Emergency services response to eCall System alerts: Observations from 2016-2022 in the National Fire and Rescue System.

OBJECTIVE: Analysis of interventions by fire protection units in road traffic incidents alerted by the eCall system between 2016 and 2022. MATERIALS AND METHODS: Data from the State Fire Service Decision Support System (SFS DSS), provided by the Operational Planning Office, were used. Events from January 1, 2016, 00:00 to December 31, 2022, 23:59 were analyzed. Quantitative data were described using mean (Mean) and standard deviation (SD). Correlations and differences at a significance level of p < 0.05 were considered statistically significant. The analysis is anonymous for both victims and officers involved in the interventions. RESULTS: Between 2016 and 2022, firefighters were alerted by the e-call system 896 times. The shortest average intervention time was 47 ± 37 min and was recorded in 2021. In the comparative analysis of intervention time and factors conditioning the use of the eCall system, it was shown that this time was significantly statistically dependent on the number of cars involved in the incident (p < 0.001), the number of injured persons (p < 0.001), the type of intervention (p < 0.001),), and the occurrence of fuel leakage (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: ECall is a relevant system for reporting accidents and collisions on the road. While it proves reliable in road incidents, a significantly high number of false alarms initiated from eCall requires system refinement to avoid accidental alarms and user education about the possibility of unintentionally sending an alarm signal. The authors predict that as the number of vehicles with the eCall system introduced to the roads increases, so will the number of notifications from this system. Data from the analysis of false reports suggest that mechanics and electricians in facilities performing repairs and maintenance of vehicles with the eCall system may lack the necessary knowledge of the need to deactivate the system before starting work. The number of injured people had no impact on the intervention time, which may prove that the rescue services were properly prepared.

Accidents rate of the Polish State Fire Service officers during service in the years 2015-2022.

BACKGROUND: The profession of a firefighter is fraught with a significant risk of injuries. Firefighters operate in hazardous zones to mitigate threats and combat fires. Aim of work is to evaluate the accident rate of the officers of the Polish State Fire Service in connection with their service, considering direct participation in rescue operations, and other official duties between the years 2015-2022. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An 8-year analysis was conducted from reports covered the number of accidents, the number of injured firefighters, the age of the officers, the circumstances of the event, and the type and location of the injury. This includes fire and rescue operations, exercises, training, official trips, sports activities, and technical work related to equipment. RESULTS: Between 2015 and 2022, there were 12 588 individual and group accidents in various circumstances. Most firefighter accidents occurred during rescue and firefighting operations, as well as during sports activities which dominate as the cause of injuries among firefighters in the observed period (37.8%), and injuries related to rescue and fire-fighting activities constitute 28.5%. Other work activities of firefighters cause 33.7% of injuries. In 2020 was a clear reduction in the number of accidents per 1000 employed firefighters in each observed parameter (total, interventions, sport) while maintaining the average level of firefighter employment (M±SD 30 099±224). CONCLUSIONS: The most frequent circumstances of injury are slippery and challenging spaces, surfaces, and carelessness. The most common type of body injury is a dislocation and sprain concerning the ankle joint, foot. The most frequent causes of work-related injuries for firefighters, as the results indicate, are participation in team sports and fire-fighting and rescue operations. The most commonly occurring medical consequences resulting from a firefighter's injury are fractures, sprains, and contusions of various body areas. Firefighters are most burdened with injuries in the age group 26-35 years old. Med Pr Work Health Saf. 2023;74(6):469-77.

Sports-related injuries sustained by officers of the State Fire Service on duty - nationwide 7-year follow-up.

