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Highly effective asphaltene-derived adsorbents for gas phase removal of volatile organic compounds
PublicationA novel nitrated asphaltene-derived adsorbent (Asf-Nitro) was prepared using facile isolation and modification procedures. The successful modification was confirmed by Fourier-transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR). The nitrated adsorbent was evaluated in terms of dispersive and specific interactions, Lewis acid-base properties and adsorption isotherms by means of inverse gas chromatography (IGC). Nitration was found to be extremely...
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α-Pinene, 3-carene and d-limonene in indoor air of Polish apartments: The impact on air quality and human exposure
PublicationMonoterpenes are among most ubiquitous volatile organic compounds (VOCs) to be detected in indoor air. Since the quality of indoor air is considered important for inhabitants' well-being, the present study aimed at investigating impact of human activity on levels of selected monoterpenes applying passive sampling technique followed by thermal desorption and gas chromatography coupled mass spectrometry. One of the objectives of...
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A CNN based coronavirus disease prediction system for chest X-rays
PublicationCoronavirus disease (COVID-19) proliferated globally in early 2020, causing existential dread in the whole world. Radiography is crucial in the clinical staging and diagnosis of COVID-19 and offers high potential to improve healthcare plans for tackling the pandemic. However high variations in infection characteristics and low contrast between normal and infected regions pose great challenges in preparing radiological reports....
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An optimal designed experiment for the alkaline hydrolysis of feather keratin
PublicationFeathers, burdensome waste from the poultry industry, can be a cheap source of keratin, a protein with excellent physico- chemical, biological, and mechanical properties. Acid and alkaline hydrolyses are usually adopted for isolation of keratin from its natural resources. This study aimed at assessing the statistically significant effect of input variables in the alkaline hydrolysis of keratin from chicken feathers on the process...
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Ground Tire Rubber Filled Flexible Polyurethane Foam—Effect of Waste Rubber Treatment on Composite Performance
PublicationThe application range of flexible polyurethane (PU) foams is comprehensive because of their versatility and flexibility in adjusting structure and performance. In addition to the investigations associated with further broadening of their potential properties, researchers are looking for new raw materials, beneficially originated from renewable resources or recycling. A great example of such a material is ground tire rubber (GTR)—the...
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Trees as a Shading System for Streets on the East–West Axis: Computer Simulations for the Selected Geometrical Proportions of Building Developments in Humid Continental Climate
PublicationThe study is aimed at investigating the possibilities for solar protection provided to the street canyon located on the E–W axis and with the following profiles: shallow (height/width (H/W) = 0.2, 0.6, and 1) and deep (H/W = 2) by two rows of trees located at a distance of 3 m away from southern and northern façades. The research was based on numerical simulation analyses conducted in the Rhinoceros® program, with the application...
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Mutual Coupling Reduction in Antenna Arrays Using Artificial Intelligence Approach and Inverse Neural Network Surrogates
PublicationThis paper presents a novel approach to reduce undesirable coupling in antenna arrays using custom-designed resonators and inverse surrogate modeling. To illustrate the concept, two stand-ard patch antenna cells with 0.07λ edge-to-edge distance are designed and fabricated to operate at 2.45 GHz. A stepped-impedance resonator is applied between the antennas to suppress their mutual coupling. For the first time, the optimum values...
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Xanthone synthetic derivatives with high anticandidal activity and positive mycostatic selectivity index values
PublicationWith the current massive increases in drug-resistant microbial infection as well as the significant role of fungal infections in the death toll of COVID-19, discovering new antifungals is extremely important. Natural and synthetic xanthones are promising derivatives, although only few reports have demonstrated their antifungal mechanism of action in detail. Newly synthetized by us xanthone derivative 44 exhibited strong antifungal...
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Powikłania po rekonstrukcji piersi: problem zakażeń i strategii prewencyjnej - przegląd literaturowy
PublicationW niniejszej pracy przedstawiono dane dotyczące powikłań po rekonstrukcji piersi. Manuskrypt ma na celu usystematyzowanie wyników badań z ostatnich lat wraz z aspektami, takimi jak: częstotliwość występowania powikłań oraz ich rodzaj, czynniki predysponujące, a także możliwości profilaktyki. Przeanalizowano dane literaturowe z ogólnie dostępnych artykułów z okresu ostatnich pięciu lat, ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem zakażeń. Do...
