The bone microstructure from anterior cruciate ligament footprints is similar after ligament reconstruction and does not affect long-term outcomes.

PURPOSE: The purpose of this study was to assess the quality of the bone tissue microstructure from the footprints of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and its impact on late follow-up outcomes in patients who undergo anterior cruciate ligament reconstruction (ACLR). METHODS: The records of 26 patients diagnosed with a completely torn ACL who underwent ACLR were collected. During the surgery performed using the Felmet method, bone blocks from the native ACL footprints were collected. The primary measurements of the bone microstructure were made using a microtomographic scanner. In late follow-up examinations, a GNRB arthrometer was used. RESULTS: There was no significant difference in the bone microstructure assessed using micro-CT histomorphometric data according to the blood test results, plain radiographs, age or anthropometric data. There was no difference in the bone volume/total volume ratio or trabecular thickness in the area of the native ACL footprints. Routine preoperative examinations were not relevant to the quality of the bone microstructure. The elapsed time from an ACL injury to surgery had no relevance to the results of arthrometry. CONCLUSION: The similarities in the microstructure of bone blocks from ACL footprints from the femur and tibia allow the variable use of these blocks to stabilize grafts in the Felmet method. The bone microstructure is not dependent on the time from injury to surgery. Histomorphometric values of the structure of the femoral and tibial ACL footprints have no impact on the long-term stability of the operated knee joint. TRIAL REGISTRATION: The approval of the Bioethics Committee of the Silesian Medical Chamber in Katowice, Poland (resolution 16/2014) was given for this research. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: II.

Monitoring Breathing and Heart Rate Using Episodic Broadcast Data Transmission.

The paper presents a wearable sensor for breath and pulse monitoring using an inertial sensor and episodic broadcast radio transmission. The data transmission control algorithm applied allows for the transmission of additional information using the standard PDU format and, at the same time, goes beyond the Bluetooth teletransmission standard (BLE). The episodic broadcast transmission makes it possible to receive information from sensors without the need to create a dedicated radio link or a defined network structure. The radio transmission controlled by the occurrence of a specific event in the monitored signal is combined with the reference wire transmission. The signals from two different types of sensors and the simulated ECG signal are used to control the BLE transmission. The presented results of laboratory tests indicate the effectiveness of episodic data transmission in the BLE standard. The conducted analysis showed that the mean difference in pulse detection using the episodic transmission compared to the wire transmission is 0.038 s, which is about 4% of the mean duration of a single cycle, assuming that the average adult human pulse is 60 BPM.

Adaptive Data Transmission Algorithm for the System of Inertial Sensors for Hand Movement Acquisition.

Modern systems of intelligent sensors commonly use radio data transmission. Hand movement acquisition with the use of inertial sensors requires the processing and transmission of a relatively large amount of data, which may be associated with a significant load on the network structure. Network traffic limitation, without losing the quality of monitoring parameters from the sensor system, is therefore important for the functioning of the radio network which integrates both the teletransmission sensor system and the data acquisition server. The paper presents a wearable solution for hand movement acquisition, which uses data transmission in the Wi-Fi standard and contains 16 MEMS (Micro Electro Mechanical System) sensors. An adaptive algorithm to control radio data transmission for the sensor system has been proposed. The algorithm implemented in the embedded system controls the change of the frame length, the length of the transmission frame and the frequency of its sending, which reduces the load on the network router. The use of the algorithm makes it possible to reduce the power consumption by the sensor system by up to 19.9% and to limit the number of data transferred by up to about 91.6%, without losing the quality of the monitored signal. The data analysis showed no statistically significant differences (p > 0.05) between the signal reconstructed from the complete data and processed by the algorithm.

