Onboarding in Polish Enterprises in the Perspective of HR Specialists.

The article discusses onboarding in Polish enterprises analyzed from the perspective of HR specialists. The subject of consideration in the article falls within the area of broadly understood concern for the sustainable development and well-being of employees adjusting to a new work environment during their adaptation period. Actions taken by HR specialists have a significant impact on the behavior of employees and their well-being and satisfaction in the new workplace, including commitment and care for all stakeholders involved in building a positive psychological climate at the time of starting work. The aim of the article was to identify onboarding practices implemented in selected types of Polish enterprises and selected factors determining the choice of specific practices, such as analyzing the dependencies between the type of an enterprise and the implementation of onboarding practices in it, identifying the perception of these practices by HR male and female specialists at a given age and with given seniority, and determining whether the practice of assigning a buddy to new employees depends on the type of enterprise. The study described in the article was conducted in 178 medium-sized Polish enterprises, of which, 25 were manufacturing companies, 34 were trading companies, and 119 were service companies. In each enterprise, an HR specialist completed a questionnaire on onboarding. The analysis of the dependencies between the type of company and the type of onboarding implemented in it (general, position, or team onboarding) revealed no statistically significant differences between the types of companies participating in the study and the type of onboarding implemented in them. The discrepancies between preferences for particular onboarding practices and the gender, age, and seniority of HR specialists participating in the study turned out to be statistically significant and indicate that manufacturing companies more often assign a buddy to new employees in their onboarding process than trading and service companies. The conclusions obtained from the research, apart from the cognitive value, have an application value, e.g., regarding the recruitment of HR specialists.

Academic Teachers about Their Productivity and a Sense of Well-Being in the Current COVID-19 Epidemic.

This article looked at the situation of university teachers in Poland during the COVID-19 epidemic as a result of their need to work remotely. The study was conducted in the first stage (I) on 21 academicians and in the second stage (II) on 18 academicians. The study was conducted to determine the level of productivity of the study group in their online learning competencies in relation to their well-being, as well as during the height, and weakening of the epidemic. The results of the survey conducted, especially during the height of the epidemic, indicated varying levels of self-evaluation of their productivity in relation to their digital competencies linked to the need for them to work remotely, which also affected their psychological well-being. Several cases of respondents indicated a negative assessment of their own productivity, and thus their quality of work life and sense of psychological well-being. However, some respondents, on the contrary, showed a desire to work, the need for self-improvement, and to continue their mission of teaching.

Cooling Effect of Phase Change Materials Applied in Undergarments of Mine Rescuers in Simulated Utility Conditions on Thermal Manikin.

The cooling effect of new undergarments (T-shirt) with PCM was measured using heat flux on a thermal manikin according to four tests variants: in T-shirt without PCM, in T-shirt with PCM, in T-shirt without PCM and with outerwear, in T-shirt with PCM and with outerwear. The tests were done in the climatic chamber under controlled conditions: ta = 32 °C, RH = 70% and Va = 1 m/s. The cooling effect was confirmed by thermograms taken by thermal imaging cameras located on the front and back of the manikin. The results showed that in the case of using a T-shirt with PCM, the effect of heat absorption was observed during the first several dozen minutes of operation. The mean value of the heat flux density (ΔHc) received from the manikin was +15 W/m2. In the case of using outerwear with a T-shirt with PCM, the mean value of the heat flux density (ΔHc) received from the manikin was +31.5 W/m2.

Multilayer Nonwoven Inserts with Aerogel/PCMs for the Improvement of Thermophysiological Comfort in Protective Clothing against the Cold.

