Understanding politics and history through the images

Book Review: Heinz-Dietrich Fischer, Coverage of Political Occurrences in Asia. Pulitzer Prize Winning Articles, Cartoons and Photos. Berlin–Munster–Wien: LIT Verlag 2015 (pp. 234). ISBN 978–3-643–90592–5. Price: 89.90 EUR

Zaczytani bohaterowie książek. Obraz czytelnika w wybranych gatunkach literackich. Analiza porównawcza

The article presents the image of a reader in fantasy (Bookweird of Paul Glennon), romance novel (La grand-mère de Jade of Frederique Deghelt), dystopian novel (Fahrenheit 451 of Ray Bradbury) and crime fiction (The Library of Shadows of Mikkel Birkegaard). There are a lot of similarities and differences between the readers’ portrayals. The literary genre has an impact on creating reader’s image. The protagonists read either since their childhood or since landmark event in their lives. They encounter some obstacles and threats during reading, which make the story more attractive. Books have the power to change fictional characters’ lives.Artykuł prezentuje obraz czytelnika na postawie wybranych utworów w literaturze fantasy (Księgowir Paula Glennona), romansowej (Babunia Frederique Deghelt), antyutopijnej (451° Fahrenheita Raya Bradbury’ego) i kryminalnej (Biblioteka cieni Mikkela Birkegaarda). Można zauważyć wiele podobieństw i różnic między sposobami przedstawienia motywu czytelnika. Gatunek literacki ma wpływ na kreowanie wizerunku czytającego bohatera. Protagoniści czytają od dzieciństwa lub od przełomowego wydarzenia w ich życiu. Podczas lektury napotykają na pewne przeszkody, co sprawia, że historia staje się bardziej interesująca. Książki mają moc zmieniania życia fikcyjnych bohaterów

Better myocardial function in aortic stenosis with low left ventricular mass : a mechanism of protection against heart failure regardless of stenosis severity?

About one-tenth to one-third of patients with severe aortic stenosis (AS) do not develop left ventricular hypertrophy (LVH). Intriguingly, the absence of LVH despite severe AS is associated with lower prevalence of heart failure (HF), which challenges the classical notion of LVH as a beneficial compensatory response. Notably, the few studies that have attempted to characterize AS subjects with inadequately low left ventricular (LV) mass relative to LV afterload (i-lowLVM) described better prognosis and enhanced LV performance in AS associated with i-lowLVM, but those reports were limited to severe AS. Our aim was to compare myocardial function between moderate and severe AS with i-lowLVM. We retrospectively analyzed in-hospital records of 225 clinically stable nondiabetic patients with isolated moderate or severe degenerative AS in sinus rhythm, free of coexistent diseases. Subjects with i-lowLVM were compared to those with appropriate or excessive LVM (a/e-LVM), defined on the basis of the ratio of a measured LVM to the LVM predicted from an individual hemodynamic load. Patients with i-lowLVM and a/e-LVM did not differ in aortic valve area, LV end-diastolic diameter (LVd, a measure of LV preload), and circumferential end-systolic LV wall stress (cESS), an estimate of LV afterload. Compared to a/e-LVM, patients with i-lowLVM had increased LV ejection fraction (EF) and especially higher LV midwall fractional shortening (a better index of LV myocardial function than EF in concentric LV geometry) (p < 0.001–0.01), in both moderate and severe AS. LVd and cESS were similar in the four subgroups of the study subjects, i.e., moderate AS with i-lowLVM, moderate AS with a/e-LVM, severe AS with i-lowLVM, and severe AS with a/e-LVM (p > 0.6). Among patients with i-lowLVM, LVM did not differ significantly between moderate and severe AS (p > 0.4), while in those with a/e-LVM, LVM was increased in severe versus moderate AS (p < 0.001). In conclusion, the association of the low-LVM phenotype with better myocardial contractility may already develop in moderate AS. Additionally, cESS appears to be a controlled variable, which is kept constant over AS progression irrespective of LVM category, but even when controlled (by increasing LVM), is not able to prevent deterioration of LV function. Whether improved myocardial performance contributes to favorable prognosis and the preventive effect against HF in AS without LVH, remains to be studied

Everything you always wanted to know about systemic sclerosis but were afraid to ask: Part 1. Clinical pictures

The authors present the clinical picture of systemic sclerosis including organ and system involvement

The transiting multi-planet system HD3167: a 5.7 MEarth Super-Earth and a 8.3 MEarth mini-Neptune

