Review and appraisal - Cost-benefit analyses of earth resources survey satellite systems

Review and assessment of documents concerning cost and benefits of ERS satellites, and value of these studies in directing R and D activitie

Integration of Transit System

The objective of this report is to assess the potential for interagency and intermodal integration of transit systems in u.s. urban areas, drawing on an analysis of the successful experience of European systems. Vol. 1 documents the need for transit integration in U.S. urban areas, presents the conceptual and evaluative frame­work, and reviews current transit integration efforts by Federal, state, and local governments. Vol. 2 describes in detail four major European transit systems (London, Hamburg, Paris, and Munich); give brief descriptions of six others (Newcastle upon Tyne, Edinburgh, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Copenhagen, and Oslo); and summarizes and appraises the applicability to U.S. transit systems of techniques which have contributed to the success of these European systems. Vol. 3 deals with the application of these techniques to three major U.S. cities (Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle) and to an archetypal smaller urban area, Middletown. The report is summar­ized in the fourth volume. Appendices include contacts in u.s. cities, UMTA study grants, and questionnaire forms. Approximately 150 references are listed at the ends of individual sections and in a bibliography in the summary volume

Integration of Transit Systems Summary

The objective of this report is to assess the potential for interagency and intermodal integration of transit systems in U.S. urban areas, drawing on an analysis of the successful experience of European systems. Vol. l documents the need for transit integration in U.S. urban areas, presents the conceptual and evaluative frame-work, and reviews current transit integration efforts by Federal, state, and local governments. Vol. 2 describes in detail four major European transit systems (London, Hamburg, Paris, and Munich); gives brief descriptions of six others (Newcastle upon Tyne, Edinburgh, Stockholm, Gothenburg, Copenhagen, and Oslo); and summarizes and appraises the applicability to U.S. transit systems of techniques which have contributed to the success of these European systems. Vol. 3 deals with the application of these techniques to three major U.S. cities (Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Seattle) and to an archetypal smaller urban area, Middletown. II The report is summarized in the fourth volume. Appendices include contacts in U.S. cities, UMTA study grants, and questionnaire forms. Approximately 150 references are listed at the ends of individual sections

The occurrence of entomopathogenic fungi in soils from mid-field woodlots and adjacent small-scale arable fields

The aim of this study was to compare the species composition and the intensity of entomopathogenic fungi occurrence in the soil from mid-field woodlots and adjacent small farmlands. The study material consisted of soil samples taken from a mid-field woodlot and an adjacent small-scale arable field in three different localities in the vicinity of Siedlce. Entomopathogenic fungi were isolated from soil using two methods: the insect bait method and the selective medium. The comparative study showed that the soil from mid-field woodlots was characterized by a richer species composition of entomopathogenic fungi than of adjacent arable fields. A total of six fungal species representing the anamorphs of Hypocreales (Ascomycota) were isolated from the soil collected from mid-field woodlots: B. bassiana, B. brongniartii, M. anisopliae, M. flavoviride, I. farinosa and I. fumosorosea. The presence of only three species was reported in the farmland soil: B. bassiana, M. anisopliae and I. fumosorosea. This fact confirms the important role of semi-natural habitats as a source of biodiversity of entomopathogenic fungi in agricultural landscape. It was found that entomopathogenic fungi together formed more colony-forming units in the soil from arable fields than that of neighbouring mid-field woodlots. B. bassiana was the species of fungus which infected more bait insect larvae and formed significantly more colony-forming units (CFU) in the soil from mid-field woodlots than that of farmland in the localities studied, whereas the trend was the opposite in the case of I. fumosorosea and M. anisopliae. Given the presence of entomopathogenic fungi in the farmland soil in the three test places together, it was found that I. fumosorosea was dominant in the soil from the two arable fields, where this fungus infected more G. mellenella larvae and formed significantly more CFUs than the other species of fungi. M. anisopliae was the second most frequently isolated farmland species

Modernization of historic polish railway station buildings from the interwar period

