Regarding Terror: On Art and Politics

‘Regarding Terror: The RAF Exhibition’, held in Berlin in 2005, presented art works and documents dealing with the Red Army Faction (or Baader-Meinhof Group), a left-wing terrorist association active in Germany from the late 1960s until well after the controversial deaths of key members of the group in 1977. For some, the initial plans for the exhibition threatened to turn the RAF into heroes at the expense of any acknowledgement of the RAF’s victims. As a result, the government withdrew its funding, the exhibition was reconceptualised, and it was decided to present the material in as unbiased way as possible. The controversy and discussion surrounding ‘Regarding Terror’ exposes some critical issues regarding art’s relationship with politics. It is argued in this article that while individual art works and curatorial decisions influence our responses to political issues, shortcomings exist in the way the relationship between art and its subject matter is implicitly understood. These issues are explored by investigating the extent to which the fears about the exhibition and the debate surrounding it are indicative of a need to rethink the relationship between art and politics in the light of considerations of the implications of art’s autonomy and of art’s relationship with reality. Such a rethinking would bring into focus the nature of art’s responsibility to politic

Biodegradation of Pre-Aged Modified Polyethylene Films

In the environment plastics decompose under the influence of different abiotic and biotic factors. The abiotic factors such as radiation, temperature, humidity, chemical pollution and wind can act synergistically or antagonistically causing various types of structural and chemical changes in the polymer. Microorganisms, especially bacteria or fungi, play a crucial role in biological degradation of polymers. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is an invaluable tool for polymer analysis, since it is extensively used to study changes in the texture and composition of biodegradable polymer materials exposed to various environmental factors. It allows for the exploration of large surfaces with excellent resolution of topographic features

Biodegradation of Pre-Aged Modified Polyethylene Films

In the environment plastics decompose under the influence of different abiotic and biotic factors. The abiotic factors such as radiation, temperature, humidity, chemical pollution and wind can act synergistically or antagonistically causing various types of structural and chemical changes in the polymer. Microorganisms, especially bacteria or fungi, play a crucial role in biological degradation of polymers. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) is an invaluable tool for polymer analysis, since it is extensively used to study changes in the texture and composition of biodegradable polymer materials exposed to various environmental factors. It allows for the exploration of large surfaces with excellent resolution of topographic features

Środowisko uczące – (nie)doceniony obszar edukacji

Today, the school should evolve from an educational institution that serves students with a collective and highly unified model of education into a rich and diverse direction in its content and capabilities of the learning environment, which is a valuable instrumentation of the learning process. The paper focuses on selected areas of some aspects of the new culture of learning: constructive, self-regulation, situated and collaboration that prepare the student for smooth functioning in the world marked by change. The implementation of a new approach to education requires the creation of appropriate conditions in the form of rich incentives and stimulating physical and social environment that generates learning situations conducive to learning.W dzisiejszych czasach szkoła powinna przeistoczyć się z instytucji edukacyjnej, która przedstawia uczniom ujednolicony model wiedzy, w kierunek edukacyjny oferujący bogactwo i wszechstronność informacji, których prezentacja jest dostosowana do zróżnicowanych zdolności uczniów. Jak powszechnie wiadomo, sposób prezentacji materiału jest istotnym narzędziem w procesie zdobywania nowej wiedzy. Artykuł opisuje wybrane aspekty kultury uczenia się, takie jak: konstruktywność, samoregulacja i umiejętność współpracy z innymi, przygotowująca uczniów do bezproblemowego funkcjonowania w ciągle zmieniającym się świecie. Wdrożenie nowego podejścia do edukacji wymaga stworzenia odpowiednich warunków do nauki w otoczeniu, w którym uczniowie mają zdobywać wiedzę. Otoczenie stymulujące uczniów fizycznie i społecznie, np. urozmaiconymi bodźcami, sprzyja nabywaniu nowej wiedzy

Utstein-style reporting of out-of-hospital cardiac arrest in the Bielsko-Biała county

Introduction. Out-of-hospital cardiac arrest (OHCA) is one of the most severe medical emergencies, with significantly high both pre- and in-hospital mortality rates. The aim of the study was to assess the quality of reporting OHCA data by the Emergency Medical Service teams (EMS) in the Bielsko-Biała county, using standard ambulance dispatch cards. Material and methods. The study included adult inhabitants of Bielsko-Biała county who suffered from OHCA in 2013. Data were retrieved from standardised PRM forms, and compared to the Utstein style template. The study group comprised 272 patients, 190 (70%) males and 82 (30%) females, with a median age of 71 years (IQR 60–80). The pre-hospital mortality rate was 76.5% (75.3% in men and 79.3% in women). Results. The potential cause of OHCA was least known, with only 22% of forms including any information concerning this issue. Suboptimal reporting on the data enabling patient identification was noted in 12% cases. There was no association between reporting style and time and place of the OHCA. Conclusions. The overall quality of reporting of OHCA by PMR in Bielsko-Biała was good. The greatest concern was inability to identify the potential cause of the event, which can significantly influence application of adequate treatment

