Role of catchment area in the transport of nutrients to lakes in the Wielkopolska National Park in Poland

The external loading of 14 lakes in the Wielkopolska National Park was calculated, including nitrogen and phosphorus loads from point, diffuse and dispersed sources, precipitation and recreation. The basic source of nitrogen and phosphorus for most lakes in the Park is the export of diffuse pollution from the catchment area. Only four lakes are contaminated by sewage, which accounts for 0.1–61.2% of total nutrient loading. Annual unit area loads of phosphorus and nitrogen estimated for each lake were 2–51 times higher than Vollenweider’s critical loading levels. Estimated mass loading and annual unit area loads of nutrients for each lake were compared with lake water quality, expressed as the trophic state index. Analysis of the physico‐geographical structure of the catchment area and natural resistance of lakes to external input of nutrients allowed us to assess the role of the catchment in the deterioration of water quality and to indicate the protective measures required.     

Refractometry of organosilica microspheres

The refractive index of novel organosilica (nano/micro) material is determined using two methods. The first method is based on analysis of optical extinction efficiency of organosilica beads versus wavelength, which is obtained by a standard laboratory spectrometer. The second method relies on the measurable trapping potential of these beads in the focused light beam (laser tweezers). Polystyrene beads were used to test these methods, and the determined dispersion curves of refractive-index values have been found accurate. The refractive index of organosilica beads has been determined to range from 1.60 to 1.51 over the wavelength range of 300-1100 nm.     

路缘沉积:利用原型思维过程探究如何通过路缘及路肩设计截留暴雨中的路面污染物

The design of a curb is straight forward. The curb itself provides a conveyance of stormwater, facilitating the movement of water and pollutants from the street into waterways. Pollutants such as sediment, nutrients from lawn fertilizers, bacteria, viruses, pesticides, metals, and petroleum byproducts accumulate on the road surface and are released during storm events, carried to storm drains, and deposited into waterways, often without treatment. Once pollutants enter the waterways they impact the ecosystem and affect water quality. How can discrete standards—like a curb—be leveraged to have larger systemic impacts? The redesign of the curb to perform as a magnet for pollutants can challenge this design standard. During the summer of 2019, the interdisciplinary research team tested alternatives to the standard concrete curb and apron at Ohio State University. The team used an iterative design process to add patterning and crenellations to the face of the curb and apron. Using full scale models to test simulated storm events, the team collected data to evaluate the performance of 21 alternative designs. The results suggest the new combined curb and apron designs can abstract pollutants from roadways before they are detrimental to water bodies and aquatic ecosystems.     

Effects of early dietary intervention with a fermentable fibre on colonic microbiota activity and mucin gene expression in newly weaned rats

Colonic microbiota composition and metabolic processes were investigated after modifying the diet immediately post-weaning in rats. Three-week old Sprague–Dawley rats were fed cellulose or inulin diet for 0 day (d), 7 d or 14 d. Real-time PCR quantification showed significantly higher colonic Bifidobacterium spp. in rats fed inulin on d7 and d14. Inulin was effective in increasing the total bacteria, Bacteroides-Prevotella-Porphyromonas group and Faecalibacterium prausnitzii, while decreasing Lactobacillus spp. Higher concentrations of short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs: acetic, butyric and propionic acids), lactic acid and succinic acid were observed in inulin-fed rats. Inulin ingestion altered colonic mucin (MUC)-3 gene expression, and increased the colon crypt depth with more goblet cells per crypt. Significant positive correlations between SCFAs concentrations and MUC3 expression were observed. Dietary supplementation with inulin altered microbiota composition, and their fermentation end-products may have aided in modifying mucin gene expression and morphology in the colon of young rats.     

Provision of end-to-end QoS in heterogeneous multi-domain networks

In this paper, we present the framework to provision end-to-end QoS in heterogeneous multi-domain networks that was implemented in EuQoS system and tested in Pan-European research network. It assumes that a pair of end users, possibly attached to different access networks as xDSL, UMTS, LAN/Ethernet, WiFi, MPLS or Satellite, may choose for its connection an appropriate end-to-end Class of Service, depending on the application they use, e.g. VoIP, VoD, FTP, etc. Each end-to-end Class of Service has its own traffic control mechanisms and algorithms and, as a result, it has the ability to handle traffic streams with assumed guarantees for packet transfer characteristics expressed in the form of loss ratio, mean delay and delay variation. The end-to-end Classes of Service are supported in all the domains (including inter-domain links) independently using specialised inter-domain Class of Service-aware QoS routing protocol which establishes the end-to-end QoS paths. This paper describes the solution and includes exemplary simulation and experimental results.     

