Sensing of magnetic-field gradients with nanodiamonds on optical glass-fiber facets

We demonstrate a photonic sensor of the magnetic field and its gradients with remote readout. The sensor is based on optically detected magnetic resonance (ODMR) in nanodiamonds with nitrogen-vacancy color centers that are covalently attached as a thin film on one facet of an optical fiber bundle. By measuring ODMR signals from a group of individual fibers in an ∼0.5-mm-wide imaging bundle, differences of local magnetic field strengths and magnetic field gradients are determined across the plane of the bundle facet. The measured gradients are created by direct electric currents flowing in a wire placed near the nanodiamond film. The measurement enabled the determination of the net magnetic field corresponding to various current directions and their corresponding magnetic field gradients. This demonstration opens up a perspective for compact fiber-based endoscopy, with additional avenues for remote and sensitive magnetic field detection with submicrometer spatial resolution under ambient conditions

Protection of consumer rights in Polish law

Celem niniejszej pracy jest przedstawienie ochrony konsumenta w prawie polskim. Pierwszy rozdział wyjaśnia pojęcie konsumenta w prawie polskim opierając się głównie na definicji zawartej w Artykule 22^1 Kodeksu cywilnego oraz w prawie europejskim, gdzie pojęcie konsumenta zostało oparte o dyrektywy Unii Europejskiej. Rozdział przedstawia także ewolucję pojęcia konsumenta w prawie polskim. Ostatni podrozdział pierwszego rozdziału poświęcony został idei ochrony konsumenta jako słabszej strony umowy. Drugi rozdział składa się z regulacji prawnych dotyczących ochrony interesów konsumenta i opisuje: •ochronę indywidualnych i zbiorowych interesów konsumentów;•ochronę konsumenta przed nieuczciwą konkurencją;•ochronę konsumenta przed produktami niebezpiecznymi;•ochronę konsumenta przez należyte informowanie;•sprzedaż konsumencką;•ochronę konsumenta przed nieuczciwymi klauzulami umów konsumenckich. Rozdział przedstawia w głównej mierze podstawy prawne, które wiążą się z ochroną konsumenta w prawie polskim. Trzecia część niniejszej pracy poświęcona jest instytucjom i organizacjom zajmującymi się ochroną praw konsumenta. Autor pracy przedstawia w nim: Urząd Ochrony Konkurencji i Konsumentów, gdzie kluczową rolę odgrywa Prezes UOKiK; Inspekcję Handlową, Stałe Polubowne Sądy Konsumenckie, Rzecznika Praw Konsumenta oraz Organizacje Konsumenckie. Powyższy rozdział ukazuje, jak dane instytucje i organizacje działają na rzecz konsumenta jako słabszej strony umowy. Ostatni czwarty rozdział jest analizą wybranych skarg konsumenckich złożonych w latach 2018-2020 i przedstawia postępowanie wobec: •Cyfrowego Polsatu S.A z siedzibą w Warszawie o naruszenie zbiorowych interesów konsumentów;•Getin Noble Banku S.A z siedzibą w Warszawie w sprawie o uznanie postanowień wzorca umowy za niedozwolone;•Fly Parku In Poland w sprawie naruszenia zasady bezpieczeństwa produktów;•Topmed Plus w sprawie praktyk naruszających zbiorowe interesy konsumentów;•Parku Linowego Pyrland w sprawie niedozwolonych postanowień wzorca umów. Rozdział ma na celu przedstawienie konkretnych spraw, w których organy opisane w rozdziale trzecim stosowały przepisy zawarte w rozdziale drugim niniejszej pracy.The aim of this study is to present consumer protection in Polish law. The first chapter explains the concept of a consumer in Polish law, mainly based on the definition contained in Article 22 ^ 1 of the Civil Code and in European law, where the concept of a consumer is based on European Union directives. The chapter also presents the evolution of the concept of a consumer in Polish law. The last subsection of the first chapter is devoted to the idea of ​​protecting the consumer as the weaker party to the contract.The second chapter consists of legal regulations regarding the protection of consumer interests and describes:• protection of individual and collective consumer interests;• consumer protection against unfair competition;• consumer protection against dangerous products;• consumer protection through adequate information;• consumer sales;• consumer protection against unfair clauses in consumer contracts.The chapter mainly presents the legal bases related to consumer protection in Polish law.The third part of this work is devoted to institutions and organizations dealing with the protection of consumer rights. The author of the paper presents: the Office of Competition and Consumer Protection, where the President of UOKiK plays a key role; The Trade Inspection, Permanent Consumer Arbitration Courts, the Consumer Ombudsman and Consumer Organizations. The above chapter shows how given institutions and organizations work for the benefit of the consumer as the weaker party to the contract.The last, fourth chapter is an analysis of selected consumer complaints filed in 2018-2020 and presents the procedure against:• Cyfrowy Polsat S.A with its registered office in Warsaw for infringement of collective consumer interests;• Getin Noble Banku S.A with its registered office in Warsaw in a case for recognizing the provisions of a standard agreement as prohibited;• Fly Park In Poland on breach of the product safety rules;• Topmed Plus on practices violating collective consumer interests;• Pyrland Rope Park on the prohibited provisions of the standard contracts.This chapter aims to present specific cases in which the authorities described in chapter three applied the provisions contained in chapter two of this work

