University of Zielona Góra

Background The diagnosis of HNF1B disease is a challenge. We aimed to developa tool for predicting HNF1B mutations in children with congenital abnormalities of the kidneys and urinary tract (CAKUT). Methods The clinical and laboratory data from 234 children and young adults with known HNF1B mutation status were collected and analyzed retrospectively. All subjects were randomly divided into a training (70%) and a validation set (30%). A random forest model was constructed to predict HNF1B mutations. The recursive feature elimination algorithm was used for feature selection into the model, and receiver operating characteristiccurve statistics were used to verify its predictive effect. Results 213 patients were analyzed, including HNF1B‑positive (mut+, n=109) and HNF1B‑negative (mut−, n=104) subjects. The majority of patients had mild chronic kidney disease. Kidney phenotype was similar between groups, but bilateral kidney anomalies were more frequent in the mut+ group. Hypomagnesemia and hypermagnesuria were the most common abnormalities in mut+ patients, and were highly selective of HNF1B. Hypomagnesemia based on age‑appropriate norms had a better discriminatory value than the age‑independent cutoff of 0.7 mmol/l. Pancreatic anomalies were almost exclusively found in mut+ patients. No subjects had hypokalemia; the mean serum potassium level was lower in the HNF1Bcohort. The above‑mentioned, discriminative parameters were selected for the model, which showed a good performance (area under the curve: 0.85; sensitivity of 93.67%, specificity of 73.57%). A corresponding calculator was developed for use and validation. Conclusion This study developed a simple tool for predicting HNF1B mutations in children with CAKUT.

A sufficient condition for an extension of positive logic with strong negation to be characterized by a class of finite trees is given.

Late recurrence of atrial fibrillation (LRAF) in the first year following catheter ablation is a common and significant clinical problem. Our study aimed to create a machine-learning model for predicting arrhythmic recurrence within the first year since catheter ablation. The study comprised 201 consecutive patients (age: 61.8 ± 8.1; women 36%) with paroxysmal, persistent, and long-standing persistent atrial fibrillation (AF) who underwent cryoballoon (61%) and radiofrequency ablation (39%). Five different supervised machine-learning models (decision tree, logistic regression, random forest, XGBoost, support vector machines) were developed for predicting AF recurrence. Further, SHapley Additive exPlanations were derived to explain the predictions using 82 parameters based on clinical, laboratory, and procedural variables collected from each patient. The models were trained and validated using a stratified fivefold cross-validation, and a feature selection was performed with permutation importance. The XGBoost model with 12 variables showed the best performance on the testing cohort, with the highest AUC of 0.75 [95% confidence interval 0.7395, 0.7653]. The machine-learned model, based on the easily available 12 clinical and laboratory variables, predicted LRAF with good performance, which may provide a valuable tool in clinical practice for better patient selection and personalized AF strategy following the procedure.

To present the concept of a portable ultrasound tomography device for diagnosing traumatic and vascular brain lesions. The device consisting of multiple transcranial ultrasound probes placed on the surface of the head, specifically but not exclusively in natural acoustic windows. An integral part of the mobile diagnostic system (MDS) is a decision support system based on artificial intelligence algorithms utilizing information from: head images, laboratory data, and assessment of the patient's clinical condition. The MDS can significantly reduce the time from stroke onset to rtPA therapy in civilian medical services and support therapeutic and evacuation strategies in instances of brain and skull trauma on the battlefield.

The present paper deals with the problem of interlingual equivalence in vocabulary, text translation and intercultural communication and proposes a novel approach to this problem based on ideas from prototype theory and field theory. Within this approach, interlingual equivalence is defined not as the relation between two lexemes, but as the relation between a lexeme and a semantic field. The first part of the paper thus provides a general description of the main types of corresponding semantic fields. The second part deals with the factors that generally serve as a basis for establishing equivalence relations between lexical units in systems of the languages being compared and in texts. Particular attention is paid to outlining the differences between these factors. Furthermore, the paper discusses peculiarities arising when establishing equivalence relations between utterances in interlingual communication. In certain communicative situations, equivalent utterances cannot be perceived as adequate forms of realisation of a speech act, which must be taken into account in order to avoid misunderstanding and communication failure. In this case, equivalence relations in communication often need to be replaced by relations of adequacy. The difference between equivalence and adequacy is discussed as well. The analysis is based on comparison of the lexical‐semantic spheres of English, German and Russian.

