Zmiany jakości wód dolnej Wisły w latach 1986–2009

The results of more than twenty years of own research and state environmental protection authority reports show that from 1986–2009 the quality of water in the lower Vistula, representative of the eastern (right bank) part of Poland, continuously and significantly improved. This improvement was the result of changes in water and sewage management in the Vistula basin. Earlier, in the 1970s, the Vistula was quite heavily polluted, but it has never been the dirtiest river in Europe. It has been shown that Włocławek Reservoir has improved the water quality in the Vistula, substantially reducing all the indicators examined (Tab. 2). The only exception is concentration of oxygen, lower in the reservoir than in the undammed Vistula, but not to such an extent that it would threaten the development of its biocoenosis, which is richer than in the undammed Vistula. Reduction in the nitrogen (by 12.4%) and phosphorus (by 21.5%) load carried by the Vistula in the reservoir is particularly important for protection of the Baltic Sea against excessive eutrophication. This way, Włocławek Reservoir contrutes to fulfilment of Poland’s obligations under the Helsinki Convention in 1999.Na podstawie wyników ponad dwudziestoletnich badań własnych i raportów państwowych służb ochrony środowiska stwierdzono, że w latach 1986–2009 jakość wody dolnej Wisły, reprezentatywna dla wschodniej (prawobrzeżnej) połowy terytorium Polski, podlegała stałej, znaczącej poprawie. Poprawa ta była efektem porządkowania gospodarki wodno-ściekowej w dorzeczu Wisły. Wcześniej, w latach 70. XX wieku, Wisła była dość silnie zanieczyszczona, ale nigdy nie była najbrudniejszą rzeką Europy. Wykazano, że zbiornik włocławski poprawia jakość wody Wisły, redukując znacząco wszystkie badane wskaźniki (tab. 2). Wyjątkiem jest stężenie tlenu, które w zbiorniku jest niższe niż w niepodpiętrzonej Wiśle, ale w stopniu niezagrażającym rozwojowi jego biocenozy, bogatszej niż w niepodpiętrzonej Wiśle. Szczególnie ważna dla ochrony Bałtyku przed nadmierną eutrofizacją jest redukcja w zbiorniku niesionego Wisłą ładunku azotu (o 12,4%) i fosforu (o 21,5%). W ten sposób zbiornik włocławski przyczynia się do realizacji zobowiązań Polski, wynikających z ratyfikowanej w 1999 roku konwencji helsińskiej

Low-voltage anodizing of copper in sodium bicarbonate solutions

The low-voltage (< 5 V) anodization of copper in aqueous solutions of sodium bicarbonate was studied for the first time. As demonstrated, this method leads to the formation of microstructures on a copper surface, that are composed of malachite (CuCO3·Cu(OH)2). Moreover, by tuning the operating conditions, i.e., applied cell voltage and electrolyte concentration, different surface morphologies can be grown. As shown by electron microscopy investigation, clusters of ribbons corrosion pits or nonuniformly located powdery precipitates are formed when the low anodizing voltage is applied. Anodization at 1.0 V in 0.4 M sodium bicarbonate solution led to the formation of a velvet-like, deep black anodic layer that covered the whole metal surface with ribbon-resembling structures. A thorough investigation of the obtained anodic layers with X-ray diffraction (XRD), X-ray adsorption (XAS), Raman, and X-ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (XPS) uncovered the mixed crystalline-amorphous nature of the anodic copper species. Besides dominating the crystalline malachite phase, the amorphous cupric oxide was also identified. This composition offers promising features for catalytic applications, hence, low-voltage anodized copper was tested in an electrochemical CO2 reduction reaction to explore one possible application of the presented material. The current density of 4.7 mA cm−2 was registered for the selected sample.Green Open Access added to TU Delft Institutional Repository 'You share, we take care!' - Taverne project https://www.openaccess.nl/en/you-share-we-take-care Otherwise as indicated in the copyright section: the publisher is the copyright holder of this work and the author uses the Dutch legislation to make this work public.Team Peyman Taher

Comparison of MMP-2, MMP-9, COX-2, and PGP Expression in Feline Injection-Site and Feline Noninjection-Site Sarcomas—Pilot Study

Feline injection-site sarcomas (FISSs) are aggressive neoplasms that have been associated mostly with vaccination. Feline noninjection-site sarcomas (non-FISSs) are less frequently observed in cats and may arise in any anatomic site. This study aimed to determine the differences in the expression of the selected proteins (matrix metalloproteinase-2 (MMP-2), matrix metalloproteinase-9 (MMP-9), cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2), and P-glycoprotein (PGP)) and their correlation with the mitotic count in FISS and non-FISS, in order to characterize their immunohistochemical features. A preliminary study of eleven samples of FISS and eight samples of non-FISS was performed using immunohistochemistry. Among all the tested sarcomas, 80.4% of the tumors were positive for COX-2, 90.2% were positive for MMP-9, and 100% were positive for PGP. The results showed that the expressions of COX-2, MMP-9, and PGP were significantly higher in FISS than in non-FISS (COX-2—p ≤ 0.001; MMP-9—p ≤ 0.05; and PGP—p ≤ 0.05). A Spearman rank correlation analysis showed a moderate negative correlation between the expression of COX-2 and MMP-9 in FISS (r = −0.52). A strong negative correlation between COX-2 and PGP (r = −0.81), a moderate positive correlation between MMP-2 and MMP-9 (r = +0.69), and a moderate negative correlation between MMP-2 and PGP (r = −0.44) were observed in non-FISS. In summary, our study presents the immunohistochemical profile of the proteins involved with inflammation and carcinogenesis in FISS and non-FISS, which can contribute to expanding the knowledge of tumor biology