Jagiellonian University Research Articles

The aim of the study was to examine whether a multimodal cognitive training program conducted over six months among the female students of the Jagiellonian University of the Third Age would be associated with changes in life satisfaction and attentional functioning; and whether the observed differences in both variables would be correlated. The study had a quasi-experimental design, involving only one group subjected to the intervention. The group consisted of 16 participants aged 67 to 87 years (M = 70.4; SD = 4.2). The Satisfaction With Life Scale (SWLS) and the Attention and Perception Test (TUS) were used to test the hypotheses. The results showed that pre- and post-intervention differences in the study group were not statistically significant – no significant changes were observed in either life satisfaction or attention. Moreover, Pearson’s correlation analysis did not reveal any association between changes in the two variables. Despite the lack of expected effects, the findings provide valuable insights into the limitations of cognitive interventions in the older adult population and highlight the need for further studies using larger samples and extended observation periods.

Shift work, especially the night shift, is associated with numerous challenges that can negatively affect the quality of sleep and overall well-being of healthcare workers. This review discusses the causes of these disorders, their impact on the physical and mental health of nurses, and presents strategies for coping. It also highlights the physical factors that contribute to the occurrence of such disorders. The aim is to raise awareness of the impact of shift work on nurses and the prevalence of health disorders among them. The article reviews recent literature from PubMed, Via Medica, the Jagiellonian University Repository and “Psychiatria Polska” based on the search terms shift work, sleep disorders in nurses, and the impact of shift work on nurses’ health. While many studies have examined the impact of shift work on the health and social life of nurses, there remains a number of areas that remain unexplored. Shift work has a destructive effect on the mental and physical health of nurses and negatively influences the entire body, resulting in sleep disorders, for example. The article also present recommendations for preventing sleep disorders resulting from shift work in nurses.

Abstract The influx of more than 6 million Ukrainian refugees since the full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 has placed strain on the health systems of receiving countries. This is only one of many recent crises, following the COVID-19 pandemic and economic recession. Such a series of acute shocks leaves health systems with little time to recover, highlighting the importance of proactively building health system resilience. We draw on the resilience testing methodology that the European Observatory on Health Systems and Policies (OBS) and the OECD developed, tasked by the European Commission. Resilience testing brings together key stakeholders in a workshop to identify specific health system weaknesses and find opportunities to address them. This is the first time resilience testing has been used in the context of migration and the first time it has been used to understand, promote and improve health system resilience in an ongoing crisis. In this roundtable discussion, OBS and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) will share learnings from our ongoing activity that tests health system resilience in Poland, the Republic of Moldova, Romania, Czechia and Latvia, in context of the large influx of refugees from Ukraine. This is part of the EU4Health funded project “Improving access to healthcare for refugees and people displaced from Ukraine benefitting of temporary protection in Member States”. The session brings together international organizations (EC, OBS, IOM), policy-makers and health system experts who will share the experience of applying resilience testing as a practical instrument to strengthen health systems in the face of persistent adversity. The objectives of the workshop are to: • Discuss the implementation of health system resilience testing in the context of migration; • Present country examples that have used resilience tests to understand and improve their health system's resilience based on the influx of refugees from Ukraine; • Engage workshop participants in discussion to identify promising approaches to strengthen health system resilience in the context of mass population displacement and persistent adversity. The workshop consists of a short intervention by each panelist (20 minutes total) and panel discussion with audience interaction (40 minutes). The interventions will introduce the methodology, showcase countries’ experience, and provide an EU view on the value of health system resilience in the context of the refugee situation. The audience interaction will consist of a moderated discussion. The discussion will reflect on learnings for practitioners, researchers and policy-makers, so that countries can prepare more systematically for future mass population displacements and ensure health system resilience. Key messages • The ability to withstand change is crucial for health systems. Resilience testing allows us to be prepared to respond to these changes. • The influx of Ukrainian refugees provides an opportunity to examine health system resilience and strengthen access to healthcare for both refugees and current residents. Speakers/Panellists Elena Val International Organization for Migration, Brussels, Belgium Iwona Anna Bielska Jagiellonian University, Krakow, Poland Valeriu Sava Independent Consultant, Chișinău, Moldova

