Poola poliitiline huumor

This article is a survey of the most important communicative phenomena in the contemporary Polish political humour. It is also an attempt to describe political humour from a theoretical point of view and to compare it with political jokes from a period of the Polish People’s Republic (PRL). This article mainly describes amusing statements of contemporary politicians that were primarily used as the means of a political polemic, and secondarily after having been popularised by journalists (due to their comic content), achieved a status of “winged words” and appeared in various intertextual variants of the public and colloquial discourse

Ja wiem, że to przedmowa

Stanisław Barańczak’s collection I Know It’s Not Right (Ja wiem, że to niesłuszne), published as samizdat in 1978, included a preface by Adam Michnik. The article analyses this preface and attempts to determine itsaddressee and understand the author’s intentions

The structure and the formation of egg shells in the parthenogenetic species Dactylobiotus dispar Murray, 1907 (Tardigrada: Eutardigrada)

The eggs of Dactylobiotus dispar, similar to other Tardigrada eggs, are covered with two shells: the vitelline envelope and the chorion. Ultrastructural studies have shown that the oocyte actively participates in the formation of both shells. The process of egg capsule formation begins at the midpoint of vitellogenesis. The chorion at first appears as isolated cones resulting from the exocytotic activity of the oocyte and the ovarian epithelium. Subsequently, connections between the cones are formed. Three layers can be distinguished in the completely developed chorion: (1) the inner layer of medium electron density; (2) the middle, labyrinthine layer; (3) the outer layer of medium electron density with cones (future conical processes). After chorion formation, a vitelline envelope is secreted by the oocyte. The Dactylobiotus dispar egg is covered with small, conical processes with hooked tips. The surface of the chorion is covered with a mesh-like network consisting of elongated interstices. The egg capsule has no micropylar opening

Structure and ultrastructure of the egg capsule of Thermobia domestica (Packard) (Insecta, Zygentoma)

Eggs of Thermobia domestica (Packard) were collected from a laboratory culture. They were prepared for analysis in light and electron microscopes (TEM, SEM). A few hours after oviposition the egg capsule starts to tarnish and changes its colour to brown. Polygonic shapes on its surface can be seen. The egg capsule consists of a thin vitelline envelope and the chorion. The chorion consists of a one-layered endochorion and a three-layered exochorion. There are minor and major mushroom-like structures placed on the surface of the chorion. Their function is proposed. One micropyle is observed on the anterior pole of the egg. The micropylar opening is formed on the process of a follicular cell

Analysis of Encystment, Excystment, and Cyst Structure in Freshwater Eutardigrade Thulinius ruffoi (Tardigrada, Isohypsibioidea: Doryphoribiidae)

Encystment in tardigrades is relatively poorly understood. It is seen as an adaptive strategy evolved to withstand unfavorable environmental conditions. This process is an example of the epigenetic, phenotypic plasticity which is closely linked to the molting process. Thulinius ruffoi is a freshwater eutardigrade and a representative of one of the biggest eutardigrade orders. This species is able to form cysts. The ovoid-shaped cysts of this species are known from nature, but cysts may also be obtained under laboratory conditions. During encystment, the animals undergo profound morphological changes that result in cyst formation. The animals surround their bodies with cuticles that isolate them from the environment. These cuticles form a cuticular capsule (cyst wall) which is composed of three cuticles. Each cuticle is morphologically distinct. The cuticles that form the cuticular capsule are increasingly simplified. During encystment, only one, unmodified and possibly functional buccal-pharyngeal apparatus was found to be formed. Apart from the feeding apparatus, the encysted specimens also possess a set of claws, and their body is covered with its own cuticle. As a consequence, the encysted animals are fully adapted to the active life after leaving the cyst capsule

The role of autophagy in the midgut epithelium of Parachela (Tardigrada)

The process of cell death has been detected in the midgut epithelium of four tardigrade species which belong to Parachela: Macrobiotus diversus, Macrobiotus polonicus, Hypsibius dujardini and Xerobiotus pseudohufelandi. They originated from different environments so they have been affected by different stressors: M. polonicus was extracted from a moss sample collected from a railway embankment; M. diversus was extracted from a moss sample collected from a petrol station; X. pseudohufelandi originated from sandy and dry soil samples collected from a pine forest; H. dujardini was obtained commercially but it lives in a freshwater or even in wet terrestrial environment. Autophagy is caused in the digestive cells of the midgut epithelium by different factors. However, a distinct crosstalk between autophagy and necrosis in tardigrades’ digestive system has been described at the ultrastructural level. Apoptosis has not been detected in the midgut epithelium of analyzed species. We also determined that necrosis is the major process that is responsible for the degeneration of the midgut epithelium of tardigrades, and “apoptosis–necrosis continuum” which is the relationship between these two processes, is disrupted

