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When the ship is caught in heavy seas, there are two manoeuvres that the shipmaster can undertake to avoid excessive ship motion and hull damage: changing course or voluntary speed reduction. This paper presents a study of the effect of the various voluntary speed reduction criteria to attainable speed of ship on seaway. The speed loss is calculated by taking into account wind and wave effect on ship speed, the engine and propeller performance in actual seas as well as the mass inertia of the ship. The attainable ship speed for ship in head, following and beam waves by accounting for voluntary speed reduction is estimated for various significant wave height. The criteria of slamming, deck wetness, propeller emergence, excessive accelerations and roll are taken into account. The impact of variations of the limiting values of certain criteria due to which the captain intentionally reduces the ship speed is analysed and discussed.

Studies on the extrapolation of extreme significant wave height, based on long-term databases, are extensively covered in literature. An engineer, working in the field of naval architecture, marine engineering, or maritime operation planning, when tackling the problem of extreme wave prediction, would typically follow relevant codes and standards. Currently, authorities in the field of offshore operation within its guidelines propose several methods: the initial-distribution, extreme value, and peak-over threshold approaches. Furthermore, for each proposed method, different mathematical fitting techniques are applicable to optimize the candidate distribution parameters: the least-square method, the method of moments, and the maximum likelihood method. A comprehensive analysis was done to determine the difference in the results depending on the choice of method and fitting technique. All combinations were tested on a long-term database for a location in the Adriatic Sea. The variability of the results and trends of extreme wave height estimates for long return periods are presented, and the limitations of certain methods and techniques are noted.

ABSTRACT: In this paper the real life operation of ULCS (Ultra Large Container Ships) is presented from the point of view of shipmasters. The paper provides interpretation of results of questionnaire filled by masters of large container ships during Tools for Ultra Large Container Ships (TULC) EUI FP7 project. This is done in a way that results of questionnaire are further reviewed and commented by experienced master of ULCS. Following phenomena are subject of questionnaire and further discussed in the paper: parametric rolling, slamming, whipping, springing, green water and rogue waves. Special attention is given to the definition of rough sea states as well as to measures that ship masters take to avoid them as well as to the manoeuvring in heavy seas. The role of the wave forecast and weather routing software is also discussed. KEY WORDS: Ultra large container ships (ULCS), Ship operation, Weather avoidance, Slamming, Green water, Whipping, Springing, Parametric rolling, Rogue waves

In this paper, a model for dynamic analysis of array of floating breakwaters is developed and tested. Special attention is given to modeling connections between neighboring elements of the array. A linear three-dimensional floating multi-body formulation is used as a foundation for the presented model. An additional stiffness matrix is derived which introduces the influence of the connections onto motion of the array. The stiffness matrix is used to couple motions in vertical and horizontal planes i.e., the connections are modeled in three-dimensions. The equation of motion is solved in the frequency domain. The newly developed model is tested on an array of three connected breakwaters. The motion and the performance of the breakwater array are investigated under different significant heights and directions of the incoming waves.

One of the newest methods of dealing with stress is museotherapy. It is a conscious use by art therapists of the positive impact of art collected in museums on the mental, physical, spiritual and social well-being of a specific person. This form of adjunctive therapy in the treatment of somatic and mental disorders offers unique benefits. It reduces the harmful effects of stress, improving quality of life with illness and future prognosis, and even accelerating recovery. Museotherapy increases awareness and, thanks to the participation of an art therapist, who establishes a bond with the patient, causes the patient to become more open, more likely to tell their own stories, and share their associations and emotions. This method also develops empathy, which is especially recommended for medical students and doctors as well. Museotherapy has already been introduced in the world to support the treatment of patients. In Canada and France there is a practice of the so-called “prescription museum” and “hospital museum”. In Poland, the pioneer of this therapy is Prof. Robert Kotowski, director of the National Museum in Kielce. This form of therapy is most often used by oncological patients, those with dementia (Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and other), hypertension, diabetes, chronic pain, people on the autism spectrum and also the disabled. Mentioned activities promote creativity and achieve well-being, reduce anxiety, pain, depression, loneliness and insomnia, facilitate overcoming life difficulties, increase self- esteem and acceptance. Modern medicine is also integrated medicine, which combines classical medicine with other forms of therapy, among which museotherapy has a special place.