Advertisement as Manipulation

W dzisiejszych czasach manipulacja jest często wykorzystywana w reklamie. Jest formą wywierania wpływu, która przyczynia się do osiągnięcia celu przekazu, którym najczęściej jest przyciągnięcie uwagi konsumenta do określonego towaru, uwydatnienie cech produktu oraz zachęcenie do zakupu. Producenci reklam stosują wiele technik manipulacji, które mają nakłonić potencjalnego klienta do zakupu ich towaru lub usługi. Posługując się interesującą oprawą dźwiękową bądź grafiką, przyciągają uwagę odbiorców, sprawiają, że przekaz jest lepiej zapamiętywany, a reklamowany produkt postrzegany równie pozytywnie jak jego reklama. Poruszenie tematu manipulacji w reklamie jest istotne, gdyż wykorzystywana jest najczęściej dla osiągnięcia korzyści producentów, przy stracie dla konsumentów. Niejasne przekazy reklamowe wprowadzają odbiorców w błąd, którego efektem często jest zakup zbędnego produktu lub usługi. Zjawisko manipulacji traktuje ludzi w sposób przedmiotowy, za pośrednictwem podstępu, oddziałuje na ich myśli i zachowania. Aby skutecznie obronić się przed działaniami manipulacyjnymi, należy poznać mechanizmy, którymi posługuje się nadawca. Celem niniejszej pracy jest zbadanie wpływu reklamy na zachowania odbiorców oraz tego, które elementy oraz jakie techniki manipulacji w największym stopniu oddziałują na odbiorcę. Przeprowadzoną metodą badawczą jest ankieta, która została wypełniona przez stu trzech respondentów. Praca składa się z trzech części. Pierwszy rozdział wyjaśnia pojęcie reklamy. Opisuje definicję, rodzaje, funkcje oraz główne cele reklamy. W drugim rozdziale omawiany jest termin manipulacji. Zwraca uwagę na definicję oraz różnice między zjawiskiem manipulacji a wywieraniem wpływu. Przedstawia także najważniejsze techniki manipulacji oraz wybrane przeze mnie przykłady reklam, w których te metody zostały zastosowane. Trzecia część składa się z analizy przeprowadzonych badań własnych. Opisuje cele oraz problemy badawcze niniejszego opracowania. Prezentuje także wyniki badań własnych, które w końcowej części rozdziału są podsumowane.Nowadays, manipulation is often used in advertising. It is a form of exerting influence that contributes to the goal of the message, which is most often to attract the consumer's attention to a specific product, highlight the features of the product and encourage purchase. Advertisers use a lot of manipulation techniques to persuade a potential customer to buy their goods or services. Using an interesting sound setting or graphics, they attract the attention of the recipients, make the message better remembered, and the advertised product perceived as positively as its advertising.Addressing the subject of manipulation in advertising is important, as it is most often used to achieve the benefits of producers, while losing to consumers. Unclear advertising messages mislead consumers, the effect of which is often the purchase of an unnecessary product or service. The phenomenon of manipulation treats people in a subjective way, by means of deception, affects their thoughts and behaviors. To effectively defend against manipulative activities, one should learn the mechanisms that the sender uses.The aim of this work is to examine the impact of advertising on consumer behavior and which elements and which techniques of manipulation affect the recipient to the greatest extent. The survey method is a survey that was completed by one hundred and three respondents. The work consists of three parts.The first chapter explains the concept of advertising. Describes the definition, types, functions and main purposes of advertising.The second chapter discusses the date of manipulation. He draws attention to the definition and differences between the phenomenon of manipulation and exerting influence. It also presents the most important techniques of manipulation and the examples of advertising chosen by me in which these methods have been applied.The third part consists of the analysis of own research. Describes the goals and research problems of this study. He also presents the results of his own research, which are summarized in the final part of the chapter