Cytogenetic studies of three European species of Centaurea L. (Asteraceae)

Cytogenetic analysis of several populations of Centaurea jacea (2n = 4x = 44), C. oxylepis (2n = 4x = 44) and C. phrygia (2n = 2x = 22) was performed using flow cytometry, differential chromosome staining and FISH. In all species Arabidopsis-type telomeric repeats hybridized only to the terminal part of chromosomes. In C. phrygia three pairs and in C. oxylepis six pairs of chromosomes revealed the hybridization signals of 45S rDNA. Centaurea jacea showed polymorphism in the 45S rDNA loci number, five or six pairs of sites were observed. 5S rDNA loci were located in two pairs of chromosomes in C. phrygia. In C. jacea and C. oxylepis the number and position of 5S rDNA loci were the same: three pairs located interstitially and one terminally. The genome size of the diploid C. phrygia was established as 2.14 pg/2C. The genomes of tetraploid species were nearly two times larger and genome size polymorphism was observed among C. jacea populations

Low-frequency electromagnetic field influences human oral mucosa keratinocyte viability in response to lipopolysaccharide or minocycline treatment in cell culture conditions

The aim of the current study was to investigate the influence of low-frequency electromagnetic field (LF-EMF) exposure on viability parameters of oral mucosa keratinocytes cultured in in vitro conditions. The effect of LF-EMF stimulation on cell viability was also specified in the simultaneous presence of lipopolysaccharide (LPS) infectious agent or minocycline (Mino) anti-inflammatory agent. Viability parameters such as early-, late apoptosis and necrosis of keratinocytes were analysed by the flow cytometry method (FCM).The exposure of human oral keratinocyte cell cultures to LF-EMF acting alone or combined with LPS/minocycline agents caused changes in the percentage of cells that undergo programmed or incidental cell death. The overall obtained results are compiled in a graphical form presented in Fig. 1

Perinatal Manganese Exposure and Hydroxyl Radical Formation in Rat Brain

The present study was designed to investigate the role of pre- and postnatal manganese (Mn) exposure on hydroxyl radical (HO•) formation in the brains of dopamine (DA) partially denervated rats (Parkinsonian rats). Wistar rats were given tap water containing 10,000 ppm manganese chloride during the duration of pregnancy and until the time of weaning. Control rat dams consumed tap water without added Mn. Three days after birth, rats of both groups were treated with 6-hydroxydopamine at one of three doses (15, 30, or 67 µg, intraventricular on each side), or saline vehicle. We found that Mn content in the brain, kidney, liver, and bone was significantly elevated in dams exposed to Mn during pregnancy. In neonates, the major organs that accumulated Mn were the femoral bone and liver. However, Mn was not elevated in tissues in adulthood. To determine the possible effect on generation of the reactive species, HO• in Mn-induced neurotoxicity, we analyzed the contents of 2.3- and 2.5-dihydroxybenzoic acid (spin trap products of salicylate; HO• being an index of in vivo HO• generation), as well as antioxidant enzyme activities of superoxide dismutase (SOD) isoenzymes and glutathione S-transferase (GST). 6-OHDA-depletion of DA produced enhanced HO• formation in the brain tissue of newborn and adulthood rats that had been exposed to Mn, and the latter effect did not depend on the extent of DA denervation. Additionally, the extraneuronal, microdialysate, content of HO• in neostriatum was likewise elevated in 6-OHDA-lesioned rats. Interestingly, there was no difference in extraneuronal HO• formation in the neostriatum of Mn-exposed versus control rats. In summary, findings in this study indicate that Mn crosses the placenta but in contrast to other heavy metals, Mn is not deposited long term in tissues. Also, damage to the dopaminergic system acts as a “trigger mechanism,” initiating a cascade of adverse events leading to a protracted increase in HO• generation, and the effects of Mn and 6-OHDA are compounded. Moreover, HO• generation parallels the suppression of SOD isoenzymes and GST in the brains of rats lesioned with 6-OHDA and/or intoxicated with Mn—the most prominent impairments being in frontal cortex, striatum, and brain stem. In conclusion, ontogenetic Mn exposure, resulting in reactive oxygen species, HO• formation, represents a risk factor for dopaminergic neurotoxicity and development of neurodegenerative disorders