Half a century of research on diatoms in athalassic habitats in central Poland

The authors would like to dedicate this paper to Prof. Marcin Pliński who started the phycological research in these unique habitats of Central Poland.Part of the geology in the Łódź province was formed during the Upper Permian period when rich Zechstein salt was deposited. Groundwater drains the deposits and flows out in the village of Pełczyska, creating a unique hydrogeological site in Central Poland. An inland, athalassic ecosystem can be a reference site for halophile microflora. The outflow with surrounding marshes has been an algological research site since 1964. The research reveals changes recorded in diatom assemblages from athalassic habitats, characterized by a wide range of salinity levels, and verifies the tolerance of taxa to salinity. The comparative analysis was based on the diatom material sampled in 1964-1965, 1992-1994 and on recently collected samples. The analysis revealed the temporal change in assemblages caused by a change in the chloride concentration, and the spatial change from one to another habitat type, characterized by varying salinity levels. The halophilic species in the studied habitats included e.g. Halamphora dominici, H. tenerrima, Navicula digitoconvergens, N. meulemansii, Staurophora salina. The analysis of changes allowed the verification of the species’ requirements and tolerance range to the salinity factor. Therefore, in the case of Fragilaria famelica and Halamphora sydowii, we propose a change in the halobion system classification

Planting a seed - child health care nurses’ perceptions of speaking to parents about overweight and obesity : a qualitative study within the STOP project

Background Nurses in child health care (CHC) centers in Sweden play a key role in the early detection and management of childhood overweight/obesity, through meeting families early, regularly and over many years. However, research focusing on CHC nurses’ perceptions of their role in childhood overweight/obesity management is scarce. As part of the EU-funded project “Science and Technology in childhood Obesity Policy” (STOP), this study examines CHC nurses’ perceptions of speaking to parents about children’s overweight/obesity and of their role in referring children to treatment for overweight/obesity. Methods All registered CHC nurses in Stockholm County (n = 442) received an email invitation letter explaining the study. Individual face-to-face visits (n = 15) in selected centers, and phone calls (n = 24) to nurses working in these centres were also conducted. In total, 17 CHC nurses (all female, average work experience 6.7 years (SD ± 4.9 years)) from 10 municipalities (including four of the top five municipalities with the highest prevalence of overweight and obesity) in Stockholm County were interviewed. The interviews were conducted by phone, transcribed and analyzed using thematic analysis. Results Two main themes were developed through the analysis: 1) The relationship between the nurse and the parent and 2) Glitch in the system. Under the first theme, nurses reported that weight-related discussions were facilitated by building and maintaining trust with parents. However, nurses also said they were reluctant to address children’s weights if this could compromise parents’ trust. Under the second theme, nurses highlighted several organizational barriers to addressing a child’s weight with parents, including insufficient cooperation with other healthcare providers and limited time for visits. Nurses also identified lack of sufficient knowledge about what to offer the family and lack of confidence in their communication skills as additional barriers. Conclusions We found that pediatric nurses perceive relational and organizational factors as barriers to address childhood obesity with parents. To improve care, it is necessary to provide nurses with continuing education about obesity and communication skills and organizational support to improve communication within the healthcare system

Adverse reaction after transfusion of Red Blood Cells in a patient aged 97 years - case report

During hospitalization 97 years old patient had blood transfusion. This procedure lead to overload of cardiovascular system. Pharmacotherapy gradually improved the general condition of the patient. The patient was discharged in a stable state. Doubts arise; when blood should be transfused, in which cases should a blood transfusion be discontinued, what should be the recommendation for a blood transfusion for older people over the age of 90. There is a need for further research in geriatrics regarding the transfusion of blood and its components

Do the outcomes of interventions for the treatment of obesity and overweight in children aged under ten years, delivered by a health care professional, vary by socio-demographic characteristics? A review of Cochrane reviews

To review the evidence from five Cochrane systematic reviews of interventions to treat overweight and obesity in children. Applying a social determinants of health perspective and focusing on interventions delivered by health care professionals, for children aged less than ten years, and the challenging phases of interventions including recruitment, adherence and follow-up. The analysis of the social determinants of health is based on the PROGRESS-Plus approach (place of residence, race/ethnicity, occupation, gender, religion, education, socioeconomic status, social capital, age, disability and sexual orientation). The aims are to improve our understanding of the barriers to successful obesity treatment for children, delivered by health care professionals in a setting linked to the provision of health care services, and to identify the characteristics of these children and highlight knowledge gaps. Overarching question: what are the barriers to successful treatment delivered by health care professionals in a setting linked to the provision of health care services for children aged less than ten years, and do these barriers vary by socio-demographic characteristics? Sub-questions: a. What are the best practices management strategies for recruitment to obesity treatments for children aged less than ten years and do these strategies vary by socio-demographic characteristics? b. What are the best practice management strategies for adherence to obesity treatments for children aged less than ten years and do these strategies vary by socio-demographic characteristics? c. What are the best practice management strategies for follow-up in obesity treatment for children aged less than ten years and do these strategies vary by socio-demographic characteristics?This is a protocol for a systematic review

