<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Introduction. Eclipse retinopathy occurs due to unprotected viewing of a solar eclipse. It is a long-recognized condition. The damage inflicted to the macula is due to a photochemical and photothermal effect caused by sunlight that enters the eye and is focused by the crystalline lens. Animal studies into eclipse retinopathy have been previously carried out. Retinal irradiance levels leading to macular damage have been established in rabbits. Limited data from studies on primates are also available. However, the exact values for humans have not yet been established with confidence.
Methods. Here we present a simple method for estimation of the retinal irradiance dose in humans and a classification of macular damage.
Results. As an example, the retinal irradiance dose of a theoretical patient observing the solar eclipse of March 20, 2015, is given along with the grade of macular damage according to the developed classification.
Discussion. The retinal irradiance values given in the classification are provisional for the time being. With more widespread use among ophthalmologists the developed classification should become useful for prognostic purposes.
</abstract>

Eclipse retinopathy injury scale (ERIS): A classification of acute macular damage resulting from unprotected solar eclipse viewing

<trans-abstract xml:lang="en">
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The dietary supplements market is developing very dynamically, which is related to the dissemination of this category of products in the mass media, the relatively hassle-free procedure of introducing them to the Polish market and their universal availability (they can be purchased at pharmacies, herbal shops, groceries and on the Internet). By definition, supplements are intended to supplement the diet, belong to food category and have no therapeutic effect. They may be visually identical to the pharmaceutical form of medicinal products, which may mislead consumers, as long as people are unaware of how to distinguish these two groups. In addition, no requirements have been set for technological parameters or physical properties of final products in Polish legislation. The safety of dietary supplements application includes quality, the actual content of the declared ingredients and possible contamination and presence of prohibited additives. Selective control and lack of specific guidelines regarding the form of supplements leave considerable options to the producer. It may lead to products of questionable quality and completely devoid of health-promoting effects being introduced to the market, thus posing a threat to the consumer. Due to the growing consumer interest in this group of products, the legal situation of dietary supplements on the Polish market is presented with reference to European and American legislation. The procedure and basic guidelines for placing this group of products on the market, indications for use and aspects related to safety and risks associated with dietary supplements were also discussed.
</trans-abstract>

Suplementy diety – specyficzna żywność

<trans-abstract xml:lang="en">
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
The pathogenesis of mental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases may be related to the composition of gut microbiota. Communication between the intestines and the brain is possible through the gut-brain axis and takes place via endocrine, neuronal and immunological mechanisms.
Presented here is a summary of the current state of knowledge on the relationship between the composition of the gut microbiota and the occurrence of mental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases.
The composition of human gut microbiota during its life is subject to fluctuations. Gut bacteria perform many functions that are beneficial to the health of the host. Under the influence of environmental factors, gut dysbiosis may occur – a state of qualitative and quantitative disturbance of gut bacterial biota.
There are clear differences between the composition of the gut microbiota of people diagnosed with mental disorders and the composition of the gut microbiota of healthy people. In such conditions as depression, schizophrenia or autism, intestinal dysbiosis is observed, which compromises the integrity of the intestinal barrier, followed by the displacement of microorganisms and their products into the general circulation. In people diagnosed with neurodegenerative diseases (Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease) the composition of gut bacterial biota is different compared to healthy people. Selected types of bacteria, via the gut-brain axis, can affect brain processes.
There are relationships between the composition of the gut microbiota and the occurrence of mental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases in humans. Usually, they are associated with intestinal dysbiosis and leaky gut syndrome.
</trans-abstract>

The effect of intestinal microbiota on the occurrence of mental disorders and neurodegenerative diseases

<trans-abstract xml:lang="en">
<title style='display:none'>Summary</title>
Ambiguous data on both terminology, diagnostics, and treatment of testosterone deficiency in men prompted us to attempt a critical analysis of existing knowledge on this subject.
Current guidelines of both American and European Association of Urology (AUA, EUA) define testosterone therapy as effective and safe. However, media reports and some scientific reports indicating negative effects of the abovementioned therapy arouse aversion to its use by doctors and potential patients for fear of developing prostate cancer or cardiovascular incidents. The peak of scepticism about testosterone therapy was observed after the publication in 2013 and 2014, respectively, two retrospective data analysis on this topic, which resulted in the discontinuation of therapy in many patients with long histories of benefits from testosterone therapy. In addition, in many men with indications for testosterone therapy, this treatment was not used for fear of patient safety. However, the latest data on these concerns do not confirm any negative effects.
More than 100 recently published scientific studies have shown the beneficial effects of testosterone therapy on many aspects of health. The American Society of Clinical Endocrinologists (AACE) and the American College of Endocrinology (ACE) have jointly developed their own literature assessment, stating that there is no convincing evidence that testosterone therapy increases the risk of cardiovascular incidents. The same conclusions can be drawn from the current EAU and AUA guidelines.
</trans-abstract>

