Volume 14, Issue 3

The urinary incontinence diagnostic process should include a medical history focused on ailments related to it and their impact on the quality of patient’s life. The lack of proper control over the function of the lower urinary tract creates a lot of troubles for sufferers and prevents them from living an active professional, social, and family life. The patient with a suspicion of urinary incontinence is recommended to record in a voiding diary the number of mictions per day, the volume of urine, and episodes of incontinence. The invasive test called urodynamics is based on cystometry, profilometry, and uroflowmetry. A urodynamic examination performed in patients with incontinence allows for correct diagnosis and proposal of specific surgical or pharmacological treatment.

The relation between distribution of hydrophobic amino acids along with protein chains and their structure is far from being completely understood. No reliable method allows ab initio prediction of the folded structure from this distribution of physicochemical properties, even when they are highly degenerated by considering only two classes: hydrophobic and polar. Establishment of long-range hydrophobic three dimension (3D) contacts is essential for the formation of the nucleus, a key process in the early steps of protein folding. Thus, a large number of 3D simulation studies were developed to challenge this issue. They are nowadays evaluated in a specific chapter of the molecular modeling competition, Critical Assessment of Protein Structure Prediction. We present here a simulation of the early steps of the folding process for 850 proteins, performed in a discrete 3D space, which results in peaks in the predicted distribution of intra-chain noncovalent contacts. The residues located at these peak positions tend to be buried in the core of the protein and are expected to correspond to critical positions in the sequence, important both for folding and structural (or similarly, energetic in the thermodynamic hypothesis) stability. The degree of stabilization or destabilization due to a point mutation at the critical positions involved in numerous contacts is estimated from the calculated folding free energy difference between mutated and native structures. The results show that these critical positions are not tolerant towards mutation. This simulation of the noncovalent contacts only needs a sequence as input, and this paper proposes a validation of the method by comparison with the prediction of stability by well-established programs.

The structure of amyloid Aβ(1-41) is the object of many papers due to the neurodegenerative processes induced by this amyloid. One of the ways to investigate the possible structural forms other than the amyloid is to incorporate the fragment of this peptide into the chain of immunoglobulin. Fragment Aβ(18-41) presented within the CDR3 loop region of a shark immunoglobulin new antigen receptor single-variable domain antibody is the object of this analysis. The structure of this hybrid is available in the PDB and analyzed based on the fuzzy oil drop model. The aim is to define the status of this fragment, revealing the possible fitting to the ordered form of the hydrophobic core. Simultaneously, the verification of the predisposition to complexation is possible.

The processes of globalization and integration, as well as technologies and computerization, occurring in public life cause significant changes in all its spheres, especially in medicine. Nowadays, computerization of health-care facilities has become the norm of their development. However, rapid technological change requires the modernization of medical education system, revising the approaches to the training of competitive medical professionals who will able to adapt quickly to changes in the field of health care. The research issue concerns the processes of future medical professionals’ training. The importance of telemedicine in health-care systems of Ukraine and Poland is justified. It is suggested that the problem of telemedicine and e-health usage in the process of medical professionals’ training in Ukraine is not studied sufficiently and does not have practical consolidation. The didactic methodology of medical specialties students training for the use of telemedicine technologies in future professional activities is developed.

The study presents a fragment of pilot studies showing the reconstruction of the transverse arch of the foot using a specially constructed orthosis for this purpose. It involves the mechanical reinforcement of the effect by an orthosis, which pushes down the I, IV, and V metatarsal bones while elevating or blocking the fall of the near-immobile II and III metatarsal bones according to the “three-force” rule. The correction of the transverse arch of the foot runs simultaneously with the correction of hallux valgus (HV). As a result, the significant correction of HV and associated toe deformities was achieved. In stage I foot deformity, the reduction of HV was reduced from 19.1° before to 15.1° after putting on orthosis (p = 0.024). In stage II, the reduction was from 20.1° (before) to 16.2° (after; p = 0.032). Equally satisfactory results were obtained for the remaining angles of the metatarsal bones. In the future, the method can be suitable for patients undergoing preparation for corrective HV surgery and for maintaining postoperative HV results. It can be used preventively, for example, by women who frequently wear high-heeled shoes and by those who need to remain standing for prolonged periods of time.