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Introduction: The subject of thermometry and impact of thermal effect on the human body is still a topic known and discussed in medical care. One of the basic methods in clinical diagnosis is the measurement of body temperature. In biological tissues, there are two main types of reactions caused by optical radiation: photochemical and thermal. The effects of radiation exposure depend on its properties and physical parameters, including the amount of absorbed dose and the duration of exposure. In the case of thermotherapy as a therapeutic method, the appropriate choice of radiation type and the selection of physical parameters is a necessary condition for obtaining desired, beneficial therapeutic effects. The aim of the study is to investigate the thermal effect of non-ionizing radiation: infrared (IR), ultraviolet (UV) and electromagnetic field (EMF) induced in short-wave diathermy (MD), measured with classical thermometers and a thermal imaging camera. The thermal effect, as a result of overheating with three different factors: IR, UV, MD; and under the same conditions, is studied. The variation in temperature distribution in different phantoms is evaluated in order to delve into the subject of thermal effect regarding each radiation separately and to consider its suitability for medical diagnosis and therapy. Material and methods: The thermal effect study was carried out on two phantoms. The first phantom F1 - a wooden cuboid (27.0 x 7.0 x 7.5 cm) with five holes drilled at 5 cm intervals, into which thermometers were inserted (depth 5 cm). The second phantom - F2 was a biological tissue, the lower part of pork ham cut off along with the bone with fat covering and skin. Phantoms F1 and F2 were treated with an infrared heater (P1), a lamp emitting ultraviolet radiation (P2) and short-wave diathermy (P3); C and irradiation - 20 minutes, temperature measurements at intervals of 5 minutes, i.e. 5, 10, 15 and 20 minutes for the examined factors. During the experiment, temperature measurements were periodically made with the IR Thermal Radiometric Camera MobIR® M3. For obtaining reliability of the measurements, the whole trial was repeated 10 times. Before the thermograms were made, two-hour intervals were applied between successive measurements, maintaining a constant ambient temperature of 23°C. Results: With regard to UV radiation, there was an increase in the average temperature among the thermometers. This was particularly noticeable in the first thermometer with a 1.9% increase (up to 25.11 ± 0.29°C) above the ambient temperature (24.65 ± 0.34°C) after 15 minutes of measurements. After 20 minutes, the average temperature increase in thermometer 1 was 2.2% (up to 25.18 ± 0.23°C). A temperature increase in subsequent thermometers may be related to thermal conductivity and an increase of ambient temperature. In turn, for IR, an average 1.7% (to 25.16 ± 0.87°C) temperature increase of all thermometers was observed at 15 minutes and at 20 minutes, by 2.9% (to 25.48 ± 1.35°C) compared to baseline temperature (24.75 ± 0.47°C). Comparing the average temperature of thermometer 1 with the ambient temperature (24.75 ± 0.49°C), the highest increase of 12.8% (to 27.93 ± 0.69°C) was noted after 20 minutes of measurements. In diathermy, after 10 minutes, an increase in the average temperature in thermometer 1 was observed by 2.8% (to 25.69 ± 0.46°C) above the ambient temperature. The highest increase in average temperature was recorded in thermometers 1 and 5 in the 20th minute of measurements. Conclusions: All of the applied methods caused temperature increases in the used phantoms. The temperature distribution in the wooden phantom corresponds to that in the biological tissue for the interaction of infrared radiation (IR) and short-wave diathermy (MD), which was confirmed by thermovision. The increase in the internal temperature of the superheated biological structure corresponds to the increase in the distribution of the phantom's internal temperature. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Proteins are macromolecular compounds made up of amino acids linked by peptide bonds. They are the basic structural component of all living organisms. Their diversity has to do with their structure, and therefore with the way the amino acid residues are arranged in the molecule. Albumin shape is determined by the sequence of amino acids that make it up. The primary amino acid in its composition is cysteine and in smaller amounts glycine, methionine and one tryptophan residue, thanks to which it exhibits fluorescent properties. For structural studies of proteins, many physical methods are used. The most commonly chosen are spectroscopic methods, which deal with the interaction between electromagnetic radiation and matter. The article provides