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  • Building Confidence and Trust in Ireland's National Maternity Services Workforce –What matters most and how?
    • Adegboyega Ojo
    • Nina Rizun
    • Grace S. Grace
    • Wojciech Przychodzen
    • Mona Isazad Mashinchi
    • Conor Foley
    • Daniela Rohde
    2023 Pełny tekst HEALTH POLICY

    National surveys on care experiences are increasingly adopted as regulatory mechanisms for improving care quality and increasing public trust in healthcare services. Based on data collected as part of Ireland's 2020 National Maternity Experience Survey, this study investigates care-related factors that contribute most to confidence and trust in the professional workforce (or carers) within Irish maternity services. The survey covered the full spectrum of maternity care and received 3,206 responses which were analysed using structural equation modelling. Results show that trust in carers may be enhanced through greater attention to the quality of interpersonal aspects of maternity care in a few core areas. We found that factors related to dignity and respect (β=0.270), involvement in decision-making (β=0.186), pain management (β=0.172), and communication (β=0.151) are core determinants of confidence and trust in the professional workforce of maternity services. Perceived quality of care in these four aspects increased on average, with the women's age. Women under 29 rated their experiences in these areas as significantly lower than the average. Women with a disability also rated their experiences significantly lower than average in three core areas. Our results suggest that trustworthy, equitable, and high-quality maternity care requires ongoing development of interpersonal skills within the maternity services professional workforce particularly in caring for younger women (under 29 years) and those with a disability.

  • Buried Object Characterization by Data-Driven Surrogates and Regression-Enabled Hyperbolic Signature Extraction
    • Reyhan Yurt
    • Hamid Torpi
    • Ahmet Kizilay
    • Sławomir Kozieł
    • Anna Pietrenko-Dąbrowska
    • Peyman Mahouti
    2023 Pełny tekst Scientific Reports

    This work addresses artificial-intelligence-based buried object characterization using FDTD-based electromagnetic simulation toolbox of a Ground Penetrating Radar (GPR) to generate B-scan data. In data collection, FDTD-based simulation tool, gprMax is used. The task is to estimate geophysical parameters of a cylindrical shape object of various radii, buried at different positions in the dry soil medium simultaneously and independently of each other. The proposed methodology capitalizes on a fast and accurate data-driven surrogate model developed for object characterization in terms of its vertical and lateral position, and the size. The surrogate is constructed in a computationally efficient manner as compared to methodologies using 2D B-scan image. This is achieved by operating at the level of hyperbolic signatures extracted from the B-scan data through linear regression, which effectively reduces the dimensionality and the size of data. The proposed methodology relies on reducing of 2D B-scan image to 1D data including variation of reflected electric fields’ amplitudes with respect to the scanning aperture. The input of the surrogate model is the extracted hyperbolic signature obtained through linear regression executed on the background subtracted B-scan profiles. The hyperbolic signatures encode information about the geophysical parameters of the buried object, including depth, lateral position, and radius, all of which can be extracted using proposed methodology. Parametric estimation of the object radius and the estimation of the location parameters simultaneously is a challenging problem. Applying the application of processing steps on B-scan profiles incurs high computational costs, which is a limitation of the current methodologies. The metamodel itself is rendered using a novel deep-learning-based modified multilayer perceptron (M2LP) framework. The presented object characterization technique is favourably benchmarked against the state-of-the-art regression techniques, including Multilayer Perceptron (MLP), Support Vector Regression Machine (SVRM), and Convolutional Neural Network (CNN). The verification results demonstrate the average mean absolute error of 10 mm, and the average relative error of 8 percent, both corroborating the relevance of the proposed M2LP framework. In addition, the presented methodology provides a well-structured relation between the geophysical parameters of object and the extracted hyperbolic signatures.

  • Buried Object Characterization Using Ground Penetrating Radar Assisted by Data-Driven Surrogate-Models
    • Reyhan Yurt
    • Hamid Torpi
    • Peyman Mahouti
    • Ahmet Kizilay
    • Sławomir Kozieł
    2023 Pełny tekst IEEE Access

    This work addresses artificial-intelligence-based buried object characterization using 3-D full-wave electromagnetic simulations of a ground penetrating radar (GPR). The task is to characterize cylindrical shape, perfectly electric conductor (PEC) object buried in various dispersive soil media, and in different positions. The main contributions of this work are (i) development of a fast and accurate data driven surrogate modeling approach for buried objects characterization, (ii) construction of the surrogate model in a computationally efficient manner using small training datasets, (iii) development of a novel deep learning method, time-frequency regression model (TFRM), that employes raw signal (with no pre-processing) to achieve competitive estimation performance. The presented approach is favourably benchmarked against the state-of-the-art regression techniques, including multilayer perceptron (MLP), Gaussian process (GP) regression, support vector regression machine (SVRM), and convolutional neural network (CNN).

  • Butyrylcholinesterase signal sequence self-aggregates and enhances amyloid fibril formation in vitro
    • Jacek Jasiecki
    • Monika Targońska
    • Anna Janaszak-Jasiecka
    • Leszek Kalinowski
    • Krzysztof Waleron
    • Bartosz Wasąg
    2023 CHEMICO-BIOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS

    Alzheimer’s disease (AD) pathogenesis has been attributed to extracellular aggregates of amyloid β (Aβ) plaques and neurofibrillary tangles in the human brain. It has been reported that butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) also accumulates in the brain Aβ plaques in AD. We have previously found that the BChE substitution in 5′UTR caused an in-frame N-terminal extension of 41 amino acids of the BChE signal peptide. The resultant variant with a 69 amino acid signal peptide, designated N-BChE, could play a role in AD development. Here, we report that the signal sequence of the BChE, if produced in an extended 69 aa version, can self-aggregate and could form seeds that enhance amyloid fibril formation in vitro in a dose-dependent manner and create larger co-aggregates. Similar phenomena could have been observed in the human brain if such an extended form of the signal sequence had been, in some circumstances, translated.

  • Cadmium accumulation by Phragmites australis and Iris pseudacorus from stormwater in floating treatment wetlands microcosms: Insights into plant tolerance and utility for phytoremediation
    • Muhammad Mohsin
    • Nicole Nawrot
    • Ewa Wojciechowska
    • Suvi Kuittinen
    • Katarzyna Szczepańska
    • Grażyna Dembska
    • Ari Pappinen
    2023 Pełny tekst JOURNAL OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT

    Environmentally sustainable remediation is needed to protect freshwater resources which are deteriorating due to severe industrial, mining, and agricultural activities. Treatment by floating wetlands could be a sustainable solution to remediate water bodies. The study aimed to examine the effects of Cd on Phragmites australis and Iris pseudacorus growth (height, biomass, root length and chlorophyll contents), anatomy, Cd accumulation in their biomass and their ability to remove Cd, N and P. Seedlings of both plants were grown in a greenhouse for 50 days in artificially prepared stormwater amended with Cd, N, and P. The treatments were: control (Cd _0), Cd_1, Cd_2, and Cd_4 mg L−1. N and P contents were 4 mg L−1 and 1.8 mg L−1, respectively. In the case of P. australis, the maximum plant height, root length, and total dry biomass production was increased in medium dose (Cd_2) treatment while the chlorophyll index (CCI) increased in high dose (Cd_4) treatment as compared to all treatments. For I. pseudacorus, the maximum plant height and total dry biomass production, root length and CCI values were improved in low dose (Cd_1) and high dose (Cd_4) treatments, respectively among all treatments. Results showed that P. australis accumulated 10.94–1821.59 μg · (0.05 m2)−1 in roots and 2.45–334.65 μg · (0.05 m2)−1 in shoots under Cd_0, Cd_1 and Cd_4 treatments. I. pseudacorus accumulated the highest Cd in roots up to 5.84–4900 μg · (0.05 m2)−1 and 3.40–609 μg · (0.05 m2)−1 in shoots under Cd_0, Cd_1 and Cd_4 treatments. The translocation factor was observed as <1 and the bioconcentration factor >1 for both species, which indicates their phytostabilization potential. Results demonstrate that P. australis and I. pseudacorus are suitable for use in floating wetlands to remediate contaminated sites.

  • Can sodium 1-alkylsulfonates participate in the sodium dodecyl sulfate micelle formation?
    • Ola Grabowska
    • Krzysztof Żamojć
    • Michał Olewniczak
    • Lech Chmurzynski
    • Dariusz Wyrzykowski
    2023 JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR LIQUIDS

    The aggregation behavior of sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) was studied in an aqueous solution in the presence of increasing concentrations of selected sodium 1-alkylsulfonates, namely sodium 1-octanesulfonate, sodium 1-decanesulfonate, and sodium 1-dodecanesufonate. The critical micelle concentration (CMC) of SDS was determined by conductivity and fluorescence intensity measurements. The steady-state fluorescence quenching experiments with pyrene as a fluorescent probe were performed to obtain micellar aggregation numbers (Nagg) of the surfactant. The thermodynamic parameters of micellization ( for all studied systems; and for sodium 1-dodecanesufonate) have been determined and compared. The influence of alkyl chain length and concentration of the selected sodium 1-alkylsulfonates on the values of CMC, Nagg, , , and of SDS has been discussed. As it was found, all selected for the experiments electrolytes decrease significantly the CMC of the surfactant, while an opposite effect is observed for Nagg values. The obtained experimental results have been supported by theoretical calculations. Interestingly, it has been proven that solely the molecules of sodium 1-dodecanesufonate (of the same carbon chain length) may act as the SDS mimetics – they are not recognized by SDS as the ones with a different structure and consequently are allowed to participate in the formation of the surfactant’s micelles.

