Factors determining the financial effectiveness of outsourcing in medical entities in Poland

The aim of the paper was to analyze the financial efficiency of outsourcing in connection with basic and auxiliary activity of medical entities in Poland. Research material consisted of 755 questionnaires filled in by the representatives of medical entities. Five of them were completed only partially, and thus they were not qualified for analysis, which means that complete analysis was performed in 750 medical entities, selected at random from the Register of Health Care Providers. The analysis of medical entities was performed in connection with outsourcing activities. The following auxiliary services were examined: cleaning, laundry, catering, property security and waste disposal, together with the services connected with basic activity, such as: medical staff, medical imaging, laboratory diagnostics. Each area was analyzed in connection with the reason for transferring a given activity to an external company, benefits and disadvantages obtained in connection with separating the service from the entity's structure as well as the method for monitoring the external company. Economies that medical entities gained compared to the costs of the same function before its separation were analyzed, together with the fact whether employees of the entity were given the job in the medical entity after its restructuring or not. All of the abovementioned areas were analyzed with relation to entity type, following the division into public and non-public entities

The Cryptanalysis of the Enigma Cipher. The Plugboard and the Cryptologic Bomb.

We study the problem of decoding secret messages encrypted by the German Army with the M3 Enigma machine after September 15, 1938. We focused our attention on the algorithmization and programming of this problem. A completion and optimization of Zygalski’s sheets method were presented previously. We describe below the missing algorithm solving the problem of the plugboard settings with an algebraic justification. This method is the original idea of the authors, and we can use it for cryptanalysis together with both Zygalski’s sheets method and Rejewski’s bomb method. Next, we present a reconstruction of the cryptologic bomb. We enclose an implementation of both algorithms in Cpp language

Wskazówki do samodzielnego wykonywania zabawek z papieru na łamach „Mojego Pisemka” z lat 1902-1915

The object of the undertaken analyses is the tips and instructions on how to make DIY paper toys at the beginning of the 20th century. The magazine “Moje Pisemko. Tygodnik Obrazkowy dla Dzieci” [“My Little Magazine. A Picture Weekly for Children”], published in Warsaw in the years 1902-1936, was the source basis of the findings made. The purpose of the research was the problematic systematization and reconstruction of the advice related to the making of toys by children on their own, given and popularized in the magazine. The analysis covered 13 annual volumes of the weekly from the years 1902-1915. Children’s and youth magazines constitute source material for the study of children’s toys in the past, which is an interesting, yet unexploited topic. They contain a lot of information on the specific features of toys, their appearance, and ways of using them while playing. It is in children’s magazines where we can find information about the most popular toys in a given historical period, provided in written texts such as stories, tales, literary pictures, poems, comedies, as well as iconographic materials illustrating these texts, such as graphics, lithographs, and photographs. Numerous instructions on how to make DIY toys addressed to little readers, published in the children’s magazines from the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries, are also a combination of text and graphics.Przedmiotem podjętych analiz są wskazówki i instrukcje do samodzielnego wykonywania zabawek z papieru dla dzieci na początku XX wieku. Podstawą źródłową dokonanych ustaleń uczyniono czasopismo „Moje Pisemko. Tygodnik Obrazkowy dla Dzieci”, ukazujące się w Warszawie w latach 1902-1936. Celem badań jest problemowa systematyka oraz odtworzenie porad związanych z samodzielnym wykonywaniem zabawek przez dzieci, proponowanych i popularyzowanych na łamach czasopisma. Analizie poddano 13 roczników z lat 1902-1915. Jak wynika z dokonanych ustaleń, prasa dla dzieci stanowi doskonałe, choć jeszcze niewyzyskane poznawczo źródło do dziejów zabawek dziecięcych. Na łamach „Mojego Pisemka” publikowano szereg wskazówek do samodzielnego wykonywania zabawek z różnych, tanich i łatwo dostępnych materiałów – drewna, tkanin, włóczki, gliny, miękiszu chleba, owoców, warzyw, liści, wydmuszek jajek itp. Jednak wśród instrukcji dominowały zabawki z papieru, z którego można było zrobić niemal wszystko - lalki, sprzęty i akcesoria do lalczynego gospodarstwa, meble, układanki i łamigłówki, teatrzyki, zabawki choinkowe, a nawet zabawek pływające i latające

