Secret passage through Poe: The transatlantic affinities of H. P. Lovecraft and Stefan Grabiński

The paper focuses on intertextual relations between selected horror stories by H. P. Lovecraft and Polish writer Stefan Grabiński. Using a triadic concept of intertextuality derived by Michael Riffaterre from Peircean semiotics, this is to demonstrate that the interpretant connecting Lovecraft and Grabiński is “The tell-tale heart” by Edgar Allan Poe

Vandali redivivi? – nowa książka Konrada Vössinga

Konrad Vössing, Das Königreich der Vandalen. Geiserichs Herrschaft und das Imperium Romanum, Wissenschaftliche Buchgesellschaft, Darmstadt 2014, ss. 207, ISBN: 978-3-8053-4761-

Oddziaływania psychologiczne i dyscyplinujące w armiach późnego antyku

The psychological and disciplinary treatment of soldiers in the armies of late antiquityThe multiethnic army of the Late Roman Empire generated a huge number of disciplinary problems. Reading the work of Vegetius we hear about serious negligence in the overall military discipline. Other sources inform us repeatedly about mutinies, desertions and self-mutilations of the soldiers who wanted to avoid being incorporated into the army. Very often the mentality of barbarians (e.g. the Huns) in the service of the Roman Army was completely contradictory to the requirements of the Roman law and military customs. A huge role in keeping discipline in army ranks was played by a commander. He was expected to look after his soldiers, build a manly spirit in the detachment, inspire his people by examples of personal courage and – what was truly no less important – have a good fortune on the battlefield. As an impact factor exerting influence on the soldiers, they tried to use not only the harsh punishments, but also some psychological methods e.g. if the signs from the gods were auspicious, they tried to spread the news as far and wide as possible; they took care of the sick and wounded; they supervised the supply of goods and an equitable sharing of the spoils. However whenever they considered it useful, they also resorted to blackmail, taking soldiers’ families hostage; they also threatened that the commander would resign or cut off the only way of escape without any hesitation. Understanding the psychological effects of such actions constitutes a real research challenge

The influence of the bologna process on teachers training

Since 1999 when the Bologna Declaration was signed, European institutions started to modernize and reform higher education. In Poland the year 2013 not only introduced the most basic assumptions of the reform of the university, but also allowed to finish work on the Polish Framework for Higher Education Qualifications. The Bologna Process attaches great importance to the question of employment, i.e. to the ability of graduates to find and maintain work in the changing labor market. Employers are looking for people with competences, knowledge of at least two foreign languages at the level of free communication and with certain skills which facilitate team work in multicultural and multiethnic teams. Institutions educating future teachers should take over the role of integrators learning through whole life (lifelong learning process - LLP). First of all, graduates of these courses should be better equipped with the most universal competence. The range of possibilities is virtually unlimited, especially that one can connect LLP activities with the process of Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL), which is supposed to help in the recognition of competences acquired outside the formal education process

Programy kształcenia historyków w świetle Krajowych Ram Kwalifikacji

In 2012 in Polish higher education a new curriculum was introduced. The new syllabuses are in accordance with the European Qualification Framework. This change means that previous teaching standards established by the Ministry of Education are about to disappear. The authors of the article present a review of the basic legal acts – European and Polish ones, which regulate changes. Stanisław Roszak and Marek Wilczyński show not only theoretical rules for building educational programs on the basis of learning outcomes, but also practical advice with reference to international patterns have been implemented. They point out possibilities created by the act concerning the construction of the new study courses for higher education. The analysis touches on the following aspects: the outcomes of teaching in the humanities (established by the Ministry), the outcomes of teaching in history departments (established by the faculties), the outcomes of the teaching of particular subjects (established by the academics). Besides the theoretical background to the construction of new programmes, specific practical solutions are included in the article, such as a syllabus for ancient history. The second part of the text is devoted to methods of managing and evaluating students’ learning. Methods of evaluation are crucial for a success of the reform. Evaluation is used not only to verify the knowledge and skills of the students. It should also be an important guide in helping to evaluate a teaching programme and the methods used by the teachers. Acquainting with the article will undoubtedly help developing new programs of educating the historians as a starting point for creative evolving of student’s centred learning educational model allowing further employability in changing market conditions

Mechanical Properties of Wood-Polypropylene Composites with Industrial Wood Particles of Different Sizes

