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This review discusses the preventive and therapeutic potential of natural dietary compounds against colorectal cancer. The chemopreventive properties of many natural food matrices and purified bioactive compounds have been evaluated. Prominent among the dietary constituents that are the focus of interest in colorectal cancer chemoprevention are dietary fiber, probiotics and prebiotics, methionine and folate, vitamins D and E, calcium and selenium, anthocyanins, procyanidins, phytoestrogens, isothiocyanates, epigallocatechin gallate, curcumin, and resveratrol. Laboratory studies provide strong evidence for the antitumor potential of these dietary agents. The mechanisms of their chemopreventive action are associated with, for example, the modulation of gene expression involved in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, and apoptosis and the suppression of metastasis and angiogenesis. The anti-carcinogenic properties of these food compounds are also related to inhibition of many inflammatory agents, including the expression of cyclooxygenase-2. In vitro and animal studies showed that most of them can protect against various carcinogens mediating colon cancer and suggest that they can also sensitize tumors to chemotherapy and radiation. Although experimental studies have clearly demonstrated their anticancer activity, not many clinical trials have provided satisfying results, not only because of the lack of efficiency of the chemopreventive agents, but also due to the lack of precise biomarkers monitoring their effects on colon cancer. Despite the lack of strong evidence for the anticancer potential of natural food compounds, clinicians have high hopes for using these factors in colon cancer chemoprevention and decreasing the incidence of this common malignancy in the future.

Purpose: Arborisation of retinal vessels might be influenced by the physiological activity of the retina. It seems that the pattern of retinal vessels is an obvious object for fractal analysis. The fractal dimension of normal retinas was therefore used by us as a control value for comparison with the values collected from patients with amblyopia in one eye connected with strabismus and normal vision in the other., Methods: The 'box-counting method' was used for calculation of self-similarity dimension in 54 control patients, i.e. comparing 54 left retinas with 54 right ones. Statistical analysis was performed for these groups. This value was therefore used as a control for comparison with the values of fractal dimensions measured in patients with amblyopia connected with strabismus in one eye and normal vision in the other. The retinas of 30 patients with strabismus in one eye and of 1 patient with strabismus in both eyes were analysed., Results: The measurements performed on digitised photos of the retinas of these patients proved statistically significant differences between the control group and the fractal dimensions for the arborisation of retinal vessels in the eyes of patients with normal vision as well as differences in comparison with the retinas of functionally disabled eyes with defective vision connected with strabismus., Conclusion: The final conclusion is not obvious. It seems that normal vision has a statistically confirmed influence on the development of retinal vessels. Defective vision connected with strabismus is disturbing the process of arborisation of the retinal vessels. The retinal vessels of the patient eyes with normal vision differ from the normal pattern as defined by fractal dimensions of control eyes., ((c) 2009 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

Purpose: To report a case of acute endophthalmitis following intravitreal triamcinolone acetonide injection., Material and Methods: A 54-year-old woman with diabetic macular edema developed endophthalmitis after triamcinolone injection. First she was treated with intravitreal antibiotic injections and next with four surgeries--facovitrectomy, revitrectomy, silicone oil removal and revitrectomy., Results: The initial visual acuity was 0.5. From the vitreous cultured Staphylococcus epidermidis. Depite the intensive medical intervention, the toxic retinal damage occurred and the final visual acuity was hand movement., Conclusions: intravitreal triamcinolone injections can induce bacterial endophthalmitis, which has a devastating effect on the ocular tissues and results in severe loss of vision. The procedure of injection in diabetic and immunocompromised patients should be performed with great care.

Structural alterations in thymuses of female rats during the first 2 years of life were evaluated by morphometric analysis and, then, correlated with organization of epithelial cells in various thymic compartments, examined for their cytokeratin immunoreactivity. With an advancing age, the thymuses demonstrated morphological modifications related to maturation and senescence, the dynamics of which varied between particular thymic compartments, and involved subpopulations of thymic epithelial cells. In the entire period of life the most dynamic changes were found in the cortex while the medulla was demonstrated to be a rather "stable" region. Morphometric studies revealed a negative correlation between the volume of thymic cortex and medulla and age of rats and a linear, positive relationship between the volume of connective tissue compartment and age. Changes in organization of epithelial network in the medulla preceded those observed in the cortex. Decreased proliferative activity of subset of medullary cells, which probably represented a self-renewable population, was accompanied by alterations in the immunocytochemically characterized (cytokeratines) differentiation process. At the same period of life, hypertrophy and hyperplasia of superficial epithelial cells seems to functionally replace medullary cells. This process begins around 3rd month of life and expands on all thymic compartments. The first changes in the cortex appeared around 8th month and were connected with reduced cytokeratin immunoreactivity. The involution observed in older animals was preceded by age-related alterations in epithelial network pattern which, in the course of stable morphometric parameters (between 5th and 12th month), showed character of a structural and functional adaptation.

