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ABSTRACTA low response rate in surveys makes the research more expensive and time consuming, but it also, or even more importantly, constitutes a major methodological problem. Therefore, researchers use all kinds of measures in order to increase the response rate. This article describes four experiments (three field studies and one on-line experiment) designed to test a specific technique intended for this purpose. The technique consists in suggesting, to a respondent, that the study requires individuals with a certain rare quality that they have. In the case of the first study, which was conducted during the pandemic, respondents were told that it required people wearing exactly the type of face mask as theirs (or people without a face mask). In the second study, tall people were asked to complete a survey. Some of them were told right away that only tall individuals were considered suitable candidates for the study. In both cases, this technique significantly improved the response rate. However, the employed technique proved ineffective in both Study 3 and Study 4. In these instances, participants likely perceived that their refusal wouldn’t pose any inconvenience to the researchers. Consequently, we can posit that the efficacy of the ’we are looking for people like you’ social influence technique hinges on respondents feeling compelled to respond affirmatively to the research invitation. The assumption is that declining may potentially create challenges for the researchers, prompting a sense of obligation among participants.

Możliwość bezpośredniego kontaktu z przyrodą wpływa na jakość życia mieszkańców miast, m.in. poprzez wykorzystanie rekreacyjne terenów zieleni. O ile wynikające z tego korzyści dla psychofizycznego dobrostanu człowieka są stosunkowo dobrze rozpoznane, o tyle zdecydowanie mniej wiadomo na temat negatywnych doświadczeń związanych z wizytami na terenach zieleni w mieście. W kontekście zrównoważonego planowania i zarządzania rekreacją istotne zaś jest pozyskanie kompleksowej wiedzy o postrzeganiu tych terenów przez ich użytkowników, a zwłaszcza o relacjach, jakie zachodzą między różnymi rodzajami doświadczeń. Niniejszy artykuł wypełnia tę lukę poprzez wykorzystanie kartowania partycypacyjnego w celu rozpoznania pozytywnych i negatywnych aspektów doświadczania miejskiego krajobrazu nadrzecznego na przykładzie Wisły w Warszawie. Na podstawie opinii mieszkańców zidentyfikowano wiązki pozytywnych doświadczeń oraz grupy negatywnych doświadczeń wynikających z pobytów nad rzeką. Poddano ocenie oddziaływanie wskazywanych negatywnych doświadczeń na intensywność pozytywnych doświadczeń. Pozytywne doświadczenia wynikają z postrzegania krajobrazu nadrzecznego jako: (1) przestrzeni oswojonej, miejsca intelektualnego złączenia z przyrodą; (2) przestrzeni interakcji społecznych; (3) przestrzeni aktywnego spędzania czasu i odkrywania przyrody. W kontekście negatywnych doświadczeń respondenci wskazują na większe znaczenie społecznych niż przyrodniczych aspektów funkcjonowania miejskiego krajobrazu nadrzecznego. Dodatkowo negatywne doświadczenia istotnie wpływają na ocenę pozytywnych doświadczeń. Uzyskane wyniki mogą stanowić podstawę do identyfikacji i właściwego zaspokajania najistotniejszych potrzeb mieszkańców miasta wobec terenów nadrzecznych jako przestrzeni spędzania czasu wolnego.

