The Effect of Muscle Cramps During Hemodialysis on Quality of Life and Habitual Physical Activity.

: This study aimed to evaluate the association between QoL, self-assessed physical activity, and the presence and severity of muscle spasms in chronic hemodialysis patients. Patients undergoing regular in-center hemodialysis (HD) have much lower quality of life (QoL) than healthy individuals. However, there is limited knowledge about the impact of specific common complications of hemodialysis, particularly muscle spasms on the overall well-being of patients.

Prognostic value of coronary atherosclerosis and CAC score for the risk of chemotherapy-related cardiac dysfunction (CTRCD): The protocol of ANTEC study.

Background: Cardiological complications of oncological treatment, including the most serious one, heart failure, constitute a significant and still unsolved clinical problem. A history of dyslipidemia and complications of atherosclerosis, including coronary artery disease, are established risk factors for cardiotoxicity in cancer patients. In recent years, a protective effect of statin treatment on the development of heart failure in cancer patients has been observed.

Organizational support, training and equipment are key determinants of burnout among dialysis healthcare professionals during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Introduction: Burnout was already found to be an important factor in the professional landscape of nephrology prior to the COVID-19 outbreak and is expected to worsen during the pandemic.

Objectives: The aim of our study was to assess pandemic experiences, perceptions, and burnout among Polish dialysis unit professionals in the COVID-19 period.

Participants And Methods: A survey, which consisted of a Pandemic Experiences and Perceptions Survey (PEPS) and a Maslach Burnout Inventory was distributed online to Polish dialysis units.

Vitamin D Metabolites, Body Composition, and Nutritional Status in Patients in the Long Term After Kidney Transplantation.

BACKGROUND The aim of the study was to assess the relationship between body composition and nutritional status with the level of vitamin D metabolites 25(OH)D and 1,25(OH)₂D in patients in the long term after kidney transplantation (KTx). MATERIAL AND METHODS During 2 routine outpatient visits in summer and winter, the anthropometric and body composition measurements and laboratory data from 105 stable KTx patients were taken and the annual averages were analyzed. RESULTS Data of 64 patients (26 F, 38 M) at mean age 49.

GC/MS-based C metabolic flux analysis resolves the parallel and cyclic photomixotrophic metabolism of Synechocystis sp. PCC 6803 and selected deletion mutants including the Entner-Doudoroff and phosphoketolase pathways.

Background: Cyanobacteria receive huge interest as green catalysts. While exploiting energy from sunlight, they co-utilize sugar and CO. This photomixotrophic mode enables fast growth and high cell densities, opening perspectives for sustainable biomanufacturing.

The Entner-Doudoroff Pathway Contributes to Glycogen Breakdown During High to Low CO Shifts in the Cyanobacterium sp. PCC 6803.

Cyanobacteria perform plant-like oxygenic photosynthesis to convert inorganic carbon into organic compounds and can also use internal carbohydrate reserves under specific conditions. A mutant collection with defects in different routes for sugar catabolism was studied to analyze which of them is preferentially used to degrade glycogen reserves in light-exposed cells of sp. PCC 6803 shifted from high to low CO conditions.

Different Effects of Empagliflozin on Markers of Mineral-Bone Metabolism in Diabetic and Non-Diabetic Patients with Stage 3 Chronic Kidney Disease.

: Treatment with sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 (SGLT2) inhibitors decrease tubular reabsorption of phosphate, which may explain the reduction of bone mineral density and an excess of bone fractures observed in some studies with this class of drugs. Since an increased risk of bone fractures may also be a result of diabetes itself, our study aimed to compare the effect of empagliflozin on the markers of mineral-bone metabolism between diabetic (DKD) and non-diabetic (ND-CKD) patients with stage 3 chronic kidney disease (CKD). : Forty-two patients with stage 3 CKD and A2 albuminuria, including 18 with DKD and 24 ND-CKD, were investigated.

Different Effect of Lanthanum Carbonate and Sevelamer Hydrochloride on Calcium Balance in Patients with Moderate to Advanced Chronic Kidney Disease.

Objective: Opposite to lanthanum carbonate (LC), sevelamer hydrochloride (SH) may increase intestinal calcium absorption. The study compared the effects of LC and SH on serum and urine phosphate and calcium, and on hormones regulating mineral-bone metabolism.

Patients And Methods: A prospective randomized crossover study included 34 patients with eGFR <60 mL/min.

Prevalence, Risk Factors and Assessment of Depressive Symptoms in Patients With Systemic Sclerosis.

Objectives: This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of depressive symptoms among systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients using the Major Depression Inventory (MDI), identify possible risk factors, and analyze the current standard of care to raise awareness and improve clinical care for SSc patients.

Patients And Methods: The study included 94 SSc patients (12 males, 82 females; mean age 58.3±13.

Prevalence of sarcopenia in systemic sclerosis: assessing body composition and functional disability in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Objective: We analyzed the prevalence of sarcopenia among systemic sclerosis (SSc) patients with respect to quality of life, disability, organ involvement, and muscle function.

Methods: A total of 129 patients who met the ACR/EULAR 2013 classification criteria were included. Body composition was measured using bioelectric impedance analysis.

A Specific Glycogen Mobilization Strategy Enables Rapid Awakening of Dormant Cyanobacteria from Chlorosis.

