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Search results for: CHALLENGES
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An Overview of Treatment Approaches for Octahydro-1, 3, 5, 7-tetranitro-1, 3, 5, 7-tetrazocine (HMX) Explosive in Soil, Groundwater, and Wastewater
PublicationOctahydro-1, 3, 5, 7-tetranitro-1, 3, 5, 7-tetrazocine (HMX) is extensively exploited in the manufacturing of explosives; therefore, a significant level of HMX contamination can be encountered near explosive production plants. For instance, up to 12 ppm HMX concentrations have been observed in the wastewater effluent of a munitions manufacturing facility, while up to 45,000 mg/kg of HMX has been found in a soil sample taken from...
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Polymer and graphitic carbon nitride based nanohybrids for the photocatalytic degradation of pharmaceuticals in wastewater treatment – A review
PublicationPharmaceuticals, including antibiotics and anti-inflammatory drugs, have been frequently detected in water reservoirs, in concentrations ranging from ng/L to μg/L, owing to their wide use in treatment of human and animal disease. Their uncontrolled use results in their increased release into the environment which is harmful for humans, animals, aquatic life and aquatic system. To remove these pollutants from water bodies, various...
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Edible black ant Smith (Carebara vidua) as human food – A systematic review
PublicationMeeting food security is one of the major global challenges to ensure sufficient supply of food for current and future generations, considering increasing population growth and climate change issues. Consequently, the consumption of edible insects as an alternative food source has recently gained global attention for combating global food insecurity. The present review aims to provide information on the recent progress in consumption...
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Statistical Data Pre-Processing and Time Series Incorporation for High-Efficacy Calibration of Low-Cost NO2 Sensor Using Machine Learning
PublicationAir pollution stands as a significant modern-day challenge impacting life quality, the environment, and the economy. It comprises various pollutants like gases, particulate matter, biological molecules, and more, stemming from sources such as vehicle emissions, industrial operations, agriculture, and natural events. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), among these harmful gases, is notably prevalent in densely populated urban regions. Given...
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Data augmentation for improving deep learning in image classification problem
PublicationThese days deep learning is the fastest-growing field in the field of Machine Learning (ML) and Deep Neural Networks (DNN). Among many of DNN structures, the Convolutional Neural Networks (CNN) are currently the main tool used for the image analysis and classification purposes. Although great achievements and perspectives, deep neural networks and accompanying learning algorithms have some relevant challenges to tackle. In this...
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New methodology for determination cationic surfactants in liquid environmental samples
PublicationBecause of their specific physical and chemical properties (e.g. amphiphilicity, solubility in polar and nonpolar liquids, ability to form micelles, adsorption at phase boundaries, low toxicity) surfactants (surface-active compounds) are widely applied in industry and in the household. As their applications are on a very large scale, it has become necessary to acquire a more detailed understanding of their environmental fate. Mainly,...
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The Simulation of Activated Sludge System for Optimization of Predictive Aeration at Large WWTP
PublicationEffective use of biodegradable substrates as an internal carbon sources (ICS) for denitrification and EBPR and predicting performance of aeration systems during nitrification in activated sludge bioreactors, may be useful in realization the sustainable development by potentially saving energy consumption at WWTPs. A large number of WWTPs use activated sludge systems with an integrated removal of carbon, nitrogen and phosphorus...
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Corporate Social Responsibility Culture in the University of Technology – Polish Students Perspective
PublicationPurpose: The view on CSR concept is constantly broadening and still the new perspective is needed. New challenges are imposed by social, environmental and economic changes. A stakeholder approach defining organizations’ responsibility is no more valid. There is a need to redefine CSR concept and its role in sustainable development. Higher education and its role in shaping future attitudes towards corporate social responsibility...
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Advanced Oxidation Processes for the Treatment of Contaminants of Emerging Concern
PublicationThe application of contaminants of emerging concern (CEC) such as pharmaceuticals and personal care products (PPCPs), pesticides, plasticizers, endocrine disruptors, surfactants, flame retardants and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) became an indispensable requirement of the current era. Although the CEC are useful for wide-spectrum purposes, they can also result in undesirable effects on human health and other animals....
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The ONETEP linear-scaling density functional theory program
PublicationWe present an overview of the ONETEP program for linear-scaling density functional theory (DFT) calculations with large basis set (planewave) accuracy on parallel computers. The DFT energy is computed from the density matrix, which is constructed from spatially localized orbitals we call Non-orthogonal Generalized Wannier Functions (NGWFs), expressed in terms of periodic sinc (psinc) functions. During the calculation, both the...
