"Pi of the Sky" - all-sky, real-time search for fast optical transients

An apparatus to search for optical flashes in the sky is described. It has been optimized for gamma ray bursts (GRB) optical counterparts. It consists of 2x16 cameras covering all the sky. The sky is monitored continuously and the data are analysed on-line. It has self-triggering capability and can react to external triggers with negative delay. The prototype with two cameras has been installed at Las Campanas (Chile) and is operational from July 2004. The paper presents general idea and describes the apparatus in detail. Performance of the prototype is briefly reviewed and perspectives for the future are outlined

Microscopical characterization of carbon materials derived from coal and petroleum and their interaction phenomena in making steel electrodes, anodes and cathode blocks for the microscopy of Carbon Materials Working Group of the ICCP

This paper describes the evaluation of petrographic textures representing the structural organization of the organic matter derived from coal and petroleum and their interaction phenomena in the making of steel electrodes, anodes and cathode blocks.This work represents the results of the Microscopy of Carbon Materials Working Group in Commission III of the International Committee for Coal and Organic Petrology between the years 2009 and 2013. The round robin exercises were run on photomicrograph samples. For textural characterization of carbon materials the existing ASTM classification system for metallurgical coke was applied.These round robin exercises involved 15 active participants from 12 laboratories who were asked to assess the coal and petroleum based carbons and to identify the morphological differences, as optical texture (isotropic/anisotropic), optical type (punctiform, mosaic, fibre, ribbon, domain), and size. Four sets of digital black and white microphotographs comprising 151 photos containing 372 fields of different types of organic matter were examined. Based on the unique ability of carbon to form a wide range of textures, the results showed an increased number of carbon occurrences which have crucial role in the chosen industrial applications.The statistical method used to evaluate the results was based on the "raw agreement indices". It gave a new and original view on the analysts' opinion by not only counting the correct answers, but also all of the knowledge and experience of the participants. Comparative analyses of the average values of the level of overall agreement performed by each analyst in the exercises during 2009-2013 showed a great homogeneity in the results, the mean value being 90.36%, with a minimum value of 83% and a maximum value of 95%

Multiscale Coarse-Graining of the Protein Energy Landscape

A variety of coarse-grained (CG) models exists for simulation of proteins. An outstanding problem is the construction of a CG model with physically accurate conformational energetics rivaling all-atom force fields. In the present work, atomistic simulations of peptide folding and aggregation equilibria are force-matched using multiscale coarse-graining to develop and test a CG interaction potential of general utility for the simulation of proteins of arbitrary sequence. The reduced representation relies on multiple interaction sites to maintain the anisotropic packing and polarity of individual sidechains. CG energy landscapes computed from replica exchange simulations of the folding of Trpzip, Trp-cage and adenylate kinase resemble those of other reduced representations; non-native structures are observed with energies similar to those of the native state. The artifactual stabilization of misfolded states implies that non-native interactions play a deciding role in deviations from ideal funnel-like cooperative folding. The role of surface tension, backbone hydrogen bonding and the smooth pairwise CG landscape is discussed. Ab initio folding aside, the improved treatment of sidechain rotamers results in stability of the native state in constant temperature simulations of Trpzip, Trp-cage, and the open to closed conformational transition of adenylate kinase, illustrating the potential value of the CG force field for simulating protein complexes and transitions between well-defined structural states

Polish consumers’ interest of game meat as a counterweight to meat from animals farmed industrially

Celem artykułu jest ocena poziomu gotowości polskich konsumentów do zwiększenia spożycia dziczyzny w najbliższych 2 latach oraz poznanie najistotniejszych dla badanych cech dziczyzny, które mogą wpłynąć na podjęcie decyzji o jej spożywaniu. Wykorzystano dane pochodzące z ogólnopolskiego badania ilościowego zrealizowanego w 2013 roku na podstawie kwestionariusza wywiadu osobistego. Badanie przeprowadzono na próbie 1000 dorosłych mieszkańców Polski. Stwierdzono, że co drugi respondent (53%), który do tej pory nie spożywał dziczyzny, wykazuje gotowość do wzrostu poziomu jej konsumpcji w najbliższych 2 latach. Większą skłonnością do zwiększenia spożywania dziczyzny charakteryzowali się mężczyźni, mieszkańcy dużych miast, osoby bardziej wykształcone w wieku od 31-40 lat. Konsumenci cenią mięso pochodzące z dzikich zwierząt ze względu na składniki odżywcze, ekologiczne pochodzenie oraz smak.The aim of the publication was to assess the level of preparedness of Polish consumers to increase consumption of venison in the next 2 years and know the most important features for the test game meat, which may affect the decision about her eating. Used data from a nationwide quantitative survey realized in 2013 on the basis of a questionnaire personal interview. The survey was sent to 1,000 adult residents of Polish. It was found that every second respondent (53%), which has so far not eat venison, shows a willingness to increase the level of its consumption in the next 2 years. Greater propensity to increase consumption of venison were characterized by men, residents of large cities, higher educated people aged 31-40 years. Consumers prefer meat from wild animals because of the nutrients, organic origin and taste

Chemical composition of seeds of linseed (Linum usitatissimum L.) cultivars depending on the intensity of agricultural technology

The aim of this study was to determine the effect of the level of agronomic practice on the content of N, P, K, Mg, Zn, Cu, Mn, Fe and Ca in linseed seed cultivars (cv. Szafir and Oliwin) sown at a row spacing of 15 cm or 25 cm. A field experiment was carried out in 2010–2012. on mixed rendzina soil. The agronomic practice applied differed in the dosage of nitrogen (40, 60 or 80 kg N ha-1) and in weed control (A. without herbicides; B. with two herbicides, C. with three herbicides). The cultivar Szafir was characterised by a significantly higher content of nitrogen than cv. Oliwin, which in turn had a higher manganese content. The content of potassium, magnesium, zinc and manganese in seeds was higher when flax was sown at the narrower row spacing (15 cm) compared to the 25 cm row spacing. A similar relationship was determined for nitrogen, iron and calcium, but statistical verification did not confirm the significance of these differences. The level of agrotechnology in linseed crop cultivation did not influence the seed concentration of the elements. A slightly higher content of the elements in seeds was detected in the treatments where extensive (40 kg N ha-1, without herbicides) and medium intensive technology (60 kg N ha-1, Linurex 50 WP, Fusilade Forte 150 EC) were used, compared to intensive technology (80 N ha-1, Linurex 50 WP, Fusilade Forte 150 EC, Glean 75 WG). A slightly higher content of Fe and Ca was determined in seeds harvested from the plots where the intensive technology was used. Weather conditions significantly affected the content of K, Mg, Zn and Mn in linseed seed