Do local governments in Poland care about the physical activity of the local community? Health promotion activities targeting physical activity organized by local government units

Introduction. When it comes to physical activity, activities at the local government level are extremely important, including, among other things, investing in the development of recreational and sports infrastructure in municipalities and counties, as well as implementing and financing health programs aimed at promoting physical activity among the population. Also, activities at the central level, implemented by the ministries of education, health, or transportation, aiming to implement policies that encourage the public to move, have a significant impact on the level of physical activity among young people. Objective. The study aimed to assess the prevalence of implementation of public health tasks by local government units in Poland, with a particular focus on activities in the area of physical activity. Material and methods. The study was conducted from May 13, 2020, to October 31, 2021. (18 months) in electronic form. The research group consisted of 1,118 representatives of local government offices of two levels: municipal (962 offices; 91.9% of the total) and district (91 offices; 8.1% of the total). According to the state at the time of the survey (as of 01.01.2021), Poland is divided into 16 provinces, 314 counties 2,477 municipalities (302 urban including 66 cities with county rights, 652 urban-rural and 1,523 rural). The survey covered 41.5% of municipalities and 29% of districts in Poland. Results and conclusions. The vast majority of local governments declare that they undertake activities in the area of physical activity, and these activities are often undertaken in cooperation with other local governments. Local governments very rarely implement health policy programs that include interventions in the area of physical activity, and among the reasons for not implementing such activities they usually point to financial and staffing problems

Appearance of quark-hadron duality in the Rein-Sehgal model

Quark-hadron duality in neutrino-nucleon reactions is investigated under the assumption that cross sections in the resonance region are given by the Rein-Sehgal model. The quantitative analysis of the duality is done by means of appropriate integrals of the structure functions in the Nachtmann variable. We conclude that with the definition of the resonance region $W\in (M+m_{\pi}, 2$ GeV) the duality holds for neutrino-proton reaction $F_2$ structure function for $Q^2\in (0.5, 3)$ GeV$^2$ and it is absent for neutrino-neutron reaction.Comment: 4 pages, 7 figures, presented at NuInt05 conference, Okayama, Sept. 26-29, 200

High Species Richness and Extremely Low Abundance of Cumacean Communities Along the Shelf and Slope of the Gulf of Guinea (West Africa)

The Gulf of Guinea belongs to the most scarcely sampled marine basins in the oceans of the world. We have analyzed diversity and distribution patterns of cumacean communities on the shelf and slope, along the coast of Ghana. The material was collected in October and November of 2012 using a van Veen grab (0.1 m2) on nine transects. Six stations were located at each transect (25, 50, 100, 250, 500, and 1,000 m). Sixty-three species of Cumacea were recorded with Leucon and Eocuma as the most speciose genera, with 12 and eight species, respectively. Comparisons of species richness with literature data pointed that the Ghanaian coast hosts very diverse communities. About 95% of species were new to science, and the number of cumacean species known from the West Africa increased by over 100%. Nevertheless, most of the species had extremely low abundance, 13 singletons and 15 doubletons were found. Mean density of cumaceans was estimated at only 1.5 ind./0.1 m2. Species accumulation curve did not reach the asymptotic level, suggesting undersampling, despite the fact that sampling effort was high (250 samples). The highest species richness was recorded in the inner shelf (25–50 m) and on the slope (1,000 m). Cluster analysis separated shallow water communities from deeper regions on the shelf and upper slope. The most unique species composition was found at 1,000 m. Principal component analysis showed the importance of oxygen, sediments, and human-related disturbance for distribution of cumacean communities. In the shallows, oxygen content and presence of gravel were the most important factors structuring communities. In the deeper bottom areas (250–1,000 m), cumacean fauna was affected by local pollution, mainly by higher concentration of barium, other heavy metals, and THC.publishedVersio

Physical activity promotion at the local government level among the local community

Physical inactivity is a major public health issue. For the prevention and management of noncommunicable diseases (NCDs), such as cardiovascular disease, type-2 diabetes, and a number of malignancies, regular physical activity is a critical protective factor. Along with helping to maintain a healthy weight and overall wellbeing, physical activity has positive effects on mental health, including the avoidance of cognitive decline and the symptoms of despair and anxiety. Local governments all across the world have responded to this problem by launching population-level projects that give locals access to exercise opportunities. Local governments, through the implementation of their own tasks of health promotion and protection, carry out public health tasks as defined by the Law of 11 September 2015 on Public Health. These tasks include activities in the area of physical activity.           The aim of the article was to show the role of local government in promoting physical activity among the local community. The article discusses such issues as WHO recommendations for physical activity as well as activities undertaken by local governments in the area of health promotion in the form of health policy programs and activities carried out in cooperation with NGOs