Pierwsze kroki w szkole i znaczenie pierwszych spotkań. Dlaczego Korczak miał rację?

Artykuł z numeru 1/2012 internetowego czasopisma edukacyjnego ORE "Trendy

Czy jesteśmy im coś winni? Rzecz o profilaktyce szkolnej

Artykuł z numeru 4/2013 internetowego czasopisma edukacyjnego ORE "Trendy

Kompetencje nauczyciela w rozwiązywaniu problemów uczniów zagrożonych niedostosowaniem społecznym

Artykuł z numeru 4/2012 internetowego czasopisma edukacyjnego ORE "Trendy

Usefulness of the SCC, CEA, CYFRA 21.1, and CRP markers for the diagnosis and monitoring of cervical squamous cell carcinoma

Summary Objective: To determine the usefulness of the SCC, CEA, CYFRA 21.1, and CRP markers for the diagnosis and early monitoring after treatment completion in women diagnosed with cervical squamous cell carcinoma. Material and methods: Serum of 140 patients with diagnosed cervical squamous cell carcinoma was investigated. The women with the advanced stage of cervical carcinoma (FIGO IIIB) were divided into two subgroups: with positive and negative outcomes of the treatment. Levels of SCC, CEA, CYFRA 21.1, and CRP were measured before the treatment and immediately after the completion of radiotherapy. Immunochemical methods were used to measure proteins in both serum and plasma samples. Results: 75% of the markers measured were within the reference range for FIGO stage I. The marker levels rose with the clinical progression of the disease. The median levels of all markers and the CRP levels in both groups were compared before the treatment. Only in case of CEA a considerable variation between these groups was observed. Elevated levels of CRP were observed twice more often in patients with negative outcome of the treatment. After the treatment, a significant decrease in all marker levels was observed in patients with positive outcome when compared to the levels at the moment of the diagnosis. Conclusions: SCC, CEA and CYFRA 21.1 markers show low diagnostic sensitivity in early stages of the disease in women diagnosed with cervical squamous cell carcinoma. The concentration of markers measured before the treatment, particularly CEA, may prove to be of prognostic value for women diagnosed with advanced cervical cancer. Certain markers may prove useful in the assessment of the therapy used. Measuring the CRP before the treatment may aid the prognosis of response to treatment in these patients

Usefulness of osteopontin (OPN) determinations in ovarian cancer patients who underwent first-line chemotherapy

Abstract Introduction: Currently CA 125 is a marker of choice for monitoring ovarian cancer. Nonetheless, scientists are still searching for new markers, which could provide additional information for the evaluation of treatment, especially in patients with normal CA 125 levels, despite the progression of the disease. According to the latest reports, OPN can be a potential new marker. Aim: Estimation of usefulness of OPN determinations in the monitoring of ovarian cancer patients. Material and Methods: The study included 54 ovarian cancer patients, undergoing chemotherapy. Markers were measured before, during and after treatment. The dynamics of the change of OPN levels was shown on line graphs, using Microsoft Excel programme. Statistical analysis was performed by Kaplan-Meier method and log-rank test. Results: 44% of patients from the study group were found to have low CA 125 levels. In these cases only the increase of OPN concentration indicated recurrence of the disease. In 43% of patients the high initial CA 125 and OPN levels decreased during chemotherapy and complete regression was stated in these patients. Nevertheless, in 13/17 patients a repeated increase of OPN concentration signalling the recurrence, earlier than CA 125 and clinical recurrence manifestation, was observed. In 13% of patients high initial levels of markers did not decrease during chemotherapy, which correlated with the progression of the disease. Our study showed that only the CA 125 levels had a significant influence (p=0.00063) on the disease-free survival time. Conclusions: Our data suggest a potential usefulness of the OPN determinations in estimating ovarian cancer recurrence. Nonetheless, there was no correlation between the initial OPN concentration and the disease-free survival time

Evaluation of selected serum protein markers as early detectors of ovarian cancer