Acta Societatis Botanicorum Poloniae (ASBP) is the oldest journal of the Polish Botanical Society, published since 1923. Over the past 100 years, it has played an important role in the development of botany in Poland. The journal has undergone various modernizations throughout its history, culminating in the transition to an exclusively digital format in 2016. The journal has published 3,728 articles totaling 46,197 pages. The average length of an article has decreased from 18.5 pages in the interwar period to 13.6 pages from 1952 to 1989, and to 8.65 pages in the years preceding the transition to digital format. Recently, the average length has been increasing. Conversely, the number of authors per article has grown. Initially, articles were single- authored, but post-World War II, the average number of authors gradually increased. From its inception, the journal has published works by women. In the interwar period, women authored 109 (26.6%) of the 410 articles from Poland, involving 112 female authors (25.6% of Polish authors). These articles primarily covered plant physiology (34 articles), with fewer focusing on cytology (23 articles) and microbiology (20 articles). In the post-war period, 1,855 articles (62.48% of Polish articles) were published exclusively by women. By 1956, women authored more than half of the articles from Poland. Women’s articles were characterized by several features: in the interwar period, they were longer than the average article, and post-World War II, they more often addressed emerging, laboratory experimental fields of botany rather than older fields or those requiring significant physical exertion, particularly in field research. Over the century, women authored 52.49% of all articles in the journal. Most articles published in ASBP were by Polish authors (85.6%), with fewer (10.8%) written collaboratively by authors affiliated in Poland and abroad. Over the past century, the most foreign authors came from the United States of America (52), the People’s Republic of China (51), and India (48). In Poland, during the interwar period, the University of Warsaw (118 authors) dominated, followed by the Jagiellonian University (80) and the University of Poznań (51). Post-World War II, most articles were submitted by authors from the University of Wrocław (317), the University of Warsaw (296), and the Jagiellonian University (276). Outside of Poland, ASBP was most frequently cited by authors affiliated in the United States of America (883 citations), followed by the United Kingdom (826 citations) and the People’s Republic of China (822 citations). Throughout its century-long existence, the journal’s articles have primarily focused on plant physiology (36.7% of all articles), with biochemistry being slightly less common (22.9%). However, the last 12 years have seen a shift towards ecological issues. Until recently, Polish botanists’ motto was to publish their groundbreaking discoveries first in Poland. Consequently, canonical results such as Wacław Gajewski’s research on the cytogenetics and evolution of the Geum genus, and the world’s first description of a periclinal chimera in gymnosperms were announced in ASBP. Zygmunt Hejnowicz presented the discovery of cambial morphogenetic waves, and Tomasz Wodzicki – the auxin transport model, which was nearly a decade ahead of global models. One of the world’s first articles on lichenicolous fungi was also published here. Notably, no articles on pseudoscientific topics, such as the so-called new Soviet genetics, i.e., Lysenkoism, were published. ASBP – the journal of the Polish Botanical Society – has come a long way over the past hundred years, evolving from a periodical of a local scientific society to a journal of considerable prestige on the international stage.

Personalised education is a category probably widely known in academia, especially in the pedagogical community. However, there have been few publications dealing with this topic that focus on reflecting its origins and constitutive features. It therefore seemed necessary to gain a broader perspective and provide a more in-depth description of personalised academic education. This article explores the theoretical foundations of this approach to the educational process, drawing on a review of the relevant literature. It also presents the findings of a study conducted in 2024 at the Jagiellonian University in Cracow (Poland). In this article, the authors decided to select and describe the characteristics of the relationship between academic teachers and students that emerged from empirical research. To gather perspectives on personalised academic education and how it is understood, individual in-depth interviews and focus group discussions were conducted. The study involved six members of the university's management staff, 15 academic teachers, and 27 students, and was based on qualitative research methodology. Within the context of personalised academic education, several key categories emerged – most notably: attention to learners' individual needs, the personalised nature of teaching, and a specific, student-centred attitude among educators. The importance of the teacher-student relationship was emphasised as the most essential aspect of personalised education. The research highlighted the qualities that academic teachers should possess in order to effectively engage with students in the spirit of this approach. According to the findings, the quality of the teacher-student relationship plays a crucial role in creating an environment conducive to holistic and integral student development.

