Incommensurate and commensurate phases in adsorbed monolayers: ground state properties

The ground state properties of incommensurate films of domain wall structure formed on the (100) plane of face centered cubic crystals are studied by Monte Carlo simulation. The wall energies, wall structure and the wall-wall interaction are determined for domain walls occurring in films which form the c(2*2) registered structure. The systems characterized by different strength and corrugation of the surface potential and of different misfit between adsorbate and adsorbent are discussed. It is demonstrated that the structure with crossing heavy walls may have higher stability than a simple striped phase with parallel heavy walls

Anisotropic Inflation from Extra Dimensions

Vacuum multidimensional cosmological models with internal spaces being compact $n$-dimensional Lie group manifolds are considered. Products of 3-spheres and $SU(3)$ manifold (a novelty in cosmology) are studied. It turns out that the dynamical evolution of the internal space drives an accelerated expansion of the external world (power law inflation). This generic solution (attractor in a phase space) is determined by the Lie group space without any fine tuning or arbitrary inflaton potentials. Matter in the four dimensions appears in the form of a number of scalar fields representing anisotropic scale factors for the internal space. Along the attractor solution the volume of the internal space grows logarithmically in time. This simple and natural model should be completed by mechanisms terminating the inflationary evolution and transforming the geometric scalar fields into ordinary particles.Comment: LaTeX, 11 pages, 5 figures available via fax on request to [email protected], submitted to Phys. Lett.

Women in EU as Seen by Dynamic Principal Component Analysis (PCA)

The socio-economic activity of women in 28 European Union in 2000-2015 countries has been studied in this paper. Six variables covering the female labour market, educational and political activity, and researchers’ careers have been used. They were subject to Principal Component Analysis (PCA) in two versions. One – separately for each year, and the other – jointly for the whole period. The first one was used to identify and track the positions of variables in three-component, time dependent space. Principal components were explained and some changes in loadings were discussed. For the analysis of 28 European Union countries we study their trajectories defined by factor values. The countries were clustered by Ward’s agglomerative method. Four groups have been found. Two of them were easy to interpret – consisting generally of countries from the old and new European Union respectively. Linear trends were estimated for the movement of four groups in PC space. Then, differences between groups have been explained by the analysis of group trends of the original variables

Ocena wartości prognostycznej wybranych cech klinicznych i objawów mammograficznych w raku piersi

Background: The aim of the work is to assess the probability of the breast cancer occurrence on the basis of analysis of the clinical and mammographical factors in women with unpalpable breast tumor. Material/Methods: In the period from the 1st February 1995 to the 31st August 2000, 163 surgical procedures for the removal of any lesions in the breasts were conducted, after being previously marked by localized needle, in women who earlier underwent mammography exam.Following data was taken into consideration: patients age, type of the breast structure; side of the breast, where the lesion was localized in the mammography exam; localized lesions depending on the quadrant; shape of the lesion; size of the lesion in millimeters; presence and the type of microcalcifications. Results/Conclusions: 1. The only one population factor, which can be distinguished as characteristic for the women suffering from the breast cancer impalpable in clinical testing, is the age of the patient, because the breast cancer in these women more frequently occurs after 53 years of age. 2. On the basis of our own material the following radiological symptoms characteristic for the breast cancer in mammography exam were stated: the breast cancer is more frequently found in the upper external quadrant; all lesions, which in mammography exam were identified as multifocal and radiologicaly suspected in histopathology exam turned out to be the cancer; pleomorphic microcalcifications are characteristic for the malignant lesions; external outline and the shape of the lesion are the features, which allow to differentiate malignant and benign lesions. 3. The analysis of the material indicates that the greatest probability of the breast cancer occurrence is in case of the four risk factors occurrence simultanosly, and the smallest in case of only one risk factor occurrence

The Impact of COVID–19 on the Level and Structure of Employment in European Union Countries

