Mental rotation of emotional and neutral stimuli

The main aim of the study was to create and validate emotional version of mental rotation task (MRT). As all previously conducted experiments utilized neutral material only, such an attempt seemed necessary to confirm the generality of mental rotation effect and its properties. Emotional MRT was constructed using photos of negative facial expressions; a compatible neutral MRT was also created, for detailed comparisons. 2- and 3-dimensional figures (Experiment 1) and hexagrams (Experiment 2 and 3) served as affect-free stimuli. In three experiments, emotional MRT version was proven to be valid, whereas only hexagram-based neutral MRT version yielded the expected results. A number of differences between the two versions emerged, concerning response times, accuracy and difficulty of trials. The neutral/emotional MRT procedure, although needing more research, seems to give stable results, making the study of content-bound imagery possible

Spatial variability more influential than soil pH and land relief on thermophilous vegetation in overgrown coppice oak forests

The overgrown coppice oak forests that cover the southern slopes beneath the foothills of the Sudetes (Silesia, Central Europe) are considered to be Euro-Siberian steppic woods with a Quercus sp. habitat (91I0): a priority habitat in the European Union, according to the Natura 2000 system. In subcontinental parts of Central Europe, thermophilous oak forest vegetation is found extrazonally; its presence, in the study site, is related to previous coppice management. In this paper we explore the differentiation of the vegetation caused both by land-relief derived variables (potential heat load, slope inclination and exposition, soil depth) and soil pH, as well as spatial processes. The data on the vegetation were collected from 117 regularly arranged sampling plots, located in three mountain ranges. The vegetation consisted of a mixture of species considered as typical for different habitats (mesophilous forests, acidophilous forests, thermophilous oak forests, grassland, thermophilous fringes and mesophilous mantle) and was relatively rich in species. Many of the species found were rare and are protected in Poland. The results of the bioindication, on the basis of Ellenberg indicator values, suggest the pH gradient to be the most important, followed by the insolation/moisture gradient, to the differentiation of the studied vegetation. The thermophilous oak forests seem to occupy the niche between acidophilous and mesophilous forest. However the decomposition of spatial variation, assessed on the basis of semivariance values of the vegetation similarity coefficient (frequency index), emphasizes a strong differentiation of vegetation between sites and mountain ranges.The results of canonical correspondence analysis, performed on a spatially stratified sub-set of the data, revealed a stronger effect caused by spatial variation (32.7% of explained species variation) than environmental variables, such as soil pH and potential heat load (13.1%). Since the shared variation was low (1.8%), it showed a strong influence of spatial processes, revealing the effect of the local species pool

Spatial structure of grassland patches in Poland: implications for nature conservation

Grasslands provide wide range of ecosystem services, however, their area and quality are still diminishing in Europe. Nowadays, they often create isolated patches inside “sea” of other habitats. We have examined basic structural landscape metrics of grasslands in Poland using CORINE land use database. Characteristics for both all individual patches as well as average values for 10 × 10-km grid covering Poland were examined. We also assessed the percentage of grasslands within protected areas and ecological corridors. We found that in Poland rather small patches (0.3–1 km2) dominate, usually located 200–500 m away from each other. The grasslands had clumped distribution, thus in Poland exist large areas where grasslands patches are separated kilometers from each other. Almost all indices calculated for 10 × 10-km2 were correlated, i.e., in regions with high percentage of grasslands, the patches were large, more numerous, placed close to each other, and had more irregular shapes. Our results revealed that the percentage of grasslands within protected areas and ecological corridors did not differ from the average value for Poland. On the other hand, forests were significantly over-represented in protected areas and ecological corridors. These findings suggest that there is no planned scheme for grassland protection at the landscape scale in Poland. Development the scheme is urgent and needs high-quality data regarding distribution of seminatural grasslands patches. In practice, nature conservationists and managers should consider spatial processes in their plans in order to maintain grassland biodiversity

Determination of linezolid in human serum by reversed-phase high-performance liquid chromatography with ultraviolet and diode array detection

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with UV and DAD detection for the quantitative determination of linezolid in human serum was developed in present work. Chromatography was carried out by reversed-phase technique on a RP-18 column with a mobile phase composed of 50 mM phosphate buffer and acetonitrile (76 : 26, v/v), adjusted to pH 3.5 with orthophosphoric acid. Serum samples were deproteinized with methanol centrifuged and then, the supernatant was analyzed using HPLC procedure. No interference was observed at the retention times of linezolid from blank serum or ten commonly used antibiotics. A concentration range from 0.50 to 30.0 g/mL was utilized to construct calibration curves. The lower limit of detection was determined to be 0.1 μg/mL of serum for both detectors. The lower limit of quantification of 0.25 μg/mL (CV = 2.6%) was established for determination using HPLC-UV and 0.5 μg/mL (CV = 5.42%) for HPLC-DAD. The recovery of linezolid was approximately 100%. Intra-day accuracy ranged from 0.97 to 12.63% and 0.74 to 10.85% for HPLC-UV and HPLC-DAD method, respectively. Intra-day precision was less than 4.69% for HPLC-UV and less than 5.42% for HPLC-DAD method. Tests confirmed the stability of linezolid in serum during three freeze-thaw cycles and during long-term storage of frozen serum for up to 6 weeks; in extracts it was stable in the HPLC autosampler over 24 h. Statistical analysis by Student's t-test showed no significant difference between the results obtained by these two methods. In summary, these methods will be used and adapted for infected patients in intensive care unit, to determine linezolid serum concentrations in order to know the pharmacokinetic profiles of linezolid