This study aimed to assess the developed nonwoven inserts with aerogel/PCM (phase change material) microcapsules for use in protective clothing against cold in terms of properties related to thermophysiological comfort. These inserts were obtained by the thermal bonding of a multilayer system consisting of needled-punched nonwovens and silica aerogel particles and/or PCM microcapsules evenly distributed between them. The influence of aerogel and PCM microcapsules on the basic physical properties of inserts, their microstructure, air permeability, and water vapor resistance was investigated and analyzed. The thermal insulation properties of inserts were assessed based on thermal conductivity results. The inserts with PCMs were also tested for their ability to regulate the temperature in the undergarment microclimate using the differential scanning calorimeter (DSC) and the "skin model" device. The research showed that the use of aerogel allowed for reducing the thermal conductivity of the insert by approximately 13% compared to the insert without additives. The high values obtained of the melting and crystallization enthalpy of inserts with PCMs confirmed their high efficiency in the heat absorption and release. Thus, the use of aerogel and PCMs in protective clothing against cold seems to be an effective solution for improving its protective properties and actively adapting its thermal insulation to the changing temperature conditions and the activity level of employees.

Experiencing Stress among Different Professional Groups in the Context of Their Age.

The subject of this article is the identification of coping with stress and experiencing stress in three groups of the same number of people, different in terms of their occupation: professional soldiers of the Polish Army with the rank of an officer, people employed in managerial positions, and specialists working in independent positions in the context of their age. The analysis of the literature and the research carried out refer to the concept of sustainable development. This indicates the need to take care of limiting excessive stress and improving the mental well-being of all employees, regardless of the demographic characteristics and nature of the work performed. In order to identify possible differences, three types of questionnaires meeting the criteria of psychometric correctness were used (CISS, KPS, PSS-10). The obtained results were subjected to statistical analysis using the FUZZY TOPSIS method based on multi-criteria decision-making and the fuzzy logic, which was first applied in the social science. The obtained data confirmed some differentiation within the three studied groups, as well as the modifying role of age in coping and experiencing stress.

Effect of Protoberberine-Rich Fraction of Chelidonium majus L. on Endometriosis Regression.

Endometriosis is a gynecological disease defined by the presence of endometrial tissue outside the uterus. To date, the effective treatment of this disease is still based on invasive surgery or laparoscopy. Chelidonium majus L. (Papaveraceae) belongs to medicinal, latex-bearing plants. Extracts from the plant are a rich source of pharmacologically active agents. Protoberberine compounds derived from C. majus possess anticancer and antiproliferative activities. In the present study of a rat model of endometriosis, we investigated the influence of the plant protoberberine-rich fraction (BBR) obtained from the medicinal plant C. majus on the development of endometriosis. To understand of BBR therapeutic potential for endometriosis, metabolomics has been applied to study. BBR was prepared from an ethanolic extract of dry plants C. majus. Rats (n = 16) with confirmed endometriosis were treated with BBR administered orally (1 g/kg) for 14 days. Blood serum samples were collected from all of the animals and metabolites were studied using the NMR method. The metabolomic pattern was compared before and after the protoberberine treatment. The performed analysis showed significant changes in the concentrations of metabolites that are involved in energy homeostasis, including glucose, glutamine, and lactate. Histopathological studies showed no recurrence of endometriosis loci after treatment with BBR. The results of the study found that BBR treatment prevents the recurrence of endometriosis in rats. Moreover, metabolomics profiling can be applied to better understand the mechanisms of action of these protoberberine secondary plant metabolites. Our findings provide new insights into the pharmaceutical activity of natural protoberberine plant compounds.

Novel nanosystems to enhance biological activity of hydroxyapatite against dental caries.

This work aimed to study for the first time to our knowledge the influence of the structure of the dental flosses (DF) coated by hydroxyapatite nanoparticles (HAP NPs) on the biological performance of saliva probiotic bacteria (S. salivarius), and human dermal and osteoblast-like cells. We used three types of HAP@DF composites (based on two unwaxed dental flosses - "fluffy" and "smooth", and one waxed "smooth") with different morphologies. Obtained composites were characterized from the point of view of their structure, morphological characteristics, elemental and chemical composition. We observed that HAP NPs coated "smooth" dental flosses led to an increase of viability and proliferation of oral cavity probiotic bacteria (Streptococcus salivarius) and human cells (dermal fibroblasts and osteoblast-like). In contrast, the highest viability loss of probiotic bacteria (S. salivarius), fibroblasts, and osteoblast-like cells were observed for "fluffy" unwaxed dental flosses due to high cytotoxicity. Our studies showed that HAP NPs significantly improved the biological properties of "fluffy" dental floss. Pristine "smooth" DFs (waxed and unwaxed), as well as all HAP-coated DFs, induced acceptable biocompatibility toward selected human cells.

