500th anniversary of the birth of the precursor of modern cardiology: Josephus Struthius Polonus (1510–1568

In this article, the authors take a closer look at the figure of Josephus Struthius Polonus (1510– –1568), one of the most famous physicians of the European Renaissance, on the 500th anniversary of his birth. Struthius became famous for his critical analysis of Galen’s works and his own research into the circulatory system. The analysis of Struthius’s scientific achievements leads to a conclusion that he was one of the pioneers of modern cardiology. He was a precursor of William Harvey (1578–1657) in studying the cardiovascular system, and the first person in the history of European medicine to present the pulse in a graphic form. He also presented similar ideas to those proposed in the 19th century by the inventor of the sphygmograph Karl von Vierodt (1818–1884), and the inventor of the polygraph Sir James Mackenzie (1853–1925). (Cardiol J 2011; 18, 5: 581–586

Care concept in medical and nursing students' descriptions: philosophical approach and implications for medical education

Introduction. Care is seen as something that is peculiar to the medical sciences but its meaning and status for physicians and nurses differs. Objectives. The aim of this research was to learn how nursing and medical students understand and define care, and how their definition and views on their practice of caring change as they advance through their studies. Material and methods. The study was conducted among two groups of students: before and after their first practicum (n=102). Analysis of the students' answers was carried out using Colaizzi's phenomenological descriptive methodology, which means that a qualitative approach was used. Results. The qualitative analysis shows that the medical and nursing students define care in the same way, using 9 main categories: compassion, commitment, competence, confidence, conscience, communication, patience, courage and support. The nursing students viewed their caring to be within both practical and emotional dimensions and this was a core feature of their identity as nurses. Medical students, on the other hand, viewed the practical dimension of care as an additional activity. All the students in the study underlined the importance of having time to care and showed that, for them, 'time' in this context has a moral meaning. What was interesting to the research team centered on the initial attitudes to 'caring' from both medical and nursing students. Conclusions. We found that students of both nursing and medicine do not begin their studies with different attitudes and concepts of care. However, after their initial exposure to practical placements a process begins which forges different identities around the concept of care. This implies trends in the division of professional roles during their initial education

Population biobanking in selected European countries and proposed model for a Polish national DNA bank

Population biobanks offer new opportunities for public health, are rudimentary for the development of its new branch called Public Health Genomics, and are important for translational research. This article presents organizational models of population biobanks in selected European countries. Review of bibliography and websites of European population biobanks (UK, Spain, Estonia). Some countries establish national genomic biobanks (DNA banks) in order to conduct research on new methods of prevention, diagnosis and treatment of the genetic and lifestyle diseases and on pharmacogenetic research. Individual countries have developed different organizational models of these institutions and specific legal regulations regarding various ways of obtaining genetic data from the inhabitants, donors’ rights, organizational and legal aspects. Population biobanks in European countries were funded in different manners. In light of these solutions, the authors discuss prospects of establishing a Polish national genomic biobank for research purpose. They propose the creation of such an institution based on the existing network of blood-donation centres and clinical biobanks in Poland

Social attitudes towards the pharmacist's right to conscientious objection – research on the Polish population

Introduction: The right to conscientious objection in the pharmacist profession, as in the case of other medical professions, has been the subject of a lively ethical and legal discussion in Poland and abroad for many years. This is related to the introduction to pharmacy trade of products and devices whose purpose of use or mechanism of action is inconsistent with the religious beliefs or moral convictions of some pharmacists. Pharmacists practicing in Poland do not have the so-called conscience clause in law regulating their professional activity, but there are attempts to introduce such a legal solution similarly to the doctors and nurses. Aim: The aim of our study was to analyze the attitudes of Polish society towards the conscientious objection of pharmacists. We tested the hypotheses that social attitudes may vary depending on the circumstances and are modified by psychological and sociodemographic variables, such as: perception of the prestige of the pharmacist profession, tendency to seek advice from pharmacists, age, gender, education, financial conditions, health status and place of residence. Material and methods: The research was conducted on a group of 600 people over 18 years of age. The sample was representative of the Polish population. A mix mode technique was used based on personal and telephone interviews, i.e. 84% CAPI (Computer Assisted Personal Interview) and 16% CATI (Computer Assisted Telephone Interviewing). Respondents were asked whether a pharmacist, guided by his or her own conscience, could refuse to sell selected products or devices such as: hormonal contraceptives, morning-after pills and intrauterine devices. Results: The majority (78-86% - depending on the case) of respondents believe that a pharmacist has no right to refuse to sell a product or device available in pharmacies. A small number of respondents indicated that the pharmacist has the right to refuse to sell contraceptives (2.7%, n=16), intrauterine device (8.7%, n=52), post-coital pill (10.5%, n=63). Statistically significant differences were observed between the level of acceptance of the pharmacist's conscientious objection in different cases: refusal to dispense hormonal contraceptives (Me=0.14), for intrauterine devices (Me=0.21) and post-coital pills (Me=0.25) (p=0.01). The acceptance of conscientious objection by pharmacists correlates statistically significantly negatively with the respondents' age, financial conditions, level of perceived prestige of the pharmacist profession, and positively with the tendency to consult OTC medicines with pharmacists. There was no relationship with education, health status and place of residence, and no differences between women and men. Conclusions: The level of social acceptance for introducing a conscience clause into laws regulating the practice of the pharmacist profession seems to be low. However, it varies depending on the type of pharmaceutical product or medical device, which may result from the perception of a different mechanism of action, which may be morally objectionable to a greater or lesser extent. The level of social acceptance of the pharmacist's right to conscientious objection is also dependent on the social perception of the pharmacist's role, and is also modified by psychological and sociodemographic variables such as: perception of the pharmacist's prestige, tendency to consult a pharmacist when purchasing medications, as well as age and financial conditions

