Spatial and seasonal variability of the mass concentration and chemical composition of PM2.5 in Poland.

The seasonal changes in ambient mass concentrations and chemical composition of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) were investigated in three locations in Poland. The analyses included PM2.5-bound hazardous benzo(a)pyrene (BaP), As, Ni, Cd, and Pb. The samples of PM2.5 were collected daily in Katowice (southern Poland, urban background site), Gdansk, and Diabla Góra (northern Poland, urban and regional background sites, respectively) during 1-year-long campaign in 2010. Based on monthly ambient concentrations of PM2.5-bound carbon (organic and elemental), water-soluble ions (Na+, NH4+, K+, Mg2+, Ca2+, Cl-, NO3-, SO42-), and elements As, Ni, Cd, Pb, Ti, Al, Fe, the chemical mass closure of PM2.5 was checked for each of the four seasons of the year and for the heating and non-heating periods at each site. Also, the annual concentrations of PM2.5 were determined and the annual PM2.5 mass closure checked. At each measuring point, the PM2.5 concentrations were high compared to its Polish yearly permissible value, 25 µg/m3, and its concentrations elsewhere in Europe. The highest annual PM2.5 concentration, 43 µg/m3, occurred in Katowice; it was twice the annual PM2.5 concentration in Gdansk, and thrice the one in Diabla Góra. The high annual averages were due to very high monthly concentrations in the heating period, which were highest in the winter. PM2.5 consisted mainly of carbonaceous matter (elemental carbon (EC) + organic matter (OM), the sum of elemental carbon, EC, and organic matter, OM; its annual mass contributions to PM2.5 were 43, 31, and 33 % in Katowice, Gdansk, and Diabla Góra, respectively), secondary inorganic aerosol (SIA), the Na_Cl group, and crustal matter (CM)-in the decreasing order of their yearly mass contributions to PM2.5. OM, EC, SIA, Na_Cl, and CM accounted for almost 81 % of the PM2.5 mass in Katowice, 74 % in Gdansk, and 90 % in Diabla Góra. The annual average toxic metal contribution to the PM2.5 mass was not greater than 0.2 % at each site. In Katowice and Gdansk, the yearly ambient BaP concentrations were high (15.4 and 3.2 ng/m3, respectively); in rural Diabla Góra, the concentrations of BaP were almost equal to 1 ng/m3, the Polish BaP annual limit. The great seasonal fluctuations of the shares of the component groups in PM2.5 and of the concentrations of PM2.5 and its components are due to the seasonal fluctuations of the emissions of PM and its precursors from hard and brown coal combustion for energy production, growing in a heating season, reaching maximum in winter, and decreasing in a non-heating period. In Gdansk, northern Poland, especially in the spring and autumn, sea spray might have affected the chemical composition of PM2.5. The greatest hazard from PM2.5 occurs in Katowice, southern Poland, in winter, when very high concentrations of PM2.5 and PM2.5-related carbonaceous matter, including BaP, are maintained by poor natural ventilation in cities, weather conditions, and the highest level of industrialization in Poland. In less industrialized northern Poland, where the aeration in cities is better and rather gaseous than solid fuels are used, the health hazard from ambient PM2.5 is much lower.

A study on the seasonal mass closure of ambient fine and coarse dusts in Zabrze, Poland.

Diurnal samples of PM(2.5) and PM(2.5-10) were taken in an urban background area in Zabrze (Upper Silesia in southern Poland) in the winter (January-March) and summer (July-September) of 2009. The samples were analyzed for carbon (organic and elemental), water soluble ions (Na(+), NH(4) (+), K(+), Mg(2+), Ca(2+), F(-), Cl(-), NO(3) (-), PO(4) (3-), SO(4) (2-)) and concentrations of 27 elements by using, respectively, a Behr C50 IRF carbon analyzer, a Herisau Metrohm AG ion chromatograph, and a PANalitycal EPSILON 5 X-ray fluorescence spectrometer. To perform the mass closure calculations for both dust fractions in the two periods, the particulate matter (PM) chemical components were categorized into organic matter, elemental carbon, secondary inorganic aerosol, crustal matter, marine components and unidentified matter. The chemical composition of the two dust fractions and the element enrichment coefficients in the two seasons, referred to proper emission profiles, proved about 80% of PM(2.5) and more than 50% (in winter 65%) of PM(2.5-10) mass coming from anthropogenic sources, mainly from fuel combustion and specific municipal emission shaping the winter emission of ambient dust in the area.

Removing barriers to APRN practice in the state of Hawai'i.

An informal coalition of nurses, educators, health care providers and policy makers recognizing that administrative rules for advanced practice registered nurse (APRN) practice limited consumer access to care in Hawai'i, developed an initiative to bring about legislative and regulatory change using the National Council of State Boards of Nursing APRN Scope of Nursing Practice and Standards Related to the APRN. The authors report on the process including challenges and keys to success toward the passage of Hawai'i Act 169 (2009). The authors also discuss key components of the legislation, which removed barriers to full scope of practice for APRNs. The potential for comprehensive reform was realized due to the actions of a broad coalition in support of increasing access to care for underserved and rural populations in Hawai'i.

Generational differences in registered nurse turnover.

The chronic nature of the nursing workforce shortage in the United States is a continuing concern. As the nationwide gap between supply and demand grows, it remains unknown what impact turnover will have on nursing, access to care, and efforts to improve quality and safety of health care. It also remains unclear whether the recent turnover trends among new graduate registered nurses differ from past generational cohorts of new nurses. The aims of this study were to identify the reasons why registered nurses turnover by generational cohort (Veterans, Baby Boomers, and GenXMs) and to compare the length of time nurses were employed in their first five nursing positions by generational cohort. The findings suggest the three generational cohorts displayed similar reasons for leaving nursing positions with relocation, career advancement, and personal/family reasons reported most frequently. Except for the first nursing position, significant generational effects were found in the length of time Veterans, Baby Boomer, and GenXMs stayed employed in their nursing positions. It remains unknown why the GenXMs displayed a significantly shorter length of employment time in their second, third, fourth, and fifth nursing positions. The decline in length of employment time displayed in both the Baby Boomers and GenXMs may be an issue of concern requiring future research.