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SDGs implementation, their synergies, and trade-offs in EU countries – Sensitivity analysis-based approach
PublicationSustainable development is one of the most urgent challenges facing humanity. Its basic principle is to improve people’s well-being and maintain it over time. In 2015, the United Nations approved 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) to ensure a better and sustainable future for all, balancing economic, social and environmental development. SDGs create an ‘indivisible whole’; thus, examining their interactions is crucial. Our...
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Bioreactors and biophoton-driven biohydrogen production strategies
PublicationGiven the current issues with global warming and rising greenhouse gas emissions, biohydrogen is a viable alternative fuel option. Technologies to produce biohydrogen include photo fermentation, dark fermentation, direct and indirect bio-photolysis, and two-stage fermentation. Biological hydrogen generation is a green and promising technique with mild reaction conditions and low energy consumption compared to thermochemical and...
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Polysaccharide nanocomposites in wastewater treatment: A review
PublicationIn modern times, wastewater treatment is vital due to increased water contamination arising from pollutants such as nutrients, pathogens, heavy metals, and pharmaceutical residues. Polysaccharides (PSAs) are natural, renewable, and non-toxic biopolymers used in wastewater treatment in the field of gas separation, liquid filtration, adsorption processes, pervaporation, and proton exchange membranes. Since addition of nanoparticles...
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Maximizing Bio-Hydrogen and Energy Yields Obtained in a Self-Fermented Anaerobic Bioreactor by Screening of Different Sewage Sludge Pretreatment Methods
PublicationEgypt faces significant challenges in managing its sewage sludge generated in large quantities from wastewater treatment plants. This study investigates the feasibility of utilizing sewage sludge as a renewable resource for hydrogen production through anaerobic digestion at the 100 L bioreactor level. Hydrogen is considered a promising alternative energy source due to its high energy content and environmental benefits. To optimize...
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Edible dragonflies and damselflies (order Odonata) as human food – A comprehensive review
PublicationThe rapid growth of the human population leads to a big concern about the food y and demand worldwide. However, due to the reduction in global arable land area, humans need to find alternative food sources to fulfil their needs. Consequently, edible insects have been identified as a promising solution to ameliorate food security and increase global nutrition. Among more than 2,100 identified edible insect species, dragonflies and...
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Comparison of Renewable Energy Sources in ‘New’ EU Member States in the Context of National Energy Transformations
PublicationThe European Union strives to create sustainable, low-carbon economies; therefore, energy policies of all member states should move towards renewable energy sources (RES). That concerns also the so-called new EU member states. These countries, on the one hand, are characterized by significant historical similarities in terms of post-communist legacy and adopted development strategies linked with the EU membership, and on the other...
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On Decision-Making Strategies for Improved-Reliability Size Reduction of Microwave Passives: Intermittent Correction of Equality Constraints and Adaptive Handling of Inequality Constraints
PublicationDesign optimization of passive microwave components is an intricate process, especially if the primary objective is a reduction of the physical size of the structure. The latter has become an important design consideration for a growing number of modern applications (mobile communications, wearable/implantable devices, internet of things), where miniaturization is imperative due to a limited space allocated for the electronic circuitry....
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Globalized Knowledge-Based Simulation-Driven Antenna Miniaturization Using Domain-Confined Surrogates and Dimensionality Reduction
PublicationDesign of contemporary antenna systems encounters multifold challenges, one of which is a limited size. Compact antennas are indispensable for the new fields of application such as inter-net of things or 5G/6G mobile communication. Still, miniaturization generally undermines elec-trical and field performance. When attempted through numerical optimization, it turns into a constrained problem with costly constraints requiring electromagnetic...
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Adaptive Algorithm of a Tap-Changer Controller of the Power Transformer Supplying the Radial Network Reducing the Risk of Voltage Collapse
Publicationhe development of renewable energy, including wind farms, photovoltaic farms as well as prosumer installations, and the development of electromobility pose new challenges for network operators. The results of these changes are, among others, the change of network load profiles and load flows determining greater volatility of voltages. Most of the proposed solutions do not assume a change of the transformer regulator algorithm....
