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BACKGROUND: Reduced muscle strength is one symptom of Parkinson’s disease (PD). Strength can be increased by strength training, which may cause exaggerated blood pressure (BP) rise. It is believed that exercises performed on vibrating platform can strengthen leg muscles without excessive BP increase. OBJECTIVE: To measure the pressor response to static exercises performed during whole body vibration in PD patients. METHODS: Twenty-four aged PD patients and twelve healthy young volunteers participated in the study. PD subjects performed six repetitions of deep-, semi-squat, and calves at vibration frequency of 30 Hz. Each 30 s exercise was followed by 30 s rest. The young volunteers performed two sessions of above-mentioned exercises with and without vibration. BP was measured continuously. RESULTS: In PD patients, the highest BP values were observed during deep squat; systolic blood pressure rose 10 mmHg in ‘weak responders’, and 50 mmHg in ‘strong responders’. This difference correlated with the rise in pulse pressure suggesting indirectly the role of stoke volume in individual response. In healthy subjects pressor response was also individually differentiated and not influenced by vibration. CONCLUSION: Deep and semi squat can evoke a strong cardiovascular response in some PD and healthy subjects. Low-magnitude vibrations likely did not affect pressor response.

Zespół jelita nadwrażliwego jest przewlekłym, często nawracającym i bardzo rozpowszechnionym zaburzeniem interakcji mózg–jelito. W praktyce klinicznej zespół jelita nadwrażliwego charakteryzuje się przewlekłymi bólami brzucha i zaburzeniami rytmu wypróżnień. Mebeweryna jest muskulotropowym środkiem rozkurczowym o bezpośrednim działaniu na mięśnie gładkie przewodu pokarmowego, który łagodzi skurczowe bóle brzucha, nie zaburzając prawidłowej motoryki jelit. W artykule przedstawiono aktualne dane oceniające skuteczność i bezpieczeństwo stosowania mebeweryny w zespole jelita nadwrażliwego na podstawie systematycznego przeglądu literatury opublikowanego w 2022 r.

In Poland, reporting of irregularities by employees has been largely ignored. This topic is not part of the professional-ethical or normative discourse. External disclosure involves reporting the irregularity to an external entity that can react or take follow-up action. The issue of external reporting is a highly controversial problem of labor law in Poland, which is limited by the primary obligation of an employee specified in the Labor Code in Art. 100 § 2 points 4. Under such conditions, employees who report irregularities to repair the organization are treated as persons violating their loyalty to the employer, even though they demonstrated the will to rectify the offense and the accompanying readiness to act. An attempt to go beyond this dilemma is to be the new Directive of the European Union on the protection of whistleblowers and the presented draft Polish act on the protection of whistleblowers submitted on October 18, 2021. The transposition of the Directive provisions turned out to be a failure on December 17, 2021. For employees who decide to report irregularities externally, reporting irregularities is a complex dilemma that may break the ties of trust and dismissal by employer-relevant regulations. The Polish Labor Code requires the conceptualization of the rationality of notifications, despite the lack of appropriate regulations in this regard.

Introduction Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of chronic inflammatory diseases of the gastrointestinal tract with relapsing-remitting episodes that are very burdensome for the patient. Understanding the sociodemographic factors that affect a patient’s quality of life helps us to better understand the behavior and life circumstances of the patient as well as the patient’s ability to cope with the stresses caused by IBD. Aim The aim of the study was to identify factors that affect the quality of life of patients with IBD. Material and methods The study involved 100 patients with confirmed IBD (50 subjects with Crohn’s disease and 50 subjects with ulcerative colitis). Women constituted 45% (n=45) of the study group, while the remaining 55% (n=55) of the group were men. The mean age of the respondents participating in the study was 37.27±13.38. The youngest patient was 20 years old and the oldest was 76. The respondents were treated at the Department of General and Colorectal Surgery and at the Department of Digestive Tract Diseases (both at Medical University in Łódź, Poland). Data were collected using the SF-36 general questionnaire, the IBDQ specific questionnaire, and the original author’s questionnaire. Participation in the study was anonymous and voluntary. A significance level of 0.05 was adopted in the statistical analysis. Results The study showed that the quality of life of IBD patients is reduced. The psychosocial factors influencing the quality of life of IBD patients include education, place of residence, professional activity, having a spouse, and lack of surgical intervention. However, no significant relationship was found between the respondents’ gender and age and their quality of life in any of the domains of the SF-36 and IBDQ questionnaire. Conclusions The occurrence of IBD, a chronic and incurable disease, reduces the quality of life of those patients. However, a higher level of education, living in a larger community, and increased physical activity all have a positive impact on the quality of life of patients with IBD.

