Seasonal variations of terrestrial gamma dose, natural radionuclides and human health.

The aim of the research was to study seasonal variations in gamma radiation and the statistical significance of these variations. Moreover, we compared in-situ and laboratory analyses of uranium, thorium, radium and potassium K-40 contents. Exposure to a low level of radiation is a minor (but still is) contributor to overall cancer risk therefore we compared doses generated by gamma radiation with overall cancer risk.

Clinical and Molecular Aspects of Iron Metabolism in Failing Myocytes.

Heart failure (HF) is a common disease that causes significant limitations on the organism's capacity and, in extreme cases, leads to death. Clinically, iron deficiency (ID) plays an essential role in heart failure by deteriorating the patient's condition and is a prognostic marker indicating poor clinical outcomes. Therefore, in HF patients, supplementation of iron is recommended.

Expression of Iron Metabolism Proteins in Patients with Chronic Heart Failure.

In heart failure, iron deficiency is a common comorbid disease that negatively influences exercise tolerance, number of hospitalizations and mortality rate, and this is why iron iv supplementation is recommended. Little is known about the changes in iron-related proteins in the human HF myocardium. The purpose of this study was to assess iron-related proteins in non-failing (NFH) vs.

Analysis of treatment planning parameters in the Gamma Knife® technique for different prescription isodoses and volumes of meningiomas.

The following Indexes: Homogeneity, Gradient, Conformity, Paddick Conformity and New Conformity of the dose distribution were compared. The parameters to assess a high dose to the organs at risk: V/TV, V/TV and the Integral Dose were discussed. The higher the prescription isodose, the more uniform the dose distribution in the target, which is highly beneficial in the case of larger tumor sizes due to the lower risk of complications.

Hydrochemical behaviour of dissolved uranium in selected groundwaters of the Kłodzko Valley (SW Poland) and its application possibilities as an environmental tracer.

Waters from the Kłodzko Valley containing pharmacodynamics therapeutic agents are used for drinking and for balneotherapeutical purposes. These medicinal, highly mineralized waters are mostly of deep circulation. Moreover, outflowing water contain admixture of shallow circulation water of contemporary infiltration which negatively effects medicinal water quality.

The detailed analysis of natural radionuclides dissolved in spa waters of the Kłodzko Valley, Sudety Mountains, Poland.

A survey was conducted to measure natural radioactivity in spa waters from the Kłodzko Valley. The main goal of this study was to determine the activity concentration of uranium, radium and radon isotopes in the investigated groundwaters. Samples were collected several times from 35 water intakes from 5 spas and 2 mineral water bottling plants.

The study of natural and artificial radionuclides incorporation in teeth and head bones of animals lived nearby Caetité uranium mine, Brazil.

This study aimed at assessing the incorporation of radionuclides in animals in the proximity of the uranium mine in Caetité, Brazil. In 2014, samples of bovine and equine teeth and skull bones were collected and their contents of natural and artificial isotopes were assessed using nuclear spectrometry techniques. Gamma ray emission from Ra and K isotopes was determined using high-purity germanium (HPGe) spectrometry, Sr radioactivity was measured with liquid scintillation, and U, Th, Po and Pu radioactivity was assessed with alpha-spectrometry.

Assessment of radiation exposure outside the radiotherapeutic room during medical accelerator beam emission with the use of TL detectors (radiation exposure outside a LINAC room).

Photon and neutron soft tissue absorbed doses near the entrance door to the medical LINAC treatment room were measured with the use of thermoluminescent detectors LiF:Mg,Cu,P in the anthropomorphic phantom. Two different therapeutic beams (6 and 15 MV) and four treatment techniques were involved in the present study. This allowed one to investigate the contribution of scattered X rays, secondary neutrons and gamma rays to the radiation field.

Correction factors for determination of annual average radon concentration in dwellings of Poland resulting from seasonal variability of indoor radon.

The method for the calculation of correction factors is presented, which can be used for the assessment of the mean annual radon concentration on the basis of 1-month or 3-month indoor measurements. Annual radon concentration is an essential value for the determination of the annual dose due to radon inhalation. The measurements have been carried out in 132 houses in Poland over a period of one year.

Mean annual (222)Rn concentration in homes located in different geological regions of Poland: first approach to whole country area.

The paper presents the results of year-long measurements of radon ((222)Rn) concentration inside 129 buildings in Poland in relation to the geological conditions of their foundation. The authors took into account the division of the country into tectonic units, as well as the lithology of the rocks forming the bedrock of these buildings. As expected, the highest value of mean annual (222)Rn concentration (845 Bq/m(3)) was recorded in a building situated in the area of the Sudetes, while the highest geometric mean (characteristic of the expected log-normal data distribution) was calculated based on measurements from buildings located within the East-European craton, in the area of Mazury-Podlasie monocline, where it reached 231 Bq/m(3).

