Cannibalistic narcissism in Slavenka Drakulić’s novel Božanska glad (Divine Hunger)

Tabu tema kanibalizma nije jedini aspekt članka u kojem se pokušava proniknuti u unutrašnji svijet glavne junakinje romana Božanska glad Slavenke Drakulić. Osim što bezimena Poljakinja ubija vlastita ljubavnika te jedući njegovo mrtvo tijelo pokušava ovladati novim poretkom stvari, njezini postupci hrane usamljenost protiv koje se bori, ukazujući na smjer u kojem nestaje altruizam modernog čovjeka i raste njegov ego, čak i po cijenu tuđeg života. Apsolutni individualizam prije svega, čak i u ljubavi koja nas uči suživotu. Kanibalizam tako postaje samo jedan od simptoma duboke krize postmodernog homo sapiensa.Taboo subject of cannibalism is not the only aspect of the paper which attempts to penetrate into the inner world of the heroine in Slavenka Drakulić’s novel Božanska glad. Apart from the fact that a nameless Polish woman kills her own lover and by eating his dead body tries to master the new order of things, her actions also feed the loneliness that she is fighting against, pointing to the direction in which altruism of a modern man is disappearing, while his ego is growing, even at the expense of another man’s life. Absolute individualism above all, even in love which teaches us coexistence. Cannibalism therefore becomes only one of the symptoms of postmodern homo sapiens deep crisis

Peripheral glutamate and TNF-α levels in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage: Their prognostic values and interactions toward the formation of the edemal volume

Objective We aimed to evaluate the prognostic values, contribution and interactions of the peripheral blood plasma glutamate and tumor-necrosis factor-α (TNF-α) levels toward the formation of the perifocal edema in patients with intracerebral hemorrhage (ICH). Methods Fifty patients with ICH and fifty healthy controls were included in the study. The peripheral markers were detected by high-sensitivity ELISA. Results A highly significant differences in plasma glutamate and TNF-α levels with good separation of their values was detected between patients and healthy controls. The two variables correlated with the severity of the symptoms and the initial volume of the ICH at admission. Both peripheral glutamate and TNF-α levels at admission were estimated as significant predictors for the formation of the perifocal edema five days after ICH; nevertheless, it was shown that they independently contribute to the development of the edema, without effects of interaction and regardless the localization of the ICH. Conclusions Our results support the idea for the significance of glutamate and TNF-α as peripheral markers for excitotoxicity and inflammation in ICH patients. The developed multiple regression model for prediction of the development of the edema could be beneficial in decision making between conservative treatment and surgical intervention in the clinical practice

Teaching activities in Croatian as L2 and FL classroom

U ovome je radu riječ o važnosti motivacije i ulozi nastavnih aktivnosti kao bitnih činitelja motivacije, kako na početnim, tako i na naprednim stupnjevima učenja hrvatskog kao drugoga i stranoga jezika. Pritom se uzima u obzir uloga afektivnih faktora u učenju jezika. Slijedi kratki osvrt na progresiju poučavanja hrvatskoga kao drugog i stranog jezika koja se primjenjuje na početnim stupnjevima učenja. U nastavku su rada predstavljeni opisi pojedinih nastavnih aktivnosti predviđenih za niži i viši početni stupanj učenja hrvatskoga kao drugog i stranog jezika. Oni su raspoređeni tako da slijede već spomenutu progresiju, a za svaku se nastavnu aktivnost navodi i njezina svrha kojom se opravdava uključivanje u nastavni proces. Cilj je rada primjerima pomoći svima koji u svojoj nastavi osjećaju potrebu za spontanom i stvaralačkom uporabom jezikaThis paper discusses the importance of motivation and the role of the teaching activities that promote it at different levels in L2 language development, from beginners to advanced level. The role of affective factors in learning is a contributing factor as well. After a brief review of the progress in teaching Croatian as a SL and FL, the descriptions of different teaching activities for lower and higher beginners levels are presented. They are following in line with students\u27 progress. For each teaching activity its goal is added which makes it an appropriate part of teaching Croatian in class. Those descriptions may be of help to teachers that feel the need for more spontaneous and creative usage of language

FORMULATION AND EVALUATION OF ASCORBIC ACID EXTENDED RELEASE HYDROPHYLLIC MATRIX TABLETS BY USING HYDROXYPROPYL METHYLCELLULOSE AND POLYETHYLENE OXIDE AS MATRIX FORMING POLYMERS

Aim: Developing extended release matrix tablets containing 350 mg ascorbic acid and hydroxypropyl methylcellulose (HPMC) or polyethylene oxide (PEO) as hydrophilic polymer/s which control the rate and degree of drug release through 12 hour period. Materials and methods: Six batches of matrix tablets (P1, P2, P3, P4, P5, P6) were produced by direct compression. Ascorbic acid 97% was used as active compound. HPMC K4M, HPMC K15M, PEO 1105 and PEO 301 were used as hydrophilic polymers. Cellulose microcrystaline was used as diluent, copovidone was employed as binder, colloidal silica as flow-aid while magnesium stearate was used as lubricant. Before tableting powder mixtures were sieved and evaluated for bulk density, tapped density, angle of repose, compressibility index and Hausner ratio. Compressed tablets were evaluated for average mass, hardness, friability, average drug content and dissolution profile through 12 hours in phosphate buffer pH=7.2 . All test were conducted according pharmacopoeial standards (PhEur 7 and USP 35) Results: All six batches of powder mixtures demonstrated good flow properties and didn’t tend to make any problems during tableting process. Also all six batches of tablets complied the pharmacopeial requirements concerning average mass, hardness, friability and drug content. Dissolution studies demonstrated that all six batches of tablets provided extended release of ascorbic acid through 12 hours period, but only tablets containing PEO 1105, PEO 301 and their 1:1 mixture liberated more than 80% active compound, which is generally due to the lower viscosity and higher erodability of these PEO-s compared with the used HPMC-s. It was also demonstrated that low viscosity PEO 1105 or HPMC K4M released higher percent of active compound compared with higher viscosity PEO 301 or HPMC K15M, while both PEO 1105/PEO 301 1:1 mixture and HPMC K4M/HPMC K15M 1:1 mixture gave intermediate drug release, which is connected to the intermediate viscosity obtained by mixing these polymers. Conclusion: From the results received from all test it was concluded that tablets containing PEO 1105 as hydrophilic polymer (P1) are the most suitable choice for developing 12 hour extended release matrix tablets containing 350mg ascorbic acid as active compound

Asymptotic bounds on minimum number of disks required to hide a disk

We consider the problem of blocking all rays emanating from a closed unit disk with a minimum number of closed unit disks in the two-dimensional space, where the minimum distance from a disk to any other disk is given. We study the asymptotic behavior of the minimum number of disks as the minimum mutual distance approaches infinity. Using a regular ordering of disks on concentric circular rings we derive an upper bound and prove that the minimum number of disks required for blocking is quadratic in the minimum distance between the disks