Development of the normalization method for the Jagiellonian PET scanner

This work aims at applying the theory of the component-based normalization for the Jagiellonian PET scanner, currently under development at the Jagiellonian University. In any Positron Emission Tomography acquisition, efficiency along a line-of-response can vary due to several physical and geometrical effects, leading to severe artifacts in the reconstructed image. To mitigate these effects, a normalization coefficient is applied to each line-of-response, defined as the product of several components. Specificity of the Jagiellonian PET scanner geometry is taken into account. Results obtained from GATE simulations are compared with preliminary results obtained from experimental data.Comment: 8 pages, 6 figures, submitted to Acta Physica Polonica

Development of the normalization method for the Jagiellonian PET scanner

This work aims at applying the theory of the component-based normalization to the Jagiellonian PET scanner, currently under development at the Jagiellonian University. In any positron emission tomography acquisition, efficiency along a line-of-response can vary due to several physical and geometrical effects, leading to severe artifacts in the reconstructed image. To mitigate these effects, a normalization coefficient is applied to each line-of-response, defined as the product of several components. The specificity of the Jagiellonian PET scanner geometry is taken into account. The results obtained from the GATE simulations are compared with the preliminary results obtained from the experimental data

Two species of true morels (the genus Morchella, Ascomycota) recorded in the Ojców National Park (south Poland)

In this paper, we present results of survey on the occurrence of true morels, conducted in the Ojców National Park (ONP). The first data about true morels from the area of the ONP date back to the nineteenth century. However, despite multiple surveys in the next decades, their presence has not been confirmed. Therefore, true morels were thought to be extinct in the ONP. In 2014 and 2015, two morphotypes of true morel fruiting bodies were discovered in two sites, identified as black morels and yellow morels. In 2016, we collected three fruiting bodies for detailed morphological characterization and molecular identification. According to our results, these morels were identified as Morchella deliciosa and Morchella esculenta. Our finding is the first confirmation of the occurrence of both species (as they are presently recognized) in Poland

Wiatr fenowy jako sezonowy czynnik ryzyka samobójstwa w regionie górskim

Cel: Przekonanie, że wiatr fenowy ma wpływ na samobójstwa, jest mocno zakorzenione w lokalnej kulturze w różnych regionach górskich świata, niemniej jednak dane naukowe dotyczące tego tematu są ograniczone. W niniejszej pracy badano hipotezę możliwej zależności między halnym (wiatr typu fenowego występujący w polskiej części Tatr) a ryzykiem samobójstwa. Metoda: Dokonano analizy liczby samobójstw odnotowanych w latach 1999-2014 przez urząd Policji w powiecie tatrzańskim w kontekście dobowych danych meteorologicznych. Fen zdefiniowano jako zespół różnych czynników meteorologicznych, w tym zmiany ciśnienia powietrza, temperatury, wilgotności, zachmurzenia, prędkości i kierunku wiatru. Zostały wzięte pod uwagę dni, w których pojawiły się warunki sprzyjające wystąpieniu wiatru halnego, oraz dwa dni poprzedzające zjawisko. Obliczono względne ryzyko samobójstwa. Wyniki: W okresie badania zarejestrowano 210 przypadków samobójstw, z czego 14,5% miało miejsce w dniach ze zjawiskami fenowymi. Wskaźnik samobójstw był podobny przez cały rok, niezależnie od pory roku. Halny nie zmienił ogólnego dobowego ryzyka samobójstwa, jednak mógł mieć wpływ na sezonowe ryzyko samobójstwa (p < 0,05). W dwóch grupach wiatru fenowego względne ryzyko zwiększyło się ponadczterokrotnie w okresie letnim i dwukrotnie w okresie jesieni, a wiosną obniżyło się dziesięciokrotnie. Wniosek: Brak jednoznacznych powiązań pomiędzy występowaniem halnego a samobójstwami. Wiatr fenowy mógł zwiększać ryzyko samobójstwa w Tatrach w okresie letnim i jesiennym analizowanego okresu. Konieczne są dalsze badania, aby wytłumaczyć możliwy związek wiatrów fenowych ze zgonami samobójczymi oraz aby wykorzystać wyniki tych badań do działań z zakresu zapobiegania samobójstwom w regionach górskich.Objective: The belief that the foehn wind has an impact on suicide is firmly rooted in local culture in various mountain regions of the world, but scientific data on this subject are limited. In this study, the hypothesis of a possible relationship between Halny (foehn type wind occurring in the Polish part of the Tatra Mountains) and the risk of suicide was examined. Method: The number of suicides recorded in the years 1999-2014 by the Police Office in the Tatra region in the context of diurnal meteorological data was defined. Foehn was defined as a set of various meteorological factors, including changes in air pressure, temperature, humidity, cloud cover as well as wind direction and speed. The days on which favourable conditions for the occurrence of the foehn wind and the two days preceding the phenomenon were taken into account. The relative risk of suicide was calculated. Results: 210 cases of suicides were recorded during the study period, of which 14.5% occurred on the foehn wind day. The suicide rate was similar throughout the year, regardless of the season. Halny did not change the overall daily risk of suicide, but could have had an impact on the seasonal risk of suicide (p < 0.05). In two groups of foehn wind, relative risk increased more than fourfold in summer and twice in autumn, and in spring it decreased tenfold. Conclusion: There are no clear links between the occurrence of the foehn wind and suicides. The foehn wind could increase the risk of suicide in the Tatra Mountains in the summer and autumn of the analysed period. Further research is needed to explain a possible relationship between foehn winds and suicide as well as to apply the research results in this field in suicide prevention in the mountain regions

