Kierunki rozwoju nanotechnologii w województwie podlaskim. Mapy. Marszruty. Trendy

W monografii zaprezentowano możliwe kierunki rozwoju nanotechnologii w województwie podlaskim opracowane w ramach projektu badawczego „Foresight technologiczny «NT FOR Podlaskie 2020». Regionalna strategia rozwoju nanotechnologii”.Joanicjusz Nazark

Przegląd projektów foresightu branżowego w Polsce

As an instrument used to anticipate the future, foresight has a fairly short history in Poland. The first steps to promote the idea of foresight were taken by the Ministry of Science and Informatisation in 2003-2005 when the Pilot Foresight Project in the Health and Life research field was carried out. In 2006 the National Foresight Programme Poland 2020 was launched, with 8 regional and 10 industry foresight exercises running in parallel. This paper aims to provide a detailed picture of industry foresight projects carried out in Poland, describing them in terms of theme, objectives, expected results, stakeholders, geographical distribution, time frame and research horizon, methods applied, budgets and sources of funding. Furthermore, the paper identifies special characteristics of Polish industrial foresight exercises against the background of similar projects in other European countries, adopting the following criteria: number of projects, methodologies and research areas analysed.Foresight, jako narzędzie antycypowania przyszłości, ma w Polsce krótką historię. Działania sprzyjające promowaniu idei foresightu zostały zainicjowane w latach 2003-2005 przez Ministerstwo Nauki i Informatyzacji w formie Pilotażowego Programu Foresight w polu badawczym „Zdrowie i Życie”. W 2006 r. rozpoczęto realizację Narodowego Programu Foresight „Polska 2020”; prowadzi się także osiem projektów regionalnych oraz dziesięć projektów branżowych. Celem artykułu jest szczegółowa prezentacja projektów branżowych typu foresight realizowanych w Polsce, pod kątem tematyki, celów, oczekiwanych rezultatów, interesariuszy, rozmieszczenia geograficznego, ram i horyzontu czasowego, a także zastosowanych metod, budżetu i źródeł finansowania. Autorzy zwracają również uwagę na specyfikę polskich projektów foresightu branżowego na tle innych państw Europy, przyjmując za kryteria wyróżniające: liczbę projektów, metodykę oraz obszary badawcze będące przedmiotem analiz

Wpływ alliiny na reorganizację cytoszkieletu aktynowego komórek linii H1299 w obecności niskich stężeń doksorubicyny

Alliin, garlic amino acid, has been thought to be pharmacologically inactive. However, several studies carried out on the cell cultures and the mammalian models demonstrated antioxidative and anticancer properties of alliin. Doxorubicin (DOX) is a well-known cytostatic agent, but  often presented the side effects. Therefore, lowering a dose of DOX may reduce a negative influence of this drug on patients. The combined effect of DOX and alliin on the induction of cell death and the reorganization of actin cytoskeleton have not been yet tested in the human non-small cell lung cancer H1299 cells, thus the aim of the study was to evaluate the effects of DOX and alliin on the induction of cell death, morphological and ultrastructural alterations, as well as the reorganization of F-actin in the H1299 cells, using image cytometry and light, fluorescence and transmission electron microscopy. The experimental results presented here indicate that alliin enhances DOX impact on H1299 cells in a dose-dependent manner by increasing the percentages of apoptotic cells and reducing the cell viability. It also led to F-actin reorganization and both morphological and ultrastructural alternations. Alliin can support the tumoricidal effect of DOX but this potential therapeutic use should be examined in further studies.Alliina, aminokwas pochodzący z czosnku, przez lata była uważana za związek farmakologicznie nieaktywny. Jednakże badania prowadzona na kulturach komórkowych oraz modelach ssaczych dowiodły, że ma ona właściwości antyoksydacyjne i przeciwnowotworowe. Stosowanie cytostatyku doksorubicyny (DOX) w walce z nowotworami wiąże się z wieloma działaniami niepożądanymi, tak więc obniżenie dawki leku może stanowić sposób na zredukowanie toksyczności DOX. Dotychczas nie badano połączonych aktywności DOX i alliiny w indukcji apoptozy oraz reorganizacji cytoszkieletu aktynowego w komórkach niedrobnokomórkowego raka płuca linii H1299. Celem badania było określenie wpływu mieszaniny DOX i alliiny na indukcję apoptozy, a także na zmiany w morfologii, ultrastrukturze oraz organizacji F-aktyny w komórkach linii H1299 poprzez cytometrię obrazową, a także mikroskopie świetlną, fluorescencyjną oraz transmisyjną mikroskopię elektronową. Zaprezentowane w pracy wyniki wskazują, że alliina wzmacnia działanie doksorubicyny na komórki H1299 w zależności od wykorzystanej dawki, poprzez wzrost odsetka komórek apoptotycznych i redukcję przeżywalności komórek. Oba związki prowadzą do reorganizacji F-aktyny oraz zmian morfologicznych i ultrastrukturalnych. Alliina wspiera tym samym działanie antykancerogenne DOX, jednak jej potencjał terapeutyczny powinien zostać przedmiotem dokładniejszych badań

Aging and Hypertension – Independent or Intertwined White Matter Impairing Factors? Insights From the Quantitative Diffusion Tensor Imaging

