Generational Differences in Food Choices and Consumer Behaviors in the Context of Sustainable Development.

(1) Background: This study examines diverse food choices and sustainable consumption behavior across four generations of Poles: Baby Boomers, Generation X, Generation Y, and Generation Z. (2) Methods: The research employed an online survey with a quota sample of 1000 individuals, representing the Polish population in terms of gender, residence, and education (categorized into two groups). (3) Results: For Poles, the crucial factors in food selection were product quality (69.0%), price (68.6%), and information about the product's composition (41.0%). Older cohorts (Baby Boomers and Generation X) prioritized food quality, while younger generations (Generation Y and Generation Z) emphasized price. Statistically significant differences emerged between generations regarding the product's country of origin, with older generations emphasizing its importance more. The oldest group (Baby Boomers) considered ecological certification most important. As much as 85.9% of Poles checked product expiration dates while buying products, and 82.8% bought only as much as they needed. Baby Boomers most often exhibited these two behaviors and can be considered the most responsible among all generations. (4) Conclusions: This article highlights the importance of comprehensive sustainability efforts in the context of food choices. It takes into account the socio-cultural and historical circumstances of each generation that influence their consumer habits.

Expectations of Polish undergraduate medical students for medical humanities classes: a survey-based pilot study.

BACKGROUND: Medical schools teach Medical Humanities (MH) to provide students with knowledge about the human experience related to health, illness, disease, medicine, and healthcare. Due to the previously observed negative opinions about MH courses, we examined the expectations of medical students in Poland toward humanities subjects. METHODS: We conducted a voluntary, anonymous electronic survey in one medical school (single-center study) and collected data from 166 medical students. The results were analyzed by comparing continuous and categorical variables between groups (gender, year of study, previous participation in MH classes). RESULTS: The students expected to learn how to communicate with patients and their families, especially about difficult topics. They also expected the classes to be active, stress-free, and without passing grades. The preferred MH teacher was a physician, although choosing a psychologist or other qualified person as an MH teacher was also popular. Previous participants in MH courses were more likely to expect such a course to be compulsory than those who had yet to attend it. CONCLUSION: Considering the students' expectations when designing MH classes could increase students' satisfaction with MH courses.

Lipidation of Naturally Occurring α-Helical Antimicrobial Peptides as a Promising Strategy for Drug Design.

In this paper, we describe the chemical synthesis, preliminary evaluation of antimicrobial properties and mechanisms of action of a novel group of lipidated derivatives of three naturally occurring α-helical antimicrobial peptides, LL-I (VNWKKVLGKIIKVAK-NH2), LK6 (IKKILSKILLKKL-NH2), ATRA-1 (KRFKKFFKKLK-NH2). The obtained results showed that biological properties of the final compounds were defined both by the length of the fatty acid and by the structural and physico-chemical properties of the initial peptide. We consider C8-C12 length of the hydrocarbon chain as the optimal for antimicrobial activity improvement. However, the most active analogues exerted relatively high cytotoxicity toward keratinocytes, with the exception of the ATRA-1 derivatives, which had a higher selectivity for microbial cells. The ATRA-1 derivatives had relatively low cytotoxicity against healthy human keratinocytes but high cytotoxicity against human breast cancer cells. Taking into account that ATRA-1 analogues carry the highest positive net charge, it can be assumed that this feature contributes to cell selectivity. As expected, the studied lipopeptides showed a strong tendency to self-assembly into fibrils and/or elongated and spherical micelles, with the least cytotoxic ATRA-1 derivatives forming apparently smaller assemblies. The results of the study also confirmed that the bacterial cell membrane is the target for the studied compounds.

Changes in intensification of religious involvement during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland.