Sortition is sometimes seen as a means of addressing some weaknesses of the electoral system. Advantages of sortition are related to its three principles - randomness, representation and equality. Nowadays we are witnessing the growing popularity of the citizens’ assembly - the most expanded form of deliberative process based on sortition. The methods of selection of assembly members are very diverse. Theoretically, they should ensure that the selection process fulfils the principles of randomness, representation and equality, but in practice there are many factors that can disturb their implementation. The aims of the paper are to investigate what selection methods are used in the citizens’ assemblies and to evaluate the processes of selection of assembly members from the perspective of principles of randomness, representation and equality. For this purpose selection processes from 29 citizens’ assemblies organised in the years 2020-2021 in 9 European countries were analysed. Then the selection processes were compared with an evaluation model prepared on the basis of theoretical concepts concerning randomness, representation and equality. The study was conducted using a desk research method whose subjects were reports and methodology descriptions regarding each citizens’ assembly, as well as the assembly members’ data. The study shows the selection methods used in citizens’ assemblies are very diverse. Although almost all of the analysed assemblies were representative of the given population, in some of the cases the selection processes were far from the ideal of randomness and did not provide everyone with even near equal chances of being selected to participate.

On October 23, 2019, the European Union adopted the Directive on protecting whistleblowers. The Directive was intended to be a groundbreaking tool in protecting whistleblowers. The Directive introduces essential and correct standards to protect the interests of the European Union and whistleblowers who report breaches of EU law. The whistleblower protection model is designed to go beyond any standards of whistleblower protections in the Member States. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of the Directive is difficult to assess without complete transposition in the Member States. The process did not end with the saying as of December 17, 2021 in Poland, which is only at the draft bill stage. The author notes that the Directive does not provide a comprehensive model for reporting irregularities, which results in an incomplete conceptualization of this institution.

This paper attempts to determine the scope of protection of academic teachers in the context of repeated concluding fixed-term contracts and the partial exclusion by the Act on higher education of the application of Art. 25(1) of the KP to employment contracts of this group of employees. The author does not intend to duplicate the extensive literature in this area presented by labor law doctrine. In this publication, the author defends the thesis that the employment relationship of an academic teacher should be subject to a broader impact of the protective provisions of the Labor Code, including the protective function of labor law, in a situation where there are no normative obstacles to extending such impact.

Background The role of circadian rhythm abnormalities in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remains relatively unknown. The aim of this study was to identify the inflammatory cytokine profile in the IBD patients and its relationship with the quality of sleep. Methods Prospective, single-center observational cohort study was performed. In all enrolled adult IBD patients, the disease activity was assessed using Crohn’s Disease Activity Index (CDAI) for Crohn’s disease (CD) and Partial Mayo Score for ulcerative colitis (UC), respectively. To assess the quality of sleep, all patients were asked to respond to a questionnaire to define Pittsburgh Quality Sleep Index (PSQI). From all enrolled patients, 15 ml venous blood was taken to determine serum inflammatory cytokine levels and perform standard laboratory tests. Results Fifty-two IBD patients were enrolled in the study: 32 with CD and 20 with UC. The poor sleep was noted in 69.4% of patients with clinically active and in 6.3% of patients with inactive disease. In the group of IBD patients with poor sleep, the significantly higher level of serum IL-6, IL-17, and IL-23 were observed. In IBD patients with exacerbation, the significantly higher level of serum IL-6, IL-17, and IL-23 were recorded. Conclusions The relationship between quality of sleep and proinflammatory cytokine profile may show us a predisposition for the development of inflammatory intestinal lesions in IBD patients with sleep disturbances. This knowledge may allow the pharmacological and behavioral therapies of circadian rhythm abnormalities to become new significant targets in IBD patients.

