Connecting Competition and Integration. A Concept of New Organizational Framework for Polish Local Bus Transport

At present Polish local bus transport (outside cities) requires radical changes. Up till now solutions based on market deregulation, lack of active transport authorities and a number of operators competing ‘on the road’ have stopped being effective – the decisive factors are rising costs, ever increasing market requirements and related declining incomes. It gives rise to the challenge of joining the existing potential of competing operators to a greater engagement of local authorities which will be forced to finance public service – expanding the transport offer, improvement of quality and subsequently also integration of fares, information and timetables. Another difficulty is that local governments do not possess competences enabling them to create public transport authorities and implement a ‘London’ model, which also succeeds in a number of Polish towns (Wolański, 2008). This paper is dedicated to an attempt to find the optimum solution to the existing problem. It is based on a project carried out at the turn of 2007 and 2008 at the request of Polish Chamber of Road Transport and Forwarding (PIGTSiS), which unites many local bus carriers, mainly deriving from the split of a former state-owned enterprise PKS. The expertise was obtained from a team consisting of: Prof. Olgierd Wyszomirski (head), Krzysztof Grzelec, Ph.D., Hubert Kołodziejski Ph.D., Marcin Gromadzki, Mariusz Józefowicz and Michał Wolański.Institute of Transport and Logistics Studies. Faculty of Economics and Business. The University of Sydne

Państwo, gospodarka, społeczeństwo w integrującej się Europie TOM 1

Ze wstępu: "III Międzynarodowa Konferencja Naukowa, jaką w pierwszych dniach czerwca 2003 roku zorganizowała Krakowska Szkoła Wyższa, poświęcona była uczczeniu wyjątkowego jubileuszu 500-lecia urodzin jej patrona - Andrzeja Frycza Modrzewskiego. Jednak to nie myśl polityczna tego wielkiego Polaka i reformatora stała się wiodącym tematem konferencji. W centrum zainteresowań znalazły się zagadnienia 0 wiele bardziej aktualne, dotyczące bowiem integracji europejskiej. Problematyka tym bardziej żywotna, gdyż dotykająca bieżącego życia politycznego - zwłaszcza w kontekście referendum akcesyjnego, które odbyło się w równy tydzień po konferencji. Tak więc jej uczestnicy mieli doskonałą okazję do podjęcia interesujących rozważań związanych z perspektywą rozwoju państwa, gospodarki i społeczeństwa w warunkach integracji europejskiej."(...

