We Do Not Like It: A Likert-Type Scale Survey on the Attitudes of a Young Population towards the Transhumanistic Theory of Education

Transhumanists assume that future education may be purely based on technological stimulation. The question is: Do potential clients of education “like” such vision? In order to check this, we asked over one thousand two hundred young Poles to evaluate their identification with the transhumanistic theory of education. The results are quite surprising: its show that they disagree with the assumptions of this theory, while they rather agree with the postulates of more traditional (and no technology-based) concepts of education

Illness perception and perceived benefits of illness among persons with type 1 diabetes

Background Illness perception is assigned an increasing role in the control of chronic disease. This study examines illness perception and perceived benefits related to illness in persons with type 1 diabetes mellitus. We used quantitative and qualitative methods for a more in-depth analysis. Participants and procedure The participants (N = 110; mean age: 31.52 years; 80.9% women) completed online questionnaires: the Brief Illness Percep-tion Questionnaire (B-IPQ), the perceived benefits subscale of the Illness Cognition Questionnaire (ICQ) and the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). Interpretative phenomenological analysis (IPA) was used to analyze patients’ re-sponses to an open-ended question regarding perceived benefits. Results Perceived benefits score was positively correlated with personal (ρ = .20) and treatment control: life-style (ρ = .25) and co-herence (ρ = .22). Negative correlations were noted between B-IPQ total score (ρ = –.30), concern (ρ = –.30), depression (ρ = –.35), anxiety (ρ = –.32) and irritability (ρ = –.19). 52.7% of participants reported at least one benefit of having type 1 diabetes. Patients who reported at least one benefit had statistically significantly higher scores in the perceived benefits subscale (p < .001), personal control (p = .005) and treatment control (p = .030) and lower scores in consequences (p = .023), identity (p = .045), concern (p < .001), emotional response (p < .001), and illness perception total score (p < .001) than those who did not report any benefit. IPA revealed four main themes: personal benefits, health-related benefits, social contacts and economic benefits. Conclusions The study revealed that in patients with type 1 diabetes perceived disease benefits are closely related to more positive illness perception and lower levels of depression, anxiety and irritability. The findings suggest that addressing potential benefits related to illness may influence the emotional state

Immunosenescence in Aging-Related Vascular Dysfunction

The immunosenescence-related disproportion in T lymphocytes may have important consequences for endothelial dysfunction, which is a key event in vascular aging. The study was designed to assess the prognostic values of the inflammatory-immune profile to better predict and prevent vascular diseases associated with old age. Eighty individuals aged 70.9 &plusmn; 5.3 years were allocated to a low- (LGI) or high-grade inflammation (HGI) group based on CRP (&lt;3 or &ge;3 mg/L) as a conventional risk marker of cardiovascular diseases. Significant changes in inflammatory and endothelium-specific variables IL-1&beta;, IL-6, TNF&alpha;, oxLDL, H2O2, NO, 3-nitrotyrosine, and endothelial progenitor cells (OR 7.61, 95% CI 2.56&ndash;29.05, p &lt; 0.0001), confirmed their interplay in vascular inflammation. The flow-cytometry analysis demonstrated a high disproportion in T lymphocytes CD4+ and CD8+ between LGI and HGI groups. CRP was &lt;3 mg/mL for the CD4/CD8 ratio within the reference values &ge; 1 or &le;2.5, unlike for the CD4/CD8 ratio &lt; 1 and &gt;2.5. The odds ratios for the distribution of CD4+ (OR 5.98, 95% CI 0.001&ndash;0.008, p &lt; 0.001), CD8+ (OR 0.23, 95% CI 0.08&ndash;0.59, p &lt; 0.01), and CD8CD45RO+ T na&iuml;ve cells (OR 0.27, 95% CI 0.097&ndash;0.695, p &lt; 0.01) and CD4/CD8 (OR 5.69, 95% CI 2.07&ndash;17.32, p &lt; 0.001) indicated a potential diagnostic value of T lymphocytes for clinical prognosis in aging-related vascular dysfunction

The diagnostic and prognostic value of copeptin in patients with acute ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack: A systematic review and meta-analysis

Background: Stroke is the second main cause of mortality and the third leading cause of mortality and permanent disability combined. Many potential biomarkers have been described to contribute to the diagnosis, prognosis of outcomes, and risk stratification after stroke. Copeptin is an inactive peptide that is produced in an equimolar ratio to arginine vasopressin (AVP) in response to the activation of the endogenous stress system. Methods: The present study isa systematic review and meta-analysis to assess plasma copeptin concentrations, diagnostic and prognostic values for risk stratification after acute ischemic stroke and transient ischemic attack. Results: Mean copeptin level in stroke vs. non-stroke groups varied and amounted to 19.8 ± 17.4 vs. 9.7 ± 6.6 pmol/L, respectively (mean differences [MD]: 12.75; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 5.00 to 20.49; p &lt; 0.001), in good vs. poor outcome 12.0 ± 3.6 vs. 29.4 ± 14.5 (MD: −8.13; 95% CI: −8.37 to −7.88; p &lt; 0.001) and in survive vs. non-survive stroke patients: 13.4 ± 3.2 vs. 33.0 ± 12.3, respectively (MD: −13.43; 95% CI: −17.82 to −9.05; p &lt; 0.001). Conclusions: The above systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that monitoring the copeptin levels may help predict the long-term prognosis of ischemic stroke efficiently. Determining the copeptin level may help individualize the management of ischemic stroke patients, keep stroke risk lower, reduce post-stroke complications, including patient death, and minimize healthcare costs

Complementary and Alternative Medicine Use in Hospitalized Cancer Patients&mdash;Study from Silesia, Poland

Background: The use of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) is common amongst cancer patients. The aim of the study was to investigate the use of CAM, beliefs about CAM and the purpose of using it amongst Polish cancer patients. Methods: The study included 864 cancer patients (median 63 years old), who were individually interviewed. The questionnaire was designed specifically for this study. Results: Amongst 732 patients who declared that they heard about CAM, 342 patients (46.7%) had used CAM; 91% of these patients had used it as a complementary therapy and 9% had used it as an alternative therapy. Patients younger in age, highly educated, professionally active, with longer medical history, and at more advanced cancer stages have, statistically, used CAM more often; 66% of participants could not state what the health effect of CAM is. Patients received information about CAM from the internet, friends, family and other patients. Only 18% of patients discussed using CAM with a doctor. Conclusions: CAM was popular amongst Polish cancer patients, especially in younger, educated and professionally active patients with longer cancer history at advanced stage. Patients used CAM as a complementary therapy for strengthening immune system, improving morphological and biochemical test parameters, reducing the side effects of conventional therapy and improving their well-being