Selected geotourist attractions of Death Valley, USA

Death Valley National Park located in the U.S. states of California and Nevada is one of many units within the National Park Service established because of their exceptional natural and geological values. Death Valley National Park is renownedworldwide for its perfectly exposed, complex, unique and diverse geological resources. Within the park visitors encounter representatives of many geological epochs, from Precambrian metamorphic rocks exposed in the Black Mountains to recent desert sediments. This paper presents the geology of Death Valley and some of the most interesting geosites: Zabriskie Point, Badwater Basin, Devil’s Golf Course, Harmony Borax Works and Ubehebe Craters

Dietary intake of antioxidants and fats in the context of coronary heart disease prevention among elderly people

Introduction Some literature data indicate that the proper intake of exogenic antioxidants from food and the proper intake of fats can offer significant protection against coronary heart disease. Objectives The estimation of total antioxidant capacity of food intake on the basis of Dietary Antioxidant Index (DAI), together with an assessment of the contribution of particular food products in DAI, and the evaluation of consumption of all dietary fats and frequency of consumption of products that are a source of fats among elderly people in Krakow, Poland. Material and Methods 143 persons (73 women and 70 men) aged 65–80 were studied. None of them was under specialist medical control, including cardiological control. DAI was investigated on the basis of the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) which included 145 food items. DAI was measured using the method by Benzi and expressed as FRAP (the ability to reduce Fe 3+ to Fe 2+ , measured in mMol/l). The daily intake of fats was estimated using the 24-h nutritional recall. The frequency of fats consumption was estimated with the usage of FFQ. For statistical analysis, χ2 test was used. Results The mean value of DAI of all studied persons was 34.27 + 11.72 mMol/l. The largest percentage of those studied had FRAP values in the range 25–35 mMol/l. The highest contribution in the total DAI value was found in fruit (36.2%), grains and cereal-based products (23.6%), and beverages (24.0%). The consumption of vegetables was on the fourth position (7.1%). The contribution of the remaining food products was low. The consumption of total fats (about 70g/24h) and saturated fatty acids (14% of energetic value) exceeded the recommendations. The participation of mono-and polyunsaturated fatty acids in the diets was not in accordance with recommendations. The most frequently consumed fats were animal fats (sausages, butter) and cakes, but the consumption of vegetable oils, fish, nuts and seeds of oil plants was too low. Conclusions The majority of elderly people made mistakes in their nutrition. The enrichment in natural antioxidants of the diets of elderly people and the normalization of their fats consumption should become an important element of primary and secondary prophylaxis of cardiovascular disease

Geochemia karbonu produktywnego i miocenu Górnośląskiego Zagłębia Węglowego - studium przypadku

