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Gdańsk University of Technology

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Publications from the year 2024

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  • Development of a simple biogas analyzer module (BAM) for real-time biogas production monitoring
    • Luciano de Melo
    • Ianny Andrade Cruz
    • Lucas Tadeu Fuess
    • Carlos Eduardo Maynard Santana
    • Ram Naresh Bharagava
    • Sikandar I. Mulla
    • Muhammad Bilal
    • Ganesh Dattatraya Saratale
    • Renan Tavares Figueiredo
    • Luiz Fernando Romanholo Ferreira
    2024 ENVIRONMENTAL TECHNOLOGY

    Anaerobic digestion (AD) relies on the cooperation of specific microbial communities, making it susceptible to process disruptions that could impact biogas production. In this regard, this study presents a technological solution based on the Arduino platform, in the form of a simple online monitoring system that can track the produced biogas profile, named as biogas analyzer module (BAM). The applicability of the BAM focused on monitoring the biogas produced from sugarcane vinasse inoculated with sewage sludge biodigestion processed in mesophilic conditions (38 oC), in a pH range of 6.5–7.5, and following a three-stage operational model: (i) an adaptation (168 h), (ii) complete mixing (168 h), and (iii) bio-stimulation with glycerol (192 h). Then, the lab-made BAM was used to trace the produced biogas profile, which registered a total biogas volume of 8,719.86 cm3 and biomethane concentration of 95.79% (vol.), removing 90.8% (vol) of carbon dioxide (CO2) and 65.2% (vol) of hydrogen sulfide (H2S). In conclusion, the results ensured good accuracy and efficiency to the device created by comparisons with established standards (chromatographic and colorimetric methods), as well as the cost reduction. The developed device would likely be six times cheaper than what is available in the market.

  • Development of a vortex-assisted switchable-hydrophilicity solvent-based liquid phase microextraction for fast and reliable extraction of Zn (II), Fe (II), Pb (II), and Cd (II) from various baby food products
    • Hameed Ul Haq
    • Adil Elik
    • Gursel Isci
    • Merve Ekici
    • Nevcihan Gürsoy
    • Grzegorz Boczkaj
    • Nail Altunay
    2024 FOOD CHEMISTRY

    This manuscript describes the development of a novel liquid phase microextraction (LPME) method for the extraction and determination of Zn (II), Fe (II), Pb (II), and Cd (II) in various infant/baby food and supplements products. The method is based on vortex-assisted extraction combined with a switchable-hydrophilicity solvent (SHS) sample preparation. The SHS, which undergoes reversible phase changes triggered by pH change, enables selective extraction and easy phase separation. A flame atomic absorption spectroscopy was used in the final determination step. Optimization studies revealed, that the optimal pH of the sample solution (after digestion) during analytes extraction is 5.5. A l-proline is added to the sample (375 mM) to ensure the complexation of the target metal cations. After the complexation step, 750 µL of SHS - a N, N-Dimethylcyclohexylamine along with 0.9 mL of 2 M of acetic acid solution is added (hydrophilicity switch-on stage) and mixed manually to obtain a homogeneous solution. In the last stage, 0.45 mL of 10 M NaOH solution (hydrophilicity switch-off stage) is added to the sample solution and a vortex for 100 s is applied to ensure the effective extraction and separation of the complex containing the analytes. At this stage, a cloudy solution is immediately obtained. Finally, the effective phase separation is obtained at the centrifugation step (4000 rpm for 2 mins). The method limit of detection was as 0.03, 0.009, 0.6, and 0.2 ng/L for Zn (II), Fe (II), Cd (II), and Pb (II) respectively with RSD% below 2.0 %. The analysis of certified reference materials and real samples proved the full applicability of the method for routine analysis, contributing to the field of heavy metal analysis and ensuring the safety of baby products. According to the AGREE methodology, this method can be named as green analytical chemistry method with a score of 0.77.

