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The essay "Early agricultural settlement of the periphery of the loess uplands and its paleoecological context - a case study of the Iłża Piedmont (southern Poland)" examines the relationship between the settlement of prehistoric agricultural societies and the occurrence of local loess deposits in Central Europe. The results show that there was already a close connection between the settlement of these areas and the fertile soils, favorable geomorphological, and hydrological conditions in the early Neolithic period. The research findings indicate the flexibility and adaptability of early farmers, which allowed them to settle even less fertile areas outside the loess uplands. [Extracted from the article]

The article describes the archaeological excavations in Brzoza, Poland, which took place from 2015 to 2018. During this time, 11,000 flint objects were discovered, which are attributed to the Late Paleolithic techno-complex with flint points. The excavations focused on exploring a dune barrier to find cultural objects in the primary deposition area. The findings show similarities with the Ahrensburg and Sviderian cultures, as well as the Bromme culture. The results of the investigations suggest that the findings date back to the Late Paleolithic period and are likely from the Younger Dryas period. The Brzoza complex plays an important role in the research of the Late Paleolithic in northern Poland. [Extracted from the article]

Vor mehr als sechzig Jahren veröffentlichte J. Kostrzewski einen Artikel Ze studiów nad wczesnym okresem żelaznym w Polsce (Studien über die ältere Eisenzeit in Polen). Es war das Ergebnis jahrelanger Recherchen, Lektüren und Rückfragen, die in einer Zeit turbulenten ersten Hälfte des 20. Jahrhunderts durchgeführt wurden. Diese Arbeit ist nach wie vor eine der grundlegenden Studien zur Chronologie von Ha C und Ha D in Polen. Ein wichtiger Teil dieses Textes war die Analyse der „kuyavischen Bronzen", die in der Literatur auch als „Stanomin-Schmuckstücke" bezeichnet werden, benannt nach dem Hort von Stanomin. Neue Funde und die Ergebnisse von 14C- und dendrochronologischen Untersuchungen haben unser Bild von den kulturellen Prozessen im früheisenzeitlichen Polen erheblich verändert. Die Datierung der „kuyavischen Bronzen" und die Deutung der mit ihnen verbundenen Phänomene war bislang kein Gegenstand einer umfassenden Studie. Im vorliegenden Text konzentriert sich der Autor auf diese Fundgruppe, da er diese als eine der wichtigsten Kategorien von Metallartefakten für die Kenntnis der chronologischen Variabilität der frühen Eisenzeit in Polen betrachtet. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract:Introduction: The EFPA Questionnaire on Test Attitudes of Psychologists (EQTAP) is periodically employed to gather the opinions of European psychologists. A decade after the prior study, Poland and other EFPA member states participated in a follow-up investigation. This paper presents the results of the 2020 Polish edition of the survey involving 650 psychologists. It also provides a comparison with the findings from the 2009 EQTAP survey. Methods: Using exploratory factor analysis, we delved into the EQTAP questionnaire's psychometric properties to evaluate the suitability of its thematic scales. Additionally, we undertook a detailed analysis, both at the single-item and scale level. Results: The results suggest a five-scale solution, which is consistent with other international studies (Evers et al., 2012, 2017). Reliability coefficients for the questionnaire scales range between 0.40 and 0.87, strongly correlating with scale length. Conclusion: The article concludes with a discussion of the Polish psychological testing culture, which has remained relatively unchanged from 2009 to 2020, signaling a stabilization (despite changes in the behavioral patterns in the testing context related to technology). In the last section, we include a list of Polish psychologists' most favored psychometric tests over the last decade. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Cryptomycina pteridis (Ascomycota, class Sordariomycetes) is a highly host-specific fungus, infecting only a native, fern Pteridium aquilinum. This endophyte is usually overlooked, although it is easy to recognise due to its characteristic symptoms on bracken fern fronds, especially advanced narrowing and shrivelling of pinnae and pinnules. Infested plants have pinnae and pinnules curling upwards, and dark stromata along the veins on the undersides of pinnules. The fungus is an obligate systemic endophyte, which disturbs fern growth. The paper presents some old and new records of C. pteridis in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the study was to determine the direction and rate of the projected changes of the start, end, and duration of the growing season in Poland in two-time horizons: 2021–2050 and 2071–2100. The main part of the paper was preceded by an analysis of changes in the start and end dates and the duration of the growing season in Poland in the period 1966–2020. The growing season in Poland is projected to be the shortest in mountain areas and in the north-eastern regions of Poland, where the date of growing season start is the latest and the date of the growing season end is the earliest. Whereas the longest growing season due to the projected earliest start and latest end dates is expected in the southwestern Poland. In the case of the coast, its late end will be of the greatest importance for its duration as a result of the warming effect of the sea in the autumn–winter period. The most intensive changes are forecasted in the long-term perspective in the case of the scenario regarding a high level of greenhouse gas emissions. The forecasts show that outside mountain areas, the growing season duration will vary from less than 255 days in the northeastern regions to more than 290 days in southwest and western Poland. In the duration of the mountains, the growing season will vary from 180 days on Kasprowy Wierch to 188 days on Śnieżka. This suggests significant changes in agroclimatic conditions in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The need to protect road infrastructure makes it necessary to direct the mass enforcement control of motor vehicles. Such control, in order to fulfil its role, must be continuous and universal. The only tool currently known to achieve these goals are weigh-in-motion (WIM) systems. The implementation of mass enforcement WIM systems is possible only if the requirements for their metrological properties are formulated, followed by the implementation of administrative procedures for the type approval of WIM systems, rules for their metrological examination, and administrative regulations for their practical use. The AGH University of Krakow, in cooperation with the Central Office of Measures (Polish National Metrological Institute), has been conducting research in this direction for many years, and, now, as part of a research project financed by the Ministry of Education and Science. In this paper, we describe a unique WIM system located in the south of Poland and the results of over two years of our research. These studies are intended to lead to the formulation of requirements for metrological legalisation procedures for this type of system. Our efforts are focused on implementing WIM systems in Poland for direct mass enforcement. The tests carried out confirmed that the constructed system is fully functional. Its equipment with quartz and bending plate load sensors allows for the comparison of both technologies and the measurement of many parameters of the weighed vehicle and environmental parameters affecting weighing accuracy. The tests confirmed the stability of its metrological parameters. The GVW maximal measurement error does not exceed 5%, and the single axle load maximal measurement error does not exceed 12%. The sensors of the environmental parameters allow for the search for correlations between weighing accuracy and the intensity of these parameters. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The primary aim of this study was to assess the investment activity of basic local government units in the development of renewable energy sources co-financed by EU funds depending on CO2 emissions and other socio-economic conditions in terms of regions of Poland in the years 2007–2020. Empirical studies aimed at the verification of the research hypothesis that "the greatest investment activity in local projects co-financed from EU funds related to the development of renewable energy sources is observed for local government units in regions with highest CO2 emissions". Empirical studies were conducted based on data from the Ministry of Investment and Economic Development in Poland, the Local Data Bank, and the National Centre for Emissions Management. Thus, the conducted analyses provide both cognitive and applicatory values for the establishment of an appropriate energy transition policy in individual regions of Poland, which may be implemented by local government authorities within the current financial framework. Data concerning CO2 emissions at the regional level were estimated by applying the original disaggregation method as modified by the authors, which made it possible to fill the research gap resulting from the lack of data on emissions at the regional level. In order to show the regional diversification in investment activity of local government units in terms of renewable energy sources, its multi-faceted analysis was conducted by applying the Ward method. Clusters of regions with similar investment activity of local government units were described based on characteristics included in the typological classification (so-called active characteristics) and selected indexes showing CO2 emission levels, as well as selected socio-economic indexes (so-called passive characteristics). Based on the empirical studies, the research hypothesis presented in this paper was negatively verified. Considering both multiannual financial frameworks, the EU financial support for the development of renewable energy sources was used primarily by local government units of a predominantly agricultural character, and less advanced in terms of their development but exhibiting conditions conducive to renewable energy development. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Poland is an important producer of rapeseed used in the biofuel industry. The rate of production of the biofuel industry increased after Poland's accession to the European Union (EU). The reasons for these changes are numerous, of which the European Union's energy policy is the most important. This paper aims to analyze the performance of the biofuel industry in Poland in view of changes in the market. Moreover, I evaluated changes in the biofuel industry after Poland's accession to the EU. In addition, I analyzed the fixed and current assets of the Polish biofuel. The hypothesis that the price of rapeseed oil is the key determinant of profitability in the biodiesel industry was formulated. A statistical analysis proved the second hypothesis stating that the net profit of biodiesel companies depends on biodiesel production to the greatest extent. The time range of the analysis was 2005–2021. To analyze the economic performance of the biofuel industry in Poland, these changes were used. A regression analysis to find factors influencing the economic performance of the biofuel industry was used. More and more oils are used for the production of first-generation biofuels. Refined rapeseed oil also increased from 386.5 thousand tons to 780.6 thousand tons. Such numbers demonstrate the development of biofuel markets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents the results of research on the development of photovoltaic systems in Poland. The authors' goal was to identify factors that can potentially shape the dynamics of solar energy development in Poland and that will affect the implementation of the PEP2040 goals. The authors also wanted to find a forecasting method that would enable the introduction of many explanatory variables—a set of identified factors—into the model. After an initial review of the literature, the ARMAX and MLR models were considered. Finally, taking into account MAPE errors, multiple regression was used for the analysis, the error of which was 0.87% (minimum 3% for the ARMAX model). The model was verified based on Doornik–Hansen, Breusch–Pagan, Dickey–Fuller tests, information criteria, and ex post errors. The model indicated that LCOE, CO2 emissions, Cu consumption, primary energy consumption, patents, GDP, and installed capacity should be considered statistically significant. The model also allowed us to determine the nature of the variables. Additionally, the authors wrote the WEKR 2.0 program, which allowed to determine the necessary amount of critical raw materials needed to build the planned PV energy generating capacity. Solar energy in Poland currently covers about 5% of the country's electricity demand. The pace of development of photovoltaic installations has exceeded current expectations and forecasts included in the Polish Energy Policy until 2040 (PEP2040). The built model showed that if the explanatory variables introduced into the model continue to be subject to the same trends shaping them, a dynamic increase in photovoltaic energy production should be expected by 2025. The model indicates that the PEP2040 goal of increasing the installed capacity to 16 GW by 2040 can be achieved already in 2025, where the PV production volume could reach 8921 GWh. Models were also made taking into account individual critical raw materials such as Cu, Si, Ge, and Ga. Each of them showed statistical significance, which means that access to critical raw materials in the future will have a significant impact on the further development of photovoltaic installations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

City managers search for new concepts of city development in order to satisfy growing demands and manage risk. The research assumes that city management requires the combination of ideas of sustainable development, a smart city and resilience. These three concepts are the components of the so-called "Fundamental Power of the City". The aim of this paper is to present and test the operationalization of the new hybrid approach to city development through the index named the Fundamental Power of the City Index which includes 80 variables. The research applies six linear ordering methods to investigate the functionality of the Index. These are used to investigate each city's performance and compare it with other cities by ranking them according to a chosen measure. The research considers 18 voivodship capital cities of Poland. The research draws attention to different approaches of development assessment although analysis shows that most linear ordering methods produce similar rankings. Investigation shows that human and social capital factors contribute to high positions in the ranking which is consistent with the development strategies formulated by the leading cities. The results of the analysis also identify the most urgent problems of the municipalities. The research confirms that the Fundamental Power of the City concept, by including the requirements for sustainable, smart and resilient cities, fills the gaps between them and provides a holistic approach to city management. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper explores patterns and motivations for social tie formation and dissolution in the context of age. It provides empirical tests of the social convoy model, socioemotional selectivity theory, and the differential investment of resources (DIRe) model. Data comes from a survey administered face-to-face to a large, representative sample of the population of Poland (n = 1000). Controlling for between-tie and between-ego differences, it is found that the intensity of forming and dropping new ties is a decreasing function of age, but the relationship becomes weaker among people aged 40 and older. The number of social ties people maintain (degree) is also a decreasing function of age. However, the number of social ties with family, as opposed to coworkers and other acquaintances, is roughly constant across age groups. Young women, but not men, tend to form fewer ties if they are married. Both expressive and instrumental motivations for social tie formation are relatively most active in middle adulthood. The data also reveal a "rich get richer" effect: people with relatively high degree and a more central position in a social network tend to form more new ties and enlarge their social network over time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper presents the selected results of the international project called Nextprop, carried out in the framework of the European Defence Agency, which main goal was to examine elastic polymer propellers. The article includes the results of the comparative analysis in terms of the noise produced by two propellers: (1) the classical one made from Nickel Aluminium Bronze (NAB) and (2) the novel elastic counterpart manufactured from polyamide. The measurements were taken in the CTO cavitation tunnel in Gdańsk, Poland. The obtained results allow the following highlights to be formulated: the novel flexible propellers seem to be a promising solution for the new ships, especially in terms of energetic efficiency and produced noise, i.e. lower sound pressure level has been obtained for the new polymer propeller and larger advance speed for the same rotational speeds has been received for the new propeller compared to the classical metal counterpart. At the beginning, the introduction with the results of state-of-the-art analysis is presented. Then, the description of the measurement stand and examined propellers with seizing conditions is included. Next, the obtained results are illustrated and discussed. At the end, the conclusions with the draft of the future research are presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Mining tremors may have an impact on the safety risk of steel pipelines through their effects. It is therefore important to quantify the impact of a high-energy mining tremor in terms of strength. In addition, a comparison of the results obtained with the effect of a seismic tremor can illustrate the scale of such a hazard. Recently, this has been a very frequently raised issue in the area of surface protection against negative mining impacts and the protection of post-mining areas. Ensuring safe use is particularly important for gas transmission elements. This paper presents the results of a comparative analysis of the impact of mining tremors and seismic impacts on a specimen steel pipeline segment. The analyzed pipeline is located in the eastern part of Poland in the area of paraseismic impacts of the LGCD (Legnica-Glogow Copper District) mine. For this purpose, an analytical approach was used to assess the impact of seismic wave propagation on underground linear infrastructure facilities. Accelerogram records for the 02-06-2023 seismic tremor from Turkey and the mining tremor for 11-25-2020 were used. In the case of the design of underground pipelines, the cross-section of the element for which measures describing wall stress and the ovalization of the cross-section are determined is usually considered. In the situation of the influence of seismic wave propagation or so-called permanent ground deformation, the response of the pipeline in the longitudinal direction is analyzed. As a final result, longitudinal strains transferred to the pipeline as a consequence of the propagating seismic wave and mining tremor were determined. The absolute difference between the deformations in the ground and along the length of the pipeline was determined. This type of analysis has not been carried out before and provides new insights into the topic of paraseismic impacts on the scale of their interaction with natural earthquakes. Mining tremor data was obtained from the mine's seismological department. The seismic tremor data, on the other hand, was downloaded via the publicly available ESM (Engineering Strong-Motion Database). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Meteorological hazards, such as floods, can develop rapidly and are usually a local phenomenon. On the other hand, drought is a phenomenon arising over longer periods. Moreover, it occurs in areas that are remarkably diverse in terms of surface area. Drought has a massive impact on agriculture, socio-economic activities, and the natural environment. However, determining the losses associated with the phenomenon of drought and its identification is complicated. The aim of this paper is to identify and quantify droughts using climatic indices, which include the combined climatologic deviation index, groundwater drought index, water storage deficit index and multivariate standardized drought index. Based on the research, it was concluded that the CCDI, GGDI, WSDI, and MSDI indicators can be a useful tool, on the basis of which it was possible to analyze drought periods. These periods were not related to changes and loss of groundwater, but resulted from low rainfall and snowfall. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents historical and evolutionary insights into the "tarpan" group of small horses by examining molar tooth enamel ultrastructure. Mathematical methodologies were applied to enhance the analysis. Tooth enamel from species such as Equus gmelini (tarpan), E. latipes, and E. hydruntinus from Pleistocene Ukrainian localities, E. przewalskii from the Chornobyl Exclusion Zone in Ukraine, and E. caballus form sylvaticus (Polish konik) from Roztocze National Park, Poland, underwent scanning microscope examination. Measurements of enamel structures, including prisms (PE) and interprismatic matrix (IPM), were conducted, with the K-index used as their ratio, categorized by enamel type (I, II, III). The findings confirmed that the crystal structures of enamel in these horse groups vary based on genus evolution, diet, and environmental conditions, shaping the enamel's morphological features. Through analysis, clusters were identified, allowing for potential reconstructions of relationships among study groups. The results revealed distinct differences between species, enabling their classification within an established phenogram. Two primary clusters emerged: one consisting of extinct small horse forms from diverse localities and another grouping modern forms. Notably, the Late Pleistocene European species E. latipes showed close affinities to the latter cluster. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of this article is to analyze class divisions and exclusions limiting the potential of Polish Alternative Food Networks (AFNs). The authors discuss the tensions arising from the continuing class division in Polish society. Elements determining class stratification -- such as values, motivations, capitals, space of relations, and imaginaries are considered. This paper is based on a qualitative research conducted in 2019 in six various types of AFNs in Poland. The authors conclude that alternative networks operating in Poland are currently separating and polarizing. Given their increasing diversification in terms of the economic capital and other resources, their class-related cultural practices and specific imaginary, a clear distinction emerges between what can be recognized as élite (exclusive) initiatives and mass-scale (albeit less evident) alternative food practices. The well-embedded and largely invisible networks based on seemingly trivial daily practices are revealed as a distinctive category of AFNs marked by the lowest potential to generate class exclusion [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper expands the repertoire of comparative urbanism by putting forward a method of 'hopeful comparison', in which we explore an asynchronous comparison between post-war Poland and Syria. Similar to the way that Polish architects used urban design as a 'practice of hope' during the Second World War, contemporary Syrian architects are now drafting reconstruction plans even if their implementation does not seem politically possible. Yet what role can an ethical, affective stance such as hope play in the methodology of comparative urbanism? In our comparative strategy the role of radical hope is threefold. First, it creates the comparative connection between two cities destroyed by urbicide, thus countering the destructive connectivities of war and, in case of Syria, capitalism, and foregrounding resilience and human connection (which also opens up the potential of healing). Second, radical hope provides a temporal reorientation of knowledge, redirecting the analysis from the traumatic past towards an open future. Third, in this way a hopeful comparison becomes a practical tool for thinking through concrete ethical and political dilemmas concerning reconstruction and property regimes. How to think about reconstruction when the conflict is still ongoing, and, if the property system is now weaponised as part of the conflict, how to avoid inadvertently reproducing this violence in the process of property restitution and reconstruction. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to evaluate the global competitiveness of the top ten wooden furniture exporting countries with several approaches and to test the effect of export prices (EXPRs) on the global competition. Design/methodology/approach: Countries' competitiveness levels were measured with revealed comparative advantage (RCA), normalised RCA (NRCA), revealed symmetric comparative advantage (RSCA) and trade balance index. Furthermore, panel regression analysis techniques were used to test the effects of EXPR on RCA, NRCA and RSCA in the wooden furniture industry (WFI). Findings: Although the comparative advantage approaches give different results, the global competitiveness of Poland and Vietnam is at a high level in all approaches. Canada has been the country with the weakest global competitiveness in all approaches. According to the results of the analysis, EXPRs positively affect all the competitive advantage indexes. As a result, the competitiveness of the WFI is affected by the non-price factors instead of the EXPR. Research limitations/implications: The framework allows us to measure and illustrate the export competitiveness of the WFI and permits a global comparison. Similar analyses can be made for different labour-intensive sectors. In addition, analysis can be made to identify non-price factors for the WFI sector. Thus, more specific inferences can be made. Practical implications: This study is useful for policymakers, government officials, the industry associations and the company executives to assess their export competitiveness in the WFI. Thus, they can determine whether to shift scarce resources to this industry or other industries. In addition, this study may affect the price competition policy of the sector representatives in the global market. Originality/value: This study deals with the competitiveness of the WFI with different approaches. And this study determines the importance of price for global competition in this sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper introduces the utilization of the International Atomic Energy Agency's toolkit for reactor technology assessment (RTA) application to deploy small modular reactors (SMRs) in the Czech Republic, Egypt, and Poland. The increasing demand for clean energy has led to the prominence of small modular reactors (SMRs) in addressing global energy challenges. The successful integration of SMRs into national energy systems necessitates comprehensive evaluations that take into account each country's specific characteristics and energy requirements. RTA application represents significant progress towards innovative nuclear solutions, advancing a cleaner and more resilient energy future plan. The aim of this study is assessing the feasibility and advantages of SMR implementation in these countries, focusing on energy security, emission reduction, and long-term sustainability. Various SMR technologies, including NuScale, SMART, HTR-PM, BWRX-300, SMR-160, and RITM-200, are comparatively analyzed based on safety, scalability, efficiency, and economic viability. The findings reveal that BWRX-300 suits the needs of the Czech Republic and Poland, while RITM-200 is the optimal choice for Egypt. Moreover, NuScale also stands as a strong alternative for all three countries. This article emphasizes the importance of informed discussions and evidence-based decisions, promoting sustainable energy development and global advancements in nuclear technology. By utilizing SMRs, the Czech Republic, Egypt, and Poland can enhance energy security, reduce emissions, and meet rising energy needs sustainably. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper discusses the use of "legacy data" in research on Roman Period iron smelting in the territory of the Przeworsk Culture in Magna Germania. The dataset includes results of 240 analyses of smelting slag and iron ores chemistry. A majority of these analyses were conducted in the 1950s-1980s. The quality of these data is far below present-day standards. Only major elements were reported, analytical methods were often not specified (although optical emission spectroscopy and wet chemical analyses can be assumed in such cases) and information on detection limits, precision and accuracy of the results is missing. In spite of this, a Principal Component Analysis-Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering treatment successfully isolated observations from the three main iron smelting regions of the Przeworsk Culture (the Holy Cross Mountains, Masovia and Silesia). These results to a degree confirm a theory proposed in the 1960s by J. Piaskowski, according to whom it was possible to distinguish iron produced in the Holy Cross Mountains from the iron produced elsewhere in the territory of what is now Poland on the basis of metal characteristics. These findings will pave the way to the ongoing research project on the Przeworsk Culture metallurgy. It is also argued that, apart from a search for new methods in iron provenance studies, more attention should be paid to results of earlier analyses and to a compilation of legacy databases. The other result is an open and flexible Agglomerative Hierarchical Clustering R code to examine discrimination between production areas and to propose artefact provenance patterns in a convenient interactive way using the R development environment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper aims to establish strategies of coping with COVID-19 pandemic adopted by the clients of social assistance from the perspective of social workers. The qualitative research among Polish social workers and family assistants was conducted from September to November 2021. Based on 30 in-depth interviews with social work professionals, groups of social assistance clients' behaviours were identified and classified into the theoretical models of reactions to social change by Merton and Giddens. The following types of behaviour have been selected and categorized into four groups of reactions when dealing with social workers in a pandemic situation: coolheaded calculation, defiance, confusion, and adaptation. At the same time, reactions to the situation of social change were categorized into one of the strategies of active or passive behaviour: innovation, contestation, retreat, and acceptance. In addition, we discussed the impact of clients' coping strategies on social workers and established three attitudes of the surveyed social workers: adapting to the pandemic situation and customer behaviour, assuming the role of an emotional buffer and informant, and expecting support from superiors and coworkers. Knowing the behaviour of social assistance clients in a challenging situation makes it possible to adopt tailor-made measures. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic eutrophication of lakes threatens their homeostasis and carries an increased risk of development of potentially pathogenic microorganisms. In this paper we show how eutrophication affects seasonal changes in the taxonomic structure of bacterioplankton and whether these changes are associated with the relative abundance of pathogenic bacteria of the genera Legionella and Aeromonas. The subject of the study was a unique system of interconnected lakes in northern Poland (Great Masurian Lakes system), characterized by the presence of eutrophic gradient. We found that the taxonomic structure of the bacterial community in eutrophic lakes was significantly season dependent. No such significant seasonal changes were observed in meso-eutrophic lakes. We found that there is a specific taxonomic composition of bacteria associated with the occurrence of Legionella spp. The highest positive significant correlations were found for families Pirellulaceae, Mycobacteriaceae and Gemmataceae. The highest negative correlations were found for the families Sporichthyaceae, Flavobacteriaceae, the uncultured families of class Verrucomicrobia and Chitinophagaceae. We used also an Automatic Neural Network model to estimate the relative abundance of Legionella spp. based on the relative abundance of dominant bacterial families. In the case of Aeromonas spp. we did not find a clear relationship with bacterial communities inhabiting lakes of different trophic state. Our research has shown that anthropogenic eutrophication causes significant changes in the taxonomic composition of lake bacteria and contributes to an increase in the proportion of potentially pathogenic Legionella spp. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This article analyzes how and why a near-total abortion ban was recently secured by a populist ruling party with support from Catholic Church leaders and lay groups following earlier passage of one of the most restrictive abortion laws in Europe. The paper further examines the public health threats posed by these measures, which have long been under-researched. These policy shifts are situated within the deeply embedded context of Poland's abortion conflict and a setting that has long been challenging for reproductive health. The 1993 ban led to the resurgence of clandestine abortions, a near-total privatization of abortion services, and more women seeking abortion services overseas. In late 2020, the exemption for severe fetal anomalies that made up 97% of all legal abortion cases in prior years was eliminated. Neither ban has significantly reduced the number of women obtaining abortions, nor have they increased birth rates as anticipated by proponents who championed traditional family values that they equated with Catholicism and Polish national identity. The new blanket ban on abortion constitutes a health risk and a punitive measure achieved via a judgement of the Constitutional Tribunal stacked with loyalists by the ruling party. It did not reflect popular will, although societal attitudes on abortion are markedly less permissive than in much of Europe. Although the populist and religious right have realized their long-held goal of further restricting, if not eliminating, women's access to abortion services, compelling criticisms have been raised about how this move compromises women's health and autonomy. Ironically, the realization of this goal, which many Poles view as unduly extreme, may also undermine long-term support for both the political right and the Church. The wisdom of their move was widely questioned, sparked the largest protests since the end of Communist rule, and drew international criticism. It proved a polarizing action that alienated many young adults and may have accentuated a secularizing shift. Women and their partners are finding new ways to navigate many public health threats by increasingly traveling beyond Poland for safe abortion care and resorting to newly available medication abortion methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Soil Science Society of Poland has elected gleby płowe (clay-illuvial soils) to be the Soils of the Year 2023. Gleby płowe are the most important soils in Poland, both in terms of occupied area, at least 45% of the total soil cover of Poland, and the importance for national agriculture. Gleby płowe are considered medium to highly productive soils, suitable for wheat, rapeseed and corn cultivation, so the vast majority of these soils are occupied by arable land use, while only their little fragments remained in forests, forming mesotrophic and eutrophic habitats. The joining feature of all gleby płowe is the presence of an argic illuvial diagnostic horizon, developed in the course of mechanical translocation of the clay fraction. However, this group is probably among the most diversified soils in Poland, as a consequence of the huge diversity of its parent materials and environmental conditions of their origin, as the well as the subsequent transformation induced by the long-term agricultural land use. This diversity is reflected in the highest number of soil subtypes (13) distinguished in a single soil type in the Polish Soil Classification, and their partial correlation with at least five reference soil groups (Luvisols, Retisols, Stagnosols, Planosols and Alisols) of an international WRB classification. This paper contains a brief review of (a) the development of the concept of clay-illuvial soils in the world and in Poland, (b) the current definition and classification of gleby płowe in Poland in relation to international classification, and (c) the state of the art in the knowledge of clay-illuvial soils in Poland, considering the unsolved issues of their origin, transformation and distribution in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper elaborates on forecasts in the road traffic and freight flows in the urban–port transport system to quantify the effects of the freight traffic performance considering road capacity expansion in a port city in Poland. The urban–port transport system was broken down into a subsystem of roads that lead directly to the port transshipment areas and a subsystem of urban roads with mixed freight and passenger traffic. The research resulted in an elaborated long-term forecast of freight and traffic flows in the porttransshipmenturban road system. Also, the impact of capacity improvements in the local transport system on port-related freight traffic performance was quantified using an incremental calculus for transport performance for two options: with and without road capacity expansion. As investigated, an intervention will lead to a reduction in time of freight traffic trips, freight transports, and drivers working time as well as to decreased emissions of CO2. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article discusses the LXIX Open Seminar on Acoustics OSA2023 was held in Karpacz, Poland, from September 25 to 29, 2023. It reports that the event was organized by the Polish Acoustical Society's Wroclaw Branch and included two companion events: the Signal Processing Symposium SPSympo23 and the 5th Polish-German Structured Conference on Acoustics PGSCA2023. It mentions that experts from Poland as well as abroad took part, delivering papers and making plenary speeches.

