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TiO2 nanotube arrays-based reactor for photocatalytic oxidation of parabens mixtures in ultrapure water: Effects of photocatalyst properties, operational parameters and light source
PublicationSelf-organized TiO2 nanotubes as immobilized photocatalysts were evaluated in detail for the photocatalytic degradation of parabens mixtures from ultrapure water. This kind of approach can be a very suitable option for emerging contaminants degradation considering the possibility of the catalyst reuse and recovery which will be simpler than when catalytic powders are used. The anodization method was applied for the TiO2 nanotubes...
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Ecotoxicological equilibria of triclosan inMicrotox, XenoScreen YES/YAS, Caco2, HEPG2 and liposomal systems are affected by the occurrence of other pharmaceutical and personal care emerging contaminants
PublicationContaminants of emerging concernmay be considered as any chemicals or factorswhose unintended continuous release and persistence in the environmentmay lead to any observable undesirable response of living beings. Still not much is known on reciprocal toxicological impact of given chemicals when present in binary or more complex mixtures. In thiswork, an attemptwas thus undertaken to study the impact of butylparaben,methylparaben and...
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Exposure of a small Arctic seabird, the little auk (Alle alle) breeding in Svalbard, to selected elements throughout the course of a year
PublicationThe Arctic marine ecosystem can be altered by processes of natural and anthropogenic origin. Spatio-temporal variation in species exposure to contamination is still poorly understood. Here, we studied elemental concentrations in the non-lethally collected samples from the most numerous seabird in European Arctic, the little auk (Alle alle) nesting in one breeding colony in Svalbard. This seabird spent the breeding season in the...
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Analytical procedures for short chain chlorinated paraffins determination - How to make them greener?
PublicationThe aim of the following paper was to gather current scientific information about the analytical protocols dedicated to measuring the content level of short-chain chlorinated paraffins (SCCPs) in various types of environmental samples. Moreover, the data about the basic validation parameters of applied procedures for SCCPs determination are listed. The main issue which is highlighted in the paper is the possibility of the application...
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The influence of global climate change on the environmental fate of anthropogenic pollution released from the permafrost
PublicationThis article presents a review of information related to the influence of potential permafrost degradation on the environmental fate of chemical species which are relased and stored, classified as potential influence in future Antarctic environment. Considering all data regarding climate change prediction, this topic may prove important issue for the future state of the Antarctic environment. A detailed survey on soil and permafrost...
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Evaluation of the use of reindeer droppings for monitoring essential and non-essential elements in the polar terrestrial environment
PublicationExcess or toxic metals, non-metals and metalloids can be eliminated from the organism by deposition in inert tissue (e.g. fur) or excretion with body secretions, urine and faeces. Droppings are one of the main routes for the elimination of multiple elements and they can be collected without direct contact with the animal. Contaminant concentration has been examined in non-lethally collected tissues of several species (especially...
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Environmental characteristics of a tundra river system in Svalbard. Part 2: Chemical stress factors
PublicationBacterial communities in the Arctic environment are subject to multiple stress factors, including contaminants, although typically their concentrations are small. The Arctic contamination research has focused on persistent organic pollutants (POPs) because they are bioaccumulative, resistant to degradation and toxic for all organisms. Pollutants have entered the Arctic predominantly by atmospheric and oceanic long-range transport,...
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Spatial distribution of pharmaceuticals in conventional wastewater treatment plant with Sludge Treatment Reed Beds technology
PublicationPharmaceutical residues are an emerging environmental problem. It is strongly confirmed that pharmaceuticals are present in soils and environmental waters (surface, marine and even groundwater), and that wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) effluents are the main source of pharmaceuticals in the watershed. The aim of this studywas to recognize the spatial distribution and seasonal changes of selected pharmaceuticals in conventional WWTP...