Bacteriological analysis of selected phenotypes of chronic rhinosinusitis with co-existing asthma, allergy and hypersensitivity to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic rhinosinusitis (CRS) is one of the commonest chronic diseases. It is a systemic disease caused by many factors, including bacterial infections. There are two main types of CRS phenotypes: with polyps (CRSwNP) and without polyps (CRSsNP). AIM: Analysis of sinus mucosal microbiome in patients with CRS depending on the phenotype. Investigating a possible link between the type of bacterial flora and the coexistence of diseases present in the CRS (asthma, allergy or hypersensitivity to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) as well as the number of performed operations. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The authors conducted a retrospective study of the bacterial flora of the nasal cavity in patients with CRS operated endoscopically from March 2016 to June 2017. The study consisted od 222 women and 248 men. On the basis of an endoscopic examination, patients were qualified for the phenotype with or without polyps. Based on the medical interview patients were divided into group with asthma, allergy, NSAID hypersensitivity, first and repeated operations. The statistical analysis was made. RESULTS: There is no statistically significant relationship (p = 0.8519) between the CRS penotypes. In the group with CRSsNP, a statistically significant relationship was found between the observed flora and the coexistence of asthma (p = 0.0409), a trend towards significance was also noticed in the case of allergy (p = 0.0947). There was no relationship between the flora and NSAID hypersensitivity (p = 0.7356). In the group of CRSwNP patients, no statistically significant relationship was found between the observed bacterial flora and the presence of asthma (p = 0.7393), hypersensitivity to drugs (p = 0.1509) or allergy (p = 0.7427). There is no statistical significance between the occurrence of particular flora and the multiplicity of operations in both the CRSwNP (p = 0.4609) and CRSsNP phenotypes (p = 0.2469). CONCLUSIONS: Gram-positive cocci were equally common in CRSwNP and CRSsNP. In the CRSsNP, there was a correlation between the coexistence of asthma and allergy, and the presence of Gram-positive cocci. There was no statistical significance between the occurrence of particular flora and the multiplicity of operations in both CRS phenotypes.

Bacteriological analysis of isolated chronic sinusitis without polyps.

INTRODUCTION: Chronic sinusitis (CRS) is phenotypically divided into inflammation with polyps (CRSwNP) or without polyps (CRSsNP). AIM: To try to explain the reasons for isolated sinusitis by analysing medical history as well as anatomical and bacteriological data. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In 2016, endoscopic surgery was performed in 103 patients with CRSsNP within 6 months. The authors evaluated 28 patients with lesions in one sinus. RESULTS: The patients did not report any previous facial trauma, dental procedures, there were no odontogenic causes of the disease. They had not been treated with antibiotics within 30 days prior to admission to hospital. Ninety-seven bacterial strains were grown, of which 32 in patients with isolated nasal sinusitis. Statistical analysis has shown that there is a trend toward a statistically significant (p = 0.0868) relationship between the presence of Staphylococcus aureus and the type of inflammation. CONCLUSIONS: There is an indication that the presence of Staphylococcus aureus is associated with isolated sinusitis, especially in women.

Head and neck lymphomas - a retrospective ten-year observation.

AIM OF THE STUDY: Lymphomas are a heterogeneous group of tumours of lymphoid tissue in which there is an abnormal proliferation of cells of the lymphatic system. The literature notes a gradual increase in the incidence of this type of cancer in the whole population. The aim of the study was to evaluate whether the above tendency occurs in the head and neck area. MATERIAL AND METHODS: In the years 2005-2014, at the Otolaryngology and Laryngological Oncology Department of the Upper Silesian Medical Centre in Katowice, 77 cases of lymphoma were recorded, 58 of which were analysed in terms of location, histological type, age and sex of the patient, and the presence of risk factors. RESULTS: The vast majority of them were non-Hodgkin's lymphomas (NHL) - 67.53%. Hodgkin's lymphomas (HL) accounted for only a small fraction of diagnoses (7.79%). In terms of histopathological types, in most cases of NHL, there occurred diffuse large B-cell lymphomas (DLBCL) - 51.92%. The most common location was the lymph nodes, representing the location of the primary lesion in more than half of the cases. As regards the extranodal location, the Waldeyer ring dominated (54.54%) along with the palatal tonsil (40.90%). There has been a significant upward trend, especially in the incidence of NHL.