The most common clinical manifestations of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) include fever, cough, dyspnea, sore throat, muscle or bone aches, chills, and headache. Nevertheless, gastrointestinal infections have been reported, with symptoms such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, and lack of appetite. Although is not clear the mechanisms responsible for the development of diarrhea in COVID-19, the current hypothesis is that the direct viral infection on the intestinal tissue and local immune response to the virus may be involved. Additionally, after gastrointestinal SARS-CoV-2 infection some patients may develop alterations in the gastrointestinal microbiota. In this review we outlined the important GI manifestations of COVID-19 and discussed the possible mechanisms and aspects relating to their diagnosis and management.

The current legal status protecting only employees within the meaning of Art. 2 of the Labor Code and in a small part of contractors, contributes to the deterioration of the situation of semi-dependent self-employed workers, resulting in effects that are opposite to the intended ones, i.e., the inclusion of the axiology of the protective function into non-employee forms of work. In connection with these doubts, there are demands to increase protection standards and even deregulate in this respect substantially. The author assumes the existence of an intermediate category of the self-employed, who are also economically dependent on their contractors. Therefore, it should be discussed whether they could be classified indirectly as employees, which would result in applying at least some employee rights to them. At present, there is hardly any discussion about the „intermediate category” or the definition of criteria that would qualify such nature of obligations and dependence on the employment relationship

Ukazujący się w Krakowie od 1848 roku dziennik Czas, organ prasowy galicyjskich konserwatystów, na bieżąco informował czytelników o wydarzeniach w Królestwie Polskim związanych z powstaniem styczniowym i represjami rządu carskiego wobec Polaków po jego upadku. Jednym z głównych tematów były represje dotykające Kościół katolicki, a zwłaszcza męskie i żeńskie zakony. Czas opisywał wszelkie przejawy nękania osób zakonnych ze strony Rosjan: drobne złośliwości, wydawanie przepisów utrudniających normalne funkcjonowanie klasztorów, dręczenie moralne, stosowanie tortur, wykonywanie egzekucji i zsyłanie zakonników na Syberię, konfiskaty klasztornych majątków, a wreszcie likwidację większości klasztorów męskich i żeńskich. Przy okazji relacjonowania przypadków represji dziennik przedstawiał też reakcje zachodnich mocarstw i papiestwa na antypolską i antykościelną politykę caratu oraz nieskuteczne dyplomatyczne próby przeciwdziałania im. Długo łudzono czytelników nadzieją na zbrojną interwencję zachodnich mocarstw na rzecz uciemiężonego narodu polskiego, łącząc obronę idei narodowych z obroną religii katolickiej. Niestety nadzieje te, o czym Czas donosił z goryczą, okazały się płonne.

Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a highly prevalent, chronic disorder that significantly reduces patients’ quality of life. In clinical practice, IBS is characterized by symptoms of recurrent ab-dominal pain and disordered defecation. Rome IV criteria, derived by consensus from a multi-national group of experts, can be used to diagnose IBS. The pathophysiology of IBS is multi-factorial in nature, and it is thought to include contributions from factors such as gut microbiota dysbiosis, altered intestinal and colonic permeability, GI immune cell activation, visceral hyper sensitivity, and abnormal gut-brain interactions. The first line therapeutic approach is directed towards education, reassurance and lifestyle modification. In case of an unsatisfactory response, an appropriate pharmacologic therapy can be suggested on the basis of digestive symptoms and/or psychological disturbances. Antispasmodic agents reduce the abdominal pain associated with IBS by inhibiting the postprandial contractility pathways in the gut wall and improve bow-el habits by increasing the colonic transit time, which reduces the frequency of stool passage, particularly in diarrhea-dominant IBS.

The article attempts to answer the question whether the economic freedom of the employer is not blindly limited by the model of trade unions, which do not conform to the modern economic reality, which, in the light of the principle of self-governance, often abuse their dominant position in the labor market. The author points to selected problems in the self-government of trade unions at the level of non-employment, pointing to the importance of the trade union statute, which determines the scope of protection of trade union activists in the sphere of individual labor law. The author puts forward the thesis that the basis for the balance of social partners is the observance of internal regulations by trade unions.