Determination of linezolid in human serum by reversed-phase high performance liquid chromatography with ultrafiolet and diode array detection

A high-performance liquid chromatographic (HPLC) method with UV and DAD detection for the quantitative determination of linezolid in human serum was developed in present work. Chromatography was carried out by reversed-phase technique on a RP-18 column with a mobile phase composed of 50 mM phosphate buffer and acetonitrile (76 : 26, v/v), adjusted to pH 3.5 with orthophosphoric acid. Serum samples were deproteinized with methanol centrifuged and then, the supernatant was analyzed using HPLC procedure. No interference was observed at the retention times of linezolid from blank serum or ten commonly used antibiotics. A concentration range from 0.50 to 30.0 g/mL was utilized to construct calibration curves. The lower limit of detection was determined to be 0.1 μg/mL of serum for both detectors. The lower limit of quantification of 0.25 μg/mL (CV = 2.6%) was established for determination using HPLC-UV and 0.5 μg/mL (CV = 5.42%) for HPLC-DAD. The recovery of linezolid was approximately 100%. Intra-day accuracy ranged from 0.97 to 12.63% and 0.74 to 10.85% for HPLC-UV and HPLC-DAD method, respectively. Intra-day precision was less than 4.69% for HPLC-UV and less than 5.42% for HPLC-DAD method. Tests confirmed the stability of linezolid in serum during three freeze-thaw cycles and during long-term storage of frozen serum for up to 6 weeks; in extracts it was stable in the HPLC autosampler over 24 h. Statistical analysis by Student's t-test showed no significant difference between the results obtained by these two methods. In summary, these methods will be used and adapted for infected patients in intensive care unit, to determine linezolid serum concentrations in order to know the pharmacokinetic profiles of linezolid

Instytucja konsula honorowego w polskiej polityce zagranicznej XX wieku

Honorowe urzędy konsularne podobnie jak przedstawicielstwa dyplomatyczne stanowią integralną część służby zagranicznej państwa polskiego. Konsul honorowy nie realizuje bezpośrednio polityki zagranicznej Polski. Wykonywanie funkcji politycznych nie zostało włączone do katalogu funkcji konsularnych. Działania o charakterze politycznym tradycyjnie należą do kompetencji służby dyplomatycznej państwa wysyłającego. Pomimo faktu, że funkcje polityczne nie należą do zakresu czynności honorowego urzędnika konsularnego podkreślić należy, iż obowiązek ochrony interesów państwa wysyłającego jest jedną z najważniejszych funkcji konsularnych Konsul honorowy realizuje pośrednio politykę zagraniczną państwa wysyłającego. Podstawowym celem działalności konsula honorowego jest pogłębianie znajomości o państwie wysyłającym w państwie przyjmującym. Honorowy urzędnik konsularny obok tych obowiązków wykonuje funkcje z zakresu współpracy handlowo-gospodarczej, ograniczone funkcje w sprawach prawnych oraz sprawuje opiekę konsularną itd. Regułą jest przy tym, że konsulaty honorowe nie pełnią wielu funkcji o charakterze administracyjnym np. nie wydają paszportów, nie udzielają wiz. Co do zasady honorowym urzędnikom konsularnym nie powierza się czynności notarialnych. Zakres funkcji konsula honorowego wciąż rośnie. Wzrasta również rola, jaką pełni konsul honorowy w realizacji polityki zagranicznej państwa wysyłającego. Przyczynia się do tego w szczególności rozwój handlu międzynarodowego i nasilenie ruchu osobowego pomiędzy poszczególnymi państwami. Katalog czynności powierzanych konsulom honorowym zmienia się w zależności od aktualnych potrzeb życia międzynarodowego. Funkcje konsula honorowego podlegają ciągłym przemianom. Pojawiają się nowe funkcje związane w głównej mierze z promocją kraju wysyłającego, prowadzenie działalności informacyjnej, czy reprezentowanie państwa wysyłającego na międzynarodowych konferencjach. Ogół czynności konsula honorowego powinien prowadzić do zacieśnienia współpracy międzynarodowej pomiędzy państwem wysyłającym a państwem przyjmującym. Prawo konsularne nie tworzy zamkniętego katalogu funkcji konsula honorowego. Praktyka konsularna wykazuje tendencję w kierunku rozszerzenia kompetencji konsula honorowego o funkcje polityczne. Zauważyć można zbliżenie funkcji konsula honorowego do funkcji wykonywanych przez przedstawiciela dyplomatycznego. Pomimo tego nie można mówić o zrównaniu funkcji dyplomatycznych i konsularnych. Włączenie funkcji politycznych do katalogu czynności konsularnych konsula honorowego nie jest powszechną praktyką. Obowiązek realizacji interesów politycznych państwa wysyłającego przez honorowego urzędnika konsularnego mogą wynikać z dwustronnych konwencji konsularnych łączących państwo wysyłające i przyjmujące