Magnesium distribution in paper subjected to deacidification investigated by means of Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectroscopy

Laser Ablation Inductively Coupled Plasma Mass Spectrometry (LA ICP MS) was used to investigate the distribution of magnesium in paper subjected to selected deacidification mass processes. Paper samples have been taken from the early XX century books, which had been previously deacidified with the use of either Book Saver or Bückeburg process. Both methods incorporate the use of magnesium compounds therefore the enrichment of the paper with magnesium was expected as a consequence of the undertaken deacidification. The aim of our investigation with the use of LA ICP MS was to evaluate a possible variety in magnesium distribution over paper within μ-meter resolution, depending on the applied process.     

Comparison of hyaluronic acid in patients with rheumatoid arthritis,systemic sclerosis and systemic lupus erythematosus

IntroductionThe aim of the present study was to determine and compare the concentration of hyaluronic acid (HA) in rheumatoid arthritis (RA), systemic sclerosis (SSc) and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE), and its correlation with parameters of disease activity and duration. The hypothesis was that HA should be increased in rheumatic diseases. We also expected that HA could be a marker of disease activity and inflammation in some of these diseases.Materials and methodsThe study group comprised 149 patients with RA, SSc and SLE hospitalized in the Department of Rheumatology and Internal Diseases, Medical University of Bialystok (Bialystok, Poland) and 30 healthy controls. The concentrations of HA, C-reactive protein (CRP) and rheumatoid factor (RF) were measured using Architect ci8200; haemoglobin, platelets on Sysmex XS-800i; and erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) on Sediplus S 2000 analysers. Statistical analysis was performed using Statistica 13.3 PL.ResultsHyaluronic acid was increased in RA, SLE and SSc when compared to controls (P < 0.001, P = 0.011, and P = 0.015, respectively). There were no differences in HA between rheumatic diseases (P = 0.840). Hyaluronic acid positively correlated with SLE activity (P = 0.025). In RA, HA positively correlated with ESR (P = 0.028) and CRP (P = 0.009). However, HA was not found to correlate with the duration of rheumatic diseases.ConclusionsHyaluronic acid concentration undergoes changes in rheumatic diseases with no difference between RA, SLE and SSc. In RA, HA concentration can be a marker of inflammation, while in SLE patients an indicator of disease activity.     

The Image of the Family and Family Home in Małgorzata Musierowicz’s Series of Novels,and the Stereotype of the Family in Contemporary Polish Society

Children's Literature in Education - The article discusses the image of the family and the family home in a series of novels for young people by the popular Polish writer Małgorzata...     

Further Professional Training‐‐an Investment by the Employee or by the Enterprise?

The expenses associated with supplementary professional training for employees should be partially reimbursed by their employers. Companies that have a strategy providing for investment in human capital do so. The benefits to the company include independence from the labour market and the potential for the long‐term management of its social resources. Outlays for employee training, however, will become investments only when the enterprise in question meets certain conditions regarding the co‐ordination of such activities.     

The effect of progressively increased physical efforts on visual evoked potentials in volleyball players and non-athletes

We assessed the effect of physical effort with increasing intensity on neural activity in the visual pathway in volleyball players (n = 10) and non-athletes (n = 10). Participants performed three 10-min tests of increasing intensity on a cycle ergometer. Each participant was assigned individual workloads below the lactate threshold (40% [Vdot]O(2max)), at the lactate threshold (65-75% [Vdot]O(2max)), and above the lactate threshold (80% [Vdot]O(2max)). Four recordings of visual evoked potentials were made: pre-exercise and immediately after each of the three subsequent tests. We assessed neural activity of the visual pathway by examining the amplitude and latency of the N75, P100, and N135 components of the visual evoked potentials waveform. Pre-exercise P100 wave latency was shorter (P < 0.05) in volleyball players than in non-athletes. In non-athletes, the latency of P100 following the first and second effort (40% and 65-75% [Vdot]O(2max)) was reduced compared with pre-exercise (P < 0.01). However, P100 latency increased and P100 amplitude decreased after the third test (80% [Vdot]O(2max)) in non-athletes. In contrast, no significant changes in the latency or amplitude of visual evoked potentials were observed in the athletes in the three tests. Neural conductivity in the visual pathway after exercise might be at least partially dependent on the individual's personal training adaptation status.     

