Relationship between Greenness and Health Indicators in Urban Patients with Heart Failure

The environment has a significant impact on a person’s general well-being. Distance to green space has been found to be an important factor influencing health. Urban green spaces enhance people’s quality of life and physical and mental health. According to recent research, living near green space may reduce one’s risk of developing cancer, cardiovascular and respiratory diseases, as well as other harmful health issues. In this study, the health data was collected in 2007– 2009 in Kaunas, Lithuania. The study participants (144) randomly were divided into two groups, control, and trained groups. Long-term aerobic physical training was applied to the exposure group. General clinical, echocardiography, and spiroergometry parameters were evaluated for the study participants. Greenness was estimated from satellite-derived normalized difference vegetation index (NDVI) in zones with radii of 1 km, 1.5 km, and 2 km surrounding the participants’ residences. To assess the effect of greenness on the effects of rehabilitation, changes in health indicators during a period of 6 months in the groups of low/high greenness environment were presented separately for participants in control and training group. For this purpose, the paired t-test was used. For changes in patient characteristics, the effect of greenness within a radius of 1.5 km was stronger, also the effect within a radius of 1 km was similar. It was discovered that in the trained group, people who lived in high greenness experienced the best increases in the distance walked over the course of six minutes (6 MWT) and a decrease in the mean heart rate. Spiroergometry indication improvements were notable and more pronounced for residents of high greenness areas. After 6 months, a decrease in echocardiographic indicators was found when living in low greenness. Living in low greenness was found to raise diastolic blood pressure and reduce 6 MWT in the control group. Only the control group’s ejection fraction was non-significant alterations in the low greenness environment. It can be concluded that greater greenness, according to NDVI, may lead to better rehabilitation outcomes for heart failure patients undergoing an aerobic exercise training program

Programų paketo "Statistika" taikymas aplinkos tyrimų duomenų analizei : mokymo priemonė magistrantams ir doktorantams

Bibliogr.: p. 60Vytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Statistiniai metodai aplinkotyroje

Vytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Preterm births and Solar-geomagnetic activity in Solar minimum phase

Aplinkotyros katedraVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Statistiniai metodai medicinoje : bendrasis vadovėlis aukštosioms mokykloms

Recenzentai: prof. dr. A.Aksomaitis (KTU); prof. dr. J.Sapagovas (KMU). ŠMM rekomenduota 2008 11 21, nr. 08-429Vadovėlyje pateikti ir pavyzdžiais iliustruoti statistikos metodai, skirti medicinos duomenų analizei. Be standartinių statistikos metodų, vadovėlyje pateikti medikams aktualūs metodai - išgyvenamumo analizė, duomenų kokybės, rizikos vertinimas. Pateikti statistikos metodai gali būti taikomi ir kitų biomedicinos sričių duomenims apdoroti. Vadovėlyje paliesti ir kai kurie paskutiniais dešimtmečiais populiarėjantys apibendrinti tiesiniai modeliai, daugiapakopiai modeliai, Puasono regresija, atitikimų analizė, kanoninė koreliacija, todėl jis gali būti naudingas ir taikomosios matematikos specialybių studentamsGamtos mokslų fakultetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Impact of climate factors on radial increment of Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) growing in city parks and forest parks in Lithuania