Evaluation of Functionality of Warning System in Smart Protective Clothing for Firefighters.

Recent achievements in the field of miniaturization of electronics have led to a significant interest in its application into the protective clothing for firefighters in order to improve their safety and health. However, up to now there are not any requirements and standardized test methods enabling confirmation of safety of use and functionality of these systems in work environment. In the paper, an importance of evaluation of such smart wearable system in predicted utility conditions is highlighted. Three variants of the specially developed personal warning systems (PWSs) for integration with either health status or environmental sensors to be used in smart protective clothing for firefighters are presented, i.e., with LCD display, LED diodes and vibrating element. For the purpose of evaluation a new testing methodology was developed. The PWSs were evaluated on a basis of perception of warning signals by firefighters in simulated utility conditions including temperature, light, noise, fog and performed activities. In the case of marching, even 75% of signals generated by PWS with LCD display were not received. Physical activity did not influence on functionality of PWS with vibrating element. For the PWS with LED diodes, the signal was received statistically significantly quicker than in the case of other PWS and the mean value of voice response time was below 3 s.

Evaluation Methodology of a Smart Clothing Biomechanical Energy Harvesting System for Mountain Rescuers.

The article presents a methodology developed for the evaluation of biomechanical energy harvesting systems that permits avoiding long-duration outdoor tests while providing realistic input signals and preserving uniform conditions across repeated tests. It consists of two stages: transducer output signal recording and power conversion and storage system measurements. The proposed approach was applied to assess the usefulness of a commercial electromagnetic transducer for supplying a Global Positioning System (GPS) receiver used as an active component of a smart clothing dedicated for mountain rescuers. Electrical power yield measurements have been presented together with ergonomic tests results. They all involved diverse physical activities performed by mountain rescuers that simulated their true operations, but were conducted in a training room for the sake of standardization. By providing reliable data on the transducer's performance under realistic use conditions, the proposed evaluation procedure revealed that the true energy yield was much smaller not only with respect to the manufacturer's assertions, but also substantially lower than what was expected based on an independent review which used unrealistic and non-uniform excitations. On the other hand, ergonomics ratings given by potential end users were very high, which demonstrates that the evaluated transducer can still be useful for supplying active cloth components with a lower power demand. The study also revealed that transducer location and orientation strongly affect its performance, which must be taken into account at the first stage of the evaluation procedure. Moreover, physical activity type and conditions (such as motion speed and ground tilt) influence the output power and should be carefully considered when composing a typical case scenario for the second stage.

Thermal Load of Mine Rescuer in the Underwear and Protective Clothing with Phase Change Materials in Simulated Utility Conditions.

A new set of underwear and protective clothing with phase change materials (PCM) for mine rescuers has been developed in order to increase their safety of work. It includes PCM pouches absorbing excess heat from the body. In order to evaluate thermal load of mine rescuers, physiological tests were carried out for three variants of possible use of the developed set of clothing: for mine rescuers wearing only the underwear with PCM; for a set of underwear and protective clothing; and for a complete set of clothing with closed-circuit compressed oxygen breathing apparatus. Tests were performed in difficult microclimate conditions, reflecting the typical working conditions of rescuers that cause a significant thermal load. The use of outer clothing shortened safe time of exposure to such conditions by about 36%, while the addition of respiratory protective device to this set further shortened this time to a lesser extent (by another 13%).

Development of Smart Textile Materials with Shape Memory Alloys for Application in Protective Clothing.

The latest directions of research on the design of protective clothing concern the implementation of smart materials, in order to increase its protective performance. This paper presents results on the resistance to thermal factors such as flames, radiant heat, and molten metals, which were obtained for the developed smart textile material with shape memory alloys (SMAs). The laboratory tests performed indicated that the application of the designed SMA elements in the selected textile material system caused more than a twofold increase in the resistance to radiant heat (RHTI24 = 224 s) with an increase of thickness of 13 mm (sample located vertically with a load), while in the case of tests on the resistance to flames, it was equal to 41 mm (sample located vertically without a load) and in the case of tests on the resistance to molten metal, it was 17 mm (sample located horizontally).

