The garden complex of villa Rosea in Nałęczów - former elite prestige and contemporary functions

Villa Rosea – previously known as the Villa of Nagórscy – situated at Lipowa Street in Nałęczów, was designed by Adam Nagórski and Michał Górski and built at the end of the 19th century. In its heyday  it was at the centre of the vibrant cultural life of Nałęczów. However, during the German occupation as well as due to unlawful confiscation by the communist government it gradually fell into decay. In 2006 the villa was bought by Stanisław and Barbara Burzyńscy, carefully renovated and renamed Villa Rosea. In order to bring back its former splendour and to adapt the building so as to suit its new hotel function, an attempt was made to renew the old garden complex with an area of 1 ha which surrounds the villa. This article is devoted to the question of adapting the plant composition design to the new function of the building while taking into account its historical importance

Transformation of franciscans monastic gardens in Kazimierz Dolny

1628 saw the arrival of Franciscans who built a monastery, and created gardens on the remaining part of the land which was given to them. The once historical garden layout underwent strong changes, both on the functional and compositional level. It was mainly the result of the January Uprising which brought about the dissolution of the monastery and changes in the function of the whole complex. In 1928 Franciscans came back to Kazimierz, however, they did not reconstruct the gardens. The reason for this decision might be seen in the shift in the monastery activities, which now had to adapt to the needs of the new society. 20th-century Franciscans started to add new functions to the existing space, according to the current needs. In consequence, there are now only fragments left of the garden composition which still existed in the 19th century

New opportunities of financing revitalisation of historical garden compositions in the light of their conservation

The 21st century has brought new opportunities for revitalization projects in Poland (including those related to historical parks and gardens) under the framework of EU subsidies. Greenery compositions, often significantly damaged and with poorly preserved historical structure, have gained a chance to survive and be properly managed. However, the problem is that design and construction works are often conducted in haste, and adapted to the specific requirements of EU projects, often resulting in the unification of adopted solutions and incongruence with historical structures (e.g. “Orlik” sports fields or “Radosna szkoła” playgrounds, where even the colour scheme is imposed by the project), which obviously causes irreparable damage. The authors wish to present the above mentioned problems illustrated with an example of the revalorisation process of a park in Chociw, one of the valuable manor-park complexes in the Łódź Province. They present both positive and negative influence which financial support might have on a venture of this kind

Problem zanieczyszczenia rzeki Pichny w kontekście rewaloryzacji parku miejskiego w Zduńskiej Woli

Zabytkowy park miejski położony w Zduńskiej Woli, objęty jest w części centralnej i północnej ochroną konserwatorską na podstawie zapisu w miejscowym planie zagospodarowania przestrzennego oraz poprzez wpis do ewidencji zabytków. Park charakteryzuje się urozmaiconą rzeźbą terenu, z czego najwyższy punkt znajduje się na północy i opada skarpami ku południu, w kierunku doliny rzeki Pichny, zasilającej dwa stawy parkowe w tym: większy z wyspą, będący zamknięciem osi kompozycyjnej, oraz mniejszy – będący pozostałością po dawnym zbiorniku wodnym przeciwpożarowym. Pod względem przyrodniczym teren posiada znaczące wartości z uwagi na starodrzew oraz opisany układ wodny. W ramach prac przygotowawczych do rewaloryzacji założenia parkowego, przeprowadzono szereg badań i analiz, w tym m.in. ocenę stanu sanitarnego wód Pichny, która zasila zbiorniki i przepływa przez park. Na tej podstawie okazało się, że stopień zanieczyszczenia (wśród przyczyn wymienić należy zrzut nieoczyszczanych wód z okolicznych ciągów komunikacyjnych) uniemożliwia rewaloryzację parku przy dalszym zasilaniu stawów wodami rzeki. W celu zapewnienia zadowalającego stopnia czystości i przejrzystości wody w obu stawach podjęto decyzję o zastosowaniu złożonych i nowoczesnych rozwiązań technologicznych, umożliwiających renowację układu wodnego. Przyjęte rozwiązania zyskały przychylność Wojewódzkiego Funduszu Ochrony Środowiska i Gospodarki Wodnej, który przyznał wysokie finansowanie i nagrodę w konkursie „Przyrodnicze perły województwa łódzkiego program rewitalizacji zabytkowych parków”

Natural Water Reservoirs as an Example of Effective Nature-Based Solutions (NBS)

Nature-based solutions (NBS) include actions that are inspired and/or powered by nature. The level of human intervention can vary from no or minimum intervention to the creation of the entire new ecosystems. One of the types of such solutions are natural water reservoirs (NWRs) with recreational and bathing functions, in which natural water self-purification processes are used. Mechanical, biological, and chemical self-purification processes are used to filter water in natural swimming pools. The elimination of nutrients (nutrients) and bacterial contamination takes place through the use of biological filter beds, usually planted with aquatic vegetation. Implementation of natural water reservoirs also showed a multitude of positive effects on the environment benefits including: enhancing the natural capital, promoting biodiversity, creating new habitats, mitigating water runoff, enhancing water resilience, contribution to urban heat island (UHI) mitigation, increasing air quality, and improvement of local climate

The adaptation of a hydroponic system in vertical gardens adapted to a Polish climate

