Advancements in Radiology and Diagnostic Imaging

Radiology and diagnostic imaging have undergone remarkable advancements in recent years, shaping the future of healthcare and improving patient outcomes. This review article provides an extensive overview of the developments and opportunities in various aspects of radiology, including CT, MRI, ultrasound, digital radiology, teleradiology, 3D printing, radiomics, radiogenomics, and nuclear radiology. It highlights the integration of artificial intelligence and machine learning in radiology, the emergence of theranostics, and the exploration of the human microbiome. The article also delves into advanced imaging techniques for cardiovascular diseases, hybrid imaging modalities in oncology, and optical imaging. The summary emphasizes the importance of continued innovation and development in radiology and diagnostic imaging to enhance patient care and global health outcomes

Strategy for the surgical treatment of vestibular schwannomas in patients with neurofibromatosis type 2

Objective Guidelines for appropriate management of vestibular schwannomas in NF2 patients are controversial. In this paper we reviewed our experience with patients with NF2 for the results of surgical treatment with particular reference to hearing and facial nerve preservation. Methods We included in the study 30 patients (16 women and 14 men) with the diagnosis of NF2 treated in our department between 1998 and 2014 who underwent surgery for vestibular schwannoma removal with a follow-up for at least 1 year. In 3 cases, the vestibular schwannomas were unilateral. Six patients with bilateral vestibular schwannomas underwent unilateral procedure. Therefore, 51 acoustic tumors were studied in 30 patients. Results No operative death we noted. Significant deterioration to the non-functional level occurred in 19 out of 22 cases with well-preserved preoperative hearing. Only three ears maintained their preoperative good hearing. Hearing was preserved in cases of small schwannoma not exceeding 2cm. Among 21 patients who underwent bilateral operations hearing was preserved in 3 out of 7 cases when smaller tumor or better hearing level side was attempted at first surgery. In contrary none of the 14 patients retained hearing when the first operation concerned the worse-hearing ear. Among 14 tumors up to 2cm there was only one case of moderately severe facial nerve dysfunction (House–Brackmann Grade IV) in the long follow-up. Conclusion Early surgical intervention for vestibular schwannoma in NF2 patient is a viable management strategy to maintain hearing function and preserve facial nerve function

An insight into zolpidem abuse and dependence

Background: Z-drugs (zopiclone, zaleplon, and zolpidem) are commonly prescribed medicine classes associated with a risk of abuse, dependence or withdrawal.   Objective: The purpose of our work is to review the current knowledge on the evidence for z-drugs harms and estimate the prevalence of dispensed prescriptions.  Material and Methods: A literature review was conducted in PubMed database using the key words: “Zolpidem”, “Z-drugs”, “Abuse”, “Dependence”  Results: According to our findings, zolpidem should be prescribed with the same caution as BZDs, especially in patients with a history of drug abuse or in the elderly.  Conclusion: Psychiatrists and physicians should be aware of the misuse potential of zolpidem and adopt measures restricting its use

Chronic pruritus in atopic dermatitis – mechanisms and different ways of treatment, affect on quality of life

Introduction: Pruritus in atopic dermatitis is one of the main symptoms of the disease and the one that causes a significant impact on quality of life. It is important to control itching because it’s not only an unplesant sense. Scratching topically deepen the dermatitis, damages the epidermal barrier causing additional infections possible  and makes it harder to acheive a remission of the disease. It is also highly associated with stress and has an impact on mental health of the patient.  In this article we present a summary of how pruritus affects the quality of life, mechanisms of pruritus and possible treatment. Materials and methods: Our work is based on the articles published in PubMed, medical books and websites. We were looking for the key words such as ‘stress and itch’, ‘pruritus treatment’, ‘chronic itch in atopic dermatitis’, ‘itch and quality of life’. Results: Patients with atopic dermatitis should come under miltidisciplinar treatment to acheive the best possible control of symptoms. This will result in higher quality of life and better mental health of the patient. Conclusions: There is a high need to develop new targeted medications as contemporary medicine knows a lot more about the mechanism of pruritus. Many new types of treatment are being studied and soon we may have more options to choose in systemic and topical therapy. We should also concetrate more on a mental side of the disease