Renal Artery Stenting Associated With Improvement in Renal Function and Blood Pressure Control in Long-Term Follow-Up.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Clinical benefits of percutaneous treatment of renal artery stenosis (RAS) remain controversial. The aim of this study was to evaluate the effects of renal artery stenting on kidney function and blood pressure (BP) control in the log-term follow-up. Additionally angiographic follow up was performed in selected subgroup of patients. METHODS: The study was designed as international registry of 265 consecutive patients with RAS treated with renal artery stenting. The primary end-point of the study was the change in renal function and blood pressure at long-term follow-up as compared with baseline values. Evaluation of the renal function was based on estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) with the use of the modification of diet in renal disease (MDRD) formula. RESULTS: All patients had clinical follow-up at the median time of 23.8 (interquartile range: 3-90) months during ambulatory visits. At follow-up eGFR improved in 53,9% of patients. These patients had lower pre-procedural systolic BP, more severe lesion type at baseline and lower diameter stenosis in control angiography. At follow up visits, SBP improvement was observed in 77,4% of patients. The average number of anti-hypertensive medications before the procedure and at follow up did not change significantly (2,70±1,0 vs 2,49±0,9, p=0,1). Restenosis rate based on control angiography performed at median time of 15 months was 12%. CONCLUSION: The results of the study suggest that interventional treatment of RAS may preserve renal function and improve blood pressure control at long-term follow-up.

Effectiveness of selected issues related to used tyre management in Poland.

This paper discusses interactions between the generation, collection and recovery of used tyres while considering an indicator of their mass accumulation per area in Poland. Notably, this study aimed to assess selected issues related to used tyre management efficiency from 2008 to 2018 based on European Union and national regulations. Within 11 years, over 5 million Mg of used tyres was introduced into the domestic market-exceeding the amount required for 50 million registered vehicles. It was demonstrated that a significant tyre waste management process involved the recovery of 47% of all tyres, which was almost entirely correlated with the total volume of tyres. Only the growth trend for generated tyres was considered significant, and the rarely used indicator of the accumulation of used tyres per area exhibited an uneven accumulation of used tyres, with the highest amount being 48.06 Mg km-2 in a region with a small area but a significant volume of waste tyres. Therefore, the management of used tyres requires action in the country to optimally increase this form of waste collection while consolidating the development, gathering and processing infrastructure in the context of further minimising environmental pressure and increasing the efficiency of their use by considering the 4R principle.

Allergies, asthma or hypersensitivity to NSAIDs - are they an equally important risk factor for the development of a specific CRS phenotype?

INTRODUCTION: CRS is a complex systemic disease affecting more than 10% of the population. There are two main types of CRS phenotypes: CRSwNP and CRSsNP. In the Caucasian population, the prevalence of inflammation markers typical of the Th1 profile is observed in CRSsNP, whereas Th2 and Th17 in CRSwNP. Th2 inflammation is observed in the CRSwNP phenotype with concomitant allergies, asthma or hypersensitivity to NSAIDs. OBJECTIVES: The aim of the study was to evaluate, based on the authors' own material, whether allergies, asthma or hypersensitivity to NSAIDs were a risk factor for the development of a specific CRS phenotype. An attempt was also made to investigate the influence of comorbidities on the extent of sinus endoscopic procedures, which depended on the severity of inflammation. METHODS: In the years 2006-2015, ESS was performed on 2217 patients with different CRS phenotypes. Patients with an allergy, bronchial asthma and hypersensitivity to NSAIDs were subjected to analysis. RESULTS: Based on logistic regression, it was found that among the mentioned comorbidities, only asthma (P < 0.0001) and hypersensitivity to NSAIDs (P = 0.0007) significantly affect the occurrence of the phenotype with polyps, whereas the impact of allergies is statistically insignificant (P = 0.1909). The relationship between the type of ESS and CRS phenotypes is statistically significant (P < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: Bronchial asthma and hypersensitivity to NSAIDs have a statistically significant effect on the occurrence of the CRSwNP phenotype. This effect was not observed in allergies. The impact of allergies, asthma and hypersensitivity on the phenotype was observed in the group of patients subjected to the most extensive surgery (ESS 4).

