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Abstract: The effect of hydrogen absorption on magnetic and thermodynamic properties of hydrides compounds RMn2(H,D)2 (R=Y, Nd, Tb, Ho, and Er) have been investigated by performing specific heat and magnetization measurements in the temperature range of 2–320K and in magnetic fields up to 9T. The phase transition to the antiferromagnetic order accompanying a crystal structure transformation have been revealed by complicated-structure anomalies in specific heat and weak anomalies in magnetization. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

In the presented work we report electrical, magnetic and thermal properties of EuB6- xCx single crystals with an estimated value of x ˜ 0.07. Our studies reveal an antiferromagnetic phase transition at TN ˜ 6.7 K. Electrical resistivity at zero magnetic field shows a pronounced resistivity maximum at TM ˜ 7 K, just above the antiferromagnetic phase transition temperature. With increasing applied magnetic field the maximum moves to lower temperature and becomes totally suppressed at the field of 9 T. Observed magnetoresistance is negative in the whole studied temperature range 2-20 K, yielding a ratio of ?(0 T, 7 K)/?(9 T, 7 K) ˜ 2.5. The origin of such magnetoresistance is associated with formation of mixed magnetic structure in the system due to fluctuation of carbon concentration. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The thermodynamic and magnetic properties of MnCl3(C12H8N2), have been studied down to 2 K. The material is an S=2 antiferromagnetic linear chain that undergoes long-range ordering to a canted antiferromagnetic state at 23 K. The comparison of magnetic data from polycrystalline samples with the results of specific heat measurements using a pressed pellet of powder reveals the importance of the length of the chains in the sample in relation to the magnetic correlation length. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Background/objective: Hormone receptor (HR) status is one of the key factors in determining the treatment of breast cancer. Previous studies suggested that HR status may change in metastatic tissue. However, available studies focused mainly on primary biopsies and there are only few trials comparing HR status in the primary tumour and the metastasis using material from complete resection. The aim of the study was to determine the frequency of HR alterations in metastatic breast cancer., Materials and Methods: The study retrospectively examines a total of 50 patients who underwent brain, lung, or liver metastasectomy for metastatic breast cancer between January 2000 and January 2019., Results: HR conversion was observed in a total of 30 cases (60.0%), while HER-2/neu (human epidermal growth factor receptor 2) discrepancy surprisingly occurred only in one case (2.0%). A change in immunophenotype occurred in 28% of cases. Triple-negativity was more frequent in brain metastases (p = 0.039)., Conclusions: We have confirmed that HR conversion between the primary tumour and its metastases occurs in a significant number of cases, which has important implications for further treatment decisions., Competing Interests: Conflict of interest: The 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., (© 2023 Greater Poland Cancer Centre.)

Introduction: Diaphragmatic rupture is a rare but life-threatening condition that occurs in 0.85% of surgically managed thoracoabdominal injuries. In most cases, the condition is accompanied by associated traumas responsible for poor prognosis. Signs of diaphragmatic rupture are often masked by more serious manifestations of the associated trauma. The rupture is usually revealed by an X-ray of the chest or CT scan. However, a minor defect may be missed, especially if the patient is not indicated for urgent surgery., Methods: The authors present 2 case reports of patients treated for chronic diaphragmatic rupture at the Department of Surgery of the Faculty of Medicine, Charles University and University Hospital in Pilsen between 01 January 2009 and 31 December 2021. The aim was to analyze the clinical data and to compare this data with literature., Results: Both patients with the chronic diaphragmatic rupture were men in their productive age. The mechanism of their primary trauma was a traffic accident. In the first case, the rupture was diagnosed 6 years after the trauma. The second case was diagnosed 14 years after the primary trauma. The diaphragmatic rupture was present on the left side in the first case and on the right in the other. Both patients underwent suture of the diaphragmatic defect via thoracotomy., Conclusion: Unrecognized diaphragmatic rupture is a severe condition that can result in a life-threatening complication, namely incarceration of abdominal organs dislocated to the chest. It is necessary to keep this diagnosis in mind in patients with gastrointestinal or respiratory problems after a previous high-energy, blunt-force abdominal and thoracic injury, even many years after the trauma.

