Correlations between individual factors and long-term nature of tourist trips amongst urban single people

Data on single people from Poznan were taken from A.P. Lubowiecki-Vikuk’s doctoral dissertation, entitled “Determinants of recreational and tourism activity among single men and women from the Wielkopolska Province”, written under the supervision of Stefan S. Bosiacki (University School of Physical Education in Poznan). This work was supported by Jozef Pilsudski University of Physical Education in Warsaw and Ministry of Science and Higher Education in Poland (grant DS – 86; project leader Full Professor A.K. Gajewski), and Rector of Warsaw School of Economics funds.Background: The analysis of socio-demographic factors that determine the duration of tourist trips among urban single people. Material/Methods: The research included 598 randomly selected single people from Warsaw and Poznan. The study was conducted using the survey method. The relation between trips for ≥ 10 days and the variables characterizing the demographic structure of the respondents were assessed using log-linear analysis. The significance of the impact of the factors examined in the analysis was determined by chi-squared test. Results: Single people from Poznan with secondary and higher education are, respectively, more than 4-fold and 7-fold likely to go on longer trips (≥ 10 days) than shorter ones ( PLN 2,000 (3 times in Poznan, 7 times in Warsaw) and those declaring income < PLN 1,500 (1.6 times in Poznan, 1.5 times in Warsaw). In the case of respondents from Warsaw, being a man doubles the likelihood of traveling for ≥ 10 days. Conclusions: Participation of urban single people in long-term trips is a reflection of contemporary trends in the market of tourist services. However, it is necessary to conduct a comprehensive analysis of leisure time behavior of single people. It is crucial in the quest to satisfy the tourist desires of today's consumers of leisure services

Tourist activity among urban singles in view of socio-demographic factors

Aim of Study: Estimation of urban singles tourism activity in the context of socio-demographic factors. Material and Methods: The study involved 598 randomly selected singles from Warsaw and Poznan. They represented six socio-occupational groups. The relationship between tourist activity and socio-demographic variables characterizing the socio-demographic structure of the respondents was established with the chi-square test. Results: The rate of tourist activity of the respondents in the studied group is over 90%. Singles from Warsaw prefer shorter but more frequent trips. Among the respondents, a very active group was belong to the range of age 50-60 years. It was found that there is high positive correlation for participation in tourism with the level of education and income. There was no such relation between the sexes. The most frequently declared were – strictly tourist, VFR and business. Conclusions: The clash of a growing trend in the number of people running one-person households with a tendency for seeking individualized ways of spending free time, forces the managers of the physical activity and tourism sector to tailor the offers for this specific target group

Association of socio-economic and demographic factors with physical activity of males and females aged 20–69 years

Objective To assess the physical activity of working residents of Warsaw aged 20–69 years, as well as to identify the socio-demographic factors associated with their levels of physical activity. Material and Methods The study involved 2,544 working residents of Warsaw aged 20–69 years. The short version of the IPAQ was applied and four physical activity levels (insufficient, sufficient, augmented, high) were distinguished. The relationships between physical activity and gender, age, BMI, education, economic and martial status as well as participation in recreation were determined. Results High levels of physical activity were reached by 8% of respondents, 22% achieved augmented level, 32% were sufficiently and 32% insufficiently active. Out of 2544 studied subjects, 6% declared complete sedentariness. Females were, as compared to males, more frequently (p<0.05) insufficiently active (35.9 vs. 31.9%). In obese and overweight subjects insufficient physical activity predominated (42.9 and 36.2%, respectively) and was significantly more frequent than in subjects with normal BMI (31.0%). Moreover, the subjects living in partner relationships were significantly (p<0.05) more frequently insufficiently active than those staying single (36.3 vs. 30.3%). Respondents who declared regular participation in leisure activities were less frequently insufficiently active (20.0%) and more frequently met the criteria of sufficient (37.6%), augmented (28.0%) or high (14.4%) level of physical activity. No significant effects were found with respect to education of respondents. Conclusions Prophylactic schedules associated with the improvement of physical activity level should be addressed particularly to females, people taking up recreation occasionally or to those not involved in recreation at all, living in partner relationships, youngest (21–30 years), in obese and overweight and in the lowest economic category

Socio-Demographic Determinants of Leisure Time Physical Inactivity of Adolescents from the Voivodships of Central Poland

