Assessment and analysis of the application of sewage treatment technologies in Poland

Environmental pollution is a serious problem in highly industrialized countries, as it may pose a threat to the human health and life. For these reasons, entities responsible for polluting the environment and its natural resources undertake pro-environmental actions that involve reduction of the negative impact of the activities of human beings and businesses on the environment. Such activities are aimed at the application of low and no-waste technologies. Unfortunately, it is impossible to completely eliminate pollution from the human activity. This article focuses on sewage treatment technologies, the purpose of which is to eliminate the already existing pollution. Therefore, the analyses were limited to water and sewage treatment technologies, as the growing demand for water, its constantly deteriorating purity and requirements as regards its quality, force changes in the water resources management system. In various provinces in Poland, environmental protection is being implemented more or less successfully. It is necessary to apply the principles of environmental protection to the human behaviour and activity of business entities, because there are more and more activities particularly harmful to the natural environment. The implemented modern technologies aimed at the elimination of (or eliminating) the negative impact of human and business activities on the natural environment, are bringing the desired results as far as the protection of individual natural resources is concerned. One of the fundamental imperfections of the market is a lack of environmental resources, such as air or water. Inability to define the economic value of the natural resources results in their constant, excessive exploitation and degradation. However, the growing awareness of the environmental issue in Poland is resulting in the application of technologies that protect individual natural resources. This paper attempts to determine the measures of pro-environmental activities in the scope of sewage treatment, undertaken on the territory of individual provinces, and to classify the provinces in accordance with the achieved level of application of sewage treatment technologies. For this purpose one has used the numerical taxonomy methods, and in particular the methods of linear ordering of objects (that involve projection of the objects from a multidimensional space of features onto a straight line), called the methods of multidimensional comparative analysis. The measures were designed based on available statistical data from 2011. The purpose of this article is to find out which provinces are similar to each other in terms of the application of sewage treatment technologies, and to find a province that has managed to achieve the best results in this regard

Iron and ferritin accumulate in separate cellular locations in Phaseolus seeds

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>Iron is an important micronutrient for all living organisms. Almost 25% of the world population is affected by iron deficiency, a leading cause of anemia. In plants, iron deficiency leads to chlorosis and reduced yield. Both animals and plants may suffer from iron deficiency when their diet or environment lacks bioavailable iron. A sustainable way to reduce iron malnutrition in humans is to develop staple crops with increased content of bioavailable iron. Knowledge of where and how iron accumulates in seeds of crop plants will increase the understanding of plant iron metabolism and will assist in the production of staples with increased bioavailable iron.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>Here we reveal the distribution of iron in seeds of three <it>Phaseolus </it>species including thirteen genotypes of <it>P. vulgaris</it>, <it>P. coccineus</it>, and <it>P. lunatus</it>. We showed that high concentrations of iron accumulate in cells surrounding the provascular tissue of <it>P. vulgaris </it>and <it>P. coccineus </it>seeds. Using the Perls' Prussian blue method, we were able to detect iron in the cytoplasm of epidermal cells, cells near the epidermis, and cells surrounding the provascular tissue. In contrast, the protein ferritin that has been suggested as the major iron storage protein in legumes was only detected in the amyloplasts of the seed embryo. Using the non-destructive micro-PIXE (Particle Induced X-ray Emission) technique we show that the tissue in the proximity of the provascular bundles holds up to 500 μg g^-1of iron, depending on the genotype. In contrast to <it>P. vulgaris </it>and <it>P. coccineus</it>, we did not observe iron accumulation in the cells surrounding the provascular tissues of <it>P. lunatus </it>cotyledons. A novel iron-rich genotype, NUA35, with a high concentration of iron both in the seed coat and cotyledons was bred from a cross between an Andean and a Mesoamerican genotype.</p> <p>Conclusions</p> <p>The presented results emphasize the importance of complementing research in model organisms with analysis in crop plants and they suggest that iron distribution criteria should be integrated into selection strategies for bean biofortification.</p

Państwo, gospodarka, społeczeństwo w integrującej się Europie TOM 3

Ze wstępu: "1 maja 2004 przyniesie radykalną zmianą sytuacji dotychczasowych kandydatów do Unii Europejskiej. Z roli aplikanta i petenta przekształcą się we współdecydenta. Już dziś z przyszłymi członkami konsultuje się większość kwestii wymagających strategicznych decyzji. Przez ostatnie dziesięć lat wysiłek polityczny i intelektualny był skierowany na uzyskanie członkostwa Unii, a w ostatnim okresie negocjacji - na osiągnięcie najlepszych według polityków i ekonomistów warunków akcesji. 1 ten etap mamy już za sobą. Pora zacząć patrzeć przed siebie, lecz niejako petent, ale kraj współodpowiedzialny za dalsze funkcjonowanie i rozwój powiększonej Unii. Z tej perspektywy istotnajest analiza gospodarki europejskiej, z którąjuż dziś gospodarka państw kandydackich, także Polski, jest silnie powiązana. Wiedza na ten temat jest uboga i ograniczona do przeglądu bieżących wskaźników makroekonomicznych. Zarówno w ośrodkach rządowych, jak i pozarządowych dominuje podejście analizujące, co z konkretnego wydarzenia w innym kraju wynika dla gospodarki polskiej. Stanowczo nie wystarczy to do pełnienia odpowiedzialnej roli współdecydenta. Potrzebna jest pogłębiona wiedza na temat gospodarki europejskiej jako całości i poszczególnych krajów, a także najważniejszych partnerów handlowych i gospodarczych zjednoczonej Europy. Konieczne są pogłębione prace studialne dotyczące mechanizmów międzynarodowych, gdyż organy unijne będą się zajmować w najbliższych latach dalszym rozwojem europejskiego jednolitego Rynku, rywalizacją gospodarczą z USA i krajami azjatyckimi, liberalizacjąhandlu światowego."(...

Elemental mapping using PIXE shows the main pathway of nickel movement is principally symplastic within the fruit of the hyperaccumulator Stackhousia tryonii

Ashwath, N ORCiD: 0000-0002-4032-4507; Walsh, KB ORCiD: 0000-0002-3033-8622Metal concentrations within reproductive tissues of metallophytes are rarely reported. Here, the spatial distribution of nickel (Ni) within the fruits (seeds) of the Ni hyperaccumulator Stackhousia tryonii was investigated. Two microanalytical techniques, energy dispersive x-ray spectrometry (EDXS) and nuclear microprobe (micro-proton-induced x-ray emission spectrometry; micro-PIXE) were employed for qualitative and quantitative assessment, respectively, of localized Ni, within the fruits of S. tryonii The results were compared with quantitative analysis made using inductively coupled plasma-optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). Nickel analysis made using micro-PIXE was consistent with bulk (ICP-OES) analysis (at 1800 μg g − 1 d. wt), however, a beam resolution of approx. 2 × 2 μm 2 allowed tissue localization. Nickel was partitioned to the fruit wall (pericarp) (4433 μg g − 1 ), while endospermic and cotyledonary tissues possessed little Ni (309 and 182 μg g − 1 d. wt, respectively). This distribution is consistent with the interpretation that principal pathway of Ni movement within the fruit is symplastic rather than apoplastic (as the filial generation lacks symplastic connection with the parent)

Nuclear Microprobe Mapping of Statoliths of Chokka Squid Loligo vulgaris reynaudii d\u27Orbigny, 1845

Volume: 193Start Page: 125End Page: 14