Effect of water chemistry on the planktonic communities and relationships among food web components across a freshwater ecotone

Most ecological research on the food web has been focused more on the pelagic zone than on the transitional zone - ecotones between lentic and lotic habitats. The specific goals of this study were to determine whether the contact zone of waters differs in hydrochemical and biological terms from the waters of the canal and the open water zone, and to evaluate the influence of particular macro-habitats on the interactions between components of the planktonic food web. The distribution of samples in ordination space led us to conclude that the studied habitats are distributed along the rising gradient of total organic carbon and nutrients. Assemblages of all investigated groups showed a strong compositional gradient correlated with conductivity and total phosphorus, while a second strong gradient in species composition was explained by nitrate nitrogen and/or phosphate concentrations. The analysis of trophic relationships in the system bacteriaciliates- crustaceans reveals a clear differentiation and strength of mutual relations between the analyzed zones. The highest number of significant correlations was determined in the contact zone. It can also be a place of very efficient matter and energy flow in freshwater ecosystems

Quality of life of women with postmenopausal pelvic organ prolapse

Abstract Aim. The aim of the study was to evaluate the quality of life of women with pelvic organ prolapse during the postmenopausal period. Material and methodology. The study group consisted of 45 patients of the Department of Gynecology and Oncology at the University Hospital in Cracow The study was conducted as a diagnostic survey using the following survey techniques: author's questionnaire and the Short Form of Health Status Questionnaire (SF-36v2). Results. The results showed that the respondents rated their quality of life as lower than the norm set by the authors of the SF-36v2 questionnaire. A statistically significant (p&lt;0.05) correlation between the age of the subjects and the quality of life was found. Conclusions. The quality of life of the women with the pelvic organ prolapse was low. The reason of the subjective assessment of quality of life was age. The most common symptom associated with pelvic organ prolapse was feeling the urge to urinate.</jats:p

Gestational diabetes and its influence on the quality of life of pregnant women

Diabetes is the most common metabolic complication encountered during pregnancy. It usually subsides following the delivery, yet at the same time it constitutes a risk factor for the development of manifest diabetes later in life. The assessment of the quality of life of women suffering from gestational diabetes is aimed at gaining information on various areas of their functioning and the evaluation of the recommendations concerning care over and education of such patients. To assess the quality of life of women with gestational diabetes. The study was conducted between 15 January 2016 and 23 March 2016 in the Department of Obstetrics and Perinatology of the University Hospital in Krakow and in the Diabetology Clinic for Pregnant Women at the Department of Metabolic Diseases of the University Hospital in Krakow. Eighty-seven women suffering from diagnosed gestational diabetes formed the study group, of which 47 were treated with diet and 40 with diet and insulin. The diagnostic survey method was applied in the research. A SF-36v2 standardised questionnaire as well as a questionnaire prepared by the researcher were used to assess the quality of life. Most of the examined women assessed their life quality as good. The assessment of the quality of life varied depending on the type of therapy they received for gestational diabetes. A statistically significant difference with respect to social functioning (SF) was determined between the women treated with diet and insulin, and women treated exclusively with diet. Education and the value of BMI (body mass index) before pregnancy were factors affecting selected dimensions of the quality of life. The treatment method and, to a minor extent, some socio-demographic factors belong to the factors that may be considered prognostic for the quality of life in women suffering from gestational diabetes

Associations between physical activity, selected lifestyle factors, and quality of life during puerperium