Spectrometric gamma measurements of low radioactivity cores

W pracy przedstawiono nową metodykę pomiarową spektrometrii gamma dla rdzeni wiertniczych reprezentowanych przez skały o niskiej aktywności. Opisano w niej części składowe nowo zaprojektowanego spektrometru wraz z dedykowanym oprogramowaniem testowym. Badania prowadzone według zaproponowanej procedury stosowane są głównie do rdzeni formacji piaskowcowych czerwonego spągowca, dla których dotychczas w Polsce nie wykonywano pomiarów gamma. Pierwsze testy na rdzeniach piaskowcowych prowadzono z wykorzystaniem standardowego spektrometru – gamma logger BGO (GL), przy wydłużonym czasie pomiarowym, co pozwoliło uzyskać zaledwie częściowe wyniki dla wybranego odcinka rdzenia. Opracowanie nowego urządzenia wykorzystującego dwa niezależnie mierzące detektory BGO, umieszczone pod kątem 90 stopni w ołowianym tunelu (aparatura GLGT) umożliwiło dwukrotne skrócenie czasu pomiarowego, poprawienie dokładności wyników oraz obniżenie poziomu detekcji dla analizowanych pierwiastków (potas, uran oraz tor). Wstępne badania porównawcze w otworze testowym ukazały różnice pomiędzy aparatem GL i GLGT. Polegały one na poprawie jakości rejestrowanych danych w szczególności dla uranu i toru, które w przypadku standardowych analiz przyjmowały wartości mniejsze od tła pomiarowego. Dodatkowe badania przeprowadzono na wzorcach kalibracyjnych w postaci walca o znanej koncentracji pierwiastków promieniotwórczych, których wyniki posłużyły głównie do oceny rozdzielczości obu metod. Seria pomiarów rdzeni z otworu J-1 pozwoliła otrzymać dokładne wyniki porównawcze z aparatów GL i GLGT, które przedstawiono na tle profilowań geofizyki otworowej oraz badań laboratoryjnych. W przypadku tego testu wyniki z aparatury GLGT wykazały się poprawą dokładności, lepszym dopasowaniem do profilowań oraz poprawą rozdzielczości pionowej w stosunku do geofizyki wiertniczej. Uzyskane wyniki pomiarów spektrometrem GLGT wykorzystano do określenia tła pomiarowego, szacunkowej rozdzielczości oraz określenia dokładnych zawartości potasu, uranu i toru w otworach archiwalnych. Wyniki końcowe przedstawiono w postaci krzywych spektrometrycznego profilowania gamma.This paper shows a new methodology of gamma spectrometry measurements dedicated to cores represented by rocks of low radioactivity. It describes the components of the newely developed spectrometer and the dedicated testing software. The measurements conducted according to the proposed procedure are mostly applied for Rotliegend formation cores, for which spectral gamma core logging has never been done before in Poland. The first tests on the sandstone cores were conducted using a standard spectrometer – gamma logger BGO (GL) with an extended measurement time, which allowed obtain partial results for chosen core interval. The construction of the new device, which uses two independent BGO detectors placed at a 90-degree angle in lead tunnel shielding (GLGT apparatus), made it possible to twice shorten the measurement time, improve the accuracy of the results, and reduce the detection limit for the analysed elements (potassium, uranium, thorium). Preliminary comparative studies performed on the core from the test borehole showed differences between gamma logger GL and the GLGT device. These differences were visible especially for uranium and thorium data, which in the case of standard (GL) surveys carried values that were lower than the measurement background. Additional measurements were carried out on calibration standards in the form of a cylinder with a known concentration of radioactive elements, the results of which were used for evaluating the core logging resolution of both methods. The series of core measurements from J-1 borehole allowed to obtain accurate comparative results from GL and GLGT devices, which were presented against well logging and laboratory analyses. In the case of this test, the results from GLGT apparatus showed an improvement in measurement accuracy, better fitting to the well logs, and a higher vertical resolution in relation to spectral gamma logs. The results of the measurements performed with a GLGT spectrometer were used to define the measurement background, the estimated resolution, as well as to define the accurate content of potassium, uranium and thorium in the archival boreholes. All the final results were presented as curves of spectral gamma logs

Detrital zircon provenance of Carboniferous sandstones of the Variscan Externides (SW Poland) : record of the eastern Variscides exhumation

The Variscan Externides in the area of south-western Poland (the basement of the Fore-Sudetic Monocline), are considered an extension of the Rheno-Hercynian Zone of the Variscan Orogen. The Externides are made of Carboniferous siliciclastic sediments, the exact stratigraphic age and provenance of which are not known in detail. To constrain the sedimentary evolution and detritus provenance of the Variscan external belt, eight sandstone samples from boreholes located in the area of SW Poland were selected for petrography, whole rock geochemistry and detrital zircon U-Pb dating. The results show abrupt change in detrital zircon U-Pb provenance, between strata that have been classified as Mississippian (L. Carboniferous) and Pennsylvanian (U. Carboniferous) based on previously published miospore zonation. The Pennsylvanian rocks (from the boreholes of Września-IG1 and Siciny IG1) bear a significant population of zircon grains with Lower Carboniferous ages (350-330 Ma), while such a zircon population is absent in Lower Carboniferous rocks (from the boreholes of Paproć-29 and Kobylin 1). The absence of Moscovian to Asselian zircons that are otherwise known from the adjacent areas with zircon-bearing volcanic activity, suggests that the studied Pennsylvanian sediments represent the lower part of Upper Carboniferous. The presented data indicate abrupt provenance change that occurred in the source areas at the Mississippian-Pennsylvanian turn, and that was probably caused by changes in the tectonic architecture of the Variscan Orogen. This tectonic changeover resulted in exhumation and erosion of the Lower Carboniferous rock complexes and manifested itself by recycling of the Lower Carboniferous zircon into Upper Carboniferous strata

Występowanie konietlicy łąkowej (Trisetum flavescens) na łąkach doliny Sanu oraz wartość gospodarcza łąk konietlicowych (Trisetetum flavescentis)

