SEARCH · Search PubMed
Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.
Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.
A case of jaw deformity in association with right-sided Poland anomaly in an 18-year-old male patient is presented. As there have been no cases previously reported of pectoralis major muscle hypoplasia combined with dentofacial deformity, it is hoped that other reports would emerge to describe a new syndrome.
PURPOSE: The purpose of this manuscript is to examine changes in blood lipid levels and related factors between 1983 and 1987 in two selected Polish populations, to evaluate these changes and their association with other coronary heart disease (CHD) risk factors, and to examine the nutrient intake changes for consistency with observed lipid changes. METHODS: Men and women, aged 35-64 were screened from Warsaw and rural Tarnobrzeg province, Poland-the Pol-MONICA screening sites. An independent random sample of 5132 screened in 1983-84 and a second independent random sample of 2596 screened in 1987-88 were compared. A 25% cohort of the 1983-84 sample was also rescreened in 1987-88 (n = 1236) and 24-hour dietary recall information on this cohort was used to evaluate nutrient intake changes and their relationship to the lipid changes. RESULTS: For the random samples, the total cholesterol increased by 5.1 mg/dL (rural) and by 7.9 mg/dL (urban) for women; there were no significant changes among men. Low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) increased for all site and gender subgroups by 5.4-8.7 mg/dL. Among rural men and women, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) decreased by 3.4 and 3.3 mg/dL, respectively, whereas it increased by 3.3 mg/dL among urban women and did not change among urban men. Total triglycerides (TG) increased by 9.5 mg/dL for rural men, with no significant change for rural women. For urban men and women, TG decreased by 29.5 and 21.8 mg/dL respectively. In the cohort, changes in dietary intake (decreases in energy from fat, Keys index and increases in the polyunsaturated to saturated fats ratio) were related to a decrease in TC at both sites and to a decrease or smaller increase in LDL-C for rural men. CONCLUSIONS: The observed changes were generally unfavorable, with a decrease in the proportion of persons with desirable lipid levels. At both sites nutritional changes were favorable, including a drop in total energy intake. Less pronounced were changes in percentages of total energy from fats, where the only significant decrease was for rural women; however, improvements in dietary fat composition and declines in cholesterol consumption were found. These favorable changes in diet were not strong enough or were not in effect long enough to counter the unfavorable changes in blood lipids.
Funded by an agreement with the World AIDS Foundation, a team of American and Polish healthcare professional was established to provide expert and timely training on HIV/AIDS course for nurses was conducted in Gdansk, Poland. The course identified significant professionals concerns of Polish nurses, including fear of infection, discomfort with male sexuality, and lack of information about drug users. Precourse and postcourse evaluations demonstrated significant changes in level of comfort during discussions of sensitive topics and improvement in instructional self-confidence.
BACKGROUND: Pyroglyphid mites are considered a major cause of house dust allergy. The occurrence and possible pathogenic role of other biologic components of house dust, in particular bacteria, has received less attention. OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to examine bacteria present in the samples of house dust from beds, in comparison to fungi and mites recovery. METHODS: Samples of bed dust were collected from 40 homes in Upper Silesia (Poland). Of these, 19 came from the homes of people with asthma caused by house dust and 21 from the homes of people without allergy. The concentrations of bacteria, fungi, mites, and endotoxin and species composition of microflora and acarofauna were determined. RESULTS: The overall mean concentrations of mesophilic bacteria, thermophilic bacteria and fungi, including yeasts, were, respectively, 1.6 x 10(6), 1.7 x 10(3), and 1.6 x 10(4) CFU/g. Samples contained an average of 8.4 mites/g and the ten samples assayed for bacterial endotoxin averaged 80.4 ng/mg. A total of 55 species of bacteria, 40 of fungi and 13 of mites were found. Gram-positive cocci (mostly Staphylococcus spp.) were the predominant mesophilic bacteria, followed by corynebacteria and Bacillus spp. Thermophilic bacteria were represented only by actinomycetes, with Thermoactinomyces vulgaris predominant. The most numerous fungi were Penicillium spp. and Aspergillus spp. followed by yeasts. The most abundant mites were Dermatophagoides spp. which formed > 85% of the total count. There were no significant differences between the homes of allergic and nonallergic people in the concentrations of total bacteria, fungi, and mites. Bacillus, Aspergillus and total filamentous fungi (molds), but not yeasts, were significantly more numerous in the homes of people with asthma caused by house dust. CONCLUSION: The results suggest that some species of bacteria and filamentous fungi should be considered potential causes of house dust allergy.
