The genus Sphagnum is an essential component in the formation and maintenance of high latitude peatlands, bogs and mires. The species grows in dense, extended mats of agglomerated shoots that allow it to retain water necessary for its growth. These mats are partly responsible for maintaining the right conditions for other species in these wetlands to thrive. In this issue of Physiologia Plantarum, Mironov et al. (2020) monitored the growth of Sphagnum riparium for a period of 4 years and revealed three distinct growth rhythms: a seasonal temperature dependent, a circalunar and a third one, synchronized with the circalunar. This synchronised nature of Sphagnum growth could contribute to its position as a key species in the maintenance of peatlands.Within Northern (high latitude) peatlands, the genus Sphagnum acts as an ecosystem engineer, rapidly forming an environment, both hydrological and biogeochemical, favourable to its growth (van Breemen 1995). As a consequence, the peat properties and plant species composition largely result from the growth of Sphagnum, a genus that can make up as much as 80% of the species composition in these areas (Weltzin et al. 2003). High latitude peatlands comprise almost one third of the global soil carbon pool and they provide an important sink for atmospheric carbon dioxide even though they cover only 2% of the total land mass (Yu et al. 2010). Sphagnum moss is harvested commercially and used, for example, as insulating material, an ingredient in potting mixes to enhance their moisture retaining value and as a critical substrate for growing mushrooms.As key-species in these environments, knowledge on the ecology, growth and development of Sphagnum spp. is of great interest to aid conservationists' efforts to restore damaged wetlands, necessary as climate change and overexploitation are straining the high latitude wetlands. It is estimated that as much as 52% of active peatlands have been lost to overexploitation (Chapman et al. 2003).To better understand the growth and development of these key species, the authors of this study have tried to assess the biological growth rhythm of Sphagnum riparium, a species covering 90% of their test site in Russian Karelia, using data from a 4-year period. The authors used the angle formed in the stem induced by the weight of the snow cover to measure the annual growth. The growth season starts when temperatures rise and the snow cover disappears, allowing for the use of this bend as 'starting point' of annual growth and the distance between consecutive curvatures as a measure of yearly growth. The authors revealed three growth rhythms (Fig. 1) of which the one contributing most to the annual growth was linked to the seasonal cycle of temperature, which relates to earlier studies into the effect of climate change and the possibility that the area of suitable climate for Sphagnum peatland could expand in the near future, provided that water availability is not greatly reduced (Oke and Hager 2017). The second rhythm, contributing substantially b...

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Vulvitis and vaginitis in girls are the most frequent reason for contacting a pediatric gynecologist. The article considers options for local treatment with various forms of inflammation of the vulva and vagina. In recent years, there has been an increase in this pathology. The maximum number of appeals is observed at 1 year of age and at the age of 3-7 years. The formation of the inflammatory process in the vagina is caused by the state of the endocrine and immune systems, as well as a number of anatomical and physiological features of the structure of the external sexual organs. An important role in the development of vulvovaginitis and vulvitis is played by extragenital pathology. The development of the secondary inflammatory process in the vagina provokes such diseases as urinary tract infection, dysbacteriosis, atopic dermatitis, noopharyngeal diseases, frequent colds, transient immunodeficiency states, childhood infections. The clinical manifestations of vulva-guinitis and vulvitis are similar and depend on the severity of the process, the type of exciter. In acute nonspecific vulvovaginitis, a vivid clinical picture is typical. This discharge from the genital tract, hyperemia and swelling of the vulva, discomfort, burning with urination. The diagnosis of the disease is based on the details of complaints, clinical picture, laboratory and instrumental diagnostic methods. In the treatment of non-specific vulvovaginitis, girls rarely resort to the use of systemic antibacterial drugs. Preference is given to topical preparations. The advantage of local treatment is a minimal risk of adverse reactions, simplicity and ease of use, in the absence of contraindications (except for individual intolerance of the drug), as well as in the possibility of use in extragenital pathology.

Complete care of a patient is important in palliative medicine. The necessity of nutrition support is determined by the severity of nutritive, trophic deficit, features of diseases which can cause (or which have already caused) protein-energy deficiency. Nutritive support is a multidisciplinary problem: it concerns not only a dietitian and an intensive care specialist but also a surgeon, a gastroenterologist, an oncologist, a dentist and other specialists who face patients unabled to satisfy their needs by physiological way. The feeding using gastral tube or gastrostomy should be special because oral cavity is switched off the nutrition. Efficiency of treatment rises while adapting enteral nutrition to specialties of digestion and metabolism in various types of pathology. Gastroenteric tube feeding plays a major role in the management of patients with poor voluntary intake, chronic neurological or mechanical dysphagia or gut dysfunction and in patients who are critically ill. Enteral nutrition is often used for children as well as for adults. Children may require enteral feeding for a wide range of underlying conditions, such as for malnutrition, for increased energy requirement, for metabolic disorders and also for children with neuromuscular disorders. Two main steps help to solve the problem of malnutrition: choosing the composition of formula and choosing the way to deliver the formula. This article gives a specification in using various feeding formulas according to different diseases and describes different ways to deliver the formula (from gastral tube to gastrostomy). If swallowing reflex is absent the formula should be delivered directly to stomach. The best way for a long-term or permanent nutrition support is feeding using gastrostomy. This article describes some surgical aspects of different types of gastrostomy from classical one to modern percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy.

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