Audiodeskrypcja tradycyjna a audiodeskrypcja artystyczna: o wpływie języka i formy audiodeskrypcji na komfort jej odbioru przez osoby niewidome i niedowidzące

Udostępnienie publikacji Wydawnictwa Uniwersytetu Łódzkiego finansowane w ramach projektu „Doskonałość naukowa kluczem do doskonałości kształcenia”. Projekt realizowany jest ze środków Europejskiego Funduszu Społecznego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Wiedza Edukacja Rozwój; nr umowy: POWER.03.05.00-00-Z092/17-00

Punishment by Process : The Development of Anti-SLAPP Legislation in the European Union

With special thanks to Prof Justin Borg-Barthet for his continued guidance and to the editors of the ERA Forum.Non peer reviewe

Hablando con metáforas en la audiodescripción paraniños : procesamiento de sig-nificado a través de estímulos visuales y auditivos

The study described here aimed at evaluating how the presence of metaphors in audio description (AD) dedicated to children in early-school age influences their reception of animated films – that is the understanding of the plot and the level of amusement, which may be enhanced by the AD’s figurative language. Above all, however, its goal was to establish whether the presence of metaphors in AD track encourages children to repeat them in their own statements and if children are able to learn the meaning of metaphors by the context introduced by the film’s visual layer and/or by the audio tracks comprising dialogues, background sounds and AD itself. Finally, it wanted to find out if there are any differences (and, if so, what they are) between children with and without visual impairment in the understanding and/or revealing the meaning of the figurative language of AD scripts heard

Audiodeskrypcja w programach dla dzieci – audiodeskrypcja szczególna?

The aim of this paper is to answer several very important questions concerning the role of audio description in programmes and films addressing children. By analysing the answers provided by thirty-six adults (not only blind and partially sighted but also sighted, i.e. parents of the blind children), we will try to explain why audio description in programmes and films for the blind children plays such a special role. First of all, audio description offers the blind children an opportunity to have a normal life as well as equal access to the visual media and art, and this has a great impact on the comfort of their present and future life. The blind children do not want to be discriminated against because of their disability. They do not want their visual loss to determine their life and therefore they want to share their interests with their sighted friends, watch the same cartoons and films that the sighted children watch at the time. The blind children want to be up-to-date when it comes to cartoons’ heroes and the latest film productions. That is why audio description is good for their mental condition and self-confidence. What is more, owing to audio description we can help the blind children to learn about the world, about the stereotypes that the world we live in is built upon. Clearly, it helps them to develop their own vision of the world. By using audio description, we can stimulate children’s cognitive processes as well as influence their view of the world. The results of various studies focusing on audio description for children prove that a well-prepared audio description can be fun and educational at the same time. We refer to the studies conducted by Agnieszka Szarkowska and Anna Jankowska in 2011 (Szarkowska 2011) as well as the result of the first stage of our own studies conducted in 2013 on the artistic audio description (Zabrocka 2014a and 2014b) and children’s preferences concerning the voices that read the audio description script. It improves the blind children’s language skills and develops their vocabulary (Zabrocka, the aforementioned results were presented in September 2013 in Dubrovnik during the 5th Conference Media for All). Audio description helps the blind children to learn normal life and that is why its role seems to be so crucial and unique; this was emphasised by the participants of the study described in the paper.Niniejszy artykuł ma na celu przedstawienie szczególnej roli audiodeskrypcji przygotowywanej z myślą o najmłodszych widzach. Zagadnienie zostanie omówione na postawie opinii dorosłych, którym bliski jest problem dysfunkcji wzroku, a które zebrano w czasie badania przeprowadzonego jesienią 2013 za pomocą ankiety internetowej. Tekst ten podkreśla wielość funkcji, jakie powinna spełniać AD kierowana do dzieci, zwracając tym samym uwagę odbiorców na problem związany z jej ograniczoną dostępnością na polskim rynku produktów audiowizualnych

