Selected Instruments for Management of Technology Development

Polska dysponuje pewnymi możliwościami rozwijania nowoczesnych technologii, także tych, które aktualnie znajdują się w pierwszych fazach cyklu życia (np. nanotechnologii, spintroniki, fizykochemii zjawisk powierzchniowych, robotyki itd.), i mają wysoki potencjał generowania zysku przy relatywnie niskich (bo niezwiązanych z samymi kosztami produkcji) nakładach inwestycyjnych i niższych wymaganiach, jeśli chodzi o wcześniej zdobyte doświadczenie. Wykorzystanie tych możliwości wymaga rozszerzenia o nowe podejścia tradycyjnego instrumentarium zarządzania technologią, opartego głównie na dorobku teorii racjonalnych oczekiwań. Wśród tych nowych podejść na szczególną uwagę zasługuje foresight i towarzyszące mu: cykl życia technologii i mapowanie, które są przedmiotem niniejszego artykułu

Language-specific cues: A cue to language?

A key issue in psycholinguistic research on the nature of the coexistence of two (or more) languages in the cognitive system of a fluent bilingual speaker include the nature of lexical access (selective vs non-selective). In the context of the non-selective access view, we investigate the extent to which sub-lexical information (eg languagespecific cues, such as onset capitals for German nouns) is sufficient to constrain or eliminate lexical interaction between the bilingual’s languages. We also consider the extent to which the use of such information is affected by priming for a specific language from a preceding sentential context. To gain insight, experimental data from English-German bilinguals from three different proficiency levels was collected,who listened to a sentence frame in either L1 or L2, and then performed a German(L2) lexical decision task to a word presented visually immediately after the frame.Error data shows that language-specific cues have an increasingly facilitatory effect on lexical access with increasing proficiency levels. In addition, context languageeffects decrease with increasing proficiency level. Response time analyses, on the other hand, reveal a delay for German-biased items, ie those with onset capitalisation. We discuss these results in the context of models of bilingual language processing

Are you reading what I am reading? The impact of contrasting alphabetic scripts on reading English

This study examines the impact of the crosslinguistic similarity of translation equivalents on word recognition by Russian-English bilinguals, who are fluent in languages with two different but partially overlapping writing systems. Current models for bilingual word recognition, like BIA+, hold that all words that are similar to the input letter string are activated and considered for selection, irrespective of the language to which they belong (Dijkstra and Van Heuven, 2002). These activation models are consistent with empirical data for bilinguals with totally different scripts, like Japanese and English (Miwa et al., 2014). Little is known about the bilingual processing of Russian and English, but studies indicate that the partially distinct character of the Russian and English scripts does not prevent co-activation (Jouravlev and Jared, 2014; Marian and Spivey, 2003; Kaushanskaya and Marian, 2007)

The effect of language-specific characteristics on English and Japanese speakers' ability to recall number information

The current paper presents two experiments investigating the effect of presence versus absence of compulsory number marking in a native language on a speaker’s ability to recall number information from photos. In Experiment 1, monolingual English and Japanese adults were shown a sequence of 110 photos after which they were asked questions about the photos. We found that the English participants showed a significantly higher accuracy rate for questions testing recall for number information when the correct answer was ‘2’ (instead of ‘1’) than Japanese participants. In experiment 2, English and Japanese adults engaged in the same task as in Experiment 1 with an addition that explored reasons for the results found in Experiment 1. The results of Experiment 2 were in line with the results of Experiment 1, but also suggested that the results could not be attributed to differences in guessing patterns between the two groups or the type of linguistic constructions used in the test situations. The current study suggests that native language affects speakers’ ability to recall number information from scenes and thus provides evidence for the Whorfian hypothesis

The use of 90Y-PET imaging in evaluation of 90Y-microspheres distribution in the liver: initial results

BACKGROUND: Selective internal radiation therapy (SIRT) with 90Y-microspheres infusion into the hepatic artery is a novel method for palliative treatment of primary and metastatic liver cancer. The post-procedural 90Y dose estimation in the liver is very difficult because direct measurement of b particles is not possible with SPECT/CT. New methods are needed to assess the 90Y-microspheres liver distribution. In the present paper we evaluate the 90Y-PET for these purposes. MATERIALS AND METHODS: A GE Discovery ST PET/CT scanner with a copper ring protected the gantry was used for images acquisition. For SPECT/CT imaging, a GE Infinia VCHWK4 with HEPG collimators was used. The liver 90Y-microspheres (SIR-Spheres, SIRTEX, Australia) dose distribution after selective internal radiotherapy treatment was evaluated in three patients (9 lesions in total). The activity of 90Y-microspheres delivered into the liver ranged from 1.0 GBq to 2.2 GBq. The correlations between liver lesions detected with 90Y-PET, 99mTc-MAA and 90-bremsstrahlung were investigated and compared with CT images obtained before and after the procedure. RESULTS: The mean T/N ratio was 2.7 in 99mTc-MAA, 2.3 in 90Y-bremsstrahlung and 3.6 in 90Y-PET. The mean 90Y absorbed dose in tumor was 133 Gy, 112 Gy, and 187 Gy, respectively. The mean liver tissue radiation was 15.5 Gy. According to RECIST criteria, one PR (mCRC) and two SD were observed (mCRC and PC). Time to progression was 217 and 117 days in two patients with mCRC and 214 days in the patient with PC. CONCLUSIONS: 90Y-PET/CT images give crucial information regarding 90Y-microspheres distribution and dosimetry and may serve as a predictor of efficiency of radioembolisation

PySDM v1 : particle-based cloud modeling package for warm-rain microphysics and aqueous chemistry

