Volumen 54 (2016): Heft 1 (March 2016)

The article deals with the subject matter related to the development of underwater works technologies. Nearly 15 years ago one of the authors of this study published a material in the monthly magazine of “Podwodny Świat” (The Underwater World) entitled “The Future of Underwater Technologies – the diver or the robot?” where he noted that the time of great changes in technologies aimed at researching the depths and conducting works under water has arrived. This new era mainly consists in the fact that on an increasing number of occasions the diver is replaced by an underwater robot. The presented material constitutes an attempt to provide an answer to the question whether the then posed thesis is still valid. In the article the authors discuss issues concerned with the development of techniques and technologies applied in the conquest of depths that leads them to the conclusion that the previously observed tendency of a double-tracked development of underwater technologies is gaining in strength, which causes that the works and exploration of bodies of water at great depths will be possible only with the use of unmanned techniques.

Hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) is a safe treatment, provided fulfilling certain rules of patient qualifications to treatment, as well as supervision over the course of therapy by qualified medical staff. Side effects reported in the literature are rare, and are usually mild and transient. Professional medical staff allows minimising the adverse events occurrence. The scale of complications is unknown, especially in Polish hyperbaric center. Careful analysis could be used to develop prevention procedures for patients of hyperbaric oxygen therapy. Hyperbaric Oxygen Centre and Wound Treatment in Bydgoszcz during 28 months performed hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) in case of 423 patients. During this period, adverse events occurred occasionally. 17 cases have been reported. Authors described study case 77 year-old patient who was admitted due to non-healing wound-left lower abdomen (state after radiotherapy). During the fourth session, on decompression phase patient have had a generalized seizure (tonic-clonic). The decompression was stopped, the oxygen supply was disconnected but only after the drug administration seizures terminated. The most likely causative agent of the adverse reactions of the patient treated with HBOT was the oxygen toxic effect on the brain tissue. However, analyzing the circumstances of the seizure termination: phase of decompression at the pressure 2ATA and lack of oxygen disconnection response, it cannot be excluded other causes of this complication.

The aim of the study was to assess the level of anxiety and depressiveness in patients who had qualified for hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for the treatment of ulcerative lesions in the lower limbs, occurring as a result of diabetic foot syndrome (DFS),. A total of 50 patients with type 2 diabetes and diabetic foot syndrome were enrolled to the study. All patients have received 30 sessions of HBOT. During the therapy blood glucose was measured and photographic documentation was carried out. All patients underwent the following procedures: medical history and socioeconomic interview, psychiatric examination, self-report and objective psychometric tests to measure anxiety and depressiveness. Based on the obtained results, we reported that patients with a greater degree of tissue damage had higher levels of depressive symptoms in the self-report tests as well as in the objective evaluation of the investigator. In terms of location of ulcerative lesions - the level of depressiveness was greater when the affected area included toes, and the level of anxiety was increased when it concerned the heel. Regarding other parameters, statistically significant correlations were not observed.

The authors discuss the effect of reduced pressure at the final decompression station on nitrogen excretion from the organism of a diver. The assumed basis for the said considerations was the course of decompression during dives performed in lakes located at a significant altitude above sea level and diver transportation by plane following dive completion. Based on the presented calculations the authors conclude that air transport can take place only upon the lapse of time calculated with regard to the diving conditions and the expected altitude of the flight. Diving in mountain lakes requires proper consideration of the effects of the decreased atmospheric pressure.

The statutory mission of a university, in addition to the creation of scientific knowledge and education, lies in the cooperation with the economic sector through the transfer of knowledge and technology. The effectiveness of this process directly affects the affluence of any given State’s economy. Owing to the new amendments to the Act on Higher Education, many barriers that hinder commercialisation of knowledge in Poland have been brought down. Nicolaus Copernicus University in Toruń sets an excellent example in this respect having established a special purpose entity, which has already managed to set up thirteen spin-off companies in just 18 months.

Oxidative stress occurring in cells is a consequence of an excessive activity of reactive oxygen forms, resulting from an imbalance between the release of free oxygen radicals and their removal from the cell by antioxidant systems. 90% of reactive oxygen radicals emerge in mitochondrial respiratory chain during an incomplete four-electron oxygen reduction. The remaining 10% originate from different reactions occurring in the cell. The established compounds are characterised by a short half-life and are highly reactive. Sparse quantities of free oxygen radicals have a positive effect on cell functions. Oxidative stress leads to damage in cellular membranes, enzymatic and non-enzymatic proteins, as well as DNA. Therapy with antioxidants as exogenous dietary supplements aims at preventing or reducing the risk of development of diseases involving the presence of the oxygen radicals. Whether the antioxidant therapy will bring positive or negative effects depends on numerous factors that need to be considered before their inclusion in the applied treatment.

Stem cells are characterized by their ability to self-renew and differentiate into various cell types. They offer great potential for a wide range of applications, however, medical studies on the use of embryonal stem cells are largely limited to bioethical issues searching for alternative sources of stem cells, which include isolating cells from adult organisms or inducing pluripotentiality of somatic cells by administration of transcription factors. Nowadays, stem cells are used to study the mechanisms of cell differentiation and treat diseases that are commonly considered to be incurable, such as diabetes and neurodegenerative diseases, as well as enable regeneration of skin damage and myocardium. This review introduces the subject of stem cells, their sources and application in regenerative medicine.