Heroism of the Theological Virtues: Faith, Hope and Love in the Light of the Beatification Process of the Servant of God, Rev. Aleksander Woźny

The aim of this study is to present the heroic character of theological virtues in the light of the beatification process of Rev. Aleksander Woźny, launched on January 25, 2014 in the Archdiocese of Poznań. The whole Positio super vita, virtutibus et fama sanctitatis. Posnaniesis beatificationis et canonisationis Servi Dei Alexandri Woźny sacerdotis dioecesiani (1910-1983) was elaborated to provide an objective judgment of theological consultors, and subsequently, of the ordinary congregation of cardinals and bishops of the Dicastery for the Causes of Saints. The wealth of available sources concerning the candidate for the altars in the form of his teaching, letters and memories allowed to pose the question whether in the life and teaching of Rev. Aleksander Woźny, the practice of faith, hope and love towards God and towards one’s neighbour was proven to be heroic, and therefore whether it is possible to form an opinion about the sanctity of the Servant of God. This study presents the theological virtues that the Servant of God excelled in in his life. The above research problem was elaborated on the basis of substantive study and thorough analysis of the collected documentation, which is reflected in this article

Męczeństwo z powodu odium fidei – na przykładzie zabójstwa ks. Stanisława Streicha w świetle zbrodni lubońskiej

The article is devoted to the analysis of the murder of the parish priest of st. John Bosco in Luboń, made on February27, 1938 by a communist agitator. Despite the fact that so many years have passed since the priest’s death, the matter raises many emotions to this day, because the pastoraland social activity of rev. Steich left behind abundant and blessed fruits, and he himself became a candidate for the glory of the altars on the way of martyrdom. In the canonization inquiry aimed at recognizing martyrdom, the Church pays special attention to the need to accept death, as exemplified by Christ, and reminds us that from ancient times martyrdom was compared to water baptism and was called the baptism of blood. However, this does notchange the fact that the essential elements to be considered in such proceedings, conducted in this way, are: indication of a specific person of the martyr and the persecutor, proof of the actual death, as well as the cause of death. All these areas of research not only appear in the“crime of Luboń”, but confirm and ensure that the Servant of God, rev. Stanisław Streich is an in odium fidei martyr, and his beatification is a matter of time.Artykuł poświęcony został analizie zabójstwa proboszcza parafii św. Jana Bosko w Luboniu, dokonanego 27 lutego 1938 r. przez komunistycznego agitatora. Mimo iż od śmierci kapłana upłynęło tak wiele lat, sprawa po dziś dzień budzi wiele emocji, ponieważdziałalność duszpasterska i społeczna ks. Streicha pozostawiła po sobie obfite i błogosławione owoce, a on sam stał się kandydatem do chwały ołtarzy na drodze męczeństwa. W dochodzeniu kanonizacyjnym, zmierzającym do uznania męczeństwa, Kościół zwracaszczególną uwagę na konieczność akceptacji śmierci, jakiej przykład dał Chrystus, i przypomina, że męczeństwo od starożytnych czasów przyrównywane było do chrztu z wody i nazywano je chrztem krwi. Nie zmienia to jednak faktu, że zasadniczymi elementami, które należy rozpatrzyć w takim postępowaniu, prowadzonym tą właśnie drogą, są: wskazanie konkretnej osoby męczennika oraz osoby prześladowcy, udowodnienie rzeczywistej śmierci, a także wykazanie przyczyny śmierci. Wszystkie te obszary badań nie tylko pojawiająsię w „zbrodni lubońskiej”, ale potwierdzają i dają pewność, że sługa Boży ks. Stanisław Streich jest męczennikiem in odium fidei, a jego beatyfikacja jest kwestią czasu

Designing Volumetric Truss Structures

We present the first algorithm for designing volumetric Michell Trusses. Our method uses a parametrization approach to generate trusses made of structural elements aligned with the primary direction of an object's stress field. Such trusses exhibit high strength-to-weight ratios. We demonstrate the structural robustness of our designs via a posteriori physical simulation. We believe our algorithm serves as an important complement to existing structural optimization tools and as a novel standalone design tool itself