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Environmental characteristics of a tundra river system in Svalbard. Part 1: Bacterial abundance, community structure and nutrient levels
PublicationThe Arctic hosts a set of unique ecosystems, characterised by extreme environmental conditions and undergoing a rapid change resulting from the average temperature rising. We present a study on an aquatic ecosystem of the Revelva catchment (Spitsbergen), based on samples collected from the lake, river and their tributaries, in the summer of 2016. The landscape variety of the study site and the seasonal change in the hydrological...
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Polypropylene structure alterations after 5 years of natural degradation in a waste landfill
PublicationUp to 25% of plastic waste in Europe is still disposed of in landfills, despite recycling efforts. The plastic waste in the landfill plot may be exposed both to abiotic and biotic degradation processes, although it is thought that most of the plastic materials tend to be resistant to biodegradation or biodeterioration even after a long time. To verify if polypropylene (PP) can undergo the process of short-term biodegradation and...
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Identification of synergistic and antagonistic actions of environmental pollutants: Bisphenols A, S and F in the presence of DEP, DBP, BADGE and BADGE·2HCl in three component mixtures
PublicationEcosystems are facing increased pressure due to the emission of many classes of emerging contaminants. However, very little is known about the interactions of these pollutants, such as bisphenols (BPs), plasticizers or pharmaceuticals. By employing bioluminescent bacteria (Microtox assay), we were able to define interactions between selected emerging pollutants (namely BPA, BPS, BPF, BADGE, BADGE·2HCl, DEP, DBP) in ternary mixtures, at...
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Assessment of diversity and composition of bacterial community in Sludge Treatment Reed Bed systems
PublicationDue to their low emission of odours and lack of the need to apply additional chemical agents, sludge treatment reed beds (STRBs) constitute an economically feasible and eco-friendly approach to sewage sludge management. Correctly designed and operated STRBs ensure effective reduction of the dry matter content coupled with the mineralisation of organic compounds. Successful operation of STRBs relies on complex interactions between...
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Improved degradation of etodolac in the presence of core-shell ZnFe2O4/SiO2/TiO2 magnetic photocatalyst
PublicationIn the present study, susceptibility to photocatalytic degradation of etodolac, 1,8-diethyl-1,3,4,9 – tetrahydro pyran - [3,4-b] indole-1-acetic acid, which is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug frequently detected in an aqueous environment, was for the first time investigated. The obtained p-type TiO2-based photocatalyst coupled with zinc ferrite nanoparticles in a core-shell structure improves the separation and recovery...
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Occurrences, sources, and transport of organochlorine pesticides in the aquatic environment of Antarctica
PublicationWe review information on the concentration levels of organochlorine pesticides in the abiotic aquatic environment (in seawater, sea ice, surface freshwater, snow, firn, and glacial ice) and the organisms inhabiting those, in Antarctica. Particular attention is given to the environmental fate of these pollutants, which modifies their impact on the organisms living in the Antarctic. OCPs have been delivered to the Antarctic environment...
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Atmospheric deposition of microplastics in the coastal zone: Characteristics and relationship with meteorological factors
PublicationThe quantitative and qualitative compositions of microplastics (MPs) deposited from the atmosphere in the coastal zone were analysed. Moreover, links between MP deposition and meteorological factors (air humidity, wind speed, precipitation height, and air mass trajectories) were investigated
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Modification of structured bio‑carbon derived from spongin-based scaffolds with nickel compounds to produce a functional catalyst for reduction and oxidation reactions: Potential for use in environmental protection
PublicationThree different 3D fibrous-like NiO/Ni(OH)2/Ni‑carbonized spongin-based materials were prepared via a simple sorption–reduction method. Depending on the support used, the catalysts were composed of carbon, nickel oxide, nickel hydroxide and zero-valent nickel, with the surface content of the nickel-containing phase in the range 15.2–26.0 wt%. Catalytic studies showed promising activity in the oxidation of phenolic compounds in water...
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First evaluation of wastewater discharge influence on marine water contamination in the vicinity of Arctowski Station (Maritime Antarctica)
PublicationIn Antarctica,waste is generatedmainly during scientific research programmes and related logistics. In this study, the impact ofwastewater on the western shore of Admiralty Baywas investigated during austral summer in 2017 and 2019. A range of physicochemical parameters and the presence of selected trace metals, formaldehyde and different groups of surfactants were determined in wastewater coming from Arctowski Station and in nearby coastal...