Slash. Uri Caine’s Mahler

In recent years, artistic projects combining a wide array of musical styles, such as jazz interpretations of classical music or orchestral arrangements of rock songs, have enjoyed considerable popularity. As their authors were focused mainly on sales profits, the artistic value of their works was often highly disputable. Nevertheless, some outstanding achievements in that field have also been made, among them reinterpretations of classical repertoire - Bach, Beethoven, Mozart, Schumann, and, above all, Mahler - by American pianist Uri Caine. He recorded several CDs containing new versions of Mahler’s entire works or their excerpts. Sometimes Caine’s music moves far away from the originals, though such artistic experiments are always well-grounded and aesthetically convincing. Caine’s reinterpretations of Mahler have also some (auto)biographical overtones

Anthropomorphised freshly pickled gherkins. Attempts at the poem Behind glass

The last volume of poetry by Stanisław Barańczak, titled Chirurgiczna precyzja (Surgical precision) features the poem Za szkłem (Behind glass). It is an extremely ironic and ambiguous work. The interpretation provided in this paper points to the exceptional importance of this text for Barańczak’s poetry as a whole

Przestrzenie słowno-obrazowe w propagandowych drukach ulotnych lat 1918–1939. Próba analizy w świetle lingwistyki tekstowej i teorii wizualności

The article tackles the issue of verbal and non-verbal means of persuasion which appear in propaganda pamphlets of the interwar period. In the analysis, tools of text and multimodal linguistics, were used to sketch the communicative strategies aimed at persuasion which appear in propaganda texts from the studied period. In addition to linguistic means of persuasion, typography plays a special role in these texts. On the one hand, it reflects the characteristics of mass communication and logovisual genres of verbal creation of the period in question, on the other hand, the relationship between the verbal code of a text and its spatial, graphic organization. The article describes the mechanisms of visualization and graphization of meanings and paths of reading contained in the verbal layer of the message. Typography is understood in this article as an important component of the multimodal message.Artykuł podejmuje tematykę werbalnych i niewerbalnych środków perswazji, które pojawiają się w propagandowych drukach ulotnych dwudziestolecia międzywojennego. W analizie wykorzystano narzędzia lingwistyki tekstowej i multimodalnej, aby zarysować strategie komunikacyjne o charakterze perswazyjnym, które ujawniają się w tekstach propagandowych badanego okresu. Szczególną rolę – poza językowymi środkami o charakterze nakłaniającym – odgrywa w tych tekstach typografia. Z jednej strony odzwierciedla ona cechy komunikacji masowej i logowizualnych gatunków twórczości słownej badanego okresu, z drugiej zaś – relacje między kodem werbalnym tekstu a jego przestrzenną, graficzną organizacją. W artykule opisano mechanizmy wizualizacji i grafizacji znaczeń i ścieżek lektury zawartych w warstwie werbalnej przekazu. Typografia rozumiana jest w tym artykule jako ważny składnik przekazu multimodalnego

Znaczenie cech temperamentu dla zaangażowania młodzieży w używanie alkoholu

The Significance of temperament traits to young people’s alcohol use involvementPrevious research based on Jan Strelaus (2006) Regulative Theory of Temperament (RTT) shows that energetic traits of temperament and non-harmonization of its structure are of particular signifi cance to the risk of development of problems with alcohol drinking in late adolescents and young adults. The purpose of this study was to verify the results of previous research. The degree of alcohol use involvement constituted the variable explained, whereas  temperament traits and their structure constituted the predictor variables. The degree of alcohol use involvement was measured with the use of Ryszard Poprawa’s (2013) Alcohol Use Scale (AUS). Temperament traits according to RTT were measured with the use of Bogdan Zawadzki and Jan Strelau’s (1997) Formal Characteristics of Behaviour – Temperament Inventory (FCB-TI). A sample of 208 adolescents and young adults at the age of 16 to 20 years old were interviewed. As a result of a multiple regression analysis, two sex-dependent models of the AUS temperamental predictor were selected. The temperamental variables determine the AUS results to a greater degree when it comes to young men rather than women. Together with the lower sensory sensitivity, emotional reactivity and endurance, and higher activity in men comes their deeper alcohol use involvement. Together with the higher activity and emotional reactivity, and lower sensory sensitivity in women comes their deeper alcohol use involvement. Based on the cluster analysis, there were selected groups of young men and women whose structure of temperament traits on the one hand predispose them to deep alcohol use involvement and on the other hand might protect them against risky involvement . In contrast to previous research, it was proved that low sensory sensitivity is of crucial importance to the degree of alcohol use involvement. It has not been fully proved that the lack of temperament structure harmonization has any particular significance to the risk of addiction in young women