Search results for: DAYLIGHTING METRICS
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Geometric analogue of holographic reduced representation
PublicationHolographic reduced representations (HRRs) are distributed representations of cognitive structuresbased on superpositions of convolution-bound n-tuples. Restricting HRRs to n-tuples consisting of 1,one reinterprets the variable binding as a representation of the additive group of binary n-tupleswith addition modulo 2. Since convolutions are not defined for vectors, the HRRs cannot be directlyassociated with geometric structures....
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New Trends in Sample Preparation Techniques for the Analysis of the Residues of Pharmaceuticals in Environmental Samples
PublicationPharmaceutical residues in the environment is a field of special interest due to the adverse effects to either human health or aquatic and soil environment. Pharmaceuticals have been already detected in underground, surface and wastewaters, soils, manure and sediments. The growing awareness of environmental pollution arising from human activity forces the need for their comprehensive determination. Environmental samples are complex...
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Tuning a Hybrid GPU-CPU V-Cycle Multilevel Preconditioner for Solving Large Real and Complex Systems of FEM Equations
PublicationThis letter presents techniques for tuning an accelerated preconditioned conjugate gradient solver with a multilevel preconditioner. The solver is optimized for a fast solution of sparse systems of equations arising in computational electromagnetics in a finite element method using higher-order elements. The goal of the tuning is to increase the throughput while at the same time reducing the memory requirements in order to allow...
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A framework for risk matrix design: A case of MASS navigation risk
PublicationRisk matrix, a tool for visualizing risk assessment results, is essential to facilitate the risk communication and risk management in risk-based decision-making processes related to new and unexplored socio-technical systems. The use of an appropriate risk matrix is discussed in the literature, but it is overlooked for emerging technologies such as Maritime Autonomous Surface Ships (MASS). In this study, a comprehensive framework...
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Recycling of Waste Rubber by Thermo-Mechanical Treatment in a Twin-Screw Extruder
PublicationRecycling of waste tires is a significant issue considering both environmental and economic aspects. One of the leading recycling routes is the shredding of tires resulting in the generation of ground tire rubber. This material can be easily introduced into various polymer matrices as a filler, reducing the use of conventionally applied petroleum-based materials. In such cases, it is essential to ensure sufficient interfacial compatibility,...
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Coffee silverskin as a potential bio-based antioxidant for polymer materials: Brief review
PublicationCoffee silverskin is one of the by-products generated by the coffee industry. Although it is not the most burdensome one, because it stands only for ~4.2 wt % of coffee, it seems like an auspicious raw material for industrial processes. Coffee silverskin is characterized by a relatively low moisture content of ~5–7%, so it often does not require quite energy-consuming drying processes. The chemical composition of coffee silverskin,...
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New achievements in the field of extraction of trace analytes from samples characterized by complex composition of the matrix
PublicationWithout any doubt, the monitoring of compounds present in samples at trace or ultra-trace level usually requires a preliminary step of isolation and/or enrichment of analytes due to the fact that majority of analytical techniques are not sensitive enough for direct determination of trace compounds. On the other hand, sample preparation is considered as crucial part of whole analytical procedures, in particular in samples characterized...
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Analysis of multi-class pharmaceuticals in fish tissues by ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry
PublicationA new sensitive method based on pressurized liquid extraction (PLE) and purification by gel permeation chromatography (GPC) prior to ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to tandem mass spectrometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) was developed for the determination in fish homogenate, liver and muscle of twenty pharmaceuticals compounds and metabolites from seven commonly used therapeutic families. An extensive matrix effect evaluation...
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Application of response surface methodology to optimize solid-phase microextraction procedure for chromatographic determination of aroma-active monoterpenes in berries
PublicationMost of scientific papers concern the qualitative or semi-quantitative analysis of aroma-active terpenes in liquid food matrices. Therefore, the procedure based on solid-phase microextraction and comprehensive two-dimensional gas chromatography-time-of-flight mass spectrometry for determination of monoterpenes in fresh berries was developed. The optimal extraction conditions using divinylbenzene-carboxen-polydimethylsiloxane fiber...
