Immunocompromised travellers

Given a better quality of life and extended life expectancy in patients with immune suppression, the number of immunocompromised travellers is constantly growing. The aim of the article is to discuss travel-related health problems in immunocompromised patients, their most common destinations and reasons to travel, as well as complications associated with travel to regions with harsh environmental conditions. The article focuses on selected groups of immunocompromised travellers (ICTs), i.e., cancer patients, transplant patients receiving immunosuppressant agents, splenectomised patients and HIV-infected individuals. The most common infections and complications, including traveller’s diarrhoea, vector-borne diseases (yellow fever, malaria, leishmaniasis, dengue, chikungunya), respiratory infections (including tuberculosis), and dermatoses were taken into account. Preventive measures dedicated to ICTs (pre-travel consultation, vaccinations, malaria chemoprophylaxis, prevention during travelling) have been also characterised

It is not OK but it works – unproductive entrepreneurship, the case of Poland

The concept of unproductive entrepreneurs was introduced to science by Baumol, who pointed out the differences in business output between countries. Unproductive behaviour of entrepreneurs is often a consequence of ineffective institutions used by entrepreneurs for rent seeking. The aim of this article is to examine subjective norms (S.N.) and attitudes regarding specified types of unproductive entrepreneurship, which in many cases takes the form of unethical or even unlawful behaviour among entrepreneurs in Poland. Examples of such behaviour are: bribery and tax evasion, burdensome lawsuits, often unfounded or lobbying. The structure of the research was based on Baumol’s work while the research model was based on Ajzen’s theory of planned behaviour (T.P.B.). In this article we argue that unproductive entrepreneurship in transforming economies is often forced by inefficient institutions and the desire to avoid bankruptcy. The results of the survey carried out among 270 Polish entrepreneurs indicated a permissive and subjective standard regarding tax evasion when the existence of their business is endangered, and more negative behavioural beliefs (B.B.) regarding the effectiveness of tax evasion than regarding the effectiveness of paying bribes (P.B.)

Childhood asthma outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from the PeARL multinational cohort

Background The interplay between COVID-19 pandemic and asthma in children is still unclear. We evaluated the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on childhood asthma outcomes.Methods The PeARL multinational cohort included 1,054 children with asthma and 505 non-asthmatic children aged between 4 and 18 years from 25 pediatric departments, from 15 countries globally. We compared the frequency of acute respiratory and febrile presentations during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic between groups and with data available from the previous year. In children with asthma, we also compared current and historical disease control.Results During the pandemic, children with asthma experienced fewer upper respiratory tract infections, episodes of pyrexia, emergency visits, hospital admissions, asthma attacks, and hospitalizations due to asthma, in comparison with the preceding year. Sixty-six percent of asthmatic children had improved asthma control while in 33% the improvement exceeded the minimal clinically important difference. Pre-bronchodilatation FEV1 and peak expiratory flow rate were improved during the pandemic. When compared to non-asthmatic controls, children with asthma were not at increased risk of LRTIs, episodes of pyrexia, emergency visits, or hospitalizations during the pandemic. However, an increased risk of URTIs emerged.Conclusion Childhood asthma outcomes, including control, were improved during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, probably because of reduced exposure to asthma triggers and increased treatment adherence. The decreased frequency of acute episodes does not support the notion that childhood asthma may be a risk factor for COVID-19. Furthermore, the potential for improving childhood asthma outcomes through environmental control becomes apparent.</p