  • Cancer immune escape: the role of antigen presentation machinery
    • Anoop Kallingal
    • Mateusz Olszewski
    • Natalia Maciejewska
    • Wioletta Brankiewicz
    • Maciej Bagiński
    2023 Pełny tekst JOURNAL OF CANCER RESEARCH AND CLINICAL ONCOLOGY

    The mechanisms of antigen processing and presentation play a crucial role in the recognition and targeting of cancer cells by the immune system. Cancer cells can evade the immune system by downregulating or losing the expression of the proteins recognized by the immune cells as antigens, creating an immunosuppressive microenvironment, and altering their ability to process and present antigens. This review focuses on the mechanisms of cancer immune evasion with a specific emphasis on the role of antigen presentation machinery. The study of the immunopeptidome, or peptidomics, has provided insights into the mechanisms of cancer immune evasion and has potential applications in cancer diagnosis and treatment. Additionally, manipulating the epigenetic landscape of cancer cells plays a critical role in suppressing the immune response against cancer. Targeting these mechanisms through the use of HDACis, DNMTis, and combination therapies has the potential to improve the efficacy of cancer immunotherapy. However, further research is needed to fully understand the mechanisms of action and optimal use of these therapies in the clinical setting.

  • Capacity of Surface Production of Band Sawing in Manufacture of Oak Floor Upper Layers
    • Kazimierz Orłowski
    • Daniel Chuchała
    • Dawid Stenka
    • Tomasz Przybyliński
    2023 Pełny tekst BIORESOURCES

    Thin lamellae, corresponding to the layer components of structural glued members, i.e., 2-ply or 3-ply glued flooring, can be manufactured in re-sawing operations of kiln-dried wood blocks or in wet technologies, which currently seem to be more common because of the shorter drying time. The re-sawing process in wet technology is conducted on dedicated thin-cutting band sawing machines with stellite-tipped band saws. The goal of this research was to demonstrate the capacity of surface production (m2/ tool life) of visible layers of oak engineered flooring composites in a function of both a new band saw and a re-sharpened band saw blade. Additionally, the state of teeth of each band saw blade was examined at the end of the tool life. A series of cutting tests were performed in sawmill production conditions. The conducted tests revealed that a three times higher capacity of surface production was obtained for the new tool compared to re-sharpened tool. Additional microscopic observations of some re-sharpened teeth showed deformed plastic characteristics.

  • Carbon nitride exfoliation for photocatalysis and photocatalytic ozonation over emerging contaminants abatement
    • Eryk Fernandes
    • Paweł Mazierski
    • Magdalena Miodyńska
    • Tomasz Klimczuk
    • Mirosława Pawlyta
    • Adriana Zaleska-Medynska
    • Rui F. Martins
    • João Gomes
    2023 Pełny tekst Journal of Environmental Chemical Engineering

    The production of graphitic carbon nitride was studied with the addition of a following exfoliation step using ultrasounds, at different times. The treatment produced catalysts with much higher surface areas, from 2.18 m2 g 1 with no treatment to 28.34 m2 g 1 after 36 h of exfoliation. During exfoliation, melem was also produced, and may further enhance the photoluminescence and photocatalytic properties. The photocatalytic reaction also indicated the improved performance of exfoliated g-C3N4 towards the degradation of a mixture of parabens, enhancing their removal from 20% to up to 65% in 2 h under UVA radiation. The combination of ozone and g- C3N4 photocatalysis was able to completely remove the parabens in under 8 min and with a 20% lower consumption of ozone compared to photolytic ozonation. The main reactive species were identified, and the byproducts formed during parabens degradation were detected. The efficiency of the combined system was also attested by using a mixture of parabens and other common drugs, maintaining its better performance.

  • CARDIOVASCULAR RISK FACTORS AMONG POLISH EMPLOYEES OF UNIFORMED SERVICES
    • Bartosz G. Trzeciak
    • Waldemar Kowalczyk
    • Szymon Grymek
    • Piotr Gutknecht
    • Janusz Siebert
    2023 Pełny tekst International Journal of Occupational Medicine and Environmental Health

    Objectives: Employees of uniformed services (EoUS) were screened for cardiovascular risk factors. Material and Methods: A total of 1138 EoUS (age M±SD 49.9±6.0 years) and 263 controls (age M±SD 54.4±9.7 years) under the care of the cardiology clinic in Gdańsk, Poland,were included in the study. Medical history and blood samples were collected, and a physical examination was performed. Ten-year cardiovascular risk of death was calculated using the systematic coronary risk evaluation (SCORE) risk algorithm for high-risk countries. Results: Significantly higher values of mean systolic and mean diastolic blood pressure, mean total cholesterol level and mean BMI were recorded among the EoUS compared to controls (M±SD 141.7±11.6 mm Hg vs. 135.5±11.0 mm Hg, p < 0.001; 90.1±5.9 mm Hg vs. 84.5±6.8 mm Hg, p < 0.001; 6.01±0.76 mmol vs. 5.44±0.87 mmol, p < 0.001; 29.3±4.7 vs. 29.0±4.1, p < 0.001, respectively). Smoking cigarettes was most frequently reported by the youngest group (20–39 years old) – 47.7% and it was significantly higher in the entire EoUS group compared to control group (35.5% vs. 16.7%, p = 0.001). The occurrence of observed risk factors (blood pressure ≥140/90 mm Hg, total cholesterol concentration >5 mmol, smoking,) was significantly higher among EoUS compared to controls (92.1% vs. 57.8%, p < 0.001; 89.0% vs. 66.9%, p < 0.001; 35.5% vs. 16.7%, p < 0.001, respectively). In the male group, the mean calculated ten-year risk of fatal cardiovascular events, the percentage of high calculated risk, and very high risk were higher in the EoUS group compared to controls (M±SD 4.44±3.49 vs. 4.23±3.86, p = 0.001; 23.7% vs. 20.2%, p = 0.007; 7.4% vs. 6.5%, p = 0.03, respectively). Conclusions: The prevalence of all identified risk factors was found to be higher among employees of uniformed services when compared to the control group. The presence of these risk factors within the population of uniformed service employees results in a greater risk of mortality from cardiovascular diseases. Int J Occup Med Environ Health. 2023;36(5)

  • Case Study of Old Steel Riveted Railway Truss Bridge: From Material Characterization to Structural Analysis
    • Andrzej Ambroziak
    • Maciej Malinowski
    2023 Pełny tekst Baltic Journal of Road and Bridge Engineering

    The structural analysis of an old steel riveted railway truss bridge located over the Maruska River on the Działdowo – Olsztyn, Poland railway line is performed in this paper to check its behaviour under today’s railway loads. The mechanical properties of construction steel extracted from the old steel bridge are investigated by tensile tests, impact tests through the Charpy pendulum impact V-notch, and an optical emission spectrometer. Structural analysis exhibits that the steel bridge requires proper structural bridge improvements to meet today’s load requirements in terms of bearing capacity and serviceability state. The paper begins with a wide survey of literature carried out on the investigation of steel riveted railway bridge subject matter. This paper can provide scientists, engineers, and designers with an experimental and structural basis in the field of old steel riveted railway truss bridge construction.

  • Cassirer E. Jednostka i Kosmos w filozofii Odrodzenia. Przekład, wstęp i opracowanie P. Parszutowicz i D. Facca.Warszawa 2023
    • Przemysław Parszutowicz
    • Danilo Facca
    2023

    Publikacja stanowi przekład na jezyk polski, opracowanie i interpretację rozprawy Ernsta Cassirera Individuum und Kosmos in der Philosophie der Renaissance (1927). Cassirerowska wykładnia filozofii renesansu, zawarta w rozprawie cieszy się sławą jednego z najlepszych syntetycznych opracowań tego okresu.

