A Draft of a System of Teaching Occupational Safety and Ergonomics at Universities in Poland

The aim of the study was to develop a set of curricula for teaching Occupational Safety and Ergonomics at colleges and universities of various types, aimed at equipping students with knowledge and skills and at shaping active attitudes towards the practical application of the acquired knowledge in their future working lives. On the basis of the analysis of the curricula at Polish and foreign colleges and universities, a set (canon) of educational contents constituting a common practice in the academic teaching of Occupational Safety and Ergonomics was established. Then, a convenient for teaching this subject classification of university specialisations in Poland was introduced. This led to identifying and defining a taxonomic unit called here an educational profile. Next, curriculum minima for the developed profiles were defined objectively. To achieve this aim, the set of educational contents was ranked by university teachers and specialists in occupational safety and ergonomics. Each part of the educational contents (subject) was ranked on a 10-point scale in relation to each educational profile. The results of this ranking led to formulating sets of educational contents for each educational profile. On this basis, a repertoire of curricula (6 curricula, in 2 hour-by-hour versions each) was prepared, with methodological guidelines for lecturers. The results of the study were presented in the form of a manual for academic authorities.     

Lead,cadmium and mercury contents and bioaccumulation potential of wild edible saprophytic and ectomycorrhizal mushrooms,Croatia

ABSTRACT

Lead (Pb), cadmium (Cd), and mercury (Hg) contents in ten species of edible mushrooms in Trako??an, Croatia were determined. In addition, the similarity between the studied species was determined by cluster analysis. The caps and stipes of the fruiting bodies were analysed separately. The analyses were carried out by inductively coupled plasma - optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The greatest mean lead concentrations of 1.91 and 1.60 mg kg ^?1 were determined in caps and stipes of Macrolepiota procera. The greatest mean concentrations of cadmium (3.23 and 2.24 mg kg^?1) were determined in caps and stipes of Agaricus campestris and of mercury (2.56 and 2.35 mg kg^?1) in Boletus edulis. In terms of the anatomical parts of the fruiting body (cap-stipe), a considerably greater concentration of the analysed elements was found in the cap for all mushroom species. According to calculated bio-concentration factors, all the examined species were found to be bio-accumulators of Cd and Hg. On the basis of the accumulation of the studied metals, great similarity of mushroom species belonging to the same genus and partial similarity of species of the same ecological affiliation was obtained by cluster analysis.