Hieracium sudetotubulosum (Asteraceae) rediscovered outside the Karkonosze Mts

Hieracium sudetotubulosum Szeląg [= H. tubulosum (Tausch) Tausch, nom. illeg.], considered to be endemic to the Karkonosze/Krkonoše Mts, has been found on Mt. Szczeliniec Wielki in the Góry Stołowe Mts, SW Poland. This is the easternmost occurrence of the species, disjoined from its continuous geographical range in the Karkonosze Mts by ca 50 km. The occurrence of H. sudetotubulosum on Mt. Szczeliniec Wielki was published by Zahn in 1938 but it was overlooked in the modern literature

Life-threatening laryngeal attacks in hereditary angioedema patients

Background: Hereditary angioedema due to C1-inhibitor deficiency (HAE-C1INH) is a rare genetic disease that runs in the family. As a result of the disease, acute swellings of the subcutaneous tissue and mucous membranes of the digestive and respiratory systems, including the larynx, occur. Any attack of the disease involving the throat and larynx is particularly dangerous and requires knowledge of clinical determinants of the disease and its proper management. Materials and methods: The study included adult consecutive HAE-C1INH patients having follow-up visits in our centre. The group was examined with a structured clinical questionnaire, concerning the last 6 months and focusing particularly on laryngeal swelling attacks. Results: 55 subjects (F/M – 35/20, age range – 18–76) were included in the study. Laryngeal attacks occurred in 19 individuals (34.5%): 1–3, 4–6, and ≥7 attacks in 9, 8 and 2 patients, respectively, two of whom required intubation. In comparison to other patients, subjects with laryngeal attacks were characterised by significantly more frequent: (1) facial attacks, (2) severe disease activity, (3) the occurrence of female patients, (4) mental stress as a trigger of attacks. All patients with laryngeal attacks had a rescue medication at home and 15/19 (78%) patients could use it at home. Most of them used plasma-derived C1-inhibitor 17/19 (89.5%) and icatibant, 8/19 (42.1%). Discussion: HAE-C1INH patients with laryngeal attacks require particular attention. Proper training regarding the identification of these patients, adequate management, access to emergency services and emergency drugs are essential to ensure the safety of subjects with this localization of HAE-C1INH attacks

Liquid computing and analysis of sound signals

Liquid Computing Theory is a proposal of modelling the behaviour of neural microcircuits.It focuses on creating a group of neurons, known as a liquid layer, responsible for preprocessingof the signal that is being analysed. Specific information is achieved by the readout layers, task orientedgroups of neurons, taught to extract particular information from the state of liquid layer. TheLSMs have been used to analyse sound signals. The liquid layer was implemented in the PCSIM Simulator,and the readout layer has been prepared in the JNNS simulator. It could successfully recognisecertain sounds despite noises. Those results encourage further research of the computational potentialof Liquid State Machines including working in parallel with many readout layers

The system of electric brain activity acquisition from EEG equipment for Linux OS

The idea of electric brain activity acquisition for LINUX OS is presented. So far the only available software has been that for MS-Windows. The general concept of the modular data acquisition system as independent of its particular parts as possible and based on the LINUX pipe system will be discussed to some extent. Adapting the hardware to open source technology will allow us to design new methods of brain electrical dynamic analysis.

Developing brain electric activity acquisition software for Linux

This article discusses the first successful phase of our work on the construction of a complete modular research station for EEG signal acquisition and analysis performed in real-time mode and in a way that meets our needs. Our intentions were presented in [1]

Electroencephalographic detection of synesthesia

In this paper the research on a person declaring synesthetic abilities will be presented.According to the current state of knowledge synesthesia activates additional cortical fields in the brainwhich can be found in the EEG. The research was conducted using an EGI-EEG system (ElectricalGeodesic Inc., Eugene, Oregon, USA) with the GeoSource software. GeoSource is a tool that implementsthe algorithms LAURA, LORETA and sLORETA. Using these algorithms for EEG analysis wecan determine where in the brain the source of activity is. The authors will try to answer the questionwhether the use of these tools can prove the occurrence of synesthesia

Modelling 3D scene based on rapid face tracking and objects recognition

Mixed reality techniques are presented. Implementation and application of CAMSHIFT algorithm is discussed to some extent. In the initial stage of the research the technology of real object's edge detection and geometrical figures' representation in the virtual scene has been worked out

Kobiety w życiu króla Kazimierza Wielkiego w świetle Annales seu cronicae incliti Regni Poloniae Jana Długosza