Detection of hepatocellular carcinoma by tissue resonance interaction method (TRIM).

INTRODUCTION: Diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is considerably delayed, being frequently done in the non-curative stage of disease. The reason for delayed diagnosis is indolent course in early stages and/or unspecific symptoms indistinguishable from underlying cirrhosis. Hitherto methods used for screening of HCC have important limitations. TRIMprob is a non-invasive method, which showed utility in detection of cancers located in prostate, breast, or urinary bladder. AIM: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of TRIMprob in detecting HCC in cirrhotic liver. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Forty-five patients were prospectively enrolled according to final clinical diagnosis into a group of cirrhosis and HCC or a group of cirrhosis without HCC. A control group consisted of 33 healthy subjects. Hepatocellular carcinoma was diagnosed by computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance (MR) and guided biopsy. The TRIMprob examination was performed in each patient. Three wave frequencies were used: 465, 930, and 1395 MHz. RESULTS: In patients with HCC the intensity of return signal using wave a frequency of 465 MHz was significantly reduced in patients with HCC in comparison to healthy subjects (p < 0.0005), but not to cirrhotic patients without HCC. Moreover, cirrhosis was associated with significantly decreased TRIMprob signal in comparison to healthy liver (p < 0.002). In ROC analysis an optimal cut-off value for detection of HCC was 106 units, which yielded 80% sensitivity. CONCLUSIONS: TRIMprob identifies HCC with good sensitivity; however, the accuracy of this method to identify HCC in screening circumstances may be hindered by attenuation of the resonance interaction signal by cirrhosis itself.

Effects of physical activity on sclerostin concentrations.

Osteoporosis is a serious medical and socioeconomic problem of the 21st century. Mechanical load is a key regulator which controls bone formation and remodelling, with participation of osteocytes. Sclerostin is produced and released by mature osteocytes into bone surface, where it inhibits the conveyance of osteoblast proliferation and differentiation activating signals from mesenchymal cells, thus suppressing new bone formation. The goal of the study was an evaluation of the effects of a 12-week physical training programme on the levels of bone turnover markers [Sclerostin, Osteocalcin (OC), C-terminal telopeptide of type I collagen (ß-CTX)] in blood serum of women with osteopenia. MATERIALS & METHODS: The study included 50 women of the Regional Menopause and Osteoporosis Centre of the WAM Teaching Hospital, at the age of 50-75 years with the diagnosis of osteopenia, obtained on the basis of hip and/or lumbar spine densitometry (T-score from -1.0 to -2.5 SD). During the initial 12 weeks (between point 1 and 2), the patients maintained their previous, normal level of physical activity. During subsequent 12 weeks (between point 2 and 3), a programme of exercise was implemented. The programme included the interval training on a bicycle ergometer, three times a week for 36 minutes. During the entire study duration, all the patients received a supplementation of calcium (500 mg) and vit. D3 (1800 IU) once daily. Serum levels of OC, alkaline phosphatase (ALP), ß-CTX and sclerostin were assayed at 3 time points. RESULTS: After the course of the exercise cycle, the OC concentration was increased, sclerostin levels decreased, while no statistical differences were observed in ß-CTX levels vs. the period of physical inactivity. No correlations were found between sclerostin level changes and osteocalcin level changes during the training time, because of too small groups. Neither statistically significant were the differences in alkaline phosphatase, calcium and phosphorus levels. CONCLUSIONS: The obtained results emphasise the role of physical training as an effective stimulation method of bone formation processes in women with osteopenia. Sclerostin can be a marker of physical activity. < /p > < p >.

Giant fronto-ethmoidal osteoma - selection of an optimal surgical procedure.

