Samples of uterine leiomyomatis and normal tissues taken from patients after surgery were investigated using the Positron Annihilation Lifetime Spectroscopy (PALS). Significant differences in all PALS parameters between normal and diseased tissues were observed. For all studied patients, it was found that the values of the free annihilation and orthopositronium lifetime are larger for the tumorous tissues than for the healthy ones. For most of the patients, the intensity of the free annihilation and ortho-positronium annihilation was smaller for the tumorous than for the healthy tissues. For the first time, in this kind of studies, the 3γ fraction of positron annihilation was determined to describe changes in the tissue porosity during morphologic alteration.

Placental oxidative stress was suggested to play a role in the pathogenesis of pre-eclampsia (PE). In this study, levels of 8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine (8-OH-dG), a well-established marker of oxidative DNA damage, were analysed in placental cellular DNA from normal (group NP) and pre-eclamptic (group PE) pregnancies as well as from PE pregnancies complicated by intrauterine growth restriction (group PE-IUGR). Placental samples obtained immediately after delivery were frozen at -80 degrees C until analysis. Cellular DNA was isolated, hydrolysed and analysed using high-performance liquid chromatography. Native nucleosides were monitored at 254 nm and 8-OH-dG using electrochemical detection. Concentrations of 8-OH-dG were expressed as micro mol/mol 2'-deoxyguanosine. In group NP, mean concentration of 8-OH-dG reached 179.97+/-80.58 (+/-SEM; micro mol/mol dG). 8-OH-dG levels were higher in group PE (273.44+/-110.14 micro mol/mol), but the difference was not significant in comparison with group NP. Highest concentrations of 8-OH-dG were found in group PE-IUGR (428.97+/-141.40 micro mol/mol), with levels significantly higher than in group NP, but not group PE. The results indicate a positive correlation between the severity of PE and the degree of oxidative stress and corroborate previous studies suggesting reactive oxygen species to be involved in the pathophysiology of PE.

The positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy was applied to the samples of the human uterine leiomyomas and the normal myometrium tissues taken from the selected place of the uterus during a surgery. The method indicated differences in values of the measured positron annihilation lifetime spectroscopy parameters (lifetimes and intensities) between healthy and diseased tissue samples. The additional measurements were performed either in darkness or in presence of visible light which influenced the free radicals present in both kind of tissues and, as a result, made changes in free annihilation and o-Ps decay lifetime and intensity values.

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Introduction. The peri-menopausal period is the time of many biological, psychological and social changes. The quality of life of women in this period may be conditioned by many factors, and analysis of these factors may indicate the optimum directions of prophylactic and educational actions. Objective. Analysis of selected predictive factors of the quality of life of women in the peri-menopausal period. Materials and method. The study covered 268 peri-menopausal women. The qualification criteria were: age 45-55, lack of mental disorders and diseases requiring hospitalization during the period of study. The study was conducted using standardized instruments: Women's Health Questionnaire-WHQ, Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and an author-constructed questionnaire. Results. The presented study of the quality of life showed that the women examined felt physically unattractive, lacking the full joy of life, and frequently experienced somatic complaints. Nevertheless, the respondents enjoyed life, had no constant feeling of anxiety and concern. Multi-factor analysis showed that the quality of life in the group of women in the study was affected by the following factors: level of depression, self-reported state of health, occurrence of menopausal symptoms, education level, and marital status. Conclusions. The quality of life of the peri-menopausal women examined was the highest with respect to depressive mood (DEP) and anxiety/depressed mood (ANX), while it was the lowest with respect to the sense of attractiveness (ATT), and somatic symptoms (SOM). In addition, in the group of women in peri-menopausal period the quality of life was conditioned: level of depression, self-reported state of health, occurrence of menopausal symptoms, education level, and marital status.

Miscarriage is defined as an adverse and unexpected termination of pregnancy before the completion of 22 nd week of gestation. Currently, abortion is the most common early reproductive failure. In Poland, more than 40 000 pregnant women a year lose pregnancy due to various reasons. There are many reports in literature on the risk of somatic consequences of miscarriage, while extra-somatic complications resulting from exposure to the strong influence of anxiety and stress, such as, for example: depression and psychosomatic disorders have not been paid too much attention to, yet. Abortion is accompanied by stress and a lot of negative emotions, such as anxiety. They may intensify both due to hospitalization and the need to implement treatment. These negative emotions destroy cognitive power of women, depriving them of their confidence, they can exacerbate the sense of danger, lead to stress and hinder treatment.

Motivational Interviewing (MI) is a collaborative, goal-oriented and focused on change, style of communication. It is characterised by the MI provider’s empathy, understanding, mental and emotional attitudes towards the patient. This non-judgemental conversation is aimed at strengthening inner motivation and commitment to attain the goal and is based solely on the individual’s reasons for change. The initial application of MI in clinical psychology has been modified appropriately to allow for its use in health care, rehabilitation, public health, social work, dentistry, social rehabilitation, coaching and education. It is recommended for introducing new behaviours, lifestyles and therapeutic adherence. The application of MI contributes to the enhancement of patient-healthcare worker communication, the patient’s concordance and compliance. On the other hand, learning and adopting this method in counselling is useful for healthcare professionals. In treatment, greater patient awareness and obedience lead to more conscientious responsibility for treatment and health, which in turn, produces better therapy outcomes that serve as confirmation of the merit of the therapy prescribed. The application of MI contributes to health professionals’ greater success, satisfaction, self-confidence and a sense of self-efficacy. The aim of this work is to present the essential features of MI as well as some interesting examples of research showing the benefits of using MI and ideas for training it. Non-systematic literature review of the years 2005-2018 on the use of MI in health promotion in PubMed provided evidence of wide use of MI by healthcare professionals.

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