Aim: The accident rate in the State Fire Service from 2015 to 2021 related to sports activities was analyzed in relation to the regions of the country per year. Materials and methods: The study included analysis of data from the SFS Headquarters - Department for Occupational Health and Safety and Preventive Health. Data collected from across the country in the form of an annual analysis of the accident. The reports included such information as: the number of accidents, the cause and circumstances of accident (injury), with a breakdown listing individual and group accidents. Results: During the observation period, about 30,000 officers were on duty in the SFS, of which about 20% were on daily (8-h) duty, and 80% were on shift (24-h) duty. Between 2015 and 2021, there were N = 11,332 (Mean: 1617.4; SD: 284.1) accidents in SFS. Total accident covers individual and mass accidents. The number of sports injuries was N = 4,254 (Mean: 532.2; SD: 137.9). Conclusion: There is a need for comprehensive approach to physical training in the firefighter population. Physical activity should be continuous and systematic strengthening of the whole body. Sports activities should begin with performing thorough warm-ups. It is necessary to maintain facilities, premises, equipment and technical devices in a condition that sets the ground for doing sports safely and in a hygienic manner. Most of the sports injuries sustained by firefighters are related to team sports.

Performance of portable emergency suction devices in pre-hospital conditions: a pilot study in the fire brigade.

A i m: Assessment of the effectiveness and efficiency of three mobile (portable) rescue aspirators models in the opinion of state fire service officers. Comparison with the use of the medical simulation element. MATERIAL AND METHODS: The study was conducted in organizational units of the State Fire Service (24-hour officers). The research consisted in carrying out the task with the use of three models of mobile rescue aspirators (manual, hand-foot, battery). Each participating firefighter had the task of sucking up an equal amount of fluid (100 ml, respectively) with each model of an aspirator. The test fluid was water at room temperature in a homogeneous 1:1 mixture with sugar (increased viscosity and density, simulated real conditions). Immediately after three suction attempts (with measured suction time), each officer completed a questionnaire on the three models used. Descriptive statistics were used to characterize the variables. The following measures were calculated for the variables: mean (M) and standard deviation (SD), minimum, maximum. The following measures were calculated for categorical variables: number (n) and frequency (%). RESULTS: 184 officers (182 M and 2 F) took part in the study, including commanders 18.43%, rescuers 65.22%, drivers 16.30%. In the study area 1,609 officers serve in the combat division as at the end of 2021. The studied group accounts for 11.43%. Age of respondents M 34.04 SD 8.24 Min 21 Max 52, length of service M 8.48, SD 7.20 Min 1, Max 25. The longest mean time of completing the task was recorded for model 2 (hand-foot) and it was 6.77 sec. CONCLUSIONS: SFS officers highly appreciated the usefulness and effectiveness of the battery-operated automatic aspirator. This assessment may contribute to the widespread introduction of such a model to rescue sets in the SFS. Time of performing the task by mode 1 was significantly longer by elderly people. People with experience with the model 1 during rescue and firefighting operations had a significantly shorter time of performing the task with the use of the model 2. According to the subjective assessment of firefighters, the most effective is model 3, which is confirmed by the suction time obtained at the work station.

Long-term Development of Fibrosarcoma in the Practice of Emergency Medical Teams: a Case Report.

Fibrosarcoma is a relatively rapidly growing, poorly delineated spindle cell tumour. It has generally good prognosis and rarely metastasizes. Soft tissue sarcomas account for less than 1% of all malignancies in adults. High rates of sarcomas are, for example, seen in patients with tuberous sclerosis complex. This paper presents the case of a patient with knee joint destruction caused by a fibrosarcoma, on account of which an emergency medical team was summoned several times. We present data from three medical rescue team interventions to a patient with a tumour in the left lower leg. The data was obtained from the documentation generated during the interventions: dispatch order record (DOR) and medical emergency treatment report (METR). The patient had a history of the following chronic diseases (ICD-10): E11.8, I50.9, I10, and M15. Two interventions involved patient transportation to a hospital, whereas the third intervention was completed in the patient's home. The fibrosarcoma caused only slight pain. Frequent bleeding from an open cancerous wound was the main problem in this patient. Difficulty in wound healing could have been related to complications of diabetes mellitus and the patients advanced age.

Biocompatible Hydrogel-Based Liquid Marbles with Magnetosomes.

