Dystorsja rozmieszczenia urodzeń w stwardnieniu rozsianym: relacja do pory roku, płci i zamieszkanego województwa

Introduction. Season of birth may influence risk of multiple sclerosis (MS) in higher geographic latitudes.Aim of the study is to determine if seasonal birth distribution of MS people is associated with risk of the disease in Poland.Material and method . This study included 436 MS patients (M - 171, F - 265) who were born in the years 1918-1995 and died in the year 2007 in Poland. Data on month of birth, gender, diagnosis and place of the last residence were obtained from the Central Statistical Office. Monthly birth distribution in registered MS cohort was compared to month of birth in expected MS people from collected group and from the general population. Analysis was carried out using chi square test and Fisher’s exact test.Results . The greatest number of birth in observed MS cohort was found in April as compared to the number of expected MS group (59 vs. 36.3; p=0.001) or to expected MS assemblage from the general population (59 vs. 40.2; p=0.003). Observed monthly birth distribution was different from the expected monthly birth pattern in MS cohort (p=0.008), but not from the expected distribution in MS assemblage from the general population (p=0.223). April/November birth ratio (59:28) significantly increased; p=0.001. Seasonal birth distribution was significantly different in MS females (p=0.019), but not in MS males (p=0.476). The greater number of provinces was resided by April born than by November born MS patients (p=0.037 for M and p=0.025 for F).Conclusions . Higher MS risk was associated with birth in April. Difference in seasonal birth distribution of MS patients indicates association of spring born women with development of the disease.Wstęp . Pora roku urodzenia może wpływać na ryzyko stwardnienia rozsianego (SM) w wyższych szerokościach geograficznych.Celem pracy jest określenie, czy sezonowe rozmieszczenie urodzeń chorych na SM wykazuje asocjację z ryzykiem choroby w Polsce.Materiał i metoda . Badanie objęło 436 pacjentów z SM (M - 171, K - 265), którzy urodzili się w latach 1918-1995 i zmarli w 2007 r. w Polsce. Dane o miesiącu urodzenia, płci, rozpoznaniu i miejscu ostatniego zamieszkania uzyskano z GUS. Miesięczne rozmieszczenie urodzeń w zarejestrowanej kohorcie SM porównano z miesięcznym rozmieszczeniem urodzeń oczekiwanych chorych z zebranej grupy SM i z populacji ogólnej. Analizę przeprowadzono testem chi kwadrat oraz dokładnym testem wg Fishera.Wyniki. Największą liczbę urodzeń w obserwowanej kohorcie SM stwierdzono w kwietniu w porównaniu z liczbą urodzeń w grupie oczekiwanych chorych na SM (59 vs. 36.3; p=0.001) lub do oczekiwanych chorych w populacji generalnej (59 vs. 40.2; p=0.003). Miesięczne rozmieszczenie obserwowanych urodzeń różniło się od tego u oczekiwanych chorych na SM (p=0.008), lecz nie od rozmieszczenia urodzeń osób z SM w populacji ogólnej (p=0.223). Wskaźnik urodzeń kwiecień/listopad był istotnie podwyższony; p=001. Sezonowe rozmieszczenie urodzeń w SM znamiennie różniło się wśród kobiet (p=0.019), lecz nie wśród mężczyzn (p=0.476). Większa liczba województw była zamieszkana przez chorych na SM urodzonych w kwietniu niż przez urodzonych w listopadzie (p=0.037 pośród M, p=0.026 pośród K).Wnioski . Wyższe ryzyko SM kojarzyło się z urodzeniem w kwietniu. Różnica w sezonowym rozmieszczeniu urodzeń chorych ze SM wskazuje na asocjację kobiet urodzonych wiosną z rozwojem choroby

Bacillus anthracis requires siderophore biosynthesis for growth in macrophages and mouse virulence

Systemic anthrax infections can be characterized as proceeding in stages, beginning with an early intracellular establishment stage within phagocytes that is followed by extracelluar stages involving massive bacteraemia, sepsis and death. Because most bacteria require iron, and the host limits iron availability through homeostatic mechanisms, we hypothesized that B. anthracis requires a high-affinity mechanism of iron acquisition during its growth stages. Two putative types of siderophore synthesis operons, named B acillus a nthracis c atechol, bac (anthrabactin), and a nthrax s iderophore b iosynthesis, asb (anthrachelin), were identified. Directed gene deletions in both anthrabactin and anthrachelin pathways were generated in a B. anthracis (Sterne) 34F2 background resulting in mutations in asbA and bacCEBF . A decrease in siderophore production was observed during iron-depleted growth in both the δ asbA and δ bacCEBF strains, but only the δ asbA strain was attenuated for growth under these conditions. In addition, the δ asbA strain was severely attenuated both for growth in macrophages (Mφ) and for virulence in mice. In contrast, the δ bacCEBF strain did not differ phenotypically from the parental strain. These findings support a requirement for anthrachelin but not anthrabactin in iron assimilation during the intracellular stage of anthrax.Peer Reviewedhttp://deepblue.lib.umich.edu/bitstream/2027.42/72033/1/j.1365-2958.2003.03861.x.pd

Nowe ustalenia w kwestii śmierci i pochówku kardynała Jerzego Radziwiłła (1556–1600)

