Polish statement on food allergy in children and adolescents

An adverse food reaction is defined as clinical symptoms occurring in children, adolescents or adults after ingestion of a food or chemical food additives. This reaction does not occur in healthy subjects. In certain individuals is a manifestation of the body hypersensitivity, i.e. qualitatively altered response to the consumed food. The disease symptoms observed after ingestion of the food can be triggered by two pathogenetic mechanisms; this allows adverse food reactions to be divided into allergic and non-allergic food hypersensitivity (food intolerance). Food allergy is defined as an abnormal immune response to ingested food (humoral, cellular or mixed). Non-immunological mechanisms (metabolic, pharmacological, microbiological or other) are responsible for clinical symptoms after food ingestion which occur in non-allergic hypersensitivity (food intolerance). Food allergy is considered a serious health problem in modern society. The prevalence of this disorder is varied and depends, among other factors, on the study population, its age, dietary habits, ethnic differences, and the degree of economic development of a given country. It is estimated that food allergy occurs most often among the youngest children (about 6-8% in infancy); the prevalence is lower among adolescents (approximately 3-4%) and adults (about 1-3%). The most common, age-dependent cause of hypersensitivity, expressed as sensitization or allergic disease (food allergy), are food allergens (trophoallergens). These are glycoproteins of animal or plant origine contained in: cow's milk, chicken egg, soybean, cereals, meat and fish, nuts, fruits, vegetables, molluscs, shellfish and other food products. Some of these allergens can cause cross-reactions, occurring as a result of concurrent hypersensitivity to food, inhaled or contact allergens. The development of an allergic process is a consequence of adverse health effects on the human body of different factors: genetic, environmental and supportive. In people predisposed (genetically) to atopy or allergy, the development of food allergy is determined by four allergic-immunological mechanisms, which were classified and described by Gell-Coombs. It is estimated that in approximately 48-50% of patients, allergic symptoms are caused only by type I reaction, the IgEmediated (immediate) mechanism. In the remaining patients, symptoms of food hypersensitivity are the result of other pathogenetic mechanisms, non-IgE mediated (delayed, late) or mixed (IgE mediated, non-IgE mediated). Clinical symptomatology of food allergy varies individually and depends on the type of food induced pathogenetic mechanism responsible for their occurrence. They relate to the organ or system in which the allergic reaction has occurred (the effector organ). Most commonly the symptoms involve many systems (gastrointestinal tract, skin, respiratory system, other organs), and approximately 10% of patients have isolated symptoms. The time of symptoms onset after eating the causative food is varied and determined by the pathogenetic mechanism of the allergic immune reaction (immediate, delayed or late symptoms). In the youngest patients, the main cause of food reactions is allergy to cow’s milk. In developmental age, the clinical picture of food allergy can change, as reflected in the so-called allergic march, which is the result of anatomical and functional maturation of the effector organs, affected by various harmful allergens (ingested, inhaled, contact allergens and allergic cross-reactions). The diagnosis of food allergy is a complex, long-term and time-consuming process, involving analysis of the allergic history (personal and in the family), a thorough evaluation of clinical signs, as well as correctly planned allergic and immune tests. The underlying cause of diagnostic difficulties in food allergy is the lack of a single universal laboratory test to identify both IgE-mediated and non-IgE mediated as well as mixed pathogenetic mechanisms of allergic reactions triggered by harmful food allergens. In food allergy diagnostics is only possible to identify an IgE-mediated allergic process (skin prick tests with food allergens, levels of specific IgE antibodies to food allergens). This allows one to confirm the diagnosis in patients whose symptoms are triggered in this pathogenetic mechanism (about 50% of patients). The method allowing one to conclude on the presence or absence of food hypersensitivity and its cause is a food challenge test (open, blinded, placebo-controlled). The occurrence of clinical symptoms after the administration of food allergen confirms the cause of food allergy (positive test) whereas the time elapsing between the triggering dose ingestion and the occurrence of clinical symptoms indicate the pathogenetic mechanisms of food allergy (immediate, delayed, late). The mainstay of causal treatment is temporary removal of harmful food from the patient’s diet, with the introduction of substitute ingredients with the nutritional value equivalent to the eliminated food. The duration of dietary treatment should be determined individually, and the measures of the effectiveness of the therapeutic elimination diet should include the absence or relief of allergic symptoms as well as normal physical and psychomotor development of the treated child. A variant alternative for dietary treatment of food allergy is specific induction of food tolerance by intended contact of the patient with the native or thermally processed harmful allergen (oral immunotherapy). This method has been used in the treatment of IgE-mediated allergy (to cow's milk protein, egg protein, peanut allergens). The obtained effect of tolerance is usually temporary. In order to avoid unnecessary prolongation of treatment in a child treated with an elimination diet, it is recommended to perform a food challenge test at least once a year. This test allows one to assess the body's current ability to acquire immune or clinical tolerance. A negative result of the test makes it possible to return to a normal diet, whereas a positive test is an indication for continued dietary treatment (persistent food allergy). Approximately 80% of children diagnosed with food allergy in infancy "grow out" of the disease before the age of 4-5 years. In children with non-IgE mediated food allergy the acquisition of food tolerance is faster and occurs in a higher percentage of treated patients compared to children with IgE-mediated food allergy. Pharmacological treatment is a necessary adjunct to dietary treatment in food allergy. It is used to control the rapidly increasing allergic symptoms (temporarily) or to achieve remission and to prevent relapses (long-term treatment). Preventive measures (primary prevention of allergies) are recommended for children born in a "high risk" group for the disease. These are comprehensive measures aimed at preventing sensitization of the body (an appropriate way of feeding the child, avoiding exposure to some allergens and adverse environmental factors). First of all, the infants should be breast-fed during the first 4-6 months of life, and solid foods (non milk products, including those containing gluten) should be introduced no earlier than 4 months of age, but no later than 6 months of age. An elimination diet is not recommended for pregnant women (prevention of intrauterine sensitization of the fetus and unborn child). The merits of introducing an elimination diet in mothers of exclusively breast-fed infants, when the child responds with allergic symptoms to the specific diet of the mother, are disputable. Secondary prevention focuses on preventing the recurrence of already diagnosed allergic disease; tertiary prevention is the fight against organ disability resulting from the chronicity and recurrences of an allergic disease process. Food allergy can adversely affect the physical development and the psycho-emotional condition of a sick child, and significantly interfere with his social contacts with peers. A long-term disease process, recurrence of clinical symptoms, and difficult course of elimination diet therapy are factors that impair the quality of life of a sick child and his family. The economic costs generated by food allergies affect both the patient's family budget (in the household), and the overall financial resources allocated to health care (at the state level). The adverse socio-economic effects of food allergy can be reduced by educational activities in the patient’s environment and dissemination of knowledge about the disease in the society

