NewConnect - an alternative platform for new innovative companies

The article discusses the attributes of innovation in the context of creating a knowledge-based economy and presents the alternative stock market NewConnect where the small and medium-sized firms may seek funds to finance their innovative projects. NewConnect's functions and goals are shown with respect to capital circulation, stock market training, education and promotion of SMEs aspiring to enter the Warsaw Stock Exchange in the future, as well as the expansion of the financial infrastructure in Poland and the EU.W artykule zaprezentowano atrybuty innowacyjności w kontekście kreacji Gospodarki Opartej na Wiedzy oraz alternatywny parkiet NewConnect, stanowiący szanse pozyskiwania kapitału na nowatorskie projekty przez małe i średnie firmy. Wskazano na realizowane funkcje i zadania NewConnect w dziele przepływu kapitału, treningu giełdowego, edukacji i promocji małych i średnich spółek aspirujących w przyszłości do zajęcia pozycji na GPW oraz rozbudowy infrastruktury finansowej Polski i Unii Europejskiej

Population Models Analysis Program (POPMAN)

The Population Program at IIASA deals with various aspects of population aging phenomena in developed countries. The demographic future of populations can be estimated using equations for population dynamics. The variety of assumptions about the demographic characteristics which are appropriate for any particular population can be realized in various forms of boundary conditions for partial differential equations. This paper by Anna Lewandowska describes a convenient interactive procedure which can be used on an IBM PC (or compatible) for calculating such demographic equations. The procedure is combined with a Lexis program developed in IIASA's Population Program that allows to see the results of calculations in the form of shaded contour maps on the color monitor of a PC. This tool is useful for analyzing the dynamic properties of the age-specific population structure

Hyperbolic subdiffusive impedance

We use the hyperbolic subdiffusion equation with fractional time derivatives (the generalized Cattaneo equation) to study the transport process of electrolytes in media where subdiffusion occurs. In this model the flux is delayed in a non-zero time with respect to the concentration gradient. In particular, we obtain the formula of electrochemical subdiffusive impedance of a spatially limited sample in the limit of large and of small pulsation of the electric field. The boundary condition at the external wall of the sample are taken in the general form as a linear combination of subdiffusive flux and concentration of the transported particles. We also discuss the influence of the equation parameters (the subdiffusion parameter and the delay time) on the Nyquist impedance plots.Comment: 10 pages, 5 figure

Lifelong Learning for Inclusion - between Theory and Practice

In this study I present the conclusions of reports of the research teams which examined the policy range and analysed the activities regarding the inclusion of the socially deprived in rural areas, i.e. the British, Hungarian and Polish reports. When undertaking to find a reply to the question raised at the beginning of this article, I considered that the empirical basis would be quality material collected within the framework of focused group interviews 1. Although the focused group interviews were conducted according to a scenario which was prepared by the research teams, changes were possible in each country (although these changes did not affect the research issue). Apart from the main aim of the discussion, i.e. the diagnosis and analysis of both successes and failures of educational activity enabling social inclusion, these differences concerned the digressions concentrating on poverty and social exclusion in rural areas and problems connected with the implementation of inclusive policy - Hungary; considerations concerning the kind of help which should be provided to individuals and groups struggling with poverty in the countryside - Great Britain; methods evaluating the effectiveness of aid agencies acting in favour of social inclusion - Poland. Representatives of government agencies playing a key role in the introduction of various forms of inclusive policy and representatives of institutions which provide direct help to the marginalised and those exposed to social marginalisation (which use various educational methods) took part in the research

Zooplankton Dominance Shift in Response to Climate-Driven Salinity Change : A Mesocosm Study

Climate change predictions indicate global changes in salinity with negative implications for plankton food webs; an important baseline for functioning of marine ecosystems. Current understanding of how salinity change will impact plankton communities is mostly limited to the salinization of freshwater environments, with little known about the effects of changing salinity in marine systems. In this study, we investigate the effect of salinity change on zooplankton communities under different salinity change scenarios of the Baltic Sea. Projections for future salinity change derived from regional physical-biogeochemical models were used to set-up an outdoor mesocosm experiment in the coastal area of the Gulf of Finland. Each mesocosm was inoculated with natural plankton using a mixture of both marine and freshwater communities, mimicking the natural influx of freshwater species from rivers into the Baltic Sea. Zooplankton diversity and composition changed possibly due to different salinity tolerances among the species. Among zooplankton, rotifers dominated in low salinities (74%) and cladocerans and copepods (69%) in high salinities. Our results suggest that the zooplankton community will shift to a rotifer dominated community in areas with declining salinity due to the intolerance of other zooplankton groups to freshening.Peer reviewe

Structural Properties and Frequency Response Analysis of Simplified Water Quality Models: The Case of Time-Invariant Coefficients

This paper deals with the analysis of the structural properties of simplified river water quality models with time-invariant coefficients. The structure of the simplified models should be chosen in such a way as to provide a satisfactory compromise between model accuracy and complexity. The approach discussed here is based on an analysis of the dynamic properties of the system as well as on the frequency characteristics of the input signals. The analysis of the dynamical properties of the system has been performed for a one-dimensional (in space) time-invariant distributed-parameter model. The unsteady solutions for coupled, partial, differential equations (with two variables: DO and BOD concentrations) with time-invariant coefficients are considered. The model equations are transformed in a special way into diffusion equations, whose solution can be obtained by using the separation of variables method (SVM). As a result, a linear infinite order, ordinary differential equation system, with the same eigenvalues as those of the partial differential equations is obtained. The dynamical properties of the system are characterized here on the basis of a transmittance analysis as well as on the basis of a modal analysis (analysis of eigenfunctions). The paper concludes with the possibility of choosing a simplified lumped-parameter (finite-order) dynamic or static model of water pollution, which ensures a compromise between accuracy and complexity of the model. It offers, in particular, answers to the following questions: What is the dimensionality of the simplified lumped-parameter model? What is the structure of this model? The approach is illustrated with results from a case study of the River Cam in eastern England

Composition of bioactive secondary metabolites and mutagenicity of Sambucus nigra L. Fruit at different stages of ripeness

The relationship between the content of bioactive compounds and mutagenic activity of elderberry fruit at different stages of ripeness was investigated. Significant differences in the antioxidant profiles (TLC, HPLC with post-column derivatization) and antioxidant activity (ABTS, DPPH, and FC tests) were observed for studied elderberry extracts. The more ripen the fruit at the time of harvest were, the higher the content of anthocyanins (increase from 0 to 7.8 mg g−1d.w.) and antioxidant activity of the extracts (about 5-fold increase) were. Cyanogenic glycosides were not detected at any stage of ripeness. Accordingly, Ames MPF test (Xenometrix) did not reveal any mutagenicity. Our study suggests that instability of cyanogenic glycosides ensures safety of food/pharmaceutical products based on even not fully ripen elderberry fruit