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Peatlands form environmental archives of trace element deposition. In this regard they are particularly valuable for areas such as the Arctic, where regular pollution monitoring is either impossible or extremely costly. The aim of this study was to assess pollution in the Solovetsky Islands (65° 05' N, 35° 53' E) by examining the spatial variability in trace element content of the uppermost layer of peat, immediately below the surface layer of green vegetation. We evaluated Cr, Cd, Ni and Pb contents in samples taken from ombrotrophic (raised bog) and mesotrophic (transitional) mires and in different microtopographical settings (hummock/hollow), and calculated the following pollution indices: geoaccumulation index (Igeo), contamination factor (Cf) and degree of contamination (Cdeg). The contents of these elements were markedly lower in the Solovetsky Islands than reported from other parts of central and northern Europe. Depending on the pollution index considered, the studied peat samples could be classified as unpolluted to considerably polluted. The local spatial patterns showed the highest values of Cd in samples collected near the sea, while the highest contents of Cr and Ni were noted at sampling points located farther inland. Moreover, Cr and Pb concentrations were higher in raised bogs than in transitional mires, and this contrast was accentuated if raised bog was represented by hummocks alone. These patterns are consistent with the likely sources of Cr, Ni and Pb being atmospheric pollution; and with higher mobility of Cd in seawater, which periodically floods the transitional mires. Amongst the trace elements determined, the most consistent values across peat types and sampling locations were found for Ni, which could be successfully used for pollution monitoring even in transitional mires.

The paper presents the content of six metals (Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn) in the soils of the southern slope of Jaworzyna Krynicka in Poland. Soil samples were collected in polygons, starting from an altitude of 500 m above sea level and ending at an altitude of 1100 m above sea level. Ten soil samples were collected in each polygon. The polygons were set at every 100 m of absolute altitude. The selected research area is an important natural area. The fertile mountain beech forests located there are the most important forest communities in the mountain areas of Poland. They are valuable habitats for plants and animals (especially for large predatory mammals). Every year, numerous tourists and health resort patients visit this place. The results of the research showed that soil contamination in the study area is not high, in particular for altitudes of 500 and 900 m above sea level. At these altitudes, the contents of Cd, Cr, Cu, Ni, Pb, and Zn were similar to the concentrations of these metals in uncontaminated soils. The tests carried out showed very low cadmium content for all absolute altitudes. Zinc, the concentrations of which exceeded natural values, showed the highest content in the tested soils. All the metals tested showed a common tendency of increases in their content in the soils of Jaworzyna Krynicka up to 800 m above sea level. From an altitude of 900 m above sea level, the content of these metals decreased, except for Pb. Only Pb concentrations in Jaworzyna Krynicka soils also increased with the increasing altitude. The research significance of this work is that it is important for assessing the ecological balance in the selected area.

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is a disorder with a diverse and unpredictable clinical course. It can occur in patients of all ages, regardless of gender. The aetiology of the disease and its pathomechanism have not been clearly explained. In the course of ad, there is a variety of disease symptoms, which causes frequent diagnostic problems. Symptoms are pruritus and dry skin with accompanying eczema. Treatment is difficult and long-lasting, both local and general. In patients with severe course of the disease, immunosuppressive treatment is also applied, however, it is burdened with dangerous side effects. In the presented clinical case, the complexity of the clinical picture of the disease and its differentiation were confirmed. Complications of treatment have been described, including the occurrence of extreme leukopenia after the implementation of azathioprine.

The aim of the study was to compare the usefulness of 1 M HCl with aqua regia, EDTA, and CaCl 2 for the extraction of phytoavailable forms of Cu, Ni, and Zn on coarse-textured soils contaminated with these metals. Two microplot experiments were used for the studies. Reed canary grass (Phalaris arundinacea), maize (Zea mays), willow (Salix viminalis), spartina (Spartina pectinata), and miscanthus (Miscanthus × giganteus) were used as test plants. They were grown on soil artificially spiked with Cu, Ni, and Zn. The experimental design included a control and three increasing doses of metals. Microplots (1 m 2  × 1 m deep) were filled with sandy soil (clay-6%, pH 5.5, Corg-0.8%). Metals in the form of sulfates were dissolved in water and applied to the plot using a hand liquid sprayer. During the harvest, samples were collected from aboveground parts, roots, and the soil and then tested for their Cu, Zn, and Ni contents. The metal content of the soil was determined using four tested extractants. It was found that Cu and Ni were accumulated in roots in bigger amounts than Zn. The usefulness of the extractants was evaluated based on the correlation between the content of metals in the soil and the plant (n = 32). This study demonstrated that 1 M HCl, aqua regia, and EDTA were more efficient or equally useful for the assessment of the phytoavailability of Cu, Ni, and Zn as CaCl 2 . Due to the ease of performing determinations and their low cost, 1 M HCl can be recommended to assess the excess of Cu, Ni, and Zn in the coarse-textured soils.