The effect of interaction between genotype CAST/RsaI (calpastatin) and MYOG/MspI (myogenin) on carcass and meat quality in pigs free of RYR1(T) allele

The purpose of the studies was to demonstrate to what degree genotypes of calpastatin (CAST/RsaI) and myogenin (MYOG) genes as well as the interaction between them may affect the carcass and meat quality of pigs. The investigations were conducted on 397 stress resistant pigs (free of RYR1^T allele). It was demonstrated that the favourable effect of the variants of CAST and MYOG genes on carcass quality traits depends on the cut. The gene variant favourably affecting the weight of ham simultaneously had a negative effect on the weight of the loin. It was also shown that the interaction between CAST and MYOG genotypes has a significant effect on backfat thickness. The effect of a given combination of CAST and MYOG genotypes on carcass traits is related to the weight of a substantial cut (ham, loin).Genotypes at loci CAST/RsaI and MYOG have a significant effect on the value of certain traits and parameters of meat quality and its technological value (genotype CAST on pH at 35 min and 2, 3, 24, 48, 96, 144 h post-mortem (pH₃₅, pH₂, pH₃, pH₂₄, pH₄₈, pH₉₆, pH₁₄₄, respectively), R₁ (IMP/ATP), electrical conductivity at 3 and 4 h post-mortem (EC₃, EC₄), technological yield of meat in curing and thermal processing (TY) and protein content in the muscle tissue, while genotype MYOG on pH₄₈, EC₃₅, EC₃, EC₂₄ and dry matter content).     

Crosslinked blends of poly(lactic acid) and polyacrylates: AFM, DSC and XRD studies

The blends based on poly(lactic acid), (PLA) and polyacrylates (1:1 weight ratio) have been prepared by photopolymerization of three different multifunctional acrylate monomers (pentaerythritol triacrylate, pentaerythritol tetraacrylate and dipentaerythritol pentaacrylate) in matrix of linear PLA. The structure of these systems has been studied by Atomic Force Microscopy (AFM), Differential Scanning Calorimetry (DSC) and X-ray Diffraction (XRD). It was found that the blends are highly crosslinked, rough, heterogeneous and some of them – semicrystalline. The effect of UV-irradiation on surface morphology of obtained mixtures was studied. The viscometry has been applied for measurements of changes of PLA molecular weight resulting of photodegradation. It was shown that blends are much more photostable than pure PLA.     

Importance of Genetic Polymorphisms in MT1 and MT2 Genes in Metals Homeostasis and Their Relationship with the Risk of Acute Pancreatitis Occurrence in Smokers—Preliminary Findings

This study was aimed at evaluating the changes in metallothionein (MT) concentration in the blood of patients with acute pancreatitis (AP) and healthy subjects, taking into account the extracellular (plasma) and intracellular (erythrocyte lysate) compartments. The impact of single-nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the MT1A (rs11640851), MT1B (rs964372) and MT2A (rs10636) genes on MT concentration and their association with the concentration of metals (Cu, Zn, Cd) and ceruloplasmin as Cu-related proteins were analyzed. The concentration of a high-sensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) and IL-6 as markers of inflammation, and malonyldialdehyde (MDA), superoxide dismutase (SODs) activity and the value of total antioxidant capacity (TAC) as parameters describing the pro/antioxidative balance were also assessed. In the AP patient groups, an increased MT concentration in erythrocyte lysate compared to healthy subjects was shown, especially in individuals with the GG genotype for rs964372 in the MT1B gene. A Zn concentration was especially decreased in the blood of smoking AP patients with the AA genotype for SNP rs11640851 in the MT1A gene and the GC genotype for SNP rs10636 in MT2A, compared to non-smokers with AP, which was accompanied by an increase in the value of the Cu/Zn ratio. The exposure to tobacco smoke xenobiotics increased the risk of AP occurrence in subjects with the CC genotype for SNP rs11640851 in the MT1A gene by more than fourfold. The investigated polymorphisms, rs11640851 in the MT1A gene, rs964372 in the MT1B gene and rs10636 in the MT2A gene, seem to be an important factor in maintaining homeostasis in an organism under oxidative stress conditions.     

Impact of Liposomal Drug Formulations on the RBCs Shape,Transmembrane Potential,and Mechanical Properties

Liposomal technologies are used in order to improve the effectiveness of current therapies or to reduce their negative side effects. However, the liposome–erythrocyte interaction during the intravenous administration of liposomal drug formulations may result in changes within the red blood cells (RBCs). In this study, it was shown that phosphatidylcholine-composed liposomal formulations of Photolon, used as a drug model, significantly influences the transmembrane potential, stiffness, as well as the shape of RBCs. These changes caused decreasing the number of stomatocytes and irregular shapes proportion within the cells exposed to liposomes. Thus, the reduction of anisocytosis was observed. Therefore, some nanodrugs in phosphatidylcholine liposomal formulation may have a beneficial effect on the survival time of erythrocytes.     

Accelerated photodegradation of cis 1,4-polybutadiene in the presence of hydrogen peroxide

Summary Photooxidative degradation of cis 1,4-polybutadiene in diluted benzene solution and benzene/hydrogen peroxide emulsion have been examinated using viscosimetry, GPC, FTIR, UV-Vis spectrometry and iodometric titration. Efficient photooxidation and photodegradation of PB in presence of hydrogen peroxide was observed. The acceleration effect of photoprocesses in PB is caused by hydroxy (HO·) and hydroperoxide (HOO·) radicals. The mechanism of PB reactions with free radicals proceeding from hydrogen peroxide and influence of benzene on photodegradation of PB have been discussed.