183 research outputs found

    Response of high-growth enterprises to the crisis caused by the Covid -19 pandemic

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    This paper aims to evaluate the response of high-growth enterprises (HGEs) to the circumstances caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. Adaptation to the pandemic situation presented an enormous challenge for these enterprises. The ability to exercise sound judgment affects rational decision-making and adaptation to the circumstances. The study adopts a situational theory perspective related to high-growth enterprises. Data collection was conducted twice - at the beginning of 2019, and after the third wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, in October 2021. The Generalized Estimating Equations (GEE) method was used to analyze the sample of 150 Polish HGEs. Results show that the impact of the pandemic mainly relates to the reduction or stagnation of market opportunities. The importance of human resources decreased in favor of technological and financial resources. The majority of the surveyed companies also maintained their HGE status

    Mouse gastrocnemius muscle regeneration after mechanical or cardiotoxin injury

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    The goal of our study was to compare the skeletal muscle regeneration induced by two types of injury: either crushing, that causes muscle degeneration as a result of mechanical devastation of myofibers, or the injection of a cardiotoxin that is a myotoxic agent causing myolysis of myofibers leading to muscle degeneration. Regenerating muscles were analyzed at selected intervals, until the 14th day following the injury. We analyzed their weight and morphology. We also studied the expression of different myosin heavy chain isoforms as a molecular marker of the regeneration progress. Histological analysis revealed that inflammatory response and myotube formation in crushed muscles was delayed compared to cardiotoxin-injected ones. Moreover, the expression of myosin heavy chain isoforms was observed earlier in cardiotoxin-injured versus crushed muscles. We conclude that the dynamics of skeletal muscle regeneration depends on the method of injury

    Pro-Health Conditions in Patients with Ischemic Heart Disease

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    Introduction. Man, undertaking specific prohealth activities, resisting other, anti-health behavior, can not only avoid deterioration of health, but also improve psychophysical condition. Puprose of the study. The purpose of this study is description of prophylactic activities undertaken by patients with ischemic heart disease, focused on maintaining good health and prevention of its deterioration and establishing if social factors and lifestyle influence pro-health activities in theres patients. Material and methods. The study encomapssed 100 patients (55 men and 45 women) aged between 40 and 70 (aver. Age 58.3±6.3 years) with ischemic heart disease, qualified to operation within the range of the cardiac muscle. Material was collected with the use of the questionnaire, containing „open” questions, which were easily answered by participants and „closed” questions, requiring selection of one or several answers from possibilities given by the authors. Participants described activities within fields mentioned in the questionnaire: eating habits (regularity and quality of meals), physical activity (movement and sports), sleep hygiene, avoiding stimulants, managing stress and taking advantage of medical counseling. Results. 