Over the next 10 years, heart failure is likely to become a medical and sociological problem as a result of improved treatment of ischaemic heart disease and hypertension. At present, in Poland, there are only 50% of the cardiological or cardiac surgery procedures (coronarography, PTCA, CABG, surgery of congenital or acquired heart disease) performed compared to Western Europe. After being registered on the waiting list, it can take anything between 3 and 12 months before the procedure is done. Patients with heart failure have diagnostic tests such as ECG, chest X-ray, and biochemical evaluation performed regardless of the level of care. When echocardiography, exercise testing or Holter monitoring is required, it is done at specialist or reference specialist facilities with a waiting time of approximately 1-3 months. Pharmaceutical treatment of CHF is also inadequate. ACE inhibitors are prescribed in approximately 68% of patients. The average prescribed dosage is far from that recommended in guidelines. Only 18-29% of patients with HF are on beta blockers. The improvement of cardiological care standards depends mainly on the financial resources of State Health System Agencies.
The roles of two species of rodents: the bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) and the yellow-necked mouse (Apodemus flavicollis) in maintaining the vector Ixodes ricinus and Borrelia burgdorferi s.l. were studied. More particularly, seasonal patterns of rodent abundance and infestation rate with I. ricinus ticks as well as the prevalence of B. burgdorferi s.l. and the two species B. garinii and B. afzelii were determined. The studies were carried out in woodlands at Urwitałt near Mikołajki on the Mazury Lakes in 2001. A total of 196 rodents were trapped and 1349 I. ricinus ticks were collected. There was an increase of rodents in the autumn, with a maximum density of C. glareolus in October and in of A. flavicollis in September. The infestation rate of the investigated animals was above 87% and was dependent on the developmental stage of ticks and host species. Only two stages of I. ricinus were found on trapped rodents: larvae 80% and 84.5%, and nymphs 7.5% and 15.5% for C. glareolus and for A. flavicollis, respectively. The average level of infestation with ticks on rodents appears to be seasonally dependent, and decreases from spring to autumn. Both methods of B. burgdorferi s.l. detection, PCR and IFA, showed that larvae collected from both species of infested rodents were infected by these spirochetes. An increase in the infection rates with B. burgdorferi s.l. was observed from spring to autumn from 12.5% to 15.6% for larval ticks collected from C. glareolus, and from 5.6% to 8.8% for ticks collected from A. flavicollis. The infection rates of larvae examined by PCR were 5% in the spring and 8% in the autumn for ticks collected from C. glareolus, and 10% and 5% for ticks collected from A. flavicollis. A total number of 329 ticks were analysed for the detection of genospecies (184 for B. garinii and 145 for B. afzelii). In larvae collected from C. glareolus, B. garinii were found in 3% and B. afzelii in 1.1% of assessed ticks. Conversely, in larvae collected from A. flavicollis the percentage of infected ticks was 1.5% for B. garinii and 1.7% for B. afzelii. The examined ear biopsies were Borrelia positive in 2.5% and 4.3% of the 44 bank voles and 80 yellow-necked mice, respectively. Both species of rodents, highly abounded in the Mazury Lakes district od North-Eastern Poland, may represent significant, seasonally dependent, zoonotic reservoirs of B. burgdorferi s.l.