The aim of this work was to assess the suitability of Miscanthus × giganteus and Spartina pectinata link to Cu, Ni, and Zn phytoremediation. A 2-year microplot experiment with the tested grasses growing on metal-contaminated soil was carried out. Microplots with cement borders, measuring 1 × 1 × 1m, were filled with Haplic Luvisols soil. Simulated soil contamination with Cu, Ni, and Zn was introduced in the following doses in mg kg(-1): 0-no metals, Cu1-100, Cu2-200, Cu3-400, Ni1-60, Ni2-100, Ni3-240, Zn1-300, Zn2-600, and Zn3-1200. The phytoremediation potential of grasses was evaluated using a tolerance index (TI), bioaccumulation factor (BF), bioconcentration factor (BCF), and translocation factor (TF). S. pectinata showed a higher tolerance to soil contamination with Cu, Ni, and Zn compared to M. × giganteus. S. pectinata was found to have a high suitability for phytostabilization of Zn and lower suitability of Cu and Ni. M. × giganteus had a lower phytostabilization potential than S. pectinata. The suitability of both grasses for Zn phytoextraction depended on the age of the plants. Both grasses were not suitable for Cu and Ni phytoextraction. The research showed that one-season studies were not valuable for fully assessing the phytoremediation potential of perennial plants.

Incorporation of organic materials into soil improves the soil sorption capacity, while limiting the mobility of metals in soil and their availability to plants. These effects can be taken advantage for remediation of soils polluted with heavy metals. The objective of this study is to assess the remediatory potential of peat applied to soils with concomitant pollution with Cd, Pb, and Zn. Two 1-year experiments were run in microplots in which maize was grown as the test plant. The following treatments were compared on two soils (sandy soil and loess): (1) control, (2) heavy metals (HM), (3) HM + peat in a single dose, and (4) HM + peat in a double dose. Maize was harvested in the maturity stage; the biomass of roots and aerial parts, including grain and cobs, was measured. Besides, concentration of metals in all those plant parts and the net photosynthetic rate and transpiration rate were determined. The approach of using peat in soil remediation led to satisfactory results on sandy soil only. The application of peat to sandy soil caused significant changes in the accumulation of the metals and their translocation from roots to other parts of plants, which resulted in a higher intensity of photosynthesis and an increase in the maize biomass compared to the HM treatment.

Unlabelled: Since 2004 Polish blood donors have been tested for parvovirus B19 (B19V) DNA. The screening testing has been performed in donors of plasma for fractionation and anti-D and anti-HBs production and donors of erythrocytes used for immunization. AIM is to present methods of the testing, quality control and results in period 2004-2010., Material and Methods: Testing was performed in individual donation testing (IDT) in Regional Blood Transfusion Center (RBTC) in Lublin or in pools of 24 in Institute of Haematology and Transfusion Medicine in Warsaw (IHTM). Quantitative testing with real-time PCR was preceded with nucleic acid isolation on silica based methods (Prepito Viral DNA/RNA, Chemagen and QIAamp DNA Mini Kit, QIAGEN). Amplification was performed initially with home made method and later with commercial assay (Artus Parvo B19 RG PCR Kit on Rotor Gene 6 000). In total 17 625 donations were tested: 8 539 in pools and 9 090 individually. Beside routine external quality control programmes in which both laboratories participated (Proficiency Study VQC,Amsterdam, Holand; EQA Programe, Glasgow, Scotland), panel containing negative samples, positive with very high DNA B 19V level and plasma infected with genotype 2 was prepared for RBTC in Lublin., Results: B19V infection frequency was 1:980 donations, low viraemic donations were detected most frequently (1:1 037). It was identified only one donation with DNA load that could cause potential health risk for plasma product recipients (1:17 625). In one of the donors B 19V DNA was observed for 3 years and 3 months. In acute or persistent phase of infection no clinical or laboratory symptoms (morphology of peripheral blood, ALT) were observed. Due to risk of underestimation of viral load connected with viral genome polymorphism all donations with B19V positive result were not allowed to be clinically used.

