Shifting Borders – Shifting Languages: Investigating Commemorative Cityscape in Poznań and Słubice

This article explores patterns of street renaming in two locations which over the last century were interchangeably controlled by Germany and Poland: Posen/Poznań and Dammvorstadt/Słubice. It examines how changes in the language of administration influenced their urban streetscape. The results demonstrate that there are several different semantic categories of street names which show varied affinity to change. Commemorative street names inscribing personal names are most prone to alteration, while those based on topology and landmarks are often translated from one language to another and retain their meaning. Street names based on place names are a heterogeneous category with directional names showing more stability than those which represent the national geographical imagery

Methane Production and Consumption in Loess Soil at Different Slope Position

Methane (CH4) production and consumption and soil respiration in loess soils collected from summit (Top), back slope (Middle), and slope bottom (Bottom) positions were assessed in laboratory incubations. The CH4 production potential was determined under conditions which can occur in the field (relatively short-term flooding periods with initially ambient O2 concentrations), and the CH4 oxidation potential was estimated in wet soils enriched with CH4. None of the soils tested in this study emitted a significant amount of CH4. In fact, the Middle and Bottom soils, especially at the depth of 20–40 cm, were a consistent sink of methane. Soils collected at different slope positions significantly differed in their methanogenic, methanotrophic, and respiration activities. In comparison with the Top position (as reference soil), methane production and both CO2 production and O2 consumption under flooding were significantly stimulated in the soil from the Middle slope position (P < 0.001), while they were reduced in the Bottom soil (not significantly, by 6 to 57%). All upper soils (0–20 cm) completely oxidized the added methane (5 kPa) during 9–11 days of incubation. Soils collected from the 20–40 cm at the Middle and Bottom slope positions, however, consumed significantly more CH4 than the Top soil (P < 0.001)

Electrophysical properties of the multicomponent PBZT-type ceramics doped by Sn4+

In the work, the multicomponent Pb0.75Ba0.25(Zr0.65Ti0.35)1-aSnaO3 (PBZT/Sn) ceramics were obtained with various tin amounts (a from the range of 0.0 to 0.1). The densification of the PBZT/Sn ceramic samples was performed using pressureless sintering method. The effect of SnO2 content on the crystal structure of PBZT/Sn ceramics, microstructure, DC electrical conductivity and electrophysical properties (including dielectric and ferroelectric testes), were investigated. The PBZT/Sn ceramic samples exhibit high values of dielectric permittivity at the temperature of ferro-paraelectric phase transition and show the relaxor character of phase transition. Excessive SnO2 contents doping of the PBZT/Sn materials (already for a = 0.1) might lead to lattice stress and structure defects, which successively leads to the deterioration of ferroelectric and dielectric properties of the ceramic samples. The presented research shows that the addition of SnO2 to the base PBZT compound (in the proper proportion) gives an additional possibility of influencing the parameters essential for practical applications, from the areas of micromechatronics and microelectronics

Antioxidant-loaded mesoporous silica : an evaluation of the physicochemical properties

The dangerous effects of oxidative stress can be alleviated by antioxidants—substances with the ability to prevent damage caused by reactive oxygen species. The adsorption of antioxidants onto nanocarriers is a well-known method that might protect them against rough environ-mental conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the adsorption and desorption of gallic acid (GA), protocatechuic acid (PCA), chlorogenic acid (CGA), and 4-hydroxybenzoic acid (4-HBA) using commercially available mesoporous silica materials (MSMs), both parent (i.e., SBA-15 and MCM-41) and surface functionalized (i.e., SBA-NH2 and SBA-SH). The MSMs loaded with active compounds were characterized using Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), scanning electron microscopy with energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM-EDX), thermogravimetric analysis (TGA), differential scanning calorimetry (DSC), thermoporometry (TPM), and powder X-ray diffraction (XRD). High-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC-CAD) was used to evaluate the performance of the adsorption and desorption processes. The antioxidant potential was investigated using the Folin–Ciocalteu (FC) spectrophotometric method. Among the studied MSMs, the highest adsorption of GA was observed for amine-modified SBA-15 mesoporous silica. The adsorption capacity of SBA-NH2 increased in the order of PCA, 4-HBA < GA < CGA. Different desorption effectiveness levels of the adsorbed compounds were observed with the antioxidant capacity preserved for all investigated compounds

