In 1999, in comparison to 1979, oxygen conditions in the Przemsza River improved. The maximal concentrations of BOD decreased about 20 times, whereas minimal concentrations from 3 to 10 times. On the basic changes of COD it was found that the quantity of recalcitrant pollutants is the same as 10 years ago, the salinity of water is also the same. The volume of ammonia and nitrites has decreased. The probable cause of decrease of nitrates was the reduction of fertilisers levels in the basin area of the Przemsza River. The suspended solids concentrations in the water are abatemanted. The water quality of the river gets worse along the river, coupe especially near the towns of Mysłowice and Jelen.

The aim of this study was to compare the efficacy of estrus induction and fertility by using subcutaneous melatonin (MEL, T1) and short-term intravaginal medroxyprogesteronacetate plus pregnant mare serum gonadotropin treatments (sMAP+eCG, T2) in ewes on seasonaly anestrus. In this study, 105 mature clinically healthy Kivircik ewes in anestrus season and 4 rams were used. After synchronization applications, ewes exhibiting estrus signs were hand-mated with rams known to be fertile. Blood samples were collected at different times in order to determine progesterone (P4) concentrations. Results showed that estrus manipulation protocols induced significant improvement in pregnancy rate. All the fertility results obtained with the sMAP+eCG or MEL groups were similar, in seasonal anestrus. The efficacy duration of P4 in the MEL group was longer than that in short-term progestagen group. Plasma P4 concentrations was significantly different between the first (I) and last (III) measurement days (p<0.01). Increase in P4 concentration in T2 group was faster than that in T1 group, and blood P4 concentrations at higher levels could successfully be achieved by using any of the protocols in this study during the seasonal anestrus. In conclusion, according to the results obtained, the hormone application groups received very high estrus response. In addition, the twin ratio was found to be higher in T1 group compared to those determined in the other groups (T2 and Control group). Furthermore, plasma P4 concentrations and high birth rates were obtained in ewes in T1 and T2 groups. These procedures can be considered a good alternative to traditional procedures due to its flexibility under field conditions.

In the paper, preliminary studies on formulation of a new constitutive equation of bone tissue are presented. A bone is modelled as a viscoelastic material. Thus, not only are elastic properties of the bone taken into account, but also both short-term and long-term viscoelastic properties are considered. A potential function is assumed for the bone, constant identification on the basis of experimental stress-strain curve fitting is completed and a preliminary constitutive equation is formulated. The experiments consisted of compressive tests performed on a cuboids-like bone sample of the following dimensions: 10x5x7.52 mm. The specimen was compressed along the highest dimension at the strain rates 0.016 s to the -1 and 0.00016 s to the -1. In addition to this, stress relaxation test was performed to identify long-term viscoelastic constants of bone. In the experiments, only displacement in the load direction was measured. The bone sample was extracted from a bovine femur. The form of the proposed potential function is such that it models a bone as a transversely isotropic material. For the sake of simplicity, it is assumed that the bone is incompressible. After the material constant identification the strain energy function proved to be adequate to describe bone behaviour under compressive load. Due to the fact that the function is convex, the results of the studies can be utilised in modelling of bone tissue in finite element analyses of an implant-bone system. Such analyses are very helpful in the process of a new prosthesis design as one can preoperatively verify the construction of the new implant and optimise its shape.

The study included mesotrophic Lake Piaseczno, located in the Łęczna-Włodawa Lake District. The aim of the study was to evaluate changes of water vegetation of a mesotrophic lake subjected to strong recreational pressure. Specifically we sought to better understand which natu-ral landscapes and anthropogenic developments stimulate or impede macrophyte development and spread. The study was conducted in July in 1997, 2007 and 2017 in three transects: the peat-bog (northern part of the lake), the recreational area (southeast part) and the agricultural area (east). The phytolittoral zone was analyzed from the shoreline to the maximum range of macrophytes occurrence. The study included all groups of macrophytes. Macrophytes in the mesotrophic Lake Piaseczno are still subjected to successive changes. Clearly increased diversity among emergent macrophytes, while a group of submerged macrophytes decreased. The largest changes among analyzed groups of macrophytes occurred in recreational and agricultural transects. Macrophytes have increased the range of occurrence, which may be due to hydrological changes associated with raising the overall water level, thus with increasing the area of the littoral. Impoverishment of diversity among elodeids shows the processes associated with the increase in Lake trophy.

In many research studies it is argued that it is possible to extract useful information about future real economic activity from the performance of financial markets. However, this study goes further and shows that it is not only possible to use expectations derived from financial markets to forecast future economic activity, but that data about the financial system can be used for this purpose as well. This paper sheds light on the ability to forecast real economic activity, based on additional and different financial variables than what have been presented so far.

