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Understanding predator–prey relationships is critical in ecology, but relatively challenging when investigating elusive marine megafauna. In this study, we document the presence of shark-inflicted injuries on coastal bottlenose dolphins (Tursiops truncatus) in the Mesoamerican Reef System using photo-identification methods. We analyzed data from a total of 533 photo-identified bottlenose dolphins in Mexico (Ascención Bay, Espíritu Santo Bay, and Chetumal Bay), Belize (Turneffe Atoll, Drowned Cayes, Barrier Reef, and Placencia), and Honduras (Utila). We identified 16 individuals with shark-inflicted injury scars consistent with attacks by large sharks of the Family Carcharhinidae. Additionally, two bottlenose dolphins were encountered with round-shaped crater wounds, likely inflicted by a cookiecutter shark (Isistius spp.). The prevalence of shark-inflicted wounds in bottlenose dolphins varied markedly between sites, with the highest prevalence in Placencia and Ascención Bay (Mexico), and lowest in Turneffe Atoll and Drowned Cayes (Belize). Further research is required to evaluate how predation risk shapes the ecology of bottlenose dolphins in the Mesoamerican Reef region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: Microbial infection plays an important role in exacerbation of chronic otitis media. The aim of this study was to analyse the microbiota in chronic otitis media in the context of local treatment. Method: In this prospective study, samples for microbiological examination were taken from 119 patients who underwent operation because of chronic otitis media. Results: The results were compared between groups depending on the type of operation (none, tympanoplasty or radical), the presence of cholesteatoma or granulomatous tissue or discharge from the ear as a symptom of exacerbation. Antibiotic susceptibility of germs was analysed to define the strategy of treatment. A total of 209 samples were collected from 119 patients with chronic otitis media. Conclusion: Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Staphylococcus aureus were pathogens most frequently identified from the ear in the course of chronic otitis media. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was concerned with major pathology of the middle ear (radical surgery, cholesteatoma or granulomatous tissue, persisting discharge after treatment), whereas Staphylococcus aureus was obtained in dry perforations without other pathology in the middle-ear cavity. Ciprofloxacin was effective against Staphylococcus aureus, but Pseudomonas aeruginosa strains were ciprofloxacin resistant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to describe the usefulness of the caloric directional preponderance in diagnosis of the peripheral and central vestibular disturbances. The examination was performed in 150 cases of the peripheral dysfunctions (labyrinth lesions in chronic otitis media, vestibular neuritis, Meniere's disease, temporal bone fracture) and the group of central vestibular disturbances (central nervous system tumors, multiple sclerosis, vestibular brainsteam insufficiency, epilepsy, arteriosclerosis). Vestistibular -- oculomotor reflexes were registered in electronytagmography and videonystagmography. Directional preponderance was done using Jongkees proposals. Directional preponderance was observed in 45.9 patients with peripheral lesions and in 51.5% of 'central cases'. Directional preponderance alone was present in 29.1% in peripheral and 43.2% in the central dysfunctions. The coexistence of directional preponderance and spontaneous or/and positional nystagmus was observed in 29.1% of peripheral cases and in 20.3% with central lesions. In the majority of cases directional preponderance, spontaneous and positional nystagmus directions were the same. The results of the study suggest the usefulness of directional preponderance in the evaluation of vestibular compensation, the directional preponderance is in accord with the direction of spontaneous and positional nystagmus in the peripheral lesions in the most cases, but opposite in central dysfunctions. But one must take into consideration that directional preponderance is present in peripheral and central vestibular disturbances -- it is the essential limitation of this phenomenon for determination of the vestibular dysfunction level. The directional preponderance mechanism is still unclear. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Abiraterone acetate (ABI) and Enzalutamide (ENZA) are second-generation hormone drugs that show breakthrough activity in post-chemotherapy, metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC). The leading oncological and urological guidelines indicate both drugs with the same strong recommendation. There is a lack of randomized trials which compare the efficacy of ABI and ENZA. The current study aimed to compare the effectiveness of the drugs with an analysis of prognostic factors related to those drugs., Patients and Methods: The study included 420 patients with docetaxel (DXL) pretreated mCRPC from seven Polish cancer centers. Patients were treated according to inclusion and exclusion criteria in the Polish national drug program (1000 mg ABI and 10 mg prednisone, n =76.2%; ENZA, 160 mg; n =23.8%). The study retrospectively analyzed the overall survival (OS), time to treatment failure (TTF), PSA 50% decline rate (PSA 50%) and selected clinic-pathological data., Results: In the study group, the median OS was 17 months (95% CI: 15.6-18.3). The median OS (26.1 vs. 15.7 mo.; p <0.001), TTF (14.2 vs. 7.6 mo.; p <0.001) and PSA 50% (87.5 vs. 56%; p <0.001) were higher in ENZA than in ABI treatment. Multivariate analysis shows that ENZA treatment and PSA nadir <17.35 ng/mL during or after DXL treatment were related to longer TTF. ENZA treatment, DXL dose ≥750 mg, PSA nadir <17.35 ng/mL during or after DXL treatment was related to longer OS., Conclusions: ENZA treatment may be related to more favorable oncological outcomes than ABI treatment in the studied Polish population of patients. A 50% decline in PSA is an indicator of longer TTF and OS. Due to the non-randomized and retrospective nature of the analysis, the current results require prospective validation., Competing Interests: DS and KK received honoraria for lectures from Astellas and Janssen. MW received travel grants from Pfizer, Novartis and Bayer, and honoraria for lectures from Pfizer. KC received travel grants from Janssen. IS received grants/research support, honoraria or consultation fees from Astellas, Janssen. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2023 Sigorski, Wilk, Gawlik-Urban, Sałek-Zań, Kiszka, Malik, Czerko, Kuć, Szczylik, Kubiatowski, Cybulska-Stopa, Filipczyk-Cisarż, Bodnar and Skoneczna.)

Introduction: Monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) showed efficacy in migraine prevention. The aim of this study was to check if baseline clinical parameters and cerebral blood flow (CBF) measured by transcranial Doppler (TCD) may help predict mAbs efficacy., Methods: Electronic charts of migraineurs treated with erenumab or fremanezumab, with baseline TCD evaluations were collected, including data on migraine type, pain localization, monthly migraine days (MMD), medication overuse headache (MOH), mean blood flow velocity (Vm), and pulsatility index (PI) in cerebral arteries., Results: A total of 123 patients were enrolled, mean age 38, 75 years, 87 with chronic migraine, 61 with MOH, 72 were good responders (GR), and reported ≥50% reduction in MMD, 43 ≥75% reduction in MMD. Baseline Vm values in MCAs were significantly lower in GR as compared with non-responders. MAbs responsiveness ≥50% was positively associated with unilateral pain localization (OR: 6.53, 95% CI: 2.01-23.93; p = 0.003) and HIT-6 score (OR: 1.14, 95% CI: 1.01-1.30; p = 0.036) whereas negatively associated with Vm in right MCA (OR: 0.96, 95% CI: 0.92-0.99; p = 0.012), and having no relatives with migraine (OR: 0.40, 95% CI: 0.16-0.95; p = 0.040)., Conclusions: Baseline Vm in MCA is lower in mAbs GR as compared with non-responders which may reflect increased secretion of CGRP with further vasodilation in GR. Simple clinical features and baseline CBF in anterior circulation might help to predict the patient's responsiveness., Competing Interests: MN and MS have received lecture honoraria from Novartis Poland Sp. z o.o. and Teva Pharmaceuticals Polska Sp. z o.o. The remaining authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest., (Copyright © 2022 Nowaczewska, Straburzyński, Waliszewska-Prosół, Meder, Janiak-Kiszka and Kaźmierczak.)

