The Crying of Lot 49 and the Parody of Detective Fiction

The Crying of Lot 49, recognized as an important example of postmodern fiction, is a novella by an American author Thomas Pynchon. It follows the story of Oedipa Maas, who encounters a possible underground conspiracy related to postal services. Its themes and structural properties suggest affinities with a detective story genre, although there are crucial differences which actually mark the novel as a parody of the genre. In my article I want to analyze two elements which contribute to the parodic nature of The Crying of Lot 49. One is the wide use of various cultural references to the popular culture, history, American society etc.; they are usually satirized by the author as to what contributes to the overall sense of a parody. The second contributes directly to the reversed structure of a detective fiction; the use of entropy as the plot device distorts the unraveling mystery in the novel. Moreover, the reading of the novel as a parody in terms of the characteristics listed above justifies its reputation as a postmodern text.

O wybranych konsekwencjach nietypowych form zatrudnienia w świetle wywiadów jakościowych

Selected results of the qualitative research about social and individual consequences of non – typical forms of employment are presented. The research was carried out in the Lubuskie voivodship in 2011. They seem to show that the inhabitants of this province are aware of advantages and disadvantages of the flexible labour market. For some people flexible job contracts offer a chance to create self-made careers. Some people declare flexible jobs as a substitute under a lack of full-time jobs in searching for job. They understand that flexible jobs counteract unemployment and guarantee any income. However, they complain about uncertainty related the contract duration, income, and irregular work intensity. There are also opinions that when combined with a stable contract non-typical forms of employment offer opportunities to stabilize a financial situation

Distribution of Some Ecotoxic Elements in Fuel and Solid Combustion Residues in Poland

The purpose of this paper is to assess the content and distribution of some elements in coal from two bituminous coal basins and in fly ash and slag derived from combustion of the coals in six power plants in Poland. The petrographic composition and distribution of elements were characterized in the tested samples, using reflected light microscope, X-ray powder di ractometer, inductively coupled plasma atomic emission spectroscopy, and scanning electron microscope with energy dispersive X-ray. The highest content of elements in coal occurs in siderite. In Al-Si particles, as well as in magnetite with skeletal and dendritic structure crystallized on the surface of Al-Si microspheres or cenospheres included in fly ash size < 0.05 mm and in the magnetic fraction of slag, the highest content of elements was noted. Due to the content of elements, fly ash and slag were considered to be neutral for the soil environment. Correlations, which have not been described before, have been observed between the likely mode of binding of some elements in coal and their distribution in fly ash and slag. These correlations could be of particular value when predicting the content and distribution of elements in combustion residues and in the assessment of their environmental toxicity

A Perspective : Active Role of Lipids in Neurotransmitter Dynamics

Synaptic neurotransmission is generally considered as a function of membrane-embedded receptors and ion channels in response to the neurotransmitter (NT) release and binding. This perspective aims to widen the protein-centric view by including another vital component—the synaptic membrane—in the discussion. A vast set of atomistic molecular dynamics simulations and biophysical experiments indicate that NTs are divided into membrane-binding and membrane-nonbinding categories. The binary choice takes place at the water-membrane interface and follows closely the positioning of the receptors’ binding sites in relation to the membrane. Accordingly, when a lipophilic NT is on route to a membrane-buried binding site, it adheres on the membrane and, then, travels along its plane towards the receptor. In contrast, lipophobic NTs, which are destined to bind into receptors with extracellular binding sites, prefer the water phase. This membrane-based sorting splits the neurotransmission into membrane-independent and membrane-dependent mechanisms and should make the NT binding into the receptors more efficient than random diffusion would allow. The potential implications and notable exceptions to the mechanisms are discussed here. Importantly, maintaining specific membrane lipid compositions (MLCs) at the synapses, especially regarding anionic lipids, affect the level of NT-membrane association. These effects provide a plausible link between the MLC imbalances and neurological diseases such as depression or Parkinson’s disease. Moreover, the membrane plays a vital role in other phases of the NT life cycle, including storage and release from the synaptic vesicles, transport from the synaptic cleft, as well as their synthesis and degradation.Peer reviewe

