6-dimensional product Lie algebras admitting integrable complex structures

We classify the 6-dimensional Lie algebras of the form $g\times g$ that admit integrable complex structure. We also endow a Lie algebra of the kind $o(n)\oplus o(n)$ with such a complex structure. The motivation comes from geometric structures \'a la Sasaki on $g$-manifolds.Comment: Minor corrections and changes in typesettin

Przyjmowanie substancji psychoaktywnych i konsekwencje zdrowotne zaprzestania ich stosowania w grupie młodzieży licealnej

Introduction. The use of psychoactive substances is an important factor of higher risk of health complications and deficits in social functioning of children and adolescents. It is a problem regarding not only particular individuals or families but it also constitutes, in further perspective, a serious social-economic problem.Aim. The aim of this study was to assess the type and frequency of using psychoactive substances as well as psychics and somatic consequences after withdrawal from psychoactive substances use in high school students groups.Material and Methods. The research was carried out in the group of 100 students from a secondary school in Toruń (61 female students, aged 18,2±0,4 and 39 male students aged 18,1±0,3). Our own questionnaire was applied and the questions included referred to socio-demographic variables, to the use psycho-active substances and the symptoms after withdrawal from them, as well as the CAGE scale for the purpose of assessing the risk of addiction to alcohol and marijuana (the modified version of the scale).Results. It has been observed that the psychoactive substances most frequently used in groups of students (female and male) included: alcohol drinks (88% vs. 79%), caffeine (75% vs. 61%), nicotine (almost 51% vs. 36%), marijuana (39% vs. 43%), hashish (almost 10% vs. 5%), “boosters” (8% vs. 10%), amphetamine (3% vs. 13%) and others. The suicidal inclinations were observed in 4,9% of female students. Probably 5% of female and from 5 to 7% of male students experienced the psychotic symptoms (hallucinations and delusions) after withdrawing from the use of psychoactive substances.Conclusions. The legal psychoactive substance most frequently used was ethyl alcohol (risk of addiction in groups: 37% of female and 23% male students) whereas the illegal substance was marihuana (risk of addiction was proved in groups: 18% of female and 35% of male students). The most important complications following the withdrawal from the use of psychoactive substances included suicidal behavior and psychotic symptoms (hallucinations and the feeling of being observed) correlated with amphetamine use. (JNNN 2014;3(3):100–106)Wstęp. Przyjmowanie substancji psychoaktywnych stanowi istotny czynnik podwyższonego ryzyka powikłań zdrowotnych oraz deficytów funkcjonowania społecznego u dzieci i młodzieży. Jest to problem nie tylko poszczególnych osób i rodzin, ale także w dalszej perspektywie poważny problem społeczno-ekonomiczny.Cel. Celem badań była ocena rodzaju i częstość przyjmowania substancji psychoaktywnych oraz konsekwencji zdrowotnych (psychicznych i somatycznych) zaprzestania ich stosowania u uczennic i uczniów klas maturalnych.Materiał i metody. Badania przeprowadzono w grupie 100 osób z toruńskiego liceum ogólnokształcącego (61 uczennic, w średnim wieku 18,2±0,4 lat oraz 39 uczniów, w średnim wieku 18,1±0,3 lat). W badaniu zastosowano kwestionariusz własnej konstrukcji, którego pytania dotyczyły zmiennych socjodemograficznych, przyjmowania substancji psychoaktywnych i objawów ich odstawienia oraz skalę CAGE celem oceny ryzyka uzależnienia od alkoholu i marihuany (wersja zmodyfikowana skali).Wyniki. Najczęściej przyjmowanymi używkami przez uczennice i uczniów były odpowiednio napoje alkoholowe (88% vs. 79%), kofeina (75% vs. 61%), nikotyna (prawie 51% vs. 36%), marihuana (39% vs. 43%), haszysz (prawie 10% vs. 5%), dopalacze (8% vs. 10%), amfetamina (3% vs. 13%) i inne. Tendencje samobójcze stwierdzono u 4,9% uczennic. Objawy psychotyczne (omamy i poczucie obserwowania) mogły dotyczyć 5% uczennic oraz 5–7% badanych uczniów.Wnioski. Najczęściej przyjmowaną przez młodzież licealną legalną substancją psychoaktywną jest alkohol etylowy — ryzyko uzależnienia wykazano w grupie 37% uczennic oraz 23% uczniów, a nielegalną substancją psychoaktywną marihuana — ryzyko uzależnienia wykazano w grupie 18% uczennic oraz 35% uczniów. Do najważniejszych powikłań zdrowotnych należą próby samobójcze, objawy psychotyczne (omamy i poczucie obserwowania) skorelowane z przyjmowaniem amfetaminy. (PNN 2014;3(3):100–106