CO2 sorption and regeneration properties of fly ash zeolites synthesized with the use of differentiated methods

Production of fly ash zeolites may be an attractive method for the utilization of solid wastes from the energy sector. Different methods of synthesis often yield a variety of zeolite types, thereby affecting the properties of the resulting materials. The attention paid to carbon dioxide emission reduction technologies fully justifies the study of the sorption behaviours of fly ash zeolites synthesized by different methods. This work investigates the sorption properties of fly ash zeolites synthesized with different methods using CO2. Sorption capacity and adsorption isotherms were determined following the volumetric method and textural parameters were resolved according to the Dubinin-Astakhov (DA) method. The CO2 sorption capacity was in the range 0.24–4.16¿mmol/g. The relationships between structure and sorption behaviour were studied for each synthesis method. Some strong similarities between commercial zeolites and fly ash zeolites were found. The mechanism for sorption was proved to be physisorption which is fully reversible under selected conditions. The observed trends were used to identify the best sorbent.Peer ReviewedPostprint (published version

Repellent effect of volatile fatty acids on lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus)

Volatile fatty acids (VFAs) are a group of common metabolites and semiochemicals mediating information transfer between higher organisms and bacteria, either from microbiome or external environment. VFAs commonly occur among various insect orders. There are numerous studies exploring their influence on the behavior of different insect species. In relation to the papers published by J. E. McFarlane in 1985, we assessed the effects of formic, acetic, propionic, butyric and valeric acids on the spatial preference of the lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus), a common pest of stored food grain products and the poultry industry. The main aim of the presented study was to provide new angles in VFA research, recreating the classical study both with new methods and on economically significant pest species. This paper presents a novel method of continuous, simultaneous assessment of site preference and the travelled distance in a constant-flow olfactometer. All the tested VFAs, except valeric acid, had a significant repellent effect, with formic acid being effective even at the lowest used concentration. Additionally, the VFAs significantly altered the distance travelled by the insects. The obtained results indicate a potential role for VFAs in the olfactory guided behavior of A. diaperinus. It is suspected that the reaction to the presence of VFAs may deviate from the specificity of species’ original habitat