cAMP is a second messenger which plays a regulatory role in a wide variety of biological processes in organisms ranging from prokaryotes to higher eukaryotes, but knowledge of its role in macroalgae and vascular plants is limited. We modified cAMP levels in the macroalga Chara vulgaris thallus and studied the effects on thallus growth and gametangia development: db-cAMP (permeable analog of cAMP), adenylate cyclase (AC) activator, forskolin and theophylline (cAMP phosphodiesterase (PDE) inhibitor) were used to elevate cAMP levels, and the AC inhibitors 2'-dAdo and 2'-d3'-AMP were used to decrease them. The results suggest that in Chara vulgaris the cAMP pathway may regulate both vegetative thallus growth and gametangia development, and that these effects may depend on this second-messenger level. Elevated cAMP stimulated thallus growth and delayed gametangia development; decreased cAMP inhibited thallus growth and accelerated maturation of both antheridia and oogonia. These results suggest that the cAMP pathway participates in regulation of developmental processes in Chara vulgaris and that thallus growth and gametangia development require different cAMP levels in cells.

Based on theatricality, humour and camp aesthetics, the novel Lubiewo (2005) by the Polish writer Michał Witkowski recounts the tragicomic lives and adventures of Polish queers under Communism. One of the main features of the novel is the meaning-bearing nicknames of the characters, which result from the camp practice of “queer renaming”. This relies on transforming or substituting male proper names with ironic and witty female nicknames. The paper analyses the German, French, English and Czech translations of the novel to explain the strategies used to render such “talking nouns” in new linguistic-cultural contexts.

Ruth Klüger, a writer of Jewish origin born in Austria in 1931, initiates discourse on ethical issues in the modern humanities by suggesting that women displayed greater morality in the context of the drama of the Shoah. This discourse requires emphasis, but also critical analysis. Referring to the philosophical and psychological as well as to the historical context, that is specifically to the events of World War II, I attempt to reflect on the women’s ethics of care and answer the question whether the indicated differences undermine the existence of a human morality shared by both sexes, that is whether morality depends on sex. The purpose of the interdisciplinary interpretations in the present analysis is to recognize the challenges and problems related to the condition of human dignity raised by Klüger in her argumentation.

This article discusses finds of Roman coins made during excavations in Novae (Bulgaria), by the University of Warsaw’s Research Center on the Antiquity of Southeastern Europe. Novae is a Roman legionary camp in the province of Moesia, associated mainly with the Legion I Italica. However, the camp was built by the Legion VIII Augusta. The article analyzes the coin finds from 60 years of excavations at this archaeological site, coming from the area of the so-called sector IV and sector XII. Sector IV is mainly the Legion I military hospital ( valetudinarium), while Sector XII is referred to as the Legion VIII cohort barracks area. The aim of the article is to present a model of the circulation of Roman coins in the areas of legionary camps on the lower Danube.