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total: 594
Search results for: BIOSORBENTS, CHLORINATED SOLVENTS, LOW-COST ADSORBENT, SORPTION
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Comparison of target strength (TS) distributions obtained by means of the use of direct and indirect techniques in sea cages
PublicationThe aim of this study is to verify the reliability of a processing application developed for the indirect measurement of target strength (TS), with a view to the integration into a single-beam system for its utilization in fish farms. Dorsal and ventral measurements are carried out for gilt-head sea-bream (Spams Aurata) for 5 size classes using a split-beam EK60 echosounder and single-beam data obtained from one of the channels...
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Evaluation of antimicrobial activities of powdered cuttlebone against Klebsiella oxytoca, Staphylococcus aureus, and Aspergillus flavus
PublicationBackground: The presence of medicines in the environment is considered as a serious threat to the human health. The entrance of these substances into the water sources causes soil pollution, which eventually leads to the environmental pollution and it creates some problems for the public health. Also, increasing antibiotic resistant bacteria has attracted the attention of researchers to the use of natural resources such as marine...
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3D Metamaterial Ultra-Wideband Absorber for curved surface
PublicationThis paper proposes a three-dimensional metamaterial absorber based on a resistive film patch array to develop a low-cost, lightweight absorber for curved surfaces. An excellent absorption over a large frequency band is achieved through two different yet controllable mechanisms; In the first mechanism, a considerable attenuation in the wave power is achieved via graphite resistive films. The absorption is then intensified through...
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Ultrasound-assisted heterogeneous activation of persulfate and peroxymonosulfate by asphaltenes for the degradation of BTEX in water
PublicationThis study investigated – for the first time - the simultaneous degradation of benzene, toluene, ethylbenzene and o-xylene (BTEX) by persulfate (PS) and peroxymonosulfate (PMS) activated by asphaltenes (Asph) under ultrasound (US) irradiation. Advantageous properties such as high thermal stability, low production cost and extensive availability make asphaltenes as an appealing carbonaceous material for heterogeneous catalysis....
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Rapid Re-Design and Bandwidth/Size Trade-Offs for Compact Wideband Circular Polarization Antennas Using Inverse Surrogates and Fast EM-Based Parameter Tuning
PublicationDesign of compact wideband circularly polarized (CP) antennas is challenging due to the necessity of simultaneous handling of several characteristics (reflection, axial ratio, gain) while maintaining a small size of the structure. Antenna re-design for various operating bands is clearly more difficult yet practically important because intentional reduction of the bandwidth (e.g., by moving the lower edge of the operating band up...
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Expedited antenna optimization with numerical derivatives and gradient change tracking
PublicationDesign automation has been playing an increasing role in the development of novel antenna structures for various applications. One of its aspects is electromagnetic (EM)-driven design closure, typically applied upon establishing the antenna topology, and aiming at adjustment of geometry parameters to boost the performance figures as much as possible. Parametric optimization is often realized using local methods given usually reasonable...
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Economical methods for measuring road surface roughness
PublicationTwo low-cost methods of estimating the road surface condition are presented in the paper, the first one based on the use of accelerometers and the other on the analysis of images acquired from cameras installed in a vehicle. In the first method, miniature positioning and accelerometer sensors are used for evaluation of the road surface roughness. The device designed for installation in vehicles is composed of a GPS receiver and...
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Resource constrained neural network training
PublicationModern applications of neural-network-based AI solutions tend to move from datacenter backends to low-power edge devices. Environmental, computational, and power constraints are inevitable consequences of such a shift. Limiting the bit count of neural network parameters proved to be a valid technique for speeding up and increasing efficiency of the inference process. Hence, it is understandable that a similar approach is gaining...
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Green and sustainable hydrogels based on quaternized chitosan to enhance wound healing
PublicationHydrogel-based biomaterials applied as wound dressings provide the wound with a moist environment, which facilitates tissue regeneration through granulation and re-epithelialization. The inherent flexibility and adjustable architecture of hydrogels enables incorporation of cells, antimicrobial drugs, growth factors, and bioactive compounds, which leads to expediting wound contraction and enhancing the regeneration process. The...
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Application of passive sampling techniques as a usable tool in the field of environmental quality monitoring
PublicationAnalysis of literature data published for the past 20 years leads to the conclusion, that passive sampling technique has been developing very quickly and is commonly used in the field of monitoring pollutants in air, water and soil environment. The popularity of application of passive sampling techniques in analytical and environmental chemistry results from its many advantages e.g.: Simplicity in use, low costs of exploitation,...
