The importance of access to public transport services for region dwellers

W artykule podjęto próbę analizy zagadnienia dostępności do usług transportu publicznego. Wskazano brak jednoznacznej definicji sformułowania oraz bardzo szeroki jej zakres. Jednym z nich jest odniesienie pojęcia dostępności do sfery transportu. W tym zakresie analiza może obejmować obszar usług transportu publicznego. Wyniki analizy dostępności do usług transportu pasażerskiego zostały przedstawione w artykule na podstawie badań ankietowych, przeprowadzonych w latach 2006 oraz 2012. Spośród różnych form transportu najlepszą dostępność przestrzenną wykazują autobusy, a czasową – mikrobusy. W zakresie dostępności ekonomicznej przewagę posiada transport kolejowy, co może wynikać z wykorzystywania ulg. Przeprowadzone badania pozwalają także na określenie działań służących poprawie dostępności do usług transportu pasażerskiego. Według badań ważnymi czynnikami w tym zakresie są: częstotliwość połączeń, dodatkowe połączenia oraz wyznaczenie nowych przystanków.This article attempts to investigate the question of accessibility to public transport services. The lack of a clear definition of the concept and its very broad scope has been pointed. One of them is to refer to the area available transportation. In this field, analysis may include the area of public transport services. The results of the availability of passenger transport services have been described in the article basing on a survey that has been conducted in 2006 and 2012. Among all of the transport modes buses have the best spatial availability and as for the minibuses – the best time accessibility. In terms of economic accessibility, the best mode is rail, which may result from the use of special incentives (such as discounts of fares). The study also allows to specify actions towards improvement to access to passenger transport services. According to the research, one of the most important factors in this regard is the frequency of connections, additional connections and the appointment of new stops

Vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-C - a potent risk factor in children diagnosed with stadium 4 neuroblastoma.

To evaluate the immunohistochemical expression of VEGF-C, CD34 and VEGFR-2 in cancer tissue of children diagnosed with stadium 4 neuroblastoma (NB) and correlate their presence with the survival rate of children diagnosed with that stage of the disease. Eighteen children assigned to stadium 4 composed the study group. Fourteen patients (allocated to stadium 3) formed a control group. VEGF-C, CD34 and VEGFR-2 expressions were evaluated by immunohistochemical assay. Consecutive slides incubated with anti-CD34 and anti-VEGFR-2 antibodies revealed that the two markers were colocalized within endothelial layer of the blood vessels. On the other hand, VEGF-C was expressed exclusively in tumour cells. As demonstrated by Fisher's exact test, the risk of NB treatment failure (progression or relapse) as well as tumour related death, when all the patients were considered, was found to be significant in VEGF-C positive patients. VEGF-C expression in NB constitutes a potent risk factor and may direct future anti-angiogenic treatment strategy. The proximity of VEGF-C and CD34/VEGFR-2 of NB could be the equivalent of a potentially interesting VEGF-C fashion involving a tumour cell invasion into the blood vessels in an early phase of metastases promoting