Abstract Recently, materials revealing the upconversion (UC) phenomenon, which is a conversion of low-energy photons to higher-energy ones, have attracted considerable attention in luminescence thermometry due to the possibility of precise and remote optical thermal sensing. The most widely studied type of luminescent thermometry uses a ratiometric approach based on changes in the UC luminescence intensity, mainly of lanthanide ions’ thermally coupled energy levels. In this work, NaYF4:Ho3+@NaYF4, and NaYF4:Ho3+, Er3+@NaYF4 nanoparticles (NPs) were synthesized by the controlled reaction in oleic acid and octadecene at 573 K. The obtained nanoparticles had hexagonal structures, oval shapes, and average sizes of 22.5 ± 2.2 nm and 22.2 ± 2.0 nm, respectively. The spectroscopic properties of the products were investigated by measurements of the UC emission under 1151 nm laser excitation in the temperature range between 295 to 378 K. The sample doped with Ho3+ and Er3+ ions showed unique behavior of enhancing emission intensity with the temperature. The relative sensitivity determined for the NPs containing Ho3+ and Er3+ ions, reached the maximum value of 1.80%/K at 378 K. Here, we prove that the NaYF4:Ho3+, Er3+@NaYF4 system presents unique and excellent optical temperature sensing properties based on the luminescence intensity ratios of the near-infrared bands of both Ho3+ and Er3+ ions.

Two experiments tested the effectiveness of an egotistic trap, a social influence technique based on the premise that people agree to requests that align with their desirable qualities. In the first experiment, people were asked to participate in a survey-based study. In the control conditions (standard request), approx. 32.7% said yes. Yet, when it was mentioned that intelligent individuals were sought after and the subject appeared intelligent, the percentage became 52.4%. The second experiment aimed to persuade car owners to have their cars inspected at an official service station. Of the participants, 56.7% agreed in the standard conditions. However, when the phrase ‘studies show that sensible customers have their cars inspected at official service stations’ was included, it became 71.7%.

Experiments on obedience to authority conducted under the paradigm developed by Milgram have demonstrated that empathy plays either no or a very limited role in determining participants' behaviors. This study proposes that this occurs due to participants empathizing with both “learners” and experimenters. Empathy with learners makes participants withdraw from the experiment, while empathy with experimenters makes them continue. Therefore, the more that participants are characterized by dispositional empathy, the more they are reluctant to hurt learners but, at the same time, the more they try not to disappoint experimenters. This study investigates the effects of empathy being situationally directed toward learners. After manipulating the alleged similarities between “teachers” and “learners” in terms of crucial attitudes and values, the degree to which teachers obeyed experimenters and were willing to electrocute learners was measured. The results confirm that situationally directed empathy reduces participants' obedience to experimenters.

Numerous experiments have proven that mimicry is highly beneficial (mainly to the mimicker but also to the mimickee). Some studies have shown initial data suggesting the potential of applying this knowledge to business settings. In the present paper we unpack this issue in two ways. First, by presenting potential benefits stemming from mimicry for the mimicking dyad, and second for the business environment represented by the mimicker. Two consecutive studies: a Pretest and a Main Experiment run in natural settings showed great potential in improving the assessments of quality of service provided by verbally mimicking (or not). The results of both studies showed that mimicry offers benefits for the mimicker (increased employee kindness and employee evaluation), and also spillover to the organization/company represented by the mimicking employee (increased opinion of and willingness to return to the shop/hotel). Future research directions and limitations are discussed.

Pollution of the environment with plastic is an important concern of the modern world. It is estimated that annually over 350 million tonnes of this material are produced, wherein, despite the recycling methods, a significant part is deposited in the environment. The plastic has been detected in the industrial areas, as well as farmlands and gardens in many world regions. Larger plastic pieces degraded in time into smaller pieces including microplastic (MP) and nanoplastic particles (NP). Nanoplastic is suggested to pose the most serious danger as due to the small size, it is effectively taken up from the environment by the biota and transported within the organisms. An increasing number of reports show that NP exert toxic effects also on plants. One of the most common plant response to abiotic stress factors is the accumulation of reactive oxygen species (ROS). On the one hand, these molecules are engaged in cellular signalling and regulation of genes expression. On the other hand, ROS in excess lead to oxidation and damage of various cellular compounds. This article reviews the impact of NP on plants, with special emphasis on the oxidative response.

