A Deleuzian reading of spatial dependencies in the poetry of Mikolaj Sep Szarzynski

In this study, I have selected two primary notions of the fold and two floors from Deleuze’s work ‘The Fold. Leibniz and the Baroque’ and have applied them to the 17th-century poet, Mikołaj Sęp Szarzyński. My methodological approach allows me to present Sęp Szarzyński’s poetry through the prism of various spatial relations and their mutual dependencies on many different levels. Space is crucial for the images which the poet employs in his works. In Part I I focus on the idea of movement presented by motifs of death and Fortune as well as rhetorical devices. In Part II I depict the image of the universe emerging from the analysed poems. In Part III I examine the topos of the labyrinth. In this respect Sęp Szarzyński’s sense of space is extraordinary. In his poetic world he created an alienated, abstract, colourless space, offering multiple dependencies between phenomena, concepts and ideas. Everything in this world seems to be in a state of perpetual aporia, a dynamic impasse which offers no simple answers or solutions leaving much space for infinite folds. Even the poetic form and syntax reflect this unusual rendering of space. The poetic space of Sęp Szarzyński is filled with folds which appear between phenomena and links them in human existence

From consensus to skepticism? : attitudes of Polish Society towards European Integration

Public opinion surveys conducted in Poland systematically since 2001 confirmed a high, more than 80-per cent, support for our membership in the EU structures. While the need for Poland's membership in the European Union has never been questioned, the issue of the development of European integration has aroused controversy and is still a cause of dispute. The hypothesis of the paper bases on two statements: (1) Polish society attitude towards European integration is more skeptical than would be apparent from the data on general support for EU membership, (2.) Current government, which has established Euroscepticism as the main direction of its foreign policy does not diverge from the mood and social expectations

Why did "the domino effect" not reach Algeria? : limitations and prospects of socio-political transformation

The year 2011 will be one of the most memorable in the modern Arab history because of the wave of revolutions which led to the overthrow of long ruling autocrats in Egypt, Tunisia, Yemen and Libya. Algeria is so far the only country in North Africa that has not experienced sustained mass protests calling for a political change. This paper intends to explain why the Arab Spring has not spread to Algeria? This question becomes apparent bearing in mind that Algeria shares the same explosive factors that have provoked mass revolutions in the neighbouring countries: corruption, disproportion in the regional development, pauperization of society and the lack of civil and political rights. There are several explanations for this "immunity to revolution". First - the fragmentation of Algerian opposition. Second - the fear of the return to the violence which Algerians have lived in for 50 years owing to two brutal conflicts - the war of independence and the civil war of the 90s. Third - the announcement of a raft of political and constitutional reforms by the present regime. Third - the announcement of a raft of political and constitutional reforms by the present regime. Finally, the social peace was brought by the promise to resolve Algeria's long-lasting economic problems starting with unemployment, the promise of implementation of the structural reforms and especially the direct and indirect transfers of public money (rise of salaries, subvention of basic commodities etc.)

Direct participation of higher education institution employees in the organisational change process: study report

Motivation: Changes in the organization’s environment require its adjustment through the process of organisational change. For changes to bring expected, positive results, it is recommended that all employees be involved. Employee direct participation is one of the most effective methods of winning them for change and making them favour changes in the form of cooperation, engagement and reduction of resistance. In the literature, there are not too much studies focused on employee direct participation in the organisational change process at universities. Therefore, this area seems to be an interesting research field.Aim: The objective of this study is to analyse the process of change of organisational structure (number of departments) at a faculty of a higher education institution in the Pomeranian Province, in terms of the direct participation of research and academic staff and teaching staff in this process. The study was conducted using quantitative methods (a questionnaire). The study sample (the faculty and its employees) was selected intentionally due to the usefulness of data sources.Results: It was found that the selected employees participate in the change cycle in a limited way, with indifference and resistance being main attitudes to that change. Research results suggest that the causes of that state include autocratic style of management on the part of change designers, little time devoted to involve employees in the process, and negative atmosphere caused by staff rotation (dominant internal factor)

Transcriptomic profiling of human breast and melanoma cells selected by migration through narrow constraints