Diagnosis and Management of Testosterone Deficiency in men: A review of the European and American Urology Associations

<trans-abstract xml:lang="en">
<title style='display:none'>Summary</title>
Proprotein convertase subtilisin/kexin type 9 (PCSK9) is one of nine members of the proprotein convertase family. These serine proteases play a pivotal role in the post-translational modification of proteins and the activation of hormones, enzymes, transcription factors and growth factors. As a result, they participate in many physiological processes like embryogenesis, activity of central nervous system and lipid metabolism. Scientific studies show that the family of convertases is also involved in the pathogenesis of viral and bacterial infections, osteoporosis, hyperglycaemia, cardiovascular diseases, neurodegenerative disorders and cancer. The inhibition of PCSK9 by two currently approved for use monoclonal antibodies (alirocumab, evolocumab) slows down the degradation of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol receptors (LDLRs). This leads to increased density of LDLRs on the surface of hepatocytes, resulting in decreased level of low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in the bloodstream, which is connected with the reduction of cardiovascular risk. PCSK9 inhibitors (PCSK9i) were created for the patients who could not achieve appropriate level of LDL-C using current statin and ezetimibe therapy. It seems that high therapeutic efficacy of PCSK9i will make them more common in the clinical use. The pleiotropic effects of previously mentioned lipid-lowering therapies were the reasons for literature review of possible positive and negative effects of PCSK9 inhibition beyond cholesterol metabolism.
</trans-abstract>

The consequences of PCSK9 inhibition in selected tissues

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Acute leukemias are the most commonly diagnosed malignancies in children. Acute leukemias constitute a heterogeneous group of cancers resulting from clonal outgrowth and accumulation of immature precursor cells of different hematologic lineages. Cancerous transformation begins with disruption of cell maturation mechanisms triggered by particular environmental or endogenic factors, including innate and acquired immunodeficiencies as well as autoimmune diseases.
Research in the field of acute leukemias has revealed many possible genetic abnormalities in leukemic cells, including both structural and numerical aberrations. The former can produce some particular fusion genes, yielding fusion protein products which can have an oncogenic potential in hematopoietic cells. Some of them, including translocations resulting in fusion product formation <italic>BCR-ABL1</italic> and different fusion products involving the <italic>KMT2A</italic> gene, are markers of adverse prognosis, whereas numerical aberrations with high hyperdiploidy and chromosome number exceeding 51 are markers of favorable prognosis. Detection of these aberrations already has a well-grounded clinical significance in acute lymphoblastic leukemia and plays an important role in patient risk stratification. The appearance of particular genetic changes often correlates with the expression of certain markers on the surface of leukemic cells. Determination of expression or lack of specific antigens, that is, immunophenotyping, is possible with the use of the flow cytometry technique. Flow cytometry is currently considered as a fast and broadly available technique which can provide clinically useful information in a relatively short time after biological specimen collection. Flow cytometry also enables appropriate classification of acute leukemias.
</abstract>

Genetic and immunophenotypic diversity of acute leukemias in children

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
<sec><title style='display:none'>Introduction</title>
In recent years, colistin-resistant <italic>Acinetobacter baumannii</italic> (<italic>A. baumannii</italic>) has been found all over the world. In this current study, the main purpose was to examine the occurrence of extensively drug resistant (XDR), resistance to colistin and characterization and mutations in <italic>pmrCAB</italic> genes among <italic>A. baumannii</italic> obtained from inpatients.
</sec>
<sec><title style='display:none'>Materials and Methods</title>
A total of 108 clinical isolates of <italic>A. baumannii</italic> were collected from several hospitals located in Isfahan, Iran. The Kirby-Bauer assay was performed to assess the antimicrobial resistance. The Phoenix automated system was utilized to determine the minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) of colistin for each of the bacterial isolates. Polymerase chain reaction was used to screen for <italic>pmrCAB</italic> genes that mediate colistin resistance, and sequencing was used to determine the amplicon’s nucleotide sequence.
</sec>
<sec><title style='display:none'>Results</title>
The results revealed that all A. baumannii isolates (100%) were resistant to piperacillin tazobactam, meropenem and ciprofloxacin. All isolates were classified as XDR, with seven isolates being pan-drug resistant (PDR). Colistin resistance (CoR) was found in 6.48% (7/108) of studied isolates, all of which were positive for <italic>pmrCAB</italic> genes. The sequencing results showed a substitution in <italic>pmrB</italic> and two isolates showed a substitution in <italic>pmrC</italic>.
</sec>
<sec><title style='display:none'>Conclusions</title>
In conclusion, this study is the initial report of the existence and mutations of <italic>pmrB</italic> and C genes in the clinical isolate of <italic>A. baumannii</italic> in our region. This outcome highlights the necessity to explore additional mutations in the PMR operon of <italic>A. baumannii</italic> in forthcoming studies. Moreover, our results highlight the high occurrence of XDR-<italic>A. baumannii</italic> strain in Isfahan, Iran.
</sec>
</abstract>

