Russell's paradox and the beginnings of mereology

International Symposium "Leśniewski: logic and ontology", World Logic Day: January 14, 2025, Faculty of Philosophy, University of WarsawThe discovery of the title paradox probably took place around 1901. It was published by Russell in 1903 in his book "Principles of Mathematics". Russell’s paradox concerns distributive classes (as extensions of concepts), analyzed by Frege in "Grundgesetze der Arithmetik". This paradox directly indicated that the theory adopted by Frege was contradictory. When Frege learned of this from Russell’s letter, he stated in the afterword to his book that the logical foundations of arithmetic that he had assumed were “shaken.

Short review on currently used sample preparation and determination methods of risdiplam

Preprint artykułu, który ukaże się w Journal of Separation ScienceRisdiplam is a new therapeutic agent developed to treat spinal muscular atrophy (SMA), a genetic neurodegenerative disease caused by mutations in the SMN1 gene. Unlike previous invasive therapies, risdiplam offers the advantage of oral administration, significantly improving patient comfort and accessibility. The review provides information on an SMA historical overview, breakthrough therapies of the development, and design of the methods used to treat SMA. We then focus on its structure and physicochemical properties. The analysis of risdiplam concentrates on developing improved analytical methods for the precise quantification of risdiplam and its metabolites by high-performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry in biological samples using octadecyl stationary phases. For sample preparation, only the protein precipitation method was used. Challenges associated with the risdiplam analytics include developing a highly sensitive and selective method in biological matrices and dealing with potential interferences from the biological matrix. Future research should focus on improving analytical methods, investigating metabolite activity, and expanding our knowledge of its long-term effects

Divergent Impact of Endotoxin Priming and Endotoxin Tolerance on Macrophage Responses to Cancer Cells

Endotoxin tolerance (ET) is an adaptive phenomenon that arises from the sustained exposure of immune cells, such as macrophages, to endotoxins, such as lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Initially, when macrophages are activated by LPS, they produce inflammatory mediators that drive the primary immune response. However, this response is significantly diminished during the establishment of ET, creating an immunosuppressive environment. Such an environment can facilitate the development and progression of malignant conditions, including cancer. Our research focused on the interactions between immune cells and the tumor microenvironment under ET conditions. Through comprehensive in vivo and in vitro studies employing various research techniques, we have demonstrated that interactions between endotoxin-tolerant macrophages (MoET) and cancer cells contribute to a pro-tumorigenic condition. Notably, we observed that MoET adapt a pro-tumorigenic, immunosuppressive M2 phenotype (CD163 expression). These macrophages involves distinct metabolic pathways, not depending solely on glycolysis and oxidative phosphorylation. Furthermore, our in vivo findings revealed macrophage infiltration within tumors under both ET and non-ET conditions, highlighting the suppressed immune landscape in the presence of ET. These findings suggest that ET plays a pivotal role in shaping tumor-associated immune responses and that targeting ET pathways could offer a novel and promising therapeutic approach for cancer treatment

Studies of Stability of Nagaoka Ferromagnetism on a Triangular Lattice

Decision No. 2021/41/B/ST3/03322Moire superlattices can be created by stacking two atomic layers ofdifferent materials, and its electronic properties can be manipulated using easily adjustable external factors, such as the twist angle, making them promising candidates for quantum simulators. In this study, first we briefly examine the features of the triangular moire lattice of transition metal dichalcogenides (TMDs) by treating it as a periodic system through both continuum and tight-binding models. The primary aim isto investigate the magnetic characteristics by fully incorporating correlations, which is challenging in a periodic system due to the vast size ofthe Hilbert space. Therefore, we concentrate on finite-sized triangular lattices. We examine the finite-size twisted TMDs within a moire triangular lattice and analyze their magnetic properties above half-filling. By introducing one electron into a half-filled system, the total spin of the ground state can reach its maximum, leading to the emergence of Nagaoka ferromagnetism. This form of magnetism arises from correlation effects, essentially due to constructive interference among various many body configurations. We employ exact diagonalization methods to solve the Hubbard Hamiltonian, fully accounting for these correlations. We demonstrate the emergence of Nagaoka ferromagnetism by adding one, two, and three electrons above half-filling, with the ferromagnetic characteristics varying based on the geometries of finite triangular lattices. Additionally, the interaction strength is analyzed to observe transitions in total spin and assess system stability. The Nagaoka polaron is also visualized within the finite triangular lattices

The same species, not the same invader: Metabolic responses of genetically distinct invasive populations of Dikerogammarus villosus (Sowinsky, 1894) and their intraspecific hybrid to environmental stresses

1. Climate change has a profound impact on ectotherms, which suffer suboptimum thermal conditions in their native areas or spread to previously unavailable locations. However, it is often neglected that responses to environmental changes are likely a population level, rather than species-specific phenomenon. 2. Two groups (Western and Eastern) of the invasive Ponto-Caspian amphipod Dikerogammarus villosus independently spread in Europe from isolated, genetically distinct source populations living in the Danube and Dnieper deltas, respectively. They are expected to meet in the near future in Polish inland waters. This makes this species a perfect model to investigate the intraspecific variability in responses to environmental changes, as well as effects of hybridization between different genetic units on invasiveness. 3. We scaled maximal metabolic rate (MMR), standard metabolic rate (SMR), and aerobic scope (AS, a measure of physiological performance) of D. villosus at different temperatures and oxygen levels to check differences in responses to environmental changes among the distinct invasive groups and their hybrid. 4. With increasing temperature, the AS scaling exponent of the Western group decreased, whereas AS of the Eastern group was unaffected by temperature. In result, large Western group individuals showed a lower AS at a high temperature, compared to low temperature and to the Eastern group individuals. Oxygen reduction decreased MMR and AS scaling exponents regardless of amphipod group, suggesting that larger individuals experienced a greater reduction in these parameters under low oxygen conditions. Although parental groups reduced their AS in response to oxygen reduction, AS of the hybrid remained stable. 5. In conclusion, organism responses to climate change depend on intraspecific variation, which should be considered in studies related to this topic. Furthermore, D. villosus appears sensitive to oxygen deficits and temperature changes (especially the Western group and large individuals), but intraspecific hybridisation can enhance the environmental tolerance of invaders