  • Cavitation-based technologies for pretreatment and processing of food wastes: Major applications and mechanisms – A review
    • Zahra Askarniya
    • Xun Sun
    • Zhaohui Wang
    • Grzegorz Boczkaj
    2023 Pełny tekst CHEMICAL ENGINEERING JOURNAL

    Conversion of food wastes to valuable products is an important topic for sustainable development. Feedstock hydrolysis is a stage strongly affecting the anaerobic digestion process, and resistance of food waste towards hydrolysis causes a decrease in product yield. Such as biomethane, biohydrogen, biohythane, VFAs, and lactic acids. Moreover, mass transfer is a serious limitation of transesterification for the production of biodiesel. Cavitation is a promising pretreatment method for the mitigation of these issues. This work presents a critical review on cavitation-assisted processing of food waste. In several studies, cavitation proved its remarkable potential. Cavitation can also be employed in anaerobic digestion reactors and directly irradiate microorganisms, stimulating enzyme activities. Cavitation led to an increase in SCOD by up to 172 %. Consequently, it caused an increase in biogas, biohydrogen, VFAs, and lactic acid converted from food waste by up to 100 %, 145 %, 100 %, and 62 %, respectively. Cavitation resulted in a reduction in reaction time required for the conversion of food waste into biodiesel by up to 98 % due to its potential in increasing mass transfer. In acoustic cavitation, the optimum power density for the conversion of food waste through anaerobic digestion is in ranges of 230–480 W/L and 40–50 W/L at pretreatment stage and main stage, respectively. Low frequencies in a range of 20–50 kHz are suitable for both anaerobic digestion and transesterification. However, studies on the application of high frequency are scarce and obvious “research-gap” in this field exists. In hydrodynamic cavitation, for disintegration, efficient cavitation number and pressure are in ranges of 0.07–0.15 and 2–4 bar, respectively. The maximum particle size reduction usually occurs within the initial 15 min for both types of cavitation.

  • Cellular Effects of Selected Unsymmetrical Bisacridines on the Multicellular Tumor Spheroids of HCT116 Colon and A549 Lung Cancer Cells in Comparison to Monolayer Cultures
    • Jolanta Kulesza
    • Ewa Paluszkiewicz
    • Ewa Augustin
    2023 Pełny tekst INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES

    Multicellular tumor spheroids are a good tool for testing new anticancer drugs, including those that may target cancer stem cells (CSCs), which are responsible for cancer progression, metastasis, and recurrence. Therefore, we applied this model in our studies of highly active antitumor unsymmetrical bisacridines (UAs). We investigated the cellular response induced by UAs in 2D and 3D cultures of HCT116 colon and A549 lung cancer cells, with an additional focus on their impact on the CSC-like population. We showed that UAs affected the viability of the studied cells, as well as their spherogenic potential in the 2D and 3D cultures. Furthermore, we proved that the most promising UAs (C-2045 and C-2053) induced apoptosis in the HCT116 and A549 spheres to a similar, or even higher, extent than what was found in monolayer conditions. Next, we identified the population of the CSC-like cells in the 2D and 3D cultures of the studied cell lines by determining the levels of CD166, CD133, CD44, and EpCAM markers. We showed that the selected UAs affected the CSC-like population in both of the cell lines, and that A549 was affected more profoundly in 3D than in 2D cultures. Thus, the UAs exhibited high antitumor properties in both the 2D and 3D conditions, which makes them promising candidates for future therapeutic applications.

  • Chalcogen bonding interactions in a series of aromatic selenocyanates
    • Jan Alfuth
    • Olivier Jeannin
    • Marc Fourmigué
    2023 Pełny tekst CRYSTENGCOMM

    Selenium atoms in aromatic selenocyanates are characterized by the occurrence of two σ-holes, a stronger one in the prolongation of the NC–Se bond and a weaker one in the prolongation of the Ar–Se bond. The crystal structures of several bis(selenocyanato) derivatives, prepared by a method originally developed for ortho bis-substituted derivatives, illustrate very well this difference, with a short NC–Se⋯NC ChB interaction organizing the molecules into 1D motifs with reduction ratio (RR) values in the range of 0.87–0.91 (RR is defined as the interatomic distance over the van der Waals contact), complemented with Ar–Se⋯NC ChB interactions between antiparallel chains involving the second σ-hole, with larger RR values in the range of 0.92–0.94. Comparison with benzylic selenocyanates shows that this secondary lateral interaction involving the weaker σ-hole is notably enhanced in these novel aromatic compounds. The structure of co-crystals of the para derivative (1,4-diselenocyanatobenzene) with (E)-1,2-di(4-pyridyl)ethylene (bpen) is characterized by an extremely short NC–Se⋯Nbpen distance at 2.693(2) Å, i.e. a RR value of 0.78, complemented with interaction of the second σ-hole with the π system of the double bond of bpen.

  • Challenges and Perspectives of Nature-Based Wastewater Treatment and Reuse in Rural Areas of Central and Eastern Europe
    • Darja Istenič
    • Igor Bodik
    • Maret Merisant
    • Michal Seres
    • Tjasa Griesser-Bulc
    • Magdalena Gajewska
    2023 Sustainability

    n Central and Eastern Europe, about one-third of the population lives in small settlements (<2000 PE). Since the current European Urban Wastewater Treatment Directive (91/271/EEC) does not clearly regulate the collection and treatment of wastewater from these settlements, countries solve the problem individually. Simple and robust technologies such as nature-based treatment systems could be the solution and are widely applied in many EU countries. In this paper, the status of wastewater collection, treatment, and reuse in rural areas of 14 countries in Central and Eastern Europe is presented together with the spread of different nature-based treatment systems. The results show that in the last decade, connection to wastewater treatment plants has increased from 9% to 19% of the total population in small settlements. The use of treated water is rarely applied. Sequencing batch reactors and other types of activated sludge systems predominate in treatment technologies. Nature-based treatment systems (mainly treatment wetlands) are used in all the countries studied. Their implementation is slowly increasing, hampered by lack of acceptance by authorities, lack of good case studies, and misdesigned or misoperated examples from the past. More awareness, formalized training on nature-based treatment systems, and supportive legislation are needed to promote sustainable sanitation solutions in small settlements.

  • Challenges and recent advances in bio-based isocyanate production.
    • Joanna Niesiobędzka
    • Janusz Datta
    2023 Pełny tekst GREEN CHEMISTRY

    Polyurethanes (PUs) are key players in the plastics industry. According to the Global Polyurethane Market (2019–2023), their value in the global market reached $95.13 billion in 2019 and is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 12%. This is in line with the increase in the number of research papers and patents on the synthesis and application of petroleum-based PUs (P-PUs) and biomass or green PUs (G-PUs) (from 67 657 to 79 468, and from 198 810 to 226 164 for papers and patents, respectively, just over the past decade). Environmental concerns about fossil-based isocyanates are the reason why investigations on their green counterparts have got receiving more attention. According to statistics, almost 8% of research papers published on PUs between 2015 and the present used green-based resources. However, no comprehensive report or review dealt with such an important field in the chemistry of polyurethanes. This review highlights and reviews the production of isocyanate compounds directly from biomass. Moreover, various methods applied in the synthesis of bio-derived isocyanates are discussed. Technically, we discuss the main difficulties in the synthesis of biomass-based PUs. To address sustainability concerns, we overview the whole range of isocyanate compounds economically viable for biomass-based synthesis. We believe that the elimination of phosgene is a key to the production of green PUs. However, there is still a long way to go to develop green PUs with properties and performance comparable to fossil-based ones.

  • Channel Impulse Response Measurements at mmWave Band in Office and Conference Rooms
    • Monika Drozdowska
    • Sławomir Ambroziak
    • Krzysztof Cwalina
    • Piotr Rajchowski
    • Narcis Cardona
    2023 Pełny tekst

    In this paper, the measurements of the channel impulse response at mmWave band in office and conference rooms are described. The central frequency is 27 GHz with a bandwidth of 400 MHz. The description of the used measurement stand and considered environments are presented. The initial analysis of the power delay profile, mean delay, and RMS delay spread allows preliminary conclusions to be drawn that there is a significant impact of the dimensions of the rooms on these parameters.

  • Characterization of Bioactivity of Selective Molecules in Fruit Wines by FTIR and NMR Spectroscopies, Fluorescence and Docking Calculations
    • Kim Young-mo
    • Martyna Lubinska-Szczygeł
    • Yong-Seo Park
    • Joseph Deutsch
    • Aviva Ezra
    • Patraporn Luksirikul
    • Rajamohamed Beema Shafreen
    • Shela Gorinstein
    2023 Pełny tekst MOLECULES

    Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) and proton nuclear magnetic resonance (1H NMR) spectroscopies were applied to characterize and compare the chemical shifts in the polyphenols’ regions of some fruit wines. The obtained results showed that FTIR spectra (1800–900 cm−1) and 1H NMR (δ 6.5–9.3 ppm) of different fruit wines can be used as main indices of the year of vintage and quality of fruit wines. In addition to the classical determination of antioxidant profiles and bioactive substances in wines, fluorometric measurements were used to determine the interactions of wine substances with the main human serum proteins. The results showed relatively high binding properties of wines with the highest one for pomegranate, followed by kiwifruit and persimmon wines. The interactions of vitamin C, catechin and gallic acid with human serum albumin (HSA) were also examined by docking studies. The docking calculations showed that gallic acid has a stronger binding affinity compared to catechin and vitamin C. The stronger binding affinity of gallic acid may be due to three hydrogen bonds and pi–pi interactions. The fluorescence and docking studies proved that only the bioactive compounds of wines and not the amount of alcohol have high binding properties to human serum proteins. The emphasis in this report was made on the utility of FTIR, NMR and fluorescence of wines as a mean of wine authentication and its fingerprint. The findings, based on polyphenols from fruits and fruit wines, their bioactivity and health properties, offer valuable insights for future endeavours focused on designing healthy food products.

