Traditionally managed patch of Cladonia-Scots pine forest in the Biebrza valley – specifity of the protected forest community shaped by human activity

The path of Cladonia-Scots pine forest located on dune in Biebrza valley (NE Poland) was carefully studied in order to assess the influence of recently obsolescent selection cutting management on terrestrial lichen biota. Transect was located along the dune ridge crossing both lichen rich pine forests and other adjacent communities. Distinctive habitat patches were characterized by relevé. Within the relevé area measurements of cutting intensity and soil properties were carried out and soil samples were collected for laboratory analyses. It was found, that subsoil properties are rather similar on the whole dune, which indicates the main influence of management intensity on plant communities studied. All known development stages of Cladonio-Pinetum were observed. The characteristic lichen species preferred low organic horizon depth and low canopy closure. These factors are positively correlated with cutting intensity. The studied path was compared with other described patches of Cladonia-Scots pine in Poland and additional proposals of practices urgently needed to conserve these endangered habitat were given. In spite of already practiced slash removal, there are litter raking and complete cessation of clearcuts in favour of the selection cutting management are necessary for Cladonia-Scots pine forest conservation

Differential Levels of Stress Proteins (HSPs) in Male and Female Daphnia magna in Response to Thermal Stress: A Consequence of Sex-Related Behavioral Differences?

In two independent experiments, we compared: (1) water depth selection (and accompanying temperature selection) by male and female Daphnia magna under different kinds of environmental stress, including the presence of filamentous cyanobacteria, the risk of predation from fish, and the presence of toxic compounds; and (2) sex-dependent production of heat shock proteins (HSP60, 70, and 90) in response to a sudden change in temperature. Male D. magna selected deep water strata, which offer a relatively stable environment, and thereby avoided the threat of predation and the presence of toxic compounds in surface waters. Correlated with this behavior, males reduce their molecular defenses against stress, such as the production of heat shock proteins (HSPs), and do not maintain the physiological machinery that triggers an increase in HSP levels in response to stress. In contrast, female D. magna actively select habitats that offer optimal conditions for growth and production of offspring. Consequently, females are exposed to variable environmental conditions that may be associated with increased stress. To permit survival in these different habitats, D. magna females require molecular mechanisms to protect their cells from rapid changes in stress levels. Thus, they maintain high constitutive levels of the heat shock proteins from HSP 60, 70, and 90 families, and they have the potential to further enhance the production of the majority of these proteins under stress conditions. The results of this study indicate that the separate habitats selected by male and female D. magna result in different patterns of HSP production, leading us to hypothesize that that male and female Daphnia magna adopt different strategies to maximize the fitness of the species

Praktyka kliniczna oceny minimalnej choroby resztkowej u chorych na szpiczaka plazmocytowego w Polsce: badanie ankietowe Polskiego Konsorcjum Szpiczakowego