  • Development of advanced machine learning for prognostic analysis of drying parameters for banana slices using indirect solar dryer
    • Nguen Van
    • Prabhu Paramasivam
    • Marek Dzida
    • Sameh M. Osman
    • Duc Trong Nguyen Le
    • Dao Nam Cao
    • Thanh Hai Truong
    • Viet Dung Tran
    2024 Full text Case Studies in Thermal Engineering

    In this study, eXtreme Gradient Boosting (XGBoost) and Light Gradient Boosting (LightGBM) algorithms were used to model-predict the drying characteristics of banana slices with an indirect solar drier. The relationships between independent variables (temperature, moisture, product type, water flow rate, and mass of product) and dependent variables (energy consumption and size reduction) were established. For energy consumption, XGBoost demonstrates superior performance with an R2 of 0.9957 during training and 0.9971 during testing, alongside minimal MSE of 0.0034 during training and 0.0008 during the testing phase indicating high predictive accuracy and low error rates. Conversely, LGBM shows lower R2 values (0.9061 training, 0.8809 testing) and higher MSE of 0.0747 during training and 0.0337 during testing, reflecting poorer performance. Similarly, for shrinkage prediction, XGBoost outperforms LGBM, evidenced by higher R2 (0.9887 training, 0.9975 testing) and lower MSE (0.2527 training, 0.4878 testing). The comparative statistics showed that XGBoost regularly outperformed LightGBM. The game theory-based Shapley functions revealed that temperature and product types were the most influential features of the energy consumption model. These findings illustrate the practical applicability of the XGBoost and LightGBM models in food drying operations towards optimizing drying conditions, improving product quality, and reducing energy consumption.

  • Development of an emulation platform for synchronous machine power generation system using a nonlinear functional level model
    • Filip Kutt
    • Łukasz Sienkiewicz
    • Szymon Racewicz
    • Michał Michna
    • Roland Ryndzionek
    2024 Full text Archives of Electrical Engineering

    The article presents the Power Hardware in the Loop (PHIL) approach for an autonomous power system analysis based on the synchronous generator model incorporating magnetic saturation effects. The model was prepared in the MATLAB/Simulink environment and then compiled into the C language for the PHIL platform implementation. The 150 kVA bidirectional DC/AC commercial-grade converter was used to emulate the synchronous generator. It was controlled by the real-time simulation control unit with the prepared synchronous generator model incorporating magnetic saturation effects. The proposed approach was validated on the 125 kVA synchronous generator connected to the active and reactive loads of different values for the steady-state and the transient-state performance studies.

  • Development of an orbital shaker-assisted fatty acid-based switchable solvent microextraction procedure for rapid and green extraction of amoxicillin from complex matrices: Central composite design
    • Adil Elik
    • Yağmur Demirkol
    • Hameed Ul Haq
    • Grzegorz Boczkaj
    • Khan Sanaullah
    • Nail Altunay
    2024 FOOD CHEMISTRY

    In this study, a cheap, fast and simple orbital shaker-assisted fatty acid-based switchable solvent microextraction (OS-FASS-ME) procedure was developed for the extraction of amoxicillin (AMOX) in dairy products, pharmaceutical samples and wastewater prior to its spectrophotometric analysis. Fatty acid-based switchable solvents were investigated for extracting AMOX. The key factors of the OS-FASS-ME procedure were optimized using a central composite design. The linearity of OS-FASS-ME procedure was in the range 5–600 ng mL−1 with a correlation coefficient of 0.991. In five replicate experiments for 20 ng mL−1 of AMOX solution, the recovery and relative standard deviation were 95.8% and 2.2%, respectively. Limits of detection and quantification were found 1.5 ng mL−1 and 5 ng mL−1, respectively. The accuracy, precision, robustness and selectivity of the OS-FASS-ME procedure were investigated in detail under optimum conditions. The OS-FASS-ME procedure was applied to milk, cheese, wastewater, syrups and tablets. A comparison of the results obtained from the reference method and the OS-FASS-ME method showed that the OS-FASS-ME procedure can be successfully applied to complex matrices.

