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The rose flea beetle, RFB (Luperomorpha xanthodera Fairmaire 1888) is a new flower pest in Europe. In 2012, it was brought accidentally to central Poland. To search for this introduced species in the area adjacent to the site of the first finding, 29 plant species belonging to five botanical families (Lamiaceae, Brassicaceae, Asteraceae, Plantaginaceae, Crassulaceae) were monitored over a 3-year-long study (2016-2018). RFB were found on 11 herbaceous/ornamental plant species (Lamiaceae, Brassicaceae, Asteraceae) along with feeding damage to the flowers. White mustard (Sinapis alba L., Brassicaceae), hyssop (Hyssopus officinalis L.), and Monarda spp. (Lamiaceae) were its most preferred host plants. In each season, RFB females preferred host plants which bloomed abundantly and vividly. However, among the examined plant species there was a large variation in the year-to-year RFB abundance. Over the examined period the RFB extended its abundance exponentially, and its population survived and established itself in the area. The general sex ratio of the beetles was strongly female biased. In the female pool, females with conspicuously swollen abdomens predominated. The results of our study provide more insight into RFB behaviour, its establishment and spreading into new areas. To support the evidence for the RFB risk factor as an agricultural/ horticultural pest, further research should focus on the beetles' biology, reproductive tactics, larval host plant preference, larva-inflicted damage and harmfulness, the impact of the RFB on the native fauna, as well as its further local and distant migration propensity. Presently our knowledge about these aspects is still fragmentary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper lists alien invasive species of slugs occurring on crops grown in the ground and under covers, as well as in adjacent habitats. It gives a description of their origin, distribution within Poland, frequency of occurrence in different habitats, and an evaluation of the danger to cultivated plants posed by particular slug species. Based on reports in the literature and the results of original research, basic data is presented concerning the biology and harmfulness of these slugs on crops. The potential risk of the spreading of invasive slug species is evaluated, as well as their adverse impact on crop plants. It has been concluded that a major risk to the biodiversity of agrocenoses and to cultivated plants is currently posed by the slugs Arion lusitanicus, A. rufus and A. distinctus. These slugs are spreading rapidly within Poland, often occur in large numbers, and do significant damage to various species of plant. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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A specimen of a flea beetle collected by plant sweeping from an experimental plot of oregano in Warsaw showed characteristics of the invasive species Luperomorpha xanthodera. This beetle, originating from Far East, appeared in Europe at the beginning of this century and seems to extend its range continuously. So far, it has been noted from England, Italy, France, The Netherlands, Germany, Austria and Hungary but not from Poland. Being polyphagous, adult flea beetles of this species may appear in numbers on flowers of various ornamental plants causing considerable damage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article concerns internalizing and externalizing behaviors among Polish adolescents attending primary schools in a medium-sized city in Poland. The aim of the study was to examine the levels of select problem behaviors (i.e., depression, withdrawal, somatic complaints, aggressive behaviors, delinquent behaviors, thought problems, and internalizing and externalizing disorders) in early adolescence. Another important aim was to establish the ranges of the norm and deviation which would indicate the need for intervention aimed at internalizing and externalizing disorders in the sample. The relationships between variables such as age, gender, and school achievement (grade average) and the groups of problem behaviors and externalizing and internalizing disorders were also examined. To diagnose the occurrence of internalizing and externalizing behaviors, a sample of 550 students (55.3% girls, 46.7% boys) were measured using the Youth Self-Report (YSR) questionnaire. The results showed statistically significant differences in internalizing and externalizing behaviors between boys and girls. Girls achieved higher scores on most of the YSR scales, including internalizing and externalizing disorders, as well as on the total score. The student subgroup scores were also differentiated in terms of age and their average grades. The results also have practical implications; namely, the need for obligatory screening tests of students' emotional states; encouraging preventive measures in schools, including diagnosis and psychological support in the context of depression; monitoring aggressive behaviors and social problems, both in boys and girls; and implementing universal, selective, and indicated prevention through complex, empirically validated educational-therapeutic programs., Competing Interests: The authors declare no conflict of interest.