Yeast as a Versatile Tool in Biotechnology

Yeasts represent a very diverse group of microorganisms, and even strains that are classified as the same species often show a high level of genetic divergence. Yeasts biodiversity is closely related to their applicability. Biotechnological importance of yeast is almost immeasurable. For centuries, people have exploited its enzymatic potential to produce fermented food as bread or alcoholic beverages. Admittedly, yeasts application was initially instinctual, but with science and technology development, these microorganisms got the object of thorough scientific investigations. It must be recognized that yeast represents an excellent scientific model because of its eukaryotic origin and knowledge of genetics of yeast cells as well as metabolism examined in detail. In 1996, the genome of baker yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae has been elucidated, what opened the opportunity for the global study of the expression and functioning of the eukaryotic genome. Also, currently, an international team is working on the synthesis of the 16 yeast chromosomes by synthetic biology tools, and the results are expected till the end of the year. Nowadays, yeast is regarded as a versatile tool for biotechnological purposes

Variations in Soil Properties and CO2 Emissions of a Temperate Forest Gully Soil along a Topographical Gradient

Although forest soils play an important role in the carbon cycle, the influence of topography has received little attention. Since the topographical gradient may affect CO2 emissions and C sequestration, the aims of the study were: (1) to identify the basic physicochemical and microbial parameters of the top, mid-slope, and bottom of a forest gully; (2) to carry out a quantitative assessment of CO2 emission from these soils incubated at different moisture conditions (9% and 12% v/v) and controlled temperature (25 °C); and (3) to evaluate the interdependence between the examined parameters. We analyzed the physicochemical (content of total N, organic C, pH, clay, silt, and sand) and microbial (enzymatic activity, basal respiration, and soil microbial biomass) parameters of the gully upper, mid-slope, and bottom soil. The Fourier Transformed Infrared spectroscopy (FTIR) method was used to measure CO2 emitted from soils. The position in the forest gully had a significant effect on all soil variables with the gully bottom having the highest pH, C, N concentration, microbial biomass, catalase activity, and CO2 emissions. The sand content decreased as follows: top > bottom > mid-slope and the upper area had significantly lower clay content. Dehydrogenase activity was the lowest in the mid-slope, probably due to the lower pH values. All samples showed higher CO2 emissions at higher moisture conditions, and this decreased as follows: bottom > top > mid-slope. There was a positive correlation between soil CO2 emissions and soil microbial biomass, pH, C, and N concentration, and a positive relationship with catalase activity, suggesting that the activity of aerobic microorganisms was the main driver of soil respiration. Whilst the general applicability of these results to other gully systems is uncertain, the identification of the slope-related movement of water and inorganic/organic materials as a significant driver of location-dependent differences in soil respiration, may result in some commonality in the changes observed across different gully systems.Department of Agriculture, Food and the MarinePolish National Centre for Research and Developmen

Ideology in the linguistic landscape: Towards a quantitative approach

Past approaches to ideological commemorative street naming have taken for granted the concept of ideology, focusing on the policy decisions and the debates surrounding individual and more concerted resemioticisations. In this paper, we demonstrate that the concept of ideology in the context of commemorative street renaming is by no means unequivocal by illustrating how different decisions on what is or is not an ideological street name change influences the shape and the scope of ‘the ideological robe of the city’ (Zieliński, 1994). More specifically, we report on methodological decisions and their implications for representational politics in two towns, Zbąszyń in Poland and Annaberg-Buchholz in Germany, during consecutive waves of regime changes since the First World War. We rely on a complex data-set consisting of maps, town hall documents, street directories, newspapers and interviews with administrative officials. Visualisation of geographical patterns allows us to illustrate the outcomes of different definitions of ideology and explore how these definitions affect our analysis. Our primary aim is to arrive at systematic, and thus supra-locally operationalizable, analytical procedure for distinguishing ideological from non-ideological street naming practices