Ixodes ricinus ticks, collected in 1996-1998 in different Polish woodlands, were examined to assess the frequency of the occurrence of Lyme borreliosis-associated genospecies. A total of 568 samples of individual adults and 162 samples of individual (n =48) and pooled (of 2 to 7) samples of nymphs were analysed by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato. Spirochetes were detected in 130 adult ticks (22.9%) and in a minimum of 32 (5.3%) nymphs. Further identification of 153 B. burgdorferi s.l.-positive samples by nested PCR using three species-specific primers revealed the occurrence of B. afzelii, B. burgdorferi sensu stricto and B. garinii. Both single-species and mixed infections were noted. Single-species infections were observed in the majority of samples (n = 83/153; 54.2%). Within this group B. afzelii was found in 38/153 samples (24.9%), followed by B. burgdorferi sensu stricto (n = 23/153; 15.0%) and B. garinii (n = 22/153; 14.4%). Dual infections with B. burgdorferi s.s. and B. afzelii were detected in 17/121 (14.0%) adults, while both B. burgdorferi s. s./B. garinii and B. afzelii/B. garinii coinfected 11/121 (9.1%) adult ticks. Triple infection with B. burgdorferi s.s., B. afzelii and B. garinii was noted twice (1.6%). In general, B. afzelii was found in 72/153 (47.1%) tick samples and was the predominant species. B. burgdorferi s. s. and B. garinii were detected in a total of 60/153 (39.2%) and 51/153 (33.3%) samples, respectively. Although, 21 (13.7%) samples were infected by B. burgdorferi s.l. genospecies undetectable by the primers used, results of our study confirm that Lyme borreliosis pathogenic genospecies are well established in tick populations throughout Poland.
Adult Ixodes ricinus ticks were collected from Pomerania province, northern Poland, to determine the presence of infection with agents of human granulocytic ehrlichiosis (HGE) and Lyme borreliosis by using the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Of the 424 ticks 19.2% and 11.6% contained ehrlichiae and spirochetes, respectively. Frequency of single infection with the HGE agent was 63/424 while frequency of single infection with Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato was 28/424. As many as 21/424 ticks (5%) contained both pathogens. This finding supports suggestions that both HGE agent and B. burgdorferi s. l. perpetuate in the same foci and frequently co-infect the same tick vector thereby increasing the risk of humans acquiring mixed infection.
Simple measures of the biological fitness of adult men aged 25-65 years, inhabitants of the city of Wroclaw, Poland, were studied in two well-defined social groups: professionals and skilled workers. It was found that the manual workers, compared to professionals, have higher systolic and diastolic blood pressure, lower relative vital capacity, inferior flexibility of spine, poorer eye-hand co-ordination, and poorer hearing acuity. These social differences appear consistently at each age level between 25 and 65 years and tend to increase with age to the disadvantage of skilled workers.
This work concerns the questions if and to what extent social variables past and present, and actual sports activity and nutritional and smoking habits, have an influence on body compartment indices, and how this differs between female and male medical students from Wrocław, Poland. Backward stepwise regression was applied to four dependent variables, i.e. Body Mass Index (BMI), %Fat Mass (%FM), Extracellular Water/Intracellular Water Index (100 x ECW/ICW) and Body Cell Mass Index (BCMI=BCM/height2), and for eighteen independent variables including nutrition, parents' social status, smoking and sports activity. Females ate meat less frequently and fruit and vegetables more often, and drank beer less frequently but milk more often than did male students. It seems that there exists some effect on fat accumulation resulting from difference in nutrition between females and males. The results may be interpreted in terms of a parental gender effect on body composition of children associated with different conditions of life and nutrition in childhood and youth for female and male students in Wrocław.
The incidence of obesity, defined as the fraction of persons with BMIs exceeding 30-0, was examined in two birth cohorts of 40-50-year-old occupationally active inhabitants of the city of Wrocław, Poland. In both cohorts and both genders obesity increased monotonically with decreasing position on a three-level educational scale. During the 1986-1996 decade obesity increased dramatically among males with trade school education only; concomitant shifts were much smaller or absent in the college-educated groups. The contrast in obesity between the opposite ends of the educational scale has widened markedly in both genders; and the between-gender gap has declined somewhat.
Two 22-day-old Landrace-Small Ear Miniature (L-SEM) pigs, five 45 to 66-day-old Small Ear Miniature (SEM) pigs, and one 16-day-old Holstein calf were each fed 1000, 3000 or 10,000 Taenia saginata (Poland strain) eggs respectively and killed 34-77 days after inoculation. Four of the five SEM pigs and the Holstein calf were susceptible to this parasite. However, two L-SEM pigs and one SEM pig remained negative. The cysticerci recovery rates for the SEM pig and Holstein calf were 36% and 3%, respectively. All cysticerci from the SEM pigs were found in the livers, more in the parenchyma (89%) than on the surface (11%). Only eleven cysticerci in two SEM pigs were mature and the remainder were either immature, degenerated or calcified. The cysticerci in the calf were distributed throughout the body: leg muscles (248), heart (27), tongue (17), intercostal muscles (14), diaphragm (5), kidney (1) and liver (1). Most (299) of the cysticerci were mature, one was immature and 13 were degenerated or calcified. The length, width, diameter of the protoscolex and sucker of the cysticerci from the calf were larger than those from the SEM pigs. However, the diameter of the rostellum of the latter was slightly larger than the former. Hooklets were not found on any mature cysticercus recovered. The results of the present study provide evidence that the SEM pig can be used as an experimental intermediate host for T. saginata.