Introduction Stress is ubiquitous and has a multidirectional impact on our health. One of the most visible problems caused by stress is sleep disturbance. The aim of the study was to evaluate the impact of subjectively assessed stress on objectively and subjectively measured sleep quality and somnolence. Material and methods 179 healthy adults aged 25–60 were examined using survey and actigraphy methods. The Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS), the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index (PSQI) and MotionWatch 8 dream recorders with MotionWare software were used. The data were analysed using Statistica 13.3 software. Results Increased sleepiness was observed in 7.8% of the population, moderate in 15.1%, poor sleep quality in 29.7%. The average intensity of stress oscillated around 3.1 pts on a 5-point scale. 27.4% had difficult and depressing problems in life, which only 45.5% of people could cope with. Stress significantly worsened the quality of sleep (PSQI) and the results of the actigraphy tests; difficult problems in life translated into a deterioration of sleep quality (PSQI), somnolence (ESS) and deterioration of the actigraphy record. The ability to cope with stress positively influenced the quality of sleep, the actigraphy record and reduced sleepiness. Conclusions Stress significantly worsens the quality of sleep, with a slight impact on daytime sleepiness. Questionnaire methods seem to be better than actigraphy to monitor the impact of stress on sleep quality. Due to the significant impact on sleep quality, it would be advisable to promote stress-coping methods as an effective method to prevent sleep disorders, especially among the working population.

Salinity is a global conundrum that negatively affects various biometrics of agricultural crops. Jasmonic acid (JA) is a phytohormone that reinforces multilayered defense strategies against abiotic stress, including salinity. This study investigated the effect of JA (60 μM) on two wheat cultivars, namely ZM9 and YM25, exposed to NaCl (14.50 dSm−1) during two consecutive growing seasons. Morphologically, plants primed with JA enhanced the vegetative growth and yield components. The improvement of growth by JA priming is associated with increased photosynthetic pigments, stomatal conductance, intercellular CO2, maximal photosystem II efficiency, and transpiration rate of the stressed plants. Furthermore, wheat cultivars primed with JA showed a reduction in the swelling of the chloroplast, recovery of the disintegrated thylakoids grana, and increased plastoglobuli numbers compared to saline-treated plants. JA prevented dehydration of leaves by increasing relative water content and water use efficiency via reducing water and osmotic potential using proline as an osmoticum. There was a reduction in sodium (Na+) and increased potassium (K+) contents, indicating a significant role of JA priming in ionic homeostasis, which was associated with induction of the transporters, viz., SOS1, NHX2, and HVP1. Exogenously applied JA mitigated the inhibitory effect of salt stress in plants by increasing the endogenous levels of cytokinins and indole acetic acid, and reducing the abscisic acid (ABA) contents. In addition, the oxidative stress caused by increasing hydrogen peroxide in salt-stressed plants was restrained by JA, which was associated with increased α-tocopherol, phenolics, and flavonoids levels and triggered the activities of superoxide dismutase and ascorbate peroxidase activity. This increase in phenolics and flavonoids could be explained by the induction of phenylalanine ammonia-lyase activity. The results suggest that JA plays a key role at the morphological, biochemical, and genetic levels of stressed and non-stressed wheat plants which is reflected in yield attributes. Hierarchical cluster analysis and principal component analyses showed that salt sensitivity was associated with the increments of Na+, hydrogen peroxide, and ABA contents. The regulatory role of JA under salinity stress was interlinked with increased JA level which consequentially improved ion transporting, osmoregulation, and antioxidant defense.

Introduction Overweight and obesity affect an increasing number of children and adolescents in Poland. This excessive body weight usually coexists with sleep disorders and other afflictions, which is worrisome. Objective The aim of the study was to assess the prevalence of overweight, obesity, and sleep disorders among adolescents and demonstrate their relationships. Material and methods The study included 1,002 students. Nutritional habits and subjective assessment of sleep were evaluated with the author’s survey; daytime sleepiness and sleep quality were assessed with Epworth Sleepiness Scale (ESS) and Sleep Quality Scale (SQS). Statistical calculations were performed with the STATISTICA 12.0 programme. Results 24.7% of adolescents suffered from overweight or obesity, 38% reported sleep problems in subjective assessment, 10.5% exhibited excessive daytime sleepiness, determined by ESS, and 14.3% had impaired quality of sleep as determined by SQS. Gender affected all the discussed problems. Type of school affected all the above, except for daytime sleepiness. In the group with overweight and obesity, 46.6% of individuals reported sleep problems in subjective assessment. About 59.1% of adolescents reported chronic fatigue. Reduced concentration and difficulties in learning were reported in 36.3% of all students, and in 46% of students with overweight and obesity. Conclusions The problem of excess body weight is a very alarming phenomenon since it affects almost 1/4 of the students. Almost half of the students with overweight and obesity reported sleep problems, which is strongly correlated with the type of school. Furthermore, excess body weight influenced the prevalence of reduced concentration and learning difficulties among adolescents.