The research is conducted for the Polish emerging economy on the basis of monthly data. The results suggest that, based purely on the data from the financial system, it is possible to construct reasonable measures that can, even for an emerging economy, effectively forecast future real economic activity. The outcomes are proved by two different econometric methods, namely, by a time series analysis and by a probit model. All presented models are tested in-sample and out-of-sample.

This study investigates several factors that have not been specified in the standard for dynamic stiffness, compressibility, and long-term deformation; these factors can be used to evaluate the acoustic and physical performances of resilient materials. The study is intended to provide basic data for deriving the factors that need to be additionally reviewed through the standards. Since magnitude of dynamic stiffness changes with an increase in loading time, it is necessary to examine the setting of the loading time for a load plate under test conditions. Samples of size 300×300 mm, rather than 200×200 mm, yielded more reliable results for compressibility measurement. Since the test to infer long-term deformation of resilient materials after a period of 10 years in some samples showed variation characteristics different from those specified in the standards, it is recommended that the test method should be reviewed through ongoing research.

The objective of the study was to compare the impact of three systems of multiannual fertilization applied in two long-term field experiments on the content of phenolic compounds in the soil. In the study, both natural (manure, slurry) and mineral (NPK) fertilizers were used, along with combined, organic-and-mineral fertilization. Experiment I was established in 1972 on grey brown podzolic soil; experiment II, in 1973 on brown soil. In both experiments crops were cultivated in a 7-year rotation, with a 75% share of cereals. The experimental samples were taken from the top layer of soil after 36 (experiment I) and 35 (experiment II) years following the establishment of the experiments. It was demonstrated that the presence of phenolic compounds in the soils was significantly dependent on the contents of organic C and total N, type of soil and the type and dose of used fertilizers. In grey brown podzolic soil, the content of total phenolic compounds was at a lower level than the content found in brown soil. Multiannual fertilization contributed to an increase in the content of total phenolic compounds in relation to the values obtained in control objects, which was particularly reflected in the soil originating from objects fertilized with slurry applied at a dose being equivalent to manure in terms of the amount of introduced organic carbon. The percentage of water-soluble phenols in the total content of these compounds in grey brown podzolic soil was at the level of 18.4%, while in brown soil it amounted to 29.1%.

The introduction of a baseline term to the dependency network most often results in a change, break and/or generation of a new sequence of critical path, depending on the type of such a baseline term and the exact date selected. Each of those situations has an impact on the location or need to include new time buffers in the modified Goldratt’s method. The purpose of this article was to identify possible effects brought by declaration of each type of baseline term and to point out actions to be taken in each case. It must be noted that guidelines provided should in each individual case be adapted to the specific character of schedule changes caused by implementation of the relevant baseline term. The example presented herein exemplifies one of such solutions to be implemented as a result of break of the critical path and need to introduce new time buffers.

The K4 graph and the inertia of the adjacency matrix for a connected planar graph. A substantial history exists about incorporating matrix analysis and graph theory into geography and the geospatial sciences. This study contributes to that literature, aiding in analyses of spatial relationships, especially in terms of spatial weights matrices. We focus on the n-by-n 0–1 binary adjacency matrix, whose rows and columns represent the nodes of a connected planar graph. The inertia of this matrix represents the number of positive (n+), negative (n−), and zero (n0) eigenvalues. Approximating the Jacobian term of spatial auto-normal models can benefit from calculating these matrix quantities. We establish restrictions for n- exploiting properties we uncover for the K4 graph.

Reliable data analysis is one of the hardest tasks in sciences and social sciences. Often misleading and sometimes puzzling results arise when the analysis is done without regard for the special features of the data. In this exposition, I will focus on designing new statistical tools to deal with some prominent questions in Finance and Economics. In particular, I will talk about the following. (1) How to characterize the randomness of variables, motivated by a problem in the pricing of financial options. (2) Uncovering the relation between interest rates on different maturities, now and in the future; the "term structure of interest rates". (3) Modelling the unconventional nonlinear long-memory dynamics that arise from a general-equilibrium economic model, and their implications for exchange rates, stock market indexes, and all macroeconomic variables; with recommendations for trading in financial markets, but also for the design of macroeconomic stabilization policies by governments.

The function of a new estimation procedure of long-term noise indicators is considered in this study. New possibilities are related to the stochastic modelling of the control data formation mechanism. Assuming the mathematical formalism based on the adaptive model of exponential smoothing of control data, the need of controlling at each estimation stage of long-term noise indicators, the adherence to the model assumptions is formulated. The procedure of its realisation is described in the paper. The tracking signal method referred to the tested errors of the assumed model was applied. The ratio of the sum of model errors in relation to the average absolute error, generated by the assumed approximation, was selected as the representative of the tracking signal. Conditions for the acceptation of the model assumption were defined. The analysis of functionality of the developed solution was illustrated by the results of a continuous noise monitoring recorded at one of the main arteries in Kraków.

