Odwrót bohaterów. Śmierć syjonistycznego mitu Masady w fi lmie Twierdza Beaufort Josepha Cedara

Withdrawal of Heroes: Death of the Zionist Myth of Masada in Joseph Cedar’s BeaufortMasada is an ancient fortress, which during The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE) served as a refuge for the last bastion of Jewish resistance. In the first half of the twentieth century, the history of the Masada’s defenders was absorbed by the Zionist movement and transformed into a vital national myth, which became an important element of the identity and culture of future Israelis. The main purpose of this article is to show the deconstruction of the Masada mythical narrative made by Israeli director Joseph Cedar in his movie Beaufort.Withdrawal of Heroes: Death of the Zionist Myth of Masada in Joseph Cedar’s BeaufortMasada is an ancient fortress, which during The First Jewish–Roman War (66–73 CE) served as a refuge for the last bastion of Jewish resistance. In the first half of the twentieth century, the history of the Masada’s defenders was absorbed by the Zionist movement and transformed into a vital national myth, which became an important element of the identity and culture of future Israelis. The main purpose of this article is to show the deconstruction of the Masada mythical narrative made by Israeli director Joseph Cedar in his movie Beaufort

Przełamując tabu. O najwcześniejszych filmowych echach wydarzeń marcowych

Breaking the taboo. The earliest cinematic echoes of the March 1968 experiencThe articles author tries to prove that the experience of March 1968 had a great influence on the Polish film industry. Through the examples of Marek Piwowskis “The Cruise”, Tadeusz Konwickis “How Far Away, How Near” and Andrzej Żuławskis “The Devil” the author proves that the memory of March 1968 became a part of Polish filmography very soon, in spite of the unfavorable conditions arising from the vigilance of state censorship.Breaking the taboo. The earliest cinematic echoes of the March 1968 experiencThe articles author tries to prove that the experience of March 1968 had a great influence on the Polish film industry. Through the examples of Marek Piwowskis “The Cruise”, Tadeusz Konwickis “How Far Away, How Near” and Andrzej Żuławskis “The Devil” the author proves that the memory of March 1968 became a part of Polish filmography very soon, in spite of the unfavorable conditions arising from the vigilance of state censorship

Bohater o wielu twarzach. Ewolucja syjonistycznego mitu Sabry we współczesnym izraelskim kinie wojennym

The many-faced hero. The evolution of the Zionist myth of Sabra in the contemporaryIsraeli war filmsThe concept of the New Jew was one of the most important founding myths of Zionism. During the construction of a Jewish state in Palestine, the New Jew was hailed Sabra (with reference to the kind of prickly pear popular in this region). In the twentieth century, the figure of Sabra became an important element of the identity and culture of Israelis. The main purpose of this article is to show the evolution of the mythical narrative typical for the cinematic incarnations of Sabra, which in recent decades has taken place in Israeli war films.The many-faced hero. The evolution of the Zionist myth of Sabra in the contemporaryIsraeli war filmsThe concept of the New Jew was one of the most important founding myths of Zionism. During the construction of a Jewish state in Palestine, the New Jew was hailed Sabra (with reference to the kind of prickly pear popular in this region). In the twentieth century, the figure of Sabra became an important element of the identity and culture of Israelis. The main purpose of this article is to show the evolution of the mythical narrative typical for the cinematic incarnations of Sabra, which in recent decades has taken place in Israeli war films