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The effect of convective heating and microwave heating on antioxidant enzymes in pooled mature human milk
PublicationThe effects of convective and microwave heating at constant temperature (62.5, 66 and 70 °C) on the activity of antioxidant enzymes (superoxide dismutase, SOD; catalase, CAT; glutathione peroxidase, GPx) in pooled mature human milk were compared. Activities of the enzymes were determined using spectrophotometric kits. Activity of GPx decreased significantly in the first stage of heating when milk samples were warmed to pasteurisation...
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Evaluation of Lombard Speech Models in the Context of Speech in Noise Enhancement
PublicationThe Lombard effect is one of the most well-known effects of noise on speech production. Speech with the Lombard effect is more easily recognizable in noisy environments than normal natural speech. Our previous investigations showed that speech synthesis models might retain Lombard-effect characteristics. In this study, we investigate several speech models, such as harmonic, source-filter, and sinusoidal, applied to Lombard speech...
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UAV Photogrammetry under Poor Lighting Conditions—Accuracy Considerations
PublicationThe use of low-level photogrammetry is very broad, and studies in this field are conducted in many aspects. Most research and applications are based on image data acquired during the day, which seems natural and obvious. However, the authors of this paper draw attention to the potential and possible use of UAV photogrammetry during the darker time of the day. The potential of night-time images has not been yet widely recognized,...
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Tailoring the optical parameters of optical fiber interferometer with dedicated boron-doped nanocrystalline diamond thin film
PublicationOptical fiber interferometer using nanocrystalline boron-doped diamond film was investigated. The diamond films were deposited on glass plates using a Microwave Plasma-Enhanced Chemical Vapour Deposition (μPE CVD) sys-tem. The growth time was 3h, with boron doping level of 10 000 ppm producing films (B-NCD-10) of thickness ~ 200 nm. The presence of boron atoms in the diamond film is evident in Raman spectrum as peaks at 1212 cm-1...
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Common methods for the chiral determination of amphetamine and related compounds II: Capillary electrophoresis and nuclear magnetic resonance
PublicationAmphetamine group and related ring-substituted substances are generally synthetic compounds, belonging to one of the most heavily abused drug groups in recent years. Some compounds in this class also originate from plants. Analysis of the enantiomers of AM-type compounds and metabolites is extremely important for a number of scientific disciplines. From studies of biological activity or mechanisms through determination of precursor...
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Enhanced supercapacitor materials from pyrolyzed algae and graphene composites
PublicationThis study focuses on the synthesis and characterization of supercapacitor materials derived from pyrolyzed natural compounds. Four compounds were investigated: methylcellulose with lysine (ML), methylcellulose with lysine-graphene composite (MLG), algae (A), and algae-graphene composite (AG). The pyrolysis process was utilized to convert these natural compounds into carbon-based materials suitable for supercapacitor applications....
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Simultaneous removal of heavy metals and dyes in water using a MgO-coated Fe3O4 nanocomposite: Role of micro-mixing effect induced by bubble generation
PublicationThis study focused on the development of a nano-adsorbent for contaminant removal without the use of any external energy. An eco-friendly Fe3O4@MgO core-shell nanocomposite was synthesized and tested for the removal of a heavy metal, lead (Pb2+) and a dye, rhodamine B (RhB). The addition of H2O2 into the system enabled the self-mixing of the aqueous solution containing Fe3O4@MgO through the generation of bubbles. This system showed...
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What should we know when choosing feather, blood, egg or preen oil as biological samples for contaminants detection? A non-lethal approach to bird sampling for PCBs, OCPs, PBDEs and PFASs
PublicationBirds are considered as good bio-monitors and they can provide highly valuable data about the level of contamination in their habitat. During the design of biomonitoring studies one of the first issues after choosing species is the choice of biological material. Non-lethally collected samples have recently been gaining greater attention as they offer several ethical and practical advantages. However, not all sample matrices are...