Protoberberine compounds extracted from Chelidonium majus L. as novel natural photosensitizers for cancer therapy.

BACKGROUND: It has been shown that secondary metabolites occur in Chelidonium majus L. (C. majus) crude extract and milky sap (alkaloids such as berberine, coptisine, chelidonine, chelerythrine, sanguinarine, and protopine) are biologically active compounds with a wide spectrum of pharmacological functions. Berberine, an isoquinoline alkaloid extracted from plants, possesses a wide range of biological activities, including inhibition of growth of a variety of cancer cell lines. PURPOSE AND STUDY DESIGN: In the present study, we investigated the potential anticancer effect of a protoberberine alkaloidal fraction (BBR-F) isolated from the medicinal plant C. majus on HeLa and C33A cervical cancer cells after light irradiation (PDT treatment). METHODS: BBR-F was prepared from an ethanolic extract of stems of C. majus. Identification of alkaloidal compounds was performed using high-performance liquid chromatography - mass spectrometry (HPLC/ESI-MS) and nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy. BBR-F was then biologically evaluated for its anticancer properties. Cytotoxic activity after PDT treatment and without light irradiation (dark cytotoxicity) was determined by colorimetric WST-1 assay. The impact of the protoberberine alkaloidal fraction on the morphology and function of the cells was assessed by fluorescence and confocal microscopy as well as by flow cytometric analysis. To investigate the proinflammatory effect of the extracted natural BBR-F, nitric oxide concentration was determined using the Griess method. RESULTS: An effective reduction in HeLa and C33A cell viability was observed after PDT treatment of BBR-F treated cells. Furthermore, microscopic analysis identified various morphological changes in the studied cells that occurred during apoptosis. Apoptosis of HeLa and C33A cells was also characterized by biochemical changes in cell membrane composition, activation of intracellular caspases, disruption of the mitochondrial membrane potential (Δψm) and reactive oxygen species (ROS) generation. CONCLUSION: Our results strongly suggest that the components of the natural plant protoberberine fraction (BBR-F) extracted from C. majus may represent promising novel photosensitive agents and can be applied in cancer photodynamic therapy as natural photosensitizers.

Mine rescuers' heat load during the expenditure of physical effort in a hot environment, using ventilated underwear and selected breathing apparatus.

Mine rescuers' heat load under the same physical effort load (25% of the maximal oxygen uptake), using three types of breathing apparatus, in newly developed heat-removing underwear and outerwear was assessed for typical work conditions of mine rescuers, under milder and harsher ambient conditions of 32 and 38 °C, respectively, both at relative humidity of 85% and air velocity of 1.0 m/s. Expending physical effort at the same load while using different kinds of breathing apparatus resulted in a similar heat load. Under both milder and harsher ambient conditions, heat storage and sweating intensity were greater than the average limit value recommended by hygienic standards, which indicates that the use of breathing apparatus significantly hinders heat exchange with the environment. The developed clothing for mine rescuers was highly rated, and was considered by most people to be better than that used currently.

Assessment of the effectiveness of modular clothing protecting against the cold based on physiological tests.

At many workstations in a cold environment, protective clothing provided for the workers is characterized by inadequate thermal insulation, which results in an adverse impact of the cold environment on the worker's body. The purpose of this article is to present developed new ergonomic modular cold protective clothing, which allows for easy adaptation of the thermal insulation of clothing to a worker's individual needs. This clothing was compared in a laboratory study with the clothing having so far been used by workers in a cold environment using physiological and physical measurements, subjective ratings of the thermal state as well as a questionnaire for subjective assessment of the used clothing. These measurements and ratings confirmed that the modular cold protective clothing is more effective in the process of ensuring thermal comfort to the wearer during work in a cold environment than the clothing having so far been used.

Synthesis of G0 aminopolyol and aminosugar dendrimers, controlled by NMR and MALDI TOF mass spectrometry.

