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In this article, we explore the complex challenges and opportunities arising from the digital transformation of the judiciary in the context of modern democratic societies, with a particular focus on Poland and Lithuania. As digital tools increasingly shape how justice is administered, ensuring the rule of law, transparency, and fair trials remains a central concern. We analyse the legal, institutional, and technological aspects of judicial reforms, including the use of remote hearings, algorithmic decision -making, online access to court services, and the risks of digital exclusion. Drawing on European standards, we highlight the need to strike a careful balance between innovation and fundamental rights. By examining recent legislative initiatives, court practices, and comparative insights from both countries, this article contributes to the broader discourse on the legitimacy, efficiency, and accountability of digital justice systems in a democratic setting.

The situation associated with the growing number of Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infections forced ongoing monitoring of the epidemic situation, which entailed an introduction of a number of restrictions and solutions intended to isolate the infected persons on the one hand, and to minimize the risk of development of an epidemic in Poland on the other. Activity of the Polish legislator is also essential, which tried to introduce solutions that would correspond with current expectations and needs. Given the multiplicity of the introduced regulations, interpretation of provisions of statutes has not always been easy. In this paper, the author points to the issues of communication with a public authority by specific reflections on the principles of serving documents on beneficiaries of EU programs under which they were awarded funding for their implementation on the basis of EU regulations addressing the use of the European Regional Development Fund, the European Social Fund and the Cohesion Fund for programs implemented as part of the cohesion policy (Regulations of the European Parliament and of the Council (EU) of 17 December 2013: no. 1303/2013, no. 1301/2013, no. 1304/2013, no 1300/2013, and no. 1299/2013). The author focuses on the issues of communication with an authority in a situation where administrative proceedings are initiated against a beneficiary of EU funds, e.g., for returning the granted funding. The author points to the dynamics of the legislator’s work in this respect by analyzing the rules for serving documents by a public authority on beneficiaries who are public entities and those who are not. The author’s main research aim is to analyze existing provisions establishing the possibility of electronic communication with a public authority, and also to assess them critically due to the extraordinary situation caused by Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). This is intended to verify the main research hypothesis focusing on the attempt to answer a question whether existing regulations, and those created at the time of the epidemic threat and the state of epidemic in Poland facilitate citizens’ electronic communication with a public authority. The author aims to answer a question about whether the Polish legislator responds appropriately to the numerous emerging challenges associated with the pandemic and whether it created regulations that effectively ensure the possibility of continuity of contact with a public authority for citizens who are the beneficiaries of public funds. This analysis may contribute to the understanding of whether and how it is possible to improve citizens’ contact with public authorities, which in the future may eliminate barriers and obstacles arising in this regard. The author bases her reflections on the experience resulting from providing legal services for one of the Polish Managing Authorities of the Regional Operational Programme using at the same time a number of research methods (i.e., the method of interpretation of applicable laws to establish applicable provisions of the law that regulate admissibility of electronic communication with a public authority and to establish efficiency of such communication, the analytical method, applied in reference to the relevant state of the art in the achievements of legal scholarship, and the empirical method, based on observation and analysis of practical issues resulting from the author’s cooperation with a Polish managing authority). In her conclusions, the author points to the lack of introduction of comprehensive regulations (also at the EU level—for all EU Member States) in terms of de-formalizing the principles of communication in the course of pending administrative proceedings. The author notices an absence of unambiguous regulations that allow for a scanned document signed by hand and sent my email to be qualified into the category of documents served by electronic means, through use of means of electronic communication. The author assesses this absence negatively due to the fact that such action seems the simplest in a situation caused by COVID-19.

The purpose of this article is to conduct a comparative analysis of remote work regulation in the EU, Poland and Kosovo, also with consideration of issues related to the processing of personal data during remote work. The authors aim to assess the specificities, strengths and weaknesses of both regulatory models, from the point of view of actual and future legal developments. Additionally, given the early stage of regulation, they seek to explore the applicability of EU experiences to Kosovo and to identify potential vulnerabilities that may arise under EU regulation. In this context, they aim to determine whether EU solutions should be considered as models for implementation in both Poland and Kosovo, as well as to analyse the risk of overregulation, which could impede certain employees from exercising their rights to remote work and potentially lead to inequalities in employment. The objective of the regulation should be to strike a balance between protecting personal data and ensuring equality in the workplace. Therefore, the authors try to answer the question of whether the protection of personal data could be subject to an abuse of rights by employers, who might use it as a pretext to deny certain groups of employees the opportunity to work remotely, which is particularly pertinent for individuals with special needs.

