First record of Exobasidium rhododendri (Fuckel) C. E. Cramer in Poland

We report here the first wild locality of Exobasidium rhododendri (Fuckel) C. E. Cramer in Poland. This peculiar species is an obligatory pathogenic basidiomycete, which induces formation of galls on leaves of Rhododendron. It was found for the first time in Poland in 2017 on Rhododendron ferrugineum L. plants in a population of this shrub in the Karkonosze Mts (the Sudetes range). The species was recently shown to be native and a relict. We also present a basic description of the species based on the specimens from the abovementioned locality

Allogeneic bone marrow transplantation in children with acute lymphoblastic leukaemia in the first and second complete remission conditioned with fractionated total body irradiation and cyclophosphamide or etoposide

Patients and methodsFrom 1993 to 2001 thirty-two children underwent bone marrow transplantation (BMT) for acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL) (12 in I complete remission /I CR/of high-risk/HR/ALL, and 20 in II CR after early bone marrow or combined bone marrow/organ relapse). Except for two syngeneic all others were matched sibling donor transplants. All patients (pts) were conditioned with fractionated total body irradiation (FTBI) at a total dose of 12,6 Gy, given in 8 fractions during 4 days with lung shielding (9,4 Gy) and cyclophosphamide (CY) 60 mg/kg i.v for 2 days (total dose 120 mg/kg) (n = 1 in I CR and n = 11 in II CR) or etoposide (VP) 60 mg/kg i.v (n = 11 in I CR and n = 9 in II CR). Patients in I CR were given 1,1–4,9×108 nucleated cells /kg (med. 2,7×108/kg), while pts in II CR 1,9–4,0×108 nucleated cells/kg (med. 2,7×108/kg). For graft versus host disease (GvHD) prevention cyclosporin A (CsA) 3 mg/kg/d i.v was administered alone in 22 pts (n = 9 in I CR and n = 13 in II CR) or in combination with “short” methotrexate +/− prednisone in 8 pts (n = 3 in I CR and n = 5 in II CR). Two pts transplanted with syngeneic BM received no GvHD prevention. The regimen related toxicity (RRT) was graded according to the system developed by Bearman et al. (1988).ResultsOnly mild or moderate expression of RRT was observed (GI toxicity I0 – 80%, II0 – 4%; stomatitis I0 – 40%, II0 – 20%; hepatic toxicity I0 – 28%; renal, bladder and cardiac toxicity I0 – 4%) and no transplant related deaths occurred (TRM = 0%). Among 12 pts transplanted in I CR only one child relapsed 4 months from BMT, while the remaining 11 pts are alive in continuous complete remission (CCR) with a median follow-up of 33 months (range 6 to 66 months) and 92% probability of a 5-year event free survival (pEFS). Of 20 children transplanted in II CR 6 relapsed 1–14 months from BMT (median 6,5 months). Thirteen of them remain in CCR with a median follow-up of 19.5 months (range 1 to 96 months) and with 66% probability of a 8-year EFS.Conclusions1. In children with ALL the FTBI-12,6 Gy-containing regimen is well tolerated without life-threatening toxic complications. 2. The FTBI-12,6 Gy-containing regimen demonstrates very good antileukaemic efficacy for HR-ALL in I CR, but only limited efficacy for ALL in II CR. 3. In the context of good tolerance of FTBI in a total dose of 12,6 Gy and its limited antileukaemic efficacy in children with ALL in II CR the escalation of FTBI total dose from 12,6 Gy to at least 13,2 Gy appears to be justified in those children

Impacts of soil conditions and light availability on natural regeneration of Norway spruce Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. in low-elevation mountain forests

& Key message Natural regeneration of P. abies (L.) H. Karst. may reach high densities in lower mountain elevations. The highest densities were found in sites with moderate light availability, with low pH, and not near the riverbank. However, age-height classes differed in the predicted magnitude of response, but were consistent in response directions. Mosses and understory species typical of coniferous forests were positively correlated with regeneration density. & Context Norway spruce Picea abies (L.) H. Karst. in Central Europe is at risk under climate change scenarios, particularly in mountain regions. Little is known about the impact of environmental factors on the natural regeneration of P. abies in lowelevation mountain forests. & Aims We aimed to assess impacts of distance from the riverbank, soil pH, and light availability on natural P. abies regeneration. We hypothesized that (1) natural P. abiesregeneration would depend on light availability and soil pH and (2) there are understory plant species which may indicate the microsites suitable for natural regeneration of P. abies. & Methods The study was conducted in the Stołowe Mountains National Park (SW Poland, 600–800 m a.s.l.). We established 160 study plots (25 m2 ) for natural regeneration, light availability, soil pH, and understory vegetation assessment

Social facilitation and inhibition in real time internet communication.