Left-wing authoritarianism (LWA) is that kind of political ideology, which is associated with the same psychological manifestations as its right-wing counterpart (i.e., authoritarian submissiveness, authoritarian aggression, and strong attachment to the worldview), yet the kind of worldview is based on left-wing values, esp. rejecting social inequalities and traditional, religiously-based worldview (Altemeyer, 1998). The newly proposed conceptualization and operationalization of LWA (Costello et al., 2021) were initially validated in the US context. However, it is still no evidence about its applicability to another cultural and political context. Our project aims to validate this construct in a post-communist, highly religious, and highly traditional context, namely Poland. To this end, we examine the relationship between LWA and RWA, national narcissism, attitudes toward different social groups (like sexual minorities, professional groups, authorities, or ethnic minorities), religiosity, and spirituality. Our project is a multi-study one, based on national Polish sample (Study 1; 2-wave) and sample of people supporting Women Protests in Poland (Study 2), who support left-wing postulates (anti-abortion, anti-traditionalism).

We consider need for sense-making a personal resource and propose that people differ in their levels of this need. We present results of five studies (N = 879) that tested Need for Sense-Making Scale (NSM). The scale is unidimensional, highly reliable, and has satisfactory construct and criterion validity. Need for sense-making was moderately positively related to extroversion, openness, conscientiousness, self-esteem, and sense of control, while negatively related to neuroticism. There was an inverted U-shaped relationship between the need for sense-making and well-being. When individuals were presented with a meaningful task, searching for and presence of meaning sequentially mediate the relationship between need for sense-making and task performance. Need for sense-making predicts work engagement through searching for and presence of meaningful work.

This study aimed to analyze the differences in severity and clinical characteristics of COVID-19 in infants hospitalized in Poland in 2021, when the dominance of variants of concern (VOCs) alpha and delta was reported, compared to 2020, when original (wild) SARS-CoV-2 was dominant (III–IV vs. I–II waves of the pandemic, respectively). In addition, the influence of the presence of comorbidities on the clinical course of COVID-19 in infants was studied. This multicenter study, based on the pediatric part of the national SARSTer database (SARSTer-PED), included 940 infants with COVID-19 diagnosed between March 1, 2020, and December 31, 2021, from 13 Polish inpatient centers. An electronic questionnaire, which addressed epidemiological and clinical data, was used. The number of hospitalized infants was significantly higher in 2021 than in 2020 (651 vs. 289, respectively). The analysis showed similar lengths of infant hospitalization in 2020 and 2021, but significantly more children were hospitalized for more than 7 days in 2020 (p < 0.009). In both analyzed periods, the most common route of infection for infants was household contact. There was an increase in the percentage of comorbidities, especially prematurity, in children hospitalized in 2021 compared to 2020. Among the clinical manifestations, fever was predominant among children hospitalized in 2021 and 2020. Cough, runny nose, and loss of appetite were significantly more frequently observed in 2021 (p < 0.0001). Severe and critical conditions were significantly more common among children with comorbidities. More infants were hospitalized during the period of VOCs dominance, especially the delta variant, compared to the period of wild strain dominance, even though indications for hospitalization did not include asymptomatic patients during that period. The course of COVID-19 was mostly mild, characterized mainly by fever and respiratory symptoms. Comorbidities, particularly from the cardiovascular system and prematurity, were associated with a more severe course of the disease in infants.

Background Sublingual gland neoplasms are very rare and the majority of them are malignant. The aim of this study was to evaluate the clinical course, treatment, and outcomes of these uncommon neoplasms based on the authors’ experience and the recent literature. Material and Methods The medical charts of 8 patients with primary epithelial sublingual gland tumors treated between 1994 and 2020 were reviewed. Results Malignant tumors comprised 75% (6/8) of cases. Adenoid cystic carcinoma was the most common (50%, 3/6) and characterized by high risk of local recurrence and lung metastasis. Pleomorphic adenoma was the only representative of benign tumors with no evidence of local recurrence in follow up. Conclusions Treatment of choice of sublingual gland tumors is surgery. However, due to the fact that adenoid cystic carcinoma is the most common malignancy with poor prognosis, surgical treatment should be combined with postoperative radiotherapy. Benign sublingual tumors are less common and treatment of choice in these cases is tumor resection together with sublingual gland. Key words:Salivary gland neoplasms, sublingual gland, pleomorphic adenoma, adenoid cystic carcinoma, mucoepidermoid carcinoma.

