Implementations of the Leap Motion in Sound Synthesis, Effects Modulation and Assistive Performance Tools

(Abstract to follow

Novel eco-friendly tannic acid-enriched hydrogels-preparation and characterization for biomedical application

Sodium alginate and tannic acid are natural compounds that can be mixed with each other. In this study, we propose novel eco-friendly hydrogels for biomedical applications. Thus, we conducted the following assessments including (i) observation of the structure of hydrogels by scanning electron microscope; (ii) bioerosion and the concentration of released tannic acid from subjected material; (iii) dehydrogenase activity assay to determine antibacterial activity of prepared hydrogels; and (iv) blood and cell compatibility. The results showed that hydrogels based on sodium alginate/tannic acid exert a porous structure. The immersion in simulated body fluid (SBF) results in the biomineralization process occurring on their surface while the bioerosion studies revealed that the addition of tannic acid improves hydrogels’ stability proportional to its concentration. Besides, tannic acid release concentration depends on the type of hydrogels and the highest amount was noticed for those based on sodium alginate with the content of 30% tannic acid. Antibacterial activity of hydrogels was proven for both Gram-negative and Gram-positive bacteria, the hemolysis rate was below 5% and the viability of the cells was elevated with an increasing amount of tannic acid in hydrogels. Collectively, we assume that obtained materials make the imperative to consider them for biomedical applications

Characterization of Agrobacterium tumefaciens DNA ligases C and D

Agrobacterium tumefaciens encodes a single NAD+-dependent DNA ligase and six putative ATP-dependent ligases. Two of the ligases are homologs of LigD, a bacterial enzyme that catalyzes end-healing and end-sealing steps during nonhomologous end joining (NHEJ). Agrobacterium LigD1 and AtuLigD2 are composed of a central ligase domain fused to a C-terminal polymerase-like (POL) domain and an N-terminal 3′-phosphoesterase (PE) module. Both LigD proteins seal DNA nicks, albeit inefficiently. The LigD2 POL domain adds ribonucleotides or deoxyribonucleotides to a DNA primer-template, with rNTPs being the preferred substrates. The LigD1 POL domain has no detectable polymerase activity. The PE domains catalyze metal-dependent phosphodiesterase and phosphomonoesterase reactions at a primer-template with a 3′-terminal diribonucleotide to yield a primer-template with a monoribonucleotide 3′-OH end. The PE domains also have a 3′-phosphatase activity on an all-DNA primer-template that yields a 3′-OH DNA end. Agrobacterium ligases C2 and C3 are composed of a minimal ligase core domain, analogous to Mycobacterium LigC (another NHEJ ligase), and they display feeble nick-sealing activity. Ligation at DNA double-strand breaks in vitro by LigD2, LigC2 and LigC3 is stimulated by bacterial Ku, consistent with their proposed function in NHEJ

Playing With Time: Interacting with Timed Musical Machines

Machines that capture and play back sound invariably influence the many ways that music is composed and performed. This symbiotic relationship is manifest in the turntablist virtuosically navigating the sounds engraved on a record, the guitarist generating overlapping rhythmic patterns and loops with a delay pedal, and the electronic musician manipulating and triggering samples live on a laptop. The tools and techniques used to record, edit, sequence, and play sound inevitably percolate into live music-making practices in the form of timed musical machines. These virtual machines involve both software and hardware, and incorporate varying degrees of automation, sound manipulation, and physical performance-based control. This dissertation outlines the basic digital tools that comprise these virtual machines, providing examples of software to illustrate the underlying mechanisms, and identifying strategies for how to interact with them in musically meaningful ways. The introduction frames the discussion with two contrasting anecdotes of interactions with recording and playback technology, and identifies the key components of timed musical machines. The first chapter investigates the ways that recorded sound is understood and manipulated as an object, first in the general case and then in applications that are unique to the digital medium. The second chapter identifies the specific building blocks and corresponding programming strategies of three classes of timed musical machines: sound file granulation, delays, and phase vocoders. Each category includes examples in the form of accompanying software. Finally, the third chapter presents freezing time as a case study to highlight the techniques used to manipulate the sound object and to identify some of the perceptual shifts that timed musical machines create in the ways of attending to musical sound. Since software-based timed musical machines operate on the micro-time scale, this analysis includes an investigation into the layer of automation and control that exists between lower-level processes and more direct user input. The discussion therefore includes an examination into editing and automation techniques derived from digital audio workstations and computer music programming environments, as well as an investigation into object-based compositional structures developed by the composer György Ligeti