66.7% of women and 61.9% of men seem to be consistent when it applies to reduction of fats of animal origin in diet, unfortunately only 27.8% of women and 24.4% of men responed that fruits and vegetables are an inseparable element of their daily diet. 87% of patients living in villages eat regular breakfast, and only 18.2% of those livin in towns; frequency of eating the remaining meals is the same and amounts to 38.2% and 58.2%, respectively. Unfortunately, only 11.1% of women and 14.5% of men reported that they are systematically involved in some form of activity, whereas 24.4% of women and 25.5% of men do not exercise at all. From among participants, 49% do not smoke, although only 9% have never smoked. The highest percentage of habitual smokers, amounting to as much as 17.4%, was reported among residents of villages. In big cities and small towns it amounted to, respectively, 6.8% and 6.1%. 13% of patients see alcohol drinking as the solution for their problems and 11% in taking antidepressants. Men (20%) reach for alcohol more often than women (4.4%), whereas women (20%) more frequently take antidepressants than men (3.6%). Regular thythm of sleep and activity is maintained by 31% of participants; 33% state that they undergo systematic medical examinations, although the largest group is the oldest patients, between 60 and 70 years of age. Conclusions. 1. People from the oldest age group are most concerned for their health; they more often undergo medical examinations, abide by sleep hygiene and avoid bad habits. 2. People with ischemic heart disease do not take advantage of an opportunity for improvement of their health, a significant percentage of them get involved in anti-health activities.Człowiek, podejmując szczególne działania prozdrowotne, pokonując inne, antyzdrowotne zachowania, może nie tylko zapobiec pogarszaniu się stanu zdrowia, ale także poprawić kondycję psychofizyczną. Celem niniejszego opracowania jest opis działań profilaktycznych podejmowanych przez pacjentów z chorobą niedokrwienną serca, ukierunkowanych na utrzymanie dobrego stanu zdrowia i zapobieganie jego degradacji oraz ustalenie, czy czynniki społeczne i styl życia wpływają na prozdrowotne działania tych pacjentów. Materiał i metody. Badanie obejmowało 100 pacjentów (55 mężczyzn i 45 kobiet) w wieku od 40 do 70 (średnia wieku 58,3±6,3 roku) z chorobą niedokrwienną serca, zakwalifikowanych do operacji w zakresie mięśnia sercowego. Materiał zebrano przy użyciu kwestionariusza zawierającego pytania „otwarte”, na które było łatwo odpowiedzieć uczestnikom, i pytania „zamknięte”, wymagające wyboru jednej lub kilku odpowiedzi podanych przez autorów. Uczestnicy opisali działalność w dziedzinach wymienionych w kwestionariuszu: nawyki żywieniowe (regularność i jakość posiłków), aktywność fizyczna (ruch i sport), higiena snu, unikanie używek, zarządzanie stresem i korzystanie z poradnictwa medycznego. Wyniki. 66,7% kobiet i 61,9% mężczyzn wydaje się zgodne w odniesieniu do redukcji tłuszczów pochodzenia zwierzęcego w diecie. Niestety, tylko 27,8% kobiet i 24,4% odpowiedziało, że owoce i warzywa są nieodłącznym elementem ich codziennej diety. 87% pacjentów mieszkających na wsi je regularne śniadanie, a tylko 18,2% osób mieszkających w miastach; częstotliwość jedzenia posiłków pozostałych jest taka sama i wynosi odpowiednio 38,2% i 58,2%. Niestety, tylko 11,1% kobiet i 14,5% mężczyzn stwierdziło, że systematycznie uczestniczy w jakiejś formie aktywności, podczas gdy 24,4% kobiet i 25,5% mężczyzn nie ćwiczy w ogóle. Spośród uczestników 49% nie pali, ale tylko 9% nigdy nie paliło. Najwyższy odsetek nałogowych palaczy, nawet do 17,4%, odnotowano wśród mieszkańców wsi. W dużych miastach i małych miasteczkach wynosił on odpowiednio 6,8% i 6,1%. 13% pacjentów podało picie alkoholu jako rozwiązanie dla swoich problemów, a 11% przyjmowanie leków przeciwdepresyjnych. Mężczyźni (20%) sięgają po alkohol częściej niż kobiety (4,4%), natomiast kobiety (20%) częściej biorą leki przeciwdepresyjne niż mężczyźni (3,6%). Regularny rytm snu snu i aktywności jest utrzymywany przez 31% uczestników, 33% deklaruje, że poddaje się systematycznym badaniom lekarskim, największa grupa to najstarsi z pacjentów - między 60. a 70. rokiem życia

