Profesionalismo médico; una problemática global

Virtualmente, todo el mundo está de acuerdo en que la medicina es un cometido moral, una profesión cuyos miembros comulgan con una serie de principios válidos desde hace mucho tiempo, como el respeto hacia los demás, la empatía, la compasión, la honestidad y la integridad, el altruismo y la excelencia profesional. El concepto de profesionalismo médico encuentra sus raíces en estos principios, constituyendo los fundamentos de un contrato colectivo con la sociedad que tradicionalmente ha hecho de la medicina algo diferente de otras profesiones u ocupaciones

Cytochemical and immunocytochemical studies of the localization of histones and protamine-type proteins in spermatids of Chara vulgaris and Chara tomentosa.

Spermiogenesis in Chara algae, which has been divided into 10 phases (sp I-X), is similar to spermiogenesis in animals. The most important process during spermiogenesis in animals is remodeling of chromatin leading to "sleeping genome", being the result the exchange of histone proteins into protamine-like proteins. Cytochemical studies showed in both Chara species (C. vulgaris, C. tomentosa) that at spI-IV phases only histones were present, at spV-VIII phases--the amount of nuclear protamine-type proteins progressively increased and that of histones decreased while at spIX-X only pro-tamine-type proteins were present. This was also confirmed with capillar electrophoresis. In order to localize more precisely both histones and protamines the immunocytochemical studies with the use of anti-protamine antibodies (protamine-type proteins were obtained from C. tomentosa antheridia) and anti-histone H3 antibodies, have been carried out. More specific immunocytochemical studies confirmed cytochemical results including the exchange of histones into protamine-type during spermiogenesis (spV-VIII) in both Chara species. At phase V spermiogenesis these strong strand-like anti-protamine signals were observed in cytoplasm which might suggest that protamine synthesis took place in ER

Wybrane metody analizy strukturalnej związków małocząsteczkowych i biomakrocząsteczek. Od biologii, przez fizykę, do chemii.

Omawiane zagadnienia mają charakter interdyscyplinarny, zapoznają z technikami oraz narzędziami wykorzystywanymi w analizie strukturalnej związków małocząsteczkowych i biomakrocząsteczek. Znajomość przedstawionych metod jest obecnie niezbędnym elementem wykształcenia wszechstronnego naukowca z dziedziny nauk przyrodniczych oraz farmaceutycznych

Setting school-level outcome standards

To establish international standards for medical schools, an appropriate panel of experts must decide on performance standards. A pilot test of such standards was set in the context of a multidimensional (multiple-choice question examination, objective structured clinical examination, faculty observation) examination at 8 leading schools in China. Methods  A group of 16 medical education leaders from a broad array of countries met over a 3-day period. These individuals considered competency domains, examination items, and the percentage of students who could fall below a cut-off score if the school was still to be considered as meeting competencies. This 2-step process started with a discussion of the borderline school and the relative difficulty of a borderline school in achieving acceptable standards in a given competency domain. Committee members then estimated the percentage of students falling below the standard that is tolerable at a borderline school and were allowed to revise their ratings after viewing pilot data. Results  Tolerable failure rates ranged from 10% to 26% across competency domains and examination types. As with other standard-setting exercises, standard deviations from initial to final estimates of the tolerable failure rates fell, but the cut-off scores did not change significantly. Final, but not initial cut-off scores were correlated with student failure rates ( r =  0.59, P  = 0.03). Discussion  This paper describes a method to set school-level outcome standards at an international level based on prior established standard-setting methods. Further refinement of this process and validation using other examinations in other countries will be needed to achieve accurate international standards.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/71572/1/j.1365-2929.2005.02374.x.pd

The influence of chemical composition of aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters on their properties

The chain microstructure and properties of a series of aliphatic-aromatic copolyesters in a range of compositions from 10 to 100% of aromatic components were studied by examining melting and crystallization behaviors, dynamic mechanical response, morphology, wide- (WAXS) and small-angle X-ray scattering (SAXS), and tensile deformation. Chain microstructure was analyzed by $^{1}H$ NMR. The results indicate that most of copolyesters used in this study have essentially random distribution of comonomers. Copolyesters with more than 30 mol% of aromatic part crystallize with a crystal structure characteristic for homopolymer poly(butylene terephthalate) (PBT). However, some of the reflections from crystal planes are shifted towards lower diffraction angles as compared to butylene terephthalate homoplymer. The phase transition temperatures decrease with increasing aliphatic content. By means of polarized light microscopy (PLM), small-angle light scattering (SALS) and SAXS, crystallization behavior of a selected aliphatic-aromatic copolyester was further explored. Selected copolyester crystallizes in the form of thin fibrous crystals, few nanometers thick, which is the main factor influencing the depression of its melting temperature