Presented article adds several important telling to cardinal Radziwiłł’s dossier. First of all article presents a place where Radziwiłł stayed in Rome and where he died. It was the palace (not-existing any more) belonging to the famous Orsinis, located near the Ponte di Sant’Angelo. Circumstances of cardinal’s death and burial were discussed widely. Details of this discussion can be found in Roman avvisi,which were a kind of a local press; in example some speculations and comments on cardinal’s wealth, property and a burial place were made. The author shows some hypothesis on the project of a gravestone for cardinal Radzwiłł, which are derived from different, unknown previously, historical records. Some of them are edited and published within the article

The role of Mnk1 kinase in pancreas biology and exocrine diseases

Tesis doctoral inédita leída en la Universidad Autónoma de Madrid. Facultad de Ciencias, Departamento de Biología Molecular. Fecha de lectura: 07-05-201

Clinical, ultrasound parameters and tumor marker-based mathematical models and scoring systems in pre-surgical diagnosis of adnexal tumors

The choice of management for patients with adnexal tumors requires careful pre-surgical assessment. In case of adnexal masses, the diagnostic difficulties arise from the heterogenic nature of the adnexal diseases, presence of multiple functional changes, and lack of early symptoms of malignancy. A reliable pre-surgical differentiation cannot be performed using clinical features, ultrasound examination, or tumor markers alone. New diagnostic techniques and novel markers are under investigations, however no single test can be used to conclusively differentiate between malignant and non-malignant adnexal masses. Mathematical models and scoring systems based on different clinical, ultrasonographic and laboratory parameters alone or together may facilitate the diagnosis. Selected mathematical models and scoring systems are presented in this article. Models using only ultrasound features include simple rules, regression models, Gynecologic Imaging Report and Data System, and various morphologic scores. Some logistic regression models are based on multiple clinical and ultrasound data. The OVA1 test is based on five tumor markers without using other data. The Risk of Malignancy Algorithm uses two tumor markers with one clinical parameter. i.e. the menopausal status. Some models used clinical, ultrasound and tumor marker data together. This group of models includes risk of malignancy indices, artificial neural networks, and the ADNEX model. Although some of these models have been compared in the literature, more prospective studies are needed to select the most effective model, to develop the existing models, or to create new more effective models of oncological assessment of the adnexal tumors

Inflammatory bowel disease and pregnancy

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) comprising Crohn’s disease (CD), ulcerative colitis (UC), and IBD-unclassified (IBD-U) may appear at any age. As such, IBD commonly affects young patients in their reproductive age. Rate of voluntary childlessness among women with IBD far exceed that of the general population, as patients with IBD fear not only the effect of pregnancy on the course of inflammatory bowel disease, but also the increased risk of the offspring developing the disease, adverse pregnancy outcomes, the effect IBD treatment may have on the health and development of the infant or the risk of relapse during pregnancy and the influence of lactation on child development and disease course. This article aims at improving pre-conception counseling of patients with inflammatory bowel disease

Społeczeństwo bezpieczeństwa jako konsekwencje życia w płynnych czasach

The article discusses the issue of attitudes and behaviors of the 21st-century man in the perspective of the threats of the modern world, resulting from the conditions of the “network society”. The importance of security, as the main human need, in the context of socio-political changes at the turn of the 20th and 21st centuries and rapidly developing information technologies, constitutes a pretext to formulate the thesis about the emergence of a specifically shaped security society. This paper is an attempt to understand the attitudes and behaviors of modern man, with particular emphasis on the conditions related to the changing social reality.Artykuł porusza problematykę postaw i zachowań człowieka XXI wieku w perspektywie zagrożeń współczesnego świata wynikających z uwarunkowań „społeczeństwa sieci”. Znaczenie bezpieczeństwa jako naczelnej potrzeby człowieka w kontekście przemian społeczno-politycznych przełomu XX i XXI wieku i szybko rozwijających się technologii informacyjnych stanowi pretekst do sformułowania tezy o pojawieniu się specyficznie ukształtowanego społeczeństwa bezpieczeństwa. Publikacja ta jest próbą zrozumienia postaw i zachowań współczesnego człowieka ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem uwarunkowań związanych ze zmienną rzeczywistością społeczną

The role of HE4 and CA125 in differentiation between malignant and non-malignant endometrial pathologies

Objectives: The aim of the study was to assess the role of HE4 and CA125 in differentiation between malignant and non-malignant endometrial pathologies. Material and methods: A retrospective study of 87 patients with endometrial pathologies was conducted. Tumor markers were assessed two weeks before surgical intervention in each subject. The final diagnosis was established on the basis of the histopathological examination of the endometrium. Results: Serum HE4 levels were significantly higher in patients with endometrial cancer (EC) as compared to non-malignant endometrial pathologies (p < 0.001), patients with stage I EC as compared to non-malignant endometrial pathologies (p < 0.001), and patients with stage Ia EC as compared to non-malignant endometrial pathologies (p = 0.003). Serum CA125 levels were not significantly different as far as these groups of patients were concerned. Both tumor markers were significantly higher in patients with stage II-III as compared to stage I EC and non-malignant endometrial pathologies (p < 0.001 for both markers). Sensitivity and specificity of HE4 at the cut-off level of 70 pmol/L for detecting endometrial malignancies were 73.08% and 85.71%, respectively. Sensitivity and specificity of CA125 at the cut-off level of 35 U/mL were 29.41% and 94.29%, respectively. The area under the curve (AUC) for HE4 was 0.875, suggesting that this marker reliably differentiates malignant from non-malignant endometrial pathologies (p < 0.001). AUC for CA125 was 0.552, suggesting that this marker does not reliably differentiate between malignant and non-malignant endometrial pathologies (p = 0.414). Conclusion: HE4, in contrast to CA125, might be a useful tool for detecting malignant endometrial pathologies