Search results for: biological properties
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Organic carbon fluxes of a glacier surface: a case study of Foxfonna, a small Arctic glacier
PublicationArctic glaciers are rapidly responding to global warming by releasing organic carbon (OC) to downstream ecosystems. The glacier surface is arguably the most biologically active and biodiverse glacial habitat and therefore the site of important OC transformation and storage, although rates and magnitudes are poorly constrained. In this paper, we present measurements of OC fluxes associated with atmospheric deposition, ice melt,...
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Distribution and extent of benthic habitats in Puck Bay (Gulf of Gdańsk, southern Baltic Sea)
PublicationThe majority of the southern Baltic Sea seabed encompasses homogenous soft-bottom sediments of limited productivity and low biological diversity, but shallow productive areas in the coastal zone such as wetlands, vegetated lagoons and sheltered bays show a high variety of benthic habitat types offering favourable biotopic conditions for benthic fauna. Within Polish marine areas, semi-enclosed Puck Bay (the western part of the...
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Impact of a newly-formed periglacial environment and other factors on fresh water chemistry at the western shore of Admiralty Bay in the summer of 2016 (King George Island, Maritime Antarctica)
PublicationThis study provides a comprehensive analysis of the inorganic chemistry of flowing water at the western shore of Admiralty Bay. In the water samples, ions, and major and trace metals (and B)were detected and quantified. Additionally, the parameters of pH, specific electrolytic conductivity (SEC25) and total organic carbon (TOC) were determined. Moreover, multivariate data set was created and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was...
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Comparative Study of Balancing SRT by Using Modified ASM2d in Control and Operation Strategy at Full-Scale WWTP
PublicationDetailed knowledge on the composition of the influent going into the wastewater treatment system is essential for the development of a reliable computer model. In the context of WWTPs (wastewater treatment plants), the wastewater characteristics are not only important for activated sludge system modelling, but also have an impact on the appropriate control of single unit operations. The aim of this study was to evaluate the concepts...
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Cyclodextrin polymers as efficient adsorbents for removing toxic non-biodegradable pimavanserin from pharmaceutical wastewaters
PublicationPresence of even small amount of active pharmaceutical ingredients in the environment carries risks tohuman and animal health, presenting an important issue. The paper presents issues related to the newdrug - pimavanserin (PMV). Biological treatment efficiency of pimavanserin (PMV) was evaluated usinglab-scale Sequencing Batch Reactor (SBR). It has been shown to have a negative effect on aquatic or-ganisms by classifying it as...
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Electrochemistry/mass spectrometry (EC/MS) for fast generation and identification of novel reactive metabolites of two unsymmetrical bisacridines with anticancer activity.
PublicationThe development of a new drug requires knowledge about its metabolic fate in a living organism, regarding the comprehensive assessment of both drug therapeutic activity and toxicity profiles. Electrochemistry (EC) coupled with mass spectrometry (MS) is an efficient tool for predicting the phase I metabolism of redox-sensitive drugs. In particular, EC/MS represents a clear advantage for the generation of reactive drug transformation...
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Nanoparticles and nanofiltration for wastewater treatment: From polluted to fresh water
PublicationWater pollution poses significant threats to both ecosystems and human health. Mitigating this issue requires effective treatment of domestic wastewater to convert waste into bio-fertilizers and gas. Neglecting liquid waste treatment carries severe consequences for health and the environment. This review focuses on intelligent technologies for water and wastewater treatment, targeting waterborne diseases. It covers pollution prevention...
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Phosphate and Thiophosphate Biphenyl Analogs as Steroid Sulfatase Inhibitors
PublicationIn the present work, we report convenient methods for the synthesis and biological evaluation of phosphate and thiophosphate biphenyl derivatives exhibiting steroid sulfatase (STS) activity. The described synthesis is based on straightforward preparation of biphenyl-4-ol and 40-hydroxybiphenyl- 4-carboxylic acid ethyl ester modified with various phosphate or thiophosphate moieties. The inhibitory effects of these compounds were...
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Comparative Analysis of Exoskeletal Actuators
PublicationSince the beginning of the development of exoskeletons in the early 1960s there was a constant need for improving their actuators technology. Requirements for high power and torque for the lower body and very high precision for the hand motion, while maintaining the flexibility of biological muscles, are still not fully satisfied. The problem lies not just in the lack of appropriate actuator technology, but also in the inability...