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the functioning of universities worldwide. In Poland, the transfer to online teaching was announced without prior warning, which radically changed students' daily functioning. This situation clearly showed the students' helplessness and difficulties with coping with this new, stressful situation, highlighted in many previous studies. A sudden and far-reaching change in daily functioning caused anxiety, depression, and stress in this group. Thus, from a pedagogical and psychological point of view, it is pertinent to examine the students' strategies of coping with stress caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. To this end, in 2020, a sample of Polish students was anonymously measured using the Mini-COPE questionnaire. Data was gathered from 577 students from 17 universities. The statistical analysis showed that during the coronavirus pandemic, Polish students most often used the coping strategies of: acceptance, planning, and seeking emotional support. Such factors as age, gender, and place of residence influenced the choice of specific strategies of coping with stress during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results also showed that the youngest students had the lowest coping skills. The results allow for concluding that the students' maladaptive strategies of coping with stress, especially during the pandemic, may result in long-term consequences for their psychophysiological health and academic achievements. Thus, based on the current results and on the participatory model of intervention, a support program for students is proposed which would involve psychological, organizational, and instrumental support., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

There is a growing body of evidence that a diet rich in bioactive compounds from herbs and spices has the ability to reduce the risk of chronic diseases. The consumption of herbs and spices is often overlooked in the studies on food intake. However, measurement of dietary intake of these products, as a source of bioactive compounds, including salicylates, has recently gained much significance. The aims of the study were (i) to assess the intake of herbs and spices at the individual level and (ii) to calculate the dietary salicylates intake from herbs and spices among adult omnivores and vegans. The study group consisted of 270 adults aged 19 to 67 years, including 205 women and 65 men. Among all, 208 individuals were following an omnivorous diet while 62 were vegans. A semi-quantitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was designed to assess the habitual intake of 61 fresh and dried herbs and spices during the preceding three months. The five most frequently eaten herbs among omnivores were parsley, garlic, dill, marjoram and basil, while among vegans they were garlic, parsley, ginger, basil and dill. An average intake of all condiments included in the study was 22.4 ± 18.4 g/day and 25.8 ± 25.9 g/day for both omnivores and vegans, respectively ( p = 0.007). Estimated medial salicylates intake was significantly higher among vegans ( p = 0.000) and reached 5.82 mg/week vs. 3.13 mg/week for omnivores. Our study confirmed that herbs and spices are important sources of salicylates; however, the type of diet influenced their level in the diet. Vegans consume significantly more total salicylates than omnivores.

Purpose: We aimed to elucidate the frequency of the SNPs in the ADIPOQ, RBP4 and BCMO1genes in a population of Caucasian Polish women with polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), and to evaluate the possible associations between these variants and the susceptibility to PCOS. Additionally, the relationship of these polymorphisms to a clinical phenotype of this syndrome, and the concentrations of adipokines, were determined., Materials/methods: Clinical and biochemical profiles, DNA isolation and genotyping, and adipokine assays were performed in 294 PCOS women and 78 controls., Results: In a cohort of Polish women, for the genotype distribution and allele frequencies (minor allele frequency - MAF) proved that only the SNP rs1501299 in the gene ADIPOQ (P = 0.0010, OR = 0.41, 95% C.I.:0.24-0.70) and rs7501331 in the gene BCMO1 (P = 0.0106, OR = 0.24, 95% C.I.:0.21-0.71), are significantly associated (the latter marginally significant) with the decrease of the risk of the disease. Also for this SNPs there were significant differences in the genotypic frequencies in the study population. There was a link between rs12934922 of BCMO1 gen and serum concentration of RBP4 (P = 0.034) and adiponectin (P = 0.038) in the study group but not in the control group. The elevated mean serum concentration of cholesterol (P = 0.020) and LDL cholesterol (P = 0.005) was observed for GG rs1501299 genotype and triglycerides (P = 0.028) for TT rs2241766 genotype., Conclusions: The results of the present study revealed that the genes variants RBP4 is not associated with PCO. It seems that rs1501299 of ADIPOQ gene influences the occurrence of PCO and lipids profile in those patients., (Copyright © 2018 Medical University of Bialystok. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.)

The purpose of this study was to determine whether cadmium (Cd) accumulation and toxicity in the midgut gland of Helix pomatia snails living in a Cd-contaminated area were related to soil pH. Toxic responses in the midgut gland (i.e., increased vacuolization and lipid peroxidation) occurred in H. pomatia snails exhibiting the highest Cd levels in the gland (265-274 µg/g dry wt) and living on acidic soil (pH 5.3-5.5), while no toxicity was observed in snails accumulating less Cd (90 µg/g) and ranging on neutral soil (pH 7.0), despite the fact that total soil Cd was similar in the two cases. The accumulation of Cd in the gland was directly related to the water extractable Cd in soil, which in turn correlated inversely with soil pH, indicating that this factor had a significant effect on tissue Cd. It appeared further that the occurrence of Cd toxicity was associated with low levels of metallothionein in the gland of snails ranging on acidic soil.

