Long-Term Refractive and Topographical Changes in Keratoconic Eyes after Accelerated Corneal Crosslinking.

Aim: To evaluate the long-term impact of accelerated corneal cross-linking (A-CXL) on selected refractive and topographical parameters in eyes with progressive keratoconus.

Methods: 77 eyes with keratoconus in 54 patients treated with A-CXL (10 min "epi-off" protocol) were included in the analysis. Preoperative and postoperative (1, 3 and 5 years after A-CXL) values of the studied parameters were compared.

The Effects of War-Related Stress on Human Development: Differences in Body Proportions of Polish Women Born Before and During World War II.

Objectives: This study aims to explore the lasting effects of stress experienced by pregnant women during World War II (WWII) on body and head measurements of their adult daughters.

Methods: The research sample consists of 336 female university students born in Poland between 1925 and 1951. The data include body measurements and socioeconomic information (parental occupation and number of siblings) acquired from questionnaires collected between the 1950s and 1970s.

Organic and Metal-Organic Polymer-Based Catalysts-Enfant Terrible Companions or Good Assistants?

This overview provides insights into organic and metal-organic polymer (OMOP) catalysts aimed at processes carried out in the liquid phase. Various types of polymers are discussed, including vinyl (various functional poly(styrene-co-divinylbenzene) and perfluorinated functionalized hydrocarbons, e.g.

Growth status and age at peak height velocity among youth participants in several sports: the Cracow longitudinal study.

Background: Studies addressing age at peak height velocity (PHV) in longitudinal samples of participants in sports are relatively limited.

Purpose: To compare the growth status and estimated ages at PHV of longitudinal samples girls and boys active in sport with peers not active in sport, and to compare estimated ages at PHV among longitudinal samples of Polish youth active in sport.

Methods: Records from the Cracow Longitudinal Study, which measured youth annually from 8 to 18 years, were screened to identify individuals regularly active in sport.

Age at peak height velocity in Polish adolescents: Effect of socioeconomic factors.

Age at peak height velocity (APHV) is an indicator of maturity timing which is applicable to both sexes, and which is influenced by environmental factors. The objective of this study was to assess variation in APHV associated with several indicators of socioeconomic status (SES) in a longitudinal sample of Polish adolescents. The sample included 739 boys born in 1983 and followed annually from 12 to 16 years, and 597 girls born in 1985 and followed annually from 9 to 13 years.

Reduced Corticosteroid Exposure Is Safe and Does Not Reduce Disease Control among Hodgkin Lymphoma Patients Treated with Escalated BEACOPP (eBEACOPP).

: eBEACOPP is the most effective chemotherapy regimen for younger patients with early unfavorable (EU) and advanced-stage (AS) Hodgkin lymphoma (HL), albeit with significant toxicities. The 14-day/cycle prednisone course contributes to side effects, including osteoarticular events like avascular bone necrosis (AVN). Our center has been using eBEACOPP since 2009 for AS and 2014 for EU patients.

Diagnostic Importance of OCT Pachymetry in Keratoconus.

Aims: To demonstrate changes in distance and near fusional vergence measured with prism bars, while compensating for present heterophoria using current ametropia correction. In addition, to determine the differences in values of the AC/A ratio determined by the heterophoric (calculation) and gradient methods.

Material And Methods: The basic sample includes 19 subjects with a mean age of 21.

Short-lived natural radionuclides as tracers in hydrogeological studies - A review.

Fundamental approaches to the study of groundwater rely on investigating the spatial and temporal distribution of stable and radioactive isotopes and other anthropogenic compounds in natural waterbodies. The most often used tracers for estimating groundwater flow paths and residence times, groundwater/surface water interaction as well as tracing chemical (contamination) sources include stable isotopes of water (δ O and δ H), radiocarbon (C; t = 5730 a), tritium (H; t = 12.43 a) as well as unreactive fluorine-containing gases (e.

Ages at peak height velocity in male soccer players 11-16 years: relationships with skeletal age and comparisons among longitudinal studies.

