Chemically induced protein cage assembly with programmable opening and cargo release

Engineered protein cages are promising tools that can be customized for applications in medicine and nanotechnology. A major challenge is developing a straightforward strategy for endowing cages with bespoke, inducible disassembly. Such cages would allow release of encapsulated cargoes at desired timing and location. Here, we achieve such programmable disassembly using protein cages, in which the subunits are held together by different molecular cross-linkers. This modular system enables cage disassembly to be controlled in a condition-dependent manner. Structural details of the resulting cages were determined using cryo–electron microscopy, which allowed observation of bridging cross-linkers at intended positions. Triggered disassembly was demonstrated by high-speed atomic force microscopy and subsequent cargo release using an encapsulated Förster resonance energy transfer pair whose signal depends on the quaternary structure of the cage

Groundwater vulnerability in the light of information layers of the hydrogeological map of Poland, scale 1:50,000

Określenie naturalnych możliwości ochronnych wód podziemnych jest jednym z ważniejszych zadań jakie podejmowane są obecnie w związku z wdrażaniem w Polsce ustaleń wynikających z Ramowej Dyrektywy Wodnej. Dotyczy to zarówno płytkich systemów krążenia wód podziemnych, jak i głównych użytkowych poziomów wodonośnych. W niniejszym opracowaniu przedstawiono warstwy informacyjne Mapy hydrogeologicznej Polski w skali 1:50 000, które określają wrażliwość na zanieczyszczenie pierwszego poziomu wodonośnego oraz stopień zagrożenia głównego użytkowego poziomu wodonośnego

Social preferences regarding to running as a form of active leisure time in the forests

The article presents the results of questionnaire survey, which aimed to determine social preferences in relation to running as a form of active leisure time in the forests. In 2016 the survey covered 346 people over 18 years of age. As a research tool we used an internet questionnaire, which included questions about such issues as: the frequency of running in the forest, the preferred season and the views on advantages and disadvantages of running in forest areas. The questionnaire was distributed via social media (eg Facebook) among people interested in running. Statistical analysis of the impact of personal characteristics (gender, age, place of residence) and experience in running on the respondent preferences was carried out using the chi−square test. Men dominated among the respondents. The majority were people aged 35−44 and urban residents. Over half of the respondents declared that they are doing athletic or recreational running for more than 4 years. Results show that forests in Poland are an attractive place for running. The most preferred season for running in the forest was summer and spring. Most respondents run in the forest several times a week. The most frequently mentioned advantages of running in the forest included: contact with nature, clean air, and landscape – pleasant environment. Subsequently, the respondents pointed to the lack of traffic control infrastructure, and lack or a small number of other recreational people. Among the disadvantages of running in the forest, respondents mentioned mainly: the presence of tick, hunters, and lack of clearly marked and illuminated routes. Other factors limiting the comfort of running in the forests were: uneven road surface or problems with phone connection. The results showed that the preferences varied significantly, mainly in terms of gender, age and experience in running. The age and experience of respondents have an influence on preferences regarding the frequency of running in forests. The preferences of the respondents referring to the advantages and disadvantages of running in the forests are different due to gender, age and number of years of their experience. The analysis of respondents’ preferences leads to the conclusion that for the development of running in forests, promoting the forest as a friendly running place, it is important to have appropriate recreational forest management, including, first of all, proper layout of forest road networks and their markings

Selected issues of hydrogeological scope in the work of district and provincial geologist

Hydrogeological problems are present in the district and provincial geologists' activity. Their taking into account is obligatory by the acts of law. The subject matter of the groundwater comes up in case of groundwater intakes (exploitation resources, geological works projects, groundwater withdrawal licenses) as well as in land use and industrial investments activity. In the current activity of the central and local government offices the essential is the access to the water management data which determines the effective process of issuing the licenses, decisions and agreements

Protection of forests in the face of the progressive urbanization process – Jablonna commune case study

