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Ceratophysella macrocantha Stach, 1946 is redescribed on the basis of a syntype specimen from the Austrian Alps which is here designated as the lectotype. This species has the chaetotaxy of the type B and an empodium with a long filament. It is closely related to nine species/forms, two of which, C. attenuata Gisin, 1960 nec Cassagnau, 1959 from the Swiss Alps and C. recta Cassagnau, 1959 from the Pyrenees, are most similar. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The 2D representative volume element (RVE) for softening quasi-brittle materials like concrete is determined. Two alternative methods are presented to determine a size of RVE in concrete subjected to uniaxial tension by taking into account strain localization. Concrete is described as a heterogeneous three-phase material composed of aggregate, cement matrix and bond. The plane strain FE calculations of strain localization at meso-scale are carried out with an isotropic damage model with non-local softening [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article focuses on the findings of a study of samples of victims of the crimes of affray and battery in Poland. The author remarks that the precondition of criminal responsibility for the basic type of this offence is exposing a human being to immediate danger of loss of life, of a serious bodily injury, or of a serious impairment of health. Following legal doctrine and judicial decisions, the legal notions of affray and battery differ from each other. It is commonly acknowledged that affray occurs when a brawl occurs between at least three persons, and is coupled with violation of personal inviolability, such that each participant is both the attacked and the attacker.

RSI and RFS questionnaires are a basic and common method used for initial diagnosis of laryngopharyngeal reflux (LPR). However, they only measure symptoms which may or may not be concurrent with LPR. The severity of these symptoms is assessed either by the patients themselves (with the use of the Reflux Symptoms Index - RSI) or by the doctor specialising in the field (with the use of the Reflux Finding Score - RFS). Therefore, the findings of the questionnaire may to a large extent depend on the study population - its demographic and cultural characteristics; the extent to which the medical terms used in the questionnaires are understood; and on the linguistic aspects and translation choices. As for the Polish language versions of these questionnaires, there is no reliable analysis of their consistency and if they reach the assumed goal. The studies we have conducted on a group of 84 patients show that we encounter at least one of the above-mentioned problems. Therefore, to make the questionnaires reliable and useful for diagnosis, it is necessary to conduct a formal validation of their translation and to conduct studies on reference groups.

Objective: The sympathetic nervous system is a key modulator of prognosis and outcome in cardiac ischaemia and infarction. The effects of acute cardiac ischaemia on sympathetic neural traffic in humans are unknown. We tested the hypothesis that angioplasty, and associated transient myocardial ischaemia, elicits changes in neural circulatory control, including direct intraneural measures of sympathetic traffic., Methods: We measured muscle sympathetic nerve activity (MSNA), blood pressure and heart rate in 12 patients (11 men, one woman) undergoing clinically indicated elective coronary angioplasty of the left anterior descending (n = 7) or circumflex (n = 5) coronary artery. Baseline data were obtained for 2 min before occlusion. Each balloon inflation was designed to last up to 120 s., Results: Coronary occlusion had no significant effect on blood pressure or heart rate. In contrast, occlusion resulted in a significant increase in MSNA, in 10 of the 12 patients, and in all seven of those patients undergoing angioplasty of the left anterior descending artery. The group mean increase in MSNA during occlusion was 36 +/- 11% (P = 0.008 versus preocclusion). MSNA increased within 60 s of occlusion (129 +/- 12% of baseline; n = 12; P = 0.04), and increased further during the next 60 s to 141 +/- 12% of baseline levels (n = 10; P < 0.001). Increases in MSNA were similar in patients with and without significant chest pain (39 +/- 9% versus 34 +/- 13%, respectively; P = 0.84)., Conclusion: Acute coronary occlusion during angioplasty increases central sympathetic outflow, but there is no systematic change in heart rate. The increase in sympathetic nerve traffic cannot be explained by blood pressure changes or occlusion-related chest pain.

The coronary disease is nowadays one of the main causes of death in Poland. To fight epidemy of the coronary disease, not only the prevention and proper treatment are necessary, but the sufficient availability of the diagnostic methods, as well. The aim of our work was to evaluate the availability of coronarography among the patients from Northern Poland. We analysed the data of the patients who underwent the coronarography in years 1997-1998. During that time there were 3916 examined patients. In the analysis the sex, age and place of residence were taken into consideration. Women were 28.93% of all the diagnosed patients. The sex structure basically didn't differ according to the place of residence (city--women 28.7%, village--30.64%). The average age of the diagnosed patients was 58 years. There was a statistically significant difference between the average age of women and men (women 59 years, while men 57 years). The age distribution varied also in the statistically significant degree according to the place of living--the average age of village people was 56 years, little cities 58 years, big cities 59 years. The village people were only 10% of all diagnosed patients. In the analysis of the collected data significant differences in availability of coronarography were found-especially between rural and urban areas. Also the age and sex of the diagnosed patients varied significantly-most probably due to the distribution of the risk factors.