Carotid artery stiffness in metabolic syndrome: Sex differences

Introduction: The effect of metabolic syndrome (MS) on carotid stiffness (CS) in the context of gender is under research. Objective: We examined the relationship between the MS and CS in men (M) and women (W) and investigated if the impact of cardiovascular risk factors on CS is modulated by gender. Patients and Methods: The study included 419 subjects (mean age 54.3 years): 215 (51%) with MS (109 W and 106 M) and 204 (49%) without MS (98 W and 106 M). Carotid intima-media thickness (IMT) and CS parameters (beta stiffness index (beta), Peterson’s elastic modulus (Ep), arterial compliance (AC) and one-point pulse wave velocity (PWV-beta)) were measured with the echo-tracking (eT) system. Results: ANCOVA demonstrated that MS was associated with elevated CS indices (p = 0.003 for beta and 0.025 for PWV-beta), although further sex-specific analysis revealed that this relationship was significant only in W (p = 0.021 for beta). Age was associated with CS in both M and W, pulse pressure (PP) and body mass index turned out to be determinants of CS solely in W, while the effect of mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate was more pronounced in M. MANOVA performed in subjects with MS revealed that age and diabetes mellitus type 2 were determinants of CS in both sexes, diastolic blood pressure and MAP – solely in M and systolic blood pressure, PP and waist circumference – solely in W (the relationship between the waist circumference and AC was paradoxical). Conclusion: The relationship between MS and CS is stronger in W than in M. In subjects with MS, various components of arterial pressure exert different sex-specific effects on CS – with the impact of the pulsative component of arterial pressure (PP) observed in W and the impact of the steady component (MAP) observed in M

Borderline ovarian tumor frozen section diagnoses with features suspicious of invasive cancer:a retrospective study

Abstract Background A frozen section diagnosis of a borderline ovarian tumor with suspicious features of invasive carcinoma (“at least borderline” or synonymous descriptions) presents us with the dilemma of whether or not to perform a full ovarian cancer staging procedure. Quantification of this dilemma may help us with the issue of this clinical decision. The present study assessed and compared both the prevalence of straightforward borderline and “at least borderline” frozen section diagnoses and the proportion of these women with a final histopathological diagnosis of invasive carcinoma, with a special interest in histologic subtypes. Methods A retrospective cohort study was performed in three hospitals in The Netherlands. All women that underwent ovarian surgery with perioperative frozen section evaluation in one of these hospitals between January 2007 and July 2018 were identified and included in case of a borderline or “at least borderline” frozen section diagnosis and a borderline ovarian tumor or invasive carcinoma as a final diagnosis. Results A total of 223 women were included, of which 41 women (18.4%) were diagnosed with “at least borderline” at frozen section. Thirteen of forty-one women (31.7%) following “at least borderline” frozen section diagnosis and 14 of 182 women (7.7%) following a straightforward borderline frozen section diagnosis were diagnosed with invasive carcinoma at paraffin section evaluation (p < 0.001). When compared to straightforward borderline frozen section diagnoses, the proportion of women diagnosed with invasive carcinoma increased from 3.1 to 35.7% for serous tumors (p = 0.001), 10.0 to 21.7% for mucinous tumors (p = 0.129) and 50.0 to 75.0% (p = 0.452) in case of other histologic subtypes following an “at least borderline” frozen section diagnosis. Conclusions Overall, when compared to women with a decisive borderline frozen section diagnosis, women diagnosed with “at least borderline” frozen section diagnoses were found to have a higher chance of carcinoma upon final diagnosis (7.7% vs 31.7%). Especially in the serous subtype, full staging during initial surgery might be considered after preoperative consent to prevent a second surgical procedure or chemotherapy in unstaged women. Further studies are needed to evaluate whether additional sampling in case of an “at least borderline” diagnosis may decrease the risk of surgical over-treatment

Beech Leaves Briquettes’ and Standard Briquettes’ Combustion: Comparison of Flue Gas Composition

