Conditions for Developing a Port City Transport Infrastructure Illustrated with the Example of Szczecin Agglomeration

AbstractThe article discusses the problem of hinterland services of port cargoes in the case when the port is located inside an urban agglomeration. The research was conducted for the Port of Szczecin with regard to the planned extension of the container terminal. The research included technical and operational as well as environmental and economic criteria for three investment options developed by the authors. Investment solutions are intended to provide efficient unitized cargo handling to and from the port within the agglomeration area, which entails its integration with the specific urban traffic. The research findings will result in putting forward recommendations for large port cities transport infrastructure development strategies corresponding with the priorities of sustainable transport

Autonomic balance and impedance cardiography analysis in patients undergoing leg revascularization

Introduction: Changes in autonomic nervous system (ANS) balance associated with endovascular interventions may potentially cause haemodynamic abnormalities that lead to periprocedural cardiovascular complications. This study aimed to determine the relationships between changes in ANS balance and impedance cardiography (ICG) parameters after endovascular leg revascularization. Material and methods: Before the procedure, and 1, 3 and 5h after the intervention, 5-min examinations of both ANS balance and ICG parameters were performed using a Task Force Monitor in 42 patients undergoing endovascular leg revascularization. Results: When compared to patients with intermittent claudication, individuals with chronic limb-threatening ischaemia had a significantly shorter R-R interval and lower stroke volume (SV) and left ventricle ejection time (LVET) at the beginning of the study. During the 5h after endovascular leg revascularization, significant fluctuations were noted in the following: heart rate, frequency-domain parameters of heart rate variability, baroreflex effectiveness indices, and ICG parameters, such as total peripheral resistance, SV, LVET, and ejection rate. The deltas of ANS parameters correlated with the deltas of ICG parameters in the respective periods of measurement. Conclusions: Dynamic fluctuations in ICG and ANS parameters that occurred in patients who had undergone endovascular leg revascularization might potentially affect the risk of the occurrence of a cardiovascular event in the periprocedural period. The correlations between the ANS and ICG parameters suggest that haemodynamic oscillations after endovascular leg revascularization are mediated by changes in ANS activity, most probably through a sympathoexcitatory effect of the procedure related to changes in skeletal muscle perfusion

Analysis of the Potential Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Image Processing Methods to Support Road and Parking Space Management in Urban Transport

Progressive urban density affects city centers especially and results in growing congestion, lack of parking spaces, and increasing environmental costs of transportation, causing increased air pollutant emissions and noise. These phenomena reduce the attractiveness of the city and result in a degradation of the quality of life for its residents. In light of these phenomena, there is a clear need for intelligent management of urban space using new technologies that would be complementary to existing intelligent transportation systems. Expanding information resources obtained from mobile cameras will have a positive impact on increasing the efficiency of transportation management and use of limited space in city centers. It will also have an impact on reducing external transport costs and increasing the quality of logistics services provided in the city. The main aim of the paper is to develop a concept of a transport management system in cities using mobile vision systems mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles. The model will concern the cases of lane occupation by freight vehicles and the analysis of parking spaces in the city in order to improve their management. The results of the developed model will contribute to the automation of the parking space management process and increase the efficiency of the use of city parking space resources

Problems with positioning inland vessels on the Western Oder River section between the Długi and the Kolejowy Bridges in Szczecin

The main aim of this article is to present a method to process Inland AIS (automatic identification system) data that is part of RIS (river information services), as well as to synthesize and visualize information obtained from it for further analysis. This article presents problems with imaging the position of inland navigation units in the immediate vicinity of the Długi and Kolejowy Bridges in Szczecin. The passing of 80 inland units on this section of the Western Oder River was analyzed. Data were obtained from the AIS message database and industrial cameras of the RIS Monitoring Centre at the Inland Navigation Office in Szczecin. 35 units were equipped with AIS messaging devices. This article analyzed the data after previous processing, which consisted of selecting appropriate research units and decoding AIS messages recorded in the VDM message type (VHF Data Link Message). Then, the acquired positions of inland navigation units on the map were visualized to calculate the number of errors and their location. The obtained data were used to illustrate the locations of interference during the operation of transmitter-receiver equipment that prevented determining the exact position of inland navigation units in the immediate vicinity of the above-mentioned bridges

The Concept of Big Data Management with Various Transportation Systems Sources as a Key Role in Smart Cities Development

