Turkey after the start of negotiations with the European Union - foreign relations and the domestic situation, Part I. OSW Report, June 2007

The start of accession negotiations between Ankara and the EU is vital for the future of both Turkey and the Union, including Poland as its member state, as well as for the geopolitical situation in Eurasia (the Black Sea region, Caucasus, Central Asia and the Middle East). Appreciating the significance of these issues, the Centre for Eastern Studies in early 2005 decided to launch a project entitled "Turkey after the start of negotiations with the European Union - foreign relations and the domestic situation". The goal of this project is to present, within the context of accession negotiations, Turkey's greatest internal challenges as well as Ankara's relations with its neighbour regions, the EU and the USA. This Report is the first of three which will be published as part of the project. The Report includes texts on Turkish-US relations since 2003, major political and social challenges on Turkey's path towards the EU and the current condition of the Turkish economy. The Report was developed between July 2005 and November 2006, over which time CES workers and associates searched for publicly available materials in Poland, Turkey and EU countries, and went on three research trips to Turkey, where they met local researchers, analysts, politicians and officials. The authors of the Report would like to express their gratitude to everyone who have shared their opinions with them, and to the Polish Embassy in Ankara, especially to Ambassador Grzegorz Michalski and Minister Andrzej Ananicz for their expert support and assistance in the authors' work on this Report. This Report does not present the official stance of the Polish government on the issues discussed therein; instead it reflects the personal views of its authors, who have made their best efforts to ensure that their work is reliable

Numerical analysis of the impact of flow rate, heart rate, vessel geometry, and degree of stenosis on coronary hemodynamic indices

Background: The stenosis of the coronary arteries is usually caused by atherosclerosis. Hemodynamic significance of patient-specific coronary stenoses and the risk of its progression may be assessed by comparing the hemodynamic effects induced by flow disorders. The present study shows how stenosis degree and variable flow conditions in coronary artery affect the oscillating shear index, residence time index, pressure drop coefficient and fractional flow reserve. We assume that changes in the hemodynamic indices in relation to variable flow conditions and geometries evaluated using the computational fluid dynamics may be an additional factor for a non-invasive assessment of the coronary stenosis detected on multi-slice computed tomography. Methods: The local-parametrised models of basic shapes of the vessels, such as straight section, bend, and bifurcation as well as the global-patient-specific models of left coronary artery were used for numerical simulation of flow in virtually reconstructed stenotic vessels. Calculations were carried out for vessels both without stenosis, and vessels of 10 to 95% stenosis. The flow rate varied within the range of 20 to 1000 ml/min, and heart rate frequency within the range of 30 to 210 cycles/min. The computational fluid dynamics based on the finite elements method verified by the experimental measurements of the velocity profiles was used to analyse blood flow in the coronary arteries. Results: The results confirm our preliminary assumptions. There is significant variation in the coronary hemodynamic indices value caused by disturbed flow through stenosis in relation to variable flow conditions and geometry of vessels. Conclusion: Variations of selected hemodynamic indexes induced by change of flow rate, heart rate and vessel geometry, obtained during a non-invasive study, may assist in evaluating the risk of stenosis progression and in carrying out the assessment of the hemodynamic significance of coronary stenosis. However, for a more accurate assessment of the variability of indices and coronary stenosis severity both local (near the narrowing) and global (in side branches) studies should be used

Cerebral venous and sinus thrombosis diagnosis: preliminary study of clinical picture and D-dimer concentration correlation

Aim of the study. We investigated whether D-dimer (DD) concentration is elevated in cerebral venous and sinus thrombosis (CVST), as has been reported in the literature. Clinical rationale for the study. CVST is a disease with variable clinical presentations and a challenging diagnosis. We looked into whether D-dimer concentration might be an indicator of CVST, and the need for neuroimaging tests correlated with clinical factors. Materials and methods. We included all consecutive patients (mean age 41.6 years) with CVST treated in our neurology department from 2014 to 2018 whose DD levels had been measured. DD concentrations were categorised as normal (≤ 0.5 μg/ml) or elevated ( > 0.5 μg/ml). Appropriate imaging confirmed the diagnosis of CVST. The results were compared to those of a control group consisting of 22 age- and sex-matched patients (mean age 40 years) with a diagnosis of primary headache (tension type or migraine) hospitalised to exclude secondary causes. Results. In 20 patients in the CVST study group, median level of DD was 1.0 + 0.57 μg/ml (range 0.19–2.45 μg/ml), compared to the control group’s mean DD level of 0.50 + 0.45 μg/ml (range 0.15–1.73 μg/ml), with p < 0.005. Higher DD levels were associated with complications of the disease and fatal course (p < 0.005). One female and one male patient died because of CVST with DD levels of (respectively) 2.45 and 1.80 μg/ml — the two highest concentrations in our study group. Conclusions and clinical implications. DD concentration, especially in headache patients, may be a factor to predict CVST and an indicator for further diagnostic procedures with venography. But in clinical practice, low levels of DD cannot be taken to exclude CVST