The aim of the study is to assess the physical leisure time activity among the students of grade I&ndash;III of junior high school (aged 13&ndash;16) &ndash; during the school year and holidays &ndash; and identify possible causal factors of physical inactivity in this social group. The relationship between participation in sport for all during the school year (regular, periodic, sporadic) and during holidays (physically active/passive) and socio-demographic variables characterizing the structure was analyzed using the Chi 2 test. The relationship between respondents inactivity and those traits was assessed using log-linear analysis. The higher the grade (especially among girls), the more physically inactive individuals, the number of which grew during the school year as well as during holidays. The risk factors for inactivity included high BMI, living in the countryside and female sex. In case of girls (76.3%) the risk of inactivity increased by almost 1.4 times, as it did (OR = 0.75) with regard to living in rural areas (76.4%). The chance of being active increases more than 3-fold among those with normal BMI (28.0%) and the underweight (29.9%). Adolescents&rsquo; inactivity (increasing along with the grade pupils are in) points to the shortcomings of Polish process of education and an urgent need for system-based approach to promote active lifestyle in this social group

The In Vitro

The in vitro effect of ivermectin lethal dose on the activity of trehalose-6-phosphate synthase (TPS) and phosphatase (TPP) and the expression of their mRNA (tps1, tps2, and tpp genes) in the muscle of adult female Ascaris suum was investigated. The presence of ivermectin in the medium caused a decrease in TPS and TPP activities during the experiment compared with the start and control groups. The exception was the group of worms grown for 8 hours in a IVM solution, in which there was a little higher TPS activity than in the control. Real-time qPCR analysis showed reduced expression of tps1 and tps2, and unchanged tpp expression after 20 hours of incubation relative to the expression at time zero. Relative to the appropriate control groups, the expression of tps2 gene was slight increased but the other two genes were reduced after 8-hours of IVM-treatment. Then the expression of all three genes was lower at the end of cultivation. The level of gene expression was positively correlated with the activity of specific enzymes. In the case of tpp gene there was only a weak correlation. Prolonged exposure to ivermectin was effective in lowering TPS and TPP activity and their mRNA expression. However, the drug did not block the pathway

c.1810C>T Polymorphism of NTRK1 Gene is associated with reduced Survival in Neuroblastoma Patients

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>TrkA (encoded by <it>NTRK1 </it>gene), the high-affinity tyrosine kinase receptor for neurotrophins, is involved in neural crest cell differentiation. Its expression has been reported to be associated with a favourable prognosis in neuroblastoma. Therefore, the entire coding sequence of <it>NTRK1 </it>gene has been analysed in order to identify mutations and/or polymorphisms which may alter TrkA receptor expression.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>DNA was extracted from neuroblastomas of 55 Polish and 114 Italian patients and from peripheral blood leukocytes of 158 healthy controls. Denaturing High-Performance Liquid Chromatography (DHPLC) and Single-Strand Conformation Polymorphism (SSCP) analysis were used to screen for sequence variants. Genetic changes were confirmed by direct sequencing and correlated with biological and clinical data.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Three previously reported and nine new single nucleotide polymorphisms were detected. c.1810C>T polymorphism present in 8.7% of cases was found to be an independent marker of disease recurrence (OR = 13.3; p = 0.009) associated with lower survival rates (HR = 4.45 p = 0.041). c.1810C>T polymorphism's unfavourable prognostic value was most significant in patients under 18 months of age with no <it>MYCN </it>amplification (HR = 26; p = 0.008). <it>In-silico </it>analysis of the c.1810C>T polymorphism suggests that the substitution of the corresponding amino acid residue within the conservative region of the tyrosine kinase domain might theoretically interfere with the functioning of the TrkA protein.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p><it>NTRK1 </it>c.1810C>T polymorphism appears to be a new independent prognostic factor of poor outcome in neuroblastoma, especially in children under 18 months of age with no <it>MYCN </it>amplification.</p

The effect of insulin and sulodexide (Vessel Due F) on diabetic foot syndrome : pilot study in elderly patients