The limits of property rights and protection against eviction from residential premises

Przedmiotem pracy magisterskiej są granice prawa własności rozpatrywane w aspekcie ochrony praw lokatorów przed eksmisją z lokalu mieszkalnego.Nowelizacja art. 1046 Kodeksu postępowania cywilnego z dnia 2 lipca 2004 roku ustanowiona w celu zapobiegania eksmisji „na bruk” oraz brak faktycznej możliwości prowadzenia postępowania egzekucyjnego w przedmiocie wykonywania wyroków eksmisyjnych, stały się przyczyną interwencji Trybunału Konstytucyjnego. Zadaniem Trybunału było dokonanie oceny czy zaskarżone normy prawne pozostają zgodne z przepisami Ustawy Zasadniczej.Głównym celem pracy jest próba oceny konfliktu interesów oraz wskazanie, które z podmiotowych praw podlega szerszej ochronie prawnej.Źródłem prawa stanowiącym podstawę dla oceny powyższego zagadnienia jest Konstytucja RP. Normy prawne Konstytucji przedstawiają prawa podmiotowe, takie jak prawo własności, podlegające szczególnej ochronie.Ze względu na fakt, iż powyższe zagadnienie rozstrzygane było w 2007 oraz 2010 roku przez Trybunał Konstytucyjny, wydane przez Trybunał orzeczenia o sygnaturze K 26/05 (OTK-A 2007, nr 11, poz. 153) i K 19/06 (OTK-A 2010, nr 9, poz. 96) stanowią niezwykle istotny fragment pracy dla przyjętych wniosków.Wskazanie, które z podmiotowych praw podlega szerszej ochronie prawnej uzależnione zostało od oceny czy stosowanie szeroko pojętego prawa do prywatności stanowi naruszenie istoty prawa własności, czy też przeciwnie, prawo własności stosowane względem podmiotu zajmującego lokal mieszkalny wykonywane jest w sposób nieproporcjonalny i nie zasługuje na tak szeroką ochronę.The subject of the thesis are the limits of property rights in the context of protecting the rights of tenants against eviction from residential premises.The amendment of article 1046, Code of Civil Procedure, 2 July 2004, established to prevent eviction "on the street" in conjunction with the lack of capability to enforce verdicts, brought about to the intervention of the Constitutional Court. The Court's task was to assess whether the contested legal standards were consistent with the provisions of the Constitution.The main objective of my thesis is to assess the conflict of interest and to indentify which of the subject rights require broader legal protection.The source of law which provides the basis for the assessment of the issue in question is the Constitution of the Republic of Poland. Legal norms of the Constitution provide legal rights of individuals such as the right to ownership subject to special protection.Due to the fact that this issue was being settled in year 2007 and 2010 by the Constitutional Court, decisions of signatures K 26/05 (OTK-A 2007, No. 11, item. 153) and K 19/06 (OTK- A 2010, No. 9, item. 96) are critical for the accepted conclusion.Indicating which legal rights call for broader legal protection is conditional on assessing whether the use of a broadly construed right to privacy is a violation of the essence of ownership, or, on the contrary, the right to ownership when applied to entity occupying premises is disproportionately executed and does not require as much protection