Geochemiczna charakterystyka występowania bizmutu i antymonu w niektórych pokładach węgla Lubelskiego Zagłębia Węglowego (LZW)

The study included 24 samples of coal with 7 cores, boreholes (7 coal seams), made by the Polish Geological Institute in Warsaw at the site of a Chelm field and 6 coal samples taken from 2 decks in the Lublin Coal mine „Bogdanka“ S.A. in LCB. Based on performed tests found generally low levels of Sb and Bi in coal. In the vertical profile of the LCB contents of Bi and Sb in coal generally increases from coal seams younger to older age. Content of Bi in coal from roof part coal seams is usually higher, and ash content in the coal content of Sb are generally lower than in the carbon of the middle part decks. The content of Bi in the lateral coal deposits is unlikely to vary, and the gap in the coal content of Bi between the sampling regions coal do not exceed 1.7 g / Mg. In contrast gap Sb content in coal on the extent LCB is from 1.7 g / Mg of 5.8 g / Mg. The biggest influence on the content of Bi and Sb in coal from the LCB is probably organic matter in which these elements are scattered and do not form their own minerals

Molecular dynamics simulations of charged and neutral lipid bilayers : treatment of electrostatic interactions

Molecular dynamics (MD) simulations complement experimental methods in studies of the structure and dynamics of lipid bilayers. The choice of algorithms employed in this computational method represents a trade-off between the accuracy and real calculation time. The largest portion of the simulation time is devoted to calculation of long-range electrostatic interactions. To speed-up evaluation of these interactions, various approximations have been used. The most common ones are the truncation of long-range interactions with the use of cut-offs, and the particle-mesh Ewald (PME) method. In this study, several multi-nanosecond cut-off and PME simulations were performed to establish the influence of the simulation protocol on the bilayer properties. Two bilayers were used. One consisted of neutral phosphatidylcholine molecules. The other was a mixed lipid bilayer consisting of neutral phosphatidylethanolamine and negatively charged phosphatidylglycerol molecules. The study shows that the cut-off simulation of a bilayer containing charge molecules generates artefacts; in particular the mobility and order of the charged molecules are vastly different from those determined experimentally. In the PME simulation, the bilayer properties are in general agreement with experimental data. The cut-off simulation of bilayers containing only uncharged molecules does not generate artefacts, nevertheless, the PME simulation gives generally better agreement with experimental data

SCHOOL AND AFTER-SCHOOL INTERESTS TAKEN UP BY THE DEPENDENTS OF FOSTER CARE FACILITIES (ON THE EXAMPLE OF LUBELSKIE VOIVODESHIP)

The subject of the article are school and after school interests popular among the dependants staying both in institutional care facilities as well as in family custody. A significant problem, which should be taken into consideration, is the fact that the research is not carried out among young people being brought up in their own biological families, but only among the foster care pupils what can also affect the types of activities undertaken in their free time both in the school environment and after classes. The aim of the research was to determine how different school and after school interests are shaped among dependents of various forms of foster care and what they are conditioned by. Among the indicators influencing the type of activities taken up by the pupils participating in the research the following were enumerated: environmental factors, namely: location of the facility or the family-type children's home; personal factors including age and gender of the dependents, or institutional factors such as the type of facility in which the research respondent is staying; obtained support and help from both educators and teachers.The material for the article was created as part of the project "Education, levelling developmental and educational deficiencies of children under the care of family-run children’s houses as well as the educational care centre (on the example of the selected poviats of Lubelskie, Świętokrzyskie, Warminsko-Mazurskie voivodeships)". The project was implemented by the Department of Pedagogy of Higher State School in Biała Podlaska. There were used two methods in the research: diagnostic survey and study of individual cases. The following questionnaires were used: proprietary questionnaires for charges, interview questionnaires with educators of educational care centres and family houses, an observation sheet and interviews with coordinators and directors of the examined institutions.  

10.2 Kompetencja interkulturowa - Poradnik Mentora

„Poradnik Mentora” rozpoczniemy od praktycznych wskazówek dotyczących lekcjirozwijających kompetencję interkulturową, jakie Mentor może przekazać Praktykantowi