  • Development of novel smartphone-based methods of wine quality assessment
    • Kaja Kalinowska
    2024 Full text

    The doctoral dissertation concerns the development of novel smartphone-based analytical methods of wine quality evaluation, which would be in line with the stipulations of green and equitable analytical chemistry. This solution is based on the analysis of biogenic amines and selected bioactive compounds. The dissertation is based on four articles containing the results of research which led to the development of smartphone-based approach. It was shown that the comprehensive analytical solution comprised of the experimental setup for smartphone-based analysis and a set of methods for the determination of multiple bioactive compounds can be used for wine quality assessment. The use of experimental setup for smartphone-based analysis facilitates modification and adaptation to particular applications. Furthermore, the portability of the setup and simplification of sample preparation procedures enable not only in-field use but also application in each stage of the manufacturing and distribution process.

  • Development of potent and effective SARS-CoV-2 main protease inhibitors based on maleimide analogs for the potential treatment of COVID-19
    • Karol Biernacki
    • Olga Ciupak
    • Mateusz Daśko
    • Janusz Rachoń
    • Damian Flis
    • Justyna Budka
    • Iwona Inkielewicz-Stępniak
    • Anna Czaja
    • Janusz Rak
    • Sebastian Demkowicz
    2024 Full text JOURNAL OF ENZYME INHIBITION AND MEDICINAL CHEMISTRY

    In the present work, we report a new series of potent SARS-CoV-2 Main Protease (Mpro) inhibitors based on maleimide derivatives. The inhibitory activities were tested in an enzymatic assay using recombinant Mpro (3CL Protease from coronavirus SARS-CoV-2). Within the set of new Mpro inhibitors, 6e demonstrated the highest activity in the enzymatic assay with an IC50 value of 8.52 ± 0.44 mM. The IC50 value for Nirmatrelvir (PF-07321332, used as a reference) was 0.84 ± 0.37 mM. The cytotoxic properties were determined in the MTT assay using MRC-5 and HEK-293 cell lines. In the course of the investigation, we found that the newly obtained maleimide derivatives are not substantially cytotoxic (IC50 values for most compounds were above 200 mM).

  • Development of thin film SPME sorbents based on deep eutectic solvents and their application for isolation and preconcentration of endocrine-disrupting compounds leaching from diapers to urine
    • Aneta Chabowska
    • Justyna Werner
    • Agnieszka Zgoła-Grześkowiak
    • Julia Płatkiewicz
    • Robert Frankowski
    • Justyna Płotka-Wasylka
    2024 MICROCHEMICAL JOURNAL

    In this study, the thin film solid phase microextraction (TF-SPME) based on a novel sorbent composed of deep eutectic solvent (DES) is proposed. Among several synthesized sorbents the most efficient was DES containing trihexyl(tetradecyl)phosphonium chloride and docosanol mixed with polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS) in a molar ratio 1:3:0.25 to achieve a more stable structure. The proposed sorbent was applied on a fiberglass mesh and used as a TF-SPME sorbent for the determination of fifteen endocrine-disrupting compounds (EDCs): methylparaben (MeP), ethylparaben (EtP), propylparaben (PrP), butylparaben (BuP), benzylparaben (BzP), bisphenol A (BPA), bisphenol S (BPS), bisphenol F (BPF), bisphenol AF (BPAF), bisphenol E (BPE), bisphenol B (BPB), triclosan (TCS), triclocarban (TCC), butylated hydroxyanisole (BHA) and butylated hydroxytoluene (BHT) leaching from diapers to synthetic urine. A central composite design methodology was used to optimize extraction from urine and four factors were tested, such as mass of DES/PDMS, extraction time, desorption time, and volume of triethylamine (additive to the desorbing solvent). The developed methodology was characterized by good metrological parameters (limit of detection (LOD): 0.01–1.15 ng mL 1, precision: 2.5–10.3 %). The method was linear in the range of 0.1 ng mL 1 to 100 ng mL 1 with a satisfactory coefficient of determination. After preconcentration by TF-SPME, EDCs were determined by LC-MS/MS. The main EDCs found in diapers were BPA, BPS, MeP, EtP, and PrP.

