The risk of occupational exposure to the B. burgdorferi infection is high for foresters and farmers, and the infection with spirochetes is frequently confirmed on the basis of positive results of the Wb test. The presence of specific antibodies against protein antigens of B. spielmanii and B. bavariensis suggest that these bacteria can cause Lyme disease both independently and in participation with other Borrelia species, which influences the development of the clinical manifestations of infection.

One of the key goals of European integration is the reduction of development disparities referred to as convergence. Convergence occurs in two forms as sigma convergence and beta convergence. Sigma convergence means a decrease in dispersion and differentiation over time, and the essence of beta convergence is faster development of less developed regions or countries, which results in catching up. The aim of the article is to study the convergence of the level of development of the sectors of the rural economy in the regions of Poland between 2003and 2014. The economic results, in the context of the size of funds raised from European funds, measured by the gross value added of agriculture, forestry, hunting and fisheries, were obtained from the Local Data Bank. Data on the value of the funds used were obtained from the Agency for Restructuring and Modernization of Agriculture. Statistical methods describing the state of differentiation of regions and the function of regression were used for the analysis. The research confirmed partial occurrence of labour productivity convergence in the rural sectors of the Polish regions and a positive correlation of gross value added with the amount of obtained funds from European funds.

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Negative social attitudes towards people with disabilities are a serious barrier to their social, professional, and cultural functioning. Due to negative perception, disabled individuals are often homebound. The present study was an attempt to compare declared attitudes with the results of other studies using the Polish version of an international assessment tool. The aim was to verify the MAS-PL tool and to analyse the attitudes of students of social sciences and humanities towards people with physical disabilities. An additional aim was to compare declared attitudes with the results of other studies using the Polish version of an international assessment tool for students of medicine and health sciences. In total, 540 students were surveyed using the Polish adaptation of the Multidimensional Attitudes Scale towards Persons with Disabilities (MAS-PL). The study confirmed the high reliability of the MAS-PL Scale. The mean global score of the scale was 82.79. There were no significant differences in the global MAS-PL score depending on respondents’ sex; however, an effect of this variable on the subscales was found. The surveyed females exhibited more positive attitudes in terms of the cognitive and behavioural components, whereas the males showed more positive attitudes in the affective subscale. There was no significant impact of the place of residence, age, and majors. Along with the year of studies, the intensity of the global and affective scale slightly increased. The surveyed students of social sciences and humanities exhibited similar attitudes towards people with physical disabilities to those declared by Polish students of medical and health sciences surveyed by Radlińska et al. The authors recommend implementation of didactic classes, projects, and activities at the stage of planning and creation of student education programs to promote tolerance towards disabled people.

The aim of the study was the analysis of the occurrence of specific antibodies against HEV among hunters and foresters who are at risk to be exposed. The study group consisted of 210 hunters (23-80 years old) and 60 foresters (22-64 years old). Anti-HEV IgG were present in 3.81% of the samples of the hunters and in 5% of the samples of the foresters. The statistical analysis shows no significant differences in the results anti-HEV IgG between the groups of hunters and foresters (p = 0.5278). Significantly higher anti-HEV IgG titers were found in the older age group (> 55 years old).