Technologies Involved in the Manufacture of Smart Nonwoven Fabrics

Many methods can be used to protect humans against hazardous chemicals in the environment such as personal protective equipment and protective clothing. However, what matters most is prevention and early detection of threats. Detecting the presence of hazardous chemicals such as organic liquids and the vapours they give off is possible using sensors. Effective chemosensory properties are revealed by conductive polymers and carbon particles, where the electrical resistance of chemicals changes. Still open to debate is finding the optimum means of applying chemical sensors that would provide high sensitivity, durability, reliability, and resistance but at the same time would not be expensive. The authors propose introducing chemical sensors in the form of nonwoven fabrics produced by the melt-blown method and by electrospinning. The analysis takes account of melt-blown nonwoven fabric ​​based on polylactide (PLA)-containing carbon nanotubes, nonwoven fabric made by electrospinning based on polyethylene oxide–containing carbon nanotubes and carbon nonwoven fabric from polyacrylonitrile submicron precursor fibres formed by electrospinning. Assessment of the effectiveness of the sensors to liquid vapours including methanol, acetone, benzene and toluene (concentration 200 ppm) has been carried out. The resulting nonwoven sensors are characterized by good electrical conductivity and altered electrical resistance as a result of the presence of vapours

The review of selected biomarkers of abdominal aortic aneurysm

Abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a disease affecting the main artery transporting oxidized blood to theabdominal and pelvic organs. Abdominal aortic aneurysms occur 4-8 times more often in men than in women,usually develop after the age of 55. Among men over 65, 4–7.6%, this diagnosis can be expected. More aneurysmsoccur in Caucasian people. Among the most frequently mentioned in the literature, AAA risk factors areolder age, male gender, positive family history, smoking, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, hypertension,hypercholesterolemia, peripheral arterial occlusive disease, ischemic heart disease. Biochemical tests to determinethe level of AAA-specific markers appear with potential. There are reports in the literature on the possibleuse of concentrations of selected molecules in the diagnosis of AAA. According to cadaveric research, there arenoticed dimensions of the abdominal aorta at its different levels. The relation between aortic size and shapecan be the factor contributing to the development of AAA. Previous studies have shown that the developmentof AAA is a crucial fundamental inflammatory response in conjunction with proteolysis tissue, which causes thedestruction and reconstruction of the blood vessel wall. Numerous factors contribute to the pathogenesis ofAAA: proteins, transcription factors, enzymes and microRNAs. The increase in the concentration of most factorsis associated with inflammation. The biomarkers presented in the paper are not limited to AAA, and thus canbe used only for visual assessment of the degree of abdominal aortic aneurysm development

La conservazione preventiva del patrimonio librario come possibile alternativa al restauro tradizionale

The present paper focuses on the close relation between library collections and their preservation environment, aiming, in particular, at highlighting the importance of promoting and sustaining the monitoring. The paper proposes some simple and ready-to-use technologies – smart monitoring – to prevent future damages

The risk of a blood pressure increase during treatment with selected psychotropic drugs

Arterial hypertension is the most common cardiovascular risk factor in the general population. Increased mortality from arterial hypertension affects all ethnicities and ages, including those with mental disorders. Most people with arterial hypertension suffer from the primary form of the disease. The aim of this article was to analyze the influence of psychiatric drugs on blood pressure. The articles for analysis were selected via the PubMed search engine in the Medline database using the names of individual drugs or a group of psychotropic drugs, the AND operator and the words "hypertension" or "blood pressure" or "cardiovascular system". The articles were then selected and 36 references were selected for analysis. Selected articles were archived on December 24, 2020. Many medications with the potential to increase blood pressure are used to treat mental illness. These include venlafaxine, milnacipran, bupropion, esketamine, 1st and 2nd generation antipsychotics, tricyclic antidepressants and psychostimulants. In patients using psychotropic drugs that may increase blood pressure, attention should be paid to monitoring it during treatment

A Case Study on Distributed Energy Resources and Energy-Storage Systems in a Virtual Power Plant Concept: Technical Aspects

The article presents calculations and power flow of a real virtual power plant (VPP), containing a fragment of low and medium voltage distribution network. The VPP contains a hydropower plant (HPP), a photovoltaic system (PV) and energy storage system (ESS). The purpose of this article is to summarize the requirements for connection of generating units to the grid. Paper discusses the impact of the requirements on the maximum installed capacity of distributed energy resource (DER) systems and on the parameters of the energy storage unit. Firstly, a comprehensive review of VPP definitions, aims, as well as the characteristics of the investigated case study of the VPP project is presented. Then, requirements related to the regulation, protection and integration of DER and ESS with power systems are discussed. Finally, investigations related to influence of DER and ESS on power network condition are presented. One of the outcomes of the paper is the method of identifying the maximum power capacity of DER and ESS in accordance with technical network requirements. The applied method uses analytic calculations, as well as simulations using Matlab environment, combined with real measurement data. The obtained results allow the influence of the operating conditions of particular DER and ESS on power flow and voltage condition to be identified, the maximum power capacity of ESS intended for the planed VPP to be determined, as well as the influence of power control strategies implemented in a PV power plant on resources available for the planning and control of a VPP to be specified. Technical limitations of the DER and ESS are used as input conditions for the economic simulations presented in the accompanying paper, which is focused on investigations of economic efficiency