Background/Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the accuracy of TMD patients’ adherence to treatment recommendations, given in writing, based on an anonymous survey. Methods: The study material included a group of 80 patients of both sexes, aged 21 to 45 years, who came for prosthetic treatment due to symptoms of TMD at the Department of Prosthetics and Orthodontics, Jagiellonian University Medical College in Krakow. Axis I of the DC/TMD was used in the diagnosis of dysfunction. The study used an anonymous questionnaire survey, which asked specific questions regarding the reliability of the implementation of the therapeutic recommendations contained in the written treatment instructions, given to patients at the first diagnostic visit. The questionnaire survey was completed by patients once, at the second visit, which was routinely made after 4 weeks. Results: The analysis showed that the most frequent adherence of respondents was to physiotherapy treatments. The same number of patients (57.5% each) used sleep hygiene, stress management, and maintenance of dental arch dislocation during the day. More than half of the subjects used orthopaedic pillows during sleep and performed daily relaxation exercises. Less than half of the subjects (46.3–47.5%) used hot compresses on the masticatory muscles, took prescribed supplements, controlled the position of the jaw, and used an occlusal splint at the required time. Conclusions: The results of the study indicate a low percentage of adherence to the recommendations made by the doctor.

Early-career anatomical networks: Lviv professor of anatomy Henryk Kadyi as a Habsburg case study.

The main aim of this article is to present one of the dimensions of the activity of Józef Sebastian Pelczar, former rector of the Jagiellonian University, which attempted to establish a new apostolic and pro-social female religious congregation on Polish soil. This text is based on documents deposited in the Main Archives of the Congregation of the Servants of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, located at the Krak ów General House. Archival sources deposited at the Vatican’s Dicastery for Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life, as well as at the Archives of the Metropolitan Curia in Krak ów, have also been used. In all these institutions, one can find documentation related to the procedure of establishment, approval, and activities of the congregation. The temporal scope of the article covers the period from the founding of the religious community, from 15 April 1894 to the death of its founder on 28 March 1924. The text closes with a short description of the activities of the new congregation in the first period of its history, and its territorial development has been visualised with a map.

By analogy with the Ginzburg–Landau theory of multi-band superconductors with inner (interband) Josephson couplings, we formulate the three-band Glashow–Weinberg–Salam model with weak Josephson couplings between strongly asymmetrical condensates of scalar (Higgs) fields. Unlike the usual single-band model, we found three Higgs bosons corresponding to the three generations of particles. Moreover, the heaviest of these bosons corresponds to the already discovered \(H\)-boson and decays into fermions of only the third generation through the Yukawa interaction. The other two decay into fermions of the first and second generations, but they are difficult to observe due to very poor production conditions. We found two sterile ultra-light Leggett bosons, the Bose condensates of which form the dark halos of galaxies and their clusters (<span class="it">i.e.</span> so-called Dark Matter). The masses of the Leggett bosons are determined by the coefficient of the interband coupling and can be arbitrarily small (\(\sim 10^{-20}\) eV) due to non-perturbativeness of the interband coupling. Since propagation of the Leggett bosons is not accompanied by a current, these bosons are not absorbed by gauge fields, unlike the common-mode Goldstone bosons. Three coupled condensates of the scalar fields are related to the existence of three generations of leptons, where each generation interacts with the corresponding condensate getting mass. The interflavor mixing between the generations of active neutrinos and sterile right-handed neutrinos in the three-band system causes the existence of mass states of neutrino without interaction with the Higgs condensates. Abstract Published by the Jagiellonian University 2025 authors