PySDM is an open-source Python package for simulating the dynamics of particles undergoing condensational and collisional growth, interacting with a fluid flow and subject to chemical composition changes. It is intended to serve as a building block for process-level as well as computational-fluid-dynamics simulation systems involving representation of a continuous phase (air) and a dispersed phase (aerosol), with PySDM being responsible for representation of the dispersed phase. The PySDM package core is a Pythonic high-performance implementation of the Super-Droplet Method (SDM) Monte-Carlo algorithm for representing collisional growth, hence the name. PySDM has two alternative parallel number-crunching backends available: multi-threaded CPU backend based on Numba and GPU-resident backend built on top of ThrustRTC. The usage examples are built on top of four simple atmospheric cloud modelling frameworks: box, adiabatic parcel, single-column and 2D prescribed flow kinematic models. In addition, the package ships with tutorial code depicting how PySDM can be used from Julia and Matlab

New reactivity at the silicon bridge in sila[1]ferrocenophanes

CONCLUSION:The mT/N1 ratio, PAD, and AAD can be used as predictors of tumor response to SIRT treatment, and SPECT/CT imaging can be used for dosimetric assessment of radioembolization

ICTP concentration in cervical-vaginal fluid as a potential marker of membrane collagen degradation before labor

Objectives: Numerous physical and chemical processes lead to rupture of membranes. Within the fetal membranes there are numerous types of metalloproteinases, which cause collagen type I degradation. The C-terminal telopeptide of colagen type I (ICTP) is the breakdown product of type I collagen. The aim of the study was to determine whether ICTP is secreted into the vaginal-cervical fluid (VCF) in the case of physiological rupture of the membranes of the fetus before delivery. Material and methods: The study was conducted in March 2021 at the Department of Obstetrics and Perinatology of the Jagiellonian University in Cracow, Poland. Twenty-three cases were included in the study. During routine gynecological examination with the use of specula, VCF was collected twice in a volume of 50 µL. The obtained material was then subjected to enzyme immunoassay using the Human C-telopeptide of type I collagen (ICTP) ELISA Kit (Catalog Number. CSB-E10363h). The concentration of ICTP in the sample was calibrated. The concentration range that the device can detect was 25 ng /mL–800 ng/mL. Results: The presence of ICTP in the VCF was confirmed. The minimum concentration was 43.72 ng/mL, the maximum was 762.59, in five cases the concentration was outside the maximum scale of the device. Conclusions: ICTP was confirmed in the VCF of pregnant women before physiological delivery. Further studies are required to accurately evaluate ICTP as a marker of the processes of collagen degradation in fetal membranes in the mechanism of physiological labor and premature rupture of the membranes

Wybrane białka ostrej fazy u pacjentów poddanych angioplastyce wieńcowej

Wstęp: Pomimo licznych doniesień dotyczących czynników ryzyka powikłań i restenozy, w tym prac na temat białek ostrej fazy, dokładna stratyfikacja ryzyka u pacjentów poddanych angioplastyce wieńcowej (PTCA) jest wciąż przedmiotem badań. Celem pracy była ocena zależności występowania zgonów, zawałów serca i ponownych rewaskularyzacji (ocenianych łącznie) oraz restenozy u pacjentów z dławicą piersiową bolesną zależnie od stężenia biochemicznych markerów stanu zapalnego. Materiał i metody: Badanie miało charakter prospektywnej, kohortowej próby z rocznym okresem klinicznej obserwacji chorych. Stężenia białka C-reaktywnego (CRP) i surowiczego białka amyloidowego (SAA) oznaczono metodą nefelometryczną u 138 pacjentów z dławicą piersiową stabilną i 16 chorych z dławicą piersiową niestabilną. Krew do oznaczeń pobierano przed zabiegiem oraz po 6, 18&#8211;24 godzinach, a także po 1, 3, 6, 12 miesiącach po zabiegu. Kliniczne objawy restenozy weryfikowano angiograficznie. Wyniki: Stężenia CRP oznaczane 18&#8211;24 godzin i 6 miesięcy po angioplastyce okazały się czynnikami predykcyjnymi wystąpienia zgonu, zawału serca i potrzeby rewaskularyzacji, ocenianymi łącznie (MACE), oraz wystąpienia restenozy. Wartości SAA, zmierzone przed zabiegiem oraz po 6 i po 18&#8211;24 godzinach, a także po miesiącu od PTCA, jak również CRP oznaczone przed angioplastyką i po 6 godzinach, 1, 3, 12 miesiącach nie miały wpływu na występowanie wspomnianych kryteriów oceny. Szczytowe wartości stężeń CRP i SAA wystąpiły po 18&#8211;24 godzinach od zabiegu. Między stężeniami CRP oznaczanymi 18&#8211;24 godzin oraz 6 miesięcy po PTCA istnieje wysoka, istotna korelacja liniowa. Rozległość zmian miażdżycowych oceniana liczbą zajętych tętnic wieńcowych nie wiązała się ze stężeniem CRP. Wnioski: Uzyskane wyniki potwierdzają kluczową rolę procesu zapalnego w destabilizacji zmian miażdżycowych i procesie restenozy oraz wskazują na istnienie odczynu zapalnego wywołanego zabiegiem angioplastyki wieńcowej. Pacjenci po PTCA z wysokim stężeniem CRP (> 6,3 mg/l) są bardziej zagrożeni ostrym incydentem wieńcowym i restenozą, dlatego wymagają szczególnego nadzoru kardiologicznego w okresie kilkunastu miesięcy po zabiegu w przeciwieństwie do chorych z niskim stężeniem tego markera (CRP < 2,5 mg/l), którzy znajdują się w grupie niskiego ryzyka (OR dla MACE 2,1; OR dla restenozy 2,2). (Folia Cardiol. 2003; 10: 733&#8211;742