HD3167 is a bright (V=8.9 mag) K0V star observed by the NASA's K2 space mission during its Campaign 8. It has been recently found to host two small transiting planets, namely, HD3167b, an ultra short period (0.96 d) super-Earth, and HD3167c, a mini-Neptune on a relatively long-period orbit (29.85 d). Here we present an intensive radial velocity follow-up of HD3167 performed with the FIES@NOT, [email protected], and HARPS-N@TNG spectrographs. We revise the system parameters and determine radii, masses, and densities of the two transiting planets by combining the K2 photometry with our spectroscopic data. With a mass of 5.69+/-0.44 MEarth, radius of 1.574+/-0.054 REarth, and mean density of 8.00(+1.0)(-0.98) g/cm^3, HD3167b joins the small group of ultra-short period planets known to have a rocky terrestrial composition. HD3167c has a mass of 8.33 (+1.79)(-1.85) MEarth and a radius of 2.740(+0.106)(-0.100) REarth, yielding a mean density of 2.21(+0.56)(-0.53) g/cm^3, indicative of a planet with a composition comprising a solid core surrounded by a thick atmospheric envelope. The rather large pressure scale height (about 350 km) and the brightness of the host star make HD3167c an ideal target for atmospheric characterization via transmission spectroscopy across a broad range of wavelengths. We found evidence of additional signals in the radial velocity measurements but the currently available data set does not allow us to draw any firm conclusion on the origin of the observed variation.Comment: 18 pages, 11 figures, 5 table

Everything you always wanted to know about systemic sclerosis but were afraid to ask: Part 2. Intermediate pathophenotypes: the best pathogenetic background in systemic sclerosis

Systemic sclerosis (SSc, scleroderma) is a chronic systemic connective tissue disease with a complex pathogenesis that is still not fully understood, in the course of which attention is increasingly drawn to the dynamic, sequential pathogenetic mechanisms according to disease stage. An increasing understanding of the diversity of mechanisms underlying this disease, as well as the prevalence of certain pathogenetic elements that depend i.a. on disease stage, will enable more effective therapeutic interventions in the future. Systemic sclerosis can thus be seen as a complex process, where the main players are immune cells, endothelial cells and fibroblasts, and the focal point is probably impaired function and subsequent damage to endothelial cells. Systemic sclerosis is also the final stage of a certain continuum of events, starting with a state of susceptibility to the development of the disease (dependent on genetic conditions and environmental influences), followed by disruption of homeostasis and initiation of pathological processes (e.g. as a result of viral infections), progression of pathological responses (inflammation, endothelial damage, fibrosis) and consequently organ damage. According to most authors, the key event and focal point of the cascade of phenomena is endothelial cell damage, and the mechanisms that lead to this damage are related to the activation of the immune system. There is growing acceptance of the thesis of an autoimmune origin of the disease involving mechanisms of innate and acquired immunity, both cellular and humoral.Systemic sclerosis (SSc, scleroderma) is a chronic systemic connective tissue disease with a complex pathogenesis that is still not fully understood, in the course of which attention is increasingly drawn to the dynamic, sequential pathogenetic mechanisms according to disease stage. An increasing understanding of the diversity of mechanisms underlying this disease, as well as the prevalence of certain pathogenetic elements that depend i.a. on disease stage, will enable more effective therapeutic interventions in the future. Systemic sclerosis can thus be seen as a complex process, where the main players are immune cells, endothelial cells and fibroblasts, and the focal point is probably impaired function and subsequent damage to endothelial cells. Systemic sclerosis is also the final stage of a certain continuum of events, starting with a state of susceptibility to the development of the disease (dependent on genetic conditions and environmental influences), followed by disruption of homeostasis and initiation of pathological processes (e.g. as a result of viral infections), progression of pathological responses (inflammation, endothelial damage, fibrosis) and consequently organ damage. According to most authors, the key event and focal point of the cascade of phenomena is endothelial cell damage, and the mechanisms that lead to this damage are related to the activation of the immune system. There is growing acceptance of the thesis of an autoimmune origin of the disease involving mechanisms of innate and acquired immunity, both cellular and humoral

We Do Not Like It: A Likert-Type Scale Survey on the Attitudes of a Young Population towards the Transhumanistic Theory of Education

Transhumanists assume that future education may be purely based on technological stimulation. The question is: Do potential clients of education “like” such vision? In order to check this, we asked over one thousand two hundred young Poles to evaluate their identification with the transhumanistic theory of education. The results are quite surprising: its show that they disagree with the assumptions of this theory, while they rather agree with the postulates of more traditional (and no technology-based) concepts of education