Subtypes of Influenza Virus Infection and Outcomes in Individuals Older than 65 Years of Age in Poland in the 2016/2017 to 2019/2020 Epidemic Seasons.

BACKGROUND Influenza is a viral disease causing many deaths each season. With aging, the human immune system becomes weaker, so people over the age of 65 years are at higher risk of complications after influenza infections. This population study, conducted in Poland, aimed to identify the subtypes of influenza virus infection and outcomes in individuals more than 65 years of age in the 2016/2017 to 2019/2020 epidemic seasons.

Readiness and Willingness to Provide Immunization Services after Pilot Vaccination Training: A Survey among Community Pharmacists Trained and Not Trained in Immunization during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland.

Background: Immunization rates among the adult population in Poland are below desired targets, urging the need to expand this service in the community. During the COVID-19 pandemic, the ultimate goals for limiting the spread of the infection are vaccines against SARS-CoV-2. Pharmaceutical companies are in a race for the fastest possible way to deliver vaccines.

Estimating the percentage of European MSM eligible for PrEP: insights from a bio-behavioural survey in thirteen cities.

Objectives: This paper aims to estimate the percentage of European men who have sex with men (MSM) who may benefit from pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), applying the three most widely used HIV risk indices for MSM (MSM Risk Index, Menza score, San Diego Early Test (SDET) score) and drawing on a large-scale multisite bio-behavioural survey (Sialon II).

Methods: The Sialon II study was a bio-behavioural survey among MSM implemented in 13 European cities using either time-location sampling or respondent-driven sampling. Biological and behavioural data from 4901 MSM were collected.

Cancer-derived EVs show tropism for tissues at early stage of neoplastic transformation.

From the past decade, extracellular vesicles (EVs) have attracted considerable attention as tools for the selective delivery of anti-neoplastic drugs to cancer tissues. Compared to other nanoparticles, EVs display interesting unique features including immune compatibility, low toxicity and the ability to encapsulate a large variety of small- and macro-molecules. However, in virtually all studies, investigations on EVs have been focused on fully transformed cancers: the possibility to apply EV technology also to early-stage tumors has never been explored.

Clinical Determinants of Successful Omalizumab Therapy in Severe Allergic Asthma Patients: 4-Year-Long, Real-Life Observation.

Introduction: Omalizumab is a high-cost therapy recommended for the treatment of severe allergic asthma.

Objective: To find clinical parameters that are related to the sustained response to omalizumab.

Patients And Methods: This retrospective, real-life, 4-year follow-up was provided in Poland between March 2013 and May 2019.

Congenital cytomegalovirus infections in Poland - a national hospital register-based study.

Introduction And Objective: Congenital cytomegalovirus (cCMV) infections are common worldwide. CCMV infected newborns are mostly asymptomatic at birth. However, cCMV remains the major infectious cause of congenital abnormalities in the developing foetus and newborns.

Current state-of-the-art knowledge on the role of omega-3 fatty acids in the prevention of cardiovascular disease.

Introduction: Polyunsaturated n-3 fatty acid preparations containing eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanaenoic acid (DHA), or EPA only, have long been recommended in the management of hypertriglyceridaemia, especially when severe (triglyceride levels ≥500 mg/dL), at the dose of 2-4 g/d, mostly for the prevention of acute pancreatitis.

Material And Methods: The presented article reviews clinical trials and their metaanalyses which evaluated the effect of n-3 fatty acids on cardiovascular disease risk, and regulatory agencies' and cardiac societies' positions regarding their use.

Results: The findings indicate that only EPA is effective.

Blastocystis isolates from a dog and their owners presenting with chronic diarrhoea. Dogs as reservoirs of Blastocystis: research in Poland and worldwide.

Blastocystis cf. hominis is an unicellular protozoan parasite commonly found in the gastrointestinal tract of humans and animals. Blastocystis is characterized by high morphological and genetic diversity.

Survival in men diagnosed with prostate cancer in Poland in the years 2000 - 2014 compared to European Countries based on Concord-3.

Background: Wealthy countries have observed in recent decades a fast-growing number of prostate patients, who require treatment and long-term cancer care. This trend seems to be connected with some demographic changes such as aging societies, better access to diagnostic methods with high sensitivity as well as large-scale secondary prevention (prostate cancer screening at early stage before clinical manifestation). Secondary prevention is becoming more accessible and widely applied.

Intervention for improvement the diet and physical activity of children and adolescents in Poland.

Background: The effects of a two-year educational Programme "Keep Balance" addressed to children and adolescents have been evaluated. Its purpose has been to implement the rules of proper nutrition and increasing the level of physical activity on the population level.

Objective: The main objective of the evaluation was an indication if, after two years of programme activities, outcome indicators have been achieved.

Assessment of exposure to nickel intake with selected cereal grains and cereal-based products.

Background: Cereal grains and their products are among the basic components of the diet all over the world. Their consumption varies depending on the dietary habits in each country. Apart from ingredients valuable from a health point of view, these products can also be a source of contaminants.

Natural groundwaters in Poland - occurrence, properties and chemical types.

Chemical composition, organoleptic and physicochemical properties of natural groundwaters are varied and dependent on their geological environment. Determining the basic organoleptic properties - such as colour, taste, odour - as well as physical properties - such as electrical conductivity or redox potential - allow us to assess the stability of water chemical composition. Based on their origin, groundwaters can be divided into infiltration, as well as condensation, juvenile, metamorphic and relic groundwaters, which are currently of lesser value.