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Endocrine disrupting compounds in the baby's world - A harmful environment to the health of babies
PublicationGlobally, there has been a significant increase in awareness of the adverse effects of chemicals with known or suspected endocrine-acting properties on human health. Human exposure to endocrine disrupting compounds (EDCs) mainly occurs by ingestion and to some extent by inhalation and dermal uptake. Although it is difficult to assess the full impact of human exposure to EDCs, it is well known that timing of exposure is of importance...
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Poly(ε-Caprolactone)/Brewers’ Spent Grain Composites—The Impact of Filler Treatment on the Mechanical Performance
PublicationWaste lignocellulose materials, such as brewers’ spent grain, can be considered very promising sources of fillers for the manufacturing of natural fiber composites. Nevertheless, due to the chemical structure differences between polymer matrices and brewers’ spent grain, filler treatment should be included. The presented work aimed to investigate the impact of fillers’ reactive extrusion on the chemical structure and the poly(ε-caprolactone)/brewers’...
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Galerkin formulations of isogeometric shell analysis: Alleviating locking with Greville quadratures and higher-order elements
PublicationWe propose new quadrature schemes that asymptotically require only four in-plane points for Reissner–Mindlin shell elements and nine in-plane points for Kirchhoff–Love shell elements in B-spline and NURBS-based isogeometric shell analysis, independent of the polynomial degree p of the elements. The quadrature points are Greville abscissae associated with pth-order B-spline basis functions whose continuities depend on the specific...
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Structural Changes and Their Implications in Foamed Flexible Polyurethane Composites Filled with Rapeseed Oil-Treated Ground Tire Rubber
PublicationThe utilization of post-consumer car tires is an essential issue from an ecological andeconomic point of view. One of the simplest and the least harmful methods is their material recyclingresulting in ground tire rubber (GTR), which can be further applied as fillers for polymer-basedcomposites. Nevertheless, insufficient interfacial interactions implicate the necessity of GTR modi-fication before introduction into polymer matrices....
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Analysis of pesticide residue in fruits and vegetables using analytical analytical protocol based on application of QuEChERS technique and GC-ECD system
PublicationQuEChERS sample preparation method was used for the determination of 10 pesticides and their metabolites in fruits (apple, grape) and vegetables (tomato, paprika), coupled to gas chromatography with electron capture detector (GC-ECD). The experimental parameters including amount of the sample, types of solvents, extraction time and types of sorbent at the purification stage were optimized. The GC-ECD method was validated in terms...
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LC-MS and LC-NMR as Complementary Techniques for the Determination of Pharmaceuticals in Dosage Formulations
PublicationPharmaceuticals contain not only pharmacologically active compounds but also a range of excipients. The danger exists that impurities may also be present in such drugs, which may adversely affect their efficacy and even endanger patient health and life. Monitoring the composition of pharmaceutical products is therefore essential. The trace amounts of such impurities in pharmaceuticals are often identified and determined with liquid...
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Entropic Measures of Complexity of Short-Term Dynamics of Nocturnal Heartbeats in an Aging Population
PublicationTwo entropy-based approaches are investigated to study patterns describing differences in time intervals between consecutive heartbeats. The first method explores matrices arising from networks of transitions constructed following events represented by a time series. The second method considers distributions of ordinal patterns of length three, whereby patterns with repeated values are counted as different patterns. Both methods provide...
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Microextraction Techniques Used in the Procedures for Determining Organomercury and Organotin Compounds in Environmental Samples
PublicationDue to human activities, the concentrations of organometallic compounds in all parts of the environment have increased in recent decades. The toxicity and some biochemical properties of mercury and tin present in the environment depend on the concentration and chemical form of these two elements. The ever-increasing demand for determining compounds at very low concentration levels in samples with complex matrices requires...
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Solid phase microextraction: state of the art, opportunities and applications
PublicationSolid phase microextraction is one of the most popular green techniques used for sample preparations in analytical chemistry. It is a simple, rapid, sensitive, and solvent-free technique. Since SPME was first introduced in the early 1990s, there has been an intensification of research in order to elaborate new methodical solutions in many research facilities around the world, which could increase the use of this technique. More...
