Creative ethnicity: music as an element of ethnicity among Polish Tatars

The aim of this article is to analyse the role of ethnic music in the life of the Tatar minority in Poland as an example of creative ethnicity. On the one hand, modern Tatar musical practices construct an interesting example of “invented tradition” because the studied group does not have “musical memory”, while on the other hand, these activities are aimed at the group’s future. Music can fulfill different social functions. In the case of ethnic groups, three of these functions seem to be particularly relevant: integrational, political (ideological) and identity. Desk research reveals the formal and informal musical practices undertaken by Polish Tatars. The values and musical assets associated with Tatar culture reflect the minority’s identity. The main statement of the article is that music is an important element that contributes to constructing the contemporary group’s identity. Tatar music is becoming an essential element of Tatar culture, enhancing a sense of the group’s distinctiveness. The contemporary Tatar music groups construct a significant Tatar showcase to the audience outside of the Tatar ethnic group, as well as form an important identity element of the Tatar community and a manifestation of creative ethnicity. It is also possible to find correlations between their repertoire and contemporary group transformations, including those related to its identity

Polytypism and superconductivity in the NbS2 system

We report on the phase formation and the superconducting properties in the NbS2 system. Specifically, we have performed a series of standardized solid-state syntheses in this system, which allow us to establish a comprehensive synthesis map for the formation of the two polytypes 2H-NbS2 and 3R-NbS2, respectively. We show that the identification of two polytypes by means of X-ray diffraction is not always unambiguous. Our physical property measurements on a phase-pure sample of 3R-NbS2, on a phase-pure sample of 2H-NbS2, and a mixed phase sample confirm earlier reports that 2H-NbS2 is a bulk superconductor and that 3R-NbS2 is not a superconductor above T = 1.75 K. Our results clearly show that specific heat measurements, as true bulk measurements, are crucial for the identification of superconducting materials in this and related systems. Our results indicate that for the investigation of van der Waals materials great care has to be taken on choosing the synthesis conditions for obtaining phase pure samples

Time reversal invariant single gap superconductivity with upper critical field larger than Pauli limit in NbIr2_2B2_2

Recently, compounds with noncentrosymmetric crystal structure have attracted much attention for providing a rich playground in search for unconventional superconductivity. NbIr$_2$B$_2$ is a new member to this class of materials harboring superconductivity below $T_{\rm c} = 7.3(2)$~K and very high upper critical field that exceeds Pauli limit. Here we report on muon spin rotation ($\mu$SR) experiments probing the temperature and field dependence of effective magnetic penetration depth in this compound. Our transverse-field -$\mu$SR results suggest a fully gaped $s$-wave superconductvity. Further, the estimated high value of upper critical field is also supplemented by high field transport measurements. Remarkably, the ratio $T_{\rm c}$/$\lambda^{-2}(0)$ obtained for NbIr$_2$B$_2$ ($\sim$2) is comparable to those of unconventional superconductors. Zero-field $\mu$SR data reveals no significant change in the muon spin relaxation rate above and below $T_{\rm c}$, evincing that time-reversal symmetry is preserved in the superconducting state. The presented results will stimulate theoretical investigations to obtain a microscopic understanding of the origin of superconductivity with preserved time reversal symmetry in this unique noncentrosymmetric system.Comment: 8 pages, 4 figures. arXiv admin note: text overlap with arXiv:2101.0823

The full and the void in Chinese landscape painting.

Celem mojej pracy jest ukazanie idei pełni i pustki w chińskim malarstwie monochromatycznym epoki Song. Ów rodzaj malarstwa rozwijał się przez wiele lat. Swoje rozważania postanowiłam zawęzić do okresu panowania dynastii Song, czyli do przełomu X i XI w. Uczyniłam to z dwóch powodów: po pierwsze jest to okres świetności chińskiego malarstwa krajobrazowego, po drugie, obrazy z tego okresu podobają mi się najbardziej i według mnie, najlepiej ukazują powiązanie malarstwa pejzażowego z taoizmem. Na przełomie X i XI w. klasyczne chińskie malarstwo ukazywane było za pomocą techniki monochromatycznej, to znaczy przy użyciu rozwodnionego czarnego tuszu na papierze lub jedwabiu. Artyści inspirowani filozofią taoizmu ukazywali na pustym tle monumentalne góry rozpościerające się nad strumieniem i spowite w gęstej mgle, dlatego malarstwo to zwane było malarstwem gór i wód (chiń. shan shui hua, 山水画). Jego najważniejsze elementy to góry i woda oraz mgła i pustka, a ich znaczenie rozpatrywane powinno być w kontekście taoizmu.The purpose of my work is to show full and vois in perspective of Chinese monochrome landscape painting. This kind of painting was evolving for a long time. Concidering this topic I focus on Song period, so X and XI centuries. I have decided for it for two reasons: this period is the biggest development of Chinese landscape painting and second of all, in my opinion monochrome painting of X and XI century properely shows it's connections to taoism. The biggest artists inspired by taoism was creating on empty background great mountains covered by the fog and situated by river banks. That is why this kind of painting is called "painting of mountains and water" (Chinese: shan shui hua, 山水画)

