The present article highlights the diverse role of stem cells in normal kidney and renal cancer, with special emphasis on surface markers. Proteins such as CD105 and CD133 have been reported as being significant in clear cell renal cell carcinoma (ccRCC) cancer stem cells. The role of normal...

Aim of the study: The aim of our review is to indicate and discuss the impact of cardiovascular risk factors, such as obesity, diabetes, lipid profile, hypertension and smoking on the course and mortality of COVID-19 infection. Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is spreading around the world and becoming a major public health crisis. All coronaviruses are known to affect the cardiovascular system. There is a strong correlation between cardiovascular risk factors and severe clinical complications, including death in COVID-19 patients. All the above-mentioned risk factors are widespread and constitute a significant worldwide health problem. Some of them are modifiable and the awareness of their connection with the COVID-19 progress may have a crucial impact on the current and possible upcoming infection. Data collection: We searched for research papers describing the impact of selected cardiovascular risk factors on the course, severity, complications and mortality of COVID-19 infection form PubMed and Google Scholar databases. Using terms, for example: “COVID-19 cardiovascular disease mortality”, “COVID-19 hypertension/diabetes mellitus/obesity/dyslipidemia”, “cardiovascular risk factors COVID-19 mortality” and other related terms listed in each subtitle. The publications were selected according to the time of their publications between January 2020 and December 2021. From the PubMed database we obtain 1552 results. Further studies were sought by manually searching reference lists of the relevant articles. Relevant articles were selected based on their title, abstract or full text. Articles were excluded if they were clearly related to another subject matter or were not published in English. The types of articles are mainly randomized controlled trial and systematic review. An additional criterion used by researchers was co-morbidities and age of patients in study groups. From a review of the publications, 105 of them were selected for this work with all subheadings included. Findings and Results: The intention of this review was to summarize current knowledge about comorbidities and development of COVID-19 infection. We tried to focus on the course and mortality of the abovementioned virus disease in patients with concomitant CV risk factors. Unfortunately, we were unable to assess the quality of data in screened papers and studies we choose because of the heterogenicity of the groups. The conducted studies had different endpoints and included different groups of patients in terms of nationality, age, race and clinical status. We decide to divide the main subjects of the research into separately described subtitles such as obesity, lipid profile, hypertension, diabetes, smoking. We believe that the studies we included and gathered are very interesting and show modern and present-day clinical data and approaches to COVID-19 infection in specific divisions of patients.

To determine reference values and tolerance limits of between-side differences for the calibers of the common femoral artery (CFA), superficial femoral artery (SFA), popliteal artery (PA), dorsalis pedis artery (DPA), and posterior tibial artery (PTA). Calibers of arteries, defined as the largest distance between internal hyperechogenic lines of the intima-media complex of the arterial wall, were measured during the diastole phase determined from echo-tracking B mode ultrasound scanning and grey-scale ultrasound in 228 healthy volunteers aged 18-81 years (43.1 ± 16.7). The mean, 95% confidence and tolerance limits covering 90% of population for left and right side of each artery were: CFA: 8.1 mm, 7.9-8.3 mm, 6.0-10.3 mm; 8.1 mm, 7.9-8.5 mm, 5.9-10.2 mm; SFA: 6.2 mm, 6.0-6.3 mm, 4.7-7.6 mm; 6.1 mm, 6.0-6.3 mm, 4.7-7.6 mm; PA: 6.1 mm, 6.0-6.2 mm, 4.6-7.6 mm; 6.1 mm, 5.9-6.2 mm, 4.5-7.6 mm; DPA: 2.0 mm, 1.9-2.0 mm, 1.2-2.7 mm; 2.0 mm, 1.9-2.0 mm, 1.2-2.8 mm; PTA: 2.1 mm, 2.0-2.1 mm, 1.4-2.8 mm; 2.1 mm, 2.1-2.2 mm, 1.4-2.8 mm, respectively. Tolerance limits for between-side differences and ratios were: CFA - 0.5-0.7 mm, 0.9-1.1; SFA - 0.5-0.6 mm, 0.9-1.1; PA - 0.5-0.5 mm, 0.9-1.1; DPA -0.4-0.4 mm, 0.8-1.2; PTA - 0.4-0.4 mm, 0.8-1.2. Regression analysis showed weight and age dependency of vessels diameters. There are no differences between men and woman in vessels size, except in DPA's, when body weight and age are taken into account in a regression analysis. We estimated normal reference tolerance limits of side-to-side differences in diameters of lower limb arteries. The limits can inform an investigator what differences in diameters occur in healthy individuals, and hence can serve as cut-offs in diagnostic and screening strategies.