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Biocompatibility and Bioactivity of Load-Bearing Metallic Implants
PublicationThe main objective of here presented research is to develop the titanium (Ti) alloy base composite materials possessing better biocompatibility, longer lifetime and bioactivity behaviour for load-bearing implants, e.g. hip joint and knee joint endoprosthesis. The development of such materials is performed through: modeling the material behaviour in biological environment in long time and developing of new procedures for such evaluation;...
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Low-energy interactions related to atmospheric and extreme conditions
PublicationThis Topical Issue, entitled “Low-Energy Interactions Related to Atmospheric and Extreme Conditions”, showcases a collection of eighteen articles that reported recent theoretical and experimental findings pertaining to the following topics: – low-energy interactions of charged particles (electrons [1–7], protons [8], positrons [9]), and photons [10] with atoms and molecules of biological [1–4,7,8], astrochemical [10], industrial,...
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On phase equilibrium of an elastic liquid shell with wedge disclination
PublicationBased on the six-parameter shell theory we consider the phase equilibrium of a two-phase liquid membrane containing a wedge disclination. The considered problems are related to modelling of phase transitions in biological or lipid membranes. In order to capture the membrane behaviour we consider a special case of elastic shells which energy is invariant under major transformations of a reference configuration and can be treated...
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Kinetics of nitrogen removal processes in constructed wetlands
PublicationThe aim of this paper is to present a state-of-the-art review of the kinetics of nitrogen removal in constructed wetlands. Biological processes of nitrogen removal from wastewater can be described using equations and kinetic models. Hence, these kinetic models which have been developed and evaluated allow for predicting the removal of nitrogen in treatment wetlands. One of the most important, first order removal model, which is...
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Evolution of Animats Following a Moving Target in an Artificial Ecosystem
PublicationMany biological animals, even microscopically small, are able to track moving sources of food. In this paper, we investigate the emergence of such behavior in artificial animals (animats) in a 2-dimensional simulated liquid environment. These "predators" are controlled by evolving artificial gene regulatory networks encoded in linear genomes. The fate of the predators is determined only by their ability to gather food and reproduce—no...
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Crystal structures of (E)-3-(4-hydroxybenzylidene)chroman-4-one and (E)-3-(3-hydroxybenzylidene)-2-phenylchroman-4-one
PublicationThe synthesis and crystal structures of (E)-3-(4-hydroxybenzylidene)chroman-4-one, C16H12O3,I, and (E)-3-(3-hydroxybenzylidene)-2-phenylchroman-4-one,C22H16O3,II, are reported. These compounds are of interest with respect to biological activity. Both structures display intermolecular C—H---O and O—H---O hydrogen bonding, forming layers in the crystal lattice. The crystal structure of compound I is consolidated...
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Efficiency of acoustic heating in the Maxwell fluid
PublicationThe nonlinear effects of sound in a fluid describing by the Maxwell model of the viscous stress tensor is the subject of investigation. Among other, viscoelastic biological media belong to this non-newtonian type of fluids. Generation of heating of the medium caused by nonlinear transfer of acoustic energy, is discussed in details. The governing equation of acoustic heating is derived by means of the special linear combination...
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Use of Brassica plants in the phytoremediation and biofumigation processes
PublicationIn recent decades, serious contamination of soils by heavy metals has been reported. It is therefore a matter of urgency to develop a new and efficient technology for removing contaminants from soil. Another aspect to this problem is that environmental pollution decreases the biological quality of soil, which is why pesticides and fertilizers are being used in ever-larger quantities. The environmentally friendly solutions to these...
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The use of HPLC-Q-TOF-MS for comprehensive screening of drugs and psychoactive substances in hair samples and several “legal highs” products
PublicationNon-targeted screening of drugs present in herbal products, known as “legal high” drugs and in hair as a biological matrix commonly used in toxicological investigations was accomplished with the use of high pressure liquid chromatography coupled with quadrupole time-of-flight mass spectrometry (HPLC-Q-TOF-MS). In total, 25 and 14 therapeutical drugs and psychoactive substances/metabolites were detected in investigated hair samples...
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Recognition and sensing of anions
PublicationMolecular ion recognition is one of the most intensively studied areas of supramolecular technology. The reason for this is the essential role that ions play in many biological as well as industrial processes. On the other hand, however, it has been proved that ions can have a negative impact on human health and the environment. For these reasons, it is extremly important to develop rapid and simple methods allowing the determination...
