Adsorption of Nonspherical Particles at Solid/Liquid Interfaces

Localized adsorption of nonspherical particles at solid/liquid interfaces was analyzed theoretically. Aproximate models for calculating interactions between particles and interfaces as well as between particles were discussed. It was demonstrated that for convex particles the Derjaguin model can be used for small separations, whereas for larger separations the equivalent sphere approach proved more appropriate. These analytical energy expressions were used in numerical Monte-Carlo RSA (random sequential adsorption) simulations of particle adsorption. Theoretical results concerning the blocking parameter (available surface function) and adsorption kinetics for short and long times were reported for prolate and oblate spheroids. Similarities and differences between flat (2D) and unoriented (quasi 3D) adsorption of particles were discussed and limiting power-law for the long-time regimes were specified. By extrapolation of the kinetic results the maximum (jamming) coverages for hard and interacting spheroids were determined. It was demonstrated that the jamming coverages under the conditions of unoriented adsorption exceed these of flat adsorption by many times for elongated objects. It was also demonstrated that the repulsive double-layer interactions decrease significantly the monolayer capacity of adsorbed layers of spheroidal particles. Implications of this phenomenon for protein adsorption were discussed

ATHLETIC PERFORMANCE OF SWIMMERS AFTER ALTITUDE TRAINING (2,300 M ABOVE SEA LEVEL) IN VIEW OF THEIR BLOOD MORPHOLOGY CHANGES

The aim of the study was to estimate changes in blood morphology caused by participation of record-seeking swimmers in a high altitude training camp at 2,300 m above sea level and to assess their performance during major competitions before and after the camp. Eight swimmers (two females and six males) - record-holders and medallists of the Polish National Championships, as well as finalists and medallists of the European and World Championships and the Olympic Games (including a two-time holder of the world record) - were recruited. During the 2006/2007 season the athletes attended a training camp organized according to the principle “live high and train high”. The camp lasted 23 days and consisted of three micro-cycles of training, each of them with specific training objectives. Before and after participation in the training camp erythrocyte (red blood cells; RBC) count, haemoglobin (Hb) concentration and haematocrit (Hct) were estimated at a hospital laboratory. Scores amassed by the examined athletes during major competitions were presented after their transformation into points based on the FINA (International Swimming Federation) tables for years 2005-2008. The best results (time for a distance) achieved during competitions organized before and after participation in the camp were regarded as reference points. Additionally, liquid balance of the body was monitored during 30 selected training units (15 in the morning and 15 in the evening). The response of the examined swimmers from the Polish Olympic Team to the high altitude training (at 2,300 m above sea level) was represented by an almost three-fold increase in blood reticulocyte count during the first micro-cycle of training as well as by an elevated erythrocyte count (by 14.4% and haemoglobin (by 13.5% and haematocrit (by 14.8% levels estimated after completion of the training, as compared to the results obtained before the camp. Six out of eight subjects improved their performance in major competitions organized after the training camp, and four of them broke their personal bests

Obchody dwudziestolecia III Rzeczypospolitej. Próby kształtowania pamięci zbiorowej polskiego społeczeństwa

The paper tries to sum up the celebrations to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the Third Republic in 1989 and to present them in the context of the ‘remembrance policy’,meaning the endeavors various circles are engaged in to shape Polish society’s collective memory. The authors analyze the celebrations in terms of several selected aspects. The first one concerns the academic field: conferences, seminars and resulting publications. Another aspect refers to the official celebrations organized by state institutions. The third is about the response and debates taking place in newspapers at that time. The review of different ways of commemorating the anniversary results in the conclusion that they were all strongly politicized and used for the purposes of the current political struggle. This was particularly clear during the official celebrations, divided into those organized by the government and president respectively, yet even the events organized under academic auspices were not free from political manipulation. Therefore, the celebrations corroborated the fact that 1989 has not strongly registered in Poles’ awareness as a generational experience that positively organizes the collective memory; the celebrations did not stimulate a nationwide reflection on the achieve- ments of the era commenced with the events of 1989. They did not make a contribution to creating in the collective memory a ‘national consensus of pride’ at the regained statehood reminiscent of that of the Second Republic.The paper tries to sum up the celebrations to commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the Third Republic in 1989 and to present them in the context of the ‘remembrance policy’,meaning the endeavors various circles are engaged in to shape Polish society’s collective memory. The authors analyze the celebrations in terms of several selected aspects. The first one concerns the academic field: conferences, seminars and resulting publications. Another aspect refers to the official celebrations organized by state institutions. The third is about the response and debates taking place in newspapers at that time. The review of different ways of commemorating the anniversary results in the conclusion that they were all strongly politicized and used for the purposes of the current political struggle. This was particularly clear during the official celebrations, divided into those organized by the government and president respectively, yet even the events organized under academic auspices were not free from political manipulation. Therefore, the celebrations corroborated the fact that 1989 has not strongly registered in Poles’ awareness as a generational experience that positively organizes the collective memory; the celebrations did not stimulate a nationwide reflection on the achievements of the era commenced with the events of 1989. They did not make a contribution to creating in the collective memory a ‘national consensus of pride’ at the regained statehood reminiscent of that of the Second Republic

