(Un) cultural Cats: Multi-dimensional Transition of Felines in Human Society

The status of cats has changed in both society and literature. In human society and literature. Cats have fought their way to human homes, hearts, and to the centre of interest of various fields of science. In the time of buoyantly developing field of animal studies and Athrozoology, cats have been given a chance to be appreciated and understood. Their transition in both real world and virtual reality has been a multi-layered and complex process yet to be completed

pubs.acs.org/OrgLett Diagnosing Ring Current(s) in Figure-Eight Skeletons : A 3D Through-Space Conjugation in the Two-Loops Crossing

The macrocyclic structures with local conjugation readily undergo a redox-triggered change in the diatropic character, leading to a global current-density pathway of the doubly charged systems. The figure eight geometry of the neutral dimer does not significantly change upon oxidation according to the spectroscopic and computational data. The oxidation leads to 3D cross-conjugation at the intersection of the two ethylene bridges resulting in a global ring current.Peer reviewe

Noninvasive evaluation of renal tissue oxygenation with blood oxygen level-dependent magnetic resonance imaging early after transplantation has a limited predictive value for the delayed graft function

Purpose: The aim of this study was to evaluate the feasibility of renal oxygenation assessment using blood oxygen level-dependent (BOLD) magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in the early period after kidney transplantation and to estimate its prognostic value for delayed graft function. Material and methods: Examinations were performed in 50 subjects: 40 patients within a week after the kidney transplantation and 10 healthy controls, using T2*-weighted sequence. Measurements in transplant patients were correlated to basic laboratory parameters in the early period after transplantation and at follow-up. Results: Examinations of seven patients (18%) were rejected due to their poor technical quality. Mean R2* values in transplant recipients were lower than in controls (11.6 vs. 15.9 Hz; p = 0.0001). An R2* value of 0.28 Hz was calculated as the minimal detectable change. There was no relation between R2* values and laboratory parameters. However, patients eGFR ≥ 40 ml/min/1.73 m2 presented higher R2* values than recipients eGFR 0.7). Conclusions: Evaluation of renal graft oxygenation using BOLD MRI is technically challenging in the early period after transplantation. An R2* value of 0.28 Hz may in practice be considered as the minimal detectable change. The delayed graft function seems not to be dependent on early oxygenation values. Further, large-scale studies are necessary to confirm the latter observation

Local weather classifications for environmental applications

Local weather classifications for environmental applications. Two approaches of local weather type definitions are presented and illustrated for selected stations of Poland and Hungary. The subjective classification, continuing long traditions, especially in Poland, relies on diurnal values of local weather elements. The main types are defined according to temperature with some sub-types considering relative sunshine duration, diurnal precipitation totals, relative humidity and wind speed. The classification does not make a difference between the seasons of the year, but the occurrence of the classes obviously reflects the annual cycle. Another important feature of this classification is that only a minor part of the theoretically possible combination of the various types and sub-types occurs in all stations of both countries. The objective version of the classification starts from ten possible weather element which are reduced to four according to factor analysis, based on strong correlation between the elements. This analysis yields 3 to 4 factors depending on the specific criteria of selection. The further cluster analysis uses four selected weather elements belonging to different rotated factors. They are the diurnal mean values of temperature, of relative humidity, of cloudiness and of wind speed. From the possible ways of hierarchical cluster analysis (i.e. no a priori assumption on the number of classes), the method of furthest neighbours is selected, indicating the arguments of this decision in the paper. These local weather types are important tools in understanding the role of weather in various environmental indicators, in climatic generalisation of short samples by stratified sampling and in interpretation of the climate change

Variables posture in the sagittal plane in children attitude with scoliosis and idiopathic scoliosis

The aim of the study was to analyze the sagittal spinal curvatures in children with scoliosis and idiopathic scoliosis attitude and norm. The shape of the spine was assessed using optoelectronic Diers formetric III 4D. The research was Carried out in the Posturology Laboratory at the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, UJK in Kielce (Poland). The biggest differences in the absolute values ​​of the variables tested in girls and boys with a group of scoliosis, attitudes and scoliotic standard body length was observed for SP-VP (mm). Univariate analysis of variance showed significant differences in the measurement of intra-lordosis angle among both boys and girls. This means that only the angles of lordosis differed significantly between the groups scoliosis, attitudes and scoliotic standard. Both girls and boys lordosis angle of scoliosis in the group was significantly lower than in the attitudes scolitic group and with the standard. In children with scoliosis it occurred in the first place to shallow lumbar lordosis. The size of the physiological thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis should be taken into account in the selection of methods of treatment of scoliosis. In the treatment of scoliosis, use patterns shoulders and the pelvis, to restore the normal range thoracic kyphosis and lumbar lordosis