An anterior open bite (AOB) is an occlusal disorder that causes the patient both an aesthetic and functional handicap. The lower third of the face is disproportionately larger. Patients are unable to properly occlude with the anterior part of dental arch and occlusion only happens in the premolar and/or molar regions. An anterior open bite may be the result of anatomical anomalies. Long term stability as well as an immediate outcome of the surgery depends on the choice of a suitable treatment strategy. In this article, we review options of AOB treatment, from classical orthodontic treatment to current combined orthodontic and surgical approach with a benefit of an anchor system.

In obesity, cardiometabolic risk markers show worsening trends with increasing blood pressure (BP). We assumed that risk markers show similar trends across BP categories (normotension, high normal BP, hypertension) in metabolic abnormalities-free subjects (without obesity, insulin resistance, atherogenic dyslipidemia, hyperuricemia, microinflammation) and those presenting them. Data from 2547 (48.1% males) subjects aged 16-23 years were analyzed. The prevalence of males increased across BP categories. Forty-seven percent of individuals with elevated BP were metabolic abnormalities-free. Among 1461 metabolic abnormalities-free subjects, 9% had high normal BP, and 4% hypertension; among 1086 individuals presenting metabolic abnormalities, the prevalence reached 13% and 6%, respectively, (p < 0.001). Both groups displayed similar BP values in corresponding BP categories and significant trends in markers of adiposity, insulin resistance, HDL-cholesterol, atherogenic index of plasma, uric acid, adiponectinemia, and antioxidant capacity of plasma across BP categories. In metabolic abnormalities-free individuals, also significant trends in soluble receptors for advanced glycation end products were revealed. Continuous metabolic syndrome score, a measure of cardiometabolic risk, increased across BP categories regardless of presence or absence of metabolic abnormalities. Multivariate regression models selected male gender, fat-free mass, and uric acid as significant independent predictors for determining BP. Our data emphasize that having a BP outside the normal range significantly worsens risk for cardiometabolic disease in young individuals even if the thresholds for any of the risk factors are not exceeded. Longitudinal studies are needed to assess whether in patients with elevated BP the prognosis of adverse outcomes differs between those presenting and not presenting metabolic abnormalities.

Introduction: The average incidence of perioperative stroke during major non-cardiac surgery is less than 1%, suggesting that it is rarely a major problem for the vast majority of patients., Methods: In our paper we present a 46-year-old patient undergoing acute right hemicolectomy who developed right-sided hemiparesis in the perioperative setting. Immediate CTAg examination showed an ischemic stroke in the left hemisphere as a result of left internal carotid thrombosis. A surgical procedure to recanalize the left carotid artery was performed 14 hours from the onset of neurological symptomatology and the neurological deficit gradually recovered fully., Conclusion: Our case report supports studies showing that a thorough diagnostic assessment allows the selection of patients who may benefit from urgent revascularization of acute internal carotid occlusion during the phase of acute brain ischemia.

Background/aim: The lungs are the second most common site of cancer dissemination. The aim of this study was to analyze a cohort of patients operated for pulmonary metastases from colorectal carcinoma over a period of 18 years., Patients and Methods: In a group of 104 patients, relations were sought between overall survival or disease-free survival and preoperative levels of selected biomarkers, number of metastases and the condition of the intrathoracic lymphatic nodes. Median observation period was 63 months., Results: The 5-year survival rate was 54.3%. Risk of disease progression and risk of death increases in case of occurrence of 2 or more metastases, affection of intrathoracic lymph nodes and levels of CA 19-9, TPS or CEA above cut-off value., Conclusion: Prognostic factors that determine overall survival as well as disease-free survival are the number of metastases, the condition of intrathoracic lymphatic nodes and the preoperative levels of biomarkers., (Copyright © 2020 International Institute of Anticancer Research (Dr. George J. Delinasios), All rights reserved.)

