Information management in the area of science in Poland : legal aspects

W artykule przedstawiono wybrane kwestie dotyczące zarządzania informacją w nauce w świetle obowiązujących aktów prawnych. W tym celu przeanalizowano ustawy reformujące system nauki w Polsce, regulujące zasady finansowania nauki, zadania i funkcjonowanie Narodowego Centrum Badań i Rozwoju, Narodowego Centrum Nauki, instytutów badawczych, Polskiej Akademii Nauk. Uwzględniono także ustawę Prawo o szkolnictwie wyższym. Zwrócono uwagę na występowanie w analizowanych aktach normatywnych zapisów istotnych z punktu widzenia procesów zarządzania informacją w sektorze nauki w kontekście polityki naukowej, naukowo-technicznej i innowacyjnej państwa.This article presents selected issues relating to the management of information in science in the light of the applicable legal acts. It analyses the act which reformed the system of science in Poland, governing financing of science, tasks and functioning of the National Centre for Research and development, the National Science Centre, research institutes, Polish academy of Sciences. The act law on Higher education has also been included. attention is drawn to the presence - in the analyzed normative acts - records relevant to the processes of information management in the sector of science in the context of scientific, scientific-technical and innovation policy

European information space

Wiedza, badania i innowacyjność są siłą napędową trwałego wzrostu. Technologie informacyjne i komunikacyjne (ICT) powinny odgrywać istotną rolę w łączeniu całej Europy, państw członkowskich UE oraz miast, gmin wiejskich, przedsiębiorstw i obywateli. Szybko postępuje cyfrowa konwergencja usług, sieci, urządzeń i mediów. Uwzględniając dokumenty Komisji Europejskiej (i2010 — Europejskie społeczeństwo informacyjne na rzecz wzrostu i zatrudnienia), Strategię Lizbońską, przedstawiono działania w kierunku utworzenia jednolitej europejskiej przestrzeni informacyjnej.Knowledge, research and innovation are driving forces of sustainable development. Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) must play a major role in the approach of the whole of Europe, the Member States of the EU and the cities and rural areas, enterprises and citizens. The digital convergence of services, networks, equipment and means of mass communications is rapidly taking place. Having regard to Commission documents (i2010 — A European Information Society for Growth and Employment), including the Lisbon Strategy, presents the steps to create the Single European Information Space

An Application of a Second Order Upwinding Scheme for an Implicit LES CFD Solver

The flow past a right square cylinder in a duct at a Reynolds number of 22 x 103 has been employed to validate the use of second order upwinding, instead of a subgrid model in a largeeddy simulation. In this extensively studied problem, all the numerical work has been based on a simplifying assumption that the square cylinder is infinite, which resulted in all previous workers using cyclic boundary conditions so as to reduce the required domain size. It is not clear how the size of the domain had been established and, therefore, whether it was sufficiently large to adequately represent the experimental flow in a duct. The integral quantities of the drag and lift coefficient and the Strouhal number, converged towards the experimental values as the grid resolution is increased. However, the cyclic boundary condition assumption leads to a flow width that provides too small a region of uncorrelated flow. A model of the full duct case, identical to experimental domain, was used to contrast the cyclic domain results. Surprisingly the second order upwind model generates power spectra that appear to correctly capture the energy cascade down to the inertial and viscous ranges

Peripheral, but not central, CB1 antagonism provides food intake-independent metabolic benefits in diet-induced obese rats.

OBJECTIVE Blockade of the CB1 receptor is one of the promising strategies for the treatment of obesity. Although antagonists suppress food intake and reduce body weight, the role of central versus peripheral CB1 activation on weight loss and related metabolic parameters remains to be elucidated. We therefore specifically assessed and compared the respective potential relevance of central nervous system (CNS) versus peripheral CB1 receptors in the regulation of energy homeostasis and lipid and glucose metabolism in diet-induced obese (DIO) rats. RESEARCH DESIGN AND METHODS Both lean and DIO rats were used for our experiments. The expression of key enzymes involved in lipid metabolism was measured by real-time PCR, and euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamps were used for insulin sensitivity and glucose metabolism studies. RESULTS Specific CNS-CB1 blockade decreased body weight and food intake but, independent of those effects, had no beneficial influence on peripheral lipid and glucose metabolism. Peripheral treatment with CB1 antagonist (Rimonabant) also reduced food intake and body weight but, in addition, independently triggered lipid mobilization pathways in white adipose tissue and cellular glucose uptake. Insulin sensitivity and skeletal muscle glucose uptake were enhanced, while hepatic glucose production was decreased during peripheral infusion of the CB1 antagonist. However, these effects depended on the antagonist-elicited reduction of food intake. CONCLUSIONS Several relevant metabolic processes appear to independently benefit from peripheral blockade of CB1, while CNS-CB1 blockade alone predominantly affects food intake and body weight

Syndecan-3 is selectively pro-inflammatory in the joint and contributes to antigen-induced arthritis in mice

