Customer Satisfaction in the Field of Comprehensive Service of Refrigerated Containers in Seaports

The article analyzes the issues concerning customer satisfaction survey with the complexity of handling refrigerated containers at the seaports' container terminals. It aims to determine the criteria to evaluate the port comprehensive service and to examine the opinion of chosen seaports terminals on customer satisfaction with the complexity of handling refrigerated containers. Evaluation criteria of comprehensive service of refrigerated containers in seaports were identified and examined. The analysis of ports opinions on customer satisfaction with the service of refrigerated containers was based on surveys, which covered 5 container terminals located in the Polish cities of Gdansk, Gdynia and Szczecin. The research revealed that according to the ports, complex service primarily affects the high-level customer satisfaction and shorter service time, while implementation of this service regards a good level of customer service and price

Forecasting of Warranty Returns Based on the Reliability of Delivery Assessment

The paper presents a method to evaluate the reliability of deliveries with the application of Reliasoft Weibull++ software. The first stage in the proposed method was to collect data on outbound deliveries on a monthly basis and convert them into reliability data (life data). Next, by combining selected statistical tests and the maximum likelihood estimation method, the most accurate model of reliability of deliveries was obtained. Using the model which was generated, selected reliability indices were determined, such as: reliability of deliveries, unreliability of deliveries, failure rate of deliveries. Consequently, the number of future failed deliveries was forecast, taking into account the confidence bounds. The approach presented may be easily applied in companies in the logistics sector. The authors underlined that the reliability of deliveries is one of the key factors determining business competitiveness

Skuteczna alkoholowa ablacja guza insulinowego trzustki, obserwacja 4-letnia. Opis przypadku i przegląd literatury

Introduction: EUS-guided ethanol ablation of insulinoma is a new method of treatment of this neuroendocrine tumour. Ablation is recommended in patients who are poor surgical candidates or refuse surgery. We present a case of an 81-year-old female with symptomatic insulinoma, treated successfully with EUS-guided alcoholic ablation, along with a literature review including 28 other previously described cases. The effectiveness, safety of the therapy, and technical procedure-related issues are summarised. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first described case of successful insulinoma EUS-guided ablation in Poland. Material and methods: We searched the PubMed/Medline database to identify cases of EUS-guided alcoholic ablation. Our analysis included 14 articles (case reports or case series), with a total of 27 patients and 31 tumours described, published before February 2017. Results: The described tumours were relatively small (mean 13 mm), and the most common location was pancreatic head. The mean ethanol volume injected to the tumour was 1.8 ml and the concentration of infused alcohol varied from 95% to 98%.Side effects were observed in six cases; apart from one, they were mild and self-limiting. There was only one severe adverse event, treated conservatively with success. The median follow-up was 14.4 months (2–55 months). In all described cases ablation led to improvement of the symptoms and normalisation of glycaemia. Conclusions: The EUS-guided alcoholic ablation of insulinoma is a safe and effective method of treatment in patients who are poor surgical candidates and/or refuse surgery. The adverse effects are rare and mild and were observed when the volume of injected ethanol was equal to or above 3.0 ml. However, the data is limited, the follow-up is relatively short, and prospective studies are needed to confirm the long-term effects of treatment. The study shows also that there are important procedural differences (concentration and volume of alcohol, needle gauge, number of sessions) between the endoscopists, which should be specified.Wstęp: Przedstawiono 81-letnią chorą z objawowym guzem insulinowym głowy trzustki. Pacjentka, z uwagi na liczne choroby współistniejące, została zdyskwalifikowana z leczenia chirurgicznego. Leczona diazoksydem, ciągłymi wlewami z glukozy, analogami somatostatyny bez istotnej poprawy(obserwowano działania niepożądane). Następnie pod kontrolą EUS wykonano alkoholową ablację zmiany. Nie obserwowano powikłań. Odstawiono diazoksyd, obserwując normalizację glikemii. Pacjentka w 4-letniej obserwacji pozostaje bez objawów klinicznych hipoglikemii. Według naszej wiedzy jest to pierwszy opisany przypadek skutecznej alkoholowej ablacji guza insulinowego w Polsce. W pracy przeprowadzono przegląd literatury i podsumowanie wcześniej przeprowadzonych i opisanych zabiegów alkoholowej ablacji guzów insulinowych, ze szczególnym naciskiem na skuteczność i bezpieczeństwo, czas obserwacji po leczeniu i szczegóły techniczne przeprowadzenia procedury. Materiał i metody: Przeszukano bazę Pub Med/Medline, aby zidentyfikować opisane przypadki alkoholowej ablacji guza insulinowego trzustki. Do analizy włączono 14 artykułów opublikowanych przed końcem lutego 2017, w których opisano łącznie 27 przypadków i 31 guzów insulinowych. Wyniki: Opisane guzy były stosunkowo małymi zmianami (średnio 13 mm), ich najczęstsza lokalizacją była głowa trzustki. Średnia objętość podawanego alkoholu to 1,8 ml, a stężenie wynosiło 95–98%. Efekty uboczne obserwowano w 6 przypadkach, poza jednym były one łagodne i ustępowały samoistnie. Zaobserwowano tylko jedno poważne powikłanie leczone zachowawczo z sukcesem. Średni czas obserwacji pacjenta wyniósł 14,4 miesiąca (od 2 do 55 miesięcy). U wszystkich opisanych chorych ablacja doprowadziła do ustąpienia objawów i normalizacji glikemii. Wnioski: Alkoholowa ablacja guza insulinowego trzustki pod kontrolą EUS jest bezpieczną i skuteczną metoda leczenia tego guza u pacjentów z przeciwwskazaniami do zabiegu lub takich, którzy nie godzą się na zabieg. Większość powikłań ma charakter łagodny i były one obserwowane, gdy objętość podawanego do guza etanolu przekraczała 3,0 ml. Krótki czas obserwacji pacjentów i niewielka liczba opisanych przypadków, sprawiają że konieczne jest zaplanowanie badań prospektywnych, które mogłyby potwierdzić długoterminowe efekty leczenia. Analiza pokazuje również, że występują istotne różnice pomiędzy endoskopistami w zakresie sposobu przeprowadzenia samej procedury (stężenie i objętość alkoholu, rozmiar igły, liczba sesji). Powinno dążyć się do sprecyzowania sposobu jej wykonania.

