Lomza State University of Applied Sciences

Alternative Dispute Resolutions (ADR) help consumers and entrepreneurs who could not or have not been able to come to an agreement on their own in a dispute. Mediation in consumer affairs is a special type of mediation distinguished due to the need to guarantee the consumer in mediation proceedings an equivalent position to the entrepreneur. The article is devoted to the discussion of mediation - one of the out-of-court possibilities that the consumer has in the event of a dispute with a financial institution. The aim of this article is to show the non-judicial options that the consumer has in the event of a dispute with a financial institution, and how the consumer can use the assistance of the Financial Ombudsman. In addition, an analysis of the Financial Ombudsman's reports in the scope of mediation in the Out-of-Court Dispute Resolution De-partment will be carried out.

Introduction: COVID-19 disease may have long-term consequences, called long COVID. They concern symptoms (most often neurological and neuropsychiatric) lasting ≥12 weeks without another diagnosis and a predictable time of resolution. They become a diagnostic and therapeutic problem in patients with previously observed behavioral disorders, e.g. in people with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). Most published studies on long COVID mainly focus on adults, and there is limited information on the pediatric population. There is also not much information in the available literature about long COVID in people with autism spectrum disorders. The main aim of this narrative review is to present the problem of long COVID in people with autism spectrum disorders. Method: Based on a review of the current literature based on the EBM (Evidence-Based Medicine) paradigm, the problem of long COVID in autism spectrum disorders is presented. During data collection, the PubMed search engine, which supports the MEDLINE database, and the Google Scholar search engine were used. The criteria used to search for articles are works published since 2022, available in Polish or English. Results: The pandemic has deepened behavioral disorders related to the autism spectrum disorders. The occurrence of COVID-19 and subsequent symptoms associated with long COVID was and is more common in people with ASD. Conclusions: COVID-19 has a significant impact on neuropsychiatric symptoms in people with autism spectrum disorders. Difficulties have been observed in the treatment of long COVID in patients with ASD. There is a need to increase the awareness of parents, health care workers, and scientists about the effects of SARS-CoV-2 infection in the population of people with autism spectrum disorders. This is necessary to understand the consequences of the disease, speed up diagnosis and provide appropriate specialist help.

Endothelial (EL) and lipoprotein (LPL) lipases are enzymes involved in lipoproteins metabolism and formation of atherosclerosis, a pathological feature of coronary artery disease (CAD). This paper examines the role of the lipases in the right atrial appendage (RAA) and coronary perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) of patients with CAD alone or with accompanying diabetes. Additionally, correlation analysis for plasma concentration of the lipases, apolipoproteins (ApoA-ApoJ) and blood lipids (Chol, HDL-C, LDL-C, TAG) was performed. We observed that CAD had little effect on the lipases gene/protein levels in the RAA, while their transcript content was elevated in the PVAT of diabetic CAD patients. Interestingly, the RAA was characterized by higher expression of EL/LPL (EL: +1-fold for mRNA, +5-fold for protein; LPL: +2.8-fold for mRNA, +12-fold for protein) compared to PVAT. Furthermore, ApoA1 plasma concentration was decreased, whereas ApoC1 and ApoH were increased in the patients with CAD and/or diabetes. The concentrations of ApoC3 and ApoD were strongly positively correlated with TAG content in the blood, and the same was true for ApoB with respect to LDL-C and total cholesterol. Although plasma concentrations of EL/LPL were elevated in the patients with diabetes, CAD alone had little effect on blood, myocardial and perivascular fat expression of the lipases.

Objectives: The aim of the study was to make a preliminary assessment of depression rates and levels of physical activity and the association between physical activity and depression among Polish and Portuguese students in the second year of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A web-based online survey was conducted among students in Poland and Portugal (398 respondents—229 from Poland and 169 from Portugal) aged between 17 and 26 in October 2022. The level of depression was assessed by the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) in Polish and in Portuguese. The level of physical activity was measured by the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) in Polish and in Portuguese. Results: Overall, 20–35% of respondents suffered from moderate depression, with a lower proportion among men. There were no differences in the percentage distribution of depression classification between Polish and Portuguese students. A decrease in the severity of depression was observed with increasing physical activity. In both countries, walking more often had the strongest effect on reducing depression scores. Conclusions: The continued and alarming prevalence of depressive disorders among university students in the year after the pandemic began had a significant impact on this population—further research on the impact of physical activity on mental health in different populations should be conducted to adjust the optimal level of physical activity for alleviating negative psychiatric symptoms.

