The paper presents results of aluminium concentration determination in the samples of surface water and bottom sediments of the Mala Wełna River (West Poland). In the surface water the concentration of aluminium varies in the range from 4.14 to 25.9 ug/dm'. With use of the Mineql+ program the concentration of the aluminium sulphate complexes in the water samples studied has been determined in a model way. In the bottom sediments samples of the river aluminium has been determined in the granulometrie fractions of the grain sizes> 2.0; 2.0-1.0; 1.0-0.5; 0.5-0.25; 0.25-0.1; 0.1-0.063; < 0.063 mm, using the sequential extraction scheme proposed by Tessier el al. The lowest concentration of aluminium has been found in the granulometrie fraction 0.5-0.25 mm, while the highest in the fractions 0.1-0.063 and< 0.063 mm. An elevated concentration of aluminium has been also noted in the fraction> 2.0 mm. Taking into regard the chemical fractions the lowest concentration of aluminium has been found in the exchange fraction and the fraction bounded to carbonates (fractions I and li), whereas the highest concentration of aluminium has been determined in the lithogenic fraction (fraction V). The methods of sample preparation for analysis of aluminium in bottom sediments were compared. Il was observed that higher concentration of aluminium was present in grounded samples without its influence on grain size fractions. The concentration of aluminium in surface water samples has been determined by the GF-AAS, while in bottom sediments by F-AAS.

Vegetable oils belong to a large group of substances consumed on a daily basis. World vegetable oil production is soaring, reducing the popularity of animal fats. Heavy metals pose a threat to human health. It is estimated that about 80% of the daily dose of heavy metals enters the human body through the consumption of food. Hence, it is necessary to monitor their concentrations in food products. Besides, the presence of heavy metals is thought to have possible negative influence on the quality of oils, especially on their taste and smell. Heavy metals may also accelerate the process of the rancidifiction of oils. Rapeseeds, soybean seeds and linseeds were selected for the analysis because they are one of the most popular oilseeds and at the same time they differ in terms of growing conditions. The analyses of different fractions and the ready-made product were also performed. The aim of the study was to determine the variation in concentrations of heavy metals, iron and manganese in different fractions during production. The significant concentrations of iron, manganese and zinc were observed in oilseeds. It was also shown that during different stages of oil refining the concentrations of metals decrease. The concentrations of metals are compared with those reported in literature.

The brain is subject to damage, due to ageing, physiological processes and/or disease. Some of the damage is acute in nature, such as strokes; some is more subtle, like white matter lesions. White matter lesions or hyperintensities (WMH) can be one of the first signs of micro brain damage. We implemented the Acoustocerebrography (ACG) as an easy to use method designed to capture differing states of human brain tissue and the respective changes.

Aim: The purpose of the study is to compare the efficacy of ACG and Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) to detect WMH in patients with clinically silent atrial fibrillation (AF).

Methods and results: The study included 97 patients (age 66.26 ± 6.54 years) with AF. CHA2DS2-VASc score (2.5 ±1.3) and HAS BLED (1.65 ± 0.9). According to MRI data, the patients were assigned into four groups depending on the number of lesions: L0 – 0 to 4 lesions, L5 – 5 to 9 lesions, L10 – 10 to 29 lesions, and L30 – 30 or more lesions. Authors found that the ACG method clearly differentiates the groups L0 (with 0–4 lesions) and L30 (with more than 30 lesions) of WMH patients. Fisher’s Exact Test shows that this correlation is highly significant (p < 0:001).

Conclusion: ACG is a new, easy and cost-effective method for detecting WMH in patients with atrial fibrillation