<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<sec><h3>Introduction</h3>
<p>Ocular ischemic syndrome (OIS) is a rare condition associated with ocular hypoperfusion caused by carotid artery occlusive disease. This article describes the case of a patient who was admitted to the Department of Ophthalmology at UCK in Katowice, Poland, due to significant loss of visual acuity and pain in the right eye.</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Materials and Methods</h3>
<p>Retrosopective case report.</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Results</h3>
<p>Patient showed up in the ophthalmological emergency department complaining of significant loss of visual acuity and pain in the right eye persisting for 2 weeks. The patient had a history of type II diabetes mellitus, hypertension, status post ACS and PCI, and long-term nicotinism. Examination of the right eye revealed ocular irritation, mixed conjunctival injection, hyphema in the anterior chamber, iris neovascularization, and discrete central retinal fading. Additional examinations were performed, including an angioCT, which showed a long-standing obstruction of the right internal carotid artery, a ballooning thrombus in the lumen of the brachiocephalic trunk, and suspected critical stenosis of the left vertebral artery.</p>
<p>A neurologist and vascular surgeon were consulted, and treatment was instituted to limit further complications from the underlying disease. The patient remains under close supervision of the vascular surgeon and neurologist.</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Conslusions</h3>
<p>OIS is a rare but potentially blinding condition and should be considered in the differential diagnosis of transient visual acuity reduction or vision loss.</p>
</sec>
</abstract>

Department of Ophthalmology, Faculty of Medical Sciences

Kornel Gibiński University Clinical Centre, Medical University of Silesia

Kornel Gibiński University Clinical Centre

Student Academic Circle, Faculty of Medical Sciences

Ocular ischemic syndrome – case report and literature analysis

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<sec><h3>Introduction</h3>
<p>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.</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Materials and Methods</h3>
<p>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.</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Results</h3>
<p>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.</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Conclusions</h3>
<p><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.</p>
</sec>
</abstract>

Laboratory of Human Milk and Lactation Research at Regional Human Milk Bank in Holy Family Hospital

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

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<sec><h3>Introduction</h3>
<p>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.</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Materials and Methods</h3>
<p>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.</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Results</h3>
<p>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>.</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Conclusions</h3>
<p>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.</p>
</sec>
</abstract>

Faculty of Biological Sciences and Technology Shahid Ashrafi Esfahani University

Department of Microbiology, Science and Research Branch

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 xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>Rabies is a vaccine-preventable viral disease that affects over 150 countries and territories worldwide. This neglected disease is almost always fatal once clinical signs manifest and is thus responsible for approximately 59,000 annual deaths. Due to globalization, rabies continues to be seen as a disease of developing countries and more emphasis, both nationally and internationally, is put on fighting infectious diseases that also affect economically developed countries. Even though the elimination of dog-mediated rabies in Europe and North America has proved the possibility of its eradication, rabies is still a persistent public health concern in low- and middle-income countries. It is believed that the interplay of sustainable investment strategies and rabies education, through developed countries, could positively affect the cooperation of culturally diverse regions and could help garner coordinated action from different areas affected by dog-mediated rabies. Breaking the rabies transmission cycle requires a comprehensive approach that includes increased vaccination efforts, improved surveillance and control of wildlife populations, and public education and awareness. More global effort must be put into these efforts to effectively combat the spread of rabies and protect public health. We herein examine various strategies and innovative financing methods for eliminating dog-mediated human rabies from the developing world to achieve the World Health Organization’s (WHO) goal of zero rabies deaths by 2030.</p>
</abstract>

Infectious and Tropical Diseases Research Center

Department of Virology, Faculty of Medicine

Network of Immunity in Infection, Malignancy and Autoimmunity (NIIMA)

Universal Scientific Education and Research Network (USERN)

A debate on elimination of dog-mediated human rabies in developing countries by 2030

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>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.</p>
</abstract>

Hirszfeld Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy Polish Academy of Sciences

Department of Bone Marrow Transplantation

Pediatric Oncology and Hematology Wroclaw Medical University

Epidemiology of childhood acute leukemias

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<p>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.</p>
</abstract>

Student Scientific Society at the Chair and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze

Medical University of Silesia in Katowice

Chair and Department of Microbiology and Immunology, Faculty of Medical Sciences in Zabrze

The influence of intimate hygiene on vaginal microbiota and health

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">

<sec><h3>Introduction</h3>
<p>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.</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Methods</h3>
<p>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.</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Results</h3>
<p>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).</p>
</sec>
<sec><h3>Conclusions</h3>
<p>Treatment with surgical resection and TKIs could significantly improve the prognosis of patients with recurrent or metastatic GIST.</p>
</sec>
</abstract>

Surgery plus TKIs therapy for gastrointestinal stromal tumors

AHEAD OF PRINT

Volume 78 (2024): Issue 1 (January 2024)

Volume 77 (2023): Issue 1 (January 2023)

Volume 76 (2022): Issue 1 (January 2022)

Volume 75 (2021): Issue 1 (January 2021)