Covid-19 pandemic had a significant impact on many areas of human life, and above all, on the area of economic and professional activity. In particular, pandemic changed the labor market, not only in labor market mechanisms but also in fundamental labor laws. The global Covid-19 epidemic resulted in the Polish labor market - remote work, which was a response to the widespread closure of the country. Unfortunately, there also have been problems with the freedom of speech for employees during the coronavirus pandemic in Poland. The paper focuses on the topics mentioned above, stressing areas related to the security of employee rights that can be considered controversial.

Corruption, harassment in a workplace, practices contrary to the correct work process, and many others are irregularities that can arise in any enterprise. This is a problem that affects established democracies and free markets and post-communist countries that are transitioning to democracy and market economies. While the causes of irregularities vary, the tools often suggested tackling them include that do not necessarily encourage potential whistleblowers to report them, whether inside or outside the organization. This article discusses the role of whistleblowing as a whistle­blowing tool. Describes the law and whistleblowing in a comparative context, focusing on the United States and the European Union. The article then concludes with recommendations for strengthening whistleblowing in Europe, where reporting irregularities is just beginning, and the level of protection differs between the Member States.

Summary Introduction Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic, inflammatory bowel disease that can affect any part of the digestive system. The ileocecal region is most commonly involved. Recently, there have been reports about Crohn’s disease isolated to the colon, which may be associated with different clinical behaviour and the need for various treatment options. Materials/Methods The study included 305 patients with CD, 171 women (56%) and 134 men (44%), hospitalized at the Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital in Lodz. Among them, a group of 101 patients was identified with a lesion location only in the colon (L2) and 204 in the small intestine and colon (L1 and L3). An attempt was made to analyze patients with CD in terms of demographic data, clinical behavior of the disease and location of inflammatory lesions. Results Among the features distinguishing the location of inflammatory lesions isolated to the colon (L2), statistically significantly less frequent occurrence of stenoses (21% at L2 location to 79% at L3, p Conclusions In CD there is a great diversity in the clinical behavior of the disease, which is undoubtedly related to its location. The obtained results indicate that in the group of patients with the location isolated to the colon, stenoses are less common and patients require surgery less frequently.

Assessment of the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the realization of rehabilitation services financed by NFZ in Poland in 2020. The National Health Fund finances rehabilitation services contracted in two scopes, therapeutic rehabilitation and health resort treatment. The aim of the study is to assess the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the realization of rehabilitation services financed by the National Health Fund in Poland in 2020 compared to the previous years (2016-2019). The paper also discusses the implementation of successive regulations regarding rehabilitation during Covid-19 pandemic in Poland in 2020. Based on the analysis, it was shown that the number of patients who benefited from rehabilitation services in Poland financed by the National Health Fund decreased by 17% in the case of services in the field of therapeutic rehabilitation in 2020 compared to 2019 (the largest decrease, amounting to 80%, was observed in the case of pulmonary rehabilitation provided in the conditions of a day center or ward) and by 50% in the case of health resort treatment services.

The purpose of this article is to provide external and internal legal protection against adverse employment-related activities available to employees of higher education institutions in Poland, who disclose information of public significance to which they have access, risking this disciplinary and professional liability. The article focuses on the consequences of a particular type of behavior, which is commonly referred to as „reporting irregularities“ or „whistleblowing.“ Since an academic teacher‘s employment relationship in Poland is such that the employer, when terminating the employment relationship, must state the reason for such a decision. Although academic teachers are required to comply with the Act on Higher Education and Science of 2018 and the Labor Code in the unregulated area, it should not be forgotten that there are additional legal requirements specific to their status.

The Police Academy in Szczytno has been carrying out a research project entitled "Development of a database and tools for semantic search for information and knowledge management in the area of missing persons and search for persons”, financed from the funds of the National Centre for Research and Development for national defence and security. The objective of the conducted research project is to prepare a database and a tool for semantic search for information and knowledge management in the area of missing persons and search for persons, as well as to equip the Polish Police with a technologically advanced tool for semantic and contextual search for information on standards, rules, good practices and specific patterns of behaviour in the area of searching for missing persons. The final effect of the mentioned research project is the eSPOZ system of searching for missing persons, which is described in the article.

