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The family assistant’s tasks include providing emotional and instrumental support and empowering the family in its subjectivity. As raising a child with ASD poses many specific challenges (e.g. the lack of a comprehensive system of support), the assistant should be able to guide the family to the right institutions. The aim of this article is to indicate the need for family assistants to know the specificity of autism spectrum disorder. In addition, based on the ‘For Life’ Act, the available benefits and services for pregnant women, children with ASD and their families are described, and a list of support facilities is provided.

The technique chosen to immobilise DNA onto electrodes can determine the density and stability of the resultant immobilised layer. DNA‐modified electrodes were prepared using four common DNA immobilisation methods and characterised using ferrocyanide. The negatively charged DNA strands should repel ferrocyanide anions. The DNA layers created using adsorption at glassy carbon electrodes were unstable, while those created through chemisorption of thiol‐modified DNA onto gold electrodes were repeatable and stable, and returned, on average, 94 % repulsion of the probe. The presented results show how the immobilisation protocol, and DNA type, affects the stability, repeatability, and integrity of resultant DNA layers.

We report a series of copper(II) artificial metallo-nucleases (AMNs) and demonstrate their DNA damaging properties and in-vitro cytotoxicity against human-derived pancreatic cancer cells. The compounds combine a tris-chelating polypyridyl ligand, di-(2-pycolyl)amine (DPA), and a DNA intercalating phenanthrene unit. Their general formula is Cu-DPA-N,N' (where N,N'=1,10-phenanthroline (Phen), dipyridoquinoxaline (DPQ) or dipyridophenazine (DPPZ)). Characterisation was achieved by X-ray crystallography and continuous-wave EPR (cw-EPR), hyperfine sublevel correlation (HYSCORE) and Davies electron-nuclear double resonance (ENDOR) spectroscopies. The presence of the DPA ligand enhances solution stability and facilitates enhanced DNA recognition with apparent binding constants (Kapp) rising from 105 to 107 m−1 with increasing extent of planar phenanthrene. Cu-DPA-DPPZ, the complex with greatest DNA binding and intercalation effects, recognises the minor groove of guanine–cytosine (G-C) rich sequences. Oxidative DNA damage also occurs in the minor groove and can be inhibited by superoxide and hydroxyl radical trapping agents. The complexes, particularly Cu-DPA-DPPZ, display promising anticancer activity against human pancreatic tumour cells with in-vitro results surpassing the clinical platinum(II) drug oxaliplatin.

The aim of the research presented in this article was to determine the level of parental stress among mothers of autistic children. Thirty-nine mothers of autistic children, forty mothers of children with Down syndrome as well as forty mothers of children with developing normally took part in the study. We used the Questionnaire on Resources and Stress (QRS, designed by J. Holroyd) to assess the parental stress among families of developmentally delayed children or children with intellectual disabilities. The results of the study indicate that, comparing to mothers of children with Down syndrome and mothers of children developing well, mothers of autistic children are the ones who experience the highest level of parental stress. Potential sources of coping strategies among mothers of children that suffer from autism are associated with relatively low stress levels as a result of disharmony within the family, personal issues, the child’s health situation and financial problems.

Etnograf karaimskiego pochodzenia, Çağatay Bediî Avramoğlu w latach 60. XX w. zebrał informacje jak niegdyś wyglądały śluby i wesela.

The purpose of the study was to compare the functioning of adolescents with autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and typically developing adolescents matched for age and IQ, in terms of right hemisphere language communication. Sex differences in that area were also analyzed. Seventy-nine individuals with normal intelligence with ASD, fluent in their native spoken language and aged 10-20 years (41 females), and 79 typically developing individuals (control group, 39 females) were tested. The Polish adaptation of the Right Hemisphere Language Battery (RHLB-PL) was used for participants aged 13-20 years, while children aged 10-12 years were tested using an experimental version of the RHLBPL for young children designed by E. Łojek. Individuals with ASD scored lower in the Humor Test and Discourse Analysis, and made more remarks in the Comments Test about the tasks than the control group. The two groups scored differently in two measures of verbal intellectual skills in the Wechsler Scale: Arithmetic and Comprehension. Individuals with ASD scored lower than controls on both of those measures. No sex differences were found for any of the measured variables.

The purpose of this study was to investigate sex differences in behavioral and emotional problems in high-functioning girls and boys with autism spectrum disorder. The results obtained by adolescents with autism spectrum disorder were compared with those of typically developing girls and boys. Correlations between parents’ and adolescents’ ratings were also analyzed. Participants were 35 girls and 35 boys with autism spectrum disorder, aged 11–18 years, matched for chronological age and full-scale IQ. The control group consisted of 24 typically developing girls and 24 boys of the same age and IQ. The parents of adolescent participants were also included in the study. The measures used were the Child Behavior Checklist (4–18) completed by parents and Youth Self-Report (11–18) completed by adolescents. The adolescents with autism spectrum disorder presented higher levels of behavioral and emotional problems than the control group, according to both the parents’ reports and the adolescents’ self-reports. No sex differences were found in that respect. More differences between the assessments of adolescents and their parents occurred in the control group, and the effect size was larger.