Postępy Higieny i Medycyny Doświadczalnej

 Postępy Higieny i Medycyny Doświadczalnej (Advances in Hygiene and Experimental Medicine) publish Original Articles, Reviews, Short Communications and Commentaries in medicine and experimental biology, with particular regard to immunology, oncology, cell biology, microbiology, glycobiology and genetics. Review papers should have the character of critical reviews pertaining to the given field.  Articles submitted for publication should not have been previously published in printed or electronic form, whether in whole or in part. Articles are published in electronic form on the web site. Articles are placed on the web site immediately after being accepted for publication.  Only papers in English can be submitted as from 2022, only articles in English will be published.  In 2010, the Advances in Hygiene and Experimental Medicine were included on the ISI Master Journal Lists (Journal Citation Report) and had its first Impact Factor. The current Impact Factor 2020 is 0.270; the 5-year Impact Factor is 1.224; CiteScore 2020 = 1,9.  Articles published in the journal have 40 points according to the Polish Committee for Scientific Research. The journal is indexed in the Scopus base and other international index bases, such as DOAJ, EBSCO, and Google Scholar.  Journal History  Postępy Higieny i Medycyny Doświadczalnej (PHMD, Advances in Hygiene and Experimental Medicine) was founded in 1949 as an organ of the National Institute of Hygiene (PZH). The motivation for starting the journal was stated in the editors' introduction, in which we read that scientific progress demands the cooperation of scholars from various, specialized fields. "Basic research has become extremely significant, and with it the necessity to pursue the courses of a great number of branches of knowledge. This, though, is even beyond the abilities of experts. Articles in scientific journals are generally aimed at specialists, but are often inaccessible, even incomprehensible, to scholars in related fields. A remedy may be monographs which provide a synthesis: the researcher profits from their references to scientific literature, and the broad mass of readers are given a survey of the issue."  The first editor-in-chief was Prof. Ludwik Hirszfeld, then director of the Scientific Council of the PZH. From the very beginning, the editorial office was located in Wroclaw, where the editorial secretary, the microbiologist Prof. Henryk Makower, worked at the Institute of Microbiology of the Academy of Medicine (at Chałubińskiego 4). Volume 1 contained lectures presented at the 9th Conference of Microbiologists and Epidemiologists in Wroclaw and the Conference of the Scientific Council of the PZH in Warsaw, which took place in October of 1948. The issue contained an introduction by Prof. Hirszfeld, and the first article in the history of PHMD was a discussion of infectious diseases in Poland by Prof. Feliks Przesmycki.  In volume 3 was the article "The activity of acriflavine on yeast" by Boris Ephrussi and Piotr Słonimski of the Institute of Genetics of the Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique and the Institute of Physio-Chemical Biology in Paris. It was an important paper, containing the results of a four-year study in search of the mechanisms of yeast cell respiration using genetic methods. "Piotr Słonimski and, of course, Hirszfeld himself were anxious to have a French scientist of Ephrussi's stature appear in a Polish publication. It the case of Słonimski it was, indirectly, also important that postwar Wroclaw's pedigree in terms of its university and science in general was Lvovian" (from a story about Piotr Słonimski in "Genetics and History" by R. Jarocki, Rosner &amp; Co., Warsaw, 2003, pp. 170-171).  The journal was published at first annually, at the relatively large number of 2000-3000 copies, by the State Institute of Medical Publishers (PZWL). Two volumes each were published in 1951 and 1953, which is why the number of volumes of PHMD is two more than its number of years in print. With volume 7 (1953), Postępy became a quarterly of the Polish Academy of Science, and the editorial office worked in the newly organized Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy in Wroclaw. After the death of Ludwik Hirszfeld in 1954, Prof. Hugon Kowarzyk, a well-known pathophysiologist became the editor-in-chief in 1956. From 1958 on the journal started appearing every two months, and Prof. Kazimierz Dux (pathophysiologist and oncologist) became the second editor, followed by Prof. Marian Mordarski, a microbiologist, in 1963. Prof. Mordarski became editor-in-chief in 1968 and fulfilled this function for 35 years, until his death in 2003. For many years (1968-1992), Prof. Henryk Matej, an immunologist, was secretary and later deputy editor.  The editorial office moved to the new seat of the Institute of Immunology and Experimental Therapy (at Rudolfa Weigla 12) in 1974. During the difficult political (1982) and financial (1990) years, numbers of the journal were published together to make up for the considerable delays. In the following years, PHMD could be published in regular two-month intervals. Due to the spread of the Internet and the great possibilities the electronic form of information transfer provides, it was decided to alter the mode of the journal's publication from volume 58 (2004) onwards.　  This change enables easier and broader access to the published articles, shortens the publication process, and sets no limits on the size of papers. The last number of Postępy Higieny i Medycyny Doświadczalnej in printed form appeared in December 2003. Since the 2004 Prof. Irena Frydecka is the Editor-in-Chief of the journal.  Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 

Postępy Higieny i Medycyny Doświadczalnej

Volume 78 (2024): Issue 1 (January 2024)

Original Study

Ocular ischemic syndrome – case report and literature analysis

Effect of holder pasteurization and storage of donor human milk on Bacillus cereus survival

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

Review

A debate on elimination of dog-mediated human rabies in developing countries by 2030

Epidemiology of childhood acute leukemias

The influence of intimate hygiene on vaginal microbiota and health

Surgery plus TKIs therapy for gastrointestinal stromal tumors

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