The use of sodium nitrite for deliberate self-harm, and the online suicide market: Should we care?

Sodium nitrite is a common household product with a variety of uses such as curing meat, food additive, colouring agent, anti-freezing agent and disinfectant. We report a case of sodium nitrite intoxication for deliberate self-harm and discuss the increasing number of such cases in recent times.

Wokół placu Szczepańskiego – przedsiębiorstwa handlowe na przełomie XIX i XX w.

Na placu Szczepańskim w XIX i pierwszej połowie XX w. mieściło się jedno z najważniejszych targowisk w centrum Krakowa. Zakupy można było zrobić nie tylko na stoiskach targowych i w kramach, ale także w kilkudziesięciu lokalach handlowych mieszczących się w kamienicach czynszowych i gmachach okalających plac, w tym w delikatesach, masarniach, piekarniach, drogeriach, składach kosmetycznych oraz z towarami gospodarstwa domowego i chemią. Poza tym działały przedsiębiorstwa, w których sprzedawano sprzęt techniczny, elektrotechniczny, radiowy, a także części samochodowe. Niemało było również składów z tkaninami, konfekcją i galanterią. Przedsiębiorstwa różniły się nie tylko pod względem branżowym, ale również wielkością i typem organizacyjnym. Działały tu duże, sprawnie i nowocześnie zarządzane firmy o wysokiej organizacji pracy oferujące ekskluzywny asortyment, jak również małe sklepiki o skromnym wystroju. Warto zwrócić uwagę, że przy placu Szczepańskim skupiły się organizacje i instytucje przeznaczone dla rolników. Mieściły się tu ważne spółdzielnie i instytucje propagujące nowoczesne metody prowadzenia gospodarstwa wiejskiego oraz przedsiębiorstwa, w których mogli sprzedać płody ze swych gospodarstw oraz nabyć potrzebny sprzęt i nasiona. Around Szczepański Square – trading at the turn of the 19th and 20th centuries Szczepański Square in the 19th and first half of the 20th centuries was the location of one of the most important markets in the centre of Krakow. It was possible to shop not only at the market stalls and stands but also in the tens of shops located in the townhouses and buildings surrounding the square, including delicatessens, butcher shops, bakeries, pharmacies, cosmetic shops and household product shops. In addition, there were also businesses selling technical, electronic and radio equipment as well as vehicle parts. Shops with fabrics, clo62 thes and haberdashery were also well represented. The businesses differed not only in terms of their products, but also in their size and organisational form. There were large, efficiently managed firms with well-organised work systems offering exclusive assortments, as well as small shops with modest decor. It is worth mentioning that Szczepański Square was also the location for agricultural organisations and institutions, with important associations and institutions promoting modern methods of farming and also companies where crops could be sold and equipment and seed purchased.

The influence of haptics when assessing household products presented in different means: a comparative study in real setting, flat display, and virtual reality environments with and without passive haptics

This research aimed to analyse the influence of presentation means in assessing different household product characteristics and to study the influence of physical contact with the product on that assessment. To this end, the presentation of an armchair in four different means was prepared: two offering the chance to touch the product (real setting and virtual reality with passive haptics) and two not offering the physical interaction possibility (virtual reality and 3D interactive image on a screen). The product was assessed by 128 volunteers (74 men, 54 women) on a semantic scale with 12 bipolar pairs. The results revealed that the presentation means did not influence the overall product assessment, but affected the assessment of 3 of 12 features (weight, size, and aesthetics), where coming into physical contact with the product impacted the assessment of these features. Finally, similar assessments of the product were obtained in both means of visual-only presentation.