Global warming affects foraging efficiency of fish by influencing mutual interference

This is the pre-peer reviewed version of the following article: Augustyniak, M., Preiszner, B., Kobak, J., Czeglédi, I., Kakareko, T., Erős, T., Cuthbert, R. N., & Jermacz, Ł. (2025). Global warming affects foraging efficiency of fish by influencing mutual interference. Journal of Animal Ecology, 00, 1–11 (Early View), which has been published in final form at https://doi.org/10.1111/1365-2656.70003. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes in accordance with Wiley Terms and Conditions for Use of Self-Archived Versions1. Predator-prey interactions underpin ecological dynamics from population to ecosystem scales, affecting population growth and influencing community stability. One of the classic methods to study these relationships is the functional response (FR) approach, measuring resource use across resource densities. 2. Global warming is known to strongly mediate consumer-resource interactions, but the relevance of prey and predator densities remains largely unknown. Elevated temperature could increase consumer energy expenditure, which needs to be compensated by greater foraging activity. However, such greater activity may concurrently result in a higher encounter rate with other consumers, which potentially affects their total pressure on resource population because of synergistic or antagonistic effects among multiple predators. 3. We performed a laboratory experiment using three densities of a fish predator (pumpkinseed, Lepomis gibbosus) (one, two, and four specimens), two temperatures (25 and 28 oC), and six prey densities. Using the FR approach, we investigated the combined effects of elevated temperature and predator and prey density on consumer’s foraging efficiency. 4. We observed a reduced maximum feeding rate at the higher temperature for single predators. However, the foraging efficiency of predators in groups was negatively affected by antagonistic interactions between individuals and further mediated by the temperature. Specifically, we observed a general decrease in antagonistic interactions in elevated compared to the ambient water temperature for multiple predator groupings. Irrespective of temperature, antagonistic multiple predator effects increased with predator density and peaked unimodally at intermediate prey densities, indicating multiple dimensions of density-dependence which interact to supersede the effects of warming. 5. This study shows that conspecific presence negatively affects the per capita performance of predators, but that this effect is dampened with increasing temperature. Their adaptive response to temperature consists of limited food intake and further reduced intraspecific interactions. Including intraspecific competition in study design may thus offer more realistic outcomes compared to widely-used experiments with only single predator individuals, which could overestimate the effect of increasing temperature

The movement between countries without moving: A German minority community archive in Poland and its impacts and practices

The file contains presentation of a paper delivered during the 34th ICARUS Convention in Budapest, Hungary ("Archives Reflecting 21st century Challenges - Migration and Sustainability", 12-14.05.2025).The German Minority Research Center is a grassroots, non-governmental organization dedicated to researching and documenting the German minority in Poland, with particular emphasis on the formation of minority organizations after the turn in 1989/1990. The Center records and protects the history and identity of Germans in Poland. The paper aims to present the practices and impacts of this community archive, with a special focus on social and affective impacts. Moreover, the paper touches the challenges faced by the archive and how it strives for sustainability and resilience. Data were obtained through qualitative interviews conducted in August 2024, and through direct on-site observations and desk research

Believing and belonging? Religious salience and politicality of young Bosnian Muslims in the time of Islamophobia

After fleeing war-torn Yugoslavia, the Bosnian Muslim diaspora quickly developed institutions of sociability and solidarity in ‘the West.’ Although they align with a moderate and secular Islam, the generation born after the war endures a climate of hate and hostility. This study investigates how young Bosnian Muslims nurture political participation and keep peddling the stereotype that Muslims threaten liberal democracy. It looks at how the group under study responds to the disadvantages inherent in the post-migrant situatedness and religious identity in Belgium, Germany, and Poland. Collected qualitative data show that a high level of religious salience does not obstruct integration and civic engagement but instead stimulates unconventional and non-institutional political participation. The findings also indicate that young Muslims with Bosnian roots do not resent their family heritage and Muslim community. Yet they self-reiterate a sense of remote-ness with other post-diasporic Muslim communities by associating themselves with ‘European Islam.

Prometheus in the Periphery? The Extent, Drivers, and Nature of Innovation in the Urban Peripheries of Chinese Cities

Despite recent correctives to established views on the urban rather than suburban location of innovatory processes, we still know very little about the extent, drivers, and nature of concentrations of innovation in urban peripheries. This article makes several contributions. First, it presents an exploratory spatial data analysis method for identifying innovation centers in urban cores and peripheries from both geographical and functional perspectives. Second, we offer an initial, admittedly simple, econometric testing of some of the most critical drivers of innovation in urban peripheries. Third, we bring greater specificity to conjecture on the nature of innovation activities found in urban cores and peripheries, respectively. Drawing on an extensive time series data set of more than 7 million geocoded patents that were applied for by Chinese applicants between 2009 to 2018, we find that China’s urban peripheries have become more innovative overall, with an increasing number of cities that have developed at least one peripheral innovation center and a growing share of innovation activities in peripheral innovation centers. Governmental interventions, including the planning of polycentric spatial structures, the construction of development zones, high-speed railway stations, and college towns in urban peripheries, are shown to be key drivers underlying the emergence of peripheral innovation centers. Innovation in urban peripheries differs significantly from that in urban cores, being more specialized, less technologically complex, and more reliant on intercity technological collaboration