Liquid marbles are widely known for their potential biomedical applications, especially due to their versatility and ease of preparation. In the present work, we prepared liquid marbles with various cores composed of water, agar-based hydrogels, magnetic fluids, or non-aqueous substances. As a coating material, we used biocompatible particles of plant origin, such as turmeric grains and Lycopodium pollen. Additionally, we provided marbles with magnetic properties by incorporating either magnetosomes or iron oxide nanoparticles as a powder or by injecting another magnetic fluid. Structures obtained in this way were stable and susceptible to manipulation by an external magnetic field. The properties of the magnetic components of our marbles were verified using electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectroscopy and vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM). Our approach to encapsulation of active substances such as antibiotics within a protective hydrogel core opens up new perspectives for the delivery of hydrophobic payloads to the inherently hydrophilic biological environment. Additionally, hydrogel marbles enriched with magnetic materials showed promise as biocompatible heating agents under alternating magnetic fields. A significant innovation of our research was also the fabrication of composite structures in which the gel-like core was surrounded without mixing by a magnetic fluid covered on the outside by the particle shell. Our liquid marbles, especially those with a hydrogel core and magnetic content, due to the ease of preparation and favorable properties, have great potential for biomedical use. The fact that we were able to simultaneously produce, functionalize (by filling with predefined cargo), and manipulate (by means of an external magnetic field) several marbles also seems to be important from an application point of view.

Polymeric capsules and micelles as promising carriers of anticancer drugs.

Polymeric micelles and capsules are promising candidates for carriers of antineoplastic medications. Biodegradability and broadly defined biocompatibility are the key features that should always characterize polymers intended for medical applications. A well-designed delivery system ought to ensure the safe transport of chemotherapeutic agents to the target area and thus minimize systemic exposure to these drugs, limiting their toxic effect, preferably to the cancer cells. Polymeric micelles are often tailored for encapsulation of water-insoluble drugs. Micellar structures are usually fabricated as a result of self-assembly of various amphiphilic block copolymers in aqueous environment. More advanced methods are used to form capsules with a liquid core and a shell made of fused polymer nanoor microparticles. Such a coating can have homogeneous or heterogeneous composition. Janus and patchy capsules are usually characterized by more useful and advanced properties. Although some polymeric carriers are designed for a sustained release of the cargo, more sophisticated approaches involve payload liberation on demand under the influence of selected chemical or physical stimuli. The variety of available polymers and a wide range of possibilities of forming copolymers from different kind of monomers make polymeric materials ideal for the production of drug delivery systems with the desired properties. The aim of the present review is to sum up selected aspects of the use of polymeric micelles as carriers of cytostatic drugs, taking into account clinical applications. The additional objective is to show the studies on creating alternative systems based on stimuli-responsive capsules with shells made of polymeric particles.

Influence of Stacking Sequence on Strength and Stability of Suspension System Control Arm CFRP Laminate Rods.

The paper deals with buckling and strength analysis of suspension system rods made of carbon fibre reinforced polymer (CFRP) laminate. The whole suspension system of urban solar vehicle, Eagle Two, designed by Lodz University of Technology students was considered. The calculations and analysis focused on suspension rods, where the traditional metal material was replaced with CFRP laminate. The influence of layer arrangement on rod strength, static, and dynamic buckling were analysed. The research was conducted using numerical simulations employing finite element method software. The static and dynamic load was considered. The obtained results show that the plies' order in the laminate influences both the strength and stiffness of the considered rod. The best results considering both failure force and longitudinal elasticity modulus were obtained for the stacking sequences with axially oriented (0°) plies on the outside of the rod.

The Influence of the Layer Arrangement on the Distortional Post-Buckling Behavior of Open Section Beams.

The paper deals with the design of the stacking sequence of layers in the laminate beams with open-cross sections in order to create the desired behavior in the post-buckling range. Laminate beams with channel and lipped channel cross-sections made of glass fiber reinforced polymer (GFRP) laminate with different layer arrangements (symmetrical and nonsymmetrical) have been considered. In case of the nonsymmetrical stacking sequences, hygro-thermally curvature stable (HTCS) laminates have been taken into account. Pure bending was assumed as the type of load. In the case of beams with open cross-sections, this load type can cause the lateral-distortional buckling mode. A parametric study was performed to analyze the influence of layer arrangement on post-buckling behavior. The finite element method was used to developed numerical models and conduct simulations. Additionally, the experimental tests of the channel section beams were performed in order to validate the developed numerical models.