Males present higher blood pressure (BP) values, higher prevalence of elevated BP, and a different prevalence of cardiometabolic risk factors when compared with females. We assumed that the trends of risk markers across BP categories (normotension, high normal BP, and hypertension) differ in young males and females, and between subjects without metabolic abnormalities (without obesity, insulin resistance, atherogenic dyslipidemia, hyperuricemia, or microinflammation) and those presenting them. Data from 2543 subjects (48% males) aged from 16 to 23 years were analyzed. The findings showed that 15% of males and 4% of females presented high normal BP while 9% and 1%, respectively, had hypertension. In males, variables characterizing obesity status, insulin sensitivity, atherogenic dyslipidemia, uric acid, adiponectin, a soluble receptor for advanced glycation end-products, and leukocyte counts showed worsening trends across BP categories. Females presented significant trends only for obesity measures, LDL-cholesterol, and non-HDL-cholesterol. Across BP categories, trends of variables characterizing cardiometabolic risk differed among abnormalities-free and presenting males. The multivariate model selected measures of central obesity, atherogenic dyslipidemia, insulin resistance, and uric acid as significant predictors of BP in both genders, and C-reactive protein in females. Sex differences in measures of cardiovascular health in juveniles may remain undiscovered unless two sexes are analyzed separately. These differences may have implications for sex-specific disease risk in adulthood., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest. The funders had no role in the design of the study, in the collection, analyses, or interpretation of data, in the writing of the manuscript, or in the decision to publish the results.

In contrast to the dichotomous classification of metabolic syndrome, continuous metabolic syndrome scores enable to assess cardiometabolic burden in metabolic syndrome-free individuals. Using receiver operating characteristics analysis, discrimination power of continuous metabolic syndrome score calculated from population-based Z-scores or individual measures corrected to the accepted international standards for presence/absence of metabolic syndrome was assessed. Calculated cutoff values were used to estimate the proportions of metabolic syndrome-free subjects presenting high cardiometabolic risk. Clinical data were collected from 2331 (52% females) 16- to 20-year-old subjects. Receiver operating characteristics analyses showed an acceptable performance of both scores to classify metabolic syndrome presence: area under the curve (97-98%), sensitivity (95-100%), and specificity (86-96%). Compared with the prevalence of metabolic syndrome, proportions of metabolic syndrome-free subjects on high cardiometabolic risk, e.g., presenting continuous scores ≥ cutoff points, were about 3-fold higher in males, and 4-fold higher in females. Both scores correlated significantly with markers of cardiometabolic risk.Conclusion: Continuous cardiometabolic syndrome scores are practical tools to evaluate cardiometabolic risk in subjects not presenting metabolic syndrome. Accuracy, simplicity, and ability to classify metabolic syndrome-free subjects on high cardiometabolic risk make continuous metabolic syndrome score derived from international standards convenient for use in research and clinical practice. What is Known: • Dichotomous classification of metabolic syndrome is simple but not suitable for assessment of cardiometabolic burden in metabolic syndrome-free subjects. This prompted implementation of continuous scores, which are generally sample-specific. Score based on internationally accepted standards allows for comparison between populations and studies. • The performance of different continuous metabolic syndrome scores to assess the prevalence of metabolic syndrome-free subjects presenting high cardiometabolic burden has not been compared yet. What is New: • We compared the discrimination power of sample-specific Z-score-derived continuous metabolic syndrome score and that calculated based on internationally accepted standards for presence or absence of metabolic syndrome in young subjects. • The prevalence of metabolic syndrome-free subjects presenting high cardiometabolic risk was estimated using the cutoff points of continuous metabolic syndrome scores derived from the analyses of receiver operating characteristic curves.

