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Urban reservoirs can receive high loads of chemicals, including persistent contaminants and eutrophication-promoting nutrients. To maintain their economic and recreational use, implementation of various restoration methods is often required. The Maltański Reservoir (Poland, Europe), a small, shallow and dammed urban water body, undergoes complete draining every four years as part of its restoration procedure. Here, we investigated the phosphorus (P) content and its fractions just before the reservoir was drained and after it had been completely filled with water again. As demonstrated, the highest accumulation of P occurred at sites through which the main water flow is directed. Calcium-bound and residual P constituted the largest proportion of P fractions. A shift in P fractions after the reservoir was drained and sediments were left without water for at least 4 months was observed. A decrease in phytoplankton utilized NH4Cl-P, Fe-P and NaOH-P fractions was found and followed a simultaneous increase in nearly biologically inaccessible HCl-P and practically biologically inactive residual P fractions. Our study demonstrates that complete drainage of the Maltański Reservoir may additionally decrease the risk of internal P loading through shifts in its fractions.

Accumulating evidence shows that SARS‐CoV‐2 can potentially trigger autoimmune processes, which can be responsible for the long‐term consequences of COVID‐19. Therefore, this paper aims to review the autoantibodies reported in COVID‐19 convalescents. Six main groups were distinguished: (i) autoantibodies against components of the immune system, (ii) autoantibodies against components of the cardiovascular system, (iii) thyroid autoantibodies, (iv) autoantibodies specific for rheumatoid diseases, (v) antibodies against G‐protein coupled receptors, and (vi) other autoantibodies. The evidence reviewed here clearly highlights that SARS‐CoV‐2 infection may induce humoral autoimmune responses. However, the available studies share number of limitations, such as: (1) the sole presence of autoantibodies does not necessarily implicate the clinically‐relevant risks, (2) functional investigations were rarely performed and it is often unknown whether observed autoantibodies are pathogenic, (3) the control seroprevalence, in healthy, noninfected individuals was often not reported; thus it is sometimes unknown whether the detected autoantibodies are the result of SARS‐CoV‐2 infection or the accidental post‐COVID‐19 detection, (4) the presence of autoantibodies was rarely correlated with symptoms of the post‐COVID‐19 syndrome, (5) the size of the studied groups were often small, (6) the studies focused predominantly on adult populations, (7) age‐ and sex‐related differences in seroprevalence of autoantibodies were rarely explored, (8) genetic predispositions that may be involved in generation of autoantibodies during SARS‐CoV‐2 infections were not investigated, and (9) the autoimmune reactions following infection with SARS‐CoV‐2 variants that vary in the clinical course of infection remain unexplored. Further longitudinal studies are advocated to assess the link between identified autoantibodies and particular clinical outcomes in COVID‐19 convalescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The non-selective, post-emergence herbicides based on glyphosate [N-(phosphonomethyl) glycine] are one of the most widely used pesticides in agriculture, urban areas and forestry. Although there has been documentation on the physical, chemical and toxicological properties of glyphosate, the aquatic toxicity of such formulations still requires assessment and evaluation. In the present study, we describe deliberate use of glyphosate-based herbicide in a bathing area of Lake Lednica (Wielkopolska, Poland) by unknown perpetrators in April, 2011. Glyphosate was detected using gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) in the water samples collected from the bathing area at a mean concentration of 0.09 mg dm-3. Aboveground parts of emerged macrophytes (Phragmites australis and Typha latifolia) covering the investigated area were completely withered. Studies of benthic macroinvertebrates revealed no significant differences in taxa number between event (13 taxa) and control (14 taxa) sites although differences in abundance of particular taxa were observed. Significantly lower numbers of Chironomidae (by 41%), Oligochaeta (by 43%), Vivipariae (by 75%), Hirudinae (by 75%), Asellus aquaticus (by 77%), Gammarus pulex (by 38%) and Dreissena polymorpha (by 42%) were found at the glyphosate-treated site. Furthermore, compared to the control, chironomids (Chironomidae) exposed to glyphosate were represented by specimens smaller in length while A. aquaticus only showed large adults. The ranges of glyphosate concentration in the tissues of sampled macroinvertebrates and Phragmites australis organs were 7.3-10.2 μg kg-1 and 16.2-24.7 μg kg-1, respectively. Our study indicates that glyphosate-based herbicides may have adverse effects on aquatic organisms including macroinvertebrates, thus their use in (or nearby) surface waters should be subject to strict limitation.

During 2009-2011 we investigated the effect of perennial and roosting cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo sinensis) colonies on microbial pollution in 3 lakes: Góreckie (Greater Poland National Park), Chrzypsko (Greater Poland Province) and Ostrowiec (Drawa National Park). On Lake Góreckie cormorants formed a roosting colony (