Abstract Water-dispersible up-converting nanoparticles (UCNPs) are known to be very effective in biomedical applications. Research groups have paid special attention to the synthesis of hydrophilic UCNPs with good physicochemical properties. Being aware of this, we decided to improve the ligand-free modification method of OA-capped NaYF4:Yb3+,Er3+/NaYF4 UCNPs prepared by precipitation in high-boiling-point solvents as the thus-far reported methods do not provide satisfactory results. Different molarities of hydrochloric acid and various mixing times were selected to remove the organic ligand from the NPs’ surface and to discover the most promising modification approach. Highly water-stable colloids were obtained with a very high reaction yield of up to 96%. Moreover, the acid treatment did not affect the morphology and the size of the product. All of the crystals exhibited a bright up-conversion emission under 975-nm excitation, which confirmed the two-photon excitation and effective energy transfer between the used dopant ions. Thus, we could establish the most successful ligand-free modification procedure.

The increasingly wide-spreading falsification of documents, clothing, and packaging has a negative impact on every aspect of the global markets. Therefore, the development of high-quality strategies for materials protection has become a big challenge. Thus, this work presents novel anti-counterfeiting lyocell fibres, exhibiting bright green or yellowish up-conversion emission upon dual-range excitation, using either 975-nm or 1532-nm NIR laser radiation. The up-converting cellulose fibers were prepared by introducing lanthanide-doped core@shell nanoparticles β-NaYF4: Yb3+, Er3+@β-NaYF4 into the cellulose matrix. The spinning process of fibres was based on N-methylmorpholine N-oxide method, environmentally friendly because of the reusable reagents used. The prepared fibres were incorporated into the paper mass, forming a luminescent paper as a proof of concept for the multi-modal protection of documents. The luminescent fibres have considerable application potential as anti-counterfeiting composite materials with excellent performance, which are very difficult to imitate or copy, providing a very high level of security.

Anhydrobiosis is the ability of selected organisms to lose almost all water and enter a state of reversible ametabolism. Such an organism dries up to a state of equilibrium with dry air. Unless special protective mechanisms exist, desiccation leads to damage, mainly to proteins, nucleic acids, and membrane lipids. A short historical outline of research on extreme dehydration of living organisms and the current state of research are presented. Terminological issues are outlined. The role of water in the cell and the mechanisms of damage occurring in the cell under the desiccation stress are briefly discussed. Particular attention was paid to damage to proteins, nucleic acids, and membrane lipids. Understanding the nature of the changes and damage associated with desiccation is essential for the study of desiccation-tolerance mechanisms and application research. Difficulties related to the definition of life and the limits of life in the scientific discussion, caused by the phenomenon of anhydrobiosis, were also indicated.

The synthesis of upconverting nanoparticles (NPs) is crucial for their spectroscopic properties and further applications. Reducing the size of materials to nano-dimensions usually decreases emission intensity. Therefore, scientists around the world are trying to improve the methods of obtaining NPs to approach levels of emission intensity similar to their bulk counterparts. In this article, the effects of stearic acid on the synthesis of core@shell β-NaYF4: 18%Yb3+, 2%Er3+@β-NaYF4 upconverting NPs were thoroughly investigated and presented. Using a mixture of stearic acid (SA) with oleic acid and 1-octadecene as components of the reaction medium leads to the obtaining of monodispersed NPs with enhanced emission intensity when irradiated with 975 nm laser wavelength, as compared with NPs prepared analogously but without SA. This article also reports how the addition of SA influences the structural properties of core@shell NPs and reaction time. The presence of SA in the reaction medium accelerates the growth of NPs in comparison with the analogic reaction but without SA. In addition, transmission electron microscopy studies reveal an additional effect of the presence of SA on the surface of NPs, which is to cause their self-organization due to steric effects.