Introduction: Clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) is the most common kidney tumor. If feasible, metastasectomy is preferably indicated in metastatic disease., Objective: The aim of this study was to determine the outcome of patients after pulmonary metastasectomy (PM)., Methods: PM for ccRCC was performed in 35 patients in the period of January 2001-2019. Clinical characteristics, type of surgery, histopathology results, and follow-up data were recorded. Progression-free survival (PFS) after PM and overall survival (OS) were defined as outcome endpoints., Results: A total of 77 PMs were performed in 35 patients after nephrectomy for ccRCC. The mean size of pulmonary metastasis was 19.0 mm (4-90). With a median follow-up after PM of 79.2 months, the 3- and 5-year OS rates were 63.5 and 44.9%, respectively. The only statistically significant prognostic factor affecting both PFS (p = 0.019) and OS (p = 0.015) was the dimension of pulmonary metastases., Conclusions: The prognosis of metastatic ccRCC is generally poor, particularly in cases of larger size of metastasis. PM might improve the individual prognosis of patients with lung metastasis even in cases with higher number of metastases, bilaterality, synchronous metastasis, or a short progression-free interval after nephrectomy., (© 2019 S. Karger AG, Basel.)

The intrinsic structure of an opioid peptide [Ala2, Leu5]-leucine enkephalin (ALE) has been investigated using first-principles based vibrational self-consistent field (VSCF) theory and cold ion spectroscopy. IR-UV double resonance spectroscopy revealed the presence of only one highly abundant conformer of the singly protonated ALE, isolated and cryogenically cooled in the gas phase. High-level quantum mechanical calculations of electronic structures in conjunction with a systematic conformational search allowed for finding a few low-energy candidate structures. In order to identify the observed structure, we computed vibrational spectra of the candidate structures and employed the theory at the semi-empirically scaled harmonic level and at the first-principles based anharmonic VSCF levels. The best match between the calculated "anharmonic" and the measured spectra appeared, indeed, for the most stable candidate. An average of two spectra calculated with different quantum mechanical potentials is proposed for the best match with experiment. The match thus validates the calculated intrinsic structure of ALE and demonstrates the predictive power of first-principles theory for solving structures of such large molecules.

We investigated whether metabolically healthy normal weight adults with central obesity display worse cardiometabolic profile compared with their centrally lean counterparts. This retrospective, cross-sectional study, comprised 1 135 subjects (64% females) aged 18-to-81 years, presenting ≤2 components of metabolic syndrome. They were classified as centrally lean (waist-to-height ratio (WHtR)<0.5 and waist circumference<80 cm in females and<94 cm in males) or presenting central obesity (WHtR ≥0.5, regardless of waist circumference). Data on blood pressure, glucose homeostasis, lipid profile, renal function, high-sensitive C-reactive protein (hsCRP), uric acid, adiponectin, leptin, and soluble receptor for advanced glycation end products were compared between the groups, separately in males and females. 5.7% of males and 6.9% of females presented WHtR ≥0.5. Compared with centrally lean subjects, those with central obesity had higher BMI-adjusted fasting plasma glucose (p<0.001), and leptin levels (p<0.05); females also presented higher blood pressure (p<0.001), while males had higher hsCRP concentrations (p=0.021). These changes associated with significantly higher BMI-adjusted odds to present fasting plasma glucose >5.6 mmol/l in both genders, higher odds to present hsCRP >3 mg/l in males, and those to present elevated blood pressure in females. Our analysis suggests that in metabolically healthy normal weight subjects WHtR ≥0.5 might indicate "early increased health risk"., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest., (© Georg Thieme Verlag KG Stuttgart · New York.)

