Catchment-Scale Analysis Reveals High Cost-Effectiveness of Wetland Buffer Zones as a Remedy to Non-Point Nutrient Pollution in North-Eastern Poland

Large-scale re-establishment of wetland buffer zones (WBZ) along rivers is regarded as an effective measure in order to reduce non-point source nitrogen (N) and phosphorus (P) pollution in agricultural catchments. We estimated efficiency and costs of a hypothetical establishment of WBZs along all watercourses in an agricultural landscape of the lower Narew River catchment (north-eastern Poland, 16,444 km2, amounting to 5% of Poland) by upscaling results obtained in five sub-catchments (1087 km2). Two scenarios were analysed, with either rewetting selected wetland polygons that collect water from larger areas (polygonal WBZs) or reshaping and rewetting banks of rivers (linear WBZs), both considered in all ecologically suitable locations along rivers. Cost calculation included engineering works necessary in order to establish WBZs, costs of land purchase where relevant, and compensation costs of income forgone to farmers (needed only for polygonal WBZs). Polygonal WBZs were estimated in order to remove 11%–30% N and 14%–42% P load from the catchment, whereas linear WBZs were even higher with 33%–82% N and 41%–87% P. Upscaled costs of WBZ establishment for the study area were found to be 8.9 M EUR plus 26.4 M EUR per year (polygonal WBZ scenario) or 170.8 M EUR (linear WBZ scenario). The latter value compares to costs of building about 20 km of an express road. Implementation of buffer zones on a larger scale is thus a question of setting policy priorities rather than financial impossibility

In-Orbit Instrument Performance Study and Calibration for POLAR Polarization Measurements

POLAR is a compact space-borne detector designed to perform reliable measurements of the polarization for transient sources like Gamma-Ray Bursts in the energy range 50-500keV. The instrument works based on the Compton Scattering principle with the plastic scintillators as the main detection material along with the multi-anode photomultiplier tube. POLAR has been launched successfully onboard the Chinese space laboratory TG-2 on 15th September, 2016. In order to reliably reconstruct the polarization information a highly detailed understanding of the instrument is required for both data analysis and Monte Carlo studies. For this purpose a full study of the in-orbit performance was performed in order to obtain the instrument calibration parameters such as noise, pedestal, gain nonlinearity of the electronics, threshold, crosstalk and gain, as well as the effect of temperature on the above parameters. Furthermore the relationship between gain and high voltage of the multi-anode photomultiplier tube has been studied and the errors on all measurement values are presented. Finally the typical systematic error on polarization measurements of Gamma-Ray Bursts due to the measurement error of the calibration parameters are estimated using Monte Carlo simulations.Comment: 43 pages, 30 figures, 1 table; Preprint accepted by NIM