  • Diagnostics of the Peripheral Artery Disease with use of Glucose Sensor - A Proof of Concept
    • Ignacy Rogoń
    • Jakub Brzeziński
    • Adam Bujnowski
    • Mariusz Kaczmarek
    • Jerzy Wtorek
    2024

    It is estimated that 13% of population over 50 years old suffer from symptomatic or asymptomatic peripheral artery disease (PAD). Ankle-brachial index (ABI) is viewed as a useful parameter in diagnostics of peripheral arterial disease, however screening tests with usage of this method are not advised. Hypoxia causes increase in lactate values and decrease in blood glucose. We hypothesize that the deficit in blood supply to the muscles of the lower limbs will manifest itself in a lower blood glucose concentration, e.g. in the toe measurement compared to the reference measurement taken in the part of the body where the blood supply is normal or slightly worse. We proposed simple method for determining the foot-toe glucose index (FTGI) based on automatic measurement of glucose concentration in a blood sample. Obtained results suggest that proposed method is more sensitive than cuff/ultrasound doppler method.

  • Diagnostyka off-line stanu izolacji uzwojeń silników 6 kV z wykorzystaniem obrazowania akustycznego wyładowań niezupełnych
    • Marek Adamowicz
    • Marcin Gulczyński
    • Marek Olesz
    2024 Full text Przegląd Elektrotechniczny

    W zakładach przemysłowych, w których kluczowe procesy produkcyjne są realizowane z wykorzystaniem silników średniego napięcia, dla których diagnostyka izolacji uzwojeń ma istotne znaczenie. W tym celu wykonuje się ocenę porównawczą wyników pomiarów wyładowań niezupełnych (WNZ) wykonywanych dla jednostek tego samego typu, a jej skuteczność w znacznej mierze wynika z wieloletniego doświadczenia diagnosty. Dla opracowania wyników WNZ stosuje się metodę fazowo-rozdzielczą PRPD, która wyznacza określone parametry WNZ w funkcji fazy napięcia przemiennego. Dysponując określonymi wzorcami WNZ można określić rodzaj wady izolacji silnika, bez możliwości lokalizacji jej występowania. W referacie omówiono nowe możliwości wspomagania diagnostyki off-line z wykorzystaniem kamery akustycznej, która analizuje widmo akustyczne WNZ i lokalizuje miejsce ich występowania na optycznym obrazie badanego obiektu. Kamera akustyczna wykorzystuje szeroką gamę mikrofonów szerokopasmowych i wizualizuje sygnał akustyczny w wybranych zakresach częstotliwości.

  • Diamond-Based Supercapacitors with Ultrahigh Cyclic Stability Through Dual-Phase MnO2-Graphitic Transformation Induced by High-Dose Mn-Ion Implantation
    • Sujit Deshmukh
    • Srinivasu Kunuku
    • Paweł Jakóbczyk
    • Adrian Olejnik
    • Chien-Hsu Chen
    • Huan Niu
    • Bing Yang
    • Nianjun Yang
    • Robert Bogdanowicz
    2024 Full text ADVANCED FUNCTIONAL MATERIALS

    While occasionally being able to charge and dischargemore quickly than batteries, carbon-based electrochemical supercapacitors(SCs) are nevertheless limited by their simplicity of processing, adjustableporosity, and lack of electrocatalytic active sites for a range of redox reactions.Even SCs based on the most stable form of carbon (sp3carbon/diamond)have a poor energy density and inadequate capacitance retention during longcharge/discharge cycles, limiting their practical applications. To constructa SC with improved cycling stability/energy density Mn-ion implanted(high-dose; 1015–1017ions cm−2) boron doped diamond (Mn-BDD) films havebeen prepared. Mn ion implantation and post-annealing process results in anin situ graphitization (sp2phase) and growth of MnO2phase with roundishgranular grains on the BDD film, which is favorable for ion transport. The dualadvantage of bothsp2(graphitic phase) andsp3(diamond phase) carbonswith an additional pseudocapacitor (MnO2) component provides a unique andcritical function in achieving high-energy SC performance. The capacitance ofMn-BDD electrode in a redox active aqueous electrolyte (0.05 M Fe(CN)63-/4−+1MNa2SO4)isashighas51mFcm−2at 10 mV s−1with exceptionalcyclic stability (≈100% capacitance even after 10 000 charge/dischargecycles) placing it among the best-performing SCs. Furthermore, the ultrahighcapacitance retention (≈80% retention after 88 000 charge/discharge cycles)in a gel electrolyte containing a two-electrode configuration shows a promisingprospect for high-rate electrochemical capacitive energy storage applications.

