Hydrogenated oils containing trans-fatty acids (TFA) are used to produce margarine and various processed foods. TFA affect serum lipid levels, fatty acid metabolism, and endothelial function. High TFA intake is linked to increased all-cause mortality, coronary heart disease mortality, and cardiovascular disease (CVD) incidence. Denmark was the first country to introduce a law that limited TFA content in food; this action led to lower CVD mortality. So far 7 European countries have followed this practice, in a few others the food industry voluntarily reduced TFA use. The issue remains mostly unaddressed in the rest of the world. Legal TFA limits should be commonly established as they are the optimal solution considering both CVD prevention and the associated cost savings in public healthcare.

Wstęp. Wiedza na temat wirusowego zapalenia wątroby odgrywa bardzo ważną rolę w zapobieganiu infekcjom HCV oraz późnym powikłaniom WZW typu C. Zarówno niewiedza, jak i brak danych o zachorowaniu skutkują licznymi zakażeniami, co stanowi poważny problem epidemiologiczny. Cel. Celem pracy była ocena poziomu wiedzy studentów Uniwersytetu Warszawskiego (UW) i Szkoły Głównej Gospodarstwa Wiejskiego (SGGW) na temat wirusowego zapalenia wątroby typu C. Materiał i metody. W badaniu wzięło udział 200 losowo wybranych studentów (100 z UW i 100 z SGGW). Ich wiedzę zbadano za pomocą ankiety własnego autorstwa. Do oceny poziomu wiedzy ustalono kryteria ocen: 25% i mniej prawidłowych odpowiedzi-poziom wiedzy niedostateczny, 26% do 50%-dostateczny, 51% do 75%-dobry, 76% i więcej-bardzo dobry. Wyniki. W obu grupach badanych więcej było kobiet (74%) niż mężczyzn (26%). Wyższe średnie wartości prawidłowych odpowiedzi na temat WZW typu C uzyskali studenci z SGGW (śr. = 49,19, podczas gdy studenci z UW śr. = 45,00). Najlepszy jednostkowy wynik prawidłowych odpowiedzi na SGGW wyniósł 87,50%, natomiast na UW-81,25%. Wnioski. Wiedza studentów obu uczelni klasyfi kuje się na poziomie dostatecznym, przy czym studenci SGGW mają nieco lepsze rozeznanie w tej dziedzinie niż ich koledzy z UW. Swoją wiedzę na temat WZW typu C studenci oceniają na poziomie niedostatecznym. Wykazują również chęć podniesienia swojej wiedzy.

To compare the efficacy and safety of straight and J-shaped passive-fixation atrial leads we retrospectively analyzed the results of 100 consecutive implantations of atrial leads at one institution. There were seven cases of upgrades of VVIR to DDDR systems and in one case an active-fixation lead was chosen as a primary approach. These eight patients were excluded from the analysis. The final study group consisted of 92 cases (69 DDDR, 23 AAIR), 69 were J and 23 straight leads. The stimulation threshold, slew rate, impedance, P wave amplitude, and procedural time did not differ significantly between the two types of leads used. During the long-term follow-up of 6-53 months (30 +/- 11.9 months), replacements using active-fixation leads were required in two patients with straight leads and three patients with J leads (P = NS). In addition, one J lead showed signs of damage (impedance > 3,000 Ohm). Long-term follow-up values of the stimulation thresholds and P wave amplitudes did not differ between the groups (P = NS). Transesophageal echocardiography performed in 13 patients revealed a trend toward more distal placement of straight leads within the right atrial appendage. In conclusion, J-shaped leads do not seem to be superior to the straight leads for atrial implantations.

Acoustocerebrography is a novel, non-invasive, transcranial ultrasonic diagnostic method based on the transmission of multispectral ultrasound signals propagating through the brain tissue. Dedicated signal processing enables the estimation of absorption coefficient, frequency-dependent attenuation, speed of sound and tissue elasticity. Hypertension and atrial fibrillation are well known factors correlated with white matter lesions, intracerebral hemorrhage and cryptogenic stroke numbers. The aim of this study was to compare the acoustocerebrography signal in the brains of asymptomatic atrial fibrillation patients with and without hypertension. The study included 97 asymptomatic patients (40 female and 57 male, age 66.26 ± 6.54 years) who were clinically monitored for atrial fibrillation. The patients were divided into two groups: group I (patients with hypertension) n = 75, and group II (patients without hypertension) n = 22. Phase and amplitude of all spectral components for the received signals from the brain path were extracted and compared to the phase and amplitude of the transmitted pulse. Next, the time of flight and the attenuation of each frequency component were calculated. Additionally, a fast Fourier transformation was performed and its features were extracted. After introducing a machine learning technique, the ROC plot of differentiations between group I and group II with an AUC of 0.958 (sensitivity 0.99 and specificity 0.968) was obtained. It can be assumed that the significant difference in the acoustocerebrography signals in patients with hypertension is due to changes in the brain tissue, and it allows for the differentiating of high-risk patients with asymptomatic atrial fibrillation and hypertension.

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