Unlabelled: Both effective treatment of arterial hypertension and prevention from its complications are considered very important issues, especially in a population of elderly people, in whom hypertension occurs along with other risk factors, resulting in increase of incidence of myocardial infarction and stroke., The Aim: There were assessed an influence of 6-month ambulatory cardiac rehabilitation on level of resting and peak systolic and diastolic arterial pressure in elderly patients with chronic ischemic heart disease (IHD) and arterial hypertension (AH), likewise relations between the pressure alterations and the age of the examined patients., Material and Method: A group of 70 patients with IHD and AH treated invasively was subjected to a rehabilitation program. Group A consisted of 37 patients with the mean age of 69.0 +/- 0.5 years, and group B of 33 patients with the mean age of 51.5 +/- 0.5 years. The patients from the both groups differed significantly only as to the age, whereas they were comparable regarding current clinical status, echocardiographical parameters, BMI values and applied pharmacological treatment. During a follow-up period, neither drug regimen, established at least three months earlier, nor a diet were not modified. The all patients underwent a 6-month cardiac rehabilitation, combining exercises on cycle ergometers (3 times per week) and generally improving training (2 times per week). There were analyzed: the mean values of resting and of peak systolic and diastolic blood pressure at the beginning of the rehabilitation and upon completion of the program., Results: Comparison of the patients from groups A and B did not reveal any significant differences concerning the initial mean values of both resting and peak pressure (systolic and diastolic). Just after the rehabilitation finishing, in A group, a statistically significant reduction of resting systolic and diastolic pressure, likewise insignificant reduction of peak systolic and diastolic pressure were observed. Contrarily, in B group, it was noted a significant reduction of resting systolic and diastolic pressure and insignificant reduction of peak diastolic pressure. In this group, yet, an insignificant increase of peak systolic pressure was found. In the both groups, there was no statistically significant correlation between the age and the delta values of resting and peak systolic and diastolic pressure., Conclusion: Long-term ambulatory cardiac rehabilitation caused a profitable blood pressure lowering in patients with IHD and AH, regardless of the age. A changes intensity of resting and of peak blood pressure did not show a dependence on the patients' age.

Unlabelled: Ongoing with age decline of physical capacity reflects permanent processes of aging occurring in organism. It leads to a successive reduction of physical activity level, resulting with time in restrictions of independent life ability, which then causes anxiety and progressing social isolation., The Aim: Evaluation of relation between age and effort tolerance in patients with chronic ischemic heart disease and comparison of cardiac rehabilitation effects in two patient groups at significantly various age., Material and Method: The study comprised 103 patients (69 males and 34 females) at the mean age of 61.2 +/- 0,8 years. The patients were referred to rehabilitation because of undergone invasive treatment of IHD, using CABG (44 pts) and PTCA (48 pts), or acute coronary syndromes (11 pts). The study group was divided to the two subgroups, "A" and "B", differing significantly (p < 0.01) from each other by age. "A" group was constituted by 30 the youngest patients, with the mean age of 51.6 +/- 0.5 yrs, whereas "B" group comprised 30 the oldest patients, with the mean age of 70.9 +/- 0.6 yrs. The examined groups were comparable as to the drug treatment, clinical status, echocardiographic parameters and BMI values. During the observation period no changes in treatment and diet were made. The all patients were subjected to six-month cardiac rehabilitation, consisting of cycle ergometer training (3 times/week) and generally improving exercises (2 times/week). The parameters analyzed were the values of metabolic equivalent (MET) obtained at the initial and the final exercise treadmill test, likewise the delta of MET., Results: For a population of 103 patients with IHD, the negative, statistically significant correlation Pearson's coefficient between age and MET values of initial and final exercise tests and insignificant Pearson's coefficient between age and values of MET delta were obtained. Comparison analysis of the mean MET of initial and final exercise test and the mean MET delta did not show any significant differences between the both examined "A" (young) and "B" (old) groups., Conclusions: In the examined patients with IHD, there were observed a negative, significant correlation between age and effort tolerance before and after the cardiac rehabilitation cycle, and a lack of significant correlation between age and delta of effort tolerance. There was found no considerable difference concerning a delta of effort tolerance between the patients with IHD falling into the young and the old groups.