  • Diffusion equations with spatially dependent coefficients and fractal Cauer-type networks
    • Jacky Cresson
    • Anna Szafrańska
    2024 Fractional Calculus and Applied Analysis

    In this article, we formulate and solve the representation problem for diffusion equations: giving a discretization of the Laplace transform of a diffusion equation under a space discretization over a space scale determined by an increment h > 0, can we construct a continuous in h family of Cauer ladder networks whose constitutive equations match for all h > 0 the discretization. It is proved that for a finite differences discretization over a uniform geometric space scale, the representation problem over fractal Cauer networks is possible if and only if the coefficients of the diffusion are exponential functions in the space variable. Such diffusion equations admit a (Laplace) transfer function with a fractional behavior whose exponent is explicit. This allows us to justify previous works made by Sabatier and co-workers in [15,16] and Oustaloup and co-workers [14].

  • Direct reduction of pellets through hydrogen: Experimental and model behaviour
    • Pasquale Cavaliere
    • Angelo Perrone
    • Leandro Dijon
    • Aleksandra Laska
    • Damian Koszelow
    2024 Full text INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF HYDROGEN ENERGY

    This paper presents the hydrogen reduction behaviour of industrial pellets designed for the efficient hydrogen based direct reduction. The pellets were provided with very low non ferrous oxides percentage (0.52 of basicity index) and with the absence on TiO2 oxides. The pellets measured diameters in the range 1.14–1.72 cm and were characterized in terms of porosity, pores size, tortuosity and compression strength. The pellets were reduced in hydrogen atmosphere in a laboratory shaft furnace in the temperature ranges of 600–1200 ◦C at the pressures of 1 and 5 bar. The pellets’ reduction behaviour was analysed in terms of time to reduction, rate of reduction and kinetics constant. All the obtained results were analysed through the employment of a commercial multiobjective optimization tool (modeFrontier) in order to precisely define the effect of each single parameter on the pellets’ reduction. It was also defined the effect of the ongoing reduction rate of the final metallization of the starting iron oxides.

  • Discrete element method modelling of elastic wave propagation in a meso-scale model of concrete
    • Magdalena Knak
    • Michał Nitka
    • Magdalena Rucka
    2024 Full text ULTRASONICS

    This paper deals with the accurate modelling of ultrasonic wave propagation in concrete at the mesoscopic level. This was achieved through the development of a discrete element method (DEM) model capable of simulating elastic wave signals comparable to those measured experimentally. The main objective of the work was to propose a novel methodology for constructing a meso-scale model of concrete dedicated to the analysis of elastic wave propagation. All the material parameters necessary to prepare a numerical DEM model of concrete at the mesoscopic level were explored and explained. Calibration of the mechanical parameters of the DEM model to match the experimental values involved linking the local, micro-parameters between particles with the global response of the whole sample. The developed numerical model was further used to simulate the propagation of elastic waves in a cubic concrete sample, in the frequency range of 100–500 kHz. The results of the DEM calculations showed good agreement with the experimental ultrasonic signals.