Užterštoje aplinkoje klimato veiksnių (temperatūros bei kritulių kiekio) poveikis medžių augimui bei ryšiai tarp radialiojo prieaugio ir klimato rodiklių pakinta. Vilniaus ir Kauno parkuose ir miško parkuose 9 tyrimo objektuose parinkta 202 apskaitos pušys, jų amžius – 160–180 metų. Siekiant išsiaiškinti, ar augant miestų gyventojų populiacijai didėjanti oro tarša turėjo įtakos paprastosios pušies (Pinus sylvestris L.) radialiojo prieaugio ir klimato veiksnių priklausomybei, buvo analizuoti pušų radialiojo prieaugio indeksų ryšiai su klimato rodikliais (įvairių mėnesių vidutine temperatūra bei kritulių kiekiu) 1915–1960 m. ir 1960–2006 m. laikotarpiais. 1915–1960 m. paprastosios pušų radialiojo prieaugio formavimuisi reikšmingą (p0,05). Tyrimo rezultatai parodė, kad radialiojo prieaugio ir klimato sąlygų priklausomybė, miestuose didėjant oro taršai, nepakito, o tai rodo, jog aplinkos būklė Lietuvos miestuose išlieka sąlyginai geraTree response towards the impact of climatic factors (temperature and amount of precipitation) and the relation between radial increment and climatic parameters changes in a polluted environment. 202 sample pines were selected in 9 sample plots in parks and forest parks in Vilnius and Kaunas cities, control stand was selected in Lekėčiai forest district. Sample pines were 160–180 year old. In order to estimate if increasing air pollution in cities influenced relations between Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) radial increment and climatic parameters, correlations between pine radial increment indexes and mean month's temperature, and amount of precipitation were analysed in 1915–1960 and 1960–2006. Results of correlation analysis between pine radial increment and various month's temperature showed that pine radial increment formation was statistically significant (p0.00) in majority of cases in 1915–1960 and 1960–2006 year periods. Results of the research showed that the relation between pine radial increment and climate parameters did not change as habitant population was growing and air pollution was increasing in cities, which shows that until present the state of environment in Lithuanian cities remained relatively goodAplinkotyros katedraVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Sieros ir azoto dioksidų koncentracijos įtaka miestuose augančios paprastosios pušies (Pinus sylvestris L.) radialiojo prieaugio dinamikai

Medžiai, augantys miestų ir miškų parkuose yra veikiami ilgalaikės didesnės oro taršos nei augantys sąlygiškai švarioje aplinkoje. Miškų ir miestų parkai atlieka daugelį reikšmingų funkcijų, todėl yra svarbu ištirti medžių atsaką į aplinką rūgštinančių teršalų (SO2 ir NO2) koncentracijos pokyčius. Tyrimo objektais buvo pasirinkti paprastosios pušies (Pinus sylvestris L.) apskaitos medžiai, augantys Kauno ir Vilniaus miestų želdiniuose. Medienos gręžiniai buvo surinkti iš 330 apskaitos pušų 15-oje tyrimo plotelių Kauno mieste ir iš 480 apskaitos pušų 20-yje tyrimo plotelių Vilniaus mieste. Siekiant pašalinti amžiaus įtaką medžių radialiajam prieaugiui nepanaikinant neigiamo antropogeninės taršos poveikio, miestuose augančių pušų radialiojo prieaugio dendroskalės buvo pakeistos į radialiojo prieaugio santykio sekas. NO2 ir SO2 koncentracijos ore sumažėjimas galėjo lemti pušų radialiojo prieaugio padidėjimą 1990–2006 m.: reikšmingas ryšys nustatytas tarp radialiojo prieaugio ir NO2 koncentracijos Vilniaus ir Kauno miestų ore (vidutinis koreliacijos koeficientas r buvo lygus atitinkamai (–0,61 ir –0,62; p < 0,05), taip pat tarp railiojo prieaugio ir SO2 koncentracijos Vilniaus miesto ore (r = –0,65; p < 0,05). 1990–2006 m. klimato veiksniai lėmė didesnį kompleksinį poveikį pušų radialiajam prieaugiui (74–88 %), palyginti su aplinką rūgštinančių teršalų koncentracija (12–26 % kompleksinio poveikio)Trees growing in city forest parks and parks are exposed to the permanent higher air pollution level than trees growing in the relatively clean environment. Study of tree response towards changes in acidifying pollutants’ (SO2 and NO2) concentration dynamics is relevant, as forest parks and parks fulfil a lot of beneficial functions in cities. Scots pine (Pinus sylvestris L.) sample trees, growing in parks and forest parks in Vilnius and Kaunas cities, were chosen as the objects of this research. Wood samples were collected from 330 sample pines in 15 sample plots in Kaunas city and from 480 sample pines in 20 sample plots in Vilnius city. Dendroscales of radial increment of pines growing in cities were transformed into sequences of the radial increment ratio for eliminating an impact of tree age without removing a negative impact of anthropogenic pollution. Reduction in NO2 and SO2 concentration in the atmosphere could determine an increase in pine radial increment in 1990–2006: significant relation was estimated between radial increment and NO2 concentration in Vilnius and Kaunas cities (mean correlation coefficient r was equal to– -0.61 and - 0.62, respectively, p<0.05), also SO2 – in Vilnius city (r=-0.65, p<0.05). In the period of 1990-2006 climatic factors determined a larger percentage of complex impact (74–88 %) on pine radial growth in comparison with the concentration of acidifying pollutants (12–26 %)Botanikos sodasGamtos mokslų fakultetasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Space weather relation with air temperature and atmospheric pressure in Kaunas