The objectives of this study were (1) to determine cadmium (Cd) accumulation in the midgut gland of a land snail Helix pomatia L. inhabiting residential areas of the 14 largest cities in Poland, and (2) to examine whether the accumulated Cd exerted any toxic effects. The average accumulation of Cd in the midgut gland of snails, weighing 16-18 g, ranged from 7.00 to 87.3 µg/g dry weight (0.06-0.77 µmol/g) and differed significantly among animals from the various urban areas. This difference in Cd accumulation was not related to city population, but was associated with the topsoil Cd (R(2) = 0.868, p < 0.0001). The tissue Cd was not found to produce toxicity (histopathology, programmed cell death, lipofuscin formation or lipid peroxidation), probably due to the induction of sufficiently high quantities of metallothionein and glutathione, well-known protective molecules.

In the last years the retroviral disease, caused by the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), turned from an incurable to a chronic disease. This fundamental change happened due to a huge progress in the understanding of the pathogenesis and treatment of this infection. However, one question still remains open: what is the best time to introduce therapy. The CD4 count is the point of reference to start of the treatment in HIV infected patients. Tendency to introduce highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) as early as possible has been observed recently. According to the most recent guidelines of the World Health Organization HAART should be started when CD4 reaches < or = 500 cells/microl. The aim of this paper is justification for the early introduction of antiretroviral therapy in patients living with HIV.

Unlabelled: HCV is responsible for the development of chronic hepatitis C, cirrhosis and hepatocellular carcinoma. The Polish population is mainly dominated by genotype 1 infections, genotypes 3 and 4 are less common. Studies have shown that changes in SNPrs12979860 of human chromosome 19 affect their ability to eliminate infection both spontaneously and during the antiviral therapy. THE AIM OF THIS STUDY was to evaluate the frequency of different HCV genotype infections in the Podlasie region during the period from 2002 to 2011 and to determine the frequency of particular genes associated with rs12979860 polymorphism amongst patients both eligible for treatment and currently undergoing the treatment. METHODS. Research and evaluation of the genotypes was performed in 923 cases of HCV and in 126 cases genes rs 12.97986 were identified (97 patients infected with genotype 1, 17--genotype 3 and 12--genotype 4). HCV infection was confirmed by the detection of HCV-RNA and it's genotype in serum with RT-nested--PCR (Syngen Biotech, USA). Rs12979860 polymorphism was detected by sequencing, using PCR. The final scores were determined using 3500 Genetic Analyzer (Applied Biosystems, Foster City, USA)., Results: HCV infection was more frequent among men (60%). Genotype 1 was found in 66% of patients, genotype 3 in 27% and genotype 4 in 7% of patients. During period of 10 years slow increase of genotype 4 HCV infection prevalence was observed. Among patients infected with genotype 1 HCV waiting for the treatment and those who already completed antiviral therapy the presence of genotype C/C was found in 21%, C/T in 59% and T/T in 20%., Conclusions: The most common in Northeastern Poland is genotype 1 of HCV. There has been a slow increase of infections with genotype 4. In 79% of patients infected with genotype 1 ofHCV genotypes C/T or T/T have been found which is an adverse prognostic factor of the treatment.

Clinical records of 89 patients with lacunar stroke were reviewed, to evaluate the occurrence of neurological syndrome and to correlate the frequency of its signs with the localization of ischaemic lesions seen in neuroimaging examinations. "Pure" motor paresis (50%) and sensory-motor paresis (27%) were the most common clinical syndromes. The localization in putamen and corona radiata (37%), or in anterior part of the internal capsule and in the head of the caudate nucleus (35%) were the most frequent sites of localization. In the group of patients with lesions in anterior part of internal capsule or with lesions in putamen and corona radiata "pure" motor paresis was the most common clinical syndrome. Additionally, in the group of patients with lesions in putamen and corona radiata sensory motor paresis was also frequently observed (44%). During one year of follow-up 22 patients died. Dysarthria and disability (Barthel Index < 60) were the independent predictors of one year mortality. Non-neurological complications were the main cause of death.