Many organisms survive stressful conditions via entry into a dormant state that can be rapidly exited when the stressor disappears; this ability provides a strong selective advantage. In the cyanobacterium sp. PCC 6803, the exit from nitrogen chlorosis takes less than 48 h and is enabled by the impressive metabolic flexibility of these cyanobacteria, which pass through heterotrophic and mixotrophic phases before reentering photoautotrophic growth.

The impact of malnutrition on quality of life in patients with systemic sclerosis.

Background/objectives: Our objective was to investigate the prevalence of malnutrition in patients with systemic sclerosis (SSc) and its impact on their quality of life (QoL).

Subjects/methods: One hundred and twenty-nine patients with SSc underwent clinical evaluation and were screened with the Malnutrition Universal Screening Tool (MUST). Malnutrition was defined as MUST score ≥2.

Varying Patterns of Biomarkers of Mineral and Bone Metabolism After Kidney Transplantation.

Sclerostin inhibits Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, thereby decreasing bone formation. Osteoblast stimulating actions of parathyroid hormone (PTH) are mediated by suppression of sclerostin. Thus, sclerostin may reflect both bone metabolism and parathyroid function.

The Entner-Doudoroff pathway is an overlooked glycolytic route in cyanobacteria and plants.

Glucose degradation pathways are central for energy and carbon metabolism throughout all domains of life. They provide ATP, NAD(P)H, and biosynthetic precursors for amino acids, nucleotides, and fatty acids. It is general knowledge that cyanobacteria and plants oxidize carbohydrates via glycolysis [the Embden-Meyerhof-Parnas (EMP) pathway] and the oxidative pentose phosphate (OPP) pathway.

Seroprevalence of measles-specific antibodies in the group predominantly affected by measles in 2006-2009 in Poland.

Introduction: Irrespective of the high vaccination coverage against measles, sporadic measles outbreaks still occur in Poland. In 2006-2009, a slight increase in the number of measles cases was observed. Of these cases, people born in 1976-198 9 were predominantly affected.

Prescription-medication sharing among family members: an unrecognized cause of a serious drug adverse event in a patient with impaired renal function.

Many medications need to be avoided in chronic kidney disease (CKD) because of increased toxicity. Metformin - an oral hypoglycemic drug universally recommended as the first-line treatment for type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) - undergoes significant accumulation in advanced CKD that may ultimately lead to lactic acidosis. Recently, it has been found that side effects of the therapy may occasionally neither be linked to improper prescription nor lack of dose adjustment by the physician, but can result from borrowing and sharing of drugs with relatives and friends.

Measles outbreak among Roma people in Wrocław, Poland, 2012.

A measles outbreak that affected mainly the Roma ethnic group has been observed in Wrocław, southwest Poland, in spring/summer 2012. There were 15 confirmed measles cases occurring among young Roma people aged from 0 to 16 years including a newborn infant, born by a mother who showed measles symptoms immediately after delivery. Measles virus transmission into the general Polish population was restricted to two contact cases.

Relationship between measles outbreaks based on genetic analysis of measles virus genomes detected in patients in Poland between 2006 and 2012.

This study describes the molecular characterization of 56 MeV strains obtained from 56 patients in Poland from 2006 to 2012. The C-terminal fragment of nucleoprotein gene was analysed. It has been found out during 2006 and 20012 MeV strains circulating in Poland belonged to genotypes D4, D5, D6 and B3.

A comparison of the antihypertensive and anti-inflammatory effects of aliskiren and ramipril add-on therapy in peritoneal dialysis patients--a pilot open label study.

Most hypertensive dialysis patients are currently treated with angiotensin converting enzyme inhibitors (ACEI) and angiotensin receptor blockers (ARB). Aliskiren, the direct renin inhibitor, has not been specifically studied in peritoneal dialysis patients. The aim of the study was to compare hypotensive effects of aliskiren and ramipril and their influence on serum potassium and inflammatory parameters in hypertensive peritoneal dialysis patients.

Virus detection in questing ticks is not a sensitive indicator for risk assessment of tick-borne encephalitis in humans.

Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is the most important tick-transmitted arbovirus causing human disease in Europe, but information on its endemic occurrence varies between countries because of differences in surveillance systems. Objective data are necessary to ascertain the disease risk for vaccination recommendations and other public health interventions. In two independent, separately planned projects, we used real-time RT-PCR to detect TBE virus in questing ticks.

Treatment of chronic hemodialysis patients with low-dose fenofibrate effectively reduces plasma lipids and affects plasma redox status.

Dyslipidemia is common in chronic hemodialysis patients and its underlying mechanism is complex. Hemodialysis causes an imbalance between antioxidants and production of reactive oxygen species, which induces the oxidative stress and thereby may lead to accelerated atherosclerosis. Statins have been found to be little effective in end-stage kidney disease and other lipid-lowering therapies have been only scarcely studied.

Spread of measles virus D4-Hamburg, Europe, 2008-2011.

A new strain of measles virus, D4-Hamburg, was imported from London to Hamburg in December 2008 and subsequently spread to Bulgaria, where an outbreak of >24,300 cases was observed. We analyzed spread of the virus to demonstrate the importance of addressing hard-to-reach communities within the World Health Organization European Region regarding access to medical care and vaccination campaigns. The D4-Hamburg strain appeared during 2009-2011 in Poland, Ireland, Northern Ireland, Austria, Greece, Romania, Turkey, Macedonia, Serbia, Switzerland, and Belgium and was repeatedly reimported to Germany.