Physical activity and a healthy lifestyle bring many benefits to the health of both mother and child and contribute to the improvement in the well-being of women. Regular exercise prevents depression and prepares the body for delivery and the puerperium, which is associated with significant changes in the quality of women's life. Aim of the study was to assess the impact of physical activity and selected lifestyle elements in pregnant women on their quality of life after birth. The study included 109 women after natural births and caesarean sections. The diagnostic survey method and questionnaire technique were used in the study. The author's questionnaire survey, the Quality of Life Questionnaire SF-36v2, and Ch. B. Corbin's Healthy Lifestyle Questionnaire were applied. The study showed that 85% of the women led unhealthy lifestyles, while 67% of the interviewees were physically active during pregnancy. Proper diet, ability to control stress, and adherence to the advice of doctors contributed to a better quality of life after birth. It was demonstrated that women giving natural birth had a significantly lower quality of mental life compared to women giving birth through caesarean section. A relationship was demonstrated between selected elements of healthy lifestyle in pregnancy and the quality of life after birth. In the group studied, it was the way the pregnancy ended which determined the quality of life of the women. No statistically significant effect of physical activity on the quality of life was determined

Screening and Characterisation of Antimicrobial Properties of Semisynthetic Betulin Derivatives

Peer reviewe

Antimicrobial activity of the marine alkaloids, clathrodin and oroidin, and their synthetic analogues

Peer reviewe

Is oxygenation related to the decomposition of organic matter in cryoconite holes?

Cryoconite is a sediment occurring on glacier surfaces worldwide which reduces ice albedo and concentrates glacier surface meltwater into small reservoirs called cryoconite holes. It consists of mineral and biogenic matter, including active microorganisms. This study presents an experimental insight into the influence of sediment oxygenation on the cryoconite ability to produce and decomposition of organic matter. Samples were collected from five glaciers in the Arctic and the European mainland. Cryoconite from three glaciers was incubated in stagnant and mechanically mixed conditions to imitate inter-hole water–sediment mixing by meltwater occurring on glaciers in Northern Hemisphere, and its effect on oxygen profiles and organic matter content. Moreover, we investigated short-term changes of oxygen conditions in cryoconite from four glaciers in illuminated and dark conditions. An anaerobic zone was present or approaching zero oxygen in all illuminated cryoconite samples, varying in depth depending on the origin of cryoconite: from 1500 µm from Steindalsbreen (Scandinavian Peninsula) and Forni Glacier (The Alps) to 3100 µm from Russell Glacier and Longyearbreen (Arctic) after incubation. Organic matter content varied between glaciers from 6.11% on Longyearbreen to 16.36% on Russell Glacier. The mixed sediment from the Forni Glacier had less organic matter than stagnant, the sediment from Longyearbreen followed this trend, but the difference was not statistically significant, while the sediment from Ebenferner did not differ between groups. Our results have implications for the understanding of biogeochemical processes on glacier surfaces, the adaptation of organisms to changing physical conditions due to abrupt sediment mixing, but also on the estimation of productivity of supraglacial systems

Bioactive cembrane derivatives from the Indian Ocean soft coral, Sinularia kavarattiensis

Marine organisms and their metabolites represent a unique source of potential pharmaceutical substances. In this study, we examined marine-derived substances for their bioactive properties in a cell-based Chikungunya virus (CHIKV) replicon model and for in vitro anti-inflammatory activity. In the screening of a marine sample library, crude extracts from the Indian soft coral, Sinularia kavarattiensis, showed promising activity against the CHIKV replicon. Bioassay-guided chemical fractionation of S. kavarattiensis resulted in the isolation of six known norcembranoids (1–6) and one new compound, named kavaranolide (7). The structures were elucidated on the basis of NMR and MS spectroscopic data. Compounds 1–3 and 5–7 were evaluated for their replicon-inhibiting potential in the CHIKV model by using a luminescence-based detection technique and live cell imaging. Compounds 1 and 2 showed moderate inhibition of the CHIKV replicon, but imaging studies also revealed cytotoxic properties. Moreover, the effects of the isolated compounds on primary microglial cells, an experimental model for neuroinflammation, were evaluated. Compound 2 was shown to modulate the immune response in microglial cells and to possess potential anti-inflammatory properties by dose-dependently reducing the release of pro- and anti-inflammatory cytokines.Peer reviewe