  • Dispersive Micro‐Solid Phase Extraction of Selected Metals in Water and Food Samples Followed by ICP‐OES Analysis: Method Development, Analysis of Real Samples and Greenness Evaluation
    • Muhammad Sajid
    • Muhamed Kabeer
    • Mazen Khaled Nazal
    • Muhammad Younas
    • Justyna Płotka-Wasylka
    2024 ChemistrySelect

    Multiwalled carbon nanotubes (MWCNTs) are well-known adsorbents because of their high surface area, layered and hollow architecture, hydrophobicity, and multiple and easily accessible adsorption sites. In this study, MWCNTs were used for dispersive micro-solid-phase extraction of various metal chelates in environmental and food samples. Different parameters such as concentration of the chelating reagent, the sorbent dosage, the extraction time, the desorption time, and the strength of the eluent were suitably optimized. Under the optimum extraction conditions, the proposed method demonstrated a good linear working range for all the analytes, with correlation coefficients above 0.9915. The limit of detection ranged from 0.02 to 0.21 μg/L. The inter-day and intra-day relative standard deviations were less than 2.5%. The proposed method was used for the determination of selected metals in tap water, drinking water, cucumber, and tomato samples. In the end, GAPI tool was used to evaluate the greenness of the method.

  • Diurnal variability of atmospheric water vapour, precipitation and cloud top temperature across the global tropics derived from satellite observations and GNSS technique
    • Zofia Baldysz
    • Grzegorz Nykiel
    • Dariusz Baranowski
    • Beata Latos
    • Mariusz Figurski
    2024 Full text CLIMATE DYNAMICS

    The diurnal cycle of convection plays an important role in clouds and water vapour distribution across the global tropics. In this study, we utilize integrated moisture derived from the global navigation satellite system (GNSS), satellite precipitation estimates from TRMM and merged infrared dataset to investigate links between variability in tropospheric moisture, clouds development and precipitation at a diurnal time scale. Over 16 years of observations were analysed to estimate the diurnal cycles for 42 sites that span across the global tropics and assess the GNSS precipitable water vapour suitability in tropical moisture variability studies. Results show that the GNSS technique can be successfully used for studies related to the high-resolution temporal variability of integrated atmospheric moisture and, thus, in the analysis of multi-scale interactions and clouds development. For most of the analysed cases, GNSS integrated humidity shows one daily maximum (regardless of the season), which is related to the afternoon precipitation and cloud top temperature daily minimum. Although diurnal integrated moisture variations typically do not exceed 2 mm (usually below 5% of the daily mean value), in favourable large-scale conditions such relatively small changes can lead to the development of convective clouds and can affect precipitation distribution. Thus, GNSS technology allows reliable monitoring of tropospheric moisture variability at a diurnal time scale, which can be leveraged for improved monitoring and prediction of high-impact weather.

  • Divide and not forget: Ensemble of selectively trained experts in Continual Learning
    • Grzegorz Rypeść
    • Sebastian Cygert
    • Valeriya Khan
    • Tomasz Trzciński
    • Bartosz Zieliński
    • Bartłomiej Twardowski
    2024 Full text

    Class-incremental learning is becoming more popular as it helps models widen their applicability while not forgetting what they already know. A trend in this area is to use a mixture-of-expert technique, where different models work together to solve the task. However, the experts are usually trained all at once using whole task data, which makes them all prone to forgetting and increasing computational burden. To address this limitation, we introduce a novel approach named SEED. SEED selects only one, the most optimal expert for a considered task, and uses data from this task to fine-tune only this expert. For this purpose, each expert represents each class with a Gaussian distribution, and the optimal expert is selected based on the similarity of those distributions. Consequently, SEED increases diversity and heterogeneity within the experts while maintaining the high stability of this ensemble method. The extensive experiments demonstrate that SEED achieves state-of-the-art performance in exemplar-free settings across various scenarios, showing the potential of expert diversification through data in continual learning.

