Poznan Metropolitan Area Research Articles

Mpox virus detection in the wastewater and the number of hospitalized patients in the Poznan metropolitan area, Poland

ObjectivesWastewater-based epidemiology can determine the scale of a mpox epidemic and thus is a promising additional tool that can complete data gathered by the clinical monitoring approach and predict more accurately the development and progress of the current mpox outbreak. MethodsWe collected daily average samples from two wastewater treatment plants (WTPs): Central and Left-Bank, in Poznan, Poland from July to December 2022. The mpox DNA was detected using real-time polymerase chain reaction and compared with the number of hospitalizations. ResultsWe detected the mpox DNA in the Central WTP in weeks 29, 43, and 47 and the Left-Bank WTP mostly from mid-September till the end of October. A total of 22 patients with mpox were reported by the public health authority from July to December 2022, with the highest number of hospitalized individuals from mid-July to mid-August. The mpox virus detection does not correlate with the number of hospitalizations in Poznan, Poland. ConclusionOur results suggest that the scale of the mpox epidemic is underestimated, and many mpox virus-infected individuals are not identified by the public health authority.

DEMOGRAPHIC CHANGES IN THE RURAL AREAS OF THE WIELKOPOLSKIE PROVINCE IN THE YEARS 2005-2015

The aim of the research was to diagnose demographic changes that took place in the rural areas of the Wielkopolska province between 2005 and 2015. The study identified rural areas that were located within the boundaries of the Poznań Metropolitan Area and beyond this area. The research was based on data from the Central Statistical Office and the Statistical Office in Poznań. As a result of the conducted research, it was observed that demographic changes in the rural areas of Wielkopolska province such as population growth or changes in population structure by place of residence or economic age groups are largely caused by migration movements. In the analyzed period there was an influx of population into rural areas (positive migration balance), although in recent years a slight inhibition of this phenomenon has been observed. In addition, there was a slight increase in positive natural growth. More dynamic changes have been observed in rural areas within the Poznan Metropolitan Area. In the studied period, changes in the opposite direction were observed in cities, ie the decrease in the number of inhabitants and in birthrate, as well as the increase in emigration from cities (decrease of the negative migration balance).

Delimitacja Poznańskiego Obszaru Metropolitalnego. Od pomysłu do planu

In order to delimit a territorially cohesive area, four methodological principles were adopted: immediate neighbourhood, continuity, compactness and separation. Three basic groups of delimitation criteria were established: socio-economic, accessibility and the natural environment. In a statistical and dynamic approach, the research conducted for the area confirmed active growth of the majority of communes in the vicinity of the city of Poznań. The ultimate shape of the metropolitan area fulfils the adopted delimitation assumptions and rather faithfully describes the functional and spatial relations; it also captures as a whole the more significant natural structures. If the limits of the Poznan Metropolitan Area crossed these structures they would circumscribe the opportunities of planning sustainable spatial development. For the metropolitan area defined in this way, a draft of the spatial plan was developed. The Plan is one of the tools of administering the spatial policy of Wielkopolska province.

Delimitacja Poznańskiego Obszaru Metropolitalnego. Od pomysłu do planu

In order to delimit a territorially cohesive area, four methodological principles were adopted: immediate neighbourhood, continuity, compactness and separation. Three basic groups of delimitation criteria were established: socio-economic, accessibility and the natural environment. In a statistical and dynamic approach, the research conducted for the area confirmed active growth of the majority of communes in the vicinity of the city of Poznań. The ultimate shape of the metropolitan area fulfils the adopted delimitation assumptions and rather faithfully describes the functional and spatial relations; it also captures as a whole the more significant natural structures. If the limits of the Poznan Metropolitan Area crossed these structures they would circumscribe the opportunities of planning sustainable spatial development. For the metropolitan area defined in this way, a draft of the spatial plan was developed. The Plan is one of the tools of administering the spatial policy of Wielkopolska province.

Przedsiębiorczość w gospodarce opartej na wiedzy w obszarze metropolitalnym Poznania

The aim of the paper is to analyse and evaluate the growth of entrepreneurship in the know-ledge-based economy in the Poznan metropolitan area over the recent years (1999–-2006)– a contribution to the research into the development and transformation of the economy underthe influence of science. The spatial range of the analysis makes it possible to examine therelations under study between the metropolitan core and the surrounding area. For the purposes of the present research, the term entrepreneurship is understood as thetaking of measures intended to create jobs and stimulate economic activity. It is assumed thathigh-tech branches play an important role in job creation. The analysis of the KBE sector embraces high-tech manufacturing sections and the broadercategory of knowledge-intensive services, including high-tech services. The main body of the paper is preceded by interpretations of the essence of a knowledge–based economy, an operational-statistical approach to it, and a general assessment of the deve-lopment of entrepreneurship in the Poznan metropolitan area.

Variations in the Fluoride Level in Precipitation in a Region of Human Impact

The research concerns the Wielkopolski National Park (West Poland), which suffered a huge human impact in the 1970s and 1980s owing to the nearby location of an industrial plant. Since then, fundamental technological changes that it introduced into its production of phosphate fertilizers have radically reduced the amount of pollution emitted. A three-year study (2002–2004) of fluorides in precipitation in open terrain and under tree crowns showed their concentrations to range from levels below the detection limit (0.003 mg/l) to 0.560 mg/l. Those registered under tree crowns were several times higher and indicated substantial dry deposition of fluorides on the trees. The highest values were recorded in 2003, with 43% of samples ranging from 0.01 to 0.05 mg/l, and with 51% of throughfall ranging from 0.10 to 0.50 mg/l. A strong connection was shown to exist between fluoride and sulphate concentrations in the precipitation. An analysis was made of the available data on F concentrations in the air and the dust levels around the factory, but these figures did not show an unequivocal effect on F concentrations in precipitation. A great similarity was found to occur between the fluoride content in rainwater in the Wielkopolski National Park and in the centre of the nearby Poznan metropolitan area, which indicates that there are also other F sources besides the local factory.