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Implementing artificial intelligence in forecasting the risk of personal bankruptcies in Poland and Taiwan
PublicationResearch background: The global financial crisis from 2007 to 2012, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the current war in Ukraine have dramatically increased the risk of consumer bankruptcies worldwide. All three crises negatively impact the financial situation of households due to increased interest rates, inflation rates, volatile exchange rates, and other significant macroeconomic factors. Financial difficulties may arise when the...
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Analysis of antibiotic resistance in Escherichia coli isolated from the Reda River and the Oliwski Stream using basic statistical methods = Zastosowanie metod ststystycznych do analizy antybiotykoodporności bakterii wskaźnikowych pochodzących z rzeki Redy i Potoku Oliwskiego
PublicationIn this study distribution of antimicrobial resistance patterns among fecal indicator bacteria (Escherichia coli and Enterococcus spp.) was examined in two watercourses. The susceptibility analyses were carried out against the antimicrobial agents, important in treating human E. coli and enterococcal infection. Water samples were obtained from the Oliwski Stream and from the Reda River. On each watercourse the five representative...
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Detection of the Plant Pathogen Pseudomonas Syringae pv. Lachrymans on Antibody-Modified Gold Electrodes by Electrochemical Impedance Spectroscopy
PublicationThe present work describes an impedimetric immunosensor for Pseudomonas syringae pv. lachrymans (Psl) detection. This pathogen infects many crop species causing considerable yield losses, thus fast and cheap detection method is in high demand. In the assay, the gold disc electrode was modified with 4-aminothiophenol (4-ATP), glutaraldehyde (GA), and anti-Psl antibodies, and free-sites were blocked with bovine serum albumin (BSA)....
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Green aspects, developments and perspectives of liquid phase microextraction techniques
PublicationDetermination of analytes at trace levels in complex samples (e.g. biological or contaminated water or soils) are often required for the environmental assessment and monitoring as well as for scientific research in the field of environmental pollution. A limited number of analytical techniques are sensitive enough for the direct determination of trace components in samples and, because of that, a preliminary step of the analyte...
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Leukemia and risk of recurrent Escherichia coli bacteremia: genotyping implicates E. coli translocation from the colon to the bloodstream.
PublicationIn patients with leukemia, the portal(s) and reasons for the persistence of an Escherichia coli recurrent bacteremia remain unclear. Adult Hematology Clinic (AHC) databases at the State Clinical Hospital in Gdańsk were reviewed to evaluate the frequency of E. coli bacteremia between 2002 and 2005. Blood and bowel E. coli strains were obtained and the genetic relatedness of the strains was analyzed. The rate of E. coli bacteremia...
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On Software Unit Testing For Security and Performance Gain At Unit Level
PublicationPerformance and security are software (SW) application attributes situated on the opposite corners of system design. In the most drastic example the most secure component is the one totally isolated from the outside world, with communication performance reduced to zero level (e.g. disconnected physically from the network, placed inside a Faraday cage to eliminate possible wireless accessibility). On the other hand the most performance-optimized...
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On Software Unit Testing For Improving Security And Performance Of Distributed Applications
PublicationPerformance and security are software (SW) application attributes situated on the opposite corners of system design. In the most drastic example the most secure component is the one totally isolated from the outside world, with communication performance reduced to zero level (e.g. disconnected physically from the network, placed inside a Faraday cage to eliminate possible wireless accessibility). On the other hand the most performance-optimized...
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Clinical studies of detecting COVID-19 from exhaled breath with electronic nose
PublicationThe COVID‑19 pandemic has attracted numerous research studies because of its impact on society and the economy. The pandemic has led to progress in the development of diagnostic methods, utilizing the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) as the gold standard for coronavirus SARS‑CoV‑2 detection. Numerous tests can be used at home within 15 min or so but of with lower accuracy than PCR. There is still a need for point‑of‑care tests available...