Immunity system dysfunction caused by insomnia and methods of treatment

Introduction: Sleep is a very important part of human health. Research over the past several years has shown that sleep disorders such as insomnia can affect the risk of infectious diseases. This review describes the immunocompromising mechanisms of insomnia and the consequences associated with this disorder. This review also includes treatment methods. Material and methods: The work was based on the articles published in PubMed, medical books and websites.  Results: Insomnia has an influence in the markers of inflammation and there are few methods of treating insomnia. Conclusions: Sleep influences the two primary effector systems which in turn regulate immune responses. Sleep disturbance like insomnia increases the risk of infectious diseases. Treatment can lower the markers of inflammation and helps relieve the symptoms of insomnia

Contraindications and factors that rule out patients willing to undergo laser vision correction

Laser vision correction is a modern method of eliminating, not just correcting, vision defects. The laser results in the restoration of the patient's eyes, so that he or she gains visual acuity anew. This method is both effective and safe, however, it is not feasible for every person. There are certain restrictions regarding: age, health, type of defect, history of disease, corneal scarring, pregnancy (both during and planned), or breastfeeding. Other rather non-obvious limitations, often overlooked by patients at the qualifying examination, are a metal filing that once found its way into the eye, after which it was removed rather late by a specialist, or current dry eye syndrome. The procedure of laser vision correction, can be carried out only after obtaining both the consent of the doctor conducting the qualifying examination and the interested party himself

Contraindications and factors that rule out patients willing to undergo laser vision correction

Laser vision correction is a modern method of eliminating, not just correcting, vision defects. The laser results in the restoration of the patient's eyes, so that he or she gains visual acuity anew. This method is both effective and safe, however, it is not feasible for every person. There are certain restrictions regarding: age, health, type of defect, history of disease, corneal scarring, pregnancy (both during and planned), or breastfeeding. Other rather non-obvious limitations, often overlooked by patients at the qualifying examination, are a metal filing that once found its way into the eye, after which it was removed rather late by a specialist, or current dry eye syndrome. The procedure of laser vision correction, can be carried out only after obtaining both the consent of the doctor conducting the qualifying examination and the interested party himself

Search for gravitational-lensing signatures in the full third observing run of the LIGO-Virgo network

Gravitational lensing by massive objects along the line of sight to the source causes distortions of gravitational wave-signals; such distortions may reveal information about fundamental physics, cosmology and astrophysics. In this work, we have extended the search for lensing signatures to all binary black hole events from the third observing run of the LIGO--Virgo network. We search for repeated signals from strong lensing by 1) performing targeted searches for subthreshold signals, 2) calculating the degree of overlap amongst the intrinsic parameters and sky location of pairs of signals, 3) comparing the similarities of the spectrograms amongst pairs of signals, and 4) performing dual-signal Bayesian analysis that takes into account selection effects and astrophysical knowledge. We also search for distortions to the gravitational waveform caused by 1) frequency-independent phase shifts in strongly lensed images, and 2) frequency-dependent modulation of the amplitude and phase due to point masses. None of these searches yields significant evidence for lensing. Finally, we use the non-detection of gravitational-wave lensing to constrain the lensing rate based on the latest merger-rate estimates and the fraction of dark matter composed of compact objects

Ruting niejedyną skuteczną metodą organizacji ruchu w sieciach

In the paper it is proposed different from routing approach to traffic organization in ad-hoc networks, where nodes, instead of searching of optimal paths of relaying based on a topology, take independent decisions based on local only information. As a result, high scalability and robustness with low overhead is achieved.W artykule zaproponowano odmienne od rutowania podejście do organizacji komunikacji w sieciach ad-hoc, w którym węzły sieci, zamiast budować jej obraz celem ustalenia optymalnej ścieżki transmisji, grają ze sobą, podejmując samodzielne decyzje na podstawie dostępnych lokalnie informacji. W rezultacie, przy niewielkim narzucie uzyskuje się wysoką skalowalność i odporność