Speaking Metaphor in Audio Description for Children

This article aims at presenting and discussing the outcomes from the study conducted on the impact of metaphors used in audio description (AD) on children’s understanding of the watched content and amusement at it. Moreover, the data gathered allows for estimating both the value of AD as a device supporting children’s linguistic development and the role of visual and aural stimuli in that process

Wounding stimulates ALLENE OXIDE SYNTHASE gene and increases the level of jasmonic acid in Ipomoea nil cotyledons

Allene oxide synthase (AOS) encodes the first enzyme in the lipoxygenase pathway, which is responsible for jasmonic acid (JA) formation. In this study we report the molecular cloning and characterization of InAOS from Ipomoea nil. The full-length gene is composed of 1662 bp and encodes for 519 amino acids. The predicted InAOS contains PLN02648 motif, which is evolutionarily conserved and characteristic for functional enzymatic proteins. We have shown that wounding led to a strong stimulation of the examined gene activity in cotyledons and an increase in JA level, which suggest that this compound may be a modulator of stress responses in I. nil

Adipokines and Insulin Resistance in Young Adult Survivors of Childhood Cancer

We examined the association between adipokines (leptin, adiponectin, and resistin), radiotherapy, measurement of body fat, and insulin resistance among young adult survivors of childhood cancer (CCS). Materials and Methods. Seventy-six survivors were included (mean age 24.1±3.5 years). Insulin resistance (IR) was calculated using the homeostasis model assessment (HOMA-IR). The serum levels of adipokines were assayed by immunoassays. Fat mass was evaluated by DXA. Results. Mean adiponectin level and mean body FAT were higher in the examined females than in males (10009±6367 ng/mL versus 6433±4136 ng/mL, p<0.01; 35.98±9.61% versus 22.7±7.46%, p<0.001). Among CCS, one of 75 patients met the criteria of insulin resistance, and in 14 patients there was impaired fasting glucose. The multiple regression model for females showed that leptin/adiponectin ratio (LA ratio) significantly affected HOMA-IR (increase of 0.024 per each unit of LA ratio; p<0.05). Radiotherapy had no effect on serum adipokines and IR. Conclusion. The observed results support the hypothesis that adiponectin might be associated with insulin resistance and it can not be ruled out that changes in the mean level of adiponectin per FAT mass or leptin/adiponectin ratio may precede the occurrence of insulin resistance in the future

Accelerated Postnatal Growth Increases Lipogenic Gene Expression and Adipocyte Size in Low–Birth Weight Mice

OBJECTIVE: To characterize the hormonal milieu and adipose gene expression in response to catch-up growth (CUG), a growth pattern associated with obesity and diabetes risk, in a mouse model of low birth weight (LBW). RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS: ICR mice were food restricted by 50% from gestational days 12.5–18.5, reducing offspring birth weight by 25%. During the suckling period, dams were either fed ad libitum, permitting CUG in offspring, or food restricted, preventing CUG. Offspring were killed at age 3 weeks, and gonadal fat was removed for RNA extraction, array analysis, RT-PCR, and evaluation of cell size and number. Serum insulin, thyroxine (T4), corticosterone, and adipokines were measured. RESULTS: At age 3 weeks, LBW mice with CUG (designated U-C) had body weight comparable with controls (designated C-C); weight was reduced by 49% in LBW mice without CUG (designated U-U). Adiposity was altered by postnatal nutrition, with gonadal fat increased by 50% in U-C and decreased by 58% in U-U mice (P less than 0.05 vs. C-C mice). Adipose expression of the lipogenic genes Fasn, AccI, Lpin1, and Srebf1 was significantly increased in U-C compared with both C-C and U-U mice (P less than 0.05). Mitochondrial DNA copy number was reduced by greater than 50% in U-C versus U-U mice (P = 0.014). Although cell numbers did not differ, mean adipocyte diameter was increased in U-C and reduced in U-U mice (P less than 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: CUG results in increased adipose tissue lipogenic gene expression and adipocyte diameter but not increased cellularity, suggesting that catch-up fat is primarily associated with lipogenesis rather than adipogenesis in this murine model