This paper presents geochemical data for 171 core samples of the Carboniferous coal-bearing series and the Miocene cove from the central part of the Upper Silesian Coal Basin. Major oxide concentrations (Al2O3, SiO2, Fe2O3, P2O5, K2O, MgO, CaO, Na2O, K2O, MnO, TiO2, and Cr2O3) were obtained using XRF. Trace and major elements (Mo, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Co, U, Cr, V, Mn, As, Th, Sr, Cd, Sb, Bi, Ba, Ti, W, Zr, Ce, Nb, Ta, Be Sc) were analysed ICP-MS. The main goals of this study were to demonstrate the distribution, as well as the stratigraphical variability, of the selected elements and to determine whether chemostratigraphy tools could be effectively applied to analyze Carboniferous and Miocene deposits of the USCB. Geochemical studies have shown showed different geochemical features of the samples from the Carboniferous and the Miocene. The diversity is mainly expressed in the enrichment of Miocene sediments in Ca and Sr related to biogenic carbonate material. It was also stated that the concentrations of trace elements associated with the detrital fraction, such as Zn, Cr, Co, Ba, Ti, Zr, Nb, and Sc show slightly higher values in Carboniferous sediments. On the basis of the content of Ti, Zr, and Nb, as well as ratios such as Th/U, Zr/Th, Ti/Zr, and TiO2/K2O, units with different inputs of the terrigenous fraction can be identified in both Carboniferous and Miocene formations. The paper shows that chemostratigraphy can be used as a stratigraphic and correlation tool for the Carboniferous and the Miocene deposits of the USCB.W pracy przedstawiono dane geochemiczne dla 171 próbek skał osadowych z karbońskiej serii węglonośnej i pokrywy mioceńskiej z centralnej części Górnośląskiego Zagłębia Węglowego. Udziały głównych tlenków (Al2O3, SiO2, Fe2O3, P2O5, K2O, MgO, CaO, Na2O, K2O, MnO, TiO2 i Cr2O3)oznaczono za pomocą XRF. Pierwiastki główne i śladowe (Mo, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Co, U, Cr, V, Mn, As, Th, Sr, Cd, Sb, Bi, Ba, Ti, W, Zr, Ce, Nb, Ta, Be i Sc) analizowano przy pomocy ICP-MS. Głównym celem badań była analiza koncentracji i zmienności stratygraficznej wybranych pierwiastków głównych i śladowych, jak również ocena możliwości stosowania chemostratygrafii w analizie karbońskich i mioceńskich osadów GZW. Badania geochemiczne wykazały odmienne właściwości geochemiczne próbek z karbonu produktywnego oraz miocenu. Zróżnicowanie to wyraża się głównie wzbogaceniem osadów miocenu w Ca i Sr, związane z biogenicznym materiałem węglanowym. Stwierdzono również, że stężenia pierwiastków śladowych, związanych z frakcją detrytyczną, takich jak: Zn, Cr, Co, Ba, Ti, Zr, Nb, Sc, wykazują nieco wyższe wartości w osadach karbonu. Na podstawie koncentracji pierwiastków Ti, Zr i Nb oraz wskaźników geochemicznych Th/U, Zr/Th, Ti/Zr, TiO2/K2O można zidentyfikować jednostki o różnym udziale frakcji terygenicznej, zarówno w osadach karbonu i miocenu. W pracy wykazano, że chemostratygrafia może być z powodzeniem wykorzystywana jako narzędzie stratygraficzne i korelacyjne dla utworów karbonu i miocenu Górnośląskiego Zagłębia Węglowego

Dosažení stability termické přeměny organické hmoty karbonských hornin ve vrtu Drogomyśl IG-1 (Hornoslezská uhelná pánev)

The aim of the study was to determine the thermal maturity level of organic matter on the basis of reflectance measurements performed on vitrinite from Carboniferous sandstones, mudstones and claystones in the Drogomyśl IG-1 drill hole in the Upper Silesian Coal Basin, Poland. Random reflectance Rr of vitrinite in the sandstones varies between 0.72% and 1.28%, while in the fine-grained rocks between 0.77 and 1.31%, which corresponds to paleotemperature of 110 to 180oC. Calculated geothermic paleogradients varies between 60oC/km and 63oC/km which leads to the conclusion that minimum thickness of the sedimentary overburden eroded from the surface of Carboniferous beds was from 4800 to 5000m. However, taking into consideration only geothermic paleogradients (70o - 100oC/km), calculated for the layers occurring below the depth of 1500m, the thickness of the eroded overburden should be from 5600 to 8000m.V článku jsou publikovány výsledky výzkumu úrovně termických přeměn organické hmoty v karbonských horninách z vrtu Drogomyśl IG-1 v polské části hornoslezské uhelné pánve. Výzkum vycházel ze studia odraznosti vitrinitu v pískovcích, prachovcích, jílovitých prachovcích a jílovcích. Odraznost náhodná Rf vitrinitu, vyseparovaného z horninové matrix, dosahuje v pískovcích hodnot od 0,72 do 1,28%, v horninách jemnozrnných 0,77 do 1,31%, což odpovídá paleoteplotám v rozmezí od 110 do 180oC. Vypočtené průměrné geotermické paleogradienty dosahuji hodnot 60 – 63oC/km. Tyto hodnoty ukazují na to, že minimální mocnost zerodovaného pokryvu z aktuálního povrchu karbonu mohla dosahovat cca 4800 – 5000 m. Vezmeme-li v úvahu pouze vypočtené geotermické paleogradienty pro hloubky vyšší než 1500 m (dosahováno je zde hodnot 70 – l00oC/km) musela by minimální mocnost zerodovaného pokryvu činit cca 5600 až 8000 m

Facies development of the Westphalian marine faunal horizons of northwestern and Central Europe

