The paper presents a method of statistical analysis of multidimensional data by means of the PCA transformation (Principal Components Analysis), carried out by means of a neuron network. The PCA transformation, connected with the Karhunen-Loeve transformation is used for processing signals treated as stochastic processes. The method discussed in the paper, enables the reduction of input data on the basis of specified independent principal components with respect to their significance,

Data sets gathered continuously in air monitoring systems are never entirely complete. The problem of missing data in monitoring measure series often has to be solved by modeling. A new method of air monitoring data modelling was tested in the paper. Regional diurnal concentration courses (RDCCs) were used as the main source of knowledge of predicted time series during specified days. The paper presents a comparison of predicted and measured diurnal concentration patterns of two frequently used parameters in air monitoring (PM10 and NO2). The analysis was based on hourly time series of these air pollutants collected in a 3-year period at nine monitoring stations in the Lodz Region. It was shown that well determined regional diurnal concentration patterns could be useful to missing data modelling at the specified monitoring site. Improvement of modelling accuracy is possible after modification of modelling results by adding local difference vectors (LDVs), describing the specificity of the monitoring station.

The aim of the study was to compare the physical-chemical quality parameters of shallow groundwater quality in peat bogs of the Łęczna-Włodawa Lake District in the context of the occurrence of selected boreal species of plant relics: dwarfbirch (Betula humilis Schrank), downy willow (Salix lapponum L. ) and swamp willow (Salix myrtylloides L. ). Analyzes of shallow groundwater quality parameters included physical-chemical parameters: reaction (pH), electrolytic conductivity(EC), dissolved organic carbon (DOC), total nitrogen (TN), ammonium nitrogen (NH4), nitrite nitrogen (NO2), nitrate nitrogen (NO3), total phosphorus (TP), phosphate (PO4), sulfate (SO2), sodium (Na), potassium (K), calcium (Ca) and mag-nesium (Mg) by certified laboratory tests.

It was found that the natural hydrochemical specification of peat bogs is characterized by fluctuations associated with the dynamics of internal metabolism of peat ecosystems without the visible impact of anthropopressure. This is confirmed by the concentration of nutrients: TNat the study sites were within a broad range of mean values: 16.92–45.31 mg·dm–3; NH4 (0.55–0.76 mg·dm–3); NO2 (0.06–4.33 mg·dm–3); and NO3 did not exceed 0.2 mg·dm–3, and concentration of TP adopted mean values in a range of 0.22–0.42 mg·dm–3.

The studied physical-chemical factors of shallow groundwater were within the habitat preferences of the studied species, but in differentiated qualitative and quantitative ways determined optimal conditions for building the population of the studied species. Particularly values of TP lower than other obtained values in a range of: 0.08–0.32 mg·dm–3; PO4 = 0.1 mg·dm–3; TN = 2.2–21.2 mg·dm–3; NH4 = 0.1–0.46 mg·dm–3; DOC = 24.6–55.9 mg·dm–3, as well as higher than average pH values in a range of: 5.34–5.95 and concentration of Ca = 5.67–28.1 mg·dm–3 and Mg = 0.56–2.41 mg·dm–3, as well as EC = 72.1–142.3 μS·cm–1 can be treated as a condition favouring proper development of the population of dwarf birch. For Salix lapponum: a reduced level of values of nitrogen fractions (TN = 3.01–18.84 mg·dm–3; NH4 = 0.1–0.41 mg·dm–3), a reduced level of values of phosphorus fractions (TP = 0.09–0.44 mg·dm–3; PO4 = 0.1–0.44 mg·dm–3), part of ions (Ca = 4.39–19.63 mg·dm–3; Mg = 0.77–3.37 mg·dm–3), pH = 5.9–6.4, EC = 124–266 μS·cm–1 and DOC = 24.1–57.5 mg·dm–3. For the equally studied Salix myrtylloides, such conditions were met by: TP = 0.1–0.41 mg·dm–3; PO4 = 0.1–0.18 mg·dm–3, DOC = 27.5–50.9 mg·dm–3, pH = 5.3–5.94 andEC = 62.2–139.3 μS·cm–1.