Objective: There is a need for regular surveillance of the hearing of children, no matter what their age. Screening of the hearing of school children can be done quickly and cheaply using teleaudiology. The primary aim of this study was to identify children who showed a suspected hearing impairment from rural areas of the Kujawsko-Pomorskie region and refer them for further audiological testing. A secondary aim was to estimate the prevalence of hearing loss in those children., Methods: There were 4754 children, made up of 1840 children aged 6-7 years old and 2914 children aged 12-13 years old. Pure-tone air conduction thresholds were obtained at 0.5-8 kHz. Audiometric test was supplemented by results of a brief questionnaire filled in by parents., Results: Of the 4754 children, 618 (13%) failed screening and were referred for detailed audiological diagnostics. The prevalence of hearing loss was estimated to be 7% and was significantly higher (OR = 2.12) in the group aged 6-7 y/o (10.1%) than in the group aged 12-13 y/o (5.0%). In our study the estimated prevalence of HL was twice as high in children aged 6-7 y/o (10.1%) than in children 12-13 y/o (5.0%). This difference was also evident in another study of Polish children from rural areas, where the prevalence of HL was 11.4% in younger children (6-9 y/o) and 5.5% in older children (12-13 y/o)., Conclusion: Large numbers of school-age children in rural areas have hearing problems. It is recommended that a hearing screening program in primary schools based on e-health solutions should be adopted.

&lt;b&gt;Introduction:&lt;/b&gt; Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a common malignancy with high morbidity and mortality. &lt;/br&gt;&lt;/br&gt; &lt;b&gt;Aim:&lt;/b&gt; The aim of this study was to analyze the data of patients treated for malignant tumours of the oral cavity at the Department of Otolaryngology, Head and Neck Surgery, and Laryngological Oncology Ludwik Rydygier Collegium Medicum in Bydgoszcz between 2003-2011 to asses the influence of risk factors on survival in patients with squamous cell carcinoma of the oral cavity. &lt;/br&gt;&lt;/br&gt; &lt;b&gt; Material and methods:&lt;/b&gt; Material was collected from 62 patients treated for oral SCC between 2003-2011. Forty-three were men (69.35%) with a mean age of 56.33 years. The medical records were analysed, especially history, operative reports, histopathology reports, survival, adjuvant treatment and recurrence. &lt;/br&gt;&lt;/br&gt; &lt;b&gt;Results:&lt;/b&gt; All patients underwent surgical treatment (33.87% also had partial removal of the lower jaw, 67.74% adjuvant radio-therapy, 11.29% radiochemotherapy). More than half reported to the doctor within 6 to 15 weeks from the onset of symptoms. The majority smoked and drank alcohol (96.32%). Five-year disease specific survival (DSS) was 68.69%. &lt;/br&gt;&lt;/br&gt; &lt;b&gt;Conclusions:&lt;/b&gt; The age over 65 did not significantly influence DSS. The location on the anterior two thirds of the tongue gave the best outcome, while the worst outcome was observed in the retromandibular triangle area which was statistically almost significant (p = 0.06843). In the case of higher degrees of local and regional advancement and a higher stadium, a worse out-come was recorded. Positive surgical margins were identified in 11.29% of the cases, but they had no impact on the results of treatment. No worsening of the outcome was proven for the patients who reported to the doctor later than 15 weeks following the occurrence of symptoms.

Vestibular migraine is a disease from the border of neurology and otoneurology. The diagnosis depends on patient history. There are no valuable laboratory or imaging tests, therefore the examination of visual-ocular and vestibulo-ocular reflexes is very useful in this group of patients. The material was collected from patients diagnosed due to dizziness at the Department of Otolaryngology and Oncology with the Subdepartment of Audiology and Phoniatrics, CM UMK in Bydgoszcz in 2019-2021. We considered patients with vestibular migraine and analyzed videonystagmographic tests in this study. The most common VNG abnormalities in patients suffering from vestibular migraine were an increased labyrinthine response, increased time constant of the rotational response and abnormal optokinetic response. There was not a single case of canal paresis in the group of patients with vestibular migraine.