The problem of estimation of the long-term environmental noise hazard indicators and their uncertainty is presented in the present paper. The type A standard uncertainty is defined by the standard deviation of the mean. The rules given in the ISO/IEC Guide 98 are used in the calculations. It is usually determined by means of the classic variance estimators, under the following assumptions: the normality of measurements results, adequate sample size, lack of correlation between elements of the sample and observation equivalence. However, such assumptions in relation to the acoustic measurements are rather questionable. This is the reason why the authors indicated the necessity of implementation of non-classical statistical solutions. An estimation idea of seeking density function of long-term noise indicators distribution by the kernel density estimation, bootstrap method and Bayesian inference have been formulated. These methods do not generate limitations for form and properties of analyzed statistics. The theoretical basis of the proposed methods is presented in this paper as well as an example of calculation process of expected value and variance of long-term noise indicators LDEN and LN. The illustration of indicated solutions and their usefulness analysis were constant due to monitoring results of traffic noise recorded in Cracow, Poland.

A non-classical model of interval estimation based on the kernel density estimator is presented in this paper. This model has been compared with interval estimation algorithms of the classical (parametric) statistics assuming that the standard deviation of the population is either known or unknown. The non-classical model does not have to assume belonging of random sample to a normal distribution. A theoretical basis of the proposed model is presented as well as an example of calculation process which makes possible determining confidence intervals of the expected value of long-term noise indicators Aden and LN. The statistical analysis was carried out for 95% interval widths obtained by using each of these models. The inference of their usefulness was performed on the basis of results of non-parametric statistical tests at significance level α = 0.05. The data used to illustrate the proposed solutions and carry out the analysis were results of continuous monitoring of traffic noise recorded in 2004 in one of the main arteries of Krakow in Poland.

An active beam-pointing stabilization system has been developed for a high-power KrF laser system to eliminate the long-term drift of the directional change of the beam in order to have a stable focusing to a high intensity. The control of the beam direction was achieved by a motor-driven mirror activated by an electric signal obtained by monitoring the position of the focus of the output beam. Instead of large sized UV-sensitive position sensitive detectors a simple arrangement with scatter plates and photodiodes are used to measure the directionality of the beam. After the beam stabilization the long-term residual deviation of the laser shots is ~14 μrad, which is comparable to the shot-to-shot variation of the beam (~12 μrad). This deviation is small enough to keep the focal spot size in a micrometer range when tightly focusing the beam using off-axis parabolic mirrors.

Annual and interannual phenomena and canopy behavior of prickly comfrey (Symphytum asperum Lep.) were studied in a 10-year experiment with 25 measurement sessions during the growing season. The results confirm the importance of long-term experiments in studying plant phenomena, biometrics and behavior. Prickly comfrey produced a green canopy each year and growth started very early in spring. Maximum plant height was less than 160 cm. Annual phenomena (growth initiation, seedling phase, flower phase, seed phase, senescent phase), interannual phenomena (initiation and youth, reproduction, new generation formation, plant death) and two population cycles (colonization and expansion) were measured. The duration of annual development up to canopy death can be expressed as x+2x+3x+2x, where x is initial growth. The genetic structure and activity of prickly comfrey promotes generative development of the species. Its age can be measured over a single and several vegetation generations. The ability to change the angle of vertical stem growth after 9 weeks can be considered a functional behavior of prickly comfrey and part of its life strategy. The differences between the organs in the upper and lower parts are very considerable and should be taken into account in morphological descriptions of this species. The upper and lower stems and leaves showed differential growth. Both stem and leaves were densely setose. Old leaves were 3.8 times longer, 4 times broader and 2.4 times thicker than young leaves. Hairs were on average 3 times longer on old than on young leaves. Flowers had contact with pollinators making relatively long visits to them.

This paper describes a Deep Belief Neural Network (DBNN) and Bidirectional Long-Short Term Memory (LSTM) hybrid used as an acoustic model for Speech Recognition. It was demonstrated by many independent researchers that DBNNs exhibit superior performance to other known machine learning frameworks in terms of speech recognition accuracy. Their superiority comes from the fact that these are deep learning networks. However, a trained DBNN is simply a feed-forward network with no internal memory, unlike Recurrent Neural Networks (RNNs) which are Turing complete and do posses internal memory, thus allowing them to make use of longer context. In this paper, an experiment is performed to make a hybrid of a DBNN with an advanced bidirectional RNN used to process its output. Results show that the use of the new DBNN-BLSTM hybrid as the acoustic model for the Large Vocabulary Continuous Speech Recognition (LVCSR) increases word recognition accuracy. However, the new model has many parameters and in some cases it may suffer performance issues in real-time applications.