An increasing number of devices and their communication with each other generates huge amounts of data. The efficiency of processing such large and heterogeneous data is crucial for extracting the reliable and consistent information that is needed for the effective management of smart cities within the field of transport. Data heterogeneity and volume as well as its integration and analytics are big challenges for decision-makers. The development of urban agglomerations is largely dependent on the proper management of such data. Therefore, this paper explores the role of these data repositories, their acquisition from different sources, and the ways to combine them. The main goal of this paper is to propose a concept of Smart City management based on Big Data Analytics and technology related to UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) which may reduce costs and resource consumption. The presented concept includes successive data generation and collection, data type identification, problem and requirement identification, filtering, classification, pre-processing, and data optimization, as well as decision support analysis. A key part of this analysis utilizes computer algorithms, such as Speeded Up Robust Features (SURF) and Thresholding and Blob detection, to develop a multi-camera image recognition system for freight transport management and logistics in smart cities. The objective is to design a system that optimizes the route planning and time of vehicle passage on selected road sections, ultimately leading to the reduction of emissions. During the study, data obtained from multiple sources were compared, and the analysis uncovered different results for the same assumptions. We discuss the reasons for these variances. Overall, the results obtained in the analysis indicated that it is necessary to correct the predictions of the multi-camera image recognition system with additional methods and algorithms

Analysis of the Potential Use of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles and Image Processing Methods to Support Road and Parking Space Management in Urban Transport

Progressive urban density affects city centers especially and results in growing congestion, lack of parking spaces, and increasing environmental costs of transportation, causing increased air pollutant emissions and noise. These phenomena reduce the attractiveness of the city and result in a degradation of the quality of life for its residents. In light of these phenomena, there is a clear need for intelligent management of urban space using new technologies that would be complementary to existing intelligent transportation systems. Expanding information resources obtained from mobile cameras will have a positive impact on increasing the efficiency of transportation management and use of limited space in city centers. It will also have an impact on reducing external transport costs and increasing the quality of logistics services provided in the city. The main aim of the paper is to develop a concept of a transport management system in cities using mobile vision systems mounted on unmanned aerial vehicles. The model will concern the cases of lane occupation by freight vehicles and the analysis of parking spaces in the city in order to improve their management. The results of the developed model will contribute to the automation of the parking space management process and increase the efficiency of the use of city parking space resources

On membrane-based approaches for rare earths separation and extraction – Recent developments

International audienceThe current progress in the improvement of membrane materials enlarges the utilizations and necessities for innovative, more efficient, resistant, and highly specialized separation materials. One of the growing areas of the implementation of membrane-based strategies is the selective separation of rare earth elements (REEs). Owing to their high potential and essential meaning in modern industry, demands for raw REEs have increased significantly in the last years. Moreover, considering the fact that isolation of REEs has listened as one of “the seven chemical separation processes that, if improved, would rear great global benefits” their application is emerging. Membrane strategies are gaining popularity in metal separation and wastewater treatment as sustainable green approaches with a simple operation. Many membrane strategies for REEs separation have been developed, but only a few reviews have been found. The main message coming from the literature review is that more light should be shed on the progress and implementation of non-liquid membranes. The previously utilized liquid membranes faced many problems related mainly to the long-term utilization, stability, and extraction yield. As a consequence, the REEs separation processes have moved in the direction of much more durable materials, i.e., non-liquid membrane strategies, in which the carriers are physically or chemically connected with the membrane or porous structure of support. The most significant advantage is the lack of a problem of losing extractant into the aqueous phase. This article aims to: i) review the current membrane-based methods in REEs separation focusing on non-liquid membranes (imprinted, polymer inclusion, nanocomposite, metal-/covalent organic framework membranes), ii) present the considerations of the essential scientific and technical issues, e.g. extraction performances, separation efficiency, REEs transport features, and iii) discuss their transport models and mechanisms as well as membrane stability. © 2023 Elsevier B.V

Influence of extracts from Rhodiola rosea and Rhodiola kirilowii on the development of alcohol tolerance in rats

Introduction:Rhodiola rosea (RR) and Rhodiola kirilowii (RK) are well known for their influence on central nervous system, however their impact on the development of alcohol tolerance has not yet been proven

Novel Short PEG Chain-Substituted Porphyrins: Synthesis, Photochemistry, and In Vitro Photodynamic Activity against Cancer Cells

This work presents the synthesis and characterization of metal-free, zinc (II), and cobalt (II) porphyrins substituted with short PEG chains. The synthesized compounds were characterized by UV-Vis, 1H and 13C NMR spectroscopy, and MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry. The origin of the absorption bands for tested compounds in the UV-Vis range was determined using a computational model based on the electron density functional theory (DFT) and its time-dependent variant (TD-DFT). The photosensitizing activity was evaluated by measuring the ability to generate singlet oxygen (ΦΔ), which reached values up to 0.54. The photodynamic activity was tested using bladder (5637), prostate (LNCaP), and melanoma (A375) cancer cell lines. In vitro experiments clearly showed the structure–activity relationship regarding types of substituents, their positions in the phenyl ring, and the variety of central metal ions on the porphyrin core. Notably, the metal-free derivative 3 and its zinc derivative 6 exerted strong cytotoxic activity toward 5637 cells, with IC50 values of 8 and 15 nM, respectively. None of the tested compounds induced a cytotoxic effect without irradiation. In conclusion, these results highlight the potential value of the tested compounds for PDT application