Introduction. Physical activity is one of the basic needs of people throughout their lives. Physical activity prevents many diseases, including cardiovascular diseases, which have the highest mortality rate, both among urban and rural populations in Poland. The average life expectancy in Poland and the European Union is increasing. The proportion of children and adolescents under the age of 20 is decreasing slowly but steadily, while the proportion of older people (aged 65+) in the total population is gradually increasing. According to the forecast of the Central Statistical Office, the percentage of older people increased rapidly after 2010, and will reach 22.3% in 2030. The number of the elderly will increase from 5,134,000 in 2007 to 8,195,000 in 2030. The health situation of Poles is less favourable compared to other European Union states. The most common health risks are: nicotine, drug addiction, alcoholism and obesity. One of the causes of obesity is an unhealthy lifestyle. Lifestyle is a basic determinant of human health. Objective. The aim of this study is to present research results based on a literature review on the importance of physical activity for human health as an element of organizing and managing the lifestyle of urban and rural populations. Conclusions. Comprehensive measures should be taken to increase public health awareness and promote health education, especially among school-age children and youths, and to provide appropriate sports infrastructure in particularly neglected rural areas.

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Introduction. Adverse pregnancy outcomes are less common among physically active women, and children born to such mothers are less likely to be at risk for macrosomia, obesity and metabolic diseases in the future. Objectives. The aims of the study were to establish physical activity (PA) patterns among pregnant women in the third trimester, and to determine the attitudes of prenatal care providers to maternal PA during pregnancy. Materials and method. The study was conducted in 2017 using surveys from the Polish Pregnancy-related Assessment Monitoring System program (Pol-PrAMS). The study included 3,451 postpartum women. The Pregnancy Physical Activity Questionnaire was used to investigate their PA. This part of Pol-PrAMS study was completed by 2,744 postpartum women who were subjected to statistical analysis. Results. Sedentary or light physical activity comprised 75% of the overall PA in the third trimester of pregnancy (mean values of energy expenditure: 67 and 93.3 MET-h/week, respectively). Household or caregiving activities accounted for almost 50% of all activities and were the most common PA types (mean energy expenditure: 105 MET-h/week). Restriction of PA in pregnancy was reported by over 60% of the women, most often due to concerns over proper foetal development. Over 85% of prenatal care providers either did not address the issue of PA with the future mothers at all, or recommended PA restriction. Conclusions. Sedentary and light-intensity PA are the two predominant types of physical activity in the third trimester. The most energy-consuming tasks involve household and caregiving activities. Restriction of activity was reported by the majority of the respondents. Prenatal care providers either did not address the matter of PA in pregnancy or recommended PA restriction.

Introduction:Smoking is an extremely dangerous habit for pregnant women because, in addition to the negative health effects on reproductive functions, it also has a negative impact on the developing foetus. Despite the increasing awareness among pregnant women of the negative effects of tobacco smoking on foetal development and the functioning of the child, only a quarter of women quit smoking while being pregnant. Material and methods:Analyses of the population of pregnant women in Poland were carried out using survey questionnaires within the framework of the Polish Pregnancy-related Assessment Monitoring System (Pol-PrAMS). Results: Over 18% of women smoked cigarettes during the last three months preceding pregnancy. The percentage of women who smoked at least one cigarette in the first months of pregnancy was 6.8%, while in the last trimester this figure was 7.7%. The percentage of women smoking after childbirth was 3.6%. In each successive year in which this study was conducted, the percentage of non-smoking women in the individual periods analysed was seen to rise. Each year, the highest percentages of women smoking cigarettes were those in the period before pregnancy. Conclusions: It is necessary to conduct educational programs, aimed primarily at young women, to discourage them from smoking and to increase their awareness of the adverse effects of smoking during pregnancy.