Summary Objective: an attempt to determine the value of the simultaneous quantization of osteopontin (OPN), insulingrowth factor II (IGF II), leptin, prolactin and CA 125 for early detection of ovarian cancer Materials and methods: Prospective study of 69 women including: - 15 females with ovarian cancer - 33 females with benign ovarian neoplasm - 21 disease-free females The levels of IGF II, prolactin, leptin and CA 125 were determined in serum, while the level of OPN was checked in plasma. Results: The concentrations of IGF II, leptin and prolactin do not let us distinguish among disease-free females, females with ovarian cancer and those with benign ovarian neoplasms on the basis of biochemical markers. The comparison of OPN and CA 125 levels showed significant differences in the concentrations of the biomarkers between disease-free females and females with ovarian cancer, as well as between females with benign ovarian neoplasms and females with ovarian cancer. The ROC curves for two groups: disease-free females and females with ovarian cancer, proved the diagnostic value of OPN and CA 125. Conclusions: The simultaneous quantization of OPN, IGF II leptin and prolactin has not been proved useful for the early detection of ovarian cancer. Statistically significant increase of OPN & CA 125 levels was noted in case of women with ovarian cancer diagnosed through microscopic examination. The analysis of ROC curves showed comparable diagnostic usefulness of both markers. Quantization of OPN may have an additional value for treatment monitoring of women diagnosed with ovarian cancer but with concentration of CA 125 within the reference value

Aerosol-jet-printed potentiometric pH sensor for sweat measurements in smart patches

Manufacturing technology of ion-selective electrodes (ISEs) for pH measurements is presented. Plasticized polyurethane membranes with tridodecylamine as a pH-selective ionophore were used as receptor layer, whereas electrodes printed with graphene nanoplatelets paste served as transducers. For preliminary experiments, sensors with screen-printed transducers and pH-selective membranes deposited manually or by direct-ink writing, were employed. However, the use of aerosol-jet printing (AJP) technique for the production of transducer as well as deposition of pH-selective polymeric membrane allowed substantial miniaturization of the sensors, leading to low-cost, automated fabrication of millimeter-scale ISEs. The pH sensors were printed on thermoplastic polyurethane (TPU) or polyethylene terephthalate (PET) substrate, the issues of compatibility of membrane and substrate materials were addressed. The average membrane thickness for the ISEs was 225.2 ± 8.0 μm with an additional 20 μm average thickness of other underlying printed layers. The planar dimensions of ISEs were 300 μm (width) by 2 mm, presenting an opportunity for even further miniaturization. Sensors fully printed with the AJP technique yielded a potentiometric response of −53.48 ± 4.26 mV/pH (N = 69) for PET substrate and − 46.71 ± 10.23 mV/pH (N = 66) for TPU substrate. Presented results are important for developing a fully operational electronic tattoo suitable for large-scale manufacturing

Profilaktyka społeczna w rodzinie i szkole: wybrane zagadnienia

Praca recenzowana / peer-reviewed pape

Salvage prostate brachytherapy in radiorecurrent prostate cancer: An international Delphi consensus study

Background and Purpose: Local recurrences after previous radiotherapy (RT) are increasingly being identified in biochemically recurrent prostate cancer. Salvage prostate brachytherapy (BT) is an effective and well tolerated treatment option. We sought to generate international consensus statements on the use and preferred technical considerations for salvage prostate BT. Materials and Methods: International experts in salvage prostate BT were invited (n = 34) to participate. A three-round modified Delphi technique was utilized, with questions focused on patient- and cancer-specific criteria, type and technique of BT, and follow-up. An a priori threshold for consensus of ≥ 75% was set, with a majority opinion being ≥ 50%. Results: Thirty international experts agreed to participate. Consensus was achieved for 56% (18/32) of statements. Consensus was achieved in several areas of patient selection: 1) A minimum of 2–3 years from initial RT to salvage BT; 2) MRI and PSMA PET should be obtained; and 3) Both targeted and systematic biopsies should be performed. Several areas did not reach consensus: 1) Maximum T stage/PSA at time of salvage; 2) Utilization/duration of ADT; 3) Appropriateness of combining local salvage with SABR for oligometastatic disease and 4) Repeating a second course of salvage BT. A majority opinion preferred High Dose-Rate salvage BT, and indicated that both focal and whole gland techniques could be appropriate. There was no single preferred dose/fractionation. Conclusion: Areas of consensus within our Delphi study may serve as practical advice for salvage prostate BT. Future research in salvage BT should address areas of controversy identified in our study