The diet of the unsexed breeding Adélie penguin (Pygoscelis adeliae Hombron et Jacquinot, 1841) was investigated during three consecutive chick rearing periods, from 1996–97 to 1998–99, on Laurie Island, South Orkney Islands (60°46’S, 44°42’W), Antarctica. This analysis showed that during the whole sampling period, Antarctic krill (Euphausia superba Dana, 1852) represented the predominant prey in terms of frequency of occurrence, mass, and number. The hyperiid amphipod Themisto gaudichaudii (Guerin-Méneville, 1825) was present in small amounts. Electrona antarctica (Gunter, 1878), Trematomus newnesi (Boulenger, 1902) and larval stages of Nototheniidae constituted the bulk of the fish portion, particularly during the 1997/98 and 1998/99 breeding periods. This study is the first examination of the Adélie penguin diet at Laurie Island. It is important to recognize, however, the importance of knowing the sex of the penguins being sampled and that prey composition may vary during the breeding season and from one year to the next.

In the years 1999-2002 bryological investigations were carried out within the .Kuźnic" nature reserve located in the Beskid Śląski Mts. near the village Twardorzcczka (Lipowa commune, Żywiec district). The "Kuźnic" nature reserve lies between 800 and IO I O m above sea level and covers 7 .22 ha. In its area coniferous forest Abieti-Piceetum predominates. In the result of this research 59 taxa have been noted. The analysis of frequency range showed that overwhelming majority of the moss flora consists of very rare taxa (40.7%). The most important components of the moss flora arc: one partially protected species in Poland and many species which arc rare in the Beskid Śląski Mts., for example Anomodon rugelii, Cirriphyl/um tommasinii, Neckera crispa, Orthotrichum stramineum and Racomitrium aquaticum. Five main ecological groups of mosses were characterized in detail.

The results are based on two experimental high-manganese X98MnAlSiNbTi24-11 and X105MnAlSi24-11 steels subjected to thermo-mechanical treatment by hot-rolling on a semi-industrial processing line. The paper presents the results of diffraction and structural studies using scanning and transmission electron microscopy showing the role of Nb and Ti micro-additives in shaping high strength properties of high-manganese austenitic-ferritic steels with complex carbides. The performed investigations of two experimental steels allow to explain how the change cooling conditions after thermo-mechanical treatment of the analysed steels affects the change of their microstructure and mechanical properties. The obtained results allow assessing the impact of both the chemical composition and the applied thermo-mechanical treatment technology on the structural effects of strengthening of the newly developed steels.

Layers of silver particles are used in the studies on pathophysiology and treatment of diseases, both in pre-clinical and clinical conditions. Silver layers can be formed using different techniques and on different substrates. Deposition by magnetron sputtering on glass beads was used in this study. Silver absorption by the body was estimated by calculating the difference in thickness of the silver nanolayer deposited on a bead and measured before and after application of the bead in an animal model of gastrointestinal inflammation. Recommendations for the minimal thickness of silver nanolayer deposited on glass beads were worked out for further studies.

The deterrent effect of limonene enentiomers and limonene derivative: ( + )-(1S,4S,6S)-4-(1-methylethenyl)-9-oxabicyclo[ 4.3.0]nonan-8-one, on Myzus persicae was investigated. Only S-enantiomers of limonene and its derivative showed feeding deterrent properties. S-limonene inhibited phloem sap ingestion and reduced the number of phloem sap ingestion phases during aphid stylet penetration of plant tissues. Aphids spent twice less time on leaves painted with ( + )-1S,4S,6S-4-(1-methylethenyl)-9-oxabicyclo[ 4.3.0]nonan-8-one than on control and S-limonene-treated leaves and the probes were shorter than 2 minutes on these leaves. Our studies confirmed that the chiral centre configuration of the lactones was important in expression of feeding deterrent activity.

The article is devoted to the structural basics of The Large Polish‑Ukrainian Phraseological Dictionary. Until recently, there had been no significant bilingual phraseological dictionary, which had made it difficult to comparatively study the phraseological systems of Polish and Ukrainian. The dictionary is based on lexicographic publications of various types, national language corpuses, and content. The article explains the principles of selecting phraseological units for the dictionary. Some phraseological units/idioms became the subject of lexicographic study for the first time. In detail is described the structure of the word explanations. During the selection of Ukrainian equivalents to the Polish output, taken into account is the fact that there are phraseological interlanguage homonyms – phraseological units/idioms that sound the same or similar in the two languages but that have different meanings. The dictionary contains an alphabetical register that includes all the components of the expressions/units. Thanks to such referencing, the reader can find the appropriate phrases in a single one word. The article describes the possibilities for the theoretical and applied solutions in the dictionary’s composition.