Molecular mechanisms of colistin resistance mediated by <italic>pmrCAB</italic> genes in <italic>Acinetobacter baumannii</italic> isolated from patients hospitalized in Isfahan medical centers

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
<sec><title style='display:none'>Introduction</title>
In this era of tyrosine kinase inhibitors (TKIs), the clinical benefit of surgery for patients with metastatic or recurrent gastrointestinal mesenchymal tumor (GIST) is not well defined. The aim of our study was to demonstrate the survival advantage of adding surgery in patients with recurrent or metastatic GIST.
</sec>
<sec><title style='display:none'>Methods</title>
A systematic search of PubMed, Web of Knowledge, Ovid’s database was conducted. Relevant studies published by 31 July 2022 on the role of surgery in recurrent or metastatic GIST were identified. Research quality was assessed using the Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment Scale.
</sec>
<sec><title style='display:none'>Results</title>
Eight studies involving 842 patients were included. The four included studies covered 3-year survival and included 441 patients, of whom 302 received TKIs, and 139 received TKIs plus surgery. 3-year overall survival was significantly higher in the TKIs plus surgery group than in the TKIs group (OR=2.37, 95% CI 1.45–3.88, P = 0.001). The 5-year overall survival was 69.0% in the TKIs plus surgery group compared with 49.1% in the TKIs only group. Survival was significantly higher in TKIs plus surgery group (OR = 2.69, 95%Cl 1.49–4.86, P=0.001). Four studies, including 453 patients, indicated 3-year progression-free survival (PFS). The pooled analysis revealed the TKIs plus surgery group did have a better PFS than the TKIs only group (OR = 4.02, 95% CI: 1.45–11.16, P=0.008). Three included studies focused on gastrointestinal stromal tumor liver metastasis (GLM). The role of surgery plus TKIs had statistically significant better 5-year overall survival as compared with TKI treatment alone (OR = 2.34, 95% Cl 1.30–4.22, P=0.005).
</sec>
<sec><title style='display:none'>Conclusions</title>
Treatment with surgical resection and TKIs could significantly improve the prognosis of patients with recurrent or metastatic GIST.
</sec>
</abstract>

Surgery plus TKIs therapy for gastrointestinal stromal tumors

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
There is a direct correlation between the vaginal microbiome and the health of a woman’s reproductive system. The microbiome is mainly composed of lactic acid rods – <italic>Lactobacillus</italic>, the metabolism of which ensures an acidic pH, playing a protective role for vaginal homeostasis. One of the typical disorders of homeostasis is bacterial vaginosis, defined as predominance of group IV CST system bacteria (comprising different genera characterized by anaerobic metabolism), which is an essential problem of the female population all over the world. The maintenance of this homeostasis can be restored by medicinal preparations. In addition to well-known antibiotics aimed at inhibiting the development of bacterial pathogens, probiotics and products that promote the development of beneficial microbiota are increasingly used. It seems more relevant not to cure, but to prevent imbalance of homeostasis. For this purpose, women use different washing and care techniques of external genitalia. Women’s everyday practices also include the use of washing preparations from the group of cosmetics; however, little is known about their impact on the microbiota. These products potentially constitute an element of early prevention, which is highly beneficial for female health. The main controversial type of ingredients are cleaning surfactants, which can lead to disruption of the epidermal barrier and to breakthrough of pathogens.
</abstract>

