Regional Development Based on Environmental Competitive Advantages – A Comparative Analysis of Polish Voivodships

This article presents an assessment of the environmental competitiveness of Polish regions in the years 2004 and 2012. For the purposes of analysis, 26 indices of the condition and protection of the environment and also pressures placed on the environment were selected. With respect to each index, between 1 and 16 points were attributed to each region (16 units on the NUTS 2 level are distinguished in Poland) depending on the degree of environmental impact. Then, the points allocated to the voivodships for each index were totalled and a ranking of voivodships reflecting the level of environmental competitiveness was elaborated.W artykule przedstawiono istotę, metodę badań i wyniki oceny środowiskowej konkurencyjności regionów w Polsce w 2004 i 2010 r. Dla potrzeb analizy wyselekcjonowano 26 wskaźników stanu, presji i ochrony środowiska charakteryzujących poszczególne województwa. W odniesieniu do każdego wskaźnika, regionom przypisano punkty od 1 do 16 (w Polsce wyróżniamy 16 jednostek na poziomie NUTS 2) w zależności od stopnia oddziaływania na środowisko. Następnie, sumując punkty uzyskane przez województwa w odniesieniu do poszczególnych wskaźników, otrzymano oceny końcowe, w oparciu o które opracowano ranking województw odzwierciedlający poziom środowiskowej konkurencyjności

A comparative analysis of Lubelskie and Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodships in the context of environmental competitiveness of regions

The aim of the study is an analysis of the environmental competitiveness of Lubelskie and Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodships. There was performed an analysis of indices of the condition and protection of the environment, and also of the pressures placed on the environment in particular regions in order to assess the environmental competitiveness of Polish voivodships using a rating method (point one). The comparison of Lubelskie and Kujawsko-Pomorskie voivodships leads to the conclusion that these regions are characterised by a relatively good environmental potential, creating chances for specialisation in a range of those forms of economic activity which are based on the use of environmental resources and values

Are eco-innovations a key element for green growth?

Purpose: In the recent decade, the so-called green growth (GG) concept has made a significant contribution to many-years’ debate on sustainable development (SD). One of its key pillars is eco-innovation (EI), however little information is available on whether and to what extent eco-innovation can be actually perceived as a significant factor for implementing green growth. For this reason, the aim of this paper is to clarify and synthesise findings at the intersection of these two fields: eco-innovation and the green growth processes. Design/Methodology/Approach: The paper provides a special insight into the relationship between EI and GG incorporating the spatial dimension into analysis. The empirical part is based on the sample of 21 European countries. Findings: The rests of spatial panel models show that there exist positive effects of investing in eco-innovations on green growth. However, these results involve strong nonlinearities and threshold effects. The obtained results shed a new light on the uncovering relevant aspects and complexities of eco-innovations and green growth. Practical Implications: These results suggest that the policy-makers should mainly focus on stimulating the companies to introduce eco-innovations aiming at a reduction of material input and energy per unit output as well as an improvement of eco-management practices. Government incentives for green technology and organizational solutions may include a combination of subsidies and tax incentives. Originality/Value: This study is the first one which includes different measures of eco-innovations and relates them to the green growth process. These measures allow us portray the countries’ eco-innovation efforts from input, process, and output perspectives.peer-reviewe

Green growth in agriculture in the European Union : myth or reality?

Purpose: The concept of green growth gained in importance as a result of the recent financial and economic downturn. In the opinion of many experts it is a potential way of achieving a long-term goal, that is, sustainable development. An essential role in the context of green growth is attributed to the agricultural sector. The authors attempted to establish a synthetic measure of the level of green growth in agriculture. Design/Methodology/Approach: Research was carried out based on the taxonomic linear ordering method. The reference years 2000-2017 were chosen due to data availability on Eurostat, FAO and OECD database. Due to the existing information gap, 25 EU countries were accepted for analysis. Findings: The analysis showed that Poland is characterized by the highest level of green growth in agriculture, while Cyprus received the lowest rating. Generalizing the results of the study, it can be stated that the level of ‘greening’ agriculture in European Union countries is insufficient. Practical Implications: The results fill in the existing information gap by providing an answer to the fundamental question: How can green growth in agriculture be evaluated synthetically? The proposed method advances the OECD approach by adding evaluation metrics to assess the performance of each country relative to other jurisdictions by indicator and by a synthetic measure. This allows countries to clearly identify areas where their performance is weak and to prioritize their mitigation measures accordingly. Originality/Value: The proposed method advances the OECD approach by adding evaluation metrics to assess the performance of each country relative to other jurisdictions by indicator and by a synthetic measure. This allows countries to clearly identify areas where their performance is weak and to prioritize their mitigation measures accordingly.peer-reviewe

Magnetism, coherent many-particle dynamics, and relaxation with ultracold bosons in optical superlattices