The paper proposes methods that can be used to evaluate the changes in one year of any measurable phenomenon based on how it performed in previous years. The following economic sections are considered: Agriculture, forestry and fishing/Industry/Construction/Wholesale and retail trade, transport, accommodation and food services/Information and communication/Financial and insurance activities/Real estate activities/Professional, scientific and technical activities, including administrative and support services/Public administration, defence, education, human health and social work/Arts, entertainment and recreation; other service activities; activities of household and extra‑territorial organisations and bodies. The paper proposes a new method – called The Triple 2 Rule – to identify changes in employment time series. Trends and autoregressive models are estimated for the period 2008–2019, and 2020 forecasts are calculated. The difference between the forecasted and observed values for 2020 is treated as a measure of the impact of COVID–19. Dynamic cluster analysis based on 2008–2020 data is the second approach. The characteristics and changes in the composition of dynamic clusters give a picture of the impact of 2020. These changes can be considered to have been caused – at least partially – by the COVID–19 pandemic

Smoking habits among women over 30 years old in Małopolska

Introduction: The aim of the study was to estimate smoking habits and their intensity among women from urban and rural residents of Małopolska voivodship. Material and methods: A structured questionnaire was used by trained nurses who conducted personal interview. Questions regarding smoking referred to age of starting smoking, duration of smoking, average daily number of cigarettes smoked. The total number of collected interviews was 840. Lifetime exposure to cigarette smoking was expressed in pack-years. Results: Data were collected among 602 urban and 238 rural women from Małopolska voivodship. In Małopolska, there are 23.4% current smokers among women, 21.7% are ex-smokers, and about 55% never smoked. The percentage of never smokers in women is significantly higher among the rural women group (67.3%) than urban women group (50.0%). Currently smoking are 25.9% urban inhabitans and 17.2% women from rural population. There were no significant differences in smoking habits among younger group of women (below 50 years) living in urban and rural areas. Conclusion: The present results indicate that female population in urban and rural areas need effective educational strategy associated with presenting negative consequences of tobacco smoking and support in quitting the addiction. Pneumonol. Alergol. Pol. 2011; 79, 1: 16-20Wstęp: Celem badania była ocena częstości palenia tytoniu i stopnia nasilenia tego nałogu wśród mieszkanek miast i wsi województwa małopolskiego. Materiał i metody: W badaniu zastosowano metodę wywiadu standaryzowanego, który przeprowadzały odpowiednio przeszkolone pielęgniarki. Pytania związane z paleniem tytoniu dotyczyły wieku rozpoczęcia i czasu palenia, średniej liczby wypalanych dziennie papierosów. Ogółem zebrano 840 wywiadów. Łączną ekspozycję narażenia na palenie tytoniu wyrażono w paczkolatach. Wyniki: Wywiady zebrano od 602 mieszkanek miast i 238 mieszkanek wsi województwa małopolskiego. W Małopolsce pali obecnie 23,4% kobiet, 21,7% jest byłymi palaczkami, a blisko 55% kobiet nigdy nie paliło tytoniu. Odsetek kobiet niepalących jest istotnie wyższy w grupie kobiet mieszkających na wsi (67,3%) w porównaniu z kobietami z miasta (50,0%). Obecnie pali 25,9% mieszkanek miast i 17,2% mieszkanek wsi. Nie zaobserwowano istotnych różnic w paleniu tytoniu w grupie młodszych kobiet (poniżej 50. rż.) zamieszkujących tereny miejskie i wiejskie. Wnioski: Wyniki badania autorów niniejszej pracy wskazują na konieczność intensywnych działań edukacyjnych w zakresie szkodliwości palenia tytoniu, jak również pomocy w uwalnianiu się od nałogu, które powinny być prowadzone wśród kobiet zarówno w środowisku miejskim, jak i wiejskim. Pneumonol. Alergol. Pol. 2011; 79, 1: 16-2

Cytological response of palatal epithelium to TiN-coated CoCr alloy denture

The aim of this study was to assess the impact of titanium nitride coatings on CoCr alloy metal parts in framework dentures on human palatal epithelium cytology compared to framework dentures made with the same alloy but without titanium nitride coating, and to acrylic dentures. Every prosthetic restoration introduced into the oral cavity and remaining in direct contact with the palate exhibits a varied and harmful effect on the state of the palatal epithelium by disturbing its keratinization. CoCr alloy dentures produce a significantly greater perturbation of keratinization compared to acrylic dentures. There is no evidence showing that a titanium nitride coating of the CoCr alloy plays a protective role in the environment of the oral cavity

The connective tissue response to Ti, NiCr and AgPd alloys.