Oznaczanie geograficznego pochodzenia produktu w czasach „konsumenckiego patriotyzmu”

Pochodzenie nabywanego produktu należy do istotnych kryteriów podejmowanej przez konsumentów decyzji zakupowej. W ostatnim czasie istotnie wzrosło zainteresowanie produktami rodzimymi, które zostały wytworzone w Polsce z polskich materiałów. Trend ten bywa wykorzystywany przez nieuczciwych przedsiębiorców, którzy w komunikacji kierowanej do konsumentów wprowadzają w błąd odnośnie do tej okoliczności. Zdarzają się jednak sytuacje oznaczenia produktu, które potencjalnie mogłoby zostać uznane za nierzetelne na gruncie przepisów konsumenckich, opiera się jednak na przepisach odrębnych, mających administracyjno-celny charakter. W takim wypadku przedsiębiorca wpada niejako w pułapkę regulacji prawnych, chociaż nie wprost sprzecznych, to mogących się nie pokrywać, a tym samym naraża się na konsekwencje prawne niezastosowania się do którejś z nich. W artykule poruszono ten problem, wskazując które z powszechnie obowiązujących regulacji potencjalnie mogą stanowić wyzwanie w praktyce obrotu konsumenckiego. Omówiono także dotychczasową praktykę orzeczniczą Prezesa UOKiK w tym zakresie i zaprezentowano postulaty co do stosowania obecnych regulacji oraz ewentualnych zmian w prawie

Badania techniki i technologii malarskiej cudami słynącej Piety z Czarnego Potoku (1649 r.)

As a part of the 3rd edition of MOLAB/FIXLAB PL in 2019 a programme of examination of a panel painting depicting the miraculous image of Our Lady of Sorrows, knownas the Pietà of Czarny Potok (1649) was carried out. The painting is attributed to an Antwerp painter, studying in Rome, Matthew Ingerman, who had settled in Lesser Poland in XVII c. Both sides of the painting were photographed in analytical lights (VIS, Na, UV, IR) and then scanned using the X-ray macro-fluorescence method (MA-XRF), this resulted in acquiring legible maps of the elemental composition on its surface and a preliminary assessment of the pigments used by the artist as well as of the range of subsequent transformations – overpaintings. On the reverse, underneath a visible inscription in black, its original version equal in contents was revealed, with two additional letters of the name of the former parson of the church in Czarny Potok visible. Samples were taken from the key parts of the painting, to prepare cross sections which were subjected to an Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectroscopy on a Scanning Electron Microscope (SEM-EDS), which allowed for a detailed identification of the stratigraphy of individual parts of the painting and their composition. An interesting imprimitura was identified, as well as the use of: chalk, gypsum, lead white, minium, vermilion ochre, orpigment/realgar, azurite, smalt, ultramarine, bone black, vegetable black, umber andorganic red lake in paint layers. The authenticity of the unique aureole around the head of Our Lady was confirmed during the research. The research was supplemented with the analysis of the binding media using the Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy method (FTIR). It was established that the panel was coated with a chalk and glue primer, and the painting was created in tempera technique with colourful glazes.W ramach trzeciego naboru wniosków MOLAB/FIXLAB PL w 2019 r. zrealizowano program badań obrazu tablicowego z cudami słynącym wizerunkiem Matki Boskiej Bolesnej, tzw. Piety z Czarnego Potoku (1649 r.), której autorstwo przypisuje się antwerpskiemu malarzowi wykształconemu w Rzymie – Mateuszowi Ingermanowi, osiadłemu w Małopolsce w XVII w. Obraz został z obu stron sfotografowany w światłach analitycznych (VIS, Na, UV, IR), a następnie poddany skanowaniu metodą makrofluorescencji rentgenowskiej (MA–XRF), dzięki czemu uzyskano czytelne mapy rozkładu pierwiastków na jego powierzchni i wstępną ocenę użytych przez artystę pigmentów oraz zasięg późniejszych przekształceń. Na odwrociu, pod widniejącym napisem czernią, odnaleziono jego pierwotną wersję o zbieżnej treści, z dodatkowo widocznymi dwiema kolejnymi literami nazwiska dawnego proboszcza kościoła w Czarnym Potoku. Z kluczowych miejsc malowidła pobrano i przygotowano przekroje boczne, które poddano energodyspersyjnej analizie rentgenowskiej na skaningowym mikroskopie elektronowym z analizatorem EDS (SEM-EDS), co pozwoliło na szczegółowe rozpoznanie stratygrafii poszczególnych partii obiektu i ich składu. Stwierdzono występowanie na obrazie ciekawej imprimitury oraz użycie w warstwach malarskich: kredy, gipsu, bieli ołowiowej, minii, vermillionu, ochry, aurypigmentu/realgaru, glejty ołowiowej, azurytu, smalty, ultramaryny, czerni kostnej, roślinnej, umbry oraz laserunków organicznych, w tym kraplaku. W trakcie badań potwierdzono autentyczność wyjątkowej aureoli wokół głowy Matki Bożej. Badania uzupełniono analizą spoiwmetodą spektroskopii adsorpcyjnej w podczerwieni (FTIR). Ustalono, że tablica pokryta jest zaprawą kredowo-klejową, a malowidło wykonano w technice białkowo-żywicznej