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Bibliometric analysis and literature review of ultrasound-assisted degradation of organic pollutants
PublicationUltrasound as a clean, efficient, and cheap technique gains special attention in wastewater treatment. Ultrasound alone or coupled with hybrid processes have been widely studied for the treatment of pollutants in wastewater. Thus, it is essential to conduct a review about the research development and trends on this emerging technique. This work presents a bibliometric analysis of the topic associated with multiple tools such as...
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Evaluation the environmental fate of pharmaceuticals using a level III model based on poly-parameter linear free energy relationships
PublicationOpisano możliwości zastosowania modelu ''Level III Model'' do opisu losu środowiskowego pozostałości farmaceutyków w środowisku. Zastosowany model umożliwia oszacowanie trwałości, stężeń oraz transportu poszczególnych zanieczyszczeń pomiędzy poszczególnymi elementami składowymi środowiska (powietrze, woda, gleba i osady denne).
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Mercury emission to the atmosphere from anthropogenic sources in Europe in 2000 and their scenarios until 2020
PublicationPrzedstawiono obecny stan wiedzy na temat emisji rtęci ze źródeł antropogenicznych na terenie Europy w roku 2000. Zebrane dane stanowiły bazę wyjściową do opracowania scenariuszy emisji do roku 2020. Ponad połowa całkowitej emisji, szacowanej na 239 tony, pochodzi z energetyki przemysłowej oraz gospodarstw domowych i jest związana ze spalaniem stałych nośnikow energii. Istotnym źródłem emisji jest również produkcja cementu (ok....
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Relationship between seawater pollution and qualitative changes in the extracted proteins from mussels Mytilus galloprovincialis
PublicationCelem badań było znalezienie wiarygodnego bioznacznika dla oceny poziomu zanieczyszczenia wody morskiej. W tym celu porównano:-zawartość żelaza (Fe) oraz miedzi (Cu)-białek-poziomu aktywności przeciwutleniającejmałży (Mytilus galloprovincialis)zebranych z rejonów zanieczyszczonych i niezanieczyszczonych bułgarskiej strefy ekonomicznej Morza Czarnego.W badanich wykorzystano takie techniki analityczne jak: -spektroskopia w podczerwieni...
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Effective Equations for the Optimum Seismic Gap Preventing Earthquake-Induced Pounding between Adjacent Buildings Founded on Different Soil Types
PublicationThe best approach to avoid collisions between adjacent structures during earthquakes is to provide sufficient spacing between them. However, the existing formulas for calculating the optimum seismic gap preventing pounding were found to provide inaccurate results upon the consideration of different soil types. The aim of this paper is to propose new equations for the evaluation of the sufficient in-between separation gap for buildings...
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Stateczność samopodnoszących pełnomorskich platform wiertniczych w fazie eksploatacji
PublicationWspółczynnik bezpieczeństwa platformy Petrobaltic na moment obrotowy (stateczność ogólna) oszacowany przy założeniu, że konstrukcja jest traktowana jako układ słupów połączonych sztywnym pokładem, z korekcją efektów drugiego rzędu. Przemieszczenie poziome pokładu platformy wyznaczone, stosując odpowiedni model MES. Siła krytyczna nogi obliczona przy założeniu jej utwierdzenia w dnie morza. Wpływ odchyłki od idealnej geometrii rur...
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Porównanie efektywności biologicznego usuwania związków biogennych w procesach MUCT i A2/O na przykładzie oczyszczalni w Gdańsku
PublicationThis paper presents a comparison of the efficiency of nutrient removal in two different technological systems functioning in WWTP in Gdansk. The upgrade was necessary in order to adjust the parameters of wastewater treatment to more stringent requirements for Total Nitrogen removal (Total Nitrogen concentration < 10 mg/L). Since 2012 the biological treatment line has operated based on modified A2/O process instead of MUCT process....