The metastatic spread of cancer cells is a step-wise process that starts with dissociation from primary tumours and local invasion of adjacent tissues. The ability to invade local tissues is the product of several processes, including degradation of extracellular matrices (ECM) and movement of tumour cells through physically-restricting gaps. To identify properties contributing to tumour cells squeezing through narrow gaps, invasive MDA-MB-231 human breast cancer and MDA-MB-435 human melanoma cells were subjected to three successive rounds of selection using cell culture inserts with highly constraining 3 μm pores. For comparison purposes, flow cytometry was also employed to enrich for small diameter MDA-MB-231 cells. RNA-Sequencing (RNA-seq) using the Illumina NextSeq 500 platform was undertaken to characterize how gene expression differed between parental, invasive pore selected or small diameter cells. Gene expression results obtained by RNA-seq were validated by comparing with RT-qPCR. Transcriptomic data generated could be used to determine how alterations that enable cell passage through narrow spaces contribute to local invasion and metastasis

Niedokończona dekolonizacja Sahary Zachodniej : historia i perspektywy rozstrzygnięcia konfliktu

The Western Sahara conflict is both one of the world’s oldest and one of its most neglected. It started in 1976 by the Moroccan annexation of the northern two-thirds of Western Sahara (formerly Spanish Sahara) and the rest of the territory in 1979, following Mauritania’s withdrawal. A guerrilla war between the pro-independence Polisario Front, contesting Rabat’s sovereignty and the Kingdom of Morocco ended in a 1991 thanks to the United Nations- sponsored cease-fire. From that time on, the two parties had not exchanged fire but also UN efforts to hold a referendum of self-determination in the territory had been repeatedly postponed. The main point of dispute between Morocco and Polisario concerns the list of Saharawis (inhabitants of Western Sahara) allowed to participate in any future plebiscite. Moreover, intensive mediation efforts by former United States Secretary of State James A. Baker providing for a measure of local autonomy under Moroccan rule, as well as a modified autonomy plan presented to the UN Security Council in May 2003 and finally “Moroccan initiative for negotiating an autonomy statute for the Sahara Region” presented in April 2008 were rejected by either or both sides in conflict. A little progress in resolving this regional stalemate, make a diplomatic solution in Western Sahara all the more unlikely. Whereas, this long-running dispute has the human, economic and political costs for the countries directly involved, the region and the whole international community. The awareness of these aspects of the dispute should contribute to the increase of efforts aimed at resolving Western Sahara issue

Geopolityczne uwarunkowania bezpieczeństwa w regionie Sahelu

Sahel jest regionem o strategicznym znaczeniu. Z punktu widzenia geograficznego stanowi granicę między „białą Afryką Północną" i „czarną Afryką Subsaharyjską". Z punktu widzenia politycznego to obszar, w którym zderzają się interesy państw i społeczeństw subregionu, aktorów zewnętrznych tak państwowych (Chiny, USA, Francja), jak i niepaństwowych (Al-Quaida). W regionie Sahelu krzyżują się międzynarodowe szlaki przemytu narkotyków, broni, nielegalnego transferu ludzi przez Maghreb do Europy. Mając na względzie bezpieczeństwo międzynarodowe, nie bez znaczenia pozostaje fakt, że niedostępne, trudne do kontroli tereny sahelo-saharyjskie są infiltrowane przez ugrupowania radykalnego islamu. Artykuł prezentuje występujące w Sahelu czynniki wpływające na bezpieczeństwo regionalne i międzynarodowe. Zwrócono uwagę na czynniki ekonomiczne, polityczne, społeczne determinujące słabość państw subregionu. Dalsza część artykułu zawiera analizę programów administracji USA podejmowanych wobec regionu, wpisujących się w program „globalnej wojny z terroryzmem".The Sahel is a region of strategic importance. From the geographical point of view, it marks the boundary between "White North Africa" and "Black Sub-Saharan Africa". From the political point of view, it is an area where various interests collide - those of the states and communities of the subregion, as well as those of external actors, both states parties (China, USA, France) and non-states parties (Al-Qaeda). International drug, illegal arms, and human trafficking routes into Europe via Maghreb cross in the Sahel region. Taking into consideration the issue of international security, it is important to highlight that radical Islamic groups operate in the inaccessible and difficult to control Sahelo-Saharan desert. The article discusses factors present in the Sahel that have an impact on regional and international security. The main attention is paid to economic, political and social factors which determine the weakness of the Sahel states. The paper also includes an analysis of the US administration's programmes implemented in the region, which are part of the "Global War on Terrorism" campaign.Сахель - это регион стратегического значения. С географической точки зрения он представляет собой границу между «белой Северной Африкой» и «черной Африкой южнее Сахары». В политическом аспекте это территория, на которой сталкиваются интересы стран и общественных групп субрегиона, внешних игроков как государственных (Китай, США, Франция), так и негосударственных (Аль-Каида). В регионе Сахель пересекаются международные маршруты контрабанды наркотиков, оружия, переброски незаконных мигрантов через территорию Магриба в Европу. Учитывая международную безопасность, не следует забывать о том, что недоступные, трудно контролируемые области сахело-сахарского региона подвергаются инфильтрации со стороны исламских радикальных групп. В статье представлены встречающиеся в Сахеле факторы, которые влияют на региональную и международную безопасность. Указаны экономические, политические, социальные факторы, обуславливающие слабость государств субрегиона. В дальнейшей части статьи представлен анализ государственных программ США в сахельском регионе, которые составляют часть американской стратегии «глобальной войны с терроризмом»

