Influence of underwater light fields on pigment characteristics in the Baltic Sea – results of statistical analysis**This work was carried out within the framework of the SatBałtyk project funded by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund, (contract No. POIG.01.01.02-22-011/09 entitled ‘The Satellite Monitoring of the Baltic Sea Environment’), research project NN 304 275235 and also as part of IO PAS’s statutory research.

AbstractChanges in phytoplankton pigment concentrations in Case 2 waters (such as those of the Baltic Sea) were analysed in relation to the light intensity and its spectral distribution in the water. The analyses were based on sets of empirical measurements containing two types of data: chlorophyll and carotenoid concentrations obtained by HPLC, and the distribution of underwater light fields measured with a MER 2040 spectrophotometer – collected during 27 research cruises on r/v ‘Oceania’ in 1999–2004. Statistical analysis yielded relationships between the total relative (to chlorophyll a concentrations) concentrations of major groups of phytoplankton pigments and optical depth τ, between the total relative concentrations of major groups of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophylls b (Cchl b tot/Cchl a tot), chlorophylls c (Cchl c tot/Cchl a tot) and photosynthetic carotenoids (CPSC tot/Cchl a tot)) and the spectral fitting function (the ‘chromatic acclimation factor’), and between the total relative concentrations of photoprotective carotenoids (CPPC tot/Cchl a tot) in Baltic waters and the potentially destructive radiation (PDR), defined as the absolute amount of energy in the blue part of the spectrum (400–480nm) absorbed by unit mass of chlorophyll a. The best approximations were obtained for the total chlorophyll c content, while the relative estimation errors were the smallest (σ−=34.6%) for the approximation to optical depth and spectral fitting function. The largest errors related to the approximation of chlorophyll b concentrations: σ−=56.7% with respect to optical depth and 57.3% to the spectral fitting function.A comparative analysis of the relative (to chlorophyll a content) concentrations of the main groups of pigments and the corresponding irradiance characteristics in ocean (Case 1) waters and Baltic waters (Case 2 waters) was also carried out. The distribution of Cchl b tot/Cchl a tot ratios with respect to optical depth reveals a decreasing trend with increasing τ for Baltic data, which is characteristic of photoprotective pigments and the reverse of the trend in oceans. In the case of the Cchl c tot approximations, the logarithmic statistical error is lower for Baltic waters than for Case 1 waters: σ−=34.6% for Baltic data and σ−=39.4% for ocean data. In relation to photoprotective carotenoids (CPPC), σ− takes a value of 38.4% for Baltic waters and 36.1% for ocean waters. The relative errors of the approximated concentrations of different pigment groups are larger than those obtained for ocean waters. The only exception is chlorophyll c, for which the logarithmic statistical error is about 8.8% lower (σ−=34.6% for Baltic waters and 38.2% for ocean waters). Analysis of the errors resulting from the approximations of the photoprotective carotenoid content, depending on the energy characteristics of the underwater irradiance in the short-range part of PAR, showed that the relative errors are 1.3 times higher for Baltic waters than for ocean waters: σ−=38.4% for Baltic waters and 32.0% for ocean waters

Skala Northwick Park Dependency Score — nowe narzędzie do wykorzystania w praktyce pielęgniarskiej