Direction-Specific Release from Capsules with Homogeneous or Janus Shells Using an Ultrasound Approach.

A variety of approaches have been developed to release contents from capsules, including techniques that use electric or magnetic fields, light, or ultrasound as a stimulus. However, in the majority of the known approaches, capsules are disintegrated in violent way and the liberation of the encapsulated material is often in a random direction. Thus, the controllable and direction-specific release from microcapsules in a simple and effective way is still a great challenge. This greatly limits the use of microcapsules in applications where targeted and directional release is desirable. Here, we present a convenient ultrasonic method for controllable and unidirectional release of an encapsulated substance. The release is achieved by using MHz-frequency ultrasound that enables the inner liquid stretching, which imposes mechanical stress on the capsule's shell. This leads to the puncturing of the shell and enables smooth liberation of the liquid payload in one direction. We demonstrate that 1-4.3 MHz acoustic waves with the intensity of a few W/cm2 are capable of puncturing of particle capsules with diameters ranging from around 300 µm to 5 mm and the release of the encapsulated liquid in a controlled manner. Various aspects of our route, including the role of the capsule size, ultrasound wavelength, and intensity in the performance of the method, are studied in detail. We also show that the additional control of the release can be achieved by using capsules having patchy shells. The presented method can be used to facilitate chemical reactions in micro- and nanolitre droplets and various small-scale laboratory operations carried in bulk liquids in microenvironment. Our results may also serve as an entry point for testing other uses of the method and formulation of theoretical modeling of the presented ultrasound mechanism.

A New Approach of Mathematical Analysis of Structure of Graphene as a Potential Material for Composites.

The new analysis of a simplified plane model of single-layered graphene is presented in this work as a potential material for reinforcement in ultralight and durable composites. However, owing to the clear literature discrepancies regarding the mechanical properties of graphene, it is extremely difficult to conduct any numerical analysis to design parts of machines and devices made of composites. Therefore, it is necessary to first systemize the analytical and finite element method (FEM) calculations, which will synergize mathematical models, used in the analysis of mechanical properties of graphene sheets, with the very nature of the chemical bond. For this reason, the considered model is a hexagonal mesh simulating the bonds between carbon atoms in graphene. The determination of mechanical properties of graphene was solved using the superposition method and finite element method. The calculation of the graphene tension was performed for two main directions of the graphene arrangement: armchair and zigzag. The computed results were verified and referred to articles and papers in the accessible literature. It was stated that in unloaded flake of graphene, the equilibrium of forces exists; however, owing to changes of inter-atom distance, the inner forces occur, which are responsible for the appearance of strains.

Experimental Investigations of Impact Damage Influence on Behavior of Thin-Walled Composite Beam Subjected to Pure Bending.

The paper deals with buckling, postbuckling, and failure of pre-damaged channel section beam subjected to pure bending. The channel section beams made of eight-layered GFRP laminate with different symmetrical layups have been considered. The specimens with initially pre-damaged web or flange were investigated to access the influence of impact damage on work of thin-walled structure in the full range of load till failure. The bending tests of initially pre-damage beams have been performed on a universal tensile machine with especially designed grips. The digital image correlation system allowing to follow the beam deflection have been employed. The experimentally obtained results are presented in graphs presenting load-deflection or load vs. angle of rotation relations and in photos presenting impact damages areas before and after bending test. The results show that the impact pre-damages have no significant influence on the work of channel section beams.

The influence of radiotherapy on ceruloplasmin and transferrin in whole blood of breast cancer patients.

