Reducing the development gaps between regions in Poland with the use of European Union funds

The paper evaluates the processes of regional income convergence in Poland. This new research approach involves an attempt to assess the process of convergence from the point of view of development gaps. Six key development gaps were considered in the region of Eastern Poland, which is a singular case, significantly different from other regions. A dynamic panel data model was applied to investigate the impact of EU funds on the progress made towards closing these development gaps. Among the analysed development gaps, only the structural gap was not reduced in the period 2004–2015. Studies have also revealed the different impact of structural funds on each category of development gaps (a positive impact on reducing the regional transport accessibility gap and the investment gap, but negative – on reducing the innovation gap). Research has suggested the need for a change in the structure of using EU funds in the period 2014–2020 to favour stronger support for entrepreneurship and the creation of new jobs. Greater stimulation of the economic structure of peripheral regions has been proposed as the prerequisite for the future reduction in the discrepancies between regions and for the intensification of convergence. First published online 2 April 201

THE EFFECT OF THE ELECTRIC FIELD ON THE NEMATIC LIQUID CRYSTAL MOLECULAR REDISTRIBUTION IN THE VECINITY OF AN IMMERSED SPHEROCYLINDRICAL NANOPARTICLE

We report a Monte Carlo simulation based on the Lebwohl-Lasher model for characterizing the molecular director configuration in a nematic liquid crystal having a spherocylindrical particle immersed inside. We describe the molecular orientation and spatial behavior of the order parameter and we retrieve the presence of a disclination line with the shape of the Saturn ring defect. By applying an electric field, the order inside the simulation cell is considerably changed and we find that the plane of the disclination line is moved perpendicular to the field direction. As the intensity of the field is increaseed the disclination line eventually disappears, the order inside the cell becoming uniaxial

Changes of cell electrical parameters induced by electroporation. A dielectrophoresis study

AbstractDielectrophoresis was employed to distinguish the electroporated from non-electroporated cells. It was found that the electric field frequency at which cells change the direction of their movement (the crossover frequency fCO) is higher when cells are electroporated. The contribution to the cell dielectrophoretic behavior of four electric and geometrical cell parameters was analyzed using a single shell model. fCO measurements were performed in media with conductivities of 0.001–0.09S/m, on B16F10 cells which were electroporated in a Mannitol solution (0.001S/m), using rectangular or exponential pulses. The control cells' fCO was found in a domain of 2 to 105kHz, while the electroporated cells' fCO was in a domain of 5 to 350kHz, depending on the external media conductivities. At exterior conductivities above ~0.02S/m, fCO of electroporated cells became significantly higher compared to controls. Even though the possible contribution of membrane permittivity to explain the observed fCO shift toward higher values cannot be excluded, the computations highlight the fact that the variation of cytosol conductivity might be the major contributor to the dielectrophoretic behavior change. Our experimental observations can be described by considering a linear dependence of electroporated cells' cytosol conductivity against external conductivity

900 MHz Modulated Electromagnetic Fields Accelerate the Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis Pathway

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