Nd-modified TiO2 photocatalysts have been obtained via hydrothermal (HT) and sol–hydrothermal (SHT) methods. The as-prepared samples were characterized by X-ray diffraction (XRD), BET surface area measurements, scanning electron microscopy (SEM), diffuse reflectance spectroscopy (DRS), luminescence spectroscopy and X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS). The photocatalytic activity of the synthesized samples was evaluated by the degradation of phenol in aqueous solution under irradiation with UV–vis (λ > 350 nm) and vis (λ > 420 nm) light, as well as by the degradation of gaseous toluene under irradiation with vis (λmax = 415 nm) light. It was found that Nd-modified TiO2 is an efficient photocatalyst for the degradation of phenol and toluene under visible light. XPS analysis revealed that the photocatalyst prepared via HT method contains a three-times higher amount of hydroxy groups at the surface layer and a two-times higher amount of surface defects than that obtained by the SHT method. The photocatalytic efficiency of phenol and toluene degradation under vis irradiation in the presence of 0.25% Nd-TiO2(HT) reached 0.62 and 3.36 μmol·dm−1·min−1, respectively. Photocatalytic activity tests in the presence of Nd-TiO2 and scavenger confirm that superoxide radicals were responsible for the visible light-induced degradation of the model pollutant in aqueous solution.

Considering the large number of adverts inundating the average consumer every day, the marketing industry is seeking methods to reach clients in a more subtle manner than traditional marketing messages. One such tool is product placement. The article addresses issues of effectiveness of product placement in comparison to a traditional commercial. The objective of the study was to check how participants would recall the content of persuasive messages in conditions of artificially inducted cognitive load (in conditions of traditional advertisement and product placement). Two studies were conducted – a pre-study intended to assess the usefulness of the selected stimuli, and the main experiment. The experiment devoted to this question was planned using an ANOVA scheme 2 (Type of advert: traditional vs. product placement) × 2 (neutral conditions vs. cognitive load). It turned out that the commercial was better retained in neutral conditions than in conditions of cognitive load. The traditional commercial was remembered better than product placement. From the perspective of the study’s ecological validity, of importance is also comparison of retention of brands viewed in a traditional commercial in conditions of cognitive load with retention of brands in conditions of product placement without load. These comparisons indicate the superiority of product placement – brands presented in this manner were more frequently recalled by viewers.

The article presents studies examining whether the better than average (BTA) effect appears in opinions regarding obedience of individuals participating in an experiment conducted in the Milgram paradigm. Participants are presented with a detailed description of the experiment, asked to declare at what moment an average participant would cease their participation in the study, and then asked to declare at what moment they themselves would quit the experiment. It turned out that the participants demonstrated a strong BTA effect. This effect also concerned those who had known the results of the Milgram experiment prior to the study. Interestingly, those individuals—in contrast to naive participants—judged that the average person would remain obedient for longer, but at the same time prior familiarity with the Milgram experiment did not impact convictions as to own obedience. By the same token, the BTA effect size was larger among those who had previously heard of the Milgram experiment than those who had not. Additionally, study participants were asked to estimate the behavior of the average resident of their country (Poland), as well as of average residents of several other European countries. It turned out that in participants’ judgment the average Pole would withdraw from the experiment quicker than the average Russian and average German, but later than average residents of France and England.

The europium (III) complex of coumarin-3-carboxylic acid (C3CA) has been prepared and characterized on the basis of elemental analysis, IR, and emission (photoluminescence and electrochemiluminescence) spectroscopy. The synthesised complex having a formula Eu(C3CA)2(NO3)(H2O)2 was photophysically characterized in solution and in the solid state. Electrochemiluminescence, ECL, of the system containing the Eu(III)/C3CA complex was studied using an oxide-covered aluminium electrode. The goal of these studies was to show the possibility of the use of electrochemical excitation of the Eu(III) ion in aqueous solution for emission generation. The generated ECL emission was very weak, and therefore its measurements and spectral analysis were carried out with the use of cut-off filters method. The studies proved a predominate role of the ligand-to-metal energy transfer (LMET) in the generated ECL.