Incidence and genetic variability of Listeria monocytogenes isolated from vegetables in Poland.

The aim of the present study is to investigate the prevalence and genetic diversity of Listeria monocytogenes in various fresh and frozen vegetable products available in Poland. The samples were collected at retail market within the framework of national official control and monitoring program. In the years 2016-2019 a total of 49 samples out of 8712 collected vegetable samples were positive for L.

The SARS-CoV-2 ORF10 is not essential in vitro or in vivo in humans.

SARS-CoV-2 genome annotation revealed the presence of 10 open reading frames (ORFs), of which the last one (ORF10) is positioned downstream of the N gene. It is a hypothetical gene, which was speculated to encode a 38 aa protein. This hypothetical protein does not share sequence similarity with any other known protein and cannot be associated with a function.

Dental Challenges and the Needs of the Population during the Covid-19 Pandemic Period. Real-Time Surveillance Using Google Trends.

Background: The outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic may lead to changes in the dental needs of the population and new challenges concerning oral health care.

Methods: The Google Trends tool was used to collect data on the Internet search interest. The investigated material was collected from 1 January 2020 to 23 August 2020.

[Health protection of employees against SARS-CoV-2 coronavirus infection causing the COVID-19 disease - the current state of knowledge and recommendations].

The COVID-19 pandemic, despite the restrictions and preventive measures applied, has rapidly spread and reached Poland. The adaptation to the dynamically changing epidemiological situation requires a prompt implementation of effective preventive measures. The aim of the publication is to provide current knowledge to all persons involved in the preventive care system, i.

Determinants of inequalities in years with disability: an international-comparative study.

Background: Persons with a lower socioeconomic position spend more years with disability, despite their shorter life expectancy, but it is unknown what the important determinants are. This study aimed to quantify the contribution to educational inequalities in years with disability of eight risk factors: father's manual occupation, low income, few social contacts, smoking, high alcohol consumption, high body-weight, low physical exercise and low fruit and vegetable consumption.

Methods: We collected register-based mortality and survey-based disability and risk factor data from 15 European countries covering the period 2010-14 for most countries.

Health status and its socio-economic covariates in the older population in Poland - the assumptions and methods of the nationwide, cross-sectional PolSenior2 survey.

Introduction: Population ageing constitutes an increasing medical, social, and economic burden worldwide. Optimal senior policy should be based on well-assessed knowledge on the prevalence and control of age-related diseases, multimorbidity, disabilities, and their social determinants. The objective of this paper is to describe the assumptions, methods, and sampling procedures of the PolSenior2 survey, which was aimed at characterising the health status of old and very-old adults in Poland.

Flu Vaccinations in Pharmacies-A Review of Pharmacists Fighting Pandemics and Infectious Diseases.

The phenomenon of population ageing observed over recent years involves growing healthcare needs and the limited staffing and financing of healthcare systems, and as such demands some functional changes in the healthcare model in many countries. This situation is particularly significant in the face of a pandemic, e.g.

Folic acid supplementation in pregnancy and prevention of fetal neural tube defects.

Introduction: Folic acid deficiency in very early pregnancy significantly increases the risk for neural tube defects in the developing fetus. Due to very high demands for folic acid in pregnancy, adequate supply is not possible without dietary supplements.

Aim Of The Study: Evaluation of the frequency and adequacy of folic acid supplementation before and during pregnancy among women from the Warsaw region of Poland.

HIV and AIDS in Poland in 2018.

Aim: The aim of the study was to assess the epidemiological situation of newly diagnosed HIV infections and AIDS cases and death among AIDS cases in Poland in 2018 in comparison to the changes in preceding years.

Materials And Methods: Analysis of the epidemiological situation was based on reports of newly detected HIV cases and AIDS cases and the results of the annual survey of HIV testing conducted among the laboratories throughout the country.

Results: In 2018 there were 1,209 HIV cases newly diagnosed in Poland (diagnosis rate: 3.

Hepatitis C in Poland in 2018.

Objective: Analysis of data on hepatitis C, collected as part of epidemiological surveillance in 2018, compared to previous years.

Material And Methods: Analysis of: 1) individual data from surveillance in 2018 2) diagnosis rate from bulletins "Infectious diseases and poisonings in Poland" for the years 2012-2018 and 3) data about deaths due to hepatitis C from the Demographic Surveys and Labour Market Department of the Central Statistical Office.

Results: In 2018, there was a decrease in the number of reported hepatitis C cases (3,442 cases) and the diagnosis rate (8.

Hepatitis B in Poland in 2018.

Objective: Evaluation of the epidemiological situation of hepatitis B in Poland in 2018 compared to the situation in previous years.

Material And Methods: The epidemiological situation was assessed based on the results of the analysis of individual data on hepatitis B cases and HBV infections registered by Local Sanitary- Epidemiological Stations in the central database using Epidemiological Interview Registration System (SRWE). Aggregate data published in the annual bulletins "Infectious Diseases and Poisonings in Poland" and "Vaccinations in Poland" were also used.

From Conventional Therapies to Immunotherapy: Melanoma Treatment in Review.

In this review, we discuss the use of oncolytic viruses and checkpoint inhibitors in cancer immunotherapy in melanoma, with a particular focus on combinatory therapies. Oncolytic viruses are promising and novel anti-cancer agents, currently under investigation in many clinical trials both as monotherapy and in combination with other therapeutics. They have shown the ability to exhibit synergistic anticancer activity with checkpoint inhibitors, chemotherapy, radiotherapy.