This paper aims to assess the degree of forest areas protection in the face of the growing problem of suburbanization (so−called ‘spilling of cities’). The problem particularly affects districts (often rural) in large cities suburban zones. These districts can often characterize with rich natural and landscape conditions. Because of the new residents’ inflow and the fulfillment of their needs, these municipalities may lose their current character. The local government, as an area host, having appropriate tools for shaping space, has a huge impact on the optimal use of its individual elements. Only rational spatial management, based on high standards of planning and spatial development, can stimulate the spatial development of a particular area and appropriately protect valuable space elements at the same time. The strategic documents of the Jabłonna commune emphasize that the dispersion of the buildings in the district area is one of the main threats to the landscape. This threat, increasing because of the investments, concerns particularly forest areas. Bearing in mind such a negative phenomenon for the space, which is the uncontrolled and progressive process of urbanization, this work analyses the existing local plans for the rural commune of Jabłonna in terms of forest protection against excessive urbanization pressure. The analysis of the plans enabled to estimate the area of forest areas for other than forest purposes (47.7 ha). An analysis of the destination type and arrangements concerning forests has been made, taking into account the state of ownership and the main features of the forest stand based on the information obtained from the forest data bank. The results received indicate that the largest number of forest areas in the Jabłonna district are dedicated for single−family housing (81.6%) and accompanying road infrastructure (11.5%). The local plans analysis allows to state that the local government adopts conservative and protective spatial policy in relation to forest areas administered by the State Forests, which assumes the preservation of valuable and high greenery and prohibits the logging. The largest share of forests that change their purpose in the local plans of the Jabłonna commune are private forests (42.7 ha) with average stand age of 40−60 years

Running as a form of recreation in the Polish and Czech forests – advantages and disadvantages

The article presents a comparative analysis of social preferences related to running in the forests of Poland and the Czech Republic. The preferences were determined on the basis of a questionnaire distributed in 2016 via social media among people interested in running in in both countries. The survey covered 346 people over 18 years of age in Poland and 294 people from Czech Republic. The questionnaire included questions such as: the frequency of running in the forest, the preferred season for running and average number of running kilometers in the week and the views on advantages and disadvantages of running in forest areas. The results show that there is quite a lot of differences between the preferences of respondents from both of the analyzed countries. Statistical analysis was carried out using the chi−square test. The observed differences relate mainly to the choice of season for running in forests, the frequency of running in the forests, average distance covered in a week and the views on advantages of running in forest areas. The most preferred season for running in Polish forests was summer, then spring, while in Czech ones it was exactly the opposite. Most respondents in Poland run in the forest several times a week, whereas in the Czech Republic – several times a month. The most frequently mentioned advantages of running in Polish forests were: contact with nature, clean air, landscape – pleasant environment. In Czech forests among the most frequently mentioned advantages of running were: contact with nature, good quality surface and clean air. Subsequently, the respondents pointed to the lack of traffic control infrastructure, and lack or a small number of other recreational people. Among the disadvantages of running in the forest, respondents in both counties mentioned mainly: the presence of tick and hunters. Other factors limiting the comfort of running in the forests included: uneven road surface or problems with phone connection. Only the views on the subject of the attractiveness of the forests for running and disadvantages of running in forest areas were not significantly important

Preferences of disabled on wheelchairs in relation to forest recreation in Poland and Czech Republic

The article presents the results of the survey on the preferences of disabled people on wheelchairs for selected features of recreation in forests. The study was conducted in 2015, including a sample of 108 people over the age of 18 interviewed simultaneously in the Poland and Czech Republic (52 interviews in Poland, 56 in the Czech Republic). Respondents were questioned both at the premises of the activation organizations as well as activation by email. The questions in the survey were designed to determine the preferences of the respondents in terms of the frequency and duration of the rest in the forests, the size of forest users groups, the choice of means of transport and certain equipment of forest recreation management. The results show that there is quite a lot of differences between the preferences of respondents from both of the analyzed countries. The statistic differences relate mainly to the choice of the means of transport enabling the rest of the forest, the frequency of recreation visits in the forests and the scope of necessary recreational infrastructure in the forests. The results indicate also significant differences in the profile of the respondents. They were associated with the place of residence, time of moving on a wheelchair and the use of a particular type of wheelchair