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Search results for: DEGRADATION MECHANISMS
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Threat intelligence platform for the energy sector
PublicationIn recent years, critical infrastructures and power systems in particular have been subjected to sophisticated cyberthreats, including targeted attacks and advanced persistent threats. A promising response to this challenging situation is building up enhanced threat intelligence that interlinks information sharing and fine-grained situation awareness. In this paper a framework which integrates all levels of threat intelligence...
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Hold-Up Problems in International Gas Trade: A Case Study
PublicationThe infrastructure required for international natural gas trade is considerable, which often leads to hold-up problems and supply disruptions. This study discusses disruptions of gas supply from Algeria, Indonesia, Russia, and Turkmenistan since the early 1980s. The novelty of this study is its focus on the issues related to transit countries, which are rarely considered in the literature. The results of the study classify supply...
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Correlation between Fractal Dimension and Areal Surface Parameters for Fracture Analysis after Bending-Torsion Fatigue
PublicationThis paper investigates the fracture surface topography of two steel and aluminum alloys subject to bending-torsion fatigue loadings, as well as their susceptibility to fatigue performance and failure mechanisms. Using fracture surface topography data analysis, elements with different geometries were elaborated. A correlation between the fractal dimension, other selected parameters of surface topography such as areal Sx, and...
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Role of the Synergistic Interactions of Environmental Pollutants in the Development of Cancer
PublicationThere is a growing awareness that the large number of environmental pollutants we are exposed to on a daily basis are causing major health problems. Compared to traditional studies that focus on individual pollutants, there are relatively few studies on how pollutants mixtures interact. Several studies have reported a relationship between environmental pollutants and the development of cancer, even when pollutant levels are below...
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Hopping or Tunneling? Tailoring the Electron Transport Mechanisms through Hydrogen Bonding Geometry in the Boron-Doped Diamond Molecular Junctions
PublicationMechanisms of charge transport in molecular junctions involving hydrogen bonds are complex and remain mostly unclear. This study is focused on the elucidation of the electron transfer in a molecular device consisting of two boron-doped diamond interfaces bound with an aromatic linker and a hydrogen bonding surrogating molecule. The projected local density of states (PLODS) analysis coupled with transmission spectra and current−voltage...
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Organic Vapor Sensing Mechanisms by Large-Area Graphene Back-Gated Field-Effect Transistors under UV Irradiation
PublicationThe gas sensing properties of graphene back-gated field-effect transistor (GFET) sensors toward acetonitrile, tetrahydrofuran, and chloroform vapors were investigated with the focus on unfolding possible gas detection mechanisms. The FET configuration of the sensor device enabled gate voltage tuning for enhanced measurements of changes in DC electrical characteristics. Electrical measurements were combined with a fluctuation-enhanced...
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Guessing Intrinsic Forwarding Trustworthiness of Wireless Ad Hoc Network Nodes
PublicationA novel node misbehavior detection system called GIFTED is proposed for a multihop wireless ad hoc network (WAHN) whose nodes may selfishly refuse to forward transit packets. The system guesses the nodes’ intrinsic forwarding trustworthiness (IFT) by analyzing end-to-end path performance rather than utilizing unreliable and incentive incompatible low-layer mechanisms. It can work with occasional IFT jumps, directional antennae,...
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Electrochemical simulation of enzymatic transformations studied for the selected antitumor acridine derivatives
PublicationThe elucidation of the metabolic pathways and the biotransformation mechanisms of potential drugs is a crucial point in drug development. It allows to know the activation routes of the new biologically active compounds, especially in respect to their possible toxicity. Generally, in vivo or in vitro experiments with liver microsomes or hepatocytes are performed. However, these testing schemes are tedious, time consuming and of...
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Model tests of cast-in-place piles formed by using different types of auger
PublicationModel tests are still a popular research tool used to observe and determine the mechanisms of pile-soil interaction. Due to the significant scale effect, the results of model tests performed in the 1g system can only be analysed from the qualitative side. This article describes and presents the results of 1g pile model tests carried out for comparative purposes. There were tested the effectiveness and efficiency of various types...
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The Hydrolysis of Slowly Biodegradable Substrate in Activated Sludge
PublicationIn a present work a novel procedure, based on the standard batch tests and pretreatment of wastewater sample with coagulation-flocculation method, was proposed to evaluate the effects of hydrolysis of slowly biodegradable substrate (Xs) on biological nutrient removal (BNR) processes in activated sludge systems. The study was conducted at two large BNR wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs) in northern Poland: "Wschod" in Gdansk and...
