Introduction: Diabetes mellitus is a chronic metabolic disease characterized by disturbances in carbohydrate metabolism. Long-term high blood glucose levels can lead to a variety of serious complications and organ failure. Diabetic patients are particularly at risk of the severe course of COVID-19. Objective: The study aimed to investigate the relationship between diabetes and COVID-19. The literature available in the PubMed database was used to carry out a systematic review of the literature. The meta-analyzes from 2021 and 2022 were used for the analysis, with the inclusion of the phrases "DIABETES" and "COVID-19" in the title. A brief description of the state of knowledge: Diabetes does not increase the incidence of COVID-19, but the risk of severe disease is higher in patients with diabetes compared to the non-diabetic population. This is especially true of patients with uncontrolled glycaemia. SARS-CoV-2 disrupts the carbohydrate metabolism, can damage pancreatic beta cells and, in this mechanism, induce diabetes or cause the progression of pre-existing diabetes. There is an increased incidence of COVID-19 complications, including acute respiratory distress syndrome and death in patients with diabetes. Conclusions: Diabetic patients are at a higher risk of the severe course and rapid progression of COVID-19. Important in COVID-19 therapy is glycemic control and monitoring the percentage of glycosylated hemoglobin, CRP and D-dimers. The modification of the current treatment may be necessary. In patients who have undergone COVID-19, attention should be paid to the possibility of induction of diabetes or dysregulation of carbohydrate metabolism in patients suffering from diabetes previously.

Geranium robertianum L. is a widely distributed plant used as a traditional herbal medicine, but the knowledge of its biological properties still needs to be improved. Thus, the purpose of this presented research was to assess the phytochemical profile of extracts from aerial parts of G. robertianum, commercially available in Poland and to study their anticancer potential and antimicrobial properties, including the antiviral, antibacterial, and antifungal effects. Additionally, the bioactivity of fractions obtained from the hexane and ethyl acetate extract was analyzed. The phytochemical analysis revealed the presence of organic and phenolic acids, hydrolysable tannins (gallo- and ellagitannins), and flavonoids. Significant anticancer activity was found for G. robertianum hexane extract (GrH) and ethyl acetate extract (GrEA) with an SI (selectivity index) between 2.02 and 4.39. GrH and GrEA inhibited the development of HHV-1-induced cytopathic effect (CPE) in virus-infected cells and decreased the viral load by 0.52 log and 1.42 log, respectively. Among the analyzed fractions, only those obtained from GrEA showed the ability to decrease the CPE and reduce the viral load. The extracts and fractions from G. robertianum showed a versatile effect on the panel of bacteria and fungi. The highest activity was observed for fraction GrEA4 against Gram-positive bacteria, including Micrococcus luteus ATCC 10240 (MIC 8 μg/mL), Staphylococcus epidermidis ATCC 12228 (MIC 16 μg/mL), Staphylococcus aureus ATCC 43300 (MIC 125 μg/mL), Enterococcus faecalis ATCC 29212 (MIC 125 μg/mL), and Bacillus subtilis ATCC 6633 (MIC 125 μg/mL). The observed antibacterial effect may justify the traditional use of G. robertianum to treat hard-to-heal wounds.

Introduction: Over the years, the popularisation of 3D printing technology created new possibilities for developing customized and cheap prosthetics in a shorter time than time-consuming and expensive conventional methods. With the available software and knowledge, there are limitless possibilities for tailoring every prosthetic exclusively to the patient when keeping the costs reasonably low. Objective: The objective of the study was to research, review and compare data available on PubMed about the use of 3D printing in the development of a prosthetic thumb. A brief description of the state of knowledge: Conventional methods of prosthetic manufacture require a skilled professional prosthetist, a lot of time, and the costs from 4000-8000$ for a body-powered one, to 25000-50000$ for an externally powered one. That could be a major financial barrier for a patient. The 3D printing technology development over the last 15 years provided a fast and cheap method of manufacture for low-batch prosthetics, including thumb prosthetics, while being able to easily alter the project to customize it to the patient’s needs. Conclusions: There is a possibility to create fully functioning and durable thumb prosthetics with 3D printing technology. However, we need more research to provide a universal and fully customizable one to meet every patient's needs.

Introduction: Microtia and other outer ear deformations may cause a lot of psychical, social, and mental stress for a patient. In order to surgically treat it, we need a very experienced plastic surgeon specializing in such operations. With the use of 3D printing technology, such as fused deposition modeling or a sacrificial layer process there are a lot of possibilities starting from creating aids for plastic surgeons to printing ear prosthesis from live cells. Objective: The study's objective was to research, review and compare data available on PubMed about the use of 3D printing in the treatment of microtia and other ear deformations. A brief description of the state of knowledge: With the current state of knowledge, with the 3D printing technology, we can quickly create highly individualized and helpful training aids for plastic surgeons that would help them during operations. There is also a possibility of developing a personalized splint that would help correct the ears better than conventional methods. What’s more, we can also print prosthetics, not only with the use of conventional materials used in 3D printing but also with live chondrocytes and adipocytes that were able to chondro and adipogenesis, respectively.  Conclusions: There are a couple of ways we can use 3D printing in the treatment of outer ear deformities. The most promising is printing with live cells, but we need more research to develop better methods and techniques to use in the future prosthetics.