  • Characterization of GM3 Gangliosides in Human Milk throughout Lactation: Insights from the Analysis with the Use of Reversed-Phase Liquid Chromatography Coupled to Quadrupole Time-Of-Flight Mass Spectrometry
    • Weronika Hewelt-Belka
    • Michał Młynarczyk
    • Dorota Garwolińska
    • Agata Kot-Wasik
    2023 Pełny tekst JOURNAL OF AGRICULTURAL AND FOOD CHEMISTRY

    Gangliosides are complex lipids found in human milk that play important structural and biological functions. In this study, we utilized reversed-phase liquid chromatography coupled to quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry to evaluate the molecular distribution of GM3 in human milk samples collected at distinct lactation stages, ranging from colostrum to advanced lactation samples. Throughout lactation, GM3 d40:1 emerged as the most abundant GM3 species, except in colostrum, where GM3 d42:2 prevailed. The relative content of GM3 species containing very long N-fatty acyl (N-FA) substituents with >22 carbon atoms decreased, while the content of GM3 species containing 14:0, 18:0, 18:1, and 20:0 N-FA substituents increased in the later months of lactation. These findings highlight the divergence of GM3 profiles across the lactation period. Moreover, considerable interindividual variance was observed among the analyzed samples. The assessment of the GM3 profiles contributes to our understanding of the dynamic composition of human milk.

  • Characterizing the Scalability of Graph Convolutional Networks on Intel® PIUMA
    • Matthew Joseph Adiletta
    • Jesmin Jahan Tithi
    • Emmanouil-Ioannis Farsarakis
    • Gerasimos Gerogiannis
    • Robert Adolf
    • Robert Benke
    • Sidharth Kashyap
    • Samuel Hsia
    • Kartik Lakhotia
    • Fabrizio Petrini
    • Gu-Yeon Wei
    • David Brooks
    2023

    Large-scale Graph Convolutional Network (GCN) inference on traditional CPU/GPU systems is challenging due to a large memory footprint, sparse computational patterns, and irregular memory accesses with poor locality. Intel’s Programmable Integrated Unffied Memory Architecture (PIUMA) is designed to address these challenges for graph analytics. In this paper, a detailed characterization of GCNs is presented using the Open-Graph Benchmark (OGB) datasets to determine the viability of PIUMA as a potential solution to GCN scalability. First, the extent of sparse matrix dense matrix multiplication (SpMM) as a performance driver for GCN on CPU and GPU is explored, offering a methodology for predicting GCN behavior as a function of dataset characteristics. Second, an SpMM kernel optimized for PIUMA is described and investigated for sensitivity to system parameters including memory bandwidth, latency, and thread count. SpMM scalability on PIUMA is demonstrated, while the scalability limitations of a Xeon-optimized SpMM implementation are discussed. Finally, GCN performance is compared on PIUMA versus a Xeon CPU system and Ampere GPU system, showing impressive results on PIUMA for largescale datasets.

  • Charge density wave and crystalline electric field effects in TmNiC2
    • Marta Roman
    • Maria Fritthum
    • Berthold Stöger
    • Devashibhai T. Adroja
    • Herwig Michor
    2023 PHYSICAL REVIEW B

    Single crystals of TmNiC2 were grown by the optical floating-zone technique and were investigated by x-ray diffraction (XRD), thermal expansion, electrical resistivity, specific heat, and magnetic susceptibility measurements. Single-crystal XRD reveals the formation of a commensurate charge density wave (CDW) characterized by a CDW modulation vector q2c = (0.5, 0.5, 0.5), which is accompanied by a symmetry change from the orthorhombic space group Amm2 to the monoclinic space group Cm, i.e., to a CDW superstructure which is isostructural with that of LuNiC2 . For all transport and thermodynamic properties, anomalies related to a second order-type thermodynamic CDW phase transition are observed at around TCDW = 375 K. The large specific heat anomaly at TCDW, deltaC = 6.2 J mol−1 K−1 , together with noticeable changes in entropy and enthalpy related to the CDW transition, suggests that this point group symmetry breaking CDW phase transition affects more significant parts of the Fermi surface as compared to the incommensurate CDW transition of, e.g., SmNiC2 with no change in point group symmetry. The results on the antiferromagnetic and paramagnetic state of TmNiC2 obtained by the above macroscopic techniques were complemented by microscopic studies via inelastic neutron scattering. A crystalline electric field modeling of macroscopic susceptibility and magnetic specific heat and entropy contributions as well as microscopic neutron scattering data, reveal crystal field eigenstates and eigenvalues with a ground-state doublet of the Tm-4f electrons, which is well separated by about 25 meV from exited states of the J = 6 ground-state multiplet.

  • Charge Transport in High-Entropy Oxides
    • Wojciech Skubida
    • Daniel Jaworski
    • Aleksandra Mielewczyk-Gryń
    • Sebastian Wachowski
    • Tadeusz Miruszewski
    • Kacper Cichy
    • Konrad Swierczek
    • Maria Gazda
    2023 Pełny tekst Journal of Physical Chemistry C

    This work presents the results of research on the transport properties of the high-entropy BaZr1/8Hf1/8Sn1/8Ti1/8Y1/8In1/8Sm1/8Yb1/8O3–x perovskite oxide with special focus on proton transport. The presented study is part of broader work in which we focus on multiple different chemical compositions with the cation number varying from 5 up to 12 (in B-sublattice). The presence of proton defects is analyzed with thermogravimetry, whereas the results of electrochemical impedance spectroscopy in dry, H2O-, and D2O-containing synthetic air in the 300–800 °C temperature range enable the evaluation of the proton and deuterium conductivities. The isotope effect is observed and discussed. The obtained data allow us to establish the contribution of proton conductivity to the total one and the transport numbers for proton/deuterium conductivity. Based on the bulk and grain boundary conductivities, the potential at a grain boundary φ0, Debye length LD, and space-charge layer (SCL) thickness λ for proton defects is calculated. The potential barrier heights were found to be significantly lower than those observed for typical polycrystalline-doped barium zirconates. For the first time in the case of high-entropy oxides, the electrical conductivity relaxation (ECR) studies are performed, allowing the calculation of water kinetic coefficients. The ECR in the 300–600 °C temperature range revealed a single-fold nature, which indicates a negligible component of the electronic hole conductivity in the hydrated material. The chemical diffusion coefficient of water DOH• and the chemical surface exchange coefficient of water kOH• along with their activation energies are determined. The chemical diffusion coefficient DOH• is in a range of 10(1)−8–10(1)−6 cm2 s–1, and the chemical surface exchange coefficient kOH• is in a range of 10(1)−6–10(1)−4 cm s–1.

  • ChatGPT Application vis-a-vis Open Government Data (OGD): Capabilities, Public Values, Issues and a Research Agenda
    • Euripidis Loukis
    • Stuti Saxena
    • Nina Rizun
    • Maria Ioanna Maratsi
    • Mohsan Ali
    • Charalampos Harris Alexopoulos
    2023

    As a novel Artificial Intelligence (AI) application, ChatGPT holds pertinence not only for the academic, medicine, law, computing or other sectors, but also for the public sector-case in point being the Open Government Data (OGD) initiative. However, though there has been some limited (as this topic is quite new) research concerning the capabilities ChatGPT in these sectors, there has been no research about the capabilities it can provide to government concerning its wide range of functions and activities. This paper contributes to filling this gap by investigating the capabilities that the ChatGPT can provide concerning one of most recently initiated and novel, and at the same time most promising, activities of government that aims to fuel the emerging data economy and society: the opening of large amounts of government data; furthermore, we investigate the public values that can be promoted through the use of ChatGPT in the area of OGD by both the data publishers as well as their users. At the same time, we investigate the issues that the use of ChatGPT in the area of OGD can pose, which can reduce the capabilities identified as aforesaid as well as the benefits and public values that can be generated from them. For these purposes interviews with 12 experts have been conducted and their responses have been analyzed. Finally, based on our findings we have developed a research agenda concerning the exploitation of ChatGPT application in the OGD domain

  • Chemical, Aroma and Pro-Health Characteristics of Kaffir Lime Juice—The Approach Using Optimized HS-SPME-GC-TOFMS, MP-OES, 3D-FL and Physiochemical Analysis
    • Martyna Lubinska-Szczygeł
    • Żaneta Polkowska
    • Małgorzata Rutkowska
    • Shela Gorinstein
    2023 Pełny tekst INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF MOLECULAR SCIENCES