Abstract Fault Tree Analysis (FTA) is a method that directly focuses on the modes of failures. The FTA is a graphical representation of the major faults or critical failures associated with a product, as well as the causes for the faults and potential countermeasures. The aim of this research paper is to calculate the probability of the top event – the failure of the process using FTA and propose a technique to prioritize factors for action design and reduce the likelihood of a top event failure based on manufacturers' requirements. We have constructed a qualitative fault tree to produce office components packed and sealed in blister packs using a KOCH KBS-PL machine. We defined the top event G – the production of office components, packed and sealed in blister packs on the machinery KOCH KBS-PL. Then we defined events leading to top events down to individual failure factors. Based on the links between the fault tree and the probability of failure, we performed a quantitative analysis to determine the probability of failure of individual events. We found out that the probability of failure of G is 5.04%. Subsequently, we identified which factors most significantly reduce the resulting probability of failure of factor G. These are the factors: E – feed rate, F – cooling, AL – incorrect setting and D – break. It has been proven that by controlling these 4 factors, we can reduce the probability of failure of top event G to 2.36%, provided that effective measures are taken. The final proposal meets the requirements of several manufacturers for a fast, efficient, and cost-effective solution. We have created a proposal that saves time, has minimal software and hardware requirements, and is easy to use. The efficiency and effectiveness of the proposal was that we identified the weakest points in the fault tree that most significantly cause the top event to fail. This prioritized the factors for the design of the measures.

The aim of the study was to compare the perception of stress and the characteristic coping-strategies among students in the context of the different anti-pandemic measures taken in Belarus, Poland, and the Russian exclave of Kaliningrad. A cross-sectional online survey using standardized questionnaires (Perceived Stress Scale—PSS-10 and Brief-COPE—Mini-COPE inventory) was conducted among 3113 students of seven universities in three neighboring regions on both sides of the eastern border of the EU. The groups that are the most prone to stress are the Polish and Russians students. Among the students from Belarus, 122 (13.7%) have high levels of stress symptoms. Among the respondents from Poland—238 (19.4%), and 191 (19.2%) from Kaliningrad have high levels of stress, respectively. The different approaches of the authorities to the COVID-19 pandemic diversified the choice of students’ stress coping strategies. The behavior of the students from Kaliningrad and Poland was similar. The Belarusian students used active coping strategies less often, while an avoidance-focused style, and denial were more frequent. The neglect of restrictive anti-pandemic measures by the Belarusian students was manifested by a higher incidence of disease and minimal use of vaccinations.

Introduction: The COVID-19 (coronavirus disease 2019) affected individuals and society and caused disruption, anxiety, stress, and loneliness. Being hospitalized during the pandemic increase a patient’s negative feelings. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on patients’ feelings (loneliness, depression, hope, self-efficacy) during a hospital stay. Materials and methods: This study included 207 women, aged from 15 to 83 years (55 ± 21.2) that were hospitalized during the pandemic in Białystok, Łomża, and Biała Podlaska, Poland at internal medicine departments. The main reasons for hospitalization were cardiovascular diseases, abdominal pain, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, pneumonia, diabetes, and unknown fever. Respondents were asked to complete the following questionnaires: Sense of Loneliness (the DJGLS), Depression Beck Inventory (BDI), Basic Hope (BHI-12), and Self-Efficacy (GSES). Results: Most of the studied group of women had an average sense of loneliness. A greater sense of loneliness was found among hospitalized women living in the countryside—the lowest sense of loneliness and depression was among women with higher education and the highest sense of effectiveness. One-third of respondents had a moderate degree of depression. Of the respondents, 39% had a relatively high level of basic hope. The assessment of self-efficacy demonstrated that 52% of the respondents showed a high sense of self-efficacy, an average sense of self-efficacy was shown by 35.5% of the respondents, and a low sense of self-efficacy was shown by 12.6% of the respondents. Conclusions: Numerous hospitalized women during the COVID-19 pandemic, despite experiencing moderate depression, had an average sense of loneliness and a high level of hope and self-efficacy.

The spectrum of liver involvement during coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is broad and mainly includes elevated liver enzymes and cholestasis. Severe acute respiratory syndrome corona- virus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection most often leads to a transient moderate increase in liver enzymes that is not accompanied by disturbances in the synthetic function of the liver. However, there is increasing evidence that SARS-CoV-2 infection is associated with the development of autoimmune disorders. The pathogenesis of autoimmune hepatobiliary diseases is not fully understood, taking into account genetic and environmental factors such as viral infections. We present a pediatric case of autoimmune sclerosing cholangitis (ASC), which was diagnosed 2 months after SARS-CoV-2 infection. To the best of our knowledge, ASC potentially triggered by COVID-19 has not been reported in pediatric patients. Further studies are needed to describe the clinical impact of the development of autoimmune liver diseases potentially associated with SARS-CoV-2 infection in pediatric patients. Our observations indicate that children with liver injury potentially caused by COVID-19 require long-term monitoring of liver function parameters.

Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess back pain and its relation to physical activity as well as Internet addiction among Polish university students during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: The research was conducted via the Internet in student groups of three universities in Poland (141 people). Back pain was examined by ODI—The Oswestry Disability Index and NDI—Neck Disability Index. The Polish-language International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) was used to assess physical activity and the level of Internet addiction was tested using the Kimberly Young Questionnaire. Results: The respondents mostly suffered from pain originating in the cervical spine. In the study group, only every fifth person had a high level of physical activity. Sex differentiates the level of the measures considered. Sitting in front of the computer affects the pain in the spine. Conclusions: Research results suggest that the pandemic is negatively affecting students. Frequent occurrence of back pain is observed with a simultaneous low level of physical activity. Maintaining regular activity during a pandemic, at least at home, is an indispensable preventive measure for physical health.