Assessing PFAS in drinking water: Insights from the Czech Republic's risk-based monitoring approach.

This study investigates the presence of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in the drinking water supplies in the Czech Republic using a risk-based monitoring approach. Tap water samples (n = 27) from sources close to areas potentially contaminated with PFAS were analysed. A total of 28 PFAS were measured using ultra-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry after solid phase extraction.

Complex monitoring of perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from tap drinking water in the Czech Republic.

This study aims to quantify perfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in tap drinking water in the Czech Republic and to assess potential health risks to consumers using hazard ratios. A total of 192 samples (collected systematically throughout the country in 2021) were analysed for 28 PFAS using ultra-performance liquid chromatography with tandem mass spectrometry after solid phase extraction. Total PFAS (∑PFAS) concentrations ranged from undetectable to 23.

The Influence of Asymmetric Hearing Loss on Peripheral and Central Auditory Processing Abilities in Patients With Vestibular Schwannoma.

Objectives: Asymmetric or unilateral hearing loss (AHL) may cause irreversible changes in the processing of acoustic signals in the auditory system. We aim to provide a comprehensive view of the auditory processing abilities for subjects with acquired AHL, and to examine the influence of AHL on speech perception under difficult conditions, and on auditory temporal and intensity processing.

Design: We examined peripheral and central auditory functions for 25 subjects with AHL resulting from vestibular schwannoma, and compared them to those from 24 normal-hearing controls that were matched with the AHL subjects in mean age and hearing thresholds in the healthy ear.

The effect of aging, hearing loss, and tinnitus on white matter in the human auditory system revealed with fixel-based analysis.

Introduction: Aging negatively influences the structure of the human brain including the white matter. The objective of our study was to identify, using fixel-based morphometry, the age induced changes in the pathways connecting several regions of the central auditory system (inferior colliculus, Heschl's gyrus, planum temporale) and the pathways connecting these structures with parts of the limbic system (anterior insula, hippocampus and amygdala). In addition, we were interested in the extent to which the integrity of these pathways is influenced by hearing loss and tinnitus.

Does vestibular function correlate with objective MRI findings after vestibular schwannoma surgery?

Objective: Vestibular schwannoma surgery leads to acute unilateral vestibular loss. In some patients, however, the process of post-operatively initiated central compensation proceeds more rapidly than in others. This study aimed to evaluate post-operative vestibular function and correlate it with morphological findings of MRI scans.

Simulation-based team training improves door-to-needle time for intravenous thrombolysis.

Purpose: There is a clinical need for shortened door-to-needle time (DNT) for intravenous thrombolysis, but effective training methods are missing. Simulation training improves teamwork and logistics in numerous fields. Still, it is not clear if simulation improves logistics in stroke.

Functional changes in the auditory cortex and associated regions caused by different acoustic stimuli in patients with presbycusis and tinnitus.

Presbycusis and tinnitus are the two most common hearing related pathologies. Although both of these conditions presumably originate in the inner ear, there are several reports concerning their central components. Interestingly, the onset of presbycusis coincides with the highest occurrence of tinnitus.

Educational Program Improved Senior Preparedness to Call 911 as a Response to Stroke.

Objectives: Stroke predominantly affects the elderly. Universities of the Third Age (U3A) are presented with an opportunity to target them. The goal of our study was to improve older adults' preparedness to call 911 as a response to symptoms of stroke.

The Influence of Aging, Hearing, and Tinnitus on the Morphology of Cortical Gray Matter, Amygdala, and Hippocampus.

Age related hearing loss (presbycusis) is a natural process represented by elevated auditory thresholds and decreased speech intelligibility, especially in noisy conditions. Tinnitus is a phantom sound that also potentially leads to cortical changes, with its highest occurrence coinciding with the clinical onset of presbycusis. The aim of our project was to identify age, hearing loss and tinnitus related structural changes, within the auditory system and associated structures.

[Adherence to cardiovascular prevention principles in subjects at high risk].

Background: Asymptomatic high-risk individuals represent one of the highest priorities of cardiovascular prevention, in clinical practice frequently overlooked. We analyzed the real adherence to recommended principles of cardiovascular prevention in primary care subjects.

Methods: Our analysis is based on random general population sample, examined in the frame of post-MONICA survey in 2016/17.

Enhancing and accelerating stroke treatment in Eastern European region: Methods and achievement of the ESO EAST program.

Introduction: Despite the availability of prevention and therapies of stroke, their implementation in clinical practice, even of low-cost ones, remains poor. In 2015, the European Stroke Organisation (ESO) initiated the ESO Enhancing and Accelerating Stroke Treatment (EAST) program, which aims to improve stroke care quality, primarily in Eastern Europe. Here, we describe its methods and milestones.

The role of advanced glycation end products in vascular aging: which parameter is the most suitable as a biomarker?

Advanced glycation end products (AGEs) are involved in several pathophysiologic processes in vascular diseases, including progressive loss of elasticity of the vessel wall (arterial stiffness). Circulating soluble receptors for AGEs (sRAGE) act as a decoy and counterbalanced the harmful properties of AGEs as the natural protective factor. We compared the role of circulating or skin-deposed AGEs and sRAGE regarding the natural course of arterial stiffening.

Speech Comprehension and Its Relation to Other Auditory Parameters in Elderly Patients With Tinnitus.

Deteriorated speech comprehension is a common manifestation of the age-related decline of auditory functions (presbycusis). It could be assumed that when presbycusis is accompanied by tinnitus, general hearing functions, and particularly comprehension of speech in quiet and speech in noise (SIN), will be significantly affected. In this study, speech comprehension ability and other parameters of auditory function were assessed in elderly subjects with (T, = 25) and without (NT, = 26) tinnitus, aiming for examination of both peripheral and central auditory processing.

To what extent can the chosen blood pressure measurement technique affect the outcomes of an observational survey?

We analyzed to what extent measurement protocol influenced individual blood pressure (BP) and achievement of treatment target in patients with coronary heart disease. In a subsample of Czech EUROASPIRE III-V survey participants (n = 913), we compared the per-protocol BP measurement (by automated oscillometric device OMRON at the beginning of survey procedure) with control auscultatory measurement (by physician during interview). Per-protocol approach produced significantly (p < 0.

Quantitation of Cannabinoids in Dried Plant Materials, Concentrates, and Oils Using Liquid Chromatography-Diode Array Detection Technique with Optional Mass Spectrometric Detection: Single-Laboratory Validation Study, First Action 2018.11.

This paper describes a single-laboratory validation of a liquid chromatography-diode array detection (LC-DAD) method for quantification of 12 major cannabinoids in dried plant materials, concentrates, and oils. The method met for quantitative analysis of cannabinoids in concentrates and dried plant materials. The LOQs were in the range 0.

Functional Age-Related Changes Within the Human Auditory System Studied by Audiometric Examination.

Age related hearing loss (presbycusis) is one of the most common sensory deficits in the aging population. The main subjective ailment in the elderly is the deterioration of speech understanding, especially in a noisy environment, which cannot solely be explained by increased hearing thresholds. The examination methods used in presbycusis are primarily focused on the peripheral pathologies (e.

Survey of human pharmaceuticals in drinking water in the Czech Republic.

The first large-scale assessment of pharmaceuticals in drinking water in the Czech Republic (CR) focused on the detection of five substances. Samples were collected from public water systems supplying 5.3 million people, 50.