Organic compounds designed to serve as stable dendrimer cores were developed. A series of aminosugar and amino polyol containing G0 dendrimers were synthesized. The reaction mixture composition was checked by MALDI TOF mass spectrometry, while that of purified products - by 1H and 13C NMR combined with 2D NMR spectroscopy as well as MALDI TOF MSMS mass spectra. Mass spectrometric fragmentation experiments were performed in positive ion mode in order to determine common fragmentation patterns of [M+H]+ ions.

Assessment of an active liquid cooling garment intended for use in a hot environment.

This paper discusses the construction of a designed active liquid cooling garment (LCG) that has been developed in order to reduce thermal discomfort of persons working in hot environments. It consists of clothing with a tube system distributing a cooling liquid, a sensor measuring the microclimate under the clothing, and a portable cooling unit with a module controlling the temperature of the cooling liquid depending on the microclimate temperature under the clothing. The LCG was validated through tests on volunteers in a climatic chamber at 30 °C, a relative humidity of 40%, and an air movement rate of 0.4 m/s. The obtained test results confirmed the beneficial effects of the cooling system used on mean weighted skin temperature, the physical parameters of the microclimate under the clothing, and the participants' subjective assessments, as well as confirmed that the functioning of the control system regulating liquid temperature in the LCG was correct.

Mass Spectrometric Study of Colchicine and its Synthetic Derivatives 10-Alkylthiocolchicines.

The mass spectra behaviour of five 10-alkylthiocolchicine derivatives has been studied using electron ionization and MALDI-TOF MS techniques. Fragmentation patterns of colchicines derivatives after EI have been investigated, as well as mass spectra after collision-induced dissociation (CID) MALDI have been used to gain structural information. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first time that the MALDI MS/MS data for colchicine and its alkylthio derivatives have been described. It has been shown also that the data derived from mass spectra can be used for identification/quantitative determination of natural and modified alkaloids of colchicine group. The detailed fragmentation pathways proposed here could be helpful for the characterization of other colchicines of these type. The utility of different ionization techniques for analysis of compounds of this class has been evaluated. Due to the cytotoxic activity towards tumour cell lines, 10-alkylthiocolchicines may be considered as the active ingredients of anticancer agents. If these compounds find use in medical treatment, their distribution in organism and their metabolism will have to be monitored by spectroscopic or spectrometric methods. The characteristic fragment ions may be used by Selected Reaction Monitoring method for determination of colchicine analogues.

Electron ionization-induced mass spectral study of 5-methylenecarboxy (5-methylenecarbonylalkoxy)-2-thio-(2-alkoxycarbonylalkylthio)uracils and 3-oxothiazolo-[3,2-a]-pyrimidin-6-methylenecarbonylalkoxy-5-ones.

Electron ionization (EI) mass spectral fragmentation of 2-thio-5-methylenecarboxy (5- methylenecarbonylalkoxy)uracils and their derivatives, five new 2-alkoxycarbonylalkylthio-5-methylenecarboxy (5- methylenecarbonylalkoxy)uracils and three new 3-oxo-thiazolo-[3,2-a]-pyrimidine-6-methylenecarbonylalkoxy-5-ones are investigated. Fragmentation pathways whose elucidation is assisted by accurate mass measurements and metastable transitions are established. The correlations between the abundances of the selected fragment ions and the molecular ions of investigated compounds are discussed. The data obtained create the basis for differentiating structural isomers and can be used for distinction of the compounds investigated from the series of 2- (or 4-) alkoxycarbonylalkylthiouracils, 2-alkoxycarbonylalkylthio-6-carboxyuracils and 1-alkoxycarbonylalkyluracils from their isomers and metamers.

Physiological effects of a modification of the construction of impermeable protective clothing.

This study was conducted to improve the construction of impermeable clothing protecting against liquid chemical agents in order to lower the thermal strain caused by the clothing during work. Previous studies indicated that light work in a hot environment in this kind of clothing could last 30 min only. We propose a modification of the construction; new models of protective clothing were tested in wear trials. Then the results were compared with a basic model of impermeable protective clothing. Results indicated that all new models of protective clothing allowed workers to work 39-64% longer than in a basic model of protective clothing. Thus new clothing significantly improved comfort of work in impermeable protective clothing because of the lower thermal strain that it imposed on the user.