INTRODUCTION: Osteomas of the paranasal sinuses are benign bone tumours that produce clinical signs depending on their size and location. In most reported cases large tumours are excised by an external approach or in conjunction with an endoscopic technique. Endoscopic treatment of such tumours is a huge challenge for the operator. OBJECTIVE: Determine the optimal surgical approach by analysing giant osteomas of the frontal and ethmoidal sinuses in the literature. METHODS: Group of 37 osteomas obtained from the literature review. A group of osteomas removed only by endoscopy was compared with a group in which an external approach (lateral rhynotomy or craniotomy) or combined external and endoscopic approach was applied. RESULTS: The authors, based on the statistical analysis of the literature data, have found that the average size of osteomas excised endoscopically and those removed by external approaches does not differ statistically, when the osteomas are located in the ethmoidal cells (p=0.2691) and the frontal sinuses (p=0.5891). CONCLUSION: The choice of surgical method appears to be independent of the osteoma size and the decision is likely to be taken based on the experience of the surgeon, available equipment and knowledge of different surgical techniques.

Increase in the incidence of parotid gland tumors in the years 2005-2014.

INTRODUCTION: Salivary gland tumours account for 3-6% of tumours of the head and neck. About 80% of salivary gland tumors occur in parotid glands, 10-17% of which are malignant The aim of the study was to assess whether there is an upward trend in cancer incidence within the parotid glands, with particular emphasis on cancers. MATERIALS AND METHODS: 322 patients underwent surgery and 328 parotid gland tumours were removed in the years 2005-2014 at the Department of Laryngology and Laryngological Oncology of the Upper Silesian Medical Centre in Katowice-Ochojec. Clinical, histopathological and statistical analyses of the removed parotid gland tumours were performed. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION: A significant increase in the incidence of benign tumours, especially mixed and Warthin tumours, was demonstrated. There was no significant increase in the number of malignant tumours over the analysed period of time.

Evaluation of vitamin D concentration in a population of young, healthy women - the effects of vitamin D supplementation.

INTRODUCTION: The goal of the study was an evaluation of serum vitamin D concentrations in healthy young women. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A total of 106 healthy women, aged 20-30 years, were included in the study. Monthly evaluation - for three months - of the effects of calcium (500 mg) and vitamin D (1500 IU) administration in women with baseline values of vitamin D < 20 ng/mL (Group 1) plus the effects of an 800 IU/d dose in women with the baseline value of D > 20 ng/mL (Group 2). Additionally, calcium and PTH concentrations were assessed at the study onset and after a three-month supplementation. Only 67 women adhered to the prescribed therapeutic regime during the three months of observation. RESULTS: The mean vitamin D concentration in the entire study group was 16.56 ng/mL, being 12.6 ng/mL in Group 1 and 25.22 ng/mL in Group 2. In the course of vitamin D administration, its concentration increased statistically significantly, both in the entire group and in the subgroups, at all time points compared with the study onset. Moreover, its concentration in the whole population and in Group 1 was significantly higher in each of the time points not only in relation to the baseline, but also in comparison with the results of the previous measurements (after 1 and 2 months of supplementation). In Group 2, vitamin D levels also increased systematically throughout the whole study period, and after 3 months its concentration was significantly higher than after 1 and 2 months. Although there were no differences in calcium concentration after those three months, a statistically significant drop of PTH (p < 0.05) was recorded in the entire population and in Group 1. CONCLUSIONS: A moderate deficiency of vitamin D was observed in the studied population of young women. A supplementation with calcium plus vitamin D brought about an increase of vitamin D concentration as early as in the first month of administration. The optimal concentration of > 30 ng/mL was achieved in Group 1 after three months of vitamin D administration in 1500 IU/d dose.

Detection and Characterization of Small Molecule Interactions with Fibrillar Protein Aggregates Using Microscale Thermophoresis.

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's disease share the pathological hallmark of fibrillar protein aggregates. The specific detection of these protein aggregates by positron emission tomography (PET) in the patient brain can yield valuable information for diagnosis and disease progression. However, the identification of novel small compounds that bind fibrillar protein aggregates has been a challenge. In this study, microscale thermophoresis (MST) was applied to assess the binding affinity of known small molecule ligands of α-synuclein fibrils, which were also tested in parallel in a thioflavin T fluorescence competition assay for further validation. In addition, a MST assay was also developed for the detection of the interaction between a variety of small molecules and tau fibrils. The results of this study demonstrate that MST is a powerful and practical methodology to quantify interactions between small molecules and protein fibrillar aggregates, which suggests that it can be applied for the identification and development of PET radioligands and potentially of therapeutic candidates for protein misfolding diseases.

