Jan Długosz University

About: Jan Długosz University is a education organization based out in Częstochowa, Poland. It is known for research contribution in the topics: Crystal structure & Luminescence. The organization has 749 authors who have published 2311 publications receiving 19395 citations. The organization is also known as: Higher Teacher Education School.

Effect of Total Ankle Arthroplasty and Ankle Arthrodesis for Ankle Osteoarthritis: A Comparative Study.

Abstract: BACKGROUND Surgical methods in treatment of joint osteoarthritis (OA) aim at meeting the increasing expectations of people with active lifestyles. Ankle joint arthroplasty has been performed increasingly more often as an alternative to arthrodesis. The aim of this study was to compare arthrodesis and arthroplasty in the treatment of ankle osteoarthritis. MATERIAL AND METHODS The study involved 56 patients (45 males and 11 females) aged 21-72 years (mean 51) presenting with end-stage ankle OA: 29 patients (52%) underwent arthroplasty (Group A) and 27 patients (48%) underwent arthrodesis (Group B). Patients underwent surgery between 2004 and 2016 at a single clinical center. The observation period ranged from 6 to 150 months (mean 55 months). To assess the results of surgical treatment, quality of life (Health Assessment Questionnaire-HAQ, 12-Item Short-Form Survey-SF-12) and functional (American Orthopedic Foot & Ankle-AOFAS, Kofoed, Takakura) scores were used. For pain assessment, Visual Analog Scale was used (VAS). RESULTS After the surgery, group A and B had a statistically significant improvement in the joint function and pain relief according to AOFAS (A: 32.6 to 68.2; B: 27.4 to 61.3), Kofoed (A: 31.8 to 68; B: 25.9 to 60.3), Takakura (A: 30.6 to 62.9; B: 25.4 to 49.3), and VAS scores (A: 7.28 to 4.14; B: 7.33 to 3.78) compared with preoperative scores. After the surgery, quality of life scores improved in both groups, for HAQ (A: 0.91 to 0.53; B: 1.34 to 0.56) and for SF-12 (A: 26.6 to 36.8; B: 25.6 to 38.0). CONCLUSIONS The comparison of total ankle arthroplasty and ankle arthrodesis in treatment of end-stage ankle osteoarthritis did not reveal any significant differences.

Compositional trends of γ-induced optical changes observed in chalcogenide glasses of binary AsS system

Abstract: Compositional trends of γ-induced optical changes in chalcogenide glasses are studied with the binary As S system. Effects of γ-irradiation and annealing are compared using the changes measured in the fundamental optical absorption edge region. It is shown that annealing near the glass transition temperature leads to bleaching of As S glasses, while γ-irradiation leads to darkening; both depend on the glass composition and thermal history of the specimens. These results are explained in terms of competitive destruction–polymerization transformations and physical aging occurring in As S chalcogenide glasses under the influence of γ-irradiation.

From spring sources to springbrook: Changes in environmental characteristics and benthic fauna

Abstract: Spatial patterns in macroinvertebrate communities and some abiotic factors were examined in three rheocrene springs and their springbrooks (Krakow-Czestochowa Upland, southern Poland). The mean discharge of particular springs ranged from 5 to 11 L s−1, and its annual fluctuations were small. Water temperature was very stable at all sampling sites. In the eucrenon the number of benthic taxa was the smallest (9–14 determined to the family level), but the densities were the highest (approx. 14000 ind. m−2). The biggest changes in macroinvertebrate composition were observed in the modified hypocrenon, which is an artificial pond. The lowest number of taxa were found in a natural, short springbrook with a nondiversified bottom substrate. The density of crenophilic taxa (Drusus trifidus, Dugesia gonocephala, Elmidae) diminished along the springbrooks, while the opposite trend was observed for ubiquitous taxa (some Oligochaeta, Asellus aquaticus and Chironomidae). Even in a very short natural springbrook (30 m), Drusus trifidus, the only species of Trichoptera found in the springs discussed here, goes through the entire development cycle. The strongest influence of a big river was observed at the outflow of one of the natural springbrooks, where the highest number of riverine oligochaete species were found. The benthic fauna of the springs studied here differed from that found in other springs in this area — the absence of the typical crenophilic species Bithynella austriaca (Gastropoda) and the presence of Gianus aquedulcis (Oligochaeta) may indicate the autonomy of the spring fauna in the Mstow area, possibly resulting from the postglacial geomorphological formation of this region or differences in habitat conditions.

Discretized dynamics of exchange spin wave bulk and edge modes in honeycomb nanoribbons with armchair edge boundaries.

Abstract: We develop a field theory to study the dynamics of long wavelength exchange spin wave excitations on honeycomb nanoribbons characterized by armchair edge boundaries and the Neel antiferromagnetic ordering state. Appropriate boundary conditions are established by requiring that the bulk and edge spins precess with the same frequency for any given spin wave eigenmode in these systems. A set of characteristic boundary equations, common for bulk and edge spin wave modes, are hence derived. The equations of motion for the spin dynamics are then solved to determine the propagating and evanescent exchange spin wave modes. We obtain the expected discretized bulk spin waves spectrum due to the finite width of the nanoribbon. For an isotropic magnetic nanoribbon, the Dirac cone is reduced to a single linear dispersion curve due to this discretization. The number and wavelengths of allowed bulk modes for isotropic and anisotropic nanoribbons are determined from the derived characteristic boundary equations. As witnessed by our numerical results for different examples it is shown that the characteristics of these modes depend on the width of the nanoribbon and its antiferromagnetic anisotropy. Further, anisotropic nanoribbons, even those with the slightest anisotropy, present evanescent modes with non-linear dispersion relations. The spatial variation of the amplitudes of the evanescent exchange spin waves across the finite widths of the nanoribbons, is found to be strongly dependent on the system magnetic anisotropy and its width. The developed theoretical approach is general and can be applied for nanoribbons with all types of boundary edges.