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SUPPORT FOR OLDER ADULTS DURING COVID19 PANDEMIC – HOW DID LOCAL AUTHORITIES IN THE POMERANIAN REGION RESPOND TO THE CHALLENGE?
PublicationThe COVID-19 pandemic, apart from health threats, has shown the problem of older adults’ social isolation and loneliness in aging societies that has been progressing for several decades. Older adults’ singularisation, loosening family relations, diminishing families’ caring potential, caused that during the lockdown, many older adults – without the neighbours’ or NGOs’ support or the activities undertaken by local authorities –...
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The Toolbox of Methods for Multidirectional Characterization of Dietary Nucleic Acids; Verification for Raw and Processed Food Products
PublicationCurrently, the nutritional value of food is associated mainly with components such as proteins, carbohydrates, and lipids. However, another important macromolecules present in many foods are dietary nucleic acids (dietNA), i.e., DNA as well as both coding and non-coding RNAs. In the context of food chemistry and nutrition, dietNA are nowadays vastly neglected. In consequence, there are no dedicated methodologies to characterize...
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Mechanical exfoliation and layer number identification of single crystal monoclinic CrCl3
PublicationAfter the recent finding that CrI3, displays ferromagnetic order down to its monolayer, extensive studies have followed to pursue new two-dimensional (2D) magnetic materials. In this article, we report on the growth of single crystal CrCl3 in the layered monoclinic phase. The system after mechanical exfoliation exhibits stability in ambient air (the degradation occurs on a time scale at least four orders of magnitude longer than...
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Regulation of the First Committed Step in Lipopolysaccharide Biosynthesis Catalyzed by LpxC Requires the Essential Protein LapC (YejM) and HslVU Protease
PublicationWe previously showed that lipopolysaccharide (LPS) assembly requires the essential LapB protein to regulate FtsH-mediated proteolysis of LpxC protein that catalyzes the first committed step in the LPS synthesis. To further understand the essential function of LapB and its role in LpxC turnover, multicopy suppressors of ΔlapB revealed that overproduction of HslV protease subunit prevents its lethality by proteolytic degradation...
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Asfalteny jako fazy stacjonarne w chromatografii cieczowej w normalnych układach faz
PublicationRozprawa doktorska dotyczy zbadania możliwości wykorzystania asfaltenów wydzielonych z: próżniowej pozostałości ropy naftowej, produktów jej utleniania i naturalnego asfaltu jako fazy stacjonarnej na powierzchni sorpcyjnej żelu krzemionkowego do rozdzielania nisko polarnych organicznych związków chemicznych w warunkach chromatografii cieczowej w normalnych układach faz, w odniesieniu do żelu krzemionkowego jako nośnika. Opracowano...
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Occurrence of antimicrobial resistant bacteria in environment and the statistical analysis of this phenomenon
PublicationIntroduction: In this study the occurrence of antimicrobial resistance patterns among fecal indicators (Escherichia coli and Enterococcus spp.) was analyzed in water and wastewater samples. The trends in antimicrobial resistance were analyzed using basic statistical methods. Methods: Samples were obtained from two local watercourses (Oliwski Stream and Reda River) as well as from the wastewater treatment plant (WWTP) Gdansk - Wschod....
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Peptidoglycan hydrolases - potential weapons against Staphylococcus aureus
PublicationBacteria of the genus Staphylococcus are common pathogens responsible for a broad spectrum of human and animal infections and belong to most important etiological factors causing food poisoning. Because of rapid increase in prevalence of isolation of staphylococci resistant to many antibiotics, there is an urgent need for development of new alternative chemotherapeutics. A number of studies have recently demonstrated the strong...
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A new B-D-galactosidase with a low temperature optimum isolated from the Antarctic Arthrobacter sp. 20B: gene cloning, purification and characterization.
PublicationA psychrotrophic bacterium producing a coldadaptedB-galactosidase upon growth at low temperatureswas classiWed as Arthrobacter sp. 20B. A genomic DNAlibrary of strain 20B introduced into Escherichia coliTOP10F' and screening on X-Gal (5-bromo-4-chloro-3-indolyl-B-D-galactopyranoside)-containing agar plates ledto the isolation of B-galactosidase gene. The B-galactosidasegene (bgaS) encoding a protein of 1,053 amino acids,with a...