Introduction and objective. Many studies have indicated numerous nutrition mistakes among school-aged children and adolescents in both urban and rural environments. The aim of this study was to assess the nutritional habits of the Polish population, consisting of 7,974 individuals aged 12-17, from rural and urban environments, as well as to identify environmental variations of these habits and to verify the existing information on the incorrect nutrition of school-age children and adolescents. Materials and method. The research covered a group of 7,974 respondents-school-age adolescents with a similar age structure (12-17 years). The study on subjects from secondary school grades 1-3 was conducted in randomly selected schools from 2 random Polish provinces; 5 counties were randomly selected, followed by a choice of 2 communes: one rural and one urban. The research technique was a self-designed survey questionnaire. The obtained results were subjected to statistical analysis using the Pearson Chi 2 and V Cramer test. Results. The research revealed environment-based differences in subjects' nutrition. Breakfast was consumed daily by a statistically significantly fewer subjects from the rural environment (36.31%) than from the urban areas (51.32%); second breakfast was consumed by an insignificantly smaller proportion of respondents from the urban environment (40.00%) than from the rural one (46.00%); dinner was eaten daily by 86.00% of urban subjects and 82.00% of rural respondents; afternoon tea and supper were eaten rarely by respondents from both environments. The diet of respondents was dominated by anti-health behaviours. Conclusions. Most of the respondents displayed incorrect nutritional behaviours. Nutritional mistakes occurred among respondents from both rural and urban environments, with the predominance of the rural areas.

Silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) are used in many fields of industry and medicine. Despite the well-established antimicrobial activity, AgNPs are foreseen to be used as anticancer drugs due to the unusual feature—inability to induce drug resistance in cancer cells. The aim of the study was to assess biological activity of AgNPs against MDA-MB-436 cells. The cells were derived from triple-negative breast cancer, a type of breast cancer with poor prognosis and is particularly difficult to cure. AgNPs were toxic to MDA-MB-436 cells and the probable mechanism of toxicity was the induction of oxidative stress. These promising effects, giving the opportunity to use AgNPs as an anti-cancer agent should, however, be treated with caution in the light of further results. Namely, the treatment of MDA-MB-436 cells with AgNPs was associated with the increased secretion of several cytokines and chemokines, which were important in breast cancer metastasis. Finally, changes in the actin cytoskeleton of MDA-MB-436 cells under the influence of AgNPs treatment were also observed.

The effect of blue light filters on the anomaloscopic examination was analyzed. Thirty subjects (18–43 y, 20 female, 10 male) without color vision disorders were examined in 4 filter conditions: no filter (F-0), Blue Control Hoya (F-BC), Med-1 JZO (F-Med1) and 450 Eschenbach (F-450). Both Rayleigh test (red–green axis) and Moreland test (blue–green axis) were performed. Application of F-BC filter shows negligible effect on color vision perception in both tests. Contrary to this, the application of strong F-450 filter causes significant shift in Moreland test towards tritanopy and the decrease in correlations of Moreland parameters with Rayleigh test parameters. The application of medium strong F-Med1 filter causes the slight shift in Moreland test towards the center of the Moreland scale and increases the Spearman correlations between Moreland and Rayleigh test parameters. This observation suggests that the about 15–40% reduction of blue diode intensity in the Moreland test may be beneficial in detecting mild changes in color vision perception in the blue-green axis and may improve its usefulness in evaluating the color vision perception disorders accompanying different illnesses, such as diabetes, glaucoma, neuritis optica, or cataract. The discussion concerning the modifications of Moreland test construction is also presented.

Introduction: Smoking during pregnancy is a risk factor for adverse pregnancy outcomes. Data on the correlation between passive maternal smoking and pregnancy outcomes remain limited. We investigated the effect of active smoking and environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) during pregnancy on neonatal birthweight, including the risk for low birthweight (LBW). Material and methods: The study was conducted between 2010 and 2012. A group of 8625 women were surveyed during postpartum hospitalization. Outcome measures included mean birthweight of newborns. Additionally, odds ratios with confidence intervals were calculated to investigate the risk for LBW in active and passive smoking groups of mothers. Results: Lower birthweight (46 g-307 g; p < 0.05) and a higher risk for LBW (OR = 1.35, 95% CI: 1.05-1.75; p < 0.05) were observed in all infants born to smoking mothers. A negative effect of ETS in pregnancy on the reduction of mean birthweight was also found. Additionally, we analyzed the cumulative effect of active and passive smoking on neonatal birthweight. A statistically significant reduction in neonatal weight at birth was found in a group of women who smoked actively and passively during pregnancy (130 g; p < 0.05). Conclusions: Smoking is associated with decreased birthweight and in a group of active smoking mothers increased risk for LBW. This effect is dose-dependent and is also present in a group of women who smoked before pregnancy. There is also a cumulative effect of active smoking and ETS causing decreased neonatal birthweight and increased risk for low birthweight.