PRZEWODNOŚĆ ELEKTRYCZNA MIĘSA WIEPRZOWEGO JAKO WSKAŹNIK JEGO JAKOŚCI

The performed experiments allowed determining to what extent meat electrical conductivity measured at two time intervals (EC90’ and EC24h) may affect significantly the selected pork meat quality parameters. The experimental material comprised 75 carcasses, of which 32 were carcasses derived from hogs of line 990 and 43 were carcasses of Danish hybrid hogs [(L x Y) x Du]. The following parameters were investigated: electrical conductivity (EC90’ and EC24h), thermal drip and water holding capacity content as well as meat texture (tenderness and juiciness). After the assessment of meat electrical conductivity, the obtained results were divided into three groups taking into consideration differences in their values: EC90’: up to 3.50 mS/cm; from 3.51 – 5.00 mS/cm; > 5.00 mS/cm, and EC24h measurement: up to 4.99 mS/cm; from 5.00 – 8.00 mS/cm; > 8.00 mS/cm. It is clear from the performed investigations that measurements of meat electrical conductivity carried out 24 h after the slaughter of animals, in comparison with the measurements taken 90’ after slaughter, was correlated with the examined meat parameters higher degree

ELECTRICAL CONDUCTIVITY AS AN INDICATOR OF PORK MEAT QUALITY

The performed experiments allowed determining to what extent meat electrical conductivity measured at two time intervals (EC90’ and EC24h) may affect significantly the selected pork meat quality parameters. The experimental material comprised 75 carcasses, of which 32 were carcasses derived from hogs of line 990 and 43 were carcasses of Danish hybrid hogs [(L x Y) x Du]. The following parameters were investigated: electrical conductivity (EC90’ and EC24h), thermal drip and water holding capacity content as well as meat texture (tenderness and juiciness). After the assessment of meat electrical conductivity, the obtained results were divided into three groups taking into consideration differences in their values: EC90’: up to 3.50 mS/cm; from 3.51 – 5.00 mS/cm; > 5.00 mS/cm, and EC24h measurement: up to 4.99 mS/cm; from 5.00 – 8.00 mS/cm; > 8.00 mS/cm. It is clear from the performed investigations that measurements of meat electrical conductivity carried out 24 h after the slaughter of animals, in comparison with the measurements taken 90’ after slaughter, was correlated with the examined meat parameters higher degree.W pracy oceniano, w jakim stopniu przewodność elektryczna mięsa, mierzona w dwóch przedziałach czasowych (EC90’ i EC24h), ma istotny wpływ na wybrane wyróżniki jakości mięsa wieprzowego. Materiał doświadczalny stanowiło 75 tusz, w tym: 32 tusze wieprzków świń linii 990 i 43 tusze wieprzków mieszańców świń duńskich [L x Y) x Du]. Ocenie poddano następujące parametry: przewodność elektryczną (EC90’ i EC24h), wyciek termiczny i wodochłonność (WHC) oraz teksturę mięsa (kruchość i soczystość). Następnie uzyskane wyniki podzielono umownie na 3 grupy, w zależności od wartości przewodności elektrycznej (EC90’: do 3,50 mS/cm; 3,51 – 5,00 mS/cm; > 5,00 mS/cm i EC24h: do 4,99 mS/cm; 5,00 – 8,00 mS/cm; > 8,00 mS/cm). Z przeprowadzonych badań wynika, że pomiar przewodności elektrycznej mięsa wykonywany w 24h, w porównaniu do jej pomiarów w 90’ po uboju tuczników, był w wyższym stopniu skorelowany z ocenianymi parametrami mięsa

Adenosine A2A receptors in Parkinson’s disease treatment

Latest results on the action of adenosine A2A receptor antagonists indicate their potential therapeutic usefulness in the treatment of Parkinson’s disease. Basal ganglia possess high levels of adenosine A2A receptors, mainly on the external surfaces of neurons located at the indirect tracts between the striatum, globus pallidus, and substantia nigra. Experiments with animal models of Parkinson’s disease indicate that adenosine A2A receptors are strongly involved in the regulation of the central nervous system. Co-localization of adenosine A2A and dopaminergic D2 receptors in striatum creates a milieu for antagonistic interaction between adenosine and dopamine. The experimental data prove that the best improvement of mobility in patients with Parkinson’s disease could be achieved with simultaneous activation of dopaminergic D2 receptors and inhibition of adenosine A2A receptors. In animal models of Parkinson’s disease, the use of selective antagonists of adenosine A2A receptors, such as istradefylline, led to the reversibility of movement dysfunction. These compounds might improve mobility during both monotherapy and co-administration with L-DOPA and dopamine receptor agonists. The use of adenosine A2A receptor antagonists in combination therapy enables the reduction of the L-DOPA doses, as well as a reduction of side effects. In combination therapy, the adenosine A2A receptor antagonists might be used in both moderate and advanced stages of Parkinson’s disease. The long-lasting administration of adenosine A2A receptor antagonists does not decrease the patient response and does not cause side effects typical of L-DOPA therapy. It was demonstrated in various animal models that inhibition of adenosine A2A receptors not only decreases the movement disturbance, but also reveals a neuroprotective activity, which might impede or stop the progression of the disease. Recently, clinical trials were completed on the use of istradefylline (KW-6002), an inhibitor of adenosine A2A receptors, as an anti-Parkinson drug