence correlation spectroscopy (FCS) to resolve such questions. When the size of fluorescently labeled particles is comparable to or larger than the confocal volume, the effective confocal volume seen in FCS experiments is increasing. Such an effect has already been studied for uniformly labeled spherical particles. In this work we analyze the form of the FCS correlation functions (CFs) for core-labeled and shell-labeled core–shell particles. For shell-labeled particles an additional fast decay was found both in simulations and in experiments on custom-made surface-labeled particles. Universal scaling of FCS correlation times based on the squared ratio of the labeled part radius of gyration to the Gaussian radius of the beam profile was found. Recipes based on the analysis of simulated CFs, proposed for interpretation of experimental results, were successfully applied to the FCS results on suspensions of large core-labeled and surface-labeled particles

pNiPAM-Nanoparticle-Based Antiapoptotic Approach for Pro-Regenerative Capacity of Skeletal Myogenic Cells

The biocompatibility of pNiPAM (Poly N-isopropylacrylamide) copolymers has been examined and they did not exert any cytotoxic effects. Their properties and vulnerable temperature characteristics make them candidates for use in medical applications. We synthesized a well-characterized nanoparticles-based cargo system that would effectively deliver a biological agent to human skeletal myogenic cells (SkMCs); among other aspects, a downregulating apoptotic pathway potentially responsible for poor regeneration of myocardium. We confirmed the size of the pNiPAM based spheres at around 100 nm and the nanomeric shape of nanoparticles (NP) obtained. We confirmed that 33 °C is the adequate temperature for phase transition. We performed the dynamics of cargo release. A small amount of examined protein was detected at 10 min after reaching LCTS (lower critical solution temperature). The presented results of the test with BSA (bovine serum albumin) and doxorubicin loaded into nanoparticles showed a similar release profile for both substances. SkMCs incubated with NP loaded with antiapoptotic agent, BCB (Bax channel blocker), significantly diminished cell apoptosis (p &lt; 0.01). Moreover, the lowest apoptotic level was detected in SkMCs treated with camptothecin and simultaneously incubated with pNiPAMs loaded with BCB. Application of nanoparticles loaded with BCB or subjected to BCB alone did not, however, diminish the amount of apparently necrotic cells