    The study aimed to provide the chemical, aroma and prohealth characteristics of the kaffir lime juice. A procedure using solid-phase microextraction with gas chromatography (SPME-GC-TOFMS) was optimized and validated for the determination of terpenes of kaffir lime. Main physicochemical parameters: pH, vitamin C, citric acid and °Brix were evaluated. Micro- and macro elements were determined using microwave plasma optic emission spectrometry (MP-OES). The binding of kaffir lime terpenes to human serum albumin (HSA) was investigated by fluorescence spectroscopy (3D-FL). β-Pinene and Limonene were selected as the most abundant terpenes with the concentration of 1225 ± 35 and 545 ± 16 µg/g, respectively. The values of citric acid, vitamin C, °Brix and pH were 74.74 ± 0.50 g/kg, 22.31 ± 0.53 mg/100 mL, 10.35 ± 0.70 and 2.406 ± 0.086 for, respectively. Iron, with a concentration of 16.578 ± 0.029 mg/kg, was the most abundant microelement. Among the macroelements, potassium (8121 ± 52 mg/kg) was dominant. Kaffir lime binding to HSA was higher than β-Pinene, which may indicate the therapeutic effect of the juice. Kaffir lime juice is a source of terpenes with good aromatic and bioactive properties. Fluorescence measurements confirmed its therapeutic effect. Kaffir lime juice is also a good source of citric acid with potential industrial application. The high content of minerals compared to other citruses increases its prohealth value.

  • Chemical Characteristics and Thermal Oxidative Stability of Novel Cold-Pressed Oil Blends: GC, LF NMR, and DSC Studies
    • Wojciech Cichocki
    • Dominik Kmiecik
    • Hanna Maria Baranowska
    • Hanna Staroszczyk
    • Agata Sommer
    • Przemysław Łukasz Kowalczewski
    2023 Pełny tekst Foods

    Plant oils contain a high content of unsaturated fatty acids. Studies of food products have revealed a considerable disproportion in the ratio of ω6 to ω3. This article presents information on the healthful qualities of eight new oil blends that contain a beneficial proportion of ω6 to ω3 fatty acids (5:1), as well as their degradation during heating at 170 and 200 °C. The fatty acid profile was analyzed by gas chromatography (GC), content of polar compounds and polymers of triacylglycerols by liquid chromatography (LC), water content was measured by the Karl Fischer method, and oxidative stability was measured by differential scanning calorimetry (DSC) and low-field nuclear magnetic resonance (LF NMR) methods. The results showed that during heating, the polar fraction content increased in samples heated at both analyzed temperatures compared to unheated oils. This was mainly due to the polymerization of triacylglycerols forming dimers. In some samples that were heated, particularly those heated to 200 °C, trimers were detected, however, even with the changes that were observed, the polar fraction content of the blends did not go beyond the limit. Despite the high content of unsaturated fatty acids, the analyzed blends of oils are characterized by high oxidative stability, confirmed by thermoanalytical and nuclear magnetic resonance methods. The high nutritional value as well as the oxidative stability of the developed oil blends allow them to be used in the production of food, in particular products that ensure an adequate supply of ω3 fatty acids.

  • Chemically reduced graphene oxide based aerogels - Insight on the surface and textural functionalities dependent on handling the synthesis factors
    • Maksymilian Plata Gryl
    • Roberto Castro Munoz
    • Grzegorz Boczkaj
    2023 Pełny tekst COLLOIDS AND SURFACES A-PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND ENGINEERING ASPECTS

    Efficient adjusting of reduced graphene oxide aerogels properties requires information about experimental factor-aerogel property relationship. In this work, the reduced graphene oxide aerogels surface and textural functionalities in relation to precursor concentration, gelation time and hydrogel freezing temperature were studied in detail, with the use of dynamic adsorption method of gaseous organic probes and experimental design. The precursor concentration and the hydrogel freezing temperature have the strongest influence on textural properties - a negative correlation with apparent surface area was observed. The highest value of 229.36 m2 g−1 was obtained for samples synthesized at the lowest concentration of precursor (2 mg mL−1) and hydrogel freezing temperature (−196 °C). Low precursor concentration promote formation of more hydrophobic aerogels. All aerogels display tendencies for dispersive, dipole-type and electron donor interactions. Moreover, a repulsion of electron lone pairs was observed, as well as shape-based selectivity (originating from porosity and surface roughness) in gas-solid adsorption process. Analysis of the free surface energy revealed that the maximum value (193.21 mJ m−2) is obtained at 7.2 mg mL−1 precursor concentration, − 104 °C hydrogel freezing temperature and 23 h gelation time. Presented findings can translate directly into reduced graphene oxide aerogels tailored for specific applications such as adsorption or catalysis.

  • Chitosan-based electrospun nanofibers for encapsulating food bioactive ingredients: A review
    • Roberto Castro Munoz
    • Mohammad Saeed Kharazmi
    • Seid Mahdi Jafari
    2023 Pełny tekst INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF BIOLOGICAL MACROMOLECULES

    Today, society has been more aware of healthy food products and related items containing bioactive compounds, which potentially contribute to human health. Unfortunately, the long-term stability and bioactivity of biologically active compounds against environmental factors compromise their target and effective action. In this way, lab-designed vehicles, such as nanoparticles and nanofibers, provide enough properties for their preservation and suitable delivery. Here, the electrospinning technique acts as an effective pathway for fabricating and designing nanofibers for the entrapments of biomolecules, in which several biopolymers such as proteins, polysaccharides (e.g., maltodextrin, agarose, chitosan), silk, among others, can be used as a wall material. It is likely that chitosan is one of the most employed biomaterials in this field. Therefore, in this review, we reveal the latest advances (over the last 2–3 years) in designing chitosan-based electrospun nanofibers and nanocarriers for encapsulation of bioactive compounds, along with the key applications in smart food packaging as well. Key findings and relevant breakthroughs are a priority in this review to provide a cutting-edge analysis of the literature. Finally, particular attention has been paid to the most promising developments.

  • Chitosan-Based Membranes as Gentamicin Carriers for Biomedical Applications — Influence of Chitosan Molecular Weight
    • Milena Supernak
    • Balbina Makurat-Kasprolewicz
    • Beata Kaczmarek-Szczepańska
    • Anna Pałubicka
    • Monika Sakowicz-Burkiewicz
    • Anna Ronowska
    • Marcin Wekwejt
    2023 Pełny tekst Membranes

    Over the past decade, much attention has been paid to chitosan as a potential drug carrier because of its non-toxicity, biocompatibility, biodegradability and antibacterial properties. The effect of various chitosan characteristics on its ability to carry different antibiotics is discussed in the literature. In this work, we evaluated the influence of the different molecular weights of this polymer on its potential as an antibacterial membrane after adding gentamicin (1% w/w). Three types of chitosan membranes without and with antibiotic were prepared using a solvent casting process. Their microstructures were analyzed with a 4K digital microscope, and their chemical bonds were studied using FTIR spectroscopy. Furthermore, cytocompatibility on human osteoblasts and fibroblasts as well as antibacterial activity against Staphylococcus aureus (S. aureus.) and Escherichia coli (E. coli) were assessed. We observed that the membrane prepared from medium-molecular-weight chitosan exhibited the highest contact angle (85) and roughness (10.96 0.21 m) values, and its antibacterial activity was unfavorable. The maximum tensile strength and Young’s modulus of membranes improved and elongation decreased with an increase in the molecular weight of chitosan. Membranes prepared with high-molecular-weight chitosan possessed the best antibacterial activity, but mainly against S. aureus. For E. coli, is not advisable to add gentamicin to the chitosan membrane, or it is suggested to deplete its content. None of the fabricated membranes exhibited a full cytotoxic effect on osteoblastic and fibroblast cells. Based on our results, the most favorable membrane as a gentamicin carrier was obtained from high-molecular-weight chitosan.

  • Chromium (III) removal by perennial emerging macrophytes in floating treatment wetlands
    • Nicole Nawrot
    • Ewa Wojciechowska
    • Muhammad Mohsin
    • Suvi Kuittinen
    • Ari Pappinen
    • Karolina Matej-Łukowicz
    • Katarzyna Szczepańska
    • Agnieszka Cichowska
    • Muhammad Atif Irshad
    • Filip M. G. Tack
    2023 Pełny tekst Scientific Reports

    Floating treatment wetlands (FTWs) are a sustainable solution to treat polluted water, but their role in chromium (Cr(III)) removal under neutral pH conditions remains poorly understood. This study evaluated the potential of FTWs planted with two perennial emergent macrophytes, Phragmites australis and Iris pseudacorus, to remove Cr(III) and nutrients (N and PO4-P) from water containing 7.5 mg/L TN, 1.8 mg/L PO4-P, and Cr(III) (500, 1000, and 2000 µg/L). Within 1 h of exposure, up to 96–99% of Cr was removed from the solution, indicating rapid precipitation. After 50 days, Phragmites bound 9–19% of added Cr, while Iris bound 5–22%. Both species accumulated Cr primarily in the roots (BCF > 1). Biomass production and growth development were inhibited in Cr treatments, but microscopic examination of plant roots revealed no histological changes at 500 and 1000 µg/L Cr, suggesting high resistance of the tested species. At 2000 µg/L Cr, both species exhibited disruptions in the arrangement of vessel elements in the stele and increased aerenchyma spaces in Phragmites. At the end of the experiment, 70–86% of TN and 54–90% of PO4-P were removed.