The paper presents an extensive review investigating the practical aspects related to the use of single- number ratings used in describing the sound insulation performance of partition wall panels and practical complications encountered in precise measurements in extensive frequency range from 50 Hz to 5 kHz. SWOT analysis of various single number ratings is described. A laboratory investigation on a double wall partition panel combination revealed the significant dependence of STC rating on transmission loss at 125 Hz attributed to 8 dB rule. An investigation conducted on devising alternative spectrums of aircraft noise, traffic noise, vehicular horn noise and elevated metro train noise as an extension to ISO 717-1 Ctr for ascertaining the sound insulation properties of materials exclusively towards these noise sources revealed that the single-number rating Rw + Ctr calculated using ISO 717-1 Ctr gives the minimum sound insulation, when compared with Rw + Cx calculated using the alternative spectrums of aircraft noise, traffic noise, etc., which means that material provides a higher sound insulation to the other noise sources. It is also observed that spectrum adaptation term Cx calculated using the spectrum of noise sources having high sound pressure levels in lower frequencies decreases as compared to ISO 717-1 Ctr owing to significant dependence of Ctr at lower frequencies.

This paper presents the concept and modern technological approach to the fabrication of discrete, integrated and integral micropassives. The role of these components in modern electronic circuits is discussed too. The material, technological and constructional solutions and their relation with electrical and stability properties are analyzed in details for linear and nonlinear microresistors made and characterized at the Faculty of Microsystem Technology, Wrocław University of Technology.

The aim of the article is to describe the semantics and origin, noted in ethnographic works from Polesie, of the beekeeping terms pczòły pàszut, pasznià ‘to bear benefit (pożytek), to work about the bee’. On the basis of historical materials of East Slavic languages and previous etymological hypotheses, the article relates the meaning of the described terms to the verb pachać ‘to plow; to create, to work’, recognizing it as a semantic archaism. The work also verifies the origin of the form pasznia in Old Polish lexis, recognizing it as a Beloruthenism.

The paper points out the role of terms in academic activity, particularly in onomastics. A survey of onomastic terms present in Polish dictionaries of linguistic terminology and onomastic encyclopaedias has been made. The need has been stressed to follow the rules of terminography in every dictionary of terms. Some normative terms, such as official name, dialectal name, minority name, have been suggested to be included as additional entries in glossaries of onomastic terms.

In the paper, forty-five Polish and British incongruent labour law terms are analysed. Polish terms under the analysis appear in the Polish labour code. The research aims to verify whether the published typology of translation methods used in the Polish-English translation of civil law terms (Kizińska 2018: 247–251) encompasses translation methods applied when translating Polish and British incongruent labour law terms. The definitions of the source terms and the equivalents in question are analysed to identify the translation methods applied while producing equivalents.

The aim of this study was to assess the anisakid nematode distribution pattern in the fish collected from the South Shetland Islands . A total of 32 fish species were examined for the presence of nematodes in 1978, 1979, 1981 and 2007/2008. The fish were caught off the South Shetland Islands ( Elephant Island , Shishkov Island and in Admiralty Bay – King George Island ). Three genera of L3 larval nematodes were identified: Anisakis sp., Contracaecum spp. and Pseudoterranova decipiens. The infection level was higher on the shelf around the islands than in Admiralty Bay . This is explained by a higher abundance of the final hosts in the region. A comparison of the infection data from 1978/79 and 2007/2008 with data from 1994/96 (Palm et al. 1998, 2007) was done. The parameters of infection of Notothenia coriiceps and Lepidonotothen nudifrons by Pseudoterranova decipiens were decreasing within the 30 years period.

The issue of the morphemic analysis of medical terminology is a crucial factor in terms of translation strategies and compilation of a terminological dictionary. The research was conducted in the context of author’s current lexicographical work called as English-Ukrainian-Russian defining dictionary of dental terms. To provide the user of the dictionary with reliable techniques to construct the meaning of terms, morphemes relative frequency in the area of dentistry have been determined.

The subject of my contribution is the cognition in the jurisprudence. It focuses on the question of the methods used in the jurisprudence to achieve knowledge of the law and the importance of the language in this process. My considerations focus on the evaluative position of the jurist. It is based on the assumption that the choice of a view requires not only an evaluation but also a kind of hierarchization. Therefore the important question is which evaluations are displaced by jurisprudence, and which ones creep into the theoretical considerations. The arguments on this topic have been drawn from three texts by German jurists of the 19th century.