David Avidan’s Message from the Future. Nuclear fantasies of the galactic poet

David Avidan’s Message from the Future (1981) is one of few Israeli science fiction films ever made. This ambitious project of the well-known avant-garde poet has been forgotten for many years, as a result of a financial and artistic failure of the movie. The paper shows Avidan’s doomed film as an interesting cultural text that can be read as the director’s commentary on the Israeli reality of his time. Contrary to the artist’s claims about the global ambitions of the picture, Message from the Future is immersed in the local, exploring it under the guise of narrative structures borrowed from Hollywood. The text analyzes a precise deconstruction of the plot patterns characteristic for the classic American SF films from the 1950s, which Avidan adjusted to the Israeli sociopolitical landscape at the turn of the seventies and eighties.David Avidan’s Message from the Future (1981) is one of few Israeli science fiction films ever made. This ambitious project of the well-known avant-garde poet has been forgotten for many years, as a result of a financial and artistic failure of the movie. The paper shows Avidan’s doomed film as an interesting cultural text that can be read as the director’s commentary on the Israeli reality of his time. Contrary to the artist’s claims about the global ambitions of the picture, Message from the Future is immersed in the local, exploring it under the guise of narrative structures borrowed from Hollywood. The text analyzes a precise deconstruction of the plot patterns characteristic for the classic American SF films from the 1950s, which Avidan adjusted to the Israeli sociopolitical landscape at the turn of the seventies and eighties

LIPIcs

De, Trevisan and Tulsiani [CRYPTO 2010] show that every distribution over n-bit strings which has constant statistical distance to uniform (e.g., the output of a pseudorandom generator mapping n-1 to n bit strings), can be distinguished from the uniform distribution with advantage epsilon by a circuit of size O( 2^n epsilon^2). We generalize this result, showing that a distribution which has less than k bits of min-entropy, can be distinguished from any distribution with k bits of delta-smooth min-entropy with advantage epsilon by a circuit of size O(2^k epsilon^2/delta^2). As a special case, this implies that any distribution with support at most 2^k (e.g., the output of a pseudoentropy generator mapping k to n bit strings) can be distinguished from any given distribution with min-entropy k+1 with advantage epsilon by a circuit of size O(2^k epsilon^2). Our result thus shows that pseudoentropy distributions face basically the same non-uniform attacks as pseudorandom distributions

O-bi, o-ba: Koniec cywilizacji – postpiśmienny świat Piotra Szulkina

Pietrzak Maciej, O-bi, o-ba: Koniec cywilizacji – postpiśmienny świat Piotra Szulkina [O-Bi, O-Ba: The End of Civilization – The Postliterate World of Piotr Szulkin]. „Przestrzenie Teorii” nr 32. Poznań 2019, Adam Mickiewicz University Press, pp. 273–284. ISSN 1644-6763. DOI 10.14746/pt.2019.32.14. Piotr Szulkin made his mark in the history of cinema primarily as the author of disturbing visions of the future. His four films made between 1979 and 1985 comprised the science-fiction tetralogy, which is still one of the greatest artistic achievements of this genre in Polish cinema. The subject of the article is the third production of Szulkin’s series – the post-apocalyptic film O-Bi, O-Ba: The End of Civilization from 1984. In the film, the director creates a suggestive vision of a world destroyed as a result of nuclear conflict, in which the original functions of literature and the written word are forgotten. The author article analyzes the way in which forsaken literary artifacts are used in the post-literary reality of the film. An important element of his considerations is also the post-apocalyptic reception of the biblical text, on whose elements the mythology of the film’s world is based.Pietrzak Maciej, O-bi, o-ba: Koniec cywilizacji – postpiśmienny świat Piotra Szulkina [O-Bi, O-Ba: The End of Civilization – The Postliterate World of Piotr Szulkin]. „Przestrzenie Teorii” nr 32. Poznań 2019, Adam Mickiewicz University Press, pp. 273–284. ISSN 1644-6763. DOI 10.14746/pt.2019.32.14. Piotr Szulkin made his mark in the history of cinema primarily as the author of disturbing visions of the future. His four films made between 1979 and 1985 comprised the science-fiction tetralogy, which is still one of the greatest artistic achievements of this genre in Polish cinema. The subject of the article is the third production of Szulkin’s series – the post-apocalyptic film O-Bi, O-Ba: The End of Civilization from 1984. In the film, the director creates a suggestive vision of a world destroyed as a result of nuclear conflict, in which the original functions of literature and the written word are forgotten. The author article analyzes the way in which forsaken literary artifacts are used in the post-literary reality of the film. An important element of his considerations is also the post-apocalyptic reception of the biblical text, on whose elements the mythology of the film’s world is based

L.S.Filipowicz, 1983, Kartograficzaskoje modielirowanije tierritorialnych riekrieacyonnych sistiem, Izd. Nauka, Moskwa

