The essence and conditions of creativity in modern organizations

Creativity is now an exposed trait. This is due to the high need for innovation, original and useful solutions that serve the development of the organization, their effective market entry and long-term survival. This publication is a collection of papers prepared under The First National Conference “CREATIVE VIBES. Kreatywnością napędzamy gospodarkę”, whose aim was to stir issues concerning the significance of creativity from the point of view of the development of innovative economy, as well as to draw attention to the role of creativity in the education process of students and its impact on the development of professional competence.All organizations operating in the complex and turbulent market should make continuous changes in many areas of their operation. A key factor enabling the starting of innovative solutions is the creativity of people. The purpose of this article is to present the essence, definitions and conditions of the creativity, the main problems of employees and methods of stimulation

Inflammatory markers and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in a family-based population study

Background: Heart failure affects patients with normal left ventricular systolic function (heart failure with preserved ejection fraction [HFPEF]) and those with reduced ejection fraction (HFREF). The treatment of HFPEF remains an unresolved issue. Aims: We sought to determinate the relationship between inflammatory markers and left ventricular diastolic dysfunction (LVDD) in a family-based population study. Methods: A total of 303 participants from the general population (55% women, median age 49 years and 45% men, median age 40 years) underwent echocardiography and measurement of serum inflammatory markers: C-reactive protein (CRP), myeloperoxidase (MPO), and interleukin 6 (IL-6). Results: Serum IL-6 concentration correlated with peak transmitral late diastolic velocity (A) and pulmonary vein systolic-to-di­astolic velocity (S/D) ratio (p < 0.01). Moreover, a significant correlation between IL-6 concentration and E/A ratio and early diastolic peak velocities of the mitral annulus displacement (E’) was observed. The association of IL-6 concentration and peak transmitral early diastolic velocities (E) and the E/E’ ratio (p < 0.05) was noted in men. In addition, the CRP concentration was shown to have an effect on E/A ratio in women (p < 0.05). A significant correlation between the CRP concentration and S/D ratio was observed both in women (p < 0.01) and men (p < 0.05). No significant correlation was found between the level of MPO and LVDD parameters. Additionally, only one predictive model was identified; E’ was found to be dependent on IL-6, age, and heart rate in men (p < 0.001, R2 = 0.611). Conclusions: The above results suggest that inflammation may lead to the onset of LVDD, probably via vascular endothelial dysfunction

Przejściowe korowe zaburzenia widzenia po zabiegu koronarografii

Koronarografia jest obecnie złotym standardem w diagnostyce choroby niedokrwiennej serca, w związku z czym częstość wykonywania przezskórnych zabiegów wieńcowych, tj. angiografii oraz angioplastyki, jest duża. Powikłania naczyniowo-mózgowe po koronarografii i koronaroplastyce są rzadkie i zazwyczaj obejmują przejściowe ataki niedokrwienne oraz udary mózgu. Częstość występowania przejściowych korowych zaburzeń widzenia po środkach kontrastowych jest niewielka. Zaburzenia te stwierdza się zazwyczaj w przypadku angiografii naczyń mózgowych. Przemijające korowe zaburzenia widzenia po zabiegu koronarografii opisano dotychczas jedynie u kilkunastu pacjentów. Biorąc pod uwagę szerokie i częste zastosowanie koronarografii na świecie, a także w Polsce, jest to więc wyjątkowo rzadkie powikłanie. Do I Kliniki Kardiologii i Nadciśnienia Tętniczego Szpitala Uniwersyteckiego w Krakowie przyjęto 32-letniego chorego z licznymi pobudzeniami dodatkowymi o morfologii bloku lewej odnogi pęczka Hisa, ze zmianami w spoczynkowym badaniu elektrokardiograficznym sugerującymi podejrzenie zespołu Brugadów, a także z obniżoną frakcją wyrzutową lewej komory serca. W celu wykluczenia podłoża niedokrwiennego obserwowanych nieprawidłowości chorego zakwalifikowano do koronarografii. W wykonanym badaniu nie stwierdzono zmian w tętnicach wieńcowych. Przebieg zabiegu był powikłany przejściowymi korowymi zaburzeniami widzenia, które odniesiono do neurotoksycznego działania kontrastu. W przeprowadzonej wówczas tomografii komputerowej mózgowia nie zaobserwowano patologii, a w badaniu okulistycznym i neurologicznym nie odnotowano przyczyn zgłaszanych dolegliwości. Zaburzenia widzenia ustąpiły samoistnie w ciągu kilkunastu godzin.Coronary angiography is the current gold standard for the diagnosis of ischemic heart disease and therefore the prevalence of percutaneous coronary procedures such as angiography and angioplasty is high. The occurrence of cerebral complications after coronary angiography and coronary angioplasty is low and it mainly includes transient ischemic attack and stroke. The prevalence of transient cortical blindness after X-ray contrast media is low and it is usually seen after cerebral angiography. Until now only a few cases of transient cortical blindness have been described after coronary artery angiography. Regarding the spread of coronary angiography worldwide and in Poland this complication is uniquely rare. A 32-year-old man with multiple extrasystolic ventricular arrhythmia suggesting Brugada syndrome diagnosis according to morphology of the left bundle branch block and with decreased left ventricular ejection fraction was admitted to the First Department of Cardiology and Hypertension, Medical College of the Jagiellonian University in Krakow. Coronary angiography was performed in order to exclude ischemic etiology of the observed abnormalities. No arteriosclerotic lesions were found in coronary arteries. Transient cortical blindness was observed directly after angiography which may have been caused by the neurotoxic effect of the used X-ray contrast medium. In ophthalmologic and neurologic examination as well as in the cerebral computed tomography scan no pathologies were found. Visual impairment disappeared totally within several hours

Echocardiographic assessment of right ventricular function in responders and non-responders to cardiac resynchronization therapy

Introduction: The aim of this study was to determine whether baseline right ventricular (RV) function assessed by standard echocardiography may indicate patients who will respond to cardiac resynchronization therapy (CRT). Material and methods: The data of 57 patients (54 men, 95%), aged 66.4 ±8.7 years with heart failure (HF) having a CRT device implanted were collected. All patients had left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) ≤ 35% and QRS complex duration ≥ 120 ms. Echocardiographic examination with tissue Doppler imaging techniques and complex RV evaluation were performed at baseline and three months after CRT onset. Results: Three months after CRT implantation, patients responding to CRT, defined as a reduction of left ventricle end-systolic volume (LVESV) of at least 10% (n = 34), compared to patients with a reduction of LVESV of less than 10% (n = 23), had at baseline a smaller right atrium diameter (47.85 ±11.33 mm vs. 52.65 ±8.69 mm; p = 0.028), higher TAPSE (14.56 ±2.57 mm vs. 13.04 ±2.93 mm; p = 0.030) and lower grade of tricuspid valve regurgitation (1.82 ±0.97 vs. 2.3 ±0.88; p = 0.033). Conclusions: This study showed that there are differences in baseline right ventricular function between responders and non-responders to CRT. Yet in our study, none of the baseline RV parameters provided any value in identifying patients who would respond to CRT