Napadowy częstoskurcz nadkomorowy u dzieci z zespołem Ebsteina

Wstęp: Zespół Ebsteina jest stosunkowo rzadką wadą wrodzoną serca (< 1%). Celem pracy była analiza częstoskurczów u dzieci z zespołem Ebsteina. Materiał i metody: Badaniami objęto 30 dzieci (20 dziewczynek, 10 chłopców) w wieku od 1 doby życia do 12 lat (śr. 16 miesięcy) w chwili postawienia diagnozy. U 23 dzieci stwierdzono inne wady serca: ubytek w przegrodzie międzyprzedsionkowej typu drugiego (12 pacjentów), atrezja, hipoplazja, bądź zwężenia pnia i tętnic płucnych (7 osób), ubytki w przegrodzie międzykomorowej (2 chorych), skorygowane przełożenie wielkich pni tętniczych (1 pacjent), niedomykalność tętnicy płucnej (1 osoba). U 11 chorych stwierdzono zespół preekscytacji Wolffa-Parkinsona- White&#8217;a (WPW), u 10 - blok przedsionkowo-komorowy I°. Wyniki: Czas obserwacji wynosił od 5 dób do 18 lat (śr. 8 lat). U 2 osób wykonano plastykę balonową tętnicy płucnej lub tętnic płucnych. Jednemu pacjentowi założono stent do tętnic płucnych. U pozostałych chorych wykonano następujące typy operacji kardiochirugicznych: zespolenie systemowo płucne typu Blalock-Taussig, plastykę tętnic płucnych, zespolenie Glena, plastykę zastawki trójdzielnej z wszczepieniem homograftu aortalnego, dwukierunkowe zespolenie Glena, zamknięcie ubytków w przegrodzie międzykomorowej i międzyprzedsionkowej. Częstoskurcz nadkomorowy występował u 10 pacjentów: u 8 chorych częstoskurcz ortodromowy, u 2 osób częstoskurcze orto- i antydromowe. U wszystkich dzieci napadom częstoskurczu towarzyszyły zaburzenia hemodynamiczne z obniżeniem ciśnienia parcjalnego tlenu we krwi. W leczeniu profilaktycznym częstoskurczów stosowano propafenon, sotalol i amiodaron. Dwóch pacjentów poddano zabiegowi ablacji dodatkowych dróg przewodzenia z bardzo dobrym wynikiem końcowym. Wnioski: Z zespołem Ebsteina często współistnieje zespół WPW, a napady częstoskurczu leczy się trudno. Zespołowi WPW w zespole Ebsteina zazwyczaj towarzyszy blok przedsionkowo-komorowy I°. (Folia Cardiol. 2003; 10: 683-688

The Role of Complement Activating Collectins and Associated Serine Proteases in Patients With Hematological Malignancies, Receiving High-Dose Chemotherapy, and Autologous Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantations (Auto-HSCT)

We conducted a prospective study of 312 patients (194 with multiple myeloma, 118 with lymphomas) receiving high-dose conditioning chemotherapy and autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT). Polymorphisms of MBL2 and MASP2 genes were investigated and serial measurements of serum concentrations of mannose-binding lectin (MBL), CL-LK collectin and MASP-2 as well as activities of MBL-MASP-1 and MBL-MASP-2 complex were made. Serum samples were taken before conditioning chemotherapy, before HSCT and once weekly after (totally 4-5 samples); in minority of subjects also 1 and/or 3 months post transplantation. The results were compared with data from 267 healthy controls and analyzed in relation to clinical data to explore possible associations with cancer and with chemotherapy-induced medical complications. We found a higher frequency of MBL deficiency-associated genotypes (LXA/O or O/O) among multiple myeloma patients compared with controls. It was however not associated with hospital infections or post-HSCT recovery of leukocytes, but seemed to be associated with the most severe infections during follow-up. Paradoxically, high MBL serum levels were a risk factor for prolonged fever and some infections. The first possible association of MBL2 gene 3′-untranslated region polymorphism with cancer (lymphoma) in Caucasians was noted. Heterozygosity for MASP2 gene +359 A>G mutation was relatively frequent in lymphoma patients who experienced bacteremia during hospital stay. The median concentration of CL-LK was higher in myeloma patients compared with healthy subjects. Chemotherapy induced marked increases in serum MBL and MASP-2 concentrations, prolonged for several weeks and relatively slighter decline in CL-LK level within 1 week. Conflicting findings on the influence of MBL on infections following chemotherapy of myeloma and lymphoma have been reported. Here we found no evidence for an association between MBL deficiency and infection during the short period of neutropenia following conditioning treatment before HSCT. However, we noted a possible protective effect of MBL during follow-up, and suspected that to be fully effective when able to act in combination with phagocytic cells after their recovery

A spread of Typha laxmannii (Typhaceae) in southern Poland

The paper is based on the floristic studies carried out in southern Poland by multi- author team and revision of herbarium material from the genus Typha. The paper presents 19 new localities of Typha laxmannii which spreads throughout Poland. Notes on habitats and a distribution map of the species in Poland are also given. Additionally, an original key to species of the genus Typha, occurring in Poland is included