Facylitacja społeczna to dobrze przebadany konstrukt psychologii społecznej mówiący o wpływie obecności postronnych obserwatorów na skuteczność wykonywanych zadań. Jego historia sięga XIX stulecia. W pracy przedstawiono źródło prezentowanego paradygmatu, dominującą teorię i problematykę wyjaśnień natury zjawiska. Zaprezentowano współczesny sposób prowadzenia badan. Problem badawczy umieszczono w kontekście nowych technologii formułując hipotezy zakładające przeniesienie efektu do warunków internetowych komunikatorów. Przeprowadzenie eksperymentu poprzedzono dokładnym przygotowaniem narzędzi, w tym stworzeniem autorskiego oprogramowania do wykonywania zadań i zbierania danych. W eksperymencie porównano szybkość i poprawność wykonywanych zadań łatwych i trudnych w trzech warunkach współobecności: domyślnego obrazu profilowego, obrazu z kamery internetowej oraz braku współobecności zaprezentowanych przy użyciu programu Microsoft Teams.Analiza wyników wykazała, że do internetowej rzeczywistości komunikatorów umożliwiających prowadzenie komunikacji na żywo przenosi się efekt inhibicji, ale nie facylitacji społecznej. Dostrzeżono także istotne różnice międzypłciowe w poczuciu bycia ocenianym.Social facilitation is well examined subject in social psychology, that refers to influence of individual presence upon another individual’s performance. History of the construct dates back to 19th century. In this paper source of the paradigm, leading theory and discusion upon a source of the effect is given. Author presented recent studies on a subject. Main research problem was defined in context of new technologies and hypotheses prediciting presence of the effect in the internet communicators were formed. Diligent preparation of methods, including creating software used for measuring task’s performance preceded the examination. In the experiment, speed and accuracy of easy and complex tasks were compared for three forms of presence: default profile picture, web camera image and lack of presence presented using Microsoft Teams.Data anylysis proved that social inhibition is present in online reality of internet communicators, while social facilitation is not. Additional differences were discovered for gender in evaluation apprehension

High-temperature nuclear reactor power plant cycle for hydrogen and electricity production – numerical analysis

High temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor (called HTR or HTGR) for both electricity generation and hydrogen production is analysed. The HTR reactor because of the relatively high temperature of coolant could be combined with a steam or gas turbine, as well as with the system for heat delivery for high-temperature hydrogen production. However, the current development of HTR’s allows us to consider achievable working temperature up to 750°C. Due to this fact, industrial-scale hydrogen production using copper-chlorine (Cu-Cl) thermochemical cycle is considered and compared with high-temperature electrolysis. Presented calculations show and confirm the potential of HTR’s as a future solution for hydrogen production without CO2 emission. Furthermore, integration of a hightemperature nuclear reactor with a combined cycle for electricity and hydrogen production may reach very high efficiency and could possibly lead to a significant decrease of hydrogen production costs

High-temperature nuclear reactor power plant cycle for hydrogen and electricity production – numerical analysis

High temperature gas-cooled nuclear reactor (called HTR or HTGR) for both electricity generation and hydrogen production is analysed. The HTR reactor because of the relatively high temperature of coolant could be combined with a steam or gas turbine, as well as with the system for heat delivery for high-temperature hydrogen production. However, the current development of HTR’s allows us to consider achievable working temperature up to 750°C. Due to this fact, industrial-scale hydrogen production using copper-chlorine (Cu-Cl) thermochemical cycle is considered and compared with high-temperature electrolysis. Presented calculations show and confirm the potential of HTR’s as a future solution for hydrogen production without CO2 emission. Furthermore, integration of a hightemperature nuclear reactor with a combined cycle for electricity and hydrogen production may reach very high efficiency and could possibly lead to a significant decrease of hydrogen production costs

The flora of vascular plants of Pilczycki Park near Mączna St. in Wrocław

<p>The area of urban green space is rather small in the majority of Polish<br>cities. Considering the combination of an important biocenotic function with recreational<br>purposes, there is an urgent need of determining the balanced conditions, which<br>could ensure the high species diversity in a continuous anthropization. Pilczycki<br>Park, despite of its location in the central part of Wrocław, is characterized by a large variety of habitats with their representatives in flora (266 species) and by occurrence of protected (3) and rare (3) plant species. In the following years, this condition could change due to processes of eutrophication and neophytism, which are common in the park area.</p> <p> </p