The 2022 European Society of Cardiology (ESC) guidelines [1] are a comprehensive document, prepared jointly by experts in cardiology and oncology. In the case of an oncological patient, it is necessary to individualize care in relation to the cardiological condition, the stage of the cancer and the type of potential anti-cancer therapy. Cardiac care optimisation should be undertaken before the start of oncological therapy, and continued during oncological therapy, as well as long-term after its completion [2]. The published ESC Guidelines were supplemented with a practical comments of a team of polish cardiology and oncology experts.

We give properties of strict pseudocontractions and demicontractions defined on a Hilbert space, which constitute wide classes of operators that arise in iterative methods for solving fixed point problems. In particular, we give necessary and sufficient conditions under which a convex combination and composition of strict pseudocontractions as well as demicontractions that share a common fixed point is again a strict pseudocontraction or a demicontraction, respectively. Moreover, we introduce a generalized relaxation of composition of demicontraction and give its properties. We“ apply these properties to prove the weak convergence of a class of algorithms that is wider than the Douglas–Rachford algorithm and projected Landweber algorithms. We have also presented two numerical examples, where we compare the behavior of the presented methods with the Douglas–Rachford method.

Anti-EGFR antibodies combined with chemotherapy doublets are a cornerstone of the upfront treatment of colorectal cancer. RAS and BRAF mutations are established negative predictive factors for such therapy. The primary tumour located in the proximal colon has recently emerged as another negative predictive factor. We have conducted a retrospective multicentre study to collect data on real-world population characteristics, practice patterns, and outcomes in patients with metastatic colorectal cancer treated in a first-line setting with either cetuximab or panitumumab in combination with either FOLFOX or FOLFIRI chemotherapy. The presented analysis focuses on the impact of the primary tumour location. 126 of 842 patients analysed (15.0%) had proximal primary. It was associated with a lower BMI at diagnosis, mucinous histology, and peritoneal metastases. It was also associated with inferior treatment outcomes in terms of response ratio: 59.4% vs. 74.22% (odds ratio [OR] 0.51, 95% CI 0.33–0.78, p = 0.010), and median depth of response: −36.7% vs. −50.0% (p = 0.038). There was only a borderline non-significant trend for inferior PFS in patients with proximal tumours. OS data was incomplete. The presented analysis confirms the negative impact of tumour sidedness on the efficacy of an upfront anti-EGFR-chemotherapy combination and provides valuable data on real-world population characteristics.

Reactive nitrogen (Nr) released to the environment is a cause of multiple environmental threats. While Nr flows are often only analyzed in an agricultural context, consumption and emission takes place in the urban environment, and opportunities for Nr recycling and effective policy implementation for mitigation often appear in cities. Since little information is available on the bigger picture of Nr flows through the urban environment, these opportunities often remain unexploited. Here we developed a framework to model Nr pathways through urban and surrounding areas, which we applied to four test areas (Beijing and Shijiazhuang (China), Vienna (Austria), and Zielona Góra (Poland)). Using indicators such as recycling rates and Nr surplus, we estimated environmental risks and recycling potentials based on Nr flows and their entry and exit points. Our findings show marked differences between the core and surrounding areas of each city, with the former being a site of Nr consumption with largest flows associated with households, and the latter a site of (agricultural) production with largest flows associated with industry (fertilizers) and urban plants. As a result, Nr transgresses the core areas in a rather linear manner with only 0-5 % being re-used, with inputs from Nr contained in food and fuels and outputs most commonly as non-reactive N2 emissions to the atmosphere from wastewater treatment and combustion processes. While the peri-urban areas show a higher Nr recycling rate (6-14 %), Nr accumulation and emissions from cultivated land pose significant environmental challenges, indicating the need for mitigation measures. We found potential to increase nitrogen use efficiency through improved Nr management on cultivated areas and to increase Nr recycling using urine and sewage sludge as synthetic fertilizer substitutes. Hence our framework for urban nitrogen budgets not only allows for consistent budgeting but helps identify common patterns, potentially harmful flows and Nr recycling potential.