The prevalence and abundance of infections with haemoparasites were studied over a 3 year period in Clethrionomys glareolus (bank vole, n = 420) sampled from forests in the NE of Poland. Total species richness was 5 (Prevalence = Haemobartonella sp. 63.1%, Bartonella grahamii 27.4%, Hepatozoon erhardovae 31.4%, Trypanosoma evotomys 15% and Babesia microti 1.0%) with 81.9% of the voles carrying at least 1 species and a mean infracommunity species richness of 1.4. Variation in species richness was determined primarily by season and year, and the interaction of these factors. The observed frequency distribution of infracommunity species richness did not differ from that predicted by a null model, suggesting that there were no marked associations between the species. Analyses of prevalence and abundance of infection with each species in turn, revealed that overall the principal causes of variation were temporal and seasonal and their interaction, intrinsic factors such as age and sex playing only a minor role. However, the relative importance of specific extrinsic, and rarely intrinsic, factors varied and was distinct for each of the species in the study. Prevalence data revealed 4 sets of 2-way associations between species, mostly varyingly dependent on combinations of intrinsic and extrinsic factors. Analysis of quantitative associations suggested 4 sets of positive 2-way interactions, 3 of which remained after controlling for the effect of extrinsic and intrinsic factors on the abundance of each species, but only one could be unequivocally accepted (Haemobartonella sp. +B. grahamii) after correction for multiple comparisons. These data are discussed in the context of the changing ecological profiles in this region of Eastern Europe and, in a wider context, in relation to current understanding of the factors which shape component community structures of haemoparasites in wild rodents.
We tested the null hypothesis that populations of hosts trapped in isolated neighbouring locations showing comparable habitat quality, should support similar helminth parasite communities. The study was undertaken in a 2-week period in late summer in NE Poland in a single year, thereby eliminating seasonal and between-year variation in parasite burdens. A total of 139 Clethrionomys glareolus (bank vole) were sampled from 3 forest sites of similar habitat quality. Total species richness was 11 (6 nematodes and 5 cestodes) with 85.6% of the voles carrying at least 1 species and an overall mean species richness of 1.4. At the component community level, the fewest species of helminths were recorded from site 2 (n = 6, compared with 9 at each of the other sites), but site 3 had the lowest Berger-Parker Dominance Index and the highest Simpson's Index of Diversity. At the infracommunity level, site 3 had the highest mean no. of helminth species/vole, the highest mean Brillouin's Index of Diversity but the lowest mean no. of helminths/vole. Voles from sites 1 and 3 differed in the nematodes that were most common (site 1, Heligmosum mixtum-95%; site 3, Heligmosomoides glareoli -79.3%). At site 2 no species exceeded 50% but prevalence of Syphacia petrusewiczi was higher than at the other sites. The prevalence of cestodes was too low to test reliably (12.%), but the highest prevalence of adult cestodes was recorded at site 1 (22.5% compared with 4.9 and 1.7% for sites 2 and 3 respectively). Host sex did not influence infection, but mean species richness increased with age. The different sites were responsible for most of the variation in our data, and the intrinsic factors (sex and age) were less important in shaping the component community structure of helminths. We conclude that even locations in relative close proximity to one another (13-25 km), selected on the basis of similar habitat quality, have rodent populations that differ in their helminth parasite communities, although for reasons other than the factors quantified in the present study.