W artykule został opisany proces przekształceń zabytkowych dworców kolejowych związany z ich modernizacją i adaptacją do nowych funkcji w świetle uwarunkowań prawnych, projektowych i realizacyjnych. Problematykę przedstawiono na przykładzie badanych obiektów powstałych w okresie międzywojennym na terenie II Rzeczypospolitej i zmodernizowanych po roku 2006. Zauważalny jest brak istotnych elementów procesu projektowego i wykonawczego takich, jak identyfikacja i ocena wartości zabytkowych, badanie historii i specyfiki obiektu oraz dokumentacja wprowadzanych zmian. Nie istnieje także koncepcja zarządzania zabytkowymi obiektami kolejowymi. W rezultacie wiele z wyremontowanych obiektów traci swój unikatowy charakter, atrybuty zabytkowych wartości, a także pierwotne funkcje. Wprowadzenie nowych funkcji sprawia zarządcom trudności, przez co niektóre dworce pozostają niezagospodarowane.The article describes the process of transformation of historic railway stations for the modernization and adaptation to new functions in the light of legal, design and realization issues. Problems are presented on the example of studied objects - stations created in the interwar period in Poland and modernized after 2006. The study showed lack of significant elements in the design and the executive processes, such as the identification and evaluation of historic values, study of history and character of the object and documentation of changes. There is also no concept of managing historic station buildings . As a result, many of the renovated objects will lose its unique character, the attributes of historic value and original function. The introduction of new functions seems problematic for managers, what makes some stations remain unoccupied

Home visits by a cardiac nurse clinician and patients diagnosed with heart failure

Heart failure (HF) is a debilitating syndrome affecting thousands of Canadians every year. It is one of the leading causes of death in Canada and has been found to be the leading cause of readmission to hospital in North America. We sought to determine if home visits by a cardiac nurse clinician reduced heart failure readmissions to hospital in Canada. A retrospective cohort study design examined the effect of an existing post-discharge home visit intervention program for patients with heart failure. The study sample consisted of 215 patients, each hospitalized with a “most responsible inpatient diagnosis of heart failure.” Between 2011 and 2013, 103 patients were referred to the home visit intervention program and seen by the cardiac nurse clinician at home. The usual care group 112 patients was randomly extracted from Discharge Abstract Database between 2009 and 2011. Meleis’ Transitions Theory informed and guided the study, and Wagner’s Chronic Care Model guided the intervention. The main outcome measure was 30-day hospital readmissions for heart failure. The intervention group had fewer readmissions to hospital for heart failure and a higher number of referrals to cardiac rehabilitation than usual care group (p ≤ 0.001). No significant differences were found between all-cause readmissions, length of stay of readmissions, or all-cause emergency visits between the two groups. Our results suggest that there may be a relationship between home visits by a cardiac nurse clinician and heart failure readmissions with patients who are diagnosed with heart failure. Furthermore, we believe the model may be beneficial for treatment of other cardiac patients. There may be a cost saving for the healthcare system in reducing heart failure readmissions to hospital; however, we recognize that a proper cost analysis is needed to confirm the economic benefits of the model. More work is needed in testing this intervention in other geographic areas (e.g., rural), as well as with patients who have different socioeconomic characteristics. A more rigorous study design, such as a randomized controlled trial or interrupted time series, is needed to further test the model of home visits with those patients who suffer from heart failure.Applied Science, Faculty ofNursing, School ofGraduat

Występowanie grzybów entomopatogenicznych w glebach z zadrzewień śródpolnych i sąsiadujących z nimi małoobszarowych pól uprawnych