The aim of the study was to compare the connective tissue response of Lewis rats to Ti, NiCr and AgPd alloys. It was found that implants were covered by collagen-rich, well vascularized capsules. Titanium was covered by the thinnest capsule (57 Âą 20 Îźm) and AgPd alloy was covered by the thickest capsule (239 Âą 50 Îźm). The PCNA+ cell prevalence in the capsules was lower for titanium than for AgPd and NiCr. Mast cells formed a gradient to a depth of 1200 Îźm only for titanium implants. Cells with brown to black silver granules in the cytoplasm were observed close to AgPd implants. The results suggest that titanium implants induce a weaker connective tissue response than implants made from NiCr and AgPd alloys

Use of Markov's model for prognosis evaluation after radical surgical treatment of breast cancer

Nie można wykluczyć, iż po leczeniu radykalnym u chorej na raka piersi nie pojawią się nawroty miejscowe i/lub przerzuty. Z tego powodu przeprowadzanie regularnych badań kontrolnych po zakończeniu leczenia radykalnego wydaje się skuteczną formą wykrycia wznowy choroby na wczesnym, wyleczalnym etapie. W niniejszym opracowaniu przedstawiono zastosowanie modelu Markowa do obliczenia prawdopodobieństwa pojawienia się wznowy lokoregionalnej, przerzutu i przeżycia w trakcie 5-letniego okresu obserwacji. Na jego podstawie wykazano, że regularność badań kontrolnych po operacji z powodu raka piersi nie zmniejsza ryzyka wystąpienia niepowodzenia, ani nie przyczynia się do wydłużenia życia. Z kolei wykrywanie niepowodzenia w czasie badań kontrolnych chorych po operacji raka piersi nie zwiększa szansy na jego wyleczenie. Dlatego też standardowe badanie kontrolne chorych bezobjawowych po radykalnym leczeniu raka piersi można ograniczyć do wywiadu i badania przedmiotowego.Radical treatment of breast cancer does not protect patients from local recurrence and/or metastasis. For this reason regular follow-up after completed radical treatment seems to be an effective form of recurrence detection at the early, curable phase. This analysis shows use of Markov model for probability calculation with respect to incidence of local recurrence and metastasis and survival during 5-year follow-up. Based on Markov`s model it was shown that regularity of follow-up after operation due to breast cancer does not decrease the risk of failure occurence neither does it contribute to patient`s life prolongation. Furthermore, detection of failure - during follow-up after operation due to breast cancer - does not increase the chance of its cure. Therefore standard follow-up of asymptomatic patients after radical treatment of breast cancer can be reduced to history and physical examination

Flexible multidimensional scaling for human smart development analysis in EU countries

PURPOSE: The aim of the paper is to propose a flexible procedure to Multidimensional Scaling, allowing to calculate the input distance matrix based on slightly different set of variables for each pair of objects.DESIGN/METHODOLOGY/APPROACH: The procedure starts from the classical standardization of each variable. Before the calculation of flexible distance between two objects, we eliminate the variable with the biggest absolute value in the first object, and the same we do for the second object. So, we have two variables less in the list for these two objects. If by chance the same variable is pointed for elimination by both objects, the next variable with the biggest (out of both objects) absolute standardized value should be eliminated. With this procedure, each element of distance matrix is based on the same number of variables, but some of actual variables can be different.FINDINGS: As an example – Flexible Multidimensional Scaling is performed on the list of 17 variables describing so called smart society, for 28 European Union countries. It shows how the proposed procedure works in practice.PRACTICAL IMPLICATIONS: The proposed flexible procedure can be used for the analysis of any problem treated by Multidimensional Scaling.ORIGINALITY/VALUE: Flexible Multidimensional Scaling (FMDS) is a new idea and method. It eliminates some elements of subjective choice of initial variables and seems to be more robust against outliers than classical Multidimensional Scaling (MDS).The paper is funded under the program of the Minister of Science and Higher Education titled “Regional Initiative of Excellence” in 2019-2022, project number 018/RID/2018/19, the amount of funding PLN 10 788 423.16.peer-reviewe