Despite the robust scientific evidence supporting the safety and efficacy of vaccinations in preventing severe illness, complications, and death, trust in immunizations has been declining, among others, in a particularly vulnerable group, such as pregnant women. This study aimed to present women's attitudes towards vaccinations against pertussis, influenza, and COVID-19 during pregnancy, their knowledge of the subject, and their motivations for getting vaccinated. An anonymous, self-reported questionnaire developed for this study was distributed to postpartum women hospitalized at the Department of Obstetrics and Perinatology, Jagiellonian University Medical College in Cracow, Poland, between February and April 2023. Participants provided sociodemographic and obstetric information, reasons for getting vaccinated or not, and their sources of vaccination knowledge. Women's primary motivation (96.4%) for vaccinating during pregnancy was to protect their children from severe cases of pertussis, influenza or COVID-19. Among the reasons for not getting vaccinated against pertussis and influenza during pregnancy, most patients cited the belief in the lack of necessity for vaccination (42.9%, 34.3% respectively), and in the case of COVID-19 - receiving the vaccine before pregnancy (27.6%). Obstetricians provided information about recommended vaccinations only to 49.3% of respondents. 64.2% of surveyed patients expressed a willingness to vaccinate their child in the future with both mandatory and recommended vaccines. Our results indicate that a lack of knowledge leads to an insufficient vaccination rate during pregnancy. We see a crucial role for physicians, especially obstetricians, in providing patient information while underlining undeniable benefits of maternal vaccination to the children's health.

<b>Introduction:</b> Medical education faces increasing content demands, and digital anatomy atlases have become valuable adjuncts to traditional anatomy courses. However, most available atlases are limited to two-dimensional displays, restricting the interactive, spatial learning that is essential for deep anatomical understanding. In response, we developed and implemented a year-long anatomy course for first-year medical students at Jagiellonian University Medical College that integrated a mixed reality-based holographic anatomy software suite with mixed reality (MR) technology. This curriculum aimed to complement traditional anatomy education by offering interactive 3D holographic representations of anatomical structures, allowing realtime exploration and manipulation in a spatial context. <br><b>Methods:</b> A series of MR-enhanced anatomy lessons was created in alignment with the existing first-year anatomy curriculum. Sessions were conducted in a dedicated mixed reality laboratory, each led by an anatomy instructor trained in MR equipment and accommodating up to 9 students (with the instructor present as the 10<sup>th</sup> person). A total of 98 first-year medical students participated in the course. After each session, students were asked to complete a structured survey evaluating their experiences and perceptions of the MR learning environment. Ninety-four students (96% of participants) responded to at least one survey, and complete data from 85 students were included in the final analysis. <br><b>Results:</b> The vast majority of participants reported positive experiences with the MR-based curriculum. Students indicated that the MR sessions enhanced their understanding of anatomical structures and spatial relationships. No significant differences in overall satisfaction were observed between student subgroups. For example, when grouped by prior anatomy coursework, 100% of students without prior anatomy experience and 95% of those with prior experience reported that they could identify anatomical structures after the MR sessions. Similarly, 90% vs. 93% of these groups, respectively, noted improved recognition of anatomical spatial relationships. When grouped by prior use of 3D visualization tools, some differences emerged in self-assessed proficiency: students with previous 3D experience reported greater ease in identifying structures (95% vs. 81%, <i>p</i> = 0.03) and understanding anatomical relationships (97% vs. 81%, <i>p</i> = 0.03), compared to those without such experience. In contrast, students without prior 3D experience found certain MR features more useful than did experienced students – for instance, 88% vs. 70% rated the layer toggle function as helpful (<i>p</i> = 0.048). Despite these subgroup variations, there was broad agreement on the value of MR: 71.8% of all respondents preferred a hybrid learning model combining MR with traditional methods, unanimously emphasizing that MR should supplement rather than replace cadaveric dissection. <br><b>Discussion:</b> Our findings suggest that MR technology is a valuable tool for enhancing anatomy education, particularly by enabling visualization of spatial relationships that are difficult to achieve with textbooks or cadaveric dissection alone. Students appreciated the interactive 3D features of the MR software, which fostered engagement and helped them explore complex anatomical details more intuitively. At the same time, participants recognized the continued importance of hands-on cadaveric labs for tactile learning experiences, indicating that an optimal approach is a hybrid, model integrating MR with traditional anatomy instruction. Notably, this study’s conclusions are drawn from self-reported student data, so any assumptions about long-term learning outcomes must be made cautiously. Future research should evaluate the impact of MR on objective learning measures (such as exam performance and knowledge retention over time) and explore best practices for integrating MR technology into anatomy curricula in diverse educational settings. <br><b>Conclusions:</b> Mixed reality technology was well-received by first-year medical students and effectively enhanced their spatial understanding of anatomical structures. MR sessions were found to be engaging, intuitive and supportive of traditional cadaveric dissection. Students strongly favored a hybrid learning model, suggesting that MR should supplement – not replace – classical methods in anatomy education.