Aging disrupts white matter integrity, and so does continuous elevated blood pressure that accompanies hypertension (HTN). Yet, our understanding of the interrelationship between these factors is still limited. The study aimed at evaluating patterns of changes in diffusion parameters (as assessed by quantitative diffusion fiber tracking – qDTI) following both aging, and hypertension, as well as the nature of their linkage. 146 participants took part in the study: the control group (N = 61) and the patients with hypertension (N = 85), and were divided into three age subgroups (25–47, 48–56, 57–71 years). qDTI was used to calculate the values of fractional anisotropy, mean, radial and axial diffusivity in 20 main tracts of the brain. The effects of factors (aging and hypertension) on diffusion parameters of tracts were tested with a two-way ANOVA. In the right hemisphere there was no clear effect of the HTN, nor an interaction between the factors, though some age-related effects were observed. Contrary, in the left hemisphere both aging and hypertension contributed to the white matter decline, following a functional pattern. In the projection pathways and the fornix, HTN and aging played part independent of each other, whereas in association fibers and the corpus callosum if the hypertension effect was significant, an interaction was observed. HTN patients manifested faster decline of diffusion parameters but also reached a plateau earlier, with highest between-group differences noted in the middle-aged subgroup. Healthy and hypertensive participants have different brain aging patterns. The HTN is associated with acceleration of white matter integrity decline, observed mainly in association fibers of the left hemisphere

Foresight in a Small Enterprise. A Case Study

AbstractThe main purpose of the paper is to present a case study of the implementation of foresight research into the doors and windows industry on the basis of a small enterprise from Poland. The case was based on the concept of business foresight which embraces a triad of assumptions, namely: anticipation, innovativeness and communication of the future. The research process comprised of logically linked research methods including: an in-depth interview with the presidents of the company, business coaching workshops with the company's employees, STEEPVL analysis, scenario analysis, future box technique, Porter's five forces analysis, a survey carried out among the enterprise's customers, and strategy formulation. The main results of the research have enabled the authors to determine the company's foresight maturity level, the most important factors influencing its activity, possible areas of improvement and to set strategic goals in the fields indicated by the presidents and the employees of the company

Marketing and branding-oriented goals for the development of Functional Urban Areas: evidence from Poland

The European Union currently uses Functional Urban Areas (FUAs) as basic units for planning local development activities under its financial support. An important issue in terms of managing such areas is branding. FUAs are made of at least several territorial units (covering a dense urban area and a functionally related urbanised zone). Such composition poses a particular challenge in terms of developing a brand that covers all of the units. Therefore, it is essential to select the core around which the target image will be created. This publication aims to identify marketing and branding goals for the development of FUAs and determine activities facilitating the achievement of these goals by entities that manage the functional areas. The research method used in the article was a content analysis of documents outlined as Strategies for Integrated Territorial Investments developed for FUAs in Poland. The authors of the article undertook preliminary exploratory research. The obtained results show that most of the marketing and branding goals for the development of FUAs correspond with the objectives specific to city marketing and branding. Moreover, “integration” and “strengthening the metropolitan area function” were recognised as goals specific to FUAs

Marketing and branding-oriented goals for the development of Functional Urban Areas: evidence from Poland

The European Union currently uses Functional Urban Areas (FUAs) as basic units for planning local development activities under its financial support. An important issue in terms of managing such areas is branding. FUAs are made of at least several territorial units (covering a dense urban area and a functionally related urbanised zone). Such composition poses a particular challenge in terms of developing a brand that covers all of the units. Therefore, it is essential to select the core around which the target image will be created. This publication aims to identify marketing and branding goals for the development of FUAs and determine activities facilitating the achievement of these goals by entities that manage the functional areas. The research method used in the article was a content analysis of documents outlined as Strategies for Integrated Territorial Investments developed for FUAs in Poland. The authors of the article undertook preliminary exploratory research. The obtained results show that most of the marketing and branding goals for the development of FUAs correspond with the objectives specific to city marketing and branding. Moreover, “integration” and “strengthening the metropolitan area function” were recognised as goals specific to FUAs

An overview of industry foresight projects in Poland

Foresight, jako narzędzie antycypowania przyszłości, ma w Polsce krótką historię. Działania sprzyjające promowaniu idei foresightu zostały zainicjowane w latach 2003-2005 przez Ministerstwo Nauki i Informatyzacji w formie Pilotażowego Programu Foresight w polu badawczym „Zdrowie i Życie”. W 2006 r. rozpoczęto realizację Narodowego Programu Foresight „Polska 2020”; prowadzi się także osiem projektów regionalnych oraz dziesięć projektów branżowych. Celem artykułu jest szczegółowa prezentacja projektów branżowych typu foresight realizowanych w Polsce, pod kątem tematyki, celów, oczekiwanych rezultatów, interesariuszy, rozmieszczenia geograficznego, ram i horyzontu czasowego, a także zastosowanych metod, budżetu i źródeł finansowania. Autorzy zwracają również uwagę na specyfikę polskich projektów foresightu branżowego na tle innych państw Europy, przyjmując za kryteria wyróżniające: liczbę projektów, metodykę oraz obszary badawcze będące przedmiotem analiz.As an instrument used to anticipate the future, foresight has a fairly short history in Poland. The first steps to promote the idea of foresight were taken by the Ministry of Science and Informatisation in 2003-2005 when the Pilot Foresight Project in the Health and Life research field was carried out. In 2006 the National Foresight Programme Poland 2020 was launched, with 8 regional and 10 industry foresight exercises running in parallel. This paper aims to provide a detailed picture of industry foresight projects carried out in Poland, describing them in terms of theme, objectives, expected results, stakeholders, geographical distribution, time frame and research horizon, methods applied, budgets and sources of funding. Furthermore, the paper identifies special characteristics of Polish industrial foresight exercises against the background of similar projects in other European countries, adopting the following criteria: number of projects, methodologies and research areas analysed