How do (perceptual) distracters distract?

When a target stimulus occurs in the presence of distracters, decisions are less accurate. But how exactly do distracters affect choices? Here, we explored this question using measurement of human behaviour, psychophysical reverse correlation and computational modelling. We contrasted two models: one in which targets and distracters had independent influence on choices (independent model) and one in which distracters modulated choices in a way that depended on their similarity to the target (interaction model). Across three experiments, participants were asked to make fine orientation judgments about the tilt of a target grating presented adjacent to an irrelevant distracter. We found strong evidence for the interaction model, in that decisions were more sensitive when target and distracter were consistent relative to when they were inconsistent. This consistency bias occurred in the frame of reference of the decision, that is, it operated on decision values rather than on sensory signals, and surprisingly, it was independent of spatial attention. A normalization framework, where target features are normalized by the expectation and variability of the local context, successfully captures the observed pattern of results

The impact of type 1 diabetes on the development of the craniofacial mineralised tissues (bones and teeth): literature review

  Background: There are many reports on the impact of diabetes on periodontium as well as the state of organs in diabetics; however, there is little research on the impact of the disease on morphological and anatomical changes in the mineralised tissues like teeth and craniofacial bones. The aim of this study was to present a review of literature on morphological and anatomical changes of mineralised tissues in the course of type 1 diabetes. Materials and methods: A review of PubMed database was made using the keywords: morphological changes, anatomical changes, enamel hypoplasia, type 1 diabetes, induced diabetes and the names of individual anatomical and morphological structures of the teeth. Results: The analysis of experimental studies have shown that in induced type 1 diabetes in rats there is a substantial reduction in the thickness of the enamel and dentin, compared with the control group. The changes in the content of indivi­dual minerals in the tissues of the tooth have been shown — a decrease in the concentration of calcium and fluoride ions and an increase in the concentration of magnesium. In a study conducted on embryos of rats born of diabetic dams, defects were observed in enamel organ, which can cause delayed enamel hypo­plasia. Literature analysis revealed morphological disorders also in some clinical cases of patients with type 1 diabetes. Conclusions: Type 1 diabetes mellitus as a metabolic disorder may affect changes in the structure of mineralised tissues, thereby increasing their susceptibility to caries development and orthognathic disorders

Direct participation of higher education institution employees in the organisational change process: study report

Motivation: Changes in the organization’s environment require its adjustment through the process of organisational change. For changes to bring expected, positive results, it is recommended that all employees be involved. Employee direct participation is one of the most effective methods of winning them for change and making them favour changes in the form of cooperation, engagement and reduction of resistance. In the literature, there are not too much studies focused on employee direct participation in the organisational change process at universities. Therefore, this area seems to be an interesting research field.Aim: The objective of this study is to analyse the process of change of organisational structure (number of departments) at a faculty of a higher education institution in the Pomeranian Province, in terms of the direct participation of research and academic staff and teaching staff in this process. The study was conducted using quantitative methods (a questionnaire). The study sample (the faculty and its employees) was selected intentionally due to the usefulness of data sources.Results: It was found that the selected employees participate in the change cycle in a limited way, with indifference and resistance being main attitudes to that change. Research results suggest that the causes of that state include autocratic style of management on the part of change designers, little time devoted to involve employees in the process, and negative atmosphere caused by staff rotation (dominant internal factor).</p