Postawy i samoocena w kontekście intencji przedsiębiorczych młodych Polaków

The main aim of the paper is to present the relation between intentions to become an entrepreneurs among young polish people and the two factors with possible influence on it: self-efficacy and attitude towards entrepreneurship. Two groups of young people were examined: students enrolling the Management Faculty at Gdańsk University of Technology, and pupil from high schools, attending “Entrepreneurship” classes. It appeared that people who perceived themselves as self-efficacy reported to open own firm in the future more often than others. On the other hand the positive attitude towards entrepreneurship doesn’t seems to have an influence on reported intentions to become an entrepreneur. Those research will be continue to verify, how the studding process influence the readiness to become entrepreneurs among students.Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie wyników badań dotyczących zależności pomiędzy postawami młodych Polaków wobec przedsiębiorczości oraz poczuciem własnej skuteczności, a gotowością do otwarcia własnej firmy. W tym celu zbadano dwie grupy respondentów: studentów pierwszego roku kierunku Zarządzania i Ekonomii Politechniki Gdańskiej, oraz uczniów ostatnich klas szkół średnich biorących udział w zajęciach z przedmiotu „przedsiębiorczość”. Uzyskane wyniki pozwoliły stwierdzić między innymi, że osoby oceniające się jako przedsiębiorcze, posiadające poczucie skuteczności, charakteryzują się gotowością do założenia własnej firmy. Podczas gdy, pozytywne postawy wobec przedsiębiorczości, występujące dość powszechnie w badanej grupie, nie przekładały się bezpośrednio na taką gotowość. Zaprezentowane w artykule badania będą kontynuowane w celu oceny występowania ewentualnych zmian wynikających z wpływu procesu edukacji na intencje przedsiębiorcze

Fever of unknown origin in returning travellers

The aim of the article is to discuss issues associated with the occurrence of febrile illnesses in leisure and business travellers, with a particular emphasis on fevers of unknown origin (FUO). FUO, apart from diarrhoeas, respiratory tract infections and skin lesions, are one of the most common health problems in travellers to tropical and subtropical countries. FUO are manifestations of various diseases, typically of infectious or invasive aetiology. In one out of 3 cases, the cause of a fever in travellers returning from the hot climate zone is malaria, and therefore diagnostic tests should first aim at ruling out this specific disease entity. Other illnesses with persistent fever include dengue, enteric fever, viral hepatitis A, bacterial diarrhoeas and rickettsioses. Fever may also occur in travellers suffering from diseases of non-tropical origin, e.g. cosmopolitan respiratory tract or urinary tract infections, also, fever may coexist with other illnesses or injuries (skin rashes, bites, burns)

Unproductive entrepreneurship - The case of the Polish economy

Unproductive entrepreneurship is not a common theme undertaken by researchers. The author defines the basic concepts of unproductive entrepreneurship and explains the role of cultural and economic differences in transition countries, in terms of institutional environment. However the main aim is to identify the nature of unproductive entrepreneurship in Poland. The theory for the research was based on the Baumol work. The research model on the Ajzen TPB. 270 Polish entrepreneurs were surveyed in order to define and describe unproductive entrepreneurship in Poland. The surveyed entrepreneurs present a permissive subjective standard regarding tax evasion when the existence of their enterprise is endangered, however they are also quite indulgent in the case of desire to maximize profits. The entrepreneurs represent more negative behavioural beliefs regarding the effectiveness of tax avoidance than regarding the effectiveness of making arrangements with tender participants or paying bribes

Ekologia w tribologii: wybrane problemy związane z eliminacją ropopochodnych środków smarowych w węzłach ciernych

The elimination of mineral oil-based lubricants from machines has multiple beneficial effects on the natural environment. Firstly – these lubricants are a direct threat to the environment in the event of leaks; secondly – their elimination reduces the demand for crude oil from which they are obtained. In addition, in many cases, e.g. when replacing traditional lubricants with water, friction losses in the bearings can also be reduced due to the lower viscosity of the water, which reduces the energy dissipation in machines. On the other hand, the introduction of self-lubricating materials or water-lubricated bearings causes problems related to the need to adapt the design of machines and materials used to new operating conditions and changed properties of the lubricants. In the paper, selected examples of problems related to the use of ecological lubricants are discussed. The high cost of PEEK based polymers resulted in the emergence of cheaper substitutes on the market; however, in the conducted research, the substitutes presented worse properties than those declared by their manufacturers.Eliminacja ropopochodnych środków smarowych z węzłów ciernych maszyn ma wieloraki korzystny wpływ na stan środowiska naturalnego. Po pierwsze – środki te są bezpośrednim zagrożeniem dla środowiska w przypadku wycieków i nieszczelności, po drugie – ich eliminacja zmniejsza zapotrzebowanie na ropę naftową, z której są pozyskiwane. Ponadto w wielu wypadkach, np. przy zastępowaniu tradycyjnych środków smarowych wodą, zmniejszają się też straty tarcia w łożyskach w wyniku mniejszej lepkości wody, co zmniejsza straty energii w maszynach. Z drugiej jednak strony wprowadzanie bezsmarowych węzłów ciernych lub smarowania wodnego w łożyskach przysparza problemów związanych z koniecznością dostosowania konstrukcji maszyn i stosowanych materiałów do nowych warunków działania łożysk i innych właściwości środków smarowych. W pracy omówiono kilka przykładowych problemów związanych ze stosowaniem ekologicznych środków smarowych. Jednym z nich jest dobór polimerowych materiałów stosowanych na łożyska smarowane wodą. W związku z wysokimi kosztami materiałów na bazie PEEK na rynku pojawiają się tańsze zamienniki. W przeprowadzonych badaniach materiałowych zaobserwowano niezgodność deklarowanych przez producentów właściwości z rzeczywistością. Stwierdzono również wyraźnie gorsze właściwości tribologiczne