Status społeczno-ekonomiczny oraz styl życia jako czynniki różnicujące subiektywne poczucie zdrowia wśród starzejących się mężczyzn

Background. The perceived health depends on many factors of which, the experience in illness and good health in the life passed are substantial. The subjective evaluation of health usually changes in the course of life displaying a particular pattern in a given stage of life. The purpose of the study was to evaluate the effects of selected elements of socio-economic status and lifestyle on subjective perception of health among males in the middle and later life. Material and methods. 2509 healthy men, aged 30-97 years, were administered the questionnaire in the course of the cross-sectional survey carried out in Poland in 1999-2002. Men sampled were distributed into three groups: younger than 50 years of age, 50-60, and above 60 years of age. Models of logistic regression (Logit) and correspondence analysis (CA) were used to analyse multifactor relations among variables. Results. The findings of CA revealed that subjective perception of health was significantly worse among older and unhealthy men. In models with age as covariate, the income appeared the most predictive factor for subjective perception of health. In the two youngest groups the higher income resulted almost in two times higher probability for better evaluation of health as compared to others (OR = 1.89, OR = 1.85), in elderly men (over 60) - nearly in three times (OR = 2.86). The elderly men were also likely to appreciate leisure time as the factor essential for perceived health (OR = 2.17). It was found that large cities appeared hazardous for perceived health in men younger than 50 years of age compared to their peers living in smaller urban and rural areas (OR = 0.74). It was found that married and higher educated men, 50-60, were likely to perceive their health much better as compared to their never married and worse educated peers (OR = 2.14 and OR = 1.60, respectively). Conclusions. The subjective perception of health is age-related phenomenon and depends on illnesses in the passed life. Current social and economic situation in Poland have appeared to be the most significant factors for the perceived health among men under age of 50, employed and unemployed, inhabitants of the cities.Wstęp. Stan zdrowia osób dorosłych i w podeszłym wieku zależy od wielu czynników, między innymi od indywidualnego tempa procesu starzenia oraz chorób pojawiających się z wiekiem, a wynikających z określonego stylu życia oraz zagrożeń środowiska. Stan zdrowia może podlegać ocenie obiektywnej, czemu służą wskaźniki biomedyczne, oraz ocenie subiektywnej, która polega na ustosunkowaniu się badanej osoby do własnego zdrowia. Samoocena zdrowia zmienia się w zależności od fazy życia. Celem pracy było zbadanie, czy i w jakim stopniu wybrane elementy statusu społeczno-ekonomicznego oraz stylu życia wpływają na subiektywną ocenę stanu zdrowia mężczyzn w średnim i starszym wieku. Materiał i metody. Grupę 2509 mężczyzn w wieku 30-97 lat objęto badaniami przekrojowymi, przeprowadzonymi w latach 1999-2002 na terenie Wielkopolski, Polski środkowej i północno-zachodniej. W wywiadzie środowiskowym pytano o wiek, cechy statusu społeczno-ekonomicznego, przebyte choroby oraz subiektywną ocenę zdrowia. Badanych mężczyzn zaklasyfikowano do trzech grup wiekowych: poniżej 50 lat, w wieku 50-60 lat oraz powyżej 60 lat. W ocenie zależności między zmiennymi wykorzystano wieloczynnikową analizę korespondencji oraz analizę regresji logistycznej. Obliczenia wykonano w pakiecie programów statystycznych Statistica for Windows.Wyniki. Na podstawie wyników analizy korespondencji stwierdzono, że mężczyźni najstarsi i chorzy najgorzej oceniali swoje zdrowie. W modelach regresji logistycznej, w których wiek był zmienną kontrolowaną, wysokość dochodów była zmienną, która warunkowała jakość samooceny we wszystkich grupach. W dwóch młodszych grupach wystarczający dochód zwiększał szansę lepszej samooceny stanu zdrowia niemal dwukrotnie (OR = 1,89, OR = 1,85), a wśród najstarszych mężczyzn niemal trzykrotnie (OR = 2,86). Sposób spędzania wolnego czasu modyfikował jakość samooceny stanu zdrowia tylko wśród mężczyzn z grupy najstarszej (OR = 2,17). Mężczyźni z grupy najmłodszej będący mieszkańcami dużych miast (OR = 0,74) oraz gorzej wykształceni i samotni 50-60-latkowie (odpowiednio: OR = 1,60 i OR = 2,14) najgorzej oceniali swój stan zdrowia. Wnioski. Subiektywna ocena stanu zdrowia wśród starzejących się mężczyzn jest istotnie powiązana z wiekiem oraz występującymi chorobami. Aktualna sytuacja społeczno-ekonomiczna w Polsce jest źródłem poczucia niezadowolenia z własnego życia i zdrowia, zwłaszcza wśród mężczyzn w wieku do 50 lat, pracujących i bezrobotnych, mieszkańców dużych miast