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DST-Based Detection of Non-cooperative Forwarding Behavior of MANET and WSN Nodes
Publication. Selfish node behavior can diminish the reliability of a mobile ad hoc network (MANET) or a wireless sensor network (WSN). Efficient detection of such behavior is therefore essential. One approach is to construct a reputation scheme, which has network nodes determine and share reputation values associated with each node; these values can next be used as input to a routing algorithm to avoid end-to-end routes containing ill-reputed...
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Man in Early Islamic Philosophy: Al-Kindi and Al-Farabi
PublicationMan was, neither for Al-Kindi, nor for Al-Farabi, a clearly isolated object of philosophical reflection. This does not mean, however, that both Islamic philosophers were not at all concerned with the uniqueness of man, his nature or the purpose of his existence. In order to understand and analyze in depth the philosophies of man voiced by Al-Kindi and Al-Farabi, one must focus primarily on their epistemologies, on their philosophical...
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Natural carbon-based quantum dots and their applications in drug delivery: A review
PublicationNatural carbon based quantum dots (NCDs) are an emerging class of nanomaterials in the carbon family. NCDs have gained immense acclamation among researchers because of their abundance, eco-friendly nature, aqueous solubility, the diverse functionality and biocompatibility when compared to other conventional carbon quantum dots (CDs).The presence of different functional groups on the surface of NCDs such as thiol, carboxyl, hydroxyl,...
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Comparison of simplified sum-over-state expressions to calculate resonance Raman intensities including Franck-Condon and Herzberg-Teller effects
PublicationSum-over-state (SOS) expressions to simulate absorption spectroscopy and resonance Raman (RR) scattering including Franck-Condon (FC) and Herzberg-Teller (HT) effects are described. Starting from the general SOS method, several simplified SOS formulae are derived. In particular, within the so-called independent mode displaced harmonic oscillator model, it is shown that including the vibronic structure in the absorption and RR spectra...
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Wyróżniki modelu biznesu przedsiębiorstwa inteligentnego
PublicationBurzliwa zmiana środowiska biznesowego wpływa na ludzi tak, że generują oczekiwania na wyroby i usługi zaspokajające ich dotychczasowe i nowe potrzeby w coraz większym stopniu. W ten sposób przed menedżerami powstają wciąż nowe, bardziej skomplikowane i wysublimowane wymagania. W takich uwarunkowaniach prowadzenia biznesu sukces osiąga to przedsiębiorstwo, które jest inteligentne. W takiej perspektywie celem badań było wyłonienie...
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PSYCHOMETRIC PROPERTIES OF THE POLISH VERSION OF THE GENERALIZED ANXIETY DISORDER 7-ITEM SCALE (GAD-7) IN A NON-CLINICAL SAMPLE OF EMPLOYEES DURING PANDEMIC CRISIS
PublicationObjectives: The COVID-19 outbreak is an example of a crisis that triggered an increase in generalized anxiety disorder. The study aims to validate the Polish version of the Generalized Anxiety Disorder 7-item scale (GAD-7) by Spitzer et al. among a non-clinical sample of employees and examine the invariance depending on the gender and age of working adults. Material and Methods: For assessing factor structure of the Polish version...
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Computer-assisted pronunciation training—Speech synthesis is almost all you need
PublicationThe research community has long studied computer-assisted pronunciation training (CAPT) methods in non-native speech. Researchers focused on studying various model architectures, such as Bayesian networks and deep learning methods, as well as on the analysis of different representations of the speech signal. Despite significant progress in recent years, existing CAPT methods are not able to detect pronunciation errors with high...
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Photogrammetric Development Of The Threshold Water At The Dam On The Vistula River In Wloclawek From Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (Uav)
PublicationBarrage in Wloclawek (Poland) was designed by Hydroprojekt and built in the years of 1962 - 1970 as the first stage of the planned Lower Vist ula Cascade. Cascade design assumed the construction of 8 dams in Wyszogr o d, Plock, Wloclawek, Nieszawa (Ciechocinek as an option), Solec Kujawski, Chelmno, Opalen and Tczew. Nieszawa dam was supposed to ensure the maintenance of an adequate free surface...