Celem pracy była ocena skuteczności stosowania insuliny wraz z sulodeksydem (mieszanina 80% pochodnych heparyny i 20% siarczanu dermatanu) w leczeniu owrzodzeń stóp oraz określenie ich wpływu na mikrokrążenie skórne i neuropatię cukrzycową. Chorzy z zaawansowaną neuropatią cukrzycową i owrzodzeniem stopy losowo przydzielono do grupy leczonej insuliną (I) z sulodeksydem (S) (n = 12) lub do grupy kontrolnej leczonej insuliną z placebo (P) (n = 6) przez 10 tygodni. Za pomocą metody dopplerowskiego lasera, oceniano skórny przepływ krwi w stopach (LDF, laser doppler flow) w spoczynku oraz po 30- i 60-sekundowym niedokrwieniu. Ocenie poddano również przewodnictwo nerwowe na podstawie czuciowych i ruchowych potencjałów wywołanych. U chorych na cukrzycę skórny przepływ po niedokrwieniu był 2,5 raza krótszy w kończynie z owrzodzeniem niż w stopie zdrowej. Obserwowano znamienny wzrost przepływów skórnych po 30- i 60-sekundowym niedokrwieniu po zakończeniu terapii (grupa IS, owrzodzenie stopy, LDF - 60 s; od 99,1 ± 14,3 do 218,6 ± 28,6 PU, p < 0,001, grupa IP od 110,5 ± 13,0 do 164,8 ± 15,4 PU, p < 0,05). Czas przekrwienia reaktywnego uległ wydłużeniu w grupie IS (IS: od 30,3 ± 2,9 do 43,9 ± 2,2 s, p < 0,001; IP: od 28,7 ± 3,0 do 33,3 ± 3,3 s, NS). W grupie IS 92% owrzodzeń stóp uległo zagojeniu w ciągu 46,4 dnia, natomiast w grupie IP 83% w ciągu 63,0 dnia. Badania przewodnictwa nerwowego nie wykazały różnic nasilenia neuropatii w obrębie grup i pomiędzy grupami. W stopach z owrzodzeniami sulodeksyd i insulina poprawiają przepływ skórny w odpowiedzi na niedokrwienie, nie wpływając na przewodnictwo nerwowe. Kliniczne efekty działania sulodeksydu, sumując się z działaniami insuliny, mogą istotnie skracać czas niezbędny do całkowitego wyleczenia owrzodzenia. Ostateczne potwierdzenie przedstawionych wstępnych wyników wymaga dalszych badań klinicznych.To assess the efficacy of insulin plus sulodexide (a mixture of 80% heparin-like substances and 20% dermatan sulphate) on diabetic ulcers, and its influence on foot skin microcirculation and diabetic neuropathy. Two groups of diabetic patients, suffering from severe neuropathy and ulceration, were randomly assigned to insulin (I) plus sulodexide (S) (n = 12) or insulin plus placebo (P) (n = 6) therapy, for 10 weeks. Laser Doppler assessment of foot skin flow (LDF), at rest and 30 or 60 s after arterial occlusion, and nerve conduction tests (sensorial evoked and motoric conduction potentials) have been evaluated in both groups. Postischaemic flow was 2.5 times shorter in ulcerated vs. non-ulcerated feet in diabetic patients. A significant increase in flows after 30 and 60 s ischaemia was detected in both groups at the end of therapy (IS group, ulcerated foot, LDF = 60 s: from 99.1 ± 14.3 to 218.6 ± 28.6 PU, P < 0.001. IP group = from 110.5 ± 13.0 to 164.8 ± 15.4 PU, P < 0.05). The length of reactive hyperaemia was higher in IS vs. IP group (IS: from 30.3 ± 2.9 to 43.9 ± 2.2 s, P < 0.001; IP: from 28.7 ± 3.0 to 33.3 ± 3.3 s, ns). Ninety-two percent of ulcers heals in a mean time of 46.4 days (IS group) vs. 83% and 63.0 days, respectively, in IP group. Nerve conduction studies have not demonstrated within- and between-group differences. Sulodexide and insulin improve the postischaemic skin flow in ulcerated feet, without affecting nerve conduction tests. The effect of sulodexide results additive to insulin; it is clinically relevant, in the view of the possibility of reducing the time needed to completely heal ulcers. The ultimate validation of these preliminary results requires extensive trials

Demand for the Polish Products of Health Tourism: Tourists’ Interest in Health Tourism in Selected European Countries