Care for a pregnant woman can take various organizational forms. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends leaders increase research into health systems. The aim of this is to manage the healthcare system in such a way as to provide beneficiaries with access to high-quality services with limited financial resources. The study presented in this paper was conducted using a diagnostic survey on a group of 1642 Polish women in the traditional model of care (TM) and 3216 women in the Coordinated Care for Pregnant Women Program (CCP). Two research tools were used in this study. The first is a survey prepared by the National Health Fund, the second is an author's survey. The results indicate that most women (85%) receiving care under the CCP received effective pain management, compared to 67% under the traditional care model (p < 0.001). In the CCP, women were significantly more likely to receive midwife assistance in infant care (90%) than women in the traditional care model (60%) (p < 0.001). Significantly more CCP patients want to return to the same hospital for their subsequent childbirth (74%) than women in the traditional model of care (43%) (p < 0.001). In patients' opinion, the new CCP model is superior in meeting their needs and providing higher-quality services. However, educating women that an obstetrician-gynecologist and a midwife can manage their pregnancy is still necessary. In addition to the CCP program, special attention should be paid to available pain management during childbirth since the use of analgesia is still insufficient in Polish hospitals. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nearly 60% of commercial customers are connected to a low-voltage network in Poland with a contractual capacity of more than 40 kW and are assigned a fixed tariff with flat prices for the whole year, no matter the usage volume. With smart meters, more data about how businesses use energy are becoming available to both energy providers and customers. This enables innovation in the structure and type of tariffs on offer in the energy market. Customers can explore their usage patterns to choose the most suitable tariff to benefit from lower prices and thus generate savings. In this paper, we analyzed whether customers' electricity usage matched their optimal tariff and further investigated which of them could benefit or lose from switching the tariff based on the real dataset with the hourly energy readings of 1212 commercial entities in Poland recorded between 2016 and 2019. Three modelling approaches, i.e., the k-nearest neighbors, classification tree and random forest, were tested for optimal tariff classification, while for the benchmark, we used a simple approach, in which the tariff was proposed based on the customers' previous electricity usage. The main findings from the research are threefold: (1) out of all the analyzed entities, on average, 76% of them could have benefited from the tariff switching, which suggests that customers may not be aware of the tariff change benefits, or they had chosen a tariff plan that was not tailored to them; (2) a random forest model offers a viable approach to accurate tariff classification; (3) the policy implication from the research is the need to increase the customers' awareness about the tariffs and propose reliable tools for selecting the optimal tariff. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

One of the main factors for changes in the structure of the energy mix in Poland is the development of renewable energy sources, in particular wind generation. In 2009–2020, the installed capacity of wind sources in Poland increased more than ninefold. At the same time, new legislation significantly curbed the development of onshore wind farms. Further development of wind energy in Poland will rely largely on offshore wind farms. The current state of development of wind power in Poland allows for analyses of the onshore part of wind energy development in Poland. The paper aims to conduct a detailed analysis of the Polish wind sector from an electric power generation perspective. This article presents a comprehensive discussion of the development of onshore wind generation in Poland. In particular, analyses address the production of electric power from wind. Various time horizons are taken into account, as well as the correlation of wind generation with demand for power in the Polish Power System (PPS). The results of the analysis indicate a high variability of wind generation throughout the month or year. The largest wind generation occurred during the night valley, which makes it difficult to operate the power system. In the winter months, wind generation is much greater than in the summer months. Monthly average values of the capacity factor for onshore wind farms (WFs) vary from 0.14 in August to 0.48 in February. Moreover, the coefficient of determination R2 close to zero shows a lack of correlation between offshore wind power generation and real power demand in the PPS. The studied high variability of wind generation in PPS can be mitigated by the wide use of electricity storage systems. Moreover, the obtained results can be part of a model to describe the energy mix in Poland. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents an interpretation of sedimentologic, paleomagnetic, and geochemical data collected in the Upper Kimmeridgian-Valanginian carbonates of the Giewont series (Giewont and Mały Giewont sections, High-Tatric succession, Western Tatra Mountains, Poland). The studied succession provides insight into the sedimentary conditions prevailing in the South Tatric Ridge (Tatricum), a submarine elevation located between the Zliechov Basin (Fatricum) and the Vahic (=South Penninic) Ocean. The sedimentary sequence includes micrites, pseudonodular limestones, cyanoid packstones, lithoclastic packstone, and encrinites. The results are discussed with regards to their significance for detrital input, paleoclimate, and paleoproductivity, which in turn are considered in the context of both local and regional paleoenvironmental trends and events. The greatest depositional depths during the latest Kimmeridgian-earliest Tithonian are documented by the occurrence of pseudonodular limestones. A Tithonian shallowing trend is demonstrated via the increasing size and roundness of cyanoids, while the final (1)emergence and erosion in the South Tatric Ridge is documented by earliest Cretaceous disconformities. This process might have been related to both falling sea-level during the major eustatic regressive cycle and tectonic uplift caused by the mutually related (re)activation in the Neotethyan Collision Belt and rifting in the Ligurian-Penninic-Vahic Oceans. The highest lithogenic influx (although still low; max 0.5% of Al content) during the Late Kimmeridgian is considered as associated with relatively humid climate conditions, whereas a subsequent decreasing trend is thought to result from aridification during the latest Kimmeridgian-earliest Tithonian. Ultimately, deposition in the High-Tatric zone was affected by both large-scale environmental perturbations characteristic of the latest Jurassic (climate changes, variations in seawater pH, monsoonal upwelling, lithogenic input, etc.), as well as local sedimentary controls, predominantly the oxygenation state of bottom waters and tectonic movements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This year marks the 20th anniversary of the publication by the Institute of Mother and Child in Warsaw of a document establishing the Polish standards for preventive health care of school-age children and adolescents by general practitioners, which are still in force today. Since then, their health status and the health risk factors have changed. Polish society and its expectations of health care are also different. The Polish economy has grown, and the proportion of the public budget spent on health care has increased. The current system of preventive health care for young people seems to be facing a problem. Over the past decade, the percentage of children and adolescents attending preventive medical visits in Poland has decreased by approximately 30%. During well-care visits, doctors commonly avoid selected physical examinations and sensitive topics, such as sexuality or mental health. It appears that most young people visit doctors only because they falsely believe that check-up visits are mandatory and usually rate the experience negatively. The co-authors of this paper conclude that there is a need for a broad debate on the Polish standards of preventive health care for adolescents and their possible reform, which would lead to their adaptation to the challenges of modern times and the opportunities offered by the progress of medical science and technology. The selection of topics is subjective and certainly does not cover all aspects requiring attention. The authors’ intention is to contribute to further discussion rather than to provide a basis for conclusions or postulates. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Anthropogenic activity changes the processes of erosion on slopes. The deforestation process is connected with the deposition of material at the foot of the slope. During this process, macro-charcoals from anthropogenic-induced fires are trapped in the sediments. This paper provides an analysis of charcoal counts and sediment characteristics and is supported by historical data analysis. During this study, a discrepancy between radiocarbon dating and historical data was revealed; a probable explanation is presented. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Primary energy consumption depends on the size of the economy and its structure, including both industrial and service sectors, characterized by different energy demands. Some of the basic energy and economic indicators that can be used to analyze primary energy consumption include energy intensity, energy productivity and indicators measuring the activity of the economy (gross domestic product or gross value added). In the years 1995-2021, the Polish economy developed at a relatively constant pace, and the value of gross domestic product increased in real terms by almost 290% over the entire analyzed period. However, despite this increase, total primary energy consumption remained at the relatively constant level of around 3,800-4,600 PJ/year. This was caused by, among other factors, an increase in energy productivity on the one hand and a reduction in energy intensity on the other. It should be emphasized that a descriptive analysis of changes in primary energy consumption in Poland in the analyzed period, including changes in selected energy and economic indicators, does not allow the identification and quantification of the impact of all key factors on the total change of the examined value over time. In this context, the main aim of the research presented in this paper is to propose a decomposition model of primary energy consumption in Poland and adapt it to conduct analyses covering the period of economic and energy transition to quantitatively determine the impact of the identified factors on the total change in primary energy consumption in the 1995-2021 period. To perform the described research, decomposition analysis was applied, including a multiplicative and additive approach. A decomposition model was developed based on the formulated decomposition identity. Mathematical formulas of two methods were used to perform the calculations: a generalized Fisher index and the logarithmic mean Divisia index (LMDI). The obtained results indicate that the effects of demand and energy intensity factors had the most significant impact on the primary energy consumption change. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This study considers the current state of hydropower in Poland and the legal and environmental conditions for its development. The research objective was to provide insights into the future of hydropower in Poland. An attempt was made to determine the direction of hydropower development in Poland by 2050, taking into account the requirements of the European Green Deal. The basic method used is logical argumentation, which is in turn based on a critical analysis of planning documents and scientific papers. Statistical data on the production and consumption of hydropower were also analysed. Currently, Poland's potential for hydropower production is not being fully exploited. The main reasons for this are a lack of political support and socio-ecological issues associated with the need to take over inhabited areas or areas of high natural value. The analysis of the state of hydropower in Poland indicates that urgent intervention is required in many areas. This applies, especially, to issues of the control, modernisation and technical condition of hydropower plants and damming facilities. The potential for the development of hydropower in Poland is assessed to be very small. Environmental, socio-economic and legal conditions are unfavourable to the construction of new, large hydropower plants. The exception is pumped-storage power plants, which, acting as energy storage facilities, should in the future constitute an important element of the Polish energy system. The possibility of using defunct lignite mining pits for this purpose is indicated. It is shown that some of Poland's former lignite mines are also conveniently located. The possible beneficial impact of building pumped-storage power plants into the water ecosystem of central Poland is emphasised. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The performance of conceptual catchment runoff models may highly depend on the specific choice of calibration methods made by the user. Particle Swarm Optimization (PSO) and Differential Evolution (DE) are two well-known families of Evolutionary Algorithms that are widely used for calibration of hydrological and environmental models. In the present paper, five DE and five PSO optimization algorithms are compared regarding calibration of two conceptual models, namely the Swedish HBV model (Hydrologiska Byrans Vattenavdelning model) and the French GR4J model (modèle du Génie Rural à 4 paramètres Journalier) of the Kamienna catchment runoff. This catchment is located in the middle part of Poland. The main goal of the study was to find out whether DE or PSO algorithms would be better suited for calibration of conceptual rainfall-runoff models. In general, four out of five DE algorithms perform better than four out of five PSO methods, at least for the calibration data. However, one DE algorithm constantly performs very poorly, while one PSO algorithm is among the best optimizers. Large differences are observed between results obtained for calibration and validation data sets. Differences between optimization algorithms are lower for the GR4J than for the HBV model, probably because GR4J has fewer parameters to optimize than HBV. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the face of the growing demands of the modern economy, 21stcentury technology, and the challenges of Industry 4.0, the classical management of mining enterprises is not sufficient, and it is transforming into a process approach to the organization. The usage of the process management concept creates a situation for improving the organization at many levels, both at the strategy and operational levels. This provides an opportunity for a comprehensive view of the organization, but it is necessary to define indicators that determine the flexibility of operations, the achievement of profitability, and effective operational management. These indicators, called key performance indicators, focus on crucial aspects of the organization's activity that are fundamental to its current and future success. The contribution goal of the presented paper is to propose a new index for assessing the efficiency of coal mines, called the labor intensity index. The proposal is based on a previous three-area strategic analysis, including production indicators of coal mining companies, the state of coal mining in Poland, and economic factors affecting the current situation of the Polish coal mining industry. The analysis covered the period from 1988 to 2020. The use of new KPIs to assess performance in process terms is necessary to develop better new strategies for mining companies. It is particularly important in light of the industry's restructuring plans to restructure the mining industry and the far-reaching vision of decarbonizing the Polish energy sector. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In November 2015 the Israeli Ministry of Education declared that the matriculation exam in history would no longer include the Holocaust, and instead students would be required to write a research paper. Following this decision, we wished to test the level of knowledge concerning the Holocaust among undergraduate students (excluding those who study contemporary history, which includes Holocaust studies). For this purpose, 145 participants were sampled, students at four Israeli academic institutions: two universities and two colleges. The research question referred to remembering information about the Holocaust, and the study took into account students' different personal, family, and academic background (having participated in the journey to Poland or not, having relatives who had died or survived the Holocaust, being religious and secular). The knowledge survey refers to terms from four areas: people, historical events during the Holocaust era, organizations that operated in that period, and places and methods of killing. In general, the level of knowledge was found to be very low (general knowledge score: 42.6 of 100). No significant differences were found in scores by religion or participation in the journey to Poland, aside from knowledge about places and methods of killing, where we found a significant difference between those who participated in the journey to Poland and those who did not. In addition, no significant differences were found between participants whose relatives had died or had survived the Holocaust, or by either the number of years since high school graduation or gender. From the respondents' answers, it appears that high school studies play an essential role as the main perceived source of knowledge (90.4% referred to the school as a main or additional knowledge source). When asked about the new exam format, the majority (52.1%) replied that they would prefer to write a research paper to taking an exam. The low level of knowledge that we found raises practical questions: Are the schools teaching correctly? Should the study program be reviewed? Are we providing the right highlights? What is the contribution of the journey to Poland if 60% of the participants are not familiar, for example, with Mordechai Anielewicz? What can be done to improve the situation? Will the decision to exclude Holocaust topics from the high school finals in history, and to require students to write a research paper, improve the situation? What is the future of remembrance in a generation that will have no Holocaust survivors to tell their personal story? It is necessary to check the importance of the school as a primary source of knowledge, and how to improve the study methods so that the knowledge will be preserved. Perhaps the informal teaching that includes the journey to Poland plays an important role and should be used more often. Furthermore, despite students' support of the reform and the conception that writing a research paper is better than taking an exam about the Holocaust, there is a need to check what is included in this research paper and whether writing it on a specific subject connected to the Holocaust, won't cause a situation where the students are only proficient in that subject with regard to the Holocaust. In addition, the student's ability to prepare a research paper should be considered. Indeed, the students replied that they would be capable of writing such a paper, but the question is whether high school students indeed have the necessary proficiency and tools. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The public procurement system in Poland remains highly centralized, although thanks to European Community directives, it is part of European law. Therefore, it has established procedures for sustainable public procurement, including so-called green public procurement. In addition to the Public Procurement Law of 11 September 2019, other provisions introducing specific instruments (e.g., energy labels, environmental labels) should be taken into consideration, as such provisions make it easier for contracting authorities to take environmental aspects into account in tender procedures. Bearing in mind the existing legal regulations, this article features a diagnosis of the degree of use of measures to improve energy efficiency in public procurement procedures and models activities related to improving this situation. For this purpose, surveys were conducted for 120 entities applying the provisions of the Public Procurement Law. Taking into consideration the results obtained in the survey, 15 factors related to the improvement of energy efficiency in tender procedures were selected with the help of 12 purposively selected experts connected with the issues raised in this article. Thanks to their expert knowledge, three key factors determining the wider use of this instrument were modeled by means of the systems theory–based methodology of network thinking. The paper also attempts to indicate the key factors determining the wider use of this instrument, using the network thinking methodology for this purpose. As a result of the conducted research, it was found that these factors include human capital, industry, and the energy crisis. Research on the subject in the Polish literature remains innovative and allows for the formulation of application recommendations for decision makers. The concept of energy efficiency in this paper refers to the ratio of the results obtained to the energy input. Efficient use of energy aims to reduce the amount of energy needed to deliver products and services. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Health policy and academic discourses on rare diseases and people with rare conditions frequently employ terms such as 'low prevalence' and 'unique' to characterize the smallness of the population under consideration and to justify targeted action toward these patient groups. This paper draws from recent anthropological scholarship on smallness and data, ethnographic research in Finland and Poland, as well as document and media analysis to examine how data is utilized in the context of isolated populations that are considered sites of rare diseases in these two countries. Specifically, this paper juxtaposes the notion of Finnish Disease Heritage (FDH) with that of a 'Kashubian gene' in Poland. The concept of FDH was developed by Finnish researchers in the 1970s; it encompasses almost forty rare hereditary diseases that are significantly more prevalent in Finland than elsewhere globally. On the other hand, the notion of the 'Kashubian gene' was first utilized by the media and some members of the Polish medical community around 2008. Based on 'unstable' data gathered during genetic research, the term referred to the high prevalence of a rare metabolic disorder (Long-Chain 3-Hydroxyacyl-CoA Dehydrogenase (LCHAD) deficiency) among Kashubians, an ethnic minority that resides in Northern Poland's Pomerania region. Whereas FDH facilitated the production and branding of 'a unique Finnish genetic identity' (Tupasela 2016b, 61), the notion of the 'Kashubian gene' has engendered health policy interventions targeting members of this ethnic minority and has contributed to stigmatizing practices carried out against Kashubians. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper identifies the management of municipal housing stock as an area of public management in an urban municipality, taking into account the legal, institutional and market conditions in Poland. In order to achieve this aim, the author examined relevant literature and pertinent legislation and employed an analysis of source (organizational) documentation on the management of municipal housing stock in provincial capital cities. The paper begins by discussing the essence, distinctive characteristics and concepts of public management as a sub-discipline of management sciences. Subsequently, it outlines the specificity of public management in a municipality as a local government unit. Against this background, the author goes on to identify the management of municipal housing stock from the standpoint of public management in an urban municipality by formulating its definition in a broad and narrow sense, followed by a synthetic characterization of this management in a functional and institutional approach, considering its basic organizational models. The research demonstrated that the management of municipal housing stock is subject to progressive marketization and tends to be shaped by such public management mechanisms as hierarchy, market and network. These mechanisms cause this management to operate in practice in a hybrid system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Aphasia is often accompanied by impairment of non‐language cognitive functions. Assessment of cognitive capacity in people with aphasia (PWA) with standard neuropsychological methods may be problematic due to their language difficulties. Numerous experimental studies indicate that P300 may be considered as an index of cognitive capacity in both healthy and clinical samples. Accordingly, the measurement of event‐related potentials enables the investigation of behaviourally non‐observable mental processes underlying the cognitive functions that are assessed with neuropsychological tests. Aims: To investigate in PWA the relationship between P300 parameters and cognitive function efficiency measured with neuropsychological methods. Methods & Procedures: A total of 25 PWA after left‐hemispheric stroke participated in the study. Electrophysiological (EEG) signals were recorded during the performance of a visual Go‐No Go task. P300 was identified on nine electrodes, which were then pooled in three lines: left (F3, C3, P3), central (Fz, Cz, Pz) and right (F4, C4, P4). The neuropsychological assessment of cognitive functions included mental speed, short‐term memory, divided attention, executive functions, auditory language comprehension and expression. Outcomes & Results: P300 latency correlated with indices of several cognitive functions: temporal resolution, psychomotor speed, spatial