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Fertility rebound and economic growth. New evidence for 18 countries over the period 1970-2011.
PublicationLong-run impact of economic growth on fertility trends is ambiguous and sensitive for in-time variations. Noticeably, over last decades, economic growth has led in many countries to significant falls in total fertility rates. However, recently, in high-income economies a kind of ‘fertility rebound’ emerged (Goldstein, 2009; Luci and Thevenon, 2011; Day, 2012), which supports the hypothesis that reversal trends in total fertility...
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Polska adaptacja Metody Oceny Wypalenia Zawodowego (BAT-PL) autorstwa Schaufeliego i współpracowników
PublicationAim. The study aimed to present the Polish version of the Burnout Assessment Tool (BAT-PL) by Schaufeli et al. and to assess its validity and reliability. The tool measures the core symptoms of burnout (BAT-C): exhaustion, mental distance, cognitive and emotional impairment, and its secondary symptoms (BAT-S): psychosomatic complaints and psychological distress. Method. The participants were 255 nursing staff members....
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Structure and transport properties of donor-doped barium strontium cobaltites
PublicationIn this work, Nb-substituted barium strontium cobaltites Ba0.5Sr0.5Co1-xNbxO3-δ (x = 0 – 0.4) have been fabricated and studied. The structural analysis showed that the Nb content influences the lattice constant as well as the distance between the (Co, Nb) and oxygen atoms. The study of morphology of samples showed that the Nb content does not change the porosity, grain size and morphology of the ceramics. The total electrical conductivity...
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Numerical single-phase modeling of turbulent flow and heat transfer of nanofluids
PublicationIn this work, Nusselt number and friction factor are calculated numerically for turbulent pipe flow (6 000< Re < 12 000) with constant heat flux boundary condition using nanofluids. The nanofluid is modelled with the single-phase approach and the simulation results are compared with published experimental data.
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The effect of agro-waste co-digestion and sludge disposal on carbon footprint in municipal wastewater treatment plants
PublicationThe study presents analysis of the carbon footprint (CF) in 6 wastewater treatment plants in northern Poland with a special focus on the effect of co digestion of sewage sludge and food waste. Although co-digestion increases the on-site energy production, but it has a negative effect on the total CF. To overcome the negative effect, several sludge disposal scenarios were analysed and their effect on the CF reduction was determined....
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The effect of multiaxial geocomposite reinforcement on fatigue performance and crack propagation delay in double-layered asphalt beams
PublicationThe presented study investigates the effect of a recently developed multiaxial geocomposite made of polypropylene geogrid and non-woven fabric on the delay of crack propagation, based on four-point bending tests of large asphalt concrete beams – both for reinforced and non-reinforced specimens. Several approaches are described in this study, including analysis of stiffness modulus decrease and analysis of crack propagation using...
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Analiza wydajności kolektora słonecznego przeznaczonego dla systemu ogrzewania budynku o niskim zapotrzebowaniu na ciepło
PublicationNiniejsza praca przedstawia wyniki badań numerycznych kolektora słonecznego, przeznaczonego dla budynków o niskim zapotrzebowaniu na ciepło. W pracy przedstawiono nowatorską koncepcję kolektora słonecznego o obniżonej wydajności, niskich kosztach wykonania oraz wykorzystującego istniejące elementy konstrukcji przekryć budynku. Istotną zaletą kolektora jest brak ingerencji w architekturę zewnętrzną budynku. Za pomocą symulacji numerycznej...
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Areas of Updraft Air Motion in an Idealised Weather Research and Forecasting Model Simulation of Atmospheric Boundary Layer Response to Different Floe Size Distributions
PublicationPresented dataset is part of a numerical modelling study focusing on the analysis of the influence of sea ice floe size distribution (FSD) on the horizontal and vertical structure of convection in the atmosphere. The total area and spatial arrangement of the up-drafts indicates that the FSD affects the total moisture content and the values of area averaged turbulent fluxes in the model domain. In fact, while convective updrafts...