  • Chromogenic azomacrocycles with imidazole residue: Structure vs. properties
    • Błażej Galiński
    • Jarosław Chojnacki
    • Katarzyna Szwarc-Karabyka
    • Adrian Małkowski
    • Diana Sopel
    • Agnieszka Zwolińska
    • Ewa Wagner-Wysiecka
    2023 Pełny tekst DYES AND PIGMENTS

    New diazo macrocycles linked by hydrocarbon chain bearing imidazole or 4-methylimidazole residue have been synthetized with satisfactory yield (24–55%). The structure of macrocycles was confirmed by X-ray analysis and spectroscopic methods (1H NMR, MS, FTIR). Metal cation complexation studies were carried out in acetonitrile and acetonitrile-water system. It was found that azomacrocyles form triple-decker complexes with lead(II). The highest values of stability constant were found for lead(II) complexes of 21-membered derivatives. For the first time azomacrocycles bearing imidazole residue were immobilized on a porous glass. Obtained materials can act as lead(II) or copper(II) colorimetric optical sensors with color digital analysis as detection using simple portable devices.

  • Circularly Polarized Antenna Array design with the Potential of Gain-Size Trade-off and Omnidirectional Radiation for Millimeter-Wave Small Base Station Applications
    • Ullah Ubaid
    • Sławomir Kozieł
    • Anna Pietrenko-Dąbrowska
    2023 WIRELESS NETWORKS

    This paper presents the design and validation of a slot-patch-hybrid circularly polarized antenna array for 28 GHz millimeter (mm) wave (mm-wave) applications. The proposed design has a simple geometry that facilitates the fabrication process, which is otherwise a challenging task due to the sub-mm dimensions of the circuit in the mm-wave band. In the proposed structure, aperture-coupled series slot-fed array is utilized to excite the 45-degrees inclined pair of patches. The feeding array aperture is designed by printing a straight microstrip feed line with a matching stub at the open end. Further, a coupling slot is etched underneath the feed line in the conventional horizontal position, and two vertical slots are merged toward each end of the slot. For realization of the series phased array of (1×(4×2)) elements, the slots are placed half guided wavelength away extending the array network along the feedline. A pair of the radiating patches are loaded on the top of the vertical slots. To ensure excitation of the 90-degree phase-shifted orthogonal field components of equal magnitude, the loaded patches are rotated by 45-degrees in the azimuth plane. The produced circularly polarized (CP) fields are further refined by an additional diagonal radiating slot etched in the middle of the pair of radiating patches parallel to the non-radiating edges. With the combination of radiating patches and the slots, a wide axial ratio bandwidth of 27.5 GHz to 28.5 GHz, broad impedance bandwidth, a highly directional beam, and a peak realized CP gain of 15.15dBic is achieved. For realizing omnidirectional radiation pattern necessary for the base station applications, 3-dimentional hexagonal/octagonal topology is utilized in six- and eight-antenna configurations. A detailed theoretical and numerical analysis and the corresponding results shows that the adjacent beams could be merged together constructively to form omnidirectional radiation patterns. The advantage of the proposed technique is the ease of implementation without affecting the major performance figures.

  • Classification of Sea Going Vessels Properties Using SAR Satellite Images
    • Dariusz Kobiela
    • Tomasz Berezowski
    2023

    The aim of the project was to analyze the possibility of using machine learning and computer vision to identify (indicate the location) of all sea-going vessels located in the selected area of the open sea and to classify the main attributes of the vessel. The key elements of the project were to download data from the Sentinel-1 satellite [1], download data on the sea vessels [2], then automatically tag data and develop a detection and classification algorithm. The results obtained from the YOLOv7 model on the test set were Mean Average Precision (mAP@.5) = 91% and F1-score = 93% for the single-class ship detection task. When combining the task of ship detection with a ship’s length and width classification, Mean Average Precision for all classes was 40%, f1-score was 41%

  • CLEANING METHODS FOR DUST DEPOSITED ON THE FRONT COVER OF PHOTOVOLTAIC MODULE
    • Małgorzata Rudnicka
    • Ewa Klugmann-Radziemska
    2023 Pełny tekst Ecological Chemistry and Engineering S - Chemia i Inżynieria Ekologiczna S

    Photovoltaic modules are one of the renewable energy sources with great potential for application in various regions of the world as well as for different terrain. They are, however, sensitive to external factors, affecting the overall amount of energy generated, such as solar irradiance, shading effects and any form of soil build-up on the front glass cover of solar device. The latter issue happens over a course of weeks, months and years and the exact pace is determined for a specific location. Nevertheless, dust remaining on the module surface limits the amount of solar irradiation that can reach solar cells. It then leads to a lowered maximum power and correspond to a decrease in energy yield. A way to mitigate soiling effect, outside of natural washing dependent on precipitation, is a regular debris removal. The proposed methods utilise different approaches, namely active cleaning such as manual, mechanical or electrodynamic, or passive cleaning by applying additional hydrophobic or hydrophilic coating to slow down the accumulation tempo.

  • Closed Form Constraint Equations Used to Express Frictionless Slip of Multibody Systems Attached to Finite Elements—Application to a Contact between a Double Pendulum and a Beam
    • Krzysztof Lipiński
    2023 Pełny tekst Applied Sciences-Basel

    This paper focuses on the numerical modeling of the dynamics of mechanical systems. Robots that can inspect high-voltage lines inspired this research. Their control systems must anticipate potential grab positions appropriately. We intend to formulate equations dedicated to the numerical description of the robot/cable contact. The investigated problem is not straightforward, since parts of the modeled systems are numerically inhomogeneous. They consist of multibody and finite element components. These components interact with each other only through frictionless point contact. We limit the present investigation to the mathematical modeling of these frictionless point connections. According to the model-adopted assumption, the location of the contact point is invariant in the multibody structure, but it is variable in the finite elements part. Unlike the classically used models (i.e., spring/damper models of elastic contacts), we focus on constraint equations. We present and discuss their details in this paper. Following the presence of the constraint equations, their associated Lagrange multipliers appear in the dynamics equations of the two sub-models. The main feature/result of the presently proposed method is the closed form of the coordinateportioning formulae, proposed in this paper, employed to eliminate the dependent coordinates and the constraint-associated Lagrange multipliers. To verify the applicability of the proposed elimination methodology, we test its use in a dedicated numerical example. During the test, we limit the investigation to a frictionless connection between a double pendulum and a beam. The results confirm that the proposed methodology allows us to model the investigated frictionless contact. We shall underline a vital property, that the proposed elimination method is universal, and thus one can easily extend/modify the above methodology to operate with other multibody/finite element contacts.

  • Closing the gap – the opportunity for sustainability and smart transition in the Central and East Europe countries
    • Paulina Duch-Żebrowska
    • Katarzyna Zielonko-Jung
    2023 Pełny tekst 19th Century music

    For almost half a century the countries of CEE were part of- or were remaining under the influence of- the Soviet Union what caused gaping difference in the starting line towards sustainability. Here the prefabricated concrete blocks of flats were being built at the scale unseen in the western countries. Those buildings, approximately a quarter of the residential market, are in a structurally sound condition to last another five or more decades. However, during their construction, the requirements for energy efficiency were almost nonexistent. Therefore, their refurbishment and thermal upgrades is a prerequisite, and due to sustainability, the demolition should not be considered unless it is unavoidable. This paper discusses the case of one mass housing block of flats and method to find the most efficient way to bring it to the higher energy efficiency standards using the BIM simulation technology. The chosen solution might be widely implemented due to typology. The effect of the scale (any refurbishment to one block can be performed to many others of the same type) gives the opportunity to substantially cut the energy consumption and close the huge gap between the east and west European blocks on our way to a greener future.

