The Myxobiota of the Łagiewnicki Forest in Łódź (Central Poland)

Herein, the results of studies conducted in the Łagiewnicki Forest in the city of Łódź (central Poland) in 2010–2012 are presented. These were the first long-term observations into myxomycetes in the Łagiewnicki Forest and in central Poland. Investigations were conducted using the route method for the entire forest complex (2010–2012). Additionally, twelve logs were selected in the “Las Łagiewnicki” forest reserve for detailed observations in 2011–2012; these logs belonged to four tree species: Betula pendula Roth, Carpinus betulus L., Quercus sp., and Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. In total, 1,561 specimens were collected and were classified into 96 taxa (91 species and five varieties). Three species ( Diderma saundersii , Oligonema flavidum , and Didymium eximium ) are new to the biota of Poland, while five ( Arcyria stipata , Hemitrichia calyculata , Oligonema schweinitzii , Physarum flavicomum , and Physarum robustum ) are included on the red list of rare myxomycetes in Poland. Stemonitopsis amoena is also classified as a rare species; to date, this species has been reported in one locality in Poland. The scale by Stephenson et al. was used to determine the frequency of occurrence of individual taxa; 55 taxa were classified as rare, nine as sporadic, 26 as common, and six as abundant taxa. Three ecological groups of slime molds were identified based on the type of substrate they colonized: lignicolous (54 taxa), foliicolous (seven taxa), and corticolous (two taxa). No preference for the substrate was noticed in a group of 33 taxa that occurred on different substrate types. The phenology of myxomycete occurrence was also analyzed; 49 taxa occurred throughout the entire vegetative season, while only single records of species that were found in specific months were noted. The biota collected in the “Las Łagiewnicki” forest reserve and that in a Łagiewnicki Forest segment outside it (of the same size and the same occurrence of plant communities as in the reserve) in 2011–2012 were also compared.

Parental Teleological Awareness Based on Research Conducted in Central Poland

The research problem discussed in this text concerns the specificity of parental teleological awareness, the components of which, in accordance with a constructed theoretical framework, are parental attitudes towards the child-rearing goals, types of their teleological awareness and the content of the child-rearing goals. The considerations are based on the results of the surveys that were conducted in central Poland. The research sample consisted of 212 parents who have filled the survey questionnaire that consisted of both open-ended and closedended questions. The results show that within the study group of parents, the child-rearing activity is usually deliberate, and that one can identify 4 types of parental teleological awareness (passive and active, as well as primary and secondary), with active and secondary being the dominant ones. Regardless of the fact that the content of the child-rearing goals within the said group is characterised by diversity, they usually form internally coherent system. In terms of preferred goals, one can observe the tendency among the parents to declare the intentions to pursue the objectives related to universal values, having a negotiable meaning, more often than not with individualistic rather than social qualities, and those assuming the child’s subjectivity in the process of achieving them. The stated (verbalized) goals usually refer to postulated vision of a human being or his/her features.

Occurrence of Viscum album subsp. album L. on Laburnum anagyroides Medik. in Toruń, Poland

This short note presents two localities of the common mistletoe growing on the common laburnum found in central Poland in the city of Toruń in 2020. The common laburnum is one of the rare hosts of this recently rapidly spreading semi-parasite. The presented relationship between the two species has so far been reported in only several publications, mostly from the late 19th and early 20th century.

The Identification of Risks for Drinking Water Intakes in Urbanized Area: The Case Study of Toruń (Central Poland)

This article discusses the problem of natural hazards connected with climatic changes and their influence on water safety. A medium-sized town in central Poland which is supplied with consumption water from both underground water intakes and surface water resources was selected as a case study. Natural hazards, such as droughts or floods, were identified and the risk of the occurrence of natural hazards concerning water supply systems assessed. The findings of the archived data analysis for the period 1971–2020 helped to identify extreme circumstances, the occurrence of which had an impact on secure water supplies in terms of quantity. Moreover, the results obtained indicate that the greatest influence had all the situations connected with the Drwęca low water discharge, which in the long term could lead to temporary water shortages. In the analyzed period, there was a significant increase in the number of days without precipitation, together with a statistically significant increase in the average annual air temperature. Meteorological hazards related to days without precipitation far outweighed the occurrence of days with intense precipitation. The analysis of water table fluctuations observed at the Jedwabno infiltration intake showed a high sensitivity of the aquifer to atmospheric conditions.

Climatic conditions of the development of tourism and leisure on the Żuławy Alluvial Plain

Based on the data for the years 1981–2014 from two meteorological stations located in the central and northern part of the Żuławy Alluvial Plain, the climatic conditions for the development of tourism and recreation in this area were analyzed. The factors contributing to this type of activity are the average temperatures in the fall and winter months higher than in central Poland and lower temperatures in the summer months, a relatively small number of hot and very hot days, as well as ice and very ice days. The central part of the analyzed area is characterized by lower precipitation totals, lower relative humidity, lower number of steamy days, lower cloud cover, and a high number of days with less than 50% cloudiness than the northern part, which is favorable to tourism in this area. Due to the small number of days with snowfall and snow cover over 8 cm thick, the possibility of skiing here is limited.

Low frequency of HPV positivity in breast tumors among patients from south-central Poland

Background Some studies suggest that Human Papilloma Virus (HPV) infection is important factor in carcinogenesis of breast tumors. This study’ objective was to analyze HPV prevalence in breast cancers of patients from south-central Poland. Materials and methods The study was performed based on archival paraffin embebbed and formalin fixed blocks in the group of 383 patients with breast cancer. HPV prevalence and its genotype were assessed, respectively by: nested PCR (with two groups of primers: PGMY09/PGMY11 and GP5+/GP6+), quantitative PCR (qPCR). Tumors were classified as HPV positive in case of at least one positive result in nested PCR and positive results in genotyping procedure. For all HPV positive tissues P16 immunostaining was applied in order to confirm active viral infection. Results In the group of 383 breast cancers, HPV positivity was found in 17 samples (4.4%) in nested PCR. All these samples were subjected to HPV genotyping. This analysis revealed presence of HPV type 16 into two tumors (0.5%). In these two cancers, P16 overexpression was reported. Conclusion In breast tumors of patients from south-central Poland in Poland, HPV positivity is demonstrated in very low percentage of cases.