Introduction: Liver hemangiomas are the most common benign tumors of the liver. Most are asymptomatic and are found accidentally by ultrasonography, computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging of the abdomen. Liver hemangiomas usually do not need any treatment. Nevertheless, symptomatic, giant hemangiomas can be indicated for surgery, embolization or thermoablation. The aim of this study was to define based on our own experience and on the literature when and what treatment option should be indicated in patients suffering from liver hemangioma., Method: In the last five years 37 patients with giant hemangiomas indicated for invasive treatment were enrolled in the study. The mean size of the hemangiomas was 67 mm (45-221 mm). Multiple hemangiomas were present in 11 (29.7%) patients. Enucleation was performed in 15 (40.5%), non-anatomical liver resection in three, (8.1%), left lobectomy in one (2.7%) and exploratory laparotomy for a suspected malignant liver tumor in two (5.4%) patients where malignancy was excluded based on contrast enhanced peroperative ultrasonography. Percutaneous transarterial embolization (TAE) was performed in 16 (43.2%) patients., Results: There was zero mortality. A hematoma in the resection line, with spontaneous regression was present in two (10.5%) patients after the surgery. The post-embolization syndrome was presented in three (16.7%) patients after TAE. Progression of the hemangioma was seen in three (28.8%), regression in six (37.5%) patients, and in seven (43.8%) patients the finding remained stable in the interval of 14 years after TAE., Conclusion: Conservative approach is can be applied in most liver hemangiomas, especially in small, asymptomatic lesions. Liver surgery is indicated in giant symptomatic or growing hemangiomas with the diameter over 10 cm or in non-specific lesions where the preoperative diagnosis is uncertain. We recommend enucleation as the method of choice, or non-anatomic liver resection. TAE is indicated in high-risk patients and can be repeated if the hemangioma progresses. The use of other methods such as radiofrequency ablation needs to be verified in large clinical studies.Key words: liver hemangiomas - treatment methods.

In non-diabetics, low levels of soluble receptor for advanced glycations end products (sRAGE) associate with an increased risk of development of diabetes, cardiovascular afflictions, or death. The majority of studies in non-diabetics report an inverse relationship between measures of obesity, cardiometabolic risk factors and sRAGE and/or endogenous secretory RAGE (esRAGE) levels. To elucidate whether this inconsistency is related to the metabolically healthy obese phenotype, or a different impact of the risk factors in presence and absence of obesity, we analyzed data from 2206 apparently healthy adolescents (51 % girls) aged 15-to-19 years. The association of sRAGE levels with soluble vascular adhesion protein-1/semicarbazide sensitive amine oxidase (sVAP-1/SSAO) was also investigated. Centrally obese, including metabolically healthy, adolescents present significantly lower sRAGE and esRAGE, but not sVAP-1, levels in comparison with their lean counterparts. An increasing number of cardiometabolic risk factors did not associate with significant changes in sRAGE, esRAGE or sVAP-1 levels either in lean or in obese subjects. In multivariate analyses, WHtR, hsCRP, markers of glucose homeostasis, renal function, adiponectin, and sVAP-1 associated significantly with sRAGE and esRAGE. SVAP-1 correlated significantly with glycemia, adiponectin, hsCRP, and sRAGE. Thus, in adolescents, a decline in sRAGE and esRAGE precedes the development of metabolic syndrome. When combined, standard and non-standard cardiometabolic risk factors explain only minor proportion in a variability of sRAGE and esRAGE (8 %-11 %); or sVAP-1 (12 %-20 %). Elucidation of pathogenetic mechanisms underlying early decline in sRAGE and esRAGE levels in obese adolescents and their clinical impact with regard to future cardiometabolic health requires further studies.

First-principles anharmonic calculations are carried out for the CH stretching vibrations of isolated toluene and compared with the experimental infrared spectra of isotopologues of toluene in a Ne matrix at 3 K and of liquid toluene at room temperature. The calculations use the vibrational self-consistent field method and the B3LYP potential surface. In general, good agreement is found between the calculations and experiments. However, the spectrum of toluene in a Ne matrix is more complicated than that predicted theoretically. This distinction is discussed in terms of matrix-site and resonance effects. Interestingly, the strongest peak in the CH stretching spectrum has similar widths in the liquid phase and in a Ne matrix, despite the very different temperatures. Implications of this observation to the broadening mechanism are discussed. Finally, our results show that the B3LYP potential offers a good description of the anharmonic CH stretching band in toluene, but a proper description of matrix-site and resonance effects remains a challenge.

