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“To dance the silence” reveals the story of a documentary which could have been produced but it never was. The film was intended to present the world of silence trough three different characters working together ona dancing project – Caroline, Ann and Katherine. Caroline, 15, at that time, is outstanding ballet dancer. The dreams of her coach, Anna, is to train her so well so the girl will join the National Dance Theatre. But Caroline does not dream. For her – the future does not exist. As for the others who share her fate – the deaf people – who due to their deafness are deprived of abstract thinking. Catherine who is the costume designer of the dancing show “Other Worlds” has no such problem – even though she is deaf, she has learned how to speak and hear with the help of an hearing aid. She is a successful business woman with happy family. The idea of the film – and the article – was to explore Wittgenstein’s words “The borders of my language are the borders of my world”.The Story With No Punchline“To dance the silence” reveals the story of a documentary which could have been produced but it never was. The film was intended to present the world of silence trough three different characters working together ona dancing project – Caroline, Ann and Katherine. Caroline, 15, at that time, is outstanding ballet dancer. The dreams of her coach, Anna, is to train her so well so the girl will join the National Dance Theatre. But Caroline does not dream. For her – the future does not exist. As for the others who share her fate – the deaf people – who due to their deafness are deprived of abstract thinking. Catherine who is the costume designer of the dancing show “Other Worlds” has no such problem – even though she is deaf, she has learned how to speak and hear with the help of an hearing aid. She is a successful business woman with happy family. The idea of the film – and the article – was to explore Wittgenstein’s words “The borders of my language are the borders of my world”

Statistical Analysis of Soft Commodities Returns in the Period 2007-2016

Soft commodities, often referred to as tropics, constitute a significant element of international trade and are also important to the Polish economy. Moreover, Polish investors may invest in foreign markets of soft commodities through commodity-linked ETFs, offered by some brokerage houses. Obviously, each investment decision should be preceded by an analysis of asset performance. This paper provides results of statistical analysis of soft commodities returns over the period January 2007 to December 2016. They reveal the existence of weak positive correlation between the returns, non-normal distributions, negative trends, and serial autocorrelation

Oral health status and the occurrence and clinical course of myocardial infarction in hospital phase: A case-control study

Background: Periodontitis may contribute to destabilization of atherosclerotic plaque leadingto acute coronary syndrome and myocardial infarction (MI). The aim of the paper was to evaluatethe state of the oral cavity and test the association between chosen parameters of acute,hospital phase MI in patients aged 60 and younger.Methods: We examined patients with acute MI, age 60. Control group consisted of matchedgroup of patients with stable angina. Patients enrolled in the study underwent dental, cardiovascularand biochemical examination. Left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) was measuredduring echocardiographic examination, intima-media thickness (IMT) was assessed byultrasonographic examination at the same time.Results: The case group included 112 hospital patients with acute MI. Patients with acuteMI were characterized by higher level of cardiovascular disease risk factors and poor oral healthstatus in comparison to the control group. There was higher prevalence of edentulousness(p = 0.0039) and advanced periodontal disease (APD) (p < 0.0001) in the case group than in thecontrol group. Patients with edentulousness and APD were characterized by the highest levels offi brinogen, interleukine-6, tumor necrosis factor-a, increased IMT and numerous atheroscleroticplaques. Logistic regression analysis revealed association between biomarkers of myocardialinjury, LVEF and chosen periodontal parameter (API, CAL, PDI, BI) and edentulousness.Conclusions: Poor oral health status, especially periodontal disease may infl uence on theoccurrence and clinical course of MI

Comparison of the dielectric properties of Ecoflex® with L,D-poly(lactic acid) or polycaprolactone in the presence of SWCN or 5CB

The main goal of this paper was to study the dielectric properties of hybrid binary and ternary composites based on biodegradable polymer Ecoflex®, single walled carbon nanotubes (SWCN), and liquid crystalline 4′-pentyl-4-biphenylcarbonitrile (5CB) compound. The obtained results were compared with other created analogically to Ecoflex®, hybrid layers based on biodegradable polymers such as L,D-polylactide (L,D-PLA) and polycaprolactone (PCL). Frequency domain dielectric spectroscopy (FDDS) results were analyzed taking into consideration the amount of SWCN, frequency, and temperature. For pure Ecoflex®, two relaxation processes (α and β) were identified. It was shown that the SWCN admixture (in the weight ratio 10:0.01) did not change the properties of the Ecoflex® layer, while in the case of PCL and L,D-PLA, the layers became conductive. The dielectric constant increased with an increase in the content of SWCN in the Ecoflex® matrix and the conductive behavior was not visible, even for the greatest concentration (10:0.06 weight ratio). In the case of the Ecoflex® polymer matrix, the conduction relaxation process at a frequency ca. several kilohertz appeared and became stronger with an increase in the SWCN admixture in the matrix. Addition of oleic acid to the polymer matrix had a smaller effect on the increase in the dielectric response than the addition of liquid crystal 5CB. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) results revealed that the molecular structure and chemical character of the Ecoflex® and PCL matrixes remained unchanged upon the addition of SWCN or 5CB in a weight ratio of 10:0.01 and 10:1, respectively, while molecular interactions appeared between L,D-PLA and 5CB. Moreover, adding oleic acid to pure Ecoflex® as well as the binary and ternary hybrid layers with SWCN and/or 5CB in a weight ratio of Ecoflex®:oleic acid equal to 10:0.3 did not have an influence on the chemical bonding of these materials

Is routine performance of the uterine cervix canal curettage prior to the curettage of the uterine cavity justified?