Estimated ages at take-off (TO) and at peak height velocity (PHV) based on two models and maturity status based upon age at PHV and skeletal age (SA) were compared in a longitudinal sample of male soccer players. In addition, estimated ages at PHV in 13 longitudinal samples of soccer players were compared. The longitudinal height records of 58 players of European ancestry, measured annually on four or five occasions between 11 and 16 years, were modeled with Superimposition by Translation and Rotation (SITAR) and Functional Principal Component Analysis (FPCA) to estimate ages at TO and PHV.

Sex differences in radioulnar contrasts of the finger ridge counts across 21 human population samples.

The aim of the present study was to demonstrate the existence of uniform sexual dimorphism in some between different finger ridge counts within the same hand in a large set of populations, thus confirming the universal nature of this dimorphism in humans. We analysed individual finger ridge counts (10 values on each hand) of both hands from archival sources (mainly the Brehme-Jantz database). In total, these included 4412 adults from 21 population samples covering all permanently inhabited continents and encompassing very different and geographically distant human populations.

Cortisol in deciduous tooth tissues: A potential metric for assessing stress exposure in archaeological and living populations.

Objective: Cortisol is a glucocorticoid hormone produced by the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis that is regularly assessed in modern human and non-human populations in saliva, blood, and hair as a measure of stress exposure and stress reactivity. While recent research has detected cortisol concentrations in modern and archaeological permanent dental tissues, the present study assessed human primary (deciduous) teeth for cortisol concentrations.

Materials And Methods: Fifty-one dentine and enamel samples from nine modern and 10 archaeological deciduous teeth were analyzed for cortisol concentrations via enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA).

Porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia in samples from the Late Hillfort Period sites at Dětkovice - Za zahradama (district Prostějov) and Vídeňská street (district Brno), Czech Republic.

Porotic hyperostosis and cribra orbitalia are pathological changes occurring on the human skull. These changes were observed and evaluated on skeletal remains from Dětkovice - Za zahradama and Vídeňská Street in Brno; both sites are dated back to the 10 to 12 centuries AD. A total of 605 subjects were assessed for age, sex, and the above-stated pathologies using standard methods.

Rare presentation of BRASH syndrome with hypoglycemia and altered mental status.

Background: BRASH syndrome (bradycardia, renal failure, atrioventricular nodal blockade, shock, and hyperkalemia) is a rare clinical condition with potentially severe outcomes. Patients with BRASH syndrome can present with diverse signs and symptoms and are usually in critical condition, but if recognized early, the syndrome is treatable and may have a favorable prognosis.

Case Presentation: This case study presents a 74-year-old patient with a history of multiple chronic conditions who was brought to the emergency department with a suspected cerebrovascular accident, altered mental status, and bradycardia.

CHANGES IN THE VISION OF ADULT AMBLYOPIC PATIENTS FOLLOWING CLEAR LENS EXTRACTION.

Aims: The aim of the study was to retrospectively evaluate changes in vision after the implantation of trifocal (tIOL) or rotationally asymmetric multifocal artificial intraocular lenses (mIOL) in patients undergoing clear lens extraction. The main goal was to determine whether changes to central visual acuity occur after the implantation of an IOL at a follow-up examination after one year. Other objectives were to determine the difference between the groups with implanted diffractive and rotationally asymmetric artificial intraocular lenses, as well as to evaluate the risk of accurate correction in patients who had lived most of their lives "undercorrected".

Glomerular filtration rate is an independent prognostic factor in patients with B-large cell lymphoma.

Chronic kidney dysfunction is associated with increased mortality in multiple cancer types. Preliminary evidence suggests the same to be true for B-large cell lymphomas (B-LCL). To analyze the relationship of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) and outcome of B-LCL in detail we collected data on outcomes of 285 consecutive patients with newly diagnosed B-LCL treated at our institution with standard rituximab-containing regimens who did not have preexisting kidney disease or urinary tract obstruction at presentation.

Nitrate isotopes reveal N-cycled waters in a spring-fed agricultural catchment.

Nitrate stable isotopes provide information about nitrate contamination and cycling by microbial processes. The Fischa-Dagnitz (Austria) spring and river system in the agricultural catchment of the Vienna basin shows minor annual variance in nitrate concentrations. We measured nitrate isotopes (N, O) in the source spring and river up to the confluence with the Danube River (2019-2020) with chemical and water isotopes to assess mixing and nitrate transformation processes.