Postawy społeczne wobec deforestacji lasów tropikalnych

Artykuł prezentuje wyniki badań nad postawami człowieka wobec zjawiska niszczenia lasów tropikalnych. Pomiaru empirycznego dokonano w latach 2014-2015 na reprezentatywnej, liczącej 1000 osób, próbie mieszkańców województwa kujawsko-pomorskiego. Ankietowani zostali poproszeni o ustosunkowanie się do czterech stwierdzeń, które w swej treści wyrażają zgodę lub brak zgody na wyrąb lasów tropikalnych. Pod względem aksjologicznym i normatywnym stwierdzenia te zostały dopasowane do przyjętego w etyce środowiskowej podziału na stanowiska antropocentryczne i biocentryczne. Uzyskane wyniki wskazują, że zdecydowana większość respondentów odrzuca antropocentryzm indywidualistyczny, zgodnie z którym wycinka lasów tropikalnych może być uzasadniona dobrem i interesem poszczególnych jednostek. Jednocześnie wyrażają oni wysoką aprobatę dla stanowisk biocentrycznych, których treść zawiera sprzeciw wobec destrukcyjnej ingerencji człowieka w funkcjonowanie tropikalnej puszczy. Niemniej jednak, większość osób badanych dopuszcza możliwość wyrębu lasu tropikalnego jedynie wówczas, jeśli służy to dobru całego społeczeństwa i przyszłych pokoleń

Turkey after the start of negotiations with the European Union - foreign relations and the domestic situation, Part II. OSW Report, July 2008

The Centre for Eastern Studies has decided to embark on the project entitled 'Turkey after the start of negotiations with the European Union - foreign relations and the domestic situation' for two major reasons: the start of the accession negotiations between Ankara and the European Union in October 2005, and the significant part which Turkey plays in western Eurasia (the Caucasus, the countries in the basins of the Black and Caspian Seas, the Middle East and the Balkans) which We wish to present our readers our second report discussing Turkey's relations with Central Asia, the Caucasus and Russia, the aspect of Turkish foreign policy regarding the Black Sea, and the role of Turkey as a transit country for oil and gas from the Middle East and the Caspian regions. The evaluation of Turkey's standpoint and potential regarding the aforementioned issues is especially important, considering the tensions existing in Turkey's relations with the EU and the USA, as well as the West's increasing engagement in the Caucasus, Central Asia and Black Sea regions. In this process, Ankara may play the role of a significant ally for the West. However, it may just as readily play the role of its rival, who could co-operate with other countries and may seriously frustrate the implementation of the EU and US' goals. The Report was developed between autumn 2006 and autumn 2007, over which time the project participants searched for publicly available documents in Poland, Turkey, EU countries and the USA, and went on five research trips to Central Asia, Russia, Turkey and Caucasus, where they met local analysts, officials and researchers

Visible light induced photocatalytic inactivation of bacteria by modified titanium dioxide films on organic polymers

Commercially available polypropylene foil was pretreated with a low temperature oxygen plasma and covered with a thin fi lm of nanocrystalline titanium dioxide by dip coating. The fi lms were then photos- ensitized by titanium( IV ) surface charge transfer complexes formed by impregnation with catechol. The photoactivity of the coatings up to 460 nm was con fi rmed by photoelectrochemical measurements. The photoinactivation of Escherichia coli and Staphylococcus aureus was evaluated by a glass adhesion test based on ISO 27447:2009(E) in the presence of visible light. The coating showed good antimicrobial activity induced by light from a light-emitting diode (405 nm), in particular towards E. coli ATCC 25922 strain. Adaptation of ISO 27447:2009(E) to assess bacterial photoinactivation by photocatalytic coatings will allow this procedure to be applied for the comparison of photoactivity under a range of irradiation conditions

Molecular Beam Epitaxy growth of MoTe2_{\tiny{\textrm{2}}} on Hexagonal Boron Nitride

Hexagonal boron nitride has already been proven to serve as a decent substrate for high quality epitaxial growth of several 2D materials, such as graphene, MoSe$_{\tiny{\textrm{2}}}$, MoS$_{\tiny{\textrm{2}}}$ or WSe$_{\tiny{\textrm{2}}}$. Here, we present for the first time the molecular beam epitaxy growth of MoTe$_{\tiny{\textrm{2}}}$ on atomically smooth hexagonal boron nitride (hBN) substrate. Occurrence of MoTe$_{\tiny{\textrm{2}}}$ in various crystalline phases such as distorted octahedral 1T' phase with semimetal properties or hexagonal 2H phase with semiconducting properties opens a possibility of realisation of crystal-phase homostructures with tunable properties. Atomic force microscopy studies of MoTe$_{\tiny{\textrm{2}}}$ grown in a single monolayer regime enable us to determine surface morphology as a function of the growth conditions. The diffusion constant of MoTe$_{\tiny{\textrm{2}}}$ grown on hBN can be altered 5 times by annealing after the growth, reaching about 5 $\cdot$ 10$^{-6}$ cm$^{2}$/s. Raman spectroscopy results suggest a coexistence of both 2H and 1T' MoTe$_{\tiny{\textrm{2}}}$ phases in the studied samples.Comment: 6 pages, 3 figure

Resonance of mixing energy and energy of elastic deformations during spinodal decomposition and the composition modulation effect in ZnхCd1-ХTe solid solutions

The Cahn-Hilliard equation is adapted to consider the spinodal decomposition of A2B6 semiconductor solid solutions. This approach is used to analyze the process of spinodal decomposition of ZnхCd1-хTe solid solution, which is accompanied by the appearance of the composition modulation effect during its low-temperature synthesis. Numerical simulations of the spinodal decomposition of the ZnхCd1-хTe solid solution are performed. It is shown that micro-variations of the material composition are related by the resonance phenomenon between the excess mixing energy and the energy of elastic strains arising in the inclusions of the new phase, which are coherently conjugated with the initial crystal lattice. It is revealed that such resonance phenomena are most intense when the conditions for the material synthesis are located in close proximity to the spinodal curves on the phase state diagram of the system