Effectiveness of the Simulation of Acoustic Protection for a Specific Urban Situation

The present article is addressing the problem of street noise investigation in urban agglomeration and the simulation of protection devices against noise. Noise levels were measured in the vicinity of the national road in Bieruń, Silesia in Poland. The publication attempts to assess the acoustic climate between a roundabout and an intersection. Based on the measured noise, the acoustic mapping was made in the SoundPlan program. The range of noise impact from the examined road section was determined. Finally, two concepts of preventive measures limiting the excessive impacts on the environment were presented, along with the indication of the impact on building development, business operations as well as transport links and traffic

The Raw Material Base of Bio-Waste from Processing as an Opportunity for the Development of the Biogas Sector in Poland

Given the current geopolitical situation, as well as ongoing climate change, immediate action is imperative to develop sustainable energy production capacities and circular bioeconomy chains. The biogas sector, including 3rd generation biogas plants, can respond to intensive development pace ensuring sustainable energy production with lower carbon footprint.  This is true for Poland, which has a highly developed agricultural and food production sector but a limited number of biogas plants and no biomethane production facilities. In this study, our objective is to support evidence-based policy advice by providing spatial analysis of bio-waste production potential in Poland. For this purpose, data was extracted from the so-called Waste Database (Polish: Baza Danych o Odpadach - BDO) and presented on district (powiat) level. Spatial and Geographical Information System (GIS) was applied to allocate waste resource potential for Poland related to national and regional development of biogas sector in the country. Thus the functioning of a system for the registration of waste data, including bio-waste from processing, is an outcome to demonstrate available resource availability per each manufacturing sector. Results indicate that Poland does have a quantitative and qualitative bio-waste potential for biogas production. Most of the bio-waste is not treated in the districts where it is generated. Having knowledge of the geographical distribution of the feedstock supply and demand, together with the use of other substrates, we can provide valuable information for the development of the biogas sector at regional and national level

Regionalisation of unutilised agricultural area in Poland

Until the marketization of economy in 1990, practically there was no unutilised agricultural land in Poland. After the political transformation, the use of marginal land and part of small agricultural parcels located in areas of better soil agricultural suitability became unprofitable for economic reasons. Despite the reform of Polish agriculture, the problem of not using a large part of agricultural land is constantly present. There are currently no detailed data available on the actual scale of regionalisation and the structure of the landuse abandonment in Poland. Due to the above, the objective of this study is to fill knowledge gaps on this phenomenon. Analyses were performed based on cadastral maps for the whole country. It is the first comprehensive and detailed study of this issue, giving the full review of the regionalisation of abandoned land. Unutilised land defined as: cadastral parcels located on rural land, which is not declared as production area by farmers.The study has shown that currently in Poland more than 2.7 million ha of agricultural land is not declared by the farmers as area for agricultural activity. This assessment includes 2.03 million ha of unutilized areas of effective production (parcels  > 0.3 ha), which constitutes 14.2% of the overall agricultural area. A significant proportion of the unutilised agricultural land constitute medium and high productivity soils: 59.7 thousand ha of class III, 73.87 thousand ha of class IIIa, 116.6 thousand ha of class IIIb, 240 thousand ha of class IV, 225 thousand ha of class IVa, 221 thousand ha of class IVb. Analyses showed clear regionalisation of the problem of unused potential in the agricultural production area. This situation is particularly visible in Małopolskie, Podkarpackie, Świętokrzyskie, Śląskie, and part of Mazowieckie voivodeships

Review of Soil Moisture and Plant Water Stress Models Based on Satellite Thermal Imagery

The paper analyzes the advantages and disadvantages of the most commonly used groups of models of soil moisture and plant water stress based on satellite thermal imagery. We present a simple proof of linking NDTI and CWSI indicators with plants water stress and quantitative justification for the shape of the points cloud on the chart Ts-NDVI

Neoadjuvant radiotherapy and anastomosis dehiscence after total mesorectal excision for stage II and III rectal cancer

SummaryBackgroundAnterior resection is nowadays the preferred option of surgical treatment for rectal cancer without sphincter involvement. However, this operation is associated with the risk of anastomosis dehiscence (AD).AimThe aim of this study was to estimate the influence of neoadjuvant radiotherapy and other factors on the risk of anastomosis dehiscence after total mesorectal excision for stage II and III rectal cancer.Materials/MethodsOne hundred and thirty consecutive patients operated on due to histologically confirmed rectal carcinoma were studied with prospective data collection. Elective surgery with curative intent was administered. All patients underwent sphincter-sparing anterior resection with total mesorectal excision. End-to-end anastomosis with double stapled technique was performed. Impact of patient-, tumour- and treatment-related variables on anastomosis dehiscence rate was evaluated in univariate and multivariate analysis.ResultsIncidence of AD was 10.6%. There was no leakage-related mortality. Univariate analysis showed that patient's age and gender, presence of lymph node metastases and irradiation setting (pre- vs post-operative) did not significantly influence dehiscence rate (P>0.05). Tumour level at or below 7cm from the anal verge was related to increased AD risk with statistical importance (P=0.0438). Neither pelvic drainage nor omentoplasty effectively protected the anastomosis. Proximal diversion with protective stoma resulted in significantly decreasing AD risk (P=0.0012). In multivariate analysis the presence of transversostomy was found as the most important factor independently associated with significantly lower incidence of AD.ConclusionsNeoadjuvant radiotherapy does not seem to be a significant risk factor for anastomosis dehiscence, even after resection of low-sited tumours, but proximal diversion with temporary stoma needs to be considered