This paper presents an in-depth study of a concatenation model with power-law nonlinearity. The integral form of the original model is derived, and the corresponding dynamic system is obtained. A qualitative analysis is conducted to identify the types of equilibrium points, phase diagrams, and trajectories. From specific trajectories, we can infer that this equation has periodic and soliton solutions. To validate these conclusions, the corresponding exact solutions are constructed, and several new solutions are initially presented in this paper. Finally, by adding a specific external perturbation term, we found that this model also exhibits chaotic behavior, which is presented in this paper for the first time. Abstract Published by the Jagiellonian University 2025 authors

The monomer–trimer model is studied on the fractal \(3\)-simplex lattice. Configurations are enumerated by an exact system of recurrence relations. Asymptotic forms for the number of pure trimer and monomer–trimer configurations of equal weights as well as entropy are found. The asymptotic form in the close-packed limit differs from the one obtained for dimers on the square lattice. By introducing monomer fugacity, configurations are classified according to the number of monomers (or trimers), and the problem is formulated in the grand canonical ensemble. The average number of monomers and entropy are calculated as functions of fugacity. Entropy as a function of trimer fraction coverage shows qualitatively similar behavior to that found on the square lattice. Abstract Published by the Jagiellonian University 2025 authors

Under the framework of non-extensive statistical mechanics, the optimal fund allocation of pension is studied by maximizing the expected utility of terminal wealth. In order to accurately approximate the actual financial market, the non-extensive statistical theory is employed to model prices of the risky asset, which can describe the high peak and fat tail characteristics of returns. Based on the criterion of maximizing the expected utility of terminal wealth, the Hamilton–Jacob–Bellman equation is established under the condition of the exponential utility function. Furthermore, using the duality theory, an analytical solution for the optimal investment strategy is obtained. Finally, the influence of the main model parameters on the optimal investment strategy is analyzed through numerical methods. Abstract Published by the Jagiellonian University 2025 authors

In th, and is study, the contact interaction search potential of the FCC-based electron–proton collider was investigated. The study was carried out by using electron–proton collisions at 3.16, 5.0, and 31.6 TeV center-of-mass energies and the cross sections of the collisions were obtained with the package of <span class="sf">CalcHEP</span>. The exclusion, observation, and exclusion limits were determined based on a search for deviation of the jet production cross section from the prediction of the Standard Model. The limits on the compositeness scales were obtained for constructive and destructive interferences of four different helicity structures (left–left, right–right, left–right, and right–left). The comparative analysis of the results presented in this study was performed with previous and future prospect collider options. The physics potential of the studied \(ep\) collider options was evaluated by considering different kinematic cuts and a wide range of luminosity values. Abstract Published by the Jagiellonian University 2025 authors