Management of blood infection caused by colonization of the vascular port with klebsiella variicola in case of patient treated with palliative chemotherapy

Klebsiella variicola is a bacterial species that was originally identified as a mild endosymbiont in plants, it occurs in humans and cattle. It is a bacterium that has been discovered relatively recently and research on the broader understanding of the pathogen is still underway. Vascular catheters are very often used to receive chemotherapy by patients. The purpose of this work was to present the management of blood infection caused by colonization of the vascular port with klebsiella varicola. The material described can be used to conduct patient pharmacotherapy. Care for a patient with a vascular port should be developed. There is a need to conduct staff training on: proper care and use of the vascular port and Huber needle for pharmacotherapy. Huber needles could be standard material in the list of required equipment in hospital wards to improve patient care with a vascular port

Obesity related eating behaviour patterns in Swedish preschool children and association with age, gender, relative weight and parental weight - factorial validation of the Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The Children's Eating Behaviour Questionnaire (CEBQ) is a multi-dimensional, parent-reported questionnaire measuring children's eating behaviours related to obesity risk, i.e. 'enjoyment of food', 'food responsiveness', 'slowness in eating' and 'satiety responsiveness'. It has not previously been validated in a Swedish population, neither on children under the age of 2 years. In the present study we examined the factor structure and the reliability of the Swedish version of the CEBQ, for use in an obesity intervention programme targeting preschool children 1-6 years. Further, the associations between eating behaviours and children's age, gender and relative weight (BMI SDS) and parental weight were investigated.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>Parents to 174 children aged 1-6 years (50% girls, mean age 3.8 years), recruited from five kindergartens in Stockholm, completed the Swedish version of the CEBQ. Data on children's weight and height, parental weight, height and educational level was collected. Children's relative weight was calculated for a subpopulation (mean BMI SDS -0.4, n = 47). Factorial validation (Principal Component Analysis) on all CEBQ items was performed. Differences in eating behaviours by age, gender and parental weight were examined. Correlations between eating behaviours and the child's BMI SDS were analysed controlling for age, gender, parental weight and education in linear regression analyses.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>The factor analysis revealed a seven factor solution with good psychometric properties, similar to the original structure. The behaviour scales 'overeating'/'food responsiveness', 'enjoyment of food' and 'emotional undereating' decreased with age and 'food fussiness' increased with age. Eating behaviours did not differ between girls and boys. The children's relative weight was not related to any of the eating behaviours when controlling for age, gender, parental weight and education, and only associated with parental weight status.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>Our results support the use of the CEBQ as a psychometric instrument for assessing children's eating behaviours in Swedish children aged 1-6 years. Measuring obesity related eating behaviours in longitudinal and interventional studies would offer opportunities for studying causal effects of eating behaviours in the development of obesity in children.</p

Cyanobacteria microflora in a limestone spring (Troniny spring, Central Poland)

The paper reports a study of cyanobacterial diversity in a cold-water limestone limnocrene in Central Poland. Samples were collected from 1998 to 2000 and in June 2012. The morphology, population characteristics and species composition of the cyanobacteria assemblages were investigated, and the frequency of taxa was recorded. The large number of taxa identified (30) reflects the microhabitat heterogeneity of this spring. Some species considered epiphytes grew on limestone rocks. The occurrence of the majority of the most frequent taxa was related to the physicochemical characteristics of the spring, but none of them can be considered obligatory crenobionts characteristic of limestone springs. The studied spring is a unique ecosystem with an interesting cyanobacteria microflora whose occurrence is attributable to the spring’s water chemistry, low temperature and variety of microhabitats

Persistent cyanobacteria blooms in artificial water bodies : an effect of environmental conditions or the result of anthropogenic change

Algal blooms are an emerging problem. The massive development of phytoplankton is driven partly by the anthropogenic eutrophication of aquatic ecosystems and the expansion of toxic cyanobacteria in planktonic communities in temperate climate zones by the continual increase in global temperature. Cyanobacterial harmful algal blooms (CyanoHABs) not only disturb the ecological balance of the ecosystem, but they also prevent the use of waterbodies by humans. This study examines the cause of an unusual, persistent bloom in a recreational, flow-through reservoir; the findings emphasize the role played by the river supplying the reservoir in the formation of its massive cyanobacterial bloom. Comprehensive ecosystem-based environmental studies were performed, including climate change investigation, hydrochemical analysis, and bio-assessment of the ecological state of the river/reservoir, together with monitoring the cyanobacteria content of phytoplankton. Our findings show that the persistent and dominant biomass of Microcystis was related to the N/P ratio, while the presence of Aphanizomenon and Dolichospermum was associated with the high-temperature end electric conductivity of water. Together with the increase in global temperature, the massive and persistent cyanobacterial bloom appears to be maintained by the inflow of biogenic compounds carried by the river and the high electric conductivity of water. Even at the beginning of the phenomenon, the reservoir water already contained cyanobacterial toxins, which excluded its recreational use for about half the year