Eternal Note of Sadness

This collection of poems and short stories is an attempt to answer what Matthew Arnold calls the eternal note of sadness. The thesis contains poems, two short stories, and one personal narrative. While each of these can be read with different interpretive slants, I choose here to show how each work in this collection is a response to the eternal note of sadness. The poems and personal narrative in the first part of this collection are concerned with the writer\u27s quest, and l will go into depth discussing each of these poems and the narrative because I think they directly relate back to my understanding of the poet\u27s duty. This section is followed by a collection of poems in the section, Nature\u27s Melody. Also in this section is the short story, Leaving, which uses imagery from nature (i.e. falling leaves) to further cement the idea of separation. This story also looks at the sadness inherent in a broken mother/daughter relationship. Furthering the relationship theme is the next section, Playing in the Band. These poems look at the brokenness of several different relationships in an effort to ask how much we really know one another. The last section of poems and one short story are labeled Caught. These poems are concerned with catching and holding the note of sadness long enough to realize it in these particular instances. The short story is Neff Road Pier. This short story examines a teen caught between relationships and loneliness

G-CSF Prevents the Progression of Structural Disintegration of White Matter Tracts in Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis: A Pilot Trial

Background: The hematopoietic protein Granulocyte-colony stimulating factor (G-CSF) has neuroprotective and regenerative properties. The G-CSF receptor is expressed by motoneurons, and G-CSF protects cultured motoneuronal cells from apoptosis. It therefore appears as an attractive and feasible drug candidate for the treatment of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). The current pilot study was performed to determine whether treatment with G-CSF in ALS patients is feasible.Methods: Ten patients with definite ALS were entered into a double-blind, placebo-controlled, randomized trial. Patients received either 10 mu g/kg BW G-CSF or placebo subcutaneously for the first 10 days and from day 20 to 25 of the study. Clinical outcome was assessed by changes in the ALS functional rating scale (ALSFRS), a comprehensive neuropsychological test battery, and by examining hand activities of daily living over the course of the study (100 days). The total number of adverse events (AE) and treatment-related AEs, discontinuation due to treatment-related AEs, laboratory parameters including leukocyte, erythrocyte, and platelet count, as well as vital signs were examined as safety endpoints. Furthermore, we explored potential effects of G-CSF on structural cerebral abnormalities on the basis of voxel-wise statistics of Diffusion Tensor Imaging (DTI), brain volumetry, and voxel-based morphometry.Results: Treatment was well-tolerated. No significant differences were found between groups in clinical tests and brain volumetry from baseline to day 100. However, DTI analysis revealed significant reductions of fractional anisotropy (FA) encompassing diffuse areas of the brain when patients were compared to controls. On longitudinal analysis, the placebo group showed significant greater and more widespread decline in FA than the ALS patients treated with G-CSF.Conclusions: Subcutaneous G-CSF treatment in ALS patients appears as feasible approach. Although exploratory analysis of clinical data showed no significant effect, DTI measurements suggest that the widespread and progressive microstructural neural damage in ALS can be modulated by G-CSF treatment. These findings may carry significant implications for further clinical trials on ALS using growth factors

SCHOOLS OF HIGHER EDUCATION VERSUS LOCAL LABOUR MARKET. THE CASE OF SCHOOL BIAŁAPODLASKA

The State Professional Schools of Higher Education constitute an important sector of higher education in Poland. They are the results of the transformation process of the last decade of the 20th century. Since 1999, 36 public professional schools have been organized. After consolidation, there are 33 state professional schools which concentrate on educational activity, however some at them conduct research and other academic activity. The main aim of the paper is an evaluation of the functioning of this type of schools in the context of local labour market on the case of Pope John Paul II State School of Higher Education in Biała Podlaska, which for several years has been the leading organization in higher education sector in Poland. Sources of materials for research were found in literature, official documents of the school and own diagnostic survey with the use of questionnaires directed to 15 teachers, 105 students and 21 business representatives, which were subsequently analysed. Research results proved that there are some discrepancies between demand and supply on the local labour market in the group of higher education sector. Comparing to the educational fields offered by the State School of Higher Education in Biała Podlaska, there is a shortage of workers in such professions as: IT specialists, physiotherapists, construction engineers while the excess of supply exists for foreign language teachers, sociologists, economists, tourism servants, agricultural engineers. In conclusion, a stronger links between professional schools, enterprises and local organisations are suggested. Implementation of practical profile of students requires some changes in curricula as well as in the system of cooperation between schools and regional labour markets.

Analysis of the blast-induced vibration structure in open-cast mines

Blasting in opencast mines is characterized by the use of large masses of explosives for a single blast. Blasting is done in a series of several to tens or even hundreds of charges placed in long holes and fired with a millisecond delay. Works are often carried out in the vicinity of buildings; therefore, reducing vibration impact is essential for opencast mines. This paper presents the applicability of the method of time-frequency Matching Pursuit (MP) for analysis of vibration structure. The use of MP analysis enables the development of much deeper and more reliable impact assessments of blasting on the environment

Opening up ZSM-5 hierarchical zeolite's porosity through sequential treatments for improved low-density polyethylene cracking

An adequately tuned acid wash of hierarchical ZSM-5 zeolites offers a levelling up in the catalytic cracking of low-density polyethylene. Identification of crucial and limiting factors governing the activity of the zeolite was extended with studies about the accessibility of acid sites, nature of the realuminated layer and role of Lewis acid sites. The sequential treatment of a ZSM-5 zeolite offered enhanced activity in low-density polyethylene (LDPE) cracking at low and high conversions, as confirmed by a decrease in the temperatures needed to reach 20% and 80% conversion (T20 and T80, respectively). A linear dependence of the T80 on the coupled IHF (indexed hierarchy factor) and AFB (accessibility factor) highlighted the importance of the textural and acidic parameters in the catalytic cracking of LDPE. Operando FT-IR-GC studies confirmed a higher fraction of short-chain hydrocarbons (C3–C5) in the product distribution of hierarchical catalysts resulting from the effective polymer cracking in easily accessible pores

Le généticien en mosaïste

L’histoire de l’édition de luxe de 1920 d’À l’ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs et de ses planches a déjà été relatée. Nous avons choisi le terme « planches » (plutôt que celui de « placards » qui porte à confusion) pour désigner les feuilles de grand format insérées dans chaque exemplaire de cette édition, sur lesquelles une dactylographe de Gallimard colla en 1918 des fragments découpés des manuscrits et des épreuves d’À l’ombre des jeunes filles en fleurs. Elle a morcelé à la fois le manus..