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Treatment Wetland for Overflow Stormwater Treatment: The Impact of Pollutant Particles Size
PublicationThe problem of stormwater treatment in urban areas has become increas- ingly crucial. It has been widely recognized that both mechanical and biological treatment of stormwater is necessary to protect surface water against pollution. Moreover, technology must be applied to ensure effective treatment in changing hydraulic conditions and to serve, to the extent possible, as a retention volume. Treatment wetland (TW) could be...
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Efficiency of acoustic heating in the Maxwell fluid
PublicationThe nonlinear effects of sound in a fluid describing by the Maxwell model of the viscous stress tensor is the subject of investigation. Among other, viscoelastic biological media belong to this non-newtonian type of fluids. Generation of heating of the medium caused by nonlinear transfer of acoustic energy, is discussed in details. The governing equation of acoustic heating is derived by means of the special linear combination...
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Innovative strategies: Combining treatments for advanced wastewater purification
PublicationWater scarcity is a pressing global challenge, driving the urgent need for effective wastewater treatment solutions. With untreated wastewater extensively employed, particularly in agriculture, the significance of proper treatment becomes evident, as it presents a more practical and ecologically responsible alternative. This chapter explores the diverse treatment approaches encompassing chemical, physical, and biological methods,...
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Integrating conventional nitrogen removal with anammox in wastewater treatment systems: Microbial metabolism, sustainability and challenges
PublicationThe various forms of nitrogen (N), including ammonium (NH4+), nitrite (NO2−), and nitrate (NO3−), present in wastewaters can create critical biotic stress and can lead to hazardous phenomena that cause imbalances in biological diversity. Thus, biological nitrogen removal (BNR) from wastewaters is considered to be imperatively urgent. Therefore, anammox-based systems, i.e. partial nitrification and anaerobic ammonium oxidation (PN/anammox)...
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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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Estimation and modeling hydrolysis of slowly biodegradable substrate based on the batch respirometric tests in activated sludge systems
PublicationNowadays, appropriate determination of chemical oxygen demand (COD) fractionation together with degradation kinetics of organic compounds have a prime importance on the design and operation of activated sludge systems. Batch respirometric tests based on the oxygen uptake rates (OUR) and corresponding COD is accepted method to reflect the consumption of biodegradable substrates. The influence of the readily biodegradable (Ss) fraction...
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Synergistic effect of TiO2 photocatalytic advanced oxidation processes in the treatment of refinery effluents
PublicationDifferent types of photolytic and photocatalytic advanced oxidation processes (AOPs) were used for treatment of refinery effluents from bitumen production. The treatment efficiency was evaluated by analyzing chemical oxygen demand (COD), biological oxygen demand (BOD5), volatile organic compounds (VOCs) and sulfide ions concentration. The studies revealed a synergistic effect of application of external oxidants (O3, H2O2, O3/H2O2)...
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A mechanistically approached review upon assorted cell lines stimulated by athermal electromagnetic irradiation
PublicationThe probable influence of electromagnetic irradiation on cancer treatment has been deduced from the interaction of artificial electromagnetic emissions with biological organisms. Nonetheless, the suspected health effects induced by electromagnetic-based technology imply that such a treatment may contaminate the adjacent healthy cells. Thus, gaining mechanistic insights into the problem is required to avoid athermal health hazards....
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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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Assestment of the anti-cancer activity of the copper complexes with imidazole and pivalato ligands
PublicationDespite the development of science and technology progress so far there have not been found effective drugs for cancer. Many coordination compounds were investigated due to their antitumor potential. The most known cis-diamminedichloroplatinum(II) is used as anti-cancer therapeutic agent. The copper complexes are the coordination compounds possessing anti-tumour properties. Their capability to kill cancer cells is mainly linked...
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The Creation of an Antimicrobial Coating on Contact Lenses by The Use of Nanocopper
PublicationThe aim of the research was to creation an antimicrobial coating on contact lens and examine the ability of copper nanoparticles to decrease microbial adhesion and prevent the growth of bacteria. The creation was based on the immersion method in solution with dispersed nanoparticles of copper at concentration 200 pm. There were evaluated follows factors: time of immersion and base to dispersed nanoparticles. Three solutions: ethyl...