INTRODUCTION: Syndecans are heparan sulphate proteoglycans expressed by endothelial cells. Syndecan-3 is expressed by synovial endothelial cells of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) patients where it binds chemokines, suggesting a role in leukocyte trafficking. The objective of the current study was to examine the function of syndecan-3 in joint inflammation by genetic deletion in mice and compare with other tissues. METHODS: Chemokine C-X-C ligand 1 (CXCL1) was injected in the joints of syndecan-3-/-and wild-type mice and antigen-induced arthritis performed. For comparison chemokine was administered in the skin and cremaster muscle. Intravital microscopy was performed in the cremaster muscle. RESULTS: Administration of CXCL1 in knee joints of syndecan-3-/-mice resulted in reduced neutrophil accumulation compared to wild type. This was associated with diminished presence of CXCL1 at the luminal surface of synovial endothelial cells where this chemokine clustered and bound to heparan sulphate. Furthermore, in the arthritis model syndecan-3 deletion led to reduced joint swelling, leukocyte accumulation, cartilage degradation and overall disease severity. Conversely, CXCL1 administration in the skin of syndecan-3 null mice provoked increased neutrophil recruitment and was associated with elevated luminal expression of E-selectin by dermal endothelial cells. Similarly in the cremaster, intravital microscopy showed increased numbers of leukocytes adhering and rolling in venules in syndecan-3-/-mice in response to CXCL1 or tumour necrosis factor alpha. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows a novel role for syndecan-3 in inflammation. In the joint it is selectively pro-inflammatory, functioning in endothelial chemokine presentation and leukocyte recruitment and cartilage damage in an RA model. Conversely, in skin and cremaster it is anti-inflammatory

The Impact of Obesity and Adipokines on Breast and Gynecologic Malignancies

The link between obesity and multiple disease comorbidities is well established. In 2003, Calle and colleagues presented the relationship between obesity and several cancer types, including breast, ovarian, and endometrial malignancies. Nearly, 20% of cancer-related deaths in females can be accounted for by obesity. Identifying obesity as a risk factor for cancer led to a focus on the role of fat-secreted cytokines, known as adipokines, on carcinogenesis and tumor progression. Early studies indicated that the adipokine leptin increases cell proliferation, invasion, and inhibition of apoptosis in multiple cancer types. As a greater appreciation of the obesity–cancer link has amassed, we now know that additional adipokines can impact tumorigenesis. A deeper understanding of the adipokine-activated signaling in cancer may identify new treatment strategies irrespective of obesity. Moreover, adipokines may serve as disease biomarkers, harnessing the potential of obesity-associated factors to serve as indicators of treatment response and disease prognosis. As studies investigating obesity and women\u27s cancers continue to expand, it has become evident that breast, ovarian, and uterine cancers are distinctly impacted by adipokines. While complex, these distinct interactions may provide insight into cancer progression in these organs and new opportunities for targeted therapies. This review aims to organize and present the literature from the last 5 years investigating the mechanisms and implications of adipokine signaling in breast, endometrial, and ovarian cancers with a special focus on leptin and adiponectin

Access to information and scientific knowledge in the context of the European Research Area (in the light of selected European Union documents)

Cel badań: Zarysowanie aktualnego stanu prac w zakresie Europejskiej Przestrzeni Badawczej, wdrażania krajowych strategii B+I ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem priorytetu dotyczącego optymalizacji przepływu informacji i wiedzy naukowej. Działania w odniesieniu do "komunikowania wiedzy", czyli jej rozpowszechniania i upowszechniania, mają się przyczynić do wzmocnienia powiązań w ramach „trójkąta wiedzy”, łączącego badania naukowe, innowacje, edukację, a także poszerzenia powiązań między sektorami i dyscyplinami. Metodologia: Analizą objęto najważniejsze dokumenty UE, w tym akty prawa UE, sprawozdania, krajowe plany działań w odniesieniu do obszaru informacji naukowej, w tym otwartej nauki i otwartego dostępu. Wykorzystano metodę analizy i krytyki piśmiennictwa, odwołując się m.in. do literatury z zakresu nauk o komunikacji społecznej i mediach, w tym nauki o informacji. Wartość i oczekiwane wyniki: Badania wskażą na działania podejmowane na poziomie Unii Europejskiej w kierunku skuteczniejszego przepływu wiedzy naukowej w obszarze Europejskiej Przestrzeni Badawczej (jej komunikowania m.in. poprzez publikacje, repozytoria wiedzy, bazy danych, strony internetowe czy ukierunkowane media społecznościowe), mające na celu wspieranie otwartego dostępu do publikacji, zarządzania danymi badawczymi czy otwartej nauki.Purpose of research: Presentation of the current state of work in the field of the European Research Area, implementation of national R&D strategies taking particular account of the priority regarding the optimal circulation of scientific knowledge. Activities in relation to 'communication of knowledge', i.e. its dissemination, are to contribute to strengthening links within the 'knowledge triangle' connecting research, innovation, education, as well as broadening links between sectors and disciplines. Methodology: The analysis covered the most important EU documents, including EU legal acts, reports, national action plans in the area of scientific information, including open science and open access. The method of analysis and criticism of literature was used, referring to, among others to literature in the field of social communication and media sciences, including information science. Value and expected results: Research has indicated actions taken at the European Union level towards a more effective flow of scientific knowledge in the area of the European Research Area (its communication, among others, through publications, knowledge repositories, data bases, websites and targeted social media) aimed at to support open access to publications, research data management and open science