In the article, I try to show the world of the past as the world of games. First of all, history appears as a game – the game of the historian with his subject of study or cognition. Secondly, history itself can be conceptualised by the metaphor of the game. The history of Portugal is treated as an example of the object of historical research, which changes along with the theories applied. The act of theorising sets the limits of the known past. On the basis of selected examples from the history of Portugal in the 20th century, I try to show how the use of various research tools allows us to ask new/different questions.
In the paper a new method of Random Telegraph Signal (RTS) noise identification is presented. The method is based on a standardized histogram of instantaneous noise values and processing by Gram-Charlier series. To find a device generating RTS noise by the presented method one should count the number of significant coefficients of the Gram-Charlier series. This would allow to recognize the type of noise. There is always one (first) significant coefficient (c0) representing Gaussian noise. If additional coefficients cr (where r > 0) appear it means that RTS noise (two-level as well as multiple-level) is detected. The coefficient representing the Gaussian component always has the highest value of all. The application of this method will be presented on the example of four devices, each with different noise (pure Gaussian noise signal, noise signal with two-level RTS noise, noise signal with three-level RTS noise and noise signal with not precisely visible occurrence of RTS noise).
MDAP-2 is a new antibacterial peptide with a unique structure that was isolated from house- flies. However, its biological characteristics and antibacterial mechanisms against bacteria are still poorly understood. To study the biological characteristics, antibacterial activity, hemolytic activi- ty, cytotoxicity to mammalian cells, and the secondary structure of MDAP-2 were detected; the results showed that MDAP-2 displayed high antibacterial activity against all of the tested Gram-negative bacteria. MDAP-2 had lower hemolytic activity to rabbit red blood cells; only 3.4% hemolytic activity was observed at a concentration of 800μg/ml. MDAP-2 also had lower cytotoxicity to mammalian cells; IC50 values for HEK-293 cells, VERO cells, and IPEC-J2 cells were greater than 1000 μg/ml. The circular dichroism (CD) spectra showed that the peptide most- ly has α-helical properties and some β-fold structure in water and in membrane-like conditions. MDAP-2 is therefore a promising antibacterial agent against Gram-negative bacteria. To deter- mine the antibacterial mechanism(s) of action, fluorescent probes, flow cytometry, and transmis- sion electron microscopy (TEM) were used to study the effects of MDAP-2 on membrane perme- ability, polarization ability, and integrity of Gram-negative bacteria. The results indicated that the peptide caused membrane depolarization, increased membrane permeability, and destroyed membrane integrity. In conclusion, MDAP-2 is a broad-spectrum, lower hemolytic activity, and lower cytotoxicity antibacterial peptide, which is mainly effective on Gram-negative bacteria. It exerts its antimicrobial effects by causing bacterial cytoplasm membrane depolarization, increas- ing cell membrane permeability and disturbing the membrane integrity of Gram-negative bacte- ria. MDAP-2 may offer a new strategy to for defense against Gram-negative bacteria.
Mineral markets, in spite of many common features with other goods markets, are distinctive. Their functioning sometimes deviates from the rules of the free market. This feature results from the specificity of acquiring the good being an object of trade. In general, changes in the supply of strategic raw materials are indicated earlier (characterized by a lengthy investment cycle from deposit reconnaissance to mining development), develop slowly, andare inelastic. Demand for common mineral raw materials often has a clear and economic character. However, mineral markets as well as markets of other goods have a common feature - the fact that both are a place where an incessant game is being played. In general, two types of strategic behaviours are distinguished: competition or cooperation. This paper recalls an existing model known as the oil market game. Based on a three-entity market of aggregate producers, an attempt has been made to model entrepreneurs' behaviour. The analysis applies n-person game theory. Game theory enables the evaluation of diverse potential coalitions forming. Possible strategies of activity coming from the prospect of cooperation (or its omission) are presented. Expected payoffs are estimated for possible alliances. Proposals for the division of the payoffs among the participants forming the coalition are also suggested.