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Type 2 diabetes is one of the diseases of civilization that affects older people relatively more often. It is called the plague of the 21st century. As the body ages, insulin sensitivity decreases significantly, which often results in impaired insulin secretion in the body. Type 2 diabetes in the elderly is currently a major clinical problem. Improperly treated diabetes leads to many dysfunctions in the body, such as: diabetic nephropathy, coronary artery disease, and in some cases it may lead to atherosclerosis occlusive of the arteries of the lower limbs. The theoretical part of the work included information about type 2 diabetes. The practical part included a case report of an 80-year-old patient with type 2 diabetes.

W artykule wychodzącym od rozpoznań Étienne’a Balibara i Enza Traversa podjęta została próba scharakteryzowania rasizmu klasowego w traktatach trzech dziewiętnastowiecznych francuskich myślicieli: Arthura de Gobineau, Gustave’a Le Bona i Georgesa Vachera de Lapouge’a, uznanych za głównych teoretyków owego skrajnie elitarystycznego zjawiska. Uzyskane w ten sposób wnioski zostają następnie skonfrontowane z wybranymi pracami trzech polskich lekarzy-antropologów z przełomu XIX i XX wieku: Władysława Olechnowicza, Juliana Talko-Hryncewicza i Leona Rutkowskiego, którzy w swoich badaniach również uwzględniali podziały społeczne.

Biomass, primarily derived from photosynthesizing plants harnessing solar energy, is crucial for ecosystem functioning and diverse services. This study delves into the unique ecosystem of coal mine heaps, exploring unexpected relations between abiotic factors and biomass in spontaneous vegetation. Biomass quantity and quality are influenced by factors like plant photosynthesis efficiency, necessitating an understanding of dynamics on post-mining sites. Our investigation focuses on diverse spontaneous vegetation on coal mine heaps, analyzing abiotic conditions such as soil texture, water holding capacity, pH, electrical conductivity, nitrogen, carbon, magnesium, sodium, and acidity. Contrary to our hypothesis, nitrogen content negatively correlates with soil total nitrogen, carbon, and water holding capacity. Dominant plant species' biomass, however, positively correlates with available phosphorus, pH, calcium, and sodium. These unexpected relationships highlight biomass dynamics complexity in novel ecosystems on coal mine heaps, stressing the need to consider spontaneous vegetation biomass as a valuable resource and ecosystem service in urban-industry landscapes. Findings expand scientific inquiry and have practical implications for post-industrial area reclamation. Understanding biomass potential in identified vegetation types provides insights into biomass character on coal mine heaps, crucial for maximizing spontaneous vegetation potential and transforming post-industrial landscape reclamation approaches.

Based on data from 2015 [1], it was found that 31% of all fatalities in road accidents in Poland were pedestrians. In places accessible to pedestrian traffic 74.2% of total accidents involving pedestrians were recorded. Approximately 53.9% of accidents involving pedestrians take place in the proximity of pedestrian crossings. In the context of improving the safety of vulnerable road users, an assessment of the condition of infrastructure in this sensitive area is very important. Warsaw took up the challenge of a comprehensive assessment of pedestrian crossings in determining the level of road safety and lighting conditions. Research covered pedestrian crossings without traffic lights in three central districts of the city. The work included field research by teams of experts analysing the geometry of pedestrian crossings, their environment and user behaviour. To complete the task, methodologies for assessing risks to pedestrian safety were developed. In this article the authors have attempted to systematise a description of the method of pedestrian safety assessment in the area of pedestrian crossings.

Chronic heart failure is one of the diseases of affluence It relatively more often affects the elderly, as well as those who suffer from cardiovascular diseases. The theoretical part of the paper contains information on chronic myocardial insufficiency enriched with an artificial pacemaker. In the practical part, a case report of a 76-year-old female patient with chronic myocardial failure after an implanted pacemaker was presented.

Ischemic stroke is one of the most common causes of death and the main cause of permanent disability in the world's population. Early detection of symptoms and appropriate treatment can significantly reduce the rate of deaths and/or reduce the risk of severe disability. The following study describes the case of a 71-year-old man who avoided partial or severe disability thanks to a quick reaction, accurate diagnostics and subsequent initiation of thrombolytic treatment.