W pracy przedstawiono charakterystykę faunistyczną i geochemiczną westfalskich poziomów faunistycznych Europy. Poziomy te charakteryzuje zmienność facjalna wyrażająca się, zarówno zmianami w spektrum makrofauny, jak i zróżnicowanym charakterem geochemicznym osadów. Analiza facjalna poziomu Dunbarella (granica westfalu A i B) z Lubelskiego Zagłębia Węglowego, korelowanego z poziomem Katharina, poziomem Quaregnon oraz poziomem Clay Cross Marine Band, wykazała cykliczność sedymentacji charakterystyczną dla westfalskich poziomów faunistycznych.The paper presents faunal and geochemical characterization of the Westphalian marine faunal horizons of Europe. This horizons are characterized by facies variability expressed by faunal spectrum variability and different geochemical features of the sediments. Facies analysis of the Dunbarella horizon (boundary Westphalian A and B) of the Lublin Coal Basin, which is correlated with Katharina horizon, Quaregnon horizon and Clay Cross Marine Band horizon showed the cyclic sedimentation typical for the Westphalian marine fauna horizons

Project Portfolio Scheduling as a Multiple-Criteria Decision Making Problem

A new methodology for project portfolio scheduling problem has been presented in this paper. This methodology delivers information about project portfolio schedule, which is important for project portfolio managers. The methodology consists of three steps: multiple-criteria mathematical model building, finding non-dominated solutions and choosing one solution from the Pareto set as the final solution. In the first step a multiple-criteria mathematical model for project portfolio scheduling problem is built. Three criteria are considered in the model: the penalty for projects delays minimization, the penalty for resources overusage minimization and NPV maximization. Disadvantage of proposed mathematical model is a big amount of variables, which is J×T×P. In cases when we will have larger projects or larger planning horizon the number of variables will be huge. That is why activities aggregation was proposed. It reduces a number of variables in given model. It also delivers a general information about project portfolio schedule, which is more important for project portfolio managers. In the second step a set of non-dominated solutions is identified by using an elitist evolutionary algorithm. As research shows using an external set with the best solutions in each generation increases an algorithm efficiency. In the third step the LBS procedure is used to identify the final solution. The LBS procedure proposes is a way of learning-oriented interactive search for the best compromise solution for the decision maker. This procedure makes the comparison of non-dominated solution in the decision phase relatively easy. So this step will not burden the decision maker too much. For the future work, the procedure presented in this paper will be applied to the problem described in the section two, and given results will be compared with the current situation in the company

Selected Aspects of Teenagers’ Perception of Financial Security

Celem artykułu jest ukazanie problematyki finansów osobistych i zarządzania nimi przez młodych konsumentów w kontekście dążenia do osiągnięcia bezpieczeństwa finansowego. W opracowaniu wyartykułowano ważną rolę, jaką ma do odegrania edukacja ekonomiczna, która powinna być realizowana już od najmłodszych lat, wskazując między innymi na rolę rodziny i szkoły w tym zakresie. Wyniki badań empirycznych pokazują, że uczniowie szkół ponadgimanzjalnych (aktualnie ponadpodstawowych) postępują z własnymi finansami często intuicyjnie, a tym, co ich do tego motywuje jest bezpieczeństwo finansowe rozumiane jako posiadanie kapitału w razie nieprzewidzianych wydatków i zabezpieczenie na przyszłość. W oparciu o zaprezentowane wyniki należy stwierdzić, że istnieje potrzeba dalszej, profesjonalnej, edukacji ekonomicznej młodzieży.The aim of the article is to present and manage the issues of personal finances by young consumers in the context of pursuing financial security. The paper outlines the important role that economic education has to play, which should be implemented from an early age, pointing out, among other things, the role of families and schools in this field. The results of empirical research show that students of upper-secondary schools (now upper secondary level) are often self-regulating with their finances, and what motivates them is financial security understood as holding capital in the event of unforeseen expenses and securing the future. Based on the results presented, it is necessary to say that there is a need for further, professional, economic education of young people

Three Step Procedure for a Multiple Criteria Problem of Project Portfolio Scheduling

The project portfolio scheduling problem as a multiple criteria decision making problem and a three step procedure to solve this problem have been presnted. In the first step, the problem was described by a multiple criteria mathematical model. Three criteria have been considered: minimization of the sum of penalties for projects delays, minimization of resource overuse and NPV maximization. In the second step, non-dominated solutions were identified by using an elitist evolutionary algorithm for multiple optimization. In the third step, an interactive procedure has been applied to choose the final solution. An example of a portfolio of IT projects was used for computations. (original abstract