INTRODUCTION: The emergence of the virus Sars-CoV-2, and subsequent COVID-19 pandemic, caused a global threat to public health. In such challenging and worrying situations it can be expected that people will seek comfort in religion. However, before the pandemic there were never such wide world disruptions of religious practice-because of social distancing regulations, religiosity cannot be practiced in the same way as it was before the pandemic. METHODS: Two anonymous online surveys were conducted of adult Poles, one during the second wave (N = 1072; November 2020) and one during the third wave of the pandemic (N = 1080; April 2021). The survey samples of participants reflected the Polish population structure in terms of age, sex, size of place of residence, education, and province. RESULTS: Participation in institutional religious practices fell threefold to 11.9% during the pandemic, as compared to pre-pandemic times (31.2%). The number of people who did not go to church at all increased from 23.1% to 57.0%. Between the second and third waves, there was a small return to regular practice (from 10.1% to 14.1%). Based on the subjective assessment of the amount of time devoted to prayer, fewer people reporting an increase (10.6%) than a decrease (20.1%) in religious commitment during the pandemic. Logistic regressions showed that an increase in religious commitment can be predicted by older age, more frequent participation in religious practices before the pandemic, and higher life satisfaction. A decrease in religious commitment can be predicted by younger age, less frequent participation in religious practices before the pandemic, and greater number of children in the household. CONCLUSION: Our research indicates a deintensification of religious practices during the COVID-19 pandemic in Poland. The pandemic has accelerated process of polarization of Polish religiosity.

Trust in Medicine as a Factor Conditioning Behaviors Recommended by Healthcare Experts during the COVID-19 Pandemic in Poland.

OBJECTIVE: Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, public health experts have faced the challenge of convincing people to change their everyday habits. This study aims to evaluate the impact of trust in medicine on Polish citizens' adherence to recommended behaviors. METHODS: An online survey was conducted on a quota sample of adult Poles (n = 1072) during the second wave of COVID-19. RESULTS: The trust-in-medicine index was created from statements relating to trust in healthcare professionals, vaccines, and medicines. This index showed that 27.1% of respondents expressed low trust, 36.7% expressed moderate trust, and 36.3% expressed high trust. The recommended behavior index was created from nine statements. This index showed that 15.8% of respondents had low adherence, 38.2% had moderate adherence, and 46.0% had high adherence to the healthcare experts' recommendations. One-way analysis of variance showed that people with a high trust had significantly higher scores on the recommended behavior index when compared to people with a moderate or low trust. CONCLUSIONS: This study suggests that those responsible for health policy should put more effort into building trust not only in health professionals, but also in pharmaceutical companies. We also determined the socio-demographic features of people to whom such actions of trust building should be directed.

How Polish medical students are socialised to cooperate with the pharmaceutical industry: a focus group study of the importance of informal, hidden and null curricula.

This study analysed how Polish medical students are socialised to cooperate with the pharmaceutical industry via informal, hidden, and null curricula. Nine focus groups were run with medical students in their second year and upwards at three Polish medical universities. Initially, most students had difficulty in discerning pharmaceutical companies' presence in their education, but on reflection they all recognised this presence. Students said that they were surrounded by small medical gifts provided by companies, met pharmaceutical representatives, and took part in events for physicians organised and/or sponsored by the pharmaceutical industry. Nevertheless, they did not think they were the main target of the industry's marketing activities, saying that these were largely aimed at practicing doctors, and that they were only targeted as opportunities arose. Students' statements make it clear that their socialisation takes place within a culture which consents to medical professionals' cooperation with the industry. Medical students come to perceive cooperation with the industry as natural, and benefits from the industry as a privilege of doctors. Medical schools can prevent this by introducing guidelines, conflict of interest polices, and changing the formal curriculum, but the need for such measures is not currently recognised in Poland.

A study of opinions about the Polish constitutional tribunal's judgement strengthening Polish abortion laws.