Tobacco Smoke Exposure During Pregnancy Increases Maternal Blood Lead Levels Affecting Neonate Birth Weight

To assess the effect of lead exposure from cigarette smoke on fetal growth, blood lead concentrations were measured using inductively coupled plasma mass spectrometry in 150 healthy pregnant women. Mean lead concentrations in plasma and whole blood were significantly higher in the smoking group compared with the nonsmoking group in each trimester of pregnancy (p < 0.001). Logistic regression analysis showed the highest impact of the number of cigarettes smoked per day for serum lead concentration (β = 0.238; p < 0.05), while in whole blood, it was duration of smoking before conception (β = 0.297; p < 0.001). Birth weight of the smoking mothers' infants was significantly lower (mean ± SEM, 3,192 ± 50.8 and 3,569 ± 49.6 g, respectively; p < 0.001) and negatively correlated with lead levels in plasma (r = −0.38; p < 0.001) and in whole blood (r = −0.27; p < 0.001). Therefore, it is suggested that smoking during pregnancy increases lead concentrations in maternal blood. Fetal exposure to low doses of lead in utero may be a serious risk factor causing lower birth weight

Targeting of Sna3p to the Endosomal Pathway Depends on Its Interaction with Rsp5p and Multivesicular Body Sorting on Its Ubiquitylation

Rsp5p is an ubiquitin (Ub)-protein ligase of the Nedd4 family that carries WW domains involved in interaction with PPXY-containing proteins. It plays a key role at several stages of intracellular trafficking, such as Ub-mediated internalization of endocytic cargoes and Ub-mediated sorting of membrane proteins to internal vesicles of multivesicular bodies (MVBs), a process that is crucial for their subsequent targeting to the vacuolar lumen. Sna3p is a membrane protein previously described as an Ub-independent MVB cargo, but proteomic studies have since shown it to be an ubiquitylated protein. Sna3p carries a PPXY motif. We observed that this motif mediates its interaction with Rsp5p WW domains. Mutation of either the Sna3p PPXY motif or the Rsp5p WW3 domain or reduction in the amounts of Rsp5 results in the mistargeting of Sna3p to multiple mobile vesicles and prevents its sorting to the endosomal pathway. This sorting defect appears to occur prior to the defect displayed in rsp5 mutants by other MVB cargoes, which are correctly sorted to the endosomal pathway but missorted to the vacuolar membrane instead of the vacuolar lumen. Sna3p is polyubiquitylated on one target lysine, and a mutant Sna3p lacking its target lysine displays defective MVB sorting. Sna3p undergoes Rsp5-dependent polyubiquitylation, with K63-linked Ub chains

Development strategy in the field of transport of perishable food products based on the SWOT analysis

A rise in international trade has increased the need for the transportation of perishable products from producers to end-users in distant locations. Such transportation requires extensive logistics planning to ensure the integrity of the goods transported. The article aims to identify and highlight key strengths and weaknesses of the company, and to identify opportunities and threats that can contribute to improving the competitiveness and thus the quality of services provided. The scope of the data included domestic and international transport of two product groups: food and agricultural products. Data were obtained from Eurostat and the Polish Central Statistical Office (GUS) for the years 2010–2015. In order to determine the strategy and enterprise that specializes in the transport of food products, a SWOT analysis was used. The SWOT analysis points clearly to the direction of the business’s development towards strong expansion in the market which is demonstrated by the high figures for the strengths and opportunities (9.48). Compared with 2014, 2015 saw a 14.2% increase in the proportion of foods with a parallel drop in the transport of domestic agricultural produce by nearly 5%. The volume of road transport expressed in tonne/kilometre was 14.5% of the total of EU transport which places Poland second amongst the 28 EU states, after Germany and before Spain and France. The paper demonstrates that the most advantageous development strategy for a domestic transport provider is anaggressive (maxi–maxi) strategy to fully benefit from the opportunities with the use of its strengths