Molnupiravir Outpatient Treatment for Adults with COVID-19 in a Real-World Setting—A Single Center Experience

Background: Molnupiravir is approved for the treatment of adult patients with mild to moderate COVID-19. The main goal of the treatment is to reduce hospitalization and mortality rate. This study aimed at the all-cause hospitalization and all-cause death assessment in patients at high risk of severe COVID-19 treated with molnupiravir. Methods: This was a prospective, observational single center study. Non-hospitalized patients with SARS-CoV-2 infection, COVID-19 symptoms with the onset of up to 5 days, and at high risk of severe COVID-19 illness received molnupiravir based on attending physician decisions. Results: In total, 107 patients were enrolled. Adverse events were reported in 28.0% of patients, with nausea and abdominal pain being the most commonly observed. No treatment-emergent AEs resulted in therapy discontinuation. Overall, 15 patients required hospitalization. During the observation, 2.8% (n = 3) of patients subsequently died. All deaths were considered to be related to COVID-19 complications. Age over 65 years, heart failure, and ischemic heart disease showed a significant correlation with the severe course of COVID-19. Conclusion: Molnupiravir may be perceived as an alternative treatment for patients with immunosuppression and advanced chronic kidney disease. Nevertheless, further studies are required to conclusively establish a role for molnupiravir in future COVID-19 treatment recommendations

Real-life comparison of efficacy and safety profiles of two prolonged-release tacrolimus formulations in de novo kidney transplant recipients: 24 months of follow-up.

IntroductionCalcineurin inhibitors constitute a cornerstone of immunosuppressive therapy in kidney transplant recipients. There are two main formulations of tacrolimus (Tac) which exhibit a prolonged-release mode of action: Advagraf® (MR-4) and Envarsus® (LCPT). However, they are not bioequivalent. Data comparing both once-daily prolonged-release formulations of Tac are insufficient.ObjectiveThe aim of the study was to compare safety and efficacy profiles of once-daily LCPT and MR-4 formulations of tacrolimus in adult kidney transplant recipients.Patients and methodsAn observational, cohort single-center study was performed. One hundred fifteen kidney transplant recipients transplanted between 2016 and 2019 were enrolled to the study (59 vs 56, Envarsus® vs Advagraf®, respectively). Safety and efficacy profiles were assessed.ResultsPatient and graft survival at 12 and 24 months did not differ between the groups. There were no significant differences in serum creatinine at any timepoint. C/D ratio in the LCPT group was significantly higher at 12 and 24 months. Sepsis occurrence was more frequent in MR-4 group at 12 months.ConclusionBoth prolonged-release formulations of tacrolimus are safe and effective in immunosuppressive therapy in kidney transplant recipients

Metabolic Profile of Liver Transplant Recipients and Determinants of their Body Fat Distribution

Obesity and diabetes mellitus epidemics exert a measurable impact on the liver transplant (Ltx) population. This study aimed to investigate the metabolic profile of Ltx recipients and its association with body fat distribution. Adults who underwent de novo elective cadaveric-donor Ltx were eligible. Metabolic syndrome (MS) was diagnosed based on the adapted International Diabetes Federation, the American Heart Association, and the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute guidelines. We recruited 100 patients with a mean age of 54 years, of whom 70% were men. Overall, 54% met the criteria for MS, most of which comprised new-onset cases. Excessive fat accumulation in liver donors was found to be associated with an increased metabolic risk in liver recipients. Haemoglobin A1C (OR: 8.962, 95% CI: 2.188–84.545, p = 0.013), ferritin (OR: 1.024, 95% CI: 1.005–1.054, p = 0.038), and de novo hypertriglycaeridemia (OR 27.957, 95% CI: 2.626–752.121, p = 0.014) were found to be independently associated with de novo MS. After a step-wise multivariate analysis, only the anthropometric obesity indices were significantly associated with abdominal fat distribution in Ltx recipients. Metabolic complications were common in liver recipients. Both pre- and post-Ltx factors impacted MS development in liver recipients and determined abdominal fat distribution