We study how well magnetic models can be implemented with ultracold bosonic atoms of two different hyperfine states in an optical superlattice. The system is captured by a two-species Bose-Hubbard model, but realizes in a certain parameter regime actually the physics of a spin-1/2 Heisenberg magnet, describing the second order hopping processes. Tuning of the superlattice allows for controlling the effect of fast first order processes versus the slower second order ones. Using the density-matrix renormalization-group method, we provide the evolution of typical experimentally available observables. The validity of the description via the Heisenberg model, depending on the parameters of the Hubbard model, is studied numerically and analytically. The analysis is also motivated by recent experiments [S. Foelling et al., Nature 448, 1029 (2007); S. Trotzky et al., Sience 319, 295 (2008)] where coherent two-particle dynamics with ultracold bosonic atoms in isolated double wells were realized. We provide theoretical background for the next step, the observation of coherent many-particle dynamics after coupling the double wells. Contrary to the case of isolated double wells, relaxation of local observables can be observed. The tunability between the Bose-Hubbard model and the Heisenberg model in this setup could be used to study experimentally the differences in equilibration processes for nonintegrable and Bethe ansatz integrable models. We show that the relaxation in the Heisenberg model is connected to a phase averaging effect, which is in contrast to the typical scattering driven thermalization in nonintegrable models. We discuss the preparation of magnetic groundstates by adiabatic tuning of the superlattice parameters.Comment: 20 pages, 24 figures; minor changes, published versio

Towards green growth : a taxonomic analysis based on the headline indicators

Purpose: Based on headline indicators, green growth's aggregate indexes have been constructed for 28 EU countries (including the United Kingdom). This allowed creating a ranking of the countries and identifying the strengths and weaknesses of green growth both at the European and national levels. Design/Methodology/Approach: Research was carried out based on the taxonomic linear ordering method. The reference years 2013-2018 were chosen due to data availability for individual indicators on the OECD database. Findings: The analysis showed that Sweden features the highest level of green growth, while Estonia received the lowest rating. Generalizing the study results, it can be stated that the level of 'greening' growth in European Union countries is still low. Practical Implications: The research results fill in the existing information gap by providing an answer to the fundamental question: How can green growth be evaluated synthetically based on headline indicators? This also allows countries to identify areas where their performance is weak and prioritize their mitigation measures accordingly. Originality/Value: The proposed method advances the OECD approach by adding evaluation metrics to assess each country's performance relative to other jurisdictions by indicator and by a synthetic measure.peer-reviewe

Środowiskowa konkurencyjność regionów – próba konceptualizacji

This paper presents the theoretical basis for the conception of environmental competitiveness of regions. It was pointed out, that the less developed regions are in a possession of a very precious commo­dity, i.e. their natural environment. There are wide possibilities to use their natural environment as a trading mark and in this way to spur their economic development. This could both stimulate the economic prospe­rity of the regions and contribute to enhancing the quality and quantity of their natural environment; in order to sell a product one has to be sure that it is of the best quality. Taking better care of the natural environment would further contribute to deepening the regions’ green specialization and enhancing their level of competitiveness on the national or even in­ternational scale. In fact, it is capable to use a new term for this idea – environmental competitiveness of regions.W artykule zaprezentowano teoretyczne podstawy koncepcji środowiskowej konkurencyjności regionów.  Wskazano, że regiony słabiej rozwinięte znajdują się w posiadaniu bardzo cennego waloru, jakim jest relatywnie czyste środowisko naturalne. Środowisko naturalne może być tutaj rozpatrywane jako swoisty znak handlowy, który może decydować o rozwoju gospodarczym. To przyczynia się do wzrostu dobrobytu w regionach oraz wpływa na dalszą poprawę jakości środowiska. Podejmowanie aktywnych działań na rzecz ochrony środowiska sprzyja pogłębianiu tzw. „zielonej” specjalizacji regionów, a tym samym zwiększaniu ich konkurencyjności na szczeblu krajowym lub nawet międzynarodowym

Very late-onset of inflammatory bowel disease. A case report

Introduction Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in most cases is classified into Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC). It appears in 25-35 years of age and the second peak is after fifties. It is very rare to recognize it in the elderly. Case presentation We present a case of a 79-year-old female patient who was admitted to the Chair and Department of Gastroenterology with Endoscopic Unit at the Medical University of Lublin in December 2018 with an acute lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage and dyselectrolytemia. Additionally, she suffered from atrial fibrillation. She has been treated with an anticoagulant therapy and has been receiving dabigatran for many years. After 16 days of diagnostic research and intensive treatment the patient was discharged home with no previous symptoms. After the next 12 days at home our patient returned to the hospital with recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding, abdominal pain and after fainting episode. Digital rectal exam was positive and laboratory test showed anemia again. Colonoscopic findings on admission showed proximally to the splenic flexure blood signs, on Bauhin’s valve a flat ulcer. The histopathological report confirmed the inflammatory bowel disease. After diagnosis of IBD, an effective treatment with mesalazine and prednisone was started. Conclusions Despite the newest clinical trials are more and more common in Crohn’s disease or ulcerative colitis, the elderly patients are mostly excluded from them because of the other accompanying diseases and their burdensome side effects. Choosing the right therapy becomes the main problem in these patients after setting a proper diagnosis which can take years and many unnecessary hospitalizations