Context: There is no consensus on which "strong" (or step 3 WHO analgesic ladder) opioid to prescribe to a particular patient with cancer-related pain. A better understanding of opioid and patient characteristics on treatment response will contribute to a more personalized opioid treatment. Objectives: Assessment of potential predictors for successful opioid treatment response in patients with cancer pain. Methods: An international partnership between four cancer pain research groups resulted in a combined individual-level database from four relevant randomized controlled trials (RCTs; n = 881). Together, these RCTs investigated the short-term (1 week) and medium-term (4 or 5 weeks) treatment responses for morphine, buprenorphine, methadone, oxycodone, and fentanyl. Candidate predictors for treatment response were sex, age, pain type, pain duration, depression, anxiety, Karnofsky performance score, opioid type, and use of anti-neuropathic drug. Results: Opioid type and pain type were found statistically significant predictors of short-term treatment success. Sex, age, pain type, anxiety, and opioid type were statistically, significantly associated with medium-term treatment success. However, these models showed low discriminative power. Conclusion: Fentanyl and methadone, and mixed pain were found to be statistically significant predictors of treatment success in patients with cancer-related pain. With the predictors currently assessed our data did not allow for the creation of a clinical prediction model with good discriminative power. Additional - unrevealed - predictors are necessary to develop a future prediction model.

Quantifying biodiversity trends in economically-developed countries, where depopulation, associated secondary succession, and climate warming are ongoing, provides insights for global biodiversity conservation in the 21st century. However, few studies have assessed the impacts of secondary succession and climate warming on species' population trends at a national scale. In this study, we estimated the population trends of common breeding bird species in Japan and tested the associations between the overall population trend and species traits using nationwide bird count data of 47 species collected from 2009 to 2020. We found that the overall population trend varied among species, with four species showing a moderate population increase, 18 being stable, 11 showing a moderate population decline, and 13 with uncertain population trends over the study period. The difference in overall trends among the species was associated with their habitat groups and temperature niche position. Species with lower temperature niche positions experienced more pronounced declines. Multi-species indicators showed a moderate increase in forest specialists and moderate declines in both forest generalists (the species that use both forests and open habitats) and open-habitat specialists. Forest generalists and open-habitat specialists also tended to decline more rapidly at sites with more abandoned farmland. All species groups showed an accelerated decline or decelerated increase after 2015. These findings suggested that common breeding birds in Japan are facing deteriorating trends as a result of nationwide changes in land use and climate. Future land-use planning and policies will need to consider the benefits of both passive rewilding for forest specialists and active restoration measures (e.g., low-intensive forestry and agriculture) for non-forest specialists to effectively conserve biodiversity in the era of human depopulation and climate warming. This article is protected by copyright. All rights reserved.

This paper presents an analysis and the research results of system couplers in CAx systems that ensure the correct transfer of product data from the “supplier” system to the “recipient” system. This study presents the results of the compatibility tests between the systems based on the verification of geometric models and their attributes after importing/exporting 2D and 3D objects using neutral data exchange formats. The purpose of the research was to identify neutral formats that do not introduce errors after data transversion in certain types of geometry. Tests and analyses were carried out on selected formats depending on the type of object, such as 2D objects (DXF), solid objects (IGES, STEP, SAT, and PARASOLID), and surface objects (IGES, STEP, SAT, and X_T). One of the results of our research and analysis is the need for continuous development of CAD/CAE systems because current neutral formats are not 100% effective.

t The conceptualization of self-congruity is more than five decades old. However, the research on its effect on consumer behaviour is still evolving, ensuing the literature developed being fragmented and dispersed. This concern state-of-art summarization of the literature to consolidate knowledge on self-congruity. The purpose of this review article is to structure the self-congruity literature on understanding consumer behaviour developed over five decades in terms of significant theories, contexts, frameworks, and methodologies. This review also aims to provide an integrative research model and outline future research directions. To this end, Scientific procedure and rationales for systematic literature reviews (SPAR-4-SLR) protocol with the lens of the Theory, Context, Characteristics, Methods (TCCM) framework was adopted for review procedure. The review was conducted with a corpus containing 339 research articles on exploring self-congruity facets and its effect on consumer behaviour published between 1973 and 2022. The findings are reported using TCCM convention adopting inductive approach. Further, based on the review findings, an integrative model of self-congruity is put forth summarizing the research frameworks and constructs adopted as antecedents, modifiers, and implications in investigating self-congruity effect on consumer behaviour. This review paper concludes recommending future research agendas with the intention of expanding self-congruity research in emerging contexts applying cutting-edge methodology.