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Photoinactivation of Staphylococcus aureus using protoporphyrin IX: the role of haem-regulated transporter HrtA
PublicationLight- and photosensitiser-based antimicrobial photodynamic therapy is a very promising approach to the control of microbial infections. How the phenotypic features of a microorganism affect its response to photosensitiser-based photokilling represents an area of substantial research interest. To understand the mechanisms governing the phenomenon of a strain-dependent response to photodynamic inactivation (PDI), we analysed the...
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Electron mobility variance in semiconductors: the variance approach
PublicationPraca przedstawia nowe podejście da analizy zjawisk losowych w półprzewodnikach. Uwzględnia kilka mechanizmów zjawisk fluktuacji ruchliwości w półprzewodnikach, prowadzących do powstawamai składowej szumów typu 1/f, dominujących w zakresie małych czetotliwości. Przedstawia analizę sposobu wyznaczenia stałej Hooge'a określającej intensywność szumów typu 1/f.The statistical non-triviality of current carrier mobility fluctuations...
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Localization and Orientation of Xanthophylls in a Lipid Bilayer
PublicationXanthophylls (polar carotenoids) play diverse biological roles, among which are modulation of the physical properties of lipid membranes and protection of biomembranes against oxidative damage. Molecular mechanisms underlying these functions are intimately related to the localization and orientation of xanthophyll molecules in lipid membranes. In the present work, we address the problem of localization and orientation of two xanthophylls...
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Distributed correlations and information flows within a hybrid multipartite quantum-classical system
PublicationUnderstanding the non-Markovian mechanisms underlying the revivals of quantum entanglement in the presence of classical environments is central in the theory of quantum information. Tentative interpretations have been given by either the role of the environment as a control device or the concept of hidden entanglement. We address this issue from an information-theoretic point of view. To this aim, we consider a paradigmatic tripartite...
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Modulo N Backoff Scheme for effective QoS differentiation and increased bandwidth utilization in IEEE 802.11 networks
PublicationThe paper presents a new "modulo N" channel access scheme for wireless Local Area Networks (WLANs). The novel solution derives from the Distributed Coordination Function (DCF) of the IEEE 802.11 standard, further elaborated as Enhanced Distribution Channel Access (EDCA) by the 802.11e draft specification. The main innovation concerns improvement of the binary exponential backoff scheme used for collision avoidance in 802.11 networks....
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In-Situ Processing of Biocomposites via Reactive Extrusion
PublicationLaw regulations, economic and environmental factors are the main causes for the rapidly growing interests in biocomposites’ research, conducted currently in a number of academic and industrial scientific centers. However, weak polymer matrix/filler interactions, common in biocomposites, result in unsatisfactory mechanical properties, which limit their practical applications. From many attempts performed to solve this problem, in-situ...
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Silver nanoparticles induce premutagenic DNA oxidation that can be prevented by phytochemicals from Gentiana asclepiadea
PublicationAmong nanomaterials, silver nanoparticles (AgNPs) have the broadest and most commercial applications due to their antibacterial properties, highlighting the need for exploring their potential toxicity and underlying mechanisms of action. Our main aim was to investigate whether AgNPs exert toxicity by inducing oxidative damage to DNA in human kidney HEK 293 cells. In addition, we tested whether this damage could be counteracted...
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Towards automation of IT systems repairs
PublicationMonitoring and repair are two sides of the on-the-fly maintenance of IT systems.Monitoring is well supported by automatic tools. In contrast, repairs involve much higherhuman intervention which negatively affects reliability and efficiency. The paper intro-duces a method of automating repairs of IT systems which can be integrated with any ofthe existing monitoring mechanisms. The method is described as a collection of modelsand...
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The Caucasian flora: a still-to-be-discovered rich source of antioxidants
PublicationCellular redox homeostasis is a state of balance between the formation of Usually Reactive Oxygen and / or Nitrogen Species (ROS/RNS), endogenous antioxidant defence systems, and exogenous dietary antioxidants. The disturbance of redox homeostasis, by the overproduction of endogenous ROS/RNS, may increase the risk of development of so-called civilisation diseases. The solution seems to be either the increased production of endogenous...
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Simultaneous Removal of Hexane and Ethanol from Air in a Biotrickling Filter—Process Performance and Monitoring Using Electronic Nose
PublicationBiofiltration is a well-accepted method for the removal of malodorous compounds from air streams. Interestingly, the mechanisms underlying this process are not fully understood. The aim of this paper was to investigate the simultaneous removal of hydrophobic hexane with hydrophilic ethanol, resulting in the enhanced removal of hexane in the presence of ethanol. Investigations were performed in a peat-perlite packed biotrickling...