Ceruloplasmin and transferrin are proteins which play a potential role in the process of breast cancer development. These molecules contain Cu2+ (ceruloplasmin) or Fe3+ ions (transferrin) and thus constitute paramagnetic centers, which can be studied using electron paramagnetic resonance method. The aim of the study was to determine how paramagnetic centers in whole blood of breast cancer patients change under the influence of radiation therapy. Samples of whole blood were taken from 17 women with breast cancer treated with radiotherapy. The measurements were carried out at 170 K using X-band electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR) spectrometer Bruker EMX-10. Two distinct EPR lines, derived from high-spin Fe3+ in transferrin and Cu2+ from ceruloplasmin, were revealed in all frozen samples. The amplitude and integrated intensity of the EPR signal from Cu2+ in ceruloplasmin significantly decreased in all patients after the delivery of the radiation fraction. When comparing the integral intensity of the signal from Fe3+ in transferrin, three different situations were identified which are patient specific: a significant increase, an insignificant change, or a significant decrease after the irradiation. A decreased level of Cu2+ from ceruloplasmin in patients after radiotherapy means a low level of ceruloplasmin in the plasma or an increased content of reduced Cu+ ions. Differences in the integrated intensity of the EPR signal from transferrin translate directly into the amount of bound iron. The observed changes could indicate how well the organism fights against cancer and how easily it adapts to the situation of biochemical stress.

Particle therapy of moving targets-the strategies for tumour motion monitoring and moving targets irradiation.

Particle therapy of moving targets is still a great challenge. The motion of organs situated in the thorax and abdomen strongly affects the precision of proton and carbon ion radiotherapy. The motion is responsible for not only the dislocation of the tumour but also the alterations in the internal density along the beam path, which influence the range of particle beams. Furthermore, in case of pencil beam scanning, there is an interference between the target movement and dynamic beam delivery. This review presents the strategies for tumour motion monitoring and moving target irradiation in the context of hadron therapy. Methods enabling the direct determination of tumour position (fluoroscopic imaging of implanted radio-opaque fiducial markers, electromagnetic detection of inserted transponders and ultrasonic tumour localization systems) are presented. Attention is also drawn to the techniques which use external surrogate motion for an indirect estimation of target displacement during irradiation. The role of respiratory-correlated CT [four-dimensional CT (4DCT)] in the determination of motion pattern prior to the particle treatment is also considered. An essential part of the article is the review of the main approaches to moving target irradiation in hadron therapy: gating, rescanning (repainting), gated rescanning and tumour tracking. The advantages, drawbacks and development trends of these methods are discussed. The new accelerators, called "cyclinacs", are presented, because their application to particle therapy will allow making a breakthrough in the 4D spot scanning treatment of moving organs.

[The use of shells made of poly(ethylene glycol) and chitosan to ensure the biocompatibility of nanoparticles in biomedical applications]. / Wykorzystanie pokryc z poli(glikolu etylenowego) i chitozanu do zapewnienia biokompatybilnosci nanoczastkom w aplikacjach biomedycznych.

Biomedical applications of nanoparticles require that these structures are characterized by broadly defined biocompatibility. The best way to achieve this goal is to use an appropriate polymer coating, which can modify the surface properties of the nanoparticles core. The shells are formed from biodegradable material, so that the products of their decomposition can be easily eliminated from the body. Coating of nanoparticles allows to increase their stability (both in aqueous solutions and in the bloodstream), prevents agglomeration, provides the hydrophilicity of the surface and allows to attach various molecules such as drugs and tumor targeting ligands in cancer therapy. The polymer coating significantly affects the reduction of toxicity of nanoparticles and their interactions with different cell types. Chitosan and poly(ethylene glycol) (PEG) are frequently used for coating of nanostructures due to the availability and favourable properties. A major advantage of PEG is its ability to prolong the circulation time of nanoparticles injected into the bloodstream by preventing their opsonization and reducing the uptake by macrophages. Chitosan, because of its positive charge, strongly interacts with cell membranes and mucosal surfaces, which can be useful in drug delivery systems. However, it should be remembered that the molar mass and the degree of deacetylation of the used chitosan significantly affect its characteristics. The use of combined shells made of poly(ethylene glycol) and chitosan or coatings formed from new PEG based copolymers aims at further optimization of the properties of nanoparticle carriers to increase their safety and reliability in biomedical applications.