The development of legal awareness among patients results in an increase in the number of cases heard by courts. However, mediation in civil cases involving patients is becoming an increasingly popular alternative to traditional court proceedings. This article discusses the specificity of mediation in civil disputes related to healthcare, considering the relationship between the patient, medical staff and healthcare institutions. The authors analyse the benefits and potential risks associated with mediation and also point out the challenges associated with it. Legal regulations and the practical aspects of implementing mediation in so-called medical disputes in Poland, as well as the issue of the costs of these proceedings, are discussed. The authors point out that mediation can be an effective tool in resolving medical disputes, minimizing the duration and costs of disputes, as well as improving relations between the parties.

Pathogens transmitted between wildlife and domestic animals can pose a threat to endangered species, undermine conservation efforts in wildlife, and affect productivity and parasite control in domestic animals. There are several examples of pathogen transmission between European bison and other animals. The present study surveyed breeders from the vicinity of four large wisent populations in eastern Poland about observed contacts between wisent and cattle. Such contacts were noted by 37% of breeders, indicating a significant risk of contact between European bison and cattle in the study areas, even in the areas where the European bison live mainly in a forest complex, i.e., in the Borecka Forest. A higher potential risk of contacts between European bison and cattle was noted in the Białowieska Forest and the Bieszczady Mountains than in the Borecka and Knyszyńska Forests. In the Białowieska Forest, the risk of viral pathogen transmission resulting from contacts is higher (more direct contacts), and in the case of the Bieszczady Mountains, the probability of parasitic diseases is higher. The chance of contacts between European bison and cattle depended on the distance of cattle pastures from human settlements. Moreover, such contact was possible throughout the year, not only in spring and fall. It appears possible to minimize the risk of contacts between wisent and cattle by changing management practices for both species, such as keeping grazing areas as close as possible to settlements, and reducing the time cattle graze on pastures. However, the risk of contact is much greater if European bison populations are large and are dispersed beyond forest complexes.

The Mycobacterium avium complex (MAC) comprises a widespread group of slowly-growing bacteria from the Mycobacteriaceae . These bacteria are responsible for opportunistic infections in humans and animals, including farm animals. The aim of the study was to determine whether it is possible to predict the presence of M . avium in pig lymph nodes based on the size and type of lesions found during post-mortem examination at a slaughterhouse. Lymph nodes were collected from 10,600 pigs subjected to such post-mortem examination. The nodes were classified with regard to their quality, and the number of tuberculosis-like lesions; following this, 86 mandibular lymph nodes with lesions and 113 without visible macroscopic lesions were selected for further study. Cultures were established on Löwenstein - Jensen and Stonebrink media , and a commercial GenoType Mycobacterium CM test was used to identify and differentiate M . avium species. The prevalence of M . avium was 56.98% in the lymph nodes with lesions and 19.47% in the unchanged ones. Statistical analysis indicated that visual assessment of lesions in the mandibular lymph nodes, in particular the number of tuberculous lesions, is a highly-efficient diagnostic tool. Similar results were obtained for estimated percentage area affected by the lesion, i.e. the ratio of the changed area of the lymph node in cross-section to the total cross-sectional area of the lymph node; however, this method is more laborious and its usefulness in slaughterhouse conditions is limited. By incising the lymph nodes and assessing the number of tuberculosis-like lesions, it is possible to limit the inclusion of meat from pigs infected with M . avium into the human food chain.

Epidemiological investigations show that mosaic loss of chromosome Y (LOY) in leukocytes is associated with earlier mortality and morbidity from many diseases in men. LOY is the most common acquired mutation and is associated with aberrant clonal expansion of cells, yet it remains unclear whether this mosaicism exerts a direct physiological effect. We studied DNA and RNA from leukocytes in sorted- and single-cells in vivo and in vitro. DNA analyses of sorted cells showed that men diagnosed with Alzheimer’s disease was primarily affected with LOY in NK cells whereas prostate cancer patients more frequently displayed LOY in CD4 + T cells and granulocytes. Moreover, bulk and single-cell RNA sequencing in leukocytes allowed scoring of LOY from mRNA data and confirmed considerable variation in the rate of LOY across individuals and cell types. LOY-associated transcriptional effect (LATE) was observed in ~ 500 autosomal genes showing dysregulation in leukocytes with LOY. The fraction of LATE genes within specific cell types was substantially larger than the fraction of LATE genes shared between different subsets of leukocytes, suggesting that LOY might have pleiotropic effects. LATE genes are involved in immune functions but also encode proteins with roles in other diverse biological processes. Our findings highlight a surprisingly broad role for chromosome Y, challenging the view of it as a “genetic wasteland”, and support the hypothesis that altered immune function in leukocytes could be a mechanism linking LOY to increased risk for disease.