Argumentacja w edukacji: postulaty badań edukacyjnych w polskiej szkole argumentacji

Uwzględniając dotychczasową działalność Polskiej Szkoły Argumentacji, w szczególności jej działalność edukacyjną wyeksponowaną podczas XV konferencji ArgDiaP, sformułowaliśmy postulaty dotyczące dalszej działalności edukacyjnej Szkoły. Ich realizacja w ciągu najbliższych lat mogłaby stanowić grunt dla długoterminowych celów edukacyjnych, takich jak (1) opracowanie spójnego programu nauczania sztuki argumentowania i krytycznego myślenia w szkołach podstawowych i średnich oraz (2) zaprojektowanie ogólnopolskich standardów i ram nauczania przedmiotów powiązanych z argumentacją i krytycznym myśleniem na poziomie studiów uniwersyteckich

Reforma oświatowa a zadania dyrektora szkoły

“Management and leadership in education” conference took place at University of Warsaw in June 2018. During the conference there was a panel session whose theme focused on the issues of school management in the face of education reform carried out in Poland recently. The article is a record of educational and organisational problems faced by schools that underwent the reform. Thirteen problem areas are presented, for example, the scope of duties of the headmaster; student situation and parent situation with regard to transformation of schooling structure as well as school curriculum; relocation of teachers etc. Headmasters participating in the panel session represented different types of schools hence the comparison of public and private schools was made possible

Otwieranie Nauki: Praktyka i Perspektywy - Wartość Open Science, Łódź, 10-11 października 2023. Materiały z Seminarium