The influence of intimate hygiene on vaginal microbiota and health

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
Acute leukemias are the largest group of childhood cancers. According to the latest WHO data 80,491 leukemias were diagnosed in 2020 alone. In the coming years the incidence worldwide will continue at a similar level. The morbidity correlates with biological determinants such age, gender and race. The etiology of leukemia formation is complex and depends on genetic, physiological, environmental and even prior treatment-related factors. Both the incidence and curability are also influenced by age, gender, and race. The peak of incidence of leukemia occurs between the ages of 1–4 years and 9–19. The etiology of leukemia formation is complex and depends on genetic, physiological, environmental and even prior treatment-related factors. Boys suffer from leukemia more often than girls. In 2020 58.2% of diagnoses were for boys. Numerous factors contribute to the development of acute leukemia. In the case of young children, a notable association exists between acute leukemia and infections caused by viruses such as EBV or HHV-6. Furthermore, the risk of leukemia can be elevated by allergies, which involve Th1/Th2 lymphocyte-dependent mechanisms. A familial predisposition to tumorigenesis in children is observed in Li-Fraumeni Syndrome. Also, genetic diseases such as Down syndrome and Fanconi anemia are associated with an increased risk of acute leukemia. Previous exposure to radiation therapy or the use of anti-cancer drugs can also lead to the development of secondary cancers, including leukemia. The analysis of risk factors can be used to support efforts aimed to reduce potentially harmful exposure and to decrease the risk of disease.
</abstract>

Epidemiology of childhood acute leukemias

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
<sec><title style='display:none'>Introduction</title>
Human milk, which constitutes the best composed nutrition for infants, is not a sterile biofluid. Besides nutritional and bioactive components, many microorganisms have been found in human milk, including <italic>Bacillus cereus</italic>. Those pathogenic bacteria can be responsible for causing pneumonia or septicemia in neonates. Although <italic>Bacillus cereus</italic> infections are not common, they represent one of the increasing factors of a high mortality rate in the preterm infants group. Donor human milk (DHM) may be a significant source of this pathogen.
</sec>
<sec><title style='display:none'>Materials and Methods</title>
Given the high ability of <italic>Bacillus cereus</italic> spores to survive under different thermal conditions, we tested the effect of the holder pasteurization and storage points (4 °C and −21 °C) on sporulation and vegetative forms’ survival in inoculated human milk samples by culture method and light microscopy.
</sec>
<sec><title style='display:none'>Results</title>
Studies confirmed that holder pasteurization is effective against vegetative forms of <italic>Bacillus cereus</italic>. Additionally, during storage endospores were observed in all analyzed inoculated donor milk samples, both the pasteurized and unpasteurized samples, thus possibly promoting the occurrence of <italic>Bacillus cereus</italic> in DHM.
</sec>
<sec><title style='display:none'>Conclusions</title>
<italic>Bacillus cereus</italic> is considered a contamination in DHM and in the human milk banks’ (HMB) environment. There is a need to further develop methods of identifying, transmitting, and preventing bacteria forming spores, which could be applied in HMB.
</sec>
</abstract>

Effect of holder pasteurization and storage of donor human milk on <italic>Bacillus cereus</italic> survival

<abstract>
<title style='display:none'>Abstract</title>
<sec><title style='display:none'>Introduction</title>
Burn infection due to <italic>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</italic> poses a considerable challenge in terms of graft loss, systemic sepsis, prolonged hospital stays, and even enhanced mortality. The aim of this study was to consider the susceptibility pattern to antibiotics and occurrence of class I, II, and III integrons in <italic>P. aeruginosa</italic> isolated from hospitalized burn patients.
</sec>
<sec><title style='display:none'>Materials and Methods</title>
A cross-sectional study was performed on 70 <italic>P. aeruginosa</italic> isolates obtained from blood, wounds, biopsy, and sputum samples from burn patients between January 2020 and March 2021 from different wards of a teaching hospital in Ahvaz, Iran.
</sec>
<sec><title style='display:none'>Results</title>
Antimicrobial susceptibility pattern was performed using the disk diffusion method. Also, PCR was carried out for the detection of <italic>intI1</italic>, <italic>intI2</italic> and <italic>intI3</italic> genes. Among the 70 <italic>P. aeruginosa</italic> isolates, 34 (48.6%) isolates were obtained from females and 36 (51.4%) isolates from males. PCR amplification revealed that 51.4% isolates (36/70) had <italic>intI1</italic>, 30% isolates (21/70) had <italic>intI2</italic>, and 12.9% isolates (9/70) had both genes. However, the <italic>intI3</italic> gene was not detected in any isolates. Furthermore, there is no important association between resistance to antibiotics and the presence of <italic>intI</italic> genes.
</sec>
<sec><title style='display:none'>Conclusion</title>
According to our results, there were no statistically significant differences among resistance to antibiotics and the presence of <italic>intI and intI1</italic> genes. However, the surveillance of patterns of antibiotic resistance and investigation into the role of integrons in controlling the scattering of antibiotic-resistant genes are recommended.
</sec>
</abstract>

Investigation of antimicrobial susceptibility, class I, II, and III integrons among clinical isolates of <italic>Pseudomonas aeruginosa</italic> from hospitalized burn patients in Southern Iran

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Postępy Higieny i Medycyny Doświadczalnej (Advances in Hygiene and Experimental Medicine) publish Original Articles, Reviews, Short...