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Comparison of Different Measurement Techniques as Methodology for Surveying and Monitoring Stainless Steel Chimneys
PublicationThe measurement of a chimney axis is an engineering geodesy task. These measurements allow to assess the technical condition of chimneys and are usually carried out for reinforced concrete chimneys. When measuring high chimneys, the main problem may be the need to go a long distance to take a measurement. The surface of the chimney can also be problematic because it can absorb so much light from the range finder that total station...
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Convergence or divergence in the European Union
PublicationThe disparities in economic prosperity revealed both from inter-country and inter-region perspective are one of the main problem in the modern economy. They consist of the dispersion in the real values such as incomes, GDP or productivity, but also nominal values such as prices and costs. The European Union is aware of this problem hence the role of the regional and structural policy aiming enhancing the cohesion between member...
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Cost efficiency of administrative service in public higher education in Poland
PublicationPurpose: The aim of the study is to determine changes in the cost efficiency of the administration of public higher education in Poland. Design/methodology/approach: The biennial cost Malmquist productivity index was used to study changes in cost efficiency of 58 public higher education institutions in 2014-2016. The results were...
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The occurence and diagnosis of biomarkers of ethyl alcohol consumption
PublicationEthyl alcohol is a legal and a widely available psychoactive drug. However, its excessive consumption causes addiction. This leads to aggressive behaviors, family battery, difficulties in interpersonal relations, legal offences, suicides, car accidents and deterioration in labor productivity, what causes financial problems. Despite many social actions against alcohol consumption, this problem is still unresolved. Therefore, fast...
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Positive Management of Universities: A Model of Motivation to Strive for Scientific Excellence
PublicationObjective: The aim of the article is to conceptualise a model of work motivation in the management of universities striving for scientific excellence. Research Design & Methods: The most relevant for our aim is the self-determina tion theory that is applied to the work and organisational domain. We used a nar rative literature review. Findings: The proposed model is derived from the self-determination theory. It includes three...
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Salinity enhances high optically active L-lactate production from co-fermentation of food waste and waste activated sludge: Unveiling the response of microbial community shift and functional profiling
PublicationLactic acid (LA), a versatile platform molecule, can be fermented from organic wastes, such as food waste and waste activated sludge. In this study, an efficient approach using salt, a component of food waste as an additive, was proposed to increase LA production. The LA productivity was increased at 10 g NaCl/L and optical pure L-lactate was obtained at 30 g NaCl/L. The enhancement of LA was in accordance with the increased solubilization...
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Zero phase shift digital filtering for assessment of exposure to non-sinusoidal magnetic fields
PublicationAccuracy of assessment of human body exposure to magnetic fields is affected by several uncertainty sources. One of them is estimation of the total exposure to non-sinusoidal fields. Standard methods can be implemented using analogue or digital filters that introduce a phase shift that affect the result of total exposure level estimation. The paper presents a new method that allows performing more precise assessment of exposure...
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Acute hypoxia diminishes the relationship between blood pressure and subarachnoid space width oscillations at the human cardiac frequency
PublicationAcute hypoxia exerts strong effects on the cardiovascular system. Heart-generated pulsatile cerebrospinal fluid motion is recognised as a key factor ensuring brain homeostasis. We aimed to assess changes in heart-generated coupling between blood pressure and subarachnoid space width oscillations during hypoxic exposure.
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Determination of Vehicles Load Equivalency Factors for Polish Catalogue of Typical Flexible and Semi-rigid Pavement Structures
PublicationThe new Polish Catalog of Typical Flexible and Semi-rigid Pavement Structures was introduced to use in practice in 2014. Much of works were focused on actualization of vehicles load equivalency factors. For this purpose data delivered from weigh-inmotion were analyzed. Four methods of determination of load equivalency factors for pavement structure design were compared. The analysis showed that fourth power equation, AASHTO 1993...