Biomass stoves are not only popular, widespread and important sources of heat but are also not negligible sources of pollutants. The present study had two objectives in this field of research. The first one was to determine the difference between standard wooden and beech leaves briquettes flue gas composition during similar, standard home combustion conditions. The second objective was to determine the possibility of decreasing the mass concentration of pollutants contained in the flue gas produced by standard and alternative fuel combustion, i.e. wooden briquettes and beech leaves briquettes, by an oxidation catalyst. Significantly higher mass concentration of nitrogen oxides (NOx), almost 2.5 times higher, in the flue gas was observed during the beech leaves combustion. Both fuels reached the edge of actual legislation limit (European Standard Commission regulation [EU] 2015/1185) in case of mass concentration of carbon monoxide (CO). This issue was solved by a palladium-based catalyst with average degree of conversion around 82%. The catalyst also influences flue gas composition from mass concentration of propane point of view with average degree of conversion around 15%. The mass fraction of sulphur, occurring in the beech leaves briquettes, did not cause any issue to the catalyst in terms of its degree of CO conversion. Due to the test results from the beech leaves briquettes, i.e. high mass fraction of ash and high mass concentration of NOx in the flue gas, it is appropriate to use this kind of fuel as secondary fuel during the co-combustion process.This work was supported by the Doctoral grant competition VŠB TU-Ostrava, reg. no. CZ.0 2.2.69/0.0./0.0/19_073/0016945 within the Operational Programme Research, Development and Education, under project DGS/TEAM/2020-035 "Determination of oxidation catalysts characteristics during the flue gas purification"

Frozen section diagnosis of borderline ovarian tumors with suspicious features of invasive cancer is a devil's dilemma for the surgeon:A systematic review and meta-analysis

Introduction Frozen section diagnoses of borderline ovarian tumors are not always straightforward and a borderline frozen section diagnosis with suspicious features of invasive carcinoma (reported as "at least borderline" or synonymous descriptions) presents us with the dilemma of whether or not to perform a full surgical staging procedure. By performing a systematic review and meta-analysis, the prevalence of straightforward borderline and "at least borderline" frozen section diagnoses, as well as proportion of patients with a final diagnosis of invasive carcinoma in these cases, were assessed and compared, as quantification of this dilemma may help us with the issue of this clinical decision. Material and methods PubMed, EMBASE and Cochrane library databases were searched and studies discussing "at least borderline" frozen section diagnoses were included in the review. Numbers of specific frozen section diagnoses and subsequent final histological diagnoses were extracted and pooled analysis was performed to compare the proportion of patients diagnosed with invasive carcinoma following borderline and "at least borderline" frozen section diagnoses, presented as risk ratio and risk difference with 95% confidence intervals (95% CI). Results Of 4940 screened records, eight studies were considered eligible for quantitative analysis. A total of 921 women was identified and 230 (25.0%) of these women were diagnosed with "at least borderline" ovarian tumor at the time of frozen section. Final histological diagnoses were reported in five studies, including 61 women with an "at least borderline" diagnosis and 290 women with a straightforward borderline frozen section diagnosis. Twenty-five of 61 women (41.0%) of the "at least borderline" group had invasive cancer at final diagnosis, compared with 28 of 290 women (9.7%) of the straightforward borderline frozen section group (risk difference -0.34, 95% CI -0.53 to -0.15; relative risk 0.25, 95% CI 0.13-0.50). Conclusions Women diagnosed with "at least borderline" frozen section diagnoses were found to have a higher chance of carcinoma upon final diagnosis when compared with women with a straightforward borderline frozen section diagnosis (41.0% vs 9.7%). Especially in the serous subtype, and after preoperative consent, full staging during initial surgery might be considered in these cases to prevent a second surgical procedure

Regulation of lymphatic capillary regeneration by interstitial flow in skin

Decreased interstitial flow (IF) in secondary lymphedema is coincident with poor physiological lymphatic regeneration. However, both the existence and direction of causality between IF and lymphangiogenesis remain unclear. This is primarily because the role of IF and its importance relative to the action of the prolymphangiogenic growth factor vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C (which signals primarily through its receptor VEGFR-3) are poorly understood. To clarify this, we explored the cooperative roles of VEGFR-3 and IF in a mouse model of lymphangiogenesis in regenerating skin. Specifically, a region of lymphangiogenesis was created by substituting a portion of mouse tail skin with a collagen gel within which lymphatic capillaries completely regenerate over a period of 60 days. The relative importance of IF and VEGF-C signaling were evaluated by either inhibiting VEGFR-3 signaling with antagonistic antibodies or by reducing IF. In some cases, VEGF-C signaling was then increased with exogenous protein. To clarify the role of IF, the distribution of endogenous matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) and VEGF-C within the regenerating region was determined. It was found that inhibition of either VEGFR-3 or IF suppressed endogenous lymphangiogenesis. Reduction of IF was found to decrease lymphatic migration and transport of endogenous MMP and VEGF-C through the regenerating region. Therapeutic VEGF-C administration restored lymphangiogenesis following inhibition of VEGFR-3 but did not increase lymphangiogenesis following inhibition of IF. These results identify IF as an important regulator of the pro-lymphangiogenic action of VEGF-C

Synthesis and characterization of hypoxia-mimicking bioactive glasses for skeletal regeneration