Robust oil-core nanocapsules with hyaluronate-based shells as promising nanovehicles for lipophilic compounds.

The design of nanodelivery systems has been recently considered as a solution to the major challenge in pharmaceutical research - poor bioavailability of lipophilic drugs. Nanocapsules with liquid oil cores and shells based on amphiphilic polysaccharides were developed here as robust carriers of hydrophobic active compounds. A series of modified charged hyaluronates were synthesized and used as stabilizing shells ensuring also the biocompatibility of the nanocapsules that is crucial for applications related to the delivery of lipophilic drugs in vivo. Importantly, the oil nanodroplets were found to be stably suspended in water for at least 15 months without addition of low molar mass surfactants. Moreover, their size and stability may be tuned by varying the relative content of hydrophobic and hydrophilic groups in the hyaluronate derivatives as was confirmed by dynamic light scattering and nanoparticle tracking analysis as well as electron microscopy. In vivo studies demonstrated that hyaluronate-based nanocapsules accumulated preferentially in the liver as well as in the lungs. Moreover, their accumulation was dramatically potentiated in endotoxemic mice. In vitro studies showed that the nanocapsules were taken up by liver sinusoidal endothelial cells and by mouse lung vascular endothelial cells. Importantly, the capsules were found to be nontoxic in an acute oral toxicity experiment even at a dose of 2000 mg per kg b.w. Biocompatible hyaluronate-based nanocapsules with liquid cores described herein represent a promising and tunable nanodelivery system for lipophilic active compounds via both oral and intravenous administration.

Preliminary dielectric studies of knee swelling fluid in the case of arthritis, which is hard to diagnose.

This study addresses the problems connected with knee joint inflammatory swelling diagnosis, especially cases which have difficulty meeting rheumatic and laboratory criteria. A percentage of patients were considered who met the clinical criteria of the Association of Rheumatoid Arthritis (ARA), proceeded without any deviations within the range of rheumatoid factor (RF) laboratory results, and where only serum non-specific immuno-complexes (CIC) increased. The decision to execute a more effective treatment variant (salazopirin, for example, instead of NSAID), required criterial reliability in practice. The purpose of the study was to attempt to find physiochemical distinguishing features in the exudative liquid taken from the knee joints of two groups of patients: group A meeting the clinical criteria of immunological inflammation and a negative rheumatoid factor, and group B with other inflammation concerned with degenerative changes and with negative rheumatoid factor tests. The main area of interest was the question of whether dielectric scanning enables the distinction between immunology and degenerative inflammatory liquid. Analyses of dielectric joint liquid parameters in the domains of frequency and temperature made it possible to observe recurring changes in the shapes of diagrams in the event of the existence of immunological complexes in the studied environment. We found that (1) dielectric scanning diagrams after joint liquid analyses showed similar negative dielectric parameters in group A (inflammatory), B (degenerative) and C (post-accident) with scanning frequencies of about 10,000,000-3501,300 Hz and similar positive parameters of about 3501,300-1593,700 Hz, but qualitative difference dielectric parameters in group A with a frequency of 1593,700-1225,900 Hz, probably dependent on the inflammatory gamma-globulin concentration; (2) higher dielectric parameters (groups B, C) at a scanning frequency of 94,300-57,600 Hz probably dependent on ion concentration; (3) parametric changes of frequency scanning differentiating the diagrams between groups A and B, C, defining the outline pilot study recommended ranges of frequency and temperature testing for further investigations.

Nanocapsules templated on liquid cores stabilized by graft amphiphilic polyelectrolytes.