Na podstawie 335 zdjęć fitosocjologicznych wykonanych w latach 2000- 2004 na łąkach i pastwiskach doliny Sanu wyróżniono zespoły i zbiorowiska, w których występowała Trisetum flavescens. Obliczono w nich stałość i współczynnik pokrycia tego gatunku. Wybrano z tych zbiorowisk 108 zdjęć z udziałem Trisetum flavescens oraz do analiz chemicznych 9 próbek glebowych i 9 runi I odrostu z łąk, na których dominowała Trisetum flavescens (zespół Tristeteum flavescentis). Zdjęcia fitosocjologiczne były punktem wyjścia do charakterystyki ekologicznej siedlisk metodą Ellenberga. Konietlica łąkowa występowała w 6 zespołach roślinnych i 2 zbiorowiskach z klasy Molinio-Arrhenatheretea. Najliczniej rosła w zespole Trisetetum flavescentis. Gatunek ten preferował stanowiska dobrze nasłonecznione, gleby świeże, o pH obojętnym i umiarkowanie zasobne w azot. Gleby tych łąk były na ogół lekko kwaśne i o zróżnicowanej zawartości substancji organicznej, niskiej P i K, a wysokiej Mg, Mn, Cu i Zn. Plony s.m. runi I odrostu były średnie, wartość użytkowa dobra, zawartość N, P, K, Mg w runi dla przeżuwaczy optymalna, Ca i Mn za wysoka, a Cu i Zn za niska

The Content of Macro- and Micro Minerals in the Sward of Different Types of Semi-Natural Meadows of Temperate Climate in SE Poland

Seminatural meadows are characterized by a rich botanical composition, which determines their specific type. The content of macro- and micro minerals in sward seems important for ruminant farmers. The aim of the study was to determine the content of macro- and micro minerals in the sward of selected meadow types. The study was carried out in SE Poland from May to July in the years 2010–2017. The relationship between the content of each of the studied elements (N, P, K, Mg, Fe, Mn, Cu, Zn) in soil and plants was investigated, as well as whether there were differences between the average content of elements in the sward of different types of meadows. In some types of meadows there was a correlation for K, Fe, Cu, Mg and Mn. The largest differences in the content of macro minerals in the sward were found for Mg (44%) and K (42%), and in the case of micro minerals for Mn (56%). Large differences resulted primarily from different plant species; composition forming a given meadow community and not the content of these elements in the soil. The results can be applied to the proper management of farms, especially organic ones

Planning of physiotherapeutic procedure in patients after mandible reconstruction taking into account donor site: a literature review

Abstract Background Mandible tumors are very rare. One of the main methods of the treatments is resection of the tumor and then reconstruction of the mandible. The donor site is often distant tissue—fibula or ilium. Following this, it is necessary to improve the patient in two ways, on one hand restoring the function of the mandible, and on the other hand, improving the donor site area. For that reason, physiotherapy after tumor resection and reconstruction of the mandible is very complicated. The aim of this bibliographic review was to find the methods of the reconstruction of the mandible in the context of patients’ functional assessment after surgeries to create effective physiotherapeutic procedures in the feature. Methods PEDro, Medline (PubMed), Cochrane Clinical Trials were searched. Results 767 articles were found. 40 articles were included to this literature review. Conclusions Authors showed different kinds of surgeries strategy for patients with tumors of the mandible. They also showed manners of patients’ functional assessment in the localization of transplantation and donor site. It could be useful for physiotherapists during planning of comprehensive physiotherapy

Mechanical, Chemical, and Processing Properties of Specimens Manufactured from Poly-Ether-Ether-Ketone (PEEK) Using 3D Printing

As part of the experiments herein, the mechanical properties of specimens made of poly-ether-ether-ketone (PEEK) material using 3D printing technology were determined. Two populations of specimens were investigated, the first of which contained an amorphous structure, while the other held a crystal structure. The studies also investigated the influence of the print directionality on the mechanical properties obtained. Static tensile, three-point bending, and impact tests were carried out. The results for the effect of the structure type on the tensile properties showed that the modulus of elasticity was approximately 20% higher for the crystal than for the amorphous PEEK form. The Poisson’s ratios were similar, but the ratio was slightly higher for the amorphous samples than the crystalline ones. Furthermore, the studies included a chemical PEEK modification to increase the hydrophilicity. For this purpose, nitrite and hydroxyl groups were introduced into the chain by chemical reactions. The results demonstrate that the modified PEEK specimens had worse thermoplastic properties than the unmodified specimens