Multispectral retinal video-ophthalmoscope with fiber optic illumination.

Multispectral imaging is used in various applications including astronomy, industry and agriculture. In retinal imaging, the single-shot multispectral image stack is typically acquired and analyzed. This multispectral analysis can provide information on various structural or metabolic properties.

Accelerated and Natural Aging of Cellulose-Based Paper: Py-GC/MS Method.

Samples of papers artificially (2 to 60 days) and naturally (10, 45, and 56 years) aged were studied by the Py-GC/MS method to identify decomposition products. Possible reaction scenarios for cellulose degradation were developed. One of the degradation products is acetic acid, which can (auto)catalyze the cleavage of cellulose β(1→4)-glycosidic bonds of cellulose polymer chains.

USE OF A FEMTOSECOND LASER IN CATARACT SURGERY.

Aims: Cataracts continue to be the leading cause of blindness worldwide. Phacoemulsification is the gold standard in the treatment of cataracts. The aim of the study was to compare the postoperative results of the phacoemulsification technique in comparison with femtosecond laser-assisted cataract surgery (FLACS).

A Novel Gesture-Based Control System for Fluorescence Volumetric Data in Virtual Reality.

With the development of light microscopy, it is becoming increasingly easy to obtain detailed multicolor fluorescence volumetric data. The need for their appropriate visualization has become an integral part of fluorescence imaging. Virtual reality (VR) technology provides a new way of visualizing multidimensional image data or models so that the entire 3D structure can be intuitively observed, together with different object features or details on or within the object.

The strong impact of maternal marital status on birth body size before and during the Second World War in Poznań district, Poland.

Objectives: The study aims to examine whether maternal socio-economic status, represented by marital status and the place of residence, affected birth body size (BBS) of babies in the pre-war period and during the WWII.

Methods: The dataset consisted of 8934 unique individual information items on mothers and deliveries collected for two birth cohorts: born before (1934, 1935, 1936, and 1937) and during the WWII (1941, 1942, 1943 and 1944). BBS (weight, length, BMI) was compared according to mother's marital status and her place of residence in two cohorts separately.

Radioulnar contrasts in fingerprint ridge counts: Searching for dermatoglyphic markers of early sex development.

Objectives: Using prenatally fixed dermatoglyphics features as markers of prenatal sex development is limited due to insufficient knowledge on their sex differences. This study aims to examine more thoroughly sex differences in radioulnar contrasts.

Methods: Fingerprints of 360 females and 331 males from four samples of different ethnic backgrounds (Czechs, Slovaks, Vietnamese and Lusatian Sorbs) were studied.

Estimating Growth in Height from Limited Longitudinal Growth Data Using Full-Curves Training Dataset: A Comparison of Two Procedures of Curve Optimization-Functional Principal Component Analysis and SITAR.

A variety of models are available for the estimation of parameters of the human growth curve. Several have been widely and successfully used with longitudinal data that are reasonably complete. On the other hand, the modeling of data for a limited number of observation points is problematic and requires the interpolation of the interval between points and often an extrapolation of the growth trajectory beyond the range of empirical limits (prediction).

Observed and predicted ages at peak height velocity in soccer players.

The purpose of the study was to evaluate predicted maturity offset (time before age at PHV) and age at PHV (chronological age [CA] minus maturity offset) in a longitudinal sample of 58 under-13 club level soccer players in central Portugal for whom ages at PHV were estimated with the SITAR model. Two maturity offset prediction equations were applied: the original equation which requires CA sitting height, estimated leg length, height and weight, and a modified equation which requires CA and height. Predicted maturity offset increased, on average, with CA at prediction throughout the age range considered, while variation in predicted maturity offset and ages at PHV within CA groups was considerably reduced compared to variation in observed ages at offset and at PHV.

Risk of groundwater contamination widely underestimated because of fast flow into aquifers.

Groundwater pollution threatens human and ecosystem health in many regions around the globe. Fast flow to the groundwater through focused recharge is known to transmit short-lived pollutants into carbonate aquifers, endangering the quality of groundwaters where one quarter of the world's population lives. However, the large-scale impact of such focused recharge on groundwater quality remains poorly understood.