Radix rufescens (J. E. Gray, 1822) (Gastropoda: Lymnaeidae), a new species for Oman and Arabian Peninsula

The fauna of freshwater gastropods of the Arabian Peninsula, a desert land, is neither rich nor extensively studied. Only five species of the family Lymnaeidae have been recorded from this subcontinent so far. In February 2023, a few specimens of Radix rufescens (J. E. Gray, 1822) have been collected from the stream at Wadi Tiwi, NE Oman. The shell, female part of the reproductive organs, prostate, paraeputium and phalloteca are presented. Cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) sequences confirmed the assignment of these specimens to R. rufes- cens, known from Nepal, Bangladesh, and Myanmar, not from the Arabian Peninsula. Either R. rufescens is the sixth lymnaeid species inhabiting Arabia, or at least some of the records of R. natalensis (Krauss, 1848), whose shells are hardly discernible from the ones of R. rufescens, should be interpreted as misidentified R. rufescens. Thousands of years of the trade relations between Oman and India suggest accidental transportation of this snail by trade vessels

Quantitative Investigations about the Surface Texture Characteristics of the Nickel-Carbon Composite Thin Films using Stereometric Analysis

The purpose of this study was to describe the 3-D nano-scaled surface texture of the Nickel–Carbon (Ni–C) nanocomposite thin films composed of Ni nanoparticles with different average sizes embedded in amorphous hydrogenated carbon using stereometric analysis. The 3-D nanoscaled surface texture was studied by atomic force microscopy (AFM) and stereometric analysis. In a wider context, we also discuss our findings with regard to manufacture of the Nickel-Carbon composite thin films with desired surface characteristics

Tourist routes as a tourism product stimulating the development of tourism in Poland

Tourist routes combine cultural and natural heritage and are an inseparable element of tourism space and cultural landscape. In Poland the significance of tourist trails as a tourism product contributing to the development of the tourism economy has increased. The primary aim of this paper was to design a tourist trail combining natural and anthropogenic values. The research was conducted in the commune of Kcynia located in Kuyavian-Pomeranian voivodeship and consists of a town and 54 villages. The work makes use of the valorisation method, Wejchert’s impression curve. The results show that the Kcynia commune has sufficient natural and cultural values for developing tourism, but its tourism potential is not fully utilised in comparison with that of other communes. First of all, it lacks a well-developed tourism infrastructure. The proposed tourist routes would – in a relatively inexpensive and non-invasive way – enhance the potential and interest of the commune and improve the income of its inhabitants. In addition, it would raise interest in tourism and leisure tourism

Polish Discourse Corpus (PDC): Corpus Design, ISO-Compliant Annotation, Data Highlights, and Parser Development

This paper presents the Polish Discourse Corpus, a pioneering resource of this kind for Polish and the first corpus in Poland to employ the ISO standard for discourse relation annotation. The Polish Discourse Corpus adopts ISO 24617-8, a segment of the Language Resource Management – Semantic Annotation Framework (SemAF), which outlines a set of core discourse relations adaptable for diverse languages and genres. The paper overviews the corpus architecture, annotation procedures, the challenges that the annotators have encountered, as well as key statistical data concerning discourse relations and connectives in the corpus. It further discusses the initial phases of the discourse parser tailored for the ISO 24617-8 framework. Evaluations on the efficacy and potential refinement areas of the corpus annotation and parsing strategies are also presented. The final part of the paper touches upon anticipated research plans to improve discourse analysis techniques in the project and to conduct discourse studies involving multiple languages

Zmiany w agresji i stresie u sprawców i ofiar przemocy domowej pod wpływem procedury „Niebieskie Karty”

The aim of the research was to verify whether the actions which have been taken within the framework of the “Blue Cards” procedure towards the families affected by domestic violence are an effective psychotherapeutic support. The two factors which may have influence on the occurrence of the phenomenon of domestic violence within a family system were examined, namely level of stress and aggression syndrome among partners of intimate relationship. Participants in the study were 30 female victims of domestic violence (mean age  40 years old) and 30 male perpetrators of domestic violence (mean age 37 years old). Aggression syndrome was measured by using the Inventory of Psychological Aggression Syndrome (IPSA II) and stress level was assessed by the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS – 10). The test-retest procedure was used in the prospective study. Both aggression and stress were measured twice: at baseline, and after six months from the beginning of the “Blue Cards” procedure. Participants have evaluated their own aggression syndrome and level of stress, and also they have estimated the aggression syndrome of his/her partner’s. Nonparametric statistical tests have been used for group comparisons. The results show that active participation in assistant activities decreased the level of stress in the group of victims of domestic violence, and the scale of aggression syndrome in the group of violence users. The procedure “Blue Cards” is an effective method of support people who are both victims and perpetrators of domestic violence.Celem badania było sprawdzenie, czy działania podjęte w ramach procedury „Niebieskie Karty” wobec rodzin dotkniętych przemocą w rodzinie stanowią skuteczną pomoc psychoterapeutyczną. Analizie poddano dwa czynniki, które mogą mieć wpływ na występowanie zjawiska przemocy domowej w systemie rodzinnym, mianowicie poziom stresu i syndrom agresji wśród partnerów w bliskich związkach. W badaniu wzięło udział 30 kobiet będących ofiarami przemocy domowej (średni wiek 40 lat) i 30 mężczyzn będących sprawcami przemocy domowej (średni wiek 37 lat). Syndrom agresji mierzono za pomocą Inwentarza Psychologicznego Syndromu Agresji (IPSA II), a poziom stresu oceniano za pomocą Skali Odczuwanego Stresu (PSS - 10). W badaniu prospektywnym zastosowano procedurę test-retest. Zarówno agresję, jak i stres mierzono dwukrotnie: na początku i po sześciu miesiącach od rozpoczęcia procedury „Niebieskie karty”. Uczestnicy ocenili zespół agresji i poziom stresu u siebie, a także oszacowali syndrom agresji u swojego partnera. Do porównań międzygrupowych zastosowano nieparametryczne testy statystyczne. Wyniki wskazują, że aktywne uczestnictwo w działaniach pomocowych w ramach procedury „Niebieskie Karty” obniżyło poziom stresu w grupie ofiar przemocy domowej oraz syndrom agresji w grupie osób stosujących przemoc. Procedura „Niebieskie karty” jest skuteczną metodą pracy z osobami będącymi (nie można chyba nazwać samej  procedury terapią, jest to raczej działanie, którego celem jest podjęcie terapii) zarówno ofiarami, jak i sprawcami przemocy domowej