Automated geometric features evaluation method for normal foot skeleton model

Normal foot model is a geometric model of a healthy human foot. As the comparison of the processed feet requires a reference ideal healthy foot parameterization it was necessary to create such a model by defining skeleton geometric features and generating the feature set on a dataset population. Manual positioning of such number of landmarks is both a complex and time consuming task for a skilled radiologist, not to mention the total cost of such a procedure. Thus it was recommended to formulate an automated computer algorithm to perform this procedure with accuracy at a comparable level as the manual process. The following paper describes our approach based on automatic landmark positioning in a volumetric foot dataset. The proposed automated procedure is based on four main steps: manual landmark positioning on a reference dataset, registration of the reference dataset with the examined study, transformation of landmark positions from the reference dataset space into the examined dataset space, and calculation of the geometric features on the basis of landmarks positions. The results of our algorithm are presented and discussed in the context of pros and cons of the automated method itself as well as in the context of the generated normal foot model

Cough-induced lung intercostal hernia

A 73-year-old male with marked emphysema was admitted to the 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital in Krakow because of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation. His medical history was significant for total laryngectomy due to laryngeal cancer in 2010.A 73-year-old male with marked emphysema was admitted to the 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital in Krakow because of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation. His medical history was significant for total laryngectomy due to laryngeal cancer in 2010

SARS-CoV-2 neurotropism and other possible causes of olfactory disorders in COVID-19

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is an acute infectious respiratory disease (AIRD) caused by infection with the new severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first cases were diagnosed and reported in Wuhan, central China, in November 2019. The disease initially occurred locally. However, the number of infected individuals increased dynamically and spread worldwide. The most common symptoms of the SARS-CoV-2 infection include malaise, fever, dry cough and dyspnoea. Over time, reports of new COVID-19 symptoms included taste and smell disorders. A potential cause of these disorders is related to neurotropism, i.e. the affinity of SARS-CoV-2 to the nervous system. Angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 receptor is essential in the pathogenesis of SARS-CoV-2 infection. The receptor is found in many tissues and organs, including the olfactory epithelium, neurons and neuroglial cells. Another potential cause is neuroinvasiveness, i.e. the ability of the virus to invade the central nervous system, and thereby damage its structures. As a result, olfactory disorders may occur. Other concepts, such as the inflammatory response of the body and the concept of stroke or damage to olfactory supporting cells, are also considered

Classical conditioning without verbal suggestions elicits placebo analgesia and nocebo hyperalgesia

The aim of this study was to examine the relationships among classical conditioning, expectancy, and fear in placebo analgesia and nocebo hyperalgesia. A total of 42 healthy volunteers were randomly assigned to three groups: placebo, nocebo, and control. They received 96 electrical stimuli, preceded by either orange or blue lights. A hidden conditioning procedure, in which participants were not informed about the meaning of coloured lights, was performed in the placebo and nocebo groups. Light of one colour was paired with pain stimuli of moderate intensity (control stimuli), and light of the other colour was paired with either nonpainful stimuli (in the placebo group) or painful stimuli of high intensity (in the nocebo group). In the control group, both colour lights were followed by control stimuli of moderate intensity without any conditioning procedure. Participants rated pain intensity, expectancy of pain intensity, and fear. In the testing phase, when both of the coloured lights were followed by identical moderate pain stimuli, we found a significant analgesic effect in the placebo group, and a significant hyperalgesic effect in the nocebo group. Neither expectancy nor fear ratings predicted placebo analgesia or nocebo hyperalgesia. It appears that a hidden conditioning procedure, without any explicit verbal suggestions, elicits placebo and nocebo effects, however we found no evidence that these effects are predicted by either expectancy or fear. These results suggest that classical conditioning may be a distinct mechanism for placebo and nocebo effects

Cough-induced lung intercostal hernia

A 73-year-old male with marked emphysema was admitted to the 2nd Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital in Krakow because of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbation. His medical history was significant for total laryngectomy due to laryngeal cancer in 2010

A DFT study of permanganate oxidation of toluene and its ortho -nitroderivatives

Calculations of alternative oxidationpathways of toluene and its ortho-substituted nitro derivatives by permanganate anion have been performed. The competition between methyl group and ring oxidation has been addressed. Acceptable results have been obtained using IEFPCM/B3LYP/6-31+G(d,p) calculations with zero-point (ZPC) and thermal corrections, as validated by comparison with the experimental data. It has been shown that ring oxidation reactions proceed via relatively early transition states that become quite unsymmetrical for reactions involving ortho-nitrosubstituted derivatives. Transition states for the hydrogen atom abstraction reactions, on the other hand, are late. All favored reactions are characterized by the Gibbs free energy of activation, ΔG≠, of about 25kcal mol−1. Methyl group oxidations are exothermic by about 20kcal mol−1 while ring oxidations are around thermoneutrality. Figure Oxidation of toluene and its ortho-nitroderivative

Mental Relationship Patterns as Predicators of the Relationship Status of Studying Women

The article analyses relationship patterns as predictors of relationship status (having vs not having a partner) among female university students. Inner relationship patterns were identified on the basis of written statements on significant relations. The statements were obtained through the Relationship Anecdotes Paradigm (RAP), which allows the acquisition of autobiographic records of narrative nature on personally significant interpersonal relations. The results of the analysis based on the concept of Core Conflictual Relationship Theme (CCRT) helped predict whether a respondent has a partner thanks to only one category of relationship patterns – the desire of the self to feel well and comfortably, to have a sense of stability, to feel happy and self-satisfied, triggered in the context of referring to a significant interpersonal relation in the narratives. The other aspects of the patterns – responses of the other to the self’s desire and the response of the self to the reactions of the other – do not markedly affect the prediction of the relationship status