Oral prolonged‐release oxycodone/naloxone for managing pain and opioid‐induced constipation: a review of the evidence

Background: Opioids provide effective relief from moderate‐to‐severe pain and should be prescribed as part of a multifaceted approach to pain management when other treatments have failed. Fixed‐dose oxycodone/naloxone prolonged‐release tablets (OXN PR) were designed to address the opioid class effect of opioid‐induced constipation (OIC) by combining the analgesic efficacy of oxycodone with the opioid receptor antagonist, naloxone, which has negligible systemic availability when administered orally. This formulation has abuse‐deterrent properties, since systemic exposure to naloxone by parenteral administration would antagonize the euphoric effects of oxycodone. Methods: A literature search was conducted to assess the evidence base for OXN PR to treat moderate‐to‐severe pain and its impact on bowel function, based on published clinical trials and observational studies. Results: Extensive data demonstrate that OXN PR provides effective analgesia and clinically relevant improvements in bowel function in patients with OIC and moderate‐to‐severe cancer‐related pain and noncancer pain types such as low back pain, neuropathic pain, and musculoskeletal pain. OXN PR has also been found to improve bowel function in patients with OIC refractory to multiple types of laxatives, and improve Parkinson's disease–related pain. No unanticipated safety concerns have been reported in elderly patients. Conclusions: Evidence from clinical trials and observational studies confirms that for selected patients OXN PR significantly improves moderate‐to‐severe chronic pain and provides relief from OIC. Treatment should be tailored to individual patients to establish the lowest effective dose. An absence of analgesic ceiling effect was seen across the clinically relevant dose range investigated (≤ 160/80 mg/day)

A Proof of Concept Study on Real-Pime LiMAx CYP1A2 Liver Function Assessment of Donor Grafts During Normothermic Machine Perfusion

No single reliable parameter exists to assess liver graft function of extended criteria donors during ex-vivo normothermic machine perfusion (NMP). The liver maximum capacity (LiMAx) test is a clinically validated cytochromal breath test, measuring liver function based on 13CO2 production. As an innovative concept, we aimed to integrate the LiMAx breath test with NMP to assess organ function. Eleven human livers were perfused using NMP. After one hour of stabilization, LiMAx testing was performed. Injury markers (ALT, AST, miR-122, FMN, and Suzuki-score) and lactate clearance were measured and related to LiMAx values. LiMAx values ranged between 111 and 1838 µg/kg/h, and performing consecutive LiMAx tests during longer NMP was feasible. No correlation was found between LiMAx value and miR-122 and FMN levels in the perfusate. However, a significant inverse correlation was found between LiMAx value and histological injury (Suzuki-score, R = − 0.874, P < 0.001), AST (R = − 0.812, P = 0.004) and ALT (R = − 0.687, P = 0.028). Furthermore, a significant correlation was found with lactate clearance (R = 0.683, P = 0.043). We demonstrate, as proof of principle, that liver function during NMP can be quantified using the LiMAx test, illustrating a positive correlation with traditional injury markers. This new breath-test application separates livers with adequate cytochromal liver function from inadequate ones and may support decision-making in the safe utilization of extended criteria donor grafts

The Uppsala APP deletion causes early onset autosomal dominant Alzheimer's disease by altering APP processing and increasing amyloid β fibril formation

Point mutations in the amyloid precursor protein gene (APP) cause familial Alzheimer's disease (AD) by increasing generation or altering conformation of amyloid beta (A beta). Here, we describe the Uppsala APP mutation (Delta 690-695), the first reported deletion causing autosomal dominant AD. Affected individuals have an age at symptom onset in their early forties and suffer from a rapidly progressing disease course. Symptoms and biomarkers are typical of AD, with the exception of normal cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) A beta 42 and only slightly pathological amyloid-positron emission tomography signals. Mass spectrometry and Western blot analyses of patient CSF and media from experimental cell cultures indicate that the Uppsala APP mutation alters APP processing by increasing beta-secretase cleavage and affecting alpha-secretase cleavage. Furthermore, in vitro aggregation studies and analyses of patient brain tissue samples indicate that the longer form of mutated A beta, A beta Upp1-42(Delta 19-24), accelerates the formation of fibrils with unique polymorphs and their deposition into amyloid plaques in the affected brain

