Background: Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) are the cause of chronic lung disease called NTM lung disease (NTM-LD). There are about 180 known species of NTM. Nowadays the number of NTM-LD is increasing. Objective: To evaluate the clinical significance of NTM isolated from specimens and assess the frequency and clinical relevance of isolation of NTM in the Regional Center of Pulmonology in Bydgoszcz, hospital of Northern Poland. Design: Clinical, radiological, and microbiological data were collected from all patients from whom NTM was isolated between 2013 and 2022. Data were reviewed retrospectively. Diagnostic criteria for NTM-LD published by the American Thoracic Society (ATS) were used to determine clinical relevance. Material and methods: The study comprised 81,985 clinical specimens submitted for mycobacterial culture in the Department of Microbiology at the Regional Center of Pulmonology in Bydgoszcz between 2013 and 2022. Clinical specimens were processed according to the standard procedure in mycobacteria laboratories in Poland. NTM strains were identified using analysis of mycolic acids by chromatography as well as GenoType NTM-DR, GenoType Mycobacterium AS, and GenoType Mycobacterium CM. Results: There were 395 patients with NTM strains between 2013 and 2022. Out of them, 149 cases met the diagnostic criteria of NTM-LD and were classified as definite cases. M. kansasii (n = 77) was the most common species in the group (51.68%), followed by M. avium complex (n = 46). Patients with NTM-LD were 22–88 years old (median age was 60 years). There were 81 men and 68 women. The most common symptoms were cough, hemoptysis, and fever. Radiological X-ray images were dominated by infiltrative lesions in the upper and middle lobe of the right lung with cavities; the changes were in the upper lobe of the left lung and on both sides of the chest. They were smokers in 61%. The most common concomitant diseases were chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), diabetes mellitus, pulmonary carcinoma, and human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, and other immunodeficiencies. The most common treatment was isoniazid, ethambutol, rifampicin, and ofloxacin for 18 months with a minimum of 12 months of culture negativity. Conclusions: NTM-LD infections are present with other pulmonary illnesses and extrapulmonary diseases and may be connected to primary immunologic deficiencies. These diseases concern patients of all ages and have various clinical manifestations. M. kansasii and MAC are the most prevalent NTM isolates among respiratory samples in Northern Poland. In addition, an increase in MAC and a decrease in M. kansasii both in cultivation and the cause of NTM-LD were reported.

The essential oils from inflorescences, fruits and leaves of Phellodendron lavallei Dode were analyzed by GC, GC/MS and 1 H NMR spectroscopy. About 100 compounds were identified. The principal components in the fruit oil were myrcene (47.7-52.0%) and limonene (38.4-40.9%), followed by germacrene D (1.2-3.2%) and (E)-β-caryophyllene (2.4-2.9%). The inflorescence oil contained mainly myrcene (44.8%), limonene (43.2%) and (E)-β-ocimene (4.1%). The main constituents of the leaf oil were limonene (26.7%) myrcene (22.1%), (E,E)-α-farnesene (5.6%) and α-pinene (5.0%). The antibacterial activity was examined towards both Gram-positive and Gram-negative bacteria. The fruit oil showed weak activity against the bacteria tested.

The ongoing COVID-19 pandemic has led to many restrictions affecting the research conduct. The purpose of this study was to reproduce the previously observed spatial summation of pain effect (SSp) using non-laboratory procedures and commercial equipment. An additional aim was to measure the association between expectation and SSp for the first time. The Cold Pressor Task (CPT) was used to induce SSp. Healthy participants (N=68) immersed their non-dominant hands (divided into 5 segments) into cold water (Cold Pressor Task). Two conditions were used 1) gradual hand immersion (ascending condition) and 2) gradual hand withdrawal (descending condition). Pain intensity was measured on a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS). The influence of psychological factors, such as the volunteer's expectation of pain intensity, on the actual perception of pain were also measured on a VAS. Results showed significant SSp (p < 0.001), reproduced with non-laboratory equipment in a home-based set-up. Furthermore, two novel findings were observed: i) spatial summation increased with the increase in exposure to the noxious stimulus (p < 0.001), ii) there was a significant correlation between expectation and perceived pain, indicating that pain expectations can contribute to SSp. Results showed that SSp is shaped by a mixture of excitatory and inhibitory mechanisms and is influenced by the sensitization of the nociceptive system. Moreover, spatial summation is influenced by expectation. This study proposes a new feasible way to induce SSp using a home-based set-up using the CPT during COVID-19.

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