The aim of this study was to compare the species composition and the intensity of entomopathogenic fungi occurrence in the soil from mid-field woodlots and adjacent small farmlands. The study material consisted of soil samples taken from a mid-field woodlot and an adjacent small-scale arable field in three different localities in the vicinity of Siedlce. Entomopathogenic fungi were isolated from soil using two methods: the insect bait method and the selective medium. The comparative study showed that the soil from mid-field woodlots was characterized by a richer species composition of entomopathogenic fungi than of adjacent arable fields. A total of six fungal species representing the anamorphs of Hypocreales (Ascomycota) were isolated from the soil collected from mid-field woodlots: B. bassiana, B. brongniartii, M. anisopliae, M. flavoviride, I. farinosa and I. fumosorosea. The presence of only three species was reported in the farmland soil: B. bassiana, M. anisopliae and I. fumosorosea. This fact confirms the important role of semi-natural habitats as a source of biodiversity of entomopathogenic fungi in agricultural landscape. It was found that entomopathogenic fungi together formed more colony-forming units in the soil from arable fields than that of neighbouring mid-field woodlots. B. bassiana was the species of fungus which infected more bait insect larvae and formed significantly more colony-forming units (CFU) in the soil from mid-field woodlots than that of farmland in the localities studied, whereas the trend was the opposite in the case of I. fumosorosea and M. anisopliae. Given the presence of entomopathogenic fungi in the farmland soil in the three test places together, it was found that I. fumosorosea was dominant in the soil from the two arable fields, where this fungus infected more G. mellonella larvae and formed significantly more CFUs than the other species of fungi. M. anisopliae was the second most frequently isolated farmland species.Celem podjętych badań było porównanie składu gatunkowego i nasilenia występowania grzybów entomopatogeniczych w glebach z zadrzewień śródpolnych i sąsiadujących z nimi pól uprawnych. Materiał do badań stanowiły próby gleby pobrane w trzech miejscowościach w okolicach Siedlce z dwóch środowisk: zadrzewienia śródpolnego i sąsiadującego z nimi małoobszarowego pola uprawnego. Grzyby owadobójcze izolowano z gleby stosując metodę owadów pułapkowych (z użyciem larw Galleria mellonella) oraz podłoże selektywne. Przeprowadzone badania porównawcze wykazały, że gleby spod zadrzewień śródpolnych charakteryzowały się bogatszym składem gatunkowym tych grzybów. Z gleby pobranej spod zadrzewień śródpolnych na larwy G. mellonella wyizolowano w sumie sześć gatunków grzybów, były to: B. bassiana, B. brongniartii, M. anisopliae, M. flavoviride, I. farinosa i I. fumosorosea. W glebie z pól odnotowano obecność tylko trzech gatunków: B. bassiana, M. anisopliae i I. fumosorosea. Fakt ten potwierdza istotną rolę środowisk seminaturalnych jako źródła bioróżnorodności grzybów owadobójczych w krajobrazie rolniczym. Stwierdzono że, grzyby entomopatogeniczne łącznie tworzyły więcej jednostek infekcyjnych (CFU) w glebie z pól uprawnych niż sąsiadujących z nimi zadrzewień śródpolnych. Stwierdzono, że grzyb B. bassiana zainfekował więcej larw owada pułapkowego i tworzył istotnie więcej jednostek infekcyjnych w glebach z zadrzewień śródpolnych niż pól w badanych miejscowościach, natomiast w przypadku I. fumosorosea i M. anisopliae odnotowano tendencję odwrotną. Biorąc pod uwagę występowanie grzybów entomopatogennych w glebie z pól uprawnych w trzech badanych miejscowościach łącznie, stwierdzono, że w glebie z dwóch pól uprawnych dominował I. fumosorosea. W glebach tych zainfekował on więcej larw G. mellonella i tworzył istotnie więcej jednostek CFU niż pozostałe gatunki grzybów. Drugim najczęściej izolowanym gatunkiem z pól uprawnych był M. anisopliae

Poszerzone badania nad różnorodnością grzybów-patogenów stawonogów w Austrii i w Polsce

