Role of auxin (IAA) in the regulation of slow vacuolar (SV) channels and the volume of red beet taproot vacuoles

Background: Auxin (IAA) is a central player in plant cell growth. In contrast to the well-established function of the plasma membrane in plant cell expansion, little is known about the role of the vacuolar membrane (tonoplast) in this process. Results: It was found that under symmetrical 100 mM K+ and 100 μM cytoplasmic Ca2+ the macroscopic currents showed a typical slow activation and a strong outward rectification of the steady-state currents. The addition of IAA at a final concentration of 1 μM to the bath medium stimulated the SV currents, whereas at 0.1 and 10 μM slight inhibition of SV currents was observed. The time constant, decreased in the presence of this hormone. When single channels were analyzed, an increase in their activity was recorded with IAA compared to the control. The single-channel recordings that were obtained in the presence of IAA showed that auxin increased the amplitude of the single-channel currents. Interestingly, the addition of IAA to the bath medium with the same composition as the one that was used in the patch-clamp experiments showed that auxin decreased the volume of the vacuoles. Conclusions: It is suggested that the SV channels and the volume of red beet taproot vacuoles are modulated by auxin (IAA)

Family and schizophrenia : psychoeducational group in a pilot programme

Aim. The paper aims to present the programme, the outcomes and the conclusions of a psychoeducational training series for families with schizophrenia carried out by the Babiński Specialist Hospital in Kraków, Poland. The paper sets out to describe an explorative project based on qualitative study methods. The programme described in the paper adheres to the systemic and narrative approach to therapy. Methods. The project involved 23 people from 16 families, who attended 14 psychoeducational meetings for 4 months. A variety of methods was applied: lectures, case studies, discussion, interactive workshops, psycho-drawing, multimediapresentations, simulations of crisis situations, training in subgroups. Results. Upon the completion of the programme, no significant increase in the participants’theoretical knowledge on schizophrenia was observed, which in turn concurred with a decrease in the subjective sense of strain in the family. Even though only 11% of the participants initially expected emotional support from the group, 60% of them identified support as the most important benefit from the programme. Conclusions. The systemic narrative approach used in the programme has been accepted and assessed well by families of patients with schizophrenia. It seems to provide an effective alternative to traditional psychotherapy. The combination of effective training tools with activities to create a space for participants to exchange their thoughts and experiences has proved to be an effective form of support to families in adversity

Social Capital and Value Co-Creation: The Case of a Polish Car Sharing Company

Based on the original and unique data collected from 1000 users of PANEK CarSharing in Poland (the biggest car sharing company in Warsaw), we explored the roles of social trust and social capital in stipulating the process of value co-creation, understood as the ability to share information (engage in dialogue) with other users and the system operator. Our results indicate that particular trust has a more positive influence on the dialogue between users and the operator than general trust. This means that the higher social capital that can be established among a relatively coherent group of people with similar interests and common goals is more important than the general trust arising from our assumption that all people can be trusted, even if we do not know them. Moreover, those customers who see a shared car as a substitute for private ownership as well as those who are more environmentally aware, reveal greater propensity to share information. An important incentive for information sharing is its positive influence on improving the quality of a car sharing system

Współdzielenie pojazdów elektrycznych jako interdyscyplinarne pole badawcze różnych obszarów nauki

Celem artykułu jest przedstawienie współdzielenia samochodów (car sharing - CS), ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem samochodów elektrycznych jako interdyscyplinarnego obszaru badawczego. Dotyczy to nie tylko nauk społecznych - zarządzania (strategii czy marketingu), socjologii, ekonomii (w tym ekonomii współdzielenia), psychologii konsumenta, lecz także urbanistyki, nauk inżynierskich (elektrotechniki czy energetyki) czy wreszcie ekologii. Dopiero wykorzystanie szerszej perspektywy pozwala na zrozumienie znaczenia współdzielenia pojazdów, a w tym pojazdów elektrycznych, we współczesnych procesach społecznych i ekonomicznych. Diagnoza czynników mogących wpłynąć na powszechne wykorzystanie car sharingu, który traktujemy jako element reakcji miast na kongestię i smog, wymaga nawiązania do wiedzy z zakresu wskazanych wcześniej dyscyplin naukowych. Podstawowa wartość niniejszego artykułu polega na tym, że zapewnia wielowątkowe spojrzenie na konsumenta i prosumenta, mobilność miejską i ekosystem energetyczny z punktu widzenia ekonomii współdzielenia i samochodu zero/niskoemisyjnego. W ostatnich latach liczba artykułów badawczych dotyczących car sharingu rośnie (Ferrero, Perboli, Rosano i Vesco, 2018), jednak dominują opracowania pisane z punktu widzenia pojedynczej, rzadziej dwóch dyscyplin naukowych. Proponujemy rozszerzenie tej perspektywy. Choć w kategoriach badawczych niniejsza praca ma charakter wstępny i eksploracyjny, przyjęcie szerokiej perspektywy obserwacji powinno pozwolić na nawiązanie dialogu między dyscyplinami, aby zapewnić lepsze formułowanie problemów badawczych i rozwiązywanie dylematów społeczno-ekonomicznych w dziedzinie ekonomii współdzielenia, a też lepiej wprowadzić zagadnienie współdzielenia do obszaru nauk o zarządzaniu.The aim of the article is to present car sharing, with particular emphasis on electric car sharing, as an interdisciplinary research area. This applies not only to social sciences - management (strategy or marketing), sociology, economics (including the sharing economy), consumer psychology, but also to urban planning, engineering sciences (electrical engineering or energy) and, finally, ecology. Only the use of a broader perspective allows the understanding of the importance of car sharing, including electric vehicles, in contemporary social and economic processes. The diagnosis of factors that may affect the widespread use of car sharing, which we treat as an element of cities’ response to congestion and smog, requires a reference to the knowledge of the previously mentioned scientific disciplines. The core value of this article is that it provides a multi-faceted perspective on the consumer and prosumer, urban mobility and the energy ecosystem from the point of view of the sharing economy and zero/low carbon cars. In recent years, the number of research articles on car sharing has been growing (Ferrero, Perboli, Rosano, & Vesco, 2018); however, studies written from the point of view of a single, less often two scientific disciplines dominate. We propose to extend this perspective. Although, in research terms, this work is preliminary and exploratory, adopting a broad observation perspective should allow for establishing a dialogue between disciplines to ensure better formulation of research problems and solve socio-economic dilemmas not only in the field of the sharing economy, and to better introduce the issue of car sharing to the area of management sciences

Stroje ludowe jako fenomen kulturowy

Monografia zbiorowa wydana w serii Atlas Polskich Strojów Ludowych zawierająca 24 teksty. Dotyczą one zagadnień związanych z dokumentacją strojów ludowych w wybranych regionach etnograficznych Polski, archiwizacją oraz rekonstrukcją.Narodowy Program Rozwoju Humanistyk