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A few steps more towards NPT bound entanglement
PublicationIn this paper, existence of bound entangled states with nonpositive partial transpose (NPT) is considered. As one knows, existence of such states would in particular imply nonadditivity of distillable entanglement. Moreover, it would rule out a simple mathematical description of the set of distillable states. The particular state, known to be 1-copy nondistillable and supposed to be bound entangled, is considered. The problem of...
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The Impact of Ground Tire Rubber Oxidation with H2O2 and KMnO4 on the Structure and Performance of Flexible Polyurethane/Ground Tire Rubber Composite Foams
PublicationThe use of waste tires is a very critical issue, considering their environmental and economic implications. One of the simplest and the least harmful methods is conversion of tires into ground tire rubber (GTR), which can be introduced into different polymer matrices as a filler. However, these applications often require proper modifications to provide compatibility with the polymer matrix. In this study, we examined the impact...
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Cellulosic bionanocomposites based on acrylonitrile butadiene rubber and Cuscuta reflexa: adjusting structure-properties balance for higher performance
PublicationDesign and manufacture of cellulosic nanocomposites with acceptable performance is in the period of a transition from fantasy to reality. Typically, cellulosic nanofillers reveal poor compatibility with polymer matrices. Thus, adjusting the balance between structure and properties of cellulosic bionanocomposites by careful selection of parent ingredients is the first priority. Herein, we incorporated Cuscuta reflexa derived cellulose...
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Development of a liquid chromatography–tandem mass spectrometryprocedure for determination of endocrine disrupting compounds infish from Mediterranean rivers
PublicationA new, sensitive and rapid method based on QuEChERS (Quick, Easy, Cheap, Effective, Rugged and Safe)approach followed by ultra high performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spec-trometry (UHPLC–MS/MS) was developed for the determination of nineteen endocrine disruptors (EDCs)and related compounds belonging to different classes in various fish species. Matrix effect on the analyti-cal performance was evaluated,...
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Highly efficient maximum power point tracking control technique for PV system under dynamic operating conditions
PublicationThe application of small-scale electrical systems is widespread and the integration of Maximum Power Point Tracking (MPPT) control for Photovoltaic systems with battery applications further enhances the techno-economic feasibility of renewable systems. For this purpose, a novel MPPT control system using Dynamic Group based cooperation optimization (DGBCO) algorithm is utilized for PV systems. The population in the DGBCO is divided...
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Medical Image Segmentation Using Deep Semantic-based Methods: A Review of Techniques, Applications and Emerging Trends
PublicationSemantic-based segmentation (Semseg) methods play an essential part in medical imaging analysis to improve the diagnostic process. In Semseg technique, every pixel of an image is classified into an instance, where each class is corresponded by an instance. In particular, the semantic segmentation can be used by many medical experts in the domain of radiology, ophthalmologists, dermatologist, and image-guided radiotherapy. The authors...
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Long-term hindcast simulation of sea level in the Baltic Sea
Open Research DataThe dataset contains the results of numerical modelling of sea level fluctuations over a period of 50 years (1958-2007) in the Baltic Sea. A long-term hindcast simulation was performed using a three-dimensional hydrodynamic model PM3D (Kowalewski and Kowalewska-Kalkowska, 2017), a new version of the M3D model (Kowalewski, 1997). The hydrodynamic model...
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Challenges in determination of pesticides from various chemical groups in fruits and vegetables applying QuEChERS method
PublicationPesticides are a large group of compounds with different physical and chemical properties, which place some of them among the most toxic, environmentally stable, and mobile substances. Nevertheless, their number, use, and application are continuously expanding. A consequence of their use is the possible presence of residues in treated food products. To protect consumers from exposure to unacceptable levels of pesticides Maximum...