Recenzja książki: L. S. Filippowicz, Kartograficzeskoje modielirowanije tierritorialych riekrieacyonnych sistiem, Izd. Nauka, Moskwa, 1983

Surface TLR2 and TLR4 Expression on Mature Rat Mast Cells Can Be Affected by Some Bacterial Components and Proinflammatory Cytokines

The aim of our study was to determine whether some bacterial components as well as some proinflammatory cytokines can affect surface mast cell levels. By the use of flow cytometry technique, we documented that freshly isolated mature rat peritoneal mast cells do express surface TLR2 and TLR4 protein, but not CD14 molecules, and respond to stimulation with TLR2 and TLR4 ligands by cysteinyl leukotriene generation. The level of TLR2 protein is modulated by PGN and CCL5 treatment, but not by LPS, LAM, TNF, or IL-6. Surface mast cell TLR4 expression is affected by LPS, LAM, IL-6, and CCL5. Considering that TLR-mediated activation conditions not only engaged these cells in antibacterial defense and development of inflammation but also might influence allergic processes, our observations that surface TLR2 and TLR4 expression can be regulated both bacterial components and proinflammatory cytokines seem to be very intriguing and importance

Genetic factors predisposing to the development of papillary thyroid cancer

Według klasycznej teorii nowotworzenia punktem wyjścia nowotworu jest komórka wysoko zróżnicowana, która wskutek zadziałania różnych czynników odróżnicowuje się, nabiera zdolności do niekontrolowanej proliferacji lub/i traci zdolność do ulegania apoptozie. Z kolei inna teoria dowodzi, że nowotwory (przynajmniej niektórych narządów) wywodzą się z komórek pnia, które „z definicji” są nisko zróżnicowane i Cechą charakterystyczną komórki nowotworowej jest niestabilność chromosomalna. Najmniejszą liczbę nieprawidłowości tego typu obserwuje się w wysoko zróżnicowanych rakach tarczycy, zwłaszcza w raku brodawkowatym, pośrednią - w rakach nisko zróżnicowanych i największą - w rakach anaplastycznych. Badania metodą mikromacierzy wykazują, że mimo znacznej klinicznej heterogenności raków brodawkowatych, profil ekspresji genów jest w nich bardzo podobny. Anomalie genetyczne, które usposabiają do powstawania raków brodawkowatych tarczycy, najczęściej dotyczą genów kodujących białka o aktywności kinazy. Kinazy fosforylujące inne białka odgrywają bardzo ważną rolę w procesie przekazywania sygnałów z zewnątrz komórki oraz w jej wnętrzu (transdukcja sygnału). Konstytutywna aktywacja niektórych kinaz prowadzić może do nadmiernego, ciągłego pobudzenia niektórych szlaków specyficznych dla mitogenów lub czynników wzrostowych. Skutkiem takiego działania jest nadmierna proliferacja. Najlepiej poznanym w rakach brodawkowatych tarczycy białkiem tego typu, którego funkcja jest zaburzona, jest RET - białko błonowe o aktywności kinazy tyrozynowej, będące receptorem czynników wzrostowych. W rakach brodawkowatych występują rearanżacje genu RET. Znanych jest około 10 różnych rearanżacji tego genu, najczęściej spotyka się RET/PTC3 i RET/PTC1. Polegają one na fuzji kodującego domenę o aktywności kinazy końca 3’ genu RET z końcem 5’ innego genu. Białko fuzyjne powstające na matrycy takiej hybrydy zlokalizowane jest nie w błonie komórkowej, ale w cytoplazmie i w sposób ciągły aktywuje szlak typowy dla RET. Podobnie rearanżacji ulega gen NTRK1 kodujący białko z rodziny receptorów neuronalnych czynników wzrostowych, również zawierające domenę o aktywności kinazy tyrozynowej. Jednakże geny, które ulegają fuzji z NTRK1 są inne niż te, które łączą się z RET. Z kolei MET, gen kodujący jeszcze inne białko błonowe o aktywności kinazy tyrozynowej, będące receptorem czynników wzrostowych, ulega nadekspresji w 70-90% raków brodawkowatych tarczycy. Gen BRAF kodujący kinazę przekazującą sygnał of RAS i RAF do wnętrza komórki jest zmutowany w pozycji 1796 (T/A, aminokwas V599E) w 38-69% raków brodawkowatych. Jest to mutacja aktywująca, a jej obecność kojarzy się z wyższym stopniem zaawansowania klinicznego nowotworu. Ponadto, w