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Reduced-Cost Microwave Design Closure by Multi-Resolution EM Simulations and Knowledge-Based Model Management
PublicationParameter adjustment through numerical optimization has become a commonplace of contemporary microwave engineering. Although circuit theory methods are ubiquitous in the development of microwave components, the initial designs obtained with such tools have to be further tuned to improve the system performance. This is particularly pertinent to miniaturized structures, where the cross-coupling effects cannot be adequately accounted...
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PREPARATION AND CHARACTERIZATION OF CoFe2O4/TiO2-PANI HYBRID NANOCOMPOSITE WITH MAGNETIC AND PHOYOCATALYTIC ACTIVITY
PublicationHybrid nanocomposites consisting of inorganic component and organic conducting polymer are promising materials, which can be applied in heterogeneous photocatalysis. Titanium(IV) oxide is widely used photocatalysts due to its non-toxicity, low cost and chemical stability. The main disadvantage of TiO2 is low photocatalytic activity under visible light. Conducting polymers, also known as conjugated polymers are polymer materials...
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Membrane-SPME the best 'green' sample preparation technique for the gas chromatographic determination polar organic pollutants in polar media
PublicationOne of the most popular technique for sample preparation, which fulfill requirements of green analytical chemistry, is solid phase microextraction (SPME). Because of the undoubted advantages of SPME technique, solvent-free character of the extraction process and the enormous potential in analytical practice, a series of studies has been undertaken to develop new technical solutions, where improving the sensitivity and the extraction...
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Pyrolysis of Waste Biomass: Technical and Process Achievements, and Future Development-A Review
PublicationPyrolysis has been applied in the human economy for many years, and it has become a significant alternative to the production of chemical compounds, including biofuels. The article fo-cuses mostly on recent achievements in the technical and processing aspects of pyrolysis. The aim of the review is to present the latest research on the process of waste biomass pyrolysis to fuel production. The paper describes the mechanisms of...
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Preparation and characterization of natural rubber composites highly filled with brewers' spent grain/ground tire rubber hybrid reinforcement
PublicationBrewers' spent grain (BSG) and ground tire rubber (GTR) were applied as low-cost hybrid reinforcement natural rubber (NR). The impact of BSG/GTR ratio (in range: 100/0, 75/25, 50/50, 25/75 and 0/100 phr) on processing and performance properties of highly filled natural rubber composites was evaluated by oscillating disc rheometer, Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy, thermogravimetric analysis, scanning electron microscopy,...
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Thermodynamic and economic analysis of nuclear power unit operating in partial cogeneration mode to produce electricity and district heat
PublicationThis paper presents the methodology of techno-economic analysis for a nuclear unit operating in partial cogeneration mode and its application for the case study: a nuclear power plant planned in Poland. The research objectives were: to propose EPR, AP1000 and ESBWR nuclear condensing-extraction turbine systems modifications required for operation in cogeneration, to determine optimal heat production and heat transport line (HTL)...
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Broadband communication solutions for maritime ITSs: Wider and faster deployment of new e-navigation services
Publicationn its initial part, the paper presents an overview of popular technologies and systems currently developed or employed in maritime communication. These solutions are used to provide both ship-to-ship and ship-to-shore communication for the purpose of supporting specific services, often dedicated to maritime safety and e-navigation. Utility of such communication systems have been thoroughly verified over the years and their strengths...
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Rapid development of the photoresponse and oxygen evolution of TiO2 nanotubes sputtered with Cr thin films realized via laser annealing
PublicationRecently, earth abundant transition metal oxides have gained particular attention as potential catalyst candidates due to their availability and low-cost comparing to substrates containing precious Pt or Au species. Herein, we present characterization of morphology, structure and electrochemical properties of pulsed 532 nm laser treated TiO2 nanotubes (NT) sputtered by the thin film of chromium. Scanning electron microscopy enables...
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A global multinational survey of cefotaxime-resistant coliforms in urban wastewater treatment plants
PublicationThe World Health Organization Global Action Plan recommends integrated surveillance programs as crucial strategies for monitoring antibiotic resistance. Although several national surveillance programs are in place for clinical and veterinary settings, no such schemes exist for monitoring antibiotic-resistant bacteria in the environment. In this transnational study, we developed, validated, and tested a low-cost surveillance and...
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Fundamentals of Data-Driven Surrogate Modeling
PublicationThe primary topic of the book is surrogate modeling and surrogate-based design of high-frequency structures. The purpose of the first two chapters is to provide the reader with an overview of the two most important classes of modeling methods, data-driven (or approx-imation), as well as physics-based ones. These are covered in Chap-ters 1 and 2, respectively. The remaining parts of the book give an exposition of the specific aspects...