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Potencjał strategii slow city dla rozwoju miast kształtujących się metropolii polskich. Na przykładzie Pucka i Kartuz miast Obszaru Metropolitalnego Gdańsk-Sopot-Gdynia
PublicationW artykule wskazano możliwości wykorzystania filozofii ruchu Slow, do wykształcenia nowego modelu Metropolitalnych Slow City (MSC). Odniesiono się do założeń ruchu Cittaslow, pokazując potencjały dla alternatywnego kierunku strategii rozwojowej w duchu „miast dobrego życia” dla ośrodków w granicach obszarów metropolitalnych. W podsumowaniu założenia teoretyczne zilustrowano przykładem innowacyjnego modelu projektu rewitalizacji...
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Analysing Ways to Achieve a New Urban Agenda-Based Sustainable Metropolitan Transport
PublicationThe New Urban Agenda (NUA) sets a new vision of sustainable urban development to help cities deal with the challenges of changing demography. While numerous articles have addressed how the NUA can be implemented at different levels and in different areas, this article points out the potential limitations in incorporating the NUA into metropolitan transport policies. The relevance of the limitations can be seen in three main fields:...
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Mutually polarizable QM/MM model with in situ optimized localized basis functions
PublicationWe extend our recently developed quantum-mechanical/molecular mechanics (QM/MM) approach [Dziedzic et al., J. Chem. Phys. 145, 124106 (2016)] to enable in situ optimization of the localized orbitals. The quantum subsystem is described with ONETEP linear-scaling density functional theory and the classical subsystem – with the AMOEBA polarizable force field. The two subsystems interact via multipolar electrostatics and are fully...
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CMGNet: Context-aware middle-layer guidance network for salient object detection
PublicationSalient object detection (SOD) is a critical task in computer vision that involves accurately identifying and segmenting visually significant objects in an image. To address the challenges of gridding issues and feature...
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Incorporation of the sulfur cycle in sustainable nitrogen removal systems - A review
PublicationIn wastewater treatment systems, sulfur (S) removal processes are generally based on heterotrophic sulfate (SO42−) reduction by sulfate reducing bacteria and S-dependent autotrophic denitrification by sulfur oxidizing bacteria. A combination of either two cycles (N and S) or three cycles (N, S and C) appears to be a viable approach to sustainable wastewater treatment, resulting in energy savings and reduction of sludge production....
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Experiment-Based Study of Heat Dissipation from the Power Cable in a Casing Pipe
PublicationThe paper deals with the important challenges in terms of electricity transmission by means of underground cable lines. The power cable’s performance is characterized by an ampacity that represents its maximum electric current-carrying capacity. The ampacity of power cables depends on their ability to diffuse the heat generated by the current flow into the environment. In the performed research, the analysis of the efficiency of...
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A Case Study on Implementing Agile Techniques and Practices: Rationale, Benefits, Barriers and Business Implications for Hardware Development
PublicationAgile methodologies, along with the corresponding tools and practices, are claimed to facilitate teams in managing their work more effectively and conducting their work more efficiently while fostering the highest quality product within the constraints of the budget. Therefore, the rate of awareness and adoption of Agile frameworks both within and outside the software industry has increased significantly. Yet, the latest studies...
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Gender as a Moderator of the Double Bias of Mistakes – Knowledge Culture and Knowledge Sharing Effects
PublicationThere is no learning without mistakes. The essence of the double bias of mistakes is the contradiction between an often-declared positive attitude towards learning from mistakes, and negative experiences when mistakes occur. Financial and personal consequences, shame, and blame force desperate employees to hide their mistakes. These adverse outcomes are doubled in organizations by the common belief that managers never make mistakes,...
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Anomaly Detection in Railway Sensor Data Environments: State-of-the-Art Methods and Empirical Performance Evaluation
PublicationTo date, significant progress has been made in the field of railway anomaly detection using technologies such as real-time data analytics, the Internet of Things, and machine learning. As technology continues to evolve, the ability to detect and respond to anomalies in railway systems is once again in the spotlight. However, railway anomaly detection faces challenges related to the vast infrastructure, dynamic conditions, aging...
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Machine-learning-based precise cost-efficient NO2 sensor calibration by means of time series matching and global data pre-processing
PublicationAir pollution remains a considerable contemporary challenge affecting life quality, the environment, and economic well-being. It encompasses an array of pollutants—gases, particulate matter, biological molecules—emanating from sources such as vehicle emissions, industrial activities, agriculture, and natural occurrences. Nitrogen dioxide (NO2), a harmful gas, is particularly abundant in densely populated urban areas. Given its...