większości badanych raków brodawkowatych tarczycy znaleziono mutacje genów kodujących jądrowe receptory trijodotyroniny. U myszy transgenicznych z dominującymi-negatywnymi mutacjami obydwu alleli TRB rozwijają się raki tarczycy o złośliwym przebiegu. Progresja raka brodawkowatego do raka anaplastycznego najprawdopodobniej spowodowana jest wystąpieniem dodatkowych anomalii genetycznych dotyczących P53, RAS, genu β-kateniny, NM23 i innych genów. proliferacji. W takiej sytuacji mniejsza liczba anomalii genetycznych jest konieczna, by przestały działać mechanizmy kontrolujące szybkość podziałów komórkowych. W przypadku raka brodawkowatego tarczycy nadal uważa się, że jego punktem wyjścia jest wysoko zróżnicowany tyreocyt.According to classic theory of neogenesis, cancer arises from well-differentiated cell that in response to variety of factors de-differentiates, becomes able to proliferate without control and/or loses its ability to undergo apoptosis. According to another theory, cancers (at least cancers of some organs) originate from stem cells, which „by definition” are poorly differentiated and able to proliferate indefinitely. Therefore a lower number of abnormal events is necessary for these cells to escape proliferation-controlling mechanisms. With regard to papillary thyroid cancers it is still thought that it arises from well-differentiated thyreocyte. One of the characteristic features of cancer cell is chromosomal instability. Lowest number of such abnormalities is observed in well-differentiated thyroid cancers (including papillary cancer), intermediate – in poorly-differentiated cancers, while highest – in anaplastic cancers. Microarray analysis shows that despite of clinical heterogeneity, gene expression profiles of papillary cancers are very similar. Genetic anomalies predisposing to the development of papillary cancer most commonly regard proteins that possess kinase activity. Kinases phosphorylate other proteins, and play an extremely important role in signal transduction from outside the cell as well as inside the cell. Constitutive activation of some kinases may lead to the excessive and/or permanent activation of some transduction pathways specific for mitogens or growth factors. This results in excessive proliferation. The best known protein of such type which function is altered in papillary thyroid cancers is RET – a membrane-located growth factor-receptor with kinase activity. RET gene undergoes different rearrangements in this type of cancer. There are approximately 10 RET rearrangements known, with RET/PTC3 and RET/PTC1 being most common. In this anomaly kinase domain-encoding 3’ end of RET gene is aberrantly bound to 5’ end of another gene. Fusion protein synthesized on such hybrid template is not present in the cell membrane but in the cytoplasm, where it permanently activates transduction pathway specific for RET. NTRK1 gene encoding a member of family of neuronal growth factor receptors containing thyrosine kinase domain is also rearranged in papillary cancers. However, genes fused to its kinase domain-encoding sequence are different from the ones fused to RET. MET, a gene encoding another membrane protein with thyrosine kinase activity, which acts as a growth factor-receptor, is overexpressed in 70%-90% of papillary thyroid cancers. BRAF gene encoding another yet kinase transducing signals from RAS and RAF to the cell is mutated at position 1796 (T/A, amino acid substitution V599E) in 38-69% of papillary cancers. The presence of this activatory mutation is associated with higher degree of clinical advancement of the disease. In addition, in majority of papillary cancers tested, mutations of the genes encoding nuclear triiodothyronine receptors were found. Transgenic mice with both TRB allele replaced with dominant-negative TRB mutants develop aggressive thyroid cancers. Progression from papillary to anaplastic cancer is most possibly caused by the occurrence of additional anomalies within P53, RAS, NM23,b-catenin gene and other genes