Green areas in cities are gradually shrinking due to the civilization development. So-called ‘vertical gardens’ may become an alternative for flat areas of lawns or flower beds in densely built-up areas, providing air quality improvement, benefits for local microclimate and aesthetic value for human health and well-being. The establishment of a new construction for the vertical garden on a wall of an existing building needs a specific approach: the vertical garden construction should be stable, robust, lightweight and easy to assembly. In our work, we present the construction for vertical garden adjusted to hydroponic cultivation of ornamental herbaceous plants. The construction was established on both the southern and northern walls on a building in university in Lublin, Poland. During three consecutive years, the construction of a vertical garden, the hydroponic water-and-nutrient supplying system and the plants were monitored. The results showed that the applied construction and hydroponic system worked well and was resistant to climatic conditions throughout the year

Restoration of ponds in the municipal park in Zduńska Wola, Poland

The historic municipal park located in Zduńska Wola is covered in the central and northern part by conservator protection through an entry in the register of monuments and on the basis of an entry in the local spatial development plan. In terms of nature, the area has significant values due to old trees and the water system, which consists of two ponds fed by the Pichna River. As part of the preparatory work for the revalorization of the park, several studies and analyses were carried out, including assessment of the sanitary state of waters of Pichna River that supplies reservoirs. Degree of the river pollution made it impossible to restore the water system, the most important element of the park, while further supplying the ponds with river water. In order to ensure a satisfactory degree of purity and transparency of water in ponds, a decision was made to apply complex and modern technological solutions enabling the renovation of the water system. Project documentation was developed in 2015. After two years, they began to implement the project. Banks of both ponds were formed more gently, and the basins were deepened. Selection of vegetation around the reservoir and in the reservoir itself was based on the principle of biocenotic assumptions. The designed system is equipped with a circulation pump, skimmers, bottom drains, mechanical-mineral filter, swamp filter. This was to ensure adequate purification of water in ponds, based on natural processes, stimulated by the use of new, pro-ecological technologies

Biological Role, Mechanism of Action and the Importance of Interleukins in Kidney Diseases

Each year, the number of patients who are diagnosed with kidney disease too late is increasing, which leads to permanent renal failure. This growing problem affects people of every age, sex and origin, and its full etiopathogenesis is not fully understood, although the involvement of genetic susceptibility, infections, immune disorders or high blood pressure is suggested. Difficulties in making a correct and quick diagnosis are caused by the lack of research on early molecular markers, as well as educational and preventive activities among the public, which leads to the late detection of kidney diseases. An important role in the homeostasis and disease progression, including kidney diseases, is attributed to interleukins, which perform several biological functions and interact with other cells and tissues of the body. The aim of this article was to systematize the knowledge about the biological functions performed by interleukins in humans and their involvement in kidney diseases development. In our work, we took into account the role of interleukins in acute and chronic kidney disease and kidney transplantation

The adaptation of a hydroponic system in vertical gardens adapted to a Polish climate

Green areas in cities are gradually shrinking due to the civilization development. So-called ‘vertical gardens’ may become an alternative for flat areas of lawns or flower beds in densely built-up areas, providing air quality improvement, benefits for local microclimate and aesthetic value for human health and well-being. The establishment of a new construction for the vertical garden on a wall of an existing building needs a specific approach: the vertical garden construction should be stable, robust, lightweight and easy to assembly. In our work, we present the construction for vertical garden adjusted to hydroponic cultivation of ornamental herbaceous plants. The construction was established on both the southern and northern walls on a building in university in Lublin, Poland. During three consecutive years, the construction of a vertical garden, the hydroponic water-and-nutrient supplying system and the plants were monitored. The results showed that the applied construction and hydroponic system worked well and was resistant to climatic conditions throughout the year

The Importance of Toll-like Receptor 9 Expression on Monocytes and Dendritic Cells in the Context of Epstein–Barr Virus Infection in the Immunopathogenesis of Primary Glomerulonephritis

Toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) is activated by unmethylated cytosine-phosphate-guanosine (CpG) dinucleotides found in the genomes of pathogens such as Epstein–Barr virus (EBV). The aim of this study was to determine the role of TLR9 in the immunopathogenesis of IgA nephropathy (IgAN) and membranoproliferative glomerulonephritis (MPGN) in the context of Epstein–Barr virus (EBV) infection. For this purpose, the frequency of TLR9-positive monocytes and dendritic cells (DCs, i.e., BDCA-1; myeloid dendritic cells, and BDCA-2; plasmocytoid dendritic cells) was studied, and a quantitative analysis of the concentration of TLR9 in the serum of patients diagnosed with IgAN and MPGN was undertaken. Higher frequencies of TLR9-positive DCs and monocytes in IgAN and MPGN patients were observed as compared with the control group. Patients diagnosed with GN exhibited a higher percentage of BDCA-1+CD19− and BDCA-2+CD123+ DCs than patients in the control group. Moreover, serum TLR9 concentration was shown to be significantly correlated with EBV DNA copy number/µg DNA, IgG, IgM, serum albumin, total protein in 24-h urine collection test and the frequency of BDCA-2+CD123+ DCs in peripheral blood. Our findings confirm that TLR9 may be involved in the development of IgAN and MPGN