Background: In light of the growing interest to complementary approaches in healthcare and the widespread use of folk medicine in Eastern European countries, it is important to understand how future physicians perceive these practices. This study assesses the extent to which medical students are prepared for clinical dialogue with patients who use non-conventional methods and examines how demographic (such as sex, age and places of residence) and educational factors influence their views. Aim of the study: The aim of this study was to identify attitudes toward folk medicine among Polish medical students and to analyze the influence of demographic and educational variables—specifically gender, year of study, and place of residence on these attitudes. Materials and methods: The study was cross-sectional and descriptive in nature. It used an anonymous questionnaire developed by the authors, consisting of 15 questions grouped into four sections: demographic characteristics, knowledge and perception of folk medicine, sources of information, and willingness to use folk methods in future practice. Statistical analysis was conducted using the chi-squared test (χ²), with a significance level of p < 0.05. The study included 168 medical students from Jagiellonian University Medical College in Krakow, Poland enrolled in years 1 through 6. 58,33% of participants were female, 41,67 – were male. Inclusion criteria: active enrollment in a medical program, age 18 or older, informed consent to participate. Students from non-medical programs were excluded. Convenience sampling was used. The survey was conducted anonymously online. Results: The statistical analysis revealed a significant relationship between knowledge of selected folk medicine methods and both the gender and year of study of the respondents. At the same time, the impact of the participants' place of residence was found to be statistically insignificant. The use of folk healers' services among medical students did not show a statistical correlation with demographic variables. Similarly, the analysis indicated no significant relationship between the use of alternative medicine in cases of ineffective conventional therapy and the demographic factors examined. The study confirmed that most future medical professionals believe that folk healers' work conflicts with that of physicians, and this opinion strengthened as students progressed through their studies. Conclusion: The attitudes of medical students toward folk medicine are largely independent of the analyzed demographic factors. However, the primary factor shaping these attitudes is the level of medical education, which results in increasing skepticism toward traditional treatment methods as students advance in their studies.

Józef Szujski is widely known in Poland for his academic work as well as his political views and activism during Poland’s struggle for liberation in the nineteenth century. At one time a professor at Kraków’s Jagiellonian University, he is still known as a writer, politician, representative and co-creator of conservative thought. Szujski was a person of wide social influence in 19th-century Galicia, but even though many studies address his historical concepts and political thinking, his pedagogical output, well recognised in educational circles, has not yet been broadly discussed. This article therefore aims to identify and discuss the educational aspects of Szujski’s work as an example of conservative pedagogical thought.

The article, «Polish for All: An Intercultural Bridge to Europe» examines the multifaceted role of the Polish language beyond its traditional philological scope, positioning it as a pivotal tool for the personal and professional development of students in non-philological specializations. It delves into the significance of Polish as a unique «inter-linguistic bridge» that not only grants a competitive edge in a globalized job market and provides access to European education but also fosters a deeper understanding of one's own language and cultural identity. The text argues that for students of economics, IT, law, and other fields, basic proficiency in Polish is an invaluable asset. For example, it enables direct communication with Polish partners in the IT sector and provides access to original legal documents like the Kodeks spółek handlowych, which is crucial for international business. Furthermore, the article explores the academic opportunities unlocked by Polish language skills, such as participation in prestigious exchange programs like Erasmus+ at institutions like the Jagiellonian University and Warsaw University of Technology. It highlights the ability to read specialized academic literature and research papers in their original form, ensuring access to unique information not yet translated. The article also touches upon the cognitive advantages of learning a language closely related to one's native tongue, which enhances analytical thinking, memory, and cognitive flexibility. This process also builds a foundation for successful intercultural communication and social integration. Ultimately, the article concludes that studying Polish is more than an academic pursuit; it is a strategic investment in a future defined by cross-cultural collaboration and global mobility. The language acts as a conduit for empathy, helping students to navigate and thrive in a multicultural environment by bridging historical and cultural divides.

We study the \(th\) production at the LHC in the presence of a CP violating top Yukawa coupling. The helicity amplitudes for the \(ub\to dth\)(\(d\bar {b}\to u\bar {t}h\)) processes provide information on the kinematical distributions. Observables such as the azimuthal asymmetry between the forward jet and the top (antitop) quark, and the top (antitop) quark polarization asymmetry can be used to probe CP violation. Abstract Published by the Jagiellonian University 2025 authors

Next-to-leading order (NLO) QCD predictions coupled with parton showers, known as NLO matching, have been widely used for the precision era at the LHC. While two methods — <span class="sc">Mc@Nlo</span> and <span class="sc">Powheg</span> — have been widely adopted for this purpose, a third method, KrkNLO, has recently been described and implemented within <span class="sf">Herwig 7</span> for colour-singlet processes. We present phenomenological results of this method for the charged-current Drell–Yan process and compare with the <span class="sc">Mc@Nlo</span> method. Abstract Published by the Jagiellonian University 2025 authors