How patients can help us be even better doctors - educational leaflet "Before I go to the doctor".

Background: Medical psychology research shows that how a patient communicates appears to be the strongest predictor of physician behavior during a consultation and that patient's activity also influences how much information a physician communicates to a patient about his or her illness and treatment. Thus, being a patient is a skill that needs to be developed to balance the responsibilities of doctors and patients in each of their encounters. There is a lack of clear recommendations and education in this area, and patients' behaviour is instead governed by the etiquette of courtesy.

Continuous long-term monitoring of leaching from microplastics into ambient water - A multi-endpoint approach.

Widespread pollution of aquatic environments by microplastics (MPs) is a serious environmental threat. Despite the knowledge of their occurrence and properties rapidly evolving, the potential leaching from MPs remains largely unexplored. In this study, 16 different types of MPs prepared from consumer products were kept in long-term contact with water, while the leachates were continuously analysed.

Removal of manganese by adsorption onto newly synthesized TiO-based adsorbent during drinking water treatment.

Manganese is naturally present in water, but its increased concentration in potable water is undesirable for multiple reasons. This study investigates an alternative method of demanganization by a newly synthesized TiO-based adsorbent prepared through the transformation of titanyl sulphate monohydrate to amorphous sodium titanate. Its adsorption capacity for Mn was determined, while a range of influential factors, such as the effect of contact time, adsorbent dosage, pH value, and added ions was evaluated.

Preparation of Hop Estrogen-Active Material for Production of Food Supplements.

In recent years, the interest in the health-promoting effects of hop prenylflavonoids, especially its estrogenic effects, has grown. Unfortunately, one of the most potent phytoestrogens identified so far, 8-prenylnaringenin, is only a minor component of hops, so its isolation from hop materials for the production of estrogenically active food supplements has proved to be problematic. The aim of this study was to optimize the conditions (e.

Current knowledge in the field of algal organic matter adsorption onto activated carbon in drinking water treatment.

The increasing occurrence of algal and cyanobacterial blooms and the related formation of algal organic matter (AOM) is a worldwide issue that endangers the quality of freshwater sources and affects water treatment processes. The associated problems involve the production of toxins or taste and odor compounds, increasing coagulant demand, inhibition of removal of other polluting compounds, and in many cases, AOM acts as a precursor of disinfection by-products. Previous research has shown that for sufficient AOM removal, the conventional drinking water treatment based on coagulation/flocculation must be often accompanied by additional polishing technologies such as adsorption onto activated carbon (AC).