Childhood asthma outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic:findings from the PeARL multinational cohort

Abstract Background: The interplay between COVID-19 pandemic and asthma in children is still unclear. We evaluated the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on childhood asthma outcomes. Methods: The PeARL multinational cohort included 1,054 children with asthma and 505 non-asthmatic children aged between 4 and 18 years from 25 pediatric departments, from 15 countries globally. We compared the frequency of acute respiratory and febrile presentations during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic between groups and with data available from the previous year. In children with asthma, we also compared current and historical disease control. Results: During the pandemic, children with asthma experienced fewer upper respiratory tract infections, episodes of pyrexia, emergency visits, hospital admissions, asthma attacks, and hospitalizations due to asthma, in comparison with the preceding year. Sixty-six percent of asthmatic children had improved asthma control while in 33% the improvement exceeded the minimal clinically important difference. Pre-bronchodilatation FEV₁ and peak expiratory flow rate were improved during the pandemic. When compared to non-asthmatic controls, children with asthma were not at increased risk of LRTIs, episodes of pyrexia, emergency visits, or hospitalizations during the pandemic. However, an increased risk of URTIs emerged. Conclusions: Childhood asthma outcomes, including control, were improved during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, probably because of reduced exposure to asthma triggers and increased treatment adherence. The decreased frequency of acute episodes does not support the notion that childhood asthma may be a risk factor for COVID-19. Furthermore, the potential for improving childhood asthma outcomes through environmental control becomes apparent

Childhood asthma outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic: findings from the PeARL multinational cohort

Background: The interplay between COVID-19 pandemic and asthma in children is still unclear. We evaluated the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on childhood asthma outcomes. Methods: The PeARL multinational cohort included 1,054 children with asthma and 505 non-asthmatic children aged between 4 and 18 years from 25 pediatric departments, from 15 countries globally. We compared the frequency of acute respiratory and febrile presentations during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic between groups and with data available from the previous year. In children with asthma, we also compared current and historical disease control. Results: During the pandemic, children with asthma experienced fewer upper respiratory tract infections, episodes of pyrexia, emergency visits, hospital admissions, asthma attacks, and hospitalizations due to asthma, in comparison with the preceding year. Sixty-six percent of asthmatic children had improved asthma control while in 33% the improvement exceeded the minimal clinically important difference. Pre-bronchodilatation FEV1 and peak expiratory flow rate were improved during the pandemic. When compared to non-asthmatic controls, children with asthma were not at increased risk of LRTIs, episodes of pyrexia, emergency visits, or hospitalizations during the pandemic. However, an increased risk of URTIs emerged. Conclusion: Childhood asthma outcomes, including control, were improved during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, probably because of reduced exposure to asthma triggers and increased treatment adherence. The decreased frequency of acute episodes does not support the notion that childhood asthma may be a risk factor for COVID-19. Furthermore, the potential for improving childhood asthma outcomes through environmental control becomes apparent.</p

Childhood asthma outcomes during the COVID-19 pandemic: Findings from the PeARL multi-national cohort

International audienc