Strongly Interacting Quantum Systems out of Equilibrium

The main topic of this thesis is the study of many-body effects in strongly correlated one- or quasi one-dimensional condensed matter systems. These systems are characterized by strong quantum and thermal fluctuations, which make mean-field methods fail and demand for a fully numerical approach. Fortunately, a numerical method exist, which allows to treat unusually large one -dimensional system at very high precision. This method is the density-matrix renormalization group method (DMRG), introduced by Steve White in 1992. Originally limited to the study of static problems, time-dependent DMRG has been developed allowing one to investigate non-equilibrium phenomena in quantum mechanics. In this thesis I present the solution of three conceptionally different problems, which have been addressed using mostly the Krylov-subspace version of the time-dependent DMRG. My findings are directly relevant to recent experiments with ultracold atoms, also carried out at LMU in the group of Prof. Bloch. The first project aims the ultimate goal of atoms in optical lattices, namely, the possibility to act as a quantum simulator of more complicated condensed matter system. The underline idea is to simulate a magnetic model using ultracold bosonic atoms of two different hyperfine states in an optical superlattice. The system, which is captured by a two-species Bose-Hubbard model, realizes in a certain parameter range the physics of a spin-1/2 Heisenberg chain, where the spin exchange constant is given by second order processes. Tuning of the superlattice parameters allows one to controlling the effect of fast first order processes versus the slower second order ones. The analysis is motivated by recent experiments, %\cite{Folling2007,Trotzky2008} where coherent two-particle dynamics with ultracold bosonic atoms in isolated double wells were detected. My project investigates the coherent many-particle dynamics, which takes place after coupling the double well. I provide the theoretical background for the next step, the observation of coherent many-particle dynamics after coupling the double wells. The tunability between the Bose-Hubbard model and the Heisenberg model in this setup could be used to study experimentally the differences in equilibration processes for non-integrable and Bethe ansatz integrable models. It turns out that the relaxation in the Heisenberg model is connected to a phase averaging effect, which is in contrast to the typical scattering driven thermalization in nonintegrable models In the second project I study a many-body generalization of the original Landau-Zener formula. This formula gives the transition probability between the two states of a quantum mechanical two-level system, where the offset between the two levels is varying linearly in time. In a recent experiment this framework has been extended to a many-body system consisting of pairwise tunnel-coupled one-dimensional Bose liquids. It was found that the tunnel coupling between the tubes and the intertube interactions strongly modify the original Landau-Zener picture. After a introduction to the two-level and the three-level Landau-Zener problem I present my own results for the quantum dynamics of the microscopic model and the comparison to the experimental results. I have calculated both Landau-Zener sweeps as well as the time-evolution after sudden quenches of the energy offset. A major finding is that for sufficiently large initial density quenches can be efficiently used to create quasi-thermal states of arbitrary temperatures. The third project is more mathematical and connects the fields of quantum computation and of quantum information. Here, the main purpose is to analyse systematically the effects of decoherence on maximally entangled multi-partite states, which arise typically during quantum computation processes. The bigger the number of entangled qubits the more fragile is its entanglement under the influence decoherence. As starting point I consider first two entangled qubits, whereby one qubit interacts with an arbitrary environment. For this particular case I have derived a factorization law for the disentanglement. Next, I calculate the decrease of entanglement of two , three and four entangled qubits, general $W$- and general $GHZ$-state, coupled to a global spin-$1/2$ bath or several independent spin-$1/2$ baths , one for each qubit. Although there is no appropriate entanglement measure for three and more qubits, it turns out that this decrease is directly related to the increase of entanglement between the central system and the bath. This implies the formation of a much bigger multipartite entangled network. Thus, using the von Neumann entropy and the Wootters concurrence, I derive a simple upper bound for the bath-induced entanglement breaking power of the initially maximally entangled multi-partite states

Metody odkrywania niedawnej przeszłości

The article aims to show the possibility of studying events from the recent history with the help archaeology of the contemporary past. The reader will have the opportunity to get to know historical and ethnographic sources related to the anti-communist underground unit headed by a commander nicknamed “Tarzan”. The article will also present the relics of earthworks (bunkers, dugouts). They will be interpreted using archaeological methodsThe article aims to show the possibility of studying events from the recent history with the help archaeology of the contemporary past. The reader will have the opportunity to get to know historical and ethnographic sources related to the anti-communist underground unit headed by a commander nicknamed “Tarzan”. The article will also present the relics of earthworks (bunkers, dugouts). They will be interpreted using archaeological methods