Introduction: In adults, microalbuminuria indicates generalized endothelial dysfunction, and is an independent risk factor for cardiovascular and all cause mortality. Slovak adults present one of the highest cardiovascular mortality rates in Europe. Thus Slovak adolescents are on a high-risk to develop cardiovascular afflictions early, and screening for microalbuminuria might be useful in early assessment of their cardiovascular risk. We aimed to study the prevalence of microalbuminuria in Slovak adolescents, and the association of urinary albumin-to-creatinine ratio (ACR) to cardiovascular risk factors., Subjects and Methods: Anthropometric data, blood pressure, blood count, glucose homeostasis, lipid profile, renal function, inflammatory status, concentrations of homocysteine and uric acid were determined and associated with ACR in 2 666 adolescents (49.4% boys, 51.6% girls) aged 14-to-20 years. Microalbuminuria was classified as ACR 2.5-25.0 mg/mmol in boys and 3.5-35.0 mg/mmol in girls., Results: Prevalence of microalbuminuria in both genders reached 3.3%, and did not differ significantly between lean and centrally obese subjects. Girls presented higher ACR than boys (normoalbuminuric: 0.6 ± 0.5 mg/mmol vs. 0.5 ± 0.4 mg/mmol, p > 0.001; microalbuminuric: 9.3 ± 7.3 mg/mmol vs. 5.0 ± 3.8 mg/mmol; p > 0.001). Microalbuminuric adolescents and those presenting normoalbuminuria within the upper ACR quartile were slimmer than their normoalbuminuric counterparts or adolescents with normoalbuminuria within the lower quartile, respectively. No association between microalbuminuria and cardiovascular risk markers was revealed., Conclusion: Results obtained in this study do not support our assumption that ACR associates with cardiometabolic risk factors in apparently healthy adolescents. Follow-up studies until adulthood are needed to estimate the potential cardiometabolic risk of apparently healthy microalbuminuric adolescents.

This study introduces an improved hybrid MP2/MP4 ab initio potential for vibrational spectroscopy calculations which is very accurate, yet without high computational demands. The method uses harmonic vibrational calculations with the MP4(SDQ) potential to construct an improved MP2 potential by coordinate scaling. This improved MP2 potential is used for the anharmonic VSCF calculation. The method was tested spectroscopically for four molecules: butane, acetone, ethylene and glycine. Very good agreement with experiment was found. For most of the systems, the more accurate harmonic treatment considerably improved the MP2 anharmonic results., (Copyright © 2013 The Authors. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The vibrational spectroscopy of C-H stretches in organic molecules is of considerable importance for the characterization of these systems and for exploration of their properties. These stretches are strongly anharmonic, and thus methods including anharmonicity have to be used. The vibrational self-consistent field (VSCF) is applied to the following organic compounds: acetone, dimethylacetylene, neopentane, toluene, ethylene, and cyclopropane. The computed spectra are compared to new experimental data, including Raman measurements of all molecules except cyclopropane and IR of acetone, neopentane, and ethylene. A high level of agreement is found for all of the molecules. The characteristic features of CH3 and CH2 groups are studied and analyzed in detail. A reliable, unambiguous assignment of vibrational modes to spectral peaks is provided. Several characteristic features of CH3 and CH2 vibrations in polyatomic molecules are clarified, providing easier assignments for different types of organic molecules.

First-principles anharmonic vibrational calculations are carried out for the Raman spectrum of the C-H stretching bands in dodecane, and for the C-D bands in the deuterated molecule. The calculations use the Vibrational Self-Consistent Field (VSCF) algorithm. The results are compared with liquid-state experiments, after smoothing the isolated-molecule sharp-line computed spectra. Very good agreement between the computed and experimental results is found for the two systems. The combined theoretical and experimental results provide insights into the spectrum, elucidating the roles of symmetric and asymmetric CH(3) and CH(2) hydrogenic stretches. This is expected to be very useful for the interpretation of spectra of long-chain hydrocarbons. The results show that anharmonic effects on the spectrum are large. On the other hand, vibrational degeneracy effects seem to be rather modest at the resolution of the experiments. The degeneracy effects may have more pronounced manifestations in higher-resolution experiments. The results show that first-principles anharmonic vibrational calculations for hydrocarbons are feasible, in good agreement with experiment, opening the way for applications to many similar systems. The results may be useful for the analysis of CARS imaging of lipids, for which dodecane is a representative molecule. It is suggested that first-principles vibrational calculations may be useful also for CARS imaging of other systems., (This journal is © the Owner Societies 2011)