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Birds' feathers – Suitable samples for determination of environmental pollutants
PublicationThe intensive development of industry and human population results in large amounts of different xenobiotic emitted into individual ecosystem components. As a consequence, monitoring of the level of pollution of particular elements of the environment by exotoxins has become a common interest. The determination of environmental changes by different types of biological indicators is called bioindication, which is used as one of the...
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Employment of a Nonlinear Adaptive Control System for Improved Control of Dissolved Oxygen in Sequencing Batch Reactor
PublicationA proper control in a complex system, such as Wastewater Treatment Plant (WWTP) with each year is becoming increasingly important. High quality control can minimize an environmental impact as well as reduce operational costs of the WWTP. One of the core issues is providing adequate dissolved oxygen (DO) concetration for microorganisms used in a treatment process. An aeration process of the wastewater realised by an system consisting...
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Proteomic and Metabolomic Changes in Psoriasis Preclinical and Clinical Aspects
PublicationSkin diseases such as psoriasis (Ps) and psoriatic arthritis (PsA) are immune-mediated inflammatory diseases. Overlap of autoinflammatory and autoimmune conditions hinders diagnoses and identifying personalized patient treatments due to different psoriasis subtypes and the lack of verified biomarkers. Recently, proteomics and metabolomics have been intensively investigated in a broad range of skin diseases with the main purpose...
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Immersive Technologies that Aid Additive Manufacturing Processes in CBRN Defence Industry
PublicationTesting unique devices or their counterparts for CBRN (C-chemical, B-biological, R-radiological, N-nuclear) defense relies on additive manufacturing processes. Immersive technologies aid additive manufacturing. Their use not only helps understand the manufacturing processes, but also improves the design and quality of the products. This article aims to propose an approach to testing CBRN reconnaissance hand-held products developed...
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Capillary Electrophoresis in Determination of Low Molecular Mass Organic Acids
PublicationThis paper presents overviews the capabilities of capillary electrophoretic techniques to determine low molecular mass organic acids in a variety of aqueous, gas and solid samples. It mainly focuses on short - chain carboxylic acids containing one or more carboxylic groups and possibly some other functional groups (hydroxyl, keto-, amino- etc.). Finally the procedures applied to the determine the acids in different matrices are...
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Direct measurements of odorous volatile organic compounds present in biosolids cakes by Proton Transfer Reaction – Mass Spectrometry Technique
PublicationThis paper show the results of investigation of concentration of odorous chemical compounds emitted upon ageing of anaerobically stabilised biosolids that could contribute to the overall odour character of nuisance emissions. Biosolids samples from wastewater treatment plant were collected in spring time. Concentrations of volatile organic compounds using a US EPA flux hood and Proton Transfer Reaction-Time of Flight-Mass Spectrometry...
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Nitrogen-Doped Diamond Film for Optical Investigation of Hemoglobin Concentration
PublicationIn this work we present the fabrication and characterization of a diamond film which can be utilized in the construction of optical sensors for the investigation of biological samples. We produced a nitrogen-doped diamond (NDD) film using a microwave plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition (MWPECVD) system. The NDD film was investigated with the use of scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and Raman...
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Recent trends in determination of neurotoxins in aquatic environmental samples
PublicationAnatoxins, saxitoxins, ciguatoxins, beta-N-methylamino-l-alanine and its isomers are groups of neurotoxins which have a highly specific effect on the nervous system of animals, including humans, by interfering with the transmission of nerve impulses. In order to assess the human exposure to these neurotoxins, selective, interlaboratory-validated analytical methods are being developed to facilitate obtaining reliable results on...
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RESIDUE ANALYSIS OF ETU AND PTU BY LC/MS
PublicationDithiocarbamates (DTCs) are important organosulfur compounds, which act as inhibitors of metal dependant and sulphydryl enzymes and have a serious consequence on biological systems. They possess variety of applications in agriculture as fungicides, as well as, in the rubber industry as vulcanization accelerators and antioxidants. In this way, DTCs are the main group of fungicides used to control approximately 400 pathogens of more...
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Multistage treatment wetland for treatment of reject waters from digested sludge dewatering
PublicationThe paper presents the influence of sewage composition on treatment in pilot-scale facility for reject waters (RW) from sewage sludge centrifugation. The facility consisted of mechanical (two tanks with 10 d retention each) and biological parts composed of three subsurface flow reed beds working in batch. Two years of monitoring of the facility proved high efficiency removal of predominant pollutants: COD 75–80%, BOD 82.2–95.5%...