Unlabelled: Dyslipidemia worsens a prognosis in patients with chronic heart ischemic disease, who underwent myocardial infarction. Therefore, new methods, besides drugs, are being sought, for optimizing a serum concentration of lipid fractions., The Aim: An effect of 6-month of ambulatory long-term cardiac rehabilitation on the lipidogram fractions concentration in patients with chronic heart ischemic disease treated with simvastatin, as well as a correlation between lipids changes and cardiac training intensity was assessed., Material and Method: Rehabilitation was performed in 66 patients with previous myocardial infarction treated invasively (27 CABG and 39 PTCA), who constituted group I. A control group (group II) consisted of 32 patients with previous myocardial infarction also treated invasively (24 CABG and 8 PTCA), but not subjected to rehabilitation. The two analyzed groups did not differ significantly from each other as to age, applied drug regimen, current clinical status, echocardiographic parameters and BMI values. Group I was subjected to 6-month cardiac rehabilitation program, comprising 45-minute training on cycle ergometer (three times per week) and generally improving exercises (2 times per week). Blood concentration of lipidogram fractions was assessed: total cholesterol (TC), HDL- and LDL-cholesterol, and triglicerides (TG) at the onset and upon completion of the rehabilitation cycle., Results: The both patient groups were comparable concerning the initial concentration of the lipid fractions. After finishing the rehabilitation program, in the group I, a statistically significant reduction of TC, LDL and TG concentration was found out. In addition, a significant increase of HDL concentration was noted. In contrary, in the group II (without rehabilitation), the only significant change concerned a concentration of HDL fraction, which decreased. Furthermore, in the group I, it was noted a negative, statistically significant correlation between intensity of cardiac training, expressed by training workload and delta of work, and a difference in blood concentration of triglicerides, measured just before the training onset and after the program was finished., Conclusion: It was revealed that long-term ambulatory cardiac rehabilitation has a profitable effect on serum concentration of the all lipid fractions in patients with chronic heart ischemic disease cured with simvastatin, regardless of training intensity. It was also ascertained that an extent of changes in triglicerides serum concentration was related to an intensity of the cardiac training applied to the patients.

Unlabelled: Arterial hypertension is one of the most common health problems occurring in highly developed countries. It was proved that long-term and regular physical activity results in hypotensive effect., The Aim: A goal of the present study was to assess an influence of six-month ambulatory cardiac rehabilitation on arterial pressure level in patients with coronary artery disease and hypertension as well as analysis of correlation between pressure values alterations and intensity of cardiac training., Material and Methods: A study group comprised 103 patients (mean age: 61.2 +/- 0.8 years) manifesting coronary artery disease accompanied by arterial hypertension. A control group constituted 39 normotensive patients with coronary artery disease (mean age: 59.4 +/- 1.3 years). The both observed groups differ from each other only with values of left ventricle mass index and drug regimen established at least three months prior to the follow-up onset. During the rehabilitation cycle, no treatment corrections were made and no new preparations were added. The all patients were enrolled to the six-month cardiac rehabilitation program. The program comprised 45-minute training with cycle ergometer, three times a week, and generally improving gym exercises, two times a week. The analyses concerned systolic and diastolic pressure values, measured just before each training (resting pressure) and just after peak exercise interval (peak pressure), at the beginning and at the end of the rehabilitation cycle. At the initial stage, the patient group with hypertension demonstrated the higher pressure values (resting and peak), as compared with the control group., Results: Cardiac rehabilitation performed in the examined patients caused a statistically significant reduction of the mean resting pressure, both systolic (p < 0.01) and diastolic (p < 0.01). As to the mean peak pressure in this group, systolic diminished slightly (NS), but diastolic was reduced significantly (p < 0.01). In the control group, after six-month rehabilitation the values appeared to be lowered insignificantly in relation to systolic and diastolic resting pressure, likewise diastolic peak pressure, and contrarily systolic peak pressure increased slightly. Assessing an interrelation between the final outcome of the rehabilitation program, expressed as delta of arterial pressure, and terminal training workload and delta of training workload, only for delta of systolic pressure and final training workload, a positive correlation of statistical significance was found out, which is considered an implication of physiological reaction against an increase of training workload., Conclusions: Long-term and regular cardiac training induced the larger alterations of pressure values in the patients with hypertension, as compared with the normotensive patients. A positive effect of cardiac rehabilitation on arterial pressure level in the hypertensive patients was found to be independent of the training intensity.

