Geographically touring the eastern bloc: British geography, travel cultures and the Cold War

This paper considers the role of travel in the generation of geographical knowledge of the eastern bloc by British geographers. Based on oral history and surveys of published work, the paper examines the roles of three kinds of travel experience: individual private travels, tours via state tourist agencies, and tours by academic delegations. Examples are drawn from across the eastern bloc, including the USSR, Poland, Romania, East Germany and Albania. The relationship between travel and publication is addressed, notably within textbooks, and in the Geographical Magazine. The study argues for the extension of accounts of cultures of geographical travel, and seeks to supplement the existing historiography of Cold War geography

Results and Limits of Time Division Multiplexing for the BICEP Array High Frequency Receivers

Time-Division Multiplexing is the readout architecture of choice for many ground and space experiments, as it is a very mature technology with proven outstanding low-frequency noise stability, which represents a central challenge in multiplexing. Once fully populated, each of the two BICEP Array high frequency receivers, observing at 150GHz and 220/270GHz, will have 7776 TES detectors tiled on the focal plane. The constraints set by these two receivers required a redesign of the warm readout electronics. The new version of the standard Multi Channel Electronics, developed and built at the University of British Columbia, is presented here for the first time. BICEP Array operates Time Division Multiplexing readout technology to the limits of its capabilities in terms of multiplexing rate, noise and crosstalk, and applies them in rigorously demanding scientific application requiring extreme noise performance and systematic error control. Future experiments like CMB-S4 plan to use TES bolometers with Time Division/SQUID-based readout for an even larger number of detectors.Comment: 10 pages, 7 figures, Submitted to Journal of Low Temperature Physic

The Mediterranean diet for Polish infants: a losing struggle or a battle still worth fighting?

The Mediterranean diet is well known for its health-promoting effects. Among its key ingredients, olive oil is the most characteristic. Processing industries have been successfully manufacturing and marketing jarred baby foods with the use of vegetable oils, including olive oil, as well as other sources of visible fat. We aimed to survey manufacturer claims concerning added fat in jarred infant foods supplied to the Polish market. A total of 124 kinds of infant foods from six suppliers were analyzed. Corn, canola, and soybean oil occupied the first three positions, respectively, in rank order of vegetable oils used in jarred baby foods. In our sample, only one type of ready-to-eat jars with vegetables contained olive oil. 11% of products contained cow milk butter or cream. 61% of jarred “dinners” contained poultry or fish, which are typical sources of animal protein in the Mediterranean diet. Given that commercial baby foods currently available in the Polish market contain no olive oil, we advocate considering home preparation of infant foods with the use of visible fat. Medical professionals should encourage food manufacturers to return to the concepts of the Mediterranean diet for young consumers, aimed at long-term health

Small donors in world politics: The role of trust funds in the foreign aid policies of Central and Eastern European donors

The Central and Eastern European (CEE) EU member states have emerged as new donors of international development assistance since the turn of the millennium. The literature has tended to focus on the bilateral components of these policies, and neglected CEE multilateral aid. This paper contributes to filling this gap by examining how and why CEE donors contribute to trust funds operated by multilateral donors. The aim of the paper is twofold: First, it provides a descriptive account of how CEE countries use trust funds in the allocation of their foreign aid. Second, it explains this allocation using data from qualitative interviews with CEE officials. CEE countries make much less use of trust funds than might be expected. This is due not only to the loss of visibility and control over their resources, but also to how CEE companies and non-governmental organisations (NGOs) rarely achieve funding successes at multilateral organisations

