Background and Aims: Urinary neutrophil gelatinase associated lipocalin (uNGAL) and urinary kidney injury molecule-1 (uKIM-1) are markers of acute kidney injury. The albuminuria is a well-known abnormality after physical exercise. The aim of this study was to investigate changes in uNGAL and uKIM-1 after intensive exercise causing albuminuria. Methods: The study population consisted of 19 participants (10 males and 9 females). The mean age of participants was 35.74 years. All were fit amateur runners; the mean body mass index was 21.99 in females and 24.71 in males. The subjects underwent a graded treadmill exercise test (GXT) according to the Bruce protocol. Maximal oxygen consumption (VO₂max) was measured. Immediately before and after the test urine was collected. Urinary creatinine, albumin, NGAL, and KIM-1 were measured. Albumin to creatinine (ACR), KIM-1 to creatinine (KCR), and NGAL to creatinine (NCR) ratios were calculated. Results: The mean VO₂max was 53.68 in females and 59.54 mL/min/kg in males. Albuminuria and ACR were significantly higher after exercise. An increase in the ACR from 8.82 to 114.35 mg/g (p < 0.01) was observed. uKIM-1 increased significantly after exercise from 849.02 to 1,243.26 pg/mL (p < 0.05). KCR increased from 1,239.1 to 1,725.9 ng/g but without statistical significance (p = 0.07). There were no statistical changes in pre- and post-run uNGAL levels. There was no correlation between post-GXT albuminuria and uKIM-1. Conclusions: uKIM-1 is a very sensitive marker of kidney dysfunction. In our study, uKIM-1 increased significantly after a very short period of exercise. It is not clear if the increase in KIM-1 is caused by post-exercise albuminuria.

Acute kidney injury (AKI) is described as a relatively common complication of exercise. In clinical practice the diagnosis of AKI is based on serum creatinine, the level of which is dependent not only on glomerular filtration rate but also on muscle mass and injury. Therefore, the diagnosis of AKI is overestimated after physical exercise. The aim of this study was to determine changes in uremic toxins: creatinine, urea, uric acid, asymmetric dimethylarginine (ADMA), symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA), trimethylamine N-oxide (TMAO) and urinary makers of AKI: albumin, neutrophil gelatinase-associated lipocalin (uNGAL), kidney injury molecule-1 and cystatin-C (uCyst-C) after long runs. Sixteen runners, mean age 36.7 ± 8.2 years, (2 women, 14 men) participating in 10- and 100-km races were studied. Blood and urine were taken before and after the races to assess markers of AKI. A statistically significant increase in creatinine, urea, uric acid, SDMA and all studied urinary AKI markers was observed. TMAO and ADMA levels did not change. The changes in studied markers seem to be a physiological reaction, because they were observed almost in every runner. The diagnosis of kidney failure after exercise is challenging. The most valuable novel markers which can help in post-exercise AKI diagnosis are uCyst-C and uNGAL.

Aim: The aim of the study was to investigate the relationship between the concentration of psychrophilic bacteria, mesophilic bacteria and mold fungi in bioaerosols, and the number of new cases of type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) in children. Methods: Air samples from the Lubelskie and Pomeranian voivodeships in Poland were collected from January 2015 to December 2016 in winter, spring, summer and autumn. Thirty-three samples were collected in the Pomeranian and 27 in the Lubelskie voivodeship. The air samples were collected on the first day of each month at 1:00 pm for 10 mins at a height of 1.5 m above the ground. The number of mesophilic bacteria was detected after 24–48 hrs incubation at 37°C on tryptone soya agar (TSA; Merck, Darmstadt, Germany). The number of psychrophilic bacteria was detected after 72 hrs incubation at 22°C on TSA. The number of fungi was detected by a 5-day long incubation at 28°C on chloramphenicol yeast glucose agar. Results: In the Lubelskie voivodeship, the mean concentration of psychrophilic bacteria was significantly higher than in the Pomeranian voivodeship (2739 vs 608 CFU/m 3 , respectively), the mean concentration of mesophilic bacteria was significantly higher (2493 vs 778/m 3 , respectively) and the concentration of fungi was significantly higher (3840 vs 688 CFU/m 3 , respectively). We also showed a statistically significant relationship between the number of children with recently diagnosed T1DM and the mean concentration of psychrophilic and mesophilic bacteria in the Pomeranian and Lubelskie voivodeships ( P <0.001). Moreover, we found a significant relationship between the number of new cases of T1DM in children and the mean concentration of fungi in bioaerosols in the Lubelskie voivodeship ( P <0.001), but not in the Pomeranian voivodeship ( P =NS). Conclusion: The results of our research showed that there is a higher concentration of microbial particles in the Lublin voivodeship. Therefore, we recommend changes in climate for children (trips to the sea, mountains, etc) as often as possible.

Our preliminary results confirm the not yet fully explored relation between air pollution and the risk of type 1 DM in children and adolescents.

The paper presents water-quality evaluation based on an 8-year monitoring programme in the Gdansk Municipality region, on the Southern coast of the Baltic Sea. The studies were carried out from 2000 to 2007 by surface water analysis at 15 various sites within eight watercourses. Sampling sites included rather urbanized or developed lands, farming fields and nonpolluted city recreational areas such as parks and forests. Most of the watercourses were sampled monthly at two locations, one within the upper course of the watercourse and the other near its mouth. In all samples, eight parameters of water quality were determined: total suspended solids, dissolved oxygen, water temperature, oxygen saturation, 5-day biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total phosphorus and total nitrogen concentration. Interpretation of the obtained results revealed that examination of those basic physicochemical parameters permits to discriminate initially watercourses with respect to level of water contamination. During the research, a large dataset was obtained and it was described by both basic statistical parameters and chemometric method of cluster analysis. The paper presents relations between analysed parameters and influence of land exploitation mode on water quality and describes variation of the results both in space and time.