Ion Exchange Method for Removal and Separation of Noble Metal Ions

Ion exchange has been widely applied in technology of chemical separation of noble metal ions. This is associated with dissemination of methods using various ion exchange resins which are indispensable in many fields of chemical industry. Due to small amounts of noble elements in nature and constant impoverishment of their natural raw materials, of particular importance are physicochemical methods of their recovery from the second sources e.g. worn out converters of exhausted gases, chemical catalysts, dental alloys, anodic sludges from cooper and nickiel electrorefining as well as waste waters and running off waters from refineries containing trace amount of noble metals. It should be stated that these waste materials are usually pyro- and hydrometallurgically processed. Recovery of noble metals, from such raw materials requires individual approach to each material and application of selective methods for their removal. Moreover, separation of noble metals, particularly platinum metals and gold from geological samples, industrial products, synthetic mixtures along with other elements is a problem of significant importance nowadays. In the paper the research on the applicability of different types of ion exchangers for the separation of noble metals will be presented. The effect of the different parameters on their separation will be also discussed. The examples of the removal of noble metals chlorocomplexes will also be presented in detail

Tremor associated with focal and segmental dystonia

Background and purpose: Tremor occurs in 10-85% of pa - tients with focal dystonia as so-called dystonic tremor or tremor associated with dystonia. The aim of this study was to assess the incidence and to characterize parameters of tremor accompanying focal and segmental dystonia. Material and methods: One hundred and twenty-three patients with diagnosis of focal and segmental dystonia together with 51 healthy controls were included in the study. For each participant, clinical examination and objective assessment (accelerometer, electromyography, graphic tablet) of hand tremor was performed. Frequency and severity of tremor were assessed in three positions: at rest (rest tremor); with hands extended (postural tremor); during ‘finger-to-nose’ test and during Archimedes spiral drawing (kinetic tremor). Based on the mass load test, type of tremor was determined as essential tremor type or enhanced physiological type. Results: The incidence of tremor was significantly higher in dystonic patients as compared to controls (p = 0.0001). In clinical examination, tremor was found in 50% of dystonic patients, and in instrumental assessment in an additional 10-20%. The most frequent type of tremor was postural and kinetic tremor with 7 Hz frequency and featured essential tremor type. In the control group, tremor was detected in about 10% of subjects as 9-Hz postural tremor of enhanced physiological tremor type. No differences were found between patients with different types of dystonia with respect to the tremor incidence, type and parameters (frequency and severity). No correlations between tremor severity and dystonia severity were found either

The importance of CAD and DECT in CT colonography

IntroductionAccording to the American College of Radiology and the American Cancer Society, CTC has been recognized as a valuable screening method for detecting CRC in people at medium risk as an alternative to endoscopic colonoscopy. The condition for the proper interpretation of this procedure is the patient’s preparation for the examination. The evaluation of the test includes: topogram, transverse images (as reference images), multifaceted reconstructions and three-dimensional images (3D navigator). Materials and methods                            The literature on the use of CTC in the diagnosis of CRC was analyzed. A review of the scientific literature indexed in the PUBMED database from the last 10 years was carried out. Results The introduction of dual energy computed tomography (DECT) clearly improved the diagnostic accuracy of CTC. The main advantage of DECT is the possibility of obtaining iodine maps and VNC (virtual non-contrast) – a ’’virtual’’ native image (without the use of contrast). DECT allows you to monitor the results and extent of iodine capture on VNC and iodine map images, respectively, without using pre-recorded tomographic images. Pilot tests showed that DECT is an effective tool in CT colonography diagnostics and electronic colon loop cleaning after barium labeling. The use of the Computer Aided Diagnosis (CAD) algorithm in high energy tomography helps in the diagnosis and detection of intestinal tumors. ConclusionsThe development of modern technologies used in CT colonography proves that it is a safe and acceptable technique for patients. Lack of invasiveness, low radiation dose and high diagnostic efficiency of CTC may encourage more people to undergo colorectal cancer screening in the future