Polska postrzegana jest jako ważny ośrodek dla światowej turystyki zdrowotnej. Określa się ją nawet mianem kliniki Europy. Podtrzymanie tej opinii oraz dalszy rozwój wymaga jednak długofalowej strategii, w tym promocji i budowania współpracy między podmiotami wysyłającymi i przyjmującymi turystów. Celem pracy jest ocena działalności touroperatorów z wybranych krajów europejskich w zakresie organizacji turystyki zdrowotnej do Polski. Analizie poddano zainteresowania tego rodzaju ofertą odbiorców z Niemiec, Austrii, Wielkiej Brytanii, Francji, Rosji, Ukrainy i Czech oraz możliwości szerszej promocji polskiej oferty w w/w krajach. Badanie przeprowadzono na podstawie krytycznej analizy piśmiennictwa o charakterze naukowym i konsultingowym. Dalszy rozwój polskiej turystyki zdrowotnej na rynku europejskim wymaga wsparcia prywatnych i publicznych świadczeniodawców w nawiązaniu kontaktów z płatnikami, ubezpieczycielami i pośrednikami z poszczególnych krajów. Konieczne jest budowanie kontaktów i sieci partnerskich. Istotne jest tworzenie platform − jako najbardziej wiarygodnego źródła wymiany informacji i bazy danych dla zagranicznych pacjentów. Wielonarzędziowe kampanie promocyjne (podkreślające jakość, bezpieczeństwo, podmiotowe traktowanie turysty, specjalizację w niszowych produktach i przystępność cenową) należy kierować zarówno do klientów indywidualnych, jak i decydujących o wyjazdach grupowych.Poland is regarded as an important centre for world health tourism and is even sometimes called the clinic of Europe. Maintaining this opinion and further development, however, require a long-term strategy including promotion and cooperation building among entities sending and hosting tourists. The main objective of this work is to evaluate activities of tour operators from selected European countries in terms of organizing health tourism to Poland. The analysis concerns interest in this type of offer among customers from Germany, Austria, Great Britain, France, Russia, Ukraine and the Czech Republic and wider promotion possibilities of the Polish offer in those countries. The study is based on a critical analysis of scientific and consulting literature. Further development of Polish health tourism on the European market needs support from private and public service providers in making contacts with payers, insurance companies and brokers from individual countries. It is essential to build contacts and networks of partners. Creating online platforms as the most reliable source of information and a data base for foreign patients is crucial. Complex promotional campaigns (emphasising quality, safety, individual treatment of tourists, specialization in niche products and affordability) should be aimed at individual customers as well as group trip organizers

Factors increasing the risk of inactivity among administrative, technical, and manual workers in Warszawa public institutions

Objectives: The research aims to assess the level of physical activity among administrative, technical, and manual workers employed in Warszawa public institutions and to analyze the factors that increase the risk of failing to meet World Health Organization (WHO) recommendations. Material and Methods: The study comprised 373 employees of randomly selected institutions. A short version of International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was applied. The correlation between the mean values of duration, days, MET-min/week of efforts, gender, and type of work was analyzed using the Tukey’s honest significant difference (HSD) test, while the correlation between the level of physical activity and the socio-demographic characteristics was assessed with the Chi2 test. The strength of the relationship between socio-demographic characteristics and fulfilment of WHO standards was expressed by the odds ratio (OR) and 95% confidence interval (95% CI). The significance level was p = 0.05. Results: High levels of physical activity were declared by 41.8% of the manual workers, 14.7% of the administration staff, and 7.3% of the technicians; 19%, 31.5% and 54.5%, respectively, reported low levels of physical activity. Factors determining the fulfilment of the WHO recommendations include: the nature of work (p = 0.003), education (p = 0.004), and income (p = 0.003). The risk of being inactive nearly doubles in the case of administration staff (31.5%) and increases more than 4 times in the case of technicians (54.5%). Respondents with secondary school education (31.6%) are exposed to a 3-fold higher risk of inactivity, while in respondents with higher education (37.2%), the level of the risk is 4-fold higher. Compared to those in the highest income group (23.4%), people who earn less (34.1%) are inactive almost twice as often. Conclusions: Urgent intervention is necessary in all studied groups: increased energy expenditure for recreation and locomotion, educational offers of employers to promote healthy lifestyle, management of leisure time budget, and strategies for changing behavior