The Astropy Problem

The Astropy Project (http://astropy.org) is, in its own words, "a community effort to develop a single core package for Astronomy in Python and foster interoperability between Python astronomy packages." For five years this project has been managed, written, and operated as a grassroots, self-organized, almost entirely volunteer effort while the software is used by the majority of the astronomical community. Despite this, the project has always been and remains to this day effectively unfunded. Further, contributors receive little or no formal recognition for creating and supporting what is now critical software. This paper explores the problem in detail, outlines possible solutions to correct this, and presents a few suggestions on how to address the sustainability of general purpose astronomical software

Super-heavy fermion material as metallic refrigerant for adiabatic demagnetization cooling

Low-temperature refrigeration is of crucial importance in fundamental research of condensed matter physics, as the investigations of fascinating quantum phenomena, such as superconductivity, superfluidity and quantum criticality, often require refrigeration down to very low temperatures. Currently, cryogenic refrigerators with $^3$He gas are widely used for cooling below 1 Kelvin. However, usage of the gas is being increasingly difficult due to the current world-wide shortage. Therefore, it is important to consider alternative methods of refrigeration. Here, we show that a new type of refrigerant, super-heavy electron metal, YbCo$_2$Zn$_{20}$, can be used for adiabatic demagnetization refrigeration, which does not require 3He gas. A number of advantages includes much better metallic thermal conductivity compared to the conventional insulating refrigerants. We also demonstrate that the cooling performance is optimized in Yb$_{1-x}$Sc$_x$Co$_2$Zn$_{20}$ by partial Sc substitution with $x\sim$0.19. The substitution induces chemical pressure which drives the materials close to a zero-field quantum critical point. This leads to an additional enhancement of the magnetocaloric effect in low fields and low temperatures enabling final temperatures well below 100 mK. Such performance has up to now been restricted to insulators. Since nearly a century the same principle of using local magnetic moments has been applied for adiabatic demagnetization cooling. This study opens new possibilities of using itinerant magnetic moments for the cryogen-free refrigeration

Prevalence of left ventricular diastolic dysfunction in European populations based on cross-validated diagnostic thresholds

BACKGROUND: Different diagnostic criteria limit comparisons between populations in the prevalence of diastolic left ventricular (LV) dysfunction. We aimed to compare across populations age-specific echocardiographic criteria for diastolic LV dysfunction as well as their correlates and prevalence. METHODS: We measured the E and A peaks of transmitral blood flow by pulsed wave Doppler and the e' and a' peaks of mitral annular velocities by tissue Doppler imaging (TDI) in 2 cohorts randomly recruited in Belgium (n = 782; 51.4% women; mean age, 51.1 years) and in Italy, Poland and Russia (n = 476; 55.7%; 44.5 years). RESULTS: In stepwise regression, the multivariable-adjusted correlates of the transmitral and TDI diastolic indexes were similar in the 2 cohorts and included sex, age, body mass index, blood pressure and heart rate. Similarly, cut-off limits for the E/A ratio (2.5th percentile) and E/e' ratio (97.5th percentile) in 338 and 185 reference subjects free from cardiovascular risk factors respectively selected from both cohorts were consistent within 0.02 and 0.26 units (median across 5 age groups). The rounded 2.5th percentile of the E/A ratio decreased by ~0.10 per age decade in these apparently healthy subjects. The reference subsample provided age-specific cut-off limits for normal E/A and E/e' ratios. In the 2 cohorts combined, diastolic dysfunction groups 1 (impaired relaxation), 2 (possible elevated LV filling pressure) and 3 (elevated E/e' and abnormally low E/A) encompassed 114 (9.1%), 135 (10.7%), and 40 (3.2%) subjects, respectively. CONCLUSIONS: The age-specific criteria for diastolic LV dysfunction were highly consistent across the study populations with an age-standardized prevalence of 22.4% vs. 25.1%