Background: Colorectal cancer (CRC) prognosis is determined by the disease stage with low survival rates for advanced stages. Current CRC screening programs are mainly using colonoscopy, limited by its invasiveness and high cost. Therefore, non-invasive, cost-effective, and accurate alternatives are urgently needed. Objective and design: This retrospective multi-center plasma proteomics study was performed to identify potential blood-based biomarkers in 36 CRC patients and 26 healthy volunteers by high-resolution mass spectrometry proteomics followed by the validation in an independent CRC cohort (60 CRC patients and 44 healthy subjects) of identified selected biomarkers. Results: Among the 322 identified plasma proteins, 37 were changed between CRC patients and healthy volunteers and were associated with the complement cascade, cholesterol metabolism, and SERPIN family members. Increased levels in CRC patients of the complement proteins C1QB, C4B, and C5 as well as pro-inflammatory proteins, lipopolysaccharide-binding protein (LBP) and serum amyloid A4, constitutive (SAA4) were revealed for first time. Importantly, increased level of C5 was verified in an independent validation CRC cohort. Increased C4B and C8A levels were correlated with cancer-associated inflammation and CRC progression, while cancer-associated inflammation was linked to the acute-phase reactant leucine-rich alpha-2-glycoprotein 1 (LRG1) and ceruloplasmin. Moreover, a 4-protein signature including C4B, C8A, apolipoprotein C2 (APO) C2, and immunoglobulin heavy constant gamma 2 was changed between early and late CRC stages. Conclusion: Our results suggest that C5 could be a potential biomarker for CRC diagnosis. Further validation studies will aid the application of these new potential biomarkers to improve CRC diagnosis and patient care.

The main purpose of this study is to present family farms as consumers and producers of renewable energies which provide them with an opportunity to reduce operating costs. The time scope of the study is 2014–2022, and the Farm Accountancy Data Network is used as the data source. The following research methods were employed: comparative and descriptive analysis, intensity indicators, ranking assignment and panel regression. Based on the values of energy output and energy costs, the rankings revealed a strong position of the Netherlands and Germany. As demonstrated by the study, energy production and consumption volumes depend on the farms’ economic size, but are not impacted by production type. Another finding is that energy production covers only one-third of its costs. Also, both production volumes and costs were on a growth path on a year-over-year basis, with similar growth ratios. The European Union’s leaders in energy consumption and production are the Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Denmark, Czech Republic, Hungary, Luxembourg, Slovakia and Sweden. The study included the structuring of panel models for energy output and costs and identified their determinants. Energy output depends on total inputs and grows as they grow. Energy costs, in turn, are related to utilized agricultural area, total output and family farm income. An important limitation of this study is that FADN is a provider of high-level data. Hence, it is impossible to tell what specific sources of renewable energy are used by farms, and how they are affected by such exogenous factors as climate, earmarked subsidies or energy policy. The findings from this study are discussed in the context of the European Commission’s recommendations laid down in the Bioeconomy Strategy of the EU (2013), the Seventh Environment Action Program, the New Innovation Agenda of the European Union, the Report “Transforming Our World: the United Nations 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development” and the Circular Economy Action Plan.

BackgroundPrimary neuroendocrine neoplasms of the breast (Br-NENs) are rare. The classification has been updated in recent years making interpretation of the data published challenging. It is unclear whether neuroendocrine differentiation is associated with poorer prognosis and what treatment approaches should be applied.MethodsThe database for breast cancer patients treated between 2009 and 2022 at the Maria Sklodowska-Curie National Research Institute of Oncology Branch Krakow was explored to search for Br-NENs. Patients’ medical and pathological data were collected and analyzed.ResultsWe included 22 females with Br-NEN without metastases at the time of diagnosis. The median age was 64 years (range: 28-88), Of the cases, 18 were hormone receptor positive, all were HER-2 negative, the median Ki67 was 27% (10-100%). The median tumor size at the time of diagnosis was 29.5mm (7-75mm), 9 patients were N-positive. DCIS was present in 5 cases. Only one case was negative for chromogranin and synaptophysin staining, but data were missing for 4 cases. Nine patients received adjuvant chemotherapy, mainly based on anthracyclines and taxanes, while 16 received adjuvant hormonal therapy and 15 received postoperative radiotherapy. Radical surgery was performed in all patients, but two underwent suboptimal tumorectomy. One patient had local recurrence, three experienced metastatic disease, all involving the lungs, but these patients are still alive. The median follow-up was 96 months (8–153). Two patients died, with a follow up time of no recurrence >4 years. Our results were compared to twelve case series collecting clinical data on Br-NENs, with median patient number of 10.5 (range: 3-142).ConclusionBr-NENs represent a heterogenous group of diseases, lacking data from prospective studies or clinical trials. There are no established treatment standards tailored for Br-NENs. Our patients’ cohort exhibited a favorable prognosis, potentially attributed to lower tumor stage and Ki67 index compared to other reported case series. We suggest that radical surgery and postoperative radiotherapy be administered akin to standard treatment for breast cancer of no special type. ESMO also advocates for this approach in systemic treatment, although we recommend considering platinum-based chemotherapy for patients with poorly differentiated Br-NENs exhibiting high Ki67.