A surfactant-free method of preparation of nanocapsules templated on liquid cores using amphiphilic graft polyelectrolytes was developed. A model photoactive copolymer, poly(sodium 2-acrylamido-2-methyl-1-propanesulfonate) with grafted poly(vinylnaphthalene) chains (PAMPS-graft-PVN) was used to stabilize toluene droplets in an aqueous emulsion. The macromolecules, due to their amphiphilic character and the presence of strong ionic groups, tend to undergo intramolecular aggregation in water but at the water-oil interface less compact conformation is preferred with PVN grafts anchoring in the oil phase and the charged PAMPS main chains residing in the aqueous phase, thus stabilizing the nanoemulsion droplets. Formation of such nanocapsules was confirmed by dynamic light scattering measurements as well as SEM and cryo-TEM imaging. Grafting density and content of the chromophores in the graft copolymers were varied in order to achieve high stability of the coated nanodroplets. It was shown that the capsules are better stabilized by the copolymers with many short hydrophobic grafts than with fewer but longer ones. Use of photoactive polyelectrolytes enabled spectroscopic investigation of the relationship between conformation of the macromolecules and stabilization of the oil-core nanocapsules. Long-term stability of the nanocapsules was achieved and further increased by multilayer shell formation using polyelectrolytes deposited via the layer-by-layer approach. The obtained capsules served as efficient nanocontainers for a hydrophobic fluorescent probe. The proposed strategy of nanocapsule preparation may be easily extended to biologically relevant polymers and applied to fabricate liquid core nanodelivery systems without the need of using low molecular weight additives which may have adverse effects in numerous biomedical applications.

The role of counselling and other factors in compliance of postmenopausal osteoporotic patients to alendronate 70 therapy.

INTRODUCTION: The aim of the study was to assess the role of patient counselling, nurse assistance and effects of biochemical examinations in adherence of women with postmenopausal osteoporosis to alendronate 70 administration over 12 months of therapy. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Compliance and persistence to alendronate 70 therapy were assessed in a prospective study of 123 postmenopausal women, followed up for one year. The patients were divided into 4 groups (controls, counselled group, biochemical group and nurse assisted group) with monitoring every 6 months; in the nurse assisted group, additional phone contacts were made after 3 and 9 months of treatment. After 12 months, compliance and persistence were analysed. The medication possession ratio (MPR) was regarded as optimal when its value exceeded 80%. RESULTS: The compliance to alendronate 70 therapy was 54.03% in the control group and the mean persistence with medication was 197 days. The MPR above 80% was observed in 37.5%, and, after 1 year, 43.75% of patients were found persistent with the therapy. In the remaining groups, both compliance and persistence were higher but not statistically significantly, compared to the control group. Neither patient's age, education, diet, nor physical activity influenced the compliance with prescribed therapy. The most common reason to discontinue therapy was either its side effects or smoking. CONCLUSIONS: The obtained results suggest that better adherence with medical recommendations is observed in patients who receive additional attention, e.g. counselling, biochemical tests or nursing care. The critical elements for therapy discontinuation were side effects and smoking.

Pretransitional behavior in the isotropic phase of a nematic liquid crystal with the transverse permanent dipole moment.

The results presented give the evidence for the quasicritical, pretransitional behavior of dielectric properties in the isotropic phase of a rodlike nematic liquid crystal with the transverse permanent dipole moment. Studies were conducted in 2-cyano-4-pentylbiphenyl 4-(trans-4-pentylcyclohexyl) benzoate, focusing on the static-and ionic-dominated low-frequency (LF) regions. For the static dielectric permittivity [epsilon(')(T)] the application of the derivative analysis revealed the pretransitional anomaly associated with the specific heat exponent alpha approximately 0.5. For the LF domain the contribution to epsilon(')(T) from residual ionic impurities follows a linear temperature dependence on approaching the isotropic-nematic (I-N) transition. This dependence and pretransitional anomalies of electric conductivity and dielectric modulus can be associated with the influence of prenematic fluctuations. "Linear" dielectric studies were supported by the static nonlinear dielectric effect measurements, which delivered reliable estimations of the temperature of the hypothetical continuous phase transition T(*) and the discontinuity of the I-N transition DeltaT approximately 1.7 K.