an overview of spectroscopic methods employed in the structural studies of proteins. It also serves as a prelude to further research that aims to utilise one of the spectroscopic methods to study the structural changes of albumin after exposure to physicochemical agents. The described spectroscopic methods are characterized by different sensitivity, specificity and procedures to be performed during sample preparation for the study. In the spectroscopic study of proteins, with particular attention to changes in their structure, the method of fluorescence spectroscopy deserves attention. It is the best choice for studying structural changes in proteins that occur under the influence of physicochemical factors. Capturing these changes and relating them to the functions of proteins enriches the knowledge of the normal functioning of the body, as well as the basis of some diseases. Białka są związkami wielkocząsteczkowymi zbudowanymi z aminokwasów połączonych wiązaniami peptydowymi. Stanowią podstawowy składnik strukturalny wszystkich żywych organizmów. Ich różnorodność ma związek z budową, a co za tym idzie ze sposobem uszeregowania reszt aminokwasów w cząsteczce. Albumina stanowi około 60% białek osocza, jej kształt determinuje sekwencja tworzących ją aminokwasów. Podstawowym aminokwasem wchodzącym w skład albuminy jest cysteina oraz w mniejszych ilościach glicyna, metionina i jedna reszta tryptofanowa, dzięki której wykazuje właściwości fluorescencyjne. Do badań strukturalnych białek stosowanych jest wiele metod fizycznych. Najczęściej wybierane są metody spektroskopowe, opierające się na generacji widm powstałych wskutek oddziaływania promieniowania elektromagnetycznego z materią. Najpowszechniej stosowaną metodą spektroskopii jest spektroskopia optyczna, wykorzystująca promieniowanie elektromagnetyczne od podczerwieni po ultrafiolet. Praca stanowi przegląd metod spektroskopowych wykorzystywanych w badaniach strukturalnych białek. Stanowi także wstęp do dalszych badań, które mają na celu wykorzystanie jednej z metod spektroskopowych do badań nad zmianami strukturalnymi albuminy po ekspozycji na czynniki fizykochemiczne. Opisane metody spektroskopowe cechują się różną czułością, specyficznością oraz procedurami, jakie należy wykonać podczas przygotowania próbki do badania. W spektroskopowym badaniu białek, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem zmian zachodzących w ich strukturze, na uwagę zasługuje metoda spektroskopii fluorescencyjnej. Metoda ta jest niezwykle czuła i precyzyjna. Jest najlepszym wyborem do badania zmian strukturalnych białek, jakie zachodzą pod wpływem działania czynników fizykochemicznych. Nowoczesna aparatura pozwala na badanie zmian zachodzących w strukturze białek na poziomie molekularnym. Uchwycenie tych zmian i powiązanie ich z funkcjami białek wzbogaca wiedzę dotyczącą prawidłowości funkcjonowania organizmu, a także podłoża niektórych chorób. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Annales Academiae Medicae Silesiensis is the property of Medical University of Silesia and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Lead-exposure is known to disrupt the redox balance of tissues leading to oxidative stress. Due to the fact that a mucolytic drug, erdosteine, exerts also antioxidant properties, we decided to perform a pilot study on rats to evaluate its therapeutic potency in lead poisoning. Male Wistar rats were divided randomly into the following seven groups having 10 animals in each. Group I served as the control group. During 8-week period, rats in groups II–IV, except standard alimentation, received: erdosteine in a dose 350 mg/kg (collateral control group), 1200 ppm of lead acetate in drinking water and placebo, as well as the same doses of lead and erdosteine, respectively. Rats in group V–VII received 1200 ppm of lead acetate in drinking water for the initial 6-week period and then administered: placebo, erdosteine and EDTA for 2 weeks, respectively. The levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) were significantly higher in groups III and V compared to the control group. The activities of catalase (CAT) were significantly higher in groups IV, V, and VI compared to the control group. The activities of glutathione-S-transferase (GST) were significantly lower in group II and significantly higher in groups VI and VII compared to the control group, while the activities of glutathione reductase (GR) were significantly lower in group III and significantly higher in group VI. Erdosteine has an effect of protection against lead-induced oxidative stress which is not worse than that of EDTA. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Copyright of Environmental Medicine / Medycyna Środowiskowa is the property of Witold Chodzki Institute of Rural Medicine and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)