Studies exploring the significance of minimal residual disease (MRD) in plasma cell myeloma (PCM) have proven its prognostic value, regardless of the type of administered treatment. In order to assess the current practice for evaluating MRD in Poland, we conducted a survey on the methods for assessing MRD and on the MRD testing time points at Polish hematological centres. Seven out of 15 institutions surveyed use of the flow cytometry (FC) method for MRD assessment. The FC-MRD assessment is performed uniformly only in those patients achieving complete remission(CR). However, the specific indications and assessment time points differed at the tested centres including: testing MRD only after autologous hematopoietic stem cell transplantation (auto-HSCT), after auto-HSCT and consolidation, after completion of first line chemotherapy or after obtaining CR in any line of treatment. The study also showed considerable heterogeneity in the FC-MRD methodology, which affects test sensitivity (from 10–3 to 10–5). None of the surveyed centres uses molecular techniques for MRD assessment. In 8 of the 15 institutions, patients are monitored by imaging techniques. Our survey may thus be useful for developing guidelines and standardization of MRD assessment in PCM in Poland.W badaniach nad znaczeniem minimalnej choroby resztkowej (MRD) w szpiczaku plazmocytowym (PCM) dowiedziono, że status MRD ma wartość prognostyczną niezależnie od zastosowanego leczenia. W celu poznania zasad monitorowania MRD u chorych na PCM w polskich ośrodkach hematologicznych przeprowadzono badanie ankietowe. W ankiecie zadano pytania dotyczące stosowanych metod wykrywania MRD oraz punktów czasowych, w których badania są wykonywane. W 7 z 15 ośrodków objętych badaniem ankietowym oznaczenia MRD w PCM wykonuje się w aspiratach szpiku kostnego metodą cytometrii przepływowej (FC). We wszystkich ośrodkach oznaczenia FC-MRD są wykonywane jedynie u chorych w całkowitej remisji (CR), jednak w różnych punktach czasowych — tylko po autologicznym przeszczepieniu krwiotwórczych komórek macierzystych (allo-HSCT), po allo-HSCT i konsolidacji, po zakończeniu leczenia pierwszej linii lub, w przypadku uzyskania CR, po dowolnej linii leczenia. Stwierdzono ponadto znaczne różnice w sposobie wykonywania badania FC-MRD wpływające na osiąganą czułość detekcji MRD (od 10–3 do 10–5). W żadnym z ankietowanych ośrodków nie ocenia się MRD w szpiku kostnym technikami molekularnymi. Monitorowanie choroby resztkowej metodami obrazowymi stosuje personel 8 z 15 ośrodków. Wyniki przeprowadzonej ankiety mogą posłużyć wypracowaniu wspólnych wytycznych i standaryzacji oceny MRD w PCM w Polsce

Piotr Piotrowski Awangarda w cieniu Jałty. Sztuka w Europie środkowo-wschodniej w latach 1945–89 (Avant-Garde in the Shadow of Yalta. Art in East-Central Europe, 1945–1989) 2005.

Mieczysław Porębski, a distinguished Polish art historian of the 20th century, once expressed the demand for Polish art history to be researched simultaneously with foreign studies - as parallel fields. "We entered the research field of the old masters' art as partners in, so to say, a ‘furnished household', whereas in the field of contemporary art we are co-explorers, exploring a ‘virgin land'", as Porębski put it. The book by professor Piotr Piotrowski Awangarda w cieniu Jałty. Sztuka w Europie środkowo-wschodniej w latach 1945-89 (The Avant-Garde in the Shadow of Yalta. The Art in East-Central Europe, 1945-1989) fully accomplishes this demanding postulate which nowadays seems to be rather rarely remembered by Polish art historians. The explored area, the East-Central European countries, which emerged, as a result of the Yalta Conference, between the iron curtain and the border of The Soviet Union (including former Yugoslavia) appears at least as an ‘old maiden' land, where scientific penetration still seems to be necessary

Classical and quantum molecular dynamics in NMR spectra

The book provides a detailed account of how condensed-phase molecular dynamics are reflected in the line shapes of NMR spectra. The theories establishing connections between random, time-dependent molecular processes and lineshape effects are exposed in depth. Special emphasis is placed on the theoretical aspects, involving in particular intermolecular processes in solution, and molecular symmetry issues. The Liouville super-operator formalism is briefly introduced and used wherever it is beneficial for the transparency of presentation. The proposed formal descriptions of the discussed problems are sufficiently detailed to be implemented on a computer. Practical applications of the theory in solid- and liquid-phase studies are illustrated with appropriate experimental examples, exposing the potential of the lineshape method in elucidating molecular dynamics NMR-observable molecular phenomena where quantization of the spatial nuclear degrees of freedom is crucial are addressed in the last part of the book. As an introduction to this exciting research field, selected aspects of the quantum mechanics of isolated systems undergoing rotational tunnelling are reviewed, together with some basic information about quantum systems interacting with their condensed environment. The quantum theory of rate processes evidenced in the NMR lineshapes of molecular rotors is presented, and illustrated with appropriate experimental examples from both solid- and liquid-phase spectra. In this context, the everlasting problem of the quantum-to-classical transition is discussed at a quantitative level. The book will be suitable for graduate students and new and practising researchers using NMR techniques