Influence of vegetarian diet on human body

All over the world there are more vegetarians than in previous years due to many reasons. One of them is positive influence on health what is shown in the latest research. The aim of the article is to review the influence of vegetarian diet on frequent diseases such as: hypertension, obesity,osteoporosis.An analysis of scientific papers from Pubmed and Google Scholar was performed, which most accurately described the issue of impact vegetarian diet on human health. The following keywords have been used in the search:Vegetarian, hypertension, obesity, osteoporosis:vegetarian, hypertension, obesity, osteoporosis.The researchers shown than vegetarians have lover systolic blood pressure  and diastolic blood pressure by 10 and 5 mmHg, they also lower overall mortality by 10-15%, risk of heart failure and by ~40%,  stroke by~35% and coronary events by 20%. Vegetarians also have statistically  lower body mass index. What’s more in this diet is more energy efficient thanks too low food energy density and helps keeping leptin on adequate level. Research has shown than vegetarians have lower mineral bone density than non-vegetarian, although some studies has shown that  risk of fractures in vegetarians and non-vegetarians was not affected by diet alternation. Based on the results of the studies above vegetarian diet contributes to lower blood pressure and preventing from cardiovascular diseases. It helps to avoid obesity and  to get rid of weights also doesn’t have negative impact on osteoporosis

Real-life study of dual therapy based on dolutegravir and ritonavir-boosted darunavir in HIV-1-infected treatment-experienced patients

<div><p>Background</p><p>Dual therapy based on dolutegravir and ritonavir-boosted darunavir (DTG/DRV/r) is a combination of well-known drugs with a high genetic barrier to HIV resistance.</p><p>Method</p><p>A retrospective analysis of all HIV-1 infected treatment-experienced patients who switched to DTG/DRV/r from May 2014 till March 2017 in 4 Polish centres–results of a 48-week treatment.</p><p>Results</p><p>The study group consisted of 59 men and 17 women. Median baseline parameters were: age– 42.7 years, CD4 cells count– 560.5 cells/μl, CD4 cells nadir– 150 cells/μl, <i>number</i> of prior antiretroviral <i>regimens–</i> 3. The introduction of dual therapy was primarily due to virologic failure (30 patients), adverse events on previous regimens (17 patients) and therapy simplification (27 patients). At week 48 the treatment <i>was continued</i> in 70/76 of patients and the median CD4 cells count increased from 560.5 to 641.0 cells/μl. The therapy was discontinued in six patients (1 –virologic failure, 1 –decrease of estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), 1 –myalgia, 3 –lost to follow-up). At week 48 six patients had detectable viremia, but only in one patient viremia was higher than 200 copies/ml. At week 48 the level of serum total cholesterol of the investigated subjects was statistically significantly higher than at the moment of dual therapy introduction (185.8 mg/dl vs. 174.8 mg/dl- p<0.05). However, in patients previously not treated with TDF, there were no changes in lipid parameters during therapy. <i>Proteinuria</i> was observed in 13.2% of patients before the switch to dual therapy and in 7.1% of patients at week 48.</p><p>Conclusions</p><p>The investigated dual therapy was effective and safe. The observed increase in lipid parameters only concerned the patients who had used a TDF-based regimen prior to analysed dual treatment.</p></div

Dual therapy based on raltegravir and boosted protease inhibitors : the experience of Polish centers

Introduction: The aim of the study was to present the experience of Polish centers regarding dual therapy based on the integrase inhibitor raltegravir (RAL) and ritonavir-boosted protease inhibitors (PI/r) for treating treatment-naïve and -experienced HIV-infected patients. Material and methods: The paper concerns a retrospective multicenter study. The medical databases of six main Polish HIV centers from January 2009 to December 2014 were analyzed for the use of combined antiretroviral treatment consisting of RAL + PI/r. This study included 126 HIV-infected patients receiving RAL + PI/r therapy, of whom 17 patients were treatment-naive and 109 patients were treatment-experienced. Results: In treatment-experienced patients, the most common reasons for the introduction of a RAL + PI/r regimen were virologic failure and impaired renal function (45 of 109 patients). In the treatment-naïve group kidney disease was the cause of the RAL + PI/r regimen in 3 of 17 participants. In treatment-experienced patients, 80% of individuals still were on RAL + PI/r treatment after 12 months, 65% after 24 months and 53% of subjects after 60 months. In both groups, the simplification of the antiretroviral regimen was the most common reason for discontinuation of RAL + PI/r based therapy. Conclusions: In antiretroviral-experienced patients the dual therapy based on RAL + PI/s is safe and effective. In antiretroviral-naïve patients the RAL + PI/r regimen is rarely used in Poland

Ultrasound evolution of parenchymal changes in the thyroid gland with autoimmune thyroiditis in children prior to the development of papillary thyroid carcinoma – a follow-up study