OBJECTIVE: In October 2020, the Polish Constitutional Tribunal (CT) ruled that in cases where there are indications of irreversible impairments of a foetus or incurable life-threatening diseases, abortions violate the Polish Constitution. Despite the fact that it was issued during the second wave of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic in Poland, this judgement caused numerous protests. The current study sought to ascertain Poles' opinions regarding the CT's judgement, and the ensuing threat to public health presented by the protests against it. MATERIAL AND METHODS: An online survey was conducted on a quota sample of adult Poles (N = 1072). The sample reflected the population structure of Poland. RESULTS: Only 15.5% of the people surveyed agreed that the CT's judgement was correct. Logistic regression analysis showed that support for the CT's ruling could be predicted by male gender, more frequent participation in religious practices, and the presence of a greater number of children in household. The majority of people (65.1%) considered protests to be necessary despite the ongoing pandemic. Cluster analysis distinguished between two groups of people, which were labelled "moderate liberals" (43.9%) and "moderate conservatives" (56.1%). There were no extreme groups - neither one that supported the CT's judgement and condemned the protesters, nor one that supported protesters unconditionally and disagreed with the judgement. CONCLUSIONS: Undoubtedly, there is no consensus among Poles on the issue of abortion, but the CT's judgement, resulted in a high level of agreement between people with different views.

Transparency or restricting gifts? Polish medical students' opinions about regulating relationships with pharmaceutical sales representatives.

Relationships between physicians and pharmaceutical sales representatives (PSRs) often create conflicts of interest, not least because of the various benefits received by physicians. Many countries attempt to control pharmaceutical industry marketing strategies through legal regulation, and this is true in Poland where efforts are underway to eliminate any practices that might be considered corrupt in medicine. The present research considered Polish medical students' opinions about domestic laws restricting doctors' acceptance of expensive gifts from the industry, the idea of compulsory transparency, and the possibility of introducing a Polish Sunshine Law. A qualitative, focus group-based, interview method was used. Data were gathered from nine focus groups involving 92 medical students from three universities located in major Polish cities. The article presents a classification of opposing student views with regard to the consequences of introducing different legal solutions; this should be useful for policy makers deliberating on how to optimally regulate pharmaceutical marketing. The study's results are discussed in the context of the public bioethical debate in Poland.

Perception of Medical Humanities among Polish Medical Students: Qualitative Analysis.

Medical humanities (MH) courses are a critical element of the medical curriculum influencing the establishment of a physician in the medical profession. However, the opinion about MH among medical students remains unknown. Interviews from seven focus groups were analysed. The students attended one of three Polish medical schools in Gdansk, Krakow, and Warsaw and were recruited to the discussion focused on the impact of drug manufacturers' presence at medical universities on socialization in the medical profession. Thematic analysis was conducted using the theoretical framework of social constructivism. The students' opinions about the MH classes arose during the analysis. In six groups, students thought that MH courses would be helpful in their future medical practice. However, in four groups, different opinion was expressed that MH courses were unnecessary or even "a waste of time". Factors discouraging students from the MH classes included poorly taught courses (monotonous, uninteresting, unrelated to medical practice, taught by unsuitable lecturers). Secondly, students thought that the time investment in the MH was too extensive. Furthermore, curriculum problems were identified, reflecting the incompatibility between the content of MH courses and teaching semesters. Lastly, some students stated that participation in MH courses should be elective and based on individual interests. Addressing problems recognized in this work could improve the training of future Polish physicians.

A Qualitative Study of the Mistreatment of Medical Students by Their Lecturers in Polish Medical Schools.