  • Closing the loop: Upcycling secondary waste materials into nanoarchitectured carbon composites for the electrochemical degradation of pharmaceuticals
    • Małgorzata Szopińska
    • Jacek Ryl
    • Mattia Pierpaoli
    2023 Pełny tekst CHEMOSPHERE

    In this study, we demonstrated the application of electrochemical oxidation as a safer and cleaner technology for minimizing the impact of pharmaceuticals in wastewaters, simultaneously mediated by upcycled secondary waste materials (SWMs)-derived electrodes, to further reduce their environmental impact. The modularity, scalability, ease of operation and reliability make electrochemical oxidation an ideal process for the destruction of emerging persistent pollutants; however, their full-scale application is hindered by energy efficiency and the potential release of toxic by-products. Thus, the answer to these issues can be found in the design of tailored multifunctional electrode material. For the first time, SWMs derived from combustion and industrial processes have been employed with the simultaneous dual function of functional fillers, in a polyacrylonitrile fibrous matrix, and as a catalyst for the growth of carbon nanofeatures over the fiber surface, to increase the surface area and charge transfer. Next, the tailored composites were employed as anodes for the electrochemical oxidation of acetaminophen, both in phosphate buffer and in a real wastewater sample. The results suggest that SWMs can substitute costly engineered fillers in carbon-based electrodes and that the absence of reaction by-products (monitored by UHPLC-ESI-MS/MS), together with the low energy consumption, make the tailored fibrous composite electrodes good candidates for the development of safer and cleaner technologies with reduced environmental impact.

  • CO2 Separation Using Supported Deep Eutectic Liquid Membranes Based on 1,2-propanediol
    • Bartosz Nowosielski
    • Dorota Warmińska
    • Iwona Cichowska-Kopczyńska
    2023 Pełny tekst ACS Sustainable Chemistry & Engineering

    In this work, deep eutectic solvents (DESs) composed of choline chloride, acetylcholine chloride or tetrabutylammonium chloride, and 1,2-propanediol were used as a liquid phase for polypropylene-based supported liquid membranes (SLMs) and evaluated for the separation of carbon dioxide from CO2/N2 mixtures. Fourier transform infrared spectra were obtained to confirm DES formation, and the thermal stability of solvents was investigated using thermogravimetric analysis. The physicochemical properties of DESs and carbon dioxide solubility were determined in a temperature range of 293.15–313.15 K. The effects of the hydrogen bond acceptor structure and the acceptor/donor molar ratio in regard to properties and CO2 separation potential were discussed. The permeability of CO2 and N2 in DES-based SLMs was determined, and the ideal CO2/N2 selectivity was calculated. The gas permeation results of the 1,2-propanediol-based DES-based supported liquid membranes showed that the permeability of CO2 varied from 86 to 152 barrers in 293.15 K. Similarly, the ideal CO2/N2 selectivity varied from 21 to 30. The performance of DES–SLMs was compared with the competing imidazolium-based supported ionic liquid membranes and proved DES–SLMs as a promising alternative considering their green potential and comparable gas separation performance.

  • Coda wave interferometry in monitoring the fracture process of concrete beams under bending test
    • Magdalena Knak
    • Erwin Wojtczak
    • Magdalena Rucka
    2023 Pełny tekst Bulletin of the Polish Academy of Sciences-Technical Sciences

    Early detection of damage is necessary for the safe and reliable use of civil engineering structures made of concrete. Recently, the identification of micro-cracks in concrete has become an area of growing interest, especially using wave-based techniques. In this paper, a non-destructive testing approach for the characterization of the fracture process was presented. Experimental tests were made on concrete beams subjected to mechanical degradation in a 3-point bending test. The ultrasonic waves were registered on a specimen surface by piezoelectric transducers located at several points. Then, the signals were processed taking advantage of the wave scattering due to micro-cracks disturbances. For early-stage damage detection, coda wave interferometry was used. The novelty of the work concerns the application of the complex decorrelation matrix and the moving reference trace approach for better distinguishment of sensors located at different parts of a crack zone. To enhance coda wave-based damage identification results, optical imaging of crack development was performed by digital image correlation measurement. Obtained results showed that the coda wave interferometry technique can be successfully used as a quantitative measure of changes in the structure of concrete. The results also indicated that the course of decorrelation coefficient curves enabled the identification of three stages during degradation and it depended on the location of acquisition points regarding the crack zone.

  • Codesigned Digital Tools for Social Engagement in Climate Change Mitigation
    • Hanna Obracht-prondzyńska
    • Helena Anacka
    • Kacper Radziszewski
    • Ewa Duda
    • Magdalena Walnik
    • Kacper Wereszko
    • Hanne Cecilie
    2023 Sustainability

    Digital technologies and economies can strengthen participative processes and data- and knowledge-based sustainable urban development. It can also accelerate social integration and the efforts of urban dwellers towards more resilient urban environments. Gap: Most of the tools that strengthen participatory processes were not cocreated with stakeholders. Research shows that codesigned platforms driven by new technological advances and the development of collaborative sharing economy concepts can increase climate change awareness. Still, the rise of participatory innovation technologies does not focus on enabling social engagement in climate change mitigation. Therefore, this paper addresses a research question: can a codesigned community currency stimulate bottom-up initiatives for climate change mitigation, and what is needed for such tools to succeed with the implementation of climate-responsive policies? The aim was to introduce an approach allowing us to codesign an application to encourage pro-environmental behaviors. Hence, the approach of this research was to define the concept of such a tool as a part of a cocreation process with stakeholders in a multidisciplinary and cross-sectoral environment. Method: It uses design thinking enriched with case studies evaluation, workshops, UX design, low fidelity, SUS, and testbeds. Findings and value: The authors introduce the Greencoin concept and argue that the codesigned digital currency operating based on an educational application has the potential to strengthen social engagement in climate change mitigation. Beneficiaries and practical implementation: Such a tool can increase climate awareness by supporting social integration and bottom-up initiatives for climate change mitigation. It can therefore be used by local communities to strengthen their climate-responsive efforts.

  • Cognitive motivations and foundations for building intelligent decision-making systems
    • Zdzisław Kowalczuk
    • Michał Czubenko
    2023 Pełny tekst ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE REVIEW

    Concepts based on psychology fit well with current research trends related to robotics and artificial intelligence. Biology-inspired cognitive architectures are extremely useful in building agents and robots, and this is one of the most important challenges of modern science. Therefore, the widely viewed and far-reaching goal of systems research and engineering is virtual agents and autonomous robots that mimic human behavior in solving known and unknown problems. The article proposes, at a high level of generality, an operational cybernetic model of the human mind, developed with the use of carefully selected ideas taken from psychological knowledge. In particular, the work combines extensive knowledge drawn from both the theory of developmental cognitive psychology and the theory of motivation. The proposed mathematically developed operating blocks create a coherent and functional decision-making system containing all the elements necessary in autonomous robotics. The ISD system is under development. There is still a long way to go to full validation. However, as shown in several articles, the basic subsystems of the ISD system, i.e. motivational and emotional, have already been positively verified in operation. The overall purpose of this article is to show a blueprint of the overall concept of the entire ISD.

  • Collision Risk-Informed Weather Routing for Sailboats
    • Marcin Życzkowski
    • Rafał Szłapczyński
    2023 Pełny tekst RELIABILITY ENGINEERING & SYSTEM SAFETY

    Selected COLREG rules, good seamanship and sheer common sense indicate that it is in a sailboat's interest to follow collision-free routes without relying on large power-driven ships to give way. Until now, however, no method has integrated a sailboat's weather routing with collision risk monitoring and collision avoidance. Therefore, a new deterministic approach to combine the above features within one method is introduced here. The proposed method is based on Dijkstra's algorithm, where edges may be temporarily removed due to the presence of other ships. This paper presents a design of the main weather routing algorithm and the collision risk monitoring part, which applies an elliptic domain generated automatically around the target and dependent on the target's length. The method has been implemented and tested in a series of computer simulations. The results are provided and discussed here. They confirm the method's effectiveness in terms of determining collision-risk-free routes, as well as its acceptable computational time. They also show how the latter can be shortened at the cost of obtaining suboptimal routes. Finally, they emphasize the importance of considering successive weather forecasts, risk monitoring and route updates.

  • Collision Strengths of Astrophysical Interest for Multiply Charged Ions
    • Stephan Fritzsche
    • Li-Guang Jiao
    • Yauan-Cheng Wang
    • Józef Sienkiewicz
    2023 Pełny tekst Atoms

    The electron impact excitation and ionization processes are crucial for modeling the spectra of different astrophysical objects, from atmospheres of late-type stars to remnants of supernovae and up to the light emission from neutron star mergers, to name just a few. Despite their signifi- cance, however, little is known quantitatively about these processes for low- and medium-impact energies of, say, Ekin . 5000 eV of the free incident electron. To further explore the role of impact excitation, we here expanded JAC, the Jena Atomic Calculator, to the computation of distorted wave collision strengths for fine-structure-resolved, as well as configuration-averaged transitions. While we excluded the formation of dielectronic resonances, these tools can be readily applied for ions with a complex shell structure and by including the major relativistic contributions to these strengths. Detailed computations of the collision strengths are shown and explained for the impact excitation of lithium- and chlorine-like ions. When compared with other, well-correlated methods, good agreement was found, and hence, these tools will support studies of effective collision strengths for a wide range of electron impact energies, levels, and ionic charge states.