URINARY PROTEOMIC MARKERS OF IGA NEPHROPATHY, LUPUS NEPHRITIS AND MEMBRANOUS NEPHROPATHY

INTRODUCTION: Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a worldwide public health problem, related to increased morbidity and mortality. Glomerulopathies represent major causes of CKD and require complicated diagnostics. Standard of care includes kidney biopsy in order to confirm the type of nephropathy. However, biopsy brings specific risks. Therefore, non-invasive diagnostic and prognostic methods are sought. Urinary proteomics emerged as safe and promising tool, but still requires development and improvements. Our previous studies which are part of European Patent Application from 10th June 2016 (WO/2017/212463), identified urinary markers of IgA nephropathy. They included among others: alpha-1B-glycoprotein (A1BG), alpha-l-acid glycoprotein 1 (ORM-1), ferritin light chain (FTL) and serotransferrin (TF). The aim of this study was to evaluate them in comparison to patients with glomerulopathies of different etiologies, such as lupus nephritis (LN) and membranous nephropathy (MN). METHODS: This proteomic study included patients with CKD (41 IgAN, 33 LN, 26 MN, 6 with erytrocyturia of unknown etiology) and 19 healthy controls. Urine samples were obtained from a midstream of the: first-morning (FM) and second- or third-morning (SPOT) sample. The SPOT samples were processed up to 2 h and FM samples up to 4 h after collection, by agitating and gently inverting 4-6 times, portioned into 2-ml aliquots and stored at -80°C for further measurements. Western Blotting was used for analysis of the SPOT and FM samples, ELISA and mass spectrometry for SPOT urine only. The results were related to demographic data, standard laboratory tests and GFR estimated with use of Chronic Kidney Disease Epidemiology Collaboration (CKD-EPI) equation. RESULTS: The urinary concentrations of A1BG, ORM-1, FTL and TF were found to be higher in CKD patients than in healthy controls. Moreover, these proteins varied depending on the disease. According to ELISA measurements, patients with IgAN, erytrocyturia and LN had significantly more A1BG and ORM-1 (p < 0.05), whereas TF was more elevated in LN and MN individuals comparing to healthy controls. The western blot analysis revealed significantly elevated level of A1BG, ORM-1 and FTL in IgAN, LN and MN, comparing to healthy control. Additionally, it revealed fragmentation of A1BG in several patients and the bottom range bands tended to be most prominently elevated in IgAN patients. Mass spectrometry confirmed differences between the diseases according to the specific amino acids fragments of each tested protein. Figure 1. Western blot scans for urinary A1BG, ORM-1 and FTL in CKD patients (2-4) and healthy controls (1). CONCLUSIONS: The urinary concentrations of A1BG, ORM-1, FTL and TF are elevated in CKD patients and vary depending on the type of nephropathy. This observation suggests their differential roles in the pathophysiology of the given diseases, and we believe their evaluation may help distinguishing between nephropathies. Further studies are desired to establish the role of these urinary proteins in non-invasive disease differentiation

Security theory and practice: Germany towards security problems and international cooperation in the 21st century

Z wprowadzenia: "Pierwsze ćwierćwiecze XXI wieku obfituje w dyskusje na temat wagi i znaczenia wyzwań międzynarodowych. Również niemieccy politycy prezentują strategie i programy osiągania przez Niemcy celów i interesów na arenie międzynarodowej. Ocena realizacji niemieckiej polityki bezpieczeństwa oraz poziomu współpracy międzynarodowej wymaga uwzględnienia wielu czynników o charakterze podmiotowym i przedmiotowym. Minister obrony Ursula von der Leyen proponowała „przywództwo z centrum”, a prezydent Joachim Gauck postulował zwiększenie „odpowiedzialności międzynarodowej” Niemiec. Podczas gdy minister spraw zagranicznych Guido Westerwelle opowiedział się za trwaniem przy „kulturze wstrzemięźliwości”, socjaldemokraci Sigmar Gabriel i Frank-Walter Steinmeier optowali za polityką zaangażowania Niemiec. Kanclerz Angela Merkel odnosząc się do dyskusji dotyczących rozbrojenia podkreślała, że odstraszanie stanowi istotny element stabilizacji środowiska międzynarodowego i postulowała realistyczne podejście do problematyki zbrojeń."(...

GRIPS - Gamma-Ray Imaging, Polarimetry and Spectroscopy

We propose to perform a continuously scanning all-sky survey from 200 keV to 80 MeV achieving a sensitivity which is better by a factor of 40 or more compared to the previous missions in this energy range. The Gamma-Ray Imaging, Polarimetry and Spectroscopy (GRIPS) mission addresses fundamental questions in ESA's Cosmic Vision plan. Among the major themes of the strategic plan, GRIPS has its focus on the evolving, violent Universe, exploring a unique energy window. We propose to investigate $\gamma$-ray bursts and blazars, the mechanisms behind supernova explosions, nucleosynthesis and spallation, the enigmatic origin of positrons in our Galaxy, and the nature of radiation processes and particle acceleration in extreme cosmic sources including pulsars and magnetars. The natural energy scale for these non-thermal processes is of the order of MeV. Although they can be partially and indirectly studied using other methods, only the proposed GRIPS measurements will provide direct access to their primary photons. GRIPS will be a driver for the study of transient sources in the era of neutrino and gravitational wave observatories such as IceCUBE and LISA, establishing a new type of diagnostics in relativistic and nuclear astrophysics. This will support extrapolations to investigate star formation, galaxy evolution, and black hole formation at high redshifts.Comment: to appear in Exp. Astron., special vol. on M3-Call of ESA's Cosmic Vision 2010; 25 p., 25 figs; see also www.grips-mission.e