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Soil contamination with geohelminths in children’s play areas in Szczecin, Poland
PublicationThe presence of invasive forms of parasites in the soil represents a potential threat to public health, especially for children. The aim of the study was to determine the degree of contamination with geohelminth eggs of soil samples collected from sandpits and playgrounds in the Szczecin area. The findings showed overall prevalence of soil samples contaminated with geohelminth eggs in the soil and sand...
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Photochemical and thermal reaction of intermediates in the phenylnitrene rearangment inside a hemicarcerand
PublicationBroadband irradiation (λ > 320 nm) of hemicarceplex H1 between −74 °C and −84 °C, produces encapsulated didehydroazepine (2), triplet phenylnitrene (3PN), 2-azabicyclo[3.2.0]hepta-1,3,6-triene (6), and 4-azaspiro[2.4]hepta-1,4,6-triene (7). The highly strained anti-Bredt imine 6 is formed from 2 via a photochemical four-electron electrocyclization. Under the irradiation conditions, 6 rearranges further to azaspirene 7. In addition,...
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Dual Active Bridge (DAB) DC-DC converter for multilevel propulsion converters for electrical multiple units (EMU)
PublicationSemiconductor power devices made from silicon carbide (SiC) reached a level of technology enabling their widespread use in power converters. Two different approaches to implementation of modern traction converters in electric multiple units (EMU) have been presented in recent years: (i) 3.3-kV SiC MOSFET-based three-level PWM inverter with regenerative braking and (ii) 6.5-kV IGBT-based four-quadrant power electronic traction transformer...
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Novel fast analytical method for indirect determination of MCPD fatty acid esters in edible oils and fats based on simultaneous extraction and derivatization
PublicationA novel method for indirect determination of MCPD esters levels in lipid samples has been developed. The method is based on combination of extraction and derivatisation in the same sample preparation step. It is achieved by the application of diethyl ether as extraction solvent for isolation of released from esterified forms analytes from water phase and dilution solvent for solid PBA – derivatisation agent. It is a noteworthy...
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Inhibiting activity of HIV-1: protease, reverse transcriptase and integrase all together by novel compounds using computational approaches (flexible and rigid docking)
PublicationAcquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS), caused by human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) infection, is one of the most challenging diseases in recent decades. Nevertheless the shortcomings of chemical drugs such as toxicity, lack of curative effects, the search for more potent anti-HIV agents have been focused in our study. In current study, novel scaffold was designed having a benzyl and imidazole in it which are very...
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Recent developments and future trends in solid phase microextraction techniques towards green analytical chemistry
PublicationSolid phase microextraction find increasing applications in the sample preparation step before chromatographic determination of analytes in samples with a complex composition. These techniques allow for integrating several operations, such as sample collection, extraction, analyte enrichment above the detection limit of a given measuring instrument and the isolation of analytes from sample matrix. In this work the information about...
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Role of Fungi in Biodegradation of Imidazolium Ionic Liquids by Activated Sewage Sludge
PublicationIonic liquids (ILs), due to their specific properties, can play the role of persistent water contaminants. Fungi manifest the ability to decompose hardy degradable compounds, showing potential in the biodegradation of ILs, which has been studied extensively on sewage sludge; however, attention was drawn mainly to bacterial and not fungal species. The aim of the research was to determine the significance of fungi in ILs’ biodegradation...
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The chemistry of river–lake systems in the context of permafrost occurrence (Mongolia, Valley of the Lakes). Part I. Analysis of ion and trace metal concentrations
PublicationThis study provides a description of water chemistry in river–lake systems located in central Mongolia, at the borderline of permafrost occurrence. The analysis involved water samples collected from two river–lake systems: Baydrag River–Böön Tsagaan Lake system, and Shargalyuut/Tuyn Rivers–Orog Lake system. In the water samples, ions and trace elements were detected and quantified. Additionally, the parameters of pH, electrical...
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Seasonal Patterns and Trends in Dermatoses in Poland
PublicationThe amount of data available online is constantly increasing, including search behavior and tracking trends in domains such as Google. Analyzing the data helps to predict patient needs and epidemiological events more accurately. Our study aimed to identify dermatology-related terms that occur seasonally and any search anomalies during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic. Methods: The data were gathered using Google Trends, with 69 entries...
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The Effectiveness of Rubber Bumpers in Reducing the Effects of Earthquake-Induced Pounding between Base-Isolated Buildings
PublicationTh e methods for preventing earthquake-induced structural pounding between two adjacent buildings include ensuring a sufficient separation distance between them or decreasing their relative displacement during seismic excitation. Some equations or even specific values of such gap sizes between two buildings have been introduced so as to avoid collisions. Increasing the stiffness of buildings, using tuned mass dampers, applying...
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Thermoplastic starch nanocomposites using cellulose-rich Chrysopogon zizanioides nanofibers
PublicationGreen thermoplastic starch (TPS) nanocomposite films aided by cellulose nanofibers (CNFs) from Chrysopogon zizanioides roots were developed and characterized. When compared to other lignocellulosic fibers, Chrysopogon zizanioides roots revealed exceptionally high cellulose content (~48%). CNFs were separated using an environmentally friendly acid isolation technique that included three stages: (i) alkali treatment; (ii) bleaching;...
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Properties of an innovative multi-functional finish for the improvement of indoor air quality
PublicationDue to lifestyle changes, people spend most of their time indoors at present; thus, Indoor Air Quality (IAQ) is a matter of utmost importance. Multi-functional and innovative finishes can help to passively improve the IAQ, benefitting the health and comfort of occupants. For this study, reference and pre-mixed commercial mortars are compared to a new multi-functional hydraulic lime mortar for indoor finishes, in which conventional...
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Możliwości zastosowań, potencjalne źródła oraz ewolucja technologiczna sposobu otrzymywania trehalozy ze szczególnym uwzględnieniem enzymu syntazy trehalozy [EC 5.4.99.16]
PublicationJedna z wiodących gałęzi współczesnej biotechnologii opiera się na produkcji białek – przede wszystkim enzymów. Są one powszechnie wykorzystywane: od przemysłu chemicznego poprzez przemysł spożywczy aż po medycynę i życie codzienne (czy ktoś wyobraża sobie w dzisiejszych czasach proszek do prania „bez enzymu”). Przed rozwojem nowoczesnych metod biologii molekularnej i inżynierii genetycznej pozyskiwano interesujące substancje z...
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Nadmiarowe zgony podczas pandemii COVID-19 w Polsce i ocena skuteczności szczepień
PublicationZ powodu pandemii COVID-19 zmarły miliony ludzi na całym świecie. Jak wynika z wielu badań, szczepienia przeciw chorobie wywołanej wirusem SARS-CoV-2 okazały się środ-kiem ograniczającym skalę zachorowań i liczbę zgonów. Celem badania omawianego w artyku-le jest pomiar skali pandemii w Polsce za pomocą liczby nadmiarowych zgonów w podregio-nach według klasyfikacji NUTS 3 i w grupach wieku, a następnie określenie zależności pomiędzy...
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Determination of high-intensity sweeteners in beverages by high-performance liquid chromatography with mass spectrometry detection.
PublicationThe objective of the present study was to measure the concentration of nine high intensity sweeteners (acesulfame-K, aspartame, alitame, cyclamate, dulcin, neohesperidin dihydrochalcon, neotame, saccharin and sucralose) in different types of beverages available on the polish market. The proposed methodology reported here consists of a extraction with buffer composed of formic acid and N,N-diisopropylethylamine (pH 4.5) followed...
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Phenotypic consequences of the LYS4 gene disruption in Candida albicans
PublicationThe main scientific purpose of our studies was to verify the hypothesis that homoaconitase (HA) from Candida albicans, an enzyme catalyzing a second step of the α-aminoadipate pathway (AAP) of L-Lys biosynthesis may become a new target for antifungal chemotherapy. Previous studies indicated that the A. fumigatus mutant lacking the functional lysF gene, encoding HA, exhibited attenuated virulence in a low-dose mouse infection model...