Are We on the Right Track for HCV Micro-Elimination? HCV Management Practices in Dialysis Centers in Poland—A National Cross-Sectional Survey

Chronic hepatitis C (CHC) is prevalent in the hemodialysis-dependent population. Currently, all patients with CHC should be considered for treatment; however, many hemodialysis-dependent patients are still left untreated. Following HCV cure, accurate surveillance is mandatory to reduce liver-related mortality and prevent reinfection. We aimed to establish HCV management practices and barriers to HCV elimination in dialysis centers in Poland. Polish dialysis centers were surveyed via email. The HCV management strategies were investigated. Representatives of 112 dialysis centers responded, representing 43.1% of all dialysis centers in Poland and 43.4% of hemodialysis-dependent patients’ volume. Most respondents were Heads of hemodialysis centers and board-certified nephrologists. The study demonstrated that in the vast majority of hemodialysis centers (91.6%), subjects are considered for antiviral treatment (AVT); however, many obstacles preventing patients from being prescribed AVT were identified; patients’ reluctance to undergo AVT was most reported (60%). The majority of dialysis units neither evaluate patients with CHC for liver fibrosis (60.4%) nor screen them for hepatocellular carcinoma (53.5%). In conclusion, the presented study demonstrates that HCV management practices across Polish dialysis centers vary substantially. There is a need to optimize and streamline the HCV management infrastructure in the hemodialysis population in Poland

New Insight into the Fluorescence Quenching of Nitrogen-Containing Carbonaceous Quantum Dots—From Surface Chemistry to Biomedical Applications

Carbon-based quantum dots are widely suggested as fluorescent carriers of drugs, genes or other bioactive molecules. In this work, we thoroughly examine the easy-to-obtain, biocompatible, nitrogen-containing carbonaceous quantum dots (N-CQDs) with stable fluorescent properties that are resistant to wide-range pH changes. Moreover, we explain the mechanism of fluorescence quenching at extreme pH conditions. Our in vitro results indicate that N-CQDs penetrate the cell membrane; however, fluorescence intensity measured inside the cells was lower than expected from carbonaceous dots extracellular concentration decrease. We studied the mechanism of quenching and identified reduced form of β-nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide (NADH) as one of the intracellular quenchers. We proved it experimentally that the elucidated redox process triggers the efficient reduction of amide functionalities to non-fluorescent amines on carbonaceous dots surface. We determined the 5 nm–wide reactive redox zone around the N-CQD surface. The better understanding of fluorescence quenching will help to accurately quantify and dose the internalized carbonaceous quantum dots for biomedical applications

Local Treatment of Burns with Cell-Based Therapies Tested in Clinical Studies

Effective wound management is an important determinant of the survival and prognosis of patients with severe burns. Thus, novel techniques for timely and full closure of full-thickness burn wounds are urgently needed. The purpose of this review is to present the current state of knowledge on the local treatment of burn wounds (distinguishing radiation injury from other types of burns) with the application of cellular therapies conducted in clinical studies. PubMed search engine and ClinicalTrials.gov were used to analyze the available data. The analysis covered 49 articles, assessing the use of keratinocytes (30), keratinocytes and fibroblasts (6), fibroblasts (2), bone marrow-derived cells (8), and adipose tissue cells (3). Studies on the cell-based products that are commercially available (Epicel®, Keraheal™, ReCell®, JACE, Biobrane®) were also included, with the majority of reports found on autologous and allogeneic keratinocytes. Promising data demonstrate the effectiveness of various cell-based therapies; however, there are still scientific and technical issues that need to be solved before cell therapies become standard of care. Further evidence is required to demonstrate the clinical efficacy and safety of cell-based therapies in burns. In particular, comparative studies with long-term follow-up are critical