Treatment of esophageal and extraesophageal reflux syndromes is mainly focused on inhibiting the secretion of hydrochloric acid. In spite of the high efficacy of proton pump inhibitors, approx. 30–60% of GERD patients experience daily symptoms. Beside acid reflux, other factors such as abnormal esophageal peristalsis, visceral hypersensitivity, ineffective esophageal clearance mechanisms, and impaired mucosal barrier also play an important role in generating GERD symptoms. An additional therapeutic proposition is a procedure aimed at improving the defense mechanisms of esophageal mucosa rather than inhibiting the damage-inducing factors. The preparation consisting of hyaluronic acid (HA), chondroitin sulfate (SC) and poloxamer 407 protects against harmful factors (hydrochloric acid, pepsin) and accelerates mucosal healing and regeneration, constituting a substantial element of monotherapy or add-on therapy in patients with gastroesophageal reflux disease.

The purpose of the work was to determine the effect of the post-harvest residue biomass of field pea, spring rye and their mixtures on mineral nitrogen content in the soil profile after the forecro...

In this article, from a multidisciplinary point of view, key questions were raised that defined how the bloc of communist countries had an impact on the International Labor Organization. The author believes that the role of communist countries in the ILO depended not only on the international political, economic and social context of the time, but also on the field of globalized labor history and relations of international organizations. The starting point of this article is the central hypothesis that the concept of protecting employees and the rights of employers has always been presented from the point of view of the „bloc” of capitalist states, without reference to the role of communist states.

The objective of this study is to investigate whether there is a correlation between family social support and leisure time activities among adopted children in foster families. It has been assumed that the main factors determining leisure activities in foster families are social family ties, manifested in the form of a strong social support. The Multidimensional Scale of Perceived Social Support (MSPSS) has been used to measure the perception of support and only the first, out of three, family-related source was applied in the research. The study has been conducted from a youth perspective in the context of family leisure and family support and it has tested the types of leisure activities which the foster children and their parents participated in – core and balance. The study group consisting of youth aged 10-21 coming from the city of Poznan and its neighbouring areas. The results show that there is a correlation between family social support at all its levels (low, medium and high) and low/high core index levels both in girls and boys. These findings indicate that, from a youth perspective, core rather than balance family leisure involvement has a stronger relationship with family social support. There is a further need for experimental design in the form of an interventional program in order to effectively scan the casual effects of family support. The findings also suggest that further research is necessary to investigate the correlation between the foster families and individual leisure time activates undertaken by the adopted children.

Background: The role of sleep disturbances in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) remained relatively unknown. The aim of this study was to identify the adipokine profile in the patients...

Medical rehabilitation in Poland during the COVID-19 pandemic. Regulatory and organizational issues The medical rehabilitation system in Poland includes various rehabilitation services, financed by various institutions, including the NFZ, ZUS, KRUS, PFRON and local governments. The aim of the study is to identify the most important problems and limitations of this system, especially in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The most important issues to be solved and proposed reforms of the medical rehabilitation system in Poland presented in recent years were identified. The impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this system, providing rehabilitation services and problems related to the im­plementation of further legal regulations in the first months of the pandemic were discussed. One of the most important recommended changes is the implementation of the comprehensive care model and the activities aimed at coordinating various elements and levels of rehabilitation.