BackgroundFollicular cell-derived thyroid carcinoma represents the vast majority of paediatric thyroid cancers (TCs). Papillary thyroid carcinoma (PTC) accounts for over 90% of all childhood TC cases, and its incidence in paediatric patients is increasing. The objective of this follow-up study was to present the outcome of ultrasound (US) and laboratory monitoring of paediatric patients with autoimmune thyroiditis (AIT) prior to the development of PTC.Patients and methodsThis prospective study included 180 children and adolescents (132 females; 73.3%) with a suspicion of thyroid disorder referred to the Outpatient Endocrine Department. The patients were divided into four groups: 1) 28 patients with a mean age of 10.7 [standard deviation (SD), 3.1] y, in whom PTC was detected during the active surveillance of AIT [AIT(+), PTC(+) follow up (F)]; 2) 18 patients with a mean age of 12.8 (SD, 3.4) y, in whom PTC and AIT were detected upon admission (A) [AIT(+), PTC(+) A]; 3) 45 patients with a mean age of 13.0 (SD, 3.4) y, in whom PTC was detected upon admission and AIT was excluded [AIT(-), PTC(+) A]; and 4) an age- and sex-matched control group of 89 patients with AIT and with a mean age of 9.4 (SD, 3.0) y. The analysis included clinical, US, and laboratory assessment results of children on admission (groups 1–4) and during follow-up (groups 1 and 4) in the Paediatric Endocrine Outpatient Department.ResultsUpon admission of those in group 1, the US evaluation revealed a hypoechogenic thyroid gland in 12 and an irregular normoechogenic gland in 16 patients. US monitoring revealed an increase in thyroid echogenicity and an increased irregularity of the thyroid structure during the follow-up period of all of the patients from group 1. Such changes were not noticed in group 4. PTC was diagnosed at the mean time of 3.6 y (3 mo–9 y) since AIT confirmation in group 1. The mean maximum PTC diameter as per the US was significantly smaller in group 1 than in groups 2 and 3 [13.2 (10.8) mm vs. 22.2 (12.8) and 22.05 (15.4) mm]. Fewer patients in group 1 were referred to 131I than in groups 2 and 3 (71.4% vs. 94.4 and 93.3%). Interestingly, significant differences were observed in the thyroglobulin antibody (TgAb)/thyroid peroxidase antibody (TPOAb) ratio between groups 2 and 3, as opposed to group 4, at the beginning of observation [15.3 (27.6) and 3.5 (8.8] vs. 0.77 (1.9)]. In group 1, after the follow-up, an increase in the TgAb/TPOAb ratio was observed [1.2 (9.8) to 5.2 (13.5)]. There were no significant differences between groups 1–3 in labeling index Ki67, lymph nodes metastasis, extrathyroidal extension, and angioinvasion. There were no associations between thyroid-stimulating hormone, TgAb, and the extent of the disease.ConclusionThe use of thyroid US focused on the search for developing tumours in the routine follow-up of patients with AIT may not only help in the early detection of thyroid malignancies that are not clinically apparent but may also influence the invasiveness of oncological therapy and reduce the future side effects of 131I therapy. We propose that the repeat evaluation of TPOAb and TgAb warrants further exploration as a strategy to determine TC susceptibility in paediatric patients with AIT in larger multicentre studies

Jednoczesne wykrycie komórek nowotworowych i materiału genetycznego prątków gruźlicy w płynie opłucnowym

Wysięk opłucnowy jest często obserwowanym zjawiskiem w przebiegu chorób układu oddechowego zarówno zapalnych, jak i nowotworowych. Jego przyczyną może być gruźlica, której najczęstszą pozapłucną lokalizacją jest opłucna, a także choroba nowotworowa opłucnej. Potwierdzenie gruźliczej etiologii wysięku opłucnowego bywa trudne, podobnie jak znalezienie pierwotnego ogniska choroby w przypadku wysięku nowotworowego. W części przypadków wykrycie pierwotnego ogniska nowotworu, pomimo zastosowania różnorakich metod diagnostycznych, jest niemożliwe. Poniżej przedstawiono przypadek obustronnego płynu w opłucnej, w którym jednocześnie wykryto komórki raka o nieustalonym punkcie wyjścia oraz stwierdzono dodatni wynik testu genetycznego w kierunku prątków gruźlicy. Pneumonol. Alergol. Pol. 2010; 78, 4: 296-301Pleural effusion is a frequently observed lesion in the course of respiratory diseases such as inflammatory process and cancer metastasis. Its cause may be either tuberculosis (the most common extrapulmonary location is the pleura) and malignant disease of the pleura. Confirmation of tuberculosis is often troublesome. The primary site of cancer may be also difficult to find despite the application of difficult diagnostic methods. Below we present history of 79-year-old female in whom carcinomatous cells and positive result of PCR for Mycobacterium tuberculosis in pleural fluid were discovered simultaneously suggesting the tuberculosis and cancer of unknown primary origin. Pneumonol. Alergol. Pol. 2010; 78, 4: 296-30