The Chemical Environments of Oleate Species within Samples of Oleate-Coated PbS Quantum Dots

A combination of FT-IR, ¹H NMR, nuclear Overhauser effect (NOESY), and diffusion-ordered (DOSY) NMR spectroscopies shows that samples of oleate-coated PbS quantum dots (QDs) with core radii ranging from 1.6 to 2.4 nm, and purified by washing with acetone, contain two species of oleate characterized by the stretching frequencies of their carboxylate groups, the chemical shifts of their protons, and their diffusion coefficients. One of these oleate species exists primarily on the surfaces of the QDs and either chelates a Pb²⁺ ion or bridges two Pb²⁺ ions. The ratio of bridging oleates to chelating oleates on the surfaces of the QDs is approximately 1:1 for all sizes of the QDs we studied. The second oleate species in these samples bridges two Pb²⁺ ions within clusters or oligomers of lead oleate (with a hydrodynamic radius of ∼1.4 nm), which are byproducts of the QD synthesis. The concentration of these clusters increases with increasing size of the QDs because larger QDs are produced by increasing the concentration of the oleic acid ligand in the reaction mixture. The oleate molecules on the surfaces of the QDs and within the lead oleate clusters are in rapid exchange with each other. Additional washes with methanol progressively eliminate the contaminating clusters from the PbS QD samples. This work quantitatively characterizes the distribution of binding geometries at the inorganic/organic interface of the nanocrystals and demonstrates the utility of using organic ligands as probes for the composition of a colloidal QD sample as a function of the preparation procedure

Dual-Time Scale Photoinduced Electron Transfer from PbS Quantum Dots to a Molecular Acceptor

A combination of picosecond and microsecond transient absorption dynamics reveals the involvement of two mechanisms by which 1,4-benzoquinone (BQ) induces the decay of the excited state of PbS quantum dots (QDs): (i) electron transfer to BQ molecules adsorbed to the surfaces of PbS QDs and (ii) collisionally gated electron transfer to freely diffusing BQ. Together, these two mechanisms quantitatively describe the quenching of photoluminescence upon addition of BQ to PbS QDs in dichloromethane solution. This work represents the first quantitative study of a QD–ligand system that undergoes both adsorbed and collisionally gated photoinduced charge transfer within the same sample. The availability of a collisionally gated pathway improves the yield of electron transfer from PbS QDs to BQ by an average factor of 2.5 over that for static electron transfer alone

Zalecenia Polskiego Towarzystwa Fizyki Medycznej dotyczące kontroli jakości w radioterapii śródoperacyjnej promieniowaniem elektronowym (IOERT) za pomocą mobilnych akceleratorów

Planując i realizując leczenie z użyciem promieniowania jonizującego, należy zapewnić podanie zleconej przez lekarza dawki terapeutycznej, minimalizując równocześnie dawki podane poza objętością tarczową. Osiągnięcie tych dwóch celów w znacznym stopniu zależy od wielkości objętości tarczowej, jej położenia względem narządów krytycznych oraz rodzaju promieniowania użytego do terapii. Charakterystyki głębokościowe powszechnie stosowanych wiązek promieniowania stosowanych w radioterapii pokazują, że szczególnie narażone na pochłonięcie dawki wyższej są tkanki prawidłowe, które położone są na mniejszej głębokości niż tkanki objęte procesem nowotworowym. Dlatego jedną z podstawowych zasad przygotowania leczenia jest taki wybór kierunku napromieniania, aby objętość tarczowa znajdowała się jak najbliżej źródła promieniowania. Realizacja tego celu może zostać osiągnięta poprzez zastosowanie techniki napromieniania śródoperacyjnego, której istotą jest odsunięcie metodami chirurgicznymi tkanek otaczających objętość tarczową od strony wlotowej poza obszar eksponowany na promieniowanie pierwotne i ewentualnie ochrona tkanek znajdujących się dystalnie względem objętości tarczowej. Taka technika określana terminem „radioterapia śródoperacyjna” ma długą historię, ale dopiero w XXI wieku znalazła szersze zastosowanie. Umożliwił to rozwój technologiczny mobilnych urządzeń terapeutycznych oraz zgromadzona wiedza z zakresu radioterapii i radiobiologii. Radioterapia śródoperacyjna znajduje coraz szersze zastosowanie w radioterapii nowotworów głowy i szyi, mięsaków, nowotworów jelita grubego i trzustki [36]. Szczególne znaczenie, głównie z powodów epidemiologicznych, ma radioterapia śródoperacyjna w leczeniu pacjentek z nowotworem piersi [25, 27, 28]