The subject of the work is to demonstrate the importance and presentation of the course of substantive nursing care for a 44-year-old patient who has been suffering from ankylosing spondylitis for years. The first part of the work contains the medical definition of the disease of the spine joints, the etiology of the disease, familiarization with the symptoms, diagnosis and description of treatment. The second one covers the description and analysis of a specific case. The entire work presents nursing problems that patients may experience and how to prepare a nursing order card.

Breast cancer is the most common cause of cancer-related deaths among women in the world. Its occurrence is mainly influenced by environmental factors, and to a lesser extent by genetic factors. The gold standard in diagnosis is mammography, but special attention should be paid to the need to educate women at an increasingly younger age in the field of breast self-examination. Treatment for breast cancer includes surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and hormone therapy.

The presented work focuses on the description of issues related to ischemic stroke and the presentation of the patient's care process after this incident. The first part is a clinical description of the disease, and the second part is a case report of a patient after an ischemic stroke staying in a neurological ward. The work also includes a description of the course of hospitalization, nursing problems, nursing interventions undertaken and evaluations of nursing activities.

Colorectal cancer (CRC) is one of the most frequent and mortality-causing neoplasia, with various distributions between populations. Strong hereditary predispositions are the causatives of a small percentage of CRC, and most cases have no transparent genetic background. This is a vast arena for exploring cancer low-susceptibility genetic variants. Nonetheless, the research that has been conducted to date has failed to deliver consistent conclusions and often features conflicting messages, causing chaos in this field. Therefore, we decided to organize the existing knowledge on this topic. We screened the PubMed and Google Scholar databases. We drew up markers by gene locus gathered by hallmark: oncogenes, tumor suppressor genes, genes involved in DNA damage repair, genes involved in metabolic pathways, genes involved in methylation, genes that modify the colonic microenvironment, and genes involved in the immune response. Low-penetration genetic variants increasing the risk of cancer are often population-specific, hence the urgent need for large-scale testing. Such endeavors can be successful only when financial decision-makers are united with social educators, medical specialists, genetic consultants, and the scientific community. Countries’ policies should prioritize research on this subject regardless of cost because it is the best investment. In this review, we listed potential low-penetrance CRC susceptibility alleles whose role remains to be established.

The paper presented delivers the proof for one of the possible solutions to the so-called medium-temperature gap—the lack of electrolytic systems able to efficiently work in a temperature range spanning from 200 to 450 °C. Regardless of the progress made in this field, the commercially available systems are still operating either at close to ambient temperatures, where hydrogen purity requirements are a significant limit, or above ca. 600 °C, where they suffer from increased corrosion and excessive thermal stresses occurring during startup and shutdown. Alkali metal orthoborates (M3BO3 M = Li, Na, K, or the mixture of these), in contrast to commercially used tetra-(M2B4O7) and meta-(MBO2) borates of these metals, are compounds with relatively poorly understood structure and physicochemical properties. The possibility of their application as an electrolyte in a fuel cell is a relatively new idea and has been preliminary reported. Therefore, an extended phase-focused analysis of the materials applied was needed to re-optimize both the synthetic strategy and the application route. Results of PXRD and FT-IR investigations showed, on the one hand, a complicated multi-phase structure, including the main orthoborate phase, as well as the presence of additional borate-based phases, including boric oxoacid. On the other hand, DTA tests proved not only that their melting temperatures are lower than these characteristics for the tetra- and meta-counterparts, but also that cation mixing leads to a subsequent decrease in this important functional parameter of the materials studied.