Objectives: Endocervical curettage (ECC) together with the dilatation and curettage of the uterine cavity (D & C) is routinely performed in everyday clinical practice. The aim of this study is to assess the rationale of the performance of ECC prior to D & C in indications other than abnormal uterine bleeding (AUB). Material and methods: Case histories of 736 patients after ECC performed in the 1st Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Medical University of Warsaw, were analyzed retrospectively, the indications for the procedure — age, menopausal status, parity, procedure operator’s experience — as well as the result of the histopathology examination were taken into account. Three groups of patients were distinguished based on the indications for the procedure. Results: In 645 (87.6%) of cases normal histopathology results were obtained. 40 (5.4%) cases were abnormal. 31 cases of uterine cervix dysplasia were disclosed (CIN 1–20; CIN 2–5; CIN 3–6), 8 cases of endometrial cancer and 1 case of cancer of the uterine cervix were disclosed. In 51 (7%) of cases tissue material for histopathology examination was not obtained. In patients where ECC and D & C were performed due to indications other than abnormal bleeding from uterine cavity, no abnormal results were revealed. In addition, in this group the highest number of non-diagnostic ECCs was reported (11.59%; p < 0.05). Conclusions: In the case of endometrial biopsy for indications other than AUB routine ECC prior to D & C need not be performed

Signifi cance of the prevention and therapy of periodontal diseases at patients with cardiovascular diseases

W badaniach ostatniej dekady wykazano istnienie wielopłaszczyznowego związku między chorobami układu sercowo-naczyniowego a chorobami przyzębia. Schorzenia te mają wiele wspólnych czynników ryzyka, wśród których najbardziej istotne są wiek, palenie tytoniu, cukrzyca i otyłość. Stan zapalny przyzębia, prowadząc do wzrostu stężenia mediatorów zapalnych i cytokin prozapalnych, może inicjować destabilizację blaszki miażdżycowej, która jest główną przyczyną ostrych zespołów wieńcowych i zawału serca. Skuteczne leczenie przewlekłego periodontitis poprawia funkcje śródbłonka oraz zmniejsza stężenie czynników prozapalnych i prozakrzepowych. Właściwa higiena jamy ustnej, zwłaszcza profilaktyka i leczenie przyzębia, stosowanie preparatów antyseptycznych, a w uzasadnionych przypadkach — antybiotykoterapia są szczególnie istotne u osób z grupy zwiększonego ryzyka sercowo-naczyniowego.Research of the last decade showed the existence of the multilevel relationship among cardiovascular diseases and periodontal diseases. These diseases have a lot of common risk factors, most essential are: the age, tobacco, diabetes and the obesity. Inflammatory condition of the paradontium, as a result of the height of the concentrations of inflammatory mediators and cytokines can initiate the destabilization of the atherosclerotic the main cause of acute coronary syndrome and myocardial infarction. Effective periodontal treatment improves functions of the endothelium, reduces the concentration of inflammatory and thrombotic factors. Appropriate dental care, especially prevention and treatment of paradontium, using antiseptic preparations and antibiotic therapy when needed are particularly essential at persons with the elevated cardiovascular risk

Modifications of EHPDB physical properties through doping with Fe2O3Fe_2O_3 nanoparticles (part II)

The aim of our study was to analyze the influence of various concentrations of γ-Fe(2)O(3) nanoparticles on the physical properties of the liquid crystalline ferroelectric SmC* phase, as well as to check the effect of introducing nanoparticles in the LC matrix on their properties in the prepared five nanocomposites. UV-vis spectroscopy showed that the admixture reduced the absorption of nanocomposites in the UV range, additional absorption bands appeared, and all nanocomposites were transparent in the range of 500–850 nm. The molecular dynamics in particular phases of the nanocomposites were investigated by the dielectric spectroscopy method, and it was found that nanoparticles caused a significant increase in the dielectric constant at low frequencies, a strong modification of the dielectric processes in the SmC* phase, and the emergence of new relaxation processes for the highest dopant concentrations. SQUID magnetometry allowed us to determine the magnetic nature of the nanoparticles used, and to show that the blocked state of nanoparticles was preserved in nanocomposites (hysteresis loops were also registered in the ferroelectric SmC* phase). The dependence of the coercive field on the admixture concentration and the widening of the hysteresis loop in nanocomposites in relation to pure nanoparticles were also found. In turn, the FT-MIR spectroscopy method was used to check the influence of the impurity concentration on the formation/disappearance or modification of the absorption bands, and the modification of both the FWHM and the maximum positions for the four selected vibrations in the MIR range, as well as the discontinuous behavior of these parameters at the phase transitions, were found