The aim of the paper is to explore a causal nexus between contract type (financing rules and scale of responsibilities) and tendency towards integration between Polish health care providers. For more than 40 years Polish health care sector structures were fully integrated. The law introduced in 1991 initiated development of a system of contracts between public payer and the independent medical services' providers. After a few years, new legislation enabled much faster movement from an integrated model of provision towards separating a public 'third party payer' from health services providers. After reforms in 1999, in the context of poor enforcement mechanisms, unit financing rules proved to be one of the weaknesses of the Polish health care system. By enhancing a structure-disintegrating process, cost-per-case contracts destroyed those of organizational and professional networks (both formal and informal ones) which could guarantee coordinated, continuous and high quality health care for people. On the other hand, in 2002, 2 of the 17 Sickness Funds implemented contractual arrangements typical for the managed care system. The primary care providers who realized pilot experiment, took on responsibility for coordinating treatment of the enrolled patients and for management of financial resources assigned for the health care packages broader than usual in Poland. Capitation payment was the major technique of financing those providers. Using a case study descriptive analysis, it is argued here that capitation prospective payment for wide packages of health care may encourage spontaneous (bottom-up) integration between primary and secondary care providers.

The Fos family of transcription factors may play a key role in various forms of brain plasticity. Among different genes coding Fos proteins is the fosB gene. Protein products of the fosB gene are thought to be critically involved in neural adaptations produced by chronic treatment with drugs of abuse. fosB gene transcription leads to accumulation of full-length FosB as well as its truncated form, deltafosB. Stable isoforms of deltafosB called chronic FRAs accumulate in the brain after chronic administration of various drugs of abuse. The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the role of the fosB gene in two-bottle choice ethanol self-administration. For this aim, ethanol (2-8% v/v) intake and preference was assessed in fosB mutant (n=17) and wild-type (WT) mice (n=16). For comparison, consumption of saccharin (0.05-0.8% w/v) and quinine (15-960 microM) solutions was assessed in the same animals. Ethanol preference in both groups varied from around 50% for the lowest to 20% for the highest ethanol concentration. Neither ethanol intake (g/kg) nor preference differed between the two genotypes. In contrast, saccharin preference, but not intake, was higher in the fosB mutants. Only slight and inconsistent between-group differences were observed in terms of quinine preference. The present results suggest that permanent elimination of fosB gene products does not alter ethanol intake but may enhance preference for sweet solutions in mice.

The structural similarity between substance P (SP, Arg-Pro-Lys-Pro-Gln-Gln-Phe-Phe-Gly-Leu-Met-NH(2)) and Arg/Pro rich bactericidal peptides suggests a possible direct effect of SP on invasive microbes. We now present evidence that substance P possesses direct antimicrobial activity, highest against S. aureus. A substance P antagonist also possesses such activity but while less potent than substance P agonist S. aureus, is more potent than substance P against C. albicans. Our data also show that the endogenous peptides bradykinin and neurotensin, that also play role in modulation of the host-defense system in situ, have antimicrobial properties but are less potent than substance P.

Unlabelled: The aim of our study was to evaluate an effect of surfactant lung lavage (SLL) in severe meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS)., Material: 22 neonates were divided into 2 groups: group A treated with SLL (n = 11) and group B--historic control (n = 11). The criteria for entry into the study were as follows: stain amniotic fluid, meconium below vocal cords, gestational age > 35 wks, time after delivery < 6 h, clinical manifestation of severe respiratory insufficiency, need for mechanical ventilation (FiO2 > 0.4) and pathological chest X-ray., Method: SLL was done between 1. and 6. hours of life with natural surfactant (Survanta) in concentration 5 mg of phospholipids/1 ml 0.9% NaCl (15 ml of solution per kg). Following data were analyzed IO, PaO2, FiO2 (before treatment and 1, 2, 4, 48 hours after), duration of hospitalization, death rate., Results: The mean value in group A (+/- SD) before SLL were as follow: IO 19.0 (12.4). PaO2--51.4 mmHg (14.1). FiO2--0.8 (0.3); after 1 hour: IO--13.7 (9.4). PaO2--63.8 mmHg (16.8). FiO2--0.7 (0.3). After 48 hours: IO--4.2 (2.4). PaO2--60.5 mmHg (7.2). FiO2--0.38 (0.1); duration of IMV--5.6 days (4.1); duration of hospitalization--20.5 days (8.8). No deaths occurred. In group B in 1st hour of life mean value (+/- SD) were as follows: IO 22.4 (14.5). PaO2--47.7 mmHg (12.1). FiO2--0.8 (10.3); after 1 hour: IO--21.5 (17.8). PaO2--52.2 mmHg (24.1). FiO2--0.7 (0.3); after 48 hours: IO--7.6 (5.8). PaO2--57.7 (16.4) mmHg. FiO2--0.5 (0.3); duration of IMV--5.9 days (4.8); duration of hospitalization--22.4 days (11.3). One newborn died in group B., Conclusion: Our pilot SLL study showed the benefit of this procedure in newborns with severe MAS. In treating MAS, SLL allows to achieve lower IO and higher of PaO2 after 1 hour, shorten the time of mechanical ventilation and hospitalization.

A study based on SEM, EDAX, Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), X-ray diffraction (XRD) methods was performed. This initial study allowed us to conclude that the analyzed ceramic material S2 is a good bone substitute for filling bone defects.