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The effect of imidazolium ionic liquid on the morphology of Pt nanoparticles deposited on the surface of SrTiO3 and photoactivity of Pt–SrTiO3 composite in the H2 generation reaction
PublicationPhotocatalytic water splitting has great potential in solar-hydrogen production as a low-cost and environmentally friendly method. Different unique techniques used to obtain photocatalysts with various modifications to improve H2 generation have been introduced. In the present work, SrTiO3 was successfully synthesized via the solvothermal method in the presence of ionic liquid (IL) - 1-butyl-3-methylimidazolium bromide ([BMIM][Br])...
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Multifaceted Analyses of Four Different Prototype Lightweight Photovoltaic Modules of Novel Structure
PublicationDynamic growth of photovoltaic capacity in Poland encourages many entities to invest in photovoltaic systems. However, in the case of buildings with low roof-bearing capacity it can be problematic or even impossible to mount conventional PV modules due to their relatively high weight. Hence, the use of lightweight PV modules is a potential solution. In this paper four different prototype silicon lightweight modules of novel structure...
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Recent Advances in Loop Heat Pipes with Flat Evaporator
PublicationThe focus of this review is to present the current advances in Loop Heat Pipes (LHP) with flat evaporators, which address the current challenges to the wide implementation of the technology. A recent advance in LHP is the design of flat-shaped evaporators, which is better suited to the geometry of discretely mounted electronics components (microprocessors) and therefore negate the need for an additional transfer surface (saddle)...
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Environmentally Friendly Fabrication of High-Efficient Fe-ZnO/Citric Acid-Modified Cellulose Composite and the Enhancement of Photocatalytic Activity in the Presence of H2O2
PublicationIn the present study, a novel Fe-ZnO/citric acid-modified cellulose composite (x%Fe-ZnOy% CAC) was synthesized using an environmentally friendly hydrothermal method. The obtained samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), scanning electron microscopy (SEM), UV−vis diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), nitrogen physisorption, and electrochemical and photocurrent density...
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Tolerance Optimization of Antenna Structures by Means of Response Feature Surrogates
PublicationFabrication tolerances and other types of uncertainties, e.g., the lack of precise knowledge of material parameters, have detrimental effects on electrical and field performance of antenna systems. In the case of input characteristics these are particularly noticeable for narrow- and multi-band antennas where deviations of geometry parameters from their nominal values lead to frequency shifts of the operating frequency bands. Improving...
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Inverse Modeling and Optimization of CSRR-based Microwave Sensors for Industrial Applications
PublicationDesign optimization of multivariable resonators is a challenging topic in the area of microwave sensors for industrial applications. This paper proposes a novel methodology for rapid re-design and parameter tuning of complementary split-ring resonators (CSRRs). Our approach involves inverse surrogate models established using pre-optimized resonator data as well as analytical correction techniques to enable rapid adjustment of geometry...
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Application of micellar electrokinetic chromatography for detection of silver nanoparticles released from wound dressing
PublicationThe recent emergence of nanotechnology has provided a new therapeutic modality in case of silver nanoparticles. Dressings containing silver form the basis for the treatment of burns and wounds, either acute or chronic ones. The aim of the study was to examine silver release from the different wound dressings: commercially available (Atrauman Ag, Aqua- cel Ag) and experimental (FKDP-AgNPs) using MEKC. In order to characterize prepared keratin...
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Post-Pyrolytic Carbon as a Phase Change Materials (PCMs) Carrier for Application in Building Materials
PublicationThis article covers new application for char as a carrier of phase-change materials (PCM) that could be used as an additive to building materials. Being composed of bio-char and PCM, the granulate successfully competes with more expensive commercial materials of this type, such as Micronal® PCM. As a PCM carrier, char that was obtained from the pyrolysis of chestnut fruit (Aesculus hippocastanum) with different absorbances of the...
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Variable-fidelity shape optimization of dual-rotor wind turbines
PublicationPurpose Dual-rotor wind turbines (DRWTs) are a novel type of wind turbines that can capture more power than their single-rotor counterparts. Because their surrounding flow fields are complex, evaluating a DRWT design requires accurate predictive simulations, which incur high computational costs. Currently, there does not exist a design optimization framework for DRWTs. Since the design optimization of DRWTs requires numerous model...
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Generalized Pareto ranking bisection for computationally feasible multi-objective antenna optimization
PublicationMulti-objective optimization (MO) allows for obtaining comprehensive information about possible design trade-offs of a given antenna structure. Yet, executing MO using the most popular class of techniques, population-based metaheuristics, may be computationally prohibitive when full-wave EM analysis is utilized for antenna evaluation. In this work, a low-cost and fully deterministic MO methodology is introduced. The proposed generalized...