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Technological solutions to landfill management: Towards recovery of biomethane and carbon neutrality
PublicationInadequate landfill management poses risks to the environment and human health, necessitating action. Poorly designed and operated landfills release harmful gases, contaminate water, and deplete resources. Aligning landfill management with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) reveals its crucial role in achieving various targets. Urgent transformation of landfill practices is necessary to address challenges like climate change,...
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Genotyping Techniques for Determining the Diversity of Microorganisms
PublicationTyping of microbial pathogens, or identifying bacteria at the strain level, is particularly important for diagnosis, treatment, and epidemiological surveillance of bacterial infections. This is especially the case for bacteria exhibiting high levels of antibiotic resistance or virulence, and those involved in nosocomial or pandemic infections. Strain typing also has applications in studying bacterial population dynamics. The part...
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DEFORMATIONS OF INNOVATIVE COLD-FORMED GEB SECTIONS
PublicationPermanent urban growth of the world of today world implies demanding challenges for the steel construction industry. Nowadays, one of the most important issues is the cost optimization of steel structures. Since the weight of building materials is a major component of the total cost, engineers and designers try to reduce structural weight, without compromising durability and sustainability of a steel structure. Therefore, light...
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Organic Rankine cycle as bottoming cycle to a combined Brayton and Clausius - Rankine cycle
PublicationA preliminary evaluation has been made of a possibility of bottoming of a conventional Brayton cycle cooperating with the CHP power plant with the organic Rankine cycle installation. Such solution contributes to the possibility of annual operation of that power plant, except of operation only in periods when there is a demand for the heat. Additional benefit would be the fact that an optimized backpressure steam cycle has the advantage...
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Nowe rozwiązania metodyczne i techniczne w zakresie techniki mikroekstrakcji do fazy stracjonarnej
PublicationSample preparation has been recognized as a critical step of the analytical process, being even considered as the bottleneck of the overall process. Enrichment of target compounds, transfer of the analytes into a solvent compatible with the analytical instrumentation, minimization of potential interferences, and efficient sample clean-up, are among the main aims of sample preparation techniques. In this regard, liquid-liquid extraction...
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Architects and urban planners in the face of energy transition - smart cities energy aspects in shaping building structures and cities
PublicationContemporary architects and urban planners are facing steadily increasing challenges. The growing problems around environmental issues, shrinking natural resources and climate action are just some of them. Currently, planning should also include balancing with all the aspects of sustainable development such as not only the environmental issues, but also social and economic ones. How to meet them in the era of energy transition...
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Assessment of Citizens’ Actions against Light Pollution with Guidelines for Future Initiatives
PublicationDue to the wide reach of media reports about scientific research and technological tools such as the world wide web (WWW), the Internet, and web browsers, citizens today have access to factual information about the negative impact of artificial light at night (ALAN) on their dark skies, and their health and well-being. This means they can now make educated decisions and take the necessary steps to help protect themselves and their...
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Development and evaluation of RADA-PDGF2 self-assembling peptide hydrogel for enhanced skin wound healing
PublicationBackground: Wound healing complications affect numerous patients each year, creating significant economic and medical challenges. Currently, available methods are not fully effective in the treatment of chronic or complicated wounds; thus, new methods are constantly sought. Our previous studies showed that a peptide designated as PDGF2 derived from PDGF-BB could be a promising drug candidate for wound treatment and that RADA16-I...
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The Staged Combustion of Meat-and-Bone Meal:The Characteristics of Conversion Sub-processes and Large-Scale Process Outputs
Publicationt Organic waste has been playing an increasingly important role in the energy market as those that may support the economies in pursuing towards decarbonization by increasing the share of renewables in the overall energy balance. In this group of alternative fuels, meat-and-bone meals being a post-production waste of the steadily developing meat industry, constitute a considerable proportion. Though they are rich in minerals, their...
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Technical solutions and benefits of introducing rain gardens – Gdańsk case study
PublicationNowadays, Nature-Based Solutions (NBSs) are developing as innovative multifunctional tools to maximize urban ecosystem services such as storm water preservation, reduction of runoff and flood protection, groundwater pollution prevention, biodiversity enhancement, and microclimate control. Gdańsk is one of the first Polish cities to widely introduce rain gardens (one example of an NBS) in different areas such as parks, city center,...
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Tackling microplastics pollution in global environment through integration of applied technology, policy instruments, and legislation
PublicationMicroplastic pollution is a serious environmental problem that affects both aquatic and terrestrial ecosystems. Small particles with size of less than 5 mm, known as microplastics (MPs), persist in the environment and pose serious threats to various species from micro-organisms to humans. However, terrestrial environment has received less attention than the aquatic environment, despite being a major source of MPs that eventually...