short‐term memory, planning, word and sentence comprehension, as well as verbal fluency. Shorter P300 latencies were accompanied by greater efficiency of the abovementioned functions. In contrast, significant correlations between P300 amplitudes and cognitive measures were fragmentary. Conclusions & Implications: In PWA, P300 latency might be related to cognitive functioning, especially to measures that rely heavily on the speed of information processing. However, P300 seems to be unrelated to more complex cognitive functions. P300 latency may be used as a neurophysiological correlate of cognitive efficiency in PWA and might have potential applications in monitoring the effects of therapeutic interventions in this patient group. What this paper adds: What is already known on the subject: P300 parameters have been reported to be associated with cognitive performance in both healthy individuals and clinical groups (e.g., patients with Alzheimer's disease). Previous studies show that the presence of P300 at the early post‐stroke stage may be a predictor of better recovery of comprehension in PWA. What this paper adds to existing knowledge: Our results show for the first time that P300 may be used as a neurophysiological correlate of cognitive efficiency in PWA. In our study, P300 latency was associated with several languages and non‐language cognitive functions, especially with those whose effectiveness depends mainly on processing speed. In PWA, shorter latency corresponded to more efficient cognitive functioning. What are the potential or actual clinical implications of this work?: P300 measurement may be potentially useful in assessing the efficiency of certain cognitive functions in PWA. It may be also used to monitor the recovery process of PWA and to verify the effects of therapeutic interventions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As the world's population rapidly ages, older people are increasingly placed in long-term care institutions. Although this global trend is supposed to protect older people, it is unclear whether they have any voice in decisions about such placements. The aim of this paper is to report a qualitative study into whether and to what degree social workers involve older people in these decisions. The study employed in-depth semi-structured interviews, focused group discussion, sociograms, and the daily and weekly schedules of 17 respondents (7 social workers and 10 older people in long-term care) in Warsaw, Poland. The findings show that social workers did involve older people, but only in minor decisions after their placement to help them adapt to the new situation. This practice seems to be attributable to neoliberal and managerial tendencies in the policy guidelines that social workers must follow in performing inherently relational tasks. The paper concludes by outlining the implications of these findings for social work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Reducing the phenomenon of food waste and effective management of already wasted food in the form of post-consumer waste, included in the source-separated organic fraction of municipal solid waste (SS-OFMSW) from households and catering facilities, are some of the key challenges of the circular economy (CE), in particular in highly urbanized areas. The basis for the effective use of this waste is the knowledge of its physical and chemical properties. The main objective of the paper is to identify the key technological and organizational parameters for selective collection determining the characteristics of the SS-OFMSW and, consequently, the optimal path for its management. This paper presents the results of qualitative research of SS-OFMSW generated in the capital of Poland—Warsaw—coming from three sources: multi- and single-family housing and catering facilities. The collection efficiency of this waste was determined in the form of quality in container rate (QCR = 92–97%) and variability in terms of impurities and admixtures present in it (CV = 56–87%). High variability indicates that the system of selective waste collection in Warsaw is immature, which may hinder undertaking activities in the field of waste management planning. The study confirmed the suitability of the tested SS-OFMSW for organic recycling, especially using anaerobic digestion (AD), to which it is predisposed by water content, C/N, and biomethane potential (BMP). All tested food waste is characterized by a high yield of biogas in the range of 384–426 m3/Mg VS and an average share of methane in biogas at the level of 52–61%. Fertilizer properties, moisture, and its gas potential show little variability (CV ≤ 16%), which means that these data can be treated as stable data. The obtained results indicate the optimal direction for the collection and processing of SS-OFMSW based on post-consumer food waste in urbanized areas. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The paper is a second part of a multi-aspect analysis of whether it is feasible and practical to use (plant) natural fibers processed into fabrics and mats as homogeneous or hybrid reinforcement in polymer composites used in various industrial sectors. The paper presents the volume of hemp cultivation worldwide, in Europe and in Poland 2016–2022. It also sets out the percentage share of hemp application in nine industrial sectors. The presented statistics includes total volume of industrial hemp stalks market, which is a by-product of hemp farming in the main geographical regions of the world and in Poland. The paper gives examples of current sales of hemp at the USA market, with sales until 2022. The paper discusses the possibility of using industrial hemp as "noble reinforcement that is fully recyclable" of a new generation of polymer structural composites which can be applied in modern sectors of bulky structures, including sea-going vessels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper presents a multi-aspect analysis of whether it is feasible and practical to process natural (plant) fibers into fabrics and mats as homogeneous or hybrid reinforcement in polymer composites for use in various industrial sectors. The current, stringent environmental rules of safe recycling and/or disposal of worn or damaged products at the end of their lifetime require new reinforcing materials to be used in polymer composites that need to meet the criteria of energy and material recycling. The paper comparatively analyzed chemical compositions of some selected (plant) natural fibers and compared their physical and chemical properties relative to commonly used synthetic (mineral and carbon) fibers. The world production of respective species of natural fibers has been presented. Industrial hemp was singled out as the possible quality reinforcement to be used in polymer composites in Poland and in Europe. The paper also provided a broader historical perspective of hemp's importance for mankind over the past 28 thousand years. Hemp's history and its impact on human development have been discussed. Finally, the paper compiled knowledge on industrial hemp use, agriculture, and processing as well as its current legal status in Poland and abroad. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this paper, we propose dynamic, short-term, financial risk management strategies for small electricity producers and buyers that trade in the wholesale electricity markets. Since electricity is mostly nonstorable, financial risk coming from extremely volatile electricity prices cannot be reduced by using standard finance-based approaches. Instead, a short-term operational planing and a proper trade diversification might be used. In this paper, we analyze the price risk in terms of the Markowitz mean–variance portfolio theory. Hence, it is crucial to forecast properly the variance of electricity prices. To this end, we jointly model day-ahead and intraday or balancing prices from Germany and Poland using ARX-GARCH type models. We show that using heteroscedastic volatility significantly improves probabilistic price forecasts according to the pinball score, especially if variance stabilizing transformation is applied prior to a model estimation. The price forecasts are then used for construction of dynamic diversification strategies that are based on volatility-type risk measures. We consider different objectives as well as a buyer's and a seller's perspective. The proposed strategies are applied for the diversification of trade among different markets in Germany and Poland. We show that the objective of the strategy can be achieved using the proposed approach, but the risk minimization is usually related to lower profits. We find that risk minimization is especially important for a seller in both markets, while for a buyer a profit maximization objective leads to a more optimal risk–return trade-off. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]