OBJECTIVE: To describe experiences of mistreatment among Polish medical students. METHODS: Nine focus groups were carried out with 92 students from three medical universities in Poland (in Gdansk, Krakow, and Warsaw). RESULTS: The mistreatment of medical students included verbal abuse, disregard, and obstacles to pass exams. Students experienced humiliation, belittlement, insults, criticism, shouting, and indecent comments. The lecturers did not respect the students' time; they did not show understanding for their absences; sometimes, they came to class unprepared while other times, they showed indifference regarding the well-being of students. Respondents stated that they were given enormous amounts material such that they found it far beyond their ability to learn; they were not given information about which textbooks were to be used; exams were incredibly detailed and difficult; and the grading system was unfair. In general, most students did not report the mistreatment. The respondents noticed the negative consequences of their mistreatment, which included a decrease in self-esteem and increased levels of anxiety and stress. This may translate into a lack of empathetic approach to patients. CONCLUSIONS: The phenomenon of the mistreatment of medical students requires more attention in Poland. It is important to raise awareness of the significant consequences of this.

Application of Alanine Scanning to Determination of Amino Acids Essential for Peptide Adsorption at the Solid/Solution Interface and Binding to the Receptor: Surface-Enhanced Raman/Infrared Spectroscopy versus Bioactivity Assays.

The article describes the application of the alanine-scanning technique used in combination with Raman, surface-enhanced Raman, attenuated total reflection Fourier transform infrared, and surface-enhanced infrared absorption (SEIRA) spectroscopies, which allowed defining the role of individual amino acid residues in the C-terminal 6-14 fragment of the bombesin chain (BN6-14) on the path of its adsorption on the surface of Ag (AgNPs) and Au nanoparticles (AuNPs). A reliable analysis of the SEIRA spectra of these peptides was possible, thanks to a curve fitting of these spectra. By combining alanine-scanning with biological activity studies using cell lines overexpressing bombesin receptors and the intracellular inositol monophosphate assay, it was possible to determine which peptide side chains play a significant role in binding a peptide to membrane-bound G protein-coupled receptors (GPCRs). Based on the analysis of spectral profiles and bioactivity results, conclusions for the specific peptide-metal and peptide-GPCR interactions were drawn and compared.

A Typology of Poles' Attitudes toward COVID-19 during the First Wave of the Pandemic.

(1) Objective: To explore Poles' attitudes during the first wave of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 as a contribution toward the creation of effective health policies. (2) Method: Computer-assisted web interviewing (CAWI) was used to survey a sample of 1001 Poles selected using quota sampling. (3) Results: Using cluster analysis, three types of attitudes were distinguished, people being classified as "involved" (48.1%), "cautious" (27.4%), or "indifferent" (24.6%). The result of greatest interest was the absence of any attitude indicating an extremely dismissive posture toward COVID-19. Three logistic regression analyses, comparing people displaying each attitude with those comparing the other two attitudes combined, showed that an involved attitude was likely to be associated with being female, being in a poorer financial situation, but having relatively high life satisfaction. A cautious attitude was more likely to appear in places with fewer residents and among people in a favorable financial situation, and that an indifferent attitude was more likely to be associated with being male and having lower life satisfaction. (4) Conclusions: The attitudes identified may help to explain why, during the spring of 2020, the virus was spreading slightly more slowly, and on a narrower scale, in Poland than in other countries.

Double-Headed Cationic Lipopeptides: An Emerging Class of Antimicrobials.

Antimicrobial peptides (AMPs) constitute a promising tool in the development of novel therapeutic agents useful in a wide range of bacterial and fungal infections. Among the modifications improving pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic characteristics of natural AMPs, an important role is played by lipidation. This study focuses on the newly designed and synthesized lipopeptides containing multiple Lys residues or their shorter homologues with palmitic acid (C16) attached to the side chain of a residue located in the center of the peptide sequence. The approach resulted in the development of lipopeptides representing a model of surfactants with two polar headgroups. The aim of this study is to explain how variations in the length of the peptide chain or the hydrocarbon side chain of an amino acid residue modified with C16, affect biological functions of lipopeptides, their self-assembling propensity, and their mode of action.

Self-Medication-Related Behaviors and Poland's COVID-19 Lockdown.