Industrial wood particles used for manufacturing three-layer particleboards were used to prepare wood-polypropylene composites by an injection molding process. The effect of particle size (0.25-0.5, 0.5-1, 1-2, and 2-4 mm) on mechanical properties of composites was investigated. Additionally, the effect of cross-section size of composite pieces (4 x 10, 6 x 15, and 8 x 20 mm2) was studied. Both particle size and specimen cross-section area significantly influenced these properties. Tensile and mechanical properties as well as impact strength increased with increasing particle size from 0.25-2 mm and then slightly decreased. Flexural and impact strength decreased with increasing cross-section size, whereas variation of tensile modulus and strength and of flexural modulus with increasing cross-section size was different for composites with different particle sizes

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE MOTEK CAREN SYSTEM IN BEHAVIOURAL THERAPY FOR PATIENTS WITH ANXIETY DISORDERS

Background: Virtual reality exposure therapy (VRET) is becoming a more and more popular treatment method for patients suffering from anxiety disorders. One of the VRET methods, wchich could be used for this group of patients is MOTEK CAREN system, however, so far no studies have been published on its implementation in psychiatric disorders. Subject and methods: Presented here is a case of a 45 year old woman suffering from anxiety disorders, who underwent a series of four subsequent trainings with the use of MOTEK CAREN system repeted once a week. Data from the system were collected on the work of muscles, joints, reactions of the ground, etc. Blood pressure, pulse and salivary cortisol level were measured before and after each training. The level of state and trait anxiety was each time measured with the STAI inventory. Results: The changes of the values of heart rate, blood pressure and salivary cortisol suggest that all trainings we stressful events for the patients, as they were not observed in the control session. But the gradual decrease in the levels of salivary cortisol and axiety as state after subsequent trainings may be signs of a gradual adaptation of the patient to the stressful situation. A lower cadence during the trainings compared to the control session was observed, however the speed of the cadence increased with each session. Conclusions: Ttrainings with the MOTEK CAREN system can be promising in the treatment of anxiety disorders. Of course in order to draw more evidence based conclusions this observations must be confirmed on a larger sample of patients

Prevalence and antibiotic resistance of Enterococcus strains isolated from poultry

The aim of this study was to evaluate the frequency of occurrence of bacteria of the genus Enterococcus in poultry, to identify them by means of matrixassisted laser desorption/ionisation time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDITOF MS), and to analyse the antimicrobial susceptibility of the isolated strains to the drugs most frequently used in poultry. The material for the bacteriological tests was obtained mainly from the heart (97%) of the birds investigated. Of a total of 2,970 samples tested, 911 (30.7%) tested positive for Enterococcus spp. Enterococci were detected in broilers (88.1%), laying hens (5.3%), turkeys (3.9%), breeding hens (2.2%), and geese (0.4%). The most commonly identified species were Enterococcus (E.) faecalis (74.7%), E. faecium (10.1%), E. gallinarum (5.5%), E. hirae (4.6%), and E. cecorum (4.1%). The most frequent resistance properties were resistance to sulphamethoxazole/trimethoprim (88%), tylosin (71.4%), enrofloxacin (69.4%), doxycycline (67.3%), and lincomycin/spectinomycin (56.1%). Only one vancomycin-resistant Enterococcus, E. cecorum from a broiler, was found

EVALUATION OF THE CORTISOL CONCENTRATIONS IN PATIENTS WITH SCHIZOPHRENIA

Introduction: The hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis (HPAA) plays a pivotal role in response to a range of external and internal factors often described as a “stress”. Growing evidence in a literature, suggest various dysregulations of HPAA, in course of numerous mental disorders. Patients with schizophrenia and bipolar disorder seem to have elevated basal cortisol secretion, what might be caused by the diminution of glucocorticoid receptors’ amount. It was of the interest if the cortisol concentrations in patients with diagnosed schizophrenia who underwent treatment, differs from healthy individuals. Materials and methods: Two groups of participants were included into the study. First group (study) consisted of 10 patients with diagnosed schizophrenia and control group which included 38 healthy individuals. Study was divided into two stages, first one (pilot) included only control group, and utilized cortisol concentrations measurement from saliva, blood and 24h urine sample. Second part (main study) involved both groups although focused on a salivary cortisol concentrations. Results: A mean salivary cortisol concentration in patients with schizophrenia who underwent treatment was significantly lower in comparison with healthy individuals. Conclusions: Obtained results indicate that patients who underwent a treatment, and does not present notable clinical signs of schizophrenia may have moderately lowered levels of salivary cortisol. This may be a reflection of relenting psychotic symptoms as well as a direct effect of atypical antipsychotic drugs on a HPA axis activity