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Development of novel (BiO)2OHCl/BiOBr enriched with boron doped-carbon nanowalls for photocatalytic cytostatic drug degradation: Assessing photocatalytic process utilization in environmental condition
PublicationIn this work, a series of novel (BiO)2OHCl/BiOBr-x%B:DGNW (x = 0%, 1%, 1.5%, 2%) composites with different content of boron-doped diamond/graphene nanowalls (B:DGNW) were fabricated by simple solvothermal synthesis. A boron-doped diamond/graphene nanowalls (B:DGNW) were prepared by CVD method. A series of analyses: XRD, XPS, SEM, and TEM showed that the photocatalyst (BiO)2OHCl/BiOBr-x%B:DGNW with a “flower-like” morphology was...
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Advanced Oxidation Processes for Degradation of Water Pollutants—Ambivalent Impact of Carbonate Species: A Review
PublicationAdvanced oxidation processes (AOPs) hold great promise in the removal of organic contaminants. Reactive oxygen species (ROS) produced in AOPs react with target pollutants to initially form several intermediate compounds that finally undergo complete mineralization. Such observations are reported, especially for laboratory-scale experiments performed in pure water. On the other hand, while considering real contaminated wastewater...
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Evaluation and rationale of the performance of several elastomeric composites incorporating devulcanized EPDM
Publicationthylene Propylene Diene rubber (EPDM), is present in many applications. However, its crosslinked structure makes difficult its recycling. The use of devulcanized EPDM, (dEPDM) as a component of elastomeric composites, is a real possibility to reuse EPDM scraps. In this study, three matrices (natural rubber (NR), styrene butadiene rubber (SBR) and EPDM rubber) have been tested including devulcanized EPDM as a recycled component....
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Green monoterpenes based deep eutectic solvents for effective BTEX absorption from biogas
PublicationThe combustion of biogas which contains significant amounts of monoaromatic hydrocarbons, i.e. benzene, ethylbenzene, toluene, and xylene (BTEX) can cause many technological, environmental, and health problems. Therefore, in these studies, a new physical absorption method based on deep eutectic solvents (DES) consisting of monoterpenes and carboxylic acids was developed for BTEX removal. A total of 39 DES were synthesized, of which...
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Application of gas chromatography–tandem mass spectrometry for the determination of amphetamine-type stimulants in blood and urine
PublicationAmphetamine, methamphetamine, phentermine, 3,4-methylenedioxyamphetamine (MDA), 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), and 3,4-methylenedioxy-N-ethylamphetamine (MDEA) are the most popular amphetamine-type stimulants. The use of these substances is a serious societal problem worldwide. In this study, a method based on gas chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (GC-MS/MS) with simple and rapid liquid-liquid extraction (LLE)...
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Evaluation of Green Sample Preparation Techniques for Organic Compounds
PublicationNowadays, Green Analytical Chemistry (GAC) idea is of high importance, with impact on the rapid growth in the sample preparation area with special emphasis on sample preparation simplification, miniaturization and automation. Due to the fact that GAC is of high importance today, this study is focused on the evaluation of green sample preparation techniques for organic compounds. It is well known that sample preparation is considered...
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Distinction of clenbuterol intake from drug or contaminated food of animal origin in a controlled administration trial – the potential of enantiomeric separation for doping control analysis
PublicationThe differentiation of clenbuterol abuse and unintentional ingestion by contaminated meat is crucial with respect to the valuation of an adverse analytical finding in human sports doping control. The proportion of the two enantiomers of clenbuterol may serve as potential discriminating parameter. For the determination of the individual enantiomers, specific methods were developed and validated for the different matrices under investigation...
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The impact of institutions on innovation networks: empirical evidence from Poland
PublicationInnovation networks may accelerate and improve the innovation process, while institutional pathologies may hamper it. This study employs the Kruskal-Wallis H test and regression analysis to determine if the relationship between institutions and innovation networks does exist among the investigated variables. The purpose of the study was to find out whether cooperation with special local institutions influences the innovative behaviour...