Mentoring in literacy education: a commentary from graduate students,untenured professors,and tenured professors

This commentary continues a dialogue which began among literacy teacher educators attending an alternative format session about mentoring in the academy at a national conference. Literacy teacher educators participated in an informal discussion centered on the nature of mentoring in the academy for doctoral students, untenured professors, and tenured professors. Doctoral students focused on their changing identities and roles in the academy, their concerns about navigating the political infrastructure of academia, and the importance of assuming a proactive stance towards obtaining mentoring, especially for part‐time doctoral students. Untenured professors focused on the ways they were inventing and reinventing themselves within the power and politics of academia and their need for more holistic mentoring during these turbulent times. Tenured professors were able to embed mentoring experiences into their scholarly work and find ways to benefit or learn from mentoring experiences. These mentors also found comfort in more informal mentoring that included self‐initiated endeavors centered on mutual interests. Our commentary draws on these discussions as well as the professional literature on mentoring to describe the importance of mutual trust and reciprocity in mentoring throughout all stages of academia with attention to cultural and linguistic diversity.     

Identity Gaps of Contemporary U.S. Immigrants: Acknowledging Divergent Communicative Experiences

Through the lens of the communication theory of identity (e.g., Hecht, Collier, &; Ribeau, 1993 Hecht , M. L. , Collier , M. J. , &; Ribeau , S. A. ( 1993 ). African American communication: Ethnic identity and cultural interpretation . Newbury Park , CA : Sage . [Google Scholar]), this study examines how immigrants living in the United States negotiate multiple dimensions of their identities. A thematic analysis of in-depth interviews with 17 immigrants from 16 countries explores what identity gaps exist for immigrants in the contemporary United States. Findings suggest that several identity gaps permeate immigrants' lived experience, including personal-enacted, personal-relational, enacted-relational, communal-relational, personal-communal, and enacted-communal gaps. Specific attention is paid to how these gaps are expressed differently by different immigrants.     

The Role of the NUKAT Union Catalog in Shaping the Society of Knowledge in Poland: January 2008 Conference Report

The paper summarizes the proceedings of the January 2008 conference entitled The Role of the NUKAT Union Catalog in Shaping the Society of Knowledge in Poland.     

Study Success

The meaning of study success is crucial when investigating the validity of the admission system to higher education. A common measure of study success is grades. However, grades might be a measure of different kinds of success in different education programmes due to disciplinary differences. This article presents the results of a study carried out in the Departments of Business Administration and Social Welfare at a Swedish university. University teachers were interviewed about their views on study success in their freshmen and senior students of today and in the future. The results indicate that the teachers in the Department of Business Administration tend to choose cognitive criteria whereas the teachers in the Department of Social Welfare tend to choose non-cognitive criteria and criteria classified as both cognitive and non-cognitive, when asked about their present students. Regarding the success of future students, the tendency is similar but the differences between the two groups of teachers are smaller.     

Remedial-Math Workshop: Opening Doors to Graduation

About half of students attending community colleges leave school before finishing their intended goals. To increase students’ retention and to prevent the multiple-repeater problem, Queensborough Community College (QCC) offered a short-term workshop for remedial-mathematics students. This was another chance to exit remediation instead of repeating a semester-long course. During the winter session of 2015 at QCC, 96% of the students enrolled in the remedial-mathematics workshop had successfully completed the remedial-mathematics requirement. The workshop consisted of group-centered activities that involved an intense problem solving approach. Students worked in small groups of multiple-repeater students (failed the remedial-mathematics course two or more times) and first-time-repeater students (failed once the remedial-mathematics course and scored at least 52 on the CUNY Elementary Algebra Final Examination) to master important algebraic concepts taught in the remedial-mathematics course. We will discuss the outcomes of the remedial-mathematics workshop pilot and evaluate the effectiveness of the workshop on student’s success and retention in remedial mathematics.