International Academic Conference Central and Eastern Europe in the International Politics of the Twentieth and Twenty-First Centuries 7–8 November 2022, Kraków

Słowo wstępne: "Oddajemy w Państwa ręce księgę abstraktów międzynarodowej konferencji naukowej „Europa Środkowo-Wschodnia w polityce międzynarodowej XX i XXI wieku”, która w dniach 7–8 listopada 2022 r. gromadzi w murach Krakowskiej Akademii im. Andrzeja Frycza Modrzewskiego doświadczonych badawczy, doktorantów i studentów z Polski i zagranicy. Konferencja została zorganizowana przez Katedrę Stosunków Międzynarodowych Krakowskiej Akademii im. Andrzeja Frycza Modrzewskiego we współpracy z Instytutem Historii i Archiwistyki Uniwersytetu Pedagogicznego im. KEN w Krakowie (współorganizator). Partnerami naukowymi są Instytut Historyczny Uniwersytetu Szczecińskiego (organizator pierwszej części konferencji, przeprowadzonej w dniu 26 maja 2022 r.), Katedra Badań nad Obszarem Eurazjatyckim Uniwersytetu Jagiellońskiego w Krakowie oraz Instytut Zachodni im. Zygmunta Wojciechowskiego. Celem konferencji jest wniesienie wkładu w dyskusję naukową o historycznych doświadczeniach państw Europy Środkowo-Wschodniej oraz współczesnych wyzwaniach i zagrożeniach, z którymi są konfrontowane rządy i społeczeństwa państw tego regionu."(...)Patronat honorowy Prof. KAAFM dr Klemens Budzowski – Rektor Krakowskiej Akademii im. Andrzeja Frycza Modrzewskiego Oddział Krakowski Polskiego Towarzystwa Studiów Europejskic

Polski rok 1989 w perspektywie czechosłowackich dzienników opiniotwórczych

The Polish year 1989 through the perspective of Czechoslovak opinion-forming daily press The main goal of this article is to show the image of the most important Polish political actions in 1989 through the prism of Czechoslovak opinion-forming daily press: Rud&eacute; pr&aacute;vo and Mlad&aacute; fronta. The author is focused on the analysis of materials generally connected with the deliberations of the Round Table, as well as the Polish legislative election on 4 June. It is desirable to disclose the way of presenting of the most important actions in Poland by the Czechoslovak press in that period, which we have mentioned above. The author also tries to de&shy;termine how acute was the attention of the press to the Polish events that had taken place during those times. The newspapers, that are analysed, were controlled by Czechoslovak Rule and they were medium of its current views. According to this fact we could emphasize one of the elements in the sphere of the official relations be&shy;tween Poland and Czechoslovakia in relation in the year 1989. We could also reconstruct the Polish situational image which was presented to Czechoslovak citizens by the Czechoslovak authorities.&nbsp;The Polish year 1989 through the perspective of Czechoslovak opinion-forming daily press The main goal of this article is to show the image of the most important Polish political actions in 1989 through the prism of Czechoslovak opinion-forming daily press: Rud&eacute; pr&aacute;vo and Mlad&aacute; fronta. The author is focused on the analysis of materials generally connected with the deliberations of the Round Table, as well as the Polish legislative election on 4 June. It is desirable to disclose the way of presenting of the most important actions in Poland by the Czechoslovak press in that period, which we have mentioned above. The author also tries to de&shy;termine how acute was the attention of the press to the Polish events that had taken place during those times. The newspapers, that are analysed, were controlled by Czechoslovak Rule and they were medium of its current views. According to this fact we could emphasize one of the elements in the sphere of the official relations be&shy;tween Poland and Czechoslovakia in relation in the year 1989. We could also reconstruct the Polish situational image which was presented to Czechoslovak citizens by the Czechoslovak authorities