Prevalence and abundance of Cryptosporodium parvum and Giardia spp. were studied in 3 species of rodents from forests and abandoned agricultural fields in N.E. Poland (Clethrionomys glareolus n = 459; Microtus arvalis n = 274; Apodemus flavicollis n = 209). Overall prevalence was consistently higher in the voles compared with A. flavicollis (70.6, 73.0 and 27.8% respectively for C. parvum and 93.9, 96.3 and 48.3% respectively for Giardia spp.). Prevalence and abundance of infection also varied markedly across 3 years with 1998 being a year of higher prevalence and abundance with both species. Fewer older animals (especially C. glareolus and M. arvalis) carried infection with C. parvum and infections in these animals were relatively milder. Although seasonal differences were significant, no consistent pattern of changes was apparent. Host sex did not influence prevalence or abundance of infection with C. parvum, but made a small contribution to a 4-way interaction (in 5-way ANOVA) with other factors in the case of Giardia spp. The 2 species co-occurred significantly and in animals carrying both parasites there was a highly significant positive correlation between abundance of infection with each, even with between-year, seasonal, host age, sex and species differences taken into account. Quantitative associations were confined to the 2 vole species in the study. These results are discussed in relation to the importance of wild rodents as reservoir hosts and sources of infection for local human communities.
The structure of helminth communities in wild rodents is subject to seasonal variation, and is dependent on host age within years. Although between-year variation has been monitored, seldom has it been assessed rigorously by appropriate multifactorial analysis with potentially confounding factors taken into account. In this study we tested the null hypothesis that despite seasonal, host age and sex effects, helminth communities should show relative stability between years. Over a period of 3 years (1998-2000) we sampled bank vole (Clethrionomys glareolus) populations (total n = 250) at 2 points in the year: in spring, at the start of the breeding season, and in autumn, after the cessation of breeding. In spite of seasonal differences and strong age effects, the between-year effects were surprisingly small. Measures of component community structure (Berger-Parker dominance index, the dominant species, S. petrusewiczi) did not vary, or varied only slightly from year to year. The majority of measures of infracommunity structure [Brillouin's index of diversity, prevalence of all helminths combined, prevalence and abundance of H. mixtum (the most prevalent helminth), mean species richness] did not differ significantly between years when other factors such as age, sex and seasonal variation had been taken into account. Some between-year variations were found (at the component community level, Simpson's index of diversity; at the infracommunity level, prevalence and abundance of S. petrusewiczi and abundance of all helminths combined), but even these were modest in comparison to seasonal and age differences, and were primarily attributable to S. petrusewiczi. We conclude that despite dynamic within-year fluctuations, helminth communities in bank voles in this region of Poland show relative stability across years. The sporadic occurrence of individual platyhelminths at low prevalence, makes little difference to the overall structure, which is largely maintained by the key roles played by the dominant intestinal nematodes of bank voles and the rarer species collectively.
We have used nuclear (ribosomal ITS1) and mitochondrial (ND1) sequences to characterize human and pig isolates of Echinococcus granulosus collected by fine needle aspiration biopsy (FNAB) in Poland. The data indicate clearly that the Polish patients were not infected with the common sheep strain (G1 genotype) of E. granulosus, normally associated with human cystic hydatid infection. Instead, the hydatid parasite infecting the Polish patients shares very similar ND1 sequence with the previously characterized pig (G7) genotype but it also exhibits some clear differences. In particular, E. granulosus DNA from the Polish patients amplified a single ITS1 fragment in PCR and distinct ITS1-RFLP patterns were obtained after restriction digestion. The form of hydatid isolated from the Polish patients appears, therefore, to represent a distinct, previously undescribed genotype (designated G9) of E. granulosus.
EHEC O157 were isolated from faeces of Belgian and Polish beef slaughter cattle. In Belgium, 1281 faecal samples were analysed by immunomagnetic separation [IMS] after enrichment in buffered peptone water from June 1998 till July 1999. Eighty-one samples (6.3%) were positive for E. coli O157. Phage type 8 was most frequently found. Bulls between 1 and 2 years old, slaughtered in September and October were most frequently found positive. Atypical biochemical features were observed in some isolates: 22 (27%) isolates were urease positive and 1 (1.2%) isolate was unable to ferment lactose. In Poland, 551 faecal samples, taken from January 1999 till December 1999, were examined using exactly the same techniques. Four faecal samples (0.7%) were positive for O157 EHEC, yielding seven phage type 8 isolates. All positive samples were from cattle younger than 2 years. Positive samples occurred in August, September and October.