Introduction. Evaluation of functional limitations in patients with ischemic stroke is essential in planning suitable nursing care. The main aim of all nursing procedures taken is to ensure the safety of patients, to provide the best, individualized care fulfilling patients’ needs and to support recovery process, considering the necessary number of nursing staff and time needed for these procedures. A tool helpful in the process of diagnosis and planning care is the Northwick Park Dependency Score — NPDS.Aim. The aim of the present study is to describe the Polish version of this scale and to assess its usefulness by comparing the NPDS with the Barthel Index — considered the “golden standard” for assessing patient’s disability and dependency.Material and Methods. The study included 100 elderly ischemic stroke patients aged 60 to 99 years (mean 76.1, SD 9.07). To assess patient’s dependency and thus the need of nursing care, the NPDS Scale was used. Functional status of patients was assessed with the Barthel Index, and the neurological state using the NIHSS.Results. Most items in NPDS, are similar to the items of the BI. However, the NPDS includes additional important questions regarding cognitive functions, communication and behavioral dysfunctions. It allows to estimate the number of nursing staff and their scope of competences necessary for providing care as well as time needed for particular nursing activities. There is a strong correlation between individual modules in the NPSD and the BI sales (r ≈ 0.90). Nevertheless, these are not interchangeable. The high correlation coefficient confirms the validity of the Polish version of the NPDS.Conclusions. NPDS is a simple and useful tool in nursing care allowing to plan the activities based on objective indicators. Despite many similarities it is not a substitute for the popular Barthel Scale. Therefore, the NPDS should be promoted in the nursing environment as a possible work tool. (JNNN 2018;7(1):4–11)Wstęp. Ocena ograniczeń funkcjonalnych u pacjenta z udarem niedokrwiennym mózgu jest podstawą zaplanowania odpowiedniej opieki pielęgniarskiej.Cel. Celem podejmowanych działań pielęgnacyjnych jest zapewnienie bezpieczeństwa, zaspokojenie potrzeb chorego i pomoc w procesie zdrowienia z uwzględnieniem niezbędnej ilości personelu pielęgniarskiego oraz czasu koniecznego do realizacji tych działań. Narzędziem ułatwiającym zarówno proces rozpoznania pielęgniarskiego, jak i planowania opieki jest Skala Zależności Northwick Park (The Northwick Park Dependency Score — NPDS). Celem pracy była charakterystyka polskiej wersji tej skali oraz porównanie jej ze Skalą Barthel — tzw. „złotym standardem” do oceny niesprawności i zależności pacjenta.Materiał i metody. Badaniem objęto 100 osób starszych z udarem niedokrwiennym mózgu w wieku od 60 do 99 lat (śr. 76,1, SD 9,07). Do określenia stopnia zależności pacjenta a tym samym zapotrzebowania na opiekę pielęgniarską wykorzystano skalę NPDS. Stan funkcjonalny chorych oceniono za pomocą Indeksu Barthel (BI), a stan neurologiczny za pomocą skali NIHSS.Wyniki. Większość pytań w NPDS — BCN i BI jest tożsama. NPDS jest bogatsza o pytania dotyczące funkcjonowania poznawczego, komunikowania się i zaburzeń behawioralnych. Pozwala również określić liczbę personelu i zakres kompetencji niezbędnych do zapewnienia opieki oraz czas potrzebny na wykonanie określonych czynności przy chorym. Istnieje bardzo silna korelacja pomiędzy poszczególnymi modułami skali NPDS i BI (r ≈ 0.90) tym niemniej narzędzia te nie są całkowicie zamienne. Wysoki współczynnik korelacji, będący mirą trafności teoretycznej jest wskaźnikiem poprawności psychometrycznej polskiej wersji skali NPDS.Wnioski. Skala NPDS jest prostym i przydatnym w praktyce pielęgniarskiej narzędziem ułatwiającym planowanie opieki w oparciu o obiektywne wskaźniki. Pomimo zbliżonej zawartości, nie jest substytutem popularnej Skali Barthel. Zasadnym jest rozpropagowanie NPDS w środowisku pielęgniarskim, jako potencjalnego narzędzia pracy. (PNN 2018;7(1):4–11

Gender Gap in Parental Leave Intentions: Evidence from 37 Countries

Despite global commitments and efforts, a gender-based division of paid and unpaid work persists. To identify how psychological factors, national policies, and the broader sociocultural context contribute to this inequality, we assessed parental-leave intentions in young adults (18–30 years old) planning to have children (N = 13,942; 8,880 identified as women; 5,062 identified as men) across 37 countries that varied in parental-leave policies and societal gender equality. In all countries, women intended to take longer leave than men. National parental-leave policies and women’s political representation partially explained cross-national variations in the gender gap. Gender gaps in leave intentions were paradoxically larger in countries with more gender-egalitarian parental-leave policies (i.e., longer leave available to both fathers and mothers). Interestingly, this cross-national variation in the gender gap was driven by cross-national variations in women’s (rather than men’s) leave intentions. Financially generous leave and gender-egalitarian policies (linked to men’s higher uptake in prior research) were not associated with leave intentions in men. Rather, men’s leave intentions were related to their individual gender attitudes. Leave intentions were inversely related to career ambitions. The potential for existing policies to foster gender equality in paid and unpaid work is discussed

Gender Gap in Parental Leave Intentions: Evidence from 37 Countries

Despite global commitments and efforts, a gender-based division of paid and unpaid work persists. To identify how psychological factors, national policies, and the broader sociocultural context contribute to this inequality, we assessed parental-leave intentions in young adults (18–30 years old) planning to have children (N = 13,942; 8,880 identified as women; 5,062 identified as men) across 37 countries that varied in parental-leave policies and societal gender equality. In all countries, women intended to take longer leave than men. National parental-leave policies and women’s political representation partially explained cross-national variations in the gender gap. Gender gaps in leave intentions were paradoxically larger in countries with more gender-egalitarian parental-leave policies (i.e., longer leave available to both fathers and mothers). Interestingly, this cross-national variation in the gender gap was driven by cross-national variations in women’s (rather than men’s) leave intentions. Financially generous leave and gender-egalitarian policies (linked to men’s higher uptake in prior research) were not associated with leave intentions in men. Rather, men’s leave intentions were related to their individual gender attitudes. Leave intentions were inversely related to career ambitions. The potential for existing policies to foster gender equality in paid and unpaid work is discussed.Gender Gap in Parental Leave Intentions: Evidence from 37 CountriespublishedVersio

Psychometric Properties and Correlates of Precarious Manhood Beliefs in 62 Nations

Precarious manhood beliefs portray manhood, relative to womanhood, as a social status that is hard to earn, easy to lose, and proven via public action. Here, we present cross-cultural data on a brief measure of precarious manhood beliefs (the Precarious Manhood Beliefs scale [PMB]) that covaries meaningfully with other cross-culturally validated gender ideologies and with country-level indices of gender equality and human development. Using data from university samples in 62 countries across 13 world regions (N = 33,417), we demonstrate: (1) the psychometric isomorphism of the PMB (i.e., its comparability in meaning and statistical properties across the individual and country levels); (2) the PMB’s distinctness from, and associations with, ambivalent sexism and ambivalence toward men; and (3) associations of the PMB with nation-level gender equality and human development. Findings are discussed in terms of their statistical and theoretical implications for understanding widely-held beliefs about the precariousness of the male gender role

Purification and characterisation of ferritin from the Baltic blue mussel <i>Mytilus trossulus</i>

Baltic blue mussels <i>Mytilus trossulus</i> were collected from the Gulf of Gda&#X0144;sk (southern Baltic Sea) in order to isolate ferritin from its soft tissues, as well as to purify and characterise this protein.<br> &nbsp; &nbsp; Proteins were isolated from the inner organs of <i>M. trossulus</i> (hepatopancreas, gills and soft tissue residue) by thermal denaturation(70&deg;C) and acidification (pH 4.5) of the homogenates, followed by ammonium sulphate ((NH₄)₂SO₄) fractionation.The ferritin was then separated by ultracentrifugation (100 000 &times; g, 120 min.). The protein content in thepurified homogenates was determined by the Lowry method using bovine serum albumin(BSA) and horse spleen ferritin (HSF) as standards. PAGE-SDS and Western blotting analysis permitted identification of ferritinin the purified preparations. Additionally, the purified homogenates and mussel soft tissue were analysed for their heavy metal contents(especially cadmium and iron) in a Video 11 E atomic absorption spectrophotometer, following wet digestion of the samples (HNO₃/HClO₄).<br> &nbsp; &nbsp; The electrophoregrams showed that the inner organs of <i>M. trossulus</i> contained ferritin, which, like plant ferritin, is characterised by thepresence of subunits in the electrophoregram in the 26.6-28.0 kDa range. The highest ferritin content was recorded in the hepatopancreas,followed by the gills and the soft tissue residue. With regard to the sampling stations, the highest content of ferritin wasnoted in the animals sampled off Sopot (station D3), and in those collected by a diver off Jastarnia (W1) and Gdynia (W4). Ferritinisolated from the inner organs of mussels collected from these stations also contained the largest quantities of heavy metals(Cd and Fe). Ferritin isolated from the inner organs of mussels collected by a diver from wrecks - sites where the concentrationsof iron and other trace metals in the sea water are high - contained higher quantities of heavy metals (Cd and Fe) than the ferritinisolated from the inner organs of mussels collected with the drag. This confirms that ferritin is a protein able to store and transport not only iron, but also, though to a lesser extent, some otherheavy metals, including cadmium

Pigment composition in relation to phytoplankton community structure and nutrient content in the Baltic Sea

The concentration of chlorophylls and carotenoids with respect tocommunities of characteristic phytoplankton species and hydrologicalparameters, such as temperature, salinity and nutrients were analysed.Samples from the southern Baltic were taken during three periods:spring 1999, autumn 1999 and 2000 during cruises of r/v 'Oceania'in this area. The seasonal differences between the phytoplanktonspecies composition and pigmentation of samples (measured by HPLC)were noted. The total biomass of the spring phytoplankton populationwas 11-15 times greater than that of the autumn populations. However,the phytoplankton community was more diverse in the two autumns,whereas the spring population was almost mono-taxonomic: > 80% of thetotal biomass consisted of dinophytes. The total content of chlorophylls(a, b, c1 + c2) was about 20 times higher in spring. Moreover, inspring the concentrations of photosynthetic carotenoids (with dominantperdinin) were 2-4 times higher than those of the photoprotectingcarotenoids (with dominant diadinoxanthin), whereas in the two autumnsthe situation was reversed: PPC concentrations (with dominant zeaxanthinand diadinoxanthin) exceeded those of PSC (with dominant fucoxanthin)by c. 3-10 times. Pigment markers have proved to be extremely usefulbiomarkers for elucidating the composition of phytoplankton populationsin natural samples

Influence of underwater light fields on pigment characteristics in the Baltic Sea - results of statistical analysis

Changes in phytoplankton pigment concentrations in case 2 waters (such as those of the Baltic Sea) were analysed in relation to the lightintensity and its spectral distribution in the water. The analyses were based on sets of empirical measurements containing two typesof data: chlorophyll and carotenoid concentrations obtained by HPLC, and the distribution of underwater light fields measured with a MER2049 spectrophotometer - collected during 27 research cruises on r/v "Oceania" in 1999-2004. Statistical analysis yielded relationshipsbetween the total relative (to chlorophyll a concentrations) concentrations of major groups of phytoplankton pigments andoptical depth &tau;, between the total relative concentrations of major groups of photosynthetic pigments (chlorophylls b (Cchl b tot / Cchl a tot), chlorophylls c (Cchl c tot / Cchl a tot)and photosynthetic carotenoids (CPSC tot / Cchl a tot)) and the spectral fitting function (the "chromatic acclimation factor"),and between the total relative concentrations of photoprotective carotenoids (CPPC tot / Cchl a tot) in Baltic waters and the potentially destructive radiation (PDR), defined as the absolute amount of energy in the blue part of the spectrum (400-480 nm) absorbed by unit mass ofchlorophyll a. The best approximations were obtained for the total chlorophyll c content, while the relative estimation errors were thesmallest (&sigma;_ = 34.6%) for the approximation to optical depth and spectral fitting function. The largest errors related to the approximation ofchlorophyll b concentrations: &sigma;_ = 56.7% with respect to optical depth and 57.3% to the spectral fitting function). &nbsp; &nbsp; &nbsp;A comparative analysis of the relative (to chlorophyll a content) concentrations of the main groups of pigments and the corresponding irradiance characteristics in ocean (case 1) waters and Baltic waters (case 2 waters) was also carried out. The distribution of Cchl b tot / Cchl a tot ratios with respect to optical depth reveals a decreasing trend with increasing &tau; for Baltic data, which is characteristic of photoprotective pigments and the reverse of the trend in oceans. In the case of the Cchl c tot approximations, the logarithmic statistical error is lower for Baltic waters than for case 1waters: &sigma;_ = 34.6% for Baltic data and &sigma;_ = 39.4% for ocean data. In relation to photoprotective carotenoids (CPPC), &sigma;_ takes a value of 38.4% forBaltic waters and 36.1% for ocean waters. The relative errors of the approximated concentrations of different pigment groups are larger than those obtainedfor ocean waters. The only exception is chlorophyll c, for which the logarithmic statistical error is about 8.8% lower (&sigma;_ = 34.6% for Baltic waters and 38.2% for ocean waters). Analysis of the errors resulting from the approximations of the photoprotective carotenoid content, depending on the energy characteristicsof the underwater irradiance in the short-range part of PAR, showed that the relative errors are 1.3 times higher for Baltic waters than for ocean waters: &sigma;_ = 38.4%for Baltic waters and 32.0% for ocean waters