In the world of continual social and economic changes, morality crisis, consumptionism, the contrast between “to be” and “to have” attitudes is manifesting itself. The aim of this study was to reveal what values are preferred by secondary school students. Results of the research, obtained with the Scale of “to be” and “to have” Attitudes by Bronisław Grulkowski, show that ¾ of students participating in this study identifies with the attitude on a border of those groups. It means that gaining pleasure, collecting material goods, life and financial stabilisation, conformity are as important for the respondents as friendship, solidarity with others, giving help to people in need, self-improvement, developing one’s interests or broadening one’s knowledge. Received results provided a foundation for indications for the educational practice in the realm of enrichment and development of attitudes recognising the primacy of human spiritual values.

Background. Depressive symptoms may appear at any age, yet they are most likely to be observed among young people aged 20-30. According to numerous scientific records, a properly balanced diet may prevent depression or enhance a therapeutical process. Objective. The aim of the study was the assessment of nutrition behaviours and prevalence of depressive symptoms among the students, as well as investigation whereas there is a connection between these variables and the sexes of the examined group. Furthermore, the aim was to determine, whether there is a relation between proper nutrition behaviours and an intensification of depressive symptoms. Material and methods. The research was conducted on a group of 959 students. In order to collect that data on nutrition behaviours an original anonymous questionnaire was used. In order to collect the data on a depressive symptoms occurrence Beck Depression Inventory (BDI-II) was used. Results. Recommended number of meals was taken by 54.95% of students, including 59.20% of women and 48.56% of men. Only 6.25% of students, including 6.94% of women and 5.22% of men, ate a recommended number of 5 or more portions of fruit and vegetables. 11.16% of students, including 10.94% of women and 11.49% of men, drank at least 2 glasses of milk or dairy fermented products. 22.84% of students presented depressive symptoms. 11.57% of the examined people suffered from mild depression, 7.1% - of moderate depression and 4.17% – of a severe one. Conclusions. It was found that there are relations between nutrition behaviours and sexes of the examined people. Women tend to present more beneficial behaviours. Almost every fourth student presented depressive symptoms – an intensification of the symptoms was more frequent among women. A growth in the rate of proper nutrition behaviours was connected with a drop in the depressive symptoms.

Trade-offs between growth and reproduction in soybean require resource availability manipulations. Decapitation and reducing sink strength through deflowering can affect the source–sink ratio that affects plant growth, development, and yield. The current study assesses the effect of decapitation (Decap) and removal of the two lowest racemes (R2LR) and their combination on growth, flowering, and yield capacity of soybean through controlling the source–sink ratio and inducing the “stay-green” phenotype. Two field experiments were conducted during 2018 and 2019 in the Agronomy Farm located at Mansoura University, Egypt. Decapitation was done at the V4 stage (35 days after sowing, DAS), during which four nodes on the main stem had fully developed leaves beginning with the unifoliolate nodes, whereas R2LR was performed at the R2 stage (50 DAS), during which the plants had one open flower at one of the two uppermost nodes on the main stem. Results indicated that Decap, R2LR, and their combination significantly increased seed yield per plant through increasing plant growth and flowering and improving biochemical attributes. The combination between Decap and R2LR was generally more effective in positively modulating plant vegetative, reproductive, and physiological capacity than either Decap or R2LR alone. Moreover, the number of branches as well as pods/plant and IAA content responded positively to Decap, whereas net assimilation rate, seed growth rate, number of flowers/node, and cytokinins content responded positively to R2LR. Decap and R2LR were interpreted in light of their effects on inducing the “stay-green” phenotype and altering the source–sink ratio. Based on the findings, it can be concluded that concealing the apical dominance in conjunction with reducing the sink strength through guided raceme removal would be beneficial for the reproductive potential in soybean.

Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the correlation between polypharmacy and depressive symptoms in hospitalized adults aged over 65 years. Patients and methods: We obtained medical history and current treatment data from clinical records. We used the Abbreviated Mental Test Score (AMTS) to exclude patients with dementia. The Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS) was used assess depressive symptoms. Pearson and Spearman coefficients were used to determine the relationship between variables. Results: A total of 206 individuals were included. The average number of medications taken by the individuals was 6.9 ± 2.7 and the average GDS score was 4.9 ± 3.4 points. Depressive symptoms (GDS score >5 points) were observed in 68 (33.0%) individuals. GDS score positively correlated with the number of medications used (R = 0.74; P = 0.0001), the number of chronic conditions (R = 0.78; P = 0.001), and pain complaints (Z = 7.94; P = 0.0001). A significant association between GDS score and the use of the following medications was observed: statins, cytostatic agents, corticosteroids, benzodiazepines, cardiac glycosides, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, muscle relaxants, non-psychotropic drugs with anticholinergic properties, and centrally acting analgesics (all P < 0.05). Conclusions: Our study indicates that polypharmacy is positively correlated with the presence of depressive symptoms in geriatric patients. We identified a number of medications associated with a higher prevalence of depressive symptoms, however these relationships require further examination.