The role of open-air inhalatoria in the air quality improvement in spa towns

Objectives: The present study was aimed at evaluating microbiological contamination of air in Ciechocinek and Ino­wro­cław – Polish lowland spa towns. Additionally, the impact of open-air inhalatoria on the quality of air was evaluated. Material and Methods: Air samples were collected seasonally in the urban areas, in the recreation areas and in the vicinity of inhalatoria in both towns using impaction. The numbers of mesophilic bacteria, staphylococci, hemolytic bacteria and actinomycetes were determined on media according to the Polish Standard PN-86/Z-04111/02. The number of moulds was determined on media according to the Polish Standard PN-86/Z-04111/03. Results: While the highest numbers of microorganisms were noted at the sites located in the urban areas, the lowest numbers were noted in the vicinity of the open-air inhalatoria. In all the investigated air samples the values of bioaerosol concentrations were below the recommended TLVs (≤ 5000 CFU×m–3 for both bacteria and fungi in outdoor environments). Location of the sampling site was invariably a decisive factor in determining the number of microorganisms in the air. Conclusions: The aerosol which is formed in the open-air inhalatoria has a positive influence on microbiological air quality. Owing to a unique microclimate and low air contamination, Ciechocinek and Inowrocław comply with all necessary requirements set for health resorts specializing in treating upper respiratory tract infections

Tracing potential soil contamination in the historical Solvay soda ash plant area, Jaworzno, Southern Poland

This study of soil conditions was carried out on 30 meadow soil (podzol) samples from the vicinity of the soda ash heap in Jaworzno, supplemented by analyses of 18 samples of waste deposited on the heap. In all samples, the total content of macroelements (Ca and Na) and heavy metals (Cd, Cr, Ni, Pb and Zn) as well as pH were analysed. The element concentrations were measured using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrometry (ICP-OES). The materials examined were neutral to ultra-alkaline. Total accumulations (mg kg(−1)) of chemical elements in the soil vary from 130.24 to 14076.67 for Ca, 41.40–926.23 for Na, 0.03–3.34 for Cd, 0.94–103.62 for Cr, 0.94–35.89 for Ni, 3.51–76.47 for Pb and 12.05–279.13 for Zn, whereas quantities of the same elements in the waste samples vary from 171705.13 to 360487.94 for Ca, 517.64–3152.82 for Na, 0.2–9.89 for Cd, 1.16–20.40 for Cr, 1.08–9.79 for Ni, 0.1–146.05 for Pb and 10.26–552.35 for Zn. The vertical distribution of the metals was determined in each soil profile. Despite enrichment of heavy metals in the uppermost horizon on the top of the heap, the results lead to the conclusion that the relation of historical production of soda ash in Jaworzno to current contamination of the local soil environment is insignificant

Identification of glucose transporters in Aspergillus nidulans

o characterize the mechanisms involved in glucose transport, in the filamentous fungus Aspergillus nidulans, we have identified four glucose transporter encoding genes hxtB-E. We evaluated the ability of hxtB-E to functionally complement the Saccharomyces cerevisiae EBY.VW4000 strain that is unable to grow on glucose, fructose, mannose or galactose as single carbon source. In S. cerevisiae HxtB-E were targeted to the plasma membrane. The expression of HxtB, HxtC and HxtE was able to restore growth on glucose, fructose, mannose or galactose, indicating that these transporters accept multiple sugars as a substrate through an energy dependent process. A tenfold excess of unlabeled maltose, galactose, fructose, and mannose were able to inhibit glucose uptake to different levels (50 to 80 %) in these s. cerevisiae complemented strains. Moreover, experiments with cyanide-m-chlorophenylhydrazone (CCCP), strongly suggest that hxtB, -C, and –E mediate glucose transport via active proton symport. The A. nidulans ΔhxtB, ΔhxtC or ΔhxtE null mutants showed ~2.5-fold reduction in the affinity for glucose, while ΔhxtB and -C also showed a 2-fold reduction in the capacity for glucose uptake. The ΔhxtD mutant had a 7.8-fold reduction in affinity, but a 3-fold increase in the capacity for glucose uptake. However, only the ΔhxtB mutant strain showed a detectable decreased rate of glucose consumption at low concentrations and an increased resistance to 2-deoxyglucose.The authors would like to thank the Fundacao de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Sao Paulo and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Cientifico e Tecnologico, Brazil for financial support. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript