Gonad maturity in female Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis from the southern Baltic Sea – the first description of ovigerous females and the embryo developmental stage

AbstractThis paper describes for the first time the gonad maturity stage of Eriocheir sinensis females (carapace width 55.20–78.10mm) collected in the autumns and winters of 2005–2012 in the Gulf of Gdańsk and Vistula Lagoon (southern Baltic Sea). Seventeen females had gonads in the penultimate stage, which indicates that spawning would shortly take place. Four other females had gonads in the last stage, which means they were already carrying eggs. These accounted, on average, for 17.9 ± 2.9% of female weight and were in the 3rd and 4th embryo developmental stage. The results show that the low salinity of southern Baltic Sea (≤ 7 PSU) permits mating and fertilization as well as embryo development in E. sinensis. It is still not clear, whether such a salinity level will enable hatching and the complete larval cycle

Evaluation of the Quality of Tourist Packages in Tunisia by Polish Tourists: A Case Study Using the SERVPERF Method

Polish tourists who decide to spend a holiday in various countries can be classified as ‘institutionalised’ tourists. They mostly choose tourist packages proposed by tour operators and their quality is one of the determinants of purchase. Although there have been many attempts at assessing the quality of single tourism services/products, no consistent methods for evaluation of the quality of services in a tourist package have been developed so far. Therefore, the present study proposes a subjective consumerbased research procedure to assess the quality of such a package. The procedure was prepared based on the example of an assessment of Tunisia tourist packages chosen by Polish tourists. The study procedure included the assumptions and principles of the SERVPERF method as well as a diagnostic survey and the use of descriptive statistics. The results are a starting point for formulating recommendations for tour operators offering Polish tourists basic packages in Tunisia

Ocena jakości pakietu turystycznego Tunezji przez polskich turystów metodą SERVPERF – studium przypadku

W artykule zaproponowano procedurę badawczą służącą ocenie jakości usług składających na pakiet turystyczny w układzie podmiotowym. Procedurę przygotowano na przykładzie oceny pakietu pobytowego do Tunezji wybieranego przez polskich turystów. W postępowaniu badawczym uwzględniono założenia i zasady metod SERVPERF z uwzględnieniem sondażu diagnostycznego oraz z wykorzystaniem podstawowych narzędzi statystyki opisowej. Uzyskane wyniki badań stanowią punkt wyjścia do przygotowania rekomendacji dla touroperatorów proponujących polskim turystom pakiety podstawowe do Tunezji

Środowiskowe aspekty procesów poszukiwania i wydobycia gazu ze złóż niekonwencjonalnych typu shale gas

Shale gas exploration and extraction processes create a potential threat for all environmental elements like air and noise emissions, contamination of surface and groundwater, soil pollutions, production of different types of waste, or increasing water consumption. The degree of potential environmental impact depends especially on location and size of a drilling rig, level of urbanization of an area, sensitivity of environment to pollution, and type of technological operations which depends on shale formation. The paper presents the main environmental hazards during shale gas exploration and extraction processes and ways of its reduction. Explain how investors can resolve problems with flowback water qualification, prepare drilling rig area or store hazardous materials and chemicals. Generally, the impacts of drilling processes on the environment are well recognized. Legal compliance with environmental legislation and procedures like Health Safety & Environment Management System or Environmental Management Systems can minimalize potential damages

Psychospołeczne aspekty trudnego ojcostwa (na przykładzie uczestników grup wsparcia dla mężczyzn w kryzysie małżeńskim w Krakowie, Katowicach, Poznaniu i Warszawie)

Ze wstępu: "Zainteresowana książką autora R. Kucharskiego pt. Zerwane więzi. Tata.pl 2, w której opisane są losy ojców walczących o kontakt z dzieckiem oraz ojców samotnie wychowujących dziecko/ci postanowiłam bliżej przyjrzeć się specyfice tego problemu i poprzez własne badania pogłębić zagadnienie. Chcąc poznać rzeczywistą sytuację skontaktowałam się z panem R. Kucharskim. Zostałam zaproszona przez niego na spotkanie z ojcami i od tamtej pory regularnie uczęszczałam na grupy wsparcia dla mężczyzn w kryzysie małżeńskim. Poznałam tam wiele ciekawych osobistości, zdeterminowanych i kochających własne dzieci ponad wszystko. Te spotkania umożliwiły mi uzyskanie wiarygodnego obrazu badanego przeze mnie problemu oraz pogłębiły moją wiedzę z zakresu problemów społecznych. "(...

Muza Alberta Inesa. Maryjny cykl ód w Lyricorum centuria I (1655)

Muza Alberta Inesa.Maryjny cykl ód w Lyricorum centuria I (1655

The role of the βKlotho gene in uterine endometrial cancer

Objectives: Endometrial cancer is the most common cancer of the female genital organs in developed countries, accounting for approximately 50% of all gynecological cancers. The Klotho gene was discovered in 1997 as an anti-aging gene that, when overexpressed, may extend the lifespan, but when disrupted, may be a factor responsible for premature aging syndrome. The aim of the study is to assess the relationship between the clinical and pathological features of endometrial cancer and βKlotho gene expression.Material and methods: The expression of βKlotho gene was studied in 138 cases of endometrioid endometrial carcinoma specimens using Real Time PCR reaction in RNA isolated tissue samples by commercial tests. The expression profile was correlated with the clinicopathological characteristics of endometrial carcinoma. The chi-square independence test and Fisher’s test for four-field tables were used to assess the statistical significance of the observed relationships.Results: Significant relationships were found between βKlotho gene expression and FIGO clinical stage, the degree of histological differentiation and the presence of metastases in the lymph nodes. Higher levels of gene expression correlate with lower degrees of clinical staging according to FIGO, the presence of highly-differentiated endometrial cancer (G1) and the absence of lymph node metastases.Conclusions: The βKlotho gene expression might be involved in endometrioid endometrial cancer tumorgenesis. TheβKlotho may in future be used as an useful indicator for endometrial cancer, although further studies are needed

Epibiotic mites associated with the invasive Chinese mitten crab Eriocheir sinensis – new records of Halacaridae from Poland **This research was supported by grant No. N304 082 31/3219 from the Polish Ministry of Education and Science.

AbstractSeven epibiotic halacarid mites (Caspihalacarus hyrcanus, two species of Copidognathus, Halacarellus petiti, Porohalacarus alpinus, Soldanellonyx monardi and S. chappuisi), two oribatid mites (Hydrozetes lacustris and Trhypochthoniellus longisetus) and one water mite (Piona pusilla) were found on the setae-covered claws of eighteen Chinese mitten crabs (Eriocheir sinensis) collected from fresh and brackish waters in Poland and Germany. The most abundant of the 111 mite individuals recorded was one of the Copidognathus species (N=52); this was followed by H. petiti (N=38) and C. hyrcanus (N=13). This is the first record of H. petiti and of the genus Copidognathus from Polish waters. The possibility of migrating over long distances assisted by catadromous mitten crabs enhances mite dispersal, as well as their introduction to new environments

Depopulacja obszarów wiejskich w skali lokalnej. Przypadek województwa lubelskiego

The article focuses on the issue of the structure and organization of the rural settlement network. An original research procedure was developed in the field of local settlement analysis, i.e. the focus was on changes taking place in the lowest­level local government units. The issue of depopulation was addressed on an intra­municipal scale. The following research questions were formulated: does depopulation affect all settlement units in rural communes? What types of communes can we distinguish in terms of demographic differences between towns? and what are the reasons for the differences between settlement units? The considerations refer to the concept of key settlements, which is important for spatial planning. Therefore, a hypothesis was formulated which assumed that the number of communes in which, despite general depopulation, there is an increase in some settlements, is large enough to determine the basic regularities of settlement transformations. The topic discussed in the article has important implications for the current and future organization of local settlement structures. It was found that in the vast majority of communes in the Lublin Voivodeship, all rural settlements lost residents in the first two decades of the 21st century. It has been noticed that demographic growth in some towns in the areas of municipalities that are generally depopulating is taking place in the suburban zones of smaller centers, although it is difficult, due to the non­common nature of the phenomenon, to determine spatial regularities in this respect. In our opinion, it is also worth paying attention to villages that do not officially have urban status, although they show many such features. Some of them have received city rights in recent years. The development of these settlements in rural areas in the context of the concept of key settlements should be thoroughly examined in subsequent studies in this field.W artykule skoncentrowano się na zagadnieniu struktury i organizacji wiejskiej sieci osadniczej. Opracowano oryginalne postępowanie badawcze w zakresie analizy lokalnej osadnictwa, tj. skupiono się na zmianach zachodzących w jednostkach samorządu terytorialnego najniższego szczebla. Kwestię depopulacji podjęto w skali wewnątrzgminnej. Sformułowano następujące pytania badawcze: czy depopulacja dotyczy wszystkich jednostek osadniczych w gminach wiejskich? jakie typy gmin pod względem różnic demograficznych pomiędzy miejscowościami możemy wyróżnić? jakie są przyczyny występujących różnic pomiędzy jednostkami osadniczymi? Rozważania odnoszą się do istotnej dla planowania przestrzennego koncepcji osiedli kluczowych (key settlements). Sformułowano zatem hipotezę, w której założono, że liczba gmin, w których pomimo ogólnej depopulacji mamy do czynienia ze wzrostem niektórych osiedli, jest odpowiednio duża do określenia podstawowych prawidłowości przekształceń osadniczych. Temat poruszony w artykule jest ważny dla bieżącej i przyszłej organizacji lokalnych struktur osadniczych. Stwierdzono, że w większości gmin województwa lubelskiego wszystkie osiedla wiejskie traciły mieszkańców w pierwszych dwóch dekadach XXI w. Zauważono, że wzrost demograficzny w niektórych miejscowościach na obszarach gmin generalnie wyludniających się ma miejsce w strefach podmiejskich mniejszych ośrodków, choć trudno, ze względu na niepowszechny charakter zjawiska, stwierdzić w tym zakresie prawidłowości. Naszym zdaniem warto również zwrócić uwagę na wsie, które oficjalnie nie mają statusu miejskiego, choć wykazują wiele takich cech. Część z nich w ostatnich latach otrzymała prawa miejskie. Rozwój tych osiedli na terenach wiejskich w kontekście koncepcji kluczowych osiedli powinien być wnikliwie zbadany w kolejnych studiach z tego zakresu

Eye movements in essential tremor patients with parkinsonian and cerebellar signs

Apart from intention tremor essential tremor (ET) patients may display other cerebellar signs, like dysmetria or tandem gait disturbances as well as parkinsonian signs like resting tremor, cogwheel sign, subtle bradykinesia. Previous reports claimed the occurrence of the eye movement abnormalities characteristic for dysfunction of cerebellar dorsal vermis in ET patients with concomitant cerebellar signs. There are no previous reports evaluating the eye movement abnormalities in ET patients with concomitant parkinsonian signs. The objective of this study was to determine the relationship between the occurrence of parkinsonian and cerebellar signs and the oculomotor abnormalities in ET patients. Method Fifty ET patients including 6 (12.0%) patients with concomitant parkinsonian signs (ET-P), 20 (40.0%) patients with cerebellar signs (ET-C), 7 (14.0%) with mixed parkinsonian and cerebellar signs (ET-M), 17 (34.0%) patients with the only tremor (ET-T) together with 42 healthy controls were included to the study. Reflexive, pace-induced and cued saccades were recorded using Saccadometer Advanced. Smooth pursuit and fixation were tested using EOG. Results Latency of pace-induced saccades was significantly longer in ET-C and ET-M patients compared to ET-T and ET-P patients. Latency of cued saccades was significantly longer in ET-M patients compared to ET-T. There were no significant differences of the eye movement parameters between ET-P patients compared to ET-T patients. Conclusion In ET patient with concomitant cerebellar signs prolonged volitional saccades latency was detected. There are no particular differences in the eye movements in ET patients with concomitant parkinsonian signs compared to ET patients without concomitant signs