Poor nutritional status (PNS) threatens successful aging. Identifying potentially modifiable predictors of PNS is essential for elaborating a preventive strategy for the population at risk. To assess the prevalence of PNS in the Polish elderly population and analyze its socioeconomic correlates based on the data from the nationwide PolSenior2 project. Special emphasis was put on potentially modifiable factors among the identified PNS predictors. Nutritional status was assessed in 5698 community-dwelling older adults with the Mini Nutritional Assessment–Short Form. We evaluated the effect of age, sex, level of education, marital status, place of residence, subjective loneliness, and self-reported poverty on the nutritional status of the studied subjects. PNS was found in 25.3% of studied subjects (27.7% women and 21.9% men; p < 0.001). Female sex, older age, unmarried status (in men), subjective loneliness, and self-reported poverty were independent correlates of PNS. The two last above-mentioned predictors were identified as potentially modifiable. Based on our results, we recommend preventive interventions (e.g., performing regular screening), particularly in unmarried (men), poorly educated individuals, self-reporting poverty, complaining of loneliness, and the oldest old. PNS preventive strategies should include social support (both emotional and instrumental) to reduce the effect of poverty and subjective loneliness.

: The demand for effective strategies for maintaining cognitive capableness and establishing early dementia diagnosis has been tremendous, especially in the context of population aging. However, studies on the elderly population and neurocognitive impairment had provided ambiguous results throughout, while potential blood biomarkers of cognitive decline are yet to be clearly understood. : The present study is aimed at assessing the relationship between blood lipids-especially in the context of their usefulness as biomarkers of an early cognitive decline-and cognitive functioning of aging adults. : The study sample consisted of 230 participants-(109 women, 121 men) aged 65+ years. Plasma 24(S)-hydroxycholesterol [24(S)-OHC], serum total cholesterol (TC), high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL), and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL) were assessed. The analyses were conducted in three groups of cognitive performance: cognitively normal, mild cognitive impairment (MCI), and mild dementia, of which the subjects were divided with the Mini-Mental State Examination (MMSE). : No significant differences in 24(S)-OHC plasma concentrations for different levels of cognitive performance were found. Significant differences were found in serum TC ( = 0.026) and LDL ( = 0.007) concentrations for different levels of cognitive performance. Concentrations of both parameters were highest in the MCI group and lowest in mild dementia and cognitive norm, respectively. No significant differences between serum HDL concentrations and cognitive performance were found. : To fully assess the potential of research on blood lipids in regards to a cognitive decline, cross-sectional or epidemiological studies aimed at further exploring blood lipid roles in both the early and advanced MCI and dementia, are needed.

Pain is the most common complaint of elderly people. In Poland, no large studies on the prevalence of chronic pain in the elderly were conducted until recently. The study was a part of the PolSenior project, a cross-sectional multidisciplinary study on ageing of the Polish population, and included a randomly selected group of 716 people aged 55-59 years, and 4979 people over 65 years. The survey was conducted through a standardized questionnaire. An evaluation of pain occurrence, location, intensity and coexistence of pains in relation to gender, age and use of health care was performed. Chronic pain affected 42.0% of respondents aged 65 years and over (48.6% of women and 35.8% of men) as compared to 35.2% of the pre-elderly. The most common pain locations were the lumbar region (51.6%) and knees (41.0%). The average number of pain sites was 3.1 ±2.3. Average intensity of pain was 6.2 points on the VAS scale in people over 65 years and 6.0 points in the pre-elderly (NS). Average pain intensity increased significantly from 5.7 points in patients reporting pain in one place to 7.2 points in those reporting six pain sites. Elderly respondents with pain compared to those without pain more frequently reported physician visits performed at least once a month (54.6% vs. 48.4%, < 0.001). Polish elderly most frequently complained of low back and lower limb pain. In respondents reporting many sites of pain, an increase in the intensity of pain was observed. Elderly patients with chronic pain often use medical care.