Exercise Training in Patients With Non-Small Cell Lung Cancer During In-Hospital Chemotherapy Treatment: A RANDOMIZED CONTROLLED TRIAL.

PurposeThe aim of this study was to perform a randomized trial to assess the impact of exercise training in patients with non-small cell lung cancer during chemotherapy on several outcomes in comparison to a control group (CG).MethodsThe exercise training group (ETG) consisted of 20 patients and the CG consisted of 10 patients. In the ETG, a 4-wk in-hospital exercise training program was performed in 2-wk cycles interspersed with consecutive rounds of chemotherapy with cytostatic drugs. The exercise training program was individualized and included warm-up, respiratory muscle exercise, training on a cycle ergometer or treadmill, and Nordic walking. CG participants were assessed before and after 6 wk of chemotherapy alone.ResultsComparing pre- and post-intervention values, the ETG demonstrated an increase in 6-min walk distance (486 ± 92 vs 531 ± 103 m, P = .01). In a battery of physical performance tests: Up and Go Test (6.3 ± 1.0 vs 6.0 ± 1.1 sec, P = .01); chair stand (13.3 ± 2.8 vs 14.3 ± 3.4 repetitions, P = .001); and arm curl (18.4 ± 3.1 vs 20.4 ± 3.5 repetitions, P = .001) all improved significantly. Spirometry values also improved: FEV1 % predicted (76 ± 16 vs 84 ± 15, P = .01), FVC % predicted (87 ± 14 vs 95 ± 13, P = .01), and FEV1/FVC (73 ± 13% vs 76 ± 12%, P = .04). The exercise training was well tolerated, without any adverse events due to exercise. There were no significant improvements in the CG.ConclusionsThis study suggests that planned, individualized, and supervised exercise programs in patients with advanced lung cancer during chemotherapy are a practical and beneficial intervention for enhancing mobility and physical fitness

On the Significance of New Biochemical Markers for the Diagnosis of Premature Labour

Preterm labour is defined as a birth taking place between 22nd and 37th weeks of gestation. Despite numerous studies on the aetiology and pathogenesis of preterm labour, its very cause still remains unclear. The importance of the cytokines and acute inflammation in preterm labour aetiology is nowadays well-proven. However, chronic inflammation as an element of the pathogenesis of premature labour is still unclear. This paper presents a literature review on the damage-associated molecular patterns (DAMPs), receptors for advanced glycation end products (RAGE), negative soluble isoforms of RAGE, chemokine-stromal cell-derived factor-1 (SDF-1) and one of the adipokines, resistin, in the pathogenesis of preterm labour. We conclude that the chronic inflammatory response can play a much more important role in the pathogenesis of preterm delivery than the acute one

Application of Hyphenated Techniques in Speciation Analysis of Arsenic, Antimony, and Thallium

Due to the fact that metals and metalloids have a strong impact on the environment, the methods of their determination and speciation have received special attention in recent years. Arsenic, antimony, and thallium are important examples of such toxic elements. Their speciation is especially important in the environmental and biomedical fields because of their toxicity, bioavailability, and reactivity. Recently, speciation analytics has been playing a unique role in the studies of biogeochemical cycles of chemical compounds, determination of toxicity and ecotoxicity of selected elements, quality control of food products, control of medicines and pharmaceutical products, technological process control, research on the impact of technological installation on the environment, examination of occupational exposure, and clinical analysis. Conventional methods are usually labor intensive, time consuming, and susceptible to interferences. The hyphenated techniques, in which separation method is coupled with multidimensional detectors, have become useful alternatives. The main advantages of those techniques consist in extremely low detection and quantification limits, insignificant interference, influence as well as high precision and repeatability of the determinations. In view of their importance, the present work overviews and discusses different hyphenated techniques used for arsenic, antimony, and thallium species analysis, in different clinical, environmental and food matrices

A new species of Kerkia Radoman, 1978 (Caenogastropoda, Hydrobiidae) from Bosnia and Herzegovina

A new species of Kerkia, K. briani Rysiewska & Osikowski, sp. nov. is described from the spring Polički Studenac Vrelo (Crkvina), adjacent to the Trebišnjica River (Bosnia and Herzegovina) collected with Bou-Rouch technique, pumped from an interstitial habitat 50 cm below the bottom of the spring. The shell, female reproductive organs, and the penis are described and illustrated. Mitochondrial cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COI) and nuclear histone H3 partial sequences confirm the distinctness of the new species, and molecularly based phylogenetic relationships of Kerkia are briefly presented