Prior to the mid-1980's, the term "bank" referred almost exclusively to financial institutions. The advent of the "biodiversity" concept, however, has led to the appearance of so-called "gene banks".

Abstract In the paper, analysis of multi-region fuzzy logic controller with local PID controllers for steam generator of pressurized water reactor (PWR) working in wide range of thermal power changes is presented. The U-tube steam generator has a nonlinear dynamics depending on thermal power transferred from coolant of the primary loop of the PWR plant. Control of water level in the steam generator conducted by a traditional PID controller which is designed for nominal power level of the nuclear reactor operates insufficiently well in wide range of operational conditions, especially at the low thermal power level. Thus the steam generator is often controlled manually by operators. Incorrect water level in the steam generator may lead to accidental shutdown of the nuclear reactor and consequently financial losses. In the paper a comparison of proposed multi region fuzzy logic controller and traditional PID controllers designed only for nominal condition is presented. The gains of the local PID controllers have been derived by solving appropriate optimization tasks with the cost function in a form of integrated squared error (ISE) criterion. In both cases, a model of steam generator which is readily available in literature was used for control algorithms synthesis purposes. The proposed multi-region fuzzy logic controller and traditional PID controller were subjected to broad-based simulation tests in rapid prototyping software - Matlab/Simulink. These tests proved the advantage of multi-region fuzzy logic controller with local PID controllers over its traditional counterpart.

This article examines the appropriation of the pair Don Quixote and Sancho Pansa by Jacek Kaczmarski and Francesco Guccini, two iconic late twentieth-century songwriters (each had more strings to his bow) who were fascinated by Cervantes’ novel. While, traditionally, Don Quixote is seen as the dominant character and Sancho the subordinate one, in Kaczmarski's and Guccini’s songs Sancho is placed on an equal footing the errant knight. This striking revaluation was in a way conditioned by the medium, the twentieth--century art song with its aspirations to be alive to the concerns of the time. For singers and songwriters committed to the cause of social justice, in tune with the prevailing egalitarian, leftist ways of thinking, it was only natural to deconstruct the master/servant nexus at the heart of Cervantes’ novel. However, as the political systems of their home countries differed widely, the social activism pursued by the Polish and that of the Italian author is hardly comparable. While Guccini’s texts resonate with themes of social justice, Kaczmarski builds more bridges to Cervantes (not least in the sphere of poetry) in his song cycle. Despite all their differences, the work of the Polish bard and of the Italian cantautore demonstrates that the mindset and the social realities of the twentieth century mindset made it impossible to bring back Don Quixote without allowing room to Sancho Pansa.

The article explores the role of musical themes in the work of Kazimierz Wierzyń ski from the perspective of auditive practice in the context of what is known about the poet’s personal tastes and appreciation of the art of sounds and noises. Most attention is paid to Wierzyński’s verse written in exile because there the musical references became more complex than in the prewar and the postwar phases of his poetic career. It was then the musical references began to function as a sign of the poet’s encounter with individual compositions and musical traditions – a record of a direct, personal and touching musical experience – rather than a metaphoric amplifi cation or a rhetorical ornament.

This article deals with Fryderyk Chopin's juvenilia and the occasional verse dedicated to him by his his relatives and friends. Extraordinarily diverse in tone and nature (versified happy birthday and nameday messages, friendship book entries, humorous and partying verse), they offer unexpected insights into various aspects of the composer's biography and his participation in the literary culture of his epoch, especially the more private occasions and celebrations.