Purpose: The main study objective is to identify the most important reasons why owners of agrotourism business entities undertake coopetition activities and to identify the benefits and risks resulting from the implementation of the coopetition strategy. Project/methodologyapproach: Theoretical aspects of the coopetition strategy are the starting point for pilot studies carried out in the Świętokrzyskie region on a sample of 150 agrotourism business entities, which accounts for about 30% of all such entities operating in the region. An interview questionnaire was used in the study. A deliberate selection of the research area and the subjects surveyed was assumed. Results: The analysis of the results of the pilot study shows that the coopetition strategy brings greater benefits to agrotourism business entities than competition and co-operation strategies implemented separately, the benefits include: expanding the scale of operations, strengthening the position of the company in relation to competitors which are not parties to the coopetition agreement, and access to new customer markets. When making a decision on cooperation, the surveyed owners of agrotourism business entities most often treat it as a strategic decision, i.e. relating to effects in a distant time horizon, and its main reason is to increase competitiveness on the market. Practical implications: Both cooperation and competition relations are important for the development of agrotourism business entities. Cooperative relationships are created as associations, usually to carry out tasks aimed at increasing the attractiveness of a given tourist destination. Competitive relationships concern in particular the individual offer of services, their quality and diversity. The consequences of both types of activities have a significant impact on building competitive advantage of the surveyed business entities. Originality/value: The analysis of literature leads to the conclusion that there are no scientific studies showing the coopetition in relation to the activities of agrotourism business entities. Therefore, the issues addressed form a research gap. The article is directed to owners of agrotourism business entities and agrotourism associations.

This article opens a series of analyzes of whistleblower protection in the context of their employee rights under US law, whose whistleblower protection system is in good faith one of the oldest, with well-established tradition. The subject of this study will not be specific issues related to the form of implementing informant protection in good faith. This article discusses whistleblower protection in the United States and with a focus on federal whistleblower rights and remedies in a labor context.

Background Irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) is a functional gastrointestinal disease in the pathogenesis of which the gut dysbiosis may play an important role. Thus, probiotics, prebiotics or microbiota metabolites such as butyric acid are considered to be an effective therapy in IBS, however still there is no trials presented efficacy of these three biotic components delivered to the patient simultaneously. This study aims to evaluate the effects of the combined formulation comprising sodium butyrate, probiotics and short chain fructooligosaccharides (scFOS) on the severity of clinical IBS symptoms and the quality of patients’ life (IBS-QOL). Methods This is randomized double-blind placebo-controlled trial included adults with IBS diagnosed according Rome IV criteria. Patients will be randomized in ratio 1:1 into the intervention group receiving a preparation of 300 mg of colon-targeted microencapsulated sodium butyrate, the mixture of Lactobacillus strains (L. rhamnosus and L. acidophilus) and Bifidobacterium strains (B. longum, B. bifidum, B. lactis) and 64mg of scFOS or into the control group receiving placebo containing maltodextrin. After 12 weeks of intervention the primary outcome will measure changes in IBS symptoms with the use of IBS-Symptom Severity Score (IBS-SSS), IBS-Global Improvement Scale (IBS-GIS), IBS-Adequate Relief (IBS-AR), and IBS-QOL. The secondary outcomes will be: type of stools, symptoms assessed in a patients’ diary, adverse events, anthropometric and nutritional measurements, levels of inflammatory cytokines. Discussion The findings will provide the first evidence for the use of a combination of three biotic compounds in IBS. Trial registration: The study was registered in the clinicaltrials.gov registry under the number NCT05013060.

The conducted studies show post-harvest residues of sowing/pea mixtures limit leaching of mineral nitrogen deeper into the soil profile compared to post-harvest residues of sowing peas, as ...

Whistleblowing is a key tool in fighting corruption and wrongdoing. This article is intended to present changes related to the understanding of the protective function of labor law in the context of protecting whistleblowers who report, in good faith, actual knowledge or suspicion of wrongdoing in both the private and public sectors. The author puts forward the thesis that protection of the public interest is a new and key element of the protective function of labor law.

The third partition of Poland, and thus the collapse of the Polish state, spontaneously forced a situation in which the legal orders of the partitioning states came into force almost immediately on Polish lands. In the lands divided between Prussia, Russia and Austria, legal acts of the partitioning states came into force with a strong influence of models derived from French legislation. The Polish lands which came under Austrian rule found themselves in the reality, in which the Austrian legislator conducted codification works on the new penal code, which resulted in the fact that in 1787 the penal code of Joseph II, called Josephine, became binding. As early as 1803, a penal code was introduced in Poland, which was under Austrian rule, under the name of the Book of Laws on Crimes and Serious Police Crimes called Franciscan. In the German annexation there was the Prussian Landrecht, which was characterized by a current far removed from the European science of law. On the territory of the former Duchy of Warsaw a Penal Code for the Kingdom of Poland was introduced. In Russia in 1903, the Tagantsev’s Code came into force, which in its systematics divided crimes according to their gravity into crimes and misdemeanours and clearly separated minor offences. The characteristics of criminal legislation until 1918 made it possible to show the enormity of the work of the Codification Commission, the aim of which, after Poland regained independence, was to create a uniform and coherent Polish legal system, not only in terms of social life standards, but also in the area of the catalogue of its areas.