A goal of the study was to investigate the interrelations between body mass index (BMI) and arterial pressure level and its alterations induced by a long-term cardiac rehabilitation. In the patients with arterial hypertension with concomitant ischemic heart disease (IHD). The study group consisted of 73 patients (46 males and 27 females), with age range 54-64 years (the mean: 59.59 +/- 0.67 years), subjected to the 6-month ambulatory supervised cardiac rehabilitation, which comprised stamina training with cycloergometer combined with generally improving exercises. Arterial pressure level was measured in the resting state (just before the training onset) and at the interval training peak (peak pressure) during the consecutive three initial and three final training sessions. Upon completion of the rehabilitation cycle, statistically significant reduction of resting systolic pressure: 116.85 +/- 1.68 mmHg vs 105.12 +/- 1.43 mmHg (p<0.01) and insignificant reduction of resting diastolic pressure 79.85 +/- 1.24 mmHg vs 77.44 +/- 1.21 mmHg (NS) were observed. Additionally, insignificant lowering both systolic and diastolic peak pressure was noted, respectively: 119.45 +/- 1.92 vs 118.75 +/- 2.3 mmHg and 78.63 +/- 1.22 mmHg vs 76.96 +/- 1.30 mmHg. Correlation analysis concerning the values of resting systolic and diastolic pressure, likewise of peak systolic and diastolic pressure, on the one hand, and the values of body mass index, on the other hand, yielded in the all considered cases the statistically insignificant positive Pearson's coefficients. The further dependence analyzed, between the delta of resting and peak pressure, systolic and diastolic, and the body mass index values was featured by the insignificant statistically negative correlation coefficients. In result of the 6-month rehabilitation, 36 out of 73 patients demonstrated BMI value reduction by 0.65 +/- 0.33, which did not affect significantly an extent of the arterial pressure lowering. Therefore, in the examined patient group with hypertension and IHD, body mass index turned out to determine neither the initial nor the after-rehabilitation pressure levels, both systolic and diastolic.

This study was designed to examine the effect of the rat atrial extract (RAE) and synthetic rat ANF123-150 (rANF) on the renal Na, K-ATPase activity in Wistar anesthetized rats. Na, K-ATPase activity was assayed by measuring the amount of inorganic phosphate liberated from ATP. RAE from 40.3, 80.6 mg of tissue and rANF in the following doses: 0.043, 0.087, 0.173, 0.260 nM/kg/min reduced Na, K-ATPase activity by 59, 64 and 11, 34, 37, 45% respectively in the renal medulla but not in the cortex. It was associated with the increase in diuresis and natriuresis. Five and ten minutes after the end of rANF administration, Na, K-ATPase activity was decreased by 78 and 57% respectively, diuresis and natriuresis were significantly higher than the control. After fifteen minutes enzyme activity returned to normal, diuresis and natriuresis were increased. After thirty minutes there was a 37% increase in Na, K-ATPase activity but diuresis and natriuresis were still higher than control values. We conclude that the inhibition of Na, K-ATPase in the medulla of the rat kidney is one of the mechanisms of ANF action.

Clinical presentation and course were studies in 45 consecutive patients (p)--39 males, 6 females with angiographically proven left main coronary artery stenosis (LMCA) > 50%. Mean age was 54.7 years. Three (6%) had no history of chest pain, 2 p (4%) had atypical chest pain, and the remaining (90%) had typical angina pectoris. 19 p (42%) had unstable angina, 20 p (44%) had suffered a myocardial infarction in the past. Outside an episode of chest pain most of the patients had an abnormal ECG with ST-T segment depression 2 mm or more in leads V3-6 and ST-T elevation in leads V1 and aVR. No significant differences were found when the abnormalities of the ST-T segment were compared to severity of LMCA obstruction. A symptom limited exercise test was performed in 17 (37%) p. It was abnormal in 13 p (29%). Thirty eight patients (85%) underwent bypass surgery and the mean number of bypass graft was 3.3. Seven patients were treated medically. In the surgical group four p (10.5%) died perioperatively. All of them had subtotal occlusion of LMCA, without significant lesions in the remaining coronary arteries, the ejection fraction (EF) was above 66%. Among thirty four living patients thirty have been asymptomatic. In the medically treated group 3 p (42%) died and only two of four survivors were asymptomatic at a mean follow-up 35.7 months. Left ventricle of all died patients were severely damaged (EF mean 28%), right coronary artery (RCA) was totally occluded and all had rythm disturbances. We conclude, that patients with significant LMCA stenosis had a good prognosis when treated surgically.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)