The cellular response to hypoxia (low oxygen pressure) is vital for skeletal tissue development and regeneration. Numerous processes, including progenitor cell recruitment, differentiation and angiogenesis, are activated via the hypoxia pathway. Novel materials-based strategies designed to activate the hypoxia pathway are therefore of great interest for orthopaedic tissue engineering. Resorbable bioactive glasses (BGs) were developed to activate the hypoxia pathway by the controlled release of cobalt ions (at physiological relevant concentrations) whilst controlling BG apatite-forming ability. Two series of soda-lime-phosphosilicate glasses were synthesised with increasing concentrations of cobalt. Compositions were calculated to maintain constant network connectivity (2.13) by considering that cobalt is taking part in the network in the first series, and is acting as a network modifier in the second series. Mg2+ and Zn2+ were added to one of the Co2+-containing glasses to inhibit HCA formation. The presence of HCA formation is undesirable for the use of BG in soft tissues e. g. cartilage. Cobalt was present in both the silicate and phosphate phases of the BG. In addition, evidence was found that it plays a dual role in the silicate phase, entering the network as well as disrupting it as a network modifying oxide. Consistent with this dual role, the presence of cobalt in the BG was shown to decrease ion release. HCA formation was delayed with cobalt addition as well as incorporation of Mg2+ and Zn2+ into the BGs. Importantly, cobalt release was found to be proportional to cobalt content of the BGs enabling the controlled delivery of cobalt in therapeutically active doses

Splenic size after division of the short gastric vessels in Nissen fundoplication in children

Item does not contain fulltextPURPOSE: Nissen fundoplication is an effective treatment for gastro-esophageal reflux disease (GERD). Mobilization of the gastric fundus during fundoplication requires division of short gastric vessels of the spleen, which may cause splenic ischemia. The aim of this study was to determine if Nissen fundoplication results in hypotrophy of the spleen. METHODS: We performed pre-operative and post-operative ultrasound measurements of the spleen in children undergoing Nissen fundoplication. During operation, the surgeon estimated the compromised blood flow by assessment of the percentage of discoloration of the spleen. RESULTS: Twenty-four consecutive children were analyzed. Discoloration of the upper pole of the spleen was observed in 11 patients (48%) of a median estimated splenic surface of 20% (range 5-50%). The median ratio for pre-operative and post-operative length, width, and area of the spleen was 0.97, 1.03, and 0.96, respectively. The percentage of the estimated perfusion defect during surgery was not correlated with the ratios. In three patients, the area ratio was smaller than 0.8 (0.67-0.75), meaning that the area decreased with at least 20% after surgery. In none of these patients a discoloration was observed. CONCLUSION: Discoloration of the spleen after Nissen fundoplication is not associated with post-operative splenic atrophy.1 maart 201

Dependability and maintainability of weapon systems in NATO quality assurance standards (AQAP 2110:2003)

W artykule przedstawiono wymagania dotyczące nieuszkadzalności i obsługiwalności (R&M) uzbrojenia i sprzętu wojskowego w świetle wymagań NATO, wg publikacji standaryzacyjnej AQAP 2110:2003 oraz organizacyjne i funkcjonalne aspekty zintegrowania R&M z funkcjonującym u dostawcy systemu zarządzania jakością włączając w system także poddostawcow.Requirements on the reliability and maintainability of weapon systems according to NATO quality assurance standards AQAP 2110:2003 and some structural and functional aspects of their integration with suppliers’ and sub-suppliers’ quality assurance systems are presented in the paper

Impact of the oncological treatment on change in taste perception and dietary habits of children diagnosed with cancer – preliminary study

Purpose: Chemotherapy, which is widely used in cancer treatment in children, may cause various side effects, including impaired taste perception, thus the main aim of the presented study was a subjective assessment of changes in taste perception and dietary habits among children undergoing oncological treatment. Materials and methods: In the present study, 41 hospitalized children were examined (mean age 11.0 ± 5.1 years). Anthropometric measurements were made, and diet was assessed using a food frequency questionnaire. Results: For 85.4% of the patients, the current treatment was chemotherapy. The average Body Mass Index value was 17.8 kg/m2 . 68.3% of children declared a change in taste preferences preferred tastes were spicy (39.3%) and sour (35.7%). Determination of the way of eating showed a significant reduction in the consumption of bread, milk and dairy products, poultry, meat, fish, potatoes, vegetables, and a particularly pronounced decrease in the frequency of sweets consumption. Conclusions: Oncological treatment changes the subjective taste perception of children in favor of intense flavors, and the process of oncological treatment, especially the use of chemotherapy, affects the way of eatin