Relaxation under outflow dynamics with random sequential updating

In this paper we compare the relaxation in several versions of the Sznajd model (SM) with random sequential updating on the chain and square lattice. We start by reviewing briefly all proposed one dimensional versions of SM. Next, we compare the results obtained from Monte Carlo simulations with the mean field results obtained by Slanina and Lavicka . Finally, we investigate the relaxation on the square lattice and compare two generalizations of SM, one suggested by Stauffer and another by Galam. We show that there are no qualitative differences between these two approaches, although the relaxation within the Galam rule is faster than within the well known Stauffer rule.Comment: 9 figure

Ocena przebiegu klinicznego u chorych z ostrą zatorowością płucną i skrzeplinami w jamach prawego serca. Doświadczenia jednego ośrodka

Introduction. Assessment of the clinical course of patients with acute pulmonary embolism (PE) and a right heart thrombus (RiHT). Material and methods. The analysis included 13 consecutive patients with echocardiographically detected RiHT and acute PE who were treated in our department. The endpoints were 30-day all-cause mortality and 30-day acute PE-related mortality. When a clear alternative cause of death was reported, a non-acute PE-related death was diagnosed and this contributed to 30-day all-cause mortality. All other fatalities were classified as related to acute PE. Results. High risk acute PE was diagnosed in 4 of 13 patients, and intermediate risk acute PE was diagnosed in the remaining 9 patients. Thrombolysis was the first-choice treatment in 4 (31%) patients, 6 (46%) patients were only anticoagulated, and the remaining 3 (23%) patients underwent surgical treatment. The main indication for embolectomy was RiHT entrapped in a patent foramen ovale (PFO). Two patients died during the first 30 days; they were hemodynamically unstable and deaths occurred within 48 hours since the diagnosis. No hemodynamically stable patients died within 30 days since the diagnosis. Conclusions. Thirty-day mortality in patients with RiHT depended mostly on the patient’s clinical condition and was not related to the presence or morphology of the thrombus. Patients with shock or hypotension may possibly benefit more from primary invasive treatment compared to drug therapy.Wstęp. Ocena przebiegu klinicznego chorych z ostrą zatorowością płucną (PE) i skrzeplinami w jamach prawej części serca (RiHT) diagnozowanych i leczonych w jednym ośrodku. Materiał i metody. Analizą objęto kolejnych 13 chorych ze stwierdzoną echokardiograficznie RiHT i ostrą PE leczonych w klinice autorów. Punktem końcowym była 30-dniowa śmiertelność całkowita oraz zależna od ostrej PE. Zgony niezwiązane z ostrą PE rozpoznawano, jeżeli występowały inne jednoznaczne przyczyny. W innych sytuacjach zgony zakwalifikowano jako związane z ostrą PE. Wyniki. U 4 spośród 13 chorych z ostrą PE i RiHT rozpoznano ostrą PE wysokiego ryzyka, u pozostałych 9 osób rozpoznano ostrą PE pośredniego ryzyka. Jako leczenie pierwszego wyboru trombolizę zastosowano u 4 (31%) chorych, wyłączne leczenie przeciwzakrzepowe wybrano u 6 (46%) osób, natomiast zabieg kardiochirurgiczny przeprowadzono u 3 (23%) chorych z RiHT i ostrą PE — wskazaniem do jego wykonania była skrzeplina wklinowana w drożny otwór owalny (PFO). W ciągu 30 dni zmarło 2 chorych (15%) — były to osoby niestabilne hemodynamicznie. W ciągu 30 dni od rozpoznania nie zmarł nikt spośród chorych w stanie stabilnym, a większość zgonów nastąpiła w trakcie pierwszych 48 h hospitalizacji. Wnioski. Śmiertelność 30-dniowa u chorych z RiHT zależy głównie od stanu klinicznego. Osoby z niedociśnieniem lub wstrząsem mogą odnieść większą korzyść z pierwotnego leczenia inwazyjnego niż z leczenia farmakologicznego

Seventeen years of prenatal magnetic resonance imaging at the Institute of Mother and Child in Warsaw

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to summarise and to present the experience of the main Polish centre for prenatal magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and to discuss the place and role of MRI in antenatal diagnosis, management, and counselling. Material and methods: Retrospective analysis of the examinations performed in the years 2001-2017. Results: In total, 1221 medical records and/or image files were collected. The full documentation of ultrasonography and MRI referrals, reports, and images was not available in every case. During the first three years 98 pregnant women were examined (approximately 33 per year, one study per fortnight). After purchase of own MR scanner, the number of examinations grew constantly, reaching 208 in 2017, which means almost one per day, and the highest number was eight in one day. We examined 45 pairs of twins, including three pairs of conjoined twins. Conclusions: MRI at our Institute is a practically used second-line foetal imaging tool, necessary to confirm, complete, or correct sonographic diagnoses, with important impact on clinical decisions concerning management of pregnancy and of the neonate, termination of pregnancy, choice of the time, place, and mode of delivery, and neonatal care, as well as on counselling. In experienced hands, MRI is to date the last and the best non-invasive method of diagnosis in utero. It is frequently requested by the interdisciplinary team for foetal diagnosis and therapy and routinely performed in everyday practice

