A comparative study of the protein C system in mother's blood, cord blood and amniotic fluid.

Activated protein C (APC) is an important anticoagulant which plays a role in pathophysiology of pregnancy, e.g. in maintenance of the uteroplacental circulation and development of the fetus as well as in pathogenesis of preeclampsia. The study objective was to compare the levels of the respective components of the protein C system (protein C, PC; protein S, PS; thrombomodulin, TM) as well as thrombin activatable fibrinolysis inhibitor - TAFI in mother's blood, cord blood and amniotic fluid. The study group consisted of 136 healthy parturients at term, divided into subgroups of 30-35. The immunoenzymatic method (ELISA) was used to measure the antigens of the components studied. The concentrations of PC and PS antigens were the highest in the mother's blood plasma (135.11+/-1.05% and 92.0+/-13.24%, respectively), lower in cord blood plasma (57.60+/-10.32% and 33.19+/-4.96%, respectively) and the lowest in amniotic fluid (6.75+/-3.50% and 2.40+/-1.64%, respectively); the differences between the levels of that of mother, fetus and amniotic fluid were statistically significant (p< or =0.0001). The TM and TAFI antigen concentrations were the highest in cord blood plasma (11.35+/-3.71 ng/ml and 91.50 (median; range: 71.76-160.77) ng/ml, respectively) and lower in maternal plasma (4.51+/-0.71 ng/ml and 55.46 - median; range: 39.77-68.54 ng/ml, respectively); the differences between the levels of that of cord blood plasma and maternal plasma were statistically significant (p< or =0.0001). Of the three protein C system components, PC and PS occur in relatively high concentrations in maternal blood, being lower in fetal blood and the lowest in amniotic fluid. On the other hand, as an exception, the concentrations of TM and TAFI are the highest in fetus blood

Cost-effectiveness of IVF infertility treatment in different legislative settings

Summary Over three decades of experience enabled contemporary medicine to develop an advanced and highly efficient assisted reproductive technology (ART). Currently, we are witnesses to a nationwide debate in Poland concerning recommendation and law regulations for ART. This article expresses an opinion of medicine doctors who are specialists in the field of reproductive medicine in Poland. The authors expain why infertility is a wide and important socio-economic problem and why legislative proposals of the consevative members of the Polish Parliament expose patients to lower pregnancy rate, higher procedure cost and higher risk of complications. Authors also make analysis of different law regulations in Europe, concluding that the efficient ART model should limit the number of transferred embryos, allow cryopreservation of the embryos and impose the obligation to use the frozen embryos

Remote Access Environment for Computer Networking Laboratory: Challenges and Solutions

A variety of network management systems is commercially available. However, their applicability for computer networking laboratories that are used for scientific, educational or engineering purposes (in particular, as a test environment for network-based software engineering) is limited. Also dedicated remote access systems do not offer enough flexibility. Major challenges are discussed in the paper. Most of the proposed solutions have been already implemented and tested

Morphokinetic parameters as a source of information concerning embryo developmental and implantation potential

Objectives: The aim of the study was to present the results of time-lapse observation and to verify whether morphokinetic parameters are associated with embryo developmental and implantation potential. Material and methods: The analysed data concern the development of 1,060 embryos, 898 of which (84.72%) achieved the blastocyst stage and 307 were transferred into the uterine cavity. As a result, 126 (41.04%) biochemical pregnancies and 109 (35.50%) clinical pregnancies were observed. Time from fertilisation to further divisions into 2–9 blastomeres, first to fourth round of cleavage, second to third synchronisation parameters and the duration of stages after the first, second and third division were analysed. Results: Most of the parameters in the group of embryos developed to the blastocyst stage reached lower values than in the non-developed group. Moreover, parameters in the first group clearly had less dispersion. The differences between the groups with and without a biochemical pregnancy were smaller than the differences in the analysis of development to the blastocyst stage. However, in the case of clinical pregnancy analysis, there were again larger differences between both groups. A strong correlation was found between the majority of absolute morphokinetic parameters. A weaker, but still statistically significant correlation, was established between relative and other parameters. Conclusions: Morphokinetic parameters are associated with embryo developmental and implantation potential and can be considered as predictors of their quality. However, the development of efficient pregnancy prediction models needs further research utilising information from all available parameters and using advanced biostatistical methods

Analysis of surface myoelectric signals by linear prediction method

The article presents a proposal to use linear prediction method for a quick analysis of surface myoelectric (EMG) signals. The spectra obtained with the linear prediction (LP) and Fourier methods were compared. The LP method allows for a precise determination of the location and amplitude of the spectrum maximum and observation of changes in muscle tension and contraction phases. EMG spectra of brachial biceps during flexion and extension of the forearm by four adults were analyzed. The optimal width of the time window for the averaging of motor unit action potentials that allows for the observation of changes during contraction was established. It has been found that maximum spectrum during flexion has a significantly higher frequency and amplitude than during the extension of the forearm

Analysis of the effect of Fe2O3 addition in the combustion of a wood-based fuel

A comparative study was carried out of emissions from the catalytic combustion of pellets made from furniture board waste and pellets made from wood mixed with Fe2O3 . The mass content of the Fe2O3 catalyst in the fuel was varied from 0% to 5%, 10%, and 15% in relation to the total dry mass weight of the pellets. The average flame temperature in the boiler was between 730 and 800 ◦C. The effect of the catalyst concentration in the fuel was analysed with respect to the contents of O2, CO2, CO, H2, and NOx in the flue gas and the combustion quality of the pellets in the heating boiler. Changes in the CO2 content and the proportion of unburned combustible components in the combustion residue were assessed. It was established that an increase in the Fe2O3 content of the prepared fuels had a positive effect on reducing NOx, CO, and H2 emissions. However, the proportion of iron oxide in the tested fuel pellets did not significantly influence changes in their combustion quality. A strong effect of the addition of Fe2O3 on the reduction of the average NOx content in the flue gas occurred with the combustion of furniture board fuel, from 51.4 ppm at 0% Fe2O3 to 7.7 ppm for an additive content of 15%. Based on the analysis of the residue in the boiler ash pan, the amount of unburned combustibles relative to their input amounts was found to be 0.09–0.22% for wood pellets and 0.50–0.31% for furniture board waste pellets.Web of Science1521art. no. 774