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Brewery spent grain valorization through fermentation: Targeting biohydrogen, carboxylic acids and methane production
PublicationThis study investigated three different fermentation approaches to explore the potential for producing biohydrogen, carboxylic acids, and methane from hydrolysates of thermally dilute acid pretreated brewer's spent grains (BSG). Initially, the research focused on maximizing the volumetric hydrogen production rate (HPR) in the continuous dark fermentation (DF) of BSG hydrolysates by varying the hydraulic retention time (HRT). The...
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Technical and economic analysis of energy storage in the compressed air technology with low capacity for the production plant
PublicationCompressed air energy storage (CAES) system is a promising technology due to its numerous advantages, including relatively low maintenance cost, a long lifespan and high operational flexibility. This article explores the possibility of designing a CAES power plant as a source of electricity and heat for an existing industrial plant. The study involves the technical analysis of the power plant parameters and the economic analysis...
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Reduction of exceeding the guaranteed service time for external trucks at the DCT Gdańsk container terminal using a six sigma framework
PublicationPurpose The purpose of this research was to investigate ways to reduce the average amount of exceeded guaranteed service time for external trucks at Deepwater Container Terminal Gdańsk Sp z o.o. (DCT Gdańsk) via dosing the gate activities, in particular IN-Gate entry process of trucks carrying import/export/transit containers. Design/methodology/approach A Six Sigma methodology with the DMAIC methods along with the SIPOC chart,...
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g-C3N4 for Photocatalytic Degradation of Parabens: Precursors Influence, the Radiation Source and Simultaneous Ozonation Evaluation
PublicationGraphitic carbon nitride (g-C3N4) is a promising catalyst for contaminants of emerging concern removal applications, especially as a visible-light-driven material. In this study, g-C3N4 catalysts were effectively synthesized through a simple thermal polymerization method, using melamine, urea, and thiourea as precursors to elucidate the influence of these compounds on the final product’s photocatalytic performance. The degradation...
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sp2-rich dendrite-like carbon nanowalls as effective electrode for environmental monitoring of explosive nitroaromatic
PublicationNitroaromatic compounds are commonly used explosive materials that pose a risk to human health and ecosystems due to their acute toxicity and carcinogenicity. Nitroaromatics have numerous pathways into the environment via discarded munitions (e.g. into the Baltic Sea after World War II), after use in mining operations, and in industrial run-off from factories producing these compounds (which are produced across the world to date)....
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New Complementary Resonator for Permittivity- and Thickness-Based Dielectric Characterization
PublicationThe design of high-performance complementary meta-resonators for microwave sensors featur-ing high sensitivity and consistent evaluation of dielectric materials is challenging. This paper presents the design and implementation of a novel complementary resonator with high sensi-tivity for dielectric substrate characterization based on permittivity and thickness. A comple-mentary crossed arrow resonator (CCAR) is proposed and integrated...
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Alkyl polyglycoside-assisted separation followed by smartphone-based digital image colorimetry for on-site determination of total phenolic content in plant-based milk alternatives
PublicationA low-cost lab-on-a-smartphone platform for rapid and on-site assessment of total phenolic content in plant-based milk alternatives has been proposed for the first time. The three main components, including a smartphone, a disposable Eppendorf vial and a specially designed holder with an integrated polychromatic light source, were compactly assembled to enable color-forming reaction, separation and measurement. The method involves...
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An Overview of Bidirectional EV Chargers: Empowering Traction Grid-Powered Chargers
PublicationIn recent years, the number of electric vehicles has been at least doubling year after year. As a result, today electric vehicles already account for approximately 10% of the global automotive market, which positively affects environment in urbanized areas. However, to take full advantage of the EV integration it is necessary to use renewable sources for their charging; optimally place charging stations/terminals; optimally manage...
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Człowiek zanurzony w rzeczywistości wirtualnej na przykładzie Laboratorium Zanurzonej Wizualizacji Przestrzennej
PublicationArtykuł opisuje Laboratorium Zanurzonej Wizualizacji Przestrzennej (LZWP), które umożliwia swobodną podróż w czasie i przestrzeni. Jego podstawowym wyposażeniem jest jaskinia rzeczywistości wirtualnej, czyli pomieszczenie o ścianach, suficie i podłodze stanowiących ekrany projekcyjne, wyświetlające generowane komputerowo obrazy 3D, tworzące spójny widok jednej sceny. Człowiek znajdujący się w takiej jaskini jest zatem zanurzony...