  • COLOUR SYMBOLISM IN FINANCE
    • Błażej Prusak
    • Muhammad Mushafiq
    2023 Pełny tekst Financial Internet Quarterly

    Colour symbolism plays an important role in everyday life and science. The subject is interdisciplinary and receives significant attention in the literature. It is increasingly entering the field of economics and finance. The authors are the first to research the connotations and symbolism of colours in finance. The following research aims to: identify and determine the meaning of col-ours in connection with the word “finance”, determine the popularity of the use of particular colours in relation to the word “finance”, and identify the most popular subject areas in the literature related to the most commonly used colour in finance. Bibliometric and textual analyses were adopted as research methods. The main research conclusions are as follows. Of the 14 col-ours examined, only green, blue, brown, black and white showed connotations accurately portrayed in the text. Apart from the colour black, the symbolism is universal and unambiguous. For black, the symbolism is twofold, with one of the meanings going back to historical times. The dominant colour is green. The main research areas pursued under “green finance” include in-vesting in and financing environmentally friendly projects (including various types of technology), developing financial instruments to support environmentally friendly activities and supporting clean energy projects.

  • Combination of homogeneous liquid–liquid extraction and vortex assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction for the extraction and analysis of ochratoxin A in dried fruit samples: Central composite design optimization
    • Adil Elik
    • Özlem Ablak
    • Hameed Haq
    • Grzegorz Boczkaj
    • Nail Altunay
    2023 JOURNAL OF FOOD COMPOSITION AND ANALYSIS

    This paper presents a new analytical procedure based on combination of homogeneous liquid–liquid extraction (HLLE) and vortex-assisted dispersive liquid–liquid microextraction (VA-DLLME) for the accurate and reliable determination of ochratoxin A (OTA) in dried fruit samples. To enable selective extraction of the OTA, six hydrophobic deep eutectic solvents (hDESs) were prepared and tested as extraction solvents. Optimization of DES volume, pH, NaCl amount, and mixing time affecting the efficiency of VA-DES-DLLME step was achieved by central composite design (CCD). Using optimized conditions, the working range was obtained in the range 0.4–350 ng mL−1 with an enrichment factor of 138. The limit of detection was 0.12 ng mL−1. To evaluate the accuracy of the method, the samples were analyzed with both the HLLE-VA-DES-DLLME procedure and reference method. The precision of the method was investigated by intraday/interday studies. The robustness of the method was also evaluated by making minor changes to the optimized conditions. The HLLE-VA-DES-DLLME procedure was successfully applied to dried fruit samples and quantitative recoveries were obtained (92.1–99.2%) confirming its usefulness for implementation in routine analysis of food samples.

  • Combination of terrestrial laser scanning and UAV photogrammetry for 3D modelling and degradation assessment of heritage building based on a lighting analysis: case study—St. Adalbert Church in Gdansk, Poland
    • Paweł Tysiąc
    • Anna Sieńska
    • Marta Tarnowska
    • Piotr Kędziorski
    • Marcin Jagoda
    2023 Pełny tekst Heritage Science

    The construction of the St. Adalbert Church in Gdansk dates to 1310. It is a church of rich history and great historical value, and its care is challenging. In this study, the combination of unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) photogrammetry and terrestrial laser scanning (TLS) was used to accurately build a 3D model of the church. Together with the collected historical inventory documentation, the historic building information model (HBIM) was generated. The AutodeskRevit® tool was used for this purpose. On the basis of the generated model, the reflection properties of the laser scanner beam and red–green–blue (RGB) images, a methodology was proposed for analysing the degradation of the church’s components. The main hypothesis of this study is based on the analysis of sunlight outside the church. In addition to the importance of the method for determining the risks of church degradation, a high-quality method for model visualization combining two photogrammetric techniques (TLS + UAV) is presented.

  • Combining MUSHRA Test and Fuzzy Logic in the Evaluation of Benefits of Using Hearing Prostheses
    • Piotr Szymański
    • Tomasz Poremski
    • Bożena Kostek
    2023 Pełny tekst Electronics

    Assessing the effectiveness of hearing aid fittings based on the benefits they provide is crucial but intricate. While objective metrics of hearing aids like gain, frequency response, and distortion are measurable, they do not directly indicate user benefits. Hearing aid performance assessment encompasses various aspects, such as compensating for hearing loss and user satisfaction. The authors suggest enhancing the widely used APHAB (Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit) questionnaire by integrating it with the MUSHRA test. APHAB, a self-completed questionnaire for users, evaluates specific sound scenarios on a seven-point scale, with each point described by a letter, percentage, and description. Given the complexities, especially for older users, we propose converting the seven-point APHAB scale to a clearer 100-point MUSHRA scale using fuzzy logic rules. The paper starts with presenting the goals of the study, focused on the assessment of the benefits of hearing aid use, especially in the case of the elderly population. The introductory part includes an overview of methods for evaluating the effectiveness of hearing aid use. Then, the methodology for the data collection is presented. This is followed by a method modification that combines the MUSHRA (MUltiple Stimuli with Hidden Reference and Anchor) test and fuzzy logic processing and the commonly used hearing aid benefit assessment questionnaire, APHAB (Abbreviated Profile of Hearing Aid Benefit). The results of such a process are examined. A summary of the findings is given in the form of fuzzy logic-based rules, followed by a short discussion. Finally, the overall conclusion and possible future directions for the method development are presented.

  • COMMENTS ON EXISTING ANALYTICAL SOLUTIONS TO THE WAVE-INDUCED CYCLIC RESPONSE OF A POROUS SEABED OF INFINITE THICKNESS
    • Waldemar Magda
    2023 Pełny tekst Polish Maritime Research

    This paper deals with the wave-induced cyclic response of a porous seabed (by means of oscillating parameters: pore-fluid pressure, soil displacement components, effective normal stress and shear stress components) due to a surface sinusoidal water-wave propagating over a seabed of infinite thickness. The main existing analytical solutions to the governing problem are critically discussed, pointing out their meaningful errors and doubtful items. A phase-lag phenomena is particularly studied as an immanent part of any complex-valued analytical solutions having a cyclic nature.

  • Compact global association based adaptive routing framework for personnel behavior understanding
    • Lei Shi
    • Yimin Zhou
    • Juan Wang
    • Zuli Wang
    • Ding Chen
    • Haifeng Zhao
    • Wankou Yang
    • Edward Szczerbicki
    2023 Pełny tekst Future Generation Computer Systems-The International Journal of Grid Computing-Theory Methods and Applications

    Personnel behavior understanding under complex scenarios is a challenging task for computer vision. This paper proposes a novel Compact model, which we refer to as CGARPN that incorporates with Global Association relevance and Adaptive Routing Pose estimation Network. Our framework firstly introduces CGAN backbone to facilitate the feature representation by compressing the kernel parameter space compared with typical algorithms, effectively lowering the calculation capacity and consumption. The framework integrates the Global Association information between keypoints, and learns the correlation between high-dimensional feature parameters. ARPN introduced by our structure is established to sufficiently excavate the resembling properties of outcome concealed in the network, adaptively achieving remarkable performance by selecting compatible paths for optimization. Meanwhile, Parametric Content Similarity NMS (PCSNMS) is developed where detailed information on proposal boxes is associated. Comparative experiments (datasets on FLIC, MPII, etc.) with CNN-based counterparts have empirically demonstrated the effectiveness and competitiveness of the model in perspective of accuracy, memory consumption, and computation perplexity. Our model contributes to an efficient and feasible framework of human behavior apprehension.

  • Compact Quasi-Elliptic-Type Inline Waveguide Bandpass Filters With Nonlinear Frequency-Variant Couplings
    • Muhammad Yameen Sandhu
    • Adam Lamęcki
    • Roberto Gómez-García
    • Michał Mrozowski
    2023 IEEE TRANSACTIONS ON MICROWAVE THEORY AND TECHNIQUES

    This work presents the design techniques to synthesize a class of compact inline quasi-elliptic-type waveguide cavity bandpass filters based on novel nonlinear frequency-variant couplings (NFVCs). These highly dispersive frequency-variant couplings (FVCs) are realized by means of a pair of partial-height posts that are placed at the junctions between every two cavity resonators. Each NFVC produces a transmission pole in between a pair of independently adjustable transmission zeros (TZs). Although the pole is added to the overall filtering function to augment its order, the TZs can be placed at each side of the filter passband to attain sharp rejection capability and increase the stopband attenuation levels. To synthesize these filters, two coupling-routing-diagram (CRD) approaches for the NFVC are presented that either consider: 1) an arbitrary FVC (AFVC) or 2) two resonating nodes interacting with a zero-susceptance nonresonating node through constant inverters. An equivalent lumped-element circuit model associated with both CRD approaches is provided. It is demonstrated that both CRD models can be exploited for the theoretical synthesis of this type of filter, whereas the equivalent lumped-element circuit model can provide a deeper insight into the systematic dimensioning of the posts. For experimental validation purposes, three design examples are synthesized, and 10-GHz proof-of-concept filter prototypes of two of them are EM-simulated, fabricated, and characterized. The measured results agree well with the simulations and the design theory, thus verifying the concept of inline waveguide cavity filters with TZs using NFVCs.