The life satisfaction level of obese people with depressive disorders compared to healthy individuals

Introduction. This research examines the relationship between obesity and pessimism, a decreased sense of happiness, reduced positive affect, and a low life satisfaction level. Objective. To measure the level of life satisfaction of obese people with depressive symptoms in contrast to healthy individuals from the general population, and the relationship between the selected socio-demographic variables and mood disorders, and life satisfaction. Materials and methods. The study involved 30 healthy subjects (the control group), 30 obese people hospitalised in the Department of General and Endocrine Surgery, and 30 patients with depressive disorders treated in the Department of Psychiatry. The study draws upon a interview questionnaire: the Satisfaction with Life Scale (SWLS), and the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Results. It was found that the level of life satisfaction of respondents from all three groups remained at an average level. The highest level of life satisfaction was achieved in the healthy group, and the lowest in those with depression. On the other hand, the level of life satisfaction of obese people did not substantially diverge from healthy subjects. Conclusions. The life satisfaction of obese people remained at a similar level to the healthy population. A twoway relationship between depression and obesity was shown among patients with depressive disorders and those with obesity. The higher the level of education, the greater the level of life satisfaction; however, this lessens with age and the intensification of depressive symptoms.

Artificial Activation of Escherichia coli mazEF and hipBA Toxin–Antitoxin Systems by Antisense Peptide Nucleic Acids as an Antibacterial Strategy

The search for new, non-standard targets is currently a high priority in the design of new antibacterial compounds. Bacterial toxin–antitoxin systems (TAs) are genetic modules that encode a toxin protein that causes growth arrest by interfering with essential cellular processes, and a cognate antitoxin, which neutralizes the toxin activity. TAs have no human analogs, are highly abundant in bacterial genomes, and therefore represent attractive alternative targets for antimicrobial drugs. This study demonstrates how artificial activation of Escherichia coli mazEF and hipBA toxin–antitoxin systems using sequence-specific antisense peptide nucleic acid oligomers is an innovative antibacterial strategy. The growth arrest observed in E. coli resulted from the inhibition of translation of the antitoxins by the antisense oligomers. Furthermore, two other targets, related to the activities of mazEF and hipBA, were identified as promising sites of action for antibacterials. These results show that TAs are susceptible to sequence-specific antisense agents and provide a proof-of-concept for their further exploitation in antimicrobial strategies

Lipodystrophy syndrome in HIV-infected patients -a cohort study in Lower Silesia, Poland

Abstract Introduction: Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-associated lipodystrophy syndrome (LS) is defined as a redistribution of adipose tissue, metabolic and endocrine abnormalities, resulting from combined antiretroviral therapy (cART). Aim of this study was to evaluate LS in HIV-infected patients from Lower Silesia, Poland

Vergence eye movements in bipolar disorder

Aim. With respect to bipolar disorder (BD), previous research have demonstrated saccadic eye movements abnormalities, manifested mainly as an increase in reaction time (latency) in both prosaccadic and antisaccadic task. So far, there were no studies related to vergence eye movements in subjects with BD. Our primary aim was to evaluate vergence tracking performance in this clinical group.  Methods. 30 patients with BD in remission and 23 healthy controls were enrolled. Subjects underwent optometric examination where near point of convergence was measured by the use of Wolff Wand. Instrumented convergence measurements were performed using infrared eye tracker and dedicated vergence stimuli generator. Results. BD patients presented significantly higher average error between eyes’ convergence and convergence required to fixate the target and higher number of saccadic intrusions compared with healthy controls group. Principal component analysis performed on oculometric parameters revealed differences between BD patients and healthy controls. Significant correlations between the vergence disturbances and saccadic intrusions were found. Conclusions. BD patients showed the alterations of the vergence eye movements similar to the disturbances of eye movements in the fronto-parallel plane. While the abnormalities of vergence eye movements in some mental disorders have been reported, we have for the first time objectively measured this phenomenon in BD