Z badań nad rolnictwem społecznie zrównoważonym (15)

Seria: Program Wieloletni 2011-2014. Konkurencyjność Polskiej Gospodarki Żywnościowej w Warunkach Globalizacji i Integracji Europejskiej; nr 50Bilans węgla i emisji gazów cieplarnianych (dwutlenku węgla, metanu i podtlenku azotu) w polskim rolnictwie. Rolnictwo ekologiczne w Polsce - stan i perspektywa. Czynniki kształtujące poziom zrównoważenia gospodarstw rolnych. Uwarunkowania i czynniki rozwoju rolnictwa zrównoważonego.Kamila Sobieck

Neoadjuvant radiotherapy and anastomosis dehiscence after total mesorectal excision for stage II and III rectal cancer

BackgroundAnterior resection is nowadays the preferred option of surgical treatment for rectal cancer without sphincter involvement. However, this operation is associated with the risk of anastomosis dehiscence (AD).AimThe aim of this study was to estimate the influence of neoadjuvant radiotherapy and other factors on the risk of anastomosis dehiscence after total mesorectal excision for stage II and III rectal cancer.Materials/MethodsOne hundred and thirty consecutive patients operated on due to histologically confirmed rectal carcinoma were studied with prospective data collection. Elective surgery with curative intent was administered. All patients underwent sphincter-sparing anterior resection with total mesorectal excision. End-to-end anastomosis with double stapled technique was performed. Impact of patient-, tumour- and treatment-related variables on anastomosis dehiscence rate was evaluated in univariate and multivariate analysis.ResultsIncidence of AD was 10.6%. There was no leakage-related mortality. Univariate analysis showed that patient's age and gender, presence of lymph node metastases and irradiation setting (pre- vs post-operative) did not significantly influence dehiscence rate (P>0.05). Tumour level at or below 7cm from the anal verge was related to increased AD risk with statistical importance (P=0.0438). Neither pelvic drainage nor omentoplasty effectively protected the anastomosis. Proximal diversion with protective stoma resulted in significantly decreasing AD risk (P=0.0012). In multivariate analysis the presence of transversostomy was found as the most important factor independently associated with significantly lower incidence of AD.ConclusionsNeoadjuvant radiotherapy does not seem to be a significant risk factor for anastomosis dehiscence, even after resection of low-sited tumours, but proximal diversion with temporary stoma needs to be considered

Fluctuation of Glacial Retreat Rates in the Eastern Part of Warszawa Icefield, King George Island, Antarctica, 1979–2018

Antarctica is a region of the world where climate change is visible in the rapid melting of glaciers. This is particularly evident in marginal zones, where the pace of glacial retreat has systematically accelerated. The effective mapping of these changes is possible with the use of remote sensing methods. This study assesses changes in glacier margin positions between 1979 and 2018 in the Antarctic Specially Protected Area 128 (ASPA-128) on King George Island, South Shetland Islands, Antarctica. In 1979, 19.8 km2 of the study area was glaciated. Over the following 39 years, an area of 6.1 km2 became ice-free, impacting local ecosystems both on land and in Admiralty Bay. The reduction in glacier extent was different in time and depended on the glacier type. Land-terminating glaciers had the fastest retreat rates below 200 m a.s.l. and were influenced mostly by surface melting. The reduction of tidewater glaciers occurred primarily in areas below 100 m a.s.l., with the most pronounced ice extent decreases occurring below 50 m a.s.l. The observed rates of front retreat suggest that glacier retreat rates were fastest between 1989–2001 and 2007–2011, with reduced retreat rates between 2001 and 2007. During the last 7 years, the lowest rate of regression was recorded in the entire analysed period (1979–2018). Changes in the areal extent of glaciers were compared with the climate record available for King George Island. The observed fluctuations in glacier retreat rates could be correlated to oscillations in annual Positive Degree-Days. The spatial analyses were based on aerial photographs (1956, 1979), theodolite measurements (1989), GPS survey (2001, 2007), and satellite images (2011, 2018)