The aim of this study was to examine the level of a sense of empowerment among mothers and fathers of children with autism. The relationship between a sense of empowerment and socio-demographic variables characterising the respondents including the parents was also analysed. Among the participants, there were 74 parents of autistic children (39 mothers, 35 fathers), 77 parents of children with Down syndrome (40 mothers, 37 fathers) as well as 80 parents of typically developing children (40 mothers, 40 fathers). Two statistical tools, namely the non-parametric Mann-Whitney U test and Kruskal-Wallis test, were employed in this study. The results show a higher level of a sense of empowerment when it comes to the evaluation of own knowledge and competences in mothers of autistic children than in mothers of children with Down syndrome, contrary to fathers of autistic children whose level of a sense of empowerment is lower within the said scope compared with fathers of children with Down syndrome.

To date, DNA cleavage, caused by cleavage agents, has been monitored mainly by gel and capillary electrophoresis. However, these techniques are time-consuming, non-quantitative and require gel stains. In this work, a novel, simple and, importantly, a quantitative method for monitoring the DNA nuclease activity of potential anti-cancer drugs, at a DNA electrochemical sensor, is presented. The DNA sensors were prepared using thiol-modified oligonucleotides that self-assembled to create a DNA monolayer at gold electrode surfaces. The quantification of DNA double-strand breaks is based on calculating the DNA surface coverage, before and after exposure to a DNA cleavage agent. The nuclease properties of a model DNA cleavage agent, copper bis-phenanthroline ([CuII(phen)2]2+), that can cleave DNA in a Fenton-type reaction, were quantified electrochemically. The DNA surface coverage decreased on average by 21% after subjecting the DNA sensor to a nuclease assay containing [CuII(phen)2]2+, a reductant and an oxidant. This percentage indicates that 6 base pairs were cleaved in the nuclease assay from the immobilised 30 base pair strands. The DNA cleavage can be also induced electrochemically in the absence of a chemical reductant. [CuII(phen)2]2+ intercalates between DNA base pairs and, on application of a suitable potential, can be reduced to [CuI(phen)2]+, with dissolved oxygen acting as the required oxidant. This reduction process is facilitated through DNA strands via long-range electron transfer, resulting in DNA cleavage of 23%. The control measurements for both chemically and electrochemically induced cleavage revealed that DNA strand breaks did not occur under experimental conditions in the absence of [CuII(phen)2]2+.

W tym roku tylko czworo polskich naukowców otrzymało prestiżowe granty Europejskiej Rady ds. Badań Naukowych (European Research Council – ERC). Jedną z tych osób jest dr Michał Németh, turkolog i hungarysta, adiunkt w Zakładzie Hungarystyki Wydziału Filologicznego Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego – w „karaimskim cywilu” prawnuk znanego działacza społecznego z Łucka i poety, Sergiusza Rudkowskiego.

The article addresses some possible implications of juridification in the society. The concept of juridification is unclear, and the empirical knowledge of the social implications of various processes of juridification is weak. We argue that clear‐cut conclusions about the implications of such processes cannot be drawn. To address questions of implications of juridification processes, we focus on the relationship between law and politics. An analytical framework for the analysis of juridification processes is introduced to manage the vast implications of these processes. The discussion indicates complexity and contradictory outcomes of juridification processes. We conclude that to understand the vast complexity of the different kinds of juridification processes, we need more empirical studies from a range of academic fields, including law, economics and political sciences, and that researchers in these fields need to take a step back to get a more satisfactory analytical point of departure for such studies.

PE-LD blend with talc has been used to visualization of the polymer flow in an injection mold. The distribution of talc in PE versus filler concentration (0.1, 1.0, 10 wt. %), sample thickness (1 mm, 3 mm) and shearing forces values (using of lamellar filler orientation as flow lines marker, Figs. 4-7) was analyzed using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and optical microscopy with polarized light transmission. To make the compositions homogeneous they were twice extruded and then injection molded. Initially, PE-LD + talc concentrate has been prepared. An arrangement of talc plates in PE-LD can be assigned to a "fountain" flow (Fig. 1) and talc packing angle changes at sample thickness. Polymer "fountain" flow and lamellar structure of filler make possible the fast rotation of filler around the own axis (Fig. 8). Lamellar filler packing let find the flow lines direction during the mold form filling, supplying information on gradient morphology of the moldings obtained.

Nationwide statistics provide a general answer to questions about social competence training but do not provide specific guidance for individual institutions, and that is what is needed when one strives for a positive change. The article presents psychological research conducted at Polsih University showing the level of social competences and emotional inteligence of students (future teacher).