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Robust unsupervised georeferencing algorithm for aerial and satellite imagery
PublicationIn order to eliminate a human factor and fully automate the process of embedding the spatial localization information in a remote sensed image the integrated georeferencing method was proposed. The paper presents this unsupervised and robust approach which is comprised of pattern recognition, using SIFT-based detector, and RANSAC based outlier removal with matching algorithm.
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Improving the accuracy of subgridding scheme in finite differences method based on Legendre polynomials expansion
PublicationIn this article the Legendre polynomials have been used to interpolate the field at the boundary of the meshes of different densities. The numerical verification of the proposed technique has been carried out in frequency domain. It has been shown that the accuracy of the presented method is very high and stable - the error monotonically decreases as a function of the refinement factor.
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Selectivity Tuning by Natural Deep Eutectic Solvents (NADESs) for Extraction of Bioactive Compounds from Cytinus hypocistis—Studies of Antioxidative, Enzyme-Inhibitive Properties and LC-MS Profiles
PublicationIn the present study, the extracts of Cytinus hypocistis (L.) L using both traditional solvents (hexane, ethyl acetate, dichloromethane, ethanol, ethanol/water, and water) and natural deep eutectic solvents (NADESs) were investigated in terms of their total polyphenolic contents and antioxidant and enzyme-inhibitive properties. The extracts were found to possess total phenolic and total flavonoid contents in the ranges of 26.47–186.13...
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Biofilm formation and its regulation in Staphylococcus aureus
PublicationInfections caused by the major human and animal pathogen, Staphylococcus aureus are becoming an important problem due to its emerging resistance mechanisms and variety of virulence factors. Biofilm formation is considered to be one of the most important factor attributed to high pathogenicity of S. aureus. Described in the literature methods used in identification of biofilm forming abilities of bacteria consist of phenotypic and...
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Numerical Study of Turbulent Flow and Heat Transfer of Nanofluids in Pipes
PublicationIn this work, Nusselt number and friction factor are calculated numerically for turbulent pipe flow (Reynolds number between 6000 and 12000) with constant heat flux boundary condition using nanofluids. The nanofluid is modelled with the single-phase approach and the simulation results are compared with experimental data. Ethylene glycol and water, 60:40 EG/W mass ratio, as base fluid and SiO2 nanoparticles are used as nanofluid...
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Strength parameters of deltaic soils determined with CPTU, DMT and FVT
PublicationThis paper presents the results of soil investigation in soft, normally consolidated organic soil in the estuary of Vistula river. The analysis concerns clayey mud and peat layers interbedded with loose to medium-dense sands. Several Cone Penetration Tests with pore water measurement (CPTU), Dilatometer Tests (DMT) and Field Vane Tests (FVT) were performed on the testing site. The cone factor Nkt was estimated using the results...
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Implementation of magnitude calculation of complex numbers using improved alpha max plus beta min algorithm
PublicationThe paper presents the hardware implementation of the improved alpha max plus beta min algorithm for calculating the magnitude of complex numbers. This version of the algorithm requires the general division which is performed using a noniterative multiplicative division algorithm. We analyze in detail the division algorithm, its error and the impact of finite word-length signal representations on the assumed total computation error....
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Determination of selected chemical parameters in surface water samples collected from the Revelva catchment (Hornsund fjord, Svalbard)
PublicationSurface water samples (river and lake) were collected from the Revelva catchment every summer from 2010 to 2013. This study concerns importance of the use of some analytical techniques for pollutants and parameters deter- mination in Arctic environmental samples based on the example of total organic carbon, phenols, and formaldehyde determination and measurement of pH and electrical conductivity parameters. Significant...
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Effect of Pin Shape on Thermal History of Aluminum-Steel Friction Stir Welded Joint: Computational Fluid Dynamic Modeling and Validation
PublicationThis article studied the effects of pin angle on heat generation and temperature distribution during friction stir welding (FSW) of AA1100 aluminum alloy and St-14 low carbon steel. A validated computational fluid dynamics (CFD) model was implemented to simulate the FSW process. Scanning electron microscopy (SEM) was employed in order to investigate internal materials’ flow. Simulation results revealed that the mechanical work...