<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Acute damage to the lung may originate from various direct and indirect reasons. Direct lung injury may be caused by pneumonia, near-drowning, aspiration, inhalation of toxic gases etc., while indirect lung injury is secondary, following any severe extra-pulmonary disease, e.g. sepsis, acute pancreatitis, or severe trauma. Due to a complex pathophysiology of the acute lung injury, the treatment is also extremely complicated and except for lung-protective ventilation there have been no specific treatment approaches recommended. An urgent need for a reliable and sufficiently effective treatment forces the researchers into testing novel therapeutic strategies. However, most of these determinations should be done in the laboratory conditions using animals. Complex methods of preparation of various experimental models of the acute lung injury has gradually developed within decades. Nowadays, there have been the models of direct, indirect, or mixed lung injury well established, as well as the models evoked by a combination of two triggering factors. Although the applicability of the results from animal experiments to patients might be limited by many factors, animal models are essential for understanding the patho-physiology of acute lung injury and provide an exceptional opportunity to search for novel therapeutical strategies.</abstract>

Experimental Models of Acute Lung Injury: their Advantages and Limitations

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Tuberculosis remains one of the leading infectious cause of death in the world. The goals of screening are to detect active tuberculosis early enough and to identify individuals eligible for preventive therapy to reduce a po tential co-infection by tuberculosis. Plasma/serum screening for selected potential biomarkers could represent a suitable method of tuberculosis diagnosis and treatment outcome. Furthermore, monitoring of tuberculosis treatment is crucial to clinical decision-making and besides the plasmatic concentration of administered antituberculosis drugs, the biomarkers appear to play a significant role in the estimation of the real therapeutical impact.The current standard remains focused on culture conversion, especially two-month culture status, which has a relatively low sensitivity. Identification of non-sputum-based biomarkers of the treatment respond would be beneficial for individual monitoring of tuberculosis patients.This mini-review describes several serological/plasmatic markers that can be analyzed by simple immunoassays as ELISA method, e.g. C-reactive protein, soluble intercellular adhesion molecule-1, soluble urokinase plasminogen activator receptor, soluble lymphocyte activation gene-3, granzyme B and soluble tumor necrosis factor receptor one and two as reliable enough as an indicator of successful treatment of tuberculosis.</abstract>

Biomedical Center Martin, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin

Serum Inflammation Markers in Tuberculosis

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">The oral cavity is a biologically significant and complex site of the human body. It is a gateway into the internal environment of the organism. There are many processes, such as the beginning of digestion, speech creation, and sensory perception of taste. Oral health is closely related to the general health of a person. The oral cavity contains an enormous number of microorganisms that can cause various diseases. Oral bacteria are responsible for diseases in the mouth, but can also seriously harm human health. The oral microbiome also serves as an indicator of health, respectively morbidity of the human organism. Compared to healthy children, mentally disabled children suffer from many congenital and acquired diseases and disorders that affect their overall and oral health. These children require a specific approach to the examination, but also to the therapy.Therefore, it is necessary to pay attention to the prevention of oral diseases in children, whether healthy or mentally disabled.</abstract>

Department of Public Health, Jessenius Faculty of Medicine in Martin

Oral Microbiome of Permanently Mentally Disabled and Healthy Children

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml"><bold>Introduction:</bold> European gerontological research confirms that accelerated aging of the population will lead to a pronounced occurrence of target groups of functionally capable older people. Lifelong learning is a tool that enables an active post-retirement period in order to enhance cognitive mental capacities, prevent dementia, and overcome the intergenerational gap. The aim of this paper is to develop strategies in the field of lifelong learning for older adults through SWOT analysis.<bold>Methods:</bold> A qualitative study on lifelong learning for older adults was conducted during the month of November 2019 using 4 SWOT matrices which were subsequently analyzed and integrated into one common matrix. Four strategies were developed based on this template.<bold>Results:</bold> The analysis of the SWOT matrix showed that lifelong learning contributes most to a sense of belonging, prevention of social isolation, prevention of dementia, and better personal satisfaction. The biggest obstacles for older people when it comes to participating in lifelong learning programs are finances, physical illness, and a lack of understanding from their family members and the wider society for this kind of activity.<bold>Discussion:</bold> Lifelong learning contributes to a long-term maintenance of cognitive processes of participants involved in education processes. Lifelong learning provides the opportunity to promote older people’s health regardless of the formal education they received in early adulthood.<bold>Conclusion:</bold> Learning and further education are not only the indicators of active aging, but also a need for older people to master new tools so that they can actively participate and contribute to the society.</abstract>

