Factors influencing fluffy layer suspended matter (FLSM) properties in the Odra River - Pomeranian Bay - Arkona Deep System (Baltic Sea) as derived by principal components analysis (PCA), and cluster analysis (CA)

Factors conditioning formation and properties of suspended matter resting on the sea floor (Fluffy Layer Suspended Matter - FLSM) in the Odra river mouth - Arkona Deep system (southern Baltic Sea) were investigated. <P style='line-height: 20px;'> Thirty FLSM samples were collected from four sampling stations, during nine cruises, in the period 1996-1998. Twenty six chemical properties of the fluffy material were measured (organic matter-total, humic substances, a variety of fatty acids fractions, P, N, &delta;13C, &delta;15N; Li; heavy metals- Co, Cd, Pb, Ni, Zn, Fe, Al, Mn, Cu, Cr). The so obtained data set was subjected to statistical evaluation. <P style='line-height: 20px;'> Comparison of mean values of the measured properties led to conclusion that both seasonal and spatial differences of the fluffy material collected at the stations occured. Application of Principal Component Analysis, and Cluster Analysis, to the data set amended with environmental characteristics (depth, salinity, chlorophyll <i>a</i>, distance from the river mouth), led to quantification of factors conditioning the FLSM formation. The five most important factors were: contribution of the lithogenic component (responsible for 25% of the data set variability), time dependent factors (including primary productivity, mass exchange with fine sediment fraction, atmospheric deposition, contribution of material originating from abrasion-altogether 21%), contribution of fresh autochtonous organic matter (9%), influence of microbial activity (8%), seasonality (8%)

Loss of anti-contractile effect of perivascular adipose tissue in offspring of obese rats

RATIONALE: Maternal obesity pre-programmes offspring to develop obesity and associated cardiovascular disease. Perivascular adipose tissue (PVAT) exerts an anti-contractile effect on the vasculature, which is reduced in hypertension and obesity. OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to determine whether maternal obesity pre-programmes offspring to develop PVAT dysfunction in later life. METHODS: Female Sprague–Dawley rats were fed a diet containing 10% (control) or 45% fat (high fat diet, HFD) for 12 weeks prior to mating and during pregnancy and lactation. Male offspring were killed at 12 or 24 weeks of age and tension in PVAT-intact or -denuded mesenteric artery segments was measured isometrically. Concentration–response curves were constructed to U46619 and norepinephrine. RESULTS: Only 24-week-old HFD offspring were hypertensive (P<0.0001), although the anti-contractile effect of PVAT was lost in vessels from HFD offspring of each age. Inhibition of nitric oxide (NO) synthase with 100 μM l-NMMA attenuated the anti-contractile effect of PVAT and increased contractility of PVAT-denuded arteries (P<0.05, P<0.0001). The increase in contraction was smaller in PVAT-intact than PVAT-denuded vessels from 12-week-old HFD offspring, suggesting decreased PVAT-derived NO and release of a contractile factor (P<0.07). An additional, NO-independent effect of PVAT was evident only in norepinephrine-contracted vessels. Activation of AMP-activated kinase (with 10 μM A769662) was anti-contractile in PVAT-denuded (P<0.0001) and -intact (P<0.01) vessels and was due solely to NO in controls; the AMPK effect was similar in HFD offspring vessels (P<0.001 and P<0.01, respectively) but was partially NO-independent. CONCLUSIONS: The diminished anti-contractile effects of PVAT in offspring of HFD dams are primarily due to release of a PVAT-derived contractile factor and reduced NO bioavailability

Zaczarowana dorożka, zaczarowany dorożkarz, zaczarowany koń – dziedzictwo i tożsamość w modelach rozwoju miast, wybrane aspekty i przykłady

The spirit of the place, the caring spirit, the genius loci, the driving force, is the search for the essence of the place, the reason why the city, the town was founded and continues for the next years. But this is also a question about the future. What should a place look like and function now and in the future? What could be the role of the heritage of previous generations in the current development processes?Duch miejsca, duch opiekuńczy, genius loci, duch sprawczy, to poszukiwanie istoty miejsca, powodu dla którego miasto, miasteczko powstało i trwa przez kolejne lata. Ale to także pytanie o przyszłość. Jak powinno wyglądać i funkcjonować miejsce obecnie i w przyszłości? Jaka może być rola dziedzictwa poprzednich pokoleń w aktualnych procesach rozwojowych

Comparison of spatial motion analysis on the example of optical and accelerometric systems

Artykuł prezentuje wyniki porównania dwóch systemów służących do analizy ruchu człowieka- optycznego DTrack2 oraz akcelerometrycznego Xsens. Badania przeprowadzono w Wirtualnej Jaskini (zwanej systemem Cave) znajdującej się w Centrum Nowych Technologii w Gliwicach. Porównania dokonano na podstawie wielkości czasowo - przestrzennych wyznaczonych podczas badań doświadczalnych i obliczonych w programie Matlab. Porównanie danych przedstawiono na podstawie obliczonego błędu średniokwadratowego oraz współczynnika korelacji Pearsona.The paper presents the results of a comparison of two human motion analysis systems - optical DTrack2 and accelerometric Xsens. The study was conducted in Technopark Virtual Cave (called Cave system) in Gliwice. The comparison was made on the time-space basis, which were designated during the experiment and calculated in Matlab. Comparison of the data was presented on the basis of the calculated mean square error and the Pearson correlation coefficient

Spatio-temporal patterns of PAHs, PCBs and HCB in sediments of the Western Barents Sea

We examine the composition and levels of organic contaminants (PAHs, PCB, HCB) in four sediment cores collected from the Barents Sea. We assess the influence of temporal variations in contaminant supplies and post-depositional reworking on contaminant distribution. Anthropogenic levels of P12PAH reached 95 ng g−1, higher inventories dominated by BKF were observed at southern stations, while northern stations exhibited lower inventories with PHE as the dominant compound. The PCB composition was similar at all stations dominated by CB101, 138 and 153. P7PCB concentrations were higher at northern stations. The observed composition and spatio-temporal pattern of organic contaminants is in accordance with long-range transport supplies

Virtual technologies and sensory integration

Wirtualna rzeczywistość jest komputerową symulacją realnego świata, tworzoną przez właściwie dobrane oprogramowanie. Osoby biorące udział w „wirtualnej rehabilitacji” mają okazję doświadczać oddziaływania czynników sensorycznych, a także mają możliwość wpływania na wykreowane komputerowo, przestrzenne otoczenie. Artykuł prezentuje dwa scenariusze gier rehabilitacyjnych przeznaczonych dla osób ze zdiagnozowanymi zaburzeniami integracji sensorycznej, które łączą tradycyjne ćwiczenia wraz z wirtualną technologią-systemem CAVE. Dzięki zapewnieniu użytkownikowi realistycznych obrazów i pochłaniających uwagę doświadczeń, takie połączenie jest bardzo skuteczną oraz przynoszącą zadowalające rezultaty metodą.Virtual reality is a computer simulation of the real world, created by properly matching software. People taking part in the "virtual rehabilitation" have the opportunity to experience sensory influences and also have the ability to influence the computer created spatial environment. The article presents two game scenarios rehabilitation for people diagnosed with sensory integration problems, which combine traditional exercise with a virtual technology-system CAVE. By providing the user realistic images and absorbing account of the experience, this combination is very effective and yielding satisfactory results method