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Systematic Water Uptake Energetics of Yttrium-Doped Barium Zirconate—A High Resolution Thermochemical Study
PublicationA combination of surface area analyzer and microcalorimetry was employed to investigate the in situ water uptake energetics and the mechanism of proton incorporation in yttrium-doped barium zirconate in the temperature range 200–400 °C. The BaZr1–xYxO3 solid solutions are made with variable yttrium content (x = 10, 20, and 30 mol %) by a controlled oxidant-peroxo synthesis method. The water uptake increases as the partial pressure...
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Towards Greater Citizen Participation in Financing Public Cultural Institutions—Legal Barriers and Proposed Solutions
PublicationThe paper contains a conceptual proposal that aims at indicating new models of participatory financing of cultural institutions as well as actions towards supporting culture. It presents results of a qualitative study in the form of action research, on identifying legal barriers of financing of cultural institutions in Poland. Additionally, it presents practical suggestions to the encountered problems that were worked out after...
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Failure mode prediction for composite structural insulated panels with MgO board facings
PublicationSandwich panels are readily used in civil engineering due to their high strength to weight ratio and the ease and speed of assembly. The idea of a sandwich section is to combine thin and durable facings with a light-weight core and the choice of materials used allows obtaining the desired behaviour. Panels in consideration consist of MgO (magnesium oxide) board facings and expanded polystyrene core and are characterized by immunity...
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Model-Based Evaluation of N2O Production Pathways in the Anammox-Enriched Granular Sludge Cultivated in a Sequencing Batch Reactor
PublicationA mechanistic model was developed as an extension of the Activated Sludge Model No. 1 to describe three nitrous oxide (N2O) production pathways in a laboratory-scale anammox-enriched granular sequencing batch reactor. Heterotrophic denitrification and two processes mediated by ammonia oxidizing bacteria (AOB), that is, ammonia (NH4+) oxidation via hydroxylamine (NH2OH) and autotrophic denitrification, were considered. A systematic...
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Modelling of the Polish Electricity Generation Subsystem in MARKAL Program with Emphasis on the EU Emissions Trading Scheme
PublicationThis paper addresses issues related to greenhouse gas emissions in the European Union and measures to reduce them, in particular the European Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). A model of the Polish electricity generation subsystem, taking into account EU ETS mechanisms, has been developed using the MARKAL optimization package. Data collected on the basis of available projects, regulations and statistics were entered into the model....
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Fatigue Bending of V-Notched Cold-Sprayed FeCoCrNiMn Coatings
PublicationCold-spray coatings were produced by FeCoCrNiMn high-entropy alloy powders deposited on carbon steel substrate. The coatings were realized at intermediate temperature and high pressure (at 1100 °C and 7 MPa). The coating microstructure was characterized by scanning electron microscopy and X-ray diffraction, revealing a very dense deposition and high flattening ratio of the splatted particles. This had a large influence on the...
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Duhem and Natanson: Two Mathematical Approaches to Thermodynamics
PublicationIn this article, the previously unrecognized contributions of Pierre Duhem and Ladislavus Natanson in thermodynamics are shown. The mathematical remodelling of a few of their principal ideas is taken into consideration, despite being neglected in the literature. To emphasize these ideas in an appropriate epistemological order, it would be crucial to first revalue and reconstruct some underrepresented parts of the proceedings process...
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Optical flow method for measuring deformation of soil specimen subjected to torsional shearing
PublicationIn this study optical flow method was used for soil small deformation measurement in laboratory tests. The main objective was to observe how the deformation distributes along the whole height of cylindrical soil specimen subjected to torsional shearing (TS test). The experiments were conducted on dry non-cohesive soil specimens under two values of isotropic pressure. Specimens were loaded with low-amplitude cyclic torque to analyze...
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Light intensity analysis of photovoltaic parameters for perovskite solar cells
PublicationThe number of publications on perovskite solar cells (PSC) continues to grow exponentially. Although the efficiency of PSC is exceeded 25.5%, not every research laboratory can reproduce this result or even pass the border of 20%. Unfortunately, it is not always clear which dominating mechanism is responsible for the performance drop. Here, we develop a simple method of light intensity analysis of JV parameters allowing the understanding...
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A Survey of Vehicular Network Systems for Road Traffic Management
PublicationIn this survey, we analyze the proposals of vehicular communication systems in the context of road traffic management. Starting with the definition of communications between vehicles (V2V), vehicles-to-infrastructure (V2I) and vehicles-to-everything (V2X), we first focus on the requirements and current standards for the Intelligent Transport Systems (ITS), including the maximum communication delay, the communication range and the...