Development Strategies in the Field of Lifelong Learning of Older Adults

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Abdominal wall defects (AWDs) represent a wide spectrum of congenital anomalies which are characterized by a herniation of abdominal organs through a pathologic opening in the abdominal region. The author describes a 29-year-old pregnant woman who was prenatally found to have a living female fetus with a giant omphalocele and a spinal deformation in the lumbosacral region. An evisceration of the abdominal contents into the amnionic cavity was visible. Based on USG findings the limb-body wall complex was suggested. An amniocentesis was performed and a genetic testing identified a chromosome 17q23.1–q23.2 duplication. As the fetal anomaly was considered incompatible with life, a medical termination of the pregnancy was carried out. Postmortem examination of the fetus revealed a huge abdominoschisis with a complete evisceration of the liver, stomach, small and large intestines, spleen, and the right kidney. A severe left-sided scoliosis deformity of the spine with crooked trunk was evident. The gross findings shared the features of omphalocele and limb-body wall complex with no postnatal life expectancy. Most fetal AWDs have poor prognosis. The pathology of these conditions differ greatly and require specific prenatal evaluation and pregnancy management for each entity. Accurate assessment of AWDs will allow the identification of isolated forms with better clinical outcomes compared to associated multiple malformations with chromosomal anomalies or genetic syndromes.</abstract>

Congenital Abdominal Wall Defects: A Topic Review and a Case Report of a Lethal Polymalformation Syndrome with a Giant Abdominoschisis

<abstract xmlns="http://www.w3.org/1999/xhtml">Holoprosencephaly is a congenital structural abnormality of brain resulting from incomplete cleavage of prosencephalon into two cerebral hemispheres. It is classified as a disorder of organogenesis and brain histogenesis and is typically associated with facial anomalies.Holoprosencephaly is relatively rare – the incidence in live births varies between 1:10,000 – 1:15,000 but is described in 1 out of 250 spontaneously aborted embryos.There are four major varieties of holoprosencephaly according to the degree of separation of the brain hemispheres; this division is crucial for the patient’s prognosis. Three classic subtypes are alobar, semilobar, and lobar holoprosencephaly and there is also a fourth subtype called middle interhemispheric variant.We present a case study of a term newborn with prenatally diagnosed holoprosencephaly with severe facial dys-morphism and associated health complications.</abstract>

Case Report of a Term Newborn with Prenatally Diagnosed Alobar Holoprosencephaly

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Volume 19 (2019): Issue 3 (December 2019)

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Volume 11 (2011): Issue 1 (March 2011)

Acta Medica Martiniana

 Acta Medica Martiniana is a medical scientific journal, first published in print form in December 2001. It is a continuation of the journal / almanac Folia Medica Martiniana (1971 - 1996). The journal‘s owner is the Jessenius Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Slovakia. The aims and scope of the AMM:   Dissemination of research results and scientific knowledge from all areas of medicine and nursing.  Stimulation, facilitation and supporting of publication activity for the young medical research and clinical generation. The contributions of young novice authors (PhD students and post-doctorials) are particularly welcome.   Acta Medica Martiniana (AMM) publishes, and here only in English, high quality original papers (in extenso and short-rapid communications), case reports as well as review articles.  Acta Medica Martiniana is an open-access journal, with a periodicity of publishing three times per year (Apr/Aug/Dec). It covers a wide range of basic medical disciplines, such as anatomy, histology, biochemistry, human physiology, pharmacology, etc., as well as all clinical areas incl. preventive medicine, public health and nursing. Interdisciplinary and multidisciplinary manuscripts, including papers from all areas of biomedical research, are welcome.  All articles are submitted to a peer-review process. They are peer-reviewed anonymously (double blind) by external experts pursuant to the standard evaluation criteria. Based on the reviewers opinions, the Editorial Board will decide whether a paper is to be included in the journal.  Rejection Rate:   15-30%   Archiving  Sciendo archives the contents of this journal in Portico - digital long-term preservation service of scholarly books, journals and collections.  Plagiarism Policy  The editorial board is participating in a growing community of Similarity Check System's users in order to ensure that the content published is original and trustworthy. Similarity Check is a medium that allows for comprehensive manuscripts screening, aimed to eliminate plagiarism and provide a high standard and quality peer-review process. 