The attractiveness of the human face plays an essential role in mating as it may signal the genetic suitability of a mate. The controversial ‘ovulatory shift hypothesis’ postulates that women in the fertile phase of the menstrual cycle would prefer faces of masculine men with high testosterone that signals ‘good genes’, whereas in the non-fertile phase they prefer traits signaling the willingness to provide parental care. To examine relationships between men’s testosterone and women’s preferences for men’s faces on day 13 of the menstrual cycle, 19 young women rated the attractiveness of images of the natural faces of 77 young men. Using advanced Bayesian multilevel modeling we showed that the attractiveness of men’s faces is significantly lower in men with a high concentration of serum total testosterone, even taking into account the concentration of serum estrogen in the raters. The average men’s face composited from images of 39 faces rated above pool median attractiveness rate, was slightly narrower than the average face composited from 38 less attractive faces. Our results challenge the ‘ovulatory shift hypothesis’ as faces of males with high circulating testosterone were rated as less attractive than faces of males with lower testosterone by women on the fertile phase of the cycle.

Background: In daily practice, there are problems with adequately diagnosing the cause of dyspnea in patients with heart failure with preserved and mildly reduced ejection fractions (HFpEF and HFmrEF). This study aimed to assess the usefulness of lung ultrasound in diagnosing HFpEF and HFmrEF and determine its correlation with IGFBP7 (insulin-like growth factor binding protein 7), NTproBNP (N-terminal pro–B-type natriuretic peptide), and echocardiographic markers. Methods: The research was conducted on 143 patients hospitalized between 2018 and 2020, admitted due to dyspnea, and diagnosed with HFpEF and HFmrEF. Venous blood was collected from all participants to obtain basic biochemical parameters, NTproBNP, and IGFBP7. Moreover, all participants underwent echocardiography and transthoracic lung ultrasound. Two years after hospitalization a follow-up telephone visit was performed. Results: The number of B-lines in the LUS ≥ 16 was determined with a sensitivity of—73% and specificity of—62%, indicating exacerbation of heart failure symptoms on admission. The number of B-lines ≥ 14 on admission was determined as a cut-off point, indicating an increased risk of death during the 2-year follow-up period. The factors that significantly impacted mortality in the study patient population were age and the difference between the number of B-lines on ultrasound at admission and at hospital discharge. IGFBP7 levels had no significant effect on the duration of hospitalization, risk of rehospitalization, or mortality during follow-up. Conclusions: Lung ultrasonography provides additional diagnostic value in patients with HFpEF or HFmrEF and exacerbation of heart failure symptoms. The number of B-lines ≥ 14 may indicate an increased risk of death.

Background: Prolongation of the QT interval is directly related to the risk of ventricular arrhythmias and sudden cardiac death. Age, comorbidities, and treatment schemes have been shown to influence its prolongation and may also significantly affect the course of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Fluoroquinolones, widely used during the COVID-19 pandemic, are known for their ability to prolong the QT interval. Risk of ventricular arrhythmias has also been reported in patients with infectious diseases, and this risk may have been associated with high levels of interleukin-6 (IL-6). Purpose: The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of levofloxacin on the corrected QT interval in patients with COVID-19, as well as to identify sociodemographic, clinical, and biochemical parameters associated with QTc interval prolongation among patients with COVID-19. Patients and Methods: The medical records of 93 patients hospitalized for COVID-19 were retrospectively analyzed, focusing on the presence of comorbidities and treatment with levofloxacin. Selected sociodemographic, clinical, and biochemical parameters were then statistically analyzed, with emphasis on their effect on the corrected QTc interval. The QTc interval was calculated according to the Bazett formula. Results: Levofloxacin use was not significantly associated with QTc interval. Statistical analysis identified creatinine, heart failure and atrial fibrillation as significant predictors of QTc interval prolongation. The trends towards QTc interval prolongation observed with hypokalaemia and hypertension suggest that these factors may also contribute to QTc interval variability and should be taken into account when assessing arrhythmia risk. Conclusions: Our retrospective study indicates that QTc prolongation results from the interplay of multiple factors.