Radon in groundwater and dose estimation for inhabitants in Spas of the Sudety Mountain area, Poland.

Studies of radon isotope (222)Rn activity concentration in underground water in the Sudety region were performed with the use of the liquid scintillation technique. Waters chosen for investigations were collected in 24 health resorts and towns of the Sudety area from 115 springs, wells and intakes. The (222)Rn activity concentration varied within the range from 4.

Natural radioactivity in underground water from the Outer Carpathians in Poland with the use of nuclear spectrometry techniques.

The investigations of natural radioactivity in underground mineral water and spring water in health resorts in the Outer Carpathians were performed. Samples from 40 water springs were collected 3-4 times over a period of 10 years (1997-2007). In order to obtain necessary data, two different nuclear spectrometry techniques were applied: WinSpectral alphabeta 1414 liquid scintillation counter from Wallac and alpha-spectrometer 7401 VR from Canberra-Packard, USA with the silicon surface barrier detector.

Natural radioactivity and dose estimation in underground water from the Sudety Mountains in Poland.

Studies of natural radioactivity in spring water in Swieradów-Czerniawa Health Resort were performed with the use of nuclear and mass spectrometry techniques. The investigated region is situated in the Sudety Mountains, where uranium exploration was conducted in the early 1950s of the last century. Annual effective doses due to radionuclide intake were calculated for 4 out of 20 spring waters used for consumption by spa patients and inhabitants.

Radon concentrations in groundwaters of the Polish part of the Sudety Mountains (SW Poland).

In the course of researches into radon occurrence in the groundwaters of the Polish part of the Sudety Mountains, conducted in various research centres in Poland, almost 1000 radon concentration determinations have been collected. These results have given the basis for an attempt to characterise the groundwaters of this region with respect to radon content. Radon concentrations oscillated within the range of 0.

Determination of 222Rn in natural water samples from health resorts in the Sudety mountains by the liquid scintillation technique.

A method involving a Wallac 1414 WinSpectral alpha/beta liquid scintillation counter for determining 222Rn in aqueous samples is described. Samples were collected from 23 springs and 4 taps in health resorts of the Klodzka valley in the Sudety mountains in Poland. Half of the investigated spring water samples were radon enriched with an activity concentration higher than 74 Bq/l.

Long-term results of treatment of chronic hepatitis B, C and D with interferon-alpha in renal allograft recipients.

The aim of this study was to evaluate the efficacy and safety of interferon-alpha (IFN-alpha) therapy of chronic hepatitis B, C and D (HBV, HCV and HDV, respectively) in renal transplant recipients. A group of 42 patients (30 males, 12 females, mean age 38 years) with documented viraemia and chronic active hepatitis (CAH) were studied, of whom 1 had HBV infection alone, 11 had HCV infection alone, 3 had HBV and HDV infection concomitantly, 12 had HBV and HCV infection concomitantly, and 2 had HBV, HCV and HDV infection concomitantly. Patients received 3 MU IFN-alpha three times weekly for 6 months.

Treatment of chronic hepatitis B and C with interferon-alpha in renal allograft recipients: preliminary results.

We evaluated the effects of treatment with interferon (IFN) on liver disease and renal allograft function in ten immunosuppressed cadaver kidney recipients. Two females and eight males (mean age 39 years) with biopsy-proven chronic active hepatitis (n = 8) or persistent hepatitis (n = 2) and serum positive for hepatitis B surface antigen (HBsAg) and HBe antigen (n = 5) or serum positive for anti-HCV antibodies (n = 3) or serum positive for HBsAg, anti-HCV and anti-HDV antibodies (n = 2) received 3 million units IFN thrice weekly of 6 months. All patients responded with a reduction in serum aminotransferase activity and in five of them liver function completely normalized.

[Levels of myoglobin (Myo) in blood of patients during an early phase after kidney transplantation].

Unlabelled: In uremic subjects Myo levels were significantly higher than in normals. In the present study we aimed to assess the Myo levels immediately after KT. Myo levels were assessed in 25 uremic patients at the early phase after KT and in 12 controls (patients immediately after cholecystectomy).

[Tuberculosis in patients after kidney transplantation].

Infection caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis is common among population in Poland. We analyzed the effect of tuberculosis (TB) on patients and graft survival in the group of renal allograft recipients (RAR), treated in our center. Among 1669 renal allograft recipients transplanted from 1981 to 1992, tuberculosis developed in 33 (2%) patients (16 M/17F, age: 22-57 years).

[Levels of beta-2-microglobulin (B2MG) in blood serum of patients during the early phase after kidney transplantation].

In uremic subjects serum B2MG levels was significantly higher than in normals. In kidney transplant patients (KTP) serum B2MG levels was 3-4 times higher than in normals. Elevated serum B2MG levels in KTP seems to depend not only on the kind of immunosuppressive therapy but also on other factors.