Materiały z Seminarium „Otwieranie Nauki: Praktyka i Perspektywy”: prezentacje prelegentów oraz fotorelacje. Udostępniono te materiały, których autorzy nie wyrazili sprzeciwu.VII Seminarium z cyklu „Otwieranie Nauki: Praktyka i Perspektywy” odbyło się w tym roku pod hasłem „Wartość Open Science”. Wydarzenie współorganizowały z firmą Elsevier trzy łódzkie biblioteki akademickie: Centrum Informacyjno-Biblioteczne Uniwersytetu Medycznego w Łodzi, Biblioteka Politechniki Łódzkiej i Biblioteka Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego, co zapewniło uczestnikom nie tylko różnorodność przestrzeni, ale przede wszystkim wielość perspektyw. Tegoroczny program dostarczył jak zwykle praktycznych wskazówek i materiałów edukacyjnych dla środowiska naukowego i wszystkich zainteresowanych Otwartą Nauką w wielu jej wymiarach, a także pozwolił spojrzeć na istotne kwestie związane z publikowaniem, zarządzaniem danymi badawczymi i współpracą ze środowiskami pozanaukowymi z punktu widzenia uczelni o profilu ogólnym, technicznym i medycznym. Obradom i dyskusjom towarzyszyły warsztaty prowadzone przez liderów i praktyków Open Science. Partnerzy wydarzenia: EC1 Łódź - Miasto Kultury, FUMED, PCG Academia, Fundacja Rozwoju Systemu Edukacji. Program wydarzenia: https://onpp.p.lodz.pl/PREZENTACJE: Agnieszka Adamiec — Instytucjonalne polityki otwartości i ich wpływ; Agnieszka Wasilewska — Czy sztuczna inteligencja zastąpi Data Stewardów?; Barbara Grzelczak — Jak otwieramy naukę na UEW?; Charlotte Wien — Re-Connecting the dots; Dominika Czyżak — Ambasadorzy otwartej nauki w Uniwersytecie Mikołaja Kopernika: realizacja pilotażowego programu projektu YUFERING; Ewa Gruszewska — Otwartość nauki z perspektywy badacza; Grzegorz Szczypa — Gdzie kończą się działania pozorowane a zaczyna prawdziwa polityka otwartego dostępu; Joanna Błasiok — Otwarte czy zamknięte? Przypadek polskich czasopism z bibliotekoznawstwa i informacji naukowej; Joanna Brońka — Skuteczne praktyki pracy z autorem; Justyna Zawada — Zarządzanie danymi na Polskiej Platformie Medycznej; Kamila Perlik — Biblioteka Uniwersytecka w Toruniu uczestnikiem projektu EODOPEN: doświadczenia upowszechniania otwartego dostępu do zbiorów; Katarzyna Patyrak, Bartłomiej Więckowski — Potencjał otwartych danych badawczych; Kinga Kamińska — Czy nauka może być otwarta dla wszystkich; Maciej Bisaga — Zmieniając krajobraz nauki: implementacja polityki otwartego dostępu na Uniwersytecie Śląskim; Maciej Maryl — OPERAS-PL innowacja, dostęp i współpraca dla otwartych nauk społecznych i humanistycznych; Małgorzata Bańkowska — Bariery w rejestracji dorobku naukowego; Marek Niezgódka — Infrastruktury Otwartej Nauki czasu transformacji systemu akademickiego; Maria Kuczkowska — Oddajcie mi moje dane: Czyli między teorią a praktyką otwierania danych; Paulina Milewska, Tomasz Psonka — Teraźniejszość i przyszłość Open Access w Polsce; Renata Frączek — Open Access w Bibliotece Politechniki Śląskiej; Zbigniew Ruszczyk — README or not README: that is the question

The SNP rs460089 in the gene promoter of the drug transporter OCTN1 has prognostic value for treatment-free remission in chronic myeloid leukemia patients treated with imatinib

Membrane transporters are important determinants of drug bioavailability. Their expression and activity affect the intracellular drug concentration in leukemic cells impacting response to therapy. Pharmacogenomics represents genetic markers that reflect allele arrangement of genes encoding drug transporters associated with treatment response. In previous work, we identified SNP rs460089 located in the promotor of SLC22A4 gene encoding imatinib transporter OCTN1 as influential on response of patients with chronic myeloid leukemia treated with imatinib. Patients with rs460089-GC pharmacogenotype had significantly superior response to first-line imatinib treatment compared to patients with rs460089-GG. This study investigated whether pharmacogenotypes of rs460089 are associated with sustainability of treatment-free remission (TFR) in patients from the EUROpean Stop Kinase Inhibitor (EURO-SKI) trial. In the learning sample, 176 patients showed a significantly higher 6-month probability of molecular relapse free survival (MRFS) in patients with GC genotype (73%, 95% CI: 60–82%) compared to patients with GG (51%, 95% CI: 41–61%). Also over time, patients with GC genotype had significantly higher MRFS probabilities compared with patients with GG (HR: 0.474, 95% CI: 0.280-0.802, p = 0.0054). Both results were validated with data on 93 patients from the Polish STOP imatinib study. In multiple regression models, in addition to the investigated genotype, duration of TKI therapy (EURO-SKI trial) and duration of deep molecular response (Polish study) were identified as independent prognostic factors. The SNP rs460089 was found as an independent predictor of TFR.Peer reviewe

The Polish School of Argumentation:A Manifesto

Building on our diverse research traditions in the study of reasoning, language and communication, the Polish School of Argumentation integrates various disciplines and institutions across Poland in which scholars are dedicated to understanding the phenomenon of the force of argument. Our primary goal is to craft a methodological programme and establish organisational infrastructure: this is the first key step in facilitating and fostering our research movement, which joins people with a common research focus, complementary skills and an enthusiasm to work together. This statement—the Manifesto—lays the foundations for the research programme of the Polish School of Argumentation