Within the last 20 years, tumour necrosis factor inhibitors have been proven to be effective in achieving and maintaining clinical and endoscopic remission in patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Since 2013, when infliximab originator lost its patent protection, patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) in Poland have also been treated with biosimilar drugs. Biosimilars are drugs with high similarity to their reference products in terms of physicochemical properties, including structure, safety, and efficacy. Biosimilars are approved for use on the basis of the same rigorous quality standards as their reference products. In 2018, also biosimilars of adalimumab have become available. Studies published to date have shown that biosimilars do not differ from reference drugs in terms of the efficacy and safety. There are numerous data to confirm that a single switch of biological drugs (mainly from reference to biosimilar drugs) has no effect on therapy efficacy and safety. However, a significantly lower cost of therapy with biosimilars not only allows us to treat a much larger number of patients but may also necessitate multiple switches from reference drugs to biosimilars (including biosimilars produced by different manufacturers). Recently, the first results have been published concerning multiple switches in patients with psoriasis and rheumatoid arthritis. However, no such data are currently available for patients with IBDs.

This article attempts to presentation changes in system of protection of whistleblowers who report in good faith suspected acts of corruptionin the private and public sector, and their impact on national law. The author considers whether these provisions are intended to protect informers or only to protect the information provided.

Besides observed changes of dynamics in the population numbers in the world one should pay attention to the progressing demographic occurrence an ageing of societies is which. The phenomenon of this process is being defined, as the rising percentage of elderly people in the human population. It is possible to determine this process, as the contemporary world trend, which became an object panelow dubious in international members both on the level of states as well as non-governmental organizations. And so it seems necessary taking the discourse in our times in the area of criminology not only in the context of elderly people as victims of crimes but also elderly people as their perpetrators. Showing is a fundamental purpose of the article what contemporary crime of elderly people is characterized in Poland in the aspect of her sizes, dynamics and the structure by. Analysis of findings allowed to deduce the following conclusions: offences committed by elderly people concern seniors aged 65.27, whereas the median amounts to 64 years. Crimes of elderly people definitely are most often subject to a classification from the penal code. Because they are deciding - 93% of the whole of all offences committed by elderly people. Analysis of findings also led to the conclusion that the participation of crimes of elderly people fluctuated depending on the region of Poland i.e. from the 1.4% to the 3.1%.

According to the current data, there has been no increase in the incidence of COVID‑19 in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).The available data are based on symptomatic cases and do not include the asymptomatic ones. To measure the exact infection rate, we initiated a study that aimed to assess the seroprevalence of anti-SARS‑CoV‑2 antibodies in IBD.A total of 864 individuals were enrolled in the study, including 432 patients with IBD (290 with Crohn disease and 142 with ulcerative colitis) and 432 controls without IBD (healthcare professionals) matched for age and sex. Serum samples were prospectively collected, and the presence of anti-SARS‑CoV‑2 immunoglobulin (Ig) G and IgM + IgA antibodies were measured using the enzyme‑linked immunoassay method (Vircell Microbiologists).A significantly higher percentage of positive results for anti-SARS‑CoV‑2 antibodies, both in the IgG and IgM + IgA class, was found in patients with IBD (4.6% and 6%, respectively, compared with 1.6% and 1.1%, respectively, in controls; both P values0.05). No patient had symptomatic COVID‑19. There was no association among patients' age, sex, drugs used for IBD, or disease activity and the occurrence of IgG antibodies.Patients with IBD may be at higher risk of developing SARS‑CoV‑2 infection, defined as the presence of elevated levels of anti-SARS‑CoV‑2 IgG antibodies, but not of having a symptomatic and / or severe course of COVID‑19 compared with healthcare professionals without IBD.