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Nonlinear fuzzy control of the dissolved oxygen in activated sludge processes
PublicationWastewater treatment plant is generally a complex, multivariable, time varying and nonlinear large scale industrial system. Moreover, interactions between the components are very strong. The dissolved oxygen tracking problem is one of the most complex and fundamental issues of biological processes. Air for the aerated tanks is supplied by aeration system (blowers, pipes, diffusers). It is a complex dynamic system. The new control...
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What defines excellent lighting design for humans and animals?
PublicationWhat defines excellent lighting design for humans and animals? The answer to the above question is more than complex. It is not enough nowadays to design a project to make it aesthetically pleasing. Nor is it sufficient to create nicely lit environments, or simply to achieve the light levels required by the lighting norms or standards. With the new scientific research of the last few decades that relates directly or indirectly...
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Polymeric porous membranes as solid support and protective material in microextraction processes: A review
PublicationPolymeric porous membranes have proven to be a versatile and efficient material for microextraction processes. In analytical practice, they are used both as a solid support and as a protective medium for improved sample preparation in various analytical applications. Polymeric porous membranes offer unique advantages in microextraction due to their large surface area and controllable pore size, eliminating interfering effects from...
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The interaction between bacterial abundance and selected pollutants concentration levels in an arctic catchment (southwest Spitsbergen, Svalbard)
PublicationPersistent organic pollutants (POPs) have been a topic of interest in environmental sciences for > 60 years. POPs in the Arctic have been investigated since the 1970s, when first atmospheric measurements revealed the presence of these pollutants in the polar regions. Major contaminant transport routes to the Arctic include atmospheric and oceanic transport, as well as inflow from rivers and sea ice. The sources of pollutants, such...
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Marine and Cosmic Inspirations for AI Algorithms
PublicationArtificial Intelligence (AI) is a scientific area that currently sees an enormous growth. Various new algorithms and methods are developed and many of them meets practical, successful applications. Authors of new algorithms draw different inspirations. Probably the most common one is the nature. For example, Artificial Neural Networks were inspired by the structure of human brain and nervous system while the classic Genetic Algorithm...
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Towards Cancer Patients Classification Using Liquid Biopsy
PublicationLiquid biopsy is a useful, minimally invasive diagnostic and monitoring tool for cancer disease. Yet, developing accurate methods, given the potentially large number of input features, and usually small datasets size remains very challenging. Recently, a novel feature parameterization based on the RNA-sequenced platelet data which uses the biological knowledge from the Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes, combined with a classifier...
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Modeling the Structure, Dynamics, and Transformations of Proteins with the UNRES Force Field
PublicationThe physics-based united-residue (UNRES) model of proteins ( www.unres.pl ) has been designed to carry out large-scale simulations of protein folding. The force field has been derived and parameterized based on the principles of statistical-mechanics, which makes it independent of structural databases and applicable to treat nonstandard situations such as, proteins that contain D-amino-acid residues. Powered by Langevin dynamics...
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Influence of configurations of the beds on contaminations removal in hybrid constructed wetlands.
PublicationThree hybrid constructed wetlands in configuration HF-VF-HF in Poland and one with another configuration VF-HF-Pond in Gremany were analysed. These hybrid constructed wetlands provide the second stage biological treatment. They are located in Pommerania region, in Sarbsk, Wiklino and Wieszyno, and their capacities are 29.7, 18.6 and 24.5 m3/day, respectively. The analysed system in Germany in Waizenfeld (Gemeinde Pommelsbrunn,...
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Evolution of artificial single-cell organisms foraging for resources in a 3-dimensional environment
PublicationForaging for resources is a simple cognitive task that even one-celled biological organisms can ac- complish. We present an Artificial Life system in which artificial unicellular organisms (animats) forage for food in a 3-dimensional simulated liquid environment. The movement of animats is controlled by evolving artificial gene regulatory networks encoded in linear genomes. When an animat consumes enough food, it produces offspring...
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Influence of nitrogen and organic matter fractions on wastewater treatment in treatment wetland
PublicationMunicipal wastewater contains both biodegradable and non-degradable pollutants. Moreover, they are present in dissolved, colloidal and particulate forms. These fractions are characterised by various decomposition rates, hence their bioavailability during microbial respiration. It was confirm that biological degradation rate in terms of COD reduction is influenced by particle size speciation. Therefore, the objective of the study...