Results of studies on diversity of arthropod-pathogenic fungi in selected habitats in Austria and Poland carried out in the years 2006-2007 and 2009-2010 are discussed. In total 47 species of entomopathogenic fungi were found as pathogens of different arthropods in Austria. Twenty six entomophthoralean species from different insects and one species from mites were identified and 16 of them are recorded as new to Austria. From among 21 species of anamorphic Hypocreales (Ascomycota) affecting arthropods in Austria, 13 species so far have not been known from this country. In total 51 species of fungi affecting different arthropods in Poland were recorded, among them 28 species of Entomophthorales and 23 anamorphic Hypocreales were separated. The most frequent species of the entomopathogenic fungi both in agricultural and afforested areas in Austria were the common and usually worldwide distributed cordycipitaceous anamorphs Beauveria bassiana, Isaria fumosorosea and in areas of this study less numerous I. farinosa. The most frequent pathogens occurring in mite communities on plants and in wood infested by insects were Hirsutella species. Several entomophthoralean species developed epizootics that caused high reduction in host populations of different arthropods in both countries. Especially interesting is the first record of mycoses (up to 60% mortality), caused by Zoophthora spp. on Phyllobius beetles in a mixed forest near Białowieża. During our joint research, we found the first time in Poland and Europe, the presence of the fungus Furia cf. shandongensis on earwigs and Hirsutella entomophila on Ips typographus adults in forest habitats. From the feeding sites of the latter bark beetle and other subcortical species in oak bark (mostly Dryocoetes villosus) and D. alni in black alder over a dozen of various Lecanicillium strains - including few of the features not allowing to classify them to any of so far known species – were isolated both from the scolytids and from accompanying them mites, but these materials have now been successively elaborated. From the commonly occurring in these materials acaropathogenic species Hirsutella cf. brownorum, H. minnesotensis, H. nodulosa and H. rostrata, the two latter infected also adult bark beetles, whereas from the larvae and pupae some supposed nematophagous anamorphs were isolated, among them Harposporium janus and Haptocillium sp.W latach 2006-2007 oraz 2009-2010 w ramach dwustronnej współpracy (Scientific and Technological Cooperation Project: Austria - Poland 12/2006 i 09/2009), w wybranych siedliskach w Austrii i w Polsce prowadzono badania nad grzybowymi patogenami stawonogów, głównie owadów i roztoczy. W sumie w Austrii stwierdzono występowanie czterdziestu siedmiu gatunków grzybów patogenicznych w stosunku do stawonogów. Wśród nich odnotowano 26 gatunków owadomorków (Entomophthorales), z czego 16 to gatunki niewykazywane wcześniej z tego kraju oraz 21 gatunków grzybów reprezentowanych przez anamorficzne formy Hypocreales (Ascomycota), w tym 13 gatunków nowych dla Austrii. Spośród 51 gatunków grzybów patogenicznych dla stawonogów, które rozpoznano w ramach badań prowadzonych w Polsce, 28 należało do owadomorków, a 23 to anamorfy workowców (Ascomycota), z których 13 gatunków wykazuje właściwości patogeniczne w stosunku do roztoczy. Do gatunków grzybów najczęściej spotykanych na roztoczach fitofagicznych oraz występujących w zbiorowiskach owadów zasiedlających drewno, należały gatunki z rodzaju Hirsutella, z których żaden nie był dotąd notowany w Austrii. Spośród nich tylko H. kirchnerii i H. thompsonii wydają się w istotny sposób redukować populację szpecieli w obu krajach. Dwa nowe gatunki Hirsutella danubiensis i H. vandergeesti, opisane w 2008 roku, są efektywnymi patogenami szkodliwych roztoczy z rodziny przędziorkowatych (Tetranychidae), chociaż ostatni z wymienionych gatunków pasożytuje również na roztoczach drapieżnych (Phytoseidae). Kilka gatunków owadomorków powodowało epizoocje, które wpłynęły na znaczne ograniczenie populacji różnych taksonów stawonogów w obu krajach. Szczególnie godny uwagi jest przypadek wysokiej śmiertelności (do 60% osobników w populacji) chrząszczy z rodzaju Phyllobius zaobserwowany w Puszczy Białowieskiej, a spowodowany przez nieopisany dotychczas gatunek grzyba z rodzaju Zoophthora. Efektem wspólnych badań jest także odnotowanie po raz pierwszy w Polsce i w Europie, występowania Furia cf. shandongensis na skorkach (Dermaptera) oraz Hirsutella entomophila na imagines Ips typographus w siedliskach leśnych

Influence of inorganic and organic selenium on number of living mycelial cells and their ultrastructure in culture of Hericium erinaceum (Bull.: Fr. Pers.)

Mycelium of the white-rot fungus (Hericium erinaceum (Bull.: Fr. Pers.) produces polysaccharides showing anticancer and immunostimulating activity. In our previous works, we have shown that organic selenitetriglycerides (Selol) contribute to the increase of biosynthesis of exopolysaccharides (EPS) having antioxidative properties and containing large amounts of selenium. The present work is a study of influence of inorganic and organic form of selenium on viability of H. erinaceum mycelium and on ultrastructural changes taking place during its development in submerged culture. The mycelium was grown on media containing sodium selenite (Na2SeO3), a mixture of Na2SeO3 + Selol2% and on control medium (no selenium added). It was shown that mycelium cultured for 3 days in control conditions on standard media contained almost 100% of living cells, with over 80% after 24 days. Treatment with 100 ppm of Na2SeO3 lowered the number of viable cells to 11.8% and 9.1% after 3 and 24 days, respectively. The addition of 2% Selol caused the amounts of living cells to remain at ca 90%. Apparently, Selol helped the cells to cope with the toxic activity of inorganic selenium ions. The addition of sodium selenite induced degradative changes in cell organelles. Such changes were not observed in the case of Na2SeO3 + Selol mixture, in which case cells contained numerous ribosomes and small lipid bodies