(1) Background: The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has changed the functioning of Polish health systems. Telemedicine has been developed and access to prescription drugs (Rx) has been facilitated. This study examined whether these changes and the imposition of a three-month lockdown caused Polish people to engage in more self-medication-related behaviors. (2) Method: After the fourth (final) stage of defrosting the Polish economy, an online survey of a quota sample of 1013 Polish respondents was conducted. (3) Results: Almost half of the respondents (45.6%) indicated that they had engaged in at least one behavior associated with inappropriate self-medication during the lockdown (e.g., 16.6% took medication as a precaution, and 16.8% took an Rx formulation without consultation). Some of these people had never engaged in such behaviors prior to the lockdown. Linear regression showed that higher values of a composite ("lockdown") index of self-medication-related behaviors occurring during lockdown were predicted by greater religiosity and the presence of children in a household. Also, independent samples t-tests showed that people who were afraid for their financial future and people who feared for their health obtained higher lockdown index scores than people not having such worries. (4) Conclusions: Self-medication-related behaviors were more common among Poles before lockdown than during the lockdown (which is unsurprising given that the lengths of the periods compared were hugely different), worryingly, many people exhibited such behaviors for the first time during the lockdown.

A discussion of the unresolved 2016/17 plans for regulating the Polish dietary supplements market.

The Polish dietary supplement market is growing steadily. However, even though these products may have an impact on health they are not as strongly regulated as pharmaceuticals. In 2016/17 the introduction of new regulations covering the marketing of dietary supplements in Poland was proposed. This article briefly describes the Polish market for dietary supplements and assesses the benefits and risks associated with its development. A range of potential legislative changes, such as a total ban on dietary supplements, a ban on using the images and recommendations of authoritative entities, increased fines for breaking the law, and other measures are under consideration. We describe the advantages (e.g., better customer protection, and the limitation of inappropriate, misleading advertising) and disadvantages (e.g., a decrease in product innovation, deterioration in product offerings, and rises in product prices) of the proposed changes. As a European Union member, Poland adopts EU law, but EU directives have only harmonized some issues relating to dietary supplement marketing, other key aspects remaining within the competence of member states, but it is noted that some proposed changes in Polish law (e.g., an advertising ban) are so strict that they are unlikely to be acceptable to the EU.

[Characteristic of AMP and the effects of chemical modifications on the modulation of their antimicrobial properties]. / Charakterystyka peptydów przeciwdrobnoustrojowych oraz wplyw modyfikacji chemicznych na modulowanie ich aktywnosci biologicznej.

Antibiotics have revolutionized the pharmacology market but their "golden area" passed away. The urgent need to develop new medicins with the mechanism of action different than those already used is constantly growing because of the drug-resistance of pathogenic microorganisms. The observed increasing resistance of microbes motivates scientists to design innovative strategies based on the natural peptides that exhibit antimicrobial activity. In this article we present general characterization of antimicrobial peptides and effects of chemical modifications on the modulation of their antimicrobial properties.

Polish physicians' cooperation with the pharmaceutical industry and its potential impact on public health.

OBJECTIVE: This article aims to describe how Polish physicians cooperate with the pharmaceutical industry and show how this relationship may pose a threat to public health. METHODS: It considers the results of an online survey of 379 physicians. The survey was hosted by surveymonkey.com with links from a Polish physicians' website (Medycyna Praktyczna) between 29 October 2013 and 31 December 2013. The sample was purposive, respondents having to be physicians working in Poland. RESULTS: The majority of respondents (96.8%) said that they had talked with pharmaceutical sales representatives (PSRs) in their practice, with 85% saying that they had had regular contact with them. Despite the existing legal ban in Poland, 35% of respondents admitted that they had usually met with PSRs in their office during working hours. As many as 81.8% of surveyed doctors said that they had taken part in an educational meeting organized by the pharmaceutical industry at least once during the 12 months preceding the study. A majority of the respondents (72.3%) said they trusted the information provided by PSRs. Over one third of respondents (36.4%) claimed that Polish doctors accepted gifts of a type that they should not accept according to Polish law. CONCLUSIONS: The study showed that Polish physicians cooperate in different ways with pharmaceutical companies and have frequent contact with them. This can influence their knowledge and doctors whose knowledge of drugs is based mainly on information from pharmaceutical industry materials may prescribe medicines in a biased way, possibly exposing their patients to sub-optimal treatments and burdening both their patients and the state budget with unnecessary costs. Lack of trust in doctors and pharmaceutical companies have other implications too: there may be a decline of faith in the efficacy of therapy and patients may be encouraged to engage in self-diagnosis and self-treatment. For these reasons it is necessary to increase transparency and strengthen the ethical guidelines surrounding the physician-pharmaceutical industry relationship in Poland. The present findings also have implications for public health policy.