Solar activity in the form of geomagnetic activity and other space weathers conditions affect the Earth’s middle and upper atmosphere. It is possible that space weather conditions affect the air temperature (T) and atmospheric pressure (AP) in Lithuania. The main goal of this research is to analyze relations between North Atlantic Oscillation (NAO), space weather and meteorological parameters. In this research, we analyzed Kaunas meteorological parameters of the 2006-2016 period. Data analysis was performed using multivariate linear regression. Associations between T, AP, NAO index (NAOI), and space weather variables are presented as regression coefficients β in the multivariate model per increase of 1 for NAOI, 100km/s for solar wind speed (SW), 10000K for plasma temperature (PT), 1nT for interplanetary magnetic field vector axis (Bz and By), 1n/cc for proton density. Proton flow > 10 MeV (PF10), solar activity index F10.7 and Kp index also were used. Data used in this research were collected from open source websites (wunderground.com, omniweb.gsfc.nasa.gov). During winter, daily mean and minimal air temperature associated with NAOI on the same day (respectively, β = 1.09; p = .002 and β = 1.13; p = .006), NAOI 2 days after (respectively, β = 1.5; p 50 (β = -3.22; p = .012) and positively with NAOI with lag of 2 days (β = 1.3; p = .012). NAOI was associated with an increased mean of AP (β = 1.78; p = .011). Maximal AP is positively correlated with lag of 2 days (β = .28; p = .004). [...]Aplinkos tyrimų centrasAplinkotyros katedraVytauto Didžiojo universiteta

Formaldehyde exposure and low birth weight incidence

IliustrBibliogr: 26 pavadA population-based epidemiological study was undertaken to assess the prenatal formaldehyde exposure effect on the incidence of low birth weight newborns in Kaunas area in 1994. All women in childbirth were interviewed in person about their sociodemographic characteristics, habits and reproductive and medical history. We compared 244 cases of low birth weight newborns with 4,089 controls. The comparison involved questionnaire information on 26 potential risk factors in low birth weight. We employed multivariate logistic regression to adjust for potential variable effects of 12 selected low birth weight risk factors. The incidence of low birth weight newborns in Kaunas was 56.2 per 1,000 live newborns. The crude risk ratio of low birth weight babies among women subjected to formaldehyde exposure was 1.68 (95% CI 1.24-2.27) and to TSP exposure was 1.59 (95% CI 1.13-2.20). The population attributable risk percentages were 14.1% and 4.9%, respectively. Adjustment for age, occupation, education, marital status, hypertonic disease, last pregnancy outcome, parents smoking, hazardous work, formaldehyde, ozone and TSP exposure decreased the formaldehyde effect, OR 1.37 (95% CI 0.90-2.09), and ozone effect, OR 1.44 (95% CI 0.47-4.41), and increased the TSP effect, OR 2.58 (95% CI 1.34-4.99). The study results indicate that among the ambient air pollutants examined TSP exposure statistically significant effect on low birth risk. Insufficient control of other environmental risk factors could have influenced the observed associationKauno medicinos universiteto Kardiologijos instituta

Ciclicity in fluctuations of the tree increment as an expression of the ecoclimatic background

Aplinkotyros katedraLietuvos miškų institutasVytauto Didžiojo universiteta