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The development of an indirect ELISA for the detection of goose parvovirus antibodies using specific VP3 subunits as the coating antigen
PublicationIn Poland, the leader in goose production in Europe, goose parovirus infection, or Derzsy’s disease (DD), must be reported to the veterinary administration due to the serious economic and epizootic threat to waterfowl production. Prophylactic treatment for DD includes attenuated live or inactivated vaccines. Moreover, the control of DD includes the monitoring of maternal derived antibody (MDA) levels in the offspring and antibody...
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Low-cost multiband compact branch-line coupler design using response features and automated EM model fidelity adjustment
PublicationDesign closure of compact microwave components is a challenging problem because of significant electromagnetic (EM) cross-couplings in densely arranged layouts. A separate issue is a large number of designable parameters resulting from replacement of conventional transmission line sections by compact microstrip resonant cells. This increases complexity of the design optimization problem and requires employment of expensive high-fidelity...
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Integration and verification of meteorological observations and NWP model data for the local GNSS tomography
PublicationGNSS meteorology applies the Global Navigation Satellite Systems (GNSS) to derive information about the state of the atmosphere (particularly troposphere). The tomography is one of the methods used in GNSS meteorology. The input data of GNSS tomography are the signal troposphere delays, results of GNSS data processing and additionally meteorological observations and Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) models data. Different types...
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The influence of crude glycerol and castor oil-based polyol on the structure and performance of rigid polyurethane-polyisocyanurate foams
PublicationIn this work, biopolyol obtained from two types of industrial crops’ processing products: crude glycerol and castor oil was used for preparation or rigid polyurethane-polyisocyanurate foams. Bio-based polyol was obtained via crude glycerol polymerization and further condensation of resulting polyglycerol with castor oil. Rigid polyurethane-polyisocyanurate foams were prepared at partial substitution (0–70 wt.%) of petrochemical...
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Novel Nystatin A1 derivatives exhibiting low host cell toxicity and antifungal activity in an in vitro model of oral candidosis
PublicationOpportunistic oral infections caused by Candida albicans are frequent problems in immunocompromised patients. Management of such infections is limited due to the low number of antifungal drugs available, their relatively high toxicity and the emergence of antifungal resistance. Given these issues, our investigations have focused on novel derivatives of the antifungal antibiotic Nystatin A1, generated by modifications at the amino...
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Fire-Retardant Flexible Foamed Polyurethane (PU)-Based Composites: Armed and Charmed Ground Tire Rubber (GTR) Particles
PublicationInadequate fire resistance of polymers raises questions about their advanced applications. Flexible polyurethane (PU) foams have myriad applications but inherently suffer from very high flammability. Because of the dependency of the ultimate properties (mechanical and damping performance) of PU foams on their cellular structure, reinforcement of PU with additives brings about further concerns. Though they are highly flammable and...
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Two-phase optimizing approach to design assessments of long distance heat transportation for CHP systems
PublicationCogeneration or Combined Heat and Power (CHP) for power plants is a method of putting to use waste heat which would be otherwise released to the environment. This allows the increase in thermodynamic efficiency of the plant and can be a source of environmental friendly heat for District Heating (DH). In the paper CHP for Nuclear Power Plant (NPP) is analyzed with the focus on heat transportation. A method for effectivity and feasibility...
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Comprehensive Enhancement of Prepolymer-Based Flexible Polyurethane Foams’ Performance by Introduction of Cost-Effective Waste-Based Ground Tire Rubber Particles
PublicationMaterial innovations in polyurethane (PU) foams should ideally combine performance enhancement, environmental impact limitation, and cost reduction. These goals can be achieved by applying recycled or waste-based materials without broader industrial applications, implicating their low price. Herein, from 5 to 20 parts by weight of ground tire rubber (GTR) particles originated from the recycling of postconsumer car tires were incorporated...
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Comprehensive Investigation of Stoichiometry–Structure–Performance Relationships in Flexible Polyurethane Foams
PublicationPolyurethane (PU) foams are versatile materials with a broad application range. Their performance is driven by the stoichiometry of polymerization reaction, which has been investigated in several works. However, the analysis was often limited only to selected properties and compared samples differing in apparent density, significantly influencing their performance. In the bigger picture, there is still a lack of comprehensive studies...