Does growing up with a physician influence the ethics of medical students' relationships with the pharmaceutical industry? The cases of the US and Poland.

BACKGROUND: Medical schools have a major impact on future doctors' ethics and their attitudes towards cooperation with the pharmaceutical industry. From childhood, medical students who are related to a physician are exposed to the characteristics of a medical career and learn its professional ethics not only in school but also in the family setting. The present paper sought to answer the research question: 'How does growing up with a physician influence medical students' perceptions of conflicts of interest in their relationships with industry?' METHODS: An anonymous questionnaire was completed by 451 medical students from four Philadelphia medical schools and 554 medical students from Warsaw Medical University during 2013. Medical schools in these two cities were chosen because they are both university cities with similar population sizes. Students who had and who did not have a family member working as a physician were compared using chi-square analysis. Data were analysed for each country separately. RESULTS: For both the US and Poland, there were statistically significant differences (p < .05) between medical students with a physician as a family member and other students with respect to views regarding relationship with the pharmaceutical industry. In both groups, this difference occurred for three important dimensions: students' relationship with the pharmaceutical industry; students' views on physicians' rights to cooperate with the pharmaceutical industry; trust in the pharmaceutical industry. In the US, students related to a doctor were characterized by more restrictive opinions on all three dimensions than other students (e.g., 27.8% of the former students vs. 31.4% of the latter students thought doctors had unrestricted rights to cooperate with the industry). However, the contrary was observed in Poland: students with a physician in the family had less strict views than their colleagues (e.g., 56.8% of the former vs. 39.7% of the latter thought that doctors should have unrestricted rights of cooperation). CONCLUSIONS: In Poland, a former communist country, physicians transmit a more liberal approach towards collaboration with the pharmaceutical industry to their student relatives than those in the US.

[The role of proprotein convertases in cancer diseases with particular focus on PACE4]. / Rola konwertaz probialkowych w chorobach nowotworowych ze szczególnym uwzglednieniem enzymu PACE4.

Cancer is one of the most common cause of death nowadays. Thorough knowledge of the mechanisms of tumorigenesis and invasiveness of tumor cells is crucial for the development of molecular targeted therapies, which are believed to be future treatment of this type of diseases. Proteolytic enzymes are one of the factors involved in the development of cancer cells, very often used as markers of tumor progression. In this paper we describe the role of enzymes termed proprotein convertases (PCs) in pathogenesis and progress of cancer diseases. Furthermore, we indicate potential directions for the development of therapeutic strategies designed based on PCs inhibitors.

TELEVISION ADVERTISING OF SELECTED MEDICINAL PRODUCTS IN POLAND AND IN THE UNITED STATES - A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF SELECTED TELEVISION COMMERCIALS.

The aim of the analysis was to establish the differences between television commercials of OTC drugs broadcast in Poland and in the U.S. The study covered 100 commercials of medicinal products of various producers applied to treat a variety of symptoms and diseases. The analysis demonstrated that there are both similarities and differences. The differences concerned e.g., spot length, the time of placement of a brand name and the diversity of advertising slogans. The most significant similarities concerned applied manipulation techniques, locations featured in commercials and the choice of actors.