  • Do clusters help companies to "go green"? Experience of Polish National Key Clusters
    • Anna Lis
    • Marta Mackiewicz
    • Anna Wendt
    2024

    This study aims to explore cluster activity in the field of green transformation, taking into account the green, low-carbon and circular economy. Our intention was to identify the main green practices used by cluster organizations, which we showed through the lens of the attributes of both the cluster and the cluster organization. Through our study, we sought to answer the question: what is the role of cluster organizations in supporting green transformation from the perspective of both cluster coordinators and members? The study was conducted in the period 2021-2023 mainly in Polish National Key Clusters. The selection of clusters was based, on the one hand, on the similarity resulting from their maturity (which was determined, among others, by the age and the scope of activities), on the other hand, on the differences resulting from industry affiliation and location (surveyed clusters represent different industries and are located in different parts of Poland). We conducted a two-stage quantitative survey in which we assessed cluster green transformation activity from the perspective of cluster managers (first stage) and from the perspective of cluster enterprise representatives (second stage), using the same survey questionnaire. Our study showed that for the development of cluster cooperation within green transformation, the role of geographical proximity is crucial. It was with this cluster attribute that the most popular green practices identified in the study were linked. They are associated with relationship building, learning and knowledge sharing processes, and growth of innovation potential.

  • Do personality traits influence the user’s behavioral intention to adopt and use Open Government Data (OGD)? An empirical investigation
    • Nina Rizun
    • Charalampos Harris Alexopoulos
    • Stuti Saxena
    • Fernando Kleiman
    • Ricardo Matheus
    2024 TELEMATICS AND INFORMATICS

    The academic interest in the Open Government Data (OGD) domain has been burgeoning over the years. Conceding that the prime focus of an OGD initiative is its further re-use for value creation and innovation by stakeholders, the present study seeks to underscore the role of HEXACO personality traits on behavioral intention (BI) to adopt and use OGD in developing countries' context. We investigate the direct, indirect, and moderating effects of HEXACO personality traits provide a better understanding of how and to what extent personality traits influence future behavioral intention to use OGD. The results demonstrate that Trust and Performance Expectancy are positive predictors of BI to adopt and use OGD. Users with higher Openness to Experience tend to have higher Effort and Performance Expectancy; are characterized by exposure to Social Influence; have higher level of Trust and positive experience of Facilitating Conditions and Information Quality. Agreeable people are more likely to Voluntarily Use OGD. Conscientiousness enhances the individual's perception of OGD quality-related factors. Excessive Emotionality affects negative perception to System and Information Quality issues. Honesty–Humility and Extraversion are able to maintain the effect of OGD Information Quality and Trust on users' BI. Our findings could be useful for practitioners to level the divergence between actual and potential use of OGD by considering the user's personality traits

  • Do You Know What You Drink? Comparative Research on the Contents of Radioisotopes and Heavy Metals in Different Types of Tea from Various Parts of the World
    • Grządka Elżbieta
    • Anna Bastrzyk
    • Jolanta Orzeł
    • Agata Oszczak-Nowińska,
    • Bartłomiej Fliszkiewicz
    • Mateusz Siemieniuk
    • Krzysztof Sobczyński
    • Olgierd Spławski
    • Katarzyna Gołębiewska
    • Oskar Ronda
    • Bartłomiej Cieślik
    2024 Full text Foods

    The aim of this study was to assess the potential health risks of radioactive elements and heavy metals ingested through the consumption of various types of tea imported to the Polish market (black, green, red, oolong and white). The concentrations [Bq/kg] of radionuclides (40K, 137Cs, 226Ra, 210Pb and 228Th) in tea leaves before and after brewing were measured using γ-ray spectrometry with high-purity germanium (HPGe). The concentrations [mg/kg] of the studied elements (Fe, Cr, Cu, Mo, Al, Mn, Ni, P, V, Cd and Pb) were determined using a microwave-induced plasma optical emission spectrometer (MIP-OES). The results presented here will help to expand the database of heavy metals and radioactivity in teas. With regard to the potential health risk, the percentage of leaching of individual elements in different types of tea infusions was determined, and the assessment of the consumption risk was estimated. Since the calculated exposure factors, namely the HQ (Hazard Quotient) and THQ (Target Hazard Quotient), do not exceed critical levels, teas can still be considered health-beneficial products (most of the radionuclides as well as elements remain in the leaves (65–80%) after brewing).