Occurrence and distribution antibiotic resistance of heterotrophic bacteria isolated from a marine beach

Antibiotic resistance of heterotrophic bacteria isolated from a sandy beach in Sopot, at the Southern Baltic Sea coast was determined. The levels of resistance of bacteria to various antibiotics differed considerably. Bacteria inhabiting the middle part of the beach and the dune were most resistant; the least resistant were bacteria isolated from the sea-beach contact zone. Generally, there were no significant differences in antibiotic resistance between pigmented and non-pigmented bacteria. Bacteria isolated from the surface layer of the sand were more resistant to the tested antibiotics than bacteria from the subsurface layers. The majority of bacterial strains were resistant to 3-8 antibiotics. Bacterial resistance to antibiotics was dependent on their chemical structure.     

The environmental effects of the installation and functioning of the submarine SwePol Link HVDC transmission line: a case study of the Polish Marine Area of the Baltic Sea

This paper describes the two-phase study of the environmental impact of the SwePol Link submarine electrical energy transfer system between Sweden and Poland. During the first phase (1997–1998), the potential effects of proposed technical solutions for the transmission line and different routes across the Baltic Sea were analysed. During the second phase (1999–2000), studies on environmental and background conditions before cable installation (1999) and studies on the environmental effects after cable system installation (2000) were undertaken. During this phase, underwater TV and video inspection of the bottom, observations of the bottom habitats by scuba-divers, sampling and laboratory analysis of macrozoobenthos and measurements of the earth's magnetic field were conducted.Underwater observations along the cable route indicated that one year after the cable had been laid no mechanical disturbances on the dynamic sandy bottom were visible. Studies of the bottom macrofauna indicated that there had been no significant changes in zoobenthos species composition, abundance or biomass which could have been clearly related to cable installation. Changes in the components of the magnetic field, although significant in the vicinity of the cable itself, did not exceed natural variability at a distance of 20 m.     

The heat goes on—changes in indices of hot extremes in Poland

Theoretical and Applied Climatology - On the basis of temperature observations at 60 meteorological stations in Poland, changes in the indices associated with the presence of extremely high air...     

Geo‐questionnaire: A Method and Tool for Public Preference Elicitation in Land Use Planning

Geo‐questionnaire involves an integration of sketchable maps with questions, aimed at eliciting public preferences and attitudes about land allocation and services. Respondents can link their answers with corresponding locations on a map by marking points or sketching polygon features. Geo‐questionnaires have been used to learn about perceptions and preferences of city residents for specific types of land use, place‐based services, and development projects. This article reports on results of an empirical study, in which an online geo‐questionnaire was designed and implemented to elicit preferences of residents in guiding an urban development plan. Preferences collected in the form of polygon sketches were processed using GIS operations and mapped for visual interpretation. The article focuses on aggregation and analysis of respondent preferences including the analysis of positional and attribute uncertainty. Results of the study show that geo‐questionnaire is a scalable method for eliciting public preferences with a potential for meaningfully informing land use planning.     

On the sensitivity of bridge seismic response with local soil amplification

The paper presents a numerical sensitivity study of the local site effects on structural response. Following a recently developed model of spatial coherency and a concept of a simple site coefficient the local site effects are modelled as filtrations of excitation processes with a frequency shift. An analysis of a bridge response with supports founded on different soils is carried out. The joint effects of dynamic response and pseudostatic motion are considered. Two types of response are analysed: longitudinal and transverse. The differences between dynamic displacements and force responses are pointed out. © 1998 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Large-Eddy Simulation of air Pollution Dispersion in the Nocturnal Cloud-Topped Atmospheric Boundary Layer

Effects of stratocumulus clouds on the dispersion of contaminants are studied in the nocturnal atmospheric boundary layer. The study is based on a large-eddy simulation (LES) model with a bulk parametrization of clouds. Computations include Lagrangian calculations of atmospheric dispersion of a passive tracer released from point sources at various heights above the ground. The results obtained show that the vertical diffusion is non-Gaussian and depends on the location of a source in the boundary layer.     

The chemistry and prospects for interstellar detection of somedicyanoacetylenes and other cyanoacetylene-related species

Recent cryochemical and photochemical findings for cyanoacetylene and cyanopolyacetylene-related molecules (including various isomeric species), backed up with quantum-chemical predictions, are analysed. A new class of interstellar molecules, distinguished by bare (hydrogen-less), unsaturated carbon-nitrogen chains of the general formula C _n N₂ is postulated. It is recommended to look for some relevant IR spectral features in space. This revised version was published online in July 2006 with corrections to the Cover Date.     

Assessment of climate change and associated impact on selected sectors in Poland

The present paper offers a brief assessment of climate change and associated impact in Poland, based on selected results of the Polish–Norwegian CHASE-PL project. Impacts are examined in selected sectors, such as water resources, natural hazard risk reduction, environment, agriculture and health. Results of change detection in long time series of observed climate and climate impact variables in Poland are presented. Also, projections of climate variability and change are provided for time horizons of 2021–2050 and 2071–2100 for two emission scenarios, RCP4.5 and RCP8.5 in comparison with control period, 1971–2000. Based on climate projections, examination of future impacts on sectors is also carried out. Selected uncertainty issues relevant to observations, understanding and projections are tackled as well.     

A statistical model for spatial inventory data: a case study of N2O emissions in municipalities of southern Norway

In this paper we apply a linear regression with spatial random effect to model geographically distributed emission inventory data. The study presented is on N₂O emission assessments for municipalities of southern Norway and on activities related to emissions (proxy data). Taking advantage of the spatial dimension of the emission process, the method proposed is intended to improve inventory extension beyond its earlier coverage. For this, the proxy data are used. The conditional autoregressive model is used to account for spatial correlation between municipalities. Parameter estimation is based on the maximum likelihood method and the optimal predictor is developed. The results indicate that inclusion of a spatial dependence component lead to improvement in both representation of the observed data set and prediction.