Zagrożenia zdrowotne wśród dzieci i młodzieży. T. 1

Praca recenzowana / Peer-reviewed pape

Wady wymowy oraz trudności w czytaniu i pisaniu u dorosłych z niepełnosprawnością intelektualną w stopniu umiarkowanym

The article discusses speech defects and reading and writing difficulties in persons with moderate intellectual disability. The analysis of the problems is based on studies conducted by one of the authors in a seven-person group of intellectually disabled adults. The subjects were presented with three tasks. The first task evaluated the motor skills of speech organs. The objective of the second task was to assess articulation skills. For this purpose, a questionnaire to test pronunciation was used. It consisted of a hundred pictures. The names of the objects shown in the pictures enabled the investigation of articulation of all sounds in each of the possible positions in a word. The last part of the investigation (task three) was a multifaceted assessment of reading and writing difficulties. The collected empirical data also enabled the attempt to answer the question whether among the problems of mentally handicapped persons there is a relationship between articulation difficulties and mistakes appearing in reading and writing.Key words: speech defects, reading and writing difficulties, moderate intellectual disabilit

„Czasy nadchodzą nowe”: rekonstrukcja nowej roli strategicznego HR managera

Much has been said about elevating the HRMgt function to strategic levels. Adopting a more evidence-based approach through the use of data analytics is considered an important driver in this direction. This provides a more potent decision-making resource that enables less biased and harder evidence which ultimately is more convincing. But will Strategic HRMgt adopting data-driven strategies require people in the profession to adopt new skills? This exploratory project is work-in-progress and presents initial interview results. Interviewees report that the use of HRMgt data analytics can certainly improve the strategic value of HR and that while the use of data can drive HR decisions more convincingly, HRMgt itself cannot be reduced or substituted by data. The participants also reported that HR professionals would require learning new skills, amongst them IT, analysis and interpretation of data. The project aims to eventually draw a number of attributes or skill-sets to this effect.peer-reviewe

“The times they are-a-changin”: Reconstructing the new role of the strategic HR manager

Much has been said about elevating the HRMgt function to strategic levels. Adopting a more evidence-based approach through the use of data analytics is considered an important driver in this direction. This provides a more potent decision-making resource that enables less biased and harder evidence which ultimately is more convincing. But will Strategic HRMgt adopting data-driven strategies require people in the profession to adopt new skills? This exploratory project is work-in-progress and presents initial interview results. Interviewees report that the use of HRMgt data analytics can certainly improve the strategic value of HR and that while the use of data can drive HR decisions more convincingly, HRMgt itself cannot be reduced or substituted by data. The participants also reported that HR professionals would require learning new skills, amongst them IT, analysis and interpretation of data. The project aims to eventually draw a number of attributes or skill-sets to this effect

Why does the UL49.5 of herpes simplex 1 virus fail to inhibit the TAP-dependent antigen presentation?

Herpes simplex virus type 1 (HSV-1) is a well-studied herpesvirus that causes a number of human diseases. The HSV-1, like other herpesviruses, produces transmembrane glycoprotein N (gN / UL49.5 protein). Although this protein is conserved throughout the herpesvirus family, little is known about its function in HSV-1. The amino-acid sequence and length of UL49.5 proteins differ between herpesvirus species. It is, therefore, crucial to determine whether and to what extent the spatial structure of UL49.5 orthologs that are TAP inhibitors (i.e., of BoHV-1 virus) differs from that of non-TAP inhibitors (i.e., of HSV-1 virus). As a result, the primary goal of our study was to examine the 3D structure of HSV-1-encoded UL49.5 protein in an advanced model of the endoplasmic reticulum (ER) membrane. Circular dichroism (CD), 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR), and multiple-microsecond all-atom molecular dynamics (MD) simulations in the ER membrane mimetic environment were used to determine the final structure of the HSV-1 UL49.5 protein. According to our findings, the N-terminus of HSV-1 UL49.5 adopts a highly flexible, unordered structure in the extracellular part due to the presence of a large number of Pro and Gly residues. In contrast to the UL49.5 protein from BoHV-1, the transmembrane region of HSV-1-encoded UL49.5 is formed by a single long transmembrane -helix, rather than two helices oriented perpendicularly, while the cytoplasmic part of the protein (C-terminus) has a short unordered structure. Our findings provide experimental structural information on HSV-1-encoded UL49.5 protein and structure-based insight into its lack of biological activity in inhibiting the TAP-independent antigen presentation pathway