Legacies, socio-economic and biophysical processes and drivers : the case of future forest cover expansion in the Polish Carpathians and Swiss Alps

Mountain forest areas are key for providing a wide range of ecosystem services and are hot spots for land use change processes, in particular, increase in forest cover at the expense of mountain pastures and meadows. Mountain forest systems in eastern and western Europe have likely similar future socio-economic situations but significantly different socio-economic history. Using a scenario-based land use modelling approach (Dyna-CLUE framework) we model three scenarios (trend, liberalisation and self-sufficiency) of future land use in the Polish Carpathians and the Swiss Alps, focussing on forest cover change. We find that forest cover increase can be expected to continue in European mountainous regions under all likely scenarios, limited only by relatively strict policy interventions. Biophysical factors, rather than socio-eco- nomic ones, are key for defining the suitability for, and therefore likely locations of future forest cover, but land use legacy plays a very important role in the spatial pat- terns of future forest cover, particularly in eastern Europe

Repair and Renovation of Internal Walls of the Semibasement of the Castle in Kórnik. Desalination of Walls

Artykuł jest formą sprawozdania z prac remontowych o charakterze konserwatorskim prowadzonych w obrębie murów wewnętrznych przyziemia Zamku w Kórniku. Kluczowym elementem tych prac jest odsalanie ścian piwnic. Nadmierna ilość soli jest wynikiem szeregu działań podejmowanych w końcu XIX i na początku XX wieku, których celem było ratowanie zabytku przed katastrofą. Najbardziej spektakularnym zabiegiem prowadzącym do stabilizacji budowli okazała się cebertyzacja (zeskalanie gruntu) przeprowadzona na początku lat 50. XX wieku. Produktem ubocznym tej operacji są ogromne ilość szkodliwych soli, które, przenikając z gruntu w mury zamku, prowadzą do ich stopniowej destrukcji. Ze względu na postępującą degradację ścian we wnętrzach zamkowych piwnic od 2012 roku podjęto czynności prowadzące do eliminacji podwyższonego poziomu zawilgocenia oraz zawartych w murach szkodliwych soli. Po przeprowadzonych pracach stabilizujących poziom wilgotności następnym etapem, obecnie realizowanym, jest proces odsalania, czyli wyprowadzania soli ze struktury murów. Do tego celu wykorzystuje się specjalne kompresy nakładane na powierzchnię zasolonych ścian piwnic. Skala obiektu oraz stopień skomplikowania samego odsalania ze względu na wielkość i niejednorodność murów przyziemia narzuciły konieczność określenia odpowiednich zakresów czynności i przypisania ich indywidualnie dla każdej ze ścian w poszczególnych pomieszczeniach piwnic. W ciągu roku, w trzech etapach, udało się pokryć pierwszym kompresem większość powierzchni murów. Przyjęta do realizacji metoda odsalania nie daje natychmiastowych efektów, a możliwość oceny ostatecznych rezultatów odsunięta jest w czasie.This paper is a form of a report on conservation repairs on the internal walls of the semibasement of the Castle in Kórnik. One key element of these works is the desalination of the cellar walls. The excessive amount of salt results from a number of measures undertaken towards the end of the 19th c. and in the early 20th c., in order to rescue the architectural gem against a disaster. Carried out in the early 1950s, the cebertization (petrification of soil) proved to be the most spectacular measure leading to the stabilization of the structure. Unfortunately, however, this operation generates a side effect in the form of a huge amount of harmful salts, which permeate from the soil into the castle walls, leading to their gradual destruction. In view of the progressing degradation of the walls in the castle cellars, measures leading to the elimination of the increased level of dampness and the damaging salts in the walls were implemented as of 2012. After works stabilising the level of dampness were carried out, the process of desalination, i.e. removal of salt from the structure of the walls, was undertaken as the subsequent stage – and is currently in progress. Special compresses placed onto the surface of the salinated building are used for the purpose. The scale of the facility and the complexity of desalination itself resulting from the size and heterogeneity of the semibasement walls enforced the necessity to determine the appropriate scope of the works and assign them individually to each wall in the particular parts of the cellars. In the course of a year, in three stages, the majority of the wall surface was successfully covered with the first compress. The desalination method adopted does not bring about instant results, and the possibility to assess its final effects requires time