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Ammonia amendment promotes high rate lactate production and recovery from semi-continuous food waste fermentation
PublicationIn this study, a reliable approach using ammonia nitrogen was proposed to increase lactate production during semi-continuous food waste (FW) fermentation under mesophilic conditions. Both free ammonia nitrogen (FAN) and ammonium ion (NH4+-N) were present in mesophilic reactors, with a wide FAN/NH4+-N ratio variation due to the intermittent pH control. The investigation of responsible mechanisms revealed that the increased production...
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A Review of Recent Advances in Human-Motion Energy Harvesting Nanogenerators, Self-Powering Smart Sensors and Self-Charging Electronics
PublicationIn recent years, portable and wearable personal electronic devices have rapidly developed with increasing mass production and rising energy consumption, creating an energy crisis. Using batteries and supercapacitors with limited lifespans and environmental hazards drives the need to find new, environmentally friendly, and renewable sources. One idea is to harness the energy of human motion and convert it into electrical energy...
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Environmental exposure to cadmium in breast cancer – association with the Warburg effect and sensitivity to tamoxifen
PublicationThe association between cadmium and breast cancer remains unexplained due to inconsistent epidemiological data and unknown underlying mechanisms. This study aimed to assess the relationship between environmental exposure to cadmium and the Warburg effect in breast cancer and, thus, its possible interference with breast cancer treatment. The observational study in two groups of breast cancer patients indicated a positive correlation between...
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Missing Puzzle Pieces in Dementia Research: HCN Channels and Theta Oscillations
PublicationIncreasing evidence indicates a role of hyperpolarization activated cation (HCN) channels in controlling the resting membrane potential, pacemaker activity, memory formation, sleep, and arousal. Their disfunction may be associated with the development of epilepsy and age-related memory decline. Neuronal hyperexcitability involved in epileptogenesis and EEG desynchronization occur in the course of dementia in human Alzheimer’s Disease...
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An image processing approach for fatigue crack identification in cellulose acetate replicas
PublicationThe cellulose acetate replication technique is an important method for studying material fatigue. However, extracting accurate information from pictures of cellulose replicas poses challenges because of distortions and numerous artifacts. This paper presents an image processing procedure for effective fatigue crack identification in plastic replicas. The approach employs thresholding, adaptive Gaussian thresholding, and Otsu binarization...
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A hybrid-mesh solution for coverage issues in WiMAX metropolitan area networks.
PublicationThe new WiMAX technology offers several advantages over the currently available (GSM or UMTS-based) solutions. It is a cost effective, evolving, and robust technology providing quality of service guarantees, high reliability, wide coverage and non-line-of-sight (NLOS) transmission capabilities. All these features make it particularly suitable for densely populated urban environments. In this paper we discuss the design and implementation...
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Release of potassium from actvated sludge as a resultof use peroxyacetic acid = Uwalnianie potasu z osadu czynnego pod wpływem kwasu nadoctowego
PublicationThe phenomenon of potassium efflux (GGKE - glutathione-gated potassium efflux) from the calls of activated sludge bacteria in the result of peroxyacetic acid (CH3CO3H) dosing was investigated. Addition of the strong oxidant to the activated sludge environment caused activation of the defense mechanisms of bacterial cells, related to glutathione transformations, which resulted in the significant increase of potassium ions concentration....
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EXPERIENCE-ORIENTED SMART EMBEDDED SYSTEM
PublicationThe Experience-Oriented Smart Embedded System (EOSES) is proposed as a new technological platform providing a common knowledge management approach that allows mass embedded systems for experiential knowledge capturing, storage, involving, and sharing. Knowledge in the EOSES is represented as SOEKS, and organized as Decisional DNA. The platform is mainly based on conceptual principles from Embedded Systems and Knowledge Management....
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Corporate social responsibility in reference to environmental statements within EMAS system in small and medium enterprises
PublicationAccording to the corporate social responsibility concept, organisations should apply any mechanisms available supporting their business actions contributing i.e. to the improvement of natural environment. Among them is EMAS eco-management and audit scheme. The prove of its implementation is environmental statement and entering the organisation into a national EMAS register. The aim of the statement is informing the society and...
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Electronic and ionic relaxations in strontium-borate glass and glass-ceramics containing bismuth and vanadium oxides
PublicationThe topography, microstructure and electrical properties of strontium-borate glass and SBO glass containing bismuth and vanadium oxides, were studied. The structure was measured using X-ray diffraction (XRD), Energy Dispersive X-ray Spectrometer (EDS) and Scanning electron microscope (SEM) methods. The A.C. complex conductivity was investigated as a function of temperature and frequency. The influence of the quantity of bismuth...