    Warunki Prozdrowotne U Pacjentów Z Chorobą Niedokrwienną Serca

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    Introduction. Man, undertaking specific prohealth activities, resisting other, anti-health behavior, can not only avoid deterioration of health, but also improve psychophysical condition.Puprose of the study. The purpose of this study is description of prophylactic activities undertaken by patients with ischemic heart disease, focused on maintaining good health and prevention of its deterioration and establishing if social factors and lifestyle influence pro-health activities in theres patients.Material and methods. The study encomapssed 100 patients (55 men and 45 women) aged between 40 and 70 (aver. Age 58.3±6.3 years) with ischemic heart disease, qualified to operation within the range of the cardiac muscle. Material was collected with the use of the questionnaire, containing „open” questions, which were easily answered by participants and „closed” questions, requiring selection of one or several answers from possibilities given by the authors. Participants described activities within fields mentioned in the questionnaire: eating habits (regularity and quality of meals), physical activity (movement and sports), sleep hygiene, avoiding stimulants, managing stress and taking advantage of medical counseling.Results. 66.7% of women and 61.9% of men seem to be consistent when it applies to reduction of fats of animal origin in diet, unfortunately only 27.8% of women and 24.4% of men responed that fruits and vegetables are an inseparable element of their daily diet. 87% of patients living in villages eat regular breakfast, and only 18.2% of those livin in towns; frequency of eating the remaining meals is the same and amounts to 38.2% and 58.2%, respectively. Unfortunately, only 11.1% of women and 14.5% of men reported that they are systematically involved in some form of activity, whereas 24.4% of women and 25.5% of men do not exercise at all. From among participants, 49% do not smoke, although only 9% have never smoked. The highest percentage of habitual smokers, amounting to as much as 17.4%, was reported among residents of villages. In big cities and small towns it amounted to, respectively, 6.8% and 6.1%. 13% of patients see alcohol drinking as the solution for their problems and 11% in taking antidepressants. Men (20%) reach for alcohol more often than women (4.4%), whereas women (20%) more frequently take antidepressants than men (3.6%). Regular thythm of sleep and activity is maintained by 31% of participants; 33% state that they undergo systematic medical examinations, although the largest group is the oldest patients, between 60 and 70 years of age.Conclusions. 1. People from the oldest age group are most concerned for their health; they more often undergo medical examinations, abide by sleep hygiene and avoid bad habits. 2. People with ischemic heart disease do not take advantage of an opportunity for improvement of their health, a significant percentage of them get involved in anti-health activities.Człowiek, podejmując szczególne działania prozdrowotne, pokonując inne, antyzdrowotne zachowania, może nie tylko zapobiec pogarszaniu się stanu zdrowia, ale także poprawić kondycję psychofizyczną.Celem niniejszego opracowania jest opis działań profilaktycznych podejmowanych przez pacjentów z chorobą niedokrwienną serca, ukierunkowanych na utrzymanie dobrego stanu zdrowia i zapobieganie jego degradacji oraz ustalenie, czy czynniki społeczne i styl życia wpływają na prozdrowotne działania tych pacjentów.Materiał i metody. Badanie obejmowało 100 pacjentów (55 mężczyzn i 45 kobiet) w wieku od 40 do 70 (średnia wieku 58,3±6,3 roku) z chorobą niedokrwienną serca, zakwalifikowanych do operacji w zakresie mięśnia sercowego. Materiał zebrano przy użyciu kwestionariusza zawierającego pytania „otwarte”, na które było łatwo odpowiedzieć uczestnikom, i pytania „zamknięte”, wymagające wyboru jednej lub kilku odpowiedzi podanych przez autorów. Uczestnicy opisali działalność w dziedzinach wymienionych w kwestionariuszu: nawyki żywieniowe (regularność i jakość posiłków), aktywność fizyczna (ruch i sport), higiena snu, unikanie używek, zarządzanie stresem i korzystanie z poradnictwa medycznego.Wyniki. 66,7% kobiet i 61,9% mężczyzn wydaje się zgodne w odniesieniu do redukcji tłuszczów pochodzenia zwierzęcego w diecie. Niestety, tylko 27,8% kobiet i 24,4% odpowiedziało, że owoce i warzywa są nieodłącznym elementem ich codziennej diety. 87% pacjentów mieszkających na wsi je regularne śniadanie, a tylko 18,2% osób mieszkających w miastach; częstotliwość jedzenia posiłków pozostałych jest taka sama i wynosi odpowiednio 38,2% i 58,2%. Niestety, tylko 11,1% kobiet i 14,5% mężczyzn stwierdziło, że systematycznie uczestniczy w jakiejś formie aktywności, podczas gdy 24,4% kobiet i 25,5% mężczyzn nie ćwiczy w ogóle. Spośród uczestników 49% nie pali, ale tylko 9% nigdy nie paliło. Najwyższy odsetek nałogowych palaczy, nawet do 17,4%, odnotowano wśród mieszkańców wsi. W dużych miastach i małych miasteczkach wynosił on odpowiednio 6,8% i 6,1%. 13% pacjentów podało picie alkoholu jako rozwiązanie dla swoich problemów, a 11% przyjmowanie leków przeciwdepresyjnych. Mężczyźni (20%) sięgają po alkohol częściej niż kobiety (4,4%), natomiast kobiety (20%) częściej biorą leki przeciwdepresyjne niż mężczyźni (3,6%). Regularny rytm snu snu i aktywności jest utrzymywany przez 31% uczestników, 33% deklaruje, że poddaje się systematycznym badaniom lekarskim, największa grupa to najstarsi z pacjentów - między 60. a 70. rokiem życia

    A highly sensitive electrochemical genosensor based on Co-porphyrin-labelled DNA

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    We report the use of Co-porphyrins as electrochemical tags for a highly sensitive and selective genosensor. An avian influenza virus-based DNA sequence characteristic of H5N1 was detected at femtomolar levels from competing non-complementary sequences through hybridisation with the labeled DNA

    Chromosome numbers and stomatal cell length in Taraxacum sect. Palustria from Poland

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    Chromosome numbers are given for the following species of Taraxacum sect. Palustria from Poland: T. paucilobum Hudziok (2n = 24, 25), T. belorussicum Val. N. Tikhom. (2n = 24), T. subdolum Kirschner & Štěpánek (2n = 24), T. udum Jordan (2n = 24), T. trilobifolium Hudziok (2n = 24), T. bavaricum Soest (2n = 24), T. portentosum Kirschner & Štěpánek (2n = 32), T. vindobonense Soest (2n = 32), and T. brandenburgicum Hudziok (2n = 32). The chromosome numbers of T. belorussicum and T. portentosum are published for the first time, and for T. subdolum, T. bavaricum and T. brandenburgicum for the first time from Poland. The analyzed group of taxa is heterogenous in respect of stomatal size, and after pooling of data the tetraploids show bigger stomata than the triploids

