Eighty years have passed since Langmuir's first use of the word 'plasma' for describing ionized media. On this occasion we would like to present selected recent results on the application of Langmuir probes to diagnose plasma jet systems. To demonstrate the versatility of the Langmuir probe method we give examples of measurements of the spatial distribution of the plasma parameters as well as their temporal dependence in cases when the plasma jet system operates in a pulsed regime. A part of this paper is devoted to introducing the Langmuir probe technique, especially with regard to its application under conditions when collisions between the charged and neutral particles in the probe sheath cannot be neglected and when the electron energy distribution function in plasma cannot be approximated by a Maxwellian one. In the experimental part we present Langmuir probe measurement of low-pressure and atmospheric-pressure plasma jet systems that are currently used for experiments with deposition of materials with special properties.Most of the experimental results presented in this paper are original data. However, in order to fill in the picture we have used in the case of a barrier-torch discharge three figures that have already been published.

Visual perception is one of the basic tools for exploring the world. However, in schizophrenia, this modality is disrupted. So far, there has been no clear answer as to whether the disruption occurs primarily within the brain or in the precortical areas of visual perception (the retina, visual pathways, and lateral geniculate nucleus [LGN]). A web-based comprehensive search of peer-reviewed journals was conducted based on various keyword combinations including schizophrenia, saliency, visual cognition, visual pathways, retina, and LGN. Articles were chosen with respect to topic relevance. Searched databases included Google Scholar, PubMed, and Web of Science. This review describes the precortical circuit and the key changes in biochemistry and pathophysiology that affect the creation and characteristics of the retinal signal as well as its subsequent modulation and processing in other parts of this circuit. Changes in the characteristics of the signal and the misinterpretation of visual stimuli associated with them may, as a result, contribute to the development of schizophrenic disease.

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