The University of Life Sciences in Lublin (Polish: Uniwersytet Przyrodniczy w Lublinie) is a multi-profile higher education institution, which integrates a wide range of agricultural, biological, veterinary, technical and socioeconomic sciences in Poland. Although the university was established in 1955, its history stems back to 1944 with the creation of the Agrarian and Veterinary Faculties within the new Maria Curie-Skłodowska University (UMCS). In 1955, these two faculties, together with the Faculty of Zootechnics (est. 1953), were spun off to create a new institution, originally called the Lublin Higher School of Agriculture. It was called the Lublin Agricultural Academy from 1972, and took its present name in 2008.
This study aimed to demonstrate how modular green roofs align with the Nature-based solution concept (NBS) and how their site selection process can be optimized to maximize benefits while minimizing economic costs. The implementation potential was assessed based on a set of legal, social, ecological, technical and economic criteria. The most important factors detected are environmental benefits, technical and management feasibility, building ownership status, and the condition of the roofing material. The proposed site assessment methodology provides a versatile and replicable tool that can be adapted to other urban contexts.
This review summarizes recent advances (2023–2025) in coumarin-based fluorescent probes, highlighting their structural modularity, tunable VIS–NIR photophysics, and broad applicability in detecting metal ions, biothiols, ROS/RNS, organelle-specific microenvironments, and amyloid-β aggregates. Particular emphasis is placed on multifunctional and organelle-targeted probes, as well as emerging NIR-emissive and theranostic systems enabling deep-tissue imaging and modulation of pathological processes. The perspectives section outlines current limitations and future directions toward clinically relevant coumarin-based imaging tools. A though the review focuses on literature published from 2023 onward, several earlier studies are cited selectively to clarify fluorescence mechanisms, illustrate reaction pathways, or provide essential photophysical benchmarks necessary for contextual understanding.
Edible insects are gaining popularity as an alternative food source, highlighting the urgent need for research on their incorporation into traditional food products. This study investigated the impact of incorporating mealworm (Tenebrio molitor) powder (MP) at 2%, 5%, and 10% levels on the nutritional, functional, and sensory properties of pasta. Proximate composition, mineral content, color parameters, cooking quality, antioxidant activity and sensory properties were evaluated. Starch digestibility fractions and predicted glycemic index (pGI) were calculated based on in vitro enzymatic hydrolysis. Results showed that 10% MP addition significantly increased protein (1.45-fold) and fat content (12-fold), enriched minerals (Fe, Zn, Mg, K), and improved antioxidant capacity (ABTS+·: 1.3-fold; DPPH·: 2.6-fold) and phenolic content (14.4-fold) compared to control. Color analysis revealed a decrease in lightness and an increase in redness, indicating darker tones with higher MP levels. This supplementation reduced rapidly digestible starch and pGI while increasing slowly digestible starch, suggesting benefits for glycemic control. Sensory evaluation revealed no significant differences (p > 0.05) among samples for appearance, color, taste, and overall impression, confirming good acceptability. Overall, MP fortification improved nutritional and functional properties without compromising sensory quality, supporting its application in developing high-protein, health-oriented foods.
The article provides a comprehensive review of empirical studies on consumer attitudes, motivations, and behaviors in the functional food market. The main objective of this study is to identify groups of determinants and to update and systematize current knowledge on the influence of various factors on consumer purchasing decisions in this market. Based on an analysis of international research published between 2004 and 2025, four key groups of determinants were identified: (1) health- and trust-related factors, (2) cognitive and psychological factors, (3) perceptual and product-related factors, and (4) socio-demographic and segmentation factors. The analysis confirms that purchasing decisions in this product category are complex and multidimensional. They result from the interaction between rational factors (health-related and cognitive) and emotional-symbolic factors (psychological and sensory). The strongest predictors of functional food acceptance include perceived health benefits, trust in producers and information sources, sensory attractiveness, and product naturalness. Socio-demographic characteristics, such as age, education level, and income, further differentiate purchasing intentions and behaviors. Overall, the findings highlight the need for further comparative and cross-cultural research, as cultural and economic conditions may significantly shape consumer decisions across markets. The results obtained have both theoretical and practical implications. They contribute to a better understanding of consumer decision-making processes and emphasize the importance of promoting health awareness.
In this research, the process of drying thyme with Infrared- assisted Refractance Window (IR-RW) method was investigated as a new technology. The effect of water temperature (WT) and weight of samples (SW) on kinetics, energy, thermodynamic properties, qualitative characteristics, bioactive and essential oil were determined and optimized. Based on the response surface method (RSM-CCD), WT (70-90 °C) and SW (60-120 g) to achieve the best drying time, energy consumption (SEC), color (ΔE), bioactive properties and essential oil efficiency (EO) were optimized. The results showed that Midilli’s model evaluates the stages of drying of the thin layer of thyme more appropriately than other models. Also, the effective diffusivity (Deff) and Activation Energy (Ea), enthalpy (ΔH), entropy (ΔS) and Gibbs free energy (ΔG) were obtained between 8.67×10-9- 3.02×10-8 m2/s, 20.71- 31.17 kJ/mol, 17.69-28.31 kJ/mol, -0.1490- -0.118 kJ/mol K and 67.69-73.04 kJ/mol, respectively. Increasing the WT raises the DR, brightness, AA, Deff and ΔH and decreases the drying time, SEC, ΔH, ΔG, CO2, Chroma, a*, b* and ΔE. The highest value of total phenol content (TPC), rehydration ratio (RR), EO was recorded at the WT of 80 °C and the SW was 90 g. The optimal values of the process variables are 85.02 °C for water temperature (WT) and 86.10 g for sample weight (SW). In addition to these values, the optimal values for drying time, SEC, ΔE, AA, TPC, TFC and OE were 91.003 minutes, 8.37 kWh/kg, 1.42, 71.68%, 37.93 mg GAE/ 100 g d.m, 35.11 mg QE/100 g d.m and 2.04%, respectively, at the desirability value of 0.807. Thus, these findings provide valuable insights for producers regarding the drying characteristics and properties of thyme.