The rationale for Multilevel Educational and Motivational Intervention in Patients after Myocardial Infarction (MEDMOTION) project is to support multicentre randomized clinical trial Evaluating Safety and Efficacy of Two Ticagrelor-based De-escalation Antiplatelet Strategies in Acute Coronary Syndrome (ELECTRA – SIRIO 2)

The Multilevel Educational and Motivational Intervention in Patients after Myocardial Infarction (MEDMOTION) project will be adopted to support adherence to the study treatment in the Evaluation Safety and Efficacy of Two Ticagrelor-based De-escalation Antiplatelet Strategies in Acute Coronary Syndrome (ELECTRA-SIRIO 2) a randomized clinical trial.A prespecified sub-analysis of the ELECTRA-SIRIO 2 trial will be performed to evaluate the impact of the results of MEDMOTION diagnostic questionnaires on the clinical outcomes.The study population will comprise of 4,500 patients consecutively admitted to the study centres due to acute coronary syndrome. The MEDMOTION project involves the following interventions: patients’ education, motivation, reminding to take medications and to attend consecutive medical appointments. Dedicated questionnaires will be applied to diagnose study participants with regard to their readiness for discharge from the hospital at the end of initial hospitalization, the risk of non-adherence to the medication at the end of 3rd and 12th month of follow up, and the functioning in disease at the end of 3rd and 12th month of follow up. The primary safety composite endpoint of this study is type 2, 3 or 5 bleeding according to the BARC criteria, occurring during the first 12 months after ACS. The primary efficacy endpoint is the composite of death from any cause, the first nonfatal MI, or the first nonfatal stroke. The key secondary endpoint, net clinical effect, was defined as the composite of death from any cause, a nonfatal MI or a nonfatal stroke, and the first occurrence of BARC type 2, 3, or 5 bleeding.Concluding, it is expected that the comprehensive approach designed in the MEDMOTION project, including use of diagnostic questionnaires, will significantly contribute to obtaining a high level of adherence to medication and improving clinical outcomes in the ELECTRA-SIRIO 2 trial

BRAZYLIA JAKO GŁÓWNY OŚRODEK PROCESÓW INTEGRACJI GOSPODARCZEJ AMERYKI POŁUDNIOWEJ

Międzynarodowa pozycja Brazylii w okresie ostatnich dwóch dekad uległa znacznemu zwiększeniu. Wśród czynników, które przyczyniły się do tego należy wskazać procesy globalizacji w latach 90. XX wieku i trwające równolegle od II połowy lat 90. procesy regionalizacji. Dzięki umiejętnemu wykorzystaniu posiadanego potencjału gospodarczego i politycznego Brazylia stała się głównym ośrodkiem procesów integracji gospodarczej Ameryki Południowej, czego zwieńczeniem było powstanie Unii Narodów Południowoamerykańskich (UNASUR). Rola ta wynika poniekąd z zapisów brazylijskiej konstytucji, która w art. 4 stwierdza, że „Republika Brazylii będzie dążyć do integracji gospodarczej, politycznej, społecznej i kulturalnej narodów Ameryki Łacińskiej, mając na względzie formowanie się latynoamerykańskiej wspólnoty narodów”

What Makes a Floor Slippery? A Brief Experimental Study of Ceramic Tiles Slip Resistance Depending on Their Properties and Surface Conditions

The safety of the use of construction facilities should be a priority in today’s busy world, where it is not difficult to get involved in an accident. Most of them, due to the pace at which we live today, are caused by slips, trips, and falls. This work presents a detailed analysis of the resistance of ceramic floors to these events, taking into account the surface properties and conditions (dry/wet), which, as presented, have a significant impact on the final slip resistance values. This study also investigates the relationship between surface roughness and anti-slip properties. According to the obtained results, it can be concluded that the surface roughness is not the main determinant of slip resistance, and the final value of it is influenced by many components that should be considered together and not be neglected when designing the surface finish. Furthermore, based on experimental measurements, it can be noted that the highest slip resistance in both wet and dry conditions showed the unglazed tiles with lapatto finish and the glazed tiles without any extra finish