New Tetragonal ReGa5(M) (M = Sn, Pb, Bi) Single Crystals Grown from Delicate Electrons Changing

Single crystals of the new Ga-rich phases ReGa~5(Sn), ReGa~5(Pb) and ReGa~5(Bi) were successfully obtained from the flux method. The new tetragonal phases crystallize in the space group P4/mnc (No. 128) with vertex-sharing capped Re2@Ga14 oblong chains. Vacancies were discovered on the Ga4 and Ga5 sites, which can be understood as the direct inclusion of elemental Sn, Pb and Bi into the structure. Heat capacity measurements were performed on all three compounds resulting in a small anomaly which resembles the superconductivity transition temperature from the impurity ReGa5 phase. The three compounds were not superconducting above 1.85 K. Subsequently, electronic structure calculations revealed a high density of states around the Fermi level, as well as non-bonding interactions that likely indicate the stability of these new phases

Synthesis and physical properties of the 10.6 K ferromagnet NdIr3

Physical Review B. Volume 99, Issue 10, 26 March 2019, Article number 104430.© 2019 American Physical Society. The magnetic, transport, and thermodynamic properties of NdIr3 are reported. Its PuNi3-type crystal structure (space group R-3m), with lattice parameters a=5.3262(1)Å and c=26.2218(3)Å, was confirmed by powder x-ray diffraction. Our measurements indicate that NdIr3 exhibits a previously unreported paramagnetic to ferromagnetic phase transition below TC=10.6K (determined by using the Arrott plot). The magnetic susceptibility obeys the Curie-Weiss law with an effective magnetic moment of μeff=3.63(2) μB/Nd and a paramagnetic Curie temperature θP=5.4(6)K. The heat-capacity anomaly at TC confirms a bulk nature of the transition, though ΔCp=11.7Jmol-1K-1 is lower than expected for J=9/2 and instead close to the J=1/2 system. This suggests that Nd ions are subject to the crystalline electrical field that removes spin degeneracy and leaves the Nd ions in a doublet ground state. Resistivity and heat-capacity measurements reveal an anomaly at around 70 K. The origin of this anomaly is unknown, but the lack of thermal hysteresis suggests that it is a second-order phase transition and may be related to electronic instabilities. The calculated electronic structure is reported

E-Cadherin, Integrin Alpha2 (Cd49b), and Transferrin Receptor-1 (Tfr1) Are Promising Immunohistochemical Markers of Selected Adverse Pathological Features in Patients Treated with Radical Prostatectomy

In patients treated for prostate cancer (PCa) with radical prostatectomy (RP), determining the risk of extraprostatic extension (EPE) and nodal involvement (NI) remains crucial for planning nerve-sparing and extended lymphadenectomy. The study aimed to determine proteins that could serve as immunohistochemical markers of locally advanced PCa. To select candidate proteins associated with adverse pathologic features (APF) reverse-phase protein array data of 498 patients was retrieved from The Cancer Genome Atlas. The analysis yielded 6 proteins which were then validated as predictors of APF utilizing immunohistochemistry in a randomly selected retrospective cohort of 53 patients. For univariate and multivariate analysis, logistic regression was used. Positive expression of TfR1 (OR 13.74; p = 0.015), reduced expression of CD49b (OR 10.15; p = 0.013), and PSA (OR 1.29; p = 0.013) constituted independent predictors of EPE, whereas reduced expression of e-cadherin (OR 10.22; p = 0.005), reduced expression of CD49b (OR 24.44; p = 0.017), and PSA (OR 1.18; p = 0.002) were independently associated with NI. Both models achieved high discrimination (AUROC 0.879 and 0.888, respectively). Immunohistochemistry constitutes a straightforward tool that might be easily utilized before RP. Expression of TfR1 and CD49b is associated with EPE, whereas expression of e-cadherin and CD49b is associated with NI. Since following immunohistochemical markers predicts respective APFs independently from PSA, in the future they might supplement existing preoperative nomograms or be implemented in novel tools