Search Results (5)

The chemical composition of raw oat grain is responsible for the high dietary value and health-promoting properties of oat products. This article presents the results of a study investigating the biofortification of grain in two oat genotypes—hulless and hulled—through agronomic treatments: chemical plant protection against weeds and fungi and mineral nitrogen fertilization. The applied agronomic treatments induced different changes in the fatty acid profiles, content of tocopherols, macronutrients, and micronutrients in the grain of hulled and hulless oats. Plant health contributed to higher concentrations of unsaturated fatty acids and potassium in oat grain. In turn, nitrogen fertilization decreased the content of unsaturated fatty acids, potassium, and copper and increased the content of saturated fatty acids, calcium, and manganese in oat grain. At the same time, agronomic treatments reduced the tocopherol content of the grain, which implies that the nutritional value of oats increases in the absence of chemical plant protection agents. The correlations between the content of desirable chemical compounds and agronomic treatments were stronger in hulless oat grain, which may suggest that the agronomic modification of oat-based foods is more effective in this genotype. The content of exogenous alpha-linoleic acid C18:3 n-3 and alpha-tocopherol was higher in grain harvested from the control treatment (without chemical plant protection), whereas grain harvested from fully protected treatments accumulated more essential gamma-linolenic acid C18:3 n-6. The content of gamma-tocopherol and copper in oat grain was higher in the absence of nitrogen fertilization. Full article

Background: Poland is witnessing a migration crisis caused by the ongoing military conflict in Ukraine. In addition to housing and necessities, 1.8 million Ukrainians that had taken refuge in Poland must have access to medical care. We aim to propose a strategy for implementing the changes in the Polish health care system in response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis. Methods: A literature review on organizational changes in the functioning of health care systems during the migration crises worldwide in recent years and brainstorming in order to develop a strategy for implementing changes in the Polish health care system in response to the Ukrainian refugee crisis. Results: The proposed strategy for implementing the changes in the Polish health care system is based on building health care resilience and adaptation to different crises. The operational objectives of organization-related activities are: (1) preparation of medical facilities to provide help for refugees, (2) development and implementation of the communication system, (3) implementation of available digital solutions, (4) organization of the diagnostic and medical services, (5) and implementation of changes in the management of medical facilities. Conclusions: Urgent reorganization is required to respond to an unavoidable increase in the demand for health care services. Full article

Electrical properties are the least known and described among the physical properties of food products. The most widespread practical directions of their use include moisture measurements as well as dielectric and microwave heating. Less frequently, they are used to assess the physicochemical parameters of food products, including the technological features of cereal grains. Earlier research by the authors of this paper demonstrated the possibility of using an RCC substitute model of food products (conductivity and capacitance parameters) to identify the grain variety, geometric features, level of grain damage as well as grain moisture content. This model can also be used to distinguish cereal species as well as to assess the proximate chemical composition of their grain. The promising results obtained in this area encouraged us to expand the research with a material important from the food market perspective—durum wheat, obtained in the conditions of sustainable cultivation in north-eastern Europe (temperate climate). The study material was obtained from a proprietary sustainable production technology designed in a strict field experiment. The aim of this research was: (1) to assess the effect of an integrated cultivation system of native durum wheat (six variants), differentiated by a nitrogen fertilization dose (0, 80, 120 kg·ha⁻¹) and with and without growth regulator (GR, WGR) on changes in selected quality parameters (protein, lipid, and starch contents; hardness; color) and electrical parameters (Z, Cp, Cs) of the grain; and (2) to determine the correlations between the examined quality traits and electrical properties of the grain to indicate the possibility of using a non-invasive electrical method to assess grain quality. The highest contents of starch and total lipids and the highest grain hardness were obtained in the cultivation variants GR + 0N and WGR + 0N, whereas the highest protein content—upon wheat fertilization with 120N. The study demonstrated a different strength of the correlations between the tested parameters depending on the cultivation method. In the WGR + 0N variant (environmentally friendly), the strongest correlation between grain quality traits and electrical properties was obtained for both the conductive (Z) and capacitive (Cp, Cs) parameters in the entire analyzed range of current frequencies. The cultivation of durum wheat in the integrated system, especially in the WGR variant, facilitates grain quality modeling and enables using a non-invasive electrical method for a rapid assessment of the quality traits of the grain while raising no concerns over natural environment safety. The growth regulator (GR) application during native durum wheat cultivation hampers the use of the analyzed electrical method to assess its grain quality. Full article

Cancer is one of the most common causes of death worldwide, thus new solutions in anticancer therapies are highly sought after. In this work, superparamagnetic iron oxide nanoparticles (SPIONs) conjugated with anticancer drugs are synthesized and investigated as potential magnetic drug nanocarriers for local drug delivery and mild magnetic hyperthermia. We have obtained a hybrid system loaded with holmium and anticancer drugs and thoroughly studied it with respect to the size, morphology, surface modifications and magnetic properties, and interactions with the model of biological membranes, cytotoxicity. We present that nanoparticles having a round shape and size 15 nm are successfully stabilized to avoid their agglomeration and modified with doxorubicin or epirubicin within a controlled way. The number of drugs loaded into the SPIONs was confirmed with thermogravimetry. The hybrid based on SPIONs was investigated in touch with model biological membranes within the Langmuir-Blodgett technique, and results show that modified SPION interacts effectively with them. Results obtained with magnetic hyperthermia and biological studies confirm the promising properties of the hybrid towards future cancer cell treatment. Full article

We present a case of a 57-year-old woman suffering from granulomatosis with polyangiitis (GPA), who in the seventh months of immunosuppressive treatment (cyclophosphamide) progressed with new pulmonary changes and perforations of the hard palate and bronchi. Rituximab was introduced resulting in B-cell depletion and disappearance of anti-PR3 antibody. Palatal holes have substantially diminished and all bronchial perforations disappeared, covered by fibrous tissue. In the fourth month after rituximab administration, large scarring obstruction of the right main bronchus with upper and middle lobes atelectasis emerged. Because of increasing dyspnoea, stenotic bronchus was re-opened by bronchoscopy. Intervention was complicated by bilateral pneumothorax and later, on the seventh day, by fatal pulmonary bleeding. To our knowledge, this is the first report of GPA refractory to cyclophosphamide complicated by palatal and bronchial perforations. Full article