Restructuring of the Coal Mining Industry and the Challenges of Energy Transition in Poland (1990–2020)

The European Union’s climate policy and the energy transition associated with it force individual countries, their economies and their industrial sectors to carry out thorough changes, often of a deep, high-cost and restructuring nature. The aim of the article is to provide a multidimensional assessment of the forms and effects of the restructuring of coal mining companies in Poland in light of the current energy transition process. The research problem is encapsulated within the following two interdependent questions: Has the restructuring process allowed the coal mining industry to achieve sufficient efficiency to sustainably compete in the open market, and to what extent, if at all, have the objectives of restructuring been achieved from the perspective of changes in the energy mix? The research covers all coal mining companies included in the official statistics. It adopts a long-term perspective (1990–2020), dating from the beginning of the systemic transformation in Poland. The research involved the use of multivariate financial analysis methods, including the logit model for predicting the degree of financial threat, as well as taxonomic methods for assessing the dissimilarity of structures and their concentration. The general conclusion of the research is that there has been a lack of consistency (follow-up) between the forms and effects of restructuring in coal mining companies in Poland on the one hand and changes in the composition of the country’s energy mix as a result of the energy transition on the other. In particular, this means that such restructuring, being neither effective nor efficient, has failed to accelerate change in the energy mix

Restructuring of the Coal Mining Industry and the Challenges of Energy Transition in Poland (1990–2020)

The European Union’s climate policy and the energy transition associated with it force individual countries, their economies and their industrial sectors to carry out thorough changes, often of a deep, high-cost and restructuring nature. The aim of the article is to provide a multidimensional assessment of the forms and effects of the restructuring of coal mining companies in Poland in light of the current energy transition process. The research problem is encapsulated within the following two interdependent questions: Has the restructuring process allowed the coal mining industry to achieve sufficient efficiency to sustainably compete in the open market, and to what extent, if at all, have the objectives of restructuring been achieved from the perspective of changes in the energy mix? The research covers all coal mining companies included in the official statistics. It adopts a long-term perspective (1990–2020), dating from the beginning of the systemic transformation in Poland. The research involved the use of multivariate financial analysis methods, including the logit model for predicting the degree of financial threat, as well as taxonomic methods for assessing the dissimilarity of structures and their concentration. The general conclusion of the research is that there has been a lack of consistency (follow-up) between the forms and effects of restructuring in coal mining companies in Poland on the one hand and changes in the composition of the country’s energy mix as a result of the energy transition on the other. In particular, this means that such restructuring, being neither effective nor efficient, has failed to accelerate change in the energy mix