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Diving boldly into COVID‐19 contaminated wastewater: Eyes at nanotechnology‐assisted solutions
PublicationSeveral studies have been directed to find scalable, swift, accurate, and cost-effective strategies for detecting, monitoring, and treating coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Indeed, the lack of a fast and practical method for detecting the infected regions makes decision-making challenging to combat the critical pandemic-struck situations. The probable ‘wrong’, or rather inadequate, decisions not only have a boomerang effect...
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Towards Changes of Macro-Economic Structures in Middle Eastern Countries. Empirical Evidence for 1970–2018
PublicationMiddle East countries share a wide bundle of specific structural economic features and one of the latest is a high dependency of these economies on fossil fuels, which is quantitatively demonstrated through the share of oil and gas revenues in total export, but also in gross domestic product composition. This high economic dependency on natural resources on one hand has recently generated a material wealth of Middle Eastern countries...
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Book Review
PublicationActing over the last three decades as an Editor and Associate Editor for a number of international journals in the general area of cybernetics and AI, as well as a Chair and Co-Chair of numerous conferences in this field, I have had the exciting opportunity to closely witness and to be actively engaged in the stimulating research area of machine learning and its important augmentation with deep learning techniques and technologies. From...
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Functionalized polyolefins, synthesis application and industrial relevance
PublicationPolymers play a key role in our modern life full of technical advances and a continuous request for new materials with tailored properties for a low price. Their excellent mechanical properties, good processability, chemical stability and low price make polyolefins the polymers of choice for most commodity and some more specialized applications. As a result, polyolefins account for over 65% of the total world demand of plastic...
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Macro-nutrients recovery from liquid waste as a sustainable resource for production of recovered mineral fertilizer: Uncovering alternative options to sustain global food security cost-effectively
PublicationGlobal food security, which has emerged as one of the sustainability challenges, impacts every country. As food cannot be generated without involving nutrients, research has intensified recently to recover unused nutrients from waste streams. As a finite resource, phosphorus (P) is largely wasted. This work critically reviews the technical applicability of various water technologies to recover macro-nutrients such as P, N, and...
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Regenarative tourism – between theory and practice
PublicationPurpose: The aim of this article is to present a shift in thinking in terms of implementing the systems and practices needed to transition to a regenerative approach in tourism. The article aims to provide concrete ways to change thinking and move towards a regenerative paradigm in the tourism industry. Design/methodology/approach: This viewpoint paper defines regenerative tourism and explores its principles and the possibilities...
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Functional safety and managing competence
PublicationSą nowe wyzwania związane z badaniami, edukacją i szkoleniem w obszarach bezpieczeństwa i ochrony systemów i sieci krytycznych. W rozdziale podkreśla się, że kompetencje specjalistów powinny być kształtowane w zintegrowanych procesach edukacji i szkolenia. Dlatego uzasadnione jest, aby opracować w Europie standardy i programy kształcenia na bazie odpowiednich prac badawczych i najlepszych doświadczeń z praktyki przemysłowej w celu...
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Affective Learning Manifesto – 10 Years Later
PublicationIn 2004 a group of affective computing researchers proclaimed a manifesto of affective learning that outlined the prospects and white spots of research at that time. Ten years passed by and affective computing developed many methods and tools for tracking human emotional states as well as models for affective systems construction. There are multiple examples of affective methods applications in Intelligent Tutoring Systems (ITS)....
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Transcriptional profile of in vitro expanded human epidermal progenitor cells for the treatment of non-healing wounds
PublicationBackground Epidermal progenitor cells (EPCs) have been under extensive investigation due to their increasing potential of application in medicine and biotechnology. Cultured human EPCs are used in the treatment of chronic wounds and have recently became a target for gene therapy and toxicological studies. One of the challenges in EPCs culture is to provide a high number of undifferentiated, progenitor cells displaying high viability...
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Accurate Modeling of Antenna Structures by Means of Domain Confinement and Pyramidal Deep Neural Networks
PublicationThe importance of surrogate modeling techniques has been gradually increasing in the design of antenna structures over the recent years. Perhaps the most important reason is a high cost of full-wave electromagnetic (EM) analysis of antenna systems. Although imperative in ensuring evaluation reliability, it entails considerable computational expenses. These are especially pronounced when carrying out EM-driven design tasks such...