The article is an attempt to show the role of women in the life of King Casimir III The Great on the basis of Annales Seu Cronicae Incliti Regni Poloniae by Jan Długosz. Not only does the text describe his romances and wives, but also the relations with his mother, sister and daughters. Even at the beginning of his first marriage a conflict between Casimir’s mother Jadwiga and his newlywed wife Anna emerged. Both women wanted to be the Queen of Poland. Jadwiga’s withdrawal helped to adjust the quarrel. Casimir the Great was extremely fond of women, which drove him into chronic adultery. He paid special attention to their appearance. He maintained numerous lovers and prostitutes he used to visit. Nevertheless, only the second of his three wives, Adelaide could not bear the situation and after she had spent long years during which Casimir’s presence was scarce, she returned to her father’s home. Casimir would often treat women in an instrumental way and he must have harmed them with his behavior, however, he did take care of his daughters and other women related to him by blood. His relations with women can be illustrated to some extent by his attitude to the Virgin Mary. On the one hand, he worshipped her in Wiślica but on the other hand, he could not abstain from hunting on a holiday devoted to the Virgin Mary. Casimir could have sworn to change for the better even to the pope, but his inclination was too strong and he would soon return to his old sins. Długosz claims that the punishment for his debauchery was the end of the dynasty. Nevertheless, it should be noticed that the king took proper care of widows and the poor, including women. That is why impecunious women paid him the last tribute with deep regret.Artykuł jest próbą ukazania miejsca kobiet w życiu króla Kazimierza III Wielkiego w oparciu o Annales seu cronicae incliti Regni Poloniae Jana Długosza. Przy referowaniu zagadnienia nie ograniczono się jedynie do żon i miłostek Kazimierza Wielkiego, lecz wspomniano także o jego matce, siostrze oraz córkach. Już u progu jego pierwszego małżeństwa doszło do konfliktu pomiędzy matką Kazimierza, Jadwigą, a nowo poślubioną Anną. Chodziło o to, która z kobiet ma być uważana za królową Polski. Ustąpienie Jadwigi pozwoliło zażegnać ten spór. Kazimierz Wielki miał wielką słabość do kobiet i często popadał w grzech cudzołóstwa. Zwracał uwagę przede wszystkim na ich wygląd zewnętrzny. Utrzymywał wiele kochanek i nierządnic, z którymi się spotykał. Jednak spośród trzech kolejnych żon króla tylko druga, Adelajda, nie mogła wytrzymać tej sytuacji i po wielu latach przeżytych prawie bez obecności króla wróciła do ojcowskiego domu. Kazimierz nieraz traktował kobiety przedmiotowo i niejednej z nich wyrządził krzywdę swym postępowaniem. Troszczył się natomiast o swoje córki i inne kobiety związane z nim więzami krwi. Wiele światła na jego postawę wobec kobiet wnosi jego odniesienie do Matki Bożej. Z jednej strony oddawał hołd Maryi czczonej w Wiślicy, a z drugiej strony nie potrafił się powstrzymać od polowania w święto maryjne. Kazimierz mógł wielokrotnie obiecywać swoją poprawę i porzucenie cudzołóstwa, nawet papieżowi, ale miał słabą wolę i wciąż wracał do starych grzechów. W opinii Jana Długosza karą Bożą za rozpustę Kazimierza Wielkiego było to, że ród królewski wyginął. Należy jednak zauważyć, że król otaczał troską wdowy oraz ludzi biednych, pośród nich także kobiety. Dlatego gdy umarł, kobiety z ludu żegnały go z wielkim żalem

The Portrayal of National Identity in the Films of Małgorzata Szumowska

The Portrayal of National Identity in the Films of Małgorzata SzumowskaMałgorzata Szumowska is without a doubt one of a few Polish directors who has managed to distinguish herself on the European film market. Although, Szumowska is a cosmopolitan (in Ulf Hannerz’s terms), she does not forget about her Polish origins. On the contrary, she emphasizes contemporary Polish identity of her protagonists and Polishness in itself but does it from the external perspective. In her feature films, Małgorzata Szumowska defines Polish identity, according to Antonina Kłoskowska’s theory, as a phenomenon which always exists in a specific social and cultural context. From this perspective, Polishness is constantly negotiated and renegotiated by film protagonists. The author will distinguish three categories through which the director defines Polishness, these are: cultural trauma, national character and modern Catholic religiousness. These categories will be analyzed on the basis of specific examples. An applied methodological approach relies on cultural poetics assumptions, also known as new historicism. Portret tożsamości narodowej w filmach Małgorzaty SzumowskiejNiewątpliwie Małgorzacie Szumowskiej jako jednej z niewielu polskich reżyserek udało się przebić na europejskim rynku filmowym. Chociaż Szumowska może być uznana za kosmopolitkę (w rozumieniu Ulfa Hannerza), to nie zapomina ona o swoich polskich korzeniach. Przeciwnie, w swoich filmach podkreśla zainteresowanie współczesną Polską i polskością, ale czyni to niejako z perspektywy „zewnętrznej”. Wykorzystując teorię tożsamości narodowej autorstwa Antoniny Kłoskowskiej, autor wskazuje, że Szumowska w swoich filmach fabularnych postrzega tożsamość narodową jako fenomen obecny zawsze w określonych warunkach społeczno-kulturowych. W tym ujęciu polskość jest nieustannie negocjowana i renegocjowana przez filmowych protagonistów. Autor wyróżnia trzy kategorie, poprzez które reżyserka określa polskość: traumę kulturową, charakter narodowy oraz religię katolicką, które analizuje na konkretnych filmowych przykładach. Zastosowane podejście metodologiczne wykorzystuje postulaty poetyki kulturowej zwanej również nowym historyzmem

Rzeczywistość nie istnieje…? Media i nowoczesne technologie w społeczeństwie przyszłości na przykładzie serialu "Black Mirror"

Released in 2011, the British science-fiction television series Black Mirror, created by Charlie Brooker, has gained viewers’ recognition across the world (confirmed by winning Best TV Movie/Mini Series at the International Emmy Awards in 2012 and the announcement of the 3rd season). Using ‘black humour’ and satire, the series in a defeatist manner portrays dark side of media development and its influence on the future society. In the article I will focus on the phenomena brought up by Black Mirror creators – characters seduced by media, which instead of making their lives happier bring only pain and humiliation; the need for constant surveillance as invoked by more and more advanced technologies; pleasure coming from spying on others’ suffering or progressing simulation of reality. To illustrate these phenomena I will apply, among others, the notions of Guy Debord, Jean Baudrillard, Paul Virilio, and also Michel Foucault’s idea of the panopticon