Implementation of a population-based breast cancer prevention program in Poland before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Poland in comparison with other countries

Introduction. Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in women in Poland and in the world. It accounts for about 24% of all cancer cases in Polish women. The aim of this study was to analyze the coverage of the population eligible for a population-based breast cancer prevention program in Poland before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and to compare the Polish data with data from other countries around the world.  Material and methods. The study was based on epidemiological data related to the performance of mammography examinations among Polish women under the breast cancer prevention program. The results were compared with data from other countries around the world.  Results. In the years 2014–2022, a significant decrease was observed in the number of mammography examinations among Polish women under the population-based breast cancer prevention program.  Conclusions. A continuous decrease in the number of preventive examinations in Poland is related not only to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also to the discontinuation of sending paper invitations for mammography under the breast cancer prevention program.

Implementation of a population-based breast cancer prevention program in Poland before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic. Poland in comparison with other countries

Introduction: Breast cancer is the most common malignant tumor in women in Poland and in the world. It accounts for about 24% of all cancer cases in Polish women. The aim of this study was to analyze the coverage of the population eligible for a population-based breast cancer prevention program in Poland before, during and after the COVID-19 pandemic, and to compare the Polish data with data from other countries around the world. Material and methods: The study was based on epidemiological data related to the performance of mammography examinations among Polish women under the breast cancer prevention program. The results were compared with data from other countries around the world. Results: In the years 2014–2022, a significant decrease was observed in the number of mammography examinations among Polish women under the population-based breast cancer prevention program. Conclusions: A continuous decrease in the number of preventive examinations in Poland is related not only to the COVID-19 pandemic, but also to the discontinuation of sending paper invitations for mammography under the breast cancer prevention program

Revisiting cannabinoid receptor 2 expression and function in murine retina.

The cannabinoid receptor CB2 plays a significant role in the regulation of immune function whereas neuronal expression remains a subject of contention. Multiple studies have described CB2 in retina and a recent study showed that CB2 deletion altered retinal visual processing. We revisited CB2 expression using immunohistochemistry and a recently developed CB2-eGFP reporter mouse. We examined the consequence of acute vs. prolonged CB2 deactivation on the electroretinogram (ERG) responses. We also examined lipidomics in CB2 knockout mice and potential changes in microglia using Scholl analysis. Consistent with a published report, in CB2 receptor knockout mice see an increased ERG scotopic a-wave, as well as stronger responses in dark adapted cone-driven ON bipolar cells and, to a lesser extent cone-driven ON bipolar cells early in light adaptation. Significantly, however, acute block with CB2 antagonist, AM630, did not mimic the results observed in the CB2 knockout mice whereas chronic (7 days) block did. Immunohistochemical studies show no CB2 in retina under non-pathological conditions, even with published antibodies. Retinal CB2–eGFP reporter signal is minimal under baseline conditions but upregulated by intraocular injection of either LPS or carrageenan. CB2 knockout mice see modest declines in a broad spectrum of cannabinoid-related lipids. The numbers and morphology of microglia were unaltered. In summary minimal CB2 expression is seen in healthy retina. CB2 appears to be upregulated under pathological conditions. Previously reported functional consequences of CB2 deletion are an adaptive response to prolonged blockade of these receptors. CB2 therefore impacts retinal signaling but perhaps in an indirect, potentially extra-ocular fashion.post-print8285 K