Power quality is one of the most important aspects of the power system, especially in the distribution system. This system can be affected by such disturbances as short-term voltage sags/swells, long-term voltage increases/decreases over the normative limits, harmonic distortion, interruptions, etc. Maintaining the electricity quality parameters in accordance with the applicable standards in the power distribution system will require the use of additional devices. The scientific literature on the subject indicates a very wide range of different topologies of AC voltage compensators. In this paper, different power electronics-based AC voltage compensator topologies are reviewed that are typically used with distribution energy systems. A summary of the properties and functionalities of the selected topologies has been presented. This review focuses mainly on the different topologies of the Unified Power Quality Controllers (UPQC) and Hybrid Transformers (HT). This review is divided into several sections. The first section presents the topologies used in UPQC and HT. The second section discusses selected control methods for these systems. The third section presents the basic properties of the systems related to compensating changes in the supply voltage and improvement of power quality. The fourth section presents the use of UPQC and HT systems. Finally, a summary and conclusions are presented.

Alpha-fetoprotein (AFP) is a protein commonly found during fetal development, but its role extends beyond birth. Throughout the first year of life, AFP levels can remain high, which can potentially mask various conditions from the neurological, metabolic, hematological, endocrine, and early childhood cancer groups. Although AFP reference values and clinical utility have been established in adults, evaluating AFP levels in children during the diagnostic process, treatment, and post-treatment surveillance is still associated with numerous diagnostic pitfalls. These challenges arise from the presence of physiologically elevated AFP levels, inconsistent data obtained from different laboratory tests, and the limited population of children with oncologic diseases that have been studied. To address these issues, it is essential to establish updated reference ranges for AFP in this specific age group. A population-based study involving a statistically representative group of patients could serve as a valuable solution for this purpose.

This study focuses on creating and investigating models that optimize load balancing in communication networks by managing routing and traffic limitations. The purpose is to use these models to optimize the network’s routing and traffic limitations while ensuring predictable quality of service levels, and adhering to traffic engineering requirements for routing and limiting traffic at the network edge. In order to achieve this aim, a mathematical optimization model was developed based on a chosen optimality criterion. Two modifications of the traffic engineering routing were created, including the linear limitation model (TER-LLM) and traffic engineering limitation (TER-TEL), each considering the main features of packet flow: intensity and priority. The proposed solutions were compared by analyzing various data inputs, including the ratio of flow parameters and the intensity with which packets will be limited at the border router. The study presents recommendations on the optimal use of the proposed solutions based on their respective features and advantages.

Decisions regarding waste and emission management systems are subject to many sustainability criteria, including environmental, social, and economic criteria. The problem is the multidimensionality of the energy transformation and its reading from different perspectives. This article aims to assess the effectiveness of the municipal energy policy. The VIKOR multicriteria analysis approach to modeling and Criteria Importance Through Intercriteria Correlation were chosen for the method. The approach made it possible to create a ranking and choose a compromise solution. The analyses were carried out for four areas of intervention (ETS tariffs), in which a set of four general criteria and twelve specific criteria were distinguished, and based on the weights assigned, rankings were created highlighting the activities that have the greatest impact on low emission in urban areas. Based on the analyses, it was found that the most significant impact on reducing emissions in urban areas has led to decisions to increase investments in renewable energy sources and promote the reduction in household energy consumption.

The constantly growing demand for energy, the need to ensure the security of its supply, and the progressing climate changes related to the emission of carbon dioxide and other pollutants have caused, in recent years, an increase in interest in offshore wind energy. This paper presents all the work that needs to be done to build a wind farm in the Baltic Sea. The work focuses on the description of the equipment and the necessary tests to perform in order to analyze the obtained data. The data will allow for unambiguous interpretation and the selection of a convenient location for the construction of a wind farm. The final product of the work is a cost estimate, in which the costs of undertaking such an undertaking are shown.