Urban-rural differences in social capital in relation to self-rated health and subjective wellbeing in older residents of six regions in Poland

The aim of the study was to assess the differences between rural and urban areas as regards the role of social capital and its effect on self-rated health and subjective well-being among older people in Poland. The sample was selected on the basis of multi-stage clustered design from the non-institutionalized adult population. Analysis was based on 1,299 elderly people aged 65 and over from the general Polish population who participated in the COURAGE in Europe project. Six regions of Poland were distinguished according to first level of Nomenclature of Units for Territorial Statistics (NUTS) classification. As an indicator of social capital, the COURAGE Social Network Index, the OSLO-3 Social Support Scale, and the three item UCLA Loneliness scale were used, as well as social participation and trust was assessed. Self-rated health (SRH) was measured by WHO-Europe recommended version (ranging from ‘very good’ to ‘very bad’). Well-being was assessed by the Day Reconstruction Method. Results: The results showed that in urban areas, social network and social participation supported positive self-rated health; in rural, older residents the number of years of education and social support played the same role, while self-rated health decreased with an increasing level of loneliness. Self-rated health decreased in both groups of older people with a growing number of diseases. The multivariate linear regression model of predictors of well-being in older age also confirmed differences between urban and rural elderly residents. In rural residents, subjective well-being significantly increased with the positive effect of the social network. In both urban and rural areas, poor assessment of subjective well-being in older age increased with a higher level of loneliness and growing number of chronic diseases

Dobrze ze złością. Jak wspierać dzieci i młodzież w konstruktywnym radzeniu sobie ze złością

Niniejsza publikacja została podzielona na trzy części. Część pierwsza stanowi wprowadzenie do problematyki związanej ze złością. Przedstawia podstawowe pojęcia dotyczące emocji oraz ich charakterystyki i stanowi podbudowę teoretyczną dla części praktycznej.Część druga poświęcona jest naszemu wewnętrznemu przeżywaniu złości –kwestii jej odczuwania, rozumienia czy wreszcie kontrolowania. Istotne znaczeniew tej części ma pojęcie inteligencji emocjonalnej i samoregulacji. Część trzecia opisuje sposoby i techniki wspierania dzieci oraz młodzieży szkolnej w przeżywaniu, a także kontrolowaniu złości. Zawiera ona praktyczne porady i ćwiczenia, które pozwalają na skuteczną pracę ze złością przeżywaną przez młode osoby. W kontekście skutecznej pracy ze złością innych wprowadzone zostały takie pojęcia jak empatia, asertywność czy perswazja

Sleep duration and mortality among older adults in a 22-year follow-up study : an analysis of possible effect modifiers

The aim of this study was to assess the relationship of sleep duration and all-cause mortality among 2,449 Polish community-dwelling older citizens of Krakow observed during 22 years of follow-up. In particular, the role of some demographic, psychosocial and health-related conditions were investigated in terms of modification effect. In the prospective study, background information was gathered by face-to-face interview. Vital data were obtained from the population registry. Cox regression models were used to assess the role of sleep duration in mortality, in the analyses of potential effect modifiers and the shape of the relationship. Sleep duration was observed to be a significant predictor of all-cause mortality. Life-weariness, functional activity, total number of chronic diseases and age (65–79, 80+) were found to be effect modifiers for the relationship between sleep duration and mortality. Further investigation showed a U-shaped mortality risk associated with the duration of sleep among individuals with a high level of life-weariness, high functional activity and in individuals aged 80 and over. On the other hand, a linear relationship between longer sleep duration and mortality was observed among older people with no experience of life-weariness, without chronic diseases, with medium functional activity and aged 65–79, but also among those who reported three and more chronic conditions. Results of our study support available evidence showing the relationship between sleep duration and mortality among older adults and suggest that any public health intervention in this area should consider also other coexisting modifiable psychosocial and functional determinants

Praktyki i staże zagraniczne w BPK: konfrontacje, wymiana doświadczeń

The Library of the Cracow University of Technology (CUT) offers various trainings dedicated to foreign users. Not only CUT librarians do lead individual and group information literacy trainings for students, but also enable foreigners to enrol on apprenticeships. Moreover, the librarians inform researchers from abroad about the CUT library structure and functioning. Trainings for individual users and groups are conducted by well-qualified employees of the Information Services Department. The Head of the Information Services Department supervises the implementation of trainings and internship programmes. The Library's educational offer for foreigners is complemented by e-learning coursesBiblioteka Politechniki Krakowskiej (BPK) w ramach oferty edukacyjnej skierowanej do obcokrajowców prowadzi indywidualne i grupowe szkolenia biblioteczne dla studentów oraz zapoznaje zagranicznych pracowników z funkcjonowaniem biblioteki akademickiej. Ponadto umożliwia cudzoziemcom realizację długoterminowych praktyk zawodowych. Szkolenia indywidualne i grupowe prowadzi wyspecjalizowany zespół pracowników Oddziału Informacji Naukowej. Nad realizacją programu szkoleń i staży czuwa kierownik. Ofertę edukacyjną dla obcokrajowców uzupełniają kursy e-learningowe

The effects of cadmium or zinc multigenerational exposure on metal tolerance of Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)

The effects of ten generational zinc or cadmium pre-exposure on metal tolerance among beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua individuals were compared. These effects were assessed in animals from the 11th generation, reared on a diet either uncontaminated or contaminated with metal (cadmium or zinc). The survival rate of larvae and the degree of metal accumulation (in larvae, pupae and moths; among larval organs: gut and fat body) were analysed. Catalase, superoxide dismutase and glutathione transferase activity in larval organs of individuals subjected to different metal treatments were also measured. Animals transferred from control rearing to metals (cadmium or zinc) in the 11th generation, as well as those from multigenerational zinc treatment, but not from multigenerational cadmium treatment, had a significantly lower survival rate than control animals. Insects from the groups with the high metal treatment had high bioaccumulation factors (above 3.7 and 2.3 following cadmium and zinc, respectively). Cadmium (but not zinc) pre-exposure had a significant effect on metal accumulation in larvae. Multigenerational metal pre-exposure seemed to have mainly a negative effect on glutathione transferase activity in the gut of larvae from the 11th generation, in the case of the individuals exposed to metal other than that used in pre-exposure treatment or kept in control conditions. However, in the case of zinc pre-exposure, such effect was only apparent when zinc was replaced by cadmium. The long-term effect of cadmium on catalase activity in larvae was found