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Mathematical modelling of two-step nitrification-denitrification for treatment of sludge digester liquors: influence of nitrite (NO2-N) on the process kinetics
PublicationSeparate treatment of the sludge digester liquors is an alternative for expansion of the mainstream treatment line. In order to reduce the oxygen demand for nitrification and organic carbon demand for denitrification, a shortcut in the nitrogen conversion pathway has been promoted in recent years, i.e. nitrification-denitrification via NO2-N instead of NO3-N. Although NO2-N is a common intermediate product of nitrification and...
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Nanostructure and dielectric behavior of vanadate glasses containing BaTiO3
PublicationThe ac and dc electrical conductivity of barium titanate doped bismuth-vanadate as-quenched and heat-treated materials was measured in the frequency range from 1 mHz to 1 MHz and in the temperature range from 153 K to 423 K with the impedance spectroscopy method. The microstructure was investigated by means of XRD, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), atomic force microscopy (AFM) and confocal microscopy. The obtained results showed...
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An approach to improve the time efficiency of disjoint paths calculation
PublicationFailures of network elements can be appropriately dealt with by utilization of alternate disjoint paths to provide redirection of flows affected by failures of the respective working paths. Known approaches can be broadly divided by decision on backup paths installation into proactive and reactive mechanisms, as well as based on the scope of recovery actions into local and global rerouting. There are several important scenarios...
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Loosely-Tied Distributed Architecture for Highly Scalable E-Learning System
PublicationVast majority of modern e-learning products are based on client-server architecture and utilization of web-based technologies (WBT). Such approach permits easy creation of e-learning systems that do not require a complex, operating system dependant client software. Unfortunately there are also drawbacks of such solution. Because of the majority of mechanisms are located on the server, its usage levels trend to build up quickly...
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Processes of enhancing the intelligence of Learning Organizations on the basis of Competence Centers
PublicationThe process of organizational learning and proper knowledge management became today one of the major challenges for the organization acting in the knowledge-based economy. According to the observations of the authors of this paper the demand for formalization of knowledge management processes and organizational learning is particularly evident in research institutions, established either by the universities, or the companies. The...
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Polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons as test probes to investigate the retention behavior of 1,3-alternate calix[4]arene silica-bonded stationary phases
PublicationA series of polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAHs) of different size and shape has been used to characterize the chromatographic behavior of five calix[4]arene stationary phases in 1,3-alternate conformation synthesized in our laboratory. The selection of linear, fourring nonlinear, and five-ring PAHs gave data on selectivity changes across range of the calix[4]arene columns. Retention of the 12 aromatic solutes has been evaluated...
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Observation of the Hydrogen Migration in the Cation-Induced Fragmentation of the Pyridine Molecules
PublicationThe ability to selectively control chemical reactions related to biology, combustion, and catalysis has recently attracted much attention. In particular, the hydrogen atom relocation may be used to manipulate bond-breaking and new bond-forming processes and may hold promise for far-reaching applications. Thus, the hydrogen atom migration preceding fragmentation of the gas-phase pyridine molecules by the H+, H2+, He+, He2+, and...
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Analysis of the impact of AOP on source code quality: Paradox of aspect-oriented separation of concerns
PublicationAlmost four decades ago, Parnas advocated modularity for the sake of changeability, independent development, and comprehensibility. The recipe for modularization is to define a clean interface, hide an implementation detail, keep low coupling and high cohesion. Although modules have taken many forms over the years from functions and procedures to classes, no form has been capable of expressing so-called crosscutting concerns in...
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Educational and cognitive aspects of adaptation of nonuse spaces in monumental sacral objects.
PublicationThe area of attics and towers in historic churches in Europe are yet quite inaccessible places for visitors, shrouded in the atmosphere of mysticism, hiding many secrets. Introduction of the new public function into the non-used zones of the monumental sacral objects has many aspects including educational and cognitive ones which are discussed in the following article. The article indicates items that can be found in the zone above...
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Effects of Salvia officinalis and Thymus vulgaris on oxidant-induced DNA damage and antioxidant status in HepG2 cells
PublicationSalvia officinalis (SO) and Thymus vulgaris (TV) are medicinal plants well known for their curative powers. However, the molecular mechanisms responsible for these abilities of sage and thyme have not been fully understood yet. In this study we investigated the composition and the quantitative estimation of plant extracts, the protective effects of plant extracts against hydrogen peroxide- and 2,3-dimethoxy-1,4 naphthoquinone-induced...