Climatic Risk and Distribution Atlas of European Bumblebees

Bumble bees represent one of the most important groups of pollinators. In addition to their ecological and economic relevance, they are also a highly charismatic group which can help to increase the interest of people in realizing, enjoying and conserving natural systems. However, like most animals, bum- ble bees are sensitive to climate. In this atlas, maps depicting potential risks of climate change for bumble bees are shown together with informative summary statistics, ecological back- ground information and a picture of each European species. Thanks to the EU FP7 project STEP, the authors gathered over one million bumblebee records from all over Europe. Based on these data, they modelled the current climatic niche for almost all European species (56 species) and projected future climatically suitable conditions using three climate change scenarios for the years 2050 and 2100. While under a moderate change scenario only 3 species are projected to be at the verge of extinction by 2100, 14 species are at high risk under an intermediate change scenario. Under a most severe change scenario as many as 25 species are projected to lose almost all of their climatically suitable area, while a total of 53 species (77% of the 69 European species) would lose the main part of their suitable area. Climatic risks for bumblebees can be extremely high, depending on the future development of human society, and the corresponding effects on the climate. Strong mitigation strategies are needed to preserve this important species group and to ensure the sustainable provision of pollination services, to which they considerably contribute

Associations between the Willingness to Donate Samples to Biobanks and Selected Psychological Variables

Over the past few decades, there has been a dynamic development of biobanks collecting human biological material and data. Advances in biomedical research based on biobanks, however, are highly dependent on the successful enrolment and participation of human subjects. Therefore, it is crucial to recognise those factors affecting the willingness of individuals to participate in biomedical research. There are very few studies pointing to the role of trust, preferred values and specific psychological factors. The aim of our study was the analysis of the most significant relationships between selected moral and psychological variables (i.e., preferred values, types of trust and personality) and willingness to donate biological material to biobanks. The research was carried out on a Polish representative national sample of 1100 people over 18 years of age. Statistical methods with regression models were used during the analyses. The willingness to donate samples to a biobank was associated with different types of trust and specific values. Based on regression analysis, the most important factors related to the willingness to donate material to biobanks seemed to be (1) trust towards scientists and doctors and (2) selected preferred values such as knowledge, self-development and tradition. Other values or personality traits did not seem to be as important in this context. The obtained results can be useful in building the social responsibility of biobankers and scientists, issuing more appropriate opinions by research ethics committees and planning better communication strategies between participants and biobanks

Methodological Problems in the Research on the Relationship Between Religiosity and Health

The article presents the most important methodological problems, which appear in the research on the relationship between religiosity and health. It describes matters concerning the definition of religiosity, and spirituality and the research methods used in measuring them (indicating those that would be most appropriate for the Polish society). Finally, the article discusses the difficulties concerning the cause-and-effect relationship between religiosity and health, and the difficulties connected to creating a theoretical model explaining the mechanisms of influence of religiosity on health.W artykule przedstawiono najważniejsze problemy metodologiczne pojawiające się w badaniach nad związkiem pomiędzy religijnością a zdrowiem. Omówiono kwestie związane z definiowaniem pojęcia religijności i duchowości oraz metody stosowane w pomiarze religijności i duchowości wskazując narzędzia najbardziej adekwatne do polskich warunków. Na końcu omówiono problem wnioskowania o związku przyczynowo-skutkowym pomiędzy religijnością a zdrowiem oraz kwestie związane z opracowaniem modelu teoretycznego wyjaśniającego mechanizm oddziaływania religijności na zdrowie