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Starch-clay nanocomposite films
PublicationStarch is a natural polymer which, due to its renewability, biodegrability, availability and a relatively low cost, has a high potential for applications in biodegradable materials. However, because of its hydrophilic nature, the number of commercially available starch-based products is still limited. Recently, starch-based nanocomposites with the addition of clay minerals as nanofillers have given rise to large-scale improvements...
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Study on a polish peat bog “Rucianka” as a source of yeast strains capable of effective phenol biodegradation
PublicationPhenol is one of the most widely distributed environmental pollutants which can be found in wastewaters and industrial effluents. Due to its toxicity and resistance to self-degradation, it could become even lethal for humans and animals. The treatment of this toxic compound is focused on psychical–chemical methods, although biological treatment of phenol is preferable for economic aspects related to relatively...
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Processing and structure–property relationships of natural rubber/wheat bran biocomposites
PublicationIn this work, wheat bran was used as cellulosic filler in biocomposites based on natural rubber. The impact of wheat bran content [ranging from 10 to 50 parts per hundred rubber (phr)] on processing, structure, dynamic mechanical properties, thermal properties, physico-mechanical properties and morphology of resulting biocomposites was investigated. For better characterization of interfacial interactions between natural rubber...
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From polymer waste to potential main industrial products: Actual state of recycling and recovering
Publicationlastics have become widely used materials in everyday life due to their special properties such as durability, easy processing, light-weight and low-cost of production. However, because of their stable and non-biodegradable nature, postconsumer plastics become an issue to the environment. The growing amounts of waste are generated, as plastic products are commonly used only once before disposal. The alternatives of practical techniques...
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Multi-region fuzzy logic controller with local PID controllers for U-tube steam generator in nuclear power plant
PublicationIn the paper, analysis of multi-region fuzzy logic controller with local PID controllers for steam generator of pressurized water reactor (PWR) working in wide range of thermal power changes is presented. The U-tube steam generator has a nonlinear dynamics depending on thermal power transferred from coolant of the primary loop of the PWR plant. Control of water level in the steam generator conducted by a traditional PID controller...
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Global Miniaturization of Broadband Antennas by Prescreening and Machine Learning
PublicationThe development of contemporary electronic components, particularly antennas, places significant emphasis on miniaturization. This trend is driven by the emergence of technologies such as mobile communications, the internet of things, radio-frequency identification, and implantable devices. The need for small size is accompanied by heightened demands on electrical and field properties, posing a considerable challenge for antenna...
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A review on recent advances in the application of biosurfactants in wastewater treatment
PublicationMicroorganisms produce a variety of non-conventional surface-active molecules, known as biosurfactants. The biosurfactants find diverse applications in the oil industry, agriculture, emulsifiers, and wastewater treatment, to name a few. Since they are produced from microbes, advantages such as biodegradability, lower toxicity, and environmental compatibility can be leveraged compared to the chemical surfactants. Recently, biosurfactants...
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Constrained multi-objective optimization of compact microwave circuits by design triangulation and pareto front interpolation
PublicationDevelopment of microwave components is an inherently multi-objective task. This is especially pertinent to the design closure stage, i.e., final adjustment of geometry and/or material parameters carried out to improve the electrical performance of the system. The design goals are often conflicting so that the improvement of one normally leads to a degradation of others. Compact microwave passives constitute a representative case:...
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Supervised-learning-based development of multi-bit RCS-reduced coding metasurfaces
PublicationCoding metasurfaces have been introduced as efficient tools allowing meticulous control over the electromagnetic (EM) scattering. One of their relevant application areas is radar cross section (RCS) reduction, which principally relies on the diffusion of impinging EM waves. Despite its significance, careful control of the scattering properties poses a serious challenge at the level of practical realization. This article is concerned...
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On Fast Multi-objective Optimization of Antenna Structures Using Pareto Front Triangulation and Inverse Surrogates
PublicationDesign of contemporary antenna systems is a challenging endeavor, where conceptual developments and initial parametric studies, interleaved with topology evolution, are followed by a meticulous adjustment of the structure dimensions. The latter is necessary to boost the antenna performance as much as possible, and often requires handling several and often conflicting objectives, pertinent to both electrical and field properties...
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LIGHT POLLUTION IN THE CONTEXT OF THREATS TO THE WILDLIFE CORRIDORS
PublicationAccess to remote sensing night-time imagery allows for modeling of light pollution Increasingly, data on the propagation of artificial light are a source of interesting information for different fields of science and affect the planning of economic development. The article presents the problem of light pollution in the context of threats to the wildlife corridors in Poland. Wildlife corridors are areas that allow safe migration...