    MEASUREMENT OF THE HEAVY-ION COLLISION EVENT CHARACTERISTICS WITH THE ATLAS EXPERIMENT AT THE LHC

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    Heavy-ion collisions at extreme energies can reproduce conditionspresent in the early Universe. The new state of very dense and hotmatter of deconfined quarks and gluons, called the Quark GluonPlasma~(QGP), is observed. This state is characterised by very lowviscosity resembling the properties of a perfect fluid. In suchmedium, the density fluctuations can be easily spread. In experimentalpractice, the size of these fluctuations is estimated by measuring theangular correlation of produced particles. The aim of this paper isto present measurements of the azimuthal anisotropy of chargedparticles produced in heavy-ion collisions using the ATLAS detector atthe LHC. Two measurement techniques are presented and compared

    Hormone concentration, metabolic disorders and immunoexpression of androgen and estrogen-alpha receptors in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia and testosterone deficiency syndrome

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    Introduction. A slight decrease in blood testosterone level in men is a physiological state associated with the aging. The aim of our study was to evaluate the occurrence of hormone and metabolic disorders, as well as the immunolocalization and immunoexpression of androgen receptors (AR) and estrogen-alpha receptors (ERa) in the prostates of men with benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and coexisting testosterone deficiency syndrome (TDS). Material and methods. The study involved 150 men, diagnosed with and receiving pharmacological treatment for BPH. Concentrations of glucose, total cholesterol (TCh), high-density lipoproteins (HDL), low-density lipoproteins (LDL), and triglycerides (TG) were determined in blood serum. Serum concentrations of total testosterone (TT), free testosterone (FT), estradiol (E2), luteinizing hormone (LH), insulin (I), sex hormone-binding globulin (SHBG), dehydroepiandrosterone sulfate (DHEAS), and insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF-1) were measured by ELISA. The number of AR-positive cells and ERa-positive cells were measured in prostate sections of men with BPH. Results. Patients eligible for transurethral resection of the prostate and TDS were significantly more likely to have higher abdominal circumference and higher serum levels of insulin and IGF-1 as well as lower levels of FT and SHBG than control subjects with BPH and no TDS. Quantitative analysis revealed 35.8% AR-positive colum­nar epithelial cells and 24.3% AR-positive stromal cells in prostates of BPH patients with TDS and 30.5% and 23.0%, respectively, in BPH patients without TDS. However, the differences between the study and the control groups were statistically not significant. In prostates of BPH patients with TDS the immunoexpression of ERa was observed in 2.88% of the columnar epithelial cells and 0.39% of stromal cells. In BPH patients without TDS ERa-positive cells were only found in 0.04% of columnar epithelial cells and 0.62% of prostatic stromal cells. Conclusions. Considering the statistically significantly higher levels of I and IGF-1 and larger abdominal circumference of men with BPH and TT deficiency, it can be supposed that visceral obesity and carbohydrate disorders may contribute to the reduction of testosterone concentration. The results of our study indicate a relationship between TT concentration in the plasma of patients with BPH and the percentage of AR-positive cells in the prostate.

    Differentiation potential of the fetal rat liver-derived cells.

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    Mesenchymal stem cells derived from bone marrow or several fetal tissues can be expanded and differentiated into other cell lines. The fetal liver is the source of early hematopoietic cells and also, as a fetal tissue, may be considered as a source of pluripotent stem cells. The differentiation potential of fetal rat liver cells have been examined. Freshly isolated liver cells from 14-d fetuses were cultured in Dulbecco medium supplemented with 10% FCS. The plastic-adherent cells were then passaged up to 10 times. Freshly isolated cells and cells from every passage were cultured in hematopoiesis-promoting environment that consists of methylcelulose supplemented with FCS, rat IL-3, human IL-6 and Epo. Parallely these cells were incubated in co-culture with rat muscle satellite cells (Dulbecco medium with 10% FCS and 10% HS) to examine their myogenic potential. Culture in methylcelulose resulted in a high number of GM and Mix colonies in case of freshly isolated liver cells and the number of colonies decreased according to the number of passages. In case of cells from 4th passage, there ware no hematopoietic colonies in culture. In contrast--freshly isolated cells were not able to fuse with rat satellite cells and form the myotubes. This ability appeared in plastic-adherent cells just from the second passage and increases to 5th passage. The cells from every next passage up to 10th when co-cultured with satellite cells participated in myotube formation at the same high level. This result may suggest that in the 14-d rat liver there exist at least two subpopulations of cells: the non-adherent hematopoietic cell population, and the population of plastic-adherent cells capable of differentiating into myotubes. Since the attempts to redifferentiate hematopoietic subpopulation into myopoiesis, or myopoietic subpopulation into hematopoiesis failed, it may be concluded that at least under our experimental conditions the fetal liver cells do not reveal the "plasticity" features
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